Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note (or any shred of dignity¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
. . .
"Uh, Matt? Mello?" I asked, speaking into a dark abyss.
"Yeah?" I could hear Matt from beside me. His hand was curled around my arm, the only guidance I had in this pitch black tunnel.
"Could you loosen this blindfold? It kind of hurts." I tried to unfasten the knot with my free hand but was stopped immediately by Mello or Matt, I couldn't tell, who bat my hand away.
"Sorry, Sera, it's protocol. You're not exactly high clearance in the Mafia yet. You're not allowed to see the entrance to their hideout," Matt explained. I could all but see him shrugging, "It's just how it is."
"This is super shady." I muttered, making a face.
"Dude, it's the Mafia," Dagmar piped up, "It's supposed to be shady. Personally, I think this is kind of cool."
"That's the spirit!" Mello piped up from somewhere near her. He was probably walking her down the tunnel, "This is all pretty fucking cool, pretty fucking illegal too, but pretty fucking cool."
"Cool things aside," Matt began, "You girls are going to meet the boss right now. There are . . . a few things you need to keep in mind."
"Oh yeah, you can't fuck this part up. Rod Ross doesn't mess around," Mello chimed in, "Firstly, don't mouth off. Answer his questions, don't say anything else. Saying the wrong this at the wrong time here can and will get you killed."
"Wow," Dagmar responded sarcastically, "That isn't terrifying at all."
"On that subject," Matt spoke now, "Don't act nervous or scared. Don't show any emotion at all. If he thinks you're weak or not right for the Mafia, he won't let you in and there's no telling what he'll do to tie up a loose end. Basically, just be quiet, be as stoic as possible."
"Don't lie to him either," Mello added, "He's going to see through it. He's a smart man, he's been at this for a while."
"Guys," I stopped in my tracks, suddenly second guessing this whole thing. I'd been having doubts about joining the Mafia for a while, they'd started the moment I ended the phone call with Matt. I'd planned on telling them about my second thoughts later that night, once I'd arrived home, but Matt had told me that he'd already informed Rod Ross of my impending arrival to Mafia. I couldn't just rescind my offer to join the Mafia then, not when the boss was expecting me. I didn't want trouble and I knew that if I turned my back now, there would be, "I'm going to fuck up."
"Don't worry," Mello answered, "He loves me. I cracked a huge case for him. If anything goes wrong, I'll smooth it over."
Matt tugged on my arm, trying to get me to start walking again, but I hesitated, "Are you sure?"
"Yeah, just relax and, I don't know, be yourself?" Mello all but asked, "Some cheesy shit like that. Come on, we're basically there."
I started walking again, a nervous pit forming in the depths of my stomach. After a minute or so, I was rushed through a heavy door and then, suddenly, we were in the Mafia hideout. I heard chattering, a cacophony of voices around me. Someone laughed heartily and Matt undid my blindfold.
It took me a moment for my eyes to adjust but, when they did, I was standing in a dimly lit room. There was a desk in front of me, where a bald, muscular man was perched. There were two scantily clad women wrapped around his arms, examining Dagmar and I with feral speed. There were men scattered around the edges of the room, each with their eyes on the bald man. His eyes were narrowed, hungrily drinking in Dagmar and I. His lips curled at the edge, pointed teeth poking through. He reminded me of a lion or tiger, some sort of apex predator. This man was Rod Ross, he had to me.
"Mello, Matt," He nodded at them and tipped his drink, "It's nice to see you again. Thanks for bringing the recruits."
"Thanks for seeing them," Mello wandered to one of the leopard print sofas, spreading out across it accordingly. It struck me how at home he seemed here. He was utterly at ease, he was one of them, "That's Dagmar and Sera."
"Dagmar and Sera," He nodded at us, smirking, "So, you want to join the little criminal organization I have built here. I don't blame you. We have it good, right girls?" He squeezed the two women around him, each one giggling and agreeing accordingly. I tried my hardest to keep a straight face, "But I don't just let anyone into the Mafia, do you understand? Matt and Mello had to prove to me that they could handle it, that they could be trusted. I wonder if you can be."
He let go of the girl's around him. Each one gave a practiced pout as he started walking towards us, eyes carnally raking over our bodies and then slowly locking onto our eyes. He looked at Dagmar first and then at me, his hardening eyes sending the message: This man was fearless and he'd do whatever he had to to keep himself afloat. This was not a man to anger.
