Life had shortened another five minutes since the last time he looked at the watch. Despite their air of normality he could sense their rising apprehension. It was the same for him. They were about to enter winner takes all territory. No consolation prizes for second place in this game. He revisited the same territory. There was still time to walk away, without reproach and without judgement. None accepted the opportunity. The die was cast.
Once over the mood in the camp had shifted irrevocably, but not in the way he’d anticipated. He viewed his standing within the group akin to uncertain leader to their reluctant followers. Except it wasn’t like that, wasn’t like that at all. He was a man among friends he realised, providing an inner glow he’d never experienced before and which had him feeling ten feet tall. Surprising he should place so much store on this unfamiliar concept of brother/sisterhood. He wondered what precious time he had left in the company of people he had grown so fond of in such a short passage of time.
“Ready when you are,” said the voice to his left, shaking him back into the present.
“You’re confident about this, Toby?”
“I’ve set this station up as a distribution hub. Whatever we view on screen will be automatically transmitted to every search engine on the globe. As soon as someone starts looking for something on the web they’re going to find a copy of what we’re seeing.”
“That’s going to piss off ninety percent of surfers,” said Will. “They’ll be expecting porn to appear on their screens.”
“It’s not the ninety percent we’re interested in.”
“Who are we interested in?” asked Lily.
“Web monitors,” said Toby.
“Web monitors?” asked a bemused Johnno. “Who are they when they’re at home?”
“Eavesdroppers,” said Toby. “Just about every government on the planet uses them to see what they can pick up from the net. In America they have the CIA; in Russia it’s the FSB for domestic and the SVR for foreign. China has an intelligence structure labelled MSS, etc. Even countries people wouldn’t normally consider organisationally sophisticated such as Haiti have invested in some kind of electronic surveillance facility.”
“Why has no-one told me this?” complained Johnno.
“You were too busy trying to make eye contact with the long-legged female presenter delivering the seminar.”
“Is that what she was talking about?”
The humour lasted as long as it took for the next question to arrive.
“How do we defend the hub?” asked Will. “That’s going to be the first thing they target.”
“I’ve set up a network of ghost sites to try and camouflage the coordinates within the web. It should keep them busy for a while.”
“But for how long?” Lily asked.
“Depends how good they are.”
“Why am I not reassured?”
“Hey, leave my bro’ alone. He knows what he’s doing.”
“For the first time in living memory,” countered Lily.
“I do have feelings you know.”
“That would be a first too.”
“Alright people,” said Matt. “Let’s move it along, we’re late enough as it is. Take us in, Toby.”
They arrived at the mouth of the tunnel and moved smartly to the end whereupon Toby began to batter his fingers at the keyboard. A cursor-like symbol appeared and pointed to the first sentinel.
“What are you doing?”
“Can’t keep the front door open for very long with these guys around,” said Toby.
A rap at the enter button and the sentinel shuddered as though struck by a missile and then froze like a statue. Toby repeated the exercise and the second shape followed suit.
“How long will they be down?”
A slight shrug of the shoulders told them he didn’t know as he sped them down to the lower chamber to similarly disarm the remaining, sinister figures.
“What have you got on Kimber?” asked Matt.
“Not a lot so far. I can’t get a fix on his exact location at the moment but I know he’s not at home. The guy’s very careful about his movements.”
Disappointed as he was by this news the option of stopping lay beyond them now. Matt typed in the final code and they entered the vault.
“Whoa,” said Toby.
“What’s wrong? Is Kimber logged in?”
“No. But his partners are,” replied Toby, pointing to names on the screen. Elias Bruckmuller was first in line.
“Lily, see what you can find on the web,” snapped Matt as he viewed the next. “Why is the name Judd Jessop familiar?”
“Brother of the US Vice President,” said Will. “Both made their fortunes in oil, or rather their grandfather did. Rumour had it they were responsible for putting together the war chest which got the President into the oval office.”
“I remember that,” said Toby. “Everyone expected Charlie Jessop to declare and they were surprised when he stood aside to give Keller a free run.”
“Bruckmuller’s interests are in mining, exploration, that sort of stuff, as are Jessop’s,” said Lily, glued to her screen.
