The Innimincka Affair

by Robert Chalmers

  She smiled when she heard the washing machine chugging away. That was some man.

  "I've put all our stuff in the wash, hope you don't mind." He declared as he came through barefoot into the kitchen. He headed straight for Rebecca and squeezed her in a giant bear hug.

  "No more 'buts'?" He teased with a smile.

  Coffee was bubbling in the pot, and Cooper poured them a cup each.

  "Sugar? Milk?" He asked, realising that he not only had no idea whether she took milk or sugar, but almost everything about her. He would make it his life's mission to find out.

  Starting with basic fare.

  "What would you like to eat? You have everything at your fingertips here." He smiled. “Except fresh eggs. However, I have powdered eggs, that reconstitute very well?” The question in his voice alerted Rebecca that the powdered eggs might not be all that they were supposed to be.

  "This is a break in my normal routines like I've never had." She said. "So I guess I can try powdered eggs as well!" She looked at Cooper and smiled. He was still unsure of her it seemed, and with good reason. She was giving no sign that she wanted to stay in this place for one minute longer than was necessary. However, Cooper thought that powdered eggs may be one step too far for her, so he quietly decided to leave the mention of eggs of any sort out of any further conversations. One look at Rebecca told him that she was not a big eater in any case, so he was at a bit of a loss as to what to prepare for a meal. Being a cattle property they had meat of all cuts in plentiful supply. There was tinned and frozen vegetables, and all sorts of spices and condiments. Cooper thought he was a passable cook but didn't know what Rebecca might be used to, although what ever it was would almost surely not be on the menu here.

  He was about ready to give up the idea, and suggest that they just make some soup later on for dinner.

  "There is some fresh fruit still in the cool room, if you'd like an apple or pear maybe? I know it's been a while since either of us managed to grab something to eat." Cooper took Rebecca's hand and led her through the kitchen to the cool room, it's entrance built into the kitchen wall.

  The room was well stocked with fresh fruit, and to Rebecca's surprise it was actually very fresh.

  "Just an apple for now thanks. Cooper." Rebecca realised that she had been about to use a term of endearment with him. She also realised that the more she watched him, the more she realised just how "at home" he was here. Of course it was his family home, and he would naturally be familiar with the place but there was something else - and it seemed to be flashing at her like a warning signal. A man so comfortable with his surroundings would not easily change them, for any reason. Rebecca had some built in insecurities that she kept hidden well. The strongest one was the feeling of fear that came to the surface at the thought of committing to a man again, and having him not come back to her. She knew it was irrational, and had even been to a therapist about it. Nothing seemed to cure it. Now it had surfaced again, hammering on her chest as though trying to escape into the open. What if she committed to be with Cooper? She couldn't survive here, in this place. She knew she'd give it a valiant try, but in the end it was too alien to her. It would fail, and once again she'd be left on her own. It would be the same for Cooper, if he threw it all in and came to London with her, for she had to go back. Her career was just starting, and she enjoyed it. What could Cooper do in London. No cattle there. No open spaces. He'd be crazy in a week, once she went back to eighteen hours plus days.

  "Cooper," she suddenly blurted out "what sort of degree do you have?" She faltered a little. "I know you have done something, I saw it in your profile, but truly, I can't remember the detail."

  Cooper selected a couple of nice apples from the cooler basket, and led the way back to the main room, sitting comfortably in a chair that was obviously his. It just moulded around him as he settled back into it. He was looking at her steadily. He had heard the hesitation in her voice and it shocked him, after what they had just been doing. He didn't reply immediately, he was thinking himself that he should take stock of what was happening between Rebecca and himself. She was pouring some juice into a glass, and then turned to raise it to her lips when Cooper replied.

  Chapter 10

  “Agricultural Management." He said calmly. Rebecca was choking on her juice, having had her jaw drop open just as she was swallowing. Juice was running from her nose, and down her chin, she thought it must have been coming out of her ears. Embarrassment didn't even come close to describing how she felt in that moment. She mopped at her face with her shirt tails. What a mess. She looked at Cooper. Surely she hadn't heard him right. There was nothing about any of that in his profile. She had read it in detail, and Kali her researcher hadn't mentioned it. She was going to have to have a long talk with that girl. Rebecca still couldn't believe it.

