The Timor Man (88 page)

Anderson
had shown bits and pieces of United States intelligence and other exchanges which had taken place after her disappearance. It was convincing evidence, and he had believed the elaborate story woven around the tragedy.

He had no way of knowing that this fabrication was in every way false. All lies! Stephen wanted to know why she died and this man had given him an answer.

Anderson's claim, supported by a reasonable amount of documentation, stated simply that Louise was most probably going to be murdered along with him during their on site inspection of conditions in Irian. At the time the United Nations'sponsored resolution for the West Irian plebiscite, which the Indonesians referred to as the Act of Free Choice, was criticized by the international press as being partial and dominated by force through the Indonesian military.

He was told that evidence had come to light, in the years following the successful acquisition of the new province, which proved beyond doubt that there were three separate factions involved in the many acts of terrorism and slaughter which had taken place at that time. The Indonesians were already well ensconced in the area and had been since the Dutch left in the early fifties.

Then, he was informed, there was the OPM, a raggedy and disorganized group which represented most of the freedom fighters. They offered little resistance and were poorly equipped. Often they operated from across the border, carrying out relatively minor raids in their amateurish way before retreating back in to the relative safety of New Guinea, relative being the key word as often the Indonesians followed them well into the neighbouring country in search of the rebels.

Coleman had listened as the Intelligence Director had continued. He claimed that the Australian Intelligence Services believed that another group had been deliberately manipulating the primitive mountain tribes into direct confrontation with Indonesian troops. It appeared that their earlier attempts to thwart the plebiscite had been poorly organized, resulting in only token resistance from the primitive mountain tribes.

However, as the Indonesian's interest turned towards East Timor, their subversive activities recommenced in the Irian area. They were not sure at the time and, in fact, not even until recent information became available were they certain that the person behind these efforts was Seda. His aim had always been to secure the autonomy for
Tim-Tim
. Prior to the Portuguese withdrawal his plans were embryonic, to say the least. The
coup
in Lisbon had been a windfall providing, for the first time, an opportunity for the General to formulate a strategy which could be successful. Anderson said there was little doubt that, had the Portuguese remained in the colony then, eventually, the world would have seen violence directed at them and most probably supported by the Indonesians. Either way, Seda would have, at one time or another, been given the opportunity to commence his plans for a free state.

Once the separatist movement got well under way, he needed to distract the Jakarta General's attention away from Timor. By forcing the Indonesian military to concentrate their efforts more in Irian than towards the confused former Portuguese colony, it provided the fledgling political party of FRETILIN the opportunity to build support before the Indonesians turned their full attention to acquiring their land as well.

His original plans for his homeland hadn't changed all that dramatically once he realized that with the Portuguese withdrawal the Indonesians merely took their place as the new masters. He had needed world opinion to turn against the Indonesians and what they were doing in Irian. It was almost like a trial run, Anderson had said, “And what better way than to attract the wrath of the international press?” he had asked. “Why, of course, have one or two of their journalists killed violently and lay the blame at the feet of others.”

“This was just one of his early day strategies to build international concern for the future,” Anderson had said. “We now believe that he was going to have her executed before your eyes, although we don't have enough information to tell us how the final plan was to be implemented.

“What is important, Stephen, is that she was to be killed and you were to witness the event. Ask yourself, what would you have done, full of rage and hate wanting to lash out at those who had harmed her? In terms of international press coverage alone, had you been a real journalist at the time, wouldn't you have pulled every string available to ensure that your woman's death didn't go unpunished? And if you personally witnessed men dressed as Indonesian soldiers actually take her life would you not be a major source of embarrassment to the Indonesian presence in Irian and their aggressive takeover of that country? Think, Stephen, think!” he was urged.

“Then how can we now blame Seda for her death?” he'd asked, confused and angry with these revelations. “And why then did he go to such extreme efforts later to assist build the armaments supply organization?”

“One thing at a time, Stephen, one thing at a time.” Anderson talked slowly as he recalled the rehearsed lines prepared for such questions.

“Seda was definitely responsible although we can not prove this, beyond all doubt, as the aircraft has never been found. We believe that you had both been followed by one of the General's henchmen I believe you know reasonably well, one Umar Suharjo. When he recognized there was a problem between the two of you he acted quickly to prevent Louise from leaving. Obviously it was not difficult for a man of his skills to obtain the information he required such as to how she was to leave Bali. We gather that he somehow had one of the ground mechanics play with the aircraft's electronics hoping that it would be grounded, providing you with the opportunity to convince her to go with you. All of the staff at the hotel were abuzz with your predicament. You told me so yourself, if you can still recall our discussions during your convalescence.”

“Do you mean he tampered with the aircraft and that's why it crashed?” he asked incredulously.

“Sorry, Stephen but yes, we do.”

“And she would have probably died even had she not taken that flight. Is that what your suggesting?”

“Yes,” the older man had replied softly.

“Shit!” he had yelled, “I don't believe it!”

They had sat in silence for almost half an hour, he remembered, as the realization of what had happened slowly sank in driving all other thoughts from his mind.

He was filled with rage. All those years of not knowing and now, only when they needed him, was he to know. Coleman hated them all. Even Anderson!

