by Peter Hoole
Before he could finish, Caleb, unable to control his temper, struck Zach with the back of his right hand. The force was enough to, again, fracture the Englishman’s jaw. It was enough to shock the man into stopping his diatribe.
Though his feelings toward Darcy were still apparent. The pain did not seem to faze him, and he continued to stare with rage towards the young reporter.
Caleb moved, and stood between the two. He knew he needed to refocus the conversation. They were still unable to ascertain how much time they had before the Colonials returned.
“Just stop.” Caleb said, “You need to tell us how to unlock your computer.”
Zach looked up at the Marine. It was clear he was in no mood to be helpful.
“Never!” he said defiantly.
Caleb figured that it could still be opened, with or without Zach’s assistance. And with that though, Caleb reached back for the tablet, which Adam held out for him.
Caleb turned back to Zach.
“You’re going to open it whether you want to or not.” Caleb said, his voice no more than a loud whisper.
Caleb figured the tablet had a biometric sensor, something that could only be unlocked by Zach.
“So, what does it then?” Caleb asked, not really wanting a reply, “Is it your hand? Your fingerprint?”
Zach turned away.
“Your eye?” Caleb asked.
With that, Zach flinched. It was ever so slight, that an ordinary person may have missed it. But Caleb was a trained Marine. Part of his training was the reading of micro-expressions. Expressions that, to the naked eye, looked like nothing. But to a trained eye, told everything.
“That’s it then.”
Zach closed his eyes, realising they would now betray him.
Caleb stepped towards him, standing less than a foot in front of him. He was now the one in total control of the situation. It was something he was used to, and he was happy to be able to control the man in the chair.
Not in a malicious way. It was just his preferred method when in the situation.
He placed the tablet in front of Zach’s face.
“You can’t keep your eyes closed forever.” He said.
Zach didn’t respond, but kept his eyes shut.
Caleb shook his head. He knew they were running out of whatever time they may have had.
“Look,” he said, “You are going to open this up. We can do it calmly, and you can open your eyes. Or…”
Caleb didn’t have time to finish his sentence.
As he spoke, he heard a commotion in the adjoining room.
Jace and the rest of Adam’s people were the only ones in there.
At first, it was impossible to tell what was happening.
Caleb turned to face the door. As he looked away from Zach’s face, he saw a small smile appear across the Colonials face.
This worried him.
He turned and moved towards the door. As he got closer, he could hear more detail about what was happening.
The people in the other room – Adam’s people – were in a state of panic. They were talking loudly, discussing something that Caleb couldn’t be sure.
“Who the fuck are they? How did they know we were here?” one of the men was screaming.
Caleb entered the other room.
Two of them were lined up at the windows, their weapons pointed outside.
The woman had grabbed a hold of Jace, and had him in a choke, while the man was interrogating him.
Caleb rushed over to Jace and the woman.
“What’s going on?” Caleb asked the man.
“See for yourself.” the man replied, motioning with his head towards the windows.
Caleb moved over to the glass, where Darcy and Adam were already waiting.
“What is it babe?” Caleb asked Darcy, who had had more time to process the information.
Darcy had begun to panic, as she did not really know what was happening. All she did was motion to Caleb for him to have a look for himself. Caleb moved to the window.
When he looked, he had the same look on his face as his paramour had shown. What he saw gave him pause to be concerned.
Five large, black SUV’s had pulled up outside the cabin.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Caleb studied the layout. There was nothing remarkable – or at least nothing he could discern from their location.
“Just let me explain would ya?”
Caleb heard Jace from behind him.
It was apparent Jace did have something to do with their unexpected guest’s arrival.
Caleb turned to the Australian, still being restrained by Adam’s people.
“Let him speak,” Caleb ordered.
The man and woman were not accustomed to receiving orders from Caleb, and they did not immediately release Jace.
They both looked through Caleb, towards Adam.
After a beat, they nodded, and let the Australian agent go.
Caleb stood in front of Jace.
“Alright. Talk!”
Jace sighed.
“They’re here for me.” He said.
“What do you mean?”
Jace looked away from Caleb.
At that point, Caleb knew he had betrayed them.
“When we were in the car. I sent a text to a mate.”
Caleb couldn’t believe what he was hearing. First Matthew… and then Jacob.
Now, Jace had betrayed him too.
Part of him was ok with being betrayed by Matthew and Jacob. He knew deep in his gut that he shouldn’t have trusted them anyway.
But Jace???
He was one of Dunleavy’s friends. A personal contact.
He was supposed to be one of the good guys.
“Who???” Caleb asked forcefully as he put his hands on Jace’s collar.
“Relax, Caleb.” Jace said, trying to calm the Marine down.
“They’re my people. They’re here to help.”
Caleb was dumbfounded, and felt his anger start to well. He could not believe Jace had been so cavalier.
“I thought we made it clear,” Caleb said, trying to sound calm, “We don’t trust your people.”
