by Leo Nix
“Five seconds! Get your arses into gear we are going, NOW!” He revved the engine his face a mess of scratches and a bruise formed under his swollen chin. Both boys leaped into the back passenger seats.
Just as Nulla drove level with the front fence Simon screamed, “STOP!”
Leaping from the side door the teenager skidded into the house and bounced out again in seconds. In his hands he held something.
“What the devil was that about?” shouted Nulla in a state of extreme agitation.
Simon held up a bottle of tomato sauce and another of curry powder. “Supplies, I can't eat without my curry and ketchup!” he beamed at everyone. “Sorry, but I forgot to arm the booby traps, boss. Now they'll get a blast when they visit.”
Nulla could only shake his head as he stamped on the accelerator, speeding out of the driveway and up the street. With their head and tail lights painted out Nulla headed away from the scene of carnage.
“Luke, stand up through the sunroof. Shoot anything that moves!”
To Glenda he said, “Put your night vision goggles onto my head, quickly. I've lost mine and I can't see a damn thing.”
“Simon, get both windows down and be ready to engage any targets to the sides.” Nulla settled down to the task of driving through the restrictive greenish glow of his night vision screen.
A few seconds later they saw two sets of headlights approaching from a side street. Simon opened up with his Steyr. `Brrrip, brrrip brrrrip' it went and their ears popped. The smell of cordite filled the cabin.
Next, Luke opened up, the headlights made a perfect target. Discarded shells flew about the vehicle interior and Glenda caught one down the back of her shirt.
“Eeeouch!” she squealed.
The first car spun out of control while the one behind hit its brakes. It disappeared as their Pajero screeched around a corner and onto the main road.
Nulla accelerated knowing thousands of terrorists from all over the city would soon be searching for them. With the route clear in his mind's eye, he began to slow his breathing as he rebuilt his mind-palace. His racing thoughts slowed and he was now able to follow his inner map.
Another set of headlights headed towards them from a side street and swung behind them. In the dark it looked like a Ford utility and a spray of bullets hit the side of their Pajero. Luke fired several bursts but the weaving and bouncing of both cars sent his bullets everywhere but at his target. Simon moved across the back seat behind Luke's legs and opened fire.
For several seconds the sounds of automatic rifle fire filled the Pajero and Glenda thought she would scream.
Luke called out jubilantly, “They've crashed into a pole and… they… are… down! Woot!”
Another vehicle roared towards them as they crossed an intersection.
`Brrip click!'
“Loading!” called Luke as he ducked down. Simon leaped up to replace him in the sunroof and opened fire on the terrorist vehicle.
Bursts of `brrrrip, brrrrip, brrrrip' assaulted their ears. Incoming bullets hit their Pajero and Luke howled, “Ouch!”
The firing continued `brrrip, brrrip, brrrrip' then Simon ducked down and with a wheezing breathy voice called, “Loading!”
Up jumped Luke into the open sunroof while Simon reloaded then leaned most of his body out of the side window. He fired a long burst. The enemy vehicle swayed from side to side trying to avoid the incoming bullets but failed. Simon's last burst hit the driver and the car flipped as it bounced off the curb then slammed into a parked car.
“It's down!” he called out loudly and pulled himself back into the cabin and reloaded, all in the same fluid movement.
“We sure stirred up a hornets nest. We might need to scamper on foot. Be prepared to hole up in a house if we stop. Boys, have your ammunition handy, we'll need all of it. Glenda, if we pull over, stick to me and I'll carry you, got it?” Nulla turned his head to glance at her. He noticed her pale, stricken face, eyes wide with fear. “If Army C call any of the other armies to help, then we're in the shit. But I think they'll want all the fun for themselves. We just might escape clean.”
Swinging wildly down back streets, driving like a maniac, Nulla smiled, knowing he would have been imprisoned for this months earlier. Stopping suddenly in a side street he pulled out his road map and turned on his torch. He studied the map for what seemed like forever. Simon pulled at Luke's trousers and whispered for him to swap positions.
“Luke you've got blood on your face, did you get hit?” Simon said, his voice loud in the quiet cabin.
