The Colour of Gold (29 page)

"Okay!" he
said. "It's her!"

The man glared
at Catherine.

"Get dressed!"
he shouted. "Hurry up! You're under arrest!"

"What for?"
Catherine asked, her voice shaking with fear.

"For fucking
with a white man!" the officer shouted. "For defying the Immorality
Act!"

There were two
white policemen and two blacks. In the light from the torches she
could see them leering at her as she stood and began dressing,
putting on a dress and low-heeled shoes.

"Okay! Let's
go!" the white officer said.

The two black
policemen grabbed Catherine by her arms and hustled her out of the
shack. They marched her roughly across the uneven ground and when
she tripped and began to fall they hauled her upright, hurting her
arms with their rough grips. Her injured jaw ached and she felt
faint. In the dim light Catherine saw a small yellow police van
parked in the road. The white police officer opened the back door
and the two black officers shoved Catherine into the back. She
struck her shins painfully on the edge of the floor and fell
facedown onto the steel flooring. She felt the men grab her legs
and push her further into the back of the van. She felt the vehicle
sag as the two black policemen climbed into the vehicle with her.
She heard the door slam shut as she wriggled onto her back and sat
up with her back against wall of the cab. The front of the small
truck dipped as the two white officers climbed into the cab. The
engine roared into life, its headlight flicked on and the vehicle
drove off along the rough, rutted street.

As Catherine
sat in the back of the van she noticed the two black policemen
leering at her legs. She looked down and saw that the skirt of her
dress had ridden up almost to the top of her thighs when she had
slid across the steel floor of the van. She tried to pull the
material down to cover her thighs but in the confined space the
material remained trapped between her body and the floor of the
van. As she stared at the two black men she saw them look at each
other, smile and nod their heads.

Before she
could react the two men moved closer to Catherine and grabbed her
feet. They pulled her towards them until she lay on flat on her
back. She felt them grab her panties and pull them down her legs.
Her shoes fell off onto the steel floor. One of the men loomed over
her, his face contorted with lust.

"Open your
legs, babe." the man said, his voice husky with desire. "We're
going to fuck you so that you'll realise that black men fuck much
better than white men do."

Realising that
it would be futile to resist Catherine resigned herself to being
raped. She closed her eyes and endured the pain as the man forced
himself into her. She cried out as his huge penis drove savagely
into her. He moved rhythmically, faster and faster, and then with a
grunt she felt his warm sperm burst inside her. He gasped and
groaned as he lay on top of her.

"Okay, it's my
turn now." the other black policeman said. "Get off the fucking
bitch and give me a chance! I show you how a Zulu fucks a
woman!"

Catherine felt
the first man climb off her and within seconds the second man
reared over her. She felt him enter her and begin thrusting before
he too grunted and ejaculated. His foul breath hissed through his
teeth and in the dim light from the truck's headlights she saw that
his eyes were tightly closed. He collapsed on top of her, breathing
heavily, his foul breath sickening her so that she almost
vomited.

"Get off her."
the first man said. "We're almost in the city. We don't want anyone
to see what we've done."

The man climbed
off Catherine.

"Put your
panties back on and your shoes, babe." the first man said. "And if
you say one word about this to anyone we'll hurt you so badly that
you'll wish that you were dead. Remember, even when you're in
prison we can always get to you."

Catherine lay
on the steel floor and pulled on her panties. She arched her back
and managed to pull down the skirt of her dress to cover her
thighs. She found her shoes and put them on. She lay on her back
and stared at the street lights as they floated past in the
darkness. She glanced at the two black policemen as they sat
looking out of the canopy windows. She saw them frown.

"Hey!" the
first one said. "This isn't the way to the police station! We're in
the Southern Suburbs! We're going away from the station! What's
going on?"

"It looks as if
we're going to the buffer zone between Jo'burg and Soweto." the
other man said. "You know what? I think the Lieutenant and the
Sergeant want a little of what we've just had!"

The two men
grinned at each other and then stared out of the truck's
windows.

