Disclaimer: I've used the names of real places, but keep in mind I made up everything about them, so please, don't forget this is all fiction!
Chapter 11 - A Trap
L woke up to rather unfortunate information. His suspect had disappeared! Packed up and left, as Wedy had reported. L had no idea how and why Yamamoto had decided to disappear on the day before his intended arrest but the more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed that the misfortune had happened because he had allowed himself to sleep for 3 hours instead of 30 minutes.
Wedy who had been keeping track on the businessman's "secret" apartment had written in her message that the man had left with nothing but a briefcase. It seemed like he had been in a rush. That could mean a number of things, but the most likely was that Takuya was aware that the detective was on his track. An information leak was the most likely scenario, and the first person that came to mind was Yagami Light…
L tried to kick himself but he didn't manage to bend far enough. In stead he settled for just banging his head against the bathroom cabinet. The shockwaves of the impact ended up knocking over a mirror, which broke into pieces on the marble tiles. L stared at it for a few seconds.
'Seven years of bad love?...' L huffed and took an angry step towards the living room, where he planned to start packing for his own change of location.
Unfortunately his avoidance antic worked against him and in his disregard of the broken mirror he stepped on the broken pieces and cut himself.
Blood was spilling everywhere and L was cursing under his breath as he wished he had at least banged his head a bit harder, because he really deserved it. And all the pain in his scull and feet was not enough to make him feel better about making the mistake of trusting another person.
Sitting on the tub's edge and pulling out pieces of glass from the soles of his feet, L decided to end his emotional outburst and concentrate on dealing with the problem.
"Watari!" he called his mentor's alias, afraid to use his name, given the light of the events.
"Yes?" Whammy called from the other room.
"We need to move immediately – I fear that Yagami has leaked information."
"Understood."
…
At 5 PM that evening they were in a small low-profile hotel. Most of the equipment was shipped abroad, but the most important things were fully set up and operational.
L had managed to stifle his pride enough to call the chief of the police for help.
"… You tell us this now?" Soichiro said in anger and disbelief when L finally explained the situation over the phone.
L wished that he didn't have to sound like his son so much when he was pissed off.
"The leak of information was a very unfortunate and unforeseen event," L said. The detective had calculated that mentioning how Light was most likely responsible for said misfortune, was not the best tactic at the moment, if he wanted to get his father to cooperate.
"I need the NPA's collaboration to make sure Yamamoto Takuya doesn't flee the country," L said after a pause.
"What makes you think that we will cooperate with you again?" Soichiro shouted over the line.
"Because only through mutual effort can we apprehend this criminal," L said. He had expected this reaction. "Failing to arrest this man and allowing him to disappear is going to turn into an international scandal…"
"And a stain on your career," Soichiro interrupted.
L dipped a lollipop into his tea, stirring it. He concentrated on the milky liquid for a moment.
"I have always had the support of local governments and police," he said finally. "Without it I can hardly do my job, since, as we both know, I am just a man. I think that if the NPA refuses to grand me its collaboration, the blame for the failure of this case will fall on you, rather than on me. Do you understand?"
It wasn't a threat – it was the truth.
Soichiro made a long angry pause, during which L's sipped his tea. Finally there was a long sigh coming from the other end of the conversation.
"I will do what I can," Soichiro said through gritted teeth.
"Thank you," L said in forced politeness before hanging up.
"Finally…" L thought as he suppressed a heavy sigh.
What he counted on Soichiro to do was to inform the NPA of the situation (a job that should have been L's but the detective had better uses for his time than arguing with an antagonistic crowd).
He also hoped that the chief of police could get the NPA to collaborate with L regardless of how they felt about him.
And finally, L also counted on Soichiro to know what to do in terms of making sure Yamamoto didn't leave the country (blocking roads and checking identities at airports and so on).
Meanwhile L had only Wedy under his direct control. He asked her to look for clues in the businessman's abandoned apartment. L still had hopes that Yamamoto didn't know that his unofficial residence had been discovered or that he had left in such a hurry that he had forgotten something behind, something that could help L figure out where he had headed.
"Why are you so certain that there has been an information leak," Whammy interrupted L's train of thought. The older man had brought cupcakes for L but that somehow failed to cheer up L's bleak mood.
