by Malhar Patel
Tony was discouraged, although deep down, the prospect of finishing the forensic analysis early was appealing. It was tiring work requiring enormous concentration and he wasn't sure if he could have lasted much longer. As they packed up their things, Frank spotted something out of the corner of his eye. On the cream bed sheet, there was a small trace of purple-brown powder. Reaching over, he took a sample. It was their only clue for the whole morning.
Kim checked her phone for the umpteenth time today. She was hoping Jack would call her with some news. He had said he was going to help her, but so far she hadn't heard squat. Given that a whole day hadn't even passed since they spoke, she knew full well she was overreacting. But it didn't sit too well with her, having to come to work despite knowing that she was building something so evil.
Today was just a continuation of what she was doing yesterday and she was in the process of making up some excuse to head to her office when Dr. Ruhbaker approached her.
Small beads of sweat formed on her forehead: it was rare for the director to see her personally. Ushering her over to a corner she immediately feared the worst, worrying about how much he knew of her investigation and the extent to which he was involved. She also knew it was just pure speculation on her part, which helped ease her anxiety. Slightly.
The senior doctor leaned in until he was so close she could smell the bitter stench of coffee from his breath, and quietly explained to her that Dr. Lewis had quit, feeling the project wasn't fully suited to his individual needs. “When did you find this out?” she enquired.
“Oh he phoned me last night to tell me.”
That confirmed it. Dr. Lewis was dead and now Ruhbaker was helping to cover it up. She shook her head and hung a solemn look on her face then slowly walked off, disgusted at the man that she'd held in such high regard just a week ago.
They all met up for lunch on the small public garden outside Charing Cross metro station. The grass was sparse and lifeless and looked insignificant compared to the huge brick and concrete monstrosities surrounding it. It was the place equidistant from all of them and hopefully they could evade cameras as they talked: weaving in and out of the crowd that always formed around this time.
Jack began by telling them where they stood. He and Green senior had looked through the medical history and had so far come up with a possible way of administering the drug. Pete had some theories about mingling at the party but he was far from ready to present anything.
Anisha was optimistic, but still had to gather up some equipment for the break in. Flash-lights, latex gloves, lock picks and more exotic items besides. Gina said she had a plan about collecting the body. She would check but she was pretty sure the nearest clinic to where Green lived only had one ambulance.
If she could force it to break down then she might be able to get her motor shop to look at it. That would give her a chance tamper with it again, only in a different way. When the paramedics use that ambulance to collect the body, it would break down halfway to the hospital. They would arrive as the roadside assistance crew, and hijack the body.
Pete was impressed with the idea but it failed to convince Jack. There were too many maybes; too many variables. He wasn't sure any hospital would have only one ambulance and even if it did break down, how would they know when and where? He had one other concern but didn't want to voice it; afraid it might belittle Gina or hurt her feelings. But he had to wonder: what did Gina know about tampering with vehicles? She was just the receptionist.
After some consideration, factoring in his lack of alternative options, he asked her to pursue it, but to eliminate as many variables as possible first. After all, it was his life they were gambling with.
Overall though, the planning was starting to take shape and everyone was motivated and optimistic about the next week. As they all left for work, Gina stayed behind for a quick word with Jack. Green senior excused himself to get some ice cream while the weather was good.
“I can't stay long,” began Gina, “but I have to tell you this now.”
“What is it?” asked Jack, wishing she had more time so that he could tell her his news as well.
“I went over the logs of that night when Pete was home. There's an inconsistency. You can check it yourself. Online I found out that surveillance cameras can pick up movements of up to six hundred hertz. The refresh rate on the television is four hundred hertz, which the camera should be able to detect.” Jack nodded and she continued, “But in the video he gave us, the television's playing at two hundred. Only something re-recorded and played back shows up as a rate of two hundred hertz on a video.” Jack didn't need her to say the rest.
“So that video file we saw was actually him watching a recording of the football. Which means he filmed it after the game and then fixed the time stamp on the surveillance log.” There was a pause as Gina waited for Jack to say what they were both thinking. “He was the one who deleted the footage at Jenny's café. Pete's working for them.”
Chapter 13
Having finally been able to get away from work, Green now pulled up his silver Mercedes onto the curb. He was in a derelict, decrepit shantytown on the outskirts of a London long forgotten. Shabby housing bathed in graffiti towered to the heavens in every direction. The walls and the pavement were both worn and discoloured from years of neglect.
It was slowly reaching the mid-afternoon and the clouds were rumbling menacingly, hinting that the beating sunshine was nearing an end. Green was a busy man and he hoped that what he wanted was here. He was hardly eager to run into Klaus, but was prepared none-the-less. He slipped on his black, mirrored lens sunglasses. They were small and virtually rimless and went some way to concealing his face, but a man in a pinstripe suit was always going to stand out in this part of town.
Walking up to the door he briefly considered knocking, before taking a step back and smacking it open with one almighty kick. On the other side, Klaus was lying on the floor, blanketed in clothes that gave off the putrid aroma of stale urine. The whole room reeked of destitution.
