Watari Pt 1: L\'s Heirs

"Mello, are you alright?" Chrissie crossed the wide dining area to the windows overlooking the city of London. It was dark outside, though the lights of the cityscape held a beauty of their own. The Slav was reflected back in the glass, seemingly caught somewhere between devastation and fury.



"I\'m sorry, I stormed out." Mello muttered. "I thought it might be Hal. I hoped it wouldn\'t be Near. I must have really rattled them to have sent the pregnant woman, on the basis that she\'d the least likely one I\'d hit."



She swallowed a half-laugh. "You always were on the ball." She leaned against the pane, looking washed out and exhausted. "Want to tell me about it?"



Mello sighed, then turned to snap up a chair. He slammed it down a couple of feet away from her. "Not really. But please sit down."



Chrissie made to protest, but instead gave in and sank gratefully into the seat. "If you won\'t tell me, may I guess?" She didn\'t give him time to say \'no\'. "It\'s like surrounding a volcano with water. You want to rage and fight, but you\'re trying really hard to keep your temper, so you can access Near\'s nice police databases and satellite photography. You want everyone to shut the fuck up, so you can concentrate. You want to find something concrete, so you can get on with rushing out there and tearing rocks apart with your bare hands to get to him. You also look like a good night\'s sleep wouldn\'t go amiss."



"I shouldn\'t have left the house." Mello murmered. "I sat my Russian Language A-Level exam about twelve hours ago. I think I might have passed. I answered all of the questions."



"Well done!" Chrissie replied, sounding genuinely impressed. "It\'s a difficult language to master."



"If I hadn\'t gone, I would have answered Hollow\'s call. He wouldn\'t be missing now." He moved the chocolate hanging out of his mouth around a fraction. "You don\'t understand, Chrissie, there are deeper things here. There\'s things about how he\'s being held that might make him want to hang himself."



"Matt? You mean that anarchist rebel flashing the birdy at his captor? The one using his brain to think of a way to send us messages?" She smiled. "He didn\'t look very suicidal to me. You look more beaten up than he did. Mello, if Lawliet was alive, would you have trusted him to find Matt?"



"Yes."



"Well, working on this case are nine people who Lawliet considered possible successors to himself. The person you are so worried about is a tenth. In effect, you have ten Lawliet\'s putting their all into resolving this." Chrissie smiled, calmly. "You are fighting for Matt. I\'m fighting for my unborn child. Salvo is fighting for both of us. It all works out the same. It\'s not about rankings or titles anymore. This is personal. That\'s much more focusing, don\'t you think?"



Mello forced a smile. "Thanks, Chrissie." He touched her shoulder and she patted his hand. "I just hate being cooped up not knowing anything."



"You do know things. You know he\'s alive and that could have been much worse. I think you ought to either get your head down or work in here alone. I can take messages backwards and forwards for you; look things up on the systems. I can be quiet or I can be a sounding board, whichever works best for you." She peered up into his face, her expression searching. "I don\'t think you should give yourself up. There\'s no guarantee that Matt will be released, so you could both end up dead." She raised her hand in protest as Mello made to speak. "Yes! I know! If that was Salvo down there, I\'d be ready to do the same. But it\'s not, so I can keep level-headed. I think that the only reason that Matt isn\'t dead already is because he is bait for you. This makes me wonder if you are bait for Near."



"What?"



"You said yourself earlier that this was the first time you and Matt were apart for any length of time. Just a few hours, but it was enough. You don\'t find that extremely coincidental?" Chrissie made a sound that implied that she didn\'t. "Someone knew you were going to be in that exam. If they knew that, then why didn\'t that person just wait to pick you off as you left the college?" Mello glanced sharply at her, but she carried on. "Matt was lured out as bait for you. You are being lured as bait for someone else. Near is probably the most impossible of the lot of us to try and kill, just because he\'s the most isolated and guarded. I have no idea where you and Matt live, but I\'m guessing that with enough time and resources, I could work it out. I\'d just run a programme to search every games shop and supermarket in the country, looking for excessive games and chocolate orders being delivered." She winked. "Once I had your address, are you telling me that you never venture outside your front door? That a sniper shot couldn\'t pick you off?"



"I never told you that I was at college."



"Pardon?"



"I said I did my Russian Language A-Levels. I never mentioned a college." Mello growled, glaring at her.



