End Games

Chapter 28:Flood

Halle Lidner peered out of her apartment window. It was the dead of night and not a soul was out around her neighborhood. That is, with the exception of a man in a black car parked directly outside her residence. She sighed. A week had passed since their encounter at the airport and not a day had gone by without Stephen Gevanni hot on their trail.
"Yep, that's definitely him again" Said Halle, looking straight at the dark car. Misa groaned and sat up on the couch.
"Is he even trying to hide the fact that he's spying on us anymore?" She asked, exasperated. Halle shook her head.
"Apparently not."
The younger blonde rolled her eyes and plopped back down on the couch.
While Halle counter-spied on Gevanni, Misa lounged on the sofa, reading a magazine and eating chocolate-covered strawberries. Finally, she had found a place where she could be comfortable and relatively calm. The day that she came to live with Halle, she'd told her everything about her parents' deaths, the Kira case, and about her being the Second Kira. Surprisingly, Halle didn't judge her, and for the first time in a long time, Misa felt liberated. Sure it was annoying that she had a spy, but that was no different than having a stalker, which sadly, she was used to dealing with. Besides, things were working out so far. Halle went about her daily activities as usual, and on the rare times that Misa needed to go out, she wore a heavy disguise, never once showing her face directly.
"What a silly man. I don't know what he's thinking being so open like this." Said Halle, releasing the curtain and sitting on the arm chair by the couch. There was a coffee table in front of it, where tea awaited her. She sat down and began to pour herself some.
"I still can't believe that you actually know L." She said. Misa couldn't help but smile upon hearing his name.
'My stupid panda...'
"He's like an urban legend at the bureau. Everyone always speculates about him, what he looks like, how old he is, whether he's even a man. You're one of the few people in the world who can actually answer those questions." Said Halle in wonderment. "So what's he like?"
Misa continued to smile and then scrunched her face, thinking hard of a good way to describe L without going into a long-winded explanation.
"Well...he's not what you'd expect."
Halle lifted an eyebrow, dissatisfied with Misa's vague answer. "I see...so you and him...you know..."
A deep blush painted Misa's cheeks as she nodded her head.
"Ah, so he's the father."
"Yup. Both a beautiful and unfortunate thing..." Said Misa.
Halle observed Misa with a mixture of pity and admiration. It had been a while since she'd talked to someone on a personal level like this. She'd been living a solitary life for over a year now without so much as seeing her family. Naturally, she couldn't help but think of Misa as almost like a little sister in need of her guidance.
"Hey, can I ask you for a favor?" Asked Misa.
"Sure"
"Could you help me with detective stuff if it's not too much? Since we're gonna be working together, I was hoping that I could learn from you, and-" Misa clasped her hands in front of her as if pleading. "-I promise to be the best understudy ever!" She said. "I don't know a thing about being a good detective!"
"Oh you'll be alright." Said Halle, waving her hand dismissively. "I work with detectives all the time, and you'd be surprised at how many of them don't know what the hell they're doing. Just look at 'exhibit A' right outside" She said, referring to Gevanni. They both laughed in unison. "Also, you're pretty and you should have no problem charming the higher-ups into eating out of the palm of your hands. It happens all the time."
Misa giggled. "Alright then! We'll be unstoppable!" She declared.
-The following day-
Gevanni was exhausted and quite disgruntled. For the past week he'd done nothing but stake out Lidner's residence in hopes of catching a glimpse of the other blonde woman from the airport. So far it appeared that Lidner was living with someone, a pregnant mystery woman with short dark hair and glasses. His employer had him install cameras all around the perimeter of the house but even he had not managed to get a good enough look at the mystery woman's face through the cameras. Could Gevanni have been wrong? Could they just be wasting their time?
The agent looked at his watch.
'Only 11am...this is gonna take a while' He thought, yawning as he leaned back in his seat while trying to find a comfortable position. Right as Gevanni was about to doze off, his patience was rewarded. The pregnant woman with the short black hair emerged from Lidner's apartment unit and seemed to be headed somewhere. He leaned forward in his seat.
