Chapter 16

Don and I elected to go and sit in the air-conditioned “Galitos” restaurant, while the female contingent assaulted the local “Woolworths,” the “Pep Stores,” and “Footgear” shops. The object of the mission was to get swimwear.

The girls, after flying and driving in, discovered to their excitement and dismay that there was a pool in Kwela camp. The dismay was that not one of them packed any swimwear. Leah, Olivia, Darya, and Nadia did not own swimwear. That was understandable, but Lisa, Lucy, Mai-Loan, Laura, and Tracy, “forgot” to pack swimwear. Guess whose credit card got a workout? Yeah, you’re right.

That’s how we ended up in Musina, the biggest town around, one hundred kilometres away. Nine girls, Don and me. Lisa’s poor bakkie, five inside and six in the back was not an option; the bakkie’s bed is too small. Some other plan had to be made.

So Don and I, together with Nadia, Lucy and Darya flew. The remaining six went in the bakkie, with two sitting down in the bed. Much giggling and laughter were heard. That’s how we got everyone to Musina, and also had a car to drive around.

The swimwear I could understand, but footwear? Oh yes, flip-flops to wear to and from the pool. Good. Don just smiled and took the menu.

“Chill Bro. It won’t be so bad. Laura is good, Tracy and Mai-Loan too, and I suppose Lisa as well.” Don said. “She’ll look after Lucy. Don’t worry.”

“Nah, I don’t worry; let them enjoy themselves,” I said, looking at the menu for something other than a plastic 30% coffee and 70% chicory blend. I found “Douwe Egbert’s Pure Gold” 100% Coffee. Better than nothing, if you could believe them.

This is rural South Africa. Here English is a foreign language. Heaven help Olivia, with her American accent, or Darya. Leah could get by with her little Dutch vocabulary. Nadia is okay; at least she speaks Dutch and Flemish. Flemish is very close to Afrikaans. I suppose Lisa and Lucy will act as interpreters.

“So, what’s up with the little red head? Yours, not mine,” Don asked.

“Why’s she suddenly my little redhead?” I counter asked. Don smirked.

“Well...” Don said.

“Don’t ‘well’ me, Don. Spill-it,” I said.

“Well, according to Tracy, she’s making goo-goo eyes at you. She said something in the line of;” and Don imitates the falsetto voice of a girl: “If he can’t make up his mind about Lisa and Lucy, I’ll be here waiting.”

“Who told you that?”

“Tracy AND Mai-Loan,” Don said. “It was during a discussion about boyfriends and whatever else they had as a topic of the moment.”

“You know, Don, a few weeks back I didn’t think about a girlfriend. Now... , I don’t know what to think. Lisa, Lucy, and now you tell me the little redhead Angel is also in the mix.”

“Watch her. Watch when she’s around you. She is smitten with you,” Don said, smiling, as the waiter came over to take our order.

“That’s what Lisa says about Lucy. And what Lucy says about Lisa. The girls are confusing me. Maybe ... just maybe, I should just play along. See what happens,” I said.

“Take it from me. Go with your feeling, about ‘The One,’ and let the rest sort itself out. Worked for me!”

“Yes. Good advice. Is that how you ended up with a wife and two girlfriends?” I asked.

“Don’t worry about it now. There’s still time. Enjoy our break and let Pete run your business. And while we are relaxing here, check out the cat in the tree,” Don said. “Now, drink your coffee. There’s wildlife to spy out!”

“The wildlife here in Musina, or the wildlife, wildlife in the reserve?” I asked, grinning at Don.

“Both!” Don replied.

“What about the other Angels? What’s gonna happen after the holiday?” I asked.

“I don’t know. They’ll maybe just disappear back to where they came from. There’s no action for them here, and besides, they all have some sort of thing going for themselves.”

“We’ll need pilots, and maybe a hostess or two,” I said.

“Yeah, we need pilots. Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Don asked.

“Maybe. It is worth a try.” I said.

“Good. Let’s sleep on it.” Don said, and I wondered how this came about: Don and I, joining forces in the aviation business. We talked about it and ran thoughts about a joint venture. Passengers and cargo; mostly cargo. We’ll need a bigger aircraft. Don’s got access to a PC-24. Maybe we could lease it.

“Buddy, you got that look in your eye. What’s up?” Don asked, breaking my train of thought.

“A PC-24. Know where we can get one?”

“Whoa, Buddy! You’re talking 129 million there,” Don said.

“How about a Boeing 737? If we go to cargo, we need something to cart it with, besides, I know of a good second hand one. SAA is reducing, and their SA Air-link Boeing 737 fleet is sitting idle,” I said. “There are rumours on the corner that they might file for bankruptcy. Word of mouth though.”

“And what do you think you’re gonna cough up for a second hand Boeing 737?” Don asked.

