Evil has no rest
It seems the dust has settled over the political land scape. People are now getting used to the fact that there’s new government in place. The new President has made huge changes in the cabinet as expected because every party comes in with mandate and policy direction. Though he did keep some of the departments unchanged. He had called Hlengiwe to a meeting.“Thank you Hlengiwe for seeing me,” President Hadebe says. They are seated in his new office. It is really big and specious. Then again, these offices never really change except maybe décor on the President's table with pictures of his family.
“Sir let me first say, congratulations on your election. I hope you are settling well,” Hlengiwe says with a smile. But at the back of her mind she is wondering why she’s here. “Oh yes I’m settling in well thank you. But that’s not why I called you here,” President Hadebe says as he pours water and starts drinking. “As you know, you and I are mandated by our respective parties so keeping you in your portfolio won’t make any sense, and I know you understand this.” Hlengiwe doesn’t respond or show any emotion to what is being said. She had anticipated this and was prepared and ready for it. So she’s not really surprised.
“removing you is not a reflection of your performance and everyone understands this so…” Hadebe says but Hlengiwe interrupts him, “Mr President, you don’t have to explain all this to me. It’s prerogative of the President to fire and hire. To be honest, I fancied retirement anyways. After all I have seen I think it’s time I take a break from politics.” she says as she drinks her tea.
“Well before you retire, I am made aware of your work and your track record. Your work ethic is impressive. Quite frankly if it wasn’t for your dedication putting principles over party loyalty, I wouldn’t be President now, is it?” Hadebe says as if he is trying to charm Hlengiwe with a smile.
“I was just doing my job Mr. President. That’s the only reason people should be hired in government positions, isn’t it?” she says as she smiles back him. “Of course,” Hadebe says, “So I was thinking, I will let you finish off the work you were doing. I understand you had established a task force that led to a few ministers stepping down and some prominent business people being investigated and SARS recovering monies solicited through criminal means.”
Hlengiwe didn’t expect this from President Hadebe. “Sir, Uhmm…” but Hadebe interrupts her, “So I’m thinking I will give you 6 months to wrap up all you need to and then we can talk about your retirement.”
As he notices that this caught Hlengiwe by surprise, he says, “Look, Ms. Siba, you did a great job. You are very objective and thorough. I won’t lie this does benefit the incoming government but that’s not why I’m asking you to stay on. I just want you to finish off what you have started. I don’t want anyone coming in and ignore this when clearly it has proven to be important. I won’t bother you with asking any details of your operations as I understand that they are covert. I’d rather have covert operations that bare fruits than those that make everything worse without anyone being held accountable for it in the name of covert. But I trust you Ms. Siba.” he says.
They talk for another 30 minutes and then President sends Hlengiwe on her way. She still can’t believe it. The risk paid off. Now she has 6 more months to clean up and do everything to bring all the corrupt politicians and businessmen to justice.
***
If Hlengiwe had only known that her day won’t just be eventful with just somewhat confusingly good news but also with horrifying news as well. What she finds when she gets home is shattering.
The blood is all over the house. In the kitchen one security has his throat slit and by the door that comes through the dining room another security has a bullet in the head. She slowly pulls her gun, walks slowly to the bathroom, there’s no one there but a blood trail that leads to the bedroom. She makes her way there, ready to shoot. But what she finds is what she dreaded, her older son, Sthe, 17 years old, shot in the head.
Her knees immediately give way. She can’t scream but she’s suddenly becomes weak, with tears running down her face. She needs to go upstairs and look for her daughter, Mbali. She is 8 and she is her last born. She climbs the stairs and walks slowly in the passage. There’s blood trail on the floor and as she feared it seems to be leading to Mbali ‘s room. She is terrified of what she might see yet she is burning with range and thirsty for blood.
She takes a peek to see who’s in the room, there’s a body on the bed. She gets in and heads straight to the bed and finds Mbali unconscious. She’s been hit in the side of the head, no doubt by something really heavy. She checks for vital signs, she’s alive. Her baby girl is alive. “Hold on baby, mommy is here. I will take you to the hospital.” she whispers with a trembling voice.
As she attempts to make a call, out of nowhere a man comes from behind her and chokes her. She manages to pull away and a fight ensues. Clearly this is a fight of two highly trained operatives. Hlengiwe manages to push her assailant to the floor and goes for the gun she had put on the bed when she was trying to help her daughter. She shoots him in the head. She then picks up her cell phone and calls 10111. She also calls for her intelligence unit and in a flesh they had arrived. The place is crawling with law enforcement agencies like in the movies. They are sweeping the house for any evidence that might identify the perpetrator.
