by Helene Young
‘What the fuck?’ He quickened his pace. He got to the open door of the ute. The keys were missing from the ignition. A dart of fear lanced into him and he spun around. ‘Who’s there?’
Chapter 43
THE pall of smoke ahead soared into the air. The wind in the upper layers spread the thick black cloud sideways, making an anvil-top that loomed over the countryside.
‘You’re sure the engines aren’t going to be affected?’ Tim asked.
‘They’ll be fine,’ Lauren replied. ‘Last time Border Watch was involved in this they had aircraft up for the best part of a week, running continuous surveillance. My mate Brett reckoned it was the worst conditions he’d ever operated in.’
‘They were horrendous. And it was my first time in an aircraft this small. I was so airsick,’ Kaitlyn said, grateful her voice stayed steady. She was still feeling the stress of leaving Julia and Dan alone while she headed back to work. ‘I was also scared witless, wondering if I was going to die before we caught the arsonists.’
‘But you did. You caught two or three, didn’t you?’ One of the federal police was a chatty woman. Kait thought her name was Sarah, but she’d had too much on her mind to concentrate when they’d been introduced.
‘We did catch two.’ Kaitlyn kept her voice light.
‘Still must have been bloody hard,’ Matt, the mission observer, chimed in from the station opposite her. She didn’t reply, just angled her head at him in a silent thank you.
Lauren got a clearance to descend to the lowest safe altitude. In these conditions they’d need to be at the optimum height for the FLIR to do its job. Matt had his equipment ready to go. Kaitlyn figured there was no harm in reiterating the procedure one more time for all of them, including the three visitors they had on board. With a federal policewoman, a customs observer, and an expert from Queensland Fire and Rescue, the aircraft was crowded.
‘So guys, remember, we’re looking for any vehicles, including cars, trucks or motorbikes, in remote locations. We record and photograph any contacts and take their details. Any sign of fire, on the other hand, we call in to the incident controller so they can get fire crews in there as fast as possible.’
‘And we’re using the sat phone for that, right?’ Matt queried.
‘Yep, but we can also get them on radio if need be. Remember, if we do find an embryonic fire then our job is to track any vehicles leaving the scene. It’s vital that we don’t lose contact with the vehicle or any occupants who might try to make a run for it. Our evidence may be the difference between a successful prosecution and these mongrels getting away with it. It was crucial in the Canberra fires.’
‘The water bombers are up as well,’ Lauren added. ‘So, eyes and ears need to be everywhere, guys. They’ll be operating low-level with a couple of helicopters filling in from Lake Tinaroo and Koombaloomba Dam. I believe the others will all be crop dusters out of Mareeba. These guys know what they’re doing, but we can provide vital information to help pinpoint their resources and minimise the spread.’
‘Conditions on the ground are forecast to be pretty crappy,’ Tim said.
‘Yeah.’ Lauren shook her head. ‘Swirling winds from the north, temperature in the mid- to high thirties, plus tinder-dry countryside. Perfect recipe for the nutcase who’s lighting these things. Your place is ready, Kaitlyn?’
‘As ready as it can be. Kind of wish I was home, but Julia knows what to do. And so far, the pattern with these fires suggests they’re mostly being started in remote locations. Our place is pretty close to town.’
‘Right.’ Tim sounded sceptical and Lauren cut in before Kaitlyn could say any more.
‘Kait designed the whole place herself. Her water tanks are underground with generator-driven pumps, so when mains water or the electricity supply gets interrupted Kaitlyn’s place is still good to go. If there’s ever a cyclone headed our way I know I’m heading up the range. A hot shower and a flushing loo, plus Julia would cook up a storm if the only thing left in the cupboard was a can of baked beans.’
Kaitlyn managed a laugh. ‘Lauren’s making it sound indestructible and I hope it is, but you never know with wildfires.’
‘Do you need to be there to turn the sprinklers on?’
‘I can start the generators and then leave the property. That’s what Julia will do if I’m away. If I’m home then it’s different. I’d stay and defend.’
