The African Diamond Trilogy Box Set

by Christopher Lowery

  The CEO moved his chair away from Hoi and wiped a bloodied hand over his eyes. ‘Thank you for saving us from this disgusting creature, Mr Coetzee, we probably owe you and Leo our lives. But I don’t have the password, you’ll have to get it from him.’

  ‘What is it, Hoi?’

  The man didn’t answer, and Coetzee went over to him and squeezed his bruised shoulder until he winced with pain. ‘If we don’t have the password in five seconds, I’ll break your other arm.’

  ‘It changes every day. I stuck it on the computer screen to have it handy.’

  Leo said, ‘I see it, but it’s in Chinese. OK, come here and explain the deployment procedure to me. It’ll be faster.’

  Han stood up. ‘I think it’s safer to keep him away from the computer, I don’t trust him.’ He went over to Coetzee. ‘That’s my army pistol, Mr Coetzee. I’ll take it and guard Hoi. Mr Cheong can translate for you and Leo. Don’t worry, I can handle this traitor.’

  He handed him the gun. ‘I’ve left the safety on. Can you call down and tell Junjie there’s no need for security? And watch out for this slimy bastard.’

  Han picked up the phone and Coetzee went to the console with Bohai.

  With the chairman’s help, Leo quickly found his way around the system. ‘Nothing’s arrived yet. I’d better get moving.’ He started working on his laptop. ‘How many countries are you supposed to send the upload to?’

  ‘Why the fuck should I help you? What do I get out of it?’

  Coetzee turned and stared at him. ‘We’ll let you live, for a start.’

  Han prodded him with the pistol, ‘Answer, you repulsive animal!’

  ‘Fourteen. All the ex-USSR countries.’

  ‘That’s the hub coordinates on this list?’

  Hoi nodded, and Coetzee said, ‘Just for interest, how much did Shen pay you?’

  ‘It’s none of your fucking business.’ Han prodded him again. ‘He gave me 150,000 Euros, with another 100,000 to come. I’ve earned it.’

  ‘You haven’t earned it yet, and we’ll make sure you don’t.’

  ‘So I suppose you’ll be calling the cops now?’

  Coetzee said, ‘OK, listen to me. At the moment you haven’t committed any crime. You’re prepared to commit one, but it’s still not executed. If you help us, we don’t care what happens to you. It’s too complicated to get the police involved and it won’t change anything. If Han and Bohai agree, you’re free to go as soon as we’re finished here.’

  ‘I don’t see how I can help you, you’re running the show now.’

  Moscow, Russian Federation

  ‘OK, they’re all in agreement.’ Piotr Gavrikov put the phone down with a trembling hand. It was six p.m. and he’d spoken to Generals Dorokhin and Zhigunov and Admiral Bolotnikov, who confirmed they were ready to proceed. He then called the Minister of Defence, General Belinsky, and explained the situation to him. Since the president couldn’t be reached, the general had outlined the stark options for him. ‘In two hours’ time, if you haven’t sent it and it’s too late, you’ll be held personally responsible. If you send it and something goes wrong, you’ll still be held responsible. So you’d better send it and hope it goes according to plan.’

  Shen breathed a sigh of relief. ‘Thank God for that. Come on, let’s go.’ They raced to the elevators to take them to the underground network centres. It was almost an hour since he’d received the text. He prayed he’d be in time to fix things. If not… he didn’t like to consider the alternative.

  Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

  ‘Right. It’s ready. You want to double-check, Marius?’

  He came to the table and Leo showed him his set-up, step by step. ‘Looks OK to me, but you’re the expert, so we’ll just cross our fingers and trust you.’

  ‘Remind me to thank Abby. Without that last message of hers I wouldn’t have known how to do this.’

  ‘If we live that long, I’ll be happy to do so.’

  ‘Move away from the console, all of you.’ Han Wan Tāng was standing behind Hoi, pointing the Norinko at them. ‘Step away and sit on the floor in that corner, away from the computer. Leave your laptop there, Leo.’ He tapped Hoi’s shoulder with the gun. ‘Make sure he hasn’t interfered with your programme.’

  Hoi stood up, looking round at him in confusion. ‘What? What the fuck’s going on, Han?’

  ‘Never mind, just do what I told you, now.’