Luke's eyes jerked back and forth watching the road as he spoke. “Riding shotgun with Nulla is fun isn't it? What? My face? Huh? Oh yeah, you kneed me in the nose when I was loading.” He wiped his nose leaving a thin smear of blood on the back of his hand.
“Righto, boys, nearly there. Who's up top? Simon? Watch for movement and keep me posted. I think we're out of trouble. We're only a few streets away from our new safe house.” Nulla soon turned into a driveway and drove all the way into the back yard. The engine died and he let out a deep sigh.
“Boys, secure our perimeter. Report back here in two minutes.” He rested his head against the steering wheel for a moment and closed his eyes. Shaking with tension he sat up and leaned across to kiss Glenda on the lips. “Welcome to our new safe house, darling.”
Each evening Nulla went out on reconnaissance trips with one of the boys. They found the exploded gas depot and searched for clues but discovered no other signs but a stripped supermarket nearby. He guessed that whoever fired the gas tank must live reasonably close. They wanted to make contact as soon as possible so they could get away from this unrelenting city. Convinced that there was no resistance and no chance of fighting the terrorists, Nulla just wanted to make contact and go country.
It was around midday when Nulla crawled out of bed and found his .38 pistol that Simon had given him. He walked over to Glenda who was brushing her mane of black hair in the mirror of their palatial bathroom.
“I was thinking, since I don't really need this, and because you're as handy with it as Annie Oakley… well, here.” He handed her a beautifully worked doeskin shoulder holster he'd found on one of his trips. Into it's soft leather he had painstakingly inked a love heart and Cupid's arrow. The 38 `special' sat neatly in it's holster.
“Why love, that's the most beautiful engagement present I have ever received.” She beamed up at him drawing his face down to hers.
An hour or so later Nulla called everyone together. “Righto, we're going to separate and run individual patrols to cover more ground.” Placing the street map on the table he explained the grid pattern he'd drawn up. Their search narrowed down to a few small areas and the boys began to memorise it using the visualisation techniques Nulla had taught them.
“Are you sure it's safe, Nulla? I mean, to split up? I'm worried about the boys,” said Glenda as she limped into the kitchen and poured everyone a cup of steaming black tea. Simon and Luke did a double take when they saw her wearing her new shoulder holster with its pistol over her pink top.
“Glenda, that's beautiful. I wish mine was as neat as that. Where'd you get it?” asked Simon. Glenda winked at him. The two boys turned to each other and giggled.
Nulla deliberately cleared his throat, ignoring them. “Glenda, these boys are experienced soldiers and I trust them like my brothers.” Luke and Simon stopped laughing and looked at him in surprise.
“Don't underestimate the experience and skill of a teenager.” Nulla went on. “After all, didn't a wise person once say, `If you want to employ someone who knows everything, employ a teenager'?”
Nulla broke into laughter. Glenda saw the look of puzzlement on the boy's faces and started giggling herself.
“That's not even funny,” said Luke, who, for the first time, noticed that these two special people were really laughing. He hadn't seen Nulla or Glenda laugh properly before. “Seriously, that's not funny.” Even though the joke went completely over his h
ead he began to laugh too.
“You lot are either mad, or I just missed something,” said Simon scratching his head. He smiled politely then went back to studying the map.
Just before dawn Nulla returned and woke Glenda. “I saw one, I saw one of the civilians, it looked like a teenage girl. We made the right decision, Glenda, we did it!” He grabbed her and hugged her till she gasped for air.
“OK, OK, steady up my handsome man. Go put a brew on and we'll talk.” She was about to let him go then grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him to her. “This,” she kissed him sensuously on the mouth, “is for being such a damn good soldier. You did your regiment proud today.” She smiled and let him go.
“Boss?” she called affectionately just as he stood up, “remember the folks in the shopping mall where you found me? I'd like us to see if they're OK too. They might be the only people left alive in Adelaide besides us and that girl you saw.”
