Canberra - Monday: September 27
We left Sydney so that we could be in Canberra before seven. Before driving to my parent's house, we had rented yet another car, one that would attract little attention: a white Toyota Camry. They are now ubiquitous on any Aussie road.
Once in Canberra everything went down according to our carefully thought out plan, it was like an episode of Mission Impossible.
I was soon ready to ring Robyn once more. I knew she would not answer my mobile number so I had bought and activated a new sim card for my mobile. It came with a new number.
"Yes?" she said in an annoyed tone.
"I wouldn't hang up if I were you," I warned her.
"Calling me from a new mobile number, how clever of you Louie. Good b?" And she started to hang up, but I interrupted her good-bye speech.
"Called home lately, Robyn?" I asked.
Silence on the phone. She waited without hanging up, I waited longer.
"What do you mean?" She asked after a while.
"Have you called home? You know your nice, four bedroom, double-brick colonial home in Deakin? That's what I meant," I explained slowly.
"How do you know where I live?" She said with surprise and concern mixed in her voice.
"I am a detective Robyn, and what I do is: 'detect'!What a fucking surprise! So I know where you live. You, and your accountant husband and your lovely daughter?. What's her name? mmm? let me see? oh yes, Michelle? I think you call her Miccie, right?" I finished.
Long, long pause. I could almost hear that sharp mind working overdrive? I could almost smell the smoke that must be pouring out of her ears.
"Are you threatening my family? My daughter, Louie? Because if you are? you are a dead man. You are fucking dead!" She finally shouted into the phone.
"My, my you are in a serious need of anger management sessions, Robyn old girl. What terrible language coming from a nice lil' ol' lady like yourself? what would Miccie say? Hang on a minute, why don't we ask her? Would like to speak with her? No, I guess not, that would not be a good idea, but you do see my point, don't you Robyn? I never threaten, you old bitch, I fuckin do," I told her coldly.
"You have gone overboard this time Louie, I am going to?" She started, wanting, no, needing to regain control of the conversation. I stomped on that move by hanging up. Since I had caller ID hidden on the phone I was using, she could not ring back. I let her stew for a while, to let her confirm that her daughter was not at home, getting ready for school.
I called her about five minutes later, I did not give her a chance to vent her frustration but started on her right off the bat, "I need you to shut the fuck now, and listen really carefully. I want Maria today or something bad is going down. I don't fuck n' care what happens after that? but for you it will be too late and you are going to be so sorry, so fuckin sorry you will have to eat a bullet by the time I am finished with you. Do you understand me?" I said, in a monotone, the monotone of a committed, determined killer, the only tone that she understood.
Silence.
"Do you understand me?" I repeated.
"Today is impossible." She finally said, hoping to buy time, time to find us.
"Oh shit! Did I say today? My mistake, I meant to say within this hour. You have ONE fucking hour, one minute over and you're fucked." I said, and I hung up I removed the sim card and burned it with my lighter. I then joined Steve in the small caf?' where Steve and I were entertaining Miccie with a chocolate milk shake and made up stories about her Mum and what a hero to her country she was. She was such a lovely kid. I found it impossible to believe that she was actually related to Robyn. She must be adopted, I concluded.
It had been easy to convince her that her mum had sent us to pick her up, especially after I had shown her my fake AIA badge. We told her that her mum had arranged for her to have a special treat before school of pancakes and milkshakes. She did not hesitate and jumped into our car enthusiastically. Now she was enjoying hearing about the mother, who she probably did not see very often. Of course, we had not intentions of hurting her in any way. In an hour, we would put her in a taxi to be taken school where she was meant to be? whatever happened.
In an hour, we would know whether my bluff had worked or not. Would my 7-2 beat Robyn's AA?
I was reasonably confident that it would work, for two reasons: first, human beings tend to judge other people using their own standards of behaviour. For example, the people with the best security on their houses are usually the crims. Robyn would decide that I was serious because she would have had no trouble doing what I was only threatening to do. Second, our adventure on the way from Melbourne had raised our status in her sick-spook top-forty. She must now believe that we were capable of anything.She may have had doubts before the 'accident' on the way back from Melbourne, now she had no doubts at all.
