The Republic of Oz

by Ian Wisby

  He had no choice. If he didn’t react the way he did, he would be the one dead right now. But it was clear that Simon Harper was part of something big.

  There was a conspiracy at work here, and Ethan had to get to the bottom of it.

  Mick Greer went off to his office in a hurry. Meanwhile, Ethan walked over to Felicity’s station. He still had blood all over his hands, and some on his clothes. Felicity was shocked by this. “Ethan, are you okay? What happened?” she asked, becoming concerned.

  “I’m fine. I don’t have much time to explain, but I need your help with something…Come with me,” he beckoned. Then, Felicity got up and they headed over to the briefing room.

  “Ethan, what’s going on?”

  “All I can say is that the President’s assassination was just the beginning…There’s a deeper conspiracy at play here, and it’s up to us to get to the bottom of it…Can I trust you with this?” he asked. Felicity slowly nodded. She looked terrified.

  “Of course you can. What’s going on?” she demanded.

  “I went to meet Simon Harper,” said Ethan. Felicity’s eyes widened like an owl whose spotted prey. She knew the history between those two was dark and dangerous.

  “What the hell, Ethan? I thought you hated him?”

  “I did, but he works for ASIO, and he has access to secured files,” Ethan replied, but then he realized what he’d said; “or I should say, worked for ASIO.” Felicity looked at him, oddly.

  “What do you mean, worked?” Ethan indicated to the blood on his hands. “Oh Jesus, tell me you didn’t kill someone?”

  “Unintentionally…It turns out Simon was part of this conspiracy. He tried to kill me,” he said. A flood of emotions came back, as thoughts of the last moments of Simon hit him.

  “Bloody hell…I’m sorry, Ethan…So, you’re saying that Simon was dirty?” Ethan slowly nodded.

  “Yes. That’s not all…It appears Simon was working for a private defence contractor…Birchall McClelland,” he said. The look on Felicity’s face said it all. She knew exactly who he was talking about.

  “Shit…Are you serious?” she whispered. Ethan had never heard Felicity swear before.

  “Yep…It’s unclear who at BMC are involved, but someone in that organization planted the bomb that killed the President of Australia, and dozens of innocent people,” said Ethan. The room fell silent after that.

  “I can’t believe this…So what is it that you want me to do?” she asked, changing the subject.

  “We managed to retrieve Simon’s personal laptop from his apartment. We also got his phone. It was damaged in the fight, but we might be able to retrieve the SIM from it,” he said.

  He passed the laptop over to Felicity, and she handled it with delicacy, like it was a wedding cake. He also gave her the SIM card from Simon’s phone.

  “I’ll run the SIM through a program. Should be able to retrieve the numbers from it,” she said. Ethan smiled.

  “Thanks Felicity…Also, don’t tell anyone about this,” he added. Felicity just smiled back, and headed off to do her work.

  * * *

  Former Australian Army Major-General George Stanley stepped off the elevator. General Stanley was in his late forties, and several years from hitting fifty.

  He was probably one of the youngest to make the rank of Major-General, but that’s because he was a dedicated service man.

  That was until Australia became a republic; General Stanley was one of those people who hated the idea of the country being a republic.

  So much so that he chose to resign his post in the Australian Army. General Stanley was hired by Birchall McClelland to train other like-minded personnel.

  He made his way down the corridor that led him to a reception area. There was a woman behind the desk and she smiled at the General. She didn't even bother to stop him as she knew who he was. The General entered a large office.

  He had a meeting with the company's Chairman, Karl Benedict; a secret meeting which only he knew about. Karl Benedict was sitting at his large glass desk. The TV was on and it displayed a news report on the recent bomb attack at the Sydney Opera House.

  General Stanley stood there and waited as his boss had his chair turned away. “Are we on schedule?” Karl spoke finally.

  “Yes Sir. I've made all the arrangements. My men are prepared and ready,” he said. Karl smiled at that.

