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  22 year old Army corporal Kieran Montgomery was sentenced to three years in prison and a further seven years probation, following the stabbing of a doorman outside a Gold Coast nightclub. He also faces a military tribunal following the reported mistreatment of suspects during a UN peacekeeping mission in Indonesia…

  I guess he kept the cutting so he could show all his pals what a tough guy he was. There was a Visa card

  stuck underneath. I pulled it out. The PIN number was written where it had been taped. . . . ‘OWWWW, God. Will you leave my sodding nipple alone for five minutes?’

  She was filthy and she smelled bad, but she was alive. ‘Morning,’ Sami said. ‘Man… Are you OK? I couldn’t sleep, I was worrying about you so much.’ ‘You seemed to be sleeping fine when I walked in.’ I sat up and rubbed my eyes. It was just starting to get light. ‘I suppose you have to doze off eventually or you’d drop dead.’ She stood with one boot on either side of me and knelt over my stomach. ‘Kiss me.’ ‘No way,’ I laughed. ‘Your breath stinks.’ She pinned my shoulders, blew her disgusting breath under my nose and ran her tongue up my cheek.

  Somehow, it managed to be sexy and gross at the same time. ‘Some boyfriend you are. I go missing and you don’t even want to kiss me.’ I put my hand around her neck and gave her a good snog. ‘I want to do a lot more than kiss you… Just, not the way you smell at the moment.’ ‘This must count as a special occasion,’ Sami said. I nodded eagerly, ‘There won’t be anyone down at the stream this early.’

  . . .

  We walked back from the pool, checking in to see Desi on the way. His hand was a mess, but it looked like he’d be OK. ‘So,’ I said, back in the hut. ‘What happened?’ ‘It’s embarrassing,’ Sami said. ‘I’m gonna make some bullshit heroic story up for public consumption,

  but I’ll tell you the truth if you swear to keep it secret.’ This sounded good. ‘OK,’ I nodded. ‘I swear on my life.’ Sami smiled, ‘No, on me ripping off your nipple if you ever tell anyone else.’ ‘OK, on the nipple. I swear. Just tell us.’ ‘You know the last time I saw you, I said I was going to the toilet?’ I nodded, ‘Yeah.’ ‘Well, it was getting pretty stinky near to the road, so I walked a couple of hundred metres into the trees and pulled down my trousers. While I’m sitting there peeing, this bullet hammered into a tree right beside me. I hadn’t heard any noise before that; it must have been the first shot fired. I jumped out of my skin and hit my head on a branch. When I came around, it was dark and I still had my trousers round my ankles.’ I started to laugh, ‘That’s superb. I’m telling everyone.’ ‘You swore on the nipple,’ Sami said. I was laughing so much I could hardly breathe. ‘Can it Killer, it’s not that funny.’ ‘It is,’ I gasped. ‘So what are you going to tell everyone else?’ Sami shrugged, ‘Saw a couple of bad guys in the trees, chased them, killed them and couldn’t find my

  way back.’ ‘Sound’s plausible. How did you get back?’ ‘When I came around, I wandered to the road and realised you were all gone. There was army everywhere. I nicked one of their big Nissans and drove home.’

  16. TRANQUILITY

  There was a chance the government would flood the area with bad guys to try and get it’s money back, so camp went into stealth mode. We didn’t go on raids. We camouflaged our vehicles even more than usual, moved a couple of huts under the trees so that they wouldn’t be seen if a helicopter went over, kept fires to a minimum and had two men on guard 24/7.

  With the pressure of missions off us, we caught up on sleep and I relaxed for the first time in a month. I hunted with Beck most mornings. David and Sami came a few times and we all pissed Beck off by mucking about and not taking it seriously.

  . . .

  Me and Sami discovered our spot by accident. We were holding hands when we came to the giant crater a kilometre from camp where copper was mined before the war. All the trees had been taken out and the topsoil dredged down to the grey ore underneath. The rock would have been drilled, blasted and crushed; then trucked away for refining.

  Some of the machinery had been abandoned. There was a massive dump truck, sunk down on deflated tyres. Anything portable, like the seats in the cab or the lamps on the front had been stripped away. What remained was rusty steel, with the odd burst of yellow paint.

  Between the rocks, the jungle was growing back. Snakes, birds and lizards lived amidst tufts of grass and saplings. The dominant species was a stalky yellow flower. When a breeze hit, thousands of them swayed gently and sprung back, as if they were waving at us.

