by Carl Andrew
“I don’t know what to do. Who was Benson?” Leon said.
“What did you say?” Vanessa shot back, stopping in her tracks.
“Who was Benson? That’s the guy from the park. That’s my contact. He said his name was Benson,” Leon responded.
“Are you sure he said Benson?” Vanessa asked.
“Yes. Why?”
“What did he look like?” Vanessa continued. She was talking at pace now but all the while, she scoured her surroundings to check she wasn’t being watched or overheard.
“Tallish well-built blonde hair with a scar above his eye.”
“A scar, like how, like in the shape of a tick, above his left eye?” She continued her line of questioning.
“Yeah, how did you know?” Leon said.
“Oh no, this just doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“What doesn’t make sense? Vanessa, talk to me,” Leon snapped.
“That’s… that’s David’s Chief Protection Officer. What the hell is going on?” It was Vanessa’s turn to panic.
She suddenly realised that anything could be on that thumb drive. They were dealing with a person who was at the heart of everything the Government was doing and he knew more than any of them realised.
She thought about her own exposure. What would the drive reveal about her?
She paused for a moment and considered her situation.
Finally, she spoke: “Leon, I need to tell you something. I need to let you know something I’m not proud of but you need to believe me that I had to do it and I never intended to cause any harm.”
“Vanessa, what are you talking about?”
“Leon, listen to me. That time when Abby was taken. You know it was always under control. I had to find out if she could hurt us. Of course we didn’t know who she was then.” Vanessa was talking in riddles. She hadn’t planned to let this get out into the open. She hadn’t thought Leon would ever find out.
“Vanessa, what are you saying?” Leon couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You did it. You took Abby. You knew all along where she was and you didn’t tell me. How could you? How can I ever trust you?” Leon was perplexed. His world was crumbling down, piece by piece. He didn’t know what to believe anymore.
“Vanessa, I don’t know who you are.”
“Leon, I had no choice.”
“I can’t speak to you…” Leon hung up. He was all alone. He had to do this by himself.
Chapter 29:
10 Downing Street, London
Russell had fielded several more calls over the last week from other charities complaining about the treatment of their support staff. He saw on the news a slip road leading to an A road. The traffic was backed up but the roadway ahead was completely empty.
According to the report, drivers were refusing to be the first to merge because they saw merging first as a negative act. They wanted to avoid anything that could potentially cost them more.
“This is ludicrous.” he said to himself.
The crime figures were still down but this wasn’t how things were supposed to go. The Anti-Social Behaviour Act had a completely different purpose. It was being misused.
He had a meeting with David to get to. Walking down the corridor, he pulled out his phone and sent a text to Vanessa:
Where are you? I need to discuss something with you. It’s important. Text me back.
He knocked on David’s door and walked in.
David was waiting for him. “Russell, how’s your morning been?” He asked.
“A little worrying actually David, we need to talk about the Anti-Social Behaviour Act. Things aren’t working out as they should be,” Russell replied.
“I thought it was working ok. Crime rates are still down and town centres are still a lot safer. I’d consider that a success,” David was quick to respond.
“But surely the purpose of this whole strategy was to change behaviour, to make people consider their actions and choose the right one. All that’s happening is the promotion of selfish acts. It looks like we’re buying off bad behaviour by providing rewards,” Russell said.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean people are fighting with charity volunteers. They’re stopping traffic so they don’t have to merge. It’s crazy. It’s not how it should be working,” Russell continued.
“Russell, as far as I’m concerned, the statistics show its working. We have a budget surplus and violent assaults have dramatically reduced. So what if people are doing good deeds for the wrong reasons. At least they’re behaving well,” David shot back.
“Besides, what does Vanessa think about everything? Did you discuss it in your meeting this morning?” He asked.
Russell paused for a moment to consider his response.
“David, Vanessa didn’t show up for our meeting this morning. I haven’t seen or heard from her since yesterday. I was hoping you might be able to tell me where she was. Have you seen her at all?”
David stared at Russell blankly, as if some element of realisation had just positioned itself in the centre of his mind.
“That’s very strange Russell. Err… I’m sure there’s a perfectly good explanation. Leave it with me. I’ll ask her to contact you,” he said without much conviction.
Russell knew better than to challenge what David was saying: “I’m sure you’re right David. I’ll… I’ll wait to hear from her. We’ll review the strategy and perhaps we can discuss it at a later date.”
David nodded and gestured to the door. The meeting was over. Russell left the room and David waited until the door had closed before he rubbed his chin.
He went over to his desk to access his phone…
David liked to be kept informed. He hated being out of the loop so he called Benson. He wanted him to find Vanessa. He dialled the number and became acquainted with a ring tone. It was a relationship that lasted entirely too long.
In a drawer, in a flat in North London, a mobile phone beeped into life but there was no one there to answer it.
