by Leo Nix
Little opened his eyes then shut them again, but after some gentle persuasion he stared at what was definitely the most fascinating objects he had ever seen. He fixated on the round breasts he'd wanted to touch for years. Jaina could tell Little had never seen a set of well developed breasts up close before.
“Th… th… they're nice, Jaina,” Little eventually stuttered, not really knowing what he should say. He wanted to say something appropriate for the occasion but that was all that came out.
Jaina leaned across his enormous girth, straddled his waist, then gently leaned forward allowing her breasts to softly brush his face. She now entered an erotic trance as she played out her fantasies in real life. Lance Corporal Jaina was in heaven, and before too long, Little's salami was in her hands. Her fantasy was now a genuine reality.
It was impossible for him to focus on his task. What was it that Captain Burgess had ordered him to do? Every time he tried to think of his job his mind wandered to other things. His stiffness was uncomfortable and he was embarrassed someone would see and make fun of him - everyone usually did. Lance Corporal Jaina on the other hand was all smiles, charming the platoon commander and the soldiers guarding the prisoners and the radio codes.
“Here, give it to me,” she suggested to the lieutenant when he brought out the radio and codes. “Let me keep an eye on it for Private Little. As you can see he's not feeling too well today.”
Lieutenant Donata, knowing enough of Little to wonder why he was even ordered to retrieve the codes, agreed and handed everything over to her.
“The prisoners would be best left to the troop carrier, Jaina. One's wounded and in a bad way. You might want to follow behind them on their way back to Marree. I've got a few of our fellows that need to go with them. We had a bit of a tough time with their land mines,” explained the lieutenant.
“Yes, I could follow along behind, but our orders were to take the prisoners ourselves, immediately. Here's the orders, lieutenant.” She handed a letter with Burgess' signature reciting exactly what he wanted Little to do, in case he stuffed it up.
“If you would allow us, we'd better go and check the prisoners ourselves, at least then we can say we met them before they were sent back.” She motioned for Little to follow her, and, with the lieutenant politely in tow, walked to the damaged stockade where the prisoners were held.
“Strewth, lieutenant! That poor man's going to die if he isn't removed soon. How long before you're ready to send your wounded to Marree?” she asked, brushing at a swarm of disturbed bush flies rising from the dead Patrol One soldiers.
“I was thinking maybe this afternoon when we've finished with the truck. It's busy transporting our scout squad up north a few kilometres setting up a listening post. It won't be back for hours yet,” he said apologetically. A drop of rain fell on his head and he looked up at the clouds.
“That's not good enough, lieutenant. Major Daniels will eat us alive if we lose one of these prisoners. No, sorry, we're taking them now.” Her demand was so confident that the lieutenant was caught unawares. “I don't want to carry the can for you or anyone else, you've made a mistake waiting this long. If that prisoner dies it's on your head.” She looked into his eyes and saw fear. 'Good', she thought, 'now we might get somewhere.'
“I never thought of that, sorry.” He called to one of the men working to repair the stockade. “Corporal, help Little and Jaina to get these prisoners into their Jeep. Make sure you see Poole is properly secured.” He stood to one side as the corporal and two others entered the stockade. They gently moved the wounded soldier and placed him in the back seat of the Jeep.
“Lance Corporal, you don't need to mention this to the major or the captain. I'd appreciate if you just went now. Drive safely.” He swung around and walked away.
“Little, get into the Jeep. No, not in the back seat, next to me in the front.” She turned impatiently to the soldiers escorting the prisoners. “Corporal Beade, be gentle with the prisoners. The last thing we want is for them to be injured and unable to participate willingly when the Priests interview them. We don't want to be the ones in the torture seat now do we?” She lifted the corner of one eye and he winced, imagining just what they might do to him.
“Not at all, Lance Corporal Jaina,” he barked back in retaliation. “You will note that the prisoners have been well cared for. We've fed them and they've had plenty of water. I don't need to remind you that we all work in the same army, and if you want to play with us then we'll certainly play with you.” He tried to intimidate her but Jaina was not going to be bullied, she was on a mission.
