Читать книгу The Song of Mawu - Jeff Edwards - Страница 16

10

Fit and tan after their months in Singapore, Bree Lake and Sam Tait arrived at Heathrow Airport and passed quickly through Customs. They emerged to find their supervisor Rodney Taylor waiting to escort them to the waiting helicopter and on to Walton Village.

‘No luggage?’ asked Rod.

‘Our houseboy is packing it up and will send it later.’ said Sam in a deliberately offhand manner. ‘Singapore clothes don’t exactly match the London climate anyway.’

‘Well it’s good to know that The Fund’s money isn’t being wasted out there,’ grinned Rod.

Bree laughed, ‘You should have seen the fight the two of them put up trying to pack. There was six-foot-two am having it out with a skinny little five-foot Chinese grandfather. Sam lost by the way and had to stand aside while the houseboy did all the work.’

‘You both look in the peak of condition,’ said Rod as they lifted off.

‘Helping Wendy Chung to set up the office was hardly the most difficult assignment that we’ve ever been given,’ said Bree, ‘We’ve had plenty of spare time for sightseeing and keeping in shape. In fact, the hardest thing we’ve had to do was to keep up with Wendy in the gym. She’s an absolute dynamo.’

‘And she’s been teaching us some of her martial arts techniques,’ added Sam. ‘Bree is becoming quite adept at sword play.’

‘I’ll keep that in mind the next time we want chips for tea,’ joked Rod.

‘Very funny!’ said Bree, ‘It’s an ancient discipline.’

‘Sorry!’ apologised Rod, ‘but I can’t imagine what use swordplay is to the modern intelligence agent.’

‘Ask me again after I’ve removed your head from your body with a flick of my wrist,’ smiled Bree sweetly.

Rod swallowed hard and decided to change the subject. He brought them up to date on the refugee camp, and the latest events in Namola. At the mention of Joseph Lattua’s name the agents both let out a loud laugh.

Surprised at their reaction, he asked, ‘You know him?’

‘It is a small world,’ said Bree, ‘Lattua was our first assignment together when we joined Inland Security.’

‘So you have background information on him?’

‘Well it was a few years ago, so it’s not completely up to date, but we do know quite a lot about President for Life Joseph Lattua.’

‘We’ll still need to get our hands on the latest information,’ said Rod. ‘Do you think you’ll be able to use your contacts at Inland Security to help us?’

Bree and Sam looked at one another. Their continued involvement with Inland Security was supposed to be a secret between themselves and their chief, John Thorpe. To admit that they could readily obtain the necessary information would be to admit that they were still a part of that organisation.

‘Well I don’t think that would be possible,’ said Sam. ‘Inland Security would take a dim view of retired agents snooping around their halls.’

‘Of course! Sorry!’ said Rod, and thought to himself, ‘Bullshit’.

‘I think the best idea would be to look around the country and find a Namolan expatriot who’s willing to talk,’ offered Bree. ‘The universities probably have several students studying over here.’

Rod nodded at the suggestion, ‘I’ll check into it. Thanks.’

***

Stepping out of the helicopter the agents saw the newly completed building for the first time. ‘Very modern,’ observed Sam, ‘Nothing like the old bank building in London.’

‘Nothing at all,’ agreed Rod as he led them through the front door. ‘By the way, your old security passes won’t work around here. I’ll have to leave you in the hands of Teddy Strang’s people. When you’re finished, report to my office.’

But Bree and Sam barely heard the words as he walked away. Their attention had been immediately drawn to an object sitting regally on a low plinth in the wide, modern foyer.

Its metal body still displayed the scorch marks and scratches of battle, with a few chips in its bullet-proof windows, but despite this the Rolls Royce had been lovingly cleaned and polished.

Now it stood below the large portrait of Janice Patricia Green, the elderly woman whose money had created The Fund and was better known by the more notorious name of Jade Green.

