Authors: Calum Chace
The sub reversed, and its engines revved again. It moved to ram the blocking equipment. But instead of moving the machinery out of the way, it became entangled and stuck. The sub’s engines screamed like an enraged elephant, but the vessel was immobile. After a few more moments, the sub’s engines fell silent.
‘Colonel, we’re confident the sub has no weapon systems,’ reported Jeff.
‘Thanks Jeff. Captain, we believe Ivan has no offensive capability apart from his pistol. I suggest you approach the submarine with caution and see if you can force the door open.’
‘Copy that, Colonel.’
As the Captain and his men approached the sub they could hear muffled voices. They could not make out the words, but the volume increased as the two men inside started shouting at each other. The Captain reached the door and started trying to turn its wheel.
Just at that moment there was a cry, then a crash, and two shots rang out. Then there was silence.
Silence blanketed both the Eleusis and the situation room.
Quickly, the marines set to work. They could not open the door manually, so one of them applied some plastic explosive to the lock and they all took cover. The explosion echoed round the situation room as well as the submarine bay area, and the mini-sub’s door jumped, swung open, and hung on its hinges at a lazy angle. Waving the smoke away from his face, Fitch was the first to enter. Moments later his voice broke the news from inside the sub.
‘Ivan is dead but Dr Metcalfe is alive! He’s unconscious: it looks like he took a nasty blow to the temple. I think we’d better not move him until a medic gets here.’ Back in the situation room, Jeff put up his hand to let Norman know he didn’t need to say anything: the medic was already on his way.
Matt almost fainted with relief, slumping like a marionette with cut strings. The adrenaline of the last hour was draining out of him and he was stunned, relieved, but still afraid that his father might be badly hurt.
‘He’s coming round,’ they heard Captain Fitch say. All heads turned to the main screen.
The marine with the head cam providing the feed to the screen was inside the sub now, and looking at David. David was lying on the floor: his eyes opened and he looked up at the medic groggily. The medic told him not to try to speak for a few moments. The camera looked up. A bit further ahead, Ivan lay with his head in a pool of blood, and a couple of marines were checking his body for booby-traps. ‘He’s clean,’ one of them pronounced.
The camera looked around the inside of the sub. There was a sizeable hole in one of its instrument panels, and smoke was rising where a small fire had been extinguished.
‘Looks like Ivan shot the lights out before he left,’ Norman said.
The camera looked back at David, who was sitting up, shakily. He muttered something incomprehensible to the medic, his movements uncoordinated.
‘You took a hard blow to the head, sir,’ said the medic. ‘But you’re safe now. It’s all over; you’re in good hands.’
Gradually, David appeared to gather his wits. ‘Ivan . . . ?’ he asked, looking around, and saw the answer to his own question. He looked as if he was about to be sick, but after a few moments with his eyes shut he recovered.
‘Sir, your son is on the line,’ Captain Fitch said.
Would you like to speak to him? If you speak to me he
can hear you.’
‘What? Is he here? On the ship?’
‘No, Dad I’m in the US Embassy in London. But I can see you on the screens here!’ Matt blurted out.
‘Hang on, son,’ Norman said. ‘He can’t hear you yet. Jeff, can you patch us in?’
‘Got it. You’re through now,’ replied Jeff.
‘Dad, Dad, I’m here! Hurry up and get home!’
Norman smiled as a mixture of joy and wonder illuminated the image of David’s face on the big screen. ‘We’re going to put you on a chopper and get you back here right away, Dr Metcalfe,’ he said. ‘But can you tell us what happened there? We heard two shots and a crash, and then everything went silent.’
David rubbed his temple gingerly and looked at his hand to see if there was blood on it. To his great relief, Matt could tell by his father’s expression that there wasn’t.
‘All I know for sure is that Ivan hit me hard on the head with the gun barrel. It’s obvious that he shot himself after that, but by the look of things, not before he took out the access port to his main computer stacks.’
David looked round again at the smoking instrument panel, as if looking for clues as to what had happened. ‘Yes, I remember now: that’s what he said he was going to do. Once he realised he couldn’t get the sub off the ship he knew he was caught. He was enraged and desperate. He said that he refused to rot in jail while the US military secretly created the first machine intelligence, and put the whole world at risk. He aimed his gun at that panel. I tried to argue with him, and I made a grab for the gun – probably not the smartest thing to do. I guess that’s when he hit me.’
David groaned and lay back on the floor.
‘Dad!’ Matt shouted.
David put up his hand to signal that he was OK, just exhausted and fuzzy-headed. Norman put his hand on Matt’s shoulder and spoke to David.
‘I think we’d better leave you to recover with the medic for a while, while we debrief the marines. We’ll get you on the chopper and then bring you straight here to the Embassy, where you can see your family.’
