End Games

Chapter 23: Departure

was 5:30 pm, half an hour over her appointment time. Misa was anxiously sitting in Rita's private gynecologist office with Watari by her side. L was nowhere to be found. She had tried calling his cell phone over a dozen times, but it appeared that his phone was off.
"Watari, where is he?" She asked the old man, angry tears pricking at her eyes. "He told me he'd be here."
Watari looked at her sadly.
"I'm sorry Misa. I do not know where he is." He lied.
Of course he knew where L was. L himself was the one who'd instructed Watari to accompany Misa to her doctor appointment in his place. When Watari inquired why he was not coming with him, the detective gave him a vague answer, saying that he would explain everything upon their return.
"I don't understand, Watari...he should have been here by now!" She said, balling her hands on her knees. Just then Rita came out of her office. The rest of the private practice was empty as they closed at 4 pm for the general patients. Since Misa was a celebrity that would attract a lot of attention, she had been scheduled after normal hours of operation to avoid scandal. It was very considerate of Rita to do that for Misa, but she could only accommodate her so much.
"I'm sorry Misa, I really can not wait any longer. If we're going to perform the ultrasound and estimate your delivery date, we need to do it now. I have an important engagement that I need to get to." Said Rita.
Misa looked at Watari with wide eyes. She didn't want to do this without L.
"Please, Rita, just 5 more minutes! Maybe he's running late or something. I don't know. I promise if he's not here in 5 minutes then we can go ahead and do the tests." She pleaded.
Rita could see that Misa was on the verge of tears. She pitied the poor woman. Considering everything Misa already gone through, the doctor was honestly impressed that she hasn't miscarried, especially with the father being so careless.
It truly was a miracle that Misa had made it this far into her pregnancy after all the outbursts and mysterious incidents. If it weren't for the fact that Misa really did seem to love her baby's father, Rita would have suspected that she was a victim of spousal abuse. The first time she'd seen Misa, she had bruises on her neck and other parts of her body and her child's father had been shot in the shoulder. The second time, she had tripped down some stairs, sprained her ankle, and fainted out of shock. Luckily, the times after that were just regular checkups and Misa seemed fine and happy throughout those. But now this.
"Fine. But only 5 minutes. No more than that!" Said Rita.
"Thanks! I promise I won't make you wait longer than that!" She said.
Watari was silent as he watched Misa frantically dialing L's number on her phone once again. Still nothing. His heart really did go out to her, and he wished he could give her more comfort. However the only thing in the world that could comfort her right now was L's presence and he could not give her that. The young mother-to-be hung her head low, trying to hide her disappointment. Did this mean that L really didn't care about their baby? If that was the case, then there was only one thing left for her to do and the thought of that was devastating to her.
Rita came out of her office once again. The five minutes were up.
"Misa. It's time." She said in a motherly tone. The younger woman sniffled and wiped her eyes free of tears. She nodded her head and stood up.
"I'm sorry." Said Rita. "I'm sure he has a valid excuse for not making it."
"It's alright. I think it's better if he's not here." Said Misa, faking a smile.
Rita offered her a sympathetic smile and ushered her into the ultrasound room.
-Later that evening-
L sat in an over-stuffed chair inside the hotel suite that he was sharing with Misa. He was stacking a mountain of sugar cubes high inside his coffee mug, a frown upon his features. He sighed. It was going to be a long night, he just knew it. All the members of the KIT plus Aiber were gathered around the suite talking nervously amongst themselves as they waited. Suddenly, the door opened and in walked Watari with a very angry Misa following behind him. The talking stopped immediately.
Misa's eyes were slightly red and puffy from crying. She did not even bother acknowledging the rest of the KIT members as she went straight to L and delivered a crisp slap to his face. Everyone stared in shock.
"Did you forget something?!" She asked angrily.
L barely flinched when she slapped him, though his cheek stung. He looked her dead in the eyes.
"I don't forget things." He said, deadpan. "Something happened."
