Kill or Die

by Samantha Lee Howe

  After a few hours, the code has been broken on a few of the virtual machines, and the information is now in the hands of some very interested parties. Neva pulls down the information, knowing already that the pages will have been cloned. Alexi has been dealt with for now, making him useless to Vasquez and the Network.

  She goes in search online for one of his rivals. Giving the name of Eldon Fracks, she sets the other hacker the task of gleaning information for her. She promises £25,000 as a down payment if the hacker proves they have the man she’s looking for. Within an hour the new hacker, who goes by the innocuous handle ElbaKitten, sends her a security camera photograph taken from outside Beech’s business premises over six months ago. ElbaKitten asks for confirmation of the image. Neva confirms that this is the man she’s looking for, then ElbaKitten promises to get back to her.

  Neva has excellent hacking skills herself, but these things take time. Already realising she’s found someone as good as Alexi, if not better, Neva is pleased to leave this new helper to the task while she concentrates on more important matters. Having obtained his details directly from him when she sent Alexi the £10,000, Neva’s own task is to clear his bank account of money. She hacks into the bank system using an old trick taught to her by the Network. In Alexi’s account she finds £150,000. First, she looks Alexi’s family up on a genealogy site. She finds his mother’s maiden name and uses it to change Alexi’s personal details on the bank system. People are stupid that way – even hackers. The simplest details are always used. Once she’s in, she updates the mobile number to another burner she has. After she confirms the number, she has full access to Alexi’s account. She uses all the information to change his ‘trusted’ word. She then adds further security information that Alexi wouldn’t know, blocking him from his own account. This extra precaution will only work if Alexi doesn’t attempt to check his account in the next week to ten days. She hopes that the cyberattacks will keep him too busy to notice.

  She sets up a series of payments, all under £10,000 and at different amounts, going to sixteen different accounts over a two-week period. The first amount, £9999, is transferred immediately.

  Once she’s done this, she sends ElbaKitten a down-payment link. By 4 p.m. she knows she’s made a dent in Alexi’s, and therefore the Network’s, insidious online dealings. For now, at least. All she can hope for is that Alexi won’t pick up on the theft too soon.

  That’ll slow him down a bit, she thinks as she closes the laptop.

  She’s mentally tired when she finishes. Although she has the knowledge, hacking doesn’t bring Neva any genuine excitement. She’s heard that hackers feel a rush from the challenge they face, but Neva has no such passion for the pursuit: it’s not a game to her. It’s not an obsession. She uses what she knows to help her achieve her goals only.

  She glances at her phone hoping for something from Michael, but no text has arrived. Deciding to conserve her energy, she takes a power nap while sitting on the sofa.

  The ping of her phone wakes her a short time later. It’s past six and Neva has slept longer than she intended. Even so, she’s awake and alert in an instant with the phone in her hand.

  Give me a few days, Michael says.

  ‘Do you have no sense of urgency?’ she says to the phone.

  Neva sighs. Patience has always been a strong part of her character, but she’s struggling now with the waiting.

  Two days, she replies. Then I want to know what you have.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Michael

  I’d been in the office a couple of hours when Beth and Ray called me into a meeting. By then I’d made no attempt to start looking for information for Neva. I had enough to be going with anyway, just with my knowledge of who Olive Redding had once been. In the end, if I told Neva this, she might well find out where Olive was hidin and from there what she knew about Neva’s history. I figure this will be enough to appease her without revealing any true secrets that Archive have, and, more, without also putting myself in a precarious position.

  ‘I’m sending you and Beth to Scotland overnight to meet with Lord Stanners. Leon is going to remain working with Brinkman on the missing plane. Thanks so much for the report and your observations on that, Mike,’ says Ray.

  I nod, accepting his thanks. But all the time I’m thinking how this does throw something of a spanner in the works of me letting Neva reach Stanners first.

  ‘I thought Olive Redding’s parents weren’t a priority?’ I say.

