Layers of Deception Read online

  CONTENTS

  Copyright Amazon eBook

  For Mom & Dad

  Acknowledgements

  Part One - Saturday 11th April

  Part Two - Ten Weeks Earlier

  Chapter One - Monday 2nd February

  Chapter Two - Sunday 8th February

  Chapter Three - Monday 9th February

  Chapter Four - Tuesday 10th February

  Chapter Five - Wednesday 11th February

  Chapter Six - Thursday 12th February

  Chapter Seven - Friday 13th February

  Chapter Eight - Monday 16th February

  Chapter Nine - Saturday 21st February

  Chapter Ten - Monday 23rd February

  Chapter Eleven - Sunday 1st March

  Chapter Twelve - Monday 9th March

  Chapter Thirteen - Tuesday 10th March

  Chapter Fourteen - Tuesday 24th March

  Chapter Fifteen - Wednesday 25th March

  Chapter Sixteen - Thursday 26th March

  Chapter Seventeen - Friday 27th March

  Chapter Eighteen - Monday 30th March

  Chapter Nineteen - Wednesday 1st April

  Chapter Twenty - Monday 6th April

  Chapter Twenty-One - Tuesday 7th April

  Chapter Twenty-Two - Saturday 11th April

  Part Three - Present Day

  Chapter Twenty-Three - Monday 13th April

  Chapter Twenty-Four - Thursday 16th April

  Chapter Twenty-Five - Monday 20th April

  Chapter Twenty-Six - Wednesday 22nd April

  Chapter Twenty-Seven - Friday 24th April

  Chapter Twenty-Eight - Sunday 26th April

  Chapter Twenty-Nine - Monday 27th April

  Chapter Thirty - Tuesday 28th April

  Chapter Thirty-One - Wednesday 29th April

  Chapter Thirty-Two - Friday 1st May

  Chapter Thirty-Three - Saturday 2nd May

  Chapter Thirty-Four - Sunday 3rd May

  Chapter Thirty-Five - Monday 4th May

  Chapter Thirty-Six - Tuesday 5th May

  Chapter Thirty-Seven - Wednesday 6th May

  Chapter Thirty-Eight - Friday 8th May

  Chapter Thirty-Nine - Saturday 9th May

  Chapter Forty - Wednesday 13th May

  Chapter Forty-One - Thursday 14th May

  Chapter Forty-Two - Friday 15th May

  Chapter Forty-Three - Saturday 16th May

  Chapter Forty-Four - Sunday 17th May

  Chapter Forty-Five - Monday 18th May

  Chapter Forty-Six - Tuesday 19th May

  Chapter Forty-Seven - Wednesday 20th May

  Chapter Forty-Eight - Thursday 21st May

  Chapter Forty-Nine - Saturday 23rd May

  Chapter Fifty - Tuesday 26th May

  Chapter Fifty-One - Wednesday 27th May

  Chapter Fifty-Two - Thursday 28th May

  Chapter Fifty-Three - Monday 1st June

  Chapter Fifty-Four - Tuesday 2nd June

  Chapter Fifty-Five - Wednesday 3rd June

  Chapter Fifty-Six - Thursday 4th June

  Chapter Fifty-Seven - Sunday 7th June

  Chapter Fifty-Eight - Monday 8th June

  Chapter Fifty-Nine - Tuesday 9th June

  Chapter Sixty - Wednesday 10th June

  Chapter Sixty-One - Thursday 11th June

  Chapter Sixty-Two - Monday 15th June

  Part Four - Six Months Later

  Chapter Sixty-Three - Wednesday 9th December

  About Leo James

  LAYERS OF DECEPTION

  Leo James

  Copyright 2019 Leo James.

  All rights reserved.

  Leo James has asserted his right under the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. This novel is a work of fiction. Characters, institutions and organisations are either the product of the author’s imagination or, if real, used fictitiously without any intent to describe actual conduct. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without prior written permission of the author. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the author’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published.

