When Gevanni awoke, the first thing he felt was dizzy. A hangover, his mind supplied. You silly little bastard, you went and got drunk in a murder suspect's home. Just what he needed, especially when he was technically on the job. He sat up carefully, rubbing his aching head for a good thirty seconds before he realized something was wrong with the picture; he was stark naked.
Jumping out of the bed, Gevanni made a strangled yelp, trying to cover himself. Mikami barely stirred, rolling onto his back with a little groan. Gevanni gaped at the man. Mikami's chest was bare, and the leg poking out from under the tangled mess of blankets was likewise.
"No..." Gevanni whispered, putting his face in his hands and shaking his head. "This can't be..."
Mikami's eyes blinked open and he stared up at his companion, groggilly. "What can't be?" he asked, sitting up. "Are you alright, Stephen?" The surprising reply was a ball of blankets being tossed at his face. "W-what's wrong?" he inquired in surprise, pushing the offending cloth from his face just in time to see Gevanni furiously pulling his boxers back on.
The agent was muttering to himself in English, and Mikami could only catch a word or two. He figured the ones he couldn't understand were swears. When Gevanni had his shirt back on and was searching frantically for his jacket, Mikami approahced him, turning the American to face him. "What is wrong?" he demanded, carefully.
The look in Gevanni's eyes caused Mikami to take a step back. An anger and hurt he had never seen from any other human being plagued Gevanni's piercing icy eyes as he hissed, "Maybe you can explain just what's wrong?" glaring daggers at the lawyer. When Mikami didn't reply, he finished buttoning his shirt and stormed away.
"Wait!" Mikami cried, running after him.
Gevanni paused only once, glaring back at Mikami. "I can drive you back to your car. We need to talk; this isn't what it looks like," Mikami pleaded, handing Gevanni his disguarded jacket and tie.
Growling, Gevanni took his things and draped them over his arm. "I can walk. I know the way."
Mikami could only watch, helpless, as Gevanni began his trekk back to the gym and his car. Little did Gevanni know, he had left his cell at the flat.
~*~*~*~*~
"So, you yelled at him and then stormed off, is that correct?" Near asked, setting up another row of dominos.
Despite how angry he had been when he woke up, by now the only emotion Gevanni was feeling was fear. He was afraid that Mikami would kill him now. What was the probability that he would, the American wondered. Of course, Near had an answer, but at the moment the only thing the boy cared about was getting the facts straight.
By this time, Gevanni was back at the Japanese headquarters at Near's request. Said detective had his back to him, but he could tell Gevanni could tell the other was thinking hard about a way to save his subordinate's life.
Rester was none-too-pleased when Gevanni had burst in not fifteen minutes ago, startling Near out of one of his rare catnaps. "What should we do about this?" the commander demanded, trying not to glare at Gevanni for his incompetance.
"He doesn't know I'm an SPK member, just that I'm from America, my name is Stephen, and I have an ex named Neville," Gevanni explained, frantically.
Near's dominos fell with a small clatter. "Did you put that as my name in your cell phone?" he asked, suddenly.
Gevanni frowned. "Yeah, just in case he looked into it. But, why does that matter?"
"Your cell phone is still at Mikami's place."
Before this information could sink in, the sound of a cell phone vibrating filled the room. Two pairs of eyes fell on Near as he pulled the phone from his jean pocket. "Yes, who is this?' he answered, softly.
The man on the other line sounded concerned and upset. "Hello, this is Teru Mikami. Is this Neville?"
Near leaned back in his chair slightly, saying, "Yes, this is, though I don't believe we've met, Mikami-san. Who are you?"
"I'm a... friend of Stephen's."
"Stephen's friend? Is there something wrong?"
Mikami sighed. "We got into a confrontation. Do you happen to know where he is?"
"Well," Near sighed, "I haven't seen him since we broke up, actually." He ignored the shocked looks on Gevanni and Rester's faces as he continued. "By the way, how did you get this number?"
"He left his cell phone at my house by accident."
"He must have been very angry if he left his phone at your house. What exactly happened, if you don't mind my asking."
Mikami sighed. "You see, I invited him home for a drink and he got drunk a lot quicker than I expected. I mean, I didn't invite him so he would get drunk but... well, anyway... He wanted to spend the night and I didn't want him driving, so I let him stay in my room. But he wanted me to stay with him, and he undressed himself, and then he undressed me, and when he woke up I guess he thought I must have... taken advantage of him."
Near raised an eyebrow. "Did that happen?"
"Not at all!" Mikami cried, sadly. "I would never have done that, to him or anyone! And I was hoping to find him so I could tell him just that."
The albino gave Gevanni a stern look. "Did he stick around to ask if you did or not?"
Mikami sighed. "No, and I don't blame him. I'm just worried about if he got home or not."
"Well, if I hear anything from him, I'll let you know."
"Thank you very much."
Near pulled the phone away from his ear, sighing as he turned it off. "How did you know my phone was at his place, Near?" Gevanni asked, suspiciously, mostly to try and take attention away from himself for the moment.
"I had Commander Rester call you earlier this morning," Near explained, setting up his dominos. "Just before you called me on your car phone. Speaking of which, Commander, would you mind if Gevanni and I had a chat on our own for a few minutes?"
Rester was a little surprised by the request. He felt uneasy leaving Near's side, even if only for a little while. However, Near smiled at him in a reassuring way. "I trust Gevanni almost as much as I trust you, Commander. You can go." With this reassurance in mind, Rester left the pair alone. "Now, Gevanni, it seems you've made a mistake," Near mentioned a bit coolly.
"A mistake?" Gevanni asked, confused. "Like what?"
Setting up a few more dominos, Near replied, "Mikami is a lawyer. A prosecuter, at that. He doesn't approve of lies, and I'm eighty-nine percent positive I trust him when he says he did not take advantage of you last night."
Gevanni looked confused, then angry. "You actually believe him?!" he cried, outraged.
Near sighed, calmly. "He told me nothing happened; you just got drunk and stripped yourself, and him as well, apparently."
"How can you just assume that's what happened?"
"He sounds genuinely sorry," Near replied, calmly.
There was a moment of silence between them when Near thought of something, knocking his dominos down again. "Get me Lidner on the phone," he suddenly requested.
Gevanni, though confused, did as he was asked, calling up Hal Lidner on her cell phone for Near. She was in her car, so a video of her popped up on the large screen before them. The woman was sitting in the driver's seat, holding the phone to her ear. "Yes, Near? What do you need?" she asked, calmly.
Near smiled, mischiviously. "Nothing much. Just a contact to Mello."
Both Hal and Gevanni looked at him, shocked. "What do you need to contact Mello for?" Hal asked, cautiously. "And how do you know I have a contact with him at all?"
"That's none of your concern. How can I contact him?"
Hal hesitated, but the tone in Near's voice made her immediately tell Near three numbers. Near didn't bother writing them down; he would remember them. "Thank you, Ms. Lidner," he responded, promptly cutting the line.
"What are you planning, Near?" Gevanni asked, suspicious again.
"Though there is an eighty-nine percent possibility Mikami really cares for you, there is a sixty percent chance he may kill you with the murder notebook," Near stated, slowly, letting it sink in. "So, I need to assure your safty. Mello will help me."
Gevanni looked confused. "How will you do that?"
Near smirked. "You'll see. Now, leave me alone for a while." Gevanni reluctantly complied, leaving the room to wait with Rester in the hall.
"Alright, Mello," Near muttered, dialing the first number into his mobile phone. "You can finally be number one."