"That's disgusting. Do you have to shave right here? C'mon Richard, I know you don't have any class, but surely you must have some common sense."

Richard pulled the razor from his face as he scowled at me. I sat next to him, slouched in my seat with my arms crossed over my chest. Rachel tried to make me wear a dress because of the fact we're going to a wedding, but I banged up my legs pretty bad at a bar the other night while I was looking for answers.

So I talked her down to let me get away with nice black pants and a white blouse. Of course I wore a hoodie over it, but it didn't change the discomfort.

Rachel made a face at him as well as we watched the little hairs scatter downwards.

That's disgusting. "She's right y'know. It's your best friend's wedding day and you're shaving on the train getting hairs on your wrinkled shirt."

He turned his displeased look to his daughter. "It's not my fault I overslept alright! I had a late night meeting with some very important clients!" He defended himself.

I snorted at that, narrowing my eyes on him. "I picked you up idiot. You were alone and hammered." I reminded him. Rachel nodded in agreement. "The only clients you met were Gin and Tonic."

Seriously, I was reaching out to some connections when Rachel called me and asked if I could pick up the idiot over here.

Found him at an actual normal bar clinging to the bartop like his life depended on it.

I basically carried him home since he didn't have enough for cab fare. I was so pissed I left him on the livingroom floor.

Richard turned his nose up with a 'hmph'. What a child. "I brought you along to be nice and this is how you say thanks." I rolled my eyes and slouched more into my seat.

"Oh dad. You know I appreciate it. You're glad to get out of the city too, aren't you Conan?" Rachel turned her smile to my brother who's sitting next to her, eating his food.

He gave a nod, continuing to eat. "Speaking of, why'd we have to bring bowtie and the delinquent along?"

He's going on about this again? He's like a broken record, give it a rest, sheesh. "We can't just abandon them."

You really could have. I didn't want to come to a stupid wedding. I wanted to find clues.

Well, I don't want to. I want to go to Osaka and annoy the hell out of Harley, but I can't do that because the Dweeb is now a shrimp.

And he brought his shrimp friends along with him.

Groaning, I stood up. "I'm heading to the bar car. Later." Rachel frowned at me as I began to leave. "You're not old enough!" She protested, to which I just flashed her my fake ID.

If I'm gonna go to a wedding, I gotta pregame.

As I maneuvered around the little runts, the door opened and I bumped into someone. Damn it, those brats. I looked up to mutter an apology but stopped upon getting a look at the guy.

He's tall, wearing all black with long hair, but it's brown and not as nice as what Jimmy had described. But he has a scowl on his ugly mug. "Watch where you're going."

I narrowed my eyes on him as well, placing a hand on my hip. "Why don't you watch where you're going? You look like you walked out of an old gangster movie. If you are rotten apples, then you don't do a good job at keeping it a secret."

He didn't take this well, and apparently neither did his friend. He kind of looked like the other guy Jimmy described. But I doubt they are who he's talking about, but they do look Shady.

But I still think I could take them unless they pull out a gun. Meh, even then I think I'll be good.

I went around them and headed for the bar car, ignoring their glares. I mean c'mon. What can they possibly do on a train?

Not all too concerned, I continued my way to the bar cart, taking a seat. "Whiskey coke." I ordered. The bartender nodded and quickly whipped up my drink.

It's a simple one, I'm not trying to get drunk on the train. Just a little alcohol to take the edge off. Casually drinking is nice, so I ordered another and let my mind wander, thinking of my next moves.

I was half way through my third one when something caught my eye. Wait a moment.

Those are the two crooks. When did they get here? And they're leaving already? That makes no sense.

I've been here for fifteen minutes tops. Even if they came in right after me it wouldn't make sense to stay here for that long to eat. They weren't at the bar so they must have been in the dining area.

Hm? Wait, the briefcase . . . it's different. It's barely a briefcase, it's way bigger than the one he had.

I shook my head, and continued to sip on my drink. Get it together Stella, it's nothing. Not everything weird is a devious plot. You worry too much.

Like the Dweeb. Ugh if I turn out anything like the Dweeb someone shoot me.

The only thing I need to worry about is this wedding. I hate weddings. Mom and dad used to drag us to them when we were younger.