Nulla stood for a moment then nodded. Walking into the kitchen he began thinking, `I wonder if those poor people are still alive, maybe this is all that's left to resist the terrorists.' He put the kettle on their blackened camp cooker then woke the boys.
As they sat around the table they chatted about the news. Nulla had gone out alone leaving the teenagers to have a night off. He liked to do that once in a while, it was good for morale. He described how he'd seen a figure right at the furthest grid on his map.
“I don't know who she is but she is smart and quick,” he said. “I followed her and left a note. I stuck it in the back screen door where they should see it in the morning. I bet she'll be relieved when she reads it. I wrote that we would meet them there this evening, at midnight. I signed it; `Sergeant Nulla, Australian Armoured Corps, Adelaide.' ”
Chapter 18 - Sundown - Birdsville Track Patrol
Chan and John now regularly patrolled with Cambra, Wiram and some of the other commandos depending on who was free at the time. They had set up camp on the road to Marree, over one hundred kilometres south of Birdsville.
Sundown left everything to Wiram who co-ordinated the long distance guerrilla attacks. They mined the roads, blew up trucks and ambushed patrols. They harassed their enemy at every opportunity and provided information on terrorist movement.
Sundown's plan was to keep the enemy reeling, always trying to guess where the next punch would come from. The terrorists hadn't made another assault on the Birdsville command since their defeat some months ago. Heavy autumn rains had made movement out of Birdsville impossible but the roads were now open and the commando were back with their mobile hit-and-run patrols.
While Sundown's Commando were waiting for the flood waters to abate around Birdsville, the terrorists had moved an entire battalion of nearly one thousand Alpha Army soldiers north into Marree. Major Lunney had lost his command and his beloved Deaths Heads were disbanded to be replaced by Major Daniels' Stosstruppen, Storm Troopers. They were preparing to push through Birdsville and connect with their comrades in Longreach and Mount Isa, in Queensland, and with Darwin, in the Northern Territory. Their only obstacles were Sundown's Commando at Birdsville and the Australian Third Army in Alice Springs.
Assassin wanted to come on this patrol. He decided he'd spent way too much time running communications and making love to the commando's CB radio. He longed for the peace and quiet of the bush for a change. That and the excitement of upsetting terrorists. As soon as the roads were passable they hit the Revelationists at their new command post in Marree.
Chan proved to be a sniper of repute and John was a weapons expert much like Halo. The two ex-Deaths Head commando prisoners were nearly ready to be accepted into the community, but Sundown wanted to give them more time before bringing them back to Birdsville for their final judgment. He knew that a confrontation with his community wasn't going to be pleasant so the longer the two boys stayed out there, the better. The more terrorists they killed, the greater their chances of acceptance, it was as simple as that.
“Man o' man,” complained Chan pulling on his boots as he waited for his breakfast. “It's damn hot and it's nearly winter. This place is just crazy, it's worse than when we did our basic training in the Flinders Ranges before the apocalypse.”
“You did training in the Flinders?” asked Cambra, his ears pricked up.
“Yeah, John and I spent a lot of time on properties out there. One of the family's rented their farms to the Revelationist church each summer, when no one was around, too bloody hot. We did weapons training, explosives, skirmishing, patrolling, ambushing, you name it we did it,” replied Chan as he tied up his bootlaces.
“What's their name? I might know them. I've spent a lot of time out that way prospecting with my father,” said Cambra.
“They're owned by a family named Wilson. Old man Wilson and his son's own a lot of property out that way. We stayed at a different property each summer. Every Deaths Head Commando member had to pay up front. It cost us a lot of money to attend and it was compulsory otherwise you were kicked out of the Deaths Heads. We were the elite of their Alpha Army you know, the best of the best.” Chan reminisced then continued, “One of the Wilson's cattle stations is right inside Wilpena Pound, Jack Wilson owns it. He's got some tough cattlemen with him, merciless arseholes they were, worse than some of our own officers. We had a few run-in's with them. You know them?” replied Chan looking at Cambra curiously.
