Wild Dogs, page 17
Amin and Gabe strode back to Chase, who was still sitting against his ute’s wheel, legs splayed out in front of him. His face, a pale shade of white, was caked in sweat.
‘Finished your little powwow, then?’
Gabe ignored him. ‘Brigadier,’ he said, and was rewarded with a look of surprise. ‘They there? Amin’s wife and kid?’
Chase remained silent until Amin drew back a boot and readied a kick. ‘Alright!’ he groaned. ‘Fuck’s sake, alright. Yeah, far as I know, that’s where they were.’
The relief on Amin’s face was palpable. ‘Alhamdulillah,’ he murmured.
Gabe blew out a breath. ‘How the hell did the Wheldons get wound up in all this?’
‘Ask them yourself,’ Chase spat.
‘And you?’ Gabe asked. ‘How’d you get involved?’
Chase winced as he adjusted his position. ‘Guess I’m what you’d call a troubleshooter. Any trouble, I shoot it.’ He grinned up at Gabe. ‘If I hadn’t been called down to Gero that day, it would’ve been me you ran into, dogger. Not those two damn amateurs. Wonder how things might have turned out then.’
‘Be about the same,’ Gabe growled. Inwardly, he wasn’t sure. Those shots into his ute’s windscreen would’ve taken Amin’s head off had the man not been ducking. And the one that bounced off the rock hadn’t missed him by much either. Not bad considering the shot was taken under fire and with a ute charging at him.
They left the injured roo-shooter and returned to Darren and Courtney.
‘And?’ Courtney asked.
‘Brigadier,’ Gabe said. ‘That’s where they are. Guess we go there first, suss it out.’
‘What about the copper?’ asked Darren.
Amin shook his head. ‘We get my family first, that is the main thing, then we deal with him.’
‘What if we went to the media?’ Courtney asked.
‘Couldn’t do that until we had his wife and kid out,’ Gabe said. ‘Or we’d lose their only reason for keeping them alive. Without them, Amin has no incentive to keep his gob shut.’
Darren nodded over towards Chase. ‘And bugalugs?’
‘Leave him here.’ Amin raised a hand as Courtney was about to protest. ‘We have no choice. We can’t take him, and his vehicle will not drive with the tyre like that. We will leave some water, check he has no satellite phone or radio to warn his friends, and leave him. If God wills it, he will be found. With luck, long after we have done what we need to.’
Gabe could tell Courtney didn’t like this at all. Goddamn soft-hearted women, why did they have to make things so complicated? His mind dredged up images from the past; Valerie urging him to turn back and drive the one hundred kilometres to Geraldton with the winged eagle someone had hit and abandoned on the Mount Magnet road. Valerie berating him for shooting a doe kangaroo that turned out to have a young joey in its pouch. Valerie making him run down and catch the lamb with the busted leg so she could splint it. Given Courtney’s efforts with Chase, that last memory almost made him smile.
‘He’s right, Courtney. We have to get moving. Chase already said people would be looking for him. Might even be that Jefferson cop, and we don’t want to be here when that happens.’
Her reluctance was plain to see, but she agreed in the end. They went back to the two vehicles.
Chase grimaced as they approached, and Courtney looked concerned. ‘Are you alright?’
‘Just fucking fine and dandy,’ he said. ‘So, you decided to finish me off, or what?’
In answer, Gabe rummaged through the cab and placed Chase’s large blue water cooler and an unopened packet of jerky on the ground next to him. ‘Keep you going for a bit. By then your mates should be here.’
‘We should move him to the shade,’ Courtney said, but before Gabe could protest Chase cut him off.
‘Go on, piss off, all of you. Been in worse spots before. Won’t make much difference either way. You’re all dead, you just don’t know it yet.’
They stayed a second longer, and then did as he said.
With Darren’s help, Gabe removed the Engel and his other belongings from the rear seat of his ute and loaded them into the canopy. Amin retrieved Chase’s rifle from where he had discarded it earlier, and a box of bullets he found in Chase’s cab.
‘This might come in handy,’ he said. Gabe nodded, and stowed it in the spare clip next to his own .223. His M1 returned to its usual hiding place.
