A/N: And here is chapter 10! Celebrations! And some fluff. And some (attempted) drama. I hope you enjoy!
Just to clarify, it is the same day as last chapter. In case you were confused. :)
People to thank for the brilliant response to last chapter:
mxmsupporter
VampirePrinssess
CatatonicVanity
GrellXMe
sunsetboulevard143
SweetScarlett97
Rainbow Fruit Loop
xxFall3n-Ang3lxx
AmandaNC1999
and Mello's Favorite Reject! That is a lot of people, guys. For me, anyways. XD
Disclaimer: Death Note ist nicht mein.
Chapter 10: Realisation
Mello shifted sleepily at the sound of his text tone, realised he was somehow in a random person's lap, and prepared to punch their lights out. Then he opened his eyes, and immediately uncurled his fist.
It wasn't just because Matt was stunning (in a lanky, freckled, geeky kind of way), but his expression when he was sleeping was just so euphoric. Sometimes the blond wished he could see into Matt's dreams (when they weren't nightmares, of course) just to see what made the redhead so happy. Or look so happy, anyway. It might just be the facelifting effects of constant goggle-wearing. He'd have liked to think it was dreams of Mello himself, but even the blond wasn't that conceited. Just because Matt liked his appearance did not mean he was ass over tits for him.
Remembering what had woken him up in the first place, Mello glanced around the room and located his phone, which was on the coffee table next to the armchair the two were sprawled in. Cursing inwardly, Mello tried to reach over for his mobile without waking the slumbering redhead, an endeavour which Mello realised was a failure as soon as Matt's hands tightened their purchase on the blond's waist. Matt opened his eyes slowly, and immediately snatched his hands away from Mello's torso as if he'd been electrocuted.
"Wha–? Sorry," he muttered drowsily, not making any effort whatsoever to further remove the blond from his person.
"It's alright," Mello assured him, taking the opportunity of Matt's consciousness to grab his phone off the table.
"Ugh," he said, reading the number.
"What is it?" Matt asked, not awake enough yet to be worried.
"Near."
Matt rolled his eyes.
Mello read the text; once, twice and again. He then looked up to stare at Matt.
The redhead shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. "What have I done?"
"Nothing," Mello said, his voice slightly hoarse with excitement (and cold germs). "They've found a new lead!
Less than a minute later, they were in the investigation room, Matt severely out of breath.
"Mello, Matt," Near (sort of) greeted them.
"What's going on?!" Mello demanded, his voice slightly nasal, but looking ready for anything despite his 'horrible' cold.
Matt could only wish he felt the same. His head felt like it was stuffed with cotton wool.
Near was sitting at a computer screen, swivelling idly on his chair, while L and Light stood off to the side, looking anxious (or Light did, anyway. L was just chewing his thumb slightly more viciously than normal).
The white-haired detective nodded at Mello, before passing him a small, black notepad. The blond flipped it open impatiently, tilting it so Matt could read it too.
'1: Shirt: casual, white, unbranded, some stains,' it read in a messy scrawl, 'Trousers: Denim, dark blue, torn. Footwear: white trainers.
2: Dress: pale pink, striped. Stockings: white. Shoes: black, patent leather.
3: Shirt: white, stiff-collared, simple buttons. Jacket: grey – mid-shade, tailored...' And so it went on.
Mello was unimpressed. "And so? This is the description of what the victims were wearing when they were last seen, gathered during the police interview, right?"
"Correct," Near told him, "However, the lead is dependant on two parts of evidence." He pressed 'play' on the large computer screen.
Matt quickly recognised the tape as a CCTV recording that he'd stolen off one of the suspected company's systems. He wasn't sure which; he'd immediately passed them on to Near for analysis.
The footage seemed to show a man, face hidden, throwing rubbish down a garbage chute. Matt failed to see the significance.
"Fucking hell."
Apparently, though, Mello did.
"What?" Matt asked, confused. "I don't get it."
"Look at what he's throwing away, Matt," Mello told him.
Matt did so, squinting at the grainy, black and white video. It seemed to be bundles of screwed-up paper, or maybe fabric. Again, Matt failed to see the significance. However, it clicked when he saw the shoe.
'Black, patent leather.'
"...What the fuck? He's chucking the kids' clothes?!" Matt said, mildly disgusted. "What the hell happened to them?!"
"We do not know as of yet," L said, having walked over to join them in observing the camera footage, "But I can assure you that we will try our hardest to find out as soon as possible. This cannot be allowed to go on."
Mello was still staring at the screen, looking as if he had smelt something disgusting. "Well, I guess we know who the culprit is now. Let's fuck the perverted cunts over!"
L sighed. "Patience, Mello. This alone is not enough evidence to fully convict such a large company. We will need at least one other major clue to make certain they get their just desserts. However, it should not take much longer, now we know who to focus our efforts on."
Matt held up his hands in exasperation. "Hold it! You lost me again; which company's the culprit?"
"This footage was taken from one of the Four-Field warehouses," Near told him quietly.
"Right. Thank you. Now, let's fuck them over!"
