The Voss Coin

by A B Alexander

  The screen suddenly switched on. A man in black suit and tie, wearing a Guy Fawkes mask, was seated in a large corporate boardroom with a view to the Sydney Opera House. In the background there were large screens depicting financial tickers and charts.

  “Good day, Mr. Voss. Welcome to Tokyo,” the masked man said in an unnatural mechanical voice. He continued, “I’d like to firstly apologize for the way you’ve been treated. We needed to guarantee your commitment to this project. You have exceptional talent and were specifically chosen by our organization. We believe that you’re one of the world’s leading technology-minded coders. You may very well be the best, but that we shall find out in due course. Your project will be to develop a new cryptocurrency based on similar protocols to Bitcoin. However, unlike Bitcoin, which was developed by the unknown Satoshi Nakomoto, it’ll be clear who is the founder. You’ll name this new digital currency the Voss Coin.”

  While the words sank in, Kevin intently scrutinized the masked man and his surroundings. It was almost impossible to tell whether he was of Japanese origin or a westerner. He seemed to be of average height and build. He had no visible tattoos, and the mask was covering his face and hair in its entirety. The background seemed realistic enough, but why Sydney? Kevin had visited Sydney multiple times over the years for many different Intelias projects, so he was very familiar with city. He searched for any possible clues that could reveal his captor’s identity or location. From the angle of the surrounding buildings and the view of the Opera house, he deducted that this transmission was coming from the AMP Building in the Circular Quay area. From the height, he estimated the location to be anywhere between the twentieth and the twenty-fourth floor. Another unique feature that struck his eye was an abstract painting in the corner of the boardroom with the words, “Make It Matter.”

  When the masked man spoke, his right forefinger twitched, ever so slightly tapping on the desk. This was the only physically unique identifying characteristic. He made a mental note of what he saw and listened studiously.

  “The main purpose of Bitcoin was personal liberty and to cut out financial institutions from being the middle man in the movement of money. The Voss Coin will be an almost exact opposite. It’ll still aim to retain most personal liberties, but it’ll be developed according to full international regulatory guidelines to ensure its sustainability. It’ll be easily integrated with the world’s financial systems, so that central banks will have an interest to initially incorporate it and eventually replace traditional money. Bitcoin was dubbed the biggest economic bubble in history and the biggest social experiment ever. We’re not experimenting here. This project is the future of money, and you’ll be its founder. We’re certain of the success of this project because we’ve already seen the benefits of Bitcoin. However, it was shrouded with scandals and illegal activity; you, on the other hand, will develop the Voss Coin based on integrity. Once you begin you’ll have access to all our extensive resources to ensure its success.” The masked man paused, watching Kevin’s reaction very closely. He could see both fear and hesitation in his eyes.

  Kevin remained absolutely silent at this stage, his brain processing all the information and searching for clues.

  “We’re responsible for the cloud security breach at Intelias. We wanted to demonstrate to you the extent of our technical abilities and their devastating effects. For the moment, this action no longer serves our purpose, so I’m sure that you’ll be relieved to know that everything is back to normal. We’ll now put your CEO, John, on the line. You’ll read word for word the text that will appear on the screen.”

  With that the screen immediately went black. He could feel the barrel of a gun being pressed against his temple. From the corner of his right eye he could see the shiny Glock in the bruiser’s calloused hand. A faint ring sounded in the room. He shook violently, his mind drifting into a heightened state of panic. The ringing was abruptly replaced by John’s familiar voice.

  “Kevin, what a time to disappear. Where have you been? Even Lucy called in to say she was worried about you. What’s going on?”

  John’s voice snapped him back into reality. The words instantly appeared on the giant screen and he focused on them to maintain his composure. He read out loud, keeping his voice steady. “Hi, John. I have good news. I resolved our cloud security problem and have developed a patch to prevent any further potential hacks. I’ll need a few more days in Tokyo to monitor it. I’ll be back in New York early next week and will brief you on the details. I’m still loaded with work here, so we’ll speak soon. Bye, John.” The words on the screen ended and Kevin fell silent.

  “That’s great news. I’m happy to see that you’re back in the office boardroom, is Daichi . . .” the line went dead before John could complete his sentence. Kevin’s mind raced.

  Why does John think that I’m back in the Intelias boardroom? He can definitely see which line he’s being called from. Did these guys somehow orchestrate the conference call from the Intelias Tokyo office line?

  As he lingered on John’s last few words, the screen came back to life with the same boardroom image.

  The masked man continued, “Well done, you sounded convincing indeed. During the next few days you’ll undergo psychological training and final briefing before returning home. You’ll continue with your job at Intelias, but you’ll simultaneously be employed by us until the completion of this project. As the founder and the mastermind of this project you’ll be rewarded with 100,000 Voss Coins. If you don’t complete the project or we deem the quality of your efforts to be insufficient, then your dear wife Lucy will have full access to the photos and videos in our possession. We’ll also use your security clearance at Intelias to create a severe security breach. There’ll be an investigation, and you’ll be federally indicted. We believe that a lifetime behind bars and bringing shame onto your family is a more adequate punishment than death.”

