Whiskey Lima Golf, page 18
“What’s an ‘ollie’?”
“Oh, I’ll just be kicking my board under my feet and landing back on the board, kinda like jumping my board. If I spot the Mossad dude, I’ll do a frontside 180, which means I’ll jump my board again and then while I’m in the air, I’ll flip my board 180 degrees, a totally different move, got it?”
“Got it. Now, are you ready? And don’t get all extra on me I’ll see your sweet move,” Dani replies curtly.
Connor turns his baseball cap around backwards, hops on his board and pushes off up Camperdown Road, popping his board into the air regularly. Dani walks behind him to the corner of Weka and pulls out her phone, to take some photos of the Giant Ogre at the entrance to Weta Workshop, while keeping an eye on Connor’s progress.
Tapping her earbud, she calls the office, “Tom, he’s approaching the car soon.”
The trepidation in his voice apparent, Tom replies, “I hope he’s okay.”
“He’s got a healthy sense of worry Tom, so I think he’ll be fine,” Dani responds, then anxiously, “He’s getting close to the Toyota now… there it is! He’s done his move! It’s them, it’s them!”
“Confirmed Dev!” Tom announces.
A split second later, a white SUV races past Dani and she sees another speeding past Connor coming south on Weka.
“Geez, they’re quick!” a surprised Dani declares.
The two SUV’s converge on the green Toyota, blocking it from moving. The passenger’s door of the Toyota flies open as Eitan tries to make a run for it. Six men leap from the SUV’s, pistols trained on the Mossad agents. Eitan sees his options are limited and slowly raises his hands in surrender.
Connor picks up his board and crosses the road to hide behind a tree.
The SIS agents cuff the Mossad agents and shuffle them into the rear of one of the SUV’s. One SIS agent hops in behind the wheel of the Toyota and all three vehicles drive off.
“That was so quick!” Dani replies excitedly, “They’ve gone already.”
“Did any public see what happened?” Devon asks.
“Just us.”
“That’s fantastic work. Let’s get you all back here,” Tom sounds pleased.
“I can’t believe what we just saw,” Dani shakes her head in wonder. “Okay, I’ll get Connor.”
***
“It was all over in, I don’t know, maybe a minute? Definitely less than two minutes,” Dani retells her version of the events to the team.
“It was so fire. I knew it was him from the photo when I skated past the car, so I pulled my rad signal and then watched from behind a tree. Those spooks were so quick I nearly missed them.”
“Did you recognise the driver?” Tom asks.
“No dude. He was a different guy.”
“That’s Mossad dealt with, now who’s next… the French, Turks or bloody Albanians?” Koro wisecracks.
Tom laughs, “Hopefully just the Iranian’s Koro.” Thinking a moment, he walks over to the screen and points to the map of Miramar. “What if we move these two cameras, one to here, watching Manuka Street and the other opposite the Roxy?”
Devon nods, “Good thinking. We cover the targets last known meeting place and their work. Okay, I’ll organise the van again.”
“That should be the last job for the day for us. Koro, are you and Frankie up for another beer?” Tom asks.
“Is a frog’s arse watertight?” Koro grins. “Come on Frankie, we’ve earned a couple today.”
***
The weights from the Lat Pull Down machine clack in rhythm with each of Tom’s pull on the handles. Perspiration runs in rivulets down his forehead. He shakes his head to clear the sweat from his eyes, easing the handles to the rest position above his head.
“Here brother,” Devon offers him a hand towel.
Grateful, Tom wipes his brow and reaches for his water bottle, panting, “Thanks Dev.”
“Are you up for another few sets on the Leg Extension machine?” Taylor asks.
“Sure, sure,” Tom pants, “I think I’ll be sleeping well tonight.”
“Come on bro, you’re hogging all the good equipment,” Devon chides.
Water bottle in one hand and crutch in the other, Tom makes his way over to the next piece of modern torture. He takes another good drink of water before seating himself, mentally preparing for the ensuing workout.
