Cyber Terror

by Rose, Malcolm

  Raven was so fixed on the laptop that she didn’t notice Jordan coming into the underground computer room. She let out a cry and jumped when he asked, “How’s it going?”

  “You gave me a fright,” she replied. “It’s okay. Not brilliant, but okay. I’ve located a program called ‘UnTrojan’. That’s bound to be what we want, but I’m not sure how it works. The technicians will be able to help. They’re due any second. I’ll figure it out with them. You can’t rush this. If you press the wrong button, it might demolish your control systems completely.”

  Jordan nodded. “Eli remembered you.”

  “Yeah? Well, I tried to engage with him – I tried to be kind – but you can’t. Not with someone who’s only interested in himself and gadgets.” She paused before adding, “He’s a good candidate for Short Circuit.”

  “Maybe, but...”

  Raven interrupted. “You’re inexperienced. Angel’s sending a specialist to talk to him. Then we’ll know.” She looked into Jordan’s face and added, “Go and get some rest. I don’t need you yet. I’ll come and get you when we’re ready to kick-start your bits.”

  Jordan sighed. “All right. Thanks. I’m knackered.”

  Someone had got him by his arm. He could feel the fingers gripping his left elbow. He could feel the shaking. The movement dragged him back from sleep to wakefulness. “What...?”

  Kate Stelfox was tugging at him and whispering into his ear. “Jordan! What you said got me wondering.”

  He groaned and opened his still feeble eyes. “What did I say?”

  “About Raven,” she said in a loud whisper. “I didn’t think for a minute that she... But I made a few discreet enquiries and looked a few things up.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about where Raven was on the eleventh of February.”

  Finally Jordan shook off the numbness of sleep. “That’s when the plane came down in Ecuador.”

  Kate nodded. “She was on a skiing holiday in Switzerland.”

  Jordan sat up in his bed. “Geography’s not my strong point, but I don’t think Switzerland’s on the way to Ecuador.”

  “But I don’t know for sure that she stayed in Switzerland the whole time. She went by train. They’re the only records I could find. She could’ve flown on from Switzerland.”

  After his encounter with Eli Kennington, Jordan suspected that Short Circuit was using the same Trojan technology. Even so, he said, “I suppose a hacker could have crashed it from anywhere...even Australia.”

  “I haven’t finished yet. It’s quite a coincidence she was taking a long weekend when the Edinburgh crash happened. I don’t know about the rest, but a while ago she arranged to have tomorrow off as well – exactly when Short Circuit’s up to something. Angel says it’s her job to help unlock your enhancements. If she does that this morning, he won’t cancel her day’s leave. He’s got other computer technicians who can stand in for her.”

  Jordan forced a smile. “It’s not exactly proof, is it?”

  “Remember when we watched nobody collecting the five million in Kingston Upon Thames? How did Short Circuit know the powers-that-be had coughed up? He – or she – didn’t make an appearance in the park.” Answering her own question, she continued, “A Unit Red agent would’ve known what was going on.”

  “But...”

  “What?”

  Jordan shook his head. “She can’t be getting revenge for Kennington. She didn’t know he was in prison – if she told me the truth. But why would anyone go for revenge so long after he’s been let out? It’s too late.”

  “Not if sympathy for Eli Kennington isn’t the driving force.”

  Jordan hesitated, thinking. There was another option and its cruelty made him shiver. If Raven really was Short Circuit, she could have taken advantage of Eli Kennington’s weakness and innocence. She could have set him up as a stooge. “All right,” he said to Kate. “She could’ve made it look like Kennington by bumping off his enemies. That way, he’d take the blame, not her. But why would she do that?”

  Kate let out a long breath and then admitted, “I don’t know.”

  “I suppose it doesn’t have to be Raven. Anyone who knows him could be trying to dump him in it. As long as they’re red hot with electronics.”

  “I guess so.”

  “Lying here isn’t going to sort it out,” Jordan said. “I’ll get up. It’ll take me an age. Do you know how hard it is to get a shirt on with only one hand?”

