“What’s up Captain. How can I help you?”
“Help me? No Night I wish to help you. I am aware of your friendship with the powerful General and your current… objective, shall we say. You should know that other powerful people are also aware of what you and the General are after. I say good luck to you. And only because the most important thing is that you kill the devil. I will not repeat myself or say how I know what I know or why I am helping you but I will say this Michael Night. Be careful. Watch your back and move quickly on this. You will have noticed that the General has upped security, for a reason. Be aware of your surroundings and the people around you. Trust no one except your men. And listen carefully now--you will only succeed if you move with speed.”
Captain Sasha Orlovski closed the car door. Night nodded and walked away. He heard the BMW passenger car door window lower and looked behind him.
“One more thing Night. Protect your friend Lisa. It may be wise that she not return to work tomorrow…” And the glass slid up and closed once more, the female Captain hidden from view behind the dark tinted windows of Hotel Papa One.
At that moment Colonel Elvis walked back to his vehicle. He opened his driver’s door and paused for a moment. “There’s no reason for us to be here Mike. There’s no negligence here. I have spoken to the Charge Office vehicle and they explained to me what happened – it was an accident. What more can we do as the police, set up a hospital at all of our stations as well?”
The great Colonel got in his vehicle and turned it around on the road, coming alongside Night who was now standing with the paramedics once more. His driver’s window electronically lowered. “Cheers Mike. I’ll be seeing you around. And good luck my friend. I wish you and Amos mission success” said the General who winked and drove off. The female Captain smiled as the car drove away.
Night’s thought were drawn once again more clearly to the present. He looked down at the veteran paramedic whose face was ash white. He had large bags under his eyes and looked weak and emaciated. He relentlessly continued to perform chest compressions. His partner was applying oxygen to the victim through an oxygen mask. Night moved over to Stanislov who had been watching the scene since their arrival.
“How long has he been going for?”
“At least 30 minutes. The man is dead but he doesn’t want to let go” replied the Russian. Shaka and Dlamini were talking in the police vehicle.
Night looked at the paramedics once more and immediately felt sad. He felt their pain. The man performing the chest compressions looked like a ghost himself and reminded Night of the movie, Waking the Dead with Nicholas Cage. Night admired the paramedics. They were real heroes. Men of true quality who chose a profession where they could directly save lives and not take them. Sure police officers saved lives but they took them too. And most police officers were in it for the action not for any altruistic reasons. Being a paramedic could only be defined as philanthropic.
Night’s phone beeped, making the same sound as the phone in the Control room from the American television series 24. Incidentally Michael Night and the 24 series lead character, Jack Bauer, carried the same weapon – a Heckler & Koch USP Pistol.
The text message read:
“The objective is on the move. Has left Joburg. Warning Orders for you and your men. Be prepared to leave within 24 hours. RV Point TBD – Norwood area. Stay vigilant.”
The message originated from an unknown number.
Night put the phone back in his pocket. It was all moving very fast now Night thought to himself. His police radio, strapped to his battle jacket, came noisily alive.
“Control, Lima X-Ray 100, urgent!” It was Warrant Officer Vilakazi.
“Send Warrant” said Lisa.
“Thank you Control. I am in pursuit of a stolen vehicle. I am on Louis Botha Avenue heading towards town. I am losing the car. It is driving like crazy Control. Mounting the curb and crashing into other cars. I will lose it shortly. I need back up to catch it.”
Without a word the crew of November Whisky 50 ran back to their vehicle to give chase and provide backup to their colleagues. The route the stolen vehicle was taking would bring it right across the street where the Norwood Police Station was situated, intersecting with Louis Botha Avenue.
“Roger that Lima X-Ray 100. All November Whisky vehicles listen up and move to intercept if possible. Lima X-Ray 100 go ahead with permission with all November Whisky vehicles.”
