‘I’ve known him for seven years and he’s been with us in South Africa several times. I love him like my own son, and it looks like he’s mixed up in some trouble at XPC. Do you want to tell me about it?’
‘It depends on what you want to know.’
‘Anything you might know about Shen Fu Liáng and Elodie Delacroix?’
‘I’d love to, but protocol gets in the way. All I can say is we’re looking into XPC, their owners Lee-Win and some of their people as part of a national security investigation. I guess you know what that means.’
‘I’d like to help, and I think I can. How can we resolve the protocol problem?’
‘I see you know your way around, Mr Coetzee. OK. Call Dr Hugh Middleton on this number.’ He repeated it slowly. ‘He runs an Internet security business in London. He knows pretty much what I know, and he’s less, let’s say, restricted from talking to you.’
Coetzee wrote the number down. ‘Thanks, General. I’ll keep you informed if anything transpires. I’m sure we’ll be speaking again. Enjoy the rest of your Sunday.’
Bur Dubai Police Station, United Arab Emirates
Leo unfolded the note he’d just been given by the guard. It was from Hatim. He’d received confirmation from Marius that Angela had the money and was at the airport.
He read the short message with conflicting emotions. He would be free tomorrow, but Angela was gone, without the chance to talk to her, to understand why she’d acted so cruelly and what she really felt about him. He folded the paper and slipped it into his pocket with a sigh.
‘Bad news?’ Oskar was watching him from his bunk. The two Pakistanis had shipped out, where and why they didn’t know, but Phil was dozing on his upper bunk and Leo now had a bed to himself, though it seemed he’d need it for only one night if everything went according to plan.
‘Mixed. Seems like you’ll be losing me tomorrow, sorry about that.’
‘Oh, I see. As you say, mixed. I’m happy you’re getting out, but I’m gonna miss you and your kickboxing. You’re entertaining company. How come they’re letting you go?’
Leo gave him an expurgated version of the episode with Angela. ‘She retracted the accusation today, so I should be free as a bird tomorrow.’
‘Wow! Interesting story. And that explains two things. Why you’ve got this negative attitude to sex; and second, you’re right, there’s definitely something bad going on at your company.’
‘Looks like it. Now all I have to do is find what it is, and work out how to prevent it.’
‘Don’t worry, you’ll manage it fine.’
‘What about you?’ Leo had gotten to like Oskar, and now he’d walk free but the Pole would still be incarcerated.
‘Same thing, mixed. The guy says he’ll leave me alone for a grand. That’s a ninety per cent discount.’
‘Cool. Have you sealed the deal?’
‘That’s the “mixed” bit. I don’t have $1,000, so I guess I’ll just have to wait for a bigger discount.’
‘You’ll work it out.’
‘You want me to break the news to Razza for you?’
Leo laughed, but made a mental note to somehow get $1,000 to Oskar. If anyone deserved to get out of that hellhole, he did.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Shen and Elodie were at Club 27. After failing to find or speak to Angela, they were now convinced that Ed had somehow arranged for her to leave the country. That meant she had left a letter with him to absolve Leo; he wouldn’t have done it otherwise. Ed had left the office at seven as usual, and they were hoping he might come into the club with Lynne to celebrate and relax, and they could find out what was going on. Shen had never contacted him at home and to call his mobile in the evening would arouse his suspicions.
He had also fixed a meeting with Tom Connor the next morning, for all of them to agree on a date to release the Shanghai package. Elodie was now adamant that it had to be delivered within two days. If Leo was free, he would most likely contact Tom Connor immediately, to try to hold things up until he could find out the purpose of cell S470C887,999. She was terrified their five years of planning, work and investment – and most of all, her reward – would be jeopardised. Shen might be able to keep Tom and Leo out of touch, or talk Tom around for a day or two, but after that it would quickly get out of hand. Their heads would be on the block and there would be no place to hide.
By eleven-thirty, Ed and Lynne hadn’t showed and they drove back to the apartment. Elodie’s last words to Shen that night were, ‘Wednesday’s the new deadline. You’ve got to convince them tomorrow.’
