Regan's Reach (29 page)

Her concern was more obvious than she realized
and as Hayden read her thoughts, he smiled.

"Steph, I've gone over the performance
data from your trials and I don't think you need to worry, they're going to be
shocked when they see the ADF in action. Myself? Honestly, I'm stunned at what
this beauty can do, and without a pilot. How you people have been able to
develop the software for it to fly independently is beyond me. I'm impressed."

She smiled gratefully, "Well, it's not
completely independent. We set the mission parameters of course, but yes, it
can react far faster than any pilot and make the adjustments required to
achieve the goal. Hayden, the US has drones doing something similar so you can't
fool me." She said this chuckling, "But I know, ours are way better!"
and they both laughed.

"Anyway," she continued, "this
is just a teaser. We'll show them the latest prototype in action tomorrow when
we move up to the Wairarapa facility, after all seeing it in action is the key.
Then they'll appreciate the other real breakthroughs we've made are in fuel
technology and propulsion. Once they see that and realize we're developing to
upscale for orbit as well, I'm hoping they'll get as enthusiastic as we are."

"You better believe it!" Hayden
clearly had no doubts. "Relax Steph, they are the real deal, once they see
the possibilities they'll be sold and they'll help you get it done! Believe it,
I can't wait."

Stephanie warmed to the prospect. Looking
again at the group she considered how they looked very much like her own team.
They weren't 'yes' men or women, they would speak their minds.
Yes,
she
thought,
the prospects are good, very good. Regan will be pleased at this
development, even if it was unexpected.
She heard a loud clap from the
entrance and turned to see her personal assistant calling for attention.

"Guys, time to move, we're heading for
party central, we call this our piano welcome. The STEINway . . . do you get
it?" Groans rumbled around as they all fell in, heading for the pool.

*

FBC Newsroom, New York

"Stunning developments in the
USDynamics cyber terrorism saga ladies and gentlemen, and tonight we have a
scoop that will blow the lid off this story so fasten your seatbelts! Greetings
to you all, I'm John McCall and this is Business Focus. Tonight we have with us
the Chairman of USDynamics William Thomas, if I may say so, a legend of
aerospace and defense, thank you sir for finally coming."

The camera switched to Bill Thomas, looking
so pale and drawn it was obvious to those in the industry someone had done an
appalling makeup job preparing him for camera. Appalling or perhaps considered,
he looked like a cadaver unaware it was dead.

"I wish I could say it was a pleasure
to be here, John, but under the circumstances it would be fair to say this was
a necessity rather than a pleasure." Bill prepared to go on the attack.

"I'm sad to hear that Sir, why do you
say that?" McCall looked smug and at the same time was sickeningly
respectful. He leaned back in his chair, relaxed, confident.

"I think you know why John.
Misrepresentation on this program, distortion of the facts along with a
considerable amount of poor follow up commentary has done tremendous harm to a
great company. I'd like to reassure shareholders listening tonight that
USDynamics is in great shape and always has been, no thanks . . ."

". . . 'Has been', now there's an
interesting term Bill." McCall interrupted, ignoring Thomas and looking
straight at the camera for a moment as if to wink, and then he turned back to
again eyeball his guest, "Some would say it's the board of USDynamics that
has done tremendous harm, not just to the company but to the reputation of the
United States."

"Now you . . . ." Bill made to
reply but McCall simply talked over him, the camera panning back to take in
them both, then switching to focus on Bill as McCall went on the attack.

"Bill, as Chairman of USDynamics, we
need your response. We've heard the latest forensic reports on the alleged
cyber attacks on USDynamics in fact reveal the opposite. Investigators found no
evidence of a Chinese attack but clear evidence that Arteis proactively
penetrated China Air. The findings reportedly show that Arteis, originating
from USDynamics, infected systems with a virus so virulent it's cost China Air
billions! How could this happen on your watch sir!"

"Rubbish!" Bill responded, "Just
more lies and deception, where do you get this trash?"

McCall dramatically flourished a file in
front of the camera, before tossing it down on the desk in front of Thomas. "The
White House report, Mr. Thomas. You will find everything is as I have said.
Perhaps you might take the next few hours catching up. Oh and I'd contact your
lawyers, I understand China Air are planning to sue, along with the Chinese
Government."

He looked straight at the camera. "And
Regan Stein, my bet is they will soon be coming," . . . he pointed into
the lens . . . "for you!"

"We'll be back in a moment after this
word from our sponsor."

As the camera panned away, William Thomas
was standing, he looked ashen, and old.

*

USDynamics Boardroom, Washington

The young man sitting at the back of the
room was thoughtful. Rarely noticed or acknowledged by the group he busied
himself as usual, head down, taking notes.

'Non person' would be the correct
description
. He surveyed the board members present,
all gathered for the live appearance of the great William Thomas on Business
Focus and he could see from their body language the performance just witnessed
had been something of a shock. He controlled a satisfied grin. As Personal
Assistant to Thomas and the board he had attended many such meetings and he
couldn't recall a single time anyone had addressed him directly except to order
coffee or complain.

Well you don't look happy now!
He thought uncharitably.

To a person they had heads in their hands,
rubbing temples furiously, massaging tight scalps, covering eyes or in the case
of Greg Jones rapping his forehead rhythmically on the huge oak table. The
young man couldn't stifle a chuckle.

"You think this is funny Jonathan?"
Joan Pritchard, the only board member he had time for, was glaring across the
room.

"No ma'am, I'm sorry, I was thinking
of something else . . . would anyone like coffee?" No one responded and he
slipped quickly from the room.

