“You tell me.. I don’t know how much they know but they sure as Hell know more than I want them to know! Jeez.. we’re gonna get shafted Jay!” Ben’s voice sounded breathless on the other end of the phone.
“Relax Ben.. Just tell me what they said.. What did they ask about?”
“Well.. they err.. they started by knocking on the door.. obviously.. and they asked who I was and then they.. err.. held up a search warrant.. saying that I could choose to let them in or they could come in forcibly.. There were two of them.. I let them in”
“What then?” Jay’s heart began to race as adrenalin pumped through his veins.
“Then they told me that they’d traced an ‘intrusion’ into Globus Travel’s systems back to an IP address which was allocated to my router at the time.. They said that Globus’ IT department had had cyber attacks before and that’s why they had installed trackers to catch them.. which would of course explain why it was so easy for us to get in.. They basically left the door standing wide open so that any idiot could mosey on in and get caught”
“Fuck! Fuck.. fuck fuck fuck it!” Jay hit the breakfast table hard with the palm of his hand.
“Is this you being relaxed Jay.. or what?”
“Sorry Ben... Have you spoken to Steve?”
“Yeah.. I rang him when I couldn’t get hold of you”
“Let’s just get him on a conference call.. I’ll ring”
Steve’s phone rang longer than normal.
“Maybe they’ve already got to him?” pondered Ben.
“I doubt it Ben.. Why would they arrest Steve and not me?”
“Hi Jay.. What a night.. eh?”
“Yeah.. you can say that again Steve.. Listen.. I’ve got Ben on a conference call here.. Have you got a couple of minutes?”
“Yes.. yeah.. We’re done eating.. I’ll just go in to the other room”
They heard Steve speak to someone in the distance, then a door close shortly afterwards.
“So.. listen guys.. This is all my problem and I will fix it.. alright?” There was silence from both Steve and Ben “Ben.. You’ve been summoned in tomorrow.. right?”
“Yeah”
“Ok.. Where and what time?”
“9 am at the West Hampstead police station”
“Ok.. What about you Steve? Has anyone contacted you?”
“No.. Not yet”
“Good.. Right.. Ben.. you and I will go in together tomorrow and I’ll explain things”
“Why do you want to do that Jay? ..They haven’t implicated you in any of this so why do you want to go in? ..You might get away with it.. No.. I’ll go in alone.. There’s no point in you getting done as well”
“Yes.. but this is my crap.. Just listen to logic Ben.. we don’t need any heroes”
“I’m not trying to be a hero Jay.. I hope you’d do the same for me in the same situation!”
“Of course I would.. that’s not the point..”
“Well then.. that’s that sorted.. I’ll be going in alone!” exclaimed Ben triumphantly.
“Jesus Ben.. don’t be a knob-end!”
“I love you too mate!”
Steve interjected “Jay.. why don’t you just let Ben go in and talk to them? ..It’s not given that they have anything on us anyway”
Jay thought for a moment “Yeah.. you may be right.. God, why did I start all this?.. I’m really sorry guys!”
“I’m sure it’ll turn out alright.. Ben.. ring us as soon as you get out alright.. just to let us know?”
“Yeah.. will do.. I’d better try to get some shut-eye.. not that I think I’ll sleep much anyway”
“I owe you one Ben!”
“Yes.. you do Jay! I’ll expect free beers and rugby tickets for the rest of my life!”
“I’ll see what I can do!”
There was silence. Tranquil signalling the imminent arrival of a storm. Jay was mentally exhausted. He could neither stay awake nor sleep. He wondered how long it would take before the police came knocking on his door. Jay plugged in his guitar, pulled his headphones over his head and played until he fell asleep
___________________
Jay woke up at six the next morning, feeling stiff in all his joints. His shoulder hurt too, having supported the weight of his guitar all night. He switched off the humming amplifier and dragged himself out to the bathroom. He stared at a pale, unshaven face in the mirror; a reflection of a man who did everything wrong. Jay’s eyes were red and baggy. He pulled a comb impatiently through his hair, mumbling to himself that he looked like a gorilla’s arse. Jay splashed cold water unforgivingly over his face, pat-drying hurriedly afterwards with a towel. He threw the towel down onto the toilet seat and stomped through to the bedroom. Jay lay down on the bed for a few minutes, too awake to sleep yet too tired to think. He decided to get dressed. Jay extracted the smartest clothes he could find from the cupboard and forced some cereals down his throat. His stomach was not at all enthusiastic about the idea of eating, and coffee would have to wait its turn too. Jay dug his cell phone out of his pocket and tapped in a message to Simon, saying that he would arrive a little later at work due to something personal ‘cropping up’. Jay brushed his teeth quickly and ran out of the front door.
