by Guy Adams
‘That fits. All three deaths could appear accidental.’
‘Perhaps it’s simplest to look on the forces that fulfil the curse as agents of death,’ Cassandra continued. ‘Once invoked, they follow the victim around, affecting their environment wherever they go. They don’t do the killing themselves, they just create an environment in which it’s likely to happen.’
‘Right, anything else?’
‘There are limitations. In magic there always are. Firstly, the person who cast the curse has to be close by. Nobody’s sure why, it’s just part of the recipe. One of the factors that has to happen for the curse to trigger. Victim plus attacker plus external magical force equals boom. It’s the rules. Also, the curse can be reversed, but the victim has to stay alive long enough to do it. It’s like a game of Black Queen.’
Toby shrugged. ‘I’m not that up on card games.’
‘No? Brilliant! We should play strip poker! I bet you have really funny pants.’ She screwed her eyes up and stared at him again. ‘Do they have cartoon characters on them?’
‘No,’ Toby replied.
‘Don’t believe you!’ Cassandra laughed.
‘Black Queen,’ she said, ‘is a game where you take cards off one another, trying to make up pairs and stuff but the real object is not to get stuck with the Queen of Spades. If you’re left with that as your only card you’re dead! Well, not dead, not unless you play really competitively. That’s how you lose, though. Curses are the same. It’s dealt to the victim and they’re stuck with it unless they manage to hand it to someone else, preferably, unless you’re just horrid, the person that gave it to you in the first place.’
‘And how do you do that?’
‘Well, that’s where the idea of a digital curse is even more freaky. Traditionally, the curse is written on a piece of paper. That piece of paper is then given to the victim. It can’t just be slipped into their pocket or something, they have to actually accept it. You can be cunning about it, obviously. Say you sent it to someone by registered post so they have to sign for it, they open the envelope, the curse is inside it, you know? There are ways of sneaking it onto people, but the rules are strict – there has to be some kind of acceptance from the victim.’
‘Pressing the button on your mobile that opens the text message for example,’ said Shining.
‘Yeah, I guess that’s close enough. There is at least an act of acceptance. Then, once you have it, the only way to escape it is to pass it back in the same manner. So you have to get the person who sent it to you to accept it back.’
‘Which they’re unlikely to do,’ said Toby.
‘Well, no, you’d have to be really, really clever about it. Again, it’s all about acceptance. Say you dropped the piece of paper and someone else picked it up. That doesn’t count. It wasn’t an active act of exchange, yes? The person casting the curse usually takes a few safety measures too, tries to build in a self-destruct, you know? So, the piece of paper is likely to get caught by wind, or fall in the fire.’
‘It has a life of its own?’
‘No, but it’s the same as the world changing around the victim, becoming an environment where something horrible is likely to happen. The world around the curse is likely to get hostile too, accidents will happen.’
‘But if the curse is being sent by SMS,’ said Shining, ‘and the phone destroys itself on receipt of the message …’
‘Then you couldn’t text it back,’ Cassandra agreed, ‘you’re stuck with it. Dead man walking.’
CHAPTER FIVE: THE HIGHER POWER
a) Piccadilly Line, Northbound, London
They ate their food and said their goodbyes to Cassandra, who did her best to ignore them.
‘There’s no need to go rushing off,’ she said. ‘I’m free as a bird. Why not go and have some more fun? We could go on a boat trip? Or the aquarium! Or the London Eye! I’ve never been on that!’
‘Nor should you,’ said August, ‘unless you want to end up in an alternate dimension. It’s nothing but a portal to other worlds built by the Illuminati.’
Cassandra skipped on the spot in ecstasy. ‘I knew it! Brilliant! Let’s go and blow it up.’
‘Another day, perhaps. We really must go.’
Eventually accepting that she wasn’t going to get her own way, she agreed to look into the curse in more detail and strolled off in a sulk.
‘She’s a handful,’ said Toby as they joined the Piccadilly Line at Leicester Square to head back to the office.
