'Calm yourself, Lawliet, don't let her see . . . whatever this is you're feeling,' L thought as he watched with rapt attention as Light exchanged text messages with his prime suspect. Not that she knew that. He wondered how she would react if he did tell her that he was preparing to arrest Mikami at first chance; although this little incident might provoke him to do it sooner rather than later, if just to stop him from communicating with Light. He really disliked this ugly feeling that was swelling up in his chest and he was sure it was connected to the fact Light was talking to another man.

"Light, please put your phone away," he said curtly, not about to give her a chance to argue. "We have work to do and I can't have you distracted."

He did not miss the way Light glared at him as she put her phone back in the back pocket of her jeans, and he tried not to stare at her jean clad legs for too long either. He tried as well not to think of the soft and smooth thighs that were hidden just under the rough fabric or of the way those thighs had felt against his cheeks or how those wonderful legs of hers had wrapped around his waist as he—that train of thought needed to stop. Now.

"Happy?" Light asked sourly.

"Not particularly," mumbled L as he adjusted his position to cover the biologic issue that had developed moments ago. "Now then, we were discussing the folder Raye Penber had before he died, could you please check the list of his personal affects to see if it was in fact found with his body?"

Light looked at him suspiciously but she did as he instructed and opened Raye's folder, the first thing on top was the list of personal affects found with the body. As he suspected, there was no folder found with Raye's body. "It's like you said, Ryuzaki, he probably left the folder on the train. It's too bad we don't know what was in it, we might get some clue as to how Kira operates."

L nodded, he had been thinking along that exact line. "Well, if it's in Kira's possession, we won't find it until we capture him."

"You seem very confident that you'll catch Kira," said Light as she put the folder down. "Why is that, Ryuzaki?"

"I've never been wrong before," replied L as he reached for a box of chocolates. "Every case I have worked, I have solved and my initial suspicions are usually proven right."

Light rolled her eyes as she leaned back in her chair. "If that's true then why haven't you arrested whoever you believe to be Kira already?"

"Well," said L as he opened the box and took in the delicious aroma of coffee chocolates, "I don't have any solid evidence against him yet and I would hate to deprive you of your new friend." He cast a glance in Light's direction to see how she would react, she seemed surprisingly calm but he knew better and looked in her eyes, there he found the shock he had been expecting. "I believe it would be in our best interest to focus on the people Raye Penber had been assigned to observe, would you not agree?"

"I agree," said Light tensely. "How do you plan on accomplishing this?"

"Wiretaps and video surveillance," replied L as he selected a treat from the box. He pressed a button on his keyboard. "Watari, prepare the wiretaps and cameras, I'll let you know when and where to deploy them in a few moments."

"Very well, sir," said Watari through the laptop.

Light looked from the laptop to L. "Who is Watari?"

"My most trusted associate," said L with little fanfare as he held out the box of chocolates to Light. "Would you like one? I would hate to be rude and not at least offer you one."

"Thank you," said Light politely as she took one, probably more to humor him so she did not appear impolite. She quickly ate the chocolate bon-bon in two bites and made quite the show of licking her thumb and index finger clean of nonexistent melted chocolate.

L watched her as she cleaned her fingers, it was maddening beyond belief that he could not reach out and touch her, even just a little bit. He craved her touch and affection like he never craved chocolate or tea; the closest he could compare this feeling to was when he first tried Kit-Kats and after some extensive research, he insisted on going to Japan that day to discover all other possible flavors. Right now, he wanted to do some extensive research on Light and discover all possible sides to the woman who has captured his attention and mind.

"Everyone," announced L, breaking the brewing tension he could feel developing between himself and Light, "we are going to focus our attention on only those Raye Penber was assigned to follow."

Aizawa let out a slight growl. "Why?"

"We believe that he encountered Kira shortly before his death," explained Light calmly as her eyes discreetly went to the box of chocolates still on L's possession. "And it is very likely that Kira is one of the people he was following."

"That makes sense," said Naomi, standing up from her station. "I thought the same thing after the bus jacking, the whole thing seemed too deliberate and was likely designed to put Kira in contact with Raye." Her dark blue eyes clouded over with tears. "Before he died, he mentioned that during the bus jacking, he had been put in a position where he had to show his badge, something he wasn't supposed to do under any circumstances."

L nodded. "Then it's settled. Light, please read aloud the people Raye Penber was following."

Light picked the file back up and flipped through some of the papers before she found the list it was incredibly short, only two people, and she already knew one of them. "Raye Penber was following Judge Kou Hatori and law student Teru Mikami."

"Judge Hatori?!" exclaimed Aizawa, jumping up from his seat. "Ryuzaki, we can't investigate him."

L seemed unperturbed. "And why not?"

"He could destroy all of us!" said Aizawa sternly. "He is the most revered and influential member of the justice system in this country."

