by H. R. Moore
‘I know, I know,’ said Lulu. ‘And it will keep you busy.’
‘Which is important to me.’
‘It’s important for everyone,’ she replied, reflectively. They sat for a few moments in silence, enjoying the heat and the breeze and the sea, Lulu thinking of her bizarre journey over here. ‘I keep meaning to ask you, why all the costume changes on the way here, yet only one identity change? The robots can recognise me regardless of my hair colour or clothes or travel documents.’
‘Yes, they can,’ replied Guy. ‘But not all countries have the tech we do. No finger scanners from Iraq onwards, right?’ he asked. Lulu nodded. ‘So that was the end of the robot tracking. Iraq has some cameras around, but they’re not linked up to sophisticated identification software, not yet at least. Similar in Madagascar, so if Iva was tracking you, she’d need to put in a fair amount of legwork to do so, although, as you say, if she managed to get hold of any video footage, she could easily run it through software available to her in the UK to identify you. But the chances of that are slim. Not only does she have no legal grounds to track you, even if she did, there’s no guarantee that each jurisdiction you travelled through would cooperate with her, especially for something so comparatively trivial on the international crime scene.’
‘And the money?’ asked Lulu. ‘I moved everything I could into the account Benji told me to. How was that moved? And how can we access it without raising suspicion?’
‘Blockchain,’ Guy said cheerfully. ‘Thank God for the well-established, international, illegal money-moving method that is currencies on mutually distributed ledgers,’ he joked.
‘Come again?’ said Lulu, frowning and shaking her head. ‘That was all gibberish to me.’
‘Since the turn of the century, there have been cryptocurrencies. Since their inception, they’ve been used by drug dealers and other criminals to move money around, because there’s no way of tracking and identifying individuals and their transactions.’
‘So we’re akin to drug-dealing criminals now?’ joked Lulu.
‘Only if there’s something you’re not telling me,’ Guy shot back, with an inquisitive eyebrow raise.
‘But how can we buy things if our money’s all in a cryptocurrency? Do they use it to buy and sell stuff out here?’
‘The company we’re using have created a way to use real currencies in their transactions as well as virtual ones.’
‘But wouldn’t governments have something to say about that?’ asked Lulu, surprised. ‘Surely that can’t be good for them in terms of regulation and oversight?’
‘The Western governments all tried, unsuccessfully, to close the platform down,’ he replied, ‘and they put limits on the amount of currency the platform is allowed to buy, but if individuals like you or me decide to deposit our money into the vaults of a virtual, offshore bank, the government can’t legally stop us. The more people who do that in each currency, the greater the number of currency swaps the platform is able to do, and therefore the greater the number of international transactions.’
‘Who uses it, apart from criminals?’ asked Lulu.
‘Businesses, wealthy individuals trying to hide money, either for themselves or to give it to their kids, anyone needing to transfer large sums of money between countries...’
‘Do people get away with it?’ she asked. ‘Hiding money?’ Concern and outrage were equal in her tone.
‘Sure, some people do. But if the Inheritance Department becomes suspicious, if a family can’t account for large sums of money at the time of a wealthy person’s death, then the department has powers to seize and access all correspondence belonging to the deceased individual. They can also question, with the aid of a lie detector, the family of that person. If they’re found guilty, then the full inheritance is forfeit, and the family is left with nothing at all.’
‘Harsh,’ said Lulu. ‘I like it.’
‘Some people still manage to get around it, by not telling their family anything, and setting up an automatic notification at a point long enough after their death for the authorities to have concluded any investigation. But it’s still risky and stressful and most people don’t think it’s worth trifling with.’
‘Is what we’re doing illegal?’ asked Lulu.
‘What you’re doing isn’t,’ he said, reassuringly. ‘You’re essentially just using it as a regular bank account and you’re entitled to move money anywhere you want. Your money’s accessible from anywhere in the world, free of charge, although subject to published exchange rates. It’s stored in an online account, and you can access it whenever you want, although if you go over a certain limit, you’ll have to pay an import tax. They still mostly use physical money here, so we’ll need to go to a bank to withdraw funds if you want to spend it locally, but if you want to buy anything online, you just spend it as you normally would.’