"See, a lot of people can't take the pressure so they crack. A lot of people can't take the secrecy and they snitch. I don't like having to punish them. I'm a very busy man so I've developed a screening process of sorts," He reached into his pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. It had an address scratched onto it, along with some sort of code, "This is the address of a world class hacker. He's hiding from seven governments. We managed to track him down. Matt and Mello will take you to his house. You put the security code in and bring him to me. I don't care what you have to do. He lives 5 minutes away. You have 15 minutes to bring him to me. If you do, you've proved yourself capable and you're in but, if you don't. . . Well, I don't think I have to explain what will happen if you don't."
I had a few questions. Was this a criminal that they were bringing to justice, in their own way? That was how Matt and Mello had described the Mafia's motives to me but the look in this man's eyes said something else. I almost opened my mouth to ask the question but remembered Mello's words of warning: Don't mouth off.
"Do you understand?" Rod Ross asked, examining the both of us closely.
"Yes," We said, almost in unison, "I understand."
"I could see myself liking you two," Once again, his gaze dipped between our bodies, "Let's hope that you can handle this."
. . .
The walk out of the hideout and drive to the man's apartment was spent in silence. None of us interacted, apart from when Matt and Mello undid our blindfolds. Their expressions were solemn, quiet. This was strictly business.
Dagmar threw open the car door and I slid out after her, ignoring the pop of the trunk opening. She punched the security code in and the huge gate in front of us swung open. The house was an absolute mansion, with multiple brick-lined wings that stretched out around the front garden. I felt the tiniest bit guilty looking at it, knowing that I was going to play a hand in tearing it apart, but that went away when I remembered that this man was a criminal and that I was really playing a part in saving him from Kira's harsh penalty of death. I was doing him a favor. This was a favor.
I glanced at Dagmar as we walked up to the front door. As if her touch was magic, the door swung open the second her fingertips made their way to the handle. Her face was expressionless, leaving me to wonder whether she was nervous or not. I was completely besides myself. My heart was pounding so hard that I was considering taking a second dosage of my HCM medicine when I got home. My hands were clammy and my breathing had become pathetically fast. I was not cut out for this line of work. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be involved in this line of work but it was too late to turn back now.
"Hey!" A little girl, no more than 7, ran ahead of us, "Who are you? You can't be in here! Dad says no strangers in the house."
I hesitated for a second but Dagmar didn't. She just shoved past the little girl and I followed in her lead, throwing the girl an apologetic look.
"Stop!" The girl warned, "Or I'll scream."
"It won't help." Dagmar said coolly, walking slowly up the stairs, "Stay out of our way. You don't want to get caught up in this."
I wasn't sure how Dagmar knew but she somehow was able to locate this man almost immediately. He was on the second floor, perched at his computer desk, watching some sort of porn. There was a girl on the screen, giggling at the camera as she undid her top. He was so into the show that he didn't notice the door open or the presence of Dagmar and I.
"Oh yeah, I like - what the fuck!?" He exclaimed, jumping in his chair, "Who are you? How did you get into here?" His face paled, "Marie . . . Oh God, Marie!"
"Your daughter is fine," Dagmar spoke, "Don't worry. We're only here for you."
"What do you - Oh," His face lit up with grim knowledge. He knew why we were here, "Look, I told Ross - "
"I don't care what you told Ross. He wants to see you. Now." She added. Her voice was harsh and impassive. It didn't give anything away.
"Look, look, just tell him that I'll be in tomorrow, okay?" He stood up and nervously laughed, "This isn't a big deal."
"We don't have time for this," I gave it a shot but my voice was completely wrong for it. Where Dagmar had sounded confident and utterly petrifying, I sounded unsure and utterly too lenient, "We're very busy people."
"So am I and that's why -"
"Fuck this, we've gotta go," Dagmar exclaimed. She took a few steps forward and grabbed his upper arm. I did the same, following behind Dagmar as she pulled him out, "I don't care about what's going on with you and Ross. He wants to see you now and we're not going to stop that."
"No, no, please!" He struggled in our grasp, kicking and wildly flinging his arms. I didn't want to but I tightened my grip on him, "I'll do anything, okay, anything? If he wants money, I'll give him money. Come on, you don't know what he'll do to me. Please," He glanced at Dagmar and then at me. I couldn't look at him, "Please!"
