The Colour of Gold (23 page)

***

Isaiah Zuma and
Bogdan Vodnik sat at a small white steel table covered with a red
tablecloth on the pavement outside a continental coffee shop in
Hillbrow. It was Saturday morning and the pavements were filled
with people doing their shopping or merely strolling along looking
at the displays in the shop windows. A black man sitting at the
same table with a white man and drinking coffee attracted very
little attention in Hillbrow with its cosmopolitan population,
unlike the rest of the country where such a meeting would be viewed
with suspicion and distaste.

"So, Mister
Zuma, I understand from Catherine that there are certain items that
you need that are not obtainable without attracting the attention
of the authorities." Bogdan said as he stirred sugar into his
coffee. "What makes you think that I can obtain these items for
you?"

"I've heard
from several people that you are very good at getting things that
can't be obtained by the man in the street." Isaiah replied. "I've
also heard that, for the right price, you are even able to get
things that are illegal."

"Price does
play a role in my business." Bogdan said. "But I also have to
consider my own well-being. Risk is something that always has to be
taken into consideration."

"Of course."
Isaiah said, nodding.

"So, now that
we understand the situation," Bogdan said, "what is it that you
need me to get for you?"

"What I need
you to get for me is eight lengths of one hundred millimetre steel
water pipe exactly two hundred and fifty millimetres in length and
threaded at both ends." Isaiah said. "I also need sixteen steel
end-caps to close the ends of the pipes and eight of these end-caps
must have a three millimetre hole drilled in the centre. Then I
need eight electrical detonators like the ones used in the mines
and ten metres of plastic-coated electrical wire."

Bogdan stared
at Isaiah, his eyes narrowing as he tried to comprehend what the
purpose of his client's needs was. Isaiah saw understanding creep
into the man's eyes.

"These items
that you want imply to me very dangerous applications." Bogdan
said. "So dangerous that I have to decline to honour your request.
In fact, your requirements have put me in a position where I feel
compelled to report the matter to the authorities. But, on the
other hand, I may be dissuaded from this course in return for
something of monetary value."

"I have never
said that I won't pay you for the items that I need you to get for
me." Isaiah said. "But now it seems that you are attempting to
blackmail me. Is that correct?"

"I have never
liked the word 'blackmail'" Bogdan said. "Let's rather say what I'm
asking for is done in the interests of the safety of our
country."

"The safety of
our country or the safety of your government's racial ideology?"
Isaiah asked.

"Let's not
split hairs, Mister Zuma." Bogdan said. "You are obviously intent
on the treasonable act of attempting to destabilising the country
and ultimately overthrowing the government. Surely you don't expect
me to be part of something that carries such a huge risk, do you?
As I said earlier, risk plays an important part in my business and
the higher the risk, the more valuable it is."

"Unfortunately
I'm a poor man." Isaiah said. "I would never be able to come up
with the money that you are alluding to and that would assure me of
your loyalty. But I do have something that I think you should
consider before you make a final decision."

Isaiah reached
into his jacket pocket and took out a brown envelope. He handed it
to Bogdan.

"I'm sure that,
having been in the country for some time now, you are aware of a
law known as the Immorality Act that your government made to try to
ensure the purity of its supporters." Isaiah said. "Breaking this
law is considered to be a very serious crime and the penalties are
particularly severe. I understand that you aren't a South African
citizen and one of the conditions that allow you to stay here is
that you obey all the laws of the country. I very much doubt that
you will be allowed to stay in South Africa if the authorities see
these photographs."

As Isaiah spoke
he watched the white man open the envelope and take out the three
photographs. He saw the man's eyes widen in surprise and heard him
draw in his breath sharply as he recognised the images.

"You may not
like the word 'blackmail', Mister Bogdan." Isaiah said. "But I
don't have any problem with the word. The stakes in the game we're
playing are too high to worry about morality. Obviously those are
prints and, in case you're wondering, the original film is in very
safe keeping."

