Chapter 46
"And the reason we're flying back to L.A. is?" Matt asked as he strapped himself into the seat next to Mello.
"I told you already, because that Task Farce is still there, and that lying sack of shit second L. Halle gave me some interesting information including an idea of where they could be located. I have a feeling Near had her give me the information as a way of saying thank you for the information I gave him."
"How could they possibly know where those idiots are?" Matt asked sitting back in the seat and reaching for his game.
"Back when I had Soichiro come to LA, ofcourse they all came with him. Near was monitoring the calls via satellite. Couldn't get a direct location but got a pretty good idea. We've got a little work cut out for us, but the hotels in the area she gave me aren't many so we can pick a couple each day to watch." Matt started laughing.
"Okay, and we just follow every Japanese guy that comes out of these hotels hoping we're following the right guys." Mello laughed then.
"Yea, well I didn't say it was gonna be particularly easy…but there can't be that many. Tourists are pretty obvious, and these guys aren't going to be acting like tourists."
Mello unwrapped a chocolate bar and took a big bite as Matt turned his game on and began to play. Mello put his gloved hand over the game and Matt looked up at him.
"You can't play that thing as we take off, you wanna crash the plane?" he said smirking. Matt sighed and turned it off.
"Stupid rules. " he said turning it off and pouting. Mello grinned then leaned over and kissed him.
"You can hang in there for just a few minutes." He said. Matt looked at him and snatched his candy bar.
"You can hang in there for just a few minutes." He said hiding the bar behind him.
"God you can be such a bitch!" Mello said and then burst out laughing, no one in the world but Matt would even think of touching his chocolate without a death wish, and he loved it.
It was all Near could do to keep from laughing out loud as Rester took the cell phone away from his ear. He now knew everything he needed to know about Kira and the new L being one and the same, and he now knew who he was, thanks to Mr. Aizawa from the task force.
The detective had called him, finally filled with enough suspicion of L2 to want to talk to Near and even though he didn't name any names, it was quite clear who he had been alluding to.
He had begun the conversation by telling Near the thing that concerned him the most was if Mello was telling the truth about the 13 day rule and why Near should believe someone who had killed some of his own people. Near had explained to him that he knew Mello had gone over the top, but it was because he was trying to catch Kira and catch him before himself.
"You must understand," he had told him, "For me and Mello, L was our idol and the only person worthy of respect, and we knew that our idol, the person we respected, was killed by Kira. Therefore, we will use any means necessary to capture Kira. Don't you think it's only natural for us to think that way?"
Aizawa had agreed, saying that he felt the same way when Soichiro Yagami had been killed, and he blamed Kira for his death as well. It was then that he began to give Near the information he so needed. He told him how the original L had put someone in confinement and that person was released after their innocence was proven after they found out about the 13 day rule when Higuchi was captured. And when Near suggested that that person was now L2 he agreed. He also mentioned that the person who was thought of as the second Kira was also in confinement at that time. Near knew immediately that if L had confined them, then those two were definitely Kira and the second Kira. But because the killings had continued even with those two in custody, they had to be let go.
"And it wasn't L who came up with the idea to free them either was it?" he asked knowing full well his L would never do that.
"No, we forced him to." Aizawa admitted quietly.
"L didn't just let them go, though did he?" Near asked, and Aizawa admitted he didn't and told him of the plan L had come up with to force Kira to kill the then Chief Yagami if he was pushed into a corner, saying how the chief had said he was going to kill Kira and then himself. When the chief wasn't killed, obviously they were innocent. It was if a bolt of lightening went through Near's brain with that simple statement.
"Now that you know of the existence of the notebook, you now know that the entire scenario was useless as they didn't have the notebook with them, so they couldn't have killed the chief even if they wanted to." Near told him. Aizawa was very quiet for a moment before admitting that it was correct. He now knew that the confinement was used as a way to prove Kira's innocence and he explained to Aizawa that Kira had obviously predicted his confinement and had the fake rule written into the notebook by the shinigami earlier, knowing that when it was found, they would read that rule and obviously think he had to be innocent. Had they seen the rule before his confinement they would have realized it was fake and not believed him. Obviously Kira gave the notebook to someone else and just waited for that person to be captured by L and everyone would then see that rule. Then he asked if the suspect had requested the confinement. When he heard Aizawa nearly choke on the phone, he knew he had struck gold.