"You lied to me. You stood me up. And you have the nerve to sit here having a tea party?!" She yelled.
The rest of the KIT members shared uncomfortable looks, not wanting to be present at their couples' quarrel. Before L addressed her accusation, Misa took a large yellow envelope and shoved it in his hands roughly. "That's in case you decide get interested in your child"
L looked at the large yellow envelope with a furrowed brow. He knew exactly what was in the envelope and it scared him to death. It made him more nervous just looking at it so he took the envelope and delicately placed it on the side table beside his chair where it was out of sight. Right now he couldn't think about the baby, not when more pressing matters required attention.
"Misa, the trial is in three days." He said seriously.
"What? Why?!" She asked, alarmed. "I thought you said the trial was in a month! Why did they move it up?"
"The ICPO found out that I have Kira in custody. Chief Yagami reported the fact by accident after he woke from his sedatives earlier today."
None of this was making any sense to Misa. She knew that Light's father had suffered a near-fatal heart attack upon finding out that his son was Kira and that he had been in intensive care and heavy sedatives. However, she didn't understand why it mattered that he told the ICPO about Kira's capture. After all, didn't they already think L captured Kira when she was arrested three months ago?
"Wait, they didn't know? I thought they knew. They thought I was Kira, that's why they sentenced me to death before, right? That's what you said." She told him.
The detective was silent as he inwardly dreaded what was coming next. He knew eventually he would have to tell her about his lie. He just didn't expect it to be so soon.
'No, they did not know anything. I did not report your capture to them and they did not sentence you to be executed. That was a lie I fabricated to get you to confess."
Misa's jaw dropped. She couldn't even begin to express how angry she was.
"You lied to me, to manipulate me?!" She shrieked. "Do you have ANY idea how frightened I was?! I was so upset...I thought I was going to die! And our baby...I could have lost it...You could have just asked me to confess nicely, like a normal human being instead of fucking blackmailing me with death!"
"That's not true. We questioned you for two months and you refused to say a word!" He responded, starting to get annoyed.
"Did YOU, L, ever go up to my apartment and ASK me what had happened? No! Never!"
He sighed in annoyance.
"It doesn't matter anymore, the fact is, I did it. It worked. I was trying to save your life-"
"Yeah well you nearly killed me in the process!"
L just shook his head, not believing how dense she was being. Before he knew it, Matsuda spoke out, and what a big mistake that was. As if L hadn't dug his own grave already, Matsuda had to jump in and help.
"Misa, we all thought the same thing when we first heard about it, but it's all worked out. L also arrested you knowing that you weren't really Kira and that Light was lying. He arrested you in order to get Light to feel comfortable enough to make a bold move, and he did, and now we caught him!" He said optimistically. L wanted to kick him. That was something that Misa was not supposed to find out about.
"Matsuda, please don't help me..." L said sarcastically.
Misa was gaping at him, fuming.
"So you arrested me knowing full well that I was innocent of Light's accusations?" She asked in a dangerous tone. L looked at her directly. There was no point in trying to deny anything now.
"Yes. I did."
"So for TWO MONTHS I was locked up in my apartment, made to live out a LIE, used as BAIT, so that Light could be caught?! Again, you really couldn't tell me this so I could at least know your plan?! Why?!"
"It had to be believable" He answered, getting impatient. "If I had told you, it wouldn't have had the same effect. Light is intelligent enough to suspect foul play, especially if he saw us plotting together."
Misa was breathing heavily as the truth about her boyfriend came tumbling down on her. He was a selfish bastard and a liar. Not even Light had lied this much to her face and then tried to justify it. She felt like she wanted to cry, scream, run away, anything but be in the same room as him. Without another word, she turned around and went to the bedroom, throwing the door closed behind her.
'Oh no, you don't' Thought L, getting up from his chair to go after her. She was curled up on the bed.
"What are you doing?" He asked her. "There is a lot of work to do."