  Coetzee laughed out loud. ‘Well, well, it’s the old Russian double or triple cross. Han lets Hoi take him out, so he’ll stay in the clear. Behind the bad guy there’s another and maybe even one more. Whose side are you on, Mr Cheong?’

  The chairman was staring at Han in amazement. ‘What the hell are you doing, Han? Put that gun down. Are you mad?’

  ‘Looks like he’s just protecting his investment. Right, Han? You were the back-up in case Hoi screwed up, and now you’ve got to take over the party.’

  ‘I don’t have time to discuss it, move away and sit down.’

  Coetzee gestured to the others to stand aside as Hoi went over to the PC and interrogated the system. ‘It’s OK, he’s created another file, but it’s not connected to mine.’

  ‘Well, we know it’s Shen who’s paying Hoi, but who’s paying you, Han?’ The South African made a hand gesture to Leo and moved closer to the table.

  ‘What? Who’s paying me? What are you talking about?’ He waved the gun again. ‘Get away from the console, or I’ll shoot.’ He took aim at Coetzee. ‘I won’t make the same mistake as that idiot, the safety’s off this time.’

  Coetzee grabbed Hoi and stood behind him, his arm around the Chinaman’s throat. He snatched the plate from the desk and hurled it, frisbee-style, at Han. Leo ran forward and threw himself at him in a rugby tackle just as the plate smashed into his arm and he pulled the trigger.

  The pistol exploded, and Leo cried out as he felt a burning sensation in his left thigh. ‘Fuck! You’ve shot me, you murdering piece of shit.’ He tore the gun from his hand, threw it to Coetzee then squeezed his hands around his bleeding leg.

  Coetzee laid Hoi out with a rabbit punch to the head then came over and pushed Han onto a chair. He pulled Leo’s jeans down and looked at his leg. By his standards the injury didn’t appear to be serious, the bullet had entered and exited the flesh without breaking any bones or touching an artery. He pressed his handkerchief to the leg while Bohai brought water from the adjacent washroom, then he cleaned the wound, ripped a towel into strips and bound it tightly, remembering Karen’s words at the airport, could you try not to get shot this time? He wished he could have taken the bullet instead of Leo.

  ‘You OK?’

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll make it. We’ve still got a job to finish.’

  Coetzee said to Bohai, ‘No reason to start a panic. Call down again and tell Junjie everything’s OK up here. We won’t be too long.’

  Moscow, Russian Federation

  Shen Fu Liáng said, ‘It’s ready. Do you authorise me to send it?’

  ‘Don’t be fucking stupid. Just get on with it.’

  Shen pressed Send and his A2 trigger and handover codes were transmitted to the Lee-Win hub address.

  Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

  Bohai put the phone down then came over to Han, shaking his fist in his face. ‘Why have you betrayed me and your friends and colleagues in this despicable way? You have brought shame on Lee-Win and everyone involved in our business, here and in Dubai. You and Shen and this man,’ he gestured at Hoi Wei, now sitting on the floor, holding his head, ‘working together to destroy everything we have done to ensure our place in history.’

  Han turned his head away and said nothing. ‘Money, of course,’ Coetzee answered. ‘Don’t look for any other motivation, Bohai, it’s always about money.’

  Leo said, ‘I’m not following. If Wei was paid by Shen, who was paying Han?’

  ‘The Russians, of course,’ Coetzee said. ‘The truth is they were both b
eing paid by the Russians, but neither of them knew it. It’s over, Han. You realise that, don’t you? Whatever happens from now on, it’s me and Leo who’ll be directing the traffic, not you or Hoi. You failed in your task, and I don’t think Leo wants to get the local authorities involved about a minor shooting accident,’ he paused and Leo shook his head. ‘Right, so if Bohai agrees, when we finish here, you and that creep over there can go and be thankful for small mercies.’

  ‘You don’t understand. The Russians will find us and kill us, both of us, perhaps our families and all of you as well. You’ve seen who’s behind this, they’re powerful men and we can’t hide from them.’ Han was up on his feet. ‘They promised me $2 million. Two million! More than I could save in my entire lifetime. Enough to take my family away and enjoy life, instead of wasting my days and years creating brilliant inventions that other people took credit for.’

