"Sunset, I close my eyes
I pretend everything's alright
Drowning in anger from all these lies
I can't pretend everything's alright
Please don't let me fall forever
Can you tell me it's over?
There's a hate inside of me like some kind of master
I tried to save you, but I can't find the answer
I'm holding onto you, I'll never let go
I need you with me as I enter the shadows"
Shadow - Red
Chapter one: Riot
"Fucking hell, why did it have to start raining?" The blonde grumbled as he entered the cafe, and shook off the drops of water on his hood. Muttering softly, he slid into a empty booth. He was here for a job offer that came to him viva a strange letter. The letter had no return address, and no sender other then "L", stating that Mello was to meet him at the 'Lone Wolf' cafe today and if he did he would be offered a very 'special' job. Not really sure what to do and not willing to back down from someone who called themselves L. Mello decided to follow the letters instructions and find out what this was all about.
He pulled off his wet coat and glanced around discreetly, looking anyone suspicious. Oddly, it seemed no one was here today except an elderly man and the waitress talking him. From here, it only looked like they were having a friendly conversation. So Mello tapped his knuckles on the table in a attempt to get the worker's attention. Slowly, the waitress turned around and came over to his booth. "What can I get you Sir?" She asked her voice oddly smooth, sort of honey like. The woman's hair was a pretty amber color and it curled into large ringlets that fell just past her shoulders. She had a lean, slim figure that any man would find hard to ignore. Her uniform reminded Mello of a maids. The frilly skirt ended just at her knees and the top hugged her chest. But it was her eyes that attracted his attention the most. They were a bright golden honey color, and far to sharp for just a normal person. He could see the intelligence lurking deep in those eyes. "It's almost like she's studying me." Mello thought, slightly disturbed.
Pushing that train of thought to the the back of his head, he gave the lady a false grin. "I'll take a Hot Chocolate." He answered. "And I'll have a Strawberry Sundae." A voice said as the strangest man Mello had ever seen slid into the seat opposite to him. The waitress blinked in surprise before she nodded and walked off. Eyes narrowed, Mello studied his uninvited visitor. The man was wearing a plain white long sleeved shirt and blue jeans. Not only that he was sitting in a way Mello could only see as uncomfortable, with his knees drawn up to his chest, he had unruly midnight black hair. The newcomer's eyes were abnormally large and they watch him with a bored looking stare. His eyes were underlined with dark bags giving the impression that the man never slept. The iris themselves were stormy gray in color, and seemed to be sparking with intelligence. "You lost or something?" Mello growled out as he glared at the man.
The raven ignored his question and instead watched him with a big, owl like stare. The silent staring contest continued until the waitress returned, delivered their drinks, and left. Slowly, Mello picked up his drink and took a sip. "So, your Mello. Interesting." The raven said as he began to pick at his sundae. The blonde blinked and looked up from his drink with a suspicious glare. "Who are you? And how do you know who I am?" He snapped. The other male didn't even blink at his hostility and tossed a folder onto the table. "I'm L." The man simply said. Curiously, Mello reached out and opened the folder. His eyes widened in shock as he was greeted with a picture of himself and all of his information. Everything was in there, from a copy of his birth certificate to last weeks shopping list. "How the hell did they find that list, I trashed it days ago!" He thought, some what freaked out.
Just as he was opening his mouth to confront the raven about it, L held up his hand and spoke first. "Before you start shouting and attracting attention let me explain." He said while he continued eating. Mello snapped his jaw shut and sat there glaring murderously. He wouldn't get answers if he flew off the handle and attacked the weird man. So instead he took a swig of his drink, the hot liquid burning the inside of his mouth. Satisfied that Mello seemed ready to listen, L grinned lightly and nodded toward the file. "As stated in the letter I sent you, the team and I are interested in employing you."
