Chapter 7: Trust

"So who should I be looking for?" Julia wondered as she and Mello sat in the terminal of the airport, waiting for the old friend that Mello had spoken of. People were walking by causally, but the plane hadn't unloaded yet. "When they get off the plane, I mean."

"It's just Matt," Mello shrugged. "He's got like, brown hair and these goggles that he wears. Just sit there I'll find him when he comes out."

"Goggles?" Julia wondered. That was an odd fashion accessory, but then again Mello had a few interesting items in his closet. Julia, on the other hand, was feeling very confident about her outfit today. She'd been anxious to get out of the motel room and wear something girly for once, seeing as she never did that around the disgusting men of the Mafia. She hoped to go shopping soon to fill up her wardrobe, but for today she wore the one cute dress that she owned.

It was a green dress, with a white blouse-like top. A dark green ribbon tied around her ribs, and a matching ribbon made the neckline of the dress into a halter. Dark buttons led down the front of the green skirt, which billowed out loosely to Julia's knees. She sat with her legs crossed, and turned to Mello with a slight smile.

"I look hot today, don't I?" Julia asked. "Still gonna deny that you feel something for me?" Mello glanced at her from the corner of his eye as he bit a piece of his chocolate. She did look good, but he wasn't about to tell her that. He didn't have to reply, however, as the passengers of the plane began to flood the terminal.

"Well?" Julia asked as Mello stood up, scanning the crowd.

"There," Mello said gruffly, pointing. Julia stood up and followed his finger to see a cool looking man walking through the crowd. He wore a red striped shirt that was covered by a vest-like jacket, and a pair of goggles covered his eyes. A lit cigarette dangled from his mouth, despite the very obvious no smoking signs that covered the airport. He spotted Mello and approached him, pulling the cigarette from him lips. Julia noticed that he was rather attractive as well.

"Hey," he said with barely a wave. He smiled as he continued. "I knew you'd need my help eventually man." His head turned slightly to Julia, who was looking at him curiously. "Who's the broad?" he wondered. "She's hot."

"Told you," Julia said to Mello before stepping forward with a smile. "I'm Julia," she said, holding out her hand.

"Name's Matt," he replied, shaking it. "So you working with Mello then?"

"Yeah," Julia answered.

"Hey Mello, you got a better team than I thought," Matt informed the blonde, placing the cigarette between his lips again. "So you got a plan working up or what?"

"He's got nothing," Julia informed him. Mello clenched his fist and half growled a reply.

"I'm working on plans." Julia rolled her eyes at him as Matt spoke.

"Yeah well, let's just get a move on," he shrugged, apparently not caring either way. "And let's grab a bite to eat on the way. I'm starving."

"Are you serious?" Matt said, tossing his bag on a bed as he stepped into the motel room after Mello, Julia trailing behind. "I come all the way out here to help you and I don't even get a damn room of my own?"

"It's just until the people next door check out," Mello replied. "You're just gonna sit around all the time anyway."

"Yeah, I guess it doesn't matter where I do that," Matt nodded, looking around the room. "Where do I sleep?"

"The couch," Mello answered. Matt shook his head.

"You're really gonna stick your best friend on the couch?" He turned around to face Julia. "What do you say babe, wanna share a bed?" Julia laughed as he raised an eyebrow at her.

"Sorry Matt but I think I'll pass."

"Aw, come on," Matt sighed, sitting on the couch that was to become his bed. He pulled a DS out of his pocket and opened it as Mello headed over to the table and turned on his laptop, sitting down to work.

"You play video games?" Julia asked, sitting down beside him and leaning over to see the brightly lit screen.

"Oh yeah," Matt answered easily. Julia watched him play for a moment before the words 'game over' slid across the screen. "Damn," Matt grumbled.

"Can I try?" she asked, holding out her hand. Matt looked at her skeptically.

"You play?" he wondered. "You don't look the type. 'Sides, I been trying to beat this damn thing for three days. It ain't easy, lemme tell you." Julia took it from him and instantly began maneuvering the tiny character through the complicated level.

"There," she said, handing it back to him. "I got you past the level." He took it from her.