‘It’s her Rolls! The armoured one!’ breathed Sam.

Before they could discuss the matter further they were joined by the head of security Teddy Strang.

‘Welcome home! Come with me and I’ll get you both fixed up.’

Reluctantly they left the regal vehicle and followed The Fund’s Head of Security.

***

The agents were expecting to have their photo taken and a new plastic card issued, but they were totally bemused when they finally reported to Rod Taylor’s office two hours later.

Not only had they been fingerprinted, photographed, DNA samples taken, but to their total shock a nurse had used an alcohol swab to clean a patch of skin on their neck, close to their shoulders. A doctor had then injected a local anaesthetic and sliced the skin before inserting a microchip into the open wound.

‘We’re now going to be treated like lost dogs,’ remarked Sam before breaking into a sad yelping bark.

The doctor gave them a slight smile as he covered their minor wounds with a skin coloured bandage. ‘If you think that’s merely a tracking chip, then you’re very much mistaken,’ he said.

‘What else does it do?’ asked Bree.

‘Not even I know that.’

‘But you must know,’ insisted Bree.

He shrugged, ‘All I know is that all employees of The Fund have them, and we are paid extremely well for the minor initial discomfort.’ The doctor turned away from them and pointed to the nurse’s neck where they could now discern a small raised section of skin. If they hadn’t been looking for it, they wouldn’t have been aware of its presence.

‘Not even my husband has noticed it,’ said the nurse.

***

‘What’s with the microchips?’ asked Sam as soon as they walked into Rod’s office.

Rod shrugged his shoulders, ‘I have one, so does my wife and even my son. If anything were to happen to us, a car accident or something like that, the computers here will pick it up and emergency procedures instigated. It’s for our own good and is especially relevant for employees such as yourselves who operate in the field.’

‘I don’t like the idea,’ said an indignant Bree, ‘It’s totally Orwellian.’

‘It’s for your own good, and a further addition to your watches.’

‘I can take off the watch when I need to,’ said Bree.

‘And what if something happens when you don’t have the watch with you, or if someone takes it off you?’

‘That’s my problem.’

Rod shook his head. ‘No, that’s The Fund’s problem. You’ll be in trouble and we won’t have contact with you. If we don’t know where you are we won’t be able to help you. The board of directors is taking a very serious line on this. There will be no exceptions.’

‘Well it’s in, so I suppose there’s nothing I can do about it without going to see a surgeon.’

‘Learn to live with it. After a day or two you’ll forget it’s there. Now let’s go. We have a meeting to attend.’

***

Justine brought the meeting to order. ‘This meeting has been called to discuss the current situation in Namola.’

The mention of that country caused Bree and Sam, who sat with Rod Taylor at the far end of the board table, to exchange a quick glance.

‘We saw Namola mentioned in the news while we were in Singapore,’ said Bree, ‘But what has it got to do with The Fund?’

Justine fixed her with an icy look. ‘If you’ll allow me to continue, I’ll bring you and Sam up to date.’

‘Sorry!’ apologised Bree, thinking ‘No need to get snooty about it. I was only asking.’

Justine continued, recapping what had already been discussed at their previous meeting regarding their camp in Namola, before handing the meeting over to Ali for the latest update.

‘We’ve been in contact with some of the workers we recruited from the refugee camp. It seems President Lattua has not been idle. He and his brother have moved a large proportion of their army into our encampment and made themselves comfortable. Fields that our people cleared of rocks and were preparing to plant with maize have been turned into parade grounds and vehicle parking lots.

Added to that, Lattua has invited ex-President Francis Bollan of Sonateria to join him there. Bollan is in the process of forcing the refugees from his own country to clear more of the valley for the erection of a home for himself and his troop of special forces. I’m told that his men are nothing more than a bunch of ex-criminal bully boys who swore an oath of loyalty to Bollan on the promise of high wages and having a blind eye turned on their previous transgressions.

