The Dark Web_The stunning new thriller from the author of The Angolan Clan

by Christopher Lowery

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  Friday, 9 July 2017

  Tom Connor’s call to Emma Stewart was as bad as he expected, in fact worse. Naturally, she couldn’t believe that her son had been accused of such a heinous crime, and it took him a while to convince her it was true. Then she became hysterical at the thought of him being mistreated in a prison, especially in a Middle East country. Bursting into tears, she cried, ‘Oh, no. Not again. Dear God, not again.’

  His natural reaction was to ask, ‘Has he been in jail previously?’

  ‘Of course not,’ she replied angrily. ‘Don’t ask such stupid questions. He’s never done anything remotely illegal in his whole life and he’s certainly not guilty of attacking anyone, especially a woman. This is a pure fabrication and she should be locked up for perjury instead of him. I’m going to call him now, I have to help him to sort this out, hire a lawyer and get him out of that prison. The whole thing is a monstrous mistake and I’m his mother, I need to speak to him and tell him I’m at his side and taking action.’

  ‘He doesn’t have his phone, Ms Stewart. They took it away from him, but he was smart enough to get a message to us immediately. Our company lawyer has been to see him and he’s unhurt and in good spirits. No one believes Leo’s guilty of the accusation, but that doesn’t change the situation. He knows everything possible is being done to get him freed, and we will, but I’m afraid it won’t be a fast process.’

  At this, she started weeping again. ‘Why not? How long can it take to get this woman to tell the truth? Or to prove she’s lying? Leo’s stuck in some filthy prison and you’re telling me it won’t be a fast process. You have to get him out of there, immediately.’

  He explained as patiently as he could that unless Angela da Sousa withdrew her accusation, the case would go to trial, and that could take several weeks. ‘Leo’s immediate boss knows the woman and he’s trying to get her to back off. Believe me, we need Leo here at XPC as a matter of urgency. I’m concerned that without him our new product launch could be jeopardised. That’s how much it means to us to get Leo back.

  ‘And please don’t worry about publicity or damage to Leo’s reputation. We’re keeping this whole business very quiet, only a few key people know about it and that’s the way it will stay. Our lawyer is doing everything possible and he’s very optimistic. I can imagine how you must feel about this Ms Stewart, and I feel terribly responsible, but I’m just as helpless as you. As soon as there’s any more news I’ll call you straight away.’

  Finally, Emma seemed to calm down a little, and he ended the call with the usual useless placations, ‘Please try not to worry too much. I’m sure we’ll get to the bottom of this and I’ll keep you informed at all times.’ He called Shen in, to urge him to contact Angela da Sousa as soon as possible.

  Ipswich, England

  It was not yet midday, but already pleasantly hot, and Jenny Bishop was watering her garden before she lost the shade from the trees. She enjoyed looking after the small square of lawn surrounded by flowers and bushes. Hosing down the paths, she almost didn’t hear the house phone ring, and quickly turned off the tap to run inside before the answering machine kicked in.

  She saw Emma’s number come up. ‘Hello, darling sister, how are you on this beautiful day?’ she joked. Then she listened for a moment and sat down, her face gradually drawing into a concentrated frown.

  The memory of her dream flashed through her mind. It’s happened, she realised. Now we have to stay calm and fix it. ‘Right, Emma. Please take a deep breath and hang on for a moment so I can get my iPad. I need to take notes, don’t go away.’ She fetched her tablet. ‘I’ll put you on speaker, so I can type.’ She started noting down points from Emma’s tearful and erratic explanation.

  Her sister finally drew breath, and she said, ‘Right, I understand. In fact, although Leo has obviously been framed in a despicable manner in a dangerous place, it’s actually a very simple situation. A woman who had sex with Leo says he raped her and he’s been arrested. Nobody believes he’s capable of such an act, and I’m certain that’s the case. That means the woman is lying for some reason we don’t yet know, but the chances of him being acquitted are zero unless she recants. XPC need him back to get their new products launched. Their lawyer has managed to keep him in a jail which is better than the alternatives, but Dubai prisons are violent, and we have to get him out quickly before something happens to him. The legal process is not a viable option, so we have to find a way to make this Angela da Sousa recant quickly, and that’s what we’ll do.’

