Indonesian Gold (86 page)

Campbell
's first impression
was that of a war zone. Torched earth and blackened stumps were all that remained of the once
magnificent longhouse – the scarred scene a fitting backdrop to the helicopter wreckage strewn
along the foreshore. By now, the soldiers' bodies had been removed, the heads secreted away by
the younger men, the torsos dumped unceremoniously into the fast flowing tributary. Campbell
recognized the military markings, noting that two choppers had gone down here. He returned
Angela's wave as the longboat came to rest.

‘Can you see Mardidi?' Baird asked anxiously.

‘No, but I'm sure he's there somewhere.' Campbell left the
Australian to bring the medical supplies, while he forded ashore and hurried to Angela's
side.

‘Thank you for coming, Stewart.'
She placed a cheek against his, avoiding his lips.
‘My father is over
there, in the grotto.'

Baird caught up, carrying the supplies.
‘Sorry about
your father, Angela. Hope this will help.'

‘Thank you Eric, we are all very grateful for your
help.'
She turned and led the way.
‘He's been slipping in and
out of consciousness. I don't know how long he's going to last.'

‘We'll do what we can,'
Campbell
's tone lacked confidence, not knowing what to
expect. He had never seen a gunshot wound other than in photographs, and prepared himself for the
worst. When they approached, Jonathan Dau lay quietly, his breathing shallow.

‘Has he coughed up any blood?
' Baird asked.

‘Belum,'
Angela
answered, ‘not yet', the word filled with ugly promise.

‘His pulse is weak.'
Baird's hands moved over the chief's body.
‘Are there any other
injuries?'

‘
No
.'

‘The bullet didn't exit?'
he asked, surprised.

‘There's no other wound,'
she explained.

Baird caught Campbell's attention, the exchange not lost
on Angela.

‘He's going to die, isn't he?'

Baird nodded.
‘Unless we can airlift him to a hospital
where they can operate, he's unlikely to last much longer,Angela. I'm sorry.
Stewart?'

‘
We could take him back to the mining camp and wait
for the first chopper. Can we move him?
'

‘
Better than leaving
him here to die.' Baird had commenced cleaning around the wound.

‘Angela, it's your decision.What do you want us to
do?
'
Angela fell into
uncertainty.
‘He won't go.
'
‘
Look at him,Angela, he doesn't have any choice!
'
‘Stew,' Baird interjected, ‘why not have the chief
picked up

directly from here? That way he wouldn't have to be moved
twice – lifted in an out of a bloody boat alone could kill the man.'

Campbell
supported the
suggestion. ‘It makes sense. Once we get him airborne, they'd have him on an operating table in
Samarinda within a couple of hours.' And then, to Angela,
‘It's your call.'

‘
What if the pilot refuses to come?
'
‘I'll see that he does.
'
‘
How long before you could get one
here?
'
‘There's a Bell
JetRanger coming in with a new crew in a couple of hours.
'

He then addressed Baird. ‘If you don't mind staying
behind, Eric, I'll go back to camp and then return with the chopper when it arrives.'

‘That's fine by me.'

‘Angela, when your father regains consciousness, tell
him what's happening.'
She looked down at her father then back at
Campbell.
‘Will you go to the hospital with him, please Stewart?'

‘
You're not going?
'

‘I have to stay here with my people,'
she placed her hand on his, her voice filled with sadness.
‘It's how it
must be.'

Baird understood the Baron reps' problem. ‘If you want, I
can take care of things at the camp while you're away?'

Campbell
knew he had no
choice.
‘Okay, I'll take your father to Samarinda. And as a precaution against the JetRanger
coming in early and leaving us behind, I'd better get back.'

Angela summoned Udir.
‘Pak Udir, please take Mister
Stewart back to the camp.'

‘Will I wait?'
Udir
asked.

‘
No.
'

‘
Then, if Jonathan is in good hands and you don't need
me right now, I should go upstream and buy supplies. Our people are hungry, ‘Gela. I will take
charge of the gold, as Jonathan requested.
'

Campbell
had not understood
the
Penehing
communication, but it was clear to him that the aluminum case in Udir's hands
had something to do with it. Angela's mind had been preoccupied with her father's demise, and
when the elder held the case up for all to see, she realized the error immediately.

‘
Pak Udir, take that away. It will make them
suspicious.
'

‘Isn't that Sharon Ducay's briefcase?'
Campbell
rose and walked over to the elder,
reaching out to take the metal case in both hands. Udir resisted and, in the struggle, the
briefcase fell to the ground, the Filipino airline sticker on the back of the case, apparent to
all. Campbell glanced questioningly at Angela, who turned away.
‘It is Sharon's! How in the
hell did it get here?'

‘Now's not the time, Stewart. Please, let it
be.'
Angela could do nothing, now that Udir had given the game
away.

‘Where did you find it?'
Campbell
bent down on one knee to check the contents,
whistling when he discovered the gold bars inside. ‘Well, I'll be damned!'

Baird glanced over. ‘What did you find?'

The American geologist held one of the gold bars for the
others to see, then returned it to the case. He glanced through the personal papers, which
included Sharon's passport and other credentials, his curiosity aroused even further when he
opened a long, thin, cardboard container and found an industrial syringe inside. ‘Now what in the
world would Sharon have needed this for?'

