Читать книгу Choices - Jeff Edwards - Страница 9

It was the worst day of Dan Travers’ life.

He waited impatiently for his name to be called, and for his years of an easygoing life to come to an abrupt end. Dan knew what was about to happen, and that there was no way for him to avoid the train crash that was about to befall him. I suppose it had to end eventually, he thought wryly. It has all been too good to be true. But what am I to do now? What’s to become of my family? They’re depending on me. What if I’m sent to jail?

Dan’s guts were tied up in knots and his mouth felt dry. It was as though every drop of moisture had been sucked from his body. If it had been about him alone he believed that he could have endured what they were about to do, but he had Sandy, Brook and Josh relying on him, and he had to do whatever he could to protect them.

A sudden thought occurred to him like a whisper from the past. What if? he thought. No! That would never work. Would it?

Desperation shaped his thoughts, and the glimmer of an idea took root in his imagination. He tried to shake it as being completely unworkable but no other alternatives could be found, and the final choice was between very little hope and no hope at all. Shaking his head, he dismissed the idea as entirely too fanciful and steeled himself for the inevitable.

* * *

‘Daniel Travers,’ cried the clerk of the court.

His legs felt like jelly as Dan made his way forward and stood in the dock, waiting for the oath to be administered.

The Independent Commission Against Corruption is not a regular court of law. It is presided over by a judge and there is a prosecutor, but there all similarity to an actual court ends. The commission investigates but does not prosecute. No one is on trial here so witnesses don’t have a legal representative to act on their behalf. The person is brought before the commission simply to answer its questions, and they are required to do so under oath with all the penalties under the law for those who are found to have attempted to mislead it in any way.

When the commission completes its dealings a report of its findings are prepared, complete with any recommendations it cares to make. It is only when those recommendations are acted upon that the poor unfortunates who appeared before the commission are brought before the true court system, and it was this fate that Dan was trying to find a way to avoid.

Today the commission was investigating the unauthorised use of the New South Wales Police Force’s computer system, and the relationship between certain employees of the force and members of the private investigation fraternity.

Dan sat in the dock and watched anxiously as both the prosecutor and the judge shuffled through their papers. Get the fuck on with it! Dan’s mind screamed, as panic set in.

Finally the prosecutor began.

‘Your name is Daniel Travers and you are employed by the New South Wales Police Force as a group supervisor in the communications branch. Is that correct?’

‘Yes.’

‘Louder,’ ordered the judge.

‘Your evidence is being taped,’ growled the prosecutor sharply, knowing full well that the witness would feel cowered by the twin attack, and therefore more likely to give truthful answers.

‘Yes,’ called Dan.

‘Not that loud,’ snapped the judge. ‘There’s no need to shout. We’re not deaf.’

Fuck you! thought Dan, who after sitting around and watching these two smug officials treating those who appeared in the dock as though they were less than human, reached a hasty decision and decided that enough was enough. They were out to destroy him anyway, so what was the point in making their job any easier. He was now determined to do something, even if the effect of it was only to delay the inevitable.

The prosecutor wandered over to stand in front of Dan, a piece of paper in his hand which he casually consulted. ‘What do you know about a company by the name of Trusty Investigations and its proprietor, a Mr Liam Ryan?’

Dan sat in stony silence, collecting his thoughts, picking his next words carefully. Do I have the guts to go through with this? he asked himself. Do I answer his questions or not?

The judge looked down his nose at Dan, and snapped at him. ‘Answer the question Mr Travers we haven’t got all day! Do you know Ryan and his company?’ he demanded.

Before he could change his mind Dan blurted out, ‘I’m not permitted to answer that question.’

The judge’s mouth dropped open slightly at the unexpected reply. The man had heard all manner of evasions in the past but this was a new one. Ordinarily, he would have left the questioning up to the prosecutor at this stage, but he took Dan’s strange reply as a personal affront to his court, and that was not to be permitted.

‘Did I hear you correctly Mr Travers?’ he asked sharply. ‘Did you just say that you are not permitted to answer the prosecutor’s question?’

‘That’s correct.’

‘Oh, and exactly who is it who is denying you the right to answer the commission’s questions?’

Oh shit, here we go, Dan thought to himself, as he still wondered if he had the courage to continue.

‘Well Mr Travers?’ demanded the judge.

Dan swallowed. ‘I am unable to answer your questions due to the provisions of the Commonwealth Official Secrets Act.’

The prosecutor had heard a plethora of excuses from people attempting to thwart the commission’s enquiries but this was definitely a first. ‘Are you telling me that by answering the commission’s questions you will be compromising national security?’

Dan knew he had crossed the line of no return. The choice had been made and from here there was no turning back. He had to continue. ‘I cannot respond to that question,’ he said to the prosecutor.

