End Transmission

AN: ok. Generally I make 3,000 word the minimum for all my chapters… but every once and a while its under that…

Suggested Listening: Pain of Love by Tokio Hotel

Chapter Four: Suspicious Action

All thoughts of hurrying had been pushed to the back of his mind as he reread the article, a longer version of the original, again. The Russian Mafiya boss and his family, save the boy, had been killed a week before Mello had arrived at Wammys.

The article was written three days before and released two days before Mello arrived.

The Mafiya bosses son, the only one thought to have survived, and Matt tried to push aside the absolute disbelief at what he was seeing aside, was said to have a very high IQ as well as having his mothers delicate features and blue eyes and his fathers blond hair.

A son by the name of Mihael Keehl, who would be thirteen now.

Mello...?

Matt swallowed harshly and sat awkwardly on his desk chair. He still wasn't entirely sure what in the hell was going on at the moment, other than the cold realization that everyone at Wammys may not have come there by chance or horribly bad luck.

Sure it could have been a giant coincidence, or the tracks could have just been covered to secure their information as they were aiming to become L, but if Near was the son of Jonathan River... then it blew those theories out of the water.

And Matt began to wonder if his own circumstances, which had been too coincidental before, weren't part of some twisted scheme as well. He really hoped to god, the one he didn't believe in anymore, that it wasn't true.

He took a deep breath and his hands hesitated only a second above the keys before settling into a fast paced rhythm. He had to look up his own past. Though it would not have made any headlines or large newspapers so it might just be easier to find if whoever was behind thing thought it was so mundane it would just fade out.

It was simple. Shortly after he'd been placed into advanced classes, and he began to suspect right after he'd accidentally hacked his way into Wammys systems, his father had left for a business trip and hadn't come back.

Alive that was. He had been found dead in his hotel room. The police reports stated that there were bottles of alcohol around him as well as cocaine. Both Matt and his mother knew that was absolute crap as his father hated both things as it had torn his family apart when he was a child.

And then, hardly a week later, two days after his funeral, his mother had been shot during a mugging inside a grocery store. She had died on the way to the hospital; if the bullet had been just a few centimeters to the left she would have survived.

He had heard his neighbors proclaim it a bit of horrible luck. He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. He remembered being so intensely shocked by the absolute feeling of emptiness as he realized just how utterly alone he really was, but had been unable to cry over it as it hadn't really sunk in. He had buried himself in his games and never really thought about it since.

He removed his goggles and wiped away the hot and angry tears that spilled from his eyes.

His own information was far easier to find, hidden on two separate editions and equally small portions of a tiny newspapers online archive, though someone had definitely taken a small amount of thought to hide it. His dad had worked from home, and their home had been in a rather small town, but even there they had been a sort of outcasts.

He read over his own things and the circumstances only seemed more outrageous in his mind when connected with the other two stories.

The entire situation seemed like some twisted plot straight out of one of his games. And if he were right, and for once he really hoped he wasn't, then at least three children of Wammys may have been 'kidnapped', their families removed from the picture, and brought there.

The best part was no one would know it was kidnapping because all their relatives had been murdered into silence. It was a little too much of a coincidence for Matt's liking. The one thing he knew he needed to do, which would cement the entire thing in his mind, was to find out if Near was the son of Jonathan River and Mello was Mihael Keehl.

But that would have to wait until after classes. It wouldn't be good to ask something like that in the middle of the lunchroom where there was a possibility of more than one person overhearing their conversation, and never mind that Mello would freak over Matt asking about his name.

He saved a copy of all three articles in his password protected folder and quickly got rid of all evidence of having searched and having obtained the information. He sucked in a deep shuddering breath and rubbed at his eyes again.

He could only hope he looked well enough to pass as 'normal' for himself. He replaced his goggles and shut the laptop down before he left for lunch. He was a little late, but it wasn't all that odd for him as he tended to get caught up in his games.

His eyes swept the children and teens in the dining hall and wondered just how many of them came there under normal circumstances. Or if any of them had...

Matt pulled his eyes away and concentrated on his lunch ignoring even Mello, who had he looked at appeared confused at something. The remainder of lunch passed quickly as he had come during the end portion, and though he knew that he could hardly be expected to concentrate after all of this, he tried to do his usual things in class.

Such as play his games.

But he kept dying and eventually tuned the game off and just held it quietly. It would appear to most everyone as though he were still playing it. Though if any of the teachers had tried to confiscate it they would have been surprised to see it off.

When classes had let out he was attacked with a sudden bout of nervousness and really wished he could confirm the situation some other way then having to directly ask Near. Especially since Mello was bound to be somewhere nearby... where he would watch the exchange.

Matt wondered if all things in his life were just doomed.

As per usual the injured albino child was found sitting on the floor in his strange position, which Matt believed had nothing to do with L and more to do with his healing hip fracture. Most other children were at least eight feet away and engaged in other activities so as long as he was quiet no one would overhear them.

He walked over to Near, who played with an all white puzzle made of many tiny pieces, and was keenly aware of Mello's glare on his back as he stopped and knelt before the albino. In reality it was Mello's own fault as he had tried to speak with him first.

"Near. I have something important to ask you." he muttered quietly, though Near didn't even so much as glance at him. He hadn't expected the boy to as he never gave anyone his full attention, other than perhaps Mello, though Matt held no doubt that he was listening.

"Does your father happen to be Jonathan River, the billionaire tycoon?" the second the words were out of his mouth Near's eyes had widened more than a little and he had jerked his head up to stare at him and Matt knew he had his answer.

"Come to my room after everyone is asleep if you want to know how I know this. And if you tell anyone, we'll probably be dead before the day's out." he whispered cautiously to the albino. Matt really wished he had been lying about the last part.