“Corporal, I have noted you have done a reasonable job, thank you. I suggest you all pray we make it to Marree safely, and the wounded prisoner doesn't die on the way back.” With that she jumped into the Jeep and drove back the way she'd come.
The corporal turned to his superior and said, “What's up her arse, lieutenant?”
The lieutenant smiled, “Wouldn't you be terrified of getting the goods back in one piece if you had Private Little with you? Did you notice he had a hard-on? The idiot must have thought he was in heaven with a sweet girl like Jaina asking him to sit in the front seat with her.” They both laughed at the joke, Little was a joke to everyone but Jaina.
Blondie couldn't stop her mind racing after talking with Wiram. She knew she had to do something. Patrol One lost, Bushmaster One One Charlie lost, her new friends spread through the desert running from Major Daniels' Stosstruppen… it was all going to hell.
Besides, Blondie had a particular dislike of Major Daniels. At eleven years of age he raped her with the Wilson boys cheering him on. It wasn't just the rape, it was the violence, the total domination and humiliation. He enjoyed inflicting pain on people and he enjoyed brutalising and dominating her and her brother. In her mind's eye she could still see her big brother, Fat Boy, tied naked to a tree. She had been forced to watch as Daniels and the Wilsons brutalised him.
Every weekend was hell after their father died which left them at the mercy of their Wilson cousins. These thoughts flooded her mind over and over until she thought she would explode if she didn't do something. Jumping to her feet she sought out Wiram once more.
“Wiram, I'm going to Marree. Don't try to stop me.” Wiram stood with his mouth open about to deny her but she bulldozed ahead. “I need a bike and I need you to understand that this is personal. The Stosstruppen are led by an enemy of mine, a Major Daniels. He's long forgotten who I was. He's brutalised so many people that the little blond girl is just a blur now.” She thrust out her chin and continued. “They've no doubt taken prisoners and I know what Daniels will do. He'll send them to the Priests where they'll be tortured. I know because I've been part of that circle.”
Wiram's eyes reflected concern but then his face cleared and he nodded. “Go on, I'm listening.”
“Thank you. One of the girls that works in his office is one of ours, a Tajna Služba. We planted her there years ago. We've supported her family through thick and thin during her apprenticeship. She's been asleep for the past year, since the apocalypse, but it's time I woke her up and called in a few favours. You need me out there, you need me in the Revelationist's camp. If they have prisoners they'll talk under torture and they'll find out about the Christian Palace.” Blondie stopped talking and waited, she knew his answer before he spoke.
“OK,” he said slowly, “take whichever bike you want, I'll alert the boys. They'll be heading out soon so you need to go now. I'll hold them back a half hour. You could say you're running from them if you need to. You've got Assassin's codes in your head?” Blondie nodded. “OK, can you conceal a CB in your kit? But don't carry anything else…” he saw she was losing patience. “Sorry, old habit. Blondie, this is not what I wanted for you, it's dangerous, but good luck and please stay safe.”
Wiram spoke with Ahmet and Nulla then went in to speak with Fat Boy. He was fine.
“Hey, Wirrie, Blondie's been working the church for years now, she knows what's
she's doing. If she says she needs to go then let her go.” He slapped Wiram on the shoulder and went back to his packing.
“Wiram, we'll hold for a half hour but I don't want to put it off any longer,” said Sergeant Ahmet. “We've made contact with Assassin while you were talking to Blondie. He's been held up with heavy rain on the track. He's also reported movement a few kilometres north of the Cooper Creek crossing. He said it might be the terrorists setting up an ambush. I told him to mark the track for us and then head off into the scrub to find the Bravo boys and the food cache. He said he'll report back as soon as he finds them, and on every hour.”
