“What was that?” he asked. Already knowing the answer.
“W4”
He slowed at the Arts centre and took the left turn. The long way around through Punt Rd. Not so much thinking about the close shave, but irritated about W4. Not the priority. Max’s team was number 1. He could see the logic. Toppling the city was much more powerful than random terror.
A meeting room. He nodded to the government representatives. So common had W4 attacks become that it didn’t even rate a mention in the briefing. Colin went to the front and sat with Ian and Xiaoli.
“Ready to go?” he asked.
“Yes.”
Maps came up first. The three camps. Swan Hill, Warrnambool, Albury. The aerial pictures. Videos. Then, of course, the statistical models. Resource analysis, and connections. All very thorough. Close up photos of the weaponry.
“As you can see from this training drill, they clearly have infrastructure as a target. ”
Xiaoli spoke next. Colin found he was drifting back to this morning’s conversation over breakfast.
“It is really awful. He is always there. Even if I go into a lingerie shop. He gawks at me.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t. We train them to the highest professional standards. You simply can’t move around without a guard.”
“I just want to live a normal life. Like we used to. I talk to Sophie and she doesn’t have any of this.”
Sophie and the New Zealand gated community. Again.
“I know. I know. It’s too late for that now. Way too late. They won’t take any more, you know that.”
“Surely you could use your influence.”
“I don’t have that sort of influence.”
Now Ian and Xiaoli were crunching models. 3D stuff. Time for him to lend some support.
“So this is a second Iraq war approach.” he offered.
“Most likely.”
Nobody mentioned Orbost. Too raw in the memory. Colin couldn’t just leave it.
“Have you tracked Max?” he asked.
“Of course. Here are the statistics of his movements.”
An impressive graphic came up.
“There are gaps.”
“Yes.”
“Can you explain the gaps?”
“Imperfections. Nothing is perfect.”
Colin didn’t pursue it any further. It was just all together too bloody neat. Like a parcel, delivered to his door.
Chapter 64
“There are other camps?” I asked Max.
“Three of them. More visible than this one. Above ground.”
“Have they been attacked?”
“Not yet.”
“Can I visit them?”
Max didn’t like this sort of request.
“No. That’s way too risky.”
So it was time for the afternoon discussion and planning session. Asymmetric this and asymmetric that. So I sought out Kylie and we sat right at the back, like two misbehaving schoolkids.
“More bullshit.” I said.
“Of course.”
“It’s not going to work.”
“You don’t know the actual plan. These are outlines.”
“You going to tell me the actual plan?”
“No.”
Chapter 65
From the twentieth floor, Colin looked out at the lights. Not so many lights now. Would there come a time when there were no lights? Maybe, but I won’t still be here, he thought. It was all crumbling. Half the country wanted to fight the blockade, the other half were all for it. It all had to end sometime, but nobody knew how. The open air prisons just kept getting bigger. News headlines screamed something different every day.
Probably he should just go home. But he couldn’t have that discussion again. The briefing nagged him. He thought about what he would do if he was Max. These were not stupid people. The fact that he didn’t have live surveillance on any of the people he worried about really annoyed him. So he unpacked the data. Took out the pre-processing, all the assumptions. Set up a complete new analysis. Ran it all again. Re-forming and searching. No, he had no idea of where he would go when it all hit the fan. Whatever happened he was determined not to be outwitted.
Chapter 66
I woke up - maybe Kylie was snoring. Couldn’t get back to sleep. So I wandered. I still found the base intimidating. Wandering down to the operations area I could see a light in the distance, and I wondered who my fellow insomniac was.
Alice sat up at the desk. This time she didn’t kill the window. I could see over her shoulder that she was talking to Peter. He saw me at the same time.
“You’ve caught us. Naughty schoolkids on the secure line.” he said.
“How’s stuff?” I said.
“Struggling on. Alice was telling me about your time in the convoy.”
“They are good people. They deserve better.”
I wondered if he was going to mention the missiles. He looked concerned.
“Look on the bright side. You could have been driven there by Alice. Blindfold all the way.”
I laughed. Looked across at Alice. A half-smile.
“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked.
“Woke up.”
“How’s the military life?” I asked Peter.
“Not so good. Between scooping up people for the open air prisons, and....” he trailed off.
We both knew what we were not talking about. Missiles. Unarmed targets. He continued.
“The extremely heroic missions like last week’s effort. Pathetic bullshit. We’ve had enough of this government.”
I wondered for a moment how secure the line really was. Then decided to leave them to it. Crawling back into bed, Kylie mumbled something incoherent, but didn’t wake. I was left with my thoughts, and tomorrow’s party.
It was a world away from the convoy. No problems about food here. Hard to adjust to. Alice was sitting there next to Max. Not saying much.
“Impressive place.” she said.
“I feel unworthy of it.”
She smiled.
“No, I think we are the unworthy ones. You’ve earned a bit of comfort.” She continued. “Big celebration tonight. In your honour.”