Coetzee finished off the Johnnie Walker with Ed in his apartment. He was happy with their day’s work. His last words before hitting the sofa were, ‘Tomorrow, you have to buy us some time.’
THIRTY-EIGHT
Public Prosecution Office, Dubai
Monday, 12 July 2017
‘Where is this woman now?’ The public prosecutor had just read Angela’s letter and watched her video confession on Hatim’s tablet.
As agreed, Hatim fielded the question. ‘We understand Angela da Souza is no longer in the country. Apparently, she left for Brazil last night. The letter, passport copy and memory stick were delivered to my office this morning.’
He said to Leo, ‘Do you agree with her description of what happened?’
‘It’s exactly what happened, sir.’
‘Do you intend to take any action in respect of her untrue accusation?’
‘No sir. She made a mistake and now she’s rectified it, I want nothing more.’
The prosecutor called over the same official as he had previously, and they talked for a few minutes, then nodded in agreement. He turned. ‘You are to be taken back to Bur Dubai to collect your belongings and sign a statement of release, and you will be freed. That’s all.’
At ten a.m., Leo walked out of the police station into Coetzee’s vice-like embrace. ‘Hi, Leo. I thought I told you to stay out of trouble?’
‘Seems like it comes looking for me. Thanks, Marius, I don’t know how you did it, but thanks. I owe you. You too Hatim, thanks for everything.’
‘Let’s get a coffee, we need to talk. Listen, Hatim, it’s best if you don’t join us. The less you know, the safer you’ll be.’
‘I don’t understand. Why should I not be safe? It’s ridiculous.’
‘Let’s just say that there’s more to Leo being stuck in prison than meets the eye. You have to report back to XPC and I want you to be able to tell them as little as possible. Angela signed a retraction and left the country, Leo’s been released and he’s not coming back to work, right Leo?’ Leo shrugged, and he went on, ‘You don’t know what he’s going to do or where he’s going to go. You don’t have to say anything about me. I’m just a family friend who gave you the letter and video. Can you do that?’
‘Of course. If you tell me nothing about yourself then there’s nothing I can say.’
‘Right, Hatim, that’s exactly right.’
‘Very well, I’ll get back to my office. Good luck, Leo, I hope everything works out well for you. Goodbye, Marius, it’s been… educational.’ He went off to find his car, and the others walked along the street to a café near the Al Jafiliya metro station.
‘Lend me your phone, Marius. I have to call my mum, she’ll be so relieved.’
‘She knows you’re getting out today, both her and Jenny. Hang on for a minute until you hear what I’ve got to say, OK?’
They sat outside the café and ordered coffees. Leo’s first question was, ‘How did you manage it?’
‘I really was just the messenger. It was Jenny who figured she could be bought off, and she sent the money in twenty-four hours, $20,000.’
‘She’s amazing, but it seems like I’m costing her money all the time. What was it all about?’
‘Angela was desperate to get to Sao Paulo, and sold her soul to two devils called Shen Fu Liáng and Elodie Delacroix.’
‘So Elodie’s involved in
whatever’s going on?’
‘Dead right. Sounds to me like it was her idea. They spun Angela a yarn about you sabotaging the project, and promised her money to get you out of the way. What did you find out that scared them?’
‘I don’t know yet. There’s some strange code linked to a cell in the processors, and I think it may be a worm they’re planning to load into the Mark VII ACRE upload. I’m worried that Daniel Oberhart and Sharif could be involved.’
‘When did you make the discovery?’
‘Tuesday night. I tested it on Wednesday morning, but I couldn’t work out what it was doing.’
‘Then I doubt they’re involved. Angela said Elodie came to see her on Wednesday, before she called you. Looks like the plan was made off-the-cuff, as soon as you got suspicious.’
‘You’re probably right. Tom must have asked Shen about that cell, and he got Elodie to talk to Angela straight away. We’d already finalised the software, so I was dispensable.’
‘The other pointer is that US Homeland Security’s investigating Lee-Win and everyone involved with them, especially Shen and Elodie.’
