Stakeout
By The Cookie Cutter World
- - -
"Hello, Wedy. It's L." said the voice from the other line.
Wedy was using her Bluetooth headset to communicate with L through her mobile phone just as she was riding her motorbike along a boulevard leading to the area where Higuchi's house was located. "I'm on my way to Higuchi's house. He's my last stop for the day."
"That fast?" L asked.
"Well not really. Mido and Namikawa's houses are actually hard to break into but once I got in, I didn't have so much of a hard time installing the video and audio devices all over the place."
"Except for the bathroom, I hope. We don't want to see anything like that"
Wedy smirked. "Not the bathroom?" she bemused.
L was quiet for a while before replying, "Don't tell me you…"
She laughed just as she turned left to the next street. "No, I didn't. I followed your strict orders. Anyway, I'm close to my next stop so I might as well hang up now."
"Alright. Take care."
5 blocks from Higuchi's house, Wedy found a secluded alleyway where she decided to park her motorbike. From there, she walked over to Higuchi's house, lugging a couple of wires and tools along with her.
It was 7 in the evening when she arrived at Higuchi's residence. Yesterday was the first time that she checked for any hazards that could giver her presence away, she immediately noticed security cameras installed all over the place, surveying the entire property including its surrounding streets. Two were positioned behind a lamp post by the gate, one is inside the mailbox, one is discreetly installed beside the doorbell button, two were positioned on the roof deck of the front porch, 3 at the backyard, two each at the sides of the house, and one in the garage area.
Wedy knew that it was impossible for her to directly climb over the wall because the cameras installed at the sides, front porch, and backyard, were panning sideways every 5 seconds. Because of those security hazards for her, she decided to work with the other 4 Yotsuba members' houses first and that Higuchi's house would be her last stop.
At first, she was pessimistic about her last stop and was actually nervous about getting caught. However, she still decided to be a little optimistic about the situation, telling herself that she was still fortunate because the cameras were not tilting upwards, otherwise, it would be impossible to climb onto the roof or a tree. Basically, the roof was the only area that can serve as her safest ground, as well as a few tall trees with thick leaves and branches that can conceal her.
She took a deep breath.
The security systems in the last 2 houses she infiltrated into were beyond normal already but to her, Higuchi's house was the worst. Still, she knew she had to do her job well in order to please L. With that, she surveyed the neighboring houses and inspected any high walls, trees, and the quality of roofing. Finally, she found a suitable neighboring house that has a tree with its leaves and branches already intertwined with another tree that happens to be inside Higuchi's backyard. "Sweet." She thought victoriously before casually walking over to the neighboring house.
That house had no security devices so it was easy for her to climb over the high wall, walk over to the tree, and climb onto it. Before crossing to the tree in Higuchi's house, she whipped out a device that Watari developed especially for her mission. It was a device that checks for any type of signals being emitted by any form of security device hidden within a property. As soon as she activated it, it immediately received a lot of signals coming from Higuchi's house. What struck her the most was the indication that there was something in the basement area that locks out electronic waves. It was enough for her to think that the man was hiding something.
"Like, who in their right mind would install something in their basement like that? Unless.." she looked up at the night sky and squinted. "Okay, I must not jump into conclusions that he's Kira until L sees something significant." She reminded herself quietly.
She turned off all communication devices in her possession as she prepared to locate the wiring of one security camera closest to a tree branch. However, before she could start, she heard a car pulling up on the driveway. In frustration changed her mind and decided to stay put to listen and observe her surroundings.
She knew that it was Higuchi who just arrived home from work. Carefully, she settled her things on a thick branch, securing the strap of a bag with the wires and gadgets inside around it. She climbed up higher on the tree in a catlike manner until she reached the level where she can jump onto the roof of Higuchi's house.
Wedy settled on the roof successfully and tiptoed her way to a spot where she can take a look at the garage area. She saw Higuchi pulling out a briefcase from the backseat of his car and then proceeded to walk inside the house. She crouched down to get a better look at the cars, counting them quietly and mentally noting the result: 6.