‘What can you say Mr Travers?’ demanded the judge brusquely.

‘Nothing sir. Under the act I am not permitted to say anything regarding the matter currently before the commission.’

The judge had had enough. ‘Mr Travers, I am ordering that you answer the questions put to you by this commission, and I will warn you that failure to do so will place you in contempt of the commission and therefore liable to such sanctions as described in the act under which this commission was formed.’

Dan shrugged and tried to calm his racing heart. ‘I cannot answer your questions, and must rely on your judgment as to whether the commission chooses to impose its sanctions.’

‘I am ordering you to reply.’

‘Under the Official Secrets Act I cannot,’ Dan replied unsteadily. ‘I would also add that this commission was formed by the state of New South Wales whereas the Official Secrets Act is a federal act and I believe it has pre-eminence over state matters.’

The judge exchanged a glance with the prosecutor. ‘I’m going to call a brief recess. You may step down Mr Travers but I will want to proceed with your questioning the moment I return. Do not leave the building.’

‘All rise,’ called the clerk, as the judge left his bench and made his way from the court.

* * *

The prosecutor and an assistant made their way to the judge’s chambers where they were ushered into his presence.

‘What do you make of this?’ the judge asked.

‘It’s all bullshit. He’s trying to avoid the inevitable.’

‘Is there anything in his records that might give us a clue?’

‘Nothing recent, but prior to joining the police force as a civilian clerk he did serve in the army.’

‘Not army intelligence I suppose!’

‘No Your Honour. According to his file Travers was in the signals corps. That was probably when he signed the Official Secrets Act.’

‘So there’s no provable link between this man and anything that might be of significance to the nation’s security?’

‘Well, he was stationed in Canberra, and he did serve overseas in both Iraq and Afghanistan, but that’s about all we know about him. If we want anymore information we’re going to have to dig a lot deeper than we did the first time. We’ll have to see if ASIO has anything on him and hope they’d be willing to share their information with us.’

‘Will they help us?’

‘If they have nothing on him I’m sure they’ll say so, but I’m afraid that if he is involved in the intelligence community they’ll probably refuse to assist us and deny that they have anything of significance.’

‘So if we make a request for information, a denial from ASIO could mean either yes or no.’

‘I’m afraid so.’

‘What do you suggest?’

‘I think we should put him back in the dock and see if he’ll come to his senses. In the meantime we place a request for further information with anyone he may have come in contact with, like army intelligence, ASIO, police intelligence and the federal police intelligence unit. In the meantime I’ll make sure that any phone calls he makes are intercepted.’

‘I want him followed as well,’ added the judge. ‘If he does have links to the intelligence community then he’ll know better than to continue using his current communications systems.’

‘I’ll have my assistant get straight on to it.’

‘Alright, let’s go back in and see if our friend Mr Travers has had a change of heart.’

* * *

This time the judge allowed the prosecutor to handle the questioning of Travers, concentrating instead on watching the man in the dock and the way he handled himself.

If the judge had had to describe Travers he would have been hard-pressed to find some distinguishing feature. The man appeared to be of average height, average size, average hair colour, average clothing, his skin was well-tanned like that of a man who worked outdoors rather than in a communications centre. The only non-average thing about the man was that he appeared to be a lot fitter than most men his age, and the judge wondered if that might be some sort of a hint that Travers really was connected to the intelligence industry. He certainly looked unremarkable enough, and the judge could see that Travers would blend in almost anywhere on Earth without attracting too much attention to himself. That might also explain why the man’s illegal activities had gone undetected for so long.

‘Well then Mr Travers,’ began the prosecutor, ‘you say that your dealings with Trusty Investigations are to do with national security?’

‘I never said anything of the sort,’ Dan replied, indignant at being misquoted.

‘Well then, what did you say?’ asked the prosecutor innocently.

‘I simply advised the commission that I couldn’t answer its questions.’

‘I asked you if you knew Trusty Investigations or Liam Ryan, and you claimed that you couldn’t answer due to the Official Secrets Act. I deduce from your reply that Trusty Investigations or Mr Liam Ryan must be associated with national security, otherwise the Official Secrets Act would not apply to your giving this commission the answers it seeks.’

Dan realised that he was being questioned by an expert. He knew he had to be on his guard at all times. To say anything at all was to fall into the prosecutor’s trap, no matter how innocent the questions may seem.

‘Well Mr Travers?’

‘I cannot respond to your conjecture due to …’

‘… the Official Secrets Act,’ sighed the prosecutor finishing Travers’ sentence for him.

The prosecutor returned to his desk and picked up a sheaf of papers. ‘I have here the phone records of a phone located in the office of Trusty Investigations and used by Liam Ryan. On it are numerous listings for calls made to and from a phone number in police headquarters. Would it surprise you to know that the phone number in police headquarters is the phone in your office?’

