Scorpion's Vengeance

by Lawrence Hebb

  “Hence no casings for the bullets fired inside the vehicle, but two were found” Jimmy replied.

  “Meaning two were firing, one inside and one outside, my guess is the one outside was returning fire, but until we get to talk with them I can’t confirm that!”

  “Who was the guy they were picking up?” Billie asked

  “Don’t know” Harris replied truthfully, “we were told it was some government operation, some kid who helped stop the Ransomware, but otherwise they’ve clammed up tighter than a ducks arsehole” just a hint of frustration came out.

  “What are the locals saying?” Billie asked, she’d seen that ‘Little Stoke’ was a run down place, so it wasn’t likely that they were saying much to the cops, especially if they thought it was gangs or drugs, you just don’t cross those people, and you certainly don’t ‘snitch’ that could seriously cut your life short.

  ‘Not much” he replied, “it was the middle of the day, so all the decent people were at work, the CCTV cameras were on the blink, had been for a couple of days, wasn’t due for repair until later in the day.”

  “Sounds to me,” Billie said, “Like someone knew there would be a blind spot, and set the hit up, but why?”

  “That’s what I thought” Harris replied, “but it’s been taken out of my hands” he shrugged and sat back in the seat, clearly frustrated at the turn of events, looking up he asked, “how does this tie in with you?”

  “A case we’re looking into” Jimmy jumped in, Billie aimed a blow right at his shins with her right foot. He looked at Billie a little confused.

  “Just something of interest” she cut in, “in a case the Met thinks is gang-related, any idea what kind of weapon was used?”

  “ I just said they were nine millimetre” he replied, “both weapons that is, I’d say the one we got the casings from was probably a handgun, a Glock or something like that, the other I’d guess was either an Uzi or MAC 10, they're the only ones with big enough magazines” he reached for the plate of sausage rolls the waiter had just brought over, taking one he took a bite, the flaky pastry falling onto the table as he chewed, “and before you ask, there was only one mag used, there’s never enough time to reload in a drive-by, it’s a blast away and get the hell away kind of deal, anyway, you didn’t answer my question, why the interest, especially if it’s gang related? You’d have all that information from your own wouldn’t you?”

  “Truth is,” Billie said, “it’s a murder and the guy who was killed worked in computers, cybercrime to be precise” she waited for a reaction. She got none, at least not that she could see, so she went on, “If he’d been alive at the time, he’d have been the man the government turned to when the Ransomware hit, as it was” she shrugged, “he was killed two days before the attack” she stopped, watching Harris closely to see if there was any reaction, there wasn’t ‘I wouldn’t like to play poker with this guy’ she thought to herself.

  “And my one” Harris started to say, “was the snotty nosed kid who lived with mum and dad, yet managed to foil the whole thing right?”

  “And I’d say someone was extremely pissed off that he did” Jimmy cut in, they both gave him filthy looks, “what?”

  “Yeah, that about sums it up” Billie replied, “that and fact that someone is trying to shut both investigations down” she reached for a sausage roll, they were a decent size so she took a bite and held the rest of the roll in her hand, “someone wants both investigations to go nowhere”

  “Not quite” Harris replied, “I was told unofficially the reason the home office took over the investigation is they think the team doing the guarding of the kid has gone rogue, and they’ve got no idea where they are, they’re literally shitting big bricks over this, that’s why they took over, they don’t want a panic, at least that’s what the word is” it was plain as the nose on his face, he didn’t believe a word of what he just said, but it was the ‘official line’

  “What can you tell me about them?” Billie asked.

  “Nothing” he replied, “apart from they were obviously government, and one was packing some serious firepower, and whatever went down, they didn’t have the time to clean up” he reached for another roll at the same time as taking a swill of his drink, he’d had a drink in front of him when they first arrived, it was three quarters full at the time, and this was the first swig he’d taken since they started talking.

