The Codetalkers
by Beau Cornerstone
Copyright 2013 by Beau Cornerstone
4th Edition
Before you start reading...
Did you swipe this ebook? Or accept a copy of a copy from someone else?
Let your conscience guide you.
(Chances are this ebook is free there anyway!)
Other ebooks for young adults by Beau Cornerstone
Book 1: The Weathermakers
For younger readers - History Changers: Expedition 2022
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Other ebooks in the series
References and further reading
Preamble
The lengthening shadows finally convinced me to come out of hiding. I poked my head out of the hole in the shed wall. Four year old Petrina was sitting on the back steps. Eyes met eyes. I held my finger to my lips, wriggled out and brushed myself off. I picked my way back to the hostel past puddles of I-didn’t-know-what and warily avoided the shapeless heaps of I-didn’t-want-to-know-what.
Reprieve.
The men who’d hounded me for 1200 kilometres weren’t in my room. I sank onto my bed and closed my eyes jadedly. Inside, I felt like a candle in a storm. If only I could turn back time...
It wasn’t so much the change itself that was the problem. Rather, it was the swiftness of the change. A mere week ago, as Heidi Cannikin - Award-winning Investigative Journalist - decision- making had meant choosing between Miu Miu flats and Manolo Blahnik heels. I’d swiped plastic for trendy and flashy without even looking at the price tag. Even as Hope Canney - reticent student - I had sufficient money to buy Nike sneakers and pick-me-up cappuccinos.
But now as Hope Cannikin, decision-making meant making life and death choices. And due to the hostel’s lack of water and my inaccessible funds, I had resorted to rummaging through op-shop donation bins by night for clean couture. On the plus side, I’d learned to drive with the kind of precision normally reserved for NASCAR race drivers. And I had a lifetime of stories to write. If I lived to write them...
Chapter 1
The first requisite of success is the ability to apply your physical and mental energies
to one problem without growing weary.
-Thomas Edison.
“Gidday Frank!”
“Heidi! Welcome back!”
“Good to be back in Australia. What can I do to help?”
“Help?” echoed Frank in feigned innocence.
“Four emails from you in a week. All with beguiling attachments...”
“I email you bait and you get snagged. Works every time!”
“Don’t be so pretentious Frank. I only came over to shake the cobwebs out of Pegasus.”
Frank’s grin spawned lines of amusement around his eyes.
“You would have to be the only woman I know who has a classic car stashed in a sea container on every continent she regularly visits.”
“It saves me a fortune in hire car fees.”
“And takes the bad guys longer to work out who you are when you don’t have an Avis rental agreement?”
“I like to be careful... So what’s cooking anyway?”
“Maya’s decided to go freelance.”
“Maya’s left your staff? Why?”
“She found herself some hottie on her last assignment. A scientist apparently.”
“Did he look like Rick?”
“No idea. They ran off together before she got to introduce me to him. I haven’t heard from her since... No emails... Skype calls... Not even a call from a pay phone.”
“What about her sat-phone?” I murmured.
“She didn’t take it. She was planning on staying in town at the Laverton hotel. But I made enquiries. Her name’s not on the register. And she didn’t hire a car from Avis either, like she always does. I checked.”
“That’s so... un-Maya.”
“Maybe she’s caught the spontaneity bug off you.”
I smiled caringly.
“Any idea where she ran off to?”
“No. All she said was she was hitching a ride on a military jet... I’ve rung Leonora, Laverton and Kalgoorlie airports... And none of them have a record of any RAAF jets using their facilities in the past fortnight.”
“That’s really un-Maya... I wouldn’t mind sussing out her new friend,” I ventured.
“Friends... She jetted off with three scientists... She didn’t say who they were, where they were from, or which one she eloped with. I just know that she learnt a lot off the lot of them very quickly though, whoever they were...”
“I gathered that from reading the articles she wrote about the bad guys out near Laverton... I was surprised you printed them in your Saturday edition actually.”
“High time someone scared ‘em off Western Australian soil instead of censoring the truth,” averred Frank.
“I admire your stance Frank. I’m not sure they scare so easily though. They’re kinda like white-ants. Destroy their nest and they pop up somewhere else...”
Ω
Maya peered out of the canopy of the hovering chopper and scowled.
“No way! I’m not doing it... This chopper lands or I’m staying in it Zac. And that’s final!”