‘Ready then?’ he asked.
‘As I’ll ever be,’ Courtney said as she climbed into the back seat, Darren following.
Gabe started the ute. As he headed down the track, towards the way Amin and his companions had come from only yesterday, he looked in his side mirror and saw Chase waving them away, still propped up against the tyre. Gabe returned his eyes to the road, hoping to never see that man again.
THIRTY-ONE
‘Where are we?’ Courtney asked, breaking Gabe’s thoughts. In reply he pulled a battered country road atlas from his door pocket and passed it back to her.
‘Show her, Darren.’
He saw that she had cleaned herself up as best she could, given the circumstances. A splinter of rock from the ricochet had cut her temple, but it was only a small injury, though a little more to the left and she might have lost an eye.
‘So, what’s the plan?’ the nurse asked, thumbing through the pages.
‘Your guess is as good as mine, love,’ said Gabe.
‘Don’t call me that.’ Fire blazed in her eyes. ‘You sound like him.’
‘Sorry, habits of an old man.’ And just like that, the fire was extinguished. God, she was so much like Valerie. ‘I know where Brigadier Station is, but what we do when we get there is beyond me.’
‘Chase will warn them we are coming,’ Amin said. ‘His friends will find him, and he will tell them. And they will be waiting. We should have killed him.’
‘That would have been easiest, I agree,’ said Courtney. ‘But I stand by what I did.’
‘You were right,’ Gabe admitted, somewhat reluctantly. ‘Shooting a bloke when he’s trying to shoot you is one thing, but when he’s defenceless on the ground like that?’ He shook his head.
‘What’s done is done,’ Amin sighed. ‘So Courtney’s question is a good one. What is our plan?’
‘I’m open to ideas,’ Gabe said. ‘Casing the joint would be my first suggestion. But like you said, we don’t have much time. I dunno how long Chase will be stuck there, but once they find him they’ll be expecting us.’
Darren, who had been tracing his finger along the road nearest to where they were on the map, suddenly piped up. ‘That a sat-phone you got there?’
‘Yeah,’ Gabe said. ‘Why’s that?’
‘I’ve got some cousins in Carnarvon. You want to case the joint? Reckon I could give them a ring, they’ll go for a drive. Brigadier is only an hour or so from town, hey?’
Gabe thought about it. ‘I dunno if we want any more people involved, Darren, but it would be safer than us trying to do it. Save time, too.’
‘It’ll be alright. I’ll just tell ’em I got some guys looking for work.’
Courtney seemed a little confused. ‘Wouldn’t someone just ring if they wanted to know if there was work?’
Darren gave a laugh. ‘Bit harder to tell a blackfella he’s not wanted face to face. Nah, these boys often do a loop around stations. Probably been there before, might even be able to tell us stuff without even going.’
Gabe handed him the phone. ‘Keep it short. That thing’s expensive.’
Darren dialled the number and after a very brief conversation handed it back. ‘Justin’s gonna go check it out, but he reckons Brigadier’s been real quiet for the last year or more. Said we could get work on Quobba though.’
‘Good to know,’ Gabe said. ‘After all this shit is settled, I reckon I’ll be needing a new job.’
‘I thank all of you.’ Amin turned his head to look at each of them. ‘For doing this. For helping me.’
Darren grinned. ‘Just doing it to piss the government off. Only thing they hate more than a blackfella on their land is a brown fella on a boat.’
This elicited a shocked gasp from Courtney. ‘You can’t mean that?’
‘Why not? True, isn’t it?’
Amin chuckled. ‘Whatever your reasons, my thanks again. I hope God looks down on you all with favour.’
‘Say,’ said Darren. ‘You’re Muslim, yeah?’
There was a slightly bemused expression on Amin’s face.
‘Don’t think I’ve ever met a Muslim before.’
‘How do you know?’ Amin asked. ‘Despite what some may think, we do not all walk around with a bomb vest strapped to our chests.’
Stunned silence filled the cab for a moment, until Darren roared with laughter. ‘Ha! That’s exactly right!’ He high-fived Amin. ‘We’ll get your mob back, you bloody wait and see!’
