Chapter 01

Life Changes

Warrant Officer Bryan Jones, his wife Mary ’Bright Arrow’ Jones, and their nine year old son David ’Light Arrow’ Jones are enjoying a holiday in Kuta, Indonesia, during October 2002. Bryan recently finished a long training course and he’s now on leave prior to a deployment overseas, so David’s parents have him skipping classes for a good family holiday. A late dinner plus a two hour walk through the nightclub district while ’people watching,’ a favourite family fun activity, is a happy time for them until the moment they turn to go back to their hotel. They’re just beside a lane when there’s an explosion in one of the buildings a bit further up the street. Bryan spins around. He’s shoving his wife and son into the lane when hell opens up around them and Bryan is violently shoved into David by a huge blast. A fireball washes over the street and all of the people in it. David is knocked unconscious when he hits the ground.

Hospital

David wakes up in what looks like a scene of hell from Dante’s Inferno, but it’s the emergency ward of an Indonesian hospital. All of the staff are busy treating people with severe injuries so the few without any clear major injuries, like David, are sitting in seats to wait for their turn. Some of those waiting have bad injuries, but not as bad as those being treated. It’s clear there aren’t enough medical staff to properly treat the injured and they’ve put a system in place to treat the worst cases first.

After taking a moment to evaluate the situation David’s training is activated by what he sees, so he pulls out his mobile phone. He checks it works, he has a connection, and he makes a call. The phone is answered and he says, “Gramps, Davy, I’m in Kuta, as you know. Explosion in the street. I’m bruised with some minor cuts and I was knocked out. I’m in a hospital ER with a lot of others, but I can’t see Mum or Dad and I don’t know where they are. You best start some enquiries.” He talks to his great-grandfather for a little longer before he hangs up.

Nine and a half years old David is trained and qualified in first aid as his parents felt he needed it. He looks about the room, on seeing some basic supplies and equipment on a cart near the middle of the room he goes over to get some bandages, band-aids, antiseptic creams, gauze, an electronic blood pressure monitor, and tape. After a moment to apply cream and cover his own cuts with band-aids he starts work checking the people in the chairs. He checks their BP (blood pressure) and treats their minor cuts. When he finds one person with a worrying BP he goes over to see a nurse. She’s not happy with being annoyed by a boy while treating someone, but when he waves the BP monitor while pointing at a person waiting she stops to listen, then she checks the person the boy is pointing to. A moment later she’s helping the man to the more critical area as she’s worried about possible internal bleeding injuries. When she has time to check on the boy again she can’t find him.

Once he’s helped all he can with his low level of training David puts his borrowed supplies and equipment onto the cart and leaves the room to go to the hotel his family is staying in. He has some local money so it’s no problem to get a taxi to the hotel. Once there he goes to his family’s room and he has a wash before lying down to rest. He knows he may have a concussion and he should be monitored, but he also knows the hospital is so overloaded with patients they won’t be able to do it, so he leaves wake up calls for every three hours at the front desk. Every few hours they call to wake him up, just like he requested.

The Next Day

In the morning the bombing is the only news topic, but no one has a list of those hurt in the attack. David knows it takes time to find things out because he’s been well trained by his parents and great-grandfather. So he leaves the issue aside and he goes down to have as much breakfast as he can eat; which it isn’t a lot, but it is enough to end his hunger.

While he’s walking back through the lobby one of the desk staff asks him, “Sir, why do you want to be called every three hours?”

He turns to the young woman, “I was knocked unconscious last night and I’m concerned about having a concussion. The hospital is full, so I came back here to rest. However, I need to frequently check how I am to make sure I don’t have any adverse effects from the hit.”

“Would you like me to have the house doctor check on you when he’s able to do so?”

“Yes, please, but it’s not urgent, unless I don’t sound well when you call me.” The young woman smiles as she makes a note on her pad.

On his way back to the room David checks his text messages. There’s one from Gramps stating he’s chasing information but he hasn’t found out anything yet. David knows the authorities won’t tell a boy anything, so he leaves that line of enquiry to his great-grandfather.

Late in the afternoon the hotel’s house doctor checks on David and he says David is OK. The doctor gives him some more bandages and creams for his cuts so he can put on new bandages after he has a shower.

