ANOTHER SIDE, ANOTHER STORY
Chapter Twelve
Liar
What a troublesome situation. Reports of wide spread deaths throughout America in the past month was, of course, going to cause an uproar. Terrorists, that was the immediate thought, but the fact that only criminals were dying seemed to negate that theory. As well as the fact that they were all dying from Heart Attacks. Every day, and at random times, criminals in prisons in every state would fall to their deaths dramatically. George Bush knew this. He didn't need the President's cabinet to advise him of this.
But how the hell could something like this actually happen? It didn't make any sense whatsoever. A nation-wide heart attack. People were already fleeing to Canada and Mexico in worry but most the population was staying because most of the population was smart enough to know that they were apparently safe as long as they didn't become a criminal. But that brought up the impossibility that there was someone out there literally dealing out these heart attacks like a pair of cards.
The president shook his head, thinking this was a ridiculous thing to think at all. Nobody could play the part of God like that and deliver deaths to criminals simply at their whim.
The Chief of State stepped down from the pedestal and George snapped his eyes up to attention. The speech was finished, which meant all of America would be waiting for the president himself to approach the pedestal and say something as well. A nation wide broadcast was nothing, he'd done hundreds of speeches before. But in truth, he hadn't felt this nervous since he'd announced that they would be going to war with Iraq.
What a troublesome situation, indeed.
People in the crowd clapped as George Bush stood from his seat, shook hands with the Chief of State, and approached the pedestal. In his hand, hidden from most of the crowd's view, was a cluster of note cards with his speech written on it. He'd only read through it once. They'd written it for him just like they always did. Just do the same thing as always and it will be fine. Sure, half of America must've thought he was just an idiot anyway. George Bush knew that he was a joke to many citizens of the country. And he accepted that as mere mediocrity of the common low lives. He laughed sometimes at the idea of normal people approaching the very same pedestal he was walking up to now and seeing if they could deliver a speech to America involving the current issue of the heart attacks in American prisons.
"Good evening, America." George Bush greeted and the crowd quieted down. "Terror is what we've been fighting against all these years…Fighting against the terrorists in Iraq. Fighting against Osama Ben Laden. Fighting for peace, justice, and the good of mankind. These have been our goals and have always been our goals…" George Bush paused again. He'd been told a long time ago that a dramatic pause always made a speech more interesting and used this technique any chance he could. "But now, a new terror, threatens our nation."
"It's not a terror we can see. It's not one where we can predict when and where it's going to happen. People in prison who have done horrendous crimes and are serving their punishment are dying. And not by our Death Penalty, but by an unknown force…A mass production of cardiac arrests on each criminal is not the doing of this nation's government or legislatures. Every day for the past month, criminals have been dropping in their cells and we the people have no idea how it is happening."
Then why am I giving this speech, George Bush thought with a slight frown and was wondering, even hoping, that they had written something to follow up these words as he secretly switched to his third note card and took advantage of this moment with another pause to create a dramatic affect on the crowd and to all who were watching at home.
"I will not be elaborating much more on the affects of these mysterious heart attacks…" George Bush went on. "However, I can assure you that the government is doing everything in their power to find the cause of this. And it is because of this that we will be amending such laws as telecommunication recall. We have a suspicion that there are people in this nation sending something to the prisons, whether it be food, gas, or some other means of causing a heart attack, they are doing it and hiding well. We will find the true meaning of this and get to the bottom of what is happening to our nation's prisons. And that is why I speak directly to you…"
George Bush paused, and read what it said on the note card. Raise your hand and look directly into the camera and repeat the following line…
The President looked up and stared determinedly into the camera in front of him, pointing his index finger at it as well to create even more of a pleasant dramatic effect. "We will find out who you are and where you are and hunt you down. Killing criminals in this nation is not a lawful act. It goes against the constitution and against our nation's ideals. Whoever you are, you are a criminal and we will—!"