Parking had always been a problem on Fortune Green Road but he managed to squeeze his car between two equally clapped-out vehicles on a side street. It was a residents parking area, but Jay took his chance. He crossed the main road towards the police station, checking the time on his phone. 07:57 am. Jay walked up the steps to the main entrance and looked through the large blue door. He could see a duty sergeant standing behind a counter in the reception area. He felt nervous, almost to the point of nausea, and began wondering if he was doing the right thing. He tried to think of something sensible to say. ‘Hello.. I’ve come to hand myself in’ would be a little too corny he thought. Jay pushed the door open and walked in.
“Good morning sir.. How can I help you?”
Jay was flummoxed by the friendly tone of the sergeant’s voice and the use of the word ‘sir’. He was resolute that he would continue anyway.
“Yes.. good morning.. err.. I’m here on behalf of Benjamin Taylor whom I..err.. I believe your colleagues visited yesterday concerning an incident at Globus Travel?.. I’m here because.. well.. err..” Jay’s voice suddenly took on a surprisingly commanding tone “..I am here because I am the person responsible!”
“Just a moment sir.. Can I have your name please?”
“James Jarrett”
“And you say you are responsible for what exactly sir?”
“For the Globus Travel case.. err.. the one you spoke to Benjamin Taylor about?”
“Just one moment sir.. Please take a seat over there for a second” The sergeant pointed to a row of blue vinyl covered seats by the window.
Jay sat down. Each second felt like a minute and each minute like an hour. His stomach hurt and his nervous system felt as if it was about to collapse. Jay needed a distraction to take his mind off things. He reached in his pocket for his mobile telephone but then noticed that there was a sign saying mobile phones were not allowed in the foyer. He looked at all the information brochures neatly lined up in their holders on the wall. There were posters everywhere encouraging people to call in if they saw someone doing anything suspicious. Jay wondered how many murderers had walked through the main door.
A pair of swing doors flew open at the side of the waiting area as a small, balding man in his forties made his entrance. He wore a tweed jacket and trousers that didn’t match. The man walked briskly, almost excitedly, towards Jay followed closely by the sergeant.
“James Jarrett?”
“Yes.. that’s me”
“Good.. inspector Meldova.. PCeU” the inspector shook Jay’s hand “Come with me please.. this way” The inspector pointed towards the double doors. Jay got up slowly, feeling his legs twitch slightly from nerves. The inspe
ctor walked Jay quickly down a corridor, talking as they went. The sergeant followed behind, trying to catch up.
“So.. what made you come to us Mr. Jarrett?.. Were you getting a little nervy after we’d spoken to your friend?” The inspector’s look of self-satisfaction annoyed Jay.
“Well.. yes.. but Ben’s not responsible for any of this.. he just helped me out.. he didn’t know that he was doing anything illegal”
“Oh.. I beg to differ Mr. Jarrett” Replied the inspector as the sergeant held a door open to a barren room containing little more than two chairs and a desk. A recorder, a pile of papers and a pen were neatly placed on one corner of the desk. The inspector beckoned Jay in.
“Please.. sit down” The door closed behind them as the sergeant took position, standing watch by the door.
“So.. Before we go any further I just need to get some of the formalities out of the way” The inspector shuffled the pile of papers in front of him and cleared his throat “You do not have to say anything.. However.. it may harm your defence if you do not mention.. when questioned.. something which you may later rely on in court.. Anything you do say may be given in evidence.. Is that understood?” Jay nodded “Do you need a solicitor?” Jay shook his head “Are you sure? ..It doesn’t cost you anything to use the duty solicitor you know?” The inspector sat down on the opposite side of the desk from Jay.
“Maybe later” replied Jay
“Good.. Now.. let’s get on.. Frank? Get us two coffees will you?”
The sergeant nodded and left the room.
“I’m going to record everything so there are no misunderstandings.. ok?”
