Truth and Justice

Warnings for this chapter: WIP.
SPOILERS: All manga, all anime, L's true name, Another Note, Law and Right.

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Truth and Justice

Chapter 3: Setup

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The next day, Light was permitted to give the President of the United States a tongue lashing. He took great pleasure in that little gift and made sure to impress upon the president the gravity of what he had done.

When he was done, Matt had news. A number, for L, and confirmation that the mysterious scarred man had, in fact, been B with a few pictures that had been taken both before and after reconstructive surgery. He also had information that Near had been sighted in London by a graduate of Wammy's House.

Better yet, Near had made contact with the graduate.

The flight to England was shorter than the one to America had been, but Mello was still restless, pacing the cabin in irritation. He skimmed over reports and data they had gotten from the United States -- both through legal and illegal channels. They knew everything Lidner had told the US officials about the Death Note, including the part where she claimed Near had nothing to do with it.

That was probably the thing that bothered Mello the most. He'd defeated Near and at the same time been defeated by someone else. All the information from the Near Kira case had been gone over again, and it really had started to bug him. It was all pointing in the wrong direction.

Near hadn't been Kira. That much was clear now, but it still didn't explain why Near had said nothing, not one damn thing when he'd been arrested, interrogated.

Mello threw his fist into the headrest of a seat, snarling to himself. Why had Near just sat back and taken it? What the hell did he know that they didn't?

The killings had stopped the second Near was imprisoned. Who could have known? Who else could have known about it all? Who had been controlling Lidner if it wasn't Near? That was the big question, and it was looking more and more like the answer was B.

"Please do not damage the aircraft, Mello," L said absently as he sipped his tea, his feet drawn up into the seat. His other hand was meshed with Light's and the gesture was so familiar and natural now that he didn't even notice it.

"What's the name of the woman we're going to see?" Light asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Linda Lawrence," L replied. "She's a very talented writer."

"I remember her," Matt grinned, glancing up from his game. "First kiss," he laughed when Mello smacked the back of his head. "Okay, okay, second kiss."

"I've heard of her. Five bestselling novels so far, right?" Light nodded to himself, sipping at his own tea.

"Over twenty, actually. She has three pen names," L smiled faintly. "The orphanage does a great deal of good for the arts and sciences."

"So it seems," Light agreed, raising L's hand to give it an absent kiss. "How much does she know about Near's situation?"

"She knows that he was in prison, that we put him there, and that he believes he was wrongly convicted," L finished off his tea, turned his gaze to Light. "She knows, now, that I wish to make contact with Near. She will be setting up a meeting."

"And you think Near will show?" Light asked.

"He will, and if he doesn't convince me of his innocence, I believe he will allow me to take him back into custody," L frowned softly.

"He's not the same person, L," Light warned softly.

"No, he's not, but I believe he knows I only go where the evidence leads. He also understands that you changed me. Before I met you, I would have ensured he got the death penalty," L gave a small smile then, letting his gaze wander the cabin. "The world is not as it once was. How can the people within it remain the same as they have always been?"

Mello snorted softly.

"Even you have changed, Mello. You're no longer dabbling in illegal ventures," L's smirk took on a bit of smugness.

When they arrived in England, Linda invited them to her home and they all settled in the living area.

"It's been so long since I saw you, Matt, Mello, L," she was a bright young woman, with golden hair and bright green eyes. Her grin was as wide and cheeky as it had been when she was just a young girl. She was still short, thin as a rod and bright as the sun itself. Despite Mello's glower and L's discomfort, she wrapped them both in hugs, and Matt, too.

Light and Aiber were greeted with firm, vigorous handshakes when they were introduced as Toshio and Watari. Soon they were all settled into the area and another round of tea was served. She knew enough about L, it seemed, to put the sugar dish next to his cup of tea and didn't flinch in the least when he poured a mound into it.

"You have made contact with Near," L said as soon as he had finished pouring.

