Prologue

You looked down at the thick envelope that had been quietly slipped underneath the door of your grandmother's apartment. Only the letter L graced the front and there was no recorded return address or postmark. Carefully using the letter knife from your grandmother's drawer, you slit the envelope open and peered inside. Nothing seemed suspicious about the bundle of papers and you exhaled before reaching inside and pulling out the confidential documents. Glancing over them, you quickly took in the message. The American Government was in need of a detective. A detective who had dealt with this type of criminal before; a criminal like Kira.

Chapter One

L glanced over at the blonde impatiently tapping her fingers on the armrest of the plastic chair in front of gate 42. "Must you? I'm trying to make a phone call," L inquired, failing to hide his exasperation.

"I want to get on the plane already, I've never been to America before, let alone Los Angeles," you pouted, throwing another look at the air hostesses that to you looked like they were dawdling.

L sighed yet couldn't help but smile a little at your childish behaviour. "Please just try not to distract me. This phone call is very important," he said, pressing a few buttons on a mobile and letting it dangle against his ear.

"Who are you calling anyway? I thought Watari was going to take care of the arrangements before he followed us over?" you asked, truly curious as to who would be important enough for L to contact personally.

"Wammy. I am instructing him to keep my…revival quiet and to allow Near and Mello to take over the operation. My services are needed elsewhere, after all," L explained, only half paying attention as he waited for the receiver to pick up.

"I see," you said, thinking over the confidential reports sent from the American government, requesting the help of the prodigal detective.

'I think they'd be surprised to find out two of us are coming,' you mused, grinning to yourself.

"Hello, this is L. Yes, I am afraid that I will be out of the country for an undetermined period of time. I must request that you tell no one that I am alive. In regards to the Kira case, instruct Near and Mello to work together to solve it, I am required elsewhere at this time. Yes. Thank you for your understanding."

L hung up the phone and slipped it into his jean pocket before awarding you his full attention. You waited expectantly and he quickly updated you, "Wammy has agreed with my plan and will do as I ask."

You nodded, and an announcement from an airhostess at your gate caught your attention. "Look like we're boarding," you said, straightening up and pulling your carry-on bag over your shoulder.

L rose from his usual strange position and walked at your side to the airport gate. "Hello. Please enjoy your flight," a brunette airhostess said as you handed her your ticket.

You smiled in excitement, "Thanks."

Stepping out of the Los Angeles airport terminal, towing your bags behind you, you smiled at the brilliant sunlight warming your skin. L efficiently captured a cab and gave the driver an address of a hotel. You sat in the back seat and stared out of the window as the buildings rushed past, your hand comfortably nestled inside of L's. Upon arrival, you pulled yourself out of the yellow taxi and craned your head back to take in the whole hotel. 'He never does things half-hearted, does he…' you thought to yourself, smiling all the same.

"How long are we staying at this one?" you turned to ask L.

"Watari is renting a beach house for us to use as our residence…so only four days or so," L informed you, casually making his way to the front entrance.

The bellboy had already taken your bags inside and you were the last to enter. Of course, the inside was extravagant, gold and white on every surface. You would have gasped in amazement except that you were conscious that L would probably find your reaction amusing. Taking it in your stride, you barely batted an eyelid when the receptionist greeted you as Mr. and Mrs. Brown. You took the elevator up several flights and unlocked your door only to find that the phone was already ringing. L moved past you and used his index finger and thumb to lift the receiver and answer the phone. 'Who could be calling us? We only just made it through the door…'

"Yes, it's secure," you heard L say and you turned to him, curious.

"I agree. It will be best to meet the investigators as soon as possible. Now? I see. I have brought another detective to assist me with this case. . Certainly."

L dropped the phone back onto its base and walked back over to the door where you were standing, watching him in confusion. "I'm afraid we're going to have to leave straight away. The American investigation summons us to their headquarters to start on the case, they don't want to waste any time it seems. They must be getting desperate about finding this American Kira."

"Okay," you nodded, you weren't happy about this sudden change but you would accept it.

