AN: Right, phew!
Thank you a lot for your reviews,
Bella Birthday: I will take what you said into consideration, I hope this chappie clears a few things up as I explain how she actually got into the SPK! I will also think about it for further chapters!
ILoveSiriusBlack4: Why, thank you! Much appreciated ^_^
Also thank you for the follow xXFallen-Angel-Of-DarknessXx
This is a little shorter than my other ones, but yeah! I am actually extremely tired, as I've been writing during the night, so if there's a lot of grammar mistakes and stuff, you know why! Now I need some chocolate! Anyway let's get on with it,
How to read:
This will have a flashback, I made sure it is noticeable when it begins and ends. Eeeeenjoy! RANDOM WOOOOO (I just had chocolate and am now hyper again!)
Anonymity
General Pov:
Near sat on the ground in his usual crouching position, playing with his latest possession, Lego. He always felt more relaxed when he was played with toys, his head was much clearer. Don't ask, even he could not explain exactly why.
He needed to relax right now, too. It has been three days since they have heard from Beth. They had previously agreed she would ring just before she was off to check out the base and when she got back every day. She was never that careless… No. something must have happened to her. She was in trouble, and Near knew it. He started getting agitated, was worried for her. Something in the back of his head told him it wasn't anything to do with them working together. Truth is he cared for the girl, although he would never admit it to anyone.
NO.
This is purely because she is an important member of the SPK.
Wasn't she? If he had to be honest, he wasn't even sure why he chose her in particular to join the SPK. She is incompetent, unexperienced and most of all unintelligent according to Wammy's standards. The only reason she was there in the first place is because, her father knew Roger personally. Of course she was to never know about that. So why her? Near thought back to all those days they went through the files of all the children with the team, they spent days looking at each child separately and their abilities.
*Flashback*
It's been a week since they began looking at each of those stupid files in detail. None of them were good enough, none of them matched up… of course they were all extremely capable, most with an IQ above 150, but whenever they thought they found the right person for the job, there was something, some little detail Near thought they missed.
'Oh c'mon, we've been through this! You could pick any of these kids. How about him, 16 year old, male, name: Dean, IQ 158, straight A's in all subjects, been in Wammy's since he was 4 years old, special abilities: logical and mathematical reasoning.' Giovanni read the first page of yet another child's file. When he finished, he looked up at Near, impatiently awaiting his response.
Near shook his head. Something just wasn't right. What was it?
Giovanni threw the file on top of a big pile of papers, some- information on other children, some- on their current investigation. They let it pile up throughout the day, as they were making absolutely zero progress. 'What do you mean no? We looked at 30 files today alone, and none of them seem to be good enough! You have to pick, and you have to do it soon.' He was impatient, restless even. It seemed to him as if Near was reluctant to pick another child.
Near simply closed his eyes. He needed to think. Then it came to him. There was one thing all of these children were missing: character. They were all too perfect. Why did that even matter?
Giovanni rested his head in his hands. This was not going well. There was only so any children in Wammy's. He almost felt like giving up. He groaned loudly, letting out his frustration.
Rester, ignoring him looked at the very small pile of files they didn't yet look at and took the top one off. He began reading.
'What about her? Female, 16 years old. Name: Beth, IQ: 132, average grade: B, Been at Wammy's since age 13. Special skill: Music.' He looked up at Near who once again shook his head. 'Huh, actually this one can be put aside straight away, music! That's funny.' Rester muttered to himself. He threw the file on top of the others. He was also tired of this, their aim was to catch Kira, not look through 50 odd files.
'That's it, I'm going out for air!' Giovanni announced, getting up and walking out of the room.
Rester followed him but before leaving the room completely, he turned to Near. 'Near, no offence, I respect your opinion and all, but… we have to choose and we both know it, otherwise what was even the point to dig out all of this information in the first place? I'm sorry but… I'm going to join Giovanni.' With that, Near was left alone in the room.
He sighed. He hated to admit it to himself, but they were right. They needed to choose soon. Whatever his ideologies were, they were ridiculous! Character? The one trait many children thought he didn't have back at Wammy's.
