The Republic of Oz

by Ian Wisby

  Ethan Cooper had a Glock 19, a standard issue weapon of the Australian Federal Police. Simon had a Beretta 92FS. Together, they sprinted down the footpath, in a flanked position.

  Simon was behind Ethan and covered his back. They got to Grafton Lane and slowly made their way down it. Ethan looked up to see a drone hovering overhead. He pressed his finger on his earpiece “This is Alpha One. We’re fifty metres from the target. Any signs of hostiles?” asked Ethan. There was a delay in the response.

  “That’s affirmative. Drone sensors pick up one hostile on the property,” said Felicity Meyers. She was the one who was controlling the drone. It was hovering over the property. Ethan and Simon headed over to the address. As they got to the door, they were accompanied by six Counter-Terrorist officers, wearing tactical gear and armed with assault rifles.

  One of them had a tactical shield to deflect gun fire.

  The officers came over to Ethan and Simon. One of them snapped off the padlock with a pair of bolt cutters. Once that was done, one of the officers bashed down the door using a Battering-Ram.

  Ethan and Simon accompanied the Counterterrorist officers as they stormed the house. “Armed Police! Armed Police!” they shouted, as they entered the property.

  The eight of them began to search the small property, attempting to find anything useful. Just then, they were forced to take cover as several gun shots were fired. “Shit! Take cover!” Ethan shouted.

  The officers also took cover. Several of the officers were equipped with tactical shields that reflected the bullets. They began to move forward, and Ethan followed closely behind them.

  The gunman stopped firing. He was reloading. This gave Ethan the chance to make a move.

  One of the officers with a shield moved out of the way. Ethan spotted the gun man and charged at him.

  He literally nose-dived into the man and forced him to the ground. His gun was taken away and he was secured.

  “Son of a bitch,” said Simon.

  “Take this man into custody,” said Ethan. Ethan didn’t say anything at first. He sighed and then got out his phone to dial a number.

  “Mick Greer.”

  “It’s me. We just searched the safe house. We took a suspect into custody,” said Ethan.

  “That’s good work Ethan. Who is he?” asked Mick.

  “I’m not sure, but we’re about to question him.”

  “Detective!” one of the officers called out.

  “Hold on.” Ethan went over to where two officers were standing.

  “The suspect is ready for questioning,” said one of the officers. The suspect was tied up to a metal chair in the middle of the container.

  “Boss, the suspect’s ready. I’ll get back to you,” said Ethan and hung up. He then turned to look at the suspect. “Any idea who he is?” asked Ethan, as he looked at Simon.

  “Not a clue, but his driver’s license says his name is Mark Hauser,” said Simon, as he handed the license to Ethan. He looked at it and then looked back at Mark, who was terrified.

  “That name ring a bell?” Simon shook his head. “Okay, let’s get this started.” Ethan walked up to him. Ethan signalled to the officers to leave, and they exited the townhouse. Ethan went over and leaned against the wall. “So…Mark Hauser,” he began. Of course, Hauser didn’t react. “Who the fuck do you work for?” he demanded. Mark just glared at Ethan.

  At that, Ethan struck him across the face. “Who the fuck do you work for?” he yelled, getting angry. Still, Mark didn’t reply. He just sat there in silence.

  “There’s nothing you can do to stop what’s coming,” he said, finally. Ethan’s eyes widened.

  “Why don’t you tell me? What’s coming?” But Hauser remained silent. “You’re not going to help yourself if you don’t start cooperating…Right now, the government has you on conspiracy to conduct an act of terrorism, and if you don’t help us stop this threat, you will go down for whatever threat your friends carry out,” said Ethan.

  Again, Hauser didn’t seem to care. “If you don’t start talking, this situation you’re in is going to get a lot less comfortable,” he threatened. Mark grinned at Ethan.

  “This country is going down in flames,” said Mark. Ethan kept staring at him. He struck him yet again.

