Danger Down Under: Another Vince Hamilton Investigation

by Patrick Slaney

  And that's exactly how it worked out. The Inspector couldn't contact Rod, but he did get hold of Kevin, who promised to make sure that they got to Peppimenarti as fast as they could.

  Forty minutes later we were airborne and heading for Darwin.

  With the events of the last few hours I had forgotten about the pain; however, now the excitement level had dropped, I was feeling very uncomfortable. I asked Larry for a swig of his water and took two strong painkillers.

  After my day in the helicopter in the high humidity and the dust, my bandages were soaked through. I asked the Inspector to drop me off at the hospital to get my dressings changed. He went off to have a meeting with the drugs squad, and I got a taxi back to the hotel.

  Chapter 22

  When I got back to the hotel, I had time to reflect on the day’s events. I raided the mini bar for a whiskey and ginger ale which helped me relax in the comfort of the air-conditioned bedroom. I just hoped that the alcohol wouldn't have an adverse reaction to my medication. The nurse at the hospital had done a superb job applying fresh dressing, and the pain was under control.

  It had been a useful day in that I felt we were gradually building a picture of the locations that the smugglers were using. What frustrated me the most was that we were arriving after the horse had bolted? We hadn't actually seen the plane, Stuart or even the Italians. Lekunik airport in Indonesia was where we had got the closest, but we still hadn't been able to rescue Stuart because they had spotted us, and I had been shot. The Beechcraft King Air 250 and those on the ground had escaped. I had the feeling that we were running out of time.

  It now looked as if the next action would be played out in Peppimenarti in the west of Northern Territory, and I was stuck in Darwin. This would please Daphne if she were here as I was well out of harm's way, but I was feeling useless and very frustrated.

  I ordered a pizza and a Coke on room service to cheer me up.

  I must have dozed off after I had demolished my food. I was woken by the phone ringing.

  'Hi Vince; how are you?'

  It was the Inspector.

  'I am a lot better and I have even had some sleep.'

  'Are you up to another trip with Larry Lawrence in his helicopter?'

  'Yes; where are you planning on going?' My spirits were suddenly much improved, depression replaced by excitement.

  'I have talked to Rod and we are all going to meet at Palumpa airport. I have also organized a few firearms in case we get attacked which, by the way, I think is highly likely.'

  'Well, I am game. It is my left shoulder that is damaged so I can still fire a Glock if I have to.'

  'Meet me downstairs in ten minutes and we'll get going.'

  I was in the reception area, raring to go when the Inspector appeared.

  'Larry will be waiting for us at their base in the Charles Darwin National Park where we met him before. It should take us around two hours to get to Palumpa.' The Inspector explained. 'It will be dark by the time we arrive.'

  'Have you heard from any of the others?' I inquired.

  'No, the only person I have talked to is Rod. Kevin, Brian, and your brother have already set off for the new location so they should be there by now. They have been instructed to keep an eye out for any suspicious activities while ensuring that they stay well out of sight.'

  'What was the result of your meeting with the drugs squad?'

  'They are ready to support us as soon as we have something definite and concrete to go on. They reckon that we have enough people to tackle the watching brief for the time being, and there might be confusion if more people got involved.'

  'Will they be ready to support us if we require them urgently?'

  'Yes, they informed me that they are currently conducting a training exercise at Wadeye so they won't be far away if we need them.'

  'Sounds as if they think that they may be required,' I added.

  'The same thought struck my mind.' The Inspector gave me a knowing smile.

  'Was it the drugs squad who organized the guns for you,' I asked.

  'Yes, when they heard that you had been injured in a shooting, and we were up against armed men, there was no problem.'

  The pilot started the engine making it impossible to talk, so we stayed silent for the next two hours.

  When we arrived at Palumpa Airport, Rod appeared in the doorway as soon as the rotors had stopped.

  'Evening guys, did you have a good flight?'

  'There is not much fun flying over the countryside in the dark, but other than that it wasn't too bad,' the Inspector said.

  'How are you Vince, are you sure that you should be out and about?' Rod asked.

  'I am much better and able to keep everything under control with painkillers.'

  'Well you had better take a few more as we have a two-hour journey ahead of us across very rough tracks.' Rod smiled at me. 'In deference to your injury I won't go too fast.'

  They transferred the guns from the helicopter into the 4 x 4. There were three M7 sub machine guns and, in addition, four Glock 17's. There was also a bag containing five shortwave radios. In addition to all these weapons, there were also flak jackets and ammunition.

  The next ninety minutes on the road from Palumpa to Peppimenarti were the most painful of my life. I cursed myself for being so stubborn and not staying in Darwin in a comfortable air conditioned room. Yet again, I was dirty, hot, and suffering. No matter how I arranged my body in the seat, I couldn't get comfortable.

  'I have arranged to meet the others at a small settlement that is six hundred meters to the south-west of the airport,' Rod announced. 'There are houses plus a school in the area so a 4 x 4 arriving at this hour of the night won't look too suspicious.'

  We crept our way into the area that contained a number of houses. Most of them were in darkness as it was now after 11.00pm. At a building that I assumed was the school we saw the Ute the others had come from Palumpa in. Tony was beside it, but there was no sign of Brian or Kevin.