As suddenly as the door had swung open, Klaus sprung to life, a knife in his hand and a crazed look in his eyes. Green, who was hoping to surprise Klaus, was caught off guard himself. Klaus, on his feet, began pacing towards him, taking careful, calculated steps as he approached. Both men locked eyes in a battle of intimidation.
Green began to back away, spotting the blade that, for the time being, clearly gave Klaus the advantage. “Calm down Klaus. Let's talk about this.”
“Okay let’s talk,” he replied sarcastically, failing to relinquish the weapon. “Let’s talk about how you tired to kill me. How I sent a double in my place, just in case, which you didn't even recognise. Oh here's a good one, let’s talk about your access codes.”
“Where are they,” snapped Green, momentarily forgetting the unstable man's waving knife. Klaus just laughed.
“I know why they're so important to you and I know how much they're worth.”
“Where are they Klaus, this isn't a game anymore.” Klaus stood still, shuddering as he struggled to control his temper, and Green subtly began inching away.
“Your damn right it's not” Klaus barked, his voice rasping and hostile. His face had grown flushed and he was swinging the knife vigorously. “I want five hundred thousand pounds, and I know you have it. When you deliver it in full; that’s when you'll get the access codes. It's okay, I've kept them nice and safe.”
“Safe?” repeated Green, more to himself than his captor. Klaus never got a chance to reply. Green whipped out a pistol from his jacket pocket and as Klaus ran towards him, squeezed the trigger. Three bullets rang out, tearing into the belly of the German and spattering Green in a dense mist of blood.
This time Green was sure he was dead. The body lay slumped on the floor, face down and forming a pool of murky blood. Green approached it casually and holstered his weapon. Patting down the body he pulled out the palmtop from the moist jacket pocket and smiled. Klaus was as predictable as ever.
With that he got up to leave, first taking off his shirt and jacket and then shoving them into a nearby drum. With the lighter he set them ablaze and turned away as the evidence linking him to the crime smouldered away. Walking out, shirtless and with blood splattered across his face, not a single person noticed anything out of the ordinary.
Kim stealthily tiptoed into Dr. Lewis' office, trying not to make a sound. All this creeping around didn't come easily to her and she began snapping her head nervously from side to side, making sure nobody saw her.
It didn't look like Jack had any more information to share with her yet so she was being proactive. Her co-workers didn't know where she was and she hadn't given any excuse for her leaving, so time was of the essence.
She began shuffling through the filing cabinets, looking for any revealing documents. Sheet after sheet rustled away under her delicate fingers but nothing of interest came up. Undeterred, she looked across the room again and spotted a group of drawers in the large oak desk.
Rummaging around, all she found in the top two drawers was stationary. The third one was locked and to Kim that meant one thing: this was the drawer to look in. Still nervous she looked around again, the tiny office feeling claustrophobic. The small smeared glass window on the door didn't give her a good view of anyone coming, but it also meant no one could see her inside.
Looking back at the drawer now she began yanking it, in a hopeless attempt to wrench it open. With that clearly failing, and making too much noise, she began racking her brain for alternatives. She was a highly intelligent person, and she hadn't got the job of heading the group for no reason. Even under pressure, she usually thought clearly.
In an instant, an idea jumped out at her. She carefully began to pull the top drawer open and slid it out of the desk. Promptly she did the same for the one below it. As it slid out, it exposed the contents of the locked drawer below. A small, blue-grey laptop sat cosily wedged into the drawer.
Scooping in her hands she began wrestling with the computer, and the confines of the space. With a final delicate tug she forced it free and plonked it onto the desk.
Her hairs began to tickle her skin, and she could see goosebumps forming over her arms. Hearing a voice, she stopped what she was doing and strained her ears. In a situation like this, for someone inexperienced in the art of breaking and entering, it was easy for the mind to start playing tricks. Paranoia caused people to imagine sounds. Kim wasn't sure what to make of it but didn't want to take any unnecessary risks.
Immediately, she decided to start putting the drawers back in case someone walked in. It would look less suspicious. Heaving the last of them in, she checked no one was coming, and then switched on the laptop. It seemed to take forever to load up.
All the while more noises seemed to coming from everywhere. A creaking of squeaky shoes, the dampened murmur of voices. Finally the machine loaded and Kim began looking through the files for anything she could. Nothing seemed to be coming up. It looked as if he had wiped out most of his hard disk or at least encrypted it into some undetectable format.
She wanted to take the laptop and try to recover the data at home, but she knew she wouldn't get past the door with it. What if it had some sort of tracking device or anti-theft system? No, she would definitely have to do her digging around in here.
Her muscles clenched and shuddered as she heard yet another sound. This time it took a deep breath to calm her down. She opened up his inbox and smiled. Like a lot of lazy people, his email password was automatically loaded for easy access.
