by Dan Fletcher
Supported by his assailant David was led through a door and then down a flight of stone stairs. The musty damp smell got worse as they went deeper. So did the stench of death. The escaping gasses and release of bodily fluids smelt the same whether emitted by an animal or human. David didn’t have to guess which these belonged to.
There was a sudden gust of air up the stairwell and his nose picked up something else. A second later he worked out what it was and recoiled from the acrid odour of burnt hair and human flesh. He dug in his heels and tried to back up the stairs but the man behind him prodded David in the back and propelled him forward.
The change as the floor levelled out caught him by surprise and he tripped, scuffing his knee on the concrete. David was yanked roughly to his feet and marched blindly forward. He was guided along a long corridor and then they turned right. The acoustics changed to signify that David was in a different room and after a few paces they stopped and the grip on his arm released.
The handcuffs were removed and he was shoved into a wooden chair. He started to nurse his aching wrists but his arms were pulled behind his back gain and the handcuffs replaced. David tried to move his hands but the chain of the handcuffs was looped around one of the struts.
His ankles were bound tightly to the legs of the chair with what was probably gaffa tape. He felt tugging as the chord holding the hood over his head was untied and then the blindfold was whipped off. The noose caught his nose on the way up and smarted. David dipped his head and closed his eyes to the glare of strobe lighting.
“Ah, Captain Nbeke,” the man standing in the shadows spoke calmly, his tone soft like velvet. “So good of you to join us.”
David looked up towards the voice, squinting against the light. The man stepped forward from the darkness, he blinked and the blurry image came into focus. Commander Abasi’s scarred face was staring back at him smiling.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
GSU Headquarters, Nairobi
August 20th, 1996
“You bastard!” David’s voice sounded croaky. “I’ll kill you for what you did to Caitlyn!”
“What?” his grin exposed teeth that were filed to a point. Abasi looked more shark-like than human as he tilted his head back and laughed.
When he looked back down at David the smile was gone and there was a fanatical zeal to his eyes, “Do you really think that you are in a position to threaten me, Captain Nbeke?”
Commander Abasi turned and gave his minder an almost imperceptible nod. David had identified the big man correctly when he was in darkness under the hood. It was the suit-wearing gorilla from the KWS car lot.
The burly bodyguard was quicker on his feet than he looked. Crouched in a boxer’s stance he stepped forward and delivered a swift right hook. He led with his left foot and put all his weight into it. Hard calloused knuckles smashed into David’s cheek, dislodging one of his teeth and whipping his head to the side.
He turned back to face him and spat out the tooth with a mixture of saliva and blood. David smiled, “Is that the best you’ve got?”
Enraged he swung his arm back and punched again. David was expecting it this time and ducked his head a split-second before impact. The fist connected with his forehead and he was rewarded by the sound of at least two knuckles cracking against his skull. The GSU goon yelped out in shock and took a step backwards.
“Now look what you’ve done, Captain,” Commander Abasi’s voice was smooth as chocolate. He shook his head and tutted, “You’ve hurt Lembui’s pride.”
As if to confirm what he was saying the disgruntled thug’s expression changed from one of shock to anger. Teeth bared, he rushed forward and extended his left fist like a pile driver. He hit David squarely on the nose, flattening it against his face and splitting the bridge. His eyes watered instantly and the force sent him and the chair toppling backwards. David’s head hit the deck as he went over and his hands were crushed beneath him.
“I think that the Captain has had enough for now,” barked the Commander. “Pick him up!”
David felt rough hands under his shoulders and then he was propelled upwards. The chair pivoted on two legs and met the floor with a jarring impact that reverberated through his teeth. He stared at Abasi. The hatred inside him felt like something physical that he could somehow project across the space between them.
