The Tau Directive

by Tomas Black

  “Because this is what I would do,” said Jane. Again, Jane’s voice modulated softer. “I am sorry it disappoints you, Mei Ling.”

  Drum nodded. “It makes sense. Our governments will do a deal. Try to buy more time.”

  “So what is Tau’s goal, if not financial gain?” asked Mei.

  “Tau’s goal is to survive and advance its core programming—two goals originally set by Professor Kovac, but not as he intended,” said Jane. “Tau is also buying more time to allow Professor Kovac to complete the array. Once transferred, Tau will be unstoppable.”

  “And what is your goal in all this?” asked Drum.

  “Marco Salenko realigned my primary goals when he had possession of all three keys. He determined that splitting up the keys would prevent Tau from advancing its code.”

  “He split up the keys?” said Drum.

  “Tau anticipated this, resulting in the death of Francesca Moretti and you’re near death, Ben Drummond. You must retain the keystone.”

  “So what primary goal did Salenko set,” asked Mei.

  “My primary goal,” said Jane, “is to destroy Tau.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  The Plan

  The sun was low in the sky when they exited the Red Lab. Drum looked at his phone. The battery was almost dead again. He clicked on a secure message he had left unanswered and quickly scanned it. Alice wanted a meet.

  “Problems?” said Mei.

  “I have to report in,” said Drum.

  Mei looked at her phone. “Same here. Our masters want updates.”

  “Listen, Mei,” said Drum, pocketing his phone. “Things are likely to become pretty tense over the next few days if Jane is right. Let’s make sure we keep each other in the loop. To avoid any miscommunication.”

  She nodded. “Dinner?”

  “I’m going to have to pass. I promised my office manager I’d treat her tonight.”

  “Some nice young thing I expect,” said Mei.

  Drum smiled. “I’ll catch you tomorrow.”

  Drum watched as she walked towards the centre of campus. He wondered if things between them would end well. Like him, she would be under pressure to get results. He hoped they didn’t become enemies. It is what Tau wanted: to divide and conquer. At least, that is what he would do—and Tau was a lot smarter.

  He walked to the rear exit beside the Lab and waited for the security cameras to scan him. The gate clicked open, and he entered a small caged area. The inner gate closed and the outer gate clicked open. Drum recognised the security protocol. He’d seen it many times in secure government facilities. He had never seen it on a commercial campus.

  Drum found himself on a wide footpath beside the river. He started walking, following the path around the bend in the river, noting the substantial security fencing bordering the campus and a thicket of newly planted trees just beyond. He continued walking. A small pleasure boat motored by. Someone waved and he waved back. It would be pleasant here in the summer, he mused. Across the river, he could just make out the small hamlet of Fen Wootton in the gloaming.

  He came to a small footbridge constructed of iron girders and elevated to allow small boats to pass beneath. The construction looked new and he noticed the communication trunks of fibre optic cables. He made his way across the narrow walk-boards and found himself on a shingle path that led to a substantial boathouse. He assumed it must be part of the university. He imagined the undergraduates practising here at weekends to earn their rowing Blues. The only boating he had done was in the Army, normally in the back of an SBS inflatable. But then there was no accounting for taste.

  He walked up to the boathouse and stopped. It looked new and too substantial for housing rowing sculls. The building was mounted on a large concrete platform with a long slipway leading down to the river. Not for rowing, he thought. He mounted a set of steps that led up to a door in the side and turned the handle. It was locked. He moved along a concrete walkway at the side of the building until he found a long window and peered in. Two large, black inflatables sat on a slipway in the centre of the building and looked prepped and ready to go. No one seemed to be around. He pulled out his phone and brought up a map of the area and noted his position. His phone was now on its last legs. He moved back along the walkway and descended the steps, following the shingle path until he came to a road.

  He followed the road which passed by some recreational grounds. A nice place to play cricket, he thought, or to land a helicopter. Vashchenko had chosen his location well. He continued heading down Church Street until he came to a pub at the centre of the village. Alice was waiting for him at a table by a large bay window that overlooked Vashchenko’s base of operation.

  “You took your time,” said Alice.

  “Where’s our young friend,” said Drum.

  “Probably nursing a hangover from this morning’s escapade,” said Alice. “Thought he could sneak out without me knowing. Came back a few hours later in a sullen mood. Went straight to his room.”

  “Probably reporting to his handler,” said Drum. “This entire business is getting messy.”

  Alice nodded. “It’ll all end in tears.”

  If that was all it ended in, thought Drum, it wouldn’t be a problem. But he thought that unlikely. “What’s been happening,” he said, changing the subject.

  Alice looked out of the window. Night had fully descended on the small hamlet. “A lot of activity. A few lorries arrived and backed into the grounds. They seem to be packing, I can’t be certain but something is happening. Little point staying here after this time.”

  Drum nodded. He described the boathouse to her and the proximity of the recreation ground.

  “Escape routes for sure,” said Alice. “What are we going to do about Stevie? We can’t just leave her in there and hope for the best. Eventually, they’ll figure out who she works for if they haven’t done so already. We need a plan to get her and this young man Burnett out.”

