L13-4 Spoils

"So this is the Death Note, the ultimate killing weapon."

Reluctant to put their hands on the black notebook on the table, the Blue Ship members gazed at it from afar. It did not look anything as ominous as they were expecting.

"To think you can kill anyone just by writing their name in this book..."

Kujo felt as though she were touching a gun for the first time. It was an unsettling feeling brought about by the disparity between the preciousness of life and the ease with which it could be taken away.

At first, the members were suspicious of the notebook, but after Kujo explained that even the director of the FBI and president of the United States were after it, they had no choice but to acknowledge its power.

"This how to use section will make you think twice about using it." The sub-leader Yoshizawa opened the back cover and translated the English-written rules into Japanese as he read aloud. "The person who writes a name in this notebook must continue to write a new name within thirteen days of the last or they will die' Once you write down a name, you'll be stuck in this game of death for as long as you live."

"That's not all. 'If the notebook is rendered useless by shredding or burning, anyone who has ever touched the notebook will die.' Dang, now I wish I hadn't touched it," Hatsune said, reading over Yoshizawa's shoulder. She'd been the first one to touch the Death Note, out of curiosity.

Yoshizawa thrust the notebook in front of Konishi. "Hey, Konishi.

Why don't you write down the name of someone you want dead?"

"Uh, n-no way."

Matoba, who sat at a desk removed from the rest, regretted not having handled the notebook better. Had the others not seen the rules, he could have written the name of a member who was of no particular benefit to the group, but that was impossible now that everyone had seen the notebook. Letting out a sigh, Matoba put on a leaderly face and stood up. "Our primary target was the antidote data, not the Death Note. We'll hold on to the notebook as insurance, but I can't have any of you writing in it knowing you'll die thirteen days later. If it's absolutely necessary, we can make that fool Suruga write in it."

The members laughed scornfully. Kujo stood up upon seeing their reaction.

"At this time, we will review our operation. Everyone except those who stood watch will meet here. Konishi will work on analyzing the data on the microchip. It might be embedded with a program to transmit our location, so you'll have to use a stand-alone computer."

"Understood."

The rest of the gang, fifteen members in all, gathered around Matoba and Kujo.

Kujo began, "Good work, everyone. We've come to the climax of the second phase of our plan. L's involvement was expected based on our knowledge that Nikaido had contacted L's intermediary, Watari, just before his death. With L's involvement, we predicted a 67 percent chance of success for this operation." The members nodded as they listened to Kujo's brisk explanation. Acting as Matoba's right-hand man and strategist behind the curtain, Kujo enjoyed the complete confidence of the members. "The best case scenario would have been to secure the antidote data, Maki, and the Death Note while killing L, but thanks to him, it didn't go entirely as planned. However, we did succeed in acquiring the Death Note and making the girl a carrier of the virus. As for the FBI agent...well, I don't know whether he will be useful to us as a hostage but...where is the idiot now?"

"Tied up in the storeroom," said one of the members.

"We don't have to worry about him revealing our location, do we?" Kujo asked.

"He had a transmitter in his shoe. We found it when we searched him before putting him in the car, so we're safe."

"There's really no letting your guard down with L, is there? No doubt he'll try to track our location. I want everyone to be on alert coming and going from the hideout."

"Understood."

"Mr. Konishi, how are we coming with analyzing the data?"

Konishi punched away on the computer, and after repeating the same command several times, shook his head. "Well, I couldn't find any hidden programs, but there's one program blocking access to the data that's posing a problem."

"Meaning what?"

"It's asking for a password, but if you type in the wrong one, all the data gets deleted."

Kujo pressed her right hand against her temple and shut her eyes in thought. "This could be one of L's traps. Fine. Please continue with the analysis."

"Now, will you explain what our next course of action will be?" Matoba urged.

Kujo nodded and regarded the members. "Since we no longer need to deceive Maki or Suruga, that frees us to be more direct in our methods. And now that the girl is a carrier of the virus, L will have to work on developing the antidote while the virus is still dormant. L will carry out any mission presented to him. He would never allow the girl to die."

"There are only a few facilities and scientists that can produce the antidote," said one member.

"So, we can either get the girl and produce the antidote ourselves, or wait for L to produce it and grab it," said another.

Kujo bit her lip in response to this collective overconfidence. The members of her group felt no fear or excitement at the prospect of battling the world's top detective, and that irritated her.

In fact, none of the Blue Ship, including Kujo, noticed the listening device stuck to the window.