The following week, Jack was roused from his sleep one morning by his cellphone vibrating on the bedside table.
“Jack, it’s Mason from Toronto.”
Jack glanced at the clock — 6:00 a.m. He immediately sat up. “What’s up? Is it Greg?”
“No … not directly. Did I wake you?”
“Yes.”
“Sorry, I thought guys your age got up early.”
My age? Is he joking?
“I’m joking.”
You asshole.
“I thought if I called when you weren’t in an office environment, we could talk freely.” Mason paused. “Although talking freely on the phone is not one of my strong suits.”
He sounds a lot like me.
“In this case I’m going to chance it, but I need you to promise that what I tell you stays between the two of us … unless I say otherwise.”
“Not a problem. I’ve demanded the same of people myself.”
“Yeah, I sort of figured you had.” Mason paused. “How would you feel about saying you had an informant who identified the person responsible for burning Greg and Barry Short?”
“Are you serious? I’d feel great — if it were true.”
“The information is true beyond any doubt.”
How the hell did he find out? “If it’s your informant, why don’t you step forward and say so?”
“It’s not actually an informant, but I do need to protect the source’s identity. Coming from you out in B.C., and seeing as you’re involved in the case, it’d throw people off as to the real origin of the information.”
“Okay …”
“The trouble is, the information is so secret that nobody can know it, not even the judiciary, which means it can’t be used to get a wiretap or even a search warrant.”
His friend in CSE — son of a bitch, they’ve deciphered the calls! “I suspect I know where your information came from.”
“Yup. They broke the encryption code several months ago, but don’t want anyone to know because it’d tip off the bad guys around the world. They talked about that as the big picture … which made me think of you, because of what Connie said.”
“Sounds like your friend trusts you quite a lot,” Jack noted.
“A trust I never want to destroy. I told my friend about the little kid whose fingers were cut off, and also about what had happened to Barry and Greg. I was told that there are even worse things going on and that major investigations into terrorism around the world could be jeopardized if the bad guys find out their phones aren’t safe. Globally they could be looking to stop thousands of murders.”
“Sooner or later the bad guys will clue in,” Jack noted. “You’re right. Then the world will become more dangerous. Regarding the kidnapping case you’re involved with, at least it’s covered with a legal wiretap order, which I suspect is the only reason I was given the information. However, let me tell you another concern my friend passed on. Once word gets out that government agencies or police forces have access to the technology to decode calls, it’ll raise a red flag for civil liberties groups and probably get the service providers in trouble, simply on speculation of what police in different countries and jurisdictions might be up to.”
“Undoubtedly.”
“Currently super computers are programmed to listen for certain words … like, perhaps the code name of a terrorist. Anyone mentioning the name would be of interest, but there’s no way of knowing who they are without a computer monitoring calls. If legal documentation were required against the person in the first place, it’d be impossible, because no one would know who they were.”
“Catch-22.”
“Exactly, but that’s someone else’s headache,” Mason replied.
“Providing it’s not us or our loved ones who get gassed or blown up,” Jack said.
“I know, so I’m caught between a rock and a hard place. Nobody can know who the source is, but if something isn’t done, more of our UC operators could be hurt or murdered. How do you explain that to the brass or to other investigators without burning the source? They’ll demand to know who it is.”
“I work with informants involved in organized crime,” Jack said. “I often get information that can’t be used in court, but sometimes there’re other ways to handle the problem effectively.”
“I gathered that from what Connie had to say to you last Friday.”
“I’d go to jail, if need be, rather than disclose who my informants are.”
“Yeah, I kind of had that feeling about you,” Mason replied.
“You’re sure it can’t be used to get a search warrant, then have the grounds sealed so nobody would know?” Jack asked.
“No, because people would know. Court clerks, judges, prosecutors … eventually someone would blab.” Mason paused. “CSE knows word will get out someday. Some horrific crime will be stopped or evidence used which will spill the beans, but in the meantime, they’re trying to stall that day for as long as they can.”
“I understand,” Jack replied.
“It sure as hell is frustrating. From one cop to another, this guy has to be stopped. The problem is how.”
“Who is he?”
“His name is Miguel Hernández, and his address is in North Vancouver. My guess is that he works in the courthouse. Three days before Greg was attacked, Derek Powers sent him a photo of Greg outside a Starbucks. The next day Hernández sent Derek an old picture of Greg with a text saying he positively identified him as Constable Gregory Dalton from Toronto. Before that it was the same scenario with Barry Short.”
“The bastard’s probably using computer facial recognition to match up the photos.”
