Gray Vengeance by Alan McDermott

if ?’ Justice asked.
    ‘Our legislation doesn’t yet allow us to use such surveillance techniques,’ the home secretary said. ‘Turning it on now would be technically illegal, if morally right.’
    ‘So when were you planning to unleash it? This isn’t something you can just put to parliament and expect it to sail onto the stat ute books.’
    ‘We set this up so that in the event of a major attack, we would have the ability to strike back almost instantly,’ the PM told t he hea lth secretary. ‘In times of crisis, the people will unde rstand th e need to be able to react effectively and apprehend those behind such atrocities. An amendment to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act will enable us to bring Brigandicuum online instantly, and we should be able to identify whoever is behind this.’
    Reed turned to the home secretary. ‘Has the amendment b een drafted?’
    Harper nodded. ‘I’ll have a copy on your desk in a few minutes. No mention of the how, just the ability to intercept any and all electronic material when it’s vital to national security. A bit vague, but I anticipate no objections from anyone, considering the threat we’re facing at the moment.’
    ‘Pity this wasn’t online a few months ago,’ Justice said. ‘We might have ended this before it started.’
    ‘Well, it wasn’t,’ Reed said.
    He didn’t add that it had been his decision not to implement Brigandicuum at a more opportune moment. Although he recognised it as a powerful tool against terrorism, and potentially organised crime and other evils, the very idea of such invasive surveillance went very much against his grain. It wasn’t that he was afraid of losing the privacy-group vote; it was more the betrayal of trust. He’d always tried to be as open with the public as possible— national security matters notwithstanding— and Brigandicuum would destroy any trust he’d managed to build up. Given the political fallout if the public ever learned the details, he would have been staring career suicide in the face.
    The health minister’s phone chirped, and he took the call. After speaking in a hushed voice for a few moments, he placed the handset on the table, the colour having drained from his face.
    ‘That was NHS England. These bastards are targeting hospitals throughout the country. We’ve lost A&E capability in the capital, and forty-three other trusts are reporting explosions. We don’t know the exact number of casualties as yet, but we’ve lost a lot of medical staff and vital equipment. There’s no way we’re going to be able to cope.’
    Reed sat back in his chair, wondering again how such devastation could happen without warning.
    ‘Juliet, get Veronica Ellis up to speed on Brigandicuum. I want our people at Haddon Hall as soon as possible.’
    He rose, signalling an end to the meeting.
    ‘I’m going to have a word with President Lomax.’

Chapter 16
    15 December 2014
    Andrew Harvey was on the phone when Veronica Ellis returned to Thames House and made a beeline for his desk.
    ‘Get Sarah and meet me in my office.’
    Harvey went to fetch Thompson, and they knocked on Ellis’s door a minute later.
    ‘Sit down,’ Ellis said, preferring to stand herself. ‘Andrew, what’s the status of the servers?’
    ‘Gerald says we’ll be up and running within the hour. He managed to get some PCs from a local shop and is just installing the necessary software. They’ll do until we get proper replacements.’
    ‘Good. Hand over everything to Hamad. You two are being seconded to the NSA.’
    Thompson and Harvey exchanged looks.
    ‘Is this just until we’re back up and running?’ Harvey asked.
    Ellis shook her head. ‘I would imagine you’ll be there for the duration. They’ve been working on a new program that should help us to identify our attackers, and I need you to liaise with them. Once you’ve got names and locations, send the details to us and we’ll do the take-down.’
    ‘How long have they