He looked down at the desk with files, picking up the last one with the girl. Beth was it? He checked the name to confirm it. None of the files stated the children's real names of course. Only the alias they were given the minute they walked through the doors of the orphanage.
He scanned his eyes over the girls' photo. somehow it seemed familirar as if he'd met her before. She looked quite young, must have been taken when she was still 11 or 12. She smiled brightly at the Camera; her dark hair ran down her sides, it was so long Near was surprised how she kept it so well groomed, when he couldn't even control his mop head. Her eyes were a bright hazel, almost green. His stomach made a little flip on the inside, this girl was beau- wait, no. He stopped himself from thinking what he was going to next and put the file back on the desk.
He then stood up to walk away but his curiosity pulled him back. He picked up Beth's file again, reading it one more time, this time going to the second and third pages which contained all of her records. They weren't bad, and it seemed like this girl really was interested in music, apparently playing 3 instruments including flute, and she sang. Something about choosing this girl felt right. She's not good enough, his conscience told him, but yet…
Giovanni walked back into the room, followed by Rester. Near gave them a slight nod and stated, in an uncaring, bored tone of voice 'I think I have made my decision.'
*End*
'Near? Are you alright?' Halle snapped Near out of his daydream. He took a strand of his hair in his fingers and began twirling it. Am I? He thought. This girl was making him feel things and he didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit.
Beth's Pov:
I had given up planning an escape route.
If I had to estimate, it's been about two days. I don't know for certain how long I spent in that dark room but it felt like eternity, with only scraps of food, water or no proper rest (though I have been falling asleep here and there, in my sitting position). Not to mention the cold. I had nothing to keep myself occupied and so just replayed the incident before I was locked in here over and over again, although I knew this wasn't healthy. I also knew there was no way I could escape, or get out of this situation. Alive.
The metal door I was originally pushed through creaked open and three big muscly men that I briefly recognised strolled in, scowls on their faces. I could see a *Beretta Model 1915 (1) tucked into the biggest looking ones belt (It was a very sleek weapon, I had used it when I was training). 'Mello wants a word,' he said. He then took out the gun and pointed it to my head. Not this again… I thought.
The two other Mafiosi went around me and untied me, one doing my feet and the other my arms. Once that was done I got up onto my feet and rubbed my hands. Those ropes left burn marks around my wrists. God Mello was going to regret this.
'Move it,' the man holding the gun growled. He grabbed hold of my elbow as I began to walk out the door and roughly led me up a set of stairs and to the living room/main area, whatever you want to call it.
The room was filled with mafia members, some sat on the couch, some stood smoking and talking loudly. The smell made me want to gag. Mello was also there. He sat on the back of the couch with a chocolate bar in his hand. Without looking up he took a bite and gestured for me to sit down on the other end of the couch. The man with the gun to my head let go of my elbow, but kept the gun firmly pointed to my head as I sat down. The others watched with anticipation.
'How are you enjoying your stay?' Mello teased in the most disgustingly pleasant voice. He looked up and my eyes met his. He still had that cold and uncaring glare, yet I felt there was something in it. Hate? No that couldn't be it. Determination? Maybe.
I remained silent. I didn't want to show any of these goons how I really felt at this point: weak, distressed and defeated. Realising what I was doing, Mello just smirked. My god did I want to hit him. I looked around. Some of the men around me were checking me out and it was making me extremely self-conscious. I felt a taste of bile in my mouth.
'I have a preposition for you. We have thought it over and you can be very useful to us without having to resort to violence.' Mello informed me. I wasn't sure whether this was good news or not. I however still kept silent and let him continue. 'We have a plan. You can choose to help us, and we won't have to kill you… or, well, we'll shoot you right here and now.'
I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do then. Something told me my stay here would be a very unpleasant one. Would they really kill me? I thought about it. The SPK would surely connect my death to the mafia. Near and the others would track me down once they saw the distress signal coming from my belt and-
MY BELT! I had completely forgotten about it, what with the fighting and all. I had to find a way to press it, before I was forced to join this gang. As carefully as I could so it would be unnotacible I moved my hand towards the buckle.