  "You are having me on surely Cooper. Don't even joke about things like that. How can you be qualified in such a thing when you spend your life out here in the wilderness? How do you keep current? I..." Rebecca stuttered to a stop. She had so many questions she didn't know where to start. What did this change? She didn't know. It certainly put a whole new slant on her view of Cooper. She had never for a moment thought of him as a clueless country boy, who knew about cattle and little else. He had been to University, she knew that. But what she didn't know was what he had done there. Cooper handed her a damp face cloth he had retrieved from the bathroom. The look on his face hadn't changed much she noticed. Well, this was going to take some getting used to. Did she have the time and the inclination? This was one heck of a shock. Just when she had decided - well almost decided, to forget the whole thing and let Cooper down gently as she headed for home, and the safety of London and her job, this knowledge turns up. She headed for the spare room to change her shirt. She was shaking her head as she did so. Rough country, rough clothes, nice man, but some rough edges. Or were they? He was more guarded than rough. Yes, she thought. Guarded. Suddenly she looked up and screamed. There was a stark naked black man standing in the back doorway of the house, still clutching his bundle of spears and throwing stick in his hand, he had the other hand up in a sign of peace, palm outward. Rebecca almost collapsed against the wall as she recognised Billy, the man who had taken Cooper on some long journey the day before. She still didn't know the full story on that one. Billy didn't move, just grinned, his white teeth a beautiful flash of white in the darkness of his face. Cooper was suddenly there beside her, rifle in hand and half lifted, when he too recognised Billy.

  "Billy, lucky I didn't shoot you!" He said calmly.

  "I know you not shoot me boss. You good man. Your woman got very loud voice but." He was grinning from ear to ear again. Rebecca was beginning to wonder if there was some relationship between his unabashed nakedness and his happy disposition. Or was he just crazy? A crazy aboriginal man. Great, that's all she needed.

  "Cooper, can you give that man some pants for heavens sake. Doesn't he know what's decent around a woman." Rebecca stalked off to the room to get the clean shirt.

  "My women got no pants boss? I had pants, but lost them long time back. No good out here." Billy scratched his head. "Oh yes, those men gone now." He added. He started to turn to go. He didn't like houses at all. They made him jumpy, and feel closed in. He didn't understand at all how white men lived in such places.

  "Wait Billy." Billy kept going, and finally stopped outside in the yard. "What you mean? Men gone. Which men? Our men? The other men, the strangers." Billy's face was unreadable at the best of times, his dark visage and wild mop of hair, his large and sun wrinkled face making his expression practically unreadable. Like all these men, he rarely looked you in the eye, considering it an insult to the other person to do so. You had to be close family before such liberties could be taken. The sideways glance, the eye-line usually just about at mouth level, this was the closest a man would get with almost anyone to looking them in the eye. They thought the white man was terribly rude going around looking everyone directly in the
eye.

  Billy thought a bit. "Yes boss, those other fellers. That mob all gone. Pack up truck, let you mob out, and drive away toward. that way." He pointed south. "Your boys be home soon. Dogs here now." With that Cooper heard the dogs coming like a pack of hunting hounds. He had a dozen of more cattle dogs, pure and mongrel, but they were all working dogs, and all related. Like a huge noisy family, they came racing into the house yard barking and growling, tussling each other to jump all over Cooper and Billy, and take turns jumping into the water trough that led out from the windmill. Rebecca stood in the doorway at the back of the house staying out of the way. She watched Coopers easy acceptance of the dogs, the fond cuffing of various ears, and scratching of noses. Billy just stood there and put up with it. He didn't like dogs much, and occasionally had a dingo pup to keep his little group company for a while, but they always ran off to follow their wild ways, just like he and his people, so it never bothered him. Eventually calm descended and the dogs all crawled under the house into the shade, panting with excitement.

