Ten:

Comeuppance

The orderlies must have been in a good mood about something because the patients were outside again for the second time in two days. This didn't happen very often. Mainly because the orderlies got sick of stopping the patients from trying to eat the foliage or trying to scale the surrounding fences. It was only a couple of weeks ago that Vinnie managed to get on top of the hut on the far side of the garden. He sat up there for two hours, throwing whatever he could get his hands on at the orderlies. A lot of what he threw wasn't exactly hygienic.

Gary sat at the outdoor chess table that had just recently been fitted and watched as Fido bounced the Knight around the board making horse noises. Fido wasn't the best person in the world to play chess with; he had a tendency to run off with the Queen and bury it somewhere. But there was little else to do. Petey hadn't been brought out with the rest of them, which made Gary wonder if Monroe had dropped the bombshell the he was destined to stay at Happy Volts. Probably. And Petey probably hadn't taken it very well.

Well it had to be done. There was no point both of them rotting away in this crazy place. And if Gary hadn't given them the letter they would have only found another way of keeping Petey locked up. Opportunities like that one didn't come along every day, and Gary would have been an idiot to let it go by.

Fido used the Knight to attack one of Gary's Bishops, making slobbering, growling noises as he did so. Gary watched in boredom and wondered if Petey had managed to get himself thrown into solitary or something. It was then when something hard hit him in the ear.

With a startled cry Gary tumbled off the chair and landed on the floor. He looked around angrily, expecting to see Vinnie or someone like that, but was shocked to see Petey standing there, eyes huge and face white as a sheet. Gary's ear throbbed. He found it hard to believe that it had been Petey who had hit him. It had actually hurt quite a bit.

'Wow, Femme-boy,' Gary said, finding his smirk harder than usual. He got to his feet, rubbing his sore ear. 'You really got a bit of an okay hook there-'

He was cut off as Petey punched him again, this time in the jaw. Gary stumbled, knocking over the chess table. The pieces went everywhere, causing Fido to set off in a panic to find them all. Gary was shocked by the strength Petey had behind him. He wasn't anything special, granted – Gary had had a lot worse – but he had expected punches from Petey to feel more like being hit with a beach ball. Petey's sharp little jabs stung.

'Hey!' Gary cried, annoyed. 'Cut that out!'

'Do you have any idea what you've done to me?' Petey yelled, getting ready to throw another punch. 'You've ruined my life! Do you understand that!'

He slugged Gary in the ear again. The pain shot down through his head, giving him an instant migraine. It also gave him an instant temper and he threw a fist back at Petey, catching him on his chin. Petey stumbled, dazed, but caught himself on the chess table. He leaned on it and wiped his bottom lip. Blood smeared the back of his hand and he looked up at Gary, eyes like brewing storm clouds.

'You've ruined my life.' He said in a low, breathy voice.

Frowning, Gary touched his ear. There was blood on his fingers, but not a lot. He looked around to see where the orderlies were, but unsurprisingly they were turning a blind eye to the whole thing. 'I'll end your life if you try and punch me again, Petey.'

'Why did you do it, Gary?' Petey asked, expression pitiful. He was breathless and the blood from his bottom lip started to trail down his chin. 'Huh? Why did you sell me out?'

Gary smirked, but his heart was still drumming with rage. 'Selling out is just the right term.' He replied. 'What did you think I was going to do with that letter, Petey? Hide it under my pillow and check it's there every single night. They would have found it sooner or later, I just made sure it was sooner.'

Petey straightened up, fists curling. He looked like he was going to try and attack him again, but he didn't. Probably because he knew Gary would wipe the floor with him. 'But why? What would you get out of it? Do you really want me to suffer that much? My mom and dad think I'm a murderer! That… that stupid doctor told them that I'm some kind of schizo! Why did you feel the need to ruin my life, Gary? Do you really hate me that much?'

Gary snorted. 'Don't flatter yourself. I don't care about you enough to go to such measures just to see you miserable, Petey. I did it because Monroe promised to cut two years off my sentence if I helped him prove that you killed that Townie trash. Don't you understand that? I'll be out of here in five months. What did I always say, Pete? You got to let the losers drown.'

