No, I don't own Evil Genius or any of the following books.

Cadel was absentmindedly fiddling with the computer, bored out of his mind with monotony, when the computer dinged. Cadel quickly opened his e-mail, and saw, in surprise, that he had a new e-mail. Well, that wasn't the surprise. What was surprising was who the e-mail was from. It was someone he didn't know.

It put him on edge. He knew that Prosper thought he was dead. He also knew that he was in police custody, waiting to stand trial. Every time her thought about it, a cold wedge of fear drove deeper into his stomach.

He still wasn't sure if he was going to testify against Prosper. The lawyers were trying to talk him into doing it. But if he did, Prosper would know he wasn't dead. That would go over well, he was sure.

Indirectly, that would also put Anna in danger. Prosper didn't know it was Anna who had helped Cadel fake his death and escape. Even the police didn't know. Only he knew. Just as he was the only one who knew Anna's deepest secret.

Cadel shook the thoughts out of his head and glanced at the e-mail's address. _lan. Anna Mallan.

Cadel couldn't be sure it was her. Anna had jumped over the edge of the boat, her catamaran, rather than have the police discover her secret. Once the police had brought Cadel in, they had inquired as to the owner of the boat. Cadel hadn't told them. Then they had spirited the boat away. He didn't know where. Fiona, who was under the impression it was Prosper's boat, said they had taken it somewhere he wouldn't be able to get it. Cadel shook his head. The boat was too beautiful to belong to that monster, he thought. It fit Anna, though.

Saul and Fiona, he knew, wouldn't approve of him answering the e-mail. At least, they wouldn't if they had know about Anna at all.

But how could Anna have gotten hold of a computer? Cadel nearly kicked himself. Computers were available at every public library. It wouldn't have been too hard. The question was if he could trust it was actually her. The Virus had gotten away. He could probably hack into the police network and find out that Cadel was still alive. He would probably see it as a fun challenge.

Cadel looked again at the address. . Animal. She was clever. He ran a quick virus scan that came up empty. He decided to trust that it was Anna and opened the e-mail.

Cadel

I don't know if you're reading this. If you've become hopelessly paranoid in the last few weeks, I'll understand completely. I went through that stage a few years ago.

But don't worry. I built this connection myself. It's secure. On my end anyway. But if you've had a day on whatever computer you're using right now, then it's much tighter than mine will ever be.

You may be asking how I built a connection in only a few weeks. I didn't have to. I got my boat back. Honestly, and I don't know if this will make you feel any better, it wasn't that hard. Those police goons obviously don't know that they'd have to put Miranda's Hope, that's the name of my boat, by the way, in a dry dock if they wanted to keep me from getting her back. Even if it wasn't me who was trying to get her back, that would have been the best option anyway. It would take to long to get her into the water. Whoever's in charge is an idiot. I mean, not only was the boat in the water, but it was as close to the ocean as they could get. Stupid!

Anyway, if you ever need an escape route for some unforeseeable reason, it's here. I pulled it up to the city dock and the dock keeper didn't even bat an eyelash. This being a 'high security case' and all, you'd think they'd tell people to be on the watch since they think my boat belongs to some evil genius. I mean, come on, it's not that hard to recognize. You might not have been able to se it last time, but it has a pretty distinctive coloring and design. The guy in charge is a double idiot.

Come visit sometime. If you can get away. Hope your having fun.

Your favorite selkie,

Anna

Cadel laughed as he read the e-mail. It definitely had Anna's distinctive attitude. He would be willing to bet that none of the teachers at the Axis Institute knew Anna well enough to copy her exactly. The last word, besides the name, caught his attention. He had never heard of a selkie before. He quickly looked it up. And he knew immediately that it had been Anna who sent the e-mail. Without a doubt.

He wondered when they were going to tell him Anna had gotten her boat back. Of course, it wouldn't be phrased like the.

He was finally 'informed' that the boat had been stolen when he was arguing with Saul for computer privilege.

"I don't want you on there. How do you know it's not one of Prospers goons? It's for your own protection."

"But-"

"No. We don't know what they're up to. You know the boat you were on?" Cadel nodded. "Well, it was stolen from the dock. We think it was Prospers doing."

Cadel bit the inside of his cheek to keep from blurting anything out. After everything she had done for him, he owed Anna her secrecy.

Cadel was sitting glum in the kitchen. The second were ticking by with agonizing slowness. He was waiting for Saul to let him go see Sonja. And iot was taking forever.

The whole time he was, well, griping about not being able to use the computer. How could they not understand? Computers were his life. He didn't know how long he could survive not being able to use one. It was like taking food from a starving mad. He would go insane. Slowly.

He regretted what her had said to Saul about being contacted by Prosper. He didn't really want to talk to him. And he didn't like how he had upset Saul.

But he was right. He needed to talk to someone who would understand him. And right now, people like that were in short supply. Aside from Sonja, who was there?

There was Anna. She understood, on some level. She was a genius. She was also free. He envied her freedom.

But could he slip away from his security? Saul knew that Anna's boat was gone from police custody. What would he think if Cadel's tails reported him going into the very boat they thought was Prospers?

Unless he could manage to introduce Anna and Saul. He didn't see how, without risking Anna. Cadel sighed. He needed to talk to someone.

"Cadel, time to go."

Maybe Sonja would know. She would keep Anna a secret.

As it turned out, he didn't get a chance to tell Sonja about Anna. After Trader and Judith had left, once they had discussed the Genius squad, he thought she was too worked up to take another shock like Anna. It could wait. He had other things to think about.

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