Elephants can't hide forever (25 page)

“So why stop here?” Pete Fulcher asked gruffly, “We’re probably two miles away.”

“Wind in East, blow dust from car towards hut, they see us,” the shaman said. Pete shut up.

The three men decided to park up and walk to the ridge. Dennis had done enough walking recently and curled up on the rear seat. There was just about enough cover on the walk to the ridge, in the
unlikely event anyone came along.

“Unbelievable,” hissed Charlie as they lay flat on the ridge looking at the ram shackle hut below.

“Not a sign of life,” Den commented, “Do you reckon they’re still in there?”

“They’ve got to be,” Charlie said, with as much conviction as he could muster.

“Only one way to find out,” was Pete’s reply.

For a few more moments, the men lay there watching and hoping for a sign of life. There was none, which was disappointing. They worked out the angle of trajectory that Pete would drive the van
into the back of the place. It was a bit chancy, as the building was so old they feared they might bring the whole structure down, burying Charlie’s daughter in the process. However, this was
a calculated risk as there had to be a large element of surprise to obtain the advantage over an unknown quarry. With that they returned to the land cruiser and waited for nightfall.

“Time to go” said Charlie. It was three am on an inky black night. Pete and Den had dozed lightly. Dennis had snored so loudly it was more likely to have warned the occupants of the
cabin of their presence rather than any dust cloud, Charlie was bright eyed.

“Everyone ready” he asked. Just nods returned his question. “Right then, Dennis, wait here, back in a bit.”

Dennis didn’t need telling twice, this land, was his home, and whatever the outcome he could disappear as easily as he had materialised. Pete fired up the motor and cautiously drove the
wagon around the ridge until they could just make out the silhouette of the hut. He pulled up and Charlie and Den quietly got out and made their way to either side of the building. They had agreed
that if the roof came down on the cruiser there was a possibility they could all be trapped in the motor, and would be sitting ducks, so Charlie would take the left hand side and Den the right, a
standard pincer movement in a game of paintball, and hopefully Pete would come in through the middle.

Charlie and Den were in position, and Pete gunned the throttle. By the time he hit the door there were two hundred horses screaming under the bonnet, the noise as he made contact was deafening-
it sounded like a plane had hit the place. Wood and rubble flew every where, and Charlie realised they should have all worn goggles and face masks- this really was gung ho.

Charlie and Den were in the building simultaneously, and Pete was clear of the Toyota and right with them. The first person they came across was Dave Penny’s brother Jason, who was on the
sofa in the sitting room dozing. Whether he was an innocent traveller or a vicious kidnapper made no difference to Charlie Allington; he hit him with such force from the baseball bat that his left
eye popped its socket and his nose split clean in two. Pete was already in the right hand side bedroom, and Richard Sykes, who had had a few seconds longer to realise what was happening, was wiping
the dust from his eyes whilst cocking the twelve bore he kept by his side in readiness for such an occasion, all to no avail. The baseball bat found the side of his head, breaking the jaw bone and
leaving the right ear hanging by a thread. Den was into the second bedroom a second after that, pistol armed and ready; he saw a young woman hunched up in the corner and she looked terrified.

“You Jane?” he asked, like he was a seasoned professional. Jane nodded.

Den asked a remarkably sensible question next: “How many people are here?”

“Two men and me,” said Jane almost in a whisper, and then, rather stupidly, Den said, “Wait here.” He ran out, saw Charlie, and realised that both the men Jane had said
were in the hut had been dealt with.

“Charlie, she’s through there,” he shouted and pointed. Charlie was into the room in an instant and saw the daughter he lived for curled up in the corner looking like she was
twelve years old again and had just had the worst nightmare ever. She got up, crossed the floor, and flung her arms around Charlie, where she stayed for what seemed several minutes. Eventually, she
released her vice-like grip and the tears flowed,

There was a hint of light in the East heralding the beginning of the best day of Charlie Allington’s life, but it wasn’t quite over yet. Charlie didn’t want his daughter to see
the mess they had made of the two kidnappers, and tried to usher her quickly through the remains of the living room. However, Jane was regaining her composure and stopped to look at Jason Penny,
whose detached eye had been forced back into its socket, although it would never work again, and with great purpose spat in his face. Then she and her father walked out to the cruiser where Dennis,
who had watched the events, was sitting in the rear seat.