She steadied herself as the aircraft hit a patch of turbulence and lurched. ‘The big thing we’ve all learnt over time is the danger of ember attacks. If there are leaves in your gutters or gaps in your roof cavity, you can have a decent-sized fire burning on your property before you’re even aware of it. If you’re home you can stop it taking hold.’
‘Wow.’ Matt looked up from his screen. ‘I always figured you just stood guard with your garden hose and put out anything that came close.’
‘If it was that easy we’d never lose anyone.’
Lauren interrupted and headed off any further discussion. ‘So, we’ll have five hours’ endurance once we’re there. There’s always danger towards the end of the duty that we get seriously fatigued.’ She paused as Tim answered a radio call. The other three were conferring in the back and Kait hoped none of them were going to get airsick. Flying in turbulence was tough on first-timers.
Lauren carried on talking. ‘Tim and Matt, you know what it was like a few weeks ago, when you were stuck holding over Biboohra. Drink plenty of water and keep stocked up on food. There’s no opportunity to relax on this one.’
There was silence from the rest of the team as they went about their tasks. Nothing more they could do now, except keep vigil over the Tablelands and hopefully forestall any serious outbreaks.
Kaitlyn stretched her neck from side to side. This was more confronting that she’d thought it would be. And she’d been lying when she said Julia knew what to do. Dan had a better handle on the equipment than her delicate mother. Kait could rely on Julia to drive Dan to safety in time, but the house might well have to fend for itself. There was nothing she could do – as the acknowledged specialist on fires in the Cairns base, she had no other option but to be here in the aircraft. She also knew exactly what the arsonist looked like.
Her teeth were aching from clamping them together. She knew she needed to relax or in five hours she’d have a screaming headache and the drive home would be hell.
Smoke already tainted the cabin. Matt coughed, clearing his throat.
She patted his shoulder. ‘This is just the beginning. The worst part is trying to differentiate a deliberately lit blaze from something that may have been caused by a fire front 20, 30 kilometres away. We’ll both have tired eyes by the end of this.’
The closer they got to the fire, the more the aircraft jolted as though they were driving over giant potholes. The intensity of the thermal activity being thrown up by the fire would eventually cause storm cells to form along the smoke trail. That just added more violence to the mix, with lightning strikes potentially setting off new fire fronts. And those storms seldom brought relieving rain for the men and women fighting the fires.
In nearly five hours, their surveillance had taken them from north of Walkamin to south of Ravenshoe. They’d crisscrossed over three fire fronts that were active with crews working to back-burn. Two of those fires were in largely inaccessible areas that could only be contained and allowed to run their course. The fleet of water bombers worked tirelessly below the Dash 8, delivering load after load of water and fire retardant. A revised weather forecast predicted a strong southerly change with isolated thunderstorms. If that continued for a day or two it would hopefully bring welcome rain as the warm moist air from the ocean hit the Great Dividing Range and dumped its precious load.
Kaitlyn glanced out the window again. If her thoughts were starting to drift then so were the rest of the crew’s. Thankfully, the next aircraft was due at any moment. They all needed a break.
The sat phone beeped. The incident controller
. She pressed the button to answer. The voice on the other end was garbled, and she only heard a few words. They were probably calling from deep in hill country.
‘I’m sorry. Can you say all that again?’ She paced her words, hoping the speaker would take the hint and slow down.
‘Suspected arsonist is headed for the Greentrees block out at Happy Jack Valley. How soon can you relocate?’
‘Shit.’ Kaitlyn swore before she could stop herself. ‘Sorry. Give me a minute.’ She put the phone on hold and tapped Matt’s shoulder. ‘Get the topographical map. What’s the straight-line distance and a heading to fly to Happy Jack Valley from here?’
‘Ah, hang on.’ Matt ran the scan range out on the map and located the valley. ‘It’s going to be ten, fifteen minutes’ flying time and a course of pretty much due north.’
‘Lauren, take up a heading of due north. I’ll explain in a minute.’
She punched the sat phone button again. ‘We’ll be there in ten to fifteen minutes. Any more information you can give us?’
‘We’ve had a phone call. Someone claims to have seen the suspect heading out of town in a heavily laden ute. We have no way of knowing whether this is a hoax or real. We’re still trying to locate the caller.’
