his
family.
‘I cannot believe this,’ uttered
President Mendez under his breath.
‘I’m glad you agree, Mr
President,’ said Dirk, shooting a subtle but triumphant glance at his associates.
‘However, you can be assured that my department will maintain impenetrable
security round your daughter.’
But President Mendez wasn’t listening.
He held up the last sheet and handed it to his chief of staff.
‘Contact Colonel Black
immediately,’ he instructed. ‘Tell him that we’ll be requiring his
organization’s services.’
Dirk leapt from the sofa to look at the
profile in George’s grasp. As he scanned the President’s choice, his
expression crumbled into one of sheer disbelief. ‘But this buddyguard hasn’t
even completed a single assignment yet!’
The President closed the file and replied
with complete conviction. ‘He’s the one.’
Hazim sat alone in the study of the large
rented house. The residence had come partly furnished and he tapped his fingers
impatiently on the mahogany desk as he watched the clock on the wall, its second hand
ticking by. It was two minutes to seven.
His mobile phone rang and Hazim snatched it
up from the desk. ‘Hello?’
‘Hazim, it’s your mother,’
said the voice at the other end of the line. ‘Are you still coming over for
dinner?’
Sighing, Hazim rubbed his eyes in
exhaustion. ‘Sorry, Mother, I have to work late. Perhaps tomorrow.’
He clicked on the internet auction site on
his computer and began browsing the ‘Sporting Goods’ section.
‘Again?’ she protested.
‘This new job of yours might pay well, but they’re overworking
you.’
‘I have to make a good
impression.’
He glanced up at the clock. It was one
minute to seven. Ten seconds to go.
‘But I’m worried for your
health. It’s no good working all hours. You need to rest too –’
‘I recently had a holiday,’
interrupted Hazim, his mouse hovering over the bike category. The minute hand flicked to
19:00.
‘Yes, and the family are desperate to
know how your trip went. Your sister and brother are missing you. Please come over. Your
father will be most disappointed if you don’t …’
As his mother ranted on, Hazim selected the
category filters:
Men’s, Mountain Bikes, Used, 20-inch frame, red colour
.
Five postings were listed. The last of the bikes was in a terrible state, its frame
dented and chipped, the front wheel bent, a pedal missing: starting price $200. No sane
person would bid for such an item. Nonetheless, Hazim clicked on the link and the image
of the bike popped up with a basic description. The auction was set for a day –
twenty-three hours and fifty-eight minutes were remaining. But Hazim had no interest in
placing a bid.
‘Are you still listening to
me?’
‘Yes, Mother.’
‘So, can you pick up your sister next
week?’
‘Of course,’ he replied,
groaning as if being put upon by the request, but at the corners of his mouth flickered
the faintest of smiles.
Using a specialized download helper, Hazim
extracted the image of the bike from the browser to his desktop. Then he dropped the
file into an application called Scrub. The program opened up automatically and the bike
appeared in a fresh window. The image immediately began to disintegrate.
‘Hazim, promise to join us for dinner
tomorrow,’ pleaded his mother. ‘It’s the weekend.’
‘Promise,’ he replied, and put
the phone down.
The decrypting program had finished its
work. The mangled bike was replaced by two lines of text that had been digitally
embedded within the image:
KINGFISHER LANDING 1030, STAFFORD, 3 DAYS.
BEGIN SURVEILLANCE OF EAGLE’S NEST.
‘What’s going on?’ asked
Connor as he hurried down the corridor and caught up with Amir and Marc. He’d been
in his room packing to go home for the summer holidays when his mobile had pinged with a
message from Colonel Black:
Alpha team. Briefing room. ASAP.
‘Maybe he wants to wish us a happy
holiday,’ suggested
family.
‘I cannot believe this,’ uttered
President Mendez under his breath.
‘I’m glad you agree, Mr
President,’ said Dirk, shooting a subtle but triumphant glance at his associates.
‘However, you can be assured that my department will maintain impenetrable
security round your daughter.’
But President Mendez wasn’t listening.
He held up the last sheet and handed it to his chief of staff.
‘Contact Colonel Black
immediately,’ he instructed. ‘Tell him that we’ll be requiring his
organization’s services.’
Dirk leapt from the sofa to look at the
profile in George’s grasp. As he scanned the President’s choice, his
expression crumbled into one of sheer disbelief. ‘But this buddyguard hasn’t
even completed a single assignment yet!’
The President closed the file and replied
with complete conviction. ‘He’s the one.’
Hazim sat alone in the study of the large
rented house. The residence had come partly furnished and he tapped his fingers
impatiently on the mahogany desk as he watched the clock on the wall, its second hand
ticking by. It was two minutes to seven.
His mobile phone rang and Hazim snatched it
up from the desk. ‘Hello?’
‘Hazim, it’s your mother,’
said the voice at the other end of the line. ‘Are you still coming over for
dinner?’
Sighing, Hazim rubbed his eyes in
exhaustion. ‘Sorry, Mother, I have to work late. Perhaps tomorrow.’
He clicked on the internet auction site on
his computer and began browsing the ‘Sporting Goods’ section.
‘Again?’ she protested.
‘This new job of yours might pay well, but they’re overworking
you.’
‘I have to make a good
impression.’
He glanced up at the clock. It was one
minute to seven. Ten seconds to go.
‘But I’m worried for your
health. It’s no good working all hours. You need to rest too –’
‘I recently had a holiday,’
interrupted Hazim, his mouse hovering over the bike category. The minute hand flicked to
19:00.
‘Yes, and the family are desperate to
know how your trip went. Your sister and brother are missing you. Please come over. Your
father will be most disappointed if you don’t …’
As his mother ranted on, Hazim selected the
category filters:
Men’s, Mountain Bikes, Used, 20-inch frame, red colour
.
Five postings were listed. The last of the bikes was in a terrible state, its frame
dented and chipped, the front wheel bent, a pedal missing: starting price $200. No sane
person would bid for such an item. Nonetheless, Hazim clicked on the link and the image
of the bike popped up with a basic description. The auction was set for a day –
twenty-three hours and fifty-eight minutes were remaining. But Hazim had no interest in
placing a bid.
‘Are you still listening to
me?’
‘Yes, Mother.’
‘So, can you pick up your sister next
week?’
‘Of course,’ he replied,
groaning as if being put upon by the request, but at the corners of his mouth flickered
the faintest of smiles.
Using a specialized download helper, Hazim
extracted the image of the bike from the browser to his desktop. Then he dropped the
file into an application called Scrub. The program opened up automatically and the bike
appeared in a fresh window. The image immediately began to disintegrate.
‘Hazim, promise to join us for dinner
tomorrow,’ pleaded his mother. ‘It’s the weekend.’
‘Promise,’ he replied, and put
the phone down.
The decrypting program had finished its
work. The mangled bike was replaced by two lines of text that had been digitally
embedded within the image:
KINGFISHER LANDING 1030, STAFFORD, 3 DAYS.
BEGIN SURVEILLANCE OF EAGLE’S NEST.
‘What’s going on?’ asked
Connor as he hurried down the corridor and caught up with Amir and Marc. He’d been
in his room packing to go home for the summer holidays when his mobile had pinged with a
message from Colonel Black:
Alpha team. Briefing room. ASAP.
‘Maybe he wants to wish us a happy
holiday,’ suggested
Similar Books
