[He more or less expects Beyond's violent reaction; despite the line of logic Mello can find in his actions, he knows the other man is not entirely stable, and the secret knowledge he's intimated is like dropping a lit match near a powder keg - likely to cause an explosion.
But it's hearing his name - his true name, the name that can kill him, the name his mother gave him - that provokes a violent reaction of his own. The memory of his mother's short appearance here and the pain of losing her a second time wash through him like adrenaline, and quick as a cat, his right hand darts forward to fist in Beyond's shirt and pull him in close, while his left hand retrieves the pistol from his back and pushes the end of the barrel underneath Beyond's jaw with the safety slid off. Teeth bared, voice low and even and hard, close enough for his breath to be felt on Beyond's face, he answers:]
What I know? [A sound that's not quite a laugh rumbles in the back of his throat.] What I know, Beyond Birthday, is that you lost. You were caught, and you died in prison, a failure. Go on - ask me how I know this.
[The fact that he's spoken Beyond's secret name, something that was intended to be discovered in the would-be corpse left behind but never linked to Wammy's House's second child, should stand as proof enough. But he'll gladly go over what he knows in gloating detail, as long as Beyond asks for it.]
no subject
But it's hearing his name - his true name, the name that can kill him, the name his mother gave him - that provokes a violent reaction of his own. The memory of his mother's short appearance here and the pain of losing her a second time wash through him like adrenaline, and quick as a cat, his right hand darts forward to fist in Beyond's shirt and pull him in close, while his left hand retrieves the pistol from his back and pushes the end of the barrel underneath Beyond's jaw with the safety slid off. Teeth bared, voice low and even and hard, close enough for his breath to be felt on Beyond's face, he answers:]
What I know? [A sound that's not quite a laugh rumbles in the back of his throat.] What I know, Beyond Birthday, is that you lost. You were caught, and you died in prison, a failure. Go on - ask me how I know this.
[The fact that he's spoken Beyond's secret name, something that was intended to be discovered in the would-be corpse left behind but never linked to Wammy's House's second child, should stand as proof enough. But he'll gladly go over what he knows in gloating detail, as long as Beyond asks for it.]