Danger Woman (13 page)

Chapter Twenty-six

Danger Woman crouched unmoving in her lurk. An hour passed and finally a warthog with three offspring trotted down to the river. The female nosed her newborns into some nearby brush and slipped to the river to drink. Danger Woman had a choice to make. One or two of the piglets or the mother? She chose the former. She could easily carry off two of them in her mouth and their mother would not attempt to pursue for fear of losing her only surviving offspring. Danger Woman crawled on her belly to the bush, snatched one small warthog, and with one sharp shake broke its neck. She dropped it before either of the remaining two could bolt. She snatched a second, worked it back in her jaws, snapped up the first, and trotted off to the south with the two baby warthogs firmly in her jaws before the female at the river realized what had happened.

The guinea fowl returned. Too late.

***

Boredom had finally taken its toll on Lenka's men. They grew careless. Their attention wandered. By ten o'clock it was all they could do to stay on their feet. They rubbed their eyes, slipped off their shoes and wriggled their toes. Eleven could not come soon enough. Lenka had not seen fit to relieve them, so they remained at the entrance, weary and annoyed. They did so, that is, until two men in black suits and white shirts sidled up behind them and produced large automatics. The men poked them in the back with the barrels of the pistols and suggested they move away from the hotel. They marched a hundred meters down the road and were told to stop. They were quickly disarmed, their hands were zip-tied behind their backs, and a sack pulled over their heads. Blinded and unable to even feel their way along, they stumbled forward and were unceremoniously shoved into a van. The door slammed shut and they were driven off, they knew not where.

Forty-five minutes later, and after being driven over bumpy roads with the direction constantly changed, the van braked. The van door screeched open. Hands dragged them out and stood them up. Hands grasping their elbows forced them to stumble forward ten meters or so. They heard a thump as if a heavy object had been dropped nearby. The zip-ties were cut from their wrists and they were knocked off their feet. They fumbled the knots loose and removed the bags from their heads. The sound of a vehicle jolting off and growing fainter in the distance constituted all they knew of their captors. They were alone in the darkness.

***

A slight breeze carried the odor of fear into the bush. Animals scattered by the noise of the van, turned and pricked up their ears. Predators tensed and tasted the air. Somewhere, not too far from them, a candidate for killing had appeared. A leopard slithered down from the branches of a nearby tree. She chirped to call her two cubs. It was time for them to learn the intricacies of the hunt. The three of them crept toward the promise of a meal, a large one. There were no lions in the area and the hyenas were not hunting as a pack. That meant that the field was open to the leopard. She lifted her head to see where her prey was located. Her cubs imitated her and followed suit. Six eyes locked on the two men and tracked their every move.

***

“Where are we?” the one who answered to Georgei asked.

“Be damned if I know.” He took a breath and caught the rank smell of heavy foliage. “It looks like a forest.”

Somewhere in the distance they heard an elephant trumpet.

“By Christ, we're in the damned park. They brought us out here to feed the damned animals.”

They stared frantically into the darkness searching for feral yellow-green eyes, listening for the stealthy approach of a big cat. Lions, leopards, even hyenas could leap on them and they'd disappear forever. Just as real panic was about to set in, lights, headlights, flashed at them from down the track. They waved and shouted at whoever was in the vehicle. Anybody was better than being lost and unarmed in the game park at night. The vehicle pulled up in front of them. Someone barked orders and a group of men dismounted from what they now realized was a large truck. A truck painted olive drab, a truck full of men from the Botswana Defense Force, the BDF. One of the men who seemed to have officer's flashes on his shoulder stepped up to them.

“So, gentlemen, can you tell me what you two are doing in the park in the middle of the night?” This must be the man in charge.

Relieved the men grinned and raised their hands to their waist, palms up. “Right. Look, Captain, we are the victims here. See, about an hour ago, some guys stuck guns in our back and we were forced into this van thing and driven out here. They were…ah, criminals, right? And they tied us up and drove us out here and dumped us to be killed by the lions or something. Thank God you found us.”

“It's lieutenant, Lieutenant Mosekisi, not captain. So, you are telling me that you were kidnapped, driven here, by…you did say criminals, correct? And then you think you were to perish with no means of escape?”

“Exactly. Thank God you happened to drive by. Get us out of here.”

“There is something you need to know before you say anything else. We did not happen to drive by. As to getting you out of here, I assure you that is precisely what we will do. But first, how will you explain that
bakkie
over there? It is at a taxi stand, maybe?”

“Bocky? What the hell is a bocky?

“That truck over there. It is not yours?”

They spun around and saw a pickup parked ten meters away. They recognized it as one of Lenka's.

“That's not ours, exactly. I mean it is but, we didn't know it was there.”

“I see. You are standing here in the middle of the game park with your truck but you forgot it was there? No? Do you have a key for this
bakkie's
ignition?”

“Key? No, of course not. We didn't know—”

“You didn't know it sat there, yes, so you said. It's bigger than a water buffalo and still you say you didn't know it was there. Corporal, search these men's pockets.”