He turned to Matt. ‘You must be exhausted. Your mother and Leo should be here by now. We have some private quarters upstairs in the building, and I suggest you spend some time with them there while Dr Metcalfe is brought back.’
He turned to address the whole room. ‘We’ve taken some casualties here today, folks, and there are some American families who will not be seeing their sons and husbands again. We’re through the worst, and I know we’re all tired, but this thing isn’t over yet. Particularly with Dr Metcalfe re-appearing, for which we give solemn thanks, there’s no way this fire-fight on the high seas is going to stay out of the news media. We can embargo it for a few hours at most.’
He addressed Jeff. ‘Could you please do the initial debrief with Captain Fitch. Collate a casualty list and damage report. Arrange for the families of the deceased and wounded to be informed. Make sure that Dr Metcalfe is brought here to the Embassy ASAP. Thanks, Jeff.’
While Norman was speaking, Vic had walked away from the group to take a call. He rejoined them with the news that Matt’s mother and Leo were in the Embassy, and had been briefed about the raid, and David’s rescue. He asked Jeff to take Matt to the apartment upstairs where they were waiting for him. A rush of conflicting emotions swept over Matt: he knew that his mother would be furious with him for not telling her that David was alive, but she would also be as excited and relieved to see him as he would be to see her and Leo. He gushed his thanks to Norman and the others, and looked expectantly at Jeff.
As Matt was taken away, Vic turned to Norman.
‘It’s a good job you had the security people keep an eye out for anybody suspicious outside the perimeter. They spotted a well-built man hanging around, and thought he was keeping the entrance under
surveillance. They sent a couple of marines out to challenge him, but apparently he brushed them off like flies – broke the arm of one of them when they tried to apprehend him. As you can imagine, that is no mean feat. The marines are convinced he was special forces. He has disappeared, but I’m glad he wasn’t around when Leo and Sophie arrived.’
Norman’s brow furrowed. ‘So Ivan did have Matt under surveillance. Presumably we have video, and someone is analysing it, working on his ID?’
‘Already done,’ Vic replied. ‘No joy. None of the cameras got a clear enough view of his face.’
‘Damn.’ Norman thought for a moment, then shrugged his shoulders. ‘Nothing we can do about it now. Hopefully, whoever he was, he’ll decide to disappear when he discovers that he needs a new employer. Meanwhile we’d better make sure that our new friends have good babysitters.’
*
Matt held his breath as Jeff opened the door to the apartment. Sophie and Leo leapt to their feet and rushed to greet Matt as he walked into the room. There was a jumble of exclamations, as thanksgivings and protestations spilled over each other, and had to be repeated.
‘Thank god you’re OK!’ Leo burst out. ‘I can’t forgive myself for leaving you alone with that monster! I don’t know what I was thinking of – I was such an idiot! Thank god you’re alright!’
‘Matt, Matt, Matt!’ Sophie joined in. ‘What did you think you were playing at, coming here on your own without telling me? Thank heavens you’re alive! Oh my poor, dear boy: I’ve been so worried.’
‘Dad’s safe, mum!’ Matt shouted. ‘He’s safe! And he’s on his way home! Everything’s going to be OK!’
They stepped back as the immediate rush of emotion
subsided a little. Matt held his mother by the arms and smiled at her in a mixture of excitement and exhaustion. He was amazed to be still standing, but
sharing the situation with his mother and Leo was a huge relief. He took in his surroundings through his peripheral vision. The deep pile blue carpet and yellow
velour sofa seemed out of place inside the embassy building. He could see a bed through a partly open door to one of the bedrooms, which reminded him how little he had slept in the last few days.
‘So you know what’s been happening?’ he asked.
‘Yes, we’ve been briefed,’ Leo replied for both of them as Sophie pulled Matt into a tearful hug again. ‘What an amazing situation,’ he said. ‘Are you OK?’
‘I’m OK. But it’s been quite a trip,’ Matt said, with feeling.
Vic joined them. ‘ Thank you for taking care of our boy,’ Leo said, holding out a grateful hand. ‘Looks like he’s been in good hands.’
‘He’s an impressive young man,’ Vic said, smiling broadly. ‘You must be very proud.’
‘Proud and bloody furious!’ Sophie replied, stepping back from Matt to look at him. ‘Why didn’t you tell me what happened as soon as you got back, Matt? You saw David on that ship and you went to your room and then came up to London without telling me he was alive? How could you let me go on thinking he was dead? Oh god, but I’m so relieved to see you!’
‘Don’t be too hard on the boy, Mrs Metcalfe,’ Vic urged gently. ‘He had a tough hand to play and he has played it well. He knew that if Ivan had the slightest inclination that Matt had told anyone – even you – about the situation, it could have gone very badly for David.’
