Chapter 6
Kevin glanced sideways as he drove along the country roads not for the first time in the last few days amazed at the woman
beside him. Together they had driven around the area asking questions then collecting water and soil samples. Not only was Kevin
astounded by her stamina and seemingly endless energy but he watched her adroitly and sympathetically question the people
instinctively gaining their trust. Whether it was Cydney's softly spoken manner that inspired friendliness or that she just had
the common touch that made people instantly feel at ease and able to open up with her he didn't know. But often within
minutes of meeting someone or a family she was seated at a kitchen table coffee in hand with people confiding their life's
story to her. She possessed an easy confidence and seemed assured and content with her place in the scheme of things. Over the
last week the pair of them had developed a good understanding and working relationship and he found himself enjoying her
companionship. She had an incisive nimble mind that wasn't restricted or bound by the confines of her job. She was well
read, intelligent and her conversation was stimulating, quick witted and laced with an earthy sense of humour that kept him
extremely amused and on his toes. He found he could converse with her on many a different subject and find her knowledgable.
And when unsure, he found her open minded and willing to learn and absorb all she could.
But at the moment she was gazing abstractedly out of his truck window, her chin resting in her cupped hand as the scenery flew
by mile after mile.
'You ok Cyd?' he asked uncertainly. He had sensed her mood change after visiting the last family. At that
homestead they had questioned a young husband with an extremely ill wife and even sicker toddler. The young man named
Thomas was at wit's end because no one seemed to be able to pin point his wife and child's illness and he was an
extremely frustrated young man. Thomas soon got over his initial suspicions and general reluctance to let Cydney and Kevin into
their home but Cydney's amiable persistence had paid off. Her skilled, gentle and caring handling of ill his wife had led to
Thomas opening up and confiding in them a few more leads and names of people thereabouts that were showing simular
symptoms, reactions and illnesses.
Cydney turned to face Kevin and he was taken aback by the fury in her eyes. Normally a calm serene grey now they looked like
the ocean on a wild stormy day as the tempest in them raged and swirled. Yet somehow her anger only increased her
attractiveness. It hadn't escaped him that Cydney had very expressive features when her guard was down and she just
could be herself and not the in control Agent Wade.
She took a deep breath before saying. 'Yeah I'm ok Kev. I'm just angry. I just cannot believe these people
have to suffer because some big corporation won't do the right thing with their chemical waste. It's like
people's lives and the land we live on are so expendable. No matter how long I've been in this job I still cannot
believe the callousness of some of these companies and their stance on pollution control and the need to save the mighty buck,
it's all about profit Kevin. Some fat cat is probably lining his own pockets at the expense of these people, it's dirty,
dirty business.'
Kevin turned his attention back to the road. He negotiated a corner controlling the steering wheel with his long fine fingers then he
glanced back towards her again. 'Do you ever get weighed down by it all Cyd? Do you feel like you're losing the
battle?'
She shook her head and gave him a rueful grin and the tempest in her eyes calmed considerably. 'Honestly Kevin? Not
very often, its just day's like today when I see children, babies, our future put at risk. I guess with my job comes a certain
amount of cynicism, but when I see children ill and sick because of those bastards I just get so angry.'
'So I noticed.' He murmured dryly as he glanced sideways at her again. He saw Cydney's lips twitch with
amusement as her natural good humour returned and she continued speaking.
'Soooo......I don't often get weighed down with the job. I want to get even. I want those who cross that line
apprehended and the book thrown at them. And I'll do anything in my power to see that I get the job done. I want justice
Kevin and I want it for those people whose lives these scumbags destroy. This is not a pretty business Kevin. It's mostly
tedious boring painstaking work as we piece together a case then often it can get unexpectedly dangerous, especially if we have to
go undercover. Well you're bound to see that first hand for yourself, but when I've accomplished my objective and
I've closed the case, then and only then do I allow myself the satisfaction of thinking that I might have made a difference.
