The Mello Code

Security was tight at The Wammy House tonight, though, to the untrained eye, it may not have appeared so. For those who had skill in these matters, it might have seemed that some shadows amongst the trees were a little too still. They concealed the officers in their careful watchfulness. Even more covertly, the hidden cameras moved in constant coverage of every inch of the gardens and interior; the images that they fed back into Hal\'s office were monitored by three agents. Yet, for the passers-by on the quiet Winchester streets outside, it would look like all was as it usually was; the orphanage enclosed behind its walls and spiked railings, only recently fitted with extra height topped with barbed wire.



Inside, there was a different story. Through brightly lit corridors, children dashed giggling into each other\'s room, then down into the common room. Partitioning sliding doors had been opened up to create one large hall, like it was Christmas Day and time for recitals or a play. The bonhomie and excitement was just as equally festive. Most of the children, and all of the teenagers, had made an effort in dressing up in their finery. Jamboree and Caerleon were the last to enter, the latter blinking under an awry application of mascara, which was threatening to run under a stinging eye where she\'d accidentally poked it with the stick. Ann ushered them in and they found seats together, grinning wildly at Ella and Sophia.



They were just in time, as Hal strode out to address them all. "Ladies and gentleman, thank you all for coming." She smiled, looking around at each face in turn, nodding as she noticed Kato moving to sit on Ann\'s lap. "Twenty-three of you, all confirming to me that you would like to be detectives. All of you one day..." Hal paused, noticing an exchanging of glances, "my apologies. Jamboree wishes to become a surgeon and very good luck to her. We all hope that we never need her services, but I\'m sure that if we do, we\'ll be in the very best hands. The rest of us though, detectives! That is what this great institution was founded to produce and it has done just that. It has produced, and keeps producing, the best in the world. I know this for a fact, because I have worked with people who walked these hallowed halls before you. Minds that were taught in your classrooms and nurtured in the same rooms as you sleep, eat and play. People just like you, who left here to do wonderful things."



"Mello." Holiday mouthed to Daton and the young genius agreed.



"However, the world isn\'t always fair. Sometimes, as detectives, you will find that the greater the heights to which you soar, the less the recognition from the rest of the world. Everyone here knows about the Kira case." There was a ripple of excitement, hushed whispering, which Hal allowed to settle down before she went on. "What might not be apparent though is that the fact of Kira\'s defeat had to be kept under wraps. Does anyone know why?" Several hands shot up. Hal chose one at random. "Autumn."



"For fear of copy-cat killings."



"That\'s one reason, anyone else?" Hal surveyed them. They all had their hands or a finger in the air now. It rendered her quietly ashamed that she had had to ask at the time. "Rian."



"Because the provision for Kira had changed the constitutions of so many countries that they were weakened now that he was no longer a threat. For example, there might have been a war over Monte Negro, but the leaders there were scared of Kira intervening. The vacuum after his death might have been exploited for war to start and then the whole Balkans might have gone up again. Keeping quiet allowed time for peacemakers to strengthen boundaries and avert a crisis."



Hal kept her expression neutral. "That\'s an excellent point, Rian. Well done. Anyone else?"



"Me, Miss!" Pwyll didn\'t wait to be picked, but plunged on regardless. "It was to prevent a crime-wave. All the people who viewed Kira as a deterent would have now been free to commit crime; and they had to do it quickly, because some of the police forces were relying too much on Kira and had become very, very lazy."



"Three very good reasons!" Hal nodded, noting the amount of hands still in the air. She refused to be intimidated by their minds. They were the hope for the future. "But we could be here all night discussing this, when we do have something very special to move onto. You have all good ideas for why the defeat of Kira had to remain a secret, but that wasn\'t very good for those who worked hard, putting their lives on the line, to capture him, was it? Which is why, this evening, we are launching a Hall of Fame right here in Wammy\'s House. It will list the names, real names and pseudonyms, of the fallen; it will list the achievements, under pseudonyms for now, of those who did tremendous things hidden under a cloak of secrecy." She intercepted a few glances as the children were already working it out. "And to mark this auspicious occasion, I do believe that we have a first. I believed it to be a first for your generation, but apparently it has never occurred at any time in the past at all." Hal smirked, but kept her thoughts to herself. "Returning to Wammy\'s House for the first time in six years, please put your hands together for Near."