  ‘They weren’t, but today we received some intel that has meant we need to step up finding Redding,’ Ray explains.

  ‘What intel?’ asks Beth.

  ‘About an hour ago one of our hackers found a trail that led to a black hat hacker we’ve been investigating for some time. He goes by DarkRevenger. We didn’t know his real identity until this new information arrived. DarkRevenger was behind a major sting on an Australian company a couple of months ago. We’ve been aware of their people trying to find the culprit. A hacker with this degree of skill is likely to be used for other misdeeds. He could be behind the hacking of the missing plane and may know its whereabouts. He’s certainly guilty of plenty of other activities that we can pin on him too,’ Ray says.

  ‘But how does that relate to Redding’s parents?’ I ask.

  ‘Previous data we gleaned showed DarkRevenger looking for Redding. He was also known to be searching for a man named Eldon Fracks. This suggests he’s working for the Network. And if they have learnt who they are, then we need to get to Redding’s parents before they do.’

  ‘Eldon Fracks was Beech’s chauffeur. I remember him. You guys didn’t find him at the house then?’ I asked.

  ‘Fracks got away prior to our attack on the house. He hasn’t been seen since, and we’ve been looking for him too. That’s why our people were scouring the dark web for any sign of enquiry about him and well as Redding,’ Ray says.

  ‘Makes sense,’ says Beth.

  ‘Get yourself back home and pack an overnight bag,’ Ray continues. ‘Lord Stanners has agreed to meet early tomorrow morning. We need to find out as much about Redding as we can. I can’t express how important it is that we find her before the Network does.’

  I meet Beth at the airport a couple of hours later.

  ‘We’re flying into Glasgow, then taking a rental to Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park. I managed to get us rooms at the Drover’s Inn. Stanners wants to meet at 8.30 a.m.,’ Beth says. She hands me a ticket. ‘We’ll be going through a special security lane as I brought my service weapon.’

  ‘Are you expecting trouble?’ I ask.

  ‘No. But just in case. Let’s be honest, we don’t know how involved Stanners is.’

  ‘Right. I don’t have one anymore,’ I say.

  ‘I have yours with me,’ Beth says. ‘I’ll give it to you when we arrive in Scotland.’

  We walk into passport control and pass through without searches and scanners and then we’re taken through the terminal by two airport police staff. I’ve never used my MI5 status to get through passport control and security before and it’s a very interesting and quick service.

  All we had to do was show our security passes.

  The rest of the time in the airport is like any other. We go and get a coffee and a snack. Then we wait for our gate to be called.

  The flight is on time and we board it like any other passengers taking our designated seats. An hour and twenty-five minutes later we land in Glasgow.

  Because we only have our flight bag luggage, we clear the airport in record time and go to collect the car. It’s a Range Rover and the hire company also give us a satnav to use. After that it isn’t difficult to find our way from the airport to Loch Lomond and the Drover’s Inn, which is just over an hour’s drive away.

  ‘I’m surprised that Ray didn’t send Leon with you on this one,’ I say as Beth pulls the car into the parking lot of the Drover’s Inn.

  ‘I’m glad he didn’t,’ she says
. ‘I’m not really getting along with him that much these days.’

  ‘Why’s that?’ I ask.

  ‘Well, he’s… I shouldn’t say really. It’s not very professional.’

  ‘He’s being a bit of a dick?’ I say.

  Beth laughs. ‘That’s one way of putting it. Ever since you were put on gardening leave and Ray chose him to temporarily fill your shoes, he’s been a bit … arrogant.’

  ‘A total dick then?’ I say.

  Beth laughs again. ‘Yes! And I much prefer your company anyway!’

  I’m pleased with Beth’s words. We had always got on well, despite the fact that I had mistrusted her for a while, before I’d learned that I was the mole inside Archive.

  ‘If it’s any consolation, he’s always irritated me,’ I say.

