Heller's Punishment (23 page)

“Tilly? Tilly?”
he asked patiently. I shook my head, trying to free myself of the
pall of dejection that had settled on me, and paid attention.

“Sorry. My mind
was a million miles away.” Or as far as the city anyway.

“We don’t know
when these Strykers are going to find out that their deal has
fallen through. It could be tonight or next week. It makes it hard
to plan.”

“Sure does. I
don’t have any weapons. Does The Farm keep any guns?” Not that I
knew how to use one.

“No. We’re
pacifists. No weapons allowed.”

“We might have
to raid the kitchen for some knives.”

“That won’t
help if the Strykers have guns.”

“I know, I
know. It all seems so hopeless.”

“We’ll think of
something.”

“I sure hope
so,” I yawned. “Let’s sleep out here tonight. That baby is really
annoying me. I haven’t slept well since I came here.”

We fashioned a
makeshift bed from the bales before huddling together and
sleeping.

The next few
days passed by in tense anticipation. I was doubly nervous, waiting
for the Strykers to wreak havoc, but also trying to keep the Head
Farmer at bay. She took every opportunity to corner me or to back
me up against the desk or filing cabinet. She brushed up next to me
frequently or touched me, her fingers lingering on my neck or arm
as I worked for her. It was creeping me out. I complained about her
to Simon as we lay out in the shed again. We’d taken to sleeping
out there every night so we could talk. Everyone else assumed that
we were shagging each other’s brains out.

“Come back and
work with me in the fields again. You don’t have to stay with
her.”

“No. I might
find an opportunity to send another email or to use the phone. She
keeps the laptop locked away in the filing cabinet and she has the
key on a chain around her neck. I thought she might have jotted
down the access code for the phone somewhere, but I can’t find
anything yet. She keeps an eagle eye on me all day. I don’t get
much opportunity to search her office. She or Jye are always there.
I don’t think they trust me.”

“Things will
come to a head soon, for better or worse. You won’t have to put up
with her much longer. Stay strong, Tilly.”

The following
day, I was processing some orders for an upcoming farmers’ market
when the phone rang. The Head Farmer answered and murmured into it,
and although my ears were straining, I couldn’t hear what she was
saying. She hung up and came over to me, placing her pudgy hand on
the back of my neck, caressing it. I tried not to flinch.

“You’re looking
a little peaky, Tilly. You’ve lost weight. Why don’t you go up and
work with Simon for the rest of the day? It would do you good to
get out into the fresh air again.”

I was
surprised. “What about these orders? Didn’t you say they needed to
be finished today?”

“Don’t worry
about them. I’ll finish them. Off you go.”

I was
suspicious of her motives, but couldn’t pass up the opportunity to
spend the rest of the day with Simon and to escape her unwanted
attentions. I jogged slowly up to where he was working, near the
top fields. He was delighted to see me and happy to have some more
time together. We decided to spend the rest of the day
reinvestigating the suspected meth lab to confirm our
suspicions.

We approached
the building cautiously. I knew from watching the news that
backyard labs could be very volatile, and I wasn’t keen to be blown
into a thousand pieces. A foul smell emanated from the building.
When we peered through the back window, we could see that the lab
was in full swing, making another batch of human misery. One of the
Farmers, the man who helped Jye throw me in the hot box, watched
over operations with marked disinterest, paying more attention to
the porn magazine he was reading. We crept away and paused for a
moment to look down on the compound from our high vantage
point.

“Hey, there’s a
vehicle down there,” noticed Simon.

“I
knew
she was trying to get rid of me by sending me to you! She has a
visitor,” I exclaimed. My mouth fell open when I also spotted the
black Mercedes 4WD. “Oh, my God. It’s Heller!”

“Are you sure?”
asked Simon.

“Yes. There he
is! The big blond man. And Farrell too!”

My excitement
and joy quickly dried up though when we watched the tiny figures
get back into the Mercedes and drive away.

“
No!
” I
screamed in rage and sprinted down the hill towards the compound,
Simon hot on my heels. “Heller! Stop! Come back and take me
home!”

