by Deon Meyer
'This is an important one, Milla. You need to focus ...'
Operation Shawwai
Transcription: Audio surveillance, A. Hendricks and L. Becker, cellphone conversation
Date and Time: 27 September 2009. 17.41
LB: Kan ek met Shaheed Latif Osman praat, asseblief?
AH: I'm sorry . . . ?
LB: Verstaan jy Afrikaans, Ouboet?
AH: Who is this, please?
LB: My name is Lukas Becker, I'm looking for Shaheed Latif Osman.
AH: I think you have the wrong number, sir.
LB: Tweety the Bird? Is he available?
AH: You definitely have the wrong number.
LB: Are you sure?
AH: There's nobody here by those names. LB: OK. Sorry.
In the office of the Minister, over a cup of tea, Janina Mentz chose her words carefully, as she had prepared thoroughly. 'Sir, we have a potential target for the act of terror, and it seems to be a highly sensitive one. Of course, our first priority is to secure the target, But we have two dilemmas. Firstly we have no incontrovertible evidence that it is the target. We are speculating on the grounds of a date that we intercepted from the extremists. Secondly, to secure the possible target, we would need the assistance of our colleagues at law enforcement, with the possible inclusion of certain local authorities. As you know, the DA provincial government in the Western Cape will try to gain political advantage out of anything. We simply can't trust them.'
The Minister nodded his agreement.
'I am here for advice, sir. How can we prevent the terrorism, without jeopardising the whole operation?'
29 September 2009. Tuesday.
'If there was contact between the Ravens and the Committee, we've missed it. Or maybe there was no contact,' Quinn said.
'So where are the diamonds?' asked Rajkumar.
'On their way to Oman.'
The two deputy directors looked sharply at Quinn.
'Think about it,' he said. 'They are Muslim extremists. The stones are tainted. Sinful. They don't want to touch them. And they want as little contact with the Ravens as possible, for all the obvious reasons. So what are the options? You tell Terror Baadjies to pack it all into a strongbox, and DHL the thing to Macki in Oman. The minute it arrives, the money is paid over. Or something like that.'
Masilo just sat there.
Rajkumar said, 'Shit.'
Quinn said, 'We have to assume that the deal is done and dusted. We need to focus on the weapons now. Or explosives. Or whatever the hell it is they're going to smuggle in. And the 12th of October.'
53
30 September 2009. Wednesday.
Milla showed Oom Theunie the four new documents for the Lukas Becker dossier - a single sheet from the National Population Register, a concise bank report, a SAPS query, and a printout of an email from a R. Harris. 'It reveals nothing,' she said. 'And ... it's not very good.'
He took a look at them, then explained. 'R. Harris is the PIA operator, he sits in a little office somewhere, receives an instruction that says go and find out more about so-and-so, and make it snappy. It's not his job to interpret or organise, he's just the collector of information. So he sends every bit as he goes along. It's our job to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Some of these profiles can look like mangy strays for weeks, then suddenly a whole bunch of meaningful data comes through. It's normal. Don't worry about it, you do what you can, with what you have.'
'I understand,' Milla said. 'Thanks.'
Report: Profile - Lukas Becker
Date: 30 September 2009
Compiled by: Milla Strachan. Field report: R. Harris.
Background
Lukas Becker (42) currently of no fixed address, was born on 23 July 1967 in Bloemfontein, the son of J.A. and E.D. Becker, apparently from Smithfield. Credit card expenses indicate a presence in Johannesburg, especially the Sandton area, since 13 September 2009. Purchases include clothing (R2,118.64) and meals.
Criminal record
None. (According to ID number Becker was the victim of a car hijacking in Johannesburg.)
Education and Training
BA degree in History. (Unconfirmed.)
Finances
Becker has four accounts at Standard Bank:
A cheque account. Balance: R2,294.60.
A Mastercard credit card account. Balance: R4,646.27.
An investment account (32-day notice). Balance: R138,701.89.
