The Cadet Under-Officer

by Christopher Cummings

  Barbara then turned to Bargheese. “Where are the OC and 2ic sir?” she asked him frostily.

  “They are on their way back on foot. They will be here soon,” Bargheese replied, annoyed by the girl’s tone and angry with himself for having answered her.

  Falls suddenly grabbed his sleeve. “Cripes, Boss, you ok? You look a real queer colour,” he said.

  Bargheese shook his head and had to ward off a bout of dizziness.

  Berzinski handed him a canteen cup full of cordial. “Here boss, drink this.”

  Bargheese drank greedily and almost at once began to sweat again. Vincent collapsed on the stretcher in the shade. Still feeling dizzy Bargheese drank another cup as Falls called again to contact the three men over the river. There was no reply and it made him worry that, yet again, things were going wrong.

  Bargheese started on his third cup of cordial. “That CUO Kirk has the brown notebook,” he said.

  Falls shook his head. “I think we’d better give this up as a bad job and clear out,” he suggested diffidently.

  “Not yet. There’s still a chance. You go and contact the police and tell them there’s been a definite sighting of the girl on the river bank three kilometres downstream of the Rail Bridge.”

  Falls didn’t like it but got into his vehicle and drove off. Bargheese looked around as a cadet radio crackled into life. Murphy sat in the tent beside the signaller who ignored him and reported to Barbara. “One Platoon just arriving back now CSM,” the cadet said.

  Barbara went off down to the river bank and no-one made any attempt to stop her. Bargheese was about to when cadets began appearing in a line from near the Canning behind the command tent.

  It turned out to be Number 3 Platoon, CUO Stephen Bell. They had seen nothing on their search. The CUO asked where the OC was and was told he was visiting 4 Platoon. He nodded and led his platoon of sweating and tired first year cadets down to their hutchies. As he watched them go Bargheese pondered how to control and manage this group. He finished the third drink. ‘At least I feel better now,’ he thought.

  Then two radio messages shattered his composure. First the Cessna reported it could see a line of cadets walking west on the south bank of the Bunyip, possibly heading for the Bunyip Bend settlement. Bargheese swore again. ‘They must be outpacing those three idiots,’ he thought.

  He was about to call them again when the second call came. It was from the three men and on their vehicle radio. “We have been ambushed and disarmed at gun point by a dozen armed cadets who fired warning shots,” the leader reported. “We are now back at our vehicle minus our guns and hand held radio. What do you want us to do now, over?”

  CUO Kirk’s face seemed to float mockingly in Bargheese’s mind. ‘That blasted kid has done it again - smashing up my cordon and now he is off to cause more mischief,’ Bargheese thought angrily. ‘And now he has - how many guns? Six at least.’ From being a nuisance CUO Kirk had developed in a couple of hours into a deadly threat. Bargheese’s legs felt suddenly weak. He walked a few paces and sat on the table in the command tent. Berzinski joined him.

  For several minutes Bargheese sat listening to the radio and feeling paralysed - like a cobra caught by a mongoose. ‘I have to try to out-think and trap this boy. My life depends on it,’ he thought. ‘The CUO must be trying to reach the police but how best to stop him?’

  “Call Four Platoon on the radio,” he said to the cadet corporal. The boy did so. He got no answer. He tried again. Then he began writing on a sheet of paper fastened to a clip board. Berzinski grabbed it. It was a Signal Log of messages sent and received - not the whole message, just who from or to and the outline. He scanned it, then passed it to Bargheese, pointing with his finger. There it was. 10:40 from 4 (Coy HQ) to 44(4 Pl) – ‘by CSM, Black Pig and warning.’ ‘That bitch!’ Bargheese thought grinding his teeth. He was sick of girls!

  Berzinski made a face. “That blasted ginger haired female Sergeant Major. She was the one who warned him,” he said.

  Like a blinding light the realization of how they had been outwitted came to Bargheese and he clenched his fists. Then he realized what he should have done. “You are right,” he said. “And now she’s down there on the river bank with no-one watching her, no doubt telling all to the other cadets. Get them all up here. Herd them up and sit them in a group under guard,” he ordered.

  Bargheese was so angry and frightened he was nearly hysterical.

