Jenny cancelled all her appointments for the week, and took a cab along to the Langham Hotel. They could always find a room for her. Good job I didn’t move into Bill’s flat, she thought. That would have been a bit complicated. And I suppose they’ll be appointing a new business manager for me at the bank. She busied herself with her address book and tried to forget her consistently bad experiences with bankers.
Over Saudi Arabia, en route to Johannesburg
‘Cheers, Marius, and thanks again.’ Leo settled back in his business-class window seat and sipped the glass of champagne Coetzee had requested from the cabin attendant. He had flown in business class a number of times over the last few years, usually when his employer was paying for the ticket – true to his Scottish upbringing, he didn’t like to waste money – but the experience was still novel enough that he enjoyed being spoiled for a while. ‘A bit of a contrast to Bur Dubai,’ he said jokingly.
‘Better make the most of it. We’ve got serious work to do in Delmas. I just hope Jenny manages to find something out about Lee-Win, we need a break, something to get our teeth into.’ Coetzee lapsed into silence, thinking, Why is Dr Hugh Middleton so concerned about Leo? They’ve never even met before. Wheels within wheels.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
‘I’m going to miss Leo. It won’t be the same without him.’ Ed and Lynne were at Club 27. It was a quiet night and they were chatting in the bar.
‘Do you know where he is?’
Ed hadn’t yet shared the full story with Lynne. If she knew the real reasons behind Leo’s imprisonment and his suspicions over Scotty’s death, she’d be worried out of her mind. He replied, ‘He’s gone down to stay with some friends in Johannesburg, lucky guy. That’s all I know.’
‘And he’s definitely not coming back?’ He shook his head, and she said, ‘I don’t blame him after what happened. Are you going to stay at XPC?’
‘I’ll see how things pan out. Now that Shen’s got his way, the work on Mark VII and ACRE is over, so it depends on whether they’ve got any new projects scheduled for Sharif and me.’
‘But you don’t trust Shen anyway. After what happened to Leo, why take chances?’
‘Once everything gets sent to Shanghai on Wednesday, I don’t think there’s any risks down here. I told Leo I’d hang around for a while, in case he needs me to look at anything for him, so I’ll give it a few weeks to see what happens. The pay’s good and I’m not that keen to look for another job again so soon.’
‘So I’m not part of the equation?’ She gave him a mock vicious look.
‘Oops! I kind of took that for granted, sorry. You know I’d be less keen to stay if you weren’t here. C’mon, let’s have a dance, then I’ll take you home on Leo’s Harley.’
FORTY-ONE
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Tuesday, 13 July 2017
‘So, what’s the new timetable?’ Elodie and Shen were having a lazy breakfast. After two bottles of champagne and an exhausting session of rough sex the previous night, they’d slept late.
Shen wasn’t in a hurry, everything was under control at XPC, the crisis had passed and he’d talked Tom Connor into sending the package off tonight. Elodie had praised him to the skies when he’d bragged of that latest triumph. If nothing else, it had ensured a passionate reaction from her. He’d go in later to make sure Sharif and Ed had finalised everything, and Tom would talk to the staff that afternoon. Everyone was a hero except Leo Stewart. It couldn’t have turned out better if he’d planned it that way.
‘No change. For Mark VII, there’ll be copies of all the final test runs made by our people, so the Chinese programmers can run the firmware on Sharif’s design until they’re happy there’s no problems. They’ll pass the design to the production people, so they can start producing the new module.’
‘But that’s not our concern?’
‘Right, we don’t care if it’s ever produced and distributed. We’re interested in the upgrades to be deployed universally through our wireless hubs to the billions of processors out there already. They’ll deliver Mark VII software, running on ACRE encrypted transmission, to all those processors that have a connectivity module. He’ll never know it, but Leo Stewart designed the perfect system override delivery method.’
‘And when that software is downloaded the customers will be happy?’
‘They’ll be delighted. It can be sent out as soon as Shanghai’s finished testing, I’d say a week at most. Then a couple of days later, our underground guy will send out a minor correction, citing a small debug issue.’
