Chapter 11
Disclaimer: I do not own "Death Note".
Author's Note: Okay, as usual: Enjoy, enjoy, and thank you for the positive comments on the last chapter. And, by the way, I just found out that there already is an "A" at Whammy's – mind that this story is based on the anime, not the manga, so whatever thing you got to know from there and not the anime, will not be in here. And sorry to anyone who saw this little hole in my story.
And sorry again. Because the quick and clever reader will perhaps have noticed that I have removed Mikami from the list of maincharacters in this fic. I just realized he haven't gotten enough great moments to be a something like that. So – sorry to all the Mikami-fans, myself included, I did not do this intentionally. And, if I have not mentioned this before, there will not and never be a relationship of romance between Light and Mikami. Sorry to people who thought so. I just thought I'd mention it.
Really? Adéle Segan? He watched her quietly from the corner of his eyes, her silhouette in the dark room. She had just entered, only just seen the screen. Her face had slight rinkel between the brows, a look of both disgust and fright on her pretty eyes.
That naive girl, blinded by him and the perfect world, enchanted in a foolish, childish love with him? Could she be the insider – a traitor? No. Impossible. She was… or was she? If indeed she was from Whammy's House, then she, like L, must be good in acting, in shielding her feelings form the world and place whatever mask that fitted the situation. But how could he be sure? How could he proof to himself she was a traitor? He needed her – maybe not now, but she was his safety net if Mikami died. How could he possibly be sure if she was the insider? Normally he would have just disposed of her at the least cause of suspicion, but here… here he could not do that, he could risk throwing away a faithful servant hwo could take over for Mikami. He would have to reveal her somehow… surely, if she was form Whammy's, she would do somehting when seeing Aballini being tortured. Or would she? Would she have that much self control, not letting her feelings getting spotted? He must perform a test on her. Maybe… maybe he should have her kill Aballini? If he was her accomplish, then surely she would show some signs by killing him. She was, after all, nothing but a mere human.
She felt his eyes upon her, and yet she did not know they were there. He did not matter to her. He was unimportant.
What had she done? Her hands shook, not fysically, but they shook in silence and invisibility as she watched. His body… it was recked and destroyed, his eyes empty and glassy, unseeing, and yet he was still alive and she knew it, but what a life was it not, the one he lived? Empty. Only pain and despair must he be feeling. It was as though he watched her through the screen, as though their eyes met through the camera. She could not bear it, it was too much… the raven hair, sticky and stiff with blood, and those eyes, those blue eyes. They were begging her. She knew it. Begging her to help him…
She closed her eyes, getting a grip on herself. No. She could not. He was beyond her help now that he was captured. She would have them all killed if she helped him, the plan would be ruined. So her mask stayed. The mask of a scared girl stayed where it was, and she did not move or could not move it. It was unimportant. You fool! Imbicil! How could she have snapped like that? How could she have shown her feelings? How? She had put everything at risk by feeling. She must not do it again. Nothing was more important than the plan. Than defeating Kira. She must win.
William was stupid anyway. A stupid boy who had gotten himself caught. How could he not have been more careful? It was his fault the plan had almost been ruined. No her's. What was she saying, of course not her's. She could not make mistakes, it was his fault. She did not care about him anymore. He had failed, he was weak, she could do no more for him. Not that she wanted to. He was beneath her dignity now. He had given up all her help when he had gotten caught. Stupid boy. Irrational boy. Sentimental.
A opened her eyes and turned all her attention to Kira. To Light. Behind her costume and her mask of stone she felt a painful jolt in the stomach. His eyes. There were something about those eyes. Those eyes behind the soft, perfect, caramel hair. They gleamed red, it seemed, just for a second. How odd…
Then she realized it. He had finally opened his eyes. He had finally gotten it. He knew there was an insider. And he suspected her.
Curse that Aballini! Curse him to Hell! But was it really his… yes, do not be stupid, of course it was his fault!
Light smiled. "Hello, Adéle. I'm glad you could make it."
"Of course, Light. I'm only glad to be of service to you."
He chuckled. "Do you see this man here?" He gestured to the cribbled person on the plank bed in the little cell. She felt her insides twist painfully. No! Pull yourself together!
"Yes, I see him. Isn't it…?"
"Yeah, it's William Aballini. We captured just a few hours ago. The idiot refuses to say anything. Playing noble. I hate those people, thinking they're matyrs."
"Yes, Light, I agree. There are no such things as unselfish deeds in the world. Martyrs delude themselfes by thinking so. Martyrs exist only to justify a single cause, such as blowing up innocent people because they're different form themselves."
"I think you're exactly right about that, Adéle. We're not so different, you and I."
Oh no! Damn him! It was a test. He was testing how smart she was. How much she was like… like the others. "Why, Light, you flatter me. I could never compare myself to… God." She giggled. How much she was like L.
He merely smiled and turned his attention to the screen again.
A did not have any time to think, for in that very instant the door was knocked on. Light frowned, annoyed, and waved his hand at one of the guards by the door. The guard opened it.
A woman stood there, looking absolutely terrified, her hands shook as she knelt before Light's back.
"L-lord," she stuttered. Her very hair, mousy brown, and her blue uniform shook with her body.
"Yes?" Light's voice was gentle and with that the most intimidating thing A had ever heard.
"My a-apologies for interrupting you, Lord. We just got the news. Ryan Hannigan has been found dead in his apartment. It would appear that he was shut three times in the forehead. We believe he has been liquidated by the resistance fighters. Even though he also appear to have been part of it."
Silence.
