Terror Again - 3. TA Chapter 3

A few minutes later I was in the Station office and on the telephone, “This is Captain Struan Kedrick, I need to speak to the CO right away please CSM,” I said when the call was answered, and after a short time, I heard the Major’s voice and I explained everything to him about my current train trip, and he was already aware of the event four years ago, so he knew right away the situation was serious, and I suggested an extraction from Mount Bundy Station via the Adelaide River.

I was instructed to go directly to Mt Bundy, preferably by station tracks and not the highway, and to call back when we arrive there, and by that time, arrangements will have been made. Once the call was over, I thanked Mark’s boss who was outside talking to Mark and Tim when I stepped outside. “I have decided to come along and help where I can, well as far as Mt Bundy homestead at least, and my boss – Jim here, had agreed. We are taking one of the buffalo buggies, as they can handle the rough terrain, and it will take us a bit over two hours to get there,” Mark said to me.

“Meanwhile I am sending Tim back into town, to let the police know that the Army is dealing with your protection and that you will contact them when it is safe to do so,” Jim said to me. “Thank you for your assistance on this matter, it is very much appreciated, let me give you $50 to cover fuel costs for the use of the buggy,” I replied, and reluctantly he accepted the cash.

Once the buggy was loaded up with our luggage, as well as some supplies, and after we had all been given drinks and snacks, we set off on our rough journey to the neighbouring station, and we stopped at a bit of a swampy dam, about half-way, when we heard a sat phone. “Boss must have slipped it into the glove box, without me knowing,” Mark said as he retrieved the sat phone and answered the call.

“Hello, Mark speaking,”, “Put me onto Captain Kenrick, this is his Commanding officer speaking,” was the unexpected response, which I overheard, as I was given the Sat Phone. “Captain Kenrick speaking, how can I assist sir,” I said to my CO, and I was asked to give my current location coordinates. “Sir, I don’t have the capabilities for that, but I can tell you that we are at a swampy dam, about nine clicks north of Margaret River Station homestead,” I replied.

“Very good, stay put, your transport will collect you from there shortly,” my CO replied before the call ended, “I wondered what he meant by that,” I said more to myself than anyone else, and five minutes later I had my answer, with the sound of a helicopter approaching.

“Looks like our ride is an AW139 Leonardo helicopter, courtesy of the Royal Australian Airforce,” I commented, “Does that mean I won't be going any further with you guys?” Mark said sounding very disappointed, “Well, you need to return the buggy to your boss, after that you are welcome to join us at my off-base home just out of Palmerston,” I replied, and Mark smiled happily at this news.

“I will give you a call, when I am on my way up, I just have to resign from my job and pack up my gear, and drive up,” Mark said as he faced Sawney who was also smiling broadly. “What sort of vehicle do you have?” I asked Mark, “It is a grey H2 Hummer Jeep,” Mark replied proudly. “Wow, that sounds awesome, I can hardly wait to ride in it,” Sawney replied.

We watched as the large helicopter landed in a clearing near the dam, and we quickly transferred our luggage and ourselves to the helicopter and watched Mark waving as we headed upwards into the air, and northwards for Darwin. When the helicopter landed on the Helicopter Pad at the north end of Robertson Army Barracks, two vehicles were waiting for us, and standing next to the lead vehicle was my CO.

“Looks like my boss has come to meet us, I wonder what he has to say about all of this,” I said to my brother as we unstrapped ourselves, once the rotor blades started to slow down. We were informed that our luggage would follow us, and to go to the CO’s vehicle for a briefing, which we did.

“Another train incident Captain. Bad luck seems to be following you,” the Major said to me, after climbing into the back of the military vehicle. “Yes sir, it appears to be that way. Sir this is my younger brother Sawney, who was also with me at the first incident and was stabbed during that time,” I responded, as I introduced my brother.

“Interested in joining the Army Mr Kenrick?” the Major asked my brother, “No and Hell no… sir,” Sawney replied, and I looked at my CO to see what his reaction was to this, and after a few moments, he burst into laughter.

