XXXVII – Confidential Information
The shinigami sat on his bed, watching Kira working on the computer. 'Well, well… Daddy's files, aren't these? And that must be why you're so confident,' he grinned.
"That's right," Light answered him as he kept his eyes on the screen. "It's easy for me to hack into dad's computer on our home network, so I can copy the files I need without leaving a trace. This way, I can keep track of their investigation. Here we go…" he kept mumbling as he typed in the password.
Leaning back, Kira took his tea cup as he looked at the reports. "Well, isn't that interesting… Looks like the police are already beginning to suspect a student." He had accessed a database of all of his punished criminals, sorted by day and time of death. It immediately rang a bell.
Ryuk laughed. 'I guess that means you're in trouble!' He sounded more than a little amused to hear that.
Sipping some tea, Light set the cup down and began to recap… "If the cause of death is written within 40 seconds of writing the person's name, it will happen. If the cause of death is not specified, the person will simply die of a heart attack. After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds. That sound right to you, Ryuk?"
The creature nodded, waiting for him to continue. 'So, what's your point?'
"In other words, if I write 'heart attack' as the cause of death, then I should be able to write all the details, including the time of death, shouldn't I? Looks like I'll be able to provide you with more entertainment now…"
Just then, his phone began to ring. He picked up. "Did something happen?"
'Define 'something', darling…' she answered him with a sigh. 'First, let me say my tutor won't bother you again. In fact, he won't bother me, either.'
Throwing Ryuk a scared look, Light had to make sure she hasn't done anything stupid. "What have you done?" He knew Caterina had a gun and a knife when she left.
'Nothing that would stain my hands, but… I'm not sure yet if it was my greatest mistake yet or the best thing I've ever done. I just broke it up with my tutor, so now I have a minuscule part of the money, no connections and… basically, nothing. I have nothing.'
Caterina had to hold back her tears as she looked outside the window. She received her own room, but it was far from satisfying. "It kills me to know I'll have to make it with this little for a year… Light, are you still there?"
'Yes, I am. I was just thinking… How much do you have, exactly?'
The Italian chuckled bitterly. "So that's it, huh? You really are after the money…"
'What?! No, of course not! But if you say you have nothing, then we're in it together. We have to find a way through this one year,' he quickly defended himself.
"…I have enough to live, but we can't afford to buy much, if you know what I mean. It's so uncomfortable, it's stressing me out!"
After a moment, Light spoke again. He sounded like he was calculating something. 'Where are you now? At the hotel?'
"No. My mother helped a girl start her modeling career and then, Padre helped her with an apartment. I'm at her place. If you want me to stay at yours, don't even think about it. I can't burden your family like that and besides, your sister hates me." She went to sit on the bed.
'Then, here's the plan. Find a single room apartment to rent and calculate the rent for a year. If you gain any property, your father's enemies could find you easily. Properties tie you down and you can't afford to leave one behind.'
Caterina nodded, as if he was able to see her. "I will… I just can't stand this girl, I have to get out of here. But there's something else. I found an amateur trying to rob her. She doesn't have much, so it could have been a coincidence, but at the same time, he was here right when I said I would."
It immediately drew Light's attention. 'What do you mean?'
"I mean that I told this girl it will take me three minutes to reach her building and another one to take the elevator. The robber was there one minute afterwards, but I lied. I took five minutes to reach her building. There's a chance someone is listening to my phone and if that's the case, they know I'm here."
Light froze. It meant Caterina was in danger. 'Listen to me and get out of there right now!'
"No. We need to meet, but I can't tell you when. I won't stay here long, but I have to, for now. I will need at least a couple of days to find a new place." Caterina had her hand on her gun. "Besides, if they come, I'll get them. But just so you know… Watch out for anything suspicious."
'Do you suspect anyone?' he asked.
"Not yet… But if they make a move, I will know for certain," Caterina spoke firmly, but her voice sounded tired. "Light? Please, be careful. As soon as we can, we need to talk." She hung up, keeping the warm cup of coffee in one hand and the gun on the other side. She turned on Misa's laptop and began searching for an apartment.
That night, Light began writing names in his Death Note. He scheduled their deaths one by the hour for the next two days. If the police thought they could predict the crimes, they were wrong. Thinking about it, perhaps he should have done this earlier – after all, patterns were the reason many criminals were caught.
Early in the morning, after taking a shower, Caterina left to see several apartments and hopefully, sign a contract. There was a new residential quarter in town with non-stop guard and a security system she was certain Light could break. These were a little bit more expensive than the average, but she was desperate for luxury and protection, above all. In the end, that was the most vital thing that money could still buy.