George Bush gasped and clutched his pedestal, blinking back tears of pain. His pointing hand lowered and grasped his chest as he let out a moan of agony. Impossible!! How could this happen? How could he be having a heart attack just like that? No! There's no way this could happen. He himself didn't even believe that there was someone out their doing this to people and was only following the orders of them. Impossible! He can't die here! No! NO!!
But he collapsed in a heap onto the floor. The crowd screamed and immediately an uproar was created while the congressmen behind Bush all stood up in shock and rushed to the President' side.
"He's dead." One of them announced mournfully, touching a finger to the corpse's throat. "The president is dead!"
Miles and miles away on the other end of the country…
Steven stood next to his sister in the family room staring at the television with a horrified expression on his face while Zando the Shinigami floated in mid air behind him eating a banana.
A woman reporter on the television was saying that the president had just collapsed during the beginning minutes of his speech to the nation. It had been done nation wide which means everyone who had their TV on had seen the president die in front of them. For many, it would be the first time they'd watched someone collapse and never get up again. But for Steven, this meant something entirely different.
Andrew! He thought immediately, his fist tightening. What the fuck is he thinking!?
Zando noticed Steven's angered expression as he told his sister "Oh well" and returned to his room in a furious silence.
"I'm guessing you didn't kill him, eh?" Zando muttered.
"Of course not." Steven snapped.
"Who was he?" Zando asked curiously.
Steven forgot how little the Shinigami knew of the Human world. "He was the president of the United States. Basically the leader of our country."
"Oh!" Zando blinked. "We don't have those in our world. We just have a king, that's all."
"Well, what would it be like if your king was suddenly killed?" Steven muttered coldly, sitting down on his bed and glaring down at the floor.
Zando snickered. "The King of the Death Gods can't die. He is the only true immortal in existence."
Steven frowned. "This doesn't make sense. Why would Andrew kill the president?"
"Maybe he was bored." Zando shrugged.
"It couldn't have been another test because it was a heart attack." Steven said. "And it happened during one of his speeches, and it was a speech about what I've been doing… This wasn't an accident. And America will realize that too. They'll think that anyone who tries to oppose me is going to die, which is true but I didn't want to reveal such a thing so soon. I had it all planned out and now it's ruined. Andrew could kill whoever he wants. He can take out our entire government if he wants…Damn him…"
"Why would he want to do that?" Zando blinked.
Steven continued to think for a few seconds before sighing. "Well, isn't that obvious? He's trying to smite me."
"What?" Zando tilted his head in confusion.
"He knows that I've been killing off all the criminals in America with my Death Note." Steven began to explain. "He must've realized by now that I've been going for a utopia. But that's not what Andrew's goals are. No…Andrew's goals are quite opposite actually. I can see that now. In a way he's hitting two birds with one stone. Framing me for killing the president and causing terror in the nation. Don't you see?" He looked up at Zando's face. "He's trying the plunge the world into mayhem."
"Why would he want to do that?" Zando asked with a slight smirk.
Steven stood up from his bed and began to pace around his room. "Andrew's had a rough life with his mom. His dad died when he was young and his mom is kind of a bitch. He lives in a run down house and has no food. So yeah, I say he might have an excuse for being a little angry at the world…when he was young. But he's old and about to be an adult now and I believe he still can't get over his anger and can't control it."
"So you're saying…" Zando muttered. "He's doing it all out of revenge?"
"Making the world feel fear to replace his pain." Steven nodded. "That's what he must think anyway. I don't think he's got much to complain about. Everyone's got problems and it's your choices that get you through and let you handle it. And he makes the wrong choices. That's what most people don't understand about him, is that because of his bad decisions in his past he's become evil."
"Evil." Zando scratched his chin. "That's harsh."
"I'm not saying it's entirely his fault." Steven muttered. "But he could've been better if he'd smartened up a bit early on in his life and not been a big fucking prude about everything. But I can see it in his eyes whenever I'm around him. There's evil in there. And this, killing the president, is apart of that. He's out for revenge."
