A/N: My exams are stretching up to a full three weeks. Nope, not happy at all.
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-----AdRenaline
U
S
h
This is me standing in the arch of the door
hating that look that's on your face
that says there's another fool like me.
There's one born every minute, there's one born every minute.
- Calm Before The Storm, Fall Out Boy
Chapter Two
They are walking outside again, with each streetlight shining a yellow light down an eight foot radius of slick, or slightly snow-covered empty pavements. Mello hasn't been through these roads before, even in his frenzied chase for Hex almost throughout the entire New York City, and he knows this because here, it looks something like the slums, with old, gray buildings with poorly made graffiti staining them, and damp advertisement posters are haphazardly flying about.
Mello finds it all rather cliché that Hex has led him to a place like this, this sad looking ghost town that looks abandoned, because really, where else would a professional (or would be professional. Mello has that much confidence in her abilities, even if they're yet to be proven) thief go? The conspicuously inconspicuous nature of the area would just be overlooked because this sort of place would be the first place the police would think to look, and hence the last place they'd actually look, because they think 'thieves wouldn't hide somewhere so obvious'.
And this is why Mello thinks the police are so stupid.
Why did L let the police work with him? They probably had just messed every damn thing up and caused his downfall. Now with someone else probably parading as L when he's not, it'd be so easy to manipulate everyone. This can easily explain why L's records are all gone- either someone wants to hide this from Kira, or someone wants to hide this because Kira is someone with the police.
He'll say it again; the police are so stupid. Placing their trust blindly just because they've got a badge. What do they show for? Nothing at all. They've got guns for nothing, and they've got brains to be wasted thinking they can trust one another when they can't. Not in a world like this. Not in a world like Mello's, where he'll take nothing, no one but the best and not trust the law, because this is another reason for L's downfall.
L must've placed so much trust in someone, someone he shouldn't have. Well, Mello won't make the same mistake. Never.
"Don't scowl, Melly-bean, you'll go ugly," Hex's voice chimes beside him, and he turns his head to see her dancing to a non-existent beat yet again. She holds in her hand a particularly large red lollipop, and her tongue, slightly tinted the exact same shade, darts out to taste it again. "What's in your head?"
Mello shakes his head, trudging forward as if he knew where to go, but there is really only forward, and nowhere else. "Don't call me that. It's degrading."
"Don't tell me what to do," Hex returns lightly, taking large strides to again meet beside him again, frowning in discontent when she sees Mello stalk faster, as if to walk away from her, and in all truth, Mello is. Or at he's at least trying to. It's times like this when he feels the need to be alone awhile, just so he can think. Can't Hex see that? She's not supposed to be an idiot, damn it.
She suddenly reminds him of himself in a memory, namely at the memory where he'd been punished for stealing from the kitchen pantry. Honestly, Mello thinks he should've just been punished for getting caught. Craning his neck, he eyes Hex again, saying exactly what Roger had said to him just to gauge her verbal reaction. "Respect your elders."
"I'll respect you when you deserve it." Her tone is still light as always, as if she never means anything she says, and this almost disturbs him. Almost. "You've been nothing but a demanding shithead all the while I've known you."
"Watch your language," Mello says in a warning tone, though his eyes glint in some kind of sadistic amusement. As if he's enjoying the torment at both their expense.
Hex grins, sticking out her tongue playfully and she saunters ahead of him, turning a left. "Don't tell me what to do." Mello smirks, following after her and ruffles her head of hair with his hand, just so he could bother her, and Mello knows he does. Hex is, after all, rather sensitive when it comes to her messy mop.
They stop a short while after before what looks to be an old guarded warehouse, complete with the barbed wire fence and the convenient hole leading to the inside somewhere in the corner. The windows, what Mello notices, are bolted shut with rusted locks and chains, and the door, he checks, is locked from the inside. He looks to Hex with narrowed eyes, thinking that this may have been a pointless journey.
But he realizes that Hex is paying him no mind, shrugging off her coat and letting it fall to the floor, exposing more of her oddly unfrozen skin and she swiftly pulls out what looks to be a mangled army knife (revamped, Mello assumes) and she keeps it in place in her mouth, discarding her lollipop carelessly somewhere.
