Walls Came Tumbling Down

"Special delivery." Stephen Gevanni strode through and dangled the brown paper envelope through the bars of the gate. Matt rolled off the bed and sauntered forward, but a few paces away, he stopped dead. He looked thunderstruck. His hand did not reach out for the envelope.

Lauren craned her neck to see, from her seat against the back wall of the corridor outside. "What is it?" She saw Matt's expression and grew pensive. "What is it and who is it from?"

"Mello." Gevanni said blithely, but there were layers of intrigue untold in the twinkle in his eye. He waggled the A4 envelope some more, but still Matt didn't take it. He seemed frozen, barely even breathing. "I was told that you had to receive it today. Highly important." Gevanni quickly caught Lauren's eye and nodded, with his brow furrowed, towards Matt. He mouthed, "Is he alright?"

Lauren was worried enough to stand. She asked, with precise, slow care, "Matt, what do you think it is?" She saw him blink, once, as if startled into it. It was the only sign that he was still with them. "Do you want me to take it?" He didn't reply, so she took it. Gevanni frowned, but he let her have the envelope. "Shall I open it, Matt?" Her mind had been spinning with guesses. She finally landed on one and groaned. "Oh God! He thinks it's his divorce papers!"

Matt's whole body jolted. He spluttered out, breathlessly. "Not legally married. The house." He rubbed his forehead. His hand was trembling. "He'll want the house. Our stuff."

"Shall I open this, Matt?" Lauren asked, firmly.

"He said if I could arrange for us to be together, there was a chance. He said..." Matt gasped, disbelief making him appear punch-drunk. He stared into space, while Gevanni frowned and shook his head.

Lauren saw him do it and turned on the American. "You know what this is about."

Gevanni gestured with his arm. It was almost a bow, without the bending at the waist. He muttered, low enough, he assumed, for only Lauren to hear him. "Had to reach him today, so it took me three shops and an hour in traffic to find it. Reached him today, it did."

Lauren inspected him, puzzled, but she turned back to the bars. "Matt, I don't think it's anything to do with your house." She didn't get any further, because Matt suddenly propelled himself forward and took it from her. She bit her lip, watching him. Matt was looking at the envelope like it was a thing alive. "Mello wouldn't do something like that by letter. If he couldn't do it face to face, then he'd call, at least."

Matt cast her an irritated glare. It was better than the rigid panic, so Lauren awarded him a wincing smile. "Fuck." Matt said, under his breath, and retreated to the centre of the cell. Then he tore decisively through the gummed seal. Inside was a single A4 sheet, with a Post-It note stuck to it. Gevanni turned 90 degrees, so that his back was to the wall adjacent to Matt's cell door. Matt couldn't see the bemused grin, but Lauren could. She just couldn't properly interpret it, as she wasn't sure where Gevanni's loyalties lay. With Near, presumably, but beyond that, she was grasping in the dark. Matt's face was studiously blank, but the tension had left his shoulders. He spoke, airily, with the curtness giving his voice a slightly imperious tone, "This isn't Mello's handwriting."

Gevanni returned into his view. "No. It's mine. But I wrote down the message exactly as it was delivered via Hal."

Curiosity and concern both coloured Lauren's next question, "What is it, Matt?" It irked her that everyone seemed to know except herself; but moreover, as Matt's champion here, anything that upset him had to impact upon herself.

"You bought it." Matt stated, still staring at the document. "If Mello had bought it, then he would have written on the Post-It."

"Yes, Sir." Gevanni inclined his head. "But I was just following instructions."

Lauren frowned. "Whose instructions? Mello's?"

He nodded and Matt's head shot up to witness the affirmation. They both saw Matt's eyes narrow to mere slits. Gevanni took a step backwards, his demeanour changing. "Ok." He said. "I've obviously misjudged the tone of the situation. If it's a prank that I've been dragged into, then I hope it wasn't as malicious as it now appears."

"What is it?" Lauren hadn't intended to sound quite so loud and exasperated, but she was tired and she felt like the only outcast at the party here. "Matt?" To add yet another surreal twist to Matt's reaction, the redhead gave her what could only be described as a sassy smile. He seemed to grow a little taller, as he moseyed back over to the gate. He held it up and she could see it in all of its glory.

