Dawn of Defiance

by Dempsey, Albert

  "No, why? What do you want with it?" Nicole asked.

  "I want to smash it against a rock," she replied with anger in her eyes. "You’ve put us all at risk!"

  Yet, that would be foolish as they all relied on Nicole for everything.

  They had not seen Emma return suddenly and her banging on the car window scared the living daylight out of Nicole and Kate.

  "Don’t you ever do that again Emma, ok! Never sneak up on us. What is it?"

  Emma had run down the koppie as fast as she could and she was out of breath.

  "There is a massive Police roadblock on the highway, just outside of town. Come quickly, see for yourself."

  "Get that radiator fixed as fast as you can," Kate said to Riaan and Taryn as she followed Nicole and Emma up the slope and to the top of the hill. When she finally reach the top she looked down at the flashing blue lights in the distance. A massive Police roadblock had stopped traffic along the highway in both directions.

  They were at a safe distance from the scene, Nicole estimated that it was at least three kilometers ahead.

  "What now?" Emma asked as she stood next to Nicole.

  "We stay low and wait it out," Kate replied.

  "One thing's for sure; if it wasn't for that stupid radiator we'd all be there, right in the middle of that," Nadine said.

  She was a strange one, kept very much to herself, but when she spoke it always made sense.

  For the first time since they’d parted from Nathan, Nicole began to realize that perhaps they would be ok without him. They always put too much faith in him. After all he was just a man who, like everyone else, didn't know everything. He wouldn’t have foreseen that.

  Just then Kate said something completely out of character.

  "I can see God's hand in this,"

  After a few hours the roadblock was dismantled and the Police sped away, back into Steinkopf. Nicole decided she would only contact Nathan again once they were safely in Namibia.

  At around four in the afternoon they took to the road again, taking the R382 towards Port Nolloth. It was a beautiful road, just recently repaired.

  "So, how did you fix that radiator?" Nicole asked Taryn who had almost fallen asleep again.

  "Oh, it was easier than I thought; we cut the ruptured rib through, and then we rolled the metal either way so it formed a perfect seal. Just like when you open a sardine can."

  Not bothering to ask for a clearer explanation, Nicole left it.

  "You can show me tomorrow."

  Within minutes Taryn was fast asleep again, satisfied that she had, in her own unique way, saved the day.

  Riaan was now driving and Nicole sat in the passenger seat in front of Kate. Both women were still concerned about their blunder but their faith in God had just been renewed. Yet, it was Kate who reached forward and touched Nicole's shoulder.

  "It's going to be ok, you know it is."

  But all Nicole could think about was Nathan, and she wondered if they were ok. Her only connection to him was the very thing that could be there doom. She had after all not done as Kate had asked. The iBand had been switched to hibernation mode as she refused to turn it off.

  Arriving at 10.45 they arrived weary and tired at the Alexander Bay Camping site. Nicole once again would put her name on the register to check in.

  Chapter 45

  "It's well enough that people of the nation do not understand our banking and monetary system,

  for if they did, I believe there would be a revolution before tomorrow morning."

  Hendry Ford

  Steenkamp's moment had finally arrived as the helicopter skimmed over the mountain and made its decent towards the sleepy town of Lutzville in the distance. A shiver went down his spine as he looked out of the window at the ground rushing below. The excitement of confronting the Jew and his crazy followers had finally dawned on him. Perhaps they would put up a fight, but he was sure that after two months and fourteen days on the run, they would give themselves up.

  Today would be the day of reckoning.

  He was eager to meet Nathan. Of all the prisoners he had ever interrogated, Nathan seemed like the true deal. Perhaps Anel van Breda should sit in; a woman always had a strange effect on male prisoners. He would then test her on the Baxter girl, if she had the stomach for interrogations, that is.

  Finally it was all unfolding perfectly into his hands.

  The media crews from across the country had already set up camp within view of the church where Nathan and the extremists were hiding.

