The Cuban

by Paul Eksteen

“Fuck off, Tom. I’m lying on the bloody shooting range, in Pretoria. This one rifle is pissing me off totally. I can’t get three shots on an A3 target at three hundred.”

  “Are you using my ammo, Nic?”

  “No, I’m using this Federal Match stuff. It normally works very well.”

  “Could you zero one of the other two with my black beauties?”

  The armour piercing bullets had black tips and Tom normally referred to them as his black beauties.

  “Yes, no sweat. Two-inch groups in the bullseye at three hundred metres.”

  “That’s perfect Nic, don’t bother about the third rifle. But please, mark it clearly. That one is going to Marc.”

  Nic packed the rifle with the others in the back of his VX Cruiser. It was eleven o’clock and he had to get going. He had already marked Tom’s rifle with a black cable tie through the trigger guard.

  He contacted his team of four more agents. They were driving in two cars and were already on their way to Clarens. They would also be sleeping at the Protea Hotel in Clarens tonight.

  ***

  Bethlehem

  Marc decided to stop in Bethlehem for lunch. He was not sure what he would get to eat at the Golden Gate Hotel tonight, so decided to eat a heavy lunch and then have a light supper in the evening.

  He wondered about his mission. Where did the SSA learn about his connection with Doctor Fernandez? There was a leak somewhere. But if you thought about it, where did the doctor get his name and contact details from?

  He was getting that uneasy feeling about him.

  Maybe after he spoke to this Nic Badenhorst guy, he would feel better.

  ***

  Clarens

  I smiled to myself after the call from Nic. I was driving from the campsite to Clarens, when the call came through.

  Nic forgot that things didn’t always go the way you planned. But he had to hurry. I needed two of those rifles today. In daylight. I had to get them in position for the big day tomorrow.

  I decided to go to my hotel room first, before having lunch. Once in my room, I started the GPS up and typed all the relevant coordinates in three messages to Nic. He could forward them to the relevant people without endangering the others.

  ***

  Somewhere between Ficksburg and Clarens

  The Doctor was driving through Ficksburg. It was a very pretty little town, with a magnificent church in the town square. The town had been founded by General Fick in 1867, who won the territory in the Basotho wars.

  Ficksburg was well known for its Cherry Festival and was known as the Cherry Capital of the World. But the Cherry Festival was only in November. And now there was not much going on in the little town.

  He stopped at a filling station and enquired about acceptable restaurants. The fuel attendant directed him towards Clocolan and a farm stall on the way there.

  As it was en route to Clarens, the Doctor decided to stop there. As he drove on the R711, he couldn’t help noticing the funny way the hitch-hikers in South Africa would request a ride.

  In the rest of the world, a hitch-hiker would extend an arm with a thumb up. In South Africa you extended your arm and either pointed your index finger to the ground or into the air!

  Once at the farm stall, he settled for pancakes with cherry sauce and a cheese, bread and biscuit platter. All washed down with a glass of cherry cider.

  ***

  Clarens

  It was close to three in the afternoon when Nic drove into Clarens. He drove straight to the Red Mountain House and parked at the back.

  Tom was already waiting for him. Together, they transferred the two zeroed snipers’ rifles, along with twenty rounds each, to Tom’s Merc.

  “See you later, Nic,” Tom said, as he drove off.

  ***

  Marc arrived at the Golden Gate Hotel, just after three in the afternoon. He booked in without a hitch.

  Now, the wait for Mr Badenhorst’s call.

  He did not have to wait long.

  As he walked into his room at the hotel, his mobile phone rang.

  “Hallo, this is Nic Badenhorst. Is this Marc Robertson speaking?”

  Marc confirmed it was and was told to look out for a white VX Cruiser with GP number plates. It would be in front of the hotel, at exactly six in the afternoon.

  ***

  I followed the same route on the R712 towards the three buttes as the previous day and turned off at the little one-way road to Longtoon Dam.

  This time I parked as close as I could, to butte number one. When I was sure that no one was around, I removed the one sniper rifle from the boot of the Merc and strapped the canvas rifle drag bag to my back. I made sure there was a packet of twenty match rounds in the side pocket of the drag bag.

  It took me a little longer than the previous day to get to the top of butte number one, as I had to be very careful not to bump the riflescope on the rifle.

  Once I reached the top, I hid the rifle away in a crack between some rocks. I would later explain to Nic about how to get to it.

  I went back to the Merc and drove all the way around on the one-way road, until I got to the R712 again.

  There I turned left, and drove slowly, looking for SANParks vehicles or other nosey tourists lingering around. When I reached the little service road on the right, I turned onto it and parked. The Merc was not suitable for driving over the rocky terrain.

  I got out and removed the second sniper rifle, from the boot of the car. I made sure it had the black cable tie through the trigger guard, and then removed it with my knife. My “black beauties” were packed in a flat plastic box next to the rifle in the bag. From the empty cases in the box, I ascertained that it had taken Nic only eight rounds to zero the rifle. There was more than enough ammunition left for me to complete my mission. I walked for three hundred metres with the rifle in the drag bag on my back, before I found a suitable spot to hide it from view.

