Money is power, that's what they say and that's what they all believe. Those that have it think they rule the world, believe that they have all the power, that they have the right to make all the decisions and to get their own way in every situation. Something isn’t going your way? Throw money at it. Someone has something you want? Buy something bigger and better to prove that you are the superior person. Money and wealth, they equate to worth. If you are poor you are deemed worthless, expendable, not to be given the time of day.
But he knows different. He knows that money is an illusion, you can lose it quicker than you can earn it and that there are some things that even money cannot save you from.
Knowledge, knowledge is the true power. Knowledge is the cornerstone of everything in life. Without knowledge there is no purpose. Money cannot buy you intelligence, money is not a substitute for ambition, money can make you weak, lazy and easily led.
For him knowledge is everything. He desires to have every piece of information at his fingertips and he is not afraid to ruthlessly exploit that knowledge for his own gain.
In every bad situation he’s ever been in, his knowledge, his intelligence, had been the thing to get him out of it. The only person he could ever truly rely on was himself.
His nimble fingers flew over the virtual keyboards, eyes darting from holoscreen to holoscreen, reams of numbers scrolling past at a phenomenal rate. Pictures rolled with them, interspersing the lines of code and random snippets of information that only made sense to him.
This was his power hub, this was his castle in the clouds, set apart from society, observing, cataloguing, engineering but never a part of. He was a spectre, a ghost, someone that people whispered about but never saw, so much so that people often questioned if he existed at all.
He’d lived a good chunk of his life being invisible but now it was on his own terms.
***
He pressed himself tighter into the corner, in a gap between the bookcase and the wall, the darkness surrounding him, swallowing him, wrapping around him in a protective embrace. He felt safe here, safe away from the taunts and the cruel words that were forever being fired at him, away from the feet that stuck out to ‘accidentally’ trip him over, the fists that seemed intent on connecting with various parts of his body on an almost daily basis.
He was quiet, too quiet and they didn’t like that, they saw it as a weakness which he supposed it was. He'd been used to the jibes and cruel comments that came his way at school and the judgemental whispers that followed them down the street, but none of that had mattered because she had been there with him and she made everything better. Until that day when she wasn’t there anymore and he was left alone.
He was a weakling, an easy target, one to be battered and bruised by words and actions, left to pick up the pieces. It had been easier to start hiding away during their free periods than it had been to fight them off. Making himself smaller, more invisible. Hiding in the shadows had become his new normal. He missed the comforting embrace of her arms, he missed her soft voice and gentle smile, her promises that everything would be okay because they had each other. But nothing had been okay and it never would be again. Because she was gone.
He had retreated into his own head, living in his own mind, creating a fantasy world that was easier to live in than the real world around him. His mind was his most powerful weapon, he knew that by improving his mind he would improve his future, so he devoted himself to his studies. This did not endear him to the others.
He liked to sit and watch people, to see what made them tick. It was self preservation for him. He had become adept at sensing people’s moods and their intentions, knowing when to run and hide before the bad things happened, just as he was right at that moment.
The door had creaked open, the light from the hallways spilling inside and once again he had retreated into the shadows that were his only friends, holding his breath, waiting, watching, always on alert.
The two that stumbled in didn’t surprise him, but what they were doing did. They shared the bottle between them, giggling like teenage girls, not the boys that they actually were. Their voices as they whispered had a higher pitch than normal, their muffled laughter almost verging on hysterical.
They hadn’t spotted him, but then he hadn't expected them to, no one ever did unless he was walking past them, then they saw him alright.
Without stopping to debate the wiseness of his actions he shifted as slowly and quietly as he could and raised the phone in his hand, silently filming the action.
The two finished off the bottle quickly, gulping until they were breathless and looking like they were about to pass out.
“Shit,” one slurred, staring at the empty bottle in his hand. “We need to hide this.”
“Crap,” the other mumbled, echoing his sentiment. They were barely able to stand but the sudden fear on their faces was enough for him to know that they weren't just indulging in some underage drinking but something else too.
“Come on, let's get out of here before the final bell.”
“Right behind you!”
