Black List

by Will Jordan

  Alex was almost taken aback by the realisation she was asleep. He’d never seen her sleeping before, and after spending the past couple of days with her, he’d begun to question whether she ever needed rest. It gave him a faint sense of reassurance that she was human after all.

  And yet looking now at the formidable, intimidating woman who had turned his life upside down, he found himself strangely intrigued. This was the first time he’d had the opportunity to really look at her, and he couldn’t help but take advantage of it.

  In terms of structure and appearance, her face bore all the hallmarks of classical feminine beauty mingled with a slightly foreign look that he couldn’t quite identify. A firm, well-defined jawline, full lips slightly parted to reveal a row of white teeth, high cheekbones and a small, straight nose. A few locks of short blonde hair had fallen across her eyes, and Alex felt an odd urge to reach out and move them aside. Only a faint pattern of lines around her mouth and eyes gave some hint as to her true age, though even that was hard to guess.

  None of this was new to him of course. He’d recognized that Anya was an attractive woman the very first time they’d met, even if she was a little old and frightening for his tastes, but it was different now. With her iron will and dangerous, calculating mind now temporarily at ease, and the first rays of the dawn light playing across her face, Alex was taken aback by how beautiful and peaceful she looked.

  But there was something else about her that had caught his attention. Pushed down the front of her trousers and partially hidden by the black jumper she wore, Alex spotted the distinctive metallic gleam of the automatic she’d been carrying since their escape from the farm.

  It was right there, and despite the logical part of his mind cautioning him to leave the weapon well alone, he couldn’t take his eyes off it. Another part of his brain was harbouring altogether different thoughts that had nothing whatsoever to do with caution or logic.

  Whether she was a saviour, a protector or a kidnapper was a matter of perspective at this point, but the fact remained that she possessed their one and only weapon. Therefore she made all the decisions, held all the cards and was free to withhold any information she chose. And whether he agreed with her or not, he had little choice but to obey her instructions. This might well be his only opportunity to change that balance.

  If he was armed, he could force her to reveal what exactly they were caught up in, what secrets she was so desperate to recover, and why the CIA wanted her dead.

  Almost without realizing, he found himself reaching out for the gun, his hand moving inch by inch towards it. Just one swift movement, and he would feel his fingers close around the butt. He imagined himself yanking the weapon free and turning it on her while she was still groggy from sleep, then forcing her to confess everything she knew.

  ‘If I were you, I’d think very carefully about what I was about to do,’ a female voice warned him. ‘And who I was about to do it to.’

  Alex jerked his hand back as Anya’s lashes parted, revealing those icy blue eyes that had so caught his attention the first time he’d encountered her. They were clear and focussed, betraying no hint of tiredness, and staring right at him.

  ‘Don’t flatter yourself,’ he said, hoping to hide his embarrassment with a scathing put-down. ‘You’re not my type. I was just checking if you were awake.’

  ‘You should always assume I’m awake,’ Anya said, sitting up and stretching. Alex heard the muted pop as stiff joints and muscles eased up.

  ‘Do you ever sleep?’

  She glanced at him. ‘When I can. Otherwise, I rest and keep watch.’

  He decided to let that one pass. Whatever experiences and hardships had moulded her into the woman she was today, they were far beyond his own understanding.

  ‘So where are we?’ he asked instead. ‘I assume you didn’t stop to admire the view.’

  Anya ran a hand through her hair. ‘We are a mile or two west of Drammen. I thought it best to wait until dawn before we make contact with your… “friend”.’

  The disdain in her voice was obvious.

  ‘Probably a good call,’ he allowed. ‘We shouldn’t make contact until after nine.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘That’s when his parents go out to work,’ he explained. ‘I’ve got an idea, but I’ll need you to play along.’

  Before she could respond to that, Alex opened his door and stepped out into the cool morning air. He had some other business to attend to first.

