CHAPTER THREE:
"BETRAYAL & A ROOKIE MISTAKE"
That night, Light stayed up late to finish up some work he had been working on for a private matter. He was at his work station in the living room wearing only a pair of black jockey's. Since training to become a police officer, he had to learn to take better care of himself and he began to lift weights. For five months straight, he went to gym and developed and toned his body to fantastic shape.
He had always been very thin when he was a kid and even in high school. Studying took up most of his time, but he found the motivation to re-invent himself when he joined the police force. Kira was going to rule the world one day and the master of the world had to look the part. And, of course, it also helped him in his police foundations courses.
Bored, he swivelled in his chair and crossed one leg over the other. He stared out into the open room, thinking off nothing in particular. He wanted to clear his mind of all his troubles. But one thing kept cropping up, and it had to do with something started from last night with Misa. He felt frustrated, making love to Misa didn't excite him. And yet, he didn't know what he wanted. He didn't think there was a term for what he was feeling and he had been unable to get "excited" for days.
In normalcy, he was above average. And he had lost his virginity to a non-virgin, although he had lied to Misa when she asked if he had been with any other women. On one hand she was a jealous woman, on the other, he was Kira, and Kira was second to no-one—in to relations of love or to the average person. Misa had been around, and she wasn't shy about admitting it. She was an actress and sometimes she had to "put out" to get a part, and she said was okay with that, but he refused to be a charity case.
Stress often played a major role in sexual frustration. Was his job really that stressful? Was it the underline cause of why he couldn't enjoy the pleasure of a woman? One thing for sure, Misa had tried the other night, twice. And to had insult to injury, she had said that it eventually happens to every man and it wasn't anything to worry about.
Perhaps I'm just not attracted to Misa because she doesn't stimulate me intellectually? Physically, she is beautiful. But I need something more. Maybe he needed a little more imagination? Videos? Exotic literature? Maybe Misa wasn't right for him? She did force herself on him, entering his world when she was given a Death Note.
Intelligence stimulated him more, but Kiyomi Takada was the only one that fit that bill.
But Misa was like some crazy vixen who trapped men for a living. As along as she knew that he was Kira and had the Death Note, his life was literally hanging in the balance. Misa was an unstable woman, and she was the type who would flip out on a whim if he made her mad to jealous. So, when he was with her, he had walk on egg shells. What if she decided to get smart and kill him and then became Kira herself?
He chuckled to himself. The thought was ludicrous.
He shook his head. What in the world was he thinking? Think about changing the world for the better—Kira's world, he told himself, and stop thinking about things of distraction. Once your world is in place, then you can think about fulfilling your human desires.
Suddenly, he got a call on his computer, which was relayed by his cell phone that was on was on the work desk, and answered the call, putting an earbud in his right ear. The call wasn't for L, but for Light: "Yagami, here."
The caller was from dispatch at the NPA, and the female dispatcher asked if he would be willing to speak to the new superintendent in charge of his father's old precinct on a work related matter even though he didn't directly work for the NPA anymore. He accepted, and the call went through.
"Detective Yagami, sorry to get you up at such a late hour, can we speak?" Light told the chief he hadn't gone to bed yet, and to continue. "Good," the Superintendent said. "I'm familiar with your expertise and work within the Intelligence Bureau, and at the moment, we need a person like you to substitute for a man who has Gone Critical." Gone Critical was code for someone who had a heart attack. "We don't believe it was Kira's fault, just bad food choices. He'll be okay, but he's in hospital at the moment. We need you to take his place."
Light asked what the job entailed and the Superintendent informed him it was simple video surveillance work for a suspected Yukaza hideout near a closed down matinee theatre, but it was in a bad part of town. A man was currently there in a surveillance van, everyone worked in pairs for safety. The Superintendent said two detective's would pick him up and take him if needed. It was simple job, just listen for any activity.
Tedious and boring, Light thought. But he couldn't refuse. It would look bad.
"When should I expect a car?" He asked the names of the agents for identification purposes only. The detective's names who would be picking him up were naked Sai and Hyde.
"Within fifteen minutes," the Superintendent said. He thanked Light, and the call ended.
Light got out of his chair. There was no time for his problem right now, he had work to do.
Getting dressed, Misa asked him where he was going. Light explained that he was joining another officer on a simple video surveillance job, but he didn't know how long he would be.
After he dressed in all black, he put on his watch, holstered his gun and strapped his baton to his inner thigh inside his pants—although he doubt he would need either of them—and left the apartment to wait at street level for his ride.
As he walked down the steps of his apartment complex to street level, his cell phone dinged. He immediately took it out of his pocket and checked it, thinking it may be from one the detective's the superintendent was sending, like a sent text like a taxi would send a customer to say they were around the corner.