Kira kept an eye on the investigation, but he was certainly more relaxed than before. Being able to see the files whenever he pleased was a great advantage and he knew that. He even felt like taking a break and going out for a while, but when he tried to call Caterina, she wouldn't answer.
"Ryuk?" Light said with a smile as he set his papers in order. "Do you want a bag full of the biggest, juiciest apples on the market?"
Immediately, the apparently apathetic creature felt a rush of excitement. 'What do you want me to do?'
"Go find Caterina and tell her to meet me… There is this new café in town, L'Etage. She will definitely love the atmosphere there. It's very European, kind of jazzy, almost festive. If all goes well, I'll give you the apples on our way back." Before he even finished, the shinigami was already out. Light smirked to himself. Ryuk was a lot like a dog when it came to basic behavior. It was so easy to get the creature to do whatever he asked, it reminded him of Pavlov's conditioning. In a way, it wasn't that different from Pavlov's experiments.
Almost half an hour later, Light received a call from a unknown number. "Yes, love?" He was certain it would be Caterina, but it was actually someone from his phone company.
'Excuse me, sir, good afternoon! Would you be interested in our holiday offer? We can offer you a free phone if you subscribe for another year,' a man spoke at the other end of the line.
Light laughed. "Sure, I'll pass by tomorrow or the day after." As he hung up, he began getting dressed for the occasion. Finally, things were going according to plan. He had a huge advantage and all he had to do now was help Caterina deal with her problems. Besides, it was December the 12th and the city was already covered in lights.
Christmas was not such an imported holiday there, but there were so many religions celebrating something during the last month of the year, it was hard to resist temptation. Commerce worldwide was flourishing like a cherry tree in spring, and it showed. The city was full of music, especially from people in a difficult time playing on the street. There were lights everywhere and special offers. Anyone had at least one thing to celebrate in December – the New Year. And, as always, the industries would all start the "holiday season" early.
Light had to admit, it was at least a little contagious, considering his situation. He even overheard people talking on the street about how much safer they felt, knowing that Kira was out there, doing his job. He almost felt like a secret Santa of sorts, delivering ease of mind and safety to all those innocent people.
He sat in the café with paintings of monuments from all over Europe, looking over the menu written in Japanese, English, Spanish and French. From what he could recall, the native Spanish speakers were more numerous than the native English speakers, so naturally, they expected others to know their language instead of learning another. As for the French… Well, everybody knew they had something against the British ever since the beginning of time – it didn't surprise anyone they wouldn't learn English to save their lives.
Ryuk eventually returned to him, already swallowing his own saliva. 'Light? When do I get my apples?'
Light took out his phone and pretended to be talking to someone. "Yes. I'm not sure how long, mom. Sure, on our way back home."
The shinigami looked confused. 'What? Is that when I get the apples?'
"Yes, of course," Light continued on his phone. "I'll call you later. Bye." He saw Caterina walking in, smiling brightly. "Looks like somebody's having a good day."
The girl chuckled and sat at his table. "I could say the same about you. So, what's up?"
"First, let's order something. It's cold today, isn't it?"
She nodded, her cheeks still red. "It is… This place reminds me so much of a café in Venice! How come I'd never paid attention to it before?" she sighed.
"I was betting on that, actually," he grinned. "Let's see… should I start with why it just got impossible for me to be caught, or with the latest progress of the investigation?"
Caterina threw him a look. "What do you mean, impossible to catch? Isn't… you know who… coming after you?"
Light shrugged. "Their main lead so far were the hours, the time of…" he nodded slowly, "Starting the night when you called, I began to schedule these throughout the day, so they no longer have a pattern."
Her eyes lit up. "Really? Why didn't you do that from the beginning?" When he shrugged, she waved her hand. "Never mind. It should be good as it is. But what about the investigation? How can you know of their progress?"
"Remember who dad is?" He waited for an approval and once she nodded, he continued. "I can break into his computer whenever I want, undetected. I know everything they know." Kira smiled proudly.
"Okay, now it's my turn. So first, I changed my phone number and I have two others prepared for emergencies. I have a new gun and an alias, thanks to the King."
Light raised an eyebrow. "The King? Who's that?"
"The guy who helped Padre and I in China, remember? I told you. Well, he's in California now, in L.A. actually, but he has a friend who has a guy who owes him something, so now I'm Claire Madison Smith. American, too. I'm supposedly staying here to complete my studies for a year only."
Light chuckled. "You sure are something… Don't ever run away from me like this. We could be in the same quarter and I couldn't track you down."
