The Genius Wars (34 page)

‘What do you mean,
Prosper English sent them
?’ Devin’s voice was shrill. He had to raise it over the shriek of rusty metal, as the tailgate was lowered. ‘What’s Prosper English got to do with it?’

‘Prosper must have got someone to cut off your power and phone,’ Cadel explained. He began to yank at the topmost bag of gravel, before Gazo gently pushed him aside. ‘Then he would have organised a hack into Corlucci Constructions, to get this job booked in. Either their booking system is based on computer readouts, or Prosper did it over the phone, with a bit of social engineering. He’s good at that. He’s good at manipulating people.’

‘But how could Prosper English even know you’re here?’ Devin demanded. ‘I thought you were supposed to be dead?’

‘I am.’

‘Then –’

‘Later. We’ll talk later.’ Cadel turned to Gazo, who was pulling a two-wheeled trolley from the back of the ute. ‘Can we load some of these sacks onto that pushcart thing?’

‘
I
can,’ Gazo replied. ‘But not you. You ain’t trained for it.’ He dumped a bag of gravel onto his trolley. ‘So where do you want ’em, anyway?’

‘I need to get my laptop,’ said Cadel.

‘Your
laptop
?’

‘And my green bag.’

‘But –’

‘I can’t leave without them,’ Cadel insisted. ‘We have to throw these sacks into the concrete downstairs, like stepping stones. That way I can reach my computer without getting stuck.’

‘But this gravel ain’t mine!’ Gazo paused, a second bag cradled in his arms. ‘I can’t just frow it into wet concrete, I’ll get fired!’

‘No, you won’t.’

‘Yes, I will!’

‘Not if I pay for it. You can buy some more.’

‘Cadel –’

‘Would you please
hurry
?’ Cadel was fast losing patience. ‘We haven’t got much time!’

For a moment Gazo hesitated. Then, slowly and reluctantly, he dropped the second bag onto the first.

Devin, however, wasn’t so accommodating.

‘This is crazy,’ he spluttered. ‘Why the hell do you need your laptop?
My
stuff’s all down there, and
I’m
not going back for it. No way.’

‘Your stuff ’s all over the floor,’ Cadel rejoined. ‘It’ll be trashed, by now. My stuff’s up high.’

Thud!
Another bag of gravel joined the pile on the trolley.

‘Well, I’m not hanging around for the sake of your bloody computer,’ Devin decided. ‘I’m off. Right now. Before someone blows the whistle on us.’

‘Fine,’ said Cadel. His tone was flat. ‘Good. Off you go, then.’

Thud!
went the next bag.

‘And no offence, or anything,’ Devin added, ‘but don’t come after me, okay? Because I can do without the hassle.’

Cadel sniffed. ‘If it wasn’t for you, there wouldn’t
be
any hassle,’ he muttered. Whereupon Devin’s eyes narrowed.

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ he said sharply.

Thud!

‘It means that Prosper found out where I was. And not because of anything
I
did,’ Cadel retorted. He could feel a familiar tide of hot rage creeping up into his throat. ‘I’ve been
really, really careful
, Devin. I haven’t made a single slip.’

‘And you’re saying I have?’ Devin barked. ‘Is that it?’

‘I’m saying someone has.’

‘Up yours, Cadel!’

Thud!

‘It might have been Lexi,’ Cadel had to concede. ‘She’s always shooting her mouth off.’

‘Screw you,’ Devin snarled. ‘You really are a jerk, you know that? I’ve lost all my stuff, and now you’re blaming
me
!’

‘It wasn’t your stuff.’ Cadel regarded him with icy contempt. ‘You stole the money that paid for it.’

Devin gasped. He turned bright red. When he raised his fist, however, Gazo stepped in.

‘Hey,’ said Gazo. ‘That’s enough.’

‘What you gunna do, fart on me?’ Though Devin sounded defiant, he was already retreating. ‘Well, screw you too! I hope you
both
get caught, you freaks!’

‘Hey – come on …’ Gazo made a half-hearted attempt to stop him. ‘Don’t be like that. You’re all shook up. So’s Cadel. You gotta pull it togevver.’

But Devin wasn’t listening. He had already bolted, heading towards the front gate. Cadel watched him go without regret.
There was no point getting sentimental about the Wieneke twins. They were loose cannons, and Cadel was quite sure that one (or both) of them had somehow tipped off Prosper English. Not deliberately, perhaps; Cadel doubted very much that they had
consciously
betrayed him. Nevertheless, they were unreliable – and he couldn’t afford to get mixed up with unreliable people.

