The Trainee Undercover

By Brenda Shaw

The Trainee Undercover is a mystery, action, and thriller novel written by Brenda Shaw.

Paul Collier, a high level executive, in a pharma company gets threatened into silence by an unknown force.  In despair, he decides to send his family away to protect them. 

Alex, a happy-go-lucky teenager, is all set to enjoy his summer

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ade Press Ltd
• Release date: Apr 24, 2017
• ISBN: 9780995472341

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

DAY 1

Alex could see the shadow of the man in the black raincoat walking towards him. The man was holding a gun! Alex started sweating. He wondered what he should do. He was hiding behind one of the cupboards, but he could not stay hidden for long. The man was moving determinedly towards his position.

Could he see him? If he moved, he knew the man would shoot him.

Alex had never seen a weapon in his life, except on the net or in movies! His friends were waiting for him in the car.

How on earth did I end up in this situation? he wondered.

He had to think fast. ‘Come on Alex! Think! Use your dimwit brain,’ he berated in a whispering tone to himself. He thought about running, but that seemed stupid too. He was no Olympic runner. Shouting wasn’t an option either. He’d be dead before his voice had even left his lips.

No…I need to send an alert, he realised. Alex fumbled desperately for his mobile. He couldn’t find it. Sweat dripped from his forehead. He wondered why he hadn’t asked Harry to cover for him.

Oh God! Don’t let me die, please!

Alex watched the man in the raincoat coming closer towards him. Any moment now, he would see him. Alex closed his eyes and braced himself. Time to start praying.

Something touched his chest. A bullet, maybe?

‘Get up Alex!’

Alex started screaming. He opened his eyes. His mother looked back at him, concerned. The sun was shining through his bedroom window. He could see his laptop on the study table and all of his books arranged neatly on the shelf. Alex shivered. His dream had felt so real.

‘Alex? You are sweating badly.’

‘I am okay, Mum. Just a bad dream.’ His voice was trembling.

‘Have you been watching horror movies again?’

‘No Mum!’ Alex snapped.

‘Okay, you sound normal now,’ she said, smiling.

‘Sorry Mum!’ Alex said sheepishly.

‘Okay! Get ready! I heard your mobile ringing. I know it’s the holiday period but I would still like you to have your breakfast downstairs before I leave.’

‘Yes Mum,’ Alex replied lazily.

Alex listened as she left the room. Unlike a typical teenage bedroom, his was neat and tidy. From what he had heard from his mum, if his brother James had still shared this room with him, then it would have been extremely messy. James was away now at a university in Southampton, studying to be a doctor. Alex checked his mobile and saw a missed call from Harry. He checked the time and realised that Harry was trying to make sure that he was not late. He sent a quick reply and jumped out of bed.

Alex rushed to freshen up and finished his breakfast quickly. As he grabbed his coat to rush out, his mum shouted, ‘Do not be late for dinner Alex. We can all eat together. I never know when Henry will have to travel next for his project.’

Henry Brian, Alex’s dad, was a tall well-built gentleman with a lot of old fashioned values. Henry was very proud of both of his sons, and supported them in every activity. However, he had started to get a little restless about Alex’s future plans, and Alex’s indecision about what he intended to do after finishing school. With James not at home, Alex was the centre of attention, and Henry was determined to get him to make a decision about his educational plans after school.

‘Don’t worry Mum. I will be back by then.’

Susan Brian sighed as she thought about her son. She knew she really shouldn’t worry too much about him. He had a good group of friends.

Alex rushed out and jumped onto his bike. He came across as a tall lanky teenager with dishevelled hair and a bike that was too small for his height. He never liked to waste any time when travelling to Harry’s house. As he cycled, he saw Angela ahead of him on her bike. He pedalled faster, although he knew that he had no hopes of catching her. Angela was a delicate looking gorgeous blonde, with a keen sense of competition. She was an excellent cyclist, and probably could have been a champion if she wanted to. However, Angela was keen to become a lawyer like her dad. She was very strong minded, and rarely showed her emotions. Despite this, Alex and his friends knew that Angela was fiercely loyal, and that she would do anything for them. She was a tomboy, and they treated her as one.

Alex was exhausted by the time he parked up near Harry’s garage. He was not surprised to see Angela’s bike parked neatly outside. As he went inside the garage room, he saw that Angela and Harry were busy looking at something on a laptop.

Harry looked up at Alex, ‘Go grab a drink from the fridge. You look like you need it.’

Harry had the typical looks of a British born Asian Indian, at five feet eight. He wore black spectacles and always had a smile on his face. This reflected in his voice. Even during the tensest moments, while Alex, George and Angela would be nervously twiddling their thumbs, he would be unfazed. Harry was the mediator in their group, and came across as very mature for his age. He was quite ambitious and very clear about his future plans to be a computer engineer, and work in his dad’s company.

His name was actually ‘Hari’ of Asian origin, but over the years someone had called him Harry, and the name stuck.

‘So, where is George? Has he got waylaid by some household chore again?’ Alex asked sarcastically.

George was known for his unpunctuality. He would often come up with the most unbelievable excuses for being late.

