Although it was only seven hours, Nick’s non-stop flight to London felt like forever. He was grateful flashing his Agency badge still enabled him to clear customs in record time so he was the first passenger through. It was easy for Alison to see him.
And there was no way I could miss her.
As she stepped forward, memories of that last night in Iraq overwhelmed his mind. He’d wanted to thank Alison for helping …
… though I wanted so much more.
He forced his reveries aside to enjoy the sight of her walking toward him with that incredible smile and a face that lit up the world. If anything, she was more beautiful than he remembered. Elegant grace still accompanied her every movement. And her stylish, fitted suit revealed that she had kept herself fit while possessing that full hourglass figure that made his heart race.
If I get the chance to take things further this time, I will.
As she reached out her hand, she greeted him with a warm ‘Welcome to London, Nick. I hope you had a good flight.’ Her voice, tinged with that delightful Aussie accent, made him quiver deep inside.
He was surprised when he stammered his response. ‘Thanks, Ali. It’s so good to be here. And even better seeing you again.’
She looked at him with a quizzical look that made his brain flip, then said, ‘Well, let’s find your luggage so we can get out of here before it gets too hectic with your fellow passengers.’
Nick followed Alison as she raced through the mayhem called Heathrow, struggling to hear her voice above the incessant announcements blaring through the public address system. Thankfully, she knew precisely where to go. Within a five minutes, he’d retrieved his luggage and followed the most beautiful woman he’d worked with through the front doors into air as fresh as London could do.
Nick was shocked when she popped the boot of a charcoal Aston Martin DB11 illegally parked out the front. Before he could say anything, she’d climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. Nick reveled in the throaty roar of the turbocharged V12 engine until Alison gave a couple of revs to hurry him up. Throwing his suitcase and laptop bag into the boot, he slammed the boot shut and squeezed his large frame into the passenger side of one of his current dream cars.
I don’t know if Ali would know how to tame such a beast and drive it as it deserves.
He didn’t have to wonder for long as Alison accelerated with a burst of speed that pressed Nick back into his seat. As she cut into a gap between two cars that was barely large enough, she turned to him, flashed him one of those heart-stopping smiles.
‘So, when are you going to tell me about this mysterious project that’s been stolen?’
Nick recounted various parts of the story as Alison did her best to race through London’s traffic-logged streets. Of course, he couldn’t tell her about 831 other than ‘apparently, it’s a top-secret global security project. I’ve been told it jeopardizes both my government and our allies.’
Nor would he reveal that it was his laptop that had been hacked. He merely stated, ‘I’ve been tasked with hunting the culprit and ensuring the stolen data is destroyed. Naturally, the project’s sensitive nature means everything has to remain hush – the brass wouldn’t tell me anything about the project’s specifics.’
As they conversed, Nick was constantly distracted by the car’s spotless leather interior, the stunning dash, and the engine’s roar. It was surreal as The Cranberries blared in the background through the car’s impressive surround sound system.
Just as remarkable was Alison’s driving. Not only was she aggressive - Nick was amazed by her driving prowess. Despite the congested roads, she handled the DB11 with incredible precision whenever she spied a gap large enough to duck and weave through London’s hectic streets.
She’s almost as good as me.
As the tires screamed around yet another corner, he commended her. ‘You know, Ali, I have to tell you: you are probably the best female driver I’ve seen. And I’ve met a couple that can drive pretty well.’
He was surprised at the unmistakable flash of anger that crossed her face before she drily muttered, ‘Gee, thanks, Nick,’ as she sped through another small gap he thought was too small.
After the stop-start drive to Nick’s historic, five-star hotel in Chelsea to drop off his suitcase and let him freshen up, they made the even more congested trip to GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre in Victoria, central London.1
‘I need my supercomputer to analyze the corrupted file you have on that thumb drive they gave you, Nick. I’ll be surprised if my custom software can’t find something useful within an hour or two.’
As Alison slid the car to a halt outside a gray concrete building, Nick realized he was holding onto the passenger clasp.
Alison leapt out of the driver’s side, calling, ‘Come on, Nick. We’ve got work to do,’ as she ran up several stairs and disappeared inside.
Nick threw his laptop bag over his shoulder and followed her.
As he burst through the front door, a dark-haired security guard built like a tank on two legs jumped to his feet. Assessing the imposing sight of Nick Davies on the move, the young man assumed an aggressive posture that communicated he was itching for a scrap. He hoisted one beefy hand in front of Nick’s face. His other hand shook as it hovered over a small belt-mounted baton.
‘Hold it right there, mister.’
Before Nick could move a step, Alison called out, ‘It’s okay, Mark. Nick’s with me. And so you know, he’s Agency.’
As Ali’s words sank in, the muscle man’s stern face turned to disgruntled respect.
‘Sorry, Miss Simpson, but he still needs to fill in the log and be allocated a visitor’s pass.’
Nick responded by smiling.