Mello raised an eyebrow but kept silent while L continued. " Of course I don't just hire anyone. I made sure to see if you were worth the trouble or if we should continue our search for someone else. But you passed all of the test with flying colors." L stated almost bored sounding, as if he were discussing the weather. "I passed the tests? What tests?" Mello asked, he was damned sure he didn't fill out any questionnaires or something like that. L blinked at him slowly, as if he were trying to understand the question. "It wasn't a written test Mello, in fact I'd be surprised if you knew you were being tested." L replied.
Mello gritted his teeth and growled. Who the hell was this guy. "Ok, even if I passed your fucking 'tests' that gives you no reason to stalk me." He snapped. L merely tipped his head and frowned. " I never did such a thing, in fact I never even left base to gather that information." He replied, slightly offended. Mello glared at him, "That's even worse! What kind of job are you running, the fucking Mafia?" He yelled, not noticing that he was attracting attention. L chuckled at him and shook his head. "My line of work is much more...legal then the Mafia. And I suggest Mello-kun should keep it down, someone might hear him" He answered with a slight smile. Mello flopped back against his seat and just stared at the raven haired man. "Fucking hell, just who are you." He mumbled, feeling drained all of the sudden. L smirked at him and brought a thumb up to his mouth. "As I said before Mello-kun, I am L." Mello just shook his head and sighed. "You know what I meant." He shot back, causing L's smirk to grow. "Ah, I was wondering when Mello-kun would ask." L chuckled. "I'm the mastermind behind 'Riot'. A team made up of people who have very 'unique' skills that I've personally put together. To simply put it, the goal of Riot is to bring justice to the people." L said as he pulled out a wallet and tossed onto the table.
Mello blinked slowly and picked up the object. The wallet turned out to be a badge. The badge reminded Mello of the ones police use. 'Riot' was carved into the front and under the word there was a carving of a bird. The bird's head was cocked slightly to the side, so only one eye was visible. The whole thing was gold plated and polished to the point of perfection. "What kind of bird is this?" Mello asked as he ran a finger along the carving. L just stared at him and chew on his thumb, "Did you know that Raven symbolizes change in consciousness." He replied. Mello looked up at him and frowned. "No I didn't know that." He answered as he continued to study the object. L stared at him some more before he moved his thumb away from his mouth. "Has Mello-kun decided if he wants joining us?". Mello frowned at that question. Did he want to join? Could this be the thing was looking for. Something to finally make him someone important, someone needed? Mello finally had his answer and looked up at L.
"So when do I meet the team?" The blond asked with a grin. At that question, L's face lit up in amusement. "I believe you met them already, Mello-kun." L responded with a slight grin. And as if those where the magic words,both the elderly man and the waitress walked over to stand next to L. The old man just tipped his hat towards the two. While the waitress smiled and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "These two have known me for a long time." L said, something close to affection lingering in his tone. Mello tucked the badge into his pocket and looked up at the two.
The elderly man stepped forward first and bowed toward Mello. "Greetings young man, I'm L's handler, Watari." He said, and to Mello it almost sounded like the old man was amused. Blinking confusedly, Mello nodded at him. "Um..Hi?" He replied causing Watari to smile kindly. It seemed odd to Mello that such a kind looking old man would be part of a somewhat shady task force. But the blond doubted this was just some ordinary old man.
Next, the pretty waitress stepped forward and tipped her head. "Hello, I'm Light." She said with a smirk that looked misplaced on the female. But before Mello could reply, Light reached up and pulled off her wig. The blond stared dumbfounded, as the pretty female turned out to be a pretty male. "What the fuck?" He gasped as Light ran a hand through his real hair."I'm the teams grifter, sometimes I'm required to go undercover." The brunette replied as if it was nothing at all. Mello shot a questioning look at L and frowned, "What kind of job is this?"He growled. "This job requires many talents, besides Light is the only one we normally have go undercover. " He answered with a smirk that morphed into a smile once he locked eyes with Light. "Light-kun makes a very pretty undercover agent though, even if he is cross-dressing." L said, and Mello figured the comment was directed mostly to the brunette. Said brunette looked away with a flustered frown, causing L to chuckle.
