Chapter 24

Don indicated to us that he and Mai-Loan are going back up the ridge, to the top. I followed slowly and set the helicopter down on a relatively level open spot. Nadia’s head was on a swivel, as she scanned the surroundings for any sign of life. Except for birds that fluttered away in fright as we landed, there was nothing to be seen.

Don approached the helicopter, opened the back door, and placed the headset on his head while still standing outside the helicopter. Mai-Loan took up a defensive pose about thirty metres away, scanning the bush with her FN rifle at the ready.

“Some tracks are leading off to the west along the ridge,” Don said into the intercom. “Mai and I will follow them. Pick us up at the bottom, or where the tracks lead us.”

“I’ll circle you, scanning from above. If we spot anything, we’ll come to get you,” I instructed.

“Good! We’re gone,” Don said, took off the headset, and stowed it. He closed and locked the helicopter door and joined Mai-Loan. I waited until the two of them started along the ridge, then took off, and flew out about 150 metres to take up a CAP flight sequence. (Combat Air Patrol: flying a tactical pattern around and screening ground forces, while looking out for incoming attackers.) With the sun now climbing higher up in the eastern sky I elected to fly a right-hand circle pattern, thus giving Nadia, on the right side of the cockpit, an unobstructed view of the terrain below.

“There’s something to the west of the downward slope,” Nadia said. “I can’t see it clearly, but it’s not a rock or a tree.”

“Let’s go see,” I said and flew slowly towards where Nadia indicated.

“There! It stopped. Standing still,” Nadia said, and I found the object just as she spoke.

“It’s a leopard!” I exclaimed.

“What’s a leopard doing here?” Nadia asked.

“They roam these parts; stay out here on the hills. Sometimes they come down and get some takeaways on the fields below, otherwise they stay here. They’re about three of them in these hills. Two females and a big male.”

“Brr!” Nadia said. “And you want me to live here?”

“Why? They won’t bother you. Just know they are around. Same with the caracals, and jackals around here,” I said.

“What’s a caracal?” Nadia asked, looking at me with big eyes.

“A rooikat,” I replied. “They are also known as a lynx, but not of the same species. Smaller than a leopard, but bigger than a serval cat.

“What’s a serval cat? Nadia asked, eyes still bigger.

I chuckled. “Think of a miniature leopard. Yellow with spots, but the size of a medium dog. I’ll show you pictures when we get home.”

“I think, if I stay here, I’ll have to wear my Makarov every day,” Nadia said.

“It’s not so bad. They won’t bother you. Ask Mai-Loan, she’s had a run-in with a leopard before and the leopard ran off. Not even trying to attack her,” I said.

“Oh, yeah! Maybe it was not hungry. With my luck, it will swallow me whole and just spit out my shoes!” Nadia said. “At least you will have something to remember me by.” Giggle.

Suddenly I remembered Lucy using those same words. Funny how similar these girls are; diverse, but similar. And how do you explain that? Different lifestyles, different nationalities, yet of one mind and soul. No wonder I fell for them.

By this time, we were approaching the leopard. It stood motionless, looking up at us as if used to the helicopter. Watching us with big yellow eyes; the mouth half-open as if to try and pick up our scent.

“It’s magnificent...” Nadia said.

“Also, a killing machine, but some stray ones had been domesticated. Real pussy-cats.” I said.

Giggle. “Are you gonna ‘domesticate’ me?” Nadia said with her eyes laughing with the big grin on her face.

“I have already,” I said under my breath, but these stupid boom mikes pick up everything.

“Oh, yeah!” Nadia giggled. “Remember; you can take the cat out of the bush, but you can’t take the bush out of the cat.” Her eyes sparked with a naughty glint behind those aviator sunglasses. “Or are you gonna ‘domesticate’ me, like in the circus, with long whips and stuff?” Giggle.

I remained silent.