Amin settled back into his seat, smiling weakly. Behind him, another question came from Darren. ‘You guys really don’t eat bacon or drink?’
‘Correct, though not all are so observant.’
‘Man,’ Darren breathed. ‘That’s some commitment.’
‘I thought you didn’t drink, Darren?’ An innocent smile adorned Courtney’s face, and Gabe suppressed a grin of his own as he watched the young man in his rear-view mirror.
‘I don’t. It’s the bacon I’m talking about.’
‘Of course.’ The knowing tone in her voice was apparent to all, and they drove on in silence for a while.
‘How far away is this place?’ Amin finally asked.
Gabe glanced at the dash clock. ‘Another hour to the Junction, then almost two to Carnarvon and another to Brigadier.’ He tapped his punctured windscreen. ‘But we’re not going anywhere near Carnarvon or the highway with this, so could be a bit longer.’
‘Allah,’ Amin sighed. ‘Your country is so large. Back home we could be halfway across Pakistan by then.’
‘If you survive the road blocks, land mines and booby traps,’ Gabe pointed out. ‘Worst thing you got to worry about out here is kamikaze kangaroos.’
‘Yes, I suppose you are right, though none of those things you mention are of our doing. First it was the Persians, then the British, then the civil wars that resulted from that, followed by the Russians, then the Taliban, and finally the Americans themselves and their freedom.’ He spat the last word out as if it were a curse. ‘And now that their withdrawal is underway, many fear it is only a matter of time before the Taliban return in full force.’
‘No wonder you got on a bloody boat,’ Darren said.
‘Yes, it was not in my future plans when we married, that is for certain.’
Amin turned as Courtney placed a hand on his shoulder. He glanced down at her hand and shifted a little in his seat. Courtney withdrew, perhaps realising she may have crossed some sort of cultural line. ‘What’s your wife’s name?’ she asked.
‘Aamena.’ Amin seemed to exhale the word. ‘And my son is Jawad.’
‘They are lovely names. I hope to meet them soon.’
‘I hope so too. I hope so very much.’
Courtney smiled and gave him a reassuring thumbs up. ‘We’ll find them.’
To Gabe’s surprise, Amin laughed.
‘What?’ the nurse asked, clearly as confused as Gabe.
‘That gesture. I know here it means “okay”, but to Afghans it is more like your middle finger.’
‘Oh,’ Courtney said, quickly lowering her hand. ‘Sorry. But I meant what I said. We’ll find them, and somehow we’ll make sure those people smugglers are put behind bars.’
This promise did not receive the reaction she might have expected. Instead of agreeing with her, Amin stared straight ahead.
‘That is what you want?’ she asked.
‘My family, yes. But if we bring an end to the smuggling, many people will be stranded.’
‘But . . .’ She was puzzled, clearly not expecting this line of thought. ‘But it’s dangerous. Illegal. And they’re killing people.’
‘All bad things,’ Amin agreed. ‘But we would not take such risks if there were any other choice. In all likelihood, had we not fled when we did, my wife and my child and I would be dead.’
Courtney flushed red. ‘That bastard was about to shoot me and Darren, and the both of you if he got the chance. You can’t seriously think he’s one of the good guys.’
‘Not a good guy,’ Amin agreed. ‘Not at all. But maybe part of a necessary evil, given your government and other western countries’ attitudes to refugees.’
‘I can’t believe you’re saying such things,’ Courtney said. Gabe could see the anger flickering behind her eyes like embers of a dying fire, ready to flare again on the first hot wind. ‘They’re going to murder your wife and son.’
‘If they try, they will die,’ Amin said. He turned and stared at her. ‘But, understand, I was part of a group of forty men. When I first left the camp, to supposedly meet my family, those other men were still working. Still in a country that was not theirs, still alive and sending money home, or working to bring their own families here, where it is safe—’
‘Safe? You call this . . .’ She waved her arm in a broad gesture, and finished by tapping his wounded arm. ‘Safe?’
