by Gus Frazer
‘What the hell are you talking about Marty?’ said Adams, irritated.
‘I’m talking about the adoption of a new military strategy, an approach that will eventually send the Chinese invaders back to their motherland,’ replied General Stephens.
Adams spoke levelly. ‘Martin, we spoke of this a few weeks ago. You know what you’re suggesting is madness, and it’s certainly not in the best interest of the country.’
‘Best interest of the country? Tell that to the thousands of people who live out in rural Australia — right in the path of the Chinese! Hudson has abandoned them — he’s done exactly what the Chinese were expecting the whole time, and then he happily surrendered to them. The “best interest of the country” was never taken into account from the start of this nightmare. My only interest is Australia — and regaining our land.’
‘And staging a coup is going to help the country?’ asked Adams. ‘Damn it, Martin. You may be right about the military strategy but have you considered what the people of Australia want? After what they’ve seen on BBCNN, do you really think they want more bloodshed in their own backyard? They’ve watched their kids being slaughtered in the desert — over what? A few lousy mines …’ Pausing for a moment, Adams composed himself and continued more calmly. ‘The Australian people need some stability right now — and they’re happy with the certainty that the killing has ended.’
‘You speak of the “Australian people” like they’re a bunch of scared children cowering in their homes, praying that it will all be over soon,’ replied Stephens. ‘I think you’re underestimating their resolve, their strength, their will to remain a free nation. Connor, you should give them more credit. I believe that the public is appalled at the surrender. It is my intention to fight the Chinese and to continue to fight until they have been driven from our land. A coup may not be necessary. I am going public with my views and then we will see if the Australian people have lost their will to fight.’
‘I’m with you Marty, I can’t stand that we’ve simply lain down arms and let the Chinese stroll in,’ said Fletcher.
Turning to Fletcher, General Stephens gave him a nod and glanced back at Adams. ‘Look, you don’t need to say anything more. I understand — but I think you’re wrong. To do this I need your help — so please at least think about what I am saying.’
‘All right, Martin, I will. I have to go now. Jane is cooking dinner for the family. Since all this started she’s been insisting on the entire family being together for meals.’ With a wry smile Connor picked up his briefcase and turned to leave. ‘I’ll see myself out. And I’ll be in touch tomorrow morning.’
When the front door had closed, Stephens turned to Fletcher. ‘Well, that went better than expected.’
‘Jesus! What were you expecting Marty?’
General Stephens replied with a half-smile, ‘Well, he could have called the military police and had me locked up.’
‘He still might,’ piped up Sarah, from her spot by the fire.
Laughing now, Fletcher added, ‘He’s more likely to call the local asylum’.
The tension of their earlier conversation was immediately eased by the laughter. They were all desperately looking for an excuse to laugh.
Once they pulled themselves together General Stephens looked to Sarah. ‘So, Sarah, you’ve arranged the press conference for tomorrow afternoon?’
She sat upright, her dark brown hair falling over her shoulders as she leaned forward. ‘Yes. The Australasian, The Canberra Times and all the major metropolitan news hubs will be there. Through the online polling system the news sites use we will be able to get a pretty good indication of the public’s opinion of what you’re suggesting.’
‘Very good. Now Fletch, how did you go approaching possible collaborators?’ Stephens asked, turning to his friend.
‘Better than we could have hoped, Marty. All the people on your list have said they’d support us.’ He grinned. ‘Hudson must be even more of a mess behind closed doors than he seems in his press conferences.’
‘Okay. The next step is your resignation. I’ve already tendered mine, but you’ll need to do the same. You too, Main. Keep me updated on your progress, but not by phone. You know where to find me.’
With that, Fletcher and Main left Sarah and General Stephens.
Sarah sat back on the couch with an exhausted sigh. ‘Well, General, there’s no going back now. Adams was the last piece and he looks like he’ll be onside when things get going.’