"Have you considered that this could have been a coincidence?" Whammy asked.
"There are no coincidences in my career," L said impatiently, not meeting Whammy's eyes. "And if this, in fact, has nothing to do with Yagami, then it means that my plan was flawed."
"That's not true. It's called a coincidence exactly because it is contingent," the older man said, still standing on the other side of the coffee table with the empty tray. "Your career, no matter how brilliant, has still been short in comparison to the years I have lived. And, trust me, in my career coincidents have happened."
L wanted to roll his eyes but he remained expressionless.
"Don't think that I believe in coincidents only because I am not as intelligent as you are and that I don't see all the angles of the situation, resulting in a 'superstitious' belief in things such as luck," Whammy added.
L finally gave the older man his full attention. It was rare for Whammy to say such a thing and it put the detective on his guard.
"An example of a coincidence, that you might have forgotten, but I never would, was the incident of our meeting," Whammy continued, a small smile gracing his old face. This sort of displays always made L very nervous as he never knew how to act or what to say.
"Why would you be willing to write off what happened as a contingency when it's almost 70% certain that Light betrayed us?"
"I think you are too quick to suspect him," Whammy said. "He was so tired after you were done with him that I bet he is still sleeping at home."
"We can run an investigation on that," L said. He was serious.
"You have other things to be thinking about right now! Whether Light had betrayed us or not is of little consequence. What you have to do now is find Yamamoto…" Whammy chided. "I am merely asking you to be fair before you judge and jump to conclusions. It seems to me that you tend to rush things when it comes to Light Yagami,"
The detective immediately caved in at that comment.
"I will not officially accuse Yagami Light of anything before I have evidence to support my claim," L said and turned away to his laptop, pretending to do something important and ignoring the other man.
…
That night, at 00:54 AM L heard of Light's hospitalization.
L couldn't quite believe the news. Confusion and distress gnawed on him but the detective tried to analyze the information critically and objectively.
It was obvious that regardless of what role Light played, his person, the accident and Takuya's disappearance were connected. It was also pretty clear that there was some key piece of information linked to the young man could solve or ruin the case.
There were still no results in the NPA's or Wedy's search, so L felt desperate enough to seek to question the Yagami boy in person. And despite the obvious offsets of questioning a hospital patient, L was determined not to wait.
Whammy was full of objections, but he ended up driving L to the Fureai Yokomaha Hospital. They were both silent during the limousine ride.
L stared outside, his mind zoning as he watched the nighttime Tokyo. It had rained again, so streetlights, neon signs, headlights, and traffic lights all danced on the wet, reflective asphalt. L's mind was on Light. He knew that the young man had survived a car crash and that his life was not in danger, however a thick sense of dread had settled in the pit of the detective's stomach.
Whammy stopped at the hospital's parking lot. Looking out the window at the tall, multistory building made L's heart beat irregularly from nervousness.
The detective stepped out of the car into the humid cold night. He was wearing a dark trench coat and a beany – courtesy of Whammy, who had insisted that L wore them in order not to draw attention on himself. The sound of a helicopter caught the detective's attention and he glanced up to see a medical helicopter landing on the roof of the building. There were no stars in cloudy sky, which reflected the light of the city back down, making the nights in Tokyo bright.
L could almost imagine the wind of the helicopter turbine hitting his face. He had always liked helicopters and he had learned to fly the simulators, but he had never gotten the chance to pilot a real one. A sense of wistfulness washed over him before he dismissed the stray thoughts and hurried to the reception.
The lobby was fool of tired, dozing people, none of which paid him any attention, much to the detective's relief. He showed a fake police badge to the receptionist and a nurse came down to take him to Light's rehabilitation room on the tenth floor.
"He jumped out of the car before it crashed and miraculously he got away with only a few scratches and bruises," the nurses chattered on as they walked. She was slightly taller than L and skinny, but her face was not very attractive and she seemed rather clumsy and awkward. "He only passed out for a little bit, but he was conscious when he arrived at the hospital. He might have strained his ankle and bruised his backside, but he has nothing broken," she chuckled nervously.
L didn't react in any way and didn't even look in her direction as she tried to converse with him. The detective absent-mindedly wondered if his disguise made him look normal enough for a female to try to talk to him.
