Cadel's head was swimming.
Darkness was all that surrounded him. The only source of light came from the dinghy little light bulb high in the ceiling which cast a dim gray light over the concrete walls.
Groggily, Cadel rubbed his eyes and sat up. He was sitting on a bed that was nothing more than a white mattress and metal frame. In one corner of the room sat a toilet seat and a sink. The only view from outside this oppressive room was the small slit of light in the metal door which was currently being obscured by a shadow.
It was like a jail cell.
Where am I? Cadel thought, as panic bubbled to the surface. He knew it was unproductive to freak out, but he couldn't help it. He had no idea where he was or how he had gotten here. His heart began to beat faster and faster. He started to hyperventilate.
This was not good at all.
Cadel swallowed and tried to take deep breaths. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew he had better get a grasp on it fast. Otherwise, he would be spending the rest of his life in this prison.
Cadel began to pace the room as he cast about in his mind for memories of how he got here. His mind went to the bus stop from two days ago. He had gone there to wait for the bus to take him to Sonja when someone had interrupted him. He had told him his name. What was it?
Ah, yes! Cadel remembered now. He had introduced himself as Doug and he had kidnapped Cadel and shoved him into his dirty white truck.
From that point on, everything became clearer to Cadel as memories came to him of his time in captivity. Doug had allowed Cadel to remain conscious as he stayed in his truck which had allowed Cadel to try various methods of calling for help.
First, he had attempted to use his phone to call for help, however he failed to reach anyone and when his phone died, he was forced to switch tactics. His next method had been to try to make as much noise as possible. Especially when the car stopped as there was a chance they could have been in a public place where someone was likely to hear. Unfortunately, this method had failed as well. Resigned to the fact that he had little to no chance of being saved he had made sure to leave evidence behind. Using one of the sharp objects found inside of the truck, Cadel had cut off a lock of his hair so that someone would be able to figure out what had happened to him when he was gone.
Eventually the car door had opened, and Cadel had been blindfolded, handcuffed and knocked out, with… well, with something.
And now he was here.
Cadel sat back on his bed to absorb the shock of his situation. "Where am I?" He whispered to himself.
Suddenly the metal door opened, and a man poked his head in. He was rather large with a square head and muscles.
"Ah, so you are awake." He grumbled.
"Wh-where am I?" Cadel stammered. "Are you the one who took me?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that kid." The man said.
"So, what's going on than!?" Cadel demanded, standing up and putting his hands on his hips. "What do you have me locked up in here for!?"
"The boss will be down to explain everything." The man said before closing the door behind him.
"Hey!" Cadel shouted, running up to the door. "Don't just leave me! Tell me what's going on!" Cadel banged on the door but received no response. Frustrated, he stood on his tippy toes to try and get a peak of what was going on outside. The slit in the door revealed nothing but a dimly lit hallway with concrete walls and floors, fluorescent lights, and exposed pipes.
He couldn't help but be reminded of the place where Maestro Max had taken him back when the Axis Institute had first dissolved.
Suddenly, the latch on the door rotated and Cadel had to stumble out of the way to avoid being hit by the door as it opened inwards.
A man, stepped in. He was tall and thin with brown hair and green eyes. When he smiled, he showed all his teeth which were clear white and dazzling.
"Cadel!" He said in a voice that seemed to fill the whole room. "Long time no see!"
Cadel gasped. "Trader… Trader Lynch!"
"You remember me!" Trader said all smiles. "I was worried you would have forgotten me after so long."
Cadel backed away from Trader until he had bumped into the wall. Suddenly, this was all too much for him. The kidnapping. The dark cell and now this old figure from Cadel's dark past returning to haunt him. Cadel had a feeling something very sinister was going on.
"I don't understand." Cadel said, his voice hoarse and his mouth dry. "I thought you were in jail, Trader."
"I was. I got out only recently." Trader put an arm around Cadel who tried to squirm free but was unsuccessful. "You know Cadel the two of us are alike in one way."
"What?" Cadel asked. "In what way are we alike?"
"Okay, two ways." Trader said. "First, is our remarkably good looks. The second is that we can blame the same two men for our captivity."
"What two men?" Cadel asked dumbly. He was aware he was repeating a lot of what Trader was saying but he was far too flabbergasted to care. This was such a strange situation.
He thought he was past this.
