Blood at Yellow Water
Page 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
WEDNESDAY- YELLOW WATER
Jake was up at 6 a.m. for a quick breakfast before heading for the golf course to partner Koshi for the match against Murray and Sentoro.
The golf course looked amazing, verdant fairways lined by tropical trees and colourful flowers, ferns and bushes; every hole had a lagoon or creek alongside the fairways infused with water lilies and a vast array of bird species, magpie geese, kingfishers, storks and wrens. There were several large yellow and black “Beware of Crocodiles” warning signs around the lagoons.
Jake picked out a set of golf clubs and had some practice swings while he was waiting for the others to arrive. The temperature was already warm as the sun rose above the horizon. Koshi arrived with two bodyguards, bowed to Jake and shook his hand. Jake had met Koshi a couple of times before and liked him, although he doubted if Koshi would remember him. He was short and thick-set, dressed in white slacks and a red golf shirt made by UNIQLO, the Japanese fashion house. He had his own set of Taylor Made clubs. He addressed Jake,
“Saito tells me you are good sportsman, black belt in judo huh?”
Jake replied in Japanese “Yes but not so good at golf, I may not be the best partner for you, Prime Minister.”
“Well we will see, we must play our best against Prime Minister Murray.”
Just then Neville Murray arrived with Anna Sentoro, both looking immaculate in casual wear, Sentoro in a designer pair of long pink shorts and crisp white blouse, and the P.M. in a lime-coloured Greg Norman golf shirt and fawn slacks. They were also escorted by two bodyguards. Murray smiled broadly, shook hands with Koshi, wished him good luck, nodded at Jake and headed off to the golf carts. He and Sentoro sat together in one, Koshi and Jake in another and the two pairs of security guards each shared a cart.
P.M. Murray tossed a coin, Koshi called heads and lost. Murray said,
“O.K., we hit off first, shall we make it match play. Would you like a small wager on the game?
Koshi shook his head in agreement.
“Great, shall we play for $500?”
“O.K.” said Koshi, a slight smile on his face.
Anna Sentoro went up to the ladies red tee, had a few practice swings, teed up the ball and hit the ball sweetly, a little to the left of the fairway about 150 metres. She was applauded politely by everyone.
Prime Minister Murray strode up to the men’s tee, did a few stretching exercises, took out his driver and thumped the ball 250 metres straight down the middle of the fairway. He beamed with pride as everyone clapped.
Then it was Koshi’s turn to tee up. He pulled out his drive and hit a long low drive perfectly but a good 40 metres short of Murray’s ball. Once again everyone applauded politely.
Jake feeling extremely nervous and out of his depth, pushed his tee into the ground and tried to place the ball on the tee. His hand was shaking so much, it took him three tries before he could get the ball to sit firmly on the tee.
“Here goes nothing,” he said to himself as he took a deep breath and swung his three wood mightily at the ball. The ball took off skimming just inches above the ground but to Jake’s dismay it smacked into the concrete red mound on the ladies tee and took a huge lob backwards. Everyone scattered as the ball plopped back on the tee a metre in front of Jake’s feet.
There was amusement all round and Neville Murray guffawed at Jake’s predicament saying, “I’d love to see you do that shot again Jake. Let’s make the stakes $1,000.”
Shame-faced and not prepared to take the risk of using the wood again, Jake took out his four iron, carefully addressed the ball and used a slow backswing to hit the ball. This time the ball flew some 150 metres and finished in the rough on the left side of the fairway. Not a great outcome but he heaved a sigh of relief as he walked to his cart.
Koshi murmured encouraging words to Jake as they drove off in the cart to take their second shots.
Jake improved with his third shot but put his fourth into the bunker beside the green. He managed to blast out of the bunker at the first attempt and landed on the green, two putted and finished with a seven. In the meantime, Murray had hit the green with his second shot and two-putted to finish with a par four. Sentoro and Koshi each finished with a bogie five. First hole to Murray and Sentoro.
The next few holes went quickly with Jake starting to grow in confidence as his play improved and he started holing a few long putts. After the first nine holes they were three holes behind.
