Chapter 19

MILANI CELE

"What the f**k were you doing there Milani? What are you trying to do?" I can see that he is livid and he is not hiding it. He never shows his anger with me but today, today he is losing it. "I had to go see him. I need to have Lwandle. I had to convince to speak to his lawyer to throw out the agreement we had." He looks… I don't know, confused, amused or mostly frustrated. "Milani you are smart, you know what is at risk. You go to see the man after months of sending him to prison and you think that's going to do what for you? For someone as smart as you, this was a stupid move Milani. You are going to get us into trouble. You go there, you force him to sign over his son to you and you don't think he is going to be piecing things together. You forget that your husband is not stupid. He already knows you set him up, he just can't prove it. The man hid his wealth from you for years and you knew nothing. If it wasn't for me, you would still be in the dark about his wealth. Going there is not going to help you with anything. He is in solitary confinement for a month, he is not allowed visitors Milani."

"Fine, I hear you. You don't have to be stiff about it. Cool your tits bro." Gosh he needs to relax a bit. I guess I'll just have to do what he wants me to do just to keep him out my hair. "You need to stop acting like you didn't learn anything from your parents. They taught everything you know. Start acting like their daughter." Did he have to be so blunt about it.

My father was not the nicest and my mother swore she would never another man treat her like my father did. I guess I am just a perfect product of toxicity. Malusi thinks he can get rid of me that easy, but he has another coming. He thinks he is in control of this whole but he has no idea of what's coming. If he thinks he can get rid of me that easy, he has another thing coming. "Milani what are you going to do with Mnqobi? He is being careless and he is going to become liability. No one is supposed to know he is alive but the man is acting like everyone knows he is alive." He snaps me out of my thoughts. Mnqobi is really becoming too big for his shoes. But I still need him. "I know. I'll sort him out. We still need him."

"I know sis, but he needs to understand what is at stake here. I don't want to deal with him myself, I can see you have developed a soft spot for him." Is that what he really thinks. I thought my brother knew and understood me. Mnqobi is here to serve a purpose after that, I'll dispose of him, I won't be needing him. "I only need him for a job and that's it. I don't have a soft spot the guy. He is all over the place. I need him to do what I need him to do and that's it." He must not think anything more than that. "If you say so. I'm going to order some take out for dinner." Just then Emihle walks up to us looking tired. She must have been working.

"Hey Milani, when did you get here?" She hugs me and kisses her husband on the cheek. "It hasn't been that long. I thought you might be working."

"I was working love. I'm working on the new shipment of cocaine that we just got. I want to cut it differently this time. I want to enhance it's effects more." This girl is always working on something new. "Is that not going to be dangerous? I know it's already dangerous but enhancing it more that's just risk." I ask looking at her husband who seems to be ok with this. I'm all for making money and all but this… "It's going to kill people and once that happens it will traced back to us." I try to make them see reason. "I hear what you are saying. When it's more enhanced, you more effect on a lesser dosage, that means we'll selling more." I wish Nqaba was here right now to work out the numbers for me. He is good with numbers, very good with numbers. Emihle has lost her mind. "It's to make us a lot of money sis." He finally speaks." I really don't care. Money means nothing if we get caught. "Listen to me. You can't be coming up with new things back to back. You just created a new product that we still to move and now this. You guys are going to get us caught if you continue like this." Just then my pings and it's a text. ** Your husband is out. Just saw him at the police station.** "What?"

I scream startling these two that I am sitting with. How is that possible. How is he out? There must be a mistake. He can't be out. That will ruin everything. "What's wrong Milani?" Malusi brings me back to the moment. "My husband is out. He was spotted at the police station today." I say it so fast I can't even hear myself. "What, that can't be. Didn't they say he was in solitary, how can he be out?" Malusi is annoying me now by asking the same question I am asking myself. It was said he is solitary, so he can't be out. This guy must be mistaken. Maybe it's a mistaken case of identity. If Nqaba is out, that means it will even be harder to get Lwandle. In fact I won't get him at all. If he is out that means I'll never get my hands on those share. Why is he out so early? He is supposed to be in there for five years. What the f**k happened here. F**k, why does everything have to be so complicated. I dial a number on my phone and walk out leaving these two just seating there. I know they are going to ask a lot of question and they are going to have a lot to say and right now, I know as much as they do and I need more information. The phone rings for a while before he answers. ** I thought you said he was solitary confinement for a month.** I state matter of fact. ** He is in confinement. That is report I got from my guy in prison.**