“Three-hundred million. But that’s near new. The one I’m thinking of, about half that. Just a wee bit more than a PC-24, and we can pack three times the cargo that a PC-24 can handle,” I said.

“Who’s gonna fly it?” Don asked, sipping coffee, but I could see the gears turning behind his eyes.

“Olivia is type rated; she can fly it. Mai-Loan, Leah, you and me, we can get rated too.” I said, smiling.

“I created a monster,” Don sighed, took a sip of his coffee, and grinned over the rim of his cup at me.

“A Boeing 737 you say; let me run the numbers,” Don said. “We might have to extend the runway too.”

It was about then when the female contingent, all nine of them, came into the restaurant giggling and laughing. Lisa plopped down next to me with Lucy taking up the other side of me. Nadia took up a position next to Lucy. Colourful packages were plentiful and carefully placed near each of the girls’ feet.

“So, how was shopping?” I asked.

“Got some stuff I really needed,” Lisa said. “Lucy too.” I wondered about the “stuff really needed,” statement.

“Well, looks like you’re happy. You wanna drink something?” I asked the three girls on my side of the table.

“Something cold, like an ice cream soda float,” Nadia said, smiling at me with a twinkle in her eyes.

“Make that two,” Lisa said.

“Sounds like something good. I’ll have one too,” Lucy said.

“Good. Three soda floats coming up,” I said as I signalled the waiter, who was hovering in the background.

In the meantime, Don was having about the same discussion with the other girls. Darya seemed a bit lost, so I asked her if she wanted a float, too.

“Yes, that would be nice. Thanks, Dave,” Darya said.

I suddenly noticed the way Nadia seemed to gravitate to my side and the sparkle in her eyes if I talk to her. Did Lisa or Lucy notice it too? I also noticed how Lisa and Lucy seem to click together with Nadia. What is happening here, or am I getting paranoid?

With the girls all sipping ice cream floats, the talk around the table was about the shopping and the town itself. And also how the town compared to similar towns in the USA, Germany and Switzerland. Darya told us about villages in the mountains of Tajikistan.

There was a consensus reached that if we leave straight away after refreshments, we’ll be in time for a swim before supper. And after supper, maybe an evening game drive.

This seemed to be the right thing to do, so Lisa told the girls to wait at the restaurant while she takes Don, Laura, Lucy, Nadia, and me back to the airport. She would then pick up the rest and get going back to Kwela camp, a hundred kilometres away.

I looked at Lisa and thought that all this driving could be just a bit much for her. Her leg still needed to be supported by crutches, but she just left the crutches and was walking without them.

“Not overdoing it a bit, are we?” I asked Lisa.

“Maybe, the leg hurts a little, but I need to get the exercise,” Lisa said.

“Don’t overdo it. Let me take the bakkie back, and you fly with Don to Kwela,” I said.

“Will you?” Lisa asked.

“For you, I will kill the bull.” I said.

“Lucky I don’t have a sister!” Lisa said.

“Why?” I asked.

“For ah you, I kill a da bull, for your sissta, I kill a you!” Lisa laughed and gave the complete little rhyme.

“Nope. You’re safe. You don’t have a sister,” I said.

“What about Lucy? She’s my sister, you know. Lisa said smirking with big, laughing eyes. “And I’m thinking about adding another!”

“Nope. There’s only one Lisa.” I said, taking the bakkie keys she was handing me, wondering who the other sister might be.

“Good! We’ll discuss this further after supper,” Lisa said. “NOW, don’t drive fast with my bakkie, keep to the speed limit and observe the rules of the road!”

“Yes dear,” I sighed

“What, you got him pussy whipped already?” Olivia interjected.

“No ... I ... only meant...” Lisa said, not completing her answer while blushing bright red.

“What’s pussy whipped?” Lucy asked. The girls all looked at Lucy, not saying a word.

“I’ll tell you later.” Tracy said to Lucy. Lucy just looked at everyone with a question on her face.

With seating arrangements sorted out, I was left with Tracy, Olivia, Leah, Darya and Nadia with me in the bakkie. I took the flying part of the gang to the airport. Lisa could fly back with Don, Laura, Mai-Loan and Lucy, so Lisa could rest her leg. Five in the helicopter and six in the bakkie, counting me also.

Now I have battery acid and dynamite riding along with me. I’ll have to make sure that Nadia and Tracy, the redheads, are kept apart. Chaos may ensue between the two of them.

We were not far out of town when chaos did erupt between the left front seat and the right rear seat of the bakkie. I nearly rolled the bakkie. The chatter was mostly about the stuff they bought, and bags came out so the girls could see each other’s purchases.

What I did not count on was something like this:

“Ooh! I bought the same one only in green,” Nadia said in reply to Darya showing off her bikini.

“Show me,” Tracy said. “It will go perfect with your hair.”

“Well, everyone will soon see it, so let me show you,” Nadia replied.

