“Perimeter is clear Sir and all entrances secured. We found bodies at the river, Sir.” The soldier leaned in as he delivered the news in his leader’s ear.
“Good job. Take up your posts.” Commander Burger instructed his men after which he turned his attention to the civilians who still sat around the kitchen table.
“Van, how many workers did you have?”
Van looked up in horror. “Did? What do you mean did?”
The commander cleared his throat. “I’m afraid to say it seems they didn’t make it. We found bodies at the river.”
Elaine let out an emotional yelp and buried her head in her hands.
“How many?” Van asked.
“Four, one male and three youths.”
“No one else?”
“Negative. How many are missing?” the commander continued.
“Just one; Thembi. She’s their mother and my housekeeper. She might still be out there. I have to find her.” Van pushed himself away from the table and checked the barrel of his rifle before hastily heading towards the door.
“I think it’s best you let us handle this Van,” the commander stopped him.
Van pulled his shoulders back as he readied himself for an argument but in a brief moment of sanity instantly backed down. He was worn out from hiding in his bunker the past three days and in no physical condition to encounter any foes.
“My men and I will find her. I have two men patrolling outside the house but just to be sure, lock the door behind me and stay alert.”
Van nodded and with a heavy heart took up his seat again at the table. Alex, who had just finished splinting Sam’s wrist, moved across to lock the door behind the commander.
True to her Scottish roots, Elaine rolled up her sleeves and busied herself with the messy kitchen and a fresh pot of coffee. It was how Elaine MacDonald coped so they let her be.
“Why did you say it was black against white? What did you mean?” Ethan questioned Van.
“It goes back to Apartheid. They just can’t move on from that,” Van replied.
The reporter looked puzzled. “Care to explain what you’re referring to?”
Van shook his head at the reporter’s obvious ignorance. “You’ve never heard of Apartheid? Doesn’t surprise me. It seems the world has turned its back on this country; forgetting that Africa opened the gateway to foreign trade. Now we’re rubbish, junk status. Forgotten and left to fight it out on our own. Ever heard of Mandela?”
“Of course,” Ethan replied. “What about him?”
“Nelson Mandela was supposed to symbolize peace but did you know he wasn’t let out of prison because someone proved his innocence? His political crimes were pardoned because he was a pawn in a game far bigger than anyone realized at the time. He marked the end of an era called Apartheid where white and black people were forbidden to live in the same neighborhoods, dine at the same restaurants, frequent the same clubs or share the same public toilets. Total segregation in a white dominant country. Was it just? Of course not! But it was law; set by the then leaders of this country based on decisions they made long before many of today’s citizens were even born. And unfortunately not everyone was happy when the ban was lifted; black as well as white. It changed everything and the country’s playbook got entirely rewritten. Now, decades later, the scales have tipped and we have an entire generation burdened with hate, unable to forgive; seeking to punish the whites for the past. Contrary to what the world sees, there are an increasing number of whites living in extreme poverty in many of the same conditions as the previously disadvantaged blacks who make the news every day. It goes both ways. Many of us have moved forward and embraced the changes to legislation and governance whether we agree with it or not. We’re trying to rebuild this country — together. But fighting against hatred is a mammoth task so many have given up. Others still fight it and those who have the ways and means, seek greener pastures. As for me, I’m stuck here. My children are safe and that’s all I care about but they will have to kill me before I surrender my heritage.”
Van had Alex, Sam, the reporters and volunteers hanging on his every word as he shared his views when a group of soldiers banged on the kitchen door to be let it. Amongst them a badly beaten female held upright by two of the men.
“Thembi!” Van cried out sharply as they carried her into the kitchen.
Thembi barely had the strength to stand up. Her severely swollen face made it hard for her to see anything. Dry blood lay thick on her chin and down the side of her face. Her clothes were ripped and torn off her body exposing her nakedness in places. Elaine, who had already caught on that she had been sexually assaulted pulled the table cloth from the table and covered her with it.
“Savages!” Van exclaimed throwing his chair over as he rose to his feet and rushed to her side. “What have they done to you?”
“Let’s get her in a bath,” Elaine instructed Alex. “It might be best if we get her cleaned up and rested.”
Van flew into a rage as the women helped Thembi to the bathroom. “Barbarians! I’d kill them with my bare hands if they were still alive!”
“But they’re not, Van. You should calm down. She’s safe now,” the commander cautioned.
“Safe? This is exactly what they do. They rape, murder, plunder and destroy and no one does anything about it. They don’t care about skin color! They do whatever they want! Do you know how many of their own women get raped in the back of the taxis and busses on the way to work every day? They’re heartless and out of control and Thembi didn’t deserve this!”
The commander encouraged Van to sit back down. Van wiped the tears from his eyes.
“Thembi is like a sister to me. Her family sought refuge here when they fled Zimbabwe after the exact events happened there. Her parents worked this land hand in hand with my father. We’ve never set ourselves apart because of the differences in our skin color; even during apartheid.”
Van paced the room still overcome by anger and sadness when Alex re-entered.
“She’ll be okay, Van. Elaine’s going to take good care of her.”
Alex beckoned to the commander to join her in the other room. “Any luck with the comms, Commander?”
“Negative, Miss Hunt. It took too many bullets. The satellite chip took one too. I have my men trying to maintain a frequency to send off a morse code SOS to command but there’s no way of knowing how long that will take — or even if we’ll be successful at all. In the meantime we’re staying put. The perimeter is secured and all entrances barred. ”
“Sir, with respect, we’re stuck in the middle of nowhere with no comms and as you are well aware I have a mission to complete. Sam’s out of action so I have no choice but to go at it alone. I’d like your permission to take two of your men with me, please?”