  Me and Sami always sat in the same place; a shadeless patch of earth along the rim of the crater. We never kissed there, we hardly even spoke. We just laid still staring at the flowers and the clouds. The sun, that sapped our energy when we had to work or travel, made us warm and relaxed; almost like we were melting into each other. When we stood up to walk back to camp, our moist skin ripped apart like strips of sticky tape.

  . . .

  I gave Captain the Aussie’s radio. We didn’t leave it on all the time, because you couldn’t just pop down the newsagent and buy another set of batteries. It was switched on for two fifteen minute bursts a night. Rebel Radio was our side’s cheesy propaganda station. We’d all gather in the main building and listen to the news. We learned of the latest heroic triumphs and our continuing advance against demoralised government troops. On the turn of the next hour, we turned to the government station and got told how rebel troops were failing in their desperate attempt to advance into government territory. The truth laid somewhere between the two sets of lies, but we had no way to know where.

  . . .

  There was always something scary about getting invited to Captain’s office after dark, even though he didn’t have Don to crank up the fear factor anymore. He’d asked me not to bring Sami, which was weird. A twenty centimetre stack of banknotes sat between us on the table.

  ‘We’re starting raid’s again,’ Captain said. ‘I think enough time has passed for you to go and look for your brother. You can leave with Sami tomorrow.’ ‘Excellent,’ I said. After two weeks dossing about in the sun, I wasn’t exactly thrilled about the prospect of doing

  anything; but it had to happen sometime. ‘There’s a more personal matter to deal with first,’ Captain said. ‘What’s that?’ ‘Your relationship with my daughter.’ ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘I’ve decided it can’t continue in it’s present form.’ That was bad. Captain wasn’t the sort of girlfriend’s Dad where you could just say I don’t care what

  you think and carry on seeing her. ‘I take it you’ve been having sex?’ I’d learned the painful way that it was best not feed Captain lies, or even half truths. ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘I take it you don’t have a hidden cache of contraceptives?’ ‘No.’ ‘So, sooner or later, you plan on impregnating my daughter?’ ‘I certainly don’t plan to.’ ‘But it can only be a matter of time,’ Captain said. ‘I suppose.’ Captain laughed, ‘You suppose. Why do you only suppose?’ ‘OK,’ I nodded. ‘She’s going to get pregnant before much longer.’ ‘Where does that leave Sami?’ Captain asked. ‘We’ll… I love her.’ ‘That’s nice Jake. But what happens if you rescue baby brother, head for home and I’m left with a

  sixteen year old daughter who’s been knocked up?’ ‘I wouldn’t do that to her.’ ‘I almost believe you, Jake. You seem like a decent young chap, but I can’t let this relationship go on

  without you making a commitment.’ ‘What kind of commitment?’ ‘Marriage.’ Captain stayed quiet for a few moments, watching the thermonuclear explosion going off in my head. ‘That’s insane,’ I eventually spluttered. ‘I’m fifteen years old.’ ‘In my book, if you’re old enough to have a sexual relationship, you’re old enough to get married.’ ‘Well… I…’ It also means that when you leave here, Sami will go with you.’ That was definitely a major up side. I didn’t ever want to leave her. ‘I don’t know what to say.’ ‘If you don’t want to marry her. I’ll have to send you to go and live with Casino’s men.’ ‘But then I’ll never see h
er again,’ I said desperately. Captain smiled. ‘I can’t even start getting my head around this.’ ‘We’ll you’d better, Jake. I’ve already given it quite a lot of thought; which brings me to this.’ Captain nudged the pile of money on the desk. ‘There are two ways for you to get home. If the rebel push succeeds, you can leave via the east. Take a bus into Uganda, where communications are fairly reliable and contact your Mother from there. This should be straightforward, but you’ll still need this money for food and transport. If we fail in our advance, you could try leaving via the west towards the capital. Even with money, that will still be risky.’ ‘What if Sami doesn’t want to marry me?’ ‘Persuade her. For my sake, as well as yours.’ ‘For your sake?’ I’ve lost a wife and five kids in this war. I want something more for my last child than to die out here

  from a bullet. Marry my daughter. Take her somewhere safe. You’re a good person and I know you love her.’ Captain looked quite emotional. ‘Even if I married her here, I’m not sure it would count in England. I’m too young.’ ‘If you love Sami, you’ll find a way to save her. When Edo died, I prayed to god. I begged him to give Sami a chance of life. I think God sent you here to fall in love with her. I think you’re here to answer my prayers.’ ‘It sound’s nuts,’ I shrugged. ‘But I do love her.’ Captain went in his desk drawer. My mind leapt to the torture stuff, but he pulled out a bottle of

  whisky and a couple of plastic tumblers. ‘Drink?’ I nodded. He filled my tumbler half way up. I shoved it down in two huge gulps. . . .