  ISBN: 978-1-9164049-1-5

  First Edition.

  For Mom & Dad

  Acknowledgements

  I would like to thank all the folks for the advice and assistance that shaped and improved my story during the writing process. In particular, I'm very grateful to Mike Hawkes, Joe Nugent, Dr. James Chan, Annie-Rose Bostock and Howard Brown for their editorial guidance; Deb Burke, Pete Barrett, Julie King, Angela Tucker, Lauren McHugh, Petra Rohr-Rouendaal, Liam Burke, Sheila Williams and Sebastian Karig for reading the novel as it progressed and providing crucial feedback.

  A special thank you to Mary Thompson - an amazing editor!

  The cover was developed at www.essence-design.co.uk by the very talented Regine Wilber.

  PART ONE

  Saturday 11th April

  The unprotected driveway offered zero cover as hard raindrops ricocheted like pellets off David's car. Orange-lit street lamps illuminated the downpour. The cyber security expert yanked the collar of his three-quarter length coat over his head. It was either a soaked head or backside – easy choice. Lola, his yellow Labrador, reluctantly traipsed behind. She hated being wet and once sheltered behind the vehicle, gave herself a hearty shake. David opened the tailgate of the Renault Estate and the pooch jumped in.

  'Good girl.' David smiled as Lola settled on her blanket. He threw his coat into the back of the car and slid quickly into the driver's seat.

  Trish emerged from the house carrying a bow-wrapped box. She closed the front door, tested it with a push and a pull, then rushed towards the car in a futile attempt to dodge the downpour. Once seated, it took a while to wipe her blinking eyes and dry her glasses.

  'I'm bloody soaking.' Trish twisted and stretched to place the present on the rear seat.

  'Let's get moving… party’ll be over.' David checked Lola in the mirror. 'Good girl. Lie down now.' David pulled the estate off the drive and headed to the party.

  'Spend time with me tonight. Don't leave me talking to your sister… or Tim.’ Trish wagged her index finger. 'Focus on me for a change. Most of the time you're absent. If you’re not working, you're thinking about work.'

  ’Tim’s all right. He's harmless.' David glanced at Trish and smirked.

  'All arms more like. Bloody octopus. Any chance to grab my backside or have a fondle.'

  'He's no Harvey Weinstein—just friendly.'

  The Renault's headlights pierced the cloudburst as the traffic slowed.

  'Yes, too friendly. I'm sure June must know.'

  'She'd defend him to the hilt.'

  'Letch. Any chance to grope, especially when he's had a few drinks.'

  ‘If he does anything that makes you uncomfortable, let me know and I’ll speak to him about it,’ David glanced at his wife. 'You're beautiful. My lovely Trish. Are you surprised?'

  'Ah. You realise it. Funny. You married me remember, not your job.' She pushed his shoulder.

  'You are so funny and so lovely.' He looked at her again and smiled.

  'If I'm so delectable… why do I always have to grab you for a hug or a kiss? You're married to your phone and that compa
ny. You should be careful. I'm a great catch. If you're away I don't see you, and when you're here, you have your head down looking at your phone or your bloody laptop.'

  'Don't go on. It's a difficult time. You know I need to keep things going.'

  'Let the other directors take some pressure. It's not all down to you. Have some home life.'

  'For God's sake. Let's have a good evening.'

  'You've just got back and you're off away again. How does that make me feel?' She bowed her head, letting her hair screen her face.

  'It won't be for long…Steady!’ David felt the car slide a little, so he straightened it and gripped the steering wheel tighter. 'Christ, these tyres are wearing thin already!' The wipers were at full velocity yet were struggling to keep the deluge off the screen; he kept his speed well below the limit.

  'I'm not going on the M25 in this… we'll take the A10.'

  'OK. You know best as always.' Trish looked away.

  'Let's just have a nice evening. It’s Dad's seventieth.'

  Trish did not respond.

  The shower was easing.

