Dexter

'NO WAR KIRA!' - It took me a week of planning.

I needed to send Kira a message, to let him know he's not welcome here. But without knowing who he is, I needed to make it public, so that everyone in Miami would hear it. And at the same time, I had to make sure that only Kira would know its from me, or else everyone would know that the Bay Harbour Butcher is definitely still alive.

Choosing the location was easy, anywhere in plain sight was perfect, but for fun, I choose a butcher shop.

Next, to make sure that the message isn't publicly linked back to the Butcher, I had to think about my usual M.O. and everything about Harry taught me about not getting caught…and turn it on its head.

The front window of the butcher shop is smashed. A few loose threads from clothing hang carelessly from the shards. The cash has been stolen from the register. The entire scene is a carefully painted portrait of a group of Kira protestors speaking their minds.

Though the lack of subtlety is nothing compared to the message written on the length of street in front of the butcher shop, written in big read letters - 'NO WAR KIRA!'.

The message its self is only about 10% blood, and even that is only cow blood. The rest is spray paint, another clue that will link the setting to simple vigilantes. Simple as in regular people I mean, as in not me.

The slogan itself is fittingly crude, but it's still on every television news report in the morning mere hours after its discovered.

"No war Kira!" says the reporter on Rita's TV, 'A call to end the violence, or something more sinister? We go to our reporter at the scene, Melissa Hill, for more."

"Thank you Tom. This grim message behind was found just after six this morning out the front of a butcher shop, and now police are only just beginning to arrive on the scene. While I'm told the blood experts have not yet been called, some civilian 'investigating' has been conducted on the scene by ordinary people before authorities were able to isolate the area. What they were able to find, was that the message seems to be composed entirely of spray-paint. Of course, such speculation wont be verified until an official investigation has commenced, but in the meantime, it seems that the people of Miami are standing up for their safety in the presence of Kira. Back to you Tom."

"Thank you Melissa. But is it possible that this is work of the Bay Harbour Butcher, trying to send some sort of secret message to Kira, rather than just the citizens of Miami?"

"Yes, yes it is, and it seems that much of Miami agrees with you, Tom. As you can see…" says the reporter gesturing to the right, the camera following her arm to revealing a small crowd of what looks like protestors, "…Supporters of the Butcher are already on the scene declaring that this is a message from the Butcher himself telling him to leave us alone."

As I squint closer at the screen I can make out the signs the people are carrying. They say things like 'Butcher Kill Kira', 'Back off Kira', and my personal phrase, 'No War Kira'. Definitely not protestors.

"But of course, these are just personal opinions, and journalistically speaking they have no…excuse me but if I'm not mistaken that's Light Reynolds, better known as L getting out of that car that's just pulled up."

Of course that's not his real name. He's just using some stupid westernization of it which he's already revealed to Miami Metro..

"Excuse me, L!" she calls out as she runs over to him.

"Mr Reynolds" she says slightly breathless, "a few questions please? How much closer has coming to Miami brought you to catching Kira? Do you really believe the Butcher is still alive? Why did finally decided to make your identity known to the public? What is your intuition as the greatest detective on Earth telling you about this message?" she says without seeming to stop for air.

Someone from my cheer squad yells from off-screen "It's from the Butcher! He's gonna take Kira down!" The crowd cheers in agreement.

"I'm afraid I agree with your audience." says L. "It is my belief that this is the Bay Harbour Butcher's attempt to send Kira a message of war. So to answer your other questions, yes, I firmly believe that the Butcher is still alive and killing, and that there's proof written all over that sidewalk. As for why I'm revealing my identity, I believed that bringing as much publicity to this case as possible would bring the Butcher out of hiding. And its seems I was right. Exposing my true name was a small price to pay to take this investigation to the next level."

The rest of the interview is just white noise to me. All I can think is that I've been played before the first move was even made. L isn't an on the record cop, he doesn't have to worry about budgets or public image, so he cant stir the public into a panic if its in the best interests of his investigation. When he announced his arrival and intentions in Miami, the entire city became paranoid, and with hundreds of thousands of people looking out for a sign of the Butcher or Kira, there is no signal so subtle that it can be ignored by almost everyone. L essentially turned the entire city into his watchdogs.

And it now dawns on me. Not only to I have to find and stop Kira before he does the same to me, I have to convince the world's greatest detective and an entire city that I'm not real…again. Neither an easy task. Kira will likely retaliate to my message soon, finding and killing him should be my next priority. I can worry about fooling L and his task force when its all over. It all seems impossible, but its my only option.

