Congratulation part 2
"Mr. Zikode, I've already told you that I don't know anything okay? I reported based on the information Mthokozisi Sibisi gave me. What more do you want from me?" a crying Phuthuma says with a trembling voice. But this doesn't seem to move Zikode as he stands by the window looking outside. It's a day after he and Mthoko had a telephonic conversation where they agreed to meet but it's not the same location where he's been holding Phuthuma hostage for the past few days. This place looks like an abandoned factory building. It is secluded from the residential areas and establishments.It's 08h: 45 in the morning, 15 minutes from the agreed meeting time with Mthoko and Zikode is already looking anxious. He had strictly asked Mthoko to come alone but he himself decided to bring a few people with him. He is with Mavusana and two other taxi owners who have been part of the deal with Faroukh. There's is also about three men who look like hitman to provide security for this meeting.
Zikode is not quiet sure what Mthoko knows or how much he knows but he's hoping this morning will be the day he found out. The last thing he wants is to be a target for Faroukh and his people so today he must get results or things will get bad for him.
"Oh well we will find out about that, won't we?" he says as he comes closer to Phuthuma who is tied to the chair that is in the middle of this room. The other people have formed a circle around her like it's a ritual of sorts. Phuthuma is terrified to death over this as three of these men are carrying guns. She's not sure if Mthoko will be here to save or not but what has kept her alive was to say as little as possible in order to buy herself some time. There is a little bit of blood on her face to suggest that she has endured some of level of torture from Zikode's men over the past few days.
As Zikode anxiously looks at his watch Mthoko emerges from through the door, much to Phuthuma's relief as her eyes brighten up with hope. Ofcourse she can't run to him as she is tied to the chair and surrounded by six men. He has a big brown envelop in his hand. Zikode and his friends though look more nervous than relieved as they all become wide-eyed.
It perhaps could be that Mthoko is not alone. He brought with him other taxi owners namely Shoes Mufamadi, Mqeqeshi Xhonywa and his friend Nduna Morena. This is not what Zikode was expecting at all as he stands there looking confused. In his head he is trying to think what his nemesis could be up too but there's no turning back now, is there? He is wondering what Mthoko must have told these guys, but the problem is that he doesn't even know what Mthoko knows about anything. All he can do now is just wait and hear from the man himself as he they come closer and closer towards him.
"Well, well, well...look who it is...And you brought company too? That's not what's we agreed on Sibisi" he says as he looks at the owners that Mthoko brought with him. "Well, it's not like you came alone yourself, as agreed" Mthoko says as he rolls his eyes. "Hey are you okay?" he says as he looks at the terrified Phuthuma in the centre circle.
"Zikode, what the hell is going on here?" a confused Morena asks as he looks at the frightened journalists tied to the chair. "Oh, I wonder what lies this guy has told you on your way here...huh?" Zikode responds with a smile on his face. He looks like he is beginning to enjoy the tense moment that is developing in this room. "Oh man come on, what are you doing?" a shocked Shoes asks as he tries to deescalate the situation a little bit but a pumped up Zikode quickly interjects, "Oh no, you two three don't get to ask me questions okay? When I told you that this guy was the mole, what did you say? Huh? Didn't you accuse me of stretching it a little bit?"
This statement seems to confuse everyone as they look at each other. Mqeqeshi decides to jump in too, "What are you talking about Zikode? What is all this?" he asks curiously as he looks at Mthoko who maintains a straight face. Now tension builds fast as Zikode's three men look like their are itching for some action with their fingers on the trigger.
"Uhmm…Sibisi, are you going to tell them or should I?" Zikode says as his face changes to being a little serious. Everyone else look at each other with keen interest in what's been said. "Do you wanna tell these people how you kept feeding this woman misinformation about the killings within our association?" Zikode says as his voice keeps rising higher. "Yes, gentlemen, Sibisi here is the mole in the association. He is the one who also took this girl and hid her when we were looking for her for answers. All along he's been playing us for fools but today we shall find out why, won't we?"
Now, what Zikode is saying is coming as a shock to his colleagues as they all look at Mthoko to respond before any of this get out of hand. "Sibisi, what is Zikode talking about man?" Morena asks with a worried and concerned face. Mthoko is his friends and he'd hate to learn that he's been keeping something from him.
Mthoko thinks for a second before saying, "Okay yes, I admit. I was the source for Miss Cele here for the story on the killings" much to everyone's shock in the room. This statements causes a commotion as everyone look at each other in disbelief. For Morena he was hoping that his friend would 'clarify the misunderstanding' as he'd never imagined him doing something like this. Zikode seems pleased to see everyone giving Mthoko a sharp eye of distrust and disgust and he intends on exploiting that. All the while Mthoko maintains a straight face that doesn't suggest he is sorry for all this.