‘Isn’t she?’ agreed Shining. ‘Knows her stuff, though. We’ll see if she comes up with anything we can use.’
‘It all seems a bit grim,’ said Toby. ‘Death by remote control. An assassin’s dream.’
‘It certainly is, though usually the casting of curses comes with a weighty risk. It’s generally accepted that the more you interact with such forces the more aware of you they become. The more aware of you they are, the higher the price you might one day pay.’
‘Like a radiologist developing a tumour.’
‘There are powers and forces out there that are potent and dangerous. I hesitate to call them demons or anything so loaded with religious significance because I’m not sure that’s relevant. Just because ancient cultures defined them in such terms doesn’t mean we should. They couldn’t help but convey the divine on something powerful, it was in their nature. You know my attitude, magic is simply science we don’t understand yet. These forces are no different. For centuries, mankind has believed in the presence of “higher beings”, they certainly exist. Some are little more than forces of nature, like so many of the powers that Cassandra described, forces that enact the wishes of someone casting a curse. These seem rigid in their thinking, single-minded, narrow-visioned, they force their nature onto our world.’
‘“Agents of death”, she called them.’
‘Exactly. They are animalistic, impossible to reason with, though dealing with them is controlled by strict rules which can be an advantage.’
‘As long as you know the rules.’
‘Precisely, which, hopefully, will be where Cassandra proves useful.
‘Then there are the others,’ Shining continued, ‘forces that are more sentient, forces that negotiate, forces that have desires of their own.’
‘And these are the sort of forces you would use in a summoning?’
‘Sometimes, though in my experience they are best avoided altogether. Think of them as enemy agents, sometimes a deal with them can seem advantageous but you always know that there will be a long-term cost. And that cost may be more than you can bear to pay.’
‘Sounds like you’re talking from experience.’
Shining gave a rather sad smile. ‘In this business, we’ve all made deals that stick in our craw. Though if I had negotiated with one of the higher powers, and I’m not saying I have, I couldn’t tell you. That’s one of the rules.’
Toby sighed. ‘Just when I think I’m beginning to get a handle on this weird world of yours I lose my grip.’
‘Of course,’ Shining laughed. ‘And don’t think it gets better with age, I’m surprised by the world every day. That’s life. Ultimately, though,’ he continued, ‘it’s all familiar enough. Deals and danger, destructive power that might be more than you can handle, decisions and doubt. That’s a life in espionage. It’s only the terminology that’s different.’
Toby thought about that for a moment then something else occurred to him.
‘Is the London Eye really a portal to other dimensions?’
‘Of course not, but I didn’t think she’d believe me if I told her what it really was.’
b) Section 37, Wood Green, London
Back at the office, Shining inserted the memory stick that Fratfield had given him into his computer.
‘Let’s look at who we’re dealing with,’ he said, opening the various files.
At which point, the door crashed open and April Shining, August’s sister, came in. She was the sort of person tha
t couldn’t help but change a room by entering it, like a poison gas or an explosive device.
‘Hello my darlings,’ she said, crash-landing on one of the sofas as if shot by a nearby sniper. ‘I trust you missed me terribly?’
‘Have you been somewhere?’ Toby asked, heading through to the kitchen to put the kettle on.
‘You must have noticed your lives had been dreary for the last seven days?’ she asked, unburdening herself of a selection of woollen garments and flinging them around the place. By the time she had finished the office looked like a market stall in Camden. ‘I’ve been to Switzerland with the President of Lithuania.’
‘Of course you have,’ said Shining. ‘When is war to be expected?’
‘You’re so awful,’ his sister complained. ‘It is a constant wonder to me that I love you. It was just a girl’s weekend, you know, skiing and shopping.’
‘Since when could you ski?’ Shining asked.
‘I can do lots of physical things I don’t discuss with you, brother dearest,’ she replied offering him a coquettish look from behind a sofa cushion.
