Chapter 4:

"An Ally in The Fight Against Kira"

Light Yagami woke to the sound of commotion in the street outside his apartment window. He dragged myself out of bed and draw the curtains back.

The night before had been slow when it came to his judgements—only three—but he fell asleep earlier than normal next to Misa. He looked out the window and saw a traffic accident and police surrounding the street taking statements and gathering evidence. He was on the Eighth Floor.

He yawned and stretched his arms as he walked out of the bedroom leaving Misa to sleep. He slipped on a t-shirt on his way out, wearing black jockey's. He made himself some tea. He refused to switch on the news. He didn't want to start his day on sour note. He'd dwell into his job as a crime investigator tomorrow, as a member of the Kira Task Force. Little did the others know they were hunting for their suspect who was right under their nose.

His father told him he was looking tired. Light knew when his father was telling a lie. It was he who really wanted a Personal Day. His father was the one who was looking tired.

Misa also had the day off as her next movie shoot location was set up, ready for tomorrow. She had suggested they spend the day together. Light reluctantly agreed. But it was good to get away from being Kira every once in a while to refresh himself. So, they decided to take a trip today. Recalling their plans the night before, Light retrieved his phone from a wireless charger in the living room, and made some last minute provisions and plans.

They would take the subway to—

"Light? Where for art thy my shining knight?" came Misa's voice.

Light cringed at the sound of her voice. He hoped he would have more time to himself in the morning before he had to cater to her incisive whims.

He sipped his tea, then returned to the bedroom. He saw Misa laying on the bed baring it all. She enjoyed her sexuality and she was a very handsome woman, but if it was up to him, Light would have preferred someone with an ounce of brains.

Misa suddenly jumped on all fours like an animal and beamed a smile, her ample breasts pressed tightly against each other between her thin, milky arms, her shoulder-length blonde hair hanging down. "Let's just stay home, Light, and fool around in bed," she said surprisingly.

"Get dressed, Misa," Light said. "This trip was your idea."

Misa pouted. "Fine, but I get to choose the restaurant we dine-in after we visit my parent's graves." She began to dress. "Thank you again for punishing the man who killed them."

"I killed the man before I even knew who you were, Misa," Light stated. "But you're welcome."

Once they were dressed and gathered up what they would need for the trip—Light was actually looking forward to a little rest and relaxation whereas he didn't have to decide to kill anyone—they left the apartment, and made their way to the nearest subway station since neither one drove a car. Misa went incognito because she would be recognized otherwise.

Stepping down onto the large subway platform after using their pay cards, they waited patiently for the train—Outer Route—with dozens of other commuters. Misa looked melancholy, but Light understood. Misa's parents' deaths was a very painful memory, killed during a home invasion. She hadn't visited them in a number years, and it was different today—

Suddenly, gun shots rang out, and people screamed. More gun fire resonated and Light dropped with Misa underneath him. Other commuters did the same, some others were not so lucky becoming fodder for the three masked gunmen who stormed the platform from above, leaping down the stairs. They were followed by a single man in a suit and tie, who ordered them to "HALT!" and then returned fire. The man was not Japanese, but Light didn't have time to wonder otherwise. But he did latch onto an accent—definitely foreign, but not European.

Light was licensed and he had brought his off-duty secondary firearm. He was glad he had. He didn't want to get involved with this incident, but he felt a duty to act. "Misa, stay here, and keep your head down," he ordered quietly.

"Light, no! You'll get hurt," she said in a low voice. "And you-know-who isn't here."

Light looked into her eyes. She was right, Ryuk wasn't here. The Shinigami had flown back to his realm for a reason only his own. Ryuk said he had some business. Today of all days he wasn't here. But it was't like the god of death could—or even would—help him now.

Light wasn't wearing his holster, but he had brought his police issue gun with him in a carry bag with the rest of his values: wallet, pay card, and other paraphernalia. He reached in, handed Misa the bag, and then slowly crept up. He bolted up and then shouted, as the three gunmen got closely: "Freeze! NPA! Surrender! Put down your weapons!"

"A cop!" one of the gunmen said shocked.

"Two cops!'"another one of them said. "One of ours, and the Aussie!"

The third shot at Light, but Light fired back and took him down—blasting a hole in the chest. The gunman's shot had gone wide. The man dropped dead before he hit the ground. The other two began to fire. And Light somersaulted away as a shot came very close to him. The "Aussie" fired at one of the two gunmen. He managed to take him down with a single shot, but the "Aussie" suddenly collapsed to one knee and put a hand to his right shoulder.

A good Samaritan then tackled the last gunman to the ground, and Light ran over and assisted, holding him down until the "Aussie" was able to come over and handcuff him, despite the obvious pain he felt in his shoulder. "Thanks! Been following these jokers for three blocks. They just robbed a bank, then ran down 'ere and tried to 'scape in the tubes."

Light eyed the blonde haired foreigner with slight beard growth, the man showing an AFP badge tucked into the belt of his pants—the Australian Federal Police. He was a long way from home.

Three police officers from the NPA soon arrived and took the man into custody. As protocol, statements were taken, evidence was gathered, and the scene was processed by an investigations team, and obviously, Light's trip with Misa was cancelled. But she did go on ahead. Light made a few phone calls and was escorted to NPA headquarters for further questioning about the incident and the role he played in taking down the gunmen, and firing his weapon within a crowd-atmosphere. He was lucky no civilians were harmed, being off-duty.

