Desperate times call for desperate measures
At the hide out, the news of the raid has reached Locker who was hoping his plans to eliminate his enemies would work. He is frustrated at the failures of his new hitmen squads.
“it seems we can't get rid of these people Smith,” Locker says as he looks through the window. Smith is sitting down with his brother playing chess. They both look at Locker but they are not answering him. Locker comes over and sits down, it seems he is the only one in the room who is anxious and panicky. There’s just the three of them in the house because it seems the other members of the band have decided to be unavailable these days.
Finally Smith breaks his silence, “Well Sir, we may have underestimated them and on top of that, we can’t just kill the woman and the children before we had killed Hlengiwe and her band first, that won’t serve any purpose,” he says but that is followed by a long silence. And then Locker says, “Don’t you think I know that? I was using the kids as a trap but that doesn’t seem to work. We will run out of resources if we keep at that strategy. So do you have better ideas?” he asks with a frustrated face.
Smith gets up and goes to the side table, pours himself a double of whisky then looks at Locker, “look, if we want to salvage anything, let’s use the kids as a trade.” he says to which Locker looks at him in confusion, but doesn’t interrupt Smith, who continues, “we trade them for evidence. All they have on us for the kids and the woman. Look, we can’t regain what we have lost but we can stop the bleeding,” Smith concludes.
“And exactly how do we know that they won’t still use the evidence after we have made the trade?” asks Luke who has been listening quietly. “I mean they obviously have backups as insurance, in case anything happens to them.”
Smith comes back to sit down and says, “exactly,” he shouts. “killing them won’t save us at least now. We need them more. The only thing we have they care about is the family, that’s what stopping them from reining law enforcement on us and send us to jail. They can’t do that by themselves because they are running covert operations,” he says as he downs the whisky.
“well if they run covert ops how can they involve law enforcement officially then?” Locker asks. He is curious about this plan. “well they have Dan Audrey, remember?” Smith says, “They must have turned him state witness. He is in protective custody. We trade the kids for him.”
Locker stands up and goes by the window, he is thinking long and hard. He thinks to himself This is not a bad plan at all. Then he turns around, “so if we have Dan there’s no state witness?” he says. “okay this sounds good because all my associates are distancing themselves from us now with fear of being implicated in all this chaos. Smith get hold of Hlengiwe and make this proposal,” Locker orders.
***
Hlengiwe had been summoned by the President at the resident. He had kept his word on not interfering with what Hlengiwe and her team are doing, so why is she here?
“Thank you for seeing me Ms. Siba, I hope I’m not taking you away from something that is important,” the President says with a smile as he shakes Hlengiwe's hand. They both sit down as tea is served.
“I just wanted to know if you are any closer to wrapping things up with your team in the investigations.” Seeing that Hlengiwe is uneasy with the question, the President decides to continue without allowing her to answer, “Oh no, you can relax Hlengiwe I don’t want details of what is going on, besides, I do know because my people have been following up on the developments but not to interfere, just to keep me posted.”
Hlengiwe smiles without really saying much on the matter, instead she allows the President to continue with his speech. “We had agreed on 6 months, right?” he asks. “Yes Sir,” Hlengiwe responds with a smile.
“Look,” President Hadebe says as he leans back, “I don’t mean to rush you but if you can wrap it up sooner I'd appreciate it. I have a mandate from my party, you know how politics are like. I just wanted to make sure that you finish the work that you started,” he concludes.
There is a moment's pause in the room as Hlengiwe takes a deep breath followed by a sigh, “Sir it’s almost over now. I do however have something that might interest you.” That statement gets Hadebe interested as he straightens up on his chair. Hlengiwe continues, “I know that you’d want to position your own people in strategic positions in government partnering with private sector.”
Hadebe, just like a true professional smiles, not confirming nor denying what Hlengiwe is saying, instead he listens. Hlengiwe continues, “Look its okay, why else would you be in politics if you don’t want to have advantage?” she smiles as she sips her tea.
“the investigations and operations that we are running will work to your advantage,” she says and Hadebe likes that, “I’m listening,” he says. “As you are aware, the past year or so we have discovered a web of corruption linking highly placed government officials and top business people. Them being out of the way makes way for your people. You will no longer need an excuse to make those changes. Evidence of corruption is all that you need,” Hlengiwe concludes.
