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The helicopter created a dust storm as it parked in an empty field. Finn jumped out, carrying a large army pack and rifle case. As the chopper took off, Finn raced across the dusty field, leaped over the fence, and ran onto the track.

Sighing with relief, Craig pulled on the handbrake and gratefully knocked the ute out of gear. He practically rolled out of the driver’s seat, leaning heavily on the ute as he limped around to the passenger seat. His leg was pure fire, but he wasn’t going to stop, not until he’d saved Izzy. ‘You drive, I’ll keep tracking.’

‘No worries.’ Finn tossed his heavy pack into the back tray, then sat hard in the ute, slapping down a roll of maps, a radio, and a satphone onto the dashboard. ‘Which way are they headed?’

‘Took me a while to work it out, because they’ve been steering in an odd pattern, hoping to lose us…’ Craig winced, tucking his leg inside the cab. He punched open the glove box and a plastic bag spilled into his lap. It was the mango oat bars Ginny had given them. Absentmindedly, he shoved them into his top pocket as he continued rummaging for more painkillers. Ripping off the cap of the paracetamol bottle, he swallowed a couple and gulped down more water.

‘Are you okay?’ Finn adjusted the mirrors and pushed his seat back.

‘It doesn’t matter how I feel. We have to save Izzy.’ There would be no life without her.

Craig rolled down the window and opened the passenger door and pointed at the soft red bulldust, perfect for showing vehicle tracks. ‘They’ve been going in a south-easterly direction, taking assorted back tracks to change course. But it’s consistently south-east.’

Finn rolled out a map that showed Dustfire’s location. ‘Stone told me that if it’s an electric ATV, the battery life is about six hours max. But if they’re pushing the speed, it’ll be half that time. So, we’re likely looking at three hours of drive time.’

‘An hour to my place and an hour back, because they’ve been taking lots of side tracks, which means the property they’re heading for is in this region…’ Craig scoured the map, then stabbed on the spot. ‘That’s Dane’s place. There.’

‘The one Everlight now owns? Would they be stupid enough to take their kidnap victim there?’ Finn put the car into gear, the ute rolled a lot quicker than it had when Craig was driving. ‘Which smells like this wasn’t planned at all.’

‘All I know is that it fits the direction of that ATV’s tracks. And if it’s a solar farm, they’d have the equipment to charge up one of those vehicles… Now slow down, the track turns left up here.’

Again, Craig opened the passenger door and leaned down to watch the tyre’s patterns in the red dust.

‘Stone didn’t disturb those tracks, did he?’ Finn pointed to where the helicopter had landed.

‘No, Stone did a good job of landing downwind and well away from the tracks.’

Finn sat higher, leaning over the steering wheel as if to read the red dirt road. ‘What are we looking for?’

‘A six-wheeler ATV. Stop.’

Finn pulled up as Craig rolled out, hugging his ribs, the sweat pouring off his face from the pain. Using his rifle as a walking stick, he scratched around the dirt. ‘They stopped here…’ His head tilted at the boot marks, and a patch where the dirt was wet. ‘The ATV has an extended back tray.’

Finn’s shadow stretched over the scuffed track marks, taking pictures with his phone. ‘Like the one used to steal that livestock?’

‘Based on the tread of those tyre tracks, I’m positive it’s a match.’ He pointed to the marks, as Finn took video footage.

Finn then grabbed his map and spread it across the bonnet of Craig’s old Holden ute. ‘Where are we going, Craig? Because that’s just a wallaby track down there.’

‘They’re going this way.’ Craig dragged his finger over the network of tracks. ‘It’s crown land. They’re using the firebreak that cuts through the back of these cattle stations. It comes out onto the main dirt road there, near Dane’s place.’

‘How far ahead are they?’

Because of his lack of ability to drive fast, they’d gained a fair distance on him. ‘, thirty minutes.’ The fearful grip on his heart for Izzy was terrifying, he had to push through it to focus on saving her. Nothing else mattered but Izzy’s safety.

Finn’s brow ruffled. ‘I’m going to be blunt, Craig. It’s who I am.’

‘Go on.’

‘Look, they didn’t just kill her outright when they found her, so there is hope that they will keep her alive until they have what they want. But I’m not sure what they actually want from her.’

‘Proof. Don’t ask me on the details of the documents, but I do know that she has proof that Everlight has been defrauding the government for millions with their solar farms, and she’s a witness to her assistant’s murder.’ It was her insurance, those documents. Making Craig scowl. ‘Izzy won’t give them what they want. I know Izzy, she’ll tough it out. I just want my wife back. Safe.’

Finn dropped a heavy hand on Craig’s shoulder, to meet Craig dead in the eye. ‘Trust me, I’m here to back you all the way to get your wife back. And so is the rest of the team. All you have to do is tell us where to go and fast.’

‘We’ll take this shortcut, through here.’ Craig traced a section of tracks on the map.

‘Good.’ Finn grabbed his radio while studying the map. ‘You there, Stone.’

Stone’s voice came over the speaker with the background noise of the helicopter. ‘Go ahead, Bossman.’

‘Look for an ATV. Long back tray. Six-wheeler. Heading in a south-easterly direction.’

‘Will do.’

‘Just don’t let them see you.’

‘I’ll look like I’m mustering cattle, or doing a run to the pub is all.’

‘Constable Montrose, where are you?’ Finn asked over the radio.

‘I’m fifteen out from Everlight Energy’s main road, sir,’ replied Amara.

‘She’ll be here.’ Craig tapped on the map.

Finn nodded, his eyes narrowing on the map. ‘You know the area, Craig. Where is a good place for the team to set up?’

‘Here. Taylor’s station. There’s a dried-up flood plain nearby where Stone can land his helicopter. Amara can pick him up on her way through, and we can all meet here.’ He tapped on the map.

‘I don’t want that chopper too far away, in case we need Stone to do a hospital run.’

Didn’t that crush against his heart, making his lungs hitch in fear for Izzy? ‘It’ll work.’ It had to.

‘Stone? Do a fly over Everlight’s property, give us a report on any traffic, look for signs of a solar panel set-up, enough to create power to a shed, and perhaps another ATV. Then land at the black soils flood plain, on Taylor’s station…’ Finn gave him the coordinates over the radio. ‘Constable Montrose will meet you there.’

‘Will do, Bossman.’

‘Did you get that, Constable?’

‘Yes, sir. On my way.’

‘Ready, Craig?’ Finn folded up the map. ‘Strap on a seatbelt, because I don’t drive like it’s Sunday.’

‘I don’t want you to. Just so you know, this old ute is designed to fly on dirt roads, she’ll handle it.’

‘Good.’ Finn gunned the engine and dropped the clutch. ‘Let’s go get those bastards.’