She sat up on the bed and threw a pillow in his direction. "Fuck you, I don't even want to see you right now!" She yelled.
"You will have to manage. We are having an interrogation session now, so prepare yourself and be ready in five minutes. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that time is in short supply at the moment." He said before walking away.
His patience with her was running thin. The ICPO was not happy with him. In fact, he was kicking himself for not having monitored Chief Yagami more closely so that when he awoke, he could warn him to say that Kira had not yet been caught. He was angry with himself because he had made the same mistake as Light in that he did not tell one of his key personnel to be discrete until further orders. Now because of his stupid slip-up he could lose Misa. He was extremely upset over it. He was orchestrating this entire trial so that she could be pardoned but he'd fucked up and angered the ICPO. They'd actually wanted the trial to be in two days but L had pulled some strings, made some objections, and finally managed to buy them an extra day.
The five minutes were up and Misa forced herself to go out. She was furious but she sucked it up because as much as she hated to admit it, they had a common goal. Misa sat in the lone chair across from her 'interrogators.'
Aiber began the questioning.
"State your name"
"Misa Amane" She said sharply.
"Do you plead guilty to being the Second Kira?"
"Please skip the preliminary questions. I trust she can answer those correctly" Said L as he stood in front of a large window with his hands in his pockets, staring at nothing. Misa glared at his back.
"Very well" Said Aiber. He went on to ask more difficult questions and Misa did her best to answer as respectfully as possible. L went back to pacing around her, watching her every expression. After a few minutes he stopped pacing and stood right in front of her.
"Stop" He said to Matsuda, who was asking a question. "Misa, when attempting to prove that you are not a cold-hearted killer, it's counterproductive to look like you want to kill everyone in the room."
She gave him a murderous look, which only served to further prove his point.
"I don't want to kill everyone in the room! Just you!" She snapped at him.
L was not amused. He was getting really frustrated because she was being difficult despite the fact that he was trying to help her.
"Be that as it may, soften your expression." He told her coldly before going back to look out the window. Matsuda looked nervous. He waited until Misa was ready to continue before he asked the next question.
"So, Miss Amane, who is the father of your child?" He asked.
There was a long, awkward silence. Misa fumbled. She had a carefully-crafted answer for almost every question, but she did not see this one coming. Matsuda looked anxiously from her to L and then at the other KIT members, wondering if he'd asked a stupid question.
"Is that even a relevant question?" She asked, skeptical.
"Yes, and they most likely will ask it." Interjected L.
"Well, since I'm telling nothing but the truth, it's L's." She said, with bitterness in her tone. L stood there lost in thought for a second.
"For this question, you will not tell the truth. You will say that the child is Light's." He told her. Misa looked offended. "Yes, that will work. Light will deny it, of course, but it will be his word against everyone else's. Even Takada seems to have this notion that you and Light had some sort of relation while he was seeing her. She will probably confirm it if it will help her reduce her sentence."
"Oh yeah! And let's not forget how convenient it is for you to deny your own child!" Said Misa venomously.
"I have never denied my paternity. Stop making personal attacks against me. This is serious Misa. Do you understand that in less than three days you will be standing in front of the ICPO, otherwise known as Interpol, the Intergovernmental Police comprised of 190 different countries with over 600 representatives, the vast majority of which will not be sympathetic to your cause. Don't push it by saying I got you pregnant. This goes for everyone as well. The child is Light's." He said with finality.
They all assented. Misa stayed silent for a moment until she spitefully nodded her agreement. She hated this so much.
Thankfully the rest of the interrogation session went relatively smooth and within the hour, the KIT members started to leave. Misa stood up from her chair and went to the bedroom, where she took out a small suitcase and began packing her things.
"You're going somewhere?" L asked her.
"No, I'm just packing for fun. Of course I'm leaving!"
"Where to? Remember, you're under my custody."
"I know! I'm going back to headquarters with the rest of the guys. I don't plan to stay here with you one more night."
