Free Black Angels???Red Blood by Steven McCarthy Page B

watched you thinking about your business and I know that I’m only ... how would you put it, your rest and recreation.”
    â€œI didn’t choose to be what I am. I had this job when I was born. To give up now would be a waste of my life.” Tim tried to gain some respect. “I gotta experience some of the normal things occasionally.”
    â€œYes, but a black man’s gotta do what a black man’s gotta do. That’s what I always hear.” And with an edge in her voice Sylvia adds, “Just before they disappear.” She made eye contact with Tim knowing that she had hit the mark.
    â€œYou’re absolutely right.” Tim held her gaze and added, “How much was it that went into offshore deals, Sylvia? One hundred million.” Sylvia’s eyes widened only a fraction and not wanting to let it rest, Tim added, “The upper echelon of the New South Wales Land Council will have some explaining to do.”
    Sylvia glared at Tim, but he continued. “Think I don’t know these things. Don’t protect those dogs. Imagine wasting one hundred million dollars in a bad offshore deal while promising the blacks in Redfern that they would get nothing. I was there the day that Keating made that speech. As soon as he finshed, I overheard some of the blacks saying, ‘Them blackfellas in Redfern will get nothin’.’ I didn’t want to knock ‘em arse over tit straight away. Wanted to get a bit of dirt on ‘em. Now I’ve got the dirt and I’m going to rub it in their faces.”
    Sylvia, staunch in her stance and just as resolute, asked forcefully, “Are you finished?”
    â€œI’ve been watching them uptowners, and make sure you tell them that,” he added.
    â€œWhere do you get your information from?” Sylvia asked.
    â€œOh, I don’t think that’s important,” Tim responded.
    â€œAll that was done before I got on to the committee,” Sylvia said.
    â€œI know that and I know who the major player was,” Tim replied. “I been spreading yarns about him.”
    â€œYou’ll get yourself killed interfering with this stuff. They got too much at risk,” Sylvia warned Tim. “Besides, who’s gonna back you up?”
    Tim looks towards the sky and says, “Him.”
    Sylvia shook her head as Tim made his way down the street.

    The wind rustled through the leaves keeping pace with Tim. The only sounds were his boots hitting the sidewalk and the wind which occasionally shook the trees. There was a fine mist of rain, the prelude to heavy showers. He crossed the brightly lit street hurrying, as he knew it was going to rain and rain heavily. He’d reached the awning of a shop as the rain began to bucket down. He moved back in to the shadows away from the rain and pulled out a cigarette. While staring at the rain coming down, his mind wandered back to his days on the streets of Sydney.
    The thought of her opened old wounds and he wasn’t tough enough to hold back the tears that ran down his face. She was a white girl and they were best friends. She was wild, but who wasn’t in those days. “Where are you now?” he cried out softly. They were both fifteen and living on thestreets. The coppers raped her one night and when she came back to Tim she had changed. The reckless innocence was gone and her smile had been replaced by a vacant look. She had been to hell and back but it took depraved coppers to break her spirit. She left that same night and Tim had not seen her since.
    It was a rolling storm and the tail end was passing. He knew that there was a spirit with him as the wind danced across the sheets of water, making the rain fall in patterns across the road. However brief the dance, Tim knew that something was in the air. The rain was light, then heavy, light, then heavy, as Tim stepped out into it.
    Sam was standing under an awning in Redfern, just about to run across the