Chapter 29:
"Ghost In The Machine"
Beyond Birthday and Light Yagami crammed through the first eight questions presented to them on screen in the flight simulator in suitable succession.
They ranged from quadratic equations, to spacial symmetry (including Einstein's Theory of Relativity), then jumped to geometric theory, and topological K-Theory—mixed, so a flow wasn't established, it was meant to confuse them—but they were rudimentary questions for a pair of geniuses.
One question, even had them "fly" the simulator to a specific location as per to the answer of a question after solving for x and y, or latitude and longitude.
Light was beginning to sweat a little, his intelligence taxed. It was becoming tiresome.
Yet Light noticed something after the fifth question that concerned him, the space between the flight simulator and the wind turbines was narrowing, the pressure was getting more intense, and stuffy, making him literally sweat—both from the questions and within the flight simulation.
The turbines were perpendicular to the simulator at each ratio, the distance was hard to see, but Light perceived the difference narrowing as they began answering the questions. That was when he conducted some calculations in his head. Auric had no intention of them finishing the twenty questions at all. He planned to kill them before that, cutting them to ribbons.
He was about to tell BB when—
The lights went out, and the wind turbines suddenly shut down. And they were left in darkness.
"What just happened?" Light asked. Light couldn't see BB's reaction.
"Damn if I know," BB answered. "If I'd wager a guess, a power failure. Using this much energy must have overloaded 'A's' generator." There was a pause. "Still, 'A' would've thought about that and compensated for the added electricity in use. He's not stupid."
Just then, one terminal flicked to life. The green glow illuminated both their faces.
Something popped on the screen:
RUE, ARE YOU THERE?
THIS IS MATT!
BB and Light looked at each other in awe.
"Matt!" BB said excitedly. "Oh, hell yes! What a good time to have friend in a crises," he said to Light. "And don't you think I didn't notice what 'A' was doing, moving those wind turbines ever so closer, hoping we wouldn't notice before we could answer all the questions. Even if AI was answering these questions, those wind turbines would reach us first—cutting us down!"
Light nodded. But he chided himself for not mentioning first.
BB began to type. "Matt, this is Rue, how the hell did you manage this?"
After a moment, Matt wrote back:
I HACKED INTO ALEX'S SYSTEM! PIECE OF CAKE!
JUST CALL ME THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE!
Light gasped. "Alex? Auric's real first name is Alex?"
"Yes, so you can stop calling him Auric," BB said. "HIs full name is Alexandre Monet, better known as 'A' at Wammy House, and he was first in the line to succeed L. He's French by descent, but you wouldn't know it. He doesn't have a French accent. He came to the orphanage after his parents died in a plane crash in the Swiss Alps, engine failure. His parents left him with some friends while on their second honeymoon, according to his dossier. The people who Alex was staying with then died under mysterious circumstances in a car crash, and he was shipped off to a serious of orphanages, then found his way to Wammy House. He was orphaned at age five years old. He and I arrived at Wammy House pretty much the same time, about a day apart. Over the years, we became friends."
"Some friend," Light remarked, "a true friend wouldn't try to kill you."
BB chuckled under his breath. "I could say the same thing about you and Demetre Draycott," he said.
Light's eyes narrowed.
Matt wrote:
A RESCUE ATTEMPT MIGHT BE DIFFICULT,
THIS TERMINAL IS THE ONLY THING OPERATIONAL RIGHT NOW…
ALEX HAS THE ENTIRE FACILITY SEALED UP TIGHT!
"I figured so," BB remarked to Light, "or we'd out of this by now."
WE'VE HAVE BEEN MONITORING THINGS THROUGH THE SYSTEM—
I WAS THE ONE THAT UNLOCKED THE VENT IN THE SECOND ROOM AND SHUT IT DOWN!
THANK ME LATER WITH A NEW RPG GAME.
BB typed back, smiling: "You're one in a million, Matt. You saved our asses, or at the very least, gave us a reprieve. I needed a break anyway." He wiped sweat off his brow.
