It is very rare that I update on Mondays, but I had no homework, so I figured 'why not?'. I am big time hashing details in this chapter. I just need someone to make a linear timeline of events, down to the microscopic details, because damn it. So yeah, anyways, we've got some stuff to look forward to in Chapter 26! More flashbacks! Angst! Angst! And more angst!
Also, I absolutely adore the headcanon that Mello is Russian. I know it's disputed, from what I've seen people think he's either Russian, German or Slovenian, I think. I haven't seen any definite source or confirmation, for this story's purpose, he's Russian. But hey, if you've heard anything, let me know!
Oh! Real quick, huge thanks to those of you reviewing! You're all precious, and I apologize if I don't get around to all of you, half the time I don't know what to say because I'm too busy smiling like an idiot, but you are very much appreciated!
Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note
Mello woke first, surprised that Matt wasn't already up. The other was snoring softly, his face partially buried in a pillow, it was a wonder that he hadn't smothered himself in his sleep. Mello eased off the bed, careful not to disturb Matt, and headed for the shower.
The Task Force was still in L.A., which made leaving for New York a rather poor plan in hindsight. But it was necessary. It wouldn't be too hard to get back, flying would be faster but he figured Matt wouldn't take the leaving behind of his precious car very well. While Mello had been with Near, Matt had gotten his digital hands on some files that were now secured on his computer. Even if Near's system tracked the copied documents to Matt, what was he gonna do? Steal them back?
Leaning against the tile wall, Mello ran a hand through his hair, not bothering to wash it since he'd done so the night previous.
"Damn it," he whispered, his voice barely audible over the water and the fan whirring above him.
"Hey, Mells?" Matt knocked on the door.
"What?"
"You almost done?"
Mello turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist.
"Coming out now," he muttered as he opened the door.
Matt brushed right by him.
Sighing, Mello slipped into some comfortable clothes, not planning on going anywhere. He grabbed the flashdrive that Matt had copied the files to, and one of the laptops so he could start going through them. He probably should have done so when they got back, but the drive was a few hours long and he was tired.
While the computer powered up, Mello started a pot of coffee. It wasn't his favorite thing in the world, too bitter, but it was useful. And Matt liked it. Judging by how groggy he looked when he was at the door, he'd need it. Besides, Mello wasn't above making a peace offering.
He remembered how Matt took his coffee from the few times he'd actually devoted attention to watching the other make it. He'd just finished when Matt came out of the bathroom. He wore a pair of loose jeans hanging low on his hips and a towel over his head, no shirt in sight. Mello cleared his throat and held out the coffee cup, looking anywhere but Matt.
Mello only looked up when he felt the barest brush of fingers against his own when Matt accepted the cup.
"I, uh-" Mello cleared his throat again, turning to face Matt properly and squaring up his stance, "I didn't mean to snap at you last night."
Matt wasn't wearing his goggles, without the orange lenses obscuring his eyes, he was an open book.
Mello saw something clashing there, Matt was biting something back, and that was no good. He couldn't lose Matt's l- what? Trust? Faith? Camaraderie? Whatever it was, he wasn't willing to let it go. So Mello took a half step forward and kissed Matt's still wet still warm cheek. It last only a second before Mello moved away and picked up the laptop.
Goggles in place, Matt watched Mello out of the corner of his eye. The other had papers splayed in some sort of systematic chaos. He had a highlighter between his lips and three different colored pens in hand, switching between them with relative ease. Papers were colored and highlighted, important details underlined and circled. Another sheet held letters that weren't English. A few years out of language practice had stripped Matt back down to English with just enough Spanish, French, and Japanese to roughly interpret a conversation.
However, Mello wasn't writing in any language that he remembered, which led Matt to believe it was Russian.
He remembered from their days at Wammy's that whenever Mello was stressed, overworked, or entirely too comfortable, his English would slip away and his mother tongue would take its place until he realized that no one understood a word he was saying. He once held a full conversation with a befuddled Linda and on another occasion had cussed out Sheridan, later giving Matt the translation when he told him that he wasn't speaking English.
Matt continued his work, finding out what he could about the Task Force members back in L.A. and when they would be going back. Seeing as the U.S. was no longer a threat to Kira, they'd have to leave soon. Though Matt still saw the whole situation as utterly ridiculous.
From what little Mello had gleaned from Near, and what Matt had gotten from their system, the evidence pretty much spelled Light Yagami. The false rules were no doubt his idea to clear his name and impede the investigation. Mello had mentioned a Shinigami called Sidoh, and the combination of blunt and vague clues he'd received from him.
Besides what they already knew, the whole plan was turning to mush.
Throughout his sleuthing, Matt periodically checked on the Kira message boards he'd managed to find. Since most of the world was publicly accepting Kira as a force of justice, the underground support had started to surface, making them easier to find. With millions of users online at any given time, and an alert set up, Matt was able to keep up with any potentially important information.
One of his alerts pinged and he opened up the browser. He read the rapidly appearing lines of text and copied down the details in a separate document. When everything was copied down, Matt turned on the T.V. He didn't bother changing the channel because every news network, major and minor, was covering the story.
