Fire Eye

by Peter d’Plesse

  As he turns around, Alex leans forward to add her eyes to the four already scanning the ground in front of them.

  A mixture of expectation, excitement, determination and uncertainty, combined with a sprinkle of fear makes for a broth of tension that fills the cabin as they search for the first sign of the man who has forced them to this point. The hunted have become the hunters.

  Minutes drag on in silence as the search continues across an expanse of reds, greens, purples and pinks stretching to the horizon, and the complex mix of undulations, channels and scattered jump-ups that give the landscape its unique character. Unconsciously, Jed continues to fiddle with the Colt, internalising its feel and weight to make it part of his very soul. They don’t bother counting the minutes as they slip by, eyes flicking left, right, forward and down in a complex scan that consumes all their attention.

  “There!” Alex snaps, stabbing her finger out and down to a flash of white and a reflected beam of sunlight that catches her eye.

  Jed and Billy focus on the area where she points. They have to wait until a gap in the trees lets the colour and reflection resume their flickering dance for a few seconds.

  “I’ll swing out to the side so you can check ’em out,” Billy explains as his hands perform their practised dance across the controls. “Be no good if we shot up a bunch of pig hunters!”

  Jed appreciates the attempt at dry male humour in a tense situation. “Yeah, we’d be outgunned and not real popular!” He swings the binoculars up. “It’s them!”

  “This chopper insured?” Alex interjects. “You know what happened to the ‘cruiser!”

  At this flash of riposte, Jed turns to look at her, hoping to see the old Alex. Above a grim smile, her eyes give nothing away behind the invisible shield.

  “The trees thin out just ahead of them for a space. I’ll do an orbit and then a descending left turn to bring us out behind the tree line. That do you?” Billy asks as he outlines his plan.

  “That’ll do just fine. The tree line on either side will provide cover for approach and departure. We should get the jump on them but I wouldn’t underestimate that bastard!” Billy begins a turn to the left to set up the approach. Like mustering, it is all in the timing. Jed settles the Colt into his hand for the last time and waits for his chance.

  “This morning I was heading off for another mustering job,” Billy murmurs into the intercom as he judges his approach. “This is much more bloody interesting!”

  Chapter Eighty-two

  Decker is finally starting to relax. Digging the Nissan out has been a bastard of a job but they are back on the move. From memory, the track will soon improve and they will be able to travel faster. They can hit the homestead early afternoon, do what needs to be done and move on. He wouldn’t mind looking up the little checkout girl back at Adelaide River if time allows. They’ll have to find somewhere to camp maybe, depending on what happens at the homestead. His confidence is blossoming again. He takes quiet pleasure in watching Jesse handle the Patrol. He regrets his earlier loss of control but it won’t do the boy any harm. He has to toughen up and learn about the consequences of small mistakes.

  Things are back under control again. He consoles himself with the thought that, like a battle plan, once things start rolling you have to expect the unexpected. That has always been his strength. If Jesse learns anything from him, he hopes it is the adaptability that has got him through life. It even got him through fucking jail. He skims over the pain of that memory. Bitch! Dead bitch! Died too fucking slow! He leans back in the seat with the Winchester resting barrel down against his leg as they jolt along the track, thinking about future nasty pleasures as he watches Jesse out of the corner of his eye.

  Above the revving of the engine and thump of the suspension, another sound creeps into his consciousness as something flickers down behind the trees. His hand feels instinctively for the stock of the rifle, but he is thrown suddenly forward as Jesse hits the brakes and yells, “Fuck!”

  A helicopter appears from behind the trees like a roaring, thundering apparition, a squalling spiral of dust, leaves and debris twisting up around it. Its nose rears like a prancing stallion as the rotors claw the air to bring it to a momentary halt a few feet above the ground a short distance away. The tornado of dust and leaves mixes with dancing reflections of sunlight creating a blur of movement and noisy chaos that momentarily stuns their senses.