  It was his last moment by himself before the carnage would unfold. The day was almost over but there was still time to establish contact with the extremists.

  All reports from the profile team suggested that Nathan and his followers would put up a fight; it was rooted in their deep religious nature, and that made them dangerous. Yet, Steenkamp felt in his gut they would not. Probably a peaceful surrender would be the order of the day.

  No one noticed him taking another hit from his inhaler. Most thought his asthma pump was for medical reasons; little did they know it contained a designer cocktail that stimulated his mind. Like most professionals he too needed to stay on top of his game.

  Modisa and his lieutenants waited at the edge of the school rugby field, which had now become a make-shift landing site. The two helicopters used in the search now resting, being attended to by their crew. With the extremists now held up in the Old Dutch church on the outskirts of town, their surveillance services were no longer needed.

  It was finally happening, Steenkamp thought to himself. This had dragged on for far too long.

  His new protégé would locate Kathryn Baxter in no time; he could feel it in his bones. Perhaps it would all be over within the week. The flight out from Cape Town was done in record time, thanks to a high speed helicopter he had urgently requested. Steenkamp was a control freak and felt that he needed to take command personally before Modisa blundered it. This was a very delicate situation and it needed someone of his caliber to defuse.

  From the Intel gathered, they were completely surrounded and held no real threat to anyone. However Steenkamp's orders were specific and clear: No one was to make any contact at all with the extremists until he arrived. He wanted to position himself as chief negotiator and ultimately take credit for bringing them in. After all, he had initiated Operation Clean Sweep.

  But one thing the extremists probably knew for sure that there was no hope of escape at all as two hundred and fifty troops had surrounded the Old Dutch church and closed off every perceivable escape route from the town.

  From the air he ordered the pilot to circle the church a few times so he could get a first-hand impression of the layout and how best to mount the raid.

  It was an old building, with massive limestone brick walls and a towering roof and steeple. The building was empty except for the extremists who apparently numbered about fifteen. No one had yet confirmed the exact amount but that would be clarified once the rig arrived later the next day. Steenkamp himself requested the use of the vehicle as he was sure they would need it if the negotiations failed.

  As soon as Steenkamp disembarked from the helicopter Lt Commander Modisa was waiting for him.

  "Lt. Colonel," Lucas said in Afrikaans, as he saluted Steenkamp who returned the salute. From the look on his face he seemed very pleased with the operation so far. Everyone had smiles on their faces and a joyous atmosphere swept across the troops who had taken to relaxing, as the hunt was finally over.

  Steenkamp and Modisa shook hands and walked together to the waiting patrol vehicle.

  "I see you have secured the entire town. Very good," Steenkamp praised Modisa.

  "Any complaints from the Mayor?" He asked.

  "No, Sir, he is very supportive, in fact he wanted to come and view the operation for himself but I said it's too dangerous. Anyway, all our men are in place, we are only awaiting your orders."

  This was the first time Modisa addressed him in Afrikaans and St
eenkamp liked it. One thing's for sure; their jobs did provide more than enough entertainment. But first he would have to assess the situation before he gave any orders.

  "I first want to speak to them before I decide on any kind of action," Steenkamp answered abruptly as he and Modisa got into the patrol vehicle.

  They drove for only two blocks before coming to a standstill beside the hi-tech command and surveillance vehicle. Soldiers and Police had formed a cordon around the church and stood with their weapons at the ready. Locals gathered at a safe distance, not sure of what will happen next.

  "This is not a spectator sport," Steenkamp said as he viewed a group of residents who had congregated on the sidewalk, less than a hundred meters away.

  "I want them moved back and out of sight."

  Steenkamp got out and looked at the church for a while before he made his way to the command vehicle that stood as a sentry outside the Old Dutch Church. Every operator was at his post, and plasma screens displayed map locations; 3D schematics of the church building with blueprint layouts. The SWAT team had already been assembled and was awaiting orders. All systems were a 'go', except for Steenkamp who had something else in mind.

