Chapter 5
If we did all the things we are capable of,
we would literally astound ourselves.
-Thomas Edison
Jen handed out hot chocolate all round.
“So do we tell Zac she’s over here and possibly in trouble?” reflected Dave, from behind his mug.
“And what about their parents?” frowned Jen. “They might assume Zac knows she’s in Australia and then they’ll both be in trouble.”
Gordon nodded in agreement.
“I gave it considerable thought on the way over... It’d be good if we could avoid history repeating itself... I’m leaning towards locating Hope and ensuring she gets round the clock protection from us without blowing the cover identity she’s obviously gone to great lengths to create for herself.”
“But she’s being hounded by two experienced militants Don.”
“She’s obviously resourceful... And she’s probably come up against similar bods before as Heidi Cannikin... Travelling to the world’s trouble-spots... writing cutting edge freelance articles... making a name for herself as an award winning photo-journalist. Her family will be impressed when they find out.”
“I think Helen’s gonna have a fit when she finds out,” murmured Jen, shaking her head in disbelief.
“Why?” asked Frank.
“Wouldn’t you be worried about your nineteen year old daughter if someone told you a couple of military heavies were using her as target practice?”
“Nineteen? But when I first met her in Los Angeles, she said she was twenty-three!” frowned Frank.
“How long ago was that?”
“Four years ago. So she’s twenty-seven.”
“Well Zac’s twenty-seven. But she’s definitely only nineteen now.”
Frank’s jaw dropped.
“But that means she was only sixteen when I sent her to Iraq with Maya.”
“You sent a sixteen year old to Iraq?” said Jen in disbelief.
“Worse than that. I let a sixteen year old drive my new Porsche!”
Dave and Gordon stifled their grins.
“Well how was I to know she was only sixteen?” said Frank defensively. “She was impeccably groomed. And driving a restored 1971 Boss Mustang, which my son took a liking to.”
“Well I haven’t had much to do with young Hope, but if she convinced you she was older than she was, it doesn’t surprise me. Zac and Hope were home-schooled. Most young people see their teenage years as a vacation from responsibility, but that pair believe they were born to be planet shapers. I recall having a profound discussion with Zachariah the first week we met about society’s low expectations of teenagers today... And how two hundred years ago, teenagers were often history makers - Thomas Edison invented an electrical pest control system at 13... Philo Farnsworth was 14 when he developed the forerunner to the television set... Alexander Graham Bell invented a rotary brush to remove husks from wheat at 14...”
“... and at 15, Benjamin Franklin delivered papers by day, but by night he wrote anonymous articles for the paper which influenced the direction of the nation...” finished Frank.
He shook his head slowly.
“Just wait until I get my hands on that teenager!”
Gordon laughed warmly.
“What’s struck me about them both is the way they draw from the experiences of others,” ventured Dave. “They soak up ideas like sponges, mull ‘em over, then ask you for more input. I’ve never come across young people quite like them.”
“Zac put you through the wringer while he was here, eh?” grinned Gordon.
“Zac was a breeze... Hope had me ducking for cover!”
“Since when do you mentor young women?” guffawed Gordon.
Dave paused.
“We held a father-daughter discussion... Jen was present the whole time.”
“Well I never thought I’d see the day!”
Dave said nothing. Gordon decided to back off.
“Let’s see... Our top priority is to locate Hope before Luan and Tarapaca do. She hasn’t any formal training in espionage, so that shouldn’t be too difficult. Since you hit it off with her Dave, it might be best if you try locate her physically. Meanwhile I’ll make use of your op centre and try and track her down electronically... She’s bound to slip up and make a bank transaction or use her email or mobile...”
“What about me?” asked Jen.
“If Luan and Tarapaca return, it might arouse suspicion if you’re both not about. I can pose as a guest but really be watching your back. The only thing that stinks about my plan is Dave doesn’t have anyone to watch his back if he encounters Luan and Tarapaca...”
“I’ll be his backup!” said Frank quickly.
“You?” fired Dave.
“Heidi... I mean Hope, is in this mess because I gave her the assignment of investigating where Maya left off.”
