Undercover Crisis

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER NINE

The mirth didn't last long as Jackson called his CFO, Payne, head of Public Affairs, Mariah Belo, David and Leona from JPI's A/V studio to his office. There was planning to do.

The conversation began with the question of whether to involve the RCMP or CSIS at this point. The Mounties were the appropriate force if police action was warranted. The Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) was, for lack of a better term, Canada's spy agency. Involvement of any kind by the American CIA complicated the situation immensely.

The CIA was the external spy service of the U.S.A. and was expressly disallowed to carry out any operations in the U.S. itself. It could operate in Canada and did but not on this level. The finding of the CIA's black box indicated the clandestine agency could be spying on and possibly stealing secrets from a private company within a close ally of the U.S. The U.S. was part of the 'five eyes' alliance made up of Canada, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and the United States. Secrets were traded back and forth among these allies so, basically, what was known by CSIS of CDSI's operations and products would be known automatically by the other four 'eyes.' There was no need for the Americans to bug the workplaces of a Canadian company. Under President Trump, relations between the countries had deteriorated but not to this extent.

If Jackson were to bring this to the attention of CSIS or the Mounties, and if the CIA were not involved, Jackson could cause great embarrassment and possibly operational harm to the CIA. That would result in business losses to JPI which sold products to the CIA but Jackson refused to consider this angle. As well, Mariah told the group not to breathe a word of this in the context of JPI's business. It was possible that the equipment was stolen from the CIA and used without the agency's knowledge.

The evidence was plain, so far, that members of the SFPP had planted the bug in the walls of the CDSI headquarters. Yet, were the young workers who knew where the bug was located the ones who placed it there and were they indeed acting as members of the SFPP or acting on their own? Everyone at this meeting was reluctant to ruin the futures of young people for such a foolish but possibly well-intentioned act. It also was difficult to believe these kids could get their hands on such sophisticated surveillance gadgetry. What the hell was going on here?

The result of the discussion was a decision not to alert the police or CSIS but to try to handle the situation internally. Until the black boxes spread through the H.Q. were activated, it was doubtful any crime had been committed. The crimes, so far, had been arson, firing a dangerous weapon, attempted assault with a weapon and general mayhem. Each sounded serious but would be pled down to a few months in jail, fines or even probation with community service. A record for any of the offences, however, could wreck a young man's or woman's life. No one at the meeting wanted that on his or her conscience.

The exception was Cora Goodale. She was an adult and a college guidance counsellor. If she was directing these kids to carry out any of the offences, she deserved the harshest punishment. Clancy made it a special part of his mission to find out whether this woman was guilty of a crime. If so, she would pay.

Clancy had drifted off but as he thought about Cora's possible role in this growing crisis. Mariah Belo was speaking. His mind took a U-turn as Mariah raised her voice. "I agree with Jackson and Carde that we have to think about the future of these students." She was directing her comments at Payne.

"Okay, Mariah. I get the point. I'm just a little less forgiving. One of them shot at Carde for god's sake."

"He missed," said Clancy, drawing a disgusted glance from Mariah. Carde, however, chuckled.

"Sorry." Clancy dipped his head as he muttered the apology. Mariah ignored him.

Mariah was finished with her brief lecture on how to avoid attracting public attention to current problems. It wasn't the time for the company to start creating a profile; she would need much more of a buildup to position CDSI properly in the immediate community, across the nation and, eventually, internationally. Mariah knew the road would have its share of potholes as it developed products that would balance public security with personal privacy. Branding students and other young people as enemies of CDSI would do the company no good at all. Nor would ruining the lives of these kids.