Chapter 5

Another Interruption

Elena's POV

The van was at the meeting point, but Suruga was not. He didn't seem like the kind of man who would just abandon us. We put the kids in the van and then L hopped up on a pipe near the water. The wind blew through his hair and I sighed.

"What's wrong?" Maki asked me.

I gave her a small smile.

"Nothing important."

She looked down at L and then back to me.

"You have feelings for him."

"You're very perceptive. You know that?"

She smiled a bit.

"You two stay here."

They both nodded and I walked down to L.

"You're amazing with kids." He said.

"Thanks. I did raise my brother."

"And you did it well."

I looked at the water. I finally got up the courage to say,

"It should've been me."

"What?"

"I should've put my name in the note. The world needs you."

"Elena no…"

"MY brother is grown up and he knows how to take care of himself."

"Look at me!"

The sound of his raised voice made me jump a bit. He stood up and put his hands on the bare skin of my arms. His touch made me shiver.

"I never want to hear you talk like that again. There are other intelligent people in this world, but there is only one Elena Salazar. You have the biggest heart I've ever seen. You're brave and kind and I-"

"L!"

I growled in frustration. Suruga walked over and I looked at him.

"Si no fuera un agente del FBI, te dispararía ahora mismo." (If I wasn't and FBI agent, I'd shoot you right now.) I said.

He looked at L.

"What did she say?"

"You don't want to know."

L told him everything we knew.

"Did she inject the virus herself?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Don't worry. In the dormant stage, no virus will be a threat." L said.

"I see…"

I couldn't tell if he actually believed L or not.

"But before the virus takes effect, we need to travel a bit far."

"With her?"

Suruga took a few steps forward.

"If the virus takes effect, we'll be infected first."

I looked at L, but he continued to look out into the distance.

"We probably will… perhaps it won't be as peacefully as I hoped." He whispered.

I closed my eyes and looked away.

"Leave the rest to the FBI." Suruga said.

I smirked. That wasn't going to happen. L walked towards him.

"Thank you. In that case, Suruga-san, I need a favor."

Suruga smiled.

"Anything for you."

After parting ways with Suruga, we boarded a train. It was a silent ride, and all I could think about was that L would be gone in less than six days. I looked over at L. He was swinging around on one of the train handles.

"Where are we going?" Maki asked.

"To a man named Matsudo Kouichi." L said.

"Professor Matsudo? I've met him before, but how do you know him?" she asked.

L stopped swinging and sat still.

"When I looked at the book on the Infectious Disease Center, he and your father were listed as co-writers." He told her.

I noticed a man staring at L.

"Do you have a problem?" I asked.

He looked down at his phone. A few seconds later he gasped.

"Impossible."

He looked at Maki and then the man next to him jumped up and ran. When the train stopped people were screaming and running away. I sighed and L got up.

"Come on, we can't use public transportation anymore."

He sounded frustrated, but we had to move fast. We traveled by bikes now. L put the boy in a basket and we rode off. We traveled all day without stopping.

"L… Elena… I'm really tired." Maki said.

We decided to stop for a short break and rented a small cubical with a computer. Maki fell asleep and so did the boy. L continually tried to access headquarters but like he said before, they'd blocked him from doing so. The boy sat up and look at L with a worried expression.

"It's okay, I knew this would happen."

He set down his cup and pat the boy on the head. I smiled and he laid back down. I sighed and stared at the ceiling. I felt L touch my hand, but he didn't look at me. He just stared at the computer screen. I took his hand and closed my eyes.