  Chapter 21

  ‘No point in running, my friend,’ Gregar Landvik said through his radio headset, as he levelled his weapon at a distant target. The unfortunate soldier believed himself hidden behind cover, but hadn’t counted on Landvik’s outflanking move. ‘I can see you.’

  A single burst of fire was enough to end it, scoring him a long-range kill that added another fifty points to his onscreen tally. He was only a hundred points away from top of the leader board in what was proving to be a fiercely contested online battle.

  ‘Better luck next time, noob,’ he taunted, moving off in search of another target.

  ‘Fuck you, Plisken!’ the opposing player retorted, using Landvik’s Xbox username.

  Landvik laughed at the reaction he had provoked. In games like this, making other players lose their cool was almost as important as gaining the top score.

  ‘Only in your dreams, my friend.’

  However, his game was rudely interrupted by a sudden banging at the front door. Landvik ignored it, struggling to stay focussed on the game as he sprayed a burst of automatic fire at a player who was wildly evading and returning fire.

  More than likely it was some lost delivery man. The houses out here were pretty remote and often lay at the end of long winding driveways that proved a nightmare for postal workers and delivery trucks. The rural location was also a pain in the ass for him since decent internet connections were as rare as rocking-horse shit in this part of the world, but the alternative was to move out, find a permanent job and buy his own place.

  And that didn’t bear thinking about.

  ‘Got you!’ Landvik smiled in satisfaction as another fifty points were added to his tally. The knocking at the front door continued, loud and urgent.

  ‘Go away! I’m busy!’ the young man yelled, trying to focus on his game.

  Much to his irritation, however, that only seemed to encourage whoever was out there to hammer on the door even harder.

  The distraction was starting to impact his concentration. His next burst of gunfire missed his target, and the opposing player responded with a shotgun blast at point-blank range that put him down for good.

  ‘God damn it!’ he snapped. Exiting the game, he tossed the controller onto a nearby beanbag and hauled his considerable bulk out of his favourite gaming chair. He’d already learned the value of restraint after breaking two previous controller units against the hardwood floor in frustration.

  ‘All right! I’m coming.’ Barefoot, he padded through the expensive, minimally furnished hallway towards the front door. It was supposed to be sleek and modern, but it looked like a pretentious art gallery instead of a house. Landvik didn’t care too much, though. As long as the decorators left his room alone, they could do what they wanted with the rest of the house.

  The banging had at last eased up. Mindful that the door was still barred and locked, Landvik leaned in close and surveyed the scene outside through the spy hole. Straight away his anger vanished, replaced by uncomprehending surprise.

  ‘What the fuck?’

  All thoughts of caution now abandoned, he undid the security latch, unlocked the door and swung it open to reveal a young man of slender build, light brown hair and the kind of pale, even-featured, nondescript face that could only belong to an Englishman.

  Unshaven, cut and bruised, and dressed in tattered clothing that looked like it had been stolen from a penniless fisherman, Alex gave the appearance of a man who had been sleeping rough for the past couple of days.
/>   ‘Alex, what are you—?’

  He never got a chance to finish. Alex’s fist leapt out, striking him square in the nose and jerking his head back with the force of the impact. Shocked by the sudden and unprovoked attack, he stumbled backwards, bumping into the wall behind and falling to his knees.

  ‘Ow! What was that for?’ he asked, clutching his nose. He could already feel the wetness of blood on his hands.

  ‘Two years, Gregar!’ Alex shouted, taking a step towards him with his fists clenched, eyes alight with long-building rage. ‘Two years I spent in prison because of you, you stupid fat bastard! I lost everything because of you. Everything!’

  ‘That’s not true,’ Landvik protested, looking up at him fearfully. No doubt he sensed – correctly – that he was about to get a real kicking instead of just a bloodied nose. ‘I’d never betray anyone in the group. You know that—’

  ‘Shut the fuck up!’ Alex snarled, trembling visibly as he tried to hold his anger back. ‘I’m not interested in your bullshit excuses, Gregar. You should think yourself lucky. The only reason I never came here to kick the shit out of you before was because they took my passport away.’