They’ll be better off out of the way
, he told himself.
Prosper will leave them alone, if they’re not with me
.

‘Come on,’ he said to Gazo. ‘Let’s do this.’

Ignoring his friend’s doubtful look, Cadel returned to the hatch – where Gazo soon joined him. Together they stood for a moment, contemplating the sludge at the foot of the stairs.

‘Are you sure it ain’t too deep?’ Gazo queried.

‘It ain’t. I mean, it isn’t. You stopped it just in time.’ Before Gazo could raise any further objections, Cadel pushed the topmost bag off the trolley.
Thud!
A single hard shove then sent the bag rolling downstairs, until it hit the congealing concrete.

‘There’s the first one,’ Cadel declared calmly. ‘You should go down and stand on that, so you can throw the next one in.’

Gazo didn’t say another word. He simply hoisted a second sack onto his shoulder and began his descent, moving very slowly and carefully. When he reached the lowest step he placed one foot gingerly on the discarded bag of gravel, which didn’t sink, or tip over, or slide out from under him. As Cadel had promised, the bag made an excellent stepping stone.

Gazo was able to position both feet on top of it before relinquishing the next bag.

Unfortunately, however, he had to keep doubling back for more – because he refused all help. ‘Them bags are too heavy for you,’ was his blunt assessment of the situation. Though the minutes were ticking by, he refused to give in; with dogged persistence he single-handedly built a path to Devin’s table, while Cadel kept an anxious eye on the comatose construction workers.

One of these men was starting to twitch by the time Cadel’s personal effects had been retrieved from the basement. It was
Gazo who noticed a telltale fluttering of eyelashes on his tallest, burliest victim. ‘We’ve got about a minute to get out of here,’ he informed Cadel, who immediately began to sprint towards the ute. As he flung his laptop and green bag onto the front seat, Cadel heard a groan. As he climbed in after his luggage, he heard somebody else coughing. And as he slammed the door shut, he saw movement over near the house: a hand was reaching limply into the air.

‘Step on it!’ he squealed.

Gazo didn’t need to be told. His key was already in the ignition; there was a very nasty
chugga-chugga-chugga
before the engine suddenly fired and the ute surged forward. Gazo spun the wheel, executing a high-speed U-turn. Bumping and skidding over uneven ground, they charged towards the gate – which Gazo, luckily, had left standing open.

Glancing back, Cadel was reassured to see that no one had yet sat up.

‘Do you think they’ll remember you?’ he asked breathlessly.

Gazo shrugged. ‘Hope not.’

‘If they remember anything, they’ll remember this truck. They’ll remember “Greening Landscapes” on the side.’

‘Yeah. I guess.’

‘I don’t see how you could get arrested, though.’ Cadel was thinking aloud. ‘Not for having toxic body odour. I mean, it’s not
your
fault, is it? How can you get charged for assaulting someone when you couldn’t help yourself?’

Gazo flicked him a look. ‘It weren’t no accident, Cadel,’ he said drily.

‘Of course not.
I
know that. But you can pretend it was an accident if anyone tries to blame you.’

Gazo grunted. By this time they were several streets away from Clearview House, heading for the anonymity of a busy main road. Gazo kept checking the rear-view mirror, as if he expected to see a cement truck on their tail. Cadel was nervously watching for unmarked police cars and sabotaged traffic lights.

‘So where d’you wanna go?’ said Gazo, after a long pause.

Cadel checked his watch. It was still quite early – too early to make for the airport.

Besides which, he had things to do first.

‘Where were you taking this load of gravel?’ he inquired. ‘To the university?’

‘Nah. It’s for a private job. New driveway out in Vaucluse.’

‘Is it a new driveway for a new house?’ Cadel wanted to know. ‘I mean, is anyone living there?’

‘Not yet.’

‘What about the builders? Will they be around?’

‘I dunno. Probably not.’ Gazo’s tone was cautious. ‘The house is pretty much done – except there ain’t no hot-water system. That’s coming on Tuesday.’

‘Do you have the keys?’

‘Only to the garage.’

‘Then we’ll go there,’ Cadel decided. ‘I need to download something.
And
get changed. And maybe send an email, if I can do a bit of wardriving on the way.’

‘But –’

‘I’ll need a USB drive as well. Maybe we can swing by a computer shop, and you can go in and buy one for me.’

‘Listen –’

‘And after all that, you can drop me at the airport.’

‘The
airport
?’

‘I’m going to America.’ Cadel frowned as the ute swerved. ‘Keep your eyes on the road, Gazo.’