The TV suddenly shuts off, snapping me back to reality. Rita's standing behind me with the remote in her hand, with a look that I imagine is concern for her children.

"Is everything okay Rita?"

"No, everything's not okay. Two of the world's worst criminals are here in Miami. I'm scared for my children's safety, Dexter."

"Why? They both only go after bad people. I don't think Astor and Cody have committed any murders lately."

"That's not the point. They say that Kira and the Butcher are going to war, if that's true then everyone's in danger. I can't let either of those monsters hurt my family."

She's right. When there's a war, innocent people are hurt in the cross fire. Astor and Cody are more than just a part of my mask now. It would be wrong to let them suffer, more wrong than if it were another child. If I could feel, this would be what family feels like. If Kira figures out who I am first, he could use Rita and the kids to get to me. Even if he doesn't Kira has killed innocents before, and so everyone is at risk.

"Rita, let's just sit down and work out a way to protect ourselves. We should start by"

Beep beep. Beep beep.

It's my phone. "Dexter you there? It's Angel."

"Yeah I'm here. This about the butcher shop?"

"You got it. You know where it is?"

"Yeah."

"Good, get over here as soon as possible."

"Listen…Rita…"

"You've been called in. It's fine, go. Come by when your finished and we'll work it out. I'll tell the kids you said hi when they're done getting ready for school."

"Sure, tell them I said I'll bring donuts."

***

Driving to the scene, I think about how funny it is. A few weeks ago, if anything Kira related made the news it was either used to portray him in a positive light, or not mentioned at all. Now it seems that his subtracters are finally raising there voices. I don't know what separates me from L, but it seems The Butcher has a large fan base. Maybe it's the blood, while L would lock him up, Kira and I will be going for each others throats. People are gluttons for spectacle, and this showdown must seem very grand to them. Or maybe they're hoping we'll somehow take each other out, after all, isn't evil suppose to sew the seeds of its own destruction? Apart from Kira supporters, Butcher supporters, and those who would see us both lose, I imagine there's a fourth party, those who would see us kiss and make up, and go on to take over the world together. I hope they don't find their voice any time soon

***

The scene of my message is almost unrecognisable. The crowd of people here to see it is so large, you'd think a celebrity is making an appearance. As I get closer, it seems I'm right, the great detective L is on the scene. People are yelling to him from behind the yellow tape, mostly to drop the search for me and Kira, but a few people are shouting him praises. One blonde Japanese girl is even holding a notebook, as though maybe she wants his autograph. Even if they are against me, it's nice to know that they entire world hasn't gone out of its mind, that some people still support justice.

"Ah you're. Dexter isn't it" says L.

"Yeah, that's right. So this is the famous bloody message everyone is talking about."

"Apparently not. It seems as though the message was written entirely with spray paint. The colour, consistency and smell all seem to point that way. But we'd still like you to investigate the message, see if you can find any trace elements of real blood."

"Will do."

"Now if you can also…damn it! Sergeant Batista! I made it your duty to see that no civilians cross this police line! We can't risk them contaminating my crime scene!' yells L as he runs over to Angel, who helps two burly cops drag the same blonde Japanese woman back behind the yellow tape.

"What a piece of work! Who the fuck does that L guy think he is?" says Deb arriving with Masuka. "He gives us shitty little jobs like crowd control, and he can't even bring his almighty team to do anything, fuck!"

"Whoa, chill Morgan. Your just upset cause if Lundy was here he'd have you working the front lines."

"Can it, Vince. If Lundy was here…"

"Blood."

"What's that Dex?"

"I found blood. Just some trace elements. Probably cow blood given the butcher shop, but it can't hurt to test it."

"Whoa, that was fast. Don't make the rest of us forensics look so bad." scowls Masuka.

Well, I knew where to look.

"This'll show L whose got the better cops. Hey L! We found…" Deb begins to yell.

But she is cut off by the screaming crowd. The people began to flow out from the middle of the throng as fast as they can, heading in ever direction. As the mass becomes clearer, Miami Metro and L move closer and we can see what the crowd is running from. A dead body.

"Everybody get back!" yells Angel, who gets to the body first. He kneels down and rests his fingers on the victim's neck. "No pulse." he announces.

He doesn't say it, but we're all thinking it. Heart attack.

"Sergeant Batista," says L, "with all do respect this is my crime scene!"