“Ok”
“Right..” The inspector pushed a button on the machine “..I’d like to know what else you’ve been up to.. Mr. Jarrett.. apart from Globus that is.. What other sites have you and your friends been fiddling around with? ..Is it ok if I call you James by the way?”
“Yes”
“Thank you.. Well?”
“Well.. inspector..” Jay thought carefully about how he should reply “.. It’s not what it looks like.. I’m.. we’re not hackers.. Believe it or not.. I was just trying to find a girl I met on holiday.. and that’s where Globus Travel comes in.. The girl was carrying a Globus Travel rucksack”
“So why didn’t you do what any normal person would do and ask for her telephone number?”
“I was going to but.. well.. one thing led to another and I never got round to it.. and then she was gone.. So I ended up having to find her in Globus’ database”
“So what you’re saying is that.. not only did you illegally break into Globus Travel’s computer system.. you also used the data you stole from them to stalk a member of the public?”
“Err.. well.. yes.. I suppose that’s what it looks like if you are going to put it so bluntly” Jay looked down, embarrassed and concerned about the implications of what he had just said. The sergeant returned with the coffees, placing them on the table along with a cup containing stirrers, sugar sachets and processed milk. The inspector put milk and sugar in one of the cups and stirred quickly. The inspector pushed a cup over to Jay “Here.. have a cup of coffee James”.
Jay shook his head.
“You know that these are serious crimes James?.. You are you aware of that?”
Jay looked up, nodded, and looked back down again.
“There is a high likelihood that you could go to prison” The inspector’s voice raised, it’s tone no longer bearing any resemblance of friendliness “This is very serious!”.
“I know.. I know”
“And you of all people! ..For christ’s sake James!” The inspector lifted up a sheet of paper “..You’ve got a first in computer science!” The inspector stood up and tried to make eye contact with Jay who was still gazing down at the light blue linoleum flooring, hoping that it would open up and make him disappear.
“Look at me James!” The inspector slammed his clenched fist down on the table in front of him, jolting Jay back to reality and forcing him to look up. There were splatters of coffee on the table. Jay felt faint. His head turned in knots. He just wanted to get out as quickly as possible.
The inspector picked up another A4 sheet.
“You are a systems security analyst at the Union Bank of Geneva! ..For crying out loud man.. what were you thinking?! ..What are we going to do with you?” A long silence followed as the inspector paced up and down the room “You know what? ..I actually believe you.. I actually believe that this is the first time you have done this.. But it doesn’t excuse it.. Quite the reverse.. You should almost be punished for sheer stupidity!”
The inspector moved behind the table to stand in front of Jay. He leant down and placed both hands on the table. “I tell you what I’ll do James..” A long paused followed as the inspector stared directly into Jay’s eyes.
“What’s that?” asked Jay almost apologetically.
“Nothing.. I’m going to do absolutely nothing!” The inspector set off towards the window at the far end of the room “..or rather.. I’m not going to do anything yet.. Of course.. you’ve got to be punished for what you did.. but I just need to think about what the appropriate punishment should be”
Jay compared the inspector to a kid he knew in school; a freckle-faced boy who was infamous for punching people in the face without warning. He also had a penchant for pulling wings off flies whilst they were still alive, and did so with a sickly smile on his face.
“Ok..” Jay looked the inspector in the eye “..That’s ok.. Just please leave Ben.. Benjamin out of this.. I.. and I alone am responsible for this”
“Yes.. why not?!..” The inspector’s voice boomed like a ship’s foghorn through the interrogation room “..This is.. after all.. just the Metropolitan police Force.. and everyone knows that we’re open to bartering!” The inspector swung round to stand in front of Jay again. Jay couldn’t help noticing the tie the inspector was wearing. It was made out of what looked like red and black lattice-woven wool. The tie would have been fitting for Jay’s old school history teacher. The inspector only needed the leather elbow patches and chalk marks on his jacket to pull it off entirely. But the tie was held in place by an intriguing tie-pin bearing the shape of a sword and a serpent.
“No James.. We are not going to cow-tow to whatever whims you or anyone else may have.. Honour amongst thieves does not have any place here!.. We have a responsibility to maintain law and order.. and that is exactly what we are going to do! ..But I’m not going to arrest you today James.. I will ask the duty solicitor to contact you tomorrow and then you will then be invited in for a meeting within the next week or so.. There are some other things I’d like to discuss with you too.. but they can wait until you have a solicitor present.. Formal charges will be made against you at the next meeting with a view to setting a date for an initial court hearing as soon as possible after that.. Is that clear?”