  She paused, deciding how to tell Emma what she had in mind, what she’d decided after her dream and the reason for the phone call she’d made afterwards.

  ‘Emma, you know how I sometimes get these premonitions, like Mum did? Well, I had one last week about Leo. Somehow, I knew something was going to happen to him, something involving a woman. I had no idea he’d be attacked in such a vile fashion, but I did take action to prepare the ground, to make sure we’d be ready. Please let me take charge of this problem and I’m sure we can get it solved very quickly.’

  She heard her sister cry, ‘Can you Jenny? Can you do something? I have no idea what to do. I just can’t believe it’s happened to him again. After his abduction in South Africa I thought nothing could be as bad as that experience, we’d all suffered enough, but I couldn’t have imagined this in my wildest dreams. It’s just dreadful.’

  ‘Emma, this is nothing like South Africa, nothing at all. Leo’s working for a prestigious company which has a local lawyer, we have the resources to take whatever action is necessary and I know just the person to sort this out in double-quick time. Please stop crying and don’t worry, it’s not going to help. We’ve been through worse situations than this and we’re still here to tell the tale. Take a deep breath and calm down. Leave it to me, and I’ll get things moving right away.’

  They talked for a few minutes more, Emma thanking her repeatedly. Finally, she reluctantly put the phone down. Now Jenny could concentrate on what she had to do. She found the name in her Contact list and called immediately. When the number answered, she said, ‘It’s happened. We need your help.’

  Dubai, United Arab Emirates

  It was eight in the evening, and Tom Connor was ready to call it a day. He switched off the lights and was about to leave when his office line rang. It might be news about Leo, he thought, and picked up the phone. ‘Tom Connor here.’

  The operator said, ‘There’s a call for you from the US, Mr Connor,’ then a man’s voice, ‘Please hold for General Chillicott.’

  Tom had no idea who was calling, and he was exhausted and short-tempered after the day’s disasters. He’d hardly had time to say good morning to his family before he’d been called out by ED and all he wanted was to get home, have a whisky and share his problems with his wife.

  ‘Tom Connor?’

  ‘Who is this please? It’s late and I was just leaving the office.’

  ‘My name is General William Chillicott. I’m calling from Homeland Security in Washington. I’m sorry to trouble you Tom, but I’d like your assistance.’

  Tom Connor almost stood up to attention. He was a proud American and had the utmost respect for members of the armed forces, especially a senior officer. ‘I’m at your service, General. What can I do for you?’

  ‘Thanks, I appreciate it. You have a kid called Leo Stewart working for you, right?’

  This was almost too much for Tom. Leo Stewart had been arrested for rape this morning and now Homeland Security were calling about him. What the hell was going on? ‘That’s right, sir. Is there a problem?’

  ‘It’s no big deal, Tom. I know Leo, spent an evening with him couple months ago, great kid, smart. You’re lucky you talked him into joining you. Anyways, I need to speak to him and he’s not answering his mobile, so I figured you’d be able to get me in touch with him.’

  Now Tom’s brain was spinning. Leo was a friend of this
US general, was he the answer to their problem? But Leo’s case was still sub judice until the trial, how much could he tell the officer? Then another thought occurred to him, How do I know he’s actually a US general?

  ‘General, the reason you couldn’t get hold of Leo is very complicated, and I’m afraid I can’t discuss it in a public manner. Since I don’t know you, I’d be acting inappropriately to give you any details. Is there a way you could prove to me who you are, because I think you might be of great help in resolving a problem we have down here, if I can speak frankly with you?’ He waited anxiously, expecting an earful from the general.

  ‘This sounds plenty bad. You’d better tell me all about it. My PA will send you an email now with proof of what I told you, and a number you can call me back on. It’s an encrypted line, so you can spill the beans on what’s going on down there. I’ll wait for your call. Thanks.’

