Black Matter

by G D Parker

  ‘Hello, Tammy speaking.’

  ‘Tammy, it’s DI Valentina. I need your urgent assistance.’

  ‘Okay, what seems to be the problem?’

  ‘Not over the phone. Can you meet me at the university, same place as before?’ Valentina asked.

  ‘Erm, yeah, when?’

  ‘Now?’

  ‘Sorry, Detective, it’s a little late. I’m really tired and need sleep.’

  ‘If it wasn’t urgent, I wouldn’t be calling you.’

  There was a slight pause whilst Tammy thought this through, then she reluctantly agreed.

  ‘Okay, I’ll make my way down there. Give me an hour or so.’

  Tammy hung up with frustration. She was frustrated with herself for being a “yes” person and always feeling obliged to help others. She hadn’t wanted to give Valentina the chance to say anything else.

  It was now 11:30pm, and the roads were dead. Tammy couldn’t park in the university carpark, as it was locked, so she parked on the roadside some hundred yards away and walked to the university. There was a chill in the air, with a light wind that blew through the trees. Tammy felt overwhelmed with uneasiness, as she could hear someone walking behind her. She upped her pace, but so did the individual behind her. Her heart rate began to increase the quicker she moved. She found herself running, and her heart was pounding in her chest.

  Tammy began to panic as the person gained on her, getting closer and closer. She fumbled for her car keys to use as a weapon, placing a key between her knuckles. She turned suddenly, taking a deep breath as a jogger in a hi-vis vest wearing over-ear headphones jogged past. He nodded politely, and she felt embarrassed. All this was playing with her mind.

  The entrance to the university was locked. Tammy peered through the glazed doors of the main entrance and could see a security guard sitting at a desk, his face lit up from whatever was on the screen in front of him, and the rest of the area was in darkness. She tapped gently on the glass, catching his attention. He looked up, slightly startled at her silhouette pressed against the glass. He walked over to the door and started talking through the glass.

  ‘What do you want, madam?’ Tammy could only just make out what he was saying.

  ‘I’m here to see DI Valentina and Professor Conroy.’ She tried to pronounce her words as clearly as possible, making over-exaggerated movements with her lips.

  ‘What?’

  ‘I’m here to see-,’ Tammy stopped. ‘God’s sake!’ She felt frustrated, and decided to use her mobile to call Valentina in order to let her know she was outside. She used her other hand to wave the guard away.

  A few minutes later, artificial white LED lighting lit up the reception area, which caused Tammy to squint as her eyes tried to adjust to the sudden brightness through the glass door. Valentina walked through with Professor Conroy in tow. They opened the door, greeting Tammy with smiles.

  ‘Thank you so much for coming like this. It’s very much appreciated,’ said Valentina.

  ‘It’s okay. So what can I help you with?’ Tammy asked.

  ‘Follow us, Tammy. We’ll go through in detail.’

  This time, they didn’t go to Professor Conroy’s lab. Instead they headed towards the morgue. The corridors were long, and the tubed lighting above was on a PIR system, automatically lighting up the corridors as they progressed towards the morgue. Tammy had never been in a morgue, nor had she ever seen a dead body. Anxiety clung to every cell of her being the closer they got.

  As they walked into the morgue, the room lit up. It was smaller than she had originally imagined. There only appeared to be three autopsy tables. Moments later, a man walked out of a hidden room. He looked young with a kind face. His hair was combed to the side and he had redness around his eyes, as though he had been rubbing them, or possibly sleeping.

  ‘This is our diener, Malcom Mathews.’ Conroy introduced them.

  ‘Pleased to meet you,’ Malcom replied, following with a polite nod.

  ‘Mr Mathews, please can you present your findings,’ Professor Conroy requested.

  Malcolm walked off and returned with a small steel tray. He placed the tray on a table and, with a gloved hand, held up a small electronic device surrounded by a strange looking matter. It looked like flesh but artificial.

  ‘Does anyone recognise this?’ asked Professor Conroy.

  Tammy raised her hand, and all three looked at her.