He continued begging and struggling to break free but I didn't let him and neither did Dagmar. I didn't look at him when he tried pleading with me, I didn't look at his lavish house as we pulled him down the stairs, I didn't look at his daughter, who clung to his legs as we dragged him out of the house. I stared straight ahead, eyes trained on the beige coat on the car as we threw him into the trunk.
"Quick! Get in! You have four minutes to get back," Mello said, leaning out the window, "We're gonna floor it."
I didn't respond, just slid into my seat and shut the door after me. They hit the gas the second Dagmar was in, kicking up dust and dirt as we zoomed back to the hideout.
"That was . . . amazing!" Dagmar exclaimed, reclining in her seat, "I loved the adrenaline, I loved playing the role, I just . . . I loved it!" She glanced at me and it took me a moment to comprehend that she was looking for an agreement.
"Yeah," I quickly added, "Hey, no blindfolds?"
"You did the job," Mello responded, "You didn't pussy out or freak out. That means you're in. Welcome to the Mafia, girls."
"Wait," Dagmar said, "I thought you said we needed to be high clearance to see the hideout?"
"We were just fucking with you," Matt said, "If you can prove you can handle it, you're in. Besides, did you think Mello and I were going to blindfold you every time we took you to headquarters? That'd be a major pain in the ass."
I could hear them messing around with each other but I couldn't focus. Mello said that were in the Mafia because we hadn't freaked out but I was freaking out. This wasn't what I wanted to do with my life. I didn't want to drag men out of their houses as their daughter watched. I knew that it was for a good reason, that the Mafia was punishing these men while saving them from Kira, but I wasn't cut out for this. Matt, Mello, and Dagmar were, but I definitely wasn't.
. . .
"Girls," Rod Ross drank in our appearance before anything else as we walked in, "Fourteen minutes and fifty seconds. You made it."
We weren't able to speak, our attention was collectively on keeping the man in our grasp. Once he'd heard Rod Ross' voice, he'd begun to fight harder. Luckily, Matt and Mello had the good sense to gag him before we did anything else. I could heard him screaming for help but it came out to a pathetically small squeal.
Luckily, two of the men occupying the fringes of the room stepped forward and took the hacker off of our hands, dragging him into a dimly lit room. It took everything in me not to flinch when the door slammed shut.
"I honestly had doubts about whether or not you'd get it done but I'm glad you did," He stood up again and produced a series of bills from his jacket. He divided them in two and presented Dagmar and I with our own wad of cash, mostly made up of hundred dollar bills. I took it hesitantly, wrapping it in the palm of my hand.
"Thank you." Dagmar answered, slipping it into her jacket pocket.
"Yeah, thanks." I muttered, eyes falling to the floor. I was completely unable to follow her lead.
The atmosphere in the room completely changed once I spoke. When I looked up again, Rod Ross was giving me a hard look and every other person in the room seemed to be following his lead. I glanced at Matt and Mello, both of which were wearing expressions of extreme exasperation on their face. Shit. I'd fucked up. I wasn't sure how but I'd fucked up.
"You," Ross nodded at me, "What's your name?"
"Sera." I tried hard not to stammer.
"Your full name." He responded.
I felt my blood run cold. It was such an invasive and unusual question and, now that I knew the power that full names had, I couldn't help but wonder why he knew it so bad. Did he have a Death Note? Was he aware of the Death Note? Did the Mafia run deeper than I thought?
"Sera Johnson." I said, not keen on giving my actual name.
"Sera Johnson," He said my name slowly and took in my appearance. I immediately began to shrink back. His eyes were utterly invasive but not in a sexual way. I'd been hiding my anxiety and uncertainty about this whole endeavor for days now but I knew that I wouldn't be able to hide it from him. As his eyes made their way down my body, I got the sense that he was drinking in every nervous tick of mine, every horror-stricken thought, every single moment of regret. He knew that I didn't want to do this. He knew that I couldn't do this, "Are you sure that you can handle this?"
I glanced at Dagmar, who was watching me with wide eyes, and said, "Yes-"
"Look at me!"
When my eyes drifted back to his, I was completely caught off guard by the undiluted anger in them. I suddenly understood Matt and Mello's warning on the car ride over here. They were right. This was not a man that I wanted to piss off. He'd do anything to get ahead and he'd knock any obstacle in his path.