"Meowrrr." Something startled her from her left side. It was a white cat with black fluffy fur on its head, a thin black collar with a fish charm around its neck, and really large dark eyes staring up at her. Wedy could feel her heart racing because of the sudden appearance of the cat. "What's this thing doing here?" she thought in annoyance. If Higuchi sensed that a cat was being noisy in the roof, he could suspect that somebody else could be there. She might get caught.
The cat continued to make noise and it was driving Wedy crazy. "Shush, kitty!" she whispered while making shooing gestures. She decided to move away from the roof's ledge just as Higuchi came outside again to look at what's causing the commotion on the roof.
The cat was still making noise and it was looking strangely at Wedy.
As for Higuchi, he could not see well because it was dark above so he just yelled, "Shut up, you stupid cat!" and then got a hose, deciding to spray some water on the roof.
"Aw crap!" Wedy moved away just before the water could hit her. Unfortunately, she saw that the high-pressure hose was able to spray water at the cat. "Meowrrrr!!!" the cat wailed as it ran towards Wedy.
Wedy was appalled by what Higuchi did to the poor cat but could not do or say anything about it. Instead, she welcomed the cat in her arms and cradled it gently while petting its head. It hushed down and eventually, it started to purr.
"The next time I see you around here, I'm going to shoot you!" Higuchi yelled.
Wedy listened for sounds coming from down below. She could tell that he was walking over to the area where he got the hose but when he was on his way back to the house, he spoke up again, "Rem, can I kill that cat using it?"
Wedy raised her eyebrows. "Rem?" she thought before looking at the cat before settling it down on the roof. She carefully crawled towards the ledge to check if there was any other person with Higuchi.
There was none.
"So who's Rem?" she thought silently before turning back to the cat who was staring at her with its large dark eyes. She frowned and crawled back to the cat. "You almost got me caught." She pointed out before she got up and dusted herself. The cat had shed its fur on her leather suit and since it was wet, the fur was stuck on her clothing. "And you dirtied my suit." She mumbled.
"Meowrrrr." The cat approached her and rubbed its head against her leg. She observed the cat, realizing that it somewhat resembled L because of the black fur on top of its head and its large dark eyes. She bent down and picked up the cat, inspecting its gender. Apparently, it's a neutered male.
"Oh my, my. Your blissful days are over, huh?" she teased.
"Meowrrrr." The cat responded rather glumly as he eyed her in a way that indicated the feeling of being insulted. She stifled a giggle as she settled him down on the roof before proceeding back to a ledge where there was a balcony below it. Carefully, she made her way to the balcony and landed on the railing with her two feet. The room connected to the balcony was still dark so she walked over to the door and tried to open it. Unfortunately, it was locked. As she was about to pick the lock, she heard the cat meowing again from the roof.
She looked up at the cat desperately. "Please keep quiet and leave me alone!" she thought.
She heard footsteps approaching the room where the balcony was connected. "Damn it." She thought before jumping over at the nearest tree and hid in an area where the leaves were most abundant to avoid being seen. The lights switched on in that room and she saw Higuchi walking over to the balcony with a broom. He opened the door and peered up at the roof. "You goddamn cat! Get out of there!" he yelled impatiently.
"Meowrr!" the cat hissed at him.
Wedy began to fear for the cat's life but she could not do anything but watch as Higuchi attempted to hit the cat with the broom. The cat hissed at him before running away. Higuchi grunted and decided to go back inside, carelessly dropping the broom on the floor and left it there. Wedy prayed that he wouldn't close the door of the balcony but her prayer was not answered. Higuchi shut the door of the balcony and locked it. Wedy groaned in frustration before propping herself up on her knees, wondering how she can completely get inside without getting noticed.
She knew she had to manually break in to start installing the cameras and the listening devices. However, how can she do that without being seen or detected by Higuchi's security cameras and sensors?
She sighed before crawling over to the neighbor's tree and decided to turn on her mobile phone as soon as she got there. After dialing a few numbers, she placed the phone against her ear and waited for somebody to answer.
"Yellow!" greeted a man as a "hello"
"Hey, Aiber. I need you to do something for me." She said.
"What is it?"
