The Assassin Drone, Part 7
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Some of the other agents had already gone home, but Harry was still in his office when Lucas and Adam both got back to the grid. Lucas checked in with Malcolm to see if he'd got anything with the phone call, but Malcolm shook his head. "They must be using secure mobiles. I'd have to get my hands on one of them."
"I'll see what I can do," Lucas said, then went along to Harry's office.
"Olivia said that two men approached her yesterday morning wanting another Death Star," Adam reported.
"Another one?" Harry leaned forward.
"Apparently the first one was defective enough that they didn't hit their target," Lucas added. "In order to ensure Olivia's cooperation, they've taken her nine-year-old son, Owen."
Harry grimaced.
"They also seem to be under a time constraint," Adam said, and repeated what Olivia had said. "We have to assume that the bus was not their primary target."
"I know it's a long shot, but we should check the CCTV footage again," Lucas said, "and see if we can identify any of the vehicles near the bus at the time. Maybe that will give us a clue as to who the target might be."
Harry waved a hand to indicate his approval.
"I also think we should replace Olivia with an agent," Adam suggested. "The theory is that Jeremy Owusu was killed because he gave the terrorists a defective drone, but what if they would have killed him anyway? What if they're planning to kill Olivia and her son as soon as she's done what they want?."
"It's a risk," Harry agreed. "But since they've already seen her, we can't replace her completely without arousing a great deal of suspicion, and suspicion in these cases has a way of translating into death and destruction for all concerned."
"If she were hurt," Adam suggested slowly, "she'd need help. Jeremy drove his own car to meet them … what if she couldn't drive? What if somebody had to do the driving for her?"
"What's to say they wouldn't just kill the driver?" Harry asked.
"Apparently, targeting the drones isn't as easy as twiddling a joystick," Lucas remembered. "It takes someone with experience, and two hands, to guide it from a computer. If Olivia had a cast on her arm, like she'd broken it, she wouldn't be able to do that. The person helping her could take over in that respect, too, if he had that experience."
"She's in contact with the terrorists, Harry," Adam said. "They call her every evening. She could explain about her broken arm at the last moment, and ask if they'd accept a replacement. They'd practically have to accept, or risk their operation completely."
"In that case …" Harry was convinced.
"It would be easiest if it were somebody close to her, someone who she can call on in an emergency," Lucas said, and searched his memory for everything he knew about Olivia. "She's got a brother who lives in Canada. He could come to visit and stay at her house instead of a hotel. Then, when she breaks her arm, she calls him to pick her up and the terrorists can listen in."
"I don't suppose by any happy coincidence he's also an engineer who works with spy drones?" Harry asked drily, but didn't wait for an answer. "Right. And since Johnny Baxter's already been seen in the neighbourhood, Lucas, you can do it."
Lucas hesitated, remembering how he'd overreacted with Olivia, and Harry caught it. "Is there a problem?"
"No," Lucas lied, keeping Harry's gaze despite the temptation to glance over at Adam. "No problem."
"Good. Then get on with it."
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By the next morning, Lucas' legend as Scott Fenton was complete, except for the part about experience in guiding drones. Stopping first at a florist's for a bouquet, Lucas drove on to Tarla, and went to Mr Blaze's office to ask if he could spend the day getting more information about the drones. He didn't give any details, and Mr Blaze didn't ask.
"Even if your boss hadn't already briefed me on the situation," Mr Blaze told him, "you'd still have my full cooperation, of course. Ask Olivia – she's our best engineer. I'll get you a card that will give you access to everything you might need."
"That's very generous," Lucas said, and Mr Blaze smiled, a little condescendingly, then called in his PA.
The door to Olivia's office was open, and Lucas held up the bouquet before knocking.
"Flowers for you," he called out cheerfully.
Olivia looked up. "They're gorgeous, thank you!" Then she realized who was behind them, and her face fell. "Oh, it's you."
"Truce?" Lucas asked, extending the flowers. Glancing at them wistfully, Olivia suddenly put her finger to her lips, then stood up and walked past Lucas into the corridor. Motioning for him to follow, she guided him down to the toilets, looked around twice, opened the door to the ladies' room, and ushered him quickly inside. As the door shut behind her, she whispered, "Do you think they've bugged my office as well?"