  Kevin could no longer contain himself and shot out his questions. “Who exactly are you? Why is the Yakuza interested in developing a new cryptocurrency?”

  The masked man silently glared at him for what seemed like an eternity. “Oh, we’re not the Yakuza. You could say that the Yakuza work for us, but they’re just one of many service providers of our organization. You’ll be exposed to me or our organization on a need-to-know basis. At this stage you can call me Satoshi. There is a little bit of Satoshi in every coder, isn’t there, Mr. Voss?”

  Kevin stared in complete shock and awe. Could this be the legendary and allusive Satoshi Nakomoto?

  The masked man continued, “I’m everywhere but nowhere. Our contact will always remain untraceable. We’ll be monitoring your every move. If at any stage your curiosity should get the better of you, we’ll carry through with our threats. Your training begins tomorrow, and these kind Yakuza gentlemen will escort you back to your hotel.”

  The screen switched off as suddenly as it had switched on. Kevin remained seated and dropped his head into his hands. Lately he’d received a lot of recognition for his technological abilities and was widely credited amongst corporate circles for being the brains behind most of the Intelias systems. Now he was targeted due to his famed skills, and for the first time in his life he feared the future.

  4

  Mind Games

  The two Yakuza men escorted him back to the Four Seasons and promptly left. He walked into his room, relieved to be alone. He sat down on the edge of the bed and contemplated his options.

  Right, first thing is to check that the Intelias breach was indeed resolved, and that I’m not being played. I need to get to the office.

  He reached for his mobile and saw around ten missed calls from Lucy and another five from John. He would deal with them later. He messaged the Intelias driver to pick him up from the hotel in twenty minutes and headed downstairs to the bar. He desperately needed a whiskey to settle his nerves before heading to the office. It was already 5 p.m., so the bar was bustling with the usual corporate penguins and elegant
ly dressed Japanese ladies. It had a typical after-office vibe but in a very luxurious space. “Double Macallan on the rocks, please,” he requested the barman and took a seat.

  He glanced around the bar and waited for his drink. To his left, a striking brunette had her back turned toward him. She was elegantly dressed in a tight evening dress, accentuating her perfectly shaped behind. He could faintly discern that she was speaking English with an American guy opposite her. He leaned in slightly to overhear their conversation. Her voice was distinctly familiar. She sounded exactly like the brunette from the plane. He instantly became alert and tense, heart rate climbing rapidly. He listened more closely until he was certain it was her.

  I’m going to get some answers from this bitch.

  He grabbed her stiffly by the arm and swung her around. A look of total horror captivated her face. “Excuse me? Do me know each other?”

  Kevin couldn’t believe it; it wasn’t her. The stress of the last two days was getting to him. He was embarrassed and tried to pacify her quickly. “I’m so sorry, I thought you were someone else. My apologies about that.” He picked up his double whiskey, downed it in one go, and rapidly headed toward the hotel’s main exit. The driver waited for him at the entrance and opened the door of the Mercedes.

  “Good evening, sir, where’re we headed this evening?” the driver asked politely.

  “To the office and as fast as possible!” Kevin barked.

  He strode briskly into the high-rise Intelias Tokyo headquarters and headed straight for the thirty-fifth floor, which contained Daichi Sato’s office and also the majority of the cloud-security staff. As soon as the elevator doors opened, he practically ran out toward Daichi’s office. He rapidly crossed the carpeted floor but began to slow down, hearing faint murmuring between the cubicles. Gradually people stood up, their heads peeking above the cubicle partition. He stopped in his tracks, surveying the unusual scene. Suddenly all the 150 cloud-security employees burst out into a thunderous round of applause. Compliments rained down on him from all angles. “You’re a genius!” “Well done, Kevin, you saved our ass.” “You’re a wizard, unbelievable job.” He was embarrassed, disliking taking credit for a job he didn’t do. He had no choice but to hastily acknowledged their applause and continue toward Daichi’s office.

  He entered to find him turned toward the window overlooking the Tokyo skyline. He was leaning back in his plush Wegner executive chair with his eyes closed. “I’ve been waiting for you,” he said stealthily with his eyes still shut. Kevin calmly sat down opposite him and got comfortable. Daichi opened his eyes and sprung from the chair, “Unbelievable, how did you do it, I wonder? We’ve had over 100 of our top guys working on this for the last three days. I haven’t slept in over forty-eight hours and here you are, delivering a complete solution plus security patch in under a day. There is no chance you’re more familiar with our cloud security than me. You even ran out during my brief. So, what’s the story?”

  Kevin maintained steady eye contact and answered coolly, “I didn’t come here to explain to you how I work, and frankly, there’s no time for it. We still need to monitor the patch and make sure everything’s under control. I came here to confirm with you that all our servers are now secure and ask whether you have any idea who was behind the hack?”

  Daichi paced around the office. He knew Kevin was hiding something; he sensed it. However, with no proof, he had to tone it down. “Yes, the servers are all secure and the patch seems to be perfect. We’re investigating the hack. It was meticulously planned because we’re getting stonewalled.” Daichi carefully studied Kevin’s reaction and continued, “For now we can’t go to the Feds; otherwise, we’re going to have a media shit storm, and John advised me on the implications. On the other hand, we’ll have little choice if this happens again.”

