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*****
Levi wiped the sweat from his brow. It was hot standing in the afternoon sun, watching while the handlers entered the crocodile enclosure and laid out their gear within easy reach. Ropes and blankets, a roll of thick tape and what looked like a spinal board. The next day, Levi would be one of them. He swallowed hard. Yeah, he was a little nervous—the hairs at the back of his neck standing on end and gut churning even thinking about getting up close and personal with an animal as deadly as a saltie.
He watched the test run—the final practical lesson on how to go about roping and restraining one of the crocodiles. Jack, the head trainer, called out, “Levi, you’ll be right next to me tomorrow. You need to be aware of your surroundings, like I’ve said. Saltwater crocs are fast bastards. They can run at nearly thirty clicks in short bursts—that’s a lot faster than you.” Jack’s gaze never strayed from the reptile sunning itself on the edge of the pond. Jaws open, the white on the inside of its mouth was visible. Its powerful legs tipped with claws sharp enough to gut a man if he got too close made Levi swallow. His mouth was dry as a desert. The croc was about the same size as the one they’d be moving the next day, and it was freaking huge.What am I doing? Am I insane?
They worked efficiently—short, sharp moves and clear directions spoken calmly, but loud enough that there was no mistaking them. He watched as the handlers spread out, moving down the length of the rope that Belinda, another trainer, would lasso him with. Levi was awed, watching as she got close enough to the croc to use a rod with a hook on the end to manoeuvre the heavy rope noose over his top jaw.
Where the reptile had been still as a statute a moment before, suddenly it was thrashing. Belinda had yanked on the lasso, tightening it around the croc’s snout and within a millisecond, it was doing a deathroll into the water, splashing and fighting to drag her in.
“Levi, we grab the rope and haul him up now. You’ll be behind me.” Speaking more to the other trainers in with him, Jack said, “Remember, don’t loop it round your hand.” They worked seamlessly, each of the five men and women pulling until their muscles strained. Cedric, the crocodile, fought hard but the handlers were experienced and knew how to get him up to the clearing with the minimum of fuss.
The growls the croc let loose when he hit the shore had Levi breaking out in a cold sweat. He’d done some crazy things in this job, but this was madness. Fear prickled through him and his heart raced. White-knuckling the railing, he sucked in a breath and jumped out of his skin when DJ, their location manager, clamped a hand on his shoulder. “Lookin’ forward to this one, mate?”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. He was too busy staring in horror at the monster being dragged unceremoniously up the embankment. One of the handlers tossed the small blanket over the croc’s eyes and suddenly they were all launching themselves on top of it while Belinda held the rope as steady as she could.
“Levi, tomorrow if you’re near a leg, you’ll need to grab it and pin it up and back, like this,” Jack called out, showing him the position. “Watch the claws or you’ll cut yourself open.” Jack asked Belinda, “We secure?”
“Yep, jaw is taped.”
“Okay, boys and girls, let’s get Cedrick on the board, then we’ll check him over and release.”
It was only a few minutes later that Jack dusted his hands off on his khaki pants. “How was that to watch, Levi?” he asked with a grin.
“Terrifying.” He shook his head. “You guys were impressive, but I’m not so sure about getting in there.”
“You’ll shit bricks the first time, but we’ll be right there with you. It’s dangerous, but as long as you keep a cool head and follow directions, we’ll keep you safe.” Jack clapped a friendly hand on his shoulder and called out to the group. “Right, let’s take a smoko break. We’re nearly done for the day.”
Sandwich in hand, Levi sat on a large boulder in the shade of one of the many gum trees and cracked open his bottle of water. He took a swig and listened to the sounds around him—birds sang in the branches above, the distant sounds of the show in the Crocoseum entertaining park-goers. The dazzling blue sky stretched out, cloudless, above him. Levi checked his phone for messages. He had a text from head office:Levi, you’re needed for an urgent meeting at the studio. Please telephone immediately upon receiving to advise of your expected arrival time. Eva McLaughlin is travelling from Sydney to meet with you in person.
“What the hell?” Levi mumbled, dialling head office’s line. The receptionist picked up on the first ring, and after the usual, impersonal greeting, he spoke. “Hi, I’m Levi Flaherty. Apparently, Ms McLaughlin is flying up to the Gold Coast studio to meet with me this afternoon. Is that right?”
“Yes, Mr Flaherty. That’s correct. Should I telephone the studio to let them know you’re on your way?”
“We have at least another hour left before we wrap up here, so I won’t be there for at least four. I’ll hit peak hour traffic coming through the city.”
“Mr Flaherty, I have strict instructions to advise you to leave immediately upon getting the message, not to wait for the day to wrap.”
“Oh-kay,” Levi replied slowly. “Any idea why the urgent meeting has been called?”
“Can’t say, sorry,” she answered dismissively.
“I’m sure you can’t,” he mumbled under his breath. Louder, he asked, “Is anyone else required to be at this meeting or is it just me?”
“Everyone on set.”
Levi pulled the phone away from his ear and looked at it as if it’d miraculously give him an answer. He shook his head and looked up, searching for the director. Sure enough, she was on the phone too, rushing over to where DJ was sitting. “Yeah. Yeah,” he said, distracted, “Okay, I’ll help get everyone organized, then we’ll leave.”
“Mr Flaherty, I just said that you needed to leave immediately upon getting the message. Never mind the others, they’ve got their own instructions. You need to meet Ms McLaughlin. She’s already on her flight. She won’t appreciate being kept waiting.”
Something wasn’t right. Never in all the years that he’d worked on TV had he been called in the middle of a shoot and ordered to a meeting with top level management. He’d heard that the network had financial problems—everyone had, it was national news—but they’d also been assured by the administrators that no jobs would be lost. He blew out a breath and hung up, then yelled out to DJ, jogging over to him and the director locked in conversation. “Hey,” he called, getting their attention. “I need to go. Apparently we have a meeting back on the Coast, but my instructions are to leave straight away rather than help you guys pack up.”
“Yeah, no worries. We were just told the same thing. Good luck, yeah.”
Levi froze, an anvil settling in his gut. “Do you know something?”
“Nah, mate, I don’t.” DJ shook his head. Levi was clueless, but he nodded in response and bumped fists with his friend and nodded to the director before jogging across to his car. Pulling out to begin the two-hour drive back to the Gold Coast, his mind churning, he dialled Katy. “Hey, sugar,” he greeted her when she picked up and said hello to him. “I won’t keep you. I’m heading back, I’ll be home tonight.”
“How come?”