Of course the Dweeb shined while I was compared mercilessly to him. And my parents weren't helpful either. Last one I went to I toppled the wedding cake because the bride was two faced and started talking smack on mom behind her back.

But of course no one believed me. Although they did stop bringing me along so it wasn't a loss.

I was about to order a fourth when running sounded. "Stella!" Jimmy and his friends ran over to me.

I narrowed my eyes on them. "I'm one drink short to deal with you kids, go away." I demanded.

The other three pouted at my claim while Jimmy grabbed my pants. "Stella, did you see two goons dressed in black!"

I blinked before stiffening. "Yeah. Were they . . ." I glanced at the kids briefly before back at him.

He shook his head. "No, but did you see who they were with?!" He asked urgently.

Were they with someone?

I shook my head. "I didn't see them in the cart, but I did see them leave. Why? What's up? Do you need me to 'talk' to them?" I stood up, sliding some money onto the counter to pay for my drinks.

They didn't seem like much so I can take care of them easily. Jimmy motioned for me to come closer so the kids wouldn't hear. I did so, shooting a warning stare at the kids when they tried to get closer.

"They left the train, but I heard them say they exchanged briefcases with someone and there's a bomb that will go off ten after three."

My eyes went wide. "A BO-Mph!" He quickly covered my mouth and brought his finger to his lips to silence me.

"Quiet! The train conductors don't believe me, so we need to find the person they were with."

I pushed his hand away and shook my head. "And how the hell do you suppose we do that?!" I hissed. I don't wanna die here. I have a plan and it'll be doing something badass.

"What if I tell them?" I whispered back, moving my hand to block George who was trying to come closer.

Jimmy shook his head. "You've been here for most of the ride, they'll find that out. Besides, you smell like alcohol." He gave me a flat look.

I glared at my brother. "I had a few drinks, sue me, I've been going slow and it's half soda anyway."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "You're also underaged." I quickly struck him atop his head and he cried out in pain. "Conan!" Amy exclaimed worriedly.

I ignored her and pinched his cheek. "Do you want my help or not Dweeb?" I demanded.

He groaned and I released him. He quickly rubbed it in pain. "Yeah. You guys said that the second floor first class seats are where you can look down at the scenery, right?" He asked the kids.

Mitch nodded excitedly. "Yeah. And only number seven is non-smoking." Scenery, non-smoking? The hell? Jimmy nodded and the kids began to get excited.

"So there is a prize there!" Amy exclaimed.

"Is it a game?!" George chimed in.

Jimmy began to sweat nervously as he backed away from them and quickly moved his arms frantically. "No, I told you I was just curious." He tried to no avail as the three jumped him excitedly.

"The Junior Detective League is ready to go!" They shouted excitedly.

Jimmy was ushered by them quickly to where I assume the seventh first class cart is. "Stella!" He called back pleadingly.

Honestly the scene is hilarious. I almost want to leave him alone to deal with it himself. Unfortunately I can't since there's a bomb involved and there is a good chance that we're all gonna die.

Another famous, 'Jimmy got us into deep shit' adventure.

This. This is why we don't hang out. He's a hazard to my health.

So against my better judgement, I followed after. This is a large train, so I sure hope they're right about this car. Jimmy seemed so sure about it though so that's comforting at the very least. He is a genius detective, no matter how annoying he is about it.

Jimmy pulled away from the kids and walked over to me. I crouched down again so he could speak lower.

"Look at the briefcases and anyone that seems like they would be interested in the gold market." I nodded in understanding and walked down ahead of them, headed to the back.

Hm, by my count there's four people with briefcases. One was an old man who I honestly thought was dead for a moment, a thug looking dude, a woman, and a guy that looks like he might've been picked on in school.

He's typing away at his computer and he has a gold watch. He'd be my guess.

While the thug looks like he could be the one, I highly doubt it. He doesn't look like he's smart enough to know what to do with that information. I doubt it's the old man.

Dude looks like he's about to kneel over.

So it's either the dude or the woman. Jimmy seemed to have come up with a similar thought because he went up to the computer guy. "Can I play your computer game too?" He asked innocently.

The man immediately turned to him with a nasty scowl. "This is my work kid." He barked.

Jesus he just asked a question dude and he's a kid. Chill the fuck out.