Zando frowned. "If you say so…But what kind of evil things has he really done?"
Steven rolled his eyes and had a strange sensation that he was speaking to Zito about this issue. Zito was too blind to see Andrew for who he really was. But that was just Zito. He didn't think badly of anyone unless they personally did something bad to him and Andrew had been careful enough not to piss Zito off and turn him against him.
"Well, there's all the crap I told you about dealing with Baker and Katlynn. He's a manipulator and uses people, especially girls, to get what he wants." Steven said. "He's brainwashed Katlynn into liking him, that's for sure. And he manipulates his friends, like Zito, so that he doesn't get on their bad side…"
Steven felt the anger in him start to subside as he went on about Andrew's sins for the next couple of minutes. It was nice to talk to someone about this and not have to keep it all bottled up. And the best part was that Zando actually understood and would only ask stupid questions that he could easily answer. He could probably do the same with Luke and get more complicated responses than the one his Death God was dealing to him but it was all the same. Steven knew Luke had a similar opinion about Andrew like he did, after-all.
"So he's trying to show that he's doing the opposite of what you're doing?" Zando said when Steven had finished his rant.
"Yeah." Steven returned to his bed and flipped open the Death Note. "The problem is that it puts me in a difficult situation. People are going to think that I did this of course. Which means I have to live up to it somehow by showing that I didn't just kill Bush out of spite. But how?"
Steven sat down at the computer chair and looked at the screen. "Hey Zando, come here." He muttered.
The Shinigami joined his side and looked down at the computer in silence. "What is it?"
"Look at this." Steven smirked. "I have a name in the public's eye now."
Zando stared at a black page online with the words "Kira" printed above a strange angel symbol. "Kira?" Zando repeated. "What's that?"
"It's Japanese for "God" or something." Steven explained. "There's a ton of sites all over the web about this. The killer who is taking down criminals in America. Ever since Bush died they've become much more active. See…"
"You never told me about this." Zando muttered with a frown.
"You never told me about the eye deal." Steven said back, smirking as he scrolled down a forum. "This site shows all the people who are supporting Kira. It's happening just the way I wanted. They know there's someone out there doing this. And now that Bush is dead there is over twenty thousand online this site right now."
"That's amazing." Zando admitted.
"Kira…" Steven repeated, leaning back in the computer chair with a satisfied expression on his face. "I like it."
"I wonder if this will make the news media sometime." Zando said thoughtfully.
"You're catching on quicker than I thought." Steven said, looking at the Death God a little impressed. "Of course this will. The president just died. Kira is the criminal. That is what the nation is going to think."
"And how is Kira going to react to all the media attention?" Zando asked.
"Simple." Steven shrugged. "By doing the same thing. Killing criminals every day as always."
"What about what you said earlier?" Zando frowned.
"I decided that Andrew would probably want me to do something differently as Kira. But if I act that same then it will look like Kira is malevolent and would go as far as to kill the president to achieve his goals. In a way, this helps me. As long as I can prevent Andrew from doing anything too drastic in the future." Steven explained.
"And how are you going to do that?" Zando asked.
"I'll tell you about it after school, tomorrow." Steven smirked.
Zando looked sad at this news for some reason. Steven caught this and decided to address it. "What's the matter?" he asked.
"Sorry, it's just… So much has happened today." Zando muttered. "I forgot I couldn't come to school anymore."
"Just stay home and eat bananas." Steven said, absentmindedly. "Don't worry; you'll still see cool stuff in the future when Andrew and his Hunter are dead and gone."
Zando nodded glumly as Steven found the names and faces of criminals online. Amanda was nowhere in the vicinity and his parents weren't home so he'd decided to risk bringing a ripped out piece of the Death Note out of his room. He was still tired of remembering the faces of stupid criminal's everyday and didn't need that kind of thing today. So he wrote down six or seven names on the slip of paper and gave them random times for them to die before crumpling the paper up in his hand and slipping it into his pocket.