"Oh, come on Cadel, isn't it obvious? I'm talking about Saul Greanius and Prosper English of course!"
"What!?" Cadel asked. He blinked up at Trader uncomprehending. Saul Greeniaus? Prosper English? What could they possibly have to do with Trader?
"I know. I know." Trader said after seeing Cadel's confusion. "What could Saul and Prosper have in common? Well, do you remember Genius Squad?" Cadel nodded wordlessly.
"Yeah. So, do I. You know, even though it was an illegal operation, Genius Squad managed to run smoothly for several years. Not to mention we were doing a lot of good. And then…" Trader's smile vanished. "And then you came in. You and your screwed up life."
"When Prosper made that deal with me to let you join Genius Squad along with Dot and Sonja, I saw it as a win! More members for the squad and more information? What could possibly be better than that? Of course, I knew about Prosper's plan to have Dot keep an eye on you so he could eventually capture you and Sonja, but he promised I wouldn't get in any trouble. No, that was all thanks to Saul Greeniaus."
"Right from the start that stupid detective was always meddling around Clearview House! Checking on this and checking on that. I thought Prosper had taken care of him when he had taken you but of course he was still able to break free and get me in trouble!"
"And now because of them Genius Squad is gone! We didn't get to complete our mission to destroy GenoMe, none of us got paid and I landed in jail!"
By the time Trader had finished his monologue his face was flushed red with anger. Cadel, by contrast had a more subdued expression, though he was also quite pissed himself.
"I see." Cadel said coolly. "You blame Saul Greeniaus and Prosper English for landing you in jail instead of yourself and your own foolish actions."
"I was no fool!" Trader shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at Cadel. All good will for his little captive seemed to have vanished. "A fool couldn't have created Genius Squad!"
"Genius Squad was full of fools!" Cadel shouted. "Sneaking around illegally, trying to take down a mega corporation all by ourselves! It was naïve and stupid! Someone like that was bound to get themselves all tied up with criminals and the law! You shouldn't be surprised it all went down in flames."
"So, you're saying it's my fault that I got in jail." Trader said, his voice lowering to a throaty whisper.
"Of course, it is! If you were truly intelligent you would have known not to mess with Prosper! The chance of facing serious consequences would be far to great! Besides, you're not in jail anymore. Why are you still so upset that you had to kidnap me!"
"Just because I'm out of jail doesn't mean my life's gone back to normal." Trader said. "Do you know how hard it is to get a job with a criminal record!? I've been working at a gas station for almost two and a half years now! I live in a crappy apartment where the electricity cuts out every other day! Me! I don't belong in poverty. Not with my good looks!"
Cadel raised an eyebrow. Personally, he couldn't think of a better place for Trader than in a crappy apartment with a job in a rundown gas station good looks or no. But he didn't dare voice this aloud. Trader was far too volatile, and Cadel didn't know enough about him or his motivations to know whether or not he would hurt him.
"If it hadn't been for Saul Greeniaus and Prosper English I wouldn't be here, today!" Said Trader, finishing up his speech. "So, you can blame both of them for the place we're in now."
"Oh, why don't you just move on!" Cadel asked, the hostility clear in his voice. "I have and so has Saul! And as for Prosper, well he's dead. No one's got the energy to think about you anymore."
"Oh, that's where you're wrong, my little friend." Trader put a hand on Cadel's shoulder. "Prosper English isn't dead."
"Yes, he is!" Cadel said, not willing to believe a word Trader said. As far as Cadel was concerned, Trader Lynch had gone off the deep end. Cadel knew he couldn't trust a thing that came out of the man's mouth, if not because he was a kidnapper than because he was mad with hatred and bitterness. "There had been a search! There was no way Prosper could have survived in the Pacific! He's been gone for ages! If he was alive, he would have been seen. The authorities would have been alerted."
"Not necessarily." Trader said. "We both know how sneaky Prosper was. He always prided himself on blending in and staying inconspicuous. If people believed he was dead, well that would only give him more of an advantage."
"I don't believe you!" Cadel shouted. "What evidence do you have?"
"Eyewitness accounts…" Trader began.
"You know what they say about eyewitnesses." Cadel retorted.
"That's not all." Trader said. "If you'd let me finish, I'd have also told you that there were some pictures taken as well."