  ‘No need to raise your hand.’ They all smiled.

  ‘Sorry, yes, that is the IPEA implant,’ Tammy explained. They all looked round at one another. ‘I designed it myself. It works with the Smart Injection along with the IPEA application. Sorry, I thought this was common knowledge?’

  ‘It is; yes. However, Mr Mathews has found an abnormality within the area of the brain where it was installed,’ explained Conroy.

  ‘Okay, how do you mean? This was thoroughly trialled and tested. There was no evidence of any anomalies?’

  ‘There is no damage. However, over time, additional nerve cells have formed around the implant,’ replied Conroy.

  ‘Okay?’ Tammy looked confused. She was puzzled – this was news to her.

  ‘These cells are abnormal cells,’ Conroy explained.

  ‘What? Are you referring to c-.’ Tammy was cut short by Conroy.

  ‘No, not that type of cell.’ He smiled at her. ‘More like enhanced brain cells that also communicate with the nervous system.’

  ‘Okay, this is strange. So, what does this mean?’ asked Tammy.

  ‘At this moment in time, we are not sure. However, with your expertise relating to the design of the implant, you may be able to help us discover what this is?’

  ‘Okay, I will try.’ Tammy looked unconfident, worried that her skills may not stretch to what they were asking. ‘How do you want to do this?’

  ‘We’ll provide an intricate report of the findings. If you could look through these and come back with what your findings or thoughts are?’

  ‘Err… yes, of course, I will try. Can I ask what that matter is surrounding the implant?’ Tammy enquired.

  ‘That is the cell formation that has grown on the implant.’

  ‘Good, is she okay to take the implant as well?’ asked Valentina. ‘We need a full data log of everything that has happened to Andy Styles.’

  ‘I’ll need his mobile phone as well,’ suggested Tammy.

  ‘We can provide that,’ said Valentina. ‘That is back at the station.’

  They continued to bounce information around for the next hour, but Tammy was starting to feel even more tired. Valentina picked up on this and suggested they call it a night. Tammy was handed a small sealed bag containing the implant and a USB stick containing all the information that the professors had found. Valentina then walked Tammy back to her car alone.

  ‘Tammy, we fully appreciate the time you’re putting into this. I know you’ve left Medi Corps,’ said Valentina.

  ‘How do you know that?’ Tammy was shocked that she knew this information.

  ‘Mr Davidson called me earlier today asking me not to involve you with anything, stating that you had resigned due to work pressures.’

  ‘Okay, that’s not true. Well, I have quit my job, but not because of work pressure-.’

  Valentina interrupted.

  ‘I’m not bothered why you resigned, I just need your help. If I’m honest, I’m not particularly interested in what you find for the professors. I’m interested in whether you can find out who intercepted Andy’s brain. Conroy only agreed to this if you would assist in their research.’

  ‘Okay, I’ll do my best, but I can’t promise anything.’

  Valentina took hold of Tammy’s shoulder.

  ‘We really need to get to the bottom of this. There are other lives at stake. You will be compensated, but it is strictly confidential. I would appreciate it if your efforts were focussed on the case in question and not their research.’ She then looked Tammy directly in the eyes. ‘Just tell them your t
ests came up inconclusive.’

  ‘I understand,’ replied Tammy, getting into her car and driving off.

  Tammy awoke the next morning with her mind clear, and her focus on downloading all the information from the implant, then waiting for Andy’s mobile phone to be delivered via a same day courier. The information she downloaded was very detailed and complex, and it would take days to convert the codes.

  By mid-morning the phone had arrived, and upon turning it on, it seemed to activate the implant. This shouldn’t happen? Tammy thought. She then discovered that the cells that had formed around the implant seemed to keep the implant active. This enabled Tammy to actively use the app on the phone to communicate with the implant.

  She became excited about this finding, but she tried to maintain focus until she was one hundred percent certain that this could trace back to the source that had been manipulating Andy’s brain.

