Chapter 26:
"Prelude To The End"
In a dark enclosed control room, the man who adopted the name Auric Lafayette, an Interpol agent, killing the real mccoy to assert himself into the identity, watched on a multitude of flat screens on a wall before him, as his toys fiddled around his funhouse like mice in a maze.
But what he was saw wasn't to his liking.
He reviewed the pass footage of the Fire Room on a solo monitor, and frowned.
Something was afoot. Rue and Yagami were defeating his rooms with a genius like quality. And they were getting help—from the Shinigami, for one, which he had not foreseen.
And also, elsewhere…
Despite a full system's check, he couldn't find a fault in the Fire Room. Who or what had shut down the flamethrowers and unlocked the ceiling vent without the passcode? It was simple: 0000. As in a no-win situation, zero chance of success. Rue would've figured it out eventually. And if he had allowed Light Yagami to die, Auric would've given the code over freely.
But Rue was too stubborn to give Yagami up!
He drummed the fingers of his right hand on the arm of his chair, snorting frustration. Then leaned back, and steepled his fingers in front of him, his eyes casting blindly between the spaces of his hands.
He reminisced about the past. About old times at Wammy House.
We were once good friends, close friends…and then that fateful day…you betrayed me, Rue!
His eyes looked distant, inwardly, the pictures on the monitors became fuzzy, as he recalled old memories. He was a bit of a loner, but he did have Rue. Rue understood him and they had become friends very quickly, laughing, smiling, and telling jokes. They were the best of friends.
When Auric slept, he had dreams, even nightmares, about those old days, and they often brought violent thoughts to the surface, enraging him.
Watari was honing my skills to replace L one day. I knew that was a long way off, but preparation always pays off in the long run. But you took my future away from me, Rue! It was MINE!
L was the greatest detective in the world, solving international cases of intrigue, and in impressive fashion. The global police agencies praised L. But L was only interested in the very big cases, tough to crack, and that were intelligential stimulating, still, he would always take time out to call home, and kept the children at Wammy House interested with his wild tales of policing, while keeping details vague. He couldn't divulge classified information. But Auric knew much more than the others, as he was being trained to replace L, and had to be informed—even helping L, on occasion.
Auric remembered, L had sent a letter to him after word got back of "A"'s progress and accomplishments in academics. Like L, he had not been a sports enthusiast, and often snuck away and read books when he wanted to be alone, and think. He even had a journal of his inner thoughts.
L's messages were often short, but they always involved some valuable insight. "A" cherished that letter, but later he learned, because everyone thought he was dead, it was cremated with his body, a body Auric had made up to look like him, switching it at the last moment. It had been a closed casket funeral. Rue had shot him in the head, disfiguring his face—he had a large scar that he covered up with make-up. Ironic, now, both their faces were disfigured now, his by a bullet, and Rue's by fire, when Rue tried to take his own life after L had caught up to in Los Angeles, attempting to out wit L in a game of cat-and-mouse.
The letter said:
A —
Congratulations with your latest achievements! You'll make a fine sleuth one day. Keep working hard. And remember, the World is just a Word without L in it.
—L
Auric chuckled at its sarcastic nature. In hindsight, Auric had made the mistake of showing Rue the letter. He didn't think much of it, they were friends. It was only later did "A" realized Rue had been jealous, and it gave purchase, why he teamed-up with the Good Doctor to eliminate him out of contention to replace L. It was the beginning of Rue's criminal career.
It was often said, the first kill was the most difficult one. Afterwards, the rest were considerably easier.
Auric's apparent suicide just happened to take place on his 18th birthday. Little would anyone know, that he would live beyond that birthday. And he found some humour that Rue would use such a pseudonym to commemorate such a rebirthing, whether it was on purpose. Knowing Rue, it was.
Auric shut his eyes. He could not get the picture of that gun pointed at his head out of his mind, or the sound of how loud the blast was that came from the barrel—BANG!
Like a firecracker launched right next to my ear, Auric recalled, stopping short of clamping his hands over his ears to prevent the noise from penetrating his thoughts. But the sound was inside his mind, and so, he couldn't stop it. And he clenched his jaw with tension.
He was left for dead, in the chapel just next to the main orphanage faculty, bleeding, near death, in the darkness, not even the light of the full moon illuminated through the stain glass windows behind the altar. The faith he placed in God he forsaken him. He had considered himself a righteous person, trusting, and one someone who could confer in. But Rue had played him for a fool.
And later, as the rumour went, he killed himself because he couldn't handle the pressure of succeeding L. That, was a bold face lie!
He almost gave up. But then he heard "His" voice, beckoning him to have faith. It whispered in his ear, and told Auric that he would survive this betrayal, and would have a chance at redemption, or revenge!
The bullet was still lodged in his brain. God has saved him that day, or at the very least, a "certain god". He chuckled at the thought. He had been personally chosen to live, and he would take back what had been so unceremoniously taken away from him.
It was a vengeance was long overdue! It was Rue that he was really after, and Light Yagami was just cannon-fodder—Kira meant nothing to him—but he would kill them both, and saviour it. L deserved retribution, albeit for dying so pathetically—killed by the whims of a pseudo-god and a Shinigami.