  Berzinski kicked Vincent up and with Martinez ran off to get the company moved up. The aircraft called again. The cadets across the river had split up. Three cadets were going due south up a creek line. They were heading directly towards Bunyip Bend roadhouse. “The others are still going south west along the river bank.”

  Bargheese looked at his map. ‘So that’s his game - sending off little groups in all directions so I won’t know which one he is in and so that at least one group reaches the police,’ he thought. Elizabeth had now quite slipped out of his mind and calculations. It was him against the CUO.

  There seemed to be a chance to catch this lot but just when he needed men all were busy. Bargheese called the three across the river and told them to drive to the Bunyip Bend roadhouse to head off three cadets and to prevent their using the telephone or stopping a police car.

  Angry voices came to him and then cadets began to appear, herded in groups by his three men. The platoon commanders and CSM were protesting loudly and the CUO with glasses had blood on his face from where Berzinski had hit him. At that juncture Capt Conkey, Lt Maclaren and Lewis arrived looking hot and tired. Capt Conkey demanded to know what was going on and was told to shut up and to tell his cadets to co-operate. With no real choice he agreed. The cadets were seated in a tight mass with their CUOs and the CSM in a group at the side. Bargheese gave Barbara a venomous look and she smiled sweetly back. He had to suppress a desire to go over and kick her face.

  “Come on Berzinski. Come with me,” he snarled.

  Bargheese ran to the helicopter. As soon as they lifted above the tree tops the silver roofs at Bunyip Bend could be seen glinting in the sun. The Cessna was circling above them. Bargheese told the plane to concentrate on the larger group going south west. South west? He looked that way and saw the shape of Towers Hill in the far distance. ‘To Charters Towers? Is that the CUO’s objective?’

  A minute later the helicopter was circling over a dry creek line dotted with thorn trees. Randall pointed to three figures hiding in the shadows. They stood out in silhouette against the tawny, sunlit grass beyond. At Bargheese’s command the helicopter came down only thirty paces away. At this the three cadets got up and ran in different directions.

  Berzinski was first out. Bargheese heard him shouting above the noise of the jet turbine.

  “Stop or I’ll shoot!”

  The cadets kept running. Berzinski raised his submachine gun and fired at the two heading for the highway.

  Rat-tat-a-tat-a-tat-a-tat.

  The gun jerked and spewed shiny brass cases into the sunlight. One cadet went down. The other stopped and looked down in horror. Bargheese was past caring. He raced down the gully and found a badly frightened girl hiding in a washout. She had a pale freckled face and short fair hair. She wasn’t Elizabeth Schein - just a girl. He pointed to the helicopter. She nodded and began walking towards it.

  Next he ran up to where Berzinski stood. A cadet corporal with a blood-soaked trouser leg was ripping open the shirt of the other cadet who lay groaning. The wounded cadet was a thin boy and the bullet had hit him under the right shoulder blade and was probably lodged in or near the right lung. The corporal had to stop his hands trembling before tearing open a field dressing and tying it as well as he could around the boy.

  Berzinski shoved the muzzle of his sub machine gun in the corporal’s face. “He won’t die. Get him into the helicopter,” he snarled. They hauled the boy up, his face covered in dust and tears, and dragged him to the helicopter. The pilot was looking very grim. Bargheese told Berzinsk
i to stay guarding the corporal. “I will send the helicopter straight back for you,” he said.

  CHAPTER 29

  DESPERATE MEASURES

  As he flew back across the Bunyip Bargheese felt quite unreasonably pleased. He had thwarted that attempt and had captured some of 4 Platoon. It gave him confidence he was close to beating CUO Kirk. But the bubble burst as they were coming down to land near the tents. The aircraft radioed that it had lost sight of the other cadets. The pilot reported they had run up the bank heading towards the highway and had scattered.

  ‘The Highway! They must to be kept away from the Highway!’ Bargheese thought. He got out of the helicopter which at once took off. Ignoring the curious and hostile stares of eighty cadets he sat in the command tent and studied the map. Then he radioed and ordered the two men from west of ‘Canning Park’ to the bridge over the creek where Jack Schein’s car had crashed. ‘The cadets won’t know they were unarmed,’ he reasoned. Next he ordered two miners in a dump truck to move from the Highway Bridge to the farm house west of that creek on a ridge there and the three miners at the east end of the Highway Bridge to go to Midnight Creek, another kilometre further to the west.