Mello looked up from his papers and after a few seconds, his pen dropped from his mouth.
Kira supporters, and probably a number of people who just enjoyed rioting, were attempting to beat down the doors to the SPK building. The location of the building wasn't public information, and it was only due to Matt finding out where Halle lived that Mello got inside. For so many people to know where to go, to show up ready to break it down, was not something that could simply happen accidentally.
Which meant that Kira had to be involved.
If Light Yagami watched the news, he'd be stupid not to, he'd know that the SPK was disbanded. The timing was too perfect. Get in contact with the president, force him to give up the location of the SPK, send the location to a second party who was either a great supporter or an accomplice, and they would organize the riot. It was simple.
One look at Mello assured Matt that he was thinking the same thing. Mello didn't speak though, only stared in sort of captivation as Near's little palace began to crumble.
"Police," he said suddenly.
"What?" Matt asked.
"The police will be called to break up the riot, even if it is in favor of Kira, riots cannot be tolerated. They'll have full tactical gear, face covering helmets and the like. Near and the SPK will be able to get out that way. We found out that Kira, or the second Kira, can kill with juts a face. Whichever Kira has that power, will most likely be watching the news and they'll see them come out. Near's gonna need a diversion though, something to get the camera off of them. Because if Kira or Kira Two see the names, they can easily cross check them with actual police officers, any left over will no doubt be killed," Mello rattled off, his eyes glued to the screen.
Matt found himself staring at Mello. The boy was amazing and he felt the familiar swell of puppy love that started the messy downhill snowball to hell. Mello had figured all that just from a few seconds of television time.
Not fit to be L's successor his ass.
"There it is," Mello whispered.
Returning his attention to the T.V., Matt watched as money literally rained from the sky. The rioters were effectively distracted and whoever Light/Kira had as his second party moved the cameras away from the SPK entrance as the officers poured out. There was a gap of little less than a minute before the cameras returned but it was long enough. The last of the officers came out and no one was left, Near was out with his guard dogs and Halle.
"The little sheep did it," Mello scowled.
Of course, Matt knew that Mello didn't really want Near dead. The kid was his competition, his drive for god's sake. And, perhaps, Matt should feel jealous or somewhat offended because of that. But he couldn't bring himself to be.
They threw their things in the trunk, planning on hightailing it back to L.A. Since the Task Force knew nothing about Matt and presumed Mello dead, it was the safest bet. Besides, with Near in hiding, they had no reason to be on the East Coast.
Matt climbed into the driver's seat, Mello already situated in the passenger scrolling through something on his phone. Twisting the key in the ignition, Matt held out his hand, waiting until Mello looked up to question why they weren't moving.
It took two minutes and three seconds, but Mello finally put down the phone and turned towards him. Matt kept his eyes fixed ahead of him and heard Mello's resigned sigh before he caved.
The drive back was quicker than their initial journey. They made less stops, took more direct routes, it was racing down highways with the windows down and Mello hanging half way out, screaming to empty fields.
When they returned to Matt's apartment, it was nearing two in the morning. So they lugged their duffel bags up the stairs and collapsed alongside each other on the couch. Mello was tired, so he didn't bother attempting to kick Matt off. But the couch wasn't exactly made for two people. Matt seemed to have a solution to that problem. He lifted Mello and slid under him, settling his hands on his back. Mello was sure that if he weren't so exhausted, he would have protested, but Matt was warm and the rise and fall of his chest put him to sleep in seconds.
They managed a meager three hours of sleep before one of Matt's programs began beeping incessantly at him, alerting them to the fact that there was movement in Halle's apartment. With a tired grown, Matt slowly moved himself out from under Mello, trying his best not to disturb him further. It would take him a moment or two to get his bearings. Matt stared angrily at the time displayed on his computer screen. It was still dark outside, the sun hadn't even begun to rise yet.
Regardless, he pulled up the camera feed. After Mello left with Halle for the SPK building, Matt had installed a few cameras, just in case. Unluckily, the riots had started soon after Mello's business with Near, so they were of little use.
However, it now begged the question of where Near would go next.
Yawning, Matt reviewed the feed, seeing if Halle had spoken to anyone or if Rester or Gevanni had come to her apartment to help her. A minute later, Mello finally sat up, looking like death itself, and swaying slightly. He settled a hand on Matt's shoulder and the red head moved one of his own up to hold it.
"What happened?" Mello asked, gesturing to the screen.
"I put monitors in Halle's apartment, they're leaving," Matt yawned again.
"Right, can't stay in New York, might come here, West Coast, Near's gotta know about the Task Force, still might be here after the raid."
Matt had noticed that Mello talked in choppy, nearly incoherent, sentences when he woke up. He found it adorable, but he'd never tell Mello that. Matt could think it to himself all he wanted though.
Mello stood up, taking a moment to regain his balance, and made his way to the kitchen where he bustled around before starting on coffee. Closing his computer, Matt rubbed his face in an attempt to wake up and got up to join Mello. Stepping behind him, Matt wrapped his arms around Mello's waist and settled his head on his shoulder.
"Hmm?" Mello mumbled.
"I dunno."
"That's helpful."