That maybe I won that battle, but there is always another battle waiting, whether large or small. But we have to keep plugging
away.' She spoke softly but earnestly and her face and grey eyes were alive with her enthusiasm and dedication. 'I
really respect and admire you for getting involved Kevin. It's all too easy these days for people to sit back and do nothing,
to shut their eyes and pretend none of this is happening. I think it's wonderful the way you are using your celebrity status to
bring people's attention to the needs of the environment but you must have had your fair share of detractors because of
it?' Cydney with her thoughtful eyes turned to look at Kevin asked.
Kevin watched the road intently as he carefully negotiated another tight bend then he glanced back across at Cydney
'Yeah I guess I might present a target for those people who want to have a swipe at me because of what I believe
in.' Kevin shrugged his shoulders unconcernedly. ' But I've got broad shoulders. As long as my conscience
allows me to sleep at night then I can handle anything they might throw at me.'
Cydney laid a light hand on Kevin's arm. 'We need more people in the world like you Kevin. People who care
enough to get involved.'
'What long haired greenie radical hippy types you mean? Kevin's thin lips twisted into that familiar half smile that
Cydney was beginning to recognise as a particular habit of his when he found something amusing.
'Yeah you could say that.' Cydney chuckled at Kevin's reference to the general assumption that a lot of
people held about environmentalists. They grinned in understanding at each other and Kevin turned his attention back to the road
ahead as he changed gears and the truck started it's climb up the mountain.
'How much longer till we reach the next area we designated for sampling?' Cydney queried.
'About ten more minutes give or take. As I said it's a bit of a hike.'
'No worries Kev, we'll see if you can you keep up with me.' With a grin she threw down the challenge and
in Kevin's evergreen eyes she saw his answering smile.
'You're a woman of many talents.' He said teasingly with that slow soft drawl that was a complete contrast
to her rapid fire conversation.
'I know and I've got a few hidden ones there as well.' She told him with a raised eyebrow and a laugh in
her fine grey eyes.
'Somehow that doesn't surprise me in the slightest.' Kevin barked out a laugh. 'I suspected as
much.' They drove on in companionable silence till Kevin turned the truck onto a dirt road that led into a small clearing.
'Do we need to camouflage the truck? Kevin asked before stopping the engine.
'Yeah it's probably a good idea Kevin. Park it over there between those trees and we can pull a few of those
leaves and tree branches over it.' Cydney looked about over her shoulder thoughtfully as she summed up the possibility of
discovery.
Kevin skilfully manoeuvred the truck between the trees. It was a tight squeeze but they had enough room to climb out and cover
the truck with various branches and piles of leaf litter.
'How's that look?' Kevin stood back from the truck and let Cydney survey their handy work.
'It'll do. I hope this doesn't damage your truck's paintwork though.'
Kevin shrugged his shoulders. 'It doesn't matter Cyd..it's not the end of the world, it's just a truck.
All for a good cause you know.' Again that twisted half smile appeared as he bent down to pass Cydney her hiking gear.
'How long will it take us to hike to this spot?' She asked as she slung her rucksack on her back and fiddled with the
straps to adjust them to a comfortable fit.
Kevin looked up from where he was tightening the laces of his hiking boots 'Just over an hour Cyd. It's about a
medium grade hike, no climbing up cliffs though.' He grinned up at her and tucked a strand of his long dark hair behind his
ears before placing his weather beaten wide brimmed hat on his head.'
'Well that's a real shame country boy, I could have taught you a thing or two there.' Cydney said as she
leaned over and tweaked his hat forward over his eyes. 'Are you ready?'
Kevin nodded as he straightened his hat with a smile at her. 'Yep. Are you?' he stood up and slung his rucksack on
his shoulders.
'Lead the way then.' She waved her hand forward and Kevin moved off up the track with Cydney following close
on his heals. They were silent as they hiked along the trail with just the sound of the occasional small animal scurrying away from
their approach through he undergrowth and some native bird life breaking the forest's stillness as they scattered out of their
way. It was mid afternoon and the sun was high in the sky and its warming rays broke through the top of the tree canopy as the
two hikers below set a brisk pace along the trail. Kevin glanced back to see how Cydney was coping with the pace he was
setting. He knew she was fit but she was keeping up behind him with no trouble. She wasn't even breathless as she
grinned up at him. 'Is that the fastest you can go.' She teased.