  “Who the hell do you work for?” Mark just grinned. Ethan laid several punches into his stomach. “Who do you fucking work for?” Ethan yelled again. He stared into Hauser’s eyes.

  CHAPTER 24

  JOHN BRADLEY COULDN’T believe what he’d just found out. He was on his way to Sydney Tower to meet with Andrew Shaw.

  The fact that Andy told him he was right about Amanda’s suicide being faked was circling through his mind, and then the conversation he’d just had with Charmaine.

  He sat in the back seat of his escort vehicle. He was being driven by Mitch Clark. As he sat there, he could hear the radio, and it was giving a news update about the upcoming arrival of the President of Australia.

  The President was set to arrive at the Sydney Opera House shortly. He knew he should have been there to support Charmaine, but this was just as important.

  John’s escort vehicle pulled up and parked near the main entrance to the Sydney Tower. Mitch Clark got out and opened the door for him. “Are you sure this is a good idea, Sir?” asked Mitch.

  “It will be fine, Mitch. Andy wanted to meet with me. I didn’t pursue this,” he said.

  “I just think this guy is wasting your time.” John smiled.

  “I appreciate your concern. But it’ll be fine,” he said. He then headed up the stairs and went into the main foyer.

  After taking the elevator, he finally arrived at the tower’s restaurant, which had a magnificent view of the city.

  There were only a handful of people in the restaurant. John spotted Andrew sitting at a table near a window. “Would you wait for me here, Mitch?” Of course, Mitch wasn’t too keen on that idea.

  “I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that, Sir.”

  “Please, Mitch. It’s better this way…Besides, you can see me from the elevator,” he said. Then Mitch nodded.

  “Okay, call me if you need anything.” John just smiled. Then he walked over to where Andrew was sitting. He got up and seemed to be somewhat nervous.

  “John, thanks for coming,” he said.

  “It’s my pleasure…So, what’s with all the cloak and dagger?”

  “You know Amanda was an investigative journalist?” John slowly nodded.

  “Well, two months before her death, she came home one night to tell me that she was on the verge of publishing a major story. But she seemed terrified about it,” he began.

  “Terrified by what?”

  “She said she found out that a private defence contractor was selling military-grade weapons to a criminal warlord in East Timor.”

  “Jesus…Who is this defence contractor?”

  “She said it was Birchall McClelland. She had a source inside the company who confirmed the transactions, but the source ended up dead.” John’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe it. “It turns out that Birchall McClelland are against the idea of Australia being a republic. Amanda was days away from publishing her story.”

  “Oh, my God…They’re the largest defence contractor in the Oceanic region,” he said, and Andy nodded.

  “Yes…She found out that BMC were in the planning stages of carrying out a coup d’etat against the government,” he added. John’s eyes widened. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

  “This is insane…What they’re planning is illegal, not to mention criminal,” said John. “Did she manage to find out who exactly is behind the coup?” Andy shook his head.

  “No, she never got that far. But she had enough evidence to publicly destroy the company ten times over…Someone must’ve found out what she was doing, and…Well, you know,” he said, getting emotional and teary.

  “I know, Andy. It’s hard…You told me someone paid you off. Was it Birchall McClel
land?”

  “Yeah. Before she died, Amanda gave me the evidence she’d acquired against the company…BMC paid me a visit and offered me the two hundred thousand dollars in exchange for the evidence, and to keep my mouth shut, otherwise, they’d do the same thing to me.” John didn’t know what to say. “But, being intelligent as she was, Amanda made a backup copy of the evidence. It was hidden in a safety deposit box in her name. I only just found the key,” he said.

  “So, you have the evidence with you now?” Andrew looked around to check if they were being watched. Then, he produced a small thumb drive.

  “This has the evidence against Birchall McClelland. If we can get this to the right people, we can bring these bastards to justice,” he said.

  “My God…And all this time I was forced to believe my daughter committed suicide, and that she was a drug addict,” he said, as he sat there feeling overwhelmed by all of this.