‘Homeland Security? You mean, Billy Chillicott?’
Coetzee briefed him on Chillicott’s call to Ed and his conversation with the general. ‘There’s definitely something very big going on for a senior US security officer to be looking into a Chinese processor company.’
‘Shit! I had no idea it was anything like this! I wrote some software, and now it looks like they might be planning a cyber-attack.’
‘Ed told me you’d cracked some problems to get it finished.’
‘I wish I hadn’t. There’s billions of Lee-Win processors out there that will be accessed by the upload. It could cause mayhem.’
‘Sounds like we’ve got a problem. I’ve got your laptop at Ed’s place. Can you do anything with what you’ve got in there?’
‘It’s possible. I’ve got the whole package and the last test runs, and that weird code and cell number. I have to try. I mean, I helped them to get this launch airborne, I can’t let it cause some kind of world crisis.’
‘In that case, Leo, you need a safe place to work in, and it isn’t XPC. I talked to Emma and Jenny and suggested you come down to Delmas with me for a while. We’ve built a pretty good set-up there since you were last down. Small lab, lots of equipment I can’t operate, half a dozen clever programmers, plus my brilliant daughter. She and Karen would be delighted, of course, but that’s irrelevant. What do you think?’
‘What did Mum and Aunt Jenny say?’
‘They said you should decide and they’d agree with your decision.’
Leo thought through the alternatives, and they weren’t great. In fact, he couldn’t think of any at all. ‘You don’t mind?’
‘I’ve got the tickets here. We leave at six tonight via Doha, and get to Joburg at ten tomorrow morning. Business class, OK with you?’
‘OK, let’s do it. Thanks, Marius. I’ve got time to call my mum and pack a few things. And take a shower, I must stink after festering in that pigsty. I’ll have to ask Ed to look after some stuff for me,’ he grimaced, ‘that includes my bike, I suppose.’
‘Right. Let’s find us a taxi to go get your things and move over to Ed’s. It’s safer than staying in your place. He can meet us there and take us to the airport.’
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Sharif and Ed were with Shen and Daniel Oberhart in Tom Connor’s office. The Chinaman was playing his cards cleverly. He asked for a status report, and the Pakistani was happy to toe the line. In his opinion, there was no reason for any further delay. They had a fully debugged, tested and operating package ready for delivery to Shanghai whenever it was required, tomorrow if necessary.
Shen was fulsome in his praise, emphasising that ‘Leo’s unfortunate absence hasn’t held us back. Well done, Sharif. Ed, you seemed a little cautious yesterday.’
Daniel stayed out of the discussion, he was relieved they were back on track with the upload, though he wondered what Shen’s agenda might be and whether Sharif was somehow tied up with him.
Once again, Ed was more circumspect, asking for some time to clean up his work. ‘I don’t want them to think we’ve done a shabby job, just because Leo’s not here.’ He made no mention of his friend’s release, though he’d had a call from Marius to say they’d wait for him later at his flat. He wanted to see what Shen would say on the subject, but he said nothing.
It was Tom who announced that Hatim Ackerman was arriving later. ‘He must have some news, or he wouldn’t bother coming. But I doubt it’s anything immediate, or he would have told Shen when he called. I think we have to assume Leo won’t be back for a while and make our decision accordingly.’
Both Shen and Sharif were nodding in agreement; it was clear what the decision would be. Ed made one last attempt to stall things. ‘Why don’t we compromise on the end of the week? That’ll give me four days to spit and polish everything to impress our Chinese masters.’
Tom Connor weighed in with authority. ‘Here’s what we do. Unless Hatim has some unexpected news which moves the goalposts, we deliver the package on Wednesday.’
Daniel Oberhart went to make a call to his father in Zurich. He knew he’d be very happy to get the news.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
‘Let me see the video please, Marius.’ Leo had showered and shaved and was feeling almost human again.
Coetzee found it on his phone, pressed play and Angela’s face appeared. It was a short clip, but Leo treasured every second of it. She didn’t mention the conspiracy, only that she’d made a mistake and wanted to rectify it without any further damage to Leo or his reputation.
