Riddles {a Death Note MelloXOC and NearXOC story}

Mello's Tactics

Patience

"L, flight SE333 here," we heard a voice on the other end say. "We've just arrived safely in the Los Angeles airport, but... the man who had gotten on the plane with the deputy director went into cardiac arrest and died around eight minutes ago. That was the diagnosis given by a physician on the plane. It seems the pilot lost consciousness, and the plane had come to a halt. He's probably dead, too."

"Is Deputy Director Yagami alright?" L asked after a moment.

"Yagami here," the same voice we had heard talking to McEnroe earlier said in Japanese. "I'm alive at the moment, but even if I weren't to die soon, I fully intend to leave the NPA."

"What's that about, Yagami-jichō?" L asked, the conversation shifting languages.

"In exchange for my daughter's life, I," Yagami began, "the notebook. I... I'm no longer fit to be a law enforcement official."

"It's really not like you to say such a thing, Yagami-jichō," L noted. "What you're suggesting is no different from a detective whose gun is stolen and tries to close the book on the incident by handing over his resignation."

"L," Yagami said, "I understand your feelings on this, but in this case, I knew my 'gun' would be stolen, and I let it happen. What's more, I handed over a weapon far deadlier than your average gun. As a concerned citizen, I'll continue to make every effort to cooperate with the police, but I just can't remain with the NPA anymore."

"L, we'll be borrowing him for a bit, if you don't mind," Near said.

"What do you need him for exactly, N?" L asked.

"Oh, just a question or two," Near replied. "In consideration to you, we'll make it so you can hear the conversation as well. It might just give us enough to narrow down the list of potential suspects."

It was agreed upon. Near would question Deputy Director Yagami about the incident that he and his daughter had only narrowly escaped.

"Yagami-san, it appears your daughter neither saw the kidnappers' faces nor spoke to them much," Near said, now speaking in Japanese to adjust to the situation. "On the other hand, you were given a wireless earphone and received instructions from a man claiming to be the mastermind behind the kidnapping. Anything you remember about it will do. Please recall as much as you can."

"Even if I recall anything, it won't do much good," Yagami confessed. "His voice was hidden, I couldn't even give you an estimate of his age."

"Finally! We got the missile!" Gevanni announced, gaining our full attention.

"Yagami-san, please give us a moment," Near said.

"Pieces of it are scattered about twelve miles off the New York coastline," Gevanni informed us. "I'm pretty sure it's our missile. I'm sending a team over to retrieve it."

"If we take into account the time of launch, we can estimate it landed around two hours ago," Rester said.

"If the notebook were placed in a floating device that wouldn't break even as the missile crashed," Near noted, "there would be countless ways to retrieve it, you know: a boat, hovercraft, a helicopter equipped to land on water. Did you get all that, L?"

"Yes," L replied.

"There's little doubt that the notebook's in the criminals' hands now," Near said, his maniacal grin returning. "You let them take it from right from under your nose."

At this point, Birdie had a death grip on my hand, trying to calm herself. Apparently, Near smiling really unnerved her. Had Near known this, he might have smiled more often.