Austral

by Paul McAuley

  ‘I know I shouldn’t have ignored you,’ I said, ‘but I was young and stupid. I thought that I could look after myself.’

  ‘But here you are now,’ Alicia said.

  ‘The point I’m trying to make, it isn’t about me,’ I said, although I had been hoping to work the guilt angle, win Alicia’s sympathy by reminding her of my sad, bad childhood. ‘It’s that there are plenty of huskies living here, and I don’t suppose they’re treated like second-class citizens. But thanks to people like Alberto Toomy, it isn’t like that everywhere else. He’s one of the National Unity Party’s honourable deputies. One of the scunners who voted against lifting travel restrictions for us. Voted for compulsory sterilisation, too. But if you can find a way of letting the world know what I told you, that he was tight with a major criminal, it will do serious damage to his reputation and his party. And that will definitely help the husky community.’

  ‘Do you have any proof of this?’ Alicia said.

  ‘There must be evidence of that meeting at Kilometre 200. Witnesses, surveillance footage. And if you let me talk to Alberto, negotiate terms about giving his daughter back, I’m pretty sure I can get him to tell me about it.’

  The woman in the leather jacket said, ‘I was in the state orphanage in O’Higgins for a couple of years. You got that right. But you know what? I didn’t become a criminal. Most of us didn’t. But you, kidnapping that poor girl, coming here making excuses for yourself, implying that it was your rotten childhood made you do it, claiming you can use it, somehow, to improve the lot of huskies? Dio mios! Don’t you know what the haters are saying about you? They’re using it as proof that they were right all along. That we’re low-life freaks. Monsters. You’ve become the poster girl for every kind of intolerance and prejudice. And you talk about helping our community?’

  ‘I made some mistakes,’ I said. ‘I admit that. Absolutely. I made some bad choices. But I came here to make it right.’

  ‘You want to make it right? All you have to do is turn yourself in to the police,’ the woman said. ‘Shit, I’ll take you there myself.’

  Alicia said, ‘It doesn’t matter what Alberto Toomy may or may not have done. The best way we can help you, the only way, is by ending this foolishness and making sure that his daughter is safely returned to him.’

  ‘If you won’t co-operate,’ leather-jacket woman said, ‘I’ll go find the girl. She can’t be far away. Still on that stolen boat, most likely.’

  I couldn’t meet their gazes. I knew that they had it right about the girl, but I also felt cornered, felt that no one wanted to hear my side of the story. And so, for exactly the same reason I’d told Levi, driven to it by the same hopeless desperation, I played my last card.

  ‘There’s something else you should know,’ I said. ‘The reason I had to run off from the work camp, my job, everything else, I’m pregnant. And Keever Bishop is the father.’

  Alicia had one of the young men fetch tea, asked the other to bring me a chair. The atmosphere had changed. I was no longer a prisoner, up before a kangaroo court. I was a guest, although not exactly a welcome one.

  Trying to ignore the scornful stare of leather-jacket woman, I told Alicia about you, why I was certain that Keever was your father, why I didn’t ever want him to know about you, why I’d be in bad trouble if the prison authorities found out, where I wanted to go.

  At the end, Alicia set down her teacup and gave me a serious look. ‘You still have to do the right thing by the girl.’

  ‘As soon as her father pays what I’m owed.’

  ‘I’m not convinced that he owes you anything,’ Alicia said. ‘And if he refuses to pay the ransom, if he refuses to even talk to you, you’ll still have to let her go. Agree to that right now or you’ll leave me no choice, I’ll have to hand you over to the police.’

  ‘I swear I’m not going to harm her, whatever happens. But I think he’ll pay. Not just because of the girl, but because he’ll want to buy my silence, too.’

  ‘Because of his supposed connection with Keever Bishop.’

  ‘I don’t want much from him. Just enough to pay people smugglers to get me to New Zealand. Pocket money, as far as he’s concerned. And I don’t want much from you either. Just a little help to get me to Square Bay.’

  ‘And how will I do that?’

  ‘Remember the lift you gave my mother and me all those years ago?’

