A/N: This fic is named after the song that inspired it. Partners in Crime by Set it Off.
DISCLAIMER: If you recognise it, I don't own it.
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You'll never takes us alive
L stared, and then stared again. It seemed as though it didn't matter how many times he had another look, or what angle he looked from, the image remained the same as before. "How is this even possible?" He asked, dropping the photograph to the coffee table, eyes continuously drawn to the image despite his attempts to keep his focus on the man standing before him. "I was there when they died last year. There was no way for them to escape the fire-fight, and I don't think they'd planned on doing so."
We swore that death will do us part
"I'm aware of that, I read the case reports the moment this new case crossed my desk. But that doesn't change the fact that not only do the multiple witnesses give the same descriptions, the security footage shows the same thing." The lead detective on the current case enthused along with hand gestures. "It's the same couple. Just as dangerous, and just as devoted to each other as all the other crimes, it truly appears as though they're taking their vows seriously." Not that they had unearthed evidence that the pair were ever married.
They'll call our crimes a work of art
"How did they manage to pull it off?" A younger officer asked in awe, eyes flicking around the blatantly raided bank vault. Not a single safety deposit box had been left unopened, contents deemed worthless lay strewn across the marble floor.
"The same way they always do," the lead detective said, observing the crime scene investigators attempt to lift even a single print that could belong to the main couple of the current crew. "Without any physical evidence left behind and only eyewitness accounts and security footage."
"A work of art." The young officer whispered to himself, though L had heard and privately agreed with the assessment.
You'll never takes us alive
"Can you tell us anything that may aid us in apprehending the crew and the ring leaders?" Aizawa, the lead detective, who'd finally decided to give his name to L, asked with his hands clasped in front of him and the younger officer Matsuda hovered in the background with a notepad and pen in hand.
"You won't bring them in alive." L stated, he'd seen that in the pair when he'd gone undercover the previous year. The year he'd watched the pair die…or he'd thought he'd watched them die.
We'll live like spoiled royalty, lovers and partners
"Surely by now they would have enough stashed away in creches to live out their years without working a day in their lives." Ide commented, inventory of stolen items and money figures in his hands.
"They've stolen more then most royals have!" Matsuda exclaimed, and L had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "But even though they can live off their stolen riches, it doesn't appear as though they've spent a single cent of it."
"I'm honestly more impressed by the number of times they've managed to fake their deaths." Mogi stated, multiple Death Certificates in his hands, one from every previous year. "They've been at this for what appears to be decades, how old did they seem to all of you?" Mogi posed the question as an open one for anyone to answer, but he looked directly at L as the only one to have come in contact with the pair.
Partners in crime
Partners in crime
"Certainly a lot younger then what those death certificate would have you believe." L brought his thumb to his lower lip, leaned back in the armchair he had perched himself in and reached for the cup of tea Watari had left at his side. "We need to try and predict where they will hit next, because next year they'll have a new crew and will have moved on to a new city." The crew were always killed during the crime spree, never had a member been arrested or left alive to talk. When L was undercover, one of the crew members had looked at one of the leaders funny, he'd been promptly and brutally knifed and left for dead. They'd had to live with the body for two days before they moved hideouts and everyone had learned the unspoken lesson by then.
This, the tale of, reckless love
Light grinned as the van pulled to a halt outside of the bank, the crew that he and Beyond had chosen already moving to ready themselves for what came next. He ensured that the black, lace half-mask was firmly in place before he moved out of the passenger seat to squeeze in behind the steering wheel and fit perfectly onto Beyond's lap, adrenaline quickly filling his veins as he brought his lover into a rough kiss.
"Ready baby?" He asked, voice breathy against Beyond's porcelain white skin. An unnecessary question as they were born ready. Beyond didn't answer, just grinned wickedly, returning the kiss, crimson eyes gleaming with unconcealed humour, before he gave the signal.
Living a life of crime on the run
Light followed Beyond out of the van, their nameless crew sliding out as well, weapons concealed for the moment as both Light and Beyond's trained eyes scanned their surroundings for anything out of place with an ease born from years on the run. He was the only one to wear a mask or anything to obscure his features, the mask would come off once their current crew proved themselves.
I brush to a gun to paint these states
Green and red
Beyond checked to ensure that his guns were positioned right, that they wouldn't be hindered by his clothing when he needed to withdraw them, checking on Light from the corner of his eye before once again giving a silent signal, one which the nameless, worthless, crew members heeded without hesitation. They were only there because Light and he could only carry out so much between them whilst on a time crunch.
