In the perfect world of Jubilee's imaginary mind theater, when she went downstairs for work the next day, she would have grabbed an extra cup of coffee, piled it high with sugar cubes, and delivered it to L with a smile and an apology. Something cool and collected like, "Sorry about yesterday. Can we start over?" Or, "That wasn't cool of me to flip out. Let's put it behind us." Maybe she would throw in a muffin from the refreshment cart along with it. Or, perhaps, in an alternate cut scene version that her mind had contrived, she'd have gone above and beyond, asking Watari to help her bake a cake the night before.

But this was reality, and reality wasn't a perfect world, and she wasn't a perfect person. And gracious apologies that came easily, and affable reconciliations that smoothed everything over, only existed in the realm of her imagination—where she had rehearsed the above scenarios repeatedly, yet still found her feet walking right on past the detective when she approached him in real life.

Tomorrow, she thought resignedly as she slid into her chair. Tomorrow I'll say sorry. But that was what she had told herself twenty-four hours ago, and even now the very thought of it put an irrational sense of dread in her.

Maybe it was because ignoring the problem was less risk than addressing it and having to open up that whole can of worms again. Tense silence between her and L was marginally better than giving him an opening to potentially reproach her for her conduct. If she had to hear him tell her one more time that her emotions were hindering her progress on the case, then she just might lose it. Although, to make it all worse…they probably were.

Moodily, she pulled up footage and proceeded to fast forward it as usual. Hours passed by in this fashion as the repetitive images played before her. This, combined with the drone of quiet conversation around her, made her continually have to suppress a huge yawn. A few feet to her right, Aiber, Wedy and L had been discussing a lengthy plan of action.

"So I just have to get close to these guys, right?" the blonde man said at one point, flipping through a stack of Yotsuba employee profiles. He looked up and grinned. "Leave it to me."

Wedy, seated by his elbow, also addressed L. "And you want me to breach the security and override the surveillance cameras in the Yotsuba Group's head office. Is that all?"

"Yes," replied L from his usual crouched position in his chair. "At this point, it's safe to assume that Kira and the Yotsuba Group are connected in some way. We need to investigate Yotsuba and determine who holds Kira's power, and also if there is more than one person who possesses this ability. However." He swiveled away from his computer to face them, wearing a serious expression. "We cannot let anyone from Yotsuba figure out that we are investigating them. If they do, we won't be able to catch Kira. So please, do not act out of panic or haste, and do not take matters into your own hands."

"Ryuzaki," Watari's voice suddenly interrupted from the speakers.

"Yes. What is it?" asked L.

Watari's voice was grim. "I have just received an emergency signal from Matsuda's belt."

Everyone in the room looked up at this, including Jubilee.

L's expression had blackened perceptibly. "Where is he?" he asked darkly.

"It seems," began Watari, "That it is coming from within the head office of the Yotsuba Group."

There was a moment of shocked silence.

"What?" squeaked Jubilee, whipping her head around the room. She hadn't even known that Matsuda wasn't there. "He left?"

"He's been on a film shoot with Misa, posing as her manager," answered Mr. Yagami, before adding thoughtfully, "The set is not that far from the Yotsuba building. He must have thought it would be a good opportunity to investigate."

Jubilee felt sweat form on her brow. What was it she had told Matsuda? Do something…take opportunities…things like that.

Whoops.

"Disregard everything I just said," L instructed tersely as he swiveled back around in his chair and bit down on his thumb, hard. "I'll have to rethink our strategy." Under his breath he added, between grit teeth, "Matsuda, you idiot."

Jubilee found herself nibbling nervously on a fingernail. This was her fault, wasn't it? Add that to her ever-growing list of blunders. At least no one would know about this one.

"Light, give me your cell phone," said L suddenly. Light obeyed quickly, handing over his phone, and L promptly flipped it open and called a number, holding the phone up to his ear between a thumb and forefinger.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

"Yo, Matsui!" he drawled when a person on the other line answered.

Matsui. Matsuda's alias. Everyone in the room held their breaths.

"Yeah, it's me, Asahi," continued L, his voice higher than usual and affected with a lazy, almost drunken inflection. "It's been a while, eh buddy?"

Jubilee stared in shock, unable to conceive hearing such a voice come out of the detective. Above his head a crumbling line wavered and wobbled, snapping in two and then putting itself back together, unable to decide which state to remain in. The words coming out of L's mouth may have been a charade, but there was a truer, sincere intent behind them.

"Yeah, it doesn't sound like you're out right now," L continued, then jibed in a mocking but jovial tone, "Don't tell me you're home already."

He sounded like a regular frat boy. Jubilee shook her head, bewildered.

"So!" continued the detective. "You by yourself?" His eyes took on a considering look as he listened. Then, putting a hand over the mouthpiece and holding it away from himself, he whispered to the rest of them, "He's not with Misa Amane right now. Matsuda must be on his own." Returning the phone to his ear, he drawled on, "So do you wanna, like, go out drinking tonight?"