"Did Matt not hear what L just told Mello? This alone would not fully convict a company with such influence as Four-Field. We will need to gather other evidence before we can be sure the courts will give the maximum penalty sentence," Near told the redhead.
Matt rolled his eyes. "But that's daft! Are the courts really that corrupt?!"
"A court is only as sound as its jury, and a jury is only as sound as the people who make it up," L quoted. "And there is a seventy percent chance that over half the jury will somehow be biased towards Four-Field. If we gather more evidence against them, we can be sure that there is no possible way for the jury to give a verdict other than guilty."
Matt supposed that made sense, but it made him angry anyway. "So what do we do now?" he asked, impatient for justice to prevail.
"We will have to begin extremely thorough checks on Four-Field," L said, "We will scout out their chain shops and office blocks, as well as research in detail their background."
"Right," Mello said, "I bag practical investigation. I'm sick to death of this place!" He sneezed, whether genuinely or only to prove his point, Matt didn't know.
"And I suppose you would like to work with the technology here again, Matt-kun?" L asked him.
Matt was about to accept when Mello butted in. "Nope, Matty's coming with me! He could do with the fresh air."
Matt decided not to argue. It was either work with computers or work with Mello: win/win.
"I shall do the background checks on Four-Field," Near announced, twiddling with his hair.
L nodded. "Light-kun and I will help you with that as well, then."
Light didn't say anything, but his expression worried Matt slightly. He decided to step in. "Hey, maybe Light could come with Mello and me? This is his first time in England, we could show him the sights!" Not that there were many sights where they were, but hey.
"No, thank you, I do not think that will be possible." Matt blinked when he realised the words had not come from the teenager, but rather his guardian.
"What?" he asked dumbly.
"I do not think it would be wise for Light-kun to be involved in practical investigation. Though he acts beyond his years, we must remember that he is only seventeen. The responsibility is too much."
Matt didn't think he should mention that he himself wasn't many years over seventeen. "But surely that wouldn't matter, as long as he's mentally mature enough to do it? He's way more 'grown-up' than I am, in that sense..." Matt trailed off as Light shot him a pleading look. It only took the redhead a few seconds to realise he wasn't asking him to talk some sense into L: he was begging him to stop.
Matt shut up.
"As I said before, just because Light-kun acts so mature does not mean he actually is," L said bluntly. "Light-kun will be working with Near and myself with the background checks. It will also look less suspicious for you two to investigate Four-Field chain shops by yourselves."
There was an awkward silence.
"...Okay," Matt said weakly, realising L was looking to him for an answer.
"In that case," Near started in that ever-emotionless voice of his, "We shall start work in earnest tomorrow. We should all get sleep tonight, so as to be fully prepared for next morning."
Matt took that as his cue to leave, Mello following on his heels.
"Hey, what's up?" the blond called to him as they reached their designated floor.
Matt looked at him in incredulity. "What? Do you honestly not realise?"
"No," Mello admitted unashamedly.
Matt gaped at him for a second, before saying, "Doesn't it strike you as slightly disturbing how L keeps such constant tabs on Light? It's like he's a prison guard or something; he barely lets him out of his sight!"
Mello shrugged. "It's not important."
"How is it not important?!" Matt was shocked at his insensitivity.
"Have you forgotten?" Mello asked him, not gently, but not cruelly either. "Light's not right in the head. L's a psychologist, and his caretaker; it's only natural for him to keep an eye on his patient."
Matt shook his head. "There is no one I've ever met before in my life who's saner than Light."
"Well, that's your bad judgement then, isn't it?" Mello said, and this time it was definitely more towards a callous tone, "The kid's got a weird look in his eye, like he's suppressing something. It's only a matter of time 'til he snaps. L has to be there when that happens, otherwise people could get hurt. Do you understand, Matty?"
"No!" Matt cried, desperate. "Light's not mad! He's just a normal teenager with a sad story, like you or me, Mello, can't you see?!"
"And who told you about his 'sad story'?" Mello inquired.
"I...he did," Matt said, quietly this time, "Light told me."
"See? Trust me, Matt, L's been in this profession for years now, and even before, he was very skilled at seeing into people's minds."
"Are you telling me you'd trust L's opinion over everyone else's? Over mine? Are you saying he's infallible?!" Matt demanded, frustrated.
"He's as close as humanly possible," Mello said. "I can't remember a single time when L was proved wrong. Also, he only ever suspects people, accuses people, diagnoses people, whatever, when he's at least sixty percent sure what he's saying is true. Usually more. Come on, Matt, think of it without the emotional involvement: if you were a random person given two arguments, one from an officially-declared lunatic and the other from a world-renowned psychologist with years of experience under his belt, who would you trust more?" Mello asked.
Matt didn't answer, because he was certain Mello knew what he'd say anyway.
"That's what I thought," Mello said, proving Matt's suspicion, "Come on, let's eat and go to bed; we're going to need to sleep off this cold by tomorrow."
Matt followed the blond to the kitchen, seething about the unfairness of the world he lived in.
A/N: Who else is pissed off at L? I am, I am! What the hell is his problem? *casually gets angry at her own story*
Anyway, please tell me what you thought of this chapter! It makes me happy. X3