by Navi' Robins
“Hi, my name is Daniel Bennett. Do you have any soft drinks for sale?”
The barkeep immediately jumped up and began screaming in his native dialect, while pointing at the doctor as if he were some kind of alien. The armed guards immediately sprang into action and rushed toward the bartender with their automatic rifles pointed at him, their fingers on the trigger. Without thinking, Ayana leaped in their path, holding up her hands and leaning backward toward the bartender, shielding him from any attacks.
“Ms. Burundi, please move out of the way,” one of the soldiers demanded in his heavy accent.
“No, he’s not a threat. He’s excited to meet the doctor. Nothing more.”
“How do you know that?” the soldier asked, still refusing to lower his weapon.
“Because I speak the dialect he speaks. This is my tribal land. I was born about an hour west of here. He was simply saying, ‘I can’t believe it’s you.’ There is no threat here, Soldier. Lower your weapons.”
From the doorway of the bar, Patrick yelled, “Lower your weapons and back away!”
They complied and returned to their positions on either side of the door leading into the bar. The bartender was now hiding, stooping behind the wet, wooden counter, so Daniel leaned over the counter and tapped the man on his shoulder. He looked up at Daniel, who was smiling and gesturing for him to come out. The bartender hesitated for a few seconds and then rose to his feet.
“Do you speak English?” Daniel asked, smiling.
“Yes,” the bartender answered. “My name is Jean Paul. I am greatly honored to meet you, Doctor. How can I help you?”
“We need something to drink. Not alcohol, but something more refreshing.”
“Oh yes, yes, I have soft drinks! I have Coke, Fanta, Sprite, and Dr. Pepper. Which one would you prefer, sir?”
Daniel turned around and asked everyone in the bar, including the two soldiers, what they preferred, and after taking everyone’s order, Jean Paul reached behind the counter into the cooler to pull out the drinks. As soon as he disappeared behind the counter, the soldiers lifted their weapons and aimed them in the direction of the bartender. Daniel stopped them before they got up close and personal with the bartender again. Jean Paul returned within seconds, smiling with his hands and arms filled with several different colored glass bottles of soft drinks. When he noticed the aggressive stance of the soldiers, his smile disappeared, and he forcefully placed the drinks on the counter, sucking his teeth.
Ayana immediately walked toward the bartender and began speaking to him in their native tongue, attempting to explain the soldiers’ actions, but it appeared the bartender wasn’t easily convinced. Once Daniel informed the soldiers, once more, that there wasn’t any danger, he turned around toward the bar to pay for the drinks. As he got closer, Jean Paul began to speak to him.
“I hope you can make a difference because we’ve been under these kinds of conditions for as long as I can remember. Always a gun in our face, always a soldier afraid of civilians even though they have weapons, and all we have is our black skin and pride. I hope that after Kronte is gone, none of these armed men will take up his empty slot and restart the clock. We believe in you, Doctor, and we are praying for your success, but please understand that Kronte isn’t just a man. He’s a mentality. He’s a way of life, and those men that are guarding you are products of that way of life.”
Daniel turned and looked back at the two soldiers to see if they were listening, and judging by their dark stares in his direction, they were. Leaning forward, he placed his hand on the bartender’s hand, trying to calm him down, but it wasn’t working, and the tension continued to build. Daniel began to understand just how bad things had gotten since the last time he’s been here. He then understood that even if they could accomplish the impossible, the tensions between the people and the government were so high, another war was bound to spark again if something wasn’t done. It was a heavy realization, and it made him feel like no victory could be had here. Just like in the bar, if someone didn’t back down, no amount of outside interference could prevent a disaster.
“Let’s go now,” Daniel demanded after leaving a US hundred-dollar bill on the counter. He immediately grabbed hold of his drink and stormed out of the bar with the soldiers quickly following . . .