‘Okay, okay.’ Kaitlyn felt some of the tightness leave her muscles. ‘We’ll get there. Any description of the ute?’
‘If it’s the same one registered to the suspect, it’s a white Toyota trackback with a bull bar, spotties and a gun rack. Rego is juliet oscar golf, eight five six.’
She knew that registration, knew now without a doubt they were hunting Speedy. ‘Okay, copy that. We’ll let you know if we find anything.’
Once the call was terminated she passed on the details to the others. Only Lauren would know the significance of the location. She wasn’t surprised when she saw Lauren leave the flight deck and walk down the aisle between the long-range fuel tanks. Her friend’s hand was heavy on her shoulder, the sympathy clear in her eyes.
‘Ring Julia and tell her.’ Lauren said, squatting down by Kaitlyn’s chair. ‘No one will blame you. You can’t do your job like this. At least get them out of the way.’ She stood up and carried on walking to the tiny galley in the back of the aircraft.
Kaitlyn knew Lauren was right. She would have a hard time staying calm if her family was in the way of a raging fire. For the first time, she regretted her hubris in thinking she could defy fire and all its might. Why had she even bothered trying when she’d lost so much already? What did she think she was proving? That she wasn’t scared?
Insane.
Right now she was terrified. She couldn’t go through this twice.
Lauren returned with a cup of water. ‘Here. Drink. And as the captain of this ship, I’m making the decision for you. If you don’t ring them, then I will.’
‘Thanks.’ Gratefully, she met Lauren’s steady gaze.
‘You can be damn certain I’ll wear any repercussions for making a private phone call from the sat phone. Do it, Kait.’
Kaitlyn’s fingers shook as she dialled the number. It rang and rang and rang before it finally diverted to the answering machine. ‘Julia. It’s me. I need you to take the plastic box with all the vital paperwork and the back-up drives and leave the house. I’m sorry to do this to you, but you have to trust me. I’m …’ She swallowed to stop her voice cracking. ‘I’m going to be home in a couple of hours, but there’s been some developments with the hunt for the arsonist. Let’s not take any chances with —’ The machine beeped at her as it cut off the end of the message.
She dialled again, this time to Julia’s mobile. It went straight to voicemail and Kaitlyn left a similar message. Had Julia left early to collect Dan from school? It was only just after lunchtime. Had the police got her out already? Kait should have stuck with her first plan and sent the two of them to Port Douglas yesterday and bugger the damn recital tonight. But she’d been swayed by Dan’s excitement, by Julia’s excitement. She’d caved in and she shouldn’t have. Focus, she warned herself, focus on a plan.
Ryan. Maybe he was home? It was a long shot, but the volunteer fire crews were rotated out of the action to get some sleep. His phone went to voicemail as well and she left a message asking him to check on Julia. Was he ignoring her now? Possibly.
‘We’re almost there,’ Matt said. Kaitlyn realised he’d been watching her frantic efforts in silence. ‘We’ll stop the bastard, Kaitie. If we get him lighting it, the crews can be on the ground in minutes. Nothing to stop us organising the water bombers ourselves.’
She nodded her thanks, grateful he turned back to his console as she brushed a lone teardrop from her cheek. The memories were trying to overrun her and it took all her concentration to keep them at bay. Her body was hyper-alert, on edge. She wanted to walk but there wasn’t room. Her muscles were rigid to the point of straining.
The aircraft had flown back into a thick layer of cloud and smoke. The overlay of the weather radar showed several significant storm cells dead ahead of them. Right on cue, the turbulence hit, buffeting the aircraft and shaking loose items to the floor. Reflexively, she tightened her seatbelt and saw Matt do the same.
‘This altitude work for you?’ Lauren asked. ‘We can go down another thousand feet if you need.’
Kaitlyn did the calculations and shook her head. ‘No, this will give us maximum clarity. You agree, Matt?’
‘Yep. If he’s up to mischief in a 10-mile radius of Happy Jack, we’ll find him.’
‘Right. We’re coming over the top now. Start streaming the video imaging back to base.’ On the vision, Kaitlyn could see the familiar grid pattern of plantation pines. On one side was her house, squatting low and angular on the escarpment. On the other side was Ryan’s place.