“But I do!” the Australian replied, more angrily than Caleb had expected, “You forget, Captain, this is my country. Not yours. There is a direct threat to us, here and now, and I will do what I think is best to stop it.”
Caleb stepped back. While he disagreed with Jace, he could not argue with him.
Jace’s job was to do what he thought best.
“And…” Jace continued, “Do you really think I would do anything to hurt anyone. These guys…”
Jace pointed to the window, referring to the people outside.
“These guys… I trust ‘em. And they’re here to help.”
Caleb was uncertain. His that trust was wavering – but for some reason he believed him when he said he was trying to help.
Whom Caleb couldn’t really trust were the people outside. For one, they had brought five vehicles, and with that, maybe twenty or thirty people.
The odds were quickly stacking up against Caleb and Darcy. He knew that they no longer had any certainty in what was about to happen.
If the people in the cars were there to help, then it would be a welcome relief. It may even be a key element to striking back against the Colonials.
But they could also be the enemy. If that were the case, Caleb knew he and Darcy were in deep trouble.
As he thought on it, Caleb remembered something vital.
They still had a huge bargaining chip – Zach.
“Ok…” Caleb said to Jace, “We’ll take your word for it.”
Adam could be heard to scoff in the background, near the window.
“What the hell?” he said angrily, “The blokes just betrayed you and called in his people, and your just gonna take his word for it?”
Caleb walked over to Adam and looked the tall aboriginal man in the eye.
“What choice do we
have?” Caleb said softly.
“We can shoot the fuckers outside.” one of Adam’s men said.
Adam looked annoyed at the outburst but seemed to be considering the idea.
Darcy then spoke up, understanding where Caleb was alluding to.
“You’re right,” Darcy said, addressing the outspoken soldier, “We could. But… and I think Adam will agree… That’s a bad idea.”
The same soldier again spoke, “What would you know? You’re just a bloody journo.”
Darcy smiled, “That I am, but I’m also not a psychic. Do you know how many people there are in those cars? Do we know that it’s only them? You’re right… we could… how did you say it? We could, ‘shoot the fuckers’. But we shouldn’t. Right now, we need them to think we have the advantage. They don’t know how many of us there are.”
Caleb turned to the outspoken soldier. He was withdrawing from his previous posture. It was clear what Darcy had said had had an impact on him.
“And…” Darcy continued, “We have a prisoner. If they are Colonials, they’re not going to want to kill him by accident… are they.”
Before Adam and his people could say anything further, Caleb adopted an authoritative voice, the voice he usually reserved for his team.
“Ok… you!” Caleb began, pointing towards the vocal soldier, “Go and get the prisoner. Bring him out here.”
The soldier looked to Adam, no doubt looking for an excuse not to follow the Americans instructions. But it was to no avail. It seemed Adam felt the same as Caleb.
“Just do what he says.”
“Adam?”
“Just do it Leroy. If he didn’t order you to do it, I would have.”
Leroy went into the back room.
After several moments, and a bit of jostling, Leroy emerged from the room with Zach.
“Now what?” Leroy asked, obviously annoyed he had been spoken down to by Caleb.
“Bring him to the window. I wanna see how they react.”
Caleb moved to the left side of the window. As he watched the visitors exit their vehicles – noting that only two people had exited each one – he paid closer attention to them.
Each were dressed similar – smart casual attire - all dressed to the same standard as Jace. While this did not mean they were ASIO agents, it did show that they may have been.
Caleb motioned for Zach to be brought over.
Zach wrestled against Leroy, and the smaller man was having a hard time controlling the newly young but experienced Colonial leader.
Adam decided to step in, and wrenched Zach from Leroy’s grasp.
“Come here,” he said forcefully, “Time to be useful.”
Adam slammed Zach up against the window, and Caleb observed their reactions. Two of the ten agents shifted their stance, but there was no hint of panic.
“What do you think Caleb?” asked Darcy.
Caleb was unsure. He was hoping for something a bit more definitive. He was hoping they would reveal themselves as Colonials.
But this did not happen, and he was forced to rely on Jace.
“I’m not sure, babe.” He replied.
“Trust your gut” Darcy urged, recalling the mantra she had repeated a few times throughout the preceding days.
Caleb heard the words and decided to abide by them.
Caleb turned to Jace.
“You’re up.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Jace and Caleb walked towards the front door. Flanked by a couple of Adam’s people, Jace opened the door.
“It’s best if you stay here,” he said to Caleb, “Don’t want to freak them out.”
Caleb was not about to let Jace go on his own. While a large part of Caleb trusted the Australian, there was still something that bothered him. Jace had contacted his people, without getting Caleb’s approval.
Caleb understood that Jace was under no direct requirement to heed his orders. But given the circumstances Caleb had hoped for some measure of trust to be developed. It was not obvious that Jace did not feel the same.
“I think I’ll come along,” Caleb replied.
“I really don’t think it’s a good idea…” Jace began.
Caleb cut him off, “I’m not suggesting here, Jace. I’m coming with you.”
