by G D Parker
The scene before her eyes was instantly ingrained into her mind for eternity. She looked away for a moment to process the sight, whilst screwing up her face.
‘God, Roberts! You could have warned me!’ Valentina gasped.
‘Sorry, boss! Didn’t think it’d bother you too much, considering the amount of dead bods you’ve seen.’
‘Well, this isn’t just a dead body is it? He’s been mutilated. Whoever did this is sending a strong message.’
‘What do you mean?’ asked Roberts.
‘To me, this is a strange style of killing. Why cut his head off?’
‘Very valid point. Don’t know. There’s more.’ Roberts walked over to the sink and placed his gloved hand in, pulling out a mass of flesh.’
‘Is that what I think it is?’ Valentina enquired.
‘It is.’ He placed the mass back into the sink.
‘So, not only have they beheaded Mr Styles, they’ve also cut out his tongue and removed his genitals.’ She took a moment, looking around the room. ‘Any sign of a break in?’
‘No boss, nothing.’
‘And… what about witnesses?’ she asked.
‘There’s a lady from apartment forty-seven. She heard some commotion, opened her door to listen out, then it went quiet, so she assumed it was nothing.’
‘Okay, I want to see her,’ Valentina insisted. ‘Also, get control on the CCTV. Anything unusual, let me know.’
They both left the bathroom and SOCO entered immediately afterwards to continue with their work.
Tammy sat at her desk, feeling worried, and double checking her findings to make sure they were accurate. They were. On the back of the McGregor case, she’d found a glitch with the IPEA implant; a back door into the user’s brain via their mobile phone. Mr McGregor wasn’t the only person who could be hacked; this applied to anyone who’d had the implant installed since the last upgraded version in February 2017, affecting tens of thousands of people.
If this gets out, Medi Corps will have a company-destroying lawsuit on their hands, along with manslaughter charges, she thought to herself. The thought of prison scared her. She was accountable for the security aspect of the company’s products, and Davidson would take whoever he could down with him.
It then crossed her mind that there was no way to repair the glitch, apart from removing the implant. However, doing so would cause significant damage to the user’s brain or could even kill them. Medi Corps were backed into a corner, and the CEO had no idea. Tammy had to be the one to break the news to Davidson, but she knew this was ultimately her error, and losing her job was a certainty.
‘Yes!’ shouted Davidson from his desk. Tammy just walked straight in, accepting the consequences.
‘What is it now, Tammy?’
‘It’s the 2017 IPEA implant, sir!’
‘What? And stop calling me sir. It doesn’t suit you!’
‘Well, there’s a glitch,’ Tammy began.
He stared at her impatiently, waiting for her to open up. Her mouth was open with no words coming out. ‘Well, come on! What?’
‘The glitch basically allows the user’s brain to be hacked via their mobile phone. It’s the encryption.’ Tammy took a deep breath.
‘Which part are we talking about? Internal or external?’
She placed her chin to her neck in shame, then whispered, ‘Internal, Russell.’
He slammed his fists onto his desk, simultaneously causing a mug of coffee to topple over onto all of his papers.
‘It was your job to ensure the implant was encrypted to Government standards! Do you know the ramifications of this?’
‘Unfortunately, I’m fully aware of the ramifications.’ Tammy took a seat in preparation for the inevitable.
They both sat in silence. Davidson sat quietly, the cogs in his powerful mind turning as he tried to invent a way out. Tammy waited for the verdict, with her palms sweating profusely as anxiety progressed through her body.
After what felt like hours, but was in fact only a matter of minutes, Davidson spoke.
‘Who else knows about this?’
Tammy shook her head,
‘No one. I’ve not told anyone.’
‘Good, let’s keep it that way. How easy was it for you to find the glitch?’ Davidson asked.
‘It wasn’t easy at all. You’d need to understand the blueprint and its coding first, let alone the firmware installed within the implant, which was designed by Medi Corps. There would be no other company in the world that uses or would understand the technology we use. We far exceed any authority or government company.’
Davidson frowned.
‘So, what you’re saying is, there’s no way anyone could find out about this?’
‘It would be impossible, unless you worked for Medi Corps in the NeuroTech Department, which only consists of four of us and an assistant,’ Tammy explained.
‘Do any of your team know about this?’
‘No one.’
‘That’s reassuring. But, how did Tommy McGregor get hacked?’
‘By mistake, Russell. Whoever hacked Tommy wouldn’t have seen the glitch. It was literally a matter of luck.’
‘Okay, let’s keep this under wraps. Delete whatever it is you have stored regarding this. Update the implant going forward to avoid this happening to our new customers and carry on as normal.’
Tammy looked confused. This isn’t right.
‘Russell, I’m going to be honest, is that the correct course of action? I mean morally?’
Davidson stood, his face going purple and his eyes bulging from their sockets as his blood pressure rose.
‘Have you gone mad? If this gets out, you and I are looking at prison, PRISON!’ he shouted.
‘I appreciate that but covering it up is wrong.’
‘Tammy, if you value your livelihood, you will forget your findings and forget this conversation! It never happened – UNDERSTAND!’ Davidson wasn’t a person to upset.