‘No specific heat returns anywhere yet.’ Matt was glued to his screen.
Kaitlyn took her range wider. ‘It looks like they’ve put up roadblocks at either end of the main road leading into and out of Oakey Creek. They must be taking it very seriously.’
‘Yeah?’ Lauren sounded surprised. ‘Police roadblocks?’
‘From what I’m seeing, yes.’
‘Then call them back and tell them to get down to your place and make sure Julia’s out of there.’
‘No time now,’ Kaitlyn replied, even though her fingers almost itched with the urge.
‘Bullshit,’ Lauren swore. ‘Tim, your controls. Just keep flying the pattern. Give me the number, Kaitlyn. I’ll do it —’
‘I’ve got a heat return,’ Matt interrupted. ‘An oversized diesel tray-back ute up a forestry trail. We’ve just passed over it. Turn around on a reciprocal heading.’ The aircraft started to bank right as he finished speaking.
‘Kaitlyn, the number,’ Lauren demanded again.
‘As soon as we stop this guy, Lauren. If the police leave a roadblock he might escape. Julia will already have left. Let’s just do our job.’
Matt had his range zoomed in to its maximum. ‘It’s stationary. Definitely not moving. The FLIR’s locked on the target. Strange, but I think I’m seeing two bodies as well. Could there be two of these arseholes working together? Kaitlyn, what do you think?’
‘It’s possible.’
‘Okay, steady as we go over the top.’ In tense silence, Kaitlyn and Matt tried to make sense of what they were seeing.
‘That’s a positive identification of the suspect vehicle,’ Kaitlyn confirmed. She knew it well.
‘Yeah,’ Matt agreed, ‘but there’s no sign of fire yet.’
‘Call the incident controller,’ Lauren urged. ‘They were the ones with the tip-off. Give them the position and they can send the police in to get them.’
‘We need proof, otherwise they’ll get away with it.’
‘How much more bloody proof do they need?’ Lauren complained.
‘I hate to say it, but these two need to start a fire and we need to see them do it. And get images,’ Kaitlyn added.
‘No need to hesitate any longer
. There’s a fourth heat source and I’d say it’s like a giant blow-torch. There.’ Matt stabbed at the screen. ‘It’s moving. I’ve got the guy on the screen. The other one’s by the back of the ute.’
‘It’s him.’ Kait knew without a doubt she was seeing the same man she’d tracked in Canberra. His body language, his walk, his arrogance – unmistakable. This time she had a name for him. Speedy. She was shaking now, her voice ragged. ‘Fire’s started to spread. Keep the equipment tracking the sources you think are people and if that ute starts to move, we follow it.’
‘Gotcha.’
Kaitlyn got through to the incident controller as the aircraft circled over the top. She gave them the details as she watched Speedy head back to the ute, torch in hand.
She disconnected and glanced out the window. The police would stop him at the roadblocks. There was no way out.
‘We’re tightening the turn and coming back over the top.’ Lauren spoke from the front.
‘Great,’ Kaitlyn said, turning back to the FLIR. ‘Hey, the ute’s on the move. Get a close-up on the camera, Matt.’ Kait’s back was hurting with the tension. It was clear the man with the drip torch was headed up the hill on foot.
The vision zoomed in on the driver of the vehicle. He was alone in the car. Who was the low-life working with Speedy? Kaitlyn choked back a cry as the face became clear. ‘No, it can’t be him,’ she whispered before slumping back in her seat. ‘It can’t be!’
Chapter 44
SPEEDY spun around, a snarl on his face, as he yelled, ‘Stop playing about! Where are you?’
Ryan stood up and strode around the rear end of the ute. ‘I’m here, Speedy. Surprised?’ He was battered from rolling around in the back of the ute and furious with himself for being unarmed and so unprepared. He hadn’t hesitated when he saw Speedy’s vehicle parked at a petrol station. Hiding in the back behind the drums of fuel hadn’t been the smartest thing he’d done in a while. Finding himself locked in there by the tight rubber cover had been confronting.
