Conan lowered his voice. "Good thing you were cautious enough when you parked and hid the car in an inconspicuous corner... Give me the keys. I'll drive that Beetle away. Professor, once they enter the house, go out through this side door, circle around to their car, and drive it away!"
Professor Agasa, who had only just recovered from his shock, nearly collapsed again in fright. "Me? Steal the Black Organization's car?"
Conan spoke rapidly. "Actually, it would be more suitable for me to go, but their driver's seat is farther back than yours in the Beetle, and I'm afraid I can't reach the pedals. Our car is too distinctive—they absolutely can't see it. And if we only drive away in the Beetle without taking their car, they'll catch up with us sooner or later."
Though still afraid, Professor Agasa realized that this seemed to be a life-or-death moment. After struggling with it for a long while, he nodded firmly. "All right, I'll try."
Conan nodded. Through the side door's window, he gazed up at the pitch-black night outside. "I hope this blizzard lasts until tomorrow morning and traps those two here until we finish the 'transaction' for the software... And if they unfortunately manage to get out, we'll have no choice but to pin the car theft on one of Itakura Suguru's other clients. Hopefully, that'll fool Vodka for a little while."
Mid-mutter, his ears suddenly perked up and his expression tightened. "Listen, the front door rang once—they're inside. Move!"
At his command, the two of them sneakily ran out through the side door. Avoiding the windows, they scurried on their short legs toward their respective target vehicles.
"Doesn't seem like anyone's here."
After following Jiang Xia through every room without encountering a single person, Okiya Subaru could