Everybody freeze
"Everybody freeze!" The metal detectors were quick to sound, the noise loud and jarring, cutting off the warning they'd given.
They burst into the bank in a flurry of activity, weapons drawn and aimed at every potential threat and hostage, the security guards promptly rendered immobile and defenceless by two of the five crew members whilst the other three corralled the hostages onto their hands and knees. Beyond surveying as everything went to his and Light's plan, fingers poised on his two guns in case someone tried something stupid.
Nobody move
One of the crew members forced a man to the floor amidst the screaming hostages, kicking the man whilst he was down before smashing a phone with the heel of his shoe, gun trained on the others whilst a second crew member ensured they had all forms of communications taken from the hostages.
"Nobody move, this isn't a game!" One of the crew spat, waving his gun in a threatening manner. Beyond idly approached the entrance, eyes sweeping for any change or any sign of an approaching customer whilst Light took care of the tellers behind the counter.
Put the money in the bag
Or we will shoot
Light thrust a large bag towards the one teller he'd allowed to remain behind the counter, promptly ordering her to fill the bag with everything they had on hand. He'd get to the vault later, he kept his gun trained on her, watching her every trembling move for any sign she'd try for the silent alarm.
"Put the money in the bag!" He snapped when he noticed her dropping a few notes onto the marble floor. "No, leave it!" He ordered when she made to bend down to pick it up again, not once allowing for the possibility of her sounding the alarm. "Great," he ushered her away from the counter when the bag was sufficiently filled, tossing it over to one of the crew members and taking the empty bag in exchange even as Beyond slid up beside him, wicked grin in place as he eyed the trembling woman.
Empty out the vault
"The vault now," Beyond roughly pushed the female teller towards the vault, urging her to open it quickly and keeping his eyes open for any tricks. The teller didn't attempt anything, hastily filling the bags as they were thrust at her and handing them over when they were filled, tears streaming down her face and leaving behind trails of mascara.
And me and my doll will be on our way
"Let's go doll," Beyond put away one of his guns to link his newly free hand with Light's, the crew silently slipping out of the bank without hassle, the hostages cowered into silence on the floor and the security guards unable to do much to stop them. It was as they were passing by the metal detectors that Light let out a laugh of disbelief, releasing his hold on Beyond's hand to take a hefty pile of newspapers into his hands before they finally left the building and barrelled into the awaiting, idling van.
Our paper faces flood the streets
"What did you grab?" Beyond asked him, and Light showed his lover what had caught his attention. Splashed across the front page were their sketched faces and stills taken from security cameras along with long lines of written information.
"Didn't do them much good," Light couldn't help but smile mockingly down at the newspapers before promptly winding down the window and leaning out of it slightly enough so that the wind caused by the speed they were driving at was enough to take the front page of the newspaper as Light separated the pages, and send them blowing across the streets and side-walks.
And if the heat comes close enough to burn
Then we'll play with fire 'cause
By the time the sirens could be heard they were already well away from the scene of the crime, van ditched for another mode of transport and eyes and ears peeled for any sign that they'd been followed or traced. They had their phones out and constantly refreshed pages for information or news, even as they listened in to the radio for whatever the newsreader would say about the situation. Only Beyond was listening to a police scanner, every now and again directing the driver down a different route when they were nearing a police cruiser or the police helicopter flew too close to their current route. He was prepared to deal with the police, but if they didn't have to confront them, then he would avoid the conflict. He held Light in a loose embrace, bags of money and discarded newspapers at their feet whilst the five crew members loudly celebrated a win as the adrenalin wore off.
You'll never takes us alive
The warehouse they'd chosen to lay up in for the night was one of the nicer ones they'd had come across in recent days. It appeared to be some kind of holding facility for a furniture store as there were beds and lounges that they and the crew could sleep on instead of the cold, hard floors they'd had to make do with. There were even tables they could eat off of instead of relying on their hands and laps.
"I was hoping for a little more action!" One of the crew loudly exclaimed over his hamburger, gaining encouraging nods from the other four. "There were no cops to kill, none of the hostages tried anything stupid after that first one."
"That's 'cos they watched you kick some brains into him!" Another crew member sniggered into his hot chips. "Wish there was a shoot-out," he grumbled.
"They never would have taken us alive," Light whispered to Beyond, lacing their fingers together. "None of us."
We swore that death will do us part
"I love you," Light had followed him as he left their crew to find the best place to sleep for the night. Beyond envied how easily Light could say the words, not that Beyond had never said them, but until Light had come into his life, he'd never been on the end of freely given love with no strings attached.
