Chapter 1: Caught in a Security Sweep

Avril Piéger was in the checkout line at Walmart gazing at the newspaper headlines while thinking what she'd make for supper for her family that night. The thirty-six year old housewife, mother of two teenagers and stalwart community volunteer was so preoccupied with her domestic thoughts that she didn't realize it was her turn in line and the check-out girl was getting impatient.

"That's $74.93, ma'am," mumbled the girl behind the counter, " Credit or Debit?"

"VISA' answered Avril as she slipped her card into the pay slot. The hand-held payment transfer device took a few seconds and the screen did not ask for her PIN. Instead it read "Payment Denied".

"What?" cried Avril as she gave a small shake of her head and her brow furrowed. She tried twice with the same result and muttered something about bank errors. But she reached into her wallet and got her Debit Card out and used that with the exact same result. This was getting very embarrassing.

Eventually she had to leave the line to put back half her purchases as she didn't have enough cash on her to cover all her stuff. Leaving Walmart she marched right over to a branch of her bank which was in the mall. Her bank also handled her credit card and she was going to give a royal roasting to someone there, even if it was just a senior teller. She knew she was way under here VISA limit and had at least a grand in her joint chequing account. Even that fool of a gambling husband of hers couldn't have blown that much in one morning.

As it turned out, after explaining her dilemma to the teller who stared with widening eyes at the computer screen behind the counter, Avril was asked to wait by reception while the bank manager was called over to handle the situation.

"At last!' Avril thought. " I'll demand an apology, of course, but I think a $50 nuisance rebate would be in order. I've never been so embarrassed; Credit and Debit bank error! I might even go to the press and make a stink."

But her smug attitude died in seconds as she entered the manager's office and saw the grim, not at all apologetic look on his face. She took the seat which he ungraciously offered and rather quietly asked what the problem was ... Computer glitch?

In response, the manager curtly replied, " All your accounts are frozen, Ms Piéger. We have a directive from head office pertaining all your and your husband's accounts, GICs and car and mortgage loans. You will be receiving information shortly ... not from the bank. But a government agency will be in touch this afternoon."

"I ... I don't understand ... The government? What has my money, my credit all this have to do with some government agency? Is it the tax department? We always do our taxes with H & R Block and always on time." Avril was sputtering by now and her face was getting flush.

"I'm sorry, Ms Piéger," he replied, although he didn't sound in the least bit sorry. " I can say no more. You will be hearing from the authorities; that is the message on your file. Access to your accounts is frozen but, of course, your loan payments are still due at the end of the month and penalties will apply. So, if I may give you some friendly advice, get this sorted out ASAP because a freeze notice like this usually means all financial institutions have been alerted and you won't find any bank willing, or even legally allowed, to loan you any money until it's cleared. Thank you, and good day."

Avril walked out the bank barely able to hold back her tears. She drove home in a daze. In the car she tried calling her husband at work. Her i-phone was dead; she tried switching to text, then e-mail. No signal. As soon as she got home she tried the land line. It too was dead. She was about to try her lap top when her cell phone buzzed: Incoming call – source unknown.

"Well, at least the cell's working again," she muttered as she answered the call.

A woman's voice sweetly intoned. " Is this Avril Piéger?"

"Yes, who is this?" Avril replied

"My code name is i-Bad, but you can call me Mistress Bad, if you prefer."

"WHAT!"

"Ms Piéger, I am Level 3 agency investigator and I'm in charge of your file so, if you know what's good for you, you will shut up for five minutes and listen to what I have to say. Are you listening?"

"Go on," whispered a perplexed Avril.

"My agency coordinates with security scanners around the world to root out terrorist threats and you, Ms Piéger, have been detected, investigated and filed." Agent i-Bad waited for that to sink in.

"What agency is that?" Avril was beginning to suspect this was some kind of hacker scam and she was ready to hang up and dial 911. In fact she tried to disconnect, but her i-phone was frozen on her current call.

"It's the National Security and Purity Police and please don't try to disconnect again or I will be forced to take further measures." The agent's voice was stern. " Actually, the group I work for is a private company out-sourced by the NSPP. But the point is I have all the power and authority of the state behind me and you, Avril, are completely powerless."