**He is out. I was just told he is out. How is that possible?**

**He can't be out. The only way he can be out is if they found new evidence. As far as I know, there is no new evidence.**

**How would you know Ndlela, you have been out of the office for a while. You are being investigated, remember!"**

**I still have my contacts Milani. I'll find out what's going on.***

**You find out Ndlela. I paid you a lot of money to make sure that Nqaba stay in prison and out of my for a while.**

**You need to remember that, if he is really out, he commit the same offense he was convicted for and he won't go to jail that's if they manage to prove that the whole thing was set you.**

**Don't you think I know that especially if he finds out that Mnqobi is alive. Ndlela if Nqaba is really out and finds out that this is was a set up, I'll be screwed. I need to know what's going on before they drag you're ass to jail.**

Dammit! I hang up clicking my tongue. I think I am surrounded by incompetence. People are ruining my plans. What is so difficult about keeping someone in jail. The evidence needed is right there. It's damming evidence. What the F**k. "Milani" I hear my brother's voice and I don't want to talk. I want this sorted. "If he is out and finds out Mnqobi is alive, it's all over." He says looking at me, keeping his voice calm but I can see a hint of frustration on his face. "Please just leave me alone. I need to think. It's not over until I say so.

DETECTIVE MBHELE

When I received a call from Mandla, it didn't think it was all about this. This Kgomotso is turning out to be very useful. If the test results come back positive for the tranquilizer, that would be something but we still need to prove that Milani had excess to it. That means we have to find out if the brother deals in it or the Emihle knows a vet. It is more likely to be latter. I've to quietly send everything to Kgomotso's contact in JHB and Eddie is going to make a few calls to make sure we get the results tomorrow. A knock interrupts me. The game changer was finding out that Mnqobi is alive. A knock on my office interrupts me. Eddie and Sipho walk in. They don't sit, I quickly stand indicating for them to follow. These walls have ears. We walk out and go to their car. We get in and settle after exchanging greeting.

"We took on the bait. He is interested in the deal." Eddie says with a small smile on his face. That means we are getting somewhere. "When is the meeting?" My voice laced with curiosity. "The meeting is in two days, our guy is landing in two days. We'll for them to meet the day after he lands just to give time to recover from the travelling." We had to get one of Eddie's guys from Egypt to be undercover for this. At least that coming right for now.

"Guys Milani is a nut case. That girl is…. I don't even know what to say about him. The said thing about her is that she learned to be the person she is. She had choice to be a different person but she chose to her parents all over again. She was at the prison demanding to see her husband.."

"Does she know he is out?" Eddie adds. "She didn't know before but right I can bet you my last R10 that she knows." Sipho says. "Oh please, lately not even your wife can put a dent in you bank account, what are you talking about, last R10 my foot." The both just crack up laughing. Just then detective Nxele, gets in the car. Maybe one of them called him. He greets and hands me a file. It's everything we need know about Emihle. "These three are a trio from hell. What the hell am I looking at? You mean to tell me that Milani's other friends didn't know about this." I am still gob smacked by what I am looking at.

"So we're dealing with dangerous people," I say, scanning the file again. "These connections go deeper than I thought. We need to tread carefully."

"That's not the only concern," Eddie interjects, his expression turning serious. "Milani isn't just balancing her life, she's betting on chaos. If Nqaba is free, and he thinks there's a chance to come after her, there's no predicting what he'll do. The woman hurt him, she hurt him bad and we don't know what he is thinking right now. He might be helping us but we don't know what's in his head."

"We need to get ahead of this," Sipho suggests, his tone edged with urgency. "Do we have enough leverage to keep Milani in check? If she sees Nqaba as a threat, she might act before we anticipate. We need proof that she got her hands on those drugs and drugged him."

