Chapter 13

November 14, 05:50 SAST. Newlands Safe house.

Another glorious day dawned over the city and the southern suburbs; cloudless and with the promise of one of those rare blistering days in Cape Town. The temperature was forecast to reach 28 or even 32 Celsius, although this may be sort-lived as a cold front was blowing in from the South Atlantic. Forecasts say that it might reach the Cape by 14:00 tomorrow. Yes, Cabo Das Tormentas will be living up to its name, given to the fairest Cape of all by the Portuguese explorer Bartholomew Dais around the fourteen hundreds. Nowadays, it’s called The Cape of Good Hope.

The visit to the clinic at Darling went without a hitch. The doctor expected us, but not a big noisy civilian helicopter blowing dust and lose pebbles in a hailstorm in its wake as we landed on the gravel road next to the clinic entrance gate.

Roxy, still wrapped in space blankets, was taken into the clinic escorted by Angie, Mai-Loan, and Leah. The doctor was happy with her condition and prescribed some medication to let her sleep and rest out. He dispensed it out of the clinic’s pharmacy, and we were on our way. I took care of the doctor’s fee, and the medication with a patient credit card. I made sure I used the foundation’s card, although my personal card would have been in order as well.

After touching down at the Newlands home, Roxy was whisked away by the Angels, while Lorie, Angie and I secured the Puma. TC and his squad also disappeared to “debrief,” as he put it.

Breakfast looked inviting, but I had a call to make. While the angels, and the rest of the gang tucked in, Nadia and Darya hovered around Roxy, seeing to it that she got some food into her before a shower and some well-deserved sleep. I took a mug of coffee and escaped to the living room.

“Good morning,” came Charley’s voice after the usual three rings of his cell.

“Yeah, a good morning indeed.”

“Everything went well, I suppose?”

“Two bird strikes, but nothing major. Roxy is enjoying breakfast with the Angels.”

“Good. How is she?”

“Rattled, but not injured. I’ll let her relax awhile here before returning her to the job.”

“Take her under your wing.” Chuckle. “Archangel...”

“Now don’t you go and cash in on Mai-Loan’s teasing!”

“No, but it is good that the angels see you as part of the team. Besides, Mai-Loan is the undisputed leader of the Angels, but she makes you part of it and likes your way of operating. She’ll take to anything you do.”

“Good to know,” I said.

“Well, I suggest that Roxy stays with you guys for a while. There has been a development in gang-land.”

“What development? Is Rashaad involved in it?”

“We don’t know yet if Rashaad or the Hard Livings were involved. Solly Mohammed, the gangland lawyer, was gunned down outside one of his houses on the Flats. Seven shots from a 9-millimetre,”

“Jeez! But would the gangs do that? I mean, take out the guy that keeps them out of jail?”

“He did represent everyone; doesn’t matter what gang they belonged to. So, anyone could have ordered the hit. But that’s not all. I have other, more important news.”

“Spit it out!”

“Someone did not like the establishment of a Japanese nightclub in their neighbourhood. Hooded men in dark clothing took out the doorkeepers at Daiki’s place, then went in and destroyed the place.”

“You lie!”

“Nope! I’m as serious as a heart attack. The blue boys are at this moment carting some tattooed Asian guys away as undocumented aliens. But lucky no one knew anything about Roxy and the container. And, Mister Nakamura was not there when those bozos trashed the place.”

“Serves the slit-eye right! He started the fight. But he was not on the ship either.”

“I wouldn’t mention that too loud; just now you’ll be suspect number one. Remember you are affiliated with someone who took out one of his cars and had some of those aliens get admitted to hospital. And Nakamura not being on the ship or at his club, can only mean he was on the move; in transit somewhere.”

“Rashaad is waiting on the return of Roxy.”

“Tell him she is safe and that she is resting. Doctors’ orders. You’ll let him see her in a day or two.”

“Won’t it make him suspicious?”

“He’s only got three brain cells, and he uses two of them to control his breathing. You know how to soothe him over. Do it.”

“And Roxy? What do I say to her?”

“Tell her Jonathan said she is to rest up.”

“Who the hell is Jonathan?”

“The guy that employed her.”

“Your real name, Charley?”

“No!”

“I tried,” I sighed.

“You try too hard. Someday I’ll invite you to a nice smooth Scotch single malt.”

“I can’t wait.”

“So, you like Glenlivet?” Chuckle.

“I’ll bring my own poison along!” I teased.

“Picky!”

“Yeah, that’s me. How’s the weather in Cape Town?”

“Nice try. I might be in the Caribbean.”

“I did not phone an international number.”

“Phones have ‘call forwarding’! And I pay for the difference in call tariff outside the SA borders. So keep this short.”

