Chapter Eight:
"Strange One"
All eyes were suddenly on Demetre as he stood there holding his Beretta's like a modern-day gangster. Everyone was frozen in place, probably wondering if he was a member of the gunmen since he was not the one who took the other out.
He cleared his throat and then holstered his guns quickly, crossing his arms.
"Who are you? Are you one of them?" Mello demanded. "We Wammy orphans are tougher than you think. You think you can just waltz right into where we live, our school, and start shooting up the place without any repercussions?"
Demetre looked around. No one was hurt, thank god. But things were beginning to escalate with Mello. "I'm not—"
Mello went for the gunman's rifle, then Matt bolted over and stopped him. "Hey, Mello! Take it easy. Demmy is one of the good guys. He came to rescue us. It's a long story; he was at L's funeral. I'll tell you about it later. I thought you were leaving right after the funeral?"
"That was the plan, but I had a few additional things to pack, then these damn idiots stormed the orphanage and I was trapped here," Mello explained. "But mark my words, I'm going to catch Kira and make him pay! And prove that I'm Number One. No one is going to stop me, especially Near—not one single goddamn person!"
"Mello, watch your language," the lone teacher scolded him. She sat with some of more scared orphans.
Demetre looked over. He had only seen her from afar and through the view window of the door during his initial sweep, but now he realized how strikingly beautiful she was. She was at least ten years older than him, if he guessed, with shoulder length auburn hair and a thin frame. She was dressed in a dark blue pantsuit with dark boots.
"Thank you for coming to our rescue," she then said to him.
Demetre nodded.
"Near's very smart, Mello, and he's a genius when it comes to puzzles," Matt said, grabbing Demetre's attention again. "I know you two have a rivalry, Mello, but he's been hand-picked succeed L. It was in L's Last Will and Testament."
Demetre knew that Near would succeed L, but it hadn't been revealed how. The timeline that he saw in Geist's Portable Orb mainly focussed on events concerning Light and his subsequent battles with both L and Near. It could not reveal everything to him, so this was news to him.
"But maybe we should enlist his help?" Matt continued. "Because if you're going to fight Kira, then I'm with you all the way, buddy. I'm fourteen, and it's time I started making some real choices."
"Sure, welcome aboard," Mello said. "I could use a grunt man."
Matt frowned.
Demetre opened his mouth to refute, they were too young to strike out on their own, but then he remembered Adam, and he was only eleven years old, and had agreed to join him on his journey to track and hunt down Zurn Wellington with permission from the Savant Society. Demetre was nineteen, so technically, that made him Adam's official guardian. Not to say that he could force the kid to go to bed at a certain time, or not to eat so many marshmallows while he was conducting his internet searches—the pantry was stock with them.
Demetre couldn't believe some people stuffed their bodies with sugars and meats. A vegetarian diet was the best way to live. He had to supplement his diet with powdered protein, however, because he didn't get it naturally, a vegetarian by choice. But all that extra protein helped him develop a really strong body that he honed every other day with exercise. He became a vegetarian when he was ten years old, curiously enough, when he learned the details of Light's kidnapping by a child serial killer, who took their bodies to a meat-packing plant. Light would have been Yoma Yuta's next victim if it wasn't for the quick actions of the National Police Agency in Japan.
He would have to explain to Matt about his options later and how the law worked when it came to being considered an adult in different parts of the world. In Japan, both Mello and Matt we're still minors and needed guardians until their eighteen birthday, but in some cities and prefectures they were considered adults. The age of consent, however, was up for much debate.
Matt would have to reach sixteen before he could strike out on his own according to UK law unless he had a guardian.
Mello could not be more than fifteen, even though he was taller than a lot of the other orphans. And unless he had a guardian, he couldn't leave the orphanage either.
But it was not Demetre's concern. But he did know that Mello would become a formidable foe when it came to the fight against Kira in later years.
"So…" Mello began. "What's your deal Dominic? Got a last name? Or are you afraid of Kira?"
"My name is Demetre," he corrected Mello. "Just call me Demetre."