The tenth hole was a difficult par five taking a dog leg to the left with lagoons on both sides of the fairway and deep bunkers surrounding the green. Koshi hit a solid tee shot but drove his second into rough on the side of the lagoon. Jake descended from the cart to help him look for the ball. There was no sign of his ball and they poked their golf sticks into the reeds on the edge of the lagoon.
Koshi let out a sigh of relief as he spotted his ball just a few centimetres in the muddy water and took his stance with one foot in the water and the other on the bank. Jake was about ten metres away when he sensed rather than saw a ripple in the water. He hurled himself at Koshi in a flying leap knocking him sideways onto the bank just as a huge crocodile launched itself at Koshi. The crocodile just missed his leg but managed to grip his golf stick in its jaws. Jake hauled Koshi up the bank dragging him through the mud as the crocodile angrily tossed the golf club from side to side.
A bewildered Koshi gradually picked himself up not quite realising what had just happened. Then he saw the crocodile swimming away with his golf stick in its mouth and suddenly gasped as the horror of the situation struck him. Jake brushed him off just as the bodyguards arrived in their cart wondering what the commotion was all about. Jake gave him some water and sat him down in the cart to allow him to recover from his shock. After drinking the water, he calmed down and thanked Jake for his quick action.
Prime Minister Murray and Sentoro drove up and were horrified at Koshi’s near miss. After checking that Koshi was unharmed, Murray said,
“You can’t continue on after such an ordeal Koshi-san. We will just to have a call it off. Of course that means we win the match and the money,” he continued half-jokingly.
Jake couldn’t help himself and whispered in Koshi’s ear, “That’s a crock of shit Koshi.”
Koshi got the joke and started laughing. His laugh was infectious and soon they all started laughing. The laughter rumbled on and each time they stopped someone would tell another crocodile joke and they would start up again.
Eventually, Koshi took a penalty drop and continued playing, still chuckling to himself. His game seemed to have improved after the near-miss with the crocodile and they won the next two holes.
Coming up to the 18th hole, Koshi and Jake were still one hole down with one to play. The 18th was a 220 metre par three with the huge green ringed by bunkers. All four players hit their tee shots. Anna hit from the ladies’ tee and her ball fell short of the green by about 30 metres, Murray’s shot landed on the green about 15 metres from the flag. Koshi hit his shot into the back bunker while Jake’s ball hit the edge of the green but rolled back into the front bunker.
Murray looked triumphantly at Koshi. “There’s going to be some pressure on you now Koshi-san.”
Koshi just smiled and said stoically, “After facing a crocodile, I can handle any pressure.”
They walked up the fairway. Sentoro played her second shot but over-hit it, the ball landing on the back of the green, leaving her a 20 metre putt. Jake took out a sand wedge, walked into the bunker, swung at the ball, connected it too cleanly and it went sailing across the green and landed in the bunker on the opposite side of the green.
With Murray watching with a smile on his lips, Koshi walked into the bunker, also took out his sand wedge, calmly lined up the ball and swung easily. The ball flew out of the bunker too high but to everyone’s amazement struck the flag near the top and fell straight down into the hole. Koshi threw his arms up in triumph and received a huge high-five from Jake as he walk
ed over the green to pick his ball up out of the hole.
Murray watched grim-faced as Sentoro lined up her putt but missed to the right of the pin. Then he lined up his 15 metre putt carefully, aware that he needed to sink the putt to even the hole and win the match. He struck the ball firmly and held up his hand triumphantly as it appeared to be going in the hole, only to see it lip around the edge at the last milli-second and finish two centimetres past the cup.
The match was a tie. Koshi beamed with delight as he congratulated Sentoro and Murray, then turned around and gave Jake a huge bear hug. Such a show of emotion was most uncharacteristic of Koshi.
After freshening up, they walked into the club dining room where a light lunch had been set-up on the terrace. Jake was invited to join them. They had a panoramic view of the golf course which was ablaze with multi-coloured tropical plants surrounding the lush green fairways.
They ordered drinks and chatted enthusiastically for a time about the golf match.
