Retaliation

THE NEXT MORNING Light awoke to the steady patter of September rain. In quiet contemplation he followed L into their bathroom, only to see that the shower screen between the cubicles had finally been removed. With a satisfied smile, Light stepped under his shower head and pressed in the wall button. A spray of warm water shot over his face, drenching his black pyjamas. L nodded approvingly.

"You'll soon find that this saves valuable time. Here." He passed Light a plastic, oblong box with unfamiliar letters scrawled across its packaging.

"What is this?" Light held it away from the running water. "It looks like some kind of Korean laundry detergent…" He clicked open the lid and took a tentative sniff.

"Yes. It's suitable for use in washing machines, dish washers and human washers."

"...human washers?"

"Don't ask!" L added from beneath his own shower jet as he soaked his hair, "you're not ready yet."

Only Matsuda was present in the central control room when the pair had finally descended from their shared rooms. Aizawa was still diligently observing Higuchi, whilst Soichiro and Mogi had left to investigate Takahashi's home. Having emerged from hiding, Wedy had joined the detectives in their covert efforts to break into the man's property, lest Higuchi's death threat be proven real. Aiber had been designated the duties of carrying snacks and even more wiretaps from Wedy's infinite supply.

With everyone else posted on their assignments, the three young men were left to stare up at the wall-mounted monitor where Misa Amane was stretched into an impossible yoga pose. Matsuda gave a short gasp as the model slowly curled into the shape of a human pretzel. L took a deep bite of his candy wrapper; Light attempted to stifle a yawn but failed.

"You look pretty tired, Light," Matsuda commented, eyebrows raised in concern, just as L hacked the foil wrapping into his hand.

"Ah yes, that was my fault," L conceded. Matsuda glanced between them, eyes alight.

"He means we were up late talking!" Light snapped irritably. "Let's just get on with this shall we?"

Watari bustled about with cups, cables and leads, providing the detectives with a pot of steaming coffee and a connection to the live stream feed of Yotsuba's offices. As with the previous week, their surveillance yielded precious little information. Hatori was observed spilling an egg wrap all over his keyboard; Shimura was compulsively arranging the objects upon his desk; Namikawa brushed his hair as he contemplated sales figures. It wasn't until later that afternoon, after the other former police detectives had returned to headquarters, that the case received its latest development.

"We accessed Takahashi's property and conducted a search. There were no signs that he had been home recently," Mogi informed the others as he shrugged off his coat. "However, his car was still there."

"That's not good… for Takahasi anyway." L reached out to receive a lukewarm cup of coffee from Watari, who was passing. "Thank you Watari. It's almost time for the Friday Meeting. Change the footage to Boardroom C please." The old gentleman sighed impatiently.

"You're sitting next to the computer, Ryuzaki. Can't you change it yourself?" L turned his blank stare upon him until, yielding at last, Watari leaned across the detective's chair to hit the necessary key.

The screen above them flickered off momentarily, before revealing an image of the plain-walled boardroom. Around the central, octagonal table seven members of the Yotsuba Group were both suited and seated.

"That's really not good..." Matsuda added in an awed tone. Seated in front of him, L reached out to select a couple of sugar cubes from the bowl which Watari had left upon the desk.

"Actually, our number of suspects has diminished significantly," he countered brightly, dropping the cubes into his coffee cup with a flourish.

"Ryuzaki…" Soichiro scolded, "remember that someone's died."

"Everything appears to be in order for tomorrow night," Kida's toneless voice came from the wall-mounted monitor. The businessman sat with cold, blank eyes fixed upon a sheet of paper which he passed to his right. "We have a long guest list, although we're still waiting on responses from many of these lead executives…"

"Unsurprising really. Probably because the majority of these CEOs are dead?" Namikawa returned sarcastically from where he was scrutinising the names. He shoved the list away from him.

"Ah, of course. Well, I'm sure that all the... uh… deputy executives will still be excited to attend," Kida added hastily, shifting in his seat. "And are you ready for the big presentation, Higuchi?" Across the boardroom table, Higuchi leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed leisurely behind his head.

"I was born ready."

"Heh heh… must be nice not living in a constant state of inferiority and self-doubt…" Matsuda quavered quietly.

"Okay," Hatori broke out suddenly. On screen he seemed very small, his pale head twitching helplessly from side to side as he took in each of the faces around the table. "Look, I wasn't going to say anything b-but, where's Takahashi?"

For a moment, none of the businessmen spoke.

"Perhaps he overslept?" Mido tried.

"It's three in the afternoon..."

"Either way, it would have been useful to know ahead of time if he intended to bail on us," sighed Higuchi lazily. He folded his arms upon the polished table. "You know, speaking of people bailing, we are all still in agreement on our current target, are we not? Todo Yotsuba, who was named a fortnight ago?" There came a flurry of murmurs from around the table.

"Something's happened to one of their closest colleagues and that's all they're gonna say?" Aizawa growled in outrage, "if I was sitting next to Higuchi, I'd take a desk stapler and-" Back on the screen, Ooi had intervened with a commanding wave of his hand. The other gentlemen fell silent like a band of amateur musicians awaiting their conductor's signal.