  The more they talked, the more both of them became convinced the two things were linked, there were just too many coincidences for it to be chance, Billie didn’t feel the need to talk about the ‘Guardian Angel’ who’d shown up at her place or the fact that they had three people in custody over the incident, the police were putting that down to a simple ‘home invasion’ that she knew was pure Bullshit, but as long as it kept those bozos off the street, she wasn’t too concerned what they called it, mind you two of them were still in hospital, albeit a prison one.

  “So” BJ said, “we’ve both got a situation where things just don't add up!” she shifted slightly in her seat, it didn’t matter what was being said, proper procedure wasn’t being followed, and that worried her, “is there anything you can tell me about the shooting?”

  “Only other thing is the car involved, the report said it was a dark coloured Mondeo, a couple of years old, but in good condition, didn’t get a registration number though”

  “Cameras?” Jimmy asked.

  “As I said” Harris replied, lifting his glass to drain the last of his drink, “the cameras were offline at the time, bloody convenient if you ask me, and”

  “Bloody unusual” Jimmy interrupted, ‘aren’t yours in this neck of the woods supposed to be state of the art?’

  “The cameras are monitored aren’t they?’ how come a team wasn’t dispatched to get them back online?” Billie asked.

  “It’s not London here” Harris shot back, “we don’t have those kinds of resources, they’d only gone down that morning, here they give themselves twenty-four hours to get them back online, as long as the team gets to them and gets ‘em working again within that time it’s not a problem normally.”

  “Until something goes wrong” Jimmy added.

  “Hindsight’s a wonderful thing?” Harris was getting a bit frustrated with the young copper, the tone gave it away.

  “We’re not meaning to criticise” Billie was glaring at Jimmy, ‘back off’ her eyes were saying, “But it’s damn strange that the cameras were down when the hit was meant to take place, it can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

  “Tell the truth” Harris’ tone softened slightly, but only slightly, “I’m convinced it wasn’t, and that’s what worries me, whether it was one of the spook agencies or someone with a man on the inside, the whole thing stinks to high heaven, and it has me worried!”

  “Okay, what about the witness, you know, the one that made the phone call?”

  “Disappeared into thin air” Harris replied, “Oh and one final thing, that really throws a spanner in the works”

  “Go on” they waited eagerly anticipating what he was going to say.

  “All the damage done, four cars riddled with bullet holes, windows smashed and all that” he went on, “the government were here later that afternoon, fixed everything up immediately and literally took the people whose cars got shot up down to a dealer to get a new one, all on one condition”

  “Let me guess” Billie butted in, “that they say nothing about what went on, maybe even deny it took place, am I right?

  “Give the girl a prize” Harris smiled, it was a sarcastic one, not that either was offended, “You got it in one”

  Chapter 31

  Serkov's office was at the back of one of his nightclubs, he had three of them in London, all set up the same way, identical ‘offices’ in each one.

  They had the latest gadgets in them, but all hidden away behind facades that looked like they came straight out of the Hermitage in his hometown, St Petersburg.

  The clubs were the ‘
in place’ in London, anyone wanting to be ‘seen’ went there, especially, Alex’s place as it was called in Knightsbridge, but that one was for ‘A’ listers only.

  But they were only a front for where his real money was made, a way of ‘greasing the wheels’ to get things done, and moving ‘product’ without too many questions, after all, the ‘A’ list wasn’t just movie stars.

  He’d accessed the security feed from Sasha’s building, saw the footage and cussed.

  “Show me the face” he screamed at the monitor as it showed the abduction for the fifth time, he was going through it almost frame by frame, and getting nothing. Not even the ‘doctor’ was turning to the camera, it was as if they knew they were being filmed, the movements seemed natural, but if they were, then he should have had a picture from at least one he could check against his facial recognition software, but nothing, he threw the pencil he’d been holding at the monitor screen, shoved his chair back forcibly and stood up. Ten paces and he wrenched open the ornate Oak door, it flew back hitting the stopper with a thud.