"Are you watching this?" Said the agent into the transceiver.
"Yes." Answered L. "Follow her."
"Right."
Misa hummed a song to herself contently as she sauntered off to the convenience store. Today she barely put any effort into her disguise, opting to go with the bare minimum of sun glasses and a wig.
'Whatever, I'm only going to the convenience store across the street. What's the worst that could happen?' She thought.
...
From Headquarters, L sat in quiet frustration. He crouched at his desk, skewering marshmallows and dipping them inside his coffee. One by one, he watched as the fluffy sweets absorbed the caffeinated liquid, all the while thinking about this mystery woman. In spite of his wide net of agents, he still hadn't found Misa. That was hard for him to accept. He watched some of the coffee drip off the marshmallow and frowned.
'...Misa couldn't have slipped through my net of agents undetected, so the only logical explanation is that I have found her, but she's just disguised...as the mystery woman. In fact, I'd say there's a 90% possibility that the mysterious woman is Misa. She has to be...'
He took the first marshmallow into his mouth and ate it listlessly. He looked around at the screens that surrounded him. Most were blank now, and though he did not show it, L was starting to get desperate. If things continued the way they had this past week, he would be forced to take drastic actions...
...
As Misa passed by, she noticed Gevanni in his car, spying on her. An impish smile formed on her face.
'Time to make you sweat a little' She thought as she waved at Gevanni flirtatiously, making the agent nervous.
'Dammit, she's toying with me!' He thought, starting to get annoyed.
"Gevanni, is something the matter?" Asked L impatiently. "She's getting away."
"Yes, sorry. I'm on it." He responded, getting out of his car.
"Make sure to get close enough to get a picture of her face. Take whatever steps are necessary in order to obtain a good image, understood?" Said L.
"Right. Understood." Said Gevanni.
Misa did not bother to look back at her stalker as she entered the store; she knew he'd be following. She strolled the isles and purposely stationed herself at the tampon and feminine products section, just to give Gevanni a hard time. The agent had no other choice but to stand there as well. He tried to look natural as he pretended to browse the wide selection of tampons, and Misa had to bite her lip just to keep from bursting out laughing. Other women in the store also noticed the man, comically out of place in the women's section, and began to giggle. Gevanni groaned and tried to occupy his mind with the nice, fat, paycheck that he was going to get for this.
'Serves him right! Well, I think I'm done here, for now' Thought Misa. The look on Gevanni's face was well worth the trip.
She turned on her heel and felt a "pop" followed by a sudden gush of about a gallon of water right down her dress. She gasped and covered her mouth, as she stared, horrified, at the water dripping down from between her legs, forming a puddle around her feet. She looked up and locked eyes with an equally shocked Gevanni.
"Her water just broke!" Said a lady as she pointed at Misa.
"Cleanup on isle Three." Announced a bored cashier in a monotone voice.
Alarmed customers began to surround her as more people gathered.
Misa was turning red like a tomato, slowly dying of embarrassment. She squeamishly stepped out of her prenatal monsoon, and once it seemed like she'd finished wetting herself, she ran. She ran as fast as she could out of that place, onto the street, and back to Halle's apartment.
"No, no, no...he's early!" Gasped Misa, reaching the front door to the apartment and banging on it furiously.
Back inside the store, Gevanni barely had time to react. He was still standing in the tampon section, open-mouthed.
"Gevanni, what is it? What's happening?" Asked L, bringing him out of his stupor.
"That...that woman...she almost popped out a baby right in the middle of a convenience store..."
L dropped the whole stick of marshmallows in the coffee. Suddenly, he felt like he was going to be sick.
"...what?" He asked, stupefied.
"I'm pretty sure she's having that baby..." Said Gevanni.
L's eyes were wide with a mixture of surprise, and something else, something desperate. There was a 90% chance that he was about to become a father.
"should I go after her?"
L was silent for a long time, his face ashen.