Her son's body has been taken to the morgue and she has gone to the hospital in an ambulance with her daughter. She called Qhawe and told him what happened and Qhawe, Themba, Nothemba and Zinhle were in the hospital in a matter of minutes. They find her seating outside the ward, with her head buried in between her legs.
When she sees Qhawe she just clings unto him and breaks down in tears. “shhh, it’s going to be okay, shhh…” Qhawe whispers to her.
They finally break the hug and then Hlengiwe explains to them in details what happened. “Jesus, Hlengiwe, who the hell could have done this?” Nothemba asks with a sad face. Everyone is lost for words and trembling. “Well we all know who did this don’t we?” Themba says in frustration, “He’s taking revenge now and is going after our loved ones.” he says as he looks at Qhawe and Nothemba and it suddenly dawns on them: the kids. Nothemba starts crying, “Oh God, no, not my children.” Zinhle tries to console her but it doesn’t look like it’s working.
Qhawe steps away from them as he makes a call. It takes a while, “Damn it,” he shouts and then calls again. Nothemba comes over to him, “Baby what’s going on?” she asks with a trembling voice. But Qhawe is not answering, he’s on the phone, “Come on, come on, come on…damn it,” he shouts as he hangs up.
“No answer. I tried Buhle's phone and the security's but no answer.” At that, Nothemba collapses on the floor and starts screaming. “Oh God no, my kids, my kids, my kids…” Qhawe tries to hold her but she pushes him away and continues to scream. Themba and Zinhle come over, “What the hell happened?” Themba asks Qhawe as Zinhle tries to console Nothemba on the floor. Hlengiwe also comes over to hear what happened.
“Look no one is picking up the phone,” Qhawe says as his heart is racing in fear. “not even the bloody securities are picking up.”
Hlengiwe looks at Nothemba who's on the floor holding on to Zinhle. She calls in a doctor, “Doc,” she whispers can you please give her something to sleep.” The doctor walks away and gives Nothemba a shot, she falls asleep. The hospital staff carries her on the stretcher bed and take her to the room.
“Look it will be easy when she’s asleep, we need clear heads now. Look, let me make a call to the embassy in Canada and have guys go over to the house and see what’s going. Let’s not panic without even knowing what happened over there.” Hlengiwe says with some authoritative tone. She then makes a call and comes back to the guys, “I have sent people over there to check things out and I suggest…” she’s interrupted by the nurse calling on her, “Ms. Siba, she’s awake.” They all rush in the room where little Mbali is.
“Hey Angel,” Hlengiwe says with a voice of joy but the eyes are terrified of the first question her daughter will ask: where's Sthe? How do you even begin to explain to an 8-year-old what happened to her brother?
“Guys can you please give us a minute?” she asks Qhawe and others. “Of course,” Qhawe says as they move out and sit outside. They give Hlengiwe and daughter some time to talk.
How did things get so bad so quickly? One moment they were celebrating victory and now there’s death and uncertainty. There’s quietness on the corridors. Everyone shuttered and scared. How can they deal with a loss? Now they are waiting on the info from the Embassy in Canada to know what happened to Buhle and the kids. Nothemba is asleep and maybe that’s the best thing for her right now. Qhawe needs a cool head, he can’t be distracted.
After a while Hlengiwe comes out of the room a little drained. “Hey, how is she?” Zinhle asks. Hlengiwe sits down and smiles, “She's going to be okay.
But they’ll keep her overnight just as a precaution.” At that everyone breathes a sigh of relief. “And how did she take the news? You know…did you tell her yet?” asks Zinhle. Hlengiwe pours water for herself and sits down.
“if this is hard for me you can only imagine how it is for an 8-year-old,” she says. “I had to tell her. I needed to know where she is with that so that I can know how much time I need to dedicate to her. Because frankly I need to be clear headed. This is far from over. I don’t want to keep wondering how to break the news to her so I decided to do it now.” They all look at her and nod their heads. Hlengiwe is a brave woman and she is strong. Her quest for justice has cost her s son. Does she have more in her to go after these people?
“Speaking of which, my guys called back with the news,” she says whispering. “The man at my house was Austrian intelligence.” They all look shocked, “What? But why?” Qhawe asks. “Must we assume then that this has nothing to do with Jack Locker?” he asks curiously.
Hlengiwe shakes her head and pauses for a second and says, “I may not know what’s going on but this has Locker all over it. But how it involves foreign intelligence I don’t know. It could be that since their rogue unit is shut down he needed to hire assassins for the job, preferably from outside the country.”
