In Charge

Chapter 15 – Look

By Threshie

AN: Phew, rolling right along with chapter 15! It's always interesting seeing what kinds of predictions people have for the plot in their reviews. I'll do my best to make sure the actual story doesn't disappoint! :)

Trivia: Chapter 14's title referred to Mello's realizations; first he realized Matt had been shot, then realized Matt was still alive, then realized Near was gone, and then realized that Near and Matt are (he assumes) already best friends. It also comes from Matt realizing that L was back, and that Near was kidnapped by Mikami. It even refers to Near realizing he's in an unfamiliar place and that (he assumes) Matt is dead.

Wow, chapter 14 had a lot of realization, actually... (Blinks) It's more aptly-named than I intended!

Okay, let's get back to chapter 15, shall we? I believe Near was just trying to make a phone call...

Disclaimer: Death Note belongs to Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata.


With L on the case, they would find Near in no time, Mello told himself as he sat down on the chair beside Matt's bed. The hospital room, which was number 290, looked identical to Near's except that the IV rack was on the other side of the bed. And of course there aren't plastic army men and a toy dinosaur in here, the blonde thought drolly, glancing at Matt. The redhead had been quiet since Dr. Lidner arrived, and was now looking sadly at the bandages on his chest, lost in thought.

"Matt, did this Mikami guy do anything that might hint he'd end up kidnapping Near?" Mello asked, wishing he'd brought in the rest of the chocolate bars. Chocolate always helped him think better; he figured it was the same with L and all of the candy and pastries he ate. He'd dropped the bar he was eating when he found Matt, though... It wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind at the time.

Matt sighed, shaking his head slightly.

"This's out of the blue...he always acted kind of suspicious, though."

Mello frowned, propping his elbow on one knee and leaning his chin on that hand.

"Suspicious how?"

"Um...I-I'm not sure how to decribe it. He said his bedside manners weren't great 'cause he's from Japan and not used to talking to English-speaking patients, but he speaks English just fine." He glanced up at Mello, a hesitant look. It's like he wants to say something else, but he's stopping himself...why?

"You said Mikami hurt Near doing some test," the blonde prodded, making a mental note to find out what Matt wasn't telling him. "What kind of test? Near seemed okay when I saw him last—he was even getting up and walking around..."

"He and Dr. Lidner called it a rebound tenderness test," Matt said, a bit angrily. Mello glanced at him sidelong when he caught the tone. I guess if Near's his friend, he doesn't like anybody hurting him. I hate it when people hurt Matt, so...I know how that goes. Yet more proof that Matt was slipping away from him...he didn't like that at all.

If he had been in charge at the time and some test had hurt Near, though, he would have been against it too. I'm not sure why I care...it seems wrong somehow. Probably just because he looks like a little kid... That had to be it. It wasn't like he cared if Near was unhappy or anything...

After a long pause, Matt added quietly, "To do it Mikami had to press on Near's stomach. I don't know what he did, but..." He bit his lip, "I-it hurt him so much he could barely breathe for a few minutes. I don't care if Dr. Lidner said it's a real test—doing something that hurts a patient like that can't be something that's allowed!"

"He probably did it wrong or something. Matt," Mello looked the other boy in the eye, "You aren't telling me something about Mikami's suspicious behavior. You were going to say something else, weren't you?" Matt stared back, eyes widening slightly.

"I-I...yeah," he broke the gaze to look at the floor, troubled. He can't lie to me if I look him in the eye; Matt, you never change. He was glad for that at the moment.

Impatiently, he prodded, "So?"

Matt closed his eyes, sighing.

"I thought at the time maybe I was just being overprotective or something, so I didn't really...say anything, but...I got this creepy feeling that Mikami was kind of possessive about Near," he said glumly.

Mello blinked at this, unsure what to say. He hadn't expected that kind of answer at all. Possessive as in...what? I hope to hell he doesn't mean what I'm thinkinghe means... Near wasn't a child, but he looked so much like one...

