“Boss,” Billy replied “these men and more bin here ‘bout three month. Big camp over that way.” He pointed to the south. “They dig holes with machines. Deep holes. They disturb the spirits of our ancestors. Holes very deep. Make landing place for planes. Big planes.” He paused and checked the scene in front of him. “This our country boss, but we ask you. You know about this? You send these men?” Billy was not smiling now. His hands gripped his spears. Long fire hardened shafts with wickedly barbed points. These were not game hunting spears Cooper suddenly realised. These were man hunting spears. He reached his hand out and clasped Billy on the arm.
“No Billy, this is not my doing. These are very bad people; you must not touch them. Too many of your people will be killed.” Cooper had realised in the instant what he thought Billy and his men were up to. Billy looked at Cooper with an unreadable expression.
The leaders of the group were set up under a tent flap. stretched out from the side of the truck, and had a radio of some sort set up. They were busy with maps and papers, and one was relaying information on the radio. In all Cooper counted twelve men, all of them armed and some with automatic weapons like he had seen the military use. How on earth he was going to rescue his men he couldn’t imagine. The New World group had obviously simply taken everyone by surprise, and for some reason now had them penned up as their prisoners. At least none appeared to be hurt, which was a good thing at least, thought Cooper. He wanted to know about the other camp Billy had mentioned.
“Billy,” he whispered. “Tell me about the other camp. Three months they have been there you say!” Cooper shook his head. He must be slipping to let something like that happen on his place, and not know about it.
“The other camp long way, nearly two day - three day for me that way.” He pointed past the current camp, away to the south west. “It built in Raven Gorge between two mountains. You know that place boss?” Billy asked. Indeed, Cooper did. A more remote part of this vast property, in a land that was empty to start with, could not have been found. Cooper had seen tracks of vehicles, and abandoned camp sites over the last month or so, and discarded cartons with New World’s logo on them blowing about the desert. He had assumed that they were prospecting. Billy continued.
“Big camp boss. Maybe one hundred men. Drilling, and opening up big cave into mountain. Also making short place for aeroplane to land. Short, but very wide. Maybe big plane.” Billy gripped his spears. “They not ask traditional owners about this. Now I know they not ask you too.” Billy was right to be angry. The people of his tribe were the traditional owners of vast areas of this land that the cattle property was situated on. They took it very seriously when unauthorised activities took place. The members of Billy’s group chose to live their traditional way out here, and to Coopers knowledge there were quite a few of them. Not enough to take on a hundred well armed men though, and even here, not enough to take on even a dozen well armed men.
“How many men with you Billy?” Asked Cooper. Billy held up the outspread fingers of his left hand. Five men. Cooper shook his head. “Billy, we have to go back and get more help. Nothing we can do here right now, and it’s getting late. Almost dark now.” The afternoon sun was almost half way below the horizon already, and out here there was no twilight. One minute light, the next dark. Billy flashed a grin and said. “You go back boss. We ok. Have some fun with these people.” Cooper looked around, and even in the remaining light, he could see that there were no other people visible other than those in the camp. As Cooper watched Billy gave a low bird call like a magpie’s mating call. The men in the camp ignored it, thinking it was just a lone bird of the desert. Suddenly, on a sand ridge on the other side of the camp a lone aboriginal stood up, clear against the westering sun. He shook his spears and harangued the people in the camp in incomprehensible native language, stamping his feet and raising a dust cloud at the same time. One of the men near the caged station hands started to raise his rifle toward the aboriginal, when in one flowing motion the man notched a smooth pointed spear in his throwing stick and launched the spear. The man with the gun couldn’t believe his eyes. He saw the spear heading directly for him but was too spellbound to move. He let out a scream of agony as the long fire hardened spear point buried itself deep in his right upper thigh. He dropped his automatic and howled in pain. The stockmen in the prison cage laughed at him without mercy.
Cooper was dumbfounded. “Billy, now they be plenty mad, like hornets.” He said.