"Yes," Linda nodded softly, giving a sad smile. "I know he was arrested, but he seemed so serious, so... different," she narrowed her eyes in thought. "It was as if he'd grown up, really. Almost like he was haunted. He kept glancing over his shoulders."

"Did he ask for an apple?" Light asked, after putting a small amount of sugar into his tea.

Linda blinked, surprised by the question, but shook her head. "No, but now that you mention it, he was carrying a grocery bag that had two or three apples in it."

"Interesting," L took a slow sip of his tea. "Did you notice him saying anything strange?"

"Well, most of what he says is strange," Linda gave a soft laugh, "but none of it was particularly unusual for Near. He didn't keep eye contact as strongly as he used to, though. His gaze was always wandering, snapping back to me as if he'd forgotten I was there for a moment."

"Or he was listening to someone else?" Matt asked.

"Well, I suppose that could have been it," Linda agreed reluctantly. "Anyway, he told me how, where and when he wanted to meet, but, well, he said it wasn't you he wanted to speak to, L."

"Then let's hear the details," L replied, unperturbed.

"He said he wanted to meet Hikaru outside King's Cross for coffee. He asked me to arrive first, get a cafe table out by the street and wait for half an hour. After that, Hikaru was to arrive and another half hour later, he would arrive. He also told me he assumed we would both be wearing wires and, as long as he didn't see any of the taskforce members, he didn't mind," Linda put her hands in her lap, twisted her skirt. "He said that accidents were common outside the station."

Light looked at L, raised an eyebrow. "I'm willing to play along with it if you are."

A long, heavy sigh left L's lips. "Very well, we will play into Near's hand. I do not believe he will hurt you, but you are not going in defenseless. What day does Near wish to meet with Toshio?"

Linda blinked, looking between the two detectives. "Tomorrow, but he said he wanted to meet Hikaru..."

"Hikaru translates to light in English, and so does my real name." Light replied with a smile.

"Oh... I see. I hope you don't mind my prying, but, well, there's been a rumor that you and L are married," Linda blushed, giving a soft laugh. "I'm afraid I'm as curious about the truth as the rest of them."

A lazy smile crept onto L's lips as his gaze shifted to Light. "It's true," he replied, taking Light's hand and pressing a kiss to it.

For once in his life, Light was a bit uncomfortable, blushing slightly and smiling sheepishly.

Mello chuckled as he snapped a bite off of his candy bar. "Matt and I can back that one up, too," he grinned when Matt snickered. "Had to interrupt some extracurricular activities when we caught wind of Near's escape."

The dark glare Light was casting at Mello wasn't lost on anyone and Aiber gave a low laugh. "So that's why the last Watari retired," he grinned.

Linda busied herself with clearing the empty teacups away and calming herself before she blushed herself to a nosebleed.

On the floor above, Near tugged at his hair, frowning softly at the gathered detectives. It was a small group, that much was clear enough. Just the five of them. He could manage that. He offered Ryuk another apple as he watched them leave, considering the probability of success on the following day.

Light would be armed, but that wasn't a very big problem. He didn't plan on making the man use a weapon of any kind. Near turned his gaze to Ryuk. "You help me find them all tomorrow, and you'll get three more."

"Hyuk, hyuk, it's a deal. They sure made a mistake, moving you into the general population for good behavior," Ryuk grinned, dropping the apple into his mouth and savoring the juciness.

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A/N: And so they plan to meet! But who really is Kira? Or was, for that matter.

TenshiHaku: Haha, yes. I plan to throw a few 'truths' from Law and Right out the window (with good explanations, of course). B is certainly going to be a big part of this piece, but I haven't yet chosen the real identity of Kira, so I'm keeping the logic open enough that it could be any of the possible people I have in mind thus far. As for the photos, yes, the mystery buyer will come into play during the course of this piece. =3 I'm actually looking forward to that little twist, myself. Not only will the buyer be a surprise, but the way he found out about the pictures will (hopefully) be unexpected. I'll work hard on making this one as good as the last one! As for the photographer, it was just a lucky college student, that's all.