His plan was flawless. And now with the Good Doctor dead, one facet concluded, and the police running amok to hunt down his assumed killer, the man known as "Beyond Birthday", he had time to accumulate the resources to finalize his final solution on the one that stole what was his to inherit, the title of "The Greatest Detective". But he would only use it as a last resort. He still had time.
He looked back at the monitor that displayed the faces of Rue and Yagami in the Flight Simulator.
"I'll never forgive you, Rue!" Auric said. "Remember the old cliche: Revenge is a dish best served cold." He frowned. "We were friends once, until that fateful day—a day that will reign in infamy. A day that was both my death and my rebirth. You wished for a new purpose, a Sherlockian thrill, and stole it from me! But you misused that gift. Watari groomed you to take over after my apparent suicide. But I survived, with a god's luck, and made a deal with someone who shares my sense of purpose and values."
Just then, Auric could heard footfalls in the distance, approaching from within the darkness. The door to his secret room within his lair was locked, but it couldn't stop the other from entering, or announcing his forthcoming. It could walk through walls, being a god as it was. He heard it, but didn't react, as it came to stand just behind his chair, cast in shadow. However, it had glowing red eyes and bright white teeth, reflected in a monitor, as the entity smiled with a pleasant demeanour.
Auric gave a sideways glance. "You're not needed here right now," he said to the other.
There was no reply at first. "I can see you're enjoying yourself," the shadowy entity chuckled. "But don't lose sight of the goal. You were given latitude to achieve a desired end. This little operation was financed by an anonymous benefactor correlated through me. He would be very displeased if your plan happens to fall by the wayside. I came from give you this warning directly from him."
Auric didn't address the entity, but did turn his attention back to the screen that focused on the pair now sitting inside the flight simulator. The questions he had devised would test the mantle of even their staunch intelligence, but not even the smartest person in the world could know everything.
"We made a deal," Auric answered. "The terms are clear, but this operation is mine. Do you understand?"
The entity chuckled amused. "Your toys have broken through two out of the four main rooms, including your intermediary hidden room," said the entity. "What if they manage to defeat the other rooms?"
"They won't. I've made it impossible for them to achieve that feat. And even of they do happen to defeat my deadly games, they won't live to tell about it. And these games are just a prelude to the end for them both! My endgame is fast approaching."
"Ah," was all the entity replied, but with a long breath. Then gave throaty chuckle. "But I've seen miracles happen, so don't be so sure of your astute prowess. The Shinigami helping them may poise a further problem. Do you wish for me to get rid of it?"
Auric mused for a moment. Then watched the pair answer yet another question correctly. The wind turbines were slowly creeping towards them, millimetre by millimetre, regardless, without notice. Even if they managed to answer all the questions correctly, even using the Flight Stimulator to answer, maneuvering the pilot yolk to achieve theoretical symmetrical answers, aimed to equate the Theory of Relativity and invisible forces, using gravitational forces, to align with the understanding of Space and Time, their time would run out, and that was by design. And if they attempted to run, he would detach the catwalk hooks, and simulator would plummet to the acid vat below. His victory was assured.
The pair had managed to answer eight questions correctly so far.
The flight simulator was a reminder to Rue that Auric knew how much he enjoyed simulator games when the orphanage used to go on day trips to the neighbourhood arcade. This flight simulator was clamped down to the catwalks, but it wouldn't move like those in standard flight tests; yet everything else worked, including the yoke that Rue used in Question #4. He had to adjust for wind speed and height differential to establish a base line for a flight, from one destination to another, answering an aerial question, moving the yoke to engage, correctly inputing calculations. Of course, he passed with flying colours.
Rue was a genius, but Auric was smarter, and he would prove it!
Auric smirked. Nothing was going to stop him from finally taking his revenge.
"No," he said to the other. "I'll allow the Shinigami to interact with them. It can pass through walls, but the room is sealed up tight with spirit script written on the outside of the Flight Room. There's only one way in and out of that room and only I have access to it."
Nothing short of 'divine intervention' would ruin his plans,
Suddenly, the room went completely dark with an unforeseen power failure.
"What? What's going on?" Auric reached haphazardly in pitch blackness for the controls, even back-up, but his computers were rendered inert. He had been completely shut out, the back-up generator should have had compensated immediately if there was an area wide blackout. He suspected foul play. He slammed the keyboard. "NO!" he shouted.
The entity chuckled. "Seems to me luck isn't on your side," he said. "This is unfortunate."
"Help me get the power back on!" Auric beseeched. "I'll make it worth your while!"
Auric turned, and even in the darkness, the glowing red eyes and bright white teeth of the entity, could be seen clearly, very much like the cat in the Alice in Wonderland stories.
Auric could almost envision the "other" bowing over with a hand across his chest, acquiescing to his request. Even in the darkness. "I'll investigate and return," it said, then disappeared.
Auric was left in complete and utter darkness. He hated the dark. Always had, ever since he was a child—using a mini-night light in the orphanage to scare away the demons and shadows that haunted his inner thoughts. But he could nothing now but wait for his 'partner' to investigate the cause of the blackout.
He hate to wait, too.
He put the index and middle finger of his right hand in his mouth and sucked on them like a baby would a pacifier. He had done so ever since he was a child. It was his way to push back fear and tension, and it always came naturally, without thinking, programmable into his thoughts.
He began to feel relaxed.
To be continued...