  As he put down the radio Bargheese became aware that the captain had walked over and was leaning forward to grab his shirt. Just in time to avoid being punched he jumped back. Stepping back again he whipped out the automatic before the angry officer could step around the table.

  It was because of the wounded boy. He had been placed on the stretcher and the lady teacher, the CSM and a cadet corporal with a first aid kit were kneeling beside him.

  Bargheese snarled, “I warn you, Captain. I will stop at nothing. Co-operate or else.”

  Faced with such murderous evidence there was nothing Capt Conkey could do. He restrained his tongue and went over to the wounded cadet. Bargheese ordered the girl he’d captured brought to him. He began to fire questions at her.

  “Where is Four Platoon going? Where were you going? What were your orders? What is CUO Kirk planning? Do you want to be hurt? No! Then talk!” he snapped.

  Cadet Woodhouse simply burst into tears and doubled up with her stomach cramps. Bargheese slapped her twice and this brought shocked gasps and protests from the cadets. Only the threat of the shotguns held by Martinez, Vincent and Lewis kept them seated.

  Bargheese began again. “Were you going to the police?” Slap! “What were your orders?” Slap! “Does CUO Kirk have the brown notebook? Is the girl Elizabeth Schein with him?” He saw her eyes flicker. She was! He hit her again. She was so terrified she could hardly stand.

  Bargheese reached out and started to twist her ear. Suddenly the world seemed to explode and he found himself lying on the ground. Capt Conkey had him by the throat and punched his face a second time so hard that for a moment all Bargheese could see were alternating waves of red and black. Then the punching stopped.

  Bargheese felt the captain collapse over his legs and as he opened his eyes he saw Martinez club the officer on the head with the butt of his shotgun. Capt Conkey sprawled unconscious in the dust.

  Bargheese spat blood and sat up. His head throbbed and for a minute he was quite groggy. His nose felt numb and swollen and was bleeding. None of his gang moved to help him and he had to drag himself up using the table. Shock gave way to pain, which flared into anger. He started kicking Capt Conkey in the head and body while screaming insults and obscenities until spittle started to fleck at his mouth.

  Martinez grabbed him and pulled him back. “Hey Mr Bargheese, stop it! You’ll kill him.”

  Bargheese glared at him from eyes rimmed red with hate. He wiped blood and saliva from his mouth. With an effort he controlled himself. He looked around at the other officers. They were on their feet but faced by Vincent’s gun could do nothing. The cadets were seething with anger and indignation.

  “Tie up that one,” Bargheese snapped, pointing at Lt Maclaren. While they did Bargheese sat on the table and washed his face from a waterbottle.

  Mrs Standish had risen to go to Capt Conkey but Martinez blocked her path, his shotgun levelled at her stomach.

  She looked him up and down. “Let me past you uncouth thug,” she said.

  “What for, where ya gunna go?”

  “To see if Captain Conkey is hurt."

  “No.”

  “What are you going to do? Shoot me? Are you an animal?” Mrs Standish retorted. Then she just ignored him, brushed past the barrel of his gun and walked to the OC. “CSM, give me a hand,” she called.

  Martinez looked at Bargheese for instructions.

  “Let them. Just make sure his legs are tied up,” Bargheese snapped irritably.

  Mrs Standish and Barbara lifted Capt Conkey onto a stretcher in the next tent and began tending his wounds. Lt Maclaren was dumped on another by Lewis and Vincent who had trussed him hand and foot.

  The helicopter returned and deposited Berzinski and Cpl Kenny. Bargheese instructed the pilot to help search between the river and the highway. It took off again.

  Bargheese turned to the corporal. “Who are you?”

  No answer. Berzinski kicked Kenny hard in the groin and he fell gasping. “Answer the questions kid. Who are you?”

  “Corporal David Kenny,” the boy whispered in pain.

  “From Four Platoon?”

  The boy nodded.

  “Were you going to the police? What is CUO Kirk planning?” Whack! Berzinski kicked him again, this time in the back. Kenny said nothing. More kicks, more questions. Still no answer.

