Trust
Summary: In which Mello surrenders to the Task Force on one condition. Mr Soichiro Yagami is the only man who's allowed to see his face. Mello already knows that Kira has to be someone on the Task Force, and the only way to get to him, is by working with the Japanese police.
"Your real name is Mihael Keehl." Mello froze. Soichiro stared him down for what felt like eternity. For the first time in his life, Mello actually felt a little threatened. No. He felt weak. This couldn't be happening, not to him. Mello was meant to be the one to come out alive. He had everything worked out...now…was he really going to die a stupid and meaningless death in the back of an abandoned warehouse?
Damn it…how did he find out?! Someone with the shinigami eyes must have seen me…maybe Snydar betrayed me…or, maybe Soichiro was somehow able to see my real name…but that makes no sense! Unless Soichiro is Kira…but that can't be right…maybe I was right to suspect that Kira is somehow working with the Task Force…wait a second…yes, that's got to be it! Kira has to be one of the men on the task force! How was Kira able to kill the director of the NPA? Only the Task Force were aware of his kidnapping, which means he has to be someone on the task force…I have to find some way to talk myself out of this. I've come this far…
"Mello, surrender now, and I won't kill you. However, if you refuse to give in, I won't hesitate to write your name down." Soichiro said in his commanding voice.
Mello let a smirk creep onto the corner of his lip. "So you aren't Kira. Well that confirms my suspicions. If you were Kira, you would have already written my name down in the notebook." Mello let out a sigh. "Mr Yagami, there's no reason I should agree to come with you. Even if you don't kill me now, I'll be sentenced to death for what I've done…but you're in no position to be threatening me. If you try to write my name in the notebook, I'll just set this place off…though, I have some information you may find rather interesting."
"There's nothing about the notebook that we don't already know Mello." Soichiro stated. "And even if you do set the bombs off, I'll still end up with the notebook. You wouldn't achieve anything but broken bones. Now, surrender, or I swear I'll kill you right here, right now."
"Mr Yagami…what if I told you there's a way that both of us could get out alive and happy." Mello tightened his grip on the switch, just in case something was to happen.
"I'm not here to bargain with you Mello." Soichiro said firmly but calmly.
"Just hear me out." Mello snapped a piece of chocolate off his bar and leant back against the table. I can't believe I'm saying this...this better be worth it. "I'll surrender to the Task Force."
Soichiro looked at Mello with a hint of surprise. "Y-you will?"
"Yes, on two conditions. The first is that you let me help lead the Kira investigation. Believe it or not, I actually do know something about the notebook that you don't." Soichiro stood in silence for a moment. "I'm not a bad guy Mr Yagami. In fact, I already know that I'm going to be sentenced to death at one point or another. All I want is to catch Kira, and then I'll gladly face the death penalty. I want to bring Kira to justice as much as the next guy. Put your trust in me, and I'll put my trust in you."
Why would Mello want to catch Kira with the help of the Japanese Task Force? Perhaps he knows that if he goes it alone, there's no way he'll be able to find him…but still, he's willing to directly face the death penalty just like that? "And your other condition?" He asked.
"That you are the only member of the task force that is allowed to see my face. I know you're not Kira, which means I can honestly say I trust you…but listen to this. I'm at least 83% certain that someone on the task force is Kira. I'll explain my theory to you later…that is, if you accept my request."
"Mello, I've been over this with people before, and I'm not going over it with you. No one in the task force is Kira. We're certain of it."
"Of course you are." Mello rolled his eyes. "Do we have a deal or not?"
Soichiro narrowed his eyes. "So, if we abide to those rules, you'll come quietly?"
"Yes. I swear to it." Soichiro stared into Mello's darkened blue eyes for any signs of misrepresentation. He saw none.
"Fine. Drop the trigger." At this, Mello smiled and let the mechanism slip from his fingers. The sound of the trigger hitting the floor echoed through the room.
"You made a good choice Mr Yagami. You're wiser than you look."
"You can use my helmet to disguise your face. The others won't be able to see through the black visor." Soichiro handed Mello his helmet.
"By the way, Mr Yagami, I never intended to hurt your daughter." Soichiro took a step back, not too keen on discussing the topic. "I'm not a bad person. I'm a good guy. I was never going to kill Sayu. After you return to your family, please give her my humble apology."
"The past is the past, and if I'm going to have to trust you, I suppose it's behind me." Mello smiled at the statement and pulled the helmet and visor over his head. Gaining the trust of the Task Force is my top priority at the moment…and from the looks of things, I'm in no position to start gaining authority…damn it. I hate being a subordinate…but I've got no choice.
As soon as Soichiro and Mello stepped through the door, Aizawa and Ide held him by the wrists and cuffed his arms behind his back. "Deputy Director-"
"Don't worry Matsuda. We've got this under control." Soichiro said serenely. "I'll explain later. Let's get back to the vehicle."
Damn it! With Mello under protection from the task force, there's no way I'll be able to kill him! I can't just ask dad to write his name in the notebook. He seems to trust Mello, and asking him to kill him would look suspicious…and Mello suspects that Kira is someone in the task force. I guess it's all down to who can stake out the longest. Mello's really putting his neck out there, attempting to gain the trust of the Japanese Police…but, if I'm not careful, he might just win. I have to be cautious now…I'm walking a very fine line here.
Mihael Keehl…I'll get you soon enough, just you wait.
"N, L's on the line for you." Near sighed in dismay
He willingly pressed the transfer button that sat upon his desk. "L, this is N."
"I just thought I'd let you know that Mello is now in the hands of the NPA. He has decided to cooperate with us until we catch Kira, after in which he has agreed to face the death penalty."
Near cocked his head to the side. You let the Task Force catch you Mello? That's very unlike you…what do you plan on doing? This can only mean that Mello believes that he can somehow catch Kira through the NPA. Perhaps Mello also suspects that Kira is somehow related to the Task Force... "Is that so…I'd like to speak with him."
"He's under interrogation with the Deputy Director at this moment. We'll have Mello personally contact you when he has the chance."
Mello, you're up to something. You must think you have some sort of leverage here. Is there something you know that I don't?
He then abruptly disconnected the call. "Commander Rester, from now on I want us to focus on investigating the Task Force."
"What? Why?" He asked.
"Mello and I grew up together. He was the kind of guy that would rather die than lose. Mello would only surrender if he was certain that there was some way this could benefit him in the long run. From what I've gathered so far…I believe that Kira and the Task Force are somehow connected…I even have reason to believe that the second L, is in fact Kira."
Rester looked shocked that N would make such a huge assumption. "But-"
"When we first started this investigation, L was reluctant to cooperate with the SPK. Why? Because he didn't want us investigating them…if this was true, then that would probably mean Mello wants to join the Task Force to get as close as possible to Kira…it's a dangerous move…but knowing Mello, he'll probably find a way to make it work." Near began fiddling with a loose strand of his hair as he spoke, "even if I'm wrong, what difference will it make? We'll start again from scratch…and I'm okay with that. I trust Mello's judgement. Now, like I said, I want to focus the investigation on the Task Force."
To be continued (possiblyyyyyyyyy)