Chapter 9

Disclaimer: The Maiden of Autumn owns nothing.

Thank you to all the readers and reviewers- please, do continue to enjoy the story.

Getting around the city had always been easy for Near. He rather enjoyed the thrill of blending in among the people, completely anonymous and totally unrecognizable, but set apart from them because of his motives for going above ground. It was exciting, a thrill, and it was why Near had become so adept with disguises- so he could do this.

He pushed the manhole cover away and tossed his backpack up; it landed with a thump on the concrete. Then, he heaved himself up, standing to his feet and replacing the cover. Near picked up his backpack and sauntered away from the manhole, looking for all the world like a normal Japanese student. Of course, he looked out of place in this part of the city, but no one was paying attention to a random teenager.

And this didn't change as he made his way to the busier, better parts of the city. People were packed onto the sidewalks, paying no attention whatsoever to him.

He grinned with the thrill of remaining anonymous, even as he was on a mission to take a message from L to Kira, an action that would surely get him killed if he was caught.

Like L had been.

But Near refused to think of that. He had faith in Beyond's ability to pull off whatever plan it was that was going to get L back. Beyond was clever and resourceful, Near knew from his observation of the older man.

Near looked up; he was nearing Kira's mansion and he knew that security was tightened here, including numerous security cameras. He pulled out a ball cap from his backpack and slipped it on, tugging it low over his face.

Chuckling quietly to himself, he reached into his backpack and grabbed the tape. He approached the gates to Kira's mansion and slipped through the bars, his small, thin body easily fitting through the spaces. He righted himself and took off along the green lawn, grinning.

Too easy.

Near's feet crunched on the gravel of Kira's driveway, and the sound drew the attention of a few guards loitering about. They stiffened when they saw Near, reaching into their holsters and drawing out their guns. "Stop, kid!" One of them shouted, and Near shook his head, smiling.

He abruptly took off, making for the front doors and alarmed, the guards gave chase, following Near as he ran. However, Near was faster and reached the front doors easily, the guards far behind him. He set the box containing the tape down and set a note on top of it, arranging it so that it would easily be seen by whoever opened the door.

Then, Near stepped back, glancing behind him- the guards were drawing closer, one of them pulling out his radio and sending a message. Shaking his head, Near turned and sprinted past the guards, making them do an about-face in shock.

He easily slipped through the bars once more, losing himself in the crowd- and was gone before the guards could figure out how it had happened.

A few moments later, the secretary opened the door, her eyes opening in shock as she spotted the box left on the tapes. Reaching down, she picked up the note, reading it, and then let out a surprised exclamation. She swiftly picked up the box, tucking it under her arm and quickly made her way up to Kira's room, intent on delivering the package as soon as possible.

Greetings to Kira, from L…

That was all the note said, but it was enough.

"It's been delivered?" Beyond asked from his sitting position in the infirmary bed. "Good. I want Kira to understand that we're not defeated. We will be getting L back, no matter what it takes."

"I know, B," Near said, sitting in one of the chairs in the corner, his knee drawn up close to his body. "I have faith in your ability. If there's anyone that's going to get L back, it's you."

"Sir," Watari said, coming into the room. "One of the contacts is on the line. He doesn't have very long, but says that much time won't be needed to explain the plan he had ready at L's request."

"Perfect," Beyond hissed, holding out his hand for the headset in Watari's hand. Watari handed it to him and Beyond slipped it on, adjusting the mouthpiece before speaking. "This is the new L."

A youthful voice came from the other line, obviously a man. "Let's skip the pleasantries- I haven't much time, if I don't want Kira to find out I'm using this line to communicate with you. I know that L has been captured and that he's being held here. Watari has the original, correct blueprints of the building and as L requested when I agreed to become his inside contact, I have a plan to free him. You'll have to listen very closely- everything must be completed exactly as I say, or this will have no chance of working."

Beyond nodded. "Go ahead."

"Good. Now, this is what needs to happen…"

Light dismissed the secretary as soon as she had delivered the box and frowned, turning it over in his hands. It seemed almost like…

No.