‘Okay, buddy, you lead the way.’
Nick quietly followed the human tank to a small desk and swiftly scribbled his details into the visitor’s log.
Good luck reading that, dumbass.
After scanning Nick’s details, Mark handed Nick a visitor’s pass with an embedded chip and said with a too-cheery voice, ‘Thanks, Mr Davies, and welcome to the NCSC.’
Nick threw the lanyard over his head, then saw Alison waiting at the elevators, smiling at him with a daring look as she pressed the button. Nick’s mind shifted gears in a flash.
He barely made it into the elevator in time, but it was worth it when he saw Alison grinning at him with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes.
‘I didn’t think you would make it,’ she quipped at him.
Enjoying a bit of light banter about Mark and the joys of working in government security on the way to the top floor, Nick was glad he decided to bring Alison into the action.
Her enthusiasm is contagious and just what I need right now.
As soon as the doors opened on the top floor, she was off, walking at a furious pace. Nick raced to keep up with her as she sped to her office in the eastern corner.
‘Take a seat,’ she told him as she walked around her executive desk dominated by two large curved widescreen monitors and dropped into her plush leather chair.
Gratefully, Nick sank into one of the two comfortable, tartaned chairs positioned for visitors. While he looked over the spacious room, admiring the brightly colored, contemporary art that contrasted perfectly with the cream walls and fawn carpet, Alison woke her computer from sleep and logged in.
‘Can I have that USB drive?’ she demanded as she impatiently extended her hand to him.
As soon as Nick held the small flash drive out, she whisked it out of his grasp and plugged it into her PC.
Nick watched as she typed madly on her keyboard for the next half an hour, her thin, dark brown eyebrows furrowed as she concentrated on her task. Nick was fascinated by the transformation in her facial expressions as she worked, especially when she emitted the occasional exasperated sigh.
At one stage, Alison looked up and saw him staring at her. Her face changed instantly. As she looked back to her screen and continued working, Nick was sure she blushed slightly.
Eventually, Nick needed something to do. After his experience with Dave, the Agency’s IT guru, he thought it was best if he stayed out of Alison’s way and let her do her thing. So, he tried the ploy that worked with Dave.
‘Do you guys have a coffee machine? And do you want coffee?’
She stopped typing and stared at him with a look that communicated a thousand words. It was like a school teacher preparing to rebuke a child in primary school.
‘Nick, you know I won’t drink that muck. And if I remember correctly, you’re a bigger coffee snob than I am. This secret project has made you soft in the head. Maybe that’s why it’s dangerous. It can turn the mighty Nick Davies into a swill-drinking zombie.’
Nick gleefully chuckled as he nodded and said, ‘No, you remember correctly. I was merely thinking of convenience. But you’re right. A million miles is never too far for great coffee.’
Alison glanced at her watch, then flashed one of those glorious smiles before continuing.
‘Well, there’s a fantastic little coffee shop called Whyld just down the road.2 I go there a lot when I need some “caffeinspiration.”3 And the two young Aussies who run it are the most engaging baristas I’ve met. Hopefully, I’ll have something for you by the time you’re back with my large, extra-shot flat white.’
She was head down, tapping furiously on her keyboard before Nick could respond.
He was about to check if she took sugar but decided against disturbing her again. He remembered from several coffees they had chatted over in Iraq that Alison claimed she was ‘sweet enough.’
Quietly, Nick got out of his chair and left, loading the local area into the maps app on his phone.
By the time he saw the bright sunlight flickering through the downstairs windows, he had directions to the café. After reading the first three of many five-star reviews, Nick’s coffee buds started salivating.
A five-minute stroll to enjoy an extra shot of superb coffee will be a perfect distraction.
Thanks for reading my online serial. I hope you enjoyed this chapter enough to click the heart-shaped LIKE button below. And if you have any suggestions to help make it better or you simply want to encourage me as a storyteller (either would be appreciated), please leave a comment.The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) was created in London in October 2016 to combine the CESG (see Chapter 13), the Centre for Cyber Assessment (CERT-UK), and the Centre for Protection of National Infrastructure. The NCSC’s role is to provide a single point of contact for organizations (yes, American spelling - it’s Nick’s chapter), government agencies, and the general public. It also collaborates with other law enforcement, defence, intelligence and security agencies in the UK and with international allies. For more information, refer to NCSC
If you’re ever in Adelaide, Australia, make sure you visit a coffee shop called Whyld. They make great coffee, and it’s not simply because I know the two outstanding young men who run it. To see how awesome Whyld is, check out Adelaide’s best caffeine dealers
You already know I make words up. And as you can gather by now, I like great coffee (plus it’s the theme for a future thriller). Whenever I walk past a café displaying a sign like ‘Every great day begins with coffee,’ I tell them they’re wrong and should change it to ‘Every great day begins with great coffee.’ Anyone who appreciates coffee will know that drinking lousy coffee is one of the worst ways to start your day!