The Abacus Equation

by Peter Stremus

  Chapter 42

  At eight o'clock sharp Ian came into the meeting room. He looked content and energized. A big difference from this morning when he was tired and worn down. He opened the meeting: “I see that everyone is available. Juergen asks to be excused, he had an urgent appointment.”

  He continued: “the last couple of days were filled with surprises and commotion. Ten years we were able to build and construct the foundations of our project Abacus. And now that we are able to fully launch the project with a complete staff, we have been plagued by set-backs, information theft, accidents and plain murder. More than ten years I have worked on this place, this dream. Each time under the assumption that those who shared my dream and worked with me, did so because of the same drive. A safe haven where, decoupled from political, military and religious forces, teams could work on new technologies and innovation. To gradually grow into a new society that could model for the world. A world where the night has fallen. In this world conflict Abacus is neutral and we will be forgotten amidst the turmoil of a global war. Also the coming years we will be able without disturbance to work, to innovate, to invent. All projects within Abacus are fully active. This means that we are completely independent from the outside world for our food, energy, needs. But we will not be an island. From this place we will expand as development aid through Africa and for once learn from past mistakes."

  He stopped, realising it was neither the time nor the audience to exalt for the future. So he continued: “but it became painfully clear that not everyone shared that dream or vision. But that also this project was abused to gain power and wealth. To my annoyance and anger, I saw that human characteristics like greed and power have poisoned the project. All the way up to the top and into the roots of this organisation. Nevertheless we were able to correct the situation and thanks to the efforts of some stubborn people we were able to identify the guilty ones, the rotten apples.”

  Ian gave the floor to Abdi: “our inspector Abdi will give us an overview and the conclusions based on his investigation of the past days.”

  A bit theatrical Abdi rose. It reminded Pieter of a closing scene from one of Agatha Christie's stories, where inspector Poirot would invite all of the characters to join him in the stately salon of the old mansion where the murder was committed.

  “Since a couple of months we knew, thanks to the research of Vince Smith and his team, that at irregular intervals classified information leaked to the outside world. The technology and techniques that were used were sophisticated. Very sophisticated. That raised the suspicion that we were dealing with a group of specialised and gifted computer experts. When we brought this to the attention of Ian, he decided to only share this with Vladimir. At that time it was Ian's plan to give each of his close collaborators a specific area of responsibilities. He had in mind to give Vladimir all areas related to security and to Juergen all that was related to research and innovation. As more people arrived in Abacus and started to work on their projects. The results and successes booked by the teams could, and still can, be called astronomical. So also the intensity of the info thefts increased. Vladimir contacted some of his old friends who in their turn developed specific sensors to be placed on laptops, tablets, mini frames, mainframes and so on. Than it was a matter of waiting patiently.

  Jonathan was an annoying development. Ian had made believe that Jonathan was a computer freak from the Navy. Charged with the protection of the Abacus computer system and that he would quickly solve the thefts. He was announced on the evening that a large coup was prepared to sell some very lucrative laser guiding systems to the outside world. The timing of Jonathan's arrival was inconvenient. Already the day after his arrival he got briefed by Ian and Vince's team, when he was suddenly interrupted by a phone call from Iveta. The message was that Ian had forgotten to tell him something.”

  Iveta tried to protest, but Abdi continued.

  “The car that picked up Jonathan was driven by Juergen. Juergen, as computer expert having all of the privileges on Abacus' systems, had switched all of the surveillance cameras into self maintenance mode. He drove Jonathan outside Abacus under the pretext that he had to urgently inspect the robot system as he had found out that the robots themselves were key to the information thefts of Abacus' defence system. Jonathan, not suspecting anything, judged that was indeed reason enough and had a high priority. Especially since Juergen informed him that someone was tampering with the software and that everyone was looking towards traditional PCs or computers as leak. But those robots were also connected to mainframes and could be hacked into to make a way to the outside world. They went to the meadows where Juergen knocked him out and dragged the body towards the grazing herd. The robots that had been loaded with the old software were activated and interpreted the lying body, maybe regaining consciousness, as a predator. The robot came dashing up, making the noise of a predator. The herd got into a stampede and Jonathan was no longer able to escape. It was the perfect accident and it would probably also be catalogued as one if it were not for that one shell that was found. That is why we continued to search and were able to unravel a lot of inconsistencies.”