  “Do you want me to...?” She took one look at his frown and grinned. “No, you’d rather take an age than admit you need a woman to dress you.” Walking to the door, she said, “I’ll leave you to it.”

  “I’ll be down in about eight hours.”

  Jordan went into the medical room. There, Raven and two technicians were hunched over a single laptop. To the side, Angel and Kate were talking quietly.

  “Ah,” Angel said, stepping forward. “Sit down. We’re ready...”

  “As ready as we’re ever going to be,” Raven said.

  “Relax,” Angel continued. “They’re just going to try turning one system on. Not everything.”

  “Is that so only one thing cops it, if it goes wrong?”

  Angel paused before answering. “I can’t lie to you, Jordan. There’s a risk. One step at a time is a wise precaution.”

  “It’s a fiendishly tricky program, this,” Raven admitted. “But we’re going for your sense of smell first.”

  “Because that’s the one I can most easily do without?”

  The others looked at each other and then Angel said, “Yes. Let’s do it.”

  Jordan realized that he was holding his breath as one of the technicians typed for a few seconds and then hit the return key.

  Everyone in the room was gazing at Jordan, waiting.

  Nothing clicked in his head or anywhere else. Nothing jolted or went dead. After a few seconds, Jordan smiled, sniffed and said, “Someone stepped in something nasty this morning.”

  “Wasn’t me,” Raven replied quickly. “I’ve been working here all night.”

  They all checked their shoes. One of the computer specialists said, “It could be me. There’s a tiny stain. I can’t smell it, but it could be dog mess.”

  Jordan said, “It got stronger when you lifted your shoe up.”

  Angel beamed broadly. “The joys of an acute nose.”

  There were other, nicer smells. Raven hadn’t applied her fruity cedar-wood perfume recently, but the characteristic whiff lingered.

  “Right,” Angel continued. “Visual system. Are you all ready? Jordan?”

  “Yes.”

  His eyesight clarified in an instant. It went from flat grey to full and clear colour, like turning on a TV. But he didn’t immediately make sense of the images, as if he’d tuned in to a program showing a bizarre dream sequence. Tints, focus and lustre came and went.

  “It might take a while to reboot itself,” Angel explained.

  The chief was right. After a few seconds, the pictures settled to normal and Jordan sighed with relief.

  Angel pointed to the eye-test chart attached to the far wall. “Can you read the bottom line of letters?”

  “Easily,” Jordan replied. “And underneath, the small print says, ‘Made in Loughborough, UK.’”

  “Does it?” Angel said, squinting at the testcard. He had to get close to check what Jordan had seen from a distance.

  Within another three minutes, all of Jordan’s systems were up and running again. Using his false arm and hand, he’d passed Angel’s test of picking up a five pence coin from the floor. He turned towards the IT specialists and said, “Thanks, guys.”

  “You look a lot happier.”

  “I feel...whole again.”

  “Right,” Angel said emphatically. “Back to work.”

  “Oh?”

  “I got news from the windmill,” Angel told Jordan. “There was no sign of a breakout, but Kennington and his car had gone
. That means he had a key inside. I guess he just woke up, grabbed it and left.”

  “I’m surprised he could find it. He had stuff all over the place.”

  Angel nodded. “The agent’s sifting through everything right now. And these technicians are going through his laptop, looking for incriminating evidence.”

  “No sign of it yet,” one of them said.

  “But the important point,” Angel stressed, “is that Eli Kennington’s on the loose again. And we’re a day away from Short Circuit’s next strike.”

  Looking up, Raven added, “It could be hours if he strikes just after midnight tonight.”

  20 GUARDIAN ANGEL

  “The trouble with a job like ours,” Raven said to Kate, “is that it can become your life, instead of just being part of it.” It was lunchtime on Saturday and Raven was about to leave. “I’m on call over the rest of the weekend. Slightest whiff of an emergency and I’ll be back in. Let’s hope I don’t see you till Monday.”

  “Okay,” Kate replied. “Have fun.”