Just then, Mello spoke Russian. He was obviously trying to pull the same trick Matt had when they first met, his first name being Russian in origin. But this time, extreme profanity spewed out.
Demetre's brow rose, and Matt's mouth went agape, knowing what Mello said. Demetre just smirked, not taking any offence, because he knew the kid was just blowing off some steam. However, he was misdirecting his emotions towards the wrong person. Demetre then returned his words in kind and Mello's face went red, and probably from embarrassment, thinking that he had had an advantage. But the kid was wrong.
Mello looked to Matt. Matt shrugged. "Sorry, didn't have time to warn you," he said.
"I can speak several languages including Russian, French, English, Japanese, some Chinese, and one more: sign language—although I'm still learning there. Would you like me to demonstrate a particular, world-renown sign?" he said to Mello. "Fortunately, I only need one finger."
Mello laughed. "Okay, you've made your point," he said. "You can call me Mello. It's not my real name, of course. No one uses their real name anymore because of Kira."
"That's prudent strategy against an unknown killer," Demetre said. "Right now, you have to put your desire for revenge aside. I need your help me deal with the current situation."
The teacher and the other children got up off the floor. She then approached Demetre. "The gunmen separated us into two groups," she told him, but he already knew. "I don't know where they took the others, but they must be in another classroom close by. They stormed into the orphanage like a small militia. There are three more of them. One of the gunmen took a child that visits the orphanage on a frequent basis, Sammy Baxter. Both his parents are philanthropists and are large contributors to the orphanage. William Baxter is on the Board of Directors. No doubt they are holding Sammy for ransom. If you can do anything for him, please help Sammy."
Demetre nodded. It wasn't anything he didn't know before. And would be willing to do what needed to help to rescue the boy.
"Yes, Ms. Kristtcer," Matt said, "I told Demetre all this and more. Demetre, this is Ms. Kristtcer. She's new here, only been here a few days, but she's already familiar with the orphanage and the kids. If we didn't already know better, it was almost like she came prepared."
"I'm a teacher, Matt," she said, "and preparation is my business. I was hired by Roger Ruvie, who is the main facilitator of the to the orphanage, for a teaching position. I teach the kids social sciences and math."
Demetre nodded. "Take care of the kids, Ms. Kristtcer," he said. "Mello, Matt, I'm going to need your help. We have to rescue the others." I wonder if Geist has scared the living crap out of the other gunmen yet?
"Sure," Mello said eagerly, and then left the classroom with Matt, following Demetre. Then he asked, "What are you, some secret agent? You're decked out for some sort of civil war. And are those guns Beretta's?"
He was surprised Mello knew what kind of gun they were with only seeing them briefly. Maybe he was also a fan of RPG games? "Yes," Demetre replied, as they made their way down the hall to the other classroom, "and no, you can't have one," responding to an unasked question. If Matt and Mello were of similar minds, then no doubt that would be his next askance.
"What do you need from us?" Mello asked. "Before I leave the orphanage, I want to kick these gunmen's asses out of here! Anything I can do to help?" Mello them noticed what Matt was holding, a cylinder with a pin. "Is that a flash concussion bomb?"
Matt said, "Yup, Demetre gave it to me to hold and use in case we get into a sticky situation."
Mello turned to Demetre, when they got to the classroom with the rest of the kids. They hugged the wall on either side of the door. "So, what do you have for me?" he asked with a lower tone of voice. "Do you have another flash bomb?"
Demetre sighed. He figured this would happen when Mello saw what Matt was holding. Just like a typical kid, what he saw something someone else had, he wanted something too to be fair, or he would throw a temper tantrum.
"Don't be a child, Mello," Matt said, sounding mature. "And besides, these things are not toys."
Mello pouted, but did not make a fuss.
Good, Demetre thought.
He took out a device from another pouch on his belt, a suction cup device he pressed to the door, unzipping a cord from the bottom, and put a receiver earbud to his right. He didn't want to look through the door view window this time. Instead, he wanted to listen to what was being said, and if Geist has done his job. To him, it was standard equipment now. It was a listening device that Adam had designed for him from plans he found on the internet. And it fit being well with his new life in espionage and secret operations when it came to hunting down Zurn Wellington. He humorously thought of Adam has his Quartermaster.
