Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry about the long wait. The end of my summer has been seriously busy. As I type right now, I've got two sleeping children behind me. It's been one thing after another, I swear. Anyways. Ad Interim is going to be a while, still. Sorry about that, but I've got a bajillion oneshots to write. xD And I reeeally want to write them! I've also been roleplaying a lot lately, which accounts for majority of my missing time. Hm. Oh, another thing I'd like to mention: I love reading your comments, but I'm not changing the story for anything. xP Hehe. I've had this whole thing plotted out, start to finish, from the very beginning. I know what I'm going to do, and I know how to tie up each loose end. It's all planned out, guys, so no worries. I think that's all I wanted to say. xP Onward!
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note. Know why? Zane. He's nucking futs. He'd be Kira. xD
Warning: Cussing, abuuuuse, sexual stuff...same as always, people.
"Is that light too bright for you?" Zane grinned cruelly, tapping the metal of the floor lamp with one fingernail. "It has been on all day, you know. I'm sure it is quite hot. Don't you think?"
"Damn it," Matt swore, closing his eyes.
"Poor little bird. You love the light, don't you? You would hate to be surrounded by darkness, wouldn't you? I think you should let the light know just how much you love it." Zane traced his finger across Matt's pale lips, tipping the floor lamp until it was less than a centimeter away from the hacker's face. "Kiss it."
"Fuck off," Matt growled, shifting his face away from the heat radiating from the light bulb.
"Temper, temper," Zane snorted, "If you don't appreciate the light, I can always turn it off. I don't mind the dark. It's so much easier when you can't see what you're doing…" He clicked the light off experimentally, jabbing Matt's bare hip with a needle. He clicked the light back on.
"Fuck! You bastard," Matt hissed, painfully aware that the needle was lodged deep into his flesh.
"Sticks and stones, little bird," Zane sighed dreamily, pressing the light bulb into the gamer's lips until Matt's eyes widened as large as saucers.
"NGH!" Matt screamed behind closed, blistering lips.
"Hurts, doesn't it? Ah, little bird…" Zane cooed, stroking Matt's hair tenderly. "It's impossibly hot, isn't it? Like every inch of skin is being burnt? And on those tender lips…my, it must be quite painful. You really should have appreciated the light on your own. I'm certain it would not have hurt quite so much." He pulled the lamp away, tipping Matt's tear-stained face upward until their eyes met.
"I hate you," Matt coughed, tentatively brushing his tongue over his seared lips.
"Hate is such a strong word, little bird," Zane sighed, shaking his head. "How can you hate somebody that you just met?"
"Trust me," Matt replied bitterly, "It isn't hard."
"T-t-this is it," Hal stuttered, pointing at the abandoned gas station. "He's prob'ly downstairs in the basement. Y-you can't hear anything that happens down there. Not from up here, 'least."
"You go first," Mello sneered, shoving the quivering man toward the door.
"B-but! But! But he'll shoot!" Hal whimpered. His eyes darted from the door to Mello's stern, unwavering gaze.
"That's why you're going first," he replied smoothly. "Get going. My hacker is down there, and I want him back. Vance," he said, addressing the sniper standing silent behind them, "I expect you to be ready. When that door opens, if you see somebody, shoot them. You've seen my hacker, correct? He's the only one we want alive. I don't care if there's one person or one hundred. They're all dead except for M. Got it?"
"Of course," Vance nodded, unlatching the safety on his gun.
"Boss, I'm going to go around back to make sure he doesn't get out. I'll do my best to cover any alternate routes," Jay added.
"Good. Max? Keep the car. I want a quick, clean getaway. To the rest of you: If you aren't in my sight when I'm ready to leave, you're getting left behind. Is that clear?"
"Clear," said Vance, pocketing an unneeded scope.
"Crystal clear," said Jay.
"We go down in three. If things go poorly, I want someone to grab my hacker and run."
Mello nudged Hal, sending the man sprawling toward the door. "Get going."
