Chapter 1

The shot rang out ruthlessly.

The whizzing noise of a bullet sliding by my right ear was unpleasant. The damn pole of the streetlight wasn’t as wide as my fat head.

‘How the fuck do I get into these situations?’ I thought as I scrunched down lower.

It was supposed to be a routine check. I’ve done it more than fifty times since I’d been put on this beat.

‘And where the fuck, did they get the pistols from?’ my thumping heart wanted to know.

I sucked in a breath slowly and tried to calm myself. Then I heard the thud of booted feet hitting the cement of the loading area. The pounding of the heavy footsteps got closer as the person moved to try to get a better bead on me.

I decided it was a he and not a she when another two shots hurtled in my general direction. Either his aim was atrocious, or he was just trying to keep me pinned.

One of the bullets pinged off my Polly (Police Linger), which was to my left, making me flinch. Another bullet hit a rock in the road to my right, but it was closer to my position.

I slithered my back down the pole to where it was wider. Knowing my luck, if he got close enough, his bullets would go through the bloody thin, metallic, tubular pole of the streetlight.

What was worse, was that I had no backup and now, no radio to call for help.

Barney, my so-called, traitorous, New South Wales supporting partner, had called in sick tonight, of all nights.

The fat prick was probably at home with his feet up on his coffee table, surrounded by empty beer cans, an ashtray full of butts, and him snoring off his latest binge. I knew that he had wanted the night off since it was the third and deciding game of the State of Origin (Rugby League Football).

Queensland and New South Wales were tied, and the first two games had been close, exciting and hard-fought contests. Beat Cops don’t usually get Origin nights off. Even so, it was unusual for Barney to skip overtime.

We were doing a ten-hour shift tonight, so I had started two hours earlier than usual due to the game. We normally worked the night shift from 10:00pm to 6:30am.

My Super thought I shouldn’t have any trouble because my regular beat was the new waterfront precinct. Everyone else was staked out at the bars and clubs in town. Fights regularly break out over who should have won, was it a legitimate try or if crappy decisions were made by the umpires and touch-judges.

Despite the high-tech surveillance and video replays, the umpires’ decisions still ruled the game. Even changing the Origin games to Monday nights didn’t deter the devout. The two States have been playing against each other for so damn long (since 1980); it had become a National Institution like the Melbourne Cup horse race.

We also had a full Lunar eclipse tonight that had started at around 8pm. The Astro-buffs had reckoned that it would have been better to see it in Brisbane. I thought that it was pretty neat even in Port Douglas (we’re north of Cairns), when I was able to stop and observe it.

I’d spent most of the night on one of the three beaches with some of the new locals. It surprised me how many people were on the beaches with their deck chairs, eskies and blankets.

On Main Beach, someone had the game playing in the background. The kids had wanted a bonfire, but the oldies groused at them that it would screw up their night vision. Plus, I was hanging around as I shifted beaches about every twenty minutes. They all knew that fires were prohibited on the town beaches, even during winter.

So, the younger element settled down, huddled in their blankets and watched the eclipse or the waves, as they listened to the game. They all knew that I’d turn a blind eye to the public consumption of alcohol as long as they didn’t try to drive home, weren’t blatant about it, and they kept the peace.

There were enough of the older generation and serious star watchers that I knew they would monitor the behaviour of the younger element.

By the time that the game and the better part of the eclipse were over, it was cold enough that the bulk of the locals cleaned up quickly and happily headed home to watch the replays. It doesn’t get below the low teens here in winter, but that is cold enough for us in the north.