'And for the record, don't even think about pressing that distress signal on your belt.' How did he- ' I recognised it from the prototypes we had back at the orphanage when ol' Wammy was working on em, in case you're wandering. Why do you think the first thing we did is tie up your hands? I guess were going to have to take it off you, aswel.'
Well that plan was out of question. I guess I had no choice. Did I? was I willing to give up so easily? Was I willing to let Near down, and let him down this badly? I waited a moment, and then finally spoke 'Why a sudden change of heart…?' my voice sounded hoarse, and weak.
'Because,' The guy that seemed to be head of the mafia, Rod as I remembered suddenly pitched in. 'We all know you want to walk away from this place alive.' It made a little sense of coarse but... by my calculations, they couldn't shoot me anyway. 'You give us what we want and we give you what you want. You help us and we don't shoot you.'
I thought about it for a second. These men were everything I hate. Resorting to violent and obscure methods to fight for a cause… They were really no better than Kira himself. Was it even a cause for them? Did they know what they were fighting for? With Near and the SPK everyone was so sincere, we had one goal: To find and arrest Kira, avenging L's death. If I choose to help, I'll stay alive, proposing they weren't bluffing about shooting me.
I looked down at my feet. I was disgusted with myself for even considering it, but my conscience told me it was the right thing to do. I was ready. 'I will join you.' I replied.
'This' Mello motioned to a confined, dirty looking room 'is your bedroom.' There was, what I suppose you could call a bed against a wall on the far- well actually not a very far- end of the room. Above it, was a small round window and at the very end of the bed, there was a small chest of drawers for my belongings.
Speaking of belongings, 'How am I going to get my stuff?'
Mello looked at me as if I had ten heads, 'what do you mean, "Your stuff"?' he narrowed his eyes at me.
I rolled my eyes. 'You know, clothes, makeup, books whatever else?'
'I don't know and I don't care.' He shrugged.
It was my turn to look surprised. 'Wha-da-ya mean you don't care? How am I supposed to shower without my shampoo and conditioner? Or look nice without my clothes?' I whined.
Mello rolled his eyes a muttered 'Women,'
'You should know,' I thought out loud (implying that he himself was one), making him extremely irritated.
'Fine, whatever, I'll get Roy and Skyer to pick up you bloody stuff later. You will have to give me your hotel, room number and key.' He said as he closed the door to my new room, and began to walk down the hall. I followed like a lost puppy. 'Of course for now, you are not permitted to leave the premises of this base, considering we can't trust that you won't try to inform Near of what happened or in a worse case' he stopped abruptly and turned his head slightly to face me, 'escape.' He then turned back and continued walking. 'The shower room is in there,' he pointed carelessly to a big door on my left, 'it used to be some kind of storage room, but I guess Rod decided to renovate it. You can put something against the door to make sure nobody walks in on you.' He smiled a little to himself, although I couldn't tell why. He then continued down the hall, to an area I remember as having under surveillance. We ended up in a big, what looked like kitchen, with a fridge standing against a corner on the far right, a counter, that was about to collapse beside it and a big, rusty table in the middle. There was a cupboard in there also, but it looked more like it was for a bedroom than for a kitchen. 'I don't think I need to tell you what this is. You can help yourself when you're hungry, I guess.'
This surprised me. He actually cared about weather I was hungry? I decided not to question it, in case he changed his mind.
He then led me out of the kitchen 'I'm sure you know the rest of our base pretty well by now, so I'm not going to waste any more of my time showing you around.'
He took a chocolate bar out of his pocked and began unwrapping it as he continued. 'Now, let's run over the rules. Rule number one, as I already told you: you are not leaving this base, until I say you can and even then, someone will have to come with you. Someone will stay in the base with you at all times too, to keep an eye on you.' He took a bite of his bar as I nodded in agreement. 'We will tell you only what we feel necessary. You are not allowed to snoop around or ask about the case, understood?'
I nodded again.
'You're belt and spying equipment are permanently confiscated, in fact I already got Miller to destroy them. Now then, when are you supposed to contact the nitwit?' He took another bite, and like the previous times I had seen him eat chocolate, swallowed.