  Mrs Standish suddenly blocked Bargheese’s vision. “Leave the boy alone, you disgusting creature,” she snapped. Bargheese saw that she had come out of the tent with the CSM. Her eyes blazed with anger. Barbara took a step towards Berzinski, who turned and raised his gun.

  Bargheese yelled at the teacher, “Keep out of this, woman. If he answers the questions then nobody gets hurt.”

  Mrs Standish sneered at him. “You simpleton! Of course they are going to the police. You won’t be able to catch them. You should clear out while you can.”

  “No. I want that brown notebook and I have hostages, you and that other woman.”

  Mrs Standish shook her head. “You won’t get away. If you don’t let us get Cadet Hamley to hospital quickly he’s going to die and then it will be murder, not just smuggling.”

  “He will die if you don’t co-operate. You tell CUO Kirk to bring me the brown notebook or else,” Bargheese shouted.

  Mrs Standish met his eye. “Give me the radio.”

  “No tricks lady, I warn you,” Bargheese hissed.

  Mrs Standish just looked at him as though he were a repulsive insect. Graham answered her second call. She spoke slowly and clearly. “This is Mrs Standish, Graham. Bargheese and his crooks have us all hostages at gunpoint. They have captured Cpl Kenny’s group and have shot Cadet Hamley. He is seriously wounded. They have also bashed up the OC and knocked him unconscious. You’ve got all that? Over.”

  “Yes Miss.”

  “Right. Bargheese wants the brown notebook. Give it to him if he sets Miss McEwen free. Go to the police.. aaah ...glug..” Bargheese grabbed her throat and Berzinski tore the handset from her grasp.

  “You will pay for that you bitch,” Bargheese snarled and backhanded her. She tried to break free but he held her tight.

  Murphy tried to pull him back. “Hey boss, break it up! Fair go!” he cried.

  Bersinzki stepped over and pushed him away. “Keep out of this Murphy, or else....aaaah!”

  Barbara had seized her chance. She kicked Berzinski between the legs with all her strength. Berzinski screamed with pain and curled up clutching his testicles. As he bent over in front of her Barbara punched him and tried to grab his gun but he fell down in a writhing heap still holding it.

  Bargheese let go of Mrs Standish, and turned to grab at Barbara. Barbara whirled and struck with the palm of her hand against the bottom of his nose. Excruciating pain lanced through Bargheese’s head and his eyes
watered. They were both off balance and fell over. The cadets all began yelling and as Bargheese rolled aside he saw one of the male CUOs grapple with Lewis.

  Bargheese sprang to his feet and whipped out his pistol. He blinked to clear the tears from his smarting eyes but couldn’t see Barbara. Instead he acted to prevent a riot in the hostages. He fired the pistol at the CUO, not caring if he hit Lewis in the process. He missed.

  Desperate he ran forward and fired again. This time the boy went down, blood staining the shoulder of his shirt. The other two CUOs were poised to spring on him but hesitated when he turned to point the weapon at them. The male CUO with the glasses looked more hostile but the blonde girl was crouched in a martial arts stance so Bargheese levelled the pistol at her.

  Martinez yelled, “Hey boss, she’s getting’ away!”

  Bargheese paused and looked behind him. “That blasted female CSM!”

  Barbara had run between the tents and was heading for the trees along the Canning. She was already a hundred metres away. Bargheese snapped a shot from his pistol. Hopeless at that range. Barbara began to duck and weave as she ran.

  Bargheese snatched the shotgun from Murphy who was just standing gaping. He aimed the weapon. Murphy grabbed at the gun. “Stop it Bargheese! I want no part in murder!”

  Bargheese wrestled the gun free and fired but his aim had been spoilt. Barbara dodged and kept running.

  Berzinski was now on his feet, face contorted by pain and hate. Obscenities poured from his mouth. He raised his sub-machine gun.

  Tat-atat-atat-atat!

  The gun jabbed little spurts of smoke but he was too late and the range too great. Barbara dived into the grass and vanished from sight near the trees along the bank of the Canning.

  “Get after her Berzinski! You too Vincent,” Bargheese screamed. ‘The girl will be heading for the Army Camp,’ he thought. He got a glimpse of her vanishing into the trees as the men set off in pursuit. All the cadets were shouting, calling encouragement to the girl. It seemed a mass escape was imminent.