But it was no
good. By the time we reached the compound, chests heaving with
exertion, doubled over with stitches, the Mercedes was nothing more
than a small cloud of dust in the far distance. I jogged tiredly
down the bumpy driveway after them, waving my arms in desperation,
but it was too late. They were gone.

I collapsed
into the dirt, crying with disappointment. Simon picked me up and
drew me to his chest.

“I want to go
home,” I sobbed onto his shoulder.

“I know you
do,” he soothed, patting my back. “And I want my home back the way
it used to be.”

“Why did Heller
leave without me?”

“She lied to
him about you.”

My head snapped
back and I stared at him. He was right. They’d lied to Heller and
he’d believed them. I stalked back to the compound. The Head Farmer
and Jye regarded me with hateful smugness from the doorway of the
office.

“
What did
you tell him?
” I screamed at them.

“That you
stormed out of here a week ago after refusing to obey my orders,
and we hadn’t heard anything from you or about you since. I gave
him a right serve for his irresponsible and unreliable staff and
demanded a refund. He believed me.” She smiled. “He’s been looking
for you since you left. He didn’t know where you were. Silly Jye.
Apparently he gave your boss the wrong address and phone
number.”

Jye
smirked.

“You did that
on purpose, you bitch,” I accused. “I know what you’re up to
here.”

Her mouth
hardened into an unattractive slit. “Watch your mouth, Tilly.
Remember what happens to disrespectful recruits,” she warned
me.

I was so angry
that I couldn’t control myself and rushed her, pushing her over.
She landed awkwardly on her butt, her shift flying up and giving
everyone an eyeful that would be difficult to erase from our
memories.

I ran to the
Kombi and threw open the door. But of course I couldn’t start it
because Jye had the keys.

He dangled them
from his fingers. “Looking for these?”

I thumped the
steering wheel in frustration and abandoned the Kombi. Seething
with rage, I ran down the dirt driveway. I was leaving. I didn’t
care if it took me twenty hours to make it to the nearest town; I
didn’t care if it took me two weeks. I’d had enough of these
people.

But I didn’t
even make it half-a-kilometre down the drive before someone hooked
me around the throat with his arm and hauled me backwards. I fought
and bit and kicked him, but he dragged me back to the Head Farmer.
Simon struggled as well in the powerful lock of another burly
helper as I was towed to the hot box and unceremoniously dumped
inside again.

I banged on the
wall with my fists in fury. I knew it was fruitless, but I needed
an outlet for my extreme rage. It quickly became too hot to
continue though and I slumped on to the floor, contorted, and
despondently waited out my punishment.

Heller wouldn’t
really believe that I’d storm off a job and not contact him, would
he? Then I remembered all the times I’d complained about my
assignments, and adding that to our recent disagreement, maybe he
would. If I hadn’t wanted to be extra cautious with my water
reserves, I would have wept with self-pity. I leaned my head back
on the iron wall and suffered through the hallucinations and
disquieting dreams, drenched to the bone in my own sweat, a
dehydration headache pounding my brain.

When they
finally opened the door, I stumbled out into Simon’s arms. Once my
eyes had adjusted to the bright light, I noticed that he’d been
roughed up, probably attempting to rescue me. Downcast, he tended
to me gently, helped me rehydrate and sat with me for the rest of
the day until I’d recovered.

“What happened
to you, Simon?” I asked when I’d revived a little.

“Violence,” was
all he said, but the bleak expression on his face carried all his
disillusionment and sorrow at what his piece of heaven had now
become.

I clutched his
hand. “I’m so sorry.”

“So am I,” he
replied, his voice flat.

That night we
sneaked out to the shed again, both of us miserable. I cried with
frustration and anger while he sat stony-faced and silent, staring
at a wall.

“Heller
believed her,” I sobbed to myself, cut to the bone in anguish.
“He’s given up on me for good.”

“I’ve seen the
face of evil,” he mused to himself. “Here. In my own paradise. I
never thought that could happen.”

“I’m walking
into town tomorrow, Simon. I don’t care how long it takes,” I
decided. “I’m not staying here another second to be murdered. And
you have to come with me. They’re going to hurt you or kill you if
you stay. They’ll probably send you out to deal with the bikies if
you don’t leave.”

