the door on the side of the aircraft. ‘But everything Help Earth does is on a need-to-know basis.’
‘Smart,’ Dana said, as the reality of this rapidly changing situation began sinking in. Her mission wasn’t going to end with a neat arrest at a Darwin dockside. Even worse, she was out of transmission range, so there was no prospect of radioing John with an update before take-off.
She couldn’t help but grudgingly admire the combination of excellent organisation and ruthlessness shown by Help Earth. They’d consistently shown that they were the most effective terrorist group in the world and it looked like they’d fooled the authorities once again.
Barry was already belting himself into the pilot’s seat. He waved at the others to hurry inside the plane, as one of the engines blasted into life. Dana was the last one to step inside and Barry began taxiing as Nina pulled shut the door.
‘Settle down and get your seat-belts on,’ Barry yelled from the cockpit. ‘These dirt runways ain’t exactly renowned for smooth take-offs.’
36. GURU
‘I doubt Susie and Brian will come in here again,’ James said, thinking hard. ‘They’ve already stripped the computer.’
‘Don’t wet yourselves,’ Rat said, as he walked up to the back wall and grabbed a bookcase. ‘This was my mum’s study in the old days. This leads through to her dressing room.’
The bookcase swung forwards, opening up a low door. James was the tallest and had to duck as they passed through.
‘I love those,’ James grinned. ‘When I’m rich, all my rooms are gonna have hidden door thingies.’
The room they’d stepped into was lined with open wardrobes. There was a mini-bar and a dressing table stacked with designer make-up and perfume. The floor was covered in coat hangers where Susie’s clothes had been stripped out in a hurry and smoke lurked in the air.
Lauren peered into a large metal dustbin and saw that it was full of ashes. ‘Looks like they’ve burned what they couldn’t carry with them.’
James shook his head, looking a touch sad. ‘Let’s face it, Susie’s covered her tracks. We’re not gonna find anything useful up here. We might as well leave.’
James sat at the dressing table and pulled off his trainer to get the radio. Rat looked impressed when he saw it.
‘I’d better sneak a look into the corridor and see where Susie and Brian have got to,’ Lauren said.
James nodded. ‘Good idea. If they’re lumbering down the stairs with all that luggage, we’d better hole up here until they’ve gone.’
‘They might even be coming back,’ Rat said. ‘Susie’s a clothes nut. She’s not gonna want to leave too much behind.’
James looked at his radio. ‘So, when do you reckon I should ask Chloe to pick us up?’
‘Perhaps we shouldn’t call her until we’re sure they’ve gone,’ Lauren suggested.
A look of revelation blossomed on Rat’s face. ‘Wait up, while they’re sneaking out the back way, there’s nothing to stop us going out the front. The butler’s unconscious and I’d bet my last buck that Susie has made sure all the other staff are off-duty or got whacked on the head. It’ll mean sneaking out through my dad’s bedroom, but he’s asleep most of the time anyway.’
Lauren smiled. ‘And he’s not in any state to chase after us even if he’s awake.’
‘Makes sense,’ James nodded. ‘So which turret should we leave by?’
‘There’s only two open this late,’ Rat said. ‘There’s a chance we’ll bump into Susie if we use the airport turret, which leaves the one over by the vehicle compound.’
‘It’s a long walk, but there’s hardly any security up there,’ James said. ‘Me and Ernie always drive straight through in the truck and nobody even looks at us.’ Decision made, he pressed the transmit button on his radio. ‘Chloe, can you read me?’
‘Loud and clear,’ Chloe answered.
‘We’ve drawn a blank up here,’ James said. ‘Brian Evans is on site and he’s about to ship out with Susie. Looks like they’ve been shagging behind Joel’s back. They’ve burned up a ton of paperwork and stripped the hard drive out of the computer.’
‘Pity,’ Chloe said. ‘I did notice a jet on the runway. I’ll have ASIS put a track on it. They can arrest Susie and Brian wherever they land.’
‘We’re about to set off for the rearmost turret. I’ll be driving out in Ernie’s truck. I’ll meet you on the road about five kilometres out towards where you’re staying, if that’s OK?’
‘Sounds perfect,’ Chloe said. ‘How long do you think it’ll take to get out there?’
‘Twenty minutes, half hour