“Hey, wait a minute. Listen you probably don't realize who you are dealing with here. Do you recognize the name Lenka?”

“No. Corporal, you found something?”

“This one has a key that will most likely fit that
Bakkie's
ignition slot, for sure.”

“Someone put it there. It's not mine.”

“Of course they did. These bad men, these criminals, as you say, kidnapped you, left you for dead in the middle of the game park and then slipped a key to a truck which is ‘not exactly' yours, and left you to die. That is your story. Yes, I understand. You are the victims. Now, can you tell me what is in this bag here on the ground?”

“Bag? What bag?”

The officer in charge shook his head and nudged a lumpy bag at their feet with his boot. “This one.”

“Never saw it before in my life.”

“Like the key to the truck, yes? Sergeant, bring the canvas sheet and spread it out here. Now sirs, would you please empty your bag on the canvas?”

“Our bag? I already told you, it's not…never mind. Empty it? Okay. The first man picked up the bag and the second untied the knot at its mouth. They tipped the bag over and several large objects tumbled out.

While the sergeant focused his flashlight on the contents, the lieutenant fixed the two men with a look that had cowed recruits for the last year and a half. “Can you identify these things?”

“Beats the hell out of me. What are they?”

“Playing the fool will not help you. You know very well that these are rhinoceros horns. As I said before, we did not just happen to drive out here. We received a tip that there were poachers at work and here you are. So, it appears we have caught ourselves those very poachers. You know that poaching is a serious crime in Botswana. We in this country are not very fond of poachers. Perhaps you have heard that? No? Well, to be clear, we treat them with fairness and then throw the book at them. That is the expression, no? Throw the book?”

“
Kristus.
We aren't poachers. Jesus, look around you. If we was poachers, where is the dead rhinos?”

“Deeper in the park, I judge, attracting all sorts of scavengers and other meat eaters. Under those circumstances, I doubt you would not be so foolish to stay with the carcass. What I don't understand is why are you standing here at all?”

“What?”

“A sensible poacher will make his kill, harvest what he wants, and leave as quickly and as quietly as possible, but you are standing here in the middle of the park waiting. Waiting for what? Or is it who? Ah, I see. You were expecting to meet your buyer. I presume it to be someone trading with the Chinese, no doubt. Yes, yes. Well, they will not be buying any rhinoceros horns tonight. Corporal, cuff these men. Put a man in that truck of theirs. We will take these men and their horns to headquarters.”

“We get a lawyer, a solicitor, don't we?”

“As I told you before poaching is a serious crime. You will be lucky to get a trial.”

“But we were framed.”

The members of the BDF grabbed the men by the arms and began to frog march them toward the truck.

“Of course you were. As you said, you were bound and driven to the park and set down with a bag of contraband by people you cannot identify and who disappeared but left you a truck which you say is not yours, but is somehow.”

“But, we were.”

“You wish us to believe this fairy tale? You do realize how difficult that would be for someone to do all that to two able-bodied men like yourselves and not leave a mark? But just look at you, hardly mussed. Oh, yes, maybe it was an alien from outer space that killed the rhinos and then beamed you and your
bakkie
into the park. A very elaborate frame, I'm thinking. I also believe you have been reading too many American mystery books and watching their television. My ten-year-old son could dream up a better story. Very well, Corporal, put them in the truck.”

Kgabo Modise held the rank of captain in the BDF Reserve. In uniform and with the permission from the Company commander, he'd joined the foray into the park and had watched the scene unfold before him. It was he who had called for the raid in the first place and he wanted to see it to completion. No, these two thugs were not going to see blue sky until long after Lenka and his people were sent far away.

***

The leopard sat back on her haunches. The noise and confusion were too much for her. She rose and led her cubs away. There would be game closer to the river. She would take them there.

Chapter Twenty-seven

Lenka awakened to loud knocking at his door. He rolled over and realized there was no one else in the bed. He sat up. Irena's voice cut through the air. It was the tone she used when she had reached that level of anger when Lenka would say her voice could etch glass. Something had happened. He pulled on a robe and went to the door. Irena, wearing not much more than a scowl stood, arms akimbo, screaming in Russian at the manager who stood, open-mouthed and uncomprehending.

“What is this?” Oleg said.

“He is giving us a bill and saying we must vacate, is what.”

“I thought I told you yesterday that we were not leaving. You said there were men who threatened you. So, they are gone. There are no men. We are done here. My men are at the entrance and you will not be bothered by those other people anymore and you will not bother me.”

Lenka moved to shut the door but the hotel manager managed to put a hand out and stopped it.

“Your people are not standing at my entrance. Those men who wish to control this hotel are there. Now please understand. They said there could be accidents, a fire, or worse. You must leave. I will send a bellman up with a cart.” He turned and left.

Lenka dressed in shirt, trousers, and slippers and dashed to the front entrance. Two men, not the same two as the day before, but dressed in the same black suits and white shirts, stood at the front of the hotel.

One of them waved and smiled. “Your guys are gone. Said they'd had enough of Africa. Do you need help with your bags?”