  “SERGEI” he bellowed into the next room, the unfortunate man he was shouting to was nearly deafened as he was only five steps away, “Have you found anything yet?” It was more a command than a question.

  “Niet” the unfortunate replied in Russian, “I been in contact with all our people going to Hospitals, none find anything” he was nervous, Alexei wasn’t the kind of boss you wanted to annoy, even if it wasn’t your fault.

  “Agh” Serkov wheeled round, grabbing the door handle he slammed it shut so hard that the doorframe shook, he went back to the desk and slumped back down into the chair.

  There was a half-full bottle of Russian Vodka on the desk, as the owner, he didn’t need to hide it, he was tempted, but today he needed a clear head, something was going down, he just didn’t know what?

  ‘Rule nothing out’ he remembered that from his days with the FSB or the ‘renamed’ KGB from the old days of the Soviet Union. it's the first thing they teach, ‘when the crap happens, rule nothing out, and eliminate the possibilities starting with the easiest’

  He’d sent men to every hospital in London, they had security guards there, but they ‘don’t get paid enough’ to tangle with Serkov’s thugs, as long as his men weren’t causing trouble, they were left alone, but none had found Gromatski, and that was worrying.

  “Who gains from this?” was the next question.

  Gromatski had been kidnapped, that he was sure of, the question was why? and who gained by it. Every name he thought up just didn't make sense, they all had too much to lose, it just didn’t make any sense.

  “If I find the bastard,” he said to himself, “I kill them” he sat back in his office chair. He stopped to think things through. Too many things had gone wrong, first, the money going missing from accounts, bosses wanting answers and getting nowhere. Then an old ‘friend’ as he liked to think of them, caught years ago by the FSB in a ‘honey trap’ finally decided to earn their keep and came through with information, but this time “for a price”.

  The ‘honey trap’ is one of the oldest and most effective ways spies, and criminals use, but for Serkov, it wasn’t about money, sure they’d made billions, but for them, it was about control! Controlling the supply often meant you needed to control those trying to hinder the supply, paying off those you needed to, and using ‘other means’ was the way to go about it. The ‘honey trap’ is one very effective way, all you need is someone willing to sell their soul and a camera, and often they don’t have to be a willing partner, one trapped in poverty lured by the promise of bright lights and freedom in the West is enough.

  That was the promise, the reality was little more than slavery, and he was good at that business.

  The girls were attractive, that meant men would pay for a night with them. Some, those not rich or powerful got an hour or so, but those with influence, they got what they wanted, and he got photos or recordings ‘for future use’ and it was amazing how compliant people became when it became known you had these things, those who didn’t, well that’s where Gromatski came in, and he was good.

  That was the issue, Gromatski knew too much! He knew who was on the ‘payroll’ and who knew to turn a blind eye. Whoever took him could cripple Serkov’s operation overnight, he had to be found, and fast!

  He’d even put ‘feelers out’ through his contacts, quietly a manhunt was going on, but nothing turned up.

  It was a comment on a Facebook post, it just didn't look right, something about it, something about ‘Blueberry picking’ at the ‘old firm’ just didn’t look right, he nearly threw the machine out, but the more he looked at it the more he began to realise what it really was, he threw his chair back, reached into the top right hand drawer of the desk, took out his Sig Saur, it was in a shoulder holster, he slipped the holster on before putting his jacket on, then headed for the door bellowing for Sergei and whoever else was around.

  Guns are strictly controlled in Britain, every owner has to have a firearms licence, they have to be kept in a registered armoury, and are never allowed to be carried in public, they are all registered by serial number so that the police at least in theory know where every weapon in the country is at any one time. Serkov broke those three laws on a daily basis and he didn’t give a damn about them, after all, with so many Judges and Lawyers as ‘partakers’ of the delights he provided, he never had a problem with petty things like the law.