Jay nodded.
“Right then.. You are free to go for now.. You must inform us immediately if anything else crops up that we should be aware of ..or if you have any plans on moving or travelling abroad” The inspector pulled a business card from the top pocket of his shirt and snapped it down in front of Jay.
“What ‘other things’ did you want to talk to me about?”
Jay looked up at the inspector but could see that he had no intention of expanding on the issue.
Jay continued “I don’t have any plans on moving or anything” Jay picked up the visit card and read it.
“Good..” The inspector turned to the sergeant “..Frank?.. will you record James’ details and show him out please?”
The sergeant opened the door and led Jay back down the corridor to the waiting area. James wrote his name, address and telephone number on a form, signing it at the bottom. The clock behind the counter showed the time was 08:47 am. Jay would have to rush to get in to work. He returned the sergeant’s biro and turned around to make a quick exit. Jay noticed Ben was walking up the steps towards the
main entrance. He dashed to catch Ben before he walked in.
“Hi Ben!” Jay feigned a smile.
“Jay?!..What are you doing here?” Ben sighed with incredulity and waived his hands in disbelief.
“Sorry mate.. I just tried to fix things.. I’ve told them everything ..so hopefully they’ll see reason and let you go.. Watch out for the inspector though.. He’s difficult to read”
“Well.. what did they say to that.. and what should I look out for?”
“They’ll ask you about you did and generally be a little irritating and then they’ll let you go.. Listen.. I’ve got to run mate.. but call me when you get out alright?.. I’ll give Steve a ring now”
“Yeah.. ok.. will do”
“Good luck Ben”
Jay’s windscreen wipers had been decorated with not one, but two parking tickets. He cursed himself for not taking the tube as he stuffed the tickets angrily into his pocket. Jay rang Steve and told him about his meetings with the police and Ben.
___________________
Jay’s phone vibrated as he parked up outside his flat.
‘Hi J. Would you like to go to the cinema tonight? There’s a film I’d like to see Z x’
‘Yes - love to! When should I pick you up? J xx’
‘5.30? Mum will do dinner. Sharif will be there 2 ’
‘Deal! C U! xx’
Jay ran up to the tube station with sweat running down his back. He jumped into a lightly populated train, grateful that he could find a seat and catch his breath. Jay sent a text to Simon.
‘Good morning Simon. I’m on my way! ETA 10:00. Regards Jay’
‘Ok. See you. Br Simon’
Jay’s eyes adopted their usual anonymous stare as life passed him by in the depths of the London Underground. He felt mentally exhausted as tunnel lights flashed by like blurred film frames. Jay’s thoughts remained locked inside the interrogation room, rebounding between the thought of prison life and losing Zu. Even if he received a caution he could still lose his job. But it sounded as if Meldova was adamant; there would be repercussions whatever. Jay wondered if he should tell Zu, maybe Simon too, but he decided he had too much to lose. He wouldn’t let the cat out of the bag before there was a trial or similar; he had enough on his plate as it was.
Jay’s phone rang as Jay entered the bank building.
“Hi Jay”
“Hi Ben.. How’d it go?”
“As expected really.. Don’t really know what to make of it all though”
Jay walked over to a corner of the foyer where there were fewer people. He spoke quietly “You got out quickly”
“Yeah.. I was only in there for Twenty-five minutes”
“So how did you leave it?”
“The bald guy said he’d ask a solicitor to contact me and then they’d ask me to come in again next week”
“That’s what he told me too.. How are you feeling? ..Are you ok?”
“Yeah, yeah.. I’m ok I think.. I just don’t like not knowing what’s going to happen.. Everything’s just.. hanging in mid air”
“Yes.. I know how you feel.. It’s as if someone has pressed pause.. but I’m sure it’ll turn out alright Ben”
“Yeah.. Hope so.. Anyways.. there’s no point in crying over spilt milk as they say”
“Exactly Ben.. I’d better get on here”
“Ok.. Catch you later!”
“Yes.. and thanks for doing this mate.. I really appreciate it”
“Yeah.. I know you do.. you big girl’s blouse! Speak to you later”
Jay held his security card up to the card reader outside the office. A red light flashed but the door remained firmly locked. Jay made two further attempts before resigning himself to having to type in his code manually. The lock clicked and allowed Jay to push the door open.