"Can you invite Higuchi for a boy's night out or something? I need him to leave his house so I can cut off his electricity and then break-in." she said.
"How can you be sure that he has no back-up electricity like a generator or something?"
She looked up at the stars. "Well the cameras and sensors have back-up batteries installed in them but they'll run out in 5 hours after I sabotage the electricity of this place."
"Well I'll try to invite him along with Mido and the rest of the gang. But I have to coach Misa for her interview, too."
Wedy rolled her eyes. She almost forgot about Misa Amane. "Just do your best." She said before hanging up.
She waited for at least 30 minutes before she heard the sound of a telephone ringing from Higuchi's house. She knew it was Aiber calling him and so she stayed put. However, when she saw that Higuchi was still inside the house after an hour and 30 minutes, she realized that maybe Aiber failed in his mission. She decided to call him again and by the manner that he answered the call, she realized that he has company. "Hey, kiddo! Sorry, I couldn't make it. Don't worry, daddy loves you! I'll call you back okay? Say hello to your mommy for me!" and then he hung up.
Okay, so he failed. Time for plan B, she thought as she began to contact Watari. As soon as the old man answered, she said, "I need help."
- - -
Watari could not make it until 5:00am the next day. He brought some food for Wedy and a blanket to keep herself warm since he knew that she spent the night up at the tree in the cold. "Wedy," he called out.
She slowly opened her eyes and took off her sunglasses to rub her eyes with the back of her hands. She looked down and saw Watari. "Hey," she greeted before jumping off from the tree.
"You be careful. You wouldn't want to break any bones." He warned.
She just yawned and then felt a sneeze coming her way. The cold definitely got to her overnight. "This is really difficult." She said before sneezing. "Excuse me." She apologized.
"Bless you. And I'm sure you haven't eaten anything since last night?" he asked as he handed her bento box and a cup of coffee in a paper cup.
She lazily took the food and sniffed the coffee. "5 creams, 5 sugars?" she asked.
"Just the way you like it." He said.
And she took a sip. "Thank you, you're too kind." She said sweetly afterwards.
Watari looked up at the tree and saw that Wedy left her stuff up there… and that a cat was sleeping beside it. "I see you've got company." He said.
She looked up and saw the cat. "He wouldn't leave me alone. I reckon it's a sign that L is watching over me to ensure that I do my job well." She explained.
Watari studied the features of the cat. "He sure looks like L, too." he said in amusement before turning back to Wedy when she giggled. "Except that that cat's been neutered already." She pointed out.
Watari blinked and waved a finger at her. "Tsk, tsk, tsk. Naughty, naughty as ever, you silly girl." He said in a half-playful manner that made her smile. "Now finish your food before I can give you the tools you need to break in. I won't be able to help you here because I have to do my surveillance on the other members' houses while you're here. Anyway, what time does Higuchi leave his house?" he asked.
"Based on observation, he leaves at 8 and gets to work by 9. Along the way, he buys coffee at a Starbucks branch that is 4 streets away from the Yotsuba building." She explained.
"And what kind of coffee is that?" he probed.
She thought for a few moments before replying, "Black. Brewed. He adds 1 sachet of brown sugar with it and a teaspoon of skimmed milk. I've been observing him closely."
Watari nodded. "Very good observation skills, Wedy. I knew there really is something special in you." He said. "I'm also glad that you chose to work with us in this case."
She looked down to the ground and took a deep breath before smiling at Watari. "You know I'd do anything to stay out of jail… and anything for L, too." she said softly.
They were interrupted when they noticed the cat waking up and stretching. The cat looked down at them with its wide dark eyes and meowed, as if greeting them a "good morning".
"Hey there, L." Wedy greeted, deciding to call the cat "L" out of endearment.
"Meowrrr!" the cat replied happily.
- - -
By 7 am, Watari left Wedy alone with new gadgets and tools she can use to conceal her presence from the cameras and any other security systems in Higuchi's house. While waiting for Higuchi to leave, she was trying to trace the power source and the electrical post providing electricity to his house. When she found it, she wondered how she could climb up the electrical post without being seen in broad daylight. "Damn. Looks like I have to shoot it or somethin'… unless…" she picked up her phone and began to call Aiber. After 3 rings, he answered, "Yes?"
