Seven people sat squashed in the back of the police wagon. Roberta shifted uncomfortably, her knees almost in her face. She didn’t dare move her arm attached to him by handcuffs. At this point, if she put all her concentration into the task, her skin wouldn’t touch his at all.
“We got the airplay we were after, Nate. That’s one positive for the day.” One of the conspirators spoke up after they’d been driving in silence for about twenty minutes.
Roberta whipped her face up, her hand jostling against Nate’s for a second. So, he has a name.
“Look, Brent, it’s already made the local social media pages. Great going, guys,” another conspirator added as he swiped his phone screen and showed it to the man sitting beside him, the one bragging about the airplay.
“Let’s hold off all discussion until we’re back and away from strangers.” Nate gave Roberta a side eye before focusing back on his buddies.
“How did you manage this?” Another man sitting in the front shadows pointed to the handcuffs joining Roberta and Nate together.
“What is it with you lot?” Roberta burst out. She understood she was a traitor in their midst, but did they have any idea of what havoc they’d caused?
“What exactly do you mean?” Nate turned slightly, the handcuffs jiggling between them. There was no mistaking his ugly frown this time. No niggling sign of mirth or anything human.
“Putting on a stunt like that is so stupid.” She hated they were so well spoken, which meant they were probably well educated—stupidly educated—with no idea of the real world.
“Why would that be the case?” Nate raised his joined hand, raking it through his hair and taking her hand with it.
With a swift motion, she yanked hers back by her side and offered up an evil glare. He could use his other hand.
“Firstly, I came around the bend doing the allowed speed and almost ran into the car stopped in front of me. Trust me, it would’ve gone down a treat if I’d hit them. Just so you know, that same car carried a mum and dad. Their child was waiting to be collected from school so they could make a doctor’s appointment in time.”
Nate harrumphed.
“You absolute losers have nothing better to do than mill around creating havoc. Even little old me from Melbourne summed up the situation in a flash.”
“That figures. Someone from the city wouldn’t know the first thing about preserving our environment for future generations.”
“But isn’t this what you idiots want? What you keep campaigning for? Green solutions, no coal, no gas. Does someone have their wires crossed?”
“Except they haven’t done their homework properly, that’s what,” Nate spat.
“They’re springing up everywhere, and now you say they haven’t done their homework? Where have you been for the past twenty years?”
“Calm down, you pair,” Brent advised.
“No, Brent, I can’t. Big mouth here”—he rattled the handcuffs to be certain everyone squashed in the overheating van knew who he was talking about—“obviously doesn’t know much, so she needs to be educated. Like now.”
“Cool it, Nate. We got our media coverage. We can only hope they’ll come to the next meeting prepared to listen.” Brent advised, rattling his own manacled hand.
“Those bastards will never listen because they’re fools like this one.” Nate pointed a finger in her face. She desperately wanted to slap it away.
Instead, Roberta shook the handcuffs. “Watch who you’re calling what.”
“Exactly. This one”—he wasn’t talking to her but over her towards Brent, like she didn’t exist—“what does she understand about how wind farms can only be built in remote locations, which then destroys the visual aesthetics of that landscape? What about the impact they have on our unique local wildlife? Yep, these big corporations don’t give a toss about any of that. What happens in twenty-five years when they’ve lived their useful life and need to be disposed of? Where are they going to dump them all? Christ almighty, there are already so many of them set up around the world it’s going to be a nightmare when the time comes.”
“I know, I know, mate. Try and cool it until they sort us out at the station and let us go,” Brent said.
“Why would they let you go? Who do you think you are?” The audacity of these people to think they could carry out today’s event without facing any consequences. “Do you have any idea what resources you’ve wasted in just the past two hours? I bet you didn’t leave them the keys to the bulldozer either so they could move it along. Of course not! And where did you get it from? Um …” Roberta tapped her mouth with her index finger as though thinking deeply. “Let me guess. Oh, right, you stole it. Yeah, what a good idea. Why didn’t I think of doing that?”
Someone laughed in the back corner of the van. Roberta swivelled towards the sound of the female voice. “Don’t you people have a job? What do you do all day, or is it the poor taxpayer footing the bill for your laziness, too?”
“When they free you, don’t forget to turn back and drive all the way to your ugly concrete jungle and live happily ever after. We don’t need your type up here. We sure as heck don’t need you telling us what’s best for our part of the world. You guys have already destroyed your part of the world, so leave us to take care of ours.” Nate tightened the slack in the handcuff, tugging it towards his chest.
She turned and glared at him, baring her teeth. She knew what he was up to and wasn’t backing down one iota. Not wanting to risk having her hand sit on his lap, she tugged back even though the metal dug into her skin. No different to an arm wrestle, she wasn’t giving him one single inch of chain.
The same female sniggered again, causing Roberta to straighten her back and clench her handcuffed fist. Hissing, she said, “Over my dead body will you tell me what to do.”