“Fair enough. Stand over here a minute. Jake can go first and show you how it’s done. Here. I’ll just clip this buckle to your harness so you don’t fall out the door.”
Zac glanced clandestinely at Gordon. Gordon just managed to keep a straight face as he reached for a lever.
The belly of the chopper opened. Zac simultaneous pressed the winch button. Maya fell through the floor of the chopper and hung dangling beneath their feet. Zac furiously kept winding out the cable.
“I’ll get you for this Zac Canney!” wailed Maya loudly.
Gordon and Mad Max doubled over with laughter. Jake glanced at them both with solemn, wide eyes. Zac cleared his throat.
“Sorry Jake. You look frightened. The winch cable can hold 500 kilograms. You can go down tandem with me if you like.”
“You mean like you see on the rescue shows where the two blokes hug each other?”
“Ah ha.”
A vehement shake of the head.
“No way! That’s gay. I’ll go down by myself thank you very much!”
Zac’s eyes twinkled as Jake disappeared from view.
“You’re in for an ear-bashing when you get down there, you gay woman-pusher!” grinned Mad Max.
Zac laughed as he clipped himself to the winch and fed out the cable.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to organize someone to check on you all in a few days?” ventured Gordon with raised eyebrows.
“Nah. It’s an easy trek out of the Park. And we’ve got the H.F if you want to chat to us.”
“Righteo... Remember, if there’s a medical emergency, switch your locator beacon over to the high powered setting and hold it on for ten seconds and it’ll go into duress alarm mode. Then someone from Malmstrom Airbase will home in on you and rescue you.”
“Probably me!” interposed
Mad Max.
Zac nodded and waved farewell to Gordon and the military pilot.
“Wilco. See you in about ten days Gordon... Nice meeting you Max.”
“See ya round, ya mad scientist!” retorted Mad Max, as Zac plunged out of the chopper.
Ω
“I don’t think I’ve ever asked you,” ventured Frank. “What inspired you to be an investigative journalist anyway?”
“My big brother’s a geophysicist,” I replied. “When I was twelve, I made the mistake of asking him what an electromagnetic pulse was. And ever since, he’s kept feeding me articles about everything from weather manipulation to earthquake engineering. A fair whack of them have been written by your aliases actually...”
Frank failed to hide his astonishment.
“Not many people know that I write using aliases.”
“My brother’s got access to this intelligence database through the University of California. He gave me his password recently so I could do some research for an article I was writing. All I have to do is type #777# and it opens up all this info on people from multiple sources. When I was first learning to use it, I typed your name in. Imagine my surprise when the names Don Sarfati, Greg Bates and Jonathan Walker came up as known aliases of Frank Wieland!”
“An intelligence database? Are you sure your brother’s not a spy?”
“Quite sure. He spends most of his time doing fieldwork with boring brainiacs...”
Frank guffawed. I caught his eye.
“On the topic of fieldwork and boring brainiacs, I take it you’d like me to see what I can find out about Maya’s new friends?”
Frank rubbed his chin and sighed.
“Easier said than done. Maya was elusive about who she was hanging out with. She mentioned the Jindalee Operational Radar Network in her article and that’s in the Leonora-Laverton region. And the night she sent me her scoop, she said she was out of Laverton and that the fireballs which caused the CFL blackout over Perth had been generated near Laverton. The trouble is, the area’s vast and sparsely populated. She could have been anywhere, Heidi.”
“Not anywhere Frank. There’s mostly saltbush and red dust between Laverton and Leonora.”
“So?”
“So Maya didn’t have her sat phone... But she still answered your Skype calls and contacted you by email which means she had internet access. And we both know Maya doesn’t like roughing it, so most likely she would have been staying somewhere with four walls and a roof. Like a mine-site or a station that offered accommodation...”
“...that’s near the Jindalee facility?” mumbled Frank.
“Well we both know there’s more to JORN than meets the eye...”
Frank cleared his throat and wiped a hint of moisture from his eyes.
“Thanks for coming Heidi. I... I haven’t been able to think straight since Maya disappeared... I don’t want to interfere in her private life, but I need to know that she’s... safe.”
I caressed Frank’s shoulders. Maya style.
“We’ll find her Frank. Come on... You Google Earth... I’ll Near Maps.”
Frank sank into his chair and zoomed in on the remote north-eastern Goldfields region.
“Let’s see... Places with four walls near JORN...” he murmured. “Hmmm... there’s Murrin Murrin mine... or possibly Mulga Queen Aboriginal community...”
