When Alex played the recording, he breathed a sigh of relief because the caller had used an off-the-shelf voice changer; something bought from a local electronics store. The call would have been made locally, probably here in San José.
The identity of one’s voice is a product of the entire physical and vocal systems, all dimensions of one’s head, neck, throat, mouth, larynx and vocal cords, etc., which affect the sound. Only changing pitch and equalisation (EQ) will alter the voice, but the original voice is still there. Even with a little EQ colouring (filtering) added, it still doesn’t change the original voice print, so one merely has to invert the various elements added that changed the voice. Too much filtering and phase-shifting can render the voice not only unrecognisable, but also unintelligible, so most basic voice changers, to remain intelligible, use rudimentary elements.
Reverting to the original voice pattern, however, is difficult, even with suitable software. There are three parts to this system: Input signal - the original voice signal; Transfer function - the transformation function used to alter the input signal; and the Output signal - the ‘masked’ voice signal. Normally, having any two of the three parts will allow the third to be determined. Unfortunately, Alex only had the output signal. It is necessary to go through many iterations, changing one element at a time: phase shift, pitch and EQ. Alex settled into the boring process of running the message multiple times and trying to determine what the likely original pattern was.
After many hours, he made headway and could invert most of the elements. He called Miguel and said he had made progress and was ready to play what he thought was very close to the original voice print. Miguel at once returned to his office/lab to hear what Alex had discovered.
“So, what have you got?” Miguel asked as he burst into the room.
“I think this is pretty good, although not accurate enough to get a voice print as to the exact identity of the person.”
Alex played the recording. The same message played but without the odd tones of the masked voice. The first thing they determined was that it was a male voice with an accent.
“What would you say that accent was?” asked Miguel.
“It is one of the Asian languages, but not Chinese or Japanese. Could be Southeast Asian or Korean.”
“Send me a copy of this. I will send it to a professor of languages I know at Costa Rica University. He should be able to narrow it down for us.”
“On its way,” said Alex as he pressed a few keys on his keyboard.
* * * *
Miguel forwarded the voice print to Professor Carlos Calderon, noting secrecy regarding the content was important. Miguel had called on him on other occasions and knew he would remain circumspect. A knock on his door caused him to glance up, and Alberto was there with Maria. He beckoned them to enter.
“How did it go?” Miguel asked before either spoke.
“You first,” said Alberto to Maria.
“Not a lot of information gleaned from any of the delegates,” said Maria, “but there was an interesting observation made by one woman. She saw Khalil talking to two Asian guys minutes before he disappeared.”
“That’s interesting,” said Miguel. “Alex cleaned up the recording and found an accent that sounds Southeast Asian or Korean. I sent a copy to professor Calderon for analysis. What were you able to find out, Alberto? ”
“Nothing really. Our friend Khalil likes his privacy and shuns his escorts when out of town. They left him at the conference registration when it opened and haven’t seen him since then.”
“Good protection,” mused Miguel.
“Alberto, Maria. Check with airlines leaving San José. They can’t smuggle Khalil unwillingly onto a commercial plane but check anyway. Also check private aircraft. We may be looking for two Asians and one Arab leaving the country.
“Got it,” they said in unison and left the office.
* * * *
Miguel went to Alex and asked if he could hack into the Sheraton San José’s registration list.
“Piece of cake,” Alex said. “Are you looking for anything in particular?”
“Yes, two Asians registered there. Checked out yesterday or today.”
Alex’s fingers danced over the keys in a blur, and various screens came up before he sat back and turned the screen toward Alberto.
“Here are the registration details for the last few days.”
Miguel scanned the names and the passport information for the guests. There were eight names that sounded Asian, and he jotted down the information for each.
“I see that only three checked out,” Miguel said, “so it could be two of those three. One was travelling on a Vietnamese passport and two on Chinese passports.”
“They don’t appear Korean,” said Alex as he enlarged the copy of the passports.
“Maybe they haven’t checked out yet,” said Alex.
Miguel checked each of the other Asian-sounding names.
“This looks promising,” said Miguel as he enlarged two of the passport photos. “They appear to be travelling together; checked in at the same time with adjoining rooms.”
“They look like they could be Korean,” noted Alex.
“Definitely not Chinese,” concurred Miguel. “I think we have our men. Thanks Alex. Can you get a facial recognition match for these guys?”