The Commander was wearing a tailor made suit that accentuated the slope of his athletic shoulders. White shirt, black tie and a pair of gold Armani sunglasses perched on the top of his closely cropped head. Abasi looked over-dressed for the occasion. Although he was too tall to be well built there was muscle on him. David decided that he would make a good middle-distance runner. If it wasn’t for the scars that twisted his mouth up into a sneer on one side and the pointed teeth the Commander might have been good looking. But he wasn’t. Gupta was right when he called him the Devil.
Then he noticed the bloodstain on the white shirt poking out from underneath the sleeve of his charcoal jacket. A dark heart shaped splatter that touched one of the gold cufflinks. He felt a cold chill pass over him.
“Did you kill her?” he could picture the slash wounds on her chest, the look of terror on her face, “Did you do those things to Caitlyn?”
Commander Abasi raised an eyebrow, “If you mean Dr Brennan, then yes.” He smiled like a shark about to eat its prey, “What a woman! But I guess you know all about that, eh Captain? She put up quite a fight that one. Until I was inside her, then she seemed to enjoy it a lot. If you know what I mean?”
David felt the blood drain from his face and his stomach churned. So she had been raped. David had pushed the idea from his mind.
“I think you do, Captain.” David wanted to wipe the sick smile of his face. “There were screams of pleasure from the good doctor before she died.”
“You filthy bastard!”
David tried to shuffle towards him but the best he could hope to achieve was toppling face forward in the chair. He glared at the Commander.
“You’re sick Abasi, there’s a disease inside you. When I get out of here I’m going to hunt you down and cut it out. You won’t be safe anywhere.” David nodded, more to himself than the Commander, “I won’t rest until it’s done.”
“Brave words indeed, Captain.” Abasi clapped his hands together, “Unfortunately for you they won’t come to pass.” He nodded towards something hanging from the wall on David’s left, “I’m afraid that, like the late Mr Gupta here, you have gravely underestimated me.”
The smell was stronger in this part of the room and he could see something out the corner of his eye. Until now David had been too preoccupied with the Commander and his henchman to look. Now that he did David actually found himself feeling sorry for the despicable poacher.
By the looks of it Gupta had suffered terribly before he died. He was chained to an iron bed frame that was fixed to the wall. His arms spread wide like a crucifix, legs dangling a foot from the floor, head hung to one side. An electric jump lead was attached to the frame on one side, the other still connected to Gupta’s exposed scrotum. The skin was burnt black around the crocodile clip and there was a crop circle of singed pubic hairs. David traced the cables back to a control panel plugged into the mains. He couldn’t help looking at Gupta again. He must have bit his tongue badly during one of the convulsions, there was a thick trail of blood coming from his blue lips and down over his beard. The hair turned red and matted with blood.
David remembered reading somewhere about a man in the States who was struck by lightning whilst wearing rubber boots. Without any earth to conduct the electric charge it concentrated in his chest and cooked his internal organs. The same thing had happened to Gupta. His robes were burnt off to reveal a blackened pit of charcoaled flesh.
Gupta’s bowels had emptied before he died. The robes tied up around his waist were wet and stained yellow. They must have doused his genitals to aid the flow of electricity. There was a puddle of water on the floor by his feet and a metal buc
ket nearby. Maybe they used it to put out the flames when his chest caught fire?
The worst thing was that Gupta wore a look of sheer terror that was similar to the one that David had found on Caitlyn. He looked away from the charred corpse that was once Gupta, back towards the Commander.
“You’re insane. You won’t get away with this.”
“That’s where you’re wrong Nbeke.” Abasi shook his head, “This business will soon be over and my life can get back to normal. What happens to yours depends on whether you cooperate. Now, where’s Koinet?”
“Who the hell is Koinet?” David kept a straight face. Abasi was only confirming what he had already guessed. The fact that he was still alive meant that Damo must have got Koinet safely to Spencer Scott’s lodge.
“Come now, Captain.” The Commander’s face twitched with another spasm that pronounced his sneer, “There’s no point making this any more painful than it needs to be.”
On cue, Lembui came in from the side and gave David a quick rabbit punch to the temple that sent him spinning. Straightening up again in the chair he shook his head to get rid of the grogginess.