  ‘And that’s why you conspired in the death of our founder, Chongkun, the man who befriended you and treated you like a brother for so many years. You repulse me, you ungrateful, conniving murderer. You must not let him go free, Mr Coetzee, he deserves to pay for his crimes.’ Cheong turned his head away, his face twisted with disgust.

  ‘It’s not true! I had nothing to do with Chongkun’s death. I swear on my children’s heads. Until tonight I believed he had been killed in an accident, but I see now I was naïve and stupid. When the new owners asked me to stay, I thought I would be treated with the respect I had earned, in the top job, with a proper salary, a fine car, share options and bonuses, in return for everything I had done for Lee-Win. But I was wrong. Shen Fu Liáng was appointed and replaced me as their key man, and then set up XPC, the real centre of development, out of my control.’

  ‘It was me who invented ACRE!’ he shouted at Leo. ‘It took me years to develop the concept and then, before I could introduce it, the project was taken away to Dubai and you got the credit. I created the A2 cell and introduced it into the imprint. Then I wrote the trigger programme and it was kept safe in Moscow, so no one could discover it. And it was me who programmed the hub handover code to manage the shutdown from Moscow. It’s all incredible technology and I invented it, me, no one else. I’ve been the real brain behind Lee-Win Micro-Technology for the last twenty years.’

  Leo was trying to cope with these revelations. ‘So, both you and Hoi were Shen’s accomplices in the conspiracy?’

  Han gave a derisive laugh. ‘I was not Shen Fu Liáng’s accomplice. I was working under the orders of General Piotr Gavrikov at the Russian Main Intelligence Directorate in Moscow. He contacted me after Shen was appointed and he told me the whole plan. He needed someone who could guarantee it would work, and I am the only person who could do that. He paid me $50,000 a year and promised me $2 million when the job was executed. Shen knew nothing about it. He was too stupid to realise it was me behind all this brilliant technology, he thought it was the work of one of their Russian cyber specialists and that man, Hoi Lei, who is not fit to tie my shoelaces. Although I was surrounded by fools, I fulfilled my task and I deserve the $2 million I was promised for it.’

  He pointed his finger at Bohai. ‘Do you know how much I earn? Even you are paid more than me, with your shares and bonuses. I’m the chief executive and I get $10,000 a month. $2 million was worth working for five years.’ He wiped his eyes. ‘But you’re right, it’s over now. It’s all over.’ He sat back on the chair, his head in his hands, a broken man.

  There was silence for a long moment, then Coetzee said, ‘Shen’s upload might have arrived, Leo. Are you OK to check it?’

  ‘Sure, I’m fine.’ He limped over to the PC and entered the password. ‘It’s arrived, just two minutes ago.’

  ‘Great, time for you to show us how smart you and Abby can be.’

  Moscow, Russian Federation

  ‘It’s ten minutes since you sent it. What the fuck’s he doing?’ Shen Fu Liáng was waiting in General Piotr Gavrikov’s office, and they had received no news from Hoi Lei.

  ‘He’s checking the upload, converting it into a Lee-Win envelope and entering the hub addresses. It can’t be done in a minute. You want him to screw it up by hurrying things at this stage?’ Shen answered confidently, but his heart was in his mouth. It’s now or never, please God, don’t let it go wrong.

  Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

  ‘Right, it’s going. I just hope he doesn’t hang around.’ Leo pressed Send and a copy of the upload received from Shen went flying off through the ether to General William R. Chillicott in Washington. It was accompanied by a summary of Leo’s solution and Coetzee’s recordings of Hoi Wei’s and Han’s confessions. They were sitting in silence next to Bohai Cheong, who had them covered with the pistol.

  ‘I can’t believe such greed and corruption. And from people whom I’ve known and trusted for so many years.’ Bohai shook his head. ‘That upload could have started a global conflict with millions of deaths, and Lee-Win would be held responsible. And all you were concerned about is money. Do you people have no shame, no morals, no respect for mankind?’

  Han put his hand over his eyes while Hoi ignored the old man. ‘Can I go now?’ he asked Coetzee.

  ‘Wait until we send the upload. If it’s successful, and you’d better pray it is, we won’t detain you.’

  Leo looked at the time. ‘Where’s Billy? What’s he doing?’