  26

  Alicia and I were working on our second brew of tea when a teenage girl delivered a handful of brand-new disposable fones, the kind I’d smuggled across the wire for Keever. Before she let me use one, Alicia made me promise all over again that I would never ever mention that she’d helped me. Leather-jacket woman said my word was useless, I’d start squealing the moment I was arrested, which was bound to happen sooner rather than later, but I ignored her, swore on Mama’s grave that as far as I was concerned I’d never met Alicia, let alone talked to her, swore that one way or another the girl would be set free by the end of the day.

  ‘If she isn’t,’ Alicia said, ‘we’ll call the police ourselves.’

  ‘If this crashes and burns, the girl will still get back with her father,’ I said. ‘But if it comes right, he’ll be taken down for aiding and abetting a notorious criminal. And then everything else he’s involved in will come out.’

  ‘As if people like him are ever punished for what they do,’ leather-jacket woman said.

  She had a point, but I wasn’t about to tell her that.

  ‘I’m going to give the girl back to her daddy,’ I said to Alicia, ‘and give her daddy to the cops. And you’ll never see or hear from me again.’

  ‘All I ask is that you don’t try to be clever,’ Alicia said, and handed me one of the fones.

  I made a voice-only call to the number the girl had given me and a woman answered at once, saying that she was very glad that I had decided to do the right thing and make contact, telling me that her name was Sabrina Maxwell Bullrich, she was here to help.

  ‘We’re very concerned about you and Kamilah, Austral. Especially after that unpleasantness at Charlotte Bay.’

  ‘There’s no need to worry about the girl,’ I said. ‘The girl is fine.’

  ‘May I speak with her?’

  ‘Maybe you could tell me who you are first.’

  ‘Kamilah’s father has an insurance policy that covers situations like this. I’ve been hired by the insurance company to speak with you on his behalf.’

  ‘So you aren’t police.’

  ‘I have nothing to do with law enforcement, Austral. I’m a crisis negotiator, pure and simple. I’m here to help you in any way I can.’

  ‘What about Alberto Toomy? Is he with you?’

  ‘He has been notified that you have made contact, but he isn’t a party to our conversation. Nor is anyone else. This is just between you and me.’

  ‘You know what you sound like? Some kind of AI. Not even a very good one.’

  I was as twitchy as hell, was already beginning to lose my temper. It felt as if I was being strung along while Sabrina Maxwell Bullrich tracked my fone signal and dispatched a crew to deal with me and rescue the girl.

  ‘Actually, I’m a husky, like you,’ the negotiator said. ‘Born in the south, raised in Star City.’

  ‘Then you know Five Points. What it is.’

  I can’t remember if I already told you, that’s the name of the bar where I used to hang out with Bryan.

  ‘I know I spent too many nights drinking too much in there when I was a lot younger,’ the negotiator said.

  ‘And you know who owns it.’

  ‘Keever Bishop, once upon a time. But he doesn’t own it any more. It was confiscated when he was convicted. Could I speak to Kamilah, Austral? It won’t take but a moment.’

  ‘I told you. The girl is safe and well.’

  ‘I’m sure she is. But listen – and this is just a silly formality, something to satisfy my bosses. If it isn’t possible for me to speak to Kamilah for wh
atever reason, could you please ask her to give you her safe words.’

  ‘Her safe words?’

  ‘Before we can proceed any further, before I can help you get what you want, I need what’s known as proof of life.’

  ‘Is this some kind of trick?’

  I was acutely aware that Alicia and the others were watching me, was trying not to show my nerves.

  Sabrina Maxwell Bullrich said, ‘I’ll be frank with you, Austral. The Charlotte Bay police showed us security footage of the shoot-out. We reviewed it very carefully, and we are concerned that Kamilah may have been injured.’

  ‘I told you. She’s okay.’

  ‘We’re concerned, Austral, because something appeared to knock her to the ground.’

  ‘It was hardly anything,’ I said. ‘She was hit by what I think was a ricochet, but her bodysuit protected her. She has a little bruising is all. Apart from that, she’s completely fine.’

  Alicia looked like a fox that had just spotted a lemming. Very quiet, very still.

