by Brian Cain
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Stanton's mind was filled with family. He needed to focus on what had to be done. Stanton circled John Gould Island and dropped anchor on the mainland western side in the sheltered bay two hundred metres from the island’s hidden entrance. He threw out some fishing lines and secured the rods to the rear deck. He put a dummy at the rear lower deck table; started a laptop computer with wireless net linked to one of his accounts and started a program that would surf the net as if he was online. He set an alarm; got some rest and waited for darkness.
Stanton woke just as the sun had gone down; he put on a wet suit over his tight blue jeans and denim shirt. He slipped quietly into the water on the east side of the Marie Celeste and swam steadily to the island’s underground access. Once inside he headed straight to the communication room in the upper cavern and cranked up the systems bringing his satellites online.
He plugged in a USB fob and accessed the results of the email traffic. There were only three emails incoming; Stanton opened the first one from an Australian contact, it was in code and indecipherable. He opened a code data base on an adjacent computer, entered the message and started a search. He opened the second from an American contact and found he had to do the same.
The third message when opened was not from one of the list of seven he was looking for but it was the most interesting. Stanton recognised the language immediately as Hebrew and it was generated from Pakistan: אתה לא אמוני. איפה הכסף שלי הלך. Stanton put the message into a translator in the computer, which generated a response. You failed my trust. Where is my money gone? Stanton was now well and truly focused; the main users of this language are Israelis. The adjacent computer started beeping, telling Stanton it had matched the code and delivered a result. The Australian message read: infiltrated, discontinue contact. The American message read: if he does not find you first, I will.
Stanton assessed his plan was working and he went about the laborious task of putting names to the email addresses. He was rewarded fairly quickly with the Australian contact Marshall Tucker, contract advisor for security ASIO. Stanton knew Tucker as he had recommended him to the Australian government to advice on security measures when Stanton moved to other assignments. Tucker was an x American diplomat now residing in Australia, becoming naturalised and granted an Australian passport some years ago. His main business was ballistics as he was a science graduate graduating from Oxford University in the UK, specialising in small arms design within his father’s manufacturing organisation based in Germany. Stanton did not know much about him as a person other than his small arms designs were second to none. Stanton traced the American generated email and came up with Gerard Tucker, Marshal’s younger brother from an area of Florida. The third email had been generated from the official government buildings in Karachi Pakistan but was generic and had no owner affixed.
Stanton thought for a while, he knew that they had information that could clarify how he would proceed, but who first? Stanton refused to assume these people were automatically guilty as things are not always as they seem. He had two cherries up for Marshall Tucker, the closest one being it was a load of arms supplied by his father's organisation that had gone missing and email traffic indicating large money transactions. He could no longer contact Holmes or anyone associated as he now had a head start and a good one and did not want to lose that edge. It was obvious that Marshall Tucker would know something and he could get to him quick. He gave himself twenty-four hours before Tucker would be on high alert. Stanton traced Marshall Tucker’s address through the ASIO system via his invisible code planted long ago; Tucker had a place in the Canberra suburb of Reid in Currong Street. Located directly next to the city, Reid is one of the oldest suburbs in Canberra. Reid is named after Australia's fourth Prime Minister, Sir George Reid and is very affluent with many government officials and workers residing in the area. Stanton thought and hatched a plan.
Stanton left the systems running for remote operation via his satellites and made his way back to the Marie Celeste still merrily cavorting on the net as having Stanton on board. He changed and took the motor launch from the Marie Celeste leaving her in guise mode. He headed the launch to an old oyster shed below Tomarre Hill Shoal Bay, hiding the launch inside the shed’s mooring and taking a late model white Ford Falcon stowed inside the shed.
He left the car at Rutherford Airport where Robert had already been summoned to fly the chopper; they hugged the earth all the way. Robert put down at a small property on the edge of Kowen Forest just to the east of Canberra that Stanton owned and used when he had dealings in the capital; the property was in Jodi's name and so were the vehicles. Stanton told nothing of what he was doing to Robert and used the fly time to find out about family. Anthony was picking up the girls at about this time. Stanton told Robert to wait and if he did not return before sun up to head back home without him.