“Yeah, I do, they own a lot of cattle properties throughout South Australia. They have a lot of money and a reputation for being tough and uncompromising. I wouldn't trust any of them as far as I could kick them.” Cambra looked towards the CB in the truck but thought against radioing this new information through. He called out to Assassin and told him to let Sundown know the news when he was next on the CB.
“I wonder what mischief our boys and girls are up to now? I sure miss my missus,” mused a sunburned McFly only half listening to the conversation. “These seven day patrols are too long I reckon.” He was busy weaving parrot feathers onto a fish hook with thin nylon fishing line, his eyes never leaving his task. “Tomorrow we head back to base camp and we're going to have a day off and I'm going fishing. The Cooper Creek's still up and there's bound to be fish in there. We're gonna have fish for dinner tomorrow night guys.”
“Bullshit, McFly,” came Assassin Creed's voice from beside his trail bike. “I bet you a lobster cocktail you won't catch a damn thing.” This was his first patrol since the mines battle, and, despite the joy of freedom he actually felt lost without his girlfriend and CB partner, Gail, next to him.
“Bullshit yourself, Creed, you're going to have to find a lobster by tomorrow night to pay your debt, buddy.” The banter continued till Cambra wandered over to check on the state of Assassin's trail bike.
“Got that cable fixed, mate?” he asked pulling at it.
“Nearly done, bro. So what's doing today? We should be heading back to base camp soon shouldn't we. That hit we did on Marree the other night should hold them up a bit too.” Assassin sat on his heels and pulled on the cable too, his repair held. Satisfied he stood up and reached for his mug of tea. The sun had risen above the horizon and a cool wind appeared as if by magic.
“I don't know, mate, they seem to be up to something,” answered Cambra. “Our intelligence reports tell us absolutely zero chatter about what they're up to these days. They know we're listening in so now we're back in the dark. They've got extra vehicles on the road and building up stores and troops in Marree, must be battalion strength there now. The other night was sheer luck, we won't have such easy targets next time.” He called over to John, the ex Revelationist Crusader. “What's those brothers of yours in Army Alpha up to eh, John?”
“Ain't no brothers of mine, Cambra,” he answered. “They aim to push up to Alice Springs then Darwin. And don't forget they have outposts at Longreach and Mt Isa. They'll want to connect with them and control all traffic and cargo in the centre. I have a feeling General Himmler wants to take over each army group one by on
e.” John stopped for a moment to push some food around the frying pans that he'd lined up on the camp-fire.
Cambra continued, “Is that really his name, Himmler? That's one of Hitler's generals. Himmler, Deaths Heads, Stosstruppen, sounds like the whole damn German army.”
“Yep, General Himmler is obsessed with the Nazi's. They're all psycho, Cambra, they all want to dominate each other. You should have seen them when we had those conferences a few years ago, talk about turf wars. They're just outright power hungry bastards.” John stoked the fire as he pulled the frying pans off. “Breakfast is ready fella's! Get it while its hot!”
“Bloody tinned'd figgin' food, and if it ain't bloody tinned'd then it's damned bloody dried,” McFly said doing his Billie imitation. “Them damned bastard tins'll bloody kill ya's if yer not careful boys.” He mumbled as he scooped the warmed vegs and beef stew mixed with powdered eggs into his starved mouth. “I'm so hungry I could eat a horse then chase down its jockey for dessert. I can't wait till Roo gets back, I sure miss his kangaroo steaks. I'm going to get Wirrie to take me out shooting when we get back. If we can't find any kangaroos or brumbys we'll shoot a cow I reckon.”
“I thought you were going to catch some fish, McFly?” It was Chan's turn to tease him.
“Crikey! You bastard's love poking fun at me and my fishing! Just because we're in a bloody desert doesn't mean there aren't any fish here… somewhere.” He started to laugh as he began packing his fishing gear away ready for their last day of patrolling.
By evening they were back at their base camp and Cambra sent Chan and Assassin to place the land mines on the road and set up the usual ambush not far from their well hidden camp. John and McFly would relieve them at midnight and were now in their caravan preparing for sleep. Cambra spent the early part of the evening checking weapons and gear ready for their swap over with Alpha Team the next day.