"Ahhh, here we are," she said stopping in front of a door with a window, which had a curtain pulled over it. "He might be resting right now. I don't know if you should…"
L didn't wait for her to finish and pushed the door. His sense of urgency had only grown since they arrived at the hospital and he couldn't wait to see the brunette.
"Wait…" the nurse squeaked somewhere behind L.
Surely enough, Light was there, dozing on one of two hospital beds. A thin layer of plain white sheets lightly covered him and his skin looked a sickly white under the fluorescent light coming from above. L could see scratches and forming bruises all over him, in addition to the bandages covering his right arm and hand, as well as patches on several places on his left arm and shoulder. A bandage was fixed on the right side of his chin, but other than that, his face seemed intact. The younger man's hair was out of order and dirty but Light still managed to look criminally gorgeous even in this state.
"He should be resting…" the nurse said.
L walked over to the bed and looked down at Light's sleeping face.
No doubt this "accident" was Takuya's doing? So how come Light was alive? Surely it couldn't have been because Light was too good-looking to kill?
Even though L was immensely relieved that Light had lived, he couldn't help but think that it was very suspicious.
L leaned in close to Light's face, examining him.
"I think you should wait outside," the nurse said nervously.
Suddenly, Light's eyelashes fluttered against his exquisite cheekbones. L was close enough to see his pupils momentarily shrink in response to the light in the room before the brunette blinked a few times and turned his gaze to the detective. Light looked startled in the first instant but then he quickly focused. His eyes looked cold and desaturated in the unforgiving light but still managed to steal L's breath away.
"He seems to be awake now," L turned to the nurse for the first time since he had met her. "You can leave us now so I can begin questioning him."
"I… errm, ok," the nurse said and stumbled out of the room, knocking over a table, but catching it before it fell down. She excused herself and shut the door behind her.
L looked back to Light who was still looking at him with that helpless, lost expression that he had adopted while lying on his back. The detective felt the urge to protect him somehow.
"I am glad to see that you have survived, Yagami-kun," the detective said.
Light's expression hardened.
"It's Sato…" Light's voice sounded hoarse. "Sato Yuuta – the spy from the NPA you mentioned…"
"Aaahhh," L nodded repeatedly. "Do you mind?"
Light gave a curt node of his own as L pulled out his phone and called Soichiro to ask him to immediately apprehend Sato. Then he called Wedy and told her to track the man, just in case the NPA didn't manage to arrest him.
"He lured me to Naka Ward and tried to get information about you," Light managed.
L walked over to the nearby water tank and poured a glass of lukewarm water to give to the younger man. Light gratefully took the plastic cup.
"How did he know that you had information about me?" L asked.
"He somehow knew we had met a few times," Light said. He struggled to sit up without damaging his bandages and suddenly it occurred to the detective to help him. He quickly wrapped an arm around the brunette's bare back and pulled his slender frame up. Light inhaled a sharp breath and winced but sat up comfortably.
"What did you tell him," L asked masking his impatience as Light drank his water.
"I didn't tell him anything," Light said, his voice sounding much better.
"You can't expect me to believe that they let you get away without anything, do you?" L said.
"I didn't say anything!" Light argued, his cockiness clearly rehabilitating first, much to the detective's dismay.
"You must have told them something…"
"I did." Light said. An intense pause followed, where they stared at each other intently. "They spotted me with you, so I lied that you are L's associate and that I am only meeting with you out of personal interest, rather than working with or for L."
L cocked his head to the side.
"Personal interest?"
Light gave an exasperated sigh.
"I told them that we are dating," Light said with clear annoyance.
L's eyes widened in disbelief.
"I had to say something, as you said," Light explained. "They only let me go when I said that."
"But this is a rather obvious lie," L mused…
"Well Yuuta obviously bought it," Light said, before suddenly shutting up. A realization dawned on him, as it did on L at the same moment.
"And you are the only victim to survive…" L thought outloud and looked at Light.
Light's eyes widened as well.
"It couldn't be…" Light breathed out.
"We are probably not safe here," L said. "Can you walk?"
Light looked alarmed.
