Indonesian Gold (73 page)

****

Chapter Twenty-six

Longhouse Village Island 0500 Hours

 

When Angela regained consciousness she knew, immediately,
where she was being held. Lying on her side she whispered ever so quietly, repeating words her
father had articulated what now seemed so long ago, the rhythmic hum of her mantra carrying her
into a trancelike state, and through the door of the spirit world. Unburdened by weightlessness
Angela floated, and in her mind she parted with her physical being and, summoning her inner
strength the novice priestess called upon the divine bird spirit to carry her away from the evil
abode, unaware that her captors remained under the obdurate glare of the hornbill
above.

****

When Jonathan arrived at the cliff's edge where waterfall
spray threw a fine mist into the air, one of the young
Penehing
men who had volunteered
for the mission pointed excitedly downstream in the direction of the grotto.

‘Soldiers,'
he
whispered, with a confirming nod in the dark.

‘How many?'
his chief
demanded.

‘
We'll know, soon. I've sent one of the men down to
investigate.
'

‘We could always go around the island?'
Udir suggested.

‘There may be more camped over there as
well.'
Jonathan clenched the other elder's arm.
‘We can't
spare the time to reconnoiter. We'll have to take them out.'

‘Where's the boat?'
Udir asked.

‘The other two have it out of sight. We had to bring it
here under oar. Come, I'll take you.'

They followed the trail down the slope, disappearing
behind the waterfall when they entered the natural cave, emerging on the lower side soaked with
spray. The longboat was moored not meters from where the suspension bridge had once spanned the
river, Jonathan and his group boarding quickly, then silently paddling across to where their
Longhouse had stood proudly amongst the palms.

‘There's Anton,'
someone called in hushed voice.
‘Anton, Anton, over here!'

The young,
Penehing
scout spotted the others,
running half-crouched to rejoin his group.
‘There are only two of them.'
He paused,
regaining his breath,
‘and they have ‘Gela.'

‘What! Are you sure?'
this, from the shaman, gripping the youngster's shoulder firmly.

‘
Yes. It's definitely ‘Gela. And, I saw Yuh-Yuh
screaming around taking a fit!
'

‘
Is ‘Gela hurt?
'

‘
She seems to be tied. Couldn't see too much
more.
'

‘
And the soldiers?
'

‘
Armed. They look like they're waiting for
others.
'

‘Why would they bring ‘Gela back here?'
Udir asked.

‘
They mean to kill her, that's for
sure.
'

‘Then, what are they waiting for?'
Udir glanced at the chief.

‘Perhaps they've kidnapped her for ransom?'
Jonathan, searching for answers, tried to fathom why his daughter had been
brought back to her village grounds, reasoning that if they intended killing her, she would
already be dead.

‘What ransom could she possibly draw?'
Udir, always pragmatic, asked.

Jonathan shook his head.
‘If not for ransom, then for
an exchange – they want me, and ‘Gela could be the bait.'

‘
You think it's a trap?
'

‘
Would need more than two soldiers, if that were
so.
'

‘
There could be others, hidden out of
sight?
'

‘
Then we should determine that first. Udir, we'll split
into two teams. We'll each take two men and sweep the forested area, to the rear. If there's
nothing there, we'll regroup in the cover to the east of the grotto.
'

Shadows in the night, the six
Penehing
men were
swallowed by darkness as they merged with their surrounds, disappearing into the forested area
that separated the river from fields. When it became apparent that the soldiers were acting
alone, the
Penehing
moved to within meters of their enemy, having already discussed their
next move. As they observed the scene, Angela's pet, Yuh-Yuh suddenly appeared and, with a
terrifying cry, scrambled through the grotto to Angela's side where she remained, until a soldier
came at her with a knife, and she fled.

Jonathan Dau had insisted that they take the men prisoners
as he intended interrogating them to determine what lay behind his daughter's kidnapping. From
his vantage point, he could clearly see Angela, her hands tied, his anger resolved to pride when
she struggled to her feet, defiantly, and spat into the closest soldier's face.

‘You filthy, Dayak bitch!'

Jonathan waved for the others to wait for his
signal.

‘Let's get those clothes off you now!'
the other solider laughed loudly. He sprang to his feet, and opened the
plastic bag containing Sharon's things.
‘The Captain said nothing about not having a little
fun. Get her undressed and we'll see what makes these people so special.'

The first soldier knocked Angela to the ground, placed a
boot on her chest, and started unbuckling his trousers, the other man chuckling with glee as he
followed suit. With one trouser leg free and the other still wrapped around an obstinate gaiter,
the man was unable to defend himself when Jonathan attacked, the
Penehing
subduing both
men without effort. The chief's fingers worked quickly to release his daughter's hands, the
others busily dealing with the soldiers. He lifted Angela to her feet and guided her towards the
campfire, her face reflecting her obvious relief. Gently, touching her swollen jaw with calloused
fingers he asked,
‘How badly are you hurt?'

Angela pulled away with the touch, before answering
through the side of her mouth with great difficulty.
‘Bruised. Sore. Angry. How did you know I
was here?'

