by Leo Nix
Skip decided he had to change the subject. “Hey, pretty girl, that's enough about me. I'm the most boring person in the world. You don't want to know anymore, I assure you.” He patted her hand which had mysteriously moved higher up his thigh.
“I don't know about that, big boy,” she smiled again, knowing how to play the game, “but I'll let you off the hook if you…” she leaned forward and kissed him lightly on the lips.
“Mmmm,” moaned Skip, his sunburned back hurt and his loins ached, but his heart leapt for joy. “OK,” he moaned softly, “you win, I'll do anything you want. I'm your fish caught on your hook to do with as you please.”
Julie laughed, a delightful sound against the soft slap of the waves on the beach. “See, I told you flattery would get you everything.” Julie eased herself down into the chair drawing Skip down with her - and then she did exactly as she pleased.
Besides her pleasant body, which he'd enjoyed viewing when they went swimming, it was her dark, smouldering good looks which attracted Corporal Laurence Burger to Constable Danielle Ahmet. He would sit and talk with her whenever he had the chance. There was more to Danielle than her sensational body, he discovered.
“I've got a wife and kids back home in Berkeley, we broke up a year ago,” he said as he leaned back into the scooped-out sand-bed readying himself for sleep. “She went and found someone who didn't spend half his life overseas. I've not seen my kids since. I sometimes can't even see them in my head when I want to.”
Danielle sat down beside him and peered into his eyes. “I wish this damn apocalypse never happened, Burger, then we could all go back to our miserable lives.” She part giggled part choked back a sob. Things were so messed up and each member still had no idea whether they themselves would survive.
The lean, honey-skinned Ranger shifted his body to make room for Danielle in his sand-bed, he put his hand on her arm briefly. “Do you know what, Danielle? We're surrounded by the best beaches and the best seafood on the planet, but it's inside us that's starved.”
She placed her own hand on his and left it there. “We've got each other, Laurence. We have to look after each other no matter what. Now we're at Shark Bay waiting for the helicopters to rescue us, we can pretend to play 'Survivor' and run around naked for the camera's,” she said trying to sound as though life was still fun.
Burger said nothing, he could now hear her softly crying, it hurt him to hear her cry.
“It's all so wrong, Danielle.” He pulled her to him and crushed her in his arms. She sobbed into his shoulder as they lay under the moonless evening sky.
“I've got a brother in the army,” Danielle admitted, breaking the pulse-throbbing silence, “he's a sergeant in the cavalry in Darwin, I hope he's OK.”
“I've got a brother in the army too, in the states. I wonder what's happening over there,” mused Burger, staring at the enormous night sky filled with countless stars.
Danielle liked this simple, uncomplicated man. She snuggled deeper into his shoulder and closed her tired eyes.
“I expect anyone in the military will be busy with this apocalypse,” she mumbled shifting herself to brush her lips on his bare neck.
“We may never know, Danielle.” He pulled her closer burying his face in her hair. Breathing in her scent he sighed in ecstasy. Burger finally realised what it was that he was experiencing. It was something he didn't expect to ever feel again, the desire to be with another woman, this woman.
It was during the early hours of morning that they both woke. The stars of the Milky Way were so bright that it almost hurt to look at them. The lean Ranger groaned softly as he felt Danielle's hand lightly brush his firm stomach as she sought his manhood. Automatically he sought out her lips and they kissed.
Their embrace awakened a powerful longing that surprised them both. Danielle's soft, sensual touch aroused the sexual heat of the handsome Ranger, they clung tightly to each other as they made love beneath the heavens. Not wanting to waken the others, only metres away, the frantic lovers tried to dampen the gasps, groans and sighs of their lovemaking.
It was the most exciting thing Danielle had ever experienced - making love under a canopy of stars and their ancient, mythical constellations. It felt as though their love was imbued with the blessing of the Gods and Goddesses of the ancient Greek and Babylonian pantheon. All too soon it was over, they fell asleep in each other's arms until the chill wind of dawn woke them.