“You allowed her to go out into the field without any physical or electronic backup?”
“I came here looking for her when she didn’t contact me.”
“Thirty six hours too late! You deskies should stay at your desks!”
“Wooah up Dave... I agree our deskie has poor field skills, but the articles he writes indicate he has a good grasp of E/M warfare. His understanding of the stakes is at least as good as mine when our paths first crossed.”
Dave gave Gordon a long-suffering look.
“Don, this is no time to break in a green pup... Especially one that’s scared of his own shadow and likely to trip over a rubbish bin.”
“Do you know your way around Perth bushie?” challenged Frank.
“Roughly. Besides I’ve got maps and a GPS.”
“Most GPSs can’t even find the farm.”
“What farm?”
“It’s a vacant rural property with an old shed on it out near Serpentine airfield. Hope keeps her ride there. I’ll lay a bet if she’s laying low in Perth, she’s there.”
“Well what are we waiting for? If we drive through the night we can be there by morning.”
“No deal ‘til one of you tell me where Maya is.”
Gordon’s eyes twinkled.
“Our deskie appears to have a card or two up his sleeve, military man...”
Dave sighed noisily.
“So where’s Maya?” demanded Frank, looking at Gordon.
“When I last saw her, she was being winched down off a helicopter into the heart of Yellowstone National Park. Zac’s organised a relaxed field trip to teach her and Jake the basics of hiking and bush survival.”
“You’re lying! Maya doesn’t hike. And if she has to rough it she complains to blazers.”
“News update Frank. Maya has traded her three inch Manola Blahnik’s for Scarpa hiking boots.”
“Unless you can prove she’s safe, I’m not going to help you find Hope!”
Dave rolled his eyes.
“Let’s skip using this jelly-legged journalist as backup Don... I’ll find Hope without his help.”
Gordon chuckled softly.
“It’s all right David... Wary Wieland here is just making sure that we’re the good guys... Would you like to chat to Maya in person Frank?”
“You can contact someone in the backblocks of Yellowstone Park? How?”
“Zac’s carrying a military issue H.F with multiple frequencies so we can communicate with him via Echolink. And we can also resort to using Morse if voice transmission’s poor.”
Dave snapped his fingers.
“Eureka! That new locator beacon Zac’s trialling... He might have explained to Hope how to transmit on it...”
“...and if she’s attempted to contact him, we can determine her location when she triggered it... Stroke of genius, military man!”
“Not so fast pen-pusher. I can’t access Zac’s log from my computer without his password...”
“It’ll take me all of five minutes to rewrite the programme so we can!”
“It will? Stroke of genius, pen-pusher. Come along then..
. you might as well join us fraidy Frank. For better or worse, it looks like we’re watching each other’s backs on this assignment...”
Ω
Dave’s den took up about half of the Safehouse. Five forty foot sea containers, excavated into the ground, bunker style. The extent of the underground installation stunned Frank. Satellite tracking equipment... radar screens... amateur radio... computers with an array of communications equipment...
“This is... impressive,” he breathed.
“It also needs to remain secret,” replied Gordon. “Last week we foiled a North Korean attempt to demonstrate how a UN satellite could be misused to create destructive weather patterns on the other side of the planet. Luan is probably here to investigate what went wrong with the Weathermakers demonstration.”
“Or to have another crack at the demonstration,” murmured Dave. “Is Tarapaca a known associate of Luan’s?”
“It appears to be a new alliance... Have you heard anything Frank?”
“M... Me?”
“You’re an investigative journalist... Any suggestions as to how we can confirm the new partnership?”
“There’s a forum that journalists access. The rumours are usually reliable leads.”
“You check the forum. We’ll see if Hope’s tried to contact Zac, then we’ll rouse Maya...”
Ω
“Gidday Gordon...”
“Good morning Zachariah... Is the sun up yet in your part of the planet?”
“Just... Everything okay down-under?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Gut feeling.”
“Well... actually there are a couple of undesirables roaming around making a nuisance of themselves at the moment...”
“Do you need us to cut our trip short and join you?”
“Not at this stage, but I’ll keep you posted... Actually I’ve contacted you for a different reason. Maya’s old boss Frank would like to speak to her. Is she awake?”
