by Uzi Eilam
Dan kissed her on the cheek and offered her a chair looking out on the Shangri La Hotel’s breathtaking illuminated garden. Ronit arrived wearing tight jeans and a low-cut light green shirt. Dan thought how different she looked from buttoned-up businesswoman Ronit. “Coffee?”
“Not this late. Thank you, Dan. Just a glass of water.”
“What’s going on with you? I’m listening,” Dan encouraged her.
“I had a meeting at the bank today with Muhammad Osman…”
“That’s the Malaysian-Singaporean clerk whom you run with in the mornings sometimes?”
“Yes, Dan, that’s him. Osman was the one who first helped me find my place at the bank and, this time, he volunteered to help me with the topic of banking in China.”
“So far it sounds quite natural and legitimate.”
“True, but listen to what happened next. Osman claimed I had been exposed as someone seeking information on the funneling of funds that the Chinese want to keep secret. He hinted that I’m in their sights now and mentioned China’s cyber abilities as a means they’re likely to employ. I’ve been thinking about it all afternoon, and I couldn’t shake off the feeling that someone was trying to stop me. You remember I told you about what I had done and what I was planning to do…”
“Did he by any chance hint at the sources that had motivated him to inform you of all this?” Dan spoke quietly, trying to calm her down as he mentally surveyed the information he had intercepted, in the last few days, while listening in on the communication between Beijing and Kuala Lumpur. “I’m wondering what his connection to China is.”
“No, Dan, he didn’t get into sources but seemed to be talking generally, based on information that is common knowledge. Yet there was something there that was directed at me personally. It’s scaring me a little.”
“This should be looked into, and I promise you we’ll take care of it immediately.”
“What do I do now?” Ronit was still agitated.
“Keep acting as usual, Ronit, but let me know if anything unusual happens. Don’t worry, we’re here, and all of the team’s capabilities will be used to watch over you.”
Ronit parted from Dan with a hug and turned to walk to her car. She felt safer but was still not entirely at ease.
Dan rang Gideon’s room and found him awake and eager to hear about the meeting with Ronit. Something in Dan’s tone, perhaps the impression of growing intimacy between the two young people, was troubling to Gideon.
* * *
5 The People’s Action Party (PAP) is a central-right-leaning political party. It has been Singapore’s ruling party since 1959.
6 Lee Kuan Yew was the first prime minister of Singapore, governing for three decades, from 1959 to 1990. His policy emphasized long-term social and economic measures, based on the principles of meritocracy and multiracialism.
Chapter 36
On a morning that appeared entirely routine, Gideon started the day with his usual visit to Dan’s surveillance room at the technology lab. Dan and Rogel were already inputting data from optical sensors capable of penetrating steel walls into the central computer of the IOT system. An initial sample of sensors had been installed on the “wasps,” the microdrones that Dan had developed in California and that were now being manufactured in Singaporean industrial labs.
“What do you think of these? Could they already yield results?” Gideon inquired.
“We’re pleased so far,” Rogel replied, while Dan only shook his head, continuing to type the algorithm details on the IOT system’s central computer in order to incorporate the airborne optical sensors in it.
“Okay, my friends. I won’t get in the way of your work,” Gideon said. “I’ll be with Tan if you need me.”
Tan had been clearing an hour every morning for his meeting with Gideon. Sometimes, Chang Mei and Deutsch would join them as well. These were meetings without a predetermined agenda, which consisted of exchanging information and assessments based on the increasingly frequent incidents taking place.
“What news do you have for me today?” Tan asked Gideon, who sat down across from him and began to sip from his fragrant green tea. Tan enjoyed the meetings with Gideon. He was eager to hear of the status of the defense systems, but mostly he enjoyed listening to the Israeli’s organized, confident speech.
“We received the first delivery of ‘wasps’ from your industry, and Dan and your people have started to install the optical sensors on those microdrones. It looks good; however…” Gideon quickly added, “it’s progressing slowly. In fact, we’re trying to employ a shortcut and obtain the prototypes used for the development of the operational system.”
“What’s the significance of using the ‘sensor wasps’ directly from the development process?”
“Oh…they’re being manufactured manually at the development lab. It’s a long process, and it’ll be a while before we have a reasonable number of systems at our disposal. We’ll have to wait and see what difficulties pop up as we’re installing the various sensors on the ‘wasps,’ as typically happens in the development process.”
“You’ve got something else on your mind, Gideon. I can see it in your face.” Gideon’s acquaintance with Tan had taught him how sensitive and perceptive this seemingly rigid man was about what was going on with the people around him.
“Yes, Tan, you’re right. Dan ran the disinformation program we’d decided on with you, planting some blatantly false information in the communication system—a report about deploying a cyber defense system in the control center for the MRT subway. We’re waiting to see what communications are relayed, and who the source is.”
Gideon looked at Tan and discerned the stress that the general was under. He considered what else he could say in order to emphasize that things were under control.
The ringing of the internal phone line broke through the silence. Tan’s administrative assistant told him that Quan Lin wished to speak to him urgently. He put down the receiver and pressed the speakerphone button.
