Divide and Conquer
In a very fortified house, surrounded by a big lake; with the closest house 5 miles away, Smith is sipping his whiskey looking at the window. He is looking through the window like a man who is deep in thought. His moment is interrupted by a man, “Well this is becoming nasty” that is John’s brother Laughmberg. “Why do you think that is?” he asks with somewhat worry in his voice. “For starters, it seems Mr. Nkosi managed to get hold of the Mkhulisi autopsy report and now he knows this was a murder not an accident. It’s a matter of time before he goes back to his company and try to clear his name and we’ll be right back where we started.”John shrugs his shoulder, “what will he do with that report? I mean, it doesn’t lead anywhere. And we still have his signature in the invoice that purchased the material which led to the collapse of the building.” he says.
He takes a sip. Laughmberg comes over to him with a worried face, “yeah, about that…” he looks down in embarrassment, “what is it?” John asks nervously. “Our sleeper agents in his company are compromised. And Dan too” he says with a low voice but didn’t expect what came next from his brother, as John smashes the glass in the wall. “How the hell did that happen Luke? How?” he is so furious.
“I don’t know man, clearly Qhawe is working with people who have high level clearance.” Luke says. “Do you know what this means?” Smith shouts at his brother. “It means if they haven’t already, Nkosi will soon put all pieces together and discover a web of corruption, covert operations, a rogue agency that has ties to very important people and prominent politicians.” he shouts louder.
He comes back and sits on the couch, he pours himself a bigger stiff of whiskey, “So, this Mr. Nkosi is proving to be smart.” He says softly this time. “Okay, his company is not really a priority now with these new developments. The priority right now is to ensure that our friends are protected.” he says to which Luke nods, “First things first,” Smith says as he downs his drink in one go, “We must divide and conquer. We need to keep Nkosi and his friends occupied with more seriously matters and that should buy us some time.” He looks through the window again like a man who is planning something really bad.
***
A week or so passes by, and everyone is still on high alert. The Nkosi house has a security everywhere. They know they can’t take any chances since they now know very well that they have entered the dark world of espionage and covert operations. Nothemba has also taken a time out on her book- promotion tours for now as any unnecessary movements are risky. The kids are pulled away from school temporarily, Qhawe can’t trust anyone at the moment. Besides, they can’t afford to waste resources. they need every bodyguard to be available to do shifts.
He knows they are clearly watched at every turn. Themba and Zinhle have also taken times out from work as well. They now and then pop up at Qhawe’s home if there are any updates. This is the most draining times for these two families and they know they can only depend on each other now.
“So when are you planning to go to the office and confront that snake Dan?” asks Themba as they are sitting by the pool with Qhawe around noon. “No, not yet man.” Qhawe says which leaves Themba is a little puzzled, “Isn’t this what you want? We must reclaim the company back man because I hear they keep making big decisions that you and I would never make just to feed their pockets.” he says as he shrugs his shoulders.
“I know man, but look at it this way, Smith has been acting in response to what we do. He has the resources, power and influence. What he has been doing is steering our actions to where he wants.” Qhawe says as he looks to the sky.
Themba listens with interests but Qhawe continues, “Him being a spy, he must have known by now that we have found out about Dan and his sleeper agents in the company. But I am sure he is frustrated by the fact that we haven’t acted on it. You see…this is throwing him off balance because he doesn’t know what we will do next.”
Themba smiles and says, “Oh I hear you now. Since when have you become this smart.?” They both laugh. “Man we have been in this dark world for so long I have even forgotten how the normal world is like.” Qhawe says as he takes a sip of his fruit juice. “Yeah man, soon it will be over.” Themba responds as he gives him a pat at the back. He stands up and says, ‘Let me go man, keep me posted and I will do like-wise.” Qhawe walks him out and the body guard opens the gate for him as they drive off. Qhawe gets back to the house.
Later in the evening there seems to be this uneasy silence in the house like tension. God, it is days like this when Qhawe wishes the kids were with Buhle so that he can spend quality times with his wife. “Baby, are you okay?” he asks. “I’m okay, Nothemba answers and then continue reading her magazine.
Qhawe assumes it could be this whole madness that is going on and his wife just can’t deal with it. So he decides to not press her. “I’m off to be bed babe, are you coming?” he asks. “I will be right there soon.” Nothemba says with a down voice. Qhawe decides to not pressure her. He goes up stairs, gets tucked in and falls asleep.
