Chapter 8 – Darkroom

Am I dreaming? Am I awake? Why can't I see? Why can't I move?

Near's heart started to race as he regained consciousness. He had to consider for a moment whether or not he was even alive, that maybe had had died in his sleep and that this was some sort of afterlife. He quickly dispelled that idea as his senses returned to him and a musty odor filled his nostrils. He couldn't move because he was tied up somehow and even after opening his eyes as widely as he could, couldn't see simply because there was nothing to see. It was pitch black wherever he was.

He concentrated on his extremities, and was able to determine that he was was tied up in multiple places. He was on his knees, as if kneeling on the ground, with his ankles bound the the floor and his wrists tied behind his back. Preventing him from falling forward is what felt like two straps around his shoulders, suspending his upper body in that position from the ceiling. He could lean backwards, but not very far at all. Leaning forwards was impossible. Near also determined that he was on some sort of concrete floor by scraping one of his toenails against the ground.

It was at that moment that Near finally realized that he was completely naked. Someone had him here tied up in this position, completely naked and vulnerable in a pitch dark room. He remembered the brief struggle in his bed before everything went black.

"Nngghh!" He cried out, realizing that he couldn't speak due to a cloth tied around his mouth.

He bit down on the cloth hard, hoping to possibly chew through it. The more Near panicked, the more his body hurt by being bound in such a position for so long. He wasn't even sure how long he'd been like this. His knees were in pain as were his feet, yet he continued to struggle, desperate to move.

"Are you afraid?"

Near froze and his skin turned to goosebumps as a man's deep voice resounded into his left ear. He could feel the man's breath lick at his cheek as he spoke. Even while trying to stay still Near shivered with fright.

Near felt the gag being untied behind his head, finally releasing Near's jaw from it's hold. Near's mouth was dry, and his tongue felt like sandpaper. He was too afraid to speak, even though he was granted permission.

Near felt a single hand on his torso, stroking his body sensually. Like a feather, it glided down his chest to the sensitive region of his abdomen. Near clenched his teeth, hoping that this wasn't what he was going to have to endure for as long as his stay here lasted. Somehow he knew that this was only the beginning. And as much as he hated being touched this way, his body enjoyed it and his assailant knew it. Because while Near was sitting in a pitch black room, his attacker was donning a pair of military style night goggles, and was enjoying himself fully as he watched Near's body react to his touch and his eyes dart around in fear.

"Oh so you like this? You like what I'm doing to you?"

"Don't touch me." Near said through his gritted teeth, trying to sound firm.

"Your body is saying something different though isn't it? I can see..." the man brought his head closer to Near's and whispered. Near could hear the hum of the night-vision goggles in his ear, "you're getting bigger."

Near bit his lip and cursed himself for getting aroused. He knew there was a bigger reason why here was here, and it wasn't just for this.

"What do you want? Why am I here?" Near asked.

"Oh but you just got here! There's plenty of time for that later on! I would like us to get to know each other a little better before discussing other things."

Near heard the man stand up and his shoes shuffling on the concrete floor. The sounds got further and further away. He was leaving.

"Wait!" Near shouted, determined to get an answer.

"Hopefully next time you'll be more playful."

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"Roger, what ever happened to this guy?" Matt asked, holding a sheet of paper with a picture of Gaston Montvac in his hand.

"Well last I heard he made bail. Hardly a problem though as we collected more than enough evidence to have him incarcerated for quite a long time." Roger replied.

Matt stared at the picture with disdain. He was baffled as to how Roger hadn't considered this before. If anyone would have a grudge against Near, it's him.

"Did it ever occur to you that this Montvac person has something to do with Near's disappearance? Looking at his history it doesn't seem beyond him."

"Oh no Matt. I doubt very highly Gaston Montvac has anything to do with this. How would that explain the Death Note for example?"

"I don't know. Maybe he has his own ways of digging into people's pasts. Maybe he knows Near was involved with the whole Kira thing. I can't believe you're not paying much mind to this lead!" Matt said loudly.

Roger sipped from a cup of tea and continued.

"Your lack of experience shows, Matt. I think you should forget about it and look elsewhere."

"Useless old fuck..." Matt muttered under his breath.

He continued to look through the case files until he came across what he wanted. While Roger wasn't looking he folded the sheet of paper with Montvac's home address and quietly slid it into his pocket. If Roger wasn't going to be much help then Matt had to do it his way. He wasn't about to let anyone get away with this that easily.

An hour or so passed by when Matt made his move.

"Roger I'm starting to get tired. I think I'm going to head home." Matt said, covering his mouth in a mock yawn.

"Good night Matt. Don't despair. We'll get to the bottom of this. I care very deeply about Near too you know. Don't think that I'm indifferent to this." Roger said.