"Don't worry boss, smooth spear. Punishment spear. See, come out real easy. We careful not to kill them. Just punish.” Sure enough as Cooper looked one of the other men easily pulled the spear out of the mans leg and they rushed him to the camp to dress his wound. The man on the ridge who had thrown the spear had disappeared as soon as he had thrown it. There was much consternation in the camp, with men rushing to and fro encouraging each other to go out and scout around. No one wanted to be first though. When three men got together and decided they could watch each others back as it were, they started out in the direction of the rise where Cooper and Billy lay hidden. They had taken no more than a few steps toward the edge of the camp when they were stopped in their track by a thrumming sound that seemed to be coming from overhead, and with a whoosh a long and very barbed spear buried itself in the sand right at the leader’s boots. He stopped immediately. There was no one to be seen. The general direction of the spear’s flight could be guessed at, and together they loosed off a dozen rounds in the general direction, to no effect. Other than to have their leader shouting at them not to be so stupid and frightened like little girls. They shrugged and headed back into the relative safety of the camp by the truck.
Cooper couldn’t help smiling. Billy thought it was a huge joke.
“Ok boss. We go back now. I show you the way. Dark soon enough. Your woman be worried now. These people not going anywhere. If they try, more spearing.” He was not laughing now. The two of them scrambled back down the ridge and stood up. It was almost dark, and they set off at a run to return to the station homestead. Billy unerring in his course, leading the way. They had been running about an hour when Billy stopped, and started feeling around a small rocky outcrop, sniffing as he went.
“Water here boss. Maybe one, two handful. You drink then we go on.” He said.
Cooper felt around, guided by Billy, and sure enough, almost beneath a small rocky outcrop was a small basin of water, maybe a saucepan full. He took two handfuls and stood back. Billy took only one, and immediately set off again at the same steady pace. It was very late when finally, the lights of the homestead came into view. Cooper’s heart swelled with pride for Rebecca. It could only mean that she had worked out how to turn on the generator for the power. The smaller things like the computer would run for days on the battery bank, but fridges and lights and other larger equipment needed a generator. Cooper had never gone fully solar. It was never considered worth the huge costs involved. Maybe if Rebecca came out here? Then he certainly would. He smiled to himself in the dark. “Cooper, you’re a fool. What makes you think Rebecca would even dream now of coming out here to live. You bring her here, and the first thing you do is run off.” The two men came into the homestead yard still at a trot, with Cooper calling out loudly that it was he and Billy. He didn’t want to get shot at in his own front yard. Billy stopped, and his two women came out to greet him, talking and laughing with him. Obviously pleased to see him, and regale him with tales of that strange woman inside the house. She had fed the women, and gave them water, and tried to do their hair. To no one’s surprise, that proved an impossible task. Billy was laughing with them, and they all settled down on the veranda in comfort. Rebecca stood at the doorway, looking out at Cooper who hadn’t yet come fully onto the veranda. ‘Truth is’, he thought. ‘I’m not too sure of my welcome?’ He was staring at Rebecca now though. The light behind her fro the lounge room had her in perfect silhouette now, and the cotton skirt she had on left almost nothing to the imagination. Cooper clutched at the veranda post
. His heart was racing and not from the exertion of the day’s adventure. He stepped toward Rebecca to take her in his arms and make love to her right there and then. He wanted to shower her in kisses, feel her breath on his cheek, feel the soft suppleness of her in his hands.
“Cooper.” She demanded. “Don’t you dare come near me with that river of sweat running off your head. I’ve died here all day waiting for you to come back, and the first thing you do is want to grab me and hug me to that awful sweaty body. Ugh” Rebecca spun on her heel and walked with exaggerated care back into the house. She was ecstatic however. Cooper had been going to. to. he had been going to grab her. Take her in his arms and hug her to him. To that beautiful body. Sweaty sure, but manly beautiful sweat. She spun around to see Cooper coming into the room and looking somewhat sheepish now, his face aflame with the thought of what he had been about to do. He was raising an arm and pointing toward the back of the house, probably the showers she thought. She walked up to him and carefully leaned forward without touching him, put a finger under his lower jaw and closed his mouth, and placed a long lingering kiss on that beautiful archer’s bow.