"Okay gentlemen, can I please explain myself here..." he says as he motions with his hand which suddenly brings this place to dead silence. He looks around the room before saying, "Maybe before I do that, why don't we ask Zikode here to maybe give us a brief history about his relationship with the killings that happened"
This certain catches Zikode off-guard as he didn't see this coming. It suggests to him that Mthoko might be on to something and he needs to calm himself before responding. When he looks across the room he sees that everyone is looking at him. "Oh come on Sibisi, you know how I knew those people. We all did." he says with an unconvincing voice as nerves set in. "You know very well that Fezile drove for you and me, Njenje drove for Mavusana here and TK drove for Ndlela standing before you. That's how I know these guys and that's how we all know them, right?" he says as he looks at everyone as they nod in agreement.
"Oh but it wasn't only the drivers who have been killed in these shootings aren't they?" Mthoko says as he raises his voice a little bit. He seems to like the fact that he has this man panicking and when he looks across the room he sees that people are interested in where he is going with all this. Everyone is dead silent.
"Hey man, where are you going with all this?" Morena asks with keen interest as he gets closer to Mthoko but he ignores the question as he says, "Or atleast then tell us about your relationship with the Pakistanis who have also been killed in these shootings. Better yet, perhaps Zikode can tell us about his relationship with a Pakistani, named Faroukh and how he's related with the killings"
This suddenly spooks a few people in the room as they look at each other. Everyone can tell that Mthoko is on about something and they are becoming anxious to hear it. "Well, I have no idea what you are talki..." Zikode says but doesn't finish as Mthoko cuts back in, "Or maybe then Mavusana or Ndlela can tell us if you don't want to" he says as his face becomes a little more serious now. "I’m serious Zikode, if you don't tell everyone here I will have to. Don't be so arrogant to think no one knows okay because I do. Now one of you will tell the rest of the group what is going on"
Tired of the back and forth Mqeqeshi asks, "Sibisi, what are you talking about? What the hell is going on here?" as he looks at Mthoko who has his eyes on Zikode. "Yeah man, can you please tell us what's going on here or what we are doing in this place? Because some of us are very confused about what's going on" Shoes says as he interjects.
Mthoko takes a second to see if Zikode or his friends will say anything but none of them are committing. He takes a huge sigh before saying, "Alright then, if they won't speak i guess I will have to" as he looks at Zikode in the eyes. "Zikode here and his friends here are drug mules for a Pakistani named Faroukh. They have been transporting drugs for him to certain locations where they'd meet Pakistani buyers. This has been going on for a little while now and I have been following this through out as it unfolded" he says as he looks at everyone who is shocked in the room.
Zikode may try to keep a straight face but this raffling the furthers and as he looks at everyone's reaction, he can tell things aren't looking good for him. "What? Sibisi, are you being serious right now?" a shocked Mqeqeshi as he looks at Shoes who is lost for words himself. People on Zikode's side look caught off-guard.
It was hard for Zikode to determine how Mthoko knew but he was hoping it wasn't something too accurate. Unfortunately for him, it looks like Mthoko knows exactly what he is talking about and he is not bluffing at all. "No man, tell me you are not serious" Morena jumps in as he looks so confused. "Yeah man, are you sure about this? I mean do you have any proof of these allegations?" Shoes adds as well as he looks at Zikode but as Mthoko attempts to responds Mqeqeshi jumps in, "Hey, to be fair man...when Zikode accused you of being a mole, we also asked him to show proof of his allegations against you" he says softly.
This seems to irritate Mthoko a little bit but surely he anticipated it. "Ofcourse I have proof" he says with a confident voice and a smirk on his face as he pulls out a file from the brown envelop he's been carrying all this time. Zikode knows this can't be good as he becomes wide-eyed at seeing that there are photos in the file that Mthoko has given to Mqeqeshi.
"When I discovered that Zikode an his friends were working with this Faroukh to transport drugs I started following their movement closely" Thoko says while Mqeqeshi passes the file to Shoes. "When media started asking questions I had to try and contain the situation. That's where Miss Cele comes in..." he says as he looks at the terrified Phuthuma. "She really didn't have anything to do with any of this. When it was agreed that she must be found and be interrogated I knew Zikode's intention was to kill her so I hid her away. But unfortunately he found her. He used her to pull me out."
