Icefall

by Hallowes, Guy

  Tanya produced four bullseyes and an inner. She tried to look despondent, slapping her thigh dramatically as she rose from her position on the ground.

  'Five bullseyes will win it then,' said Thor.

  Thor confidently stepped up, adopted his prone position on the ground, and produced the required five bullseyes. He whooped delightedly when the result was announced.

  'Congratulations,' said Tanya. Thor was surprised when she kissed him chastely on his bearded cheek.

  'You did very well,' he said to Stephanie, 'especially after all that capering about earlier.'

  Stephanie glanced at Tanya and just answered, 'Thank you.' She was going to say, 'Well, that is what we train for,' but decided that would detract from Thor's triumph.

  'I'd like to show you something else,' Mark confided in Thor, 'something that could be of value to you.'

  After a sumptuous lunch for the leaders, on the verandah of Thor's enormous main hut, Mark and Roger set up ten makeshift targets along a bush track leading away from the village for a kilometre. They lined up fifteen of the troop, eight men and seven women, all on horseback, looking immaculate in their uniforms.

  'These people were selected at random,' Mark told Thor. 'Every one of the people in the troop is trained to do the same thing.'

  Starting about five hundred metres from the first target and galloping flat out, but carefully maintaining a twenty metre gap between each horse, they charged along the track firing three rounds at every other target. Within five minutes all the targets had been demolished and the troop had gathered and returned, two by two, in order. The leader approached the main hut and saluted Mark.

  He, returning the salute, said, 'Thank you. Dismiss the troop.'

  There were a few minutes silence before Thor asked, 'Can you help us train our people?'

  'Yes, of course. Send them to us and we'll train them.'

  'What about sending the trainers here?'

  'In time that might work, but only when there is a core of trained people here.'

  'Venus has asked if she could return to The Settlement with you?' Thor asked Tanya.

  'Of course, Kim will look after her and assist her learning.'

  During a lull in the conversation, Tanya ventured, 'There is a man called Harold here. He once caused us a great deal of trouble for no reason.'

  'There is no Harold in this community,' answered Thor.

  'Maybe he has changed his name,' said Tanya. She described him.

  'There is a man who fits that age and description,' said Thor thoughtfully, 'but he calls himself Godwinson.'

  Tanya laughed, 'Harold Godwinson, of course, the last English King who lost his country to the Normans. Your Mr Godwinson seems to have a sense of history. I don't suppose he mentioned us. He was known as Harold Monckton once.'

  'No, he has never referred to you.'

  'Maybe the arrangements here suit him better.' She explained the trouble Harold had caused The Settlement, his apparent connections with ASIO, and the now non-existent Australian Government. 'Could have sent us to the wall,' she told Thor as he watched her closely. 'Be careful of him.'

  The Settlement people left the following morning and were given a big send-off by Thor, mounted on his large, white stallion and surrounded by his Vikings. Tanya carefully surveyed the crowd, but there was no sign of Harold. With Tanya and Mark leading, the troop cantered down the track in formation and out of the now open gate. A quiet word from Mark had ensured Joseph's son and the two messenger boys accompanied them.

  During the journey back to Banksia, Kim had maintained a rear guard watch by doubling back along the track. 'There are two lots of three horsemen following us,' she told Tanya.

  'Go with Venus and get her to tell them to go into the sex and travel business, otherwise they will get a backside full of lead.'

  Kim smiled at her boss's humour and passed the message on verbatim to Venus. She looked uncomprehendingly at Kim for a moment and then laughed. 'I will come with you,' Kim told her.

  'How did you know they were following us?' asked Venus.

  'One just has to double back through the bush and wait, I will show you when you start with The Academy. Patience is critical.'

  Returning to Banksia, they found David and Caroline had arrived and were anxiously waiting to hear about their visit to The Vikings. Cath had given them the sole use of a recently-constructed spare hut in the village, in recognition of their status.

  Most of the troop returned home immediately, but Mark had agreed, at Joseph's request, to leave three behind at Banksia for security and training purposes.