In the meantime, the leopard decided that it’s not going to endure the helicopter any longer. She turned sideways, jumped out over the ledge with a flick of her hind legs, and disappeared down the slope to the north. Direction — airfield. I better go and warn Don and Mai about the cat.

(What happened to Daiki?) Daiki saw the helicopter fly over from the west to the east, low along the ridge. He then knew that he was spotted and that the helicopter was searching for him. Damn! This is not good. He is now, in the proverbial words, between the devil and the deep blue sea. The helicopter on top and the leopard down below.

Daiki looked to where the leopard was. He could only make out the silhouette of the animal. Then the helicopter came back. The helicopter must have spotted the leopard because it went into a hover about the leopard’s location. A moment later the leopard turned and jumped down the ledge on the north side and disappeared from his sight. The helicopter turned in the hover towards where the leopard went over the ledge. Now is his chance. While the helicopter is watching the leopard, he must move. Down to the west and the car.

Daiki stood up and moved around the rock he was sitting beside. Ducking low he moved away to the west. He looked over his shoulder, and saw the helicopter moving to the east. Yes, they will be out of sight in a few seconds. And so will he.

(Back to Don and Mai-Loan.) Don was tracking the footprints in the soil in front of him. Mai-Loan kept an eye on the surrounding vegetation. Don had been trained as a visual tracker years before, while he and Joe were still non-commissioned officers in the South African Police Service. When it was still the SAPS and not the comedy it has become. Lucky for Joe, he got to join Interpol. Don got out; took his discharge and started his own business. His passion, flying.

As Don stopped to check the direction that the tracks led, the helicopter came back along the ridge line, spotted them and came down, hovering close to the ground. Something was up.

Don went over to the helicopter.

“There’s a leopard around towards the west, north-west. Looks like we startled it, and it went down to the airfield side,” I said, after Don placed the headset on his head.

Oh, great! I don’t need to get involved with a leopard. Wait! We saw a leopard kill in the tree at that campsite. Maybe the leopard was after the Japanese guy.”

“Could be, but we have seen nothing of any human so far,” I responded. “Maybe he has a head start. Get Mai-Loan and get on board. We’ll fly out towards that car the girls saw. Maybe we could get hold of him there.”

“Good idea!” Don said, motioned to Mai-Loan to join him, and got into the helicopter.

With Mai-Loan and Don aboard, we took off and flew along the ridge line, down towards where Mai-Loan indicated the car was. The day was heating up. Not much, but I could feel the turbulence of the updraught developing at the north side of the hill. If you’re a sailplane driver, you would love this.

“Under the trees on the east side of the road,” Mai-Loan said as we got near the road leading north-south, past the turn-off to Don’s airfield. I flew at treetop height along the road, just high enough to clear any communication or electric cables spanning from wooden pole to wooden pole, along the road.

“There, about a hundred metres from the turn-off. It’s under that big acacia tree,” Mai-Loan pointed. I flew on. All eyes were on the lookout for the car. I flew past the tree and the turn-off.

“Damn!” Don said. “It’s gone. He has beaten us to the car.”

“What now?” Nadia asked.

“Let’s call it a day and go home,” Mai-Loan said.

“Yeah, I’ll second that,” Don replied, looked at me and grinned. “Home, James, and don’t spare the horses!” I laughed. Don got me with my very own saying.

(Daiki’s turn.) Daiki took his chance when the helicopter was facing away from his direction. With the leopard out of sight and the helicopter occupied, he jumped up and sprinted from tree cover to tree cover, until he could not see the helicopter anymore. He still heard it, but it was out of sight. That meant that the pilots in the helicopter could not see him either.

Taking a direct route down the slope, Daiki started to walk. If he stumbles and falls, he might injure himself, and if he injured himself to such an extent that he could not reach the car, he might become prey to the leopard again ... or worse, caught by the bitch pilot and her comrades.

Twenty minutes later, Daiki reached the car. As he got into the car, he took the key out of his pocket and started it. The engine fired straight away, and he placed the car in gear and drove out from under the trees where he had hidden the car. He turned left onto the road and sped off south.

