CHAPTER 51:
"Friends No More"

From the corner of his eye, Light noticed that the elevator had begun to move. It had gone all the way to the top floor, then the numbers showed its descent. He hoped his father had gotten off the elevator when Watari, hopefully, overrode the controls.

He noticed that the elevator stopped on the third floor and was now making its way back down to the lobby.

He had his hands behind his head now, Misa did as well. He thought when Bryant Harvey began shooting at the speaker system and at the CCTV cameras, it was best not to mess around with him anymore. He had no qualms about using his gun.

L's condescending voice drove Bryant Harvey up the wall. L attempted to basically bribe the criminal to release his hostages. But Bryant Harvey's previous inclination stated that if he turned against Kira he would be killed. So, despite the generous offer, Bryant Harvey refused.

The man was smart. Bryant Harvey knew when he was being played and he wasn't taking any of it.

Bryant Harvey gestured to the elevator with his gun. "There it goes again," he said. "Your father is persistent, Yagami. He probably went up to get armed. Stay in front of me, both of you! If your father starts shooting—Yagami, he'll kill you first. No skin off my nose. I've already been paid."

Light knew that is father would not have gone up to retrieve a weapon. His father was an honourable man, and people in Japan who are not in law enforcement, or resigned from which, were no longer able to carry a weapon, and when is father quit the NPA to join the Kira Task Force, he handed in his weapon. In fact, no one on the task force carried a gun.

Light hesitated in moving as he watched the glowing red numbers countdown above the elevator.

"You'll shoot me in the back," Light said.

Bryant Harvey said nothing to alleviate Light's fear that this would happen. Shooting a person in the back was cowardly, but to a criminal anything was probable if the incentive was enough.

One minute before, Matsuda had arrived with the car at the front doors. He was obviously aware of the situation and was currently blockading the entrance, holding his shock wand. He looked in, but acted naturally, so not to draw attention from people walking by.

The elevator dinged and the doors opened, but it appeared empty.

Bryant Harvey pushed Misa forward. "Check it out," he ordered. "See if anyone is hiding or if anything is inside like an explosive device."

Misa staggered forward when she was pushed. She took a momentary glance back at Light, Light nodded to her to go, then she walked towards the elevator. She stepped cautiously inside and looked around.

"Misa! Get out of here! Now!" Light shouted, and the elevator doors began to automatically close. Watari was probably overriding them again to keep Misa inside.

"Light! No!" she cried, and tried to keep the doors open, slipping her fingers between the doors as they closed, but she was unsuccessful, and became trapped—the elevator ascending once more.

Light turned and went for Bryant Harvey's gun.

There was a shot. Light froze.

Just then, Bryant Harvey put a hand to his chest and staggered backwards, gun in hand, but loosely held.

Light watched as blood began to saturate the criminal's stolen tan courier uniform at chest level.

Bryant Harvey looked at his hand covered in crimson with what Light observed as utter bewilderment and shock.

"No! This wasn't supposed to happen," Bryant Harvey said, cringing. "I was told I was safe, that I was protected!"

Bryant Harvey then collapsed to the floor on his rear, clutching his torso. He dropped the gun.

Light then turned his attention to the emergency staircase near the elevator. And looked upon his saviour with shock and surprise, a person he never thought he would see here, or holding a gun. And the face of the woman that once encapsulated his every waking thought. His father was with them both.

"Demmy? Dana? Dad?"

Demetre Draycott led the others. But for some odd reason, his friend did not look happy. He looked angry.

Light smiled, seeing Dana for the first time in five years since she left him. All the anger that he had felt, the sorrow her leaving caused him, and the guilt that maybe he had done something wrong to cause her to leave, vanished instantly.

"Oh my god, Dana..."

Light open his arms hoping for an embrace from her, but it never came and he didn't care that Misa was looking on. Dana was his first love and now she was back after all this time. But Dana remained at Demetre's side and his smile quickly faded.

"So it's true," he said disheartened. "You two are a couple now. I didn't want to believe it when my mother told me she saw you, when you visited our house wanting to see me." He stood strong, stolidly. "It's good to see you again, Dana. How have you been?"

But she casted her eyes aside without a reply.

I still love you, Dana, no matter what!

He looked to Demetre and forced a smile. "Demmy, thank-you! I'm glad you're okay. I've been hearing some nasty rumours about you. That you joined some crazy cult. I hope they're not true?"

Suddenly, Demetre pointed the gun at Light.

Light gasped. "What the—"

Dana put a hand on Demmy's arm. "Demetre…Stop it! Not here," she pleaded.

"Demetre!" Light's father protested. "What in the world?"

Just then, they heard Bryant Harvey's voice as he lay on the floor with his hand to his chest. He was now laying on his back. Light looked at Demetre's gun, but then looked at Bryant Harvey.

"This is wrong," the villain said. Bryant Harvey's voice was low. He coughed, bringing up blood. "He said no harm would come to me if I did what he asked. The guy said that Kira would protect me from harm."

The elevator dinged again and the doors opened. L, Mogi, and Misa, all emerged. L walked over to Bryant Harvey along, telling Mogi to keep Misa safe at a distance. The big man complied.