  "Get them on the radio," he ordered the operator who tried contacting them on the Police frequency.

  No reply.

  "We know they have a Police radio. I mean, for fuck sake, they’ve been broadcasting propaganda all day long," he replied.

  "Perhaps it's broken, Sir, or their batteries are flat," the operator answered.

  "I want to speak to them," Steenkamp said as he struggled to put a bullet-proof jacket over his shirt.

  There had been no time to change into his uniform on the flight out.

  "Move closer to the entrance," Steenkamp ordered the driver to edge the vehicle closer until he was told to stop.

  "You're not going into the church, are you?" Modisa asked Steenkamp.

  From the look on his face it was obvious.

  "They will not try anything while I am here and they are completely surrounded, come now!"

  Modisa knew Steenkamp well, but even this foolish action caught him by surprise.

  "Sir, you are the ranking officer here; if they take you hostage then you'll compromise the entire operation."

  "They wouldn’t dare, trust me, and if they do then you're ordered to raid the church immediately."

  Never before had a superior officer placed himself in danger to negotiate with terrorists. Steenkamp took his 9mm and gave it to Modisa for safe-keeping.

  "Look, I know they're watching us. I just want to talk to them in good faith and hopefully I can get them to surrender, before it's too late."

  It all seemed very brave, but Steenkamp had ulterior motives for his visit. He knew the media was already on the scene and no doubt he would appear as the hero once this stand-off scenario was over. This would be hailed as the beginning of the end of the rebellion by the press. Once the images of the surrender of the rebel leaders were broadcast all over TV, his name would be remembered as that of an illustrious leader. Perhaps he'll even receive a promotion before he retired. After all, higher ranking officers got greater retirement packages.

  Steenkamp stood outside the command vehicle and walked a few paces towards the church, which stood silent like a monolith. It had been ages since he’d even set foot inside a church. He’d been religious many years back, but that was before his wife became so sick.

  After a few paces he stopped and decided to remove his heavy bullet-proof vest, dropping it on the ground. Now with his hands raised in the air he moved forward one step at a time. He knew they would be watching, and from the corner of his eye he thought he noticed a glimpse of someone through the stained glass windows. Walking very slowly always focused on the window he finally reached the great wooden door. Then he finally stopped and lowered his arms.

  "I just want to talk," he said as he stood by the door, listening.

  There was no response.

  He thought he heard a noise from inside, but still nobody replied. Steenkamp started to look around, but he sensed someone was close. He had turned his Police issue iBand on silent so that he could focus on the situation.

  Suddenly he noticed a white envelope being thrust under the door. Steenkamp froze; he hadn’t expected that.

  "I want to talk to Nathan Cohen," he replied as he knelt down to pick up the note. "Yes, I know all about you, Nathan. All I want to do is talk, man to man."

  "Lt. Colonel Hendrik Steenkamp, yes, we also know who you are!"

  This took Steenkamp a little by surprise as he hadn’t expected Nathan to have any Intel on him.

  "Read our terms first before you come back," Nathan replied.

  Steenkamp turned the envelope over and opened it. The note was neatly folded with his name clearly printed:

  Lt Colonel Hendrik Steenkamp.

  It was written by hand. He browsed through it quickly until the end to see it signed:

  Nathan Cohen

  United States Citizen

  29th May 2029

  Peoples Resistance Movement

  Before he returned to Modisa, who watched from the command vehicle, Steenkamp had one last thing to say.

  "We can talk over the radio, the one you stole from a Police officer. It's still working I hope?"

  No reply.

  "Mr. Cohen, are you there?" he asked.

  "Yes, I’m still here; go to channel 27 when you've finished reading our terms," Nathan replied.

  Steenkamp was just as stubborn as Nathan, but with both Police and Security Forces as his backup, he decided to ignore Nathan's request and sat down against the church door and began reading the letter. Cameras from the control vehicle and sound monitoring devices recorded every detail. Within a few minutes Steenkamp finished reading the terms of the letter, folded it and put it into his pocket.