"Which is exactly why he was on my list of suspects," said L as he placed the chocolate box on the table in front of him, moving it slightly to Light's half. "In the past, he has expressed disdain for the way criminals are punished, preferring harsher sentences for things such as armed robbery and assault. Coupled with his vast power, it stands to reason that he could be Kira."

Aizawa frowned sharply. "If he finds out about it, even the hint of a rumor, he'll come down on the NPA hard and we'll all be left without jobs."

"And if he is Kira, that won't matter," said Ukita softly. "He'll just kill us."

"What made you suspicious of that law student?" asked Mogi, one of the few sensible individuals in this investigation. "I understand Judge Hatori but a law student doesn't have much influence on the legal system."

"True but he has expressed a strict code of justice," explained L as he watched Light eye the chocolate again. "He has gone on multiple television shows since Kira's appearance and made statements in favor of accepting Kira's brand of justice. He has also taken to many internet forums dedicated to Kira and offered several individuals to be "judged" by his false god."

"So how do you propose we investigate them?" asks Naomi curiously, her eyes sparking with a fire he had not seen since meeting her again. It was the same fire he had seen when they were about to solve the BB murders.

"Wiretaps and surveillance cameras in their houses," replied L as he reached for a fruit tart on the table beside him. "If that yields nothing, then we'll have to do something similar to what the FBI did and gather information that way."

Aizawa ran a hand over his head, although given how his hair was almost an Afro his hand could not reach his head. "With all due respect, Ryuzaki, why would we do exactly what got those FBI agents killed in the first place?"

"Because Kira wouldn't expect it," said Light suddenly. "Kira probably believes he's safe from being followed because of what he did to the agents, after all who would be stupid enough to put themselves in that much danger knowing the outcome? No, Ryuzaki's right, if it comes down to it then it's our only option."

'Did she just agree with me?' thought L as he looked at her curiously.

Light's eyes widened considerably. 'I just agreed with him!'

"Are we really willing to risk our lives for this?" asked Aizawa to the group of investigators. "We're already risking our jobs, and there won't be much to salvage if Judge Hatori finds out we're investigating him."

"If you want to leave, then leave," said Light, standing up to face him. "No one's keeping you here, Aizawa, we're all here simply because we want to stop Kira not because someone told us to stay." She held herself a little taller. "I don't have a job on the line like you do, but I'm willing to sacrifice my life, my future, everything if it means bringing down Kira. The choice is yours."

Silence filled the room and all eyes were on Light and Aizawa, waiting for something to happen. Aizawa looked away from her.

"Mogi, Ukita, Matsuda, if you want to keep investigating with Ryuzaki you can," said Aizawa stiffly. "I on the other hand am returning to the NPA full-time, I'm not interested in risking the wrath of someone who could take the NPA brick by brick and then throwing all of us in prison for civil rights violations." He began walking for the door. "Give my regards to the Chief, he can demote me when he gets better."

Aizawa then exited the room, leaving behind his stunned colleagues, a disappointed Light, an outraged Naomi and a stoic L. No one seemed sure how to react, no one that is, except for Matsuda.

"Why is he so scared of Hatori?" raged Matsuda. "He can't destroy the NPA, he might be able to arrest us but one man can't bring down something so essential to the wellbeing of the country."

"I believe there's a bigger issue here," said L thoughtfully as Light sat down and took one of the chocolates. "Aizawa has been a bit . . . reluctant recently when it comes to Kira and this investigation. He was ready to capture him when more of the police were backing the investigation but now that that's the unpopular opinion, he started to waver. It was Chief Yagami's presence here that kept him here as well and without the Chief to assure him what we are doing is right, he has decided to step back in line with the police."

"Typical," spat Naomi venomously. "People are only willing to do anything against evil so long as others believe it's the right path, the moment there are doubts or there are actual risks to getting the reward, no one wants to get their hands dirty anymore. We're better off without him."

Matsuda looked like a kicked puppy. "I think he's just scared of losing his job, he needs I to provide for his family; he has two young kids at home."

"Then that should be even more of a reason to stop Kira," argued Naomi fiercely. "I'm not even an agent anymore, so the only thing I can risk is my life."

"But you've lost so much already, you can only stand to gain," said Matsuda firmly. "Aizawa and the rest of us haven't lost anything, so our dedication to the investigation hinges on our personal morals and sense of justice. If Aizawa believes that going after Judge Hatori goes against his principles, then he has every right to make the decision to leave even if to me it's the wrong decision."

"This arguing needs to stop," said L, glancing at Light as she reached for her third piece of chocolate. "Now that we're down another member, a likely permanent arrangement, we need to double our efforts to stop Kira. Light, your position here will likely become permanent now, are you alright with that?"

