Oh boy, this has been a long one. I actually felt quite demotivated about this chapter since no-one seems to be reading it, but seeing a review from AV cheered me up a little. Let's see what he said.

I read this chapter in February, but well, things happened, and here I am finishing the review I started back then.

That's fine, it's relieving enough that you're still interested in this.

Is anyone being serious about this at this point?

Luci and ANPA are desperate, and they already know the Second Kira is smart enough to see through any sugarcoating they throw at her, so brutal honesty was used instead in a last-ditch attempt which wasn't really expected to succeed anyway.

Everyone I Don't Like Is Hitler: Kira Special Edition. He certainly knows what he's doing, but still.

I actually put a little hint in there, a small clue which Chris himself didn't notice. If he was the only one writing the script rather than a team of four, he'd have worded it a bit differently.

Anyway, without further ado, let's continue.

(Luci's POV, July 27, 22:29)

'Luci, it's been a full day and we haven't accomplished anything.'

'There's a system to all of this, Blackheart.'

'What does that even mean?'

This is very… frustrating. I think I may be going about this the wrong way.

'Are anybody else's ears ringing? I feel like I'm losing my mind!'

'Do you mind? I'm trying to figure something out here and I can't focus with you yelling in the background.'

'So, are you saying that what you are doing is more important than me going crazy?'

'Hmmm, that is what I'm saying. Yes.'

'Well, I don't like it. So stop.'

'I can't help it. I'm onto something…'

The two Kiras have joined forces. Even if a third or fourth were to appear, the only ones who know my face are the other elitists, the members of the Task Force, and the students at Forbes High School. Should I go back into hiding?

'Blackheart. If I die in the next few days, one of the current top suspects is Kira.'

'Huh? What are you saying all of a sudden, Luci?'

'If I die, I'm counting on you to keep things together. You can use Q as you wish.'

'Just how deeply do you suspect them?'

'Even I don't know how I truly feel. This has never happened before… the two Kiras are now working together, so I'm in big trouble. So it may be possible that I'm no longer able to think things through calmly. It's a fact that my suspicion of these 3 students is logically a very low percentage, perhaps as low as 80% for one or more of them being a Kira. And I may be insistent because there's no other obvious suspects. Even so… if I'm killed now, then assume that one of them is a Kira. Take whatever measures are necessary for all three of them. I will have Q do the same.'

I don't like using the same method over and over but I have no choice. This is a gamble now… but then there's Chris' clear interest with Lauren. It certainly seems most likely that if Chris is Kira, then he's getting close to Lauren due to her being the daughter of chief Blackheart. In that case, we just need to find out what the two of them do and talk about when they're alone. My easiest option would be to just question the girl directly, after all if Chris is hiding his true identity from her too, then she won't have a reason to hide anything from me when I ask…

I take a quick sip of my coffee, which seems to have gone cold already.

(Chris' POV, July 28, 08:29)

So, this is embarrassing. After all last night's researching into other factions that we could ally with, I barely got five hours of sleep. And now I'm, what, ten minutes late for school? The entire L Case is probably already either in class or-

'Come on, Chris! Gimme a smile!'

'I'm not in the mood, Rugo,' I respond, whispering so soft that he's pretty much just reading my lips.

'Ahhh, I know what'll make you feel better.'

*sigh* 'What?'

'Luci will probably never bother us again.'

'Okay fine, that makes me feel a little better.'

'JAAAAAAAAAAA!'

'With that female agent constantly following me it's impossible to make any kind of plan. What I need is a diversion, something to distract them with.'

'HmmmOH! I have an idea!'

'Rugo, you never have good ideas.'

'No, Chris, trust me, this one is awesome.'

'Fine, let's hear it.'

'Why don't you just get Lauren and Dimina to launch diplomatic missiles at our allies like Russia, encouraging them to create a distraction using their own intelligence agencies here?'

'Okay, first of all, they don't know how to do that on their own. Second, launched from where? We lost our only launch site. Third, we only have two missiles left. Two. And I already have it planned where we'll send those once we can.'