“Good morning, Quan Lin. Gideon is here with me and is listening to you as well. What’s going on?”
“I’m calling from the control tower at Changi Airport, General Tan, and I wanted to let you know that, twenty minutes ago, an accident nearly took place here. Our air-traffic controllers noticed, at the last minute, that two landing planes received erroneous instructions from the control tower. They manually routed the planes to different airstrips, and no harm was done.”
“Do you know the reason for this, Quan Lin?” Gideon asked.
“That’s what made me inform you so quickly. Our people at the control tower couldn’t find any reason for the malfunction. The radars and the computers have been inspected, and they claim the system is working flawlessly.”
“They should continue looking into it.” Gideon glanced at Tan’s worried expression. “Meanwhile, I’ll go straight to see Dan at the technology lab, to initiate an inquiry using his system. I suggest you come to the lab as well, after you make sure everything’s back to normal at the airport.”
“Do you have a procedure for increasing the number of air-traffic controllers when something like this happens?” Tan chimed in.
“Yes sir, it’s already been put into effect. I’ll make sure the inquiry is still going on, and I’ll come to Dan’s lab as soon as I can.”
“If you don’t mind, Tan, I’ll go see Dan. I’m hoping this is a technical malfunction or human error, rather than something else.”
Gideon strode out rapidly, while Tan remained in his chair, his face pale. Gideon was still in the office when the assistant transferred an urgent phone call to Tan. He had time to hear her say that the manager of the central bank was on the line.
“A near accident between two planes just took place at the airport,” Gideon told Dan and Deutsch, who had joined the meeting in Dan’s office
. “Quan Lin told Tan about it and is currently on his way here. Dan, is there any chance that your system can identify what exactly happened at Changi?”
“Not immediately, Gideon. We still don’t have enough sensors to cover all the strategically important locations. The WIN Corporation’s labs are just now bouncing back from the setbacks they’ve suffered, and we’re expecting a big delivery of micro components soon. The industry here in Singapore has been gathering momentum in its manufacture process in the last few days.”
“Well then, what can we do now?” Deutsch asked. “The coverage is insufficient just when we need it.”
“We have sensors installed at the container terminal and at the entrances to it, and there’s an initial number of optical sensors installed on the first ‘wasps,’ which are still being tested.”
Dan didn’t try to sugarcoat their situation, leaving the two “old timers,” as he privately thought of them, pensive. The pinging of Dan’s phone broke the silence. Ronit had texted him about a disturbing development at the bank, which shouldn’t be discussed over the phone. She was on her way to the National Security Institute’s offices and would wait for him inside. Dan, who had already learned to respect Ronit’s judgment, updated Gideon and Deutsch and left the lab in order to meet her and hear all the details.
“We’ve discovered that some of the accounts of several of the bank’s wealthy, respectable clients have been emptied,” Ronit said, and Dan could hear the apprehension and frustration in her voice. “It happened without any warning.”
Dan was not surprised that Ronit had contacted him. The relationship that had been forming between them allowed her to consult him freely. It was unclear to him what was happening with the bank’s defense team; he believed Ronit might be implying that it was not conducting itself properly.
“Did your cyber defense team look into the incident?” he asked.
“It did, but our computer experts had no explanation. They’re still working on it.”
“Did the bank contact General Tan’s office?”
“When I left the bank, they still hadn’t, which worried me a little. The bank manager thought it would be appropriate to contact General Tan only after he knew more about the way the malfunction had happened. He might have called Tan during the last few minutes. The subject of client accounts is one of the most sensitive issues.”
“It’s your duty to update Tan. Meanwhile, we’ll look into this in depth.”
Ronit promised to make sure that the bank manager had indeed reported the incident to Tan. Gideon, who was sitting in Tan’s office, heard about the bank manager’s call from him. Tan’s face revealed his escalating tension. He updated Gideon on what he knew at this stage, asking that Dan’s team analyze the incident and discover what had actually happened at the bank.
Gideon hurried to update Dan, Deutsch, and Rogel about what he had just heard from Tan regarding the call from the bank manager.
“It’s possible that another cyber front has opened up, this time at the central bank,” he stated. “We have to find out what happened during this incident and find a way to deal with this threat as well.”
“Do we know what’s happening at the bank right now?” Deutsch asked.
“The bank’s own cyber defense team is dealing with the incident. Ronit Hart, who recently joined the team, is leading their efforts. Two computer engineers on loan from the National Security Institute’s Technology Division have joined her team at the bank,” Gideon replied. “And they’re still in the dark about what’s going on.”
“Deutsch, maybe we should also call Tyler Roberts?” Gideon said. “He can work with Dan and Rogel on examining what happened at the bank and determining whether it’s a true state of emergency.”
“At this stage, I have no way of focusing defense efforts on either air-traffic control at the airport or the central bank,” Dan claimed. “And actually, I have a live alert here from the new IOT system. If you look at the screens, you can see preparations for a suicide attack on the giant mall next to the entrance to the port. This is thanks to our sensor coverage there. If you notice, there are no traffic jams at the nearby intersection. We took care of that, and I’m glad it’s working properly.”