There was a border. Dark blue, almost navy swirls, amounting to nothing more than a decorative edge. The whole sheet had a peachy-beige background. It was slightly textured, but nothing that would distract from the overall blankness of the page within. Only the ornately styled title gave it any context at all. 'Slave Contract' that read, with flourishes, twirls and curls wherever the artist could squeeze them onto a letter. It was underlined five times, with equally ostentatious wavy lines; like that gave it any form of official authority. Lauren felt her jaw go a little slack. She was staring. She caught herself doing it and so leaned forward to read the note. 'No less than 20 points. Take this seriously. I'm doing the same, then we'll negotiate the final agreement from them. Signed, sealed rules that will be obeyed. Boundaries just got real, puta.'

"Erm, I ran out of space." Gevanni reached in and plucked the Post-It note from the document and turned it around. On the back, he had written, 'Tea ammo.'

Lauren released a long, slow, audible breath, as her smile met Matt's. "Feel better now?" She asked. He gave a half-shrug, like he'd known what the outcome would be all along, though they all knew the lie of that. Lauren's mind returned from the 'te amo' to the blank contract. "Some kind of in-joke?" She hazarded. "Slave." She pulled a face. "I mean, I know you like it," she groped for a diplomatic word, "intense, but that's a bit strong." She considered it. "Maybe this is Mello's way of saying that you'll need to work out how to look after him, while he's injured. Waiting on him hand and foot." She concluded, brightly, "It definitely sounds like you have a future together."

Matt's eyes glinted over a saucy smirk. "I know precisely what he meant." He told her. It sounded like a challenge and that knocked her off-guard. She looked for the wink, but it never came. She pondered over the words, wondering if he was trying to communicate a hidden message. Otherwise, it would appear that Matt was crowing over the fact that he knew Mello better than she did. Frankly, that was a no-brainer and it was taken as read. Matt's gaze lingered upon her just a touch too long, and it was unsettling, especially since she thought that they'd bonded to a certain extent during the past few days. She frowned, but then he turned away, clutching and staring at his empty sheet of paper. Lauren decided that she was just paranoid and imagining things. Matt spoke softly, but triumphantly. "Can't see the wood for the trees."

Now Gevanni looked worried. This communication had been passed by Near, Chrissie and Deontic, as well as going through himself and Hal. He had been back for an hour, waiting while Chrissie analysed, scrambled, reversed and searched for any hidden meaning in the message. If it contained an escape plan, then it was really oblique. He observed Matt, with his new-found confidence and his changed demeanour, drift back to the bed. The redhead stood beside it, gripping the page with both hands. He was stooped cagily over it, but his expression was of undisguised glee. Hal's candid e-mail to Gevanni, a few days ago, had compared Matt with one of the hobbits out of 'Lord of the Rings'. To Gevanni's mind, he resembled nothing so much as the creature, Gollum, luxuriating in his 'precious'. It was an unkind thought and Gevanni put it away. Aloud, he asked, "Can't see the wood for the trees in what?"

"Slave contract." Matt held it up, looking at them like they were idiots.

"I know." Gevanni agreed, with his expression pressing for more. "I was the one who was asked to purchase it on Mello's behalf. Near suggested that I try Soho." He paused, as Matt's grin grew even broader. "Though if I'd known what it actually looked like, I'd have knocked one up myself on the computer. Mello didn't specify a design."

"Ah." Lauren breathed. "Slav, coupled with an E for España, then contract. It's just a play on words." She stopped, as Matt roared with laughter. "Matt, I'm not here to be the butt of your jokes."

Matt's face fell and he frowned. "I'm not." He shook his head. "I don't know how much clearer I can be. Or this." His broken fingers left the page to touch his collar. "He even called me 'whore' on the note. Puta. You read it." He held up the contract in his other hand, turned so that they could see it again, while his first two fingers wrapped around his collar. "I was, and still am, my master's whore."

He found himself gazing right into Ann's face and his smile froze. He whipped the empty contract behind his back, but his fingers were harder to extract from around the stainless steel band. The solid leather strap, splinting the broken finger to the next, got momentarily caught beneath his chin. Lauren had been frantically delivering surreptitious gestures, with her hand held hidden beside her, as soon as she'd seen Ann approaching; but Matt hadn't even seen them. Gevanni chuckled and walked a few steps away. It was getting crowded in that corner. Lauren smothered an embarrassed laugh, with the back of her hand across her mouth.

