Chapter 18
The wooden posts that constituted the heavy walls of the boma shuddered under the impact of over a ton of bull rhino as the huge beast battered wildly against the ten-foot high barrier, sending a shower of dust and particles raining down on Nasir as the big Afghan talked as quietly and calmly as he could to the animal. But the beast seemed deaf to his entreaties as he thundered around the pen, tail and head high with distress, blowing and snorting noisily in alarm.
Nasir turned to see Pieter bring the jeep to a halt outside the fence that surrounded the boma and the South African hit the ground at a crouching jog, trying to keep upwind of the rhino so as not to confuse him with yet more strange scents. Brodie lifted his walking stick and levered himself out of the jeep, then he turned to Katy, sitting wide-eyed in the back seat.
"Now, you stay here, d'you understand? There's a fence and the moat between you and the pen, so you're safe enough, but you have to stay put, Katy. No arguments, okay?"
Katy looked up at him, seeing the concern in the blue eyes. She glanced past him as the rhino battered the wooden stockade once more, a grunt of anger coming from the big bull, and Brodie felt her small frame tremble in his grasp as he held her gently by the shoulders.
"He's real angry, huh?" Katy said nervously, suddenly wishing she had agreed to stay with big Joe Petrowski back at the chow wagon.
"Yeah, Katy ... real angry. So stay here with Moron 'cause I can't be dealing with this and worryin' about you at the same time, y'hear? Stay put!"
Seeing Katy's shy nod of agreement, Brodie hefted his stick and turned back to the boma, heading through the heavily-barred fence gate that led to the boma and the entrance to the huge rhino enclosure. Zelle Smith was already there carrying the gas-gun they used to dart the larger animals in the enclosures. He was also surprised to see Irwin Trubshaw standing beside the huge crate. Why the hell was the accountant down here, Brodie wondered.
"Hey, Irwin. Maybe it might be a good idea if you moved out? It ain't exactly safe around here." Brodie was surprised to see that Trubshaw had loosened his tie and had removed the tweed jacket, shirt sleeves rolled up in the morning heat.
"I was passing by, Mr Brodie. Thought perhaps I might be of some assistance." Trubshaw winced as the rhino baroomed into the boma wall behind him, the heavy poles creaking ominously and showering the accountant with dirt. "He does seem a little ... unhappy, shall we say?"
Brodie grinned. Trubshaw certainly had a knack for understatement.
"Yeah, I'd say so!" He turned to Zelle Smith. "Are we gonna dart him or what? I need info here, Zelle." He saw her hesitate. "C'mon, c'mon ... we ain't got all day. I need a decision."
Zelle Smith squinted at Brodie in the bright sunlight, unhappiness on her finely chiselled features.
"I'm not happy about it, Brodie. It's too warm already, the animal's in a highly agitated state, and the strain of the sedative on his system might just be too much." She flinched as Asad began to batter the boma wall six feet away, and her voice raised as she tried to shout over the noise of the repeated blows against the wood barrier. "He doesn't seem to like the high enclosed space ... the wall's holding for now, but I don't know how long it will take this kind of punishment. And I'm worried about the rhino - he's already broken off a piece of his front horn and his muzzle's bleeding, and if he carries on like this he's either going to cause himself a serious injury or keel over from the stress. We have to do something, and do it quick!"
Pieter joined them, his dark eyes grim.
"He's getting worse. The attack on the wall is becoming more frenzied, and the bloody thing's going ape-shit! I don't understand what the hell's wrong with him! He's been in an enclosed crate for days, wouldn't bloody well come out, and when he does he finally decides he doesn't like enclosed spaces and tries to knock the crap out of my boma! The fucking animal's crazy!"
Brodie scowled at the boma walls, now beginning to shift slightly under the onslaught. He turned and looked out over the hills stretched out before him and thought for a moment. He cocked an eyebrow at Zelle.
"We don't wait for him to knock the boma to shit. We let him out."
"Out where, for Christ's sake??" Pieter was momentarily confused.
