From now on, I'm going to aim to update my stories every Saturday. I can't make any promises because I'm busier than I expected, but my stories will be updated every weekend, every week.

With that said, here is chapter 9.

Matt and Mello spring back into action as an unexpected third party joins the fray.


9 - Matt

Mello looked at Matt. "I... didn't know we had a phone..."

"Me either..."

The phone rang again and the boys stood up. Mello walked to where the phone was most likely to be as Matt straightened his hair and brushed himself off.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

A girl with blond hair sat with her legs crossed in a chair in front of Roger's desk. She set the sketchbook she brought in her lap and played with her pigtails. She looked at Roger quizzically.

"Do you know why I summoned you here, Linda?"

She donned a "No-I-don't-if-I-did-I-wouldn't-look-like-I-was-a-fish-out-of-water-and-wondering-how-it-happened" look and shook her head as politely as she could.

"I see..." He sighed and glanced out the window. He saw a small bird out of the corner of his eye on the window sill. He turned back as the bird flew off, but...

"Could ya go back to that position real quick?"

"Huh?" He surveyed the young girl in front of him. She had a cute face and wore, in Roger's opinion, an ordinary white blouse and matching skirt. Her footwear was ordinary too and he didn't want to think about it anymore. What really caught his eye, however, was the sketchbook. It was now open and upright. Linda was tapping her pencil against it, impatiently.

"Could you look out the window again? It was a perfect picture opportunity. Please?" She smiled innocently.

Roger sighed and resigned himself to being controlled by a twelve year old girl.

This day was clearly going to be a bad day.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The phone rang again.

"Are you gonna get that?"

"Why can't you?"

The phone rang again, almost impatiently.

"Because... Someone, threw my cigarette out the window."

Mello ran his fingers through his disheveled hair. "Oh please. You're what? Twelve? Thirteen? And you're complaining about not being able to smoke? That's-"

The phone decided it had had enough of Mello's rambling. It rang again.

"Shut up!" Mello rounded on the phone.

Matt chuckled to himself as he sat down and turned the game back on. "And I'm the one with the problem..."

Mello glared at his friend. Then, the phone rang again.

"Can you get that, Mello? I'm busy."

The phone was halfway through its next ring when Mello picked it up.

"WHAT?!"

Mello smiled sinisterly as he listened to the voice on the other end.

"Really...? Heh." He set the phone back in the receiver. "Matt. We're going."

Matt sighed as Mello walked out the door.

"Here we go again..."

Matt closed the door as he left.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Are you finished yet?"

Linda giggled. "Puh-she... Hang on, I'm almost finished." She giggled as she scribbled in her sketchbook.

Roger resigned himself to his fate.

Yep... This definitely is going to be a bad day...

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Could ya not smoke right now?"

Matt looked through the haze of the cigarette smoke and exhaled some into Mello's face. "I'm not the one who let me buy more before coming here."

Mello coughed due to the smoke. "Wait..."

"What?"

"How do you buy cigarettes anyways?"

"Good question. Allow me to offer a better one in response. Why are we sneaking back? Couldn't we just use the front door?"

"No. Ne- I mean... He was very specific in his instructions."

"What were they?"

"Just do what I told you." Mello turned away from Matt. "Hey! That was three questions."

"Good. You remebered... But Near would have remembered sooner."

Mello quickly turned to strangle Matt. He sighed and took out a chocolate bar when he saw Matt was gone. He turned and left the narrow, roofed, dead end alley.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Linda surveyed her drawing. She nodded. "Yosh! You can move now!"

Roger breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally... You sure take your time, don't you?"

Linda stood up.

"What?"

"I don't have to be here. I'm here because I'm performing one final service to Wammy's before I become an artist. But, if I'm not going to be appreciated for helping you, I'll leave right now. And, you'll never see me again."

Roger stared into the girl's eyes. He bit his lip. "Fine... I'm sorry."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Maybe I should stop smoking... Matt laughed to himself for the thought. But... I can't see anything... Oh well... Guess I have no choice...He took the cigarette out of his mouth and smashed it against the metal wall of the air duct he was crawling around in. He stopped and waited for the smoke to clear.

All this waiting makes me want to smoke... His eyes widened and he slapped himself.

"No! I gotta stop thinking like that! The smoke'll probably travel through the building now, though... What'll another do?"

No. I need to focus on the mission. Wait... What was it that I had do to...Matt sat against a wall of the air duct, took out a cigarette, and lit it.

He took a drag and thought.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"So-" Roger's eyes widened.

Linda was holding out her sketchbook with both hands and she had a child-like expression on her face.

"What?"

"I want you to see my drawing. It's of you after all..."

"Do I ha-"

"I'm not helping until you tell me what you think of it." She set the sketchbook on Roger's desk and sat down. She crossed her arms and glared at the elderly man across from her.

Roger hesitated. Women... Any age and they still control men... He slowly picked up Linda's sketchbook. His eyes widened when he saw what she had drawn.

In the picture was the window directly behind Roger, a white silhouette of the old man obscuring part of the window, and...

"The bird left about five minutes before you started drawing the picture..."

"Heheheh. Good memory. Worthy of being the Director of Wammy's House. Of course... Do you recall what the bird looked like?"

Roger blinked. "And you do?"

The girl smiled smugly. "Yep. What you see there is exactly what the bird was doing and exactly where it was before you turned away."

Roger raised an eyebrow. "If you remembered the bird, why couldn't you remember me?"

Linda laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"You are, sir. Of course I remembered you!" She laughed again. "I just hate when people watch me draw, so I had you look out the window again."

"What if I wasn't originally looking out the window?"

Linda shrugged. "Then I would have asked you to."

"What makes you think I would have listened?"

"Can you say no to this face?" She donned a puppy-dog face.

Roger stared. "...Y-yes...?"

Linda smiled slightly. "Are you sure? Are you really sure?"

Roger sighed. "Alright... I can't say no to that face."

Linda leaned back in her chair with an air of smugness.

"However. How do I know you really have such an impressive memory?"

Linda rolled her eyes. "You're the one who called me here."

"Prove me right."

Linda smirked. "You're on. I'll leave the room. Re-arrange something, anything, and I'll come back and tell you what's different."

Roger nodded.

Linda surveyed the room, then left.

Roger stood up.

Let's see how good the fourthsmartest Wammy's orphan really is...


I hope you enjoyed and I do not own Death Note.

NEXT TIME: Linda must prove herself to Roger as Matt and Mello try to return to battle. Meanwhile, Near backs Light into a corner and L buys a pinball machine.

Also, with the poll you can select Other and tell me your choice in a PM or something. I'll just make note of it somewhere and add it to the poll just in case others want to vote that option.

The current poll standings surprise me. Currently, the choice that has Light winning is tied for first. I really didn't expect people to want Light to win.

The poll will be up until just before the third last chapter, because I'm thinking of a two or three part finale. I'll try to warn you all of when that might be, but I haven't written past this chapter. The end might be as surprising to me as it might be to you.

Also, please vote. I want your opinions on what the end should be.