Dark Tidings: Ancient Magic Meets the Internet Book 1 (26 page)

The modern IIBE bank was established in the early sixteenth century, but its roots stretched back to the early Saxon attacks on Britain. The English king at the time had introduced the Danegeld tax to finance forces to oppose Viking invaders. The taxes needed to be collected and counted, so a formal bank was established to manage the money. But the system was quickly infiltrated and subsumed by the Occultus Populous. They recognised the power which money and debt would hold over people. From the day they gained control, the bank helped create massive wealth for its owners, so it soon became one of the Society’s most prized assets.

Everything went smoothly for centuries. Then there was a major theft from the bank in 1820 perpetrated by one of their most senior tellers. The betrayal sent shock waves through the highest echelons so, to protect their interests, the owners set up an intricate network of spies within the organisation. Those spies were the forerunners of the present day security department.

As time went on, the department became more and more powerful within the bank and its methods evolved over the years to ensure it was prepared for the ever-changing threats which it faced. The most significant change happened when they recruited a senior Stasi operative in the 1980s. She’d been one of the most ruthless commanders in the East German Secret Police and she’d completely remodelled the organisation.

One of its most successful strategies was to use spies to form close, short-term relationships with all new employees. Michael was one such employee and Faith was one such spy.

Faith Tamworth had been recruited by IIBE when she was sixteen and just about to leave school. They’d offered her an extremely generous salary and the opportunity to travel all over the world working in a number of the IIBE international branches. She was to spend six months or so in each branch, ostensibly carrying out receptionist duties, but her real job was to befriend designated employees and report anything which might be of interest to internal security. The role sounded marvellous. It helped protect IIBE from cheats, fraudsters, scammers, thieves and liars… and the bank was always a target for these criminals. What could be better? The job appealed to her honest nature and, they told her, she’d be part of the protective inner circle so she’d be extremely well looked after and handsomely rewarded; win win.

She underwent an intense four month training and induction programme. Half of the programme was about the tricks and techniques of forming relationships. There was some really devious stuff and it prised open the eyes of an impressionable young lady.

The other half of the training effectively brainwashed her into believing IIBE was a caring, benevolent organisation which deserved her complete loyalty. By the time the course was over, she was totally committed to IIBE.

There was one particular incident which cemented her loyalty to the bank.

Faith was nearly halfway through the training course when Brian Clarke came back into her life. He’d bullied her all through school and her early childhood… until the day she’d humiliated him in the playground, that is. He’d been expelled soon afterwards and had subsequently failed at everything he’d done. He’d had a succession of home tutors who’d all given up on him as lazy and stupid and nasty. Eventually he’d got a minimum wage job as a junior porter with a small catering company. He carried boxes and washed dishes… badly.

Clarke’s company provided catering services for the IIBE training centre so he was often there carrying out a variety of menial tasks. His life was a meaningless humdrum until the day he spotted Faith. He couldn’t believe it. He’d all but forgotten about her.

He watched her at every opportunity. Then, one day, they bumped into each other. She recognised him immediately and she was horrified. Clarke, on the other hand, was delighted because he could see the distress in her eyes. They exchanged insincere pleasantries and then Faith quickly went on her way. She hoped beyond hope this was a one-off chance encounter because, even after all these years, she still hated and feared Brian Clarke. She casually mentioned the brief encounter to her course supervisor.

“It’s no big deal,” she told him, but he took it seriously and he passed it up the chain of command.

As is often the way with bullies, Clarke held petty grudges, not for days but forever. He still wanted to hurt, really hurt, this person who’d shattered his reputation all those years ago. His simple mind planned a crude revenge; crude was all he was capable of doing.

He watched Faith’s movement each night when she left the centre. She always left just after five and made her way over the waste ground behind the training building. She crossed a couple of back streets to the stop where she got the bus which took her home.

He didn’t need to be Einstein (just as well) to work out that the waste ground was where he should do it. It was the perfect place. The seclusion would give him plenty of time with her; plenty of time to get rid of all those years of frustration and resentment.

Life was good, for once. He could see he’d unsettled Faith, which meant the cow still worried about what he could do to her. He felt in charge while he spied on her.

It soon became clear that Wednesdays were the quietest days. Often no one else crossed the waste ground for hours. Next Wednesday would be the day; the day he got his revenge.

He had gathered together his ‘kit’… duct tape, a small cosh and a razor sharp folding knife. He crouched in a dark corner and waited. A wide smile distorted his face. This was going to be the best day of his life.

Faith had enjoyed her day, but she was looking forward to getting home. She walked quickly. She didn’t like this place, but the shortcut saved her at least ten minutes. Clarke jumped out of the darkness. She screamed just before her heart stopped.

“The time has come, Faith. Just like you knew it would.”

He didn’t know what hit him, literally. Something rock hard smashed into the back of his head, his knees crumpled and he flopped onto the ground like a ragdoll. The darkness was the perfect cover for an assault, but this wasn’t how he’d envisaged it. He looked up and saw two men standing over his prone body.

“Everything is fine, Miss Tamworth. You go on home and we’ll deal with this,” said one of the men.

Through bloodied eyes and blurred vision, he could see that she vaguely recognised the man. She didn’t hang around though. She walked away even faster than before without even looking back.

“Don’t leave me here, Faith. Please help me.”

She didn’t see him being dragged along the ground, back into the corner where he’d been hiding.

