by Sam Wilson
"Jones, I think I know who is responsible,” Paul said
"Who?" Jones the well-groomed man looked in suppressed anger
"That bitch" Paul spat
"She is dead and buried, I saw it happen" Jones said confidently
"We dug up the grave as victor instructed, she wasn't in it" Paul continued, his voice uneasy
"Who was in the coffin?" Jones voice vibrated agitation
"You are not going to believe it" Paul’s face went white and his voice trembled
"Stop wasting my time" Jones was not in the mood for games
"It’s my beloved wife, Anya" his heart sank as he said it
Jones almost had a heart attack, he stood in shock staring at Victor's face, and suddenly he was consumed by rage.
"The doctor said it happened over a period of time, right? If it was she, then she most have had help from someone among us. We destroyed her passport and identity cards in New York, so that means she is hiding somewhere in Johannesburg without identification (he paused then starred straight at Paul, his blood red eyes made Paul afraid for the first time in his life) no mistakes, ok".
"No mistakes" Paul repeated
Those words and his red eyes stuck with Paul as he drove out of the heavily fortified compound, the memory of his wife weighed heavily in his heart. Losing her in such a way has had the opposite effect on him, instead of wanting revenge he now truly want out, for a long time he stock with Tea mechanics because of the life style, the pay it provided and mostly because it kept Anya his wife happy. When he told her months before about wanting out, she persuaded him to stay where he was, most times she was a selfish and sadistic witch who he wanted to get away from but he loved her and she was right most of the time as well. He loved Jonas as a brother and the rage he saw in his eyes is partly for his lose. He wouldn’t like to betray him and that means not going MIA (missing in action) on the House of the Tea mechanics, the old restored classic Peugeot 504 convertible he’s driving entered the tunnel when he couldn’t hold his emotions in anymore, and an endless stream of tears rolled down his fat cheeks.
Jonas Junior Williamson was born in August 15th 1970 in Johannesburg to Jonas Senior Williamson and Katharine Sullivan Williamson; both parents grew up a stones throw from one another in Kentish town London. They moved to South Africa in the late sixties looking for somewhere to start afresh, they bought and started a sugar cane and maze farm, as the years went by their business grew, they exported their range of products made from sugar cane and corn, white and brown sugars were exported in bags and sweet corn in tins. When Jonas junior was ten his father died unexpectedly from diabetes, he had a heart attack and died in front of little Jonas, he cried out for help when he saw his father bit hard on his tongue, shaking and beating his chest, friends and relatives came running from the inner rooms. In panic they frantically tried opening his mouth and sticking a spoon through but he bit down so hard that their efforts where in vain, his heart stopped on the way to the hospital, his mother struggled to manage and maintain the company but in the end she lost it to greedy and manipulative investors. Their life changed, his mother cried in private most of the time and blamed her-self but dusted off her guilt when the time came and carried on with life. She had Jonas to take off, he is the only one she has left, she would always say. Jonas’s schoolwork suffered, without a male authority figure in his life he joined a gang looking for a place to belong. His mother was busy working hard running a new business, the restaurant, import and export business consumed most of her time, she did her best looking after Jonas, later she found out he wasn’t going to school, failed his exams and joined a gang. She cried when she thought of how brilliant he is, she was determined to help her son head into the right direction so she elicited help from a family friend called Thomas Lawson. Lawson went from family lawyer to confidant in a space of two years, they trusted him, a mistake Jonas senior found out just before his death but didn’t inform his wife because he wanted to keep her out of harms way, another mistake. Unbeknown to her what TEA MECHANICS actually does, she handed her beloved son to Lawson to help train and guard into a mechanical engineer, he received the direction he needed, with the help of Lawson and associates he started concentrating in school, passing his exams, going to the university and finally becoming a Mechanical engineer graduate. Just what his mother had hoped for, except he was been taught to be something else as well, an assassin with a degree.
-------------
The light flickered on and off as the 60 watt bulb swung from side to side like a pendulum, a result of a rocking ship; Susan knew instantly she was on some sort of boat, as she felt seasick, the stench from the rag she is gagged with wasn’t helping either. The effect of the tranquilizer she was given after the blow was wearing off, she can taste it in her mouth, her body ached; she most have been out for twenty four hours or more, how long exactly she wasn’t sure. The sounds of approaching footsteps drew her attention to the metal door, in that moment two men pushed it open forcing their way in and picked her up from the greasy floor as if weightless, Susan a woman of indomitable will, struggled furiously until she was knocked down with a punch.
She jumped out of her sleep and howled for help but was subdued by a young ebony South African woman, who was telling her she was safe. She wasn’t on a boat and the stench was gone, it was a dream? then she remembered the nightmare she’s reliving. She calmed herself but shaking from fever chills, her eyes scanned the room and returned to the fretful face of the woman sitting beside her, she is saying something in English mixed with her native dialect but Susan could hardly make anything out. She tried saying something but couldn’t, high fever had a strong hold on her, sweat and tears rolled down the side of her face, she blacked out.
