A/N: Hope you guys didn't give up on me or anything. D:
-
-AdRenaline
U
S
h
Replace this fear inside.
Take this nothingness from me.
I want to find,
I want to shine,
I want to rise.
- Break Me Down, Red
Chapter Six
Rain is falling down heavily, wetting her clammy skin, matting her hair to her brow, and her clothes cling to her form like glue. They're taking slow steps, strolling casually down the slick streets past midnight, but all the thoughts in her head come rushed, speeding a thousand miles per hour and she's driving herself a little dizzy.
And it's obvious that Mello isn't faring any better than she is. He's tense beside her, gaze set straight in front of him and his brows are furrowed in concentration, contemplating, thinking. Hex already knows what's on his mind. It doesn't take an idiot to guess; the mafia. Pointedly ignoring her, too deep in his own thoughts and she's starting to wonder if he's decided to back out on this for the moment.
"You're not having any second thoughts, are you?" she inquires, tone neither amused nor curious, because she feels neither of the two. He's the wise guy who decided they try to get recruited instead of paying a visit to her contact. He's the cocky asshole who acted so damn sure of what he's doing here. She can't afford Mello chickening out tonight, she won't let him. Not when he's dragged her into this in the first place.
Mello stiffens at her snide words, trying to hide his palms in the pocket of his pants and realizes that he's not wearing his ratty jeans anymore. Hex has zero approval of his new leather-clad dominatrix look, but again, Mello's been the one to insist on it. Geez, she must be getting soft to spoil him like she does. She imagines Wedy to be pretty disappointed her, wherever death took her.
"No," he replies finally, not even daring to face her yet, and Hex knows it's because she can read any face like an open book. A pretty awesome ability she's never had the chance to thank Aiber for. It doesn't matter anymore. Mello's lying, she can sense it, but he's trying to hide it from her. She isn't too impressed with the tiny ounce of bravery he's trying to show her, but at least she won't have to drag him by his pretty choir-boy hair to Rod. "I'm just.. thinking."
She rolls her eyes at him, not that he's seeing. "Oh, Really?" She has her voice high-pitched and girly, mocking the childlike innocence she's lost too long ago. "I neverwould've guessed, Melly-bean!" Now thoroughly annoyed, she grabs him by the collar of his vest and pulls him to a stop, whirling him around to face her, and she hisses, "You do your best to remember that you asked for this. You will toughen up, or are you just some kind of sissy?"
He mimics her expression, eyes narrowed and a scowl adorns his lips. Reaching to the hand holding onto him, he yanks it away and holds it within his fist, in a way almost like crushing. "I'm not a fucking sissy," he says first, defending his manly man pride like she knows he would. "And quit being a bitch. You don't know what I was thinking. You don't know anything."
She tries to pull her hand away from him with little success, maybe due to the fact that she's seriously lacking any energy to do anything requiring any sort of physical effort, and she's stuck functioning like some kind of weakling. It sucks. Hex would've at least tried to get a power nap yesterday hadn't it been for fucking Mello and his bloody need to be in the mafia so quick. She's starting to seriously wonder if the mafia is really even worth all her misery.
"What?" she disagrees heatedly, her other hand clenching into a fist so tight her knuckles turn a pale white. "All you ever do is whine and yell and bitch at me abouteverything! All you do is order me around like some kind of fucking servant, telling me to go and get things done for you. You don't know anything! You want in, so I'mdoing this to get you in. If you really want this, then start pulling your own weight. If you don't, then leave me the fuck alone."
Chest rising and lowering, she's shaking from her outburst. She finally has her hand free from him when he loosens his grip, a little nonplussed by her rage. Hex doesn't lose her temper, no, that's Mello's sort of thing, but she honestly can't stand him anymore. "Just.. No second thoughts okay? I can't afford any of that," she continues, her voice scratchy and raw, she speaks in a whisper. "It isn't fair if you do this."
Then, there is silence. Hex exhales heavily, and she feels as if a heavy weight's been lifted off of her shoulders by voicing everything to him. Heck, maybe she should start screaming at him more often- it's kind of stress relieving. Yeah, that's right. She's so relieved, and she doesn't really care if Mello's going to walk away or if he'll still stay. If he leaves, he'll have no one left. Hex will have no one left, but that's okay for her. She was fine alone before he came anyway.
