Chapter 9

Range View Farm Guest House

John stood in the bathroom on a carpet of black and grey hair – his newly shed long beard. Happy now the whiskers were shave-size, he scraped the razor over his foamed jaw. Slowly, the remaining beard fell away, finally exposing the white of his face skin. He didn’t hear the guest room door open and close. The shower drowned out the noise.

He stripped naked after he had finished the shave and looked at his reflection. Given what had happened, his once firm and fit body was still in reasonable shape.

Stepping into the shower, John enjoyed the warm water cascading over him. He poured liquid soap onto a washcloth and rubbed his tall body, including the appendage, which hugged his thigh like a snake resting in a tree branch.

Jillian had entered the guesthouse and was in the lounge, sipping her wine. With overwhelming emotions of joy, love and gratitude, she rose and undressed. Walking to the shower, she pulled the glass door open and stepped in, hugging John from behind.

‘Darling, I’ve missed you so much.’

John slowly turned to face her. He took her in his arms and kissed her long and tenderly. She responded, running her hands over his body, familiarising herself with its every contour. Her hand reached down to his sleeping serpent. She ran her fingers over the soft shaft until she could feel the blood being pumped into it. Soon it was standing to attention and had grown at least another three inches in her hand. She stroked it gently while still enjoying the rapturous languor of their kisses.

His hands similarly explored the body he had so craved finally cupping the breasts, which had nurtured his stolen son. His mouth closed around her obliging nipples, tongue flicking its appreciation of their tumescent response. In a blissful re-enactment of the erotic dance they had so often shared, he sank to his knees, tasting her salty mound, gently separating its petals until his mouth closed around her clitoris. She gasped, every sense flooded with remembrance of past ecstasies, rejoicing that even after such an absence he would unerringly find her triggers. She ached for him, with the anticipation of having him fully inside her.

‘Now, my darling, now.’ She turned her back to him, leaning forward to rest her forehead on her hands on the glass shower screen, and parting her legs.

John cupped her wet, round buttocks in his calloused hands, his penis feeling its way like a heat-seeking missile through to the soft, hot, juicy opening awaiting him. As it yielded to his tumescence, he slowly entered, inch by inch. Jillian gave a low scream of pleasure at the long-deprived consolation. He entered more deeply, slowly, reaching around to gently stimulate her clitoris as he slid in and out with mounting exhilaration. She pushed back, gripping him with her vagina, not wanting him to slide out. He held her firmly against him as she writhed towards climax, arching in rapture at his measured, rhythmic penetration. Like well-matched sprinters straining at the tape, Jillian burst through only seconds before he too exploded through the finish line. In the ecstasy of mutual union, they fell into a silent abyss of sheer pleasure, the exhaustion of utter relief.

Jillian reluctantly released him, turning to embrace the ruggedly familiar stranger.

‘Ohhh, John, my beautiful lost lover. Twenty wasted years. What the hell has my father done?’

He pulled her to him and kissed the top of her head.

‘Not just him, darling – his henchmen as well.’

Dinner was at the main house. Jillian wore a body-hugging dress that showed all her attributes. John, in clean jeans and a floral shirt, reckoned she looked eighteen again. Sandra was her immaculate self; hair up, sweeping dinner dress, brooch pinned to bodice. Dale was Dale, not one to over-dress for any occasion. He offered John a beer and led the way to the veranda of the farmhouse.

Jillian remained inside to help Sandra finish preparing the meal. Sandra looked at Jillian, who radiated the special glow of a woman deeply in love.

‘Was it worth the wait?’

Jillian smiled a Mona Lisa smile at her best female friend.

Outside, John lit a smoke, sipped from his beer can and placed it down. He was leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees.

‘I see you’ve filled Jillian in on some of our exile.’

Dale looked out over the waving tall grass in the paddock.

‘Most of it, but you are going to have to tell her the rest.’

’How far did you get?

‘Most of Devil’s Rock,’ Dale explained. ‘She really had no idea what her father was up to at the time. How the rest of Australia, in your words, turned its back on you. The struggle after that I don’t know too much about, other than my need to keep shielding you from Gillman’s people.’

‘She agrees to give us the files?’