They beat him mercilessly. Pain. Heavy boots stomped on his legs. Pain. Sharp objects pierced his arms and thighs. More pain. After what seemed like an eternity, it stopped, thank God. He writhed on the hard ground nursing multiple cuts, heavy bruising and two broken legs. While he lay bleeding, one man whispered menacingly in his ear.

“This is a gentle warning. Never talk to Faith again.”

He never did. He knew this was the time to drop his grudge; even stupid bullies know when to stop. As soon as he recovered, he left his job and moved to Liverpool which, he hoped, would be far enough away.

The day after the assault, Faith received a couple of photos on her phone. They showed Clarke beaten and bloodied. Clearly she was working for dangerous people, but these dangerous people were looking after her… and she liked that.

Faith absolutely loved her job and she was very good at it. Her great looks and delightful personality, coupled with the tricks she’d been taught, made her an instant hit with the young men and women who became her targets. There was something special about her physical appearance which drew people in and that, of course, was one of the reasons why she’d been selected in the first place.

To date she’d managed extremely well with every task the bank had set for her. As directed, she’d formed a close bond with each target from very early on. She’d never been rumbled and had even managed to stay friends with some of the marks after she’d been instructed to move on.

She’d already worked assignments in New York, Chicago, Sydney, Toronto, Birmingham and Edinburgh. Up to this point however, none of her relationships had identified any threats to the bank. Good news for the bank, but Faith was a little disappointed because she’d hoped her hard work would produce some tangible results. Sometimes she had wondered if there really was a threat to the bank or was she employed to protect it from phantom shadows?

Faith’s latest mission was in London targeting Michael Phillips, a computer support specialist. Forming the initial friendship had been easy, but even she was surprised how things had developed. He was already very fond of her, however, for the first time, she was becoming quite attached to her mark. There was something about him which was very appealing and endearing, and she was falling for him.

Even in the early days of the relationship she’d found Michael to be a little bit different, particularly in the way he treated his job. He wasn’t the normal nine to five employee and there was something about the way he acted which set off little alarm bells in her head.

Her growing affection for him wasn’t going to change how she went about the task, but deep down she didn’t want this to be the first assignment where the target was actually trying to harm her employer. She hoped with all her heart that this wasn’t the case. She could see herself having a future with this guy. Please don’t let him turn out to be a villain.

Michael had said a few things which made his work aspirations appear somewhat unusual, but there was nothing specific. She’d not pushed him too hard on the matter in case she raised his suspicions. She did, however, take every opportunity to give him the space to talk about his work. She’d reported her suspicions to Jim Robinson, her boss, but he’d just said to keep an eye on the situation and to keep probing gently.

Everything changed when Michael was identified as the perpetrator of the big fraud. She was briefed about his activities and shown the evidence which proved his guilt.

“He doesn’t seem like such a bad guy.”

“Looks can be deceptive, you know that.”

“What’ll happen to him? I’d hate him to end up in prison for years.”

“I can tell you’re fond of him, but you mustn’t let that interfere with your job. If it makes you feel any better, I can promise you we won’t pursue him through the courts. He won’t end up in prison. All we want is to get our money back.”

“Thank you, Mr Robinson, I really appreciate it. And you’re right, I am fond of him, but that won’t stop me doing what needs to be done.”

“I know it won’t, Faith,” said Robinson, but the fact she liked Phillips raised a red flag in his head. He’d have to keep an eye on this girl just in case her feelings got the better of her. “Okay, let’s get on with it. I want to know everything, every little detail. Nothing is too insignificant. Most important of all, you have to notify me immediately if he makes any contact whatsoever.”

Robinson mentioned Madrick and Tung in passing. It seemed they were working with Michael, but he didn’t appear to be particularly interested in them, so she kept the snippets she remembered about the pair to herself. Anyway, she’d nothing useful to tell him and she really didn’t want her boss to know about her behaviour that night; far too embarrassing.

After Michael had called her on Suzie’s mobile, she reported the whole conversation to Robinson.

“Play along. Get yourself to the phone box. Keep your eyes open. We believe he’s working with a gang… he may be having you watched.”

That was a lie. Robinson wanted Faith to know as little as possible about his tactics and plans. The less she knew the better. She certainly knew nothing about the small team he’d assigned to follow her at all times. Nor did she know he’d not told anyone below his level anything about her real role which meant the men following her believed she was part of the fraud. They’d see her as a rogue employee who would eventually lead them to Michael Phillips. That was the nature of this business… secrets, lies and intrigue.

As instructed, she reported back immediately after her conversation in the phone box.

“Okay. I want you to keep playing along. Go to the bank and try to withdraw all the funds. If something bad happens to you, I’ll try and sort it out so you don’t end up in prison.”

Another lie. He’d clear it so she’d have no problem lifting the money. Again, she didn’t need to know anything about what he was doing.

After she picked up the money she headed for her three-thirty appointment at the Ritz. She had her long conversation with Michael about Newcastle, She was sure she’d acted her part well enough so as not to raise his suspicions. She then summarised the whole conversation for her boss making sure she didn’t leave out any important details.

“You’re doing a brilliant job, Faith, I’m so proud of you. Keep following Michael’s plan. I’m going to give you a mobile phone which you’re to keep with you at all times. You can call me on it at any time of the day or night and its GPS will allow me to know exactly where you are. When you’re in the location where he’s holed up with the other two thieves then, and only then, call me.”

He stressed the importance of waiting until they were with the ‘other two thieves’ but he didn’t explain why. She’d never be told that the other two were the real target of this manhunt because they had the Scroll.

“As soon as I get your call, we’ll come and get you.”