Blood at Yellow Water (13 page)

The meal completed, P.M.s Murray and Koshi
walked the red carpet from the marquee to the train followed by a
horde of photographers and guests. They posed for photographs with
the train driver at the steps of the driver’s cabin before they
climbed on board, closely followed by two bodyguards and Carstairs.
The driver blew three short blasts from the train’s whistle as the
train gradually pulled out to the cheers of the crowd. Secret
service guards jogged alongside, keeping pace with the train.

Jake walked back towards his vehicle, glad
to get away from the pomp and ceremony of the luncheon. He was
mentally exhausted from the week’s negotiations and was looking
forward to seeing Shoni and his father again. He had already
checked out of the resort and had dumped his bag in the back of the
Toyota. He looked across the paddock and could see the train moving
slowly along the track not more than 200 metres away.

Captain Xu and his team watched anxiously
from their hide-out in the bush as the train gradually moved into
view. As the train approached he pressed the remote control button
and was rewarded immediately to see a massive explosion at the mine
site with huge plumes of black smoke spouting into the air. Two
seconds later the front wheel of the engine triggered the
explosives set on the track and an enormous blast of orange fire
and black smoke lifted the engine straight off its rails. The
engine went careening along the embankment for another 80 metres
before it flipped on its side and came to rest in a screech of
twisted metal and black smoke.

The Chinese team immediately broke from
their cover and rushed through the smoke with their guns ready for
their assault on the train. They gunned down two security officers
who were running along the track trying to reach the train.

In the driver’s cabin, Carstairs pulled
himself up from the wreckage. He was hurting in several places but
had no bones broken. He looked around the cabin and could see
carnage everywhere. The driver had gone through the front
windscreen and was clearly dead. A door had been almost ripped off
and one bodyguard was lying halfway through the doorway with his
neck twisted awkwardly. The other was painfully getting to his
knees. P.M. Murray was lying on the floor groaning in pain covered
in blood but alive. There was no sign of P.M. Koshi.

Carstairs lifted Murray to a sitting
position asking him if he could stand. He knew they were vulnerable
in the cabin. He pulled out his pistol and told the bodyguard to
arm himself. He looked out the window and could see the Chinese
approaching with automatic weapons ready. He peered out the window,
took aim and shot the leading Chinese in the chest. The Chinese
returned fire and Carstairs was thrown back with a bullet in the
shoulder. The bodyguard let loose two shots before he was taken
down in a hail of bullets. Carstairs dragged himself in front of
the P.M. as the Chinese stormed into the cabin with guns firing.
Liang was the first to reach the cabin, he looked down at Carstairs
and Murray lying on the floor and cold-bloodedly shot them both in
the head. He then checked the bodies of the bodyguards in the cabin
to ensure they were all dead. Lastly, he draped a flag over the
smashed side window of the train.

Xu jumped into the cabin, checked the
corpses and yelled “Where is that Japanese pig, Koshi?”

Liang searched the cabin again but there was
no sign of the Japanese Prime Minister.

“He must have been thrown out or crawled
out. Start searching. Find him and kill him.”

Jake was about to get in his wagon when he
heard the first explosion at the mine. He could see smoke billowing
into the sky when the second explosion came only 200 metres away
and the shock waves knocked him off his feet. He looked up to see
the train leaping in the air before it careered into the embankment
in a blaze of orange fire and black smoke. He picked himself up,
jumped into the Land Cruiser and sped across the paddock towards
the railway line. It was a scene of absolute chaos. Through a pall
of black smoke he could see the engine lying on its side and most
of the rail cars lying in a smoking, tangled mess. He parked on the
verge of the railway line and saw the Chinese rushing towards the
train driver’s cabin. He left the vehicle and crawled closer to the
embankment. He watched in horror as the Chinese stormed the cabin
firing their guns through the windows. The firing stopped suddenly
and Jake glimpsed a movement on the edge of the embankment just 40
metres away. He looked closely and realised it was a human body. He
slid down the embankment carefully and crawled up to the body just
as further gunfire broke out in the cabin. He leaned over the body
to look at the face and with a gasp, recognised Koshi. Somehow he
had been thrown clear and landed 30 metres from the train wreck. He
was alive, covered in blood and gradually regaining consciousness.
He looked up at Jake in recognition and tried to speak but could
only manage a groan. Jake spoke urgently in his ear.