'And where's that? Two more countries?'

'Not exactly. To put it bluntly, we need a replacement for Tomorrow's Today Tonight. What we need is a new media organization that can get our message directly onto the internet and across the world without having to go through our enemies first, and which we'll be able to use without having to either use up a missile or fight through a hail of bullets.'

'Oh, I think I know who you have in mind.'

'Hopefully we're thinking of the same thing.'

Now that there is a surprise. Lauren, Dimina, Connor, Kallet and Tom are all waiting for me at the front of the school. It's actually kinda sweet.

'…rainbow at the end. Of course you ride rainbows. And that's when I learned the Kamehameha wave from my time at Trump Tower. Oh, looks who decided to show up.'

'Hey Chris, you almost had us worried there. We were just having a friendly debate while waiting for you.'

'Debate about what?'

'All I'm saying is we should stop giving kids vaccinations.'

'Kallet, that's stupid. Vaccines save lives.'

'I know. And I'm against overpopulation.'

'…Let's just get to class.'

Getting a new launch site is going to be a problem. I'm really lost for any kind of solution. For now, let's just focus on school and the other stuff that normal teenagers do. Speaking of which, I need to solve the Lauren-Kallet dispute. The amount of cold rage in the latters' eyes is getting quite annoying, and that'll be a problem because… I know it might sound selfish to think this, but I want Lauren to fall in love with me. She's a Kira, she's intelligent, and without her help I probably wouldn't have gotten this far at all. Kallet has been useful as well, of course, but… well, if what my mother said is true when she said "everyone has a benevolent side", then Kallet must be a circle. In other news, it looks like our first class today is history. Not the best subject, but not the worst either. I guess I should be lucky to live in the time I do, after all as time goes on, history classes will only get longer and harder.

Lauren and I sit at the back of the room together, with Connor and Kallet closer to the front. Tom must've split off the group to get to his own class while I wasn't paying attention. Plonking my bag on the floor next to me I begin to listen to Mr Iesnes as usual.

'Okay kids, sit down and shut up…'

(Tom's POV, July 28, 15:31)

'So, you weren't at school today. Glad to see you've at least shown up here.'

I slide a tower forwards into Luci's main force.

'Hehe, thanks for the victory, kid. Try to be more careful next time.'

With a smug grin on his face he flicks my queen off the table, putting a pawn in it's place. I silently respond by moving a bishop into his king's range, making him pull it a square back.

'Oh… hehe, hehehe, hahahaHAHAHAH-'

'What's so funny?'

'Oh Luci, Luci you naïve little soul. Indeed, you've taken the queen, but my king still has two bishops and two knights that can win if they all work together.'

Moving one last knight into place I continue, '…checkmate, by the way.'

Wow, the look on his face is priceless. And to think that this is the guy who wants to kill my sister and friends. I stand up and extend my arm for a handshake, which he coldly rejects, turning around and leaving the room without a word.

'Wow, Tom, that was amazing. Not even Chris could beat Luci. You're so skilled.'

'Skilled? Thank you, Alice. Although, to me it's more about perseverance, about not giving up or losing faith in victory. It kinda reminds me of this time, a few years ago when I was playing Minecraft, and I decided to go north with no materials other than what I had on me at the time. For two hours I spent my time going nothing but north. I eventually reached an ocean so I jumped in and swam, and swam… I was running out of food and just as I was about to die, I stumbled across the most amazing thing I have ever seen. An island consisting of a single block sticking out of the ocean with a rose resting on top. Against all odds, that one rose grew on that one block. It gave me hope, and the belief that against all odds, I too can live on.'

'…I can't tell if that's nerdy or poetic.'

'Why not both?'

'Fair point. So, what'ya wanna do now?'

Wait, do now? As in, do together now? She wants us to do something together? Act calm, Tom, as Indy said, act calm…

'Tom, if you want you can help me get supplies for the next biology club meetup.'

'Sure!'

'Thanks. I'll tell Connor I'll be home late tonight, and once we've got some snacks we can set sail.'

'…Wait, what?'