"I think you're
right." the first man said. "Look. We're at the area now."

As the truck
slowed Catherine could see the silhouettes of a number of huge blue
gum trees against the dark grey sky.

"Those two
whiteys have always like their chocolate." the first black man
said. "I wonder if they saw us eating this chocolate and now they
want some too."

The other man
giggled.

"Why not?" the
other man said. "She's a great fuck. Why shouldn't they have some
as well?"

The van came to
a halt at the edge of the buffer zone and Catherine felt the front
of the vehicle lift as the two white policemen climbed out of the
cab. She heard them walk to the back door and open it. A torch
flicked on shone into her eyes, the bright light causing her to
blink rapidly.

"Get out of the
van, you black bitch." the white police officer said as he looked
at the two black policemen. "We're taking her for a little walk.
You guys can wait here."

Catherine felt
herself being dragged across the steel floor of the van, her skirt
again riding up her thighs. She fell out of the van, striking her
head painfully on the bumper.

"Get up,
kaffir!" the white police officer shouted.

Catherine
staggered to her feet. She felt the two white policemen grab her
arms and guide her towards the forest. As the three walked away
from the van the Lieutenant looked back over his shoulder at the
two black policemen sitting in the back of the van.

"You two stay
in the van." he said. "Don't get out. If anyone comes here tell
them that we've gone into the bush to have a shit."

"Yes,
Lieutenant." the two men answered in unison.

Catherine
stumbled across the uneven ground, tripping over the clumps of
thick grass and small bushes. The huge blue gum trees loomed above
her. Far in the distance she could hear the low roar of traffic on
the main road between Soweto and Johannesburg. She felt the two
police officers steer her towards a thick clump of bushes. When
they reached them the men pushed Catherine to the ground.

"Take off your
panties!" the Lieutenant said as he undid his belt and began to
unbutton the fly of his trousers. Catherine slid off her panties,
realising that any resistance would be futile. These men were far
stronger than she was and wouldn't hesitate to use violence to get
their way with her. She lay on the rough ground and closed her eyes
as the white officer loomed over her. She felt the man enter her
roughly and begin moving rhythmically, his breath wheezing out of
his open mouth. She heard his gasp and felt him shudder. She felt
his warm sperm burst into her as he ejaculated deep inside her. He
then collapsed on top her breathing heavily.

"Okay, sir."
the other policeman said, his voice thick with lust. "Let me have a
chance too."

The Lieutenant
climbed off Catherine and the second man took his place, his fetid
breath washing over her. Fortunately she didn't have to endure the
man for long. No sooner had he entered her when she felt him
shudder and spew his warm sperm into her. He stood up quickly,
breathing heavily.

"You don't
waste time, do you, Sergeant." the Lieutenant said, laughing.

"No sir." the
Sergeant replied. "But I'm a little out of practice. I haven't had
a fuck for over a month."

"Okay, let's
go." the Lieutenant said. He turned and looked down at
Catherine.

"Get up, you
fucking black hoar!" he shouted. "Do you want us to fuck you again?
Put your panties on and if you say a word about this to anyone
we'll hurt you badly; maybe even kill you. And don't think that we
can't. Lots of prisoners in detention die under mysterious
circumstances. You won't be the first one or the last. Do you
understand?"

Catherine
lurched to her feet, found her panties and pulled them on. She
found her shoes and stepped into them. She straightened her dress
and brushed some of the dirt off. The two policemen grabbed her
arms and led her back to the waiting police van.

"So, sir." one
of the black policemen said as the three reached the van. "Did you
have a nice little "chat"?"

"Yes, we did."
the Lieutenant replied, smiling." But not a word to anyone, hey
boys? And don't think we didn't hear and feel you two in the back
of the van when we were driving here. The Sergeant had trouble
keeping the van on the road!"

The men laughed
uproariously as the two black policemen pulled Catherine into the
back of the van. The door slammed, the front of the van dipped as
the two white officers climbed into the cab, the engine roared into
life, the headlight flashed on and the small yellow vehicle drove
away towards the police station in Johannesburg.

