Chapter 28:

"The Plot Thickens"

When the explosion happened, Matt and Mello were already running.

Matt had found the bomb when he decided to retrieve their weapons cache in the truck of the Corvette.

Matt had figured Hawkes had covertly planted it there just before she attacked them, believing they wouldn't notice; it would not only kill them, but destroy their supply of weaponry. And little did she know, ruin a possible rescue plan. She thought wrong.

They had been remaining in the area in case Rue/Beyond Birthday needed them.

Before the bomb went off, Mello quickly grabbed what he could as the timer ticked down.

Matt had decided to give them more of an advantage at survival and tossed the bomb up and into the same window Hawkes had jumped through, after leaping up, bouncing from wall to wall in the alley within the enclosed buildings, like some sort of jack rabbit.

Matt's throw was right on the mark, like an expert baseball jock. He had an analytical mind for pretty much anything: numbers, code, and distance. He also had a strength. He covered it up with clothes, but underneath, he had a strong frame and muscles to match.

"All those years in playing video games finally came in handy," Matt said. "Steady hands, steady nerves, and muscles like a—"

"Only the shortsighted is vain, Matt," Mello said sagely.

Matt clicked his teeth. "Remember at Wammy House, everyone wanted me on their baseball team when we played," Matt said, gathering a few more weapons to carry, along with his computer. "I was the best outfielder, and my throws always made the target. I never, and I mean…never…missed one."

"Sure, right. You were—are—the best. Now shut that mouth and run!"

As they ran, they looked back after the explosion. Matt swore he felt a small concussion wave hit his back, pushing him forward. The debris crushed what was left of the Corvette, burying it under brick and mortar, wood, and concrete, all the contents of the building. The car was completely totalled.

Matt almost wept.

At a safe location across the street, after the carnage, Matt gently put his weapon cache on the ground, and stood with his hand in his heart.

He said a prayer for the dearly departed, the car.

"Cory, I loved you so," he said. "Stay true, and in that Great Car bastion in the sky, may your carry be rust free, may oil flow freely, and may your shine gleam with the brightness of the sun!"

"You're weird, Matt, it's just a car," Mello said.

Matt snapped around. "Just a car, just a car…" Matt actually stuttered in disbelief. "I can't believe you just said that. She was a beauty. And I'm sure the owner we stole it from has wept a river of tears, hoping one day, his baby will come home to him. Alas, Cory, has left this world, sacrificing herself for a greater good."

Mello rolled his eyes. "You need help, Matt. Seriously!"

"If you said that to another car enthusiast, the really diehard kind," he retorted, "you'll be breathing out of a tail pipe right now. But I'll let your comment slide this once, since ignorance is common in some."

"If my hands weren't full with guns, Matt, I'd punch you for that!" Mello growled. "Never mind, come on! We need to leave the area. I can hear sirens in the distance. Someone must have called about the explosion, we can't be found lingering around."

Matt picked up the items on the ground and looked at Mello. "And why would they arrest us? It's not like we look like a bunch of gun toting hooligans," he said sarcastically.

Mello's hands held an arsenal of weapons, guns and grenades, explosives, and other items. He snorted at the dry joke. "Come on!" he said, then began at a sprint down the street.

Matt followed. Suddenly, he skidded to a halt as something caught his eye, as he ran past an alley—another vehicle. But not just a car, it was one of those black, clandestine SUV's, suspiciously parked in an open, roof covered parking lot, in front of an abandoned apartment building, only a block away from "A"'s warehouse. The windows were tinted, but he did see someone returning from taking piss in an adjacent alley. The man was dressed all in black, like a chauffeur, zipping up his fly. He got into the driver's seat.

Matt continued on a little, then put two fingers to his mouth and let out a shrill whistle to Mello. Mello stopped, turned, and came back, as Matt waved him over. "What the hell, Matt? We gotta go!"

"The sirens are still a fair distance away, but look at what I found?" He thumbed around the corner of a building, and Mello took a peak. Mello looked back. "Maybe it's our lucky day. Stay here, I'll go see." He passed Mello the computer and other items.

