Mixed emotions
"How are you man?" Mthoko asks a dejected looking Bhekani as he gives him a beer while they sit in Mthoko's study, at the Sibisi house. Bhekani looks very down-hearted and a little distracted. It's been a few days since he had met his associates, Nsizwa and Mandla and it's the first time he's in Mthoko's house since then."Uhmm...I'm sorry man, that's a very stupid question from me" Mthoko says with a low voice as he looks down in embarrassment. This leads to another awkward moment as Bhekani continues to drink his beer in quietness, seemingly uneager to make eye contact with his uncomfortable-looking boss. This is not to say he looks angry at him or anything like that but perhaps the better word would be to say he looks regretful or remorseful over what happened over the few days ago.
"Look man, I know it must have been very hard for you to do what you had to do that night. and I can understand if you need a little bit of..." Mthoko continues but Bhekani cuts him off, "Look man, I've known and worked with Mandla and Nsizwa for a very long time. I trusted them with this type of work, so yeah it wasn't really easy for me" he says with a very low and sad voice.
But as Mthoko attempts to jump in, Bhekani continues, "But I understand what is at stake, it had to happen" he says as he establishes eye contact with Mthoko. "We couldn't have taken chances that one day they might crack and talk. It had to be done, so don't worry man, we are good" as he takes another sip, much to what looks like a massive relief on Mthoko's face as he lets out a measured smile while nodding. The last thing he wanted was losing his best man over this predicament. He and Bhekani have known each other for a long time and he trusts him sensitive work.
"I'm relieved man, I can't tell you how much I'm happy to hear that" he says as he lifts his beer up to Bhekani, who also does the same with a smile. "Now we just need to wait this storm out and see what comes out of it. I trust there was nothing left on the scene that could have compromised you?" he asks curiously as he takes a sip.
"No, you don't have to worry about that. I sanitized the scene so there's nothing to find there. What's the word from the police?" Bhekani asks as he takes another sip. Now it looks like the air has been cleared around this issue as both men can now make eye contact.
"Uhmm, no, not yet atleast. They still don't know what really took place there so we are on the clear" Mthoko says as he shrugs his shoulders. "But I'm just a little worried about Zikode and the gang" he continues, "He probably will want to find out how this happened. I mean he had these two guys before and they were also held by the police, so he knows that they were silenced. So my worry is who will he suspect for this? He knows this whole thing isn't about taxi turf wars, but directly related to his side business with Faroukh.
My guess is that he probably suspects a drug business rival, maybe someone who is Faroukh's enemy. Zikode knows I'm not into the drug business he can't immediately link any of it to me" as he goes over to the safe and pulls from it an envelope.
"Well, he may go after the reporter to try and find out who her source is" Bhekani says as he finishes off whatever was left of the beer bottle. But suddenly this brings a somewhat uncomfortable feeling to Mthoko, which Bhekani notices. He can tell that something is up and Mthoko himself knows he is made. "I am her source" he says as he takes a strong sip, much to Bhekani's shock. "Wait, what?" he asks, wide-eyed. "You are that journalist's source?" Bhekani can't believe this.
"Well, we needed to make this about taxi turf wars not about terrorism. It was the only way man" Mthoko says as sits down on his swinging chair. "We needed to feed the public something. Taxi industry is known for having such things so it was easy for the public to buy it and not get involved in it" as he scratches his head as if he is thinking.
"I hear you" Bhekani says with a low voice. "But you have to understand that Zikode will go after this woman. Is she strong enough to not reveal her source? What happens if she cracks under pressure and reveals who her source is? And what if..." Bhekani doesn't finish as a visibly irritated Mthoko cuts him off, "Look man, I know alright?" he says as he raises his voice a little bit. "I'm still working on that and..." he doesn't finish himself as Bhekani cuts him, "You already know what to do man" he says. "This woman has become a loose end. She will compromise everything, you understand that?"
This leads to a little silence that seems to tell a lot and Bhekani can pick that up. "Why are you protecting this woman though?" he asks curiously. "Are you willing to risk the whole mission for what? For a woman who's not even your wife?" he is really confused about all this but then suddenly something dawns on him...
"Wait, bro are you sleeping with your source?" he asks wide-eyed. This questions seems to have caught Mthoko off guard as he breaks eye contact. "Damnit" Bhekani shouts in shock but Mthoko cuts him as he hands Bhekani a brown envelope. "Look man, this is for the last job" he says much to Bhekani's confusion who clearly sees that his boss is trying to avoid the topic but Mthoko continues, "I know this wasn't easy for you but thank you for putting the mission ahead of everything else" as he continues to swing on his chair.
