Billy

by Donna Joy Usher

  She stood demurely as he placed the ribbon with the heavy medallion around her neck.

  ‘This is the highest award for bravery that a civilian can earn,’ the Super said to the audience. He turned to Mum and shook her hand, then leaned in to kiss her cheek. ‘And you deserve every bit of it, my Dear.’

  I’m sure those words were meant for her ears only, but his tie microphone broadcast it around the entire room. There was a titter of laughter and a blush broke out over my cheeks. The Super was flirting with my Mum. It was so embarrassing.

  The rest of the ceremony went by in a sleepy blur. Nick nearly broke my toe waking me up to see Trent receive his promotion, but I didn’t complain. I would have been upset to miss it.

  And then it was all over.

  Nick and I waited for Mum and Harry outside, but Trent reached us first.

  ‘Congrats,’ I reached up and touched his new rank slides. The three little stars looked impressive. But then considering that my rank slides were bereft of any markings, anything looked impressive to me.

  ‘Thanks.’ His smile was sheepish.

  ‘This is my friend Nick. He was working with us on Hamilton Island.’

  ‘Oh, of course.’ Trent reached out and shook Nick’s hand. ‘I read the reports. I was surprised you didn’t get a bravery award as well. I had a really good laugh watching the video of you throwing those golf balls.’

  ‘Thanks.’ Nick laughed. ‘That was fun.’

  ‘It was terrifying is what it was,’ I said.

  Trent’s smile froze as he looked over my shoulder. The expression on his face was such that I didn’t have to ask to know who he was looking at.

  I turned as Mum and Harry exited the room. They were holding hands and Mum was smiling up at Harry as he spoke. She threw back her head and laughed, and he leaned down and kissed her on the neck.

  ‘Got to go,’ Trent said.

  I pulled a face. ‘See you at work.’

  ‘Oh,’ Mum said when they reached us, ‘was that Trent? I wanted to say congratulations.’

  ‘Mum.’ I shook my head.

  ‘What?’

  ‘It probably wasn’t a good time for him,’ Harry said.

  ‘Yeah, no need to rain on his parade,’ I added.

  ‘Oh.’ She looked sad. ‘I guess it probably wasn’t a good idea.’

  The last time Trent and Harry had been within speaking distance they had been throwing punches at each other. Probably wasn’t a good idea was a total understatement.

  ‘Congratulations, Tess.’ Nick gave Mum a hug. ‘Good to see you again Harry. I’ve got to get Buttercup here home to bed before she passes out.’

  ‘Oh, that’s right,’ Mum said, ‘you had night shift. You really shouldn’t have come, Darling.’

  I thought about the many things I could say to that but decided it was all too hard. Instead, I group-hugged my parents and said, ‘I’m picking you up at ten-thirty to go to the airport, right?’

  ‘That’s right.’ Mum bounced up and down on her amazing shoes. ‘I can’t believe we’re going to see Liss and Thor again.’ She turned to Harry and gazed up at him.

  ‘Our cue to go,’ I said to Nick.

  ‘I think it’s sweet.’

  I grabbed his hand and dragged him after me as I headed for the exit. ‘That’s because you’re all loved up,’ I said.

  He grinned up at me, ‘You better believe it, Doll Face. That woman is an animal. And the positions she can get into.’

  I put my first fingers into my ears. ‘Lalalalalalalalala. I’m not listening.’

  ‘You could probably get some tips from her.’

  I turned to look at him.

  ‘I mean from what I heard the other night between you and Billy….’

  ‘Nick,’ I snapped. ‘I’m not discussing my sex life with you.’

  ‘Just saying. You want to keep your man coming back for more, go talk to Bi. She has this thing she does with her tongue, thought I’d died and gone to heaven.’

  I reached my little car and unlocked the driver’s door. It would be so easy to leave the little man behind, but I’d never hear the end of it if I did. I sighed and reached across to flick up the lock.

  ‘And this movement she does with her hips. It’s like a figure of eight.’

  ‘Stop,’ I said.

  ‘So when she’s on top….’

  ‘Nick, please,’ I said. ‘Just stop.’

  He looked over at me. ‘Sorry Toots. Thought you’d be interested. Research and all that.’

  ‘I’m a very visual person, and right now I have an image of you and Bianca doing the wild thing.’