"I'm not sure," the brunette said as he sat up more easily on his own and tried to estimate how much of his strength he still had after all he had been through earlier. He had been trying not to move too much, but…
"The nurse said you don't have any serious injuries," L said and began unhooking Light from the various hospital equipment that restrained him. "You might not survive if you stay here, so you have to walk."
"I'll make it," Light said, not fully believing himself as he flung his wobbly legs over the edge of the bed. His ankle was tightly bandaged, and he suspected he had strained it.
That's when Light realized that he was naked underneath the hospital sheets, which were still covering his crouch.
"My clothes!" he looked at L.
The detective began searching the room for clothes and anything to use as such… Suddenly he noticed through the window of the door the outline of the tall nurse who was still lingering outside.
Light noticed where the detective was looking and opened his mouth to protest but didn't say anything.
L quietly approached the door. The nurse was so clumsy that surely if she went missing for a bit, her absence wouldn't be surprising. He opened the door behind her abruptly and before she could react, he pressed a point on her neck, sending her directly to doze-land.
"Why did you do that?" Light disapproved not too heatedly from behind him.
"I'm helping you protect your modesty as we waste time that could save our lives," L said in all seriousness. He quickly undressed the nurse from her light-pink robe and pants. Thankfully she was wearing some clothing of her own underneath those so the detective didn't feel too bad for what he had done. He threw the hospital uniform to Light while carefully positioning the sleeping woman on the other hospital bed.
Light quickly slipped into the borrowed attire, which fitted him well enough.
"I'm ready," Light called, and L turned to face him.
The brunette got off the bed and made a few shaky steps forward. Light dressed as a female nurse was a rather interesting sight and it made L bite his lower lip.
"What?" Light looked angry.
"Nothing. I was just wondering if you need help walking," the detective said, regaining his concentration.
He didn't wait for the response and grabbed Light around the waste and the younger man didn't protest, instead wasting no time to fling an arm around the detective's shoulders.
Light let out a stifled groan as L pulled him out of the room and into corridor. Light kept making pained noises and leaning almost his entire weight on the frailer man but L managed to half carry him while still dialing Whammy on his phone.
"We might be in for a trap, we need an exit," L said with no introductions.
"Let me check," Whammy responded and a long pause followed in which the man was looking up the floor plans of the hospital. "Your best bet is the roof. This hospital has a helicopter landing site," Whammy told the detective.
"Is the helicopter there right now?" L asked as he hurried Light towards the elevator.
"Let me contact the hospital staff," Whammy said and hanged up.
L couldn't know if his suspicions about Takuya letting Light live in order to trap L at the hospital were true or not. However he didn't want to find out and the intuitive part of his brain felt very certain that his suspect was not the type to let such an opportunity pass. Takuya was one of the most ruthless businessmen in Tokyo – he was used to playing games.
The phone rang again and L picked it up.
"You were right about the trap, a van just pulled over and…" Whammy began. The sound of an explosion was heard both over the line and mutedly from outside. L's heart skipped a beat as a wave of suffocating fear gripped him.
"… and they just destroyed our car," Whammy's voice was heard again, making L almost sigh in relief. "There are seven, armed with guns. They are going in. You have to hurry - the helicopter is upstairs. I told the medical staff and the pilot to evacuate. You are on you own."
"Ok. Thank you," L huffed as he helped Light into the elevator. He pressed the button for the upmost floor.
"Good luck, L," Whammy said before he hang up.
L felt thrills run over him as they quickly ascended. Light leaned his back on the elevator wall and looked up at him.
"What is going on?" Light demanded under his breath.
"We're taking the helicopter," L responded.
"Oh."
L glanced at the elevator panel and then back at Light.
"Why are you looking at me this way!" Light asked, irritated again. He quickly straightened the nurse's uniform while glaring daggers at the detective.
L didn't respond.
Finally the elevator stopped on the final floor. When they exited both men glanced at the hospital map that was engraved on the wall. It appeared that they were in the wrong section of the building and they had to go to another sector in order to take the elevator, which went to the roof.
Thankfully, due to the late hour, the corridors were empty. Light somewhat limped, somewhat jumped on one foot as L dragged him as quickly as he could. The detective checked the hospital's map every here and there. They were close, when suddenly around the corner came a man.
He was armed.
Light and L came to an abrupt stop, sliding just a little bit on the polished floor.
