Watari Pt 2: Wammy's House

Gevanni was closest to the door, so he opened it when it knocked. A matronly woman stared back into the interior of the mobile unit, noting the computer and surveillance equipment with no small amount of nerves. Then Near\'s voice called out, "Come in, Ann." She relaxed and took Gevanni\'s hand to climb aboard.



"It\'s very hi-tech." Ann commented, conversationally, and pushed her way to where the white-haired teenager perched on a chair. "Near, how are you, my lovely?" She kissed his forehead, which caused everyone to turn and look. Near actually smiled, which was even more surreal. He didn\'t answer her question though. "I\'m sorry that I\'ve been so hard to contact. I went to a movie and had to switch my telephone off." She paused to listen. "I can\'t believe that Mello has started a seige in the House."



"Mello is very angry."



"I can hear." Ann smiled. "Listen, I really don\'t think there\'s any need for all these police officers to be involved. I\'m sure that if I went in there, I could talk Mello round. There are a few tricks in this old girl yet and I\'ve been calming his tantrums for years."



"Ann could be a hostage like Roger, if she goes in there."



"Is it really that bad?" Ann flashed apologetic smiles at all of the people crammed into the van, then appeared a little worried at the sight of some of the weaponry. Gevanni wondered what it was like to be her. From what he had gathered, she was the closest thing to a mother that Near had. Not only Near, but Mello and the whole lot of them too. He tried to imagine her behaving with them as his own mother had with him, but faltered at trying to picture the orphans as children. Even Near, who looked and acted like a child, had an alien aspect to him that rendered it hard to believe he was even human at times, let alone had been an infant. Nontheless, Ann\'s expression was precisely how he thought his mother would look if he had been naughty in public. "Near, are all of the children still inside?"



"No. The children have been evacuated through the rear door and are currently being driven to a hotel."



"Does Mello know?"



"I don\'t believe that Mello knows this fact." Near smiled again.



Ann sighed, "You\'d better tell me how this all started, Near, so I can see how I can help you."



It was fascinating to watch Near with Ann. He minded his manners, as if she was a perfect stranger and he the model child; but he actually looked at her. In fact, he stared at her, with wide, unblinking eyes. He neither twirled his hair nor picked up the plastic toy that was beside his keyboard. The narrative was typically Near, in that it was delivered calmly and without emotion, but there were no details left untold. Instead of the brusque, almost bored orders that were his usual vocal fare, this was a rich retelling of everything that had occurred in the past two hours. People were quoted, word for word. She learned about the sudden calling on the Watari Network and how Near could not respond, because Roger had muted incoming audio on his computer; how some of his peers had contacted him on a separate network, none of them able to speak with their erstwhile guardian; then how Mello had suddenly announced that he was, in fact, close to Wammy\'s House for reasons that none of them could fathom. Near interjected here with a theory of his own. He claimed that, judging by a number of things, he believed that Mello and Matt lived in Winchester or, at least, in Hampshire. He found it hard to believe that Mello just happened to be close by, as he had claimed.



The story paused as Matt\'s voice was suddenly heard again through the speakers. He was goading Mello, which caused Ann to sigh and Near to stare at the floor. Now his finger rose to twist a single lock of hair. "What is that boy playing at?" Ann gushed. "I can hear him asking Mello to go home, but he is hardly helping matters with his attitude."



Near frowned, still staring at a single spot in on the floor. "Matt has a plan of his own. Matt knows the right things to say to Mello."



"Then I wish he would start saying them." Ann tutted. "Please continue, Near." The pyjamaed youth repeated, in unerring detail, the story of Roger and Quillish Wammy. Though Ann pinked and fanned herself, Near pressed on, then described the current scene as Mello had told it. They fell silent again as Mello and Matt had another bitter exchange over the network, culminating in the younger man asking about halloumi cheese, at which Mello simply stopped talking. They heard the rustling of papers and Roger\'s quiet tears. "Is that all, Near?"



"No. Mello said he was staying until Ann arrived."