  ‘Yeah. His nose was put out of joint when you got promoted over him.’ I nod. ‘I hate to play the misogynist card,’ Beth continues, ‘but he also has this macho shit going on with me. He has to do all the work. I’m starting to feel like a bit of a spare part.’

  ‘I get it,’ I say. ‘He’s good at his job though. Which is why Ray brought him into Archive. The problem is he’s a little pedantic at times. I suspect he won’t even see his behaviour as misogynistic – more that he is rubbish at delegating.’

  Beth looks at me. She turns the car engine off and then says, ‘You always see the best in people, don’t you, Mike? And yep, I see what you’re saying. Again, this lack of skill at letting others do their jobs is probably the very reason why he didn’t make the grade the first time for your job.’

  ‘If it’s any consolation, I think Ray was wrong to give Leon the role this time too. It should have gone to you,’ I say.

  She smiles at me. Then shakes her head as though she suspects the reason why she didn’t get the promotion and Leon did. She says no more however and blushes a little as she opens her door and gets out of the car.

  After retrieving our bags from the boot, we lock up the Range Rover and go into the hotel.

  Inside we are greeted with a hallway of taxidermy. A giant bear is standing in one corner, rearing up. Beth scowls at it and then her eyes roam over the other dead things enclosed in glass cases.

  ‘Yuck,’ she says. ‘Look at those awful things.’

  The dead don’t bother me, and I’m surprised by her reaction to the gruesome menagerie.

  ‘Can I help you?’ asks a man standing behind the reception desk. He’s young, bearded and wearing a full highland kilt that falls almost to his ankles. The hotel, reception and even the receptionist all feel like something from another time.

  Beth does the talking and soon we have keys to our separate single rooms.

  ‘You should know, the hotel is haunted,’ says the receptionist with a smile and an arched eyebrow. ‘You enjoy your stay now.’

  Beth glares at him, then taking her key she turns and walks away.

  In my room, I pull out my burner phone (retrieved from my mailbox when I returned home for my overnight bag) and send Neva a text. It’s 6 p.m. and I know she will be waiting to hear from me. Despite my earlier decision to tell her about Stanners, I have decided it’s best that Beth and I do our interview with him first. I don’t need Neva getting in the way of that, or anyone else for that matter. I agree that we need to get to Redding first if we can. Therefore, my text implies I need time.

  When the text is sent, I turn the phone off and stow it back in my overnight bag.

  There’s a knock on the door and Beth is there.

  ‘Can I come in?’

  I step back and allow her in. She unpacks my gun from her flight bag and hands it to me with a box of ammunition clips.

  ‘I booked us in the restaurant here tonight,’ she says. ‘I’m just going to phone my kids and I’ll meet you back downstairs.’

  ‘Okay,’ I say. ‘How is the family?’

  ‘All fine,’ she says but her voice is flat.

  ‘Was Callum okay about you coming here tonight?’ I ask.

  ‘My mum has the kids for me. Callum and I split up a few months ago.’

  ‘Shit, I’m sorry, Beth!’ I say.

  ‘It was for the best. He didn’t enjoy playing second fiddle to the job,’ she says.

  She brushes off my further attempts at sympathy and goes back to her room to make her phone call.

  When she’s gone, I put my gun away inside my bag, check the burner again and see Neva’s abrupt reply. Then I pick up my room key and head downstairs to wait for Beth.

  ‘So, this place is haunted?’ I say when she joins me.

  ‘Yeah, right,’ she says.

  ‘They have a video on their website with actual footage,’ I point out.

  I open my work phone and show her the video, which ends with someone jumping out wearing a Halloween mask. Beth and I are laughing as the waiter arrives to take our food order.

  ‘Haggis, neeps and tatties,’ I say.

  ‘What on earth is that?’ asks Beth.

  I explain and then she orders a ‘Naked Burger’ from the gluten-free menu. I don’t ask her if she has intolerance or if it’s a diet thing; neither question is appropriate.

  The food arrives and Beth frowns at my haggis.

  ‘Just don’t know how you can eat that…’ she says.

