HCB Chapter 189 Aphasia
Chapter 189 Aphasia
Two weeks ago, the public security department received an alarm from a hospital in Tottori Prefecture. Based on the description of the child, Kudo Yusaku instantly determined that the unconscious child was his son and rushed over overnight.
As for the blonde woman that the nurse who called the police mentioned, Rei Furuya thought she was Vermouth, but unfortunately he didn't find any trace of her.
Beihu Hospital
Yusaku Kudo and Yukiko Kudo sat in the doctor's office with worried looks on their faces, listening to each other talk about Kudo Shinichi's current physical condition.
When Furuya Rei and Sawada Takeshi came up, the Kudo couple just came out of the doctor's office.
The two people who were originally young and elegant have aged a lot, and the sudden white hair has already revealed their condition.
"You're here." Kudo Yusaku said with all his strength, "Mr. James from the FBI has arrived."
"My son's condition..." Sawada Takeshi mentioned carefully.
After all, what I wanted most when I came to the hospital today was to talk to Kudo Shinichi himself, who had experienced it personally.
"I just woke up yesterday." Kudo Yukiko wiped the corners of her eyes and tried her best to remain decent in front of outsiders.
"Let's go upstairs and talk." Kudo Yusaku put his arm around his wife's shoulders and walked up the stairs. He said, "We plan to transfer Shinichi to a hospital in the United States after his condition stabilizes."
"Well, we will try to ask within this range."
Kudo Yusaku shook his head. "If he doesn't want to talk, please don't force him. My wife and I just want the child to be safe, and nothing else matters."
Sawada Takeshi didn't know what to say and could only nod.
The entrance of the top floor ward of Beihu Hospital
James was listening to his men reporting the news from headquarters.
"Sir, they want us to get the information that the boy knows as soon as possible."
"Ah."
James knew that this was the headquarters' final ultimatum to him. Although he found a base of the organization according to the information provided by the mysterious man, all the people he sent were killed there.
Judy, Carmel...
He sighed, composed himself and greeted the three people who came up.
Kudo Yukiko nodded haggardly, opened the door of the ward and went in first.
James and Takeshi Sawada shook hands in a friendly manner. As for the blond man following behind him, the other party had an indifferent expression and James was no longer in the mood to say hello.
"As for the questioning, please let me do it. I also hope to cooperate with your investigation, but please understand that if the child really doesn't want to talk, I will never force it."
Kudo Yusaku said this to let them be prepared to return empty-handed.
"I understand. I'm very grateful for giving us this opportunity." James nodded.
The men following behind him glanced at him, but said nothing due to the presence of the Kudo couple.
Yusaku Kudo brought a few people into the ward.
This was the first time James had seen the boy in a long time, but things and people had changed and he no longer had the confidence he had before.
"Conan-kun..." James hesitated, not knowing how to start.
"Shinichi, his name is Shinichi." Kudo Yukiko, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, corrected immediately, and was extremely resistant to the name.
"Ah, Shinichi... no, Kudo-kun." James paused and changed the address.
At Kudo Yusaku's signal, James, Sawada Takeshi, and Furuya Rei sat down beside the bed.
"Shinichi, look at your mother." Kudo Yukiko touched his hand and smiled.
Kudo Shinichi looked like a child with a sallow complexion, bony figure, bulging eye sockets and colorless pupils.
He did not look at Kudo Yukiko, but turned his head slowly like a rusty machine and looked at the people surrounding the bed.
He turned around and found that the blonde woman who rescued him was not there.
Kudo Shinichi lowered his head and looked in the direction of the hand holding his. The familiar yet unfamiliar woman had eyes full of worry.
"Shinichi..."
Kudo Shinichi opened his mouth, but found that he couldn't speak. He thought it was because of dryness, but after trying several times, he found that the problem was not that simple.
"Shinichi?"
The Kudo couple immediately realized something was wrong and rushed over.
Kudo Shinichi tried several times but couldn't utter a word. He touched his neck blankly and looked at Yukiko blankly.
Yukiko Kudo had already pressed the call button on the bedside table and looked at her husband in a panic.
James and Takeshi Sawada were caught off guard by this sudden situation. They came here after receiving the news that Kudo Shinichi's re-examination results were normal.
Now...
The two looked at each other obscurely.
The doctor came over quickly, and the accompanying nurse drove all the outsiders out of the ward.
James and his men walked aside and said in a low voice: "It seems that we can't get any intelligence."
When they came, Kudo Yusaku repeatedly hinted that he would not force the child to speak. Now, it is not known whether the loss of voice was caused by physiological or psychological reasons, which means that they will not be able to obtain information in a short period of time.
"But the headquarters is waiting for news." The subordinate said in embarrassment.
James hesitated for a moment, looked back at the closed ward door, and unexpectedly met the eyes of the blond police officer.
"I'll explain it to the headquarters." After he said this, he turned and walked towards the two police officers.
Speaking of intelligence, doesn't the police have it ready-made?
"Mr. Sawada, when will the cooperation between the FBI and the Public Security Bureau begin?"
Sawada Takeshi gestured and led them to a secluded place before saying, "We are compiling information about the organization."
James exchanged some basic information with him and had a preliminary understanding.
Through the conversation, he realized that the person who had close contacts with the organization was the blond policeman who had been staring at him.
"Does the police have any information about Gin's whereabouts?" James asked.
"No, there has been no news about him and the main members of Vermouth. A suspect named Ireland was arrested and told us where Gin's gang often moved around, but it was already empty."
James fell into deep thought, then asked, "I heard that the police also received a message from an unknown source?"
Sawada Takeshi frowned, extremely surprised: "Is it possible?"
James nodded solemnly.
"The people over there are coming out." The FBI agents who stayed in front of the ward came over and knocked on the door to remind them.
"We'll discuss this matter later." Takeshi Sawada realized that the mysterious person who alerted the public security and FBI was the key among the keys, and said seriously.
"Ah."
When we returned to the ward, Kudo Yusaku was talking to the doctor, and two nurses pushed the bed away first.
"I'm sorry, both of you." Kudo Yusaku looked much more haggard, and there seemed to be more white hair on his head.
"No, we are the ones who disturbed him." James said quickly, "Then we will leave first and come back to visit when the child is better."
Kudo Yusaku shook his head. "Shinichi has aphasia. The doctor's advice is not to mention anything that would irritate him."
"...That's it."
Things had come to this point, and James had no choice but to say a few words of comfort.
Kudo Yusaku was obviously not in the mood to be polite. He said a few words and left in a hurry.
"Mr. James, we hope to establish equal cooperation with the FBI, which will be more conducive to eradicating the organization."
After everyone left, Sawada Takeshi suddenly said.
James understood his implication and pushed the subject back: "Of course, this is what we want too."
The two looked at each other deeply.
Furiya Rei, who had been silent the whole time, suddenly interrupted: "Vermouth's territory is in the United States. Does the FBI know anything about it?"
"This matter...may have to wait until we meet the captured members of the organization before we discuss it."