The Shudder Lingers

by David Vander

  Stacey set off and headed towards the first police station. She went inside and dropped the first envelope off with an officer at the front door; she merely pointed at the name and left the surprised officer standing with the envelope in his hand. As she walked away, she glanced over her shoulder, seeing him heading inside. She followed this up with envelope drops at three more police stations.

  Her next stop was a small corner grocery store, where she stopped to buy a cold drink, being careful to leave the envelope on the counter as she left.

  Her next stop was a restaurant, where she asked for the manager and left him a verbal message. By the time it was dusk, she had dropped off eight envelopes and passed on three verbal messages. Each message was met with a different response, either fear, surprise or anger.

  The following day she once again followed her routine, changing wigs and clothes several times during the day. By the end of the second day, she had done all of the drops except one and she had completed all of the verbal messages.

  To her surprise, not one person stopped to ask who she was or challenge her in any way. Given how each message was crafted, the recipient would be more interested in how they were impacted, than to worry about how the message came to them. As she headed to the safe house at the end of the day, she thought about how easy it was to create doubt and destroy trust, and she hoped that their planning, messaging and strategy would work. They assumed and hoped that it might take a few weeks before the criminal elements started turning on themselves.

  The following day she was up early, being extra careful in her disguise, as the last drop required her to enter the office building of WKJD. She took her time, and carefully stuck down the temporary tattoo that would add to the makeover for the day. She stepped back from the mirror and determined that she probably would not even recognise herself. She picked up the envelope, which contained photographs. The photos had been prepared for the recipient of the final envelope: Daniella.

  She was apprehensive as she took the taxi into the city centre, asking to be dropped off two blocks away from the offices. She stepped out of the taxi, feeling light headed, and held onto a streetlamp. It took her a while to steady herself, before she walked the two blocks to WKJD. She was tempted to glance around, but realised it may well alert anyone who was looking. She took a deep breath and entered the building, walking straight to the security desk on the ground floor.

  Stacey ensured that the baseball cap was pulled down, so that the security cameras could not pick up her face. She greeted the burly security officer, and asked, “Morning. Do you mind if I leave this envelope with you, and if I could ask you to take it up to the WKJD offices?”

  The security officer snapped, “I’m sorry, we cannot do that, you will have to take it up yourself.”

  Stacey felt her pulse increasing; she glanced back at the door, contemplating making a dash for it, and leaving the envelope there.

  She heard the security officer raising his voice, “Excuse me Sir, do you mind taking this envelope up for this lady?”

  Stacey looked up to see whom the security officer was talking to, and immediately her body quivered, as she recognised Cheung standing next to her. She slid the envelope across and mumbled “Thanks.”

  Without waiting for a reply, she turned for the exit door. She heard Cheung call after her, “Do I know you?”

  By this time, she was at the door; she half turned, and said in a guttural voice, “No” before turning and hitting the sidewalk at pace. It took several blocks of brisk walking before she calmed down, nervously realising how close she was to having been found out by Cheung.

  She stopped at a coffee shop and ordered a take-away cappuccino. Only once she received the cup, did she realise that she had no money on her. The coffee shop owner angered immediately, “Give it back, you people always try the same damn trick.”

  She felt insulted, and was about to argue, when an elderly gentleman behind her said, “Don’t worry, this one is on me. I get a sense that you do enough for others.”

  She felt like hugging the stranger, but simply said, “Thank you Sir. I appreciate it and have a great day.” It brought a smile to his face, and he nodded in appreciation.

  Relishing her first cappuccino in a while, she slowly made her way to the next rendezvous point. Once again she took her time approaching Gerald. He placed a packet of envelopes on the stone wall between them, and then pretended to have a coughing fit. This distraction allowed her to take the envelopes and slide them into her bag.