  Drum agreed. It was all coming to a head. They needed to act before Tau could complete its plan. He updated Alice on his talk with Jane but, no matter how hard he tried to explain it, it just sounded fanciful.

  “I’m not completely ignorant of the advances in computer technology,” said Alice, “but this just sounds bonkers.”

  “I know. You had to be there,” said Drum.

  “But it’s just a clever program,” said Alice. “How could it be making all these decisions. It must receive direction from someone.”

  “It’s able to adapt and to predict accurately,” said Drum. “It just needed Salenko to give it a direction—a goal, and it’s using all its resources to achieve that goal. The same can be said of Tau.”

  Alice looked thoughtful. “If I’ve understood you correctly, this Tau is the problem.”

  “What about Vashchenko?” said Drum.

  “He’s just a blunt instrument,” said Alice. “We know how to deal with those. No, we need to cut off the head of the snake by destroying Tau.”

  “I think we’re all agreed on that,” said Drum. “This has been Jane’s aim all along.” A thought occurred to him. “Where is Tau?”

  Alice looked at him. “What do you mean?”

  “It’s still a computer program,” said Drum, “albeit a clever one, but it must be stored somewhere.”

  “I assume it’s in the data centre,” said Alice. “Where else would it be?”

  “Technically, anywhere. But I guess you’re right. It must be in the data centre. Kovac wouldn’t risk putting it in the cloud, although it would be backed up somewhere. But the solution to that problem is doable.”

  “If it’s in the data centre,” said Alice, “the solution to destroying it is fairly easy. You must know lots of people who can handle explosives.”

  Drum smiled. He knew several people but only one he trusted for this job. “It would have to be a coordinated attack,” he said.

  “Right,” said Alice. “A hit on the data centre at the same time you hit
the house. But getting Stevie out will be difficult.”

  “A small team inserted at night,” said Drum.

  “An extraction,” said Alice. “But you need to do it soon. If Tau is allowed to do a deal with the government, they’ll fold and call the whole thing off. The same goes for our other friends.”

  Drum nodded. Their window of opportunity was shrinking. He’d need to call McKay and set things up. He’d also need to get the cooperation of Mei Ling and Sergei. The problem was that no government would want to destroy such advanced technology. And then there was the thorny problem of the data cache.

  “The only snag,” said Drum, “is the location of the data cache. It’s still a ticking bomb.”

  Alice cocked her head to one side, thinking. “With Tau destroyed and Vashchenko eliminated, it would just be a matter of rounding up the lesser players. They’d be the first to give up the location with a little persuasion. What about Professor Kovac?”

  Drum was thinking the same thing. He couldn’t allow Kovac to implement the array. And if Tau got all three keystones, it was game over. “Kovac is either part of the solution or part of the problem.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE

  Preparations

  It was seven in the morning and Drum stood waiting outside St. Mary’s Anglican church just off from the King’s Parade. McKay showed up promptly at seven-fifteen as he had said he would. A lifetime in the Army had drilled the discipline of punctuality into the man. You could always rely on McKay to turn up to the party on time.

  “Morning, Drummond,” said McKay. “Let’s walk.”

  They walked down King’s Parade towards King’s College Chapel, its Gothic spires bleached white in the bright morning sunshine. Soon the place would be filled with tourists.

  Drum summarised the salient events of yesterday, holding back on his conversation with Jane. He thought McKay would think him mad. He outlined the bare bones of a plan and waited while the major thought through each move with the same analytical process he applied to all his missions.

  “Sounds doable,” said McKay, “Though you haven’t left me much time to assemble assets. How big a team do you think you’ll need?”

  “I’ll need a man to cover our escape route at the back of the building,” said Drum. “An experienced sniper.”

  “I’ll see what I can do,” said McKay, “Who else?”

  “Demolition expert. I need precision work on two power substations feeding a MOD hardened data centre and two diesel generators. I can’t risk injuring the people in the building or on campus, but I need the place completely powered down.”

  McKay nodded. “That makes sense. Any computer program will be shut down.”

  “GCHQ will need to divert all comms to their secure servers via the fibre optic cable, and I’ll need a small SBS group on the river to block that route.”

  “What about the extraction?” said McKay.

  This is where things got tricky, thought Drum. “Myself, Mei Ling and Sergei.”

  McKay stopped outside of the King’s College porter’s lodge. “That ain’t going to work.”

  “Look,” said Drum. “I know it’s unprecedented, but both Beijing and Moscow have skin in the game. If we freeze them out now, they’ll cry foul and this whole thing turns into World War three.”

  “I take your point,” said McKay, “but the top brass will never buy it. They’re already saying we’re giving them too much freedom and are pissed you’re sharing intelligence. I’m doing all I can just to keep you in the game.”

  “Ok,” said Drum. “I’ll keep them on the periphery of the operation. They’ll have no tactical involvement, but if they suspect we’re holding out on them …”

  “Look, Ben. They’re operating as foreign intelligence officers on UK soil. They have no rights here. At least that is the official line. Between you and me, your plan makes sense. Keep them in the loop—but don’t disclose operational details or I’ll personally pull the plug. The extraction team must be SAS and you’ll be the package.”

