Author's Note:
The chapter is short, I know, but time is not my friend lately. The first part was actually written like... months ago, the second part today. I could have continued it, but I wanted to post, and it seemed a right way to stop (keeping the tension up and things like that).
Anyway, enjoy! (And let me know what you think)
Chapter 7
Light's heart skipped a beat. That was it. He was going to find Near.
"Tell us everything" ordered L, leaning forward in his chair, somehow managing not to fall.
Beyond gave them a grin. "Since I knew you were finally in Japan, dear brother, I decided to speed things up a bit. So I went to the criminal Japanese underground and looked around. Of course, they didn't like a stranger snooping around their area, I could be a cop, so I made myself known – because I'm a worldwide known criminal, almost everyone has heard of BB -, and of course they were awed by my shining and fascinating personality. I spun a story around about me having a son who was in dire need of an organ transplant, and with me being a criminal I couldn't bring him to the hospital. I had a doctor at hand" he winked at Mikami, who snorted. "But lungs don't exactly grow in the trees. So I used some persuasion to-"
"We all know he means torture" stepped in Mikami.
"Don't be such a prude, dear. Difficult times call for heavy actions."
"I don't remember it to be exactly this way."
"Hush, let me continue my story. Anyway, I persuaded them to point me to a man that could help me – I apparently really needed that lung -, and I met this charming man named Higuchi – the worst kind of man, I swear -, who apparently in the last months had had a strange availability of organs. More than the usual, anyway. I met this guy, but he wasn't very nice. He wanted cash first, and he wouldn't answer my questions. So I persuaded him too. He was quite thick at first, going on about secrecy and stupid stuff like that, but I convinced him – maybe it had to do with the eye I was going to pull out of his skull…" Beyond frowned, blinking, before shrugging and moving on. "Anyway, he caved, and told me he had various suppliers, more or less lucrative. But one of them, codename Mei, supplied him with first quality organs, that in the last months had increased. So much, in fact, that Higuchi had become worried – not for the provenience of those organs, of course, but for his own safety in dealing with them. He then said that this man was his first choice because the organs he brought were taken from hospitals this man worked in. I asked some more, but he didn't know anything else, so I left and now we are here" Beyond sighed, quite pleased with himself. "And now, it's your turn, detectives. Pull something out of the figurative hat."
L immediately rolled around, his fingers reaching for his computer, while Light took a pad and a pen, eyes alight with theories and focused intellect.
"We are searching for a man who apparently works in several hospitals and is not noticed when steals organs" Light frowned, blinking. "It can't be a doctor or a nurse, because they're usually stationed just in one workplace. It can't be a patient, because they are not allowed in storage rooms. So…"
"He's part of the staff but not a doctor, nurse or telephone operator. Maybe a first aid doctor? They usually work at several hospitals, depending on the closest one at the patient's place" considered L, pulling up some lists.
"No" stepped in Mikami, resting his head on his hand, absently sliding the fingers of his other hands between Beyond's hair. "They work in the ambulance, but are not allowed to work inside the hospital. They commit the patient to the staff, conveying the injuries they had managed to notice and eventual procedures they had carried out."
"So they are out. We need someone allowed in the hospital, and known enough that they don't keep their eyes on him."
"Maybe someone who deals with the patients?" pondered L, his wide eyes fixed on a spot on the wall, thinking hard. "Mikami, who deals with the patients?"
Mikami blinked, furrowing his brows. "Well, generally nurses, and then eventually doctors, health insurance agents, other patients…"
"Health insurance agents?" Light blinked. "They have freely access to the hospitals?"
"Well, if the hospital is affiliated with a certain company, then yes. It doesn't matter if a patient is a client or not of that company, the agents have the task to make a list of names, see the ones who are not in the company's registers, and then verify if they have a health insurance at all."
"Do we have the names of the hospitals the man we are searching for works in?"
L hummed, bringing up a map signed with seven blue dots. "The Child Eater – I hate the name, by the way, it's not like he eats his victims – worked in a certain radius of 200 square kilometers, in a sort of circle. This did not help your team because he made sure not to leave a significant blank area that might have revealed his location. But if we're searching for hospitals…" the detective pressed a few keys, and four red dots appeared. "In that area there are four hospitals: the Jutendo Hospital, the National Cancer Center, St. Luke's International Hospital and the Seibo Hospital*".
"And are they affiliated with specific companies?"
"Not really."
"Check anyway" suggested Mikami, drumming his fingers. "Even if they're not affiliated with one company, they have selected health assurance agents moving around from different companies. One of them might be our men."