Each evening Obi-Wan and Skip sat together to plan the coming day. They were close friends, complementing each other's personality and skills. Where Skip knew radios, Obi-Wan knew code and how to access the secret frequency bands, he could easily decipher codes in his head. Skip was amazed at what his friend discovered amid the scrambled noises they listened to.
“It's an international code, buddy, the scrambler is one I helped invent.” Obi-Wan smiled as Skip shook his head. “Seriously, I've been around longer than you think. I was a little late to the party after the first Gulf War, but everything you hear now has had my input in some way, shape or form.”
“You're not that old, mate, you're what, thirty-five? Nah, no one that young knows so much about radios and codes, no way,” argued Skip.
“You make me laugh, Skip. It's not my age that counts it's what I've done to learn about cryptoanalysis that counts. I specialise in cracking codes. To do that you need to know how to create codes, and that, my good fellow, is what I've done since I was two years old,” added Obi-Wan tuning into Pine Gap at their appointed time.
“Bullshit, Obi, you were still playing with dolls when you were two - just like I was,” laughed Skip as he passed the cup of warm tea to his friend.
“Laugh while you can, Skip, but now we have work to do.” Obi-Wan smiled to himself at Skip's good-natured teasing. Over the next few minutes the two friends were busy interpreting the code from the CB and replying to their superiors in Pine Gap.
Chapter 4 – Rattlesnake Strike
Senior Sergeant Wayne Dyson continued his investigation with the two prisoners, but all he got were complaints. It bothered him that his prisoners forced him to compromise the safety of his team. Not only did they participate in the destruction of the world, forcing it into something equivalent to the dark ages, but they considered themselves reasonable human beings who did what they believed to be in the best interests of their God and humanity.
“Come on, Wayne,” pleaded AFP Sergeant Darren McIntosh, the spy of Kollarena. “We've spent all this time handcuffed and my wrists are bleeding and scabbed like blazes. I'll get an infection any day now and then you'll never get me an interview with Commander Cullen.”
Colonel Harry McIntosh, his older brother, agreed. “Wayne, we promise not to try to run away or sabotage anything. We just want our hands free so we can wipe our own butts when we shit. You'll get more from us this way, I promise it.”
Dyson was curious about the two brothers. Although they seemed to get along well enough, Darren exhibited a covert enmity and distrust of his older sibling. He decided to talk it over with his fellow senior sergeant, Brad Hopkins. They'd unsuccessfully interrogated their prisoners many times over the past weeks but the two had remained tight lipped.
The senior policemen walked along the beach as they talked.
“What is it between these two, Brad? I don't get it. They're both Revelationists, both up to their necks in terrorist activity yet Darren hates his older brother. I can't see any outward signs that Harry dislikes his younger brother, though,” said Dyson stopping to scratch shapes in the sand with a piece of driftwood.
Brad looked at Dyson for a moment then the intensity of his stare intensified as he answered, “Wayne, I think something happened the morning of the raid. I recall some of our team were sent to investigate a homicide… the name McIntosh rings a bell… hang on, I'll get Constable Danielle and Sergeant Oddie.”
They met up with Oddie after he returned with an armful of lobsters he and Ray had collected diving off the reef.
“Oddie, do you remember Darren McIntosh's wife, Debra?” asked Brad, watching to see Oddie's reaction.
“Yeah, I do, Debra, she was a sweet little thing, totally dominated by her mother-in-law. They had twin girls I think, Nina and Gina, beautifully behaved kids they were too. Why?” asked Oddie.
Brad then turned to Danielle, “Danielle, do you recall that triple homicide on the day of McIntosh's arrest when the apocalypse started? You were on call-out weren't you?” continued Brad.
“I do, it was a mother and her twin daughters, aged 10 years… holy cow! They were those people you just mentioned, Sergeant. Only the woman's name was Johnston, not McIntosh.” Danielle was chewing her top lip as she tried to recall the details of that crazy day.
“Brad, that's Debra's last name, they never married. So, the poor bastard lost his wife and daughters on the morning of the apocalypse. I wonder if Darren knows,” said Sergeant 'Oddie' Danse brushing his hair out of his face in the light sea-breeze.