  As soon as Raven walked out of the room, Kate glanced at her watch. Without telling anyone else what she was going to do, she waited for half an hour and then went to her own car. First, she checked that the transmitter she’d sneaked in to Raven’s Volvo was working. Then she eased out of the garage and followed the signal north-east out of London. By tracking Raven, Kate expected to discover once and for all whether her colleague had anything to do with Short Circuit.

  Guided by the transmitter, she pulled into a lay-by on a quiet road that cut through Epping Forest. With a puzzled expression, she examined the signal from the transmitter. Raven’s Volvo was two hundred metres ahead and it hadn’t moved for twenty minutes. Kate looked around. Apart from the narrow road, she was surrounded by dense trees. She would have preferred to have been called to this spot to put out a forest fire. That had its risks, of course, but Unit Red business was more menacing, it seemed to Kate, because its dangers were unseen. Slowly, she opened her car door and emerged into the cool wind. Scanning from side to side, she decided to make her way towards the stationary Volvo on foot.

  She walked parallel to the road on a footpath through the forest. There was little noise apart from the occasional passing traffic. After a minute, she saw the distinctive gold colour of Raven’s car. Trying to keep to the cover of the trees, she crept nearer and nearer. There was no one in the Volvo. It had been abandoned in the wood. Jumping across a ditch, she came out into the open. Curious, she went up to the car, peered inside and then walked right around it. Stopping by the driver’s door, she tried the handle. It wasn’t locked and she noticed that the key was in the ignition. She opened the door and glanced about her once more. Still there was no sign of her Unit Red colleague.

  Slipping into the driver’s seat, she felt underneath the dashboard. The transmitter she’d put there was no longer in place. But it had led her to this quiet spot. Where was it now? Where was Raven and what was she doing?

  Kate did not have to wait for answers. She jolted as she realized that Raven was outside, looming over her. Kate opened the window. “Hi. Er... I’m sorry...”

  Black hair blowing in the wind and laptop in hand, Raven said, “Thank goodness you’re here. Can I borrow your mobile?”

  “Er... Yeah. Sure.” Kate handed it to her through the window. “What’s wrong?”

  Raven took it, slipped it into a pocket and replied, “Nothing. At least, nothing’s wrong with me. But it’d be a good idea if you stayed right where you are.” She pressed a button on the laptop.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Do you think a computer specialist wouldn’t know who’s been looking up what at work? Like you checking my holiday dates. And do you think I don’t scan my car for bugs? That’s very naïve of you. I can tell you’re new to this game.”

  Kate took a deep breath. “I’m new to devious people, for sure.”

  Raven had the tiny transmitter in her palm. She clenched her hand into a fist and threw the bug into the wood. “No more snooping. Did you tell the others you were after me? I doubt it. You wouldn’t admit it in case you looked stupid, sneaky and disloyal.”

  “I don’t think I’m the only one who’s sneaky and disloyal.”

  A silver car zoomed past the lay-by.

  “But you’re the only one who’s been stupid. I knew you’d come to investigate.” Raven leaned on the car with her elbow. “We’re going to swap cars. I guess yours is just down the lane. And, yes, I came prepared with a key for it. You’re driving this one. Go exactly where the SatNav tells you. If you turn it off, stray from the course, push any of its buttons, stop for more than five minutes, or get out the car, the explosives I put in the boot will go up. And you with them.”

  “What?” The colour drained from Kate’s face and her stomach suddenly churned.

  “I put a pressure sensor under your seat. It detects the driver’s weight so it knows you’re sitting there. I’ve connected it to the bomb in the boot. Quite close to the fuel tank. If you take your weight off the seat...boom.”

  “But...”

  “You look petrified,” Raven said with a smile.

  “Why are you doing this?”

  “Unit Red wasn’t the only secret organization that recruited me.” It wasn’t really an answer to the question, but Raven gave no further explanation. She looked down at her watch. “Did I tell you the clock started ticking down one-and-a-half minutes ago? I wouldn’t hang around if I were you. Five minutes without moving and then you’ve had it.”

  Kate tried to come to terms with her terrifying situation. “What if I get in a hold-up?”