Hex has almost always been alone, after all.
Swallowing a hard lump down his throat, Mello keeps his eyes trained on her face, but she's not looking at him anymore. She's watching raindrops fall into a puddle, disturbing the water with ripples, spreading out quickly until they turn to nothing. "I-" he starts, mouth opening slightly as if to say something, and Hex's ears wait patiently for what she wants to hear. It never comes. Instead, he asks something else, subdued and quiet and paranoid. He's changing the topic so easily. As if she's never mentioned anything, but Hex doesn't bother drilling her words into his head anymore. It's not worth it if he doesn't listen.
He's just so fucking stubborn. "We'll get in tonight, Hex. No matter what it'll take us."
The girl glances at him from the corner of her eye, before she stares high up into the sky, seeing nothing but the large wisps of dark gray clouds, sinisterly glowing as lightning strikes, her bright eyes eerily reflecting the display. Her anger dies to something weaker, and now all she feels is mild annoyance with him, but at least she knows that he's decided to stay. She doesn't address that at all, and she pretends not to even care. So she says, "Remember that we have no plan. Make things work as we go, expect the unexpected."
Mustering enough bravery, he coaxes her to face him, digging his fingers into the skin of her shoulder. She's looking at him distrustfully, suspicion dancing in her orbs, and he gives a small smirk, trying to lighten the mood a little. "The last bit was a little cliché, Hex."
"Cliché or not, I mean it," she bites her lower lip to stop herself from pouting. "Things have a way of getting out of hand, you know that. These people will not be some kind of joke. You have to watch your step." She cranes her neck a little, standing up to her full height. Now her pink tongue darts out, and she licks at her lower lip slowly. "Don't give those fuckers an inch."
They are at the back entrance of the club, the rain already stopping and though he knows he might resemble a drowned cat, he has never felt so exhilarated andnauseous at the same time. Hex stands beside him before the guard, hips cocked aside and she's staring up at the much taller man defiantly, as if daring him to do something.
Mello's taken on a more guarded stance, head lowered slightly so his bangs hide his eyes somewhat, but while no one can see him clearly, he sees everything perfectly.The guard is lightly tanned, a short bowl cut of dirty blond hair and he looks completely, and utterly grim. Mello is tensed, like a coiled spring, prepared to pounce at any second. He's taken Hex's words seriously, because she knows these kinds of things, these kinds of people. He'll have to expect the unexpected.
"What's in the bag?" The dude's voice is hard and mistrustful, gruff like some kind of gorilla. Mello steels himself not to be intimidated so easily. He can't have that sort of attitude towards things anymore.
Discreetly glancing at Hex, he sees her give a slight nod, allowing him to answer for them both."That's none of your business," he replies, swiftly pulling out his gun and raising it up to the guy's face. "Take us to your Boss. Now." When he hears Hex huff out in disapproval of his actions, he spares her another glance, wondering something along the lines of 'What the hell?'
With a wide smirk spreading across his features, the man chuckles. "You think that's supposed to scare me?"
Deciding that this won't be going anywhere too soon, Hex intervenes, voice sharp and confident, but she sounds so amused. Mello watches her with interest, taking this as some sort of lesson in Wammy's, because he wants to put on the same façade as she does. It isn't as easy as Hex makes it look, damn it. He notices that her eyes show none of the amusement she speaks with, and that they are hard and uncompromising, betraying absolutely nothing.
"Now, now," she says, like a mother reprimanding her children for bad behavior. "Is that how you people treat your guests? I'm a little disappointed." Hex's lips curl downwards at the man, losing the amused tone and she sounds so cold now. "I'm X. If you boss hasn't bothered to tell you, I've made arrangements for us to meet him tonight, so take us to him already before my friend here decides to end you."
The guy's gaze zeroes on her, completely ignoring the fact that the muzzle of Mello's gun pressed to his brow. "I don't care who the fuck you are, X," he uses Hex's alias spitefully. "Your name doesn't mean anything to me." Glaring at her, he adds, "I'd watch my mouth if I were you."