With these thoughts in mind, I organised for us to head over to the place we had chosen for the exchange. Fifty-five minutes after my first call to Robyn, I called her on my mobile phone again, using my original sim card. She was sure to answer a call from me now, and there was no point avoiding her tracing my location, I was about to tell her exactly where we were.
"We will do the exchange in Albert Street, just under the Commonwealth Avenue Bridge," she said without any preamble, a location that would favour her and pretty much ensure our capture or outright demise. I laughed in true delight.
"You are such a funny girl, Robyn. You do make me laugh, you know that?" I said with laughter in my voice. Robyn was as funny as cancer. "I might be slow, but I don't' think I am a downright cretin. I will tell you and your team of spooky sharp shooting shitheads, how and where it's going to go down. Understand?" I added firmly, proud of my alliteration.
"Right?speak," she did not argue, I guess she hoped I'd fall for her plan, but was prepared in any case.
"It's very easy, Robyn dear. We meet in the National Gallery entrance: just you and just Maria. Once we get Maria, I will tell you personally where Miccie is. This is going to go down in ten minutes, and by the way, we are already here, so don't try to insert your spooks before us. I can smell a spook better than a dog smells a turd, come to think of it, they ain't real different, are they, sweetie? See you in ten." And I hung up on her. I was beginning to like this reversal in our relationship.
We put Miccie in a taxi driven by a smart lady taxi driver, that we had 'prepared earlier' for just that purpose with strict instructions to deliver her to her school with no delays or stoppages. The trip would take about twelve to fifteen minutes depending on the traffic, just in time for school.
Ten minutes on the dot after my call, Robyn walked into the National Art gallery, followed by Maria. Steve rushed to Maria's side and quickly whisked her away into another taxi that was waiting outside, which we had also prepared earlier- Martha, eat your heart out. We weren't taking any chances. We were in spooks-ville, after all.
"Where is my daughter?" Robyn asked bluntly.
I raised my hand and signaled for her to wait as I watched Steve's taxi leave the curb. Not long after, a black 4WD followed in their wake. I looked at Robyn in mock disappointment.
"You could not resist the double cross, could you? Call them back now or say good bye to Miccie," I instructed.
She did not argue, and spoke into her lapel, which made me smile: she was 100% spook, no doubt about it.
"They are turning back," she said.
"Yeah? I guess we'll have to wait till they park right in front. It's not that I don't trust you dear, but? I definitely don't trust you."
She spoke into the lapel once more and a few moments later the black 4WD with the same Commonwealth Government plates pulled up outside.
"Where is my daughter?" She repeated in a strained voice that she was trying hard to control. Maybe, she did love one thing in this world.
"She is at school where she is meant to be, where else?" I said and smiled happily. It was so good to put one over her. She looked at me intensely for a moment, then she speed
dialed Michelle's school, spoke a few words and hung up.
"So, you were bluffing after all, Louie. I had feeling that you were just too weak for that sort of threat," she smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile at all.
"Well, I guess that you will never really know for sure, will you Robyn? But I am willing to bet that you considered calling the bluff , even though your own daughter's life was at stake? you must be getting soft in your old age, old girl," I said,"maybe it's time to retire?" I added helpfully, she was still staring at me intensely.
"Well, nice talking to you, Robyn dear. I hope we never see you again," I said turning around.
"Hope all you want, Breccia, but this does not end here," she promised.
"Is that a threat?" I said turning around and approaching her, a lot closer than she obviously liked, as she stepped back a step or two.
"You can bank on it," she answered.
"I don't understand you, Robyn? what the fuck do you want? Uh?" I said moving closer still. She stepped back. I could see that my proximity was unnerving her.
"I want that list," she said.
"But you said Maria's twin had it," I reminded her.
"She did, but before the accident she mailed it to Maria? and now Maria won't tell us where it is. I need it and I need now. If you can convince her to let us have it? this will all go away, I promise," she said in an attempt at reconciliation. She was now offering a metaphorical olive branch. It was no doubt made of plastic and artificial like her lies. The only things that would go away would be us, permanently.
"I'll tell you what I'll do, for old time's sakes. I'll talk to her and let you know her decision, very soon. You reckon you can wait a while?" I lied.
"Twenty four hours, Louie? and then we are coming after all of you? and that's not a threat, it's a gilt edged promise," she said and turned around and was gone through the doors of the Art Gallery. She climbed into the back seat of the 4WD. It spun it's wheels taking off in a cloud of nonexistent Canberra dust.
