Author's Note: I threw up another oneshot this week. Check it out, it's humorous and not creepy like the other one…. haa.
Chapter number goes here.
"My fellow citizens, it is with great sorrow that we gather here today; because today we are here to celebrate the memory of one of California's greatest men. At first I declined the honor to deliver this message, because I felt that no matter what I said my words could never do justice to what a great man Senator Nathan McAllan was. But then I realized that the best way to demonstrate just how wonderful he was would be to share with you, with all of you, a story."
Mello stood amongst the crowd of people attending the memorial service for Senator McAllan. A week had passed since he and Matt had moved to Massachusetts. He'd flown back because details of Dominic's arrest were sparse, and to pay his last respects to a pawn who'd gotten caught up in a deadly game at precisely the wrong time. The mayor of California was delivering the eulogy, and a giant portrait of McAllan in his office, with both the California and the United States flags behind him, was displayed. Mello pulled his hood up, to both conceal his face and block out the unusually cold ocean breeze.
"When I was younger, just 19 in fact," the mayor said, "I was influenced by the greatest man I've met in my lifetime. I was faced with a choice. Some of you may know that gang activity is what led to my younger sister's untimely death, a result of the bullet of a careless thug. The hatred I felt for that faction was enough to tempt me into joining another, rival gang. I contemplated joining them, becoming the very thing I hated just to get revenge. But then I was given direction by none other than Senator McAllan. During one of his many programs orchestrated to reach out to families affected by inner-city gang activity, I got to meet with him. I told him my story and was instantly affected by the gentle understanding in his eyes, by the comforting warmth of his handshake. I knew this was a man I could trust, a man who genuinely wanted to end the reign of terror organized crime has on our state. I told him about my desire for revenge, and I even told him about my option of joining a faction to get that revenge. It was then that Senator McAllan gave me the greatest piece of advice I've ever been given. He showed me the real way to accomplish things, and to accomplish things with such a scope as to affect the entire state rather than just satisfy my need for justice. If it weren't for Senator McAllan's guidance, I would have joined a faction and likely died an early, violent death instead of running for office. From that point on I worked side by side the Senator to bring gang activity down.
"Unfortunately, some things never go away. The Senator's untimely death was caused by two feuding factions, the local Diamonds gang and an unnamed foreign organization. Through investigation we have discovered that the Diamonds were trying to blackmail Senator McAllan's good name with false claims of immoral behavior. It is not known to what extent the foreign faction was involved, only that the Reicher's Accounting Services, Inc. building was its headquarters and that the recent incident there involving police and SWAT teams was in actuality a battle between the two gangs. We may not know the details, but we do know that Senator McAllan's death was directly caused by the conflict between these two organizations. Fortunately, almost all of the identified members of these gangs perished in their own battle. The obvious exception is the man found alive at the time SWAT leader Joseph Kelson reached the top floor of the building."
The crowd hushed, anxious for news of the only man who could explain what actually happened inside the building that day. Mello's heart beat quickened. He was even more interested in Dom's status as a criminal than they were.
"After recovering, the man was interrogated by both local and federal agents. At first he claimed to be an innocent, a hostage in a very delicate situation, but eventually federal investigators were able to convince him to confess." The crowd gasped. "It was then determined, in a private trial before federal and state government members, that the man, Dominic Santiago, is responsible for at least 15 crimes against the state, and at least 5 federal crimes. He was not the leader of either gang, but rather a member of the faction he informed us was stationed somewhere in Europe. For those reasons, the last known remaining member of two violent, homicidal gangs has been sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment."
Mello scowled. This 'government justice' was missing some legality. They had just sentenced him to life on a whim, without a public trial? His heart fell. Dominic wouldn't last in prison. The only good outcome for him was death in that office, not to continue living in some government-mandated hell. He sighed. There was nothing he could do now, though. The heads of the Impeeri in Russia were outraged at Mello's failure. The only way to keep Matt and Kyle safe would be to lay low and keep the Russians under the impression that they too had died in the office. Mello couldn't go to them for help; Dominic was on his own.
"And so, although we will miss the Senator deeply, although his loss will be felt throughout the state for years, we can rest peacefully knowing his death was avenged and that, even though it cost him his life, he accomplished his dream- he brought down two of the most powerful factions in California."
His glare burned a path through the gathered people, who parted for him as he left. He made his way down the sidewalk, pushing Dominic and the last six years of his life from his thoughts.
Matt was at home with Kyle, trying to balance unpacking their belongings with caring for a newborn. It didn't help that government officials were calling every few hours as they worked to become familiar with the two new anonymous detectives. L had already informed the United States and Canadian governments about his new accomplices, and the leaders of the countries' respective investigative agencies were excited to get on good terms with the officially sanctioned geniuses now at their disposal.
