...
Beyond looked up from his notes as Perspehone entered the room. Although her eyes still shone emerald from the contacts he had given her, she had lost the glasses and changed her wig. Where once there was a light brown bob, there was now long, layered red hair, falling in a spiky fringe around her face.
"Do you like?" She asked giving him a twirl and flicking the firey strands over her shoulder. "It's different to the last red one, so it should be ok. And I needed a new disguise anyway because Watari saw me in my old one."
Beyond looked her up and down slowly, not denying the fact that she did look good. Her hair was jam red and he licked his lips quickly.
"Delicious." He said and she raised a suggestive eyebrow at his quick smile. However, he simply returned his gaze back to his notes, his attention once more fixed away from her.
Persephone slumped slightly before walking towards him, sitting beside him so that their shoulders touched.
"What are you doing?" She asked him.
"Attempting to figure out a way in which to make these murders work. Everything has to be perfect." He said seriously, fingers flitting over the pages scrawled in his messy handwriting.
"I'm sure you will be able to do it. You are the smartest person I know." She said and dared to rest her head lightly on his shoulder.
Beyond glanced quickly at the smooth red hair falling across the black of his shirt before returning his attention to the writing.
"Hmm..." He said simply, allowing her this moment of intimacy without trying to pull a nasty trick or hold a knife to her face. But then again, he thought, she had seemed to enjoy the knife part as much as he had...
"How old are you Beyond?" She suddenly asked, breaking his train of thought.
"Nearly 18." He replied and glanced down at her to find her eyes boring into his face. He refused to break the gaze.
"I'm nearly 17." She said eventually and then looked away as silence fell between them. "When I turn 17, you will turn 18. You will always be one year beyond me." She smiled up at him, "Isn't that ironic? Beyond birthday... Always one birthday beyond me."
Beyond couldn't help but smile down at her at the strange thought. Her simple way of thinking made him calmer, kept him more grounded. He placed his notes to one side, a peculiar feeling overtaking him.
"Let's get out of this awful hotel. Let's go do something fun." He announced and she sat up in excitement.
"Really?" She turned to his face, serious yet his eyes alight with what she presumed was anticipation.
"Yes, let's go." He leapt up, grabbing her hand on the way so that she was yanked into a standing position. When he let go, her fingers still tingled from where his own had been.
They left the hotel and walked through London, the sun setting on a cold day as people hurried home to their normal lives. They found themselves in Hyde Park, walking silently side by side along the path and looking out over the expanse of green and lake beside them. Persephone rushed towards a wooden bridge which crossed the lake and Beyond slowly followed her, his hands firmly in his pockets and his head down.
They stopped half way across to look down onto the water and as Persephone watched a duck swim by beneath them, she couldn't help but think that they were on a date just then. The two of them on a romantic walk through Hyde Park. She looked at Beyond who had pulled out his knife and was now intently carving straight lines into the handrail of the bridge, his eyes focussed as he pulled the blade swiftly across each time.
Feeling slightly adventurous, Persephone climbed up onto the handrail so that she could walk along the top of the bridge, balancing with her arms held out as Beyond watched her amused.
"What if you fall?" He asked and she stuck out her tongue in concentration.
"Then hopefully you will catch me." She replied and then stopped as Beyond expertly leapt onto the handrail ahead of her, making the balancing act look twice as easy as she was finding it.
"But what if I'm the one who pushed you?" His eyes gleamed and in the second it took for Persephone's face to show realisation, he had grabbed her shoulders and shoved her sideways, sending her crashing into the water below.
She surfaced, gasping from the cold with her red hair turned dark brown and plastered to her face. Beyond looked down at her from above, creased over in laughter. Persephone scowled and in one swift movement, jumped up to grasp his leg. He balanced for a second before losing it and following her into the dark icy water with a small yelp.
This time it was Persephone turn to laugh when he emerged, his dark hair flat and covering his eyes almost like a wet dog. He frowned at her harshly but the effect was taken away slightly by the drowned rat look he was currently sporting.
"Not so funny now is it?" She jeered and then he grabbed her, pushing her head beneath the water. She struggled against him but he held her down strongly, panicking Persephone as she started to run out of breath. She struggled some more and soon she realised she was drowning. She was dying. He was killing her.
Just as she thought he would never let go, his grip released and his hands were under her arms, pulling her up to the surface so that she could gasp for air greedily. He held her up as though it was never him who was holding her down in the first place, his face looking more curious than anything else. Once Persephone had regained her breath she brought a fist to his calm looking face, causing him to recoil slightly from the hit and drop her back into the water.
"What the fuck Beyond?" Persephone cried at him and he rubbed his cheek with a frown.
"I was only wondering how long you could last..."
"By drowning me?" She cried and he wiped a stray strand of wet black hair from his eye.
"Almost drowning you, yes. I knew you wouldn't die. Your time is not up quite yet." He said, eyes flickering to a spot above her head as he raised his wet hand to chew on his thumbnail.
"You're unbelievable." She sighed and then swam to the edge of the lake, climbing out and glaring at the woman walking her dog who was giving the two of them disapproving looks.