Mello grit his teeth angrily, fumbling, as more was given to him to hold.

Matt walked out into the open and approached the SUV. He didn't like SUV's, they had no personality, but beggars can't be choosers. They needed a new ride.

Matt pulled out a cigarette from a pack he had in his jacket he retrieved before leaving. He needed his cigarettes like Mello needed his chocolate.

He knocked on the driver's window glass with three taps of a knuckle. The window rolled down. He gave his most brightest smile, even lifting his racer goggles exposing his hazel eyes. The sun was dim here, allowing his eyes to relax from its glare. The man behind the wheel glared at him.

"Hey, pal…I so need a favour. Got a light? I've been dying for a puff all day, but I lost my lighter somewhere around 'ere, and I haven't seen anyone around this dump. My lucky day, eh?"

"Get lost, I'm busy," came a tarty response.

"C'mon, be a pal," Matt pressed. "I really need a light. That's all I'm askin'."

The driver of the SUV suddenly pulled a gun, and pointed it at Matt. Matt backed off, and put his hands in the air to surrender. "Whoa! I've heard smoking can kill, but this is ridiculous…"

"I said, get lost! Or, I'll put a bullet in your skull."

"Hey man, just chill, no need to get hostile," Matt said. "I get it, I'll get lost."

Suddenly, the cigarette in his fingers fired off a dart, depressed by his fingers, and the driver clutched his neck, dropping the gun on the outside of the SUV. Matt lowered his hands, picked up the gun, and opened the door. The man dropped out, dead.

Mello came over, and looked stunned. "Matt, what happened?"

Matt showed Mello the cigarette. "Something new I've been working on," he said, pleased. "A perfectly innocent looking cigarette, but with a more deadly consequence than your typical stick—filled with a mini dart and containing a legal dose of carcinogen, x1000 more than one cigarette. Injected directly into the blood stream, it causes immediate paralyses, and death. Guess the guy wasn't a smoker."

Matt crouched over the dead man's body, and said, "Smoking does kill, but to someone like me, pal, it's life!" He stood, took out another cigarette and put in his mouth, then lit it. He took a puff, and let out a plume of smoke. "Ahhh, heaven…"

"Get rid of the body, or we'll both be entering the golden gates soon," Mello said, with a hint of panic, as the police sirens got nearer. They were obviously stalled, trying to find the building called in. The area was like a maze, but it was great for criminals to hide and avoid detection.

"Yeah, yeah…" Matt muttered. "Don't be such a ninny."

Matt dragged the dead man away from the SUV and dumped him in a pile of trash, then he popped the rear truck open, and helped Mello set down the weapons gently, spreading them out. "Lots of cargo space, good," Matt remarked. "But give me a Trans Am or another sporty anyway of the week."

Once done, they got in—Matt in the driver's seat. He took a moment to familiarize himself with the SUV.

Mello took out his stash of chocolate he rescued from the Corvette's glove box that he had stuffed into his pockets and found the button to open the new glove box in the SUV. He started putting in bar after bar.

Matt chuckled. His cigarette moved from one side of to his mouth to the other. He rolled down the window a little to allow the smoke to leave the car. Mello didn't mind that he smoked, but Mello did mind when he had to breath in too much of it. Matt said, "Can I have some? I'm a little hungry."

Mello glared at him. "Do you want a black eye? I only have four bars left!"

Matt laughed. "Just askin'," he said.

Suddenly, a monitor came down from the ceiling centred with the front windshield, and on the screen appeared the image of a shadowy figure, his facial features were blacked out, silhouetted behind a bluish backdrop, almost the colour of spring, clear water.

For a moment, the man said nothing, but then—

"Good evening, gentleman," the mystery man addressed. "I'm pleased to finally make your acquaintance, this time on a more personal level. I've heard stories about you two from another acquaintance of mine—flattering, I assure you." Matt and Mello looked at each other confused. "No, this is not a recording. I can see you both as clear as day sitting in that vehicle that you illegally absconded. There are cameras all over the SUV. Quite an ingenious trick, using a dart-filled cigarette to kill, Mail."

