"Larissa! I need you to run this to your father for me please!"
I looked up from my notebook almost annoyed; I would be, under normal circumstances. I usually ended up taking my dad lunch once or twice a week, while he was at the police station. But as of late, my mother hadn't come up with anything to send him. And I had a feeling that my father hasn't gone to the police station in a while. He had been getting back later and later. He was even more stressed than was usual.
It wasn't like he was hiding anything, but when he would get home, he would look much less cramped from sitting in his office chair all day. When I'd asked him about it once, he tried to change the subject. Non to slyly as well.
So I tucked my notebook into my back pack and started for the door, taking with me, my green coat.
My mother handed me a bowl of soup wrapped in foil and I put it in a plastic bag.
In the garage, I pulled my bike from behind a shelf. I had been trying to convince my parents to get me a car for the past few days, only they had claimed it wasn't financially possible at the moment. They just don't trust me on anything with wheels paired with a motor.
The way to the police station was rather quick for me to make- as long as I took a few shortcuts through a few back alleys. One day, my father had found out that's how I made such quick trips and forbid me to ever even try it. He said I could get mugged or raped or something. I obliged… for a while, anyway. But only because I knew he had people watching me. But now, I doesn't hesitate. What with Kira and all the criminal's fear of him, anyone can freely do as they please without fear of falling victim to some criminal. Not that Kira is good or anything.
When I walk through the front doors of the police headquarters, I am greeted by an unusually peaceful office. The woman at the desk just beside the desk greets me with some enthusiasm.
"Ah, Larissa Mogi! I have not seen you or your mother's delicious meals in quite some time!"
I smiled at her. "Hello Suzuki. It is as usual, good to see you. It's seems unusually calm here today," I remark.
Suzuki smiled and looked around sighing. "Well under circumstances, there hasn't been much criminal activity as of late."
I nodded and then turned to her so I can completely face her.
"Is my father in? Do you know where I can find him?" I asked.
Suzuki shook her head, but then a bit slyly, looked around before picking up the phone on her desk.
"I'm not supposed to make a call unless it's something really important, but I suppose for you…" she trails off as she dials a four digit number and waits, smiling at me as she waits.
"Yes, I'd like to talk to Chief Yagami please."
I tilted my head a bit, feeling my lips open slightly in confusion. Why would she need to be patched through? She is the secretary here at the police station after all.
I waited a few minutes, as did Suzuki, not saying anything despite the rising curiosity. As Suzuki waited, she typed a few things into her computer or would shift through some files with the phone tucked between her shoulder and chin. Finally-
"Yes. Chief I'm sorry. Kanzo Mogi's daughter is here looking for him with his lunch. As you know, she is very sweet but a very persistent little girl," she said, winking at me.
Persistent? Little girl? I had just walked in and asked for him. And I'm seventeen.
She seemed to have been asked to hold once again for a while, so she continued to stare past me, tapping a pen on her note pad. My legs were soon stiff so I walked over to the spare chair by Suzuki's desk and sat down. Once again, finally…
"Okay chief. Thank you, and again, I'm sorry for interrupting," Suzuki hung up and looked at me happily, folding her hands in front of her. "Well Larissa, you're lucky that the police station likes you so much. They're sending a car to pick you up. You're the first person outside the task force whose been allowed into the new headquarters."
"Huh?" was my confused response.
She didn't supply any answers… which tells me that she doesn't know very much herself. She's not the most reserved woman around.
Finally, the black car arrived and Suzuki told me to go on out and just get in the passenger side. When I stepped outside, the driver's window went down and an old man in a hat nodded to me, saying, "Ms. Mogi?"
I nodded and walked around to the passenger side, climbing in with my dad's lunch still in my hands. The man who was driving was someone I had never seen before. And I have met just about everybody that works on the police force here.
The drive was rather short, about twenty minutes long. The man pulled into the parking garage of a hotel. I was confused. What could be so super secret that it had to be kept out of the police headquarters? And why was I being allowed in?
I followed the man's actions and got out of the car, and over to an elevator. He called it and stepped in, moving to the side. I went in and stood beside him, noticing how the camera moved as I stepped, directed towards me. Trying not to look at it, I stared straight forward, until the door opened on the twenty third floor.
The man stepped out, and I followed him up to the door to some hallway. He stopped and turned around.
"Do you have any cell phones, PDA's? A radio or anything?" he asked, unlocking some sort of safe built into the wall.
I nodded, pulling out my phone from my back pocket, handing it to him. He took it and placed it beside a red blackberry that I recognized as my fathers. So that was why he never answered any calls anymore.
He then stood in front of the door which I realized had no handle on the outside, and waited. Seconds later, it opened electronically, of it's own accord. I noticed the censors in the door frame as I walked through. Probably to make sure I hadn't tried to hide anything.
