The Codex File (2012) (13 page)

Dialing the number of his office he looked at Sebastian Tate’s door opposite. He hated being kept waiting at the best of times. But particularly when it was by Sebastian Tate, his government contact, and to all extent and purposes his boss for this project.

How many people really knew what went on behind the doors in this hidden retreat he wondered? From what Tate had told him those in the know about CODEX were a very exclusive club indeed.

CODEX, or Covert Operations and Defence Exercises, had been setup by the current administration as a means to conduct specific operations outside the normal defence and Secret Service arrangements. The operations, or CODEX projects, were individually sanctioned by the Prime Minister in conjunction with the Secretary of State for Defence and if they were ever to be classified in security terms would have been a long way north of Top Secret. From there they were passed to Sebastian Tate and his small team to implement and run. That was as far as the knowledge went. A small group operating outside the normal mechanisms of law, scrutiny or accountability.

Tate had once told him the financing of the specially selected projects came from a slush fund the Prime Minister had at his own personal disposal. The Secretary of State suggested how the money might be best used when a project had been identified. Tate had the job of actually spending it on the necessary resources and personnel.

Normally, CODEX operatives tended to be former MI5 or MI6 agents, ex-SAS or Special Forces. Only in rare cases were recruits inducted from the civilian sector, depending on the nature of the project. Trevellion was one of the chosen few.

No other security group, police force or army unit had any knowledge of CODEX. Not even MI5 or the Cabinet. CODEX was the strictest security definition of ‘need to know’.

And as Trevellion quickly discovered, the UKCitizensNet plan, or at least parts of it, was classified as a CODEX project.

Tate had recruited Trevellion three years earlier from a rival software company supplying advanced logistical systems for the defence industry. When Tate had revealed the full plan of what UKCitizensNet would ultimately deliver, Trevellion hadn’t taken much convincing to become part of the select team for this CODEX project. Patriotism and the chance to change the future with technology had been sufficient motivation.

Trevellion had also quickly discovered Sebastian Tate could be very persuasive in his negotiations. A Cambridge education in law at Trinity College, a former visiting fellow of his Alma Mater, coupled with 20 years experience on the bench as Queen’s Council and a naturally direct manner, ensured things got done, and the right people recruited. It was one of the reasons he was so well-suited to join the project. Plain-speaking and a steely determination to get things done defined his own rise up the corporate ladder. Tate had quickly seen himself in his young protege. It wasn’t a fact either men enjoyed, although they both silently acknowledged the personal similarities.

Over time, he’d discovered the circles Tate had moved in during his time as a barrister had brought him into contact with many interesting individuals within the government. Either defending them or advised them on specific technicalities of a legal issue. Eventually, he’d been approached by MI5 and had been recruited as a special advisor on covert operations. A large web of international contacts and a razor sharp mind made him an obvious choice. Assignments in Iraq, Kosovo and Afghanistan had soon followed running operations that never made the news. Projects that weren’t officially part of the war effort.

Such was the success of his work that when the McCoy’s new government had won its landslide electoral victory he was quickly approached. And within months the CODEX programme had begun and the plan for UKCitizensNet was put into action.

Once the CODEX blueprint for UKCitizensNet had been developed expansion at SemComNet, run by the eminent Sir Donald Allison, had led to a deputy’s position becoming available. Trevellion had been the obvious choice and the project had quickly been underway.

Trevellion had quickly gained the trust and admiration of Sir Donald and was a key part in delivering UKCitizensNet on the 5G semantic web platform to the entire country.

Tate had stayed in the background but had watched developments with interest, waiting for his moment to pounce. And once Colette Robertson and David Langley were taken care of, and SemComNet had secured the tender, the stakes had been raised. Now things were getting serious. They always did with Tate. It had been that way from the first time they’d met in Tate’s reclusive office.

Tate looked up from the thick paper file, neatly arranged on the desk in front of him. For a few long seconds he didn’t say a word, his gaze moving slowly across Trevellion’s face, taking in every detail, looking for the one weakness in his expression. One possible emotional vulnerability that might somehow get exploited at a crucial stage in the future, jeopardising the success of the whole project.

But as hard as he looked, between the details in the CODEX file and Trevellion’s face, there was nothing. No discernible weakness. He was the ideal ‘insider’ to get infiltrated into SemComNet.

The sales pitch had been easy. They always were. People with Trevellion’s ambitions and thirst for power never needed much convincing. And so it had proved. There were just a few rules of the game his future prodigy needed to be aware of.

“
So, Vincent, tell me, do you have a wife, girlfriend, boyfriend for that matter?”

Trevellion’s eyes widened slightly at the unusual question. The last two hours had been spent discussing CODEX protocols and project deliverables once he was firmly in place at SemComNet. What the development needs were for UKCitizensNet, who the targets were, and most important who was expendable had been the topics of conversation. All thoroughly discussed. Every permutation analysed, and then dismissed or recorded as required.

But now this question?

“
What relevance does that have?” Trevellion replied seriously. “You’re not hiring me for my ability to sustain relationships are you?”

Tate’s cold, grey eyes narrowed almost to the point of being closed, his brow furrowing as he leant forward.

“
Just answer the question. I don’t ask anything I don’t need to know the answer to.”

Trevellion scowled before responding.