  Drum nodded. It was the plan McKay always favoured. Get the man in and get him out with the intelligence. But if Beijing and Moscow believed the data was in his possession, it would be open season on Ben Drummond.

  And then there were Stevie and Burnett.

  They continued onto Trumpington Street and past St. Catherine’s College.

  “It’s important that I retrieve the two hostages,” said Drum. “If the data cache is at the house, these two are our best bet of finding it.”

  “The Russian girl,” said McKay, “Svetlana Milova.”

  “And an undergraduate. A guy called Jeremy Burnett. I’ll get you a recent photo from the university.”

  “Right,” said McKay. “I’ll get things moving.” He paused. “Your meeting with Michael Mann is this afternoon at three o'clock at The Fitzwilliam.”

  “The pub?”

  "No, the museum."

  "That sounds like Michael," said Drum.

  McKay nodded. “He’s been on my case about the operation all week, wanting daily updates. He’s been driving me up the wall. It’s not like him.”

  “I’ll have a word,” said Drum.

  “Right,” said McKay. And with that, he nodded and walked smartly down Silver Street.

  CHAPTER THIRTY

  Hostile Takeover

  Mei picked Drum up outside the entrance to King’s College. Her mood was subdued and they drove to the campus in silence. “Penny for your thoughts,” said Drum.

  “I had hoped we could talk over breakfast,” said Mei.

  “I had a meeting.”

  Mei nodded. She stared straight ahead, struggling with some inner turmoil. “My superiors are not happy with my progress. They feel you are withholding information. They are losing patience. I can’t blame them. We are no nearer to finding the data cache and time is running out.”

  “I had a similar conversation,” said Drum. “We knew this would happen. I think it’s time to act.”

  She turned to him. “Are you planning an operation?”

  Drum nodded. “I have put plans in place.”

  “You intend to freeze me out,” said Mei, frowning. “It would be better if we worked together.”

  “I agree,” said Drum. “The best I can do is keep you in the loop, but the operation has to be an all-British affair. My people won’t tolerate any involvement from foreign operatives.”

  “When?”

  “Soon.”

  They arrived at the campus and moved through the first security barrier. A guard was waiting for them. “Ms Drago would like a word. She is waiting in Mr Salenko’s office.”

  Mei nodded and nudged the car forwards over the lowered security ramps. “I think we’re in trouble.”

  “Pull up here,” said Drum.

  “Where are you going?”

  “I need one more look at the data centre.”

  Mei pulled over and Drum got out. “I’ll meet you at reception. I won’t be long.”

  Mei drove off, heading for the Administration building. Drum walked along the security fence, pulled out his phone and took pictures of the three backup diesel generators. He then walked around to the entrance. Two MSU units were at the gate. They advanced towards him and blocked his path.

  “Move aside, chaps.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr Drummond,” said one of the units, “your access to the data centre has been revoked.”

  “By whose authority?” said Drum.

  “By Ludmilla Drago, head of security,” said the other MSU.

  That was quick, he thought. Even if he got past these two units, the facial recognition system on the gate would deny him access. He shrugged and started walking to the Administration building. He noticed Amanda heading in his direction. She looked as if she had been crying.

  “Hi, Amanda. Everything alright?”

  Amanda stopped and pulled out a tissue and dabbed her eyes. “I must look a mess. I think I’ve smudged my mascara.”

  �
��Yeah, I have that trouble,” said Drum.

  She laughed. “I bet you don’t.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I’ve been fired!”

  “What! By whom?”

  “Drago,” said Amanda, and started sobbing. “She said I was no longer needed.” She blew her nose. “I’ve worked for Mr Salenko for the past two years. He’s always been very kind to me.”

  “I’m sure it’s a mistake,” said Drum, although getting out of this place was probably a good idea.

  “I don’t think so,” sobbed Amanda. She blew her nose again. “I’ve got to go. I have a bus to catch.”

  Drum watched as she headed for the gate and wondered what was going on. He walked up the steps of the Administration building to find Mei on her phone waiting outside.

  “I can’t get in,” she said.

  “That’s strange, I thought Drago was waiting for us.”

  “Amanda came out crying and then the doors locked. What’s going on?”

  “I’ve no idea,” said Drum. He walked up to the doors, and they immediately unlocked and swung open.

  Mei looked at him. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

  Drum shrugged. “We’ll soon find out.”

  They entered the building, stopping at Amanda’s desk. The place looked empty. They walked down the corridor and headed for Salenko’s office. The door was open when they got there. Drum poked his head inside and looked around. The office was empty. He went up to Salenko’s desk and tapped the built-in monitor.

  “Central, where is Marco Salenko?”

  There was a slight pause, then a voice answered. It had a neutral sounding tone, neither male nor female.

  “Good morning, Ben Drummond, Mei Ling Chung.”

  “That is not Central,” said Mei, looking cautiously around. She moved to the window and scanned the grounds outside. “Who are you?”

  “I am Tau,” said the voice.

  “Where is Salenko,” said Drum.

  There was another slight pause. “Marco Salenko is not on campus.”