CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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CODE SHIELD ____________________________

A Peek into Singapore’s Secret Services

___________________________________________

A Novel By

Eric Alagan

LCA Books

LCA Consultants

Singapore

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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LCA BOOKS

Published by

LCA Consultants Pte Ltd

(Company Registration No. 201008768Z)

Republic of Singapore

www.Lcabooks.com

This novel, Code Shield, is a work of fiction. Any references to organisations, events and

localities, other than those clearly in the public domain, are fictitious and meant to give the

fiction a sense of authenticity. Any resemblance to persons living, pretending to be alive or dead is entirely coincidental.

Copyright @ 2011 by Eric Alagan

Cover artworks @ 2011 by Eric Alagan

The right of Eric Alagan as the owner of this work has been asserted.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,

or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or

otherwise, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

Code Shield

ISBN: 978-981-08-9242-5

Typeset by Rank Books

Cover design by Rank Books

Printed by Mainland Press Pte Ltd

National Library Board, Singapore Cataloguing-in-Publication Data

Alagan, Eric, 1955- Code shield : a spy thriller set in Singapore : a novel / by Eric Alagan. – Singapore : LCA Books,

c2011. p. cm.

ISBN : 978-981-08-9242-5 (pbk.)

1. Spy stories. 2. Singapore – Fiction. 3. Organized crime investigation – Fiction. 4. Human trafficking –

Fiction. I. Title.

PR9570.S53

S823 -- dc22 OCN740561905

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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Dedicated to my First Born

Alicia

With clenched fists and pursed lips

Wrinkled brow and shut eyes

Whither into this unknown?

A realized dream you are,

A renewed bond you wrought,

A sunburst into our lives.

Worlds two, blended in perfection,

With song and music in harmony,

Wisdom, behold your child.

A woman now,

A child still,

A true gift of God.

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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SYNOPSIS

Government suspects a Mole within the Singapore establishment.

TARA BANKS, an undercover agent, tracks the Mole to Moscow. The trail turns cold with the

murder of several people. She enlists help from her lover, COLONEL PLUSTARCH, of Russian

Intelligence.

Meanwhile, 18years old ANNETTE goes missing, a victim of human traffickers. Her father,

MICHAEL, an ordinary aircon mechanic tracks her to Moscow and stumbles through the

underworld.

LOWE, a high-flying government scholar, arrives in Moscow to take charge. He crosses swords

with Tara and unwittingly befriends GENERAL SIMONOV, Russian Police chief and patron of

the Mafiya. Simonov orders the assassination of Tara.

The paths of Tara and Michael cross.

Meanwhile, Tara receives orders from the highest levels in Singapore to liquidate the Mole.

She learns that the human traffickers and the Mole are connected. She races against time to

rescue Michael and Annette while avoiding the assassins, one of whom could be the svelte

Plustarch.

“…an intriguing mix of drug-running…human trafficking, the flesh trade, political manoeuvring

and high-stakes power games, flavoured with interesting characters and locations, and spiced

with dangerous liaisons, secret deals and double crosses, and the sometimes deadly internecine

jostling of international security agencies. Architecturally, Code Shield is superb…” – Brian

Cook, literary agent, manuscript assessor, Australia

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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Extract: CODE SHIELD

An exclusive apartment in Singapore

The old man, a tube in his nose, patted his bed, his hand feeble. His cheeks sunken; forehead

furrowed deep; hair platinum, niggardly and lifeless; and his skin dry and mottled. He lay raised

on several pillows propped under his head and shoulders.

The younger man moved closer, sat on the tall stool next to the hospital bed.

“You look troubled,” whispered the old man. His breathing heavy, his speech tentative

but his eyes darted about, as sharp as his brain.

The younger man related the day’s interview. “You have often cautioned me about the

difficult decisions you had to make in the early days – the arrests, the clearing of squatters, land

acquisitions...but this.”

“Times and situations change but difficult decisions always remain.” The old man broke

into a bout of coughs and removed the oxygen mask.

“Are you okay Pa,” the younger man placed a hand softly on his father’s chest and

massaged him gently.

“I’m alright…it’s just the saliva –” He coughed again, a series of long wheezing coughs

as he fought for air. After some time, he cleared his throat and said, “Crank up the bed please,

just a little. It’ll help drain the fluid in my throat, get rid of the ticklish sensation.”

The younger man sprang up quickly, found the control console tucked between the

mattress and the bed frame and pressed a switch.

“Thanks Son, that’s better.” The old man closed his eyes and tears streamed a craggy line

down his cheek.

The young man patted the tears away with tissue. “What about the Law?”

“Laws are made by man, Son.” The old man gulped some air and continued, “You know

how fallible laws are. Get the facts and go with your gut feel.”

“My conscience?” whispered the younger man, having moved close to his father’s side.

“You mean god?” the old man exhaled. “It’s something I’ve grappled with all my life. If

there is a god, he has set the stage, made the rules.”

“The rules – what’s best for the people?” the words barely audible.

The old man yearned to reach out, hug and comfort his son. My Son. Why did I ever allow

you to embrace this life? This is no life. But he had to be strong for his son, remain detached. The

old man cleared his throat and hardened his heart,

“Rules? It’s much more than that as you know. Twenty years ago, would Guantanamo be

possible? Do you remember the My Lai massacre in Vietnam? How many Captain Medinas have

gone free in Iraq and Afghanistan?”

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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“Does the end justify the means?” the young man persisted.

“Clichés don’t beget actions, Son. Leave the clichés to the clowns and crooks. These are

dangerous times; no one has the answers because the questions are being written as we speak.”

