by Ann Massey
There was a pause. Finally he said, “Hold on.”
It was five minutes before he got back to me and it was all I could do to stop myself screaming when Star and Stripes Forever started up again for the fourth time. The general picked up on my state of mind. “Relax Lieutenant” he said, “We can have a magnetic field up and running by 17:00 your time.”
I wasn’t reassured. I’d done some thinking while I was waiting and I was about to drop a bombshell. “But what if one of his accomplices finds out the ceremony isn’t going ahead. Who knows what a frustrated fanatic may do? He or she could detonate the device earlier, as a parting shot.”
“Was the cancellation issued on a need-to-know basis?”
“Yes, but with so many guests involved it’s going to be hard to keep it under wraps. What if one of them, posts about the cancellation on social media?”
I chewed my lip tensely as the general explained all such sites had been issued with suppression orders.
“Yes, but Beth believes there could be a collaborator in the hospital. What if he or she gets wind of the closure and informs the crazy bastard.”
“Son of a bitch! You’ll have to find the rest of the gang.”
“How? We can’t get anything out of Karim and there are seventy-three detainees at Yongah. His accomplice could be any one of them ... and on top of everything else there’s a riot going on.”
There was a longer pause. Indistinctly, I heard him conferring with Otis. The sergeant’s thick Southern drawl was unmistakable. Unfortunately, I couldn’t make out what was said. I was growing more panicky with every stretched out second when at long last General Lee spoke to me, “Do you still have that pouch of scopolamine?”
“Uhh!” Scopolamine was the mind-altering drug Lee had given me to subdue Beth should I be unable to persuade her to go with me willingly. I’d not given it a thought since I’d satisfied myself that she wasn’t a terrorist threat. The last time I remembered handling it was when I’d placed it in my jeans prior to paying Beth a visit. I’d been dressed as I was now. Had I put it my kitbag for safe keeping? I started to sweat as I fished through my pockets.
“Well?”
“I’ve got it right here, Sir”
“Thank heaven!” Usually unemotional, General Lee let out a drawn-out sigh. “All you need to do is blow a little of the powder in the suspect’s face and he’ll tell you all he knows.”
I glanced at the digital clock on the bed side table. “How long before it takes effect.”
“About two minutes. Fill me in immediately the bastard talks.”
“Yes, Sir.”
“And tell Miss Godson I want to speak to her.”
Thirty-one
The bedroom door opened. Mo pulled me inside and handed me his phone. “General Lee wants to speak to you.” Mo spoke as if he thought I should know him. When he registered my blank look, he added, “The last time you met he was Colonel Lee.”
“Was he that Asian helicopter pilot that was searching for wreckage from the ISS?”
Mo held up a warning finger. “Little pigs have big ears.”
I looked at him curiously, “How’s he involved?”
“General Lee is the chief of Five Eyes ... a branch of the NSA.
“Five eyes ... what in heaven’s name is that?”
“It’ll take too long to explain,” said Mo, and exited, closing the door behind him.
“Beth Godson here, General Lee.”
“Ah, it’s been a long...”
I cut him off. My memories of him were of a cold and humorless robot. It was his big warm-hearted sergeant that I remembered affectionately and I wasn’t in the mood to fake a non-existent relationship. “Are you the officer in charge?”
“I am and I’d like to assure you that an experienced medical team will be dispatched from the US to care for your sister ASAP.”
“When will they get here?”
“In approximately twenty-four hours.” Twenty-four hours! That would be too late. The bomb inside my little sis was due to go off in two hours. I sank down on the bed. I felt as dizzy as if I’d been whisked around for hours on a whirling fairground ride. “Isn’t there a local surgeon?”
“No, but don’t panic. The situation is not as desperate as you may think.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. He was taking it all too coolly. I shouldn’t have been surprised. From what I remembered, he was totally lacking in empathy. I took a deep breath. “If this isn’t desperate, I don’t know what is?”