"Th-that's all I was gonna say before," Matt mumbled, looking sadly at his bandages again. He looks pale...I hope he's not in pain. Damned Mikami! Mello would never forgive the man for injuring his friend.

"...What does Mikami look like?" He asked, deciding not to comment on the possibility of Mikami being a pedophile—which was what he was beginning to suspect. Whether he was or not, he was still going down, and Mello had never even met the man, so a description was more important at the moment. I wouldn't want to strangle the wrong guy.

"Japanese, black hair with bangs and a little ponytail," Matt listed flatly; he seemed to be getting quieter and quieter the more they talked about this. Mello couldn't tell if it was because he didn't feel well, or because he was worried about Near... The redhead sighed, adding faintly, "He wears glasses, and he's pretty tall—about six feet tall."

Mello's mind had already formed a mental image based on the description. It couldn't have looked exactly like Mikami, but anybody he saw who looked similar to what he was imagining wasn't going to have a chance to get away from him once they knew where he was.

L will find you. L can find anybody.

As if on cue, his cell phone rang. The text on the screen announced that it was a restricted number—caller ID hid the actual digits from him. L's phone was always on the "restricted" list in order to prevent the people he called from tracing his location through his number...

Flipping the phone open and pressing it to his ear, Mello asked quickly, "Did you find him?"

"Mello?" Eyes widening, the blonde sat up in his chair with a start. It's...!

"Near?!" The small, quiet voice on the other end of the line was unmistakeable—how could he be calling, though? Did he escape on his own? How did he find a phone to call from? Why one with a restricted number?

Matt glanced at him sharply at the sound of the white-haired boy's name, blue eyes full of as many questions as Mello's own must have held at the moment. He stayed quiet, though, listening intently to the side of the conversation that he could hear.

"How are you calling? Did you get away from Mikami?" Mello asked, glancing at the redhead as he spoke. He's alive, at least. He sounds okay...

"There isn't any time," Near whispered quickly; there was a stiff tone to his voice, like he was forcing himself to stay calm. It made him sound colder than usual, almost monotone... "Mikami could return any moment. Listen carefully...I am locked inside a large house with old-fashioned furniture. All of the windows are covered...I don't know where he has taken me."

"Can you go look out any of the windows?" Mello frowned, wondering again how he had gotten hold of a phone to call from. There really wasn't time to discuss it, but he was very curious. If he can look out a window and give me even the color of the house across the street, I might be able to find him.

"I--yes--just a moment..." Near answered shortly, cutting himself off several times. He was obviously thinking aloud—there wasn't time to consider his wording before he spoke. Mello heard rustling on the other end of the line as the smaller boy moved—toward a window he presumed.

Click.

...?!

"Near? Near! H-hey...don't hang up!" Staring at his phone incredulously, the blonde cursed under his breath; because the number was restricted, not only was it impossible to try calling Near back, but it was also impossible to trace his location with it! Dammit! Why did he hang up?!

Mikami must have returned, the logical part of his mind told him.

That didn't make the emotional part feel like swearing any less.

"What happened?" Matt asked anxiously, looking at the phone too. "How'd he call you? I-is he okay?"

"He sounded okay," Mello answered in an irritated tone, shoving the cell phone back into the pocket of his leather pants. "He said Mikami's got him locked up in his house or something—what a creep! The number's restricted, but I'm gonna go see if L knows any way to get around that and trace it anyway." He stood, frowning. "After what happened last time, I don't really want to leave you here by yourself, Matt..."

"Don't worry about me," the redhead said unhappily, "Y-you might have a way to find Near! You've gotta find him, before Mikami..." He trailed off, shaking his head. Yeah, you don't have to say it, Mello thought grimly, I get what you're talking about.

Pulling the phone back out, the blonde punched one of the speed-dial buttons.