Matt wrote (after revealing their encounter with Hawkes and her demise):
OH, BEFORE I FORGET…
There was a pause, seconds later Matt typed:
'A''S FINANCIAL BACKER IS SOME GUY CALLING HIMSELF 'THE EVANGELIST'!
NEVER HEARD OF HIM—ANY CLUE?
"Shit," BB said reflectively.
Light's brow rose. "I have," he admitted, knocking BB to the punch. "I've never met him, but I've had an encounter with his organization on his private island. The Evangelist is a member of a league of individuals, who rule like a Shadow Government, opposite another with like minds. Theses two groups have been known to clash." Light looked at BB, he didn't want to say too much just in case BB didn't know everything he knew. "Demetre's been known to tangle with both groups from time-to-time."
"Then your friend and I have something in common," BB said ambiguously. Obviously holding back some secrets, Light wagered. "You and I will have to swap notes after this is over. Did you meet Sappho?"
"Yes," Light said, recalling his time.
BB smiled, as if fantasying. "Sappho is one of a kind," he said sweetly. "She's a fabulous swimmer, and taught me how to scuba dive, among other things." He winked. "She's a very liberal minded person."
Light's eyes narrowed. He only had his own memories to recall, but he suddenly felt a pang of jealousy. He snorted, huffed, and then rolled his eyes, and wondered if his encounter with Sappho usurped BB's.
"Anyway, the Evangelist has his fingers in a lot of pies. The man's dangerous!"
Light nodded. "Agreed. We should swop notes after this is over, if we survive," he said morbidly.
"Oh, ye of little faith!"
Matt wrote:
NEED HELP WITH THOSE QUESTIONS? THEY'RE SERIOUS STUFF!
BB wrote back, "Negative, we can handle them. But once the power comes back on, we need a way out. I assume you have complete blueprints of this warehouse since you're in the system?"
Matt wrote:
RIGHT. GOTCHA! JUST STAY ALIVE!
The terminal went dark. Light couldn't see BB anymore.
Suddenly, the power switched back on, and the sound of the wind turbines revved back to on, the pressure mounting back to uncomfortable levels. The terminals inside the flight simulator began to reboot.
"It may take a few minutes for the system to return to full activation status," BB said.
Light said quietly, "What now? How is your friend going to help us?"
BB peered out of the flight simulator, to the ceiling. He turned back to Light. "Alex needed a way to get this flight simulator into this room, right? So, that will our way out—wherever it leads." He pointed to the ceiling. "We'll just have to wait for Matt to work his magic and override Alex's systems."
As if on cue, two panels began to open in the ceiling above the flight simulator. It was how the device was lowered into place. They watched as the panels pulled back to reveal another room and four tow hooks began to lower down. BB jumped out of the fight simulator and grabbed one. Light followed suit. They clamped them onto metal hooks on the four corners of the flight simulator. Once done, metal clamps released from the catwalks, and the simulator began to rise up into the ceiling opening.
"Thank you, Matt!" BB said, clapping his hands together excitedly.
"You really do get a thrill with this kind of stuff, don't you?" Light said.
"I should tell you about the time I survived a school of tiger sharks when tangling with some of the Evangelist's goons off the coast of Bimini, Florida keys," BB said, smirking. "Let's just say, I'm the only one who's survived to tell the tale" BB winked his right eye.
Light gulped, knowing what was implied. Light looked down.
Beneath them, the wind turbines sped up. They moved in quickly, shredding the metal catwalks that once held the flight simulator, their blades just narrowly missing the under carriage of the simulator as it passed up through the ceiling opening, the sound was deafening. Alex had obviously become privy to their escape plan, but was unable to stop it—attempting to use the turbines instead, in control of them.
Four small cranes winched in the cables that held the flight simulator, controlled by Matt. And "Matt" was probably another pseudonym, Light figured.
Suddenly one of the cables snapped under the strain, and tossed them about.
BB fell out of his seat, and over the edge. He managed to grasp the side of the simulator. Access to the third room was still an open maw and the vat of acid a threat, not to mention the twisted, mangled metal of the wind turbines. If he fell, BB would either be shredded or liquified or both.
"Hang on!" Light shouted.