Aizawa then reminded him that he had no proof of what he was saying, and Near agreed, but said once he started checking on those two who were put into confinement he was sure he'd find it. When he asked the names of the two that was where Aizawa stopped cooperating. Which was fine with Near, he already knew what he needed to. He put one more bug in Aizawa's ear, telling him that they would start looking into the second Kira first, as investigating the current L would be difficult. But he was sure the current L was Kira, and knowing he was under suspicion, whoever the second Kira was he would have stopped them from killing right now and most likely given the notebook to someone else. Getting someone who had kept quiet for 50 days in confinement to confess now would be next to impossible so they had to do something else. He thanked him for his information and gave him a new number to reach him at, if anything else would come up.
He turned to Rester and smiled after the call, which confused Rester who had thought without the names they were nowhere closer to knowing who L/Kira was.
"No, we didn't get names but we did get something almost as important; that cheesy scene between Yagami and the suspects. What we got was "I will kill Kira and then myself." That means that Chief Yagami and the Kira suspect are related. That's the only plausible explanation that someone would say something like that, especially in Japan. Therefore, the new L and the person I suspect of being Kira is Light Yagami. He would have had the opportunity to help the task force, it is definitely him." It was then he told Halle to tell Mello what they knew about the possible whereabouts of the task force; they'd find them faster if they were helping them look for them.
"Commander Rester I need for you to go to Japan and find out everything you can possibly find about Light Yagami." Rester nodded and got up to get started. Halle got up and left the room to make the phone call to Mello, and Near stacked his dice, the smile never leaving his face.
Christine was more than startled to see Roger standing at her office door, hands in his pockets and a contrite look on his face.
"May I come in, Dr. Thompson?" he asked quietly. She stood up and nodded.
"Ofcourse, Roger, please do." She said and he did, closing the door behind him.
"I know we have not gotten along very well since you've been here, and I…I know you think I'm an old fool…" he held up his hand as she started to protest. "No, don't bother I know what most people think of me here and I think old fool is probably the nicest thing they call me." He laughed then, but sadly.
"But I was thinking since you came to me about the class you wanted to teach, that how wonderful it was that you think enough of L to want to do this for him. I can't imagine how it must feel to know someone cares about you that much. And then I began to think of what people would think of me when I die, what kind of legacy I'll leave behind. I'm not very happy about what I thought. I don't suppose anyone's going to hold a nice memorial for me to talk about the things I've done for Whammy's, or the world because there's nothing. Not that anyone knows about anyway."
Christine suddenly felt very bad for the things she'd just recently been thinking about him. Now she had to think of something to say, to try to help this very sad looking man in front of her. Wait…what did he say about no one knowing what he'd done?
"Roger, I'm sure no one thinks that badly of you to feel this way. Yes we've had our moments, and, I'm very sorry I hit you before, but the circumstances were so volatile…"
"Dr. Thompson I understand why you struck me, I was being foolish being so open with the Japanese police. I just didn't think that it would be a problem as they had been working with L, but had I thought just a little harder I would have understood what you did. I'm not a stupid man, but I've grown a bit stale over the past years that I've been here." He sighed, "I never should have let Whammy talk me into this," he said almost to himself.
" I'm not sure why I came to see you, I think it's because it was important to me to think that at least one person didn't think I was a total ass. I apologize for my being so hard with you, I think I felt a little threatened, and I am sorry."
"Its alright, Roger, I think I understand. But, what did you mean by you wish you'd never let Whammy talk you into this. Did he ask you to become school administrator, against your better judgment?"
He stared at her for a few moments and then sighed heavily. He gestured towards the chair in the front of her desk and she nodded. He sat down and leaned back, clasping his hands in front of him.
"Whammy and I have known each other for many, many years," he began. "We worked together as a team during our younger years when we were….well…we were involved in a lot of covert operations, and I'm not at liberty to say who we worked for and where. You were aware that he had a lot of talents that only came out when they were needed, and when he was with L. Whammy was quite a formidable being behind those dapper suits and painfully correct speech. Not even L knew of our backgrounds completely, he certainly didn't know I was part of Whammy's past. He only knew we were friends. But he knew how talented Whammy was at so many things, he learned most everything he knew from him.
