Socrates and the Councillor

by Thomas Fay

  ‘Who?’ John asked.

  ‘A very dangerous operative. Highly trained, intelligent and driven. He was known only as the Rainmaker.’

  ‘Who was he?’

  ‘No one knew for sure although speculation was that he was ex-CIA. A freelance operative, who still worked for governments. We’re talking the blackest of black ops. The sort of stuff that not only was denied but never actually existed. No records. Nothing. Ghosts.’

  John considered his uncle’s words for a moment. His suspicions about his uncle’s frequent travels were finally confirmed. The fact that many of those trips just happened to be to countries which later featured prominently in the news was no coincidence. Neither was his uncle’s knowledge of government and military operations. John’s father had been a doctor, someone who had dedicated his working life to helping others. It was interesting to see the different path his uncle had taken, although he suspected his uncle would argue his life had been spent helping others as well.

  ‘If that’s true, then this is a government-sanctioned infiltration into Iona,’ John said.

  ‘It would seem that way. The only question … ’

  ‘Is which government sanctioned it.’

  ‘Bingo.’

  Nathan picked up the empty mugs and placed them in the kitchen sink. Turning the water on for a few minutes, he rinsed them thoroughly, dried them with a tea towel and placed them back inside the kitchen cabinet. Finished, he leaned against the kitchen counter. His eyes bored into John’s.

  ‘There’s something else I’m missing here, isn’t there?’ John asked.

  His uncle smiled but said nothing.

  ‘International operatives sanctioned by a foreign government infiltrating into Iona. So far, we’ve found evidence of a surface-to-air weapon, sabotage of vital infrastructure and attempts to subvert Iona security at the highest level.’

  ‘Keep going.’

  ‘What’s the ultimate goal, though? The weapon must be intended to bring down an aircraft or a Ruling Council transport ship, maybe even a UAV at a strategic site. The traffic and surveillance camera subversions seem to have been little more than a distraction although given everything is controlled by the Iona Corporation, it stands to reason that the ultimate target of this incursion is the Iona Corporation itself. Which leaves the UN Security Council meeting as the likely target given its importance to Iona.’

  His uncle nodded.

  ‘A highly plausible target but don’t forget one critical element—Iona is not just a sovereign city-state. It’s also a multi-national corporation. And what do they have? What is the single, most valuable thing on the planet right now?’

  John’s eyes opened wide.

  ‘Of course. The Flux Cell!’

  ‘Bingo. I knew you’d get there.’

  ‘That explains the traffic incident in North Ryde.’

  ‘How so?’

  John remembered Councillor Green’s warning not to disclose the information about the Flux Cell manufacturing and testing facility.

  ‘That’s one thing I can’t discuss but it makes sense now.’

  His uncle nodded his understanding. Then his eyes narrowed, concern etched in his face.

  ‘John, this man … ’

  ‘The Rainmaker?’

  ‘Yes. He’s dangerous.’

  ‘I’ve handled dangerous people all my life.’

  Nathan shook his head.

  ‘No, John. Not like this. This man will stop at nothing to achieve his objective. It’s what he’s been trained to do. It’s how he thinks.’

  ‘Alright, break it down for me. What am I up against here?’

  ‘The Rainmaker always deploys a team of five. Never more. Never less. One of them will be a computer expert.’

  ‘The hacker. I had him.’

  Nathan nodded.

  ‘Another will be a weapons expert. The Rainmaker will run the operation, inserting himself at crucial moments. They’ll also have a transporter.’

  ‘Who’s the fifth?’

  ‘A deep-cover operative. Someone you would never suspect. They’re usually his eyes and ears but they also give him a strategic advantage if things don’t go as planned. The Rainmaker leaves little to chance.’

  John nodded.

  ‘Now that I know what he’s after, I can stop him.’

  ‘What will you do?’

  John smiled.

  ‘It’s time to make it rain.’

  Twenty-Seven

  The turbo-lift doors slid open on level twenty-five of the Sentinel building in the Iona CBD. John adjusted his dark-grey suit jacket and stepped out. Socrates was waiting for him.

  ‘John, the Chief wants to see us,’ Socrates said.

  John nodded.

  ‘Lead the way. Have you seen Agent Koelmeyer?’

  ‘No. She hasn’t reported back to Sentinel HQ.’

  ‘I’m sure she’ll turn up sooner or later.’

  They made their way down the narrow grey corridors. A few Sentinels cast him guarded glances. News of the explosion had spread. Those he knew well acknowledged him with a nod. Everyone was taking the incident very seriously. An attack against one Sentinel was an attack against them all.

  They reached the Chief’s office. John didn’t bother knocking. He opened the door.

  ‘You wanted to see us, Chief?’ he asked.

  The Chief was on the phone. He motioned for them to take a seat. John obliged. He winced slightly as he sat down. His back was starting to bruise, the injury suffered earlier manifesting itself as a dull pain creeping up and down his spine. Socrates remained standing. They waited for sixty seconds while the Chief finished his phone call and hung up the phone.

  ‘Tesh, are you alright?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m okay. We were lucky.’