"No, I don't think so. If they could have got in to bug it, they could have just taken a drone while they were here," Lucas whispered back.
"What if they gave the bugs to Jeremy and he did it before he got killed?"
Lucas considered the possibility, then said in his normal voice, "He wouldn't have needed to. They asked him to get the drone first, and they only came to you after he was dead."
"They warned me, yesterday, about talking to the government," Olivia told him. "I'm so afraid they'll find out that I have!"
"Did they do anything to Owen?" Lucas asked sharply.
Olivia shook her head, and Lucas said, "Then it was just a warning and they don't know anything. If they haven't hurt him, they probably don't even suspect."
Olivia relaxed visibly, and looked away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I'm paranoid."
"Don't be," Lucas told her. "Paranoia can keep you alive. Let me call somebody to come over and sweep your office for bugs, though, just to make certain. Here, hold this."
He held out the bouquet for her to take while he got out his phone, and after he'd spoken with Malcolm, he hung up.
"Right, then, someone will be along very soon," he said, putting his phone away and retrieving the flowers. "In the meantime, do you have a vase for these?"
"I'm an engineer, not a florist, what would I be doing with a vase?" Olivia asked. "Come on. I'll find something."
Like a child playing at spies, she opened the door a crack and peered out, then waved her hand to indicate all clear. Lucas followed her down the corridor to a small break room. As she looked through the cupboards and finally located an empty coffee pot, Olivia asked, "These flowers – is this another one of your spy tricks? Is there a camera hidden in here somewhere, or something?"
"No tricks," Lucas said. "We're going to have to work together, and I thought it would make things easier if I gave you a formal apology for my behaviour yesterday."
Olivia stopped in the act of positioning the pot under the water tap. "Work together?"
"Very closely, but just for a day or two," Lucas said, removing the cellophane from the bouquet. "So, do you accept my apology?"
Olivia hesitated for a long moment, then said, "If it will help get Owen back, then yeah, all right."
She went back to filling the pot with water, then held it out for Lucas to place the flowers in. As he did so, she said awkwardly, "Thanks, um – I'm sorry, I've forgotten your name."
"Scott," he said, and Olivia frowned. "That's not what you told me yesterday. I would have remembered that."
"Just call me Scott," he said, giving her a gentle smile. She looked confused, but shrugged it off. "All right. Scott."
Olivia held the pot with both hands, but made no move to return to her office, or to the ladies' room. Lucas asked, "Did they let you talk to Owen last night?"
"Yes."
"And he's still all right?"
Olivia almost smiled then. "When I spoke to him, he was. On the one hand, he was excited that they let him play on the internet all day, when he wasn't watching telly, but on the other hand, he still managed to complain the whole time about not getting to go to Legoland."
"What else did they say?"
Olivia shrugged. "They wanted to know how the drone was coming along, and I said I'd have it done by to-morrow at eleven. The man asked if I could finish it by ten instead, and I said I probably could."
"Anything else?"
"Then he said I should remember not to say anything to the government to make them suspicious. I was so afraid that they knew!"
"What did you say?"
"I think I just said um, or something brilliant like that. Then he said, ten o'clock to-morrow and hung up, that's all."
"Ten, that's good to know," Lucas mused.
"It'll be a bit of a rush," Olivia said, then sighed. "I wish I could get an entire drone out at once, instead of only parts. It would be so much easier – I don't know how Jeremy did it!"
"I don't know, either," Lucas said. "But speaking of drones, I need to learn how to fly them."
"You?" Olivia wrinkled her nose. "Why?"
"So that I can take your place to-morrow night."
Olivia frowned. "And how do you plan on doing that without making them suspicious?"
"To-morrow, the terrorists are going to see that you've broken your arm. You—"
"What!" Olivia backed away in alarm. "You're going to break my arm!"
She hefted the coffee pot, ready to bash him if he came closer, and Lucas cursed his choice of words. Of course she'd jump to that particular conclusion, after what had happened last night! She stood there, panting with fear, no doubt expecting him to leap at her and snap the bones in her arm right then and there. Chagrined, Lucas held up his hands to show her he meant no harm, hunched down a little to reduce his height, and tried to appear less intimidating.
