Mike became worried as he scanned the road above the small rocky cliff line leading to the shoreline where he stood. Lined up in a row were a number of black painted motorcycles and no riders to be seen. He motioned to Cameron to look skywards and the Rover also suddenly had the wind punched out of his sails.

‘Okay guys we may have some company above. When we climb to the carriageway above, be sharp and keep a good lookout,’ Cameron said.

‘What do you think they are doing?’ Ian asked.

‘Don’t know. However, this is pretty unusual to have motorbikes like these parked here. The other worrying factor is the smoke Mike and I saw as we surfaced.’

‘Maybe the bikies are causing some hassles,’ William said.

‘Whatever it is, the quicker we can get changed and out of here the better it will be. If we see any bikies, no comments, no looks and hopefully, no issues.’

Scott’s mind started racing. ‘Cameron, the girls are up there somewhere. Do you think they’re alright?’

‘Scott they should be. Everyone should be. It’s just a feeling I have had come over me, that’s all. Come on guys, shake a leg and let’s get moving.’

The boys moved with renewed vigour. They were keen to see what was happening and also to ensure the girls were safe. They clambered over the rocky shoreline and up the small hill to the carriageway in record time. If they weren’t so young and fit their bodies would have had major difficulties. Mike was slightly puffing at the end as he tried to keep up with his young charges.

Rosie had heard the trucks colliding as the noise resonated around the precinct. She instinctively looked up and saw the smoke.

‘Okay girls, it’s time we went to Namara’s. I feel a nice iced chocolate coming on,’ Rosie said.

Mandy and Liane both picked up on the stress in Rosie’s voice and said nothing. A look to each other was sufficient. They also had heard the collision and saw the smoke. The fact a group of bikies was in town also spelt possible trouble. Both were looking forward to meeting up with the Venturers and going home. The girls made their way up the beach and over a small bluff. To their right and up a rise along the peninsula road was their van and the boys’ vehicles. To their left was a group of shops that looked deserted. Ahead of them was Namara’s Café. The girls started making a bee-line towards the café when they saw a number of bikers with weapons in their hands lying in the grass and just below some small rock platforms that dotted a common between Namara’s Café and the silent sandstone sentinel. Not a word was spoken as the girls saw the men nearby. They quickly started running towards the café.

‘What the hell is that?’ Tim said as he scanned the area with his binoculars.

‘What do you mean? Damian asked.

‘A group of girls … Girl Guides just ran into the café. I thought we cleared out all the civilians?’

‘Oh hell. Well, they’ll be safe in there for the moment. How many did you count?’

‘I didn’t have time to count. By the time it registered with me as to what they were, they were gone.’

The moment the Venturers hit the carriageway they heard a metallic, throaty roar that kept getting louder and then seemed to split in origin. Mike was now very concerned about the safety of the boys and the Ranger Guides.

‘What the hell is that?’ Mark shouted above the roar as he looked to Mike.

‘I’d say from all the bikes below and the noise above we are being visited by quite a few bikers,’ Mike said.

‘Do you reckon they had anything to do with all that smoke we saw as we surfaced?’ Scott asked.

‘Why would they? It’s probably just an accident somewhere. Who knows, these bikers are probably having a chapter ride out here to enjoy the sights the same as you and I.’

Cameron then started herding the boys like cats towards their cars. His eyes saw movement on top of the sandstone sentinel. He looked closer and saw the shape of a head moving around. Initially, no problems, except he expected the person to have been taller and more of a silhouette to be seen. While he walked to the cars he looked again and what he saw scared the hell out of him. The moving head on the sandstone sentinel had a rifle. He told the boys to run to the cars and put his hands out wide to push them along. The boys never argued with Cameron. They trusted him emphatically. They made it to the side of the cars without incident.

‘What was that all about?’ Mike said as he sidled up to Cameron.

‘There’s someone in the top of the tower with a rifle and I was being extremely cautious.’

‘Well done.’

‘Guys, get your gear off quickly and just put it in the rear of the cars. We’ll sort it later.’

Mike reached for his keys stuck by a magnet under the fender of the passenger side rear wheel. He opened his car, reached in and retrieved Cameron’s keys and threw them to the Rover who quickly opened his car. The boys started stripping out of their diving gear. Before they had got too far, they heard a volley of shots being fired somewhere near the common. Instinctively Mike yelled to the boys to take cover behind the cars. The boys moved in close to each other and helped take each others’ wetsuits off. A lot of shouting and more shooting could be heard from the common.

‘This will be a dive you will never forget,’ Mike said to Scott as he pulled on a gym shoe.