Disclaimer: If Death Note were mine, I would not type in rhyme.
Coauthored by BlueHarpy; helped out by Madeline Cullen and iceblueangelfang.
CHAPTER 28 – READY, AIM…
In which Alex is discovered, Light makes a heroic move, and Norwood moves up in the eyes of his bosses.
Alex squinted as a bright light entered the back compartment of the lorry in which he was stowed away. He wasn't sure how long he'd spent there in the darkness; there weren't a whole lot of packages left to deliver, so it may have very well been an hour or two. Once Alex's eyes adjusted to the light, he saw the familiar bearded postman standing there with a look of shock on his face. "What the—you're the Lawrence boy!"
Alex wasn't sure how the man knew his name, but he shrugged it off. "What if I am?"
The man's eyes narrowed for a moment, though it was hard for Alex to tell, as the man was silhouetted by the light behind him.
There was a pause. Alex began to wonder if he'd be sent back… "What in the world are you doing here?" asked the man.
Alex blinked, not having expected that question. "I thought the truck looked cool, so I decided to check it out," he said quietly, lamely, silently praying that the man would buy it. "But then I got locked in…"
Norwood, meanwhile, was busy thinking about how this would boost his status in the Syndicate. Here, a windfall had just landed right into his lap without him having done anything to gain it! Trying to play "friend," he gave him an apologetic look and stepped aside, holding the door wide open for him. "I'm so sorry, kid! I didn't know you were back here!"
"Y-you're not mad?" Alex's eyes widened as he took a tentative step towards the doors.
"No, it's an accident! It happens," Norwood assured him. "Hey, come sit up front with me. I can't imagine it's comfortable sitting back there."
Alex stepped over the few boxes in the lorry and poked his head to look at their surrounding location before hopping onto the ground. "It's not horrible…"
Norwood chuckled. "What's your name, kid?"
Alex swallowed and paused. Should he give his actual name—his first name, rather? He knew better than to say his true surname, but he'd always gone by "Alex," even in the orphanage. For some reason, he couldn't bring himself to even give that away. But his father only went by his first initial… "Call me 'A,'" he said seriously as he peered up at Norwood.
Watari awoke to a strange scent in his nostrils. For a moment, he lay there on the couch, eyes closed, and tried to regain his bearings in the wake of his afternoon nap. But that smell… musky… cloying… somehow both welcoming and threatening… Frowning, he sat up, only to see a heavy gray haze above his head. A faint crackling sounded in his ears…
Smoke.
Alarmed, he held his sleeve to his mouth to cough and then breathe through the fabric. It wasn't a second later that a raucous blaring filled the house with sound as the smoke alarm went off. Watari stood and was about to head right up the stairs when Aimi came running down with a rare look of panic in her eyes. "Get outside!" he told her urgently—he refrained from yelling only because it would likely scare her further. She obediently did as asked and Watari hurriedly mounted the staircase. "Alex! ALEX!"
"Watari!"
He turned to see Light Yagami standing there, a little confused. "Mr. Yagami—find Alex…"
The young man nodded curtly. "I'll get the basement and downstairs…" He was gone down the stairs in less than two full seconds.
"Alex!"
There was no response, and the smoke was only getting thicker as it followed him up the stairs. Watari coughed again and removed his cardigan to clumsily tie it around his nose and mouth like a filter. He poked his head into each of the rooms to find… nothing… He went through a second pass on each of the upstairs rooms, looking into the closets, behind the doors, and into the bathroom… Before heading back downstairs, Watari opened the door to Lawliet's office and swiftly unplugged the computers.
"Watari, he's not here!"
Light loped into the now very hazy room and looked at the older man with fear in his eyes. "Let's get these computers outside before we go…"
"I told Misa and Aimi to go search outside," Light said hurriedly, as though speaking more quickly might hasten their task. He quickly gathered up all the cords to the desktop tower and scooped it into his arms, abandoning the monitor. That could be replaced; the information on the hard drive was more important. Watari retrieved the two laptop computers on the desk and they both made their way out to the front, coughing as they inhaled the fresh air.
After they'd gone several feet from the house, Watari set down the computers and laid his palms against L's 1940s Mercedes to lean forward. He breathed in raggedly, gasping for clean oxygen. The sweet scent of newly mown grass made him cough harder and Light looked at the older man with concern. Watari waved his hand at Light to indicate that he'd be fine momentarily.