Disgruntled, David replaced the receiver. His Chief Advisor was missing; his Chief Security Office was out of contact. He suddenly felt isolated, suffocated, and uncertain for the first time in as long as he could remember…
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Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
The train busied its way out of London and up to his destination. Leon was operating on guess work now. He was making decisions based on how he felt, without any rationale. He was acting on impulse.
Self-preservation was the first priority. He needed to get away from London quickly so he packed a bag and went to the station, taking the back streets to avoid detection. He was kidding himself, he was no international spy. He was a blogger from Bolton. Still, it felt like the right thing to do. It was impulsive.
He needed to find someone who could decode the thumb drive. He had no alternative. He had to enlist the help of Jennifer so he bought a one way ticket to Huntingdon. He knew sooner or later he would have to face the music with Abby and reveal all. It may as well be today. In his mind, his life was virtually over as it was. He knew that what he was embroiled in now could end him professionally and physically.
So here he was, on a train heading north with a potentially explosive weapon of data in his pocket, unsure who was friend or foe. He had to keep his wits about him. He had to tread the thin line between feeling suspicious of everything but looking and acting as normal as he could.
His main partner in all of this gone, untrustworthy, and traitorous. He was an enemy of whoever the information on the drive condemned without knowing who that was. It was a sobering feeling.
He hadn’t called ahead. He didn’t want to provide any clues or notification of where he was going. As far as Abby and Jennifer were concerned, his arrival would be a complete surprise.
So he looked outside, he studied the scenery and used the inward reflection of the window as his tool of scrutiny. He had selected a
seat at the back of a carriage so the window could show him an inverted picture of the entire carriage. It was early afternoon but dark enough to prove effective. He wondered if this was a technique James Bond would adopt.
Then, his haven appeared, Huntingdon Station. As innocuous as any other time he had visited but on this occasion it could prove to be his sanctuary. He collected his bag and observed his surroundings before making his way off the train.
He hadn’t even considered whether Abby would be at Jennifer’s house or if they would both be in. He faced the prospect of waiting on the doorstep. That would only serve to draw suspicion. He shook his head to engender clarity. He’d have to deal with that situation on the fly, whatever happened.
A taxi waited and the driver acknowledged Leon in the hope he would reciprocate with a fare. On this occasion, he was successful. Leon climbed into the back and provided his instruction. The car drove off and Leon watched the station fade into the distance.
He patted his trouser pocket with his hand to check on his bounty. Nothing, where is it? He moved his hand down, still nothing, panic. Then, there it was nestling in the bottom where the lining met the trouser leg. Paranoia was encapsulating his very soul.
The journey took an age. Traffic was abundant as workers desperately wanted to get home. He checked his watch; it was 5pm. Rush hour.
Finally, the car turned the corner, stopped outside a house and Leon paid his dues. He’d only just set foot on the driveway when the door opened and a smiling Abby appeared.
“I knew you couldn’t survive without me,” she said hugging and kissing him in one motion.
“What happened? Did you burn the flat down or something?” she said continuing her jest. She looked at Leon and his face was expressionless.
“You’ve burnt the flat down haven’t you?” She said, suddenly believing her joke had become a reality.
“No, no nothing like that. I wanted to see you,” he said. “I needed to see you.”
“Is everything ok? You’re acting awfully strange,” Abby asked.
“Is your mum here babe? I need to speak with you both,” Leon replied still expressionless.
Abby questioned what was wrong. She sensed something, everything; but Leon wouldn’t reveal. He was insistent on speaking to both Abby and Jennifer together. And so they gathered, together, in the lounge.
Leon took a deep breath. He looked at both of them individually. He was sitting on a dining chair facing his girlfriend and her mother on the couch. To an observer, it would look something like an interview.
He took another breath, long, deep, filling his lungs and exhaling audibly.
Then he began. He began to reveal his story. He spoke of the meeting with Vanessa in the park, the concerns she had, the request she had made of him. He spoke of the tip off from his contact, the meeting, the shooting, the thumb drive. The more he revealed, the lighter he felt. It was as if the world became brighter through the fuel of his words.
He spoke of Vanessa’s disappearance, he spoke of her treachery. At this point, Abby screamed out. She was apoplectic with rage. It was bad enough that the act had occurred in the first place let alone orchestrated by someone she now knew.
She had smiled at Vanessa when they met. They shook hands. The thought made Abby feel tainted in some way.
Leon reached over to try and calm her. All the while Jennifer was shocked. She had spent so much time alone with this person. Vanessa tried to hurt her family. She couldn’t believe it.
Leon continued. He moved on to the topic of now, the immediate. How he needed help to decode the drive and access the information. He spoke of the gravity of the situation. The danger involved but the importance of uncovering the truth.
Then he stopped and he apologised. He realised that they were now complicit in this. The information he had shared had unwillingly implicated them in this whole situation. They were now walking in the same fear sodden shoes that he had been prisoner to for the last few days.
They realised it too. Abby and Jennifer knew they had no choice but to help. So they tackled the question. They moved from the theoretical to the practical. Who could help decode the drive?
“There is someone,” Jennifer spoke up after a few moments of group contemplation.