They all don’t like this news. Qhawe decides to go and see his wife. She is still sleeping. Qhawe kisses her in the forehead and walks out.
“How is she?” Zinhle asks. “She’s still sleeping. Maybe it’s better this way, at least until we know what’s going on in Canada.” They all agree. “Look, why don't you guys go home? I’ll watch over Nothemba,” Hlengiwe proposes. But Qhawe hears none of it, “no I can’t leave her here. You two go I will see you a bit later. It’s almost morning anyway,” he says to Themba and Zinhle who oblige. We'll see you in 2-3 hours’ time. We'll bring clothes to change,” says Zinhle as they go leaving Qhawe and Hlengiwe in the hospital.
***
Few hours later they come back to the Hospital and find Hlengiwe, Nothemba, Qhawe and Mbali in the discharge area. “Hey guys,” says Zinhle “are you ready?” they all go, Hlengiwe and Mbali hop in the car that Themba and Zinhle are driving. Qhawe and Nothemba getting the second car. They drive off, with a heavy security presence. Nothemba is quiet throughout the journey. She looks drained. They reach the Nkosi mansion. They all get inside.
“I’m going to make us breakfast,” Zinhle says as she goes to the kitchen. Nothemba is still not saying a word. She goes upstairs to her room and shuts the door.
“Look Hlengiwe, you and Mbali will stay here for now, and I’m not taking no for an answer. Besides your place is on lock down for investigations.” Qhawe says as he doesn’t give Hlengiwe time to protest. All she could do is smile and say, “thank you my friend.” They hug. “Let me show your rooms.” Qhawe says as he leads Hlengiwe and Mbali to their rooms.
Meanwhile in the kitchen Zinhle is uneasy and deep in thought but is interrupted by Themba, “How can I help honey?” He asks. Zinhle gives a half smile, “I’m worried about Nothemba. She looks like she’s in mourning already.” Themba pulls his wife into his arms and holds her, “Yeah I know hey. Qhawe too is doing great in keeping together but he’s also anxious. Let’s hope the kids and Buhle are okay over there.
They break the hug when Qhawe entered the room. “Let me go check on Nothemba, please tell Hlengiwe and Mbali that breakfast is ready.” Zinhle says as she goes upstairs. Qhawe calls Hlengiwe and Mbali. They come to the dining room and sit down, they are joined by Zinhle and Nothemba. There’s tenseness in the room. No one is saying much of anything. Silence is broken by Hlengiwe, “Qhawe can I talk to you privately please.” They walk outside by the pool.
“I just got a call from my people, they didn’t find anyone in the house,” Hlengiwe says. This sinks Qhawe into the chair. He doesn’t want to show it because the glass sliding door leading to the pool area is opened and he doesn’t want his wife to see his reaction.
“Are you sure? What did they find?” poor Qhawe is anxious. “there is a sign of forced entry but nothing seems to be broken in the house. Security footages are blank and there are no guards there,” Hlengiwe whispers. Now what Qhawe fears seems to have come to pass. He stands up and sits down again. “Look I'm having my people look at footages of every traffic camera leading to the place they stayed in. We will find a digital print.” Hlengiwe says as she tries to assure her friend.
Things seem to be getting worse. Somehow the feeling us that this is just the beginning.
“Please tell your wife,” Hlengiwe says. “but we need to keep it together, you understand me? We don’t have time to be all emotional about this. She needs to be brave. We don’t know anything yet, so being worked up over it doesn’t help us to find a way to deal with all this. So please emphasize this to her.” She says as she stands up and straighten her coat.
“Where are you going?” Qhawe asks curiously. “I have to go to the morgue. I’m burying my son today Mr. Nkosi. I can't afford to be vulnerable right now. I will lay his spirit to rest and see you in the afternoon. I will cremate him. Please look after my child” she gives shocked Qhawe a hug and takes her security detail...Off through the gate she goes. Qhawe returns to the house and everyone is still in dining table.
“where did she go?” Themba asks curiously. Looking at Mbali, Qhawe says, “She has a few things to take care of. And also to fetch her clothes and Mbali's” he says as he smiles at Hlengiwe's daughter. After they are finished breakfast, Zinhle tidies up with Themba’s help.
“Honey, we need to talk. Can we go upstairs?” Qhawe says to his wife who agrees. “guys we will see you in a minute.” Qhawe says to Zinhle as they go upstairs. He tells Nothemba everything that Hlengiwe told him. Nothemba is struggling with this but Qhawe does his best to assure her. He encourages her to be strong. The children need both of their parents’ energy and strength. That seems to do the trick for Nothemba, who realises that this is not the time to break down but to be brave and fight to bring the kids back.