"Fuck," Light hissed.
The assassin looked at them for a prolonged moment, his slow brain puzzled over the sight of a man dragging another man in a light pink gown.
The geniuses didn't take as long to figure out what to do and L pulled Light in the other direction. Suddenly L felt that Light was no longer being dragged - he was running on both feet, and doing so faster than L. Light didn't let go of the detective's arm, which had supported him and ended up pulling a staggering L along.
Soon they were hearing shooting from behind but they were already around a few corners, and were hoping to lose their pursuer or at least confuse him. They kept running, going further and further away from the elevator that was supposed to take them up to the helicopter.
Suddenly Light stopped and pulled L to a stop as well.
"I have a plan!" Light said.
L gave a strong tug.
"We don't have the time…" L began but Light grabbed him by both shoulders and pulled him close.
"Trust me!" Light said, looking deep into his eyes.
L felt his knees getting weak and before he knew it, he was following Light to the large window panel of the wall. It was dark outside, but suddenly L saw what had caught Light's eye – there was a railing and a ladder on the outside of the building. It was an emergency fire exits, which lead down towards an outside staircase a few levels bellow, and up towards the roof.
Light flung opened the window and took a quick look. The metallic rails were still damp from the rain earlier that night, which made them slippery. It was also dark and the wind was very strong outside.
Light glanced down and felt his head spin. He had an inane fear of heights. They were many floors above the ground and the streetlamp-illuminated car park bellow looked like a miniature. Suddenly Light's felt he couldn't do it.
With a groan Light pulled back in and closed his eyes tightly.
"What? GO!" L urged and pushed Light towards the opened window. The startled brunette gripped the frame with both arms and began shaking.
"Don't rush me," even Light's voice was shaking.
They heard the gunman's fast approaching footsteps somewhere close.
Light looked at the ladder again suddenly full of resolve to make the leap.
The worst part was flinging his arm and foot over the edge and clasping the cold, slippery metal. Light's fingertips were tingling from the adrenaline and his body felt weak and shaky, but as soon as he was fully suspended over a multistory fall, he felt a sudden wave of strength and resolve. He quickly began climbing up, and felt the ladder shake as L followed closely.
"Hurry!" L urged, tapping on his heels and Light went up as quickly as he could.
It was dark and windy outside and Light's hair was flying into his eyes making it even harder to see but he climbed blindly. They both knew that it was a matter of seconds before their pursuer discovered where they had went. Finally Light climbed on a metallic platform, which lead to some stairs that accented directly to the helicopter's landing spot.
The teen breathed a sigh of relief once his feet touched "solid" ground and he turned to offer L a hand as the detective climbed up from the ladder. L looked at the extended hand with wide eyes but didn't take it. He jumped over the last edge and suddenly a wave of strong wind hit his skinny frame, making him wobble back and struggle to keep his balance over the edge.
The detective flung his arms around, trying to regain balance, but he didn't manage to. For the millisecond, in which L was about to fall, he almost accepted this fate, feeling just a little bit scared but largely disappointed. But before he knew it, out of nowhere, a pink-clad hand came through the air to catch him.
Light had lunged forward and caught a grip of the detective's floating trench coat. Suddenly L was suspended on his heels over the edge and looking into Light's terrified eyes. With a powerful jerk, the younger man pulled him back and the detective fell into his arms.
Light quickly pulled them away form the edge. The detective's feet were trembling, and so were the brunette's hands. They looked at each other for a second, but the sound of a gun being fired from bellow ruined the moment.
The wind was very strong and they ran bent forward up the last flight of stairs, finally ending up on the highest point of the roof. It was a flat platform, which had no railing. Light felt his head begin to spin again and he was trembling even worse. Thankfully because of the dark, he couldn't quite tell how high they were, which helped a bit. He looked around.
"Where is the pilot?" Light shouted over the wind, suddenly noticing the absence of any crew.
"I'm piloting," L said.
"WHAT?" Light almost fainted. He had hoped he'd be safe once they made it up…
L didn't dignify that with an answer. The helicopter had been left ready for takeoff, as Whammy had instructed and the detective only had to pull the doors opened.
Light got in first, scared to death. He sat on the seat and told himself to relax. L slid the door shut after him and ran to the other side, getting into the pilot's seat. The little lights on the dashboard lit up when L started the engine.
