The image below shows the setting for the quarry scene in my novel, Crossing Live. I found it in my camera roll from last year’s trip to Australia. It’s not exactly a standard tourist image from the land down under. In fact, it’s guaranteed never, ever to feature in any Tourism Australia poster. But I was still more than happy to get it.
I was walking at the top end of Brisbane’s Mt Coot-tha Botanical Gardens and found this viewpoint over the quarry. It’s a couple of kilometres from the location of the fictional Channel 5 studios on Mt Coot-tha. That’s just a short helicopter ride away for the Newscenter5 chopper. And it’s the obvious place for the fictional news team to shoot their high-action Newscenter5 promo.
Roland Kendall spends the entire afternoon with his walkie-talkie on the ridge at the far side of the quarry. It’s a hot, dusty location on a late-summer afternoon in Brisbane. And it’s fair to say that Roland is initially reluctant to be playing his part in the staged filmshoot. But as the action unfolds, he begins to see his new boss Dalton Hinsley in a new light. Here’s a short excerpt:
Two helicopters, in tight formation, completed their sweep across the northern suburbs and turned in a wide arc towards Mt Coot-tha. The pitch of their engines rose as the pilots levelled off and selected Roland’s scarlet Newscenter5 wind jacket as their target. Sitting alone on the edge of the ridge, he watched them grow larger. Then, remembering his job, he lifted the walkie-talkie and pressed the transmit button. ‘Dalton, this is Roland.’
‘Go ahead, Roly.’
‘They’re on their way.’
‘Understood. Stand by.’
Roland stood by. In his earpiece, he heard: ‘Dalton to all crews. Stand by. Roll cameras. Light the fires.’
The lead chopper thundered at tree-top height over Roland’s head, shaking the bushes he had been sitting in all day. He pressed the transmit button again. ‘Roland again. Overhead now!’
Dalton’s voice crackled through the static. ‘News car. Go! Go!’
The helicopter swept over the ridge and raced across the quarry. Roland watched as it was engulfed in the thick black smoke from the fire that had been started against the cliffside. He heard Dalton’s voice come over the radio again: ‘That’s way too much smoke! Cut it back! Cut it back!’A Newscenter5 news car crested the ridge on the far side of the quarry and raced down the gravel road into the crater. The stunt driver reached a hairpin bend and slid the car around it in a carefully choreographed manoeuvre. Roland knew from the briefing that a camera concealed near the bend would have zoomed in on David Burton who was in the car’s passenger seat. At the same time, the second helicopter passed over Roland’s head. He saw a figure in a scarlet wind jacket lean out of the open door with a news camera on his shoulder.
The downdraught from the rotors thickened the air with a mixture of gravel, dust and black smoke. Roland edged closer to the precipice. He could just make out the dark figures moving around the quarry. As both choppers circled past again, Dalton triggered an explosion that sent a huge ball of orange flame into the air between them.
Moments later, the Newscenter5 car arrived on the quarry floor. Roland watched mesmerised as David Burton jumped out with a camera crew and disappeared into the smoke. The lead helicopter landed near the stationary car. Suzie Denning, wearing one of the scarlet wind jackets handed out to everyone by Dalton that morning, stepped out and walked in a half-crouch away from the open door. She was followed at a predetermined distance by another camera crew.
The smoke cleared enough to reveal a small battle under way on the quarry floor. David Burton had found his way into the centre of the action. He was leaning against a boulder next to a masked man who was firing an assault rifle. Ignoring the muzzle flashes and ejected cartridge cases flying around him, Burton turned to camera and calmly began his report. Another scarlet jacket caught Roland’s eye and he saw Suzanne make her way across to a command vehicle where she began to interview a senior police officer. Gradually the firing died down and the four masked men surrendered to the police. Burton followed with his camera team. A fire engine arrived and its crew laid out hoses to quench the fire which still burned in the quarry. Suzanne moved across and pressed a microphone under the nose of the fire crew’s senior officer.
Roland, who was designated as Dalton’s eyes and ears on the ridge, had been essential for starting the action when the first helicopter passed an agreed point on the horizon. After that he was supposed to be on standby for further instructions. In reality he had been a spectator for most of the day. He had enjoyed every minute of it. Dalton clearly knew what he was doing when it came to film-making and the edited film would be spectacular.
The earpiece for the walkie-talkie had fallen from his ear. He pushed it back into place in time to hear Dalton say, ‘Cut everybody. That was fantastic. Now let’s do it one more time. Start time in 30 minutes.’
…
Crossing Live is free on KindleUnlimited. Download a sample or buy your own copy from your local Kindle store.