***

"Any progress
with regard to that fellow Vodnik and the kaffir Zuma?" Brigadier
van Tonder asked as Tiaan Botha sat down in one of the visitor's
chairs. "It's been some time since you reported on them.

"There hasn't
been much to report on, sir." Tiaan replied. "I've been monitoring
the subversive activity throughout the country carefully and
visiting all the sites where there have been bombings. I'm pretty
sure that Zuma and his pals have used up seven of their bombs so
far as I've managed to identify six bombings that are identical in
character to the bombing at the Germiston Magistrates Court
building. So, with only one bomb left I'm certain that Vodnik will
be getting a call from Zuma in the near future."

"Good work."
the Brigadier said. "And when the call does come, what are you
planning to do?"

"I'm going to
supply Vodnik with a batch of dud detonators." the Captain said. "I
won't tell him that they're duds though. The less he knows about
what we're doing, the better. That will put a stop to their bombing
for a while and give us a chance to work on identifying Zuma's
superiors. The problem is that Zuma's so difficult to follow. He
loses my guys time and time again. He'll be walking along a street
in Soweto and out of the blue a car will stop next to him, he'll
climb in, and before my guys can do anything, he's gone. And,
obviously, none of the cars have proper registration. Can you
arrange some backup for me, sir?"

"What do you
need?" van Tonder asked.

"Essentially,
sir, I need two cars to follow Zuma. One behind him and one in
front so that when he's picked up we can stay with him." Tiaan
said. "Then I also need the services of a helicopter. Is that
possible?"

"The cars,
yes." the Brigadier said. "The helicopter? I doubt it but it
depends on the circumstances. I can't keep one on standby for you
but, if you give a couple of hours notice, I can probably get one
for you."

"Thank you,
sir." Tiaan said. "Two unmarked cars will be fine to start with.
Then we can follow Zuma while he's walking and also when he gets
picked up by an enemy vehicle."

"And when you
find the bastard's superiors, what are you planning to do? Ambush
them?" van Tonder asked.

"I don't know
yet, sir." Tiaan replied. "Once we've identified Zuma's superiors
we can begin planning how we're going to take them out."

"What's
happened with regard to the immorality charge against Vodnik?" the
Brigadier asked.

"I had a chat
with the public prosecutor handling Vodnik's case and I explained
to him our need to have Vodnik free to work with us." Tiaan said.
"He was very understanding and agreed to suspend the charges
against Vodnik pending the outcome of his work with us. If Vodnik
proves his worth to us he's prepared to drop the charges
altogether."

"And what about
the kaffir woman?" van Tonder asked.

"My guys worked
her over and they're satisfied that she's not working with Umkhonto
weSizwe, sir." Tiaan said. "It took her some time to recover but
when her trial was held she pleaded guilty and was sentenced to
five years."

"Excellent!"
the Brigadier said. "We've got to show these kaffirs that we mean
business. We can't allow interbreeding. We've got to keep our
nation pure. If we don't do that, we're doomed. Apartheid is the
only answer. We've got to keep the blacks separated. Any way, let
me know when Vodnik gets a call from Zuma. I want to be there when
we nail those bastards."

***

Bogdan Vodnik
lay on his back on his bed in the apartment in Hillbrow, staring up
at the ceiling. All his plans were falling apart. Even though he'd
been acquitted on the charge of immorality he knew that his days at
the Deep Reef Gold Mine were numbered. The manager, Gavin Moore,
may have said that the company maintained a policy of "innocent
until proven guilty", and the case against him had been dropped, it
was painfully obvious from Moore's attitude that he knew that the
case against him had been dropped for political reasons. After all,
his co-accused, Catherine, had been found guilty and sentenced to
five years in jail while he, the other participant in the sexual
incident, had been found not guilty. The verdict defied logic and
Moore knew it. On top of this, Julia had now filed for a divorce
and the deal with the Nigerian drug dealer had fallen through.