A little piece of paper stuck on the back of the wrapped box caught Light's attention, and his eyes narrowed as he plucked it off, holding it up to read it.

His eyes quickly scanned the words, and furious, he crumpled up the paper and tossed it away, glaring down at the box in his hand.

The bastard never quit, did he?!

Even wounded, broken, and in Light's hands, L just never quit! It infuriated him, making his breath come faster and hands clench tightly around the box. Sitting down, he popped the tape into the player that he had sitting on his desk and pressed play. He was intent on hearing what it had to say even if the thought of L continuing to rebel against him even while captured pissed him the hell off.

It was his followers, no doubt.

Fucking L's followers.

They wouldn't give up, even when their leader had been imprisoned. Fuck them all.

The tape made a clicking noise, and then the same distorted voice that had been used in all of L's previous tapes came on, even though it couldn't possibly be L himself.

"Kira… This is L...

"You think you've won. But the game's not over until I say it is. We've just gotten started, and we're coming for you. You'll regret the day you captured him, Kira. You'll rue the day you ever dared harm him, and by the time we get done with you, you'll be wishing that you had never gotten ahold of that notebook.

"We will be seeing each other soon- and when we do, I'll be the last thing you see in your miserable existence.

"Prepare yourself, Kira."

The recording clicked off and Light sat staring at it, his mind whirling. He ignored the threats, putting little importance on them, instead focusing deeper on the message.

The speaker obviously wasn't L- the message was not worded in his style, and there was a light undercurrent of anger that seeped through even with the voice distortion. L's voice remained ever emotionless, never changing even when he had been shot and was on the verge of passing out. This message was as good a confirmation that it was their leader that was holed up in his infirmary and not some copy, as he had slightly suspected.

Light knew L was a scheming little planner and not to be trsuted, so he was suspicious of everything L did.

The knowledge that it had to be L in his infirmary made Light feel a bit better.

They were obviously planning something- the goddamn group of schemers always had something up their sleeve. They had said they were coming for L, which implied that they were going to break him out, perhaps along the same routes that they had done so with Wedy.

Light made a note to increase security in the sewers and to install security cameras at regular intervals along the tunnels near the underground part of his mansion, and to up security at all possible entrances. The sneaky little fucks would most likely try sneaking in, and Light would do his utmost to prevent that.

Then Light sat back, allowing his mind to wander to other things. Namely, L.

L's true motives remained a mystery to him, and he tapped his finger idly on the desk while h thought, staring at the tape. The one who had recorded the tape had seemed extremely angry, going to so far as to threaten Kira.

There was no talk of compromising, such as one like L had would have done- it was a definite threat, almost a thirst for vengeance. Light stopped his tapping and his brows furrowed as he thought about Ryuk's words when he had last spoke to the Shinigami.

…The guy who does have the Eyes? He's real close to L. Like, his brother or lover or something. I'd watch my back, Light, 'cause I'm pretty sure he's gonna be coming for you…

We're coming for you.

The one with the Eyes was the new L.

Light bolted up in shock at the realization. The closeness that Ryuk spoke of explained why L's friend or lover- he frowned as the thought made him suddenly angry for some inexplicable reason- was the new L, and he had the Eyes.

L knew the new L's name, the one with the Eyes. If he could get the name out of L…

It would all be over. If he could force L to give up the new L's name, he could kill the man- although he would regret the loss of the Eyes, it would be a small sacrifice to pay in order to stop the rebellion. And it would be stopped, if the new L suddenly dropped dead of a heart attack. Or he could control him to give himself up to Kira, at that point he would force the man to give up the names of the rest of the Task Force and then kill them.

The rebellion would be crushed, and the real L, imprisoned with no chance of escape, would have no choice but to join him and work with him.

Elated, the thought sending delightful tingles down his back, Light closed the Death Note and pushed his chair away, grinning as he did so.

He needed to see L.

L was drifting comfortably in a haze of drugs. His thigh wasn't throbbing and his head felt delightfully fuzzy, a welcome change from the constant sharpness of his mind. It was nice, so nice not to have to be plotting and thinking and going over minute details again and again because one mistake could cost him his team's lives.

