Jack whistled a choice phrase that would have made the nuns from his primary school roll in their graves as he pulled off the Highway and into the city of Darwin. The last few kilometers before the entrance into the city of Darwin proper had shown evidence that a great storm had recently been through. The city itself though was a complete war zone. Trees, whole branches, giant leaves, and often the very trunks themselves were strewn around as if a giant toddler had decided to wrench them up from their roots and fling them over her shoulder. Rubbish bins had spewed their wares across streets, throughout car parks, and within the car parks themselves there was the odd car and such twisted and turned in all sorts of unnatural angles.

"No swears," growled the voice of Jack's brother from the back seat. "Makes ma cross."

"Well, our ma isn't here, is she, Phil…" Jack growled back.

The head rest got thumped, causing Jack to turn sharply.

"My name Phil-up… Not just Phil…" Phillip said in that warning tone he used before lashing out.

"Behave yourself, before I make you behave," Jack replied.

He too had a tone, and it told his brother clearly Don't mess with me …

"You not ma…" said Philip. "Don't have to listen to you…"

"Like hell, you don't," said Jack. "You stay in the car and don't move… I'm just going to find someone and then we can go visit Stevo's place…"

"You gonna find me a new toy?" asked Philip.

"No toys until you behave better," said Jack. "Just stay in the car… I'll not be long…"

"You gonna find Lisa," Philip said next, his tone altering from threatening to that of an accusation.

"So, what if I am?" Jack bit back. "What I do in my own time is my business."

"You and me," said Philip coldly. "We same peas in the same pod."

"Maybe all three of us brothers are the same," said Jack. "All three of us just as messed up as each other."

"We all like to play," Philip suggested.

"Yeah brother, we all like to play," Jack agreed. "But you are the only one that the authorities want to see caged for it."

Jack turned away to look out of the windscreen at the carnage and the empty streets. If Lisa had gone to Darwin like he suspected, she would have to be somewhere behind some boarded windows. She was trapped like a running rat. All he had to do was pick the right place, offer to help with the cleanup and ask a couple of questions about a friend he was looking for. A place like Darwin knew when you were not a local. Jack was confident he could be in and out in no time at all.

"Stay!" he said to Philip, firmly, giving his brother a brief glance in the rearview mirror.

Philip replied by sticking his fingers up.

"If I get back here with Lisa and find you've gone wandering, there will be hell to pay," Jack warned. "You understand?"

"Yeah," Philip replied. "I understand."

"Good," said Jack as he opened the car door and got out.

The weather was muggy after the cyclone had come through. More rain was still threatening to pour down.

Better make this quick, Jack thought to himself.

Randomly he chose a place that had just opened its doors a crack. Darwin's City Hotel.

"Are you crazy, lady?" asked the girl at the Flight Centre, Adelaide City branch. "Or are you just stupid?"

"Do I look crazy to you?" asked Sonya. "I have a badge… Do you need me to flash it?"

"I don't need you to flash anything," said the lady. "And if you don't calm down you will force me to have to get my manager."

"Fine! Good!" replied the detective gruffly. "In fact, I demand you go fetch someone who can get me on a plane since you seem unable to achieve this simple task."

"Ah, Son," said Mike, his voice soft and uncertain.

"What?!" Sonya demanded to know as she whipped around to face him.

Mike pointed over at a television screen which was showing the latest news report. Darwin had only just recently been hit by the biggest cyclone since the 1970s, the terrifying wind choosing to then change course and head northward in the direction of Indonesia.

"I don't think that there are any planes heading over to Bali at the moment," Mike said, choosing that moment to rub his partner's back in sympathy.

"Another holiday ruined before it has even had the chance to begin," moaned the pair's eldest daughter, Sasha.

"We are never supposed to go anywhere," groaned Sasha's sister Georgie. "Don't things like this come in threes?"

"Wherever you all are is a holiday to me," said Gregory.

The boy's words, although innocent, packed a punch with the detective in particular.

"Right, fine, no Bali for now then," Sonya said with a grumble in her tone.

"We are all safe together right now," suggested Mike. "And no, Georgie, terrible bad luck does not always have to come in threes."

"In my experience horrible things always happen in more than threes," Sonya muttered.

"What was that, darling?" asked Mike, his eyes begging her not to repeat what she had just said.

"The curse of being a detective," she replied.

"How about we take Gregory back home with us?" suggested Georgie.

"We could show him the sights," added Sasha.

"It could be a chance for us all to enjoy some respite in our own backyard," said Mike.

"Home, we go then," said Sonya, somewhat disappointed.

"Until the next clue reveals itself," Sasha said, trying to reassure her mother.

Sonya gave her elder daughter a hug.

"Yes, I guess until the next clue appears," the detective said with a smile.

Joe woke to the distinct sound of far-off helicopters. Leaning over he felt in the dark and discovered the spot in the bed beside him was empty.

What the hell is going on? he thought. We have not even been gone a day and already the authorities are hunting for us.

A voice, Joe assumed coming from the chopper and using some sort of megaphone or PA system was yelling instructions in Bahasa, the native language of Indonesia.

"Pergilah ke daratan! Badai besar bernama Jack akan datang!"

Joe knew enough to be able to hold a conversation with the locals, but these words, coming from some distance away, were beyond him. He understood the word, or name, Jack though.