“Sure … and sell them to bad guys. In both the photos Hernández sent Powers, Greg and Barry were wearing suits and ties. Greg was also clean-shaven, and it looks like he was in a courthouse. The last time Greg was cleanshaven was two years ago, before his wedding. The picture had to have been taken when he was out your way for court. I suspect Hernández has been taking pictures of all the UC operators when they testify.”
“You’re right, he needs to be stopped,” Jack said tensely. “Has he been sending photos to other people?”
“Don’t know,” Mason replied. “Only Powers’s phones were covered with a wiretap order. Hernández’s phone can’t be looked into, not even by CSE.” Mason paused. “Sure would be nice if Hernández got run over by a bus.”
“It wouldn’t totally solve things. There could be photos of UC operators scattered out to who knows how many criminals,” Jack noted. “If Hernández works in the courthouse, he’s in the perfect spot to meet criminals and UC operators alike. Not only does he need to be stopped, someone needs to conduct an investigation into how many operators could be in jeopardy.”
“Which is why I was thinking you could say you had an informant who told you about him. The thing is, to get the investigation going, you’d have to swear your informant was reliable. How could you do that without burning CSE? The investigators, the brass, everyone would be out for Hernández’s blood. They’d demand to know who the informant was. If you refused to tell them, you’d be charged with insubordination and bumped back to constable, with only a dogsled for transportation.”
“We have to do something, though,” Jack stated. “Lives are at risk.”
“I want to grab Hernández by the throat so badly I’m shaking.”
“His day will come, I promise,” Jack said coldly. “I’ve got a suggestion, but I’d need to talk to our assistant commissioner and clue her in.”
“The brass? No way! They’re only interested in protecting their own asses. Can you imagine the shit that’d be raised in Ottawa if they found out a lowly constable like me got info from CSE that even they aren’t privy to?”
“I feel much the same way as you about a lot of the white shirts, but she’s backed me before with informants. Even she calls it the big picture. I think she’d go along with it, and she’s in a position to shut down anyone from doing anything without my permission. Which in reality would be your permission.”
Mason paused. “I don’t know … I don’t like it.”
“I’m sure all the western intelligence agencies, such as the Five Eyes, know about this. I could tell her it came through them.”
“The Five Eyes?”
“It’s an alliance between western intelligence agencies from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. Rumour is they spy on each other’s citizens, then share the information in order to circumvent some of the legal restrictions imposed by the intelligence agencies’ own countries.”
“That’s interesting,” Mason noted.
“What if I indicate to the assistant commissioner that I received the information through someone with a contact in the Five Eyes? It wouldn’t quite be a lie, and it would make her presume that the information came from one of the other countries. Even if our brass in Ottawa did hear about it, they’d be afraid to say much for fear of disclosing something that could cause a political backlash from our allies.”
“So even if she did go to Ottawa, there wouldn’t be an uproar over the fact that the information came from one of our own organizations.”
“Right, but I don’t believe she would tell them, in any case. She’s impressed me so far as being able to think for herself without worrying about what Ottawa would say.”
Mason was quiet for a moment, presumably mulling it over. “Okay, you’ve convinced me, but what about MCU and I-HIT?”
“The assistant commissioner has the power to stop them from using the information in any other way than how we want. They’d never go against her.”
“No, but they’d sure be pissed off. They might assume it was the same informant who told you about Powers in the first place and be curious as hell why they couldn’t use the info this time.”
“I’d throw a spin on that, too. I’d insinuate that it’s a different informant. Maybe indicate that Hernández is only the tip of the iceberg and that my investigation involves a court clerk, a couple of lawyers, and some judges.”
Mason chuckled. “They’d be afraid to apply for a search warrant or a wiretap on Hernández because they wouldn’t be able to trust anyone. It would drive them nuts.”
“Exactly. I’d like to let Laura know what’s going on. I might need her help, and I trust her completely. When it comes to my boss, Rose, I’d give her the same story as the assistant commissioner.”
“I’ll trust your judgment on who you need to tell what.” Mason’s tone brightened. “I’m glad I called you. Steps will be taken to ensure that any UC operators who have testified when Hernández was around are not working, plus no heat will come back on my source or CSE.”
“Also, not arresting or hassling Hernández means that Derek Powers won’t get paranoid before we identify the rest of the kidnappers.”
“And then what? How do we deal with Hernández afterward? Are you thinking that he’ll presume it was Derek Powers who ratted him out?”
“Without the evidence from your source, there might not be grounds to charge him with anything. Also, Powers himself would know that he didn’t rat out Hernández, so that might get him to thinking about his phone. I’ve got an idea, but I’ll need your help.”
“Anything. You name it, I’ll do it,” Mason replied gravely.
“Do you plan on coming back out to B.C.?” Jack asked.
“Yes, I want to be there when Greg comes out of his coma.”
“Then I’ll tell you my plan when we’re face to face.”