The Good: A page turning thriller where politics meets future technology in a bid to control human behaviour
Page 42
They both looked at Abby, willing her to make the right call. Simon watched all of this unfold as if he was the audience at a theatrical production laid on just for him.
Abby put her head in her hands and let out a growl of frustration before announcing: “Do it. Call her.”
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Silicon Fen, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
The man in the casual shirt continued the conversation with his counterpart on the phone that lives in the safe, in a cupboard by the wall.
“We did as asked, we neutralised the Chief Protection Officer. He was the leak. We’ve completed that part of the required task. However, we’ve been unsuccessful in locating Vanessa Lim. We have monitored her property but she has not surfaced as yet,” he said.
“What about phone calls or emails? Has she had any contact with anyone?” the counterpart asked.
“Yes, Leon Bryant,” the man in the casual shirt said.
“So we have to assume they’re working together. I need him found,” the counterpart commanded….
“I’ll get it done.”
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Brampton, Cambridgeshire
Leon pulled out his phone and dialled Vanessa’s number.
“Leon, I didn’t expect to hear from you. What’s happening?” Vanessa was surprised, pleased, and hopeful.
“Vanessa, this isn’t a call to a friend. We’ve decoded the thumb drive but we need someone close to the Government to figure out some of the information. You need to come here,” he said.
“Where,” Vanessa asked.
“Jennifer’s house,” he replied.
“I’m on my way,” she said…
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Silicon Fen, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
The man in the casual shirt reviewed the information on his laptop. It had picked up a call to Vanessa’s mobile and located the caller to a town but it was too short a conversation to pinpoint any further.
The town was 20 minutes away and there were a few possible locations. He picked up the phone and started the process.
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Brampton, Cambridgeshire
Vanessa pulled up to the familiar house about 30 minutes later. She was nervous as she left the car and walked up to the front door. She knocked a couple of times.
The door opened and Jennifer stood there but, by the look of her face, no longer as a friend.
“I know I can’t say anything to change this but…” Vanessa said, wanting to get out an apology as early as possible.
“No,” Jennifer said abruptly, cutting her off. “There is nothing you can say to change this. But we have a job to do.”
“Understood,” said Vanessa.
That awkward moment was almost insignificant in comparison to when she turned the corner into the living room and looked straight into the hate filled eyes of Abby.
Professionalism took over as she scoured the room, eye balling both Leon and Simon in the process.
“We can’t do this here. They’ll be trying to trace us. The likelihood is they already know about our call Leon. I know a place we can go. It’s not far away. Leave your phones here and come with me,” she said.
There was a reticence in response. She understood why.
“Listen, whatever you think of me you need to forget it for now and come with me. We won’t have much time. I’m in this as much as you are. Let’s go.”
“Come on,” said Leon before standing up and encouraging the others with a waft of his arm. He took his mobile out and left it on the dining room table. The others did the same.
They scurried out of the house and into Vanessa’s hired car. She surveyed the scene and was satisfied they were not being monitored. They must have left in time.
The car drove off leaving Jennifer’s quiet suburban house to whatever fate awaited it.
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Silicon Fen, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Another phone call, this time to his counterpart, the man in the casual shirt spoke first. “We’ve located another call. It was made from Huntingdon. He has to be with Dr Jennifer Hopwood. It’s the only connection to that town. A team has been sent to both the lab and the house. We’re closing in. ETA no more than ten minutes.” he said.
“Good. Keep me informed,” his counterpart replied.
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Late Evening - Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
As they drove out of the town to the west they drove towards an innocuous looking car travelling in the other direction. It was dark but Vanessa could only just make it out. She pulled her cap down further to cover her face.
“I don’t like the look of that car ahead of us. I’d suggested you get your heads down. We can’t trust anyone or anything at this point,” she said. Her passengers did as instructed.
The car went passed them without incident.
They continued their journey for another 20 minutes and arrived at a boutique block of apartments. Vanessa parked the car and they shuffled out.
“It’s a friend of a friend’s place. A bit small but suitable for us for now,” she said, gesturing to the building before leading them inside.
Leon, Abby and Jennifer followed nervously. Simon, on the other hand, was thrilled to be part of such an exciting evening.
They got into the apartment and Leon located himself on the kitchen table, laptop open and ready to go. Vanessa joined him and she read the information on the screen. Abby, Jennifer and Simon left them to it. Jennifer made everyone a cup of tea. It seemed like the right thing to do.