“Mate, can you run over and tell Blondie, she needs to know this.” Wiram then went back to Donna to continue his preparations for the coming patrol. 'This is getting worse by the minute,' he thought.
It was raining in Alice Springs as Sundown spoke with General Hughes and Colonel Thompson. He made sure they left their staff officers outside the room.
“You've got nearly twenty more damn Bushmasters and ASLAVS, and you won't release them? Why didn't you tell me about this, colonel?” yelled Sundown. He could now feel the heat of his demon below the surface, but he pushed it down - 'not now' he told it.
“I was ordered to keep everything secret until you joined us, Sundown. Seems bloody pointless now. If we lose Birdsville and the commando then we're up shit creek,” replied the newly appointed Lt Colonel and he turned to look directly at the general.
“You fellows seem to think the war will be lost in this insignificant contact. Calm down you pair. This is a local skirmish and your commando will just walk all over them. I know it,” said General Hughes, as though he was talking about a local football match.
“General, those are my people out there, they need our backup. This is not a game we're playing, this is for real. If we lose we lose everything,” returned an irate Sundown. “Not to mention they're my friends, my family.”
“Colonel Sundown, you are becoming hysterical. May I remind you that you are an officer of the Australian Government, that I am your commanding officer and you will do as you are told.” The general tried to physically stand over Sundown but the only way he could do that was if he stood on his chair.
“There is no fucking government!” Sundown yelled back, saying each word slowly, forcefully.
The three were quiet for a moment, then Thompson spoke, “Sir, may I suggest we send a section of Bushmasters across the Simpson, along the Hay Track. It shouldn't take more than a few days and the track should be a little firmer with this rain. That should stiffen the commando and prevent an enemy force pushing into Birdsville itself.”
General Hughes sat quietly and appeared to be thinking. His fingers made triangles and pyramids until Sundown realised he was playing for time. He wasn't thinking at all.
'This bloody stuffed up puppet has never had to think for himself in his damned life.' Sundown thought to himself. 'Is it time to make my move? Will Thompson and Lewis' boys step up to the mark and support me?' he wondered.
“I've made up my mind. I'm now damned sorry I promoted you, Sundown.” The general stood on the top rung of his chair which raised him up a little. “All you've done is complain and make unprofessional suggestions beyond your military capacity. I have no recourse but to demote you and break you to the ranks for insubordination and impound your aircraft and staff.”
With a childish smile on his rotund face the general rocked back and forth as he called for the guard outside his office. That was perhaps the worst decision of his entire career.
Chapter 19 - Coup
It had been raining for some time as Blondie rode her trail bike along the greasy dirt road, taking care not to come off on the bends, and avoiding the many treacherously deep puddles. She sped past where Assassin had stopped, she didn't notice the secret signs he'd placed to warn the commando of the enemy just up ahead.
It was most fortunate the enemy didn't see her approach either. The noise of their bogged truck, revving to get out of the muddy verge, was enough to drown all sounds. Blondie fortunately saw them and skidded to a halt, removing her helmet in one smooth movement. The soldiers stood in amazement.
“Who the hell are you?” asked the sergeant in charge as he wrestled with the rifle on his back.
“I'm Blondie. I've ridden all the way from Mount Isa and I'm exhausted. You boys don't happen to have any food or water with you? I'm dying for a cigarette too.” She flicked her hair and the effect was as if a beam of sunshine burst forth from behind her. The four men in the squad immediately reached into their packs and pockets to do her bidding.
“Sorry, Blondie is it?” said the sergeant taking command of the situation. “What on earth are you doing out this way? If you were here any earlier you would have been caught in a fire-fight.” He lit her cigarette and joined her while his squad turned back to wrestle with their bogged truck.
“I'm escaping the Birdsville people,” she said and noticed how his body tone changed, dramatically. “I pulled in there last night, on my way to Adelaide to find my children, and they were really rude. The men tried to hit me up all the time, in the end I had to flee for my life.” She blew smoke from her mouth up into the air to expose her throat and she could almost hear the sergeant groan with desire.