“
There is a woman. A management consultant for a firm of venture capitalists.”

“
Is it serious?”

“
Well, if you call a year serious, then yes. But if you mean marriage, then no.”

Tate pulled open his desk drawer, pulling out a bottle of single malt whisky and a glass, not offering one to Trevellion.

“
Does she have anything on you which could be construed as blackmail potential?” Tate asked directly, looking hawkishly over the top of his glasses.

Trevellion’s features tightened, his own eyes narrowing slightly as he absorbed the implications of the enquiry.

“
There’s nothing in the relationship, or any other for that matter, that could be a source of embarrassment for me, or for you,” he replied coldly, holding Tate’s intent, inscrutable gaze throughout.

A thin smile fleetingly crossed Tate’s face, and then was gone before it might even have been observed.

“
You have two choices then. Either you marry her or you end it. CODEX projects demand all their operatives are 100% focused on the job in hand. If you’re trying to operate with your head emotionally fucked-up over some woman then you’re no good to us. You’d be a bloody liability. And we can’t afford to take that risk. Do you hear what I’m saying?”

As opposed to addling your brain with whisky at 10 in the morning, Trevellion thought wryly, suppressing the urge to share his observation.

Trevellion nodded obediently, his thoughts wandering onto the management consultant and the time they’d spent together. The year had been good. But they were both ambitious, that had been part of the attraction. More physical than emotional. Terminating the relationship wouldn’t be a big deal for either of them.

Priorities changed all the time in their respective businesses. And in the last two hours his had changed more than he could ever have imagined. Tate was offering him the chance to shape the future. And who could turn that down?

Sebastian Tate’s door opened and he appeared in the doorway, beckoning for him to enter. Trevellion rose from his seat, delivering his orders to one of his project teams through his mobile phone, before abruptly ending the call.

“
You sound agitated Vincent. I trust everything is running smoothly at SemComNet?”

“
Fucking regional servers have experienced some downtime recently.”

Moving into the large office, overlooking the Houses of Parliament and the City of Westminster, he sat at Tate’s desk. Tate took the chair opposite.

“
Nothing to worry about I hope?”

He began to polish his glasses, holding Trevellion’s gaze, unblinking and intense.

“
No, nothing for
you
to worry about.”

“
Unlike Michael Robertson though? What exactly do we know about him?”

“
He’s just been released from a care home where’s he been for 18 months following the dispatch of his wife and daughter.”

Trevellion clasped his left upper arm and smiled, although his lips barely moved. The scar on his arm he’d shown Robertson had been the result of a nasty motorbike accident four years earlier. But in his current condition Robertson would probably have believed anything he told him as he struggled to cope with his wife and daughter’s deaths.

“
My estimation is that it won’t take too much to push him back over the edge again. Getting any further information he may have shouldn’t be difficult.”
Tate nodded as he lit a Castella cigar before smoothing down his silver hair.

“
Do you really think the information he may possess is the missing link in the project?”

“
We know Colette Robertson and David Langley were having meetings several months prior to the tender deadline. Essentially, their company R&D pipelines were roughly at the same development level. But still behind ours. Although, they were working in slightly different development areas. My guess is the two companies were considering collaborating on the one component that we’ve yet to perfect, a controllable app we can deliver via UKCitizensNet. And a tool we can program for specific purposes. Robertson and Langley were presumably looking at the details of any such collaboration and what the implications might be. The only way SW Technologies and ACE Solutions could have realistically put together a viable tender, one that would have been superior to ours, was some form of joint initiative. I think the app was their trump card.”

“
Well we’d better make sure we acquire any information Michael Robertson has then, hadn’t we?”

Trevellion nodded but resisted replying.

“
How do you want it done?”

“
Discretely. And this time I don’t want you or any of your henchmen involved. I know how you enjoy a hands-on approach to work such as this. Robertson has been to see you so we don’t want you anywhere near him.”

A slight look of disappointment crossed Trevellion’s face. He was a firm believer that the best way to get something done properly was to do it yourself. But he knew Tate was right on this one.

“
Perhaps a series of burglaries would be appropriate. Target the neighbourhood rather than just Robertson’s house. That should preclude any suspicion on his part as to the motive of the burglary.”
Tate nodded, almost smiling.

“
Yes, that sounds acceptable. I’ll arrange for my department to deal with that straight away.”

Looking squarely at Trevellion his gaze became hard and purposeful as he leant in slightly.

“
So exactly where are we presently in our development?”

“
Currently, we can successfully download the app to any standard network IP address or eCitTV set. It appears totally seamless depending on what’s it been programmed to do. Our problem is we think we can only use the file to take control of isolated electronic applications. But not to the extent of it being viable or completely reliable.”

“
You
think
you can take control of the app in a limited capacity? I don’t want to know whether you
think
it works. I want to know that it does work. And if it does work only in a limited capacity then we need to have it working at full capacity for this project to succeed. A fact we rather took for granted when we recruited you for this project. Whether through work at SemComNet and my department, or from the Robertson woman’s files, I want this project fully operational, and soon. The Prime Minister and Secretary of State will not continue funding my department’s work if they cannot see results.”

Trevellion fought back his irritation at Tate’s reproach. But he knew he was right. They needed the discreet funding to continue the project.

“
I take it then approval is given to test the app as outlined in Phase II?”