L00-3 Promise

"Mr. President, this is L."

"Yes..Although it was the call he had been waiting for, President Hope remained guarded. He could not know which L had called him. Though distorted by a vocoder, the voice sounded reassuring, as if L anticipated his trepidation.

"The L organization has captured L-Prime and recovered the Death Note. We will eliminate L-Prime with the notebook. You can confirm the body in one hour at the Kira Investigation Headquarters in Japan."

"Then the Death Note?"

"It will be locked away by the L organization, never to be used again. I urge you and future presidents to be mindful of this."

"I understand." The president could not answer otherwise. Although the president's best-case scenario would have been L's elimination, and for the United States to claim possession of the Death Note, he had to be satisfied with being able to confirm the death of the L who had been threatening him.

L's voice took on a mischievous tone. "By the way, Mr. President, would you mind if we also issued you a threat?"

"What is the meaning of this, L?" The president sprang to his feet.

The worst-case scenario spelled out by the FBI suddenly flooded his mind.

"You will ensure a future where children can go on smiling. Will you promise us that? If you should break that promise, we will not hesitate to use the Death Note."

The synthetic effect of the vocoder had dropped away The president heard L's real voice for the first time. It was different than what the president had expected. Aloof, yet innocent and childlike. The proud voice of someone who refused to lose hope while bearing the burden of protecting justice. The voice of a lonely youth calling from a desolate wasteland. A gentle, hopeful voice hinting at an inner power that only someone who still believed in both strength and kindness could have.

With the greatest expression of respect for the voice he heard, and for what he heard in that voice, the president said, "All right. You have my word, L."