An investment account (Fixed deposit). Balance: R1 425,007.22 Transfers to and from a current account with Wells Fargo in the USA (balance unknown).
Late that afternoon Mrs Killian gave Milla new documentation on Lukas Becker. She saw there were two field operators working on the profile. She wondered what that meant. What could a man with a degree in history have done that was so bad? She read, in a hurry and inquisitive.
She saw the study majors first, and that fascinated her. When she came to the information on Lukas Becker's parents, she lowered her head and read more attentively.
Report: Profile - Lukas Becker
Date: 30 September 2009
Compiled by: Milla Strachan. Field report R. Harris and P. Lepono.
Background
Lukas Becker (42) currently of no fixed address, was born on 23 July 1967 in Bloemfontein.
He is the only child of Johannes Andreas Becker (1934-2001) former owner and farmer of the farm Rietfontein in the district of Smithfield, and Esther Debora Becker (nee Faber, 1941-1999), former teacher, later housewife. (Mostly unconfirmed.)
After his school education (Smithfield Primary School, and Grey College, Bloemfontein) he matriculated with a distinction in History in 1984. After two years' compulsory military service in the SA Navy, he completed a full-time degree in B Agric at the University of the Free State in 1989. A BA degree in History and Anthropology (part time, UNISA, 1994), and post-graduate study in the USA followed. (The latter unconfirmed.)
Parents
Around 1995 Esther Debora Becker was committed to an institution for the mentally disturbed, allegedly Witrand in the former Transvaal, and later to a private clinic in Johannesburg, where she died of natural causes in 1999. (Unconfirmed.)
Johannes Andreas Becker was allegedly declared bankrupt in 2000, and the farm Rietfontein was sold to W.E. Stegmann, who continues to farm the property. Becker Senior committed suicide in 2001 in Margate, KwaZulu-Natal - See list of references.
Working career
After his full-time studies for B Agric degree at the UFS, Becker joined the Navy again (Permanent Force), and worked at Simonstown from 1990 to 1994, achieving the rank of Lieutenant. (Unconfirmed.) After that he worked overseas.
54
1 October 2009. Thursday.
Past midnight, when he was deeply, soundly asleep, Quinn's cellphone rang.
The noise - and his wife's elbow in his ribs - woke him. He got up hurriedly, confused, fumbled for the phone twice, and scrambled groggily down the passage peering blearily at the screen. It was his bureau chief in Johannesburg.
'Yes,' he said.
'I'm really sorry, but it's Inkunzi Shabangu. He's been killed. Massive bloodbath at his house. I thought you'd want to know right away.' 'When?'
'About an hour ago.'
'How?'
'Looks like Shabangu was killed with a shotgun, some of his people with a handgun.'
'How did you find out so quickly?'
'We were the first on the scene. One of our cellular surveillance vehicles saw a white male coming past him at high speed in Shabangu's BMW, and went to the house. Everything was open, the gate, the garage door ... Then the security company arrived, and went in. My guy called me, and I told him to follow the security man inside. They found three bodies, Shabangu and two cronies.'
'Are the police there?'
'They arrived ten minutes later. Place is now swarming.'
Quinn was wide awake now. 'Tell me about the white male.'
'Not much to tell. He went past a
t high speed. Surveillance guy can't give a description. There's a bulletin out on the BMW ...'
'OK,' said Quinn. 'How are your police connections?'
'Pretty good. I'll keep you posted.'
'Thanks.'
Quinn went to the kitchen, sat on the high stool in the breakfast corner, his brain racing.
Ouboet, should I rather come to your house. I know where you live. Becker had said something like that to Shabangu last week over the phone.
Becker. He had phoned the number he got from Shabangu, day before yesterday, the number for Supreme Committee member Shaheed Latif Osman. And he had been told it was the wrong number.
Did he go to Shabangu's house last night? His patience exhausted?
What had Shabangu said to him before The Bull was shot? About Osman and the Committee.