  Decker sees faces. A massive jolt hits him in the stomach. The bitch is leering at him from the back seat. The pilot stares toward him with intense concentration and the ponce sits there like a prima donna and raises a pistol in a two-handed grip. For an instant Decker loses sight of the ponce’s face as he looks into the barrel. He sees two quick flashes just as the chopper drops its nose and thunders back into the air behind the trees.

  Jesse sits frozen behind the wheel. “What the fuck!”

  Questions flood Decker’s brain. A chopper! Where the fuck did they get a chopper from? The bloody bitch is alive! Does the fuck’n ponce think he can take me on? Decker recovers his senses faster than Jesse, his brain processing at the speed of light. “Bloody useless prick missed! Move it Jess! Into the fuck’n trees before they come around again,” he snaps as he lifts the Winchester and pokes the barrel out the open window. “Keep goin’. As long as we’re moving we’re a harder target,” and levers himself out the window to balance on the edge of the door. He braces himself against the roof rack by gripping it with his left hand while also cradling the stock of the Winchester. He uses his legs to brace himself against the seat he just vacated. The ponce is sitting on the left side of the chopper so he can get a clear shot. Decker knows if they come in for another pass, they can only come from the driver’s side of the Nissan.

  A more rational mind would recognise that circumstances are shifting unexpectedly out of their favour. Decker just sees a challenge. The blood is pounding through his veins. He relishes the sudden, unexpected development that stimulates an arousal he has never felt before. He is stunned at seeing the bitch alive, but welcomes the prospect of doing her again, slowly, looking into her eyes as she dies. The excitement washes around inside him like the raging waves of a stormy sea. He is swamped by a throbbing that overpowers his senses.

  “Go Jess! Go!” he yells as he cradles the rifle, hoping the helicopter will try again, and give him a shot. They bounce over the track, Jesse handling the vehicle like the man Decker wants him to be. He has to lure them in again, take out the pilot or disable the chopper. Decker’s brain works things through as Jesse handles the Nissan like a pro. Decker can hear the chopper but can’t see it but that doesn’t matter. Showdown is coming and Decker relishes it with heightened anticipation.

  “Fuck’n engines gett’n hot!” Jesse yells.

  “Keep her goin’ a bit longer, into the trees!” Decker yells back as he sees the clump of timber approaching. “Stop!” he yells again as Jesse pulls in and stops under the cover of some overhanging branches. “Let the bastards come for us!” he yells again as he leaps onto the ground. He tosses Jesse the Ruger, grabs the shotgun and slings it over his shoulder. Nothing like a sling, he thinks, among the turmoil of action. Most guys wouldn’t fit a sling to a shotgun but he isn’t most guys. Always prepared!

  In the distance he hears the chopper settle, take off again and then settle once more before the sound of the rotors fades into the distance. “Bastards are coming for us! Let’s do this Jess. We get to do the bitch again!” Confidently, he reaches for his binoculars. “Let’s hit the high country!” pointing toward a patch of rocky ground rearing up between the trees like a small, steep-sided pyramid.

  Jesse is confused but trusts his father. He grips the Ruger and follows his dad who always knows best.

  Chapter Eighty-three

  As the skids touch the ground Jed jumps out of the chopper, keeping his headphones on as he helps Alex out. “Back off and wait until I call on the hand-held. On the hour, plus or minus two minutes. Give us two hours and t
hen get out!” he orders into the intercom and looks for Billy’s nod of acknowledgment. He rips the headphones off and tosses them onto the seat. Jed likes people who don’t need long explanations.

  Billy gives them a thumbs-up and powers the chopper into the air through a swirling cloud of red dust. Jed grabs Alex and drags her none too gently into the scrub. They run a hundred metres to clear the landing area before dropping into a shallow channel and slumping breathlessly against the bank.

  “What’s the plan now?” Alex asks between her slow, deep breaths.

  Jed is fit but it has been a long time since he has run any distance, especially over this kind of country. “You’re not breathing as hard as me!” he gasps as he sizes her up.

  “One of the benefits of a good workout,” she replies with an expression that still gives nothing away.