In the morning Qhawe comes down and his wife looks like she’s been up for a very long time but he is not smelling Nothemba’s delicious breakfast as usual and he is not seeing the kids as well. This is unusual, he thinks to himself.
Nothemba is sitting in the couch instead and reading a newspaper, which is not really her thing. What is going on today? Qhawe thinks to himself. He comes over to her, “Good morning honey.” He tries to plant a kiss but she dodges it and moves away. “Baby, are you okay?’ he is very puzzled. “I don’t know, should I be?” Nothemba asks as she throws the newspaper at him.
Qhawe looks at it and reads a headline ‘Business tycoon in affair with secretary’ and he looks at the relative picture, it’s a photo of him and Grace.
Grace is planting a kiss on his chic.
Qhawe looks at his wife who is furious or maybe disappointed and hurt. “Baby,” he puts the paper down and comes towards his wife. “No stand there.” Nothemba says. “Baby, it’s not what you think okay, I can explain.” Qhawe says anxiously.
“Oh really? It’s not what I think? What am I thinking exactly? Huh? What am I thinking?” a furious Nothemba cuts in, “am I thinking that a woman is kissing my husband in a very cozy manner?”
Qhawe pauses for a second. Firstly, he is trying to understand how this photo made the news and how to explain this to his wife. “Please explain it to me, now damn it,” shouts Nothemba. He has never seen her like that before.
“Okay, okay, this was last year baby, at work Christmas party. Remember? You couldn’t come since you were over at your sister’s.” he says to which Nothemba pauses for a moment and she is trying to think. “So when I couldn’t come you decided to kiss your aid?” she smashes the wall with a glass in her hand. “Would you have allowed her to kiss you if I was there, or you just saw an opportune moment?” she wipes her tears.
“Baby…” Qhawe interjects but is suddenly lost for words “Wait, I did see all the pictures from that party, why was this picture not there?” Nothemba asks as she shouts. When someone has made up their minds on a matter, there is no way of changing them. “Love I don’t know how this picture ended up in the newspaper. Grace could have taken the picture or even someone else from the party.” Qhawe is at pains trying to explain himself.
Nothemba sits down. She tries to catch her breathe. She wipes her tears, “then explain these to me.” she gives Qhawe the phone. Qhawe takes it he looks and scrolls down. He breathes heavily, “Baby I don’t know anything about these.” he says and those words seem to set his wife off, “Are you f@$king kidding me?” she shouts, “Is that not you and is that not Grace?” She walks around the room.
“Baby where did you get these?” Qhawe is shocked. “answer the bloody question" Nothemba shouts, "is that not you and Grace having a cozy lunch? Don’t I prepare you a lunch box? Why on earth will you be needing a restaurant with your aid when you already have lunch unless you need quality time with your Grace and perhaps maybe a different kind of lunch?” Her eyes are red and her voice is trembling.
Qhawe is lost for words, everything he says may seem like a like a lie now. “Baby I don’t know what to say but I have never set in the cafeteria alone with Grace. I swear to you. This is not some restaurant. It’s at work and how someone took an angle of the picture that made it seem like it’s just me and Grace, I don’t know.” He says.
Nothemba goes to the door, she opens and says, “Please get out of my house.” Qhawe stands there, shocked. “Now please, get out.” Nothemba pleads. “Baby…” Qhawe pleads but he couldn’t finish the sentence, as Nothemba jumps in, “Now, damn it,” she shouts and Qhawe walks off. He tells the guards to watch and pay attention. He takes two guards with him and drives off.
The day goes fast as Qhawe is trying to figure out how things have come to this. He doesn’t want to call his friend because he may tell his wife who in turn will call Nothemba and that will just make things just a little worse. He decides to drive around and look for a lodge to stay in for a little while and figure things out.
***
Late at the Cele house things seem to be going okay. Themba is at the lounge watching TV, clearly he hasn’t seen the paper about his friend. Zinhle is in the shower when her phone rings. The number is private. Who could be calling my wife at this hour? Themba thinks to himself but he ignores the call.
Moment later the phone rings again, it’s the private number. He ignores it.