"Damn…" he said, saving the game.

"What can I say? I'm good with my hands," Julia bragged. She stretched her arms out and looked over to Mello.

"So? Are we gonna just sit here all day?"

"No we'll have company later," Mello answered. Matt kept playing his game like it didn't matter, but Julia was curious.

"Who?" she wondered. Mello glanced over at her.

"Lidner," he replied before looking back to his screen. "To check out the new help I've brought in."

"Yeah the help you're making sleep on the couch," Matt said without looking up from his DS. His comment went unnoticed, however, as Mello's statement sunk in.

"Lidner?" Julia repeated. "Damn, this day just went to shit." Matt looked up now curiously.

"What? You don't like her?"

"No," Julia answered flatly. "Don't ask me why. I just don't."

"Well, that sucks," Matt said. "Any chance of a cat fight?" He grinned, and Julia found herself smirking too. She kinda liked Matt. He was definitely a refreshing change from Mello's recent campaign for ass of the year.

"I'd tell you not to get your hopes up," Julia said, "But I do have this overwhelming urge to scratch her eyes out."

"Sweet," Matt said, looking back to his game. "Feel free to rip shirts too."

Julia cracked a smile.

"Matt, shut up," Mello snapped. Hopefully, this encounter with Lidner would piss Julia off enough to forget about him, or at least that's what Mello was rooting for.

Julia spent the next few hours making herself look extra amazing; a useless attempt at making herself feel like she was better than Lidner. Now she sat on the couch beside Matt, eying Mello with bitterness as he chomped on his sweet chocolate. Finally, there was a knock on the door and Mello stood up, pausing in front of it to check the peep hole.

"Any trouble finding the place?" Mello asked as he opened the door. A pretty blonde woman stepped through the door, choppy bangs framing her face.

"No," Lidner answered.

"Damn," Mello sighed. "Might need to find a new hideout."

"Near doesn't know where you are," Lidner said. "Or anyone besides me for that matter."

"Right," Mello agreed. "What's happening with Near?"

"Nothing new since our last phone call," Lidner informed him. "You, on the other hand?"

"The old friend I told you about," Mello answered. Julia didn't like how they were having their own private little conversation by the doorway, and it annoyed her even more when Mello turned around and said "Matt," motioning for him to come over. Matt stood up, grunting as he did so, and headed over to where they stood.

"Hey," he said to the blonde woman as he approached. "I'm Matt."

"Halle Lidner," she replied, shaking his hand. "I sure hope you two have something up your sleeves."

"Excuse me," Julia said, standing up. "Three, actually." She was done being excluded from the conversation. Lidner looked over her curiously, picking up on her bitter tone, and nodded.

"I'm sorry, three," she added with no emotion, turning back to Mello. Julia clenched her jaw as the blonde continued. "Actually I can't stay long. I just wanted to stop by and see how you were doing."

"I'm fine," Mello said, slightly defensive. "But could you stay for just a second? I have some paperwork I want you to read over for me." Lidner looked at him and nodded. Mello turned from the room, grabbing Matt's arm and dragging him out the door.

"What the hell?" Matt said ripping his arm away once they were out of the room. "Why are you leaving Julia in there with her?"

"They should talk," Mello shrugged. He was grinning to himself, hoping Lidner would say just the right thing to piss Julia off.

"There's no paperwork is there?" Matt wondered casually.

"No," Mello replied. "Let's go to the vending machine. I'm running low on chocolate."

Julia stood awkwardly in front of Lidner, mentally kicking Mello's ass for leaving her there with her. Lidner crossed the room and sat in a chair across from the couch. Julia hesitated before following, taking a seat on the couch in front of her. Lidner watched Julia before speaking.

"So you work with Mello?"

"Obviously," Julia replied curtly.

"Hmm, it's funny he never mentioned you, although I did see you when Mello was using me as a hostage," Lidner continued. "You must have just started working with him."

"A few years actually," Julia replied. "But I'm not surprised he didn't mention it to you."

"And by that you mean?" Lidner wondered. She wasn't sure why this girl was being so rude, but she tried to ignore it.