“Explains why they’re involved,” said Johnno. “They’re running out of places to dig holes in the ground.”
“It’s called investment, bro,” replied Toby, dryly.
Matt, alone, appeared unaffected by the humour.
“Something’s not right,” he said.
“Why do you say that?” asked Will.
“There’s a piece missing.”
“What piece?”
“We’ve got three names now all highly successful, mega-rich businessmen. Except one of them is the brother of the US Vice President. Why would Judd Jessop risk the reputation of his own brother?”
“Some people go to any lengths for profit. That’s why they go into business in the first place.”
“I know, but if he gets caught it’s not just the end for him but his brother too. The scandal would force Charlie Jessop out of politics for good. He’d be unelectable.”
“Perhaps Judd isn’t expecting to get caught.”
“He might be greedy but he’s not stupid. Nobody goes into this sort of venture without some safeguards and a great deal of trust in your partners. So there has to be something else in play which gives him added insurance.”
The observation had barely escaped his mouth when words appeared on the screen.
EB: Have you fixed the problem?
“What the hell is that?”
“Shit,” said Toby. “Bruckmuller thinks James Kimber is logged in. What do we do now?”
“Answer him,” said Matt.
“We don’t know what he’s talking about.”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Matt leant to the keyboard as he turned to Lily. “There has to be something on the web, some information that connects these guys together.”
Having given the instruction he typed in the word soon.
The response was immediate.
EB: Why is it taking so long?
Some adjustments have been necessary.
EB: Damn it, Jimmy. That’s what you said before.
“Talk about a slice of luck,” said Toby. “The man thinks he really is talking to Kimber.”
“Except we’ve pissed him off big time,” said Matt.
These things are never precise, he answered.
EB: I said using Vogel would prove to be a mistake and she’s done nothing to change my mind about her since. The woman isn’t up to the job.
JJ: I agree. Bad enough one got away, to let the entire crew go free is nothing short of incompetence.
“That’s Jessop,” said Toby. “Who are they talking about?”
“Us,” he replied.
EB: You’ve let sentiment cloud your judgement because of your history with this woman. When Scurrelli had the man on his knees at the interrogation you should have ended it there and then instead of agreeing to her request for lenien
cy. He’s the type of guy that was never going to let it go and now she has him running free.
“Hank Scurrelli was CIA royalty,” said Johnno. “The guy reminded me of Dracula and was just as vicious to boot. I pity the poor sod subjected to that evil bastard’s interrogation.”
“They’re talking about Matt,” said Will.
He felt the incredulous eyes of the others turn and settle on him, much to his discomfort.
“You were tortured by Scurrelli?” asked Lily. “How long did it take him to break you?”
“He didn’t,” said Will.
“How do you know?”
“Long story,” interrupted Matt. “And one we don’t have time for right now.”
The pieces of the puzzle were ever so slowly beginning to fall into place. Words and events he hadn’t understood were now starting to make sense.
“What are you going to say?” asked Lily.
At first he wasn’t entirely sure. Then he decided to gamble and hammered at the keyboard.
She believed he could be useful at some point, and she was right. Without him we would never have been able to recover the missing inventory.
JJ: But at what cost?
Don’t worry. The guy can’t hurt us. He doesn’t know what the true stakes are, typed in Matt.
EB: Then why has he gone invisible? People go to ground for a reason. We need him in the open.
JJ: Use the Fuchs woman. Put her under duress and he’ll soon react.
No, he typed without thinking.
EB: No? That’s a little protective of you, Jimmy. Is there something you’re not telling us?
Matt cursed at his own impatience and sought to recover the situation.
Threaten her and he’ll react. Better any contact he makes is committed without pressure. That way he’ll be more open and we can listen in.
EB: Vogel has her under surveillance then?
24/7, he typed.
“Is that true?” Will asked.
Matt shrugged to indicate he didn’t know.
“By the time they find out we’ll have done the job and it’ll be too late for them to do anything about it. That’s the theory anyway.”
“Won’t Gratia be in danger once they discover what you said is untrue?”
“The one good thing about Gratia returning to Schafen is that she can be kept out of this, distant from me and away from danger.”
JJ: What if he doesn’t make contact with her? What do we do then?