Beyond followed her and when she turned to him, she tried to avert her eyes from the way his wet black shirt clung tightly to his body beneath his jacket.
"Shall we go back to the hotel. I think I have had enough fun for the day." He said and flashed her a smile which she couldn't help return despite her foul mood.
"I'm glad you think drowning me is fun." She said and clung her arms tightly around her soaked body in an attempt to combat the cold.
"Almost drowning." He added and then slipped off his jacket to put around her shoulders. The jacket itself was soaked through but it was a small comfort and Persephone smiled her thanks at him. It wasn't exactly an apology, but, it was almost an apology.
…
The next morning, Persephone found herself in the same cafe, hoping her new red hair and lack of glasses would fool the owners into thinking she was a different person from the day before. In the bag by her feet was a set of very small video cameras which Beyond had purchased earlier ready for her to set up to spy on L.
She watched the hotel doors intently and smiled when she saw the familiar old face of Watari appear, making his way down the street. She leapt from her seat and onto the busy street, hurrying across the road so that she could follow him from a safe distance.
The old man moved quickly and Persephone jogged slightly to keep up, slowing down when she saw him enter a bakery. She stopped to feign interest in the shop window next door, sneaking glances into the bakery where she saw Watari purchase several boxes of cookies.
Cakes and cookies... Was all this man ever bought sweet things? She wondered with a slight frown and then lowered herself to tie her shoelaces as he exited, hiding her face from view.
He was heading back to the hotel and she stalked him closely, slipping through the revolving doors into the grand lobby. Persephone gazed around the brightly lit entrance with marble floors and gold furnishings; she had never been anywhere so posh before.
She shook her head to regain her focus and saw Watari enter a lift on the other side of the lobby. She moved closer as the doors closed and took note that the lift stopped on the tenth floor. She then entered the second lift and rode it up to the tenth floor, her heart beating fast in anticipation.
Exiting the lift she only just caught the figure of Watari turn the corner ahead in the hotel corridor. Rushing after him as quietly as she could, she peeked around the corner to see him pull out a key card and enter one of the rooms.
As quickly as she could she pulled out one of the small cameras, placing it hidden within a plant pot so that it pointed towards the door Watari had just disappeared through. She then made her way back, placing another camera by the lifts and yet another by the entrance to the hotel. She smiled to herself as she hurried off down the street. Now they could keep tracks on him without having to sit around waiting in a cafe all day.
...
"Watari, did you bring the cookies?" L pushed himself away from his monitor as Watari entered the hotel room. The old man smiled fondly down at the detective, his owl like eyes staring back beneath messy black hair.
"Here you are." He handed over a box which L tore open and began to munch on the cookies, his sugar need fulfilled for now.
"Did you notice a girl on your travels?" He asked, turning in the swivel chair he crouched upon to face back to the monitors. On one screen, the hotel lobby was shown and on another there was a view of outside the hotel.
"A girl?" Watari asked, pulling off his coat.
"Yes, with long hair, the monitors are in black and white but the colour looked dark, possibly brown?" L suggested, bringing a thumbnail to his lips whilst he rewound the screens with his other hand.
"I don't think so... I wasn't paying much attention..." Watari said and moved behind L to watch the screens.
"it seems as though she was following you... I was just casually watching the screens when I caught her here." L pointed one pale spidery finger at the first screen where the teenage girl was caught crossing the road in pursuit of Watari.
"And also here as well, which was what made it seem suspicious." L displayed the second screen, where the girl stood watching the lift Watari had just entered, staring at the floor number it stopped on before entering the second lift herself.
"A follower?" Watari seemed curious and as L returned the screens back to real time they watched her exit the lift on her way out. As she reached the door they both leaned close, observing her drop something small by a marble statue before hurrying out.
"Watari, please go down there immediately and find out what it was that she dropped." L instructed, munching down on his cookie loudly.
"Certainly." Watari said and left the room.
L zoomed the camera in on the paused screen, trying to identify the blurry face of the teenage girl who had surely been following Watari. Did someone know he was here? What did they want?
Watari re-entered the room, holding a small camera in his hands.
"I have disabled it. Looks like someone was trying to keep tabs on where you were." He said and dropped the small device into L's outstretched palm. L picked it up with his other hand, dangling the camera between his finger and thumb as he examined it.
"Can you please run fingerprint tests on this; I wish to know exactly who is intending on watching me." L said, delicately handing the camera back.
"Of course, would you like me to check for other cameras around the hotel?"
"That won't be necessary." L took another bite of cookie and Watari raised his eyebrows in shock.
"You don't think there are any others?" He questioned and L's wide grey eyes met his own.
"No, I believe there are others. In fact, there is a 93% of there being more than just that one. But I'm curious... I want to know who is keeping tracks on me and I believe that for now we will let them have their way. They may soon become bored." L said in his monotone, pushing his chair around so that it swivelled in a full circle.
"Alright, as you wish." Watari said and moved away to examine the camera.
L stared seriously at the paused screen again. Who had found him after all this time?
…
Please review and let me know what you think of the story so far! :D
Expect another update tomorrow!
