‘That is what Batak told me,’ said Aureole. ‘He said that there were ghosts on the way. They had found him and we all had to get out of there quick. It did not make much sense to me.’
‘Well, I’ve never heard of ghosts firing missiles before, or flying planes or whatever those strange craft were.’
‘I agree. And I do not know what those things were. I have never seen craft like that.’
James scratched his head. ‘Batak didn’t seem the type to believe in, you know, ghosts or that sort of thing.’
‘Every culture has its scary stories. Even Azuriens, despite being highly advanced, have stories about ghost-like beings.’
‘The Aethiens?’ said James, remembering the dinner conversation with Cirro and the others at Welkin Palace.
‘Yes, them,’ said Aureole. ‘And their evil leader the Wraith.’
James raised an eyebrow. ‘The Wraith?’
‘She is kind of like the Devil, Donald Trump . . . the Emperor in Star Wars, or any of those made-up characters. Every culture has its archetypal baddie. Do you not know this?’
James put a hand on her shoulder. ‘Brace yourself,’ he said, not really wanting to be the bearer of bad news. ‘But Donald Trump is real.’
Aureole gasped. ‘Surely not? No one could be that, well . . . I don’t know . . . dumb.’
James laughed. ‘It is hard to believe.’
‘Anyway,’ Aureole said with a shudder, ‘my point was that every culture has stories about imaginary beings.’
‘Yeah, but Batak sounds like he believes that stuff.’
‘I have known Batak a long time. He has never mentioned ghosts to me before. It is all very strange.’ Aureole went silent for a moment, then said, ‘But, for now, we need to refocus on finding the SAFFIRE.’
In all the chaos, James had not given the SAFFIRE another thought, and he didn’t think it was that important now either. ‘Shouldn’t we go back and see if Batak and everyone are okay?’
She adjusted her grip on the steering wheel. ‘No. Batak gave me strict instructions not to go back to the island under any circumstances.’
‘But they might need our help.’
‘I am sorry, James, but that is what Batak told me to do.’
‘You’re going to take orders from someone who just told you ghosts were attacking?’
Aureole’s brow knitted into a deep frown. James could see she was struggling with what she should do. Finally, her face set in a determined look. ‘We keep going.’ James sighed, but she ignored him. ‘Batak found the third ship late last night, just before the attack. They have disguised themselves as a cargo ship and docked at Port Adelaide.’
‘Adelaide!’ said James, his voice going up an octave. Did she mean – ‘Adelaide, Australia?’
‘Yes,’ said Aureole.
What were the chances of the ship docking in Australia? Well, pretty big, James guessed, considering it was a whaling boat heading for the Antarctic. He felt a current of excitement run through him; he was going home!
‘Unfortunately,’ continued Aureole, ‘I did not have time to get the coordinates.’
‘The Port River is fairly long,’ said James, picturing it in his mind. He’d travelled to Adelaide numerous times on his way to visit his grandmother. ‘But it shouldn’t be that hard to find. What we need is a plan. How to get on the ship.’
‘I already have a plan,’ said Aureole calmly.
‘Of course, you do,’ said James. She shot him a dark look, but he went on anyway. ‘Well, here’s my suggestion. I think we wait until dark, and then I fly over to the ship and take a look around.’
Aureole gave a snort.
‘What?’ said James, frowning. ‘Why d’you snort at me?’
‘You do not even know what the SAFFIRE looks like. How are you going to find it?’
James hadn’t thought of that. What did it look like? ‘How about you describe it to me?’
‘No.’
‘Why not? Still don’t trust me?’
Aureole didn’t give anything away. ‘Something like that,’ she said.
James sighed. He could be just as stubborn. ‘Well, I’ll just follow the hole it made.’ He wanted to poke out his tongue at her.
‘No,’ Aureole said, firmly. ‘It is too dangerous for you to go alone. If they catch you, they will probably kill you rather than draw attention to themselves. We have to do this together.’
The way Aureole held his gaze, James knew she was not going to budge, so he tried a different tactic. He rested his head on her shoulder and looked up at her through his long eyelashes. ‘Why, Aureole . . .’ he said. ‘Do I detect a note of caring in your voice?’