  Washington DC, USA

  General Chillicott was in West Potomac Park at twelve noon, watching his grandson’s Sunday softball game, when his mobile pinged. He found a quiet corner and read Leo’s message, looked at the upload file, then listened to Coetzee’s recording. Now he had the final proof of the Russians’ intentions, it was time to teach them a lesson. He typed, Well done. Go ahead. WRC.

  Shanghai, People’s Republic of China

  ‘We have lift-off. Billy says go ahead. Do I send?’

  ‘That’s the stupidest question you’ve ever asked.’

  Leo pressed Send, and his modified A2 trigger and handover codes were sent to the address he’d specified.

  A minute later, an email came in from Moscow: Confirm upload sent?

  Leo replied: Confirm sent a moment ago. Coetzee found the response amusing.

  SIXTY

  GRU Headquarters, Moscow, Russian Federation

  Sunday, 18 July 2017

  ‘What the hell’s happened to the networks?’ Andrei Ivanov, the Deputy IT Director, shouted down the phone.

  ‘It’s another system crash. We’re investigating it now. You’ll get a report in an hour.’ Evgeny Ilyin, Head of Network Maintenance, shoved the phone in his pocket and ran down the corridor to the main network centre. The lock sensor wouldn’t work with his pass card and he banged on the door until someone came and opened the dead lock. He walked into the room, an unpleasant smile on his face.

  ‘Congratulations, Vasili, that’s the third failure in a month. I suppose you have a really good explanation for me to give to the boss.’

  ‘It’s not a really good explanation, but it’s the only one that makes sense. We’ve been hacked. The entire system, all the networks, shut down five minutes ago and nothing’s working. It has to be a cyber-attack, there’s no other explanation.’

  ‘What do you mean, the entire system? That’s impossible, there must be some parts of some networks working. Has there been any unusual traffic through tonight?’

  ‘We got a minor upgrade from Lee-Win for a bug they found in their new software. But that’s nothing unusual.’

  ‘And it was downloaded without question?’

  ‘Of course, we always do. Without Lee-Win we wouldn’t have a system. And that new ACRE software is incredible. If they want to fix a bug, it’s in our interests and we should be happy.’

  All-Russia State Television and Radio Broadcasting Company, Moscow

  ‘We’re getting calls about a cyber-attack, from GRU headquarters. Seems all their networks are down.’

  ‘Sounds like a newsworthy event. Shall
I write it up for the morning show?’

  ‘That’s not funny, Igor, they’ll just deny it. You know they don’t permit publicity, especially about their fuck-ups.’

  ‘So, we’ve got over two hundred TV, radio and Internet channels, and we can’t broadcast a warning about a probable cyber-attack, because GRU will say it hasn’t happened. I think that’s pretty funny.’

  GRU Headquarters, Moscow

  ‘What do you mean it’s coming and going?’ General Anatole Lukyanenko, Deputy Director of the Main Intelligence Directorate, asked.

  ‘Everything closed down for exactly two hours, then it started up again for fifteen minutes, and it’s happened three times since then. At the moment it’s down.’ IT Director Sergei Golovkin had been called out of bed at midnight, and he wasn’t feeling very happy.

  ‘Can’t our specialists discover where it’s coming from and override it?’

  ‘I’ve never seen anything like it. When the networks are down, nothing’s working, nothing at all, so they can’t even get into the system to look for the problem.’

  ‘And when it comes up again?’

  ‘Everything runs like a dream on the new Lee-Win transmission-encryption software. Then it just falls over again, no warnings, no errors, nothing suspicious, nothing to see. It just shuts down, as if someone flicked a switch. Somebody’s in charge of our networks, and it’s not us.’

  ‘Have you informed General Gavrikov?’

  ‘I can’t find him. He’s not answering any of his numbers, nor texts.’

  Lukyanenko’s mind went into overdrive. For the last few weeks he’d heard rumours of a cyber-attack being prepared. Nothing official, just the occasional word here and there, but it didn’t appear on any of the events schedules and his boss, Gavrikov, had said nothing to him about it. It sounded like it was a clandestine plan and he didn’t know who was involved. It must be that plan, something’s gone wrong and Gavrikov’s gone missing.

  ‘Let me have a full report within the hour. I’ll have to give the minister an explanation.’ He was already working out how he could turn the problem to his own advantage. ‘Send it to me by email.’ It was easier to edit reports on the computer. This could be a defining moment in his career, he was determined to make the most of it.