"I'll call L first." I was going to call him anyway—now I can give him the information Near gave me, for whatever it's worth. Large house, old-fashioned furniture...curtains. That isn't much to go on, dammit...


Breathing seemed too loud.

Near did his best to be silent, peering out from around the chair. He had been about to look out a window as Mello had asked him to when the distant slam of a door told him that Mikami was back. He hadn't really had a plan beyond finding a phone and calling Mello...so he had had to make one up on the spot.

Closing the phone, he'd sat it back on the desk and, as the door across the room was being unlocked, crawled beneath the big piece of furniture, pulling the chair back into place after him.

He will find me easily, the white-haired boy told himself, watching as someone stepped inside. From his hiding spot, he could only see the person from the waist down, but the nurse's uniform told him that it must be Mikami.

Although he would rather stay hidden, it was all right if Mikami found him. He'd planned on that. If he finds me, he might be angry...but not nearly as angry as he would have been if he had caught me using his phone to call for help. This way it looks like I came into this room to hide, not to find the phone. Hopefully he doesn't look at the list of calls the phone has made recently...

It was a gamble, but he was fairly confident that Mikami had no reason to use his phone anytime soon. After all, why else would he leave it at home when he went out?

Mikami held a brown case in the crook of his arm; it had no markings to indicate what was inside, but had silver hinges on one edge and lines down the middle that suggested it split in half. It was thin, almost as thin as a notebook, and roughly the same size. Near found himself leaning forward slightly to try and see what it was.

Focus, he caught himself, shrinking down into as small a ball as he could again. The chair was black; his pale coloring would have worked against him in any hiding place, but especially with something so dark to contrast it right in front of him. It's all right if he finds me, though...I must stay calm if he does. It's all right, he reassured himself, If I don't attempt to escape, he may let his guard down and give me the chance to get away.

He was beginning to reconsider how safe it would be for the nurse to find him, though; Mikami had a very familiar black pistol in his other hand. It was held at the ready, aiming slowly left and right as the tall man undoubtedly looked in the same directions. Matt... Near bit his lip, trying not to remember the only time he had seen that gun fired. No...pay attention to what is going on. Mikami. Focus on Mikami.

He thought carefully of what was going on—what was wrong with this picture?

He thinks that I am still in the back room, the white-haired boy realized, Why is he searching with his gun drawn? He frowned to himself; that definitely didn't make sense. Besides the fact that Mikami didn't know he was even in this room, there was also the fact that the nurse couldn't consider him even a little threatening, or he would have at least tied him up when he left. I can't be the one he is worried about. He must think that someone else might arrive to rescue me...?

With as little information as he'd been able to give Mello, the chances of that were pretty slim. Hopefully he could trace Mikami's cell phone's location, though. Mello is smart; he'll definitely think of that. But Mikami doesn't know that I made a call—what is making him so suspicious?

His captor cautiously checked each corner of the room; his behavior seemed nervous. He turned and looked behind him a lot, and his finger was poised on the trigger... After a few long, silent moments, Near watched the hand tuck the gun into the pocket on the same side. The feet started for the table.

The table was further away than where Mikami had been standing before; now Near could see everything but his head and neck. The white-haired boy held his breath; the stillness was heavy and expectant. Someone had to make a sound sometime...

The brown case made a very loud clicking sound as Mikami placed it on the table, shattering the heavy stillness at last. Turning around, he said gently, "You can come out now—it's safe."

Near held as still as he could, but his mind was in constant motion, flying through thought after thought, queestion after question. So he thought that there was an intruder while he was gone...I wonder if someone tried to get in? No, I would have heard it...unless it happened before I woke up. Perhaps he is just extra-cautious...after all, he didn't find any intruders. He had the gun drawn for them, not for me.

