Part Eleven: I'm under your curse now, but I call it compromise.
Sasha Marx got off the 'phone to her tame doctor, and helped Hans move Gary onto the sofa.
"Jarrett's on his way. Whatever she plugged him with, he should be able to fix it."
Hans nodded, patting his babbling friend on the shoulder.
"I'll unplug the laptops. We'll probably need them."
"Zero Day..." said Gary, staring up at him.
"What?"
"Cade's...into the servers. Check the logs. Massive exploit. AktionHive...it's all about...the AV."
Sasha and Hans exchanged a look as Gary passed out again.
"Handy that we've still got their CTO with us, then." She went into her bedroom and came back with a set of car keys. Hans raised an eyebrow.
"The Citroen?"
"Comfort over situational austerity. Besides," she smiled at him, "Technically, I've still got it on trial. You and Bernie go in the back, try to figure out what the Hell Gary's uncovered." Hans nodded again, but looked uncomfortable. "He'll be okay, you know? Jarrett's had plenty of experience with this sort of thing."
"I know," said Hans, "But I'm having trouble believing that Omni could've done this."
Sasha helped him unplug the laptops and bag them up.
"Funny story," she said, poking the last of the leads into the bag, "About six months ago I had a meeting with a Mister Fisher from the Home Office. I say a meeting, but it was a lot less formal than that. More like..." she paused to consider her words carefully. "An encounter. Accidental, coincidental, highly convenient. No one likes to feel played, Hans, least of all me, but when the game's got more than two sides you have to question the nature of loyalty. In every possible context."
Hans stared at her.
"You've got immunity?"
"Not from the everyday flotsam and jetsam of random happenstance, no, but our little North Korean former friend is part of something much bigger which, thanks to thirty meaningful seconds spent with her smartphone, I can now call upon in a time of need. I'd call this a time of need, wouldn't you?"
Hans zipped-up the bags and threw them over his shoulder.
"Words often fail me, Miss Marx, particularly in your company but, whatever your standing as a...funky asset of the SIS, I'm relieved that we are on the same side."
Sasha laughed.
"Everything brings me back to Tacitus, Hans. It's an optimisation of futility, and my feminist soul rails against it, given Omni's betrayal, but I can't help feeling we're headed for something ultimately fulfilling. Just remember, a bad peace is even worse than war."
David Cutter finished his text, hit 'send' and switched off his mobile. Bernie Taylor, sitting opposite him in the back of the van, raised an eyebrow.
"Explaining myself to my wife," said Cutter, "Has become one of those...acquired arts. What about you? Haven't you got someone who should know where you are?"
"I could write a list, but it'd be very short," replied Bernie. "Frankly, Mister Cutter,"
"David. For Christ's sake, don't fall into that formality bullshit when it's just us."
Bernie shrugged.
"Frankly, David, I'd be a lot happier if the people I know never find out about this crazy shit. Ever. I'm having the weirdest forty eight hours I've ever known, and the comfort of strangers is definitely a complete myth."
Cutter nodded. Then re-considered.
"It's kind of exciting though, isn't it?"
"Totally."
They shared a laugh before the van doors were unlocked and opened. Sasha Marx beamed at them.
"Okay, guys. Consider this an upgrade - we're changing vehicles."
"About time, too," said Cutter, climbing out and blinking in the sunshine. Then he saw Hans holding two laptop bags. "Oh, great. The gang's all here."
"Relax," smiled Sasha, "You're riding shotgun with me," She pointed at the metallic grey Citroen C1 further up the street. "We can have a lovely chat about what AV means to AktionHive, and why Phylos Cade might want to have a backdoor into it."
To be continued...
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