  "Thanks Billy. You are a good man. You come a long way to tell me this. Anything you need?" Cooper asked Billy.

  "Na boss. Got all I need." Billy waved his arm in a wide circle out toward the desert. "Men here soon. Well before dark." He simply turned and trotted off toward the south. Back to his people.

  Cooper came back into the house. He eased past Rebecca who didn't move from the back door. She followed him with her eyes though. 'What was going on in that head?' She asked herself. Her heart began to ache. He was so... so at home here. So comfortable. Did she have the right to ask him to follow her into the unknown. Into places where he, like Billy in the house, would be uncomfortable, and probably end up hating her for it. Almost certainly would. She decided she would have to put a stop to it right there and then. They must not get close again. She must not get close again. The pain was too much. Their little fling had been nice. More than nice, and she did love him, but it couldn't possibly work. It would only bring misery to both of them in the end. She came back into the main sitting room, and Cooper was standing at the table jingling the gun safe keys. He had locked up the rifles again. The danger was gone it seemed for the moment at least. The men were coming back and there were things to sort out. He was just about to say something to Rebecca when suddenly he heard the unmistakable sounds of a large helicopter approaching at speed.

  "Well, better late than never." He commented to Rebecca. Together they went outside into the afternoon sun to observe a large military helicopter slowly settling onto the runway in a huge cloud of dust. A group of heavily armed soldiers piled out first, followed by someone of rank judging by the gold braid on his shoulders, and finally a civilian in a dark suit, reflective sun glasses wrapped around his eyes. As he fastened his jacket Cooper had noticed the gun in the holster under his arm. So he was no office worker. The armed soldiers fanned out along the runway, and two of them were closely inspecting the New World plane. The others slowly approached Cooper and Rebecca. The armed guards first. They all stopped about twenty feet from Cooper and Rebecca and remained motionless. It was impossible to read their expressions, their faces were masked behind protective helmets and visors, and the all black garb presented a slightly confusing shape even in the bright sun. The officer and the civilian approached Cooper and Rebecca. To both their surprise, the civilian addressed Rebecca.

  "Ma'am, do I have the pleasure of speaking to Rebecca Boucher?" His voice was pleasant enough, but had an edge of steel that spoke of absolute authority. He took off his glasses and squinted in the bright light. His eyes flicked to Cooper, and back to Rebecca. She was thinking that he had nice brown eyes, with early signs of crow’s feet lines at the corners as though despite his glasses, he had spent a lot of time in wide open places in far away countries. Rebecca nodded and answered.

  "Yes, I am Rebecca and this is..." She began. The man addressing her interrupted her.

  "We know who he is." He closed his mouth, snapping his words off like a man biting the end off a Havana cigar. "We are interested in talking to him." With that he gave a small signal and the surrounding guards moved in and before he knew it, Cooper was being hustled off toward the helicopter. He had been just about to protest about being spoken of in the third person while he was only a few feet away, right next to Rebecca in fact. Now he was considerably more worried than a mere insult had made him. Cooper was a big man by any standards, but he found himself being propelled along by men who were like mobile tanks on legs they were so big. His protests fell on deaf ears, the soldiers ignoring any attempt at conversation. They politely but firmly bundled him into the seating area of the helicopter and strapped him in. He looked down and found himself actually locked in. There was a stainless steel locking system on the belt harness. His mouth was hanging open in surprise that was quickly turning to rage.

  "What the hell do you think you are doing? I own this place. This is my property, and you have no rights here. You have no right to do this to me. It's not me you need to detain, it's those scum who have been trespassing on my place for months now." His voice trailed off as he realised that the soldiers were not paying the slightest attention to him. He yelled out so the others with Rebecca could hear him.