The commander rubbed his dimpled chin. “Affirmative Miss Hunt. I’ll give you Hawk and Smith.”
“I’ll take Hawk but, if it’s ok with you I’d rather take the guy who saved Sam.”
“That will be T-bone. He’s young and not as experienced as Smith but that boy does have courage. Done. I’ll have them ready to deploy at sunrise. In the meantime, we’ll try to establish communications with HQ and rendezvous at the heritage site. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“Have you completely lost your mind, Alex? It’s a suicide mission! If our warm welcome here was anything to go by it will be ten times worse out there. You have no idea what you’re in for once you leave here and with only two men and no way of staying in contact we might never see you alive again! You should abort the mission, Alex. It’s too dangerous.”
Alex tightened the laces on her boots and zipped her combat vest up under her chin. She was scared, there was no denying it, but aborting a mission wasn’t in her repertoire.
“I can’t abort, Sam and you know it. We can’t stay cooped up in here forever. Besides, I might find some means to get help. We have no communication with HQ or the outside world and neither you nor any of the relief crew are fit to go at it on foot. I don’t see any other way.”
Sam knew Alex was already resolved to finishing the mission and nothing he would say or do would deter her from completing it. And unfortunately she made perfect sense. They couldn’t stay there forever.
“Where are you heading?”
“Professor Graham’s office at the Wits University; it’s in the centre of the city. Perhaps he left some clues in his office somewhere. It’s a start.”
“And how exactly do you intend getting there?”
“Already taken care of Sam. The commander has a map and Thembi gave us instructions on where to find a guy who operates one of the minibus taxis they use. He’s about two miles down the road if we cross through the field.”
“Taxi? The same taxis Van said they rape women in? Now I know you’re insane.”
“This guy is above board, Sam. Thembi said he’d get us there safely.”
“And you believe her? A taxi driver is going to somehow transport three combat soldiers without a glitch. But of course.”
Sam’s sarcasm should have angered Alex but instead, it warmed her heart. He loved her deeply and she knew it came from a place of fear and concern for her. She cupped his face in her gloved hands.
“I’ll be ok, Sam. Try to rest that wrist of yours. I’ll see you when I come back for you.”
“Excuse me, Ma’am. Ready when you are,” Hawk interrupted.
An hour later Alex, Hawk and T-bone lay camouflaged in the back of a minivan. Jacob was exactly where Thembi said he’d be and the handwritten note she gave them did the trick. But unlike the image Alex had conjured in her mind, the minibus was old and rusted. With sections in the bodywork each clearly belonging to a different color taxi, it looked more like a patchwork throw than a road worthy vehicle. The entire body of the minivan skewed to the one side on its visibly bent axel which made the taxi sway sideways as it started off on the desolate tarred road. The putrid smell underneath the dirty gray blanket forced Alex to flick it off her face a couple of times.
“Down, down!” Jacob shouted back as the van slowed to a halt.
They listened as Jacob exchanged conversation in his native language. From somewhere close by Alex distinguished the mocking and laughing of men followed by torturous groans of someone on the receiving end of some kind of punishment and subsequent loud cheers. It left every hair on her body raised. They dared not move a muscle under the safe protection of the smelly blanket. Unable to see their surroundings or the conditions in which they found themselves, they remained motionless under the blanket. Jacob’s easy tone suddenly turned to a loud panicked bawl and seconds later they heard his door open as he was being pulled out of the van. Alex swallowed hard. Her breathing increased and her heart pounded against her chest as she strained to hear what was going on.
“What’s happening?” she whispered to T-bone and Hawk who lay equally still on either side of her. Neither replied as they listened to the desperation in Jacob’s voice as he pleaded for his life.
“We have to help him,” Alex whispered again.
“Stay down, Ma’am,” Hawk whispered back, gripping his rifle across his chest.
A split second later the rear door at their feet opened and, as if one man, T-bone and Hawk sat up and opened fire onto the two men who were ready to strike at them with large machetes. Alex jumped over the seats to the front of the van catching sight of several black men whose bodies were ringed by a burning vehicle tyre. The one closest to the front of the van was Jacob. Forced to watch several men bound by a tyre and set on fire alive sickened her. Propelled by a rush of anger she leaped out of the car towards Jacob’s anguished cries. Behind her Hawk and T-bone were firing at will against the onslaught of their attackers. The rancid smell of scorched flesh mingled with the strong scent of burning rubber lay thick in the air. A cloud of black smoke covered the victims’ bodies as many already lay dead all over the road. Protected by the soldiers’ diligent defense, Alex grabbed the blanket from the back of the van and beat down hard against Jacob’s body and the burning tyre around his pinned down arms. It made little to no difference to the fire that was being fueled by the gasoline soaked rubber and Alex watched in horror as Jacob squirmed with pain under the torture.
A moment later Hawk fired a bullet, instantly killing Jacob before grabbing Alex and pulling her back into the minivan. As T-bone sped off with them, leaving an army of corpses in their wake, Alex emptied her stomach contents onto the seat beside her.
“There was nothing we could do for him, Ma’am. He was in agony.”
Alex knew Hawk was right. “I know. I’ve never seen anything like it. Why did they do that to those people?”
“It’s genocide, Ma’am. The locals kill off the Zimbabweans. Most of them are illegal in the country; here to work and send money home to their families. The locals are threatened by them. There was no way of avoiding the blockade. They know exactly where to block off the roads Ma’am.”
Alex paused as she digested the horrific act of violence she had just witnessed. “I’m Alex, by the way. You can call me Alex.”