Walls Came Tumbling Down

There was uproar at Wammy's House. Rumours rose and fell amongst the excitable children; they were dissected and analysed, with site visits for verification, by the older ones. Around the side of the house, two of the caretakers had taken a chain-saw and hatchet to some of Ann's shrubs. They said that they were just obeying orders. In the garage, Bill was removing the seats from the back of the minibus. He was witnessed only by a very thoughtful Pwyll. In the infirmary, Jamboree studiously ignored Mello, as best as she could without being rude, while she checked the readiness of the other beds. Madeleine had flown to London, earlier that morning, to administer medication to Matt and Morien.

Mello had allowed Ann to help him change into a clean top. She had tidied his hair and was helping him with his eye-liner, when she was called away. She didn't come back. Mello continued as best he could. It was tiring, but he got there in the end. He just assumed that Jamboree was messing about in the infirmary as part of her studies. Though he did frown, when the chainsaw sounded on the other side of the outer wall.

Ella, Sophie and Pwyll all saw Hal race from the Institution, out onto the street, where she stopped Mrs Evans, the visiting nurse, from getting into a taxi. The two women returned to the house, looking extremely serious. Hal refused to answer any questions and simply told them to get on with what they were doing. The two women went into Hal's office and only Mrs Evans came back out again. She climbed, breathless with bulk, up the main staircase with her overnight bag in her hand. Vido rushed up to help her carry it. He returned with the knowledge that she was staying another night, in the same room as last night. She just knew that there had been a serious incident and they needed the assistance in the infirmary. Vido got a lot of kudos for that, from his peers.

Linda had come down the staircase next, leading an unresponsive Luigi. He wore a thousand yard stare and moved like a zombie. He didn't look up, as anyone spoke, though Linda had delivered a curt, "Later." She had taken him into Hal's office, where Ann was apparently also sitting. The story quickly circulated that Luigi had had another breakdown and had, perhaps, attempted suicide. The wider it spread, the more garish the details became. A few calmer minds prevailed and these said that the crisis was on its way. It was not yet in the house.

They were vindicated, ten minutes later, when the minibus pulled out of the garage and the main gates were opened, then pushed right back. Some children spilled out onto the steps, as the helicopter circled overhead. They were further startled by Ann appearing behind them, clapping loudly and ordering them all back inside. The windows of the large common room were filled with faces. Each vantage point of the window-sills had a child sitting on it. Pwyll had taken one look at them and slipped out into the reception room. He took the higher route, on the floor above, to make it to the backstairs. Thus he by-passed the cordon being erected further along the ground floor passageway to stop people coming down.

Pwyll peeped into the infirmary and was shocked by the ice blue stare fixed upon him. "Mello!"

Mello blinked rapidly, then assumed the mask of friendly charm that he always wore with the current crop of Wammy's House residents. "Hi." He was otherwise alone in the wide, white room. "So what's happening?"

Pwyll told him all that the children had collectively discovered so far. Mello glanced, worriedly, at the waiting laptop. Chrissie was already late calling with the webcam link to Matt. He had been on the verge of calling her. Pwyll concluded, "So I figured that they're bringing someone in. It's not going to be the front door, but the back, or else why cut down the plants?"

"Good deduction." Mello rasped, quietly. "What's your name again? Sorry."

"Pwyll."

Mello nodded. The sound of the helicopter landing was very loud, even from this distance, inside four walls. "I bet the locals love us." He nodded towards the suitcase by the wall. "Pwyll, will you get me a pair of jeans out of there please?" The young teenager rushed to do his bidding, while Mello debated calling Chrissie right now. Reason said to wait five minutes. His questions would all be answered when the casualty was brought in. He concentrated on easing back the quilt and attempting to slide to the edge of the bed. Pain shrieked at him to stop. "Oh God!" He grit his teeth, while Pwyll stood, anxiously holding a pair of black jeans. Mello refused to show how badly this hurt. He was wearing the striped pyjama bottoms that had been put on him in Bronglais. "Let's do this." He clenched his fists around the hem of the pyjamas and yanked. Agony wracked from his ribs, through his gunshot wounds. "Shit!"

Pwyll quietly stepped up to the bed and pulled down on the pyjama bottoms, while Mello's fist was clenched into his mouth. They heard the minibus and another vehicle drive along the other side of the high garden wall. Pwyll positioned the jeans over Mello's feet and then drew them up over his knees. Mello, panting with pain, reached down then. Pwyll helped him get them on. "What are you going to do, Mello?"

"Lie here for a second. I may need you to help me out of bed." Mello commanded, because Pwyll appeared dubious. "I will owe you one."

At the front of the house, the minibus had driven through the gateway. It mounted the grass to take the same route as it had the night before. Some of the children leapt down from their windowsill perch to investigate the infirmary. They were thwarted by staff members posted along the route. But others had spotted Hal's car, recently returned by a lorry from Aberystwyth, following the minibus. The railing gate closed behind it, but Hal hadn't driven around the back. She was parked at the foot of the front entrance steps. Those watching strained to see. A dark-haired man climbed out of the backseat first. Hal jumped out of the driving seat and rushed to join him.

There was no denying the shock of red hair on the head of the next person to emerge from the back-seat. "Matt!" Ella cried out. "Oh my God! He's gorgeous!"

"He's in handcuffs." Rian observed, deep in thought. Matt was also bare-foot and shivering, without a coat, in a thin, grey, long-sleeved t-shirt. "And he's not wearing his goggles." Matt angrily snapped his arm away from Gevanni's grasp, as the man made to cup his bicep. Hal led the way up the steps. Matt walked alone in the middle, while Gevanni took the rear.