"Are you sure about this," Light turned to L helplessly.
"Don't worry, I know what I am doing," L said. His expressionless face was lit up from the lights that lined the edge of the rooftop.
The black-haired detective was not as certain as he pretended to be. Adrenaline-induced dissociation aside, he had only ever piloted helicopter simulators and never the real thing, but L was a genius and he knew he could do it.
"L!" Light screamed and pointed outside.
Three men had appeared on the entrance to the roof. They raised their guns and began shooting. A bullet flew through Light's window and the brunette pushed himself into the seat as much as possible, covering his head with his arms.
L started the engine and lowered himself as much as possible, waiting for the few seconds needed for the helicopter to begin lift off. More bullets pierced the body of the helicopter, making glass and particles fly around them.
L hoped that the dark would ruin the gunmen's' aim and sat up pulling the controls for take off. Thankfully, the helicopter managed to lift up before L got shot. The detective turned the helicopter's back to the gunfire with wobbly movements. The entire helicopter was leaning dangerously from one side to the other and Light closed his eyes tightly, thinking that they would crash. But the sound of the helicopter turbine continued and when he looked again, they were picking up height and speed, leaving the gunfire behind.
"You did it," he chocked out disbelievingly through his constricted throat.
L glanced at him for an extended moment before returning his full attention to piloting.
They were going up quickly leaving danger behind them and cruising over the brightly lit streets of Tokyo. L gripped the controls hard, still uncertain of his ability to fly the thing, and wondering how and where would he be landing.
Light on the other hand managed to relax and tried to enjoy the exclusive ride. The view of nighttime Tokyo was amazing and he could recognize some places from above, which gave him immense pleasure. The world looked so different from above. It was the first time in Light's life that he was flying and he found out that he didn't dislike it as much as he had imagined.
Then he looked at L, who was effortlessly flying the helicopter and looking like a real pilot with the large headset over his jet-black hair and the dark navy trench coat. Light approved how it seemed to flatter the man's figure much better than the loose shirts he usually wore.
They headed towards the center and as Light moved his gaze to the outside, suddenly he noticed something. There were shiny things flying in the sky towards them. He stared at them some more until he realized that they were helicopters.
"L, I think these two are approaching us," Light pointed out.
L did a double take at what Light was showing and then he tensed up.
"This doesn't look good," L murmured, holding the controls tightly with both hands.
"Contact Watari," he said. "Get my phone out! It's in my jeans…"
Light raised an eyebrow and then reached into L's jean pocket. A strong awareness that he was touching the detective's leg made the brunette feel oddly uncomfortable but he pretended not to care.
He dialed the first and only number on the call history.
"This is Light," he announced.
"I assume L can't talk now," the older voice responded over the line.
"Indeed," Light looked at the detective. "We are in the air right now and two helicopters are approaching us. Have you sent for any help or…"
"No, unless they are the NPA's, then they are not ours," Watari responded, a note of urgency in his voice. "Land as soon as possible! Tell L to land as soon as he can!"
"Alright. Let's remain on the line for now," Light said and keeping the phone to his right ear, he addressed L.
"They are not ours," Light said.
"That's what I was afraid of," L sighed.
Suddenly the man dipped the helicopter down, descending dangerously close to the city underneath them. The streets were pretty empty at that time of the night but brightly lit by all the lights of the buildings and the streetlamps, making maneuvering easier.
"They are after us," Light said as calmly as he could.
L didn't answer. Streetlights were illuminating his expression, which had become harder than the usual nonchalant mask and visibly concentrated.
The medical helicopter was not as fast or maneuverable as the smaller ones that were chasing them, but L was a genius after all and that always proved to be the best advantage. He could calculate in his head every maneuver quickly and precisely.
L descended down closer to the street level. He allowed the other two to close in on purpose. When they were close enough Light noticed the side doors open and men with shotguns perched out to take aim at them.
"They are going to shoot at us," Light informed L.
"I don't have a rear mirror," L stated matter-of-factly. "Unhook your belt and turn around to watch what they are doing and where they are."
Light hated the idea but did as he was told.
"Hold that handle tight," L instructed, before making a very sharp turn and flying over a smaller street.
