Indonesian Gold (84 page)

And then it dawned on the pilot.
‘That was you in the
back of the chopper?'
Jonathan merely shrugged.

‘You killed Sharon?'
Images of Sharon falling and her bloody remains flashed through his mind, Subandi
slipping slowly to his knees sapped of all strength. He lifted his chin and glared at Jonathan
Dau, his heart filled with rage, adrenalin driving him to do what happened next. He called out to
his men in Javanese, encouraging their response, and in that moment of distraction he dropped his
left hand behind his knees locating the brass zip that held the trouser leg firmly in place. He
eased the ankle-zipper up slowly whilst calling again for the commandos to be brave, aware that
Jonathan Dau had given the order, deliberately in
Bahasa Indonesia
, for the remaining
prisoners to be executed. Amidst the cries of anguish and terror, several
Penehing
warriors stepped forward, each lining up their victims of choice. And at the precise moment their
fearsome blades cut through the air, Captain Subandi's right hand extracted the concealed .45
caliber AMT, pointed the weapon at Angela Dau, and fired with deadly aim.

The first of the five-chambered bullets narrowly missed
Angela's head, Jonathan Dau lunging through the air, taking the next bullet in the chest. The
pilot's finger squeezed the trigger again, but not before a warrior pounced, Subandi's brain then
registering that the handgun had ceased firing. Bewildered, he glanced down – his arm had been
severed and lay on the sand, fingers twitching, partly curled around the grip. He looked up, his
face struck with surprise and, in that moment, a blade sliced through the air sending Captain
Subandi to meet his
ajal –
the predestined time of death.

Angela, already at her father's side, examined the wound,
shouting instructions for others to heed as she struggled to remain calm.
‘Pak Udir, we must
get him to a hospital!'

‘No… ‘Gela… no…I must remain here.'
Jonathan's pain was intense. He tried to lift his head to inspect the wound,
but passed out with the pain.

‘How bad is it,‘Gela?'
Udir could only see the bullet's point of entry.

‘Real bad,'
she bit the
inside of her lower lip, in angst.
‘And we don't even have first aid.'

‘Should we take him to the mining camp?'

Angela's thoughts were running wild.
‘I can't tell what
damage has been done inside. I'm not sure what it is I should do!'
Then,
‘Even if we did
get him to the camp alive, the soldiers there would kill him!'

One of the village women placed a wound cloth under her
chief's head.

‘What if I go to the foreigner who came with you and ask
for his help?'

Angela had already been running this possibility through
her mind.
‘It will be just as dangerous for you to go there.'

Udir jumped to his feet assuming control, and called to a
number of men.
‘Go and get the longboat. Quickly!'

Jonathan moaned loudly, Angela looking on, fighting back
the tears. She took his hand in hers and squeezed to let him know she was there.
‘Papa…hold
on, Papa. We're sending for help.'

Udir had the villagers prepare a bamboo stretcher.
Attended by loving hands, Jonathan slipped in and out of consciousness and, by the time the
longboat had appeared, he had been carefully carried down to the grotto and placed in the shade.
Angela remained at his side, talking to her father as the villagers stood their distance reciting
their mournful chant, her feeling of helplessness growing with Jonathan's face and lips becoming
increasingly pale, his skin cold and clammy as death cast the first of its finite
spells.

‘I will leave, now,'
Udir let Angela know,
‘but you must keep an eye out for more soldiers. They will come
looking for their comrades.'

‘
Then we should warn all the villagers to gather here,
at the edge of the forest.
'

‘I will leave you in safe hands,‘Gela,'
Udir promised, issuing orders for the men to remain hidden in the crescent
shaped slopes across the river. He then jumped into the longboat and, together with four others,
sped away at full throttle to seek help.

Angela sent one of the village women in search of the
clothes she had worn earlier. No sooner had she changed when another army helicopter appeared,
hovering cautiously over the other wreckage, assessing the terrain and examining the scene below
before it slowly descended. Then, as the rescue team poured out of the second aircraft to
investigate, Udir's well-positioned warriors opened fire with the

7.62 mm, GPMG M-60 appropriated from the wrecked
chopper.

With nowhere to hide, the
Kopassus
rescue team was
cut to pieces, their number slaughtered within minutes. Realizing that they had walked into a
trap the pilot sent out an immediate distress call, reporting that they had come under attack,
and had sustained heavy casualties. Then the radio went dead.

****

Kopassus HQ – Cijantung

General Praboyo stormed from the communications center
cursing the incompetent pilots responsible for flying the reconnaissance and rescue
missions.

News of the disastrous mission had reached the
Kopassus
Commander during a luncheon organized by the United States Defense Attaché, in
Praboyo's honor. By the time he had reached HQ, his staff had received confirmation that the
entire reconnaissance team had been killed, and the last transmission from the rescue pilot
suggested a similar demise for the recovery team. The General immediately issued instructions for
the cessation of all covert activities in the Mahakam area, and a complete withdrawal of all
units. No further rescue attempts were to be made, the Commander arrogantly pointing out to his
staff that any
Kopassus
commando worth his salt, would make it back in due
course.

Praboyo then instructed his deputy commander to send a
signal to the Army Chief of Staff, advising that an airborne group of twenty-five
Kopassus
commandoes had been killed in a helicopter collision during demobilization ops in East
Kalimantan. Satisfied that he would be able to apportion blame for this unnecessary loss when
next in discussion with the President, Praboyo sauntered out to the motor pool and climbed into a
purpose-built Jeep, a gift from the British arms industry. Then, with the air of a man who didn't
have a care in the world, he drove himself to the suburb of Tebet, where the latest in a long
line of conquests would provide that afternoon's interlude.