L gave a small nod, typing quickly. With a small ping, they had their names.
"There are three that operate in that area. Katui, Nohyji and Kijituru**."
"These agents have access to clients' records, right?" asked Light in a strange voice, his eyes dark.
"Yes, of course, because they have to check the patients' insurances" relied Mikami.
"Then it's Kijituru."
L turned around, startled. "How can you be so sure?"
The other looked up at him, angry with himself. "I just realized something. I'm just so… stupid!" he stood up, wanting to pace and berate himself for his obvious loss of brain cells, but he suddenly had a bust of dizziness. He had to lean against the closest wall, feeling his stomach roll unpleasantly and his vision blur. He barely registered the concerned questions before a cool hand was wrapped around his elbow. He looked up, seeing the worried eyes of Mikami.
"It's best if you sit down" the doctor said, leading him back to the armchair. L hovered behind them, worried eyes settled in a blank face. Beyond, still stretched on the couch, had remained apparently asleep.
Light leaned back on the chair, blinking slowly. The dizziness still hadn't left him, but he felt fine overall.
Mikami's fingers closed around his wrist, probably checking his pulse, and he protested slightly.
"When was the last time you've eaten?" the doctor asked, and Light blinked, startled. "Because I know you hadn't eaten this morning when I brought you here, but I hope you ate something later today."
"He didn't" answered L for him. "He just asked tea. I figured he wasn't hungry and left it that way."
"I'm fine" protested Light, wrenching his wrist from his friend's hold. "It's not like I'm able to keep something in my stomach these days, anyway."
"But you still have to eat, or you're going to collapse." Mikami's voice was serious, his eyes narrowed.
"I will not collapse, trust me. Not before I find my son" retorted Light, his lips pressed together.
L watched the two of them, then sighed. He went to the food chart situated in a corner and took a bowl, filled with sugar cubes. He settled it on the table in front of Light, who looked at him questioningly.
"It seems you're too worried to eat, and the situation will not change until you find your son. We're close, but you need energy, So, sugar."
"It's not healthy, he needs proteins and-" started Mikami.
"And he will begin to eat regularly after we find the child."
The doctor and the detective stared at each other until the former relented and retreated grumpily to the couch, trying to find a spot Beyond hadn't claimed. Light chewed on a sugar cube, cringing at the sweetness, before clearing his throat.
"Before all this, I was going to explain why I know the agent's company."
"We're listening" assured L, sitting down again in his chair.
"I didn't think about it before, but there was no way that someone outside me, Mikami, Beyond and my team could have known about Near. He never went to school – too boring for him, it seems – and he almost never goes out, so it's not common knowledge I have a son. It's in my records, of course, but those are not open to the public. But I made a health insurance also for him, of course, at the company I made mine."
"The Kijituru company" concluded L, turning around and typing quickly on his computer.
"Yes. You should check the background of the agents working for Kijituru in those hospitals, maybe someone has a motive for killing children, or something like that."
Names scrolled up the detective's screen. "There are ten agents in the area, every one of them dealing with a certain hospital. Then, there's their superior, who does the same work but in a larger scale. He seems to be a regular in the hospital of the Child Eater area."
"It must be him."
"It seems to be. His background is quite fitting actually. Ten years ago his fifteen years old son died for a cancer to the liver. He needed a transplant, but he didn't seem to be urgent, so his application was moved further down the list."
"He died?"
"Yes. The situation worsened overnight and he died before they could obtain a liver. The wife killed herself a week after. He started working for the Kijituru company soon after."
"It's him then."
"Yes. But we can go arrest him without proof" muttered L, chewing on his thumb. "All we have are substantial proofs, and if we interrogate him he might not tell us where he's keeping the children. Without them, he would be free in 48 hours."
"Then you have to think about places" said Beyond's voice, rough from sleep. The man shook his head, and stretched, forgetting that his resting place was a narrow couch and not a bed. He tumbled down, hitting the ground with a groan of pain.
"What you mean?" asked Light, his body coiled with tension.
"Well, where he's keeping the children? In his house? It seems too risky to me. Maybe he has a propriety he doesn't use often."
"It's good to see that sometimes you can be a genius too" wondered L, turning around and checking the suspect's file.
Beyond sputtered, his red eyes incredulous. "What? It's thanks to me we even have a suspect, you stupid panda!"
"How very mature of you, brother mine" retorted L, not even looking at him and ignoring the man's low curses. "It seems you're right, anyway. He has a warehouse to his name, apparently used to store the company's old equipment."
