Fire Eye (35 page)

Jed crouches next to Charcoal, letting him sip from the bottle. He carefully checks Charcoal’s injuries. “How you feeling?”

“Been better, been worse,” Charcoal says, non-committal. He actually feels like hell, with stabbing pain in his wrist and chest and a range of pains in other parts of his body, but he doesn’t show it.

“You’re a tough bastard!” Jed acknowledges. “Do you think she made it?”

Charcoal ponders the question. “If she did, we wait. If she didn’t we wait longer!”

Jed can’t disagree with his blunt logic. Charcoal is in no state to walk anywhere. “I’ll go check the fire again.”

After his last water trip he prepared a signal fire just in case. He needed a task to occupy his mind after his brush with the croc.

Charcoal hadn’t been sympathetic. “What did you bloody expect,” he’d stirred, “Going back to the same place every time.”

Jed knew he was right and silently cursed his carelessness. He’d known better but had slipped up. He isn’t going to slip up again, so he checks his fire carefully.

He’s picked the driest flammable material and stacked it carefully to maximise draft. Next to the fire he’s piled the best greenery he can find. He has even laid out the matches he carried in the hilt of his knife next to the fire, ready to go. He sprinkles more dry tinder over his construction and heads back to Charcoal. Cicadas click away in the scrub around them and unknown birds call to each other at random intervals. It is shaping up to be a long day and Jed is contemplating his next walk for water.

“Made up your mind how you goin’ to handle things?” Charcoal asks. Conversation is a diversion from pain.

“Should be easy,” Jed replies. “Black and white decision,” he jokes, dourly.

“The world ain’t often black and white, even when it should be,” Charcoal replies. “Take us two. You be white and I be black. Where’re your parents from?”

“Poland and Austria, but I was born in Australia. Don’t always feel like an Australian though, given the background. Australia has lots of people like me with mixed parentage.” He wonders where this is going.

“The law says you be Australian but you don’t always feel like it. Some people reckon they feel black because there was an Aboriginal somewhere in their past. Some I reckon claim to be black ‘cause grandpa walked past a black fella. They be happy goin’ walkabout in the city and a shopping centre. Who’s to say they be wrong! You be white, I be black. There be lot o’ people in between. Where’s the line? Is there a line? Things ain’t always black and white no matter how much we want ‘em to be!”

Charcoal is getting worked up. Jed recognises a sensitive topic but understand what Charcoal is hinting at. Decker is a problem that doesn’t fit in with the comfortable perspective of an urban environment. He wants to explore Charcoal’s proposition further, but their line of thought is interrupted.

They both lift their heads at the same time, alerted by a faint sound in the distance.

Jed tilts his head and listens carefully. “Helicopter, small one, piston engine, inbound from the southwest!”

Charcoal looks sideways at him. “If you say so man! Could be just an overflight but could be Billy Boy!” He can’t hide the hope in his voice.

Jed launches himself into a run toward the wood pile, yelling, “Time to light up!”

He strikes a match, thrusting it into the midst of the kindling. He has chosen well as it catches instantly, quickly flaring to consume the fuel he stacked so carefully. As the heat builds up, it encourages a draft that is sucked between the dry season leaves and sticks to fan the flames even more. The beat of the rotors is now plain to hear. Jed picks up fronds of greenery and tosses them onto the fire to start pumping out smoke.

The rhythmic beat increases behind him. He senses no change of speed or direction. Jed fears he had misjudged it and piles on more greenery as the rotor beat starts to fade. Oh for a flare! As he starts to curse, he hears a change of beat and a triumphant yell from Charcoal. The chopper is turning! He catches sight of it through the trees. It starts to orbit the fire. Jed steps into the clearing he has prepared, raises his arm to wave and holds it straight out to indicate the landing ground. He watches as the chopper slows and lines up on a descending approach, settling slowly onto the ground among a swirling cloud of dust and leaves as the rotors wind down.

Jed walks toward the aircraft. The door pops open and a jean-clad pilot steps out. His battered, high-heeled R. M. Williams boots kick up their own tiny clouds of dust. He stops in front of Jed and holds out his hand, one that Jed clasps firmly in welcome. “G’day mate! I’m looking for Charcoal. He ‘round anywhere?”

Jed likes what he sees. “The lazy bastard’s laid up under a tree. Hasn’t moved all morning!”

