2042: The Great Cataclysm (16 page)

Jim’s faced paled as the enormity of Grahams orders sank in. ‘Jesus, what a mess.’ He threw up his hands in surrender.  ‘Okay, okay, don’t worry. It’ll be done! I can imagine the speculation though once I start buying Vetos. I’ll have the press down on me. What about the staff here? What about the schedules?’

‘Just get them all to higher ground. Once the word is out the army will be taking over and they’ll advise all airlines where to take people. You can handle it. I don’t care what time of day or where I am, I’ll be available. Take care mate, you’re going to be flat out like a lizard drinking.’ He added.   They shook hands warmly. Then Graham hugged Jim hard and left as unexpectedly as he’d arrived.

***

Friday, June 2

That previous night they had packed up Graham’s belongings and readied for their trip. Nick awoke to find Graham long gone. Coffee was still brewing in the kitchen with a note to tell him the flight number and time.

Two hours after arriving at the airport Graham readied himself for the flight to Australia. His confidence had returned and he checked off the flight details as normal. He’d seek assistance from his contacts and the Australian Government to implement his plan. He’ll need all the Vetos he can get his hands on in Australia too. Nick would be a big help there. Nick! Christ. He’d forgotten him. He must be waiting to get through customs. He had no sooner turned on his sat-phone phone when the call came in.

‘I’m waiting in the bloody departure lounge.’ Nick yelled.  ‘Where the hell are you?’

‘Sorry mate, hang fire, I’m on the way.’  Graham rushed back to the crew’s lounge, reached into a locker and grabbed a flight suit. He buzzed Nick’s phone. ‘Come to the crew’s lounge, eastern end of the terminal, hurry!’

Graham flipped over his watch and opened the door scanning the crowds for Nick. He spotted the gold pony tail and whistled. Nick spun around and headed for the lounge where Graham grabbed his arm. ‘Here put this on, quick!’

‘I hope you don’t think I’m going to fly that thing out there, I’m a seaman not a flam’n airman.’ Nick said.

‘It’s the only way I can get you onboard without a customs check. I’ll tell them you’re a trainee pilot. They’re not supposed to be on a flight with passengers, but we do it all the time, so my friends in customs will turn a blind eye. Just don’t look directly at them, you look a bit old to be a learner.’

Nick donned the navy blue and gold all-in-one uniform. He zipped up the front patting his trim stomach. ‘Thanks! I may not be young, but I can still fit into one of these snug outfits.’

They made their way briskly to the crew’s gateway with Graham busily writing notes on a clipboard as they walked. Flight attendants in classic maroon and gold uniforms wearing perky hats emblazoned with the ‘AA’ symbol fluttered by, excitedly discussing last night’s party at the Mars Skylounge. Two girls eyed him admiringly. Graham had acquired a certain reputation as a lady’s man, and any girl who was lucky enough to catch his eye and hold it was the envy of every attendant. Arriving at the counter by the door he waved the clipboard at the female airport official on duty.

‘G’day Cheryl. You look bright and fresh this morning. Surely you didn’t go to that shindig at the Mars last night.’ He said winking at her.

She grinned at him, flattered by his attention. Graham signalled with a nod to Nick to continue past as he leaned forward to impart some more flattery to Cheryl. Once through the door, Nick fell into step behind the other crew members heading along the jetway toward the cockpit.

He squeezed into the jump seat behind Graham again, this time for the long haul to Australia.  They’d told the flight attendants he was a special guest travelling under cover. They accepted this subterfuge and fussed over him, intrigued by the deception, giggling among themselves as they speculated who he may be.

The big 797 roared off the runway and was swooping over Diamond Head at the Southern point of Waikiki beach within minutes. Graham nodded toward the huge crater roughly two and a half square kilometres ordinarily occupied by Fort Ruger, a small military outpost. The frantic activity would have puzzled most of the passengers and crew, but Graham and Nick understood immediately what was happening. Star flight was the obvious reason for the hundreds of tents, jeeps, Veto and military personnel now stationed over the entire surface of the crater.