Instead, it was from Misa. It was a video file with the text message: "You haven't been interested in me lately, so maybe this will "stimulate" you…" and to punctuate the text, she added a emoji sticking out its tongue out. He didn't have time for her jokes, but when he got to street level, he had a moment as the car hadn't arrived yet, so he played the small clip.
The video was of two men engaging in coitus. Within moments, he stopped it. "I'll kill her, I'll bloody kill her!"
An unmarked dark Sedan pulled up to the curb, they gave their names, and Light got in the back. The man called Sai was a squirrelly, thin looking guy, and Hyde, was a broad shouldered, hefty-larger man. As the car pulled out from the curb, he asked, "I'm told I'm partnering with a man conducting video surveillance to an entrance to a new Yukaza hideout, correct?" to confirm.
"It's actually a drug raid," Hyde said, he was driving.
"Wait! This doesn't fit the information I was told," Light voice elevated.
"New information Superintendent Tatami of the NPA wanted us to relay. It's a double-header. But you'll still be doing video surveillance, helping out our man in the van to coordinate SAT (Special Assault Team) and the other Field Teams. They're all ready to go, waiting on you. Your police profile says you can do that at least that, right?"
"And what does that supposed to mean?"
Sai, who sat in the passenger seat, looked back with an amused smirk, and waved off the comment. "Don't worry about Hyde. He's just a little disgruntled that he wasn't picked for this job even though he has more experience. But the Superintendent wanted you specifically, Yagami. Your experience in the Kira case is highly regarded, even if the NPA has to publicly disavow the investigation and its members."
That put Light at ease. For a moment, he felt he had been purposely fed misinformation.
As they drove him to the site, he thought about the suspicious death of KF4 after he gave L information that a Yukaza insider may have had information on the real identity of Kira. Then, if not in relation to it, he got a call to work video surveillance regarding a Yukaza drug/new hideout raid. He didn't believe in coincidences, but he did believe in correlations. It wasn't a secret that he was working on the Kira Case.
He made sure his GPS locator was activate on his phone before he got to the site. The Sedan pulled up to an unmarked dark-coloured moving van. Light shook his head, an unmarked van in a dilapidated place like this was so cliche, the place looked more like a battle zone for gang wars, he thought. The van just screamed police.
Getting out, he immediately noticed the abandoned matinee theatre to his right, and with his keen eyes, he observed a lot of SWAT and others teams all ready to go, dressed in black vests and armed to the teeth with semi-automatics. With that much firepower, they were expecting a possible gangland shootout. This was much more than he bargained for and he thought maybe it wasn't a good idea to agree to come.
But it was the Superintendent of the NPA that requested him personally and he needed to prove himself outside the Kira Case for people to request him more often. It would also increase his reputation as a good investigator. He needed a change of venue, the Kira Case was getting stifling, and this provided it.
Once out of the car, Hyde rapped on the back doors of the van, then it was opened by a dark-haired man in completely black attire, similar to Light, revealing a sophisticated workup of surveillance equipment with banks of monitors and other listening devices inside behind him. The man looked at the two detectives, but didn't speak as if confused. He had headphones on and he looked like a man completely focused in his work. Then things clicked in. "You, Yagami?"
"Yes," Light said, as he took the hand of the man and stepped in the van. "Where do you need me?"
"The name's Ito, you'll be working surveillance with me," the man said, shaking Light's hand. "I trust you're already familiar with all this equipment?" Light nodded. He felt like the man was testing him like a rookie. He was arrogant but direct. "Good! Enough with the small talk. Let's get cracking." He plopped his butt onto a swivel chair in front of some monitors. "Our SAT's are already stationed around the corner of the building and the IED/explosives/Drug Field Teams with sniffer dogs are on stand-by. They seem to already have the scent, so we know there are drugs in the old matinee. We never knew about this place until we got a very reliable tip. We know factions of the Yukaza have staked this territory and as you saw when you pulled up, it looks like a war zone out there. So, be prepared for gunfire. Got your weapon?"
Light nodded. He sat down on the opposite chair with its separate bank of monitors. He was familiar with all the control boards, so he didn't need anything explained to him. This was his chance to prove to himself outside the Kira Case. He had always wanted to be a cop like his father long before he acquired the Death Note, now he could put everything he learned to the test.
Power was everything, and influence and reputation were equally important in obtaining that power. He had to climb the ladder and get experience. The more people he impressed, the more people down the road would see that Kira had all their best interests at heart. He was ready to test his mental mantle here.
He looked at the two detectives who had driven him here and wondered why they were still here. They had done their job, neither one of them were a part of this operation as far as he was aware. And if they were, standing out in the open was just making themselves targets. They should either be in or out and the van rear doors closed.
Light slipped on the headphones, but he moment he did, he suddenly heard blood-curdling screams and the sound of rapid-fire. "It's a trap! Look out!" he heard one male panicked voice, but his shouting was soon cut off. There was a series of gun fire, and it lasted for about a minute, and then nothing. Dead silence. No chatter, no gun-fire—nothing!