‘And that wakes up our cell?’
‘Right. The cell that brings us our return for five years of work.’
‘I like it.’
Delmas, Mpumalanga, South Africa
‘Leo, it’s great to see you again.’ Karen ran across the driveway and threw her arms around him as he got out of the taxi.
‘It’s great to be here. Unexpected, but really great.’
‘I can imagine,’ she said. They carried the bags to the door as Coetzee paid the driver. ‘What a time you’ve been through. Was it really awful?’
‘Educational, I’d say. But the kind of education that’s best in very small doses. Anyway, thanks to Marius, I’m here in one piece.’
‘I know, he’s sickeningly efficient, but I love him anyway.’
‘Hello Leo, glad you’re safe. Nice of you to visit.’ A tall, slender African girl walked towards him.
‘Abby, it’s good to be back.’ He kissed her on both cheeks. ‘You get more beautiful every time I see you.’
‘And you seem to get taller,’ she said, looking a little self-conscious. She turned away from him, ‘Hi Dad. Another successful safari, well done.’
‘Not yet, the real work is just about to start. That’s why Leo came down with me.’
She hid her disappointment. ‘I made some coffee, come and tell us all about it. It sounds intriguing.’
It took half an hour to bring Karen and Abby up to speed. They were both amazed and appalled at the story. Abby said, ‘Do you really think we can do anything from here? If they’re sending the package off tomorrow, it seems unlikely.’
‘I don’t know, but we have to try. We’ve probably still got a couple of days to work out exactly what’s going on.’
‘I’ll take you up to your room to clean up, then you can show us how all this fits together.’
‘OK, thanks. Meanwhile, can you find out how many pieces of kit here have got Lee-Win processors?’
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Elodie Delacroix took a mobile from a handbag in her wardrobe, and pressed a WhatsApp number. ‘Hello darling, latest update. Shen convinced everyone at XPC that the Leo Stewart thing was a red herring and the heat’s off.’ She laughed. ‘I know, even Shen gets it right once in a while. Anyway, they’re sending the package today and expect Shanghai to turn it around within a week.’
She listened again. ‘OK, I’ll try to get it speeded up. Maybe I can get him to go up there and move things along at Lee-Win. I’ll keep you up-to-date. I can’t wait to be in your arms again, not long now. Au revoir mon amour.’
Malaga, Spain
‘Hola, buenos dias, Juan.’ Jenny shook hands with her gardener-chauffeur, and he mumbled a gruff ‘Buenos dias, Jenny’. Due to the hour time difference, it was now one-fifteen and the sun was beating down mercilessly as they walked to the car park. The drive took forty minutes, and she was in time for her meeting with Patrice at the Banco de Iberia. The bank closed at two o’clock and he’d arranged to go for lunch at Da Bruno Sul Mare, near the beach. Jenny was starving, having had nothing since her early morning tea and biscuit.
Patrice was waiting for her in the banking hall and they walked along the busy streets to the restaurant. Her previously difficult relationship with him had improved since she’d set up Bishop Private Equity, and he had steered several opportunities in her direction. He was very enthusiastic in his praise for her b
usiness intuition.
‘The deal you did with Lady Knick Knack was incredibly daring. I would never have been able to negotiate that, nor to sell it to the bank.’ He spoke perfect English with an attractive French accent, which Jenny always assumed he put on to impress.
‘One of the best, as it turned out. You can’t fight people’s inner desires, so you might as well cater to them. Especially if you can make money while you’re at it.’ She didn’t reveal that his wife, Leticia, was one of their most regular customers.
At the restaurant, the banker ordered two glasses of chilled Rueda, from the north of Spain. ‘Salud.’ They savoured the hint of apple and lemon flavours on their palettes and he said, ‘I know you don’t like wasting time on social visits, Jenny, so to what do I owe the honour?’
‘Thanks, Patrice. I’m sure you’re incredibly busy, but this is an urgent matter which came up just a few days ago and I think you might be able to help me.’