  * * *

  Ten minutes later, Tom had related the day’s events to Billy Chillicott, ending with his conviction that Leo was innocent of the accusation and that they needed him back to ensure the successful new product launch.

  ‘That’s quite a story, especially after what happened to the previous guy, right?’

  ‘You know about that?’

  ‘Listen, Tom. When I met Leo you’d just offered him the job, and he wasn’t sure about taking it. We talked and he decided to come down to meet you. Sounds like he was the right guy for the job, but I sure didn’t expect it to turn out like this. Makes me feel kinda guilty.’

  ‘So, you think the two events are connected?’

  ‘If they’re not, it’s one hell of a coincidence. Two guys are doing very confidential, high- security work developing valuable technology, and in three months they both get whacked out of their jobs. One dead, the other in prison. Go figure.’

  There was silence at the other end of the line. Chillicott knew he had struck a raw nerve and his antennae were aroused. There must be something going on at XPC. Ilona Tymoshenko had dug up the suspicious history of Shen Fu Liáng and here he was, a senior executive at XPC where it seemed probable that two key brains had been savagely supressed. But why, what the hell are they doing down there?

  ‘What exactly were they working on, Leo and the other guy?’

  Tom recovered his composure. ‘It has to do with our new processor model and encryption-transmission system, but I can’t disclose more than that. I’m sorry, but it’s proprietary development work and we have strict confidentiality rules. All I can say is that we have an upcoming launch date for new products and Leo’s contribution has been vital in meeting the deadline. Without him, I’m not sure we can make it.’

  Now, Chillicott was quite certain that foul play was involved, and that Shen Fu Liáng was implicated. He looked for another avenue to progress. ‘You must be very tied up with handling this mess. Is there anyone else there who was working with Leo and knows about what happened here?’

  Tom saw his stratagem. ‘He’s very friendly with one of his team, Ed Muire, another Englishman. He’s one of the few people who know about this, and that’s the way we want to keep it. If you can guarantee total discretion, I’ll give you his mobile number.’

  ‘Thanks, Tom. It’ll go no further than me. Good luck with sorting out your deadline. I’ll call back if I find anything worth reporting.’

  After he put the phone down, Connor realised he’d revealed quite a lot, but the general had told him nothing. Why was he trying to get hold of Leo? He was starting to feel out of his depth.

  TWENTY-EIGHT

  Delmas, Mpumalanga, South Africa

  Friday, 9 July 2017

  ‘I’ll need an address. Good, text it to me on this number. Don’t worry, I’ll sort something out. You’re welcome, Jenny, and tell Emma not to worry.’

  The man Jenny had called walked back into his office at Advanced Security Systems (Pty) Ltd, housed in a sprawling farmhouse complex about fifty kilometres north-east of central Johannesburg. There were eight people in the two rooms next door, but only one woman in his office. He sat back in his chair, a worried frown on his face.

  ‘Bad news?’

  ‘Certainly unexpected. Very odd business.’

  His wife Karen was used to his uncommunicative ways, but she insisted on trying to change him. ‘Come on, Marius, stop being mysterious. Who was it?’

  ‘A friend from the past, Jenny Bishop.’ Marius Coetzee turned to see the look of surprise on her face. They’d last heard of Jenny five years ago and had never met her face-to-face.

  ‘Well, well,’ she murmured. ‘To what do we owe the pleasure?’

  ‘Briefly, it seems Leo’s in trouble again and she wants me to sort it out.’

  ‘I don’t believe it! That boy’s really unlucky. What’s happened to him this time?’

  As Coetzee repeated what Jenny had told him, their adopted African daughter Abby came into the room. ‘What’s going on?’

  He finished his synopsis and Abby gasped with shock. ‘Oh my God! That’s horrible. Poor Leo, he must be mortified, being in a prison on a disgusting charge like that.’

  Her mother added, ‘And Emma and Jenny must be frantic with worry.’

  ‘So you don’t think he’s capable of rape?’

  ‘Absolutely not,’ they both answered in one breath.