Murray downed a beer and leaned over towards Koshi.
“Koshi san, I hope we can come to some form of agreement in the next couple of days but my advisers say they are not making any progress on some of the key issues, especially market access for some of our key agricultural exports.”
“I am getting the same advice from my own officials, especially on the investment issues,” replied Koshi.
They talked about some of the unresolved issues while eating their entrée.
Eventually, Murray looked towards Jake.
“You’ve been heavily involved in the officials’ talks Jake, but I’m advised they are at a stalemate on trade and investment. Anna tells me you have some ideas for breaking the impasse. Please speak frankly.”
“Yes that’s right Prime Minister, we seem to be going over the same issues but not getting anywhere. However, I have suggested some solutions to Minister Sentoro,” replied Jake.
Koshi sipped his beer and said, “Yes, I am also concerned about the slow pace of the discussions. I would be interested to hear your suggestions, Jake.”
Jake drew a deep breath and thought to himself “What the hell, here goes nothing!”
“Well Ministers, I think the only way to go is to take a holistic approach, include everything in the trade provisions so that it is truly a free trade agreement (FTA) with no exceptions. Nearly every FTA in place around the world, excluding the Australia-New Zealand Agreement, has a long list of exceptions and conditions. We should make this a trade agreement with no limitations. I realise this would take a lot of political goodwill and some major compromises from both sides.”
Jake expanded on his ideas while the three listened attentively. Murray looked at Jake.
Koshi interposed, “I am not sure what advantages there would be for Japan? Our farmers would take a lot of convincing that such a deal would be in their interest.”
“A compromise solution would be for Australia to remove all barriers to investment from Japan. There would be no limits on Japanese ownership of investments in Australia. Japanese investment would not be subject to controls by the Australian Investment Review Board. Japanese companies could buy Australian land and properties which would help them develop minerals and food production for the Japanese market. And we could also include provisions for settlement of disputes on investment.”
“That would be a positive outcome Jake but I’m still not sure it would be enough for me to sell the package to my people,” said Koshi.
Jake took a deep breath. “Well we could look at the submarine contract, perhaps as a joint venture.”
Koshi looked surprised at this because to date the Australian Government had been reluctant to talk seriously about including the submarine contract in the negotiations.
“That would be of great interest to Japan,” he said emphatically.
Murray quickly intervened, “You have some interesting thoughts there Jake but what you are proposing would be difficult politically for both sides. There would be a lot of senior people in industry and government who would have to come on board. Could you prepare a paper outlining how this would work and what concessions each side would have to make?”
“Yes, I have already prepared a broad sheet listing the issues and concessions to be made for each side and proposing solutions.”
“I would be interested in seeing your document Jake,” said Koshi.
“I’m happy to pass this on to you with the permission of my Prime Minister,” Jake replied.
“That’s fine by me Jake,” Murray concurred. “Can you translate it into Japanese and pass it on to Koshi-san? If we both see merit in Jake’s proposals, we can make that the centrepiece of our talks, rather than go through the detail of the issues again.”
They finished up their lunch and Murray turned to Koshi and said
“Well, it’s time to get down to work, Koshi-san. The ministerial talks start at 2 pm.”
As they broke up and set off towards the resort, Jake asked Koshi in Japanese if he enjoyed his lunch.
“Yes, I did Jake, but what type of meat was it that we had for the main course? It tasted a little like chicken.”
“Oh no, Koshi-san, that wasn’t chicken. It was crocodile meat,” Jake chuckled.
Koshi burst into laughter, bowed to Jake and went off to his room.
Jake rushed back to his room, pulled out his notebook computer, worked furiously on refining his proposals and then translated them into Japanese. He advised Jenny Antrim that the P.M.s had agreed on a different approach and gave her his broadsheet. He sought out Saito and gave him a copy of the version in Japanese.
Promptly at 2 p.m., both delegations sat down for the introductions. Prime Minister Murray welcomed Prime Minister Koshi and his delegation and outlined the framework for the conference. Koshi responded in kind thanking Murray and his delegation for their hospitality and expressing his hope that the conference would be successful in agreeing to a treaty.
