The huge man immediately walked over to Kalahari and the two men gripped each other’s forearms before embracing each other.
“This is Johan, or Sahara if you don’t know him. He’s my brother. Of sorts.”
Johan looked at the three police officers, making an obvious point of sizing each of them up and nodding appreciatively at Shaka. He then noticed Night and stood to attention and saluted his rank as did two of the other Task Force Members.
“Captain! I salute you!”
Night saluted back, laughed and then replied: “Thank you, gentlemen. I am Michael Night and this big bastard is my brother, Sergeant Daniel Shaka, and this young man is student constable Steven Dlamini or Dirty Harry… or Body Count, depending on the shift.”
The three remaining Special Task Force Members all made their introductions, constables Jack Selebi and Themba Shonga and finally Captain Sello Mbuyo.
The Norwood men saluted the Captain.
“Good to meet all of you I’m sure, good to see you again Kalahari” said Captain Mbuyo.
“Good to see you, Cappy” said Kalahari with a quick and sharp salute.
“You won’t be gone too long I hope?”
“Nah, Cappy, just helping the November Whisky boys train their sharks for a while..” while pointing to the still wide eyed Dlamini.
Captain Mbuyo made his way toward the young man and stood in front of him.
“What’s your name, boy?”
“Steven Dlamini, my most Senior General, commander of all Johannesburg and even Pretoria, sir!”
“What? You’re the commander of all of Johannesburg and Pretoria are you?”
“Um… no Senior General, you are!”
The Captain shook his head, smiled and patted the curious young man on his shoulder.
“Interesting shark you have here, Captain Night. Rather you than me, eh!”
“If you say so, Captain” replied Night.
“The constables and I are famished and have a date with Wimpy lined up. Our large bastard of a Sergeant, Sahara, here has already eaten, although I’m not sure he ever stops eating, so please do excuse us while we fill our stomachs. Should give you enough time to catch up.”
The Captain and his two constables got into their vehicle and drove over the road and into the shopping centre’s large parking lot, making a beeline for the Wimpy.
“So, my brother, how the hell are you and what exactly are you doing in this part of Joburg?”
“I’m bloody well brilliant hey! But first things first, boet. Here’s the gear you asked for.” Johan handed Kalahari a large black duffel bag which the Warrant Officer placed on the back seat of the Ford Ranger. He opened it and searched for what he was looking for. Upon finding it he unfolded the stock and made sure the weapon was free of a magazine and that no rounds were chambered. He then handed the weapon to Night.
“Here’s that MP5 you wanted, Mike.”
Night took the weapon appreciatively in his hands and once again made sure it was fully unloaded before placing the weapon against his shoulder and looking down the barrel.
“Bloody beautiful” said Night.
“Isn’t she just.”
“Let me see that thing, Mike.”
Night handed Shaka the weapon. The Sergeant briefly examined the 9MM submachine gun, made famous by Hollywood and Special Forces around the world, before giving it back.
“I don’t like it, feels like a child’s toy.”
“Totally agree with you there, boet!” said Johan.
“Can I see it please, Cappy?”
Night looked at Dlamini and considered denying the young man’s request before checking it one more time to make sure it was indeed empty of ammunition and then handed it to him.
While Dlamini salivated over the weapon Sergeant Johan told the Norwood officers why they were in the area.
“So okes, we’ve been hunting these bloody CIT robbers for the best part of a week now, we’ve got solid Intel that they’re looking to make a move either today or tomorrow in Sandton and we’re hoping to catch them in the act or trying to make a getaway into Alex. And they’re good, bloody well good, looks like they’re former soldiers, these okes.”
As Night, Shaka and Kalahari exchanged knowing looks, Johan pulled out a large tactical knife from his tac vest and a large cut of Biltong from his ammo pouch and began to slice off some pieces.
“You okes hungry, hey? I shot this poor bastard myself a week ago, tastes bloody nice I tell you.”
Sergeant Shaka readily accepted Sahara’s offered meat and tore into it with enthusiasm.
“They’re former Army Commandos, Sahara” said Night.
“Really? And how do you know that, cappy?”
“We bumped into them while they were robbing a van in Melrose. I know the leader, he used to be my commander…”
“You were once a Commando?”
“Once upon a time, many years ago.”
“Shit, well, that makes these guys even more dangerous than we thought… happen to know where we could find this former commander of yours?”
“No idea, I lost touch with my old unit after they were disbanded. Although I’ve made a coupe of phone calls of inquiry and I’m waiting to hear from some old friends. I’ll let you know if I hear anything… but I’m trying to keep everything out of dockets and case files if you get my meaning?”
“Ja, boet, no worries. I completely understand. Besides we’re just the sharp point of the Police stick, we’re not detectives. And we’ve also had issues with certain operators going dark… if you get my meaning?”
“I do.”
Young Dlamini approached the STF member seemingly oblivious to the gravity of the conversation now taking place. “Great oak tree of the Task Force, do you have a card?”
The large Special Forces operator turned to face the wiry student constable. “Card? What kind of card, china?!”
“You know, boss, like a business card? I’m going to join you guys one day!”
