Crystal Ice

by Warren Miner-Williams

  “Pete you dumb fuck, what are you trying to do, kill the woman? We need her conscious to tell us where Heta is.”

  Brian pushed his brother away from the woman then gestured for Ngaire Rakena to come in. After closing the door, the two Rupene brothers grabbed Ada by the arms and dragged her along the hallway to the kitchen, situated at the back of the house. They dumped the unconscious woman in a heap on the floor before checking the rest of the house.

  “Oh fuck, what are you doing here?” Cried Brian Rupene.

  In the front room, sitting at ease in an orange and tan upholstered armchair, was Sonny Rewaka. Beside him stood two of his bodyguards, Solomon Huata and his cousin, Marcus Pani.

  “Yes Brian. ‘Oh fuck’ just about sums up the shit you and your stupid brother have just stepped in. I hope you haven’t hurt Mrs Henare, because if you have you can guarantee that you are going to be pounded twice as much. I presume Ngaire is with you?”

  “You think you and these two fucking apes can take us on?” said Pete Rupene, taking a flick knife from his pocket. There was a sharp double click as the 15 cm double-edged blade was released and locked open. As Pete levelled the knife to threaten Sonny, a police baton swished through the air and smashed down on his wrist. Pete dropped the knife instantly and fell to the ground in agony. Writhing on the floor, he screamed at his attacker.

  “You’ve broken my wrist you fat fuck.”

  His attacker, Samuel Huata, stood above his victim, smiling, happy with his handiwork.

  “Looks real bad Pete,” said Sonny, “sticking out at a funny angle too. Perhaps you could straighten it for him, Samuel.”

  Before Pete Rupene could squirm out of the way, Samuel trod on his forearm and kicked his hand till it was straight once more. Pete’s strangled scream trailed away as he passed into unconsciousness.

  “Boss, you’d better come and see what they’ve done to Ada,” said Samuel.

  They filed into the kitchen, where Ngaire was struggling with the back door, panic-stricken, trying to escape.

  “You’ll need this I think, Ngaire,” said Sonny opening his hand to show her the key. Ngaire turned to rush into the hallway, but Brian Rupene blocked her way, his arms pinned behind him by Solomon Huata.

  Marcus Pani grabbed Ngaire by the hair and pulled her back into the kitchen. Sonny was kneeling by the still-unconscious body of Ada Henare. The blood from her nose had pooled on the linoleum floor was already starting to congeal. Worried that she might suffocate, Sonny rolled her onto her front and ensured that her breathing was unobstructed.

  “You bastards have really fucked her over, haven’t you? Do the honours would you Marcus.”

  With that, Marcus Pani elbowed Ngaire on the nose. Blood splattered the wall behind her, before pouring freely down the front of her shirt.

  “You bastard Rewaka, you’ll die for this,” blubbered Ngaire spitting blood and mucous in his direction.

  “We’ll see about that later Ngaire shall we? Solomon, I think Brian seems a little left out, don’t you? He hasn’t paid his debt for nearly killing Mrs Henare.”

  “Whoa, fucking whoa! I was just a pawn in this whole affair Sonny. She fucking well put me up to this. I never wanted the woman hurt. You must have heard me when we came in. You know what Pete’s like. I’m sorry, really I am.”

  “And you’re sorry about Andrew Kuri too, I suppose?”

  “Yeh, that was Pete and Ngaire again.”

  “You fucking weasel, Rupene!” screamed Ngaire. “You’re just a yella-bellied coward. Mister fucking big shot until someone threatens you, you fucking scum.” Spitting blood and phlegm at Brian Rupene’s face Ngaire almost escaped from Marcus Pani’s grip in an effort to reach him.

  “Come come children, let's not bicker about who is responsible for your brutality. I think that you’re all guilty. Solomon, an arm please.”

  Like the snap of a dry stick, a sickening crack heralded the breaking of Brian Rupene’s forearm. The inevitable scream was quickly stifled as Solomon clamped his hand across Rupene’s mouth.