Mello is oddly somewhat excited, because he knows that she's going to work on getting them inside somehow, and finally he'll get to catch a glimpse of her 'expertise', so had Matt called it back then. Which reminds him.. How does Matt know Hex anyway? He'll think about that later, because now, he's honestly curious.
Hex scales up the high wall like a cat, movements agile and quick, and when she reaches her goal, she keeps a single hand on the ledge of the horizontally wide, but otherwise narrow window, then retrieves the device from her mouth with her free hand, and finally starts picking at it. It isn't before long before she simply slides in.
When he hears a noise coming from behind the warehouse door, he grins, deciding that she's finally proven herself useful, although knowing that this is just minor and easy, compared to all he knows Aiber and Wedy capable of doing. And knowing what L's spoken of them, he'll be sure to expect more impressions from her.
So, she isn't a waste of time, nor will she be a burden. Mello picks up her coat in a way of silently saying thank you, and then enters the warehouse confidently as the door creaks open, thinking that this will be just excellent. He'll use her to his full advantage. "So why are we here?"
"Ah, finally," Hex pouts, bouncing on the balls of her feet deeper into the warehouse, otherwise leaving the door open so some light would bleed through. "It took you a hell of a long time to ask me! Do you know how much I wanted to just spit it out?"
Mello raises a blond brow, but his orbs are surveying his new surroundings. Definitely, there hasn't been anyone here for too long, because there are cobwebs and layers of dust coating every inch he can see, and his shoes leaves wet imprints on the dirty floor. "Then why didn't you just say it?"
Hex snorts derisively, waving her hand as if to throw the idea away entirely. "Then what fun would that be?" She looks at him over her shoulder, lighter than platinum blonde locks flying around her in her quick motion. "What's the point in telling a secret if no one wants to know, hmm? Who wants to talk if there'd be no one listening?"
"Stop being so damn cryptic," Mello sighs in agitation, running his nearly numb fingers through his own hair, because it's growing too long and it's falling into his eyes. Enviously, he stares at Hex's back and how she keeps her hair falling past her own eyes, and it never seems to bother her. He rolls his eyes. Pfft..Girls. They are another thing no guy would ever fully understand, and he has no real intention to either. "So tell me already."
Hex's tone drops, and now sarcasm drips from her mouth. "Gee, let me think." She crosses her arms, a single hand cupping her chin in mock contemplation. "Nope." And she cackles, Mello likes to image her as a witch right here, and he's glaring at her, emptily, because she disregards him completely.
"You said you wanted to spit it out," Mello hisses, already too annoyed with her. "So why won't you?"
She shrugs carelessly, sending him a Cheshire cat-like grin before she spins a full one eighty, heading towards the door of the warehouse once again. "I said I wanted to, never said I was going to." She laughs gleefully as she passes him, easily dodging his open hand that had intentions to pull at her hair this time. "And now, the suspense is building! And dun dun dunn!" she vocalizes dramatic music, "The suspense'll claw at you and kill you, and then, and then-!"
The door of the warehouse opens wider, and Hex, if it had been possible, grins even wider. Her voice is quieter this time, no louder than a giddy sort of whisper, but it echoes in the empty warehouse. "The suspense is gone."
"You're insane," Mello comments dryly when he reaches her side, but otherwise keeps quiet when he sees the shadow of a large figure, obviously a guy (or a very big, masculine built woman) looming where the light shines inside. Hearing him, Hex stifles her giggles and jabs him in the ribs with her elbow sharply, apparently not caring whether he would've been hurt or not. Surprisingly, it stung.
He must be getting soft.
Mello chagrins, eyeing the silhouette suspiciously, and then his eyes widen when Hex takes off into a sprint, and then jumps into the suddenly open arms of the guy, and the man chuckles, voice deep and almost sultry, and Mello can hear the man whispering her name, sounding happy to see her.
"It's been too long, ain't it?" Hex asks openly, but the question is obviously rhetorical. The man's arm reaches out to the wall, feeling for something and Mello assumes it is the light switch, because the area is suddenly lit up brightly. "Mello? I'd like you to meet Aiber."