Sahara looked at the young man for some time without comment, obviously deep in contemplation before putting a large hand on Dlamini’s shoulder.
“Do you know what Vasbyt is my young china?”
“No? But it doesn’t matter I will do whatever it takes!”
Johan looked at Kalahari questioningly and asked him in Afrikaans “What’s that thing called on the computer these young people use to search for things?”
“Google?”
“Ja, Google!”
He then turned back to the student constable “Go and Google it, Google ‘Vasbyt’ boet! Then come and tell me you want to join.”
“Ja, no problem, china my china, I will Google it and give you a call, now can I have your card?”
“I don’t have a bloody card, man! And by the looks of you, you’re too young…”
“I’m nineteen, old enough to wear this uniform!”
“You have to be at least 21 to even have the right to apply to our unit and have spent at least two years in the force beforehand and besides you’re too bloody skinny man, here have some Tong, boet!”
Sahara offered the student some of his biltong, emphasising the student’s need to bulk up.
“Hey fuck you! I’m not skinny, I’m wiry! You big stupid fig tree!”
“Fuck me? Bloody fig tree?” Sahara took two strides forward and grabbed Dlamini by the straps of his bullet proof vest and hauled him off of his feet and pressed him up against the side of November Whisky Fifty.
“Don’t you have any bloody respect for your elders? I am going to teach you a lesson in…”
But before Johan could teach the teenager some manners Sergeant Shaka took hold of one of Johan’s outstretched arms, twisted his wrist to release the man’s grip and lifted his arm up, and forced his huge body between the two men.
“Hands off of my student, Sergeant!” growled Shaka.
Sahara pulled his arm free of Shaka’s grip and let Dlamini fall to his feet and squared his should
ers.
The student constable looked up at his Sergeant with wide eyes, a small grin appearing at the corners of his mouth.
“You want to dance with me, Zulu boy?” responded Sahara and then pushed Shaka hard up against November Whisky Fifty, the vehicle rocked from side to side from the impact.
“A thousand bucks on Shaka?” said Night.
“Make it two grand, Captain. I’m yet to see any man better Johan in a fight.”
“Done!”
All the radios on the police officer’s tac vests and shoulders came to life with an urgent call, the controller’s voice strained with urgency.
“Any November Whisky vehicles for a 66 Alpha in Wynberg come in for control!”
“Shit” said Night loud enough to grab the two Sergeants’ attention. “That’s a gang rape in progress…”
Chapter Seventeen
The two giants looked at Night awaiting more information.
“Control, this is No-Whisky Fifty, that’s Bramley’s area but we’ll take it for you if there’s no one else?”
“Thank you, Captain. I have zero Bravo Lima vehicles booked on duty yet after the night shift booked off. Please respond to this for me, I’ve had two calls about it already and it sounds worse than usual.”
“Ja, send it for us control, we’re in Balfour Park, so we’re pretty close, send!”
The four Norwood police officers piled into November Whisky Fifty ready to respond and the controller gave them the address.
“You coming boet?” Kalahari asked Johan.
The STF Sergeant took only a moment to decide.
“Ja, hey! Why not, I fucking hate rapists!”
“Steven, move over to the middle.”
Johan climbed into the vehicle behind Night squeezing up against Dlamini, his wide shoulders pinning the young man against Kalahari.
“Fuck, I hope this is close, hey, it’s bloody cozy in here!”
The men laughed as Night finished taking the address from the controller.
“That’s that problem shebeen about two mikes from here, we’re close. Let’s roll gents.”
The atmosphere in the vehicle quickly became severe as radio control explained that the two complainants who called the police described how they were walking past the bar on Louis Botha Avenue on their way to work when a group of very drunk men had grabbed their friend, quickly ripping her clothes off before dragging her inside the establishment and locking the doors. They said they could hear their friend screaming and the sound of men laughing and encouraging their friends to ‘fuck the bitch.’
The police officers steeled themselves to what they were going to find. All of them, bar the young student, were well versed in dealing with South Africa’s gargantuan rape problem. According to a report by the United Nations Office on Crimes and Drugs South Africa was ranked first for rapes per capita. Other reports suggested a woman was raped in South Africa every 26 seconds.
In one study nearly three out of every four men who admitted rape stated that they had first forced a woman or girl into sex before the age of 20 and nearly one in ten before the age of 10.
Responding with lights and sirens blaring in an attempt to hopefully scare the men off of their victim, one minute and forty eight seconds later Night’s crew pulled up outside ‘Takalani’s Beer N’ Lager Paradise Bar, Restaurant and Barber’.
“Control, November Whisky Fifty break, 66 Alpha, Wynberg.”
As the police officers quickly piled out of the vehicle they noticed that a growing mob had gathered outside of the heavy wooden doors to the establishment. The sound of a woman screaming and men jeering could be heard from beyond the doors.
“Dlamini, give me that” Night took the MP5 from the student and a magazine for the weapon from Sahara. He cycled the weapon and made it ready “Kal, take my shotgun”… “Dlamini, get your pepper spray out.”
The five police officers forced their way to the head of the crowd and in front of the doors. Night looked at Shaka before trying the door handle, it was locked.