Stephen remembered that his life had lost all direction when she died. He hadn't cared about his own injuries at the time once they had finally disclosed the loss to him in hospital. He was receiving treatment and still recovering from the bullet wound he'd received during the disastrous tour. She had been missing for weeks before anyone had informed him of the tragedy. Prior to that, Stephen had thought that Louise either didn't know of his injury, which he found difficult to accept, or she had elected not to have any further contact with him at all. She had disappeared even before he had been shot.

‘And all the time it had been Seda's doing,' he thought, his head filled with hate for the General who had insisted that they take the journey together.

‘The scheming, conniving bastard!' he had muttered over and over to himself as the venom built quickly, his mind tortured with the face of the man who had sat together with him so many times throughout the years, knowing what he had done, perhaps even smiling silently at his partner's ignorance. It was then that he had agreed to kill the man responsible for Louise's death.

And that man was Ambassador Nathan Seda.

 

During the weeks he had been detained, the situation between the two countries had deteriorated dramatically. Student demonstrations in both had erupted into violence, and Australians were being discouraged from travelling to Indonesia, even to the almost apolitical tourist destinations such as Bali.

Pressure increased on the Intelligence Service which sensed that Seda was moving closer to the first phase of his plans, as communication activity increased dramatically between the Embassy and unidentified posts in the far east of the Indonesian islands. Anderson was perplexed by the lack of recent intelligence to assist identify the former General's intentions but, of one thing he was certain, what ever these plans were, the department's head knew without doubt that the outcome could only be to the detriment of the peoples of both countries.

Coleman now appreciated why Anderson had coerced him into accepting the assignment. He was familiar with the diplomat's voice and understood the language. He would never disclose the Executive Action as he had too much to lose himself. And he had a reason for wanting to complete the assignment.

And then, of course, there was the alternative, but Stephen did not relish the thought of spending his remaining days incarcerated under the Laws of the Land, if that was the course the powerful and devious Intelligence Chief elected to take.

John Anderson had given his undertaking that, subject to the elimination of the target, Coleman would then be free to come and go as he pleased, enjoying the remaining fruits of the years he had spent working together with the Timorese living under the alias that they had agreed upon. This did not bother him at all. He had no surviving family and doubted if the necessity to live a lie would really bother him any more. Suddenly he was looking forward to completing the assignment and returning to the islands.

Their final meeting had lasted throughout the day. Anderson then offered Coleman the opportunity to leave the detention centre.

Stephen would have accepted had the Director not also shown him evidence that the new Ambassador had positioned his own Security Chief there in Canberra. He even enjoyed a room in the Embassy's residence, he'd read in the report. Stephen shuddered. He knew his life would be in danger once his presence became known to this man.

He studied the photograph taken of the Javanese as he had exited the international airport some months before, carrying an Indonesian diplomatic passport which stated that he was accredited to their Embassy as a First Secretary liaison officer.

Coleman recognized the man as a much older, but obviously still active, Umar Suharjo. Although he was already committed, it was then Stephen was convinced that he really did not have any other choice. He would participate in the execution of the General.

Retired national hero, entrepreneur, diplomat and would-be Timorese President, General Nathan Seda, would die on the seventeenth of August, the Indonesian Republic's national Independence Day.

 
There had been very little left to prepare. Anderson had seen to most of the arrangements.

They had agreed that the man had to be isolated in such a manner as to avoid wounding or killing innocent bystanders, or at least they were to attempt to keep the number down to an acceptable level. Coleman had smiled when he heard this. Only Anderson would have the audacity to convince himself as to what was, and what was not, to be considered acceptable, when it came to counting the cost in real terms.

Other people's lives.

Anderson
had easily arranged to have the Ambassador's private office compromised by depositing a substantial amount of dollars in the Indonesian Air Attaché's hands one evening. The man had been taking funds from just about every Military Attaché in Canberra. Coleman knew what would happen to the
Kolonel
once he was discovered. And discovered he would be, he knew, as they were all caught in the end, pushed by greed or the insatiable appetite for power until finally making that one mistake which would destroy their lives forever.

It was now possible to eavesdrop, as the simple but powerful listening device broadcast the Ambassador's conversations back to one of the discreet locations controlled by the Service. It had been used as a safe house in the early years during the Vietnam war but not by the Australians. This was one of the Soviet addresses which had been monitored by ASIO, the Australian Security Intelligence Organization. Once the building had been compromised, the address had been purchased. Control was then assumed by the Service as an occasional address for some of their agents' contacts in the numerous Embassies located around Canberra. They knew that the Eastern Bloc agents would avoid the premises.

The assassination called for a bomb blast contained in the Ambassador's immediate office. As his security was too tight to penetrate, and considering the current tension between the two countries, Anderson had planned the execution so that it would appear to be the work of some of the members of the retired General's own ethnic group, now living in substantial numbers as refugees in Australia. The newspapers would report the bombing as the work of the remnants of the FRETILIN who believed that the important statesman being of their extraction should have done more to help his own people.

Coleman had smiled at the irony of the plan. Now that he had come to terms with what he must do, he was even prepared to take a gun and shoot the man himself, if that became necessary. He became impatient to have it all done and finished. He could identify the signs in his mood and knew that he must control his anger. He thought about the briefcase again.