He doesn't seem angry at me—why? Why does he think that an intruder was in the house? The doors are locked—no one could have gotten in or out. Perhaps there was evidence of tampering on the outside of the door, or the lock...? I can't see where his eyes are looking, but if he is speaking to me here instead of going to the room with the bed, he must know that I am here...unless he is assuming...?

Stepping closer, Mikami's face disappeared from view, then lowered down into sight again as the man knelt beside the desk. He was frowning sternly now, as he pulled the chair out of the way and leaned down to meet Near's eyes. The small glasses had slipped down his nose, and his dark, slanted eyes peered over the tops of them intently.

"And just what do we think we're doing under here?"

Near stared back at him, offering no reply. He could hear his heart pounding loudly in his chest, but forced himself to stay calm as the tall man took hold of his wrists and pulled him out from under the desk. Nothing has changed—you knew that he would find you. If Mello can trace the number... Despite the stern look on his face, the nurse was very careful to lift him to his feet in a way that didn't hurt. His whole demeanor just changed—a moment ago he wasn't angry at all... Maybe it had been an act to get him to come out of hiding, though.

Near looked at the floor quietly, wondering what would happen to him now. He felt small suddenly; the nurse was much taller than him, at least a foot taller, and the hands around his wrists felt larger than they looked. He is much stronger than me. He could hurt me if he wanted to...but his behavior makes no sense. I can't decide if he intends to harm me or not...

"You have to be more careful," Mikami told him, letting go of the white-haired boy's wrists to cross his arms. "Walking around is good for you, but only if you have someone to escort you—do not leave your bed again without a nurse, do you understand? We can't have you reinjuring yourself..."

So revenge isn't your motive, then, if you for some reason care whether I am injured or not... Near blinked, wondering why he was acting like they were still in the hospital. Was he going to pretend that shooting Matt and stealing Near had never even happened? His words weren't the only strange things, though.

He sounds odd... There was a strange tone to his voice. It made his words sound insincere, stiff... Suspicious, Near thought uneasily. He is behaving as he did when I first came to the hospital. I didn't feel this suspicious of him when we spoke in the hallway after I returned from Intensive Care...but now it's back again. He couldn't explain what was making him feel so uneasy; something about Mikami felt wrong, and he was realizing that it had felt wrong since he'd first met the man. That is why I didn't want to be alone with him...or even to have him in the room at all. I thought that I just disliked him as a person...or because he seemed condescending toward Matt...

"Do we understand each other, Mr. Kennedy?" The nurse was saying sternly, looking irritated. "Are you even listening to me?"

Near nodded slightly, looking down at the toes of his socks. He really wasn't listening, but it didn't matter—Mikami was just talking to him like he was his patient again.

I thought that perhaps his excuse that he was a foreigner was the reason, but...no, there is something wrong with this man. His behavior makes no sense...sometimes people are irrational, but this goes beyond that. He seems intelligent, but he is doing something extremely stupid by abducting me—and now he doesn't seem aware that we aren't still in the hospital. Where have I encountered this kind of behavior before? He'd covered dozens of cases, cases with criminals of all types...

"You have to take better care of yourself—if you don't recover, I'll have failed at my job," Mikami told him, frowning. Apparently finished with his lecture, he took hold of one of Near's wrists again and tugged on it, heading for the room with the bed. Near frowned, too, and followed slowly, his mind searching furiously for the term that he knew matched Mikami.

I have seen this...not in person, but in recordings. I know this...

The tall man lifted him back onto the bed, sighing.

"Please stay there and call me if you need anything. Whenever your brother gets back, I will direct him to your room to see you." He sounded vaguely irritated by the last part; with a final glance around the room to see that everything was in order, he nodded and disappeared out the door again, closing it behind him.

Mentally ill.

Near reached for the dinosaur, which he had left laying on the pillow, and hugged it tightly to his chest. He referred to my "brother"...he meant Matt. If Mikami didn't remember that he had shot Matt—that Matt was dead—then something had to be wrong with his mind.

