Chapter 10: I Don't Like the Flavor of Your Humor
"Strange zoo, strange blaze
Douse my head in flames
Coming through got to get some
Happiness is a bad son..."
- "A Tendency to Start Fires," Bush
Around 7 pm
"We've got everything moved, we're just waiting on everyone to get back." Yagami announced, rounding the corner of a hotel in Akasaka.
His words were for Watari and Ami, already back from their work on the two houses and waiting for the rest of the team to meet up with them. Watari was the first to respond to Yagami. "We're just waiting on Aizawa and Matsuda at this point."
Ami looked sullen. "How big is the mess?"
Yagami shrugged. "It's probably going to take the rest of the evening; unpacking and reorganizing everything as Ryuuzaki had it before. I think he knows how he want everything, but he hasn't let me in on that."
She stared off in the distance, distracted by the cool, blowing wind. "That's fine. I was expecting he would have me do the setup work. I suspect I'll be up most of the night...again."
A black, midsized sedan pulled into the hotel's back parking lot, and parked between a red compact and a dark-green import sedan. The group watched Aizawa climb out of the drivers seat. He was dressed in a clean and pressed dark olive-green suit, looking refreshed. He sauntered over to the group. "Alright, are we ready to work?"
Ami chuckled darkly. "My, don't we look rejuvenated and energized? I wonder why." She smirked at Aizawa, well-aware of what he must have done in the last few hours.
Watari cleared his throat. "Now, now Ami. Let's all be mature here."
She sighed, and opted to let the situation go. Yagami chose to ignore the situation, and the extent of a reaction Ami got from Aizawa himself was a dirty look.
A white and blue taxi pulled into the parking lot, and looking rushed Matsuda climbed out of the backseat. He ran up to the group, and the taxi pulled away with a screech. "I..." He huffed. "Sorry I'm late. I lost track of time."
The group, looking mildly suspecious at the rear of the hotel, eyed him. "Whatever." Ami blurted out. "Can we go inside now? I'd love to sit down for a while."
Reaching into the inside breast pocket of his suit, Yagami pulled out an unmarked white envelope, and then handed it to Watari. "I'm supposed to give you this." He added.
Watari took the envelope, inspected the outside of it, and then opened it. Taking out a number of white plastic cards with card-swipe strips on them, he started to pass them out. "These keys are for the common room only." Watari handed one to Ami. "Ryuuzaki likely didn't want to get your room key mixed up with the rest of these, so he left it out of the envelope. Ask for it when we go inside." Having emptied the envelope, he folded it closed, then in half, and then stashed it inside of his suit's breast pocket.
Ami accepted the card. "Alright, will do."
Yagami surveyed the group. "If we're all set, I'll lead." He stepped away from the group to an unmarked door at the back of the hotel. He inserted his card into an electronic reader at the doorhandle - it blinked green - and he pulled open the door. Yagami lead them down the short hall to a second locked door, and he repeated the process with a nicer, interior-styled door.
"You know, this hotel isn't as nice as the other one." Ami commented nonchalantly, surveying the walls and light fixtures.
"Aah! That's...that's not why were here! How can you worry about something like that at a time like this?!" Matusuda blurted out. He stepped into Ami's path, blocking her from moving farther down the hallway.
She stepped around him, but not before meeting Matsuda's gaze. "Watch it, detective. I'm at least as old as you, and I ask that you treat me as such. It was just an observation."
Matsuda stopped short in the hallway, and his anger faultered. The rest of the group appeared to be content to ignore the discussion once again. After several more twists and turns down the hotel's hallways, Yagami stopped at a room. Without discussion, he inserted his card key into the door's lock and pushed open the door.
Once again, L was sitting amongst a grouping of moving boxes, but appeared to be inspired to unpack this time. Ami started to organize the boxes around him to allow the team a path to the sitting area. The rest of the men - minus L who was busing himself with a manila folder - started to remove boxes from the couch and two chairs in the sitting area. After a few minutes, L commendeered Ami's attention.
"I need you to start setting up some of the monitors, at least three of them with the switcher." He asked flatly. "It's got to be done by 7:25."
Ami was surprised by the sudden demand. "Okay, I thought you were going to do that, but whatever." She turned her attention to three of the computer monitors sitting in front of a chair that L had set up outside of the sitting area. The switcher was still on the floor, and an end table was functioning as a monitor stand. Ami worked methodically, though slower than she might have if she hadn't been so tired.
L sat down in the chair he had set up. He then leaned forward to get Ami's attention. "I need you to put that one on the right. Its better for dark camera angles." He instructed, pointing at one of the two off-white monitors she was working with.
Ami looked up at him. "Aren't these two the same model?" She asked, directing his attention to the monitor she was working on, and then the one he was gesturing at.
