Return Journey

by Charles Edward Black

Return Journey. By Charles Black. An Australian government military aircraft en route to Mogadishu returning priceless artefacts is shot down in the desert by Somali bandits operating a ground to air missile. The perpetrators find the wreck site and scour the aircraft to recover the treasure without success. Their efforts are thwarted by Greg Langford an Interpol undercover agent and his colleague Barry Wilder who both survived the crash. While sheltering from a sandstorm Wilder and Langford discover an ancient underground Egyptian citadel that reveals in hieroglyphic form early voyages by an Egyptian fleet to a great southland. Wilder returns at a later date to further research the map on the wall inside the citadel and decodes its ancient message. After the air-crash Langford and Wilder recover six caskets containing priceless Egyptian treasure from the aircraft’s hidden compartment and transport them to the Australian consul in Mogadishu for safekeeping. A corrupt Somali bank manager purloins the caskets and flees to England to auction the treasure on the black market. Proceeds are intended to finance an international people smuggling organisation ready to launch a political takeover in Australia. In London Langford exposes the politicians and powerful businessmen involved in the black market sale intending to bid for the treasure for their own private. collections. In retaliation for Langford’s interference they plan his murder. Langford is attacked by thugs hired by political and business powers as punishment for their public humiliation. While recovering in hospital doctors inform Langford of a serious illness that threatens his life. Before his demise he decides to operate as a vigilante and eliminate a list of corrupt business tycoons and racketeers who exploit the public purse. Langford returns to Australia and continues his deadly vendetta against corrupt businessmen and uncovers their involvement in the illegal immigrant trade and the United Displace Persons Organisation. Langford also uncovers an international human organ supply ring in the New England Highlands which is training insurgents and generating additional finance to support a passive invasion of Australia. Disguised as a UDP elder and assisted by Bob Hersey his police officer friend Langford infiltrates the headquarters of the invasion force in Sydney. At an evening gathering of insurgent sympathisers Langford disarms a bomb carrier and primes himself with the deadly explosives. Langford is paraded before a large crowd of foreign sympathisers at a Sydney gathering but before they can publicly humiliate him in their victory speech he detonates the explosive device attached to his body and the story concludes with a question with political and homeland security implications. A thought provoking postscript illuminates for the reader the possibility of future threats to the Australian way of life.

201 pages, Paperback

Published August 4, 2017