My thanks to Ohba and Obata for creating such a wonderful character as L, and to my faithful readers for hanging in there. This is a tough one. These characters, except for mine, do not belong to me. But L couldn't be more real to me if he did. I appreciate being able to borrow him.
Chapter 23
L stared through the window of the helicopter watching the chaos below. Higuchi had been stopped, surrounded and taken out of the car. Mogi gave Higuchi a headset so L could question him. When asked how he killed as Kira, Higuchi told him it was with a notebook. Chief Yagami had looked in the car for such a thing and retrieved a notebook which he said had names in it….before he screamed.
"What is it Yagami-san?" L asked him as the chief fell to the ground trying to back up away from…something, reaching for his gun.
"Monster…" was all he could gasp out.
"Yagami-san please calm down you aren't armed at the moment." L reminded him. Another detective, Mogi, reached down to help the chief up and at the same time picked up the notebook which had fallen from the chief's hands.
"You're just tired, Chief, but we've caught Higuchi and….." and then Mogi screamed
L reached down and poured a cup of coffee from the thermos he had brought and listened to the chief explain that apparently only those who touched the notebook could see this monster. He cocked his head to one side and put it together, monster….notebook…Shinigami? Could it really exist. He asked for the notebook to be brought to him in the helicopter, and when it arrived he took it, looked in the direction the chief was staring in….and could not believe his eyes. If the mere thought of one made him fall out of his c hair, he wondered how he could just sit here and stare at this creature without losing his mind. As he stared at it his mind went over all the clues he 'd been given before, and now everything began to make sense. Since he never saw Light with this book, there must be two. He was suddenly aware of Light reaching for the notebook.
"Is this true Ryuzaki, let me see!" he cried and grabbed the book….and screamed. But this was not the frightened scream the others had done. This was a scream of agony, as if something was coursing through the teen's body. L sat and watched, realizing that he was watching Kira return to Light. The brilliant teen he had grown to like, was once again becoming the serial killer he had to bring down, he just knew it. He sighed deeply and looked away.
"Are you okay, anyone would be surprised by a monster like that." He finally said turning to the teen, who now had turned away from him. He listened to Light talk about how this had been used to kill, and that he would check the names of the killed against the names in the book. L sighed again and turned to look outside to watch them take Higuchi into custody. He listened as Light talked about scientifically checking the book out and as he answered him, Higuchi suddenly lurched forward and fell. L's hands grabbed his knees as he watched it unfold in front of him, within seconds Higuchi was dead. He looked at Light, but try as he might he could see no way that Light could have done that, especially right next to him. Confused he was at least glad he had the notebook. That would tell them something.
Christine sat back in her chair and let her head fall back against the back, red hair falling behind her. She usually kept it up while working and now that she was done she had let it fall. She'd inoculated all of the younger classes and younger and she was exhausted. Roger had hired a couple of nurses to give her a hand and she was forever grateful. She'd forgotten how much of a handful little ones could be when they wanted and brother today they all wanted. She sat up suddenly at the sound of a small knock at her door and the door opening. She smiled as a familiar shock of white hair peeked around the door.
"Can I come in, Dr. Thompson?" Near asked quietly. She nodded.
"Ofcourse Near, you know you can." She answered and watched as he came in slowly, sitting in the chair in his own fashion, one leg up, and one down, hand twirling in his hair.
"Is it alright if I talk to you about something that's bothering me?"
"You know better than that. I'm always here for you." His eyes suddenly shot up from where they had been gazing at the floor, right into hers.
"I find I am overly concerned about L's well being this time. Something keeps nagging at me that he is up against more than he has ever faced before."
"I'm afraid I feel the same way, Near. This is a case that is completely out of control. I don't know what he can do to control it and bring it down."
"It's not that I don't have faith in L, and that is what' bothers me the most, " Near continued, "I don't wish to think I doubt his abilities. But this is…most unusual." Christine got up and sat on the edge of her desk closer to Near.
"I understand, and don't feel badly about worrying about him. I'm worried about him too as I'm sure the other two are as well. " Near looked to the side for a moment then back at her.
"The other two have each other. If something were to happen to L, they have each other to lean on, for company. If you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly their favorite person. I have L." Christine fought with herself as to what to do next. If it were any other 14 year old she would have simply thrown her arms around him and held her to him. But this was Near, and she wasn't sure exactly whether he would appreciate it. But then he did come to her after all. She stood up and gathered the small boy in her arms.