“No problem. I’ll scan FBI and Interpol databases. Something should come up.”
* * * *
Alberto and Maria drove to Juan Santamaria Airport, the main commercial airport for San José. Maria wanted to check with a friend in security and get passenger lists for recently departed flights.
“I’ll handle this one,” said Maria.
“Maria, Maria,” the security agent said as she entered his office. “You are as lovely as ever. What can I do for you?”
Armando Cruz had dated Maria several years ago, but she broke it off when she moved to Ciudad Juárez to concentrate on her university studies. He was now married with a pregnant wife.
“I want to see the manifests of recently departed flights.”
“Who are you looking for?” he asked, knowing she was working for an investigation agency and couldn’t reveal that information.
“You know I can’t tell you that.”
“If I give this to you, will you have dinner with me?”
“Armando, have you no shame? You are a married man and your wife is expecting.”
“It will be just dinner, talk about old times.”
“Sorry, no. If someone saw us, it would hurt your wife, and I do not want to be a party to that. Let the old times stay old times.”
“OK,” he said dejectedly and turned to his keyboard. He called up the manifests of planes that had departed since yesterday and turned the screen to Maria. Miguel had texted Maria the names on the passports of the two men they suspected were the ones seen with Khalil before he disappeared. Maria scanned the lists and saw no match for the names Miguel gave her. It was unlikely that they used another fake passport to get out of the country, then what of Khalil? How would they get him on a commercial plane?
“Nothing here,” she said. “Thanks.”
“Thank you, sweetie. The dinner offer is open, no expiry date.”
Maria made a disgusted face and left the agent’s office.
“Nothing there,” she said to Alberto. They drove over to Tobías Bolaños Airport from where the private planes operated. Miguel had many connections there because several of his clients that stayed at his hotel before he sold it flew in on their own private aircraft. Once they mentioned Miguel’s name to the clerk, she showed them to the airport manager.
“Buenas Tardas ,” he said as they walked into his office. “What can I do for you?”
“We’re trying to find out if two people we are tracking left in a private plane recently,” said Maria.
“That should not be difficult,” he said. “Only two private planes took off in the last two days.”
“Do
you know who was on them?”
“No. Crew and passengers of private planes have a lot of latitude regarding leaving. There are no customs or immigration requirements, only for people entering.”
“Can you tell me their tail numbers?”
“I can do that, and I can also tell you what flight plan they registered.”
“Great,” said Maria.
He checked the screen on his computer and jotted something down on a pad.
“The first plane was a Learjet registered to a Dallas company. It took off yesterday at 4:10 p.m. It filed a flight plan back to Dallas.”
“And the other?”
“It was a Gulfstream G400 registered to a Canadian company out of Toronto. It took off at 10:36 this morning and filed a flight plan to Miami.”
“Neither one of those seem like the one we are looking for,” said Alberto. “Thanks.”
Disappointed, they left the airport and headed back to the office. Within a few minutes, Alberto’s phone rang through the vehicle’s Bluetooth connection, and the display showed Miguel’s cell. He pressed the talk button on the steering wheel.
“Miguel. Just heading back to the office. Nothing here at the airports.”
“I need you two to go back to the hotel,” Miguel said. “We found out who the two Asians are, and they may still be there.”
“Great,” said Alberto. “How did you find that out?”
“Alex hacked into the hotel’s registration, and they make copies of passports for foreign visitors. He could also analyse the voice print on the ransom tape, and it points to North Korean.”
“We’re on our way there now. Just left Tobías Bolaños. The hotel’s less than 30 minutes from here.”
* * * *
That is the end of the excerpt. Look for it on Amazon.com.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NMSC7BM
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Most of the writing for this novel was done personally with no real input from others. However, there are a few people who I would like to acknowledge that did have a bearing on the finished product.
Firstly, I would like to thank my Beta team for their help in formulating the story. Their insight into some of the details with respect to flow and readability was invaluable. Secondly, I would like to thank my ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) team for taking the time to read the story and provide reviews.
Of interest are the sections on interrogation, and these come from a fascinating book; Enhanced Interrogation: Inside the Minds of the Islamic Terrorists Trying to Destroy America, by James E. Mitchell, PhD. I have used some excerpts from the book by kind permission. It is an interesting read and you can download the book at: https://www.amazon.com/Enhanced-Interrogation-Motives-Islamic-Terrorists/dp/1101906847 .