  This wasn’t the Alex Yates he used to know. The laid-back, easy-going young man who would agree to just about anything was gone now. Landvik had no idea who this person was. He knew only that he was afraid of him.

  ‘Alex, if it’s money you want, I can—’ He was cut off when Alex drew back his fist to strike him again, prompting him to curl up in an effort to protect himself. ‘No! Don’t, please!’

  ‘Money,’ Alex repeated, his tone laced with disgust. ‘That’s what it always came down to with you, isn’t it? Fucking money.’ He shook his head. ‘No, this isn’t about money, you prick.’

  Landvik could feel his heart pounding. If Alex didn’t want money, then why was he here? Had he really travelled all the way here just to take violent revenge for his imprisonment?

  Before Landvik could bring himself to ask, another figure suddenly appeared in the doorway, having backed up against the wall without him noticing. It was a woman, tall and blonde-haired, with eyes that flashed dangerously and seemed to see right through him. Moving with the confidence that made it plain resistance would be extremely unwise, she strode into the hallway and turned around.

  ‘Explanations can wait,’ she said, her voice unnervingly calm and controlled next to Alex’s simmering anger. ‘For now, we need your cooperation.’

  ‘W-who the hell are you?’ Landvik stammered, caught off guard by her forceful entry.

  ‘That’s Anya,’ Alex explained, pulling the door closed behind him. ‘She’s here to make sure you don’t fuck me over like you did last time.’

  ‘I told you, I didn’t—’

  ‘Anya, if this fat prick opens his mouth except to answer a direct question, shoot out his kneecaps,’ Alex ordered. ‘Or anything else that takes your fancy.’

  Without hesitation, the woman reached into her jeans and withdrew a bulky automatic pistol, calmly levelling it at his groin.

  ‘No! Don’t!’ Landvik pleaded, his mind already conjuring up horrific images of what would happen if she pulled the trigger.

  ‘So you’re going to do what I say?’ Alex prompted.

  ‘Of course!’ Landvik promised. ‘Whatever you want. Just tell me and it’s yours.’

  Even as he was speaking, Anya was making her way from room to room, quickly searching the house. Searching for what, Landvik couldn’t say for sure, though he suspected she was checking that he was the only occupant. That thought did little to assuage the growing feeling of terror that was creeping up inside him.

  He blinked and shook his head, trying to process this bizarre chain of events. ‘What are you looking for?’

  She said nothing until she’d completed her sweep. Returning with the weapon in hand, her eyes were focussed on him. ‘Are you expecting anyone else today?’

  ‘W-what?’

  ‘Answer the question, boy,’ she snapped. ‘And do not think to lie to me. If you do, I will know about it, and I will make you wish you hadn’t.’

  He swallowed. ‘No. There’s no one. My parents are out at work, they never come home before six.’

  She surveyed their opulent surroundings, quickly assessing the place. Maintaining a property like this would be no easy task for a busy working couple, and she doubted their son did much to help. ‘What about cleaners, gardeners, maintenance people? Think hard.’

  He shook his head. ‘There’s nobody. Not today, at least.’

  Those pale blue eyes seemed to bore right into him as she assessed the validity of his words. The seconds seemed to stretch out into hours as he wilted under that remorseless stare. Nonetheless, she finally nodded to herself and released him, apparently deciding he was telling the truth. Leaving them, she hurried off to make a quick survey of the house.

  ‘Lucky you decided to be honest for once in your life,’ Alex remarked. ‘Because I need your help.’

  ‘Help with what?’

  ‘First I need your computer. I assume you’ve still got a decent setup here?’

  Landvik might have laughed if the situation had been less terrifying. Of course he had a decent computer setup. Out here in the middle of nowhere with nothing but time on his hands, particularly during the long dark winters, he’d immersed himself in the online world to escape the real one. As a result, he made sure he stayed up to date with the latest hardware.