Hadebe gets up from his chair and stands by the window. He thinks for a while and says, “yeah I suppose you are right, but you know, your party won’t like this because essentially you are working for an opposition government and…” before he could finish, Hlengiwe interrupts him, “sir, I work for the people. I work for justice. I side with the law and the constitution. You know me. If expulsion comes out of this, then that’s okay. I was not born with this job and highly paying positions. Those were never my motivations,” she says she takes another sip. Hadebe looks at her in amazement and clearly he is impressed.
“Alright,” he says, “what do you need from me?” He leans back again.
Hlengiwe was dying to hear that question. She smiles and gets up. She goes by the window and says, “well nothing much sir. I’m asking that you avail law enforcement agencies to assist when we need them. I know you had given us your blessing but up until now, it’s been covert operations but there will come a time when we’ll need an extra hand.” she says as she comes back to sit down.
“Okay,” Hadebe says, “is that all you need?” he asks curiously. There’s a moment's silence and then Hlengiwe says, “one other thing Sir, I'd be grateful if you granted my team a generous retirement package.”
Somehow Hadebe is not surprised by this. He smiles and looks at Hlengiwe as she continues, “we have made things easy for you, sir,” she says sarcastically. “besides, ever since we have started this investigation, we have been hunted down by foreign intelligence agencies, so adequate resources will go a long way in ensuring a secure future plus after this you will need your own people to take over,” as she takes another sip.
Hadebe nods, “well your request is granted. I can’t deny the great job you have done. I will see to it that resources and funds are transferred to the account you choose,” he concludes. They continue to talk for about an hour, thereafter Hlengiwe leaves and heads back to the Nkosi mansion.
***
She arrives while everyone is resting. They haven’t had a break in days. All they have been doing is sitting in the study and try to find clues of what could have happened to the kids.
“Hey guys, how is everyone?” Hlengiwe says as she finds everyone in the lounge and then she hugs her daughter Mbali who wasn’t sleeping waiting on mommy. “Are you guys okay?” she asks as she goes to the mini bar and pouring herself a strong whisky with no ice. She comes back and sits down.
She takes the glass of whisky in one go. That shocks everyone.
“We should be asking you,” Zinhle says. As Hlengiwe is about to respond a phone call comes through. It’s Smith. Hlengiwe indicates to the guys that it’s Smith and they all follow her to the study, leaving Mbali with the nanny.
Hlengiwe connects her phone on the conference speaker.
“Mr. Smith, I was beginning to wonder when you will make this call, have you decided to man up?” Hlengiwe says sarcastically. There’s a moment's silence and then Smith answers, “Ms Siba, you are funny. I might as well greet everyone in that room as I assume that you are all listening. Specifically, the Nkosi family, how are you feeling during these trying times?” Smith is impressed with himself but this gets Nothemba so angry but she doesn’t respond neither does Qhawe. “Are you there Mrs. Nkosi?” Smith continues to taunt but Hlengiwe cuts him off, “what do you want John?” she asks angrily. Smith breathes heavily and then says, “I would like to make a deal.”
The room goes quiet with interest. “What deal is that?” asks Nothemba. “Oh Mrs. Nkosi it’s so good to hear from you. You may just be one person who will see reason in my proposal,” Smith says. “I said what deal is that Smith?” Nothemba asks. Clearly Smith is getting everyone jumpy in the room and they are anxious too.
“Well, it seems, Mrs. Nkosi that I have what you need, and quite frankly you have what I need,” Smith says. But now everyone is getting agitated by this, “Okay what do you want John?” Zinhle asks angrily.
“Well Mrs. Cele, I feel that since there has been too much blood shed the past months, why don’t we all call it quit? There’s no need for the kids and their aunt to be hurt, what do you think Mrs. Nkosi?” Smith says. And this just gets Nothemba so emotional as she looks at the picture of her kids on the wall. “Don’t you dare touch them, you bastard I'll kill you.” Qhawe shouts as he bangs the table with his hands.
“Oh is that you Mr. Nkosi? For a minute I thought your wife runs the house, but look, give me what I want and the kids won’t be harmed, you have my word,” he concludes. A moment of silence settles.
“So exactly what is it that you want Smith?” Hlengiwe intervenes. “Well it’s simple really,” Smith says. “give me Dan and I will give you kids and their aunt.” That sends the room into quietness for a moment.
“Uhmm, Smith give us some time to think about it, we'll get back to you.” Hlengiwe says. “I'll be waiting, but remember, this is the only deal you will have. “Smith says as he drops the phone.
Now this is changing all the dynamics in this war they’ve been fighting. They all know this is the only way to get the kids back but this will also mean losing the only important witness with admissible evidence against all these corrupt politicians and business people.