They stumbled out of the room and the door slammed shut behind them leaving him alone in his hiding place. He waited a few minutes to make sure they weren't coming back before he dared to play back the video. Perfect, he’d caught it all. He didn’t know why, but it seemed important and he wanted it.
He waited, he was good at waiting. It took four days before the answer made itself known. They were all assembled in the dining hall, kept behind after breakfast, where the master spoke to them.
“Someone believed they had the right to enter my office, my private space, and help themselves to my whiskey. My private item, something that they are not old enough for, nor entitled to. Someone thought they knew better, someone thought they were better than everyone else and could do as they pleased. They were wrong.”
Every child in the orphanage sat with their heads bowed, not daring to make eye contact and he did the same. Most did it out of fear, fear that they would be accused of this crime, but he did it out of fear that the knowledge he held on his phone would somehow shine out of his eyes and give him away. His heart was pounding with excitement, so hard that he was sure those around him could hear it and it would draw attention to him, yet no one did.
Tanner and Martin were two of the biggest bullies in the home and they didn’t care who knew it, they feared no one but the master in front of them. Master ruled them not with physical punishments which the state did not allow but with mental ones, extra work, the taking away of privileges, the fear of their permanent record and the fear that he would tell future foster and adoptive parents of their transgressions. No one wanted to risk the chance of getting out of the hell hole they were forced to call home.
He knew that they had not been sick a few days previous, that they hadn't been suffering from a virus as they claimed, but the symptoms of the common effects of drinking to excess.
“Someone here knows the truth and I strongly suggest that they step forward, either to turn themselves in or to tell me, in confidence, who is responsible. You have twenty four hours to do the right thing otherwise every single one of you will suffer the punishment as if you had done it yourself. Do I make myself clear?” A chorus of ‘yes, Sir’ echoed around the hall before he dismissed them.
He knew what he should do, he should take his phone and his evidence to Sir and save himself and everyone else there the punishment they did not deserve. That was the right thing to do. But a little voice in his head told him such actions would be foolish. If Tanner and Martin ever found out it was him they would make life even more miserable for him than it already was.
He took himself away from everyone to think things through as thoroughly as he could but the way he saw it, he clearly had but three options. The first was to do nothing and suffer the punishments along with the rest of the home for he knew that Tanner and Martin would never own up on their own. He could tell sir and risk a far worse punishment at the hands of Tanner and Martin when they found out, and they would find out, nothing ever stayed a secret in this place. Or, option number three, the hardest one but the one that might, just might, prove to be the one with the most rewards.
He would have to be brave, he would have to push aside all fear, the fear that had been his constant companion for the past five years since he had lost his mother. Could he do it? Could he be brave enough to take a gamble on himself? Could he be brave enough to stick it out and see it through to the end? He wanted to be, oh how he wanted to be.
There comes a time in everyone's life when they have to stand up for the little guy, and in this situation the little guy was himself.
Mind made up, determination riding him, he made his move.
It was surprisingly easy in the end, he stayed strong, he was determined and above all, he was serious. Like most bullies they were physically strong but mentally weak and the power had shifted almost instantly in his favour. They knew that he held their future in his hands and it was glorious. They had no choice but to accept his terms. Do as he said, protect him and he would never release the video to Sir from its place in the cloud.
His life in the orphanage changed that day, he made sure of it. He had had a taste of what it was like to get the upper hand over someone who had made his life a misery and now he wanted that same thing from others.
He didn’t stop there, he knew the truth now, knew how to bend people to his will. You didn't need to rule with fear as so many seemed to think, you didn't need to be physically superior, all you needed was to use your brain.
He was adept at going unnoticed, gathering his ammunition, uncovering the secrets that everyone seemed to have. He believed that everyone, everywhere had something to hide and he was determined to discover them all. Hiding in the shadows as he was inclined to do had afforded him a degree of anonymity. People never noticed he was there, he was practically invisible to almost all of the staff and the students that weren’t the bruizer bully type. His small height, weedy frame and less than average looks made him forgettable, never worth a second look. He was ignored, looked passed as if he wasn’t even there. And this worked to his advantage, people spoke freely in front of him, ignorant of his presence and as such he had a large assortment of secrets and scandals secreted away in his brain just waiting to be used to his advantage. And use them he did, he forced their hand, changed their thinking and held them in the palm of his hands. He had the ultimate power over them all and was ruthless in his exploitation of it.