Chrissie exhaled. "That\'s because none of these are my theories. Near didn\'t think you would listen to him. He\'s just called me into a room and told me what to say to you. He worked it out." She watched Mello turn away, but stand with his head against the window. "Near believes that one of the people in that room, or Fenian, or Matt, is the killer. His conclusion is that the killer is attempting to eradicate every one of us, in order to take the L title unchallenged."



"That was my theory too. Matt said it had holes you could drive a Sherpa tank through."



"Personally, I\'m inclined to believe a theory which both you and Near have independently come up with. I was just the mere thirteenth." She smirked. "I remember when that used to matter as well. But now I have my home, my husband, my baby and I\'m thoroughly enjoying myself as a lawyer. I take on the child abuse cases and I wouldn\'t give it up for the world. I\'m content fighting my little bit of the world; but I can understand those who still cling to the old battles. I understand you." Mello snorted. "Mello, I do. It\'s just a matter of scale. I fought tooth and nail to overtake Century and Salvo once, got as far as tenth, but it nearly killed me. I cried for days after I slipped back down again. I can\'t imagine what it must have been like taking on Near. "



He turned and Chrissie was surprised to see a little smile on his face. "In a warped way, it\'s something I quite miss. Hence doing college courses because I\'m so fucking bored."



She laughed. "You\'ll hear the same story repeated on the lips of everyone in that other room. Too clever by half, the lot of us." She winked. "Mello, if someone had told me yesterday that I\'d not only be talking with you, but I\'d find out that you\'re a really nice person, I\'d have laughed in their faces. You are though. Just as human as the rest of us. I\'m glad I got to find that out."



"Yeah." Mello bowed his head. "It must have been quite a party the day I left."



"No." Chrissie replied darkly. "It wasn\'t." The silence hung in the air between them. She was the first to break it. "I really fancied him, you know."



"Who?"



"Mail." She laughed. "Yes, I know. I went from dreaming of a white-faced, green-eyed, short redhead to marrying a black, brown-eyed, huge hunk of a man, but allow a woman to be perverse." Her expression held absolutely no malice as she went on, "It broke my heart the day I asked him out. He told me he was gay and I knew from that moment about you and him. I was so jealous of you! The looks, the brains and the boy of my dreams. All yours."



Mello flashed the tiniest, ironic smile. "Chrissie, I\'m ready to speak with him now. Near." She nodded and he followed her gaze back to the open door. There was a pause, then Near slid around the doorjamb, standing up against it like he might flee. "Oh. He was listening all along." Mello turned to look back out of the window. He spoke steadily. "Nice one, Chrissie. I actually didn\'t know. Nicely played. Near, it\'s safe to come in. I won\'t bite."



"Mello."



"We need to work out the game-plan. I\'m going." The Slav shrugged. "I can\'t not. But there is absolutely no reason why you should follow if it ends up like you\'ve seen, with them using me to lure you out." Mello sneered. "Why should it?"



Near crossed to sit on the floor on the far side of Chrissie. "My job."



"To look after me? Don\'t be ridiculous. Your job is to be L; your responsibility is Wammy\'s House and that\'s more Roger\'s job than yours. Ex-Wammy\'s don\'t count." He paused and took out his chocolate thoughtfully. There was a clatter as dominoes were taken from Near\'s pyjama pockets and dropped onto the floor. "Dominoes, eh? That means you have a plan."



"Not yet." Near scrowled.



"My plan then. I\'ve already placed a dedication telling that fucker that I\'m going to meet them. There will have to be a communication back. If it\'s by any means that involves leaving this building, then Fenian is dead." Mello smirked. "He\'s the only one still out there."



"No. It\'s elaborate, but it could still be Matt." Near\'s head bowed almost to the floor.



"It\'s not Matt." Mello sighed. "If it was Matt, he\'d hack his way through all of your security systems, then shoot you. Matt has been armed in your presense twice and both times he could have taken me and you out. He could kill me any time he chooses. Then he would work his way through everyone else. It makes less sense for it to be Matt than it does for it not to be."



"But everyone would know it was him then." Near challenged.



"Who would stop him?"



"Watari. He would tell everyone that..." Near stopped. His head rose above the chairline, staring at Chrissie with wide eyes. "Mello." His gaze slid away to the floor. "Tell me why this theory is wrong. If all fifteen of us were killed, Roger would select L\'s successor from the children in Wammy\'s House. If Roger and all of the children were killed, there would be nothing to stop the killer from hacking into the mainframe and taking the L code."