‘She looks really awful. How did she get the black eye? I didn’t do that.’
‘She did it herself, to make sure the police would believe her.’
‘I don’t believe it! Like you say, “desperate people do desperate things”. Poor kid, she must have been terrified when they took her to the prosecutor’s office. But how come she doesn’t talk about XPC and the frame-up?’
‘She does, it’s on another clip. No one else has seen it, and I want to keep it that way for the minute. I didn’t want to confuse the issues, the objective was to get you released, we can go after the culprits later.’
Leo watched the extra piece, in which Angela told the truth about the reason for her accusation. Tears came to his eyes when she ended, ‘Leo’s a good person and I’m sorry if I’ve hurt him. He doesn’t deserve that.’
‘Send me a copy, Marius. I want to keep it, for old time’s sake.’
Coetzee said, ‘Seems like you keep getting hurt by people who love you. OK, time to pack your stuff and whatever you need to take to Ed’s. We don’t have all that long.’
‘First, I have to call my mum. It’s seven-thirty there now, she’ll be up. Can I borrow your phone?’ The chief prison guard had restored his phone to him on his release, much to his surprise, but the battery was flat and he hadn’t yet charged it up.
He called Emma, trying to get a word in edgeways for a few minutes as she alternated between laughter, tears and annoyance at his stupidity in getting himself ‘arrested like that’. Finally, he managed to squeeze in, ‘I’m with Marius and I’m fine. We’re going down to his place this evening, if that’s OK with you?’
After a few more minutes, he said, ‘I promise, and I’ll call you again as soon as we get to Delmas. Lots of love, and please give Aunt Jenny a kiss and a big thank you for me when you get into London.’ He rang off, looking sheepishly at Coetzee. ‘She’s a bit wound up, thinks I was fairly stupid.’
He shrugged. ‘She’s your mother, it’s only normal. I need to make a couple calls now, so get packing.’
Leo pulled two suitcases from under his bed and started throwing things in, while Coetzee made his calls.
‘Marius, where are you? How’s everything going?’ Karen sounded relieved. She’d received only a text from him since he left, just four w
ords: everything ok love you xx.
‘I’m fine, and Leo’s here with me. He was released this morning. And before you ask, you and Abby were right, as usual. The rape allegation was all about money, but there’s more behind it than that and we’ve got some work to do with him to sort it out. You’ll be happy to hear we’re coming back down together tonight.’
He gave his wife the flight details, then rang off and called Jenny Bishop. Her number didn’t answer, and he left a message. A half hour later, Coetzee was in a cab with the luggage and Leo was enjoying his last ride to Ed’s flat on the Harley. He was going to miss the bike and he was going to miss Angela.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
‘Leo was released from Bur Dubai this morning.’ Hatim dropped the bombshell without any preamble, then glanced around at the group assembled in the CEO’s office. Tom and Sharif looked astonished and delighted, even Daniel Oberhart switched a smile on, whilst Shen seemed to be having difficulty in maintaining his inscrutability. Ed was watching the Chinaman’s expression, trying to figure out what was going on in his mind.
Tom was the first to speak. ‘That’s terrific news. How did you manage it?’
‘I did nothing special. Yesterday morning I received a video and a letter from Angela da Sousa, retracting her accusation. This morning I presented them to the prosecutor and he released Leo. It was that simple.’
Tom said, ‘Wait up a minute. Angela gave you them just like that? She didn’t ask for anything?’ Shen had lost his inscrutability, and was looking at Ed venomously.
‘I didn’t receive them from her. I haven’t seen her.’
‘So who gave them to you?’
‘Someone I’ve never seen before. I know nothing about him except he’s a friend of Leo’s family, and he said he was merely a messenger boy.’
‘This whole thing is becoming ridiculous.’ Connor banged his fist on the table. ‘Where’s the woman now? First she files a complaint, then retracts it a few days later. She should pay for the trouble she’s caused to Leo, and to us.’
The Dark Web: The stunning new thriller from the author of The Angolan Clan (African Diamonds Book 3) Page 26