He briefly squeezed Light's fingers, finally finding a bed and mattress that looked comfortable, and drawing the other down upon it with him. "Until death do us part, doll." He traced over Light's features, gently removing the half-mask and swooping in to briefly brush his lips across Light's cheekbone, soft, perfect skin meeting his lips for that brief moment.
They'll call our crimes a work of art
"Everything went to plan," Light couldn't help but gush about that, dollar signs appearing before his eyes. "It was flawless, a work of art!" He exclaimed, throwing his hands into the darkness of the enclosed warehouse, before settling down and wriggling closer to Beyond, close enough that Beyond's warm breath ghosted across his neck. "We'll be be infamous," he sighed happily as warm hands began slide under his shirt to run across his skin, moist lips and tongue kissing his exposed neck.
You'll never takes us alive
We'll live like spoiled royalty, lovers and partners
"Wait!" Light suddenly broke away from him, honey blond hair in disarray and kiss swollen lips to match the flush in tanned skin. "There's something I've always wanted to do." And with that Beyond's naked lover leaped from the bed and was quick to vanish into the darkness. Moments passed and Beyond was about to bring his straining need into hand, when Light returned with money bags in hand, promptly emptying the bags so that money rained down upon the bed and Beyond.
"What on earth?" He asked, even as Light rejoined him on the bed, money crinkling underneath him until Beyond pulled him back into his arms, naked skin brushing together.
"Do you think the rich, famous and royal ever do it like this?" The grin Light shot up at him was both wicked and playful and Beyond was quick to kiss it off his face, all thoughts of what others may or may not do in their beds fast replaced by what was happening between them.
Partners in crime
Partners in crime
"They struck again, another bank." Aizawa handed over a folder with copies of the information they'd managed to gather already inside. "The same M.O as last years, and the years before that. It seems as though the newspapers with their faces in them weren't enough, one of them took a whole lot and now the front page is blowing around outside on the streets."
"They restrained the security guards, they were of no help, but aside from one man who'd attempt to call for help, nobody else was injured. The man has some sever bruising but no broken bones." Mogi lowered his notebook, eyes scanning the empty vault. "They got what they came for."
"Which means that tomorrow they'll hit a convenience store." L turned away from the vault, memory flashing back to his time undercover. "I don't know why they chose to hit the store so soon after robbing the bank, but that's how it appears to play out every year."
"So we have a chance at catching them?" Matsuda asked, wringing his hands slightly at he looked to his superiors.
"Maybe," they all knew how things tended to play out from here. "Assuming we know how they manage to fake their deaths, we may be able to arrest them."
Here we find our omnipotent outlaws
Fall behind the grind tonight
"Don't know why we are even bothering with this." Light couldn't help but mutter darkly to himself, even though he was already rearing to go, his finger traced the outline of his gun and he'd left his mask at home to not arouse suspicion as he 'browsed' through the store. He clocked the silent signal Beyond gave and moved along with the other five members of the crew, guns out and demands yelled at the store owner for money and cigarettes and whilst three of the crew and Beyond handled the store owner, Light and two others hastened to fill their pockets with everything they could grab.
Left unaware that the lone store owner
Won't go down without a fight
It was as they were fleeing the store that things quickly went to hell. Beyond cursed loudly, the sound of a gunshot distantly ringing in his ears as pain and blood blossomed from his right shoulder. He faintly heard Light scream his name, return fire drowning it out as the crew scattered, some flying out the door with items falling to the ground and others fleeing further back into the store.
"B!" Light called again, grabbing him and forcing him further into the store even as another gunshot rang out and a display stand blew apart just feet from where Beyond had been standing. Wet warmth ran down his arm, dripping red against the tiled floor, the owner yelling tauntingly at them.
Where we gonna go
Light breathed heavily, heart pounding as adrenalin fuelled him, his clothing slowly becoming sodden with Beyond's warm blood as it continued to seep unhindered from the shoulder wound. "Where are we going to go," he muttered to himself, spotting the store owner approaching with his gun in hand, shotgun, Light noted distantly, as he pulled Beyond along with him.
He's got us pinned
His shoulder throbbed like crazy, every heartbeat caused agony to flare throughout the exposed nerve endings and muscle. He could feel Light's heart beating rapidly in his chest, his lover pushed up tightly against him as they struggled to reach freedom, the owner still lurking out front and preventing it from happening. "He's got us pinned," he couldn't help but say, hissing through his teeth as his shoulder was jostled.