"Your money is safe for now but you and your family have no access to it. Your communications systems are under my control. And please stop biting your nails. It's a filthy habit." i-Bad had made her point and more.

"Who the hell are you? And what do you mean Purity Police? And ... and ... and ... OMG! How did you know I was biting my nails just now?" Avril felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

"Cameras, stupid. We had them installed in your house seven days ago. That was right after I got permission to go to code Orange on you. Right now I have your file in open but inactive mode. That means I'm monitoring and evaluating your cooperation. Officially, you are a potential enemy of the state with pre-trial status..."

"This sounds like some kind of sick joke. But it's NOT FUNNY."

"I'm not laughing ... not yet, anyway," said the agent." But you, Ms Piéger, had better take this very seriously."

"Are you really with or contracted by the government? CIA, NSA or FBI? I never heard of the whatever you said you're from ... Security/Purity bullshit. What is it I'm supposed to have done anyway?"

Avril was afraid, angry and feeling out of control and yet somehow guilty before she even knew why she should feel that way.

"Okay," sighed the voice on the other end of the line, a voice which Avril thought sounded somewhat familiar but which she could not place. It was sort of like that of a young woman.

"On February 3rd of last year you made out a cheque to the ISIS Foundation. That alone," continued the agent, "would be enough for the government to charge you with aiding and abetting a terrorist organization, complicity to commit genocide and at least 1,490 counts of first degree murder. Have you anything to say, Ms Piéger?"

Avril was dumbfounded, but then she began to grin, then chuckle and then roar with laughter as she screamed into the phone, " You bone-headed, bureaucratic bitch! You paper-pushing pillock! The ISIS Foundation is a registered charity working to enable poor, underprivileged people get better Wifi connections. The foundation stands for International Systems - Internet Solutions. They're not that crazy gang of murdering zealots in the Middle-East; the group I gave money to are the Good Guys."

i-Bad listened patiently and smiled and when Avril had finished her tirade the agent replied, " Yes, I know all that. As soon as the computer grid spewed out the details of your capture ( your information capture, that is ) I did a quick Google search and knew right away this was yet another Cloud-cluster mismatch, a metadata mind-melt. I know perfectly well that you're innocent ... well, not innocent exactly ... but, you know what I mean, not guilty of a crime ... at least not a terrorist one."

"Then why the hell have my bank accounts and smart cards and communication systems been hijacked?" Avril was shouting and sounding more angry than confused now. At least this dumb-ass agent admitted she, Avril, had done nothing wrong.

"I said I know you're not a terrorist. That doesn't mean the agency I work for knows it. You see, sweetie, we are grossly underfunded and have the communications of billions of people with their phones, computers and social networking to surveillance, investigate, track down, file and, as in your case, disempower. It's very tedious work, by the way, for the tens of thousands of low level investigators like me. So the agency puts the onus of analysis on to each level of operations down the line starting with my code-level. If I'm still investigating a file and keeping it active, no one else at higher levels knows. It's all computerized to save money."

This sounded crazy to Avril but eerily familiar. People of no-fly lists and men mistakenly placed on sex-offenders lists were kept there indefinitely even when the authorities or a court had found they'd done no wrong and were totally innocent.

"In other words, I and I alone say what happens to your file. Now I could shut the file and send in a non-action report to headquarters All your bank accounts would be unfrozen and we could just move on and leave you alone..." Agent i-Bad paused for effect. ". That would be easy for me to do. But where would the fun in that be?"

"But I'm innocent. I haven't done anything bad!" screamed Avril.

"Innocent? Not quite," said i-Bad. "I've been monitoring your communications ... all your chats and e-mails, every keystroke you've made and not just you, your entire family including your father-in-law. And what I've found is most interesting. I thought it might make my job more fun if I played with your head a bit, you know, to play with your naughty fantasies."

"NO! I don't know. Which fantasies?" said Avril not knowing but fearing the worst."

"Well, there's lots to choose from, aren't there?" laughed i-Bad, " but I was thinking of your favourite, you know, the one where you're trapped and helpless, blackmailed by a stranger you never meet but whose voice you dread and whose orders you MUST obey or else face total humiliation and ruin. You know, the fantasy you confided to an on-line erotic writer the other day."