  “When during the meeting with Ian, where also Marsha, Iveta and Juergen were present, Vladimir talked about his sensors and the information they had gathered some people became nervous. When he also hinted that there was sufficient evidence to point at individuals and when also Ian announced that Pieter had proven beyond doubt that Jonathan was murdered, they became worried. With such a big transaction coming up, even I would have become nervous. And as always, when people are nervous, they make mistakes. With Vladimir for instance. Only very few people knew that Vladimir would not touch one drop of alcohol because of his scheduled surgery. Yet last night some people tried to create the impression that Vladimir started to drink and party heavily. And because most of the visitors of the bar their observation ability already had been troubled, they were pretty successful too. Till one visitor of the bar was brought back to sobriety in a rather unpleasant way and assured us that Vladimir had not touched liquor that evening. The bartender confirmed this. Also his assistant, Marsha, was not that drunk but a royal portion of sleeping powder did a good job at creating the same effect. And that was needed because Iveta had to seduce Vladimir. For her a piece of cake. When she left the sleeping Marsha and finished romping with Vladimir, she lured him into an early skinny-dippy. A slender person like Iveta would never be able to knock down a massive man like Vladimir, so Juergen stood ready in the garden to hit him and drown him in the pool.”

  Iveta jumped on and shouted: “but no, the blood sample showed clearly that he was drunk like hell. Look at Kitwaela's report.”

  Abdi was not to be thrown off his balance. “You are right Iveta. Only the blood sample did not come from Vladimir, but from Brian. When Pieter exited the lobby, you came out of the group to help him. And while you were nursing him, you had the ability to take some blood. A bleeding nose can provide just the right quantity, no? That was quite smart, because, coincidence or not, Brian and Vladimir had the same blood type. Only Brian's liver is in a much better condition. A more thorough blood examination brought that to the surface. The work of Dr. De la Fayette was crucial, also in finding some bruises that could not just be explained by hitting your head at the corner of a swimming pool. It seems that our good Doctor Kitwaela is not that precise after all.”

  Kitwaela protested loudly: “how dare you question my integrity as doctor? And behind my back ...”

  Abdi answered severely: “I do not question your ability as a doctor. I question your integrity as a human being. Also for someone from the Masai money can be irresistible. Especially when you are ambitious. It is a waste of talent that you were bribed to let Vladimir die in the operation room. But Vladimir had to disappear more urgently because he was closer to unravelling the case than expected. So his death had to be imminent. You have closely escaped from committing a murder, young man. I hope that Dr. De la Fayette will be able to set you
r straight again.”

  “And than there is the mystery why Jonathan's phone did not work. Jonathan was a bit like many of you. The urge to be connected and on-line all the time, the homo connecticus. Jonathan was maybe not a computer genius, but he certainly was not the PC-moron that he played for years. And you know, intelligent people have one weak point. When they speak to someone who they believe is not that smart, they easily become arrogant. My favourite detective series is Colombo. The whole series has been restored and made available on chip. I can recommend it to all of you.”

  “To come back on Jonathan's phone. We have witnesses that claim that Jonathan's phone was charged during the flight from the Maldives. So how come that the battery was empty and there was no trace of the charger? I must say that that little detail puzzled me for a long time. I had several scenarios in mind, till I spoke to Alex, the pilot. He told me that he had control over all circuits and that he only switched on the electrical outlets on the specific request of the flight attendants. Apparently once he had been able to avoid a fire because someone could not find another useful way to kill time than by putting paperclips in the plane's outlets. That day he had not received a request to activate one. Upon little pressure the stewardess admitted that for a couple of thousand euros she had taken the charger from Karum, put it in a non activated outlet and gave Jonathan his phone back without the charger. In the typical rush to leave the airplane he forgot to ask it back. Nevertheless the stewardess showed us where she had disposed of the charger, which had been made useless by her in case he would not forget to claim it back.”

  Abdi took a deep breath: “what people do for a fistful of dollars.”

  He continued: “some people will crack under pressure quicker than others. The stewardess was one of them to tell us the truth. When you are expanding your plans and include more people, the more difficult it is to control the edges. It was not difficult to find out who had asked her.”

  Abdi stared at Iveta, who became more and more upset. She shouted: “can you please stop these accusations? All what you have said and claimed are nice but unproven theories. I can shake some of those out of my sleeves also.”

  Abdi looked interested: “I am very well aware of that, Iveta. But how do you explain these images that were taken a couple of hours ago at Pieter's new house?”