It was 30th September 1.00 am, Monday and Stanton took the grey Honda Accord stowed in the garage registered in his wife’s name and headed into Canberra leaving Robert resting in the dwelling. He reached Currong Street, Reid half an hour later and parked under some overhanging willows in a park well out of sight from any dwelling. He proceeded on foot some three hundred metres along the silent sleeping street to Tucker’s address. He had checked the location of Tucker’s mobile before he left and found it to be in the area. The house was protected by the government central security system; Stanton had retrieved the access codes from the system before he left and entered the garage through a side door in the back garden. He assessed that Tucker’s BMW was in the garage and so was his wife's; Stanton hesitated and decided he would need a alternate plan to get to Tucker, not wanting his wife and children involved. He had thought of this and left the same way he had come and returned to his car. He tried a long shot and sent an email message to Tucker’s government phone using one of the addresses sourced from the files activating his satellite system by remote from his phone. The message was: at the Canberra light aircraft terminal pick me up urgent.
Stanton was careful not to be seen when accessing the airport by going in through a gate around the back of the complex adjacent to the Fairbairn golf course, giving access from the eastern side, leaving his car in the golf course clear of the buildings and walking to the light air terminal directly to the west across the runways. The airport control tower was manned but only for security reasons for aircraft monitoring and the mobile security staff stood out well with their amber flashing lights. He avoided the terminal and waited in the car park. His allocated time of wait had expired and he began to move from his hiding spot when bright driving lights could be seen approaching the empty car park; Stanton darted back in the darkness. A black BMW cruised slowly past. Stanton could not see who was driving; it pulled up outside the small terminal building and the lights switched off. Stanton for the first time could clearly see it was Tucker as he went into the building terminal. Stanton sent another message: maintenance building east of terminal hurry.
Tucker emerged from the terminal in a few minutes and headed to the building, Stanton followed adjacent to him hidden by a row of shrubs in a garden bed separating areas of the car park. When well clear of terminal surveillance Stanton grabbed Tucker by the arm, pulling it up his back and tripping him to the ground; he yelled out.
Stanton put a pistol to his temple as he lay face down and whispered in his ear as he knelt alongside. "Shut up, get up very slowly and walk to behind the shed. Just over there." Tucker complied. Stanton pushed him away and turned him round, holding the pistol at hip height directed at Tucker as Stanton stood with his back to the shed wall.
"Holy shit Stanton," whimpered Tucker.
"You have two minutes to answer the questions, if you fail in two minutes you will be dead." Tucker’s jaw shook as he stood stiff with terror. "Afghanistan, fifteen truck loads of small arms and ammunition gone, supplied by your father’s mob, you know about them?"
"Yes… yes I do."
"
And…" Tucker looked at the ground.
"Habits John, gambling. My family doesn't know. The money’s gone, I don't know where, it just disappeared. I'm a fool, I have no answers," Tucker shook his head as he spoke, still looking at the ground.
"Your brother in Florida - what's the connection?"
"How do you know all this Stant..."
"You’re running out of time, answer the question."
"We both have the same problem; we were going to split the take."
"Who do you think you were going to find here?"
"Hadar, a man called Hadar." Stanton squinted.
"That's a Hebrew name."
"Yes he's an Israeli sent here to protect me."
"What...what kind of shit are you in Tucker?"
"Stanton you have no idea what you're getting into."
"You have thirty seconds."
"I don't have the money so they are sending him to help find it and make sure I comply, they have threatened my family John. This is bigger than it looks John, for god’s sake man."
"Keep going."
"I’ll tell you this, it's the least I can do for mankind, the arms are a smokescreen. Sure we sold them but they were never used, just left for the British army to find in a mock training camp. Otherwise I would never have got involved. Think deeply John, we are at war you know." Stanton dug deep before he answered.
"We gobble up resources trying to find crooks and then can't see the wood for the trees."
"Yes I can't be sure but I think you're right."
"This Hadar fella, where can I find him?"
"He is in a motel here in Canberra, I thought he wanted me here for something, he sent me an email to come here."
"That's the luck of the Irish that I picked the correct email link. Unbelievable."
"You sent the emails?"
"Yes."
"Someone will be here any time; they are tracking you John."
"No they won’t, I'm busy fishing."
"Fishing?"
"It’s a long story that doesn't concern you. Phone Hadar and have him come here."
"John, look my family I..."
"Your time has long expired, call or…" Tucker activated his phone. His manicured fingers had never seen a day’s work.
"Hadar, I am at the light airport terminal, the money is here. Yes, come immediately."
Stanton waited in the shadows as Tucker stood in view along the edge of the car park entrance. A Toyota Land Cruiser V8, four-wheel drive silver wagon came in to view in great haste, the lights blinding Tucker as he nodded his head to Stanton and it pulled up alongside him skidding to a halt. A burly fat man of Middle Eastern appearance with a hooked nose and unshaven face stepped from the vehicle.
"Ah, Hadar," said Tucker.