Naturally, at the party Phil was quite the celebrity. Now that he was here, the plan would move forward. I could see him over near the data projectors. Surrounded by a crowd. Complex graphics whirling. Expounding something, no doubt.
Crowded into the meeting room. Sipping on a cold beer. I still found the luxury outrageous, but comforting.
I looked into Kylie’s eyes.
“How have you been?” I asked
“Busy.” she said, almost as a reflex. Then sensing my disappointment, “..but missing you.”
I put my arm on her shoulder, and she moved closer.
“Not the same without you.”
Around us the party swirled. I leaned forward slightly, searching for a hold. I could see concern, strength and desire in her eyes. So we grabbed each other tighter. Over Kylie’s shoulder I could see Alice smiling. As if finally things were right. Sometimes Alice seemed much older than her years.
At about 3 in the morning I suddenly awoke. Where was I? The tent? Then I remembered, looked across. Kylie stretched out diagonally across the bed. I smiled to myself and drifted back to sleep.
Chapter 67
How to seize a major city? We worked through it. Problem was, so did they. All the classic moves. Infrastructure moves. Take out the communications first, then energy, then transport. Gulf War I. If we telegraphed a move then all the subsequent moves were also obvious.
“Mindgames.” Kylie had interrupted.
“We have to get them off-balance, and keep them off balance. As long as they are stable, functioning, we lose.”
She was right, of course.
The next morning I awoke from a very deep sleep, realising that Kylie was shaking my shoulder.
“It’s time.”
Quietly, around me, everyone was
in motion. Packing, collecting.
“Big day.” I said
“The biggest.”
It relieved the tension to be in motion. All the planning, the hesitating had been frustrating.
You pictured this day as column after column of fighters moving towards the city. But it was precisely the opposite. We broke into small groups, and went by very different paths. So again it was Max, Kylie, Alice and I with about four other riders. On motorbikes. The small ones, for off-road use. Highly manouverable. All part of the plan.
Along the top of the Great Divide. Cars about 50 metres ahead of us, another set of cars about 50 metres behind. Phil was in one of the cars. Today was very much his day. He would be spending it in an airless room somewhere. I didn’t envy him. I’d much rather be in motion.
A thin orange line across the top of the mountains. Just the beginnings of light. Scanning the skies for helicopters. It didn’t take long. Flashes of firing in the distance ahead. They would be spending all morning chasing groups. Even if they got some, most would get through.
Now we were right at the peak of the range. I looked ahead for the city lights. We were still too far away. It was nerve wracking being so exposed on the ridge.
Then we were diving, descending. Fast. Technical. I struggled to keep up with Kylie. Anything technical and she was off.
---
Colin was on his third coffee. In the situation room. Frenzy of activity. He was sitting in the back row, taking it all in.
As the sun came up he watched it unfold. Much as he had expected. The helicopters were chasing small groups. Drones struggling to track so many targets.
Already he was fielding calls. Nervous. Skittish. All they did was succeed in momentarily distracting him.
Stalingrad. First Gulf War. Havana. How to seize a city 101. Colin and Max had no doubt studied from the same books. Today they would find out who had studied harder.
---
“Contact.”
“Hard right at the next corner.”
Now we were on a dirt road. Heading for Warragul. I looked at the scan on my headset.
“Next left.”
I accelerated to keep up with Kylie. Didn’t want to lose her in the dust. A long sequence of dirt roads. Small towns that I dimly remembered. We kept descending, out onto the flat. Now we were about 80 km from Melbourne. Still enveloped in a vast dust cloud. Looking in the headset it was chaotic. It was like two swarms of bees heading towards each other.
Like flicking a switch. We were on the bitumen. Near Koo Wee Rup. It all cleared. I could see us spread out now. I accelerated to catch Max.
Outer suburbs of Melbourne. Nobody stirring in the tents around the supermarkets.
“First target.” Max said.
I could see the radio tower. Not far from Dandenong. Charges placed, we moved on quickly. I looked back when I heard the blast to see it bending and falling.
---
Colin watched the red dots. Looked at the deployments. Called out instructions. It all looked too textbook. It was pure Gulf War 2, a steady attack on infrastructure. It could have been lifted right from a textbook. It didn’t feel right.
“I want a full intercept on that Dandenong group. I don’t care how many you have to let go. I want that group.”
For a moment he imagined the review after the event. Diverting resources to a personal grudge. But he doubted there would ever be such a review, we were beyond that.
---
Dandenong Road. Better than the M1. More choices. Here we were almost back at the racecourse. How long ago was that? Seemed like years. Phil came onto the headset.
“They are moving resources in your direction.”
My headset view was a nasty pattern. Like two fluids mixing, but they were moving to enclose us. It was almost beautiful. I was brought back to reality with a jerk as I realised that we were being fired at. Bullets flying past. We were just to the south of Malvern station.
The intersection with Glenferrie Road spread out to Hawthorn Road, and it was a large open fire fight. Max called up reinforcements to pin them down, so we could continue. Down the leafy road.
---
Colin looked at the charts. Red dots swarming around the towers.
