The Codex File (2012)

by Miles Etherton

  “Get the car started. I’ll try and stop this one,” he said, feeling he owed Simon a debt for having given them room to escape previously.

  Watching the three men running across the car park and towards the Land Rover Ben could hear the running footsteps of the man in black as he closed in on the loading bay door. As he reached the door, which Ben had pushed further across to prevent him from running straight through, he slammed the door shut, trapping the man between the door and wall. The man in black howled out in pain as Ben withdrew the door before smashing it into him for a second and third time. The man fell to the floor in a heap, groaning.

  Jumping down from the loading bay Ben ran across the car park to join the others. They’d reached the Land Rover and were scrambling inside. The wheels squealed on the tarmac as the vehicle reversed, a low concrete wall preventing them driving straight out. Ben reached the Land Rover, pulling the door open and leaping inside.

  Michael floored the accelerator and was aware of their pursuer, to his right, stumbling across the car park in their direction, trying to cut them off.

  A bullet smashed through the windscreen flying inches from the left side of his face before exiting through the rear window, miraculously missing all of them. A second bullet hit the side of the car at the front of the vehicle as the gunman ran into the path of the oncoming Land Rover. His gun was raised in their direction. Instinctively Michael flicked the Land Rover’s lights from normal to full beam, dazzling the gunman who covered his eyes from the glare.

  Michael didn’t deviate, hitting the gunman at full speed with a deafening crack. The sound of the body hitting the radiator grill before being tossed up into the air, onto the roof of the Land Rover before smashing down onto the tarmac behind, filled the cab as Michael raced towards the exit.

  As the Land Rover careered out of the campus and onto the quiet adjoining roads Michael was the first to speak.

  “Is everyone OK?”

  The three men all murmured they were unhurt, absorbing what had just happened to them. Brown, unsurprisingly, looked the least shocked at the turn of events. But in the rear view mirror he could see Ben and Simon were visibly shocked. Their expressions pale and drawn.

  Their lives had been tucked away, writing code, plotting ways to hurt UKCitizensNet. But this was the reality of their situation. This was SemComNet taking the fight to them. Something they’d never experienced before. They were now in this all together.

  CHAPTER FORTY

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” Michael asked, looking at where Simon and Ben were sat on a fallen tree trunk in the forest surrounding SemComNet’s HQ.

  The four of them had been lying low since the shootings at South Downs University. Discretely, they’d been watching for news coverage on UKCitizensNet and other news wires. So far, there were no connections being made between the four men.

  The news coverage, of which there was much, had reported the brutal killings of four men at the Medical and Sciences campus. And that two other university staff were currently missing. The police wanted to speak to Simon and Ben in order to ‘eliminate them from their enquiries’. But they all knew what that meant.

  Even though none of them had said it yet, they all knew it was only a matter of time before Simon and Ben would somehow be implicated in the cyber terrorist activities of the Horsemen and Michael.

  Simon looked up from the cigarette he was silently smoking. The strain was etched on his face. It was the same familiar drawn expression Michael had seen when he first met the Horsemen, what now seemed a lifetime ago.

  “I don’t see we’ve got much choice if we want our lives back.”

  “You’ve got to be in this 100 per cent if we’re going to succeed otherwise someone’s going to get killed,” Michael’s said flatly, his recently found determination to see this through coming to the fore.

  At the back of his mind there was a lingering doubt as to whether Simon could really confront his brother and deal with what he had in store for Vincent Trevellion. Would Simon find blood really was thicker than water? They couldn’t afford for him to be in any doubt. After all, he was still watching Brown. He didn’t need Simon to be a liability also.

  Michael looked at his watch. The time was approaching 10pm. There were still many lights on in the building. Digger had explained this was normally due to the various shifts SemComNet staff worked. However, he’d noticed that in the past few days there were clearly more people than normal on the premises, all round the clock. Perhaps they were working on something big Michael had said ironically, without realising just how close to the truth he really was.

  Nodding to Digger that it was time to go the four men followed. Weaving their way between the trees, seemingly not heading in any particular direction, the lights of the SemComNet building cast unusual shadows amongst the undergrowth.

  Finally, Digger reached a small, barely discernible clearing amongst the trees and stopped. Gently he kicked at the undergrowth as leaves and small twigs began to clear a path on the ground. Shining a small torch on the earth, his back to SemComNet so as not to expose the light, a panel of wood appeared from beneath the undergrowth, revealing a concealed panel.

  Kneeling down he slid his fingers under one side of the square wooden panel, lifting it out of the ground. Carefully placing the panel close by he shone his torch into the dark hole that had opened up before them.

  The four men all huddled round expectantly, silently impressed at Digger’s knowledge of the woods and how he’d found the spot in virtual darkness. Just below the surface of the hole a metal ladder was standing vertically against one side of the tunnel, disappearing into the depths beneath.

  “Take it slowly,” Digger murmured, climbing onto the top of the ladder and beginning to descend. “This ladder can get bloody slippery. I’ll be waiting at the bottom for you.”