Harry smiled, ‘Chill Alex. He will be here in time for our badminton game.’

Angela ignored the conversation. She was busy looking intently at the laptop.

Alex raised his eyebrows at Harry.

‘Huh… Angela is catching up on the Lucas case.’

‘The Lucas case?’

Harry explained that Lucas Bryan was the CEO of a global pharmaceutical company, who was accused of murdering a director. His case was being fought by one of the best defence lawyers in the world, Mr. Hammond Hammer. Angela was an ardent fan of Mr. Hammer, and followed up on most of his cases.

‘Get a life Angela. How can you find those court cases interesting?’ Alex asked.

‘Not everybody loves to breathe, eat and live cars Alex,’ Angela snapped.

‘Madame, before you demean my first and only love, remember that those cars help to take you from point A to point B.’

‘Sir, before you get on your high horse, remember that you don’t drive them, and nor do you manufacture them. It’s a wasteful hobby if you don’t intend to do anything with all that knowledge.’

‘Oh, and you are going to be the next big lawyer fighting cases with Mr. Hammer are you?’

‘Of course, at least I have a goal.’

‘Ambitious Angie aiming to conquer the lawyers!’ Alex then put a hand on his mouth in an exaggerated manner to say, ‘Err, I meant Law.’

Before Angela could retaliate, Harry intervened. ‘Both of you that’s enough. Let’s not spoil today’s morning. We only have a couple of days before we start our summer jobs. It’s going to be difficult to meet frequently. Keep cool and enjoy the sun while it lasts guys.’

‘Hah, this is true for you and me, but not for Mr. Alex the lazy lunatic.’

Angela stuck her tongue out at Alex, before walking out of the garage door towards the badminton court.

Brat,’ whispered Alex angrily, but stopped himself when he saw Harry looking at him sternly.

‘You can give back when you get the job that you want to do,’ smiled Harry.

Alex followed Harry out towards the court.

Harry’s parents were quite well off, and lived in a sprawling six bedroom detached house, with an even bigger garden. The house had two double garages, and they had converted one of them for Harry to play in when he was just a child. Over the years, the garage room had been modified a couple of times. Now it was Harry’s study room, and their meeting place. It was an ideal place to relax and have fun, since Harry’s parents left them alone to their devices.

Angela and Harry were busy preparing the court and the nets. Alex starting checking the shuttlecocks, when he saw George saunter past him. George was a tall American. He looked like a sportsman, with a lazy stride. George however; wasn’t much of a sportsman. Food and sleep was his passion. He was very good at retaining information like a sponge, and had a good memory.

Alex heard him apologizing to Harry for the delay.

Angela called out impatiently, ‘Let’s start the game boys. I am in the mood to thrash someone.’ She threw a challenging look to Alex.

Alex didn’t back off. ‘Come on George. Let’s show that lady the meaning of thrash.’

Alex paired with George, and Harry with Angela. They were normally equally matched, but today George was not faring well at all. He seemed distracted and nervous. Harry and Angela won the first two sets easily.

At the end of their game, they were all sweating badly. Alex glared at George, wondering about his strange behaviour. He started to say something, but then Harry’s mum called out to them for lunch. Mrs. Kumar was an excellent cook. She had made Indian bread and curries. She started to say ‘please enjoy your lunch’ but before she had even finished speaking, the boys and Angela were halfway through the meal. She smiled and left them to it.

Finally George groaned, ‘Oh I can’t eat anymore. I am stuffed!’

Harry laughed, ‘I will tell my mum not to feed you all too much.’

‘No!’ was the unanimous call from everyone.

‘Don’t you dare deprive us of your mum’s food Harry!’ Angela joked, ‘George stop complaining!’

‘Hey, who’s complaining?’ George groaned.

‘Maybe next time I’ll bring some packed sandwiches for you George, so that you don’t feel stuffed with food,’ Alex said in a serious tone.

‘I don’t want…’ started George angrily, before he saw the teasing faces of Angela and Alex.

George raised his hands as if to say, ‘Okay guys. I give up.’

Alex sighed, ‘Just when it had started to get interesting.’

Harry said, ‘Okay guys, let’s clear up. George wants to share something.’

‘Huh?’

‘Curb your curiosity Alex for a few minutes. Let’s clean the room first,’ Harry said.

There was a small corridor connecting the garage room with the main kitchen area. After clearing up, they quickly took their favourite positions in Harry’s room – Alex on the beanbag, Angela on the settee, George lying down on the sofa-cum-bed and Harry on the carpet.

‘Tell all George, before I die of suspense,’ Alex joked.

George looked at all of them for a moment before he started speaking, ‘Have you all heard of Lucas Bryan?’

‘Where did I hear of him?’ Alex started to say, before Angela interrupted, ‘He’s the guy accused of killing Simon Hays at Pat Pharma. Mr. Hammond Hammer is fighting his case.’

‘Okay! So what’s that got to do with you, George?’ asked Alex

‘Nothing, but Dad has been working for Pat Pharma, and reporting to Mr. Bryan who was the CEO.’

‘Has been?’ Alex raised his eyebrows.