Ryan? Ryan Hannigan! He had been liquidated, she said… yes, it all made sense. He was a traitor, a rat, who had told Light about the mission today. Yes… he had gotten what he deserved then. She had never trusted him, but they had needed his abilities as a hacker, now that A herself was not around, and William had said he was okay. Even more to blame on that oaf. It was all his fault! Blind, he was, controlled by emotion. Oh, how she hated that word. Now what she supposed to do? Kira suspected her… The obvious thing would be to stop the plan and to keep low… but would that not seem even more suspicious? That the resistance fighters and the insider stopped acting when she was suspected. Yes. She must continue. And even more, she must move to the next fase in the plan. She had promised to at the very least have Mikami killed and to destroy the notebooks. She had promised… promised him. William. Well, no, she had not, she had merely said that she would do it. She had not comitted herself to anything. Because she was not that stupid.
Pain. Pain was all he felt, all he could feel. His entire body was throbbing, he could not move, if he tried, everyhting would explode and he would scream again. Yes, he remembered that he had screamed. Faintly. However, whether or not it was a dream he could not tell. It did not seem to matter.
Never in his life had he felt such agony. He drifted in and out of conciousness. Right now he was awake. But he longed after the warm darkness where he could not feel anything. He just wanted to feel nothing. Nothing. No pain, no hunger, no despair, no nothing. Nothing. It sounded good.
He foggily remebered the doctor coming in. He had stopped the bleedings. His face was unclear, Will did not remember it, but his hands, his gentle, warm hands were very sharply drawn in his memory. They made the pain fade, just for a second.
He also remembered when his nose was broken. How old had he been? Ten.. twelve… forty… he did not know. He was not sure who had broken it, the muscle man or his step father. That did not matter either.
He just wanted to be free. To be at peace. To sleep quietly, not having to have a pistol under his pillow every night, on the table as he ate, next to him in the bathtub. He wanted to take his Baby Browning, throw it far away and forget about it. He wanted that so bad.
That was when he remembered. A little, ratling sound, a lifetime ago. The ratling sound was from a jewel… a bracelet. A had given it to him. He smiled when he pictured her face. She had given him the bracelet. And there was a pill in the biggest bead of the bracelet. If you ate the pill, you were free.
He felt happy, just for short moment, forgetting the pain. He could be free. His eyes rolled, slowly, to the right and he saw it – it was still there, little and anonimous on his bloody wrist. It was whole. They had not bothered taking it away from him. It was just as bracelet. No. It was more. It was freedom.
But he knew he must not be spotted when he crushed the bead. He must not let them know what he was attempting. They would interfere and prevent it. He lifted the hand with the bracelet on it, and pain shut through his entire arm. He gasped, his mind blackened along with his eyes. The other hand was gripping the first wrist in desperation. It seemed real, he thought. It must do. It was real, after all.
His finger nails sunk into the two small markings on the bead, like A had told him to. He felt the congelaed blood peal form his fingers. They pressed, the pain was overwhelming… but it broke. And he felt somehting small fall onto his wrist. It was cool and cylindrical. Happiness was like a great bobble in his throat, the pain was not worth giving attention. As quickly as he could with his recked body he grapped the pill, he lifted it, he was near throwing it into his mouth…
Pain again. Ubelieveable, it was. He gasped, dropped the pill and clutched his left hand with despair and in tears. They ran down his cheeks and burned in the gashes.
He had failed.
Now Light giggled. And smiled. He watched Aballini clucthing his hand, that which had been holding the poisonous pill, he watched the blood that ran from the gunshot in the palm. That fool. He really thought he could escpae that easily. Poision pill. So barbarian and so… old school.
He leaned forwards and pressed the button of the speakers. "Good job, officer."
A man in a blue police uniform, a cap and a gun knelt before the cameras, telling him thank you, and that it was nothing, Lord. Light had put a police officer there just in case. The man had reflexes so fast a normal human could only dream of them. He was ordered to shoot, but not fatally of course, if Aballini did anything odd.
"Now, now, William," Light continued softly. "That won't do. You need to behave if you don't want to get tied up again." The young man flinched at the sound of his voice, shedding tears he probably did not know were there. Light grinned triumphantly inside.
"Would you tie him back up, please? If he has enough strength to attempt something like this, then maybe we should continue where we left off." Muscle grinned, grabbing Aballini and mercilessly tying to the old chair again. Then the he got his fag end.
"Before you start," Light said, "I have a little message for mr. Aballini. I'm sure you'll be glad to hear, William, that the man whose fault it is that you're in here, was murdered a few hours ago by your little friends. Ryan Hannigan, his name was. Does that ring a bell?"
Silence. But Aballini's face said a thousand words. It was dumbstruck, terrified and twisted with grief, being told that his best friend had betrayed him. Light smiled quietly.
But then a shadow fell over the slim face of the prisoner. A shadow of wrath and yet triumph, an expression of victory.
"You're… lying," Will said, and, with his last powers, he smiled. "You're a… liar… Kira. And even if… you're not… then it… doesn't… matter. What difference does it… make… if I die? None. You'll fall. No matter… what. I have faith… in it. I know it. You can never… win."
Light's tieeth gritted with anger. Why, that insolent, little… He pressed the button.
"You may begin," he said.
A's mask broke for a short moment. He had faith in it. He had faith in her. Her eyes were burning. She bit her lip not to show any more emotion. Why did have to say that? Damn you, William…
William Aballini screamed.
Author's Note: Remember to review! Come on… I know you wanna.
And, the English dictionary on here (or just on this computer - my old one's broken, so I'm using a new one) seem to be out of order. So forgive my misspelling, I usually correct that with the dictionary. I've done it as well as I could by myself.