“Thank you Control. All November Whisky vehicles be on the lookout for a red golf four, old shape. It’s driving like crazy. I don’t have a reg but we have just seen it being taken by some kids. Two guys and two girls. I don’t think they are armed” said Warrant Officer Vilakazi.
“Roger that Villa, we are en route and will stand by to intercept on Patterson Road and Louis Botha Avenue.”
“Control this is Hotel Papa One and that vehicle has just passed on Louis Botha Avenue direction town. We are turning around and joining the chase. November Whisky 50 be quick, at the rate the vehicle is travelling it will be on your position in under 90 seconds” said Captain Orlovski.
One minute later and November Whisky 50 was at the intersection of Patterson Road and Louis Botha, standing by to intercept the fugitive vehicle. In moments the red vehicle appeared, travelling at well over 120 kilometres an hour in a designated 60kph zone.
“Control, November Whisky 50. We have eyes on the vehicle. Passing Patterson Road direction town. And at the speed it’s travelling it’s not going to make the turn on 7th Street. To all chasing police units, slow down before hitting 7th Street, I repeat - decrease speed before 7th Street.”
On the opposite side of Louis Botha Avenue the streets had numeric names and two roads down 7th Street began and created a sharp turn on Louis Botha Avenue - often the scene of lethal motor vehicle accidents. The red Golf flew past. Shaka was about to follow but Stanislov advised against it. “Wait for the Lima X-Ray vehicles and Hotel Papa, they will be travelling as fast or even faster and may hit us.” The Russian was right. Within seconds three police vehicles emerged in close pursuit. After they had passed November Whisky 50 moved onto the main road and caught up to the fleeing vehicle and the chasers just in time to see the stolen vehicle lose control, miss the treacherous turn and hit a telephone pole. The vehicle collided with the structure with such force and at such an angle that it shot four metres into the air. It came down to earth with a great thud and rolled, fortunately missing any other vehicles or pedestrians. A few seconds later and all the police vehicles had come to a halt. The stolen vehicle was on its roof and the engine compartment was on fire – the vehicle was in immediate danger of exploding or being completely engulfed in flames.
Without thought for their own safety both three-man crews of the Alexandra police units left the safety of their police vehicles and rushed to the aid of the criminal suspects. Constables Shaka and Stanislov also exited the vehicle to assist, their student followed. Night sat in the passenger seat of November Whisky 50 and watched his colleagues risk their own lives to save criminals they had just witnessed steal a car and put dozens of innocent civilians’ lives in mortal danger by driving recklessly and negligently, turning the stolen vehicle into a potentially lethal weapon. Night felt immediately ashamed. Ashamed that it hadn’t instantaneously occurred to him to save the lives of the suspects – the human beings in the potential fire trap. The feeling of guilt soon passed though and was replaced by pride and adulation for his brothers in blue. He looked down at his arms and he had goose bumps. This was the reason he still had hope for South Africa. For on almost every shift he worked on the brutal streets of Johannesburg he witnessed something among all the violence and death that reinstated his belief in mankind and more essentially in South Africans, irrespective of their colour. There was hope in South Africa, Night thought to himself, because above all else, exceeding all other human emotions and weakness, Africans had the almighty aptitude to forgive. To forgive those who had trespassed against them.
>
Night had witnessed that quintessentially African ability to forgive on a number of occasions and had come to understand that clemency was actually an integral part of African culture. Night had at first struggled to understand this. After all he had seen his fair share of Kangaroo Courts and Jungle Justice but eventually Night came to learn that if the subject of such instant decrees of primal justice survived the beating and judgment they were almost always quickly forgiven. It was one of Africa’s greatest strengths and weaknesses. A weakness that Night believed was partly responsible for the colossal problem of crime facing South Africans today as by the time a suspect reached a police holding cell or court house the African predisposition was to forgive and let live. And not to seek the damnation of the suspect to a life behind bars in prison. Ultimately, though, forgiveness will win through, Night thought to himself. Endless cycles of violence and retribution, through death by a police officer’s weapon or judgment by a court of law actually achieved very little or in fact it actually perpetuated the cycle of violence. Forgiveness is the key and the ultimate quality of strength Night thought.