We keep looking, he typed. But we anticipate some sort of communication and when it happens we’ll get a fix on him.
“I found another connection,” chipped in Lily. “The three of them all served in Vietnam.”
Matt considered for a moment or two.
“It explains the loyalty between these three but I’d still like to know who the other two users are. Keep looking. There has to be something else.”
Lily returned dutifully to the task, unperturbed and without dissent. The change in her disposition towards Matt had been remarkable, one that warmed him inside.
EB: Okay, Jimmy. But I can’t say I don’t have concerns about the situation. Get the problem fixed. This guy’s been a loose end for far too long.
Understood, he typed.
JJ: Where are you logged in from?
“I’ve found two references,” said Lily. “Henry Kissinger is one the other is NSSM 200.”
“Back to that?” questioned Matt
“Kissinger worked under the radar for Nixon before being formally appointed in 1973 and involved the fathers of these guys in the original study. The State department approached Jessop, Kimber and Bruckmuller seniors.”
“Why consult business tycoons?”
“Their knowledge of mineral and natural resource deposits around the world, and the expertise to exploit them.”
“This is beginning to make some kind of sense, even to me,” said Johnno.
“It would be helpful to know who at the State department spoke to them originally. Chances are his or her offspring is one of the other two users.”
“This is something of a turn up,” said Lily, reading a fresh set of documents. “Someone in Keller’s administration has been taking a close interest in the old policy recently.”
“Old Jack wants to buy in and make a few bucks, too, does he?” said Johnno.
“Doubt it,” said Matt. “When Horton Priest’s investigative report on the original conspiracy appeared in the New York Times the credibility of governments around the world came under question. Keller won office on the back of the need for change, a fresh start, and his poll ratings reached the highest they’ve been for any US President.”
Another message appeared on the screen.
JJ: Jimmy, are you going to answer the question? I thought you and your daughter were on an Alaskan cruise this week and would be out of reach?
“Find out about Kimber’s family, quickly,” Matt snapped to Lily.
She reduced the existing page and manipulated the cursor to throw up another web listing. Seconds later her eyes were glued to the screen.
“That’s not good news,” she said.
“What isn’t?”
“James Kimber doesn’t have any children. He’s never been married.”
Temporarily numbed, Matt’s mind began to assimilate the bad news.
“They’re suspicious,” said Will. “That’s a bear trap if ever I saw one.”
JJ: Jimmy?
“Perhaps not,” said Matt.
He tapped into the keyboard.
Eva-Maria says hello.
“What are you doing?” they said collectively.
JJ: I hope you’re keeping an eye on how much of your money she’s spending up there.
I’ve given her a limit, he answered.
JJ: I’ll never understand how a guy like you ended up with a good kid like her.
Yeah, she’s special, he typed in.
“Who in God’s name is Eva-Maria?” asked Johnno.
“His daughter, the result of an early liaison with Catherine Vogel,” said Matt. “Kimber wasn’t named as the father.”
“Catherine and Kimber!” said Will. “I had no idea she had an older daughter.”
“Neither does Catherine. She believes Eva-Maria is dead, murdered in Marseille after a night out with friends. That’s what she told me.”
“You think she lied?”
“If she did it was very convincing.”
“Wouldn’t she have had to identify the body?”
“The one the police showed her was so battered the face was unrecognisable. They had to use DNA tests.”
“Then why is she living with Kimber?”
“I’ve no idea,” he said softly.
“Is this relevant” asked Lily.
“No, not relevant at all,” he said
Despite the apparent dismissive nature of his answer Matt was troubled by the development. No sane parent would tell a deliberate lie about the death of a child, particularly one that had been murdered, so Catherine couldn’t know Eva-Maria was alive and living with her father. More importantly, why had Eva-Maria duped her own mother?
“That leaves us with the big question of what the hell are we going to do,” said Lily. “Judd’s involvement compromises his brother Charlie and the Presidency itself. Releasing this on to an unsuspecting public will usher in a new cold war, only this time it’ll be between the West and the rest of the world.”
Lily was dead right. They faced a dilemma. Publish and be damned, say nothing and be equally as damned.
“Shut down the portal,” said Matt.
“Are you sure?” asked Toby.
“Yes. We need to know who all the players are before we start broadcasting.”