“Ah, Blondie, yeah, they're bad people. We're fighting them right now. We're trying to rid the planet of pigs like that, evil satanic bastards.” He glanced at the progress, or lack thereof, and invited Blondie to sit inside the truck to get out of the rain.
“This is bloody miserable. I'm supposed to set up an ambush out here but look at it, there's no way we can do that now. If this rain sets in we'll need to pull back to Marree in case the river floods.” He glanced at Blondie and suggested she shack up with him tonight. “You'll be safe and dry out of this rain, then you can be on your way south tomorrow morning.” But Blondie had bigger fish to fry.
“Thanks, but I want to get as far south as I can before dark. I've got my wet weather gear, I'll be fine,” she said and the sergeant didn't push. Whereas before he was attracted to her, now he began to fear her. There was something dark, something sinister about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
“Sure, well, I'd better get back to the boys and see if we can get back ourselves. Good luck and be safe on these wet roads, I don't want to be scraping you off with a shovel on our way back to Marree.”
As Blondie went to pull on her helmet the sergeant walked over to her. She paused wondering what to expect.
“Be careful. South of here is our platoon, they're set up at a stockade.” He had to yell now as the rain pelted down in a heavy shower. “Make sure you have your headlights on and flash when you see them. We don't want you filled with bullets now do we.” He smiled and waved her off.
'Funny man,' she thought to herself then sped as fast as the rain and the mud allowed.
Blondie pulled into the Patrol One stockade only minutes after Lance Corporal Jaina and Private Little left with the prisoners and the captured radio and code book. The rain eased off not long after she'd left the sergeant, it hadn't quite set in at the stockade. The lieutenant came over to greet her.
“Hello, Blondie isn't it?” he asked and shook her hand. “Sarg radioed in to warn me you were coming and asked me not to shoot you.”
“That was good of him,” she replied, curious that the sergeant hadn't told her he was going to call through.
“Off to Adelaide then are you? Nice place, I've family there too. I'm sorry but I'll need to have you escorted to base camp to be processed.” Blondie just stared at him and the lieutenant started to feel uncomfortable.
“You've been through Birdsville and met with Sundown's Commando? We'll need to ask you some questions that might help us eliminate them from the face of this earth, the heathen scum,” he said with some passion, but his eyes began to show he wasn't as confident as he was moments ago.
Blondie's eyes bored into him. “Lieutenant, Stosstruppen aren't you? Major Da
niels and Captain Burgess?” She stopped, now she had his full attention.
“Do you know who you're talking to?” He shook his head carefully. “No? Did you wonder why I'm travelling along these roads unescorted, through enemy territory, and how I made it through the Birdsville people unscathed?” She moved closer, menace in her voice and posture as she stepped into his intimate space. The lieutenant didn't step backwards, he was frozen.
The Tajna Služba had done this a thousand times intimidating a thousand people. To the Tajna Služba domination and control weren't words, they were a way of life.
“If I told you I was Tajna Služba, on a mission, and I needed to know what you are up to and what information you have on our enemy… and what information you have withheld thus far, what would you say to me?” came the menacing voice from this beautiful, but frightening woman.
“I, I… madam Tajna Služba.” Donata regained control of himself and stood to attention, “I would tell you to continue your journey at your leisure. There is a vehicle containing prisoners and a captured radio and codes which left a few minutes ago. Madam Tajna Služba, sir, Major Daniels has asked that he see the prisoners and captured equipment immediately. We have nothing else of value or information that we haven't already relayed to Major Daniels.” He remained firmly at attention.
The soldiers who gathered to watch figured there was something wrong, they knew better than be in a position to be noticed. They slowly wandered off and pretended to be busy. Rain started to fall a little heavier and Blondie thanked the officer as she replaced her helmet. He saluted as she rode off.
Lieutenant Donata motioned for his comms NCO and radioed back to base to expect a special visitor.