“Of course I’m awake Gordon. I’ve been waiting for you to call.”
“You have? Why?”
“You were in on this torture weren’t you?!” exploded Maya.
“Er... torture?” echoed Gordon meekly.
“You know that tour of Yellowstone Park I thought I was going on. Some tour!”
Dave grimaced and rubbed his creased forehead. Gordon scratched his nose and moved the mic closer to Frank.
“Bad hotel hon?” asked Frank melodiously.
“Try no hotel Frank! Not even a tent...This chopper dropped us off in the middle of nowhere. Nothing in sight except three backpacks with sleeping bags. And so far, all we’ve done is hike. And do push-ups! Zac made me do twenty yesterday morning.”
“Twenty push-ups?” echoed Dave sympathetically.
“More than that!” complained Maya. “I got twenty extra push-ups. Just for popping my head up and taking one little photo of a bird when Zac had told me not to move.”
Dave and Gordon exchanged semi-desperate looks. Jen smothered a giggle.
“And last night Zac forced Jake and me to bathe with him under this smelly, bubbly waterfall. In just undies and a T-shirt.”
“Embarrassing?” said Gordon gently.
“I was embarrassed dad,” murmured Jake. “Until Zac pointed out that the average g-string only covers 10cm2, whereas what Maya was wearing covered at least a hundred... By my calculations it was 106cm2 actually.”
Jen bit her lip in an attempt to control her laughter.
“Er... right son,” mumbled Gordon. “Stay on the side for a jiffy...”
Ω
“You terrorists!” chastised Zac with a grin.
“Just telling them what they want to hear!” retorted Maya.
“Did we sound convincing?” added Jake.
Zac laughed and lay back on his arms.
“Gordon and Dave sounded convinced. I don’t know about Jen though. I thought I heard her giggling...”
Ω
Silence. Gordon broke it.
“Er, the term torture was possibly just an unfortunate choice of words...”
“...and I’m sure there was a good reason Zac forced Maya to bathe in mixed company in a T-shirt which only covered 100cm2 of her skin,” added Dave solemnly.
“106cm2” corrected Jen, trying to keep a straight face. “An extra 6cm2 of cloth translates into additional modesty when bathing in mixed company...”
“Starlit skies... a secluded location... a warm, effervescent waterfall... When the competition’s dishing out carrots like that, it doesn’t surprise me that Maya hasn’t contacted me!” chuckled Frank.
Jen and Frank doubled over with laughter and clapped each other on the back. Dave and Gordon exchanged blank looks.
“You two have no idea when it comes to women!” laughed Jen.
“I know one thing for sure now. You’re the good guys... The look on your faces!” guffawed Frank. “You actually believed her!”
“You’re not worried about her welfare after what she said?” murmured Dave.
“Are you saying she was having us on?” added Gordon.
“Take my word for it. Maya’s having the time of her life. If she wasn’t, she would’ve thrown a fit and hiked out of Yellowstone by now. By herself! Not to mention sweet talked me into paying her fare home in exchange for a freelance article about the experience!”
Gordon slowly rubbed his chin.
“So if you’re right about Maya spinning a yarn, that means Jake and Zac are having us on too! Jake’s a fledgling, but we can’t let a seasoned vet like Zac get away with this unchallenged... He’s making me feel old!”
“Iron sharpens iron!” grinned Dave. “Pass me that mic again mate...”
Ω
“Maya, it’s Dave... We’ve been discussing it... It sounds like you’re letting Zac call all the shots on this training camp. It’s for his benefit as much as yours... Gordon’s wanted Zac to lead mixed teams for years. But Zac’s always dug his heels in about the idea until he met you. Gordon feels he’d benefit career-wise from more exposure to those frank questions young women ask. You know... the ones that make fellas squirm inside...”
“Gordon wants me to give Zac practice at answering them?”
“Yes. And don’t let him duck any curve balls either... If he says ‘e’ in the middle of a conversation with you, make him say ‘erection’. If you ask him what an erection feels like... don’t let him get away with telling you it’s too hard to explain...”