“Okay Tom, how many reps tonight?” Taylor asks.
“Shall we try three sets of twelve for starters?”
“I’ll add a couple of extra kilos,” Taylor advises.
“Roger that.”
“Okay, off you go,” Taylor begins mentally counting the repetitions.
The sound of weights from Devon’s machine echo around the gym. Taylor calls the first set, “Time, rest. Hey, I had a great night on Friday. It was a lot of fun.”
“Sure was Taylor,” Tom answers, “Okay here’s the next set.”
“Oh, those comedians were good. I liked the big Samoan guy, he had such a cute laugh,” Taylor recalls.
Thinking back, Tom grunts between repetitions, “He had… a different… take on… the church.”
“And the starched clothes, that line had me in fits,” Taylor laughs.
Finishing his set, Tom relaxes a little and before he can second guess himself, asks, “So would you like to go again sometime?”
Hearing something in his tone, Taylor coyly replies, “Thomas Yelich, are you asking me out on a date? Devon did you know about this?”
Realising how he sounded, Tom’s face turns red, “Ah, no, but, well, yes, but…”
“Sorry Tom, I’m just teasing,” Taylor smiles, “Come on, last set, go.”
Redoubling his effort, Tom tries to hide his embarrassment in the exercise.
Devon wipes down his machine and makes his way over to the couple. “I thought you were keen on Dani, bro?” Devon adds fuel to the conversation.
“Oh, what’s this?” Taylor pricks her ears up.
“Oh yeah, did you not see the way he kept looking at her on Friday night?”
“My radar must be on the blink. I thought Dani was hot for you, Devon,” Taylor taunts. “Especially when I saw how you two were dancing.”
Finishing his set, Tom inserts, “Was that before or after the shots?”
“I don’t dance,” Devon looks bewildered.
“Must have been after the shots, then,” Tom fires back.
“Yes, it was after the Tequila round, we were all getting a bit loose then,” Taylor muses.
“Did I really dance with Dani?” Devon asks incredulously.
“Yes, you did and might I add, you have some moves,” Taylor replies admiringly. “You can ask me for a dance next time.”
“So there will be a next time then?” Tom quickly asks.
“If Dani comes along we can chaperone each other from you two randy guys,” Taylor states.
“I can’t believe I was dancing,” Devon says again.
“You sure were groover. Now have you got one more set in you Tom?” Taylor pushes.
“I’ll give it a go.”
***
Chapter Fifteen – Party With Marty
Tuesday Morning
Watching the frantic tapping and clicking of the keyboard and mouse with a sense of awe, Tom comments appreciatively, “You really are quite good at this stuff, aren’t you Connor?”
“What… Oh, not that good or I wouldn’t have got caught… I’ve upped my root kit since then… nearly there…”
“I think a root kit is his hacking tools that keep him undetected,” Devon relays.
“You learn something new every day,” Frankie replies sagely.
“Must have been another good one last night, I’ve let Koro sleep in. How did you two get on?” Tom asks Frankie.
“Well, if he insists on whisky chasers, we might need a larger expense allowance,” Frankie quips, “But seriously, that container crane driver let slip about a special shipment coming in from the States in a couple of days.”
“What’s so special about this shipment?” Dani asks.
“That, we couldn’t find out. Well not yet.”
“Yes, I’m in!” Connor exclaims, “They’ve got some crufty old software and I used an old zero-day attack to bypass their security. Give me a few minutes and I’ll see what I can dig up.”
“O-kay,” Tom responds slowly, “I think I followed that.”
A fierce banging on the front door interrupts their conversation. Eyes swivel to the screen, to see who is at the front door.
“Not that prick again,” Devon mutters darkly.
“I’ve got it.” Tom pushes himself up from his chair, sliding his left arm into the crutch sleeve and heads to the door.
“You’ve the patience of a saint, brother,” Devon retorts.
