L12-2 Rescue

"How are you feeling, Mr. Suruga?"

"Just terrific," Suruga said. "What do you want? I'm no use to you now except as a hostage...that is of course if L has any desire to save me."

Kujo held out the cell phone they'd confiscated from him.

"I thought maybe the Bureau might be expecting your call. I'd hate to have them look for you because you stopped calling. Do not let on that you've been captured or that we have the Death Note. Of course, I doubt you'd want to tell them what's happened. Now, give me the number."

Contacts' numbers were never stored and call histories always cleared for undercover cell phones in case they were stolen. She turned up the volume to maximum and waited for Suruga to tell her the number as if she'd known this. Realizing he couldn't call a random number and fake the conversation, he gave her the number.

"This is Y286."

The man who answered sounded sullen from the start. "You're late. What's happening?''

"I'm sorry. I couldn't find a moment alone."

"Again with the excuses. You said you'd acquire the target last night."

"That might take some more—"

"I'm tired of hearing it. The only reason you were chosen for this assignment was because you had a reasonable motive for approaching L with your personal connections to Raye and Naomi. If you're not making progress, most of us are of the opinion that we should take a different tact. Just what the hell are you doing now?"

"...Trying to win L's trust," Suruga said.

Kujo stared at him with an amused look as Suruga labored to make excuses.

"Fine. It's progress enough that you were able to find the real Death Note. We're moving on to a different strategy. You need to distance yourself from L and come back in."

"Uh...wait!"

The man hung up without hearing Suruga's protest.

"Poor L. He has Maki, a virus carrier, to look after, and now he's being hunted by us and the FBI."

Suruga glowered at Kujo's mock sympathy. "But if the FBI captures L, the girl will automatically be put under police protection. Then you won't be able to lay a hand on either of them. Too bad."

It was Suruga's best attempt at bravado, but the smile on Kujo's face remained. "I appreciate the concern. But you didn't think we would execute our plan without anticipating that, did you?"

Upon Kujo's return, Konishi drew closer to the computer screen and said quizzically, "A malfunction...?"

The screen went white like a halation and moments later, a calligraphic letter faded up onscreen.

"Hey, on this computer too! This isn't..."

The letter L appeared on the monitors of all four computers in the room.

"To the members of Blue Ship, thank you for your hospitality last night," said an electronically altered voice coming through the speakers of every one of the computers.

"L! How did you...?" Kujo was paralyzed, her face ashen.

"How did I find your location? That's because I'm L," he answered simply, as if no further explanation were necessary. "There's something else I know—all of your names. Daisuke Matoba, Tamotsu Yoshizawa, Hatsune Misawa. It seems you've made quite a name for yourselves overseas as well."

"So what if you know our names? We have the Death Note," Yoshizawa said to the closest computer screen.

"I have in my possession another Death Note."

The Blue Shippers froze.

"Another Death Note?"

"You're all familiar with the second Kira from the Sakura TV incident? There were two Kiras and thus also two Death Notes in existence. I have in my possession the second Death Note."

"What do you want, Ryuzaki, no.. .L?" asked Matoba, who'd been listening quietly.

"Release Suruga."

Matoba shook his head as though it were out of the question. "Do you really think we would give up our valuable hostage?"

"Mr. Matoba, I rather appreciate a person who is quick to understand. I know your names and faces. You, however, do not know my name. There is only one choice. Am I right?"

Matoba grimaced at having his own words from the other night thrown back at him. "But L, Mr. Suruga betrayed you. Why do you want to save him?"

"I plan to do no such thing."

"Now you're contradicting yourself. If you have no intention of saving him, then what do you mean by demanding his release?"

"I want him so I can exact retribution with my own hands. If I can't confirm his release in the next ten minutes, Mr. Matoba, you will die first."

"Ryuzaki, I'm sorry."

After his release, Suruga boarded the crepe truck and bowed his head dejectedly.

"About what?" L took the wheel like nothing was the matter and started the truck after checking to see if they were being followed.

"You know, for getting close to you without revealing my true intentions, for being fooled by Kujo—"

"No. Thank you."

"Huh?"

L flashed a mischievous smile as he held out taiyaki on a stick. "Thanks to you and Dr. Kujo, I was able to learn your real intentions, Dr. Kujo's true identity, and the group she's working with. And in a way that was convincing to Maki."

It was too much for Suruga to take in at once. But now that he thought about it, the signs had been there: the disparity between his and Kujo's security checks, the absence of cameras in the server room...As he looked back on it now, everything had been prearranged to make a partnership between him and Kujo possible. "How did you find their hideout anyway? They took the transmitter from my shoe."

"That transmitter was a dummy. The real one is in there." L pointed to Suruga's stomach.

"Huh? My stomach?! Hey, you didn't..."

Before they had gone to Yellow Box warehouse, Suruga had complained of stomach pains from drinking too much of the sweet coffee, for which L had given him a pill.