  Without another word he slipped beneath top of the tunnel and silently disappeared into the depths of the Green activists’ tunnel network.

  Michael was the first to descend, feeling he ought to lead the way. Tentatively climbing onto the ladder he felt it move slightly. Clinging on tightly to the cold metal, he pushed his weight forward to prevent the ladder toppling backwards. But as he began to descend he could just make out through the gloom that there were metal brackets at various points, holding the ladder in place down the vertical drop.

  Moving down one step at a time it occurred to him that Digger hadn’t given any indication as to how deep these tunnels actually went. How long was he going to be climbing downwards?

  After what seemed like several minutes descending, which in reality he felt sure was probably no more than a single minute, he became aware of a dull glow peaking up beneath him. It was the glow of Digger’s torch. And as he looked down he could just make out the shadow of where Digger was waiting below.

  Finally the tunnel opened up into a small area, about six feet by six feet wide, and Michael felt his feet return to solid ground as he took his final step down. Above him he was aware of one of the others beginning their descent as the ladder rocked and creaked slightly.

  Less than five minutes later the five men were all tightly huddled at the bottom of the tunnel. In front of them they could see access to three separate tunnels all running off in different directions. From his pocket Digger produced a cigarette lighter and lit a thick, long white candle wedged into the side of the entrance to the middle tunnel. As the flame illuminated the area the length of the tunnel became visible, disappearing away into further gloom. Digger could see the worried looks on the men’s faces.

  “Don’t worry there are candles all along the tunnels. You’ll be able to see where you’re going. And see the rats before they get you.”

  He smiled, watching as a slight look of disgust crossed the four men’s faces at the prospect of encountering rats. They really were the least of their problems he thought as he strode off into the tunnel, ducking his head slightly as he went.

  After a few minut
es of walking through the silent, gloomy tunnel they finally reached another area, opening up to a similar antechamber as before. In the middle of the space a further metal ladder was embedded into the earth wall, pointing upwards, and leading back to the surface.

  “I’ll go up first and scope things out. You’ll need to come up behind me as I’m not yelling down to you inside SemComNet’s perimeter.”

  The four men nodded as Digger rapidly and expertly ascended the second ladder.

  Michael again followed, inching his way nervously up the ladder. He’d never enjoyed climbing ladders, always putting off jobs at home that required scaling up any distance. But now he didn’t have a choice he thought, trying to keep sight of Digger as he sprinted up the ladder above him.

  As the climb began to take its toll on Michael legs he began to feel cold air blowing in his face. He knew he was near the surface. And now inside SemComNet’s perimeter. The knot in his stomach tightened as he thought about what he had to do.

  Reaching the rim of the tunnel, Digger’s face appeared from where he was lying on his front, peering back into the tunnel.

  “Come on, we need to be quick. The security patrol isn’t on this side of the building at the moment. You should be able to get in close to the building before they return with their dogs. From there, it’s up to you to work out how you get into this fucking place.”

  Michael nodded, unable to talk from his exertions. Pulling himself out the top of the hole in the ground he slumped down on his front next to Digger.

  Starting at the building before him he recalled how Brown and Ben had been fiddling with some sort of electronic device earlier that evening. Something he’d never seen before which they claimed would give them access to the building. He just hoped they were right. He for one certainly didn’t fancy trying to outrun a snarling dog.

  By the time he got his breath back from the climb the four men had all emerged from the tunnel and were lying low on the grass. They were about 30 feet away from the edge of the SemComNet building, never-ending rows of tinted glass windows before them. About 200 yards behind Michael could see the edge of the surrounding woodland.

  Fortunately for them there were no lights on in the offices behind. Or on in this wing of the building at all. Digger had been true to his word, picking the most discrete tunnel for their approach.

  “I’ll see you back in woods when you return,” Digger said as he began to descend back into the network of tunnels. “Good luck.”

  You’ll need it he thought as he slipped out of sight and pulled the grass-covered wooden panel concealing the entrance back into place.

  Michael quickly scanned the area, making sure it was clear before he began to move forward towards the impressive building, the three other men following closely behind. About half way to the building there was rapid movement to his right.

  “Watch out,” Brown hissed from behind him.

  Turning, his blood ran cold. One of the security dogs, a huge Doberman, was bearing down on where he was standing. Michael barely had time to register the dog’s presence, so fast was the rate at which the animal crossed the ground.

  In a moment the dog leapt at his torso, sending him crashing to the ground. Snarling jaws snapped at his upper body. The weight and strength of the animal was unbelievable as he grappled with the dog on the ground, his strength slowly diminishing as the animal sunk two teeth into his left shoulder.

  As the pain tore through his body he was barely aware of a figure to his right approaching the hungry Doberman at speed. Was this the accompanying security guard pursuing his prized partner?

  With a firm thud the dog yelped as Brown’s boot clattered into his side, although it remained firmly attached to Michael’s torso. A second kick still failed to dislodge the dog, only serving to make him snarl viciously in the direction of Brown’s strike before turning back to Michael.