‘Given the things you do tell me, I dread to think.’
‘Oh!’ She clapped her hands. ‘Is that Clive?’ She was looking at the computer screen where Shining had just opened Clive King’s dossier. ‘That brings back memories. The banks of the Avon will forever be marked by our young love.’
‘Like industrial pollution,’ Shining muttered. ‘Is there anyone in the Cabinet you don’t claim to have had dalliances with?’
‘I’m not one to kiss and tell,’ she replied, moving over to stand behind him.
‘Of course not, darling sister.’
‘So what’s the current beef, old thing? Had time to look into that business with the gremlins at Westfield?’
‘Having your credit card refused at Debenhams is not proof of occult activity.’
‘It was Anne Summers, actually.’
‘Then we can only assume it was divine intervention.’
Toby came in with a cafetière and three cups.
‘Come and be nice to me, darling,’ said April, patting the sofa next to her. ‘The old man’s being beastly.’
‘Work calls, I’m afraid,’ Toby replied, trying to restrain a look of fear.
‘Work, pish and tish, you’re just mooning about the girl upstairs again.’
‘Why does everyone …’ Toby sighed and tried to swallow his exasperation. ‘I am not mooning over anyone.’
‘Nonsense,’ April replied with a devilish grin, looking to her brother. ‘He loves her, August darling, isn’t it delightful? Her knight in shining armour!’
‘I was there too, you know,’ Shining replied.
‘A mere chauffeur. Toby did all the hard work, like the brilliant man he is. You’re so lucky to have him. As is she. I fair melt just looking at him. I swear I approached orgasm the minute he walked into the room. Mark my words, she won’t be able to resist, he’ll be wallowing in her knickers before the year is out.’
‘I have no intention of “wallowing” in Tamar’s knickers!’ Toby shouted, embarrassed.
‘This is good,’ said Tamar, walking in. ‘They would be too small for you, I think.’
April burst into hysterics and hid behind her cushion. Toby sat at his desk and considered the viability of suicide by stapler.
‘The water is off again,’ said Tamar. ‘I have call landlord but he pretend he not understand. He is liar. My English is good. Why you not let me talk to him face-to-face, I do not know.’
‘Because you’d probably end up killing him,’ said Shining, ‘and that would cause all sorts of complications.’
‘I’ll call him,’ said Toby, reaching for his phone, glad of something constructive to do.
‘See?’ said April. ‘What a gentleman. Always happy to assist with a woman’s plumbing.’
‘April!’ Shining glared at her. ‘Do leave the poor boy alone.’
‘Jesus,’ sighed Toby, wandering out of the office, his mobile to his ear, ‘it’s like having a pair of dysfunctional parents fighting over me.’
‘Mummy knows best!’ April laughed.
‘You say too far,’ said Tamar, sneering at her. ‘You make him embarrassed.’
‘So cheer him up, then,’ said April with a smile. ‘I’m sure you know how.’
Tamar clicked her tongue in irritation and walked out after Toby.
Shining shook his head. ‘April, I love you but you are a pain.’
‘Nonsense, if I didn’t bring the subject up he’d just keep ignoring it. He may be embarrassed but at least she knows how he thinks about her.’ She winked. ‘There is some method in this old girl’s madness, you know.’
‘No doubt.’ Shining returned to looking at his computer screen, deciding to change the subject. ‘Lufford Hall, know it?’
‘Lord, yes, dusty old pile of bricks in Warwickshire, they use it for conferences and what have you. I once spent a draughty weekend there avoiding the attentions of the Chief Whip’s whip. Why?’
Shining explained about the talks with the delegates from South Korea.
‘How frightful!’ said April. ‘Sir James was a lovely old stick, he backed me when I had that fuss with the Chechens.’
Shining had no idea what ‘fuss’ she was referring to; his sister’s career in politics and espionage was a complex rug he had never quite been able to unravel.
