Cashback

by Duncan James

  ***

  Everyone had had a busy weekend, in spite of needing a break.

  Robin had put in a call to Will on Sunday morning. Will, who was then staying at his parent's bungalow on the Parkinsons' estate in the Western Cape, was surprised and delighted to hear from Robin again, but also mystified by the conversation.

  "Do something for me," Robin had asked.

  "Anything," replied Will.

  "I need all the information you can get from your network of contacts about the dispossessed white farmers," said Robin. "In particular, I need to know where they are and how they can be contacted. You said you could get that sort of information, and I think I might soon need it."

  Will was intrigued to know why, but Robin decided not to tell him yet, especially over an open phone line.

  "You'll have to wait for an explanation," said Robin, "but eventually, I shall need to know details of their bank accounts. If the Justice for Farmers organisation you mentioned has all the details, then I can probably deal with them rather than duplicate. Find out for me, if you will."

  Will was even more mystified.

  "Of course I'll do that," he said. "Anything else?"

  "Yes. I specially want those details in respect of yourself, your father, and Bonkers. How is he, by the way?"

  "He's OK. Still in Harare, but I spoke on the phone yesterday." replied Will. "But what's going on, for goodness sake?"

  "Get the information I want, and give it to me when next we come back to Africa, then perhaps I shall tell you," said Robin mysteriously.

  "When are you coming back, then," asked Wills.

  "Soon, I hope," replied Robin. "I'll let you know, but get cracking."

  "Of course," replied Will. "It will be good to see you both again, and I'm almost hopeful, from what you've said, that there might be some good news when you get here."

  "You'll find out!" said Robin. "There's more information I need, as well, though, but I hardly dare ask you over an open line."

  "Give me a clue and I'll see if I can guess."

  Robin thought for a moment.

  "O.K.," he said, "try this. I want as much information as you can get about as many of the colleagues as possible of the man who paid for your air fares to Livingstone, including his boss."

  Will laughed. "Got it!" he said, after a moment. "You've given me and my contacts a lot to do, but we'll get cracking right away. When will you be here to collect?"

  "In a week or so, I expect," replied Robin. "Marian and I need to go to Switzerland first, but we'll make contact with you from there."

  "The plot thickens!" said Will. "I think I'd better get back to Harare and join up with Bonkers again."

  "Our regards to him, and be careful," Robin said, and rang off.

  The Volkovs had also been busy during the weekend, as Robin and Marian discovered when they got back to Oxford on Sunday evening.

  "I had to use your spare key," said Sergei, "because I needed to use the computer."

  "That's why we gave it to you," said Robin. "What's been going on, then?"

  "Well, I've been trying to get a list together of all my colleagues who worked in America. There are others, as well as my team, who have been used to develop operating systems for the same corporation, and I'm trying to trace them as well," explained Grudge.

  "And how are you getting on?" asked Robin.

  "With any luck, I should get an email in a few days giving me whatever information my people in Russia have been able to find," replied Grudge.

  "And while my father has been doing all that," said Valya, "I've had a great stroke of luck, and been able to take on our present flat on an extended lease for a couple of years, renewable every six months."

  "So we can stay here for as long as we like," said Grudge, "and we don't have to start looking for somewhere else to live."

  "That's all good news," said Robin. "When you have it, I shall need the list of your colleagues and their bank details."

  "Tell me what you propose for them," enquired Grudge.

  "It all depends, of course, whether or not we can get into the Corporation's finances," said Robin, "and how much you honestly think you are owed by them. I shall need you to work that out as fairly as you can. But what I would hope to be able to do is to arrange for a cash lump sum to be paid to you all, and to set up arrangements for an annuity to be paid to you as a form of pension."

  "That sounds too good to be true," said Valya. "But we have probably done enough to be able to access the American's finances, so let's hope for the best."

  "We then need to do much the same thing, if we can gain access to the cash, for the people in Africa," said Robin. "So there's a lot to do, especially as I would hope to be able to arrange all this through the Swiss banking system."