Lenka reached into his waistband for the gun that was not there. Had it been, had he paused to complete his dressing, there would have been some serious bloodshed at the Mowana Lodge that morning. When he realized it wasn't tucked into his belt and looked up, he faced two men with significant fire-power aimed at his forehead. He retreated back into the hotel and called Cszepanski.

“Where are Georgei and Josif? They were told to be at this hotel.”

“No one has heard from them or seen them since they went to the hotel last night. I have asked our sources. They are not under arrest locally. They are gone.”

Lenka hung up. He finished dressing, including his gun, yelled at Irena to move her ass, and went out the front door. There was no sign of the manager, but the two men were still standing outside. They grinned and waved.

“Moving yet? Let us know if you need help.”

Irena followed him out the door and they said something lewd in Russian to her.

“You,” she said to one of them, “you are from Ukraine? You have that accent.”

“Chicago,” he answered. “Say, sweetheart, it's okay with us if you stay. We just want your ugly boyfriend gone, see?”

“Not happening, Sonny. This is Oleg Lenka. He eats pretty boys like you for breakfast.”

“Sure he does and I will lose a lot of sleep thinking about that. Say, what happened to the two morons who were here last night? They decide to not report for duty this morning? Maybe we scared them off. You think we might have? Or, they figured that mister Tough Guy here wasn't tough enough? Maybe they decided to find employment elsewhere. What do you think, Tough Guy? Did your boys run home to momma, did they sign on with the real thing, or just run for cover?”

Lenka reached for his gun. Irena put a hand on his. “Not now, Oleg. Not now. We go.”

“Not now, Oleg, not now, we go,” the two men sang in a falsetto and waved him away to the parking lot.

“We go to Greshenko and settle this,” he said. “I am calling Cszepanski and telling him to bring the men to the casino. We will see who is what.”

***

Lenka and a second SUV arrived at the casino at the same time as two truckloads of BDF forces. The soldiers formed a cordon around the casino. Lenka pulled to the side of the road, unsure what to do next. Cszepanski hopped out of the SUV and tapped on Lenka's window. Lenka lowered it.

“What?”

“Our guy inside called just now. They are looking for the people who are responsible for two poachers they caught last night.”

“Poachers? So, Greshenko is poaching, too?”

“Not sure about that. Just that our guy says two men were caught and one mentioned a name. Since it sounded Russian, they naturally thought it must be Greshenko. He is the local Russian, you could say. Chief, you might be next, if they clear him.”

“Me? I don't know anything about poaching. How long are they going to stay?”

“No idea, but we look pretty obvious sitting here. Maybe we should head back to the warehouse and rethink this.”

“Nothing to rethink, Cszepanski. I am going to kill that man and his smart ass associates.”

“But not today.” Irena said. “We go to the warehouse, like Cszepanski says. We need to arrange a few things first. Nobody is getting shot today.”

***

Modise took up a position inside the casino at a window. He had field glasses trained on the car and SUV across the road. Would Lenka dare to approach the building even with the BDF there? He didn't think Lenka was that stupid, but he hoped he might be. He was disappointed but not surprised when the two vehicles made a U-turn and drove away.

“They will go to their warehouse headquarters and regroup,” said Greshenko, who had been watching over his shoulder.

“And then what?”

“They will wait for the BDF to leave and nightfall. Then they will return. They will not be in a mood to negotiate, I don't think.”

“In that case, I think it is time you were arrested for something or another and your ‘men' brought in for questioning.”

“That is only a stalling tactic, Modise. Sooner or later, you are going to have to let the confrontation between us take place. When you do, people will be killed. It is what has been set in motion the minute you bought into Leo's plan. You had to know that.”

“I assumed it, yes, but remember the plan never called for the use of the BDF and if I have my way, nobody dies.”

“Good luck with that. So, now what will you and the BDF do?”

“They will do nothing. I cannot put them in harm's way and not expect everyone from the President on down not to come after me. No, they were for one night and one day only. I am the exception and they have loaned me a truck. It will be driving about and constantly in the way of whatever those people do. They do not need to know that there are no BDF forces in the back or driving it.”

“So, I ask you again, what comes next?”

“I think we take you away for awhile and ask your people to step down. I don't really want Lenka out of the hotel where he is staying, only harassed from time to time. Your men will disappear from the Mowana Lodge as they did before. Then when he thinks he's won, they will return if necessary. I want him off balance. After a while his temper will get the better of him and he will do something stupid and then we will have him on a plane to Russia.”

“Not Russia, Inspector, South Africa. He is settled in Cape Town. You will have to persuade the South Africans to deport him as well.”

“We are working on that. I know that some of their officials are easily bought, but even on a bad day, they can only manage to overlook so much thuggery and Lenka is a latecomer to their system. The entrenched Bratva will see to it he is not allowed to compete.”

“I hope you're right. I'd feel better if there was some kind of permanent solution, Inspector. The Bratva is like mold in your house. Once it gets in it is impossible to get out, except maybe to burn down the house. I don't want you to have your house burn down, Modise.”