Stephens sat down beside Sarah and looked her directly in the eyes with absolute steadfastness. Her blue eyes returned his gaze unflinchingly. ‘Sarah, you and I have worked together for a long time now. But what we’re doing here is well beyond the call of duty. I just want to reiterate that you don’t need to come on this part of the journey with me. What we’re doing here is extremely serious and, well, illegal. We will go to prison for a very long time if it doesn’t work.’
‘I know, but I’ve given this a lot of thought and I believe in what we are doing. And I’d like to make it very clear that I am doing this for the country, not for you or any other individual. So please don’t think that I’m doing this out of sycophantic loyalty,’ she teased, folding her arms across her chest. ‘Don’t let your ego get the better of your judgement.’
‘I … no, no, I never thought that you were only doing this for me. I just want to be sure that … you know what you’re getting into, that’s all.’ Stephens stammered, flushing involuntarily. Despite the fact that they usually had the easy intimacy of two people who worked closely in a demanding job, it was rare for them to speak so personally.
‘General Stephens, I am not dumb. I know what’s at stake here and I’ve evaluated the risk and the importance of what we are doing. I won’t blame you if we are arrested and sent to prison for life.’ More serious now, she continued, ‘When the opportunity to work for you came up, I leapt at the chance. I’ve learned more working for you than I got from my Masters and my time in DC combined. Don’t forget I’m a strategist, too — and I believe in what we’re doing.’
‘Okay, well I’m sorry if I sounded patronising,’ he replied, his composure regained. ‘I know you are an independent person and I know you’re smart enough to comprehend the implications of what we’re doing. I just, well … I just wouldn’t forgive myself if I got you into something you weren’t 100 per cent behind.’
Sarah, cocking her head, looked deep into General Stephens’ eyes. ‘Thank you for caring, but please don’t give it another thought.’ With that she stood, ran her hands down the front of her sensible skirt and picked up her leather case. ‘I have to go, I need to make some contingency plans in case things do turn sour,’ she said, turning and heading for the door.
‘There’s no doubt about you,’ said Stephens, with a wry smile. ‘I’ll see you here tomorrow morning, bright and early then,’ he called to her as she left the room.
‘Yes, you will. There’s a lot to plan. See you tomorrow.’ Sarah walked out, closing the door behind her.
Left on his own, General Stephens sat down and reflected on Sarah’s ability to constantly surprise him. Ever since she’d joined his team with a stellar CV — a Masters degree from Australian National University in Strategic and Defence Studies, winner of the Thawley Scholarship from the Lowy Institute which saw her spending time at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC — she’d been a great asset. She was still young, though, and sometimes he was shocked by her ignorance of what seemed to him to be fairly recent history. Her acutely honed knowledge of military theory more than made up for that, making her indispensable to his team. But, more than that, he’d come to trust her implicitly, and, yes, he cared for her very much. The way lifelong friends care for each other. Her personal life was a bit of a mystery because she never spoke of her lovers, which didn’t surprise him. She was a consummate professional and never broached personal subjects.
The fact that she was making contingency plans
said it all. For General Stephens there was little point in contingencies. For him, if things didn’t go well he would be the first taken and the first sentenced. Treason. A terrible word — it sounded terrible, the implications were terrible, the act of committing it was terrible. But this was the path he was following. Though the death penalty for treason had been abolished back in 1985, the punishment was still very harsh — life imprisonment.
General Stephens knew his history. He knew that Australia had only ever been subject to one military coup, and that was in 1808. The Rum Rebellion, as it was known, had nothing to do with rum and everything to do with property — waterfront property, to be precise. The governor, William Bligh, went up against powerful property developers over the land around The Rocks in Sydney, which he believed was not being managed in the best interests of the people. Bligh was arrested by six officers — all with interests in property — and deposed. For two years an illegitimate government was in control of Australia, until a new governor, Lachlan Macquarie, was sent out from England. When Macquarie arrived he saw that the appointments made by the illegitimate government were reversed, all decisions made by the previous government reviewed, and the coup leaders expunged from the government. Law and order were restored.