  Kim was given a special assignment. 'We've been told there is a group of women established in one of the forest areas, on your way home, some way south of the main track. See what you can find there. They've survived, so they must be pretty tough. Take ten of the troop, mostly men I suggest,' Tanya smiled. 'Maybe we can bring them under our wing as well.'

  After two days with the main group, Kim and her troop broke off and turned south. Kim was proud and happy to be given the responsibility. She had asked Rachel to look after Venus until she returned.

  Tanya and Mark gave David and Caroline a full briefing on the developments with Thor and The Vikings, talking privately in their hut at Banksia.

  'I think Thor is onside,' Tanya reported, 'although it was marginal for a while. We really have to thank Jason for acting when he did. Thor was at least contemplating locking us up.'

  David was horrified at the turn of events, but said nothing.

  'Thor's daughter, Venus, has accompanied the troop back home, so Thor will be onside for a while. We really need to make sure she gets more than she expects from her sojourn with us. A husband would be good,' Mark added, attracting an approving glance from Tanya. 'We will have to keep building our relationship with him by providing other services he might need.'

  'Like what?' asked David sharply.

  'He would like military training for his people … '

  'Giving him the capacity to attack us, and others,' said David more calmly. 'We will have to think about how we do that.'

  'Maybe train just a few. Give them a taste for what is possible, without the capacity to harm us in any way,' replied Mark.

  After some thought, David said, 'Intermarriage is more secure, and has a longer term impact. Finding Venus a suitable husband within the wider Bower family would be best.'

  There were some uneasy glances around the group. 'Sounds a bit medieval,' said Tanya. 'I was just assuming Venus would fall in love with one of our wonderful young men.'

  'If Thor behaves like a medieval potentate, family ties would make him into a powerful and committed ally,' David was warming to his theme. 'We could also find a wife for Hercules among the Bower family?'

  'Hercules is like an untrained billy goat, needing a thorough wash,' said Tanya, a look of distaste on her face. 'Also he's totally under his father's thumb. Although, he did fall for Kim in a big way,' she added mischievously.

  David looked at her enquiringly, 'Sounds ideal,' he said with a laugh.

  'She kept him at arm's length. Mind you, the smell would have reinforced that.'

  After a short silence, Caroline said in a firm but conciliatory way, 'I'm rather glad Kim left and didn't hear any of that. From her stay at The Bandstand after the raid, she gave us the impression of great inner strength. You won't be able to force her to marry anyone against her will.'

  'Nobody will be asked to do anything against their will,' said David firmly, closing the conversation down.

  Joseph and Cath were shuffling about, keeping their heads down, nervously waiting for a reaction from Tanya and Mark to the week's events. They were aware they might have overplayed their hand, but were thankful The Settlement people had come out on top.

  Tanya was determined for Joseph to recognise that his duplicitous behaviour would not be tolerated in future.

  'I will deal with Joseph,' Mark said, 'Now that we have him by the short and curlies, we c
an screw him for any kind of deal we want.'

  'Is that the smartest thing we can do,' said Tanya quietly.

  David listened intently. He could see Tanya was about to come up with one of her gems. 'We need to find a way of making him feel important to us, plus giving him and the people at Banksia a real stake in the operation. But it will include control by us, now and into the future. I will come up with a deal before we leave.'

  David and Caroline stayed on, with David acting as the conciliatory elder statesman. Joseph, and particularly Cath, saw Caroline as an ally, more on their level. They were quite terrified of the sophistication of the Bowers, and Tanya's ruthlessness.

  Mark deliberately waited until the main troop had left under the able leadership of Roger and Rachel before he tackled the increasingly nervous Joseph.

  'Thank you for helping to rescue my son,' Joseph started. 'Him being in that dungeon put us in a very difficult position.'

  'Yes,' Mark said gruffly, 'you could have told us about it though. We happened to be well-prepared, but … '

  'Thor forced us into acting like spies,' Joseph said hurriedly.