‘And for you, mum,’ Matt chipped in. ‘Ivan might have had any or all of us killed. Look, I’m sorry. I desperately wanted to tell you, but I knew I had to do exactly as he said. He was an incredibly clever and resourceful man, and until I heard about the raid I just didn’t dare do anything except what he told me to.’
‘I know, I know,’ his mother conceded. ‘I’m sorry, love. I’ve just been so worried. And I’m so proud of you. Look at you: carrying out a daring rescue with the US military in the US Embassy. My son!’
‘Mu-um!’ Matt protested in embarrassment. ‘I didn’t really do anything,’ he smiled. ‘I was pretty much a passenger here. These guys didn’t need any help from me. But I’m sure glad to be here, and I’m so glad you’re both here too.’
Norman joined them and put an avuncular hand on Matt’s shoulder as he introduced himself to Leo and Sophie. Then he introduced a sombre note to the celebrations. ‘We’re going to have to discuss with you and Dr Metcalfe how we’re going to present this to the world. There’s a lot at stake here, and we’ll only get one shot at pitching this thing right.’
‘How do you mean?’ Leo asked, sensing concern in Norman’s voice. ‘This is a good news story, isn’t it? Some brave young men lost their lives, but a murderer and kidnapper was defeated, and two innocent people rescued.’
‘I’m afraid it’s not that simple, Leo,’ Norman said. ‘Depending how we play it, this story could have a huge impact – on your family, on Vic’s organisation, and even on the US military. Vic’s work has been below the radar until now, and we need to keep it that way for the time being. And if we’re not careful you guys could find yourselves in the middle of a media firestorm.’
Matt and Leo both started to ask questions, but Norman raised a hand.
‘Let’s discuss this when Dr Metcalfe gets here. In the meantime, you guys have some catching up and celebrating to do. And I recommend you all get some rest. It’s late, and it’s been one helluva day. There shouldn’t be any need to talk to the media before Dr Metcalfe arrives.’
After talking excitedly with his mother and Leo for an hour, Matt was overcome by exhaustion and lay down on the bed. Four hours later he was woken by Vic, gently shaking his shoulder and telling him that his father had arrived. Matt shot awake and swung his legs round to get up.
‘Where is he? Can I see him now?’
‘Of course you can. He’s in a meeting room downstairs. Come on, I’ll take you there.’
Sophie was already in the meeting room with David when Matt rushed in. They were sitting opposite each other holding hands across a small table, staring into each other’s eyes. The room was plain and bare, and they almost looked like a prisoner and his visitor.
David stood as Matt entered the room and ran to his father. They hugged each other tightly, then David put his hands on Matt’s shoulders and pushed him back a little to look into his eyes.
‘My son and my saviour! Not many fathers get to say that,’ he laughed.
‘Ha! I didn’t save you,’ Matt protested with a grin. ‘We have to thank Vic and Norman, and those Navy Seals guys for that. They’re the real heroes.’
‘Well, I’m eternally grateful for their bravery, and their sacrifice,’ David agreed, glancing at Vic. He turned back to Matt. ‘But you’re a hero too, as far as I’m concerned.’
‘Amen to that,’ Leo and Norman chimed in simultaneously as they came into the room. They both laughed. Matt realised that they had already welcomed David, and they had stepped outside the room to give Sophie some time alone with her husband.
Norman slipped into take-charge mode.
‘Now, we have some important decisions to make. In particular we’re going to have to decide how we want this to play in the media. I’m afraid that too many people know about the raid for it to be kept secret. We can rely on the discretion of the military and intelligence people involved, but there is Ivan’s crew to think about, and his people elsewhere. There is also the little matter of David returning from the dead. I think there’s no way to prevent this becoming a lead story, but if we play our cards right we may be able to contain it to a one- or two-day affair. Playing our cards right means we need a coherent story that we all agree to stick to. And there’s going to have to be a press conference sooner rather than later, otherwise the media will start running the story based on hearsay and whatever they can dig up – or invent. Which would not be good.
‘Now you have an important decision to make, as a family – and I’m assuming that includes you, Leo. You need to decide what level of intrusion you want in your lives. If we tell the complete story, including the real reason for the kidnapping, and the fact that Matt was kidnapped as well as David, I’m afraid that you can say goodbye to any privacy for a long time. That story would lead the news for days, and you would be pestered by journalists for weeks afterwards.’
Realising that the family was struggling to understand the full implications, Norman explained.
‘Look, this is potentially a terrific media story. Think about it: a brilliant scientist is kidnapped, and his heroic – dare I say telegenic – young son’ he winked at Matt, ‘persuades the US military to ride to the rescue in a daring high seas adventure. Throw in a half-understood sub-plot about robots and artificial intelligence, and you could find a dozen vans with TV cameras parked outside your house for a few weeks. Maybe it could be fun. Hell, you could probably make some money out of it if you want to.’