“Yeah, yeah. Anything else?”

“See that you get the information on who is supplying the guns to the gangs.”

“I will be putting the squeeze on Rashaad shortly. First, I need a shower, breakfast and some sleep.

“Then go do it. I’ll let you know what else develops in the meantime.”

“Good. Keep well, Charley.”

“You too, and love to the girls...” Charley said and disconnected. I sat for a while and though of what Charley has said. The hit on the gangland lawyer was a surprise. Who would have done it and why? This could spark a street war and that would not be good. More innocent people getting in the way of stray bullets out of stolen guns.

I was still taking sips of my coffee and staring out the window at nothing when Angie strolled into the living-room.

“What gives?” She said, dropping into my lap.

“Charley just told me that while we were out rescuing Roxy, someone trashed Daiki’s place in Long Street. And another someone took out Solly Mohammed, the gangland lawyer.”

“Now it is getting interesting! You think that it could be Rashaad and his boys?”

“No, not the lawyer, but maybe Daiki’s place. Rashaad had motive, so why not?”

“He would not jeopardise Roxy, he’s in love with her.”

“Then who doesn’t want Daiki in business in town?”

“Any of the other gangs. The Americans and the 28s spring to mind. Could be the Dixie Boys also. Come, your breakfast is getting cold. Nadia and your daughter did not slave around the kitchen for you to let it slide. Those two are going to murder you if you don’t show!”, she said and got up out of my lap, taking my hand to lead me to the dining room. I sighed and let Angie pull me up and drag me along.

In the dining room two pairs of eyes, one pair green and one pair dark brown, were firing bullets at me.

“Sit down! Breakfast will be served!” Nadia snapped.

“Yeah, I feel like you could just get it dished in yourself ... Dad!” Giggle. Darya shot at me.

“Sorry girls, but I had business to take care of.”

“Yeah, yeah. Excuses, excuses,” Nadia rebutted. “But we forgive you. And thanks for bringing our sister home.”

“I was just the taxi driver. Thanks to the guys that went into that ship to take her out.”

“Yeah, but you brought her home! Here is your breakfast. If it is greasy and fatty, it’s not our fault. It was good forty minutes ago!” Nadia scolded as she placed a plate of two eggs, sunny-side up, three big pork bangers, fried tomato, two hash browns, and two slices of buttered toast in front of me. It looked delicious and was still sizzling hot. I suppose the banter about me being late for breakfast was just play and teasing.

“More coffee?” Darya asked, and she looked sexy in the apron she had on over her normal uniform of baggy t-shirt and denim jeans, her dark hair in two pigtails on the sides of her head, giving her that naughty schoolgirl look.

“No, thanks, I’m still good,” I said, tucking into my breakfast. I suddenly became aware of how hungry I was.

“Sit down Angie, I want to ask you something,” I said, and she pulled out a chair and sat down next to me.

“What you want to ask?”

“That time in the cave. Did you get a good look at those weapons in that chest?”

“Yeah, well, I could see what it was.”

“I mean the brands of the guns?”

“The rifles were South African R5 and R4 rifles. The handguns looked like Beretta 92S type but had ‘Z88’ engraved on the slides.”

“Government issue,” I said and forked some sausage and egg into my mouth.

“Government issue?” she asked.

“Only SAPS and SANDF uses Z88 9-millimetre pistols. The SANDF uses R4 semi-auto rifles and the SAPS R5 automatic rifles.”

“Funny, I thought the SANDF would also use automatic rifles,” Darya interjected.

“They do, but the R5 rifles are only issued when the troops deploy for war. Else they use the longer barrel R4 semi-auto guns.”

“So, where do you think those guns came from?” Nadia asked.

“That is what mister Williams needs to explain to us!” I said. “Some of the Z88 pistols recovered from previous crime scenes have been ballistically traced back to the SAPS and the SANDF. And some guns even were found more than once! So, how does that happen?”

“Only ... Only if you have someone on the inside who can recycle the weapons and supply them back into the hands of the street gangs...” Darya said, her ‘I’m thinking’ expression on her face.

“Ditto! And we need to find out who that person would be,” I said.

“And Mister Williams is the guy to chat to,” Nadia said.

“Boy! Did I uncover a hornet’s nest in that cave?” Angie said and shivered. “No wonder they wanted me out of the picture ... Maybe ... dead!”

“Rashaad is lucky that you got away. If he did lay his hands on you, I would have personally killed him. Slowly!” I said.

“Now, now, Ash! Down boy! Revenge is a cancer that kills the soul, and leaves you empty, devoid of the good things in life...” Nadia said.