When Whammy came upon the idea of putting these orphanages together, he wanted someone he could trust to administrate them. He knew even then these kids were going to be something special, and he didn't want just anyone around them. He asked me, and since I was getting older as well, I thought it wouldn't be bad idea, I'd be working with my old friend, how bad could it be." he laughed quietly, "Well I discovered how bad it could be. I'm not built for desk jobs, it's just not me. After a while I guess I began to resent it, and then resent the kids and everything else that had to do with it."
"Why didn't you tell him?" Christine asked.
"He was my friend, he depended on me to help keep his kids safe. My only outlet was to be beligerant and hard ass I think. Now that I'm being honest with myself it was very childish of me. But it's very hard to just sit around when you know you're capable of so much more. And I was jealous of Whammy, going around the world with L, dealing with the law enforcements of the world as this mysterious character as I sat here."
"Well, how well can you bake cakes?" she asked trying to break the mood and it worked, he laughed heartily.
"Yes, well he had me there. I couldn't have catered to L quite that way I suppose. Ofcourse Whammy and L had a very, very special relationship. I know he felt L was his son, just as L looked at him as his father figure as well as his aide. It was something I was in awe of. From the time he brought him here, when L was all hair and eyes and wrapped in a scarf and long coat and mittens; I knew he had taken that little guy to heart immediately. There was just something about him, and Whammy just doted on him."
Christine listened and imagined what that must have been like, L as a small child being brought here after something tragically orphaned him. L had that aura of "love me, please" around him when she knew him, even if he didn't seem to want it. As a child it must have almost been deafening. She looked back at Roger and smiled, it all made so much sense now. She couldn't imagine Whammy sitting behind a desk; but then she found it hard to see him in a kitchen as well, but he was so happy doing it because he was doing it for L. If he'd had to give that up and be stuck behind a desk, he would have been miserable as well.
"Roger, I'm so sorry you've felt this way for so long. Thank you for telling me I'm happy that in spite of all our differences you felt you could talk to me so honestly. Perhaps you should think of getting someone to take your place here and you could get into something more to your speed around here…or someplace else. You've taken up going to bringing the kids that belong here to us, you need to think of other things you can do. Let me think about it too, maybe I can come up with something crazy." He laughed and stood up.
"Thank you for listening to an old man's ravings, Dr. Thompson, but I just felt I needed to clear the air between us."
"Thank you, Roger and please, after this, you should definitely start calling me Christine." He nodded and went to her door and opened it.
"Okay, I will. Thanks again for listening, Christine." He said smiling, turned and left her office.
Christine stood there for a moment feeling as if she had just sat through a whirlwind of information she hadn't even asked for, but was very glad to receive, it was just a lot to take in. She wondered what the hell Whammy and Roger had been involved in as young men, and thought whatever it was it had to have been awfully awesome.
"Dr. Thompson?" She looked down to see a small boy peeking into her office. He was about 8 years old and was carrying several large books against his chest.
"Yes, Michael something wrong?" she asked him and he came in and sat at her desk.
"I've been reading about ghosts and spirits and things, and I wondered why we don't have any classes on that here."
"Well, I imagine because those aren't proven things, the paranormal is more speculation than facts." His little face was suddenly set in serious thought.
"Well according to what I've been reading, these things are becoming more and more normal these days, and some people even use them in crime solving. I think we should."
"You know Michael, I think you may have a good thought there. Let me talk it over with Roger, okay?" he nodded and she noticed that the books he had were on the paranormal and probably weighed more than he did.
"Thanks, Dr. Thompson!" he said and bounced out of her office. She sat back in her chair and smiled as she walked him bounce out. He was like a little Near, she thought and then jotted his name down on her note pad. He would definitely be a candidate for the new heir program. She then began to wonder what hers were doing right now.
Matt crossed another hotel off of his list and lit another cigarette. After taking a long drag he looked at his list and circled the next one.
"The next one is just down the street. We've only got two left, so it's got to be one of them or Near's information is off." Mello shook his head as he shifted on the motorcycle they had just purchased.
"I trust Near's information, I'm sure it's fine. We just have to be patient a little bit longer, Mattie. Let's go to the next place." Matt climbed on the motorcycle behind Mello and they took off to the next hotel, pulling into a spot across the street from the front door.
Mello pulled out chocolate bar and unwrapped it. Matt grabbed his hand, pulled it up to his mouth and took a bite out of it, then dropped his hand.
"Mattie what the hell?" Mello hissed at him. Matt shrugged chewing the chocolate.