"I want to see his eyes! I want to see his eyes!" Ella gasped, jumping down to rush into the reception hall. Five others followed her. "Matt!" She yelled, as they came almost face to face. He had uniformly ignored her before. He met her gaze full on now. Hal was trying to hurry them into her office. "I love you, Matt! I love Mello too! But I love you more!"

Hal's door was open. "Come on, Matt."

Matt quietly replied. "It would be awfully impolite for me not to say hello to my old friend, Ella." He took a step towards her, which Gevanni intercepted with a hand out to stop him. Matt growled. "Just a kiss on the cheek and I'll come quietly." Hal sighed, but Ella had heard her chance and hurried forward. Matt welcomed her with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. He leaned in and brushed his cheek against hers, whispering, "Distraction."

Ella released an ear-piercing squeal and rolled away from him, bouncing and screeching, "I had a kiss from Matt! I had a kiss from..." She had successfully danced between Matt and Gevanni, stumbling against the latter's reaching hand, and careering into him from it. "Oops! Sorry!" Matt was already running. Hal had darted around the stairwell, but he hadn't emerged at the other side. He had ducked into the common room instead. Gevanni had extracted himself from Ella and was in pursuit. The children, ordinarily supportive of Hal as their warden, saw a chance to be part of another legendary Mello/Matt escapade. They were suddenly everywhere, in the way of his pursuers; clearing his route with open doors.

Holiday yelled out, "Roadblock that way!" Matt double-backed, his gaze flickering at Holiday as he passed. Daton was ahead. He pushed open a classroom door and Matt raced inside. It closed behind him, just as Hal and Gevanni dashed into the corridor. Daton and Holiday ran on ahead, up the corridor, yelling out, "Go M... They're coming!" The two hurtled around the corner, back into the reception hall. They were halfway up the stairs, still shouting encouragement, as if Matt was ahead of them. It worked, luring the chase up onto the first floor.

Meanwhile, Matt had succeeded in opening a window. It was a reasonably steep drop of around six feet to the garden, which he had to do with his hands behind his back. Matt sat on the window-ledge and pushed himself away with his feet. He landed on the churned turf in his bare-feet, with the impact causing pins and needles all up his calves. Matt crouched, willing the life back into them. There was a minibus in the way, reversed in, so that its back doors could be accessed. It filled all of the available space. Matt squatted to peer beneath it. He could see feet and he heard the voices above them. Matt lay flat on his stomach and slid beneath the minibus. There he waited.

There was the thud thud of workman's boots walking the length of the inside of the minibus, then another. The doors were closed from the inside. A few long moments later, the vehicle chugged into life. Matt pressed himself as flat as he could to the rain-sodden turf and the minibus drove away from over him. He kept low, as he darted around the corner. There was no cry of alarm. The men in the minibus were too busy watching either side, for fear of the paintwork being scratched. Still crouching, Matt reached the backdoor, with the infirmary just a few feet down the passageway. He listened, but heard nothing. He cursed the absence of his keychain, upon which were so many handcuff keys. He could try another method to get them off, but he told himself that he was going to freeze to death, if he stood out here much longer.

Matt turned and touched the door-handle, just as Hal's voice sounded from the other side of it. "Has he been in here?" She demanded. He couldn't hear the response, but he heard her explanation. "Because Near told Stephen to bring him back here, but he's run away from us." Another pause. "On the premises." She sounded even louder with her next comment. "Ok! But which one was your room?"

There were footsteps on the other side of the door. Matt had a split second choice between going right, which risked him being spotted from the kitchen, or left, which was open to discovery by anyone looking out of the side of the house. He chose the latter and ducked around the wall, just as the door was opened. It wasn't Hal. It was one of the children. Matt's memory supplied the name - Pwyll. The boy called out, "There's no-one out here." His gaze fleetingly passed over the wet footprints that Matt had left on the slab before him. Matt fell back, as the kid looked in his direction. There was Hal's voice too. "He could be in any of the bushes." Matt peeped around. Pwyll was outside too, standing squarely on the footprints, concealing them. Hal went back indoors, calling at Pwyll to come inside and close the door to keep the heat in. Matt slipped back around the corner of the house, as soon as the teenager did so.

The door wasn't quite closed. Pwyll's hand remained on view, palm down in the universal sign to stay. A few seconds later, it beckoned and the door was opened wide. Matt dashed inside, passing a beaming Pwyll. Matt afforded him a single, weak smile, then hurried down the passageway and into the infirmary. There were plenty of people in there, but the beds further inside had their curtains drawn and everyone was behind them. All except one. Mello half lay, half sat, on the bed nearest to the door. Their eyes met and Mello's shone above a relieved grin. His right arm rose in reaching. Matt launched himself forward, mindless of the mud that lined his front, and fell into Mello's grasp. He mouthed, 'I'm sorry', as Mello mouthed, 'guapo', then they were kissing hard, with Mello's arm around Matt's back and his hand clutching tightly a handful of grey t-shirt.

Pwyll closed the curtains around them, with a beam of pride on his face, then stationed himself outside the crack. If anyone asked, Mello would be using the bedpan and they were all to be kept out. Matt's tell-tale trail of footprints had already been scuffed out with Pwyll's gliding gait and his clean, black socks. He supposed that he might get into trouble, but Mello was a Letter and that out-ranked Watari anyway. It was worth it.