Things only grew more complicated as time passed.

Ridner remembered watching Kira's Kingdom on the television screens, while Lester cursed Demegawa's name and Near muttered to himself from beside his never-ending pile of toys. Mello had traded information with Near, but so far, no new advancements had been made. Ridner knew better than to rush anything, but factoring Mello into her lifestyle had caused her to grow restless. It wasn't about sitting still and taking orders any more. It wasn't about hiding inside a sterile-looking room and piecing together facts. She wanted to be outside, maybe even in Japan, prowling the Sakura TV station to find the answers they needed.

Hal Ridner had never felt so useless in her life.

"Calm down," Lester had said, his powerful hand clamping onto her shoulder one morning when he offered her coffee. "Near will have a breakthrough. It's only a matter of time." But did they have time anymore?

Now they waited at headquarters again, Gevanni at the computer, Lester guarding the door, and Near spread out in a corner on the tile. "Ridner," he said, and the female CIA agent stepped dutifully to Near's side. "Please get my tarot cards from the closet. I need to do some thinking…"

Ridner obliged silently. She rummaged in Near's toy closet, pushing aside building blocks, loose dice, and action figures. When she returned with the deck of cards, Near got to his feet and faced her.

Near hardly ever bothered to stand. Ridner wiped her face clean of emotion, though a bead of sweat formed on her forehead.

"Have you spoken with Mello?" he asked her.

She wondered whether Near suspected her to be working with the blonde boy, or if he was simply curious about Mello's whereabouts. "I haven't," she said carefully. Near only nodded and folded his legs neatly under himself once more.

He spread the tarot cards around him in a circle, face down. Ridner watched him swipe a lock of hair from his eyes next. Near was not a child any longer, she realized. Though he sat on the floor and played with toys, wriggling his toes in his clean white socks, he was just as dangerous as Mello was. He was almost an adult, and a formidable adversary to anyone that dared oppose him, never mind Kira or the Japanese Taskforce. For the first time, Ridner noticed the angles in his face, the way his tempered shoulders forced the thin material of his pajamas to conform to his shape. Near was powerful, and Ridner had no reason to doubt him. It was Mello – Mello's fault for blasting into her life like a loose cannon and feeding her the poison of a pattern that was not her own.

Her loyalties had always lain with Near. Aiding Mello may yet come to help the SPK, but until then, she needed to focus. She needed to help Near.

"Near."

The young detective looked up, creases of a half-frown still clinging to his face. "Is there something you wanted, Ridner?"

She knelt beside Near and took the deck of tarot cards from his hands. Without daring to think about her actions, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his hunched form.

From over Near's shoulder, she saw Lester's jaw fall open. He closed it quickly, then cleared his throat, which caused Gevanni to turn from his computer and mimic much the same reaction. Near felt slight and cold in Ridner's arms, but she held on.

"Agent Ridner," Near addressed her flatly.

"Yes."

"You do not strike me as an affectionate type of woman."

Gevanni muffled a snort, and Lester shot the younger man a smoldering glare. Ridner waited until they had silenced themselves to answer the boy that she held in her grasp.

"You'll have to forgive me," she apologized. "I felt it was necessary to boost your morale." She felt awkward, but she didn't let go.

"My morale does not need to be boosted. Perhaps you might try hugging Gevanni." Near paused and Gevanni went white. "Or… is it your morale that needs boosting, Hal Ridner?" Near's hair was soft and fragrant. He squirmed in Ridner's grasp.

"I didn't mean to suggest that I was incapable of retaining my normal work status," Ridner responded automatically. "I am also fine, and do not need a morale boost."

"Then I'd like you to release me if this has nothing to do with the case. I neither want nor need your attention, and if you do not let go, I will be forced to assume that my inquiry about Mello made you guilty because you're working with him behind my back."

Ridner made sure that she hesitated and drew away slowly, so as not to prove the pale boy correct. Inwardly, however, she jerked back in alarm at his implication. Did Near know about her relationship with Mello? When she stood, Near continued with his tarot cards. Lester shot her a look that said he'd want to ask her about her sudden strangeness later, when it wouldn't disturb Near's musings. Ridner had only wanted to prove Mello's theory wrong. Was it possible that anyone could be so entirely cold and unfeeling?

She got her answer when Near contacted L.

"L," Near said, "I caught Mello. But he escaped." Ridner and the others had exchanged bewildered looks.

L's voice came smooth and confident over the communication link, despite the obvious distortion. "Near, Mello didn't escape. You let him get away. Am I right?"

"No," Near lied with a straight face, "He really did escape. I'm pretty impressed at how he got away from under our noses."

