Terror Again - 2. TA Chapter 2

“This is Struan Kenrick speaking, please call me as soon as possible, as it is extremely urgent, I am a passenger on the Ghan heading for Darwin, along with my brother Sawney, and we have just sighted the two men responsible for stabbing my brother on the Indian Pacific four years ago, and who were the gem robbers from South Australia. Please call me on this number urgently,” I said leaving the message, before ending the call, just as Mark and Sawney approached.

Unfortunately, I received no response back from the local police, by the time the train was due to leave Katherine so reluctantly we waited to see what will happen next, as Sawney and I sat in our cabin, along with our newest friend Mark Hampton. When we reached the train, we quickly retreated to our cabin, and once there, we told Mark about our previous train trip on the Indian Pacific four years earlier, where we unintentionally became the target of two gem robbers who had escaped police capture, by boarding the westbound train at Port Augusta.

“What do we do now, are we just going to wait and see?” Mark said to us, after we told him the full story, “I m not… oh hell, quick duck, that is them now” I said as I spotted the two men walking along the side of the train, but luckily, we were high enough, with darkened windows that made it hard for them to look up inside, so they didn’t manage to spot us.

“Ok they have passed us now, and since we are in Premium, we shouldn’t see them again until our final destination,” I commented, “Oh, I hadn’t had the chance to tell you, but I am returning to work, after a week-long holiday in Alice Springs, and I will be getting off the train at Adelaide River, just past Margaret River Station where I live and work,” Mark announced to us.

“How can you do that? I thought the train makes no other stops after Katherine?” Sawney asked, “You are right, it usually doesn’t, but since my uncle owns and manages Margaret River, and he has a freight order onboard, it is making a special 60 seconds stop, to offload the parts and me,” Mark replied.

I reached over and hit the porter call button, and a few minutes later there was a knock on the door, and cautiously I opened the door and asked the porter to come in as we had a special request. “As you may know, the train is making an unscheduled stop at Adelaide River. I am just letting you know that my brother and I will also be leaving the train at the same time as the freight and this young man.

I do not want anyone else but yourself to know this, and to keep it to yourself until the rain arrives in Darwin, this is because my brother and I are in danger of being attacked by two men who we have already stabbed my brother, requiring him to be evacuated to hospital from the middle of the Nullabour four years ago,” I said to the porter, who showed shock on his face when he mentioned this.

I remember that event, I was on the Indian Pacific on the following return journey… Mr Kenrick. Yes, of course, I should have realised, when I saw you and your brother on the passenger list. So, you are the young man from Bridge Creek Station, getting off at Adelaide River, 2 ½ hours north of Katherine?” the porter asked Mark.

“That is correct, my uncle owns and manages the station, and I have been working there for the past six months, and I am prepared to look after my new friends so they can get away from these two men,” Mark replied, “When we spotted the two men in Katherine, they had already seen and recognised us, and we did attempt to contact the police but only managed to leave a message, so once we get to the station, I will try calling them again and see what can be done about them,” I said to the porter.

After requesting the porter to pack up and bring all of Mark’s belongings from his single cabin seven train cars away to here, we thanked the porter, and he left, and we locked the cabin door again. A few minutes later, the porter returned with Mark’s luggage, which consisted of just a large backpack and a canvas bag. “I have seen the two men in question, and it appears that they are searching for your location, as they have made a few enquiries to the staff in the Gold Class Section of the train.

Thankfully none of the staff in that section has a list of passengers in the premium class passengers, so they are not getting anywhere with locating you, but as a precaution, I think we had better relocate you to the restricted staff car near the rear of the train, which is also where your freight is located, Mr Hampton,” the porter announced. Quickly Sawney and I packed up our luggage, and we followed the porter further back a short while later we entered the staff area of the train, after passing through two locked doors.

“Chris, this is Alan, the Premium Class Porter. You know that unscheduled stop we will be making at Adelaide River… well we need to adjust that slightly. Instead of stopping, I need you to just slow down enough so that the freight and three passengers can get dropped off.

I know that it is against regulations, but we must do this… Do you remember that incident on the Nullabour onboard the Indian Pacific four years ago? Well, the same two bad men are back onboard, as are the same two victims… Yes, that is correct, Mr Kenrick and his brother have unfortunately come across them again at Katherine and have managed to stay away from them so far.

I have already heard from other staff that the two men are enquiring about the two Kenrick brothers, so I have relocated them to the rear staff car, along with their new friend Mr Hampton, who is the passenger getting off at Adelaide River… Ok, thanks for doing this, use the code work for stock on the track when we begin to slow down, thanks Alan,” we heard the porter say on the internal phone.

“Ok, all set with the driver, all we can do now is wait and hope that all goes to plan. I must get back to work, I will see you in about two and a half hours,” Alan the porter said before leaving us. We sat down in the not-so-spacious staff lounge area, and we chatted for the next two hours until Alan arrived back. “I am glad that you are almost at your destination, those two men are causing quite a lot of trouble to us, including getting hold of our Premium glass passenger list and getting access to that area.

They located your cabin and were furious when they saw that you guys were not there, and I explained to them that just before the train left Katherine, you had both exited the train. They were not at all happy and wanted to get off the train at Pine Creek, but by luck, we had already passed there fifteen minutes earlier, so they are now demanding to get off at Adelaide River,” Alan explained to us.

“I would like to make a suggestion, can you have the door open and ready for us to depart before the train starts to slow, my brother and I will jump off just as it starts to slow down, then have the train stop so that Mark and his freight can get off at the designated spot, and we will get Mark to stand there as the train leaves so that the two men see that just Mark exited the train, then when you are out of sight Mark can collect us from our hiding location,” I said to Alan.