  ‘Yeah.’ His smile said it all. ‘Me too.’

  10

  Big Bad Ben

  ‘I ordered pizza,’ Martine announced as I let her in.

  ‘You better not have done that vegetarian thing again.’

  ‘Don’t worry, Rocket Man,’ Martine grinned, ‘I ordered you your own Meat Lover’s. Chanel and I can share the Vegetarian.’ She laughed at the look on my face. ‘Just kidding, I got two Meat Lover’s this time.’

  ‘With barbecue sauce?’ I asked.

  ‘Of course. I might not eat it, but everybody knows a Meat Lover’s pizza is not complete without barbecue sauce.’

  She pulled a bottle of bubbly out of her handbag and placed it in the freezer. ‘This one needs chilling.’ She reached back into her bag and pulled out a second bottle. ‘This one does not.’

  ‘Perfect.’ I grabbed the glasses. ‘After the week I’ve had, I need some bubbles in my life.’

  I popped the cork, poured out two glasses and handed her one. Nick was set up on the couch with his beer and the television remote. Cocoa was wedged up against his leg with his head on Nick’s knee.

  ‘Look, Cocoa,’ Nick said. ‘The Miss Muddy is on tomorrow. Your Mum won’t let us go in it, but I bet we’d have some fun.’

  ‘That’s new.’ Martine nodded at the pair.

  ‘I suspect he’s been feeding him illicit substances.’

  ‘What? Like, drugs?’

  ‘No.’ I took a seat on the couch. ‘Hot dog, pizza, chips.’

  ‘Oh.’ Martine laughed. ‘Speaking of drugs, any luck?’ She took the seat next to me.

  I shook my head. The drop off was going down tomorrow and I had no idea when or where. All I knew was that I had to be there. I just had to or Billy was going to get hurt. Or worse.

  I was trying not to think about it, but there was a pounding in the back of my head and a gnawing knot in my belly. It was making it hard to think straight.

  ‘I’ve got something that will cheer you up,’ Martine said. She reached down into her bag and pulled out a nappy.

  ‘Ummmmm.’ I stared at the nappy. ‘Exactly how is that going to cheer me up?’

  She placed it on the coffee table. ‘It’s one of the new prototype nappies.’

  Nick burst out laughing. ‘A nappy prototype?’

  ‘Yes.’ Martine picked up the nappy and held it out to him. ‘It’s got the new humectant beads in it. They hold one hundred times their weight in liquid. I thought we could wet it and see what happens.’

  ‘Where did you get it from?’ I reached out and took the nappy from her. I hadn’t had that much to do with nappies, but it looked like every other nappy I’d ever seen.

  ‘Well,’ she shifted uncomfortably, ‘I didn’t get it. Martyn did.’ She took a big sip of her drink.

  ‘What? Christina is handing out nappies for people to try?’

  ‘No.’ She bit at her bottom lip. ‘Martyn overheard her telling Sally about them. It was just the one pallet. But the rest of them are arriving tomorrow and well, Martyn was interested in the humectant beads as well, and no one was looking so….’ She flushed pink as she took a swig of her champagne.

  ‘Oh my.’ I couldn’t believe it. ‘Martyn stole it?’ I let out a laugh. ‘I mean really?’ I couldn’t imagine Martyn doing anything wrong at all, let alone stealing a prototype nappy.


  ‘He does have a bit of a naughty streak occasionally,’ Martine said. ‘You’ve just never seen it.’ She sounded offended.

  ‘I’m sorry.’ I patted her arm. ‘I’m sure he does. I only ever see the….’ Uptight? Boring? Monotone? ‘Proper side of him.’

  She relaxed a little. ‘Yes, well, we can’t all be sunshine and flowers all the time.’

  ‘So, where is Martyn?’ Nick asked. ‘Is he coming down to see us wet the nappy?’

  Martine stiffened again as I burst out laughing. ‘I’m sorry,’ I gasped, holding a hand up to her. ‘I just thought he’d worked it out.’

  ‘Worked what out?’ Nick put the remote on the coffee table and turned fully towards us.

  ‘That Martyn and I are….’ Martine sniffed and looked at me.

  ‘What? It’s not my fault.’ I threw my hands in the air.

  She turned back to Nick. ‘Martyn and I are….’

  ‘Not living together anymore?’ Nick guessed. ‘Twins?’