"That's the point, duh!" she mimicked an American diva for a moment. "So I've found this apartment and rented it on my alias. It's on the seventh floor out of eight, the highest I could get for a reasonable price. It's small, but so gorgeous – and the view is almost as good as from the very top. You've got to see it."
"Do you want to go there this evening?" he asked with a grin.
Caterina shrugged. "Anytime you want. But I have to warn you – we'll have to order dinner if you do."
"Alright then, Claire," he teased her. "Or should I call you Madison, Miss Smith?"
Caterina laughed and rolled her eyes. The waiter came to take their order and immediately, Ryuk was trying to steal an apple from the man's front pocket. Light threw him a murderous look before they would witness a floating apple being eaten.
"I thought we'd never have days like this one… Everything's going almost too well!" she smiled.
Kira nodded. "Also, I've already scheduled today until 11 pm, so we have the day free."
"How nice of you to free your agenda for me," she replied with a hint of irony, but he didn't mind it. "You know, I really owe you for that night… I panicked so badly, I couldn't think straight."
Light shrugged with a smirk. "We're in this together, right?"
Caterina nodded. "That's right… Through thick and thin."
'Are you getting married?' Ryuk asked all of a sudden. Both of them looked at him with shock written all over their faces.
"No," Caterina answered him eventually, only to have Light smirking at her.
"Then I don't need a ring this year, do I?"
That evening could be well described as a taste of paradise. The next day as well. Of course, Light had to call home so his parents won't be worried, but they spent every moment together while corrupted hearts kept stopping every hour. The criminals were dying one by one, while they were finding comfort and that taste of power they both found so addictive in a small, barely furnished apartment.
The two even came up with an idea – by keeping the deaths scheduled every hour, Kira could send L a very clear message. It won't take him long to see that Kira had access to strictly confidential information regarding the state of the investigation, while Caterina pointed out it could turn them against each other.
'I don't follow,' Ryuk interrupted them. 'What's the point?'
"Well, if they become aware there is a leak, L will start investigating the police. In turn, they will investigate L. What we hope to achieve is to find out more about L, to get closer to him… while letting the police do the work," Light clarified.
"Even more, there is already a great difference between the policemen and L. They know Kira only needs the name and face, both specified on their IDs in a public data base. My bet is that many policemen will start to resign any moment now, afraid for their lives or simply giving up because of the great pressure of working in a stressful atmosphere where everybody is suspecting everybody." Caterina laid on the bed. "It's what happened whenever my father decided to keep a closer eye on a group of men."
'I see now…' the shinigami said. 'But you really should know… First of all, I'm on nobody's side. You'll never hear me saying anything about whether what you're doing is right or wrong. I'm not here to support you or give you my opinion – I'm just a spectator. But as your room mate, I might have a few things to say now and then.'
Both were paying attention. It was rare for Ryuk to talk so much at once. "What's this about, Ryuk? Why are you telling us all this stuff now, anyway? It's really not like you," Light spoke aloud for both of them.
'It's just that I'm no ally of yours, or Kira's, if you prefer – the only reason I'm gonna tell you this is because personally, it's starting to creep me out.'
"Would you cut to the point?" Caterina asked, already annoyed by all of this long, repetitive speech.
Chuckling, Ryuk finally said it. 'You're being followed by another human. He's been watching you two all day. It's really starting to get on my nerves! I've realized there's no way he can see me, but because I'm always following behind you wherever you go, I feel like I'm constantly being watched.'
Kira's expression changed. He was now cold, so calm he almost looked expressionless. "That's a problem… We'll have to get rid of him as soon as possible."
"Agreed…" Caterina mumbled, holding one knee close. "Is it a policeman, Ryuk?"
'I don't know', the shinigami answered. 'It's not like I've asked him.'
"Who could be following me…?" Light wondered aloud. "Does this mean L is already starting to suspect the police?"
"If he's following you, then it means he still uses the previous assumption. He's rather investigating the families of those in the investigation team who have members matching the age of a student. We need to know if you are the only one or not… And I think I have an idea how to do this."
Light looked at her for a moment, then grabbed her laptop and began typing. He had connected it through the internet to this own, personal computer. From there, he transferred his father's files, then sent then on a memory stick he had left connected exactly for this reason. "Ryuk, if you want the stalker gone, go back home and bring me the memory stick second from the right from the back of the central unit of my computer."
'What…?' the shinigami asked as soon as he tried to repeat the task in his mind.