"I need a hardhat and a costume suitable for an electrician or somebody working for the electric company. Can you lend me some of your clothes?"
"…Hey I don't think I have clothes like those!"
"Well maybe you can spare one of your Armani polos and rundown slacks or somethin'? I really need them so badly!" she said.
"Why? What are you going to do?"
"I'm-a-be climbin' up an electrical post in broad daylight. I can't risk bein' noticed. How'd ya think I'd look like if I climb up a post wearing my Chanel suit or this red leather getup of mine?"
Aiber laughed at what he said. "But I have to get to work by 9!"
"If you leave now and bring me the clothes, you'll get to work by 9." She said.
"Phsss. Fine, fine. I'm coming."
"Great. Meet me at a vacant lot that's 5 houses from Higuchi's." she said before hanging up.
So Wedy and Aiber met up at the said spot and he gave her the clothes she needed. She found an empty dumpster and decided to wear the polo and the slacks over her red leather catsuit before putting on the hardhat, making sure that her hair was tucked up underneath it. She took off her sunglasses and placed them carefully inside the pocket of the trousers. She looked very sloppy in the loose clothing but it was enough to disguise her as an electrician… except for the shoes.
Wedy casually walked back to Higuchi's house checked the time: 9:00am. "Time to get to work." She said before turning to the high electrical post a few meters from the gate. She walked over to it and studied the path that would give her ample footing. With that, she climbed with her electrical pliers. As she reached the top, she successfully picked the lock of the fuse box and managed to open it. However, just before she can locate the main power switch for Higuchi's house, she heard a "Meowrrr" from down below. She looked down and saw how high she was and almost felt dizzy.
"Meowrrrr!" said the cat.
She grunted. "Silly kitty." She muttered before turning back to the contents of the fuse box so she can scan the switches. She squinted as she struggled to read the text positioned beside each of the switches in that box. "Higuchi, Higuchi, Higuchi…" she had to admit, she can fluently speak in Nihongo and read a little Japanese in Katakana and Hiragana. However, her ability to read Kanji is in primary level only. Unfortunately for her, the surnames on the fuse box corresponding to the switches of every homeowner's house were all written in Kanji.
"Meowrrr!" the cat seemed to be calling out to her.
She took a deep breath and sighed heavily. "Bummer." She mumbled before taking out her mobile phone to check the spelling of Higuchi's name in Kanji from one of L's text messages from the past few days. Afterwards, that's when she was finally able to find the switch with the name Higuchi beside it… but then there was another Higuchi in that same fuse box!
"Aw, crap!!!" her mind was screaming at her. Unless Higuchi gets separate electricity bills every month, there could be another family with that surname living within the same area. She was not sure. "I think I can just play with two of them and see what happens." She thought. However, she did not want to risk getting caught. If she turns off the electricity of the wrong house, the other Higuchi household could call the electric company to report about their sudden blackout.
"Damn. I can't risk anything here or L will kill me." She thought to herself before deciding to do some research first on any other Higuchi family within that same area by using her PDA while attempting to find a hotspot for a Wi-Fi connection. Unfortunately, the signal was weak and her established connection was too slow to download enough information in a few minutes only.
"Well this sucks." She mumbled before scanning the two Higuchis in the fuse box. "It could be possible that he has separate electric wiring for the second floor or for the basement. Some big houses do that anyway. So there is a chance that this other Higuchi is the same one… therefore…" and she reached for the switches of the two and turned them off simultaneously.
Buzzzzz!!!
She withdrew her hands from the fuse box and waited. She realized that she almost got electrocuted. "Damn." She mumbled before deciding to climb down.
The cat was still waiting for her down below and once she settled her feet on the ground, he began to purr and rubbed his body around her leg. "Meowrrrr…"
She looked at the cat and picked him up carefully. "I wonder what you're gonna do if I got electrocuted up there and fell down on you." She said.