Last but not least, I want to thank the tireless efforts of my wife, not only for reviewing the manuscript and providing valuable input, but for her continuous encouragement and support in many of my endeavours.
About the Author
Chris Fox, born in England, emigrated to Canada in 1967 where he completed his University education and graduated as an electrical engineer. President and CEO of his own consulting engineering firm for over 30 years, he recently retired and is now devoting his time to some of his loves … reading, golf and, of course, writing. Married for 30+ years to Marguerite, who provides much of the inspiration and help for his writing. Chris lives in Ottawa, Canada.
Other books by Christopher Fox
The Santini Vendetta
Kyle MacDonald Book 1
A grudge leads to a deadly feud; a ransom that cannot be paid; a showdown with a powerful Mafia family.
The Santini Vendetta is a first-in-series novella.
Alberto has been nursing a 20-year grudge against a notorious Mafia family. Ransoming Lorenzo Santini’s son and his family in Kyle MacDonald’s hotel, he makes demands for their safe release. Kyle is unwillingly made a go-between for the negotiations and Lorenzo is forced into paying the ransom—but it doesn’t end there.
In an about face, Alberto is now being blackmailed by Lorenzo, but he is unable to meet the demands and joins with Kyle to find a solution. Where and when will it all stop? Will Alberto or Lorenzo—or even Kyle—have to die for the feud to end? Follow Kyle and Alberto in a race against time as they go up against the powerful Mafia family … and try to stay alive.
Buy it now or get it free from my website .
LOST LOOT OF LIMA
Kyle MacDonald Book 2
Lost Loot of Lima is my first book and is a prequel to Death Drones and sequel to The Santini Vendetta. It is an action/adventure novel.
Kyle, while diving off the coast of Cocos Island with his girlfriend Jenny, discovers a large cache of treasure, thought to be part of the famous Lost Treasure of Lima. However, when his boat is subsequently stolen and Jenny abducted, Kyle must put together a team to rescue Jenny and retrieve the treasure.
“The book’s latter half is an action-packed romp, as a daring rescue takes the team on an extended chase. A thriller with sound action and a reliable protagonist …” - Kirkus Reviews
Buy it now from Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CMW477K
The Korean Connection
Kyle MacDonald Book 4
Miguel and his team are retained by a UAE sheikh to recover his kidnapped son, before he has to pay a $35m ransom. The son is released unharmed, however, the sheikh wants the team to find out more about the kidnapper, and tells Miguel to keep the meter running.
Investigations lead them to a rogue general in North Korea, who used the money to finance a sinister plot to unleash havoc in the region with a nuclear threat.
As tensions run high between the U.S., China and North Korea, Miguel must stop the general before he executes his plan that could destabilize the Pacific with a nuclear threat.
Buy it now from Amazon.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07NMSC7BM
BOSNIAN AFFAIR
Bosnian Affair is a mystery that blends action and suspense with steamy romantic sequences. Buy it now from your favourite retailer. Caution: Contains graphic sexual scenes.
Brad, a successful architect, succumbs to the alluring and beautiful interior designer, Sophia and embarks on an affair. However, things take a nasty turn when he visits her apartment and finds that she has been murdered.
The book, through flashbacks, provides graphic details of their torrid affair and Brad’s struggle to balance his home life and keep the affair secret. Present-day storyline outlines Brad’s efforts to find her killer and seek restitution for her. During his investigation, Brad reveals a startling discovery involving a Bosnian war criminal sought after by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) entrenched in a high-ranking position within Canada.
Brad’s efforts to hunt down her killer takes him to Sarajevo and Buenos Aires where he must rely on his sniper skills to eradicate him and find closure.
ANGELA’S SEDUCTION
Angela’s Seduction is an erotic novella and serves as an introduction to my erotic writings. It is available as a free download from your favourite retailer. Caution: Contains graphic sexual scenes.
Angela, a 42-year-old, still very attractive woman has been married for 20 years to her abusive husband Peter. Her friend, Deborah, coaxes her to embark upon an affair. As unpleasant things unfold in her relationship, Angela decides to sign up on a Website for married people looking for an affair and meets the suave and gentlemanly David. Angela finds what she has been missing in David, but soon discovers a revelation that shocks her .
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Death Drones Page 29