One of the helicopters that followed them didn't manage to make the turn on time and kept flying forward, but the second one had enough reaction time to follow them.
"We lost one!" Light said. "The other one is behind us, about 500 meters, 30 degrees to the left."
L flew straight towards a tall office building in front of them.
"L…" Light warned.
It looked like the black-haired man was keen on running into the building and Light was about to start screaming before, in the last possible moment, the detective tipped the helicopter's nose up and headed up.
They were going up at the limit of the helicopter's maneuverability at full speed and Light had to prop a knee against the back of his seat to keep himself from falling. L kept accenting, coming closer and closer to the building until he barely managed to avoid the top and fly over it. The smaller helicopter following them didn't manage to make the final few floors and crashing against the office building.
Light turned around on his seat to look behind as much as he could and saw the smoke from the explosion, glad that the building was most likely empty at that hour.
"I think they crashed!" he shouted in elation. "Now if we can only find a landing spot… Oh no! The other one is here!"
Badly aimed gunshots flew through the night, some of which pierced their helicopter again. This time the bullets made bigger holes, being fired from a shotgun. One broke the pilot's side window and flew directly by L's head. The detective felt the air move against his face as the bullet flew pass and glass scattered.
Light tried to lower himself but L remained where he was, stoically holding the controls and piloting the helicopter.
"The NPA has sent help," Watari's voice came from the speaker of the phone, which Light still clutched to his ear. It startled the young man, who was cringing and praying that he wouldn't be killed.
"Excellent! When can we expect them?" he shouted over the noise.
"I don't think they will reach you for another 10 minutes," Watari said.
"That's a bit too long," Light screamed. "We might not survive that long!"
"I am sorry, it's all that we could do," Watari said.
Light looked up at L who was still calmly guiding the helicopter through the air.
"Hold on," L said. The detective sent their helicopter dipping down as extremely as he could without losing control of the vehicle. The ground was rushing towards them, making their stomachs turn. Light fought the inertia to sit up to his seat and buckle up.
With his eyes closed he could only feel as the helicopter shook heavily.
L let out a breathless gasp next to him and Light guessed that they had narrowly missed the ground. Then they were leaning to one side sharply and Light opened his eyes when they were flying right by a traffic lamp and continued to maneuver very close to the ground. Gunshots began flying by them again.
Light turned to look behind.
"They are right behind us," Light said out of breath. Turning forward he saw L fly around some large trees, cutting off the highest branches with the helicopter's turbine.
Light closed his eyes again as the detective used the trees as a shield to make a scary turn and fly in another direction, while avoiding the gunfire from the other helicopter.
When Light opened his eyes he saw leafs and small branches in his lap, which had fallen in through the broken window. L headed up again, this time going into a much smaller street. It was barely wide enough to fit the helicopter's turbine span and it was darker and dangerous to go through. Seeing the narrow passage Light felt his blood turn cold.
Light helplessly stared at the young man beside him. L's black eyes were narrowed with concentration and he was biting his lips, trying to see better and estimate better. L's skinny hands were gripping the controls so tightly that even in the dark Light could see his and veins bulging out.
They went in and it looked that if L were to fly any higher or lower, the turbine would hit a balcony or something. Light thought that their pursuers had to be insane to follow them, but looking back he saw they were still on their tail.
"Oh no…" L breathed beside him.
Light looked back to the front window and saw a few cords of drying clothing hanging between the two buildings. Cold shivers shook the younger man and he stared at L. The detective seemed to have acknowledged the problem but kept flying straight towards the obstacle.
Light glanced between the cords and L. The man had a look of resolve on his face but Light didn't know what he was hoping for – they couldn't pass through, he couldn't even see properly!
L stared at the quickly approaching cords. He was aiming to obscure the view of the cords with their helicopter as long as possible and fly up at the last moment, avoiding the cables and hoping that the other pilot wouldn't pull off the stunt.
Calculating the last moment and pulling the controllers up, L felt the helicopter dash up but it couldn't make it up in time to avoid the highest cables completely. Anticipating the worst, L turned away from the scene ahead, and looked at Light instead.
The brunette was leaning back his head and had his eyes closed in resignation. Lights were quickly passing over his face and his expression looked troubled and so enticing that just for a moment L forgot about everything and felt his nerves relax.