"I put a transmitter in a non-dissolving capsule. You should probably do something to expel it later."

So making me drink that coffee was all part of the plan , Suruga thought, rubbing his stomach.

"After locating the Blue Ship hideout, I planted a listening device and watched the building from a hotel room nearby to confirm the faces of the group members. I used your ID to access the FBI's network and ran a crosscheck of the criminal data."

Suruga nearly let that last part sail by before he hastily looked up and said, "But my ID—"

"Of course, I used the ID and password under your real name, Hideaki Sugita," L said offhandedly.

"Th-then, what about the strobe bombs at the Yellow Box warehouse? I was with you the whole time since the attack. When did you have time to get them?" This time, L shot him a sideways glance and did not answer. "What, you want me to figure it out? Now wait a minute..."

Suruga thought about it as he rubbed the growth on his chin. It would have been impossible to obtain the bomb after the attack on the Kira Investigation building. But if it was possible to know the location of the hideout before the attack... "You weren't eavesdropping on my conversations with Kujo in the server room, were you? There weren't any cameras or bugs in that room."

"I heard a conversation, but I wasn't eavesdropping."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"I forgot one of my cell phones in the server room, and when I called the number, I happened to hear you talking with Dr. Kujo. So it wasn't eavesdropping."

So basically he turned the tables on us. Suruga almost bit his nails but hastily lowered his hand, avoiding imitating L.

"I hacked into the systems of an explosives manufacturer, shipping company, and port administration offices and had a shipping container delivered to the warehouse before the time of the exchange."

Suruga was beyond shocked and could only laugh. "I give up. You saw through everything from the start."

"That's because I'm L," he said simply. Of course, such words only a man with the title of world's top detective could utter, but there was not a hint of pride in the declaration—only more loneliness.

Suddenly Suruga recalled the image of L playing chess alone. That knight moving back and forth across the board...that was me, he realized only now.

"After we closed the Kira investigation, I submitted a report to the FBI, and then you suddenly appeared. It would be strange not to be suspicious. I knew from the beginning that you had approached me to investigate and recover the Death Note. And that you would probably use an alias to guard against its powers."

L pulled the truck over to the side of the road and turned around to check on Maki in the back seat. Hugging the teddy bear to her chest, she whispered "Daddy" in her sleep. L looked up as though he remembered something and put a blanket over her. He might have been reminded of that fatherly figure who used to do the same for him.

"The only part I failed to anticipate was that they would inject Maki with the virus. Not only do we have to protect the antidote data, now we must produce the antidote before Maki begins to manifest the symptoms. We don't have very many options."

"On the other hand, the enemy's options just increased. They could steal the antidote data or wait for us to make the drug and steal that."

Because of me...A chagrined smile crossed Suruga's face.

"But the situation isn't entirely bad. Originally the enemy was in the position of making any demand they wanted, virtually holding the world hostage with the virus. But now that we know their names and faces, we can put a stop to their actions. And it's all thanks to your getting caught."

"Like a blessing in disguise, eh? But Kujo hinted at having more tricks up her sleeve, so better not let our guard down."

"Mr. Suruga, would you mind assisting me for a while longer? It would be a great help to me if you were around."

A help ? You must be joking, Suruga thought, but he had already made up his mind. "Of course, I'll help. It was because I was fooled by Kujo that Maki was injected with the virus. And besides, the Bureau took me off the assignment of investigating you."

As Suruga took over at the wheel, he felt a touch of uneasiness. Maybe turning me over to the enemy was part of Us plan. Not only to use me as a pawn but to make me feel beholden to him later...

"It could be me, but something s not right. Maybe they anticipated that we'd come back here."

Suruga leaned forward in the driver's seat. They were nearing the Kira Investigation Headquarters to gather some supplies they'd need to face the enemy. It was like any other night in Tokyo, with taxis speeding by and overworked businessmen trudging the streets after putting in hours of overtime. But Suruga felt a palpable tension in the air. Parking the truck in a blind spot, they scanned the area first before Suruga and L left Maki behind in the truck and approached the Kira Investigation Headquarters.

Suddenly two men in full helmets attacked from out of the shadows. Falling forward on his hands instinctively, Suruga stopped one man s advance with an upward kick to the shoulder, twisted his upper body in the same motion and landed a hard kick to the face. With that, one man was out cold.

The other raised his club and attacked L, who inexplicably fell over on his back like an overturned frog. The best strategy against trained professionals was the element of surprise. Unless the enemy was a seasoned veteran with extensive combat experience, unpredictable moves as this one typically caused him to hesitate for a split second. Seizing the opportunity, L grabbed an umbrella off the ground and hooked the curved handle around the man's leg. Although the man did not fall over, it was enough to slow him down. In the meantime, Suruga maintained his momentum from dispatching his man and grabbed L's attacker and threw him to the ground, ripping off his helmet in the process.