  ‘The best, hardware and software,’ he remarked with a touch of pride. ‘Just like the old days.’

  He and Alex had been as thick as thieves during their time as students, testing their hacking skills against the university’s secure network before moving on to bigger challenges. He still dabbled in it occasionally, though mostly for fun these days. Like the online gaming, it was a way of passing the time.

  ‘Good. Then you will not mind if we use it,’ Anya said, striding back along the corridor towards them.

  Landvik hesitated, taken aback by the sight of her. Even if she was a decade older than him, she was nonetheless a tall, athletic, strikingly attractive woman, who moved with a confidence and purpose that was both arousing and intimidating.

  ‘Use it for what, exactly?’ Whoever this woman was, no way was he giving away anything to her. She could be police for all he knew.

  He almost jumped when he felt Alex’s hand rest on his shoulder. Turning to look at his former friend, he was surprised by the determination and purpose in Alex’s eyes.

  ‘Get yourself cleaned up, Gregar,’ he advised. ‘We’ve got work to do.’

  Chapter 22

  Half an hour later, and Alex was seated in front of Landvik’s formidable computer system, his fingers dancing across the keyboard as he scrawled through the complex encryption program now running from Anya’s memory stick.

  He’d been right about Landvik’s system. The hardware amassed in this room made the average hacker’s setup look like a child’s playroom by comparison. Then again, Landvik’s father was a successful businessman who spoiled his only son rotten, and had no doubt bankrolled the entire thing without really understanding what he was funding. Even at university he seemed to possess nearly unlimited funds, while his fellow students lived on instant noodles and almost-expired milk.

  Before starting it up, Alex had taken the precaution of disabling the system’s internet access, and had even physically disconnected the network cables as an added safeguard, ensuring there was no way the program could send out its digital cry for help again. No way would he trust it with internet access until he was certain he had it under control.

  And he knew he could master it. No matter how clever or complex it might be, sooner or later he’d crack it and bend it to his will. He might not know anything about survival or navigation or any of the hundred other skills that Anya apparently possessed, but when it came to computers he was unmatched.

  Pausing a moment in his work, Alex tore into the tuna and cheese sandwich
sitting on the desk in front of him, washing it down with a can of Red Bull. He hadn’t eaten anything approaching a decent meal in nearly twenty-four hours, and had determined to put that right as soon as he set foot in Landvik’s house. What the hell – Landvik himself had food to spare by the looks of him.

  Despite everything, he caught himself smiling as he tossed the empty can into a nearby waste bin. Marcel Proust might have found his childhood rushing back to him with the simple taste of Madeleine cake, but for Alex the combination of sugar, taurine and God only knew what other chemicals went into the energy drink was enough to evoke the world he’d once been part of.

  A world of late nights and tight deadlines, of challenges and accomplishments, of camaraderie and friendship. A world where he’d finally felt part of something bigger than himself, something he cared about.

  The sound of footsteps in the corridor outside interrupted his thoughts, and he turned around just as Anya walked into the room.

  She approached his workstation and leaned over to inspect his progress, though it was clear from the look in her eyes that the raw computer code filling most of the screen meant little to her.

  ‘Interesting stuff, eh?’ he prompted.

  ‘How do you make sense of all this?’ She was still staring at it as if mesmerized.

  Alex shrugged. ‘It’s a language like any other. Once you understand the key words, it all starts to come together.’

  The woman glanced away from the screen, turning her attention to him. ‘I’ll take your word for that. What’s your progress so far?’

  ‘Well, I found the subprogram that got me in so much trouble at the internet cafe,’ he explained. ‘Took me a while to find it because it’s pretty well hidden, but basically it acts like a homing beacon every time you start it up – fires off a little burst of data to an encrypted IP address. It was a tricky little bastard to remove without making the whole thing fall apart, but I managed to snip it off.’