“I wonder where I heard that before.” I quipped and finished my breakfast. “Great breakfast girls!”

“Now burp!” Leah called from the door, and I looked at her. “German tradition. If you enjoyed a meal, you must compliment the host, by burping.”

“Oh brother...” I sighed, and the girls around the table with me, echoed my sentiment.

“Oh, I know about that tradition!” Angie giggled. Being half German, she knew the traditions. “But I find it gross, too!”

November 14, 11:00 SAST. Newlands Safe house.

Five hours of sleep. That was good for me, but waking up at eleven in the morning leaves one with that jet lag feeling: you slept enough, but still feel disoriented.

It was quiet in the house. I suppose everyone got to catch some much-needed shut-eye after being up and awake for most of the night. I took my chance to run through the shower and felt much more alive after that.

I was just about to head on downstairs when my cell phone rang. Rashaad.

“Good morning Lofty,” I said, trying to be as cheerful as I can.

“Joe! I need some answers!” Rashaad said, sounding anxious and scared.

“About what?”

“Where is Roxy? And someone smashed up Nakamura’s place in Long Street!”

“Slow down, Lofty. First, Roxy is safe, but resting and under medical treatment. I don’t know who smashed up the Japanese place. Nor who took out your lawyer.”

“Shit, Joe. It’s a mess. Nakamura called to say he’s going to make me pay for going to the fuzz about Roxy and then trashing his place. He thinks it’s me that had his place trashed and had his ship confiscated! What am I going to do?”

“Sit quietly and look at the game on the field.”

“That Japanese guy can come and shoot up my place! I’m just a few blocks from him.”

“Double your guard and see that you have men on every door.”

“Joe, I was not involved in any of this.”

“I know, Lofty. I know. The fuzz took out the ship and confiscated the drugs. We watched it happen and asked to extract Roxy and take her to a safe place. She is safe but can’t go out in public until all the arrests for her kidnapping are made. Therefore, just hang in there, and we will take care of the rest.”

“What are you going to do, Joe?”

“I can’t tell you right now, but I need something from you. I need some Zulus. And maybe something more, how can I put it, something with a higher rate of fire,” I said, using the slang name for Z88 9-millimetre pistols. Gangs know what a Zulu is and respect it. It is the gun to have. A police issue 9-millimetre.

“I don’t know if there’s a consignment available right now.”

“Can you put me in touch with someone who might help me out? I need it to take care of the Japanese guy. Please, Lofty, this is urgent,” I kept my voice as if pleading and Rashaad fell for it hook, line, and sinker.

“There’s a guy ... at Elsie’s. Elsie River Police Station. He can maybe help. And, Joe, this is confidential. You did not hear it from me.”

“I did not hear anything! We never spoke. But I have an idea. You contact him, see what he has, and take it off his hands. I’ll supply the moola.”

“I sure can do that,” Rashaad said, kept quiet for a few seconds, and then continued; “It can be an expensive transaction. They sell the pieces for a thousand five hundred each. The long sticks a little more, say three to five grand each.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be good for the lot.”

“Okay. When can I see Roxy?”

“In a few days’ time. She is heavily sedated right now and needs to regain her strength.”

“Did ... Did they ... mess up my girl?”

“No. They did not touch her, just locked her up handcuffed to a rail, and she had no means to sit or lie down. She had to stand up the whole time, while swaying to the motion of the ship. She is exhausted. Got cramps in her legs, and arms.

“Is she with you?”

“My girls are taking care of her.”

“Thank you, Joe. I appreciate this.”

“All in a day’s work, Lofty. No sweat! And another thing, try to find out the word on the street who took out the lawyer. I need to know why.”

“I’ll try my best. But I can assure you, it won’t be easy. I suspect the Americans, but I can’t say for sure.”

“But why was he taken out, Lofty?”

“He represented a guy from the Dixie Boys in a murder case. The guy took out a high up member of the Americans. The case is still running in the Bellville Court. Now with the lawyer out of the way, no other lawyer will take on the case, and the guy will get found guilty and send away to prison. Neat hey?”

“Ahweh bro, ahweh!”

Chuckle. “You speak the lingo, Bro. Are you sure you’re from Gauteng?”

“The lingo is spoken everywhere on the streets. Even in Gauteng. Try the Northern Cape, there’s more Khoi and San people there than here in Cape Town.”

“I know! I’m from up there. Kimberley, you know.”

“Nice. Let me go, Lofty. So much to do, so little time, you know?”

“Dala what you must, Bro. Don’t let me keep you with all my hanna-hanna!”

“Call me, after you spoken to your inside chommie, maybe we two, you and me, could shisa nyama sometime soon!”

“I’ll hold you to that, Joe. Cheers!” and Rashaad disconnected.