Including himself in the conversation now, Mello hisses. "You are in no position to make any threats now, pal. She's asked nicely, didn't she?" Narrowing his eyes at the gorilla, Mello sets his jaw tight, speaking through his teeth and readies the gun with a resounding 'click'. "You heard her. Take us to Rod Ross. Now."
He flanks Hex, eyes darting to every corner of the room. For a club, it's eerily quiet and the air is so thick, Mello imagines one could cut through it with a butter knife. High on the ceilings of each room they pass are surveillance cameras installed, probably watching their movement, and he's apprehensive. Hex, despite being trainedprofessionally, is making a bloody amateur mistake in ignoring them completely.
But Hex isn't an idiot, he reminds himself, not always anyway, but that's beside the point here. He supposes that she's already taken care of these sorts of things- it makes more sense to him (but it doesn't make him relax one bit). He falls into step beside her, ascending the stairs after the blond mafia guy, dreading the idea that this might all be a trick or something.
As if hearing his thoughts, Hex gives him another one of her rare small smiles, again, gone as soon as it comes, but somehow, it still reassures him much more than any one of her ridiculous comments he knows she's keeping down her throat. She looks away, hand reaching down to her right boot and she retrieves her gun quietly, twirling the device in her fingers like it's some kind of kid's toy.
When the guy leads them to a large room, what Mello first notices is that it is dark, and empty, and the first thing that comes to his mind 'shit'. He doesn't know if they're being tricked, he doesn't know if this is what they're supposed to expect. But before he can turn back to the door, he hears it lock itself, he swallows thickly, and he can't help the sense of fear that settles itself in his stomach. Eyes wide, he turns to Hex and finds her with her gun aimed straight in front of her, ready to shoot.
Just like a bad action movie, a part of Mello thinks when he hears a chuckle not too far before them. The guard earlier wears a cocky grin, and then someone hits the lights. Rod Ross sits on a large, blood colored velvet couch, sipping on his red wine like he's got no goddamn care in the entire world. As if time waits for him, as if hehas everything, and Mello can practically breathe the air of power the mafia boss seems to radiate in copious amounts.
Forgetting his fear, Mello's only momentarily excited, knowing that if this works out, that could easily be him. He wants the confidence. He wants the authority. Hewants the power. Mello wants.. Mello wants it all.
And then, rudely bringing him back to reality are the multiple clicks of guns, and he finally takes notice of the other men in the room. Beside him, Hex quirks a brow upwards, voicing her question in a demanding sort of tone. "What's with the guns, Rod? Didn't I say we would negotiate civilly?" She cocks her head aside, keeping her eyes trained on the mafia boss.
"You never mentioned a spare, girlie," Rod says instead, bringing his glass to his lips again as he leans back into the furniture comfortably. Waiting, waiting, Hex doesn't answer, and the room seems to have dropped too many degrees in temperature. Somehow, Mello's hands are still too sweaty as he grips his semi-automatic. Rod Ross waves his free hand dismissively, and immediately, the other men lower their weapons, but they never drop them, still mistrustful.
Still ready for anything. Still ready to expect the unexpected.
Mello doesn't speak just yet. After all, Hex is pretty much an expert at negotiation. He'll leave her to the small talk, and then he'll put his two cents in. Hex, apparently satisfied, decides to lower her gun as well, but like them, she holds it still firmly in her hand. "I'm surprised you even bothered to show up, Rod," she says with a smirk. "Not after I told you-"
He has no idea what they're even talking about. Narrowing his eyes, he shoots a small glare in her direction. Mello abhors being out of the loop for shit, and he knows it annoys the hell out of people sometimes, but Mello honestly won't give a fuck about anyone but himself anymore(and maybe even Hex too, but that could only be because he still needs her). He knows he's got a need-to-know complex, that he's getting more than a little selfish, but so what? It's survival of the fittest.
"I'm no coward," Rod scoffs easily, the hint of amusement never leaving his tone. "But in all honesty, I wanted to meet Aiber and Wedy.. in the flesh, for once. I just couldn't resist." The smirk widening at his lips, he sneers. "Who would have thought that both of them are the same person, hmm? Who would've thought that their faces are the face of a little child?"
Hex shakes her head, her tone harsher now. Mello doesn't know if she's taken the 'child' remark as an insult or something. He can't tell too well if she's playing another act, or if she's genuinely pissed like she seems to be. "You still owe me. Big time, Rod Ross. I want you to pay your debt."