While the two cases were very different — he was hardly overthrowing the government for his own financial gain — General Stephens couldn’t help wondering how history would remember his group, and what they were about to do. What would the historians call it? A coup, an act of terrorism, or an act of great bravery? Stephens knew all too well that he would be judged depending on who was writing the history — him or Hudson. Hero or villain, crusader or terrorist — it was entirely dependent on the hand that wrote the history.
After leaving General Stephens’ house, Sarah drove straight home to her apartment in the Canberra suburb of Kingston. The sun was already going down and she had a lot to do. While she had a deep respect and admiration for the general and she was absolutely convinced that what they were doing was best for the country, she didn’t savour the thought of spending the rest of her life in gaol. She knew that once their plans were put in motion there could be no going back. She also knew that if the federal police took action they would come down on the general and Fletcher first. She might have a small window of opportunity to make her escape. In order for her to take advantage of that window, she had to be ready to jump the instant the Feds made a move.
Being nimble was something Sarah prided herself on. She had never had a problem with emotional attachment, and she could up and move easily with zero fuss. What she needed was an exit strategy, a detailed plan in her head of her exact actions if the moment came. Money was an obvious issue — she would need cash, which would have to wait until tomorrow now. No one ever used cash, so it would be an unusual errand for her. All her transactions were taken care of by the highly traceable personal Nokia Mobile Life Activator (MiLA), a device that handled her communications, diary, data and payments, among many other things. Its biosecurity system, which ensured only the owner could operate it, was a blessing in everyday life but a nightmare when it came to doing anything illicit. Any time it was used, it would put a definite lock on her physical location. She would also need documents, transport, at least two safe houses, and a route to get her out of the city that avoided major arterial roads and potential roadblocks. The trouble with Canberra was that its design allowed for the city to be effectively locked down by police, which ordinarily Sarah thought was brilliant. Not so much now …
She entered her darkened flat, turned on all the lights and strode past her well-worn treadmill to her desk. After three hours at work at her desk, thinking of the angles and detailing a plan, she decided to run a bath. Her head was pounding and she wasn’t thinking clearly — this was when mistakes happened and she couldn’t afford that now.
With the bath running, she walked through the bright white space of her flat to the warmly-lit kitchen and poured a large glass of Petaluma Shiraz 2027, a wine that had aged beautifully. Now seemed as good a time as any to open it. After all, she might not get another chance at it. Lighting some incense, then taking the glass back to the bathroom, she used her remote control to select some music for her bath. She picked out her favourite track at the moment, a haunting piano piece called Glassworks, by the Philip Glass Ensemble. Whenever she listened to it she wished that it would never end, that it would just keep playing. But she knew that, like anything wonderful, it had to come to an end.
Stretched out in her bath, Sarah allowed her thoughts to drift. Really, she couldn’t blame the Chinese for what they were doing. Perhaps it was her ruthless side that helped her to see it from their perspective. If she were in their position, and a soft, lazy Australia was sitting on the key to her future, she would do the same thing. Stifling a laugh, she suddenly found it darkly funny that Australians were so surprised and upset by the actions of the Chinese.
How stupid had we been? she wondered. So blissfully unaware of China’s intentions, we went about our business, raising the prices of resources, controlling the volume, choosing with whom we did business, and, in doing so, fooled ourselves into thinking Australia controlled the market. It really was brilliant. Feigning willingness to pay the prices and accept the crippling restrictions for years, all the while watching as Australia grew fat, lazy and stupid. We basked in our wealth and glory, relaxed by the notion that America would protect us from the bullies in the playground. Then, when China decides the time is right, they invade with such force that the possibility of defence is ridiculous. And then, the genius of it, they tell us they’re not interested in our culture, our cities or our way of life.