"Your people..." But Mello was already reaching for his waistband, his hand fluttering uselessly when he remembered that he had surrendered his semi-automatic at the door.



"They know that it\'s just a title. They served N before they served L. They have met all of you and know about Wammy\'s House."



Chrissie finished. "So someone could just walk in, with a knowledge of the system, and say that they are L. If they are clever enough..."



Near interupted. "The killer is not Fenian." He placed a domino precisely on the ground. "Matt chose a word that he thought he might get past the person delivering the message. Hades is too obvious. Sheol would have been too obvious to a Roman Catholic. Fenian is a Roman Catholic."



Mello paced around the table. "If Matt isn\'t being fed or anything, there is no reason to visit him again. That picture and the audio could have been taken before I even found Hollow. Matt could already be..." He crossed himself and paused at the head of the table. "Near, you need to stay here. You need to keep an eye on everything that everyone is looking at. Just like you\'ve been doing all day. "One of them... is..." He swayed.



"Mello!" Chrissie struggled to rise, while Near sat bolt upright.



"No, I\'m ok." Mello waved her back down. "We are not the first generation Wammy\'s!" He sat down at the table, staring into space. Only the chocolate slithering between his teeth showed that he was aware. "Near, if I blew your head off now, who would be L?" There was a deep silence. "Ok, if you died peacefully in your sleep, who would be L?"



"You would."



"Right. So you haven\'t passed the succession onto the kids yet?" Mello nodded. "That works. Who knows this?"



Near frowned. "It\'s obvious."



"No, it isn\'t." Mello frowned harder. "You could have already named Lauren." He rose and strode into the corridor, then into the computer rooms. "Luigi, find what Matt showed you the other night. The list of every person ever to step foot in Wammy\'s House. Bring it into the dining room when you\'re done." He returned to Near and Chrissie. "Near, there\'s only paranoia and fear of failure standing between us and one of them doing something in there. That\'s the only reason they are watching each other\'s backs. You need to be in there. One of them could still be the killer. Chrissie, organise an immediate evacuation of Wammy\'s House. No need to tell them why, just do it."



"I\'m on keeping you and Near from killing each other duty. Ask one of the others."



Mello glowered, but stamped off again. He was soon back. "Near, are you going to try to stop me going?"



"No. But take Lidner with you."



"Near, I\'m taking half your fucking people with me. I want the bomb disposal experts; the scientists - we need to check the water; fuck, why am I even telling you. You\'ve probably written the list half an hour ago." Mello glared. Near placed another domino in his line. "I\'ll keep in touch from Roger\'s office. You keep me informed on every damn thing that happens here. They need to keep searching for subterranean places made out of chalk in Hampshire or the surrounding counties; they then need to hunt down every person on that list."



"Mello?" Chrissie interjected. "You and Near might be having a conversation above my head, but can the mere mortals understand as well please? Why are you going to Wammy\'s House, when you\'ve just ordered an evacuation of it? Haven\'t you just outlined why you\'re currently the number one target? Matt\'s being used as bait to get to you and you\'re off galavanting around Winchester because you\'re stir crazy here!"



"Because someone needs to go there who knows what they are looking for and the alternative is Near!" Mello yelled.



There was the sound of running feet and Hal appeared in the doorway. "Why are you shouting, Mello?"



He grinned at her. "How would you like to come with me somewhere really dangerous where we could both get killed?"



"Two guns." Near commented from the window. "Matt had two guns on him. Matt let himself be kidnapped. Matt knew that Wammy\'s House was in danger if he didn\'t do what he was told."



Mello gasped. "Near, I could kiss you!" He stopped dead and walked towards the door. Hal schooled her expression to remain neutral.



"So it was something that could be remotely denotated." Near continued. "Wammy\'s House has been rigged with bombs." He placed down the final domino. "Now we know that, there\'s no need to hunt for what is threatening the House. I can send Rhodes. Mello can stay here." He looked up with a smile. Mello hesitated, considering that conclusion, then punched the wall as he marched out.



Chrissie released the breath that she had been holding. "That was amazing to watch." She folded her arms over her bump. "The way you pair just bounced off each other. We worked out more in five minutes than in the last five hours! Thank you for letting me be here to witness it."



Near ignored her. He lay down on the floor and flicked a domino, then watched the whole line cascade down.