  I smiled at her, told Sabrina Maxwell Bullrich, ‘You can thank me any time you want for saving her from the bad guys.’

  ‘I can arrange medical attention for Kamilah. Whatever you think she needs.’

  ‘I checked her out and like I already told you she’s fine,’ I said, still smiling at Alicia, ready to make a move if leather-jacket woman tried to snatch the fone.

  ‘Then all I need are her safe words,’ the negotiator said. ‘It really is no more than a formality. But a necessary one.’

  ‘I’m not trying to scam you, if that’s what you think.’

  ‘I don’t think anything of the sort. Is Kamilah nearby?’

  ‘I’m not going to tell you where she is.’

  ‘I don’t expect you to. Just ask Kamilah to give you her safe words. She’ll understand,’ Sabrina Maxwell Bullrich said, and hung up.

  Alicia immediately wanted to know what was wrong.

  ‘I have to talk to the girl,’ I said.

  27

  When I got back to the boat the girl wanted to know if I’d talked to her father, had we come to an agreement, was I going to let her go, so on, so on.

  ‘Your father is employing some kind of negotiator,’ I said, when she’d run out of breath. ‘Works for an insurance company. Before I get into the business of returning you to your family, she needs proof that you’re alive.’

  We were down in the crew cabin, where it was safe to switch on a light or two. Sitting on the edge of bunks facing each other across the narrow aisle as the boat gently rocked on the incoming tide. The air damp, as chilly as the water pressing against the hull. It was five in the morning and I felt grainy and stretched thin, was finding it hard to think straight. The girl, though, was wide awake, saying, ‘If that’s the only problem, I can speak to her right now. How do we do it? On the radio? Or do you have a fone?’

  ‘What I need are your safe words.’

  ‘My safe words?’

  ‘You better be able to remember them, because if you can’t the deal’s off. You’ll be stuck with me.’

  ‘Of course I remember them,’ the girl said.

  ‘And?’

  She closed her eyes. Took a breath. ‘Foreign penitent periodic beauty.’

  ‘That’s it?’

  ‘That’s it.’

  ‘This is a crucial part of the deal. So don’t even think of trying to spoof me.’

  ‘What good would that do me? Just say the words. Or let me say them. Wouldn’t it be better if this woman heard my voice?’

  The girl was watching me unwrap a disposable fone. Alicia had insisted on destroying the first in case some kind of trace had been stuck into its tiny mind during my conversation with Sabrina Maxwell Bullrich.

  ‘Best thing you can do is keep your mouth zipped,’ I told her. ‘I mean it. One word out of turn, I’ll lock you down here, have this conversation in the wheelhouse.’

  The girl pressed a finger to her lips. There was a shine to her gaze. A hopeful excitement.

  ‘Everything goes right, you’ll soon be on your way home,’ I said, faking a confidence I didn’t feel.

  Sabrina Maxwell Bullrich answered at once, asking how I was, was everything all right.

  ‘Don’t ever cut me off like that again,’ I said.

  ‘I hope it gave you time to gather your thoughts, Austral. Do you have what we need to move forward?’

  ‘If you mean “foreign penitent periodic beauty”, then yeah, I do.’

  ‘Good,’ Sabrina Maxwell Bullrich said. ‘Very good.’

  ‘Now we’ve got that out of the way, let me talk to Alberto.’

  ‘That wouldn’t be a good idea. For all kinds of reasons.’

  ‘His daughter wants to talk to him too,’ I said, looking at the girl. ‘I know he’s listening in. I can practically hear him breathing.’

  ‘As a matter of fact, he isn’t. We insist that the client allows us complete autonomy. Now, are you ready to tell me what you want to do?’

  ‘What are you saying?’

  ‘I’m saying, Austral, that you’re the one in charge. Not me. Not Kamilah’s father. Not anyone else. Only you. So I need to know what you want from us.’

  It took me a moment to realise what she meant. I’d been expecting this to play out over an hour or two of back and forth.

  I said, ‘You mean you’re ready to pay the ransom?’

  ‘Of course. In situations like this, we always pay.’

  ‘Just like that.’

