The Annals of Fear

Mello left the makeshift interview room trailing Matt and Deontic behind him. All around the room, airmen and women rose from their seats or, at least, sat in readiness for the orders that were bound to come. The Flight Lieutenant drew himself up to his full height, as Mello bore down upon him. The Slav growled, "I want this whole area quarantined. I want people watching every access point and," he raised a hand, "do not assume that that is necessarily the gates. I need the area patrolled, but more importantly I need it thoroughly checked. Something followed us here and it is watching."



"Sir, this is a disused barracks. We do not have the personnel to..."



"Then get them." Mello stared him down. "Can you provide personnel or do I need to make some \'phone calls? Because, trust me, if I get this place guarded, then it will be fucking guarded. Can the British Army match that?"



"We are the Air Force."



"Furthermore," Mello sat down in a chair opposite the Flight Lieutenant, "I need someone here taking blood tests. I want myself and my two colleagues tested for calcium ions in our system. I need those processed within the hour. I need the results back within two, delivered personally to myself. In a moment, we are going to retire to our own meeting room," There were a few puzzled frowns, but Mello plunged on, "wherein we will not be disturbed unless there is further evidence. These are the reasons that you will disturb us," he counted them off on fingers encased in black, leather gloves, "the blood tests arriving; Roberts, Moffat or Marsden having a sudden attack of memory, which they subsequently wish to relieve by talking to us; any strange sightings or phenomena within the barracks, experienced by anyone; or someone turning up claiming to be a member of our organisation." Mello smirked. "He will probably be extremely tall and black."



It must have occurred to the Flight Lieutenant that he was standing in front of Mello like a subordinate. He made to sit, but Mello chose that moment to rise. "Sir," said the Flight Lieutenant, as Mello began to stride away, "the military police have asked to be kept informed about Airmen Marsden and Moffat. A MP is on his way."



"That will not be necessary." Mello replied lightly. "You may also source a packet of Golden Virginia rolling tobacco, 50g; a sheath of origami crafting paper; and fifteen bars of Cadbury\'s Bourneville Dark Chocolate."



"Your requests will be submitted to..."



"Thank you." Mello swept through the assembled personnel. Matt and Deontic silently followed, neither of them so much as flashing an apologetic smile. He pulled out his mobile \'phone as he went and was already dialling Watari, before they\'d fully left the room. "Watari, this is codename Mello. Identification...." Then he was gone. Out in the corridor, Matt and Deontic were both staring at him in incredulity. Mello just glanced at the door to ensure that they were out of earshot and flicked back his hair. "Forget all that, I was just making an impact. Lauren, I need you to investigate something for me."



On the other end of the \'phone, there came a clatter of metal on tiles. "Sorry, just dropped the cat\'s dish. What is it, Mello?"



"Watari just bought a house in the Welsh Cambrian Mountains. Get the file and look up the name of the caretaker. He\'s a Mr Roberts. I want his entire form. Everything you can dig up on him. If he\'s ever farted, I want it in your report. Ok?"



"Understood." Lauren yawned. "Deadline?"



"Yesterday."



"Priority with regard to the Belarus case?"



Mello frowned. "We haven\'t even got that case yet."



"Matt said that we will have, so I made a start."



Mello shrugged. "Yeah, so did I. We\'ll compare notes if I survive this. This takes priority over everything, by which I\'m including sleeping, eating and breathing. I need the report, Lauren."



There was a soft mewling, as the cat demanded food in its dish. "That\'s understood, Mello." Lauren replied, utterly unflustered. She was used to him. "Anything else?"



"Yes, get Jamboree looking up the effect of calcium ions on the human heart."



"Jamboree doesn\'t work for us."



Mello tutted impatience, "It\'s a Watari case!"



Lauren laughed, "In that case, I don\'t work for them and neither do you."



Mello\'s voice dropped coldly, "I\'m not joking, Lauren. Just do it."



There was a short hesitation and then, "Ok, understood."



"Call me when you have anything." Mello had made it into Deontic\'s bedroom now. She sat down on her bed, with Matt loitering by the wall. "Goodnight."



"\'Night."



Mello cut the connection. "This is fucking bullshit!" He raged, looking from Matt to Deontic and back. "We come clean right now on everything. No crap. One of us nearly died tonight. One of us was nearly scared to death!"



Deontic gulped, "Mello, you\'re scaring me to death. The way you laid into those men in there..." She let the sentiment trail away, then caught it up again. "You did not learn to interview like that in Wammy\'s House. I know, because I was in the same classroom. That was a Mafia interrogation. It had to be, because..."