Mary Pope finally articulated everyone's
thoughts. "What an unmitigated disaster! I can't believe it. If that
report says what McCall says it does we're finished, even the White House won't
be able to save us. I just can't believe it, I saw the data myself! I'm no tech
expert but I can't see why STEIN would do this, it's simply ridiculous."

"Is it?" Greg lifted his head, a
small red mark in the centre of his forehead. "It's an old trick, create a
problem for the customer then solve it. It wouldn't be the first time. Hell, we've
played that game with our international politics for decades, why wouldn't a
company do it?"

"For one thing," Joan countered, "We
already had the problem and secondly, Regan Stein is no two faced politician!"

"Look Joan, of course we wait to see
the report, but if it does confirm those facts we've got serious damage control
to do. I suggest we get on to the company lawyers pronto and convene again
tomorrow morning; we can't let this wait for Bill to get back. This is going to
hit the markets in the morning and god knows what the share price will be by
the afternoon."

Following such words of wisdom it was
slightly incongruous to see Greg drop his head to the table once more, he
groaned.

"That bloody McCall!" Joan
protested, "How did he hijack Bill like that?"

*

Wellington New Zealand: Prime Minister's
Office, the Beehive

"Thanks for coming in gentlemen. I'm
sorry it had to be by the back entrance and on such disappointing business."

Prime Minister Robert Jarvis looked
genuinely sympathetic and conciliatory as he offered them chairs. "Would
anyone like water?"

"Not for me thanks Bob, you'll
understand we're a little keyed up at the moment. What about you Marcus?"
Kevin turned apologetically, realizing he'd spoken for both of them.

"No thanks, I'd rather find out your
concerns first, Prime Minister, I may not feel like anything after that!"
Rarely nervous, Marcus sounded like he had some idea of what was to come . . . and
it wasn't good.

"Call me Bob, Marcus, no need for
formality here." Jarvis said it with a stunning smile. "Well, let's
cut to the chase. The Chinese want Regan, they want us to extradite her on
cyber terrorism charges. We won't of course. For one thing we don't have an
extradition treaty with China and secondly I know from the information you've
already shown me there is a lot more going on than is obvious. But I'm between
a rock and a hard place here guys, and we need to find a solution. At the end
of the day though, I want you to know, we don't sell out our own."

"So, what do you intend to do Bob?"
Marcus looked sceptical and he could see Kevin was shocked.

"That this is a delicate situation
goes without saying. China's a huge trade partner for us, and it would mean nothing
to them to cut us off so we need to tread very carefully. Some of this is just
posturing and I get the feeling they have another agenda, only time will tell.
But there's more I'm afraid, the US is also pressing for extradition and with
them we do have a treaty. Again, we won't just hand a New Zealand citizen over,
for a start they need to prove they have a case and we would need to be
confident they wouldn't just hand Regan to the Chinese."

"This is all rubbish Bob, you know
that." Kevin didn't sound convincing, even to himself, they all knew truth
had nothing to do with these games, this was Realpolitik.

"Between us Kevin, I don't believe a
word of it, and I'm sure time will sort it out. But in the meantime if I were
Regan, I wouldn't leave the country, the US and China have a lot of sway with a
lot of nations. Where is she anyway? I would have thought she'd be commenting
on this by now. She doesn't strike me as someone who avoids a fight."

Kevin and Marcus exchanged looks. "Honestly
Bob, we're not sure. She took six months off just after the USDynamics purchase
and didn't want to be contacted. Having said that I'm not giving anything away
when I say she planned to backpack around South America. Look, when she turns
up we'd appreciate any interventions you could make to get her home safely
rather than, well, the alternative." Kevin was clearly concerned.

"Of course, I'll do whatever I can. If
you hear from her tell her to contact our local representative or embassy if
there is one - bearing in mind in some countries there we only have trade
representatives. Kevin, I don't like to suggest this but there's something else
you need to consider. If South America is where she went she may already be in
US hands. That they contacted us at all could be just establishing a paper
trail, that's the way this game is played sometimes."

Kevin stood followed by Marcus, there
really was nothing more to discuss.

He looked down at the PM. "Thanks for
the heads up Bob. You have the real facts, stand by us and we'll stand by you,
this isn't right."

The PM stood and extended his hand. "You
can be sure I'll do what I can, and in the meantime, let's keep each other in
touch."

As they exited the elevator on the way to
the car Marcus tried to be encouraging.

"Kev, things will work out. Regan will
sort this when she gets back."

"That's just the point Marcus, when
she gets back. Where is she? What if they've got her already! I need to get
back and talk to Kutch about this, there must be some way we can do some
forensics of our own, find out what happened, this is all bullshit."

They reached the car and Marcus paused
there looking across the roof of the BMW.

"Kev, I'm not sure if this is going to
help you or not, but I can tell you Regan has had me taking a position in USDynamics.
With the share price tanking so badly, well, she's actually amassed a
significant strategic shareholding. I don't think this was exactly her plan,
but it's working out in her favor and I get the feeling she's on top of this in
some way."

Kevin met his eyes, shook his head, then
smiled and opened the driver's door. He looked back at Marcus.

"Nothing surprises me about that girl.
This is serious stuff, but there's nothing we can do about it that we're not
already doing. Let's go get a drink."

*

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington

President Sarah Allen looked sadly around
the Oval Office, clearly troubled.

"I wonder how many conversations like
this have been held in this office." She paused, thinking. "I feel
sullied by this whole affair, it's appalling."