It was so shocking and awful that Mia had to push the images away to concentrate on what needed to happen now.

‘These men, Millie . . . would you know them if you saw them again?’

She nodded promptly. ‘The one who cut me. Him short and very strong.’

Although she had anticipated it, Mia’s heart skipped a beat.

‘And the other?’

‘The pilot was tall with . . .’ Millie held up two circles over her eyes.

‘Sunglasses?’ Millie nodded, and then Mia pointed at her mouth. ‘White teeth?’

‘That’s him!’ Millie’s excitement abruptly drained away. ‘He’s a very bad man, too.’

Mia thought for a moment. Goki might be dead, but Hartono was a link to Sura – maybe a way to make her pay for this horror. Taking the old woman firmly by the hands, Mia looked into her eyes.

‘We’re going to Kinsame’s village. Then I will get you out of Papua. I will take you to my home in America, then you can tell the world what they did here and get justice for Doctor Paul.’

The old woman blinked several times.

‘But Dokta Mia. We must fix the hospital.’

Mia bit her lip and tried not to cry.

‘Millie, try to understand, it’s not safe here anymore. I can’t protect you.’

Paomente stiffened and cupped a hand to his ear.

‘Doktor Mia! Harim samting nogut.’

It was the dull throb of an approaching helicopter. Not the clattering beat of the Jet Ranger – something much bigger and ominous.

‘Indonesian soldia!’ His eyes went wide with terror.

For a moment Mia wondered whether she should stay. Whatever Sura’s designs, it was unlikely the whole Indonesian army was involved in a gold heist, otherwise why bother sneaking in via PNG? Perhaps these soldiers were looking for Sura, too?

Paomente was having none of it, and he almost wrenched her arm out of its socket.

‘Ronwe nau! Go, go, go!’

Together they half-carried a terrified Millie to the orchard, where the safety of the forest lay just beyond the lines of mango trees. Halfway down a row, Mia thought they were going to make it until she glanced over her shoulder. The gigantic olive-green helicopter, with glinting Perspex cylinders at the nose and two domes for eyes, was bearing down upon them like a predatory insect. The noise drummed their flesh as it thundered across the top of them, almost blowing them off their feet in a stinky waft of avgas. At the end of the orchard, it lazily swung around.

‘Go hia!’ Paomente headed right.

Mia caught a blinding flash of orange.

Brrraaapppt!

Three mango trees in the row beside them disintegrated in flashes of wood chip and white smoke. A rain of stinging sap burned their eyes and skin. Paomente reversed direction, but this time two more trees on the other side were blown to pieces. The Indonesians were toying with them!