"Yes, but they behave differently." L told her, settling back in the chair.
Ami rolled her eyes. "Sure they do." She scoffed. Once again...do it your self, L...
L missed her sarcasm. "They do."
A second conversation was taking place on the other side of the room. Yagami settled a box to the side of the couch, and sat down on the end, and addressed Matsuda. "Was there anything at the office? I haven't even gotten a chance to check my voice mail."
Matsuda set down a white box without a lid directly in front of him, reversing the action he was in the middle of. "I got a phone message from Missing Persons. They said that Reye Penbar's financee has gone missing."
Yagami sighed and stared at the coffee table between the couch and chairs. "Missing, huh? When was she reported missing?"
Matsuda put a hand to his mouth. "They said its been...around seventy-two hours...when I talked to them. So...yeah, a few days."
Yagami looked up at Matsuda. "Do they have any leads?"
Matsuda started to answer, but lost his train of thought when the other conversation grew louder.
"I need it done as the switcher between one and two, not two and three!" L demanded.
Ami appeared to the others as having had enough. "Ya know..." She started, putting down a cord tie and then standing up. "If you wanted it done this specifically L, you should have done it yourself in the meanwhile." Ami told him with annoyance.
L scowled at her, and appeared to be angry. "I have asked you a good number of times to refer to me as Ryuuzaki here. It's for security reasons. And if you aren't going to, I am under the impression you aren't as concerned with my safety as you should be."
Ami sighed, the words having cut her. Jerk...he's so self-centered nowadays... "Fine." She stated emotionless. "Ryuuzaki...I'm too tired to argue with you right now. She finished connecting two more wires, then flipped on the switchboard. A half-dozen buttons lit up red indicating they were active. "Alright." She looked over her left shoulder at L. "I think its set up the way you wanted it to be."
Ami flipped the monitors on. The screen on the left showed the Yagami's living room, angled to catch the living room and the dining room table. Light and Mrs Yagami sat on the right hand side of the table, while Sayu was occupied with a television drama. Mrs. Yagami asked her to come to the table, and Sayu complained that her show was almost over - and how could she resist watching the next episode previews.
This girl's so typical of girls her age... Ami realized. She so...average...
The middle monitor showed a shot from Light's room, directly facing the desk. The monitor on the far right showed the Director's family eating dinner in their dining room as well, but their television was not on. The Director, his wife, and two teenager daughters sat in near silence at the table. The Director looked tired and old-before-his-age.
Ami made a face when she noticed the Director. I had forgotten how worn-out that guy looks...
Aizawa and Matsuda turned two of the chairs around and sat down to watch the monitors. Ami remained on the floor, but moved to the left of L's chair to make more room for Aizawa and Matusda. Watari sat at the roll-top desk across the room, and appeared to be busing himself with paperwork. L suddenly turned to Yagami who had come up behind his chair. "What time is it?" He blurted out.
Yagami pushed back his sleeve and looked at his brown-leather banded watch. "Hmm. Looks to be about 7:28."
L turned back to the monitors. "So it'll be about thirty seconds. Since they have the television on, please turn your attention to the Yagamis."
The television blinked, and barely readable text appeared on the screen. Sayu read it aloud for all: "One thousand detectives are being sent to Japan to aid in the Kira investigation."
Suddenly excited, Matsuda blurted out "Wow, that's great!"
Except for L - who stared intently at the monitor focused on the Yagami's - the team turned toward him. Aizawa said what the rest of them were thinking. "L made that up, Matsui." He told him cooly.
Matusda realized his foolishiness, and sunk back in his chair. "Oh...heh."
His embarassment was underminded by Ami's suddenly burst of laughter. "Are you freakin' kidding me? What idiot would believe that? Do you really think that'll get Kira's attention?" She held her midsection and laughed heartily.
Watari looked up from his paperwork and happened to meet Yagami's gaze. Both were aware of the stress the two had been under over the course of the day, and a fight or argument seemed eminent.
"I'm going to take a look in the kitchen since we just got here." Watari announced, standing up. He walked to the kitchen without further discussion.
Yagami took a step back from L's chair. "I'm going to..." He struggled to find an excuse to leave the room. "Umm...help Watari in the kitchen..." He took another step back, turned about face, and headed for the kitchen.
By this point, Aizawa realized something was off in the room. After watching Yagami's odd behavior, he watched L for a moment. L stared ahead at the monitors, and looked to Aizawa to be on the verge of losing his stoic exterior.
"Umm..." Matsuda questioned suddenly, looking about. "What's going on...?" He looked first in the direction of the kitchen door, and then at L. Startled by Matsuda, Aizawa grabbed him by the right arm and started to drag him towards the kitchen, forcing Matsuda to flip around.
"Hey! Ai...!" Matsuda started to protest, but didn't get his complaint out before the two had reached the kitchen.
