by Yossi Porat
“Don’t be so modest, Ms. Thomas. Here, your Prime Minister would also like a word.” “Ms. Thomas, I would very much like to meet you and your family when you return from your trip,” the Prime Minister said to Deborah. As the President mentioned just now in his speech, we are planning to divide the money that we confiscated between the victims and their families and those who helped us, which includes you, Morris, Rob, Brian, and the two Israelis working undercover in the Control company. Each of you will receive five million pounds.”
Deborah was speechless. Finally, she was able to thank the Prime Minister and end the conversation. Turning to Lance, she mouthed, “Five million pounds!” He laughed and said, “A little less. Don’t forget income tax!”
…..
Sir Joseph, Rob, and Brian were raising a toast in the Minister’s office. “Now that you’re both rich, you can work for me pro bono!” he joked.
“Well, I feel I’ve got enough to settle down,” Rob said. “And I’ve even got someone that I could do it with. It’s that Israeli girl I met in India – Tami. I couldn’t be happier.”
“Good for you, Rob,” Sir Joseph smiled. “You know, we’ve decided to let Adam keep the money he had invested in the firm, and we are not prosecuting him. He really did help us tremendously with the information he provided. So I’m pleased about that as well. After all, he is my godson. As far as his ‘partner’ Andrew is concerned, that’s an entirely different story. He’s going to be spending a long time in jail, and with no money to show for all his activities. That was confiscated along with all the Arab money.”
They watched as Morris entered the office. They poured him a glass of champagne, and after sipping politely, he pulled a black plastic case from his briefcase. In it were two CDs. “These are the results of Andrew’s statements at the police station. Back-ups of the program that he kept in his home safe. The ones in his office were burned, of course.”
“Should we keep them?” the Minister asked seriously. But Brian immediately replied, “Absolutely not! It’s not for us to control other human beings!” Sir Joseph smiled to show that he was joking, and took the two discs. He broke them in two with his bare hands and asked, “What’s the best way to completely destroy them?” “Probably to burn them,” Rob answered.
“OK, let’s make a bonfire,” Sir Joseph agreed. While the discs were burning, Sir Joseph turned to Morris. “Morris, the head of MI5 asked me if you would be willing to work for them permanently. What do you say?”
“That’s great, sir,” Morris smiled. “I’d be very happy to. Maybe I could get to work with Rob and Brian again. I’d like that very much.”
On the way home, he called Anne. “Let’s celebrate tonight, darling. We have a lot to be happy about. I’ve gotten a permanent transfer to MI5, and we have five million pounds of our own!”
He closed the phone, which immediately rang. It was Benjamin, congratulating him on his new posting. “Thank you very much, sir,” Morris said and hung up. “Should I really have made an extra copy of the back-up?” he thought.
…..
Andrew sat on a gray plastic chair in his cell. He looked at his narrow iron bed, the small white sink and the old toilet in the corner. The bed was covered with a sheet yellow with age, and a thin brown blanket. “What a comedown. How can I ever get back to my old life and all my money and plans?” he thought despairingly. He continued to work his Sudoku when he heard the door open with a squeak. In walked a young man who reached out a hand. “Hello, I’m Dr. Brian Stanley. That’s all right, officer, you can leave us alone,” he said turning to the guard by the door. Brian sat down on the edge of the bed, and asked softly, “Tell me, you didn’t manage to hide another back-up, did you?”
Andrew smiled to himself, feeling he had won a small victory. Of course he had kept another back-up, this one hidden in a secret drawer of his desk at home. “What if I do have another back-up? What good will it do me while I’m in here? You’d have to get me out of here first.” Brian sighed and said that it would probably take a long time before Andrew was free. “But if you let me in on the program, I can help your family while you’re in here. The program would be used in government experiments and even for benign projects. I promise to destroy all other backups.”
“Well, you’d better hurry before I find myself another partner,” Andrew said. Brian looked at Andrew, realizing that he was bluffing. Andrew spoke in a very soft voice, explaining where he had hidden the backups. Brian left straightaway for Andrew’s villa and easily found the discs. As he left the
house, he thought of the great power that he was holding in his hands.
He entered Sir Joseph’s office and found him sitting alone at his desk. “I’ve come to finish off this business completely,” he said, reaching a hand into his pocket. Sir Joseph looked at him suspiciously, and then smiled broadly when he saw what was in Brian’s hand. Brian took the discs and broke them with his hand, the way the minister had done with the previous set.
“Shall we light another bonfire?” Sir Joseph asked in amusement.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Nine months into his twelve-year sentence, Andrew was a broken man. His wife had divorced him and taken their children far away. He sat in his cell, doing Sudoku puzzles, reading, and thinking. He left his cell for meals and some exercise, but he saw no hope in his life at all. Then one day his cell door opened unexpectedly and in walked a young man in a navy blue suit, his hand outstretched for a shake. “My name is Dave,” he said in a Southern draw. “I’m here on an errand from the President of the United States, with your Prime Minister’s full knowledge. The offer I’m about to make is good for the next five minutes.”
Andrew just stared at him, uncomprehending. “We’re willing to release you from prison, and enter you into our American witness protection program. In return, you would be part of an expert team developing new directions in communications technology. You would work for us for ten years, receiving a fair, but not lavish, salary. We would need your sworn word that you would not try to contact your former associates, including your family. If you break your word, you go back to prison immediately. Is that understood?” Andrew just shook his head, unable to speak. The American removed a contract from his briefcase, and showed Andrew where to sign.
The next day, Andrew was dressed in a new suit of clothes, an electronic tracking bracelet on his ankle. He was soon on a plane to the United States.
…...
The new research and development team included Rob and Brian, who joined it once a month. They were surprised to see Andrew on the team, but did not object when they saw that he was fully cooperating. The team developed a system for exploding bombs using a cell-phone, which was used against known terrorists with great success.
Two years into the program, the head of the CIA was surprised to receive a phone call from Andrew. When Andrew met him in his office, he was
astonished to see Andrew holding out two discs, telling him that these were the last back-ups of his former technology and that he had received them from an anonymous source in Europe. He wanted the Americans to decide what to do with them. He felt deep regret for what he had done, and wanted no part of it any more. The American thanked him, and put in a call to the President.
…..
Morris went to the bank safe deposit box, as he did every week, to check on the discs. When he saw that they were not there, he tried to remember why he had decided to put them somewhere else.
Andrew was pleased with himself. He had used the technology that he still controlled, and the relay station which still was active on the roof of his old office building. He was able to transmit the order to Morris to send him the back-ups. With his new copies, he knew he would one day again have the technology to control the world.
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