"hey...can you hear me?"
"...yes. Please follow her..." He said weakly. "Do whatever it takes to find out who she is and what exactly is going on."
...
Misa looked back, panicked, to see Gevanni dodging traffic to cross the street to Halle's apartment complex. She called out to Halle to open the door as she continued to bang on it.
"Did you forget your keys again?" Said an oblivious Halle as she unlocked the door.
Misa rushed right past her, throwing off her wig and glasses in the process. She ran into the guest bedroom that she'd been staying in, and dove under sheets, crying.
"What the hell?!" Said Halle, grimacing at the trail of liquid that Misa left behind. She went into Misa's room.
"...he's early...two weeks early..." Misa kept repeating from under the blanket.
"Wait...you mean...it's happening?! Now?!" Asked Halle, alarmed.
"Yes! My water broke in the convenience store, it was so embarrassing!" Cried Misa.
"Well what the hell are you doing? You're having a kid, get out from under the blankets and stop crying, we're going to the hospital!"
"NO! Not the hospital! He'll find me!"
"What?! You can't have it here!"
"Yes! Here! AHHH!" Cried Misa as the first contraction hit her. She curled up on the bed and covered herself again with the blanket.
"You're crazy!"
There was a knock at the door.
...
Gevanni knew just the thing. He'd been saving this handy trick for when it came time to infiltrate Lidner's apartment. He searched the trunk of his car and retrieved a navy blue jacket with a false company logo on it. Along with that, he took out a handheld apparatus that looked like a small computer with loose wires attached. He readied himself and approached the apartment.
Halle opened the door and nearly yelled when she saw Gevanni standing there, looking like some sort of official.
"Hello miss. I'm a local home inspector for Carbon Monoxide levels, we've been getting alarming readings from your CO devices. Would you mind if I take a look?" He said, convincingly.
Halle looked at him skeptically. "Carbon Monoxide inspection? Really?! Is that the best you could come up with?" She asked. Gevanni looked genuinely confused.
"I don't understand..."
"Look, I know you're spying on us! I'm busy at the moment and I don't have time for you, OK? Now go away!" She said, closing the door. However, before the lock could click shut, Gevanni stopped the door with his foot, pushing it back open.
"Miss, I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just here to-"
"Fucking hell, I don't have time for this!" Cursed Halle as she stepped forward, grabbing Gevanni by the jacket and planting a firm kiss on his lips. When Halle broke the kiss, Gevanni took a few steps back, dazed and stupefied.
Having obtained the desired effect, Halle shut the door in Gevanni's face. The agent took a few seconds to recover and when he did, he spoke into the transceiver.
"Sir...I don't think we're gonna win this one..."
...
Back in headquarters, L was a lump on the couch. Watari walked in with a tray of chocolates and other assorted sweets, which he deposited on L's desk. He turned around to find the young man on the sofa, in the dark.
"Hmm? What's the matter? Is something wrong, L?" Asked the old man. L silently nodded his head, while looking down at his feet.
"The mystery woman is delivering right as we speak" He said, sullen. Watari almost smiled but then stopped himself, not wanting to give Misa away.
"Oh" He said. "I suppose that's interesting. Why are you so upset?"
L shook his head. "I'm not upset."
"Oh, then what is it?"
L looked like he had a lot on his mind, but instead of coming out with it, he simply shook his head again.
"...don't pay any mind to me, Watari. I'm not thinking through things clearly." He said, getting up from the couch and walking back to the monitors. He sat down and fished the marshmallow skewer that was now swimming in his coffee mug, completely soaked. He threw it on the tray with the other sweets.
'I'm being irrational. I should abstain from further action until I get confirmation from Gevanni that the woman really is Misa. In the meantime, I'll check all hospital records near that location, just in case...unfortunately I don't know Misa's due date. That information would have been extremely useful in helping me determine if this woman is her or not.'
He bit his thumb, suddenly feeling the sting of regret for not having opened the yellow envelope that Misa had given him.
...