"I'll probably have to leave you soon, little bird," Zane mused, tracing his fingers down the curve of Matt's back. "But don't worry. I'll be back soon."
"Leave me alone," Matt moaned, tears pouring down his face. "Just go fuck yourself and leave me alone."
"Oh? And here I thought that you liked my attention. I've done nothing but focused on you, haven't I? Sweet red bird, I pay more attention to you than your 'boss' does. Don't I?"
"W-what?" Matt gasped, jerking as Zane's fingers entered him cruelly.
"Mmm, you heard me. I've paid attention to you and you alone for all this time. It's more than he does, isn't it? He's always out, busy with business. There's no time for you, is there? He just uses you for your skills as a hacker, doesn't he?" Zane scissored the digits, relishing every squirm Matt made. "You're such a precious bird, and I'd truly love to keep you…"
"It…it isn't like that!" Matt growled, yelping as a fingernail scraped at his insides. "He doesn't use me. He loves me. We love each other!" He groaned as heat began to build from the friction of the fingernail inside him, making him writhe uncomfortably.
"Isn't it? My mistake, then. Ah, I do hate to leave you," he said, shoving the digits as far into Matt as they would go. "But I suspect that your master is waiting on you. I'll come play with you some other day. I promise."
"AH! Fuck…you…" Matt hissed, lowering his head. "The only place I want to see you is in hell," he said darkly.
"Such a temper, little bird," Zane smiled. He tugged his fingers out at once, leaving Matt with an uncomfortable hollow emptiness. "I'll be waiting."
Matt tried vainly to twist his head around, but the bindings kept him still. He heard a door click somewhere in the background.
"Damn…it…" he swore. "Mel..lo…"
"This…should be the room…" Hal whispered, glancing warily over his shoulder. Mello kept a gun to his head; Vance kept his gun aimed just in front of them.
"Go in," Mello demanded.
"B-but if he's…if…do I have to?" Hal shook with fear, reaching toward the doorknob as though it would shock him.
"Yes. You can enter that room, or I can splatter your skull against the wall. It's up to you," Mello's eyes darkened as he pressed the barrel of the gun to the base of Hal's skull.
"Oh! Uh, uh…I've…I'm…all right…" Hal wrapped his hand around the doorknob, squeezing his eyes closed. "Oh, shit. Oh shit, shit, shit."
"Shut up and do it," Vance said quietly. Mello turned and arched his eyebrows.
"Since when do you talk?" He chuckled.
"Since this idiot decided to be defiant, Boss."
"He's not defiant. He's scared shitless," Mello snorted. "Hal, why don't you just get it over with? Pray now, and maybe you won't be killed."
"Ohhh, Jesus," Hal muttered. "Fine, fine." He wrenched open the door, dropping to the floor like his ass was on fire. Mello held his position, eyes searching the dimly lit room for any sign of a crazed shooter.
"Clear," Vance mumbled, stepping inside.
Mello nodded and lowered his gun, grabbing Hal by the collar of his shirt. He dragged the quivering man to his knees, slinging him against the wall with enough force to rattle the man's teeth. Cautiously, Mello crept along the perimeter of the room.
"There's a door," Vance stated. "I hear noises from the other side. One voice; human. Young. Mid-teens to twenties. Sounds injured."
"…Do you think it's my hacker?" Mello whispered, breath catching in his chest.
"More than likely. Just because I don't hear voices doesn't mean he's alone, though. Let me go in first, Boss." Vance stepped in front of the blonde, hand poised on the doorknob.
"Go," Mello commanded, stepping back.
Vance wrenched open the door, snapping his gun into place. "Clear," he growled, stepping into the room. "Boss, I think that's him."
"M?" Mello called, pushing past the sniper. His eyes focused on the figure lying limp across a wooden table, hands bound behind his back, red hair glaring in the lamplight. His heart caught in his chest when it began to move.
"M-m-mel…Mello?"