by Bill Day
“I am staying with Monty.”
“No Sonia, just Monty and me. I want you with Flick. Flick will go around back and get Rebecca out. There are two other people to extract with her.” He looks at Flick. “You know what you're doing Felicity. Take them out the back fence and circle through the bush. Meet us three miles up the entry road.”
He turns to Gail. “You need to get into Mike’s spa room. From there you will have to play it by ear. Monty and I will hang back as long as we can so holler if you need us.”
Finger opens a case and hands each of us a tiny earpiece and clip-on microphone. “We can stay in touch with these. They are only good for a few hundred metres so we’ll not be in touch all the time. They are party line so keep chatter to a minimum.” He looks distastefully at the pile of lollies and chips. “We need some real food before we go in tonight. Let's find a pub.
31
Rescuing Rebecca - The Temple
We find a nice pub and eat a light meal. Everyone is conscious of the work to come. I call into a stockist and buy two large dog transport cages. Trotsky and Helen will need to be contained for a few hours. We set off on the final leg of the journey.
I slow down for the last turn off. This is a long access road to the property. I follow Fingers directions and pull into a disused gravel quarry. We are three miles from the buildings.
“We all meet back here.” Fingers goes back over the plan. My job is simple enough. Gail and Flick pull bags from under their seats and take out a range of tools and a roll of clothing. They begin to peel off their clothes. Sonia stands with hands on hips until I turn my back. She gives me the okay and I turn to see Flick and Gail. They wear identical dark clothing. They have various tools and other stuff in pockets and belts. They look professional. Sonia has changed into a simple tracksuit and running shoes. They position their earpieces and set off at a jog. I feel a pang as I watch Sonia go.
“Monty, we need to drive a bit further. We have some stuff to carry.” Fingers and I drive another mile and a half. We drive slowly by the light of the moon.
“Pull into that track Monty.” It leads to a nook with a central ring of campfire stones. I turn the bus 360 degrees for an easy exit.
“Monty. I have cordless drill, grinder, and screwdriver for each of us.” He indicates two backpacks. I throw one on. It’s heavy. “They have to come out with you Monty. Leave nothing behind. Let’s go.”
The dog crates are squeezed into the aisle of the bus. We put Helen and Trotsky in the crates and make our way to the garage. We have heard nothing from the others yet. We approach the building compound from the side. The garage is just ahead of us. We wait until the others make contact.
“Flick - we are in position at the rear of Rebecca.”
“Gail - I am at the side of the spa room.
“Fingers - we on the far side of the garage. Wait for my signal.”
Fingers turns to me and whispers. “Now we wait for the magic.”
We wait. I can hear people moving around in the distance. An owl hoots lowly in the bush. Without warning there is a boom of firecrackers and drums start beating.
“That’s it, people. Let's get it done.” Fingers jumps up and slithers through the window. I follow.
Fingers reefs the van doors open while I take the license plates. He pops the hood up and I begin to drill through the compliance plates. Fingers is already at work with the grinder, removing all traces of serial numbers and other identification. I get all the vehicle plates off and stow them in my backpack. I throw my tools on top of them. We both have a large packet of baby wipes. We begin to wipe the car down. I do the inside and Fingers does the exterior. Then we swap so each surface is done twice. Nothing is left to chance. Everything goes in the backpacks and we scan the area. It is clean.
Our part of the job takes less than fifteen minutes. Fingers transmits, “All good Flick?” No answer. He motions towards the window and we slip back out. The night air is clean and fresh after the stuffiness of the garage. The drums boom for another few minutes and then stop.
It is about 70 feet to the small hut. We follow the fence-line until we can see Flick and Sonia. Flick is bent over the door lock while Sonia keeps a watchful eye. The door swings open. Flick walks in. Everything is going to plan.
My earpiece comes alive. It’s Gail, “I am in the spa room. Mike’s not here but there’s a girl in the spa. Mum, her name’s Alice. I’m going to send her to you. Take her back to the bus when you leave.
“That’s not the plan Gail.”