It was an unwelcome intrusion when he heard the door open and shut through the haze his mind was in, and blearily, he opened his eyes, blinking them a few times. Kira's figure came into focus, although it was blurry. He appeared to be smirking, his amber eyes glinting with a disturbing gleefulness and the look sent a tingle of unease down L's spine.

He cleared his throat, forcing himself to focus, to push through the daze that the drugs had induced. "I'm afraid if you want to interrogate me, I will to be very forthcoming. The kind doctor was good enough to dose me with painkillers, and as they were administered to me while I'm operating on an empty stomach, they went straight to my head," L said groggily.

Kira shook his head, chuckling darkly. "That won't be necessary. I've just come to share a bit of friendly information- and ask you perhaps one question," Kira said smoothly, in a voice that L distrusted, even with his mind made fuzzy by drugs. He had enough presence of mind to discern that Kira was not someone he could trust, under any circumstance.

"What information is this?" L asked, blinking as he tried to clear his vision, to no avail. Kira remained a blurry figure in his sight.

"Just that the man with the Eyes is operating as the new L," Kira stated, before tossing what appeared to e a piece of paper onto the bed, it fluttering down to rest on L's blanket-covered chest. L eyes it before weakly lifting a hand to grasp it and hold it up so that he could better see it. The words were blurry to him, but by squinting, he was able to make out the words.

Greetings to Kira, from L…

L's hands clenched around the paper for a moment before they relaxed, the paper slipping from his loosened fingers and falling to his chest. L closed his eyes, a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips.

Beyond…

The message was a double entendre, two simple messages contained within one simple sentence that was addressed to both him and Kira. To Kira, it served as a way of telling Kira that the Task Force was not going to give up. To L… it was Beyond telling him that he had honored L's wishes and was operating as the new L, as he had wanted.

And that he was working to free L.

This new knowledge caused L's heart to flutter almost painfully, buoyed by the hope of seeing his beloved brother, hopefully sometime soon.

But Kira's words… they brought him back to the moment, and quickly schooling his features to rid himself of the almost smile, l wearily looked back up at Kira. "And you're sure it came from L, and not just some prankster looking for attention?" The fact that Kira knew that it was Beyond that was the new L… that wasn't good. Kira would only double his efforts to catch him.

And if Beyond was captured… it would all be over. There was no one else that could effectively act as L- Mello and Near were definitely out. As smart as they were, choosing one over the other would only cause the rejected to sow dissent among the group, and the Task Force was only effective if it operated as a whole, stable, working unit. His choosing of Beyond to be the new L was a risky move- he had been counting on the Task Force's respect of Beyond's skills to let them be able to overlook his bloody past. Although Mello… his blatant dislike of Beyond was problematic, but that was only one member. And Mello, if shown that Beyond was a trustworthy leader, would eventually come to accept Beyond. It might not be willingly, but out of necessity, he would do it.

But Kira must not catch Beyond. There wasn't much he could do to help Beyond stay out of Kira's hands, but perhaps… if he could somehow convince Kira that his information was wrong or something of that nature… maybe he could buy Beyond some time to work with his inside agent here in Kira's mansion and break him out.

So, he'd try his damndnest to throw Kira off of Beyond's trail.

Kira looked down at him, quirking an eyebrow. "I highly doubt that it's a prankster, L. My guards have reported an individual sneaking in here, dropping off a package that the note was attached to, and then evading my guards with a skill that only someone of the Task Force's caliber possesses. And then, he disappeared into the crowds- if it was a prankster, he would have been caught. The fact that he was able to escape from my highly-trained guards is evidence that it was one of your group, L. And, that brings me to my next point." Kira leaned back, crossing his arms.

"There was also a box, containing a tape- the same type that you always sent me, L. The voice recorded on the tape used your voice-scrambler, L. You are the only one who has that certain type of scrambler, although the person who used it was obviously not you. But I could discern that it was the new L- the recording threatened me, and I could detect anger in the voice- anger at me for capturing you, and he also vowed to get you back, L.