“General Tan,” Gideon said on the secured phone line once the administrative assistant put him through, “there’s some information clearly indicating preparations for a terrorist attack, apparently near the entrance to the port. The Counter Terrorism Unit has to be called in immediately.”
“I’m going to Tan’s office. You two,” he said to Dan and Rogel, “update us on the secure line to Tan’s office regarding the status of the preparations for the attack.”
The conclusion of Gideon’s statement was enough for Tan. The Counter Terrorism Unit was called in, based on the recently instituted protocol, and was deployed next to the port’s entry gates and at the entrances to the shopping mall. Dan managed to intercept the name of the terrorist, a Hezbollah activist, as well as his photo, which was immediately relayed to the Counter Terrorism Unit so they could identify him. A group of “wasps” bearing optical sensors performed their maiden operational voyage and managed to track the man’s movements. The unit members stationed themselves in all of the entrances to the mall, while civilians began to stream out. The dull thunder of an explosion echoed from a side street. The unit’s commander reported this development to Tan, saying it was possible that the terrorist had noticed the movement of the unit’s fighters and elected to blow himself up in a more distant location.
Without its members being summoned, the entire task force filed into Tan’s office. Gideon, who had been in constant contact with Dan, updated Tan and the rest of the team regarding the findings concerning the suicide bomber.
“This is the first time that the IOT defense system has been working in its entirety, and we believe it passed the test with flying colors,” Gideon reported after the Counter Terrorism Unit commander concluded his update regarding the events surrounding the attempted attack. “We already know that the suicide bomber was a part of the cell that passed through the tunnel under the Straits of Johor. He carried a Lebanese passport, and Dan’s system retrieved his photo in time. The optical sensor array managed to track him and provide up-to-date data about his progress.”
“Are any of the other terrorists who came in through the tunnel still in Singapore?” Tan remained agitated. “I request that they be located if they’re still hiding here,” he instructed the head of the Counter Intelligence Division, then added, “I want to express my wholehearted appreciation for the Counter Terrorism Unit for their swift, accurate action. I also want to thank the surveillance and intelligence team, Dan and Rogel, for their precise, timely alert.” Tan rose from his seat, clearly indicating that the gathering had come to an end.
“Tan, if you don’t mind, we have an update on a different topic…Dr. Chang, Deutsch, Quan Lin and I,” Gideon said.
“Okay, please stay,” he said, his gaze tracking Damia, who was working on the minutes in her notepad. Tan noted Chang Mei’s raised eyebrow and turned to Damia. “You’re dismissed,” he told the disappointed head of the Technology and Communication Department.
“Our success in thwarting this incident shouldn’t mislead us,” Gideon said.
“What do you mean? Success is success!” Tan thundered, his level of confidence now somewhat elevated.
“We focused all the means at our disposal and, luckily, most of the permanent sensors deployed in the area in advance were within effective operational range.”
“So what exactly are you trying to say?” Tan could not see what Gideon was getting at. “What needs to happen? What do we have to decide on?”
“If I may,” Deutsch intervened, “it’s obvious we can’t deal with a situation where there’s more than one attack site.”
“There’s a threat we don’t have an answer to yet: any threat on air-traf
fic control at Changi Airport,” Quan Lin reminded them.
“Our industries are still dealing with the initial challenges of sensor production, and the rate of ‘wasp’ manufacture is still far from the level of twenty units a day decided upon,” Chang Mei commented.
“We have to think about being prepared for a multifocal array of attacks,” Gideon reminded them. “This will require a large number of sensors, and finding ways to deploy them in the locations where it makes sense that we’ll need them. There’s a timing issue, General Tan. The threats are increasing in intensity, and the rate of constructing the defense systems has to increase. Otherwise, we’ll lose battle after battle in the war against terror.”
“I’ll take it upon myself to shake up our industries. They need to step up,” Chang Mei declared.
Gideon, Deutsch, and Quan Lin retreated into their own thoughts, while Tan’s brow creased as he attempted to think clearly about a new path they might take.
“We’ve all had a rough day,” Gideon said. “Tan, I suggest that each of us think independently of some new directions the task force’s activity might take, and we’ll convene here again tomorrow morning.”
“I agree,” Tan concluded. “Have a good night.”
Chapter 37
Since the afternoon hours, General Razek’s office had been bustling with staff members from the Royal Intelligence Corps, who were conveying information to the two generals and providing their assessments regarding the success of the attack. The most reliable source for tracking the unfolding events in Singapore was an agent watching from one of the top floors of an apartment building adjacent to the shopping mall. Finally, late in the afternoon, when the report came that the suicide bomber, a Hezbollah activist, had set off the explosive charge, cries of joy broke out in Razek’s office. Ja’afari maintained his reserve, asking them to hold off until the details became clearer. The media in Singapore did report the attack, but did not provide any details. Within minutes, Fakari received a message from the agent observing the shopping mall.