  ‘When in Scotland,’ I say.

  That night there is live music on at the Inn and Beth and I share a bottle of wine while a local singer regales us with Scottish music.

  When the singer breaks for a while we get onto the subject of Beth’s broken marriage.

  ‘There’s no way of clawing it back?’ I ask.

  ‘Nah. Callum was too… It’s the job or me. I won’t be bullied like that. He knew what he was getting into when we married. He always said he understood I was a career girl. So, you can’t just change your mind after making statements like that. To be honest the problems started a while back. I kept placating him, until in the end I’d had enough.’

  I sympathise, even though I’ve never been married. A few long-term relationships hadn’t ended well because of my failure to be available.

  I find myself thinking about Neva again. Could we possibly be together if things were different? Would she be jealous of my job in the end? Or would I suffer from insecurity over her past? It was all just too complicated.

  ‘Anyway, I think Ray got wind of my forthcoming divorce,’ Beth says. ‘But being a single mum is going to have challenges. So, I kind of get why…’

  She doesn’t say that she thinks this is why Leon got the promotion to my job over her, but the implication hangs in the air.

  I nod, showing my understanding.

  ‘Why not get joint custody?’ I suggest. ‘Not that I know anything about these things. But that way you are both equally responsible. The pressure is not all on you.’

  ‘I’ve been considering what to do,’ she says. ‘My mum helps a bit, but she has her own life. It’s a possibility.’

  It’s only 9.30 but I’m tired from the early start. After a whisky from the Drover’s extensive range, we both retire, because of the early-morning start.

  When I return to my room, I realise it’s the most company I’ve had in a long time, and I’ve really enjoyed the evening. This is a strange first day back to having full security access. Despite Beth’s words that she’d rather be with me, I wonder if sending me instead of Leon was a strategy to keep me supervised and away from the office.

  As I get into the comfortable bed, I push this paranoid thought away. Tomorrow I’ll be back in business, interviewing someone who may or may not have sold his own child into a life of servitude as an assassin for the Network.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Vasquez

  ‘Sorry to keep you waiting,’ says a female voice.

  An elegantly dressed woman enters the room. She is wearing a sleek black dress with a single strand of black pearls. Her silver-streaked hair is swept up into a French pleat. Vasquez hasn’t met her before, but he knows he is greeting
the ninth Network committee member, newly promoted by the others.

  They call her Annalise, and she has moved up in the ranks. In her heyday she was a seductress whose career rivalled that of Mata Hari and before that she was top of her class, graduating with honours from the Network’s French House. Where she came from when they brought her there as a child, no one knew, though it was rumoured that she was from French aristocracy. That is all Vasquez has been told and all any of the others care to know about her. The past of any assassin is irrelevant to the Network.

  What is important to Vasquez is that Annalise has earned her stripes. He understands better than anyone what lengths you have to go to in order to become one of the committee members. Without Annalise’s help, he wouldn’t have been able to do it himself.

  They’d been communicating off and on before Archive brought down the British House six months ago. After that Vasquez had put all his cards on the table and had promised if she helped him, he’d put her in an untouchable position as a member of the Network’s committee.

  After little coaxing Annalise had joined forces with him, using her considerable resources to feed information to Vasquez, revealing some of the names and addresses of current committee members. The taking of control from those already there was vital.

  With the Network reeling from Beech’s death and the compromised House, the committee were ripe for the picking. That’s when Vasquez executed his plan. He forced his way into a few of their lives and killed off any resistance, until the remaining committee members offered him an associate position. Annalise had known that if he showed himself to be powerful and informed, they would have to do this. And with Annalise’s intel to back up everything he did, Vasquez was strong.

  ‘Come, Mr Vasquez,’ Annalise says now, leading him into the luxurious salon of ‘her’ home. Though, like all of the committee members, Vasquez believed her residence was only temporary accommodation. None of them stay anywhere for long, and it is almost certain that she’ll move on after this meeting.