Betrayal of Loyalty

Graham shivered, crossing his arms as the chill in the room became more pronounced. Was it only his imagination or did it appear to be getting darker as well. Closing his eyes he struggled to get a grip on himself, Dr. Arcane had only been gone a few minutes, muttering something about making sure Holland actually left the Complex. And while it gave him the much needed time in which to compose himself, his employer was sure to have some questions about everything that had happened, he found himself almost panicked at being left alone. It was a vain hope to wish the questioning could be put off anyway. He was so tired, cold and hungry, his head hurt and he *knew* it wouldn�t take much to push him into some sort of breakdown ... a warm hand touched his shoulder, reacting instinctively, Graham pushed away from the presence, bolting to his feet. Only to sway and almost fall if Arcane hadn't caught a hold of his arms.

"Calm down Graham," Arcane tightened his grip under the man's almost dead weight.

"Sorry, Sir," it took an effort of will to pull away from those comforting arms, to settle back down on the table before he really did faint and make an even more total fool of himself.

"It's okay, Graham, you have been through a rather trying experience;" Arcane settled a blanket around the man's shoulders, tucking it in close. �However, we still need to talk.�

�What, what do you want to talk about?� as if he couldn�t guess.

�How about, why you left my employ for that of Woodrue�s?� Despite his best efforts, his tone dropped viciously.

Graham huddled closer into the blanket, determinedly staring anywhere but at the Doctor. �Woodrue said he would,� his fingers clenched on the thick material, �that he would tell, tell my fa .. father �� here his voice trailed off, unable to even speak aloud the thing he had most feared for as long as he could remember.

�It�s alright Graham,� rare sympathy showed on Arcane�s face as he moved closer, laying a reassuring on the man�s shoulder. �I know about your father and what he did to ��

�NO!! You don�t� Graham interrupted fiercely, surging to his feet, �You don�t know anything, not about what happened after he murdered my mother � what he did to us, what we had to do just to survive � nothing!!� voice thickening, Graham could feel tears prickling at the corners of his eyes. He was seconds away from a humiliating breakdown, something that hadn�t happened since he�d escaped from his old life.

Arcane grabbed his assistant firmly, unnerved by the hysterical outbreak, he�d never seen Graham lose his composure so completely. Pushing the man back on the table he was thankful that at least Graham had quieted down, although the man�s blank stare and trembling was almost as unsettling as the violent movements and ranting.

�Graham?� quietly he tried to gain his assistant�s attention, �Look at me Graham.� With no reaction he grasped the man�s jaw, forcing him to look, �You�re safe now Graham. Nothing bad is going to happen anymore, your father has no power to hurt you here.� *Not without going through me first* he swore silently, rage still burning through him at the thought of all Graham must have suffered as a child. To see one�s own mother and brother murdered was something he didn�t want to imagine.

�It�s not me he can hurt,� Graham at last whispered, strangely calmed by the Doctor�s fierce gaze, �It�s my brother Alex.�

Arcane grabbed the fallen blanket, settling it back around his assistant, �Why don�t you start at the beginning Graham.�

Nodding silently Graham started speaking, �I knew Alex and I couldn�t stay after what happened. He would have killed us, as surely as he killed Mom and Ben.� He closed his eyes, forcing the memories back to where they belonged, �So, I, I took my brother and ran away. I worked any job I could get; lots of people wouldn�t hire me as I was so young. Still, eventually we had enough money to get by; I saved to get Alex in college and even managed to get in on a scholarship myself. It was a new life, a new start and a chance to finally be happy. Alex even married five years ago; they have a new, beautiful baby girl.� Opening his eyes, he gazed pleadingly at his employer, �Sir, you must understand � Woodrue didn�t threaten me, he threatened to tell my father where Alex lived if I, I didn�t come to him. I couldn�t let that happen. My father hated Alex because he was just like mom � he would�ve destroyed Alex�s life, his family. I, I had to stop that from happening � no matter what the cost!� Graham�s voice was husky from the strain.