"You will never be alone Near, no matter what happens. I know what you mean about the other two; they have a special relationship that you can't share. And you are very close to L. But I am here for you as well, Near. No matter what, I will be here for you as well." She felt him relax against her for a few moments, but then just as quickly his body steeled again and he pulled away from her, blushing furiously.
"This is not proper behavior. If I were Mello this would be all right. I should not have come with this. Besides, L won't allow himself any harm from this ridiculous Kira. He promised he'd bring him to justice." Christine nodded and stood away from him.
"Absolutely," she went back to her desk and sat down, "Now, was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked smiling, hoping she was doing what he wanted.
Near smiled a beautiful grateful smile and then stood up from the chair.
"I was wondering when I would be getting the flu shot. I don't want to get sick the next time Mello sneezes on me." Christine laughed and looked down at her calendar.
"Most likely tomorrow afternoon. I'll let you know. Okay?"
"Thank you, Dr. Thompson, I'll make sure to stay away from Mello until after then." She laughed as he went out of her office, and then took a deep sigh. Near never let his emotions show, and he was embarrassed that he had allowed them to surface as they did. So she tried to pretend it never happened and he seemed to be happy with how she handled it. These boys were a constant learning experience and she enjoyed every minute of it.
L made his way to the room where Watari was stationed, where he was at constant vigil when he wasn't preparing something for L and the task force. From this room he monitored all the cameras in the building, all the listening devices and phones. He was blessed to have someone as capable as Watari as his right hand man, and he knew it. Even if sometimes it didn't sound that way. Then there was the fact that he loved Watari like a father as well, in all honesty he was the only father figure L had ever known. He walked into the room and stood in the doorway, just looking at Watari's back as he worked the screens. Watari suddenly felt as if he were being watched and he turned towards to door to see L standing, almost forlornly in the doorway.
"L, is something the matter?" he asked and when L didn't answer right away he asked again. L walked into the room and stood before him.
"There are several things I wish to do right now. The most important is to thank you for everything you have done for me, Whammy. I could not have accomplished what I have if you had not been here." The older man smiled and patted L's arm.
"It has always been and continues to be my pleasure to work with you, L. You have made me proud since the day I brought you to Whammy's. But why are you saying these things now?" L wouldn't tell him that he woke up feeling he would not see another sunrise. There was something that just told him this was true. He also realized that if he were right about this, there were things he had to get done, things he had to take care of. One of them he just did.
"I need to test the validity of the 13 day rule on the Death Note and the only way to do that is to get someone to write down a name, wait 13 days and see if they die or not if they don't write another name. I do not believe it is a true rule, as it is the only rule that keeps Light and Misa out of harm's way. I have had to let them both go because of it, but I do not believe in it. Find me a country whose leaders will allow me to do that. I want to use two death row inmates, have one write the name of the other in the death note. And if the first one does not die within 13 days then his death sentence will be commuted. Also, if anything happens, please make every effort to delete all data and set up a program so that everything else not deleted immediately will delete soon." Watari nodded, not liking some of what he was hearing.
"Ofcourse, I'll get right on that, L."
"Before you get started on that, there is some paperwork I need you to work on with me. But this shouldn't take very long." Watari raised one eyebrow as L described what he wanted, then smiled and nodded his head, he would be happy to do as L asked.
A few hours later, L found himself on the roof of the building in the pouring rain. The depression he was feeling was so strong he decided to go into the rain so he could feel something besides depressed. He felt he could hear bells in the distance, from some church he assumed. Or maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. He had accomplished everything he wanted to; and if his feelings were correct, the boys and Christine were not forgotten. Christine….he pulled his phone out and dialed her number.
Christine smiled as she saw the familiar number and answered immediately.
"Dr. Thompson….is that better?" she asked. There was silence for a few moments and then she heard his voice, more quiet than she had ever heard it.
"Christine, it's good to hear your voice." He said. Immediately her alarms went off. This was not normal for L.
"Is something wrong, L? The case take a bad turn." She heard him chuckle.
"No, as a matter of fact I have everything figured out. The problem is proving it all. But I'm working on that at the moment." She let out a deep breath she didn't know she was holding.