"No, no, no, we won't hurt you," he protested, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry. I really didn't say that right, did I? We'll only make it look
Olivia hesitated, still defensively wielding the coffee pot, and Lucas went on. "You'll be acting, Olivia, just like on tv! All you have to do is let us put a cast on your arm, that's all. You won't be hurt. It won't be real. Trust me? Please?"
Eventually, Olivia lowered the coffee pot and murmured sheepishly, "All right."
"I know you're on edge," Lucas told her, putting his hands down as well. "You're going through a very stressful situation. But you've got us to help you, and this is part of our plan to get Owen back safely."
The mention of her son worked. After a moment, Olivia took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then said, "Right. So I pretend I've broken my arm. Then what?"
"Then you tell them that you can't fly the drones, you can't even drive yourself around, but your brother just happens to be staying with you, and he can do it."
"My brother lives in Canada," Olivia stated with a hint of a derisive snort, "and he can't even work his own DVD player, let alone fly a drone."
Lucas reached into his wallet and pulled out the driver's licence in Scott's name. "Your brother's going to be arriving from Calgary this afternoon."
Olivia looked at the picture on the card, compared it to Lucas's face, and sighed. "You."
"Me. That's what I meant when I said we'd be working closely together for the next day or two." Lucas tried another encouraging smile. "But in order to fool the terrorists, at least for a while, I need to know how to fly the drones."
Grimacing, Olivia said, "Oh, all right, then, Scott, let me put these away first and then we'll go to the workshop."
"Mr Blaze said you were the best," Lucas remarked as they left the break room, and Olivia finally smiled.
"He's much too nice," she remarked. "Did you know that he even lets me work around Owen's schedule?"
Lucas knew, but didn't say anything, and Olivia went on, "You'd expect him to be hard as nails and only concerned about profits, head of a company like this, but he really is just plain nice. Part of the reason I don't want to get sacked, or have to leave, is because I know I'll never find another boss like him."
"Lucky girl," Lucas told her.
Part 8
Some of the other agents had already gone home, but Harry was still in his office when Lucas and Adam both got back to the grid. Lucas checked in with Malcolm to see if he'd got anything with the phone call, but Malcolm shook his head. "They must be using secure mobiles. I'd have to get my hands on one of them."
"I'll see what I can do," Lucas said, then went along to Harry's office.
"Olivia said that two men approached her yesterday morning wanting another Death Star," Adam reported.
"Another one?" Harry leaned forward.
"Apparently the first one was defective enough that they didn't hit their target," Lucas added. "In order to ensure Olivia's cooperation, they've taken her nine-year-old son, Owen."
Harry grimaced.
"They also seem to be under a time constraint," Adam said, and repeated what Olivia had said. "We have to assume that the bus was not their primary target."
"I know it's a long shot, but we should check the CCTV footage again," Lucas said, "and see if we can identify any of the vehicles near the bus at the time. Maybe that will give us a clue as to who the target might be."
Harry waved a hand to indicate his approval.
"I also think we should replace Olivia with an agent," Adam suggested. "The theory is that Jeremy Owusu was killed because he gave the terrorists a defective drone, but what if they would have killed him anyway? What if they're planning to kill Olivia and her son as soon as she's done what they want?."
"It's a risk," Harry agreed. "But since they've already seen her, we can't replace her completely without arousing a great deal of suspicion, and suspicion in these cases has a way of translating into death and destruction for all concerned."
"If she were hurt," Adam suggested slowly, "she'd need help. Jeremy drove his own car to meet them … what if she couldn't drive? What if somebody had to do the driving for her?"
"What's to say they wouldn't just kill the driver?" Harry asked.
"Apparently, targeting the drones isn't as easy as twiddling a joystick," Lucas remembered. "It takes someone with experience, and two hands, to guide it from a computer. If Olivia had a cast on her arm, like she'd broken it, she wouldn't be able to do that. The person helping her could take over in that respect, too, if he had that experience."
"She's in contact with the terrorists, Harry," Adam said. "They call her every evening. She could explain about her broken arm at the last moment, and ask if they'd accept a replacement. They'd practically have to accept, or risk their operation completely."