The meeting then got down to business following the pre-arranged agenda containing a list of twenty-seven items. The first items covered standard protocol issues before coming to the substantive issues. The foreign ministers and defence ministers led the discussions, starting with a report on the ministerial meetings in the morning. All comments had to be translated by interpreters which doubled the time taken to deal with issues. After an hour and a half, little progress had been made on the substantive issues and the meeting paused for afternoon tea. Prime Minister Murray called Prime Minister Koshi aside and the two had an earnest discussion for the next twenty minutes.
As the talks recommenced, the two P.M.s jointly announced a new agenda item which they called “The P.M.s’ Action Plan.” They then had distributed a large broadsheet to everyone around the table and in firm language requested the meeting to examine the proposal as their sole priority for the rest of the afternoon. There was a buzz of surprise and expectancy from both sides of the meeting as they looked at the Plan.
Jake looked at the paper and realised it was virtually a replica of his own proposal. He was even more surprised when P.M. Murray asked him to explain the Plan to the meeting. Somewhat nervously, Jake stood up and went through the package of measures contained in the Plan. He gained more confidence as he went along, switching from English to Japanese to describe each point to both sides.
Jake outlined the issues as succinctly as he could. There were concessions to be given by both sides. On tariffs, it was proposed that Japan immediately phase out all tariffs and quotas on food and agricultural products coming from Australia. In return Australia was to remove all tariffs on imports into Australia of Japanese vehicles and automotive parts.
On investment, both countries were to agree to remove impediments to investment from the other and to enter into an investor dispute settlement mechanism. This would remove the limits on Japanese investment in Australia mining developments such as the 49% limit currently on Japanese ownership of the Jabiru mine. Similarly, both countries would agree to remove restr
ictions on services provided by the other in their respective countries, in particular on education.
The breadth of the proposal clearly took the delegations by surprise and there was much consternation by both sides after Jake had finished his explanation. But then P.M. Murray intervened and said that he expected officials of both sides to work hard to negotiate an agreement on the basis of the Plan. This would mean convincing some key players in both Australia and Japan to endorse the plan, particularly some major industry groups and corporations. Koshi stood up and endorsed Murray’s sentiments.
The meeting continued on into late afternoon, re-generated by the new focus. It then broke up to allow for intensive consultations with representatives of industry groups.
Jake hoped fervently the Plan would work and knew that the sticking point would be to get the Japanese farming interests to agree to a rapid withdrawal of its tariffs on Australian food and agricultural imports. With the Japanese system of working by the committee process of consultation he knew that it would be a long night for the Japanese delegation. He also knew that Murray would have to get the Australian Cabinet to agree to the removal of foreign investment restrictions on Japan investment in areas as sensitive as land and uranium development. But the defining issue would be the outcome of the negotiation on the submarine contract. There was going to be a lot of lobbying work behind the scenes if the Plan was going to be approved.
Jake was heading back to his room when his mobile phone rang. He was surprised to hear his father’s voice.
“Hi Jake, sorry to bother you, have you got a minute?”
“Sure Dad what’s up?”
“It’s Lizzie’s brother Barry, he’s been arrested and they’re holding him in the cells at the Jabiru police station. She didn’t want to worry you but I thought you might be able to help out. I’ll pass the phone over to her.”
“Hi Jake I’m sorry to bother you but Bill insisted I talk to you,” Lizzie came on the line, clearly upset.
“That’s O.K. What on earth happened?”
“He’s been beaten up and arrested by the police at the mine site for supposedly causing disruption. He said it’s all trumped up, he didn’t do anything. Could you go down there and try to sort it out?”
“Yeah, sure, I’ll go down there but I’m not sure I’ll be able to do anything.”
After getting a few more details from Lizzie, Jake hung up, cursing under his breath. He had plenty of work to do that evening but felt obligated to go to Jabiru and see if he could contact Barry. He jumped into the four wheel drive and drove the short distance to the Jabiru township, pulling up outside the police station. The station was a small square building in the main street. Jake walked up to the door which had a sign saying the office was closed. He could see a light at the back so he rapped on the door. Nothing happened so he knocked again this time very loudly. Eventually he heard footsteps and a young burly constable opened the door.