What I did not expect was that she was wearing her bikini, and her blouse and shorts came off next to me in the left front seat. Giggles and laughter sounded, and as I said, I nearly rolled the bakkie.

A hundred and five pound, skinny, twenty-year old redhead unwrapped herself from a blouse and denim shorts. Turning half around towards the others in the back, she gave me a perfect view of her slender body, small boobs, and long slender legs. Covered of course, but imagination is imagination, right?

“Ta-daa!” Nadia said, amid laughter and giggles.

“Wait!” Tracy said. “I’m also wearing mine. Let me show you!” And the cute fourteen-year-old, (nearly fifteen) stripped away her shorts and t-shirt in the back of the bakkie, revealing a green one-piece swimsuit that did not hide too much of the athletic body beneath. Dynamite and battery acid. The one reacting violently with the other. Well not too violent, but not good for anyone else’s nerves.

Yeah, soon it was a riot in the bakkie, and I was blushing, trying to concentrate on driving straight. Meanwhile, Darya and Leah, encouraged by Olivia, Tracy and Nadia, tried to get into their swimsuits. Not even trying to hide sensitive parts.

I was told to “just look straight ahead.” Yeah, why are there rear-view mirrors in cars? I’ll give you rear-view mirror 101, if you want. Oh yeah, the running air-conditioner was not helping either, perking up things that push out little dotty things on swimsuit tops. Boy! This will be a long hundred-kilometre drive!

(So, what are Daiki and his friends up to?)

By this time Daiki came to the conclusion that The Major did not make it. There was too much evidence pointing to the fact that the authorities had information about The Major and his whereabouts. It could even be possible that they, the authorities, know about his father’s operation. That is why the ship was tracked; information he got from a reliable source deep inside the government, someone with ties to Botswana, South Africa, and a lot of Asian countries. Daiki’s father did not want to let on, but Daiki had a suspicion that his father had close ties with some diplomats as well.

This has now become an international affair. Daiki could not figure out how he could go about getting all the information he needed. He thought that getting info on the aircraft would be a starting point. He might be able to track down that Vietnamese girl and get her to tell him what he needs to know. Although she may only be a pawn in this game; a pilot with a mission briefing. But she might know where the mission instruction came from.

Who were the three black-clad soldiers? That is a mystery he needs to solve. They were obviously Japanese, else why would a note in Japanese be left behind for someone to find?

Suddenly Daiki went cold. The note was left for who to find? Who knew that he was in the country? Who anticipated that he, Daiki, would come and search the campsite? How did they know that someone would come at all?

Was he watched as he and his companions went into the camp? Was there someone, somewhere watching the camp, while he and his companions were inside? Someone who had seen them enter and exit the camp site?

Daiki was now very uncomfortable. He didn’t know if he was under surveillance by the authorities or maybe by some rival syndicate. He has to watch his step. Maybe he and his companions should get out of Gabarone, maybe out of the country. But where to go?

Daiki looked at his companions. They were sitting watching TV. Daiki stood up and walked over to the little kitchenette of the suite they were in. He found something very tasty here in Africa: coffee, coffee from Kenya. It was supplied as a welcome treat to them in the suite. Okay. His father would maybe kill him, but so what? This coffee is very tasty.

“Anyone for coffee?” Daiki asked, as he started the prep for the brew. One of Daiki’s companions looked up from his smartphone that he had been playing with for about an hour.

“That black stuff with lots of sugar? Yes, I’ll have some, and by the way, I have a positive ID on the silver plane of yours. Not something you’re gonna like.”

(Meanwhile in Kwela Camp, Mapungubwe.)

I did survive the hundred-kilometre drive. How? I don’t know, I just survived and got back to Kwela without injury. Remind me next time not to be such a gentleman and volunteer to do something for a damsel in distress. But if that damsel would be Lisa or Lucy, I’ll do it again and again. I just need to choose my travel companions better. Or stay away from redheads ... explosive I say.

The swim went off with the usual riot of females all over the world. Noisy and splashing a lot of water. Diving and chasing one another was the order of the day. It went on for about two hours, until the elephants came for their afternoon drink.

Then there was a mad scramble out of the pool. Laughter and astonishment as these majestic animals came down the slope and made for the pool to drink. Hey, water is water, and this one is devoid of mud and muck.

Then came drying off in the sun and lying on lounge chairs along the grassy part of the pool. Not good at all for my nerves. Nine girls from teenage to about late twenties, lying in various poses in skimpy bikinis. Not good at all. Neither was Lisa coming over and sitting down on my lap. Not good for my health, or should I say, little Dave’s health. He’s got a mind of his own, and admiration for young skinny girls in bikinis.

Lisa snaked an arm around my neck, and I noticed the glances from Lucy and Nadia.

“So, how was the bakkie behaving?” Lisa asked, grinning.

“Driving well, and very responsive,” I said.