About 30 minutes later his wife comes down all fresh, “alright darling, are you ready for bed?” she says teasingly. ‘Oh yes baby.” Themba says in excitement, “Oh there’s been a call for you.” he says. Then Zinhle picks her phone and scrolls down and then makes a call as she opens the sliding door clearly looking for privacy
Themba looks at this and feels it’s not like her. He is now curious. After a while, Zinhle comes back. “Baby, who was on the phone?” he asks but not even looking at her. “Baby I thought you’d be in bed already.” Zinhle says as she kisses him on the chick, but clearly avoiding the question. “No, I was waiting on you my pillow,” he smiles. They go up to the bedroom and get tucked in.
“Baby who was calling you?” Zinhle turns around and looks at him, “Baby, what's going on with you? Since when do you asks me about calls? But if you must know, it was work.” she says as she kisses him. “Oh no baby I was just asking.” Themba says as he turns around but he is clearly worried. Zinhle has taken calls from work. In fact, she always takes calls from work but she has never got out of the house to talk. But he ignores it and sleeps.
In the morning Themba wakes up early and thought he will just cut the grass and then go see Qhawe. He goes to the tool room. It’s an outside building it has all the handy man toys. He gets in. He is looking for a grass cutter. He finds it but then notices on the wooden floor under the carpet there is something there.
He pulls the carpet away and he sees something like a door. He has never noticed this before, how come. It has a locker. Could it be that the previous occupants of this mansion used it for something? He looks around and sees a crow bar he will use it to open. He smashes and smashes, and smashes.
Nothing could have prepared him for what he sees next.
He opens up and there's this case full of guns of any kind. There is full load of money, and several passports. Themba's heart is racing. What on earth is going on here? he thinks to himself as he takes the passports and he is wide- eyed when he sees that they all belong to his wife, different names and surnames. There are building plans and maps.
He puts everything back. He is shocked, almost paralyzed from it. Who is this woman I'm married to, if indeed we are married? he thinks to himself as he shuts the door and leaving the grass cutter. He doesn’t seem to remember why he was there to begin with. He goes back in the house.
Zinhle comes down from the bedroom all refreshed and smelling good. “Baby, you were up early this morning.” she says as she pours herself a glass of juice. “So, what do you want for your breakfast?” she seems to be in the good mood. Themba is sitting in the lounge not answering. He is staring at the TV but not really paying attention to anything.
“Baby,” Zinhle shouts, “Did you hear me?” she then comes to the lounge. There’s still no response from a shocked Themba. People go to marriage counselling all the time to learn about techniques they can apply in their marriage but nothing can solve this. That's all Themba is thinking about. Now he is over thinking everything because clearly there has been more lies than the truth.
“Baby are you okay?” Zinhle asks. “Why are you not…” she didn’t finish the sentence as Themba jumps in, “Who are you?” he asks with a trembling voice. “What are you…” she doesn’t finish the sentence as Themba cuts her off again, “please don’t lie to me, just don’t.” he says, his eyes are red.
Zinhle looks into his eyes and she can see the innocence and purity she’s never seen in her husband. At this point, lying more to him can just kill him. She realises Themba may have found something. Her eyes now are filled with tears and they are red. Not because she is caught but the pain she sees at her husband. The thought of losing him is scaring her but more than that, it’s the thought of what Themba might do to himself.
Themba grabs his keys and walks straight to the door. “Baby, Baby please don’t leave. Please let me explain.” Zinhle says as she herself is now crying uncontrollably trying to grab her husband but he is not having it.
“I love you baby, please I love you. Don’t leave. Let’s talk. I promise I will tell you what you want to know.” She cries as she watches her husband get in the car and driving off. She’s terrified of what can happen in the road. He is in no condition to drive. He left his protection detail behind.
***
Somewhere else Qhawe is sitting in a small hotel with a bottle of whiskey. He seems completely out of it himself. He is still thinking about how the pictures of him and Grace hit the paper and Nothemba's phone. Well the answer seems simple enough, Smith is behind all that. As he is contemplating, a call comes in, “Hey Themba” he says with a down voice. “Oh okay…no, no, no…I will text you the address, I will explain when I see you.” He hangs up.
Sometime later a knock on the door, it’s Themba. “Hey man, come in.
Welcome to my home.” Qhawe says jokingly but Themba is surprised, “What are you doing here man?” he asks as he gives his buddy a hug. They sit down and Qhawe tells Themba everything that is happening and Themba shocks Qhawe over his revelation on his wife. They talk at length for hours. Clearly both men are devastated. They drink and talk for a while.
