Near

He knew he was never going to hear the end of it as Avon whined his grievances.

"Honestly, I thought you were supposed to be L! The real L would have considered the possibility his suspect believed to have a tail on him! God, I bet Mello would have thought of it; at least he knew how to think like a criminal!" He was on a roll.

Near inwardly cringed at the mention of his former rival. Yes. Mello always was good at placing himself in the criminals' shoes, of course, that was most likely because he was a criminal himself.

"Well, sadly, Mello's dead; you're just going to have to deal with me. So sorry to disappoint you." Near replied dryly, face devoid of emotion.

Noxa nudged Avon disapprovingly. "Now, look what you did? You upset him. Apologize."

"Pfft, forget that! Why should I apologize? He needs to have a fuckin' reality check!"

Noxa's eyes flashed and suddenly she was twirling her Beretta 92 around her index finger. She stopped, cocking it, and aiming it at Avon. "Apologize or I'll repaint the room with your brain."

Both Near and Avon were accustomed to Noxa's homicidal tendencies. The problem, though, she was hardly ever idle when it came to her threats.

Avon visibly gulped and turned to Near. "...Sorry."

It was scathingly insincere, but it satisfied Noxa and she concealed her gun once more.

"Good. Now, do you have any ideas, Near?" She asked, face and voice composed as though she hadn't just threatened her accomplice's life.

Near twirled his hair and added another die. He was remaking the Eiffel Tower. He was no architectural genius, but he thought it looked quite like the original.

"...He knows about the BB murder cases...If I count that, no, I don't have any ideas."

Everyone was shocked at his blatant admittance to having no clue on what to do. Even during the Kira case, he never admitted to not knowing what to do even when it was so obvious to everyone else. Avon grudgingly thought, This guy is completely useless. He doesn't have the drive to be L.

"You need motivation." Avon said aloud.

Near glanced at him in puzzlement. "Motivation?"

"Yeah. If you don't come up with any ideas, that girl's blood is on your hands. That motivating enough?" Avon asked acrimoniously, his nose wrinkled up.

Near stopped his twirling and his hand twitched. Just like that, his Eiffel Tower was scattered around him. A dice landed in his lap. Snake eyes.

Avon was right. Sam would die if he didn't act fast. But, how could he act when he wasn't sure what to do?

Sam

The ground rumbled softly as a car approached. The car lights hit her still frame and it slid to a stop. It was a sleek black Town car. The driver's door opened and Roger got out.

"Oh, no!" He jogged over to her, taking his jacket off and wrapped her in it. He slid his arm under the bend of her knees and wrapped his other hand behind her neck, scooping her up with a bit of a struggle. His old arms weren't used to carrying such a burden and his bones ached with protestation.

She curled up into the warmth of the jacket. He shuddered for a minute when her arctic flesh was pressed against him. Her eyelashes were frozen together and her lips had a purple tinge to them. Her skin was blue and she had frost in her hair. He hurried to his car, placing her in the passenger seat. He fastened her in and pressed his fingers against the side of her throat. A vein slowly, but surely pushed against his finger. He closed the door and ran to the driver's side. He got in and turned the heat on full blast as he pulled out a phone.

"I found her...She's half frozen, but she has a pulse...About ten miles out of the city...I don't think she'll make it if I try to get there. Noxa?...I suppose so. Tell her to meet me at the safe-house." Roger said, forehead creased in worry as he threw the car in reverse before hanging up.

He glanced at Sam out of the corner of his eye before focusing on the road. "Just hang on, Sam."

He drove into a nearby city, picked Sam back up, and went into a large building.

Noxa was already there, her jacket and hat off. Her eyes widened when they saw him and the frozen girl.

"Oh, no. Is she...?"

"She's still alive. Can you give her a bath and warm her up?" He requested.

"Of course." She walked over and effortlessly took Sam out of the old man's arms.

She carried Sam to the bathroom, setting her carefully down on the toilet. Her eyelids fluttered but otherwise she didn't move. She closed the door behind her and unlaced the laces of Sam's dress, gently peeling the dress from her body. She made a nervous noise in the back of her throat when she saw the bruises and cuts all over Sam's body.

"Near isn't going to be happy about that...Oh, well! I can have Avon break it to him!"

Sam shivered from the cold air hitting her naked body and Noxa turned the bath on, making sure the water was hot. She manage to get the other girl into the tub and turned the water off when it came to the girl's shoulders.

"Poor thing..." She murmured softly as she carefully washed Sam's sensitive skin, the sponge barely touching her.

Noxa cupped water in her hands and slowly poured it over Sam's head. When she thought the other was clean and warm enough, she drained the tub and wrapped a towel around her.

She picked Sam back up and took her an empty bedroom. Noxa grabbed a pair of her underwear and tenderly dressed her in a long sleeved shirt and sweatpants. She bandaged Sam's scraped up hands and knees, wrapped up her ankle and torso as carefully as she could. She managed to get her under the covers and tucked her in.

Inclementia

He threw things, he punched a hole in his wall. All because of his mistake. he ripped the glass from his cheek. Ryuk hovered nearby, watching Garrison throw the largest tantrum the Shinigami had ever seen before. This is almost as bad as Light's when he finally died. Maybe I should write his name in the notebook...

When he was too tired to carry on, he flopped down against the kitchen cabinets, his chest heaving. Ryuk decided against his initial thought. Nah, he hasn't gotten caught yet. Only then will I write his name. He still has some fight in him.

"That...that bitch. After all I did for her..." He trailed off, his fingers brushing the edge of the wound on his cheek.

"So what now?" Ryuk couldn't help but ask, curiosity overwhelming him.

"...Enough with the authors. This time I'm killing her." Garrison decided, a dark look passing over his face.

Ryuk let out his signature raspy laugh, noting that Garrison's facial expression was uncannily similar to Light's. Garrison dug his fingers into the wound and shoved one into his mouth, tasting his blood.