He blinks once, twice, and then dutifully steps forward, if only out of the habit all Wammy inhabitants had made, to greet someone politely, because it's the way things work there. Mello notices that Aiber is practically oozing charm, blond hair combed back neatly and it goes past the collar of his crisp suit, and he has the top two buttons of his undershirt left undone. He is tall and admittedly handsome, and he wears a charismatic sort of smile as he extends his hand. "Hello. Hex told me I'd be meeting you."
Mello accepts the hand awkwardly, until his etiquette practice kicks in. He returns a polite smile, one that wouldn't have appeared fake to anyone of lesser standards, but he was in the presence of two con-artists, so he assumes they see through him easily. "I can't say the same- Hex refused to tell me the reason why we'd be here."
Aiber chuckles and releases the hand, standing lax. "You'll be expecting more of that from her soon, if you don't stop that. You're a genius; you'll figure something out to stop her from being so difficult." He pats Mello's head; like he's a little boy, or a dog, and Mello thinks this is absolutely humiliating. "But I should tell you that you've misunderstood. I'm not the reason you're here."
"Then what is?" Mello asks.
The con-artist smiles, "You are a fickle thing, aren't you?" He looks past his shoulder to the outside of the warehouse, "You shouldn't make it a practice to follow through with everything without knowing what to prepare for." Then he steps aside, and as if on his cue, Hex appears a few seconds later, large bags on her back, and each hand holding a metal briefcase. Aiber smirks at Hex's silent cursing at how heavy the bags were, but does nothing to help her. "Before we start, you should be aware that you're the reason we're all here."
Mello's eyes narrow, and he shoots Hex a questioning glare, and she simply shrugs, and refocuses her attention to the briefcases, picking on their locks just as easy as she had done with the window. He stares at Aiber dubiously. "What about me?"
"Mello," Hex begins with a sigh, because after a few moments of silence it became apparent that Aiber isn't going to answer. Either way, Mello is only happy she isn't going to call him 'Melly-bean' when Aiber is present. That will be too humiliating. "You're here, with me, a thief slash con-artist.. Whatever! And you're planning for me to work with you so we'd get into the mafia." She emphasizes each word slowly and deliberately, as if talking to an incompetent fool, and Mello is only more annoyed. "You're practically signing a lifetime deal to the underworld. You might as well learn a few things before you suddenly off yourself."
Aiber frowns, "Be nice, Hex."
She sticks out her tongue, even at her mentor! Mello doesn't know what to make of this stupid, irrational, bitchy behavior, but it really is starting to get under his skin like nothing else. Other than Near, of course, but she comes a close second. "Don't tell me what to do."
"Don't mind her," Aiber tells Mello casually, "She must be deprived of her fix."
"Her medication?" Mello suggests teasingly, if only to see her reaction this time.
He is disappointed. Hex only waves her hand at them dismissively, and steps aside as Aiber makes to stand before the brief case. Mello can only watch in all curiosity at what's so damn interesting about the case, when Aiber pulls out a gun, and then tosses it into Hex's hand and she catches it easily. "Why this one?" she asks Aiber, making a face at it in distaste.
"You'll be demonstrating to Mello, Hex, and this will be his first time," Aiber explains, dusting at a rubber tire on the floor with his hand, and he sits on it and works the kinks in his neck. "You know I don't particularly like guns."
Hex sniffs in disdain, toying the device in her palm as if it were a plaything. "Whatever. I'm better at sharpshooting than you are anyway." She looks at Aiber expectantly, and they have something of a staring match before Aiber relents, standing once again, and he retrieves a vest, oddly looking like a target board before he wears it on.
Mello watches carefully, fixedly, absorbing everything Hex does, because he is an avid learner, and he will master this, damn it. And besides, he can't imagine Near doing anything like this! Something he'll know better than the sheep! Hah! Mello feels as if he'd won this round.
She opens the cartridge of the gun, and quickly pulls for a full one from the case, and she jams it in place inside the handgrip. "This, Mello, is a semi automatic," she drawls out, as if reciting the words someone had said to her. She probably is. "So you'd have to replace, then load it each time this thing here," she points to the cartridge, "Goes empty."