Bogdan looked
up at Isaiah, the hatred in his eyes plainly visible. Isaiah stared
back at the white man and was relieved to see the hatred replaced
by a look of resignation as the man realised that he had been
outwitted. Slowly the white man's gaze dropped to the table top in
front of him.

"Please
understand, Mister Bogdan." Isaiah said. "At no time was I not
going to pay you for your services, but it was you who raised the
stakes. I'm not alone in this game and the organisation that I'm
part of can be just as ruthless as its enemies. Any kind of
retaliation by you will have dire consequences for you. Do you
understand what I'm saying?"

Bogdan
continued to stare at the table top in front of him.

"Do you realise
that you are forcing me to become a traitor to South Africa?" he
said.

"You aren't
being a traitor to South Africa." Isaiah said. "You're being a
traitor to an ideology that's hateful and barbaric. Apartheid is a
crime against humanity. But let me assure you that I will pay you
for the items that you're going to get me. It won't be as much as
you were expecting but it will cover your expenses. I'm going to
pay you one thousand Rand in cash when you deliver the items to me.
But again I must warn you. We're playing a very dangerous game and
the stakes are extremely high so please don't even think of
betraying us. Your life isn't worth it."

Bogdan glared
at Isaiah but the black man could see that his adversary had
accepted defeat.

"When the items
are ready, how do I contact you?" Bogdan asked.

"Pack them in
an old cardboard box and put the box in the rubbish bin behind your
house. Then stand an empty green wine bottle and an empty Coke can
next to the bin. When I see that two items there I'll collect the
box and leave your money in the bin in a brown envelope. In future,
if we have need of your services again, I'll contact you through
Catherine."

"I'll have the
items for you in a week's time." Bogdan said as he stood up from
the table and walked away, putting the envelope with the three
photographs in it, in his shirt pocket.

***

Bogdan Vodnik
walked along the pavement, his anger growing with every step that
he took. He cursed himself for his stupidity. You've been set up by
one kaffir and outwitted by another kaffir, he berated himself. His
anger became a rage as he realised how easily he had been trapped
and how helpless he now was. If he went to the authorities it
wouldn't take them long to find out about all his other illegal
deals and if they ever found out that he was negotiating with the
Nigerian drug dealer he would more than likely spend the rest of
his life in jail. Well, he told himself, I may not be able to get
back at the kaffir who had tricked me but I can do something about
the one who set me up.

Bogdan walked
quickly to the block of apartments where he had rented a
first-floor flat for his meetings with Catherine. This was to be
their first rendezvous since Julia had got back from Europe. He
climbed the stairs, unlocked the door and entered. He turned,
closed the door and locked it. He heard Catherine put down the
magazine that she'd been reading while she sat in one of the lounge
chairs waiting for him. He turned and walked towards her. She stood
up and smiled at him coyly.

"So, what was
the outcome of your meeting?" she asked.

"This." Bogdan
said and punched Catherine as hard as he could in the face with his
fist.

Catherine let
out a short startled cry as Bogdan's fist connected with her nose.
She fell backwards, blood pouring out of her nostrils and running
into her mouth and trickling down her chin. She struck the floor
with a dull thud, her skirt riding up her golden brown thighs. She
struggled to remain conscious as Bogdan stepped closer and kicked
her viciously in the side of her face. Dimly she heard the horrible
crack as her jawbone shattered.

"You fucking
double-crossing black kaffir!" Bogdan shouted struggling to speak
properly through his anger. "You set me up so that that Zuma kaffir
could blackmail me! You're going to pay for what you did, you
fucking kaffir bitch!"

Catherine lay
on the carpet staring up at Bogdan, shocked and trying not to choke
in her own blood. He could see her beginning to drift into
unconsciousness as she struggled to breathe. He saw the confusion
on her face as she tried to understand what she done to make Bogdan
so angry. The pain in her head must have been excruciating and, as
he stared down at her, she blacked out for a short while. As she
regained consciousness Bogdan aimed a vicious kick at the side of
her head. Her head snapped sideways and she lost consciousness.