Quinn picked up his cellphone and called the PIA office, got the Ops operator on night shift. 'I want a general and comprehensive red flag warning for a Lukas Becker, his ID and credit card details are on the system. If he moves an inch I want to know about it. And phone the Bureau in Bloemfontein. Tell him I want all his people on the Becker investigation. Now.'
Quinn propped his elbows on the kitchen counter and rubbed his eyes. This had suddenly become quite complicated. They had intelligence on a serious crime. Someone would have to decide what they shared with the police. And when.
Not his problem. Time to disturb the Advocate's sleep as well.
The red flag was digitally hoisted at seven o'clock that morning, at the Oliver Tambo Airport when Lukas Becker used his credit card at the l time airline counter to buy a ticket for flight 1 T 103 to Kaapstad.
'It departs at 09.25 and arrives at 11.35,' Quinn told Masilo over the phone, '1 time has agreed to an IFI, I'm sending my best teams to begin observation once he lands.'
'Good,' said Masilo.
'And the police?'
'The risk to the operation is too great. We say nothing. But you must not let Becker out of your sight. Not for a second.'
The air hostess on the l time flight did the IFI, the in-flight identification, forty minutes after the jet had taken off. She consulted the passenger list and saw there was only one Becker on the flight - a Mr L. Becker in seat 11 A. She made certain that he was sitting in that seat by asking a few passengers in Becker's area for their boarding passes, including Becker himself. She memorised his appearance and clothing.
Just before Flight IT 103 landed in Cape Town, she looked at the man, who was calmly reading, one last time.
When the plane stopped and she and a colleague opened the door, she saw there were two extra, unfamiliar ground staff in l time uniforms at the top of the stairs. One of them made eye contact and nodded at her.
She nodded back.
She waited until Mr Becker came past. She put out her hand in a friendly gesture. 'Did you enjoy your flight?' and she touched the man's elbow.
He smiled at her. It was a genuine smile. 'I did, thank you very much.'
Then he was out.
She looked at the unfamiliar ground staff member who waited until Becker had passed. Then he looked at her, and nodded again.
He walked after Becker.
Mrs Killian put the new information on the desk and said: 'Milla, the status of this report was raised this morning. In the next twenty- four hours a lot of material will come in. I'm going to ask Theunie to help you.'
'What did the guy do?' 'I don't know.'
Milla looked at the new information. She saw there were four operators working on the report now. There was an analysis of a bank statement and official documents from the Navy and a hospital. There were also short snippets, taken from websites, transcribed interviews, long and short, with acquaintances and former friends and neighbours. One was an interview with an academic from Bloemfontein, a woman who had been a student with Lukas Becker.
I was his dance partner. He loved dancing.
And:
No, we were just friends. We all knew, back then, Lukas was on the move. Always. It was safer... to just be friends. I always wondered, was he running towards something, something that drove him, or was he running away from his parents ...
She worked through the documents systematically, quickly and efficiently, wholly captivated. She added the new snippets of information to the report, making changes where speculation became confirmation.
Finances
Becker has four accounts with Standard Bank, with current cash assets of R1,570 649.98. Transfers to and from a current account with Wells Fargo in the USA, as well as income from at least two American investments indicate a net worth of more than R2 million.
She also added the information about his parents:
Becker's mother, Esther Debora Becker, was admitted to the Witrand Care and Rehabilitation Centre on 17 April 1995 for observation and treatment of a psychiatric disorder. She was transferred to the Janet Steinmetz Private Clinic in Johannesburg on 1 December 1995, and was in treatment until her death from natural causes on 27 September 1999.
Under 'Background':
During his compulsory military service (1985-1986) Lukas Becker was trained as a diver in the SA Navy at Simonstown. (The South African Diving Unit trains teams of combat divers in mine-countermeasures, search and recovery and underwater explosives as a wartime role - See references.)
And:
Becker earned a Masters Degree in Anthropological Archaeology at the University of South Florida (At St Petersburg in the USA) in 1996.