Dan swallowed involuntarily which made the judge smile. Got you!

‘Well Mr Travers what do you say to that?’ pressed the prosecutor.

‘I am unable to respond to that statement due to the provisions of …’

‘Yes, yes, yes Mr Travers,’ interrupted the judge. ‘There’s no need for you to keep quoting that mantra. We’ll take it as said that if you continue to refuse to answer our questions it is because of your so-called association with the Official Secrets Act. Continue with your questions prosecutor.’

The prosecutor turned to Travers. ‘So, it would seem that you’ve had a business relationship with Mr Liam Ryan for some considerable time. What is the nature of that business relationship?’

‘I never said that.’

‘No, that’s right, you didn’t. However, rather than your hiding behind a federal act, I choose to accept the evidence which has been collected by our officers—evidence such as the exchange of phone calls and the unexplained deposit of certain monies into a bank account in your name. Would you like me to supply you with the dates and the amounts of the deposits made to that account?’

‘I cannot respond to your comments.’

‘Of course you can’t Mr Travers. That would only confirm your guilt in this matter.’

‘I can’t respond to that.’

‘What manner of information could you possibly pass on to Liam Ryan that would be of national significance?’

‘I cannot answer that.’

‘Is Mr Ryan’s company a “front” for one of our nation’s security departments?’

‘I cannot answer that.’

‘Of course you can’t, but I’m sure your friend Mr Ryan will be more forthcoming when we put him on the stand.’

Dan gave an involuntary shudder. He hadn’t considered that.

‘I cannot respond to that comment,’ he replied weakly.

Both the judge and the prosecutor caught Travers’ moment of weakness.

‘And you’re willing to face a possible prison sentence for contempt of court if we learn that you have been less than truthful with this commission?’

‘I am unable to help you.’

‘What will the intelligence community say when we ask them what part you play in their dealings?’

‘I can’t comment on that.’

‘Will they say, “Oh yes Mr Travers is one of our best spies”, or will they say that they’ve never heard of Mr Daniel Travers?’

‘They will deny having heard of me.’

‘Ah finally, an answer to a question.’

Dan realised his mistake, but it was too late.

‘So your masters in intelligence will deny all knowledge of you, and they’ll allow you to pay the price for your silence.’

Dan nodded. ‘It’s the way that things are done.’

‘And you’re not prepared to assist this commission?’

‘I can’t.’

The prosecutor nodded. ‘So be it.’

The prosecutor and the judge exchanged a glance. There was no point in pursuing the matter any further. They had plenty of other fools waiting to be questioned.

‘Mr Travers,’ the judge began, ‘to say that our short time together today has been less than promising would be an under-statement. I have no doubt that what you are attempting is nothing short of perverting the course of justice and I am sure that there will be a day of reckoning for you. At this point in time you may step down, but I am warning you that we will be taking your case further, and I am sure that you will be reappearing before this commission sometime in the very near future. When that day comes, I will expect you to behave in a far more co-operative manner, or there will be consequences for you the likes of which you cannot possibly conceive.’

‘I understand.’

‘I very much doubt you do Mr Travers,’ said the judge crossly. ‘You may stand down.’

* * *

Legs shaking uncontrollably, Dan stumbled from the building.

Further along the street he sighted a hotel, and he headed in that direction.

‘A whisky. No, make it a double,’ he ordered the elderly barman.

The man smiled knowingly as he poured the drink. ‘You look like a man who has just been to the ICAC,’ he said as he placed the drink on the bar.

Dan didn’t reply. Instead, he picked up the glass and downed its contents in one swallow.

The barman winked and pointed to the hall leading to the toilets. ‘There’s a public phone down there. I’m guessing you might want to use it. A lot of people in your position do. You never know who’ll be listening in if you use your mobile.’

Dan nodded. ‘Thanks.’

Liam Ryan answered on the second ring.

‘It’s me,’ said Dan.

‘No names,’ warned Liam. ‘I’ve had visitors.’

‘Shit!’

‘That and a lot more. They’ve taken my computers and most of my files.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘Wait until I get the call to appear.’

‘What will you tell them?’

‘The truth. What else can I tell them? I’m sorry they dragged you in.’

‘Yeah.’

‘And?’

‘And nothing. Do what you have to do,’ he said resignedly. ‘Look after yourself. There’s nothing you can do to save me. I’m a goner.’

‘I’m sorry. Let me know if there’s anything you need.’

‘Yeah. Thanks.’

Dan hung up and made his way back to the bar.

‘Another double?’ asked the barman.

‘Just a beer.’

‘Feeling better are we?’

‘No. I’ve got to get back to work.’