After this, Bhekani knows where to draw the line. He can tell that Mthoko doesn't want to discuss this any further so he opens the envelope to see what's inside. After that he shrugs his shoulders as if to say, Well, I rest my case sir.
***
Somewhere far at the police station Thoko and Mxolisi are finding themselves yet again having to deal with another twist in their investigation of the Fezile murder. The bodies keep piling up all around them and they are yet to make a sound link between. The latest killings of Mandla and Nsizwa has put the spanner in the works for the two detectives who spend hours on end to try and come up with atleast a solid lead and a suspect.
"So where do we go from here? The murder of Mandla and Nsizwa has made things really difficult for us?" Thoko asks her partner with a worried voice as they once again sit in the debriefing room, trying to figure out what on earth is really going on in this case.
"Uhmm, I really don't know Thoko hey," Mxolisi says as he sighs deeply. "This case is so bizzar. All our leads are quiet frankly leading nowhere. We just had these guys here for question not so long ago. Even though they didn't say anything significant, but their murder seems to be telling us something" he says as he goes front to the story board they have created, to look into the names of the people they have put down.
"What does it tell us, exactly?" Thoko asks curiously as she looks at the seemingly troubled Mxolisi. There's a moment of silent as Mxolisi fixes his eyes on the board, trying hard to make the connection. Thoko then comes closer and stands next to him, to try and see if she can't get into her partner's head.
"Well, for starters... it tells us that these two didn't tell us everything. Secondly, it's clear that someone didn't want them to say anything further" Mxolisi says as he brushes his head in frustration. "You could be right you know" Thoko says as she jumps in. "But there's something I've been meaning to ask you" she says with a very concerned voice. This seems to get the attention of her curious partner. "What is it?" he asks. But Thoko seems to be in two minds about whether she must speak what's on her mind or just let it go.
"Look, I could be overstepping here but I am wondering...why did the commissioner bring these guys in? What did he know that we didn't? How are these two connected to the whole case of Fezile and Njenje?" she asks as she looks down as if she's unsure of herself.
"You know what, those are valid questions partner" Mxolisi says, trying to reassure her doubting friend. "Maybe we should find from the commissioner, don't you think?" he says as he comes closer to the board to look at the names again. "Whoa, whoa, whoa...do you think that's appropriate?" Thoko says as she jumps in. "I mean, we can't just go in to the commissioner’s office and ask him this kind of question, can we?" as she comes closer to her partner, "Why not? Aren't we trying to solve a case?" he asks curiously.
"Yeah I know, but I mean...he's the commissioner" Thoko jumps in. "Shouldn’t we be asking the captain, who is the one who assigned us the case in the first place?"
This makes Mxolisi think for a minute as he starts walking up and down the room. "Okay you have a point, the captain should know more about what exactly is going on here" he says as he goes over to the board again. "I mean, we can't be running around chasing leads that amount to nothing when the man who put us in this case sits there and watch. But the question is, how do we even begin to approach the captain? What do we say to him?" as he looks at his partner Thoko who is also caught up in the same thought as well.
"Look, if these two men were hitmen then it would mean they were silenced by someone after they were taken in for questioning. The question now is, who amongst the taxi owners gave the order?" Thoko says as she stretches her head trying to piece this puzzle together. She starts moving up and down the road as she tries to figure this out.
"Well, it looks like we may just have interview all of the association bosses" Mxolisi says as he shrugs his shoulders, but this shocks his partner to the core as she becomes wide-eyed. "Are you insane, Mxo?" she shouts as she comes to stand in front of her partner. "We can't just go around suspecting these taxi bosses, do you know how dangerous that is?" She seems genuinely terrified at this idea her colleague is suggesting. "But why not?" Mxolisi interjects, "We are police officers, our job is to investigate cases and you know well that the captain and the commissioner are on our case with this" he says as he looks at his terrified partner.
"I know that Mxolisi, but this is getting dangerous and the last thing I want is to become a threat to these people. I have a family, man" Thoko says with a terrified voice but Mxolisi quickly interjects again, "But we have questioned Mthokozisi Sibisi before, so why can't we question the rest of the Taxi owners? Maybe someone might give us an idea of what they think is happening"
Suddenly there's a moment of silent in this boardroom as the two detectives thing long and hard about they have gotten themselves involved with.
***
It seems Thoko and Mxolisi are not the only ones trying to find answers over this mysterious case as things are just as hectic at SA News media House. Phuthuma Cele has been running around chasing leads but they all come to nothing, largely because Mthoko has been throwing her off the trail from the beginning. She herself is even beginning to doubt her most trusted source on this case but Mthoko is the only source she has. You can tell that she is taking serious strain over this because she is a kind of person who will do anything for a story but this one is not taking her anywhere.
