Dark Tidings

Chapter 39 - Take the Money

Michael replayed the meeting, fast forwarding through the waffle... and the bit about the head crusher. He never wanted to hear about that disgusting torture device again, although he suspected it might become a frequent visitor to his nightmares.

He watched other segments of the proceedings, like Buckingham's initial summary, over and over again. Understanding how these men thought gave him the best possible chance of predicting their plans and actions. The odds were heavily stacked against him but he was a clever guy, surely clever enough to outwit these old men? This was a bit like a computer adventure game and years of practice had made him an exceptional player. This wasn't a game though and the consequences of losing didn't bear thinking about. These people were terrifying but the challenge was exciting; exciting because he was sure he could win.

Clearly Sir Samuel Buckingham was held in awe by the others even though they were all extremely powerful men. Sir Samuel led the conversations, directed the agenda and called the shots. No egos clouded the issues. No petty power struggles deflected these men from doing whatever it took to gain control over the Scroll.

What would happen if these people did get their hands on the Scroll? One thing was certain, no good would come from it, except for the bad guys. The more he listened the more he realised this wasn't just a fight for their own survival. Okay, to say it was a battle between good and evil was a bit over the top but it would definitely be fair to call it a battle between goodness and badness. He needed to beat these men. Changing the world for the little people was his enduring dream... maybe this was his chance.

Enough watching, he'd gleaned a pretty good insight for the time being and he could always view it all again if he wanted to. Time to devise their escape plan and he was on his own with that. The others didn't understand the vast resources which were lined up against them. The others didn't understand the connections these people had; connections with the police, banks, credit card companies and telecom providers. These people could find anyone, anyone, that is, who didn't know what they were doing. Tung and Madrick really had no idea how dangerous these people were. They were blissful in their ignorance and maybe it was best to leave them that way.

First though, he'd initiate the final phase of his hacking IIBE scheme. He typed in the commands which started a number of little routines running at the heart of the IIBE systems. The ultra-sophisticated Noviru software wouldn't detect them because he'd disabled the particular components which would have spotted this type of attack. His routines would siphon money out of the biggest accounts in the IIBE system. He was about to suck their money out like a vampire who hadn't fed for a hundred years.

As a further distraction, his software would send enormous sums to various national tax authorities like the Inland Revenue Service in the US and HM Revenue & Customs in the UK. Try and get that money back, why don't you? They'd be tied in knots when Government auditors and inspectors started poking their noses into IIBE's business; what an intricate can of worms they'd find there.

A number of well-known charities were going to get some huge donations. That felt good. Either the charities could use the enormous influx of cash for their benevolent works or else IIBE would suffer crippling bad publicity if they dragged the money back out of these good causes. The good guys win or the bad guys lose.

Right in the middle of all this chaos, a few million might mysteriously pop into a scattering of anonymous accounts he'd created; just a little something for himself.

This massive outpouring of money was bound to drag some of the heat off them. The bank's security team would be left chasing shadows and red herrings. The Council would have to redirect some of their attention into plugging the leak. How could they ignore vast sums of their own money seeping out of IIBE and disappearing into the ether? And they'd be terrified about the consequences to the financial systems around the globe. A double whammy right in their faces, or to be more precise, right in their pockets.

He hit a few more keys on his computer and stared at the screen. This was the moment he'd been planning for oh such a long time. His heart beat faster in his chest and a tingle crept up his spine as he tapped the 'enter' key and set the massive theft in motion.

He'd booked three days holiday from work to give him time to deal with Tung and Madrick. It hadn't been in preparation to launch his fraud but his absence was bound to raise suspicion. No doubt he'd start getting phone calls the minute money started to go missing. He could imagine the messages they'd leave him.

'Come in now, Michael, we have a serious problem with the systems.'

'Michael, please get in touch, we need you in here now.'

'Michael, GET IN HERE IMMEDIATELY.'

He knew the more messages he ignored, the more suspicious they'd get about him but the damage would be done. By the time they worked out that he was the guilty party, it would be too late for them to do anything about it. Anyway, why worry about things which were in the future? Right now, all he wanted to do was thoroughly distract them and get himself a decent head start.

He packed up his laptop and all the other paraphernalia required to access the IIBE systems from wherever he was, systems including their teleconference facility. Being able to watch them discuss their tactics gave him a massive advantage which he wanted to hold onto for as long as possible.

"Okay guys, it's time to get out of here."

He told them about setting the IIBE robbery in motion. No explanation of how, of course, what would be the point?

"These people will be so busy trying to find their money, they won't have time to look for us. Anyway, I created a false identity for myself months ago for the express purpose of making myself disappear."

"Like how we disappeared from Mifal's dungeon?"

"Not quite, I'm talking about a completely different sort of disappearing... but I think you knew that."

Tung threw him a smile which made Michael wonder whether he knew or not.

"Anyway," he continued, "we're going to get far away from here, to a house I bought under my new name. It's quite secluded so we won't arouse any suspicion with the neighbours when we arrive. We have plenty of cash and I'll have a lot more soon. No more selling gold coins for now, they'll be looking out for that. If we keep our heads down for the next few months I don't see how they'll ever pick up our trail."

For the next half hour he shared the rest of his ideas.

"That's it, guys. I reckon that'll give us a good chance of never being caught."

"Fingers crossed," said Tung, crossing his fingers.

"Right, now I'm going to do something I've been looking forward to for years. Have a good look, this is the last time you'll ever see Michael Phillips."

He went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror.

"This is the face they'll be looking for," he said to his reflection as he started to shave off his beard and moustache. "No one has any idea what clean-shaven Michael looks like. No one has any idea what Michael Baker looks like."

He was right. All the photographs which were recorded at IIBE, and indeed Noviru, showed him with full facial hair. Another bit of great planning, he thought as he washed off the white foam and admired his new look.