  “There now, we’re all fair and square for the ill treatment of Mrs Henare. But there is still a debt to pay for the attack on Kuri. So how about it folks,” asked Sonny Rewaka taking a blood-stained hammer from his belt. “Who’s going to be first?”

  “How the fuck did you get that, that’s my ha….”

  Pete-the-prick could never properly co-ordinate his mouth with his brain and now he had condemned them all with his loose tongue.

  “Ah, a confession I believe boys, we have a confession. So, Pete, I think you should be first.”

  “No Sonny, no,” squealed Pete as he tried to back away from Sonny. “I’ll do anything you ask, please don’t fucking hit me, please.”

  “Was this how Kuri begged? Begged that you shouldn’t hit him anymore?”

  “It was Brian and Ngaire that hit him with the hammer, not me Sonny I just…I just…”

  “Just what Pete, just hit him only once or twice? Or perhaps you held him down while the others hit him? Perhaps you stifled his screams when the others hit him, is that JUST how it was Pete?”

  “Don’t Sonny. Don’t do it here.” whispered Ada Henare, who had regained consciousness. Sonny knelt down once more and spoke to Ada softly.

  “Ada, they came here to kill Sarah, you know that don’t you? They would have butchered her mercilessly. They need sorting.”

  Ada Henare struggled to raise herself up and needed Sonny’s help to sit upright. The bleeding from her nose had stopped but her face was starting to swell. Purple and red bruising already visible.

  “I don’t want this scum in my kitchen Sonny. Take them somewhere else, please.”

  Sonny helped the old woman onto her feet, and steadied her as her legs started to shake.

  “We’ll have to get you some medical attention Ada, before your eyes close up completely.”

  “Yes, Solomon can take me into Taupo later. But I mean it Sonny, don’t kill them here, not in this house please.”

  “OK Ada, we won’t, but we can’t go now someone will see us taking them to the car. We can’t risk that, so let’s keep them quiet till dark then we’ll be out of here, I promise.”

  As Sonny replaced the hammer in his belt there was an audible sigh of relief from both the Rupene brothers. Ngaire though was still defiant.

  “You haven’t the balls to kill me, Sonny Rewaka, you ain’t got the balls for it.”

  “Tape these shit-heads up guys, and Solomon when your finished take Ada to the hospital.”

  Just like trussing up Christmas turkeys, the three bodyguards quickly immobilised Ngaire and her henchmen with the duct tape they had brought especially for the purpose. With extra tape round their mouths, they were gagged as well.

  While Marcus and Samuel cleaned up the blood in the hallway and kitchen, Solomon took Ada to the hospital in Taupo. Sonny kept his eye on the prisoners who were now huddled together on the kitchen floor, their eyes reflecting the terror to come. Defiance had even drained away from Ngaire as she anticipated what was to come.

  ***

  The smile on Robbie’s face was priceless and as Alice performed her tricks for him the smile got bigger and bigger.

  “Wow Uncle Petera, she’s so clever, she ought to be on the TV.”

  Robbie straightened his arm in readiness to throw once more, the pig’s attention firmly fixed on the stick in the boy’s hand. When he threw it, Alice immediately raced after it.

  “I wish I could have a pig as a pet Mum, I’d teach it all kinds of neat stuff.”

  “Well, when I win the Lotto on Saturday and buy a lifestyle block like this, I promise I’ll buy you a pig.”

  Alice had returned with the stick in her mouth and waited for her reward, half an apple.

  “Watch this next trick Robbie you’ll love this one,” said Petera as he walked into the paddock with three different coloured buckets. “I’m going to put an apple under one of these buckets and when you tell her which one it
’s under, she’ll go straight to it. It’ll be under this one.” Petera had placed the buckets upside down, three metres apart before he stood back to watch.

  “Alice, there’s an apple under the green bucket. Go get it girl.”

  The pig went straight to the green bucket and using her nose knocked it over to claim the apple.