* * *
The motorcade, pulling into the desolate ruins of the village, came to a halt, and everyone slowly stepped out of the vehicles. The air tasted foul and burned like fire entering the lungs, causing everyone to cough and spit. The clouds covered the sun, preventing its warm and revealing light from penetrating the dusty and dry terrain. The lack of sun and dry, blowing wind sent a depressing vibe through the group as they walked toward the village of Talasidada that was once the home of over three hundred souls. Now it was merely a scorched and dead patch of land. It appeared the earth itself mourned the evil that happened here, and it refused to allow even one blade of grass to grow there again.
Not much left of the village besides flattened clay walls and old, rotting timber. Everything else that made this place home was either burned or looted by Kronte and his troops. Daniel slowly walked toward what used to be the center of the town where his life changed forever, and he immediately fell to his knees, overcome with the torture of the memory of losing everything in one short afternoon. Ayana joined him on the ground, holding him while she cried, looking at the ground where she imagined her baby met her death in the most inhumane way. Meagan couldn’t hold back the tears as they ran down her face, watching the two of them thrown into a time capsule of pain and remorse.
Patrick, unmoved by their display, sucked his teeth and ordered the soldiers to secure the area while he walked over to them.
“Doctor, we don’t have much time here. The longer we stay out in the open, the more dangerous this trip becomes. I need you to go through that day with us here today so that we can assess the validity of your testimony.”
“Hold on! Wait a fucking minute! What you mean ‘validity of his testimony’?” Meagan asked, pulling on Patrick’s shoulder, making him face her.
“Thousands of people say they saw Kronte in person, but none of their testimonies add up,” he responded, pulling away from her while looking at his shoulder where she touched him. “We need to confirm everything the doctor said is true. Otherwise, if there is one inconsistency in his story, Kronte will go free. So, as the head of this investigation, I am obligated to take whatever steps needed to ensure we are not made a fool of in front of the courts.”
Meagan was about to protest further, but Daniel held up his hand and nodded his head.
“I was in the medical facility, preparing for another busy day. Many of the villagers had come down with yellow fever, so I’d been extremely busy for the previous two weeks. I could hear a few of the village children playing right outside of the window, and I remembered smiling because it had been awhile since any of the children were well enough to play. The children seemed to be having a blast, so I stuck my head out the window to see what they were doing. That’s when I saw the dust cloud made by oncoming vehicles from the west of the village. Any other day, I wouldn’t have made much of it, but this dust cloud was massive, which, when you live in this region, you already know what that means. Run!
“I immediately ran to sound the alarm at the guard post, but someone struck me from behind, knocking me to the ground. I must have been out for a few minutes because when I came to, all I could hear was the screams of the villagers and bodies . . . So many bodies were lying all around me. Once my head stopped spinning, I looked around, and whoever hit me had left me there alone, so I jumped up looking for my daughter, who I left sleeping in our hut. Our hut was right over there, about twelve feet from the medical building. I looked for her, but she wasn’t in the hut, so I made sure I stayed out of sight of Kronte’s forces as I moved from structure to structure, looking for her.
“I was about to double back when I heard her screams coming from the middle of the vil
lage. Her screams . . . they were so . . . I could feel her pain through her screams. It made my blood turn cold. I rushed toward her screams, not caring about who saw me. I didn’t care about the violence that was going on around me. I just wanted to save my baby. I saw a group of Kronte’s soldiers standing in a circle, looking down at something. They were cheering, and a few of them were unbuckling their pants.”
Daniel then sprinted away from the group toward a pile of mud bricks . . . The only thing left standing of the medical facility he helped build. Looking down at the cracked earth, he wailed in agony as he collapsed to his knees and seemed to lift an invisible body from the dirt. “Oh, my baby. Look what they’ve done to my baby. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, baby.”
Ayana placed her hand over her chest and began to weep. Kneeling next to him on her knees, she wrapped her arms around him and whispered in his ear, “It’s OK. Let it out. Let it go.”
It took Daniel another hour before he concluded his verbal recollection. Then the group packed up their gear and headed back to their vehicles for the long ride back to the hotel . . .