  “You won’t. It’s a high-class SatNav. It’s online, scanning for jams. If it detects any, it’ll route you round them.”

  “What happens when I get where I’m going – wherever that is?”

  “The SatNav signal will override the pressure sensor. You get out and open the boot. If anyone tries to get into the boot before that, the car goes skywards. You’ll see a hand-held computer on standby next to the detonator. Hit the return key twice. That disables the bomb and let’s you get away safely.”

  Kate hesitated, certain that she hadn’t heard the whole story. “That can’t be all. The computer button does something else as well, doesn’t it?”

  Raven tapped the face of her watch. “Coming up for two-and-a-half minutes. If you don’t want to die right here, you’d better get cracking.”

  Kate held out her hand.

  “What?” Raven asked.

  “My mobile.”

  Raven laughed. “No chance. You’re on your own. That’s why I took it off you.”

  “Jordan was right,” Kate muttered. “You are Short Circuit.”

  Denied any real choice, Kate drove away in the car that would kill her if she deviated, stopped for more than five minutes, or got out.

  At once, the male voice from the SatNav directed her on to the A414 towards Chelmsford. The voice was deceptively soothing. It packed a powerful punch if Kate dared to disobey. At least, that’s what Raven had told her and there was no safe way to find out if it was true. Kate could do nothing but follow instructions.

  Coming up to the traffic island in Ongar, she braked. On her left, a group of young people were hanging out in front of a garage forecourt. And that gave her an idea.

  She pulled over to the side of the road, opened the passenger’s electric window and leaned towards it while keeping all her weight on her own seat. “Hey!” she shouted out of the window. “Who’s got a crap mobile?”

  The kids looked at each other and then one boy stepped forward. “What do you mean?”

  “I need one in a hurry,” she replied. Fiddling in her purse, she said, “I can give you sixty quid. That’s all I’ve got.”

  A girl came up to the window and waved a cheap pink phone at her. “Sixty for that?”

  Kate nodded. “Sure. I’d pay double if I had it.”

  The girl could hardly believe her luck. She gla
nced at the others and then said, “Okay. It’s yours. Give me a second to delete some things.”

  Kate counted the banknotes again and held them out. “I don’t have long,” she said, “and I don’t care about your stuff. I won’t even look. Leave it switched on. I just need to make an important call.”

  “Sixty quid,” the boy said. “That’s a steep call.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Kate agreed. “But...”

  The girl leaned through the open window, took the money and handed over her mobile. With a wide grin on her face, she said, “Good deal.”

  Kate nodded. “For both of us. Thanks.”

  She accelerated away into the stream of traffic. Keeping an eye on the road, she dialled the Unit Red crisis number. Hoping there were no traffic cops in the area, she put the phone to her ear with one hand and steered with the other.

  Jordan and Angel were listening to Kate’s call on a loudspeaker in the bunker. “Hang on, hang on,” Angel interrupted with a look of horror and surprise on his face. “Are you saying Raven...?”

  “Yes, she’s Short Circuit. Ask Jordan. He knows all about it. But, right now, I’m driving a bomb somewhere. Somewhere I don’t know. I think I’m going to wreck something or someone when I get there – or on the way. I should’ve refused to drive,” Kate said miserably. “That way, the car would’ve blown up and I would’ve taken her with me.”

  “I would’ve got going as well,” Jordan told her.

  Angel put aside the shock that swept over him so he could deal with the situation. “No one here doubts your bravery, Kate,” he said. “You don’t sacrifice yourself when there’s a chance...”

  “What am I going to do, though?”

  “Keep driving. We’ll lock on to your mobile and track your position. Before we make any decisions, let’s see where you’re going.”

  Jordan said, “You can use the SatNav to find out where it’s taking you.”

  “No, I can’t,” she replied. “The bomb goes up if I touch it.”

  Angel paused for a moment, thinking. “All right. Drive slowly, Kate. I’m going to put Jordan in a helicopter. I can have him airborne in twenty minutes. He’ll be above you, ready to help.”