"I can't wait to see the rabbit," Matt whispered, comparing his belt to a magician's hat. "Do you hear anything?"
Indeed, he did, and precisely what he had hoped. All quiet.
"All clear, Demmy," Geist said, obviously aware that he was out in the hall. "And the door is unlocked. You can come in." Only he could hear the Shinigami's voice.
Demetre returned the listening device to a pouch on his belt, then opened the door. Geist stood in the middle of the room and only Demetre could see him. He also saw the two gunmen were unconscious on the floor. Demetre's eyes widened when he saw how they were positioned. They were face-to-crotch, and still holding their rifles.
"They decided to take a nap," the Shinigami said. "That's the way they fell, honest. They're aren't dead, just knocked out for a while."
"Near," Matt said, entering. "What happened?"
Mello surveyed the men on the floor. He went to the two gunmen and pushed both of them with a foot. They were out cold. Demetre saw the kid was eying the rifles. Mello looked at him, Demetre shook his head, and then Mello moved away.
"Okay, Near, spill it!" Mello demanded, his jealousy of Near coming through.
The silver-haired boy was sitting on the floor with one knee up, twirling a lock of hair in his right hand with a finger. It seemed to be a nervous twitch, or a form of OCD like biting one's nails or grinding teeth.
Near looked at Demetre, but didn't say anything to him. "It was strange," Near then said, responding to Mello, tilting his head as he talked, "they appeared to re-enact an old slapstick gag. If I recall, I believe it's called 'Noggin' Knocking'. One moment, they were just standing there, watching us. All of a sudden, they bumped heads and collapsed." Near's eyes narrowed. "I find it curious, it almost appeared like someone took their heads and smacked them together. I was looking directly at them at the time what happened. Quite puzzling indeed."
Demetre gave a slight glance to Geist.
The Shinigami said, "Yup, I bonked their heads together. I watched an old Three Stooges serial on television the other night while you were sleeping and that's where I came up with the idea. Nyuk, nyuk, nyuk, wowowowowowo, surtainly."
Demetre shook his head and withheld a smile. It was one of the worst Curly, Three Stooges impressions yet ever heard.
Demetre turned back and saw Near looking at him. He had a straight, but creepy stare, as if he was trying to read Demetre's thoughts. He needed to be careful with the kid. He wouldn't know about Shinigami until later. It was best not to give him an opportunity to know about them sooner.
"That's Near for you, just the facts," Matt said. "He loves puzzles, and there isn't one he can't solve. Maybe he will be good on the Kira Case?"
Mello scoffed. "I'm smarter that him! Near is just a robot and he's an arrogant SOB to boot!"
"Don't get so huffy, Mello," Matt said. "Don't be jealous, man. Near just does things differently."
"Correct," Near chimed in, turning away from Demetre. "Emotion is the enemy of logic. Conjecture and supposition can cloud the realm of what is true. What I saw with the gunmen was fact. What I may not have seen, because other children were in a direct line of sight of the gunmen's feet, is the possibility of one of them tripping over their own feet. If that is the case, that would explain how they knocked heads. Then again, that poses a theoretical inquiry that goes against factual data, therefore, witnesses would need to be called to verify such a thing happened."
Geist chuckled. "Oh, he's a strange one," the Shinigami said. "Light Yagami is going to have fun playing with him. You know, come to think of it, if a certain someone didn't get involved, Near would have been defeated, and Light would have won."
Demetre nodded. He knew who Geist was referring to, an over obsessive man who became a fan of Kira later, who Light eventually put his trust in. That man would eventually cause Light's downfall. But that wouldn't come until later. Unless something was changed.
If the timeline was changed now with himself an owner of a Death Note which Demetre was never a factor in the original Kira Incident, would things be different for Light now? Could meeting Near here alter something important that would be needed to stop Kira in the future?
Demetre hoped not.
He never asked to be an owner of a Death Note, but he was one, nevertheless. He was now involved any events that originally did not involve him. Now he had to make sure he doesn't change things too much or Kira could rule the world!
To be continued...