  Somehow he could feel Nathan's presence on the other side of the door.

  "Ok, Nathan, I would like to discuss your terms face to face. I'm unarmed and I promise you'll all be safe as long as you lay down your weapons. I’ll wait here until you decide."

  It was almost ten minutes before Nathan responded to Steenkamp.

  "Well, if you want to talk, you can begin," Nathan said. "As you know we are in no rush to go anywhere just yet, so what's on your mind?"

  There were no advisors or hostage negotiators to assist Steenkamp in this situation. It was against policy for him to even begin to negotiate with terrorists in the first place.

  "Do you want to surrender?" Steenkamp asked, knowing they probably wouldn't.

  "No, thank you, not really!" Nathan answered with a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "We know about your secret prison camp, and the lodgings frankly, do not really appeal to us at all."

  Steenkamp picked up something different in his tone.

  "What, if I may ask, is an ex-United States Marine doing in South Africa with stolen firearms?" Steenkamp asked.

  "Ah, ok, I see where you're going with this, but it's not what you think, Colonel."

  Steenkamp liked the fact that Nathan showed respect.

  "Call me Hendrik," Steenkamp replied.

  "Ok, Hendrik, I believe you were responsible for the raid that left many of my friends dead."

  Steenkamp started to feel that his prized prisoner was slipping further away from him, just by the tone in his voice.

  "You're not going to try something foolish like killing everyone inside and then taking your own life as cowards do?" Steenkamp replied, wanting to bait Nathan.

  "Maybe, I haven’t decided yet how to play it out."

  The arrogance in Nathan's voice disturbed Steenkamp.

  "This is just a door you know; open it up and let's talk like men, face to face."

  It was a basic strategy to gain trust and to gather Intel that would be used by the SWAT team before they made a breach.

  "Ah, I know your plan, Hendrik; don’t forget I was also on the other side of the door once."

  "S
o open up for me, let's talk."

  Nathan waited for a while.

  "You know, Lt. Colonel, it would be a stupid move for you to make, I could take you hostage and maybe kill you just for the pain and suffering you’ve caused us."

  This time Steenkamp thought about it for a while.

  "You wouldn’t dare!" Steenkamp answered.

  "Why not? We're all dead anyway, so I think it's safer for you to stay on that side of the door for now."

  Regardless of opposing viewpoints, Steenkamp started to respect Nathan for his honesty.

  "Do any of you need medical assistance at all, or something to eat?" Steenkamp asked trying to gain his trust.

  "No thank you, we're all fine for now, but it’s so thoughtful to bring your own medical crew along. Who knows, they may be of some use later on.”

  Steenkamp did not like that statement, it had to many hidden undertones. Nathan had already evaluated the surroundings and was no doubt making plans.

  "Go back to your armored vehicle, Colonel, where you'll be safe. I promise I won’t shoot you in the back like you did to my friends."

  Steenkamp now felt exposed as he glanced over at his bullet-proof jacket lying a few feet away.

  Finally standing up Steenkamp began walking slowly back to the safety of the command vehicle. With each and every step he took he could almost feel Nathan's sights trained at the back of his head. He knew the bullet proof vest wouldn’t have protected him anyway. Yet, somehow Steenkamp knew he had no choice. Trapped animals after all are more ferocious and unpredictable.

  Only after he was safely inside the command vehicle did he relax. Modisa was not amused and bombarded him with questions.

  "What do you think, Colonel, are they going to surrender?"

  Steenkamp took his time in answering.

  "I’m not finished with the negotiations yet, in fact, they haven’t even begun."

  It was now starting to get dark and the cold chill of the night was fast approaching.

  What he had anticipated from their first meeting had confirmed his first suspicions. The Jew would never surrender and he would have to be dealt with in a different manner.

  "Tomorrow I will offer them an olive branch, but tonight they can go hungry and freeze."