“Good to see you safely back Cooper.” She said as she stepped back. Cooper passed silently by as he headed for the bathroom and a much needed shower. ‘Good to see you back?’ He thought, ‘What kind of a welcome home is that?’ He shook his head. But that kiss. Wow with a capital W he thought. He stopped at the bathroom door with his hand on the door frame. He had suddenly realised that Rebecca was most likely very upset, and possibly frightened, and he had said nothing as he came into the house. He spun around and headed back into the lounge room. Rebecca was sitting on the single sofa with her head in her hands. The stress of the last hours had finally gotten to her, and Coopers entry back into the house had been such a relief. However, as far as she was concerned she was out of here the first thing in the morning. She should never have come out here in the first place. The man didn't even keep chickens for crying out loud. A freezer full of beef, another freezer full of frozen vegetables, a pantry full of tins of various other foods and condiments, and that was it. No sign of any fresh food at all. Rebecca had realised of course that Cooper spent a good deal of time away from the house working, both on the property itself, and in the cities where he did business, but not even chickens for fresh eggs! She heard him come back into the room and looked up with tear stained cheeks, wiping away the tears with the back of her hand at the same time.
"Not even chickens Cooper. How can you?" She exclaimed. Cooper was dumbfounded. 'Chickens? What was the woman talking about?’
"Chickens? What are you talking about Rebecca, what have chickens got to do with anything?" Cooper replied. He stood just inside the lounge room scratching his head. Rebecca continued.
"This house, I'm sorry, but this house looks like a well kept workshop. A house where everything a man could want is within reach - except a good woman. Don't you even have a house keeper?" Rebecca swept her arms out in a wide all encompassing circle. She looked around, as Cooper was looking around. The time worn furniture, the old photographs on the wall. The ornaments on the sideboard and on top of the piano, itself with a very fine layer of dust on it's mahogany black surface. It looked as though nothing had been touched in years. It probably hadn't. For a man who took such good care of himself, Cooper took precious little care of his living space. Rebecca could understand his sense of loss at first losing his mother at a young age, and then his father some years later, but he was an adult now. Everyone in the world lost their parents at some point. You moved on. Cooper started to look around. He looked at the old Grandfather clock near the fireplace wall. It was stopped at eight fifteen. Cooper realised he had no idea what day it had stopped, just that it had stopped at eight fifteen. He looked at his watch. He had been gone the better part of the day. He took up the water jug that was on the table and drank most of it in one long draught. His stomach growled loudly and they both looked at it as though it was some unusual event. Cooper again started to look about the room. He was seeing it as though for the first time. He understood now about the chickens. Rebecca was telling him something, and he had better listen, or he would lose her forever. The place was tidy, and clean apart from the fine layer of dust, unavoidable out here, but nothing had moved. In fact, he realised with a start, nothing had moved since his mother had passed away some thirty years ago. Everything was still in exactly the same place as she had left it.
"How have I never noticed this?" He said aloud, a sad look in his eyes as he focused on Rebecca. "Rebecca," he said. "Let me clean up and find something to eat, and I will tell you what we found. You can tell me what has been happening here at the same time. It will only take me a moment. I'm sorry Rebecca, you have no idea how sorry I am to have brought you into this..." He couldn't finish, he was lost for words to describe something that was both his family home, and a place he no longer recognised as a home. Within minutes he was in the shower, the water cascading down over his body, washing away the sweat and dust of his long journey. Rebecca stood in the doorway of the bathroom, and tried not to look at Cooper partially hidden behind the steamed up glass of the shower screen door. She could however see his superbly proportioned body, muscles rippling over his frame as he quickly lathered off the dust and washed his hair in a cursory manner. He was getting rid of the dust and sweat, not taking his time over the finer necessities like shampoo and conditioner.
"Cooper," she began and he looked up to see her there, nearly dropping the soap. "I spoke to my researcher in London. She contacted some people she knows, and told me that the people who are here on your property are, amongst other things, involved in nuclear waster disposal, arms dealings, and probably drugs. It's the nuclear waste disposal that has everyone hopping, because apparently New World have solved one of the great puzzles of how to contain such waste in very small containers that show no radiation footprint. In other words, you could wave a Geiger counter over one, and it would not register. What they haven't solved is where to store them, because being so small, there are a lot of them." Rebecca paused. The sight of Cooper stepping out of the shower only feet in front of her was too much. Cooper was listening intently, and had stopped what he was doing so he could.