Though the name of the exact type of illness still escaped him, everything seemed to click into place when Near thought of his interactions with Mikami and viewed his behavior as mental. He seemed suspicious from the start. Off. And he acted flighty--as soon as Matt and I suggested that he wasn't doing his job correctly, he attempted to explain it away as not his fault and make us forget it. When I insisted that he had been wrong when he misdiagnosed me...and Matt continued to say that he had made a mistake...

He sighed; thinking of Matt hurt. He was already exhausted, and forcing himself to be detached from the situation was even more of a toll. It's all right...just think of the facts. This is just another case... Telling himself that seemed to help a little; he focused carefully on the facts that he knew. He thought of what could have caused the situation...and possible solutions to it.

From the looks of his home, and judging by his behavior at work, he is a perfectionist...to the point of imperfections being unacceptable. So, when Matt and I created a flaw that he couldn't erase, he couldn't handle that. It made him snap. Mikami must have already been in a fragile mental state, for such a small thing to tip him over the edge. It was disturbing how easily it had been done...

If we hadn't done it, someone else would have instead, he thought darkly. The other nurses must not have realized, either, because his work was impeccable...and because if his behavior seemed odd, he would just say that he wasn't used to working with English-speaking people. This doesn't explain how he has a silenced gun in his possession, or why he would abduct me, but most of the pieces of the puzzle are fitting together...

The picture they were making wasn't a pretty one.

--End Chapter 15


AN: The plot thickens (again)! Hope you enjoyed "In Charge" chapter 15. There you have it...Mikami's risk-taking makes no sense because he isn't thinking with sense at the moment—he's cracked! Being the prisoner of an insane perfectionist-control-freak-possibly-pedo nurse has to be scary, especially when you're too weak to really try and escape. (Gulp)

Meanwhile, Mello's been given quite a puzzle of his own...is there any way to track down Near's location from the vague information their conversation on the phone revealed? For that matter, is there any way to track a restricted phone number? Stay tuned for chapter 16!

Trivia: Matt's hospital room number, 290, is the month and year of his birthday: February, 1990. Also, Near's thoughts about "the pieces of the puzzle" fitting are a nod to his first scene in the canon, in which he was putting together a puzzle while listening to Roger.


In Charge Akugi! Volume 15

Akugi #57

Narrator: He'd dropped the bar he was eating when he found Matt, though...

Mello: It wasn't exactly the first thing on my mind at the time. (Thinks of chocolate syrup; sighs dreamily)

Matt: -_-; "Are you even listening to me?"

Akugi #58

Mello: "...What does Mikami look like?"

Matt: (Thinks very hard) "Let's see...he's human, male, and has a nametag on that says 'Mikami'." (Nods)

Mello: (Facefault) "That tells me NOTHING I didn't already know!"

Matt: u_u; "Hey, creative writing was never my thing—why do you think I PLAY the games instead of making 'em?"

Akugi #59

Mello: L will find you. L can find anybody.

Narrator: As if on cue, his cell phone rang.

Mello: (Opens phone) "Did you--"

L: (Panicked) "Mello, have you seen Watari?! I think that I forgot him at the train station, and now I can't find him again!"

Mello: "...." I stand corrected...and dumbfounded, too.

Akugi #60

Narrator: He sighed; thinking of Matt hurt.

Near: (Twitch) "Why can't he have a nice, soothing color scheme like everyone else? The moment his garish stripes and red and blue and black and white color scheme come to mind, my head feels like it is going to explode!"

Matt: ;_; "I-I can't help it if I like stripes...and, you forgot the yellow in the color scheme. I usually wear the goggles, remember?"

Near: (Twitch) "I refuse to add another color to this headache-inducing mess--you haven't worn goggles in this story in ten chapters."

Matt: (Gasp) "Has it really been that long?!"

Threshie: ^^; "Believe it or not, it has! And for another milestone, this fic has now had 60 Akugis—wowee!"