  “I know, I wanted to say something earlier, but I was afraid they were watching me,” said Andy.

  “It’s okay, Andy. You did the right thing…I’m going to expose this evidence,” he said, and Andy smiled.

  Mitch Clark was standing by the elevator, watching as John was talking with Andrew Shaw. As he waited, he took out his mobile to dial a number.

  “Yes?”

  “It’s Clark…We’ve got a problem.”

  “And that is?”

  “John Bradley, Sir, the President’s husband…He’s looking into his daughter’s suicide again. He’s meeting with the fiancé, Andrew Shaw. I think he just gave him something that may be the evidence his daughter had,” said Mitch. There was a slight pause.

  “I thought we handle the Bradley situation?”

  “I thought so too. But the fiancé approached him. If he goes public with that evidence, the company will be finished, Sir,” said Clark.

  “I’m aware of the consequences, Mr. Clark…See that the problem is taken care of.” Mitch paused for a moment.

  “Yes Sir,” he said, and then hung up. He continued to stand there and watch John talking with Andrew Shaw.

  * * *

  Ethan Cooper was getting frustrated. Mark Hauser was still refusing to cooperate, despite the numerous threats of life imprisonment, not to mention the endless beating.

  He was frustrated because there had never been a bad guy he couldn’t break.

  After grueling Hauser for ten minutes, Ethan stepped out of the storage unit. He paused for a moment before taking out his phone to dial a number. “Inspector Greer,” Mick answered.

  “It’s me. We just spent ten minutes grueling Mark Hauser,” said Ethan.

  “So, I take it the interrogation didn’t go so well?” he asked, and Ethan shook his head.

  “No. He’s a tough bastard to break,” he said. “How much time do we have left?”

  “Not much. The President will be arriving at the Opera House soon. If there is an attack happening, it’s going down any moment,” he said, getting anxious.

  “This guy is not going to break in time. Mick, you’re going to have to let me take this to the next level,” he said. Mick didn’t say anything at first. His eyes widened as he knew what he was talking about.

  “Ethan, you know we don’t allow torture. It’s against regulations,” he said.

  “Screw regulations. Boss, innocent lives are at stake here. You brought me in to help you with this investigation, this is the only way we’re going to get results,” said Ethan. Mick stood there and let out a sigh. He knew Ethan was right, but he just didn’t like what he wanted to do.

  “Alright, do what you have to do,” he said.

  “Thank you, Boss. I’ll keep you updated.” Ethan hung up. Then, Ethan turned and walked back into the storage unit. Simon Harper was standing nearby next to several tactical officers. He then withdrew his Glock 19 hand gun pointed at Mark Hauser.

  Hauser became unsettled as Ethan approached him. “Now, you are going to tell me what I want to know,” he said.

  “You’re bluffing,” said Hauser. Simon and the other officers came over to see what was happening.

  Ethan stared at him for a moment. Then, without hesitation, Ethan shot him in the thigh. Hauser screamed in agonising pain. “Tell me what the threat is!” Ethan shouted. Hauser was in too much pain to even think about talking.

  “Jesus, Ethan! What the hell are you doing?” asked Simon, as he attempted to step in. But Ethan just ignored him.

  “What is the threat?” Ethan pressed his gun down on the gunshot wound. “Tell me what the target is, now!”

  “The President of Australia!” said Hauser. Ethan’s eyes widened.

  “My God…What’s the plan?” he said. “What’s the plan!?”

  “There’s a bomb…At the Opera House.” Ethan couldn’t believe what he just heard.

  “Shit,” said Simon. As he started making his way out of the storage unit, he took out his phone again.

  “Mick Greer.”

  “It’s me, Hauser just broke. He said there’s a bomb at the Opera House. We’re heading there now. Alert the President’s security detail!” Ethan shouted.

  “Copy that. How far are you from the Opera House?”

  “I can get there in less than ten minutes, just get the President out of there, now!” he said, and hung up.