Misa's cry of agony carried through the apartment. Halle rushed back to her, panicked, and completely unprepared for this. She had never delivered a baby, heck, she had never even seen a baby be delivered.
"Misa please! Let's go to a hospital, it'll be fine, I will be there, we can admit you under a false name. How will L ever know it's really you?!" Halle pleaded, trying to pull Misa out from under the covers. She removed the sheets and saw that Misa was doubled over in the fetal position, crying and sweating a cold sweat. She was also shivering as though she had a fever. Halle feared the worst.
"Get up, Misa! Clearly you're not OK and I'm not fit to bring this child into the world, so LET'S GO." She said firmly. Misa did not budge.
"No! I'm not going anywhere!" Said Misa stubbornly. "You ask how he'll know it's me...he'll know because he's L...and hospitals keep records!" She said, in a strained tone. Halle's face was ashen as she stood there, helplessly watching her friend suffer.
"I don't know what to do..." Halle said in a quiet voice. Misa forced a smile in a feeble attempt to make Halle feel better.
"Get my cell phone and call Rita...she's my doctor. She can help" She said. Halle did as she was told and soon she had the doctor on speaker phone.
"Hi Misa! You're early. Congrats" Said Rita cheerfully over the phone.
"Thanks." Said Misa through gritted teeth. Rita talked Halle through the preliminaries, easing her a little bit. With Rita's guidance, the older blonde got down to business. She rolled up her sleeves, tied her hair back and put on gloves and an apron. Then she positioned herself in front of Misa, with a determined look on her face.
"OK, Misa, are you ready to do this?" She said seriously. Misa fed off of Halle's newfound courage and nodded her head.
There was a series of knocks on the door. Halle released a frustrated sigh.
"What now? WHO IS IT?!" She cried out toward the door, not moving from her spot.
"Miss!...I can't stress enough how important it is that I inspect your...um...CO device. Carbon Monoxide poisoning is not a joke!"
It was Gevanni. Halle cursed under her breath. 'What is wrong with that man?! Doesn't he get that he's not coming in?"
"Are you ready to begin?" Asked Rita. Halle confirmed that she was. "Oh before we start. Do you know how to sew?"
Both Halle and Misa scrunched their faces in confusion. What kind of question was that at a time like this?
"Uh, no. Why do you ask?"
Rita sighed, worried. "Oh boy..."
"What?" Asked both Halle and Misa in unison. There was more knocking at the door but they ignored it.
"You're going to have to suture the tearing after the baby's out." Said Rita gravely. Misa squealed and Halle gasped, as they gave each other horrified looks. The doctor heard their reactions and tried to appease the soon-to-be-mother.
"Misa...vaginal tearing is fairly common for smaller women, try not to freak out"
"I'm going to die. I'm not gonna make it...I just know it." Said Misa, frantically, getting very pale. "My baby's gonna be an orphan...oh no..." she started wailing.
"Oh stop it!" Said Rita over the phone. "Halle, are you alright with this?"
While Misa panicked, Halle was despondent, shaking her head. "I can't do this. Not by myself...I need help" She said. She was trying to stay calm but Misa's incessant rambling was making her more nervous. Finally, Halle snapped her head back up and the look of determination returned.
"Alright...I think I know what to do..." She walked out of the room, through the living room, and opened the door. Sure enough, Gevanni was still there, looking surprised that Halle had opened the door for him. He was about to speak, when she cut him off.
"You want to come in? Fine! Come in!" She said, grabbing him by the jacket and pulling him inside.
"What the-?"
"Here, take these" Said Halle tossing him an extra apron and gloves. Gevanni eyed the items wearily.
'Oh no...she's not really expecting me to...'
Misa screamed in pain and Halle grabbed Gevanni by the arm and dragged him into Misa's room.
"AAHHH!" The man screamed upon seeing Misa sprawled there, legs spread, about to give birth.
Misa screamed also. "what is HE doing here?!"
"He's gonna be my helper. Now calm down." Said Halle.
