Dan rubbed his hand over his eyes. ‘Some of this stuff is incredible. You just don’t realise how much influence industry has over politics, do you?’
Sarah nodded. ‘I know. I never know whether to be angry or depressed about it. The thing is, Peter was right – it very rarely gets reported. I mean, look at this,’ she said, holding up a newspaper clipping. ‘Here’s a report on how the major oil and gas players have used lobby groups to plan protest marches against US environmental policy changes – by using scare tactics threatening the loss of jobs in the industry if any emissions trading scheme was implemented.’ She threw the article down in disgust. ‘No wonder the public has lost interest.’
‘Yeah, but if these people are willing to kill to prevent people like Peter drawing it to the public interest, maybe they should be taking notice,’ added Dan.
‘Do you really believe that?’ Sarah put down the document she was holding.
Dan shuffled the notes back into place. ‘Well, if Peter was going around telling everyone about this wonder-fuel that could effectively put the oil, gas and coal industry out of business, then yes.’ He leaned back, propping the chair against the wall. ‘Someone out there is extremely serious about preventing that technology being used and it’s looking more and more like Delaney.’ He shook his head. ‘I thought they were all going on about clean-coal technology being the best compromise.’
‘That’s being pushed through as a quick-fix for climate change,’ said Sarah. ‘Clean coal technology is expensive – not to mention inefficient. Yes, it’ll cut down on carbon emissions but to get the same output as one of the old-style coal power stations, you need to burn up to forty per cent more coal.’
‘That kind of defeats the object for being ‘clean’ then,’ said Dan.
‘Not to mention why the coal producers are rubbing their hands with glee – imagine what the demand for coal will be once this so-called ‘clean’ technology is perfected – especially in places like India and China.’ Sarah put her notebook down. ‘No, the truth is, compared with all the other alternatives, coal is still a cheaper and more reliable fuel to power generation companies.’
‘So, where do you think this white gold powder comes in?’ mused Dan.
Sarah leafed through the research notes. ‘From what I can tell, Peter’s just used that as a reference point – it’s when gold is put through a piece of equipment called a spectroscope at a high temperature. Apparently it can develop a white gold powder that organisations like the defence industry are interested in but also the energy companies – if they can harness that power, we won’t need coal and oil any more.’ She yawned and stretched. ‘Remind me again why we’ve only got one room?’
Dan smiled. ‘Because I’d worry about you if you were somewhere else.’ He stood up and leaned on the balcony and watched the lights across Boat Quay below. ‘You can choose which bed you want though.’
‘Ah, the perfect gentleman, right?’ laughed Sarah.
Dan winked. ‘No, I just knew I was going to lose that argument, so I’ll quit while I’m ahead.’ He walked back to the mini bar and picked up another beer before heading back out to the balcony. ‘Sleep well.’
Dust, blood, screaming, the sheer noise…
Dan woke up with a start, sweat beading on his brow. A light was on. He glanced around the room, trying to get his bearings. His heart was racing and he panted like he’d been running. He blinked, and concentrated on the present. And saw Sarah sitting on the edge of his bed.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked, blinking in the light of the small bedside lamp.
Sarah smiled, just a little. ‘Nothing – I mean, I’m fine.’ She looked away. ‘You were shouting out in your sleep – it sounded urgent.’
Dan ran his hand over his eyes and sat up. ‘Sorry – must’ve been dreaming.’
Sarah ran her eyes over the scars criss-crossing over his chest and arms before looking away and speaking again. ‘It sounded more like a nightmare.’
Dan nodded. ‘Same one, at least twice a week.’ He sighed. ‘That’s an improvement though.’
‘Would it help to talk about it?’
Dan shook his head. ‘Twelve months of army shrinks couldn’t fix it so, no, it probably wouldn’t.’
He reached up and touched her cheek, warm, soft. Sarah smiled, never taking her eyes off him. He ran his hand down her shoulder, and then rubbed his thumb gently over a bruise on Sarah’s arm. She winced.
‘Sorry,’ he smiled. ‘I didn’t realise it hurt.’
She shrugged. ‘I’m not as tough as you.’
Dan looked at her, keeping his hold on her wrist. ‘I don’t know – you’re doing pretty well, so far.’
Sarah pulled away, then stood up and crossed the room. She browsed the small bottles lined up next to the kettle and selected two. She unscrewed the metal caps and tossed them into the waste basket. One missed, clipped the edge of the basket and bounced onto the cheap carpet. She ignored it. She turned back to Dan and held up the two small bottles. ‘Brandy or whiskey?’
‘Whiskey.’
She handed him the bottle, then eased herself back onto the end of his bed. Taking a sip of the brandy, almost as if to steady herself, she looked at Dan. ‘I know absolutely nothing about you, do I?’
Dan smiled gently. ‘Just as well. You wouldn’t want dreams like these.’
‘Do you trust anyone?’
He shook his head. ‘Not really. I’ve given up, to be honest. From my experience, it just leads to disappointment.’
Sarah looked away again.
Dan kicked her gently through the sheets. ‘Don’t take it personally. It’s just the way it is.’
She nodded, and watched Dan take a swig of the whiskey. He grimaced, and then glared at the label.
‘Rough?’ Sarah asked.
‘Bloody awful,’ he grinned. ‘Which probably means it’ll work.’
Chapter 26