That moment seemed to stretch for an eternity as they narrowly flew over, only catching the two highest of the wires with the helicopter's tires. The entire vehicle shook, making Light open his eyes and clutch his seatbelt. L held the controls tight and stabilized the helicopter as they tore the cables and passed through.
In the fateful seconds after, they both listened with their breaths held. Finally the boom and fires of a nearby explosion announced that the cables had wrapped around the other helicopter's turbine it had crashed.
Light quickly unhooked the seatbelt and turned around to see it.
"We did it," he said, still disbelieving as he watched the flaming enemy helicopter falling down to the empty street. "We did it!"
"Don't cheer yet," L said through gritted teeth.
Flying into the wider opened space of a larger street, L directed the helicopter up. The vehicle had sustained a lot of damage, from the gunshots and from the collision with the cables. Light's heart raced as they went higher and higher with the damaged helicopter.
"Tell Watari that we will be landing on Hills Mori Tower," L said.
His black hair was flying around his face now that all the windows had been broken. Light stared in fascination at the sharp contrast it presented against the pale skin. Even though they were high over the city and it was dark inside the helicopter, L's skin seemed to be gleaming in the pale light from outside. His midnight eyes were sharply outlined by the darkness of his lashes and the smudges underneath his eyes. He looked oddly attractive and Light stared at him with reluctant curiosity. The detective's narrow nose and sharp jawline were not bad at all and Light wondered how come he hadn't noticed that L's face was actually quite handsome, especially in the dark where the paleness of his skin didn't seem like a flaw.
These thoughts flashed quickly through Light's head as he watched the detective circle to the platform on top of the skyscraper, but Light suddenly realized he was fantasizing about L and came to an abrupt stop.
They landed softly, despite L's secret insecurity about his landing technique. A team of people quickly appeared to meet them on the platform. Light wondered where to look but at the man next to him.
Two police officers helped the younger man get off. Light suddenly realized that his body was miserably aching and that he could barely walk. The adrenaline rush from before had made him run on his strained ankle and he felt it pulsating with pain when he stepped on it again. His arms and shoulders also really hurt as he had used them regardless of their condition, as did his backside, which he had bruised during the fall. But Light was soon helped into the building and when they entered a brightly lit corridor L quickly walked away on his own. Because of the way the officers paid him no mind, Light realized that all the men were under the impression that L was just a helicopter pilot, while they were there to escort Light.
The two were soon separated and Light was taken to the NPA building, where his father waited for him. It was 4:54 am when he arrived.
"Light!" Soichiro called upon seeing him.
Light felt immensely relieved to see his father. Soichiro looked tired, worried and full of questions, but he didn't ask Light anything. He hugged his son in a tight embrace for a moment making Light hiss in pain.
"I will have to ask you about what happened later, but now you must go rest and recuperate," his father said.
After all Light had been through, his father was the first real sign of normalcy. But as soon as the relief came, it was gone, and a realization that Light didn't want to go back to his previous life hit him.
"I am really sorry that I can't stay with you," Soichiro added and he genuinely looked regretful. "We are currently on to Yamamoto Takuya - L's primary suspect. We suspect that your accident and the chase you just endured were all Yamamoto's doing. I'm sending you to another hospital, this time you will be guarded."
"Dad, please keep me updated," Light asked before he was helped into an ambulance.
His father promised he would call and hurried back to his work place.
Another nurse took care of Light in the new hospital and offered him sleeping pills, to relax. Light refused and tried to remain awake to wait for his father's phone calls, but ended up falling asleep from exhaustion after half an hour.
Meanwhile L was back with Whammy and they were traveling in another shiny car to the Takuya's newly discovered hideout. Wedy had traced Yuuta, who had tried to flee the police to Takuya's hideout.
With the help of Soichiro, L had the entire police mobilized and occupying the area around an abandoned warehouse close to the Tokyo pier. L sat behind blackened windows and ate a vanilla cupcake, which tasted better than ever. Whammy handed him some tea and L dipped a cookie inside it.
"L, we are ready," Soichiro called over the transmitter in the detective's ear.
"Ok, wait for my command," L responded and couldn't suppress a smug smile.
'Finally," the detective thought.