"I know Roger." Matt replied. He did know that Roger cared, he just thought the man didn't have any fervor in him. Matt however still had a fire that burned in the pit of his stomach, and now armed with Gaston Montvac's home address, it was a raging inferno.

Matt didn't waste any time and didn't even bother stopping home first as he headed right to Montvac's apartment. He clenched his teeth as he knocked hard on the door, banging so hard that he thought the skin on his knuckles was going to split.

The door opened halfway and before him stood the man in the photograph that he had been starting at for hours bitterly. Matt shoved with all his body weight into the door, knocking Montvac backwards and letting the door swing open widely. Montvac didn't fall however, and before he could counter or push Matt back, Matt was on him again with his hand wrapped around his throat, shoving him hard against the wall. He heard a woman scream to his right, and a quick glance showed Montvac's wife with her hands clasped over her mouth.

"I'm going to call the police!" She shouted.

"Go right ahead then! What the fuck did you do to him?" Matt demanded.

"Who?"

"Oh you very well know who. You want revenge for him having you arrested. Where the fuck is he?!!" Matt snapped, increasing his grip around the man's neck.

"I don't fucking know!" Gaston retorted, and shoved back at Matt quite hard, sending Matt falling into the wall behind him.

Matt tried to fight back as a fist collided with his jaw, but the simple fact was that he was backed up against a wall, and Montvac was a full sized, rather well built man whereas Matt still had the body of a teenaged boy. He couldn't keep up with the man's sheer strength and finally decided to make a break for it back out of the apartment.

"You son of a bitch! Tell me where he is!" Matt screamed from the hallway before wiping his bloodied nose with his sleeve.

"I'm sure I'm not the only enemy he has! Go somewhere else! Leave me and my family alone!" Montvac said.

"I called the police Gaston!" His wife said, rushing over to see if her husband was ok.

Matt already could hear sirens in the background. He knew he had a long night ahead of him now.

Matt spend the next hour in handcuffs in the back of a police car, parked in front of Montvac's apartment building.

"This bastard kidnapped Near! I know it! Call Detective Johnson! He's the one working on his case!"

"Maybe you need to let him do his job rather than take it into your own hands." The cop said.

"Please call him. I'm desperate. Near had this guy locked up and now he's gone missing. He has to be involved!"

The officer reluctantly picked up his radio and asked headquarters to inform Detective Johnson of the situation. Eventually the detective showed up at the scene and questioned Matt briefly before going upstairs to the apartment.

Matt waited for what seemed like forever when Johnson returned and opened the door of the police car and let Matt out.

"You're very lucky, he decided not to press charges against you." Johnson said as he removed the handcuffs from Matt.

"That's it?" Matt asked.

"He has a solid alibi, with receipts to verify his story. That doesn't mean he might not still be involved however. We're going to keep a close eye on him but my gut feeling is that he has nothing to do with this."

"Are you sure? It seems to make perfect sense..."

"Look you need to find something to do. I know you're worried and that you can't think straight, but doing things like this might actually get you killed, let alone locked up. Go home and let us do our jobs."

Matt reluctantly called Roger once he returned home. He figured he'd rather tell him now than let him find out about it another way. He knew it wasn't going to be a pleasant call.

"You did what?!" Roger barked.

"The police don't think he's involved, but I don't believe it. I'm not sure what to believe any more."

"You stupid, stupid boy. Are you trying to get yourself killed? Or at the very least trying to complicate matters further than they already are? Perhaps you should go back to playing videogames as you're certainly not cut out for investigation work. I suggest you stop trying to be a hero and let people that actually know what they're doing do the detective work."

"You don't know what this is like Roger! Every second I'm wondering where he is and how he's being treated! I don't know if he's alive or dead! I can't live like this! I want him back dammit! I want to know he's safe and that this psycho isn't torturing him or hurting him or.... god only knows what else!" Matt shouted into the phone. Tears were starting to well up in his eyes as he thought about all the worst possibilities.

"Yes Matt. I do know. I also am worried for Near, but acting irrationally isn't going to help matters. If you can't calm down and be useful then it's to Near's benefit that you simply stay out of it."

"Whatever. I'll talk to you tomorrow. I'm going to sleep." Matt said before snapping the phone shut.

Matt walked over to the bed and sat down. He found one of Near's white shirts laying on one of the pillows. He picked it up and felt the fabric gently before clutching it tightly to his chest, trying with all his might not to break down.

"I'll find you Near. I don't care what it takes. I'm going to find you and bring you home."

A/N: Hopefully this one will get you lovely fans reviewing. :) Seems like Near's in quite the predicament isn't he? Being scared of the dark and all. Matt's starting to come unglued. What's he going to do next? I wonder.. :) Anyway. Hope you enjoy. PLEASE REVIEW PLEASE ONEGAI!!