Rogue Element

Niven shuddered, and not just because of the physical contact with Sharpe. Lying went against his grain even if, in this particular instance, there was a reasonable argument that doing so served the national interest. And then there was the problem of making that lie stick. Would it be possible to pass off the plane crash as some kind of bizarre accident? Alternatively, what if there was no attempt to hide the truth? Could there be advantages in that? Indonesia had to face up to the reality of its fractious military establishment once and for all. The world condemnation that would follow when the full story was known might force all kinds of changes on Jakarta. Perhaps the fate of QF-1 might be just the right catalyst. Niven wrestled with the competing voices in his head, and a small part of him was thankful that the decision about which way to jump had been taken out of his hands.

Niven glanced around the room quickly sizing up the men he’d followed the crisis through with over the past three days. Griffin and Greenway were nodding as Blight and Sharpe spoke to them, drumming up support no doubt. Griffin caught the nervousness on Niven’s face and came over. He said, ‘The PM just told us… I know you, and I can see this sticking in your throat. Spikey, for what it’s worth, Lurch and I think the PM’s right. Can’t see any other way.’

‘There’s always another way, Griff,’ said Niven obstinately.

‘Okay, forget about Australia and Indonesia and the geopolitical issues at stake. Try and look at it from the two survivors’ point of view. They’re going to want to return to some semblance of a normal life. Find some way to make that possible for them, because if all this ends up in the media, I guarantee they’ll be dead within the year — think what juicy targets they’d make for extremists.’

‘Yep, okay… that hadn’t occurred to me, Griff,’ said Niven. ‘And the PM’s reasons are valid too, I suppose. Frankly, I’m just not happy about doing another Sakhalin Island here. And y’know, no matter what we do to prevent it, it’ll all come out sooner or later.’

‘Too many loose ends?’

‘Uh-huh.’

‘Well, let’s hope when it does we’re all retired,’ Griffin said, forcing a smile. He knew Niven was right. And when it all boiled down, the reason for the cover-up was simply to protect people’s lives. ‘Come on, Spike, let me get you a drink. Lord knows we deserve one.’

‘Thanks, Griff, but I’ll take a rain check if you don’t mind. I’ve got a bit of planning to do and once I start drinking I don’t think I’ll want to stop.’

‘Know what you mean. Care to bounce anything off me?’

‘Actually, yes.’ Niven’s mind was already racing with a plan half formed. An invasion was imminent unless something could be done about Suluang and the rest. Leaking the satellite photo of the crash to the Indonesian parliament just before releasing it to the Australian media had been a clever ploy. Blight’s idea. The impression was that the photo had come from a source within the TNI — more factional infighting? And then there was allowing Batuta to join the team at the videoconference, where General Masri gave up his story. Another Blight masterstroke. A risk, of course, because in reality the PM couldn’t have known for sure exactly what Batuta did or didn’t know. Blight had gambled that the diplomat was completely in the dark, and won. No doubt about it, the man was an excellent strategist. Now they knew exactly where the Indonesian government stood, and a counter-move could be made with some confidence. Perhaps the PM was also right about these next uncomfortable steps.

A videoconference would need to be set up as soon as possible between Batuta, Blight, and the President of Indonesia and his foreign minister. It would then be up to Batuta to convince his President to side with Canberra against the common enemy. At least Canberra had something to work with now, facts they didn’t have even a few hours ago, some certainty. The Indonesian politician, Achmad Reza, the man Griffin had chosen to reveal the satellite photos of QF-1 to the Indonesian parliament, was a further asset they could harness.