"Into the main enclosure, that's where," Brodie said. "Why not? It's finished and secure, and he'll have plenty of trees and shelter to chill out and get his bearings. He obviously doesn't feel secure where he is, so let's just bite the goddamn bullet and let him loose!"
Nasir joined them just in time to hear Brodie's last sentence. He nodded desperately.
"I think, yes," he added. "Asad is feeling very unhappy … very threatened. I thought he would feel safe in the small enclosure, but he is angry. He cannot see where he is … he cannot get his - how do you say - bearings? Yes, bearings … he is frightened and he will hurt himself if he continues like this, and that I cannot allow."
Pieter nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, the stupid poephol will kill himself if we leave him to carry on - either that, or he'll break loose and trample everything in his way. Whatever we do, if we leave him the shit will hit the fan in one huge dollop, I can tell you. We can always dose him with antibiotics in his food if he needs 'em. Come on Zelle, don't screw around - let's do it!"
Zelle Smith looked at the faces of the men around her, all of them tight with concern. She sighed noisily.
"Okay, okay. Let's go - and be careful! He's pretty pissed off …"
As Zelle handed the gas gun to Logan, Brodie, Pieter and Nasir headed towards the heavy log-poles that constituted the barrier between the small boma and the huge, 300 acre enclosure put aside for the exclusive use of the black rhino. The logs had been set into hefty steel cradles horizontally, so they could be removed one or two at a time so the rhino could gradually become acclimatized to the world beyond the boma. So starting from the top, one at a time, the men began to grapple the heavy logs from the cradles, sliding them awkwardly sideways and laying them on the ground. Lopez and Trubshaw joined them as it became obvious the logs were extremely heavy indeed, and Brodie grinned as Trubshaw bent his back to the task surprisingly willingly.
The first three logs slid easily out of the cradles, the big rhino snorting with alarm at the noise of the wood scraping on the huge steel bands as it slid out of its grasp. But Asad, like all rhinos, did not have the best of eyesight and relied heavily on his phenomenal sense of smell. Zelle stood on the crude raised platform beside the boma and watched the rhino anxiously, worried in case he began to batter himself against the walls once more. But she was even more concerned about Asad attacking the remaining logs that still blocked his exit to the big enclosure, and she knew she had no way of preventing him doing so short of sedating him. So she just watched, her whole body tense with worry as yet another log slid out of its cradle.
Brodie's leg sent sheets of agony into his hip and back as he wrapped strong arms around the next of the logs, grunting with pain as the five men began to slide the eight-foot length sideways. He could feel sweat run down his spine, and he knew it wasn't from the physical effort. It was pain. Raw, wrenching pain. Irwin Trubshaw frowned even as he grimaced with the effort of moving the log.
"Mister … Mister Brodie … are you all right?"
Brodie gritted his teeth and nodded. His leg was giving him hell, but he was damned if he was going to admit to it. He nodded, muscles clenching along the side of his jaw.
"Yeah. Fine," was all he was able to say.
Pieter van Guelder, working in front of Brodie heard the strain in his voice and turned far enough around to get a look at his boss.
"Chief, let it go! We'll manage - "
His words were cut off as a scream of warning came from Zelle Smith. Asad finally took umbrage at the removal of the logs, and terrified, he charged.
The log, swinging free of one of the restraining rings of steel was now resting on the remaining cradle, and when Asad hit it with all of his one-ton-plus weight it swung like a pivot. All five men clinging to the log were smashed sideways into the wall of the boma. Brodie thought his back was broken as Asad began to worry at the log like a terrier with a rat, only in this case it was five rats and they didn't have a hope in hell of being able to get away as the log effectively prevented them from escaping. Only their combined weight was keeping the log from flailing around wildly, but each blow Asad delivered to length of wood rattled them like peas in a pod.
But just as quickly as it had begun the battering ceased. The five men managed to pull the remainder of the now-battered log from the cradle and let it drop on the ground and Brodie collapsed into a sitting position, exhausted, but looked up to see what had stopped the rhino from attacking the log.
