Q wondered if Thando was right. Would Steve return in three weeks? Was he really involved with the Godfather? She didn’t know. But she couldn’t explain away the transfer of money to an offshore account. She tried to be optimistic for her friend’s sake, but she didn’t have a good feeling about this.
She heard a knock at the door and she looked up. Khaya Luvo, Q’s high school sweetheart, was standing on her doorway, wearing a full security uniform complete with a bulletproof vest. He was wearing a belt holster with two guns in it. Fortunately, he wasn’t carrying a machine gun, like many armored trucks security guards usually do.
‘Don’t tell me, you were in the neighbourhood and you thought you’d come by and say hi!’ Q said.
Khaya walked in. He closed the door. ‘It’s nice to see you too, Q.’
Q pointed at the chair in front of her desk. ‘You’re gonna scare my colleagues with your gear or worst you gonna make criminals think we have money in our offices.’
He sat down. ‘I don’t have much time. I have a problem. Well, it’s not really my problem, but for some odd reason I’ve inherited it.’
Q was silent, listening.
‘You know I drive armored vans now,’ he said.
‘I heard.’
‘I just found out that there’s a group of people who are planning a cash-in-transit heist.’
Q stopped him by the wave of her hands. ‘Have you contacted the police?’
‘I can’t.’
‘Why not?’
Khaya shifted in his seat. ‘The guy I usually travel with seemed a little fidgety, a little worried, nervous even. So I confronted him, but he wouldn’t tell me what his problem was until I threatened to report him to our boss. Then he told me that someone approached him and forced him to be part of a cash-in-transit heist.’
‘Forced him?’
He nodded. ‘They threatened his family. But he still said no, so they kidnapped his wife. That’s the reason we can’t tell our manager because he’ll change the route, maybe cancel this trip, even fire him.’
‘And you thought I would do what?’
Khaya took in a deep breath and slowly let it out. ‘I don’t know. I guess I needed some advice. And please don’t say the police, because they’ll involve our bosses and if this cash-in-transit heist doesn’t happen Tim’s wife is dead.’
‘How do you know he’s not lying?’ Q asked, raising her eyebrows.
Khaya took out his cell phone. He opened a video, pressed play, and placed the phone on the desk in front of Q.
The image on the screen came to life. A white woman sat awkwardly on the floor. She was gagged and blindfolded with soiled cloths. Her hands were tied behind her back. A man appeared on the screen and removed the gag. Q couldn’t see his face; he had his back turned towards the camera. He instructed her to state her name. When she didn’t obey, he struck her on the face with the back of his hand. She screamed, fell on her side and struggled back to a sitting position. The man instructed her again to state her name. The man had a thick accent that Q couldn’t place. Perhaps from Eastern Europe, she thought.
‘Ann Jacobs,’ the woman on the screen said. On the screen, her voice came out as squeaky mechanical sound. The video was not of good quality. Q guessed that it was shot with a cell phone camera. After the woman said her name, the video came to an end.
Khaya reached for his phone.
‘That was the first video they sent him.’
‘On one of them she was tortured.’
Q leaned on the desk. ‘You can’t go through with this; you could be killed in the crossfire. You see what they’ve done with Tim’s wife. You have to think about your wife and children.’ She lifted her handset.
Khaya ended the call by pressing the switch hook and he kept his hand there on the cradle of the phone.
‘If you tell the police, the news will reach the Godfather and then there’s nothing you could do to save Tim and his family.’
The mention of the Godfather arrested Q’s attention. She placed the receiver back to its cradle.
‘What does the Godfather have to do with any of this?’
‘Everything.’ He stood and paced around the office. ‘You know Vojta?’ He turned and faced her.
She nodded. ‘Of course I know him.’
‘He’s the one who approached my friend. He works for the Godfather.’
Emil Vojta was a South African citizen originally from the Czech Republic who’d been linked to the Godfather on numerous occasions. The other reason they were often linked was because they were both former Czech Republic citizens.
‘You have to contact the police! These men are dangerous.’
‘No I can’t. The Godfather has so many police in his back pocket.’
‘This is bigger than you. This is bigger than any of us!’
Khaya walked to the window and looked out as if he was scanning the peripheral for something or someone. He closed the blinds and just stood there.
‘Is someone following you?’ Her chair was now turned around, facing Khaya.
He turned to her, still leaning on the wall. He didn’t respond. The way he looked at her sent chills ridding up her spine.
‘Oh my gosh! Really?’ She stared at the window as if she could see through the blinds to whomever could be out there staring through her office window with binoculars.
‘We’re just gonna have to be careful, that’s all.’
Q nodded. ‘I know someone who can help us.’
‘Can we trust him?’
‘Absolutely,’ she assured him. ‘When is this cash-in-transit planned for?’
‘Two weeks from today.’
‘I was hoping for more time.’ She felt a sharp panic that had developed somewhere within her gut rise up to her chest.
Khaya walked around until he stood in front of the desk. ‘Thanks, Q. I didn’t know who else to turn to.’
Khaya clearly has no inkling that she was panicking. She forced a smile. ‘Don’t thank me yet. I haven’t done anything.’
Khaya gave her a weak smile and started leaving.
Q called out to him. He turned.
‘I need the copy of the video.’
He nodded. ‘I’ll email it to you.’
Q watched him go. She placed her hand on her chest and took deep breaths in and out, in an effort to calm her nerves. She had no idea how she would help him. She was no superwoman and she knew nothing about guns and hijackings and kidnapping but she had a friend who did and she knew she could trust him. He would be able to help them. She reached for her phone and dialed Craig’s number from memory. Even though he was with the police, Q knew there was no way on earth he was in the Godfather’s back pocket. No way at all.
No comments:
Post a Comment