In the afternoon Hlengiwe arrives, seemingly better than in the morning. She has bags of clothes for her and Mbali. One of her associates helps out and put the bags in her room. The other associate comes in with a huge armored case.
“What’s that?” Zinhle asks. Hlengiwe looks at Nothemba and says "darling do you mind to stay here with my daughter. I need to speak to your husband and friends in the study.” Nothemba nods without saying much. The three followed by Hlengiwe's associates head to the study. They close the door behind them leaving Mbali to watch cartoons with Nothemba who surely needs a distraction. Looking after Mbali is helping Nothemba to take her mind off things.
“This, gentlemen is your gear.” Hlengiwe says authoritatively. “You three are heading to Canada as ‘the investigative team'” she smiles. They all look confused. “What are you talking about?” Zinhle asks. “What do you mean what I’m talking about? I’m saying tonight you are heading to Canada or would you rather stay here and let Locker?” there’s silence in the room. They don’t know what to make of this. Themba opens the armored case and ‘BOOM' there’s guns, passports, high tech equipment, communication devices etc. And then Themba looks at Hlengiwe still confused.
“We traced one of the vehicles that had indications it was heading to Buhle's apartment. The car's purchase is under a French company which doesn’t exist. So whoever took your family is French intelligence. So do you still want to stay here or what?” Hlengiwe says authoritatively.
“Nothemba and I will run operations from here.” As she was saying that her associates come in with other equipment. “Yes please set that up right there.” She orders them. “You will be leaving in 3 hours’ time on a private jet. You will team up with my people at the Embassy. They will keep you up to speed. We need to find your family fast Mr. Nkosi. Is that clear?” she asks. “Yes ma'am.” Zinhle responds. They start working on the plan on how they will be approaching everything.
Nothemba comes in the room and she can tell that a high stakes mission is about to take place.
“What’s going on?” she asks curiously. “Where’s Mbali?” Hlengiwe interjects. “She’s asleep, what’s going on here?” Hlengiwe decides to pull her aside and explains everything to her. Nothemba doesn’t like this idea but Hlengiwe persuades her, “Look, Mrs. Nkosi your husband is a trained special forces soldier who has run covert operations with the U.N., and so is Themba. Zinhle is a trained operative you know that.”
Nothemba keeps quiet for a moment before saying, “but I wish you could let me tag along. Those are my kids, Buhle is my sister.” Hlengiwe sits next to her and comforts her and says, “I know that and I also know that you are capable of handling yourself. But you know how your husband is like, he will spend more time worried about you than looking for your kids. Is that what you want?”
Nothemba sighs deeply, “I suppose you have a point,” she says. When they were done they joined the team. Nothemba pulls Qhawe aside.
“Look I know I can’t come along…please bring my children and my sister home okay?” she says to her husband who has his bags in hand. “I promise I will bring them home okay.?” Qhawe says as he kisses his wife. “We have to go. I love you so much.”
They head into the car. Hlengiwe and Nothemba follow them to see them off. They watch as three cars go through the gate. Nothemba holds on to Hlengiwe who comforts her and assures her that everything will be okay.
Some hours later they are wheels down in Canada. They are greeted by the Embassy team that made arrangements with Hlengiwe to assist in the investigation. The three hop in one of the four convoy cars. Going on in Qhawe's mind is finding his kids and Buhle and he is also thinking this is it. This will be over soon. But where do they begin the search in this big country.
“Sir, we have managed to trace one of the cars that might have been involved in this grab to a location, that we think is a safe house,” that is Jackson Marroy, one if Hlengiwe's contact. He says as he shows coordinates to Qhawe, Zinhle and Themba who are sitting behind him, dressed in suits. Clearly they didn’t think they'd start work immediately. “Sir, we are low on time so I suggest we start immediately,” Jackson says.
The three look at each other, a little surprised but Qhawe knows the sooner they start the better are the chances of finding the kids.
“So, French intelligence you suspect?” Zinhle asks. “Yes ma'am,” Answers Tim Shear, he is driving, sitting with Jackson. “we think so. We are still trying to figure out though, why is French intelligence involved in grabbing of foreigners in a foreign country,” Tim says.
They drive until they reach a building that looks suspiciously empty. There are people moving around but just not much. Themba opens the window and looks at it and the surroundings, “This is it?” he asks curiously. “No sir,” answers Tim, “This is our safe house. You need to change and get ready.”
Please log in to submit a comment.