"And," Hex continues, raising the gun slowly and backing off a safe distance of thirty feet, keeping her voice loud enough so he'd hear, not that it matters. The warehouse echoes. "This is kind of nifty, and not to mention convenient 'cause it's compact, so you can hide it wherever you want."
Aiming, she grins. "You hold it like this. I'll show you again later if I feel like it." She adds the last sentence with a sly glance in his direction, ignoring Aiber's warning tone, telling her to behave herself. "But for now, I'm going to go shoot the shit out of Aiber, and you better tell me what I'll damage. Like an anatomy lesson."
Mello's eyes narrow at her blatant demand, but keeps himself in check. She's teaching something that both she and Aiber thinks will be useful, so he can't miss anything. He doesn't think Hex kind enough to teach him a second time either.
"Ready, Aiber?" Hex asks, pulling her hair over her right ear, and then shoots. Mello cringes at the loud 'bang', but by the time he opens his eyes, all he can hear is the hollow ringing of the barrel of the gun. He swiftly turns his head to Aiber and stares at the vest, and the bullet embedded in it. Aiber remains unaffected, as if he'd fallen victim to being target practice too many times before. "Uh, liver?"
"What do you mean, 'uh, liver?' You're supposed to be fucking confident about what you're doing!" she glares at him, and then smiles sweetly. "But you're right."
She shoots again, and this time, Mello answers without hesitating. "Right lung."
And once more. "The heart."
Hex cackles excitedly, bouncing on the balls of her feet as she beckons Mello forward with her index finger. "Guess what, Mello?" She gives him a closed eyed, toothy grin. "I'm starting to actually like you."
"Yeah?" Mello challenges. "I've yet to like you."
"You think I give a damn?" she replies. "You're entitled to your own opinion of me, anyway." She smirks, throwing the device casually in his direction and it fumbles in his hands. Mello looks at her with wide, confused and almost scared eyes. He copies Hex and molds his fingers into the curves, and the metal is cool to the touch. Smooth and silent, but still dangerous, even in its dormant state. After all, that could easily change with a twitch of his finger.
But Mello still didn't want anything to do with it. It must've shown in his expression because Hex speaks with something akin to mild annoyance, while sounding patient at the same time. "Relax, Mel, I'm not going to ask you to shoot him," her red tongue pokes out from the corner of her lips. "Shoot me instead."
"W-what?"
Watching, and performing are two completely different things. He thought he could do this. He thought this will be as easy as almost everything else. Now? He thinks not.
"You heard me," she rolls her eyes.
Mello stares at her with wild eyes, wondering if she is actually, sane. "Are you suicidal?"
"Nope," she answers lightly, and steps backwards again to allow more range for him. "Life, death- it doesn't matter to me. Just don't shoot at Aiber without practice- you might kill him."
"I don't see your logic, Hex," Mello hisses out, and he's inwardly wondering why the hell Aiber isn't saying anything to stop Hex, or their bickering, or damn it, everything! He looks as if he's enjoying their argument, the bastard. "How is the idea of accidentally killing you better than killing Aiber?"
"Unlike you," she speaks lowly, as if threatening him to say otherwise. "I actually value his life more than I value my own. Now, shoot me. I know what I'm doing."
"B-but!"
"Shoot!"
A bang echoes in the warehouse. As if it burns him, he immediately lets go of the weapon. Mello stares, eyes wide in horror, as Hex's body falls backwards onto the dusty floor.
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Breathe!
"Why are you just sitting there?" is the first coherent sentence Mello forms, but all Aiber does is stare at Hex's form, unimpressed, but amused, and he adjusts himself on the tire, pulling out his own handhold and he shoots at her. Once. Twice. Thrice.
"What the fuck are you doing?" Mello yells out, pulling at his hair because damn it, this isn't supposed to happen! "Wha-" He stops, breathing heavily and uncontrollably, like, inhale, inhale, then exhale because Hex is slowly rising from the floor, wiping off the debris that managed to collect on her. "You fucking moron! I thought you were dead! And I'd killed you! Shit!" He raises his fist and drives it into the nearest wall.