I couldn't handle this. I knew that I couldn't but I didn't know what hell was in store for me if I backed away now so I met him with an equally hard look of my own and spoke clearly, "Yes. I can."
He stared at me for another second before his lips twisted into the carnal smile that had been on them when I met him. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw everyone relax, "I look forward to working with you, Sera Johnson."
. . .
Unfortunately, that hadn't been the end of my exposure to the Mafia that day.
We'd lingered around the headquarters for another hour before Matt and Mello shuffled us into one of the organization's cars. We drove for an hour before pulling up to an absolutely ridiculous house in the middle of nowhere. It was huge and I could tell that once it must have been beautiful but it was completely trashed now. Loud, pumping bass filtered through the home's open windows and into the car. A barrage of people were moving around inside, dancing or kissing or drugging themselves into oblivion.
"Where are we?" I asked, undoing my seatbelt.
"We're at a complete rager," Matt answered, putting the car in park, "One of the guys in the Mafia, Sam, owns this house and he throws the most insane parties, or so I've heard. I decided that we had to go to celebrate the entire group working together."
"Christ, guys," Dagmar whined, examining her reflection in the mirror, "You could have warned me that we'd be going to a party. I'd have actually made myself presentable."
"Give it a rest, would you? You look fine," Mello said, although I caught him glancing at himself in the side view mirror, "Besides, we didn't want to jinx anything but you two did fine so now it's time to celebrate."
"Can I stay in here?" I asked, giving them a pleading look. I was emotionally and physically drained. I just wanted some peace and quiet, not to have to spend the evening mingling with people, "I'm not really in a party mood."
"You're not in a party mood? Sweet," Matt threw me the keys, "You can be the designated driver then."
I made a face, "I don't even have a license."
"Neither does Matt," Mello huffed, hopping out of the car, "Now, come on, just go inside, it'll be fun, we promise."
I hesitated for a minute but stepped out of the car, shutting and locking the doors behind me, "Guys, I am really not in the mood for this so I'm just going to say out here," Once I saw their exasperated expressions, I quickly added, "You guys go inside and have fun. I'll join you some other time but I'm honestly just exhausted."
Matt shrugged, "Suit yourself," He extended an elbow to both Mello and Dagmar, executing his British accent when he said, "Shall we, ladies?"
Mello made a face, "We're not walking in arm in arm. It's too weird."
"You're too weird." Dagmar said, gracefully taking Matt's arm.
"I'm going in alone. You two can catch up." Mello rolled his eyes and quickly stomped inside. Matt, however, was quick to follow him. He and Dagmar ran in, arms still locked, shouting various things at Mello. I couldn't help but smile as I watched them disappear into the loud house. Those three were many things but they definitely knew how to have fun.
I took a deep breath and planted myself next to a tree, waves of techno music hitting me every few seconds. Maybe I would go in eventually but, for right now, I just needed a few moments of peace. I needed to process today. It had been a lot.
That, however, didn't seem to be in the cards for me. The instant I sat down, my phone went off. I let out a groan and checked it, Sayu's name illuminating my face in the night. I didn't particularly want to talk to anyone right now but I didn't have it in my heart to ignore my little cousin. I knew that the Yagami household, with Light and Soichiro's absence, could get very isolating.
"Hello? Sayu?" I held the phone to my ear.
"Sera. Hey!" She paused, "What's that? Oh my God, are you at a party?"
"Kind of?" I said, "My, uh, friends dragged me out to it but I'm a little too tired to do anything so I'm just standing outside."
"I love you but that is so awkward," She responded, "Get off the phone and go in there!"
"Sayu, honestly, I'm just not feeling it. Maybe later though," I wanted to change the subject, "What's up? Aren't you supposed to be in class right now?"
"It was canceled so I'm just hanging around campus waiting for my next one," She answered, "Christ, Sera, everything at this school is so hard."
"I know, I know," I understood her completely, "You're honestly just going to have to study a lot but you can ask Light. Isn't he graduating this year?"
"Yeah, from the police academy, in April he'll be a fully-fledged detective," She trailed off, "Just like dad . . . "
"Yeah," I agreed, "Their similarities are uncanny."
"Wait, hold on a minute, Sera," I could hear Sayu talking to someone else, away from the phone, and I pressed my ear to the receiver to get an idea of who it might be, no such luck, "Hey, I gotta go. I just saw some of my friend's and we're gonna go gra a coffee. Talk to you soon?"