“Sorry mate we’re closed, you’ll have to wait till tomorra morning.”
“Look, my name is Jake Stafford and I want to visit Barry Buckstone who is locked up here. He’s a friend of mine and I must talk to him.”
“Sorry mate, no visitors allowed till the morning.”
“Look all I want is five minutes with him. I’m with the Australian Government and it’s important I see him now.” Jake flashed his security badge from the conference.
The constable, whose name was Angove, appeared confused as he saw Jake’s pass.
“Orright , but you’d better be quick. I’ll have to check you out for weapons.” He patted Jake down and led him through to the office to the holding cell. The cell was just a small room with a two-foot square opening on the door which served as a window. The constable yelled out through the window.
“Barry, you’ve got a visitor.”
When he received no answer, the constable peered through the window.
“Christ, he’s lying on the floor.” Quickly, he pulled out his keys and unlocked the door. They both rushed in to see Barry spread out face down on the floor, clearly unconscious and with a huge lump on the side of his skull. He also had some cuts and bruises to his face and arms. Jake checked his breathing and the pulse under his neck. He was breathing shallowly and his heartbeat was steady but weak. He and the constable rolled him onto his side and checked his airways.
The constable said “I’d better call Sergeant Barker and let him know what’s happened.”
“No you won’t, you’ll call for the ambulance right now. This could be serious by the look of that lump on the side of his head,” Jake replied angrily.
“But he looked fine when I last checked on him; he had some cuts and bruises but he was talking O.K.”
Jake lost patience. “Just ring the bloody ambulance or do you want another case of a black death in custody?”
Constable Angove picked up the phone and rang for an ambulance. He then rang his sergeant. They tried to make Barry comfortable while they waited, loosening his clothes and shoes. In less than ten minutes the ambulance arrived and two officers quickly checked Barry over and gave him oxygen. Sergeant Neville Barker came bustling in shortly after and was quizzing the constable as to what had happened. Barker, one of only a handful of aboriginals to make the rank of sergeant in the NT Police Force, had been in charge of the Jabiru Police Station for three years and knew Barry.
“It looks like he’s passed out after taking a heavy blow to his head. We can’t take any risk with head injuries. We’re going to have to take him to Darwin Hospital straight away,” said one of the ambulance officers.
“But he’s locked up for been involved in the riot at the mine,” argued the sergeant.
“Doesn’t matter, he’s got to be checked out properly for any brain damage” retorted the ambulance driver as he and his colleague lifted Barry onto the stretcher.
As he was placed on the stretcher, Barry stirred and opened his eyes.
“Christ what’s happened?” he said as he tried to sit up.
“It’s O.K. Barry, you’ve had a hit to your head and blacked out,” replied Jake, putting an arm on his shoulder as the ambulance man gently pushed him back.
“Jake, what are you doing here?”
The sergeant barked, “Yeah, who the hell are you?”
“Your sister asked me to check on you when she heard you’d been locked up. It’s just as well I did because the constable and I found you lying unconscious on the floor.”
Jake followed the stretcher out of the police station and watched as Barry was lifted into the back of the ambulance. He was starting to get some colour back in his face. After he was settled into place, Jake climbed into the back of the ambulance and crouched alongside him.
“Do you feel like telling me what happened?” Jake asked.
“Look, it was a set-up. It was meant to be a peaceful protest. We were chanting our anti-mining slogans outside the wire fence at the mine when one of those dickhead anti-nuke protesters threw a rock at a security guard whacking him on the head. The guard retaliated by grabbing the dickhead and then someone else threw another rock. There was a lot of pushing and shoving and it got out of hand. Suddenly, a whole mob of coppers appeared flaying us with truncheons and pushed us all back, knocking a few heads in the process. I copped a stick right across the back of the head and went down like a bag of spuds. Then a guy from the mine sprayed us all with a fire hose and everyone scattered leaving me lying there semi-conscious. The coppers dragged me into the back of the paddy-wagon and locked me up in the cop shop. I thought I was O.K. but I started getting woozy. Next thing I knew I was lying on the floor in the cell.”