  “Good to hear.” The chair swung around. Karl Benedict smiled at the General. “The bomb attack was an apparent success,” he said, pointing to the TV.

  “It was…Your man Greg Hughes did well.” General Stanley didn’t say anything at first.

  “Yes, I chose the right men for this job…It would seem that the bomb attack still didn’t scare them. There’s a new President at the Admiralty House,” said the General. Karl didn’t respond straight away.

  “I’m aware…Brendan King…This was only Stage 1 of the operation,” said Karl.

  “Then I assume you’re authorizing the secondary mission?” he asked.

  “Of course, one way or another, this country will regret becoming a republic,” he said. General Stanley nodded. The room fell silent after that, and Karl looked back at the TV.

  CHAPTER 34

  ETHAN WAS STILL in shock about what had happened.

  He was getting over the fact that his friend was dead, and that he was partially responsible for that.

  He’d seen dead bodies before during his military career; when he was in Afghanistan and Iraq, it was a daily occurrence, and he soon adapted to it. It was horrible, but it just easier seeing one day after another.

  This time however, it was his best friend, and former colleague. What made it worse was the fact that he was trying to kill him.

  Ethan was sitting in the briefing room. He’d been sitting there, trying to enjoy his coffee, but he just couldn’t relax.

  There was a TV on in the room, and it was showing reports of the bomb attack at the Sydney Opera House. Just then, Mick Greer came in. “I still can’t believe it’s been more than twenty-four-hours since this happened,” said Ethan, as he pointed to the news report. Mick slowly nodded.

  “I know. It’s going to be talked about for months. Maybe even years.” There was a sudden pause, as they both looked at the screen.

  “Look, Mick, about Simon Harper. I’m really sorry that I dragged you into it. I should’ve dealt with it myself,” he added, but Mick shook his head.

  “Don’t worry about it, Ethan. It was out of your control. You had no idea Simon was a dirty agent, or that he had orders to kill you,” said Mick. “I’ve spoken with my man about the body. It’s been dealt with, so hopefully it’ll be enough to keep state police occupied,” said Mick.

  “That’s good.” Just then, Felicity came barging in. She was carrying her hand-held tablet.

  “Boss, I managed to unlock Simon’s hard-drive. It wasn’t easy, as it was using some pretty sophisticated encryption software,” she said.

  “What are we dealing with?”

  “Well, firstly, there’s nothing suspicious on the laptop, only sensitive files from ASIO, which again, I couldn’t access due to the fact that the access codes to open them change every thirty minutes,” she said, “however, I did manage to recover the SIM in Simon’s phone,” she said.

  She showed Ethan and Mick the tablet. On the screen were multiple messages made by Simon. He also had a long list of contacts on the phone. “It’s all pretty random, but there was one contact I found particularly interesting.”

  “And why’s that?” asked Mick. She paused, and touched the screen on her tablet. She brought up a screen with multiple text messages.

  “Over the past forty-eight-hours, Simon has been having contact with a man named Mitchell Clark,” she said. Both Ethan and Mick looked at each other with confusion.

  “Who’s Mitchell Clark?”

  “I knew you were going to ask that…I did some further investigation and discovered that Mitchell Clark is actually the forme
r bodyguard to John Bradley…President Bradley’ husband,” she said.

  “Jesus…So he was involved with this conspiracy too?” asked Mick, becoming confused.

  “It would appear that way. It could just be a coincidence that Simon knows Mitchell Clark personally,” she said.

  “I highly doubt that. Simon never mentioned he knew Mitchell Clark. We have to assume that this guy Clark was taking orders from Simon, to watch the President’s husband. But for what reason?” said Ethan. “Why would BMC want to have the President’s husband watched?”

  “It’s funny you should mention that…Eighteen months ago, the Bradley’ daughter, Amanda Shaw was found dead in her apartment.”

  “Didn’t she commit suicide?” Mick thought.

  “That’s what the official AFP report indicated. But, apparently, Amanda Shaw was investigating a large corporation who’d committed two murders, because they were about to blow the whistle on the company.”