--------------
Drained of energy, effectiveness and hungry, she sat in a steel chair handcuffed to the metal table in front of her; she has been in that chair for at least thirty-six hours without food and human contact, left to her haunting thoughts in a dark and cold odorless chamber. The door swung open, the light from the hall left a silhouette of man standing at the door, he walked in, closing the door, and he blended into the darkness as the door shut. He reappeared when he turned on an interrogation light, which he pointed at her face, she opened, and shut her eyes almost immediately, and the light had the effect of the sun.
“Susan” the man called out, soft and even voice
She didn’t respond but adjusted her eyes to the brightness of the light; the man’s voice is gentle as he spoke. She knows a hit has landed her unlucky ass into this nightmare and that last job made it possible. She made mistakes because of the emotional state she was in. She wasn’t herself and in that none resourceful state had decided to work to remove her mind from what she was going through. The assignment was a set up to find her, Victor most have been a part of it to disarm her emotionally. That is what she would have done or is she going crazy from what they have been pumping her with, the pain of her hair been pulled yanked her out of her thoughts.
“Susan can you hear me?” the soft voice asked emotionlessly
“Yes” she cried out
“We do not want to hurt you” the same tone of voice poured into her ears
“But you are” she replied agonizingly
“Nothing is been done to you yet” the voice was quizzical
“Not much physically” Susan said teary eyed
“Susan that can change” the voice was flat and lilting
She didn’t say anything in response but continued looking away from the light, a large hand grabbed her head and turned it towards the light, the man continued playing on her emotions.
“I want to help you, I would like to see you go home to your family and business” he leaned back and crossed his legs “maybe give you a place to belong with your extra curricular activities”
“What do you want to know”? Susan asked, her voice cold
“Who gave the order”? The man asked
“Who gav
e what order”? Susan replied calmly
“The order to kill Thomas Lawson and Keith Peterson”
There was silence in the room; the man waited patiently looking directly at her, no doubt reading the expressions on her face.
“Well Susan, who was it?” his voice raised slightly
“I don’t know” exhaustion etched into her tone
After what seemed like an eternity he got up, removed his double-breasted blazer, carefully placed it on the chair back support then took a seat again.
“You look dehydrated, would you like some water?” he asked
“Yes, thanks” she said with great effort
He smiled and nodded to the large black man standing behind her, the large man went out, and not a minute later returned and set the glass of water on the table in front of the interrogator then resumed his former position holding Susan’s head in his hands. The soft spoken interrogator stood up, raised the glass to his mouth and drank half of it, strode over to Susan and set the glass of water in front of her, she was too exhausted to move, the large man and cuffs around her wrist restricting her movements. The interrogator walked back to his chair behind the light.
“You had a great thing going for you, fact is you are the best we haven’t killed yet. Now, death comes in different ways and I can tell you most ways that you are proficient at, are nothing compared with what we know. You will wish for death but it will not come, we have people that are skilled in the fine art of ancient and modern torture” he got up and knocked the door, it open and five men walked in naked. She swallowed hard, her head was spinning, the light and lack of food was making her dizzy, she saw the men take their places beside her then the large man let go of her head. The clicking sounds resonating behind her made her realize he had removed his pants “ obviously this is just an appetizer, the main course comes afterwards, one last chance for you to change your mind”
He was about to close the door as he walked out when Susan said
“Wait, I’m ready to talk,” she pleaded but not a tone that gave it away
He came back in and sat down
“Let’s hear it”
“Ask them to leave” she said, head bowed
“It’s alright Susan you can speak in front of them”
“It’s a bit cold in here don’t you think” a cheeky smile suddenly appeared on her face as she looked around at the naked men’s groins standing beside her.
He noticed the amusement on her face for a moment before it disappeared, he smiled, impressed with her sense of humor, then waved the boys out except for the large black man who started putting his clothes back on
“Ok Susan, they are out”
“The person you are looking for will be hard to find without my help, I never meet client as you know, but I do make it my business to know whom I’m working for” she spoke softly
“Very professional, carry on” the man sat down and crossed his legs and clasped his hands on his knees.
“As I was about to say, the man that hired me has vanished”
He interrupted her
“Who is he?” He asked authoritatively
“A midlevel player” she said
He interrupted again
“What is his name?” he sounded cool and collected
“He went by the name Robert Aims but that was an alias, let me go, and I will find him” she bargained a last throw of the dice.
“We found you Susan and no one knew who you were, tell me something Susan, if this Robert Aims is a midlevel player, did you by any chance find out who contracted the job to him”? the calm voice was even
“No it didn’t seem important at the time but now it does, this is my proposal. I will find and deliver the one that actually gave the order for a reasonable fee” she smiled, her dry lips cracked at the effort
“A reasonable fee” he chuckled then laughed out loud for a moment “Susan I like you,” he knocked on the door, a guard opened the metal door “ remove her cuffs, take her to the suite and asked the chief to prepare…” he stopped and turned to face Susan “what would you like for dinner?”