  Gerald said, “Word on the streets is that the messages and letters are starting to create signs of grumbling between the various gangs and the dirty police. More importantly is that the next shipment of drugs arrives tomorrow evening. We need to figure out a way of disrupting the shipment or having it seized by customs.”

  Stacey was about to reply when she felt a shudder running down her back, as she glanced across the park, she instantly picked out someone who looked vaguely familiar. She inched slightly away from Gerald, and said, “We are being watched. I’m getting out of here. Let’s meet again tomorrow.”

  Gerald was experienced enough not to question Stacey, and immediately pretended to have another coughing fit, beating his chest. This allowed Stacey to slip away and head for a clump of bushes that lined the street. She kept her hat pulled down and did not look up until she reached the bushes, before ducking in behind them. She then allowed herself to look back and seek out Gerald. Her heart literally stopped as she stared in disbelief as Gerald had been surrounded by several beefy-looking henchmen, and they were manhandling him towards a white panel van near the park. She also noticed at least two other henchmen scouring the park, obviously looking for her. Her head was spinning, but her body needed no second invitation, as she found herself running down the street in the opposite direction. She came across a small hotel and slipped into the hotel lobby before asking for the bathroom, where she waited for at least fifteen minutes before daring to move. Her mind however was far from still, as she mulled over what she saw, and fearing for Gerald’s safety. As she stared at herself in the mirror, she slowly came to the realisation that she was now totally on her own, and she had reached a crossroads where she needed to make a choice. She wiped her eyes, before giving herself an unwavering look, “You can do this Stacey. You have come so far; you cannot quit now.” She changed her disguise, said a silent prayer and confidently left the hotel bathroom.

  She exited the hotel, and confidently walked down the street, thinking that if they were looking for her, then appearing normal would not bring any attention upon herself. She caught a taxi to the Cape Flats and continued with the envelope drops and leaving a few verbal messages with the targeted individuals.

  She got back to the safe house after dark and set about making herself a meal. Her thoughts however were not on food, as she reflected on the events of the day, concerned that Gerald may not be alive.

  Chapter Fifty-Six

  After a restless night, filled with weird and scary dreams, Stacey was up early and decided to go for a long walk to clear her mind, and get some much-needed exercise. As she walked, she became cognizant that her dreams had been centred on a plan to intercept the drug shipment that was coming in that day. Her dreams however were focused on her being caught and what the criminal gangs might do to her. She recognised how doubt was creeping in and prayed that she could focus on the positive and the significant impact she could have on society if she could stop even one shipment.

  By the time she got home she had hatched a plan for intercepting the drug shipment, which required the need for someone to help, but she also knew that she needed bucket loads of luck. She tried not to overthink the situation, determined that simplicity would win the day. After a shower she walked a few blocks to a public payphone. She dialled a number and got through to Magriet, a number which they had agreed would only be used in an emergency, “Hi, this is Sarie. I need help please; I need someone to help me this afternoon. Please ask them to meet
me at the old harbour pub at four this afternoon. I also need them to bring a black SUV which I need to use for the afternoon only.”

  Magriet simply answered, “Consider it done. Be safe Sarie. Oh, by the way, have you heard from our mutual friend?”

  Stacey replied, “He was coerced into visiting the friends we don’t like that much.”

  Magriet replied, “Thanks. I’ll try and check in with him.”

  Stacey spent the morning preparing herself, watching some television and slowly pacing around the apartment. It was just after two in the afternoon when she left the safe house. She looked back and sensed that her days there were coming to an end. After being dropped off by the taxi, she sought out the harbour master’s office. She kept her sunglasses on and entered, enquiring about the arrival time of the ship containing the drug shipment.

  The officer on duty asked, “It arrives at six. Why do you ask?”

  She replied, “My boyfriend is a member of the crew. I just wanted to be here to make sure that he is OK.”

  Without waiting for any further response, she turned and headed for the exit, only briefly glancing back as she got to the door, enough to see the officer immediately on his mobile phone to someone. She wondered whom he might be calling.