“No choice Fingers. She’s thirteen and scared. I’m not leaving her here.”
Felicity speaks, “Send her to the rear of the small hut Pumpkin. Sonia will wait there.” The pet name “pumpkin” seems incongruous with current events.
In the distance I see a small figure scurry along the path towards the rear of the hut. She sees Sonia and runs to her. Sonia puts both arms around Alice and speaks for a few minutes. They melt into the dark woodland at back of the hut. Flick emerges from the hut with Rebecca in tow and follows.
“All good now Gail?”
“All good. I am going to take her place in the spa. See you back at the bus.” I feel a bit guilty as I imagine Gail stepping into the spa.
There is nothing left for us to do. We go the same way as Felicity, Sonia, and the young girl. We retreat to the bus. The dogs are asleep but wake when we arrive. I throw them the remaining chips to keep them quiet. We throw our backpacks in the back of the bus. We are away in seconds, with nobody the wiser.
As we drive Finger talks. “Monty, we had to do this job for two reasons. Firstly, Mike started believing his bullshit. Secondly, bloody Raymond got us involved with Mike’s bullshit.
I think about it. “Why didn’t Lucky come then?”
“He hasn’t the bottle for it Monty. He is good at what he does but it takes special people to do this work.” I feel a surge of pride.
“What does he do Fingers?”
“Shit Monty. You’re his private secretary - you should know.”
I fall silent and concentrate on driving in the dark. I pull the bus into the quarry and position it to drive away easily. We wait for five minutes. Then another five minutes. I am getting worried.
The communications crackle. I can just hear Sonia. “Don’t fret Monty, my love. We have to go slow because of Alice and Rebecca. We are still a mile out. See you soon.” I relax and settle down to wait.
After what seems like an eternity five figures emerge from the bush. Flick is jogging easily behind Rebecca, who is puffing like a steam train. Sonia has Alice on her back and jogs easily. Behind her are a pair of fit young men who look like they’re out for a morning run. I think they are the drummers. They pull up with barely a sweat.
Rebecca takes Alice into the bus. They break up a leftover Kit Kat and slowly drop the bits in for Trotsky and Helen. Sonia walks over and throws her arms around me.
“I was worried.”
She grins, “No need to worry about me Monty. Are you okay?”
“Oh, stop it you two. Monty’s a natural.” Fingers slaps me on the back.
Flick stares into the surrounding bushland. I can tell she is worried. Earpieces crackle. “Hey, Mum. I am half a mile short of you. Start the bus, Monty.”
I start the bus. In a few minutes, I see Gail jogging out of the bush. She leaps into the bus without a break in stride. I take off immediately. She sits beside Flick and rests her head on her mother’s shoulders. Alice walks over hesitantly and climbs on Gail’s knee. She curls up, closes her eyes, and sucks her thumb.
Fingers whispers, “Monty, what’s that noise? Can you stop it?”
I whisper loudly, “Who hasn’t got their seat-belt fastened?”
32
Rescuing Rebecca - A Safe Haven
We clear the access road and turn right. We are going home via a different route. All seat belts are fastened and the beeping has mercifully ceased. Alice is asleep on Gail’s lap. Gail gently slide
s her fingers through Alice’s hair.
Fingers introduces his magicians - Vincent and Patrick. It seems Fingers paid them to link up with Mike’s group right from the start. He suspected Lucky’s plan was flawed.
We drive for an hour and Finger’s speaks to me. “It’s midnight already Monty. We all need some sleep. There is a gravel road up ahead. Turn left there.” I turn and drive down the road. “Turn right here Monty.”
I turn right and come to a large metal gate. Fingers reaches into his pocket and brings out a remote control. He pushes a button and the gate slides open.
“Just keep driving Monty. Head for those lights ahead.”
Flick looks up from a book she’s reading. “This is your place isn’t it Fingers?”
“You know it is Flick. We have stayed here often enough.”
I pull up next to a large federation farmhouse. It is built from stone and has wrap-around verandas. The yard is lit like daylight. The door opens and a slight Asian woman walks out.