“Good response Mr Kenrick. While you were in the air, a few things happened. Firstly, the two men that are after you have been causing more trouble, and luckily the Station owner, had the sense to send his family and staff further inland, well away from the main homestead.

The station owner was badly beaten up but is alive, and is currently been airlifted to Palmerston Hospital by the RFDS, his staff member who transported you to the pickup zone, has returned to the homestead and is currently preparing to leave there in his vehicle for Palmerston, while the other station staff and family have returned to the homestead, and all gates into the station have been locked.

Because of this latest threat, I am reluctantly giving you extended leave until these two men have been captured and locked away, I believe you have a property that you own, that you can go to?” the Major said to me, “Yes sir, I do. We will be safe there, although it isn’t quite as secure as the base, it is secure in that no vehicles can enter the property without a lot of difficulty,” I replied.

“Yes, I know. I happen to be out fishing at Leader Creek one weekend and spotted your vehicle at the former fishing camp there, so I presumed that it is yours now,” the Major said to me, which caught me totally by surprise, “Err, yes it is sir, I used my inheritance money to purchase and do up the property, but I was hoping that no one would know about it, as it is listed under a company name, that doesn’t have the same surname as us,” I responded.

“A wise choice, and you have no problems about secrecy, no one else on the base or my family knows about your links to the property, in a way it is good that at least I know where you will be, and I wouldn’t mind a tour of the place when you have some free time. I especially like how you used railway iron as a property boundary fence,” the Major said to me, “I would be happy to do that sir, and thank you,” I replied smiling.

At my quarters, I quickly packed up as much of the belongings that I felt I would need for however long that I would be away from work, and we loaded it into my vehicle and set off out of the base, stopping briefly at the smaller shopping centre in the new suburb of Zuccoli, to get a large supply of groceries, before turning onto Howard Springs Road and Gunn Point Road, heading out to the property fifty kilometres to the north northeast.

Just two kilometres short of my retreat home, at the junction of the Saltwater Creek Road, there was a ‘Road Closed’ sign blocking the road to Leaders Creek, with an additional sign ‘Leader’s Creek Boat Ramp closed for repairs’, which was a total surprise for me. Ignoring the signs, I negotiated around the signs carefully, and resumed our journey, only to stop 400 metres from my southern corner boundary, where there is a large washout on the road.

Backing back about twenty metres, I found enough space to go off the road and into the bush, having engaged four-wheel drive on my vehicle, I carefully drove through the bush, until I reached my boundary and returned to the road, which had deep ruts in it, to get to my front gate. I was not too happy when I saw some minor damage to the gate, where someone has attempted to get through and onto my property, with no success.

After driving through the gate and locking it behind me, I parked around the back of the workshop shed, to keep the vehicle out of sight, and after carrying all the groceries into my home, we gathered our luggage, and I showed my brother inside.

“You have an indoor tennis court and a spa pool? Wow!” Sawney said to me when he realised that the markings on the floor in the central area of the house is a tennis court. “Yes, just finished the tennis court line marking just before I went on holidays, so I haven’t tested it out yet, and I have just invested in a full-sized billiards table too” I replied, as I showed my brother around the ground floor first, then up the stairs, to the open living area.

“You most certainly have a lot of living space bro,” Sawney said to me, “I am trying to make it as comfortable as possible, so I can just relax, when not at work,” I replied, as I showed my brother the guest bedroom and bathroom, where he will be staying. “Down the passage is my private lounge and master suite,” I said as I pointed towards the passageway, and Sawney nodded his head.

Over the next half an hour, after putting all the shopping away properly, I showed Sawney around the building, the power shed, and the workshop shed, after driving my vehicle into the garage, where I also have two quad bikes parked. I opened the door to enter the rest of the area, with the central area being open and empty, and moving over the area under the mezzanine deck I showed him around before showing the upstairs area.