Jubilee thought she might die. Maybe she already had died, and had been sent to an alternate universe, one in which L was your average dude who did average things.

"Oh, what's the matter?" he said after a moment, his voice taking on a taunting edge. "Don't tell me your wallet is in trouble again."

In trouble! thought Jubilee. He's talking to him in code! She leaned forward, straining to catch the sounds of Matsuda's voice through the earpiece.

"Yeah," she thought she could hear Matsuda say through the phone. "Biiig troubles with money. You know me too well, Asahi."

"Aw, that's too bad. I need to go over there and drag you out one of these days, don't I?"

A meaningful pause, and then, "Yeah. I guess you do." There was the crackly sound of nervous laughter. "Julie did tell me that I needed to get out there and start taking more opportunities—"

Jubilee paled at the mention of her name.

"But she also said I should also ask for help when I need it…So, say, if you're ever up for helping me out with my…my money troubles, then I could get out of here and have a drink then…what do you say?"

L turned a foreboding expression on Jubilee and she gulped. Putting a hand over the receiver again, he spoke to the rest of the team, though his eyes remained on her. "Matsuda is saying he is in big trouble and needs help escaping. And—" His eyes narrowed somewhat. "Something else, which will figure out later." Returning to the phone, he continued in a lighter tone, "I'll have to check my bank account and see if there's anything I can swing. Otherwise, I guess I'll just drag you out some other time, all right? See ya, buddy!" He snapped the phone shut with a click.

Slowly he turned in his chair to face Jubilee. So did the rest of the task force.

"I have no idea what he's talking about," she blurted before anyone could say anything. She could practically feel the thick line over her head snapping in two, showering her with a thin layer of black dust. "It's Matsuda. You know how he is."

So she was throwing Matsuda under the bus. So what?! He had thrown her under the bus first.

L, expressionless, held her gaze for a moment before turning away. "So I do," he said brusquely. "Let's just put that behind us and attend to more important matters." Without missing a beat he addressed the rest of the task force. "Matsuda has most likely been apprehended by the Kira conspirators at Yotsuba, in which case they will not be letting him out of their sight until they decide whether or not he is a threat to them. With any luck he'll have been wise enough to use his alias as Misa's manager to appear innocent, and stall their suspicions. But we will still have to come up with a plan to get him out of there. Light." He handed Light's phone back over. "Call Misa Amane, please."

"Will do," said Light, dialing a number on his phone.

Jubilee's relief at having been let off the hook so easily was quickly flushed out by sudden, overwhelming guilt. Not only guilt over Matsuda's predicament…but also the fact that L had just taken her planned words—which she had so dreaded, and so agonizingly rehearsed over and over again in her head—right out of her mouth.

Let's just put that behind us.

She groaned. She was the one who was supposed to have said that!

"We have to consider," she heard L saying to the rest of the task force, "That if Matsuda dies, the suspicions about the Yotsuba Group will be confirmed."

Jubilee felt panic well up inside of her. "No!" she cried, jumping out of her chair. "That isn't—we can't let that happen! All Matsuda was trying to do was help the case. He shouldn't have to pay the price for—for—" For my stupidity. For my big mouth.

L regarded her outburst with an impassive gaze. After a moment, he simply said, "Let's just watch the situation for the time being," and turned away.

Jubilee wanted to shout something after him, to tell him that giving Matsuda up to the dogs could not possibly be an option, when she noticed something that made her stop short. There was a line over his head, crumbling. With sudden clarity she realized, without knowing how, that L had no intention of letting Matsuda die.

The sound of Misa's voice crackled over Light's phone, which he had put on speaker. "Hang on," she was saying."I'm getting a call on my work phone…oh hey, it's from Matsu!"

"Tell her to hold her phone so that we can listen in as well," L instructed Light.

Light did as he was told, and they soon heard Matsuda's voice, thin but distant: "Misa-Misa, when you're finished filming, come over to the Yotsuba Group's head office." His voice held an exaggerated tone of false cheer. There was definitely someone else listening in. "It's still tentative, but there's a chance you may be able to appear in Yotsuba's commercials! I've been negotiating with them over it."

Misa's excited voice garbled praises for Matsuda, as the rest of the task force members exchanged uncertain and nervous glances.

"Listen to me, Light." L's voice was sharp and he had grabbed the other young man by the sleeve of his elbow. "There is a chance," he began slowly, "That we may be able to save Matsuda. But we won't be able to do it without Misa's help." He cast large, dark eyes up at Light. "She'll listen to you and do anything you say, won't she?"

"Uh, I suppose," said Light.

L suddenly swiveled in his chair to face Jubilee, fixing her with a stare that froze her to the spot with its intensity. "And you, Miss Amachi," he said softly. "We will need your help as well."

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