Cloak and Dagger

Chapter 37

"You're sure you wanna do this?" Aiber asks.

"Hey, we've got nothing else to go on." I reply.

"I hate guns." Aiber mutters as I press the muzzle of my pistol against his back. Of course we have backup – Wedy's in position to shoot us a pathway, while Watari, L and Matt are manning the getaway car. But inside the building, it's a two person job that we need to look like a one-person job. With a ski mask and a motorcycle helmet guarding my face, I shove Aiber towards the front door. He knocks.

"Morello – oh, oh shit."

"Man, please, she's not fucking around." Aiber mumbles. "She says she needs to speak with Kira-sama. Please, please let her in, I don't wanna die now."

"I can't do that," says the man at the door. "I can't let her threaten Kira-sama –"

"Tell him Ellen's here." I growl. The man jerks back with a yelp. Aiber flails at me until I poke him with the gun, which makes him still.

"Eh? You look like you've seen the devil himself." I comment. "Oh. Oh, I get it. I betrayed Kira, broke his heart, so on and so forth, and now I'm Lucifer. Oh, man, when the boys hear about this!"

I like to play up my bitchy side when I'm nervous. Hey, these guys think I'm the devil, so I might as well put a bit of fear in the buggers. The door slams in my face and I hear scuffling from inside.

It opens again. I smile behind my masks, steering Aiber into the house.

"Would you be so kind?" I ask the man behind the door. He squeaks slightly, hurrying to open the doors that lead to Kira. He's, as I suspected, hunched over a desk with a bag of chips open next to him.

"That's gonna go straight to your thighs." I comment.

"Of course you mention the trivial things first."

Kira looks up at me with a smile that might have been genuine.

"It's been a while, Ellen."

"Ah, yes. We got the gift. Went over with a bang." I growl. Kira laughs – not a psychotic, malicious laugh. A cheerful laugh, like I just told a great joke.

"How many did you lose?" he asks. Clearly, that's the source of his mirth. Well, up yours, Kira.

"None." I reply. "How's your arm? Hollow points are bitches, huh? Can you even move it?"

Kira stares at me and I know I've taken back the moment.

"Unhand my servant."

I let go of Aiber. He scurries to the side of the room, cowering in a corner.

"I think I need a new pair of heels." I say absently. "Devil wears Prada, y'know. Since that's what you think of me."

"Yes, well, you turned against me."

"You're the one who betrayed me."

"I betrayed no-one." Light snarls. "I did not act against you. I tried to create a world where you would be safe."

"You killed people who called you out, that is not a world I want to see!"

"I could have made you a queen. A goddess. The world would have loved you, died for you."

"I don't want people to die for me. That's your game, Kira."

Kira pauses, looking a little bit... Melancholy?

"I always loved your voice," he says. "The way you said my name was so pretty. You just barely, almost imperceptibly, stressed it across two syllables, and with such a musical lilt. You told the best stories, and sang the most beautiful songs I've ever had the pleasure to listen to."