  He pushed the remote and the sharp images of a security camera in the street were projected on the back wall of the room. A vehicle arrived and stopped a couple of meters before the house. A patrolling police car turned into the street and the parked car left at full speed. Abdi stopped the images and zoomed in. The face of an annoyed Iveta was clearly to be seen.

  Abdi explained: “for the occasion we placed a number of stand-alone cameras to ensure that nobody could switch them off and we would be able to identify, beyond doubt, the driver.”

  “But I was there to collect Pieter,“ Iveta tried.

  “I am sure that you were there to collect Juergen. Otherwise you would not have tried to escape from the police car. But please, look at this footage.”

  Abdi played with the remote and said: “the next images can be a bit shocking but the fact that Jane and Pieter are here should ease everyone.” On the screen you could see that Juergen shot first Jane and than Pieter, without hesitation. A collection of different angles appeared, each showing a different replay of Juergen shooting at Jane and Pieter.

  The images ended with Juergen being pushed in a car and driving away.

  Ian stood up: “now you also know why Juergen is not here and what his appointment was, the local jail. When he entered that institution, he was quick to admit and has confessed already a lot to team Abdi. So what Mister Abdi tells here, has been confirmed by Juergen. Nevertheless some people in this room still seem to neglect the facts.”

  Iveta burst out: “it is not because I am your assistant that I could not do your work. I am tired to be number two. Yet it is thanks to me that you are so successful. Who took care of all the prep work, all the notes, and all the background information? But I stayed a stupid PA although you had promised me a stellar career. At least Juergen saw that this whole Abacus project would have a limited lifespan. That the war outside would end sooner than you think. And that would be our time. We had to profit from the situation now it lasted and countries would pay big money for some of the developments from Abacus that later maybe nobody would want. Not you, Ian, nor Vladimir could understand that. We were trying to get a life insurance from Abacus. You did never see the big picture Ian. You were so naive that you thought this could be a happy Utopia. Get a life, moron. Morus' head was chopped off for this and yours will follow soon.”

  Two of Abdi's officers lead Iveta out of the room. Marsha was moved to tears when Iveta yelled at her: “what did you expect? That I really loved you?”

  Oona, setting next to Marsha, put her arm around her and pulled her closer to comfort her.

  Abdi looked at Ian and said: “there you have it, my full report. Do you want to add something?”

  Ian pretended to think deeply: “yes, I will need a new PA. Marsha, would you give me the honour to take that function?”

  That remark unloaded the tense atmosphere in the room.

  Ian got up: “as I said, these were interesting days. It is rewarding that we were able to defuse the situation. The Abacus slate is wiped clean. At least within our own boundaries. An international team under the leadership of Mister Abdi will search for the accomplices outside. Now that those have no longer their contacts inside it will be much more difficult. But you never know. But as they say, a warned man is worth the double. And under Vince and Philippe I am sure we will be able to develop an effective security strategy. So, to wrap up as it has been a very long day. It is my pleasure to announce that the daily war room calls will no longer be needed.”

  Everyone smiled a bit uncertain, not knowing very well what to do next. Small groups started to form in the lobby till everyone went outside and dissolved to their daily business.

  Also Pieter and Jane were about to get into their car when Abdi appeared. He shook Pieter's hand long and explicitly. Pieter started to feel a bit uneasy looking at the smiling Abdi. One moment he thought that Abdi had celebrated in advance his victory with some of the good white wine of the hotel. But then he finally said: “masterly, Pieter, masterly. I would never have thought of dropping a bullet shell at the crime scene.“

  Pieter answered seriously: “it was the only way to be sure that a decent investigation would be started.”

  Abdi nodded: “and I think you are right, Pieter. I am afraid it is not over yet. Abacus will become a gem. It will not be forgotten by the outside world, on the contrary. But for now, things will return to normal. I am sure we will speak again soon. Take care.”

  On their way to their new home, Jane asked curiously: “what was that all about with Abdi? I really want to know till someone else wants to shoot me in my own bedroom.”

  Pieter smiled: “remember that hill where Francesca stopped the first day for us to enjoy the view? Well, under the bushes there were empty shells. I could not resist picking up a couple of them. When I was a child I had a collection of bullets and shells, maybe that is the reason. I just could not resist. I know it was on impulse. But when I saw Jonathan's broken body, I just knew that more was going on. I dropped one of the shells and took a picture of it. Actually, I think I dropped four or five just to be sure that Abdi's men would find at least one. And they did.”

  He sighed and massaged with his fingers her neck as she was driving: “sometimes we need to help Vrouwe Fortuna a bit.”