Maya laughed into the mic. Zac held his fingers over his lips to hide his reaction.
“You should see the expression on his face... He looks stunned Dave!”
Dave chuckled roguishly. Zac took the mic off Maya.
“Dave, are you sure this is Gordon’s idea?
“Quit your griping young lion,” interrupted Dave. “Yellowstone’s a beautiful park to learn to communicate with a woman in. I was stationed there for fifteen years so I ought to know... Just relax around Maya... Like you’d relax around Hope.”
Zac only just managed to reply.
“I don’t recall telling you I had a sister.”
“Er... Gordon mentioned her actually. He said you were teaching her to run background checks. Were you two playing cops and robbers or something?”
Zac laughed.
“I look for opportunities to find common ground with her and she told me she had to submit a piece of investigative writing as part of her journalism course... Except I think she’s got a bit carried away with her assignment.”
“Why?”
“Well the other day when I logged on to do a check of my own, I noticed she’s run a background check on a journalist by the name of Heidi Cannikin as well.”
“I’ve heard that name somewhere before...” replied Dave with complete sincerity.
“You’ve probably read some of her articles. She’s a well known investigative journalist. She writes succinct articles on earthquake engineering and weather manipulation... I’d like
to meet her some day.”
Dave cleared his throat.
“Well you never know what the future holds... Listen, your signal strength has dropped off this way, so we’ll sign off for now. But we’ll touch bases again with you all again if we need to... VKO698 going clear...”
“Yeah, bye ya-all. VKO699... clear. ”
Ω
“Well recovered!” laughed Gordon, as Dave hung up the mic.
“Sorry about nearly slipping up there mate. I had to drop in that bit about the background checks, to justify how I knew Hope’s name. On the off-chance anyone’s listening in, hopefully it didn’t make much sense anyway...”
Frank looked thoughtful.
“Well your young friend’s story lines up with yours and with what Hope told me when I thought she was Heidi Cannikin.”
“Hope told you about Zac?” frowned Gordon.
“She said she and her brother had run a background check on me... and discovered I had four identities... And that her brother was a scientist who knew a lot about E/M weapons.”
“So do you trust us yet, wary Wieland?”
“Almost. Why’s she really in Yellowstone Park?”
Gordon and Dave exchanged momentary glances.
“Zac chose Yellowstone Park so he could protect Maya without making it feel like protective custody.”
“What do you mean?”
“Frank - there’s a chance Luan and Tarapaca are chasing Hope because they think she’s Maya.”
“Why would they think that?”
“One of the articles in your spread last week mentioned a female journalist was an eyewitness... It took me about two minutes of searching your archives to determine that you have eight female journalists who currently write for you regularly, and only two of those are investigative journalists - Maya Gregory and Heidi Cannikin...”
Frank’s brow creased.
“And if Luan did a number plate search on the vehicles currently here, he would have discovered the XY was registered in the name of Heidi Cannikin... and probably reached his own conclusion as to which journalist was the eye-witness...”
Frank’s look of horror intensified.
“Of course, Luan and Tarapaca may be pursuing Hope for an entirely different reason...”
“What reason?”
Gordon and Dave exchanged glances.
“A military intelligence reason,” replied Gordon. “But that information is...”
“...classified?” guessed Frank.
Gordon nodded and cleared his throat.
“For the time being we need to assume that both of your investigative journalists need our protection. Maya’s safe with Zac and Jake on the other side of the world. Our task is to locate and protect the intrepid Heidi Cannikin...”
Ω
Maya joined Zac and Jake - who were both relaxing languidly in the warm water.
“What are you wearing?” murmured Zac.
“100cm2 of T-shirt and undies.”
“I make it 106cm2!” chuckled Jake.
“Maya, you realize what’s gonna happen when that material gets wet, don’t you?”
“What’s gonna happen?” asked Jake.
Zac removed his own T-shirt without comment and slid it over Maya’s head. Maya pulled her arms through the shirt and giggled girlishly.
“Don’t give me that ‘behave yourself’ look! My new assignment is to teach you to talk about sex with women. I had to do something provocative to initiate the conversation!”