Tammy had balls to stand up against him like that. She held back the tears as her morals took control, telling her that this was all wrong.
‘People have died because of this, because of our product, because of my failure.’ She left quickly, not allowing him enough time to answer her.
Davidson stood tall, his chest puffed out in anger. There was no way he would be going to prison - he would make sure of that.
Tammy, feeling backed into a corner, was ready to hand in her notice to leave the company. With her errors causing tragic consequences, she morally couldn’t stay employed with Medi Corps. She sat at her computer and began typing away.
“It is with regret....”
There was an interrupting knock on her office door.
‘Come in!’ Tammy shouted in a broken voice. ‘Russell,’ she sighed. ‘What can I do for you?’ she asked, looking at him as he stood tall in the doorway of her office.
He didn’t look right. Something was wrong.
At the murder scene, Valentina was still working with SOCO, hoping to find a trace or any clue that could be linked to the murder of Andy Styles. Time was pressing on, and her impatience was increasing by the minute.
‘Roberts?’
‘Boss?’ Roberts turned to talk, breaking a current conversation with a uniformed officer.
‘Where are we with control on the CCTV in the area?’
‘We have two characters that are looking suspicious during the hours of twenty-three-twenty-one and zero zero thirty-two,’ Roberts explained.
‘Do you have an ID on them?’ Valentina asked.
‘Not yet, boss. I’m going to make my way to control in a bit to view the footage myself. I’ll update you later.’
‘Okay, but, before you go, the lady at forty-seven said she heard the disturbance at around midnight. Uniform is with her now taking a formal statement.’ Valentina turned and continued with SOCO on their investigation. Normally, this would be considered rude, however, when Valentina was in work mode, she could come ac
ross this way, and Roberts didn’t take offence.
One of the two leads from the CCTV footage had been confirmed as Andy Styles. The other appeared to be another male of similar height. Their movements could be traced back to the city centre, where it was assumed they had been on a night out in the clubs and bars, judging by the clothes they were wearing. After hours of studying the CCTV of the city centre, it was clear that the majority of their time had been spent in the Walkabout bar. Roberts needed to review the CCTV in that place, as Styles was seen entering the bar by himself at 2101 hours on the night he was murdered.
It was now late afternoon and the bar was already open with loud music blaring. Roberts could feel the base from the speakers through his body, causing his internal organs to mirror the beat. The floor was sticky, and the place stunk of cheap, stale lager. There was a young girl behind the bar. Opposite, there was a staircase that led down to another area. Roberts hadn’t realised the sheer size of the place before.
‘Excuse me, miss. Is the manager around? I need to have a chat.’ Roberts flashed his warrant card, so she was obliged to assist immediately.
The girl wandered off, leaving the bar unattended, to locate management. Moments later the manager arrived. Dressed in a smart black suit with a white shirt, he could only be described as tall, dark and handsome.
The manager smiled. ‘Yes, officer, what can I do for you?’
‘Pardon?’ asked Roberts. The music was far too loud for them to hold an important conversation.
The manager then walked off, waving Roberts to follow.
‘That’s better,’ said Roberts, his ears still ringing from the music.
They entered an office in the basement of the building. There were no windows, with only artificial light filling the room, and the brick walls were painted black. The office had a damp smell to it. Roberts sat opposite the manager at his desk.
‘What can I do for you, officer?’ asked the manager.
‘I’m detective constable Roberts.’ He leaned forwards to shake hands.
‘Kevin,’ the manager replied. ‘So, what brings you to my establishment?’ His voice was rugged to match the sharp designer stubble on his face.
Roberts squinted, Establishment? It’s just a bar, he thought to himself.
‘Just making a few enquires on an urgent matter. The CCTV in this place; is it up and running?’
Kevin sat back and placed a foot across his knee, showing a nice pair of Gucci’s.
They’re fake, Roberts thought.
‘Yeah, it’s working. It has to work, to be honest. It’s a God-send, considering the amount of trouble we get in here. Is there anything you’re looking for in particular?’
‘I’m looking for an individual; Andy Styles. Have you heard of him?’
‘Doesn’t ring any bells to me,’ Kevin said.
‘Can you take me through your CCTV footage of the main entrance door from around nine PM last night, please?’
Kevin stood and turned on a large screen situated on a wall behind them. It displayed thumbnails for all the cameras throughout the “establishment”. Roberts then stood to take a closer look. Kevin enlarged the thumbnail of the camera on the main entrance from last night and slowly played back the footage. It showed Styles entering the bar, holding his mobile phone with the screen lit up.
‘You got anything showing where he went when inside?’ asked Roberts.
‘Give me a sec.’
Kevin then clicked on various thumbnails to find the correct cameras. Finally, they found the one. It showed Styles at the bar, ordering himself a drink, then taking a seat across the floor, sitting himself next to another man. They start to chat, and throughout the night they only leave that table to either collect a drink or to take a comfort break. They look friendly towards one another; it was obvious they knew each other.
The CCTV footage confirms that the second man seen walking towards Styles’ apartment was the man he was talking to in the bar.
‘Do you know this guy?’ asked Roberts.