Senior Sergeant Dyson looked at Brad and they both nodded knowingly. He said, “It seems Harry knows and Darren doesn't. Maybe something has been going on behind the scenes with these two. We know the McIntosh mother is one of the top Revelationist Priests, and she is a right nasty bitch from what we have on her. An ex-drug addict and prostitute, rumours have it she prostituted her sons for drugs. I wonder…” his voice trailed off. “OK, thanks, Constable Ahmet. Sergeant Dance, would you and Sergeant Hopkins like to come along with me and see what we can make of this?”
Harry McIntosh's face brightened when he saw the three senior policemen approach and sit down with him and his little brother, Darren.
“I see that you've been thinking about releasing us,” he joked, “maybe we could do a deal now?”
“Maybe,” said Dyson as he lifted Darren McIntosh to a standing position. “We want to talk to Darren first and see what he can offer us in return.” Together the four walked off down the beach leaving Colonel Harry McIntosh seated, tied to his tree.
When the four sat down on the sand overlooking the ocean Dyson began his interrogation.
“Darren, we may have some bad news for you. Before I say anything, is there something you would like to tell us? Like, why you allowed yourself to sink so deep, handing out intelligence to the church?”
Darren looked at the three sergeants, he had worked with all of them during his deployment over the past three years. He could read their every mannerism, he knew something was up.
This was his first formal interview with all three senior police officers, they didn't look happy or comfortable. In fact, they looked like they did have bad news. For him that would mean just one thing, news about his wife and kids.
Darren's face grew pale and he whispered, “What have they done to my wife and daughters?”
He was already sobbing when Sergeant Hopkins spoke, “I'm sorry Darren, and I mean that. We've just put together some information we had from the local police who investigated a triple homicide in Geraldton. The victims were a Debra Johnston and her two daughters, Nina and Gina, aged ten years… I'm sorry to have to give you the bad news.” Brad felt terrible, as he always did when he had to deliver the news of someone's death to their family. It was the worst part of his job.
Darren roared in pain. He tried to stand but his hands were tied behind his back, he fell rolling to his side. Bending over he beat his head against the sand and screamed. It was a traumatic sight, one the three policemen had seen countless times before.
“Darren, why? Why did they do that? Why did your mother and your brother allow them to be murdered? You mentioned that your mother was caring for them but why did she allow it? They were her own granddaughters,” said Dyson softly.
Again Darren burst into tears. “My fucking mother is a psycho, she… she… she took my wife and kids hostage so I'd have to keep sending them intelligence. Now you know why I did it, I had no choice. I had to join the church and then I had to hand my family over to them. They said they'd look after them for me… why did they do this? Why did my brother let them kill his beautiful nieces?” He screamed and rolled on the sand once more, he didn't try to rise, he just lay there, paralysed, crying.
Dyson looked at his fellow police sergeants. “Boys, we may have solved the mystery. I don't know about you two but I'm about ready to execute Harry. I've had enough of this shit.” For one of the rare times Senior Sergeant Dyson, Tactical Response Group leader, wanted to take the law into his own hands.
“Sergeant, we won't be doing that. We've got to get them both to Pine Gap for questioning. They know things vital to our own survival as well as the country's,” said Brad putting his hand on Dyson's arm. “It's going to be hard enough as it is without the weight of that on your conscience.”
Dyson shrugged his friend's hand away. “Give me five seconds with him and it'll be done… Forget it, I'm stepping away from this,” decided Senior Sergeant Dyson. His face creased with anger and frustration, and perhaps there were elements of compassion for David McIntosh.
“I think you pair had better take over supervision of the prisoners, I've done my bit.” Dyson got up and walked away to be by himself amid the solitude of the sand and the waves.
Pine Gap Intelligence Facility, a joint US and Australian secret spy base right in the middle of Australia, was one of a few such facilities in the world to survive the initial onslaught of the apocalypse. On every continent such spy bases were heavily targeted by the terrorists. Those bases infiltrated by terrorist spies prior to the apocalypse were swiftly sabotaged and the base staff overwhelmed and executed. Despite the penetration of Revelationist spies not one base fell into the terrorist's hands. Each base has a self-destruct device that would detonate when a specific code was entered into its mainframe - or a specific code failed to be entered at set times. The Kollarena base was one that was deliberately detonated by its commander to prevent the terrorists gaining access to their intelligence and thus control of their coveted network of military satellites.