‘Didn’t ask her, but given what she knows now, I can’t see it being too much of a problem,’ Dale replied.

John sat back. ‘What about her mother?’

Dale shrugged his shoulders; curled his lips. ‘No idea.’ He stood up and walked back into the house, returning with two fresh cans. As he sat down, John glanced up. Dale’s left ear was exposed a little, enough to see three small dots.

John quickly grabbed him and pulled his face close. He twisted his head to ensure he got a very good view behind his ear, then shoved Dale away and spat at him.

‘Figured you may’ve been NWC.’

‘Was! As an ASIO junior, I was sent in undercover. Worked my way up the ranks so I could attend the high-level meetings. David would never discuss anything with anyone below three dots.’

‘Bullshit! You’re using me to better your own organisation. You’re as low as him.’

‘Okay – then explain how I kept you hidden and alive. NWC is even now and will never stop looking for you. The attempted hit was because they’ve found out who I really am. You can believe it or not John, but that’s God’s truth.’ He handed John the fresh can.

‘So obviously – you’d know the NWC inside and out?’ John looked over at Dale.

‘Yes, I even got on the decision-making council. That’s when I took over your project. I could see what they were going to do. That bloke Peter Sanderson, he’s still NWC, directly under David. I’d say he recognised you, mate.’

‘Why do you say that?’

‘Intercepted an e-mail message to David, “Found John”; hence the attempted hit.’

‘So this place is not all that safe?’

‘No. You need Jillian to get her mother over here so you and I can find those files. John, my gut tells me we’re running out of time. We’ve got to act now.’

‘We! There’s no “we” anymore, Dale. I’m past it. Forget “us, we and all for your country!” My men feel the same.’

‘What about your officer’s oath?’

‘Trust and loyalty? Come on, mate! This nation is surviving on lies. I might’ve been out of circulation for a long time, but I’m not blind to what’s going on, Dale. You want me to be loyal to a nation that’s done this to me and my team?’

‘Point taken, but what about your son and Jillian? Young John should at least know the truth. He deserves that much.’

John turned and looked at Dale. ‘I don’t even know my son, why should I care?’

‘Because he’s blood. He has your genes running through his body. And like you, he’s a direct relative of the infamous Ned Kelly! Poor bastard’d turn in his grave if he thought his great-great-great-grandson’d turned his back on a nation in need.’

John laughed. ‘Ned was nothing but a two-bit robber and murderer who’d kill you for the shirt on your back.’

‘Perhaps, John, but he lived by a code, not much different from your own. He wanted freedom for all; land to offer disadvantaged people, away from political leaders who drained ʼem dry with taxes and unfair laws. I remember you saying that once. Your own Utopia, remember that? This is the biggest chance you’ll ever have of achieving it.’

‘Tell ya what, Dale; Utopia is part of the deal. I know of two cattle stations close to Indigo. You get me the deeds to them, along with a few other things, and I might reconsider.’

’Why near Indigo?

‘Because one of my men has the spiritual rights to the area. He knows its secrets and its pitfalls. I also want Doc back, you remember Doc?’

‘I do. Might be a bit hard. He’s graduated med school and has a thriving practice in Perth. He might not want to walk away from that.’

‘He will when he finds out it’s for the boys. At least he’s held firm to our beliefs.’

Dale laughed out loud. ‘How do I know if I set this up you won’t go cold on me at Indigo?’

’It’s a risk, Dale. We all take ʼem. Besides, I’m not having a bunch of Yanks living next to my Utopia, no way!

Dale put out his hand. ‘Deal! I’ll get the ball rolling.’

John accepted it. ‘Let’s eat.’

Roast lamb was on offer. John was excited. It had been many years since he had relished the succulent, tender meat of lamb. It accompanied some of his happiest memories, from his mother’s Sunday roast in childhood to happier times with Jillian. He dug in; plenty of veggies and a pile of meat with rich gravy spread over the offerings. He accepted the glass of wine, smiled at Jillian and gave her a wink. Like a young love-struck girl, she blushed.

‘Well, my darling, Dale has something to tell you. I’m off to have a shower. See you at the cottage.’ He took his leave.