Then again Jimmy's seventeen. He also has ulterior motives.

You don't know that though.

"No, it's a game. There's circles and squares." My brother pressed. Oh, he's going to start yelling. "Games don't gamble millions in cash!" The man bit out harshly.

I blinked before thinking about it. "That's not true. You can put money on any game." I shrugged, taking an empty seat across from him.

The man turned his glare to me. "Not legally." He shot back. He began to grind his teeth. I almost laughed at that.

An amused smile made its way onto my face and I looked at his computer then him. "And that is?" I antagonized.

He grit his teeth harder and two of the blood vessels in his head were popping.

"Then can I play the 'what's inside your briefcase' game?" Jimmy quickly cut in to prevent me from angering him further.

Of course there was no point considering he's just as good at pissing people off as me.

Must be hereditary.

Jimmy had grabbed the briefcase and the man quickly struck the top of his head. My brother began to walk away and I reached over, smacking the man stop his head.

"Real nice, picking on a kid." I snapped. He looked at me in utter disbelief before he began to rant.

I glanced back to see Jimmy talking with the woman who seems to be pretty nice. So is it this chump that has the bomb? "He shouldn't be bothering people. What happened to stranger danger?"

"So your solution is to hit him? Real nice." I retorted.

At this rate he's gonna need to need to go to the dentist about his teeth. As the thought crossed my mind he turned around in his seat and got on his knees to hit my brother again who was beside the woman. "Would you shut your trap kid?! It's a very stressful day for me!"

I stood and hit him on his head with more force, making him shout. "What is your problem?! If it's so stressful then don't do it on the train filled with people, dickhead!" I shouted.

No one hits the Dweeb but me! Richard gets a pass but that's about it.

He's my little brother and I'm not about to just sit around and let that happen.

"He's snooping and it's annoying! What are you even doing here anyway?" He demanded.

I scoffed, turning my nose away from him. "None of your damn business." I snipped at him. "It is when you all keep bothering me! Just go away-"

"Get your mitts off that!" Huh? We turned to see Jimmy and the thug. Jimmy was standing on the seats to reach the carry on, and the thug had stood up and grabbed him.

And his briefcase . . . is falling?!

What if that's the bomb?!

Jimmy shouted and lunged to catch it. Not trusting a child I rushed over and caught the briefcase in my hands. I froze, not breathing, but when it didn't explode relief filled me.

Oh thank god.

Really thought we were goners there for a moment. "Excellent catch Stella!" Amy, George, and Mitch rushed over to me excitedly.

Jimmy shakily watched towards me, eyeing the briefcase carefully. The cranky guy took the opportunity to hit my brother again. "You're still snooping!" He shouted.

My brother grumbled in pain and knocked into my legs. I didn't expect it so the briefcase slipped from my hands.

"AHG!" Jimmy and I shouted.

Jimmy covered his ears and shut his eyes tight and I just stared at the case, waiting for flames. The moment it hit the ground I winced, but it didn't explode.

At least not a fiery one that is.

A variety of underwear in different colors and styles scattered.

They're kind of lame. "Boxer shorts?" Jimmy murmured while the kids giggled. "You're kidding me." I grumbled, running a hand down my face. Sweat had formed when I thought we'd all die.

The thug looking guy turned a bright red and he glowered at the kids. "You disrespecting rugrats!"

He quickly shoved the four of them towards the door before delivering a strong kick, sending them flying out of the cart. "Get out of here!" He roared, slamming the door to the cart close.

Well that could have gone better. The thug turned to me, his glare true. "Are you with them?" He demanded.

I shook my head, taking an empty seat. "Nope. I don't like kids." I stated, pulling out my new phone.

Maybe I should call Jimmy. Or I could keep an eye on the three suspects. Unfortunately I don't have much to go on except with what Jimmy told me. And there's not a lot of time left either.

One of them is going to get us killed. I could steal all of them and throw them out. That would be the easiest.

I could take them no problem. The thug might be an issue but if I move fast it'll be fine. There's not much time.

Only one minute. If I'm going to do it, I'll have to do it now!

As I was about to get it, an announcement began. "Attention all passengers. Please remember that all cell phone calls should be made in the designated areas in the center train car. Calls placed in the passenger areas may disturb others. Thank you for respecting your fellow passengers and have a nice ride."