‘Well, he doesn’t know if he will still have a job in a month’s time. Another board director, Mr. Hugh Radar, has stepped in to hold the fort as the temporary CEO.’

‘Can he get another job?’ interrupted Alex.

‘Shush Alex,’ Harry admonished, ‘Stop interrupting.’

‘Okay guys…whatever I discuss from now on is highly secretive. You need to promise not to tell anyone, please? My dad could get into trouble if this information leaks out.’

They all said in unison, ‘Of course, we promise.’

They had met Mr. Paul Collier more than a few times when they had been to George’s house. Mr. Collier was a short bald man with a smiley face. He always had time to say a kind word or two, or to advise them on how to do things right.

‘Dad is very worried at the moment. Being a Chief Operating Officer at Pat Pharma, he became a little suspicious about the company finances a couple of months ago. Around five billion pounds have been embezzled from the company accounts. He requested for an audit to be done, but before it could even be confirmed, Mr. Hays was murdered. Dad thinks Mr. Hays might have had some involvement in the fraud, but he doesn’t have any evidence.’

Alex couldn’t stop himself, ‘Has he informed the police?’

‘No!’ George literally screamed, ‘Didn’t I tell you before that this is highly confidential information? Dad now has to keep quiet about all this, otherwise it could be seriously dangerous.’

‘George, your dad could get into trouble for not revealing the fraud.’

‘Alex, this is not one of your dream movies, this is real. You don’t seem to understand the situation.’

‘Let’s hear him out. I don’t think George has finished whatever he has to say,’ Harry interrupted.

‘My dad wanted to go to the police the moment he found out about the misappropriation of funds. He discussed it with Mr. Hays, who suggested that a company audit would be better than having the cops scrutinize the company accounts. Dad went along with it…but he wasn’t fully convinced, so he approached Mr. Bryan (Lucas) wanting to know his standpoint. Lucas was convinced that they should approach the police. But of course, Lucas had to follow the company protocol and keep silent until he had a chance to discuss and get agreement on his plan of action from the board of directors.’

He took a deep breath, and continued.

‘Dad was waiting to hear from Mr. Bryan when catastrophe struck. Mr. Hays was found murdered in Lucas’s office room, and Lucas was taken into custody as the primary suspect. When the police started their investigation on Mr. Bryan’s murder, Dad wanted to tell them all about the embezzlement of company funds. That’s when he received his first threatening letter…’

George looked around the room nervously.

‘The letter stated that if Dad went to the police regarding the fraud, then he would have to face the consequences. After that, obviously, he got a little scared. He didn’t tell me or Mum anything at that point. He decided to wait for a couple of days before he got the police involved. He wasn’t sure if someone from the office was playing a prank on him. There was always a chance that an employee was dissatisfied with the company and was threatening him, using the situation in office.’

He continued, ‘After a few days, Dad tried to meet with Lucas. He made an appointment to see him, but then he got another letter, saying that he shouldn’t meet with Lucas and that if he revealed any knowledge of the fraud to the police, they would kill Mum and me. I think at that point Dad got really scared and realised this was more serious than he had anticipated. He looked so nervous when he got home, Mum couldn’t get him to tell her what was wrong. Then last week…’

George looked a little frightened and lost in thought.

‘What happened last week George?’

‘Dad has a personal assistant, Rose, who works very closely with him. She is aware of most of Dad’s operational activities. When Dad first discovered the money laundering, he didn’t discuss it with Rose, even though she is very loyal and one of his oldest personnel assistants. But last week, Rose was part of a meeting between the finance director and the business director, where they were discussing the missing money. They think Dad is trying to hide the issue and Rose got very flustered about it. She tried to discuss it with Dad but he just asked her to stay quiet, since he can’t talk about the letters to anyone without compromising our safety. He decided to approach Mr. Parker with the issue and give him all the details. Just as he was about to go for the meeting, he got his third threatening letter. It was extremely graphic about how they were planning to kill Mum, Elena and me, if Dad discussed the fraud with anybody in the office. It’s almost like someone is watching every move he makes. This time the blackmailer also wanted Dad to silently surrender to the police, and accept the fraud as his crime.’

Alex, Harry and Angela were aghast.

George started sniffing as he spoke, ‘It doesn’t stop there. Just after he got the letter, Elena went missing from her school for three hours. After a lot of panic, Dad found my sister in the nearby supermarket store. Elena was picked by a man who portrayed himself as dad’s best friend and took her on a tour of the town in his car. It was all done so cleverly that the nanny who went to pick her up did not even see this man take Elena away. Dad was about to go to the authorities when he received another letter, stating that this time he found Elena alive, but next time he won’t, if he doesn’t follow their instructions. They want him to surrender to the authorities next week. Dad had a difficult time trying to pacify the nanny who was miffed about Elena being picked up by dad’s so called friend. Dad, of course, didn’t tell her the truth.’

There was absolute silence in the room.

George shook his head as if he couldn’t believe what had happened, ‘My dad looks like a defeated man. He has booked tickets for me, Elena and Mum to leave for the United States next week. We are going to stay with my aunt until this mess is sorted out. I can’t leave him like this. But…when