Light set down the tower in the grass and pulled his mobile phone from his pocket to call the fire department.
Meanwhile, the door to the House burst open and Mr. Collins, the bald and rather pudgy mathematics teacher, came jogging out toward Watari. "We…" he gasped and wheezed for a moment in attempt to regain his breath, "we can't… find him…"
The door opened soon after to reveal Misa flouncing out toward Watari and Light. "Light-kun…!"
Light held up his hand to her to tell her to not bother him at the moment. She shut her mouth. "Ah, yes, the address is…" Light jogged back to the front step to retrieve the package left just recently by the postman. He read the address off the box and paused. "Yes… thank you." With that, he shut the phone and replaced it in his pocket. By now, orange flames were licking at the side of the house, not enough to destroy it, but enough to cause extensive damage. The fire department would be there before the house completely burned down. "I'm going back in," he announced, and ran back through the door in search of the missing Alex.
Watari frowned and shook his head at the sight. Now somewhat recovered from the smoke in his old lungs, he used his own mobile phone to call Lawliet…
Keiko buckled her seatbelt and shut the door behind her before inserting the keys into the ignition. She smiled in amusement at Lawliet's attempts to secure his own belt whilst he clumsily sat in his strange way. They'd just finished their ice cream, which had improved his already-high spirits. "Well… let's go home," she said with a grin.
A loud peeping sounded from Lawliet's pocket as Keiko started the engine and brought the machine into drive. Lawliet fished the phone out of the denim and opened it. "Yes…?"
"Ryuzaki…" Watari paused to cough again, and Lawliet frowned.
"What is it?"
"You need to come back as soon as possible…"
"Watari?"
"There's been a fire… and we can't find Alex…"
Instantly, his eyes widened in horror. "Y-yes…"
"I'm… sorry…"
"Yes… thank you, Watari…" he said quietly in an awkward tone. He shut his cell phone and let it fall to the floor of the vehicle; one hand curled tightly around his calf as he bit down harshly on his other thumb.
Keiko looked over at him with ample concern. "What? What was that about?"
"The bells… have started again…"
"Lawliet?!"
"Fire… and Alex is gone…"
Keiko felt her head spin crazily as she tried to focus on driving the vehicle. Focus! Focus, Keiko! Get home as fast as you can… You can do it! You're a cop…
She gulped and gripped the steering wheel tighter as her foot slammed down on the gas. "Okay…" she breathed. "I-I'm sure… he's somewhere…"
Neither of them noticed the a very familiar mail truck driving toward them in the opposite lane…
A knock sounded on Near's door. Scout instantly stood, glad for a distraction from the film. Her heart had been pounding wickedly the whole time, and she was entirely too tense. Perhaps she could use this as an escape from Near…
Aimi stood there behind the door, surprised that Scout was the one who'd answered. She'd gone looking for the young woman, but after failing to locate her, decided to come to Near.
Scout watched in sudden horror as a single tear ran down Aimi's pale cheek. "What's wrong?"
Hearing Scout's words and the tone of urgency in her voice, Near paused the film and turned to see Scout kneeling before Aimi, who buried herself in Scout's embrace. "Alex! He's gone!"
Scout held the young girl close. "Shh… I'm sure he's only out in the woods or hiding in the House somewhere."
"Our house is on fire!" Aimi managed to squeak. Her chubby fingers curled into Scout's Manchester United jersey.
Near's eyes widened in surprise. One finger instantly traveled north to curl into his white hair as he watched Aimi begin to cry softly in Scout's shoulder. Scout turned her head just enough to look back at Near, who nodded at her. "I'll go check in the woods. He may be there again." He reached for his shoes.
Scout's green eyes widened at the suggestion. Near, checking the woods…? He'd trip over every little stick on the ground and end up scraping his knees and hands a thousand times… but he was still willing to go. Scout's heart gave a thump as he passed her to exit the room. His footfalls echoed in the hallway as he bounded toward the staircase, and Scout licked her lips. Why was he doing this? Why was he suddenly offering to do things by himself instead of finding someone else to do it…?
She shoved her questions from her mind and returned her attentions to Aimi. "Sh… don't cry so. You'll only get a headache." Her voice was soft and gentle—motherly—as she raised one hand to stroke Aimi's long hair. "We'll find Alex. Near is going to help look for him."