“...or what about this place?” I interposed. “Dave and Jen’s B & B... It’s on some eco-station... Hey check this out Frank! There’s a track running past JORN and it goes right past the back boundary of the B & B as well. And it looks well used... I can even make out tyre tracks.”
“Maybe someone working at JORN lives at the B & B.”
“Possibly. It joins up with the main road in the other direction and a fainter track runs off it and extends off towards the desert. Although we might be barking up the wrong tree. Someone might just use the track between JORN and the B & B as a shortcut to somewhere.”
“Like who?”
“The postman or a truck driver who regularly delivers to the B & B... or maybe field geologists working for a local mining company. Hmmm... That’s curious...”
“What?”
“The overlaying geological data... If you follow the fainter track out to the desert it runs right up to the Celia fault line... It looks like there’s been a large rock-fall there recently...”
“Probably mining exploration like you said. How old’s your snap from space anyway?” asked Frank.
“A week... let’s go back a month... nope... the rock-fall wasn’t there last month... but the track still looks well worn...”
“Someone’s obviously using it regularly.”
“Well it’s as good a place as any to start, since you’ve drawn a blank in town. I know...I could pretend I’m a backpacker seeking accommodation... rock up at the B & B and snoop around for any evidence of scalar weapons testing... Even ask outright if Maya stayed there...”
Frank looked pensive.
“Maya said the weapons tests were being conducted by foreign military types... If they’re still hanging around Heidi...”
“Stop being a worry-wart Frank! Australia’s one of the safest countries on the planet. No wars... extremists... militants... terrorists...”
“Just scientists that sweep my best journalists out of my life.”
“I promise if I meet some hottie scientist I’ll introduce you to him before I run off with him.”
“I’ll believe that promise if you seal it over dinner.”
I laughed warmly and eyed Frank.
“A Greek salad accompanied by the usual lecture about keeping my petite derrière out of trouble?”
“Naturally. I bet your big brother gives you the same lecture...”
“Regularly.”
Frank linked his arm through mine and we walked over to his new BMW.
“You drive,” he offered, tossing me the keys.
Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to Divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life however, there is one thing we do know.
Man is here for the sake of other men.
-Albert Einstein
Captain Ryan Adams flicked through a book he had grabbed off the table in the waiting room, drinking in the details with cautious interest.
“Can I help you?” asked Fiona Cunningham casually.
Ryan self consciously slammed the book shut and placed it on the table behind him.
“Um... The boss sent me over here.”
“Why?”
“I dunno. For a medical I guess. I only arrived this morning.”
“Ah... You must be Ryan,” said Fiona gently.
Ryan nodded faintly.
“Is the doctor in?”
“You’re looking at her.”
“Oh. Sorry. I didn’t mean to offend you.”
“No offense taken.”
Ryan cleared his throat.
“Well I guess we’d better get this over and done with then.”
“You sound like you’d prefer me to be a man.”
Ryan hesitated.
“Women have an equal right to be doctors...”
“Top marks for political correctness, but what you really mean is you’re coy about the idea of being examined by a woman.”
Ryan moistened his lips.
“I can handle it.”
Fiona’s eyes sparkled.
“You look fit enough Captain. Let’s skip peeking at your privates and chat instead.”
“You mean disobey orders?” frowned Ryan.
“John didn’t order you to report for a medical. He just sent you over here. What were you reading anyway?”
Ryan picked up the book behind him and handed it to Fiona with a hint of embarrassment.
“I wasn’t perving... I’ve just never read a book on the topic before and the pictures are interesting.”
Fiona laughed softly.
“You don’t have to justify readi
ng a book on childbirth. You’re an officer Ryan. One day in the future you might be deployed somewhere and find yourself in a situation where you have to deliver a baby.”
“No way! That’s what medicos are for.”
“In a nice neat world, yes. But life has a habit of dishing out surprises. And who do you think the men under you will look to if there’s a pregnant woman in labour and no medicos around?”
“The Academy never mentioned what to do in a scenario like that.”
Ryan glanced at Fiona’s dancing eyes and felt drawn to her.
“May I borrow this book from you? I’ll give it back.”
“The resources in the medical library are free for anyone staying here to use.”
“Thanks... Actually second thoughts, maybe I’d better leave it here for a couple of days and just sneak over here and read it instead of taking it back to my room.”
“Why?”