L was not happy about it; he didn't want her to leave. He wanted her to stay with him. He didn't even care if they had sex or not, he just wanted to be with her, especially knowing that soon he may not be able to. He pushed the melancholic thought away and went to take her in his arms. She pushed him away.
"Don't touch me right now. I'm leaving and that's that." She said, pushing past him on her way to the closet.
L had no other choice but to accept her decision. He too packed his things, lingering over the large yellow envelope that she'd given him. He fingered the seal, almost daring himself to open it. A loud sound grabbed his attention as Misa cursed at her luggage, which she'd dropped, causing it to fall open. L left the envelope unopened and slipped it into his suitcase. Once they were ready, Watari drove them back to headquarters in what was the most tense car ride he'd ever been on. When they arrived, neither said a word to the other as they went their separate ways, L to the main investigation room and Misa up to her old apartment.
The following day, Misa came down from her apartment only for the mock interrogation session. This time, Aiber and L went over techniques to fool a lie detector test, in case they hooked her up to one. It wasn't terribly difficult to do, but if she didn't do it right during the preliminary questions on mundane facts, then she'd be toast during the harder questions where she may need to twist facts a little.
Misa poured her best into the interrogation session, impressing both Aiber and L with how well she was getting through. She performed to their satisfaction and completed the session in record time. When she was done, she walked right past L as though he didn't exist and headed straight upstairs. He looked longingly at her as she retreated up the stairs, but did not go after her. There were still more preparations for tomorrow, when they would all depart from headquarters for Lyon, France, home of the ICPO headquarters.
-The following day-
It was about 4am and Misa reluctantly followed L as he led her and Watari through the airport and onto their flight. They were all flying on a private plane provided by the ICPO, complete with heavily armed guards whose main task was to watch over all the prisoners. The plane was spacious on the inside, with plenty of leg and arm room in between seats. By the time Misa boarded, Light, Mikami, and Takada had already been stowed away in their respective compartments with guards watching each one. L went ahead to a cabin just up front as a guard approached Misa and looked at her suspiciously, flashing a pair of handcuffs.
"Is this the other prisoner?" He asked in a thick French accent. Misa eyed him and the handcuffs nervously.
"The young woman will remain with us. Her circumstances are not the same as the others." Said Watari in his jovial voice.
"That's against protocol" Said the guard, looking displeased.
"Please, I assure you it will be just fine."
"I need something in writing saying that your superior allows this. Otherwise I can not let her roam free."
L stepped in from the cabin and said something to the guard in French. Misa didn't know a lick of French beyond the basics, so the conversation that ensued between L and the guard was completely obscured to her. Whatever L said worked though, as the guard nodded and went to stand by the door.
"You, Watari, and I will be sitting in here" L told her, gesturing toward the cabin. Misa scowled at him. The cabin had two single rows of three seats on each side with room in between for someone to walk through. She went in and sat in one of the spacious seats. L chose a seat right next to hers and immediately took out his laptop and a coffee mug. He began filling up the mug with coffee from a container. Misa rolled her eyes at him.
"Don't think you're in my good graces just because you helped me just now." She said icily.
Watari came in and sat in his seat, behind L.
"You're still angry with me?" he asked.
"Yes!"
"Why?"
"Because you lied to me! It might surprise you, but women don't like men who lie and stand them up." She said sarcastically. "You did that plus some AND you didn't even apologize."
"I don't understand. I did it for good reasons, one of which was to save your life by having you actively cooperate." He told her, gazing at his coffee with disinterest. "As for 'standing you up' I was busy making preparations for the trial."
"But it doesn't change that you were wrong! At least say you're sorry!"
"No. I don't believe I will because I was not wrong." He said bluntly. "My actions and decisions led to Kira's capture. I will not apologize for employing whatever means were necessary to do it."
Misa was outraged by his arrogance. Watari pinched the bridge of his nose and interjected.
"I believe that what she's trying to say, Ryuzaki, is that 'ends don't justify the means'" explained the old man.
