After the meeting Jack walked off down the now dark street. Out of the corner of his eye he could see the van Dave was in, but he kept his head down and walked on. He had a few kilometres to walk before he got back to the dingy unit that had been rented for him. He’d ring Dave when he got there.

His phone buzzed. How’d it go?

I’m in.

Fishing the key out of his pocket, he let himself into the unit and flicked on the light, before pulling a beer from the fridge and dialling Dave’s number.

‘All okay,’ he said. ‘You should’ve seen their faces when I let rip. I’ve got the pens to give to you.’

‘I’ve left two new ones in the rubbish bin at the back. Put yours there and we’ll grab them tomorrow. What’s the plan?’

‘Going to hit an abattoir south of Adelaide on Tuesday.’

‘Right. Anything else?’

‘They made me promise to be non-violent.’

‘You’ll have to work out how you’re going to act if you want to gather info and draw out the extremists, which I think you need to do. Bit of a change in plans, I know, but if they’re there, let’s find them and stop them before they start.’

‘I agree.’ Jack paused. ‘There was an old guy there, I haven’t seen his face before. Not sure where he fitted in, but there’s something about him. He didn’t seem to be a leader or anything like that, but he had an air of authority. He was the one who came and found me when I stormed out. There’s more to him than meets the eye. He implied that not everyone in the group is passive. If there’s anyone who could get violent, I reckon it’s him. Although I’ve got nothing concrete to base that on.’

‘Get him on camera? Or a name?’

‘I reckon I would’ve got him on the camera—I tried to angle it that way. His name is Crumbs but he told me not to put my real details on the membership form in case the cops came looking, so I’m guessing that’s not his real name.’ ‘We should be able to work out who he is when we see the footage. Someone will know. Just keep your wits about you, okay?’

‘I’d like to know who I’m dealing with there.’

‘No worries. Leave it with me.’

Jack hung up the phone and drained his beer, suddenly feeling very tired. He’d had a massive adrenalin rush while he’d been at the meeting and now he was drained.

He’d had his tea, even if it didn’t involve steak or chops, so maybe it was time for bed.

CHAPTER 26

Chapter 26