“Man I can’t believe it” Qhawe says still shocked about Zinhle. “You and me both man. It feels like I’m just being born or woke up with amnesia not knowing who I am,” Themba says.
Qhawe looks at his helpless friend, “I can’t imagine how you are feeling.” He pours him a drink, “So do you know who her handler is?” he asks but Themba shrugs his shoulders as he is lost for words. “This brings more questions than answers and I hate that I feel like I have been played all this time, living with a woman for all this time and not knowing who she is…” he says but his friend interrupts “I am sorry man. But we have to find out who she works for. I mean we have seen in this world we are in that it is filled with sleeper agents.
Even though I trust your wife man, we still need to know.” Themba sighs, “I know man, I know.”
***
At the Nkosi mansion things aren’t rosy either. Nothemba is devastated over the fight with Qhawe. She misses him and when she thinks of him and some moments they share she smiles but quickly remembers that she’s mad at him and when she looks at the newspaper and the pictures on the phone she gets furious. How could he do this to her, she thinks. She starts crying. It’s better because the kids are with Buhle, so no one will be asking questions.
A call comes through, for a moment she was hoping it’s her husband but no, it’s Zinhle. “Hey friend” she says with a sore voice. “Ok let me open the gate for you.” She hangs up and takes to remote and open the gate.
Zinhle comes through and when she gets out the car Nothemba greets with a hug but then clings to her and breaks down and cries uncontrollably. Zinhle tries to console her. They get inside and talk. Nothemba tells her everything that is happening with her and Qhawe. But she was never ready for what Zinhle told her. This discovery has potential to destroy friendship and trust between the two families.
“My friend I promise you, I had no intention of hurting you, the kids or Qhawe. I didn’t mean to hurt Themba either,” Zinhle says as she sighs, “but why you never mentioned this at least to your husband darling?” asks Nothemba.
Zinhle starts crying, “You don’t understand, in this dark world of espionage it doesn’t work like that." she says. "I was a sleeper. You never know when you get activated. Sometimes it can take 10-years to be activated. But before then you just work as normal and just observe, gather intel. So this was so hard for me to keep it from Themba.”
Nothemba sighs as she says, “Yeah I hear you but you must understand why Themba is upset, angry or even lost trust. Our lives are crawling with sleeper agents, politicians and people who want to harm us.” Zinhle listens in quietness and she is still sobbing. “I’m afraid of what he will do.” She cries. “I know,” responds Nothemba, “but you have to come clean with him. You owe him that much. And thereafter you work on the broken trust and fix your relationship.”
They talk for a while. Nothemba seems to be more understanding of the situation Zinhle is in. Well it could be that she’s going through her own mess so it’s easy to accept anything. It is safe to say that Smith's plan to divide and conquer is working though he had no hand in the Cele family debacle but he certainly has a nasty hand with the Nkosi family situation.
If these two families can’t talk to each other then they are not as strong as they would be united. It feels like forever since the Nkosi's and the Cele’s have entered this dark world of spies. But it has consumed them so much that they now have all developed skills and statecraft to avoid and evade the people who are watching them. I suppose it was always easy for Zinhle.
Clearly she’s a master at this.
***
Days are passing by, and Qhawe and Nothemba are not talking to each other. The same goes for Themba and Zinhle. Will things ever get normal again or this dark world has become their new home? Do people even know that there is a parallel world out there? A world that decides the fate of ordinary people?
Do people even know why they vote? Are all those politicians having the people's best interest at heart? How far does corruption go in this world? How safe are the people who have knowledge of this corruption? These are the questions people should ask.
As days pass by Qhawe is longing for his wife and Zinhle is longing for her husband. Qhawe would sometimes take the phone scroll down and fall short of pressing dial next to Nothemba’s number.
Zinhle has so much to say to Themba but she is terrified of looking at him in the eyes. She knows there is so many things she will have to answer to. A question that is most frightening is ‘Are we even married?’ ‘what is your real name?’ But as hard as all that may be, she must own up to this. Part of her is happy though that the truth is out. She decides to call Themba. She is so nervous but there is no turning back now.
The phone rings until it goes on voicemail. She thinks to herself, maybe it’s too soon but the problem is that they need to regain their lives but being divided like this, they stand no chance of defeating Smith. They all need each other. A house divided against itself shall not stand.
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