  “Do we know who these people worked for?” Felicity slowly nodded.

  “Yes. They were both employed by Birchall McClelland,” said Felicity.

  “Shit,” said Mick. He paused for a moment.

  “This is getting deeper than I thought,” said Ethan, as he stared at the screen. He was definitely feeling a little more positive, now that they’d uncovered more truth. “Do we know where Mitchell Clark is now?”

  “No. Looks like he’s fallen off the grid…After John Bradley’s body was found in that townhouse in Mascot, he never reported back to his post,” said Felicity.

  “Son of a bitch. So he’s either left the country, or they got rid of him,” said Ethan, slamming his fist on the table.

  “So let’s sum this up…Eighteen months ago, Amanda Shaw, the daughter of President Charmaine Bradley and John Bradley, was conducting an investigation into Birchall McClelland because they murdered two of its employees,” Mick began. “Somewhere along the line, BMC got wind of Amanda Shaw’s investigation, they killed her to make it look like she committed suicide, then they killed John Bradley because he wasn’t convinced his daughter killed herself…He must’ve found out something to make them need to kill him too,” Mick added.

  “The question is, what…” said Ethan. The room paused for a moment.

  “Felicity. We need you to work your magic again,” said Mick. Felicity just rolled her eyes. “You think you can do some digging into Birchall McClelland? Find out what they were up to eighteen months ago,” said Mick, and she nodded.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” she said, and got up. As she did so, Felicity froze. “Uh oh, here’s trouble.” Mick and Ethan looked over their shoulders, only to see Anna Mackenzie walking towards them.

  Anna was the Superintendent and she was also in charge of the Criminal Investigative Branch.

  “Bloody oath, what does she want?” Mick cursed, as he started heading to the door. “Just keep working on this, make sure Mackenzie’s people don’t find out.” Mick headed out the door to greet Anna. “Superintendent, this is quite a surprise. What brings you to the neighbourhood?” he enquired, sarcastically.

  “Hello, Mick. I’m here to supervise the task force. I hear you’ve been making a mess of things,” she replied. Anna was dressed in black business attire, with a cream-coloured blouse. Anna was a short woman, with a slim build. Mick looked at her confused.

  “I’m not sure what you’re talking about, Anna?”

  “It’s Superintendent Mackenzie, or Director Mackenzie, if you want to get formal…Don’t forget I am the head of this task force, and you will address me appropriately,” she barked. Mick backed off. He totally miss judged the mood.

  “Of course, my apologies, Director…Things are running smoothly here as you can see,” he said.

  “Oh, well that’s not what I’ve been told. I was informed by the Commissioner that one of your detectives illegally questioned a suspect in custody who was being treated for severe gunshot wounds that were caused by said detective,” said Anna.

  Mick didn’t know what to say to that. She looked at him with a raised eye brow. “I’ve also received a report from the Commissioner that he’s been harassed by the Director-General of ASIO about one of his officers failing to report in. He also said the officer in question has disappeared and not answering calls,” she added. Mick let out a sigh.

  “I can explain.”

  “I should bloody well hope you can, because I’d like to know what’s been going on,” she demanded.

  “In my office,” he said, and he showed her into his office. After he closed the door, he proceeded to close the blinds on all the windows in his office.

  “Mick, what is going on? I hope this isn’t some attempt at trying to fraternize with your superior officer?” she said.

  “That’s funny, Director,” said Mick, rhetorically. “No, the reason for all this cloak and dagger, is because it’s a very sensitive situation we’re dealing with. Anyone could be listening,” he added. Anna looked at him oddly.

  “Why would they be listening to us?”

  “Because what I’m about to tell you, must never leave this room.”

  “Oh for heaven’s sake Mick, you’re driving me bloody crazy. Just spit it out,” she demanded. Anna was the sort of person who didn’t want to waste time, and to just get on with it.