Bollan’s men have been going among the males in the refugee camp seeking further recruits and with the desperate condition they find themselves in, many of them are flocking to the cause, if only to be able to feed and protect their families. He’s proving especially popular with orphaned boys and doesn’t care how young they are. If they’re strong enough to pick up a gun he’ll enlist them. I don’t think it will be too long before he has a large enough force to attempt an incursion into his former homeland.’

‘Will he be able to retake control of Sonateria?’ asked Rod.

‘He’s not strong enough yet, but whatever he attempts will result in more resentment from the Hansa government in Sonateria, and therefore less chance of getting a peaceful diplomatic solution to the problems out there. He has to be stopped, but that’s just one aspect of a very complicated situation that exists out there.’

‘Perhaps we can appeal to Joseph Lattua. Convince him to have Bollan expelled from Namola. If Bollan is forced into exile he won’t be a problem and his special forces will disband if they don’t have someone to pay them,’ said Rod Taylor.

Ali nodded, ‘I thought much the same thing. When I found out that Bollan’s men were recruiting among the refugees I rang Lattua and pleaded that very case to him.’

Eliza piped up, ‘That scheming bastard was all smiles and fine words but what it amounted to was that The Fund is not wanted out there, especially if we intend to reclaim the land which we legally leased. They’ve taken our property and have no intention of giving it back. As for Bollan, it seems he’s quite welcome to stay and train with Lattua’s army as long as he has the money to pay for his accommodation and equipment.’

Justine, from her seat at the end of the table, saw Bree and Sam exchange a further look. ‘Do you two have something to contribute to this?’ she asked like a stern schoolmistress to a pair of first formers.

They exchanged a further glance before Sam nodded, indicating that Bree should be the one to speak.

‘What you said about Lattua is just how we remembered him.’

‘You’ve met Lattua?’ asked Eliza.

Bree nodded, ‘Joseph Lattua was the subject of our first assignment together with Inland Security. The World Bank had made Lattua’s government a substantial loan for them to invest in setting up local business enterprises. However, Lattua channelled the funds directly into his own bank accounts and bought himself a yacht. Then he sailed it to Monte Carlo and gambled the rest of the money away.’

Sam added, ‘We followed him to Europe to see if we could find where the money went, in the vain hope that the World Bank could recover some of their funds, but he was too quick for us. What he didn’t spend or gamble away disappeared into secret bank accounts.’

‘That’s where they say all Bollan’s money is as well,’ said Justine, ‘In the years before he was overthrown, the entire Treasury of Sonateria was systematically looted by him.’

‘They’re very much alike,’ agreed Rod Taylor, ‘I wouldn’t be surprised if they both use the same bankers.’

‘So, other than the World Bank’s money, where does Namola get his money?’ asked Justine.

‘It’s been a while, but I’ll see if I can recall what we found out about President for Life Joseph Lattua and the country of Namola,’ said Bree, ‘Let’s see. The West African country of Namola is located on the Bight of Benin. Its capital city, Lobacra, is located on the Tombine River and has a population of approximately one million, while the population of the entire country is about ten million, most of whom are farmers and graziers and live in the country around the provincial capitals. Like their neighbour Sonateria, most of the population are Sontars, which is why the refugees from that country were allowed to cross the border when the uprising took place.

Namola was originally a German colony, but fell under British control during World War I, when they introduced a system of government based on the Westminster system.

In 1975 the country gained its independence, but remains a part of the Commonwealth.

The country is, and always was, largely rural, with exports limited to some maize and beef. However, the country’s true wealth comes from an open-cut gold mine in the country’s north which is owned and operated by the Canadian company Yukon International.

This was added to in the past decade by the discovery of a significant oil-field off their coast by an American corporation.’

‘What about Lattua?’ asked Justine.