The room erupted. Some had been interrogated by the diminutive L, during Neuron\'s mutiny, but those sessions had been too fraught with nerves for any of them to relax into their inherent awe. So many stories had been heard. Indeed they had spoken to him, over a laptop link, in the weeks following Kira\'s capture, but not here, in person, at Wammy\'s House. The limelight did not appear to be his natural element, yet the pyjama-clad teenager flashed a smile. "Hello."



Hal waited until an expectant hush had descended. "But that isn\'t the first. In a miracle of negotiative genius, the two other central figures in this case have been persuaded to join Near in front of you tonight. For the first time ever, all three will share their stories together, with you, and indeed with each other. Please will you welcome Mello and It Matters."



In the uproar that followed, Hal had to look sternly at several exciteable children, including a group of squealing girls. Their cosmetic administrations now justified, they were acting like fans in the grip of a concert mania. She was therefore startled when a leather-clad arm snaked over her shoulder and dropped a ten pound note into her hand. "Nice one." Mello rasped, loud enough for all of the children to hear. Hal stifled a laugh. The Slav addressed the whole audience. "I bet her a tenner that she wouldn\'t dare call him It Matters and she rose to the challenge. You have a very courageous guardian." He turned and watched his husband sit down on one of the chairs being brought out for them. "Even more amazing, he actually responded to it. Now that\'s your real first, Hal."



She laughed, as she watched the blond stalk across the distance to claim his seat. He thanked the caretaker, who had brought it, and then sat, radiating quiet supremacy. Hal folded up the note. "Yes, sorry about that. He does actually prefer," she hesitated, "Matt." She couldn\'t tell what he was thinking nor whether her apology was accepted, his face was so hidden beneath the omnipresent goggles and a length of red hair. "You alright there, Matt?"



The redhead just smiled and it was Mello who responded. "Mail\'s exact words on the subject were, \'I\'m going to have to come. If you and Near are sitting on a stage together, someone\'s got to be sitting in between you.\'" He winked. "So maybe we could start with putting that one to bed. I understand, from Ann and Hal, that one of the enduring beliefs here is that Near and I do not get on. You\'re probably all sitting there expecting us to start fighting any second now." Mello shuffled forward in his seat, leaning until his hair slipped over his face, then he reached an arm across Matt\'s knees. "Near."



Near smiled and uncoiled a hand to shake on the proffered friendship. "Mello." While every adult present frowned in dubious wonderment, the children mostly appeared to take the gesture at face value. There was applause from the majority and a lot of comments about history in the making, their witnessing a reconciliation after all those tales of legendary clashes. Then Mello sat back, smiling faintly. The whole effect was only slightly diminished by the doubt on what could be seen of Matt\'s face. Near spoke up. "I have always admired Mello\'s initiative and intelligence. Working together, we surpassed our idol on the Kira case."



Mello blinked and sat a little straighter again. "And I have always had endless respect for Near\'s," He paused, considering his words, "capacity to always challenge his competitors and to raise the benchmark on the standard of the game."



"Excellent!" Hal intervened. "Now you have all heard these heroes individually tell their stories before, but now we\'re going to fill in some of the details. Near, I believe that you agreed to start by telling us about your predecessor."



Near told the story. Matter-of-factly recounting all he knew of Lawliet and his legacy in this House. As his narrative went on, Mello occasionally interjected with things that he knew. He had met the man and had once listened, as enrapt at the great detective\'s stories, as these children seemed hearing them repeated. Their story branched out into describing their childhood in this institution. It was an oral tradition of history, which they engaged in now, young minds remembering to tell the next generation. Then they moved on, Mello leading the way in explaining how news of Lawliet\'s death had affected them. Near contributed his own recollection of the momentus event. Those watching looked, from the blond to the white-haired man, and realised that there was more empathy in their similarities than had hitherto been evident. At the moment when both had just told of leaving Wammy\'s House, their heads jointly bowed on either side of the redhead and hush fell across the room.