"There's a big metal box with a little light on the front that shines when I open my computer at home. Do you know what I talk about?" Light began, holding back a sigh. "Behind it, there will be little things poking out. They look kind of like plastic fingers, but flatter. Pull out the second, counting from the right. I need it as soon as possible."
'…Why not do that through the internet?'
"Because he'd be tracked down and the police would be at our door in a matter of minutes. Now go," she shooed him away with a sigh. He was annoying, but a vital helping hand in times like this.
After a moment, Light called her over. "I accessed the public data base of the police. Once Ryuk brings me the files, we will know the names of those working on the case. With this base, we can find out then about their families. What else do you need?"
Caterina nodded. "Good. I'll need their home address as well."
"What are you going to do?" Light asked.
She shrugged. "I haven't decided my signature yet, but I think I'll borrow Padre's."
He frowned, standing up. Someone was ringing their door. "Yes…?" he asked through the speaker of the interphone.
'Delivery for Miss Smith. Is this the address?'
Instead of an answer, Light let the delivery boy into the building. "You're not staining your hands with innocent blood. You should have known I wouldn't agree to this – not now, not ever."
"Why not?" she whined. "You do it or I do it, what's the difference? They're a threat, so they must go. They're getting too close. If we don't take them down, they will."
"No!" Kira protested. "No! You're not going after the innocent. If we pick a fight, we pick a fight with them, in person, but not with their sons and daughters and wives and pets. I don't even want to consider it."
Caterina shrugged. "Makes no difference to me, darling… But do whatever you wish. I'm just telling you an enraged son or wife can be just as dangerous, but you will find out on your own eventually." Taking some money, Caterina was counting how much she owed the delivery boy.
Light, still by the door, opened up when he heard a noise and took his wallet from the pocket of his coat in the hanger. "Thank you. Have a nice evening."
"You, too!" The boy smiled brightly when he saw a few yen more than the price of the meal. He left as soon as he received the money and Light took the food and closed the door.
Sighing, Light went to the kitchen and left the bags on the table. Caterina followed, while his mind was still a little off. "Caterina… Who do you plan on taking out, precisely?"
She began unpacking their still hot food. "Whoever gets too close. From my point of view, that means the entire investigation team, except your father. However… It may be better to wait for now and see which of them can be corrupted and which will drop out, like you predicted."
Ryuk flew back with the memory stick and found them in the kitchen. 'Is this it?' he asked with a grin.
Kira took it immediately, going back to the working area and setting the laptop on a small, round coffee table. He sat on the low window sill, going through the files. "Yes, this is it! Now… this changes the context. Love?"
When she came back, Caterina signed him to be quiet. She was calling someone, talking in a language Light didn't understand. It wasn't English, but it had a nice melodic sound to it. Was it Italian?
"It's important," Light told her anyway. He turned the laptop around and showed her a phrase marked in blue. Her eyes went wide, reading it twice. This was a whole new level…
Ryuk was laughing. 'You're both in trouble now.'
Light turned to look outside the window. He couldn't see well who was outside, so he hacked into the security system of the residential complex. By the time he finally did it and tried to zoom in on the man's face, the person was leaving.
Caterina crossed her arms as she hung up. "…I was counting on a friend back in Naples, but he won't get involved in this. I can't believe it's the freaking FBI that's after us now… It's insane! No one will help us now. I can't afford to negotiate with those who could stand a chance against them."
"Then we will have to do that…" Light began searching every file in particular for any bit of information that could help him find out the true identity of at least one agent. "We need to get to one of them. I'm certain they know each other, so if we manipulate one, he could take himself out, as well as the rest of the pack."
"That will most probably be the one following us, but how…?" she thought out loud. Caterina went back to the kitchen and brought the two meals into the room, setting one besides the laptop for Light and holding hers in her hand. "The worst part is that this L and the police have several times more resources than we do."
Light nodded and began to eat. "…Except we have our brains. That's how we're going to beat them at their own game. But for now, we need to schedule the criminals for tomorrow."
She stopped for a moment. "Wait… What if we can hack into the FBI database?"
Kira looked up from his food. "What are you thinking about?"
"Padre spoke, at some point, of a hacker who betrayed him once. The King knows more about this than me, so if the King pays someone to contact the hacker, bribe him and ask him to send us the details, then we would have the photographs and the real IDs of the agents sent after us." She set down the fork, drawing in the air. "So it would be us at one end, the King, another one or two intermediary figures, and the hacker at the other. He couldn't track the deal back to us and neither could the FBI. There are already two or three spider-webs of connections between us."