"These meetings would be an appropriate opportunity for someone to speak, should there be any issues following a decision," he announced, the light glinting malevolently off his sunglasses. "So, do we have any issues with our current target?"

The murmurs rose again and then died away, leaving Shimura to scrabble frantically.

"Perhaps Kira hasn't been able to kill Yotsuba yet if the parameters for the death weren't possible? Do you remember when we agreed on an accidental death for Rintaro Yasui and he wasn't anywhere near an alligator or a go-kart track?"

"How can they be so bad at this?" Light cringed into his hands. "Listening to them is actually painful."

"Yes, perhaps if they were following the Original Kira's example, this would be easier to watch. Yesterday you were saying how efficient he was, isn't that right Light?" Light lifted a hand away from his face to find L watching him imperiously.

"Yes, but if the conditions are impossible, shouldn't he have died from a heart attack anyway?" Namikawa asked dryly. Shimura jerked his head up quickly as though furious at such an interference.

"That is strange…" L mused, breaking away from his silent confrontation with Light to consider the coffee-soaked sugar cubes within his cup. Light watched as the detective dropped in four more, one by one. Then the student licked his finger before purposefully and rudely inserting it into L's coffee. L gaped at the violation; his eyes rounded like gleaming dinner plates.

"Yes, I believe so," Ooi ruled impressively, "either way, we need him gone for Yotsuba Corp. to absorb his start-up company."

"Yes, with that and tomorrow's launch, public confidence in the Yotsuba Group will be at an all time high…" Higuchi sank back in his chair again, looking towards the ceiling in delight. "Hatori, you'd better bring your new girlfriend tomorrow night! Amane's gonna be blown away by my performance."

At the far end of the table, Hatori's shining face reddened.

"And then she can watch my presentation! Heh heh heh!"

"Gross," Matsuda concluded.

"Actually, I am planning to have Misa engage in a performance of sorts," L explained as he seized the handle of his cup and promptly poured its contents into Light's lap.

"What the f-!"

"Watari, can you call her down please? And Light, please stop overreacting. It wasn't even hot coffee."

As Light continued to swear profusely amidst his father's reprimands, Watari wearily returned with a yawning Misa and a white hand towel, which he passed to Light. The model padded sullenly over to her boyfriend, only to incense the former student further in her attempts to sit on his sodden lap.

"Misa, there's like five other chairs you can sit on!"

L watched the exchange in mild amusement. As Misa resigned herself to one of the office chairs, he turned his back on the assembled detectives. Reaching into the sugar bowl, L took a fresh handful of cubes before he began to address the room.

"Yotsuba is holding a private launch event at their Tokyo Office tomorrow night. Fortunately, Misa, Matsuda, Light and I have already secured invites to this, all thanks to Matsuda's ineptitude yesterday-"

"H-hey!" the former police detective whined.

"The four of us will attend this party with our prime objective to have Kira reveal his identity. I believe that we can achieve this by manipulating a situation in which Hatori and Higuchi enter into a confrontation." L was constructing a small white wall of sugar cubes as he spoke. "Higuchi, in my mind, is still a likely suspect. Therefore, given the bad blood between these two, it will give us an opportunity to either confirm our suspicions or see him eliminated."

"Ryuzaki?" Light paused in his rigorous efforts to wipe his khakis, "when you say 'eliminated'…'"

"Yes. There is a small chance that Higuchi will be killed following this exchange," L returned as casually as anticipating the next day's weather forecast.

"Ryuzaki!" Soichiro exploded. "What is the-" L held up a hand; a sugar cube clutched delicately between thumb and forefinger.

"Please refrain from questions until the end, Mr Yagami. I am sorry for the potential loss of life, of course, but this is one of those situations where one broken egg justifies the omelette. And we really need to narrow this down all the way if we want to stop Kira once and for all." A sudden flash caught Soichiro's glasses as the former police chief glowered down at his knees. L, meanwhile, glanced to Matsuda, who gave an involuntary gulp.

"Matsuda, I want you to keep close to Shingo Mido tomorrow night. He is a member of Hatori's little sub group and essential for our next stage in the plan. You should try to keep a relatively low profile whilst at the event. Laugh at people's jokes, scratch your head… Once Light and I have created a diversion, you will steal Mido's phone and text Higuchi, warning him about another covert meetup happening in Hatori's office that very night. We all know that Higuchi was rattled about that secret meeting, hence the threatening phone call he made to Takahashi. He's sure to storm straight up to the office if he senses further dissent amongst the ranks. Of course, Aiber and Wedy will be positioned nearby if their assistance is required." Light looked up, his damp towel draped over one knee.

"Er, that all sounds great, but... what kind of diversion are we going to create?"

"All in good time, Light. Now Misa - " L completed the third layer of his sugar cube wall and nodded over to the model. Misa had been steadily sinking forwards into a low slouch but, at this, she sat upright.