And the man seemed to pronounce Matt's real correctly, as "Mile", not as to describe a letter.

Matt's brow rose. "How do you know my name?"

The man chuckled softly. "I know both your names," he said prophetically. "Mail Jeevas and Mihael Keehl, or do you prefer to be called by your mononyms: Matt and Mello—so Kira doesn't kill you?"

The mention of Kira shocked them.

"Just who the hell are you?" Matt demanded.

Mello waved Matt off. "Matt, I think we've just stumbled upon a very important piece of this deadly game everyone is playing. And this, is "A"'s getaway vehicle after he imposes his revenge on Rue."

"His final solution, to state the matter clearly," the man clarified.

Matt's eyes widened. He knew what they meant.

"If my hunch is correct," Mello continued, "we're talking to 'A''s mysterious benefactor. I figured as much. There is no way 'A' could've bankrolled all this without someone fitting the bill, someone rich and powerful, influential, and with a stake in this whole affair."

"Quite an astute guess, Mello," the mysterious man said. "You are a worthy heir to L. And I do have a stake in this affair." There was a pause. "I spoke to L, but behind that masquerade letter banner. Always a shy one, never letting himself get close to anyone. Others would call that being antisocial. And yet, I admire L for not contriving to the social norm of conformity. We spoke on a number of occasions. And he knew of my outside affairs. But unlike that pseudo-wannabe Kira, I am truly a man not to be trifled with."

"Who are you?" Matt demanded again.

"Matt, shut-up!" Mello said.

"Yes, you are being quite rude, Mail. My name is inconsequential—at the moment. But on a more serious tone, I know L is dead," the man then said straightly. "It's a shame, really. We never did finish our discussion on metaphysical shifting realities. The man was quite brilliant. L could think outside the box on any number of topics. And his most profound subject was ancient lore. We even discussed Kira once and spoke of the existence Shinigami, those spirits just outside the cognitive reality of humanity sight."

Mello's eyes widened. He then remembered the Death Note that Rue had taken from Light Yagami's apartment, a book that could kill people by simply writing a name in it. This person now gave credence to it, that Mello had summarily dismissed as one of Rue's tricks. Rue could see things no one else could with his "special sight", proving it once when he predicted someone was about to die. While he knew the exact moment of someone's death, he didn't know how they were going to die.

Now, with the Death Note, he may have advanced that power?

Matt began to say something, but Mello shushed him, waving a hand.

"And just so you know, I've already made my introductions to Kira, and I invited him to my humble abode. Unfortunately, I something came up that I simply couldn't miss, and I had to leave abruptly before he and I could formally meet. I had another stand in my place. However, I would still enjoy meeting the man personally, properly. Kira is quite an interesting and provocative individual."

Mello wiped a sweaty hand across his chin. He felt nervous with this man, he didn't know why. He knew too much to be a coincidence, almost divinely.

"Now, I'm making my existence known to you, surreptitiously, of course," the man said. "But I'll allow you to get back to your fun. This was just a precursor of what is to come. We'll meet again, and until then…May God bless you on your journey." The screen went blank.

Matt looked at Mello dumbfounded. "Now who the hell was that? Should we be worried? The plot thickens."

Mello stared blankly at the floor, as if something spooked him. "'May God bless you on your journey'," he muttered to himself. "Where have I heard that before?"

"Never mind that jerk right now…"

Matt flicked his cigarette out the window, then opened up his laptop. He pressed a button to awake the screen, then began typed something. The computer was password protected.

Matt became giddy. "The program's working, and right about now, I bet 'A' is probably wondering what the hell is happening." Matt smirked. "He must be going out of his mind, more so than usual, that is."

Mello nodded, still distracted.

Matt looked up from the screen, at "A"'s warehouse—the SUV was parked with a clear view of it, in the parking lot. His wireless signal was getting through loud and clear.

"Now, let's make our presence known…"

To be continued...