"Oh my God Cooper..." Gasped Rebecca. There was a distinct note of longing in her voice. Cooper visibly started, and quickly wrapped a bath towel around his waist. He went a slight shade of red.
"Sorry Rebecca, I forgot for a moment, I was so intent on what you were saying." He came to stand only inches from her in the doorway. 'He is so tall,' thought Rebecca as she looked first up into his eyes, then down at the bath towel with it's very obvious rise over his sex. She wanted to reach out and stroke that rise in the towel, to feel it harden and try to escape the confines of the material that held it. Her breath was getting shorter and she was starting to weaken at the knees. It may be the early hours of the evening, but she had already showered and eaten what she could put together for her and the aboriginal women. She was now wide awake and her senses were zinging at the proximity of Cooper's nakedness. Rebecca felt herself becoming very aroused, her wetness alerting her to what she wanted to happen. She reached up and put a hand on Cooper's upper arm, not trusting herself to move otherwise.
"Cooper..." She almost croaked, clearing her voice quickly. "We don't actually know each other very well do we. And I don't think you like me very much - not really. Let's stick to business, then we can decide if we stay here or leave at first light." Rebecca sighed, and turned to go back into the lounge room. Cooper didn't hesitate now, he reached out as she turned and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to him so her back was against him. His arms almost around her, as his hands cupped her breasts, her nipples instantly erect, her whole chest fluttering at the feel of his hands on her. She could feel the hardness of him against her bottom, the thin cotton dress she had on absolutely no guard against such feeling as this. Cooper whispered in her ear.
"Rebecca, stop talking for one minute wil
l you." His breath on her earlobe raised goose bumps all over her body, almost alarming her as her own inner place started to pulse with a desire that she had never, ever felt in her life before. 'Oh my God...' she whispered only half aloud. Cooper slowly and softly massaged her breasts and began to move slightly from his hips, softly pressing against her then allowing himself to ease back. She could feel the hardness of him at each press and it was lighting her up like the Blackpool tower. Slowly Cooper turned her around to face him, his hands now cupping her either side on her bottom. His towel fell to the floor and Rebecca could feel his nakedness, his pulsing hardness, pushing against her dress and trying to find a way between her thighs. Rebecca was gasping with emotion and desire, and a soft moaning deep in Coopers throat had her trembling from head to foot. He bent his head down and kissed her with a burning passion that took her breath away. It had been a long long time since anyone had kissed her, and for Cooper, he couldn't remember the last time he had kissed a girl and had her kiss him back with the desire and passion that he was now feeling from Rebecca.
What was he doing he thought, amidst the tangle of emotions that flooded his mind. 'It doesn't feel as though she dislikes me.' Cooper was beginning to lose his self control, as surely as Rebecca was losing hers. He swept her up in his arms and carried her down the hallway to his bedroom. The door was shut but Cooper wasn't about to put Rebecca down as they still struggled to continue the kiss while he walked - lurched from side to side really - down the hallway. With one swift kick the old wooden door crashed open and banged against the side dresser, spilling the few ornaments and photographs onto the floor. They hardly noticed as Cooper placed Rebecca none too gently onto the massive old carved frame bed, it's soft mattress and duvet cover almost enveloping her completely. She struggled to sit up and Cooper helped her lift her dress up and over her head. He was suddenly startled at the sight of her near nakedness, her breasts straining against a small bra and what appeared to him to be little more than a G-String covering her. Pink material with a deep red rose stitched into it's surface he noticed in one distracted moment. Rebecca flicked off her bra in one swift movement as as Cooper lowered himself onto the bed, and raised on one elbow looked deep into her eyes. She couldn't hold such a direct gaze, as Cooper seemed to looking into her very soul. 'What was he seeking there?' She thought briefly. His huge right hand slowly brushed down over her stomach until it reached the waist band of her thong style panties. As his fingers travelled slowly over the distance she could feel her stomach lurching as the muscles throbbed and tightened alternately as though a huge wave of desire were breaking over her.
The Innimincka Affair Page 9