‘
We didn't. We were on our way to the mining camp to
bring you home.
'

‘Are these yours?'
Udir
passed the plastic bag he'd retrieved to Angela.

Disheveled, Angela straightened her clothes, before
examining the contents, confused by what she found.
‘What would they want these for?'
Then, when her fingers discovered the jewelry, she exclaimed,
‘these are Sharon Ducay's. They
probably stole them.'

Udir was not convinced.
‘Why would soldiers steal a
woman's clothes?'

‘For their wives, perhaps girlfriends,'
Angela pocketed the rings and ankle-bracelet, discarding the clothing when
Sharon's image came to mind.
‘Let's find out.'
Stepping over to where the soldiers were
detained, both now on their knees, Angela deliberately reverted to the national language so that
the prisoners would understand.
‘Pak Udir, give me your sword. Let me be the one to remove
their heads!'

Roles reversed and resigned to his fate, the older and
more experienced of the pair raised his head proudly and, with as much bravado as he could
muster, growled through clenched teeth.
‘You are the scum of Indonesia. One day, there'll be
none of you filthy headhunters left. I won't be here to see it, but my children and their
children will.'

Alongside, his comrade in arms had started shaking,
rocking backwards and forwards, reciting a prayer from the Koran. Jonathan Dau knew immediately
which of the men would divulge the answers to his questions. He knelt in front of the weaker man.
‘Tell me what I want to know, and I'll send you home to your family.'

‘Don't tell them anything!'
the more senior man yelled,
‘you're going to die, either way.'

‘I will keep my word,'
the chief repeated.
‘Tell me why you brought this woman here.'

‘It… was the Captain's idea,'
the man choked on the words, his eyes opening wide when Udir leaned over and placed a
shortened sword on the ground.

‘Shut up, you gutless fool!'
his friend tried,
‘they're going to kill you no matter what you say!'
There was a
blow, and the offender fell forward, dead.

Jonathan placed his hand on the remaining soldier's
shoulder to steady him, the gesture having the reverse effect as fear gripped the man's stomach,
twisting intestines beyond his control and he soiled himself, his moan then turning to
tears.

‘I'll give you one more chance. Why did the Captain
want her here?'
Jonathan made great show of lifting the deadly
blade, holding this for the prisoner to see.

‘I don't want to die!'
the younger man cried, between chest-racking sobs,
‘Please… in the name of Allah The
Merciful, oh my God… don't kill me…I beg of you…please don't kill me!'

‘
Who is this Captain who gave you your
orders?
'

‘The pilot…'
the man
answered, against a faint glint of hope he'd be spared.

‘Which pilot?'
Jonathan
accentuated the annoyance in his voice.

The body of his comrade loosened his tongue.
‘The
Kopassus pilot

– the one seconded to fly personnel at the mining
camp.' ‘What were your orders?'
Jonathan played with the blade.
‘We were to bring her here,'
he raised his head indicating Angela,

‘and wait for the Captain to arrive.'

‘
What then?
'

‘We were…'
his eyes
averted his captors' and he stared at the

ground.
‘We were to take her up in the helicopter… and
make it look like an accident.'

Behind, there was an audible gasp as these words fell upon
Angela.

‘But why?'
Jonathan
asked, intrigue drawing them closer.

‘
When they found her body… they'd think it was the
other woman.
'

‘Which other woman?'
Udir interrupted, confused with the explanation.

Jonathan shot a warning glance.
‘I'll ask you again.
Which other woman?'

With tongue filling his mouth, the captive struggled to
respond. Finally, between broken sobs, he said,
‘The…Captain's… girlfriend.'

‘He's lying! None of this makes any sense,'
Angela accused.

‘Those clothes…'
the
prisoner hesitated, again, eyes rising to meet Angela's.
‘The Captain wanted you to look like
the Filipino woman.'

Jonathan's face clouded, Angela stung by the
implication.

‘Can you tell us why?'
they both started, simultaneously.

‘The Filipino… promised us gold,'
he whimpered.

‘How much?'
Angela's
curiosity took charge. She wanted to know how much she was worth to Sharon, dead.

‘
A kilo, each
.'

‘
And the pilot, how much was he to be
paid?
'

‘I don't know,'
he
replied, truthfully, panic striking when Jonathan raised the blade threateningly.
‘No, I
swear, I don't know!'

‘
If you were to kill this woman and make it seem like
the Filipino was the one who died, what was planned for her?
'

‘
The Captain is going to bring her
here.
'

‘When?'
Jonathan was
trying to find the missing pieces to the puzzle. He still could not understand why the other
woman had arranged for the identity swap.

‘Soon,'
the soldier
revealed.
‘Our orders were to have everything ready by 0630.'

‘
And after you had killed this woman, what
then?
'

‘
The Captain would return here, pick up the Filipino,
drop us off and fly to Samarinda. We were to return to the mining camp, as if nothing had
happened.
'

‘Papa, this still doesn't make any sense!'
Angela complained.
‘How would they benefit by my death, and also Sharon
Ducay's?'

‘Perhaps we're looking at this from the wrong
perspective,'
the shaman suggested.
‘It isn't you who would be
reported as dead, but the Filipino. What we have to look at, is how she would benefit by being
dead.'