"Nothing," Julia replied. "So you work with Near?"

"Yes," Lidner answered.

"And yet you work with Mello?" Julia questioned. "Why?"

"Because I want to," Lidner answered, crossing her legs and resting her elbow against the chair's arm. "I just want to bring down Kira, and I'm willing to work with anyone who might have a shot at it. But I should ask you the same question."

"What?"

"Well you work with Mello, but you don't seem all that interested in bringing down Kira."

"How would you know?" Julia snapped. "You don't even know me."

"First impressions say a lot," Lidner replied casually.

"Well I work with Mello because I want to, same as you," Julia informed her. "It's probably the only thing we have in common."

"Probably," Lidner smirked.

"But I, unlike you, am putting my trust behind one person to bring down Kira. You don't seem all that trusting."

"Trust is a different matter," Lidner explained. "I'm only interested in justice."

"You think I'm not interested in justice?"

"I think you're interested in something else," Lidner shrugged. "Which is why I'm guessing you're acting so hostile now. You're threatened by me."

"I am not threatened by you," Julia defended, crossing her arms.

"Well you should be careful girl," Lidner said, standing up. "Men who strive for justice tend to do whatever it takes to achieve it. They take whatever means necessary."

"Can I ask how you know so much about men who seek justice?" Julia asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You could, but I won't answer," Lidner said. "It doesn't matter what I say now. You've already formed an opinion of me. Anything I say now will just add to your resentment of me." Lidner wasn't going to deny anything, as she felt there was nothing to deny. Julia was clearly jealous of her, despite the fact that Lidner was never with the blonde to begin with. But she didn't feel like she deserved Julia's attitude, so she was going to let the clearly irrational girl think whatever the hell she wanted.

"So there's a reason I should resent you?" Julia wondered.

"This is childish," Lidner said, heading for the door. "Tell Mello I'll get the paperwork another time. Nice chatting with you." And with that, Lidner headed out of the room, only to see Mello and Matt strolling back up the hallway toward her.

"I uh…can't seem to find the paperwork," Mello lied. "I'll call you later this week."

"Understood," Lidner nodded as she passed them. "Oh and Mello?"

"Yeah?" he wondered, turning to look at her.

"You should let her go. You just might break her heart." Mello clenched his fist at his side as Lidner continued down the hall and out of sight. Matt turned to Mello.

"Well that was weird," he shrugged. "And also disappointing. She didn't look ruffled up at all."

"Can you ever be serious?" Mello grumbled.

"Hey cat fights are serious," Matt defended casually. "A girl could get hurt if they're not properly supervised. Come on." The two continued down the hall and into the room to see Julia flicking through the stations of the television.

"You didn't scratch her eyes out," Matt pointed out, plopping down beside her.

"Yeah, I managed to contain myself," Julia replied before looking up to Mello. "Lidner says she'll get the paperwork another time."

"Yeah," Mello said, heading over to the table where his laptop sat. "So what did you two talk about?"

"The difference between justice and trust, mostly," Julia answered.

"Trust is foolish," Mello commented. "I hope you came down on the side of justice." Julia remained quiet before Matt spoke.

"But trust can be wise too," he argued casually. "And chasing justice can be the mission of fools." Julia glanced at him in surprise. It felt almost strange having someone agree with her after all this time working with Mello. The blonde laughed at his response.

"Good thing I'm just working to beat Near," he nodded.

"And I'm just here to help an old friend of mine," Matt added. "No justice or trust about it."

"Nice to know we're all so devoted to catching Kira," Julia said with an eye roll. "Good team." Mello turned to look at his laptop as Matt pulled out his DS and Julia focused her attention on the television screen. Julia was obviously staying, which meant Lidner hadn't pissed her off as much as he had been hoping. Though now that he looked back on it, it was a shitty plan anyway. Lidner would never be able to drive Julia away from him herself, no matter how much Julia didn't like her. The only person who would be able to push Julia away was himself, and he knew it. Julia trusted him, and he had to push her away so he could fully focus on beating Near. Otherwise, he'd be nothing but a fool.