Anna's POV

It was August 16th. Naomi would be heading to the third victims house and to be honest, the fact that L was willing to do nothing to stop Beyond without solid evidence to convince the police was starting to test my patience. At a wave of his hand, he could command the world's armies to move into action, any police force to take a stand, any criminal to be convicted. It would only take his word against Beyond's to send him to jail and if L was correct in his assumption, if B was going to take his own life for the sake of his sick game, I wanted him in jail where he might be safe from himself.

After working nonstop for the past few days, I'd gotten L to bed. Knowing him, he would only sleep for an hour, maybe two if he were exceedingly lucky, but this was a faint hope at best. It had barely been ten minutes before the phone rang. I didn't bother looking at the caller ID, I knew who it would be.

"This is L."

I didn't make a habit of stealing my boyfriend's identity nor was it a habit that I answered his phone, but I wasn't about to wake him up for a matter I could handle myself. After all, he had been more than exhausted.

"This is Misora." Naomi answered calmly.

I smiled to myself. She couldn't tell it wasn't L. That would be all I need, for her to find out L was working with someone else, that he wasn't alone. That was something L had warned against more times than I could count.

She told me of her fight in the alleyway and I felt myself becoming a bit worried. If she was killed or injured, who would replace her? We couldn't catch anyone else up to speed in the time span we had, meaning it would have to be one of us. And knowing L… I shook the thoughts from my head. I would deal with that later.

She explained her situation as it was and her theory of why the victim had been lying face down instead of on her back like the others: it was because she was a child. I could hear her getting a bit worked up on her end, but she managed to control herself fairly well.

I nodded to myself, L had done well picking her.

"Ok, I understand. I was right to pick you, Naomi Misora." I tried, feeling strange by using her full name. It was simply something L had become accustomed to doing and if I was playing L I had to act the part. "Honestly, I did not expect such impressive results."

As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. It was such a back handed compliment. In truth, I wasn't sure it was something L would have said. At least not the way I had phrased it. I wasn't lying though. When L had told me of his selection, I had had my doubts as to whether or not she could be a fitting stand in. She was proving herself rather surprising and I was feeling more confident about L's choice.

"No… not at all. I don't deserve the compliment." Her comment surprised me. I raised my eyebrows and made to remark on it, but she continued before I could. "More importantly, about what I should do next… any thoughts? We don't know when the fourth murder will occur, so I thought maybe I should head over to West L.A. right now…"

"No need," I admitted. I needed her to wait for BB to show up. "I'd prefer that you secure your footing. Based on your report, there is plenty of time before the fourth murder occurs."

"Eh?" She questioned.

I knew it must have sounded insane, but I knew I was right. It didn't fit the pattern, but I knew it had to be correct. L may have a different idea of what was going on and when things would happen, but with his current lack of insight I had only my own instincts to go on. For the duration of his nap, this was my case and it was me who would be making the calls.

"The killer will take his victim on August 22nd. You have six more days." I calculated in my head. I knew I was right. I had to be right.

"Six days?" She didn't sound convinced.

I sighed to myself. I knew L would be waking up soon. "I'm afraid I don't have time to explain right now. Please try and work it out for yourself. But the next murder will occur…" I paused and decided to change my wording a bit, "Or the killer will make his next attempt on August 22nd, and I would have you act on that assumption." I decided looking toward the hallway to assure L wasn't lurking in the doorway. He wasn't but Watari was. I waved him off, but he came and sat down at the table across from me.

"Understood." Naomi sounded like she knew I was in no mood to be argued with. After all, I was running out of time. "In that case, over the next six days I will make careful preparations and investigate the third crime scene."

I nodded frantically now growing nervous under the watchful eyes on Watari. "Please do. Oh, and- Naomi Misora, do take all the precautions for your own safety. You are the only person who can work for me on this case. If you fall, there is no one that can replace you."

I had still been thinking about her fight in the ally. If she had been injured or worse, L would have been the one to step up. He would put himself on the front lines to take down Beyond. That was something I couldn't allow.

"Don't worry. I wasn't hurt." She proclaimed.

Well obviously… I sighed aloud to myself again and then noticed Watari give me an amused glance. "No- I mean be careful not to place yourself in situations in which you might be attacked. Avoid backroads, alleys, and other deserted areas. It might take longer, but stick to crowded areas and busy streets." I warned.

"I'm fine, L. I can take care of myself. I've trained in martial arts."

The last part of her sentence caught my attention.

"Have you? In what? Karate? Or Judo?"

"Capoeira."

I stopped all together. Capoeira? What the hell. Of all the martial arts styles she could have picked, she picked the one based off dance. I couldn't honestly say I wasn't disappointed.

"Yeah, I thought it was crap till I actually started it, but I got involved in street dancing in college and joined a Capoeira group as an extension of that. It's actually a very effective form of self-defense for a woman. The basic techniques all involve dodging your opponent's attacks, which means it isn't possible to overpower a block like it is in karate or judo. We can never match a man's power. And the acrobatic, tricky movements in capoeira give you time to get a good look at your assailant."

I allowed Naomi's words to settle in my mind for a minute. I didn't doubt that what she had said held a bit of truth. If you're always dodging you can't be overpowered. Still, something about the style being affective for a woman rather than simply affective bothered me. Whoever had told her she couldn't match a man's power and switched something on in her brain that didn't sit quite right with me. She was in the FBI, she had to be pretty badass for that and yet…

"Really? That makes sense," the words fell from my lips before I could stop them. "You're description makes it sound interesting. If I have time, I will have to look at some videos… but however confident you are, if they have a gun, or outnumber you, the situation changes. Take all the precautions you can." I warned again.

"Of course. Don't worry, I always do. Um, L?" She questioned.

I sat up straighter at her tone, "What is it, Naomi Misora?" Great, L had me calling her by her full name off of instinct now.

"I was wondering… you've figured out the killer's goal, right?"

I considered for a moment, knowing what L would want me to say… but L wasn't here. After a few moment's I nodded.

"Yes." I let this settle between us before speaking up again, "To tell the truth, I always knew who the killer was."

"Eh?" The sound resonated through the receiver.

"The killer…" I started and then looked up to Watari, who seemed natural about the situation. "Is B."

Watari's POV

I had been surprised to find Anna alone in the living room when I approached, but nothing had surprised me more that her admittance to Naomi Misora. They had only spoken for a minute or so after that before they hung up. Anna stared at me for a long time, her green eyes were filled with worry and regret.

"Do you think it was wrong to tell her?" She asked me.

I simply shrugged. "How did L feel about it?"

The question made her squirm uncomfortably and I had my answer before it left her mouth.

"He told me not to. Well, actually that's not true. He said he wouldn't tell her."

I gave her a sympathetic smile, "My dear, I don't see much of a difference."

She sighed and stood up. Pacing she tried to explain herself. My heart broke for her. I knew all Anna had to tell me before it could be rapidly forced out in a jumble of sentences. I had raised both her and L. I knew their every move before they would make it, the small things most people would miss. They were like my children. Both had been raised to be something great. Before I could offer assistance to her, a throat was cleared from behind me. Anna stopped in her tracks and I turned to see L, his hair even messier than usual, standing before us.

"Anna, what have you done?"