A Year of Jubilee [The Death Note Fanfic]

Chapter 53

It had been three days since Jubilee had written in the Death Note. Ten days before Kira would undoubtedly aim to kill her.

And it had just become clear how he planned to lure her out to do so.

She stared at the email on L's computer monitor, which he had turned for her to see.

I am Kira, it began simply. Meet me ten days from now at the Yellow Box Warehouse in the east countryside. I know that there are nine of you. You have until 2pm on that day for every member of the Task Force to be present. If even one of you fails to appear, you can be certain that many innocent people will die.

Hellenos had steadily faded from view beside her by the time she finished reading. She didn't notice.

"Nine?" she whispered, paling as she did a quick count in her head. There were only seven of them at headquarters. "He doesn't mean—"

"Not Near and Mello," said L, cutting her off. "If he knew about them then he would also know about Matt, and that would make ten." He turned the screen back around to face where he was crouched in his chair. "No, he's talking about Aiber and Wedy."

Jubilee exhaled in relief from where she stood beside him. L glanced up at her sharply.

"You really should be more worried about yourself," he told her. "This is clearly Kira's ploy to make you accessible."

"I'll be fine," she assured him, though she could feel the line over her own head quavering. She turned to look down at the detective. "We'll figure something out, right?" she added, with more bravado than she felt.

The agitated reds and blues that had hovered over L's form after she'd written in the Death Note flickered back into existence around him. He looked away from her.

"Yes," he said stiffly. "Because you are not going to be there." The line over his head wavered and then started to fade, but Jubilee barely noticed over her surprise at his words.

"What?!" she cried. "What do you mean?" She leaned over him, jabbing a finger at the computer screen. "It says right here that if I don't show up, then people will die. And that is not an option."

"Neither is delivering you right into Kira's hands."

"It's got to be one or the other," she argued.

L's hands clenched around his armrests. "I have other contacts, associates I could call on," he said, still not looking at her. "One of them could easily take your place." Again the line over his head trembled, cracking this time, before fading.

"What, so that they can potentially die in my place?" She put her hands on her hips. "And what about you? All of you? You think I'm just gonna stay locked in my room while the rest of you go and possibly get yourselves killed?"

L lowered his head, still gripping the arms of his chair. "You would still have Near and Mello," he said softly. "And Matt. If anything should go wrong, the four of you..."

Jubilee was about to yell exactly what she thought of that—You are NOT dying, AGAIN!—when she finally noticed the line over his head, cracking once more and fading a third time.

She dropped her arms. "You know that won't work," she said slowly. L didn't answer, and she went on, "I'm not arguing with you...I'm stating a fact that I can see." Considering the line over his head again, she said with realization, "Just sending in any nine people won't do. Light must have orchestrated this message, and he did it specifically so that I'd be there. Me and you. If either of us don't show up, it's not beneath him to start killing people until we do. And you wouldn't be willing to risk that."