‘From my smart glasses? How will that work?’
‘Your new glasses,’ he said, ‘will connect to the web of internet satellites, just like they would at home. The only difference is that you’re paying from a different account, and the account won’t track every transaction detail. Your account is identified only by a series of codes, which also means if anyone gets hold of those codes, they can access your money.’
‘So it’s not as safe as conventional banking?’
‘Not if you’re lax about keeping the codes secret and separate.’
‘It’s like an old Swiss bank account then? Where identities are secret?’
‘Exactly. The authorities hate it, but there’s not much they can do about it without becoming a totalitarian state.’
‘Crazy,’ said Lulu, ‘I had no idea.’
‘Most people have no reason to know about it,’ said Guy. ‘And that’s the way it should be. Governments need to have visibility and control over where their currency is and make sure no one is manipulating it. It’s much better for almost everyone to have a conventional bank account at a bank that reports to the government. But for anyone like me, a fugitive on the run, it’s handy to be able to hide my identity but still keep some money.’
‘How did you move it? Weren’t your accounts frozen at the beginning of the investigation?’
‘Yes, but I’ve been putting money away for a rainy day for some time now. There’s nothing illegal about using the crypto banks, but I made sure to set it up in a way that transactions out of my conventional bank accounts didn’t look suspicious. Luckily, I didn’t get Thomas to help, although I did consider it.’
Lulu raised her eyebrow in agreement. ‘But we can’t just buy things and have them delivered here,’ she said, waving her hand around. ‘It’s not exactly crawling with delivery drones.’
‘I know. Collecting things will be more of a challenge, but there are towns, just not close. We’ll have to do it the old-fashioned way and make long trips to get things.’
‘Oh God, look at us talking about buying things. We’re sitting on a beach in Africa, and can’t help but think like Western consumers. What do we really need anyway?’
Guy smiled. ‘Good point. Anything we do need, like medicines or food, the robots are already programmed to get for the village upon request; they’ve got detachable flying drones they can use to go and make pickups.’
‘And there are people in the towns who know what to do with a flying drone?’
‘People adapt to new opportunities surprisingly quickly,’ said Guy. ‘Especially when there’s a seemingly endless supply of money from an international crypto bank linked to the drone.’
Lulu shook her head. ‘It’s kind of sad,’ she said, ‘money really does make the world go round.’
‘We don’t have to think about that any longer,’ said Guy, climbing onto Lulu’s lounger, Lulu adjusting so she could cuddle in next to him. ‘We’re in heaven, remember?’
‘Yes, we are,’ said Lulu, squeezing him tighter.
‘I just hope Thomas gets his comeuppance,’ said Guy. ‘I don’t normally hold
grudges, but I just can’t get over what he did.’
‘I know. I paid off his parents’ debt just to spite him,’ Lulu replied.
Guy looked at her. ‘You didn’t?’ he asked, surprised.
‘I did,’ she replied, sitting up. ‘Why the reaction?’
‘Because I paid off their debt too!’
‘No!’ she laughed.
‘Yes,’ he said, laughing too.
‘Lucky Penny and Gerry.’
‘Well, if anyone deserves it, they do.’
‘With a son like Thomas, that’s certainly true.’
‘What did you have to do before you could come out here anyway?’ asked Guy, realising he still didn’t know.
Lulu smiled, a sly smile. ‘Just a little tribute to my muse,’ she said innocently.
CHAPTER 17
Mila walked into her department’s main office, or at least, the department to which she hoped she would belong again after this meeting. She was escorted up to the fifth floor, a strange experience, given that until recently she’d had free rein to move around as she pleased. She was deposited outside the director’s office, and waited patiently to be summoned inside.
After ten minutes, Mila becoming nervous and irritated in equal measure, the door opened and Iva walked out with Albert, the director.
