Military Orders

by Martin Roth

  “It may not be very thick, but they did a good job in tying us up tightly. Though I don’t think they have too much experience at this kind of thing. They should have tied us to a chair, or locked us in a cupboard.”

  “We need something sharp. Anything. A piece of glass. Maybe we could smash the window.”

  “And maybe they’d hear and come running in and shoot us.” He looked around. “These cottages are for people on holiday. They have to be equipped with a lot of everyday stuff that people need. Cutlery, crockery. I’m going to try the drawers.”

  On one side of the room was a large chest of drawers. He walked over and then, turning his back to it, ran his fingers around until he located a drawer handle. He tugged on it, then turned to peer inside the opened drawer. “Bingo. First time lucky.”

  “What is it?”

  “It looks like a pocket knife. Goodness knows why it’s here. Probably for emergencies. It’s got a bottle opener and corkscrew attached. That’s probably its main use.” He turned and managed to locate the knife with his fingers. He picked it up. Outside he heard some shouting. It appeared that the men might be arguing.

  He looked at Sunhee. “This is going to be difficult. You have to come behind me, so we’re back to back, and then I’ve got to open the knife and cut through the cord round your wrists. And I feel we have to be quick. Those men outside sound agitated.”

  She moved into position behind him. With difficulty he opened the knife, and then he maneuvered his hands until they were touching hers. He began work on the bindings. “I’m going to do as careful a job as I can. But if I accidentally cut your skin please don’t scream.”

  It was hard work. He had little flexibility in his hands, so had to raise and lower his entire body to get the knife blade moving across the cords. For five minutes he labored until at last he felt the cord snap.

  “I did it,” he said. “Can you get out?”

  It seemed she couldn’t.

  “Let me help,” he said. He dropped the knife and grabbed the cord. Again, raising and lowering his body, he was able to unravel some of the binding, until it was sufficiently loose that she could twist her wrists, and then extricate one hand. Now, with both hands in front of her, she quickly tore off all the cords. Then she picked up the pocketknife and cut through Harel’s fetters.

  Harel took a chair and placed it by the window, which he unlatched and pulled open. “Okay, we’re going to be able to just squeeze out. Come on.” He watched as she wriggled herself through with impressive agility. He followed, tumbling hands-first to the sand outside.

  “I have my cellphone in my handbag in our cottage,” she whispered. “We can call the police.”

  They hurried back to their cottage. In the darkness she found her handbag and took out the phone, which she switched on. “No signal,” she said. “Do we risk starting the car?”

  “The car’s out the front. I think we can get away without them hearing us. We can try to call the police from the office, if anyone’s there. The manager must live on the premises.”

  They got into the car and Harel started the motor. He began driving slowly and as noiselessly as possible, when suddenly a pair of headlights appeared in the rear-view mirror. The Ford Falcon was right behind him.

  He accelerated and stormed through the caravan park exit onto the main road. They were in total darkness, apart from the car headlights, and the road was narrow. He began speeding faster and faster along what was thankfully a straight and traffic-free road.

  But it was to no avail. Their pursuers’ car was significantly faster. Harel tried weaving the small Mazda across the road in zig-zag fashion, to stop them overtaking. But within minutes the Falcon came crashing into the side of the Mazda, ramming it off the road. Harel worked desperately to bring his spinning car under control, but instead came to a lurching halt in what seemed to be a ditch.

  Both Harel and Sunhee pitched forward, banging their heads on the front windshield. They unlatched their seat belts, but within seconds Tenzin was there, flinging open Harel’s door and training his pistol on them.

  “Out!” he shouted.

  Harel looked at Sunhee.

  “Out!” screamed the man.

  With difficulty they pulled themselves out of their small car, which was tilted sideways at an awkward angle. The headlights of both cars remained on, creating ghostly shadows on some tall rocks. Harel tried to see the young man, but he was little more than an eerie silhouette. One of his colleagues was also there. He assumed that the third guy was back at the cabin with little Toby.