  ‘So, what did Dad want?’ I started to crack up laughing. If I kept my head still, the room carried on moving. ‘Have you been drinking?’ Sami asked. I’d had two huge whiskeys with Captain, plus two beers and some vodka with Jesus and Amin. ‘Absolutely not,’ I slurred. ‘You love me, don’t you?’ Sami smiled. I pulled a vodka bottle out of my jacket. ‘Would you like a drink?’ Sami twisted the top off the bottle and took a couple of mouthfuls. ‘You’re completely pissed, Jake. If you throw up on my sleeping mat, I’m gonna mop it up with your

  head.’ ‘Your father is insane.’ Sami laughed and drank a bit more. ‘Why is he insane?’ ‘He thinks God sent me here to save you.’ ‘I know.’ ‘You don’t understand… He wants me to marry you and take you home with me. Otherwise, he’s

  gonna make me go and live with Casino’s unit.’ ‘I know,’ Sami said, calmly. ‘What do you mean, you know? Are you listening to a word I’m saying?’ ‘Dad spoke to me this morning when you were out hunting.’ ‘We spent the whole afternoon together and you didn’t say a word.’ Sami smiled, ‘He asked me not to.’ ‘You’re all bloody mad,’ I said. I grabbed the bottle of vodka off Sami and started to guzzle. She snatched it back off me before I drank

  the whole lot. ‘Don’t drink any more. We’re supposed to go off looking for Adam in the morning and you’ll be in a

  right state.’ She put the bottle to her lips and drained it. ‘What did Captain say?’ I asked. ‘I think his exact words were: If you get knocked up, I’ll kill the pair of you. Marry him or I’ll kick his

  worthless butt out of here. ’ ‘You couldn’t talk him out of it?’ ‘He’s got a point,’ Sami said. ‘If I get pregnant and you abandon me, I’m in a big mess. It’s tough for a

  single Mum any place, but what’s it gonna be like for me out here?’ ‘I could still abandon you. Men leave their wives all the time.’ ‘Dad’s religious,’ Sami said. ‘As far as he’s concerned, marriage is a vow made before god. If you break

  the vow, he doesn’t have to worry because God will punish you for it.’ ‘The old trident up the arse theory,’ I said. Sami laughed, ‘Pretty much.’ ‘It’s cool anyway,’ I said. ‘I want to marry you. How could anyone not want to? You’re totally hot. You

  want to marry me?’ ‘No,’ Sami said. ‘Not after a rubbish proposal like that.’ I pulled my revolver off the shelf and pointed it at my head. Sami started to laugh. ‘I can’t go on without you babe.’ Sami nodded, ‘Better.’ ‘Life wouldn’t be worth living. Will you marry me?’ Sami shrugged, ‘All right then.’ ‘Cool,’ I giggled. ‘Is there any more booze about?’

  17. PUNCH

  It was barely light. I felt a bit delicate, but not bad considering the amount I’d drank the night before. Captain unrolled a map on his desk. It showed about a hundred miles around camp, with major geographical features and roads. He’d added hundreds of his own markings, showing minor roads, footpaths, military installations and good spots for ambushes. ‘So, any decisions yet?’ Captain asked. I nodded, ‘Looks like we’re getting married.’ ‘Thought you might,’ Captain grinned. ‘Welcome to the family… Anyway, I reckon Grandma lived

  about here.’ Captain tapped an area on the map. Sami nodded, ‘That’s right, just after the bend in the road.’ ‘Like I expected, there’s a big lake three kilometres into the bush. That’s where you’ll find your fisherman, if he’s still around. Desi’s going to drop you off. You’ll have to walk the last ten kilometres, though. I still reckon it’s dodgy sending a vehicle down that road. You’ll probably have to search quite a big area to have any chance of finding Adam, so we’ll pick you up tomorrow at sundown.’

  . . .

  ‘Oh shit,’ Desi shouted. ‘Never seen a roadblock down here before.’