Light found himself standing in the Chief of the NPA's office with the "Aussie". They were scolded for endangering innocent citizens, but then praised for their efforts in taking the gunmen down. Light didn't like the new Chief. He was too arrogant. Light was then told a more thorough investigation would be conducted and his gun would be needed since he fired his weapon. Ballistics would test it to confirm the kill of the gunman took down, as would the "Aussie's".

Then came introductions. The Chief said, in English, "Detective Yagami, this is Detective Bartholomew from the Australian Federal Police, assigned to us on an interim bases on special assignment here to gather information of an escaped prisoner who may have entered Japan recently. The prisoner is very dangerous."

The "Aussie" produced a broad smile and extended out a hand to Light. "Detective Lieutenant Baley Bartholomew the Third, at your service, Detective Yagami," he said in a mild but easily attuned Australian accent. "Is that with an 'e' or an 'i' at the end?"

Light shook the other's hand. "With an 'i', Detective Bartholomew," Light said, then: "Y-A-G-A-M-I, with the Kanji for Moon."

"Got it. Your English is quite good," Bartholomew said. "Your Chief has told me about you, that you work on the Kira Case. We all wanna catch that bugger. Kira is a menace. The criminals he kills should have their day in court. To be judge, jury, and executioner is just wrong, you know."

Light didn't like this foreigner already, but everyone had their opinion. Most wouldn't be so open about it, as Kira had—which was a mistake—murdered police officers in the past. If Light could take back what he did to Raye Penber or Misa did to one of the Kira Task Force, it would be. Light knew now, in retrospect, if he had only left Raye Penber alone, L would have cleared him of being Kira, and then Naomi Misora's death could have been avoided.

"We all want Kira to be caught," Light said straightly. "So…what happened down in the subway station…Why were you chasing those gun-toting men? You said they robbed a bank?"

Bartholomew nodded, then said, "I was at a bank near the subway station underground entrance to get some currency changed when those three wankers" —he cleared his throat— "sorry, force of habit. Perps," he then said, "stormed through the front doors, then banished handguns and rifles and demanded money from the clerk tellers. Suffice it to say, they left without a single bill when the alarms sounded, bolting straight out back the same doors."

"So, they didn't even get to the tellers? You ran after them?"

"Correct. And chased them down into the subway. I felt it was my duty as a cop."

"And we appreciate your enthusiasm, Lt. Bartholomew, but next time, let local enforcement handle those kinds of situations," the Chief said. "It prevents uncomfortable situations and questions. You were just lucky no civilians were hurt during the shootout; likewise Yagami."

Light bowed. "Forgive me, sir," Light said with honest sincerity. Light then turned back to Bartholomew. "Can I ask who this escaped prisoner is? Maybe I can help?" Light needed to learn about this escaped prisoner so he could kill him with the Death Note.

"Actually, I think you can," Bartholomew said. "And you may actually be the perfect bloke to." Light cocked his head. Bartholomew shook his head. "Sorry, I did it again without thinking. We Aussie's most often use slang terms to describe things. It means: a nice person." There was a short pause. "Anyhow, the prisoner in question—for secret reasons I've been instructed not to use his real name for fear it might get back to Kira, we want him back alive—used some sly tactics to break out of a maximum security faculty and then make his way to Japan, for whatever reason. He's actually been known to use quite a lot of fake names, one of which was Birthday Beyond, or something like that. Kind of a weird name, if you ask me."

Light gulped. Beyond Birthday, and this AFP policeman is hunting for him. Only a little while back, Light had had an encounter with BB when he and his fringe gang kidnapped him and Misa, and then he received a Birthday Card from him slipped under his apartment door. It was a message, saying things were not over between them.

If this foreign cop wanted to catch BB, then he would definitely help. The anger Light felt from BB's humiliation quickly began to swell up inside him.

"BB, as he was sometimes called, or referred to himself in prison, also had an obsession with L, and his fight with Kira," Bartholomew said. "He almost seemed—jealous, from what some claim about BB in prison—that L and Kira were 'Having all the fun', to quote. L put BB away for horrendous crimes, crimes I won't repeat here. BB faked his own death, a year and half after his original capture, and pretended to have a mysterious heart attack; he even had a death certificate. He was sent to the morgue, processed, and then his body disappeared. His faked death was revealed and he remarkably made it to Australia. He was re-captured. He was set to be extradited back to Los Angles, California, to face the death penalty before he managed to escape again. The guy is an escape artist like that Harry Houdini."

"How did BB fake his own death?"

"Not sure, really," Bartholomew said with a shoulder shrug. "Some sort of paralyzing agent that gives the impression of death. I'm not up to specs with the exact term. How BB got it remains a mystery, as does much of the man himself. From his dossier, he came in as a thin and wiry figure, smart but withdrawn. But then things changed, he changed."

"How so?"

"The prison he was housed in has a bit of a drug problem; steroids, to be exact. He got his hands on some, on a regular bases, it was later learned through third party handlers, and then began to build muscle, got stronger, well-rested, and further educated on a multitude of subjects. BB was already a genius, a murderous one, but quickly, he became something more in prison. And a handsome devil, so to speak."

To be continued...