Zelle Smith was screaming and yelling abuse from the platform, but all they could see of her was a round, firm backside and her legs. She was hanging over the top of the boma, her jacket in her hand, waving and flapping the garment trying to attract Asad's attention. It had obviously worked as the animal was huffing and dancing around in front of Zelle, furious at the fluttering material just out of reach above his head.
Brodie checked his team. Lopez was holding his ribs and trying hard not to moan, and Nasir had a small cut on his cheekbone, but otherwise everyone looked a little battered but all right. Brodie himself was sure his back was bruised as hell, but he couldn't worry about that now.
"You fellers think you're fit to shift the last three logs? And I ain't countin' you, Lopez. Go see Monaghan. Looks like you got a couple of busted ribs."
Lopez looked at the big man and grinned painfully, nodding and wincing as he levered himself to his feet. Van Guelder rose and put out a big hand to help Brodie to stand. With Nasir and Trubshaw, they removed the final logs easily and with no further interference from the enraged Asad. When they had finished Brodie yelled to Zelle to get down from the damn' platform and get her ass away from the boma. They would now leave Asad to find the gap and escape into the wide open space of the enclosure. Logan handed down the gas gun, dropped to the ground from the top of the crate, and they all stood and watched through the heavy link fence as Asad discovered the gap in the boma wall.
It took him ten minutes to pluck up the courage to take the first two steps to freedom. Brodie suddenly realised he had never actually seen Asad, only heard him or sensed his presence as the big animal lingered in the crate. But now Asad was out of the crate and taking his first tentative move towards his new home. Brodie first saw his muzzle, the broken horn looking jagged in the sunlight. Asad stood still for a moment, his prehensile upper lip quivering as he scented the unknown, tasting the air. Brodie could see the raw patches where he had battered himself against the boma, but he was confident Zelle could treat those without actually sedating the huge beast.
Finally, Asad took the plunge. He came through the gap in a nervous rush, skittering out into the enclosure and turning instantly to check the gap, making sure some predatory beast was not following him. Satisfied, he raised his head and tail in alarm, still frightened to the point of attack. He trotted a few steps, ears wildly swinging, checking for predators, and he blew and snorted a warning. He then noticed an innocent half-grown sapling nearby and vented his anger on it, dancing around the small tree and battering the crap out of it, Brodie was relieved to note. When the tree had been sufficiently subdued, Asad stood stock still for long moments, trying to figure out what was going on. He was free of those terrifying walls at last, that was sure. He trotted for a hundred yards or so, and met no resistance. Then he tried a different direction. Still no walls. He was confused, but relieved. He dropped his head to scent the ground, and discovered grass. Long, tough grass, but grass nevertheless. He curled a long tongue
around a bunch and pulled it into his mouth, munching slowly. Blinking for a moment in delight, he flicked his tail several times, urinated to mark his territory, then settled down to graze.
There was a collective sigh of relief from the watching humans as big grins spread on tense faces, and Brodie watched the rhino with chagrin. Goddamn animal! Still, Asad had calmed down, and that was the main thing. The two rhino cows were arriving tomorrow and they were much more sedate and easily handled, so they would be quarantined in the boma for two weeks then slowly introduced into the enclosure with Asad. Whether he would accept them Brodie had no idea - Asad had spent his life in virtual solitary confinement and had never been integrated into a family group before, so Zelle Smith would earn her pay trying to work that one out.
He shifted slightly to ease the pain in his leg and winced. His back was beginning to sting, and he guessed he had scrapes and cuts from his shoulders to his waist from the repeated slamming against the boma wall, but he knew the injuries were slight. He checked out his team.
Apart from Lopez' bust ribs, the rest of the team had got off lightly, he decided. The cut in Nasir's cheek had already stopped bleeding and the big Afghan was grinning like a loon as he watched his beloved Asad graze quietly on the rough grass. Like Brodie he had grazes on his back from contact with the boma wall, as did the other two men, and Brodie was concerned to see that Trubshaw's sleeve was bloody.