Cell phone call? This close to the time too. Ah.

The lady stood up from her seat and grabbed her briefcase and her cell phone. She then headed out to make the call.

A cell phone call. Could it be . . . a detonator?

But if I'm wrong then we're all going into pieces. I can throw out these two briefcases now.

But this is suspicious. Ah screw it! I quickly ran out after her.

Shit, shit, shit!

I rushed to the center car where she went. And to my surprise, Jimmy came running over as well.

We skidded to a stop in front of each other, across the woman had her phone pressed to her ear. "We're too late!" Jimmy's eyes went wide in horror.

No.

I don't want to die. Not yet. Not like this. I refuse to!

I grabbed Jimmy by his collar and lifted him up. "Get ready!" I shouted. He didn't seem bothered by my tactic, just used the dial on his shoe, the special ones the Doc gave him.

"HAA!" I shouted, chucking my brother across the hall. Jimmy twisted in the air before striking his leg out to kick the briefcase.

Because of the power packed behind it, it was sent flying out and breaking through the window. I grabbed the woman and threw her down just as it exploded and the train shook violently for a moment, but remained in one piece.

I let out a breath of relief. "Safe."

Jimmy wiped the sweat from his brow, standing up ."Just in time though." He smiled.

I scoffed, standing and placing a hand on my hip. "Barely." He just chuckled at me. "What kind of kid are you? Who are you two?" The woman asked, bewildered by what just happened.

Hm? Jimmy and I glanced over at her and he smirked. "The detective kind. Siblings at that. Conan and Stella's the name." He turned his confident smile to me, which surprised me.

Did . . . did he just call me a detective? I'm not a detective. I'm not smart enough to do any of it.

But we did work well together just now, didn't we.

Huh? I turned to see Rachel storming over. She plucked Jimmy up by his collar and shot both of us a look as she groaned in frustration. "Please tell me you two had nothing to do with that blast."

I threw my hands behind my head. "What blast?" I asked, playing dumb. Rachel was not amused.

Jimmy laughed nervously, still looking at the woman. "Though I'm still a grade school student." Rachel looked at him suspiciously then back to me.

I jabbed my thumb at the woman. "We should probably call the police."

~

"Did you really solve that case?!" Harley asked excitedly. I groaned, using my shoulder to hold the phone to my ear as I was helping Rachel make dinner.

We missed the wedding yesterday, but the business woman and the shady crooks were caught and put in jail.

Of course this made it on the news and with the woman's report, I was the one who saved her.

Nobody believed that Jimmy, in the form he's in, helped whatsoever, so my name was spread in the news.

Richard loved that. Jealous old man that he is. "No, I just happened to hear something and threw it out. You know I'm not good at this stuff."

I handed Rachel the mixture and she began to batter the shrimp. She looked over at me and smiled lightly.

"Give yourself more credit. I know you, so I know you're capable of that. We should work on a case together! Speaking of which, when do you think you'll come down? It's been over a month."

It has been a while since I've visited. Since Jimmy turned into a kid. "I'm still working on something. But . . . I'll probably come down in a couple weeks." I said the last part softly, cheeks heating.

Valentine's day is coming up soon. I'd . . . I'd like to see him on it.

Rachel's face lit up with interest at my words and I shot her an annoyed look. Nosey girl.

"That would be cool. Just let me know, we'll have a day together, like we used to."

Valentine's day with Harley. A soft smile relaxed me. "Yeah, sounds like a plan. I gotta let you go, talk to you later Harley."

"See ya Stells."

I hung up the phone and stared at it a bit. I wonder if he'd notice the day I picked. "Soooo. Are you going to make him any chocolate." Rachel asked teasingly.

I glowered at her briefly before looking away. "Maybe." I mumbled lowly. I had hoped low enough that she couldn't hear, but she did.

She let out a happy squeal and linked her arm with mine. "You're so cute when you're bashful." She cooed, leaning into me. I rolled my eyes but didn't push her away.

Despite everything, she's still my friend. Second only to Harley himself. And I didn't dislike the closeness.

Sometimes this is nice. So I didn't make a smart ass remark, only leaned on her briefly before setting back to work.

Mentally counting down the days to Valentines Day.