  Chapter 32

  “Package delivered” Jacko’s voice came over the phone, “we’re on our way back”.

  “Cheers for that” Sandy responded back, trying to make things sound more conversational, more like what friends would sound like than what they really were, “when you get back I should have some updates for you” she clicked the phone off.

  Joey was in the other room making a cup of tea, “Mum’s cure for all ills” he’d told Sandy a couple of times already, and that was just that day, she could tell he was stressed, but trying not to show it, they all were, but they weren’t the kind to buckle under pressure, “When the going gets tough” she’d heard him say, “the tough get going” it was a creed they all lived by.

  “Here you are” he brought a steaming mug of tea in, “Milk, no sugar” he assured her, “though without the sweet stuff, it tastes horrible!” he wrinkled his nose slightly.

  “Thank you” she replied with a smile, “But I’m sweet enough” he didn’t dare argue with that comment, it just wasn’t safe.

  “Whatcha got?” he asked looking at the phone she had in front of her, it was connected to one of her devices, one he had only the vaguest idea what it did.

  “I’m cloning it first” she replied matter of factly, “ that way even if we screw things up, we’ve got a backup with all the settings in place, and I can play with the clone first, just in case there’s encryption software on there.”

  “How long ya reckon?” Joey asked as he put the tea down in front of her, he headed back to the kitchen, a few seconds later he reappeared with a plate of chocolate biscuits.

  “About ten minutes” she replied, “that’s if we’ve got everything right.”

  Cloning the phone only took a couple of minutes, setting everything else up took the rest of the time. She’d used the laptop to run the cloning programme, as soon as it was finished she disconnected the original phone, turned it off and put into a Ziploc bag.

  The laptop had software to override Gromatski’s device, effectively turning it into a ‘slave’ that would do anything it was ordered to, the software told the phone to copy all its files onto the hard drive of the new device, and it gave access to all the passwords, nothing was secure.

  “Is it password protected?” Joey stared at the screen as Sandy worked.

  “With this software” she tapped the laptop, “It won’t matter, we go round the passwords, not through them” she clicked the mouse, a fresh screen came up, the message on the screen said that ‘Poseidon’ the decryption software was ready to
run.

  Sandy hit a few keys, it didn’t matter which one she hit, the password was already programmed in, she just ‘executed’ the command to open the files. Within seconds the computer had dismantled the security software of the phone, they were ready to begin

  “How long is this going to take?” Joey asked, he sat down beside her and looked at the screen, he was genuinely interested in learning the process, but couldn’t help a mischievous dig at her.

  “Patience is a virtue you know!” Sandy replied back smiling, “it’ll take as long as it takes” she tapped a few more keys, “we won’t get the phone conversations, but we’ll have a good idea who called, and hopefully by matching it to the contact list in the phone we’ll get some idea of who was talking to whom, as for the rest, we can give them to Sir Mike to make a decision on whether he wants to listen in to their conversations”

  One thing that the phone companies never tell their clients is that every phone conversation is actually recorded! It’s usually deleted within a few hours of the recording taking place, but for an experienced operator, it’s very easy to get them back from the servers they were recorded on. Even on the average laptop to truly destroy a file beyond being able to ‘retrieve’ it you the machine has to record over the same area of the hard drive at least half a dozen, that’s how the police catch so many criminals with incriminating evidence on their machines.

  Every conversation is recorded by the servers the company uses, and not just one, but every server in the chain the conversation goes along gets a full copy, that means the server that the first phone connects to, then the servers at each junction on the way (the exchange, then the relay stations, then the satellites and finally the server of the phone receiving the call, and finally the destination phone itself). When the servers get full, all that happens is an electronic marker that ‘tells’ the server where the conversation is gets removed so that the space can be used to record a fresh conversation, but the first one is still there, and all it takes is someone with the right equipment to go looking for it, and it will be found, the question is always time, who has the time to go sifting through all the data necessary?