Below 'Working career':
After his full-time studies for B Agric at the UFS, Becker joined the Navy again where he served from 1990 to 1994 as an instructor and later training officer (Lieutenant) at the Diving Unit.
From 1994 to 1996 Becker worked part-time in the marina in St Petersburg (USA) as deck hand, skipper and diving instructor to pay for his studies at the University of South Florida. (Unconfirmed.)
From 1997 to 2004 he took part in various American inter-university archaeological expeditions, including trips to Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Iran and Turkey, while he worked extramurally on a thesis about Human Prehistory, with specific reference to the Paleolithic period. (Unconfirmed.)
In 2005, he accepted a position with the American military servicing company Blackwater (now known as Xe Services LLC), and has since worked for them under contract in Iraq.
Two teams followed Becker from the airport. One took photos as Becker collected a car from Tempest Car Hire, a white Toyota Yaris 1.4, and noted the registration number.
They remained on his tail unseen on the M29 in the direction of Parow, then along the Ml6 past Tygerberg Hospital, the Ml6 past Karl Bremer and finally the M31 and Ml3 to Durbanville.
In the quiet suburban streets they had to drop back, nearly missing him turning in at the Vierlanden Garden Cottage.
They stopped and consulted before phoning Quinn. He gave one team orders to enquire about accommodation at the guest house - and book in if there was room. He also gave immediate orders for a new surveillance team to go to the address without delay.
'The piece about the parents is superfluous,' said Oom Theunie.
'Don't you think a disturbed mother has an influence on someone's psyche?' Milla asked.
'You only need one sentence to say his mother was mad and his parents are dead.'
'OK.' With a touch of reluctance.
Then the photo came through.
55
The report was a live document in the PIA database. Milla Strachan sat and wondered if anyone was reading her updates. And why.
What had Lukas Becker, historical anthropologist, done to make an intelligence agency interested in him? Was it his contract work with Blackwater, now known as Xe Services? She had read up about this company on the Internet. There was nothing under the new name, only a website under construction. Under 'Blackwater' there was a lot, mostly controversial. They trained mercenaries.
At 14.27, while she was rewriting the report, the software indicated that s
omeone had made an external update. Milla clicked the Refresh icon. The new material was a photograph. She could not curb her curiosity, and clicked on it.
The photo opened.
Caught in the bright sunlight, beside a white Toyota, stood a man with dark hair in a brush cut. His body was lean, his head turned half towards the camera, as he looked at a black man in a car hire uniform.
There was something about the smile, the good-natured eyes, his way of looking, that captivated her. In that second something was said between two strangers, a moment of understanding and recognition. She stared at it for a long time, looking for traces of that life on this face, the unstable, deceased parents, the man who was someone's dance partner at university, the fascinating, exotic studies, the archaeological expeditions, the job as soldier and later mercenary, but there was nothing. Just the smile and the compassion. When Jessica the Goddess suddenly touched her shoulder and asked, 'Who's the dish?' Milla was brought back to reality with a bump.
Just before five Quinn walked into Masilo's office and said: 'We have trouble. Lukas Becker has just driven slowly past Shaheed Latif Osman's house.'
'And then?'
'Then he drove off, towards the city.' 'Do we have a tracker on his car yet?' 'Before the end of today.'
'And his cellphone?'
'We are listening. But that's not all, the Johannesburg bureau has let us know that Julius Shabangu was shot with a MAG-7, an automatic, short-barrelled shotgun ...'
'And ...?'
'It's a weapon with baggage. Smuggling and military baggage. Becker was with Blackwater and in Iraq ...'
'What are you saying, Quinn?'
This guy is armed and dangerous ...'
'We are not sure it was him who shot Shabangu. The evidence is circumstantial.'
'And if Osman is next on his list?'
Masilo did the one thing Quinn did not expect. He shrugged. Quinn realised the Advocate was hoping for exactly that. And Masilo still did not trust Janina's motives.
Photostatic record: Diary of Milla Strachan