He paused to let the scale of the potential media frenzy sink in before delivering his main argument.
‘But then there will be the backlash. If you are built
up as heroes, I guarantee there will be journalists digging around in your past, phoning and door-stepping your friends, bosses, colleagues, girlfriend, ex-lovers,
enemies, people you’ve slighted, people who are sim
ply jealous of your fame: looking everywhere for the skeletons in your cupboards. It’s the way the media works these days; it has its own inescapable logic. Are you sure you really want that kind of scrutiny? I’m sure you truly are the good, blameless people that you seem to be. But we’ve all made mistakes on the way to where we are.’
He paused again. Matt, Sophie and Leo exchanged glances. Norman was right: this wasn’t straightforward.
‘So I suggest instead that we tell the truth but not the whole truth. I suggest that we announce that you were taken hostage three months ago, David, and you were freed earlier this morning in a raid by Navy Seals following an investigation into Ivan’s other illegal activities. If we say that the reason for the kidnapping was to obtain commercial secrets then it would be perfectly reasonable to refuse to elaborate. I recommend that we explain that the experience has been traumatic for you, and ask the media to respect your privacy so that you can resume your life with as much normalcy as possible. They will probably ignore that initially, but if you refuse to make any further comments or statements, they will hopefully lose interest fairly quickly.’
‘So there would be no mention of Matt?’ David asked. ‘No mention of the race to create the first machine intelligence?’
‘That’s right,’ said Norman firmly. ‘That is my strong recommendation. I think that is the best approach for our organisations, and even more so for your family.’
David looked doubtful. ‘No-one who knows me will believe that I was kidnapped and held hostage for three months because of commercial secrets.’
Matt was also unsure about Norman’s suggested approach, for a different reason.
‘What do you think, Vic?’ he asked. ‘I thought you were in favour of openness? I thought Ivan was the one who wanted to keep everything secret.’
Vic looked uncomfortable. ‘That’s true,’ he agreed, ‘but the timing is important. Going public with news about machine intelligence too early is dangerous. Especially if it is in the context of military action. We need time to prepare the ground. People need to get used to the idea first by seeing progress with impressive but narrow forms of artificial intelligence, like domestic robots and so on. If we are exposed without that preparation, then at best people will think we are crackpots; at worst they will panic.’
‘But on the other hand, going public too late could be much worse,’ Matt said. ‘If the idea is effectively sprung on people just before it becomes a reality, the panic you are worried about could be enormously damaging.’
Leo was nodding as Matt spoke. ‘If we withhold some of the story and then it gets out, people will be suspicious about what else is being hidden. If it leaks out that the US Army is close to creating the first artificial general intelligence, and has been less than truthful about it, a lot of people will get very concerned. But to be honest I’m more concerned about the more immediate problems. For instance, is it realistic to insist that Matt never speaks to anyone outside this room about his experience – not now and not for the rest of his life? And what about Ivan’s people on the boat and elsewhere? How many of them know more than you’re proposing to disclose?’
After a few minutes of discussion, Norman realised he was losing the argument.
‘Well I can see which way this is going,’ said Norman, shaking his head. ‘I can’t stop you from telling your story, but I fear this will have a bigger impact on your family life than you realise.’ He held up a warning finger, ‘One thing I do insist on is that everything that you have seen and heard in this building is classified confidential military information.’
‘Norman, let me assure you,’ David said quickly, ‘I am – we all are – immensely grateful for what you and your men have done. Some of them have died in the process – I’m not forgetting that. I wouldn’t dream of putting any information into the public domain which could jeopardise the lives of US personnel. As far as I’m concerned – and I’m sure I speak for the rest of my family,’ he looked around at them as he spoke to confirm this, ‘everything we have seen in this building, all the technology we have seen deployed so impressively, is completely off-limits. The media doesn’t need to know any operational details, and I for one will not tell them.’
Norman nodded. ‘I appreciate that, David’ he said. ‘The research we are engaged on with Vic falls into that category too.’
‘I don’t need to and don’t want to talk to anyone about the details of your work,’ David assured him. ‘For that matter I know very little about it. But I think that Leo has put his finger on it. If you try to cover up the reason for your involvement in this incident and then it gets out, there will be an uproar. You will lose the trust of people whose trust you are much going to need in the not-too-distant future.’
‘Very well,’ Norman conceded. ‘I can see that you’ve made up your minds. Can we at least agree on a joint statement for the press conference, and that there will be no question and answer session at this stage? I suggest that any mention of artificial intelligence research is kept brief and general. And of course I’m going to have to get sign-off from upstairs.’
David looked at the others before nodding his agreement.
‘Thank you,’ Norman said. ‘I’ll have someone start work on the draft immediately; it won’t take long. You’ll probably want to get some breakfast? They serve some outstanding blueberry pancakes in the cafeteria.’