"Then he would leave?" Ann touched Near\'s shoulders and everyone watched. Near disliked any kind of physical contact, but he appeared to be able to tolerate this. Near nodded. "Ok, sweetheart, I think I can see what is happening here. I don\'t doubt that Mello is being very loud and reckless with his gun, but I don\'t think he sees this as a seige. He is angry because he\'s been dragged into this, and because he would view what Roger was about to do as a mortal sin. He would also be very upset about what you heard Roger saying about him, especially since all of the others heard it too. I do believe, though, that if I was to go in there, you would see Mello leaving on his motorcycle and we could all get back to normal." She wore an almost sad smile, but her expression bespoke superior knowledge.



"It is too dangerous for Ann to go into Wammy\'s House." Near stated firmly.



Through the speakers, Mello suddenly barked out. "You want Matt to be Watari? What the fuck?"



Roger croaked, "Mello, please give me that document."



"What the Hell is the Mario Clause?" They could hear the snapping of chocolate. "Roger?"



Before the man could respond, there came Matt\'s voice again. He spoke evenly, almost derisive, in the tone of voice usually reserved for strangers. "As soon as you mentioned letters to us all, I knew two things. One, that Roger would have written about the Mario Clause and two, that you would not be able to resist opening and reading the letter addressed to me." There were two clicks, as Matt released, then repressed the button at his end. "Mello, you need to know now that I\'m not at home. You also need to know that I\'ve scrambled the network. Only you and Near are listening to this and that has been the case for the last hour and half. The others believe that the situation is resolved and stabilized."



"Matt, what the fuck?" Mello growled. "And what do you mean you\'re not at home? You\'re fucking ill!"



"Near, I know from your tracking device that you are two streets away from Wammy\'s House, probably in the precint of the Cathedral and that you haven\'t moved from there in the past hour." Matt continued, still in that overly enunciated, expressionless tone. "I deduce that you are afraid of Mello and his temper. I am assuming that you are cowering in a car trying to big yourself up for facing him." They heard him lighting a cigarette. "You both have to understand that I have taken the L code."



Near\'s gaze flew to the speaker and fixed upon it. He scrowled and jabbed at the button. "What does Matt mean by that?"



"Oh hi, Near." Matt sniffed. "What I mean by that is that I\'m sick to fucking death of the L code. I\'m up to here with what it\'s done to Mello and I\'ve had it with running scared over the Mario Clause. So I\'ve made my move."



Mello sighed loudly. "Matty, what have you hacked?" But Near was already tapping into his keyboard, frowning murderously as screen after screen went blank. "Stop talking shit and tell me what is going on. You don\'t want the L code."



Near angrily snapped into his microphone. "Matt is in my server. Matt should retreat now, dick-sucker!"



There was laughter from Mello\'s side. It was the first time he had sounded calm in hours. "Way to go Matt. But I still want to know what the Mario Clause is and why you are trying to provoke Near." He sniggered. "You know it\'s not provoking me, because I know you, guapo. You would rather give up your games for life than become L." There was a sudden intake of breath. Mello\'s silence was more telling than any words could be.



Near filled it. "The L code doesn\'t just exist in that server, chicken-shit. It is in a secure location. You cannot steal them all."



Matt laughed, but it held no humour. "I can." The computer signalled the receipt of a file. Near read the IP code and froze. He quickly opened it. Mello\'s gasp told them that he was looking at the same thing. It read, \'L is dead and his system has been compromised. Please be patient while a successor is chosen from amongst the candidates at Wammy\'s House.\' The letter was on headed paper and included the address of the orphanage. "I can send this to every head of state, plus the civil, military and police services. The L code is computer-based, but it\'s mostly a reputation. I don\'t have to tell either of you what the L code is or what danger this places our home, sweet home."



Mello exhaled. "Roger, why is my man so frightened?"



They heard movement as Roger evidently moved closer to the microphone. "Matt, there really is no need for all of this. I apologize for my actions. It was all a trick to persuade you to be Watari after me, because I honestly can think of no-one better. This House needs a clearer mind and a fresh outlook. That was all it was."



