‘Dave,’ Steve answered. ‘How are things in Barker?’

‘Busy, as always. The latest is reports of a drone flying over people’s farms.’

‘Drones! That does sound intriguing. You blokes always seem to get all sorts of things happening up there. Us here in the city, we get the drunks, druggies and murderers.’

‘They could end up being interesting too. Now, tell me, what do you want Jack for?’

‘I’ve got a little undercover job for him.’

Dave sat up. He knew what it was like to go undercover and there never anything ‘little’ about it. ‘Like what?’

‘We’ve got some inside information that a group called Voices for Animals is becoming more active. They’re supposedly a peaceful group, but from our information it seems they mightn’t stay peaceful for long. I think they’re planning something big. I’d really like to get someone on the inside who might be able to tell me where they’re going to hit next, just so we can be there and get control of the situation before it gets out of hand.

‘There’ve been some nasty protests recently. I’m getting a bit of heat from higher up to shut them down before they start. Farmers are getting mad, the activists are angry, and it’s a boiling pot of emotions that could end in disaster unless we keep on top of it. I don’t have anyone on the inside. It just what we’ve gleaned from watching and more watching. That’s why I want Jack.’

‘So no intel, just pressure?’

‘That’s right.’

Dave ran his fingers through his hair and shut his eyes. ‘Let me get this clear—you’re wanting Jack on the inside of a group called Voices for Animals, even though you have no firm intel that there is any illegal action planned, only information from the coppers you’ve got watching the group? And that’s it?’ He rubbed his hand over his hair a few times, not sure how he was feeling about this. His spell undercover had been a long time ago, but he remembered it very clearly. After all, it wasn’t every day he got shot in the shoulder.

‘In a nutshell. Look, we’ve done a little investigation into this group and we feel there is something else to them. Something more sinister. There’s a subsidiary that is much more extremist. Again, we’ve got nothing to base this on, except what we’re seeing. They’ve just shown up in South Australia, been mostly making a nuisance of themselves in Victoria and New South Wales. Going onto farms, filming animals illegally, that sort of thing, then posting it online. They’re creating fear within the farming communities.’

Victoria? There was a car in his area with Victorian numberplates. Filming animals? Drones in Barker. A few little pieces fell into place for Dave.

‘So why do you want Jack?’