The teams have been divided up to investigate Perfect Match. Plain old spying. Not sure if the breaks are helping make it easier to follow. Let me know if it's rubbish and I'll take them out.
Later that day, Aneisha was taken to meet her client. "This is Marco," said Zoltan, introducing her to a tall dark-haired man. "He is going to be learning his new role of Zac Zucchero. Are you ready ?" he asked Aneisha.
"Yes. I'm ready. Hello, Zac," said Aneisha, holding out her hand to the unsmiling man in front of her. "Shall we get started ?" she asked.
Frank and Stella sat at base going through all the information which had been collected through the day by the field agents. Stella had been reviewing the material collected by Aneisha and had finally reached the end of the recording. "Frank," she said slowly. "I think we might have a problem."
"What's wrong ?" asked Frank, looking up. He looked tired.
"Aneisha is being asked to coach someone who is taking on the role of Zac Zucchero," said Stella.
"It could be a coincidence," suggested Frank, not sounding very confident.
"You know as well as I do how unlikely that is to be a coincidence," said Stella. "Do you think we should do anything," she asked.
Frank chewed his bottom lip. "I'm not sure. We don't really know what's going on," he said.
"Aneisha is being asked to coach people in taking on new 'roles'," said Stella thoughtfully. "What if these people are training to impersonate somebody. What if this guy Marco is planning to replace Zac Zucchero ? Do you suppose that could be what Perfect Match is for ?" she went on.
Frank ran his hands over his face. "It's too early to pull out Dan and Keri. We just don't know enough," he said.
"Do you think we should tell Dan and Keri ?" asked Stella. "They could both be in danger. What if they're training someone to be Tanya Zucchero as well ? They couldn't expect to replace her brother without her noticing could they ?"
"But why ?" asked Frank.
"Taking over their criminal businesses without the bother of starting a turf war ?" suggested Stella.
"It would explain a lot," agreed Frank. He sat back in his chair. "OK, we need to monitor the situation carefully, but I don't want to alarm Dan and Keri just now. If this guy has just started his training, then he's not ready to replace Dan yet. I think we've got some time to play with. Warn Tom and Rose that they shouldn't let on to either Aneisha, Keri or Dan about what we've found out. It could affect their actions and give the game away. We need to know more about Perfect Match," he said. "We can't risk jeopardising the whole operation."
"All right," agreed Stella cautiously. "We'll go with that then."
Tom and Rose finished their analysis of the data collected by the field team. "You're right about the firewalls," Tom commented. "I've spent nearly all day trying to break in. I've used the MI9 standard tools, all my own stuff and I've even written some new tools and it hasn't made any difference !" he complained in frustration.
"We need to get the team to plant something on the computers for us," said Rose. "It's going to be the quickest route in. We'll be able to eavesdrop if we use a worm to work its way through the systems."
"Have you found anything apart from the transmission barrier ?" asked Tom. They had realised that the building had some kind of electrical screening which prevented any type of transmission from penetrating the walls. The staff couldn't use mobile phones and it wouldn't be possible for the field team to send out any signal without it being detected. "You were right about waiting until we had checked. The team would have been caught instantly if we'd loaded them up with the regular kit," commented Tom, scratching the back of his head. "Good call," he added.
Rose smiled at him. "Thanks," she said. It had been really enjoyable working with Tom. In spite of the age different there had been no need to explain anything she said during the day. He understood her instantly and liked a lot of the same sorts of things. Admittedly he was way more into gaming than she was, but she could see how it gave him a different set of skills to use. "We need to find a way for them to get a signal out to us," said Rose. "We can't expect them to be carrying memory sticks around with them. There's too much chance of them getting caught," she said.
"Why don't we try and piggy-back a signal on to the wiring," suggested Tom. "We could disguise it as noise."
"Brilliant !" agreed Rose. "I think I have just the algorithm. Come on, let's get it ready. They're going to need it tomorrow." Tom grinned back at her and they set to work putting together the software and hardware that the field team would need for the following day.
Oscar and Ilya had taken a long route home, starting separately and meeting up part way. "What do you think ?" Oscar asked his friend in Russian as they got off their third bus and started strolling down the road, back the way they had come. The two kept glancing into shop windows to check for the reflections of anyone who might be following them. It had become second nature to them both.
"I think they are spying on people," said Ilya. "I watched someone at a business meeting. They were being filmed secretly because the picture wasn't always so good," he added.
"I watched someone going into a bank and opening up a safe deposit box, but then there was film of them doing lots of social things and going to a business type of meeting as well," said Oscar. "Do you think they could be trying to steal from these people ?" he asked.
"It can't just be about stealing," said Ilya. "Why film someone at a business meeting ? It was a really boring meeting. They were talking about something called the HR Policy. I think it had something to do with firing people. It was hard to tell, because they never actually said so. I can't imagine what you could steal with that kind of information," he said with a sigh.
"Maybe we could see if the people in your films are the same people in my films," suggested Oscar.
"How can we do that ?" asked Ilya. Oscar shrugged. "Also, there are so many people in that room translating. How can we possibly see what everyone is watching ? It is too much !" complained Ilya.
"Yes, you're right," agreed Oscar. "We need to try to work out who they're watching and what for. Maybe Rose and Tom will give us some kit to help out tomorrow. It would be good to get some more eyeballs on to it," he added. "Pizza ?" he asked.
"Oh yes ! It is pizza o'clock !" agreed Ilya. "Ham and pineapple ?" he asked.
"Spawn of the devil !" complained Oscar.
"Pepperoni it is then," said Ilya with a grin. They both dived into the door of a take-away pizza shop, laughing as they both tried to force their way in at the same time.
Aneisha was sitting at home going through her file of information about the part of Zac Zucchero. It was kind of weird. She could swear that all this information related to a real person. Why would anyone bother to list their favourite toiletries. This didn't sound like playing a part. It sounded more like pretending to be someone. She thought she was training Marco to impersonate a real person called Zac Zucchero.
The other thing that was bothering her was that Zac didn't sound like a particularly nice person. He was aggressive and used to being in charge, according to his description. The file described him as physically fit and a good fighter. He sounded worryingly like a criminal. It wasn't as if Marco was particularly friendly either. He gave her the creeps and it was a constant struggle to stay chatty and upbeat with him during their sessions. Sighing, Aneisha slammed the folder shut and slumped back in her chair. She decided she would have to dig a little deeper into Zac Zucchero.