"That's wonderful to hear finally. I just wondered because you sound a little off today."
"Must be the rain behind me, I am fine." Christine listened closely and found she could hear the rain over the phone.
"Are you out in the rain, L?" she asked.
"Yes. It feels quite good today actually." She laughed.
"And if you get sick who's going to bring Kira to justice?" he was quiet a moment.
"I guess I just can't get sick can I?" Christine still had an unsettled feeling about this conversation and the way he was speaking.
"L, please talk to me. You know you can talk to me about anything that won't compromise your case." She prodded.
"I have simply just been going over some things and I have come to the conclusion that I needed to take care of some business. And it's done, and the final thing I needed to do was talk to you. I haven't since you made that special call to me.." They both chuckled at the memory of that evening.
"I think I did pretty well at a dirty phone call, don't you think?" Christine laughed.
"Oh I can definitely attest to that!" he turned suddenly, hearing what sounded like footsteps on the stairs leading to the roof.
"I believe I'm getting company so I have to go now. But before I go, I have to thank you Christine."
"For anything in particular, like that call…or just a genuine patient thanking his doctor for all her special services"
"How about yes to everything?", he looked up to see Light Yagami ascending to the roof. "I have to go. Good bye Christine." And he flipped the phone shut quickly and smiled. Perhaps he couldn't prove Light was Kira yet, but he could make him get his perfect hair wet.
Christine sighed and closed her phone as well. At least he'd said good-bye this time before he disappeared. even if it wasn't like him. He'd sounded so distracted but then it was this case. She hoped he was right about the information he was working on and he could finally put an end to this.
L led Light back to the workroom after his call from Watari telling him a country had been found that was willing to work with him. If he could get thru this, then perhaps he would be all right.
He braced himself for the fallout he knew would come once the rest of the task force had heard what he was doing. But he was not in the mood for their behavior today.
"If we work this out," he said his anger barely under control, "The entire case will be solved". Thunder and lightening raged outside the office building, seeming to reflect his anger. Suddenly lightening hit the building, knocking out the electricity. The room glowed red with the auxiliary power kicking into use. L stared at the screen waiting for Watari to send him the information. Suddenly he heard what sounded like groaning coming thru the speakers.
"Watari?" he whispered listening intently, knowing it was him he heard.
Watari fell against the console with the first pain in his chest, and he immediately knew what was happening. He reached forward to hit the delete button, his eyes resting on the screen where his ward's face was staring up into the camera, making it look as if he could see him. His hand reached forward as if he could touch the man he loved as a son once more, wishing he could do more. With his last breath he hit the delete button.
L watched as the screens evaporated into a delete message, his heart closing his throat. Inside he was screaming; he hadn't expected Kira to go after Watari! He knew once he had set his sights on picking up Misa again since the deaths had started again after she had been released, that he would be forcing Kira's hand…but not this. Not Watari. But how had he done it, Light was right behind him, and he didn't know Watari's real name…but a Shinigami would know it. He looked around quickly; the Shinigami was nowhere to be seen. The task force had also realized that and was looking around as well.
"What's happening?" one of them called out.
"I told Watari that if anything should happen he should delete everything." The task force muttered behind him, looking around frantically for the Shinigami. L continued to watch the screen in front of him as he called out to them.
"Gentlemen, the Shiniga……." At first he welcomed the crushing pain to his chest, it drove away the pain of losing Watari. It caused him to fall from his chair, his ever-present spoon slipping from his fingers as he slid. The pain continued to pound at his chest, keeping him from making any sound as he felt himself falling to the ground, and just before he hit he felt himself cushioned by arms. He looked up and saw that ironically he was in the arms of his killer. He watched as Light's mouth slowly turned up into triumphant smirk, and if he'd had any doubts at all, he knew now that he had been right all along. It was all right, the boys would bring him down, and he knew they would. Especially since they had Christine as an anchor. He could die peacefully knowing that Light would eventually see justice. Christine would…Christine…I am sorry, Christine.
He felt the pain subside and his eyes closed slowly as he took his last breath, her name in his mind, and slipped away.
Christine's eyes flew open, as she lay in her bed half asleep. She looked around sleepily wondering what it was that she had heard. She could have sworn she heard someone calling her name, and she could have sworn it was L. Obviously she had been dreaming, as she was completely alone. She turned over and went back to sleep.
