‘army’ is a shambles. Most of the men are from the refugee camp and are so sick with the camp diseases that they can barely stand, much less carry a pack and rifle on a route march. If he tried to launch an invasion any time in the next year they will be annihilated. From what I’ve seen most have joined up to get the food ration. They use most of it to keep their families alive in the refugee camp. I’ve heard that some barely eat enough to stay alive so that they have more to pass on. Then there are the zealots and a few thugs amongst them who can’t wait to get back into Sonateria to take revenge on the Hansa for all the people they murdered and all the property they’ve stolen.’
‘Well we won’t worry about when, or if, he’ll return to his homeland. As long as he keeps paying us to take him in and arm his troops we’ll be happy. So far he’s paid for the deposit on my jet, but we need him to stay and pay for the rest of it.’
‘I’ll drink to that,’ said Thomas Lattua, as he raised an ice cold bottle of beer to his lips.
13
Sam Tait had become bored watching Bree type away at their report on Namola, and decided to make a further search of the new building.
They both believed that if there was anything hidden it would be found in a place to which they had no access. So far, however, their security passes had allowed the pair to visit all floors of the building, and all parts of those floors, a fact that had disappointed them both.
Sam decided that today he would start in the very bottom of the building and work his way up.
So saying, he climbed aboard a lift, and made his way to the lowest basement, where he searched every office and every cupboard. So far, this portion of the building had not been occupied and the few offices located down here were eerily empty. Most were being used for storage. He met no one and found nothing out of the ordinary, so he proceeded to the floor above and did the same.
An hour later he had completed his search of the third floor of the basement and once more called the lift. As its door opened he was surprised to find Eliza inside with a lap-top computer case at her feet.
‘Going up?’ he asked.
‘Sure,’ she replied.
The lift rose to the lobby, where Sam held the door open for Eliza to exit. Sam remained inside and pushed the button for floor six, where he and Bree had been assigned an office.
Bree looked up from her typing when he walked in, ‘Find anything?’
‘I met Eliza in a lift. She had a computer with her.’
‘And?’
‘I was on the third floor of the basement and she was coming up from a lower basement floor.’
‘And?’
‘And, I had already finished searching the lower floors. There was no one down there when I searched, and no sign of any occupation, or computer equipment.’
‘Interesting!’
‘Thorpe will want to know. I’d better get to a secure phone and tell him.’
***
‘He saw you?’ asked Brian.
‘We shared a lift. I could almost hear his mind cranking over. If you wanted me to get the hard drive out of the building unseen I could simply have used the escape tunnel.’
‘We knew he was down there. We wanted him to see you.’
‘You’re trying to upset Thorpe again, aren’t you?’
‘It’s not for much longer. The end is in sight.’
***
Thorpe rang one of the three young agents currently working undercover in The Fund.
‘The computer, where would she have taken it?’ he asked.
‘There can’t be too many places. I’ve been working on the front desk at reception, and she barely leaves the building. In fact, I saw her leave the building with a computer bag and she returned half an hour later. She didn’t have time to go far with it.’
‘Where does she normally go when she leaves?’
‘We’ve followed her and she usualy goes home to sleep. Most days she’s in her office at the crack of dawn and doesn’t leave till late evening. All her meals are eaten in the cafeteria or at her desk.’
‘Break into her home. I want you to find that computer and bring it to me.’
***
The following morning Justine and Eliza left their shared flat in Walton Village and climbed into Justine’s small sedan for the short drive to The Fund’s headquarters.
Not long after, a young female walking a small dog passed the front door of the flat and proceeded up the street where she came to a halt before kneeling down to pat her companion.
A motor bike passed her and stopped at the kerb outside the flat. The rider took off his helmet and walked up the steps and knocked on the door.
Behind him, the girl and her furry companion had retraced their steps until they drew level with the bike. Here she again stooped to pat the dog.
Seeing that there was no one else on the street apart from the girl and her dog the young man swiftly picked the door’s lock and disappeared inside, leaving the girl to watch for any danger.
His leather gloved hands left no prints as the young man made a thorough search of the flat and finally found the computer hidden beneath the girl’s dirty clothes in a laundry hamper. Tucking it beneath his arm, he exited the flat while making sure to relock the front door.
As he climbed on the motor bike, the girl and her dog were already several houses away, walking calmly toward the far corner of the block.
The motor bike’s engine roared to life, and the rider made his way in the opposite direction to the girl. He turned a corner and was soon heading toward London.
***
Teddy Strang patted the video camera on the tripod in front of him. Its lens was carefully hidden by the window curtains in the front room of the house opposite Eliza’s. He placed a finger on the microchip implanted in his neck.
‘We seem to have at least two undercover agents working within The Fund,’ He reported.
‘Well, we’ll see if we can put that information to good use,’ came the reply.
***
John Thorpe stood looking over the technician’s shoulder as she opened the lap-top and proceeded to turn it on.
Nothing out of the ordinary happened as the technician scrolled through the list of programmes, searching for the downloaded videos that Thorpe was positive the computer contained.
Clicking onto ‘My Videos’ a selection of further file names appeared.
‘Which
