"Akai Shuichi is dead?"
Rum asked in disbelief, at first thinking Toru was joking.
That was Akai Shuichi, the FBI's strongest agent, someone even Gin could do nothing about, someone the Organization had hunted and tried to kill many times without success, and who had even killed many Organization members in retaliation.
But he had just died so easily at Toru's hands?
Rum was deeply suspicious.
Toru chuckled. "With your Organization's capabilities, I don't think it would be too difficult to investigate whether this news is true, would it?"
"You only need to investigate to find out whether this news is true or false."
"Akai Shuichi is very capable, the strongest agent in the FBI, but Rum, you should know that I am also a powerful agent in the CIA."
"Compared to the FBI, the CIA, which will stop at nothing, is more suited to assassination work."
Rum fell silent. Hearing Toru speak with such certainty, his suspicion immediately began to waver.
He laughed. "Well done, Adam. I'll have someone investigate immediately. If Shuichi is really dead, then you shouldn't say 'your Organization', but 'our Organization.'"
"Spencer's CIA has lost a master like you, that is his loss. His greatest misfortune was choosing to become your enemy."
Toru said calmly, "Joining this Organization is not a necessity for me. We are only exchanging things of equal value."
"I'm helping you kill Shuichi, so when I need help, the Organization must support me as well."
Rum did not mind Toru's unruly attitude.
In that regard, he was a qualified leader. As long as his subordinates could complete their missions and were loyal enough, he could tolerate some minor flaws, such as a lack of respect toward him.
In Rum's view, it was normal for Toru to have no sense of belonging to the Organization. After all, the former Toru had been a CIA member, someone from an official agency.
He would naturally still feel some resistance toward joining an underground organization like this.
But Rum was not worried about that. He believed that as time passed, once Toru came to understand the Organization's great goals and the powerful energy it possessed, he would definitely develop a sense of belonging.
"Trust and commitment are very important for a large organization. My promise always stands. Adam, when you need help, as long as it does not harm the Organization's interests, I will support you."
"So now, you can think of a codename for the Organization. You should already know enough about the Organization to understand how to choose one."
"This is a special privilege I'm giving you. The codenames of the other members are decided by me."
Rum gave Toru, this master who had joined the Organization midway, a warm welcome.
This was a powerful person who had no contact with That Person and could be completely controlled by him. He only needed to maintain a single line of communication with Toru to prevent the other Organization members from having any opportunity to contact him.
"Martini, let's call it Martini."
Toru spoke without hesitation.
He had used this name before to scare Conan and Yukiko, and he had not expected that this codename would actually become real in the end.
"It seems Adam... no, Martini, you were already prepared. That is good news."
"Next, you only need to wait. Once I confirm Shuichi's death, I will inform the Organization members and let them know of your existence."
Rum hung up the phone.
Standing at the back door of the sushi shop, he still found it somewhat hard to believe.
Rum took out his phone and sent a message to another subordinate.
[Go investigate whether Akai Shuichi is really dead.]
On the tall building, Toru kept watching Rum through his binoculars.
"I really want to kill you with a single shot, but killing you is easy. Using your identity to directly seize the Black Organization's power is a little more difficult."
Toru took out his phone and sent Vermouth a message.
[Call me when you have time]
Less than half a minute after the message was sent, his phone rang. It was Vermouth calling.
"Does Boy miss me?"
Vermouth's lazy and charming voice came from the phone.
Toru poured himself a glass of wine, sat down on the sofa, and smiled. "Yes, I miss you a little, Vermouth."
"That's rare. My little Boy actually misses me. Wait for me a while. Once I finish my business here, I can come back to see you. It's been a while since we did it, and my desires need to be satisfied too." Vermouth's laughter was bright.
Toru leaned back against the sofa and said, "From today on, you may have to call me Martini."
"What's going on?" Vermouth's voice instantly turned serious.
Toru briefly explained the deal between himself and Rum.
Vermouth fell silent.
Toru said, "What, you don't seem happy at all?"
Vermouth sighed softly. "Boy, this Organization is not as simple as you think. Joining it is not a good thing."
Hearing the worry in Vermouth's voice, Toru asked softly, "Vermouth, there are some things I want to ask you."
"Ask, Boy. I'll tell you everything I know."
"Is the mastermind behind this Organization Karasuma Renya?"
Vermouth did not speak.
But from her reaction, she had already given Toru the answer.
"When was the last time you saw That Person?"
"A long time ago. I don't remember the exact time."
"So now, you only contact him through the inter?"
"That's right. The missions I accept are all sent to me online."
Vermouth's words made Toru fall into deep thought.
He was becoming more and more suspicious that Karasuma Renya had actually died long ago.
Could it be that someone else was now issuing orders in Karasuma Renya's name?
Just as he wanted to forcibly replace Rum, an unknown person was also issuing orders under Karasuma Renya's name.
And from all appearances, this person might not even have a deeper grasp of the Organization than Rum, otherwise Rum would not have had ulterior motives.
"Vermouth, do you understand the various power structures inside this Organization?" Toru asked again.
"The Organization has always been run by Rum. Aside from Rum, only That Person knows the true structure and true face of the entire Organization."
"No, That Person hasn't appeared for a long time, and I'm not even sure whether Rum still reports to him."
Vermouth did not hide anything and told Toru what she knew. "...I only understand part of the Organization's structure, not as much as Rum does."
Toru nodded to himself. This was the same as his original guess. The entire Organization was controlled by only two people, Number One and Number Two.
And after Number One had not appeared for a long time, the only person truly in control was Rum.
This was good news. If everything revolved around Rum, then the difficulty of taking control of the Organization and using it for himself would be reduced to the minimum.
"Vermouth, I want to give you a mission, a very, very important mission."
Toru's tone was rarely this serious.
He had absolute trust in Vermouth because the system had told him that Vermouth's feelings for him had always been at full marks.
She could even betray the Organization for him, so Toru could trust her without hesitation.
"Boy, it sounds like you have a big plan."
"Yes. I have become an enemy of the CIA, and I once thought about whether I could control the CIA, but the CIA is the most secretive and terrifying official agency in America. The difficulty of controlling it is too great."
Toru lowered his voice. "...I am too young, and I have an Asian appearance, which cuts off the possibility of me controlling the CIA through legitimate means."
"The CIA is also divided into several factions. Not to mention whether I could control someone and push him onto the seat of CIA Director, even if I could do that, because there are too many factions within the CIA, I still would not be able to control the overall situation."
"So, my idea is to first control an Organization, one that is powerful and has enormous influence, and then, through my understanding of the CIA and the hidden measures I have left behind, infiltrate the CIA."
"Then, little by little, I will control the entire CIA, so that no matter who the President of America is, no matter who the CIA Director is, I can bleed America dry and make the CIA my tool."
"This cannot be done in a short time. It requires time to build up, but I do not care about that. I have plenty of time to do these things."
Toru took a sip of wine and finally said, "...And the first step of this plan is to completely bring the Organization under my control and seize all of its resources!"
With that, Toru would have the capital to participate in the struggle among the world's greatest powers.
(To be continued.)
Reviews
All reviews (0)