“I know what needs to be done Pa, but dread the –”

The old man patted his son’s face; let his fingers drop to the young man’s chin. “I’ve told

you long ago this is a thankless job with consequences that reach beyond our lives. A war is

raging Son, but most people don’t know of its existence because CNN has not reported it. People

are numb, have to be told, politicians have to be nudged.”

The young man buried his face in his hands. “It’s been less than a year since I took office

and already, sometimes I despair. To take out three lives…”

“There’ll be many more lives to come. Leaders who deny issuing such orders are either

liars or cowards,” the old man raked his son’s hair with his gnarled fingers. “It’s good that you

suffer your decision. It reveals your humanity.”

The two nurses and elderly doctor sat in the anteroom. They heard soft muffled sounds as

the two men continued to ruminate.

Half an hour went by and the younger man saw his father falter. The old man had closed

his eyes, his breathing pronounced.

“Rest Pa. I love you,” the younger man leaned forward and kissed his father’s forehead.

The old man woke with a start, felt the soft lips of his son and smiled. His son had moved

silently to the door when the old man gathered enough strength to call him.

“Son,” the old man’s voice was a hoarse whisper.

“Yes, Pa,” the tall man turned.

“The buck has to stop with you. You’re the Prime Minister.”

BUY ON-LINE: WWW.LCABOOKS.COM No GST – Price S$18.90 includes delivery to Singapore/anywhere in the world by surface mail

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric Alagan has more than 35 years of international business experience in the areas of aerospace

MRO, security consultancy and services, trading and logistics & supply chain. He has held

progressive positions in multinational corporations and last held the position of managing

director, Asia Pacific for a European aerospace company. He has been involved in several green

field start-ups, mergers and acquisitions.

He has managed companies in Singapore and Australia with extensive experience in ASEAN,

the Indian sub-continent and the Pacific islands.

He holds engineering diplomas, a business degree from Royal Melbourne Institute of

Technology and a master’s degree in logistics and supply chain from University South Australia.

Eric does business consultancy work and writes self-help business books and novels. Other titles

by Eric:

1. COFFEE SHOP – A Business Thriller Set In Singapore (debut Novel)

2. STAFF SELECTION – Secrets To Employ The Best People (targeted primarily at micro

entrepreneurs, general managers and HR practitioners)

3. INCREASE F&B SALES – Secrets To Boost Profits (targeted at owners and managers of

F&B outlets and start-ups)

4. 4. PROPERTY VALUATION – Secrets Of The Roman Decision Model (targeted at

owners, buyers, sellers and agents of real estate) Sunday Times Best Seller

The author is married to Lisa Chew and they have three adult children.

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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Used by local and foreign owned F&B outlets and educational institutions

Increase F&B Sales is not a cookbook – it’s a book for managers and owners of F&B outlets.

Escalating costs cut into profits. This leads some F&B operators to raise prices, reduce portions,

drop quality or resort to a combination of all three. A more effective and sustainable strategy to

drive bottom line is to exploit the sometimes overlooked potential within their organisations –

the waitstaff.

The waitstaff spends the most time with diners and is in a position to build rapport with

customers and many do.

This bond is a powerful tool enticing and encouraging customers to return and motivates your

staff to do better and stay with you. It grows sales. This strength is something your competitor

will find hard to surmount and a true win-win-win situation for you (the business operator), your

staff and your customers.

The danger is when that waitstaff leaves and the familiar face gone. There is a probability the

customer might also be lost but there are ways to circumvent this risk.

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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A SUNDAY TIMES BEST SELLER

A never before kind of book on PROPERTY for Buyers/Sellers/Agents/Owners

Ignore “affordability” and focus on “fair value” – why pay a $1 million just because one can

“afford” it when the property is worth only $750,000.00?

Helps you value property consistently and objectively using five critical parameters:

1. Return on Investment – how much money you ought to receive for the money you pump

in as deposits and top-up – factors in mortgage rate changes

2. Value your property based on market size – how many buyers/sellers are competing with

you – translated into rental returns – including periodic rental increases

3. Calculate the full income/benefits of your property based on tenure – the longer the

tenure, the more overall income – but how long a tenure (hint – not the 99 years)

4. Factor in your risk appetite – which changes with time – from marriage, with children,

empty nest/retirement

5. Finally, don’t forget the time value of money – a dollar today is worth less in 10 or even

5 years hence – determine this now, today before you sign on the dotted line

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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The handbook also helps you to empirically factor in and trade off subjective elements such as

(for example): home near office vs. near shopping, transport and other amenities; proximity to

schools vs. grandparents; good facing/feng shui vs. price; and other attributes that you prefer.

A must-read book before committing to buy/sell/hold property worth hundreds of thousands and

even millions of dollars.

BUY ON-LINE: WWW.LCABOOKS.COM

Also available in all major bookstores.

CODE SHIELD – A Peek Into Singapore’s Secret Services by Eric Alagan Copyrighted Material

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Used by local and foreign businesses and educational institutions

Employee Capability Factor – Do you know what that means?

How do you identify an employee’s Capability Factor, How do you determine your team’s

Capability Factor, How do you maintain or better still improve your team’s Capability Factor.

These are some of the questions that Staff Selection addresses.

The book assumes no prior knowledge or training in Human Resource and takes you by the hand

to develop your very own Human Resource Manual in the process of Staff Recruitment,

Selection, Interview Techniques and Probation.

The book is filled with dozens of worked examples, sample forms and letters that – all you have

to do is to simply insert your company letterhead and use.

BUY ON-LINE: WWW.LCABOOKS.COM

Also available in all major bookstores.