"No." Matt replied, calmly. "That\'s how you manipulated the situation. I gave you my oath and it wasn\'t enough. I knew you\'d take insurance, even as I was telling you I\'d look after it until someone could be properly appointed. My word was never enough for you." He took an audible drag on his cigarette. "Your fatal error, Roger, was giving me access to the mainframe, then giving me a year to plan some insurance of my own."



"Matt, it really isn\'t too late to back down now. Whatever you have done, I\'m sure it can be reversed."



"It is too late, Roger." Matt sounded very cold. "It was too late the second you let Mello hear the words \'Mario Clause\'. Even if he tells me now that it\'s ok, I can have my secrets, it\'ll be inside his head eating away. Next week, next month, next year, whenever, it will resurface. Worse, he won\'t ask me or you at all. He will sit and solve it on his own. I can\'t have Mello gradually finding out, because I\'ll be insane with waiting until he does." There was a click as he cut the communication.



Ann leaned over Near\'s shoulder. "What is the Mario Clause?"



Near\'s already thunderous expression darkened. "I don\'t know." He hadn\'t depressed the button, their exchange was not heard in either of the other locations.



Over the speakers, Mello asked the same question, very quietly, of Roger. The old man released a shaky sigh. "I cannot tell you that, Mello. I swore on my honour that I would never tell. I made that promise to Matt." He raised his voice, but was still obviously shaken. "Matt, I am not telling. Please desist."



Matt responded immediately. "For the record, I hate you, Roger. I hate you worse than I hate my father and Kira put together."



"Matt, I was just trying to protect Wammy\'s House. I apologize if you believe my actions so unjust." Roger sounded terrified and they all wondered what Mello was doing to him. However, no background sounds from the office gave any clues away. "If you felt this strongly about it, we could have discussed it. I had no idea you were so disturbed by the notion."



Finally Matt displayed emotion. He screamed out, "It\'s not the fucking Watari thing! I\'d have had the inevitable row with Mello about it, then come on over and done my best until a permenant replacement was found. Then I would have gone home and carried on with my life!" There was silence in all three rooms. When Matt next spoke, his voice held that inner distance again. "You need to know that I\'ve taken over Near\'s London headquarters. I have secured the building and taken prisoner everyone in it. I have reconfigured the mainframe so that it will no longer recognise any password but my own. I have several Trojans installed and ready for activation to wipe the whole bloody thing. I have initiated a close-down of the entire building and that includes the parking facility underneath. My car is there packed with explosives and I have the detonator here. You also need to know that the only route I have left not jammed is that leading to your prisoners. There is someone there whom I really would have no problem zeroing, and I have come armed in order to do just that. Mello, just in case you are smirking at how I\'ve just owned Near. You also need to know that I am within one click of having access to Hal Lidner. I can just as easily zero her."



"I hear you, Matty." Mello sounded uncharacteristically subdued. "I\'m strongly suspecting that I know what the Mario Clause is."



"Stop guessing, Mello." Matt replied, stonily. "I\'m going to tell you in a minute and you are going to want to kill me. I\'ve set this up the way I have because that\'s not going to happen. I could kill myself, but one day, I want you to forgive me. I could let you kill me, but one day, I want you to forgive yourself. I\'ve arranged this because I want it to be Near who kills me. Near has a duty of care to his staff and prisoners. He also has the motivation of saving the L code, because if I send that message, the damage will be too great to undo. There is no excuse he could give that would remove the doubt that L\'s system was compromised. The title \'L\' could never be trusted again. I am here because that gives Near a huge advantage over Mello. Both of you are going to try and reach me first and without that advantage, I run the risk of it being Mello."



Near jabbed the button, "You give us no time. Matt could send the message now and blow up the building."



Mello started to speak, but Matt over-ran his signal. It was the redhead who was able to broadcast. "The Mario Clause was a firewall, set up by L, to trick me into my final exams. I ranked highest. I\'m the number one."