Lake Rage

Ron McCarthy

Description

A fruit barrow blocks traffic and Len’s niece Liana suffers shock in an assassination attempt on Minister Gareth Adams. Friends take her home to Khancoban where Len joins them. Phil, Liana’s boyfriend, and his mother Jane, stay to help Liana recover. Len meets the uncle of a recently migrated young girl who invites him to visit the Murray-2 Power Station there. On the drive back to Morisset Len escapes a murderous attempt by three hooded attackers.
Len’s an elite coach brought by Adams to coach their newly promoted football team. Raised in Termez where 100,000 Soviet troops were stationed during their war with Afghanistan, Len defends himself with street-smart skills.
Detective Inspector Beryl Stone phones Len asking him for local knowledge, particularly the elderly, as the weapon was a 0.303 service rifle. Joe, a retired miner and supporter of the team, helps.
Beau, a tree lopper who’s moved from country Queensland, is asked to use his drone to help Len’s coaching. Len is attacked a second time, leaving to pick up Beau to see the assassination site. Len is mystified by these attacks.

Sujets

• Ron McCarthy
• Fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris AU
• Date de parution: 17 juillet 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669830627
• Langue: English

Extrait

LAKE RAGE
 
The search for an assassin has consequences
 
 
 
 
 
Ron McCarthy
 
Copyright © 2022 by Ron McCarthy.
 
ISBN:
Softcover
978-1-6698-3063-4

eBook
978-1-6698-3062-7
 
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
 
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
 
 
 
Rev. date: 07/14/2022
 
 
 