  She then spent the next hour checking out the pier and finding an isolated section, which was needed for part of her plan later in the evening. She next headed to the old harbour pub where she had recently been with Gerald. She waited a few minutes, scanning to see if anyone looked suspicious, before heading inside. The pub was bustling with activity, filled with patrons, who, at best, could be described as rough characters. She noticed a young coloured man standing at the pub with two beers in front of him, and asked as she approached him, “Is the extra beer for Sarie?”

  He nodded, “Yup it is.” He picked it up and offered it to her.

  Taking only a tiny sip, she leant closer to the man, took out a rough pencil sketch and said, “Thanks for meeting with me. This is what I need you to do. At approximately five this afternoon, I need you to be waiting at the top of this street, which is the most obvious entrance to the harbour. Sometime after five thirty, a black SUV will approach the harbour and will be headed towards this pier. I need you to stop them and advise them of a massive military presence. Then tell them the pick-up has been delayed by two hours, on instruction from the boss.”

  Taking a sip of his beer he nodded, “Simple enough.” He handed her a set of car keys, “The black SUV is parked just down the street.”

  She slipped the keys into her pocket, “Thanks. I’ll meet you back here by seven and return the keys.”

  She went out, found the black SUV, and got inside. She dug into her shoulder bag and changed her sweater and her wig. She then left the black SUV and once again checked out the harbour, pier and vicinity, walking through her plans for the next two hours in infinite detail. She tried to plan for the eventuality that things could go wrong, but chose rather to focus on the positive, saying to herself, “Failure is not an option.”

  She waited patiently in a side alley, and her heart raced as she saw the ship coming into the harbour, and glancing at her cheap watch, she noted that it was in fact slightly early, which suited her plans. She waited until the ship was busy with its final docking manoeuvres before she walked back to the black SUV. She sat behind the steering wheel, took a deep breath, and started the vehicle. Even though she was confident, she realised that her whole plan rested on the coloured man being able to divert the real black SUV that would have been sent for the stainless steel boxes.

  She drove the short distance from where she was parked and drove up next to the docked ship and parked alongside the gangway. She felt her anxiety levels rise but took confidence in having previously witnesses the collection from the stakeout room. Walking onto the gangway, she was caught off guard as a swell rocked the boat, forcing her to grab the ropes with both hands. Steadying herself, she got to the top of the gangway and was immediately stopped by two heavyset sailors. Her first observation was that both were armed, and large hand guns were evident underneath their light shirts.

  The taller of the two stepped in front of her, and in a heavy accent asked, “Who the hell are you? What are you doing on this ship?”

  Stacey dug deep, and softly said in her rehearsed accent, “I am here to pick up the shipment.”

  “Bullshit. Where are the regular guys? What’s going on?”

  With new found bravado, she replied, “I’m plan B. The boss got wind of a police sting. They have set up a massive road block outside of the harbour. The normal pick-up team are being held up and interrogated. We don’t have much time. Please get some of your guys to unload for me. If we don’t move the police could be all over us in minutes.”

  The second sailor chipped in, “I’m not sure about this.”

  Stacey allowed him no time to contemplate, “Do you really want to piss the boss off? You might not live to see the sunrise tomorrow morning.”

  The two sailors looked at each other, and immediately headed back onto the ship. Moments later each of them were seen approaching the gangway with a stainless steel box. Stacey confidently turned on her heel, headed down the gangway and opened the rear of the SUV. The sailors followed her and stowed the two boxes in the trunk and retreated back to the ship.

  Stacey slammed the trunk closed, and climbed back into the driver’s seat, saying aloud, “That was just too easy.” She glanced nervously around and noticed the two sailors at the top of the gangway, animatedly talking to another burly man, gesticulating wildly in her direction. She started the engine and rapidly pulled away from the pier.

