Socrates and the Councillor Read online

  ‘And what do you think we’re after?’

  ‘You’ve obviously been hired to disrupt the UN Security Council summit and to prevent Iona from becoming a permanent member. I’d imagine several of the non-permanent members would want to stop Iona from getting appointed ahead of them or, more likely, the permanent members are worried about losing power if Iona is allowed a seat at the table. So that leaves your second objective—the Flux Cell.’

  Socrates had been moving forwards while John was talking. His movements were minute, almost undetectable, but he was now standing next to John. It was something Vanessa appeared unaware of. John tightened his grip on his handgun. He deliberately avoided looking at Lauren. He knew if he did, if he saw the anguish on her face, he would lose concentration. That was not something he could afford to do.

  ‘So, I reviewed the events of the past two days. Suddenly it all started to make sense: the car crash in North Ryde. One of your operatives, I’m guessing the weapon’s expert, had tried to infiltrate the manufacturing facility and failed. Your hacker, Tobias, intervened and cleared an escape path for him by tampering with the red-light-force-field barriers but the weapon’s expert was clearly wounded. When he passed out and caused that traffic accident on Epping Road your team had to extract him. In short, your first attempt at accessing the facility was a spectacular failure.’

  Vanessa continued to stare at him but said nothing.

  ‘So, you tried a different approach. You launched a cyberattack against the Sentinels that crippled the Hub momentarily to create a diversion. You even went as far as to put yourself in danger by blowing up my cruiser. All of that was intended to divert our attention from the fact that you had inserted one of your operatives into the distribution centre in Macquarie Park.’

  Vanessa remained still as he continued. Socrates was now standing about a foot in front of him.

  ‘You made one serious mistake when you hacked my phone—you underestimated our ability to identify your subversive code and use it against you. We took out your operative at the distribution centre. Which led us to the UN. That’s when you got desperate.’

  There was no way Vanessa couldn’t tell that Socrates had moved closer. The android was about a metre and a half further inside the room now than he had been two minutes ago. For some reason, she seemed oblivious.

  ‘You threw everything you had at the Iona Corporation’s security. You launched an all-out cyberattack against all their facilities to mask your true target—the manufacturing plant. Then, to ensure we were all too distracted and to cover your retreat, you planted the explosive at the UN gala event at the Opera House. Again, we stopped you.’

  John finished speaking and stared directly at Vanessa. She still held the gun in her hand, aimed at Lauren’s back. Not even Socrates could move fast enough to stop her. John decided to lay everything on the line.

  ‘So, I know exactly what you’re after. The schematics for the Flux Cell technology.’

  Vanessa shrugged.

  ‘Like I said, knowing what we’re after doesn’t help you stop us.’

  John kept his voice perfectly level as he said, ‘Who said I wanted to stop you?’

  Fifty-Six

  The various iterations of game theory, including symmetrical and asymmetrical, zero-sum and no-sum, and co-operative and noncooperative, all have one thing in common. They are based on logical participants. Despite imperfect information, the assumption of logic for both participants creates a finite number of outcomes. When one of those participants acts illogically, the conventional outcomes and probabilities become irrelevant. When a completely unexpected variable is added on top, then the outcome is impossible to predict.

  The gun in Vanessa’s hand wavered slightly.

  ‘What are you talking about?’ she asked.

  ‘I’m talking about not standing in your way. Let Lauren go, we walk out of here and you and your team can keep trying to steal the Iona Corporation’s secrets,’ John said.

  Socrates had now positioned himself near the wall, in front of John. He had a clear line of sight on Vanessa. He just had to wait until she lowered the weapon in her hand far enough.

  ‘And I’m supposed to believe you?’ Vanessa asked.

  ‘This investigation is not worth losing the woman I love. So, yes, I will let you walk out of here and I will not continue to pursue you.’

  Vanessa’s hand wavered further. The barrel of the handgun was halfway between Lauren’s back and the floor. John risked a quick glance at his wife’s face. There was tightness around her eyes and mouth that he instantly recognised. Fear. She was afraid. He willed her to hold on just a moment longer.