  ‘I’ve read the initial report from Sorensen. Lucky is an understatement. You should go out and buy every lottery ticket you can find. From what I saw of the remains of the cruiser, you two shouldn’t be sitting here.’

  ‘Well, we’re here and I think I finally know what we’re up against.’

  ‘That’s good. This is getting serious. I can’t have someone trying to blow up my people.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Chief. With any luck, we’ll have this resolved by tomorrow.’

  The Chief grunted.

  ‘I hope so. The Ruling Council keeps reminding me of the UN Security Council meeting, which is less than a day away. They’ve already stepped up security across the city and they’re asking for Sentinel assistance in locking down the CBD.’

  ‘I’m confident we can get this sorted by then.’

  The Chief leaned forwards.

  ‘What do you need from me?’

  ‘A new car, for starters.’

  ‘I’ll issue the requisition order immediately. You’ll have a replacement waiting for you by the time you get to the parking lot.’

  ‘Thank you, Chief.’

  ‘I’m assuming I don’t have to remind you that Sentinel cruisers are not for personal use?’

  John spread his hands.

  ‘Chief, what are you trying to say?’

  ‘You know exactly what I’m trying to say. The cruiser stays here overnight when you’re off duty. Got it?’

  John grinned.

  ‘Of course, Chief.’

  ‘Aha. We’ll see. Now go down to medical and get yourself checked out.’

  ‘Chief, I’m—’

  ‘That’s not a suggestion. Go. Now. I need to speak to Socrates for a moment.’

  John eyed his partner for a moment before getting up and leaving the office. He walked back down the corridor. Reaching the turbo-lift, he hit the button for down. The lift doors opened a few seconds later. Muller was inside.

  ‘Tesh, are you okay? I heard about the explosion.’

  ‘I’m alright, Muller.’

  ‘It’s almost like being back home.’

  John eyed his fellow Sentinel as he entered the turbo-lift. His uncle’s words about the Rai
nmaker’s hidden agent echoed in his head. He pressed the button to hold the door open.

  ‘This sort of thing happened a lot in Johannesburg?’ John asked.

  ‘Too often, if you ask me. It was one of the main reasons why I came here. You just never knew when you went out on patrol if you’d come back. For something like this to happen here … if it keeps happening then people are going to start to panic.’

  John nodded.

  ‘How long have you been in Iona now?’ he asked.

  ‘About nine months,’ Muller replied. ‘Why?’

  ‘Just curious. Don’t worry—I’m sure we can figure this out and put an end to whoever is behind this.’

  Muller stepped out of the turbo-lift. Turning back to John, he said, ‘I hope so. Let me know if you need any help.’

  ‘Will do.’

  The doors slid shut and John descended ten floors. The doors opened again on level fifteen. The corridors here were a sterile white, rather than the nondescript grey of the upper levels. The medical testing, training and recovery centre was a state-of-the-art facility located in-house. Providing biometrically tailored science-based training programs, the centre was designed to ensure that active Sentinels were at peak physical condition and that those injured in the line of duty recovered as quickly as possible. While serious injuries, such as gunshot wounds, were handled by external medical centres, everything else was done in-house.

  It was undoubtedly John’s least favourite level of the entire Sentinel HQ. A sharp twinge in his back made him realise the Chief had probably been right to insist he get checked out. He walked down the white corridor until he reached a door marked Medical Examination. Reluctantly, he opened the door and went in.

  Twenty-Eight

  The door behind him didn’t even have time to close before his phone rang. Casting a look at the two doctors inside, he held up his hand to apologise for what he was about to do. Then he answered his phone.

  ‘Tesh here.’

  ‘It’s Fernali. Can you talk?’

  John could see the disapproval on the faces of the two medical practitioners. A large sign on the wall clearly prohibited the use of cell phones inside the medical level.

  ‘Yes, go ahead,’ John said.

  ‘Streeter and I are in the tech lab downstairs. We’re looking at the preliminary analysis of the device that destroyed your cruiser.’

  ‘What did they find?’

  ‘Fairly standard chemical device with a small propellant tank, which the guys here tell me would be needed to sustain the explosion as the Flux Cell wouldn’t explode and there’s no fuel in the car.’

  ‘So it’s a run-of-the-mill car bomb.’

  ‘Not quite.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘The trigger—’

  ‘Was my remote.’

  ‘No. Based on what the techs were able to salvage of the device, they believe it was linked to your cell phone.’

  John considered that for a moment. The doctors continued to glare at him.

  ‘That doesn’t make any sense. I had my phone on me the whole time I was in the car and the car only exploded when I was outside.’

  ‘Did you use your phone?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘Hang on a second,’ Fernali said. John heard him speaking to someone else but couldn’t quite make out what was being said. A moment later Fernali spoke to him again.

  ‘Turn off your phone and come down to the tech lab. Now.’

  John had worked with Fernali for a long time. They both knew when the other was being deadly serious. The moment John heard the words, he didn’t even hesitate. He switched his phone off. As an added precaution, he took the battery out. Something that was only possible given the retro design of his phone.