About ten minutes later, Daiki turned left again, onto the N4 highway, in the direction of Pretoria and Johannesburg. He thought he saw a dark spot in the sky, far off to his left. The helicopter, still flying around the hill. Daiki laughed. Foiled the bitch and her scum!

(Don’s airfield.) We touched down and shut down the bird. Mai-Loan and Nadia took the rifles back to Don’s SUV. Laura and Tracy had the coffee maker in the hangar going and were doing something with bread and cold savoury meats that had my mouth watering. I realized I was hungry.

“Well, now we know that Jap boy is around. But what does he want here? It’s you he’s after,” Don said.

“Maybe all of us,” I said. “He may have just used the Impala to get to us all. He knew that both the Impala and the Buccaneer were in on the raid on the camp in Botswana. If he watched us from that hill, he surely would have seen both aircraft in your hangar.”

“True. So do you think that him being on the hill was a reconnaissance?” Don asked.

“Yip! Getting to know our movements and calculating the best time to strike,” I said.

“You’re getting good. Sure, not moonlighting for Joe? Undercover detective, or something,” Don asked with a smirk on his face and one eyebrow raised.

“Nope! But another observation: he doesn’t know you live on the other side of the hill,” I reasoned, “Else he would have been looking to that side and not at the airfield.”

“Yes, you are definitely moonlighting for Joe!” Don said. “Good point. So, what do we do now?”

“Have some coffee and sammies! I think better on a full stomach,” I said.

“Then grab a ‘hung’ sammie!” Tracy said and handed me a paper plate with a ham sandwich that looked like a meal on its own. “The best of Ireland and my favourite.”

“Thanks!” I said looking at the sandwich with a thick slice of ham and something else on it.

“I’ll go for the prison food one,” Don said, taking a corned beef sandwich from Laura. “I just like bully beef.” And Don bit into the sandwich. (Corned beef is known locally as ‘bully beef’ or ‘prison food,’ here in South Africa.)

“Meat out of a tin? Yeah, could be good if you’re hungry.” I said and took a bite into my sandwich.

“Hey man! There was a time in my life that I lived on this stuff. This and baked beans.”

“Don! Don’t speak with your mouth full!” Laura reprimanded.

“Yip! No matter how good you train them, Laura, they still tend to pee on the carpet,” Mai-Loan said, electing laughter all around.

When it was time to go, Don followed me to the helicopter, just a little ahead of Nadia and the rest of the girls.

“I heard that Nadia wants to go to Poland?” Don whispered to me.

“Yeah, said something about getting her Bible and say goodbye to her mom and dad’s graves,” I said. “I offered to go along, but she said she must do this alone.”

“Funny, Olivia had the idea to go clear up her business in the USA and the UK,” Don said. “Something about selling her assets in both countries, before she moves here.”

“So, why is it funny? I suppose all the angels have unfinished business to be taken care of, somewhere,” I said.

“Yes, true. Mai-Loan seems to have her stuff together. Investments all over the world. Oil, gold, silver, financial stocks, and a few apartments in Europe that she rents out. Don said.

“Mai-Loan’s the loner. But now that she’s settled here with you, she seems to be relaxed,” I said.

“Maybe so. Some days I get the feeling that she’s not so relaxed. Restless, as if something is still bugging her,” Don mused.

“And now she’s raising beef. Talk to her. Ask her what’s the matter. Maybe it’s only your imagination.”

“Yeah. Maybe so. I’ll wait for the right moment, and ask her.”

“What about Leah and Darya, have they expressed any desire to disappear for a while?” I asked.

“Nope. They seem to be doing okay. Darya is the quiet one. Don’t speak much, but always ready to go along with whatever we plan on doing. I think it’s more of that she is not so proficient in English. Thinks in Tajik, before she speaks in English,” Don said. “Else she looks perfectly relaxed and at ease.”

“So, what are you going to do with all these girls? Are you going to add another three?”