  'Any sign of life at the airport Tony?' the Inspector asked him.

  'We saw three large vehicles arrive a bit earlier. Kevin and Brian have gone over to the airfield to set up an observation post.'

  'Ok, Vince I want you stay here to keep an eye on the Ute and the 4 x 4. The rest of us will go over and do a recce of the airport.' The Inspector took charge of our motley band. 'Each of you put on a flak jacket and also equip yourselves with a short wave radio. Vince, you can keep one of the Glock's as I think that you mentioned that was your weapon of choice. Rod, you take a machine gun, and we will bring one for Kevin. I will leave one of the machine guns behind with you Vince. You never know it might come in useful at some stage.'

  Having checked that the radios were working and switched onto the same channel, they got dressed in their battle gear and set off for the airstrip. They left a very frustrated Vince behind. If I hadn't been injured, I would have been leading the attack on the airport and not playing at being the rear guard. I located myself close to the vehicles at the corner of one of the school buildings and endured an hour of suspense and anxiety. It was horrible not knowing what was going on. I half expected to hear shots coming from the direction they had gone, but all was suspiciously quiet.

  There was no moon, so it was a black night, and there was nothing for me to look at, I would have to rely on my ears.

  I had plenty of thinking time. It was very strange for me not to be in the vanguard of the attack and taking all the decisions. When I had been part of the attack on the Mafia headquarters in Marmaris, Turkey, although an army Captain had been running the show, I had been selected to lead one of the groups. I had therefore been in control of my own destiny. Here I was isolated and allocated a meaningless supporting role well away from the action. I was very tempted to ignore orders and join my colleagues at the airfield. That temptation was quickly knocked on the head when my army discipline came into play. As an Army Major, of many years' standing, there is no way I would disobey an orde
r. I just suffered in silence.

  About sixty minutes later Kevin appeared with Tony.

  'We have a problem; Vince,' Kevin whispered as he knelt down beside me. 'There is a small army of them and they have taken over the airfield. The Inspector wants Tony and me to return to Palumpa Airport and contact the member of the drugs squad who is there.'

  'Can I go with you I asked?' I wanted to join them as I didn't particularly fancy sitting beside the school for the next few hours.

  'I am afraid not Vince,' Tony said. 'We will be going as fast as possible for the whole of the journey and your body isn't up to the stress that will cause.'

  'We'll try and return in around three hours.' Kevin said.

  They jumped in the 4 x 4 and took off.

  To say that they left a very disgruntled ex, SAS Major behind is a gross understatement. The only comforting thought I had was that I was closer to the action here than I would have been if I had stayed in the hotel in Darwin. I convinced myself to be patient.

  I must have dropped off to sleep from the side effects of the painkillers as I awoke to hear a car engine very close to me.

  I grabbed hold of the Glock pistol and put the corner of the building between me and the recently arrived vehicle.

  'Vince, it's me,' I heard my brother's voice.

  'I'm over here,' I replied.

  Both Kevin and Tony approached me.

  'Did you get hold of the drugs squad's contact?' I asked

  'Yes and he has informed his boss in Port Keats. A crack team of twelve sharp shooters will be dispatched to this airfield immediately,' Kevin answered.

  'How long will it take them to get here?'

  'Well, surprisingly they just happened to be on full alert at Port Keats Airport at Wadeye They are not much more than ninety kilometres from here, and they have already left. They should be here in another hour as it took us an hour, driving flat out, to come half that distance.'

  'I expected them to fly in by helicopter,' I thought out loud. 'On second thoughts I suppose that our Italian friends would be alerted by choppers arriving and would try and shoot them down.'

  'We had better return to the airfield and report back to the Inspector,' Kevin suggested. 'Vince I told the drugs squad where you were stationed so they may come searching for you.'

  'Thanks, Kevin; how will I know if it is them rather than our Italian friends?' I could visualise a major friendly fire situation arising.

  'I suppose the answer to your question is that you won't. Just be on your guard.'

  They left me on my own again.

  We had now been in this location for most of the night, and no plane had arrived. What was going on and why were there so many of the opposition around? Admittedly, it was fortuitous that the aircraft hadn't arrived yet as we were severely outnumbered, but puzzling in the extreme that no more had happened.

  In my anticipation of a group of ten heavily armed drugs squad officers arriving I imagined a lot of strange and suspicious noises.

  I got a hell of a start when the first thing I heard was a voice asking, with a strong Australian accent, if there was somebody called Vince there. I had thought that I would hear the vehicle noises announcing their arrival.

  'I am over here,' I whispered.

  A black-clad man in body armour came over and knelt beside me.

  'Good morning Vince,' he whispered. 'I gather you have a small army assembled against you here.'

  'That's right,' I replied. 'They are all concentrated on the airfield. I haven't been over there myself, but the others have been keeping any eye on what is going on.'

  'I am going to leave all but one of my men here with you and go and see if we can locate the Inspector,' the man in black whispered to me. 'I'll see you later.

  I felt a lot more confident now. I counted another nine men dressed in body armour and with blackened faces. They spread out and took up defensive positions.