"Pictures!?" Cadel repeated aghast.
"Of course. I figured you'd be suspicious when I told you Prosper was alive so I brought them with me." Trader fished in his shirt pocket and took out a piece of paper which had been folded into a little square. He handed it to Cadel saying, "Here. Take a look and tell me that's not Prosper English."
Cadel took the picture and unfolded it. What he saw made him gasp. The picture was black and white and grainy but there was no mistaking the sharp features of Prosper English. He seemed to be sitting on a beach. Somewhere…
"Apparently he washed up on a beach in Tuvalu." Trader said, further elaborating. "Not too many people saw him. They took him in and kept him a secret, not knowing who he was."
Cadel didn't respond to Trader. His full attention was on the photo in his trembling hands. Just looking at it made his stomach churn and his heart flip with a curious mix of emotions. Fear, anger, and something almost like joy or hope. His relationship with Prosper had been very complicated. He had been sad, devastated when he had died, even if it was despite himself. But he had long made peace with it.
The picture was of a very low quality. It could easily have been faked. But what did Trader have to gain from lying to Cadel about Prosper when he seemed to have an agenda against him and Saul Greeniaus? Cadel could think of no reason.
So, what did it mean for him if Prosper was well and truly back from the dead? Maybe it'd mean the same thing it always did. The same thing that was happening right now.
That Prosper would always come back to destroy the peaceful life he had so carefully cultivated for himself. The thought made his heart sink and soothed it at the same time.
"When was this taken?" Cadel asked, softly, his voice hoarse.
"What was that?" asked Trader.
"When was this taken?" asked Cadel. "When did they take this photo?"
"Oh. Around six months ago, I believe." Trader said, taking the picture back. "So, you believe me?"
"How come you know, and the authorities don't?" Cadel asked.
"Like I said. The folks in Tuvalu kept things all hush hush. It wasn't until I heard some rumors and travelled to the islands myself that I knew for sure Prosper was back."
"So, what's your plan?" Cadel asked harshly. "Are you holding me for ransom? Is that it? So, Saul and Prosper can pay for your mistakes? Because I don't think either of them have the money you need to turn your life around."
"Oh, I thought of that." Trader said, sounding far too cheerful. "But then I decided, nah that wasn't enough. Not if I wanted to get true revenge."
"Revenge?" Cadel repeated.
"That's right. Those two men ruined my life. So, I'm going to ruin them!"
"How?" Asked Cadel, suddenly feeling very nervous.
"I'll admit it was hard to figure out at first." Trader said as he started to pace the room. "I could have created two plans for two men, but that would've cost too much time, money and energy. And it was far too risky. If I enacted my plans one after the other, then I might not be able to get both Greeniaus and English if I got caught or ran out of resources. And running two operations at once would have just resulted in a mess. So, I had to think of a way to knock out two birds with one stone. I had to look for a commonality between the two men."
"Me." Cadel guessed despairingly.
"Ding, ding ding! Righty-o, Cadel!" Trader said enthusiastically. "Both Saul and Prosper have a vested interest in you and I knew it would be very easy to exploit that. If I put you in danger the two of them will certainly come looking for you and by extension, me."
"So, I'm bait!?" Cadel asked.
"I suppose you are!" Trader said. "But look on the bright side. Once you've done your job, you'll be free!"
"They'll never fall for it!" Cadel shouted. "Saul and Prosper are far too clever for you! They'd never fall for your stupid plan!'
"Wow, you're really certain of that aren't you Cadel." Trader said, smirking at his distress. "You know, just because you're a genius doesn't mean you know everything."
With that, Trader turned on his heel and strode to the steel door. Cadel, who had been sitting on the bed, launched himself out of it in hot pursuit.
"Wait! You can't just leave!" Cadel said just as Trader closed the door in his face. "Tell me what your plan is!" Cadel said banging on it. "Tell me what you're going to do to Saul and Prosper!"
"Sorry, Cadel. Can't tell you that!" Said Trader's muffled voice from the other side of the door.
"Can't or won't!" Cadel asked.
"Can't!" Trader said. More muffled voices could be heard from the hallway but none of them were addressed to Cadel. He concluded that Trader was most likely talking to the guards outside of his cell.
Dazed and exhausted, Cadel wandered back to his bed where he curled into a ball and started to cry.
What was going on?
