Incarna

37 - Secrecy

“Dad, dad!” Jim looked up from his sand drawing musings to see Auntie Joan’s Subaru pull into the parking area, his three kids yelling at him from the wound down windows. The cars door opened before the engine had stopped and they were streaking across the grass of the picnic area toward the beach. They hit the sand at full pelt and hurtled toward him. His three human projectiles hit him at speed and he rolled backwards with them into the sand demolishing most of his drawings as he rumbled with them.

Jeannie stood nearby laughing and smiling, over joyed at the scene of the ecstatic chaos of laughing kids and Jim making all sorts of growls and whoops as he used some of his hand to hand fighting skills to roll and tumble the kids gently against and around each other.

She loved the way he controlled his power and strength and gave the kids a chance to let off steam with him. She watched him flip the eldest - Starboy - onto his back then plop princess Banksia on top of him. The youngest - Jetstream - wrapped himself around Jim’s left leg and tried to tackle him. Jim carefully untangled him and plonked him atop the kiddie pile and proceeded to tickle all of them into a unified quivering heap.

Jim stood back laughing uncontrollably as the kids untangled themselves and sat there laughing at themselves. He sat down with them and they all climbed into his lap. With a loud, “get Dad,” they climbed up onto his chest and shoulders and tried to push him to the ground. Jim made mock attempts to struggle free then fell back and let them hold him down. Jeannie bent over, holding her belly, hurting from her laughing so much.

“Bloody good father, your Jim!” came Auntie Joan’s voice from just behind Jeannie. She turned and the two women embraced and then neither could back the laughter.

“Oi you, plenty deadly farder,” called out Joan in the bunged on dialect she used just for Jim. “BBQ be ready plenty quick, feed these ones!”

Jim raised his head, then shook it at Auntie Joan. “Yeah right,” and he shooshed the kids off him and they ran helter skelter over to where the rest of the family was gathering around the picnic grounds public BBQs.

“Who you bungin it on for Joanie me or the kids?” called Jim as he picked up two jackets and all their shoes the kids had shed in their excitement. He strolled as cooly across to Joan as he could muster then handing the clothes to Jeannie swept up Joan and twirled her around in mid air, setting her down where he’d picked her up. Joan took his face in her hands, “no more overseas hero stuff my wonderful man”, she said tears welling in her eyes and she kissed his forehead. Joan turned and without another word walked over to the rest of the mob.

“They’re all scared my love,” Jeannie whispered. “Nobodies seen anything like all this Incarna stuff before, and you were right there.” She turned her face and reaching up on tip toes she kissed his cheek. “They want to ask you all about it, but they don’t want to bring up any sorry business for you.”

Jim turned to her, “but hasn’t it dropped off all the tv and radio stations and websites now?”  “It’s only been two days Jim!”  “Yeah true, the trauma of it all will stay with people for awhile I suppose?”

Jeannie frowned and they walked arm in arm over to where the BBQ was in full swing and the kids were already eating the snacks brought from home. Jim smiled as he saw Jeannies hand in it all, what with the peanut butter filled celery pieces, the cucumber and apple skewers and the dried apricots with roasted cashews pushed inside them.

“Some of the Grandfathers are saying that it’s like the old times before science came along. When the clans had only the Law and nobody separated what was dreamed and what was done!” Jim nodded and gave her a squeeze, “yeah it’s like all our dreams and nightmares have come to life to scare us into behaving proper!” 

Jeannie gave his wrist a slap, “don’t you go dropping into dialect. Yeah I know, I shouldn’t! Yeah I know Joan does it to stir you and yeah I know we all muck around doin’ it!” Jim interrupted, “yeah plenty deadly fun, this lingo!” he chuckled. Jeannie frowned then smiled as they came up to the family and hands extended to shake Jim’s and the questions started, gently, circumspectly testing Jim to see how he coped with answering.

Grandfather Jango came up to Jim and taking his right hand in both of his, held it quietly while he looked out across to the cliffs of North Head. “This Booderee, place of plenty,” he began nodding to the waters of the bay. They watched as one of the cousins walked into the water off the end of the rock platform and began ducking under the water amid the seaweed beds and the rock shelves. “Don’t go nowhere else,” added Jango as the cousin emerged with couple of Lobsters and handed them to his wife waiting knee deep in the waters near him.

“This place want you here! You don’t belong nowhere else!” and Jango shook his hand once and turned and walked over to the cousin to check out the lobsters.

Jim squinted his eyes and watched the old elder walk off. Shit Im done now, got all of em worried for me. Jims wrist buzzed and he looked at his CommWatch. Dozers sorry face stared back at him from the miniscreen. He tapped the screen and held it close to his face, “what’s up Dozy?”

“ANZ just got taken down. All their files relating to farm foreclosures have been altered. All farm debts, cleared all Receiverships rescinded.” Jim was speechless. This wasn’t just one individual Investment Agent or even an agency or a firm. This was one of the Big Four Australian banks and had been the worlds number one sustainable bank many times. Shit this is going to topple the government if they don’t handle this properly!

“Patch in Sparky …” “… already here Boss!” came Sparky’s eternally optimistic voice. “So Australian farmers are how ok?” Jim asked of them both. “Heh, that’s a bird you owe me Dozy,” said Sparky, “we had a bet a hundred on whether you’d ask after the farmers first! Dozy reckoned the government”

Jim smiled into the miniscreen, “well keep your money, I actually thought of the government first, then asked about the farmers! So you both know me too well! Sparky …”

“Well boss from what I’ve checked over so far it’s all legit and back dated and would require acts of parliament to reverse …” “Shyte! So, ok, I can be down there in a couple of hours …”

“Bugger off boss,” jumped in Dozer. “Barden says stay put and enjoy yourself. It’s all stable, whoever did this crossed every T and dotted every fuckin’ I”  “Yep I reckon it’s water tight!” concluded Sparky

“… and ANZ?”  “Serves em fuckin right for not learning from the GFC …” added Dozer. “Well they’ll make 2 billion profit this year instead of 8, because of the right offs, but if they don’t fight this, they’ll get customers back!”

“So this is on a scale with the Korean intervention then?” “… ‘cept there’s no Incarna calling card boss,” added Sparky. “Ok then, so we’ve got two venomous snakes to deal with, not just Incarna!”