Bree continued, ‘Like a lot of sons from poor farming families in the years after independence, Joseph Lattua and his brother joined the army while still teenagers. It was while Joseph was in the army that he came to the attention of his superiors, not for his prowess as a soldier, but as a boxer. He represented Namola in the Commonwealth Games and became in instant hero when he became the first Namolan to win an international sporting gold medal. He was rewarded with a commission in the army and went on the represent Namola in the Olympic Games, where he won a silver medal. As a result, his fame within Namola skyrocketed and more promotions followed.

With his brother by his side, he continued in the army for several more years and eventually rose to second in command of all Namola’s armed forces.

Then fate took over. Namola’s Vice President became upset because the aging President refused to retire and allow for the normal transfer of power to his much younger underling. Not satisfied to wait, the Vice President tried to take matters into his own hands and launched a coup aided by the army’s commander.

The President appealed to Lattua for help, and he used his popularity with the troops to convince them to support the President. The coup was quickly brought to an end with the Vice President and head of the armed forces being arrested. The ringleaders disappeared, and were never heard from again while Joseph Lattua was rewarded with the now vacant Vice Presidency, and his brother became the head of armed forces.

The old President died suddenly a year later, apparently of natural causes, and the brothers suddenly found themselves masters of Namola.’

‘But what about the opposition? Operating under the Westminster system they would have had to submit themselves to regular elections, wouldn’t they?’ asked Brian Reynolds.

‘Joseph Lattua was very popular to begin with and had no trouble winning early elections. It was only when his bad governance became apparent that the population began to shift their support to the opposition parties. Lattua was able to file false charges against them and they too were rounded up and ‘disappeared’. Then he had himself voted President for Life and introduced his own style of democratic rule.’

‘Which was?’

‘I think he must have read up on Roman history when he was in the army, because he divided Namola up into provinces. Each province is controlled by a Governor who report directly to Lattua. The Governor is in complete control of everything that takes place within his province except for the armed forces. The only stipulation is that they supply Lattua and the central administration with a set amount of taxation revenue each quarter. If the Governor is fortunate to be able to collect more than the central government requests, then he is able to retain the residue. Consequently, the Governors are extremely earnest in their collections, while being very reluctant to waste any of the excess by spending on the long suffering taxpayers and the provincial infrastructure. As a result, the entire country has been slowly grinding to a halt, with roads and rail falling into disrepair. The schools and hospitals are a shadow of what they need to be and all the while the Governors continue to squeeze as much taxation funds as they can out of the populace. However, the money is getting tighter and tighter every year and the Governors are now being forced to take extreme measures, even resorting to dubious schemes like indulging in the sex and drug trade to reach their yearly taxation allotment.’

‘How much longer can this situation continue?’ asked Suzie Brown.

‘It was bad back then. I can only guess at how much worse it is now.’

‘How does the country survive?’

‘Luckily Yukon International have to get their equipment from the coast to their mines, so they are forced to provide the maintenance that keeps the highway in reasonable condition. They also supply homes, a hospital and schools for the mine’s overseas workers and their families, and a number of their local workers are also able to make use of these facilities. The oil company also has a similar set-up for their refinery on the coast. If you’re lucky enough to work for either of these companies then you’re far better off than the rest of your countrymen, so employment with them is much sought after. However, if you live in any other part of the country and work for a local employer, then your life is much more tenuous and your ability to move around severely restricted by the state of the country’s roads.’

‘No wonder they were in such a hurry to take over our encampment,’ said Eliza.

‘We were lucky it was still there when we moved in,’ said Ali.

The members of the board considered the information that they had been given, wondering how they could turn it to their advantage. ‘I think we’d better adjourn for the time being,’ announced Justine, ‘I would like you to give Rod a full written report from you both concerning your knowledge of Lattua,’ she said to Sam and Bree.

‘Most of our information was in reports which we submitted to Inland Security, and we’ve had to wrack our brains to give you what we have here today, but we’ll see what else we can find out for you,’ nodded Sam.