"Skipping over the obvious question of how you even have a lawyer..." Vain murmured under his breath, sending Alan a sceptical glance. "How did he find this place?"
Nervously glancing down at Mr Folics, I couldn't help wondering the same thing. Sure, I knew the Shrink Program wouldn't let their patients be abducted easily and would do their best to rescue us... But I wasn't expecting them to find and infiltrate the Underground so quickly.
To Vain, I gave a shrug.
"He has the ability to sense when I'm in desperate need of legal action?"
I was rewarded with a pained narrowing of the eyes.
"Next time, save a brain cell and just say you don't know." Vain grimaced, shifting the hand I sat on so that I had a better view of what was going on below.
I didn't know whether to feel relieved or terrified that he wasn't still giving me the silent treatment. As peevish as it was, at least the bickering was familiar enough to provide some sort of comfort.
After all, the situation couldn't be too bad if Vain still had it in him to come up with new and improved ways to insult my intelligence, acting like a complete jerk because he didn't want me to know how much he appreciated my trying to distract him from his worries... by annoying the crap out of him...
That's right, Vain, you're welcome.
"Hey, at least two brain cells were rubbed together in the making of that remark." I defended, turning my narrowed gaze to the floor below. "Show a little appreciation."
By now, Artemis had Nigel standing up, supporting the taller boy by holding Nigel's arm around his shoulders. Nigel continued to tremble but had lifted his head enough to hazily watch the scene unfold before him.
"Tell me." Dr Floid screamed, losing her patience with the already heated argument between herself and the Shrink Program lawyer. "How did you find this place?! Who betrayed me?!"
"We have our means." Mr Folics replied cooly, lifting a hand to adjust his glasses. "Not that..."
"No." She hissed venomously, shaking her head like a mad dog. "It's impossible. There is no way you found this place alone. This room. Someone told you. Someone betrayed me. " She clutched at her head, nails digging like claws into the base of her skull. "But I'm watching. I'm always watching. So I should know. I need to know!"
Mr Folics stiffened, eyes cold as he glared at the woman on the edge of insanity.
"I don't think you understand the severity of your crimes Doctor, not to mention the consequences about to befall you. Even if you discover a traitor, there will be no revenge, no getting out of this. You are done, and your only hope is to surrender willingly."
Talk about a tough sale...
Cassandra Floid burst into laughter before he even finished, hands clawing at her face as she stared down at the serious man.
"Surrender? To you? The people who imprisoned me for my work then stole the very same technology from me for yourselves?" Dr Floid shook her head slowly, eyes deathly cold.
"Never." She leant forward on her railing, grinning madly. "I will crush every last one of you before you can lay your greedy hands on what is mine. I..."
"-Will do what, Cassandra?" Mr Folios interrupted coldly. "I acknowledge. You are a genius. Not only do you have technology capable of just about anything, but you also possess the will to use it to your own ends. Undoubtedly you are ruthless, intelligent, cunning and cruel. But the problem is..."
The well-dressed man stared up at her unwaveringly.
"So am I."
Whatever I'm paying this guy, it is so not enough.
He smirked slightly, raising a hand as if holding it out to her to take.
"All your advantages, everything that makes you special, does nothing more than put you on a level playing field with us. And I know, that terrifies you."
The hand fell to his side as the blond man took an intimidating step forward.
"Because even with your intellect and technology, you are still just a coward, tormenting children because it makes you feel superior. A schemer and a bully with predictable tactics. You're panicking right now, because you know we are going to win."
In contrast to Mr Folics small, confident smile, Dr Floid looked flustered, eyes wide and visibly trembling.
"S-so arrogant. For someone who just had their entire facility taken over by me." Her voice became stronger with every word. "I watched you know, as every one of you writhed on the floor like worms, ready to be crushed under my foot. How dare you believe that you are my equal when I can take control and defeat you whenever I wish?!"
The Lady has a point...
"What makes you so sure that you still can?" Mr Folics questioned softly, his smirk slipping away with to be replaced by calm certainty. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed?"
Dr Floid froze, going incredibly still in what could only be horror.
When she spoke, it was so quietly the words were hard to catch and even harder to identify.
"My puppet." Her hands fell limp in her lap. "You broke my toy."
Something inside Mr Folics seemed to snap at the words. All the aloof calm disappeared from his features, and he looked up at the red-headed woman in pure loathing.
"The only way you could have hacked into our system is if you had someone in direct contact with the machine itself. Someone on the inside." Fists clenched at his side, Mr Folics lowered his head.
"No one at the Shrink Program would ever stoop so low as to sit under your thumb, not willingly."
He lifted his gaze, eyes a cold system blue.
"So that left unwillingly didn't it."
Okay, I'm officially stepping off this train of thought and camping out at 'What the Hell' station...
"The fact that he couldn't remember you or the twins was a dead giveaway." Mr Folics quickly regained his composure, losing the murderous glare and simply staring with cold disinterest.
"Once we realised that his memories had been tampered with, it wasn't hard to find the subtle changes you conducted on his core. I have to admit, it was remarkably clever, manipulating his mind using his very own Nanotechnology."
I shook my head, desperately trying to keep up with the insanity. "Is he saying that she was able to hack into the system because she had already hacked into someone at the Shrink Program?"
"Seems like it." Vain agreed quietly, a little absentmindedly.
I turned my gaze to Alan, catching a tired edge to his previously ecstatic gaze before he turned his attention to me with a smile.
"Bingo." He winked, seemingly amused by the entire situation.
"But..." I felt my stomach sink with dread as if my body already knew the answer. "... Who?"
Alan's diplomatic smile faded with a tinge of bitter, and he rolled his eyes. "Two birds with one stone Maddison. Why take only a puppet, when you can have a hostage as well?"
Someone from the Shrink Program that could be used as a hostage...
My eyes closed as the realisation hit me like a blow.
"He handled your case, became your Guardian when your mother was sent to prison, but didn't recognise Alex at the school, not even the name Floid. "
I opened my eyes slowly, meeting Alan calm gaze with a grimace.
"Oliver Green."