Dirty Little Secrets ...Part 8 ...Quiet Warfare

That which does not kill us makes us stronger.
― Friedrich Nietzsche

What I thought was going to be a great opportunity work with Mer and collaborate on some in-depth investigative reporting was quickly turning into a nightmare.

Mer confronted Simon Pollock about criminal activity going on inside The Enigma Club and Pollock struck back by having his right-wing goons fire a bullet into her front door, sending the message for her to back off.

When she decided to flee from her home out of concern for her neighbours it turned our my house was not a sanctuary either.

Somehow Pollock's minions gained access to the house and planted spyware that turned off the power and no doubt spied on us listening to our conversations and viewing our activities through covert cameras.

I did the only reasonable thing under the circumstances by driving Mer to Trent Michael's place and informing him of the circumstances.

Fortunately, Trent had a friend inside CSIS, the Canadian spy agency, and he offered to contact the man.

An hour later we were sitting in Trent's front room while a technical team was checking the house and electronics for spyware and another was outdoors inspecting our vehicles.

I noticed an RCMP vehicle stationed on the street as well. It was reassuring to know we were in competent hands and none more expert than Martin Withers, Trent's friend, who turned out to be a project leader and a physical surveillant analyst.

Yes, we were in very good hands.

Withers took time out from overseeing the investigation of the house to update us on their progress to this point.

"We contacted the Metropolitan Toronto Police who extracted the shell from your front door and came up empty. The bullet itself is untraceable, which is disappointing."

Mer and I were silent.

Withers continued, "I just heard from the teams outside and back at your house, Logan, and both your vehicles are cleared--there are no bugs in either and none in Trent's vehicle here."

"I guess that's somewhat of a relief," I replied, "although I wished the bullet could be traced to the owner of the rifle."

Withers nodded, "It would help but we know the rifle was a high-powered military issue weapon and it's unlikely a civilian would have been able to obtain one."

At that moment, the leader of the technical team whispered in Wither's ear.

"Well, all this house is clear of bugs but your house, Logan, was loaded with sophisticated spyware, again military grade and unlikely to be accessible to a civilian. So, it seems reasonable to conclude that this operation was carried out by those who are either presently enlisted or know somebody who has special access to such equipment."

Mer followed up on Withers' report. '"So, this isn't some wacko with a grudge against legacy news outlets venting his frustrations."

"Exactly," Withers said grimly. "This was not an amateur attempt . Whoever did this had access to restricted materials."

"So, what do you suggest we do?" I asked.

"It's up to you whether or not you continue to pursue this story, but for the time being we'll station an RCMP cruiser outside your door and do a threat analysis with the Metro police about further protective measures until we're certain the risk is no longer high."

"So, I guess we're on our own?" Mer frowned.

Withers shook his head. "By no means. We intend to fully investigate the case and encourage you to work with us and report any further incidents. We're here to support you."

"That's a relief," she smiled. "We'll fully cooperate and report anything as soon as it occurs."

After Withers and the teams left we sat sipping coffee before the fire and trying to decide on next steps.

"So, you're both committed to continue to plough ahead with your investigation?" Trent asked.

"We are," we both answered in unison and I added, "and we're not going to be dissuaded from getting to the bottom of the story, by Pollock or by his hired goons."

Mer agreed and we both were strongly defiant in pushing back against Pollock's threats....

But I secretly felt a twinge of fear realizing that Pollock had resources and manpower to continue the pressure and Mer and I would be on our own when the authorities eventually closed their investigation.

It was important we press hard now while we still had their support.

To be continued...

© 2025, John J Geddes. All rights reserved

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