“Yes, that is a good idea, but only as long as you are prepared to jump off at speed and not hold the train or me responsible for any injuries. I will call the driver and get him to stop as planned at Adelaide River,” Alan replied. I looked to Sawney who smiled and nodded his head, “Agreed,” my brother and I said together.

“Twenty minutes later, with the door unlocked and open, we waited for when the train to brake briefly, which was our signal, and with luggage in hand, we both jumped off the train and rolled on the ground to reduce the hard impact, and we lay still as we watched the train slow down and eventually stop nearly 500 metres down the track, just before the Adelaide River.

We were well hidden in amongst the tall grass and trees having grabbed our luggage and dived away from the train tracks, to stay out of sight, as Mark assist with unloading the two boxes of freight, and talking to the porter, before stepping back away from the train, just as a vehicle approached, and stopped near Mark.

With everything loaded into the Ute, the vehicle drove alongside the still stationary train, and back onto the access road, just as the train started to move, the Ute stopped at the crossing, waited for the train to pass, and waited until the train had crossed the river and was out of sight, before turning around and coming back in our direction. We came out of our hiding spot as they approached, and stopped near us, with a smiling Mark in the driver seat.

“Looks like our plan went perfect, we just have to hope that the two passengers bought it and presume that you are both still on board or still in Katherine,” Mark said after climbing out and helping to load our luggage in the back, where we climbed in as well, sitting on the spare tire as our chair, for the fourteen-kilometre ride down the highway and onto the station access road to the homestead.

Our clever plan suddenly came to a crashing dive, when Mark noticed that the train was now stationary just on the other side of the river, and he planted his foot hard as we swung onto the highway heading south away from the town, “The train has stopped, we better get the hell out of here,” Mark said to us when he saw our confused faces.

“Do you know of a place where we can hide, that won’t put anyone else in danger?” I asked Mark, “I do my friends, just hang on and we will get well away from these two villains,” Mark replied, and Sawney and I remained silent for the fifteen minutes high-speed trip down the highway, where I worryingly kept an eye on the speedo, with the vehicle travelling at over 130 kilometres per hour in a 110 zone.

“Hang on tight,” Mark said to us and moments later he hit the brakes hard, causing the wheels to lock, and once slowed down enough, Mark turned the vehicle right and stopped near a set of gates. “Right side gate please Tim,” Mark instructed his workmate, “But, we are heading in the wrong direction from the homestead,” Tim responded.

“Just do as I ask, please,” Mark asked, and once through the gate which was closed behind us, Mark tuned onto the firebreak track that runs along the fence line towards the railway bridge that we had just crossed over moments ago.

Slowing right down, Mark carefully drove over the railway track then along the side on the northern side as we passed under the bridge and continued along the railway line as it curved away and a few minutes later we approached a cleared area, where there is a bit of a wash away that has damaged the boundary fence, and we stopped there.

“I noticed this a few weeks ago, but never got around to fixing it, as I was on one of the motorbikes at the time and didn’t have the tools to do the repairs, I am hoping that you have those tools in the box?” Mark said to his work colleague, smiling Tim nodded his head yes. Once through the fence line, Tim and Mark made quick work of repairing the fence, and we backtracked a kilometre until we reached a corner fence, where we turned right to head north.

“Very clever move, now would you mind telling me what the hell is going on and why are two men chasing after you?” Tim asked as we followed the bumpy fence line track, and we spent the next ten minutes explaining to Tim what had happened four years ago and again today.

When we slowed down and stopped at a gate, I saw that there were lots of buildings close by, “Welcome to Margaret River Station homestead, although you have been on the station, the moment Tim opened the gate for us just off the highway,” Mark announced to my brother and me. “So, the highway skids and the change of direction were a mislead to where we were really heading,” Tim asked, and Mark chuckled at his comment.

“I diversion to throw them off the scent, so to speak. Just in case they are good at tracking, and they should find it difficult to find us from now on… I hope,” Mark replied, as Tim went to open the gate to let us through into the homestead paddock, as I spotted a man approaching us on foot at a fast-walking speed.

“Oh shit, I think we may be in trouble,” Mark said. “Mark, what the hell is going on, and who are these two men, I have had a call from the local police, looking for these two, regarding an incident onboard the Ghan train,” he asked, and I presumed that this was Mark’s boss.

“Sir, my name is Struan Kenrick, Captain in the Australian Army and this is my brother Sawney from Port Lincoln. We were passengers onboard the Ghan, but we came across two men who we have threatened us in the past, due to us discovering their criminal activities. We thought they were locked up in prison, until Katherine, where we spotted them and they had already recognised us, as responsible for them being in prison.

We were forced to escape from the train and these two men and Mark offered his assistance to get away from them when he told us of his planned stop at Adelaide River. With the assistance of the porter, my brother and I managed to jump off the train before slowing down for the stop, remaining hidden until the train continued north, before collecting us.

Unfortunately, the train stopped again on the other side of the river, and we knew we had to escape from there as fast as possible, and with Mark’s knowledge of the area, we made a diversion to hide our true destination here,” I explained. “I see, well it appears that those two men have smashed their way out of the train and stolen a vehicle and they are on the lookout for you two, so I hope you have plans to leave here as soon as possible,” Mark’s boss said.

“I do, but I need to make a phone call and get to a navigational part of the Adelaide River that will get me to the mouth of the river,” I replied. “I can do both of those, but I need to call my neighbours at Mt Bundy Station for permission to gain access from here. Tim and Mark can you unload the freight, and store it away in the workshop please, while I take our guests to the office,” the station boss replied.