  Two days passed, and Tammy had slept for only three hours tops, having drunk over a gallon of coffee to keep her going. She had the trace to an IMEI number, which again was scrambled, but she eventually managed to reverse the connection back to the source, providing an exact location. She didn’t waste any time and called Valentina straight away.

  ‘Valentina,’ the detective answered.

  ‘It’s Tammy. I’ve had a breakthrough, but we need to meet as soon as possible. I don’t know how much time we have.’

  ‘I’ll come to you,’ said Valentina. ‘Text me your address.’

  Tammy sent the text straight after their call. Two hours later, Valentina arrived with Roberts.

  ‘Nice place you have here! Medi Corps must have been paying you well,’ exclaimed Valentina.

  ‘Thank you,’ Tammy replied, feeling slightly embarrassed, being the humble person, she was. ‘Drink anyone?’ she offered.

  ‘Just coffee, please; black, no sugar,’ said Valentina.

  ‘Same,’ replied Roberts, not wanting to seem fussy.

  ‘So, what do you have?’ asked Valentina. ‘All I need is an address or a name, that’s it. None of the technical jargon; I get enough of that from Conroy!’

  Tammy smiled.

  ‘Here’s the address. I don’t have a name.’ She handed a piece of paper over.

  Valentina examined the address and showed Roberts. He smiled and nodded. It seemed as though they knew who the source was.

  ‘If this proves to be genuine and we can put solid evidence to the CPS, you’ll be changing lives.’ Valentina smiled at Tammy, trying not to crack her own moody face.

  Tammy returned the smile.

  ‘What about the professors?’ she asked.

  ‘Just tell them the findings were inconclusive, like I said.’

  ‘But I have found something they might be interested in!’

  ‘Tammy, you have done an outstanding job, but trust me, leave this be. If it gets out you have assisted with this, Davidson could sue you.’

  ‘True! Seems a shame.’

  ‘Trust me, leave it there. No one will know how we came to this.’

  Valentina and Roberts were like two children at Christmas. They called for backup and headed to the address to make the arrest.

  They pulled up at the address, and uniformed officers let them in to the apartment block via the communal door. They all accumulated outside the apartment, battering ram at the ready. An officer knocked first, and they all waited patiently. There was no answer, so they barged their way in.

  After a search of the apartment, it was clear there was no one home. The place was still lived in, but there was nothing of immediate concern.

  ‘Must be on a VPN,’ said Roberts.

  Valentina called Tammy for clarity.

  ‘Tammy, Valentina. Are you sure this is the address?’

  ‘Yes, I’m one hundred percent certain. I would never have given it to you if I wasn’t,’ Tammy replied.

  ‘There’s nothing here!’

  ‘The signal is still active.’

  ‘Could they be using a VPN?’ asked Valentina.

  ‘They are, yes, but I managed to override it. That is the address where the source is.’

  ‘Argh, okay, thank you. I’ll call you later.’ Valentina hung up and turned to Roberts.

  ‘She’s one hundred percent.’

  Roberts looked confused.

  ‘There’s nothing here, boss.’

  ‘We’ve got something!’ shouted a uniformed officer from another room. They both hurried into the room where the officer was standing. They could see a plug socket. The cable was going directly to the floor below through the floor boards.

  ‘Let’s go!’ shouted Valentina.

  They all gathered outside the apartment below and knocked on the door, then waited.

  ‘Do it!’ shouted Valentina.

  ‘Wait, we don’t have authorisation for this address.’

  ‘Do it!’ she shouted again, and they proceeded to force their way into the apartment.

  21

  Anderson jerked his laptop across the desk in his hotel room. The last thing he wanted to do was kill anyone in the police force. Too many people are dying from this; it wasn’t the plan, he thought to himself. However, as instructed by Scientist83, he had no choice, and he knew full well that if he declined the request, he’d be dead before the sun came up in the morning. This he had to do himself, without the use of Black Matter, now that his system had been compromised.

  He ran a bath in an attempt to relax, to clear his mind and to refocus on the task in hand. The bath helped, but only for a moment, with a glass of whisky taking the edge off his troubles. He really didn’t want to kill the two detectives who had discovered his setup.