"One box left for this room." He said to Kyle, who was laying half asleep on a blanket on the floor. "This is your daddy's study. Daddy Mello, that is. That's why it's filled with books and boring shit."
The baby naturally had no response, but Matt continued to speak to him as if he were holding a conversation. "I don't have an office, because I'm not pretentious." He chuckled. The last of Mello's books slid into its place on the shelf, and Matt stood up to admire his work. Sleek and organized, the new office suite they'd bought fit well with the room. It had just enough space to hold all of Mello's resources while having room reserved for new additions. He glanced to Kyle, who was lying on his back and staring at the ceiling.
"You don't move much, you know that?" He asked, bending to scoop him up. "And you don't say much. You kinda just sit there, or sleep. Put a Gameboy in your hand you'll look just like me…."
The phone rang again and Matt swore. Kyle began to pout as Matt moved, carrying him out of the office and into the living room to answer the business phone. He clipped the voice disguising mechanism to the phone, having not yet installed the permanent one inside the receiver yet.
"Hellur?" He asked annoyed. He'd instructed all three government agencies to call the office and leave messages, but they'd all insisted on calling the home emergency line. The voice on the other end began babbling in indecipherable Spanish. "Hey, h-hold it." Matt said. "I don't speak Spanish, okay? You're gonna have to call back later."
Kyle began to whimper, balling his fist in Matt's shirt and burying his face in his neck. Matt didn't notice, because the person on the other line continued to sound off like an overly enthusiastic Telemundo news anchor.
"Look lady, I can't understand you. Get that?" Matt raised his voice. "No habla Espana. Espanol. Espresso?" Kyle's whimpers turned into cries, and Matt tried to calm him. The woman kept chattering.
"NO HABLO!" Matt asserted. "CALL BACK LATER!" His voice scared Kyle, who began to wail loudly. The line went dead, then began to play festive Mexican music. "I'm…on hold?" He worked to calm Kyle down. Why was he crying? He'd changed his diaper earlier, he'd taken three naps since noon…what was wrong?
The other line picked up again, cutting the music off. "Hola!" A man exclaimed.
"For the last fucking time, NO HABLO MEXICAN!" Matt yelled.
"We are terribly sorry that there were some communication issues earlier!" The man said. His cheery mood annoyed Matt more than the first woman. "Please, allow me to inform you of the reason we are calling!" Everything this man said had to be accompanied with a smile, it was so optimistic. Kyle had stopped crying and had started rubbing his face on Matt's shoulder. Matt sighed in relief and prepared to handle whatever business what he assumed was the Mexican government had with him.
"Much better, thank you." he said. Kyle continued to rub his face against Matt's shoulder and neck.
"I am Hernando Montez, assistant to Rodrigo Velasquez, the chief of federal investigations for the country of Mexico."
"I assumed as much." Matt sighed. Kyle ground his face harder against Matt's neck.
"Si, Si." Hernando said cheerfully. "We were just calling to confirm we had the correct contact information for the new master detective service. I am glad to be speaking to one of the two investigators assigned to us by L himself."
"Yep, that's me. Assigned by L. But this isn't the right number." Matt said.
"I'm sorry?"
"This is the emergency number. For emergencies. The number you should call if you have need of our services was given to you along with the other information for our offices."
"Oh I understand." Hernando said. "I will make sure to tell everyone that."
"Thank you very much." Matt said. "It's been very hectic today as I tried to get moved into my new- AAAAHAHAAAA!" He screamed. Kyle had found his earlobe and began sucking, trying to nurse.
"Señor..señor?!" Hernando exclaimed. "Is everything alright?!"
Matt pulled Kyle away, prompting the newborn to begin crying loudly. "Uh, yeah everything's fine here. Sorry about that."
"You had me frightened, what happened?"
"Uh…spider." He ended the call and looked at Kyle, who was wailing at full volume. "So you're hungry, eh?"
Kyle continued to cry as Matt made a bottle, and Matt cursed because it was hard to measure formula with one hand while the other held an impatient newborn. Soon the bottle was warm and ready, though, and Kyle was happily sucking away his dinner. Matt started to hum a tune from Metal Gear Solid as a lullaby, and Kyle was calm and asleep in no time. He placed him in the crib to rest and looked at the mountain of boxes left to unpack, stifling a yawn. It was only 6 pm, and yet he was exhausted already.
He decided the boxes could wait until Mello got back from California and sat down on the couch to play a game. Five minutes later he fell asleep.
Author's Note: Aww, just a week into parenting and already Matt's exhausted! Leave a review, why doncha? And be sure to check out my oneshots!