"You're—"

The man let out a yelp, frightened that his face had been exposed.

With the hint of people drawing near to investigate the commotion, Suruga and L fled the scene and ran back to the truck.

"Damn! The FBI's changed their strategy because they didn't think I was getting anywhere with my investigation. But attacking one of their own!"

"They were sent to recover the Death Note. The full helmets were to protect against the possibility that I possessed the eyes of the shinigami."

"I suppose they're after me for collaborating with you against orders. Now we have to run from the FBI and Blue Ship!" Suruga lamented aloud and began to drive. "Ryuzaki, you used to run a joint investigation with the Metropolitan Police. What if you talked to them and asked for their cooperation?"

Perched on top of the passenger seat, L stated unequivocally, "No, I won't rely on the police, or any other agencies for that matter for this mission."

"What's got into you? Dispatching the police and intelligence agencies of the world as your pawns, relegating others to bear the brunt, never revealing yourself to others—that's always been the way you operated."

Of all the cases L had solved in the past, not one was credited to him on the official record. The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases, during which he had used Naomi as his pawn, was typical. (In reality, by using the name Ryuzaki and hundreds of other detective codes, L alone was more active than the average private detective agency.) For L, as long as his relative safety was directly connected with the security of the world, this was the way it had to be. However, the reality was that the investigative and intelligence agencies had grown suspicious of L and had come to regard him as a secretive and selfish detective who bore none of the risk.

For a minute, L stared down at his broken watch. His usual expressionless face gave way to a sad smile.

"My only friend once told me...that I knew nothing of the real world, having locked myself inside a room. Which is precisely why I'd like to complete this mission without depending on any of the organized agencies. But this is just my selfish desire. If you wish to leave, Mr. Suruga, now is your chance."

For a while Suruga was quiet as he gripped the wheel. Then he turned to look at Maki balled up asleep in the back and let out a resigned sigh. "Looks like all three of us are on the run now. I'm dedicating this one to Raye and Naomi. Let's do this right."

An FBI car closed in on them from behind.

—Turn left ahead .—

The crepe truck's recommended route was to drive in the wrong direction down a narrow one-way street.

"It's the FBI who are after us now. The level of difficulty just went up," L said matter-of-factly.

Suruga made a hard right onto the street. The oncoming cars bore down on them.

"Gah!" Suruga desperately jerked the wheel from side to side, while L sat calmly next to him.

"By the way, what was that kicking technique you used before?"

"Oh, that? It's called capoeira. A guy from South America gave me a few pointers. It's a practical martial art."

"Interesting moves. Will you teach them to me later?"

The FBI car did not hesitate to chase them the wrong way down the one-way street and drew closer. Suruga drove the truck up the sidewalk, leveling the chairs in an open cafe, and answered, "Let's lose these jokers first!"

Back at the Blue Ship hideout, the members eyed each other gravely after having been forced to release Suruga.

"What are we doing going up against the likes of the world's top detective? At this rate, who knows when all of our names will be found out and written in the Death Note?" said one of the men, frightened. "Even if we do have the killer virus, we won't be able to use it as leverage now. The moment we use the virus, Mr. Matoba's and Yoshizawa's names will be written in the book."

Kujo contemplated their next move, even as she was kicking herself for not anticipating the possibility that two notebooks might exist. Though the group's goal was to obtain antidote data, right now their priority was to guard against the Death Note.

"Fortunately, we still have Nikaido's cell phone. As long as we can use it to track Maki's location, L is sure to be there as well. If we attack quickly without giving him the opportunity to write a name, we can neutralize the Death Note."

The Blue Ship members nodded.

"Dr. Kujo, about the GPS in the girl's cell phone..." Konishi said in a troubled voice as he stared at the computer screen.

"What is it?"

"Take a look at this."

Displayed on the GPS onscreen were over 50 red blinking dots indicating the frequency of Maki's cell phone, all moving in different directions on the map.

"What is this?" Kujo asked quizzically "Are the settings right?"

The other members peered at the screen.

Konishi replied, "It's likely L stuck transmitters set to the same frequency as the girl's cell phone onto random cars."

Everyone fell silent when they realized that L had been steps ahead of them yet again. They were struck dumb by the hard reality of matching wits against the world's top detective.

After taking a moment to think, Kujo raised her head and directed a determined look at Matoba. Then she asked, "Mr. Matoba, may I set the next plan in motion?"

Matoba, who had been listening on as he admired the biotope, nodded with a magnanimous air.

"The next plan?" The needy eyes of the members focused on Kujo.

"It's time we stopped playing detective trying to hunt down L. We'll leave that to the experts. By exploiting the fact that L is on the run with a virus carrier."

"But if we're not careful, he might write our names in the Death Note." One younger member did not even try to hide his fear.

"Don't worry," Kujo reassured him. "We'll drive them into a situation where L won't have the time to remember our names."