Aimi nodded into her shoulder and sniffed loudly. A few more tears escaped her eyes to soak Scout's shirt, and she lifted her head to gaze at the young woman. "Do you promise?"
Scout reflected how amazingly childlike the young prodigy could be—just like the rest of her family. They could all be either incredibly mature and grown-up, or vulnerable and infantile… Scout didn't want to lie to the girl, but then again, she did need comforting… With L on the case, he WILL be found, Scout told herself, but the manner in which we find Alex may not be what we hoped for…
"Yes, I promise."
"KAKASHI!!" Jermanee grinned and pressed her palms against the glass of the store's window to peer inside at a poster of Hatake Kakashi from the Naruto anime series. Matt chuckled at her suddenly bright and bubbly demeanor. He was rather surprised by how quickly this girl was growing on him, but pleased, nonetheless. He wanted to pass it off as just sheer giddiness at being on his first date in a year, but he knew better. He and Jermanee had a lot in common: they both loved video games, from Mario to Bioshock to Devil May Cry to The Sims; they both liked to watch anime, though Matt rarely had a chance to do so, while Jermanee religiously followed at least seven different shows in addition to the DVDs she owned; they both liked comedy movies, cheese crackers with whipped cream, and they both hated the great outdoors and the entire Naruto enterprise (with the apparent exception of Kakashi, for whom Jermanee had a rather unexplainable liking).
Matt had parked the car several blocks back, as there would be no parking anywhere near the arcade, and they'd begun to walk toward their destination. In that first hour of walking (okay, so Matt didn't need to park that far away), Matt had coerced several bits of information from her, despite her shyness. But Matt was a good conversationalist and tried to make it easier for her.
As Jermanee looked through the window to the anime merchandise within the store, Matt chuckled and took a deep pull on his cigarette before flicking it down onto the sidewalk. "Come on." He stepped inside the store and sighed in relief as the air conditioned coolness washed over his body. Jermanee, who apparently abandoned all shyness when her favorite anime characters were involved, stared in awe at the selection of products and merchandise. She grinned and quickly made her way to a rack of plushies. "Half-price plushies?! Yes!! Oh, there's so many to choose from," she said with mixed glee and disappointment as her eyes perused the characters. Matt stared at them all, pointing out to himself which ones he knew to entertain himself. Sadly, there weren't many…
"…Kisuke Urahara, Kaname Kuran, Uryu Ishida, oh, Uzumaki Naruto, ugh…" Matt grinned at Jermanee's quiet voice. She murmured aloud which ones she saw, internally debating over which one to buy. "…Ed Elric, Ichigo Kurosaki, Roy Mustang, oh, wow! Souji Okita, I haven't seen that one, before…"
Matt had to smile at her enthusiasm. "Any idea which one you want?"
Jermanee colored and shuffled her feet. "I don't know… I'm sorry, maybe we should go. I'll end up taking way too long to decide… I'll just come back later…"
He lifted the baseball cap off her head and twirled it around on one finger before catching hold of the brim and fitting it back onto her head. His hand skimmed down toward her shirt, and as she looked down, he brought his finger back up to bump up against her nose, making her smile shyly. "What's your hurry?" He smiled cheerfully at her. "I don't mind." For once, he found himself not having to use his signature Lady-Killer smile. He was just genuine, relaxed Matt. That fact alone made his heart skip a beat. He'd not been himself around a woman for the longest time… It was a refreshing change to be able to do so.
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. Seriously, there's no rush. Take as much time as you like."
After another few minutes in front of the plushie rack, they meandered slowly around the store. Jermanee browsed through the DVDs idly, then moved on to the posters, where she spent a little more time. She fell in love with the Kakashi poster she'd seen through the window, which was, in reality, a wall scroll; she picked it up to buy and sighed with contentment. "I think I'm ready."
"Nothing else?" Matt wondered.
She shook her head. "No, I shouldn't spend much if we're going to the arcade, later. I have a budget." But she looked longingly at the plushies…
Smiling, Matt strolled over to retrieve three of the plush dolls from the wall: Grimmjow, Souji Okita, and Kaname Kuran. He then ambled over to the DVDs to pick out a Wallflower disc, and he placed them all on the counter beside Jermanee's poster. "Live a little," he said with a grin.