“Well you heard him guys,” Hlengiwe says. “Dan is the only key to this whole thing and…” Hlengiwe is disturbed by Themba, “We don’t have a choice. We have to give them Dan.” While Hlengiwe and Zinhle look at him in shock he continues, “guys at this point, the kids and Buhle are the only thing that matter. What’s the point of getting rid of Locker and Smith if we will lose our family first?”
All the while Qhawe and Nothemba are quiet. Their minds are already made up- It’s Dan for the kids. This is their family and they’d do anything to get them back.
“Babe, do you know what all this means though? It means we will be back where it all started and we'll still sleep with worry when Smith and his gang are still on the lose.” Zinhle says while looking at Nothemba’s reaction. “Look as much as I hate to admit it, Mrs. Cele is right, we give up Dan then, we start all over again.” Hlengiwe says to which everyone becomes wide-eyed with shock at her statement but she continues, “However, we don’t have a choice. I’d rather start all over than losing them.”
Simultaneously everyone breathes a sigh of relief that Hlengiwe is with them.
“But we still have problem,” Hlengiwe bursts the bubble, “Dan is on a secure location that I don’t even know. And we can’t just request the NPA to give him to us, firstly because we officially don’t exist and that would be working against the state.”
This statement does really damper the spirit in the room. There’s silence for a while before Themba shocks everyone, “well we have to snatch him.” he says, but that statement everyone looks at him in disbelief.
“What?” asks a shocked Zinhle. Hlengiwe doesn’t know what to say. “I agree,” Nothemba says. But Zinhle is not fond of the idea, “are we now going to exchange fire with the HAWKS?, she asks. “Well Mrs. Cele do you have a better idea because if you don't then, this s exactly what we are going to do.
We will snatch Dan from the protective custody, make the trade and get the kids and auntie back. Does anyone have a problem with that?” Hlengiwe asks authoritatively.
She gets no response from the room. It seems people have heard her loud and clear. They’d have loved for things to be different but they are not. They have to do this. Desperate times call for desperate mergers. They continue to discuss the plan for about 45 minutes. They are working on a plan of action and there’s disagreements at some point on how to conduct this operation but one thing is for sure, it has to happen.
Then Hlengiwe calls Smith and request 72 hours since they still have to find the location. Smith agrees to it, frankly, it’s not like they are giving him a choice to accept the terms. He needs Dan, and these people are the only ones who can make it happen.
***
In the morning during breakfast, there's awkward silence on the table. Last night's debate got heated. Nothemba, even though she understands why Zinhle was not agreeing to the plan right on the spot, she expected her to do so as her best friend so they are having a moment of discomfort towards each other. When the breakfast is done, Qhawe walks to the pool side and finds Hlengiwe seated in quietness, clearly deep in thought.
“Hey what’s up?” He asks her. Hlengiwe looks at him and smiles, “I’m okay, how are you?” Qhawe sits down next to Hlengiwe, “Thank you guys for doing this for us. It means a lot,” he says. Hlengiwe smiles back, “no need, we are family. I know you’d have done the same for me.” she says.
They both drink their juices. “Besides,” Hlengiwe continues, “if we came up with a neat plan we may still get all we want. Just because we agreed to give them Dan it doesn’t necessarily mean we will hand him over to him just like that.” she says as she smiles. They are joined by Themba as well. He sits down next to them. For the sake of variety, they change the subject and talk about something light.
Zinhle decides to go and see her friend Nothemba in her room. She knocks, “knock, knock, can I come in?” Nothemba answers reluctantly, “Yes it’s opened.” Zinhle comes over and sits next to her. “My friend I’m sorry if I sounded like I’m insensitive to the situation. I love those kids you know that.
I’d do anything to get them back safe and…” before she could finish, Nothemba hugs her tight, “I know my friend, I know you would. Thank you for your support.” She says as she holds on to her.
Later at night they are all in the study to get an update on the plan to snatch Dan. The tech team is not in today. Maybe that’s a good thing since this extraction is way off the books, they need to do it just by themselves.
“Well guys thanks to my friends, I have located the safe house in which Dan is kept.” Hlengiwe says to the joy of everyone in the room, as she shows them the compound on the big monitor from every angle.
They then start to work on all logistics because this time they don’t have much support except Hlengiwe's associates. “We have to go in tonight, we are running out of time. Mrs. Nkosi you are not quarterbacking this time; you are in the field.
“I don’t have to remind everyone how important tonight’s mission is, but please let’s do all we can to avoid having casualties. These are good people just doing their jobs,” Hlengiwe says with authority.
