Disclaimer: I do not own Death Note or Bioshock. This contains spoilers so if you haven't completed Bioshock would you kindly finish it before reading. Mwuhahaha... Yeah sorry.
P.S. To avoid all the sickly sweet begs for reviews with each chapter I'm just going to put a big one here: Reviews make me smile like L in a Harry Potter-themed candy store. If you think you're reviewing too much then... review some more ^^
Phew, glad that's over with. On with the story...
I believe in no God, no invisible man in the sky. But there is something more powerful than each of us, a combination of our efforts, a Great Chain of industry that unites us. But it is only when we struggle in our own interest that the chain pulls society in the right direction. The chain is too powerful and too mysterious for any government to guide. Any man who tells you different either has his hand in your pocket, or a pistol to your neck. - Andrew Ryan.
"L, another case has come up." A voice said over a laptop. A hunched detective stood alone in a hotel room in Japan, staring out of the window. He reluctantly broke off his deep thought process and turned towards the laptop, pushing a button on the microphone. Watari was alone – there was no need to alter his voice.
"What is it, Watari?" The detective known as L sighed. Watari was stuck in traffic – the hotel cake wasn't sweet enough for L and both he and the hotel had run out of sugar cubes.
"There have been several reports of young girls being kidnapped. I'll send you the information."
L took his finger away from the microphone and sat on the chair with his hands resting on his knees in the position he had to sit in so that his deductive abilities would not be lowered forty percent. He picked a strawberry up with his thumb and forefinger and dropped it into his mouth as the information popped up onto the screen of his laptop.
There was no lead on the Kira case, he had run out of sugar and now he was being sent details of what must surely be a minor case. It wasn't uncommon that children were kidnapped. There were approximately 790,000 lost children reported missing every year. Only 4.1% of those cases were non-family abductions. Cases of abducted children were also known to be highly emotional ones due to families getting involved with the public and were often made to seem much more difficult and serious than they actually were. Therefore, L concluded it was not more important than the Kira case which demanded every ounce of his abilities. Even if he had not been working on the Kira case, getting involved in a missing person case was something he would usually only do if he was bored or someone important had been abducted.
Still, he licked his fingers and skim-read the details. It took him only seconds to take in all the information Watari had sent him. His eyes darted ahead, to the television screens in front of him. Each television was playing a different news broadcast and a new criminal had just died of a heart attack.
L jumped up, immediately abandoning his laptop and turning the volume up. He made a note of the time, what the criminal had been convicted for and other vital details. Kira was posing a challenge to him and he couldn't back down. His ego wouldn't allow it.
Just over half an hour later, Watari returned with several different forms of glucose, improving L's mood greatly. Watari was silent as L worked on trying to narrow down the amount of suspects he had, his eyes occasionally flitting to the screens as he made a note of criminals and their crimes. Kira was likely watching one of these broadcasts.
"Ryuzaki, have you decided whether or not to accept the missing girl case? At least six girls have been kidnapped along the coastlines, all of them –"
"I know – I read the information and concluded that it is not as important as the Kira case."
"It has been labelled difficulty level L."
"Yes, but that is still not as difficult as the case I'm working on now. This case requires my full attention and the abduction case doesn't interest me."
Watari paused for a moment. "Several police agencies have requested your assistance in this case."
L pressed his thumb against his lip. Watari was clearly concerned by the case and planning on making him feel guilty. He could understand – the majority of people became more emotionally involved in a case if it involved children. Watari had never argued against his decisions before so it was obvious that the information was bothering him.
"Do you have a personal interest in this case Watari?" L asked, his head lolling to one side.
"Not at all, Ryuzaki. I just believe it cannot be solved without assistance. Innocent lives are at stake and there is a connection between all the cases so it is reasonable to believe that there may be more."
Picking up a spoon, L used the edge to slice though a piece of cake and shovelled it into his mouth as he thought, pushing the Kira case to one side. He swallowed and moved to cut another piece when a sweet smile spread across his face that could melt hearts.
"Near, Mello and Matt. They are the three people in line as my successors, is this correct?" He asked, although he knew it was, unless someone had overtaken them and Watari had not informed him.
"That is right."
"Have Roger send them this information… No. In fact, I want to speak to them directly. Can you arrange for that?"
"I'll call Roger now." Watari replied, a small smile glowing on his face. The relief L felt upon pushing all thoughts of the Kira case away was blissful, as though a heavy burden had been lifted from him. He knew that within an hour he would have to resume the investigation. He wasn't accustomed to taking breaks so he didn't know how to feel about the luxury.
"Roger, can you please get Near, Mello and Matt for me? …I understand, but you will have to wake them up. L wants to speak to them directly. You can use the laptop. L will set up a connection in five minutes." Watari instructed before hanging up. L's fingers pressed keys at a lightening speed through years of practise. He had designed the firewall protecting the connection at Wammy's House himself. Even though he knew how to get past it, he had designed it so thoroughly that it took several minutes to break through. He set up an audio and visual connection, put his famous letter 'L' on the screen and enabled them to hear audio as well. He reluctantly muted the news broadcasts, but instructed Watari to keep a close eye on them for his own peace of mind.
A few moments later, the three in line to succeed him stumbled groggily into the room, their eyes widening slightly when they saw the screen.
"L?" Matt asked, his red hair sticking up at random angles. Mello rubbed his eyes and Near stared blankly at the screen.
"As you know, I am working on the Kira case. Another unsolvable case has come up but I have concluded that the Kira case is more important although there is a chance that this case won't be solved without additional help. I would like the three of you to work together on the case. I'll send you the information via this laptop. Roger will set up an office for the three of you with adequate resources and connections to relevant information and you will have certain privileges, one being that you no longer need to attend class while working on this case."
Mello was utterly shocked, his features frozen. Matt's body was almost shaking with excitement and Near's eyes were bright with innocent anticipation. L smiled almost warmly. He was particularly fond of the three before him. Perhaps due to some buried paternal instinct or simply a degree of trust, since he trusted less than a handful of people.
"Cool." Matt grinned.
"Everything will be set up for you to begin work tomorrow." Roger told them, looking weary. "Although I was planning on getting some sleep myself tonight…" He murmured.
"If you need assistance, Roger has the means to contact me." L said. The determined look in Mello's and Near's eyes told him that they would never resort to asking for help and the glint in Matt's eyes told him that Matt thought it would be quicker to hack the connection himself. L tilted his head to one side, as he brushed his toes against each other. He ended the contact with Wammy's House and pushed the lid of his laptop down, turning the volume back up on all of his screens and reviewing his notes to see if he had missed any important evidence. Watari smiled, satisfied.
L's head was filled with nothing but the Kira case, just as it had been a few hours earlier. At one o'clock in the morning, Watari returned to his own room and fell asleep. L moved back to the window and looked out towards the bright lights. Kira was out there somewhere. The murderer was so close… He was certain.