Jermanee blushed at this and hung her head. "I… suppose…"
A blonde woman with rather large breasts stood behind the counter. Jermanee noticed the amount of cleavage she was showing, and instantly hung her head. Of course, she herself wasn't wearing anything half that revealing; in fact, she was completely in grunge: torn, baggy jeans, baggy T-shirt, sweatshirt tied about her waist, baseball cap over her messy ponytail, worn-down Converse sneakers… She must look like a dump compared to the semi-stylish female working the register.
The blond looked at the total and sighed with boredom. "That's… fifty-six pounds—"
Before the poor cashier could figure the rest of the total, Jermanee squeaked and shook her head. "Oh, I've gotta put some of this back…"
"No worries," Matt said easily, handing the woman a plastic card. He smiled down at Jermanee without a second glance at the blonde.
Jermanee's eyes widened. "You don't have to do that…! How will I pay you back?"
"Like I said," Matt retrieved his card from the cashier without even glancing at her, "no worries. I've got it covered." He grinned as he took hold of the plastic bag containing the purchases. "We still going to the arcade?"
"I… I suppose…" She hung her head a little and bit her lip self-consciously.
Matt led her out of the store and looked at her with mild concern as she continued to avoid his gaze. "Hey, what's up? You're not upset that I bought this for you, are you…?"
"Well, not exactly…"
"Then what's wrong?"
"I… I don't know how to thank you, Matt. That's so nice of you…"
"Well, since I wasn't planning on taking you to dinner, I figured I'd better buy you something!" He chuckled. "Hey, come on, I'd feel guilty if I didn't get you something. Just consider this my treat."
"O-okay…" Her lips curled upward.
"Ah, finally, a smile!" Matt grinned at her. "That's better."
The sound of a motorcycle hummed in the air; Matt dimly registered this fact until he heard a loud shout. "Hey, Matt!"
His eyes widened. "Oh, fu—uh-uh-uh-udge," he finally managed to say, switching halfway through the word as he caught himself. He turned, and he caught a flash of blond hair as it was caught by the wind.
Mello glared at him as he held his helmet in one hand. "WHERE THE HELL—"
"Hey, hey, buddy, calm down! And don't say that—there are ladies present." Matt glared at him meaningfully.
Mello scoffed. "Oh, come on! Will you listen to yourself!?" He shook his head and his look of anger intensified. "Get in the car; we're going back!"
"No!" Matt crossed his arms. "Dude, stop shouting and calm down."
"Mello, he's right," Lina said as she pulled off her helmet; one hand brushed her mussed red tresses from her face. "There's no need to cause a scene."
"You shut up!"
Lina rolled her eyes. "I suppose that's all the thanks I get for giving you a lift…" She hopped off the bike and sauntered over to Jermanee, putting her arm around her shoulders and leading her off several feet. "Sorry about him. He's a real nutcase, but he means well… sometimes… Just… if he doesn't get his chocolate, watch out." She chuckled. "His anger'll beat out a woman on PMS any day. I'm Lina, by the way."
"I'm… Jermanee…"
"Ooh, that's a pretty name!" Lina's eyes lit up and she stared with interest at her newest acquaintance.
Jermanee shyly fiddled with the free-hanging sleeves of her sweatshirt tied about her hips. "I was named after my father, German, who was named after St. Germaine…"
"That's so cool!" Lina said genuinely. "Ha, I think my parents just named me cuz it sounded okay."
Their conversation was halted by a loud shout behind them. "—you don't get the HELL back to the headquarters RIGHT (BLEEP)ING NOW, I SWEAR TO G—"
"Hey, HEY! BUDDY! CALM THE HECK DOWN!" Matt gripped Mello's shoulders and shook him vigorously. "Listen to me! OKAY!"
A red-faced Mello glared at Matt, but he quieted down.
"THANK you…" Matt threw the two women an apologetic look. "All right. I'll come back. Just… stop shouting, and stop swearing."
"Since when the (BLEEP) did you care about swearing?" Mello scoffed, crossing his arms belligerently.
"There are ladies present." Matt gestured toward Lina and Jermanee.
"Wow, I never realized it," Lina said softly. "Matt can be quite the gent when he wants to be…"
"Yeah," Jermanee agreed. "A little unconventional, but…" She smiled.
At that moment, Matt left Mello to approach them. He sighed and looked Jermanee in the eye. "I'm sorry. I've gotta run. I'm so sorry, Jermanee—if you want, we can reschedule…?"
She nodded and blushed. "I'd like that."