“Prime Minister we are in danger here, we
must get away quickly. Can you stand up?”

Koshi nodded his head and struggled to his
feet. Jake grabbed him under the shoulder and dragged him up the
rise towards the Toyota. He looked back and saw the Chinese
scrambling around the embankment. Suddenly one pointed up to them
and shouted to the others and they all started rushing up the rise.
Jake shoved Koshi into the back seat, jumped into the driver’s
seat, praying the four wheel drive would start at once. Fortunately
it roared into life and he flattened the accelerator, taking off in
a wheel spin. He heard gunfire and felt a bullet smack into the
rear of the cruiser but soon had put himself a safe distance from
the Chinese.

Xu cursed as he saw the Toyota pull away and
made a call on his mobile for Blakey to pick them up. Blakey,
driving a jeep, came roaring out of cover in the bush and within
minutes had picked up the Chinese. Two of them were carrying their
dead companion who was unceremoniously dumped in the boot of the
jeep. After some frantic instructions from Xu, they took off in
pursuit of Jake’s Toyota.

At the mine site there was panic as people
fled from the explosion. Two production workers had been killed
instantly while three others had suffered serious injuries.
Fortunately, the guests at the luncheon were in the process of
dispersing when the mine exploded, so there were no fatalities but
several serious injuries caused by flying debris. Some casualties
were lying on the ground moaning with their injuries as others
scrambled away with cuts to their faces and bodies. Ambulances were
on the scene quickly with officers tending to the wounded while
fire brigades rushed to control the fire at the mine.

Helen Kwang emerged unscathed from the
explosion and was quick to assess the situation. She assisted one
middle-aged executive who had cuts to his head before passing him
over to an ambulance officer. She searched for a photographer,
spied Percy Usifail from her own newspaper, and told him to take
shots of the carnage. She saw security guards closely surround Anna
Sentoro and Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, Norio Hayashi,
who were joined by an ashen-faced Ambassador Connell, and watched
as they were ushered hurriedly into the comparative safety of their
armoured cars.

She pulled out her phone, rang a colleague
at the National newspaper and started dictating a description of
the disaster around her. She had heard the second explosion and
wondered about its origin. She saw several security officers and
police rush down the railway line and it dawned on her that the
P.M.s might be at risk. She ran after them, urging Percy to follow.
After 500 metres she could see the smoking ruin of the train and
shuddered at the enormity of what had happened. There was the
twisted metal of the train, the spillage of yellow cake everywhere,
all shrouded in black smoke. Security guards had set up a barrier
round the cabin of the train but she could see several bodies being
lifted out of the cabin and laid on the ground. A large black and
white flag was draped across the side window of the driver’s cabin.
She whispered to Percy to see if he could get some close-ups of the
bodies and the flag. Even with the billowing smoke she recognised
the face of Prime Minister Murray with his eyes wide open frozen in
terror and with a shock realised he must be dead. She looked at the
other bodies, all motionless, but couldn’t see Koshi amongst
them.

Percy was busily clicking away before a
security officer saw him and warned him that no media or
photographers were allowed and that any photos would be
confiscated. Percy promptly retreated but indicated quietly to
Helen that he already had taken a good shot of the P.M.’s face.
They stood around anxiously but any attempts to ask questions of
the police drew blank responses. She heard a clatter overhead and
looked up to see an Air Ambulance helicopter about to land in the
paddock alongside the stricken train. Ambulance officers rushed to
the scene and tried to revive the casualties. After a short time
the bodies were loaded onto stretchers in body bags and carried to
the helicopter, which promptly took off.

The speed of the operation and the actions
of the ambulance officers made it clear to Helen that there were no
survivors. She pulled out her phone again, dictated the latest
revelations, and sent off a message with Percy’s photos attached.
She looked aghast at the chaos around her and realised the enormity
of the disaster. The Australian Prime Minister had been killed and
the Japanese Prime Minister was missing, possibly killed, after
what appeared to be a terrorist attack. She had acted automatically
in recording the mayhem but it had only just sunk in that she was
the first reporter on the scene and had captured one of the most
important events in Australia’s recent history.

