A/N: You will have noticed in the previous chapters and will notice in this chapter and chapters to come that certain terms shift. Near might call Aizawa simply "Aizawa," but when he talks to Mogi, he calls him "Aizawa-san." Someone might be called "Mr. X," but when Lidner talks to them, she says "X-san." You might see Soichiro called "Chief Yagami" at some points, but at other points, he'll be called "Yagami-jicho." These switches indicate which language is being spoken: English or Japanese.
If Near is talking to Light about Mogi, he would say "Mogi-san." Then the conversation ends, and Near talks to Rester about Mogi, but he'll say just "Mogi" instead. These are shifts you'll probably notice the most. Changes in conversation partner. That means either a new conversation or a conversation on the side. (e.g. filling someone in, translating)
In some cases, you may see this shift throughout conversations. This means they are switching languages throughout the conversation. It was never actually addressed which languages are being spoken during conversations in the series. I'm making it 100% English if the speakers are all native English speakers, obviously. The ones I had to really think about were conversations between Light and Near (both of whom had people listening in on their conversations). The SPK was trained for the case, so they'd understand Japanese pretty well. The task force doesn't have that training, so unless Light's the one who called first as is talking to Near alone (such as throughout this chapter), they're probably going to speak Japanese.
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Patience
The next day, Birdie was rubbing in the fact that she had been right about being unable to track down Mello (even though I had told her I wasn't going to try to in the first place). Bragging about being right was something she did whenever the opportunity presented itself. I had already known it, but Birdie was the one who had said it aloud: I wouldn't be able to find Mello. It was impossible; there was just no way whatsoever. That wasn't going to stop me from finding him in the end, though.
"If it's Mello, he's bound to come get his picture back," I said. "I know that much."
"Agreed," said Birdie.
If this was Mello we were dealing with, then he would definitely come to get back his picture, and if that ended up being the case, I would tell Allison. However, if he came, then he would also find out I was working with Near. I doubted he would be very welcoming if he learned that.
We walked into the room where all of the SPK members were. Near and one of the others were in the middle of a discussion.
"Are you saying the one who killed Takimura was not the culprit, but rather, Kira?" one SPK member asked.
"I am merely saying that such a line of thinking is also possible," Near said. "If that were so, it would mean that Kira had obtained the NPA's information."
Suddenly, Mason's phone could be heard ringing. He picked it up, knowing exactly who it was.
"It's L," Mason affirmed. "...The current one."
The phone was quickly set up so that we could all hear it. Birdie was grinning from ear to ear; she clearly had a hunch that the following conversation would be entertaining.
"I have heard the story from Director John McEnroe—no, Investigator Larry Connors, regarding Deputy Director Yagami," said the voice. "Would you lend us your support in the investigation of the murder of Police Director Takimura?"
"Let us see," said Mason on the phone.
"Phone," Near demanded. He plugged in a voice modifier, and then he finally spoke up. "L the Second, it's nice to meet you." He was so casual saying it that it almost seemed shocking even to me.
A maniacal grin was evident on both Near and Birdie's faces. I bet they both wished they could have seen that guy's face.
"Second?" the L impostor said. "What do you mean? Who are you?"
"There is no use hiding it," said Near. "We are a new organization that was created in order to capture Kira without relying on L: the SPK. Around nine members in our group know L's death, and I am the head of the SPK... let's see... I am N.
"We said that we would not depend on L, but in reality, the CIA and the FBI are already moving for us, with myself, not L, at the head. However, the murder of the director of the NPA is a crime that is hard to forgive... Since I think that this incident may contain the possibility of the capture of Kira, we would like to fully cooperate with you."
There was silence for a moment.
"Is something wrong, L?"
"N-no," L replied. "To tell you the truth, after the director was murdered, Deputy Director Yagami's daughter was kidnapped by who are assumed to be the same suspects, and they have now demanded a trade in LA."
"Understood," Near said. "I will gather as many agents as possible in LA. without giving them specific information of the incident, and I will monitor all of LA. with satellite cameras... no... I will leave all of the commands to you, L."
Near tossed away the phone as if it were trash, and his devious grin left with it.
"Thank god," Birdie whispered.
I gave her a questioning look, wondering what it was she meant.
"Every time Near smiles like that, I die a little inside," she explained.
She was one strange little girl.
"Near, is it okay to leave it all up to the fake L, who can't even purse Kira?" Rester said.
"That's why it's okay," Near explained. "It means there's a gap that can be taken advantage of. Of course, human life is first priority. However, our goal as the SPK. is ultimately to get the notebook. To capture Kira and... to tell you the truth, I think it's good for the notebook to pass from the hands of the NPA to others at least once."
"Twit," Birdie muttered.