Once their coffee was made, Matt decided that a doughnut and grocery run would do some good. He told Mello where he was going, gave him a kiss, and grabbed his keys.
He'd much rather have Mello come with him, but he knew that with the scar, it wasn't best to go flaunting his face this close to the Task Force and Mafia men who thought he was dead. It was different on the road trip, no one knew anything that far out so they wouldn't know who Mello was. That was probably why he was okay with it.
Matt picked up a dozen doughnuts as well as some essentials, chocolate and cigarettes among them. The cashier gave him an odd look when he set his purchases on the counter but kept his thoughts to himself, wisely deciding to say nothing about Matt's goggles. He hadn't realized he was still wearing them until then.
When he returned to his apartment, he found Mello sprawled on the floor, eyes open and gazing at the ceiling fan. Matt wasn't sure, but it looked like he was trying to follow one of the fan blades.
"Mells?" he asked carefully, setting the groceries on the table.
"Beyond used to lay down on the floor sometimes, to solve cases, he claimed he was a corpse."
"Um, okay?" that was certainly not what he had expected to come out of Mello's mouth. "And you're doing it because, why now?"
"Trying something new," he muttered.
"Right."
Matt opened up the box of doughnuts and picked one out for Mello. He sat next to him on the floor, holding the doughnut above his face. Mello's eyes flicked over to him for a fraction of a second before returning to the ceiling fan.
"Mells, eat the damn doughnut, I doubt laying on the ground is gonna' help anything."
Mello rolled his eyes and sat up, leaning forward to take a bite of the doughnut before actually taking it from Matt.
"So, what now?" Matt asked, ignoring the dirty he look he got for talking with his mouth full.
"I need more information on the Task Force, whatever you can find, especially on Yagami. Anyone besides his family that he's particularly close to, girlfriend maybe, anything like that. It's possible that if he's got a girlfriend, or a boyfriend I guess, they could be the second Kira. If you find someone like that, get all you can on them. L wiped all the data he collected from when he was working on the case before he died, or rather, Wammy did that so I doubt you'll find anything like that unless the Task Force typed up new files. Find out where they're stationed here, and when they leave."
"Roger that captain."
Matt pulled one of his computers into his lap and Mello finished his doughnut before disappearing to the shower.
Finding information on the Task Force was more difficult than getting into Near's system, so he switched tactics. He got their flight detail by tracking passports that arrived in L.A. around the time that Mello blew up the warehouse. From then on, it was cake work.
Soichiro Yagami was brought to a small hospital nearby, where he died. Matt got a picture of the license plate of the car that brought him there, and then tracked it to a hotel. Facial recognition took some time but when that was done, he cross checked it with members of the Japanese police units that quit during the time L was working the case. Getting names after that was relatively easy, and all had family except for some rookie cop called Matsuda.
He made another pot of coffee before moving on to Light.
As he began, Mello returned from the shower, still damp, and sat down next to him. Together, they read over the perfectly perfect golden child's file, scouring news articles and the like.
When night fell, Matt made his way to the hotel that the Task Force was staying in. Wigs and makeup rendered him another person entirely and he easily got into a room with a computer. No one was currently there, and Matt was out in a matter of minutes, shimmying his way into the vents because he could have sworn he heard voices in the hallway.
Crawling through the metal tunnels, Matt found that he really didn't like tight places. He held the flashdrive between his teeth and was trying desperately not to drool all over it, or break it. Mello might have an aneurysm if he did so. Luckily, Matt managed to get out of the hotel with no trouble.
Mello was out when he got back and Matt didn't know whether to worry more about his absence or the fact that Mello hadn't bothered to hide the fact that he'd taken his gun with him.
Sighing, Matt printed out the documents and saved them to his laptop in case he needed to print out more copies, should Mello mark up the others. With his job done, Matt settled on the couch, trying not to worry.
Mello returned around eleven that night, smelling of alcohol and smoke but obviously not drunk.
"Business?" Matt asked.
"Did you get them?" Mello set his gun on the table and began unlacing his boots.
"Uh, yeah, they reconstructed some of the old files, they aren't all that detailed but they've still got some useful information. Light and his side chick were held under surveillance, apparently Light volunteered himself while Amane was apprehended under false chargers in order to get her to their headquarters."
"How long were they held?"
"Fifty days," Matt said after a few seconds of thought.
"Damn."
An hour of compiling information later and Mello had the basics of a plan set up. He wanted the Amane girl watched, if L went so far as to look her up because he thought she was the second Kira, then it was a definite possibility that she was. However, he remembered Sidoh telling him that it was possible for the Shinigami, if the holder said so, to wipe their memories of the Death Note. That, along with the false thirteen day rule, could have easily proven Light and Amane's innocence. Which was all the more reason for them to be the top suspects.
With a few well placed phone calls, Mello had shipments on their way to Matt's door and the means for false passports.
He turned to Matt to tell him but the other boy was asleep. He was on the floor, head lolled back onto the couch, his computer in front of him and his goggles around his neck. Mello felt a smile twitch at the corner of his lips but he quickly got rid of it. Regardless, he took Matt's hand in his and kept working, attentively listening to the soft breathing beside him.