  A smile spread across Vanessa’s face as she brought the handgun back up. Grasping Lauren’s shoulder, she pulled her back and pressed the gun against her back.

  ‘I don’t think so. How stupid do you think I am?’ Vanessa asked.

  ‘Vanessa, wait … ’

  ‘No. Enough of this talk. Do you really think I wouldn’t notice your partner sneaking across the room? What exactly was the plan? Distract me with your pointless babbling and then he … what? Lunges across the room and tackles me?’

  John realised he was out of options. He holstered his handgun and held his hands up, palms open.

  ‘What do you want?’ he asked.

  ‘The Flux Cell schematics. You’re going to get them for me or you’ll never see your wife again.’

  ‘I can’t get that for you.’

  ‘Really? Too bad. I guess I was wrong, Lauren. It looks like your husband doesn’t love you that much after all.’

  Vanessa released the safety on her handgun. The audible click was like a harbinger of death echoing around the apartment. John knew that even Socrates wouldn’t be fast enough to stop Vanessa from getting one shot away. One shot was all it would take to kill Lauren. He was out of options.

  ‘Wait, don’t do—’

  A door to the adjoining room inside the apartment opened. A man, whom John recognised instantly, entered the living room. He walked up behind Vanessa and put his hand on hers, lowering her weapon.

  ‘There’s no need for that, Vanessa,’ Nathan Tesh said. ‘I’m sure John will co-operate fully.’

  Fifty-Seven

  The shock of seeing his uncle inside the apartment with one of the Rainmaker’s agents momentarily froze John. Despite all his training, all his experience, this betrayal by a family member, someone whom he had considered a mentor and a friend, was overwhelming. The surprise was evident on Lauren’s face as well. Despite not being able to see him, she had clearly recognised Nathan’s voice. She cast John a questioning look.

  ‘Uncle Nathan … tell me this isn’t true?’ John asked.

  ‘I’m afraid so, John. You should have listened to me—I told you the Rainmaker’s hidden agent would be someone you would never suspect. Perhaps your promotion to the Sentinels was premature,’ Nathan said.

  John realised that the Nathan standing before him, the man who had calmly entered a hostile stand-off and taken control, the man who had just declared himself a sleeper agent for a rogue black-ops team, was a very different man to the Nathan he had known all these years. John had no difficulty picturing this Nathan travelling the world and undertaking covert operations. He also realised that the scenario within the room had changed. With Vanessa’s weapon no longer aimed at Lauren, Socrates was back in play.

  ‘Lauren—get down!’ John shouted.

  The moment he uttered the first word, Socrates was moving. Fast. He pushed Nathan aside and interposed himself between Vanessa and Lauren.

  A shot exploded in the confines of the apartment.

  Socrates’s body absorbed the blast. He pulled the gun away from Vanessa. Grasping her shoulder with his right arm, he squeezed. Vanessa promptly crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

  ‘Don’t move!’ John said. He held his handgun aimed at his uncle.

  ‘John, it’s okay. You can lower your weapon,’ Nathan said.

&nbs
p; ‘Like hell. Socrates, restrain him.’

  John waited until Socrates had pinned Nathan’s arms behind him, before he knelt next to Lauren.

  ‘Are you okay?’

  ‘No, I’m really not.’

  She threw her arms around his neck. He held her tight, feeling the tears streaming down her cheeks.

  ‘It’s okay. You’re safe now.’

  Lauren pulled back. Her eyes were filled with tears. She looked past his shoulder.

  ‘I can’t believe … ’

  John followed her gaze. His uncle stood silently. He didn’t appear to be concerned by the situation. That was not surprising. He’d probably been trained for much worse.

  John stood up.

  ‘Let him go,’ he said.

  Socrates released his grip on Nathan’s arms.

  ‘Well?’ John asked.