  Abby went on, ‘Leo’s probably the coolest and dishiest guy I’ve ever known. Why would he have to rape a girl? This is a stitch-up for sure.’

  Coetzee and Karen exchanged glances. ‘OK, Abby,’ he said, ‘thanks for the unbiased sexual assessment, but apparently Leo hardly knows the woman. He met her at a night club last week and now she’s accusing him of rape. Why would she do that if it wasn’t true? Leo could end up in prison for the rest of his life if she doesn’t withdraw it.’

  Unknowingly, Karen voiced the same motivations Tom Connor had considered, ‘Normally, I’d say jealousy, revenge and/or just money, but here, I think it has to be money.’

  Her daughter nodded her head in agreement. ‘Someone has let her know his aunt Jenny is loaded and she’s indirectly blackmailing her, just like the last time. We can’t let this happen to him after everything he’s been through. Dad, you have to help him.’

  Abby was referring to Leo’s abduction in 2010 when, thanks to Coetzee’s change of mind and subsequent intervention, his kidnappers failed in their attempt to take him to Zimbabwe and extort a fortune from Jenny. His reward for saving Leo’s life was to be shot in an assassination attempt by a Zimbabwe gunman, ordered by an anonymous Englishman known to him only as ‘The Voice’. After a month in hospital, Coetzee emerged with just a slight limp to show for the attack, where one of the shots had broken his right hip bone. Of the two remaining bullets in the three-shot, left-to-right pattern, the first smashed his left shoulder and the other was found wedged in the body armour vest he was wearing under his leather jerkin. It was lodged exactly over the position of his heart. After being targeted in two previous visits by the Zimbabwean thugs, Coetzee had decided to take precautions. And he had been right.

  A year after those events, Leo had come back for the best holiday of his life, three weeks filled with travel and safari visits, and since then, he and Abby had remained in regular online contact. And although they hadn’t heard from Emma or Jenny for a long time, Marius still felt a debt of honour towards them; if it hadn’t been for his stupidity, Leo wouldn’t have needed to be rescued in the first place.

  Coetzee was still in the security business, though he’d been on the verge of bankruptcy at the time of the abduction. While he was recovering from his injuries, his wife managed to sort out his non-existent accounting system and collect enough unpaid bills to keep the company from going under. Six months later, she convinced him to move out of the physical side of the industry and reinvent himself as a computer security specialist.

  Karen had been an award-winning journalist before retiring to the countryside, and she was fully aware of the Internet’s effect on the way people and b
usinesses communicated and the potential for damage that could result. ‘It’s the fastest-growing business around today, there’s more than two billion machines in the world and because of the Internet, the number’s increasing exponentially,’ she told him. ‘An industry that’s growing and changing like that needs specific security systems that keep pace with the changes, and they’re in short supply.’

  To prove her point, she signed them up with several UK and US companies as SA distributors for pre-packaged security systems, and she was right: it was a great business. This success encouraged them both to enrol for a two-year course at the Joburg Academy of Computer Science and Software Engineering. Six years after taking that decision, they now had a medium-sized, tightly staffed company designing custom-built computer and Internet security systems, which was easily manageable and profitable, and they loved it. Abby had followed in their footsteps, and graduated from the same college earlier in the year with a BSc Hons (IT) degree to become a partner in the flourishing business.

  Now, Coetzee said, ‘I’m not so sure about the blackmail angle. I know Jenny’s got lots of cash, but XPC, the Chinese company he works for, has got an awful lot more. She says Leo’s a key player in the launch of some new technology they’ve invented and XPC might be in trouble if they don’t get him back. You’re probably talking zillions of dollars in a case like that. If anybody’s being blackmailed, it’s more likely to be them.’

  ‘So what are you going to do? We can’t leave Leo in prison thousands of kilometres away from his family when we know he’s innocent. Every day must be sheer hell for him.’

  ‘You’ll have to book me a flight to Dubai asap and I’ll go talk to the woman, see if I can buy her off. Jenny’s prepared to pay what it takes, and I might have to upset her a bit to get her to agree, but…’