�You could have told me Graham,� Arcane struggled to keep his voice soothing, and not accusatory, �I would have dealt with Woodrue before he was able to cause any trouble.�

�I know that, Sir. But, but you don�t know my father � he would�ve done anything to hurt Alex. I, I just couldn�t take that chance � not with my brother�s life, with his family�s life.�

�Very well, Graham, I do understand your decision, if not agree with it. It�s not important anymore,� Arcane shifted closer, �What is important is how Woodrue knew about your father and brother. When I - your *employer* � didn�t even know.�

�Um, my, my father kinda used to w .. work for Woodrue,� Stumbling over his words, Graham winced, waiting for the explosion he was sure to come. The Doctor wouldn�t be so forgiving over this fact.

�Your father used to work for Woodrue,� Arcane repeated with barely restrained calm, ever fiber of his being insisting he yell at Graham for ever having dared to keep this from him, �-and you never thought to � perhaps *mention* this little fact to me!�

�I, I only found out once I arrived in Toronto, Dr. Arcane,� Graham cried desperately, �Please, you gotta believe me!�

�Alright, Graham, breath,� he laid a hand briefly on the man�s shoulder, �I believe you. It�s okay. Think now, how could Woodrue have found out about your brother?�

�I listed Alex as my next of kin just last month. He, he insisted in case something happened and he was needed. His address would be in my personnel file.�

�It�s not there anymore,� Arcane informed his assistant, pleased when the man seemed to make the connection on exactly what that piece of information meant. �It appears as if we have a spy in our midst Graham, one who has quite the eye for opportunities,� Arcane glared into space, *that�s twice damned now Woodrue. *First my assistant and now this;* �Alright Graham, forgetting that for now I want you to tell me everything that happened once you landed in Toronto.�

"I was taken to Woodrue's home in the city. I..I remember walking into the entrance and seeing Woodrue there, smirking at me, before I was hit from behind," Graham's brow furrowed in an attempt to remember what happened, "The next thing I was aware of was waking up, strapped down to a table. Woodrue appeared as soon as I was awake...I think he was waiting for me to wake up." Graham paused in his narration, struggling to clearly remember something he�d rather forget, "He started to brag about how he was going to use me to kill you, and how you wouldn't know anything about it until it was too late. I remember telling Woodrue that I would never help him kill you, but he just laughed at me and said that I didn't have a choice," his breathing became ragged as he got caught up in the past, "I think I must have passed out again or something, because when I became aware again, I could feel something cold and hard attached to my head. I..I struggled to get free, but the straps were too strong." Graham grimaced, "I heard Woodrue laughing in the background, saying that Arcane wouldn't know what hit him. Then before I could even draw a breath, I felt something invade my mind. It..it felt like my brain belonged to someone else. I could hear and sense certain things, but it wasn't me experiencing those sensations." Heaving a sigh, Graham finally looked up at Dr. Arcane, "I..I don't know how else to explain it Sir," he shrugged helplessly.

"That's alright Graham. At last _ *NOW* I'm beginning to understand exactly what ensued," Arcane pondered, an intensely thoughtful look on his face, "Tell me, do you remember anything else? Any conversations or feelings?"

"I seem to remember talking with you..." Graham stopped in confusion,"-but that doesn't make sense, I couldn't have been talking to you."

"Do you remember anything else?" Arcane asked, leaning closer in anticipation.

"I remember pointing a g..gun at you," Graham shook his head in denial, "I must have been dreaming." he stopped, shivering even through the warmth of the blanket, "I..I tried to stop myself, but I..I couldn't - the gun fired," Graham pushed away the horrible memory, "The next thing I remember is this tearing pain in my chest. I..I couldn't breath," he paused in horror, as a sudden thought struck him, "It felt like I was dying," Graham shook his head helplessly, "The rest is blank...just snatches of memory, and you. You helping me and...I'm sorry, Sir. That's all I remember."

�Don�t let it bother you, Graham,� Absently, he patted his assistant on the shoulder, mind busy putting all the pieces in their place. �I know precisely what Woodrue did.�

�What, Sir?� Graham was uncertain if he was supposed to ask, Dr. Arcane looked rather preoccupied.

