With the sun still hovering below the eastern horizon, the black NatSec Aurion motored along the Great Northern Highway, a Hawkei on its tail. At Bullsbrook, thirty-five kilometres northeast of central Perth, the vehicles turned into the well-lit entranceway to Pearce RAAF Airbase. Rolling to a stop at the front boom gates, the vehicles waited with motors idling.
Visible base activity at that hour of the morning was minimal.
Inside the Aurion, four green dots blipped on the NatSec tracking app in the centre console. Putting fingers to the screen, Spooky zoomed in on the dots’ locations.
All in a hangar beside the base’s airfield.
When the attendant’s yawning face appeared in the guardhouse window, Spooky held up his NatSec ID. The heavy-eyed guard stepped out to take it from him, squinting at the details before handing it back with a nod. After raising the boom he waved the visitors through, and watched them accelerate away before returning to the guardhouse to finish his coffee.
As the two vehicles made for the aircraft hangar, an RAAF Wedgetail barrelled down the runway that ran parallel with the ring road. The vehicles’ occupants watched idly as the heavily modified 737 lifted off with a roar of jets and an astringent waft of aviation fuel.
Inside the hangar, the glow of two sets of approaching headlights roused the four figures reclining against a pile of duffels on the floor. Modeen was the first to rise to her feet, followed by Wolf, Ben, and Bugs. As the three men blinked and stretched beside her, she shaded her eyes against the glare of lights as the Aurion entered the hangar, followed by the Hawkei.
After he and Mei exited the Aurion and Mark the Hawkei, Spooky gave a grinning Bugs’ extended fist a bump as the seven gathered in front of the car.
With a dip of her head in greeting, Modeen spread a map of Perth across the warm bonnet and said crisply, ‘Sit-rep, Spook.’
‘The IT tech is secure, and we commandeered the Hawkei from the Redcliff assets warehouse. But there were GPS trackers lying on the ground in two empty bays inside the warehouse, so I reckon our rogues have loaded up while they still had access. If I’m right about that, they’ve taken the other two Hawkeis and emptied some shelves at the same time.’
‘Noted.’ Modeen gazed at him and then tilted her head at the Hawkei. ‘Did you check it for bugs?’
‘That’s why we’re a little late getting here.’
‘And?’
‘Found two. One hidden in the engine bay and the other in the cab.’
‘Did you remove them?’
‘I was going to,’ Spooky said tentatively, ‘but then I figured you might’ve wanted them to stay in place?’
Her expression lightened and she held out a fist for him to bump. ‘Well done. I’m thinking we can use that to our advantage.’ She eyed each of her team members in turn, pausing when her gaze fell on Mark’s bruised face. ‘You okay?’
At his nod she bent over the map to continue the briefing, only to stiffen when Spooky added, ‘They also took two dive scooters.’
Gazing into the distance, she gave a slow nod. ‘That sort of makes sense.’ She leaned over the map again. ‘Right, this is what we know so far. Agents Knight and Lee were involved in a cyber attack on a Pine Gap project, one involving a prototype drone. We now also suspect agent Hunter Reed of being implicated.’ She placed her phone face-up on the bonnet and tapped on a surveillance video. ‘This was taken at the Redcliff warehouse. Right about the time you,’ and she flicked Spooky a glance, ‘were checking out Knight’s apartment.’ Pausing the video, she zoomed in on a man about to open the door of one of the vehicles.
Spooky peered at the image. ‘That’s Reed alright.’
Beside him, Wolf drawled, ‘And two of his Commando buddies.’
Modeen nodded. ‘There could be more. And Knight, Lee and Hunter are still at large. Thanks to NatSec’s firewall, they failed to gain access via our agency portal, and the classified files were prevented from being downloaded. Given this failed attempt, it’s likely they’ll try to steal a prototype drone. One is located on Garden Island and the other at Pine Gap.’
‘They’d never get away with it.’ Bugs shook his buzz-cut strawberry blonde head. ‘Both those facilities are well guarded.’
‘Yes, it’s a bold move, but then so was infiltrating NatSec and assassinating agents and a team leader.’ This met with a grave silence which Modeen broke a moment later. ‘Jack’s been going over Lee’s, Knight’s, and Reed’s GPS logs, and it appears they frequented a building here,’ and she stabbed a finger on the map, ‘in East Fremantle. The place is on the water, looks like a boathouse.’ She glanced at Spooky again. ‘A likely spot for launching dive scooters.’
He nodded. ‘And scooters would be real handy if you were planning to visit Garden Island undetected.’
‘Correct.’
‘So, how will we handle this?’
‘We’ll have an eye in the sky. Jack has hooked us up with a Global Observer, right here on the base.’
Noticing a crease form in Mark’s brow, Spooky leaned across to whisper, ‘Stratospheric UAV. Surveillance drone, high altitude, long endurance.’
‘Oh, right,’ Mark whispered back.
A grim-faced Ben straightened to his full six foot four. ‘So, what’s our next move?’
‘You’re to remain here and assist the GO pilot.’
‘What? No—’
She raised a halting hand. ‘You can ID the persons of interest and alert us if anything looks out of the ordinary. While there, get yourself checked by the base medic. You’re not fully recovered yet from our last mission.’ Turning, she addressed Wolf and Mei. ‘I want you two positioned at Pine Gap. A Pilatus PC-21 is being prepped with external fuel tanks in readiness.’