The ambulance officer said “We’re all set to go,” and asked Jake “are you coming with us?”
Barry replied “No need for you to come Jake, just let Lizzie know where I am. She’ll arrange for a lawyer to fix this up and let my wife know what’s happened. Thanks for your help.”
Jake jumped out of the back of the ambulance, pulled
out his camera phone and took a photo of Barry. “I’ll send this photo to Lizzie so she’ll know you’re O.K.”
“What about you Sergeant, are you coming?” asked the ambulance officer.
“No, the silly bastard doesn’t need a police escort. But there could be charges so I’ll get the boys in Darwin to keep an eye on him.” He waved the ambulance off and walked back into the station, motioning Jake to come with him.
The sergeant introduced himself. “What’s your interest in all this, fella?”
Jake explained the reason for his visit to Kakadu and how he came to know and call on Barry.
The sergeant listened intently occasionally interrupting with questions.
“O.K., I’d appreciate it if you stay away from here in the future and keep quiet about what’s happened. We’ve got enough on our hands with the protesters over the mine opening. The media were all over the protest yesterday and we certainly don’t want them getting any word of an aboriginal found lying unconscious in gaol and being carted off to hospital in Darwin.”
“No problem, Sergeant, I won’t be saying anything to anyone. But is Barry really in trouble here? He doesn’t seem the violent type. ”
“I know Barry and I’d be surprised if he was one of the ringleaders in the attack on the security staff,” Barker admitted. “We’ll look at the surveillance video and see who the real culprits are. There seemed to be some professional protesters there and it looks like someone tipped off the media to be there at the right time. If Barry’s not involved in the violence he’ll be in the clear.”
“Thanks for that Sergeant. If that’s all, I’ll be off”
“O.K. but keep a lid on this,” repeated the sergeant as he waved Jack off.
Relieved, Jake pulled out his mobile phone and rang Lizzie. At first Lizzie was horrified, but then calmed down after Jake explained that Barry seemed to be recovering. She indicated she would arrange for a lawyer to handle any charges. She thanked Jake profusely as she hung up.
Feeling hungry and realising he was going to be too late to eat dinner back at the resort, Jake looked for a take-away café but could only see a pizza shop. He walked into the shop, studied the menu on the blackboard and ordered a pepperoni pizza. He looked around the shop and the only people inside were a group of Japanese who were sitting at the tables eating pizza. Jake noticed that one of them had a bandage around his head and assumed that they were part of the anti-nuclear protest lobby. One of the Japanese women had her back to him but her long hair tied in a ponytail and slim body shape looked familiar. She turned around and he could see her profile.
“My God, it’s Shoni!” he cried out, completely shocked.
She looked round in surprise. “Oh, Jake!” She jumped up from the table and put her arms around him, much to the amazement of the Japanese group.
Completely taken aback Jake asked, “What are you doing here, Shoni?”
She blushed. “Come with me Jake, I can explain.”
She pulled him by the hand leading him out of the shop onto the footpath. She looked him straight in the eye.
“Jake, I’m here with the protesters. I told you my grandparents’ lives were destroyed by the explosion at the uranium plant at Fukushima. I’ve been a member of the anti-nuclear association in Japan for many years. I’ve made friends with many people in the group and wanted to support them while I was in Australia.”
“But why didn’t you tell me you were coming up here? I have no problem with you being opposed to nuclear energy.”
“Because you are with the Australian Government and I thought you might want to stop me protesting. And you could get into trouble with your superiors if you were seen to be associating with a protester.”
Jake said angrily, “So you were staying at Daly Waters because you were on your way to the protest. You were lying to me!”
“No Jake, I’m not lying to you. I have a job at Daly Waters for two months, I like it there and I’m going back there after the mine opening. Everything I told you is the truth. I just didn’t mention I was going to the protest for a few days because I thought you wouldn’t like me being involved.”
“I’m not sure whether to believe you or not.”
She looked up at him, tears starting to fall down her cheeks.