  ‘John, do you really think I would do anything to hurt you? Or Lauren?’ Nathan asked.

  ‘No, but given what just happened here … ’

  ‘Think, John. What just happened here?’

  ‘You came in and … ’

  ‘You were out of options. I had to intervene.’

  John realised his uncle was telling the truth. He wasn’t ready to believe him yet. The shock was too great.

  ‘That still doesn’t explain what you were doing here in the first place.’

  ‘I told you the Rainmaker was dangerous. Perhaps the most dangerous operative I’d ever encountered. I knew if there was any way I could help you, I had to do it.’

  ‘So, you were working with him?’

  ‘I contacted him through a mutual acquaintance and offered my services. Let’s just say that he’d heard of my work. I think he was surprised I’d want to work with him but he agreed.’

  ‘I guess things could have gone very differently tonight if you hadn’t been here. But wait, I thought you said the Rainmaker only ever employs five agents. Never more. Never less?’

  ‘He does.’

  ‘But … ah, of course. The transporter.’

  ‘Bingo, you got it kid. When you killed one of them, you created an opening for me.’

  John smiled.

  ‘I never pictured you as a wheel man, Uncle Nathan.’

  It was his uncle’s turn to smile.

  ‘If it’s got wheels, I can drive it.’

  John nodded. Lauren stood up. Her eyes opened wide as she looked at Socrates.

  ‘Lauren?’ John asked.

  ‘Didn’t he get shot?’ Lauren asked. She was pointing at Socrates.

  ‘I am unharmed,’ Socrates said.

  ‘Socrates is not what he seems. He’s an android. That’s actually the second time I’ve seen him take a bullet to the chest. You’re going to run out of shirts if you keep this up.’

  ‘Another joke, John?’

  ‘Yes and no. You really will run out of shirts if you keep putting bullet holes in them.’

  ‘So … he’s a machine?’ Lauren asked.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘And he’s your partner?’

  ‘He is.’

  ‘And you knew he was a machine?’

  ‘Not until recently.’

  ‘Okay. This is a lot to process.’

  ‘I know. You’re taking it a lot better than Streeter did.’

  Lauren nodded. She appeared exhausted as she sank back into the chair. John suddenly remembered something he wanted to ask her.

  ‘Lauren?’

  ‘Yes?’

  ‘What did the Swedish ambassador hire you to do?’

  ‘John, you know I can’t—’

  ‘Lauren, I know, but given what happened here tonight, I think this is one time we can agree that keeping things from each other just doesn’t make any sense.’

  She was silent for a moment. Then, reluctantly, she nodded.

  ‘I was hired to review Iona’s application for UN Security Council membership.’

  ‘Anything specific you were asked to look for?’

  ‘Yes, anything that could be used to deny their application.’

  ‘The ambassador wanted their application to fail?’

  Lauren shook her head.

  ‘No, quite the opposite. She wanted it to succeed but she thought some of the other ambassadors wanted it to fail. She wanted me to vet the application, find the weaknesses. I suspected she was working with one of the Councillors but I never found out for sure.’

  John nodded, as his mind slotted the pieces together.

  ‘I know that look. What are you thinking?’ Nathan asked.

  ‘That I need your help.’

  ‘Of course. Whatever I can do.’

  ‘We’ve eliminated their transporter and taken the hidden agent out of the equation,’ John said. ‘I need to flush out the remaining three in one place so we can put an end to this.’

  ‘That won’t be easy. The Rainmaker will be on high alert now. He’ll be careful.’

  ‘They intervened in North Ryde to save one of their own. The weapons expert, I’m guessing.’

  ‘Alain Eduard,’ Nathan said. ‘He was French special forces before going freelance.’

  John nodded. They now had positive IDs on the entire black-ops team. Now they just needed to lure them out into the open.

  ‘Do you think they’d risk revealing themselves if there was a chance they could get her back?’ John pointed at the prone figure of Vanessa.

  Nathan slowly nodded.

  ‘Yes, I think we can make that work. Do you have a place in mind?’