He rolled his eyes and pushed back his hat from his forehead so he could wipe the sweat from his brow with his hand. 'No.
And I daresay you've done this plenty of times before haven't you?'
Cydney smiled. 'Yeah you could say that. Hiking is a hobby of mine. A few of my collage friends and I try to hike as much
as we can. It helps keep me fit but I've also done a fair bit of rock climbing.'
Kevin eyed her tall athletic figure that didn't show an ounce of fat on it anywhere and he didn't doubt she was a
proficient rock climber. Walking in just a singlet top with her sloppy Joe tied loosely about her waist for the first time Kevin took
note of Cydney's finely defined but sculpted arm muscles that didn't detract at all from her femininity. With her fair
hair pulled back into a ponytail she looked the essence of good health and athleticism. A slight sheen of sweat beaded across her
forehead and her face glowed becomingly from being outside in the open air.
'Do you climb often?' Kevin asked as he stopped walking and leant back against a tree taking off his pack so he
could get his water bottle out. He sipped at the water looking over his bottle as he watched the woman beside him answer his
question.
'Well not really Kevin, time is always an issue for me but I'm a trained rock climber. You never know in this job if
you might need to be skilled in that field. So it's better to be prepared for anything that the job throws at you. I've
found myself hanging off a cliff face one minute then dressed up to the nines for a fancy corporate function the next. As I said
earlier, I'm a woman of hidden talents.' She peeked up at him with an impish grin and he found himself warming to
the friendly openness on her face and in her grey eyes. He had never experienced this easy cordial fellowship with a woman
before. It had always been so complicated with other woman but with Cydney he didn't feel like she wanted anything more
from him. Kevin sensed that she accepted him for the man and the person he was and he felt comfortable and contented being
with her. They had very quickly shared the easy cosy manner which long term friends often shared with one another. She pulled
her water bottle from her pack and took a long draught, her long neck stretched back as she drank the cool liquid. When finished
she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and said. 'I suppose we should be making a move.' She screwed
the lid to her bottle down tightly. 'Otherwise we might run out of daylight on the way back.'
'Yeah you might be right there Cyd. If we don't muck about collecting the samples we should be ok though,
we're not far from the spot now, it's only about fifteen minutes up the track.' Kevin shrugged his pack back
onto his shoulders and adjusted his hat.
'Righto, lets get a move on then.' Cydney set off first this time, picking out the rarely used trail that was beginning
to be reclaimed by the undergrowth with her expert eyes. It was a slightly steeper rockier climb but after ten minutes hard walking
the ground levelled out. A slightly acrid odour floated about and Cydney stopped and sniffed rabbit like at the air.
'Can you smell that?' she asked as Kevin came to a halt beside her.
'Yeah, god that's horrible. What is it?' he pushed his hat back from his head and wiped his brow.
'Let's go find out shall we?' She moved forward, ducking as she pushed her way through the thick scrubby
trees and when she broke through the undergrowth she discovered a creek. Standing still she looked about her as her eyes and
mind processed the bubbling brewing black lava like substance that was oozing from the polluted creek bed into is surrounds.
Kevin stopped just behind her and his thin lips tightened in anger making his normally handsome features hard as stone as he too
realised what the mess they were looking at. A murmured expletive fell unconsciously from his lips and his anger, although
expressed quietly was no less minimised because of that. Cydney glanced sideways at him a look of disgust and ire on her
expressive face.
Her grey eyes flashed and fumed explosively. 'Goodness knows what toxic shit is in that mess, no wonder people and
children are getting sick around here.' She flung her pack off her shoulders and opened it up, searching for the vials and
equipment that would enable them to collect their samples. She handed Kevin a couple of pairs of latex gloves. 'Double
them up Kev. I don't like the look of this muck. You need to be extremely careful when dealing with this. Under no
circumstances allow it to touch your skin.' She also handed him a breathing mask. 'And until we know
what's in this mess wear this as well. We could be inhaling all sorts of crap from the fumes here.'