Birdie was right; if this was Mello we were dealing with, he'd come here on his own... eventually.
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Birdie and I were staring at Near, watching him as he played with his dart board. Every now and then, Birdie would make a loud noise so that Near might lose his concentration and miss. Despite her efforts, Near always got his darts right on the mark.
Suddenly, the sound of Mason's cell phone could be heard once again. "Right away," he said after he heard the man on the other end of the phone, putting it on speaker.
"N, I'm sure you're aware of the current situation." It was L. "The airline companies, the police, and other forces haven't been mobilized yet. Can we count on you for that?"
"Understood... L," Near replied. "We'll estimate their landing position and set up satellite surveillance on the entire vicinity."
After a moment, L replied. "N, we've discovered who it was that boarded the plane with Deputy Director Yagami; his name is Zakk Irius. Please look into him, as well as the pilots."
"All things considered, they got the name pretty quick," Rester said.
"A little too quickly, if you ask me," Birdie said, and I couldn't help but agree.
Eventually, we got the landing location on the satellite. "L, we have the landing location on satellite surveillance," Near said. "We're transmitting to you all we see here."
"N, can we send a chopper?" L asked.
"Of course," Near said. "John McEnroe's a capable pilot, and he's met Mr. Yagami before. We'll send him."
"Make arrangements," Mason ordered one member.
"Right away," the man replied.
The surveillance video on one of the screens showed Deputy Director Yagami talking on his phone when suddenly a secret hatch opened up.
"An underground bunker!" Rester said.
"Things are getting interesting now," Near noted. "Do you have a plan, L? You wouldn't, by any chance, think it's okay for the notebook to fall into the hands of people we know nothing about, would you?"
"No, not at all," L replied. "There's absolutely no record about anything like that bunker being there... regardless, if the kidnappers want to take the notebook with them, there needs to be a way out. Our request is that you try and follow them closely by radar when they leave."
After what seemed like an eternity, the helicopter finally arrived.
"Chopper's arrived at the rendezvous point," Rester confirmed.
"What's more, less than a mile away is another helicopter," Near noted. "Zoom in on the third frame."
"Doesn't look like anyone's on it," L said. "So that's the kidnapper's mean of escape. That's the one you can't lose sight of, N."
After several minutes, Deputy Director Yagami and his daughter emerged from the bunker.
"As soon as they're safely aboard the helicopter," said L, "send a team of investigators over and—"
"—L, one of the kidnappers came out wearing a mask," Mason said.
"So this means the exchange was one hundred percent successful, doesn't it?" Near said.
"We can't know what'll happen next," L said. "Keep the radar on both choppers. Follow the kidnapper's chopper all the way to the landing sight if you can. We'll take them there. They might try to drop it somewhere or exchange it in midair, so keep the satellite camera on them at all times."
"You say that as if it were simple," Near said. "Understood. We'll do our best." He looked at the screen, and a smirk appeared on his face.
"He's doing it again," Birdie whispered, hiding behind me for protection.
"Nope! It's over!" he declared. "Looks like you've been beaten, L."
"What is it? What happened?" L pressed.
"Jeeper's, I hadn't noticed that," Birdie said, staring at the giant missile on the screen.
"How do you miss it?" I said, raising an eyebrow.
"At a spot about half a mile from both the entrance used by Mr. Yagami and the exit used by the kidnapper, a missile has come out and is prepared to launch," Near informed him, his devious grin still freaking out Birdie. "Of the type that can't be tracked by radar."
"N, are you telling the truth when you say the U.S. and the kidnappers are not working together?" L asked.
"Why, whatever do you mean, L?" Near said, twirling his hair.
"Seeing as they have a missile like that, it's what one would think," L explained. "It was the U.S. that first came to the NPA seeking the notebook it was purported to have. It wouldn't be going on a limb to assume that all that's happened up until now is a plot."
"To be perfectly frank with you, such a plot would have been welcome on our part," Near admitted, "but it's not the case. Oh, we're indeed after the notebook and Kira's identity, but we weren't involved in the kidnapping at all."
"Do you have the means to prove it?" L asked.
"God, he's annoying," Birdie mumbled.
"Well, nothing short of capturing the kidnappers will serve as proof."
"L, N," Rester began, "it is, in fact, the type of missile that can't be tracked by radar. We have no way of following it or knowing where it will land."
"I guess it must have been programmed with specific coordinates," Gevanni said. "In the meantime, there's not much more we can do than follow the chopper.
"There's little to no chance the book's in there, but... actually, there's no chance at all, but—"
Gevanni never got to finish that sentence because right then, the very helicopter we were tracking exploded. "Near, the chopper's been—"
"—So it would seem," Near replied nonchalantly.