He nodded for her to continue, and she launched into the story of Leo and the XPC conspiracy. He was very quick on the uptake and asked a lot more questions than Bill had done, seeming more and more impressed by her obvious conviction and the detailed background to the events she described.
They had finished their first course when she finally stopped talking. ‘Mon Dieu!’ he exclaimed. ‘That’s quite a story. You and Emma must have been out of your minds with worry when he was arrested.’
Patrice was unaware of Leo’s abduction in 2010, and she replied, ‘Fortunately, Marius Coetzee is a close friend and a very resourceful man, and we never had any doubt he’d get Leo out. After he talked to Angela, the pieces of the jigsaw suddenly came together, and the picture is pretty frightening.’
Unknowingly, he echoed Karen Coetzee’s question. ‘Do you really think Leo and Coetzee can do anything from Johannesburg? It seems to me that once the software package arrives in Shanghai, it’s too late to stop whatever it is they’re going to do. I mean, if Homeland Security can’t do anything, what chance do they have?’
‘Quite honestly, I have no idea, but General Chillicott and the people in London think the ownership of Lee-Win Micro-Technology might be the key to putting a spanner in the works. Without that, they say they can’t take any action until it might be too late.’
‘And Lee-Win’s in Shanghai? I don’t have any contacts there, Jenny. If that’s what you were hoping, I’m afraid I can’t be of any help.’
‘What about Hong Kong? I remember you told me you went there to set up their private equity operations.’
‘That’s a different matter entirely, I go there two or three times a year to discuss cross-marketing and partnership deals with them. But I don’t see how it helps you.’
Jenny explained what they were looking for, praying that he wouldn’t react in the same way as Bill Redman.
Patrice laughed, ‘Why don’t you ask me to burgle the bank while I’m busy.’
‘To quote General Chillicott, Homeland Security is conducting a “national security investigation” into Lee-Win and XPC. Surely that gives you the authority to make a simple enquiry?’
‘I can’t ask them to send me information of that kind, it creates a paper trail and will cause a scandal with the compliance people. Let me think for a moment.’
They continued with their meal, chatting about family and friends, then when their coffee arrived, he said, ‘I got an email a week ago from Ho Au Yeung, the PE MD in Hong Kong. He wants me to go over sometime, to talk about one of our European clients expanding in the Far East. How soon do you need this information?’
‘Leo told me the new software will be sent to Lee-Win in Shanghai tomorrow, and it could be distributed within a few days.’
‘The deadline is this weekend? That’s a bit tight. Even if I leave tomorrow, with the time difference, the earliest I can find anything out will be Thursday. What do you think?’
‘You’ll do it for me?’ Jenny almost shouted with relief.
To her surprise, he took her hand in his. ‘Jenny, I know we haven’t always hit it off, but I have a very long memory. If it wasn’t for your bravery and refusal to admit defeat, I wouldn’t have Leticia and Emilio today, so I owe you much more than a quick trip to Hong Kong. Right, I’d better get back and sort out my schedule. I’ll call you as soon as I’ve made all the arrangements.’
FORTY-TWO
London, England
Tuesday, 13 July 2017
‘Back again so soon, General?’
‘I wish I wasn’t, Ilona.’
‘You look tired.’
‘I’m a bit beat up, you’re right.’ Chillicott dumped himself in a chair and she went to fetch him some coffee.
Middleton came into the hall. ‘Welcome back, Billy. Official business again?’
‘Unfortunately, Hugh. I wish it was a social visit, but I’m with the MoD guys this afternoon.’
They went into Middleton’s office. ‘Brexit seems to be infecting everyone with a case of mass hysteria. Is that what is causing even more concern, or is it your new president’s apparent schizophrenia?’
‘Neither, this time. It’s NATO business, problems with our Russkie friends.’
‘What has Comrade Vladimir been up to this time? Or is it ultra-confidential?’
‘It’s going to be common knowledge when the media spies get hold of it, so I don’t think I’d be talking out of turn.’