  Anderson: “I can’t do it.”

  Scientist83: “You don’t have a choice!”

  Anderson: “There must be another way?”

  Scientist83: “You have until midnight tomorrow.”

  Scientist83: **IS NOW OFFLINE**

  He rubbed the belly of his beautiful wife, then kissed it, talking to the baby.

  ‘Daddy’s going to love you so much.’ Roberts then looked up to his wife, Annette, giving her a loving kiss.

  ‘I love you, beautiful.’

  She smiled,

  ‘I love you too.’

  Roberts left the house ready for the day ahead of him. He got into his car and made his way to the station to meet with Valentina.

  En route, he noticed a tatty F Reg, Ford Escort that had been behind him for some time. From memory, he recognised the vehicle from his street. Strange, he thought to himself. He continued on his usual route, checking his mirror constantly to find that the tatty car was lurking a few cars back. It could have been nothing, but as a matter of caution, he decided to take an alternate random route in order to work out what the driver of this car was up to.

  Roberts made a right turn at the bottom of Cathedral Road, where normally he would have gone left. He made his way down Cowbridge Road, and the tatty car was still a few cars back. He then made his way down Wellington and turned onto Leckwith, parking up in the football stadium. The tatty car followed and stopped outside a pub called the Sand Martin.

  A hooded individual just sat there, staring in his rear-view mirror at Roberts. Roberts got out of his own car, collected his taser and slowly walked towards the tatty heap of junk. The engine grumbled and choked, showing the car’s battered age, then it roared off, wheel spinning from the car park, leaving the smell of burnt rubber. The driver then jumped the red lights, heading towards the A4232. Roberts got the reg number, reciting it a few times to make sure he’d remember it.

  When Roberts arrived at the station, he explained to Valentina what had happened and ran a check on the battered vehicle – “Put to Scrap” back in 2010.

  ‘It’s probably someone you’ve pissed off trying to mess with your head. I wouldn’t worry about it,’ said Valentina.

  ‘But what if it’s connected with the McGregor case? Everything we’re working on at the moment links back to
that!’

  ‘Roberts, if you’re worried about some idiot following you around, then you’re in the wrong job. It happens!’ Valentina fobbed off his concerns, but he couldn’t settle.

  He ran a check of previous owners and came up with a dozen names, none of which caused any significant concern. He tried to let it drop for the moment and focussed on his work.

  ‘Boss, what’s next now for Anderson?’

  ‘I’ve run a check on his mobile phone and bank cards. Nothing’s been used since a few hours before we showed up. It’s as though he was expecting us. We have control reviewing CCTV in the area, but there’s nothing so far.’

  ‘I hate these blimmin’ cat and mouse games,’ Roberts exclaimed, showing frustration.

  ‘What’s up? It doesn’t normally bother you!’

  ‘Nothing, sorry. Annette’s not been feeling too great lately.’

  Towards the end of the day, they had come to a brick wall with their search for Anderson; a needle in a haystack was the term Valentina often used. They had to sit tight and wait for him to surface again. With eyes and ears on the street, they hoped it wouldn’t take too long.

  Roberts retired early for the day, keen to get home to his eight-month-pregnant Annette. As she hadn’t been feeling too well recently, he wanted to spend a bit more time at home and to be there for her. Valentina was supportive.

  Roberts took a different route home. This time, he went the long way up the A4232, and then down the M4, which added another 35 minutes to his journey. He still had an inkling in the back of his mind that he was being followed.

  A few streets from his home, he strangely noticed the tatty white car again. A cold shiver went down his spine as he drove past. He pulled over to check it out.

  The car was filthy. The windows were desperately in need of a good clean. Roberts had no idea how someone could be driving that thing. He used his sleeve to wipe part of the driver’s side window and peered in. The car was just a disgrace; full of food packages and bottles, and an abundance of used fag ends stumped out in the centre console. He dreaded to think what it smelt like in there.