CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
Jack
“Good morning gentlemen. And where are you going on this fine day?” Agent Rochelle Jones enquired as Nate and I stepped out of the suite. Nate looked handsome in casual off-the-rack light blue linen trousers and a short-sleeved cream shirt. I chose chino shorts and a red tee.
“Please wait while I call this in.” She spoke into her comms mic and then gave us permission to go.
“Oh, one more thing, our breakfast trolley should arrive soon. I ordered a coffee and a Danish pastry for you, so help yourself when the food arrives,” I said giving her a charming smile.
“Thanks, that’s kind of you, sir.”
I noticed how Nate was pensive, looking steely-eyed at the bodyguard outside the door of the Superior penthouse; the suite we now knew was occupied by Oliver Roux. Seems Roux had claimed the top spot as Nate’s nemesis. I took Nate’s hand, and led him into the elevator.
When I found Room 646, I knocked and the door was swiftly opened by Agent Mackey.
“Ah, fellas, dare y’are. Come along in,” she beckoned her Irish accent raspy as if she’d smoked too many cigarettes. She led us through to the lounge where Agent Deveraux was typing on one of the two laptops.
“Ah, Jack, Nate, please take a seat,” Alexander Deveraux said distractedly. We sat on the couch and waited for the agent to complete his task. Tense moments passed until he turned from his laptop and said,
“Nate, I know you’re worried about your father.
To allay your concerns, I’m permitted to tell you that your father was secretly flown to London last night, using the Christopher Hurst passport as it’s not on the UK watch list. I thought it best to get him out of Berlin immediately after he’d received medical care.
He’s doing well, and I was assured by the Home Office that, as he’s given us a lot of very useful information his political asylum application will be expedited. ”
I reached for Nate’s hand and gave a reassuring squeeze. “Can I see him when I get to London?” Nate asked tentatively.
“Of course, of course. He’s not a prisoner.
We’ll just keep him under wraps until this event plays itself out.
” Agent Deveraux then added, “I’ve also been given permission to read you both in on some of the relevant Intel Curtis shared with MI6, some of which you may already know.
” He turned his laptop around to display a photograph of a man I didn’t recognize.
Nate leaned to me and said, “That’s Kirk Rivera, the spook who was in the room while the FBI interviewed me about our abduction.
He’s the guy who betrayed my father.” Oh!
Agent Deveraux then began his presentation.
“Rivera was Curtis’ handler for his mission named Operation: Indigo that put Curtis in deep cover at Huǒhuā Labs in Shanghai.
However, Operation: Indigo wasn’t a sanctioned op, it was, in fact, fabricated by Rivera specifically to obtain the Téng hú chips for Oliver Roux.
Roux’s people were permitted access to CIA servers by the US administration, and while officially in the system they ensured that, at a glance, Indigo appeared official.
After completing his mission and heading to his hand-over rendezvous, Curtis was sent an Intel packet from the SODA Network revealing that the mission was unsanctioned, and he was compromised.
The Intel told of Rivera’s deal with Roux.
Roux’s been on the MI6 watch list for a long time, and I wish I could tell you more but—”
“Don’t you dare say it!” Nate groaned.
“Moving on!” Deveraux grinned. “Curtis forwarded the Intel to an encrypted cloud account, and then destroyed his phone. The files contain all of the proof that Kirk Rivera is corrupt and in bed with Roux in the worst kind of way.”
Agent Deveraux then began a slideshow of fake documents about Operation: Indigo, photographs showing Rivera on a beach, colourful cocktails, beautiful girls, all the trappings of the rich and their hangers-on.
And then there was an image of him on a sun lounger, and beside him in multiple photos was Oliver Roux, looking like a pasty white whale–as if the sun was so revolted by his existence it refused to burn his skin.
“If chatty Cathy here had kept his mouth shut about his expected Crypto windfall, Oliver Roux would possess the Téng hú chips. But Rivera couldn't stop bragging. Oh, he didn’t go into details. But he was spending as if he’d won the lottery.
He bought his friends and family expensive gifts and holidays that couldn’t be covered by his Government salary.
He bought a new condo, ordered a Maserati, and took his mates to Vegas for a long weekend of gambling, strip shows, and hedonism.
He even posted about his trip to Royal Island on social media. ”
Nate laughed out loud at hearing that. “What a dick!”