Chapter 23
First Round Knockdown
Wednesday 5:00 a.m., Juba, South Sudan. The mood in the room was a mixture of excitement and fear as Meagan, Daniel, and Ayana packed up everything they needed for the trial. Today was the day, and no one had gotten any sleep the night before. Daniel was to ride alone with a heavily guarded motorcade, and Meagan and Ayana would travel in a different motorcade. Ayana wasn’t comfortable being away from Daniel, but she had no choice. There wouldn’t be any room in the vehicle for anyone besides Daniel and the many armed soldiers who would be acting as human shields, just in case a sniper tried to get a clean shot. The human shields would not have been necessary, but the armored vehicles were pulled from their security details due to an uprising in a village toward the east, and the government needed to transport some delegates out of the area before things got out of hand.
Meagan pleaded with the American Embassy in Juba for some assistance in security, but they declined her request. They were at the mercy of the Southern Sudanese government forces, which she didn’t trust one bit, but she had to work with the hand she was dealt.
“When you get into the vehicle, turn this on and don’t turn it off,” Meagan said, handing Daniel a small black box similar to a pager.
“What is this?” he asked, looking over the device with confusion.
“It’s a solar-powered GPS tracking device. It uses satellite triangulation technology, and it can track you in any structure, even underground, up to twenty feet below the earth’s surface. It has a seventy-two-hour standby battery life, just in case you are in a location without solar energy.”
Nodding, Daniel began to place the unit in his pants pocket, but Meagan stopped him before he could complete the job.
“No, don’t put it in your pocket.”
“So where should I put it?” he asked, turning his head slightly to the right and looking her up and down.
“No, silly boy, not there,” she replied, giggling. “Here, use this,” she said, handing him a carrying case with a strap attached that would wrap around his thigh.
“Damn, I just put these pants on,” he playfully complained, before walking into the bedroom to put the unit on.
When he was out of sight, Ayana walked over to Meagan, still keeping her eyes on the bedroom door to make sure Daniel didn’t come out before she said what she needed to say.
“Meagan, what’s going on? You don’t trust Patrick Wek?”
“Hell no! I don’t trust anyone here. There are too many ‘coincidences’ occurring since we’ve arrived here. The uprising in the east was the last straw for me because there hasn’t been one news report about it on local or international channels, and when I asked the embassy for help, they turned me down without an explanation. Something isn’t right about how they are handling things, and I’m not taking any chances.”
“Then call off the trial. Postpone it! Ask for a change of venue and get Daniel out of here, Meagan,” Ayana pleaded, now alarmed after listening to Meagan explain her suspicions.
“I tried that too. No flights available until next week,” she replied, flopping down on the couch and burying her head in her hands and screaming. “I placed us all in danger, Ayana, and I’m not sure if any of us will get out of here alive. I just hope I’m overreacting, and everything goes as it should. Should we tell Daniel?”
Ayana looked down at her and remained silent. Suddenly, she heard movement behind her, and there stood Daniel, looking at both of them, worried about the expressions on their faces.
“What’s up? Is everything okay?” he asked while reaching out to Ayana and pulling her closer to him.
“Yeah, just a little nervous about today. We want to make sure everything goes as planned,” Ayana lied while forcing a smile. Just then, a loud knock vibrated through the room from the door, and they heard Patrick Wek’s voice advising Daniel it was time to go.
Smiling, Daniel held Ayana tightly, kissing her gently on the lips and then walked toward the door. Before walking out the door, he looked back, smiling, and said, “I love you.” Ayana collapsed on the couch next to Meagan once the door closed behind him, fearing it could be the last time she would see him alive . . .