Misa looked at Watari with gratitude.
"Yes! Thank you Watari for understanding!" She said.
L looked at Watari and defended his stance on the matter. Watari immediately regretted having gotten involved. It was 4 am, he was tried, and this was a 12 hour flight. They had not even taken off yet and Misa and L's argument was already giving him a headache.
'This can't be good for my blood pressure' He thought as he got up, opened the cabin door, and walked to the outside compartment. It was large with tables and seats for all the KIT members. Watari sat down on one of the empty seats and got comfortable. Aizawa was trying to sleep but the arguing couple could be heard through the cabin door. He chuckled and shook his head.
"We have been on this flight for less than 20 minutes and they're already going at it..." He laughed. "Poor L, he doesn't know that starting an argument with a woman you're going to be stuck with for 12 hours is a huge mistake."
"Speak from experience?" Asked Mogi. Aizawa chuckled some more. Ide cringed in his seat, looking like he was trying to suppress some terrible memory. He, like Aizawa was also married and knew what he was talking about.
Moments later, a pissed off Misa emerged from the cabin and approached the guard.
"Please arrest me and take me to another compartment." She said offering her wrists to him.
The guard looked at her confused. "Miss, go back to your seat or I will have to tie you down to it." He said. Misa looked at him as if to say 'really?' and when he did not change his answer, she huffed angrily and went back to the cabin, muttering about how she thought Light would be better company.
-12 hours later-
The plane landed safely in Lyon, France, on an isolated runway by the airport. As soon as they were cleared to exit the plane, the guards retrieved all the prisoners, except for Misa. Light, Mikami, and Takada were led out first, handcuffed and blindfolded. The rest of the team followed after, descending the stairs onto the runway in a single file. Misa was one of the last ones on the queue to exit. She heard a commotion going on outside. There was the sound of feet shuffling and voices calling out. The line stopped.
"What the-?" She wondered. L looked uneasy. They finished walking outside, and were surprised to be detained by what seemed like an entire fleet of agents, police officials and SWAT personnel.
L eyed the wall of law enforcers as they enclosed upon them, some talking into transmitters, confirming their arrival. L had been dreading this from the moment they entered ICPO territory. He knew what this was: an extradition.
L instinctively moved next to Misa and took her by the hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. She was paralyzed with fright and amazement at the amount of police there. The unknown police force examined them menacingly. The agents among the police instructed everyone to identify themselves and to hand over the prisoners. Misa instinctively stepped back and held on tighter to L's hand, her heart pounding. She turned to him with a frantic gaze.
"What's going on? Who are these people?"
"You're being extradited by the ICPO agents. Misa, as of now, you're no longer under my jurisdiction" He told her, his expression unreadable.
He didn't want to let her go, even if she was angry with him, it pained him to let her go. But the situation was out of his hands now and he couldn't do anything about it.
"Don't be afraid. Remember everything we went over" He said as an agent accompanied by two SWAT officers approached them. Misa stepped even closer to him, subconsciously seeking his protection.
The others were preoccupied with presenting their identification to the agents, who were inspecting each individual thoroughly. Light, Mikami, and Takada were immediately loaded into separate black vans by the officers. The agent and the officers at last stood before L and Misa. Misa's grip on L's hand was so tight that she'd cut circulation to it. The agent said something in French and it didn't sound too friendly. Misa looked between L and the agent nervously but L only nodded and looked down at the floor. Misa felt his hand go slack as he released her and she felt a wave of panic hit her. Oh, what she would give now to be back on that plane arguing with him, safe from these strange agents. L stepped back reluctantly and the two officers surrounded her, handcuffed her and blindfolded her. She swallowed nervously, trying to remain calm as she was led away from L and the others, but it was difficult. All around her she heard the strange officers talking rapidly in a language that she did not understand as she was tugged this way and that way by unkind hands until finally she felt herself entering what she assumed was another black van. She was officially in the hands of the ICPO.