“If it wasn’t for this guy, we would never have found you,” Charlie said, pointing at Dennis. Jane put her arms around Dennis and kissed him on the cheek.

“Thank you,” was all she could say. Dennis almost looked embarrassed.

“Stay here with Dennis,” Charlie told Jane, “I’ll go back and talk with the others. We have to decide what we do with do those two bastards and we never spoke about how
we would deal with them if we got you out, it all happened so quickly.”

“Make it hard, Dad,” was Jane’s surprising reply. Charlie went to the rear of the motor and collected the can of fuel before making his way back to the shack; Dennis looked
worried at this turn of events. Charlie walked into the remains of the building, and as both men saw the can of fuel he was carrying, they suddenly became very scared.

“Where’s the motor you came in?” Charlie barked.

“In the far outbuilding,” Sykes stammered.

Pete and Den wondered what was coming next. They hadn’t bargained to be part of a murder- they thought Charlie was going to douse them both, before setting them on fire. However, Charlie
marched out of the hut taking the can with him, and found the old Toyota the men had purchased back in Cairns. He poured most of the fuel inside, and the remainder over the roof and bonnet, struck
a match and threw it into the car. The high octane fuel didn’t need a second chance to do what it was made for, and several seconds later the car was a fireball. Charlie made his way back
into the hut.

“Well, Den, Pete, what do you reckon we do with these two Poms?” he asked.

“Take them back with us and hand them over to the Federal Police” was Pete’s suggestion.

“Leave them here to rot” was Den’s.

Charlie thought for a moment, and then delivered his verdict.

“Right, we take them away from here, dump them in the bush and let them take their chances. If, and it’s a great big if, they make it out of here, what can they say they’ve
been doing out here, and if they die out here and they’re found before their bodies are eaten, the authorities will assume there just a couple of idiot Poms got themselves lost and got what
they deserved. How can they say any different?”

Den looked at Pete, both men nodded.

Pete said, “Agreed, Charlie; Den and me will take them into the bush right now. You, Dennis and Jane wait here, an hour’s drive will be enough to confuse them, so they lose all
bearings, then we kick them out and they’re on their own.”

Den and Pete roughly bundled the men into the cruiser and disappeared into the dawn. When they were out of sight, Jane spoke.

“Dad, have you got a cell phone?”

“Sure honey,” replied Charlie “Why?”

“I need to call Mike,” came the reply.

A few hours later Den and Pete returned having deposited their cargo in the middle of nowhere but kindly having left them a gallon of engine oil for when their thirst became unbearable.

Mike Tobin was in a state of shock. He had to think mighty fast- his girl was free, so there was no need to follow this through now. Jesus, he realised, he had already got half
a million pounds, which they couldn’t get back. But how could he get out of here without the others? The gates were shut behind him, and then there was Jock Wallace; he’d got himself
into this mess but Mike couldn’t abandon him, that was not Mike, and that was not the code of the SAS.

There were plenty of secret societies around that looked after their own- the Masons, the Church, the Law, but none came near the bond of the SAS. Leaving Jock was not an option. Mike had run
out of thinking time; Don Gooch and the Governor were making their way towards him.

Don held out his hand. “Gerry” he said, “You’ve come yourself,” looking at Mike.

Mike cottoned on quickly and composed himself.

“Well, Don, from what you said on the phone I figured it was the best move. If this thing is as bad as you say, at least I’ve had most of the vaccines which should protect me,”
Mike said convincingly.

“I can’t allow you to take these three prisoners out of here without an escort,” said the Governor. Don Gooch had anticipated this.

“Governor, look at them,” he nodded his head towards the sick bay, “They are incapable of almost any movement, we can’t expose any of your people to this possible virus,
it’s too late to inoculate your staff neither can we bring any attention to the ambulance. This is too sensitive.”