As she looked through his most recent mail she saw four or five emails that hadn't been checked. Afraid to stay in the office too long, she selected them all and forwarded them to her own email address, to read later on. She closed down the laptop and got up to leave and realised that the sounds she had heard were definitely growing louder.
Pulling out all the drawers, she rushed to put back laptop in time. Pushing in the final desk drawer, she turned around just as Dr. Wright stormed into the door.
“What are you doing in here Kim?” She had to think on her feet.
“I was just leaving a note for Dr. Lewis, for when he comes back to collect his things. It was just a goodbye really.” Dr. Wright frowned a little and said, “Well where is it?” Kim remained cool under pressure.
“I began writing it but then I stopped and thought… Well why send a note from me when I can get a card and sign everyone's names on it. I know everyone is going to miss him. Would you like to chip in?”
She beamed her sweetest, candyfloss smile and waited for a reaction, eventually adding, “I can add your name on it as well if you like.” After a pause the doctor nodded and told her to get back to work, his trademark frown still pasted to his face.
Pete felt himself going numb, swirling vents of hot and cold coursing through his stomach. This was without doubt the most gorgeous model he had ever seen. After all the events of the last few days, models should have been well down his list of priorities. But photographing stunning women was his passion and he was always thinking about it.
As he asked Mandy to take five before shooting the liquor advert again, he failed to spot Jack vengefully peering at him. Pete went to get some more film and Jack emerged through a slit in the wall separating the shooting area from the studio. With a final glance at Pete, he walked back out of the studio, the idea of following his suspect having yet again failed. There was nothing left for him to do but walk down the road to the bus stop. Waiting for the bus, he sat down to think.
It was imperative he discover what Pete and Anisha were scheming and how they would interfere with the chancellor's party. They didn't know he suspected them, which meant they had no reason to change their plans. That gave Jack the edge: once he determined their plan, he could then form his own countermeasures. But working out their plan was proving to be difficult.
He looked at his wristwatch, a rarity these days, and pondered what to do now. He had promised to help Gina with her ambulance plan, which he still had reservations over, so maybe he could pay her a visit. After a moment of brainstorming how he could help, his untrained thoughts loosely wandered back to Pete and Anisha.
It all made perfect sense when he thought about it. After all this time, Anisha happening to meet him by co-incidence at Jenny's café, or the fact that when Pete tried to show he was innocent she was the first one to backup his alleged proof.
Gina wasn't an expert on anything to do with videos and even she spotted they were flawed. Pete was in a great position now, thought Jack. He had been accused and cleared of being a spy once already. So someone would need a lot of evidence to accuse him again.
All this thought of who Jack could and couldn't trust made him wonder about the rest of the people in his group. He was hesitant to tell anyone anything now. He felt the only person he could depend on for sure was Kim.
Picking up his phone, he began to text her with the updated news about Pete. It wasn't very relevant to her problem, but he thought he should keep her up to date. Her problem was virtually independent from his, with only a few loose connections. As peculiar as it was, that made her the trustworthiest person that Jack knew.
The lab had just confirmed the dark powder as blood, although the DNA was too degraded for an analysis. Unfortunately, degraded blood wasn't Normally enough to obtain help from the legal office. Now it was Frank's turn to show Tony how to circumvent government bureaucracy.
As Frank phoned up the district office, he explained the case but left out a few details like DNA results, and it was decided that the presence of blood was enough to issue a full warrant.
That meant access to all of Jack's video logs for the hotel and the chance to run a trace on his phone. Frank leaped back out of his chair, ready to get back on the case. He didn't even have to look at Tony: he could tell his partner was right behind him.
With his foot never leaving the accelerator, Frank screeched across the London streets like a man with a purpose; a fe
arful and panicked Tony's yells almost serving as a siren. Reaching the hotel in record time the duo quickly marched under the pretentious canopy, through the automatic doors and up to the main desk.
The hotel video system was independent of the main surveillance network. It allowed for higher resolutions and for video logs to be stored for longer, so the information was often helpful to the police.
Frank barked orders at the man, treating him like the junior interns that occasionally worked at the station. The clerk at the desk wiped his bald patch in a flurry of frayed nerves and eventually managed to unlock the security drawer, pulling out a row of FLDs. Frank thanked him, and took the entire tray. Walking away, Tony smiled at the bewildered man, who was just relieved to be free of the screaming officer.
Getting back into the car, the pair of detectives were all too eager to get to the office, this case finally leading them somewhere. As Frank sped the few miles back to the station, Tony began getting a location scout to send records of Jack's phone's movements in the last forty-eight hours. The day was escaping them and they wanted to make the most of it.
Kim went back into her office to pack up her things. It was time to leave and she was desperate to get away from this shadowy place. She peered around the lab; it was empty. Tuesday was always a bit of a lazy day for the group because one of the other laboratories always needed the equipment. In practise this meant almost everyone got to leave early.
Kim looked at the laptop on her desk. It was the company's and she wasn't sure if it was safe to look up her emails. Overly curious and unable to resist any longer, she tapped the switch and the machine whirred as it slowly stirred to life.