There was one small window hatch in the back of the wagon which cast enough light so Roberta could see Nate’s face clearly. His was deadly serious; no doubt hers was too. The connection between his glare and hers strengthened, neither wanting to be the first to back off.
Until his blue-lake eyes blinked and softened for one second, and she almost plopped into their depths. Her jaw dropped at the same time Nate looked away to cover whatever the hell just happened. She swallowed painfully to cover her confusion, not sure where to look. Their hands went limp simultaneously. When his finger accidentally grazed hers, a bolt of awareness jolted up her arm. She stiffened, not prepared to move another inch until they arrived at their destination.
God, how many more minutes until I’m unlocked from this nightmare?
* * *
Someone was listening to her because, within a matter of minutes, the wagon slowed. Which hopefully meant they were close to somewhere. The cloying air of so many cramped bodies was stifling and she breathed in through her mouth only.
After another few minutes, the van came to a halt and the engine cut out. Light flooded the rear of the van when the back doors opened, and she blinked a couple of times for her vision to adjust.
“Okay, everyone,” the police officer said, “make your way inside the station. We’ll get your statements first. Once you’ve been interviewed, you’ll be released from the handcuffs.”
They all shuffled out of the van and followed the officer, surrounded by another half a dozen flanking their exit. Roberta decided there was no point in trying to make a run for it like they did in the movies. Staying put was the lesser of the two evils. Running away attached to Nate forever would land her in a psych ward within five minutes.
Now to explain her way out of this mess. Roberta grimaced. Heck, she’d been in worse places in her short life, but this topped the list.
At least her phone was still in the pocket of her jacket. Sally would be at her wit’s end if she didn’t contact her soon, but inside the van hadn’t been the time or place to pull it out. They’d been in touch the entire drive up and when she didn’t turn up on her doorstep soon, Sally would probably think the worst.
Shunted into a small, airless room with one window, they were made to sit on the plastic chairs placed around the stark walls. Roberta looked out of the heavily barred window and fidgeted. All she could see was a tree and one of its branches gently tapping the window with the slight breeze. Nate was tugging at her arm so he could take a seat, but Roberta ignored him. He could wait until she was ready.
With her free hand, she unzipped her jacket pocket, taking out her phone. Nate tugged harder this time, and she continued to resist. Quickly tapping on her most frequent phone number, she waited for Sally to answer.
“Can you make an effort to move closer to the chairs?” Nate hissed his demand through clenched teeth.
“Can you wait until I’m ready?” Roberta barked back.
She must’ve accidentally tapped the speaker button because everyone in the room heard Sally say, “Roberta, is that you? Where are you?”
“She’s being a pain in the arse and deserves everything happening to her,” Nate answered Sally.
“Shut up, you nitwit, and mind your own business,” Roberta retaliated, yanking hard enough for Nate to wince.
“Roberta!” Sally sounded hysterical. “Where are you?”
Before Roberta got another word in, Brent shouted from behind, “She’s at the Atherton watch house, handcuffed to our leader. I don’t think she likes it one bit.”
Brent and the others chuckled, and Roberta’s lips straightened as she glared at him.
“Sally, I’m fine. They made a mistake. I’ll sort this out soon.”
“She should’ve minded her own business and walked away when I told her to,” Nate said.
“You shouldn’t have done what you did, you bloody moron. I can’t believe I had the misfortune of stumbling across your stupid prank.” Roberta’s voice ratcheted up an octave, and when Sally didn’t reply, Roberta assumed she’d hung up.
“You had no right to interfere, especially when the television crew turned up. We need every bit of media coverage we can so our message gets out there. You’re an interfering, silly moron who should’ve stayed in your concrete jungle where you came from.”
Oh boy, Roberta’s face seared at the accusation, her nostrils flaring at the injustice of it. And calling her a moron … “You need to realise the world doesn’t revolve around you. There are a lot of different people, cultures and beliefs that need to be juggled to make the world a happy place. Putting up with the likes of you who believe only your views are correct is what’s wrong with the world.”
They were full on shouting at each other, faces close together, the accusations flying the short distance the rattling handcuffs allowed.
“Quiet!” A gruff shout reverberated around the small room.
Roberta and Nate did just that, their chests heaving as they slumped back into their chairs.
“Aren’t you pair on the same team?” The police officer—with the name tag Officer Molloy—filled the doorway.
“No!” they shouted in unison.
This was the opening Roberta needed to get out of there. “I was caught up with these idiots by mistake. My car is probably still sitting on the highway if you want to go and check. Please unlock me from this man as I have absolutely nothing to do with him or this ridiculous protest.”
“But I was the one who handcuffed you. You were amongst this group.”
“I was trying to ruin their five minutes of fame. Why the heck did you allow them to get that far? You should’ve mowed them down a lot earlier so everyone was able to continue with their busy lives and not be held up because of this lot.”
Nate growled, his seething look brushing her with nasty, angry flames. “One day, when you’re old and miserable and hardly able to breathe because narrowminded people like yourself have completely destroyed the world, you might actually think back on this day and regret every single word you’re saying.”