 
Xlibris
AU TFN: 1 800 844 927 (Toll Free inside Australia)
AU Local: [phone] ([phone] from outside Australia)
www.Xlibris.com.au
821605
CONTENTS
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty
Thirty-One
Thirty-Two
Thirty-Three
Thirty-Four
Thirty-Five
Thirty-Six
Thirty-Seven
Thirty-Eight
Thirty-Nine
Forty
Forty-One
Forty-Two
Forty-Three
Forty-Four
ONE
An attractive teenager dressed in jeans and denim jacket is standing next to her cleverly graffitied sports bag in the departure lounge of Canberra International Airport. It’s late Friday afternoon. Outside, shadows stretch, and chill creeps into the air. She fiddles with the buttons of her jacket as her gaze moves through people streaming into the lounge for their four o’clock departures to Sydney or Melbourne. It’s congested and it’s noisy as acquaintances separate and new ones are greeted. She smiles when she recognises the gentleman emerging through the throng.
‘Hi Liana.’ he says, squeezing her elbow.
‘I like the handywork you’ve done with this.’ he says, lifting her bag and studying the poodle portrait.
‘Thanks Mr Adams. Some of my school friends do artwork too. It’s a bit of a contest between us.’
He turns to wend his way through the crowd carrying Liana’s bag and swinging his leather notebook bag over his other shoulder. ‘Follow me. I’ve got us booked first class. It’s a short flight to Sydney and I’ve got to finish up some work on the way. I’ve bought you this magazine called “Wild’ to read while I work. If I get this done, I can call into my Sydney office to arrange some meetings, then my chauffer can drive us straight on up to Morisset.’
Gareth Adams MP is a minister in the NSW State Government. He is also Patron of the Canberra A-league Football team, a code he enjoys watching, as a son plays for the newly promoted Morisset United Football Club located in his lakeside hometown. He’s been instrumental in enticing Liana’s uncle, an elite coach, and former World Cup player, to come to coach this newly promoted club. Len and Adams became casual friends when Len played for the Canberra team before taking to full-time coaching. For some home games, Adams would invite Len’s sister and niece to join him in the team’s VIP box to watch Len play. He would join the team in the changeroom at the end of the match. Their friendship is casual, and Adams has invited Liana to travel with him to Morisset to holiday with friends and her uncle now she’s finished school.
At Kingsford Smith Airport they are shepherded through the terminal with the other first-class travellers. Adams waves to his chauffer standing near the exit door to the VIP carpark. The driver was easy to spot in his Brixton Fiddler Chauffer hat and smart driving jacket.
‘My God, I’m glad to see you Ron,’ Adams says, handing him the two bags. ‘This is Liana, come to visit her uncle for a lake holiday. I’ve offered her a lift to Morisset.’
As soon as Adams makes it out the terminal door he sneezes. Not quick enough to shelter his face into the crook of his elbow, but quick enough to turn away from Liana. ‘That fresh air, Ron, it hits my hay fever allergy straight away.’
Liana’s stepping with a flounce in her stride now they’ve arrived safely. She eyes the limousine they are heading toward. Its luxury is far removed from what she is accustomed to travelling in. Adams takes the rear nearside seat, Ron hands him the shoulder bag, and then hurries around to the driver’s side to open that rear door for Liana.
‘Those bastards in Canberra are like vultures, fighting over a carcass and scavenging for more.’ says Adams, as Ron slides into his driver’s seat.
‘What was the issue this time sir?’
‘Some idiot didn’t do his homework on land values, and now they’re all squealing like stuck pigs. The problem is, the Government paid thirty million dollars, some ten times the value, for a block of land near the proposed airport at Badgerys Creek.’
‘I’ll get you to your city office as quick as I can, sir, but I’ve just heard there’s heavy traffic. Back roads are congested too, there must be a problem somewhere.’
‘When we get to the office, wait in the car with Liana. I’ll be quick, then we can head home.’
The Southern Cross Drive is a four-lane highway, normally the fastest route from the airport to the city. But as they begin to drive past The Australian Golf Course on their right-hand side, the traffic slows. The south bound lanes are almost empty. The north bound lane slows to shuffle speed. There is no traffic south bound at all, and they see one of their two lanes is being separated for south bound traffic relief.
Adams flinches forward and sneezes again. That instant there’s a deafening thunderclap and the rear window explodes next to his head blasting shards of glass in all directions and filling the air with a thick fog of fine glass particles. The thud of a missile striking the pillar behind the chauffer’s head sends him face down onto the steering wheel. Adams collapses across the rear seat into the foetal position, restricted only by the seat belt and Liana. He’s shaking violently. Liana spins away from the blast and stoops forward holding her head down with both hands.
The chauffer’s training snaps in. He hits the accelerator, swings left up onto the nature strip, and speeds along the pedestrian footpath close to the two-meter-high wire boundary fencing to bypass all the blocked traffic. Two hundred meters further along he’s stopped by police, giving him sight of what caused the traffic snarl. A horse drawn barrow loaded with fruit and vegetables for mid-day shoppers in the city has lost one of its spoked wheels and toppled, spreading its contents across both oncoming lanes. The chauffer’s been relaying the attack to his headquarters on his hands-free wireless. He lowers the window to talk to the Senior Constable.
‘The Minister’s been cut by flying glass.’ says the chauffer. ‘Could you spare a motor-cycle officer to escort us back?’
The Senior Constable looks through to the Minister and sees his pallor and blood splatted face and clothes. He then peers at Liana who is still brushing glass dust from her face and auburn hair. She lowers her hands and nods to him. Her lips have a bluish tinge, she’s pale, and her heart is racing.
‘Tell them at the terminal I’ll tape the area off.’ He waves over to one of two motorcycle officers and issues quick instructions.
On their return trip, the lanes are empty. Liana has helped raise the shaking Adams back into his seat and dusted him off. Her hands are unsteady and her eyes misty from irritation. She fumbles as she blots his trembling face cuts and blood stains.
By the time they reach the terminal Minister Adams has recovered from his fit of the shakes.
He tries to leave the car, but stumbles, and must be helped. The chauffer leaves the car parked at the entry and both he and Liana take an arm each and assist the minister through to the first-aid station. A doctor is waiting. Two detectives are standing by. They have worried looks and can’t stand still. An incident such as this will quickly escalate to top brass. They’ve spoken to the senior constable at the shooting site to make sure it’s made secure.
The doctor attends first to Minister Adams who is very pale and confused, and he asks the detectives to delay questions to him. Liana releases her ponytail to brush out more glass powder. Her denim skirt and matching jacket have escaped blood stains from the minister’s cuts but are spotted white with glass dust. She has lost all colour from her cheeks as she is checked for cuts and glass fragments.
The doctor finds she has a rapid pulse and dilated eyes, indicating shock, and asks a nurse to place her in a recliner in the staff room and offer her a choice of drinks. He returns to continue monitoring Minister Adams.
Minister Adams is finally patched up and has recovered enough to answer questions from the detectives. The family has been contacted and they want him home safely as soon as possible. He requests helicopter transport to the Trinity Point Marina on Lake Macquarie. His family home is located on the Morisset Peninsula close to the helipad, and a police helicopter stationed at t