  Jed lets his breath settle a little more before outlining his thoughts. “Decker will probably go for the high ground. He knows we’re coming for him. He also wants you badly. So badly, it may affect his judgement. My guess is he will try to spot us from up there before stalking us. He’ll be expecting us to check out the vehicle first. It’s a game of second guessing each other.”

  He finds himself explaining his thinking out loud. Making up for last time? “That outcrop is the only high country around, so that’s where we’re going. We can scan the land from up there and stake it out. Last option is to go to their vehicle and try to track them. If we do that, we’d have to spiral our way toward it to make sure they’re not staking it out and that’s time consuming. First we try to get them to come to us. You ready?”

  “And when we find them, what do you propose?” Alex asks pointedly.

  Jed thinks before answering. Visions of wasting the bastards flash briefly in his mind. Instead he says, “At worst, we’ll disable the vehicle to improve the odds for a man hunt. At best I’m going to hand him over and let the law take its course.” His statement has less resolve than he expected.

  Alex studies him and chooses her words carefully. “That will be an interesting case. He’ll fight it all the way. We didn’t actually see him shoot Joe and apart from the morning when he shot up your sleeping bag, it’s actually you who have been shooting at him. You haven’t seen his face when we’ve been out here. You can only do what you’re comfortable with,” she concludes in a tone that gives no hint of judgement.

  Jed ponders her reply. It has a lot of truth in it. Not only has he shot at Decker, he’s hit the bastard. Bloody pity he didn’t drop him on the spot! He’s also cut his own wound with the knife and turned it into a bigger one. A good lawyer could have a field day with all this! Jed wonders briefly whether he could have avoided getting into this mess. The time for regret is long past. Only action will bring the matter to a close. “You ready?” he asks in a tone that he hopes conveys confidence. “I want you to scan the ground to either side and behind us. I’ll scan to each side and in front. Clear?” He has seen enough to have full confidence in her. He would be stupid not to use her gutsy courage to advantage.

  Alex simply nods in return. They rise into a crouch, making their way through the scrub, scanning in all directions and moving cautiously but at a good speed. It doesn’t take long to reach the base of the jump-up cloaked in a scatter of scrub and greying, dead trunks of long-fallen trees. They scramble up the collection of fractured red boulders. The slope is steep and under twenty metres high but even that gives a good view from the summit.

  As they reach the top, Jed puts his hand on Alex’s shoulder, feeling the strength in her finely-toned muscles. The sensation sends a tingling sensation through his fingers. He resists the distraction and focuses on the immediate task at hand. “Stay low! The skyline behind will light us up like a flashing beacon!”

  He is pleased she makes no response, except to flatten herself even more onto the slab of smooth rock, crawling forward until they have a good view of the terrain below. In the distance they can see a vague, dancing reflection through the vegetation indicating the position of the vehicle parked under the trees.

  “Will he come, do you think?” Alex asks in a hushed tone.

  Jed considers it carefully. “Don’t really know, but I’m betting yes. He’s a good bushman and can get them both out of here if he decides to run. He’ll prefer to patch up the car to stay mobile. He hates you with a vengeance and out here he can fulfil his fantasies with the least amount of trouble. His hate may cloud his judgement. He knows we could have run but we’re here instead. He thinks he’s better than anyone and will jump at the opportunity to prove it,” he says reflectively.

  Alex raises an eyebrow. “And you intend to bring him back?”

  “I have to bring him back. Otherwise, he’ll come for me or people close to me some time in the future, just making a game of it. Anything else would be wrong!” he says, trying to sound convincing. Doubt still niggles at him. He would prefer to drop them both on sight.

  “Whatever you’re comfortable with,” Alex concedes as they settle down to wait.

  Chapter Eighty-four

  Decker can’t believe his luck. Just as he was getting used to the fact the bitch had died too easy, the stupid fuck is back! Asking for more, along with that bloody fuck’n headmaster of hers! The bastard turns out not to be so useless after all and has given him a run for his money. He likes that! He relishes the challenge! His mind ticks over at speed, focussing on the new challenge and the opportunity it presents. Fixing the Nissan will be a breeze. Once this is over there’ll be lots of memories to savour over a beer, especially if they end up with the bitch’s place. Whatever used to be in the box will be an added little bonus to set them up for a long time.