  “Wow that’s so neat, do it again Uncle Petera!”

  Petera put another apple under the red bucket this time while the pig trotted back to Robbie for her reward, another half apple.

  “Alice go to the red bucket.” Shouted Robbie.

  Once again, the pig went straight to the correct bucket and retrieved her reward. There was really no trick to this because Alice could smell which bucket contained the apple, but it looked impressive and Robbie was ecstatic. As he jumped up and down applauding the pig’s performance Alice returned to his side for her final reward. With no apples left, the show was over. As Robbie scratched Alice behind her right ear and the pig nuzzled up close to him. Her were eyes closed, entranced by the pleasure of the boy’s touch.

  “Pigs are really clever aren’t they mum? When we win the Lotto, I definitely want a pig. One like Alice so that I can teach it tricks. Simon Blanchard will be so jealous when I tell him tomorrow. He’ll probably accuse me of lying, but I don’t care. Can we stay a bit longer mum? Can I, Uncle Petera?”

  “Yes Robbie, but stay in the paddock, I’ve sprayed the others this morning with pig, …pooh.”

  “OK, I will.” And with that Robbie coaxed Alice along the border fence, as if he was leading a dog.

  Rewa looked across at the boy, and imagined that Carl would be so proud of his son. Wrinkling her nose, she turned to Petera.

  “So that’s what that awful smell is, you sprayed it the last time I was here too. Do you do it deliberately Petera?”

  “It’s to keep the grass in good order.”

  “You must have the best grass in the country the times you spray that…stuff around. Don’t your neighbours complain? I would if I had that stink to contend with more than once in a blue moon.”

  “They have complained once or twice, but they’re way down the road and it must disperse by the time it gets down there, and no I don’t spray all that often.”

  “No, just when I come to visit.”

  “It’s not that bad, is it?”

  “Yes, it is. You must be immune to it.”

  Petera didn’t know what to say. So, he quickly changed the conversation.

  “Let’s go sit on the deck and I’ll get some L&P.”

  “World famous in New Zealand,” said Rewa repeating, the company slogan.

  As Petera set out three glasses and the refrigerated L&P on the deck of his bungalow, he called across the paddock to where he could see Robbie and Alice.

  “Robbie, some cold drink for you here!”

  “OK.” The boy shouted back, but made no move to return to Petera and his mother.

  “He’s a fine boy Rewa, a great kid.”

  “Yes, I know, you keep telling me. Pour the drinks, I’m parched.”

  “Did you know that Tio is dead?” said Petera, changing the tone of the conversation.

  “Yes, I did. Washed overboard. He must have died quickly, coz’ I don’t think he ever learned to swim. Years ago, I remember him getting sick on Lake Taupo. Seems daft to me taking a job on a ship when you’re prone to seasickness. And I’d hate to be away from my whanau for months at a time.”

  “Did you know him well?

  “No. He was weird; I was glad when he left for the smoke. I remember he was sweet on a girl called…Ngaire... um…gosh, I can’t remember her other name. Umm…Rakena, that’s it. I saw her name in the Herald a while back, she was the woman who was married to that gang member who was killed, Daniel Tua.”

  “I don’t think they were married, they just lived together, fought tooth and nail and had loads of kids.”

  Whoa! You know her too?”

  “I knew Tua at school. I went to his tangi. I remember seeing Ngaire there, she looked a hard bitch.”

  “Bloody hell, you know gang members like Tua?” exclaimed Rewa.

  “We both went to Karaka Primary. He, Sonny Rewaka and me were the kings of the playground. Tua was different then. Still stupid but not as mean.”

  “Rewaka and Tua were, are, the leaders of the Skorpions Motorcycle Gang. You’re not a gang member too, are you?