(Connor's POV, July 28, 15:35)

'Yeah, sure, you two have fun.'

I'm glad Tom and Alice are getting along. Perhaps after Harry, she can be the next addition to the L case. Speaking of which, I've got Harry here, and we're on our way to the warehouse. But with none of the others, the walk feels eerily silent.

Oh, I just got a text. It's from Chris.

'Lauren and I might be a few mins late, sorry.'

That's a little inconvenient, but I guess we can wait for them outside the warehouse.

Ten minutes later we've finally arrived at the rusty building. Poking my head through the doorway, the place seems completely empty. No sign of Kallet either.

'So, Con, any guesses as to what the rest of the case is up to?'

'Not sure about Kallet, but I have a feeling that Chris and Lauren are… y'know…'

'You think they're dating already?'

Before I can answer, an unmarked vehicle pulls up right next to us. The two front doors open, and two agents step out, one in the uniform of ANPA and the other in that of the FBI.

I'm not sure what's going-

'Connor Summer. Where are the other two?'

'Um, excuse me? Who are you two?'

'Answer the damn question. Where are Kallet Vimerica and Christian Atarashimono?'

Damn this FBI lady is rude.

'You're from the Kira case.'

'Damn right we are!'

'Look, I don't know where the other two are.'

'…L, what now?'

The back door on the opposite side of the car swings open, and out steps…

'Luci! What's going on?!'

'Heh, long story short, is it okay that we kidnap you? I'd like to test a theory.'

Harrison practically leaps in between the two of us, spreading his arms a little as if to shield me.

'I'm afraid I can't allow that. What has Connor got to do with this anyway?'

Is that a gun in Luci's belt? Shit, it is, has he noticed that yet?

'Listen, kid, we no longer have time for tiptoeing around, and since your little buddy here is one of our top three suspects, I'll give you one chance to get out of my way.'

'I'm guessing your urgency is connected to the new Kiran alliance, and that you're trying to make your next move before they can. Am I right?'

'…You know what this is like? This is like those old movies we both love. Now I'm gonna tell you my whole plan, and then I'm gonna come up with some absurd and convoluted way to kill you all, and you'll all find an equally convoluted way to escape.'

'Sounds good to me.'

'Well this ain't that kind of movie, bro.'

*BANG*

(Chris' POV, July 28, 15:47)

'John D. Rockefeller and his story are uniquely American. Deeply religious, his wealth was created by monopolizing the oil industry, and Standard Oil grew rapidly. By 1880 he owned 90% of the oil refining business, and competitors were forced to sell off to Rockefeller, or get driven into bankruptcy by undercutting them. He soon owned all elements of oil from the oil fields to refineries to transportation. By 1911 Standard Oil was unanimously determined to be an illegal monopoly by the Supreme Court, not that that changed anything. He controlled every aspect of his worker's lives, from the homes they lived in to the stores they could buy from. In 1914, the Colorado National Guard and the Colorado fuel and Iron Company attacked a group of striking coal miners and their families, killing nearly a hundred men, women and children. In the present day, he's basically idolized for the wealth and power he gained by trampling anyone who got in his way, including his workers. Even today his descendants are extremely wealthy and powerful, and that brings me to the next point. The most powerful families in world history have traditionally been royalty. The rise of the Rothschild family represents a new trend, the "corporate family dynasty". Starting with the 1760s banking mogul Mayer Amschel Rothschild, the bloodline spread out all over Europe, each passing generation getting more involved in industries outside of banking. Like with royalty, marriages with power players had helped to keep wealth and connections in the Rothschild family. They are perhaps most well-known for their involvement in founding the American Federal Reserve Bank, funding the Napoleonic Wars and making a huge profit on post-war treasury bonds, funding Cecil Rhodes in colonizing indigenous African territories, and funding Brazil's independence from Portugal. Today, the Rothschilds are still major international players. Their access and influence spans the globe. There are more companies and governments connected to them than one can count, and their total wealth and influence remains unknown… oh, hold on, Connor sent a text.'

'He's probably getting impatient. Let's make our way there now… Chris? Are you okay?'

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