Only the Task Force and certain guards know of your capture, L. It couldn't be some random prankster that wanted attention- the public does not possess the information needed to make that tape. And that it came right after your capture is even more evidence that it was sent by the new L." Kira smirked, narrowing his eyes triumphantly. "You see, L, it's useless to try to throw me off track. I'm not stupid, and it's insulting to try to play such mind games with me."

L only glanced down, attempting to hide his wince. Damn Kira…

But another thing made him furrow his brows, and he looked up. "How do you know that my successor is the one with the Eyes? Seems like you're just speculating. There's no possible way that you could know for certain who the new L is," L said confidently.

"Oh, but there is," Kira said smugly. "My Shinigami has informed me-"

"Shinigami?!" L gasped, sitting up, paying no notice as the heart monitors' beeping sped up, a faint beeping sounding to alert the doctor.

Gods of Death….

They were real?!

Beyond slipped the headset off, tossing onto the bed and then relaxed back, brows creased thoughtfully. He nibbled on his lip in contemplation, thinking over what his contact had planned.

It was a simple plan, but was made complex by the necessities. Timing for this plan was crucial- one slip up, one mistake, and everything would crumble to hell around him.

One mistake, and any chance of ever freeing L, seeing his twin again, would be lost.

And he would not allow for that.

Looking up, he met Near's eyes and nodded once. "He has a plan," Beyond told Near, a determined glint sparking in his crimson eyes. "And it will work. He's no simpleton- but then again, L always was able to accurately judge a person's intelligence," Beyond said, a twinge in his heart as he was reminded of his brother.

Near nodded. "I know, B. We'll get him back."

"Yes. And Kira…" Beyond grinned, a sadistic twist of his lips. "Kira will rue the day he ever thought to capture L. Watari!" he called, and the older man appeared in the room, face stoic as always. "Get everyone to the main room again. We have a plan to break L out- and I will have their full cooperation with me on this."

Watari nodded and silently left the room, and Beyond threw the covers back, Near watching with an exasperated glint in his charcoal-black eyes. "This is becoming redundant," Near muttered, nevertheless rising to his feet. He reached Beyond's side and slung a lanky arm over his shoulder, bracing Beyond's thin body with his own.

Beyond huffed, staggering a bit, before righting himself and with Near's help, took the first few steps towards the door. "This is fucking humiliating," Beyond muttered, and Near snorted as they reached the door and he pulled it open.

"Serves you right for not resting like Watari told you to. If you keep this up, your stitches will only continue to rip and tear, slowing your body's healing progress," Near stated. "If you would rest and let your body heal as Watari keeps urging you to do, you would not have to be dependent on me for moving around."

Beyond didn't say anything more, just hobbled through the door and with Near's help, made his way down the corridor, wincing every once in a while as he lost his balance and the motion tugged painfully on his stitches.

They reached the main room, and Near helped Beyond into his chair before going to sit in his own, next to Mello's.

Beyond breathed a sigh of relief as he settled into his chair, his tired muscles aching and his side throbbing. He made a mental note to never get shot again- it hurt like a bitch, during and afterwards.

"Alright," Beyond sighed, sitting back and glancing at the assembled Task Force members, "We have a definite plan to break L out. To save me the time of explaining it to you, my contact has agreed to be put on speaker so that he may converse with us better. L's life hinges on this plan- so you all better fucking listen, because if you screw this up and end up preventing me from getting L back, I will personally kill the person at fault," Beyond said in a hard tone, narrowing his crimson eyes and locking eyes with each person separately.

Once satisfied that they had acknowledged his threat, Beyond nodded and waved Watari forwards, who placed a black speaker with a built-in microphone onto the middle of the round table. "I must ask that you all put on your voice-scramblers," Watari said, walk-in around the table and handing everyone a headset. "These are wirelessly connected to the microphone on the speaker, so that you may speak without worry of not being heard."

Once everyone had their headset on, Watari walked around to the speaker, and switched it on.

"You're live," Beyond said, adjusting his own headset, and the male voice that Beyond had conversed with earlier issued from the speaker.

"Hello, all of the Kira Task Force members. For obvious reason, I shall not disclose my name, but for now.. you may address me as 'M'."