“Mornin’ Jay!” Paul typed frantically at his keyboard “What you been doing?”
“Oh.. not much.. Just sorting some practical stuff out at home”
“It’s like that is it?..” Paul tapped the side of his nose and nodded in a knowing manner “..Women trouble is it Jay?”
“No.. no!.. It’s not that..” Jay tried to change the subject “..What’s wrong with the door by the way?”
“Nothing as far as I know.. Why?”
“It wouldn’t accept my card.. I had to type the number in manually”
“Really? Don’t know.. Better talk to Simon about it matey” shouted Paul back from halfway across the open-plan office.
Jay knocked on Simon’s open office door and walked in.
“Morning Simon.. just wanted to tell you about the card reader”
“Morning Jay.. What about it?”
“It wouldn’t accept my card when I arrived ..so I was wondering if there was a fault”
“Oh yes.. my mistake.. sorry..” Simon stood up, looking very serious “..Close the door for a moment please will you Jay?”
Jay wondered if the police had spoken to Simon. Maybe they had to given the nature of Jay’s work?
Jay was surprised by the amount of clutter in Simon’s office. The bookcases surrounding his desk were jam-packed with folders, technical books, even an old t-shirt. None of this was in keeping with an IT security manager in Jay’s mind.
“Take a seat James.. Yes.. I.. um.. I wanted to talk to you about a couple of things..”
“Ok?” Jay felt a nervous shiver come over him.
“First off.. security clearance.. As you probably already know.. security clearance is given by HR and a line manager once DBS clearance is given.. It’s slightly different when you move from one department to another however.. you only have to obtain a fresh clearance from the Disclosure and Barring Service if your previous boss won’t vouch for you.. Now.. this may not come as a surprise to you.. but Ronnie Beck has refused to sign your clearance..” Simon shuffled some papers on his desk “..So what I’ve done is.. I’ve stuck my neck out and signed it anyway.. Just wanted to let you know.. ok?”
Jay was relieved but found himself inexplicably blurtng “..But maybe I should tell you that..”
Paul broke his fall “..No no.. There’s no need to tell HR what an idiot you think Beck is.. It wouldn’t help.. and I’m quite sure they know that anyway.. No.. we’ll just do things the easy way..” Simon pulled out a spreadsheet from a pile of papers “..The other thing I wanted to talk to you about was your absence and late arrivals..” Jay felt nervous again “..Are there any problems on the home front Jay?”
“Err.. no.. none.. Why?”
“Well.. it’s just that.. in my experience.. when people start turning up late and being sick it’s normally a sign of something being wrong on the home front.. I’m not saying it’s a problem Jay.. I just want you to know that if there are any problems then you can come and talk to me.. That way we can nip things in the bud.. ok?”
“Ok.. Thank you Simon.. but there’s nothing wrong. I am really really happy to be here.. The work is very interesting.. and challenging.. and my colleagues are very nice”
“That’s good to hear Jay.. That is also how I see things.. But let me make this one hundred percent clear.. I think you are doing a great good job here and you fit in remarkably well.. Your colleagues are very happy with you too.. especially Paul.. and he doesn’t take fools lightly.. I can tell you!”
“Thank you Simon.. I suppose I.. err.. I suppose I should tell you about.. um..”
“About what Jay?”
Jay fought his uncontrollable desire to spill the beans “About.. err.. about Zu”
“Zoo?”
“Yes.. My new girlfriend”
“She’s called Zoo?”
“Well.. Zulekha actually.. but I’ve shortened her name to Zu”
“Good job she’s not called Titania then” Simon and Jay chuckled slightly childishly.
“So you have been subjected to Shakespeare in school too?” asked Jay.
“Ah.. yes!.. Haven’t we all?.. But don’t worry.
. I’ll save my ‘Alas, poor Yorick’ for the Christmas party.. Anyway.. congratulations on your new relationship.. I hope it will go well for you both.. and I’m very pleased to hear that nothing else is troubling you.. Let me know if anything crops up won’t you?”
“Yes, of course” Jay stood up and opened the door smiling.
“Oh.. and your card should work again by tomorrow.. once the clearance has gone through.. ok?”
“Very good.. Thanks Simon”
Jay let out a small sigh of relief as he walked back towards his desk.