Crumbs led them down a dark passageway and out the back door. Jack felt his heart kick up a notch. His silent shadows wouldn’t realise he’d gone out the back until it was too late, so the safety of the tail was now gone.

He was on his own.

Jack rode in the back of a windowless van, sitting next to Blue, trying to work out what was happening. No one spoke and Jack wasn’t going to be the one who broke the silence.

About an hour later, Crumbs brought the van to a standstill and opened the back door to reveal a track somewhere off in the bush.

Jack followed the lead of the other men, pulling on the overalls and boots and making sure the hood was over his head.

‘Stick together,’ was all Crumbs said, pulling down his goggles.

The world turned green as Jack followed suit, and the four men started to walk sure-footedly through the bush.

Jack smelled it before he saw it, and his stomach dropped. A piggery.

They were going to hit a piggery.

Silently Crumbs slid open the door into a shed, and Jack could hear the quiet grunting of the sleeping pigs and buzz of the cooling fan.

Jack didn’t know much about pigs, but he did know they needed to be kept cool with the air circulating around them, otherwise they would overheat and die very quickly.

He would bet his last pay cheque that they were going to disable the cooling system.

Shit, shit, shit! He needed to get to Dave and warn him.

No phone and no tail.

No chance.

‘Any security cameras?’

‘Not that I can see.’

‘You know what to do.’

Tonka and Blue had melted away into the darkness.

Crumbs handed Jack a bag. When he looked inside he saw some cameras and mounting equipment. ‘Put these up around the place. Make sure you get the pens in the shot,’ he instructed. Then he started to walk around the pens, taking photos with an infra-red camera.

‘If you see any injured or hurt, let me know and I’ll take a photo. We’re gonna screw these bastards.’

‘Right.’

Jack worked quickly, making sure the cameras were placed at the end of a row and could capture vision straight down the line of pigs. He checked the first one to ensure it was recording, then started on the next one.

As he strapped the last camera to the rafter, the fans stopped and the shed fell silent.

He’d been right. He looked around, wondering how many pigs would be in the shed. He knew the latest eco sheds could hold five hundred animals or more. They were putting that many pigs in danger!

‘Let’s go,’ Crumbs said in his ear. Jack jumped; he hadn’t heard the man come up behind him. Crumbs gripped Jack’s arm forcefully and gave him a shove towards the entry.