****

Longdamai Mining Camp

Stewart Campbell completed the inventory check then handed
the results to Eric Baird for comparison. ‘Never thought I'd find myself out on site doing this
crap again.'

Baird agreed. ‘Yeah, but if the boss isn't seen doing
these checks, it becomes an open invitation for the bastards to steal.'

Campbell
heard the helicopter
activity somewhere in the distance. ‘Seems like their gearing up for something again.' He thought
of Angela and her father, wondering how they were faring without much more than whatever clothes
they had on their backs after their village had been attacked.

‘Heard anything more on the chopper?' Baird
asked.

‘Had the drilling superintendent on hookup this morning.
Says the replacement crew's already in Samarinda. Expects to have the first of his men ferried in
by JetRanger later today.'

‘Is the drill-boss coming in with the first
group?'

‘Yes, I asked him to, as he's carrying funds.'

‘The pilot's gonna be busy.'

‘Well, as he transports one group in, he can take as many
back with him on the return flight. No point keeping the others hanging around. We don't want
them filling the new crew's heads with all sorts of crap.'

‘Good,' Baird glanced across to the other side of the
camp. ‘Can't say I'd be sorry to see
that
lot outa here.'

‘I'll get them paid and on the chopper as soon as it
arrives.'

‘Hope there's enough to cover all the laborers. They're
getting restless.'

‘We'll fix them up at the same time.'

Baird was pleased that he had been included in the team.
‘When do you expect to recommence drilling then?'

‘We should have the bulk of our supplies within a few
days, providing the longboats can now travel the Mahakam without hindrance. That would mean we'd
be back drilling in, say, three to four days.'

‘Word is, over in the Madura shelter, that the army has
pulled out from the migrant camps.'

Campbell was reminded that the other geologist was even
more fluent in the local language than he. ‘I hadn't heard, but can't say it wasn't
unexpected.'

‘If the Dayaks hit those communities again, we can kiss
goodbye any hopes of maintaining a labor force here.'

‘I know, and that really concerns me. Indonesian politics
at the best of times is difficult to get a handle on, but it would seem that the fighting has
abated somewhat, at least for the time being.'

‘If you can believe the Madurese, the count was in the
thousands.'

‘It's possible.' Campbell didn't feel like getting into
that, and deftly changed the subject. ‘Say, Eric, did Sharon ever discuss anything but work with
you?'

Both men had agreed that mentioning the dead geologist
should not be taboo. Although Baird had spent a reasonable amount of time working with the woman,
their conversations never reached any personal plane. ‘No, but I'm sure Mardidi did. He got along
much better than me, with Sharon.' Before he could prevent the words from flowing, added, ‘and
Angela.'

Campbell cast the Australian an inquisitive look then let
him be. They strolled back to the center of the camp, avoiding contact with the surly expatriates
sitting bunched together, playing cards under a tree.

‘Hey, look! Baird's got another boyfriend already.' The
drillers' guffaws carried across the clearing.

Campbell was of two minds whether to confront the redneck
crew, or let the crack pass. He paused, mid-stride and muttered under his breath, then turned and
walked determinedly in their direction, leaving Baird behind.

The men were on their feet even before he arrived, their
mood sour, confrontational, and Campbell knew instantly that they were spoiling for a fight. He
strode up to the biggest man amongst them, Carl Patrick and drove his fist into the driller's
abdomen, then punched the heavy-set man twice in the face, breaking his nose. He turned to Calvin
Alderson and grabbed the man by the arm, twisting the driller's wrist before kneeing him savagely
in the groin, Campbell now driven by days of pent up frustration and anger. Two of the drillers'
mates joined the melee, Baird running as quickly as his legs would carry, screaming for them all
to stop. Campbell fell heavily to the ground, got up, struck out again, and suffered a string of
head-ringing blows, the fight continuing until the American started to weaken under the
onslaught. One of the drillers roared with laughter when Baird arrived, and was still laughing
heartily as the geologist picked up a length of quarter-inch rebar, and swung the steel length
with style.

The first to be struck was Alderson, the meter-length rod
of reinforced steel striking him across the back, and the overweight bully collapsed to the
ground. Baird struck again, this time he aimed low, the sound of metal against shin a sure sign
of breaking bone – the recipient driller screamed in agony.

‘Okay, enough, back off!' Baird lunged at the others with
the makeshift rapier, threatening with swordsman-like zeal, protecting Campbell as he pulled
himself back up of the ground. ‘Stew, are you okay?'

The American held his jaw, moving it from side to side to
check, then rubbed bruised ribs. ‘I'll be okay. And you?' he asked, as surprised as any that the
normally docile and somewhat effeminate Baird had come to his aid.

‘I'm fine.' Baird raised the rebar above his head. ‘As for
you ass-holes, you don't have much more time to go around here. I don't want any more of your
crap – I'm sick of it. Okay?'

Alderson was hunched, holding his leg in pain, while Carl
Patrick remained sitting on his backside holding a dirty T-shirt to his bloody nose. The others,
so caught by surprise when Baird had entered the fray, immediately became subdued. Campbell
dusted off, limping away to his cabin in search of the jar of Tiger Balm he always kept on hand
whilst Baird, enjoying his elevated position to manhood status, strutted across to the
canteen-mess, ordered coffee and laid the length of construction material on the bench for all to
see.

****

Udir had instructed his men to remain with the longboat
while he covered the remaining distance, on foot. He passed through the perimeter area with the
presence of a ghost, easily penetrating the army's slack security. Following Angela's
instructions regarding the camp's layout, he was moving boldly towards the expatriate quarters,
when the fight between the foreigners first broke out. The distraction worked in his favor, Udir
managing to slip into Campbell's cabin, unseen, where he waited anxiously, praying that the
American would find reason to return soon to his accommodations.