“It’s always best to check first, you never know. Zulu, open her for us?”
“My pleasure, brother.”
But before Sergeant Shaka could begin working on opening the door Johan took a small run up and began kicking at the door.
“Police, open up!”
The doors were obviously reinforced and as Sahara kicked at it members of the angry mob started shouting their encouragement.
“Get in there, kill them all.”
“Kill the Tstotsis (Criminals)!”
Night quickly got on his radio and called for backup, not to deal with the rapists inside but for the aftermath and the mob justice he was sure would follow if they weren’t able to sufficiently saturate the area with police units.
“Control, I need all the backup you can send, quite a mob has gathered here and I can see people already looking for tires and fire.”
“Copy that, Captain. All vehicles on this channel stand by…”
The controller then issued a channel wide call for backup, effectively giving all units on the channel permission to leave their areas of jurisdiction and respond to the call. Within moments dozens of vehicles in a 20KM radius would be headed to the call to assist their brothers, dropping whatever else they were doing.
A shopkeeper now approached Night accompanied by two crying and highly distressed women.
“Officer, these are the two women that called you, their friend was taken... I run the shop next door and I also called the police. Those bastards in there have been drinking all night, the council and the red ants are due to close this shithole this afternoon… this is not the first time they have done something like this.”
Night looked at the shopkeeper and then noticed a container of petrol in his free hand.
Sahara had given up on trying to kick the door down and had now let Shaka take over. The doors slowly seemed to be giving way under the onslaught.
“What’s your name?”
“Ali, sir.”
“How many men do you think are in there?”
“I’m not sure boss, maybe seven or eight.”
The shopkeeper and the two women were pushed from behind as the crowd grew to at least two dozen people now all baying for blood.
“Dlamini keep the civvies back, spray them if you have to!”
“Are any of them armed do you know?”
“Just one I think, the owner, he has a shotgun he keeps behind the bar.”
“Back exit?”
The shop keeper hesitated, his eyes shifting left and then right before answering.
“No, no other entrance to the place.”
Student constable Dlamini now waved his pepper spray at the people creating a semi-circle of space around the entrance while shouting commands for the crowd to step back. Night quickly moved to his side to whisper in his ear.
“Remember, Dlamini. Just keep them at bay but don’t make enemies out of them or they’ll turn on us.”
Night was relieved to hear the sound of many sirens responding to his call for backup.
Night turned back to the door to see that Shaka had now expended his energy.
“Gentlemen, now you’ve both weakened the doors may I suggest that you work together, side by side, and shoulder charge that damn door to pieces?”
The two powerhouses looked at each other and nodded and lined up next to one another then took a few steps backwards, knocking one of the mob to the floor accidentally and then charged as one. The frame cracked and the doors folded inwards slightly.
“Two more like that and we’re in!” said Night.
Another Norwood police vehicle had finally pulled up and Night could see two Sandringham vehicles flooring it towards them down Louis Botha Avenue. Behind them Night noticed the blacked out Subaru Impreza carrying the STF men racing to the scene. The sound of police sirens was now deafening and could be heard for miles around.
The two Sergeants collided with the door again, it was
now almost open.
“One more time, gentlemen!”
Night then grabbed hold of the Norwood Warrant Officer who had arrived.
“Warrant, once we’re in I need you to take control out here, use the vehicles and some police tape to create a barrier, plenty of backup is arriving, only let the STF men in that vehicle there… follow us in once they’ve arrived or else it will just turn in to one hell of a cluster fuck inside. And when more units are here start taking the tires, sjamboks and petrol from people… like Ali over here…”
Night looked around for the little shop keeper but the man had disappeared as had the two female complainants who were with him along with some of the outraged mob.
“And when you feel you have everything in control here and only then, get a couple of units round the back of this place... and with fire extinguishers if you can find any.”
As Shaka and Sahara collided with the heavy wooden doors for a third time they finally shattered them and created an opening large enough for the police officers to enter. The two Sergeants came away from the doors ready to stack up to the left of the opening in preparation to breach.
“Kal, take the lead. I’ll come in behind you, Sahara you’re next, then Zulu come in last and be ready to tackle any filth still on top of the woman as we clear the room.”
Night locked eyes with the young student constable who was looking at him pleadingly and the burden of command struck him hard. He deliberated in thought for just a moment while his veterans stacked up. To deny the young man entry might shatter his confidence while allowing him in the stack might put all their lives at risk. The aspiring police constable had his hand on the grip of his firearm but tellingly had not drawn it yet. Decision made. Night addressed the young man.
“Dlamini, stand here… and once you see the back of Shaka enter this shit hole move into the doorway blocking entry until the other STF boys arrive and watch our backs… call out anything you see that you think we’ve missed.”
Night then returned the student’s nod of understanding and slightly crouched behind Kalahari, putting his left hand on the Warrant Officer’s shoulder while bringing his MP5 to the low ready position with his right. He felt Sahara’s hand on his right shoulder and from the corner of his eye saw Shaka do the same to Johan and then said: “GO, GO, GO!”
Night In London (Night Series Book 2) Page 20