"No, Deontic." Mello leaned down, staring her right in the eyes. "Mafia interrogation would have been a lot more physical. I merely asked them questions and got some answers."



Against the wall, Matt lit a cigarette. Mello swept around to look at him. Matt smiled. "It was pretty damn hot, truth be told."



Deontic gasped. "What?! Mr Roberts looked like he was having a nervous breakdown!"



Mello gestured that it was of no consequence. "I\'m telling you both right now that this case will be solved and it will happen tonight. Century was nearly scared to death. Do you understand that?"



"Yes, Mello." Matt replied, quietly. There was a faint smile on his face. Mello saw it and frowned.



Deontic was wringing her hands. "Of course we understand that! It won\'t make it any easier with you shouting at us!"



Mello paced the room like a caged tiger. "No. You don\'t get it." He kicked a chair and it smacked into a unit. "I did not survive Kira to die of a heart attack now. You did not survive Kira to die of a heart attack now. Either of you." His voice rose, shrill. "Century did not survive Kira to die of a heart attack now. Do you get that?"



"Losing your temper won\'t...."



"Won\'t what, Deontic?" Mello glared. "This is what it\'s doing! It\'s causing fear. Fear causes adrenaline. Adrenaline causes calcium ions in the blood stream. Calcium ions cause fear. Fear causes adrenaline. Are you seeing the vicious circle yet?" His terrible stare trapped them both in turn. "Pumps it up and up until all you have is paranoia, somnolence, depression and hallucinations. In the meantime, the calcium is stacking up and the heart can\'t move it around. Bang! A heart attack! Sudden death! Which is precisely what happened to Jan, Maja, Ioan, Rasmus and Michael. That\'s what nearly happened to one of us. It went for a Wammy kid. Century was nearly scared to death out there. Century!" The fire in him rose as his voice growled, "Well, not on my watch."



Deontic\'s hand was over her mouth. She removed it to gabble out, "Hallucination doesn\'t cover it all! Mello, can you not see what it\'s already done to you?"



"No!" Mello rasped. "Because it wasn\'t all hallucination! The place is haunted! It\'s haunted by at least Maja and Ioan, if not the entire band. But there is something more. You called it Deontic. You said that it might not be just one phenomena. You\'re so right. It\'s at least three." He turned on his heels and pointed, "Matt! Why are you so quiet?"



Matt took the cigarette from his mouth. "Because you\'re talking enough for all three of us."



Mello surveyed him. "Right."



"And I\'m waiting for you to crest this wave and then I can share my thoughts when you come back down to earth."



Deontic squeaked her exasperation. "Oh Matt, please don\'t provoke him. He\'s bad enough as it is."



Mello\'s gaze jerked into her direction, then back to his husband. "I\'m acting out of character?"



"Unfortunately not." Matt smirked. "You\'re just at the extremely fiery end of the Mello spectrum. It frightens the natives."



Mello took a bite of his chocolate. Shards of it shattered out to fall to the floor. His gaze locked on Matt\'s, Mello suddenly smiled. "Is this better, now that I\'m eating chocolate?"



Matt just continued smirking at him, until Mello winked and took a step forward. The promise of a kiss sparked in the air between them, passionate and possessive, but it never came. Deontic arms rose like she was trying to bat away a swarm around her head. She cried out. "I can\'t take this! I can\'t take you being in here so... so..." She gave up her struggle for the words and instead jumped to her feet and raced to the window. "Why do I feel so watched? It\'s been getting stronger! All the time we were in there and now in here. I can\'t...."



Mello swerved away from Matt and paced the distance towards her. He stopped just short of hugging her. "I know." He gripped her arm and turned her to face him. "We\'ve getting it too. At least I\'m getting it and so..." Deontic pulled away from him and returned to the bed, "I\'m assuming that Matt\'s getting it."



"Yep."



"It\'s in our minds." Mello stated. "You called this, Deontic. In the house, you said this too."



Deontic nodded wildly, "But we\'re not in the house!"



"Yes, I know. But it followed Rasmus Lindgren to Sweden. It sat in the back of Michael Adda\'s car." Mello waited for that to sink in. Deontic shuddered visibly. The door knocked and Matt leapt away from the wall so fast that he was in the middle of the room before he stopped. Mello blinked and grabbed Matt\'s hand. Deontic stood stiffly. They watched her steely professionalism descend upon her, as she crossed to answer the door. It was a delivery of their order. She thanked him and returned with chocolate, tobacco and paper. "Yay!" Mello smiled. "Just look how much better the world is seeming already."