As they drew away from Hawaii and the United States Nick finally relaxed, no reason now to worry about the CIA, he was on his way home! He would probably have to deal with Australian officials now, but somehow after the American experience, that didn’t seem so bad.

Graham loved this big jet. She was the latest and greatest technology from Boeing and he was thinking of ways he could keep it. Airports would be the problem, most where he had landing rights were on sea level and would be flooded. He would need the long range and speed it provided to get to the diminished land areas remaining above sea level. He’d also have to find a base to house it, and of course a large fuel supply as well. He wondered about that. How much fuel will be available?  The flight checks were all completed and they settled down for an easy trip home.

‘Who do you know in Canberra Nick?’ he asked after the co-pilot had left to check the rest of the crew’s activities.

‘Only a couple of marine scientists and a professor at Canberra Uni. Doubt they can be of much help.  I’ve been away so long I’ve lost contact with most people. The only people I know are in Queensland, where Brian and Karen live.

‘Is Karen still nursing?’

Nick didn’t answer for a few beats. ‘Yeah. Brian’s always at her to quit but she won’t hear of it.  Thank God they moved up to the mountains a-couple-a years ago.’

‘That’s good. We’ll need all the medical people we can find. D’you think she’ll work with us?’

‘You bet. We can count on her.’

Nick reflected on his past when he first met Karen, the instant attraction he felt on meeting her had grown to an obsession he couldn’t shake, even during his affair with Laura. She showed no interest in him, almost to the point of ignoring him. When Brian announced their engagement Nick was shattered. He was a little nervous at the prospect of seeing her again, unsure that he could resist the fatal attraction he felt for her. Perhaps that was why he had been drawn to Laura. She had the same stubborn streak and good nature. They looked so much alike, both petite with the same golden olive skin and dark hair, they could have passed for sisters. Over the last fifteen years not only had he loved her, but he had become to admire and respect her deeply, she was one helluva lady. He wondered how she’d take the news.

‘Christ!’ Nick exclaimed. ‘Just had a thought. What about all the planes in flight when it happens?  It’s going to be so quick after the first warnings.’

‘If what you said is true all international flights will cease about 48 hours from now. The only planes flying will be taking people to higher ground. They’ll have enough time to take off but where they land is another thing. The airports inland only have a certain capacity for landing aircraft. Air-traffic control will be out of action. There’ll be planes ditching everywhere! I wouldn’t like to be flying one of them.’

Nick ran his fingers through his hair. ‘Strewth what a mess! It gets worse by the minute!  How long before we reach Canberra?’

‘We’ll be approaching Sydney airport in three hours. We’re ahead of time, but we’ll probably be in a holding pattern at Sydney. That airport’s always jammed. We’re due to land in Canberra at 1830.’

‘Why Sydney?’

‘It’s the my preferred point of entry. We have to go by way of Sydney or Melbourne.’

Nick sat back with a sigh, the jump seat was getting uncomfortable.

‘You can stretch you legs out in first class if you like,’ Graham offered.

Nick ignored him although the thought was tempting. ‘Were you able to get us an appointment with the Prime Minister?’

‘I spoke to one of my buddies this morning, he’s trying to arrange it, but because it’s the weekend he’s not sure if he’ll be available.’

‘Did you tell him it was urgent?’

‘I told him to tell the staff it was you coming in. The Prime Minister will know about you so I don’t see a problem.’

‘Good. I don’t want to be held up there. How soon can you get me to the Gold Coast?’

‘Don’t worry about that. I fly you myself if I have to.’

Nick had no intention of being put off by anybody, time was running out. He just hoped the Government would let him have some say in things. He decided to stretch out in first class after all, hoping to catch up on some sleep that he’d missed in Oahu while organising provisions for the Platypus. His lowered his aching joints into the soft contours of the reclining seat and with the help of a couple of stiff Johnny Walker’s eventually drifted off into a fitful sleep.