“There must be a heat wave at home at the moment,” frowned Jake. “You don’t have any trouble communicating with women about sex stuff do you Zac?”
Zac grinned coyly
“Not really... Except possibly with my sister.”
“Why?”
“Some of the questions Hope asks are over-the-top threatening because they’re so personal.”
“Your kid sister sounds one powerful woman!” laughed Maya. “What information about sex has she tried to pry out of you anyway?”
Zac smiled and reddened slightly.
“The sun’s over the trees... We should think about breakfast and breaking up camp.”
“No evasive answers Zac Canney. I’m an investigative journalist on a mission and Jake is my assistant interrogator. And we will both tickle the facts out of you unless you tell us all about the last conversation you had about sex with your sister... Now when, where and what happened?” insisted Maya, holding an imaginary mic in front of Zac’s mouth.
Zac forced lightness into his voice.
“When? Well... the last conversation we had about sex was about four weeks ago. Just before I went to Laverton.”
“And where were you?”
“We were both together... in her VW.”
“And what did she ask you?”
“What? Er... Pass! On the grounds that I might go red!” teased Zac.
“That’s Strike 1!” giggled Maya. “Three Strikes and you’re tickled!”
“So the what she asked was a very personal question?” probed Jake cautiously.
“Ah ha.”
“So Hope asked you about what it feels like when you get... um... aroused?” asked Jake, with blushing cheeks.
Zac grinned and nodded in assent.
“Huh? How’d you guess that Jake?” asked Maya with surprise.
“I didn’t guess it. I concluded it based on my observations.”
“What observations?”
“I observed Zac’s response when Dave gave you those instructions... He drew a deep breath and brushed his lips with his fingertips... Then he rubbed his ear. And he does those things when he’s nervous.”
“Good to see you haven’t forgotten what I taught you recently about observing with all your senses Jake. Even if you’ve used it against me!” laughed Zac.
“Don’t try and change the topic Zac... I didn’t notice you doing any of those things, but I agree with Jake. If you responded like that, then it indicates you’re scared to discuss sex with women.”
“I was unsettled by what Dave said. But you’ve jumped to the wrong conclusion Maya.”
“You’ve lost me.”
Zac paused.
“Okay... I was gonna put it on the back burner and try and make sense of it today while we were hiking, but I’ll try to explain it to you now before we set out... Do you remember Dave’s exact words earlier?”
“Not really. He said something about not letting you avoid curve balls.”
“Jake?”
“Um... He said if you use ‘e’ in a conversation with Maya, then she had to make you say... um...”
“Go on Jake,” encouraged Zac. “It’s important...”
“Do I have to say the e word in front of Maya?”
“No... You don’t have to do anything. But I really need you to repeat what Dave said verbatim...”
“You need me to repeat what Dave said?” ask Jake, with a pained expression.
“Yes. In case I misheard him.”
“Oh, alright... Dave said if you use ‘e’ in the middle of a conversation with Maya, then she had to make you say ‘erection’. And if she asked you what an erection feels like... you weren’t allowed to fob her off and say it’s too hard to explain...”
Zac chewed thoughtfully on his thumbnail.
“Zac... You look shaken,” observed Jake.
“But it’s not because you’re scared of me doing what Dave told me to do is it?” probed Maya.
“I didn’t mishear Dave,” said Zac softly. “What he said was almost identical to what Hope said to me in her VW... Except Hope and I were alone in her car when we had that conversation. Last time when I was home in Alaska.”
“You’re saying your sister told Dave about her conversation with you? How? Where? Why?”
“No idea. She hasn’t been to Australia. She’s never left Alaska. I can’t work out where they could have met in the last month. And Dave doesn’t strike me as someone who’d participate in on-line chat f
orums about sex, even if Hope was crazy enough to ask questions like that over the internet...”
“That’s... freaky!”
“I think it’s Dave’s way of secretly telling me to come back to W.A.”
“Why secretly? Is Dad holding out on us?”
“No idea. But it’s like Dave deliberately dropped Hope’s name and snippets of private information into the conversation to get my attention.”