Deontic gave him a withering look. "It\'s not that simple."



Mello shrugged. "I half suspect that it is."



"We just need to calm down?" Deontic blinked owlishly at him from behind her glasses.



"Matt?"



Matt looked sidewards at him. "What?"



"What\'s your secret agenda?"



Matt frowned. "Huh?"



"You\'ve always got one. What is the name of today\'s game?"



"Paranoid freak."



Mello smirked. "No, that\'s my game. What are you playing?"



"Tetris." Matt took a drag on his cigarette. "I\'m playing all of the minigames behind the main one."



Mello rolled his eyes. His arm wrapped around Matt\'s waist, Mello looked towards Deontic. He was trying to keep the smile on his face, but the wariness behind was showing through. "What I suspect Matt\'s secret game to be is \'Keep Mello Calm\'. It\'s a perennial game and his hiscores are unbeatable." He flashed an extremely weak smile. "I suggest that we play it too, alongside Keep Deontic Calm and Keep Matt Calm. Otherwise, we are going to end up scaring ourselves to death too."



"But there is something out there!" Deontic hissed through gritted teeth. "You know it too! You\'ve got them searching the terrain and patrolling it!"



Mello nodded. "I know. But how do I know? I know because the alarm bells are ringing in my head. I know because all of my instinct is telling me that there\'s something there." He tightened his grip around Matt. "But what if there isn\'t? What if the only danger right here and now is inside our heads? We\'re doing it to ourselves!"



There was a loaded silence. Eventually Matt nodded. "I agree with Mello."



Deontic stared at them both for a long time, then sighed, "Ok, what do you propose?"



"We calm down."



She blinked. "Right."



"We play Tetris; we fold origami; we eat chocolate." Mello stared at her. "Have you got anyone Deontic?"



"What?"



Mello shook his head. "Sorry, stupid question."



Deontic\'s indignation rose. "Why is it stupid?"



"For a start it\'s winding you up again." Mello reached out to grasp her hand, but she pulled it out of the way before he got a touch. "Well, have you got anyone?"



"No." She flushed, turning around to sit on her bed. As an afterthought, she grabbed the sheath of paper and tore the wrapping open. "Satisfied?"



Mello shook his head. "No. In fact, it was downright clumsy of me. I apologise." He shook back his hair. "It was just me trying to think of short-cuts to speed this up."



Deontic\'s lip were so tightly pursed that they\'d lost all colour. "Just go into your room and do whatever is on your mind to sort yourselves out. Don\'t mind me."



Mello winced. Matt pulled away from him, though he didn\'t get far. Mello had automatically gripped him harder. Matt cast him an exasperated look and walked to where Deontic sat. Mello followed. Matt crouched down. "Dee, for the record, it was really hard work keeping ahead of you." Matt wore the ghost of a smile, as he peered up into her eyes. "I made it look like I was doing little work, but I was. Just not when you were looking. Most of the time, I think it was sheer luck and the fact that I had Mello\'s notes to plunder that kept me marginally above you in the Wammy\'s rankings."



She looked stunned. "Really?"



"Yeah, really." Matt nodded. Beside him, Mello smiled. Matt held out his hand. "Truce?"



Deontic hesitated before she shook it. "Yes." A genuine smile grew across her cheeks. "Yes, truce!" She continued grinning. "And Mello\'s notes were quite a boost to have."



Matt shrugged, laughing as he stood. "Yeah. Sharing a room with probably the world\'s most intelligent man generally does give you the edge." He winked at Deontic. "Pity for you that he\'s gay." He wrapped both arms around Mello and kissed him. "Volim te, anđeo."



Mello smirked at him. "You forgot Near."



Matt held his gaze. "Such an easy thing to do." He kissed him again. "When I\'m looking at the gorgeous and blindingly intelligent love of my life."



Mello laughed. "Oh God! I love you, Mail. The daft thing is that you really mean that, while saying the words like something you read in a novel. You\'ve got this whole Mello shaped hole in your puzzle and you\'re trying out shapes to fit into it. It\'s cute."



Matt\'s mouth gaped open. "What?"



"Romance as Tetris. I love it and I love you for trying it."



Matt blinked. Deontic bit her lip. "So he was bullshitting me too."



Mello shook his head. "No, no. He means it." Mello radiated sincerity. "And it\'s the right thing to do. So come on, what else can we do to try and dissipate this bad feeling. Let\'s cut those ions off at the source. It plundered our fears, let\'s fight it by boosting our pride."