  Taking evasive action Brown quickly maneuvered himself behind the dog, grabbing the top of his head. Before Michael could blink he heard the sickening sound of the dog’s neck snapping as Brown twisted the Doberman’s head swiftly away from his face.

  Instantly he felt the animal’s strength fade, turning on his side to the roll the dog away from him. Rubbing his throat, and with his left shoulder throbbing painfully, he looked to where Brown was crouching next to him.

  “You OK?” he asked with concern. “Can you continue?”

  Still gasping for breath, Michael nodded.

  “Get yourself up to the building. I’ll get rid of the dog down the tunnel. We don’t need that being found out here.

  Rubbing his arm he watched as Brown dragged the lifeless body of the dog back towards the tunnel from where they’d emerged. This wasn’t the first time his life had been seriously threatened in the past few weeks. But it was the first time someone had so selflessly saved him from certain death.

  Maybe he’d been wrong about Brown he wondered as images of Colette’s warning flooded back into his thoughts. Would he really have saved him so readily if he had other motives?

  If Brown’s plan was to get his own life back by bringing down UKCitizensNet, then he probably didn’t need him anymore. They were now inside SemComNet and had received help from R.I.G over the app. In many ways wasn’t he now expendable? And if so, he could easily have let the Doberman rip him to shreds.

  Had his paranoia and obsession with Vincent Trevellion clouded his judgement?

  He turned and watched as Brown replaced the cover to the tunnel and began to head back in their direction. They really needed to get out of such a public spot and into the building.

  As silently as they could the four men quickly reached the edge of the building, moving rapidly along the side of the premises. Simon had spotted a door about 100 yards to the left. As they reached the door, all gasping for breath, Brown slipped a small oblong console from his pocket. A tiny screen glinted in the middle of it.

  Michael watched as he slipped a card out of the side of the console, a little smaller than a credit card. On the door in front of them he noticed a raised area intended for security card access to the building.

  Ben watched anxiously as Brown placed the tiny card into the card holder on the door before typing in a series of commands on the console.

  “We’ve been fiddling with the configuration of this over the last couple of days. SemComNet will be changing their access codes every 12 hours, probably every 8 hours to coincide with their staff’s shift patterns. We had to adjust our algorithms a little to cater for this.”

  Michael raised a quizzical eyebrow, barely understanding what Ben was talking about. So long as this device could find the necessary security code and give them access to the building he couldn’t care less about algorithms or shift patterns.

  In the quiet of the night the sound of the door clicking as the security code was accepted seemed to echo throughout the grounds. In the distance they all heard the sound of one of the many Doberman security dogs barking. Was this one of the security guards and his other dog looking for his mate that Brown had just killed? After all, Digger had told them the security guards were traveling round with two Doberman’s at a time. Or was it sufficiently far away for it to be coincidental? They all hoped so.

  Turning the handle slowly the door swung silently opened and the four men slipped inside the building before the sound of the dogs could get any nearer.

  As the door closed the four men realised they were in some form of storage room. All around the walls were boxes piled high with monitors, servers, and numerous cupboards. At the far end of the room was a further door.

  Approaching the exit Michael listened intently for a few moments before turning the handle. He couldn’t hear anything. And as light streamed into the room his gaze fell upon a quiet, pristine white corridor. Deserted in both directions.

  Scanning the corridor he reflected on their plan. If they could get to a computer inside the SemComNet firewall they would have access to both the UKCitizensNet infrastructure and
to Vincent Trevellion’s location on the network. And then his precious IP address.

  The three others all agreed SemComNet’s attention would be focused on protecting their network from outside attacks. By the time they realised any threat was coming from inside the network it would be too late. The damage would be done. He just hoped they were right.

  But before that, they had to find a room with a computer linked to the network. How easy would that be?

  “Well, this part of the building looks deserted,” he said finally after watching the corridor for a full two minutes. There were no security guards. No staff working the late shift. And most importantly no visible intrusive CCTV cameras monitoring the corridor.

  Moving out into the long white corridor, which felt like a hospital but without the smell of disinfectant, the four men began their search for a SemComNet computer linked to the network.

  The first two rooms they came to were similar storage rooms, containing nothing useful to them. Michael could feel his anxiety rising as they got nearer and nearer to the double doors at the end of the corridor. Who knew what was beyond there? Was that were the night shift were based? Or where the security guards were currently patrolling?

  In the corridor they were currently roaming there was only one room left to investigate.

  As the door swung open and Michael flicked the light switch, feeling his pulse quicken. In front of him was a suite of computers, surrounded by various papers and folder, and clearly in active use within the company.

  “This looks like an R&D lab to me,” Simon commented, taking a quick sweep of the room, investigating computers, equipment and files as he went.

  Closing the door behind them Michael watched as Brown and Ben sat down at the nearest machine. All the computers were turned on, an indication of the 24-hour shift patterns of SemComNet, but not logged on to the company’s internal system.

  “Give me a few seconds and I’ll get past the security logon,” Ben said confidently as Michael eyed the door carefully, listening for any sound of footsteps in the corridor beyond.