Baby I'm a little scared
"B," Light's unnaturally timid voice broke in from behind him. "Baby, I'm scared," Beyond didn't know how much it cost Light to admit that, the other a highly prideful creature. He didn't know how much of it had to do with the large amounts of blood he was loosing or the store owner with a gun.
Now, don't you quit
Beyond turned to his lover, pale skin contrasting against Light's natural tan, amber eyes blown wide with fear. "Don't do this Light. Listen to me doll, we'll get out of this, we are not meant to die in some convenience store at the hand of some store owner!" He hissed angrily, giving Light a harsh shake, ignoring the screaming protest his shoulder gave as the movement pulled against the wound.
He's sounded the alarm
I hear the sirens closing in
Light took in a steadying breath, counted to five and steeled himself to be strong. "He's sounded the alarm," he could hear the high pitched wail of the sirens as police quickly began to convene upon them.
"Damn cowards left us," Beyond spat in anger, hand coming up to his shoulder before he flinched and dropped it. "There's four of us still in here-" Beyond was cut off by rapid gunfire and the squeal of car breaks and shattering glass. "Let's go!" They raced for it, springing into action Light followed Beyond even as the two other crew members joined them, leaping over the downed owner and making for the idling van with it's doors already open and waiting for them.
Our paper faces flood the streets
"He knew, he had to have known!" One of the crew members panted harshly as he held his sides, the driver taking corners sharply as they tried to distance themselves from the store and the sirens behind them.
"Our faces were on Wanted Posters in the windows! He had to have known it was us!" A second member wailed, visibly shaken despite no sign of injury.
"Hold on, I'll take care of this." Beyond bit back a yell as Light wrapped a strip of torn cloth around his shoulder, tightly tying the knot to try and slow the loss of blood. "You need a hospital, it didn't go through and through." Beyond saw Light run bloodstained hands through his hair in stress, the sound of sirens coming closer rather then going further.
And if the heat comes close enough to burn
Then we're burning this place to the ground 'cause
"What do we do? Where do we go?!" The driver asked in a panic, van swerving around slow moving traffic, multiple sirens sounding seemingly from all directions.
"They're closing in on us!" The passenger seat crew member shouted. "What are you doing?! Don't turn down that way!" He suddenly yelled, even as the van took a sharp turn and they rocked with the motion, the sound of blaring horns sounding out.
"Go out in a blaze of glory?" Beyond asked and Light couldn't help but struggle to pull up a smile at the light hearted words, their crew panicking around them. "It's a shame we have nothing to burn, could have burned the whole place down around us with the cops inside, would have made this worth it." Light saw his lover flinch as the van hit a rough section of road.
"Maybe next time," was all Light could offer up, grim smile more of a grimace.
You'll never takes us alive
We swore that death will do us part
"Remember, we want them alive. We need to know how they've managed to fake their deaths so many times, flown under the radar for so long, and how it is that despite them coming in contact with doors, money and people, the only evidence we have of their presence is eyewitnesses and security footage." L reminded the officers and detectives as their patrol cars followed the erratically driving van ahead of them, sirens blaring deafeningly. "They also would rather be killed then captured, so watch out for that." Suicide By Cop was essentially written as every C.O.D on the Death Certificates.
They'll call our crimes a work of art
You'll never takes us alive
"Do you think that one day their crime spree will be written about in textbooks and crime novels? Like, do you think months from now a group of criminals will get together to talk about these crimes?" Matsuda asked from behind L's front passenger seat. He didn't deign to answer though he heard Ide mutter something in response.
We'll live like spoiled royalty, lovers and partners
Partners in crime
"I don't think prison time will agree with them. They would have had to of been living the high-life on their stolen riches, it'll come as a nasty shock when they're wearing prison orange." Aizawa joked, from behind, just as the van came to a screeching halt in an abandoned car-yard behind an old brick factory. "You don't think they'll just surrender, do you?" Aizawa asked rhetorically, even as the van doors slid open and all seven suspects jumped out of it.
The skies are black with lead-filled rain
A morbid painting on display
The five crew members had been gunned down pretty quickly, though that was expected as they'd opened fire at the police immediately before even trying to find some cover or attempt to make a run for it. Now Beyond and he were pinned against the van, the only thing separating them from the police on the other side. Beyond's shoulder was bleeding freely again, though it now went with the gunshot to the lower arm he'd gained. Not even Light managed to come out of the brief fire-fight unscathed, he'd taken a shot to the left hand and one to his upper left thigh.
"Surrender?" Beyond looked to him, grey tinged under the vibrant red blood splatters. He grinned even as he hid his gun within easy reach in his pants. "Or so they'll think, at least we can try to take some of them out with us."