‘And his poor PA, she seemed a lovely girl. Leonard Holley was a pest but still, I wouldn’t wish a car on top of him. I don’t understand, though – if someone’s got an axe to grind with the Koreans, why are they having a pop at our lot?’
‘I imagine they think we’re more likely to be scared off from the talks. Of course, given the current financial mess it would take a lot more than this to have the government pull out. We need the money too badly.’
‘How tiresome it is to be poor.’
‘If, as seems likely, the mobile phones were the trigger, the attackers probably also wanted to avoid GCHQ flagging anything up.’
‘Because they’ll be all over the South Koreans like a rash.’
‘Standard practice these days, I’m afraid. The Korean delegates will be wired for sound.’
‘Never let it be said we don’t know how to extend the trusting hand of friendship.’
‘Oh, GCHQ worries about its budget too much to let an opportunity like this pass it by, they’ll be crossing their fingers that they’ve got a productive source of intel for years to come via key-logging.’
‘I hope nobody’s planted anything on my laptop.’
‘So do I. They’d see things no mortal man should be expected to witness.’
She clipped him on his arm. ‘So they actually called you in?’
‘Sir Robin was on the verge of tears.’
‘Wonderful! About time they treated you with a bit of respect.’
‘I wouldn’t quite go that far. We’re very much the silent partner in the operation. Most of the security is going to be down to Box.’ He clicked open another dossier. ‘They’ve put Mark Rowlands on it.’ ‘Box’ was a colloquial term for the Security Service and the dossier showed its seal watermarked across it. ‘He seems a decent chap, though I’ve never worked with him.’
‘Too young for me, too,’ April said, scanning the man’s file. ‘I was long gone by the time this lad was a gleam in his talent spotter’s eye. Where did they find him?’
‘Police background, Serious Organised Crime Thingie, or whatever they’re calling it this year.’
‘He looks nice,’ said April. ‘Sexy eyes.’
‘If it were down to you, the entire intelligence service would be nothing but a parade of calendar models.’
‘Nonsense, I’d hate to put you out of your job. Who else?’
‘We’ll meet Rowlands’ team tomorrow at Lufford. I haven’t been briefed on them. Fratfield is on hand from SIS.’
‘Him I do know, though he was after my time. My dear pal George says the nicest
things about him. Apparently, he recruited him out of some ghastly polytechnic in the north.’
‘You consider anywhere that isn’t Oxford or Cambridge a “polytechnic”, you terrible snob. They don’t have them any more, you know.’
‘Quite right too. Ghastly places.’
Shining sighed and shook his head. ‘He seems a good man. Obviously there’s Clive King running the show. Add to him a chap with the quite awful name of Lemuel Spang.’
‘Please tell me you’re joking.’
‘Afraid not, his parents must have been even more psychotic than ours. He’s there from the Bank of England so he’ll be minding our pounds, shillings and pence.’
She looked at his photo. ‘He looks like an advert for a particularly cheap brand of electric razor,’ she said. ‘I bet he wears a lot of pinstripe and drives an Audi.’
‘Not that you’re in the least bit judgemental.’
‘He’s called Spang, he deserves whatever I care to throw at him.’
‘The Diplomats have sent Ranesh Varma. I hear good things about him.’ Shining opened another file. ‘He’s sharp, a good egg.’
‘You’re so bloody English. “Good egg”, honestly … You’ll be talking about cricket with him next.’
‘He’s from Pakistan, we’ll only end up in a fight.’
‘Bless you, you’re pretending to know things about sport, how sweet. If he’s a diplomat he’ll probably just smile at you.’
‘I imagine he has a team of his own, too. HMDS don’t like to skimp.’
‘Well,’ said April, sitting back down, ‘one of them had better be a woman, it’s a terribly sexist bunch of buggers otherwise.’ She picked up her coffee and took a sip. ‘I know!’ she said. ‘Give me a couple of tics.’ She ferreted for her phone in her handbag. ‘Vince owes me a favour after I helped him practise his bloody foxtrot.’