"Hey, Irwin - go see Monaghan, will ya? You're bleeding."
Trubshaw looked confused for a moment then glanced down at his arm.
"Oh yes ... so I see. Still, Mr Brodie, it's nothing serious. I've had worse."
Brodie was surprised to see Irwin Trubshaw's stoic face break into a rueful smile, softening the austere features, and there was a light of something Brodie hadn't ever thought he would see in the Englishman's eyes. Fun, he thought. Ol' Anal Retentive Irwin enjoyed the hell out of that!
"Just go see Monaghan will you, an' get it cleaned up. Infection can be a problem out here - oh, and make sure your anti-tet is up to date, man. I can't have you sick, Irwin ... we need that razor mind of yours."
Irwin Trubshaw studied the big ex-soldier carefully, as though seeing him for the first time. He noted the concern in Brodie's voice, and was surprised to feel a glimmer of gratitude spark through his mind. Then it hit him. Despite Brodie's rough and ready exterior, he was an intelligent, thoughtful man and Trubshaw was shocked to discover he liked Frank Brodie. The man was impossibly stubborn, rude, often downright insulting, and his crippled leg often made him difficult to deal with ... but Irwin Trubshaw had to admit Brodie was good at what he did, and supported the people he worked with to the hilt. And to Irwin Trubshaw, that was all that mattered. He allowed himself a fleeting grin that made Brodie grin back, then the tall accountant turned to head back to his jeep. It was then he noticed something.
"Um ... Mr Brodie. Where's the talkative Miss Katherine? I thought she was in your jeep."
Brodie turned, the sudden movement jarring his hip. Moron was still sitting in the jeep, but Katy was nowhere to be seen.
"Shit!!!!" He lifted his walking stick from its resting-place against the fence, and headed off at a hopping trot out of the perimeter fence gate and towards his jeep. Moron stood up on the seat, tail wagging, tongue hanging sloppily, panting. "Katy!!! Katy, where the hell are you?? What the fuck do you think you're doing, you putz??" Brodie glared at Moron. "You were supposed to be keeping an eye - "
His tirade stopped as suddenly as it started as he heard soft weeping coming from behind the jeep, and he slowed to a walk, leaning heavily on his stick. God, his leg hurt. Working his way to the rear of the jeep, he found Katy curled up, sitting with her arms around her knees and with her back resting against the rear wheel. Tears streamed down her face.
"Jesus, Katy gal, you frightened the crap out of me! Are you okay?" He couldn't keep the worry from his voice as Katy looked up at him, brown eyes awash and face puffy with crying.
"I thought ... I thought ..." Katy hiccuped in distress, unable to continue.
Brodie frowned. What the hell was going on?? He bent down and tucked a wisp of hair behind her ear.
"You thought what, short-stop?"
"I thought ... you were gonna ... y'know ..."
Brodie was mystified. He shook his head in frustration and touched Katy's arm
"C'mon gal, up you get. I can't sit down there with you, Katy ... my leg's hurtin' somethin' fierce, so you have to get in the jeep so's I can talk to you. Then you can tell me what the hell's goin' on." He smiled at her and held out his free hand. "C'mon now ..."
Sniffing loudly, Katy caught hold of Frank's hand and stood, wiping her runny nose on the back of her sleeve. Then she scrambled into the jeep beside Moron, the big dog investigating her tear-streaked face with concern. Katy wrapped her arms around the dog for a moment, gathering her nerves and trying to calm down, Moron huffing quietly to himself in pleasure. The stupid sonofabitch sure did love Katy, Brodie realised.
"So, are you gonna tell me why you got out of the jeep when I told you not to? And why the hell you're so upset?" Brodie said, the sharpness of the words softened by the concern in his smooth baritone voice.
Katy lifted her head from where it was buried in Moron's golden-brown ruff.