As Matt left he had to pass Mello who quickly packed up his text books and followed him. He was not looking forward to the confrontation that would take place; in fact he really wanted to avoid it. But short of running down the hallway and finding a place to hide for all of eternity he was out of luck.

The second Mello was inside the room behind him the door was slammed shut and he was forced to turn around by the forceful hand on his shoulder. "Why the hell are you speaking with Near? What the fuck could you have said to make him give you that look!"

Matt cringed back at Mello's tone and wondered if he were about to be hit. Instead of simply answering the blonds' question he moved over to his laptop and turned it on which only seemed to incise Mello more.

"Matt-"

"I have something to show you. And you will stop yelling until I have explained everything or I will leave you in the dark." Matt hoped that his voice had seemed steady enough because his hands trembled.

He was afraid of Mello, but mostly afraid for Mello. Because he knew Mello would angst over anything he did to him once he wasn't consumed by rage. He also worried just how Mello would take what he was about to show him...

He strode to the door and quickly locked it and tried to ignore the look of fury on his friends' features. Mello certainly didn't like being told what to do, especially by someone he was angry at.

He gently guided Mello to the bed and though Mello was obviously angry at him, he was far more curious by the looks of it as he allowed himself to be seated on the bed and have the laptop placed on his lap.

Matt reached over and pulled up the article about the Mafiya murder and Mihael Keehl. "How the fuck did you get this?" Mello hissed, worry and fear shown in his eyes. Matt didn't like the last one but it proved that Mello was definitely Mihael Keehl.

"This was released two days before you entered Wammys. And all of this was wiped clear from the web; I had a hard time finding it all. Look at this one." he hoped Mello would comply and was surprised by the fact that he did.

His eyes widened as he read the article. "So his last name is River? That's why he reacted.. because you knew his last name... wait... his father didn't kill him as he is obviously alive..." Mello trailed off.

"My own story fits the pattern I found." Matt told him as he pulled up those articles, though nowhere in them was his own name. "Since I've confirmed both you and Near, as well as myself, I have a theory..." he let Mello skim the stories for a moment before he continued.

"I think that either L or Wammy kidnap genius children and bring them here to become the next L. And the things that happened to us, as well as the fact that everyone who could truly identify us are dead, are a bit more than coincidental." Matt watched as Mello's face became pale as the information sunk in and Mello came to his own conclusion.

"Oh dear god..." he muttered and touched the rosary that Matt knew hung beneath his shirt.

"You're saying they... L... killed our families to get us?" he whispered. Matt merely nodded, and the fact that Mello hadn't immediately told him he was ridiculous said he believed him as well, even if only a little.

Mello hung his head but Matt noticed the tears that had started to form, as well as the way his shoulders shook. Matt set aside the laptop and hugged his friend, who surprised him when he wrapped his arms around his middle and began to sob. "M-my sister... they... they-" Mello's voice cut off and Matt felt horrible as the tears soaked through his shirt.

He knew there was nothing that he could say to make Mello feel better so he just held him. He hated what he'd found. But he knew it was probably best that they knew about it now, before they were completely roped into the workings of the house to the point where they would no longer care.

Mello eventually tired himself out and was asleep in his arms. Matt found that to be an enormous show of trust; that despite everything that had been going on, Mello still trusted him.

He waited a while longer, until he was sure Mello was deep in sleep, before he moved him further onto the bed and after a bit of finagling, under the covers. It would have been a bit too difficult to get him into his own bed, and he doubted Mello would care where he slept at the moment.

The only thing he had to do now was wait for Near as they had missed dinner by a half hour. He decided to play an online game where he could kill monsters. He pretended that they had the faces of Mr. Wammy and L.

He knew he didn't have definitive proof it was either of them, but it couldn't be anyone else or they wouldn't be at Wammys. He doubted it was Roger, as the man was not nearly smart enough to cover his tracts; or at least not on his own.

For all he knew it was the three of them working together, hell maybe every staff member at Wammys knew what was going on. He just didn't know. But he knew that they would find out one way or another now that there was at least two of the top three on the case.

Around one am he heard a quick and slightly timid knock on the door and quickly got up to unlock the door to let Near in. Matt set the laptop in front of Near and merely gave him the articles. He knew Near would want to piece together the information on his own rather than have everything handed to him.

And had Mello not been so pissed-off earlier he would have done the same for him. He knew the second that Near had come to the same conclusion as him as his pale fingers had curled harshly around the strand of hair he had been playing with.

"I do believe that you have stumbled upon something..." Near commented almost silently. He glanced over at Mello and seemed to suddenly understand why the blond was asleep and curled up into a ball under the blankets.

"So what now?" Matt questioned. Near tugged ever more harshly at his hair.

"We wait..."

Matt knew that Near was thinking about Mello. And despite Mello not having an ounce of liking towards the albino, he doubted Near felt the same or he would not have minded continuing whilst Mello slept.

"Tomorrow then. I think we all need some sleep." Matt told Near softly. Near looked up at him, his wide eyes almost looking glassy, and nodded. No more words were exchanged before Near left the room and he wondered what Near's thoughts were.

It was one thing to know your family was dead, but another to know that they were still alive yet only moments from death at the same time. But those were thoughts he'd never share, perhaps not even with Mello.

He glanced at the clock and sighed. It was early, but he held no desire to play his games. He glanced over at Mello's bed but the thought of sleeping in it was too odd. So instead, after he had changed clothes, he curled up beside Mello and listened to his soft breathing.

He didn't know what would happen now... but as long as he had his friend by his side he knew everything would be alright.

-End Suspicious Actions-

AN: So... how was it? Not too rushed I hoped.