  "Why Switzerland?" asked Grudge.

  "Because they have a tradition of secure private banking, using numbered accounts," replied Robin.

  "You two are obviously going to be busy," said Grudge. "Once I've got the lists you want, I suppose I could make a start on the new security system we need to develop."

  "That would be great," said Robin. "Don't forget, we also need to develop a system which will counter my two 'new' credit cards, but I can probably do that later. And I suppose we should remove the 'trojan horse' programme from the bank, too. We shan't need that again."

  "I'd quite forgotten about the two cards," said Marian.

  "Shouldn't be too difficult, really," said Robin. "But we do now seem to have a problem I hadn't anticipated."

  "What's that, then?" asked Valya.

  Robin frowned, looking worried.

  "It's Jim," he said.

  "What about Jim?" asked Valya.

  "He left a message on our voicemail to say he wouldn't be back here until sometime tomorrow," replied Robin, "which is no real problem, except that he also hinted that he might want to leave the team early, and get back to his job at the Bank of England."

  "I wonder why?" pondered Grudge.

  "Probably something to do with his old Mother, I would guess. But it does mean we shall be a man short for doing the work which is supposed to be earning us all a living," said Robin.

  "If he does leave the team before our work is completed, he will obviously not be able to share in the proceeds to the same extent," said Marian.

  "Well, we shall need to cross that bridge when we come to it. I just hope he will still be prepared to help us from his post at the Bank. He could be very useful, there," said Robin.

  "Why is that?" asked Valya.

  "Because he's in their international banking section, and he said he should be able to gain access to passwords and codes in foreign banks much more easily that we ever could. That could be risky for him, but he said he was prepared to do it for us if necessary," replied Robin.

  "He will need to be able to use our new system for that?" asked Grudge.

  "Yes, he will," said Robin. "And again, he'll have to be very careful how he goes about that, and only use the software when he needs it, and then immediately un-install it. Otherwise, it will be detected."

  "How are all these banks linked together?" asked Marian.

  "Mostly by fibre-optic links," replied Grudge, "although some are by satellite."

  "The fibre-optic links are operated by an organisation called Global Crossroads, which monitors and controls nearly all the Internet traffic in the UK," explained Robin. "They ensure the integrity of the system, and divert the routing if ever there is a problem with the normal links. They specialise in high security systems, and quite honestly are a bit of a worry."

  "Why's that?" asked Valya.

  "Not least," answered Robin, "because they have highly-developed managed security services, which include intrusion detection systems."

  "You mean they could detect our attempts to break through banking security systems?" asked Marian.

  "If they do, my hope is that they not be able to trace us or identify us, not least because we shall be working with
in the bank's own system and using its own passwords and access codes," explained Robin. "But we shall see, in good time. Jim will have to be jolly careful, that's all, but I'm sure he knows that."

  "Meanwhile," asked Grudge, "will we need to replace Jim if he does return to his job earlier than we thought he would? And if so, who with?"

  "There's always your friend Rupert," suggested Valya.

  "Personally, I'd rather not widen the circle unless we really have to," replied Robin. "What do you think, Sergei?"

  "I agree," replied the Russian. "I think we should be able to manage the new work between us, and I can make a good start while you are abroad."

  "And I'll always help as best I can," said Valya.

  "Agreed, then," concluded Robin.

  In the end, Jim Farlow rang them on Monday morning. His mother still wasn't doing too well since his father had died, and he really thought he should be back at home for a spell. He had considered commuting to Oxford every day, but concluded that it was not terribly practical, as well as being a waste of time and money. Getting from Highgate to Bank on the Underground was bad enough, he declared. He remained totally committed to the project, he assured them, and would do anything he could to help from his desk at the Bank, or from home if that was possible.

