Chapter Eleven:
"Make a Choice, Kira"
Light didn't like the way Icarus smiled at him. It seemed being threatened amused him. But it must have irked, because suddenly he lashed out and struck Light across the side of the face with the gun.
Light recoiled and spit out blood. He wondered also if a tooth had been knocked loose. The left side of his cheek thrashed with pain. He avoided striking back. He wished death upon Icarus secretly to any god that would hear his thoughts. He didn't know Icarus's real name, but the moment he did, he would kill him!
"I'm aware that the Death Note can be used in a multitude of different ways to kill someone, not just by a heart attack," Icarus stated. "In fact, I've done so myself. You're not the only one whose figured that trick out. Although, I'm sure 'L' has already figured it out, too. He's a smart cookie."
Light felt this jaw, then righted himself to face Icarus. The information he received from his Dark Web contact told him that Icarus was a murderous sociopath, so it was best be cautious.
For the moment, Icarus could not use the Marshal's gun. A shot fired would bring too much attention and a bullet could puncture the plane's haul causing a decompression alarm to appear in the cockpit. Light knew Icarus wasn't smarter than he looked. He needed to learn more about Icarus and his Shinigami. He could not let the man just walk away without paying for his crimes, or he didn't deserve to be Kira.
Light smiled with a thin sadistic grin as he straightened the knot in his tie. "I won't have insolence in my brand new world. Icarus, you had better learn your place and quick. I'm giving you a warning. Or, I'll have Ryuk write down your name and kill you."
Icarus looked at Ryuk and then laughed.
Ryuk looked confused. "Huh? Um, Light? I'm not killing for you. You may have manipulated Rem into killing L, but I'm not sacrificing myself for you. No way, no how—not going to happen!"
Icarus ceased laughing. "L is dead? You killed L? That detective who was battling Kira? Prove it!"
The left side of Light's face throbbed with pain. He could already feel his mouth starting to feel numb.
He said, "To be honest, I'm returning from his funeral. It took place at an orphanage in Winchester, England. The other members of the Kira Task Force are on this plane with me. We are an elite group of individuals charged with hunting down Kira. However, you're looking at the person who killed him. L's death was a by-product of his stupidity believing he was better than Kira. Anyone who thinks they can defeat Kira will fail under his hammer of justice. No one can stand up to Kira. Kira is a god!"
Icarus blinked. "What's with the third person? It makes 'Kira' sound like a complete moron."
Light sneered. "No, it doesn't," he muttered to himself.
Ryuk snickered. "Yeah, I noticed that too. He likes to keep a little bit of distance between his personas, so Light doesn't go completely off the deep end. Funny thing is, he doesn't even have a split personality. Light knows exactly what he's doing. It's all him. I think people call it bi-polar disorder."
"Ryuk!" Light shouted angrily. He cocked his head and looked at the Shinigami standing lankly to his left. "I do not have bi-polar disorder! The moment I realized what the Death Note was, I understood the implications of what it entailed. The world is rotten and it needs to be cleansed of evil. When I was kidnapped as a child by some sadistic maniac and almost killed, I believe that that was the catalyst to spark my desire to become an avenger for justice! I wanted to be a police officer to follow in my father's footsteps, but then I found Death Note. I quickly learned I could do so much more with it than simply catch the bad guys. I eliminated them instead so they couldn't do any more harm. Kira has done more good for the world than any law body and Kira will continue to judge the wicked. Kira will not be stopped!"
Icarus snorted with a smirk. "So, you're saying you're Kira? Again, prove it!"
Ryuk cleared his throat. "I wish I had a dramatic drum roll here," he said. "Anyway, you're looking at the genuine article, the one and only, the harbinger of death—Lord Kira!" He chuckled after the last part.
Icarus looked at Ryuk, a little surprised. "Really? You? A pencil neck geek like you?"
Light eyed him harshly. He had been called worse when he was a kid by far more menacing people, but he knew he was better them all. He was smarter. And now he had the power to crush them all!
Light cleared his throat with a thinly veiled smile. "A little melodramatic, Ryuk, and that last adjective is a bit subjective." Light adjusted the cuffs of his jacket in a show of modest pride. "I don't kill for the fun of it. I cleanse the world of a cancer that has been allowed to fester. Crime has decreased by over 75% and wars have virtually stopped since Kira has emerged. With L is dead, I'm free to continue my judgements."
Light purposely showed his watch that his father gave him as a present for graduating high school and inside was a piece of the Death Note within a secret compartment. But Icarus didn't know that. It was just a simple time piece to him. But it was a secret symbol of Kira's power and he could use it at anytime. There was a small pin inside and the ink would be his own blood on the paper.
Icarus looked at it. "Fancy looking watch, but it's certainly no Rolex. Looks like a Chinese knock-off, and nothing worth stealing. You can buy something cheap like that at a second hand jewelry shop."
Light clenched a fist at his side at the insult. Then, he smiled priggishly, like flipping an emotional switch. "I'm always on the look out for good allies," he offered. "You, Icarus, can be a part of my dream, my vision—a grand agenda of a bright new future where evil is stamped out and law and order reigns. I can patron you from your crimes. If you join me, we can turn this world on its head. As for the Marshal, killing him was a mistake. But, as I am a member of the NPA, I can make this transgression go away—for a price."
Icarus cocked his head. "Oh yeah? What kind of price? And if you want me to get on my knees and suck your Japanese cock, you can forget it. I don't swing that way."
Light's lip twitched with annoyance and disgust. "Perish the thought." You muscle bound, uncouth, uncivilized troglodyte. "I mean, show me your Shinigami," Light insisted.
Icarus suddenly smiled with an almost sly expression.
Something didn't seem right. Light knew, anyone with a Death Note could do what he did, but then again, who would anyone put in the effort?
Light watched Icarus cautiously as the felon ventured over to the yellow Lamborghini.
Icarus moved the gun to his left hand, then caressed the roof of the car with seductive admiration with his right. "Such a beautiful vehicle," Icarus remarked, looking at the price/name tag. He then suddenly smashed the driver's side window with the ball of his right fist. Icarus didn't even flinch. "It's pennies to dollars to what I can afford now. Can you give me such nice things?"
Light knew he could not. "In time," was all he said. "Patience is a virtue. All things came to he who waits."
"I'm an impatient person by nature," Icarus said, flicking his hand in the air. It seemed smashing the window had stung a little. Droplets of blood spattered against the side of the Lamborghini, mixing red amongst the bright yellow. Icarus opened and closed his hand. He mouthed, "Ow…"
Icarus then moved the gun back to his right hand and picked up a piece of broken piece of glass inside the vehicle that had a sharp tip , he tossed it at Light's feet. The piece bounced, but didn't break.
Light looked down at it confused, then back at Icarus.
Icarus pointed the gun at him and Light looked directly at it. Icarus's finger wrapped around the trigger. "I see her information on the back of your left hand, Yagami. It's written in Japanese kanji. I can understand Japanese. I'm a member of the Yukaza, after all. I'm not sure why, but you seem to care a lot for Astuko Tairabayshi. I can see the attraction, she is a cutie. I have the Shinigami Eyes, so I can see her complete name, and how to spell it. You have a choice to make. If you want her to live, then you'll carve her name off your hand with that piece of glass, mutilating yourself in the process. Small price to pay for saving a life, unless you my to kill her in my Death Note? Her death will be attributed to Kira, of course, and the media will have a frenzy, condemning you, Kira, in the process. The death of an innocent flight attendant with no criminal record. Rumours will fly and people will rise up against you. Sometimes it only takes one innocent death to begin a rebellion. You'll be hated, hunted down, and not just by the Kira Task Force. I'm sure there are others out there who are just as determined to catch you like the great detective L."
Not to mention the Kira Task Force will immediately suspect me, Light thought. I'll be back to square one and under suspicion. Killing L would have been a moot point. "Bastard!" He sneered. "She's not involved here. There's no need to kill her!"
"And there is the point, Kira. It will prove your resolve as the avenger of justice, protecting the innocent from wicked forces. She wrote her name down on your hand because she likes you, like a girl who is interested in a boy. Will you do the just thing and protect her from danger? As the rules states, all you need is to envision the face of the person when writing their name down in the Death Note killing a person with a heart attack within forty-seconds. You've knocked her out. So, she won't feel a thing. Tell me something, can you recall how many times you've killed innocent people all for the sake of your goal?"
Light didn't answer. And no, he couldn't recall. There were just too many names. Most of the people he had killed were criminals, but there were some he had to kill to keep his secret. Naomi Misora, the fiancee of Raye Penber, and ex-FBI agent, to name just one. And there were a few others.
"Unlike writing down a name and killing someone, this time you'll be removing a name and saving someone's life whom has been slated to die—kind of like using a death eraser." Icarus laughed. "If you are truly the saviour of the world, the one true Kira, then you must make a choice either to save or condemn someone just because you want to beat me. Incidentally, if she does die, that does save you from having to explain what happened here to her. So, letting her die could play to your favour."
"If you don't kill me first," Light shot back. "If you kill me here, none of this gets out."
"True, but then the one true 'Kira' dies here. Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for your reputation?"
Damn it! Light thought. He's outsmarted me! Icarus has got me every which way! He's worse than L.
To be continued...