41

The sun had dropped behind the hills when we approached the first of the sheds, the UTV shed. We crouched behind a row of bushes and waited. Sure enough there were footfalls. Someone was stamping his feet as the night grew cold. He was close, too. A light flashed and puff of smoke was lit by the dying rays of the sun. The fool was smoking. The glow of his cigarette showed us exactly where he was.

Another man approached speaking softly. The first man reached into his pocket and another light flashed. I picked up an old iron fencepost that was leaning against the shed wall and toyed with the idea of taking them out with it but thought better of it. If Ranko called them in or there was a signal they had to make it was better that we let them do it. We knew where they were, that was enough.

Then Anna was gone. I panicked. What would she do? I needn't have worried. She came up behind me and pushed me towards the UTV shed. We slipped silently behind it. Being inside could have trapped us. We didn't speak at all. Voices carried on a still night like this one. Ranko's goons were bound to be armed and we weren't.

Again, I calculated without Anna. When the two men moved away, talking in low voices, and puffing smoke into the darkening sky, Anna signalled for me to stay put and slipped inside the UTV shed. It was pitch dark in there except for a small pilot light on the recorder for the `bugs.' It was well buried under some hessian bags so you had to know it was there to find it.

Minutes later there was a banshee shriek. There was no telling where it was coming from, it was everywhere. The two thugs ran around in circles and were quickly joined by two more. With guns in their hands two of them ran towards the barn and the other two towards the house. Anna emerged from the shed with a shovel which she pushed at me.

We were too far away to see Ranko come out, but light spilled from the back door and we heard someone shouting. The sound continued. It really was a howl from hell. Having worked in recording I recognised it as an electronic feedback squeal but grossly amplified. Anna had rigged the recorder's speakers.

Without any issue with signals and protocol it was open season on the bastards. As one raced past I swung my shovel and knocked the fellow off his feet. He dropped without a sound and didn't move. Anna quickly tied his hands behind his back and his feet to his hands. She handed me an enormous pistol, fully loaded.

I pocketed the pistol and kept the shovel ready. We stayed silent as we heard more pounding feet. Another large man hit the dirt and was trussed and disarmed. Anna flicked the safety catch of her pistol which had a long clumsy barrel.

`Silencer,' she whispered. `Nasty.'

As the third man passed us Anna used the clumsy barrel to great effect. He was creeping past not running and saw Anna but not in time to stop her belting him across the head before he could make any sound at all.

As I've said I am not normally a violent man but I'd had enough of these vicious killers so I was quite enjoying causing grievous body harm to them. The fourth man didn't leave the house and the door shut cutting off the only real source of light. But again, city folks don't realise how strong starlight is. The Milky Way lit our way well that night.

We waited. We needed it to be two against one. We knew he had one man inside and likely had more than that so our odds still weren't very good. We had to get Ranko alone to hold his feet to the fire, especially his injured one. We moved out from the trees alongside the parking area and darted towards the side of the house. There was no window there so we could stand and wait without being seen from inside. The sound of wheels on gravel barely registered over the continuous squeal of the feedback.

Anna turned to me. `I told you,' she whispered.

I slumped. All I could think was that we were outnumbered again.

`Now what?' I whispered.

`We wait.'

A voice whispered in my ear. `Don't move, or you're dead, mate. Now, girlie, hand over the gun.'

The Aussie Serbs had arrived. It was over. At least for me it was. I wasn't going down without a fight. I swung the shovel and connected with his chest. He dropped and his gun fired with a huge explosion. I leapt onto him grabbing for the weapon and punching and smashing his face. I grabbed his hair and slammed his head into the ground again and again until he lay still.

While I was fighting for my life the door opened spilling out the light and a man was silhouetted in it. There was a tapping sound. He staggered back and dropped to the ground. Another gun flew into the air. Anna raced forwards and fielded it before disappearing into the house.

I dragged out my pistol and started to climb to my feet. Three other shadowy figures ran through the gloom and surrounded me.

I raised the gun. `Stand back you bastards or I'll blow you to kingdom fucking come.' I got to my feet and backed up against the wall. Then I slid through the door and hauled it shut behind me. Or I nearly did. Before the lock caught it was dragged out of my hands. I fired. The pistol almost jumped out of my hand and I was quickly backed up against the wall by a man with a grin from ear to ear. He pinned my gun hand to the wall.

`Rocco?'

He grinned, took my gun and dusted me off. `Never leave an amateur to do a professional's job, mate.' He pushed his fallen comrade with a well shod foot. `But you're showing promise I'll give you that. Now where is this nasty prick?'

`In there with Anna,' I panted turning to run into the living room. One of his companions hauled me back.

`That's the sexy lady…right?' Rocco was past me with his team before I had time to take a breath. I followed at a run.

Anna stood facing Ranko who was sitting on her favourite chair. His foot was wrapped in a moon boot. A man in black stood in front of Anna smiling. Her silenced weapon lay on the kitchen bench. That must have been the tapping sound I heard that dropped Ranko's man at the back door. As Rocco walked in, Ranko signalled to the man in black. He reached out quickly and grabbed Anna by the hair pulling her towards Ranko and holding the gun under her chin.

`Thank you, Mijat. Now, gentlemen, please put down your weapons unless of course you don't mind if Anna dies. Because she will. The slightest move by any of you will seal her fate. Mijat here, is without mercy, aren't you Mijat.'

I turned to Rocco's man. `Please. Rocco. Please do what he says.'

They placed their weapons carefully on the kitchen bench alongside Anna's. I had no illusions. Rocco was a murderous mafia don no better than Ranko. I had only one card. So I played it.

`Of course if you kill Anna there'll be no access to any money. The money you killed your own family to get.' That jolted Rocco. `And because you killed Tom Kelling and George Mayhew, the only person who knows where that number is, is the one you're threatening to kill. Not very smart.'

Anna's face stayed completely still which was masterful considering that she had no idea what or where the number was. Not mention that Tom Kelling was still alive, as far as I knew. But Ranko didn't.

`You really shouldn't have killed the old man, Ranko. And you shouldn't have turned on us either. If you'd played your cards right, we wouldn't have guessed you were a crook. Instead you don't have the number, you don't know the conditions of the will and you don't have the money. I'd say you cocked this up, wouldn't you?'

Rocco's eyes were flicking from me to Ranko to Mijat, to Anna. I was sure I saw dollar signs in his eyes.

`That's right Rocco, Ranko, who is Anna's grandfather's son by his first wife is trying to take her inheritance away from her. And he's killed his family to do it. He's taking over the family business from his uncle and intends to take over the organised crime scene here. Australia is a long way from Serbia and the government there is getting a bit close, isn't it Ranko?'

I had no idea if that was true but Ranko's twitches indicated that I wasn't too far off. Anyway a good rumour can be very persuasive. I'd noticed, too, that Mijat's hand had dropped a little and Anna had taken a deep breath. Her fist was clenched and with a massive jerk she lashed out and knocked the gun away. She dropped her head, spun around, and sent a knee straight into Mijat's groin. With a whoosh of air, he dropped his gun and collapsed to the floor.

In a heartbeat, Rocco's team had grabbed their weapons and when Ranko raised a pistol somebody shot him.