“His out of character financial activity was flagged and investigated by the FBI. I have a friend…a white hat hacker; wonderfully talented…anyway, he got into the FBI files for the investigation into Rivera. It was illuminating! We know from the evidence in the data-packet that an anonymous member of the investigating team was so worried about the ramifications of Rivera’s indiscretion and senior staff’s reluctance to take action, that he leaked the Intel to SODA.
The Intel was then sent to your father... and here we are!”
“So, the FBI and CIA know Rivera’s op was a fake, they know about Roux’s involvement?” I asked.
“Indeed, they do!”
I was right not to trust Special Agent Porter! Her ‘we know nothing about Oliver Roux coming to Berlin’ act was bullshit!
“Rivera’s on a knife’s edge with the CIA, his clearance is about to be revoked and he’ll be called back to Langley.
He’s in a hole financially as he didn’t deliver on his deal, and he not only owes a lot of money, but he also failed Oliver Roux.
Mr. Roux does not take failure lightly. He has history of making people disappear…
and of course, if that eventually happens, no one will be able to prove Roux’s involvement! ”
“But surely there’s evidence Roux sanctioned industrial espionage? Why hasn’t he been arrested?” I asked non-plussed.
“You know as well as I do that Roux won’t be arrested because putting the chips into production in the US will be of benefit to the administration.
The Chinese advancements in AI models, robotics, and chip manufacturing have the current administration rattled.
They’ve got a lot of money riding on the AI boom.
They don’t want China’s open source models blocking their future income stream.
What Curtis told us gives a clearer picture of the extent to which the US government is a lapdog to the whims of Oliver Roux and his ORIGIN organization. ”
“Roux’s the keynote speaker at the conference later today,” I stated.
“Yes. Not even the event organizers know what he’s got planned. I hear he puts on quite the show!”
“That explains him being here in this hotel, but not why he’d invited us for brunch,” Nate said.
Agent Mackey huffed out a laugh, “Brunch…you’d better get a big brekkie inside ye lads, cos he’s not going to be serving ye brunch!”
Deveraux added, “Agent Mackey discovered quite a juicy snippet of information,” and then nodded for Mackey to continue.
“Thanks guv! Well, it turns out Mr. Roux has a thing for a Chinese scientist, the one who invented those Téng hú chips, Dr Ling Mai. She’s a seventeen-year-old prodigy—the dirty auld bastard!
Apparently, she’s been coding since she was five years old,” the agent revealed.
“Roux tried everything to woo her, offered her a job, a bespoke lab with endless resources, but she refused him. It’s an eternal conundrum, y’know, what do women want?
” Agent Mackey said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
“Dr. Mai is attending the conference and staying here too,” Agent D confirmed, “Apparently Roux did not take her refusal well. Dr. Mai is deeply devoted to her country and the Communist party. She’s a competitive threat he can’t touch.
Over the past few years, we’ve seen tit-for-tat allegations of intellectual property theft between the US and China.
Once Téng hú are showcased by China billions will be wiped from the market value of other chip manufacturers,” Deveraux revealed.
“My best guess is that Roux devised this brunch meeting to clear the game board. He’ll make you a huge financial offer in exchange for the chips so that his company can match Chinese capabilities.
The official UK stance is this: Roux can’t be allowed, under any circumstances, to get his hands on the Téng hú. ”
On that sombre note we left the suite, Agent Deveraux accompanying us to the penthouse where our breakfast trolley awaited. Special Agent Porter and two other people were outside the door.
“Mr. Linden, Mr. Boyd,” Special Agent Porter said. “I’d like to introduce Detective Inspector Lars Baumann from the BKA, the German Federal Criminal Police, and Senior Inspector Séraphine Delort from Interpol.”
Jack opened the door for the suite and we all entered. “We’ve got a lot to discuss!” Agent Deveraux decided.
“Well, our plan is to have our breakfast first, please make yourselves at home,” Jack offered. It was then that a text message alert sounded on my phone. I checked it and my jaw tensed. The message was from Roz.
Nate, flew in alone a day early. My plane lands at midday. I’ll be at the hotel in by 1p.m. so stay put. Lucy is on the way too.
There were three spare rooms in the suite so we could give Roz and Lucy a place to stay for the night, but the timing could not be worse.
****