"I hate this fucking bus driver." Steven muttered with distaste as he and his sister shivered at the bus stop that morning.
It was dark out and they'd been waiting for ten minutes in the cold for their bus to arrive. Steven had already decided that he would kill the bus driver with the Death Note later and would try and find out her name after school.
His Death Note was locked away in his room with Zando, who was probably still asleep. It felt strange knowing that he would be going to school without the Shinigami by his side. It felt like ages ago that he had been scheming how to find the identity of the other Death Note killer but it had only been a day.
When the bus finally arrived and Steven was taken off to school, he recalled his plan in his head. Andrew had killed the president to spite Steven and reveal his true goals. This was true. It must mean that Andrew is testing him. To see what he would do. That part was also obvious.
I'll show you what I can do, Andrew. He thought with a devilish smirk. I wonder how you'll react…
"George Bush is dead!" Zito moaned.
"Yeah, I heard." Steven muttered, plopping down into a chair and yawning.
It was break time and Steven had joined their usual table in-between Zito and Jacob.
"I just found out." Zito muttered, rubbing his eyes.
"It's all over TV." Steven said. "He died of a heart attack, right?"
"Yeah, jeez."
"He wasn't that old, though." Jacob frowned. "Was he?"
"I don't know." Steven shrugged.
"Now the fucking terrorists are gonna see that we're weak." Zito moaned.
"What the fuck? No they won't." Jacob exclaimed.
"I'm kidding. Calm down." Zito said defensively.
Steven grunted, and looked down at the table, showing that he didn't want to listen to their politics right now. He'd just gotten out of second period and his thoughts were slightly clouded with images of Jennie. He'd once again forgotten of her existence in yesterday's chaos. So when they talked on their way out of class again that day he couldn't help but feel a little lighter inside.
How could talking to a girl he hardly knew for less than a minute have such a great affect on him like this? Steven felt a little strange and had forced himself more than once not to admit that he'd found a girl he was interested in to his friends. Zito and Jacob probably wouldn't care too much but if he went in depth to Luke, he would. Luke was the most intuitive in the group, even more so than Steven in many cases.
I'll let them know when I invite them to the picnic tomorrow. He thought. And with that, Steven looked up from the table and felt his heart skip a beat.
Approaching the table was Katlynn and Andrew, hand in hand. Steven kept a straight face. He was with friends. They couldn't possibly know of the private battle going on between the two of them. Andrew too, had a straight face and was smiling slightly down at all the people at the table.
"Andy, wassup!" Zito greeted them.
"Nothing much." Andrew shrugged shortly.
Steven listened as they talked for a little while. Was there really an invisible Hunter standing right behind the pair of them? Steven tried to imagine it and felt a cold sensation in the pit of his stomach. Now was the time to initiate his plan.
"Hey, Andrew." Steven said, glaring up at Andrew with a calm expression. Andrew's eyes immediately snapped to his face, almost as if he'd been waiting apprehensively for something like this to happen. He could feel Katlynn's eyes on him as well. But Steven went on, not breaking eye contact with him. "Can we talk in private somewhere?"
Andrew stayed seated in silence for a moment before smiling. "Sure."
"Good." Steven stood up and quickly glanced at Katlynn.
She was looking at Andrew fearfully. Andrew gave her a curt nod and turned to face Steven. "Where to?"
"Courtyard sound good?" Steven requested.
"Alright."
Both boys turned from the table and headed toward the double doors leading outside where they usually ate for lunch. Steven's first plan had already, luckily, worked. The fact that Katlynn was looking fearful and that Andrew had to give her a reassuring nod meant something. It meant that she was worried about him behind alone. Which meant the Hunter Shinigami was not by his side, but by Katlynn's. So Andrew must've ordered the Hunter to follow Katlynn around.