This information seems to be too much for the shocked Mqeqeshi and Shoes. At the moment it's hard to tell who they believe in all this. "But man, why didn't you tell us then? Did you report any of this to the police?" Nduna asks curiously as he takes the file from the disbelieving Shoes.
"I couldn't tell anyone man..." Mthoko says with a low voice. "I didn't know at the time who else was on it so I had to tread carefully...I'm sorry man. Another thing, I didn't want our beloved industry to be tainted with something like this so that is why I gave Miss Cele here misinformation. It was easy for the public to believe that it was just another turf wars" as he shrugs his shoulders but Zikode quickly jumps in, "So Sibisi, if that's the case, where are the drugs then?" he asks as he looks very upset about all this. His two friends Mavusana and Ndlela have been quiet throughout this drama. They look nervous.
"Well, wouldn't you like to know Zikode huh?" Mthoko says with a smirk on his face but Shoes quickly jumps in, "Hey, who gave you all this information about these activities?" he asks curiously as he looks at Mqeqeshi who nods in agreement with the question. "Look guys, it doesn't matter how I knew alright but the truth is out now. We have drug mules in our association...people who are bringing drug wars to our association and risking the safety of the people we transport on a daily basis. Well I wasn't going to be part of that" Mthoko says as he fixes his eyes on his nemesis who looks at him with disgust.
At this point everyone looks to be on edge as they Zikode’s three hitmen look ready to engage in a firefight but no one else has drawn their weapons except them. Clearly Zikode had no intention to fire at anyone since he has people to do the dirty work for him. "You know what I'm seek and tired of this, where are my drugs Sibisi?" he asks he raises his voice at Mthoko. As soon as he asks the question, his men quickly point their weapons at Mthoko ready to fire but Mthoko keeps calm as he looks at Zikode in the eyes without showing any emotion. The other three with him are so terrified as they were caught off-guard.
Without a moment's notice, three gun short sound as Zikode's men go down while everyone else take cover except Mthoko and the screaming Phuthuma who is tied into the chair. While everyone is still wondering where the shots came from, Zikode tries to draw his weapon and shoot at Mthoko but another gun shot sounds and hits him in the stomach and he falls down.
When everyone looks around them to see who has been hit, three police officers emerge coming through the door. It is captain Dube and his two detectives, Mxolisi and Thoko...they all have their guns pointed at those still standing. "Police, police, police....nobody moves" Dube shouts as they get closer to the scene. At that, everyone lift up their hands to show that they are not carrying any weapons.
When Dube gets to scene he sees that there are four people lying on the ground: the three hitmen and Zikode who is still alive. "Mavusana Mbuthu and Sphiwe Ndlela...you are both under arrest for drug trafficking" Dube says as he raises his voice. "Detectives, please read them their rights and take them into custody" he orders.
***
Three hours later, the dust as settled in this abandoned factory situated in the middle of nowhere, that had become a blood bath. Police are not yet done though taking statements from the witnesses, namely Mthoko, his two associates Shoes and Mqeqeshi, and the journalist Phuthuma Cele. Everyone still looks a little rattled but have done their best to give an account of what had transpired here this morning to the police, except for Phuthuma who is sitting in the car with the police captain. Dube wanted to be the one who briefs Phuthuma as this matter is while sensitive. He just wants to make sure that they are on the same page as far as telling the turn of events.
Phuthuma herself looks shocked and not in the right frame of mind at all. What she's been through since the day Mthoko took her has been traumatic to her and her family and friends. By the look of things she will need counselling in order to get past this and go back to living her normal life. It's safe to say she fears for herself, knowing what she knows now.
"Uhmm...It would be silly of me to ask how you are doing Miss Cele because I know that you are not okay and..." Dube says with a low voice but he doesn't finish his thought as Phuthuma sharply cuts in, "Not okay? Not okay?...Is that the best word you have to describe what I'm feeling right now captain?" she says as her voice is raised a little bit. If anything, this is only making her more angry as she gives the embarrassed captain a sharp eye. Good thing is they are parked in a little distance from other police vehicles so no one can see how this conversation is really going.
"Uhmm...yes, I'm sorry...uhmm...I know that you are going though a very rough..." Dube says as he looks down but once again Phuthuma cuts in, "I'm terrified captain okay?" she shouts in anger. "I feel like I'm losing my mind. I can't think straight and all I want to do is go home to my family okay?" she says as tears start to fall down her face.
"I understand Miss Cele and I will take you home right now okay?" Dube says with a low voice as he also begins to look sad. "But I just needed us to go over a few things you know...just to make sure that we are on the same page" he says.