  Robin accepted what he had said, and undertook to make sure he had a proper share of any profits they made from the project, related to the work he had done to break down the existing system. They agreed between them that Jim would need to take great care about how he worked on behalf of the team, since he was not simply in an ideal position from their point of view, but also in a very vulnerable position at the same time, bearing in mind where he worked. They agreed to communicate by email to his private address at home, just to be on the safe side. Jim confirmed that he had his copy of the software with him, and that he would only install it when he needed to, and then un-install it immediately after he had used it. He would probably do any work on behalf of the team during his night shift or while doing overtime, when there would be fewer people about.

  So that was that. They would be one short during the development work, but still up to strength when it came to moving money, and that was the next step.

  The four of them needed to plan carefully what had to be done and who was going to do it. In effect, they only had four weeks in which to complete most of the work, since after that Grudge was due to start his full time job at the University. Although he would be available to help them after that if necessary, the team would effectively be only three strong once he left, and one of those - Marian - was not a mathematician or computer expert.

  "One of the important things we have to ensure," said Robin, "is that the new encryption devise, when we have developed and perfected it, is properly registered and licensed in our name, so that there is no chance of us being exploited again, as you and your colleagues were, Sergei."?

  They nodded in agreement.

  "I propose," continued Robin, "that we should form a proper company, with us as directors, and register the development in the company's name. That way, the product and any sales flowing from it will be ours until we either wind up the company, or sell on the rights to its use."

  "Is it worth all that just for one product?" asked Valya.

  "It won't be for just one, I hope," replied Robin. "I would like the company to develop other operating systems as well, and perhaps provide services for major corporate computer users."

  "Like banks!" joked Grudge.

  "Yes, why not?" agreed Robin. "We are quite capable of providing a problem solving service for anyone, but I would prefer to concentrate on major corporate users rather than individuals with their home computers, as that way I am sure we would make more money. But let's get our first product up and running before we start developing anything else."

  "I suppose I could still act as a consultant or something for your new company," said Grudge, "although with a full time job at the University I would not be able to work more than part time for you."

  "That would be wonderful if you are prepared to do that," said Robin, "but eventually we shall need to think about employing more people, I suspect, especially as Jim Farlow seems to want to stay at the Bank."

  "Perhaps Rupert, if he's not doing anything else much," suggested Valya again. "And I would certainly like to be part of it if you will have me."

  "Of course," said Robin readily. "But let's see if we can complete our first venture, and then build on the success of that."

  "What shall we call ourselves?" asked Marian,

  "Any ideas?" asked Robin.

  "How about 'Computer Solutions' - that would describe what you had in mind," suggested Grudge.

  "Sounds perfect," said Valya.

  "Why don't I set about forming the company and registering the name and whatever else has to be done," offered Marian, "while you three are doing the difficult, computer, bit."

  "That would be an enormous help," agreed Robin, "and perhaps you could also fix for us to go to Switzerland soon - we need to open up a couple of bank accounts over there to handle the compensation work we have in mind."

  "We could go to Montreau," said Marian. "My parents have been there and say it's a super place. Bound to be plenty of banks, too, and if there aren't, we can get the train to Geneva."

  "That sounds a good idea," agreed Robin. "We can fix up a couple of appointments from here. I suppose I shall have to wear a suit, to impress bank managers!"

  "If we're taking posh clothes," said Marian, "we can stay at a posh Hotel, too! I'll find one for us."

  "Will you go as Managing Director of Computer Solutions?" asked Grudge.

  "Certainly not," replied Robin. "I do want to the new company identified with this job. We'll keep the two things separate if we can."

  "So what will you tell the banks?" asked Sergei. "Explain how all that will work."

  "I shall probably open two accounts at each of two banks," explained Robin. "In both cases, I shall pay money in to one bank and then move it across to the second, for them to pay out to individuals. That way, payments will be made by two separate banks to two separate groups of people. In the case of you and your colleagues, Grudge, I would suggest a lump sum for each of them, including yourself, of course, and then an annuity that will pay each of you a regular income. The exact sums will depend on how much you honestly think your old employers owe you, and how much we can take from them, and we shan't know that until we hack into their bank - or banks, perhaps."