The hallway was dark but only about fifteen steps long- at least up until the first door that is, which the old man stepped through.
I followed him and immediately had seven pairs of eyes on me. Thankfully, one pair belonged to my father, who immediately stood up and came over, giving me a hug. Numbly, I patted him on the back in response.
"Larissa! What has your mother packed for me today?" he asked a bit perturbed by my being there.
"Soup. Something new she's trying out. She packed enough for you to share or save if you have to stay over time. She wants to test it and you're the only one who's ever brave enough. It smelled good enough though, so yeah."
I handed him the plastic bag. He took it and set it on a table behind him. One thing I noticed about that table was that it was completely covered in sweets.
"So how is everyone at home?" he asked quietly.
"I didn't go to school. Hiroki got sick… maybe the flu, I don't know. So mom took him to the doctor and didn't have time to drop me off," I supplied, "So she called me in as absent and is experimenting with food right now."
Someone cleared his throat behind my father, and grimacing, he turned around
It was another stranger to me. Someone I had never seen before that appeared too young to be on the task force, standing by a table over piled with folders and papers.
"You know Mr. Mogi, in reading your files, I came across quite a few interesting things about your family, including your brilliant daughter."
"Ryuuzaki, please don't. As I explained earlier-"
"Why not. What with everybody quitting all the sudden, we need all the help we can get."
"She's a student!" my father seemed to growl.
I look at this Ryuuzaki. He was concentrating on my father as he spoke, as though this were a game of chess.
"Yes. But as is obvious at the moment, her perfect attendance award has already been flushed down the drain. And after reading her school records, she seems to have more than enough credits to graduate high school and become a full time college student. Not to mention her outstanding performance in her school's task force simulation organization. "
My eyes widened as my father gaped at me. "Mom said I could," was my immediate defense.
He had been against me going through the inspector training in the first place, so my mom had gone behind his back and signed my release forms and everything needed.
"Oh," Ryuuzaki said, overly surprised. "You didn't know? Well I supposed you would find out sooner or later. In my opinion," here he took a sip from a tea cup, "The circumstances demand that she be a part of the team. Am I right Chief Yagami?"
Wait a second. They want me to be a part of the task force? For what?
"Wait a minute! What team?" I ask. Of course, I'm ignored.
The old chief of police sighed and looked at my dad.
"What is your GPA anyway Larissa?" Ryuuzaki asked quickly.
I felt my mouth open as I shook my head. "I haven't checked recently so.."
He didn't fall for it. "I can easily just look it up on the computer fairly quick. But it will be even faster if you just tell me."
I hesitated again and looked at my dad. He was staring annoyed at Ryuuzaki.
"Just tell him Larissa. It's okay," Mr. Yagami said encouragingly.
I looked back at Ryuuzaki and replied. "In English terms, a 4.2."
He grinned at my dad as he continued with his questions. "And your IQ?"
"132. But I just got that from an online quiz that was sent to me so I don't know how accurate it is," I added in a hurry. I had a feeling that answering these questions was helping defeat my father in some sort of intangible game with Ryuuzaki.
I looked at my dad again, and then at Mr. Yagami as Ryuuzaki's grin widened.
"Hmm. Mr. Yagami, I propose we conduct an interview with Miss Mogi. Don't you agree that she would be a wonderful asset to the team?" Ryuuzaki said, finally tearing his gaze away from my father's stone face.
"Why all the sudden has this come up?" my father asked quietly. "Why? Yeah, she's smart. But so is Light. And many other kids across the country. Why are you wanting to put my daughter's life on the line for this stupid case so badly?"
Ryuuzaki looked at my father, then at me, then at my father again.
"I have been searching- in any spare time I come up with- for a new addition to the team. I've mostly looked at files of people who befriend or are related to members of the task force so it will be easier to keep under wraps. You daughter was one of the best candidates. More then I had been looking for. It is my understanding that she took part in a major case in the United States. But of course, that's only a bonus."
At the mention of the American case, my father's face turned very red.
"Not to mention," Ryuuzaki continued, "It would immediately clear her of any suspicion as being Kira."
"Kanzo," Mr. Yagami stated, "I think that he is right. But the decision is ultimately up to you- and Larissa of course."
My dad slowly looked at me. He knew that I would. He knew it. He knew everything about my nature. He knew I couldn't ever resist an opportunity. No matter how much he was opposed to it.
"Do whatever you want Ryuuzaki, like you always do," he said, storming around me and out the door.
Wide eyed, I looked at the seven pairs of eyes observing the door that swung closed.
"I suppose," Mr. Yagami said, "That this means welcome to the team, Larissa."
"What team?" I asked, feeling winded.
"We're trying to catch Kira," Ryuuzaki stated, almost gleefully.