"Where is the money and how did you get it?" Tucker turned so Hadar had to put his back to Stanton hiding in the shadow of the adjacent shrubs. Stanton struck immediately laying his pistol and silencer across the back of Hadar's neck and kicking him in the diaphragm when he went down. Stanton knelt next to Hadar and put the gun in his mouth.
"I usually give people two minutes; you have ten seconds," Tucker interrupted.
"No Stanton, he has my daughter somewhere." Stanton looked with a scowl at Hadar. He held his weapon on Hadar as he removed Hadar's belt from his trousers and began to tie one end round his leg then dragged him towards the back of the Land Cruiser. He then began to secure the other tied to the tow bar of the cruiser.
"Tell me where his daughter is or I’ll drag you round the car park."
Hadar's eyes were bulging, but he said nothing. Stanton shot out his knee caps at close range and he screamed out in pain.
"Room fourteen, tied up in the toilet, she is fine, spare me!" Stanton turned to Tucker.
"Go and get her, check the whole motel he may be lying, if you cant fine her call the police, I’m busy. Send your family somewhere safe. When you’ve done that decide what you want to do. The Cadiche man will come for you or you can rot in jail for the rest of your life by the system. You decide, now get going." Tucker ran towards his car. Stanton looked at Hadar again. "Now the name of the person in Karachi, the name!"
"Tali Mahir!" shouted Hadar. Stanton dragged him around to the driver's side door; it took his entire might to lift Hadar into the front seats laying flat across them, his bleeding knees soiled Stanton’s clothes. Hadar whimpered in pain with every movement. The vehicle was pointed towards the fuel trucks parked on the other side of the fence some three hundred metres away. He got a large rock from the garden bed and put it on top of the accelerator holding it to the floor and put the cruiser into second gear. "Picking on children, not a good move!' said Stanton as he turned the ignition key and the vehicle coughed into life, shot away in a dead straight line through the fence and ramming into the rear of a fuel tanker. The vehicles exploded on impact and Stanton moved into the shadows and made his way back across the runways to the car parked at the golf course. He calmly motored towards the Kowen Forest property unhindered as a massive response to the accident at the airport drew all the attention.
It was early in the dark of morning when they touched back down at Rutherford, Anthony asked no questions about the blood stains in his fathers clothes. Once the chopper was in the hanger at the Airport, they went their separate ways. Stanton had kept an explanation to Robert brief, giving nothing away, not being sure that the leads would amount to anything.
He had summoned Cadiche to the Marie Celeste asking him to use the electric launch in the south dwellings mooring shed, silent in the darkness. Stanton had not long secured his launch in the rear of the Marie Celeste when Cadiche arrived. Stanton gave explicit information on Marshall Tucker to Cadiche and told him to wait forty-eight hours before he moved but to immediately check if Tuckers daughter was safe, leaving what should be done with Tucker up to Cadiche. Stanton was of the opinion that Tucker was a victim of poor habits and greed and not coming into the realm of Stanton's creed; he also needed the time to move his family. Stanton did not think he would leave the country as he was a target wherever he went; he had upset some nasty people who would now eradicate him as soon as they could.
Cadiche was concerned that arresting Tucker and putting him through the system would create attention and Stanton may be implicated. Stanton said it made no difference as the arms sale was common knowledge and the leads anyone got from Tucker would not affect him as he was only twenty-four hours in front of government agencies anyway.
Stanton got Cadiche to ring David Stoke’s mobile, Stokes responded and Cadiche found he was back in Sydney in his head of CIB role. Stanton was now sure Ben Porter knew more than he was letting on and asked Cadiche to meet with Stokes to see if he would work with Cadiche. Stanton suggested he present the evidence to Stokes on Tucker and tell him there was plenty more where that came from. Stanton was sure Stokes was a good man and would be willing to contribute as long as he was not required to step outside the system. Cadiche made for the mainland just before it began to get light; the sun was due up just after six am. Stanton was fatigued and lay on the upper deck lounge; he was suddenly awoken by the calls of someone off the starboard bow in the early sunlight. Stanton slowly looked above the side railing and observed a small runabout launch with two people on board. He called back. "Ahoy, can I be of assistance?" A well dressed man called back.
"Yes, we wondered how long you'd been fishing and if you had caught anything?"
"Been here all night, not much around just a few bites, couple of big ones but not quick enough, been messing around on the internet while waiting. Not a good combination."
"Ah… okay thanks, will try up around the bluff, been told there are a few biting there."
"Good on ya, have a good day." The launch moved off at full pace heading north and Stanton shook his head and spoke to himself as he lay back down. "You'd think they'd have enough sense to take the white shirt and black tie off, unreal. It’s hard to get good help these days."
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