I immediately called Steve.
"Where are you?" I asked.
"Cruising around," he said.
"Are you being followed?" I asked.
"Well, as we had expected, there was a black 4WD on my tail from the Gallery, but now it's gone.Also, as expected, that was just a decoy. Now we have another tail, and this time he is good, very good. Follow plan B?" He asked.
"Yep, come back here and get the taxi driver to stop at the main entrance. You know? as we planned, as if you have indeed returned to pick me up. I'll wait for your tail to show up and disable him. Then, on my signal, you two run to our car in the car park and I'll meet you there," I reminded him, although I probably did not need to do so. "By the way, what's your tail look like?" I asked.
"Older model Ford falcon AU, white, with WA plates," he said
"Nice work," I said
"I know," he said.
I was hiding behind a small clump of bushes when I saw Steve's taxi arrive and park in front of the gallery. Not long after that, a vehicle fitting Steve's description appeared and parked in the street. The driver was focused on keeping a watch on Steve's taxi. I had banked on the driver's attention to be on Steve as I walked calmly to the car'sback door opened it and I placed the muzzle of my Glock onto the back of his head.
"Having a good day, spook? Ehm?sorry to spoil it for you," I said, sitting in the back. He froze and did not even bother to turn around. His hands started to ease to his lap.
"Keep your paws on the steering wheel, sunshine. Now start the car and drive into the car park. I'll show you where. And listen, sunshine, if you speed gets higher than 10 K's you are going to piss me off? you don't want to do that. Nod if you understand," I said.
"You are making a big mistake? I am just waiting here to pick up my wife," he tried? what a dick! I rapped him on the head with my gun.
"Nod yor noggin if you understand," I repeated. This time he nodded.
"Now drive!" I instructed somewhat harshly.
He started the car and drove into the parking lot. I directed him to a point as far away as was possible from where our rented car was parked. I did not want him to see it and describe it to Robyn.
"Stop here; leave your hands on the wheel." I said. I speed dialed Steve, "Now mate," I said into the mobile. The spook must have figured that I might have been distracted making my call. His right hand started to slip toward his lap again. So I wrapped him on the head with my gun. This one was hard enough to bring tears to my eyes.
"What's with you? You stupid or something? Which part of 'leave your hands on the wheel' didn't you understand?" I asked.
I could see that he was now momentarily disorientedfrom my gun-smack, so I took the opportunity to place my gun on the seat next to me, reach over and handcuff one of his hands, then I pushed the other hand through the steering wheel and handcuffed it also. His hands were now handcuffed to each other and to the steering wheel.
Reclaiming my gun, I exited through the back door and looked through the driver's side window.
"Trust me? I'm a doctor," I said to him as I reached inside his coat and frisked him.
I found a wallet, which I threw on the floor of the car. A gun, standard issue Berretta, I kept it. Spooks guns are always clean with no record of who purchased them and who owned them. It was a good thing to have, just in case. I crunched his mobile phone on the ground beside me with the heel of my shoe.
"Well, agent Unlucky, I know it has turned out to be a bad day for you. But it will get worse when Robyn gets here, I reckon. Have a nice life." I said, patting his face. He stared at me, his expression left no doubt about the feelings he had for me: so much hate inside these spooks, it must give them ulcers.
I left him pondering on his imminent demotion to the back of Siberia and jogged to our hire car. Steve was in the driver's seat, engine going. Maria was in the back seat. As I got into the car, she smiled, and it was like someone had just turned on a light.
"How' are you going, Maria? Sorry it has taken us so long to get to you," I said.
"I knew you would, "she said, "but I am so, so tired? I need to sleep?do you guys mind if I just close my eyes for a few minutes? just a few minutes. That bitch would not leave me alone for a second, I have not slept for two days," she did not wait for our answer, but curled up in a foetal position across the back seat and was out like a light.
"Where to Bwana?" Steve asked.
"You go quick, quick to big village near sea," I answered in a very bad imitation of an African tribe's man accent.
"I am on it," Steve said.
"You are always on it," I said
"I know that," he said
"Me too," I said.
We did not know it then, but the shit was going to miss the fan all together and land smack into our faces.