Vanessa and Leon discussed what they saw. He jotted notes down on his writing pad. He was piecing together the information like he was preparing a story. After about an hour of reviewing, deciphering and jotting, Vanessa asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“What do we do now?”
Leon looked down at his notepad and took control of the laptop. He opened his blog page and clicked to start a new post.
“Now we write. Now we tell people what is really happening. They need to know,” he said.
“Are you sure Leon?” Vanessa asked. “If you do this, there really is no turning back.”
“Vanessa, there was no turning back when we met in the park. Things haven’t changed now. It’s just that now I know what we're unable to turn back from. This has to get out there,” Leon replied.
“Ok, but while you’re writing that, I suggest we send this information to a contact I know at the Metropolitan Police. We need to get those wheels in motion,” Vanessa said.
Leon nodded and started typing with Vanessa looking over his shoulder.
He wrote, amended and re-wrote long into the night. He discussed things with Vanessa as he considered alternative ways to present this information. A post began to form in front of them.
It was the early hours before they finished and Leon thought about people waking up to their normal lives, looking forward to their morning ritual of a cup of tea and a piece of toast. They were unaware that everything was about to change…
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Silicon Fen, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire
Another phone call, but this one was weighed down with an air of concern.
“What do you mean they’re not there?” the counterpart said. “Where the hell are they?”
“The mobile phones were in the house on the table but no one was there. They’d left. They must have known we were tracing them. There’s been no other communication since. We have to assume they’re all together somewhere,” the man in the casual shirt said.
His counterpart could feel the net closing in. He was scared, angry, a wounded beast.
“I don’t care what you have to do. You find t
hem,” he ordered.
Chapter 30:
10 Downing Street, London
David woke up after a long sleep. With a yawn he hustled himself out of bed and walked towards the window. He pulled the curtains apart and admired the early morning sun streaming in, allowing it to illuminate the room.
In the distance he heard the sound of sirens, a familiar background noise in London. A bird flew past and he observed it as it carried something in its beak back to its nest. Breakfast.
He took a quick shower and groomed himself getting ready for the day ahead.
Wrapped in a towel, he positioned himself in front of his desk, pulled the lid of his laptop up and pressed to power on. The machine whirred into life and the screen flickered to announce the imminent arrival of his home screen.
He walked over to a polished wooden cabinet by the side of the room while his computer finished its required routine. He poured himself a glass of water and gulped it down before heading back to his desk.
The noise of sirens grew louder signalling they may be a few streets away.
Primed and ready to go, he used the mouse pad to navigate to his email. Upon opening, his system searched for new messages. As they filtered into his inbox, one caught his eye. He clicked to open it and then clicked the link contained inside.
The webpage loaded and he read the contents. He felt strangely calm and subdued. The sirens became louder, closer still.
He walked over to his dressing table and pulled his shirt on. His trousers followed and then he selected a tie.
The sirens echoed throughout the building and were joined by the reflection of blue lights playing out on the walls of his room. They were right outside. He heard a screech as cars came to a sharp stop.
Regardless, he carried on with his routine. He folded his tie into a full Windsor knot. There was a loud rap on the front door and he could hear words exchanged, loud voices, assertive.
David admired himself in the mirror and adjusted his tie with a smile. Footsteps were on the landing outside of his room.
He turned away and calmly walked to the door. He opened it with a smile and greeted his guests: “Good morning,” he said.
Three police officers filed into the room, two others stood either side of the Prime Minister, one placed him in handcuffs. A grey haired senior sergeant observed the laptop on the desk. The webpage was still open… it was a blog post from The Day Today. It read:
Five years of lies and deceit. Five years of orchestrating violence against the people of Britain: A power hungry Prime Minister willing to risk everything falls on his sword
The Day Today calls for the resignation and criminal prosecution of Prime Minister David Lawson following information provided to it by reliable sources shows how he has lied to the British Public for the last five years for personal gain.
This information has subsequently been sent to the Metropolitan Police to act on.
The below is an accurate account of years of deceit and contempt for the people of Britain who voted for a Prime Minister they believed would make a change for the good. They had little knowledge that the person they voted for was the catalyst for the violence and fear that had gripped this country for half a decade.
This information was provided to The Day Today by the Chief Protection Officer to the Prime Minister who was murdered as he handed it over and those details were verified by David Lawson’s Chief Advisor, Vanessa Lim who co-wrote this article.