“Next!”
Another police officer opened the door of the interview room, gesturing for the next two protesters to come in and give their statements.
“I think it might be safer if I leave you pair handcuffed for now,” Officer Molloy added with a straight face.
“Noooooo,” Roberta wailed, thrashing and flinging her arms about, causing enough distress that Nate physically had to take her in his arms to calm her down.
“Roberta!” Sally’s voice somehow pierced higher than her wailing. “What is going on?”
Roberta stopped her thrashing and pulled out of Nate’s stronghold, her jaw dropping. How had Sally got here so fast?
“Before you ask, I was already in Atherton and on my way home to Malanda when you phoned.”
“Wait! Wait a minute!” a voice shouted into the mayhem. The male driver of the car parked in front of hers on the Palmerston Highway raced into the room. He shoved Sally aside, dangling Roberta’s set of car keys. Lucky it was a small country station and anyone could just walk in.
In an instant, all the noise dropped, and no one moved. The male driver was heaving like he’d physically pushed her car all the way from the top of the Palmerston Highway to Atherton. “This woman is innocent of any crime. She was parked behind my car at the blockade and walked up to see what the issue was. Her being brought here is wrong. I suggest you release her.” His words came out in a rush, and he had to stop talking for a moment to take a couple of steadying breaths. “She’s done nothing wrong and only had time to fling her car keys to me before she was taken away. Otherwise, her car would be stuck on the highway causing more havoc.”
The male driver took a hesitant step closer, holding out her keys. Roberta yanked her hand enough so Nate was dragged with her as she stepped forward to collect them. “Thank you. I really appreciate this.”
“No worries, it was a pleasure to meet you. You’re one fierce young lady. I’d be proud to have you on my team. Now I better get going; my wife and child are waiting outside for me.” Turning his gaze to Nate, he added, “There’s been enough inconvenience caused today.”
As he turned to leave, Roberta thought of something. “Hey, how did they shift the bulldozer?”
“A couple of blokes in their utilities used tow ropes to straighten it. Enough for one lane to open and allow the traffic to keep moving.”
“Ah, wait a minute,” Officer Molloy asked, holding up a hand. “What’s your name?”
“It’s Mark Cummins.”
“Thanks, Mark, for your assistance today. Could you please leave your contact details at the counter on your way out in case I need to get a statement from you at some stage?”
“Sure, Officer. No problem.” Mark turned back to her again. “Your car is parked out the front on the street.”
“Thanks, Mark.”
With that, he turned and left the room.
“Officer, can you please tell me what’s going on?” Sally directed her question to Officer Molloy who was standing in the middle of the room.
Sally came over and wrapped her arm around Roberta’s shoulder, squeezing her tight. “Nothing like Roberta to announce her arrival in the north with trumpets blaring.”
Roberta chuckled. “Can you ask him nicely to unchain me from this monster?” She thrust her thumb towards Nate. “Then we can go get a coffee, and I’ll tell you everything about my nightmare.”
Sally raised an eyebrow in Officer Molloy’s direction.
“We’ll need a statement from her first. Sorry, but she’s too involved for us to ignore. They can go in next.”
“Do we have to go in together?” It wasn’t beneath Roberta to plead.
“Can you be trusted to stay calm if I release you?” Officer Molloy raised his eyebrows expectantly.
“I’ll only stay calm if you can reassure me these halfwits will pay for the disruption they’ve caused us all.”
“That’s up to the court system to decide their punishment. Our job is to collect all the information and complete our investigations as fully as possible. So, if you want to do your part, be sure to tell them everything you can in your statement.”
“Yes, sir, gladly.”
Officer Molloy turned to Nate, his stern expression causing the room to fill with palpable tension. “I’ve known your family forever, Nate. Unfortunately, you won’t come out of this unscathed. I hope you know what you’re doing. Your grandfather was always a good community man and your intentions have always been good.”
Nate nodded solemnly. “Thanks, Officer.”
“Hold out your arms, you pair,” Office Molloy instructed. “I hope to God you never run into each other again. I don’t want to be responsible for cleaning up that mess.”
Sally chuckled beside her and whispered loud enough for Nate to hear. “He’s cute.”
Roberta looked up at the same time Nate did, their gazes clashing.
A shiver ran up her arm when she was unable to read what she saw in his face. “I’d rather die than admit that, thanks, Sal.” She made sure she said it loud enough for all to hear. The clank of the chain signalled their release and, looking away, Roberta was able to break the connection with Nate and breathe again.
“Okay, let’s keep things moving here.” Another summons came from the police officer still standing in the interview room.
“Off you go, young lady,” Officer Molloy said. “The sooner you’re done, the sooner you can go. Good luck.”
“Thanks, Officer, but I think it’s him you should be wishing all the good luck to. I did nothing wrong, remember?”
“You think?” was Nate’s parting shot as he sent her one last withering look.