‘Is it my country again?’ Ilona put a mug of coffee and a tumbler of whisky in front of him. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the annexation of Crimea in 2014, car bombings and assassinations had become almost commonplace, and she lived in dread that the Russians would extend their occupation and effectively take over the country.
‘Thanks, you read my mind.’ He poured the whisky into the mug and took a swig. ‘It’s been going on for over a week now in just about every neighbouring country. Large troop movements carrying out “exercises”, or “war games”, like they always say. They’re amassing more troops in Crimea, probably to move against Ukraine again, or as a launching point into the Balkans, so I guess you’re right to be worried. And Russian troops are carrying out manoeuvres in the north on the borders of Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Belarus, down around Georgia and Azerbaijan in the south and Kazakhstan in the east.’
‘Any estimate of numbers?’
‘The analysts say over half a million troops on the move.’
‘That sounds quite ominous.’
‘It gets worse, there’s fleet movements off the coast as well. The Admiral Grigorovich is leading a group of six warships sailing down the North Sea off the Norwegian coast. Those ships carry Kalibr cruise missiles. Looks like they could be headed for the Baltic, so they’d have some of those countries in a pincer, back and front. Even Poland and Sweden would be vulnerable.’
‘Aircraft carriers, submarines?’
‘The Kuznetsov and Gorshkov are on manoeuvres in the north Atlantic. We’ve had an unconfirmed report of a nuclear sub leaving Murmansk. And there’s two destroyers set off from Crimea across the Black Sea, towards the Balkans; maybe Romania and Bulgaria. The whole shebang. It looks like a blatant attempt to reassemble the USSR, maybe even more.’
Ilona frowned. ‘I haven’t seen or heard anything about this.’
‘It’ll be front page news tomorrow. You know how fast bad news travels.’
‘Hmm. With the lack of stability and confidence in a constantly changing US government, and the EU-Brexit row just starting to heat up, the timing couldn’t be worse – or better, depending on your point of view.’
‘You bet. The US is almost in a state of suspended animation, wondering what Trump’s gonna say or do next. While he’s tweeting and spouting warnings about annihilating Iran and North Korea, the Russians will run rings around him until there’s nothing left to tweet about. They know NATO is under threat, since he says it’s obsolete, but nobody knows what he’ll do about it. While everyone is posturing and parleying, they could grab back their old territ
ories, just like they’ve always wanted.’
He took another swallow of coffee. ‘I was invited to a meeting of the Joint Chiefs of Staff yesterday. The Defence Secretary was there, that’s how serious we’re taking it.’
‘And?’
‘Well, between us guys, we’re sending in 20,000 troops to beef up NATO forces in Poland, Bulgaria and Turkey. Air force overflights of the vulnerable borders and a few battleships in the North Sea and Baltic. It’s nothing but a token response, but it’s all DefSec’s authorised to do. I think I’ve persuaded him to convene a meeting of the UN Security Council, but with the Russian veto power it’s a total waste of time.’
‘I’m surprised I’ve heard nothing from my friends in Kiev. They’re usually the first to spot anything going on.’ Ilona looked perplexed. ‘It can’t be on the airwaves or they’d be rebroadcasting it all over. This must come from very high up, to have been kept under wraps until now.’ She went to the door. ‘I’ll call Ilya now, see what he knows.’
‘What are you talking to the MoD about?’ Middleton asked.
‘It’s more of a courtesy call than anything else. The truth is, you Brits have no teeth left in your bite. The military budget has been decimated over the last few years until you need four signatures to buy a paper clip. If all these Soviet movements are serious, we’re in deep shit. You might muster a battalion or two to give a show of solidarity with the northern NATO countries, but it wouldn’t be a meaningful show of force. The fact is, apart from us, nobody can show any credible reaction at all.’
‘I’m unfortunately obliged to agree with you, although your president might not be inclined to react as we might hope. And, of course, Russia’s attempts to dissuade their Baltic and Balkan neighbours to enter into the NATO alliance is not improving the situation.’
The African Diamond Trilogy Box Set Page 138