“Miss Godson, I realise you’re worried but yelling at me won’t help.” He paused. If he expected me to apologise, he’d be waiting a long while.
“I want to know what, if anything, you’re doing to protect my sister.”
“My team is already on to it. Fortunately, the bomb is the type activated by a phone call...”
“Fortunately!”
“It is extremely fortunate, Miss Godson. You see our IT technicians have developed a cell-phone jammer. In layman terms it’s a device that obstructs the transmission of cell phone signals.”
“Does that mean the bomb can’t be ignited?”
“It certainly does.”
“Thank goodness ... I’m sorry if I was rude, General, but I’m at my wit’s end.”
“Only to be expected in the circumstances ... where is your sister now?
At school ... in Claremont.”
“Uh- huh! Just a moment. I need to confer with my team.”
I needed air.
I turned on the cell’s speaker and slid open the door to the balcony. I inhaled the cool air coming from the lake for four counts, held it in, and then exhaled for eight counts a relaxing technique I’d learnt when a colleague set up a yoga class at the refugee camp in Kenya.
So far it hadn’t worked. I was on my fourteenth repetition and getting edgier with every breath when General Lee got back to me. “There’s a technical issue ... nothing for you to worry your head over. Arrangements have been made to transfer your sister to a medical facility in a secure zone. A helicopter will be standing by.”
“How long is this going to take?”
“Not long, but, I need your help to get her out of school without anyone learning the truth ... least of all your sister.”
I imagined how I’d feel in Annie’s place. My blood boiled. If I’d a gun I’d have shot Karim.
“Are you still there, Miss Godson?”
“Sorry, I was wondering what excuse I could give.”
“Hmm! I understand that your sister was one of the girls presenting bouquets to the VIPs?”
“Yes ... to the Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William’s wife.”
There was a pause. “I’ll get someone to advise the school principal that the Duchess is sensitive to the child’s disappointment and for that reason she has invited you and Annie to tea at Government House. Can you come up with a reason to keep her out of school for the weekend?”
“That shouldn’t be a problem. Miss Clare is very lenient in that regard.”
“Good. You do understand it’s imperative we keep a lid on this?”
I couldn’t stop myself and spat, “I kept my mouth shut about what happened to the International Space Station, didn’t I?”
“Yes, and for that reason I’m inclined to discount your association with an extremist. I will however require a similar undertaking from you in this matter too.”
I’d been a gullible teenager when I’d signed the Official Secrets Act. As an adult that decision weighed heavily on my conscience and yet I found myself acceding yet again. I knew a threat when I heard one. Moreover, I didn’t want to end up alongside Karim at Guantanamo Bay where torture was the order of the day, despite protestations from Amnesty International.
I said, “Of course, General.”
“Very good, a car is on the way to pick you up.”
“It’ll be quicker if I drive my own car there.”
“Stick with the program. You’re not in a fit
state to operate a vehicle. Now if you don’t have any more questions, would you put Lieutenant Jones on the phone?”
“I do have a question, General. What do I tell Annie? She’ll be expecting to go to Government House. How will I explain the helicopter?”
“Hmm! Isn’t Prince William a helicopter pilot?”
“I think so.”
“Tell her a joyride in a helicopter piloted by the Prince is part of the outing.”
“Yes, that will work, but won’t she expect to meet him when we land.”
“That’s covered. On embarkation a medic will serve her a soft drink laced with a sedative routinely used to treat insomnia. Within a short time she’ll be in a sleepy daze. When your sister wakes up, the phone-bomb will have been removed, she’ll be back at school with no recollection of the last forty-eight hours ... and more importantly with no traumatic memories. You must agree that is in her best interest?”
I didn’t want my sister to be scarred for life. I said “Absolutely! But if you want me to play along, General there’s a condition.”
“What is it?”
“I remain with Annie at all times.”