"You're looking a bit happier." Ann commented, like nothing untoward had happened at all. "Chrissie said that you've heard from Mello again and that it's all back on. I'm glad." Before her, Matt blinked and brought the contract back into full view; like his mind had caught up with his instinct and had chosen to over-ride it. "I told you there was nothing to worry about." Ann slipped her arm around Lauren's shoulders. "You look like you've been burning the midnight oil again, poppet. It's no good for you, you know. Plenty of food, sleep and exercise and you won't have to worry about all that revising, because you'll get it all in your head the first time. That goes for both of you." Lauren had the giggles. She had to turn away. Ann patted her back, then held onto the bars. "Now, Matty..."

"Mello's sent me a slave contract." Matt stated, unfalteringly, trying to back-track from any inference that he might be ashamed of this fact.

"I know. I heard it all coming up the corridor. Now listen, because I haven't much time. The helicopter will be going off without me."

"I thought you went ages ago."

Ann looked at him in disdain, "Without saying goodbye?" She shook her head. "I've called Near and I've told him that you and Mello have got to come to Wammy's House, where you can be looked after properly, until this mess is cleared up. I've told him that I have your word on your good behaviour and sorting out your," she glanced at Lauren, then mouthed at Matt, "'troubles'." Lauren's guffaw filled the corridor. Ann seemed briefly puzzled, as Lauren couldn't have heard her. Ann defaulted back to the stern look that she had been in the process of giving Matt. "If it happens, it will be on my head, so do not let me down. Though, with the children around, I might be as well making you sign a couple of these 'slave contracts'."

"Erm, no." Matt carefully replied. Behind Ann, Lauren was hunched into the corner, her face buried in her hands against the brickwork. She was laughing with the half hysterical abandon of the terminally exhausted. Matt continued, just as precisely, "It won't be necessary. We will behave; like little scouts." He pressed her on the important part. "What did Near say?"

"Well, he said no at first. But then I pointed out that, if you didn't come to me, then Mello was going to end up coming here." Ann sighed. "What with Neuron being here and all, I didn't think that would be a good idea. Especially if Mello has got himself all worked up into a state. I think it's given him something to think about anyway." She smiled her reassurance. "You just hang on in there. It sounds to me like the infirmary is the best place to put you as well, if it was the you-know-whats sending you a little strange."

Lauren twisted away from the wall, wiping her eyes. "Ann, I love you." She hugged the older woman. "You just walked right up to L and told him what he should do within his own system. Classic!"

Ann held her close, patting her back. "Early to bed for you tonight, girl. Do you hear me?" She felt Lauren's nod against her shoulder. "You ask me, all of this is silly anyway. We never used to have this creating your own cells to lock children up in, and writing your own laws. If someone broke the law of the land, they'd end up in a proper prison. No questions asked."

Matt bit his lip, "You didn't mention that to Near, did you?"

"No, but I will." Ann checked the time on her wrist-watch, over Lauren's shoulder. "Oops, I'm going to have to dash." She stepped back. "Lauren, early to bed. Matty, get a good meal down you, now that you're not so worried. We'll see where we go with bringing you both to Wammy's House."

"Ann." Lauren tutted. "It's not going to go without you. I imagine that you're the only passenger."

Ann dismissed that as nonsense. "There would be Hell to pay, if I miss the little ones' bedtime. Kato won't sleep until I've tucked her up. So goodbye, my darlings, and look after each other." She gave Lauren another quick hug, then blew a kiss at Matt. "And you, stop worrying yourself sick over little things. It all passes in the end. Everything passes on by; and today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. Not too bad, is it?" She watched Matt's gaze take in the bars of his cell. "Oh! I know, but you still found cause for a laugh, didn't you? Now, take care and, if you ever feel like that again, you come to me. Ok?"

Matt nodded mutely and Ann bustled on away, after a couple of final goodbyes. Lauren watched her go. She dared not look at Matt, lest she get the giggles again. "You know what? I sometimes think that the biggest genius to come from that Institution has never been L. It's Ann." When Matt didn't respond, she risked a glance inside the cell. He was sitting on the bed, staring intently at his slave contract. "I think I get it now. It's literally a slave contract. An S&M thing."

Matt smiled and nodded. "Any chance you could get me a pen please?"

"Yes." Lauren nodded. "I think I can do that for you. I'll be right back."

"Gracias."