This seems to confuse Phuthuma as she wipes her tears. "What do you mean?" she asks curiously as she pays attention. "Uhmm...I mean I just wanted us to go over a few things to ensure that we are on the same..." Dube says but Phuthuma interrupts her again, "But I have told your officers everything I know okay? So what more do you want from me?" she asks as she seems a little annoyed. "Oh no, yes I know that...but there are a few things to clear up okay?" Dube says softly as he gives a measured smile. "And I know that you didn't tell them everything you know, okay?"
This catches Phuthuma by surprise as she raises an eyebrow but Dube quickly jumps in, "Oh no, it's okay. You don't have to worry about that" he says with a smile as he looks through the window to see if anyone is listening. It has become difficult for him to know who could still be the mole in the department apart from the commissioner.
"What do you mean?" Phuthuma asks curiously. "I mean, I know that Mthokozisi Sibisi was your source for the story you were covering and I know that you know he's been working to uncover drug dealings within the taxi industry. I know that you know all that" Dube says as he looks at the journalist in the eyes. As Phuthuma is about to respond, Dube quickly jumps back in, "I also know that you know...that Sibisi was trying to stop arms deal by a terrorist organization operating in the South Coast area. Do you want me to keep going?" he says as he once again looks outside.
When he sees that this has got Phuthuma quiet, he continues, "Look...I just wanted to make sure that when you leave here you know how to respond to questions okay?" he says with a calm voice. "People will want to know what happened to you over the past few weeks or who kidnapped you and all that, but under no circumstances are you to reveal anything about this case"
This really shocks Phuthuma as she becomes wide-eyed. "What?" she says as she raises her voice. "What am I supposed to tell my family? My friends and colleagues? Must I say I was on holiday? You know how ridiculous that will sound?" Her voice is only getting higher but Dube quickly jumps in, "Ofcourse not...Look we will talk about that in a minute but I just needed you to understand that you can't talk about who kidnapped you or why" he says firmly. "You can't talk about Zikode or the drugs or terrorism to anyone. This case isn't over yet so we can't risk it by letting the bad guys know we are on to them. In fact, we want to keep this particular arrest of Zikode and his friends strictly classified for now."
This almost makes sense to Phuthuma as she calms herself before asking, "Who else in the police knows about this? Does Mthoko know about you?" as she takes a huge sigh. "No Sibisi doesn't know about me yet..." Dube says. “But In the department only two other people know- the detective who took your statement, Thoko Ximba and her partner detective Mxolisi Zwane. Those are the only two people you can call if you suspect anything unusual around your house okay? But you call me or Sibisi first, are we clear? No one else in the department must you talk to because we don't know how deep this goes."
This somehow seems to calm Phuthuma a bit, knowing there are people she can talk to about all this. "Alright...understood" she says as she nods her head. "So Zikode survived?" she asks with a nervous voice as she looks a little bit discomforted. "Is she going to come after me? God...what about his friends? Where are they?"
Dube sees that she is becoming anxious so he interjects, "Whoa, whoa, whoa calm down Miss Cele okay? Calm down" he says with a calm voice. "Fana Zikode is in Hospital, badly wounded. He is under heavy police presence. When he leaves there he is going to jail. We have enough to lock him for a very long time. His friends to are in custody already so there's nothing for to worry about okay?" as he gives a smile of assurance which seems to do the trick as Phuthuma takes a deep sigh of relief.
"Alright then...So, what will I say to my family now? Oh God I can't wait to see my mom and my cousins" she says as she becomes a little emotional. "Okay look let's go see your family, alright? I will tell you on the way what our story will be" Dube says with a smile as he drives off from the scene, leaving Mxolisi and Thoko to wrap things up.
***
The following day Faroukh finds himself very frustrated as he sits in his hotel looking worried. He has been trying to get hold of Zikode since early hours this morning albeit in vain so it doesn't look like he is aware of what happened yesterday morning at the abandoned factory. What perhaps worries him more is the fact that he also can't get hold of the other Zikode friends which makes him uncertain about what's going on.
As he sits there, a phone rings...it's his handler, Habib. His face changes to look a little irritated or annoyed. The last thing he wants is to rub him the wrong way because that might just be the end of his life. These people trusted him to make this arms deal smooth and discreet but at the moment it seems everything is going pear-shaped.
Faroukh: "Mr. Habib, how are you sir?"
Habib: "Cut the bullsh*t Faroukh...why have I been struggling to get hold of you earlier on?"
Faroukh: "Oh uhmm...I apologies about that. It must have been a network issue. Load-shedding does that in this place..."