Chapter Nineteen

Graham’s prediction on Sydney proved correct, the air traffic was slightly less congested than usual yet they were still forced to circle right out over Bathurst, the other side of the Blue Mountains, 160 kilometres west of the city. Nick didn’t mind, it gave him a chance to enjoy the landscape unfolding. He always experienced a feeling of contentment when approaching Sydney from the air; its picturesque harbour decked by the old ‘Coat Hanger’ as the locals nicknamed the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Beside the bridge the soaring white sails of the Sydney Opera House gleamed against the blue water of the harbour winking their welcome.

The scene was surreal, the Opera House’s beauty marred by the ugly concrete wall enclosing it and the city into a basin, isolated from the harbour that beat at it in a never ending frenzy. The wall snaked all the way along the harbour front as far as the Gap, the entrance from the ocean, and as far as Parramatta twenty-three kilometres to the West. The other side of the harbour rose naturally above the harbour, so no wall were visible here. The bridge that had spanned this harbour for over one hundred years seemed to squat low above the surface of the water, waiting to be swallowed.  Beside the bridge Nick could see staircases leading up to Ferry terminals that had been constructed on top of the wall. He guessed that their destination to Manly and other areas north had changed location considerably. Manly beach had always been a popular place for day trippers from the city wishing to laze on it’s pristine white beaches and swim in the safe surf.

Their stopover lasted three hours and between phone calls to friends, Nick hurried around the duty free shops to pick up some gifts for Brian and Karen. Brian was an avid collector of fancy liquor bottles, so each time he came home he always brought some exotic container that delighted his fancy, and of course there was the obligatory bottle of Channel for Karen. After he had done so, he slapped his head and though
t
I must be going crazy
.
What am I doing buying bloody gifts
!
Time dragged and he checked his watch constantly. Graham was off doing his thing, so Nick tried to calm his nerves with coffee, which just gave him a dry taste in his mouth. He jumped to attention when they announced his flight for Canberra.

Leaving Sydney over Botany Bay presented more disheartening scenes, all he could see were ugly dykes wrapping around the airport and the beautiful beaches to the South had disappeared.

They approached the Capital, a short thirty minute hop from Sydney at exactly 1725. At this time in early June it was quite dark, nearing the shortest day of the year in Australia. As Graham lined up the 797 for the runway he could see the lights twinkling on the Black Mountain Tower rising 195 metres above the summit into the sky.

Located about 160 kilometres inland in New South Wales, and approximately 750 metres above sea level, this place would remain far away from the holocaust coming. Life would go on here uninterrupted, although the population was going to expand rapidly. There would be plenty of fuel together with all the resources this marvellous place had to offer. As they flew over the city their eyes peered at the thousands of pinpointed lights illuminating the perfectly planned, symmetrical circles that radiated out from the centre of Capitol Hill crossing Lake Burley Griffin. 

Nick preferred the coastal cities but he appreciated Canberra’s sophistication and flair. Still, he wouldn’t be hanging around here, just long enough to give them all the information needed. The Queensland Gold Coast was tugging at his heart and he couldn’t wait to be reunited with Brian and Karen.

They arrived without incident, the frantic landing routine again amazing Nick with its complexities. Graham had always said that landing an aircraft was the most dangerous part of flying. They collected Graham’s car and sped off to his home to face the horrible task of informing his mother of the chaos to come.

***

Saturday, June 3

After a great deal of persuasion Graham’s buddy had arranged for them to meet the Prime Minister at his home the next morning. The green wrought iron gates at The Lodge presented a formidable barrier to any uninvited visitors or intruders, protected as it was by a sombre guard dressed in a dark khaki army uniform who glared at them from beneath his Akubra slouch hat.  He stood at attention just inside the grill, rigidly holding a military standard issue laser rifle menacingly against his chest, the chin-strap of his hat firmly locked in place. Canberra had not escaped the crime in the coastal cities that had raged over the past fifteen years, and the World Government had failed to curtail terrorism, which had escalated and spread to Australia, so security had become a prime concern and their leaders were heavily guarded in their homes and abroad. Nick was thankfully reminded of his life onboard Platypus.