“Mr Van De Linden, we have prepared everything as you requested.”
“Thank you, Tuyen. You didn’t need to wait up. Go and get some sleep. We will have breakfast at nine if that suits. Nothing too fancy.” Tuyen nods and walks over to a nice chalet on the other side of the driveway.
Fingers sniffs the air, “I love this place. Come inside everyone. The dogs can run free for a while. They can’t get into any mischief here.”
He holds the front door open and we walk into a large entry room. Flick slips off her shoes. Taking her cue, we all do the same. We walk through the entry into a massive living room. There is a comfortable seating area.
Closer to what looks like the kitchen is a table set with a feast. Roast lamb with vegetables sits on a huge platter, a glass lid covers an inviting curry, and beside the curry is what appears to be a stir-fried noodle dish. A tureen of chicken noodle soup sits at the other end of the table. Plates and cutlery are arranged precisely on a heavy white tablecloth. On a nearby bench is a range of hot and cold deserts. I realise how hungry I am. We sit and eat. Flick and Gail sit either side of Alice and wait on her like a princess. We all tuck in shamelessly.
We finish and retire to the leather lounges grouped at the far end of the room. In a few minutes, Alice is asleep.
Fingers speaks first, “Monty and I sterilised the van, no problems. Vince and Pat, your drumming session masked our noise nicely. It was very well done. Anything to report Flick?”
“Everything went as planned. Sonia knocked out two gorillas we found guarding the hut. Alice was so glad to be out of Mike’s clutches she did all we asked. She was very brave.”
We turn to Gail. She shifts in her seat. “Well, once Alice left I got my gear off and hopped in the spa. After five minutes Mike walks in wearing some sort of gold robe. He sees me in the spa and looks confused for a sec. Then he gets all excited, throws his robe off, and jumps in. There must have been a wine glass dropped in the spa. He lands on it and cuts his femoral artery.” She shrugs. “I put my clothes back on and left him there.”
There is a long pause. There’s not a lot to say.
Fingers concludes, “Good job everyone. It all went like clockwork. I got Tuyen to make up the rooms but I didn’t cater to Alice.”
At the mention of her name Alice’s eyes flick open. Gail sits by her.
“Is Attis dead?”
“He had an accident, Princess. You don’t have to worry about him anymore.”
“He was a god. Are all gods like that?”
“Attis was a person Alice. His name was Mike. He was an electrician. I don’t know much about gods but I know some people do nasty things.”
“Are all electricians bad?”
“No, my Dad was an electrician.”
“He wasn’t bad?”
“No, he was amazing. Now go back to sleep.” Gail watches Alice fall back to sleep.
“Gail, you can’t keep her. She has to go home.”
“I know Mum. I will just sleep with her tonight.”
Felicity smiles, “I think I might sleep out here as well Paul.”
Fingers shrugs, “As you wish Felicity. Sweet dreams ladies. Okay, Vince and Pat, you have the room down that hallway. It has an ensuite.” The two lads smile and stroll down the hall, hand in hand.
“Rebecca you have the room opposite the boys.” Rebecca smiles and runs to catch up with them.
Fingers turns to Sonia. “Out that door and across the yard is a chalet. Tuyen got it all ready. I thought you and Monty might like it. You’ve certainly earned it.”
Sonia grabs my hand and we head to the chalet. It is luxurious and fully self-contained. The bed is huge and almost cloud-like. I peek into the ensuite, which contains a large bath and separate shower. I start to run a hot bath.
“I need a wash.”
“We both do Monty.”
The bath fills up and I lower myself into the steaming water. My beautiful Sonia climbs in with me. We lay back and let the heat soothe the tensions of the night. I close my eyes to relax.
“Monty, what’s that rattling noise?”
“I don’t hear anything.”
“No, listen. There it is again. Someone’s throwing rocks at the window.”
“We’re in the middle of nowhere. There’s no one out here.”
“There it is again. You can hear that surely?”
I lay back. I am in a wonderful hot bath with a beautiful girl. I hear nothing.
