Chapter 24

For the Ghosts, the next week was spent in some serious planning.

It was decided they needed to blow the bridges on the east coast first. Then they would come back and try to carry out the rescue mission in Aileu and then blow the bridge there.

Blair had maps and aerial shots taken before the war. They had also pencilled in the Japanese bases that were present on the island. This at least gave them a good idea of what the lay of the land was.

Blair with Gazza and two of his other men, along with Jacky and David, went for a drive to Same late one evening. Blair had argued for his own men because they were known by some of the locals.

They found a forested area less than half a mile from the main part of town where the men suggested they hide the vehicle. Leaving the two men to guard the lorry, the other four walked into town in their Japanese uniforms.

They looked like a sorry patrol that was footsore and just happy to be back in a town. They even had authentic rifles that the Spiders had previously confiscated from other raids.

David and Jacky had to be a bit more careful since they couldn’t use their glamours to hide their faces and had to rely on the hats and dirt.

They headed to the restaurant using back streets and gardens. Being late in the evening there weren’t a lot of people about. However, they did have to be careful of patrols and officials driving about.

Blair knocked on the back door of the restaurant. He was surprised when Hui-wen opened the door herself. He had been expecting to see her daughter, Amivi.

Hui-wen looked as if she was scared. She quickly looked around and then hurried them through the big kitchen to a small private dining room. She closed the door and put her back to it.

It was hard to guess the age of the small, well-dressed woman of this region. Her hair was done up in a bun on her head with a very pretty ornament in it. She had previously told Gazza that she had a great-grandchild, but she didn’t appear old enough.

“Silly, Aussies,” she whispered in broken English. “We have new commander and atus ida, umm, hun-dre-d, men. It to danger, you be here.”

“When did they arrive?” Gazza asked in fluent Tetum, the local language.

“Four days. All upset. Rumour is, Aussies coming,” she grinned, showing them that she still had good teeth, and her eyes were twinkling. The men smiled.

Blair said, “Soon, we hope. In the meantime, we thought we could create a little more havoc.”

“Good, terrible guests. He and men no pay, and complain, complain. They harass my family,” Hui-wen said indignantly.

Her staff was mostly family, and she had three daughters. She and her family prided themselves on their service and cooking abilities. They were also worried by the way the new Commander pawed the girls.

“If we blow the bridges at Cassa and Beco, will that make him go away?” Gazza asked her in his and her native language.

Hui-wen’s eyes went wide. She put her small hand over her mouth and giggled a little, “He run home to Dili. He’s aman, umm..., father, big General there.”

“Well, we don’t really want him hanging around here. We might need to follow him to Aileu at least,” Blair said to others with a grin.

“Good, you go now, see next week if safe,” Hui-wen said.

She turned and peeped out of the crack in the doorway. Once she deemed it safe, she shooed them back through to the kitchen. The workers all nodded their heads and grinned at the men, while Hui-wen checked the back was clear.

She grabbed the basket that one of her people had filled and thrust it at Jacky before she ushered them through the doorway. She checked again and ducked back into the restaurant.

The team soon headed for a safe place to hole up that wasn’t far from the restaurant.

“You men head back to the lorry and give David and me an hour to find Corporal Wang. If we aren’t back in that time, go back without us,” Jacky said, giving the basket to Gazza.

“No,” Blair said.

Jacky looked at him and grinned, “I was wondering when you were going to defy me.”

“Just who the hell are you?” Blair declared.

Jacky motioned for him to bend down a little since he was six-foot-tall, “I am a mage, a magician, a wielder of magic or any other name you’d like to use. So are you.”

Blair jerked back and stared at Jacky in the poor light they stood in. David and Gazza were watching the area around them and had their backs to the talking couple, so they didn’t see the shock on Blair’s face.

“If you don’t believe me, put this on,” Jacky said as he held out a bracelet like the one that he wore.

Blair looked at the bracelet and found himself reaching out for it. Jacky slid the bracelet over his wrist. Blair shuddered as it clamped around his wrist, glowed, and then disappeared.

“Do you understand now?” Jacky asked as she noted the look of fear and then wonder in Blair’s eyes.

Blair gulped and rubbed his wrist. He could feel the magical item, but he could no longer see it. He could feel the entity in his head, trying to soothe his panic. He looked at Jacky and noticed the bright glow around him for the first time.