“I wouldn’t want to get caught out reading it. This place is full of old timers and they might think I’m weird.”
Fiona laughed deliciously. Ryan risked a cautious smile.
“Actually, there’s more than books in our outpost... over here in the corner, this computer has access to hundreds of on-line medical journals and enlisted doctors can be quizzed about anything by clicking this helpline icon. And that’s my consulting room if you need to see me in private... next door is our mobile surgery for emergency operations... and over here we’ve got the dispensary... Help yourself if I’m not here.”
“You’re not here all the time?”
“I’m based at Malmstrom. I only come out when I’m called out. But I used to live here in the Park. Want to know where my secret hidey hole was?”
Fiona tugged Ryan outside by the hand before he could reply. To his astonishment she nimbly scaled the large cherry tree outside John’s cottage. Ryan marvelled at her agility as he followed her up. Fiona hoisted herself onto a crude platform, about two thirds of the way up the tree and wriggled over to make room for him.
“This place is cool!” breathed Ryan.
“Privacy with a good view of the surroundings. So you have time to hide the book you’re reading if any of the old timers come along.”
Ryan grinned and made eye contact with Fiona.
“Thanks for showing me around. I s’pose I’d better get down. I’d hate to get you into trouble with the boss.”
“I can hold my own around the boss.”
Ryan laughed good-humouredly.
“I reckon you can at that. Maybe I’ll see you another time. Next time you’re visiting... Bye.”
“Bye Ryan,” replied Fiona, making no attempt to get out of the tree.
Ω
“So have you forgiven me for pushing you out of the chopper earlier?” asked Zac, as they stopped to let Jake take a photo of the view.
“Course. And I’ve already got even with you,” returned Maya.
“You have?”
“Yes. I pinched one of your chocolate bars out of your pack as soon as I touched terra firma. I must say you’ve packed us good grub anyway.”
Zac laughed good-naturedly and opened a muesli bar.
“Hey Zac... You still haven’t told me why you’ve brought me on this trip with you and Jake,” probed Maya.
“Aren’t you enjoying it?”
“Of course I’m enjoying it... It’s just that when we had dinner at Gordon’s place in California, he was talking like this trip was something you were taking Jake on to train him for geophysical fieldwork. And that night you said the bad guys had definitely moved on, so I was free to leave the protection of your team if I wished... And you’d hardly got the sentence out when Gordon gets the phone call from Dave and all of a sudden I’m whisked away to buy hiking boots and end up in Yellowstone Park with you as well.”
“And?”
“And every time I bring up the topic, you change it.”
“And?”
“...and I feel like tickling you to get the truth out of you!” said Maya, pawing Zac.
Zac grinned but said nothing. Maya redirected her gaze.
“Jake. Do you know anything about this enigma?”
“No.”
“You’re a very uncommunicative genius you know.”
Jake laughed.
“I honestly don’t know. But if it’s any help, Zac’s nearly ready to buckle... He’s all wriggly and breathing faster... Just stay in his personal space all touchy-feely like you’ve been doing for a bit longer and I reckon he’ll spill the beans!”
“Whose side are you on?” chortled Zac, feigning a swipe at Jake.
“Yours.”
“Alright... I’ll stop pussyfooting around with you... I guess we’re pretty safe here... And you have a right to know too Jake... Gordon and I are concerned that because of our clumsiness, you may be in danger Maya.”
“Why?”
“Your boss Frank published your articles and photos. Front cover, pages 2 and 3, and as a special four page lift-out in Saturday’s West Australian. He also ran a lot of historical articles too - about other eyewitness accounts of E/M weapons tests in Exmouth and Laverton. Your articles have been reprinted Australia wide in other papers and online. And they’ve generated a spate of eyewitness testimony confirming other sightings of weapons testing all over Australia.”
“They have? Brilliant. That means Frank owes me a bonus this month. Now I don’t need to feel as guilty about the money I spent on hiking boots.”
Zac looked at Maya with serious eyes.
“Maya, our team should have properly checked your articles before they landed on Frank’s desk. But we all went into relaxation mode instead of tying up loose ends. And I regret that now in hindsight.”
“Did I say something about you that I shouldn’t have?”
“No. Not about us. But you inadvertently revealed you were an eye-witness to the tests... And you were a woman... and a journalist... Which means someone may come looking for you - to find out if you know anything about what went wrong with the tests.”
“So? I’ll tell them I don’t.”
