An anonymous package
Halle Lidner receives an anonymous package when coming back to New York from Tokyo.
Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note and I don't make profit from this fiction.
This's my first time to write a story in English. I completed a few sentences with the help of translation software. I've tried my best to correct mistakes in grammar. Welcome any reviews about my work.
A blonde in a grey windbreaker, pulling a 26-inch suitcase, gets out from a taxi parked in front of an apartment in Manhattan. She bangs the door shut. She is exhausted by the ten-hour flight. In the last few months when she was in Japan, a lot of things happened. It's all over now. Kira's case has been solved, and her dead loved one can rest in peace at long last. But victory usually comes with an unbearable price.
"Ms. Lidner, wait a minute, please."
The blonde looks back at the doorman who called her name.
"Ma'am, there is a package sent to you the other day. You were not at home, so I kept it for you. "
"My package? "Since she joined SPK for chasing after Kira, she hasn't contacted with any of her relatives or friends. She conceals the fact that she went to New York. Her parents still think she is working in Langley. No one knows her address in New York but her colleagues of SPK.
She takes the package from the doorman in disbelief. The package is about the same size of an English dictionary and as heavy as a simple book.
She only finds information about the recipient on the package and there are no name or address of the sender. This is an anonymous package! She wonders that asking the doorman cannot have her questions answered at all, then she turns to the elevator after giving thanks to the doorman.
Entering the house, she takes off her windbreaker. She takes the scissors and cannot hardly wait to unwrap the package. She cuts the tape on the package bit by bit, clearly hearing her own heartbeat. Then she sees a notebook with a black leather cover lying quietly inside the package.
She holds up this notebook, opening the cover with a trembling turn. The first page is blank. Where the blank page attached to the back of the book shows that two or three pages was torn. She turns a page back to see a large piece of text written in a black pen. When she is ready to read the first sentence, she recognizes the handwriting.
Is it Mello's notebook ?
She begins to leaf through the notebook. Meanwhile, some names, such as Beyond Birthday, L, and Naomi Misora, come into her sight. Mello wrote down the story he had heard?
But why would he give me his manuscript in this way?
It's weird.
Mello never does anything without reason. Three months ago, he came to me with his purpose. He never mentioned the manuscript to me. Did he want me to keep it for him or publish it?
"So weird..." Lidner mutters as she looks through the notebook.
There is nothing else in the packing box. As a former CIA agent, she estimates the possibility that the structure of this notebook is unique. There must be something.
Her index finger moves along the back of the notebook from one corner of the notebook to the other. There is a narrow gap between the book back and side glue. She takes the tweezers out of her make-up bag. Opening the curtains and standing by the window, she lets the sunlight come through the gap. As expected, there is something hidden in the narrow gap. She stretches the tweezers into the gap and clips a page of paper folded several times. She unfolds the piece of paper and makes sure it is a page torn off form the notebook. There are no words on it.
She approaches a sofa and sits down, closing her eyes and leaning against the back of the sofa. The image of blond boy in leather writing at the desk emerges in her mind. She shakes her head, trying to recall the details and moments of his living with her.
That is it. She starts rummaging at home, eventually finding a lighter and candles in the bathroom cabinet. She lights the candle with a lighter and places the piece of paper she just found over the flame. Lines of handwriting show up slowly.
One day while they were having dinner, she suggested having some champagne. Mello said he never drank and didn't want to try. So she handed him a bottle of lemon juice. She clearly remembers everything that happened in that half month.
After dropping the wax oil to attach the candle to the table , she begins to focus on the piece of paper.
Halle,
You're reading this letter, proving that you're a good agent who is lucky and absolutely qualified to be the first reader and a keeper of my manuscript. I assume you'll have scanned through my work, and finding this letter may be just a reflection of your occupational habits. I am usually a good judge of people.
It is recorded with my respect for L and the memory I cherish in this notebook.
I can't entrust it to anyone but you. You're the one I trust. It's you who helped me and took me in when I was alone and desperate. Even though I've lost the Mafia, a powerful source I could use to fight against Kira, you still trust me and lead me to cooperate with Near. I wonder if you've been concerned about the uncertainty I may cause since you decided to join hands with me. You have to beat Kira for a reason, don't you? Every time I ask you why you're so obsessed with capturing Kira, you always avoid giving me a direct answer. Obviously, you hate Kira as much as I do, perhaps more than I do.
I have no idea where I will be when you receive this package. I can't imagine how you will feel when you read this letter. But I want you to know how I feel when I'm writing this letter. I'm impulsive and emotional at times, but the operation for the coming day is deliberate. I do need you to trust me again . I've been in the motorcade for over a week, watching you escort Takata every day. I'm sorry that, as a partner, I didn't tell you all in advance. I know I've been rude and ungentlemanly. I tried to intimidate you, and even to manipulate you. Amazingly, your bravery and honesty had me at a loss and your convincing words made me peace.
I put my life on the line this time, which sounds really crazy. But that doesn't mean I give up on competing with Near. I found there wasn't only one way to defeat Near after L passed away, so I gave up the chance to be a successor of L, leaving Wammy's House to find my own way. Since you told me Near were going to meet Kira face to face, I've thought long and hard and come to realize it doesn't matter whether someone's alive or dead to tell if he is No.1. I'm sorry to use you again for my selfishness and willfulness. I admit I'm a total egomaniac and always give my own goal a priority. But I've not forgotten our common goal. I think you'll be understanding, as you've always been.
I'm sorry that my ridiculous pride turned a request letter into a full monologue. There is no telling when you will get this package. How I wish I had a chance to hear your thoughts on my manuscript.
There's one more thing I have to say. Promise me you won't show my work to Near unless he asks you for it. If he insists on being a reader of my novels, remember to watch his face as he reads.
Well, let me finish here. Agent Bullock, may you always be happy.
Yours,
Mello
As Lidner slowly lowers the creased letter, she picks up her phone subconsciously and presses it.
"Beep…Beep… "
The voice from the phone makes her choke for a moment. She hangs up, as if she is aware of something. There is silence in the room after that.
Author's Note:
1. Langley: The CIA headquarters are located at Langley, Virginia.
2. Lemon Juice can be used as a kind of invisible ink. The words written in Lemon juice on paper become visible when the paper is placed over the flame.
3. The idea of hiding the piece of inside the book back comes from TV series Homeland. CIA agents in this TV series exchange information by this way.