  "It all sounds very complicated," said Valya.

  "The more complicated it is, the less chance there is of us being traced," explained Robin.

  "And what about our friends in Africa?" asked Marian.

  "Same sort of procedure, I think," replied Robin, "except that we shall reverse the roles of the two banks. Depending on what Will is able to find out, I might even set it up for that Justice for Farmers organisation to make the individual payments, and set up the second account in their name."

  "That's a good idea," said Grudge. "Yet another link in the chain, which will make it even harder to trace the activity back to us."

  "But where will you say the money is coming from?" Valya asked Robin.

  "That's a bit of a problem, as a matter of fact," he replied. "They are very strict about money laundering over there - most countries are, actually - so we shall need to be able to convince them that the transactions are legitimate. The African scenario will be easier, I think, since I can claim that the Government itself is seeking to make amends but without any publicity. That would explain why I am being used as an intermediary, and why the cash is being moved from more than one source. Using 'Justice for Farmers' will also help convince the banks, I hope."

  "But what about us?" asked Grudge.

  "Well, I might use much the same argument, claiming that these are corporate payments being made to ex-employees by a giant American company which, for political reasons, does not want the publicity attached to using
people from an ex-cold war enemy. The Swiss, with their age-old neutrality, will probably understand that."

  "So what happens first?" asked Grudge.

  "The first thing we need to do is discover which bank your old bosses use," replied Robin. "Perhaps you could ask Jim do that, Sergei, as soon as you have the list of potential beneficiaries. Then we can get Jim to gain access to the American bank for us, and discover what would be a reasonable amount to move from the corporation's total assets. We can shift it to Switzerland as soon as the accounts are opened, and start making payments."

  "And the African scheme?" asked Marian.

  "Pretty well the same procedure, I think," replied Robin, "except that, since we shall be getting a refund from many individuals who have profited illegally, rather than from one organisation, we shall have many more accounts to access."

  "Jim's going to be busy!" commented Valya.

  "I just hope he manages to find the time and the opportunity to do it all for us quickly," said Marian. "It will save so much time if he can."

  "We're going to be busy as well," Robin reminded them, "especially since we really only have four weeks to get all this set up before you start work full time at the university, Grudge."

  "It would be very good if we can also have made progress on our first product," said Grudge. "It will be a happy day for all of us if we can succeed in our first venture, and then launch Computer Solutions with a successful product."

  "I'm sure we shall," said Robin, confidently, "although I must admit I haven't given a lot of thought to the future of our little company."

  "There will be a lot to organise, when we have time," said Marian. "We shall need an office, for a start, and equipment, and phones and stationery, and all that sort of thing."

  "And we shall need staff - a few more people to get things up and running so that we are ready to respond to advertising when we get started," added Robin.

  "It would be handy if we were based here in Oxford," said Grudge. "It would make it easier for me to help between lectures, if I am to be only part-time."

  "That had occurred to me, too," said Robin. "I wonder where Rupert is, and what he's doing for a living at the moment?"

  "As little as possible, if I know Rupert!" commented Marian.

  "It's just possible I could get hold of him if you like," said Valya. "I think I have his mobile phone number somewhere."

  "That would be good, if you could get in touch," replied Robin. "If he's nothing better to do, see if he'd like to join our little venture."

  "I think he'd come running," said Grudge, winking at Marian.

  Valya blushed.?

  11. THE GNOMES OF MONTREUX?

  Marian eventually managed to arrange their stay in Montreux through a travel agent, which she found on the Internet. She and Robin had decided that probably five days there would be enough, not only to set up their bank accounts, but also to have some spare time for a bit of sightseeing. They booked half-board at the five-star Royal Plaza Hotel, overlooking Lake Geneva.