Second Day After the Bombing

After he has breakfast David asks to speak to the manager, and he’s taken in to see him a few minutes later. David sits down and says, “I don’t know where to go or what to do, but I feel you should know about my situation. The other night my parents and I were out on the town when the street blew up. I was knocked out and I woke up in the hospital. I’ve not seen my parents since just before the explosion, and they were in front of me when it happened. My great-grandfather is trying to find out what happened to them but he’s not getting any information. He’ll come for me if he has to, but I don’t want to leave until after I know about my family. Is there anyone you can contact to find out about them, please? I need to know where and how they are!”

The manager is saddened by the story so he picks up his phone to make a call. He has a brother in the local police force so he calls him to tell him of the situation, along with the names of the missing adults. No information is available because the authorities still aren’t well enough organised to handle this sort of event at this time.

There’s not much David can do, so he stays at the hotel. He reads a lot when not checking the news or any of the contacts he can make.

News

Four days after the bombing the news reaches David they’ve located his parents’ bodies. His great-grandfather is arranging for them to be shipped home on the same Royal Australian Air Force plane as many of the other dead are being sent home, along with some survivors who’re going home now, which includes David.

David doesn’t return to school for the rest of the school year because of the many changes in his life and the issues they cause him and his great-grandfather. A lot of David’s time is spent in counselling and grief management as well as fighting the family services people to keep him out of their system. The fight is long and hard, but David ends up in the care of his great-grandfather, Dave Phillips.

To meet the State laws the estates, insurance, and other funds due to David are all put into a trust company Dave Phillips creates for David. The company rules and by-laws require a public trustee to manage the fund until David is a legal adult, but David can tell the manager of his wishes. David knows his wishes will be carried out if the trust manager agrees with him about them or can be convinced to approve the request.

The man and boy move from Sydney to Bowen’s Creek to give them both a change of environment from their past. A large section of land is bought on the edge of town where the two of them live in an old and run down house while they work together to build a new large house beside it. They also plant fruit trees and a big vegetable garden in the backyard. The house takes them two years to build and they move into it, then the old house is demolished.

Life goes on while the two of them make the best of life they can.

More Changes

On a Monday in early April 2009 Dave Phillips and David Jones have an application being heard by Judge Mills in the City of Rivers as they’re seeking to have young David declared a legal adult. The judge has the file before him. He’s read their reasons for the application and the longer document from the family welfare people opposing the application since they think he’s far too young to be on his own. The Judge looks at Dave while asking, “Mister Phillips, why do you feel you need young David to be made a legal adult at sixteen years of age?”

Dave Phillips stands and says, “Your Honour, David is a very intelligent and mature young man. I’ve been his legal guardian since his parents were murdered, several years ago. However, for most of the last three years it’s been more a case of David looking after me than me looking after him. I’ve an advanced cancer and I don’t expect to live much longer. I’ve already outlived the original date from the doctors by a few years. But the pain is getting to the point where the drugs no longer stop it. I need to see David is set up and OK. He’s a smart and independent character, he has access to his own money, and he’s extremely capable of looking after himself. If this application is granted he can continue with his life as he sees fit while continuing to live in the home he helped build in the town and he’ll be with the friends he’s known for the last several years. If not, when I die the welfare system will absorb him and try to break his spirit. At the most, they’ll only have him for a bit under two years so he won’t be going to any long term carer, while a short term carer will be more trouble than help for him.”

The judge listens to the welfare case then he asks for David’s view.

David Jones stands and says, “Your Honour, my parents raised me to be independent and to look after myself. Gramps has enhanced that training. I’ve been doing the cooking and cleaning for us both for the last few years and proven I can live by myself. I’m prepared to, and can, pay for a housekeeper to live-in to help look after the house while providing me with advice. But I need to be in control of my environment and not be under the control of people who don’t know or understand me. Also, I don’t want to leave my home or home-town, but the welfare people don’t have any foster homes in Bowen’s Creek so I’d have to move to go live in a much smaller house if they’re in control. I want to avoid that.”

Judge Mills makes some notes, checks some books, and looks at both Dave Phillips and David Jones. He says, “I understand the concerns and reasons you’ve both given. However, sixteen is too young for him to be given legal adult status. Seventeen, yes, but not just turned sixteen. The application is denied.”

The welfare lady smiles at the decision and she moves over to speak to Dave Phillips about arrangements for David to go into care now, but she’s simply told, “Go away, you harpy. I’m not dead, yet!” She’s angry when she turns and walks away from them.