  ‘My one and only job is to ensure the safe return of my client’s daughter. The best way to do that is to help you get what you want.’

  ‘First, a sum of money. Transferred to an offshore account.’

  ‘If you tell me how much you need, and the details of your account, I’ll see what I can do.’

  I told her, and Sabrina said at once that she didn’t think that it would be a problem.

  ‘Your account will be credited in less than half an hour,’ she said. ‘Then you can tell us where Kamilah is. You can let her go. We’ll do the rest.’

  ‘And tell the police they can start looking for me. I don’t think so. Paying the ransom is the first part of the deal. The second part, when you come to collect the girl, I want you to bring Honourable Deputy Alberto Toomy with you. No police, no tricks. Just you and him. We’ll meet him, we’ll talk, and then I’ll take you to his daughter.’

  There was some to and fro. Sabrina told me that I was being unreasonable, that Alberto Toomy couldn’t possibly agree to my demands, but I refused to give any ground, assured her that the Honourable Deputy wouldn’t be in any danger, suggested that she let me speak to him directly, let me ask him was he willing to collect his daughter in person. At last she said that she was going to hang up so that she could discuss my proposal with him, she’d call back in ten minutes.

  ‘It had better be no more than that,’ I said, but I was speaking to dead air.

  ‘He won’t agree,’ the girl said, after I’d told her how it had gone down. ‘He doesn’t like being told what to do.’

  ‘The negotiator has a honey tongue. She’ll convince him. And besides, he’ll want to do right by you, and he’ll also be wondering if he’ll get a chance at being on the spot when the police take me down. Thinking about how it would play on the feeds.’

  But the girl wasn’t convinced and I caught a little of her anxiety, began to imagine that Sabrina had traced the call and had contacted Charlotte Bay’s police, told them to bug out for Meusnier Point. I actually climbed onto the roof of the boat’s wheelhouse to look for cruisers and drones, maybe a speedboat racing towards us. The crescent moon was sinking towards the mouth of the bay. Splinters of silvery light gleamed on the dark sweep of water beyond the old docks. Nothing moving out there and nothing moving along the service road either, the ruins stretching quiet and still towards the lights of the town. I must have dozed off for a moment, because I almost dropped the damn fone when Sabrina called back, telling me that
Alberto Toomy had agreed to meet me, telling me that the ransom had been transferred.

  This time I was the one who rang off, because I needed to check my offshore account. Botching the security checks twice because I was all nerves, going through them very slowly the third time, scared I’d lock myself out. And there it was. The cost of my ticket off the peninsula, no more, no less. I wondered why I didn’t feel anything. Maybe it was because the numbers on the fone’s screen were just numbers. Maybe I wouldn’t feel good about this until it was over, and I was drinking a cocktail (one of those virgin deals, of course, because I’d still be incubating you) in the Wheel’s revolving bar.

  I called Sabrina, told her where I wanted to meet Alberto Toomy.

  ‘Be there in exactly three hours. That should give you just enough time to get here from Esperanza. If that’s where you’re calling from.’

  ‘We’ll keep our part of the agreement, Austral. And I know you’ll keep to yours, but let’s stay in touch. If there’s anything else you need—’

  ‘Three hours,’ I said, and snapped the fone in half and skimmed the pieces over the side of the boat. I broke out another fone and texted Alicia to tell her the deal was on, deep-sixed that one too, and climbed down from the roof of the wheelhouse and told the girl it was time to go.

  She hunched into herself on the floor of the life raft as I paddled us ashore, shivering from more than the chill of the water, and when we climbed up to the quayside and she saw the runabout waiting there she stopped dead, demanded to know where I was taking her.

  ‘Not far,’ I said. ‘Long as you do exactly what I tell you to do, you’ll be back in Esperanza before the day is out.’

  ‘Like all your other plans worked out.’

  ‘I got us this far, didn’t I?’

  ‘You got us into bad trouble we’re still not out of,’ the girl said, but began to perk up as the runabout drove us past the moonlit ruins, saying that she knew where we were, this was part of Project LUCI, the Large Unconventional Cooling Initiative.