"Uhmm...Boss, you wanted to see me?" she asks as she knocks on Rethabile's office door. She is a very intimidating individual who demands results from her employees so Phuthuma can be excused for looking all nervous as she comes in through the door. She doesn't know whether to look at her boss in the eyes or not. She dread to read her.
"Oh yeah, Phuthuma...please come in and close the door" Rethabile says with a straight face. Phuthuma comes in and sits down opposite her boss across this huge desk that is next the window of the 5th floor office. For a minute there Phuthuma is in two mind about whether to make a light joke or just wait to see what mood her boss is in. As she looks into her eyes, she's struggling to read where she's at so it's better to just zip it and listen.
"Uhmm...I just wanted to discuss the case with you Phuthuma. How far are you? Are you getting any leads? New developments etc?" Rethabile asks with a calm voice but stilling maintaining a straight face. "Uhmm...Nothing yet Retha. There's no new leads at the moment" Phuthuma says with a nervous voice as she sits up straight.
This seems to make Rethabile's facial expression change as she suddenly wears a more serious face than anything. "No leads at all?" she asks with a disappointed voice. "I mean, are you even pressing your source harder for something more than that 'taxi turf war story'? Surely there must be more into this story Phuthuma, don't you agree?" she asks as she stands by the window to look outside. "Believe it or not Retha, my source is sticking by that story-it's just another turf war" Phuthuma says nervously as she looks down as though she is embarrassed by what she's just said.
"Well then, maybe it's time to change your source, don't you think? Clearly this one is not working out..." Rethabile says as she interjects, which kind of spooks Phuthuma a little bit as she becomes wide-eyed over what her boss is saying. This is not the direction she was hoping to go at the moment.
"Phuthuma, do you realize that everytime you stand in front of that camera you give the public the same narrative?" Rethabile continues, "The bodies are continuing to pile up and the public is asking questions...and what do we do? As always we tell them it's just another turf war. It is called a developing story for a reason Phuthuma, for Christ's sake" she raises her voice a little bit as she comes back to sit down and look at her employee in the eyes. "You need to develop another source Phuthuma, ASAP" she continues as with a straight face as she looks at the journalist who looks disappointed at that.
"Uhmm...I will see what I can do Retha" Phuthuma says with a low voice as she looks away from her boss but Rethabile interjects immediately, "No, no, no...Clearly this source is not giving you anything okay?" she says as she raises her voice a bit. "For all we know he or she could be throwing you off the trail"
That doesn't seem to please Phuthuma who knows her source well and in a very intimate way as she looks away again. "What about finding someone in the police or other taxi owners?" Rethabile probes. "Maybe they'd be able to give us a different version of what is going on. The story has to develop Phuthuma. We are under pressure to report authentic news okay. The last thing I want is for this media house to be called rumor mongers or peddlers of propaganda." she says as she once again goes to stand by the window to look outside. This story seems to frustrate her as she has a worry in her face.
"Alright Retha, I will change the source. But can I please press this source just one more time before I dump him? Maybe he can tell me something that would indicate to me if he indeed has been trying to throw me off the trail" Phuthuma asks with a begging voice which sees Rethabile coming back to sit down and sighs deep.
"Okay fine, you have just one last shot Phuthuma, alright?" she says she leans forward. "Give me something solid okay or else dump that source. Better yet, lest I take this story from you and give it to someone else" she says but Phuthuma quickly interjects, "Oh no Retha you can't do that, this is my story okay? This is my story...you can't take it away from me" she says as she now looks upset over what her boss is suggesting. "Alright then, give me a lead or I swear I will take it from you Phuthuma" an annoyed Rethabile says as she raises her voice once again. At that Phuthuma quickly stands up and walk put the door.
***
Somewhere else things are also tense when Taxi owners decide to meet and discuss the latest developments over the killing of Mandla and Nsizwa. The school hall is so tense as it is clear that trust amongst these owners is on an all-time low. They are all struggling to put get their heads around this mystery. Ofcourse they all have different reasons for worrying over this- Fana Zikode is worried that someone might be on to him and his drug operations within the industry, and the fact that he is working with Faroukh, an arms dealer. Mthoko on the other hand is worried that if he's not careful, they may link all of this back to him and that's not what his handler would appreciate.
"Uhmm madoda(men), I thank you for showing up in such a short notice but this is a matter that couldn't wait" Zikode says with a rather worried voice. "We need to discuss this urgent matter of the killings guys. The bodies are piling up and we still don't have a clue about what is going on" Suddenly his face changes as he looks around the hall to see the reaction of everyone present- about 17 men and 3 women.