"You ... I ..." She took a deep breath to compose herself and the words finally came out in a tumble. "I thought you were g ... gonna die just like Mom and Aunt Tara would be ever so upset and I don't want you to die 'cause you're kinda nice and you've got Moron an' I like it here and ... and ..." She hiccuped again as tears threatened once more. "It's just ... I don't want to have to go away again." A single tear dribbled down her cheek. Brodie winced.
Aw hell! Why does she have to do that? She looks like one of those goddamn kids on the TV in Bosnia!
"For God's sake, gal, stop cryin' will ya?" He reached forward and chucked her under the chin with a dirty finger. "Do I look dead, huh? Do I look as though I'm gonna make you go away? Jeez, Katy! Just stop!!! I promise I ain't gonna die ... well, not any time soon, anyhow. So put a sock in it, short stop - you know I can't stand women cryin'."
Katy gave him the tiniest smile he'd ever seen and unwrapped her arms from Moron's neck. Wiping her still-running nose once more on her sleeve she flung her arms around Brodie's neck and hung on, her damp cheeks nestled against his shoulder.
Brodie just stood there, unsure as to what to do. Oh, what the hell ... and he held her close, feeling her slight body pressed against his chest. She abandoned herself to Brodie's grasp, letting herself relax in this big lion of a man's arms, safe at last, she decided. But as she hung on she felt him flinch, and lifting her head she felt him shift uncomfortably. There was a wet slickness under her left hand as it lay against his shoulder-blade. Lifting her hand she was appalled to discover that it was smeared with blood.
"Oh! Oh no! You're all blood!" She stammered, panic setting in once more.
Brodie looked down into terrified brown eyes and grinned.
"Hey now, stop worryin' - it's just a couple of grazes, and Tara will clean 'em up in no time, and I'll be right as rain."
Katy scowled.
"That was a baaaad rhino. Real naughty. My Daddy would've just shot him."
Brodie was shocked. He didn't know Katy knew about her father's violent nature - he had hoped Sonny Esposito had had no hand in raising his daughter, but obviously he had been misinformed. But he kept his thoughts to himself on the matter, and would discuss it with Tara later.
"Well ... he's just scared is all. Asad has had a hard life these past few years, and he's come here so he can be safe. He's just never been in a place like this before, and he can't help it if the only way he can deal with it is to fight back. It's just the way he is. Rhinos ain't known for their good temper."
Katy let her frown relax, but she wasn't completely convinced. She sniffed disdainfully.
"He's still a naughty rhino. He'd just better cool it, that's all, or else you'll paddle his butt, huh?"
Brodie snorted in amusement. The idea of paddling a rhino's butt tickled him.
"Okay short stop, enough about paddling rhinos' butts. Buckle up, and then we'll go see Tara and get my poor ol' back patched up. If you're real good I might let you hand Tara the sticking plaster."
Katy's eyes widened.
"Oh, cool!! Will there be lots of blood? Will it hurt? I bet it does! Real bad, too! One of the boys at my old school broked his arm an' there was loads and loads of blood, and the bone was stickin' out!" Katy shivered in delicious horror. "He screamed and hollered and said it hurt really, really bad, and he was such a baby! Are you gonna holler? He said some bad words he learned from his Daddy, an' the nurse said he shouldn't say 'em but he did it anyway. I bet you know hundreds of bad words!!!"
Brodie shook his head in amazement at Katy's powers of recovery - one minute she was weeping and wailing, the next minute jumping up and down in excitement at the thought of helping her Aunt Tara clean up Brodie's minor cuts and scrapes.
"You, young lady, are a very strange little girl, you know that?" he said, frowning. He helped her buckle her safety belt then clambered into the driver's seat. Pieter and the rest were heading off to the medical centre where Dervla Monaghan would see to their injuries, so he put the jeep into gear and drove off along the track to the accommodation units where Tara Matthews still slumbered, unaware as yet of the morning's momentous events.
****************
"OW!!"
"So stop wriggling! Honestly Frank, you'd think you're damn skin was falling off the way you complain! It's only a few cuts and bruises!"