‘Mila?’ said Iva, surprised. ‘What are you doing here?’ Iva looked from Mila to Albert and back again. ‘Oh,’ she said angrily, ‘the old boys’ network strikes again. Didn’t you go to university with Mila’s father?’
‘Yes, I did,’ said Albert, a warning in his tone. ‘Last time I checked, it wasn’t a crime to go to university with someone.’
‘Of course,’ said Iva, through gritted teeth, stalking away.
‘Mila,’ said Albert, his tone turning friendly, ‘do come in.’
Mila walked into Albert’s bland, square office. There was no artwork on the walls, nothing bright and colourful, only charts and filing cabinets.
‘Every notebook I’ve ever had is in those filing cabinets,’ said Albert, following Mila’s gaze. ‘I still use a notebook, you know. I think there’s something powerful in the connection between the actions of one’s hands and the thoughts in one’s head. I know smart glasses make us more productive, but sometimes I can’t help but jot things down.’
Mila smiled. ‘I love to flick through real pages,’ she replied, as though she were admitting a terrible secret. ‘There’s nothing like being able to see them turning back and forth; it makes our brains work differently, I’m sure.’
‘And the feel of the paper is so reassuring,’ added Albert, taking the seat behind his desk and motioning for Mila to sit across from him.
She sat down. ‘Thank you for agreeing to see me today,’ she started.
‘Of course,’ he said. ‘I have to say I was surprised when I heard Iva had let you go.’
‘Without legitimate grounds,’ she added. Albert nodded, but didn’t say anything, indicating Mila should continue. ‘I have a case that I’d like you to consider prosecuting,’ she said, reaching into her bag for her smart glasses and projecting onto the wall. ‘As you know, Iva’s methods have been questionable, since the beginning of her career as your senior investigator. Her dealings with Guy back then pushed the limits of acceptability, and she’s never stopped.’
‘Iva gets results,’ replied Albert. ‘And she doesn’t cross the line, not to my knowledge anyway.’
‘I’m afraid she has been crossing the line,’ said Mila firmly. ‘Aside from inappropriately and groundlessly firing me, she has broken numerous other laws on her vendetta against Guy Strathclyde and anyone who comes from a privileged background.’
‘I’m assuming you wouldn’t be telling me any of this unless you had proof?’ asked Albert, sighing reluctantly.
‘Of course not,’ she said, pulling up the first piece of evidence through her glasses. ‘Here I’m showing you records from the IT department of correspondence that took place between Thomas Watson and Iva. Thomas used my computer without my permission or knowledge to access our systems. Here,’ she went on, pulling up some video footage from her butler, ‘is Thomas waiting until I’m out of the room, running to my laptop, and accessing the network using my account. He’s clever enough to mask that the message was from my computer and tips Iva off about the facility in Exeter. He also spends some time rummaging around our intelligence database, and steals a large quantity of information relating to Marvin Edwards, Pixbot’s former CFO, and Richard Murphy. He later uses this information to blackmail Richard out of his job, having already done the same to Marvin. Iva has promised Thomas a full pardon for all of these crimes.’
‘She doesn’t have the authority to do that.’
‘No, she doesn’t,’ replied Mila. ‘In addition to this, Iva neglected to report the system breach to anyone, but assured me that she had. She requested a routine login change, but didn’t tell anyone the real reason why. My supposition is that she was hoping her mysterious source would contact her again, and she wanted to make sure the door was open when they did. Of course, I made sure I never left my computer unlocked in Thomas’ presence again, so he never got a chance.’
‘That could have meant our IT system was compromised,’ said Albert, shaking his head. ‘Our entire database could have been leaked.’
‘Yes. It doesn’t bear thinking about,’ agreed Mila. ‘My butler alerted me, so Thomas didn’t have long, and I checked which files he’d stolen, so I knew he’d only taken reports relating to Richard and Marvin. But if someone had managed to find a back door and Iva hadn’t reported it, it could have been disastrous.’