Petey started forward again. 'You really think they'll let you out of here?' he snarled. 'You're an idiot if you think you'll be leaving in five months.'

Gary chuckled. 'They can't wait to get rid of me. Come on, Petey. It's got to make some sense to you, huh? If I hadn't given them those papers then they would have only found another way to keep you in here. Why should both of us suffer?'

'I trusted you,' Petey scowled. 'You're a… a monster! You're a bastard! You deserve to rot in here for the rest of your life!'

Gary waved a dismissive hand. 'Yeah, yeah. Tell me something I don't know, Femme-boy. Well it's pointless the pair of us rotting here, and obviously I would rather it was me who was leaving.'

Petey shook his head, top lip curling in disgust. 'You're a moron, Gary.' He spat. 'You'll get what's coming to you. Guys like you always do.' He turned and stalked off.

'Yeah, well what about guys like you, Petey?' Gary called after him, prodding at his sore ear. 'You never hear about the bad guys finishing last, do you? Huh?'

Petey didn't respond. Gary just snorted again irritably and checked for blood on his ear again. He muttered darkly and used the front of his shirt to wipe the blood away. While he was doing that, Dan the orderly came up behind him.

'Monroe wants to see you in his office.' He said gruffly.

Gary shot a glare after Petey and nodded. 'About time too.' He muttered, and followed Dan inside.

Doctor Monroe was sitting behind his desk, hands clasped on the smooth, polished oak as Gary stepped inside. He smiled thinly and gestured to one of the three empty seats opposite.

'Take a seat, Gary.' he said, an unfamiliar tone to his voice.

Gary sat down heavily, reclining casually and crossing his knees. 'Nice office,' he commented. 'Got to get me one of these one day.'

Monroe looked faintly amused. 'And I'm sure you will. One day. I have to thank you for getting those papers for us, Gary. They were a great help.'

'You're welcome,' Gary replied, touching his sore ear subconsciously. 'They would have only gone and blocked my toilet anyway. I was thinking… I'd like to have something to keep track of my last days here. Like a calendar or something that I can stick up on the wall. Preferably one of those ones with the hot chicks in the bikinis posing on a fancy car or something.' He paused in thought. 'Actually, forget the fancy car. You know what? Forget the bikini too, the chick will do. Just as long as it's got five months on it for me to keep track of.'

A faint smirk appeared on Monroe's thin face. 'And why would you want to count down the next five months, Gary? Are you expecting something?'

Gary looked at him for a moment, his smug smirk slowly fading. Realisation began to sink in. 'You said I could have two years off my sentence.' He said, eyebrows drawing together.

Monroe laughed softly. Dan also sniggered quietly from behind. 'You had three years of your prison sentence left when you joined us, Gary.' A sly grin broke out on his face. 'You're not in prison anymore. At Happy Volts, a patient is required to stay as long as the doctor sees fit. In other words, Gary, you're here until you are cured.'

Gary felt himself tense up all over. He could feel his skin getting hot as the anger bubbled inside of him. 'We had a deal.' He said darkly. 'I stuck to my part of it, now you need to stick to yours.'

Monroe laughed again. 'Oh, I'm not backing out, Gary. I always keep my word.' He leaned forward, eyes widening behind his glasses. 'I'll tell you what. If you can prove that you will be cured two years from now, you're free to leave.' He waited for Gary to respond. 'Can you do that, Gary?'

Something popped inside of Gary and he shot out of his chair, grabbing Monroe by his collar. Before Dan grabbed him he managed to punch Monroe squarely in the middle of his face, causing blood to gush out of his nose. Dan wrapped one thick arm around Gary's neck and hauled him backwards.

'You'll regret this!' Gary yelled at Monroe. 'I'll make sure of it!'

Monroe stood with his hand over his bloody nose, eyes blazing with anger. 'Get him to solitary!' he ordered. 'And don't use sedatives. Use as much force as you need.'

Dan grinned. 'Yes, doctor.' He said, and then hauled Gary out of the door.