Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note or the characters of Neylon, Rod Ross or (unfortunately) Mello. I also don't own the Mafia, which is probably a good thing.

"Hero-worship is the deepest root of all."

Thomas Carlyle

Mello sighed through gritted teeth. The dodgy lights on the ceiling were really starting to piss him off; all that flickering was giving him a headache. He'd have to get Neylon to fix them as soon as he got back from Japan. Hopefully, that wouldn't be too long—for Neylon's sake. The sooner Mello got his hands on the notebook, the sooner he could grind that little shit Near into the dust and claim his victory.

The blond teen stopped pacing the room and snapped off a piece of chocolate. The room was quiet except for the clacking of keyboards—it was too quiet. Mello had grown accustomed to the usual buzz of the Mafia headquarters; the constant arguing, gambling, banter and swearing provided a comfortable white noise to cushion his jostling thoughts. Now, the silence was making him edgy.

"Ross. Any word from Neylon?" he demanded, biting off another mouthful of chocolate in the hope it would help him calm down. It didn't.

"No. If there was I'd tell you," Rod Ross grunted irritably, not looking up from the cigarette he was rolling. "Relax, Mello. They won't be in contact for another two hours at least. Sit down and stop pacing, it's annoying."

Mello narrowed his eyes. How could Ross be so calm at a crucial time like this? If Neylon and his thugs got caught...

Then the teen reminded himself; Ross only acted like he cared about Kira, but in reality he didn't give a shit. As long as he had his whores and beer and Mello was doing all the work for him, he was content. It made Mello's lip curl in disgust, but he didn't show it.

"You know what? I think you're all capable of handling this without me. I'm off," Ross declared, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Mello tried to keep the panic out of his voice.

"I've got a date," the boss called over his shoulder, and some of his men snickered. When Rod Ross had a date, he usually meant he was going to go and batter one of his whores about a bit.

Mello flopped down on the couch, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. As much as he hated Ross, there was still some security in having him there. The more senior syndicates respected Mello, but he was aware that some of the underlings just saw him as a skinny nineteen-year-old with a girly haircut and a leather fetish. They had never seen him in action, and most of them only followed his orders because of Ross's 'encouragement'.

This notion had a sense of irony to it which did not slip past the teenager. Even in the Mafia, the closest thing to a family he had had for years and the complete opposite to the place he was brought up, he was still second best.

Joanna Kent lay on the cold floor, her skinny nine-year-old body shivering. She tried her hardest to focus on the pictures in the book in front of her, but she'd 'read' her only book so many times that the once-vibrant colours had faded to tired, sickly pastels. The words danced tauntingly under the pictures; she had never learnt to read, and could only decipher the odd 'and' or 'the' here and there. It was very frustrating, especially as she wanted to know what the book was actually about.

"Mum," she called, "can you read?"

Joanna's mother emerged from behind the curtain which sliced their room into a living area and a bedroom. Her bleach-blonde hair was scraped back into a high ponytail and she had painted her lips crimson. Half-dry nail polish shone on her fingers.

"A little bit. Why?" Her voice was taut and strained, and Joanna had long since learnt this meant she was not in a mood to be bothered.

"Doesn't matter," the girl muttered, and started to trace the outline of one of the pictures with her finger.

"Jojo?"

"Yeah?"

"I think your dad's going to be coming tonight," Joanna's mother said nervously, fiddling with the hem of her tiny skirt. "When he does, I want you to stay in here, okay? Don't leave the room."

Joanna blinked. "I won't, Mum." Where did her mum expect her to go? She was rarely allowed out of their makeshift home.

"Good," her mum nodded.

Both mother and daughter jumped when the door flew open and the towering form of Rod Ross lurched through. Joanna watched him sway in the doorway as her mother shrank back against the wall. Ross slammed a bottle down on the coffee table.

"Candy," he burped drunkenly. "You know why I'm here. Move it," he said as he indicated the curtain.

Candy nodded, smiling weakly at her daughter, then retreated into their shared bedroom, followed by Ross.

Joanna turned back to the picture book, an uneasy feeling in the pit of her stomach. Any minute now, the noises would start—yes, there they were. It sounded like her mother was being hurt, but instinct stopped Joanna running in to see if she was okay. Ross was a lot bigger than she was. Should she run downstairs and ask Ross's friends for help?

After a few minutes of faltering indecision, the cries stopped and Ross emerged from the bedroom. His face was flushed, and he grinned at Joanna. It was not a friendly smile, and Joanna squirmed.

"One day," he panted, "you'll grow up to be just like your mama." His laughter seemed to reverberate off the walls long after he had left.

The nine-year-old got to her feet and tentatively pushed the curtain to one side. The bedroom was dark, but she could make out her mother's body lying in amongst the rumpled sheets.

"Mum?" Joanna whispered. She held her breath as she waited for an answer.

"Jojo," said the voice from the darkness, "come here, sweetie." Slender arms reached out and puller Joanna into a hug. Her mother's face was slightly damp.

"Are you okay, Mum?" Joanna said softly after a few minutes, as if the silence would cut her if it shattered.

Candy sniffed and wiped her eyes. "I'm fine. Would you go and put this in our money tin for me, hon?"

Joanna felt a crisp ten-dollar note pressed into her hand. She nodded once, before scampering off.

A/N: I know I've done a lot of OC-bashing in the past, but then I realised that I'd never actually written one and it would only be fair for me to have a go. If you think Joanna is starting to slip into the realm of Sue-ness, PLEASE tell me. And I assure you that next chapter we will see the two interacting briefly. I just wanted to use the first chapter to set the scene. :)

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