  “Lie down!” shouted the man. “Next to your car.”

  “Look,” said Harel. “We can…”

  “Lie down!” shouted the young Tibetan. “Right now. Face down.”

  Harel wondered if he could flee. He felt weak and shaken from crashing the car - his second crash in two days - and doubted he would get far. Two guns seemed to be trained on them.

  He turned to Sunhee. She was looking around, apparently thinking like him.

  “Down!” came the order again. “Down! Now!”

  They did as they were told, lowering their bodies onto the hard, rocky terrain.

  “I wanted to get rid of you before. But I needed you to drive. I’ll do it now.”

  “No!” cried Sunhee.

  Harel thought desperately.

  “You’ve got the wrong boy,” he cried. “The wrong boy. Believe me. It’s true. You want the Dalai Lama. That boy you have - it’s not him. I know where the real Dalai Lama is.”

  Chapter 53

  Burumarri Creek, Central Australia

  Harel wondered if the man had even heard. “You’ve got the wrong boy,” he cried again.

  “Shut up,” shouted Tenzin.

  “It’s true,” said Harel.

  “You’ve got the wrong boy,” said Sunhee.

  “You’re Tibetan,” said Harel. “Can’t you tell you have the wrong boy? That kid’s not spiritual at all. I know who the real Dalai Lama is.”

  His words seemed to have struck a chord. After an ominous silence Tenzin spoke. “What do you mean?”

  Harel turned his head towards Sunhee. “It’s our only chance,” he muttered. “You have to tell him.” Then he shouted again to Tenzin. “You must have had doubts about that boy. The priests who came from Dharamsala, they had doubts. They saw pretty quickly it’s probably not the right kid. He’s not special. He’s not spiritual. He’s just a kid.”

  Tenzin said nothing.

  “I’m from a Christian church in Korea,” said Sunhee. “We have a lot of spies in Dharamsala. One of them was Rafa’s brother Matthew.”

  “He was working for you?” enquired Tenzin.

  “Yes.”

  “He was a spy?”

  “He was a Christian missionary. But he was also working for us.”

  The news seemed to give Tenzin great pleasure, as if confirming that he was right to kill him. They heard him chuckling. “Why do you have spies in Dharamsala?”

  “We had a plan that the priests would choose a Christian child as the new Dalai Lama. So this boy you have - he’s a Christian. We arranged for the priests to choose him. And then they sent me to protect him. That’s why I was there when you arrived. It’s why I fought you.”

  But…” Tenzin was confused. “But the priests, the astrologers, everyone, they said the boy was from around here. In central Australia.”

  “Exactly right,” said Harel. “But not the boy you have.”

  “You mean…?”

  “It’s another boy from around here.”

  Tenzin thought. “How come you know how to find this boy, and the priests from Dharamsala don’t?”

  “Our people deliberately misled the Dharamsala priests,” said Sunhee.

  “And a very spiritual local man guided me to the real child,” said Harel. “He speaks a foreign language. It might be Tibetan. He draws Tibetan images.”

  Another long silence ensued, and then Tenzin spoke again. “Get u
p,” he ordered. “Take me to this other child. And then I will decide what to do.”

  Chapter 54

  Burumarri Creek/Uluru, Central Australia

  Dawn was breaking as they set off in the Falcon, Tenzin’s companion driving, Tenzin in the front seat with his gun trained on Harel and Sunhee, who were both in the back.

  Harel wanted to direct them to the wrong home. But he knew that that would certainly lead to his quick demise. He had to go to the right house, all the time praying that Eddie and his son might not be home, that they were out walking, that they had gone on holiday, that they were armed with sub-machine guns, anything. He was playing for time, hoping that something might turn up.

  Of course it didn’t. And as they arrived at Eddie’s house, on the outskirts of Burumarri Creek, Harel’s heart sank as he recognized the white Holden pick-up outside. Certainly the family were all at home, no doubt fast asleep in bed.