�It was a well prepared plan,� Arcane almost had to respect the intricate planning involved; �You really do have to admire his determination � if not his intelligence. After all,� pausing in front of Graham he surveyed his assistant critically, �no mere clone could have recreated your personality and mannerisms so perfectly as to actually fool me!�

�Clone?!� Graham frowned.

�Yes, Graham,� Arcane rubbed his hands together, yet another opportunity to show off his genius � not that it was ever in any doubt, �Woodrue sent a clone of you to me in order to get close enough to make an assassination attempt. It almost succeeded; it really was quite amazing how perfectly it represented you, Graham. Woodrue even used a clone of Sunderland to waylay any doubts I may have had. Of course, my genius was too much for it,� Arcane bragged, resolutely shoving away the memory of who he�d thought of as Graham, dying in his arms � and himself helpless to stop it. ��Woodrue devised a method of linking the subjects mind directly into the clones. In this case,� Arcane tapped Graham�s temple, �your mind linked directly to the clones, enabling it to draw on your memories and mannerisms.�

�Wait,� Graham resisted the urge to throw up, the mental picture of Woodrue being able to rummage through his mind was not particularly pleasant. �Does that mean that Woodrue did the same thing to Sunderland?� A mere lab assistant was one thing, but he couldn�t imagine that even Woodrue would dare to make a move like that against the General. Even the Doctor was careful around the old man.

�Of course not, you idiot,� Losing all patience, Arcane snapped, determined not to feel guilty when Graham flinched away from him. �Woodrue merely cloned the old bat. Probably stole the General�s DNA years ago � and been perfecting a clone ever since.�

�Why didn�t Woodrue just do the same to me,� Graham hated to sound ignorant, but � �wouldn�t it have been, well, simpler?�

"Simpler, Graham," Arcane rolled his eyes, "It's an impossibility to mature a clone in just over two weeks time...let alone develop its mentality above that of a child's!"

�Oh,� Graham huddled back into his blanket. *Stupid question.*

�Yes,� Arcane turned away, �it all makes sense. When your clone died the link between your two minds was still open, allowing you to experience a part of that death also. Almost fatally, I might add.� Nodding to himself, he continued to pace, �You must have been forced into a coma in order to protect you from complete brain failure. Of course, that�s why he took the risk of bringing you back to Houma,� Arcane smiled, pleased, �he needed to have you near enough for the link to remain stable.�

�How did my clone die?� Graham almost didn�t have to ask, there was a faint memory nagging at the back of his mind � a tearing pain in the chest, and sudden complete, numbing cold � he didn�t need Arcane�s sudden uneasy expression to confirm anything. �You shot me!!�

�Yes, well,� Arcane felt a brief flicker of guilt, before anger surged up to take its place. Turning, he glared at Graham�s accusatory look, �Your clone was trying to kill me! What was I supposed to do?! Lie down and let it bloody shoot me?!�

�No, Sir. Sorry, Sir,� Graham hastily apologized, �It�s just been, well, a very long day. I, I didn�t mean ��

�I understand Graham,� Arcane pulled his assistant to his feet, �You should go rest. There�s nothing more that needs to be done right this moment.�

�But, Sir ��

�No buts, Graham,� he steered him gently towards the elevator, �Go get some sleep, or do I have to escort you and give you a sedative?�

�No, sir,� Graham sighed tiredly, �I think I can manage some sleep.�

�Good man, Graham,� Already turning away, Arcane spoke absently. It was clear his mind was miles from his assistant.

*Guess everything�s back to normal,* Graham sighed �

�Oh, Graham, it�s good to have you back, old chap.� Arcane called out as the doors slid closed, smiling at his assistant�s happy grin. Everything was back as it should be �

Many miles and a Country away, a solitary figure leaned back comfortably. Soon another would join him, and then the true revenge would begin. Anton Arcane and his pathetic assistant wouldn�t know what hit them.

The End

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