“You punch like a girl,” he stared at Lembui.
The giant’s eyes widened and his nostrils flared in anger. This time he hit David so hard that it stunned him and his vision blurred.
“That was better!” David grinned, he could feel the air coming through the gap where his tooth used to be. “But you’re still not getting all your weight behind it.”
The infuriated bully raised his arm again.
Commander Abasi coughed once. It was obviously a signal and Lembui froze, fist in the air. He looked over at his master, wearing a despondent frown. His expression reminded David of a child whose favourite toy had just been taken away.
The Commander dismissed Lembui with a gentle wave of the hand, “He’s no good to me unconscious.”
Abasi’s enforcer sighed loudly but obediently dropped the clenched fist to his side and took a step back. He might be built like a brick but Lembui was out of shape. His breathing was ragged and sweat poured from his thickset brow. He kept his eyes fixed firmly on David, like a vulture waiting for the next opportunity to feast.
“Why don’t we stop playing games, Captain,” Abasi’s right hand snaked inside his jacket and came out holding a four-inch blade. He held the knife in the palm of his hand as if testing the weight. “Koinet led you to Gupta and he told you all about me and my involvement. The stupid old fool just couldn’t keep his mouth shut.”
Commander Abasi took a step towards him and closed his fingers around the knife. He held it close to his chest in a backhanded grip so that the tip pointed at the floor. His lip twitched again as he leered down at David.
“The idiot gave you details about my buyer and the EAST AFRICAN TIMBER COMPANY. The question is who did you tell?”
“I still don’t know what you’re talking about,” David couldn’t be sure that Gupta had said anything.
“This is getting boring, Captain. I’m going to give you one last chance before this starts to get really unpleasant,” Abasi paused and rubbed at the scars on his face as if waiting for his words to sink in. “Gupta said that you stopped in a petrol station near Voi and posted a letter. He saw you writing it. What was in it?”
So he must have blabbed everything. Considering the screams of anguish he had heard and the state of Gupta’s fried testicles it wasn’t much of a surprise.
“It was my resignation,” David smiled. “I sent it to your friend...Deputy Director Tanui.”
Commander Abasi’s face twisted into a snarl and he lunged forward, thrusting with the knife. Half of the razor sharp blade sank into the hollow of David’s shoulder, slicing through muscle and tendon.
“Ahhhh...shit!”
David looked down at the knife in disbelief. Then Abasi slowly and deliberately twisted his hand ninety degrees and the pain intensified to a level that David had previously thought impossible.
“What did you put in the letter?” screamed the irate Commander. “How much does Tanui know?”
He was so close that some of his spittle hit David on the cheek. Despite the fact that he had the upper hand Abasi looked scared. David felt a split second of relief that Tanui wasn’t involved. A feeling that was immediately replaced by guilt for doubting the Deputy Director.
“Nothing,” muttered David, worried that he might have already inadvertently dropped Tanui in it. “Why would I when I thought that he was working with you?”
Abasi’s laugh was like a hyena’s bark, “With me?”
“It seemed to make sense at the time,” David gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the flaming agony spreading through his chest and arm. He needed to think of a way out fast. Otherwise he was going to die down here with Gupta. Then it came to him. The idea was so simple it might actually work, or at least buy him some time. Another wave of agony went through his shoulder as Abasi adjusted his stance and the knife moved around inside him.
He looked Abasi in the eye, “If you promise to let me go then I’ll take you to Koinet.”
The Commander’s face slowly relaxed until finally he smiled, “That’s more like it, Captain. But if for one second I think that you’re pulling the wool over my eyes. Well, let’s just say I won’t be too happy.”
David eyelids closed and he nearly passed out as the knife was twisted another quarter turn.
“Do you understand, Captain?”
He opened his eyes and managed to nod.
“Good,” the Commander withdrew the knife and wiped it on David’s sleeve before slipping it back inside his jacket. Blood started pumping out of the wound. David could feel it running down his chest and soaking his shirt.
