Scorpio's Lot (23 page)

Abel looked up at her master with
kindly eyes that seemed eager to please, but the numerous trail scents had only
made her task more difficult. She whimpered back to Hamish as if to say ‘I won’t
let you down but give me more time’. Abel continued to march up and down the
same paths of scent that would lead nowhere; her predictability would become
her downfall.

A dart caught Abel in the hind
leg. She gave a yelp, but her sudden movement dislodged the piercing arrow that
had not quite found its target.

‘Come out and fight, you
bastards!’ shouted Hamish angrily.

The bitch now became obsessed
with locating the intruder. In a frenzy of ferocious growls, she entered
previously unexplored territory in search of her invisible prey. A second dart
hit the dog squarely in the back, resulting in a yelp that seemed louder than
Cain’s encounter. Hamish reached Abel first; she was barely standing but still
determined to find the intruder to the bitter end.

‘Easy, girl,’ said Hamish,
comforting her while removing the dart.

He carried his second unconscious
Dobe into the cabin and laid her down in front of the fire. I quickly followed
up the rear, not wanting to remain outdoors to become a prime target for these
thugs. I shut and locked the door behind me. In my attempt to help Hamish I had
unknowingly knocked my mobile from its side holster. It was gone, at the mercy
of the elements and the intruders.

Hamish’s face was a mixture of
sadness and revenge. He turned off all the internal lights but maintained the
well-lit verandah flood lamp. He turned. His voice was stern and deliberate.

‘These people need to be taken
care of, even if it means using these shotguns.’

With loaded shotguns Hamish and I
took up our position at the front windows. The darkness of the living room
emphasised the brightness beaming from the outside floodlight. For the moment I
felt the advantage was distinctly ours. In a nervous state, Brigit maintained
her position beside the warmth of the open fire. We heard no unfamiliar sound
from beyond the cabin and couldn’t hear the intruders. The wind had
strengthened, indicating the storm was not far off.

Hamish broke the silence.

‘Judging by the angle the dart
went into Abel, it’s fair to say our intruders were up a tree.’

‘But which one? There are so
many,’ I responded.

‘Probably in that cluster halfway
down the driveway -’

‘Look, Hamish! Straight ahead!’

We saw the sudden flash of a
torch some forty metres from the verandah, at the base of a group of trees
beside the gravel driveway. A second torch, at around the same distance but to
our right, responded with an identical sequence of flashes. Both lights then
ceased communication. A minute went by and again the torches repeated the same
routine, about ten metres closer.

At that precise moment I saw the
headlights of an approaching car coming up the driveway. What now? Could this
be the syndicate’s backup henchmen? Or perhaps the police from Pedley. I
desperately hoped for the latter.

‘Where did those bastards go with
their torches?’ called Hamish.

‘God knows! They could be
anywhere now. Hope you’ve got enough ammo, Hamish.’

‘There’s enough ammo, Tom. For
Christ’s sake, stop panicking!’

‘Okay, you two, enough of that
bullshit. Keep focused on the outside,’ said Brigit from beside the hearth. ‘It
sounds like that car’s come to a halt. Better pray it’s the good guys.’

I peered through the lounge
window. ‘It’s the police,’ I said with much relief. ‘But we need to warn them
about the trouble outside.’

~ * ~

Darren
Burke and Chris Martino parked the car about twenty-five metres from the
verandah and stepped out. From the partially opened doorway of the cabin Tom
yelled out a warning. They gave him a welcoming wave. Tom yelled a second time.
The message finally registered and by instinct Burke and Martino’s training skills
came into play. Back to back, they walked cautiously toward the verandah with
guns poised, ready for the unexpected.

A torch signaling two flashes of
light twenty metres away caught Martino’s attention. He informed Burke of his
observation and a second torch from his superior’s side beamed back an
identical message. They had progressed ten metres closer to the cabin and there
was still no visual presence of the men. They heard approaching footsteps, but
without the aid of a torch it was difficult to pinpoint where they were coming
from.

‘Halt or I’ll shoot!’ called
Burke.

The sound of footsteps on
ice-covered grass came out of the darkened backdrop. Something resembling a
ball and chain was thrown at Burke’s feet and wrapped its metal tentacles around
his legs. He fell to the ground, not so much from pain but from the unbalanced
state he had found himself in. Unfortunately his predicament was about to
escalate. Without warning two electrodes affixed with small barbs, each
positioned at the end of their respective long conductive wires, grabbed onto
his jacket. A temporary high-voltage, low-current electrical discharge shocked
Burke and he remained slumped on the ground in a daze. The electric shock was
brief but the electrodes had done their damage. His muscles began to twitch
uncontrollably and his body was transformed into one total muscle spasm. His
face was etched with extreme pain. He would be completely disoriented for at
least the next ten minutes.

Martino was aware of his sergeant’s
predicament, but had no idea what had happened. Burke’s assault had been swift
and silent and he had no clue about where the assailants were or what weapon
they had used. Darkness indeed favoured the aggressor tonight and the young
constable sensed he was possibly outnumbered after receiving no verbal response
from Burke. He heard the approaching footsteps as the circle was tightened.
Clearly the situation had become a case of self-defence and it was made more
difficult by Martino not knowing where to aim his gun into this circle of
obscurity. He fired a random shot into the air, which made no impact on the
advancing footsteps. The syndicate was hell-bent on immobilising their foe in
uniform before action could be taken to abduct Brigit.