I raised an eyebrow at him, for the way he talked about Near. I had to admit it was amusing. Still I couldn't help but feel a little hurt for Nears sake. 'Once before I arrive here, and the second I am back at the hotel. It should be around 6 in the evening or so,' I answered simply. I figured there was no point hiding anything else from him at this stage.
Mello looked down at his watch, 'It's five to now. You will do that every day from now on, letting him know you're fine, and I will be present during these phone calls, and if he asks for new information will tell you what to say.' He smirked. Again. I was beginning to resent that smirk. Or was I? There was something about it that was actually quite…. Attractive? My conscience sang. I mentally slapped myself.
'I will hand you your phone now, and you will give it right back to me once you are finished.' He took the small object out of his pocket (as I remember he handed it to one of the mafiosi. Must have got it back) and handed it to me. 'Call.' He ordered.
I simply crossed my arms. 'And if I don't?' I taunted.
I wanted to test how much dominance he actually had over me, which backfired because suddenly he did something which not only shocked me, but also caused me to obey him immediately. He took his gun out of the front of his extremely tight pants and pointed it at me, 'I may not shoot to kill, but I can still injure you. Call. On loud speaker .' He repeated simply, taking another bite of his chocolate.
'Okay, okay, jeez.'
I had to admit I hated being bossed around. It's one thing when Near did it, it is however completely a different story when it's anyone else.
I looked through my contacts to find the number Near had given me, when I had to call him, and pressed call, putting it on loud speaker mode, as Mello instructed. There were two beeps before a voice answered on the other end. A voice I came to miss over the days I was locked in this dump.
'Hello,' Near said. I smiled at the sound of his voice, and made eye contact with Mello who still had his gun firmly pointed at me. He stared right at me while finishing his chocolate which made me a little nervous.
'Near, it's Beth,'
'Beth? Where were you these past three days? I began worrying, is there any reasonable excuse for your absence?' His tone sounded as plain as always, however I could tell he was truly worried. It actually made me extremely happy that he was.
'I'm so sorry I..' I paused thinking up and excuse.
'Lost connection.' Mello whispered to me, now lowering the gun slightly as he was sure I was doing what I was told.
'Lost connection,' I repeated to Near giving Mello a thumbs up. He nodded back, looking away completely uncaringly. 'I was trying to reconnect it for ages, so sorry I made you worried, I really didn't mean to.'
I wasn't sure if he was going to buy it. I sounded convincing but this wasn't a regular person I was talking to. I was talking to Near the certifiable genius, L's true successor. He wasn't that easy to fool. There was silence on the other end for a second. I then heard someone ask something in the background.
'She's fine, Halle.' Near's voice sounded away from the phone. He then addressed me again 'Beth, listen to me. You are not to lose contact with us. If this ever happens again, find a payphone or borrow someone else's, but you cannot let this happen again. Do you understand how close I was to sending someone to raid the mafia base thinking you've been caught?' His voice was still monotonous, but I could tell he wasn't calm, still I got away with this. I actually got away with it! Or so I thought. He still sounded suspicious, but maybe I was just imagining it. 'Have you got any new information? What are Mello and his associates up to?'
I looked nervously over at Mello, who immediately knew what Near had asked. 'Say you know nothing so far, but heard us talking about a big plan.' He whispered.
I wondered what for? Nevertheless, I went along with what Mello told me to do.
'I see…' Near paused again, 'That is all for now, thank you for your call.' And with that, without awaiting my reply he hung up.
What was that? I wandered.
'Done? Good, now give me back the phone.' Mello put his hand out and I reluctantly placed the phone in it.
'He let it go to easily,' Mello said suddenly.
'huh?' What was he thinking?
'Near… he didn't question you much, he just told you to keep in contact. He suspects something.' Mello began to walk away, leaving me standing there. He then turned around and said 'well c'mon, we still have to fill you in on our big plan, don't we? Oh and by the way, what's your name?'
'Rebe-' I couldn't believe I almost said it... I almost told him my real name! I decided to start again, 'Beth. Call me Beth.'
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