"Come on. I'll drive you back."
Lina turned to Matt and placed one hand on his shoulder, intentionally standing far enough from him to show Jermanee that they were only friends. "I'll deal with Mello and take him back."
"Thanks, Lina. I'll be back ASAP."
She nodded and her hand fell down to her side. "Nice to meet you, Jermanee! Maybe I'll see you later, ay?"
Jermanee blinked. "Maybe…"
Alex grinned as he stared at the large buildings whizzing by his window. Apparently, part of Mr. Jackson's mail route extended to London, and he was highly enjoying himself. He couldn't believe his plan had worked out so well! He'd made it far enough into the city that he'd be easily able to escape to an alley, cover himself in dirt, and pass himself off as a lost orphan child.
Norwood, or Jackson, was silently singing his own praises. If I can just get him to Mr. Andrews, we'll be in business. I'll be secured as one of the higher-ups…
Higher status meant more leisure time and less work, but also more luxuries and better spoils. He envisioned himself enjoying something a little better than dollar-wine and canned foods—maybe not Dom Pérignon and caviar, exactly, but just something that was a step above.
Now all that remained was not spooking the kid.
The minutes passed in peaceful silence, and Alex began to realize… Jackson wasn't stopping every so often to deliver mail… in fact, he was just driving straight through London to a slightly shadier side of the city… Upon seeing the place where he'd probably have to hang out to make his charade believable, he began to wonder if he'd made the right decision. Of course you have, now, calm down. It's fine. You're just jittery.
But as the neighborhoods got worse and worse, Alex began to worry. He did not want to run away… But Jackson was nice enough. He'd just have to ask to go back at the end of the day. That was all there was to it.
Norwood pulled out his mobile phone as he directed the lorry into the parking garage beneath the abandoned hotel and pulled it to a stop. "Mr. Rayne…? There's someone here you'll want to meet—and Mr. Andrews, too." He smiled so as not to frighten the child. "Right—yes, I'm in the garage. I'll meet you in the lobby."
Norwood snapped his phone shut and turned to Alex with a smile. "Come on. I'll let you meet some friends of mine."
Now, Alex grew wary. He began to wonder if there might be a way out of this… "Er… I think I've seen enough, Mr. Jackson. May we go back?"
A look of anger flashed across Norwood's face before he composed himself and gave a forced smile. "In a bit, A. It won't take long."
Alex gulped. "O-okay…" He knew he was in trouble and began to regret ever having left the house. If I'm really sorry, will Dad come and get me? He knew that not all stories ended happily, not everyone lived through ordeals like this—his father's job depended on a lack of happy endings in the world. But… would his parents even come and get him, after he'd been such a poor son? Did they even still love him…? A sharp bite of adrenaline surged through his system as he hopped out of the cab. I'll have to fend for myself, he thought with determination. Maybe, if I agree with everything they say, I can last long enough to get away and I can run back home…
Norwood impatiently walked beside Alex and led him up the stairs into the lobby of the abandoned hotel. If he hadn't been so scared, Alex would've found it rather fascinating. They rounded a corner and in the dim lighting, two figures stood across the room. One, a shorter, fatter man, raised his arms in welcome. "Norwood!" His gaze shifted to Alex. "Now, who is this young man?"
"Mr. Rayne," Norwood began, "this little guy followed me back here. Can't we get him some tea? It must be past teatime…"
Rayne nodded and smiled at Alex. "Of course, of course!"
The other man, taller, thin, dressed in all black, gazed down at Alex. His neat black hair gleamed in the meager lighting behind him, and Alex caught a glimpse of his flashing purple eyes. His red lips stretched out in a grin. "What is his name…?"
Norwood chuckled. "His name is A."
Ansel Alessandro's smile widened and a low chuckle sounded in his throat. "I see…"
AAHHH! No, Alex, no!! (I apologize now for anyone whom I hinted that Alex wasn't going to be kidnapped. I tried to avoid outright lies, but I definitely hinted at the impossibility of it… but I didn't want to give anything away. Sorry!)
The quote from the last chapter that I eluded to was actually from Mel1983's amazing DN fanfiction, Before I Fade. Takes place in chapter 36, I think.
BAD things happened, I know. Updates (except the next one, due to finals) will be faster, now, so stay tuned—everything's starting to really pick up, now. And this is only the tip of the iceberg…
Review?