"With all do respect, L…Light," retaliates Angel, "you came here to work with our department. You don't command us, we work together or not at all."

L takes a deep breath. "Fine. Your scene sergeant. I agree, we need to work together on this. I'll need to speak to your lieutenant when she gets back from her leave to decide how to better integrate our resources."

"Fine. Thank you." says Angel relieved. "Okay people, lets get this body roped off too, we now have two crime scenes. Anyone who was already working on the message, stay there. Anyone who has not yet received orders you will be investigating our body."

"Actually sergeant, I've already found some blood on the message."

"Great work, Dexter. Get that back to the lab immediately, we want these solved as soon as possible."

"Yes sir."

****

There's no need to run any tests on the blood I found. I put it there, just simple cow's blood from the butcher shop, all I have to do is right up a convincing report. The rest of my time back at the station is precious, I can use it to plan my next move against Kira.

Beep beep. Beep beep.

God damn it.

"Hello?"

"Dexter, it's Rita."

"Hey, how are you?"

"I'm worried Dexter. I was watching the news. They were talking about that man who had a heart attack today. I know we agreed to decide together on how to keep the kids safe, but I've already made a decision. We're going out of town, we'll be staying with my mother until this thing is over."

"Oh…okay. That's fine… but I thought you hated your mother?"

"She called me Dexter. She offered to help protect my family and it seemed like the best option. I could use a lift to the airport tonight though."

"Yeah okay. I'll see if I can get off work early, you know, beat the rush. Don't know if I'll have much luck though."

"It's ok. The children are already packing. We'll be ready and waiting here when you arrive."

"Okay bye…I love you."

I can feel my dark passenger cringe when I say that.

"All right everyone, we have an ID on our heart attack victim." comes Angel's voice as he enters Miami Metro. Back already? I must have spent too much time making my report look convincing.

"Arthur Symons. Wanted for killing a clerk in a liquor store robbery. Kira is definitely our prime suspect. Dexter?" says angel towards my lab, "find anything in that blood yet?"

"Uh yeah. Cows blood, most likely from the butcher shop. Seems to point to vandals."

"I agree," says L, "but the Butcher would want us to think that. Of course that doesn't rule out vandals, either option is possible. I would like to speak with LaGuerta again before we agree on which path to follow. Also, I noticed on the way back to the station many of you on the phone with loved ones. A long time ago the original Kira task force was presented with an opportunity, to quit the investigation to protect themselves and they're families, without the possibility of losing their jobs. I will see to it that this same opportunity is presented to all members of Miami Metro."

Much of the station seems relieved by this announcement.

"L, I know this isn't a good time but my girlfriend called, she' taking her kids out of town and…"

"Whatever you need to do, then do it Dexter."

"Thanks, and don't worry, I'm staying here on this case. I wanna catch these sons of bitches."

***

I told Rita I'd get there early, we'd beat the rush together. But it seems as though Miami has started acting like you'd expect regular human beings to act. The roads are blocked in every direction, out of town, towards the airport, completely unmoving. I imagine the news tomorrow will mention an influx of American boats to Cuba. And here I am, trapped in a family sedan with a worried girlfriend and to frightened children in the back.

"Where are we going mommy?" says Cody.

"I told you sweetie, we're going to stay with grandma for a little while."

"But we don't like grandma." says Astor.

"I know you don't but we're just going somewhere safe, okay?"

"What about Dexter?" asks Cody.

"Me? I'm going to stay here, and help catch the bad men, make sure they can't hurt you little man!"

"Yay! Dexter's my new superhero!"

"I thought Kira and the Butcher only hurt bad people." Astor says.

"Well that's true. But we just want to make sure good people like the two of you aren't hurt by accident."

Rita smiles and me, then sighs and slumps back into her seat. "This traffic is unbelievable., even with…you know what happening. We literally haven't moved in fifteen minutes!"

"Well we can't do much else but wait at the moment."

Rita looks at me, as though she is about to give a response, but she is cut off by a loud buzzing coming from nearby.

"Is that an airplane?" she asks. "

"Sure sounds like it, but we're still nowhere near the airport. And it would have to be flying pretty low to make that kind of sound."

Looking out my driver's window, I can see it. A small passenger plane, about big enough to carry ten people is flying so low that it seems to be on the ground, headed straight for the highway. As it gets closer, it dawns on me, it isn't going to stop. Apparently it's dawning on others as well as screams come from the cars ahead of us and I can make out the figures of people trying to scramble from their vehicles.