I heard the sharp intake of breath of a man unused to making concessions. “Very well,” he said in an exasperated tone. “Now if you don’t have any more stipulations Miss Godson, the clock is ticking. I need to speak to Lieutenant Jones, now!”
Thirty-two
One thing you could say about my boss, he made things happen. No small thing when a catastrophe of this magnitude was taking place 11,566 miles away from his headquarters. Right now the general had the man on the spot, Chief Superintendent Leeke, juggling eight balls while jumping through hoops, because it wasn’t feasible for the NSA to protect Annie from Baltimore. I prayed Charlie could coordinate all the various groups it was going to take as General Lee outlined the finer points of the operation to me.
First up, Beth was charged with the job of collecting Annie from school and taking her to the park where a helicopter would transport the poor little kid to a military airfield thirty-five miles away at Gingin. Right now, medics were setting up a field hospital at the disused airfield using equipment airlifted from RAAF Base Pearce, sixteen miles away. Simultaneously, techs were putting in place an electromagnetic field that would block incoming and outgoing calls of phones within ten miles of the airfield. Providing the bomb went off at the scheduled time, Annie would be safe until the surgical team arrived. I glanced at my watch. All this had to be achieved in eighty-five minutes.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Wilson had held the terrorist’s head still while Major Tarrant blew the powder up his nose. No more than five minutes had passed when the major burst into the bedroom as I was pondering the timetable’s feasibility. “The swine has talked,” he yelled with a self-satisfied smile. “He doesn’t know the number of the cell-phone, but he gave me the names of his accomplices. There are three ... Selwa Amin and Omar Abdul Fayed ... both are detainees at the Detention Centre. The third, Ashlee Brown is a food delivery assistant at the hospital.”
He looked surprised when I groaned. Up until Ashlee Brown came into the picture, I’d thought meeting the deadline was tight but not impossible. Now I was shitting bricks.
“Change of plan. Beth remains in the apartment,” the general rapped out the order in a bleak voice. I’d just told him we had no way of knowing if Brown had advised her co-conspirators at the Detention Centre that the function had been cancelled until we brought her in and currently we had no idea where she was.
“Very good, Sir.” I turned to Tarrant who was standing by, “Beth’s to stay here. She’s bound to arc up ... it’ll be better if I tell her.”
“It’s too late. She left in a government car five minutes ago.”
He yelled something out in Chinese. I didn’t ask for a translation. From the anger in his voice it wasn’t hard to guess.
“I can’t allow Beth to accompany her sister to the safe zone,” he continued a shade more calmly. “Phone her ... persuade her to change her mind.”
“It’s pointless my even trying, Sir.”
Lee chewed that over for a moment. “Well she won’t be getting on board the helicopter. Relay my order to the pilot.”
“She won’t like it.”
“It’s for her own good ... I don’t want a preventable civilian death on my conscience.” My heart sank. It was obvious that Lee thought there was a real chance the bomb would go off before the safety net was in place. I liked him better for wanting to protect Beth, though I knew she wouldn’t see it that way.
We were both quiet for a while. I was over-thinking; something the RAAF had trained me not to do. In combat you must learn to shut down your emotions. Switch off, my inner voice advised. Leave saving Annie to the experts. Concentrate on apprehending the rest of the extremists.
How could I? I’d known Annie since her birth. I’d bought the red-faced little scrap a pair of new-born baby bootees.
* * *
Ten nail-biting minutes later, the silence was broken by the roar of an approaching chopper. Tarrant and I watched from the balcony as a twin-engine AW139 SAR utility landed on open parkland. “That’s our ride” I said to Tarrant. I doubted Charlie would have requisitioned a fifteen-seater to fly Annie and a couple of medicos to Gingin.
By the time we reached the chopper the rest of Tarrant’s Squad was attempting to keep at bay a group of interested spectators. The group included several children who were standing far too close to the whirling blades, and likely to be knocked over by the tornado created by the chopper’s take-off. “Get them to move back,” Tarrant whispered to his sergeant. The sergeant gave the order, and when no one moved, he whipped out a pistol and fired a warning shot over their heads.