  Shortly afterwards the dawn started to break across the Australian barren and dry countryside. I was able to get my first view of what the area looked like. Fortunately, there were quite a few trees around the settlement where we were hiding, so we were able to keep out of sight.

  An officer, who I took to be the second in command, came over to me.

  'I don't think that it is a good idea that we wait here,' he said to me. There was no need to whisper, so he used his normal voice. We will go back to where we dumped our vehicles and stay there. You can tell the Captain when he gets back where we have gone.'

  'Does the location where you left your vehicles have a name?' I asked.

  'It shows it on the map as being Tom Turners Creek; it is about one-and-a-half kilometres from here in a westerly direction.'

  'I'll tell him, no problem.'

  They quietly and stealthily moved away while the dawn was still dark enough to give them cover. I was in splendid isolation again.

  I didn't have long to wait before the Inspector and the Captain leading the drugs squad team joined me.

  'Everything OK Vince?' the Inspector inquired.

  'It's been quiet here, and it was nice to have company,' I replied. 'Your men told me to tell you that they have gone back to the vehicles at Tom Turners Creek as there wasn't enough cover here.'

  'That's great, I will join them there in a minute,' the Captain said.

  'Have you any idea what is likely to happen next, Inspector?' I asked him.

  'That's the million dollar question, Vince. In an ideal situation, something should have happened during the night, but there is still no sign of the plane or the drugs.

  'Have you seen Luigi Bandarella at the airfield?' I asked.

  'I have no idea; I have never seen Mr Bandarella before so wouldn't recognize him,' the Inspector replied. 'There are a few Italian-looking people at the airport.'

  'Is there any chance that I can go and have a look,' I asked. 'Perhaps if I had a pair of binoculars I might be able to spot him without going too close.'

  'No chance Vince; there is absolutely no cover,' the inspector stressed. 'They chose their spot very carefully and it is impossible to creep up on them.'

  'I totally agree with the Inspector,' the Captain added. 'If the plane does arrive during daylight hours then we will have to attack using the Hummers.'

  'Do your Hummers have any armour plating on them?' I inquired.

  'Yes, they have been specially modified for our use. Perhaps we can also use your 4 x 4 to drop men off at strategic points.'

  'That shouldn't be a problem, but it doesn't have any special protection.'

  'I'll keep that in mind.'

  'So what's the plan,' I asked.

  'We stay hidden away from them and hope that the plane doesn't arrive during the day,' the Inspector replied to my question.

  'I'm going to join my guys at the creek, and we will see if we can drum up some food,' the Captain said. 'Can I bring some back for you guys; we have some spare.'

  'That would be very welcome; I am starving.' I suddenly realised that I hadn't eaten since I had the pizza in my hotel room the previous afternoon. 'What about Kevin, Tony, Brian and Rod, they must also be hungry?'

  'They will have to make do with the high energy bars that I gave them last night,' the Inspector suggested. 'They are going to have to stay put the whole day unless the plane arrives.'

  The Captain left to go back and join his men while the Inspector stayed with me.

  'I have a satellite phone in the 4 x 4 so I will try and contact the military who monitor flights in and out of Australia,' the Inspector said to me after the Captain left. 'They are based in Darwin and they gave me an emergency number I could get straight through on.'

  'Is it also possible for you to leave your number with them so as they can contact you if they detect the King Air with the registration VH-MTC?' I inquired.

  'I am not too sure if it works that way, but I will ask them to try.

  He put a call through to the number in Darwin, and it was answered. He talked for
a while and then terminated the call.

  'Not good news I am afraid Vince. The plane we are looking for has not been recorded as going through the airspace off Northern Territory recently.'

  'Did they say whether they could call you on this phone?'

  'They said that wasn't a problem, and as soon as they had any news for me they would try and pass on the information.'

  'I will keep the phone close to me all the time and let you know if they call,' I said.

  'Thanks that would probably work as you will be here for the duration. How are you feeling?'

  'I am fine; the pain is not too bad provided I am not been bounced around in a car or a helicopter.'

  'I'll go and talk to the Captain and give him an update,' the Inspector said. I will bring you some food when I return.

  He started walking towards Tom Turners Creek leaving me and the phone behind.

  Chapter 23

  The Inspector returned about an hour later. I was very glad to see him as I felt very exposed on my own. As promised he brought me some sandwiches.

  'Those guys are highly organized Vince,' he said as he handed over the sandwiches and a Coke. They have everything imaginable in their Hummers and can survive for days away from their base. I was very impressed.'

  'What are your plans now?' I asked him.

  'I am going to knock on the doors of the houses in this settlement and see if anybody is at home. They might get very nervous if they look out and find armed men crawling all over their district.

  'They would probably call the police.' I smiled at him.

  He took off his flak jacket and went on his visits looking like a civilian.

  He was back very soon.

  'How did it go Inspector?'

  'I only found two people at home; most of the houses were empty.'

  'Had they noticed us?'

  'No, both the ladies I talked to hadn't seen any unusual activity, but they did seem to want to chat. I suspect that they live a very boring life here as there don't appear to be any shops.'