"Then we go" said Light, jumping to his feet and putting on his jacket, checking his gun. "We can send the suspect's information to my team, who can interrogate him, while we go to the warehouse."
"It would technically be illegal, since we don't have a warrant" remarked L, but too he stood up, going to a cabinet and retrieving a little leather pouch, a torch and a gun. Mikami and Beyond were already out of the door to fetch Wammy.
Light scoffed, pocketing a handful of sugar cubes. "Like that threat could keep me away from my son."
Adrenaline pumped through his veins, almost making his head dizzy. He was grateful for the rush of energy, knowing that without it, he wouldn't be able to walk. He also knew that once all this was over, he would collapse. He tried not to think about it.
"The area seems clear" murmured L, his back leaning against the concrete wall, listening to the comm placed in his ear.
Light almost regretted not taking one for himself. If he had, he would have been able to hear Watari's informations, but he could not do anything know. He focused, shaking slightly his head, his eyes flying around, checking the fortunately empty street and the dark corners, his ears straining to hear every single sound in the winter night. His muscles were coiled, ready to attack, incapacitate, even kill, in order to reach his goal. He didn't like using violence, but he couldn't ignore the scalding coil of fury that had settled in his higher stomach, ready for revenge. He would get his son back. Everything else didn't matter.
"Then we should move" he said, leaving the refuge the building had offered and walking out in the open, swift and silent feet almost trotting on the asphalt, bringing him closer to the warehouse's metal doors. He reached them, eyes and ears always alert, and waited for L to crouch next to him, reaching for his pocket and taking out a leather pouch. Inside, delicate-looking metal bars gleamed briefly in the lamppost's light, before L's long fingers sorted through them, quickly choosing the right ones and using them to fiddle with the lock.
"Beyond's in position?" Light asked, hands tightening on his gun, keeping it lowered and towards the ground, ready to act at the first sign of wrongness.
"Yes, he and Mikami covered the other exit" L's smooth baritone answered, rolling around him and weighing almost physically on his spine, the familiar tone making him relax instinctually. He had probably been too explicit, because dark fathomless eyes looked up at him, their depths murky with something that Light shouldn't really think about right now.
They looked at each other for what felt like hours, until L turned his head and they both heard a soft click. After the detective pocketed his sticks, they both took a slow breath, counted to three and then pushed the doors open, the shrieking sound echoing through the night.
Twin orbs of light danced in the dark space, lighting up the warehouse's interior. Big boxes sat around, piled on each other, forming huge towers and walls, creating a way through. Light exhaled, listening intently, before making his way inside, closely followed by L's comforting figure. The air reeked of dust and coldness, a slight scent of disinfectant lightening the heavy smells.
Everything was silent. They moved like ghosts in the dark, their torchlights making things appear. There was no sign of man.
They explored every corner of the warehouse, but everything seemed abandoned. There was dust everywhere, their feet leaving footprints on the floor. Light examined them, frowning.
"If someone had been here, there should be similar footprints, however faded they might be" whispered L, his hot breath brushing against Light's frozen ear and warming it up.
"Unless they covered them somewhat. Could we have stepped on them by accident?" he asked, checking intently the floor, following their itinerary backwards.
"It's possible, we didn't look at the floor before" asserted L, keeping a lookout around them. He whispered some instruction in the comm, that crackled lightly in the silence before stopping.
Light strained his eyes, looking at the two clear set of footprints. He walked slowly towards the way they had come, checking every smudge in the dust.
It was near the entrance doors that he saw. Right were they had stepped on, there was a smudge, that seemed to turn right towards a heavy looking box. He pointed the torchlight, motioning at L to take a look.
The box had been moved backwards and not put into place correctly, its edge not corresponding to the edges of its dust tracks on the floor.
"Allow me" said L, walking forward and leaning his back against the box. He almost fell backward, the thing sliding effortlessly until it met the wall.
The light revealed a metal trapdoor etched in the ground, its corners blending in the background. They noticed it only pointing both torchlights in the right angles at the floor.
Light looked at his companion, feeling L's stare etching in his skin and giving him strength without having to ask.
The other knew him so well that words weren't needed.
It was the moment to open that thing and face what they would find inside.
*I searched names of hospitals in Tokyo, and selected four randomly. For the matter of health insurance, I know that most of what I've written is bullshit. Bear with me.
** Ok, here I just came up with names. They're actually gibberish (I hope ._. I just put together random letters and hoped for the best).