  I went back to the Merc and removed a large backpack, with a sleeping bag, from the boot of the car. I stashed these away, close to the rifle, as well.

  I returned to the Merc and drove to the Glen Reenen campsite, where I parked between other vehicles in the parking area. I got out of the car and, yet again, started off on the Wodehouse trail.

  I collected the rucksack, with the sleeping bag, and took it to the top of butte three. Luckily, I didn’t encounter any other hikers on the trail. After hiding the rucksack from sight, I went back for my rifle, making sure there were no hikers around.

  Once back at the top of the butte, I kept out of line of sight from butte two and the road and removed the rifle from the bag. Next, I removed my box of reloads from the drag bag and loaded the magazine carefully with my custom armour piercing rounds.

  I then went to my shooting position. I had to move a few branches and fill a few sections underneath me, with gravel scooped up from shallows in the rocks, to be more comfortable. The sniping spot was sorted.

  I put the rifle back in the drag bag and hid it away. I then took my sleeping bag and went looking for a suitable sleeping spot. This I found, thirty metres away, between some rocks.

  I cut some branches and shrubs to serve as a mattress and, when happy with my handiwork, hid everything under more shrubs. I made sure that I would find the spot in the dark and left yet again for the Mercedes at Glen Reenen.

  ***

  It was close to six in the afternoon, when the Doctor stopped his car in front of the Protea Hotel in Clarens. He booked in at reception and extended his stay for another three days. After tomorrow, he would treat himself. It would be the best weekend of his life.

  He took his luggage up to his room on the third floor and sat in one of the armchairs, looking out of the window and enjoying the view.

  ***

  Nic was on his way to the Golden Gate Hotel. He had booked into his room at the Protea Hotel just after three, and given Marc a call. His room was on the second floor. He booked both his and the doctor’s rooms ensuring that they di
d not share the same floor.

  His four agents were already in their rooms, which were right next to his. He had entered the room next to his through a connecting door between the two suites and had a quick chat with them. He would see them later that night, for a proper briefing.

  He then sent the relevant coordinates to Marc. He had already sent the coordinates to the doctor the previous day.

  He had to drop the third rifle, with some ammo, with Marc and also needed to inform him of the game plan for the next morning.

  ***

  Marc was sitting at the bar, waiting for Nic. He finished his Heineken lager at five minutes to six and went to the lobby.

  At exactly six o’clock, a white VX Cruiser with GP plates, stopped in front of the lobby.

  Marc walked out and greeted the driver, who was sitting with his right arm out the window.

  “Hi. Nic?”

  When Nic responded in the positive, Marc walked around the car and got in the passenger seat. He directed Nic to his own vehicle, a red Porsche Cheyenne, which was parked to the side of the parking area.

  Nic stopped his Cruiser next to the Porsche and handed Marc the rifle in the drag bag to transfer to the back of the Porsche. He got back in the Cruiser and drove to the front of the hotel, where he parked in an open spot.

  He waited for Marc, and together they walked into the hotel lobby and on towards Marc’s hotel room.

  “Okay Marc, you received the coordinates?” Nic enquired.

  He carried on without waiting for an answer.

  “So, here is what is going to happen tomorrow morning.”

  ***

  Dino Lupo saw the exchange of the rifle in the drag bag. He had planted a transmitter on the chassis of Marc’s Porsche just the previous day, and didn’t expect a bite so soon.

  He needed Marc to leave the city for an opportunity to do the hit and hoped that such an opportunity might happen over the weekend. He smiled to himself. Mario was going to be pleased with him executing the contract so soon.

  He programmed the transmitter to send him a warning signal as soon as the car moved out of a forty-kilometre radius from Marc’s house or office.

  When he received the signal early the next day, he grabbed his equipment and followed Marc at a safe distance. He wasn’t worried about losing Marc, he had the best equipment available on the market. He only had to wait for the right opportunity to earn his button.

  ***

  I was sitting in my room at the Red Mountain House, waiting for Nic. I’d ordered some pizzas to be delivered to my room and was rethinking our plans for the next day.

  I had to finalise the plans with Nic. Thereafter he would drop me off close to the picnic spot, where the doctor had asked to meet me the previous day.

  I would sleep at the top of the butte, waiting for Marc to arrive in the morning.

  Nic arrived just after seven. He declined a slice of pizza but had a beer from the fridge.

  I explained the layout of the area to him, and also told him exactly where I had hidden his rifle. He handed me a radio, which I would use in the morning to confirm our plans and to inform him as soon as everything was in place.

  I then packed another, lighter backpack and got in the car with Nic. We drove all the way to the picnic spot, where he dropped me off. He carried on for a few hundred metres, turned around and went back to the Protea Hotel for his supper appointment with the Cuban.

  ***

  The Doctor was having dinner with Nic at a Portuguese restaurant in the little Village. It was within walking distance of the hotel. They were both eating the house specialty, which was a combination of peri-peri chicken and prawns.

  Nic explained to him exactly how to get to the picnic spot. The Doctor had asked Tom Allen Coetzee to meet him there for a discussion.