But Gazo was already pulling over. He braked in front of a doctor’s surgery, without switching off the ignition. Instead he left his engine idling as he turned to confront Cadel.

‘You gotta be kidding me,’ said Gazo. ‘America?

Are you mad?’

‘I don’t have a choice.’

‘Of course you do!’

‘I don’t. There’s a lead I have to follow.’ Seeing Gazo open his mouth, Cadel quickly forestalled him. ‘If I stick around here, Prosper will find me. My job is to find him first.’

‘Yeah, but –’

‘I’ll be getting help from Kale Platz,’ Cadel went on. ‘Remember Kale? He’s an FBI agent.’

Gazo’s brow puckered. ‘Uh –’

‘He came here from America a couple of years ago. He was the one who arrested Prosper, that time when Vadi knocked you out.’

‘Oh. Yeah.’ Gazo hadn’t forgotten the night he’d escaped from police custody. ‘So Kale Platz – he was the one who locked me in the van?’

‘That’s him.’

‘And does he know you’re coming?’

‘Not yet. I’ll tell him when I arrive.’

‘Cadel –’

‘I’ve got his address and phone number. There won’t be any trouble. All you have to do is help me get on the plane.’

But Gazo was shaking his head.

‘If Saul finds out I done all this …’ he began, then sighed. Cadel tried to reassure him.

‘If Saul finds out, I’ll be the one who cops it,’ he insisted.

Gazo gave a derisive snort. ‘Are you joking? He’ll have me for dinner.’

‘He won’t.’

‘He
will
.’

‘Then disappear!’ Cadel was rapidly losing patience. ‘You’ve done it before. If you’re that scared, lay low for a while. You’d be better off vanishing anyway, with Prosper on the warpath.’

‘And lose me job?’

‘You’ll get another one,’ said Cadel – at which point something else occurred to him. ‘Speaking of jobs, do you have any money? I can’t go anywhere near my bank account, in case Vee’s keeping an eye on it.’ When there was no immediate response, Cadel pressed Gazo further. ‘I’ll pay you back. I need to buy some American dollars.’

Still Gazo didn’t speak. He was staring straight ahead, his lips pressed tightly together.

‘What?
What
?’ Cadel demanded. ‘Tell me what the problem
is! I can’t mess about, Gazo – if you’re not interested, just let me out right here, and I’ll find an Internet cafe. I can always get the money from Sonja’s account; I know
she
won’t mind. She’ll understand how important it is.’

At last Gazo turned his head. ‘You know what?’ he mumbled. ‘You sound just like Prosper.’

‘Huh?’

‘When he used to boss people around, I mean. Sometimes he’d be firing off orders like no one else had a brain in their ’eads. He talked like that to me all the time.’ There was a quiet dignity in Gazo’s rebuke. ‘I know I’m not real smart – not like you, Cadel. But you’d still be in that basement if it wasn’t for me. You got no call to be acting like whatever I say ain’t worf listening to.’

Cadel swallowed. All at once he felt dizzy.

‘Sure, I’ll let you into that garage. And I’ll take you to the airport, too, since you’re probably right. You usually are,’ Gazo admitted. ‘All I’m saying is, you should watch yourself. Because nobody likes a smart-arse bullyboy, and most people don’t know you like I do. They might take it wrong. Same as Devin did.’

‘I’m sorry,’ Cadel whispered. He was horrified. Stricken. He suddenly looked so white – so ill – that Gazo hastily tried to make amends.

‘It’s okay. It’s just because you’re scared, I reckon. You didn’t really mean it, eh?’

‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Don’t fret. I ain’t mad, or nuffink.’ When Cadel seemed to derive no comfort from this, Gazo offered up more in the way of reassurance. ‘You’re only a kid. You’ve had a tough time. When
I
get scared, I stink the place out. So I can’t exactly blame you, can I?’

‘I’m sorry,’ Cadel repeated. ‘I’m so sorry.’

‘Hey – no harm done. Forget about it.’ Gazo reached for the gearstick. He flicked on his indicator and checked for approaching traffic. Before he could pull back onto the road, however, Cadel squeaked, ‘Stop!’

Obediently, Gazo braked. The ute jerked to a standstill. Cadel pushed open the passenger door and leaned out.

Because he hadn’t had any breakfast, there wasn’t much to throw up. Even so, it wasn’t a pleasant experience.

Cadel had never been on a plane before. At least, he couldn’t
remember
having been on a plane before. As a two-year-old he’d been smuggled into Australia from the US, but he wasn’t quite sure how this had been accomplished – whether by plane, boat, or submarine. He had no memory of the trip, and Prosper English hadn’t provided any details.