For now though the South African Police Sergeant knew that it was time to book off duty. There was too much going on in his head and he was losing focus. And focus was indeed needed while policing the most dangerous city on earth.
The Alexandra police officers managed to extricate all of the people from the burning vehicle and Hotel Papa assisted in making safe the scene. Upon Sergeant Night’s instruction and much to the dismay of the young Student Constable, November Whisky 50 made their way to the Norwood Police Station to end their shift.
“Dlamini it has been a pleasure training you these past couple of days and I have no doubt that you will make a fine police officer. And I am sure I will see you in the future but tomorrow you will work in the Charge Office and polish up on your admin skills.” said Sergeant Night.
“But why Sarge? Am I being punished? What did I do wrong?”
“You have done nothing wrong young man and you are not being punished but tomorrow my friends and I have some important business that we need to take care of.”
“But boss, tomorrow I really wanted to ride…”
“Ride the lightning… I know Steven. I know how exciting it must all be for you and I wanted to give you a full week’s worth of on-the-street tuition but things have changed. Now go. You are dismissed.”
And with those words the affable Police trainee stood to attention once more and saluted his Sergeant and marched into the station to sign off for the day.
With the Black Bastards alone once more, Night addressed his men.
“All right gents I will make this quick. We have received our Warning Orders. We will move in the next 24. So tomorrow tool up with your private weapons and gear. We will meet here in civvies at 0800hrs tomorrow morning outside of the barracks canteen.”
“Cool” said Stanislov.
“Roger that Mike” said Shaka.
“Now I suggest you guys spend tonight with the people you care about because this is one gig we may not come back from.”
“Is that where you are going Mike? Lisa?” asked Shaka.
“Yeah man, and my boy Wamba! I have been missing the big brute.”
With that the three friends parted ways for the day and headed off to their loved ones or loved pastimes. The giant Zulu had a large bucket of KFC chicken on his mind. Stanislov was thinking about Sasha but knew that could never be and settled on the thought of paying a visit to his most favoured working girl, a stunning Polish blonde escort who worked from her home in Sandton. Night was thinking about Lisa. He was looking forward to holding her and embracing her gently and to the sweet smell of her hair. He also planned on stopping by the butchers on the way back to Lisa’s place after collecting her from Radio Control and picking up a treat for Wamba. It only recently struck Night just how much he missed his canine friend and he made the decision while on shift that in future he would spend a lot more time with his loyal buddy, when he could and when he was in the country.
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
Later that evening Night and his girlfriend Lisa sat in the garden of La Rustica restaurant situated in the presidential Houghton Estate. Candle lit and lovingly decorated, the tables were surrounded by roses and beautiful foliage. Lisa looked lovely, robed in a snow white dinner dress that her father had lovingly bought her earlier in the year. She wore two beautiful diamond pendant earrings, a gift from her mother, and an elegant understated silver necklace that Night had bought for her with some of the money he had earned from the last close protection job he had successfully carried out for the General. Night wore black jeans and a smart dark suit jacket over a slim fitting black v neck t-shirt that accentuated his powerful build. A white handkerchief sat nonchalantly atop his jacket breast pocket.
They both had the same three course meal, starting with scrumptious Garlic Snails, followed by the restaurant’s signature dish of Grilled Calamari in Lemon and Garlic Butter and topped with a slice of Cheese Cake and Apple Pie. The meal was accompanied by a bottle of fine South African wine --a blend of Syrah, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cinsault deliciously named The Chocolate Block.
Night was worried about the direction the evening may take. He was apprehensive that Lisa would ask too many questions about why he had shown up at her work, at police radio Control, and asked her to take the rest of the day off or why his sudden desire to take her to dinner? But in her customary imperturbable style she let him off the hook and never once asked him any uncomfortable questions. She took it all in her stride.