  Marian wasn't at all sure where the money was coming from when Robin had agreed so readily to this luxury trip, but he argued that they owed it to themselves, since they had cut short their tour of Africa. Robin had insisted that they would return there as well, and soon, but probably not for as long as they had originally planned when they graduated. And anyway, since neither of them had been to Switzerland before, they wanted some spare time to look around.

  It was on the flight from Heathrow to Geneva that Robin decided to tell Marian about his Aunt Gladys, and the fact that he was to be her sole heir.

  "The old dear is said to be quite well off," he told her, "although I've no idea about the size of her estate. Until recently, she looked after her own financial affairs, and enjoyed buying and selling shares. Dad's got power of attorney over her affairs now, since she moved into a home some months ago, and he seems to think that she will soon have to go into a hospice."

  "That must mean," said Marian, "that the poor thing probably hasn't got long to go."

  "That's what Dad thinks, as well. But she is very old. Anyway, the point is that we shall be reasonably well off, too, one day - perhaps quite soon, whether we make much money or not out of the computer work."

  "It's nice to have that sort of security," agreed Marian, "but we mustn't just sit back and do nothing. I was always brought up to believe that I had to work for my living, in spite of the fact that my parents are quite well off."

  "Me too," said Robin. "Apart from anything else, life would be very boring with nothing to do, and no targets to aim for. I like to feel that I am achieving something in life. But it will give us a good cushion if things should ever go badly wrong, and that's a comfort."

  They fastened their seat belts and put their tables in the upright position, as instructed, ready for landing.

  "I'm actually going to use Aunt Gladys's bank account as soon as I can while we're here," said Robin, and explained what he intended to do to check out his security system. "If there's a couple of million quid in her account that I can move around, that should end any question in the Swiss banks' minds about whether or not we're money laundering. Some banks demand quite high deposits before they agree to open an account. I've talked it over with Dad, and he agrees."

  "I gather it's not as easy as it seems to open bank accounts here," said Marian, "especially as we are not residents."

  "So I believe," agreed Robin. "But I've gone to the trouble of bringing with me various references and letters of introduction, so I hope we shall be all right. I'd like you to come with me when we have our meetings at the banks, in case I miss anything. Apart from anything else, they are sure to be impressed that your parents are Sir Richard and Lady FitzWalter!"

  They completed the formalities at Geneva airport, and headed for the tourist information desk, where they collected maps, train timetables and information about a few places that looked worth a visit.

  "We could have gone from here by coach, y'know," announced Robin. "But it's probably a lot quicker by train, and going direct from the airport means we don't have to change in Geneva."

  "We're not in any hurry, my dear," replied Marian.

  It wasn't the most scenic of routes, as they travelled along the north shore of the lake, skirting the foothills, but there were occasional spectacular views of the snow-capped mountains across the water. They also passed vineyards on the south-facing slopes.

  "I hadn't realised they made wine in this country," said Robin. "You never see it at home."

  A fellow passenger sitting opposite them overheard the remark. "Some will tell you," she said, conspiratorially, "that not enough is produced to export. Others, though, maintain it simply isn't good enough. You will have to judge for yourselves which is right!"

  As it happened, they did not have long to wait before they were able to make up their own minds - a 'welcome' glass of it was awaiting them in the hotel bar when they arrived. As the web site had promised, there were glorious views across the lake, and their room, on the second floor, had a balcony with a similar scenic outlook.

  "I think I'm going to like it here," said Marian.

  "But not the wine!" commented Robin, leaning over the balcony rail, as one of the old paddle steamers glided past. "I wouldn't mind a trip on one of those before we leave," he said. "We must try to find a timetable in reception. They probably also have leaflets about tours we can get from here, too, although I must say I would rather make my own arrangements if possible. It's often a lot cheaper, and you can come and go when you like without waiting for a whole busload of other people."