"And if I refuse?" He prods, setting down his wine glass on the table beside him. "What will you do then?"
She giggles a little sinisterly, and grins, flashing pearly whites as she swiftly pulls out what looks to be an odd remote. She holds it casually, her thumb hovering above a single button on it and she says, "Then I blow this place up. I blow it all up and kill everyone in this shithole." As if answering an unspoken question, she narrows her eyes, raising her gun again, aimed at Ross's head and the other men in the room curse. "You can have them shoot me, but you'll be dead before me. Shoot him," she jerks her head at Mello, "and you'll end up the same way, Rod. You will pay your debt."
Mello inclines his head and he can't suppress the smirk that plays on his lips. She's throwing them off balance, she's showing them who really calls the shots around here. He hates to admit it, but Hex's idea for bombs and guns just might be the fucking best worst idea she's ever has. He isn't worried for his life at all. He knows Hex is kind of self-destructive at times, but she won't resort to bombing. Not if he's still in here anyway. Hex should know what she's doing, right?He just needs to put a little more faith in her.
Rod Ross doesn't look too convinced, however. He does look a little more wary, and the other men have already raised their weapons slightly. "You wouldn't kill yourself over something as petty as a debt," he says slowly, again, waving his hand to make those men lower their weapons already. Mello can't really blame the guys for disobeying Ross's directive; Hex is threatening their boss's life, after all.
Hex shifts her thumb a little lower over the remote, and jams the pad of her thumb on it. Immediately, a loud boom echoes from outside the room, the overhead chandelier goes rattling, and the floor shakes a little. She smirks back at Ross, "Control explosions, Rod." Moving her thumb back to its original position, she asks, "And we both know what you owe is anything but petty."
Rod Ross slowly pulls himself out of his seat, reaching to his full –admittedly imposing- height and he leers at them, working the kinks in his neck with a domineering smile. "Now… What is it.. that you want?"
Hex lowers her head, glaring at him through her bangs as she speaks. "We want in."
The mafia boss only seems to put a little more attention to him just then. Eyeing him from his head to toe over and over when Rod chuckles now, directing his attention back to Hex. "Kids don't get in the mafia, girlie. Guns aren't toys to play with."
"Good thing we aren't kids, then," Mello mutters before Hex can speak. "Because we're serious."
He looks back to Mello with a wider grin. "Listen here, boy. This is the mafia, not some little tea party. You don't get in on whims so easily. You earn your way in.. What have you got to offer me?"
With his buttons thoroughly pushed, Mello adopts a scowl, and retrieves from his bag his little present. He holds the beheaded mafia guy by the roots of his hair, and he inwardly grimaces at the feel of dried blood in the mane. The dead man's head is pale, eyes still wide open and from where his neck ends is jagged and carelessly cut through.
Mello watches Rod carefully, a little disappointed that he's gauged no other reaction than a quirked eyebrow, keeping his expression blank. All around him though, he sees some of the men's eyes widen. "Alfonso Rovere," Mello identifies. "You wanted him dead, didn't you?" Then, he discreetly swallows, praying for forgiveness inwardly for what he's about to do. As if he hasn't done enough to Alfonso already.
Mello cranes his neck confidently, letting the head slip from his hand and the cranium rolls on the floor towards Rod Ross. At the corner of his eyes, he sees Hex's eyes twinkle in sadistic approval of Mello's little show of nonchalance. The boss's eyes follow the head until it stops, and Mello speaks again to regain his attention, voice snide. "This isn't some whim."
"His family-"
Hex cuts him off, shaking her head and snorts derisively. "We've taken care of that already, Rod.. It was.. a blast." She twirls the remote in her hand in emphasis, and any half-wit will be able to guess what she has meant. He's still got a guilty conscience about having to blow that hotel up like he did, but at least it'll pay off soon enough.
Mello's lips twitch, curling upwards again into a smirk as he says, "You were saying?"
"So you obliterated an entire mafia," Rod shrugs. "That doesn't prove anything to me."
He cocks his head aside. "No? I thought it proved that we can do the same with your family."