Another round of thumping begins as Tom reaches the door. He opens it quickly and challenges, “All right, all right. I heard you the first time Dunkell. What’s the emergency?”
Dunkell puffs his chest out and thrusts a clipboard under Tom’s nose. “Property Inspection. Right now! Move aside war hero.”
Tom stands his ground and takes the clipboard from his nemesis. “I’m not going anywhere until I’ve seen the paperwork Dunkell. So cool your heels and let me read this, eh?”
“You’ll find it all in order. Now out of my way,” Dunkell insists.
Dani comes up behind Tom. “Excuse me sir, but I think you’ll find that all tenants have to be given notice of an inspection.”
“And just who are you, missy?” Dunkell demands.
“Oh Hi, I’m Dani, I work here sir,” She sports a winning smile.
“Yes, look Dunkell,” Tom points to the fine print. “Just down here it says a property inspection can occur with forty-eight hours’ notice and at an agreed time that won’t unnecessarily affect the business operation.”
“What?” Dunkell rhetorically asks disbelievingly, snatching the clipboard from Tom, “Give me that.”
“Shall we say Thursday morning at eight? You can meet the whole team then,” Tom offers.
“This place better be spick and span by then, Yelich. If I find anything out of place then you’re out on your ear,” Dunkell growls, then turns and storms off.
Tom closes the door behind him. “Thanks Dani, I’m sure you softened him up.”
“Nothing like a pretty girl’s smile, eh?” Frankie chuckles.
“Hey, you should see this.” Devon calls. “Connor’s worked out who Marty is.”
“Geez, you have been busy Connor,” Tom exclaims seeing the many windows open on the big screen.
Everyone gathers back in the office expectantly and Devon points to the screen. “Check this out. Marty is Martin Schofield who is the IT Systems Manager, and he oversees the installation and maintenance of the entire computer system at Weta Digital.”
“Yeah dude, and they have some serious hardware.”
“Connor, can you please explain serious hardware to an old codger like me?” Frankie asks.
Thinking a moment, Connor clarifies, “Serious as in I didn’t think we had hardware this powerful in the country. You see it running major global corporations in the States or the EU. But it does make sense when I think about it.”
“But why would Weta Digital have computers that powerful?” Frankie asks.
“Have you not seen Lord of the Rings?” Connor asks. “All those hundreds of thousands of computer-generated Orcs and Elves in the battle scenes can’t be generated on a PC like this.” He pat’s his hard drive next to him.
“Oh shit,” Tom speculates, “follow the trail. High-tech computers and disgruntled employees talking to an Iranian spy.”
“Iran is under UN sanctions for its nuclear programme,” Devon picks up Tom’s line of thinking. “And they can’t import tech like this.”
“So, if Iran gets one of these computers, then what? They can finish their nuclear bomb programme?” Frankie is incredulous.
“Easy as. With this tech, they could probably launch a rocket to Mars at the same time,” Connor adds.
“Dev, contact George. We need to update him on this, like now,” Tom instructs soberly.
Silence envelopes the room as Devon taps a message on his phone. Each of the occupants consider the ramifications of what they have discovered, deep in their own thoughts.
“Well if an Iranian gets to walk on Mars before the Yanks do, that would piss them right off,” Dani tries to lighten the mood.
***
Devon stirs some sugar into his long black coffee. The spoon makes a soft ding as it hits the side of the cup.
Tom takes a sip through the frothy top, taking care not to damage the white fern design etched into the brown surface. “What?” he asks seeing his friend shake his head smiling.
“Where do I start?” Devon teases.
“What have I done now?” Tom holds his hands up in surrender.
“You and your coffee designs,” Devon jokes.
“Well, they’re a work of art.” He notes his friend’s look of disbelief. “Seriously Dev, it must take a barista hundreds of hours to get this good. I know I couldn’t do it!”
“Okay. I concede the point, but your coffee will get cold if you admire it too long.”
“And what else? Come on out with it,” Tom demands.
“You should see the way you look at Dani, down tiger, down,” Devon ribs.