"Meowrrr." The cat replied, still purring even as she walked over back to the tree where she left her other things, deciding to sit and wait on a stable but hidden branch for 5 hours while monitoring the activity of the surveillance cameras using Watari's devices.
She was still worried about the 2 switches. She told herself that if that other Higuchi family would report a blackout to the electric company, electricians would be sent over to the fuse box within the given timeframe of approximately 2 hours. She was only able to calm down on the 4th hour when there was neither sign of electricians nor maintenance trucks from the electric company coming around.
By the fifth hour, she took off Aiber's clothes while the cat stared at her, unblinking. For some reason, she felt uncomfortable with the cat watching her although she had clothes underneath her electrician costume. "You're really a strange thing, huh?" she asked before packing up Aiber's clothes with the rest of her things. She turned back to Watari's monitoring device and it indicated that the backup power of the surveillance cameras and alarm systems have died already. With that, she got to work.
She was able to break into the house by picking the lock of the back door leading to the kitchen and started installing the small bugs and surveillance devices into their designated areas.
It was almost 11 in the evening when she finished installing the surveillance devices and bugs on the first and second floor areas. She had to make sure that everything was properly installed and transmitting live feeds to Watari.
Her last stop was the basement—the place where Higuchi had recently installed devices that blocks out electronic signals. She knew that it was impossible to transmit live feeds from that room so she decided to consult with L about it first. At the same time, she was wondering where Higuchi was. It was already 11 but he was not home yet.
As soon as she set foot on the first floor from the basement area, she turned to one of the windows just as she heard the cat yowling, "Meowr!" His eyes were really large and staring back at her as if with a warning in mind.
The sound of a car pulling into the driveway made Wedy turn around towards the front door before backing away. "Time to make my exit." She thought before running to the kitchen area to get out.
"Meowrr!" the cat meowed at her again, seemingly telling her to hurry. "Let's go, kitty!" she said in a whisper before she climbed up a tree and jumped over a high wall. She just remembered she had to get back to the fuse box again. Quickly, she made her way up the electrical post and opened the fuse box. She was lucky that it was dark the streetlamps were not bright enough to illuminate objects that are 10 meters from the ground. "Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap!" she was ranting in her head as she tried to locate the switches by memory.
Buzzzzz!!!
She made it just in time. She was able to restore the electricity back in Higuchi's house just before he could suspect that it had been shut off. She watched from the post as he stepped out of his car and walked over to the front porch, entered a few security codes by the door, and then got inside without even suspecting anything.
She sighed heavily, feeling her rush of adrenaline dying down. With that, she carefully made her way down the electrical post and once she settled her feet on steady ground, she saw the cat again. He was looking up at her and he meowed.
She smiled and crouched down, welcoming him in her arms. The cat ran to her and jumped into her arms, snuggling close to her chest while purring. "Sorry, kitty. I gotta go. My work here is done for now." She said before inspecting the collar. "Why don't you go home to your owner? I'll bet he or she misses you already, you sweet little thing." She said.
"Meowrrr." The cat responded pleasantly before jumping off from her arms and ran off to another street.
Wedy remained crouched on the ground for a few more seconds, contemplating on the cat's behavior before deciding to get up and grab her things from the tree so she can call it a night.
- - -
"Ryuzaki,"
L shifted his gaze from his laptop to Watari who had just arrived.
Light Yagami, still handcuffed to L, noticed that the old man with a cat in his arms. "…What are you doing with a cat, Watari?" he asked. He also noticed the striking resemblance of the cat to L.
"It's a stray that we found a couple of days ago." L explained as Watari handed the cat to him.
Light watched quietly as L carefully removed the collar around the cat's neck.
L inspected the condition of the fish-shaped charm hanging on the collar before pressing something behind it.
Light was surprised, realizing that it was a camera. "You're spying on someone?" he asked.
L handed the collar over to Watari. "I'll watch it some other time when Light is not around." He said with a pleased smile on his face.
"I understand." Watari said before taking the cat with him. "He did a very good job, I must say." He told L as he walked out of the room.
- - -
End.
Author's Note: In the manga, Wedy said that it took her 2 days to break into Higuchi's home. I wondered what she did within that timeframe. This is my take on that.