“It’s not that simple Maya. My team in South Korea have reported that North Korea has not ruled out the possibility of sabotage and their Minister for Defence is further investigating the matter.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning their investigators are likely to be military heavies.”
“Like the guy that pointed the gun at you near the cave?” asked Jake wide-eyed.
“Ah ha.”
“So you thought you’d hide me away in the middle of Yellowstone Park to keep me safe?”
grumbled Maya.
“We don’t have to stay here the whole time... And you just have to hang out with us for a couple of weeks... Until Gordon leaks enough fake information which waters down the credibility of the real information that accidentally got out.”
“Are you saying I’m in protective custody?!”
“No... You’re free to go at any time Maya if you have to pursue another assignment for Frank. I was hoping that you’d want to stick around with us however.”
“Why?”
“Because... I’ve really enjoyed your company. It’s been an action packed couple of weeks. And I’d like to get to know you better... and let you get to know me better. In a relaxed setting...”
“You call this relaxed?” groused Maya. “My idea of a relaxed setting is 5-star accommodation, lazing by a pool with enough money to shop-until-I-drop.”
“Then it’s time someone taught you what relaxation really is then, eh?” retorted Zac with a boyish grin.
Ω
Fiona looked up as someone rapped on her surgery door. John Cunningham walked in and draped his arms around her affectionately.
“There you are sweetie! I’ve been meaning to ask, did I see you up the cherry tree with my new aide earlier today?”
Fiona laughed breezily.
“I thought I’d share my favourite place with him. In case he nee
ds breathing space...”
“What’s your assessment anyway?”
“Short answer... You were right.”
John grimaced.
“Sounds like we’re in for a tough few weeks.”
Fiona affectionately ran her hands through John’s silver-streaked hair.
“You need a challenge every now and then daddy. To keep you from growing old.”
“Hmmm... Did you lock the narcotics away?”
“No.”
“Isn’t that risky given his family history of substance abuse?”
“No. I left him unattended with the whisky and the pethidine lying temptingly on the table in front of him and he didn’t even pick up the clearly labelled bottles. If you do see him sneaking over to the medical outpost it’ll probably be to read a book on childbirth.”
“That’s...weird.”
“No. It’s normal for young high achievers to desire to fill in their knowledge gaps.”
John looked up at the sound of an approaching chopper.
“Mad Max is here... Thanks for coming out at such short notice love.”
“Are you sure you can’t come home this weekend?”
“No. You and your mother can come and join us here if you like. But as well as newbie Ryan we’ve got a couple of additional guests arriving the day after tomorrow, so we’re all thinking of staying here this weekend.”
“Two guests don’t require all four of you to stay over!”
“One of them is Karla’s referral.”
“Oh.”
“We’re hoping one of us will click with him...”
“I’m sure one of you will,” replied Fiona, planting a kiss on John’s forehead.
“Good-bye love... I’ll call you and mum tonight...”
The secret of greatness is simple:
do better work than anyone else in your field and keep on doing it.
-Wilfred A. Peterson
Pre-dawn promised a perfect day for travelling. I coasted Pegasus out of the sea container, and loaded my camping gear and suitcase into her boot. Then I slipped out of my elegant Heidi Cannikin outfit and into fashionably casual Hope Canney clothes. I left my Heidi Cannikin hairpiece and Anna Sui shoes on. There. I was a new persona - Hope Cannikin.
I eased into the driver’s seat and let familiarity flow over me. Subtle scents of leather and vanilla. Memories of the assignments we’d shared. She was a solid production car - a classic ‘71 XY GS Falcon. Her previous owner had given her a head-turning electric-blue paint job and rad engine mods. The overall effect of her makeover had made her easy to admire and hard to catch.
Laverton was 1200 kilometres away. Suburbia was behind me by sun-up. Pegasus hugged the road, the accelerator responding to the gentlest pressure. By mid-morning, the rolling hills and wheat-fields had given way to virgin bush. I checked for other vehicles then decided to open her up. Pegasus was willing to fly like her namesake and I was willing to let her. I loved driving... the feeling of having a direction... the sense of being in control of something powerful.
Mid-afternoon found us between Menzies and Leonora. Remote flickered like the fuel gauge. The attractive Salmon gumtrees which had bordered the road near Kalgoorlie had given way to salt bush, quartz outcrops and scorched grevilleas. I ducked physically as a giant eagle with a death wish swooped in front of me. I glanced at my watch. About an hour from the B & B.