Taking turns, Mello and Near spoke of their earliest experiences outside the house. They were edited versions, human emotions played down and the worst of situations skated over. By the time Near paused, he was the head of the Special Provision for Kira. By the time Mello stopped, he had worked his way up to consigliere in a Los Angeles branch of the Mafia. There Near stared fiercely past Matt, waiting for Mello to admit responsibility for so many murdered people, remembering only too well the feeling when SPK members fell around him. Mello stared fixedly ahead, "Then we tested the notebook." There were no more details, though Mello\'s hand clutched his chocolate bar just a little too tightly.



Hal glanced at her watch, on the verge of calling a break, but then realised that one person had not spoken since the moment he took the stage. "Matt. You were there too. What happened to you?"



The redhead jumped and glanced at Mello. The Slav just smiled and nodded, but Matt shook his head. "I did nothing heroic until the end. Hear their story, not mine."



"Mail." Mello growled. "You\'re not here for your health. They need to know where we all came from to be there at that moment."



Matt nodded. "I graduated from here with several degrees and a doctorate." Beside him Mello stared. "I found you and from then on, your story is my story. I\'m happy for you to be the one who tells it."



"Mail was top ranked amongst those who stayed and, in many ways, that was just as much hard work as it was for those of us who left." Mello patted his husband\'s shoulder. "Before he rejoined forces with me, he single-handedly built a forum of the world\'s top hackers. If the fight was ever to stray fully into the cyber world, then Matt\'s army would have taken Kira down. As it was, I\'m leaping ahead, but Matt\'s efforts very nearly located Kira. A few more days, maybe just a few more hours, and the battle wouldn\'t have played out as it did. It would have been Matt and I bypassing Near to kidnap Yagami and sort it out that way."



Near frowned. "Mello didn\'t have the evidence for that."



"I had the firepower." Mello glared back. "And enough evidence."



Hal, "Ok! We\'re going to have a short break. Give everyone chance to nip to the bathroom." She stepped onto the stage, as Matt was standing with a cigarette already in his hand. "Thank you all. This is going very well. I think hearing this is going to be invaluable for the children." Three pairs of eyes cast a withering look in her direction. "And cathartic for the three of you."



"I\'m going for a cigarette." Matt stated firmly.



"I\'m coming with you." Mello replied. Near just stood slowly up and shuffled into the wings, a lock of hair twisting round and round between his fingers. Mello hissed. "You did not tell me that he\'d be here."



"I know." Hal smiled at him. "But I wanted you to come." Matt didn\'t wait to hear anymore. He leapt down and sauntered towards the door. With a sharp glance at Hal, Mello followed him out. Hal shrugged. "It\'s going well." She told herself out loud.



They reconvened without incident, though many children had rushed outside to get close to Mello and Matt while Matt smoked. Ann had stepped outside to usher them all back inside. Most of them found ways to stay until the couple went inside too. Mello, at least, was sociable with them. Joking and exchanging banter with them, though he brushed away any serious questions with the comment that he\'d be answering them inside, where everyone could hear. Back on the stage, the story went on. Mello told the full story of how he gained the scar and, in a moment\'s reaction to Near tutting, Mello stood and peeled off his jacket and biker vest. Everyone present learned that the injuries were far more extensive that any of them had suspected. "So let that be a lesson to you. Don\'t play with bombs." Mello winked as, he dressed again and sat down.



Near told of a year in which his efforts were seriously curtailed by lack of personnel. Hal was credited amongst those who working tirelessly, trying to do the jobs of several people at once. He spoke of arguments with the American president over the need for more officers and how the new president did not have the courage of his dead predecessor. Mello smirked, but Near was not provoked into comment. Then they both told of meeting again in New York city. The narrative tumbled out then, Mello and Near taking it in turns to speak of those dark months which led ultimately to the Yellow Box and Kira\'s defeat. Another break was called.



"Near! Mello! Matt!" Hal called before they could scatter. "Will you be open to answering questions?" Behind her, a caretaker carried on a box of prizes, which they had agreed to present to the children. Matt dodged behind Mello and headed for the door. Hal let him go. "Near? Mello?" She looked from one to the other. Mello smiled with dead eyes. Near didn\'t look at her at all. "Oh God, you pair! I wish you could see how..." She stopped. "Ok, no questions."