“So my girl, I guess you would like to know why we are here?” said Night.
“Because you love me and wanted to treat me to a lovely Night out.” she answered with a timeless smile and a glint in her eye.
“Yes. And because I have some news.”
Lisa said nothing but looked at him lovingly, inquiring by mind.
“I have to go away tomorrow and I cannot guarantee you that I will come back.”
“But this is nothing new Michael, every morning when you go to work you cannot guarantee me that you will come back… So what is different about tomorrow?”
“Tomorrow I know I will be walking into a gunfight. I will purposefully go and initiate the contact. I will bring the fight to my enemies. And they are a hardened opponent – veteran fighters trained in battle and utterly ruthless.”
“You’re going after uSathane aren’t you?”
“Yes. And a platoon of his soldiers. And you shouldn’t know that.”
“There is talk of it at radio Control. People are whispering that you and the General are going after him.”
“Well that’s not good... says a lot about our OpSec (Operational Security).”
“I have no idea what OpSec is but I wouldn’t worry about it as I have heard at least three different versions of what’s happening. As far as the rumours go you are chasing uSathane into Zimbabwe, Cape Town, Durban, Botswana, Namibia and/or Angola!”
“And for what reason do we chase him down? According to the whispers that is?”
“Well to kill him of course. Why, what else would there be, what other possible reason?”
“No other reason. But there is more. As you know this operation isn’t going to be completely legal – not that it is illegal but it’s not an official police sanctioned operation. The legality of it all rests in a grey area. And after the event, if we are successful, I will also make a move overseas… to London. Amos has offered me a position within his private security firm and I would head his operation there.”
“That’s wonderful news Mikey – I know how much you have wanted to travel. To see the world and of course to take advantage of your dual citizenship. I am happy for you” said Lisa but Night could see the sadness of her being. She knew Night was going to break it off. It made sense and she knew it did. He would be better off as a single, independent operator. It hurt but she always encouraged Mike to live his dreams and swore to hers
elf that she would never impose a restrictive or a selfish demand-oriented love on him.
“Isn’t there something else?” she inquired.
“What do you mean?” Night answered nervously, feeling hot under the collar now.
Lisa looked at him quizzically and with great love and a tilted head. “Your promotion. I saw the General at work and he let me in on the secret. Captain Michael Night!” she said with a magnificent smile.
“Ah yes, I almost forgot. Thank you Lis. It’s not official yet, so as far as I am concerned Sergeant I am still.”
“Well let’s drink to it anyway shall we?” And she raised her glass and they clinked them together gently. “To Captain Michael Night.”
Lisa held the glass to her lips but before she drank in the wine a thought stuck her.
“But I don’t really understand, how can you be going to London to work with Amos and be promoted to Captain at the same time?”
Night enjoyed the wine and drained his glass. Carefully he took the decanter and refilled his glass, he offered Lisa some more but she declined. He was feeling even more nervous than he had anticipated.
“It’s all part of the plan. I will do both. I will move to London, set myself up there and travel between the two countries. The role here as Captain won’t be a demanding one and I will be able to handle my responsibilities via email when need be. I will also juggle my leave and plan my diary carefully. I am looking forward to it Lis and am excited for the future but…”
“But you are not sure how we will work in the new… arrangement.”
“Yes. Something like that. It’s the only thing that is worrying me. That’s holding me back and making me uncertain to whether or not I am doing the right thing. You know I will be in more danger now and will be travelling a lot. I won’t be able to offer you as much time as I would like to or security…. so….”
“I know Mike. It’s fine. I understand. It makes sense you know. You will be better off without me.” Lisa stood up to walk to the bathroom her eyes now swelling with tears.
Night of the Black Bastards (An Action-Packed Thriller) Page 26