There. The men raise their weapons again, taking two steps closer and they aim right at them. The mafia boss doesn't stop them this time, and he pulls out his own gun, pressing the muzzle right under Mello's chin. Mello knows he's tramping on dangerous grounds now, skating on thin ice, but he has to do this. Hex's face splits into a Cheshire cat grin beside him, probably enjoying the rush of adrenaline coursing through her veins.
She's not stopping him. Mello thinks he must be doing something right, so he presses on. "We can wipe you out in less than a second," he whispers at Rod, trying to ignore the fear that strikes in him when he hears Ross's gun click. "You won't let that happen, would you? You won't kill me.." he looks at Hex. "or her.. You wouldn'tdare."
Narrowing his eyes dangerously, Rod hisses vehemently. "What do you want?"
"I thought I told you," Hex sighs impatiently. "We want in."
The mafia boss's eyes dart to her. "To what purpose?"
Mello chuckles now, that mirthful sound that he heard Rod use against them not too long ago. That laugh that he takes pleasure to rub in everyone's face. He knows where this will go now. "Your family has all we need. We plan to obtain Kira's ability.. His killing power."
"Consider that," Hex continues. "Because you don't have much a choice here. You can let us in, and everyone will leave this place alive.. Or.." She laughs gleefully, because she has the same idea Mello does. ".. We can all die here."
Everyone in the room is pausing at their words, not quite knowing what to think anymore. But Ross? He stares at them so steadily, eyes expressing a mix of disgust and interest. Mello's smirk grows wider, and he comments, "Like that, you'll never have anything accomplished. You'll never have his powers, and you'll lose everything."
Hex eyes everyone in the room, travelling across their faces slowly until she reaches Rod's. "But if you agree to us, you should know that we will not stand for being used. Any sign, any hint or any fucking word that sets us off, and we'll kill you. All of you. Don't even think to underestimate us."
"And you need us, don't you? Kira knows you exist. Kira can still kill you," Mello speaks now. "Use us, and we'll let that happen. Do things our way, and we can help you avoid that." Mello reaches his hand upwards, pushing Ross's gun away from his chin and he grins. "What do you say, Rod?"
But Rod Ross should know well enough that he doesn't have much of a say in this. Not even a choice. Mello knows that the guy won't risk losing his life nor his family's. So he isn't even surprised when Rod speaks, voice gruff and grim. Surrendering to them just like that.
"You're in."
TBC
A/N: I'm really sorry I didn't update any sooner.. I was sick for a couple of weeks, I couldn't even stand for more than a minute, no joke. D: I got tested and all that crap- and now I'm all dosed up on meds. Ahem, anyways, how was this chapter? Was the mafia all okay and stuff? Was Rod Ross believable (cause I suck at writing the role of people like him)? Comments, ideas and criticism will be greatly appreciated. :)
A special thanks to:
C. Holywell-Black (Thanks! And Update Queen? Haha, just Explode or Psycho'll do. :) I think I've really disappointed you with the speed of the update this time. Not much of Mello/Hex in this one though, but we'll get more of that later. Hope I didn't butcher Mello's realism- that'd suck. D:),
Go away 128 (I like your pen name. :P Thanks for the compliment, and for liking Hex!),
(Thanks for liking the writing style, and for liking Hex! :) I'm making it a personal mission not to make her turn out Mary Sue-ish or boring haha. Thanks for the correction, by the way- I'm going to have to correct that in the story. :D), and
Overboard343 (haha, you're enthusiastic. :P The Mello/hex relationship'll come. Won't say when, but it will. I'm not going to comment on anything else- that'll spoil the story haha, I'm sorry. :) And thanks!)
for reviewing!
Preview:
Before Hex can leave the room, she feels Mello grab at her arm quick, jerking her towards him and she trips on her feet, but Mello doesn't catch her like she thinks he would have. No, he slams her to the nearest wall and her back stings, but he isn't done. His other hand snakes to her hair, fingers threading painfully and he yanks her white-blond locks, forcing her to face him.
"Why don't you care?" he interrogates, narrowed eyes searching hers angrily, furiously, and he tightens his grip. Hex bites back a gasp at the abuse. Mello's shaking slightly, she can feel him, and his eyes are glassy. She would've cared, she should've but he's the one hurting her like this, so she doesn't answer. Growling, he yells louder now, "Answer me!"
Uh, review, please? :)