The Tau Directive

by Tomas Black

  “What’s that?” said Drum. “Movement near those outbuildings. Can you get any closer?”

  Mei increased the zoom on the drone’s camera. A group of people were coming out of a building lit by exterior lights which threw long shadows in the gathering gloom.

  “There!” said Drum, “The guy in the trench coat next to the young woman. That must be Burnett.”

  A man in the group looked up and pointed. It was Vashchenko.

  “They have spotted the drone,” said Mei.

  “I think we may have shown our hand,” said Drum. “It’s likely to precipitate things.”

  “I’m open to ideas,” said Mei.

  Drum tried to think. They needed to move from this position. They were likely to get company. “Let’s head back to the hotel and regroup.”

  Mei nodded and waited until the drone was safely back in its bay before pulling out of the bus stop where she had parked, and performing a terrifying U-turn back the way they had come.

  “The young woman,” said Mei. “Who is she?”

  “She works for me,” said Drum “She was trying to locate the data cache. I was hoping she would have more time.”

  “She seems to have contacted Burnett,” said Mei.

  “She’ll try to keep him safe,” said Drum.

  “Then there isn’t much more we can do here,” said Mei.

  “I agree. If we go in, guns blazing, there’s a good chance people will lose their lives and the likelihood of us finding the data cache goes out the window.”

  “If your operative doesn’t come through, it might just come to that,” said Mei.

  They pulled up outside the hotel and Drum turned to face her. “Let me make things clear, Mei. You’re here at my discretion and the pleasure of the British government. Don’t think about acting on your own. We do this together or not at all.”

  Mei nodded. “I understand. What next?”

  Drum clicked open the glove compartment and retrieved the Walther and its suppressor. “Let’s sleep on it.”

  “Sure,” she said. “Your room or mine?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Electronic Arts

  Drum woke to the sweet smell of jasmine and the lightness of someone’s hand tracing a path down the length of the scar that traversed a jagged path across his chest and ended at his sternum. Mei’s long hair fell about her face like a silky black veil as she bent and kissed him lightly on the mouth.

  “How did you get that?”

  “A jealous barber in Wapping.”

  “Why was he jealous?”

  “I was sleeping with his wife.”

  “Really!”

  A smile spread across Drum’s face.

  Mei said something in Mandarin and laughed. “I think you are a big joker, Ben Drummond. We need to make a move.”

  “I thought you already had.”

  She grinned, then reached across and grabbed a discarded hair band from the nightstand. He watched as she knelt naked on the bed and tied her hair back, looking down at him. “I’ll see you at breakfast.” She sprang from the bed and slipped on a towelling robe. It didn’t do her justice. She then gathered up her clothes and opened the door. “Don’t be long, I’m starving,” she said and was gone.

  Drum hit the shower, letting the hot jets of water pound his body. He wasn’t one for over-analysing the situation, but Mei was obviously softening him up. He wondered what she would do when it came down to the wire: him or her mission objective. The hidden data cache was like a ticking bomb. He knew that if he found it, British Intelligence would insist he give it up. The Russians and the Chinese wouldn’t let that happen. His American friends wouldn’t be too happy either.

  And now Mei knew he had one of the keystones.

  He dressed in jeans and a clean shirt and grabbed his jacket. He reached inside his breast pocket and pulled out the box containing the keystone and opened the lid. It was still there. It glowed warmly in the light from the window. Well, at least she didn’t try to steal it, he thought. On the other hand, who would be stupid enough to leave it in their jacket pocket?

  He picked up his phone from the nightstand and cursed when he found the battery had been completely drained. He should have plugged it in last night, but then he had had other things on his mind.

  He left the room and went down to reception. A desk clerk waved to him. “Morning Mr Drummond. Your tailor called. Your suit is ready to pick up.”

  “Thanks,” said Drum, and walked into the dining room. McKay wanted to talk.

  ~~~

  The gates opened automatically as they approached the outer perimeter of the campus. “Plate recognition,” said Mei, and drove slowly past the security booth to the second gate where a security guard was waiting for them. Drum lowered his window.

  “Morning, Ludmilla Drago is waiting for you up at the administration building,” said the guard.

  Drum nodded and watched as they lowered the inner security barriers. Mei rolled forward and drove slowly through the campus and parked outside the Administration block.

  “How cooperative will this Drago be?” said Mei.

  “Not very. She’ll try to put roadblocks in our way. It’s normally the way things work. We should talk to Salenko first. Get him to explain the missing keystones. It’s obviously pertinent to the success of the IPO.”

  “I understand,” said Mei.

  Drum grabbed his phone which was now fully charged. He had four missed calls and two secure messages. “Give me a minute,” he said. “I’ll meet you at reception.” He waited until Mei was walking up the steps, then dialled the number his ‘tailor’ had left for him.

  “Gerard and Co, specialist tailors. How can I help you?” said the operator.

  “You have a suit for me. Name of Drummond,” he said.

  “Do you have an order number, sir?”

  Drum gave his Army serial number.

  “Putting you through.”

  “McKay.”

  “Drummond.”

  “Thought I’d lost you,” said McKay.

  “Nothing more than a flat battery,” said Drum.

  “A few things,” continued McKay. “GCHQ has confirmed the trace on the fibre optic tap you requested. You should now have eyes on the data and be able to patch in.”

  “Good.”

  “And Michael Mann wants a meet.”

  “Why?” asked Drum. “He knows I’m in the field.”

  “Right. That’s what I told him. Said we don’t have time for office politics but he insisted. What do you want to do?”

  Drum wondered why Mann would want to meet. It was highly irregular to contact an agent in the field other than via his handler. But he guessed Mann had his reasons. “Set it up.”

  “Will do …”

  “What?” said Drum, noticing McKay’s hesitation.

  “I’m coming under pressure from the top brass. They plan to storm the place if I can’t give them anything concrete in my next report. I told them you were making progress …”

  “How long have I got?” said Drum.

  “A few days at most.”

  “Hold them off for as long as you can,” said Drum. “I need to get my people out.”

  “Understood.”

  “And McKay.”

  “What?”

  “Watch your back.”

  “Right,” said McKay, and hung up.