  He reaches into the backseat for a pair of binoculars and pats Jess on the back. “Things are looking up boy! The stupid fuckers didn’t run for the cops. They’ve come back for more. The pricks think they can put it over us, but they’ll learn. Will they ever learn!”

  “You sure pa? Maybe we should fix the Patrol and keep goin’!”

  Decker is shocked at the doubt in Jesse’s tone. He wants to clip him around the ear. Instead he restrains himself. He puts his hand on Jesse’s shoulder. “This isn’t the time to hesitate boy. We have a second chance. They deserve what’s coming to them. They had a chance to get out but chose to come back. It’s always been like this Jess. That bitch always wanted to do things the hard way. She could’ve had a good life if she’d learnt to keep her fuck’n mouth shut and do as she’s fuck’n told! But no! She was always the smart arse, thinking she knew best! Now it’s payback! They’re just askin’ for it!”

  The conviction in his father’s voice reassures Jesse. His dad is right. The bloody woman had always been picking on him, always on his back over something. And she lied and sent his father to jail. That can never be forgiven. And the memories of the foster family he’d been forced to live with still rankle. Maybe someday he’ll get to pay them back as well. He feels the strength in his father’s fingers as they grip his shoulder. His young manhood tingles as the excitement of the hunt and anticipation of its rewards rekindles his enthusiasm.

  Decker feels a wave of joy flood through him as he sees the fire once again in his son’s eyes. Being a father is a real challenge. Sometimes patience and understanding beat the tough love approach. The bitch never appreciated the boy’s potential or recognised his own. He almost feels sorry for her.

  Decker shoves his emotional reactions to one side and lets his military background take over. “We’re right to head for the high ground Jess. The pricks will stuff around in the scrub for a while but they won’t be able to resist coming for the truck. We’ll spot and stalk ’em, just like pigs coming in to water! We’ll get ourselves one each and then have some fun!”

  Moving toward the jump-up, Decker isn’t rash. He heads off at an angle to avoid a direct approach. “What’m I doin’ Jess?” Priding himself on taking every opportunity to teach his son important skills.

  Jesse hesitates before responding.
“We’re goin’ to come in behind the target, moving fast but careful to make up time. If they got there first, they’ll be lookin’ for us ahead but we’ll come in behind.”

  “No flies on you son. Good thinking. I’m proud of you!”

  Jesse feels his chest swell with the validation from his father. He keeps up the scan to left, right and behind as they cover ground at a fast but alert pace. This business has been a whole lot more complicated than expected but he has to admit it is exciting. He slings the rifle onto his other shoulder and continues the scan, left, right and behind, enjoying the thrill. Just like the SAS! Those fuck’n ragheads wouldn’t stand a chance against dad! Stupid fuckers encouraged him to leave the army. Didn’t realise what they had in front of them. Their loss!

  Decker veers left to close the distance to the target. Jesse feels the excitement building as he imagines putting his cross hairs on their prey. There is no drug that can deliver the high that comes from hunting people. The surge of exhilaration through his young body is almost overpowering.

  Chapter Eighty-five

  Jed and Alex flatten against the hard surface of the rock. Jed turns his head from left to right, watching and waiting for the slightest sign of movement among the grass, scrub and trees.

  “Aren’t you afraid?” Alex asks.

  Jed has never doubted his competence in many areas but has always avoided bravado. He knows some people judge him as a cowboy and a maverick and it has never worried him. If they don’t bother to get to know him, he doesn’t bother to value their opinion. He senses the question is genuine and considers his answer. “Yes, I’m shit scared. No blame on you Alex. I wasn’t expecting this, but it’s happened. Decker won’t give up, so it’s better to face him out here than wait for him back home. Too many people I value would be in the firing line. The bastard has to be brought down, him against me. Us,” he corrects rapidly.