Caleb spoke forcefully, to ensure Jace truly understood the intent of his words.
Jace looked back at Caleb. The two were the same height, so they were in direct eye contact with each other. For a moment, a battle of attrition was fought between the two men. Both were of similar build and both had a background in fight training – though Caleb’s felt he would have the edge.
But a fight was not what would solve their stand-off. Caleb had to physically assert himself over the Australian blonde. He had to show that he would not back down and that Jace had no choice but to allow him to accompany him to the waiting men outside.
The two men face each other for what seemed like an eternity. After the time had passed, Jace gave in. His eyes left Caleb’s glare, succumbing to the intent in his eyes.
It was as though Jace knew there was nothing further to be gained by arguing, and he relented.
“Fine,” he said gruffly, “But at least let me take the lead.”
Caleb’s posture was confident and intruded upon Jace’s persona. He had achieved what he wished and did not want to alienate a potential strong ally.
So Jace acquiesced.
“Of course.” Caleb said, feigning a smile.
Jace nodded and proceeded out the door. Caleb followed closely behind.
As they took a few steps, Caleb turned and nodded. With the nod, Adam’s people closed the doors behind them. Caleb then observed the two standing at the windows, their weapons pointed at the new arrivals.
He only hoped that Darcy remained out of sight. If this went bad, things would turn ugly very quickly, and Caleb was loathed at the thought of Darcy being caught in any kind of crossfire.
Not now that they had grown so much closer.
Caleb walked down the wooden steps. As he walked closer to the awaiting vehicles, he was able to better ascertain what they were up against should the situation go south.
He kept his weapon pointed to the ground, but he was still ready, with one hand on the neck and the other poised over the trigger. Caleb mentally readied himself, knowing that if he did, it would take less than a second for him to start firing if there was a requirement for it.
He took a few more steps towards the lead car, the one parked directly behind the ‘Bat he, Darcy and Jace had arrived in. Caleb noted that the car was in the perfect position to stop the ‘Bat from leaving. There was no room for it to move. As such, Caleb began looking around him, looking for a hiding spot should he need it.
He took a few more steps, following about a few feet behind Jace. The Australians blonde hair shone brightly in the sunlight.
Caleb looked out across what awaited them. After the ground levelled out, Jace and he were about five or six feet away from the first man.
Dressed in khakis and a red polo shirt, Caleb thought the man would not look out of place at a country club. But the man was also dressed similarly to Jace, so at least there was that connection.
Caleb was about to ask Jace if he recognised the man, but his question was soon answered. Jace reached out and extended his hand. The man returned the gesture, and the two men shook hands.
“BRETT!” said Jace, obviously relieved to see the man, “I’m glad they sent you.”
The man returned the salutation and offered his thanks for letting him know.
As the two spoke briefly, exchanging some minor pleasantries, Caleb looked around. There were five other cars, each had two men adjacent.
The cars were all similar – black SUV’s – as seemed to be the trend among Jace and his contemporaries.
All the cars were the same, except for the lead vehicle.
The difference with the car Brett had alighted from was that there was still a person inside.<
br />
Seated in the middle of the back seat, Caleb struggled to identify the individual.
Jace and Brett continued to talk, the conversation turned towards the immediate situation.
“So,” Brett began, “Got yourself a situation ‘ey?”
He spoke with the same Australian drawl and lingo as Jace. When Caleb was not versed in the intricacies of Australian geographical dialects, there were enough similarities in their tone and inflections for Caleb to infer they were from the same place.
“Yeah mate.” Jace replied.
“Your message, it said you needed some help. That it was huge.”
Jace looked around at Brett’s team, “Yeah.” He said, “Didn’t expect this many though. And so quick.”
It was the last statement that got Caleb’s attention. He had wondered the same thing. How did Brett get the help so fast? In fact, how did he get there himself so quickly?
“Yeah,” Brett said, “Lucky we were in the area.”
Brett turned to look at the people around him. He then looked to the person in the car. Though Caleb could not make out any specifics, he could see Brett was asking for permission to proceed. After a few moments, he received that permission.
Brett turned back to Jace.
“So, what’s the situation?” he asked.
“What do you mean?” Jace asked.
“Well… how many people we got? You said you’d found something, but judging by your escort”, Brett said, referring to Caleb, “there’s obviously more of you.”
Jace was about to speak, but Caleb interrupted him.
“Hold on a second,” said the Marine, “You need to give us something too.”
Brett looked surprised that Caleb had spoken.
“A Yank?” Brett asked, “What are you doing here?”
Caleb grew impatient. So far, the information had only flowed one way. It was time to get some answers.
“Never mind that,” Caleb replied, “Who are these guys? Who’s in the car?”
Caleb asked a few different questions at once, but they were all answers he needed.
Jace apparently also wanted the answers, “Good point, Captain.” He said to Caleb before returning his attention to Brett, “Who are these guys mate?”
Brett again looked back towards the lead car, and again he seemed to receive an affirmative response. It was apparent the man in the car was calling the shots.