  John recalled the scene from his dream. A slow smile spread across his face.

  ‘I know just the place.’

  ‘Where?’

  ‘Martin Place in the CBD.’

  ‘When?’

  John cast a look at Lauren. She was barely awake. He had to take care of her first.

  ‘Tomorrow morning. An hour before the UN Security Council summit is scheduled to take place,’ John replied.

  ‘Alright, I’ll get them there,’ Nathan said. ‘How will you free Vanessa? It needs to look like she got away on her own, otherwise they won’t go for it.’

  ‘I think I know a way we can make that happen, although I suspect Lauren isn’t going to like it.’

  Fifty-Eight

  John parked the Sentinel cruiser in the underground car park of his apartment. He switched the car off. The Chief’s warning about using the cruiser as his private car brought a brief smile to his face. He’d dropped Socrates off at Sentinel HQ with Vanessa. She’d regained consciousness when they were getting out of the cruiser. Not surprisingly, her first reaction had been one of surprise at the fact that Socrates was still alive. John didn’t bother explaining the truth. After what she’d put Lauren through, her discomfort was the least she deserved. John had spoken to the Chief briefly, while Socrates had escorted Vanessa out of the cruiser and to the Sentinel holding cells. Then he’d driven home with Lauren half asleep in the passenger seat.

  ‘Lauren?’ John said, softly.

  No response. He reached over and placed his hand gently on her shoulder.

  ‘Lauren?’

  She sat up with a gasp, momentarily disorientated. Seeing John sitting next to her, she relaxed slightly.

  ‘You okay?’ John asked.

  ‘Sorry, I … thought I was back in that apartment with that psycho.’

  ‘She’s in Sentinel custody now and Socrates is keeping an eye on her. She’s not going anywhere.’

  Lauren’s eyes narrowed.

  ‘I still can’t believe the truth about Socrates. Where did he come from? Who built him? Why?’

  John took a deep breath. She was voicing his own questions. Given everything that had happened and the fact that Socrates had saved his life several times, he’d chosen to push those questions to the back of his mind. He knew they couldn’t stay there forever.

  ‘All I know is that he’s one of us. A Sentinel.’

  ‘Do you trust him?’

  ‘I … yes. I do. With my life.�
��

  Lauren nodded as she opened the door and got out. John followed her. Reaching the lift, he pressed the button for up. The lift doors opened a few seconds later. They rode the lift up to the sixth floor in silence. When the lift stopped, John let Lauren go first. They reached their front door.

  ‘Lauren Tesh, unlock the front door.’

  The door opened. Lauren stepped through. She didn’t even slow down as she walked through the living room and into the bedroom. She closed the door. The sound of running water drifted into the living room a moment later. John closed the front door. Walking over to the couch, he sat down. Waving his hand through the air, he activated the holotelevision. The holoprojectors sprang to life, flooding the blank wall and space in front of it with a field of photons. The news was showing the chaos at the Opera House. John pulled out his phone and dialled Fernali.

  ‘Tesh, where have you been?’ Fernali asked.

  ‘It’s a long story. What’s the situation at the Opera House?’

  ‘Controlled chaos. I think we’re getting a handle on it. Iona police are proving very capable and Muller is a master of crowd control.’

  ‘Any information on the explosion?’

  ‘Sorensen is still investigating but her initial report suggests it was similar in size to the device that was used to blow up your cruiser.’

  John considered that for a moment. The sound of running water stopped. He could hear Lauren moving around in the bedroom.

  ‘Tesh, you still there?’ Fernali asked.

  ‘It was a distraction,’ John said.

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘The device wasn’t powerful enough to cause serious damage or kill the ambassadors but if it had exploded inside the Opera House it would have compromised Iona’s handling of the summit. It also allowed them to launch an all-out cyberattack against the Iona Corporation at the same time.’

  ‘Which facilities?’

  ‘All of them.’

  ‘Christ. What were they after?’

  ‘The Flux Cell.’