Amin did not flinch at the touch. ‘This is not my first gunshot wound. You did not let me finish. Where it is safer, I was about to say. Yes, they have killed others. Yes, they would have killed me. I don’t deny such things. But what will happen to the others when we expose these men? Will they be allowed to stay? Will they be detained, or will they, as I suspect, be flown back to their homelands without a single regard to what persecutions they may endure on return?’
Courtney didn’t reply. Gabe watched her face as she wrestled with these questions. They were questions he had not considered himself, either. Up until a few days ago, he never gave much thought to refugees or wars and was of the opinion they should keep their shitty problems confined to their own shitty countries. Not his problem. Only now it was, and Amin raised a good point. What were they going to do once they located his family?
THIRTY-TWO
Courtney runs through the open scrubland, branches tearing at her clothes and face. Behind her, Chase laughs over the roar of his ute, but she dare not turn her head, knowing she would see his wild eyes and his mad grin.
‘Hey.’
Gabe’s voice cut through like a dull blade, and she rose up out of the dream. Somehow she had fallen asleep, knees tucked up under her as her head rested against the door’s window. Her mind cleared, glad to be out of that nightmare, but also wishing she could return to it. At least she knew that was a dream. The alternative was frighteningly real.
She had played over the past day as they drove. She couldn’t think about it too much; it was too crazy. Somehow, she’d gone from giving Darren a lecture in the clinic about falling over while drunk, to running for her life alongside him, and then the both of them escaping execution by the narrowest of margins. Her guts felt sick with the thought, so she focused on their destination instead. Not that that made her feel any better. What a bloody mess.
And what was their destination? A sheep station where desperate asylum seekers were being held. Then what? She didn’t know, and suspected her companions weren’t overly sure either. Studying each of them, she’d seen they all were lost in their own thoughts. Amin was clearly thinking about his family. Darren, who didn’t say much at the best of times, could well have been thinking about his tasering at the hands of the policeman. His reaction was intriguing. Angry, sure, that was only normal, but the lack of any real surprise was a little disconcerting, as though he had expected it. Maybe he had at some level.
Then there was Gabe. What to make of him? He was unlike anyone she’d known before. Her own father was jovial, open and inviting. Played Santa at every Christmas party. She tried to imagine Gabe doing that, and the closest she could come to was that movie Bad Santa. She got the distinct impression he’d be glad to be rid of them all and carry on his way. There was something going on she wasn’t aware of, and she suspected his motives weren’t purely out of the goodness of his heart. Yet he’d saved Amin, brought him to her when his arm needed fixing, and he’d intervened before Chase could finish them off. And then there was the way he looked at her sometimes, almost in recognition. Which was crazy, because he had at least thirty years on her and they’d only met yesterday.
She watched him climb from his seat, saw the twinge of pain flash across his face and a hand go to his hip. Arthritis, maybe? Probably, given his age, but it could be an old injury too, perhaps from when he got that scar on his face. He looked like someone who had worked hard his whole life and been in a few scraps along the way. Those hands, tanned deep brown, hard and calloused, stained yellow around the fingertips from his smokes and touched with a slight tremor. Hands of an outdoors man, an old bushie, never happier than when he’s sitting by himself around a camp fire, gazing up at the stars. Had he always been by himself? She couldn’t tell. She might’ve asked under different circumstances, but right now it was not important.
Courtney extracted herself from the cramped cab, winced at the pins and needles in her legs and almost fell over as they buckled. She grabbed the door for support and glanced around. They were in a small town, parked under a white gum growing next to a grassed rest area.
‘Where are we?’
‘Gascoyne Junction. Need fuel and I don’t want to do it in Carnarvon, just in case eyes are about.’ Gabe turned and studied them all. ‘Might be better if you lot stay out of sight. Graham is bound to notice if I’ve got company, and I’d rather not have to explain. Be hard enough if he sees these bloody holes in the windscreen.’
Courtney followed his eyes. They were a ragtag bunch to be sure. Her blue scrubs were stained with dust and sweat, Darren’s get-up was no better, and Amin’s clothes could almost stand up on their own. In fact, Gabe looked the most presentable of them all, something she suspected was not usually the norm. ‘Who’s Graham?’
