Dillon shrugged. “It’s a very long story, luv, and believe me, we don’t really want to burden you with our problems. Kirill was the man with the answers and now he’s dead. Very dead.”
“So the explosives detonated?”
“Yes,” said Dillon, smiling a nasty malevolent smile. “Tell me; is this Chimera Programme really as powerful as they say?”
“Chimera? Oh yes. It works all right. And because it is completely self-learning, there is no limit to what it can do. As a virus it is lethal. As a programme that can; seek — search — retrieve, it is capable of stealing; not only documents and files, but the entire contents of even the largest network. State-of-the-art security software doesn’t even know that Chimera has entered the system.
Kirill’s words came back to Dillon.
“This programme is so powerful; it will bring governments and global companies to their knees in a matter of seconds. It will throw up information about anyone or anything that could jeopardise its very existence. Chimera was able to enter the Government’s most secure Ministry of Defence server, and extract information relating to certain elements of the Scorpion network. It then advised that the Special Operation Units should be eliminated to safeguard the project in the future. You see, these were considered the most dangerous. Along with yourself, Mr Dillon.”
Dillon was starting to get a crystal-clear picture of conspiracy: Kirill and this other man Ramus were in league and planning a global cyber-terrorist attack on a scale never seen before. The Assassins were obviously the private army of Ramus and had eliminated the Scorpion squads and had very nearly succeeded in killing him. They had tried to take out Ezra and had destroyed his facility on Santorini, because they wanted the final piece of code that would allow Chimera to run at one-hundred percent and not be copied as an anti-virus. These were cold blooded killers who would stop at nothing to safeguard their objective. The ultimate control of every military satellite orbiting the planet in their quest for global power…
But what next? Where would they go next?
What would be their next move?
Bastards, he thought sourly.
“What do you know about the Assassins,” he asked quietly, rubbing his tired eyes.
“The Assassins? You mean those people in the black skin-tight lycra?”
Dillon focused on Claudia. “When did you first notice them?”
She shook her head, “They arrived about a month ago. It was the Assassins who killed most of Kirill’s research and development staff.”
“Really…” Dillon scratched at his heavy stubble; it was making his neck and face itch bad and he needed a bath… Ye Gods, for even the most basic toilet! And a bath! And a cold beer! Or a glass of Champagne or two…
“My God,” Tatiana said excitedly, rummaging in her pocket and pacing around. She pulled free her Ferran & Cardini smartphone.
They all turned to stare at the slender black device.
“Hell Tats. Did it bite you or something?” Dillon snapped. “You made me jump, and I almost choked on my water!”
“It’s vibrating,” said Tatiana.
“So what, it’s most likely the partners checking up on you!”
“Dillon, as you know, it’s not just a smartphone but also a secure line receiver and it’s receiving now.”
“Shit,” agreed Dillon. He peered warily into the distance, and checked overhead in the skies. “So whoever is sending knows exactly where we are?”
“I suppose so.”
“I thought the Government mainframes that served that phone of yours had been brought down?”
“They had, but someone must be routing through another smartphone. They’re configured in such a way that allows them to work independently of the main servers in London, should the impossible happen and they fail — which they have.”
Dillon slowly looked down, and then gazing out beyond the confines of their shelter, looked warily around the vast open space before them. He couldn’t see anything suspicious but that didn’t mean it wasn’t there. “So then, are you going to answer it?” He said as Tatiana continued to stare at the sleek black device.
Tatiana touched the screen lightly. It immediately lit up with a soft blue background to a series of digits. Tats squinted at the data rolling down the page. It ended — reading:
CLASSIFIED TRANSMISSION — Level 1/ ENCRYPTED SEND TO: T-0918273645 REC: E-1920384756
“Oh my God,” said Tatiana softly. “It’s from Ezra.”
“That’s impossible,” said Dillon wearily. “We saw what happened on the cliff top on Santorini.”
“But think about it, Dillon. If this was coming from Ramus, or whoever, then surely we would be fighting those Assassins for our lives?” There was hope in her voice, and her eyes had a sparkle in them. The tiredness and lethargy he had witnessed earlier had all but gone.
Dillon looked at the smartphone suspiciously, then at Tatiana.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all,” he said.
“And you think I do?”
Dillon remained silent, merely gestured with the Glock for Tatiana to open the file and read the message. She read:
My dearest Tatiana, you saw me fall to my death on Santorini: But I survived, saved by the SAS at the last moment; but the copy of the Chimera Programme that I made was lost when I went over that cliff.
I am now in Nassau in The Bahamas, meet me there in 24 hours — use coordinates 25.066667, - 77.333333. Time is running out, and Chimera will soon be launched globally. Our meeting is of the utmost importance…
I know you will think this is a trap. If Dillon is still alive, tell him that the very clever device that his Australian friend Vince Sharp designed for the British Special Services; saved my life. Tell him that if it weren’t for this incredible invention, I would almost certainly be dead.
If you make it to the meet in Nassau, go to the Crystal Palace Casino and hotel; ask for a message for Jake Dillon at the main reception desk.
“He said that it was Vince Sharp’s device that saved his life. He said you’d know what had saved him when he fell of the cliff on Santorini?”
Dillon nodded. He walked back to the quad bike, staring out across the windswept landscape. What he’d give for a cigarette right now…
Tatiana moved up behind him. She gently placed a hand on Dillon’s arm.
“You okay?”
“Hmm. Maybe.”
“It’s a trap, right? Ezra is dead. We saw him jump, with our own eyes. We saw him die on Santorini.”
Dillon nodded, turned around to face her, and looked into her eyes; and he saw it again, the desperation, the need to believe that her only next-of-kin was still alive. And yet… Could Ezra be alive? Could he have really been rescued by the SAS? Could he have been wearing a Chameleon Para-vest, something Vince had come up with in his lunch break, and could he have pulled the cord at just the right moment to brake that terrible fall into the water? The cliff top must have been at least three-hundred feet above sea-level. And if he did survive- is he now on the trail of those traitors who stole Chimera from the British Government?
Ezra had been a very resourceful man. Maybe, he had always had a contingency plan? But, it still left the question as to why he had not let the SAS take-out the Assassins. If he knew there was a squad on the island, why not let them fight the ferocious attackers of his facility on Santorini? And Tatiana, Dillon thought sombrely. If Kirill was telling the truth; if you really do work for the enemies of the British Realm — “traitors” — then you’re a bloody good actress.
“We will go. We have to go.”
Tatiana gently touched the side of his unshaven face with the palm of her hand. “Really?”