David Jones packs up their papers then he helps his great-grandfather to walk out of the courthouse and over to their car parked in the street. Once in the car the boy says, “I think we’ll go with Plan Bravo Echo!” He turns to look at his great-grandfather. He gets a nod yes in reply while Dave starts the car before he slowly moves the car into the traffic.

The rest of the day and the next one are spent packing a few things up and moving them into an environmentally controlled storage facility in Rivers. Their house is cleaned and made ready to be rented out with the bulk of the furniture in it. The car and other items are sold. Traveller’s cheques and foreign currency are obtained from another city along with train and plane tickets, as well as finalising the arrangements for David to have access to money outside of his own trust account. All is ready for their next act in this complex play called Life.

Escape

Late Thursday the trust manager, Mr Williams, visits the house to sit down for a long talk with both of the residents. Just on sunset Dave is able to sneak around the side of the house to get into the passenger side of Mr Williams’ SUV without being seen, and he squats on the floor of the front seat. A few minutes later David shows their visitor out of the house then he looks at the car parked opposite which has been there since Monday afternoon. They don’t know who is watching the house, but they have a good idea on whose behalf they’re doing the watching.

David closes the door then he goes through the house turning lights off and turning controls on while Mr Williams sits in his car to write some notes. David walks out of the back door, locks it behind himself, picks up his backpack waiting on the verandah, and goes around the side of the house. While crouching low he makes his way to the SUV and he taps on the rear passenger side window. Mr Williams sighs, finishes his notes, puts the books away, turns the interior light to the ’off’ position, then he starts the car’s ignition. When he turns the headlights on they light up the driveway and footpath in front of the car while throwing the area beside and behind the car into deep shadows.

David opens the rear passenger door, slips his backpack in, slides in while staying below the window level, and he shuts the door behind him. The whole trick of getting into the car unnoticed works well because it’s parked in the driveway area beside the garage and is facing across the front of the house. Mr Williams takes care driving out and down the street. He turns and heads toward his home, but he diverts from the path when a few streets away. Once he’s on the open road to the next town to the north he says, “Nothing in sight. I think we did it!” Both passengers rise up from where they’re hiding on the floor of the car to take their seats and to put their seat belts on. “I’d love to see the look on their faces when they realise you’re gone.”

Dave Phillips replies, “Well, we usually don’t go out of the house on the weekends, so not seeing us about will be in character. The issue will be late next week. With the holidays there’s no reason for us to leave the house, except to get food and to check mail. I’ve the mail being held so there’s no mail. They shouldn’t get concerned until late in the week.”

The three of them laugh at them getting away clean. A bit over an hour later Dave and David are on the train to Sydney. Later that night David Jones is on a flight out of Sydney on his way to Auckland, New Zealand, while Dave Phillips stands at the terminal window watching the plane climb into the night sky he thinks thinking, Good luck, Son, God’s speed and stay safe. I hope you find someone over there.

Sitting on the plane David Jones knows he’ll never again see the man who raised him for the last six and a bit years. They both know how far along the cancer is and Dave will be dead within a week or two. David says a prayer of thanks for his help and he starts his grieving process while he thinks, I’ll be back, Gramps! One day, I’ll come back to our home.

Dave watches the plane vanish into the night, turns, and makes his slow way out to the taxi ranks. He gets into a taxi and says, “I need to go to the hospital! Take me to the nearest public hospital, please.” A little later he’s being examined in the Emergency Room. He’s admitted. For the next few days he’s given increasing dosages of painkillers to help manage his pain levels. All involved know it’s a losing battle, but they fight on just the same as it’s in their nature to fight - even when losing.

The flight to Auckland, New Zealand, isn’t long and as soon as David arrives there he collects the little luggage he has, shows his Australian passport to go through New Zealand customs, and walks over to another airline’s check-in desk to get his boarding pass for his flight to the USA. Now he shows his US passport as he gets his boarding pass.

Just after three in the morning on the following Wednesday an alarm goes off at the nurses’ desk. She goes to the patient concerned to check his pulse, it’s not there. She calls for the duty doctor then she commences to turn off and remove the various monitors that aren’t needed now. The doctor arrives, makes the relevant checks, and writes the results down. All expect this, but it doesn’t make it any easier to deal with. The doctor steps over to pick up the envelope on the chest of drawers beside the bed, its simple address is: ’To be opened upon my death, Dave Phillips.’