"In that case …" Harry was convinced.
"It would be easiest if it were somebody close to her, someone who she can call on in an emergency," Lucas said, and searched his memory for everything he knew about Olivia. "She's got a brother who lives in Canada. He could come to visit and stay at her house instead of a hotel. Then, when she breaks her arm, she calls him to pick her up and the terrorists can listen in."
"I don't suppose by any happy coincidence he's also an engineer who works with spy drones?" Harry asked drily, but didn't wait for an answer. "Right. And since Johnny Baxter's already been seen in the neighbourhood, Lucas, you can do it."
Lucas hesitated, remembering how he'd overreacted with Olivia, and Harry caught it. "Is there a problem?"
"No," Lucas lied, keeping Harry's gaze despite the temptation to glance over at Adam. "No problem."
"Good. Then get on with it."
+++++
By the next morning, Lucas' legend as Scott Fenton was complete, except for the part about experience in guiding drones. Stopping first at a florist's for a bouquet, Lucas drove on to Tarla, and went to Mr Blaze's office to ask if he could spend the day getting more information about the drones. He didn't give any details, and Mr Blaze didn't ask.
"Even if your boss hadn't already briefed me on the situation," Mr Blaze told him, "you'd still have my full cooperation, of course. Ask Olivia – she's our best engineer. I'll get you a card that will give you access to everything you might need."
"That's very generous," Lucas said, and Mr Blaze smiled, a little condescendingly, then called in his PA.
The door to Olivia's office was open, and Lucas held up the bouquet before knocking.
"Flowers for you," he called out cheerfully.
Olivia looked up. "They're gorgeous, thank you!" Then she realized who was behind them, and her face fell. "Oh, it's you."
"Truce?" Lucas asked, extending the flowers. Glancing at them wistfully, Olivia suddenly put her finger to her lips, then stood up and walked past Lucas into the corridor. Motioning for him to follow, she guided him down to the toilets, looked around twice, opened the door to the ladies' room, and ushered him quickly inside. As the door shut behind her, she whispered, "Do you think they've bugged my office as well?"
"No, I don't think so. If they could have got in to bug it, they could have just taken a drone while they were here," Lucas whispered back.
"What if they gave the bugs to Jeremy and he did it before he got killed?"
Lucas considered the possibility, then said in his normal voice, "He wouldn't have needed to. They asked him to get the drone first, and they only came to you after he was dead."
"They warned me, yesterday, about talking to the government," Olivia told him. "I'm so afraid they'll find out that I have!"
"Did they do anything to Owen?" Lucas asked sharply.
Olivia shook her head, and Lucas said, "Then it was just a warning and they don't know anything. If they haven't hurt him, they probably don't even suspect."
Olivia relaxed visibly, and looked away in embarrassment. "I'm sorry I'm paranoid."
"Don't be," Lucas told her. "Paranoia can keep you alive. Let me call somebody to come over and sweep your office for bugs, though, just to make certain. Here, hold this."
He held out the bouquet for her to take while he got out his phone, and after he'd spoken with Malcolm, he hung up.
"Right, then, someone will be along very soon," he said, putting his phone away and retrieving the flowers. "In the meantime, do you have a vase for these?"
"I'm an engineer, not a florist, what would I be doing with a vase?" Olivia asked. "Come on. I'll find something."
Like a child playing at spies, she opened the door a crack and peered out, then waved her hand to indicate all clear. Lucas followed her down the corridor to a small break room. As she looked through the cupboards and finally located an empty coffee pot, Olivia asked, "These flowers – is this another one of your spy tricks? Is there a camera hidden in here somewhere, or something?"
"No tricks," Lucas said. "We're going to have to work together, and I thought it would make things easier if I gave you a formal apology for my behaviour yesterday."
Olivia stopped in the act of positioning the pot under the water tap. "Work together?"
"Very closely, but just for a day or two," Lucas said, removing the cellophane from the bouquet. "So, do you accept my apology?"
Olivia hesitated for a long moment, then said, "If it will help get Owen back, then yeah, all right."