Kevin silently took the proffered mask and placed it over his face. Their gazes locked and Kevin regarded Cydney out of eyes that
mirrored each other's pain at the callous destruction of this once beautiful creek and its effects on the surrounding
woodland.
'It's one step at a time Kev.' Cydney's sympathetic voice was muffled through her own breath
mask. She knew exactly what he was feeling because she felt the same way. 'Let's get to work and then we can
take the next step, then the next step and then we finally nail these bastards.'
'Can this mess ever be cleaned up?' He asked as he bent over a section of the creek where the lava like muck
pooled and he carefully scraped some slime into a sterilised jar with a special sterile spatula. He looked satisfied that he had
collected enough of the specimen in that particular jar and he put the stopper on and he carefully stored it in a plastic evidence
bag. With a pen he quickly labelled the bag and moved over to the next area that needed sampling to continue the process all over
again.
'Eventually, but some of this land might never be recovered to its natural state. We'll do our best to try and
rehabilitate it Kevin, but sometimes the damage is too far gone.' Cydney spoke as she scurried about like Kevin did on the
opposite side of the water collecting her samples from various sites as she took the same careful precautions. Not only did they
need to be careful of the toxic nature of the pollution for their own sakes. But they needed to keep the specimens as sterile as
possible so that when Cydney ran her tests they were sure that these samples were not contaminated by any other substances but
just their own poisonous waste.
'You know what Kev? I'd like to collect a few more soil samples as we hike back down. And I think I might take
some vegetation for analysis as well. I want to see how far down the toxicity is leeching into the soil layer.'
'Good thinking Cyd.' Kevin said as he stood and stretched, arching his back to ease its stiffness. He looked over at
Cydney and grinned behind his facemask. She was still beavering away collecting with that boundless energy she possessed.
'Do you ever get tired?' he asked in awe of her energy.
'Sometimes.' She smiled across at him. The dipping sunlight over the trees reflected in her grey eyes giving her
expressive face an elfin look that was rather attractive. She turned back to her task with a singlemindedness that he admired.
Kevin sensed she was at one with nature and would be quite comfortable spending time in the wilds. She was definitely a paradox
as far as he read her personality. As he studied her he shook his head at her many faceted faces she presented to the world.
Which facet was the real woman? He guessed a little bit of each made up the Cydney Wade he was yet to really know, but even
for all that he was glad he could call her his friend. And as if she sensed his interest she looked over at him questioningly. He
found himself grinning and saying. 'Good. I'm glad you rarely get tired because it's your turn to cook dinner
tonight. I'm in charge of the wine right?'
She burst out laughing, a delighted sound that echoed throughout the trees. 'That's the deal Richardson, and after
our good efforts here today I think we might need two bottles for tonight. I hope you can manage that ok?'
He advanced towards her shaking his head. 'Why do I sense that somehow I've got myself in too deep with
you?' He relived her of her specimens and found himself smiling down into her eyes. She opened her mouth to speak but
he jumped in before she could frame her retort. 'Yeah, yeah, I know I'm a country boy. Say nothing more Miss
Wade.'
She chuckled. 'Why Kevin.' She choked back a grin as she teased. 'You're the cutest country boy I
know though.'
He shook his head and muttered as he placed the samples in his rucksack. 'Why do I never learn? And why am I asking
you?'
She patted his shoulder before slinging her own rucksack on her back. 'Cause you like me, you really like me.'
Kevin stood and adjusted his hat. He gave her a gentle shove in the direction of the trail and said with a sudden laugh.
'Against my better judgement I find that I do. Now get that butt moving. I want my dinner before midnight tonight.'
Cydney laughed as she strode off purposefully down the track but she threw back teasingly over her shoulder. 'You better
keep up then.'
Kevin rolled his eyes and muttered under his breath something about strangling the only woman friend he possessed.
Chapter 7
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