"I'm starving man, you could spare a bite." Mello reached up and pulled Matt's face down to his, kissing him hard and forcing his tongue into his mouth. Matt felt his tongue explore his mouth, trying to find the bits of chocolate he had just chewed, and then retreat.
"I can't believe you did that!" Matt exclaimed laughing.
"I dunno Matt I think it tastes better that way." Mello said and then stopped laughing as he saw a tall Japanese man coming down the stairs at the front of the building.
"Look at him, Matt I don't think he's a tourist do you?" Matt shook his head.
"No, I don't think so either." Mello gunned the motor of the bike.
"You stay here, I'll tail that guy." He told him and Matt nodded.
"Okay." He answered and watched Mello as he drove away. Mello followed him to another hotel, one that was also on their list. He pulled his bike again across the street, and leaned against a nearby car, pulling a newspaper out of his pocket. He thought he looked kind of obvious, but this was the Japanese Task Force, they'd never notice. He chuckled at his own joke, peering over his sunglasses to watch the building.
A few minutes later another Japanese man walked into the building after exiting a taxi. Coincidence? Mello didn't think so. He believed he'd found what he was looking for and that would mean that lying L2 was there as well. He flexed his gloved hands, they were itching to wrap around that bastard's throat. If Near was right, then he was also Kira and he killed L. He reminded himself he had to be patient and calmed down. His cell phone went off and he grabbed it.
"What's the matter, Matt?"
"Hey, a young woman…well…a young woman who looks like a child, came out of the building my guy went in with him."
"A woman?"
'"Yea and at first sight she looks like she could be his girlfriend. They've gone shopping. She looks like she could be anywhere from 14 to 20 years old."
"Are you serious?" Mello asked him
"Very serious." He answered. Mello thought a moment; if what Halle told him was correct, than this girl was probably the second Kira, or at least used to be the second Kira.
"Matt, check your PDA. You've got pics of the task force don't you? Check it and see if he matches." He waited a few moments and then heard Matt whistle.
"Mogi, this guy is Kanzo Mogi." Matt told him.
"Okay, I can't do anything yet so we'll start with the girl."
"Okay, got it." Matt answered and hung up. He watched them during their entire shopping spree and then followed them back to the building. He tailed them to their floor and watched what room they went into. He pulled the small listening device out of his pocket and tried to decide how he was going to get it into that room. He looked at the fire alarm in the hallway and snickered. If it was anyone else except the task force this would never work. He pulled it and then ran into the hallway adjacent their room. He heard squealing from inside the room and then saw the girl run out first, wearing practically nothing, followed by Mogi..and was he wearing an apron? They both went towards the stairway, as did everyone else on the floor who bothered to leave their rooms. Matt ran back to their room and pulled out a magnetic key from his wallet and used it to open the door' he knew that little hack job would come in handy one day. He flew in and placed the bug underneath a large table and turned and ran out. He very normally walked down the hall to the elevators and leaned against the wall waiting for them to start up again. While he was waiting he called Mello.
"Did you get it in?" Matt grinned and ignored the dirty joke that was floating around his head with that simple statement.
"Yes, mother it's placed. When we get back to that crappy place you rented we can listen in just fine."
"Good. And what's wrong with the place? It's perfect for us, we don't wanna look too showy or have to fill out a lot of forms."
"Yea I know, but we could've stayed in a hotel, we've got the money."
"Too showy, we need to stay under the radar, Matt. Where we are no one's gonna ask questions."
"I guess you have a point there." Matt conceded.
"Ok, now I need you to come back here and find a place to camp out and set up surveillance. There's a hotel-boarding house type place right across the street from where we think their headquarters are. Set it up, get what you need to be able to keep an eye on them at all times."
"And what will you be doing while I'm busting my ass all over the place?"
"I only ask you to do these things because you're a genius with computers, Matt. I'd do them myself if I could. I'm going back to our new place and start listening to the girl, whom I'm sure is Misa Amane." He heard Matt sigh heavily before he spoke again.
"Alright, I'll get right on it."
"Hey, you wanted to be with me, I never told you it would be easy. But Matt, I think we're getting very close. We just have to be careful, I don't want to lose him now."
"I know, Mello, and at least I'm not bored out of my mind with an orphanage full of kids. I'll call you when I've got everything set up."
"Good. I love you, Mattie." He heard a snort from the other end.
"Yea yea shut up so I can get this done." And he hung up. Mello laughed and put his phone away, went back to his motorcycle and sped away.
