Code of Silence

Code of Silence - Chapter 17

Dragovich had been at the hotel with Vedrov and his spies for most of the afternoon. He felt secure now that he knew he was part of this brave new era that the Vory were about to embrace. He was excited by the new opportunities, having grown tired of needing to always guard his actions and words at Ekranotech. He was a fixer, a man who got the job done. Diplomacy had never been his strong point, and at Ekranotech he often had to pause when faced with a problem, to think it through. Particularly when it involved others who wouldn't perhaps understand or appreciate his usual direct and blunt approach. He was eager to become involved once again with work that was more natural for him, that was in his blood.

Vedrov began by addressing Dragovich directly, pacing in front of the darkening windows, emphasising that the meeting was all about him.

"You've worked in technology for a while now, Anatoly, and you've witnessed and learned many new things. What I'm about to explain is a big change for us but I think you will understand where we are going and, more importantly, I think you will be able to see how you can help make this happen."

Adrenalin coursed through Dragovich's body; he was about to be introduced to the inner workings of the Vory and their future plans.

Over the previous two years the Vory, recognising the need to modernise, had set up a complex web of Working Groups throughout the world. Each was handled locally by technology experts that they'd recruited through the dark web, or by referrals from other disenchanted souls.

Vedrov explained how the beauty of the plan was in its simplicity, and that it could all be managed very efficiently. It required only a handful of people in key countries. People who knew the systems, could speak the language and who had the skills and the contacts. Project Golos, as it was known, was a daring move by the Vory and, if successful, it would transform how they operated. It would propel them on to greater things, ensuring they became one of the most powerful criminal organisations on the planet.

Project Golos had begun with a forensic study of the infrastructure of the global economy. In particular, the Vory wanted to understand how and why things went wrong; the recent calamitous economic collapse that spread globally from the USA over a decade was a very appropriate example, and had been analysed in great detail. The project grew into a complex and sprawling piece of work, and Vedrov had appointed his top people to a Support Group, responsible for overseeing developments and drawing the key conclusions.

Eventually, they had been able to create a phenomenally detailed blueprint which outlined the global economy's infrastructure, covering stock markets, banking and investment, multi-national businesses, real estate and governments. It detailed anything and everything involved in how the world and its finances operated on an hourly, daily and weekly basis. The detail was granular, and they were now able to trace all critical processes and procedures right back to where financial decisions were made, even to the names of the individuals who made them.

The findings provided an important foundation, but by launching cyberattacks on two of the most subscribed-to business social network sites globally, they had also acquired the personal details relating to every individual who had a role to play in managing the global economy, no matter how big or small. Their names and locations, contact details, employers, job titles and who they were linked to or connected with.

Vedrov instructed Brotinoff to demonstrate some examples of how this data would be useful, using the large wall-mounted screen on which were displayed a number of files, images and charts. "You see this, Anatoly?" said Vedrov, pointing at the images above them. "This demonstrates how we have been able to learn and become familiar with the whole process. It has taken a great deal of time, a significant amount of investment and coordination but I believe we are getting close."