Was he alright afterwards?’ asked DD.
Lomax shook his head. ‘When he arrived back at camp he had the start of frostbite in several toes and the small finger of his left hand. Next time you look at it you’ll see the skin is paler and yellower than the rest. The concussion lasted for several weeks afterwards. It wore off eventually.’
DD looked sheepish. ‘I know why you’re telling me this.’
Lomax remained quiet. The story was one of the less harrowing episodes in the file.
‘What you’re saying is I shouldn’t be such a wimp.’
‘That’s it, basically.’
‘Right — I’m tired now. I’ll get straight back on the case tomorrow morning.’
‘Good’ muttered Lomax. ‘Now get some sleep.’
Chapter 19
DD sweated in the non-air-conditioned van. He had succeeded in persuading Lomax to try penetrating Advanced Marine Agency’s network again. But Lomax insisted in taking no chances. He rented a van and ordered art work with the name and logo of a local telecoms company. DD helped Lomax stencil the livery on the sides of the van and they had both donned blue work overalls before driving out to a junction two blocks from the corner of the Agency building.
DD waited inside the van as Lomax got out. Through the darkened rear window DD could see him setup the various pedestrian signs around a small road-side communications cabinet. He watched as Lomax laid out a variety of tools on the pavement then went over to the cabinet and used a ‘slim-jim’ to pick the lock. Lomax pretended to be working on the junction box having previously promised DD a thirty minute window in which to eavesdrop on the Agency’s Wi-Fi network.
DD started work but soon found it hard going. He managed to record some packets over the Wi-Fi network, but they must have been double encrypted. He shook his head in admiration that the organisation had taken so much trouble to lock down their systems. He tried a few other software tools on his laptop. One appeared to work but only got him so far.
In next to no time there was a knock on the rear door. DD opened it and let Lomax in.
‘Any luck?’
DD shook his head dismally. ‘The security they have in that place is phenomenal. From what I can see the company have a Chinese wall between their commercial systems and the private part of their network. I also discovered that they have a honey pot for people like me.’
‘What’s that?’ Lomax asked.
‘It’s a part of the network that looks really tempting to a hacker. But it’s a sham — there’s nothing important there. The trap is sprung once you enter the honey pot. You’re followed everywhere from that point on. The company can track where you go and find out what you are looking for.’
DD caught Lomax looking at him and answered the unasked question.
‘No, I didn’t get caught. I know enough about honey pots to know what they look like — and how to avoid them.’
‘But not enough to stop you being picked up in the street.’ Lomax grinned at DD's embarrassment.
‘The point is’ said the exasperated DD, ‘there is no way I can get to the areas I need to.'
‘Have you seen anything like it before?’
DD shook his head. ‘Not in any commercial organisation I’ve known.’
‘But you have seen this type of security somewhere?’
‘Only in government and government sponsored organisations.’
‘AMA could be a government sponsored company.’
DD looked thoughtful. ‘It would certainly explain why their systems are so tough to crack.’
‘Any idea which government?’
‘Not really’ replied DD. ‘They’re several you could choose from: US, UK, Israel, Russia, China. Take your pick.’
‘Mmm, China. Was there anything that might point to one in particular?’
‘No, sorry. If I could break into their security I might be able to give you a better opinion.’
On the way back to the safe house Lomax thought things over. When they arrived DD spoke to London but they weren’t able to help either. Lomax poured them both a stiff drink. ‘Tell me again what all this Chinese wall is about?’
‘They’ve set up their security in such a way that the really sensitive parts are not connected to any other part of their network.’
‘Sort of like a closed loop?’ asked Lomax.
‘Exactly. No part of it is connected to anything else. So any information they have can’t get out and nothing can get in.’
‘Have you ever met a system like that before?’ asked Lomax with a trace of sympathy.
‘Nope — not one so tightly locked down — there just isn’t any way we can break into that system’ said DD in a resigned voice.
‘Maybe not — but you’ve given me an idea’ replied Lomax. ‘If we can’t break in using a computer, we can break in using this.’
DD looked up. Light glinted from the dull black metallic object Lomax held aloft.
It was a jemmy.
Sean opened his eyes slowly. There was no sign of Natasha. His watch said 6:37 am, so they had slept for around four hours. Now it looked like she was leaving. Sean listened carefully and could hear Natasha’s subdued voice outside as she talked on her mobile. When she came back in he noticed her face was wet and shiny with tears. He watched as she quietly padded around the bedroom, putting the rest of her clothes into a carry case. He would never forget that moment last night when he held her.
‘Hi’ he said and saw her freeze momentarily. ‘Planning to leave without me?’
Natasha swept a lock of hair behind her ear. It was a familiar gesture; one she often made when dealing with an unexpected problem.
‘Where are you going?’
Natasha wiped her face with the back of one hand. ‘Please don’t follow me this time.’ She shook her head, too distraught to elaborate further. She hurriedly gathered the last few things into her case.
Sean sat up as Natasha went to the door. She stopped and turned around. ‘I’m sorry Sean. I have to go. I can’t talk about any of it just now.’ She wiped her face again, then turned and left.
Sean got up and moved to the window. In the early morning light he saw Natasha open the trunk and put her case inside. He watched as she got in and drove out of the car park. Long after she had gone he wondered to himself what it might feel like if he never met her again.
Natasha stifled a sob as she drove away. She was leaving a man she had come to trust, but her trust was misplaced. Now she felt devastated. She went over the words her contact had used again and again. ‘He is a spy. He is here with a team. He came to steal the project you are working on.’
‘If that’s true, why don’t you deport him?’ she had asked, thoroughly confused.
‘We want to find out who else is involved in the conspiracy.’
On the face of it his answer was plausible, but something about it didn’t feel right.
‘Why would the British want to steal our project?’ she asked. ‘Surely they are our allies?’
‘It’s just business’ said the man. ‘The Brits are always on the lookout for American developed technology. Spying is a relatively cheap way of procuring it.’
Natasha felt that in a certain twisted way, this made a kind of sense. Shortly after the call she saw Sean asleep in bed. Surely he could not be so underhand? Should she go back with Sean, or follow her instincts to get away somewhere quiet where she could restore some calm and sanity into her life?’
Natasha glanced in the mirror. Back that way was turmoil and confusion. The only way was forwards.
Half an hour later Sean keyed in the pin code to his mobile. He went through the procedure to request the GPS location of his spare phone, still attached to the underneath of Natasha’s car.