Mello growled a response. "I\'ll answer questions if I have the right of veto. There are some questions I will not answer."



"Mello does not like to be reminded that he is a murderer."



Mello\'s eyes swivelled around to take in Near, but Hal got between them. "Stop! Both of you! I have tremendous respect for each of you, but there are children watching. We are trying to raise them in a new spirit of co-operation. Please do not make me have to split you up."



"Heh." Mello bit off a strip of chocolate and turned around to follow Matt. "I do believe you were the one who put us together in the first place, Hal. Regretting that yet?" Against her adamant \'no\', Mello had spotted Lauren. He hurried across. "So you\'re still going to be a detective?"



Lauren blinked. "Pardon?"



Children were clustering around them. Mello nodded back towards Hal. "She only mentioned Jamboree as dissenting from the party line. You\'re branching out on your own." His eyes narrowed. "Or going to work with Near."



Lauren flushed. "Nothing is finalised yet. That\'s why she didn\'t mention it. I still plan on going to the UN, if it can be arranged."



"Pity." Mello bit into his chocolate, flakes of it danced about his lips. "Because if you were working for me, you\'d be going to Bulgaria next month. Possibly Poland and France after that." It was said loud enough for the whole room to hear, let alone Near. Beside Hal, Near\'s head rose sharply and he surveyed Mello from under a mop of white fringe. "Just one of the cases that I\'m involved with at the moment. If you\'d excuse me, I\'m going to see where my husband is." Mello grinned as he left the room.



The prize-giving passed quickly, albeit noisily. Each of the children there received something. Without prior discussion, Mello had already found his feet, handing out each prize with enthusiasm and seemingly heartfelt words for them all. They each moved on, usually for a cursory handshake and a \'well done\' from Matt, though Near politely spoke with each of them. Only when the prize was in computing did Matt engage in actual conversation. When the prize was in mathematics, Mello handed it to Near for presentation. The room remained in uproar throughout, as each recipient excitedly recounted to those around them all that had been said.



Hal stepped to the front and raised her hands. One by one the children sank into expectant silence. Anticipation hung in the air, which instantly placed Mello, Matt and Near on full alert. "A few weeks ago, settle down please, Daton." Hal stared at the child in question. "Thank you." She began again. "A few weeks ago, Matt said something very interesting to me. He said that for all of their work with Kira, no-one had acknowledged it officially. I think he was joking a little bit when he asked where their medals were." Behind her, Matt raised his eyebrows, unseen behind his fringe and goggles. "But he had a point. I don\'t think that was very fair, do you?" There was a chorus of \'no\', mostly from the younger children. The older ones were as watchful as the three on the stage. "A lot of countries sent money and lots of work our way, but where was the personal thank you? Where was the honour? Matt was right. Someone should have said something to mark their outstanding achievements to the security of the world."



There was a lot of loud agreement. Lauren and Jamboree stood, quickly followed by Ella and Sophia, then by the rest of the children. Their applause rang from the ceiling. The three men on the stage stared back like startled creatures caught in headlights. Not one of them missed the door opening and Deontic slipping inside. As the children noticed her, the ovation died down and, led by the older teenagers, they all sat down, looking to see what new entertainment was about to underfold. Mello gasped; Near became very still; Matt was utterly unreadable. Deontic smiled. She joined Hal at the front, but kept her head bowed, unhappy with the limelight and the attention.



Hal placed a hand on Deontic\'s back. "This young lady has worked very hard just recently. She has spoken with many international diplomats and managed to negotiate a few things, all without compromising the security of this house or any of its alumni. Many countries ultimately wanted to contribute, but Deontic chose the first three, solely on the basis that their swift response meant a little bit more. It came more from the heart than politics, don\'t you think?" She smiled softly and took one of the boxes from Deontic\'s hand, then stepped onto the stage. "I worked very closely with Near and therefore, for purely personal reasons, I would like him to receive the accolade from my own country, the United States of America." She took the medal out and placed it over the stunned head of Kansas born Near. "Thank you for all you did to end the tyranny of Kira."