Steven thought about this as they made their way to the door. Could it be possible he was just overthinking? No. Why else would Katlynn look at Andrew like that and why else would he have to give her a nod? Was it possible that Andrew still had the Hunter following him and Katlynn was just worried that Andrew might possibly hurt him or get hurt? No, it had to be the first option. He didn't know for sure yet but he could find out now…
When they emerged outside they walked to the center of the courtyard and stopped, facing each other. Steven looked back into Andrew's eyes which were now quite different from before. They were dark and his face was contorted with disgust.
"Let me guess." Andrew said before Steven could start. "This is about the Death Note?"
"Yeah." Steven frowned.
"Well before you start railing questions off to me; let me ask you one thing." Andrew grumbled. "Why did you kill Bush?"
Steven blinked. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me." Andrew snapped. "Why'd you kill him?"
Steven stared at him dumbfounded. "Are you joking?"
"No?" Andrew frowned, looking impatient.
"You're the one who killed him, though." Steven snarled. "Right?"
"Why would I kill Bush?" Andrew raised an eyebrow.
Steven stared at him in disbelief. Impossible. He had been so sure that it had been Andrew. How could he have not thought of the possibility of the killer being someone else?
"If you didn't kill him then who did?" Steven asked darkly.
"How should I know?" Andrew asked, realization poring over him.
They both stood their in awkward silence. Was Andrew lying? Steven studied his face briefly. If he was then he was doing a good job acting. Andrew wasn't exactly known for being honest. Maybe this was all part of his plan. Was it possible?
Steven frowned. Of course it was entirely possible. How could Steven not have predicted something like this happening? If he had, he could've thought of some elaborate plan but now he was forced to think on his feet. Andrew was lying to him. This was fact. Andrew, who had never shown any sign or concern about politics, wouldn't come at him like this expecting an answer when he himself didn't show any previous signs of having true motives for using the Death Note. There was only one reason behind this. Andrew was trying to trick Steven into thinking that he hadn't killed the president by pretending to accuse Steven of being the killer. Such a plan would work on a lot of people but Steven saw through this because he himself had a Death Note and knew of the kind of schemes he could pull on people like this. Reverse Psychology wouldn't work on him. But he could pretend like it did. Pretend like Andrew's plan had worked in order to see what else Andrew had up his sleeve.
"Let's cut the crap." Andrew sighed. "Where's your Death Note?"
Steven's eyes snapped to the doors around them. None of them were open and he couldn't' see any prying eyes. Nobody was listening. At least, to the best of his knowledge nobody was listening. And for Andrew to blurt out something like that in the school's vicinity was a risky endeavor, indeed. But either way he was forced to comply.
"You really think I'm stupid enough to bring it to school?"
This was the wrong thing to say and at once it became apparent that Andrew had indeed brought his with him. Steven could see it in his eyes, the annoyed-surprised look that meant Andrew hadn't thought of that risk yet. But this was the man who had murdered the president of the United States. Steven was sure of it. He just had to play along.
"Why do you want to know where my Death Note is?" Steven asked.
"Just curious." Andrew shrugged dumbly and Steven was amazed that Andrew would think an answer like that would work on him. But he decided he'd hold that card off for now and focus onto a different subject.
"So if you didn't kill the president and I didn't kill the president…" Steven muttered, looking down and scratching his chin as if pretending to think hard about something. "Then that must mean there's someone else out there with a Death Note…"
"Yeah…I didn't think of that." Andrew admitted.
Steven couldn't help but smirk a little. Was Andrew seriously going to try and play dumb with him? Of course he'd thought of that already. That was the whole reason why he was lying in the first place. Andrew wanted Steven to say that there was the possibility of another Death Note user. Which also meant that Andrew's true goal for this lie was the possibility of becoming partners with Steven in order to get closer to him and steal his Death Note when he had the chance. That must've been why he asked where it was right away.