Tom turns a light shade of red. “I can’t go there bro. George will have my balls.”
“Wouldn’t you rather Dani had them?” Devon taunts.
Tom takes another drink of his coffee to avoid the question. “Is it really that obvious? Geez Dev, I don’t know what I want. I mean, I thought I wanted a break.”
Glad to see his friend start to get real with himself, Devon coaxes, “To be fair, it’s not that obvious. It’s just that I know you well enough and it looks that way to me. But if you aren’t ready for a relationship, perhaps back off a little, eh? Maybe you just need to take some time out and really think about what you want.”
“Yeah. Maybe you’re right.”
Devon glances at his phone, picks up his cup and finishes his coffee. “Come on brother. Get that pretty-looking liquid lightning down ya. We’re meeting George in fifteen.”
***
Tuesday Morning - Office
Pouring the plunger coffee into a mug and passing it to Frankie, Tom sighs, “Come on you lot, snap out of it! It feels like the headmaster is coming to tell the class off in here. Have we done anything wrong to be worried about?”
Looking bashful, Connor admits, “Well, I did hack into Weta’s systems…”
“On my instructions, Connor,” Tom states. “It was my call, even though Devon was hesitant.”
“To be fair, look at the result,” Frankie starts, “I mean, the ends don’t always necessarily justify the means, but we have confirmed the likely target.”
The intercom buzzer sounds and Devon races for the door, determined not to waste any time.
A flustered looking George enters the office, placing his attaché case on the oval table. “Sorry I’m late I’ve just been losing a tail on the way here.” Then taking a deep breath to centre himself, he begins, “Good work on identifying the Mossad agents. We didn’t get a lot out of them, but that is two less spooks in town.”
“What happened to them Unc… ah, George,” Dani stumbles with the unfamiliarity of using his first name.
“Officially, one secretary and one cultural attaché have been recalled to Tel Aviv from the Israeli Embassy for administrative reasons,” George explains.
“Don’t they get charged by the police or you guys for carrying weapons or something?” Connor asks.
“Unfortunately, Connor they don’t. They have Diplomatic Immunity. That was some brave work on ID-ing them Connor. They were completely taken by surprise when our collection teams swooped.” George chuckles. “Eitan wanted to know how they slipped up. Of course, we didn’t tell them. So you lot are all still under the radar.”
Tom makes his way to one of the cork boards and points at the photos of the Israeli spies, “We only recognised Eitan, so this other one is still active?”
“Affirmative Tom, although they are two spooks down, I suspect the Israelis have at least two or three more at the embassy, so keep your eyes peeled,” George warns.
“Coffee George? It’s still pretty hot,” Koro offers.
“Yes please, Rangiwahia, I didn’t get a chance before I went into an urgent meeting.” George pauses and gratefully takes a large mouthful of coffee, “Ahh, that’s better. Now Devon gave me the heads up on your computer theory and the Iranian spy. The timing couldn’t have been better.”
“We thought you’d want to know ASAP. What do you think of our analysis?” Tom asks.
“You’re all on the money. That urgent meeting I was called into was with our friend Kendrick, the Director-General, the Senior Operations Manager and two of my colleagues. Kendrick was at his usual ball-breaking best, trying to tell us how useless we were missing this Iranian operation and he demanded that we place all our resources at his disposal so he can catch them in the act.”
“I’m not working for that bastard!” Koro vows vehemently.
Tom and Devon exchange a look of mutual concern, as Dani joins in, “Neither am I!”
“Don’t worry,” George says. “He hates me even more now.” He takes another drink before continuing, “When he’d finished his tirade, the DG asked if any of us would care to shed some light on this. I informed them that we already had a team covering the Iranians and that I would have thought a fellow Five Eyes partner would have, as a matter of courtesy, informed us that they were working with the Israelis on an operation in our capital. We had to of course, remove the Israelis so they wouldn’t interfere with our ongoing operation.”