‘Yeah, I know him, a little too well I’m afraid. He’s a bit of a troublemaker if you ask me. He was barred for six months last year for exposing himself in the toilets.’
‘In the ladies, yeah?’
Kevin shook his head.
‘No, the gents. Caused one hell of a scene.’
‘So, why only bar him for six months?’
‘He sent us a letter of apology, promising to never behave like that again. He explained that he had just been having a laugh!’ said Kevin.
‘Do you still have that letter?’
‘No, wouldn’t have kept it.’
‘Did you inform the authorities of his behaviour?’ asked Roberts.
‘No, we try and resolve things locally,’ Kevin winked, ‘if you know what I mean.’
Roberts ignored and completely bypassed this statement, not wanting to get involved with anything else that went on in the bar at that moment. He put it to the back of his mind. ‘What’s his name?’
‘Charlie Wright.’
‘His age?’
‘About mid-forties, I think. What’s all this in connection with?’ Kevin asked as Roberts scribbled down all the information.
‘Can you burn this CCTV footage to a disk for me, please?’ Roberts requested.
Kevin looked frustrated by the way in which Roberts had avoided answering his question.
‘Yeah, okay. You going to tell me what this is all about?’ He then inserted a disk into the DVR and began to upload the footage to the disk.
‘No, sorry.’
Kevin handed Roberts the disk, and in return, Roberts handed over his card.
‘Contact me if you have any more information on either of these two, please?’
Kevin nodded and then escorted Roberts out of the bar.
Tammy had never been wary of Davidson – until now. This was the first time she’d felt this way in all the years she’d known and worked for him. He was currently making her feel uneasy. He stood bold in the doorway to her office, looking somewhat upset.
‘Russell, look, I’m going to have to –’
He cut her off abruptly.
‘Tammy, I’m sorry for how I reacted, I really am. I should never have been that way with you, and I am truly sorry. I know you’re a good person. Please don’t do anything rash tonight. Sleep on it, okay?’
Tammy smiled with relief, expecting... well, she didn’t even know what to expect, especially not an apology.
‘Thank you, Russell, and it’s okay. We just need to talk it though rationally tomorrow. Is that okay?’
‘Yes, that’s fine. See you tomorrow.’ Davidson smiled and walked out of her office.
Tammy felt comfortable with how things had been left. At least I’ll be able to sleep tonight, she thought.
When Tammy arrived at work the following day, Davidson was already hovering around waiting for her. Before she had even put down her bag, he was trying to converse with her. She didn’t like this one bit and felt like her space was being invaded.
‘Tammy, I was hoping we could have that chat, you know, about your findings?’ Davidson sounded rushed, eager to get things sorted. His eyes were wide, his pupils even wider, presumably from the amount of coffee he’d probably been drinking.
‘Of course, you’re the boss.’ She raised her eye brows, and he took a seat while Tammy sat at her desk opposite.
‘Tammy, tell me, what are your thoughts?’
‘About what now, Russell? About my job? Or playing detective? Or about my mistake?’
Davidson looked sheepish. Her tone was direct, and he didn’t like it, but he had to stay calm.
‘Both really, which ever you want to talk about first?’
‘Well, I would like to talk about work. I think I’m going to hand in my notice, and, yes, I will be going to Valentina about the mistake I’ve made.’
He looked at her intently.
‘Look, Tammy, we’ve known each other for a very long time.
Can you please reconsider your position? I’ll increase your salary!’
‘This isn’t about money, you old fool. This is about my integrity to our customers, and the lives that have been lost, and the ones still at risk.’ Tammy was stern, and Russell could see she wasn’t going to budge - he knew her well enough.
‘Okay, well,’ he focused, trying to stay calm, ‘don’t work your notice. You can leave now, and I’ll pay you your notice period of three months... I’ll add in a twenty percent bonus as well.’
Tammy gave an I-don’t-care smile. Initially, she didn’t offer any words, but just grabbed her bag to leave.
‘Russell, if I were you, I would get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.’ She walked out of the door, with the sound of her heels echoing down the corridor.
In Tammy’s heart of hearts, she knew she was doing the right thing. She couldn’t continue to work for a company, well, a boss like Russell, who only cared about his own skin. She hadn’t created the IPEA to allow people to murder, to rape, or to commit other vile crimes. She had created it to help increase lifespan and wellbeing. Therefore, this completely went against her beliefs.
Once she arrived back home, she felt relieved. She had no mortgage to pay on her luxury apartment. With three month’s pay and twenty percent bonus she could live comfortably for at least the next two to three years. However, amongst all that was the niggling notion of what had happened as a result of her error and the potential for more crimes and deaths. It lingered uneasily within her soul.
19
Scientist83: “How much does she know?”
Anderson: “Everything.”
Scientist83: “She’s got to go!”
Anderson: “I can’t do that - the acid was hard enough.”
Scientist83: “You’re in too deep now.”
Anderson: “I can’t.”
Scientist83: “See you soon.”
Scientiest83: **IS NOW OFFLINE**
Anderson sat back in his chair, knowing full well what Scientist83 meant by “see you soon”. He knew he had to do what was being asked of him. He took a deep breath, grabbed his keys and got into his car.
