17

CLOWN-NAPPED

MOUNT ISA FROM THE SKY

It’s an early start for Justice and Coach Bennett. Coach has called in a favour from an old friend and there’s a helicopter waiting on one of the footy fields. Alex, the pilot, fastens their seatbelts before starting up the large blue and yellow rescue chopper.

‘Hold on tight,’ instructs Alex. ‘Could be a bit bumpy!’

The helicopter lurches upwards and forwards, rising high above the footy oval. From the back seat, Justice looks down at Mount Isa. The people look smaller than ants.

Coach Bennett yells into the microphone attached to his headphones, ‘Justice, keep an eye out for Deadly D!’ He opens his backpack, which is sitting between his feet on the floor of the chopper. ‘Have you seen my chocolates?’ he asks.

‘Sorry, Coach, I haven’t,’ replies Justice into his microphone.

Coach Bennett scans the township, until he sees a big white roof with ‘KMART’ painted on it. ‘Alex, can you take us down there for a minute?’ he asks.

Alex scans the building through the visor of his helmet. ‘I can get close but I can’t land on the roof,’ he says.

He lowers the helicopter until it hovers just above the car park. Annoyed shoppers look up, shielding their eyes, to see what is blowing dust in their faces. When they see the chopper, they gape in disbelief.

Coach Bennett opens the passenger door, throws out a rope ladder and quickly climbs down. He runs into the shop and soon reappears carrying a plastic bag. As the noisy blades of the helicopter swoosh overhead, the people of Mount Isa pull out their smart phones and start filming. Coach Bennett puts the handles of the bag between his teeth and climbs back up the ladder. Safely inside, he smiles and pulls out two large blocks of milk chocolate and a king-sized Kit-Kat.

Justice thinks of all the places in Mount Isa that Dylan has ever talked about. Instantly, he thinks of somewhere close to Dylan’s heart. ‘Hey, Alex bro, how far is Lake Moondarra from here?’ he yells.

Alex turns around to Justice and smiles. ‘Just north!’ he replies, sharply turning the chopper to the left.

Justice isn’t ready for the change of direction and grips the seat in front of him tightly while Coach Bennett drops his freshly opened block of chocolate. Through the front window, they see the huge body of water that is Lake Moondarra. Justice is thinking about the meteorite crashing into it, all those years ago, when a call comes over the helicopter’s radio signal.

‘Base to Alex. Base to Alex. Are you there?’ asks a crackly voice.

‘This is Alex to base. I hear you loud and clear,’ replies Alex.

‘We have a vehicle that’s rolled on the Barkly Highway, west of Lake Moondarra. Please attend crash site immediately!’ says the voice from base control.

Alex looks down to his left and he can see smoke coming from a vehicle way below. ‘Copy that, base,’ he says. ‘I’m two minutes away. It looks bad. Send for an ambulance.’

The chopper jolts to the left and starts descending. Alex looks at Coach Bennett and Justice seriously. ‘Get ready, fellas,’ he says. ‘We’re going in.’

The helicopter lands about fifty metres from the van, which has rolled and landed on its roof. Alex turns off the engine and runs towards the vehicle. Coach Bennett follows him. But as Justice steps out of the chopper, he stops dead in his tracks. His blood goes cold. The van is orange. The writing on its side says, ‘BIGTOP CIRCUS’.

‘No, wait!’ screams Justice. ‘It’s a trap!’

But he is too late. From the cloud of billowing smoke, out steps Jocks the clown. He is holding a purple over-sized toy flower with a skull and cross bones printed in the middle. Alex is confused.

‘Want to smell my pretty flower?’ giggles Jocks. His white make-up is starting to smudge and melt in the Mount Isa sun. Before Alex can reply, Jocks presses a button behind the flower’s thick plastic stem.

‘Have a good sleep!’ laughs the clown. A puff of purple mist squirts into Alex’s face. He instantly falls down on to the sharp red rocks that cover the hard ground.

‘What’s going on here?’ yells Coach Bennett.

From behind, someone taps him on the shoulder. ‘Don’t be jealous. You can have some beauty sleep, too!’ says Socks.

Coach Bennett spins around as Socks squirts him in the face with another flower. He drops too. Standing next to the helicopter and all alone in the dry outback, Justice feels helpless.

‘You freaks!’ screams Justice. ‘What do you want?’

‘We want Dylan Conlan,’ says Socks, stumbling over the rocky ground in his floppy clown shoes. ‘And you’re going to help us find him.’

‘I’ll never help you freaky eggs!’ yells Justice.

It’s now or never, he thinks. He runs hard at Socks, ready to pull a hit on him like Manu Vatuvei would for the New Zealand Warriors but he trips on a stone and it sends him off balance. Justice skids along the rocks, ripping holes in his brand new Broncos shirt and training shorts. He can feel blood pouring from his arm, and then he blacks out for a second. When he opens his eyes, the clowns are standing over him.

‘Sweet dreams, kiddo!’ laughs Jocks.

‘Don’t worry, we’ll tuck you in nice and tight!’ giggles Socks, before spraying him with the purple mist.