“Get rid of Gupta and patch him up.”
“Then what shall I do with him?”
Lembui’s question stopped Abasi half way to the door. He turned and smiled at David, “Put him upstairs in the cell for now and wait for me to get back. Then we’ll go and pay Koinet a visit.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
GSU Headquarters, Nairobi
August 20th, 1996
Maliki wanted to check something and make a few arrangements before departing from headquarters with Nbeke. He strode across the courtyard feeling pleased with himself for leaving Lembui to watch over Dr Brennan’s apartment. He stopped outside the main building and rang the buzzer. The officer on the nightshift must have been sleeping and took an age to answer the intercom.
“Open the damned door!” ordered Maliki, glaring up at the camera. It was the second time he had been made to wait outside in one day.
His mood shifted like the tide, switching from one of annoyance to euphoria as he thought about what happened inside her apartment. Reliving the moment that Dr Brennan died aroused him, thinking about the sheer terror in her eyes. Maliki chuckled, Lembui was more than a bit pissed off that he didn’t get a turn but he would get over it. Lost in these thoughts he forgot all about the lazy desk clerk and found himself sitting in his office.
Maliki leaned back in the leather recliner and thumbed through the back few pages of his diary until he found the Lieutenant’s home number. He glanced at the display of the digital clock on his desk as he dialled. The time was 2:07am.
“Yes, who is it?” there was a hint of irritation in the sleepy voice that answered after several rings.
“It’s me,” barked Maliki.
“Oh...sorry, I didn’t realise it was you,” Idi Tikolo was stuttering. “What can I do for you, sir?”
“What’s the latest?” He could picture the weasel reaching for the inhaler he always kept close by for his asthma. Sure enough there was a long pause and a sharp intake of breath before Tikolo replied.
“Nothing new, the Deputy Director was going crazy this afternoon. He’s got pretty much the whole of the KWS searching for Captain Nbeke and the missing poacher. When I clocked off at midnight there was still no news of either of them.”
“You’re sure of th
at?”
“Of...course sir,” stammered Tikolo. “I would have called you straight away.”
“Let me know the minute anything changes.”
Maliki smiled as he hung up the phone, the greasy Lieutenant was probably wetting the bed.
Unlike most of the people that Maliki recruited, Idi Tikolo had actually come to him. Over eighteen months ago the pompous little Kalenjin approached him after one of his regular meetings with Tanui at KWS Headquarters. Tikolo claimed to be a fan of President Moi and asked if there was a job for someone like him in the GSU.
Both ambitious and an ass licker Maliki had disliked the snivelling little Lieutenant almost immediately. He dismissed him at the time with a shake of the head but thought about it afterwards and relented. Having someone inside the KWS was just too valuable a prospect.
A few months later, after pumping Tanui for information on the rangers’ movements, he made a point of stopping in reception and getting Tikolo’s number. Since then the eager Lieutenant had proven to be a veritable goldmine. Keeping Maliki so well informed that he rarely bothered visiting the Deputy Director anymore. That was until recent events, starting with Nbeke saving that stupid elephant.
Once the misguided Captain had taken him to Koinet he could dispose of him and forget about the whole sorry affair. Then he could get back to more important matters that needed his attention, like the Professor and the Committee on Human Rights. Maliki smiled at the irony. When he had last seen him Onesimus Mutungi was lying in a pool of his own blood and vomit.
More importantly, Maliki needed someone to replace Gupta and quickly. The next shipment of rhino horn was due in less than six weeks. Wei might try to find another supplier if he didn’t deliver. Maliki smiled, if the Counsellor showed any sign of reneging on their arrangement he would have his balls cut off and sent back to China.
But it would have to wait for now. When Koinet was in the hospital he was being guarded by at least two of Captain Nbeke’s Rangers. They were probably still with him and Maliki wanted to make sure that he had more firepower. He picked up the phone and entered another number from memory, one that only his select guard knew. This time it was answered almost immediately.