Near bit his lip, his head bowed. He touched the medal dangling from its ribbon and a tiny smile flickered on his lips. It grew into a broad grin. "Thank you very much."



"You\'re welcome." Hal smiled. "Deontic?"



Deontic handed over a second medal. "This came in second. I thought Mello." She gestured in warding. "No disrespect."



Mello\'s hand was clasped over his mouth. He appeared almost frightened, as he peered up at Hal. She checked inside it. "Ah yes. I was quite impressed when Deontic told me about this. It\'s one thing for big, powerful, wealthy nations to create an award, but for smaller ones, it feels a little bit more special to my mind. Mello, your award has come from a tiny country down in Southern Europe called Croatia." She lifted it over his head and only at the last minute did he remember to move his arm so it could be placed against the rosary around his neck. "Thank you for all you did to end the tyranny of Kira."



All the children were craning in their seats. Many of them were morbidly anxious to see if Mello would erupt, as he famously did in stories, over his award not coming from a member state of the G8. Anything smaller or less wealthy than America was a slight against the fiery blond. Russia would have been a better equivalent, was the consensus on the back row. Only Lauren smiled faintly. Mello surprised them all. He bowed right down, his head practically between his knees. They saw his hand disappear under his hair and everyone wondered if he was crying. Hal placed a hand on his shoulder. Matt rubbed his back, then pushed the hand holding chocolate underneath in the direction of Mello\'s mouth. Near finally dragged his attention away from his own award to stare at Mello.



Mello sat back up and there were tears on his cheeks. He coughed, but his voice still came out as a rasp. "Thank you. Did Matt get one?"



Hal smiled and nodded. She reached out to receive the box from Deontic. "This was the third one in and it came from yet another European nation. All the way from sunny Spain." She reached forward and Matt sat up a little straighter, ducking his head for it to be placed over it. "Thank you for all you did to end the tyranny of Kira."



"Gracias." Matt smirked. He didn\'t touch it, but let it lie against his chest. "And thank you Deontic for getting these for us."



"You\'re welcome." She muttered, before fleeing to the edge of the room and watching with her back against the wall.



Applause filled the room again, but everyone was patiently waiting for speeches. Under cover of the noise, Holiday mused aloud. "Is Mello crying because he\'s humiliated that his medal didn\'t come from somewhere big?"



There were murmers of agreement to his hypothesis. Only Pwyll stared forward, watching the infamous blond. "I wonder." He turned to Vido. "What do Croatians look like?"



"Dark. Swarthy dark. Stocky."



"Oh." Pwyll shrugged. "Perhaps not then. What do Spaniards look like?"



Before Vido could respond, there was movement on the stage. Near had risen, a stark figure in all white, commanding their attention despite his short stature. He spoke precisely, but not so soft that his voice couldn\'t be heard at the back. "It might have been," he began and a hush fell around the room, "that Kira might have been caught more quickly, if we had worked together. It might be that he would not have been caught at all, as our individual efforts contributed to the sum of the conclusion. This is something for you all to debate in your classes and for us to debate in our consciences.



"You are all here on the brink of greatness. It wasn\'t so long ago that we were sitting where you are, though we never had the pleasure of a personal visit by our idol. We were just like you when destiny called and we answered that call. We went out and did our best against a formidable foe. We were successful. I ask you all to think what you might have done in our situations. Being prepared with such knowledge might one day save you. Considerations of the issues that we faced might some day help inform your split decisions.



"We went to war and we came back. Others were not so fortunate." Near raised his hand and they all saw the L fingerpuppet there. "Choose your idols carefully, that they don\'t fail you. Thank you for my medal." Near shuffled back to his seat and sat down. He curled up in his seat and carefully fingered the medal. To all watching, it seemed that he showed it to L, but no words slipped past his lips. No expression showed on his face and his blank eyes became hidden beneath his hair.



All eyes turned back to Mello and Matt. Mello had recovered somewhat, though a streak of the right side of his face still glistened slightly in the light, where he hadn\'t known to wipe the residue of his tears away. He smiled suddenly, brightly, at them, then turned his head towards Matt. "Are we going to get a speech out of you or am I speaking for us both?"



"Go for your life."