Monotonous minutes ticked by. A splash of pink wildflowers briefly decorated the outback vista. Then a crest added interest to the monotonously flat road. I roared over it. On the other side of the crest, the panorama made me draw my breath. The road cut through a field of pink everlastings stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. There was a rest stop off to the side. I got out and snapped half a dozen nature shots from unusual angles. Unexpectedly, something cream and black blurred the shot I was taking. I snapped a full facial of the scene-stealer by accident. Blue eyes stared into blue eyes. There was an immediate bond between us.
“Well where did you come from little missy?” I clucked.
Missy mewed back in reply and brushed affectionately against my leg.
The practical side of me argued I couldn’t keep the Siamese kitten because I couldn’t take her back home with me. The animal lover retorted I couldn’t leave her out in a remote area without food and water to become a snack for an eagle. The investigative side of me wondered whether she was someone’s beloved pet or a stray. The nurturer offered her some of my water and a piece of muesli bar. Missy ate with relish, then sensing my ambivalence, made the decision for me by hopping into Pegasus.
“Oh well. We might as well be travelling companions for now. If we’re still travelling together by the time I get back to Perth, Frank’ll turn you into a cover girl and get you adopted.”
My new travelling companion was already nestling indolently on the passenger seat. She looked at me through semi closed lids then tucked her head into her paws.
“You look like you need some sleep girl. I’ll wake you when we get there...”
Ω
Dave and Jen’s B & B looked ordinary from the outside. Sea container style ordinary. Or more accurately a wagon wheel arrangement of sea containers positioned a short distance from their homestead. Inside however, the B & B accommodation had an artistic touch. Handmade pottery and a hand-crafted cedarwood table in the dining area. A comfy looking couch with a couple of bean bags strewn around in the lounge area. A tiny but delightfully decorated cottage kitchen, with an expensive coffee making machine. The bedrooms also had a designer’s touch with handmade curtains and candles.
I breathed in the mixture of aromas and headed straight for the coffee machine.
“Need any help using it?” asked Dave.
“Are you kidding? The first automatic coffee maker was invented by a woman!” I retorted.
An amused grin from Dave.
“You’re from the States, eh?”
“Alaska.”
I looked around.
“I was half expecting a friend to be here. She’s a photo-journalist actually.”
“No guests here ‘cept you at the moment.”
“So I can have the large room?”
“Providing you’re happy to relocate into a single room if a family rock up. Although that’s unlikely at this time of the year anyway.”
Dave nodded and walked out.
Had Maya been here? Dave was friendly enough. But his responses were unreadable and his answers uninformative. It was clear I was going to have to try a different tactic to find out who had stayed over recently at the B & B.
I started in the rubbish bin. Squeaky clean. Jen obviously prided herself in keeping their facilities in tip-top shape. I looked around in the corners of the room and near the legs of furniture. One small piece of solder. Interesting but not really substantial.
Next I tried the cupboards. The linen cupboard smelt of starch and lavender. Heavenly. The kitchen canisters contained complimentary Milo, herbal tea and hot chocolate. I poked around in the cupboards under the bench - nothing of interest. The only remaining cupboards were above the coffee machine in the kitchen nook. They contained several tins. Homemade biscuits in one. Nuts in the second. I pried open the last tin.
I hadn’t really expected to find anything interesting but I was wrong. The final tin contained a dozen electronics components and a couple of pieces of folded paper. I recognized a CMOS chip and some capacitors. Common enough. I picked up the other components and examined them curiously. A spark gap switch... Hmmm... less common. I had no idea what the remaining components even were. I set them all aside and unfolded the first sheet of paper. Some type of calculation. Weird... The handwriting felt familiar, but I couldn’t work out why.
I unfolded the second piece of paper and stared at the expanded view diagram in overt disbelief. I heard the flyscreen door open and sensed someone else was in the room, but I was too intrigued to look up. The someone cleared their throat. Dave!
> I moistened my lips and made direct eye contact with him. He wasn’t the slightest perturbed.
“Um... I found this tin of things. Up with the biscuits.”
“Did ya love?” replied Dave, scooping up the components and putting them back in the tin. “Sorry about that. Some students were staying here the other day. This must’ve been theirs.”
“What were they studying? Bomb-making?”
Dave laughed easily. He casually took the E/M weapon schematics diagram out of my hand and tossed it back in the tin with the other components.