A gunman opening fire in a city park was unheard of. For a nanosecond folk froze before fleeing for the trees. Awareness of a recent massacre in Toronto added wings to their feet.
Thirty-three
I couldn’t believe it ... they wouldn’t let me board. “If I don’t go, neither does she,” I said, raising my voice. I attempted to push past the soldier blocking my entry but he pushed me back.
Annie turned a puzzled face at me. Ever since I’d picked her up from school she’d rattled on about how lucky she was to be going for a spin with Prince William. “I’ll be okay on my own Beth ... I’m not a baby.”
The commando blocking my entry sensed his advantage. He smiled down at Annie. “Come on, Miss. We mustn’t keep His Royal Highness waiting.”
I pointed a forbidding finger at my sister. “Annie, wait over there by the bench.”
Annie shot me a beseeching glance. “Beth ... jeez!” She walked off muttering about how it wasn’t fair.
I turned back to the angry guy. He clearly had no experience in handling situations where force wasn’t an option and was having trouble controlling his temper, “I suggest you call your commanding officer.”
He climbed back inside, fists clenched.
* * *
As I strapped Annie into a safety harness she wouldn’t look at me. “My bolshie behaviour had culminated in my refusing to allow her to board the aircraft without me. Fortunately, my empty threat wasn’t put to the test. “I guess I’ll get to meet the prince when we land,” she whispered, her cheeks aflame with embarrassment because I’d created a scene.
“Of course ... and after that you’re having tea with Princess Kate. You’re an incredibly lucky girl.”
"Do you think her kids will be there?”
I felt lousy lying. But I couldn’t tell her the truth. “Bound to be,” I said, looking down and pretending to grapple with my harness.
Annie was uncharacteristically quiet as the helicopter ascended. She gave me an apprehensive look as the rotor’s blades whooshed round, “I’m glad you’re with me. I’d have been a little bit frightened on my own.”
I squeezed her hand. “I thought so. That’s why I insisted on coming. But there’s nothing to worry about ... all helicopters sound like
they’re about to shake to pieces.”
“Really.”
“Yeah.”
“Your sister’s right,” cut in a solid, fatherly type. He was carrying a tray with two large glasses of what looked like Coke, one with a straw. “In fact, they’re safer than planes. Have you ever heard about a helicopter crashing, Miss?”
Annie shook her head shyly.
“Well neither have I. And I’ve been round choppers all my life.”
It was a bare-faced lie to keep her calm. According to Mo, and he should know, helicopters crash more than any other type of aircraft. I gave the steward a grateful look and his mouth twitched.
“Now most folk feel sick the first time they go up. Fluids help, so I’ve brought you both a Coke.”
I must have looked skeptical because he shot me a warning look.
I said, “That’s extremely thoughtful of you.”
“Self-preservation, Miss ... it’s me who has to clean up if you don’t make it to the toilet.” He rolled his eyes theatrically and made a gagging sound as he carefully handed the one with the straw to Annie and the one without to me. “Drink up, ladies.”
Annie thanked him and began sucking noisily on her straw. My heart ached. She was such a good little girl. I’d strangle Karim if I lived to get my hands on him.
Why are there so many soldiers on board,” Annie asked after she’d drained her glass.
All these questions were straining my brain. Finally I said, “I guess they’re the prince’s body-guards.”
“Oh ... like at Buckingham Palace.”
“Exactly,” said the commando-cum-steward who’d come back for the glasses. “I’m a sight to see in my busby and bright red coat.”
Annie yawned. “What’s a busby?”
“A tall black hat made of bearskin ... it keeps my ears nice and warm, but it’s too hot for Australia.”
“I suppose it would be,” she murmured.
I said, “Are you tired, darling?”
“Of course I’m not.” Her drooping eyelids told a different story.