Before long, T.V. reporters and cameramen
arrived but the police had by now cordoned off the area and
prevented anyone from getting close to the disaster area.

FRIDAY AFTERNOON -JABIRU, THE LOST TEMPLE

Jake sped down the road to Jabiru, honking his horn
as he tried to avoid cars on the road as people tried to escape
from the chaos. He knew he had to get off the main road or he’d be
quickly overtaken by the Chinese. He tried to remember what his
father had said about an alternative route to the Stuart Highway.
He drove past a dirt road on the left hand side and noticed the
name Stockmen’s Track on a signpost. With a start he remembered his
father had recommended the Stockmen’s Track as an alternative route
to Daly Waters. He did a quick U-turn and sped down the track in a
great flurry of dust.

Xu and his men raced after Jake cursing at
cars blocking their way. The dust and smoke made it difficult to
see very far ahead. They had driven for fifteen minutes before they
realised they had lost sight of his vehicle. With Xu screaming in
his ear, Blakey turned the jeep around and doubled back, looking
for any alternative route that Jake might have taken. He saw the
signpost for the Stockmen’s Track and from the dust hovering over
the road guessed that Jake had taken that route.

Jake looked behind but could see no sign of
pursuit and prayed that his ploy had worked. He looked at Koshi who
was lolling in the back seat semi-conscious but he knew he couldn’t
stop to check his wounds. He fished out his mobile phone and tried
to call the 000 emergency number to alert the police but to his
dismay found he had being put on extended hold because of an
unexpected rush of calls. He punched in his father’s number and
cursed as his call went straight to voice mail. He left a message,
“Dad, I’m in deep trouble. I’m driving along the Stockmen’s Track
with the Japanese P.M. who’s been injured in the bomb explosion at
Jabiru. We’re being chased by Chinese terrorists. Can you call
the…” Just then the phone went dead and he realised he was out of
range.

He sped down the road which was a heavily
corrugated dirt track and he struggled to keep the Toyota from
sliding off the road. He was determined to put as much distance as
possible between himself and the Chinese and drove as fast as he
could without losing control.

Another hour passed before Jake thought it
safe to stop the car and check on Koshi. He was now conscious but
clearly was suffering from concussion and was mumbling
incoherently. He was bleeding in several places from cuts to his
head and body. Jake ripped up a T-shirt from his luggage to wrap
around his wounds as best he could. Amazingly Koshi didn’t seem to
have any bone breakages but Jake knew he could well have received
internal injuries. He made Koshi drink from his water bottle and
forced him to swallow some painkillers. Jake climbed up a ridge and
tried his mobile phone but again there was no signal. With a start,
he thought he heard a noise and listening carefully he could just
hear the drone of a car engine. Cursing, he tied a seatbelt around
Koshi’s body in the back seat of the Toyota, climbed in the
driver’s seat and accelerated down the track. It was now late
afternoon and it wouldn’t be long before dark. He had to get Koshi
to safety in the hospital at Mataranka before the Chinese caught
them up.

Another thirty minutes passed and Jake
realised that his pursuers were gaining on him. It was now twilight
and he could see car headlights not far behind him. He realised at
his current pace it was just a matter of time before they caught up
with him and had no doubt what they would happen if they were
overtaken.

Suddenly a kangaroo sprang seemingly from
nowhere in front of the station wagon, Jake swerved to avoid it,
giving it a glancing blow in the process and slammed the wagon into
the dirt embankment on the side of the road before managing to
regain control of the vehicle. Koshi groaned in the back seat as
the Toyota swung from side to side. A whirring sound came from the
right front wheel and Jake cursed hoping it wasn’t a puncture. He
stopped the cruiser, got out and checked the wheel. The mudguard
had bent right back from the collision and was pressing on the
wheel causing it to wobble. He tried to force it back with his
hands but was unable to shift it. He tried to think of his options.
There was no way he could outrun his pursuers now. There were no
alternative routes to take so his only hope of survival was to find
a hiding place.