  They had time to phone home before they changed for a leisurely dinner. Robin decided that he had some urgent work to do using his laptop computer afterwards, so Marian sat on the balcony, watching the setting sun turn the snow-capped peaks across the lake a brilliant orange colour.

  "Since our first appointment isn't until late tomorrow afternoon," she said, "why don't we take to the hills in the m
orning?"

  "What had you in mind, exactly?" asked Robin.

  Marian had been busy going through the leaflets they had collected at the airport. "From the station, we can get a cog railway which climbs that mountain over there" - she waved vaguely towards the hills behind the hotel - "to a place called Rocher de Naye. It looks as if there should still be quite a bit of snow on the peak, when we get there."

  "Sounds good," said Robin, gazing at his computer screen.

  "There's a train at 10.30, and we should be back in good time for our meeting, even if we have a snack lunch when we get there. Do let's go!"

  They went. Eventually the little train stopped after its steep climb, and they got out into the swirling mist, with still-deep snow all around. While they were admiring the view, and watching boys tobogganing down one of the slopes across the valley, Robin's mobile phone rang.?? It was his father.

  "I'm in the office," he announced. "Where are you?"

  "Freezing to death in the snow on the top of some Swiss alp or other!" replied Robin. "We've just come up on the mountain railway."

  "Well, I thought you should know that I've had a very excitable bank manager on the phone, asking if I knew anything about a large sum of money - very large indeed, he said - that had been paid in to Gladys's account."

  "At least they noticed," laughed Robin. "I put it there last night, sitting in our hotel room in Montreux."

  "I don't begin to understand how you managed to do it," replied his father, "but I did as you suggested, and asked them to find out where it came from. I explained that Gladys had her fingers in all sorts of pies, so I had no idea whether the deposit was expected or not, and couldn't ask her because of her mental state."

  "Good - what did the man say?" asked Robin.

  "Well," replied his father, "at first he actually seemed more interested in selling me investments rather than anything else, but eventually agreed to pay interest on it until he found out where it had come from, and I had decided what to do with it."

  "I'm sorry you've been bothered at the office," said Robin, "but do let me know what, if anything, he discovers about its source."

  "No problem," replied his father. "I'll ring you as soon as I hear anything."

  "Thanks, Dad. We've got our first meeting with a Swiss bank manager this afternoon, and I suspect your chap will soon be getting even more excited."

  "Why's that?" asked Mr. Hood.

  "Because I shall soon start taking money out the account, having just put it in, to open a couple of accounts over here."

  "The poor fellow simply won't know what's going on!"

  "When he rings to tell you that some of the cash has been taken out again, ask him how and where it's gone," suggested Robin.

  "He won't have a clue," laughed Robin's father.

  "Let's hope he won't be able to find out, either," responded Robin. "This is to test my security system, don't forget. None of the money will be spent."

  "Understood," replied his father. "Just so long as you can keep track of it and return it eventually to its rightful owner, I shan't mind. Enjoy your day, and give our love to Marian."

  He rang off.

  "Good reception up here!" Robin said to Marian, as they headed for the warmth of the little cafe. "Dad sends his love," he added, and went on to explain everything that had happened.

  "At least now we have sufficient capital to open our accounts over here," he said.

  "Will you use all the money from your Aunt's bank?" asked Marian.

  "No," replied Robin. "I shall leave half of it where it is, and move half of it in to today's bank."

  "Then what?"

  "When we come to set up the second of our deposits, I shall use three quarters of the money from the first account which we shall open this afternoon, and then move a quarter of that back again later. That will prove that we can easily move money about between banks."

  "That all sounds a bit complicated," commented Marian.

  "That's what I want," replied Robin. "It will make tracing it all back to us even more difficult. With any luck, it won't be long before we start moving money about seriously, to help people who have been swindled out of what is rightly theirs, and I want to make sure that we have a secure system in place before we do that."

  Marian nodded. "I think I fancy a sandwich," she said, "but you're not to have one, after all you had for breakfast!"