"Wait…" Kira stopped her. "If L knows I have access to confidential information, he could put fake leads in the files on purpose. That means there could be more FBI agents, less of them or even none. Perhaps they could be just a couple agents of the national secret services, or even undercover cops. Then, there's this hacker of yours… What if he betrays us too? And can we really afford all this?"
Caterina remained silent for a moment. "We need to make something with the money. If they sit in bank accounts, they remain the same, but we need more. We'll have to invest in something, but what?"
"What brought your father the most generous profits?"
"Well… drugs, obviously. But we can't afford to create a safe network and they are already afraid and distrusting, those working on their own… Then, there were the prostitutes, but we can't afford that either. Having one small bar as a cover-up is a risky move when you don't have the cash to support it. Commerce is what usually generates money, legal or illegal."
Light took a couple of moments to think as he ate. "Your father owned big companies, right?" She nodded. "So even at seventeen, you have the right to inherit these. If you say you doubt the authenticity of his will, you can sue Ooi and ask for what is yours. You have the right to pay whoever you want to represent you and administrate the companies."
"Actually…" Caterina began, making a new connection. "It says nothing about my mother's belongings. She had several houses and a couple cars that are best sold now, since the prices are getting higher every month and their worth is dropping every year."
Light began evaluating the costs and risks of every option that they had. On one hand, his idea would expose them directly and he would need to be absolutely flawless in his role. On the other, Caterina's idea was rather expensive, but far less riskier. It all depended on the money she could get from selling her mother's belongings… Or…?
"Cat, come here. Where are your mother's houses?" he asked. "How big are those? Could they be turned into something else…?" They began looking up the addresses and Caterina told him about the five houses her mother had in Italy, Austria, and France. "You can turn each into at least a complex of apartments with very little money. Her villa in Vienna could be easily turned into a hotel. Do you see where I'm going?"
"I do – towards a constant flow of money, but you forgot one detail," she said as she leaned over his shoulder. "FBI or not, someone is still following us. We need to get rid of them fast."
"Then we'll do it my way." He held her closer. "Look, I know it's risky, but trust in me once more. I know I can make this work, but I need you to trust me, alright? We'll need money and connections later on. This is only the beginning, love. There's still a lot to come and we will have to be prepared the next time it happens."
Sighing, Caterina wrapped her arms around his shoulders, still looking at the screen. "I need to show you how to use a gun. Just in case, you know? It's a bloody backup, but it's better than none."
"Don't even think about it," Kira sighed with a little grin. "But enough for tonight. We'll both go nuts if we keep thinking of work every single second. Come on, let's do something else."
'…Do I have to go, again?' Ryuk asked when he saw them getting closer and grinning like those roaming the streets at night, high and drunk and wasted. Except, these two were neither. They were just two kids forced to grow up too fast, feeling on top of the world and acting like the new Hera and Zeus of the modern world.
Author's Notes:
Chapter proofread by AbandonedSock, as usual. I'm still waiting for reviews, favorites and followers.
I'm so glad to see you still around, lilrilakkuma and xLonelyDreamerx. Let me say that I usually go over the chapters after I get them back from my beta and look for any mistakes left, but last time I didn't. I will as soon as I have the time though, so thanks for pointing that out.
As for the "genius OC in the Task Force" kind of plot, I do find it the easiest way when the aim is an LxOC kind of story. It's overused, forced and unnecessary for stories like this one, focused on LightxOC / KiraxOC. L is a difficult character to reach, isolated and rarely having any social interaction with people, so his chances of meeting someone outside an investigation team are close to none. Light however, he's quite popular and easily accepted in groups. His social life doesn't compare, so I didn't feel that as an author, I'd have to force him to take contact with my OC.
This story could be taken out of the DN universe easily and still be somewhat believable. Maybe if Light's dad wasn't a policeman, the Dragon would have eventually learned to trust him. Following that idea, I think he would have tried to teach Light as much as he could, so Light could take over the unofficial empire once the Dragon fell. But that would have been a happily ever after where Caterina continues to live an easy life of luxury and security, Light gets to have the power he wants so badly and use his strong sense of justice and intelligence "to make it double", and that would have been the end of the story. The most plot development that could have happened would have involved one or a few children and possibly a sequel alike to the Godfather trilogy.
So you see, I kind of needed Caterina to fall in love so hard, she would be willing to die or it. Another possible "happily ever after" would be for her to just try to see the good in the man her father intended her to marry, respect his wish, and with a ton of luck, live the better version of her mother's life. However, I think it would be a little hard to believe for her character. She is turning into her mother, but the main difference between them is that Anastasia surrendered easily, while Caterina is going to fight for whatever she believes in.