Ami listened to the kitchen door swing on its hinges. The room was eeriely quiet. "Um...I think I missed..." She started to ask quietly, regaining her composure.
L stared down at Ami from his chair, his expression dark. "I am in charge of this investigation. You're not working for the Feds. You work for me here. If you don't start respecting that, there could be repercussions." He told her coldly.
Feeling his words a direct threat to herself, Ami rose and looked down upon L. His gaze looked up to meet her. "I...I..." She huffed out of anger. "I never asked to be in here the first place, remember?"
L blinked. "That wasn't what I meant. I meant it could be a security risk."
Ami balled her fists. "Stop lying." She told him under her breath.
"I'm not lying. If Kira gets the impression you are in charge it or working with the American Federal government still, it could put you at a much greater risk. I've got no problem putting my life at risk, but it seems inane to put yours in the same position. In fact, I think we've already had this discussion." He told her calmly.
Ami felt shock, then disappointment in herself hit her. "I'm sorry." She put a hand to her face. "I think I'm worn out. I haven't tried to keep this kind of pace since I was an undergrad. But..."
"But what?"
She sighed. "I think this might be too much for me. I need..." She paused. "I need you to not ask so much from me."
L looked away and watched the monitors without much thought. "I know I am asking a lot of you. But I also know you have the skills that I need. As much as I appreciate the help from the other team members, I also know you've dealt with high-level criminals before."
Ami returned to the floor. "Nothing like this."
It was L's turn to sigh. "No. I admit...nothing like this. This is even more than I am used to. Some of it is so foolish that I can't rationalize it, and the rest doesn't fit into any frame of reference I have." A light started to shine in the room's window, and it caught L's attention.
They sat in silence for a moment, until Ami noticed something on the monitors.
"That's weird." She stated.
L looked back at the monitors in a rush. "What is?"
The two watched Light remove a bag of chips from the kitchen cupboard, and then leave the kitchen. The middle monitor showed Light enter his room and turn on the television in his room. He then sat down at his desk and open the bag of chips.
"They just finished eating dinner. Why did he open them now?"
L said nothing but put a hand to his mouth. "Hmm." I like that flavor...but most people don't... Suddenly realizing Light had turned to a news program, L demanded: "Change the monitor on the right to that channel!"
Ami flicked several switches on the switcher, and the same channel Light was watching popped up on the monitor - replacing the camera view of the Director's living room.
"Do we have an overhead shot of the desk?" L asked abruptly.
Ami shook her head. "That was the wall we couldn't get to. There was too much stuff to put back if we had started on it."
L sunk slightly in his chair. "Darn."
Light appeared to be studying and eating at the same time, but it was impossible to know more than that from the angle behind the desk.
A voice came from the direction of the kitchen. "Umm..." It was Yagami. "What's going on?"
Neither Ami nor L answered; both stared intently at the monitor hoping to catch a glimpse of what Light was writting.
The news program returned from a commerical break, and a fair-skinned, male news broadcaster appeared on screen. He began to discuss a criminal who was going to be standing trial next week for the murder of a young college student. After describing the basic facts of the case, the announcer suddenly stopped talking, put his hand to his left ear, and appeared to be listening to his ear piece.
"I..." He seemed in shock. "I have some shocking news. It appears that the accused has suddenly suffered sudden cardiac arrest while in a holding cell in Shibuya!" The announcer was as shocked as anyone, and lost any formality in his speech. "This is shocking - could it be the work of Kira?!"
L rocked back and forth in his seat. This is perfect...I've been waiting for a crime to happen under survaliance...
Yagami came up behind L's chair, and the rest of the men sautered out of the kitchen. "Ryuuzaki? What's happening?"
"Heh. Kira seems to have stuck again." L remarked with a smirk.
Yagami suddenly realized that they were watching both the news program and Light at the same time. "Look! Light is just sitting there. He's studying!" Yagami pointed at the monitor.
L shook his head. "Light has the same news program on. And he didn't react at all to the news."
Yagami found a rebuttal. "This happens all of the time now. People stop reacting to such news. Besides, he's busy studying!"
Bitting on his hand, L found the situation too convient for Light. His behavior is...too perfect...for the situation...
Matusda joined in. "This should be enough to exonerate him, right?!"
L smirked. Wrong...it makes him more suspcious... He turned around suddenly and found Watari in the group, making eye contact. "When is the entrance exam for Tokyo University?" He looked at Yagami abruptly. "That is where he's testing for, right?"
Yagami was taking aback. "Um, yes, why?"
L ignored Yagami's question. "Watari, set up the test for me." L settled back into his chair, while the rest watched him in confusion.. "I think I'm going to have to get closer to Light."
Next Chapter:
"Orientation at To-oh"