  'Mostly unsuccessfully,' Mark observed.

  'How did you know … ' asked Joseph, hesitatingly.

  'Tanya thought you would try to have a foot in both camps,' answered Mark. 'I presume that is no longer necessary?'

  'No, of course not. Thor was very surprised by the arrival of Roger and his men, as was I. You didn't mention you'd planned to arrive in such strength.'

  'No,' said Mark abruptly. 'We thought Thor might try something on. Jason took the initiative and fetched Roger a bit earlier than was planned. I think he arrived just in time to prevent Thor shoving us into that dungeon. You were a party to all that of course. It was part of the deal to have your son released.'

  Joseph's mouth opened and shut without any sound emerging. He looked terrified.

  'Denying it would do you no good, so don't try,' said Mark firmly. 'It would have gone badly for Banksia and The Vikings if we'd been incarcerated. Roger was always coming. But, it was only due to Jason's quick thinking that he arrived when he did, preventing a lot of nastiness.'

  Joseph shook his head.

  'There would have been a bloodbath in both villages. We instructed Roger to be completely ruthless; the training they undergo reinforces that approach. The Settlement has no capacity to house prisoners.'

  Joseph looked blankly at Mark, completely intimidated.

  'One other thing. What's Thor's background? Those people didn't grow up there.'

  'Thor was originally part of a bikie gang on the central coast, drug running and so on. When things became too hot for them, they found a base in the forest. They had plenty of money and were able to set themselves up well. They may have paid off critical people so they were left alone. When the flood came, there they were, but without bush or farming skills.'

  'How do you know all that?'

  'I just do.' Mark could see he would get no more out of him.

  Mark left Joseph with his thoughts for a few minutes. When he returned, Joseph had regained some composure.

  'What are you going to do?' asked Joseph. 'You have already agreed to help us with security.' He hesitated. 'There was another messenger sent to The Vikings, who seems to have disappeared. Can you tell me what happened to him?'

  'He was shot,' said Mark matter-of-factly. 'He tried to ride over Susan when she asked him to stop. He was shot in self-defence.'

  'Susan! She seems a gentle sort of girl.'

  'Joseph, don't underestimate anyone in our organisation. She was told not to tolerate any bullshit, so she acted accordingly.'

  'What am I going to tell the people here?'

  'Your problem,' Mark answered, indicating the subject was closed. 'And, I expect Tanya will come up with an arrangement welcome to you. I expect you will have to agree to some of our people settling here.'

  'You're in a position now to take advantage of us,' said Joseph defensively.

  'Yes, but I think Tanya's proposal will surprise you, it's likely to be generous.'

  Tanya walked around Banksia with Joseph, familiarising herself with the property. The area was well-watered and fertile, but the residents had made little of their natural advantages; only running the small herd of cattle and growing vegetables.

  'What land rights do you own here?' she asked Joseph.

  'Nothing formal. We just came here, built a house, and occupied the place. Then others joined us.'

  'How well defined is the area you use?'

  'There is no fence.'

  'Nobody has objected to you being here?' asked Tanya.

  'The occasional person from the forestry department came and saw us before the flood. We've seen nobody for a while now.'

  'What did the forestry people tell you?'

  'They told us we'd have to move. But nothing happened, so we stayed.'

  'So legally you own nothing.'

  Joseph shook his head uncomfortably.

  'This is what we can do,' she suggested. 'We need to place markers around the area you see as Banksia land. In twelve years, if there are no objections, the area will then belong to the person or organisation that enclosed the property. We'll give you a small percentage of a company called New Settlement Pty Ltd, currently owning The Settlement as well as The Bandstand, in return for recognising that New Settlement has enclosed the land known as Banksia. Everyone who occupies a house here will have the right of occupation for one hundred years. We'd have to agree on some small annual levies, all of which can be paid through work in Banksia that benefits the community. You'll have to accept at least ten families from The Settlement each year for the next three years. They'll build houses here and have the same rights of occupation as you. If there's no objection to the land enclosure, the company will eventually own Banksia.'