  "You over there. You, Sunglasses man. What the hell do you think you are doing? I'm addressing you, and your gold plated mate. This is my place. I demand you release me immediately." His voice trailed off as he realised that they were ignoring him. He began to worry a little. He had been expecting a friendly greeting and a discussion about the intruders. He had not been expecting this, and that was a fact. Only one guard was near the helicopter now, the others having gone back at a brisk walk to stand in a line stretching way at an angle from the two men talking to Rebecca. Rebecca was looking toward Cooper and waving her arms about. Cooper couldn't hear her, but had no doubt that she was reading them the riot act. Or he hoped she was, she was a lawyer after all. Cooper remembered that fact and smiled. He would be ok. There was obviously some misunderstanding. They had only just arrived and couldn't possibly be aware of the situation as it really was. They certainly didn't know what Billy had told him only a short while before. Cooper sat back in the seat and tried to get comfortable. The seat belts had been pulled pretty tight, and it wasn't all that easy. The men who he had shouted at completely ignored him. 'What was new?' He thought to himself. Everyone was ignoring him. Vague thoughts of being spirited off to Guantanamo Bay flicked through his mind. He shook his head, think himself stupid for thinking such thoughts. He had done nothing wrong. Well, not really. Rebecca had been more than willing as he recalled. 'What are you thinking?' He almost said aloud. They weren't worried about any relationship he may or may not have with Rebecca. Any woman for that matter. These men were here on serious business, and somehow he was right smack in the middle of it - and on the wrong side of it it seemed. He would just have to wait and see what happened.

  Rebecca meantime was stamping her foot in frustration.

  "I'm telling you, he and I arrived here together. We came from Brisbane on his plane, over there." She pointed to the damaged Cessna. "Someone shot out the tyres and the windscreen so we couldn't fly it out." She drew herself up straight, and tried to look as cool as she would in a court.

  "I am a lawyer. An attorney at law if you want the American equivalent. I belong to a London firm of great prestige, and good connections. Our New York office is equally well established, and with equally good connections. Unless you want a whole ship load of trouble descending on your head, I demand that you release my ... um. Cooper. You must release him. This is not a battle field; this is his home." Rebecca realised that neither of these gentlemen had given their names. She launched into them again.

  "The very least you could do is introduce yourselves. You obviously know who I am, and who Cooper is. May I ask who you are?"

  "Sorry Ma'am," replied the suited one. "My name is Special Agent Mitterrand. I'm with the US Embassy here in Australia. This is Captain Fielding. A
ustralian Intelligence. ASIO to be exact." He paused. We have been watching the activities of the... intruders, for some time. When we were alerted by MI5, our friends in the UK, we thought it best if we got here asap." He pronounced it a-sap, which made Rebecca smile. Just like in the movies. Really, who were these people? The British would never behave in such a rough and cavalier manner. She didn't know about the Australians. A rough lot from what she had seen so far. Rebecca was not impressed and it showed on her face. She may have been out of her comfort zone dealing with Cooper's domestic arrangements, but this she knew about. This was her territory. Rebecca went on the attack herself. Come in here and throw their weight around would they.

  "Was your mother one of those hippie people?" She asked the Agent specifically.

  "Beg pardon Ma'am?" He blinked.

  "That's a hell of a first name. 'Special Agent'..." Rebecca wasn't smiling. She wanted Cooper out of that helicopter. "Would you mind telling me just why you have hustled him off and restrained him in the helicopter? You do know there are laws against illegal detention." Her face was set, her lips in a thin line. She had been prepared to welcome these people as rescuers until they had shown their otherwise aggressive intentions. If not aggressive, certainly - unpleasant, and not the least bit friendly.

  "Miss Boucher, we know exactly who you are, and we know who your friends are, including those in MI5. The fact is that we have been watching the activities of the New World people for some time. They seemed to think that they had escaped our notice, and could hide out here in the middle of nowhere, using this place as an illegal dump for their nuclear waste. The small radiation proof transport pods someone in their organisation has invented is of great interest to a lot of the world's nuclear energy companies. Fortunately, they chose to try and secret the material here, rather than go through legal channels. We are none to sure what Mr Anders' involvement is in the operation. It is his property after all." Agent Mitterrand looked back at the hapless Cooper. He turned back to Rebecca and said.