Chapter Two:
L Lawlite
Alias: L
There have been talks about it on the streets of England. Some sort of test the government has been forcing anyone under 18 to take. It is truly unfortunate that most of those living in the streets were within that category. 63% of them had already been taken, those living in the streets, and with the current rates, it won't be soon till the number reached 97.5%- approximately 4 days. Of course, the possibility of gathering all of them was highly unlikely. However, with all the enemies he made round these parts, they would surely expose his position within the next day. He was already luck enough that no one had given his position out yet.
L Lawlite wouldn't necessarily have a problem with that- except for three main factors that suddenly did make it his problem. Firstly, he had no family they would return him to, and he did not want to go to any orphanage again. Those were decently organized compared to the streets, but rather dull. Secondly, he knew he had an extraordinary mind and there was only a 0.04 percent chance that they would ignore him after completing the test. And lastly, he wished to have nothing connecting him and any government- it was improbable that they wanted everyone to take the tests for innocent reasons.
His parents, when alive, had engraved a sense to believe in justice onto him since youth. He knew that the government of any country was corrupted, and merely the thought of corruption made him wish to stay away.
Low but hurried footsteps echoed around the alley he normally resided in. Mentally calculating the possible weight and size of the person, he immediately recognized that it was Wndy. L closed his eyes and waited until she came close enough before crawling out of his corner between two large dustbins.
"Lawlite! C'mon, those bloody gits spilled your spot to the authorities when they were being taken. I heard them say somethin' 'bout a young brat living around these parts- real smart kid- or some stupid tripe like that. I know they're talkin' 'bout ya, those bloody wankers!" She spat heavily.
L curiously observed her panting figure before nodding and pulling out his bag- all his stock was stored here for situations like these. Wndy was one of the only few he trusted- something which was hard to give when living in the streets. She too had to hide because she was 17, but she could fake being 18 in front of general public. It was only the authorities she had to escape, an easy task once the public thinks you are legal. L on the other hand was scrawny and slouched 15 year old who looked the part. This led him to a major disadvantage.
He usually tapped on the security and always changed his haunts at seemingly random orders, but with the higher security recently- he could not do so for a few weeks. He motioned her to follow him, before running with a surprising speed one would not have expected of him on sight. Thankfully, he had a secret escape at the corner of the alley he had discovered and cleared out a week ago.
He soon arrived at the blocked end- a cramped space most steered away from. One of the two buildings was a store on sale, but no one had bought it for years. It was highly unusual, but L did not necessarily mind as it served its purpose. He quickly crouched, running his fingers across the bricks.
Wndy looked at him like he was losing his mind already, but he quickly told her to be quiet before she could open her mouth. Quickly finding the area of loose bricks, L carefully pushed each one until a hole was made.
"Bloody hell, when d'ya find this?"
L glimpsed back at her before pushing his bag in and crawling through. "It was imperative to locate an emergency escape when the authorities are looking for all of us. Now please, would you fix the bricks back to their original positions? We will stay here and wait." he spoke monotone as he sat down with his legs up.
Wndy snorted and did as instructed, leaving only a brick open to peak out.
Soon enough, the wailing sounds of sirens could be heard. Wndy groaned and quickly jammed the brick back, hoping it would not look suspicious. The sounds of their worried panting filled the room.
L bit his thumb as he tried to estimate their dwindling chances of escaping. It would be easy to assume that the police would be examining the alley and would be coincidentally in front of the entrance of the shop. The chances of police checking up on the surrounding buildings were high. They would need to move quickly if they want to escape.
L had outsmarted the cops many times in the seven years he survived on the streets, which was quite a long time. The only difference between then and now is that the opponents were supposed to be significantly smarter. He stood up, patting the red stains from the bricks clean against his tattered jeans. Wndy copied his motions, looking curiously, but dutifully waiting for his lead.
"There is a great risk of being caught today," he spoke blankly around his thumb, "the best we can do now is to wait up at the front until they open the door and then run." He avoided mentioning that there was a 68% that only one of them could successfully escape. It was an extra tidbit of information that would only worry her. Only a small 2% spoke that they both would successfully escape.
Wndy nodded grimly, grabbing a thick broken stick and a piece of rock from the rubble in the old shop. The rock would shatter within impact, but the stick would last at least four hits. L did not take anything with him, as the extra weight added with his bag would just slow him down. They sneaked their way up towards the front door, avoiding all windows, and positioned themselves.