  When we planned an ambush, we always did it just around a corner, or past the top of a hill, so you were right on top before you spotted it. The army used the same strategy placing roadblocks. It was only fifty metres ahead. ‘Shoot or run?’ Desi asked, slowing the Nissan to a crawl. Sami was in the front of the Nissan next to him. ‘There’s a line of spikes in the road.’ Sami said. ‘But there’s only a couple of guys standing there. I say

  we take them out.’ ‘Could be more in the trees,’ Desi said. ‘It’s just conscripts,’ Sami said. Desi nodded, ‘You’re the boss.’ He stopped about fifteen metres short of the spikes and wound down the window. A soldier stepped

  into the road. ‘Come forward,’ the soldier shouted, gesturing with his hand. Desi leaned out and acted like he couldn’t hear.

  ‘Pardon?’ Sami turned to me, ‘You get in the bushes. We’ll lure them out.’ I crept out the back door and sprinted into the trees. The soldier caught sight of me and started

  shouting at Desi. ‘Hey hey,’ The soldier shouted edgily. ‘What are you playing at?’ ‘Pardon?’ Desi shouted again. Three more soldiers heard the shouting and came out of a tent beside the spikes. When the soldier was about five metres short of the Nissan, Desi fired his AK47. A couple of rounds hit the soldier in the stomach. Desi reversed the Nissan around the corner, out of sight. Meanwhile, I’d scrambled through the bushes, positioning myself so the soldier who’d been shot was directly in front of me. He was squirming on the ground, hands over his guts and coughing blood out of his mouth.

  The other three soldiers ran to help their stricken colleague. None of them had seen me get out and the one on the ground was in too much pain to warn them. I was worried there might be more soldiers in hiding, but there wasn’t much I could do if there was.

  The three leaned over their colleague. They looked hopelessly at one another, with no clue how to give treatment. It felt unfair, killing them from such close range. I pulled the trigger. A couple of rounds hit one soldier in the back. Then my AK went quiet. I frantically pulled the trigger a couple more times, but all I got was a hollow clunk.

  Time really does go slow when you’re scared. I watched the bloke I shot fall on top of the one Desi shot. The other two were turning towards me, clicking their M16s onto automatic fire.

  I ducked down and crawled into the thick undergrowth, knowing I was in some deep shit. I took my revolver from it’s holster. It wasn’t going to be much help though: a revolver versus two M16s is like a bicycle going head to head with a tank. Bullets started whooshing through the branches around me.

  Desi and Sami had jumped out of the Nissan and were moving towards the scene, expecting me to have made a neater job of things. They started shooting as soon as t
hey realised it had all gone pear shaped.

  I got my ankle tangled up in a creeper. One soldier was crashing through the leaves coming towards me. Desi took out the other one, who was still in the road.

  I fired a couple of panicked shots at the moving branches. My enemy toppled forwards, collapsing a few metres away. I took a proper aim and shot him a couple more times to finish him off. Sami and Desi shot up the corpses, making sure we didn’t get any nasty surprises.

  I stumbled into the road, holding up my revolver in case anyone jumped out of hiding, but it seemed like we’d got the lot. ‘Looks clear,’ Sami said. ‘What happened Killer? Are you OK?’ ‘Bit rattled,’ I said. ‘My rifle jammed.’ Desi was shaking his head and whistling through his teeth, ‘That always happens at the worst

  moments.’ ‘I don’t know why it jammed,’ I said. ‘Give us a look,’ Sami said. I handed the rifle over. She took off the magazine and looked inside the gun. ‘Come here,’ Sami said, sounding a bit annoyed. She held the gun up to my face. ‘What’s that Killer?’ She snapped. ‘Oh,’ I said. ‘It looks like a touch of rust got inside.’ Her fist smashed into my nose. I wasn’t expecting it, so it hit me square on. ‘Idiot,’ she shouted. Sami might have been a girl, but she didn’t punch like one. I cupped my hands over my face and

  watched my blood pouring into them. ‘What was that for?’ I asked. ‘Because you’re a total moron.’ Sami grabbed my arm, twisted me around and kneed me in the guts. Then she shoved me backwards

  onto the ground and threw the gun in the dirt, a few centimetres from my face. ‘Look at the state of it,’ she shouted. ‘It’s a disgrace.’ She stood right over me. I was half expecting her boot in my face, but I didn’t get it. ‘When did you last clean that heap of shit?’ I sat up, holding my stomach and groaning. ‘I cleaned it after we grabbed the money,’ I said. She put her hands on her hips. ‘That’s over two weeks ago. With that amount of corrosion, you’re lucky it didn’t blow off your hand.’ I started standing up. I hurt in about five different places. ‘I didn’t know we were going out today,’ I said. ‘I never got a chance to clean it.’ ‘You had time to get drunk though.’