Sonia elbows me, “Don’t just lay there. Go and see.”
I sigh, climb out of the bath, and trip over my discarded clothing. I land like a frozen ham on a granite bench-top.
“Monty, I have never seen a person fall down more than you. There’s that noise again. Go and see.”
Sonia stays warm in her tub of suds and steamy water. She is content to direct operations from there. Naked I walk to the window. Helen is in the garden doing earthworks. She throws sand and rocks against the window as she digs.
I knock on the window. “Helen stop it!”
“She’s deaf Monty!”
“She’s spraying rocks all over the window. Oy, stop it!”
“Monty, she’s deaf!”
I wave my arms around. Helen stops and looks at me, then continues to dig.
“She won’t stop!”
“Well go out there.”
Bloody dog. I slip my shoes over damp feet and walk out the door. It clicks behind me. I try the door handle - it’s locked. Sonia’s voice filters out from the bathroom. “Monty, can you hurry up? She might break the window.”
“Sonia, I’m locked out!”
“I can’t hear you properly. Just check on Helen, Monty!”
Disgruntled I stomp towards Helen as she works on a prodigious crater. Just short of my destination Trotsky bounds out of a nearby bush and rams his nose into my swinging genitals. The result is instant and painful. I collapse on the ground. Helen abandons her crater and joins the fun. I hold both hands over my genitals and curl into a ball. Helen burrows around my neck to get her wet tongue on my face. Trotsky abandons his genital assault and pushes his nose into my bum. My “nose in the bum reflex” is to arc my back. This exposes my face and Helen lunges in with her wet tongue. I curl up and Trotsky lunges with his nose again. So, I arc my back. And so on. I wiggle about in the garden like a demented worm.
Sonia calls from her bath. “Good job Monty. She’s stopped.”
I put one hand on Helen’s head and cover my bum with the other. I stand up quickly. My head slams into the electrical meter box. Stunned, I back away from the box. I take three steps and fall into Helen’s crater. Both dogs jump in with me. Further resistance is futile. I pat them and we wrestle in the damp clay soil.
The window opens and Sonia’s head pokes out. “Monty, stop playing with the dogs and come inside.” The window shuts before I can reply.
“Sonia, the doors locked!” No reply. I think she is back in the bath already. The sound of music filters out. She has found
the sound system. I try to open the window. Trotsky stands behind me and pokes with his nose. The window won’t budge. I walk over to the door. As I walk Helen skitters around my legs and Trotsky resumes his frontal assault. I shuffle forward with both hands covering my genitals. I get to the front door and pound.
“Sonia! I’m locked out. Sonia!” Trotsky gives me a final huge poke in the bum then tires of the game. He sits and chews his leg. Helen sits with her head is cocked to one side, her blue eyes bright and alert.
I pound and kick the door. “Sonia!!! Let me in.” The door swings open. Helen runs in. I try to grab Trotsky but he slips by and follows Helen.
Sonia looks me up and down. “You are not getting in my bath. You’re filthy.” She ignores the dog-related chaos and returns to her bath.
Helen discovers if she runs flat out, then stops quickly, she will skate along on the floor tiles. She runs one way, stops, and slides. Her claws make a shhhhhhhhhh noise as she slides. She turns and runs the other way, stops, and slides - shhhhhhhhhh. Turn, sprint, slide - shhhhhhhhh. Turn, sprint, slide - shhhhhhhhh. She follows this pattern relentlessly with a smile of unabridged delight on her face.
Trotsky has found Sonia in the bath. He has his front feet on the edge of the bath while she scratches his chin. His back leg quivers in delight. Overcome with joy he decides to jump in with Sonia. He half jumps, half slides and enters the bath with claws flailing like blunt scythes.
Sonia squeals in outrage. That’s it! Monty, get these dogs out, now!”
“How! They don’t listen to me!”
“Monty, if I have to get out of this bath again, I’ll be very pissed off.”
There is a knock at the door. It’s Fingers, “Pardon the intrusion, Sonia and Monty. I hear a ruckus. Do you want me to mind the kids for the night?”