  This was enough information for Kevin. So far everything he’d been told by his new employers was true. They had demonstrated their abilities and covered their tracks to perfection. There was little he could do now. He tried his best to make some casual small talk with Daichi but he was preoccupied with what lay in store. He shook his hand warmly and thanked him. “Well done on the hard work of your team, and good luck with the investigation. I’ll be in Tokyo for the next few days to double-check on the patch, so give me a ring if you need my input.” He casually walked out the door and headed toward Daichi’s new secretary. This time he wasn’t in such a rush and noticed her rare beauty. Her facial features were half Japanese, half European. Her eyes and full lips bore more of a European resemblance, while her high cheekbones and slender brow looked Japanese. It seemed like her face had been cut straight from the cover of Vogue magazine. Her hair was a smooth, silky black and tied in a high ponytail. Her white blouse was tightly tucked into a figure-hugging black skirt, the top two buttons open to reveal her glossy, exotic skin and ample breasts.

  Daichi, that naughty bugger, had picked her well.

  She was typing fervently on her computer but abruptly stopped when she noticed him. She outstretched her fragrant hand and smiled warmly. “Hello, Mr. Voss, my name is Mai. It’s such a pleasure to meet you. I’ve heard all about your special abilities.”

  Kevin laughed out loud and shook her petal-soft hand. It felt noticeably smooth and warm to the touch. She had deep ocean-blue eyes that stared at him for a few seconds longer than normal. He looked away uneasily and said in a professional tone, “Nice to meet you, Mai. Please call my driver and make sure he is waiting up front when I get down.”

  He could feel her eyes devouring his anatomy as he entered the elevator.

  That was some pretty straightforward flirtation.

  Before the elevator doors closed, she shouted, “I’m a huge fan of yours. You have a very unique gift, and it was an honor to meet you.” He grinned awkwardly and acknowledged her with a wave goodbye before the elevator doors fully closed. There was something about Mai that bothered him. Her last comment was strange, to say the least. Yes, he had a lot of respect and recognition in the office, but this was the technology industry and she acted like he was a Hollywood star. However, what struck him as particularly odd was the way she emphasized the word “gift.” It sounded similar to the way the brunette had pronounced it on the plane.

  She’s just another gold digger. I need to get some sleep.

  He entered the black Mercedes, certain that he was overreacting.

  Kevin arrived at the Four Seasons lobby and decided to sojourn by the bar for a nightcap. “Bring me three double Macallan 25’s,” he ordered the barman. He was feeling on edge, and a tension headache was building up at the base of his skull. As the barman laid the drinks on the shiny wooden counter, the rich and robust aroma of blood orange and wood spice wafted into his nostrils. He ogled at the glasses before him. “These babies should straighten me out,” he said out loud.

  The barman chuckled, “You’re damn right they will. I hope you enjoy your drinks. The third one is a gift, it’s on the house.”

  Kevin was a regular at the Four Seasons, so it wasn’t unusual for them to offer him complimentary drinks. However, the word gift just didn’t sound right. “Thanks for that, but what do you mean by ‘it’s a gift’?”

  The barman was already preparing a cocktail for the redhead on the other side of the bar. He turned toward Kevin and grinned. “You know how it is, the best gifts always come from the bar.”

  Kevin flashed him a lopsided smile and let it slide. He was paranoid about everything at the moment and he knew it. He couldn’t trust his gut instincts when he was in this state. He sipped the first glass slowly, savoring how intense it was on the palate. He downed the other two drinks quickly and headed to his room.

  He meticulously undressed, hung up his clothes, and took a hot shower. The whiskey rapidly took effect, and he stumbled onto the bed. He felt warm inside, tension slipping out of his naked body. He reached over to the phone and dialed Lucy. He wanted to say goodnight to her and the boys before he fell asleep. She was glad to hear
his voice, he always gave her confidence and love. She missed him dearly. They chatted for about ten minutes and he felt himself getting gradually drowsier.

  All of a sudden Lucy sounded tense. “Babe, you’re slurring your words, are you OK?”

  He was feeling groggy as shit, but he didn’t want to freak her out. He said calmly, “Juuust haad a fu driiikz at the ba to helb me sleeeep, gunight babby.” The slurring was now even audible to him.

  What the hell is happening to me?

  He hung up the phone quickly, dropped his head on the pillow, and closed his eyes, trying to relax. His thoughts wandered to Lucy. She sounded so sweet and loving. He hadn’t seen her in over a month, and his mind drifted to the last time they made love. He could actually feel her delicate lips sliding along the tip of his cock. She caressed his scrotum with her right hand. He desperately craved her while she sucked on his full erection. He pulled her toward him, resting her voluptuous breasts on his face. Her glistening pussy slid down on his cock and he sucked on her nipples. She moaned and grabbed him by the hair. “I’m your gift, Mr. Voss, you’re amazing!”