Misa didn't have her wig or her glasses to hide who she was. Gevanni took a good look at her for the first time, and though she looked ruffled and scared, there was no mistaking her identity.
'That's the woman from the picture alright...Misa Amane' He swallowed nervously, dreading what was about to come next. He felt a quick swiping motion on the side of his head and when he turned, he saw Halle, with his transceiver in hand.
"This thing has to go. Now don't just stand there! Hold her hand or something!" She snapped, settling herself back down in front of Misa. Gevanni seemed lost, but he did as he was told. Misa held the man's hand reluctantly.
"Uh...you're going to be fine." Said Gevanni uncomfortably while trying to avoid looking at anything past her face. Misa shot him a murderous glare.
"Tell your boss to piss off and that I HATE HIM! This is all his fault!" She yelled as another contraction hit her. The man looked nervously from Misa to Halle, wondering what she meant by that. Halle rolled her eyes at him.
"She doesn't mean that, you're not telling your boss any of this!" Yelled Halle, glaring at the other agent.
'That remains to be seen' Thought Gevanni, glaring back.
As time progressed, Misa worsened and in spite of Halle's best efforts, it didn't look like the baby was coming out any time soon.
"I want-I want to go to the hospital. I do! Please let's go!" Cried Misa after about an hour of agony.
"Eh, I don't think so. You're too ahead into labor to be moved around now, I think you're just going to have to tough it out." Said Rita over the phone. "Sorry."
"OK can I have some pain killers?!"
"No. No drugs. It's too late for that now."
Misa looked as though she was about to pass out. Just then there was another knock on the door and Halle threw her bloodied hands up, frustrated.
"Who the hell is it now?!"
"Oh, is someone at the door?" Asked Rita. "Please open it. I called a friend of mine over to your place. She's a certified midwife, really good at what she does, and she owes me big time so she'll be taking care of everything."
Everyone in the room released a sigh of relief upon hearing the news. Halle threw a pleading look at Gevanni, who nodded and then moved to open the door. Moments later the midwife, a woman in her late 20's, entered the room. She stood in front of Misa, chewing gum and looking bored as she examined the situation. Misa was about to yell for the woman to do something when said woman finally moved and sat in Halle's place in front of her parted legs. The midwife frowned, becoming serious as she prepared herself, in the same manner that Halle had before.
"Stop squirming so much." The midwife ordered. Misa choked back a sob and a slew of curses. Was this woman for real?
"Easy for you to say lady...you're not the one trying to pass a watermelon through your - AHHH!" Yelled Misa.
The midwife did not say anything. She did this for a living and she'd had all kinds of insults directed at her before. Without missing a beat, the midwife started to dish out orders to Halle and Gevanni.
"You, boil water" She said to Halle. "You, get some clean sheets and towels, and make it plenty" She said to Gevanni. "After that, I need you to clear the room and wait for my instructions."
"I like how she operates" Commented Halle as she took Gevanni by the arm, showing him where the towels and sheets were.
"Yeah" He said, relieved that someone more experienced was taking over. 'Damn this is not what I expected to be doing today...or ever'
The two scattered around the house, gathering all the necessary things. Meanwhile, the midwife talked to Rita over the phone, reporting Misa's condition in medical terms that only they understood. The woman measured, probed, and continued to yell out orders for two hours straight. Misa was nearly at the end of her limits, on the verge of passing out from exhaustion...
...
Meanwhile in the Kira Investigation Headquarters, L sat in his seat, forcing himself to eat the sweets that Watari had brought him earlier. It had been more than three hours since Gevanni's last report and L was beyond worried now. This wait was maddening. He'd bitten his nails down to stumps and his body was rigid, jumping at any "beep" or other errant sound that came from the surrounding monitors.
"What is happening and why isn't Gevanni responding to my calls?" Asked L out loud to no one in particular. "Could it be that he's been compromised? He's been in the apartment for quite some time, he should have reported to me by now."