  CHAPTER 25

  AFTER HIS MEETING with Andrew Shaw, John was being driven across town by Mitch.

  John was still getting over the fact that he had evidence that proved Amanda was murdered.

  He was going to meet with someone that Mitch knew to hopefully unlock the mystery on the USB device.

  John sat in the back. He was watching a news report on the small TV he had on the back of the front seat.

  It was showing a live report on the festival at the Opera House. They finally arrived at the location in Mascot.

  As the car stopped, Mitch got out and went to the back door to open it for John. He stepped out and saw the large house. It was old and surrounded by trees and bushes.

  It had an over grown front lawn and a rusty old letter box. He was a little surprised that someone was living here by the state of the house. “So, who is this person we're meeting?” asked John, as they approached the front door.

  “He's an old friend of mine. He's very resourceful when it comes to computers.”

  “Whoever it is, they obviously don’t know how to maintain a house,” said John. Mitch didn’t say anything at first. He led John up the footpath.

  “I'm sure he'll be able to help with your problem, Sir,” said Mitch. They made their way up the front steps.

  “I hope so. Because whatever is on this device will prove my daughter was murdered,” he said.

  “Sir, are you sure you want to go through with this?” he asked.

  “Of course, Mitch. My daughter was murdered by these people...I'm going to make them pay,” he said. Mitch didn't say anything after that. Mitch led him inside. The house looked as though it had been abandoned for quite some time.

  There was no furniture, and sections of wallpaper were missing. “This place is a dump. Are you sure we’re at the right address?” asked John.

  He turned around, and almost fainted as he saw a dead body on the ground. It was Andrew Shaw. He lay in a puddle of blood. “Oh, my God, it's Andrew!” John shouted and went over to help. “Mitch, call and ambulance!” he shouted. “Mitch, for God's sake, he needs help.” But Mitch didn't reply. Just then, there was a clicking sound.

  John turned around and saw Mitch standing there with a gun aimed at him. He slowly got to his feet and raised his hands in the air. “Mitch, what the hell are you doing?”

  “I'm sorry, Mr. Bradley...But you should've left it alone,” said Mitch, as he held the gun at his face.

  John didn't know what to do. He just stood there, in complete shock.

  * * *

  There were literally hundreds of people at the Sydney Opera House.

  They were all standing around the main steps where a
staging area had been set up for the President of Australia to give her speech.

  Helicopters were flying overhead and captured breathtaking shots.

  A giant Australian flag was hung off the Sydney Harbour Bridge, of course, it was the new Australian republic flag, which was chosen by a separate referendum.

  The new flag was split into two colours; on one side was blue with the stars of the Southern Cross.

  On the middle section was a yellow kangaroo and behind it was a green background.

  Music was playing as people waited for the arrival of the President of Australia. A news reporter was standing near the entrance and was giving a live update on the event, stating that it was an overwhelming experience.

  Just then, the black Range Rover Sports arrived on time. It was carrying the President of Australia, Charmaine Bradley. People were screaming with excitement as they waved their own flags.

  A bodyguard opened the rear door. Seconds later, Charmaine Bradley emerged. The crowd erupted as she started waving at everyone.

  She had a big smile on her face and began walked towards the stage. Of course, the crowds were blocked off by security fences, but that didn’t stop Charmaine from mixing with her supporters.

  She shook hands with dozens of people, the whole time she walked towards the stage.

  * * *

  John Bradley was fearing for his life. He couldn’t believe that his own bodyguard was involved in the death of his daughter. John had been strapped to a chair and tape covered his mouth.

  Mitch Clark was starting to panic. He’d been calling a number for the past five minutes, but no one seemed to be picking up. Finally, someone answered. “Yes?”

  “Mr. Benedict, it’s Mitch Clark,” he said.

  “What’s going on, Clark? Has the problem been taken care of?” asked Karl Benedict.

  “Not yet. I have Bradley in the safe house…Do you really think it’s necessary for me to kill him?”