The pale boy negotiated with every once of cunning that he possessed. Ridner wondered what purpose Near could possibly have to use Mello as an object in his investigation. Were the blonde present, Ridner knew he would be furious.

They talked about the information Mello had offered. L knew about the Shinigami. He had one with him. He and his team had seen the original L's face. Ridner watched Near's eyes light up. Near was reaching a peak point, and she stewed in anticipation.

"Then how about this?" Near proposed, grinning in a manner that was almost sinister as he awaited L's reply. "I'll write Mello's name in the notebook."

The floor dropped from beneath Ridner's feet. No, she wanted to cry out. Near would never do such a thing, would he? She had monitored their exchange the night Mello had been in her bathroom. As much as Near and Mello hated each other, they wouldn't needlessly sacrifice each other's lives for the sake of evidence. Near wanted to collect his own evidence, and he wouldn't kill Mello after Mello had let him live, either.

But Mello hadn't exactly let Near live. Ridner had stopped him from pulling the trigger by a hasty show of force. Who was to say that Mello hadn't stopped for her sake, rather than Near's?

"Obviously, Mello will get the death sentence if he's caught," Near murmured into the microphone. "So I'll take responsibility for writing Mello's name down, since I let him escape after getting my hands on him."

Ridner risked a jump in her figuring. Near was more than likely bluffing – he had to be. She pressed a hand against her chest, as if the motion would slow her speeding heart rate.

"If Mello dies, and I die thirteen days after writing his name down, Kira wins. And I have no problem with that." When Near finished, L asked to break the connection so that he could discuss things with his team. Near agreed, then turned to the three behind him. "Don't worry," he alerted them, his void eyes lingering on Ridner the longest, "They will decide not to use the notebook. I will not be asked to write Mello's name, nor will I have to put myself in danger."

"But if you're wrong, Near?" Lester pressed. "If they do decide it's okay to use the note?"

"Then Mello and I will die," Near said, "And Kira will win." Ridner gulped. Near was sure enough of the results to take a disturbing leap. She would simply have to trust him.

L came back on the line. Near shuffled his circle of tarot cards.

"Near, we can't bring ourselves to test the notebook, whatever the reason."

Near removed his microphone and clicked off the connection. "As expected." His lips turned up in what Ridner decided was a frightening smile of triumph.

Near had tossed them all around lately, back and forth in a mire of uncertainty, and Ridner hardly knew which way was up. She would do anything to finish Kira, but she would have to work to become even more diligent and observant than before. There was no room for mistakes. The investigation was moving forward, and she was undeniably caught in the whirlwind.

A few days later, Mello called her on her cell phone.

She answered the call without thinking, while Lester examined the data on her computer screen and Near played with a model of an airplane that he'd constructed.

Her pulse raced when she heard the familiar voice in her ear. "Hal, it's me. Get Near." There were a thousand questions Ridner wanted to ask Mello, like how he had gained access to her private cell phone number, or why he was contacting her when she sat in the middle of SPK headquarters. Why he was asking for Near, of all people?

She handed Near the phone. She had little other choice. "Near… It's Mello."

All Near did was reach for the device like he'd been expecting the call. Ridner stood by and listened as best she could, head reeling. What exactly was going on? She heard Mello tell Near, "Now it's my turn to use you," but then Lester guided her off to one side to show her the image on the surveillance camera. There was a man standing outside.

"Mogi?" Near echoed with the telephone against his ear, and Ridner knew at once that Mogi was the man on the screen. Had Mello called to tip Near off and gain himself some safe information in the process? It was risky, Ridner knew, for Mello to send someone else to SPK headquarters. Near had let Mello leave unharmed, even though he knew every detail about Near's location. Mello could blow their cover completely. Ridner prayed that Mello truly did mean to cooperate, at least momentarily, and that the call wasn't another of Mello's impulsive plans to throw Near out of the race for Kira.

"Let that man in please," Near requested next, and Ridner did so. Apparently Mello's tip-off had been legitimate.

Near put Mello's call on speaker. Lester led Mogi to a chair. The tangle of deceit and lies wove itself deeper, but Ridner's attention stayed on Mello and Near. They worked together. They bantered like partners, for the sake of extracting information from the Japanese Taskforce – even if all of them knew that it was only a temporary truce. They were able to cooperate.

Perhaps Ridner had never been wrong in choosing to help both Mello and Near.

Perhaps Near had already realized this, and that was why he had chosen not to punish Ridner for being in communication with Mello.

Either way, listening to the two boys putting L in the hot seat made her feel fulfilled. They were getting somewhere.

Kira would be caught.