"The hell..." The blond mumbled. "Well I think that's everyone...wait? Where's Matt?" L asked when he noticed he was down one member. Light shrugged, obviously not worried about this missing Matt character. "He's still at the base. He decided to stay there and monitor our current 'Job' while we welcomed the new member." He said nonchalantly. L started to chew on his thumb again and nodded. "Ah I see." He mumbled around the appendage. "Who's Matt?" Mello asked disgruntled about that fact he was left out of the circle. It was Watari who answered him, "Matt is the teams Hacker, and resident thief." The old man helpfully supplied. Mello nodded in thanks before something the elder had said caught his attention. "Wait, he's a thief? Did he have a criminal record and stuff?" The blond asked with a smirk. Who would have thought that a group all about justice was made made up of past offenders.
L just stared at him that blank face of his. "Yes he is, is there something wrong with that? If so I believe Mello was close to being a criminal at one point." L stated, his unnerving gaze locked on him. Mello stammered a bit, "I didn't mean it like that! I was just wondering how much help a thief could be!" He defended. Before L could reply Mello tried to changed the subject. "So when do I start?" He asked, keeping his gaze on the window. But it seemed that L was not willing to drop the subject. "Matt is very good at his job, and is a important part of the team. But don't worry Mello-kun. Matt is no criminal." L stated with a slight smile. Mello turned away from the window and frowned, "He's not a criminal? I thought you just said he had a record and all that." He mumbled. L chuckled lightly and shook his head, "All I said was that Matt was indeed a thief. I said nothing about a criminal record." He replied with a smirk. And before Mello could say anything more, the raven haired man got up and stood in a odd crouch. "Well I think it's time we get back. Watari go get the car ready, Light make sure to erase any evidence of us being here, Mello get ready to go." L commanded, watching the Riot members moved off to follow their orders.
It didn't take long for Light to wipe the place clean. And once he finished, Watari pulled up in front of the store in a black Mercedes. L nodded and moved to sit up front. Leaving Mello and Light to get in the back of the car. Once everyone was strapped in, Watari pulled away from the curb and drove down the road. The ride was unproductive and silent, making Mello a bit uneasy. Now that he had time to think about it. He was wondering if this was really such a good idea.
XxXxX
And here is my introduction chapter of sorts. I have to say that I'm ok with how it came out. This was sort of based off the show 'Leverage'. Which is a pretty good show, but besides a few minor things, this is going to be bit different.
So instead of just kind of jumping in, I had it so we sort of follow Mello and learn with him about the ever mysterious 'Riot'. From the group itself to the members, Mello will learn about them all. So I'm sorry if the story seems slow or if your left with a bunch of questions. And just so everyone knows, this story will end up yaoi. The pairings I have planned are pretty obvious in this chapter. Or at least I hope they are. Lol
Now on to Character roles...
L- I made L the 'Mastermind' for obvious reasons, I felt that L fit perfectly as the guy who sits back and commands his team. But that doesn't mean he won't be part of the 'Jobs', in fact he will be involved in a lot of them.
Light – 'The Grifter' Now Light-o was a bit harder to place. But I figured since he was such a amazing actor he would make one hell of a con artist. And I figured since Light was such a hard worker he would see no problem with cross-dressing seeing as how its all part of the job.
Matt- 'The Hacker/Thief' Matt being the hacker was a easy match up. XD He was perfect for the job. But I didn't want to bring in another person to be the Thief. I mean Wedy would be perfect for that job, but I had something else planned for her. So I left the 'Thief' job to Matt, so that just makes Matt a bad ass hacker who not only breaks into your computer, but also your house. Lol
Mello - "The Hitter" The team's highly skilled martial artist, weapons expert and "retrieval expert". I figured if anyone can watch the teams back and handle the weapons it be Mello. We can only wonder what kind of job Mello had before he joined 'Riot'. XD