After another 10 minutes soaking in the hot water and sipping the wine that, luckily, lived up to its reputation, Sarah stood, slowly letting the water slide off her long, toned body. Feeling momentarily dizzy, she waited for the blood to go back to her head then reached for the towel and stepped out of the bath. Her mind feeling refreshed and her body relaxed, it was time for work.
She knew that once she had satisfied her need for self-preservation by getting herself an exit strategy, she could dedicate herself to the job of overthrowing the government and taking back Australia. Doubt, until now, hadn’t entered her mind — but she was beginning to realise the scale of General Stephens’ plan and the difficulties they would face …
A few hours later, she was just finishing up her work when she was startled by a knock at the door. Was it that time already? she thought to herself. She trotted to the door and opened it with a grin of anticipation.
Matt took the sight of her in, wearing only a white work shirt and knickers. Her skin looked radiant and the smell of incense lightly hit Matt’s nose.
‘Come in,’ she said seductively, tilting her head and beckoning him inside.
Matt took just two steps into the hall and waited for her to close the door. Turning her, he pulled her in close and kissed her hard, forcing her against the wall. She moaned involuntarily and grabbed at his back.
Matt had one hand on the back of her head, the other inside her shirt, moving slowly down. Lifting her, wrapping her legs around his waist, Matt walked her into the bedroom and threw her on the bed. Taking off his shirt, he looked down at her.
She returned his gaze, her hair creating a tousled halo around her head on the mattress. Two months ago, she’d had made a play for Matt at a local bar. He was cute, and he had a demanding job that would keep this thing from getting too personal — he was the perfect candidate. It had been a passionate affair from day one. But then, when the invasion occurred and General Stephens signalled his intention to take over the leadership, the relationship took on a whole new meaning — for Sarah anyway. She’d been using their time together to carefully test Matt’s allegiance and his loyalty to Hudson. It hadn’t taken much to realise that Matt saw Hudson and his failings all too clearly. Sarah knew that if General Stephens was to succeed, they would need the support of the people closest to Hudson. And today,
finally, Matt had given his. He was clearly eager to accept his reward for it.
Afterwards, lying on the bed exhausted, Sarah felt Matt’s heart rate slowly come back to a normal pace.
‘So tomorrow’s going to be a big day,’ said Matt.
‘The biggest day in politics this country has ever seen,’ replied Sarah, brushing her hair away from her face.
‘It really is amazing. You’re convinced you have majority support?’ asked Matt.
‘We won’t know for sure until tomorrow, but yes, it looks like we will have most of parliament’s support.’
There was a long silence as they both stared at the ceiling. Matt stroked her hair tenderly.
‘You know Matt, after tomorrow we won’t be able to see each other again for a long time. For one, I might be going to prison, but secondly, we can’t be seen to have collaborated on this, for your own career.’
‘Yeah, I figured that would be the case. And I imagine I’ll be kept pretty busy, being the liaison between the military and the government. But if you go to gaol, it’ll be a shame, really. You’re a great shag,’ he said, grinning down at her.
‘Ha, you’re not so bad yourself,’ said Sarah, lifting her head to look him in the eyes.
‘Who knows what might happen?’ said Matt more seriously now. ‘I mean, who would have predicted the last few months?’
‘True, you never know what will happen,’ said Sarah, reaching for MiLA to scan the latest emails.
Chapter 6
Parliament was in progress, with the Minister of Chinese-Australian Affairs making a speech about the need for greater security in Asian-dominated suburbs. The sound of a door opening at the back of the large hall went unnoticed, until the sight of 20 men and women, some armed, marching down the steps to the floor turned all heads. Most of the people in the gallery knew what this was, but it was still an incredible sight to behold. Leading the group was General Martin Stephens, looking focussed and determined, flanked by General Fletcher, Colonel Main, Connor Adams and Sarah Dempsey. The Minister of Chinese-Australian Affairs looked confused.