As expertly as a duo who has worked together for at least three years could, they charged as soon as the door opened.
Quillish Whammy shuffled through the results in surprise. When Rodger called him in from the main office due to these unbelievable results, he could barely believe his close friend. He immediately rushed to reach one of the test centres in London. Now, with those results in his hands and the boy that sat crouched unusually across him, he still couldn't believe it.
Apparently the young boy was called L Lawlite, and was without a family since he was six years old and lived in an orphanage for merely two years before running away. Ever since then, he had been dubbed missing and forgotten from people's minds. When they caught him yesterday night, he was with someone else, a girl who had escaped them.
Mr. Whammy stared at the boy in all his wild shaggy hair and crouched glory. At a glance he could already see the obviously intelligent and depthless black eyes and wondered to himself- how could somebody forget those?
He sighed at the likeminded stupidity of ordinary people and knew a person like Lawlite would greatly benefit the world. He had easily scored the highest marks in almost all the variations of tests and subjects.
Mr. Whammy smiled politely at L and introduced himself.
"Good day, young Mr. Lawlite, isn't it?" The man in front of him questioned politely. The man seemed to carry an air of ambiguity and intelligence. Interestingly enough, he looked similar to the man who had previously gawked at him.
"One might classify this day as 'good', but I have not yet to enjoy myself and the sun will set in a one hour 43 minutes and 25 seconds in counting." Lawlite answered.
The man's eyebrows rose, as his eye lit in understanding. L watched him as he laughed apologetically and maintained a kind façade. "Yes, my formal apologies in that. Now correct me if I am wrong, but your name is L Lawlite, orphaned at 6, runaway at 8, and were found hiding inside a small old tea shop, along with a female who had escaped."
This confirmed most of L's suspicions, but he remained silent about most of them. "Yes, you are correct. I would like to know who I am speaking with. I can only assume you are in close acquaintance with the government, and that there is an 89% chance you have a very important hand in these intelligence tests- you are possibly leading them." And after a pause, L figured that he should ask- since he did not have enough information to make a deduction himself- "What is your purpose with these tests."
"All your assumptions are correct," the man smiled at him appraisingly, "My name is Quillish Whammy. You may call me Mr. Whammy. You are smart, though it would take some training to remove some of the brashness, but you'd be a great student and possibly a greater ally."
L watched silently, eyes curious and brain working ten times faster, but remained silent.
Mr. Whammy chuckled, obviously taking a liking to him- something he could take advantage of, if he wished to, but he immediately discarded the thought.
"You see, L, we are planning on opening a school of sorts- a school for people like you- for young geniuses who need nurturing, a guiding hand to help them exercise their potentials. You see, it is with their best interests in mind. We wish to give them a place where they meet others like them while giving protection and high education." Mr. Whammy stroked his large moustache, and continued "Of course, we cannot have everyone knowing our student's identity so we require you to have an alias. However your first name seems ambiguous enough, so it should be alright"
Mentally, Lawlite broke down the sentences spoken by Mr. Whammy, and tried connecting them with what he knows about the world. Quillish Whammy waited patiently, opening the door when refreshments arrived. A slice of cake and tea was placed in front of each of them.
L slowly reached out to a fork beside the cake and delicately balanced it with the tips of his forefinger and thumb. Once he finished the cake, he returned to staring at Mr. Whammy, head tilted.
"I do not mind being called singularly by my first name, but I must enquire something before I comply. What may have you done to cause most governments to agree to this great of a scale? I believe it is not possible to get many of them to agree without a bigger plan behind what you have spoken." L spoke, a silent inquiry behind his blank tone.
Mr. Whammy's eyes widened slightly, eyebrows rising. "Well, Mr. Lawlite, there are some secrets a man must not say. But rest assured; it is all for the sake of justice." Quillish observed him before continuing, "I have been in need of a protégé for quite a while now. Would you be interested?"
"If I agree, you will explain everything in explicit detail." L gazed innocently as he spoke.
Mr. Whammy chuckled, "Very well…"
And this is the beginning of a great relationship. Hopefully, L's personality was at least decently portrayed here. I mean, I wanted to show he's smart but still not 'trained' or something like that. And then there is Wndy- honestly I don't know much about her personality so I just winged it. Meh…
Thanks a lot sagewhisker1111 for reviewing the last chapter. Honestly I was touched, thank you for supporting this fic. *virtual hugs*
Soo, hope ya all like it. Please review!
-Crimson