"Thanks for the advice, genius!" BB retorted. "The thought did occur to me!"
Light leaned over, but he wasn't sure what to do.
"Ryuk! Help him!" Light then shouted.
"Can't, and you know why," the Shinigami said.
Light knew why.
Light extended himself, and took hold of BB's hand. BB was heavier than he looked, and Light strained. With a steady hold, BB then hauled himself up under own power, avoiding a dire situation.
The flight simulator was dangling, they needed to vacant the device before it fell. But with the winches now disabled due to the snapped cable, another way had to be achieved. And Light dreaded what he had to ask. "Ryuk, help us get down," he said. "That's not against the rules of the Death Note, is it?"
"Say pretty please with an apple on top," the god of death said with a chuckle.
Light swallowed down humility, said through clenched teeth, "Pretty please with an apple on top, Ryuk."
Ryuk, flapped his wings, glided over to the other side of the flight simulator, and grabbed the cable. All of the sudden, the rest of the cables snapped with the pop of explosions. The flight simulator began to plummet with the winches in tow.
Ryuk, dived down, grabbed Light and BB, and soared back up to the opening with both clutched under an arm. He hovered in open space as the flight simulator crashed and exploded when it smashed into the wind turbines, then splashed hard into the vat of acid, erupting liquid up like a volcano.
Light breathed out a heavy sigh of relief that Ryuk had saved them.
"You saved us, thank you," BB said, looking up at the Shinigami's face, hovering in mid-air, wings flapping. "And who ever said clowns are scary doesn't know the power of laughter."
"Hey!"
Ryuk shook his head, then placed them both down onto solid ground in the fourth room. Light hoped this was the final room, since three out of the four earthly elements had already been passed.
The next and final one was earth.
"And for your reference, I didn't save you," said the Shinigami. "There's a huge difference between the act of helping and saving a human from harm or death." He looked at Light. "Light asked for my help to get you out of a jam. If I had saved you on my own, as your plummeted to your death, than that would have cost me my life. But I wouldn't have saved you anyway if that happened. I'm not stupid."
"That's semantics, and you know it, Ryuk," Light said.
"Nevertheless, I'm not crystallizing into dust," the god of death said, standing alive as one could.
BB chuckled, dusting himself off. "You two make a cute couple," he joked.
Light sneered. "No, we don't! Ryuk dropped the Death Note and I picked it up, that's it!"
BB chuckled. "Don't get defensive. I'm not judging you."
Light snorted with protest.
"What now?" asked Ryuk, as he flew around seemingly empty room. A floor panel slid across the hole, sealing them inside, the rivets that held the winches to the floor were the only thing that remained of their existence. At either end, were two large heavily fortified two panel, sealed doors.
Light surmised the flight stimulator must have been transported into this room from one of them. BB started to bite his nails, Light saw. It was a nervous tick. Like someone who ate sunflower seeds.
BB looked around the room, then found a camera embedded high in a corner of the room. He spit out a nail piece. "Alex!" he said angrily. "I know you're watching! That was sloppy, even for you. Premature panic is the sign of an immature mind, Watari would always say to us. The game isn't yet over!"
"On the contrary, Rue," Alex replied calmly through a speaker somewhere in the darkened corners of the room. "Everything is going according to design. Nothing has been unforeseen." There was a pause. "Although, the blackout was a nice touch, but everything in working order now. I bet it was your friends. Goddamn it! I'll deal with them soon enough!"
Beyond Birthday laughed. "I can hear the vexation in your voice, Alex," he said. "You were never a good lair. You always had that nasty tell whenever you tried. You could never beat me at cards."
The sound system seemed to squeal as if being hit with annoyance. "Screw you, Rue! You and Yagami will never see the light of day. You took everything away from me, Rue, and you're going to pay for it!"
"I've had enough of these games, Alex!" BB said. "If you want me" —BB extended his arms out wide— "then come and get me! It's time we finish this little cat and mouse soirée!"
"Oh…but the game isn't done, my friend, and the best is yet to come," Alex said, with a laugh. "And the last game will be the most fun of them all, I assure you. You'll love the final solution."
To be continued...