Baird looked at the American, and the syringe in his
hand. ‘Is that what I think it is?'

Campbell
held it out for him
to see. ‘Was she a diabetic or something?'

‘I have no idea. What does it matter anyway, she's
dead.'

‘What is it?'
Angela
had no idea what they were talking about.

‘
I'm not sure. Now, do you want to tell me where he got
the case?
'

‘
He found it – at the edge of the
river.
'

‘
Here?
'

‘Yes,'
she lied. It was
becoming less difficult.

‘How?'

Angela Dau gave Campbell her back as she returned to
tending her father.
‘The case was in one of the helicopters that came to attack
us.'

Now Campbell was truly confounded.
‘Was there a Captain
Subandi amongst them by any chance?'

‘Yes. He was the one who shot my father.'

When Campbell had challenged the pilot with respect to
Sharon Ducay's effects, he recalled the Captain denying any knowledge of the briefcase. Campbell
had not pursued the issue, as it seemed irrelevant at the time. The question that now came to
mind was,
how the case had suddenly reappeared, and why were there gold bars
inside?

Udir stood threateningly, his hand extended demanding the
gold be returned. The American extracted Sharon's passport and placed this in his back
pocket.

Baird glanced up from what he was doing, caught Angela's
expression and then continued applying the dressing. He placed a piece of gauze over the wound,
covered it with a pad of cotton wool and then applied adhesive strips to hold everything in
place. He understood enough about first aid to know that if the chief lost much more blood, he
would go into hemorrhagic shock. ‘Stew, why don't we leave that to later?'

Angela smiled at Baird in gratitude. As for Campbell, she
hoped that he could accept her explanation, as this would be as close as he would ever get to the
truth. A chant she had learned as a child passed her lips, the rhythmic sounds not lost on those
around – Baird silently applauding when the case containing gold bars and other damning evidence
was surrendered to Udir without any further comment.

Somewhere above, recuperating in the canopy, a hornbill
stirred.

****

Jonathan Dau floated through a semi-comatose state, his
mortal presence dependent on reaching the altered state of consciousness to survive. The
Penehing
shaman drew upon reserves of
tenaga-dalam,
the inner strength that
supported life during this altered state of mind, and was able to draw upon the collective
unconsciousness of those who had gathered at his side. He opened his eyes and called for Stewart
Campbell.

‘
I… want to speak… to this man… alone.
'

‘Yes, Papa.'
Angela
took Baird by the arm and stepped away, leaving the American with her father.

The chief timed his words, so that each breath would carry
them away.
‘Do… you really love… my daughter?'

Campbell
took Dau by the hand.
‘Yes.'

A crooked smile appeared on the shaman's face.
‘You…
could have her… as your partner… if only you knew… how.'

‘You should rest. We can talk when you've
recovered.'

Bloody spittle appeared on the
Penehing
chief's
lips.
‘Why can't… you understand?'
Jonathan lifted his head and blood dripped back into
his damaged lung.
‘It's… not Angela who is…blind… she wants you…to commit…to, …the…Penehing
people.'

Campbell
leaned closer.
‘Please, don't talk anymore.You must rest.'

‘I…am going…to die.You…must listen to me!'

Over Campbell's shoulder, Baird could see the spillage
from Jonathan Dau's mouth and, not quite out of earshot, Angela's fingernails dug deep into her
palms as she fought against tears.

‘No more, Pak Jonathan, please!'
Campbell pleaded.

‘
No…Stewart…you must listen. Angela truly…loves …you.
You must…be deserving…of her love…in her eyes. Help her
.'

‘
Pak, you must rest. I am going to take you to the
hospital in Samarinda.
'

‘No…Stewart Campbell…you cannot. Listen to me. I will
soon…die. ‘Gela will accept…you…if you give our people back…our land. Say it…now. Promise me…that
you will…do this for ‘Gela…and my people?'

Campbell
took Jonathan Dau's
hand and held it firmly, the warmth emanating from the
Penehing
leader creating an inner
glow he would never, in this lifetime, be competent to describe. Compelled, Campbell gave his
word.
‘You have my promise.'

Jonathan, satisfied, then collapsed into a
coma.

Angela closed her eyes and changed the tempo of her chant,
calling upon ancestral spirits to deliver her father from his peril, other villagers adding their
voices until the grotto was alive with a melodic hum, one designed to comfort and ward off
eternal sleep. Baird moved back from the chief's side, rose, and walked away, checking the
hundreds of faces for Mardidi as the prayer softened to a whisper.

A gentle breeze touched the grotto, and a soft rustle of
wind brushed the
meranti
tree's canopy high above, where a hornbill tested its damaged
wing. The bird's caw fell upon the gathering and there was a hush, Angela accepting the ominous
sign.
‘The ancestral spirits are here to comfort. My father is in their hands now.'
She
turned to Campbell and urged him to hurry.
‘We may not have much time.'

****

Longdamai Mining Camp

When the Bell JetRanger arrived carrying members of the
new drilling crew, Campbell immediately took the superintendent aside once he had introduced the
members of his team.

‘Look, I know this is big ask, but I need to have you do
the best you can without me for awhile.'