Habib: "Okay fine. Now, is everything set for next Friday? Have you made all the necessary arrangements?"
Faroukh: "Sir...?"
Habib: "The deal Faroukh, the deal. What? Did you just wake up?"
Faroukh: "Oh uhmm...yes Sir, so far so good"
*small silence*
Habib: "I don't know what that means Faroukh, alright? Your voice does not give me confidence. You know we can't afford to screw this up right?"
Faroukh: "Oh no sir, there's nothing to worry about okay?"
Habib: "Good. What about the other problem you had? Has the threat been dealt with?"
Faroukh: "you don't have to worry about that sir. It won't affect the deal next week. My associates are dealing with it"
Habib: "Good. Because one way or the other, this deal must happen. It has delayed long enough already."
Faroukh: "I agree with you Sir, there can't be any more delays."
Habib: "Any logistic challenges I may need to know about?"
Faroukh: "Uhmm...not really. I mean, Mr Rabutla insisted that they pick the place of meeting and time. I didn't argue with that because they know the country better than us.
Habib: "That makes sense. What about security?"
Faroukh: "I'm putting together a team...people that can be trusted to cover us throughout the transaction meeting"
Habib: "Alright then...I don't want any surprises between now and next Friday, you hear me?"
Faroukh: "Yes sir"
*Small silence*
Faroukh: "Oh...I suggest that you guys lay low between now and Friday. We don't want sniffing dogs start digging around. When you need something just let me know and I will arrange that it be brought to your hotel."
Habib: "Understood..."
*Call dropped*
***
Somewhere else, perhaps one person that is affected by all this is Phuthuma. Even she is the type of hardworking journalist who will do anything for a story, this has been the most terrifying of them all. Ofcourse she has always wanted to go to the most dangerous places for a story. She has even wished to travel to the middle east where there bombs dropping every single night but her family won’t let her. But this is the first time she has actually starred death in the face as guns where pointed at her. Perhaps what makes this experience more traumatic is the fact that she was given strict instructions to not talk about it.
Her mother and cousins were so delighted when Captain Dube brought her home yesterday afternoon. Ofcourse she couldn't give her family details of what had happened to her but Dube spoke to the family and gave them the version of the story that he and Phuthuma had agreed on. It doesn't look she had enough sleep as sleep as she looks tired still, and the last thing she need was visitors who wanted to come and see her. She is just not in the mood of keep telling the same story over and over to every person who comes into the house to check on her. She has also been getting lots of messages of support from those close to her.
Well, if she could avoid having everyone coming to the house, she couldn't avoid seeing her boss Rethabile. Phuthuma's mother called the news boss few hours after her daughter got home perhaps out of excitement but Phuthuma doesn't look interested to have a conversation with anyone, at all.
"Hey, I know that you are still terrified about the ordeal you went through. If you need me to do anything just say the word" Rethabile says with a low voice as she looks at the distracted Phuthuma who sits on the couch opposite hers. The family decided to give them space to talk. "Uhmm...No Retha I'm okay, thank you..." Phuthuma says with a low voice as she looks down to avoid eye contact. "Oh okay....Uhmm...if you don't mind me asking, what happened over there?" Rethabile probes with keen interest but this is exactly the thing that Phuthuma didn't-people searching for answers.
"Uhmm...if you don't mind I'd not want to talk about it now" she says with a little bit of a firmer voice this time. "Oh sure...no, I understand." Rethabile says as she jumps back in. "It's just that I feel bad for having pushed you to dig more into the story and look what happened. Immediately after that you disappear" she says as she sounds a little emotional.
"Oh no Retha, it's not your fault really. It was just people who were looking for a ransom...not connected to the story at all. Ofcourse as I have said, it's not something I'd like to talk about right now. I just want to spend time with my family" Phuthuma says politely as she tries to force out a smile which seems to relieve her boss a bit.
"Alright, but would you like to tell your story sometime, you know...when you feel okay to talk about it?" Rethabile asks as she also smiles a little bit but it doesn't look like Phuthuma is impressed by this as she gives her boss a sharp eye before saying, "Uhmm...look Retha I don't think this is something I want to relieve by telling it to the world. And also I don't want details of my disappearance to be news headlines. I hope you understand that"
This makes Rethabile think for a second before saying, "It's okay, I understand. I'm sorry if I came across as imposing." with a smile. "So just take all the time you need okay? There's no need to rush back to work. Whenever you are good and ready..." She stands up and walk towards the door but Phuthuma calls out, "Hey Retha...Uhmm, thank you for coming. Please, let me walk you out alright?" she says with a smile as she walks her boss out the door.
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