A/N: This is a small tribute to Aiber, who doesn't seem to get much love around here. This is my first one-shot, and my first attempt using a third-person, present-tense style.
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note.
No Ordinary Con Man
"I'm Aiber, professional con artist. Nice to meet you."
Thierry Morrello is an expert when it comes to languages, psychology, and personality transformation. He possesses the skills to blend into all levels of society, and can always forge a strong bond with his target. Aiber is a seasoned criminal; a pro only known in the underworld.
These are L's words, straight from the horse's mouth.
L is using him to "get close" to the enemy and Aiber does not mind. L needs him. Aiber obeys. But he is also willing to take it one step further.
"Since Matsuda-san no longer exists… do you want to take over as Misa-san's manager, Aiber?"
"No, I have my own plans."
"Okay, then the new manager will be Mogi-san…"
L does not question him. He doesn't need to. Aiber knows that L can trust him, simply because Aiber trusts him. As a general rule, con artists do not trust anyone.
To hell with trust.
Then again, Aiber is no ordinary con man.
To hell with ordinary.
"Ryuzaki, I was able to contact the eight indirectly and they are starting to trust me, though not yet completely. I'll be coming back to Japan tomorrow."
"You sure work fast, Aiber."
"At this rate, they'll soon be asking me for my opinion and wanting to meet."
There is only dead silence on the other end of the line as the Japanese detectives ponder why Aiber is going to such extraordinary lengths, why he is going beyond the call of duty.
"Aiber… showing yourself before them is very dangerous. Please be careful."
When L does not put up a fight, Aiber knows that L understands. Besides, the French are a very persistent people.
"I understand. But you've saved me more than once, L. And anyway, with the evidence you have on me, I'm looking at a life behind bars. This is a lot more fun than that. One reason I can't quit being a con man is the thrill of it."
As soon as the words leave his mouth, Aiber smirks. He swings his legs over his desk, lifts his hand and swirls the crystalline, tawny liquid within his afternoon glass.
The thrill, the lust.
For Aiber, infiltration is synonymous with seduction.
There is nothing more empowering or satisfying than the hunt. He melts, he purrs, he charms, he lures them in with his words and smiles. It does not hurt that he is as beautiful as Adonis, as his wife tells him.
And when it is all over, Aiber vanishes, without a trace, leaving nothing behind but lighter wallets.
"Oh yeah, I've gotten 5 million dollars off them so far, but is it okay if I start thinking up a way to hand over a fake L and collect another 10 million?" Aiber adds as an afterthought. It is a good idea to keep up pretences. The men at the Japanese Task Force headquarters are expecting a hardened con artist, not a soft sentimentalist.
Yet, to a certain extent, that is exactly what he is.
Aiber considers himself a somewhat honorable man. He cheats only his targets, never his family; he steals money, but never human lives. His tongue is the only weapon he needs, and he sticks to his vows like glue. The only exception he makes is when Wedy forces a gun on him after Higuchi shoots Soichiro. Mr. Yagami is one of the few men that Aiber truly admires.
His son, on the other hand…
Aiber is damn wary of Light Yagami.
It is only natural that he, too, believes that Light is Kira. L is never wrong. As soon as Higuchi dies after being apprehended, the detective's suspicions skyrocket once more. Somehow, Kira is still out there, killing criminals. L takes Aiber and Wedy to one side, and tells them to pack their things and get away to safety. The life has gone out of L's eyes, and there is only desperation.
Wedy breaks down and screams. Aiber merely stares.
"He needs our names," Aiber reminds him, gripping the younger man by his skeletal shoulders.
L's voice is strangely calm as he tells them about the Shinigami Eyes. Wedy fumbles through her pockets for a cigarette, desperate for what could possibly be her very last smoke, and Aiber lets out a string of curses. Panic rises in his chest, and it feels damn good to unleash verbal hell. To the untrained ear, his raw words sound like refined French poetry.
"Well, fuck," Wedy says bluntly, a trail of smoke snaking upwards from her scarlet lips.
L's face is now unreadable, and Aiber is intrigued. He can't help but ask, "Are you afraid, L?"
"I am as afraid of death as the next person, Aiber. I am, after all, human."
But he is no ordinary human. He is the world's three greatest detectives. Aiber wholeheartedly believes that L will find a way to thwart even death.
He does not.
L is dead, Watari is dead, Wedy fails to return his daily phone call on the tenth of January and Aiber is on his deathbed, all because no one else believed in L but them. This is why Aiber does not blame L. L failed nobody. Everybody failed him.
The doctors say liver cancer.
Aiber says bullshit, and reaches for the merlot.
The Japanese Task Force members send their condolences in the form of flowers. Light Yagami's signature is the largest on the accompanying card.
Light – Kira – is the ultimate con artist. Aiber is almost jealous.
He grits his teeth, rips it up, he rips everything up, and Thierry Morrello buries his head in the arms of his wife and son. His double life has now come to an end. He has no regrets, whatsoever. When his eyes flutter shut, he forces into his mind Light Yagami's face. Aiber is certain that Kira is the last thing L had seen before his heart stopped beating. He wants to share in L's unspoken victory as well.
Aiber blinks, his guts twist, and he struggles to escape the light at the end of the tunnel.
He succeeds.
On the seventh of April, Thierry Morrello, along with his alter ego, Aiber, is vanquished to the darkness.
A/N: Several lines were taken straight from Volumes 5 and 7.
I hope you liked that; feedback would be awesome. (: