Chapter Five:
"Secret Message"
Demetre Draycott looked everywhere for his cell phone. Anywhere it may have slipped down, he searched. He even called and left a voicemail to whoever found it to call him back at another number using a spare phone (which was dumb after he thought about it because it was password locked, they would not be able to access the message).
He sat on a white couch in the living room of his residence facing a stone fireplace. Living in large wooden cabin located deep within Hokkaido-Jozankei Forest in Japan, he resided with others, a ragtag team of mavericks using it has a base of operations since leaving the Savant Society.
The wooden cabin, big enough for a large family, belonged to the Yagami Family, but it had not been used for years.
Years ago, he and Light used to come up here with Soichiro Yagami, Light's father, for their annual sabbaticals, where they were taught basic survival training, shot and caught wild game, fished, sang, slept next to a campfire under the stars, and other adventurous stuff. There was no phones or any technology allowed and it was strictly a 'Man's Vacation', where they got down and re-connected with nature.
Light's father thought with people always being 'plugged in', that it was good to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern day life every once in a while.
Demetre they loved every minute of it. It was so much fun.
He was older now, but when they were kids, the cabin was like staying at a luxury hotel. It was huge compared to a typical cabin in the woods, with four bedrooms on two floors and a basement, a large kitchen, a study, a separate games room housing a pool table, a library filled with books, the main living room with its open-concept, a separate sitting room, and a vast array of amenities that Demetre had forgotten about since the last time he had visited, including a marble jacuzzi situated outside.
So much for 'roughing it', but the cabin did not originally belong to Soichiro Yagami, it was actually willed to him from an old friend in his academy days after he died. There was a strict stipulation that came with the cabin: 'Enjoy it, don't let it go to waste'.
So, Soichiro Yagami decided to start the annual tradition of a yearly sabbatical, which lasted for quite a few years until Light grew out of it and other factors got in the way of coming up. That meant for years the cabin had remained empty and dominant.
When Demetre, Adam, and the Shinigami left the Savant Society, he wondered where they would go. Then he remembered the cabin.
Since moving in, they had added a few modern touches they needed, including a few televisions, wireless satellite internet, and a heavy duty CCTV system, all paid for on the Savant Society's tab, an unlimited savings account, given to them by one of the Council Members Tamoca, a good and dear friend.
They used the cabin as their home base to hunt down Zurn Wellington, the man who murdered Demetre's beloved girlfriend Dana Chika. And thanks to Adam, who was only eleven years old, they were able to track Zurn almost everyone around the world. The kid was a wiz with computers, much better than Demetre himself.
Demetre spread his arms out wide on the back of the couch and looked up at the ceiling and tried to think back to where he last saw his phone.
Just then, he heard a small yip at his feet. He looked down and saw Cerberus, Adam's small and fluffy Pomeranian dog. From his appearance, no one would ever guess that Cerberus was a Shinigami in disguise. His real form, that Demetre had only been told about, was similar to his namesake from ancient Greek legend—a giant dog with three-heads.
During his time at the Savant Society, Demetre learned that Shinigami had the ability to change their appearance to either human or animal to blend in with human society if they wanted to get closer to their targets. It was a form of playing with one's food before enjoying it, before a Shinigami took a human's lifespan. It also added to an entertainment value that Shinigami liked.
Demetre pat his knee and Cerberus hopped up into his lap. He then began to pet the Shinigami dog behind the ears which then caused a sudden licking frenzy to his face. And for whatever reason, the very act made him feel better about losing his phone, he even laughed.
"Oh, c'mon, stop it Cerberus," he laughed. Cerberus did and reserved to being just petted. "Did Adam send you here to cheer me up?" he asked. Cerberus yipped a yes, understanding him.
Adam Rothschild was a unique individual in his own rite. Not only did Adam share a bonding with a Shinigami, a god of death, and had done so since a very young age, since before he was eight, but Adam also possessed a special gift. He was able to sense or feel someone's emotions simply by looking at them. He was able to also reach into their mind and pluck information out with limited ability when their mind was open.
Demetre allowed Adam to sense his emotions, he had nothing to hide, except when he suffered depressive thoughts when he thought of Dana. When that came, Demetre knew his emotions became erratic and he put up a mental barrier, per se, to close himself off. Frustration and anger would then swell inside of him and thoughts of revenge towards Zurn Wellington, the ex-cop for the Japanese National Police Agency and now member of the League of Darkness, would fill his mind. He didn't want the kid to feel those dark thoughts.
Zurn Wellington murdered Dana in revenge for Demetre'e hand in stopping his assassination attempt on Light Yagami using a third party hire. The League of Darkness wanted Kira out of the picture. Demetre knew of the plot and stopped it, killing the assassin, but in doing so, the very act of coming to the aid of his friend Light caused Dana to become the target of Zurn's hatred and malice.
He wasn't feeling angry right now, not with Cerberus. In fact, his mood had been elevated to a more positive level.
"Good boy," Demetre said, petting Cerberus. "Adam's a good kid and I'm glad he and you are here with me. It's an unusual circumstance, but I don't think I could do this without either of you. Kira kills criminals, but Zurn is out of Light's reach, protected like I am, so things have to be done the old fashion way. We have to hunt Zurn down like a rabid animal, then make him pay for killing Dana." Cerberus yipped a yes. "In the meantime, it looks like I'm going to have to get a new phone and have Adam help me remote access my old one to erase its data. What a pain!" He emphasized his last few words as if each was its own thought.
As if his ears were burning with his name spoken, Adam came into the living room. Normally, he was in the Study, working on his laptops, plotting various points of destination to track Zurn Wellington, the last of which was Winchester, England, and also gathering other important information to help the team. The Study had been turned into a computer hub work station. It was also where the CCTV was monitored.
"Um, Demmy?" Demetre looked up, Adam was upside down from hie vantage point. The brown haired boy was holding his cell phone. "You did say you lost your phone, correct? You used a burner phone to call yours, right?"
"Yeah, I've been looking for it everywhere. You know that. I would like you to remote access it and erase all the data and its contacts. I thought I had it when I visited L's grave a few hours ago, but maybe I left it here and its on silent?"
"Well," Adam paused, "I just got this strange text from it. No words, just an emoji of a hand."
Demetre sat up and took Adam's phone when it was handed to him. He looked at the text emoji of a hand with its pinky finger sticking out. It was odd, but other then coming from his phone, there was nothing unusual about it. "Most likely someone found my phone and is trying out the features. Damn, they hacked my password. Can you track it?"
"I already did. I traced it back to Winchester, England, and to Wammy House, the orphanage."
Demetre thought back. "Of course! When I took out the flowers to put on L and Watari's graves, my phone must have fallen out of the inside pocket of my coat. If it landed on the grass, I wouldn't have heard it or even seen it when I was talking to the boy, Matt."
"Do you think the person that has your phone sent the emoji to my phone in error because I'm one of your contacts?" Adam wondered. "And to unlock your phone, they would need to have the knowhow to do so with, of course, certain software. Frankly, these days, any kid with a computer can find those programs freely on the internet. I'll lock your phone in the meantime to prevent anymore use."
"Thanks Adam, you're more computer savvy than I am." Demetre's eyes widened with sudden realization. "An emoji hand with its pinky finger out—like a Pinky Shake, or a 'Pinky Friendship Shake'? Matt?"
Just before they departed, Matt, one of the orphans, had put out his left hand with the pinky extended. He said it was a variation on the Pinky Shake, but he called it the 'Pinky Friendship Shake', after he said Demetre was his friend because he said he did not like Kira.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Matt had said.
L had been Wammy House's most admired and likeable former resident.
Was it a coincidence?
He was skeptical of that. For some reason, he sensed something different about Matt when he spoke to him. And since Wammy House was a place for gifted children, he bet the message did indeed come from Matt, and this was his way, albeit clandestinely, to let him know the boy had found his phone.
Just then, Geist, Demetre's Shinigami emerged through an outer wall of the cabin with Angel. The Shinigami had gotten close since the departure from the Savant Society. Angel, who looked like an angel, with pale human-esque white skin, with silver armour and wings to match, had been Dana's Shinigami. Now, she was Demetre's along with Geist. There was no rule that a human could not be owner of multiple Death Notes.
Geist looked like a groupie form a rock'n'roll band with his wild brown hair, skeletal features, and punk rock attire. He also carried a boneclub for a weapon strapped to his back. But despite his scary and eclectic outward appearance, Angel liked him, much like a girl liked a boy.
Demetre was surprised Shinigami could express those emotions, but he guessed even in death the power of love still resided in the hearts of all.
Geist looked around, saw Adam with Demetre, and said, "Hey Demmy, what's all the excitement about? I can feel something in the air. You tense about something?"
"We have to go back to Winchester, England, Geist, to retrieve my phone," Demetre said. "I think Matt found it and sent Adam a message being one of my main contacts and a message than only I would understand because I assume he didn't know who would receive it."
"But we just got back from there a few hours ago? Now we have to go back?" Geist grumbled. "It's wet and damp there. Even Shinigami get aches and pains, you know. Can't you just ask him to sent it express post through the mail or something?"
"If your bones ache, use Bengay," Demetre said, ignoring the express post jape. "We're going. I need you to open a Shinigami portal." He stood on his feet. "I'll get a few things before we go. No matter where we go nowadays, I always have to be prepared for anything. The League of Darkness could attack me at any time. We may be hunting for Zurn, but Zurn and the LOD are also hunting me, willing to kill me to take my Death Note for their sinister purposes."
Geist sighed. "Inconvenient timing," he said.
"Oh, Geist, don't be so grumpy, we'll have more time together later," Angel said, smiling sweetly. "Demetre needs your help. It's only a quick trip." She gave him a peck on the cheek. Geist smiled. "Any maybe, when you get back, we can try that thing we talked about?"
Geist straightened up. "Really?"
"What thing?" Demetre asked.
"Never you mind, Demetre," Angel said, shaking her head, talking to him like a parent did a child when he asked an inappropriate question. "It's a private matter between Geist and myself."
To be continued...