“OH, NO! I think the three angels are just going to cabin here until they can find a place of their own. All of them seem excited to be working in Angels Express Logistics. Leah already asked if she, Olivia, and Darya can club together and buy another Hercules!” Don said. “Expansion into Africa and Madagascar.”

I stood perplexed. These girls have that kind of money, but where is this heading? Do we have enough business to do that? The opportunity is there. But empty aircraft don’t make money.

“And who’s going to fly it?” I asked.

“We! You, Olivia, Leah, and me,” Don said. “We’ll rope in your three pilots too.”

“Make your sums again, mister accountant. You need a minimum of FOUR to operate one Hercules. We plus my three pilots makes seven. We’re short one! Where are we going to find that one?”

“Nadia?” Don spoke one name. “Why not Nadia?”

“To take her from nowhere, through PPL to commercial, will take a year. Then to covert her to multi-engine jet, another four months or so...”

“So? Start with her. By the time she’s ready, maybe the girls can get us an L100J,” Don grinned.

“Jurassic Park! The monsters have given birth. The eggs hatched. Heaven help us!” I exclaimed.

“At least, between you and me, we have TWO redheads!” Don whispered. “But fear not. I don’t think it will come to that. I told them to cool it. Chill out. Wait and see how the current venture goes, then decide on a way forward.”

“Thanks, buddy! For a moment I thought we were going to take over SAA.”

Don smirked. “No, buddy, I still want to live to be a hundred!”

“And die by being shot by a jealous ex-lover of your next girlfriend!”

Both Don and I laughed; Don slapping his knee while laughing. The girls joined us at the helicopter, looking at us laughing.

“Told you, it’s going to be a hard, long training to get these two near to presentable shape!” Mai-Loan pronounced, her hands on her hips, imitating a fuel pump.

Don looked at Mai-Loan, and said to me; “You know, one night an alien landed his spaceship next to a fuel-pump, then said to the fuel pump; ‘Take your fingers out of your ears and take me to your leader.’”

I was screaming with laughter. Both Laura and Mai-Loan swatted Don over the head. Nadia and Tracy just rolled their eyes.

(Somewhere in a hotel room in Johannesburg.)

“Where have you been,” Bheki Mahlangu asked. Daiki sat on the easy chair next to the window. He looked at Bheki.

“What is it to you, where I’ve been. It’s none of your concern,” Daiki responded. This is his fight and he’s in control. He doesn’t need to be bossed around by this South African.

“With your headstrong attitude, you’re gonna compromise this operation. This is South Africa, not Japan. Here we are in control,” Bheki said.

“I told you this is MY fight!” Daiki snarled. “I will give the orders and I will do what has to be done. You just DO as I command.”

“No, you listen to me, white boy! Your father paid good money for me and my team. You will do as I tell you. And I tell you to go back to the shithole you crawled out of. Africa will solve its own problems,” Bheki said. “The merchandise from Africa makes you rich, a rich capitalist white scum! So beat it back, before I slit your throat and leave your sorry carcass in a dumpster in Hillbrow.”

“You don’t speak to me like that! You will respect me,” Daiki demanded, fuming.

“Oh, you want respect. Do you know what respect is, you that is not from Africa? This is my country. Here I run the show. So, you get out of here and leave what has to be done for us to do. We will run the trade from here. You just go back and keep doing the wire transfers. You keep your butt out of Africa. We will supply and you keep sending the dollars. NOW PACK!” Bheki said.

Daiki knew that he is not going to win this argument. He made up his mind. He will go back to Japan. There he will organize his men. He needs to get rid of this arrogant man, Bheki, who thinks he is running the show. No, he will show Bheki how things will work. Bheki needs to go. But first, Daiki needs to get back to home ground and run the show from there.

“Okay,” Daiki said.

“Okay what, white boy?” Bheki asked.

“Okay, you piece of shit. I’ll go back to Japan. But just remember, you’re not the only one in Africa that can supply us,” Daiki said.