"Right! We're out of here!" he called.

"Do not worry," the Balinese friend called back.

By a gas lamp, Joe managed to find his way through the open living area and out onto the front porch of the hut. He accepted a coffee in a tin cup, blowing on the liquid even though it was already only lukewarm.

"Don't worry?" grumbled Joe.

Charlie appeared from the shadows and placed a reassuring hand on Joe's shoulder. The sight of her did something to calm his worries, but not a lot.

"Pergilah ke daratan! Badai besar bernama Jack akan datang!"

The helicopter was quite close now, flying fifty yards away to the left. The thick forest of palms did do something to stop the spotlight from shining directly in their area, but Joe knew whoever was flying in that thing understood that people were housed nearby.

"They're looking for Jack," stated Joe. "And if they are looking for him, surely it is only a matter of time before they are looking for us."

Charlie considered this as she sipped her own coffee.

"They do not look for the person, Jack," laughed Joe's local friend. "They are warning of the coming of Jack."

"Jack's coming here?" asked Charlie. "He would not be so stupid, surely."

"Not the person?" asked Joe. "What is Jack then?"

Charlie did not like being ignored, but she stayed quiet, just as interested in hearing what or who this mysterious Jack was.

"Big wind, huge storm," came the answer. "President is telling everyone to go inland."

"Do we know anyone inland?" asked Charlie.

"I don't," said Joe, this time choosing to reply to the girl's question.

"Lucky for you, my friends, that I have a brother who is a friend who lives not far from here," said Krystoff.

He placed his hands, one on Charlie's shoulder like he knew her well, the other on Joe's, propelling them outside into the front yard.

"Not enough room on the bike for the three of us," grumbled Joe. "And I don't trust anyone on a bike in this darkness."

Even though a half-moon was up in the inky black sky, the cover from the palms made it impossible to see.

"That is why I have brought my wife's car," reassured Krystoff.

He nodded toward the left and eased the two Australians in that direction.

"A hatchback?" said Charlie, surprised and suddenly nervous.

"So, no offroad vehicle? No van at least?" Joe added.

"Trust me, my friends," said Krystoff. "This car has gone places."

"Do we take anything with us?" asked Charlie.

"We probably need our passports, maybe some money," suggested Joe. "You go back inside and grab what you can, Sally-Ann…"

"Some second honeymoon, Pete," she answered back, flinching when Joe raised his hand to swat her.

The cream that he had applied to the bruising on her cheek had covered up the mark and eased the pain a bit, but Charlie knew if she made Joe truly angry it could easily break one of her bones. The appearance of the helicopter and a pending storm was doing little to keep Joe happy. Charlie knew she would either need to keep her distance or act obedient. Heading back into the hut would enable her, for a moment, to do both.

"Alright… Alright… I get them… And some water too…" she hurriedly reassured the man.

"But do not be too long in your hunting," begged Krystoff, the engine of the hatchback already rumbling. "We do not know when this storm will arrive."

Rain began to fall, slow but thick droplets, splashing upon Charlie's face and soaking her top in places where it fell. She hurried as carefully as she could. Under the light of the lamp, she located a backpack which she filled with a handful of bottles and some dry snacks. The passports took a little longer to find as Joe had hidden them under the mattress they shared. Money too took more than a moment as the girl tried to work out what all the denominations translated into. In the end she brought along everything she could lay her hands upon, both local currency and notes from home.

"Hurry up, we're drowning while we wait for you," said Joe from the hut's doorway.

Charlie considered biting back with a few choice words, but decided silence was the best option, especially when her so called husband thumped her on the shoulder and ripped the backpack from her arms as he made to step past him.

"Just hurry up and get in the car," Joe ordered. "Get in the back here with me."

Charlie closed the front passenger-side door and did as she was told.

"I want you exactly where I can see you," Joe told her.

"We are ready to go now?" asked Krystoff, giving both of his passengers a big smile.

"Yes, we are ready," said Charlie.

"Good then," said the Indonesian. "Hold on to those hats…"

"Hats?" said Charlie. "We didn't pack hats."

"We won't need them," said Joe as the hatchback lurched forward.

"Bloody hell, Krystoff," yelled Joe. "Where the hell did you get your license to drive?"

"I bought it from a friend of a friend," laughed the driver. "This is Bali after all."

Heaven, please help us all, prayed Charlie.

"Just don't kill us," ordered Joe.

"As you wish, Pete, my friend," Krystoff replied.

The car jumped forward again, a bunny hop as the gears slipped from first to fourth and then back to first again. There came the crunching sound every inexperienced driver makes when navigating a manual vehicle. Then the car puttered along at an easy speed. The rain began to fall heavier, and Krystoff activated the indicator and then the wipers. The dust on the windshield turned to mud, squelching and smearing the glass with muck.

"We are going to die," Charlie whimpered.

Joe grabbed hold of her hands and squeezed them tightly. The girl was unsure if that was supposed to be reassuring, or if the man beside her was just as scared as she was. Into the night the little car crawled out of the front yard and onto a hardpacked dirt road. The beginnings of the journey inland, down from the exposure of the mountains, was rough. Charlie and Joe held each other in silence, as Krystoff battled with the gears. Eventually they found themselves joining a conga line of other vehicles, racing the storm named Jack. It was going to be a long night.

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