He played his part well, and Mike realised the switch of venues was nothing more sinister than Don making the right decision that it was more effective picking up the three men from the prison
confines.

“Point taken,” the Governor said, somewhat relieved. “Let’s get them into the ambulance then, there’s no time to lose.”

Jock, Mouse and Danny were wheeled out, all on separate gurneys, by three orderlies who were wearing breathing apparatus. Better late than never. They were quickly loaded into the ambulance. Don
spoke to Mike:

“Right, Gerry, you make your way back to the ferry. I’ll pick up my things from across the road and meet you down there.”

The Governor interjected: “Would you mind just coming up to my office, Mr Gooch please? There are some forms to sign; this is irregular enough as it is.”

“Of course,” Don replied. “Gerry, get on your way” he said to Mike.

Mike pulled out of the prison and hit the road to the ferry. He had no more than fifteen minutes to think before he got back to the Mondeo; once there he had to transfer the sick men from the
ambulance, then administer the vaccine which he held in a small aluminium case under the seat. He now had a choice. He could go through with the original plan to deliver Mouse and Danny to the
house, collect his second payment, and split with Jock. He was well aware, however, that these bandits were highly unscrupulous and if they had decided to double-cross him at the last hurdle there
would be little he could do, especially with Jock in tow. The second choice was that this could be payback time for all the pain they had caused Mike and Jane over the last few weeks. He made his
decision.

The lay by where the Mondeo was parked came into view; thankfully no one was using it, and it was lower than the road, making it invisible to passing traffic. It was perfect to do the
switch.

Mike pulled in and drew up next to the motor. He removed the aluminium case from under the seat, took out one the three syringes, and opened the rear doors. The three escapees looked worse than
ever, and Mike thought it must be touch and go whether he was in time. Jock smiled weakly and managed to cock his thumb; well at least he recognised Mike.

Mike had no time to lose. Remembering his instructions from Don, he thrust the hypodermic needle through Jock’s ribcage and directly into his heart. There was a small quantity of adrenalin
mixed with the antidote- this would perk up the recipient and also get the heart beating faster, and thus the vaccine would start working quickly.

Mike helped Jock into the front seat of the car and quickly returned to the rear of the ambulance. Mouse and Danny wondered which one of them was next for the vaccine, but Mike did nothing. He
looked at them both with a look of hatred burning in his eyes.

“I guess you two can hear me so listen up, you fuckers, you thought you could turn over the SAS. You’re petty criminals that I’ve shit every day, you threatened my family and
my life, and you thought you’d get away with it. Well I’ve got your lives right here in my hands, and all I’ve got to do is throw these two syringes on the floor and you’re
history, so any last wishes?” he spat out, as he lifted the syringes above his head.

Mouse and Danny were aware what Mike had said and were scared witless. They were going to die here, in the middle of nowhere, after all that planning and on the cusp of freedom. What kind of
death would they have to face?

Mike loomed over Mouse, showed him the antidote for the last time and then, right out of the blue, thrust the needle directly into his heart. He followed suit with Danny.

“The reason I’m letting you live is simple- I’m going back to my life, and I don’t want a murder charge hanging over me. I’ve got half your money and you live, but,
understand this, if I ever, ever hear that you or any of your henchmen are so much as thinking of coming looking for me, you and your respective families will wish you died of Ebola this
day,” and with that Mike walked out of the ambulance, locked the doors, threw the keys into the hedgerow, and got back into the Mondeo.

“Just you and me now, Jock” he said, this time Jock managed to cock both thumbs.

Speed was now of the essence. Mike had a plan- it was by no means foolproof, but he hadn’t thought much of his final escape as he had been focusing on what would happen back at the house,
fully expecting some foul play on his return. He had spent his time figuring out if there was trouble, how he would extract himself and Jock. However, that had been superseded by the events of the
last two hours, so he gunned the motor to the ferry, calculating how much time he had before the balloon went up- providing he could get to his destination before this was all over the news
channels, he might stand a chance.