Chapter Six: Project Lazarus

Damn.

He was caught red-handed. It was difficult to discern where she was; the glow from the laptop overpowered his ability to make out shapes in the apartment. He heard more than saw the woman walk over to where he was and sit down next to him. The detective stayed silent, watching her, waiting for her to make the next move. There were two distinct possibilities as to what would happen next.

One, the simplest and most favorable, would be if she would answer his questions and give him a way to contact Watari, but it seemed semi-improbable.

Two, she would be angry at him for trying to go through her personal belongings, refuse to fully answer his questions, and send him on his way without a means of contacting his long-time friend and partner. This scenario seemed more likely.

"So," she began, lifting her computer from his lap and setting it on her own. He could see her face clearly now. She had large dark blue eyes and a clear complexion that was framed by long black hair. Pretty was the word that came to mind when he looked at her. "What did you want to know?"

"You said I was dead," He searched her face, which was lit up by the laptop, looking for any clues or telltale signs of falsehoods. "How am I here now?"

"I saved you," she met his eyes before adding, "somehow."

"Somehow?"

The woman nodded. "I've never actually tried that before. I'm glad it worked."

L shifted into his favorite sitting position. He wanted that extra 40% of mental agility and deductive reasoning. "Let's say I believe you. How did you save me?"

"I'm not really allowed to tell you," she sighed, her entire body moving in the action. Her dark tresses fell over her shoulder and the detective had to resist the urge to fix it. He shoved that to the back of his mind. This was neither the time nor the place. "I know that sounds sketchy, but it's the truth. I need permission before I can tell you very much."

"What can you tell me now?" He pressed. He could barely contain his curiosity. With whatever happened, whatever she was a part of, there was a hierarchy, a set of rules that needed to be obeyed. This was much bigger than her and he wanted to understand it all.

"Um," She played with her hands, looking down at them as she thought. It was several moments before she spoke again. "I am a priestess. I have a certain set of powers, the extent of which I cannot say."

"But you're strong enough to have brought a man back to life," L supplied, finishing her thought.

Her gaze lifted, eyes locked on his own. "Yes. For now, you'll just have to trust me on this."

This entire conversation was built upon the premise of him believing her story, which sounded unlikely, but with every second it was becoming less and less improbable. It fit with his own observations of the previous day's events. Eventually, he nodded in acceptance. Now, he had an entirely different lineup of tasks to set in motion. Kira had to be taken care of. Project Lazarus needed to be enacted and quickly.

"Can I borrow your phone?"

She grimaced. "Unfortunately, no. It got waterlogged when I helped you. It's completely fried."

"Oh. Can I use your laptop to email my partner?"

"Huh? Oh, sure," She typed in her password quickly and logged in. He could only catch something about "fire" and "rat" without looking too suspicious. She handed the device to him. "Here you go… What was your name? I think we skipped that bit earlier."

"Ryuzaki," L supplied smoothly.

She smiled and stood. "Kagome. Nice to meet you, Ryuzaki-san. Now, what do you say to some breakfast?"

"Thank you, Kagome-san." He set to work locating her web browser. Contacting Watari was his first priority, then snooping through her internet history and files. She, Kagome, walked into her kitchen and began to make them both some food. Once logged in to his secure email system, he typed out a simple message to Watari.

Project Lazarus is go.

Add surveillance to headquarters that's fed directly to my laptop.

The detective sent the brief message before opening her browser history. Nothing too interesting, mostly news sites, To-Oh University, her email, social media, and weather. She seemed normal for someone who claimed to have superhuman powers. Closing the web browser, he glanced into the kitchen. Kagome was busy taking ingredients out of her refrigerator. Now, it was time to have a look at what she kept on her computer.

-.-.-.-.-.-

"We're all that's left." Matsuda gazed around the room that was full of agents not even three minutes ago. Now, it was just the five of them. Chief Yagami, Aizawa, Mogi, Ukita, and himself.

"Can you blame them?" Ukita asked. He dropped back into his chair and leaned back, crossing his legs while he did so. "What we're doing is dangerous. Kira even killed those FBI agents, he won't think twice about murdering the police."

"Twenty-three resignations," Chief Yagami sighed, counting the papers in his hands. He dropped them onto his desk at the front of the room and took off his glasses, and massaged his temples for a moment. "That's most everyone. Are you all absolutely positive you want to stay on this case?"

"Yes!" Matsuda nearly shouted. He wanted more than anything to bring Kira to justice, especially after the most recent attacks. "We will find Kira and he will be put behind bars!"

"I agree," Mogi nodded in affirmation.

"Seconded," Ukita saluted from his chair.

"Me, too," Aizawa agreed. "We will bring him to justice."

"That's good to hear."

They all turned to see who spoke. It was someone he'd only seen a couple times before and, judging by the others' expressions, he recognized him as well. It was the older man from the ICPO meeting, the one who worked with L. He was dressed in a similar fashion today, brown trench coat over a dark blue suit.

"In case you don't remember me, I am Watari," He smiled at the small group of investigators. He walked further into the room. "I work with L and he has asked me to relay a message to you."

"He still wants to work with us even though 90% of our task force quit today?" Mogi questioned, surprised.

Watari's smile softened as he glanced at the younger man. "In fact, that is the only reason he wants to continue working with you. Your ranks have closed and now everyone here can be trusted." He gazed around the entire room before continuing. "L wants to meet all of you."

-.-.-.-.-.-

Once they were all seated comfortably in the sleek black towncar, Watari addressed the group again.

"I must apologize. I lied before. We are not going to see L."

"What?" Their exclamations overlapped each other's. They each wore similar expressions of shock as they stared at the Englishman.

"What do you mean?" Yagami Soichiro questioned his eyes narrowing at the old man.

"The circumstances of this investigation have changed. L is gone," Watari turned solemn. "I am taking you to meet his successors. I must ask that you all to keep up the guise to the public that L is still here. His successors will still address the world under 'L' in order to achieve a measure of consistency. I trust you all understand why."

"Ah, yes," Yagami nodded. "If the public were to find out that L is gone, there would be widespread chaos."

"What a way to bring in the new year," Matsuda sighed. "The greatest detective in the world is dead."

"Do we know what happened to him?" Ukita asked.

"We believe it was Kira," The Englishman supplied. "This is why it is of utmost importance for you all to guard your names closely. Do not give anyone your full name from this point onwards and please protect your online profile as well. Delete any photos of yourselves online or deactivate your accounts on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and any other social media. They are all now weapons that can be used against you."

Before anything else could be said, the car stopped. Watari glanced out the window.

"We've arrived."