The men in white coats looked round. One walked over to the cage, pulling a communicator out of his pocket.

"He's awake," he said into it. He listened briefly, staring at Marine Boy. "Yes, he looks fairly alert. He just asked where he is. No, I didn't tell him anything."

"May I have some water, please?" Marine Boy asked.

"He just asked for some water," the man said into his communicator. There was a pause before he turned to his companion. "Go and fetch some water for our friend. Because the Boss says so, that's why." The other man left the room.

"May I speak to whoever you're talking to?" Marine Boy asked. "It would save a lot of time."

"Now he's asked – oh, you heard. OK, understood." He flipped the communicator off and put it back in his pocket.

"I take it he said no?" Marine Boys asked. He considered the man in front of him. He was likely to be no threat, as thinking for himself didn't seem to come too easy for him. By the same token, unfortunately, he was unlikely to be any help, either.

"You'll meet the Boss soon enough," the man told him. His tone implied that Marine Boy would not necessarily find the experience a pleasant one.

There was a silence. Partly to break it, Marine Boy asked, "What time is it?"

The man twitched as if he was about to look at his watch, but clearly thought the better of it. Marine Boy didn't press the point.

There was a short wait. Marine Boy occupied himself with pacing back and forth within the narrow confines of his cage. It was important to get some life back into his limbs.

At length the door opened. Marine Boy rather hoped that it was the man who'd gone to fetch the water he'd asked for, but instead a knot of men walked in. It was obvious who was in charge, however; a thickset bearded man. Marine Boy studied him closely. He was pretty sure he'd never seen him before, either in the flesh, or in the files he was 'encouraged' to read from time to time.

He turned to face the man. Had he still been wearing his suit, he would've folded his arms in front of his chest; but it occurred to him that to do so whilst in a state of near-nakedness might betray the vulnerability he felt. He therefore put his hands behind his back, and waited.

He waited for some time. He and the bearded man stared at each other, sizing each other up.

"So you're the famous Marine Boy," the man said at last.

"So I've been called."

"You don't look very formidable at the moment."

This didn't seem to require an answer, so Marine Boy didn't offer one. The door opened again, to reveal the original minion, holding a glass of water. He saw the gaggle of men in front of him, and stopped, uncertain.

"Excuse me, Sir," Marine Boy said to the bearded man, "but I think your underling there has the water I requested."

The bearded man turned and nodded. The underling passed the glass through the bars to Marine Boy, who drained it and passed it back.

"Thank-you," he said.

This seemed to amuse the bearded man. "Your manners are impeccable," he said, "I'll give you that."

"Unfortunately," Marine Boy told him, "I can't say as much about your hospitality. Should I expect a hearty breakfast, or do you have other plans for me?"

The bearded man almost laughed. "OK, you've got guts, too; but that's the last compliment you're getting. As for my plans for you – all in good time." He turned on his heel. "Get everything ready," he said, as he made for the door.

"What about Jack?"

The bearded man stopped and turned. Marine Boy did his best to seem unconcerned, but cursed himself inwardly for having betrayed what might be interpreted as a weakness.

The bearded man had not missed anything, however. "Jack?" he asked. "That brat? He did was he was paid to do – is that what you want to know? Maybe I'll let him be in the audience for your big scene. Would you like that?" He didn't wait for an answer, but left the room, taking his entourage with him.

Marine Boy sat with his back to the rest of the room. He had no idea what the man meant by his 'Big Scene,' but it didn't sound pleasant. Without any further information, however, there was nothing he could do about it, so he thrust the thought from his mind.

Instead, he pondered the identity of the bearded man. He hadn't bothered to introduce himself, which was odd. He was clearly a man of both resource and resources, and such people are not generally self-effacing. Quite the opposite, in fact. Had he expected Marine Boy to recognise him? If so, he'd been mistaken – and he didn't have the air of one who made many mistakes.

Then again, none of his employees had addressed him by name – even out of his hearing he'd simply been referred to as the Boss. Perhaps he did prefer to remain anonymous.

Mystery on mystery. Hopefully, all would become clear in time, but Marine Boy felt the need to give the man a name, even if only for his own convenience. After a moment's thought, he decided to think of the man as Captain Morgan, after the famous pirate.

With nothing to do but wait, Marine Boy's thoughts turned to Ocean Base. Though he had no way of knowing how long he'd been unconscious, he was sure he'd been gone long enough for his absence to have been noticed. Noticed, but not necessarily to have caused any concern, he reflected with a sigh. Though it hadn't happened on a regular basis, it was not unknown for him - in his free time, at least - to have absented himself without word or authorisation. Given also that he'd been given space to spend time with Jack, it was likely that it would be assumed – at first, at least – that the two of them were off on some teenaged jaunt, and no-one would feel any concern for a good while.

A teenaged jaunt, he reflected, was pretty much what he'd actually planned. Things just hadn't turned out the way he'd been expecting. He wondered how long Jack had been planning – what he'd done.

Jack. He'd avoided the subject for as long as he'd been able, but there was no avoiding it for ever. Jack had played him for a fool. Jack had befriended him, earned his trust. Jack had lured him into a trap, captured him, and handed him over to Captain Morgan. Jack had 'Done what he was paid to do.' Jack ought to be the person he hated most on Earth.

And yet he didn't. Even as he realised that he ought to hate Jack, Marine Boy realised that he was incapable of doing so. He wondered why. It wasn't, he was sure, because of the, well, intimate moments that they'd shared. At least, it wasn't wholly because of them. It was because, at some instinctive level, he liked Jack, and refused to believe that he was as great a villain as he seemed. It was clear to Marine Boy that Jack must have been acting contrary to his nature. There had to be some reason, some explanation, behind his apparent betrayal. It was just that Marine Boy didn't know what it was. Yet.