He reads the letter, opens the top drawer, takes out the cell phone, turns it on, opens a message, and activates the ’Send’ command. It sends the prepared message to three phones, none of them being the phone of David Jones because it’s been sold as they don’t want to show a way to trace where he is. In Bowen’s Creek and Rivers a doctor, a trust manager, and a funeral director receive the text message on their phones. They’ll read them when they wake up in the morning and will act on them then.

Funeral

Dave Phillips is back in Bowen’s Creek the Saturday nine days after leaving the town and he’s waiting to be buried in the cemetery. Only his few closest friends have been told of the funeral, but a few others are also in attendance. The local Returned Services League (RSL) are doing the honours for the funeral of Warrant Officer Dave Phillips, George Cross. The service is like all of the other funerals the RSL has organised until they get to the lowering of the coffin into the grave where an extra song is included. A good local singer performs the John Barry song ’Born Free.’ When he finishes the song the ’Last Post’ is played, followed by a moment of silence by all at the grave site.

Senior Constable Keane walks over to stand beside Mr Williams and asks, “I don’t see young Davy, where is he? And what’s the point of the song ’Born Free’ in the service, it seems out of place?”

Williams looks at him for a moment, and he notes Keane isn’t in his uniform. He asks, “Is it the cop or the friend who asks?”

“The friend, unless you tell me I need to tell my other self!”

“Born Free is a declaration of his life, a statement of intent, and an order to someone else. Think on the words of the song, especially the first two words of the first three stanzas plus the final chorus.” Keane thinks back over the words while trying to remember them. Williams helps him out by saying, “Born Free, Live Free, Stay Free, and finishes with ’life being worth living because you’re born free.’ He’s making his point to us and to young David while giving the lad his final orders to stay free.”

“Damn! The boy’s done a runner, hasn’t he?”

“The reason Dave was in Sydney when he died was because he went into the hospital after seeing David on his way to freedom. He’s had a week to get lost. The longer before the welfare people wake up to that the colder the trail will be, and the better for the boy.”

“I see that! What’s with the George Cross, it’s for civilians?”

“Dave was a soldier in England in nineteen forty-three. He was on leave when he did something he never talks about. It warranted a medal but a military award wasn’t appropriate, so they gave him the George Cross. It had to be dangerous, but I’ve no idea what it was.” Both turn to look at the headstone:

Warrant Officer David Phillips, GC
20 August 1920 - 15 April 2009
Born free - lived free - died free.

The funeral is covered in the local Sunday paper and it’s seen by the local welfare office manager. On Monday she turns up at the Bowen’s Creek house to collect David Jones, and she isn’t happy to learn he left on a holiday over a week ago. No one knows where he is because only Dave Phillips had the information. It’s also obvious the house has been cleared out and is now ready to be rented out, so she knows David isn’t coming back here. She’s angry at them avoiding her, so she returns to her office to initiate an investigation. Like a typical bureaucrat she’s extremely angry when things don’t go the way she wants them to go.

Over the next six weeks one of her staff manages to track the two to Sydney and she also finds the plane David took to New Zealand. Ten days later they find the plane he took to the USA. He’s outside of their jurisdiction so the manager issues an International alert on a runaway child. Various computers have the name of David Light Arrow Jones entered in them as being wanted by the NSW government. The case rests there until it may come up again due to new information being put into the system and it being made available to the relevant authorities.

Fast Mover

Dave knew if things went against them in court they’d have to move fast so all of the preparations for a few alternative plans were made in the months before the court case, including money transfers and tickets. David doesn’t need a visa to go to New Zealand so that part is easy. He also has a USA passport due to his mother being a US Citizen, so David is a US citizen derived from his mother. David doesn’t want to warn the authorities of his dual nationality. The information hasn’t been hidden, but it’s not been made obvious and isn’t on most of the government files.

David exits Australia on his Australian passport and he uses it to go through the NZ Customs, thus it shows him arriving as an Australian citizen. He enters Los Angeles on his US passport. In LA he declares the large amount of travellers cheques and some cash he’s carrying. His backpack has his sleeping bag, tent, cooking gear, and clothes. However, all of his important papers are in the side bag he has as a carry-on bag.