She went back to filling the pot with water, then held it out for Lucas to place the flowers in. As he did so, she said awkwardly, "Thanks, um – I'm sorry, I've forgotten your name."
"Scott," he said, and Olivia frowned. "That's not what you told me yesterday. I would have remembered that."
"Just call me Scott," he said, giving her a gentle smile. She looked confused, but shrugged it off. "All right. Scott."
Olivia held the pot with both hands, but made no move to return to her office, or to the ladies' room. Lucas asked, "Did they let you talk to Owen last night?"
"Yes."
"And he's still all right?"
Olivia almost smiled then. "When I spoke to him, he was. On the one hand, he was excited that they let him play on the internet all day, when he wasn't watching telly, but on the other hand, he still managed to complain the whole time about not getting to go to Legoland."
"What else did they say?"
Olivia shrugged. "They wanted to know how the drone was coming along, and I said I'd have it done by to-morrow at eleven. The man asked if I could finish it by ten instead, and I said I probably could."
"Anything else?"
"Then he said I should remember not to say anything to the government to make them suspicious. I was so afraid that they knew!"
"What did you say?"
"I think I just said um, or something brilliant like that. Then he said, ten o'clock to-morrow and hung up, that's all."
"Ten, that's good to know," Lucas mused.
"It'll be a bit of a rush," Olivia said, then sighed. "I wish I could get an entire drone out at once, instead of only parts. It would be so much easier – I don't know how Jeremy did it!"
"I don't know, either," Lucas said. "But speaking of drones, I need to learn how to fly them."
"You?" Olivia wrinkled her nose. "Why?"
"So that I can take your place to-morrow night."
Olivia frowned. "And how do you plan on doing that without making them suspicious?"
"To-morrow, the terrorists are going to see that you've broken your arm. You—"
"What!" Olivia backed away in alarm. "You're going to break my arm!"
She hefted the coffee pot, ready to bash him if he came closer, and Lucas cursed his choice of words. Of course she'd jump to that particular conclusion, after what had happened last night! She stood there, panting with fear, no doubt expecting him to leap at her and snap the bones in her arm right then and there. Chagrined, Lucas held up his hands to show her he meant no harm, hunched down a little to reduce his height, and tried to appear less intimidating.
"No, no, no, we won't hurt you," he protested, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry. I really didn't say that right, did I? We'll only make it look
Olivia hesitated, still defensively wielding the coffee pot, and Lucas went on. "You'll be acting, Olivia, just like on tv! All you have to do is let us put a cast on your arm, that's all. You won't be hurt. It won't be real. Trust me? Please?"
Eventually, Olivia lowered the coffee pot and murmured sheepishly, "All right."
"I know you're on edge," Lucas told her, putting his hands down as well. "You're going through a very stressful situation. But you've got us to help you, and this is part of our plan to get Owen back safely."
The mention of her son worked. After a moment, Olivia took a deep breath, let it out slowly, then said, "Right. So I pretend I've broken my arm. Then what?"
"Then you tell them that you can't fly the drones, you can't even drive yourself around, but your brother just happens to be staying with you, and he can do it."
"My brother lives in Canada," Olivia stated with a hint of a derisive snort, "and he can't even work his own DVD player, let alone fly a drone."
Lucas reached into his wallet and pulled out the driver's licence in Scott's name. "Your brother's going to be arriving from Calgary this afternoon."
Olivia looked at the picture on the card, compared it to Lucas's face, and sighed. "You."
"Me. That's what I meant when I said we'd be working closely together for the next day or two." Lucas tried another encouraging smile. "But in order to fool the terrorists, at least for a while, I need to know how to fly the drones."
Grimacing, Olivia said, "Oh, all right, then, Scott, let me put these away first and then we'll go to the workshop."
"Mr Blaze said you were the best," Lucas remarked as they left the break room, and Olivia finally smiled.
"He's much too nice," she remarked. "Did you know that he even lets me work around Owen's schedule?"
Lucas knew, but didn't say anything, and Olivia went on, "You'd expect him to be hard as nails and only concerned about profits, head of a company like this, but he really is just plain nice. Part of the reason I don't want to get sacked, or have to leave, is because I know I'll never find another boss like him."
"Lucky girl," Lucas told her.
Part 8