At that, everyone got ready for the mission. After 30 minutes everyone was ready even Hlengiwe. They are 10 in total. They get in the van, off they leave for the mission.
They arrived 20 minutes later and in their positions as planned. Hlengiwe is in the van with one agent quarterbacking while two teams of 4 people each take positions. They raided the compound and encountered a number of security guards. Just as they discussed they avoided killing any of them but there was hand to hand combat. They managed to get out with Dan, blind folded.
Just after they had left the compound, Hawks cars were chasing after them. They managed to evade them in the end. In order to prevent traffic cameras from tracking them all the way to the house, they exchanged the vans from an underground packing somewhere far from the house.
“Good work everybody, we are almost at the end of this nightmare,” Hlengiwe says as they arrive in the house. They had put Dan in the basement. He was blind folded all the way so that he won’t see where they are. The last thing they want is him seeing their faces. If they bring him food, one of Hlengiwe’s agents gets in there with face covered.
“okay now, we need a solid plan for the exchange because we all know Locker is not planning on letting us live even if we do give him Dan,” Qhawe says as sit on the dinner table. They all nod “Yeah we have to be careful about everything this time. We must also pick the location so that it works for us,” Zinhle adds. “well don’t worry about that, this time we will have enough man power. I’ve asked a favor from the President,” Hlengiwe says.
That seems to please everyone. “I just can’t believe this is about to be over,” Nothemba says as she breathes a sigh of relief.
“Okay easy people, let’s not get ahead of ourselves, we are far from winning yet,” Hlengiwe says as she cools the excitement in the room. After dinner Hlengiwe makes some calls in preparation for the exchange and then calls Smith.
***
“John, we have what you need let’s arrange to meet,” Hlengiwe says as soon as Smith picks up. “Whoa, whoa, whoa Ms Siba, what with the hostility, no greetings now?” Smith says sarcastically. But Hlengiwe is in no mood for games, “Smith I don’t have time for games, so here is what’s going to happen, I’m going to give you details of our exchange and make no mistake, these are non-negotiable terms,” Hlengiwe says with some level of authority.
John keeps quiet for a second but Hlengiwe continues, “You might at as well put me on the speaker, so that ‘The Emperor’ will hear me loud and clear.”
John puts the phone on speaker so that everyone will hear.
“Can you hear me Locker?” Hlengiwe says, “I want you to bring all your corrupt politician friends and business partners in exchange for Dan, you hear me?”
There's a moment's silence and then Locker responds, “Ms. Siba, it’s nice to hear from you. So my friends for Dan huh?” he asks. “yes Jack, your friends for Dan. We all know you are all about survival and right now I’m the only one offering you an opportunity to walk away,” Hlengiwe says.
Another moment of silence passes. “Such threats Ms. Siba. But what makes you so sure that I won’t put a bullet in those kids heads?” Locker asks and that question rattles Nothemba and Qhawe who have been listening to this conversation on the loud speaker but Hlengiwe cuts him off, “because Jack, that will be the end of you. You hurt them, you so much as put a string of hair out of place that will be it for you. So when we make the exchange I want to see those kids and Buhle happy and fresh you hear me?” she raises her voice.
Hlengiwe is on fire and not slowing down.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa Hlengiwe, what with the threats?” Locker cuts in, “I heard you, nothing has and will hurt them. They have been treated well, you will see them,” he says.
Those words become a comfort to everyone listening. “Let me hear their voice,” Nothemba shouts. “I thought you might ask Mrs. Nkosi,” Locker says. A moment passes and then it is broken by a loud shout, “Mommy, mommy, mommy,” that is Mholi and Naledi shouting.
At the hearing of their voice Nothemba just let out a tear of joy, “oh my babies are you okay?” she shouts, “Where is your auntie? Is she there with you?” before she could finish asking, Buhle responds, “Sis, sis,” she shouts, “I’m okay. The kids are okay.”
At that Nothemba breathes a sigh of relief, I’m glad you are okay. I love you guys so much, we'll see you soon okay” Locker cuts them off, “okay enough already. Now you have heard that they are okay. Now let’s work on the details of the exchange, shall we,” he says. “alright let’s get on with it then” Hlengiwe says.
They spent the next 20 minutes discussing the logistics of the meeting. Clearly both teams would like to have an advantage in this because this might well be the coming down of the curtains in this saga. Going to bed, everyone struggled to sleep. Even though the exchange is tomorrow night, but now one can fall asleep, as they always say, it gets darker before sunrise.
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