  “Fine…We’re in the middle of an investigation of a conspiracy to assassinate the President of Australia, orchestrated by one of the largest private defence contractors within this country,” he explained.

  “Who?” she asked, sternly. Mick hesitated for a moment, and exhaled.

  “Birchall McClelland…” There was a deafening silence in the room, as Anna stared at him.

  “You’ve got to be bloody joking me, right?” she said. Of course, Mick shook his head.

  “No…We’ve uncovered secrets about this organization that goes back to before the republican referendum. We also know that they’ve murdered at least four people in the last eighteen months, including Her Excellency, President Charmaine Bradley, her daughter Amanda Shaw, and recently, her husband, John Bradley.” Anna was just completely blown away by all of this.

  “I’m just having trouble understanding how such a large corporation be responsible for so many deaths, and no one knows about it?” she asked.

  “Because they are mastermind criminals. They’ve covered up every single murder they committed…They made Amanda Shaw’s death look like a drug overdose. She never took drugs, they made John Bradley’s death look like a murder-suicide,” he said. Anna paused for a moment.

  “And what about the missing ASIO officer?” she demanded.

  “Simon Harper?” said Mick. Anna nodded. “It turns out that he was working for Birchall McClelland. Detective Cooper went to meet with Harper, they were in the SASR together,” Mick explained. Anna just stood there with her arms folded. “Apparently, Simon had orders to kill Detective Cooper, because he was asking too many questions, and obviously getting too close to home,” he said. Anna started walking around slowly. She didn’t speak, just breathed heavily, like she was frustrated.

  “Supposing that any of this is in fact true, you can’t just go and arrest every single person within Birchall McClelland. It would be a catastrophic violation of police authority, and breach of human rights acts,” said Anna.

  “I am aware of that, which is why we’re not planning on detaining everyone…We’re attempting to find out who exactly is involved, before we go in guns blazing,” said Mick. Anna was quite surprised by that.

  “Well, you’re full of surprises today, Mick. Normally you’re a shoot-first, ask questions later kind of guy,” she said. Mick just scoffed.

  “Isn’t that the reason you hired me?” he responded. Of course, Anna didn’t reply. She started heading to the door. “So, do I have authorization to carry out this investigation?” he asked. Anna reached for the door knob, turned it, and looked back.

  “What investigation?” she said, with a smirk. Then she left.
/>   CHAPTER 35

  KARL BENEDICT, THE Chief Executive Officer of Birchall McClelland, was starting to get worried.

  When he first started this, ‘endeavour’, eighteen months ago, he never expected to encounter so many problems.

  But of course, no one could blame him for trusting supposedly honest people, and ones who didn’t plan on backstabbing him.

  He was most disappointed at the fact that despite the President of Australia being assassinated, on the very same day that Australia was set to be an independent nation, the government proceeded to accept the change, and still be a republic.

  However, there would soon be cause for celebration, for tomorrow was a brand new day. Karl was in his large, corner office at the Birchall McClelland headquarters in Sydney. It was coming up to six o’clock in the evening, and the city was already lit up by illuminating lights from the other buildings and the streets below.

  Normally, he’d be out the door at five thirty, but he didn’t want to go home, not when he could smell victory. It was so close he could basically taste it in his mouth.

  He stood there, and poured himself a glass of single malt Bourbon Whiskey, a bottle costing almost three hundred dollars. He casually sipped the glass, enjoying every single drop.

  His large TV screen was on. Currently, it was showing a news report on the upcoming funeral service for Charmaine Bradley, the President of Australia, as well as her husband, John Bradley.

  There was also a memorial service scheduled to commemorate the loss of lives in the bomb attack.

  The reporter went on to say that a number of very important people would be attending the service; those included the new President of Australia, His Excellency Brendan King, the Prime Minister of Australia, Jonathan Bryce, the Premier of New South Wales, Kevin Fraser, the Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, as well as many more officers of state.

  Also attending was Anthony Marsden, the Prime Minister of New Zealand.