Outside, Daniel stepped into a large military vehicle already occupied by at least six soldiers, and once he was seated, six more soldiers followed him inside and closed the door. Patrick peered into the window, smiling slyly while looking directly into the doctor’s eyes, sending a cold chill up his spine. He then tapped on the side of the vehicle, and it pulled away. Once they were on their way, Daniel looked around the interior of the vehicle and introduced himself to the soldiers, who, in turn, warmly introduced themselves. Daniel’s eyes moved from each dark-skinned face to the next and quickly noticed he didn’t recognize any of the soldiers. Because of his previous experiences in Africa, he made it a point to remember every face assigned to his personal security. Taking a closer look, Daniel shook his head as he noticed they were all very young, appearing to be no older than 18. The uncomfortable feeling of being set up began to cloud his mind, so he decided to see just how bad of a situation he was in. He began to ask them each their ages and how long they’ve been in the armed forces.
His anxiety intensified when he discovered all of them were fresh out of boot camp and were given this detail a couple of days ago.
What the fuck is going on?
Although he should’ve been afraid of the men surrounding him, he didn’t feel like any of them meant to do him harm and were genuinely concerned about his well-being. Then one of the men pulled out his cell phone and began playing the infamous bathroom video to the amusement of all in the vehicle, except the doctor. The soldier with the cell phone noticed the doctor’s anger and leaned toward him, smiling and saying, “I meant no disrespect, Doctor. It’s just that Ms. Burundi is like a celebrity here, and for you to be her husband . . . well . . . That’s impressive. Also, what you are doing for our people is incredibly brave. You didn’t have to be here, but you are, and we will give our lives to make sure you make it to that trial.”
Despite his anxiety, Daniel began to smile. Seeing him relax gave some of the soldiers the confidence to start telling jokes to lighten the mood.
“Doctor Bennett, a man asked one hundred women what shampoo they preferred, and do you know what they said?”
Shaking his head, Daniel chuckled and said, “I don’t know. What did they say?”
“How the hell did you get in here?”
Another chuckle escaped Daniel’s mouth as nodded his head and said, “Good one.”
Seeing that the doctor was entertained, the soldier decided to tell another joke.
“Dr. Bennett, the other day, I was having sex with a married woman when her husband came home early. She told me I’d have to use the back door and said I’d have to be quick. On reflection, I should have just left, but it’s not every day you ge
t an offer like that.”
The vehicle erupted in laughter, and Daniel and the soldiers leaned over on each other laughing hysterically. As everyone tried to catch their breath, the jokester held up his finger and said, “One more, eh?”
Wiping the tears from his eyes, Daniel nodded and said, “Yes, one more.”
“Why is girlfriend one word and best friend two words?”
“I don’t know. Why?”
“Because your best friend gives you space when you need it!”
Everyone started to laugh again, and the jokester was preparing for another joke, and his audience was all too eager to hear it.
“I asked my wife if I was the only one she’s been with. She said, ‘Yes, the others were sevens or eights.’”
Daniel pointed at the soldier and laughed gingerly. As the rest of the soldiers continued to enjoy the entertainment, Daniel looked out the front window of the vehicle right . . . before the concussive blast from the exploding land mine went off, sending the vehicles in front fifteen feet into the air and shattering the glass around his vehicle.
Immediately, the soldiers began fumbling with their weapons and screaming in their native tongues. A number of them jumped on top of Daniel to shield him while the rest of them lifted their guns in preparation for an attack. Without warning, a hail of bullets penetrated the vehicle, tearing through the driver’s body and sending vast amounts of blood spraying everywhere.
“What’s going on?” Daniel yelled from under the pile of soldiers. One of the soldiers yelled for him to remain silent and stay down. Then the entire truck began to shake violently, and he suddenly felt a surge of extreme heat as his stomach felt like he was going down the steep plunge of a roller coaster. Everyone in the vehicle was upside down, banging on the ceiling of the truck, and then the truck leaned backward, sending everyone toward the back of the vehicle and on top of the doctor. The weight knocked the air out of him as he tried to scream, but nothing came out. He was suffocating fast, and then in the next moment, the vehicle leaned forward, crashing into the hard dirt road, smashing the front of it, and sending glass and metal toward the back.