Ito demanded reports. "SAT Team 1—respond? SAT Team 2—respond? Field Team 1—respond? Field Team 2—respond? Damn it! Anyone, if you're alive—respond?" he demanded. He turned in his chair, "Light, this is—" and then he gasped. Suddenly reaching for his own gun, he was shot in the upper chest by Hyde.
Light rolled back and fell out of his chair—it reminded him of the time he first met Ryuk—and his hands instinctively went for his own gun in its holster under his left arm. Hyde pointed his gun directly at Light, and Light halted, putting his hands up. He didn't beg for his life, Light didn't say anything. Hyde waved his gun for Light to depart the van. Now Sai was also brandishing a gun.
Had it been a set up from the very start? The Yukaza had just wiped out two SWAT and Field teams. Were Sai and Hyde dirty cops or infiltrators? All this raced in Light's mind within seconds.
Light departed the van and then was pushed to the ground by Sai.
"You're the sole survivor, pretty-boy," the small man said, and then kicked Light in side of the arm. Light knew how to take a punch, he had learned it in defence training. But kicks were harder. Sai then used his foot again to shove Light end over end. Hyde towered Sai by a good two feet and his chest was twice as broad, but the little man tried to overcompensate by acting tough.
Sai grabbed Light's gun that was holstered under his arm and threw it away. "You're coming with us, Yagami. The boss wanted a member of the NPA, he doesn't care who. He wants to know all your secrets, every little tidbit. You see, Kira murdering criminals is one thing, but the Yukaza still flourishes in underground drug markets and Nazareth has been dispatched to keep it that way."
Nazareth…
Light had heard that name before. It had come up in a briefing. With items regarding Kira, the task force also had to sift through reports that directly and indirectly involved their immediate focus, to form correlations, and to pinpoint possible targets. The name Nazareth was an alias used by someone within the Yukaza, so the task force had no idea who he really was. But before he could recall any prevalent information, Sai kicked him in the ribs.
Light folded over and grit his teeth in pain.
Hyde put a hand on Sai's shoulder. "Enough, our orders were to bring in him in alive," he said directly.
Light didn't have his gun, but he wasn't defenceless. He ripped open the pants of his left inner thigh and grabbed his baton. Rolling to his feet, with a press of button, he telescoped it fully to its full two-and-half-feet, and whacked the gun out of Sai's hand, and then used it like a staff to hit the little man in the side of the arm. And eye for an eye.
His training at police foundations had also made his body more flexible, so after Sai was down, he performed a leg sweep to Hyde, and the big guy came crashing down on his back like a bag of wet cement. Light also disarmed him, took his gun, pointed and then fired without hesitation, blasting a hole through the man's head. "That was for killing Ito!" Even though Light had only just meant the man a minute before, he felt a sense of revenge to give Ito justice. Without the Death Note, it was the best he could do.
"You son of a bitch!" Sai shouted.
Sai jumped to his feet, charged, and barrelled into Light's stomach. The two clawed at each other and fought on the ground. For such a little man, the toughness he portrayed wasn't an act, Light soon learned. Sai needed to overcompensate for his shorter statue, but his body was muscular, Light took note, as they both fought for supremacy. Light managed to push the man off him and rolled away, retrieving his baton. But Sai had also retrieved his weapon and fired off a few shots at Light.
Ducking behind the surveillance van, Light took a moment. His heart was beating fast and he was panting from the sudden fight. He decided that he had no choice but to use the piece of the Death Note stashed in his watch. Sai had to die, or he would die. Once the man was dead, Light would take the van out of here.
He managed to yank twice on the pin of his watch that would release the hidden compartment with the Death Note piece, when a shot bounced off the corner of the van where Light was standing, breaking his concentration. The compartment would only open after three consecutive quick pulls. He had only managed to do two before stopping.
Sai started to come around the corner. Light slammed the baton on the corner of the open van door, if only to frighten the man. Then he pushed the van door back, slamming it shut, in an attempt to knock Sai off guard. But Sai wasn't there. Neither did he try to jump into the van. Suddenly, the other door came to whack Light in the shoulder and it made him drop the baton. Light knew he had just made a rookie mistake. Never get cocky and go searching for your enemy, especially with so many unknown variables.
Sai pointed his gun at Light, he was panting too. Light raised his arms in the universal gesture of surrender.
"Nice moves, kid, but in the end, it all comes down to experience." Sai grunted. "Man, you are tall. You killed my friend, you bastard, so, I'm going to pay you back a thousand fold!"
Sai kicked Light in the crotch. In reaction, Light folded over. This brought him down to a suitable height for Sai to launch his final attack. It was then Sai cold-cocked Light in the side of the head with his gun and Light collapsed to the ground.
Light's mind went foggy.
"Sweet dreams, rookie…"
Sai kicked him in the head to finish him off and it was lights out for Light.
To be continued...