  'You're a good girl Lola.' Trish turned around in her seat, she nudged her glasses with a fingertip, and smiled. 'Not far to go. Treatie time when we get there.' Lola wagged her tail expectantly.

  The downpour reduced to a drizzle.

  A black Audi pulled alongside them and slowed instead of overtaking. David looked across at the two men in the car. The passenger stared back and surveyed the pair with a half-smile.

  'What's he want?' David glanced several times whilst trying to focus on the road ahead. 'He's driving too close. Nutter.'

  The Audi hovered a little longer. David checked again. The passenger averted his stare and looked down. The Audi’s engine revved and it sped away. David stroked his beard and shrugged. 'Strange—.'

  The explosion caught him mid-thought. It was deafening and quick. He felt numbness and tingling but didn't know the detail - Good job. Both of his eardrums had burst in the blast. The Renault's airbags activated with twin bangs and filled the car with acrid smoke. He lost his grip on the steering wheel as the bag forced him backwards before jolting him forward again into the cushion. His seat belt locked up to reverse the action. Trish's head lurched forward, causing her spectacles to propel into the air, before her skull cracked against the passenger window. The car slid sideways along the wet road, narrowly missing a van as a white minibus braked hard behind it. The Renault finally lost all traction on the sodden surface and began spinning. Lola yelped in her rear compartment prison. The poor thing was being thrown around like washing on a full spin cycle.

  The car crossed a grass verge, and smashed into a street light, its doors buckling inwards. The momentum carried it still further into a tailspin, then a flip, before propelling it backwards into some bushes. Upturned and stationary, a further explosion punctuated its demise as flames consumed the chassis, tyres, and all.

  Traffic ground to a standstill and onlookers spilled out of their vehicles. They did it in freeze-frame. There was little point in rushing to this one.

  PART TWO

  Ten Weeks Earlier

  CHAPTER ONE

  Monday 2nd February

  DURING THE THIRTY-FIVE-minute drive to Fulham, West London, Steve Roussos considered his car as an extension of his office, using the time as efficiently as possible to make handsfree calls during the commute.

  He returned a call from an ex-colleague in the armed forces where he started his career in signalling. These skills readily transferred to the IT and telecom industries where he developed a solid reputation in corporate life and became a seasoned businessman. Having worked for companies in the US, Asia and Europe, he tried to leverage as many contacts as possible. The technical and commercial experience moulded him into a clean-shaven, well-dressed executive complementing his tall slender figure.

  Steve arrived at The Old Gasworks, home of his company, Seguro, where they had developed a secure financial payments solution. He parked out front, entered the building and climbed the stairs to the third floor, said hi to the software developers, grabbed a coffee and continued into his office. Greeted by post stacked on his desk, he sat down to sift through it: cyber security trade magazines, circulars, statements and invoices. A large brown envelope, which he was expecting, emblazoned with the official stamp of the UK Government's Communications and Electronics Security Group; known as CESG. He closed and re-opened his eyes, took a deep breath and slid the letter opener to reveal its contents; praying for a positive outcome.

  He pulled out the document and whispered, 'Well. Shit or bust.' Dread filled the pit of his stomach as he spotted the words “Commercial Product Assurance (CPA). Certification Rejected” stamped in large red characters. Peering at the report’s first page he sat dazed; elbows on the desk and hands holding his chin. Steve decided there was no point reading the whole document; he shoved back his chair, flipped it sideways, and slammed his fist on the table.

  Beads of sweat formed on his forehead. He tapped his fingers on the table. So, house gone, no holiday and end of the marriage. Fuck!

  Nostrils flared, he got up, walked along the corridor into Mark's office, slammed the door behind him, and dropped the document on the desk. Seguro's Chief Scientist, Mark Farrell was an imposing figure with dark, curly hair, his tall frame often seemed too big for his surroundings.

  'We're fucked.' Steve stood, arms crossed, waiting for a response.

  Mark scanned the opening paragraph. 'Oh.'