"Obviously, you will be attending as Hatori's date for the evening. On our signal, I want you to tempt him upstairs to his office… I'm sure you can use your imagination to think of a reason. Only, you will make an excuse to hang back and have him go ahead of you. Once in his office, Hatori will cross paths with Higuchi and then we can witness the fallout between them via the surveillance Wedy originally installed." With that, the detective flicked a cube at his sugary construction, sending the wall clattering across the desk.

There came a few murmurs of approval, Soichiro among them despite his tight-lipped expression. Misa, however, scowled.

"I just wish, for once in this investigation, that you would use me for my brains instead of my looks!" she cried, her teeth clenched. "I may not be a genius like you or Light, but I'm still smart."

"Smart enough to get arrested…"

"What did you just say?"

Violently Misa launched herself at the detective's head, rifling and pulling at every clump of thick, black hair that she could find. L's neck disappeared into the collar of his white shirt; he writhed and ducked at the model's attacking hands.

"O-okay! This isn't about being smart!" L struggled back into his characteristic crouch as Misa withdrew, breathless in her retribution. "Hatori is attracted to you so we must use that fact to our advantage. If it was me he wanted then I would do it!"

The mutterings fell away swiftly, leaving all of the detectives to stare at L in stunned silence.

"What? Why is it so bad that I would do literally anything to solve this case? Surely it's a testament to my dedication."

x-x-x

The polished floors of Yostuba's grand foyer twinkled under the glow cast from its central, bejeweled chandelier. It was an immense feature with fittings of tiny bulbs arched like the open sails of a vast ship. Beneath the glitter of lights the hall was filled with crowds; men in dark suits and women dressed in shimmering, floor-length gowns. To the left of the entrance a string quartet played a lilting theme to welcome the resplendently-attired guests as they arrived. Servers wove amongst the attendees, bearing trays with elegant champagne flutes and platters piled high with decadent appetisers. The centrepiece, the room's defining feature, was a pyramidal structure of thin-stemmed glasses. A waiter's shaking hand tipped a bottle over the topmost flute, sending a golden, bubbling liquid cascading all the way down to the base of the tower. Opposite where the ensemble of musicians was arranged, Hatori and Mido nodded approvingly at this opulent display. Matsuda, also dressed in his smartest blue suit, stood awkwardly between them, his hands in his pockets. Misa embraced Hatori's arm; her other hand swung a small, red, heart-shaped clutch bag aloft. She was speaking animatedly, sending her crucifix earrings swinging with each bob of her head. Beside her, Hatori smiled as she continued; his hand resting on top of her own.

"...and I love how the shots from last week came out! What did you guys think?"

"Ah, yes. I saw those." Shingo Mido pushed his steamed glasses further up his nose. "Did anyone ever tell you you have a beautiful mouth?" Misa swallowed uncomfortably and, despite herself, found that she was withdrawing defensively into Hatori's side.

"Hey, um, Yoshi?" She tilted her head to peer up at the businessman. "So, wasn't tonight meant to be a date?"

"Oh y-yeah!" cried Hatori. He patted her hand awkwardly as he threw a wild look around the room. "I'm sorry Misa, it's just- I just have to make sure everything's on track for Higuchi's presentation this evening." His eyes darted to the archway which led through to the elevators, almost as though he expected his colleague to storm out with a tirade of verbal abuse at any given second. Misa pulled away from Hatori, her pale pink dress swishing about her ankles.

"If it's his presentation then why can't Higuchi do it?" she complained. Hatori said nothing but stared down at his feet miserably. Then, softening, Misa tucked both arms around the businessman's own. "Come on, you have to stand up to him. I just want you to myself for a couple of minutes, that's all…" Hatori's eyes roved her face, visibly ravenous.

"I want that too. You don't know how badly. But -" Suddenly, he lifted his head. All former anxieties seemed to melt away as Hatori broke into a wide grin. "Oh look Misa, your friends are here!"

As a huddle of guests moved aside, Light emerged into view. He was dressed in trimmed, navy suit trousers, a silver tie and a white shirt with rolled sleeves. His auburn hair, slightly reddened under the sparkle of lights, swept gracefully into his eyes. Several admiring heads turned in the student's direction; even Matsuda found himself momentarily transfixed. However, this could have been, in part, due to the plaster casts which bound both of Light's arms from wrists to biceps. As Light moved awkwardly towards the assembled group, his limbs suspended stiffly at bizarre angles, L followed cautiously behind. Despite the obvious splendour of the venue, the detective appeared to have thrown on his usual long-sleeved white shirt, jeans and beaten sneakers. L's right arm was wrapped around Light's waist; his left hand gently cupped Light's elbow as he steered the student towards them.

"Are you sure all this was necessary?" Light muttered. "We could have just taken off the-"

"Rule one," L interrupted, "the handcuffs do not come off." Light cursed under his breath.

"...well, at least no one's going to be paying attention to what Matsuda's doing," the student spoke to the floor bitterly as Misa and Hatori raised their hands in greeting.