It's too late for some of them, as the plane collides with the river of cars. The explosion deafens the screams and blinds me for a moment. When I open my eyes all I can see is the fire lighting up the twilight sky ahead, as though the sun is setting again.

"We aren't safe anywhere, are we?" says Rita.

***

It's past three in the morning by the time we fight the traffic back into Miami and back to Rita's place. The kids are already asleep when I drop them off.

"Goodnight Rita, stay safe."

"Thanks Dex, you too.

As I hit the road again, I am not heading back towards my apartment, but back to Miami Metro. The long drive back gave us plenty of time to listen to the radio, and once again every station is playing the same story. At eleven am this morning, three prisoners broke out of a local penitentiary by hiding in a laundry truck. Police have not yet been reached for comment, but it is believe that they used the hysteria following the Butcher's message and the heart attack victim to elude capture. By six pm, they had made their way to a small dirt strip airport. A pilot, Seth Palmer, met them there and took off in a light aircraft, where they flew it towards Miami Airport, crashing it approximately twenty minuets drive away onto the road that was filled with people trying to flee the city. Police are scarce at the moment, some citing a lack of sleep from the events of the last day, while other are being used to handle the riots that are breaking out. What few officers that could be spared have isolated the area, and are not reporting what they have found in the wreckage.

Luckily for me, Deb was one of those officers.

"It's a message bro." she said when she called me on the way back. "It's from Kira, its' fucking gotta be. 'You Had Your Chance'. It's spelled out with blood on the floor of the wreckage. Looks like they killed one another and wrote it. They were being manipulated by Kira somehow."

I'm going back to the station to run a search on the missing link, Seth Palmer. The prisoners all had criminal records, but Palmer, his name doesn't ring a bell. I need to know if Kira's killed an innocent man. And if palmer is guilty of some crime, I can find out how Kira learnt about it to take a step closer to uncovering who he is.

Breaking into work is easy, this isn't the first time I've done it to get info on a kill. I hit the lights, and it reveals something I didn't expect to see.

"Maria?"

"Dexter? What are you doing here?" says the lieutenant, looking shaken to the core.

"Me?…What about you? Aren't you supposed to be sick?"

"I haven't been sleeping lately. I came in…to work… I thought it might help take my mind off things."

I always feel relieved when someone says something that makes them sound crazy.

"What could you possible need to take your mind off that it would make you act…like this?"

"Dexter…what has L told you about what his team found out about Kira so far?"

"Nothing, we've just been working the butcher case, L seems to think if we catch one, we'll catch the other, even if they are fighting."

"Well, Kira must kill with supernatural powers, mustn't he? It's the only way what he does is possible, right?"

"I suppose. I never really thought about it."

"Right, well Soichiro, L's father, I was speaking to them and L told him to fill me in on everything, so he did. What he told me, has changed what I thought I knew about the world. Dexter, there are supernatural beings at work in this case."

"Supernatural forces? You mean like Moloch the Corruptor or something?'

"Don't be stupid Dexter. Well I guess he is a supernatural being, like Shinigami." she whispers.

"Shinigami?"

And then LaGuerta fills me in on everything. The first L. The DeathNote. The Shinigami. The Thirteen Rules. Light being suspected as Kira, and the investigation the first L took. Everything. It takes hours. The sun is rising outside the window and I gather she isn't remotely finished. It truly is mind-blowing, I can barely understand what she's telling me. I may need to take a sick day to take the time to comprehend what I've learnt here.

And yet, despite this crushing revelation, I feel…at ease. In the last twenty-four hours, it was exposed that the butcher is still active, Miami has been swept into a frenzy following Kira's attack at my message and near the airport, which I barely missed me, and I learned that that I am up against someone who not only wants to become a god, but truly has the power to do it.

But the cogs in my brain are already turning on my next plan, for I have a power that Kira doesn't. Knowledge. I know how Kira kills and I know everything that his task force knows, but he doesn't know that I do. With this information, I am finally ahead of Kira, and by miles as well. With this knowledge I can…

"Dexter? You're here early. And Maria, you're here to. Great to see your finally feeling better." says L entering the station.

"Oh, yeah well… I was just eager to get back onto this case, you know, after all that happened yesterday."

"Excellent. Well then would you mind stepping with me into Maria's office, I have a few questions I'd like to ask you about a personal investigation I've been conducting, into one Lila Tourney."