After
discussing it, he reluctantly agreed and we made plans. We would
raid the kitchen for some supplies and leave at first light. I was
relieved that he’d agreed to come with me and although I thought
I’d lie awake all night, I slept well.

An incredible
explosion, combined with the spine-chilling sound of glass
shattering, shocked us from our slumber. We sprang up, staring at
each other in horror. Had it started?

We cautiously
peered out of the door of the shed. Our view was filled with smoke,
confusion and screaming people. The dining hall and kitchen were on
fire, completely destroyed by a blast. The Head Farmer, Jye and
some senior Farmers were herding the other Farmers into a small
building that didn’t appear large enough to hold them all.

“There’s a
bunker underneath,” Simon explained, horrified at the destruction.
“We’ll be safe there. Let’s go in case there are more
explosions.”

We ran over to
the small building where the last of the frightened Farmers were
climbing down the ladder into the bunker. Jye and his burly
offsider pushed us back roughly.

“You’re not
joining us,” the Head Farmer said to me bluntly. “I hired you to
sort out the people threatening us, so go and do your job.”

“Take Simon at
least. He’s one of you,” I begged.

“Not any more
he’s not.” And with that she climbed down the ladder and slammed
the hatch door to the bunker with a decisive click of the lock,
leaving us standing exposed in the moonlight.

“I can’t
believe she just said that!” I spat out, beyond anger.

Simon was
struck dumb for a moment, not able to move, his world crashing down
around him.

“Oh,” was all
he managed, upset, his eyes shiny. “Oh. I never expected that.”

Although
desperately sorry for him, we had no time for self-pity.

“Simon, we have
to find shelter. Where’s the safest place for us?”

“What are we
going to do?” asked Simon, not listening to me.

“I know what
we’re
not
going to do, and that’s panic. Let’s stay calm.
Maybe that explosion is the punishment and that will be it.”

But as soon as
the words were out of my mouth, we heard the rumble of big
motorbikes and the sweep of headlights through the night as they
drove into the compound, and I knew I’d been too optimistic. There
were five of them. Big ugly men. And they didn’t look like the
negotiating types. They looked like enforcers.

“Hell,” I
muttered to myself. We were trapped in the small bunker building,
which was completely bare with nowhere to hide. “Let’s make a run
for the shed. We’re sitting ducks in this building.”

We clasped
hands, and judged a moment when the bikies were occupied with
turning off their bikes and propping them up to sprint across the
compound back to the shed. A burst of gunfire followed behind us.
We didn’t waste any time but ran through the shed to the small back
door and exited quietly.

“Come out
little piggies!” We heard them laughing as they kicked down the
shed door and swept the inside with bullets. These guys weren’t
messing around. They clearly wanted blood.

Still clutching
hands, we quietly jogged around the back of the buildings to the
office. I desperately tried the phone again, but it was still
code-locked. Frantically, I randomly punched in numbers, hoping to
crack the code by chance. Of course it didn’t work. It was crazy of
me to even try.

Four of the
bikies systematically searched each building, kicking in doors,
looking for us. The other stood in the middle of the compound and
shouted, “We want our produce! You took our money but we haven’t
received our produce yet. Now we’re here to take both. So, come
out, come out, wherever you are, little piggies!”

Simon and I
exchanged glances. The Head Farmer and Jye hadn’t just broken a
deal with the bikies, they’d doublecrossed them. There was no way
they were going to listen to anything Simon or I said. There was no
point in even trying to explain to them. They came closer to the
office building. Simon and I stood near the back door, ready to
exit as soon as they burst in the front. I thought we should head
for the fields, but Simon felt we would be too exposed there. We
had no idea where we were going next. There didn’t seem to be any
safe places for us.

The front door
splintered and we quickly slipped out the back door, straight into
the arms of one of the bikies.
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
I
berated myself for not thinking of this. He was big, shaved head,
bearded, covered in tatts, most of them naked women at first
glance. He grinned evilly and pointed his semi-automatic at us.