~ * ~

‘What
the hell was that?’ I asked Hamish.

‘These guys have taser guns that
release an electric shock from long conductive wires. They’re not lethal but
the pain’s intense and can leave a person completely disoriented for up to
fifteen minutes if the shock’s maintained for more than three seconds. The
bastards probably picked them up through the black market.’

I could no longer allow myself to
stand and watch this crisis unfold without at least trying to assist my friends
in the force.

‘Chris, I’m coming over to help!’
I called from the verandah door.

‘No way, Tom!’ Martino yelled
back. ‘Grab Brigit and get out of here! I’ll keep them at bay while you make
your escape. Go now and hurry!’

The rain had arrived, steady at
first but steadily increasing its drenching load upon the Peterswood
countryside. The approaching thunderstorm was becoming intense, emphasised by
the constant display of sheet lightning drawing nearer. Tonight would be a
violent spectacle; nature was about to unleash its heartless and random
destruction.

Then, as we watched helplessly
from the house, two sets of barbs released from opposite sides caught Martino’s
uniform. An extreme pain was unleashed, momentarily paralyzing the constable
and causing him to fall heavily to the ground. The shock duration was excessive
and he endured an incredible four seconds.

‘Bastards,’ said Hamish. ‘That
guy will be inactive for upwards of a quarter of an hour.’

With both officers now lying on
wet ground, the syndicate men made their advance.

‘Tom, the cop’s right,’ Hamish
said, ‘the two of you must leave this minute. I’ll be okay. I still have my
shotgun, and besides, they’re not after me. With the dogs still sedated, they’ll
now try to hunt down Brigit.’

‘Okay, but we’ll be back, my
friend.’

‘Take your shotgun and this
ammunition. There are a couple of raincoats hanging behind the laundry door on
your way out. I’ll keep these jerks at bay while you make a run for it.’

Brigit and I escaped via the
laundry exit and headed on foot toward the camouflage of the nearby pine
plantation. I could hear Hamish’s shotgun blasting, first one shot and then a
second and a third. The sound from a pistol echoed in retaliation.

~ * ~

The
Piedpiper had given specific orders that should the police intercept they were
to be put out of action, not killed. Their boss was well aware that the murder
of any law enforcement agent would attract unwanted attention from both the
police force and media alike. This was best handled the sensible way to avoid
any undue additional burdens. The use of taser guns had proven a viable choice.
Clean, and with only superficial injuries inflicted.

To put a stop to Hamish’s shotgun
onslaught, one of the intruders fired on the verandah floodlight, effectively
plunging the immediate area into near total obscurity. They knew the man inside
the house wouldn’t fire randomly into the darkness with the incapacitated
officers lying in his line of fire. Under orders to destroy all possible
communication, the two syndicate thugs approached the police car and ripped out
the two-way. Throwing the police weapons and phones into a nearby dam, Charlie
and Mick then tied the officers to a nearby tree. They went about their
business with a minimum of noise, making it nearly impossible for Hamish to
make sense of the darkened backdrop.

Charlie walked in a westerly
direction and yelled to his accomplice, ‘Forget the bloody cabin! They’ll be in
the forest by now. Here, let me have one of them torches.’

‘What about the guy inside?’ Mick
asked.

‘He wouldn’t get far in this
storm. We’ve cut the phone line and Pedley’s the nearest cop station. We’ve got
an hour to find the O’Neill bitch before those friggin’ dogs wake up.’

‘Yeah, but they might have
mobiles.’

‘You’re not fuckin’ listening,
Mick. We’ll be outta here before more coppers arrive.’

~ * ~

We
walked about two hundred metres into the pine plantation, hoping our one torch
contained a fully charged battery. The storm had now hit with all its intended
fury. The uninterrupted display of lightning was a sight to behold, spreading
its intensity upon the defenceless forest. Vulnerable tall pines swayed in
synchronous rhythm as the merciless squalls repeatedly punished all before it.
Rain continued to bucket down onto the forest floor. Then the terrain began to
level out, making our travel less demanding. Tall trees in full illumination
appeared to be looking down upon our every move in this cold and uninviting
place.

I focused the torch on the
surrounding ground and the many low obstacles that would result in a fall if we
didn’t tread carefully. Brigit was particularly weary of this, with her arm
still in a sling.

‘Tom, there’s got to be a purpose
to all this. We just can’t wander aimlessly in this wilderness all night.’

‘I know that, Brigit. What we
need to do is lay low for a while. Hopefully these bastards haven’t harmed
Hamish and his dogs in any further way. Remember what Hamish said - the
sedative wears off in just over an hour, making Cain and Abel a formidable duo
again. So we’ll take our chances and return to the cabin when that time comes.’

‘Okay, but I can’t help but worry
about those two policemen as well,’ said Brigit, showing a newfound compassion
toward the authorities.

‘First let’s concern ourselves
with this immediate threat. There appear to be two of them and chances are they’ve
already left the cabin in search of us. We know they have taser guns and a
tranquiliser that probably has a night lens, and it’s fair to say some spare
darts to silence us.’ I was shouting to make myself heard above the storm.