“Yeah, he’s got a habit of doin’ that! Where is he?”

“Up this way,” Jed replies. “Nice landing, tight clearing, didn’t waste any time.”

“Thanks! Just caught your smoke in my scan! Just what I needed!” Both their comments are a compliment to skill and judgement and they say no more about it. “Billy,” the pilot says as they walk side by side toward Charcoal.

“Jed.”

“Heard about you from Alex.”

“She okay?”

“Dusty, thirsty, hungry and tired. Looked after Thor too,” Billy adds as they came up to Charcoal.

“Glad to hear that!” Charcoal yells, his relief at seeing Billy barely concealed.

“G’day Charcoal! You taking a holiday by the look of it! Any bloody excuse to get out of some work!” Billy takes in Charcoal’s injuries and the lines of pain etched in his face. “‘Bout time you settled down and got yourself a wife,” Billy checks him over. “Can you walk?”

Charcoal knows better than to rely on bravado, in spite of the stirring. “Yeah, with help. Rib hurts, leg hurts, wrist is stuffed.”

Jed and Billy place their hands under Charcoal’s armpits and lift him on a count of three. They shuffle their way down to the chopper and ease him into the front left seat. It is no easy task. Jed has to get into the back and help lift him in. Helicopter pilots fly from the right, unlike fixed-wing pilots. Jed is aware of this and places himself there before being told. Billy notes Jed’s familiarity with aircraft.

“You fly?” he asks as they ease Charcoal into his seat and fix the harness into place.

“I’ve got an hour or two in my log book. Fixed wing, retractable, constant speed, aerobatic and formation. A thousand hours in command and a lot of money spent!” Jed grunts as he manoeuvres Charcoal into a more comfortable position.

Billy knows what all that means, especially the money part. An instructor once told him it takes two things to fly—airspeed and money! Experience teaches all pilots the truth of that statement. “We’ll be with Andy pronto,” he says to Charcoal as he climbs into the chopper and starts his checks with a focus that keeps Jed’s mouth shut during the start up.

The blades start to spin, building up rotation as Billy’s fingers dart over the instruments and switches. They lift into the sky, airspeed building as the ground flows past beneath them. Relief washes over Charcoal. Jed spares a few minutes to relax. His eyes check the landscape as it speeds past beneath them. His mind replays the events of the previous days and weighs up options for the future. He studies the route Alex must have ridden, inspecting the two ridges carefully with increasing respect for her. Before long he picks up the reflected metallic flashes that quickly form into a vehicle and trailer. Billy sets up a descent onto the landing ground he recently departed.

Jed can see a group of three squatted around a camp fire and watches as they stand in anticipation of the landing. Behind them he can see Thor, head down and nibbling quietly among the vegetation. As the chopper settles and the rotors wind down, the group move closer in expectation. He has to wait until Billy climbs out and moves around to the left to help him get Charcoal out before he can extract himself from the back seat. Billy and Jed support Charcoal between them and go to join the others.

Charcoal looks Alex in the eyes. “You made it Alice!”

“Yeah, we made it,” Alex responds. “It was a bit of a ride!”

“Yeah, t’is!” Charcoal replies as they lay him on a swag in the shade of the trees. “Glad you made it Alice. Didn’t doubt you’d make it,” he says decisively. Memories of his own ride flash through his mind. He almost died on that one and hadn’t been pushed for time like Alex.

“I know what you went through,” Alex says. She grasps his hand with the mutual respect of two riders who have shared a horse and an experience.

“He’s a good horse,” Charcoal says from the luxury of the swag’s mattress.

“He’s the best!” Alex confirms. Then she runs her hand over Charcoal’s forehead. “How you doing?”

“A lot better now!” Charcoal says, enjoying the sensation of her hand playing over his skin.

Jed and Johnny appear with the first aid kit and settle down next to Charcoal. “I can get you coffee and something to eat,” Johnny offers Jed.

“That’d be great!” Jed replies as he picks out what he needs from the kit. “I could eat a horse! Sorry Thor!” he adds as the horse neighs, finding a good titbit among the scrub.