Bogdan stared
down at the unconscious woman. He drew back his foot to kick her
again but something told him that he was very likely to kill
Catherine unless he controlled himself. He stood looking down at
her, breathing heavily, his heart racing. He took the envelope out
of his shirt pocket, extracted the three photographs and tossed
them onto the carpet next to the unconscious woman. He turned and
walked to the front door, unlocked it and walked out into the
passageway. He closed the door and walked away.

***

Isaiah strolled
across the Deep Reef Gold Mine's property towards the houses where
the white mine staff lived. He had just completed his daily shift
and still wore his dirty white overalls and his white hardhat with
its lamp and battery pack. As he neared the row of grey houses he
glanced at the rubbish bin at the back of Bogdan's house. Next to
it saw the green wine bottle and empty red Coke can. He breathed a
sigh of relief. The white man had done his job.

Isaiah walked
casually back to the mine's operational area, glancing around
furtively to see if anyone was watching. Nobody took the slightest
notice of him. He went to the mine's ablution block, showered and
dressed in his blue denim slacks, a blue T-shirt and his sandals,
but instead of leaving his overalls to be cleaned at the mine's
laundry he took them back to his dormitory and stowed them in his
locker. He then walked to the dining hall to eat his evening
meal.

It was just
before midnight when Isaiah got out of his bunk. The dormitory was
busy as the men who would be working the late-night shift prepared
to leave for work. He dressed in his dirty overalls and left the
residence, the distant roar of the huge extractor fans that helped
to keep the temperature underground at acceptable level filling the
air. Men milled around on the property some about to begin work and
others coming off their shift.

Nobody took any
notice of Isaiah as he walked towards the white mining staff
houses. He went to the rubbish bin behind Bogdan's house, carefully
lifted the lid and placed it on the ground. He felt inside the
container and found the cardboard box that contained the items that
Bogdan had provided. He lifted it out and placed it on the ground.
He took a brown envelope out of his pocket and placed it in the bin
and replaced the lid. He picked up the cardboard box and walked
away. He left the mine's premises and headed through the darkness
to the buffer zone and the abandoned gold mine where Paul and his
illegal miners worked.

When he reached
the entrance to the old mine Isaiah he connected his hardhat's lamp
to its battery and clambered into the sloping tunnel. He walked
down until he reached the second level, knowing that this tunnel
had already been worked by Paul and his miners. After walking a
short distance along the level tunnel and inspecting the walls on
both sides, Isaiah found a small alcove where a particularly large
rock had been dislodged. He placed the cardboard box with the bomb
fitting in the recess and pushed the rock up as close as he could,
effectively hiding the alcove. He then walked back to the entrance
at a measured pace, carefully counting his steps - forty two paces.
He walked up the sloping tunnel to the entrance and left the mine,
feeling sure that his cache was safe.

***

Isaiah read the
note that had been passed to him by someone he'd never seen before
as he walked from the surface station at the top of the Deep Reef
main shaft to his dormitory. "Tomorrow after you have finished work
dress in casual clothes and walk towards the Orlando East beer
hall. Walk along Armitage Street. A white Datsun will stop next to
you. Climb into the car and you will be taken to a safe house. If
you are being followed it will be by someone on foot so it will be
easy to lose him." As he walked towards his dormitory Isaiah tore
the note into tiny pieces and dropped them at intervals a he
walked.

The following
day after Isaiah had completed his shift and returned to the
surface, he showered and dressed in his casual clothes. He left the
mine premises and headed towards Soweto shielding his eyes from the
slowly setting sun as he walked. He glanced back over his shoulder
several times to see if he could spot anyone following him and,
although he noticed several men walking behind him he had no way of
knowing if they were following him or not. He reached Orlando East
and found Armitage Street. He began walking along the uneven road
and heard a car approaching from behind. The car stopped next to
him, the back door opened and he climbed in, closing the door. The
car drove off along the street.