“Okay, but if we hang about examining every file in the vault while they’re logged in suspicions will rise.”
“Have you found a way to download yet?”
“It looks like we need an entry code into this space.”
/> “What kind of entry code?”
“If I knew we’d be downloading already.”
“So why aren’t you working on it? I thought you were meant to be good at this!” he snapped.
His hand tapped unconsciously at Toby’s shoulder, in way of apology for his over-aggression.
“Is there anything we can do to help?”
“No,” said Toby. “The annoying thing is it will probably be dead simple, like the creator’s name. Developing a cloaked impenetrable vault like this requires a certain level of genius and, like all master craftsmen, I’m guessing he or she couldn’t help leaving their signature lying around to remind the lesser mortals whose work it is.”
“Like a Van Gogh, Picasso,” said Will.
Toby’s nod confirmed the likening.
“You must know of someone clever enough to construct something like this? What about the person you were talking about before. The one you had the internet discussion with on the development of a virtual vault?”
“Went offline about six months ago,” said Toby. “I figured she’d probably been arrested for hacking.”
“You talked to a woman without telling me,” said Johnno, in mock indignation.
“Not all internet forums are online dating agencies, bro.”
The exchange caused Matt to consider.
“Why did you say she?” he asked.
“The username, Eastern Princess,” said Toby.
JJ: So what are you doing in the vault, Jimmy?
Reviewing the security protocols, he typed. I want to make sure everything is working.
EB: Beginning to doubt your girl, Jimmy? I thought you said the system is impregnable.
She’s the best. But sooner or later there’s always a faster gun coming into town.
“Who are you talking about?” asked Will.
“I’m hoping one of them will tell us.”
EB: She’ll take some beating. The way she had the geeks at the NSA and Langley chasing her ass during the hacking crisis was pretty damned impressive.
JJ: Yeah, I’ve never seen so much panic. She put on a hell of a colourful show, in more ways than one.
EB: Be careful, Jimmy. Too many face-to-face meetings with her and you’ll go colour blind.
JJ: Dress sense certainly isn’t her strong point.
It was the opening Matt had hoped for.
“Where would the code go,” he asked Toby.
“The white box at the bottom, why?”
“Full or first name,” he asked.
“Authors think they’re artistes.”
Matt tapped six times into the keyboard, spelling out the name Ameera.
“Who is Ameera?” asked Lily.
“Ameera Khan, eastern princess. Someone introduced me to her recently.”
“Catherine?” asked Will.
Matt nodded as Toby released a long sigh.
“Ameera Khan, so freaking obvious,” he said.
“How long will the download take?” asked Matt.
“You mean do it now? They’ll know immediately.”
“The moment Kimber’s feet touch dry land they’ll know it’s not him they’re talking to which means we might never get back into the vault again. How long do we need?”
“It depends on the number and variety of counter measures they adopt.”
“Counter measures?”
“I don’t see them rolling over to let us tickle their tummy while we’re stealing the contents of the vault.”
“What would they do?”
“Try and jam the airwaves to disrupt the signal. And it’s likely to take less than ten seconds to discover we’ve disabled the sentinels and send in reinforcements. I’d also send out tracers to try and locate our position.”
“So how do we respond?”
“There are three specific tasks; the download, protecting the signal, and fending off the soon-to-be arriving sentinels. We can’t do anything about the tracers.”
“Okay, what do we do?”
“We’ll use this machine for the download. Someone else needs to enter the vault through a different pc and take up position outside the door to bar access while one of you has to protect the connection to keep us online. As they shut down the individual networks, one by one, we’ll probably have to keep transferring onto alternatives.”
“Use them all?” said Will. “That means security cameras going offline. We’ll be blind to assault.”
“Fortunately we’re off the beaten track. It’ll take them a while to get here even if they do locate us,” said Matt.
“Still a gamble,” said Will.
Matt weighed up the odds, the chances of completion and a clean escape. He made the decision instantly.
“Will, you’ll be on signal duty. Lily, find an observation post. Johnno, you’re riding shotgun at the vault door.”
He expected questions. There were none. Within the blink of an eye everything was in place.
“Start the download.”
Chapter Thirty Three
Virtual Retreat