He furiously typed away at a keyboard, bringing up a command terminal. He typed some commands into it, and minutes later, a few of the monitors filled with hospital records. He ran some queries to check each maternity ward admission for any record that looked like it could be Misa.
'What am I doing? This isn't going to work. Misa would go in there under a false name if she's even due to give birth today.' Still, L continued to query the records for her name. Not surprisingly, the search came up empty for 'Misa Amane,' 'Halle Lidner' or any variation of those names. That only meant three things. Either Misa was not due today, nor was she the mystery woman, and he was getting upset over nothing, or she was due today but was in the hospital under a false name, or...she was the mystery woman giving birth in the apartment, and not at a hospital. He threw one of the sweets back on the cart, getting irritated.
"Gevanni. I need to know what's going on, answer me." He said to himself as he tried to communicate with the agent.
Still nothing.
He tried the agent's cell phone, but it was off. L hugged his knees further into his chest, feeling more helpless than ever. All that was left for him to do was continue to scan the hospital records for anything that might stand out. He supposed he could try and look through the newborn infant records though that might also be a waste of time. He looked down at his feet, realizing that he knew nothing about his child, not even its gender. He was really kicking himself now for not having opened the envelope, or even asked Misa what she planned to name their child. At least that way, he could look for a name.
'Dammit. I'm an idiot...' He thought bitterly.
...
Gevanni and Halle sat, slumped on the couch, waiting. They were both tired and no longer cared that they were supposed to be on opposing sides. Halle was trying to suppress a yawn while the agent slowly swayed, trying not to fall over asleep. He accidentally brushed up against Halle's shoulder and he quickly snapped his head up to apologize, a faint blush on his cheeks. He quickly apologized and Halle gave him a small, tired, smile.
"It's OK" She said. "It must be exhausting standing watch all day and night."
"You have no idea." He sighed.
They sat quietly as the midwife emerged from the room, looking like a butcher covered in sweat and blood. She said nothing to them as she removed her gloves, throwing them in the garbage. The woman also took off her apron, folding it up and throwing it in a bag. Halle and Gevanni shared the same alarmed expression but the midwife only went about her business as though nothing had happened.
"Well?!" Halle asked, forcefully. The midwife shrugged.
"Well...see for yourself" Said the woman, packing her things nonchalantly.
Halle walked into the room to find Misa on the bed smiling brighter than she'd ever seen, hugging a small bundle wrapped in white blankets. Misa looked adoringly at the baby; it had tufts of blonde hair and dark eyes, with facial features very similar to L's. Upon seeing her friend, Misa called out for her to come closer.
"You're both OK...how are you feeling?" Asked Halle, relieved.
"Yeah! I feel like a badass right now!" Misa whispered excitedly, trying not to wake her son. "Look!"
"Oh, but I didn't hear him cry..." Commented Halle in awe.
"He's sleeping...little Mihael..." Said Misa tenderly. Even Gevanni softened at the sight. The midwife came back into the room with some papers.
"You need to fill out the birth certificate." Said the woman, unmoved.
"That's right Misa, what are you going to do about a last name?" Asked Halle. Misa frowned, thinking. She very well couldn't give Mihael her last name, and much less L's. That would be a dead giveaway, even she knew that much. She looked down at her newborn son, saddened that he could not get a proper family name, but she had no choice.
"Hey, thank you for helping me with my son" She told the midwife. "What's your last name?"
The woman gave her a confused look, showing signs of emotion for the first time since she'd arrived to deliver the baby.
"It's Keehl, boring I know..."
"It's perfect! Thank you, I'll name him Mihael Keehl!" Announced Misa smiling from ear to ear. Her declaration was a bit too loud because the bundle in her arms shifted and seemed bothered by the new noises that surrounded him. Before long he opened his dark eyes and began to cry, rather loudly too. Misa cooed and shooed him, trying to appease little Mihael while the midwife filled out the paper work. While that was happening, Halle and Misa fussed over the newborn, neither of them noticing Gevanni quietly slipping away toward the living room.