“Who,” Leon asked.
“I just don’t know if I should get them involved. I mean, I’m essentially changing someone’s entire world by bringing them into this mess,” Jennifer went on.
“I know, I realise that Jennifer but… but we have no choice. We have to unlock the secrets in here,” Leon said holding up the thumb drive as he spoke.
“Do you trust this person? Can you… trust this person?” He continued.
Jennifer pondered for a moment, just a brief, fleeting moment. “Yes. Absolutely I trust him,” she confirmed.
“Would you call him? Please Jennifer, please help us to move forward with this. If he can do this, we need his help,” Leon was urging her. He was pleading with her. This was now his Everest and he needed to conquer it because it was so close and it led to a potential cornucopia of possibilities.
Abby looked at her mum. She nodded encouragement to her. She willed her to take the next step. And so Jennifer obliged. She pulled her phone out and dialled a number. She walked into the kitchen as the call connected. She needed this to be a private discussion. She didn’t know why, it just felt right that way.
A few minutes later she returned to the room. Her facial expression was difficult to read. Eventually, Leon couldn’t wait any longer… “And,” He said inquisitively.
“I couldn’t say too much on the phone. I could only give Simon the basic outline. This whole situation has turned me paranoid. I was worried someone could overhear our conversation. I was worried my phone might be bugged. It’s absolutely crazy,” she said.
“So he’s coming over. We’ll need to fill him in on the whole story. Simon works in my team at the lab. He’s the best person to help. He’s a technical wizard.”
Then it was a waiting game. No one spoke. Silence and contemplation provided the entertainment in the room for the next 15 minutes until a knock at the door.
It was him.
Jennifer answered the door and returned with a meek looking gentleman. She introduced him to Abby and Leon. Simon could feel the tension in the room. It was stifling. He sat down nervously and Leon told him his story.
All the while Simon cringed and squinted as though what Leon was saying was happening in real time, right in front of him. When he’d finished, Leon looked Simon in the eyes and asked him to disregard his old life and venture into a new uncertainty.
“Will you help us?”
Simon considered this. He was a considerate person. Jennifer recalled how discerning he was in everything he did. Then he spoke:
“Leon, tonight I sat at home. I started reading a book I’ve read many times before. I made a cup of tea at the same time I always have my tea, in the same mug I always use, one sugar, slightly milky. Tonight, I would have taken a bath, at the same time I’ve always taken a bath.”
Leon, Abby and Jennifer looked at each other confused. This was a riddle they were not prepared for.
“My life exists for nothing but my work. It has no other purpose,” Simon continued.
“And so I came here after receiving a call from my boss that changed my normal routine. I listened to your situation and I understood the repercussion of my involvement the more I heard. So, now I’m faced with a choice. Go back to my safe, normal life or change it for everything that is exciting, dangerous and downright crazy,” he said before a big smile appeared on his small face.
“I couldn’t think of anything I’d rather do than risk everything tonight. I’m in. Besides, there’s not an encryption yet that I haven’t beaten,” he concluded, hungry for the challenge.
Leon, Abby and Jennifer let out a collective sigh, of relief, of belief, of happiness, they weren’t sure what exactly. All they knew is they were one step closer to finding
out what was on that drive. That piece of plastic and metal that, in reality, weighed a fraction of the emotional burden it had laid down on them.
Leon handed it over to Simon along with his laptop and the small ginger bearded saviour got to work.
It took about an hour of mutterings of “oh” and “I see” along with “I say, that’s splendid” before Simon lifted his head and announced it was complete.
He didn’t even bother to read the information on the screen. That wasn’t important to him. He’d won his challenge. He’d beaten the encryption. The next phase was up to the rest of them.
He handed the laptop over. Leon, Abby and Jennifer crowded around and read, their jaws dropping in unison as they scoured what was in front of them.
It was a chronological history stretching back about five years. There were names, dates and details of conversation and actions. The information was volatile, highly explosive. They were awestruck but still frustrated because it contained abbreviations, acronyms and code words. It was an incomplete puzzle with no final piece.
They realised almost as one that they had another final challenge to face. Leon broke the silence.
“We need someone to fill in the gaps here. I’m sorry to say we need Vanessa,” he said.
There it was, the gauntlet laid down. Abby immediately refused and looked at her mum for support. But none was forthcoming.
“Mum, you can’t honestly be considering this? After everything she’s done. How could we possibly trust her?” Abby spoke with passion.
“Darling, we have no choice. Who else could decipher this? We have no one. We’ve come too far tonight to stop here. This…,” she said pointing at the screen on the laptop. “This has the potential to change everything. We can’t leave it unsatisfied.”
“Abby, your mum’s right. There is no alternative. We can’t stop now, we’ve gone too far. If we don’t finish this, my life, your life and potentially your mum’s life will be in danger. I mean just look at this. I’ve only got half the picture and I’m scared, petrified of what the rest might reveal,” Leon said in agreement with Jennifer.