She glared down at him and pushed him away. ‘I just do not want to have to clean up your mess.’
James gave a shrug. ‘Fine, we’ll do it together. But how are you going to get on the ship without being seen?’ he challenged.
Aureole’s body began to blur. ‘I am just going to walk up the gangplank. At night no one will see me.’
James rubbed his eyes. ‘Okay, I get the point. Stop it. You don’t know how much that hurts the eyes.’
‘Then put your sunglasses on.’
‘Huh?’
‘Your sunglasses reverse the polarisation, cancelling the blurring effect.’
James pulled out his sunglasses and examined them up close. He put them on and looked back at Aureole. She was normal again. He lifted them up – blurry. Put them down – normal. ‘Wow, I didn’t know they did that. Kawasaki’s a genius.’ He shot her a curious look. ‘How’d you know they did that?’
‘It was pretty obvious, since I stayed in my natural form the whole time we were escaping from Nebulosity, and you did not complain.’
‘Oh, and here I was thinking you were being nice,’ said James.
‘Not in your lifetime, Bird Boy,’ said Aureole with half a smile, which James returned with a half-hearted glare. She leaned to her right and James had to steady himself as the hopper skimmed across the face of a big rolling wave. The waves were getting bigger – Pacific Rollers – big and round with deep troughs between. Aureole was doing her best to stay in the troughs, but at such high speed it was getting dangerous. ‘Okay, so back to the plan,’ she said at last.
‘First,’ said James, holding up a hand, ‘tell me more about the SAFFIRE. How’s it going to help reverse climate change?’
‘I do not know,’ said Aureole with a shrug. ‘Something to do with capturing carbon and changing its atomic mass. Cold fusion, I think. The MAL Laboratory has kept it pretty hush-hush. They did not even admit that it had disappeared until a week after it happened. The only reason I found out was I accidentally overheard Dr Kawasaki talking to my father about it.’
‘Accidentally?’ said James, raising one eyebrow mockingly. ‘You seem to see and hear a lot accidentally. You –’ He formed inverted commas in the air with his fingers – ‘overheard about this new prototype hopper, too. I wonder if your father knows you spy on him?’
‘I was not spying,’ said Aureole, flicking her hair back over her shoulder. ‘I just happened to be passing by, that is all.’
‘Yeah, right,’ said James. ‘Describe the SAFFIRE to me, and I won’t tell him you accidently hear things you’re not supposed to hear.’
‘No.’
James banged the hopper’s dash pad with his fist. This girl is impossible, he thought. ‘Why not?’
‘Because . . .’
‘Because what?’
Aureole sighed. ‘Because I do not know what it looks like,’ she said in a rush of air.
James’s eyes opened wide. ‘You’re joking . . . right?’ But he could see from the expression on her face she wasn’t. He tilted back his head and let out a loud laugh. ‘How are we supposed to find it, if neither of us knows what it looks like?’
THIRTY-THREE
St Peter’s Cathedral, Adelaide, South Australia
It was well past midnight when Erebus strode up the sandstone s
teps, not bothering to admire the gothic architecture that made St Peter’s Cathedral so popular with tourists. The ghostly glow of the church’s spires made him uneasy. He stood before the large wooden door and knocked once. The door opened with a mournful creak, just wide enough for him to slip through. No one was on the other side. At the far end, a candle in a tall, carved stand, flickered briefly, illuminating the church interior in a crimson-red hue.
Erebus walked slowly down the aisle, looking carefully at the insignias fixed to the end of each pew. He stopped when he came to the emblem of a red rampant lion. As he sat down and slid to the middle, his gaze shifted to the stained-glass windows above the altar. Again, an uneasy feeling crept over him. He placed his motorcycle helmet on the seat beside him, trying not to make any noise.
As if from nowhere, a figure cloaked in red appeared beside his pew and sat down next to him. ‘Hello, Erebus.’
