Chapter 37

Near picked up another dart and aimed at the board as the exchange plans played out before him on the bank of screens in front of them. This L was a joke, and obviously had no control on things here in the states as he had asked Near to provide everything from surveillance to alerting the media and forces not to intervene and now he had him procure helicopter to pick up Yagami and his daughter when it was done. He glanced at the screen and watched Yagami leave the plane and head for some predetermined area somewhere in that vast expanse of desert he had been dropped off at. Very clever of Mello to have the plane high jacked quietly and rerouted here. He had not doubts now that it was Mello, the way it was working was too well worked out so far to have been anyone else; but he had no actual proof. Suddenly as he stared at the screen, a hidden hatch opened up from the ground in front of Yagami.

"This is very interesting," he said watching it open all the way. He then spoke thru their link to L, he wasn't going to miss any opportunity to rub L's nose into what was happening.

"So, L do you have any plans? Or do you really think it's alright for the notebook to fall into their hands?" he could almost hear the anger thru the silence that followed. He smirked as his fingers played in his hair.

"N—no" came the answer finally, "I had no information about the existence of an underground area but this means they'll have to escape it somehow. Please make sure to catch their movements on radar as they try to make their escape." Near's smirk got even larger. No wonder Kira hadn't been found yet if this fool was running an already foolish police department. He didn't bother to answer, he merely tossed another dart. Then he noticed another helicopter on the screen. He zoomed in on it so L could see it from their hookup. This could be how they were planning to escape, but he didn't think it would be that easy.

Mello listened from the comfort of the couch as Yagami entered the hatch and arrived at the special door that would allow Sayu to exit as the notebook was given to his man waiting on the other side. He heard Yagami complain when he was told the book had to be tested. He angrily bit another piece of chocolate.

"You're leaving us no choice but to kill the girl", he warned and still Yagami held onto the book, "We don't have time for this! Kill the gi…"he yelled and Yagami relented before he finished his sentence. Then he waited. Suddenly next to him one of the men grabbed his chest and cried out, falling to the floor.

"This is what will happen if you sell our drugs behind our backs," the boss said watching the man die, "This is the first time you've ever done anything useful." Mello smiled, obviously this was the genuine article. All that was left was getting it back to his hands. He smiled even wider, he knew Near was in on this, and he would be quite surprised by what was coming next.

Near watched as the Yagami's exited the underground and climbed aboard his helicopter, while one of the kidnappers walked to the other helicopter. He heard L say something about following the helicopter as it was a simple task and then he almost burst out laughing at what he saw next; brilliant Mello, absolutely brilliant.

He listened to L sputter as he told him that a missile had just appeared and seemed to be ready to fire, and it was one he couldn't follow with his radar. There was no way to know whether the notebook was on the missile or on the helicopter. All that was left was to follow the helicopter; perhaps it was going to the same direction as the missile.

Then as they watched the helicopter suddenly explode, obviously that was not going to be the case. Near overheard from L's end as one of his detectives called in saying that one of the kidnappers that had escorted Yagami to the plane had suddenly died of a heart attack. Near realized that Mello had his hands on the notebook and was killing off those involved in the kidnapping so there'd be fear of anyone leaking any information. He instructed the helicopter to land on their building, he needed to talk to Yagami.

"L, I am going to borrow these two for a bit. I know you'll be able to hear the questioning and if we're lucky we should be able to determine who the kidnapper is.:"

"We've located parts of the missile scatter around Hudson Bay" Giovanni called from behind Near at his station, "I've sent people out to retrieve it." Near smirked and turned his attention back to taunting L2.

"If they put the notebook in that missile and inside something that would survive the landing and float, it could have been retrieved in numerous ways," he was saying to L2, "and there would be few witnesses at sea. We have no choice but to conclude that the notebook has already fallen into the hands of the kidnappers. You basically handed it to them on a silver platter, unable to do anything about it."

He sat back in his chair, one leg up against his chest while the other swung free, and his right hand in his hair. He could just imagine L2 seething on the other end of the connection and it made him happy. He would make him sorry he tried to be something he obviously could not be.

"Are you saying, N that if you were in command you could have prevented them from getting the notebook?" Near could tell L2 was talking through clenched teeth and that made it even more enjoyable. He knew that in reality he probably could not have prevented it the way that it went, because he was dealing with Mello. Perhaps he would throw L2 a small bone.

"No, the kidnappers were fully prepared. The notebook would have been taken no matter who had been in command. The only way to stop it would have been thru sacrifice." He turned his attention to the monitor, which showed Mr. Yagami.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Yagami. What do you remember about the kidnappers?"

"I remember all the instructions I received but nothing that could be of use to you…"

"That's not what I'm asking. I want to know if there were other people around him, or if you heard any sounds. For example, if he was eating something while he talked." Near waited and watched as it dawned on Yagami.

"Eating something, yes he was. I can say that he was easting something." Near smiled.

"How about a chocolate bar? Did it sound like he could have been eating a chocolate bar?"

"I can't be certain," Yagami said, "Actually, I-I could have heard a "crack" sound.."

Near's smile grew. It could have been a chocolate bar, and with a plan this elaborate there was only one person it could have been. He then let Yagami go, he had what he needed. He had to admit that Mello surprised him. It was a brilliant plan, and at the same time he was able to let Near know it was he after all; that Mello was besting him for a change. Not to mention that this new L was useless; Mello made sure he proved that as well. The next thing he had to worry about was what was Mello going to do next now that he had his hands on the notebook. He was sure he'd try to remove all the obstacles in his way, and the worry was just what that would entail.