I lean back, absorbing their words. "We need to play this right. We need to get to Mnqobi. Now that we know he is alive, we need to get to him. He is the one that can give us Milani. But we must ensure Nqaba doesn't get to him first. Nqaba is a man scorned, the fact that he is watching Mnqobi with the help of Mabutho of his brother, that means something."

"There's too much uncertainty, Mbhele," Eddie points out. "We don't have eyes on Milani's movements, and she may be more unpredictable than the rest. We have eyes on Mnqobi, so we know exactly where he is. I'll put eyes on Milani today."

"You're right," I admit, weighing the options. "We should increase surveillance on her and make direct contact with Kgomotso. If he as useful as we think, he might be able to help us with the drug deal that we are setting up for Malusi."

The mood in the car shifts, tension thickening as we all contemplate the ramifications. "We'll need backup," I declare, bringing focus back to the operational side. "If Malusi's crew catches wind of this, we need to be prepared for anything." "We are all the back we need at the moment." Sipho adds.

"I'll start laying the groundwork," Sipho responds, reaching for his phone. "We can't afford to slip up. Not with everything on the line."

As we plan our next moves, I can't shake the feeling of impending chaos. The buried truths are surfacing, and if we can't stop this before it escalates, it'll spell disaster for all of us. "Let's meet back here in a few hours," I say, my resolve hardening. "We'll need fresh intel on all fronts. Whatever it takes, we need to keep the upper hand. Can someone also clarify to me how no one knows Emihle is the the daughter of the Police Commissioner."

"She was a product of an affair. Her didn't want anyone knowing and he has taken care of her, hence there was no scandal. His name is her birth certificate." Nxele says. Ok I hear it. We'll have to come to this topic because this is why Malusi has not been arrested yet. I put a pin on it, promising myself to bring it up again.

"We're still dealing with time constraints," I state, feeling the weight of urgency pressing down. "Every hour counts, especially with Nqaba lingering in the background. We need to anticipate his moves." Eddie nods, his expression grim. "I know we managed to reach the Malusi's underworld. We need a runner in there. We need someone who is going to give us intel everyday. It might reveal his intentions before they come into play."

"Do it,"** I reply, feeling a flicker of hope. "We need to stay creative. If we can make him think he's still in control, we might buy ourselves a few crucial days to get what we need on him."Sipho leans forward, "We are meeting with our guy before he goes to see him, he need to give Malusi a deal he can't refuse? If we can secure a solid transaction, it could throw Milani off balance. She thrives on chaos, and if we can introduce enough uncertainty, she may expose herself, they may expose themselves."

My mind races. "It's a gamble, but it might pay off. We lure her in, give her a taste of power, and watch as she maneuvers. But we need to be ready to back her into a corner if it comes to that."

"Exactly,"Eddie adds, determination shining in his eyes. "We have to walk the lines between controlling and containing. The more we push her, the more reckless she may become."

I take a deep breath, the reality of the situation settling heavily upon us. "We'll need eyes everywhere. Think of this as a chess game. The moment we reveal our strategy, we risk losing."

Sipho's phone buzzes, pulling us from our thoughts. He glances at it, the tension palpable. "Kgomotso's responding. He wants to meet, says he has vital information about he vital information about the product we can use to lure Malusi and make sure he takes the deal."

I nod, adrenaline coursing through my veins. "Let's set that up. The sooner we have all that, the better chance we have to control this unfolding storm."

As Sipho types out the details, I can't shake the feeling that the game is about to escalate beyond our control. Something is gnawing at the back of my thoughts*"Remember," I warn, my voice steady but urgent. "Stay sharp and maintain a low profile. We're not just surviving anymore; we're entering a dangerous territory, and every decision could be our last." Nxele nods in agreement next to me.

The car is filled with a focused silence as we absorb the weight of what lies ahead, understanding that we are all in deeper than we ever intended. "I hear everything that we are talking about and planning but something has been sitting at the back of my thoughts. The only way we can truly unsettle Milani, is if we use Nqaba and Mnqobi. Very soon they are going to find out that we are sniffing around. She knows already that Nqaba is out. She is not going to let that pass. She needs him and she is going to get to him. I would rather he gets to her first and that will advantageous to us. She will miss step." They look at me trying to digest what I've said. We'll talk about when we meet again later including the commissioner's daughter.