“Looks like you have it set out to accommodate large numbers of people, if need be,” Sawney commented, as we headed back downstairs. “Yes, as a sort of emergency evacuation centre if you like, in case of a major storm or cyclone, just something I thought of when I was working on the main house,” I replied. Back in the garage, we jumped onto the two quad bikes and did a tour of the property.

We relaxed for the remainder of the day, and just before sunset, we went for a walk down to the boat ramp to have a look at Leaders Creek. “There are crocs around this area I am presuming?” Sawney asked me, “Yes, indeed there is, so definitely no swimming here, unless you want to be croc dinner,” I responded. “I will pass that on, thanks,” Sawney said with a hint of a smile.

A little later as we sat down for dinner, Sawney’s phone rang. “Hello Mark, how are you going and where are you?” my brother said as he answered the call and placed it on loudspeaker, “Am I on speaker?” Mark asked, “Yes, we have just sat down for dinner,” Sawney replied. “Ok, hello Struan, I wanted to ask if I can come and stay with you guys for a while until I decide what to do next?” Mark asked, “Yes, that is ok with me, so where are you now?” I responded.

“I’ve just stepped out of Darwin Hospital, where I was visiting my Uncle, he has a few broken ribs, a concussion and a lot of bruising but he is ok, and will be heading back to the station in a day or two. I have told my uncle that I need a break from the station for a while and that I am going to look for work in my other field of expertise,” Mark said, and I saw my brother smile broadly.

“I am a trained pastry and demi chef,” Mark replied, and now I knew why my brother was smiling, “Excellent, if you don’t mind the poor pay, you are welcome to come and work for me, while I am on leave from work,” I replied. “That sounds awesome, and I don’t mind the lack of pay, as long as I get to hang out with my… my new friends. How do I get to your place?” Mark replied.

“We are eating dinner now, so I suggest you drive out to Howard Springs Tavern and grab a counter meal, and we will meet you there,” I suggested. “Great see you soon then,” Mark said before ending the call. Hal way through our meal, my mobile rang, and I groaned in annoyance, as I looked at the caller ID which said it was my CO calling. “Good evening sir, how may I assist you?” I said answering the call.

“Good evening Captain Kenrick, I was wanting permission to come out and see you at your property tomorrow please,” the Major asked me, and surprised by the request, I took my time thinking about it. “May I ask why sir?” I eventually responded, “It has to do with your current situation, and I would prefer to discuss it in person,” the Major said to me.

“Very well sir, will it be just you that will be coming?” I asked, “If you don’t mind, I would like to bring RSM Willis and Staff Sergeant Giles with me please,” the Major replied, which caught me by surprise, “Err, ok but only them, no one else,” I said, and the Major said that he would be here mid-morning tomorrow, as I informed him of the road closure, the pot holes, ruts and washout on the road, after the Saltwater Arm turnoff.

We quickly finished our dinner, and after packing up the dishwasher, we headed down the road, which was pitch black, with no moonlight at all, so we had to take it slow getting past all of the rough bits of the road, once again going bush to get around the worse of it.

Forty minutes later, we pulled into the car park of the Howard Springs Tavern, where we spotted the Humvee parked, and we parked right next to it. “I am not sure if that will fit into the garage, it may be a bit too wide to get inside,” I said to my brother, as we walked past it to go into the tavern. “You might be right there bro,” Sawney responded as we entered, and as soon as we spotted Mark, we both burst out laughing.

The expression on his face was one of annoyance as a topless barmaid tried to converse with Mark, who was looking away from her, as she bent down to pick up the empty glasses on his table. Sawney rushed forward while I stayed put, and when Mark saw my brother, he jumped up and raced towards him and they hugged.

The look on the barmaid’s face was just as priceless, as she witnessed the tight man hug, and I saw Sawney whisper something to Mark, which resulted in them kissing, and now I was in fits of laughter at seeing the barmaid’s reaction to the man embrace. Mark tossed some notes on the table to cover his meal bill, before linking hands with Sawney and walking towards the door.