‘Hello, Scarlet.’ Erebus couldn’t see her face beneath the hood, but her voice – sweeter than honey with a hint of spice – was distinctive. ‘I have extracted my men from prison. Liberated Akwatronics of the data you requested and deposited it on schedule, completing our original contract.’
‘Thank you, the data served its purpose.’
‘I’m so glad,’ said Erebus, not hiding his sarcasm. ‘Pray, tell me, why the cryptic tour through the southern states?’
‘We have had a few security issues and found it necessary to obscure our communications more than usual.’ Scarlet paused. ‘We have a new contract for you. There is an object we need you to acquire. It is imperative that this be done in complete obscurity.’
Erebus smiled. ‘As you are well aware, I am the very model of discretion.’
‘Yes, you’re famous for your never kiss and tell policy,’ said Scarlet dryly.
Erebus’s smile broadened. ‘Discretion guaranteed.’ Scarlet turned slightly toward him. He could see the smooth curve of her nose beneath the hood. ‘You make promises your team can’t keep,’ she said. ‘From what I understand, given the Batmania debacle, the thin one is something of a liability.’
Erebus’s smile dropped slightly. ‘I admit the “thin one” lacks common sense and has some trouble understanding the concept of lying low, but he’s something of a savant. He’s good at what he does, and unlike most gifted criminals, he will do as he’s told.’ He didn’t admit to Scarlet that there were many times he’d like to wring Wilson’s neck!
‘And the big one?’ she prompted.
Collins and Wilson came as a package, but Scarlet wouldn’t understand that. ‘Talented. Strong and discreet,’ Erebus replied simply.
‘I hope so, for your sake as well as ours.’ She slid her hand beneath her cloak and retrieved what appeared to be the Book of Common Prayer, and placed it on her lap. ‘There is something else you must know. The entire operation may have been compromised.’
Erebus started. ‘Compromised, how?’
‘Our movements were being tracked by a technician, an Archipelagien. We located his base and destroyed it. However, a number of operatives escaped in a cloud hopper before they could be neutralised.’ She said all this without any emotion.
The mention of a cloud hopper meant only one thing to Erebus. ‘Azuriens?’
‘We assume so. But Angie has no record of a hopper being anywhere near the island.’
‘Could be a black op, I suppose.’
‘Unlikely. NIB has no such operation involving the Archipelagiens.’
‘Maybe the Azuriens were assisting the technician,’ offered Erebus.
‘I don’t believe so. Our intelligence uncovered no prior Azurien involvement. But that may have changed.’.
‘As interesting as this all is,’ said Erebus with a shrug, ‘what’s any of it got to do with me?’
‘We assume that we are no longer the single interested party.’
‘Oh, I see.’ Erebus rubbed the stubble on his chin thoughtfully. ‘We may have competition.’
‘Exactly,’ said Scarlet, facing straight ahead again. ‘We can only assume that they have knowledge of our objective and will either run interference or try to obtain the prize. It is imperative that you act decisively, and complete the operation.’
‘It sounds so romantic when you say it like that,’ chided Erebus. He tilted his head to see under Scarlet’s hood, for any reaction she might have. Within the shadows, he caught a glimpse of her full yet delicate red lips. He faltered briefly, and then quickly said, ‘So, what’s this object?’
‘Azurien scientists have made a device . . .’
Erebus took a sharp breath. ‘We have to go to Nebulosity? You know I can’t do that.’ He didn’t like to refuse a contract, especially from Scarlet; he was certain she was starting to warm to him. But Nebulosity was a No-Go Zone in his mind. He never wanted to set foot on that cloud ever again, and for more reasons than just that he’d be arrested on sight. Her next answer made him relax again.
‘No, the device is no longer in Nebulosity.’ She handed the book on her lap to him. ‘Inside is a photo and all the information we have on its whereabouts.’
Erebus opened the Book of Common Prayer and quickly scanned the pages. ‘Someone slipped up – big time!’
‘Don’t get cocky, Erebus. It doesn’t suit you. And . . .’ Scarlet paused. ‘Considering the events of the last few days, I don’t think you have the right to be smug.’
‘Touché,’ he replied with a one-finger salute.
