Defective

Possibilities

Near's head jolted up. "Halle! Commander Restor! Gevanni!"

Upon hearing Near shout, the three shoved their way in through the small entry way. "What's wrong?" Gevanni asked briskly.

Near inhaled deeply. This was impossible. L new he would lose. He knew he would die. L actually predicted his doom. Why didn't he stop the death if he knew about it? Near pondered for a moment. Mello! Mello did it too! Mello knew what needed to happen so I could collect the clues! L must've done that too! He must've left some clue that I took without knowing. But he could've convicted Light before he died. No he couldn't have. He didn't have evidence. He knew, but couldn't prove. But why would he tell me this?

"Tell me what you think when you read this," he ordered.

Gevanni bent down and squinted at the screen and drank in the message. "You found a message from L?!" He exclaimed.

"No, I did not."

"But it's right there," Halle objected.

"Yes, it is right there, but it's not from L. L rarely leaves messages this obvious. This is a true statement, they did beat him. Kira beat him. But I would say that this is Deneuve posing as L. Deneuve seems far more confrontational than L ever was, at least from what I've seen. As previously explained, Deneuve usually just talks to his suspects and makes guesses. This was his way to confront me as someone else. He wanted to see how I would respond. If I had to guess, he plans on calling us as L, even though he knows that he is dead."

The three stood there, mouths gaping. They were amazed that Near drew such a conclusion. Gevanni opened his mouth to object but was interrupted by a flash of light from the screens.

"Answer it," Near ordered.

Commander Restor rushed forward and entered in a passcode. The screens returned to black.

In a distorted voice, 'L' spoke, "I am L."

"Delighted to meet you, L. I am Near."

'L' took his time responding. "Just you?"

"Yes. Only me. Do you expect another person?"

"Where is Mello?"

Near inhaled deeply. His bottom lip began quivering. "The human who uses the notebook can neither go to Heaven nor Hell." Near quoted.

"He used the Note."

"It is likely. Regardless, he is no longer. But he was able to take most of my friends with him."

"And he, in turn, fell to the Note."

Near's eyes clenched shut and deemed this the moment to put emotion behind his voice. "No! He didn't fall to the note! He played as big a part as I did in catching Kira. He knew what he had to do in order for me to arrest him. Mello never fell! He only rose to the challenge. You are disrespecting two of the greatest detectives the orld has seen. Don't ever tell me that he fell, Deneuve!"

'L' answered immediately. "Deneuve. Interesting theory. One of the best detectives working on the case. With or against you?"

"I don't know! Why don't you tell me?!" Near cried.

"The defective is what you are trying to find, correct?"

Near composed himself. "Yes. I am looking for the defective."

"Just remember, you were only in on the case for the later half. You don't know how everything started. Or who all is involved." He hung up.

Near looked to the ground. The room was quiet.

Silence gripped headquarters for a full five minutes

"There were two Notes." Near finally said.

The three blinked. They knew better than to ask for proof. Near always had some.

As if reading their minds, Near spoke, "I don't know much. I have very little to base my hypothesis on. The way Deneuve spoke of the Defective implies it is a person. A defective is essentially a traitor for a side. In other words, I think that Light had a friend. A friend that wasn't really a friend."

The SPK was silent. Near's statement hung in the room like a thick fog. Near remained motionless, not even twirling his hair. Halle jolted. "You mean somebody else was fighting Light!"

Near glanced at Halle. "Exactly," he grinned. "I would go so far as to say a 'second Kira' is the Defective. Not Mikami. I think the Defective was never found out by Light. But he or she was found out by Deneuve. Deneuve knows too much, so I have deduced that they are in contact."

Halle strolled over to the master computer. She typed in a name. A young lady with dark hair and fair skin popped up. "Kiyomi Takada."

Near rose his chin and tapped on his jaw. "Interesting idea. I didn't think of that. The Defective may or may not be alive. In fact, I know a way we can find out."

Near stood, eyes set on the master computer. He took four tentative steps toward his target and fell to the floor again. He poked at the computer's keyboard and the monitors on the wall all flashed grey.

Near took the microphone. "Hello again, Deneuve. If it is at all possible, can you please have the Defective call me as soon as he or she can? That is all."

Following, Near rose. He hunched over, as usual, and glared right at Gevanni. He looked frail when standing, as if his bones could break at the slightest touch. "We're going to L's headquarters. You can find it?"

"Yes, I can find it. I just need time. All I have to do is trace one of your calls back to his headquarters."

"Why must we go?" Halle asked.

Near spoke with an affirming tone, "It's simple. Deneuve is trying so hard to sell that he is actually L. It only makes sense that he's where L died. Now, I still can't figure out whether or not he wants me to find him or not, but I can tell you one thing for certain. That's where we find Deneuve."