5937 miles away.
Tokyo, Japan.
September 25th 2007
3.30pm
"L." The elderly man enters the room and walks towards the figure, hunched over in front of a computer screen, his knees drawn up to his chest.
"Yes, Watari? And may I remind you to call me Ryuzaki."
"I'm aware. We have a problem."
"And what is that?" L turns his head and looks at Watari. He raises one non-existent eyebrow.
Watari hands L a copy of an article from an English newspaper. L takes the paper and studies it before gasping.
There, in bold capital letters.
'NOTORIOUS SERIAL KILLER ESCAPED PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL WITH HELP FROM UNKNOWN FEMALE'
"Oh, Hell.." L says, looking at the grainy CCTV footage of BB and Silence running through a corridor of Blackstone Psychiatric Hospital.
"The Government want you to take this on. They want him back where he belongs though they made no suggestion that the girl is to be jailed for her actions."
"No, I don't believe they would. She is valuable to them, after all." L places a thumb to his lips, deep in thought.
"I suppose you're right. The Prime Minister said that since you were the one to solve the LABB murders, you are the best choice of detective to track down B and bring him back in."
At this, the task force look up from their work to watch the conversation between the two men. Light glances over from his chair beside the young detective.
"Oh, there's no need for that. B's mental state would have deteriorated even further in that place. I have received word that the guards there are prone to beating their inmates. That can't have been good for B."
"No."
"I shall leave them for the time being. I'm not surprised this happened. To be honest, I was awaiting it. Though, I'm sure B will make his way here in due time and I'm certain that S will follow."
"But her occupation.."
"That won't be a bother for her. She is their most valuable asset. If she wants time off, she'll get time off. Paid."
"Yes, you're right. I just thought you should know. I will inform the Prime Minister of your decision?"
"No. Let him think that I'm taking the case. That way, nobody from the government will be searching for B and my reputation won't be diminished."
From behind L, Light reaches over his shoulder and grabs the paper from his hand. He reads it aloud, translating it into Japanese using his almost fluent English.
"Notorious serial killer, Beyond Birthday or 'BB' escaped Blackstone Psychiatric Hospital last night with the help of an unknown female. It is said that she had hidden two guns inside her clothes and used them to murder ten prison guards and escape. It is not yet known how she managed to get them through security or why the metal detector did not pick them up. If anyone happens to see BB or this girl, do not approach them. They are most likely armed and won't hesitate to harm you if you pose any threat.
If anyone thinks they may have seen the two or know where they might be located, call this hotline number to place an anonymous call.
07 **** **** **** "
Light squints at the photo.
"Hey, this BB guy. He looks exactly like you, Ryuzaki. Are you related?"
"Not that I'm aware." L replies calmly though inside his head, he is freaking out as now, Light - or Kira - knows BB's name.
'What if he kills B? Silence will be a wreck if he does. She's already lost A..'
Matsuda grabs the article from Light and looks at the photo.
"Hey, Light's right! He does look exactly like you, Ryuzaki. Look, Aizawa!"
Matsuda thrusts the paper in front of Aizawa's face and he takes it with a groan.
"Wow," He says, raising his eyebrows.
"You two could be twins. Are you sure you're not related?"
"We get that a lot. No, we're not related. If you ever meet him, you'll see there are many differences between us."
"He seems dangerous." Aizawa says.
"Understatement of the century." L mumbles, though loud enough for the task force to hear him.
"What do you mean?" Matsuda squeaks - yes, squeaks.
"He has killed three people merely for something to do. I won't allow you to see the crime scene photographs. You may be sick. His last victim was to be himself. Though, his suicide attempt failed."
"How did he do it?," Soichiro asks, adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose.
"I mean, how did he try to kill himself. Hanging?"
"No," L answers, his hand stiffening in the mouse of the computer.
"He tried to burn himself to death. Luckily, we managed to save him. Though, the ordeal has left him with a very bad scar."
The room is silent except for the humming of the computers.
"Watari." L's voice startles Matsuda enough for him to fall out of his chair.
"Erase any documents on BB. Get any articles or pictures of him taken down. Any trace of him I want gone. Don't forget the Wammy files. I thought he would be safe from Kira if he was in prison but now he's pulled a stunt like this, he is most certainly in danger."
"Yes, Ryuzaki." Watari walks from the room.
"Jeez, Ryuzaki. You seem like you know him personally." Aizawa comments, raising his brow.
"I do. We grew up together."
Soichiro chokes on his coffee.
Silence stands outside of her apartment in the corridor of the 14th floor. She has a phone pressed to her ear and she chews her blue-painted nail as she listens.
"Do you understand what you have to do?" The deep but friendly voice sounds into her ear.
"Yes, I do. I'll do my best."
"No doubt you'll succeed. Now, about Beyond Birthday..."
"I know. It was stupid of me but.. I missed him so much."
"You realise that he is extremely dangerous, don't you?"
"Yes. Though, we grew up together. He wouldn't hurt me."
"Just stay on guard. You're lucky. The Government has chosen not to arrest you due to your loyal service."
"Thank them for me."
"I already have. Now, back to business. You kill this 'Kira' guy and you'll get double the salary you already do."
"Always a plus."
"We have two tickets to Tokyo. Take BB with you. He may come in handy. They'll be in your mail box tomorrow morning."
"Got it."
"Well, goodbye Silence. Good luck. Not like you'll need it."
"Hah, thanks. Bye, Sebastian."
Silence takes the phone from her ear and hits the 'END' button, replacing the phone in her pocket.
'I wonder how L will react to this..'