A/N – I don't own Death Note. Obviously.
Kira Is Justice!
The police radio in the Taskforce headquarters had been playing up for days, much to everyone's annoyance.
"This is Japan! We're supposed to be the technological capitol of the world!" true to his irritable nature, Shuichi Aizawa led the grumblings, "We were able get all these computers and radios and TV's, you'd think the most basic thing we could do would be to invest in a radio that actually works!"
Everyone had agreed that the youngest member of the team, Touta Matsuda, would go out and buy a replacement the following morning but, for the time being, they were stuck listening to extremely warped communications, and having to give the machine a whack, every ten minutes or so, to shock it into life.
The busted device buzzed into action, just as the sun was finishing its descent and the day was coming to a close. The message was garbled by static leaving only a few words audible.
"We're at NHN studios…Smoke bomb…red car…pursuing him now…other man…riding a motorbike…Miss Takada…turned the corner…lost them…treating this as a kidnapping." Then the connection broke off as it short-circuited for the last time with a bang and a dark wisp of smoke spiralled upwards from the receiver.
"Takada's…been kidnapped?" Matsuda voiced what everyone was thinking, as he was prone to do. "Oh man, this is really bad! What should we do?"
"Don't jump to conclusions, Matsuda," Light Yagami spoke, authoritatively, "The message wasn't clear. We should try and contact Takada before doing anything else. See if she's safe and, if not, what the people who took her want," He reached into his pocket and pulled out his mobile, scrolling down to Takada's name, "I'll call her now." He kept his outward appearance at a professional level of concern but internally, he was irately calculating how to best adjust his plans for this new development, in his mission to cleanse the world of criminals.
Had Takada really been kidnapped? Who would do something like this? Light considered Near, but shot down the idea quickly. No. He had no motive, not with the meeting between the task force and the SPK arranged for three days time. This was the work of someone else. An instinctual feeling in his gut told him this wasn't a random attack by Kiyomi's obsessed fans or ransom hunters. Suddenly, it dawned on him; the other person with the means and the motive. L's other heir…Mello!
The phone rang repeatedly and, just when Light was sure it was going to voicemail, a stressed voice, answered, "Hello. Who is it?" He quickly used his razor sharp deductive skills to work out that this person was female, American, judging from the accent, and defiantly not Takada. She sounded familiar, and he immediately pieced together the tense voice with his spokesperson's tall, blond bodyguard, Halle Lidner.
"Miss Lidner? This is Light Yagami." He heard her make a noiseof recognition. Light knew Takada, and it was rare that she was ever without her precious phone, and unlikely that she'd dropped it. "Is Miss Takada with you?"
His eyes widened a fraction when he heard the response. "Yes, she just arrived. We brought her back from her holiday in Kawasaki. After the attack today, we are moving her to a safe house for her protection." Lidner informed him, trusting this information to the head of the Kira taskforce, as Near had instructed her.
Lidner's voice was depressed; she had been berating herself for trusting Mello, hurt by his betrayal and feeling immense guilt for the disappearance of the bright, engaging young girl, who the police had sent. Haruka had been such a refreshing change from the cold, aloof Takada, so polite and clearly overwhelmed by the expensive clothes and make-up. The girl's moods swung from comically outraged to sweet and passionate in moments, and she had made Lidner smile like she hadn't smiled in a long time.
"Kawasaki? We just received a message from the police that she was kidnapped at NHN studios. Of course, it's a relief that she's safe, but what happened?" Light was confused. It was impossible for one person to be in the two places at the same time and yet the radio message had placed her at NHN while her bodyguard claimed she was travelling back from Kawasaki in high security.
Lidner replied, in a composed voice, which concealed the turmoil she was feeling, "It's true that there was a kidnapping, but the girl at NHN studios was a double, Haruka Sato, we had the police send her to the NHN function instead of Miss Takada, due to concerns about recent stalker trouble. We were hoping to lure them out. Apparently, the kidnappers didn't know about the switch."
Light nearly burst out laughing; this great detective, L's protégé, Mello, had snatched the wrong girl! That was almost comical! Clearly, a man, who couldn't even pull of a successful kidnapping, was no threat to the genius mind of Kira. However, Light reflected, more seriously, it was only by chance that there was another person in Takada's place. If he had managed to get to his intended target, it could have jeopardised important plans. Mello was a hindrance. Anger began to stir inside him, "Kira is justice! Any enemies of Kira are enemies of justice!" It would be better for everyone, he ruled, if he were removed from the equation.
"I see, well, thank you for your time, Miss Lidner. I'm sure you're very busy, but before you go, I need you tell your boss that I want to meet her tonight." When Lidner began to protest, Light put his most charming voice to use. "Please tell her, Ma'am. You're a smart woman; you know I'm no threat to her. It's extremely urgent." He ended the call, knowing Takada would agree.
Ever since he had learned of Mello's defiance against Kira's power he had felt a burning rage build in his chest. He had new orders for Takada.
Light turned back to his team and explained to them of Takada's safety and the switch. "Is it Near again?" Aizawa immediately suspected the SPK, knowing them to be capable of kidnapping, since the abduction of Misa Amane and Mogi.
Almost the moment Light opened his mouth to voice his suspicions, a swirling, black N came up on the main screen in the room and an Near began to speak, "L, I am not the one who kidnapped Takada's double, Haruka Sato.
"Is that so?" Light stated his, then concrete suspicions. "Then it has to be…Mello."
"Yes, that's right," Near confirmed the theory, before continuing, "I have to be honest with you on this; we had one of our members escorting Takada, and they confirmed it. Mello was the one, who abducted her. I apologise for letting this happen while one of us was guarding her." Light immediately suspected Lidner; the American was the only new addition to Takada's small army of guards.
"Near," Light stored this detail away and moved on to the next order of business, "Isn't there any way for you to contact Mello?" He hoped there wasn't. For his next plan it would be far better if Near kept his grubby, interfering fingers out of it. As L's successor insisted it was impossible, Light suppressed a smile.
***
Late that night, Light met with Takada, at her safe house, under the pretence of confirming her safety. Once they were alone, he handed her a note.
Kiyomi, what Mello did today was more than just an attack on you. It was an attack on Kira. I want you to order some of your bodyguards, with the exception of Lidner, to track him down and, along with any accomplices, kill him.
A/N – Grr. I don't know why, but it's insanely difficult to write about Light. This Light/ Near section was needed to tie up some lose ends, which will become clear later. Anyway, for some reason, it took me days to write! I'm not 100 percent happy with it, so if you hate it please let me know and I might scrap the chapter and start again.
Back to the main reason for this A/N. I may have to stop updating as frequently as I have been. Writing has been taking over my life and I need to focus on school work for a bit. But don't worry! There will still be updates, just probably not every other day. Please review.
I promise that the next chapter will be long and action packed!