What a faulty plan. Andrew may be good at thinking up ideas but his way of executing them wasn't as good as Steven's ability to do it. Unfortunately for Andrew, he wasn't going to fall for such an easy trick. And soon all the risks of teaming up with Andrew flowed through his mind. Sure, he'd thought about it earlier already. But now that he was faced with it, what other choices did he have?
"And what do you think of this?" Steven asked, looking up at Andrew, trying to bide more time.
Andrew blinked and started to pace. "Well, for one, I still think you're lying about killing Bush."
Steven scoffed under his breath. "Really?"
"Yeah, how do I know this just isn't your plan for getting me confused and thinking there's another killer out there, huh?" Andrew blurted out. "Seems pretty elaborate, and I know you're known for lying."
Steven glared at Andrew and decided not to retaliate right away. Seems like Andrew had thought of something similar to what Steven was thinking. Which meant he was taking the route of trying to act like the innocent one accusing Steven of lying when in truth it was Steven suspecting Andrew of lying. But Steven had kept this thought inside, while Andrew had said it out loud. So he was setting the table with pieces already. Steven was black and Andrew was white and the game had already started. So Steven was being made out to be the bad guy?
"Tell me something." Steven muttered calmly. "Why would I kill the president and blame you for it and then offer up the idea that there's another killer? What could I possibly gain from a plan like that?"
Andrew blinked and Steven could see a little anger seep through onto his face. He'd bluntly assaulted Andrew's own plan and he could see it taking affect like clockwork all over his expression. And it was forcing Andrew to do something.
"Maybe you expect me to be partners with you so you can get closer to me and steal the Death note when I'm not looking." Andrew snapped.
Steven couldn't help but laugh a little. "That's a stupid plan." he said. "Why would I do that when there's an equal chance of you doing the same to me?"
Andrew glared and Steven could tell he'd stumped him.
"Well…that's why you told me there's another killer out there." Andrew said suddenly. "So that I could get confused and focus my attention on someone else."
"I dunno." Steven sighed. "Such a risky and stupid plan doesn't take my style."
Steven didn't dare glance at him and instead pretended to be interested in an invisible speck of something on his finger, forcing a bored look on his face. But even doing something like this, he could feel the intense anger boiling inside Andrew. Steven had secretly managed to insult and foil Andrew's entire plan.
"Look, I believe that you didn't kill the president and I know that I didn't." Steven started. "Which means there has to be another killer out there. You see? So instead of bickering to each other about what's what, how about we do become partners and trust each other?"
"What?" Andrew blinked, taken aback.
Steven held out his hand for him to shake and smiled a little. "It's obvious from your shock and anger about the president's death that your ideals are similar to mine. You want a perfect world without crime and without evil, right? A utopia?"
Andrew stared at him for a moment in shocked silence before smiling slightly. "Yeah, you read my mind."
You got that right. Steven thought wickedly.
"If you still don't trust me and want to kill me then you can go ahead and try to steal my Death Note and all if you must." Steven sighed. "But think about it, if you want to catch this other killer then it would probably be within your best interest to trust me and for me to trust you. How about it?"
Steven could see Andrew's thought process in his eyes. Steven had set it all up perfectly.
"Alright." Andrew smirked and shook his hand. There was a moment of silence where they stood there facing each other, eye to eye. And then they released their grips.
He had given Andrew a false sense of security. He's convinced him that his plan had worked after-all and now Andrew would think that he would have the advantage and would do something sneaky to try and get closer and closer to his Death Note. But in truth, it was Steven who would be encroaching upon Andrew. In a way, he'd taken a step back in order to allow Andrew to move in and think he was getting closer but in reality, Steven would be the true predator. A cat and mouse game between the two boys had started and soon, Steven would catch his prey.
"So…" Andrew said, smirking slightly. "What should we do first, partner?"
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