Wolf’s eyes narrowed but he bit back the protest. He couldn’t argue with his wife’s decision to pair him with someone other than herself. Only too aware intimate relationships could prove a dangerous distraction while on mission, they had agreed before re-joining the agency to work apart whenever possible. And that modus operandi had served them well thus far.
‘Spook, Bugs, and I will check out the boathouse,’ she went on. ‘Mark, take the Aurion to Garden Island and report anything suspicious or out of the ordinary. Your NatSec ID will get you through security.’ She swept a glance around the group. ‘Okay, that’s it for now. Anyone unsure what they’re to do?’
Silence greeted her.
‘Right, let’s move with purpose, people.’
While the others collected their duffels, Mark and Mei went to the Aurion, where Mei grabbed her kit from the boot and Mark climbed into the front seat. After she shut the boot lid he started the sedan, and as soon as the Hawkei moved out of the way, gave his sister a wave and left the hangar with a screech of rubber on concrete.
In the back of the Hawkei, Mei noticed Wolf checking his sidearm and did the same, as Modeen drove them to the other side of the base and pulled up next to a sleek, bright red aircraft. Ground crew buzzed around the single-engine trainer, filling external fuel tanks and preparing it for departure.
The three got out of the Hawkei and strode to the flight training hangar, where Wolf and Mei were kitted out with flight suits.
When they stood in front of her, Modeen locked eyes with Wolf. ‘Keep a close eye on the Valkyrie while you’re there, and do a background check on everyone associated with the project.’
‘Roger.’ Wolf held her gaze for another moment before turning to check Mei’s flight suit.
The young woman gazed up at him, apprehension in her face and voice. ‘Um ... where’s the pilot?’
Modeen gave an amused huff. ‘Standing right in front of you.’
‘Wolf can fly a plane?’ Mei eyed him dubiously.
Modeen nodded. ‘He’s qualified to pilot the PC-21, so you’ll be in good hands. We opted for flight training when we joined the agency, and you can too if you choose. Today’s flight could be your first practical lesson.’
The two women watched Wolf climb into the cockpit’s rear tandem seat. As he began working through the pre-flight checklist, Modeen helped Mei into the front seat. After securing her seatbelt, and plugging in her oxygen and G-suit, she gave Mei a thumbs-up and climbed back down to the tarmac. Moments later one of the ground crew gave the all clear signal, and Wolf set the turboprop into motion. Glancing to where Modeen stood on the apron watching, he threw her a crooked grin, touched a finger to his helmet in a salute, and taxied onto the runway.
Mei’s head was raised, her eyes fixed on the heads-up display of the jetfighter-like cockpit. When Wolf opened the throttle on the high performance turboprop engine, she threw out both arms to brace herself in the tight cabin.
‘Relax, Mei, and get comfortable,’ he said evenly. ‘Flight time to Pine Gap is a little over three hours.’
On her way back to the main hangar to collect Bugs and Spooky, Modeen checked her watch and then detoured to a pair of dongas. The rectangular transportable buildings, set off the ground on stumps with hardwood porches facing the carpark, were separated by a five-metre high satellite tower. A revolving light mounted on the front of the unit to her right, cast a red hue across the bonnet as she parked out the front.
Ignoring the warning flashes from the light, she got out of the Hawkei and skipped up the stairs, to be met in the small front room by a security guard. She presented her ID and was swiped through to the business end of the unit, where she entered a dimly lit room. The two occupants shaded their eyes from the light shafting in through the opening, and one of them snapped, ‘Shut the door, will ya!’
She kicked the door closed behind her, and as her vision adjusted to the lower light, saw that Ben was one of the two men. Both seated in formula one-styled swivel chairs in front of expansive wrap-around screens, they shared the confined space with two side-by-side drone control modules, fighter jet joysticks, radar, GPS, and other clusters of avionic instruments.
Moving to stand between the two men, she asked in a low voice, ‘What’ve we got?’
As the screen on Ben’s console zoomed in on a riverside boathouse in East Fremantle, he swivelled in his chair to face her. ‘No movement or unusual activity in or around the place of interest at present. I did some digging, and it turns out the place is an old marine education boatshed.’ He zoomed the camera onto the shed’s roof. ‘Built over the river on stilts, it has a boat ramp at the rear and some impressive roof-mounted surveillance cameras.’
Modeen crossed her arms and studied the image. ‘Pan out again for a minute.’ As the image adjusted, she stepped in and lifted her chin at the screen. ‘I guess it’s no coincidence that it’s just down the road from the old Leeuwin Army barracks.’
Ben nodded. ‘That place has certainly got a chequered history.’
‘Oh, yeah.’ She rested a hand on his shoulder. ‘Wasn’t it your father who headed the DART investigation at that base some years ago?’
He nodded again, his expression grim. ‘At the time, trainees were being abused and some top brass were put under the microscope.’ Bitterness crept into his tone. ‘And as usual, the powers-that-be pleaded innocence while throwing their subordinates under the bus. Seems nothing much has changed.’ After a charged pause he cleared his throat, turned back to the screen, and said brusquely, ‘It’s a good spot for an ambush. If I was planning one, I’d position a sniper along the riverbank, here,’ and he pointed to the screen. ‘So we need to stay alert.’
After giving his shoulder a thump, Modeen withdrew her hand. ‘Good work. We’ll collect another vehicle from HQ and head straight there. Keep a close vigil.’
‘Copy that.’