"Bryant Harvey you're under arrest," L said, when he reached Harvey. He used his right foot to slide the discarded gun out of reach. "Or shall I call you Christian Troy?" He turned to Demetre, Dana, and Soichiro Yagami. "I was listening to your conversation in the elevator. Once I got his name, I asked Watari to do a background check, and lo and behold both Christian Troy and Bryant Harvey are one-in-the-same."

Bryant Harvey laughed, then coughed, holding his chest. Light looked at the criminal, now a shadow of himself—what he was. The so-called untouchable villain the media portrayed him out to be. Yet, no longer! There was no reason for the laughter except if it came from a megalomaniac with nothing left to lose. Bryant Harvey knew he had been caught. But he didn't confirm or deny the revelation.

"Who hired you to kill me?" Light demanded.

"He lied to me," Bryant Harvey said, his voice getting lower, softer, as the end neared. "I'll see him in Hell…"

Then, all of sudden, Bryant Harvey clenched his chest, as if he was having a heart attack, and died.

Demetre came to stand next to Light, looked down. Then he gave a hard look to Light. Light could see the rancor in his friend's face, the sneer on his lips. Then it came, and Demetre delivered a hard back slap to Light's face with his free hand. Light reeled from it and fell back to the floor.

"Demmy!" Dana shouted.

She immediately went to Light's aid, crouching down beside him. Light felt his face.

Demetre pointed the gun at him again, but pulled back when Dana put out her hand in front.

"Stop it! Please!" she pleaded.

"I just committed the gravest of sins for you, Light. I hope you're happy?"

"Demetre Draycott, put the gun down right now!" L demanded. Mogi was approaching, but L held out a hand to hold him back. But if Mogi wanted to take Demetre down, Light knew, there would little to stop him. The man was fast, like a bull. L held out a hand for the gun. "I'll arrest you for assaulting a member on my task force! Give me the gun and I'll pretend I didn't see it."

"Don't do this, Demetre," Dana pleaded. She then turned to Light. "Light, we need to talk things out, someplace private; you, me and Demmy. Certain things need to be aired out between you. You may not understand things yet, but trust me, this is important."

Light felt his face as he looked at Dana. There was a sorrow in her eyes, a sadness that he didn't understand. He wanted to know why.

"I have nothing to say to him," Demmy voiced vehemently, raising the gun slightly so it was not pointed at Light and more so at the ceiling. "I saved him from this killer. God damn it, I even killed for him!"

"And why is that a bad thing, Demetre Draycott?" L questioned. "You just saved your best friend's life."

Demetre gave L a vindictive stare. "Don't get involved in this, Detective. This is between me and Light, no one else!"

"Stop it, Demmy!" Light said. "What's going on? Why are you angry with me? What have I done?"

Soichiro Yagami approached and put an arm on Demetre's shoulder. "Son, I'm not asking this time," he said. "Give me the gun. Then you go someplace and talk out your grievances with Light. But please, don't do anything you'll regret here. I implore you."

Demetre sneered with teeth showing, then handed over the gun. He acted like he was a man completely surrounded, Light observed, and yet he was the only one with a weapon. And Demetre knew how to use it like a pro if those annual sabbaticals they took together when they were kid was any indication, when it only took Demetre one-shot to kill game. Light knew his father taught his friend well has to shoot a weapon.

Much better than me, Light admitted.

Light looked at his father. He apparently knew a lot more about what was going on than anyone else did.

"Ryuzaki," Soichiro then said, "let them go somewhere alone to talk. I still don't know everything that's going on between them, Demetre hasn't explain things to me fully, but he said that he would tell me after he has it out with Light first. I trust the boy not to do anything stupid."

"I think it may be too late for that," Demetre muttered under his breath. Light heard it.

L and Demetre eyed each other. Light still had no clue what was going on, but it almost looked like L was trying to figure Demetre out.

"Fine, I'll give you two the time you need to work things out." L sounded irked. "But I want no more interruptions with the Kira Case. There has already been too many incidents driving me away from my initial goal in catching Kira. The Third Kira is killing and I want to get on his trail. I want—whatever this is—settled fast! You can explain it to me later." The detective then reached into his back pocket and pulled out a flip phone, dialled, then said: "Watari, we're going to need a body bag for Bryant Harvey." Watari acknowledged. After the call ended, L said, "People are going to wonder what happened to Bryant Harvey. I have questions myself. And about this mysterious person who hired him…maybe you can fill me on some details, Demetre Draycott? And like how you got in the building without anyone knowing?"

"D.B. Cooper," was all Demetre said.

"Ah," L said, as if he understood. "The mysterious American who took a passenger's plane hostage in the 1971, robbed it, and then jumped out with a parachute, only to vanish without a trace somewhere along the plane's flight path in the United States. So, you intend to be that mysterious, huh?"

"I still don't understand the animosity you have towards Light," Soichiro Yagami said. "But there is no call for violence. This is not like you."

"People change, Mr. Yagami," Demetre said darkly. "Especially when a great wrong has been done."

"Then explain it to me!" Light demanded, getting to his feet. Dana helped him. He gave his friend a hard stare, looking directly into Demetre's eyes. He saw a fury and a hatred he had never seen in his friends demeanour before. It was like his friend had just put on a mask of complete and utter contempt for him. "Tell me what the hell is going on, Demmy, and why you're so angry with me?"

"Don't call me Demmy!" Demetre said harshly. "Only my friends call me that!"

To be continued...