“Be back soon,” Johnny promises as he scuttles back to the fire. Something unusual is going on and while he is unsure about where things are heading, he knows how he can contribute. By the time Jed has cleaned Charcoal’s wounds, strapped his chest and wrist, bandaged his leg and got painkillers into him, Johnny is back with the promised coffee and egg and bacon sandwiches. They sit around Charcoal, each with a coffee, while Jed and Charcoal get stuck into the sandwiches and savour the taste of pan-fried eggs and bacon.

“Those ridges looked tough!” Jed says to Alex, appraisingly.

“Thor did well,” Alex responds with a touch of coolness.

Jed can’t pick how she feels about him. She is avoiding any mention of her own efforts.

They all look at her. They respect her all the more for her modesty and acknowledge the mutual understanding in shared glances.

“We’ll have you taken care off soon,” Andy says to Charcoal.

“I’m do’n alright. I reckon there might be some things to do before that,” Charcoal hints, looking at Jed.

Jed stalls for time, putting his coffee down and picking up a stick. “This is where we parted company with Decker,” he says as he scratches a cross into the ground. “This is where we are and this is the homestead. Decker and his kid are heading out this way,” he adds as he draws a line in the dirt. “He’s bad news and has to be stopped. Once he gets off the property he can disappear. He’s carrying passports with different identities and no doubt has a good alibi set up. He’s a bastard but a clever one! There’s a risk he may go to the homestead,” he adds further.

They all look at him, knowing there is something more. Jed tells them why he and Alex came and what they had found and not found in the plane. “There’s unfinished business between Decker and Alex,” he adds cautiously.

“They already know,” Alex says. Jed looks at each of them in turn. Their expressions reveal they know a lot more than he has told them and also show respect for the fact he hasn’t held anything back.

“Bastard!” Andy snaps, capturing the feelings of Billy and Johnny and confirming Jed’s judgement.

“Can’t disagree with that!” Charcoal agrees. “What’d you have in mind?” he asks Jed.

After a contemplative silence, Jed verbalises his plan. “I’d like Billy to fly me back, pick up the track out and find Decker before he gets to the homestead. I want to stop the bastard in his tracks. When that’s done, it’ll be easier for the police to round them up.”

Everyone looks at Jed. The gaze of Charcoal and Alex is more intense. Jed knows Charcoal is wondering whether Jed has forgotten the intent of the story he told and the information Alex has shared. Jed knows Charcoal recognises the moral dilemma he faces and that he is reaching for a compromise.

Alex’s gaze is something else. It gives no hint of what she really thinks. It seems appraising. Very appraising indeed!

“How do you propose to stop him?” Billy asks practically.

This is the key question and Jed sizes him up before responding. “I’d need you to fly a low pass at low speed to put me in a position to get some hits on the radiator or tyres of their vehicle.” Seeing Billy’s raised eyebrows, he adds, “I know about the fifty knots at one hundred and fifty rule.”

For the R44 there is a standard rule not to go below fifty knots airspeed under one hundred and fifty feet altitude in case of an engine failure. This restriction allows a pilot to get the nose down so that airflow can keep the rotors turning for an auto-rotation landing that might be survivable.

Billy’s pursed lips and silence show he is thinking it through. He will be placing the chopper in a vulnerable position against someone armed and dangerous. “I can do that,” he responds carefully. “Not for long, mind you. I can do it for a few seconds, but I’ll be getting out fast!”

“Understood!” Jed replies with respect. Billy has weighed up the odds and made a gutsy decision. “All I need are a few seconds low and slow and then you can bug out and drop me nearby. I’ll need you to simulate two other landings out of sight to confuse things a bit as well.” If he is going to be forced to waste anyone, he’d prefer to be alone.

“Billy will drop us both and we will stop Decker together!” Alex snaps, leaving no room for debate.

Jed looks her in the eyes and sees no room to manoeuvre on that point. He doesn’t bother putting up an argument. The last twenty-four hours has demonstrated she has the guts and sense to do as well as any of them. “He can drop us both and we will finish this business,” he agrees in a tone that leaves room for more than one solution to the problem.

Billy turns to Charcoal, who simply nods. Andy also nods in agreement. Johnny takes the lead from the other two and nods eagerly as well. “I’m happy with that,” Billy says, tipping the remaining drops of his coffee onto the ground. “If we don’t find them and they’re not at the homestead, we come back and fly Charcoal out. Davey can look after himself. If we spot him, we’ll drop in.”