Brodie was sitting on one of the kitchen stools, stripped to the waist as Tara meticulously cleaned up blood and dirt from the myriad small injuries in his back. Katy stood beside her, handing her gauze pads and watching with intense interest as her aunt worked on the grazes on Brodie's shoulders.
"They look sore. Are they sore? I bet they're sore ..." she prattled, enthralled.
Brodie hissed as the antiseptic stung a cut.
"Shi ... er ... yeah, they're damn sore." He stopped himself just in time. "But they'll heal up fine. Your Aunt Tara's a great nurse."
Katy handed Tara another pad.
"Did she make you all better when you hurt your leg? Is that when you got all those scars on you?" She studied the scars on Brodie's chest and shoulder from the baboon bites, and Brodie hesitated for a moment before answering, not sure as to how much to tell her.
"Yeah ... yeah, she did. She took care of me and made all the pain go away. She's real good at that." He felt Tara's hand caress his skin for a second and he smiled. "She used to get real mad at me sometimes though, when she thought I was bein' a pain in the butt. And I really was a big pain in the butt!" He grinned.
"Still is," Tara muttered, putting butterfly plasters over a long cut over his ribs.
Katy giggled as Brodie winked at her slyly. Tara finished tidying up Brodie's wounds and patted his shoulder.
"All right, oh Brave and Fearless One, you can put your shirt back on - and try and keep those wounds clean or there'll be hell to pay."
Tara put away the first aid kit while Brodie shrugged into a clean teeshirt, groaning as stiffness began to settle in his battered torso. Katy realised that the entertainment was finished, so she decided to play outside with Moron, the huge dog growling to himself with pleasure as he hauled his tatty length of knotted rope out of the door. Tara returned to Brodie's side with a mug of coffee for him.
"Pain meds." She held out her hand, dropping two pills into Brodie's outstretched palm. "Take 'em. You're going to be as sore as hell if you don't."
Brodie swallowed the tablets and swilled his mouth out with a sip of coffee. He sat thoughtfully for a moment.
"How long was Esposito involved with Laura?" he asked.
Tara looked at him, surprised.
""Oh, a couple of years, but Laura took off when she found out she was pregnant. Sonny didn't seem to care one way or the other really, although I know he made enquiries about Katy when she was born. As far as I know he's never seen her. Why?"
Brodie grimaced.
"Oh, just something Katy said. Something about how her Daddy would've shot that goddamn rhino for bein' such a pain in the ass. She didn't seem frightened by the idea ... in fact she was pretty cool about it. Kinda strange for a seven-year-old don't you think? Almost as though she's been told it's okay to shoot someone. D'you think Laura would've told Katy about Esposito's temper?"
Tara shrugged, surprised.
"Laura wouldn't do a thing like that, surely! All she ever wanted to do was stay a couple of steps ahead of Sonny and his goons and raise Katy by herself - I don't think she would've spent a lot of time bad-mouthing Sonny, it wasn't her way. But he never seemed to bother too much about either of them until he found out Laura was thinking of going to the Feds. Then all hell broke loose."
Brodie frowned. Something didn't quite add up he figured, but he wasn't about to haul Katy back inside and ask her. She had enough to cope with for now, and tomorrow she would be starting her schoolwork. Cunningham had sent the computer he promised, and an on-line tutor had been arranged for Katy so she wouldn't lose any more schooling until more permanent arrangements could be made.
He stood up stiffly, his leg protesting. Right now he would go and check on the other injured members of his team. Then he was going to telephone Charles Cunningham and tell him in no uncertain terms that if he ever tried to send them animals while they weren't ready he, Frank Brodie, would personally make sure Cunningham ate his caviar through his ass.
But tomorrow morning, he thought, he was going to make some enquiries and call in a few favours. Tomorrow morning he was going to find out all he could on one Sonny Esposito and the relationship he had had with a dead woman called Laura Matthews ... and if he could, he would find out exactly where Sonny Esposito was.