“I think Jen said they were studying geology and physics from memory.”
No doubt about it, I mused. This guy was as cool as a cucumber even when directly confronted. My sixth sense told me there was more to Dave than met the eye...
Either that or he was blissfully unaware of what had been happening right under his nose recently.
Dave nonchalantly put the lid back on the tin and picked it up.
“May as well shove this in my workshop in case they want it back... Actually, I just remembered why I dropped in. Jen said to let you know that a couple of beefy, middle aged blokes have rocked up and are staying tonight as well. She wanted to make sure you felt okay about sharing the quarters with them. We can offer you our granny flat if you’re not comfortable.”
I smiled with genuine amusement.
“Thank Jen for her concern, but this place is heaven compared to some of the places I’ve stayed at.”
“Glad to hear we do a better job than some,” retorted Dave.
He caught my eye.
“By the way, as well as horses under yer bonnet, do you realize you’ve got a cat trying to get out of your sunroof?”
“Missy! I forgot about her!” I said, bursting out the door.
Dave followed me.
“Planning on smuggling her into your room after Jen and I were in the land of nod, eh?”
I flushed with embarrassment. Dave’s eyes danced.
“You probably don’t believe me, but I’ve just become her owner. About two hours ago. She hopped into my car at this rest-stop on the Menzies-Leonora road. About twenty kilometres past these rocks that were painted to look like a frog.”
“I know the stop you mean... It’s an out of the way place to find a cat though. Unless she’s JORN’s mouser.”
“I thought JORN was somewhere down the back of your place.”
I studied Dave’s face as I tossed out the bait. Still no readable response.
“That’s the receiver. The thingy across the road from the rest-stop you mentioned is the transmitter... And there’s some other bit to it out near Mulga Queen.”
I nodded and opened the car door. Missy leapt into my arms.
“Well she certainly looks like she wants to hang out with you.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve got something I can use as a collar?”
“Hmmm... I have actually. A couple left their Chihuahua’s collar and lead behind last year. I’m sure they would’ve contacted us by now if they’d wanted it back.”
Dave casually placed the tin down on the bench in his workshop then found me the collar and lead. Then he meandered back outside again.
“Let’s see. You’ve set yourself up in the family room...”
Dave opened the heavy doors to one of the sea containers. To my surprise it revealed a glass sliding door - a second entry into my room. Dave clipped a wire mesh gate into place between the ajar metal doors.
“It’s actually designed to stop toddlers from straying too far, but it should do the trick and encourage our four legged friend to stick around.”
Jen walked up. She stooped down and petted Missy.
“What a pretty travelling companion. She’s a seal point isn’t she?”
“Yes. Sorry I forgot to tell you about her when I arrived. It’s just a temporary arrangement until I can find who she belongs to. I’ll make a FOUND poster for her tonight and put it up in Laverton tomorrow. Failing that, I’ll get my friend Frank to find her a home when I head back to Perth... He’s got this thing about running animal rescue stories.”
“It sells papers eh?”
I nodded. Silently reprimanding myself for letting information slip about myself and Frank. Not that it mattered. Jen and Dave may have had scientists staying over, but I was pretty sure now that they were just an old couple supplementing their retirement income by offering accommodation...
Ω
I set about making the FOUND poster, complete with a cute photo of Missy on it. I gave the matter some thought and decided to put Frank’s direct number on the poster rather than my mobile. I had no mobile reception for one thing, and I wasn’t planning on being in Australia for more than a few weeks anyway. I set my handiwork aside, then walked out to the kitchen to make myself a cuppa.
The kitchen was occupied. I eyed the two men I was now sharing the single person’s quarters with.
Dave was right about them both being beefy. They looked more like commandos than tourists. One was of Asian descent. Korean perhaps - wearing a khaki shirt and pants. It was difficult to work out the country of origin of the other. His skin colour and bright shirt suggested South American descent however.
“Hi.”
A laconic sneer. I curbed my desire to return it. Mr Laconic continued setting up his fax machine on the dining table.
I made deliberate eye contact with his offsider and nodded at him. He smiled back.
Mr Laconic fired his offsider a stony glare. He shrugged in response. Both men walked away leaving the fax plugged in.
Great. No mobile reception and a phone outlet that was being hogged by two pseudo-guerrillas.
Maybe Jen and Dave would let me check my email in their homestead. After all, it was only 8 pm...