Day 43: Sun Room, Second Shift

[arc_wrench]

When the shift changed, HK stayed put. Even after a long night of zombie killing, he had no interest in meatbag fuel, especially after all the discussion of chocolate with that rather strange meatbag. It was just making him crave the stuff even more than he had previously, if that was possible

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[herr_inspektor]

[Sorry I didn’t post this sooner, my internet had spontaneous myocardial infarction. BUT YES. I am SO sorry for the general fail this shift! Fate conspired against me for this one I think, orz]

The corner of the inspector’s mouth twitched in a smile as L added his own links to the chain of thoughts. While this wasn’t the time to discuss the matter of profiling at length, he couldn’t resist continuing. “Naturally. The man already has a sizeable body count from what I’ve heard, regardless his state of mind.”

Lunge’s eyes never left L’s face once. Interesting how the man seemed to intensify along with the conversation. It was as though someone had taken a microscope and tightened the focus for a few moments, or like a cheetah suddenly breaking pace for a brief, blinding sprint before falling back into a trot. The man’s languor seemed similarly fated to be breached by the occasional emergence of sharp insight. A hint of what lay beneath the surface.

“The question of what kind of megalomaniac we are looking at,” he agreed, “is the key one. Until that is answered- which won’t be any time soon, I’d wager- there is little that can be done. For the moment, I’ll be keeping my investigations on a more tangible level, one that I can personally verify in some way. Alec Doyle and the patient files are just a couple of the possible topics, the latter of which I’d like to look into as soon as possible.”

“As for the clubs…” Lunge shook his head. “No. I had considered signing up for something, but eventually I decided that it would be an unnecessary distraction from my work.”

Not that this was any great loss, so far as Lunge was concerned; the tasks they set were well-meaning but of little use to him, besides which he had never worked well with authority even at the best of times. It was fortunate, therefore, that at the worst of times he had never shied away from working alone. If Ruhenheim hadn’t managed to break him, he severely doubted that Landel’s Institute would.

Just why L wanted to keep his identity so carefully under wraps, however… now that was less clear to him. There was taking the necessary precautions and then there was paranoia, but the line between the two seemed less well defined with him.

Something in the back of his own mind made a casual, drifting connection with the mysterious ‘Kira case’ the man had been so reluctant to discuss, but brushed it off with a nod. The relevance of that matter was debatable. Prioritising was necessary. “Of course.”

Having settled that, the chair gave a quiet squeak of protest as Lunge sat back. “Well. I think that about covers things for the moment. If all things go as planned, this should be the beginning of an… interesting partnership.” He held out a hand, but there was something oddly challenging behind the well-mannered smile that accompanied it. “Don’t you think?”

[quarter_english]

L understood that Lunge was watching him -- expected it, in fact. A good investigator should be suspicious of him, to some extent, and they should be analyzing his behavior. Noticing it was almost reassuring: it showed keen intelligence, capability, the idea that L would not be the only person addressing their situation in a serious way.

He was used to working alone, but always with eyes and ears and hands. Only time would show whether Lunge was as reliable and skilled as it seemed that he might be, but L had a fleeting thought: This is someone I might choose to work with even if I were not forced to do so.

Still, when Lunge said he would find membership in a club to be an unwelcome distraction, L tilted his head, frowning a little.

"You are equal to defending yourself?

"Ordinarily, I would agree with you, but I have some small interest in the cooking club. It has been suggested that there is safety in numbers here -- I will need to experience at least one night here to decide for myself. The club dedicated to self-defense seemed the most expedient. If it becomes necessary to join one, appearances suggest that one will be the most advantageous."

He caught the challenge in the smile, and it caused something enigmatic to pass over his face -- a sharpness that was there and gone, a challenge of his own. He was not often in the habit of shaking hands, but this situation was different; he could not control the variables. He took the offered hand and shook it. His own hand was cool and dry.

"Yes. I hope we will be able to accomplish everything we set out to do."