Mello nodded and rose from his chair. "A speech, wow." He smiled at the assembled faces, exuding confidence as he paced a couple of steps. "It\'s not often that something totally unexpected happens, that not one of us saw coming. In fact, I can only think of one previous instance and I wish that L was on this stage to receive acknowledgement too." Behind him, Near shook his head slightly, but otherwise didn\'t protest the implied slur. He knew what Mello meant. Both meanings. "L was a great man. I feel honoured to have conversed with him and to have learned from his example, even if I didn\'t follow it very well." He winked over a grin. "The first thing, then, that I\'d like for you to do is to consider our predecessor. A brave man, who went into this alone and did succeed in capturing Kira. You have heard from us tonight about what the Japanese officers told us after Kira was killed. You know what L did. A minute\'s silence please for a truly heroic man."



Some heads were bowed, but the majority stared straight out in front of themselves. Many thought of L, but the rest took the opportunity to quietly observe each other. Mello stood in front of them and his head was bowed. His hands together in an attitude of prayer. Exactly a minute later, his head rose again to smile at them. Ann blew her nose and everyone turned to look at her. "Sorry." She moaned, waving their attention away. She was in floods of tears. "Carry on."



"I have said that little happens that is unexpected. We are too clever and too vigilant for our own good, as you can tell by all the scars, seen and unseen. But tonight, this was unexpected." He lifted the medal and let it drop again. "Can I have a round of applause for Hal and Deontic? They surpassed the three of us in this." Applause sounded and quickly died out. "What can I say about this? Matt and I are truly humbled. We can be as clever as we like, but above and beyond that we are human beings. It is our emotions that make us human and no-one should ever view them as a personality flaw. We feel and therefore we are more than computers. It is nice to gain recognition for your achievements, as you all know. You\'ve all received acknowledgement today and now, so have we.



"I have thought long and hard about the things we did back then. Hindsight is often as cruel as it is wonderful. Many times, you can regret, but not have the chance to go back and make right the things you did wrong or forgot to do. I have many regrets that sometimes make it hard to feel pride in the times where I got it right. I ask myself then what is the use of winning, of solving the puzzle, if it comes at such a cost? Tonight, I think I can answer that question. It is because it touches lives. Three medals from three different countries, all given freely by those who can tonight live without fear of a misguided soul randomly killing. Kira was judge and jury, with no checks and balances, that is what made him a murderer, not a messiah. The line was a lot thinner than most of us would care to admit.



"And so," Mello rushed hurriedly on, "what advice can I give you all? I\'ll say this. Do not get carried away with your own power. You can do anything, achieve anything, as long as you let no-one tell you that you can\'t. At the summit of that though, it is too easy to believe that you are right and that no-one else matters. You can all calmly tackle problems until you have achieved conclusions; you are all bright, capable minds; you are geniuses. But they have no value unless you are doing it for a reason. Results are meaningless, if they are done merely for the sake of results. Worse still, if the methods that you used hurt other people, then how to you reconcile that fact with yourself, when the glow of victory has receded. And it will.



"Always do as you think best at the time, but examine your reasons. If you can live with them and if you can justify them to yourself, then go with them. That way, when the hindsight comes, you will know that you did your best and who else can ask more of you? And never, ever beat yourselves up over information that you couldn\'t have known at the time. Maybe then, one day, you will be standing up here and you won\'t need a medal to know that you did alright." Mello reached behind him, waving his fingers until Matt got out of his seat and joined him. Mello slipped an arm around his back. "Matt and I are thrilled to bits with these honours. Thank you very much." He leaned in and kissed Matt quickly on the lips. "I\'m proud of you, Mail."



Matt smiled. "Proud of you too." He too slid an arm around Mello\'s back, before adding. "And proud of you as well, Near."



Behind them, Near smiled and nodded. "Well done."



Mello tutted but, as everyone applauded again, Near did rise to stand beside Matt. Awkward and unassuming, Near inclined his head, while Mello and Matt bowed deeply, laughing, with an arm around each other\'s shoulder. They rose, looking at each other and laughing again. Near\'s smile grew broader, as he looked out, and Mello chuckled. Matt finally touched his medal. "Good fight," he muttered. "Good fight."