Xiaoli looked at the displays. Looked at Colin. Yes, it didn’t make any sense. Just attacks on towers. It was having an impact, now some parts of the screen were blank - the loss of towers reduced the coverage.
Chapter 68
When we got to Chapel Street Max signalled to turn right. I was surprised. I could imagine Colin would be equally surprised.
Max issued instructions.
“Stage 3. Fold it.”
I looked at the display. At all the towers, all of ours folded back. Disengaged. Heading either for Chapel Street or for Punt Road. Massing.
The streets formed a grid here. As I went across each intersection I looked left and right. I could see the block at the left, and the one beyond that. A block away I could see them. As far as the eye could see there were fighters. In pieces they were small, but joined together they were a massive force.
---
Colin was almost relieved. A move.
“I want everything in a wall at Swan Street. Centred on Punt Road. A bloody impregnable wall.”
---
As we came down the Punt Road hill I could see the city out on our left. There was only one bridge across the Yarra here, so it was a squeeze. Then I looked ahead, and saw Colin’s wall. A huge force blocking the bridge. All designed to block entry to the city. We were not to get under that bridge. This was a stand. A massive confrontation.
I felt like saying ‘Slow down. Watch out.’ but of course it wasn’t like that. We were in a tight formation now, with Kylie in the lead.
Max was issuing instructions.
“Aim 100 metres left of the bridge. Precisely.”
Ten of the fighters pulled to the left of the road to set up the shoulder fired missiles. They were just outside the tree line. To get a clear shot.
We charged straight at the wall, but not where they expected. At the last moment we aimed to the left of the bridge. They were firing. Then the ground shook, from the first missile. It was like the ground was rolling. Third, fourth. All at that one point.
It was all a blur. Kylie charged hard at the gap, at the left of the bridge. Up the earth bank behind. Accelerating hard. The bike movements fast, vicious. The bike lurched into the air, and it seemed to hang in the air, suspended. As she went to land she turned the bike slightly to the left. Landed, lurching, on the stones, on the railway tracks. The back wheel slipped, then gripped, then slipped again. Throwing stones up behind. It gripped and she accelerated away. We followed.
Into the tunnel, the Caulfield loop heading for Parliament station. We hit the concrete, beyond the stones and Kylie gunned the bike to maximum speed. The noise was deafening. We were through Colin’s wall. Suddenly the plan made sense.
---
Colin watched the footage of the bike hanging in the air. He was momentarily transfixed.
“Surveillance. Parliament Station. I want the exits covered. Now.”
Yes, he thought. It’s personal.
---
We left the bikes on the tracks and jumped up onto the platform. Alice took out the surveillance.
Then, there we were. At the bottom of a very large staircase. All that training. Except that this time my body was screaming with adrenaline. We ran flat out the full length of the staircase.
At the exit we scanned the street. It seemed clear, but as we made to run down Collins Street a convoy turned the corner. Sprayed the street with rapid fire.
“Smoke it. Scatter.” Max said.
We filled the street with smoke and we ran for the other side. Moving from doorway to doorway. Now we needed cover. Max left five more behind to pin them down. Ahead we could see the target. The final destination. The security building. Like a monument to the colour black. Sheer glass.
Now there were only about twenty of us.
“The box.” Phil said.
“OK. Got it.” I said.
“Place it one meter from the right edge, and one meter from ground level.”
“OK. It’s there.”
It must have only been thirty-seconds. It stretched. All those months of hacking. Just for this moment. I didn’t want to think about what happened if the door didn’t open.
It clacked. Then it opened.
Another box on the lift control, and we were heading for the twenty-fifth floor.
---
There was total panic in the situation room. Except for Colin. He was still sitting in the same seat. He got up, and fetched three automatic weapons. He walked across to Ian and Xiaoli. They looked confused. After all, they only had the most basic weapons training.
“Either you get out there and start shooting or I’ll shoot you myself right here.”
No more encouragement was needed.
---
As the elevator doors opened, we rolled in smoke grenades and went low. Threw grenades as well. The room shook. There was unrelenting fire in our direction. We were pinned down. We would pop up, get a round or two off, but then have to duck.
Kylie looked at me. Smiled. Then jumped up, and fired and ran. We jumped. We followed.
In the first five seconds she must have taken out four of them. She just kept moving in the direction of the situation room. Running through the central core, through open space. We couldn’t keep up with her.
---
Colin was still watching the display. He could hear the firing outside, and knew soon he’d have to make a stand. He wasn’t going to rush it. He knew that there were reinforcements coming. As they passed the door, he folded in behind. They grouped in around him. Protect the leader.
---
I yelled out “Kylie. On your right.” But it was too late. As she turned she took three, four bullets. It was like that Spanish civil war photo. She went down. Sprawled across the floor. I moved forward to go to her, but Max was shouting.
“Back. Back. The stairwell.”
We moved fast. Down the stairs. Jumping steps at a time. To get a floor’s lead on them. So they didn’t have a clean shot. Down. Down.
“Burn them.” Max said.
It took all the oxygen out of the stairwell. The flames surged upwards. It gave us a bit more of a gap.