  They pulled up outside the house, and Tenzin ordered them out. His companion pulled out his gun and trained it on Harel and Sunhee, while Tenzin limped to the house entrance. He banged repeatedly on the door. At last a sleepy Eddie appeared, in shorts and a t-shirt.

  “I want the boy,” shouted Tenzin, pointing his gun straight at Eddie.

  “What is this?”

  “The boy,” shouted Tenzin. “Where is he? I want him. Bring him here now.”

  The shock of the encounter certainly seemed to have shaken Eddie, who now appeared wide awake, yet he seemed barely able to comprehend what was being demanded of him. He looked down at the others, standing near the car. He presumably recognized Harel, and also no doubt saw that he too had a gun trained on him.

  “Look…” he said in confusion.

  “Get the boy!” Tenzin was screaming. “Get him. Now.”

  And then to Harel’s shock little Sammie appeared at the door, dressed in a pair of pajamas decorated with dogs and cats. He took hold of his father’s t-shirt, and looked at the scene outside, bewilderment in his eyes.

  “Is this him?” demanded Tenzin. “Is this the boy?”

  “This is my boy,” said Eddie. He now looked angry.

  “But is this him?” Tenzin looked towards Harel, then back at Eddie. “Is this the boy?”

  “This is my only boy,” said Eddie. “What do you want? What’s happening?”

  Wrong answer, thought Harel. Then through a window he caught a glimpse of a figure, presumably Eddie’s wife, looking out with alarm. He tried with his eyes to indicate that she should remain out of sight.

  Now Tenzin looked down at Sammie. “Hey, tashi deleg,” he said.

  The boy looked up and smiled. “Tashi deleg,” he replied in a faint, child’s voice.

  Tenzin looked ecstatic. He turned to Harel. “He understands Tibetan. He said ‘hello.’ You have done a good thing, bringing me here.”

  But you still intend to kill me, thought Harel.

  “Come here,” said Tenzin to the boy, a broad smile on his face.

  The boy also smiled.

  “You’re coming with me,” said Tenzin.

  “No,” shouted Eddie. He grabbed his son.

  “I have to take him,” said Tenzin.

  “What is this about? What’s going on? No one is taking my son.”

  “He has an important role ahead of him. I have to take him.”

  Eddie bent forward to pick up his son. Tenzin calmly raised his gun and pointed it at Eddie’s leg. A shot rang out. Eddie crumpled to the ground. Sammie fell from his grasp and sprawled face forward. Blood appeared on Eddie’s leg.

  Tenzin walked forward and with surprising tenderness picked up Sammie. “Let’s go,” he said, and smiled at him.

  “Leave him,” shouted Eddie, sprawled helpless on the ground, clutching his leg. “Put him down.”

  “Get back in the car,” Tenzin ordered Harel and Sunhee.

  Slowly they obeyed. His companion took his place in the driver’s seat. Tenzin limped slowly to the vehicle.

  “No,” screamed Eddie. He was trying desperately to stand, but was unable.

  It was then that Harel heard the sirens. Tenzin clearly heard them too. He tensed and looked around. Harel turned too, and looked. Way across the flat surface of the desert they could see the flashing lights of at least two cars, still some distance away.

  Tenzin limped faster and got into the front passenger seat, clutching his gun and the boy. The driver started the car, and as he did so Harel opened his door and leapt out. “Come on,” he shouted to Sunhee. The car was already moving, but Sunhee did not hesitate, diving out and tumbling onto the ground.

  Tenzin looked back at them with fury. But he could do nothing. He had to get away. The car sped off towards the main road, desperately trying to reach it ahead of the police cars.

  “Sammie!” shouted Eddie.

  “We’ll get him,” Harel said to Eddie. “Give us your car keys.”

  Eddie’s wife emerged from the house. “Where’s Sammie?”

  “They’ve kidnapped him,” said her husband.

  “No,” she screamed. “Who are those men? I saw the gun and called the police.”

  The police cars arrived.

  Harel briefed a senior officer. “It’s the guy who killed two people at a cottage yesterday. And he’s just kidnapped a little boy.”