  “No, my life went in a different direction to theirs,” Petera lied. Each syllable he uttered burned his tongue. He hated lying to Rewa, but she wouldn’t understand. She had already given her opinion on drugs and if she knew the truth about him, she would dump him for sure. He couldn’t risk that. Just imagining the consequences made his stomach turn. He realised then that he’d made a mistake bringing them to the bungalow. He should’ve kept his big mouth shut. Graham-Collins had warned him what the gang might do to him, he now realised that it was not only his life at risk but theirs too. He slumped in his chair, imagining the horror of Tua’s death and extrapolated forward from there. What would happen to Robbie and Rewa? Sonny was loyal to him, but how far would that go if the lab was in danger of being discovered. “God,” he whispered to himself. How stupid could he be? Rewa was his world, and Robbie he saw as his own… “God,” he repeated.

  “Are you OK Petera? What’s the matter?”

  “Oh, nothing,” he lied again, “I’m just thinking what my life would be like if I had joined the gang with Danny and Sonny. It’s sad to say, but I’m glad old man Reihana died and left the farm to me. Shit, it doesn’t bear thinking about if I had been with them.” By now Petera was starting to sweat, he had a major stuff-up here in the making and he didn’t know how to get himself out of it.

  “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost”

  “I’m OK, just frightening myself, thinking of how things would be so different if I didn’t have the farm.”

  “Yes, drugs, fighting, rape. The list’s endless. And to cap it all we wouldn’t have met.”

  “That’s what’s the most frightening.”

  “Oh, come here you big twit. Why get so worked up about what might have been? We’re here now, we don’t need to worry about the ‘what ifs,’ of the past, there’s enough to worry about in the future.”

  Petera knelt in front of Rewa and hugged her fiercely. He’d really landed in the shit and he couldn’t see his future with Rewa and Robbie at all. Tears welled up in his eyes as he struggled with the reality of his situation. He was inescapably linked to this farm, the drug lab and whatever new shit the Croatians were up to with the eggs. What was he going to do? He couldn’t walk away, how could he explain that to Rewa.

  “Petera you’re so upset. Whatever is the matter? Come on, we’re OK, things are good yeh?”

  “Uncle Petera what’s the matter?” Robbie’s words had the same effect that a bucket of ice water would have if it had been tipped over his head and Petera’s self-control quickly snapped back into safe mode.

  “Oh, nothing Robbie, just some sad thoughts, that’s all. Here, have your L&P before it runs out of bubbles.”

  ***

  Just after 11 o-clock, travelling south on State Highway 1 along the Desert Road, the Land Cruiser carrying Sonny, his bodyguards and their captives turned onto an unsealed road that would take them deep into the Umukaikari Ranges. Negotiating the track and its multitude of potholes in the dark was difficult.

  After an hour of leaping and lurching along an even rougher forest track, Marcus pulled over and Sonny ordered Ngaire and the Rupene brothers out. In the harsh brightness of the vehicle’s headlights Samuel Huata forced their prisoners onto their knees. Ngaire’s face was now swollen and covered in dried blood, her flattened nose pointing oddly towards her left ear. The Rupene brothers were both cradling their injured arms in an effort to alleviate the residual pain. With Marcus and Samuel at each side, they faced Sonny almost blind from the glare of the vehicle’s headlights. As Sonny picked up the claw hammer that
had been used on Andrew Kuri, and the pleading began again.

  “Sonny, Sonny please don’t, I’m begging you, please.”

  As in some terror-stricken mantra, they all blubbered promises and begged Sonny for mercy. How little they knew their gang leader.

  “Loyalty above all else, isn’t that the most important pledge that each of you swore to uphold?”

  “Yes,” they all cried, almost in unison.

  “Well, I’ve got news for you all – you fucked up when you took up against me. You fucked up again when you beat the shit out of Andrew Kuri and you fucked up a third time the moment you started to drive south to kill Sarah Heta. By the way, she’s safe from you and any other stupid fucking idiot you’ve recruited. What did you think was going to happen when you thought you could kill innocent people, our people, and take up arms against me? You thick, stupid fuckers, you deserve all you’re gun’ to get. So do I have a volunteer?”