“Grilled fish and vegetable, if you please” Susan’s confidence grew slowly.
“Very healthy, how about wine”? Came the response.
“No wine, water will do just fine,” she said softly.
“You heard her,” the guard disappeared from view “Susan, Anton here is going to show you to your quarters”
“Anton nice to finally know your name, ” she said with a smile while drinking the half glass of water. Using her now free hands
They walked out of the room together; the interrogator introduced himself as Jonas Junior Williamson, she notice that Jonas was a serious man and not to be trusted or taken for granted, the sudden hospitality he’s given her is to buy trust and imprison her, later they will do away with her. She knows this game and she is willing to play to survive, for now she’s going to have a bath, eat some food, and get some sleep. Jonas said a few things she wasn’t listening to but she did hear him say,
“Let Anton know if you need anything, I will join you for breakfast in the morning, ok… get some rest”
They shook hands and she thanked him, he nodded before excusing himself. In his friendly light green eyes, she noticed he would not hesitate to put a bullet between her eyes when the time comes. She made a decision not to let that happen. In her suite she had a shower, took out one of the jeans and t-shirt in the closet, she wasn’t surprised to find they fitted her. She inspected the other clothes in the wardrobe and it seemed tailored to fit her, she was tempted to speculate but decided to just be on her guard and rest, as she had expected sooner or later someone knocked on the door, she said
“Yes come in”
“Complements of the chief Susan” Anton said in a very deep voice
“Be sure to thank him for me Anton” she said, her voice was playful
“Will do, I will be outside if you need me, enjoy your meal”
“Thank you, oh Anton your fly is open,” she laughed.
He quickly zipped up and laughed.
“Ok, you enjoy your meal now” he said, no hint of embarrassment
“You already said that Anton” she replied toying with him
He chuckled then closed the door, she thought he might be a way out when the time comes, she switched on the television to SABC 1 then to SABC 2 and 3, she was now certain of where she was, South Africa; she searched and found CNN news, finished her meal and dozed off minutes later.
INDOMITABLE WILL
Johannesburg, as lovely as it is, is also renowned for it’s amount of unsolved murders, mutilated bodies found on road sides would count as sorry souls who met their unfortunate end due to the line of work they were in and some time they were right. Still feverish and having respiratory difficulties Susan struggled to sit up, she took a sip of water from the glass of cup on her bed side table and immediately Regurgitated. The contents in her stomach emptied in and around a plastic bucket next to her bed, she managed to creep back under the covers shaking feverishly and the stench of purge hovered in the air.
Two days past before Susan could find the strength to stand up straight, sit down and walk about. She left that room for the first time in three months and immediately went outside for fresh air. Aguira the young south African woman who has been nursing her could not believe her eyes when she saw her walk out of the care room, she followed her outside without saying a word. She wanted to see what Susan was up to, when Susan took a sit on the porch it was clear, she wanted a change of scene, Aguira decided to give her space, if she needed anything she would have asked for it, she would stay close just in case. Susan relaxed on the reclining chair taking in the scenery, there isn’t much to see but it is better than a white ceiling with a rotating ventilator, and there is an abundance of colorful characters to make up for it lacks. In the safety of the shade she contemplated on what to do next, until a commotion two hundred meters dead ahead, snatched her attenti
on away, three young men in their late teens started harassing a man in his mid forties. At first the man seemed scared, looking around and keeping up his guard but a minute or two later, he floored one of them and the boy fell asleep snoring. He did this with just a single touch to the boy’s shoulder or so it looked from where Susan is sitting; the other boys apologized and carried their friend away following the man’s instructions, Susan was intrigued by what she just saw, she wanted to meet the man but he had disappeared from view before she could get up.
“Are you ok, miss Susan?” Aguira asked
“Yes thanks, how long have you been standing there?” Susan asked.
“Just a few minutes, but long enough to hear what the man was telling those boys before he put the leader to sleep, you look curious” Aguira said.
“What did he say?” Susan’s interest was piqued
“He told them he too had done what they are doing when he was young, he learned a lesson from his past that he’s about to teach them, they insulted him. You don’t want to know what they said but he kept cool and continued, he then said something about a story that will repeat itself when they get to his age. “learn well” he said, then he touch the boy on the shoulder as you saw and well the rest of the delinquents had their mouths open, baffled” Aguira spoke softly, her voice hypnotic.
“Yes I saw that part, fascinating, we haven’t been properly introduced. I’m Susan”
“Aguira, pronounced Agu-i-ra” she smiled
“Agu-i-ra, it’s a pleasure” Susan returned the smile.
“Pleasure is mine Susan, any friend of madam Karen zuma is a friend of mine”
“That is good to know, a friend of hers is a friend of mine too. What do we do before she comes back?” Susan asked, her stomach growled angrily
“Are you hungry?” Aguira asked hearing the sound
“Famished” Susan admitted
“I’ve prepared something I heard is you favorite” the young girl said cheerfully
“What did you make for me?” she asked