  I picked up my champagne and took a sip.

  ‘Getting married? Come on. A little help here.’

  I choked out a laugh and some of my champagne made it into my lungs. I leaned forward, still laughing as I coughed.

  ‘Oh for goodness sake,’ Martine said as she thumped me on the back. ‘Martyn and I are one and the same.’

  ‘You mean,’ Nick’s mouth opened and closed a couple of times, ‘that you and he are? Oooooh.’ His eyes became huge saucers on his face.

  Martine crossed her arms across her chest.

  ‘I do apologise,’ he finally said. ‘It was rude of me to make you point that out. Please forgive my ignorance.’ He picked up the remote and turned back to the television.

  I could feel my eyebrows riding high on my forehead.

  ‘What’s with him?’ Martine asked me.

  ‘He and Bianca shagged last night.’

  ‘Oh, well, yes.’ Martine nodded her head. ‘An experience like that will change a man.’ She picked up her glass and took a sip.

  ‘So, about this nappy,’ I said. ‘Shall we?’

  ‘I thought you’d never ask.’ She picked up the nappy and followed me over to the kitchen.

  ‘How much fluid shall we put into it?’

  She pursed her lips as she thought. ‘How much does a baby wee out?’

  I laughed. ‘I don’t know.’

  Nick put down the remote and pushed himself off the couch. ‘I want to see this too. I say we just flood it and see how big those hectic beads get.’

  ‘Humectant beads,’ Martine said.

  ‘How about we start with a cup and go from there?’ I asked.

  ‘Okay.’ Martine rubbed her hands together as I got a measuring cup out and filled it with water.

  She opened up the nappy and held it as I poured the water into the crutch area. Some water went in, but most rolled off the sides.

  ‘Maybe you need to hold it cupped, like it would be on a baby?’ Nick suggested.

  ‘Good idea.’ Martine held the sides of the crotch up as I poured some more water on.

  I was sure some went in, but most of it formed a small swimming pool in the crutch area.

  ‘Let me try pouring it further back.’ I poured water onto the back of the nappy and it immediately soaked into the soft fabric.

  ‘Huh.’ Martine poked at the crutch. ‘Why aren’t they expanding?’

  ‘Maybe the prototype batch were duds,’ Nick said.

  ‘No. Martyn heard Christina tell Sally that the next shipment would be exactly like this batch.’ She poked some more. ‘It’s really very disappointing.’

  There was a knock at the door.

  ‘Pizza,’ Nick shouted as he raced to open it.

  I opened the cupboard and pulled out three plates. I was starving.

  Nick reached up and undid the deadlock, and started to pull the door open. Before he could swing it back there was a roar from the other side and Big Bad Ben burst into the apartment

  Nick flew backwards, landing with a thump as he rolled towards the coffee table.

  I screamed as Bad Ben, a tower of terror, raced towards me. I grabbed a plate and frisbee’d it at him. It bounced off his chest and crashed to the floor. I ducked under his outstretched hands and ran for the other side of the room.

  Cocoa bounced up and down on the couch, barking as Nick launched himself at Bad Ben. He landed on Ben’s back, clinging on like a kid on a piggyback ride. He wrapped both arms around the huge man’s neck and leaned back.

  Ben reached behind his head, both hands scrabbling to get a hold of Nick. Nick stuck a knee in Ben’s back and pulled back harder. The big man let out a guttural sound that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end. A wild animal in a frenzy, he began to spin on the spot.

  Nick lost his grip on the third spin, flying off to land on the couch. He bounced straight up, but Big Bad Ben was already coming after me.

  I had thought his facial tattoos were scary when I’d seen him the other night, but now, when his face was a snarling mass of rage, they were pee-worthy.

  I raced back towards the kitchen where Martine stood frozen, a stunned look on her face as she clutched the nappy to her chest.

  I dodged to the right, but Ben slammed into me, his body crushing me against the pantry as his hands fastened around my throat.

  ‘I told them to stop you,’ he roared. ‘But they wouldn’t listen. Now I’m going to stop you for good.’

  Little black dots started to dance in front of my eyes as I scratched at his hands.

  Martine jolted into action like a wind-up doll being released. ‘No,’ she screamed as she swung the nappy at the back of Ben’s head.

  Water sprayed out around his face as the nappy exploded on impact. Little bags full of light-blue crystals flew up into the air.