"That's fine," said Light before popping the piece into her mouth.

"Good," said L with a nod and he tapped the button from before. "Watari, I need you and W to install surveillance cameras and wiretaps in the houses and cars of Judge Kou Hatori and Teru Mikami. Also, is there any news on the home front?"

"Yes, they would like to speak with you when it is convenient," replied Watari. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, that's all," said L and he let up on the button before quickly pressing another. "Near, Mello, this is L. Are you ready to report?"

The laptop screen went black before being replaced with two separate screens, one screen had an 'M' in the center and the other had an 'N', both in Old English MT font.

"This is Mello," said the M side.

"This is Near," said the N side.

"Good, I'm glad you're both here," said L, leaning slightly forward. "What have you discovered?"

There was silence from both Mello and Near, neither seemingly wanting to debrief L on the current situation.

L ground his teeth in agitation. "Tell me now or I'll find out for myself."

"He's escaped," said Mello softly. "We went through everything you asked and more, and discovered the prison had reported him dead during the first wave of heart attacks."

"Do they know how he escaped?" asked L coolly, trying to keep calm when in fact his heart was pounding and a cold sweat had broken out on his brow. "Did anyone visit him during his incarceration?"

This time Near spoke up, "There was someone who visited him every three months or so, but the name doesn't match any known aliases of his former associates and we've done a background check, this person doesn't exist on any database. Whoever it is, knew how to cover their tracks. Not even Matt could find a trace of anything useful."

"How did he escape?" L repeated, sounding on the verge of shouting.

"In a body bag, apparently," replied Mello with a slight sneer. "We don't know the details, L; the only reason the prison even knew they fucked up was because he murdered the coroner. There's video of that and it's not a pretty sight."

L closed his eyes and tried to breathe properly, all he could hear was his heart hammering in his chest and all he could feel was his body trembling with rage and fear. "I see, is there anything else?"

"Nothing yet," said Near, his soft voice carried the bitter tone of disappointment. "We're going to look through more security footage, Matt is developing a program to look for his facial features and body type specifically. We'll let you know if we have any success."

"Thank you," said L tightly. "I want you to evacuate Whammy's, effective immediately. I want to you three to go to one of the safe houses and send the other children to the houses you didn't pick. If he's on the loose then none of us are safe, especially me."

"Why?" asked Mello, a note of panic in his voice.

"Because he knows my real name and what I look like," replied L flatly, and even in that tone it sounded like he had just revealed some deadly plot to destroy the world. "I believe he is working with Kira and if he is, then my days are truly numbered. I need to ensure that the three of you are safe as well as the rest of the children before I can fully proceed against him. Make sure you burn everything that might reveal anyone's names and faces, that's all Kira needs in order to kill."

Silence again rang out.

"Yes, L," said Near at last.

"Sure thing," said Mello, sounding brave but it masked his fear.

The tension in L's shoulders eased just slightly. "I'll let Watari and Roger know what measures we're taking. Contact me the moment you are somewhere safe."

"We will," said Near and his side of the screen went dark.

"Mello, is there something you wish to add?" asked L when he noticed his remaining heir on the line.

"Sort of, it's more of a question actually," said Mello, sounding unsure. "What's the likelihood that he already knows about us? And what are the chances he's going to kill you soon?"

L brought his thumb to his mouth and chewed it for a few moments. "There is a fifteen percent chance that he knows about you and Near specifically; he probably already figured I would choose more successors after what happened to him and A, but he doesn't know you two were the ones selected. As for your latter question, there is an eighty-nine percent chance that he'll kill me, which is why I'm trying to ensure your safety. Mello, you have to listen to me and do as I say, until I die I am still L and you must obey my commands."

"I know," said Mello bitterly. "Near and I don't want to lose you, L. We're not ready to take over yet."

"I know," said L calmly. "I'm sorry to put this on you so suddenly, but it's necessary. If this weren't, I wouldn't ask. Now please, go and assist Near. I'll speak to you both soon."

"Yes, L," said Mello and moments later, his screen went black.

L sat back in his seat and was suddenly aware of eyes on him, he turned and saw Light, Naomi, and the remaining members of the Task Force looking at him with looks of concern and curiosity; surprisingly, Light's was a fair balance of the two. "Is there something you need?" he asked the room.

"What was that all about?" asked Light, her voice much more gentle than he was used to, especially of late.

"Oh, just saving my legacy," replied L with a slight shrug and he looked at Naomi. "Maki, it's a good thing we involved you in this case after all, you're in just as much danger as I am currently."

If Naomi was afraid, she did an excellent job at masking it. "And why is that, Ryuzaki?"

L fixed her with a look she would never forget, not even when she was on her deathbed, it was one of fear, anger, and righteous justice. "Beyond Birthday has escaped prison and is likely Kira."