‘Let’s just say, there were some unforeseen complications with the initial acquisition of the device.’
‘Security?’
‘Not exactly. More like, our player dropped the ball.’
‘If it fell into the ocean,’ said Erebus, feeling doubtful about this assignment. ‘I’ll never recover it.’
‘We thought it had, but as luck would have it, the object is still in play.’
‘So . . .’ Erebus grinned. ‘Now you need me.’
‘Find the SAFFIRE and you will be well rewarded.’
Scarlet pulled back her hood and locked eyes with Erebus. He didn’t know which scared him the most, her astounding beauty or her threatening demeanour. ‘Mess up and . . .’
His grin faded. ‘Yeah, okay. I get the picture,’ he said.
Scarlet stood up and pointed to the book. ‘Burn it before you leave here. I don’t want anyone else seeing this information.’
Erebus’s gaze fell to the book for no more than a second, but when he looked up again, Scarlet was gone. The candle flickered and, as it did so, changed from crimson-red to a soft white.
‘Same old party trick,’ he muttered. Raising his voice, he added, ‘You’ll have to do better than that if you want to impress me.’ It was a bluff even he didn’t believe.
With a sigh, he sat back and reviewed the information. A few minutes later, book in hand, he walked towards the altar.
THIRTY-FOUR
Tasman Ocean, Australia
The East Coast of Australia whizzed by without much excitement, but Bass Straight was so rough Aureole surrendered her stealthy “under the radar” tactic and gained some altitude. James was happy to see that the Southern Ocean was churning up a storm, because it meant that they had little choice but to fly ten metres above the waves all the way to the mouth of the Port River. It afforded him a much better view and kept his stomach in check.
Port Adelaide River was a hub of activity, vessels coming and going constantly. To avoid detection Aureole pushed the controls forward and dived into the churning wake of a tanker, then guided the hopper under the water, past the giant cargo ships and tugs, eventually surfacing next to a small, inconspicuous wharf.
They stepped quietly out of the hopper and onto the pontoon. Not such an easy feat when the wake of a passing ship was lapping at the wharf’s edge.
‘I think we should split up to look for the whaling ship. We will cover more distance that way,’ said Aureole.
‘Are you joking?’ said James. ‘Don’t you ever watch hor
ror films? That’s the best way to get caught, or killed.’
‘The only horror in this situation is me being stuck with you,’ said Aureole with a wry smile. She went to muss up James’s hair, but he ducked away.
‘Very funny. We stick together,’ he said firmly.
Aureole reached into the pocket of her long, brown jacket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses. She flicked them open and popped them on. Looking through the rosecoloured lenses at him, she simply nodded her agreement.
Several ships packed with containers were moored at the docks, and large cranes slid back and forth, taking one shipping container at a time, stacking it on the shore. Across the river, a little red tugboat pushed at a large tanker, slowly manoeuvring it toward a berth. It reminded James of a sardine trying to jostle a humpback whale. Smells varied, depending on which way the wind was blowing, but mostly it was a foul mixture of diesel and salt. Seagulls framed every scene, from the masts of the massive vessels to the red and white lighthouse.
After an hour searching, with countless suspicious glares from the dockworkers, James noticed a lone sailor sitting on a mooring cleat, smoking. He nudged Aureole, who was wiping a yellowy liquid from her shoulder and muttering at the sky. ‘Do you see that man over there?’ he said quietly.
‘Where?’ said Aureole, gazing around.
‘Near the light pole.’
‘Yes, what about him?’
‘Don’t you think he looks like a – a whaler?’
Aureole considered the man for a moment, then said, ‘Maybe. What does a whaler look like?’
James shrugged. ‘I don’t know, kind of weather-beaten. And I think a lot of the whaling boats come from Japan.’
‘He could be a whaler,’ conceded Aureole.
‘We should keep an eye on him, you know, just in case.’
The sailor seemed content perched on the mooring cleat. Occasionally, he blew smoke rings into the air, but mostly he just gazed out across the harbour. James and Aureole decided to sit and dangle their legs over the edge of the dock, hoping not to appear too conspicuous, and wait for him to make a move.
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