He commanded their respect now, he was the one in charge. He no longer feared walking down the corridors of the home, now he held his head high. He was a king, a leader, the highest atop the totem pole and he loved it. He took full advantage of his new position, honing his skills.
He surrounded himself with lackeys that were more than willing to do his bidding, just happy to ride on the coattails of his success and get a tiny sniff of his power. He had become popular, surrounded by people, caring not a jot that they were there through fear of him rather than any real desire or enjoyment of his company. He kept a few trusted cohorts by his side, rewarding them well with the spoils of his labours, keeping them safe and allowing them free reign to do as they pleased without consequence, such was the perks of being in his inner circle.
He developed a reputation amongst the other children, known for his ruthlessness, cruelty and willingness to do whatever it took to get his own way. He realised that he had gone from being bullied to being a bigger bully himself, but he found it hard to care. He felt no remorse for it. He had suffered all his life and wasn’t prepared to go back to that again. Ruling by fear was the only way to get respect, being the bully was infinitely preferable to being the victim. The world needed bullies, he realised this now. Without bullies the world had no order to it. Lawmakers and officials, bosses that underpaid their workers, billionaires, corporate lawyers, they were just bigger bullies than the little people that they believed themselves to be superior to. He wasn’t prepared to be left behind to be downtrodden and controlled ever again.
Four times he had been fostered with the view of possible adoption and four times he had been returned. Four times in ten years that he had called that place home. That soulless, cold, rundown hell hole of a place where he had been in charge. Each time he was returned, usually with tales of his behaviour, his abuse of his younger ‘siblings’ and the tormenting of family pets, his cold nature and need for control.
Each time he had returned he had found that someone had had the notion to slip into his top spot which he simply would not stand for. Each time he came back meaner than ever and slapped them back into line. He was someone with nothing to lose and he had grown the biggest balls of them all. He was afraid of nothing and no one, and that little fact made him the scariest monster most of them would ever meet.
His reign as big fish in his little pond came to an abrupt halt the day after his eighteenth birthday when he was unceremoniously tossed out on his own into the big wide world.
He found himself friendless, lackeyless and almost penniless too. This didn’t bother him too much, he’d been in worse situations and he was confident that he could get out of it. He still had his greatest asset after all, his mind and pure determination to succeed.
Five years after he had been released by the state he was sitting pretty in a modest but upmarket apartment in a nice area of the city with enough money in the bank to live comfortably. That was all he needed, for material possessions held little appeal to him. He didn’t care about money, he didn’t care about designer clothes in his wardrobe or an expensive car, none of that would have suited him anyway. He had gained a few inches taking him to a perfectly normal height of five foot seven, his frame had filled out a little with regular meals that he actually enjoyed, giving him just the hint of a rounded belly and he had retained his less than average looks. Anything fashionable or flashy would have looked strange on him, drawing attention to him, like he was trying too hard, and that he didn’t want. All he cared about was power, position and the future.
He had worked hard, learning all he could, honing his skills, perfecting his craft, tuning his mind to its highest point, his skills unmatched by anyone he had ever known. He could talk his way into anywhere, gain the confidence of anyone, beguile and bedazzle them into thinking his opinion was the only way to think. He could befuddle their minds, controlling their thoughts, their actions, even their memories.
His approach was simple, why mess with the perfect formula? He picked his target and made it his business to get involved in theirs. Technology had always been a passion of his, computers his best friends and he used his considerable skills to aid him in his work. He hadn’t met a server he couldn't hack, a file, network, computer, tablet, phone or cloud that he couldn’t infiltrate. He dug deep, he turned every stone, he squirreled away every nugget of information that he found and then he exploited it mercilessly. Some ‘favours’ he called in immediately, others he left owing, hanging over his debtors like the sword of Damocles, ready to fall at any time.