  The officer spoke on his radio. “We’ll have a helicopter. And every road will be blocked.” He took a description of the men, the boy and the car, then summoned an ambulance for Eddie. The two patrol cars sped away.

  “Give us your keys,” said Harel. “We’ll get back your boy.” Then, for a reason that he did not understand, he added, “We promise.”

  Vanya remained with her crippled husband, and Harel and Sunhee set off in the pick-up after Tenzin and the police cars.

  “The road seems to go to that big rock,” said Sunhee.

  “Uluru. Yes, it does. I’ve driven this road a few times now.”

  They sped down the road. It was still early, and no other cars were around. They arrived at the turn-off leading from the main highway to the rock. In the distance they could see at least one police car speeding down the main road towards them.

  “That means they didn’t continue down the main road,” said Sunhee.

  “There’s only one other route,” said Harel, slowing. He turned off the main road and headed towards the rock.

  It was a five-minute drive. And as they came near to the base of the towering monolith Sunhee suddenly cried, “Look! There!” She pointed over to one side.

  It was Tenzin’s car. It had clearly run off the road, with the driver no doubt trying to bring it back under control, before skidding and crashing into a pile of rocks. A police car had already arrived and two young officers were inspecting the wreck.

  Harel stopped and he and Sunhee ran over. Lying on the ground was Tenzin’s companion, apparently unconscious. “What have you found?” he asked the officers.

  “The driver’s pretty badly hurt,” replied one of them. “We’ve called an ambulance.”

  “What about the other two?”

  “Other two? There was no one else here when we arrived.”

  “Aren’t you looking for a young boy who was kidnapped?”

  “Yes, but…”

  “This is the car. He should have been in it.”

  The officers glanced at each, concerned looks on both their faces.

  “But…” began one.

  “Rafa,” whispered Sunhee, tugging his arm. ”Up there. Look.” She pointed at the giant red rock. A steep slope led to the top. And there they could see a short man limping upwards, a boy in his arms. He had already completed about one hundred yards of the four hundred yards to the summit. “Come on,” she said. “We’ve got him.”

  “But what is he thinking?” asked Harel. “There’s no escape from there.”

  Chapter 55

  Uluru, Central Australia

  “We have to get the boy,” said Sunhee. “Come on.”

  T
hey ran to the base of the rock. Harel looked up. He could see Tenzin and the boy, now about half way to the top. “Come on,” he said. “He’s limping and he’s carrying a boy. He can’t walk very fast.”

  It was a straight line up to the top, but exceptionally steep, and poles holding a length of chain had been fastened to the rock, to aid climbers. At times the pair were bent so low they almost resembled monkeys on Gibraltar, scrambling on all fours up the incline.

  “Anyway, why are we here?” panted Harel. “That other little boy - Toby - he’s probably okay. That’s the boy your church told you to look after. He’ll be back at the cabin with the third guy. The police will quickly rescue him. ”

  “But this boy is the real Dalai Lama. Sooner or later the priests are going to realize that. They were never fooled by Toby.”

  “But you’re not responsible for this boy?”

  “I have to rescue him.”

  “But why?”

  She did not reply.

  It was a ten-minute climb until they arrived at the summit, a vast undulating expanse, stretching out before them.

  Harel looked around. It was a strange lunar landscape of flat rock, merging into craters, with mounds, small rock hills and even a little plant life. And although it appeared red from a distance, on top in the morning sunlight it was more of a yellow-brown clay hue. Apart from the color, it reminded him of rocks at the beach.

  “Over there,” said Sunhee, pointing.

  Harel looked, and spotted in the distance the man near a rock outcrop. He was limping, and holding the little boy’s hand. “He’ll have his gun. We have to get as near as possible before he sees us. He’s not looking in this direction. I think we can do it. Come on.”

  He led her to a mound, just large enough to provide some cover. Then they darted to another mound, and another.

  “What is he thinking?” asked Sunhee. “Coming up here. It’s a giant rock. There’s nowhere to go. Only back down again.”