L thoroughly checked the hall before leaving the room and interlacing his fingers with yours. "Why are you so cautious? We've booked out this entire floor, no one but the maids will have need to come here," you wondered aloud, slightly amused by L's paranoia.

He gave you a look and you stayed quiet, a smile playing upon your lips. You made it safely to the waiting black limo with tinted windows, and climbed into the seat next to L. Unable to quench your excitement at being in a new country, you watched the scenery pass in wonder. It was hard to grasp the vast differences between your Japan and America. All too soon the vehicle pulled into an underground car park, and the driver swiped a card which rose the boom gate which lead to a deeper, car-less parking area. "Sir, Madam, we've arrived," were the only words spoken by the middle-aged male driver, and as you pulled yourself out of the car and shut the door, he turned and left you both alone in the empty lot.

It took you a second to see the elevator at the far wall and you began leading L there under the blinking fluorescent lights. 'Could they have found a creepier place?' you thought, imagining this place being used in a horror movie.

L pressed the button and the doors immediately opened, you walked inside and the doors sealed shut. "Uhh…how do we know which floor?" you asked L, looking dubiously at the many buttons.

Before he could answer, the lift sprung into action and caught you by surprise as it started moving sideways. It had been nearly five minutes before it shuddered to a halt and the doors automatically opened. You peered out as your eyes adjusted from the dull elevator light to the brightness of the room you now found yourself in. "Am I to believe that you are L and Ahiru?" questioned a deep voice and you took in the sight of the speaker.

"You are," replied L, slipping easily into English and stepping into the large, furniture-less room.

You stepped out with him, however, unlike his level gaze directed at the speaker, you examined the room unabashedly. "The rest of the team are waiting in another room, I shall take you there now."

L nodded, silently watching the other man's movements. The speaker, a tall light-haired man well into his forties strode over to a blank wall and pressed a button that was hardly visible. A keypad presented itself and he keyed in a number, and then moved one eye close for it to scan. He pressed his thumb against the pad after it had taken a scan of his retina and it seemed that the machine was finally happy. A handle replaced the pad and the man briefly tugged on it to release a door on the other side of the room. You watched in disbelieving amusement as you watched this strange and complicated process for opening one door. 'I hope we don't have to go through any more doors or else we might die before we even reach the room…'
The man turned and gestured for you to follow him through the opening in the wall and you quickly complied. Walking down the small, well-lit tunnel, you wondered if maybe this group of people could rival L's paranoia. The man stopped at a thick, iron door and as another keypad presented itself, he repeated the process from the room before. The door swung open effortlessly, and you got your first look at the American investigation team. Five people, including the man who had greeted you, composed the team and your first reaction was to smile politely. There was a short, rather young, brown-haired male and he introduced himself as Cain. Next to him stood the tall dark-haired man who informed you that he was to be called Andre and that he was the leader of the investigation. Your smiled faltered slightly at his impolite words but you recovered as you shook hands with the next member. This woman was obviously Chinese and her smile was sincere and open. "I'm Soo-long and it's a great pleasure to meet you, Ahiru," she greeted, her laughter lines crinkling as she smiled again.

The second last team member was a large, elderly man with a shock of white hair. He shook your hand and you nodded as he told you his name was Ackerley. His accent betrayed him as German and it seemed he had not yet stayed long enough in America for his thick accent to disappear. The last investigator was a grinning dark-skinned man who shook your hand enthusiastically, introducing himself as Taylan. His dark eyes seemed to glow with confidence and you had no choice but to return his grin. "It's nice to meet you all," you said, thoroughly happy with those picked for the investigation team.

L echoed your announcement, and everyone turned back to their previous work. All except the leader, Andre, who took it upon himself to give you both a brief description of what they had achieved so far. It seemed that the killings had at first been recorded as random happenings; however, it soon became obvious that three groups in particular were being targeted. Major company owners, judges and lawyers, and highly esteemed prodigies.

The list confused you more than anything else, what kind of link would those three hold? And why would someone hold a vendetta towards these particular groups? You glanced over to L and saw that he was pondering the exact same thing. You released a breath as you realised that this was going to be a long holiday.