‘Is that it? Or is there more?’
‘There’s much more,’ replied Mila glumly. ‘She’s been sharing privileged information in return for tip-offs and leads. And she hasn’t yet officially registered Thomas as a witness, because she’s suspicious that some of the ministers are involved in Guy’s plan, and she wants to catch them too.’
‘And if she makes it official, the ministers will be briefed about it.’
‘Exactly,’ Mila said, nodding. ‘She recently tried to follow Lulu Banks, with no legitimate reason, she never carries out appropriate due diligence on sources, and she’s set up and perpetuates a culture of secrecy and intimidation within the department. She makes it clear that no one can question her without losing their job, so no one stands up to her when she crosses the line.’
‘And then she fired you,’ said Albert, raising his eyebrows, ‘so now you want revenge?’
‘No,’ said Mila strongly. ‘I was collecting this information long before Iva fired me. I’ve been concerned about her attitude and approach for as long as I’ve worked for her. To begin with, I thought maybe I considered her methods to be discriminatory towards those from privileged backgrounds because I came from one, but over time I realised this wasn’t the case. She systematically picked out and targeted anyone that started life wealthy, and routinely turned a blind eye to the suspect activities of those from backgrounds like hers. And every time she heard the name Strathclyde or mention of Cybax in any context, she showed an unhealthy interest. I’ve been building a case against her for the best part of two years. She’s biased and discriminatory, and I don’t think she represents the ethos and values that are at the core of this department.’
‘And you have evidence to back this all up?’ asked Albert.
‘Yes, of course,’ replied Mila. ‘As a result, I would press you to suspend her, or even better, just go ahead and fire her, as a matter of utmost urgency.’
‘Okay,’ said Albert heavily. ‘Please transfer your entire case file to me. On what you’ve shown me so far, most notably the breach of security protocols, I have no choice but to suspend her, effective immediately. I take it you’re happy to stand in as interim senior investigator while we sort this mess out?’
Mila was shocked. She’d thought she stood a good chance of getting her job back, and maybe had an outside chance of getting Iva’s role
once they interviewed for it, but she hadn’t considered that he’d give the interim role to her straight off the bat. ‘Of course,’ she said, without hesitation. ‘I would like that very much.’
‘Great. Then you can go and deal with the mural mess over at Pixbot’s HQ in Oxford.’
‘Mural mess?’ asked Mila, not a clue what he was talking about.
‘Switch on the news,’ he smiled. ‘I think you’ll be interested in what you see.’
* * * * *
Mila went back to her desk in the open-plan office, which, unusually, was filled with humans. She pulled out her smart glasses and put them on, silently instructing them to show her the latest news. The screen switched to show a male anchor behind a news desk.
‘A bizarre mural has appeared on the side of the Pixbot building in Oxford,’ he started, ‘depicting their newly appointed CEO, Thomas Watson, devouring Eastern Europe. Other less technically developed countries are represented by emaciated people, whose natural resources are being stolen by the West, Russia, and China. The developing countries are shown as a junkyard for outdated tech, and the people are reaching longingly upwards towards the satellites above them, which are just out of their desperate reach.
‘Pixbot is one of the biggest technology companies in the world. They were recently investigated by the Enforcement Office and were made to replace their whole executive management team, with only the former CEO, Richard Murphy, being allowed to remain in place. The mural also implies that Pixbot have been doing dirty deals, which the company is yet to refute. We contacted Pixbot for comment, however, they have so far refused to release a statement.’
Mila pulled off her glasses and couldn’t help but smirk. Lulu had told her she had something to do before she went to find Guy, but Mila had never imagined anything like this. Then she remembered that she was in charge of the department now, and she had to go and investigate. Or was she in charge? Had Albert told Iva?
She didn’t have to wait long for the answer. She looked up to find her former boss storming towards her. ‘I always knew you couldn’t be trusted,’ spat Iva, leaning over Mila’s desk. ‘You’re going to have to watch your back from now on.’