“Please don’t think badly of me Jake. I care for you so much.”
“If you really care for me, you will go back to Daly Waters immediately. There is danger here. Did you get caught up in the riots today?”
“Yes, we were sprayed by a fire hose and our leader was hit in the head by someone throwing a rock.”
“Well it could get a lot more violent. I have heard a rumour about a possible terrorist attack. You and your comrades should get out of here.”
Shoni looked shocked. “All right Jake. I can’t leave now but I promise to leave first thing tomorrow morning.”
Jake said “For your own safety please go. I thought we had something special between us but I don’t feel that you have been honest with me.”
“That’s not true Jake, I never lied to you. I do care for you but we have only just met and I didn’t want to do anything that would upset our relationship.”
He looked at his watch. “Look I have to get back to the conference. I’ll call you tomorrow once you’re back at Daly Waters.”
She looked at him with those soulful brown eyes. He wiped the tears off her face, gave her a quick hug and hurried off, leaving her standing alone outside the pizza shop.
He jumped into the Toyota and headed back to Yellow Water, feeling confused and angry. A Jeep roared past him coming from the opposite direction and he caught a fleeting glimpse of the driver and his passengers. Despite his weariness, Jack did a double take. The driver looked like Blakey and his two passengers resembled the Chinese he had seen in the Daly Waters Pub. He stopped the vehicle and looked back but the Jeep had already disappeared into the darkness of the night.
Having left his pizza behind in Jabiru, Jake walked into the hotel restaurant hoping to get a quick snack. The restaurant was about to be closed but he managed to salvage some salad and fruit from the buffet and sat by himself out on the terrace overlooking the hotel gardens. He knew he was late for the evening’s meetings but he needed a break before getting back into the negotiations. He ordered a glass of wine to settle his nerves. His mind was buzzing with questions. Seeing Shoni at Jabiru had brought on mixed emotions of confusion and betrayal. They had enjoyed a few days together but how well did he really know her? She was under no obligation to tell him anything about her plans so what right did he have to question her? Was Barry Buckstone going to be all right and was there going to be further trouble at the mine? What were Blakey and the Chinese doing in Jabiru if indeed it was them in the Jeep?
He snapped himself out of his reverie and found the meeting room which was being used by the Australian delegation. He slipped quietly into a seat at the end of the table, hoping he wouldn’t be noticed.
“Ah here comes Jake at last. Christ you drop us in this huge hole and then just disappear.” Jake looked over to see Ambassador Connell sneering at him.
“I’m sure you could dig us out of a hole anytime, Ambassador,” Jake retorted sarcastically. Connell went red in the face and was about to answer when Jenny Antrim interrupted. “Right everyone, let’s start allocating tasks so that we can get clearances for our position for tomorrow’s talks.”
Jenny then allocated tasks around the table, including some for Jake on market access.
“We’ll have to burn the midnight oil, so let’s go get agreement from our industry people and government agencies as the P.M. has ordered. We’ll meet here again after breakfast at 8 am to review the outcomes.”
Jake spent the next two hours in his room on the phone to several industry chiefs and senior government officials. He sought their approval by email for the position to be taken at the negotiations the next day.
By midnight he had done as much as he could and switched on the televisi
on to unwind. He found the National News channel and was having a coffee when he suddenly saw coverage of the riot at the mine. The news item showed the protesters pushing against the security staff trying to get into the mine. One of the protesters had wire cutters and started hacking into the fence. Jake caught a glimpse of Barry Buckstone in the forefront of the protesters, holding up a sign saying “This is aboriginal land!” Then the camera caught sight of a flurry of rocks been thrown from the back of the crowd, knocking one of the security staff to the ground.
The camera panned around to catch a group of policemen charging into the protesters and forcing them back by using their shields and truncheons. One of the security staff had a fire hose and was pummelling the protesters, forcing them backwards. In a flash the protest was over as the protesters retreated from the fence. Jake saw Barry lying on the ground and being pulled up by one of the police. As the program switched to another news item, Jake switched the television off and lay on the bed, too tired to remove his clothes.