  Steve sighed. 'What a waste of fucking time and effort. Took them six months to come back with this crap. We secure payments over the fucking broken internet. What more do they want?' He sat down by Mark's desk, leaned back and ran his hands through his head of thick jet-black hair. 'Three years of hard work and we still can't break into the UK market.'

  Mark hunched forward, arms crossed and studied the document. 'The report says our solution is new and uses none of the ageing UK technologies. So CESG can't categorise or assess our products using their existing testing procedures. They can't work out how to make the paperwork fit, so they bounced the whole thing.' His face grimacing, Mark pushed himself back on the swivel chair, held the document up in one hand and pointed to a section with the other.

  Steve leaned forward, elbows placed on his thighs, hands concealed by his hair. 'Complete bollocks. We're going around in circles. What can we do? That's another fifty-grand spent, that we can't afford, and they slammed the door in our face.'

  'Yep.' Mark looked stonily at the document.

  'This could be the end for me and the company. I'm up to my ears in it.' Steve massaged his forehead.

  'I wouldn't mind if they thought the technology didn't work. Bounced us because we don't tick the right boxes on their forms. How the hell does anything new get approved?'

  Steve stood up, hands in pockets and peered out of the office window. 'Unless you're a big fucking IT conglomerate.’

  'Yep. Home Office, Cabinet Office, banks, they all use ageing and broken stuff. What chance is there of breaking into the market?' Mark handed the report back.

  'I'll file this under "jobsworth". Bastards. We keep our focus on Asia, and once we're established, CESG will pay attention. We're fucked otherwise. If not, we’ll all be down the pan.' Steve's neck was flexing. 'No company. No jobs. House and family gone for me.'

  Mark flinched, stood up, walked over to the office partition window and closed the blinds. 'They'll hear you.'

  'They'll hear soon enough. It's OK for you and the developers. You'll find jobs and haven't sunk your house and everything into this.'

  Mark jerked his head back. 'I've put my skills as an expert in online security, fraud prevention and three years into this. Lodged worldwide patents for Seguro and advised on government and industry security associations. I'm owed money. Expenses and back pay. Don't give me that shit.'

  Steve took in a deep breath. 'OK. We go back a long way. We've been through tough times together, but this is bad
.'

  'I agree, but the time spent out in Malaysia and Singapore will pay off with NetTel. They've opened doors and introduced us to the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Great potential.'

  'Boy, lots of meetings and expenses. We've spent almost two years pushing the product in Asia. The Singapore testing is great, but it’s slow and costing us money.' Steve felt dejected.

  'But it's a good job Asia's appetite for cutting edge solutions is strong. Unlike the UK, they are entrepreneur-friendly. Crazy. But, the CESG report shows they won't innovate. That's Civil Service for you.'

  Steve shook his head. 'Unless we get CESG approval, we don't have a chance of sealing contracts with banks, big organisations or government agencies in the UK. We wouldn't need to get the certification if we had sold out to a big organisation like Valido. It's all about trust. We need a break or maybe we should have taken their offer. I'm so pissed off. It's strangling me, Mark.' Steve looked to the floor.

  Mark's shoulders slouched. 'And it's not great when the guys are waiting for their expenses. Roger keeps promising payment soon, but they think he is fobbing them off.’

  'We'll go bust if the Q7 contract doesn't happen. At least we're short-listed and they want to move quickly.' Steve picked up a stress ball off Mark's desk, squeezed it in his right hand before tossing it into the air. As it dropped, he kicked it towards the bin. 'We need to win the deal with Q7.' The ball bounced off the rim and rolled under an office cabinet. 'Sorry… Stop spending time and money on UK certification. Cost us more than enough. I'll tell Glen. Do you want to tell David?'

  Mark put the phone on speaker and called David Morris, Seguro's Chief Technical Officer. He told David about the certification failure. 'No boxes to fit us into, so they can't figure out how to test us.'

  'So, what now?' David said.