I smiled to myself as I replaced my cell phone in my pocket. I now have a place. Now to have Rashaad make contact and secure some merchandise. Then have it linked to whatever store it came from. Yes! Charley would be pleased with the progress.

Shisa nyama: pronounced; “she’s-san-yah-mah” = braai, or barbecue some meat. A getting together for barbecue and drinks.)

Walking into the lounge, I heard soft chatter coming from the patio. I looked through the open sliding doors and saw Leah, Angie, Mai-Loan and Roxy sitting outside on the patio with soft drinks each. Roxy seems to be a little happier and looking refreshed.

“Hi girl, you all rested out?” I asked as I stepped out onto the patio.

“You can say so, but I still feel a little washed out and sore all over,” Roxy said.

“Yeah, you were keeping us up all night.” Giggle. Angie teased.

“Oh, now it’s my fault!” I teased back.

“Thank you for coming to get me, Joe. I really appreciate it. But how did you know where to get me?” Roxy asked and looked a little shy.

“Roxy, I have a confession to make,” I said, and Roxy looked at me with big dark eyes, a serious expression on her face.

“A confession? What about?”

“My name ain’t Joe. It is Ashwin Windsor, and I work for Jonathan too.”

“What? How?”

Who is Jonathan?” Mai-Loan asked.

“Grumpy, Charley, The boss. Now I know him as Jonathan also. Well, Roxy knows him as Jonathan.”

“My, my, the man has many names. I wonder what his real name is,” Leah observed.

“Uncle Sweet Heart!” Angie interjected.

“Oh brother...” I sighed. I moved to sit beside Angie.

“Okay ... It seems like I missed the bus here somewhere...” Roxy said. “Care to bring me up to speed?”

“Mai-Loan, tell her who we are and what we do. She’s not going back as yet. She’s going to stay with us for a few days, and I already told Williams to stay out of the scene,” I said.

“Roxy, let’s go take a walk in the garden,” Mai-Loan said, got up and held her hand out to Roxy. “It’s time you come to know the lay of the land, and I’ll also show you the ‘bus’ that you did not miss and took a ride on this morning.”

“Yeah, you’ll love her!” Angie called.

“Her?” Roxy asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Yeah, Ash’s first woman in his life, I am sadly second...” Angie shot back. Roxy looked at her, then at me and back to Angie, then, saying nothing, flicked her long dark brown, near black hair over her shoulder and followed Mai-Loan down the steps of the patio, towards the garden.

“One Vietnamese Angel came to take another Angel home...” Leah sighed. “One of these days we’ll have our own heaven here on earth.”

“Then you or Olivia needs to teach her a skill” I said.

“Yeah, seduction is one. We need a seductive Angel...” Angie said, looking over at me and winked.

“Should the Archangel test her abilities?” I smirked.

“Don’t you dare!” Angie fired at me, green eyes flashing fire.

“Oh, just teasing. I thought part of the Archangel’s job is to interview new recruits?”

“Teasing and interviewing will get you in a plaster cast!” Leah laughed. “Watch your step Mister Archangel. Don’t upset the Angel of Fire!”

“Oh, I’m not scared! Uriel is the fourth archangel, and HE is the angel of fire. Not Angie.”

“Seraphina is the female version of the six-winged archangel, with all the abilities...” Leah countered. Angie just sat in the patio chair with her head tilted to one side, supported by her left hand, her legs crossed, and a smirk on her face. She was enjoying the verbal jousting between Leah and me too much.

“I don’t know of any six-winged angels,” I retorted.

“Go Google it! I am going to get some more soda. Excuse me,” and Leah got up and walked off, her head held high, but I did not miss the smile of triumph on her face. Women!

“So, Archangel, are you the Angel of Fire?” Giggle. Angie asked.

“I won’t know...”

“We can go test that theory...”

“Angie! It’s 11:30 in the morning!”

“So? Uriel is also the archangel of science, arts, poetry, and judgement ... How about some experiments to test that theory?”

“The archangel of judgement, so Uriel can pass judgement...” I said smiling.

“And? What judgement does he need to pass?”

“Judgement on a certain skill level proficiency...” Now, why did I get swatted on my head? “Ouch!”

November 14, 11:50 SAST. Newlands Safe house.

The morning proceeded quietly. Everyone seemed to be just floating around, doing sweet nothing. That’s besides TC and his squad of men. They were out in the far corner of the property, doing, for duck’s fake, PT!

Lorie was pretending to read a magazine in the shade of an old oak tree, but her eyes seemed to be looking over the top of the book towards TC. Yeah, little sticky-icky has got the shot high through her head. Let’s hope and pray this time it works out for her.