  ‘You must be John Tesh. The Chief told us you might prove to be a difficult patient,’ one of the doctors, a middle-aged man with thick spectacles, said. ‘I’m glad to see you finally decided to switch your phone off. If you would … ’

  John didn’t hear the rest of what the doctor said. He opened the door and ran back to the turbo-lift. Hitting the button for down, he waited anxiously until the doors opened. The moment they did, he jumped in and hit the button for the basement level.

  ****

  Fernali was waiting for him when the doors slid open on the basement level. He held out his hand. John handed him his phone and battery. Fernali motioned for John to follow him as he made his way through the maze of intricate testing equipment and holoprojectors. Reaching what looked like a giant birdcage, Fernali handed John’s phone and battery to a waiting technician, Nina Roeden. Streeter stood next to her.

  ‘Is this the phone?’ the technician asked.

  John nodded.

  ‘How long since you turned it off?’

  ‘Less than two minutes.’

  ‘We may still have a chance.’

  ‘Chance to do what? What’s happening?’ John asked.

  Roeden ignored him as she put the phone inside the giant birdcage and plugged a shielded cable into its charging port. She input a series of instructions into a virtual keyboard projected onto a desk beside the machine. A surge of power ran through the birdcage and it began to pulse with a steady azure ambience. The technician continued to input instructions into the virtual keyboard.

  ‘Fernali, what the hell is going on?’ John asked.

  ‘Roeden thinks your phone has been compromised,’ Fernali said, pointing at the technician. ‘She thinks they used your phone to trigger the device remotely.’

  ‘How is that possible? I thought Sentinel phones were secure?’

  Roeden looked up from the virtual keyboard.

  ‘They are. It’s impossible to eavesdrop on our communications.’

  ‘Then how could my phone be compromised?’

  ‘Someone would have had to access your phone directly.’

  A cold chill passed through John.

  ‘What sort of access would they require?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m not sure. I’ve never seen anything like this before, to be honest. It may be that they would have required actual physical access to your phone or just close proximity.’

  ‘You mean someone could have hacked my phone just by being in the same room with me?’

  ‘They would have to be very close. Sentinel phones are shielded and extremely difficult to hack. Whoever did this, they were good.’

  ‘You have any idea who it could have been?’ Fernali asked.

  ‘There are a lot of people that would have gotten close enough.’

  ‘It would have been in the last twenty-four hours. The phone’s software is automatically updated and a full diagnostic performed which would pick up any interference.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘I did not know that.’

  John turned to Fernali and asked, ‘Did you know that?’

  ‘No. Probably not really the relevant point here.’

  ‘Yes, you’re right. Twenty-four hours. Okay, that narrows it a bit. Exactly how close would someone have to be to my phone?’

  ‘If it’s in your pocket, very close. If you were using it at the time, probably a bit further away but still no more than a metre.’

  John nodded, deep in thought. The hacker had struck again but it looked like it had been indirectly. Unless he had somehow managed to compromise John’s phone when they chased him down, although John suspected he had been too far away. Which meant it had to be someone he had come into close contact with over the past twenty-four hours. That was a dangerously short list.

  ‘Can you get anything from the phone?’ Fernali asked.

  ‘I’m working on it. I think we got it just in time to prevent a remote shut down but this isn’t going to be easy.’

  ‘Why’s that?’ John asked.

  ‘Because whoever hacked your phone is using the phone’s security protocols to keep me out. I’m effectively trying to bypass Sentinel security.’

  ‘I thought yo
u said it was unbreakable.’

  ‘Not unbreakable. Just extremely difficult and time consuming to break.’

  John looked at his phone sitting inside the pulsing cage. He recalled all the conversations he’d had over the past twenty-four hours. Everywhere the phone had been with him. His uncle had been right. The Rainmaker was an extremely dangerous adversary, perhaps the most dangerous he had ever faced.

  ‘We really need to get into that phone,’ he said.

  ‘Perhaps I can be of assistance.’

  John turned to find Socrates standing behind him.

  Twenty-Nine

  The majority of technology used by people in their day-to-day lives is based on simple coding principles. Binary language: zeros and ones. Configured in the correct sequence, code can instruct machines to do just about anything. For most of the people using smart phones, tablets, computers, even elevators and dishwashers, this code would be incomprehensible. A small percentage of the population can learn to understand it. A very small number of people are born with the ability to truly visualise source code. Those people are able to weave it into any conceivable pattern as well as decode it.

  Watching Socrates work, John realised his partner was one of those extremely rare people for whom coding was like breathing. Socrates’s fingers moved rapidly across the virtual keyboard as he dissected the inner workings of John’s phone.

  ‘I believe I have isolated the intruder’s code,’ Socrates said. He remained perfectly still as he worked, his hands the only part of him that moved. ‘Would you please remove the phone from the frequency shield and reinsert the battery.’

  ‘Are you sure that’s safe?’ John asked.

  ‘Yes. The code has been isolated. Your phone can no longer be accessed remotely.’

  Socrates deactivated the high-tech cage. John reached in and withdrew his phone and battery. He inserted the battery and pressed the power button. His phone sprang to life.