Two days ago, The Day Today received a tip off following an invitation to a meeting to receive information pertaining to the Prime Minister. At that meeting, the contact turned out to be a man called Benson, Chief Protection Officer and close associate of Prime Minister David Lawson for almost a decade. He was also a mole, planted by MI5.
That man was shot dead in broad daylight on Clapham Common after handing over vital documents that detailed how the Prime Minister had orchestrated the wave of anti-social behaviour that eventually brought him in to power under a promise to eradicate it.
His whole campaign and subsequent election to the office of Prime Minister came about as a result of his own work establishing the network of fear more than five years ago. He then used that violence to destabilise the former Prime Minister and eventually win the following General Election at a canter.
The information received shows how David Lawson made phone calls and had other communications with underworld gangs offering to pay for violent crimes to be carried out.
Furthermore, it has been revealed that he founded the website “State of Hate” through connection with another shadowy character called Ivan Petrovic, founder and CEO of Interface Science Labs.
This is the organisation that won the bid process to develop the liquid chips rolled out as part of the Anti-Social Behaviour Act. The information received by The Day Today also shows that David Lawson has a 49% shareholding in Interface Science Labs through a trust fund established overseas and operating out of the Cayman Islands.
David Lawson was on the decision panel that awarded the contract to Interface Science Labs and has made billions from the deal.
The information also reveals details of a personal nature to the editor of this blog, Leon Bryant. It shows that over a year ago, David Lawson organised for an attack on Mr Bryant’s property resulting in a brick being thrown through a window.
A few months later, he organised for an assault in Finsbury Park resulting in Mr Bryant requiring hospitalisation. This attack was meant to deter The Day Today from reporting negatively on anti-social behaviour in the UK.
In addition, David Lawson, through his association with Ivan Petrovic, organised for an attempt on Mr Bryant’s life which saw an armed gunman take a shot at Mr Bryant on the street outside of his apartment.
That gunman denied Mr Bryant was the target and received a heavily reduced sentence in return but it has been revealed that his denial was a lie and all part of an agreed and organised plan by David Lawson.
Additionally, the incident that led to the uncovering of this information occurred when Simeon Purcell, head of MI5 attempted to blackmail David Lawson with the same information received by The Day Today. This resulted in the Prime Minister allowing MI5 to have access to the personal data of the public captured by the liquid chips. That access to personal information still remains.
One thing The Day Today wishes to make absolutely clear is that neither Minister Russell Brooks nor Chief Advisor Vanessa Lim had anything to do with the shocking activities outlined above.
Prime Minister Lawson acted either alone or with Ivan Petrovic through all of this.
What this post shows is the story of a man who was so consumed by power and greed he was willing to risk everything for it. It shows someone who has such little regard for people’s lives that he was happy to use the British public as pawns in his own game of chess.
It shows that David Lawson, much like his father’s criminal past, was an apple that fell in close proximity to that particular tree.
As always, please leave any comments in the usual place below or email thedaytoday@blognews.co.uk
The blog post sent the country into frenzy. News reports showed Police raiding the properties and offices of both Prime Minister Lawson and Ivan Petrovic, the man in the casual shirt who occupied the corner office.
A day that for many had begun as any other day had suddenly changed and took them into a world that they no longer knew.
Chapter 31:
Epilogue: Britain – A year later
One year on from the shocking scenes of the day when a blog post brought down a Prime Minister, the country had picked itself up and got back to its feet as it always had.
Russell Brooks was voted in as Prime Minister in an emergency election after taking over as leader of the Party and had brought stability where uncertainty existed. He had steadily dismantled the Anti-Social Behaviour Act and the subsequent programme to remove the liquid chips from existence.
Vanessa Lim continued as Chief Adviso
r to Russell Brooks and oversaw a project introducing a new subject into the school curriculum called Social Good. It was devised in partnership with the Institute of Behavioural Science and, in particular, Dr Jennifer Hopwood.
Although the liquid chip programme had served to show people had acted positively for selfish reasons, it did result in an acknowledgement of satisfaction and overwhelming pride for most people who enjoyed the feeling they got from doing good in their community. That feeling remained as a welcome legacy of a programme that meant well but largely failed to deliver.
David Lawson and Ivan Petrovic received extended jail sentences for their crimes with the latter contracting a terminal illness while serving at his majesty’s pleasure that eventually led to his permanent decline. David Lawson is unlikely to ever be a free man again.
Leon didn’t reveal anything of his illness or visit to the doctor to Abby. He knew the results of the test but lived his life regardless. It was manageable.
But as it does and as it always will do, the World ticked along.