"I'm out," Light tossed his gun to the dusty ground and struggled to his feet, body screaming at him from his various gunshot wounds.
This is the night the young love died
Buried at each others side
"They seem pretty dead to me." Matsuda commented, after they'd all heaved a sigh, examining the bodies for signs of life.
"I don't know why I even bothered asking for you to try and bring them in alive." L ran a hand down his face, squatting down beside the gunned down bodies of the ring leaders. "To be sure, I'd rather the morgue hold onto the bodies for two weeks before they release them."
"First we need to identify them before we can contact the families to have them released." Aizawa stated, even as he finished up making the phone calls he needed to make.
You never took us alive
We swore that death would do us part
"I don't know what to tell you. The bodies were here, ready to be autopsied, and now they're not." The doctor ran a harried hand through greying hair, two empty stainless steal tables before them. "There was nothing on the camera's, nobody's come in or out for hours now since I arrived. I don't understand how this happened."
"It is intriguing," L left the doctor to deal with the detectives and security guards. He'd put his three successors onto the case, having them look into every crime committed in order to try and find a clue to the pairs identities. Not once in the period of time L had been undercover, had the pair let slip their names or past.
So now we haunt you in the dark
You never took us alive
"I'm saying that it makes sense." Matsuda insisted, following behind L as he entered his hotel room. "I've done some of my own research, and every year, without fail, the 28thof January is the day they die. In the days leading up to the 28this when they start their crime spree." Matsuda dropped down onto one of the lounge chairs without being offered as seat, pulling his laptop out of its case and powering it on. "I believe that they're ghosts, stuck in some kind of loop or something."
"There's no such thing as ghosts." L sighed, because this was the second time he'd heard someone pose this theory.
"I found where they may have been buried. It's not far." Matsuda swung his laptop around to show L it's screen. "I can tell you what else I found when we get there if it turns out I was right." L could see the barely suppressed eager gleam in Mastuda's eyes and silently sighed again before signalling for Watari.
We live as ghosts among these streets
"So in around the 1800's, there was a spree of crimes that spanned for years. Not once were the perpetrators caught." Matsuda began as he, L and Watari walked along rows of old gravestones, looking for gravestones that bore no names. "Then, in the lead up to the 28thof January, information came forward about who may have been responsible. On the 28th, a crew of seven were gunned down by the police, and the ringleaders names were released." Matsuda paused beside a weathered, visibly old gravestone that bore no name and only the date of death.
Lovers and partners
"Light Yagami and Beyond Birthday." Matsuda knelt down beside the gravestone, fingers brushing against the craved words. "Apparently, Light Yagami came from an extremely wealthy family, and his father, Soichiro Yagami, was heavily involved with the police of the time. Beyond Birthday was a drifter, I found information that likened him to a Highway Man."
"They fell in love." L stated, he didn't need to question that the pair loved each other, if they were the same couple from last year, they were still in love.
Partners in crime
"Their relationship was extremely illegal back then, and the social differences between the two... Apparently they ran off together and started their crime spree." Matsuda stood back up, looking around for the second gravestone. "When they were killed, orders were given that they wouldn't be named on the gravestones, but apparently they were to be buried side-by-side together."
"And yet there's only one gravestone." L looked around as well for the second one, it was when Watari pointed it out a few rows over that they found it'd been moved.
Partners in crime
"Light Yagami had been married in an arranged marriage to Misa Amane, someone his parents approved of." Matsuda went on to explain. "When Light left with Beyond, it caused all kinds of trouble between her and the families. She eventually managed to convince some people to help her get Light back. A store owner recognised the pair and fired upon them, the police got involved and everything ended that same day. A few months after Light Yagami and Beyond Birthday were buried, Misa Yagami nee Amane, paid for Light Yagami's grave to be moved to where it now sits so she could be buried beside her husband. And rumour has it that the hauntings started up that following year."
Partners in crime
"So to stop these crimes from happening you'll what, have us exhume the graves and have them reburied side-by-side again?" L asked in disbelief, looking between the pair of gravestones and the distance between them.
"I'm just offering a possible solution to what appears to be a reoccurring problem." Matsuda shrugged, turning and walking off with Watari on his heels.
L went to follow the pair, when from the corner of his eye he spotted what appeared to be to ghostly figures standing some distance between each other, though the way they were looking at one another L could sense how desperately they wanted to close the distance. He blinked and they were gone. Perhaps he would have the graves moved so they were side-by-side again, but not because he believed in ghosts, but because if Matsuda's information was correct, then the pair at least deserved to be together in death as they were in life.
…Fin…