Pine Gap, thus far, had experienced no terrorist attacks, not as such. The exception was a single, or a small group of persons, who had managed to manipulate and control their satellites - and all communications with the outside world. Pine Gap base harboured a spy, or spies, and Obi-Wan was not the only one pissed off - so was his commander, Commander Sue-Ellen Cullen.
In her early forties, the attractive blond, US Navy intelligence officer, relied on her staff to find the traitors. Unfortunately her two key investigators, Staff Sergeant Ben 'Obi-Wan' Kennedy and Corporal Ollie 'Skip' Stone, were just surviving on the Western Australian coast, three thousand kilometres away, and in desperate need of rescue.
Pine Gap had two helicopters. One was a recently acquired stealth MH-X Black Hawk, call-sign 'Maverick', which was kept in an underground warehouse for stealth purposes. Her Black Hawk aircrew were all US Navy, they had been together for several years and were a tight-knit team. She likened them to Siamese quintuplets, they were like family to her and to her husband before her.
The Black Hawk aircrew went by the name of the 'Four Musketeers'. Major Sam Samuels had the same black moustache as the American movie comedian, Groucho Marx, from the Marx Brothers movies of the fifties and sixties.
One other helicopter, a utility MRH-90 Taipan, was the base helicopter. They used it to ferry personnel and stores back-and-forth from Darwin to their base in the middle of the desert. It's call-sign, 'Wagontrain', described it's purpose with a tribute to the wagon-trains of America's yesteryear. Right now Commander Cullen needed them both to bring back her precious special ops team.
The helicopters had a range of about 600 km and could carry up to 11 people each. The Taipan was now employed ferrying fuel, food and water to form a series of caches for their route to Shark Bay and back again. With twenty odd survivors, she wanted to ensure they all made it back safely.
Commander Cullen dearly wanted to interview the McIntosh brothers as well. They no doubt had useful information for her and they
even knew who her spy was. Her orders were simple: bring those Revelationist spies to Pine Gap.
Hades Battalion had other plans for Harry and Darren McIntosh. Priestess Lauren McIntosh, otherwise known as 'The Black Widow' but never to her face, was their dysfunctional, and some would say psychopathic, mother. The Black Widow wanted her sons back with her. As head Priestess of the Western Australian Revelationist Churches she held enormous power and got the things she wanted, no-one had the courage to stand in her way.
It was rumoured that she had executed two of her own teenage staff members for failing to follow her orders. Their bodies were never found. Their families were told that the teenagers had been sent to serve with the church in Istanbul, Turkey. No-one dared cross The Black Widow after that.
Each time Obi-Wan communicated with Pine Gap the spy within their facility passed his communication directly to the Hades Battalion. The first receiver was always Priestess McIntosh. She liked to work closely with the head of the Revelationist Church in Perth, General Ethan Lawson. It was said that she worked a little too closely with him.
“Lawson, I want the Hades Battalion sent to Shark Bay, now. I want them to take out those helicopters as they come in to pick up the survivors… and bring my sons home.” She held his gaze long enough for her young lover to turn his eyes away.
The tall, thin priestess of the Perth churches, had been his choice for Head Priestess. She had mesmerised him with her sparkling eyes, wide smile and perfect teeth the moment she introduced herself to him. He wooed her for months until she finally decided it was time to bed him. From that day she held the Perth Revelationist congregation under siege. By controlling the general she controlled the Western Australian church, and The Black Widow wielded her power with an iron fist.
“Darling, please, why don't you call me 'Ethan' when we're alone like this? It makes me feel, sort of…” he searched for words, “I feel abandoned and naked if I think you don't like me.” He lay on the opulent king-size bed in his y-briefs as the 'Freemantle Doctor', Perth's cool, afternoon sea-breeze, blew in through the open window. “I've been very naughty,” he teased, “would you like to… you know… punish me, and show how much you love me?”