  Nic told the Doctor that part of the plan was that Tom would be hiding away in an elevated spot with a clear line of fire to the Doctor. Tom planned on shooting and killing the Doctor from this spot.

  Nic would be in a position with a clear line of fire to Tom and would shoot Tom before he could execute his plan to shoot the Doctor.

  Everything would depend on the correct timing.

  The Doctor listened to the plan and felt slightly uncomfortable. Were it not for the fact that he had discussed the coming event with Lillynn, he might have decided to opt out.

  Nic handed the Doctor a package. “Inside, you will find an impact control Kevlar vest. It is a soft vest, without ceramic plates, so that you can wear it underneath your shirt. It is a size medium, as discussed with you earlier. If everything goes well, the vest shouldn’t be necessary, but it is added protection, for your peace of mind.”

  “Don’t worry,” Nic continued, when he saw the worried look on the Doctor’s face. “If I wanted you dead, I could have killed you a long time ago. In Bloemfontein. No need for such an elaborate setup. You’ve supplied me with the ideal opportunity to get rid of a rogue agent — Tom Allen Coetzee. We will both benefit from the outcome tomorrow.”

  CHAPTER 27

  Golden Gate Park — Friday, 3 April

  I was lying on the sandstone ridge on butte number three, after spending the night on the ridge, waiting for Marc Robinson to arrive.

  The Doctor had asked to meet me at the picnic spot two days ago. He knew that I would try to kill him, but he trusted Nic to defend him.

  Nic had arrived at four in the morning and made his way to the top of butte number one. It took him forty minutes to get into position.

  I checked butte number two all the time, in anticipation of Marc showing up. The plan was for me to shoot and kill Marc from butte number three, before the Doctor arrived. I would then have to scramble down from my butte and hide behind some rocks behind the body of Marc on his butte. All that I had to do then was to wait for Nic’s shot to end the operation.

  Nic and I were both in place and were waiting for Marc to arrive. We didn’t have to wait long before we saw Marc approaching on foot, from the R712 side of the mountain. We could see him getting into position on top of the butte, with his Steyr rifle, thirty minutes later.

  As I waited for Marc to get comfortable in his shooting position, I carefully lined up my sights. I had already ranged the distance the previous day, and the only other major factor now would be the wind. I used the Steyr rifle, equipped with a silencer, and loaded with my custom armour piercing rounds.

  I was glad that Marc was visible to me from his position on butte number two. If there was no shot, the other option was for Nic to shoot Marc from his position on butte number one. I would have had to notify Nic with my hand-held radio if he had to take the shot.

  There was a slight breeze from the right down the two ridges, and I allowed for that with my mil dot reticle in the telescope. I took a few deep breaths and slowly squeezed the trigger.

  It was not Marc Robinson any more. It was just a target. It had always been easier for me to think of people that way, before killing them.

  The shot hit Marc from the side, straight into his lungs. Marc squirmed on the ground, and I put another round into him. After the second shot, Marc was lying still. I watched Marc’s body lying in the early rays of the sun for another thirty minutes. When I was sure that he would never move again, I left my rifle on butte number three and made my way down the cliff.

  I carried a small rucksack with me, containing water, energy bars, my wallet, tubes of camouflage paint and a spare ghillie suit. I found Marc lying on his back at the same spot that I had last observed him, his eyes staring lifelessly at the blue sky above.

  I removed my spare ghillie suit from my rucksack and fastened it around his limp body. I had to turn him around a few times before I was satisfied.

  I then took some camouflage paint and painted his face. I felt a bit like a mortician, but this had to be done. The camo paint would make it difficult to distinguish his features if he landed face-up on the ledge.

  The next exercise was to move him to the side of the clif
f and wait for Nic’s shot before dropping him fifty-odd metres to the bottom. The ideal scenario would be to get him to land face down. I placed his body on a tarpaulin to make sure there were no dried blood smears when the Doctor came to investigate. I left him lying on the tarp and hid away, waiting for Nic’s shot.

  The spot where ‘Tom’ was going to fall from was out of sight from the picnic spot next to the R712, where the Doctor would be standing. I identified this spot the previous day, as the ideal spot to roll the body down from, so as to get Marc to land on a ledge where identifying him by the Doctor would be difficult.

  I waited further back on the butte, behind some rocks and radioed Nic that everything was in place.

  ***

  When Dino Lupo saw Marc loading the drag bag into the back of the Porsche the previous day, he realised that something was about to happen. His instincts were those of a wolf, saving his hide many times before in the past.

  He parked his Mercedes in the parking space opposite the Porsche the previous night, and made sure that the motion detection camera with the early warning system, placed in the rear window of his vehicle, picked up any movement near the back of the red sports car.

  The alarm bell from the camera detection system woke him before dawn, just in time to see Marc shouldering the drag bag and walking away at a fast pace. He discreetly followed, and was now lying two hundred meters behind the butte, trying to figure out what was happening.

  ***

  Butte Number One

  Nic was lying on a red sandstone ridge in the Golden Gate Park. Butte number one, as Tom called it.

  He looked through the riflescope on his Steyr SSG rifle and could find his mark, five hundred and eight metres away, on top of butte number two.