He had many people from many walks of life in his pocket, all their debts totalled up in his ledger like money in the bank. Politicians, officials, businessmen and women, celebrities, criminals, law enforcement and everything in between. Anyone with a hint of power, that had their fingers in any pies, he wanted a slice of.
Knowledge was power, and power was something he very much liked having. He stuck to the shadows, a ghost, a phantom, his identity buried under aliases, false trails, fabricated paperwork and his ability to slip in and out of almost anywhere completely unnoticed.
He preferred to work alone, but even he knew that there were times when such things could not be avoided. For the advancement of position and the gaining of power one needed to take out those that were above you. You cannot climb a ladder that someone else is on and that meant that now and then you had to work your way up to where they were and mercilessly toss them from their rung so you can take their place.
The more information he had, the more loyalty it insured and he knew exactly who to trust and who not to. From his old life, his time back in the orphanage, he kept in contact, on his own terms of course, with only two people, a pair of adopted siblings who had met in a foster home and been moved to his orphanage a year later. They had bonded together , seeing themselves as closer than blood and been very pleased to be moved together. They had become his most trusted associates on one of the times he had returned to reclaim his crown. Pippa and Clarence weren’t the sharpest tools in his box but they were enthusiastic and Pippa especially had a cruel streak that meant they very rarely argued when a more extreme order was given to them.
He contacted them when he had use of them, leaving them to their own devices when he did not, and it was during one of those down times that they had fallen in with a secretive terrorist known only as The Hood, a man almost as secretive as himself, although he was a little too fond of the spotlight for his liking.
He'd heard about this man's exploits, his position in the criminal world was almost legendary, someone that many others aspired to be like, but to him he was simply another person that was taking up a rung on the ladder he was scaling.
The Hood was thinking too small, he was more concerned with wealth and revenge, the taking out of International Rescue. That was not for him. He wanted power, he didn't want to be yet another rich man in a world of rich men, he wanted the world itself. He wanted the ultimate power but without the limitations that came with it. Politicians and money ruled the world, they controlled it, but they never stayed in power for long. Public opinion and public favour could swing back and forth in a heartbeat, you could be on top of the world one minute and cast aside in disgrace the next. He wasn't prepared to risk all his hard work being for nothing. He was happy to remain in the shadows, the puppet master that controlled everything and everyone from the background, safe, protected, but holding the ultimate power.
The Hood was just another power position to take out and the best way to do that was infiltration. He would take over from the inside.
***
Information poured from his computer banks like water down a river, flowing from a thousand different sources, all culminating in one spot, him.
He'd watched and observed long enough, he'd seen how International Rescue worked, how they operated while out rescuing people, but beyond that he had drawn a blank. Their security had surprised him, it was second to none, impenetrable, locked down tighter than anything he'd ever seen. Even he could not break through.
But, as he was well aware, there was more than one way to get information, more than one way to take out the competition, he would find a weak link and exploit it.
They backed up the government, they shored up their defences, they protected the little people, yet they were regulated by no one. They were their own entity, their own boss and answered only to themselves. They were an island, hidden away from the world almost as surely as he was, yet everyone knew their names.
He'd heard the stories of the mysterious fifth Tracy that no one ever saw, the eye in the sky, the voice that answers, the one that protected all their secrets. Try as he might he couldn't break through, he couldn't find any information, not until the day that social media had gone crazy with the announcement that the unknown Tracy had stepped into the spotlight with a woman on his arm.
Instantly his incoming feeds from every informant he had had buzzed with information about her, but it was all second hand from other sources. Her files were locked down as tight as theirs, her social media accounts rerouted through a number of very secure servers just as theirs were and he could find nothing about her that wasn't in the public eye on their terms. They were good, he'd give them that. But he was better and he was determined to use whatever means necessary to achieve his goal. He had news stations, gossip journalists, paparazzi and websites all at his disposal. He used bribery and extortion as currency. He'd get them, eventually.
Take out the Tracy that was in charge of their Internet security and he could get close enough to the rest, including the legendary Kayo, head of security for International Rescue and the prize he had in his sights.
Patience was a virtue and he was good at waiting, he'd been doing it all his life.