"Yeah, soon!" I promised, a little disappointed that Sayu had to go so soon, "See you!"
I shut the phone and slipped it into my pocket, almost immediately being greeted with a, "Who was that?"
My head snapped up to meet Mello's inquisitive stare and I immediately felt guilty, like I'd been caught doing something I shouldn't, "No one, really, just my cousin."
"In Japan?" He asked, taking a seat across from me.
"Yeah," I paused for a minute, "Wait, what are you doing out here? Shouldn't you be inside, you know, partying."
"Not in the mood for it," He dismissed the idea with a wave and pulled out a pack of cigarettes, "So how's it going back in Japan? Anything of interest."
"Not much," I couldn't help my guarded tone as I said it. I wanted to keep my family, particularly Sayu and Aunt Sachiko, private, especially now that I was involved with the Mafia, "My cousin is in college and she was just talking to me about how difficult her classes were."
"Pff, college, what a waste of time," He took a long inhale of his cigarette, "Do you miss her? Your cousin?"
"Yeah, I probably miss her the most," I confessed, "She's definitely who I'm closest to. I tell her everything - well, more or less. I don't exactly think that she'd be elated to hear about my involvement with the Mafia."
That got a laugh out of him, "Maybe not," He paused for a second, exhaling, "Hey, can I ask you something? About Japan?"
"Maybe," I said, eyeing him a little suspiciously. Mello always had questions about Japan and, although I did my best to deflect them, I couldn't help but exactly wonder what he was up to, "Depends on what it is."
He ignored the warning and proceeded, "You were in the Kanto region during the early days of Kira. What was it like? What were people like?"
That was one that I didn't mind answering, "Chaotic. There was a lot of panic," I remembered the day the first Second Kira tape aired on Sakura TV. I remembered the extreme panic and how L warned me to get inside, "There was a lot of Anti-Kira sentiment back then, although that seems to have all but vanished." A few days ago, Monaco had announced it's support for Kira and his new world order. Years ago, that wouldn't have happened.
Mello was quiet for a few seconds and, when I looked back, he was watching me with that inquisitive look again. It was the same look L constantly wore. I had to look away, "You were thinking of him, just now."
"What?" I shook my head, "What do you mean?"
"The guy that died. You were just thinking of him," He didn't hesitate before asking me the next question, "He died from Kira, right? The one you banged?"
"Yes, he did." I said softly, eyes falling to the ground.
"But he wasn't a criminal, was he?" Mello added. I could feel his eyes boring holes into the side of my head, "I read about a few detectives getting killed, the ones that worked on the Kira Case." His voice bear the weight of a hundred implications. This conversation was officially too much for me.
"Mello," I closed my eyes, "I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"So, he was a detective, right? When did Kira kill him? Towards the beginning of the case?"
"Mello. I don't want to talk about this anymore."
"Were you there when he died? Is that why you feel like you could have stopped it."
"Mello. I. Don't. Want. To. Talk. About. This. Anymore."
"Did he talk to you a lot about the case? No, I bet he couldn't unless -"
"Mello!" My eyes flew open, glaring daggers at him, "I don't want to talk about this anymore! Got it!"
"Do you miss him?"
"Fuck this," I stood up, not willing to participate in this conversation anymore, "I'm going to the car."
"Sera, wait!"
I whirled around, absolutely livid. I had made it extremely clear that I wasn't willing to talk about this and Mello wasn't taking the hint at all. Japan was something I kept secret, my family was something I kept secret, L was someone I kept secret and for good reason. If he was such a genius, why couldn't he see that? Why couldn't he respect that? "What?"
Mello stood up, a smirk playing on his face as he outstretched his arm, "You forgot your phone."
He opened his palm and there in the center was my tiny Samsung. A smirk was playing on the edges of his face and I got the sense that I lost a game I didn't even know I was playing. He was up to something, he wanted something from me, and I wasn't sure what.
. . .
For some reason, I was super inspired for this chapter.
Honestly, it was probably the fact that Lana del Rey (aka my mom) released two singles and Demi Lovato (aka my other mom) came out with a single the day before . . . I felt a surge of creativity. (Seriously though listen to Groupie Love by LDR it's well worth it)
Once again, thanks for all of your reviews! I tried to respond to everyone but if I didn't, I'm super sorry!
Review and I'll probably love you forever ngl
