A Year of Jubilee [The Death Note Fanfic]

Chapter 9

"Welcome to the new headquarters," announced L to the group of gawking task force members.

They were all standing in the lobby of a brand new high-rise building. L had apparently ordered construction of the downtown structure months ago, declaring just yesterday that they would be working there from now on. Jubilee had been irritated at first at being moved around yet again, but now she stood as impressed as everyone else. The building boasted twenty-three floors aboveground, two floors underground, two penthouse suites—one of which was assigned to her and the other to Misa, though the pop star got to have the rest of the floor as well—two swimming pools, a theater room...and, apparently, a helipad with two helicopters hidden on the roof. Maybe house arrest wouldn't be such a bad gig after all.

"Wow, Ryuzaki!" exclaimed Matsuda, spinning around to admire everything. "You had this place made just for us?"

"For the investigation," corrected L, lifting one finger in the air with his handcuffed hand. Light, startled by his arm involuntarily lifting along with the detective's, gave him a look.

"Right," murmured Matsuda, too engrossed with his lavish surroundings to feel slighted. To Jubilee, he whispered, "I'm almost jealous, Miss Julie! You get one of the best rooms in the building."

Jubilee laughed. "Well, at least you have your freedom."

Matsuda looked abashed. "Oh. Right."

L had walked ahead of them into a larger room in the back. Watari ushered them to follow. "This way to the main room, please," he offered politely.

Jubilee and the others went obediently. The main room opened up before them with high ceilings and industrious looking steel walls. At its end stretched a long, smooth desk from corner to corner of the room, set up with computer stations for each member of the team. Above that was mounted a large, flat screen monitor, with several smaller monitors lined up along its sides. It took up nearly the entire wall. With the exception of a comfortable looking chaise lounge arranged beside a glass coffee table off to the side, and an opposite doorway leading into a kitchen area, the overall feel of the room was one of somber minimalism.

"We having movie nights?" asked Jubilee dryly, indicating the large screens with a dip of her head.

L, already crouched on a swivel chair before one computer, answered by hitting a button that switched the screen on. The monitors flickered to life, high pixilated images of every floor of the building appearing beside each other in neat boxes.

A beep sounded and movement flickered in the box at the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Aizawa was pulling in at the basement-level parking garage, ringing the bell for entrance.

"Let us test out our new security system, shall we?" said L. He pressed a button.

Jubilee and the others watched as Aizawa stuck his head out the car window, proceeded to push in a sequence of numbers on the keypad, look into a retina scan, then exit his car and pass through a lengthy security check that involved taking off first his belt, then his watch, then his shoes.

"Why didn't we have to do all that?" murmured Matsuda in bafflement as, onscreen, Aizawa began cursing when he was denied entrance for the fifth time in a row.

"I trust all of you," stated L simply.

"But not Aizawa?"

"I trust him as well," said L, then added, matter-of-factly, "This is simply for my own passing entertainment." At his last two words he sent a small, imperceptible glance Jubilee's way.

Jubilee resisted the urge to smirk, simply because she had decided that she still didn't like the man, and thus didn't want to give him the satisfaction of her finding him funny. Instead she looked sidelong at Hellenos. This one likes to play god almost as much as Kira does, she thought dryly.