  ~~~

  Mei was waiting for him at reception and was busy on her phone. Amanda was sitting behind her desk and smiled when he walked up.

  “Salenko will see us now,” said Mei, glancing up from her phone. “He is with his head of security, Ludmilla Drago.”

  Drum nodded.

  Amanda led the way along the curving corridor, trying to make small talk as they wound their way towards Salenko’s office.

  “Are you an intern here,” asked Drum, “or full time?”

  “Oh, I’m just an intern. Trying to make my student grant stretch further.”

&nbs
p; “And you get paid,” said Mei. “Most interns don’t.”

  “I know, right!” said Amanda. “Mr Salenko is very generous towards all his interns.”

  Drum stopped walking. “What are you studying?”

  “Medicine. I’m in my second term at Sidney Sussex.”

  “Good for you,” said Drum. “I guess you know most of the students here.”

  “Oh, quite a few. They all have to come through Administration.”

  “Do you know Jeremy Burnett?”

  Amanda blushed. “Jeremy? Yes. We dated a few times.”

  “What does he do here?” asked Mei.

  “He works with Professor Kovac. He’s been given special access to the Red Lab.”

  “Red Lab?” said Drum. “Where’s that?”

  “It’s the small building at the back of campus, near the river. It’s where they train the AI.”

  Mei looked at Drum. “Thanks, Amanda. You’ve been very helpful.”

  Amanda beamed. She dropped them off outside Salenko’s office.

  “One last thing, Amanda,” said Drum. “Has Ludmilla worked here long?”

  Amanda frowned and moved away from the door. “No. She started last week. Bit of a hard nut.”

  Drum nodded and waited for Amanda to knock on the door and announce them. They entered and found Ludmilla Drago standing over Salenko at his desk. She looked up and moved to the window. Salenko remained seated, looking flustered.

  “Mr Drummond and Ms Chung,” said Amanda, and quickly closed the door.

  “Good morning,” said Salenko, shuffling his papers. “How was your weekend?”

  “Very slow,” said Drum.

  “Took in a few sights,” added Mei, “and paid a visit to Professor Kovac.”

  “Really,” said Salenko. “So soon. I’m glad he could see you at such short notice. He’s normally busy in the labs on a Sunday. The man has no life.”

  “It's why we’re here,” continued Mei. “The professor mentioned that the keystones are missing. This came as a surprise to us. It’s likely to delay the IPO.”

  Salenko looked at Drago. “The professor is mistaken,” she said.

  “Really,” said Drum. “How is that?”

  “It is true that a keystone went missing. It is a common occurrence. Kovac has a habit of giving them to his students when working in the language labs. On this occasion, one student forgot to hand it in. We quickly recovered it. We did not reprimand the student. It was an honest mistake.”

  “I see,” said Drum. “So all the keystones are accounted for.”

  Drago turned to Salenko. “Yes, I believe that is so,” he said. “All accounted for.”

  “Good, I’m glad we cleared that up,” said Drum, glancing at Mei.

  “Excellent,” said Salenko. “Now, I have another appointment. Ludmilla will help you with your review. Amanda has my contact details if you need me.” He tidied his papers into a neat pile and stood up. “Ludmilla, make sure they get what they want and we’ll talk later.” She nodded and watched as he hurried from the room.

  Drago walked over to Salenko's desk and sat down. “What do you need?”

  “I’d like to visit the data centre,” said Drum. “Do we have access to that?”

  “Why do you want to do that?” asked Drago, frowning.

  “Just routine,” said Drum “I normally include it in all my security reviews. After all, data is the only asset you have here.”

  Drago tapped the panel in front of her, which lit up. A keyboard was overlaid on the screen. She tapped out a few commands. “You have level 2 access. I’ll raise it to level 3, which should allow you access to the main data hall. Let me know when you would like a tour.”

  “I don’t do tours,” said Drum. “I perform security reviews. I have certifications in all areas of data centre management. I’ll be fine.”

  Mei smiled. Drago’s frown deepened.

  “Still,” insisted Drago, “I will accompany you.”

  Drum shrugged. “If you insist.”

