Invisible Armies

Chapter 20

"Root access," Laurent repeats. "Who has that?"

"Gendrault, presumably. The CIO, definitely."

"CIO?" Estelle asks.

"Chief Information Officer," Keiran says. "Or CTO, Chief Technical Officer. I don't know the French equivalent. Geek in chief, essentially. We have his password too. And he must be easier to get to than Gendrault. If we can get our hands on the CTO's SecurID for a minute..." Keiran lets his voice trail off into pregnant space.

After a moment Laurent smiles. "My friend, you are thinking far too small."

Keiran looks at him quizzically. "Not something I'm often accused of. How so?"

"The CTO's little security device would maybe be useful. But not as useful as the CTO himself. It will be he who set up their security, no? He will know where all the encrypted bodies are buried. He must. It's his job to keep them safe."

"Sure," Keiran says, "but even root access won't let us decrypt those files, and I don't think he's likely to up and tell us the pass phrases."

"That, mon ami," Laurent says, "is where I disagree."

** *

"What do you think?" Estelle asks Danielle.

Danielle doesn't know what to think. On the one hand, it's Laurent's idea, she doesn't want to say anything against it, but on the other – "It seems so...drastic. Breaking into their office is one thing, but this..."

Estelle nods. "Keiran?"

Keiran shrugs. "It's the logical extreme of social engineering. I'm sure it will be very effective. I want nothing to do with it."

"We won't know what you need to know," Angus says. "You'll need to be there."

"Angus. Mate. I agreed to help you, and you agreed –"

"I know what I agreed. We need you to be there. You won't have to do anything but ask questions."

Keiran shakes his head. "I don't like it."

"I'm not asking you to like it. I'm asking you to be there."

Keiran doesn't say anything.

"Angus didn't want to be in that parking garage," Estelle says quietly.

"Fuck," Keiran says. "What are you two, a double act? All right. But this is the end. No more. I use whatever you get from this, find whatever I can, and then I'm done, I go home, and, no offense, but as far as I'm concerned, we never see each other again except maybe to hoist a few pints and talk football. Am I being perfectly clear?"

Angus nods. "Transparent."

The apartment falls silent for a moment.

"I don't like it either," Angus says. "But it's effective. And this is war. And this man's not bloody innocent. Not with his job. At best he's wilfully ignorant."

Estelle says, "This is extreme."

Angus looks at her, taken aback. "Are you saying we shouldn't do it?"

"No. I'm saying this is extreme. What if something goes wrong?"

"If you actually do this," Keiran says darkly, "and something goes wrong, we're all behind bars till our teeth fall out."

Estelle nods her acknowledgment of this truth, and pauses, visibly deliberating. Danielle looks at her, hoping that she will say she is opposed to Laurent's suggestion. Then Danielle won't have to decide whether she wants to fight the idea or not. Estelle's opposition will effectively be a veto. And surely gentle Estelle will say no to something this extreme.