"As some of you may have known, we had two men that we suspected to have been the ones behind the murder of Fezile Mpulo, Njenje and a few others around South Coast" Zikode says as he looks at another Taxi owner who had hired the driver Njenje. "Now that these two men are murdered it is more and more looking like someone covering their tracks" he says as he looks around the room one more time, trying to read what people could be thinking. He is trying hard to see if anything would be out of the ordinary but he's getting nothing as everyone in the room is looking at each other in wonder.
"Uhmm, can I ask? How did you know that these two guys were behind the killings?" Nduna Morena asks curiously as he also looks across the room where everyone is suddenly interested in hearing the response. Zikode takes a little pause before saying, "Look, we were also digging like everyone else but some info landed on us that the two men could be linked to these murders"
This sends the room into complete quiet as no one seems to know what to say after. Everyone is looking at each other and you can see that people have more questions but don't know how to ask them until Mthoko jumps in, "Uhmm...were these men reported to the police atleast, before...you know...before they were murdered?" he asks with a bold tone of someone who has nothing to hide. "Ofcourse I reported them to the police and they couldn't link them to any of theses crimes so they let them go" Zikode says with a somewhat annoyed voice.
"Oh okay, so then these men may not have been involved in any of these..." Nduna says but doesn't finish as Zikode interjects, "Oh come on Morena, since when are the police competent to do their job?" he asks irritably. "And we know that Mandla was always rumored to be doing hit jobs in other districts so our suspicion wasn't farfetched" as he looks around to see who is backing him, which a few people in the room do. Nduna shrugs his shoulders as if to say I rest my case.
"Okay look guys, clearly someone is killing taxi drivers here for whatever reason and then creates a narrative that this is about turf wars, but we all know that's not true right?" Zikode says he stands up from his chair that is in front of the hall. "We need to find out who that person is because Fezile and Njenje’s families deserve closure. They deserve to know why their families members were murdered" Now he sounds all emotional about this which makes everyone in the hall to keep quiet and give him a minute to calm himself.
"Okay guys look, I say that if we can't get answers from within this room, if we can't find the source of this narrative...then the next best thing-the reporter of the narrative" another Taxi owner Shoes Mufamadi says as he raises his hand but Nduna quickly jumps in, "Whoa, whoa, whoa guys...is that where we are now?" he asks with a shocked face. "Are we now going to intimidate journalists now?" he asks but Shoes quickly interjects, "Oh so, do you have a better idea Morena? huh?" he asks as he raises his voice a little bit. "No I don't but do you want this association to be on the news for all the wrong reasons?" Nduna probes as he looks across the room.
Suddenly everyone in the room starts to discuss this matter with the person sitting next to them. You can see that it's a question of what's right and what's wrong over Shoe's suggestion as everyone is debating with those standing next to them. All the while Mthoko is keeping quiet as he knows that this is not good. He is entirely responsible for the information that Phuthuma the journalist is reporting.
"Look guys, I agree with Nduna okay?" he says with a low voice that sends the room quiet. "Look, we don't know who the journalist's source is yes but to then compel her to tell us is not okay because now we are talking about infringing on her rights and we shall be seen as intimidating free speech. Is that what we really want as an association?" he says as he looks across the room, which once again sends the room into commotion. It is clear that the house is divided over what should be done and this seems to please Mthoko who is worried about the worse case scenario.
"Okay look, it's clear that the house is divided over how to proceed with this" Zikode says as he motions with his hand. "Personally, I agree with Shoes...I say let's grab this journalist and compel her to tell us who her source is, torture her if need be. But obviously some in the room disagree with this and they are well within their rights to do so" as he looks at Mthoko and Morena. "But it is clear that someone is scratching people off the list and we don't know how long it is and who is on it but I don't want to be on that list. Do you?" he asks as he stands and looks across the room and many if not all shake their heads.
"So I suggest that we put this into a vote, shall we?" Zikode continues. "All those who say we must leave the journalist alone please raise your hands" as he looks across the room one more time. For a moment there seems to be doubts amongst many people in the hall as they first look at each. But suddenly Mthoko lifts his hand, which is actually not surprising. He is followed by Nduna Morena and the three female owners.
This seems to spell trouble for the panicking Mthoko as he does the math. He knows what this means because there are twenty people in this hall. Suddenly he begins to sweat under collar as the memories of him and Phuthuma come flooding his mind. He remembers all the times they have spent at the hotels making love. He begins to think that maybe this wasn't just about meaningless *** to cover his tracks. Maybe she wasn't just a mark, he thinks to himself as he looks across the room. What if he had started to genuinely care for the journalist who was nothing but just another job?
"Alright, all those in favor of compelling the journalist to tell us who the source is, please raise your hand" Zikode says with a straight face to which about seventeen people raise their hands without a second thought. That seems to seal the deal as Mthoko knows this is the end for Phuthuma and possibly for him as well.
Please log in to submit a comment.