  “Anything else?” said Drago, standing.

  “We’ll use this office until Salenko returns,” said Mei, giving Drago little choice in the matter. “I need to make calls to our investors and update them.”

  “Fine, fine,” said Drago. “The girl at reception will help you. Call her if you need me.” She rose from the desk and walked smartly to the door.

  “One last thing,” said Drum. “Is Professor Kovac on site today?”

  “Kovac. Yes, he’s working,” she said and left.

  Mei turned to Drum. “Salenko lied.”

  “Yes, but why?” said Drum. “He is either playing for time, hoping the other keystone turns up or believes Ludmilla has it and it is accounted for.”

  “Still, there is something off between the two of them,” said Mei.

  “I agree,” said Drum. “Let’s see: there are three keystones; I have one, Vashchenko has one, so Salenko has the other.”

  “Or, Vashchenko now has two keystones and is actively seeking yours.” She sat down at Salenko’s desk. “You know it’s only a matter of time before they realise you have it.”

  “I’m banking on it,” said Drum.

  Mei tapped the screen on the desk, displaying the keyboard interface. “Why didn’t she use the voice-activated commands?”

  “Because she’s just been drafted in. She’s one of Vashchenko’s people.”

  Mei nodded. “Why did you ask to review the data centre? That wasn’t part of the brief.”

  Drum took a seat and stretched. “I knew it would require greater access than we currently have. It may help us get access to this Red Lab.”

  Mei raised an eyebrow. “Clever. Now what?”

  “We check the personnel files for someone called Jane.”

  Mei looked down at the keyboard. “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”

  Drum smiled. “Central, list all permanent employees of Salenko Security Systems.”

  A panel illuminated on the wall, and a list of names and their positions scrolled down the screen.

  “There are three hundred and twenty employees worldwide,” said a voice.

  “Central,” continued Drum, “list only those employees at the Cambridge site.”

  The wall screen cleared and another list of names scrolled down. “There are fifty-one personnel at the Cambridge site,” said the voice.

  “Refine your search parameters,” suggested Mei.

  “I was getting there,” said Drum. “Central, list all employees with first or last name equal to Jane at the Cambridge site.”

  “There are no personnel that fit those criteria,” said the voice.

  “Well, that was a bust,” said Mei. “How about part-time employees or interns?”

  “Central, list any part-time employees or interns with the first or last name equal to Jane.”

  “There are no personnel that fit those criteria,” said the voice.

  “Perhaps she was using a cover name,” said Mei.

  Drum nodded. “If we can’t find Jane, perhaps we can find someone else. Central, locate Professor Kovac.”

  “Professor Kovac is in the data centre,” said the voice.

  “Let’s have a chat with the professor,” said Drum.

  They were about to leave when there was a knock on the door. Amanda poked her head in. “I forgot to mention, there’s a small cafeteria as you exit the building if you would like refreshments. I’m heading off for a lecture back in Cambridge.”

  Drum smiled. “No problem, Amanda. Perhaps you can tell us the quickest way to the data centre?”

  “Sure,” she said, returning his smile.

  “You have made another friend, I see,” said Mei, digging him in the ribs as they left Salenko’s office.

  “It’s in my nature,” said Drum.

  They followed Amanda through a corridor that made up the other arm of the horseshoe. The walls of the building displayed a stunning array of artwork, illuminated from above by a m
assive skylight that comprised most of the roof space. Drum was impressed by the works on display. One caught his eye, a large landscape painting. He wasn’t an art aficionado, but it reminded him of a painting by Turner in the National Gallery in Trafalgar Square: The Fighting Temeraire. William used to take him there as a boy to ‘broaden his education’. It was also free.

  Drum stopped to examine the work. It looked airbrushed, a riot of colour that reminded him of a sunset over the Thames with a spectral presence materialising out of a roiling mist under dark, brooding clouds that disappeared to a vanishing point on the horizon, cast in the vermillion of a setting sun. It made him think of the happy times spent in the warmth of the gallery, just him and his dad.

  “You alright?” asked Mei.

  Drum stepped back to examine the painting from afar. Unlike the painting by Turner, there was no ship—no Fighting Temeraire—no Thames even, just a hint of something emerging from the canvas on a suggestion of water. The artist had skillfully used light and colour to evoke a mood.

  “It’s lovely, isn’t it?” said Amanda. “It’s one of my favourites.”

  Mei stepped up and took the time to examine the painting. “It is nice, I agree. Who is the artist?”

  “It’s one of Professor Kovac’s creations,” said Amanda.

  “Professor Kovac painted this!” said Mei.

  Amanda laughed. “No, one of his creations did it. An AI he calls Jane.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Tau

  Amanda left them at the data centre’s security gate. Drum and Mei both looked up at the security cameras and the gate clicked open. They moved into an enclosed holding area and waited for the cameras to authorise their entrance through a second gate.

  “I knew Kovac’s AI was advanced,” said Drum, as they waited. “but Jane …”

  “I know,” said Mei. “I find this hard to comprehend.”

  “But why is Jane helping us, and who is in control?” said Drum.

  “Salenko,” said Mei. “He must have a keystone and retains some control over the AI.”