  'What percentage are you thinking of?' asked Joseph.

  'One percent,' answered Tanya. 'At present you own nothing. This gives you a stake and ensures your security.'

  'Can you write all that down? I need to discuss it with Cath and the others.'

  Tanya handed him three typewritten sheets.

  Two days later Joseph came to see Tanya with Cath in tow.

  'We agree with everything,' said Joseph, 'but the percentage is too low. Caroline says she has seven and a half.'

  'You can't really compare the two,' argued Tanya. 'We own The Bandstand property; here, we'll own land after twelve years if we're lucky. Their place is much more developed; she has three hundred head of cattle as an example. What percentage did you want?'

  'Two and a half,' said Cath, not looking at Joseph.

  'I could probably get the board to agree to one and a half.'

  'We'll have to consult the others,' said Cath.

  'We're leaving in two days,' said Tanya. 'We need resolution before then.'

  David, Caroline, Tanya, and Mark were on their way two days later with a signed agreement in their possession, allowing the people at Banksia a two percent share of New Settlement Pty Ltd.

  Dropping in on the group known as the God Botherers, they were surprised to see Donald Weatherspoon, his wife, and three others from The Settlement. Donald was embarrassed and tried to explain, 'We were just talking to the people here about helping them build a church.'

  'Fine,' said Tanya. 'Obviously the same rules apply here as applied in our own community if you are proposing to use any of our resources.'

  'I just thought we could help out here by bringing some people and some materials to assist them,' said Donald.

  'Maybe I should try to deal with this one,' David suggested. 'We are close by and I know Donald quite well. He has his heart in the right place, so I will try to keep him involved without him compromising our position.'

  Mark and Tanya returned home post-haste.

  Chapter Thirty-two

  The Amazons

  Intrigued by what they might find in a women-only settlement, Kim and her group, following poor
ly-defined paths, eventually found themselves in a pretty glade with a number of small cottages, well-built and in sympathy with the locality. It had taken longer than expected. The place was well hidden and they'd made wrong turns more than once.

  They'd come across an old farmhouse on their way, approaching with caution. There were dozens of rusting abandoned cars in the yard. The place was silent. Kim dismounted, having handed the reins of her horse over to Stephanie. With one of the young men in the group, she banged the wooden steps with a large stick.

  'Snakes,' she explained to her companion.

  She opened the front door and was almost sick on the spot. The entrance hall and surrounding rooms were strewn with what appeared to be human bones, some still covered with remnants of clothing. Several of the corpses had firearms attached or nearby. The evidence suggested the people had been sheltering from an attacker.

  Kim went outside to share the discovery. 'Stephanie, could two or three of you have a look around the yard. I need three more in the house.'

  After an hour, the horrified group gathered and Kim asked Stephanie for a report.

  Pale and shaken, Stephanie said in a near whisper, 'Maybe the remains of twenty human bodies … ' she shuddered involuntarily. 'Some bones of slaughtered cattle and sheep. Fodder, now completely spoilt, some sprouting in the bags. There are two cow carcasses in a pen. They would've died of starvation. The vegetable garden and orchard may have been stripped, but it's too overgrown to say for sure. Scattered human remains in the orchard, maybe dogs had eaten what they could and left the rest. That's about it.' She retched, before adding, 'Dear God, to think that might have happened to us, the way those people must have died … '

  'Same for us,' said Kim, struggling to keep her composure. 'There are bones of something like a hundred bodies, in there, scattered all over the bloody place. The doors were all smashed to pieces. I can't believe what we saw in there.' This time she wept uncontrollably, taking a few minutes. 'It seemed people had tried to hide away, maybe with food they were hoarding, then they were attacked. This is why David and Tanya insisted on isolation at The Settlement. There isn't a scrap of food left and the electricity must have failed soon after the flood. I've now switched off the mains. I suppose when it comes to survival, we all revert to instinct and behave like animals.' She sat down on the front step and wept again.