Mitch nodded. ‘Go on. Then we can compare notes.’
Dan walked over to the bar, handed over one of the red coloured dollar bills and took the beers back to the table in the corner. He handed one to Mitch and looked ruefully at the change in his hand.
‘I thought beer was meant to be cheaper over here?’ he said.
Mitch grinned and held up his bottle. ‘Not if you drink these. And not if you drink here.’
Dan pocketed the loose coins and sat down. ‘Okay. What have you found out about Delaney so far?’
‘I’ll keep it brief – most of it you probably know.’ Mitch shuffled, trying to get comfortable in the armchair.
‘Delaney owns several large-scale mining operations in Australia. The government here isn’t allowing anyone to build any new coal-powered generators, however they are allowing organisations to build clean-coal power stations – the ones that store excess carbon dioxide underground. It’s a bit of a balancing act – it keeps the mining companies happy – someone’s still burning their coal – and it helps fend off the environmentalists by touting it as “green energy”. At the end of the day though, it’s just a case of politicians sticking their heads in the sand – coal, oil, whatever, is going to run out and from here on in, it’s going to become expensive. You can only open-cut so much coal before you have to go underground to get more – which costs more money.’
‘So, you have mining operators like Delaney pushing through their clean-coal projects as fast as they can while no-one has a better alternative on the table – sort of a last hurrah and bank the billions – before it all disappears.’ Mitch paused and took a gulp of beer before continuing. ‘Add to the fact that all over the world, people are experimenting with the properties of super-conducted precious metals. Of course, the oil and mining companies let them – until it threatens their own existence. Then they’ll destroy whoever gets in their way, whether it’s by discrediting the research or something more sinister.’
Dan put his beer bottle on the table and sat back in his armchair.
‘That’s pretty much what I thought,’ he said. He told Mitch about what he and Sarah had managed to uncover to date.
Mitch nodded. ‘I could use some help if you’re interested,’ he said.
‘What’s in it for you?’ asked Dan.
‘Share what you know with me and I’ll watch your back,’ suggested Mitch. ‘Plus I could probably get my hands on the sort of information you’re going to need without putting up a flag.’
Dan sipped his beer and thought hard. It made sense – he and Sarah would only get so far before hitting a dead end, that much was clear. And to have access to the sort of secure information Mitch could lay his hands on would certainly be useful.
‘We’ll have to talk to Sarah, explain what we’re doing,’ said Dan. ‘Only fair, given it’s her ex-husband who got us into this in the first place.’
‘Makes sense,’ Mitch nodded. ‘I wouldn’t mind seeing those notes of his.’
Dan put down his empty bottle on the table. ‘Well, she’s probably got her nose stuck to the computer screen as we speak, so you may as well come back to the hotel with me,’ he said, standing up.
Mitch drained his beer, stood up and stretched.
‘Let’s do it.’
Chapter 17
Dan stepped through the automatic glass doors into the hotel reception area and walked across the polished wooden floor.
Mitch followed, glancing around at his surroundings. ‘You’re doing all right if you can set up camp here,’ he said.
Dan glanced over his shoulder, smiled and shook his head. ‘Not me. Sarah’s planning on running a story on our findings so she reckons her editor will cover the expenses.’
Mitch caught up with Dan, grabbed hold of his arm and pulled him to a stop. ‘No-one said anything about her printing this, Dan.’ He looked around to make sure no-one could hear them. ‘Some of this stuff you say Peter’s notes include could be highly classified, you do realise that, don’t you?’
Dan shrugged. ‘Well, we haven’t got anywhere with it yet, have we? Let’s just see what we find out first, yeah? Then let’s talk about what does and doesn’t get published.’
He began to walk away from Mitch but then turned back. ‘And, Mitch? Friendly word of advice – don’t go saying things like that to Ms Edgewater. There’s a very real chance that if you do, you and I will never see those notes again.’
Mitch nodded. ‘Fair enough. Just be very careful who knows the content of them – no flashing them around, okay?’
Dan nodded. ‘Come on. I’m betting she’s still working away on one of the computers in the business centre down here.’
Mitch followed him to the end of the corridor. A frosted glass double door blocked their way. The outline of a figure could be seen, sitting at a low desk.
‘Stay here,’ murmured Dan, and pushed the door open.
‘Hey,’ he said, taking off his jacket and strolling over to where Sarah sat, her face illuminated by the light of the computer screen. ‘They ran out of canapés.’
Sarah glanced up and smiled. ‘If I relied on you to feed me, I’d be ten kilos lighter by now.’ She held up an empty plate. ‘Luckily, they make half decent sandwiches here.’ She put the plate back down on the desk and went back to work.
Dan pulled out a chair next to her and watched. ‘Are you having any luck?’
Sarah scrolled through the latest search string she’d entered, hit a key and sighed. ‘I just wish I knew what half this stuff meant – I feel like we’re going round in circles.’
‘Maybe not,’ said a voice behind them.
Sarah turned and saw a thin, wiry sun-tanned man with a gold stud in his left ear, wearing board shorts and a surf t-shirt. He leaned against the door frame, looking fed up.
Sarah looked at Dan. ‘Does he belong to you?’