Hex is looking wild, with her hair a mess it looks almost windswept, and her cheeks are flushed a healthy shade of red, her expression of unadulterated bliss and she is grinning stupidly. "Again." She stands with her shoulders limp, but otherwise looking ready as she repeats her words. "Do that again."
That idiot.
There is light peeking through the window, and the air is warmer, not by much but still warmer, than the night chill. It's at the break of dawn and in the warehouse, and Mello thinks he's developed a new interest for guns. He puts the semi automatic back in the padded interior of the metal briefcase, feeling slightly out of place without it, but that could just be him being melodramatic.
He glances over his shoulder and sighs impatiently at how Hex is quietly conversing with her mentor, and this time, she seems serious, and he can't help but think how much it contrasts to her usual characteristic high. Like the show she'd done earlier, right after he shot her.
Mello supposes he should've been a little less… vulgar and more reasonable. He knows that her fix is adrenaline, and he'd been taking that privilege from her from days on end, only because of how much she's preparing for them who knows what. All he knows is from her words, "I almost have all we need."
Then, what do they need?
He banishes all thoughts out of his mind for the moment, and tries to sharpen his hearing so he could at least eavesdrop in what they are saying, because Mello does not favor secrecy. Especially when he thinks it's necessary for him to know, and damn it if Hex isn't his business now.
".. back to Paris, I guess?" Hex asks quietly, though it sounded more of a statement.
There is a pause. Mello thinks that Aiber is nodding before he replies, "I haven't seen my family in almost a year now, Hex. Yes, I am."
"This is it, then?" Hex's voice is more subdued now, "Kira's got Wedy.. There's a big chance he'll get you too."
"I know," Aiber replies, sounding somber. "And that's why I have to go while I still can."
"Hey," she murmurs, as if the words feel wrong slipping out of her tongue. "I'm sorry."
Aiber chuckles, "Don't apologize. You're like my own kid. I don't mind spending time with you." Another pause, Mello isn't sure what happens then. "And cheer up; I'm handing down my role to you now. I think I'll retire." He clears his throat and his voice is lower. "At least you've got company this time."
"Yeah," Hex agrees, maybe suddenly reminded that Mello is still here. "And I think I'll be happy; we're getting the mafia."
"I've got a lead for you. You'll find them in Los Angeles. Look for Rod Loss," her mentor's reply comes. "Here," there is the sound of unfolding paper. "Those are tickets, and some contacts you'll find useful."
TBC
A/N: Hey, I'm not too happy with this chapter. So this one's not a filler, and Mello isn't some prodigal genius sharpshooter, and he must've learned somewhere. Any opinions on this chapter? On Mello and Hex's somewhat developed 'friendship', Hex and Aiber's bond, the works. I'd like to know.. :) I'm all for improvements.
Next chapter's preview is up! Coming with the feedback I get, and speaking of which, thanks to iHiatus (thank you!) Sensible One (It's alright. :) And hey, thanks for liking the prologue. I think the portrayal of him in this chapter is a little crappy though, I hope I didn't disappoint you.. And I bring you Aiber! Thanks again for liking Hex! And still hoping you do now..)and C. Holywell-Black (Thanks for liking the story! And my style of writing haha, I didn't think I'd get that for writing in third person .. I hope that Hex is still believable in this- I think she came out all wrong..) for reviewing!
Preview:
It's something of instinct, that he needs to, because he's starting to wonder if Hex will actually help him beat Near. So far, she's done nothing but disregard his opinions entirely, keep secrets from him, and she tells him nothing. There are so many things that can go wrong, and he grudgingly admits this. Like how Hex might be already working with Near, or what if she were in contact with Kira? Or… Mello shakes his head, wanting to banish all thoughts of Hex betraying him for a while. It's nothing but paranoia.
.. But he really is curious; who does she meet when she's gone? Who does she talk to almost every night? Who's sending her those damned e-mails? Why won't she tell him anything?
"I've got to hang up now," Hex's voice is hushed and hurried as she whispers into her cell phone. "I think Mello's here."
Not as exciting.. Or is it? Now review, you. :)