  She drove the short distance to the secluded section of the harbour, which was well out of view, and backed up the SUV until it was less than a metre from the water’s edge. It was getting dark, and as she got out, she heard a sound, and then she could make out someone running towards her. Panic set in as she tried to weigh up her options. She decided to get back into the SUV and drive off, but by the time she could feel her legs moving the man was almost on top of her. She braced herself, anticipating either a bullet or to be whacked by something.

  She was so gripped with fear, that it took her a while to hear the sound of Gerald’s voice, “It’s OK Stacey. It’s me Gerald.” She felt the relief rip through her body. As he went to the back of the SUV, he continued “I see that you have managed to intercept the drug shipment. I don’t know how, but clearly you are a genius.” He looked at the dark choppy water below and said, “Furthermore, I like your idea of dropping it into the ocean.”

  By now she had recovered from the fright she had got, “Geez, you gave me a fright, but I’m chuffed that you are OK Gerald. When they grabbed you yesterday, I feared for the worst. How did you get away?”

  Gerald replied, “Give me a hand please” as he tugged at the first stainless steel box. She leant forward and helped him with the box, balancing it on the edge of the pier. With a quick shove it was sent hurtling down to the water below. Within seconds, the second box went the same way. They both stared into the dark water, realising that they had just thrown away a significant stash of drugs which would obviously annoy Daniella.

  Stacey asked again, “Well, how did you get away?”

  Gerald chuckled, “Well as luck would have it, one of our letters was sent to a gang working for Daniella. They probably would have killed me, but I indicated that I was one of Daniella’s trusted informants, and that if they did anything to me, she would have them killed. The letter we sent them indicated that one of them was a traitor working for the police, and I heard them challenging each other as to who it might be. While they were arguing, I managed to loosen the cable ties they used, and simply slipped out of a window. I figured that you would make a plan for tonight, so I tracked and followed you around all afternoon.”

  Stacey paused, “You have been following me?”

  He laughed, “I’m an old hand at this, and you are still a novice. Anyway, if I was you, I
would get out of here, because the gangs will soon find out that someone has stolen their precious cargo.”

  She nodded, “Agreed. Thanks Gerald. I will lay low tomorrow, so let’s meet again the day after.” They agreed a meeting place, and once again she jumped behind the wheel and sped off.

  She avoided the area where the ship was and parked nearby the old pub. The coloured guy from earlier was waiting for her, and jumped straight in behind the wheel, before saying, “Those guys were really pissed off and started making calls. I think they will probably know by now that it was all a ruse. Can I give you a lift?”

  She contemplated it, but then declined. He shrugged his shoulders and started driving down the road. She was still watching the black SUV when she heard two vehicles approaching from behind her, clearly driving at speed. She jumped out of the way, only to realise that they had in fact seen the black SUV and were chasing it. She heard a gunshot as a passenger in the first car fired a shot after the black SUV. Even at a distance, she could hear the SUV accelerate, and it soon disappeared around a corner. Realising that she was still in danger, she walked briskly away from the harbour area, having to cover at least two kilometres before she could find a taxi. Only once she was in the taxi did she breathe a sigh of relief, also hoping that the coloured man got away safely.

  As usual, she got dropped off several blocks away from the safe house. Walking back there, she became aware of the silence. The streets in the neighbourhood usually had children running around, or old folk chattering, but tonight it was silent. She gazed ahead and under the dim street lights, she saw four dark SUVs outside of the safe house and came to the grim realisation that the safe house had been compromised. She slipped into a dark driveway, and peered around the corner, able to make out that there were several armed men outside of the safe house. She stood paralysed, and thankful that she had not been caught inside. She stayed hidden in the dark driveway for about thirty minutes before she heard the SUVs drive off. She peeked again and noted that two vehicles were slowly driving in her direction, obviously looking for her. She forced herself behind a thorn bush, which scratched at her face as she pushed her way inwards. Eventually the two vehicles were gone, and she was left wiping away a trickle of blood.