A/N v.3: Just 2 more chapters to go! Lol. I promised my friend I would put this in: She wanted them to go to a zoo, but I couldn't work it in. Sorry not sorry, Amber. I want to apologize for any typos, since this hasn't really been beta'd, and I hate going through my old work after typing it up because then I start to change things to suit my OCD. As always, reviews are loved. Happy reading! :)

Chapter 7

Mello walked into the Mafia headquarters bright and early the next morning, acting like he owned the place—which, really, he did. But anybody who knew him well could tell the bounce in his step was slightly forced. He kicked Rod Ross, one of his underdogs, off the couch and thumped back onto it. He propped his feet on the table in front of him and magically pulled a chocolate bar from somewhere on his form-fitting-leather clad person. He bit off a chunk and waited for his subordinates to gather.

"Okay," he said once they were all present. "You've been on free rein long enough. New York is getting comfortable. It's time to show them why they should be scared." A murmur of agreement ran through the room. "So," Mello continued, "to get your lazy asses back in shape, I've devised a…field exercise, you could say. It serves a dual purpose: A) I can figure out which one of you pussies needs a refresher in our way of life, and B) New York gets a nasty surprise.

"You will all stand alone. No alliances, no cooperation, no f***ing nothing. Any violaters will be shot immediately, no questions asked. Any questions?" The pussies in question all shook their heads.

"Good. Here's your task. Everyone here is to capture someone from New York City, in broad daylight, without arousing suspicions. You will bring them back here, to the based, without arousing suspicions. You will kill them, preferably in an amusing way, in front of me. And you will return them where you found them, without arousing suspicions. You have 3 days to complete this. Anybody who f***s up, even a little bit, will be given a refresher on how to achieve these missions." Here he pulled out his gun and started caressing it, leaving no doubt as to what this 'refresher' might be. Not looking up from his gun, Mello's voice hardened. "What the f*** are you waiting for? GO!" The men immediately scampered out, already trying to find a potential victim.

When Matt woke up, he was tied to a strange bed with a strange man hovering over him.

"Well whaddya know. Sleeping Beauty awakes," the man grunted. "I've been waiting 2 f***ing days, pretty boy. Must have put too much chloroform in the rag. But whatever. You serve two purposes. Not only can I eliminate you, you'll be my victim for—" Matt hadn't really heard anything. The man's face looked familiar. "Do I know you?" he interrupted.

The man gave a short chuckle. "You don't remember? Of course not," he answered himself. "And it'd be better if we kept it that way," he added with a sadistic smile.

Matt let it go, not liking the promises that smile held. Still, there was something niggling at the back of his brain. He knew this man, he just didn't know how.

Matt's train of thought was interrupted as he felt his bindings loosen. He instantly brought his hands up to punch the other man, sweeping his feet around to follow through with a sweeping kick to the back of his knees that would send his kidnapper sprawling. He had no idea what he would do afterwards, but he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

As it was, there was no reason to think that far. The man simply caught his hands and feet with his own hands, then quickly let go and delivered a swift uppercut to Matt's jaw. Matt slowly rubbed his bruised skin as the man drawled, "Oh yeah, one more thing: no funny business." He hauled Matt to his feet and shoved him out the door.

As they reached a staircase, Matt's mysterious captor shoved a gun into Matt's hand. "For the boss's amusement," he said cryptically, answering Matt's unspoken question. He made one stop to whisper something to another man, who ran away immediately afterwards, but other than that they continued uninterrupted.

Eventually they came out into what looked to be a foyer. There were a few couches, a coffee table, and some computers. But Matt wasn't looking at these. He was too busy looking down the barrel of the man's shotgun. "One false move," he warned, "and I'll blow your brains out. Now go the end of the coffee table and take out your gun. Now, I'm sure you've realized that you know me," he continued as Matt complied. "And so I'll help the thought process along. We'll let the fun start there, eh?"My name, my precious Matty, is Kal Snydar."

Matt's eyes widened almost comically as all the pieces clicked into place. "You…" he hissed, and leveled his gun at Snydar's chest.

Snydar just grinned and leveled his own gun at Matt's chest. "Yup. This is where it ends, runt. When I kill you, this'll all be over. You're the last carrier of the Jeevas bloodline, aren't you? Yes, when you die, so does your line, and the Snydar clan will have won!"

Of course, Mello chose that moment to appear, munching on a bar of chocolate. "Back already, Kal? Amazing. You're the first one, congra—" Mello stopped talking as his eyes landed on Matt.

"Mello?" Matt asked in confusion, lowering his gun an inch or two. "What are you doing here?" Then his confusion turned to panic. "It's not safe here! They'll kill—"

And then Matt felt the most horrible pain. He just had time to register the smug look on Kal's face before the world went black and he crumpled to the ground.