“Now that you mention it, do you know what else is whacky?” added Maya. “What’s Frank doing hanging out with Dave and Gordon anyway? He’s never met them before to my knowledge. And he hardly ever leaves his desk. Day or night.”
“None of it makes any sense,” mused Zac. “The question is, what can we do about it?”
Ω
A reflective silence.
“So why are we lazing around enjoying these absolutely amazing hot springs pretending to study thermo-geophysical formations?” shrugged Jake. “Let’s get home to the heat and flies and get to the bottom of this mystery!”
Zac chuckled and shook his head.
“Jake... we’re in the heart of Yellowstone Park mate. There are only two ways out. By chopper or the hike trail. I can only call in the chopper in a medical emergency. And the hike trail will take us another week to get out.”
“When I got changed into my bathers yesterday arvo I saw a signpost to something-or-rather Pass. It pointed to a narrow path off the main hiking trail. Maybe it’s a shorter route out of the Park.”
Zac looked reflective.
“Yeah, coincidentally we are close to the Pass, but that route out is absolutely out of the question.”
“Why?” asked Maya.
“Have a look at my map and tell me if you can work out why.”
Maya got out of the water and rummaged for Zac’s map. She plonked herself down and studied it for a long moment.
“We’re about here, so... yes... here’s the place. It’s called Farliga Pass. It looks like it’d take about two days to complete the trek... And it leads right up to the top of the canyon. To another place with the flying wings symbol.”
“Ah ha. Now read the fine print about Farliga Pass,” coaxed Zac. “Under the words WARNING.”
“WARNING: Farliga Pass is a military training trek and is not intended for public use.”
“Sounds like a polite way of saying KEEP OUT CIVILIANS,” murmured Jake.
“It doesn’t say ‘Keep Out.’ It just says ‘Not intended for our use.’”
Raised eyebrows.
“Maya. Farliga is the Swedish word for dangerous. Do you think that might have something to do with why it’s not intended for public use?”
“They probably gave it a name like that because they want to keep some extra-special hot springs to themselves.”
Zac drew a deep breath.
“Maya - don’t take this the wrong way, but we can’t take Farliga Pass. It’s for training Special Armed Forces commandos. As in the real commandos. Not your weekend Army Reserves.”
“So?”
“So survival rule number one is only attempt what the weakest member of your party is capable of doing. And there are parts of that military trek I wouldn’t even attempt alone.”
“But you won’t be alone Zac. You’ll be with us,” argued Jake.
“Jake... Are you insane? Your father will kill me if I take you on that trek! The bridge crossing the chasm isn’t a bridge for one thing. It’s three steel reinforced ropes. You hang onto the top rope, hook your legs between the middle and step along the bottom one.”
“You mean like the climbing ropes they have in kids’ playgrounds? Easy peasy!”
“I can handle rope bridges too. I crossed one in Tibet!” added Maya brightly.
“Maya... Jake. Listen both of you! Most of the trek is uphill. And you need to vertically climb up sections of the Pass. And we’ve only got light duty gloves. And one safety harness and one climbing rope between us.”
“So? It just means we have to think a little more carefully about how to share the gear we have. Besides, just because the commandoes do Farliga Pass in two days, it doesn’t mean we have to. We can take three days. Or even four. It’d still be quicker than another week on the hiking trail.”
Zac sighed noisily.
“Guys... I’ll be honest. I’ve got a gut feeling that something’s wrong with Hope... and I suspect Gordon and Dave are holding out on us. But I’ve never taken any of my teams on Farliga Pass. Not even my fittest team.”
“You mean Brendan, Dale and Pete haven’t been on the Pass?” asked Maya.
“No.”
“Great! We’ll be able to skite next time we see them!”
“Stop it!” groaned Zac. “I’m trying to get across to you both how ludicrous the idea is. I haven’t even completed the whole trek myself... I was too chicken!”
“That does it! We’re definitely trying it!” grinned Jake.
“What?!”
“Because Farliga Pass will give you the opportunity to practice what you’ve been telling me since the day you met me... Have a shot at doing the thing you fear - and keep at it until you’re not afraid of doing it anymore...”
The Codetalkers (The Rebelutionaries Series: Book 2) Page 5