  I felt my eyes widen as I watched them, the pieces of the puzzle all clicking into place in my head. It was a shame I was going to be dead before I got to tell anyone.

  Nick raced into the kitchen, picked up a plate and flung it at Bad Ben’s head. The impact rocked him backwards and his grip on my throat loosened.

  I broke free, staggering away as I sucked in lungfuls of air.

  It took Big Bad Ben only a few seconds to shake off the blow. His eyes lasered back in on me, his lips pulling back to reveal his teeth. Before he could move, Nick leaped onto his back again.

  The big man started to buck and spin, but Nick clung on, a rodeo star having the ride of his life. ‘Cocoa,’ he yelled, ‘attack, buddy. Attack.’

  Cocoa’s ears dropped back and his hysterical bark turned to a deep throaty growl.

  ‘Attack,’ Nick screamed as he lost his grip.

  He flew off and Big Bad Ben stopped spinning. He ended up facing the couch just as Cocoa launched his attack.

  I screamed in terror as Cocoa flew through the air. I’m not sure what body part he was aiming for, but it was Ben’s turn to scream as Cocoa’s teeth latched onto his groin.

  He started to spin again, but Cocoa held on. Ben’s howls moved up a couple of octaves, as Cocoa growled and shook his head.

  Martine opened the freezer and grabbed the bottle she’d been chilling. She raced towards Big Bad Ben with it raised above her head like a baton. It made a thwack as she brought it down on top of his head. The bottle shattered and a large lump of ice fell out onto the floor. Ben’s eyes rolled up into his head.

  ‘Release,’ I shouted as Ben’s knees went out from under him.

  Cocoa danced out of the way, his tail wagging as he watched the big man go down.

  There was an almighty crash as Ben fell, the impact making the floor shake beneath our feet. And then he was still and all I could hear was our combined, ragged breathing.

  I bent down and placed two fingers on his jugular. ‘He’s alive,’ I announced as I felt his pulse.

  Martine nudged the frozen champagne with her foot. ‘Must have been colder than I thought,’ she said.

  I picked up a very diffe
rent type of ice. ‘Well, I guess we know why the nappy wasn’t working,’ I said.

  ‘Yes. They left the beads wrapped in plastic.’ Martine shook her head as she tutted. ‘That’s going to cost Christina a bomb to fix. All those nappies.’

  Nick picked up another packet. ‘Is this what I think it is?’

  I nodded.

  ‘What?’ Martine looked at us. ‘I’m missing something aren’t I?’

  ‘Martine.’ I shook the little bag. ‘These aren’t humectant beads. These are drugs.’

  ‘Drugs?’ Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times. ‘Oh no. This is terrible. I need to let Christina know. Somebody’s using her as a mule.’

  ‘Christina,’ Nick said. ‘The Crystal. Clever.’

  ‘What?’ Martine was doing her stunned fish impression again. ‘You think Christina is the Drug Lord?’

  ‘I’m sorry.’ I walked into the kitchen and opened my drawers one by one. There was duct tape in one of them, I just couldn’t remember which. ‘I know Christina is the drug lord.’

  She sank onto the couch. ‘I have to warn Sally.’ She dug around in her handbag.

  ‘Stop.’ Nick gently prised her fingers from around her phone. ‘We don’t know who else is in on this.’

  ‘Not Sally.’ Martine shook her head.

  ‘Well, you can warn her after we stop them. Another day isn’t going to make any difference.’

  Martine nodded.

  I found the duct tape in the third drawer and pulled it out, my mind racing as I worked my way through a different sequence of events. I tossed the tape to Nick as I finished connecting the dots.

  ‘Gloria,’ I said.

  ‘You’re right.’ Martine clicked her fingers and pointed at me. ‘She’ll know what to do.’

  ‘No.’ I shook my head, fear making my heart pound. ‘I overheard Trent telling her the Super thought we had a rat.’

  ‘She is the rat.’ Nick picked at the end of the tape.

  ‘Oh no.’ I sank down onto a couch. It made too much sense. ‘That’s why she never arrested Big Bad Ben.’

  ‘That’s how he knew where you lived.’

  ‘Yes,’ I breathed. ‘But that’s not the worst of it. Trent told her. He told her about Billy. Today. Asked her to meet with Billy and get the location of the drop off.’