L allowed the ghost of a smile to light up his pale features. "Then you knew that I would catch you, and that only death would stop me. That I would have outwitted you... even turned your own father against you." there was nothing smug about L's expression, however; he actually looked somewhat wistful.
"It was the most thrilling chase of my life. Solving cases was as natural for me as equations are for a calculator... and you made it seem fresh."