by Riley Moreno
“Smart thinking.”
“Yeah.” An awkward stare comes from Darren that lingers too long. He missed her terribly. And to think of her as dead was heart-wrenching. It worries his stature but having Lee alive and smiling at him is enough to forget that this place really does suck worse than an oil rig. The camera works when she tests it and the flash blinds Darren. It’s early hours, so some light shines through the cracks of the stone wall above. They aren’t shrouded in too much darkness.
“I’ll be able to climb that rope in a minute. Just give me ...” Lee still needs to sit on the rock that could’ve done her in for good. “What’s happened in the last three days?”
“Plenty. Lots of fighting going on when it comes to the strikes. The workers and rebels have come together and are marching to Torbelli to find Alabastor. They’ve fought off the officers on his side. And the rebels who work under his ruling thumb, bloodshed. And plenty of it. Mark has been found.”
“You found Mark?”
“Yeah. And you’ll never guess that his contact back at N.O. is, Saul. Who works for the news team. But he doesn’t work on the dodgy end of things.”
“Well, that’s a game changer –”
“Sure is. And he’s done a great thing by getting so much of this strike broadcasted to the States and hopefully other countries that will catch wind of this country that has no name on the geographical map. So now they know, and N.O. is pissed! All we need to do is get the names out there via a live feed from one of us and then we can nail them to the world affairs unit who can condemn them. But Camila has the names and Mark doesn’t know any of the members.”
“Henny, Bennie ... that’s two on the map.”
“But still, she has the names, dates, accounts, wires, transfers ...”
“Bennie should have some information on Eric. He might have much on that because he’s running the restaurants and their back dealings now.”
“It’s why he put himself forward to run things. So yes, those businesses are now slowly going into the hands of the law.”
“Camila ... Shaka ... what about them?”
“Camila ... no idea. No sign. But some say there have been sightings. Only rumors.”
“Who said?”
“A few locals. They said she’s been hiding from place to place. Town to town. It’s becoming quite a story. And another interesting development is that Diego freeing the miners with his leadership and Peacock by his side. But there’s still Felis, who refuses to budge. They need him. The people love him. They want either Felis or Diego to run the country. Or even divide it between them. Next, Bennie wants to get Diego’s name out there, and Peacock, and even us who have helped.”
“Not a good idea. We need to stay hidden.”
“Bennie knows that.”
“Sounds like you and him have made up?”
“He’s not so bad. Once he takes off the douche that fits him so well.”
“Yeah. I knew that from the start.” Lee was feeling like she could climb that rope. “I um ... you being here and saving me ... it means so much.”
“I don’t think I can take this side of Lee Coil. Are you about to thank me for saving you... once again?” -
“You make a good habit of it.”
“I wouldn’t want to save any other woman.” Darren tries not to lower his head from that hitting the right spot inside his chest. “We need to take those pictures and a few of those minerals that are inside the room. It will be good to get that on the news next. But the N.O. want us dead. So, we have to be covert. I don’t know who will try and kill us. Mark is in hiding. That’s where we will go until Bennie tells us what to do next?”
“Alabastor and Felis are next. My gut tells that the fish that sinks to the bottom is Shaka. And maybe there was no Shaka. Do you feel that case was fake?”
“Possibly. After the news that came from Bennie, I think it’s safe to say that Henny is a man who nearly got Lotan killed yesterday. He’s in hospital after being shot in the head and actually surviving. Word from Bennie is that he was trying to get a plane chartered to us through a private jet of a friend but that was derailed, and they figured it was him. What’s happened to Henny, I’m not sure.”
“Poor Lotan. Turns out all the bastards are actually out to help us.”
“I know. Let’s carry this conversation out of this ditch. We need to start moving.”
...
Henny had managed to get his wife and daughter away. When he came home that day, his home was smashed. Police came to investigate. And Jason was taken into custody where he would be questioned. Lotan had rung, but Henny avoided calls from everybody.
He was distraught. And the worst news was that the members of the N.O. board wanted to know who this contact was and began pointing their fingers at him. The strikes delayed the commencement from Alabastor, who was unable to make a speech. It was vexed faces and hungry old men furious at their hard work being stalled.
And they need that soppy wet blanket that was Henny now. They had hired somebody to shoot Lotan, who was a fool to try and send a plane to Torbelli. He ransacked much of the details that were missing when Henny went into his office.
The next thing he knew, a call came and Lotan was pronounced in a comatose state with many from the unit sending flowers and cards. The doctors didn’t know if he had any next of kin or family? Lotan had a part-time girlfriend, but apart from that, Henny knew very little of him.
And that made him sad as he drove home, forever vigilant that he could be followed. It was hard to be relaxed when there was no certainty that he wouldn’t be next. The last words that Eman told him were ...
“We’re going to kill Lee Coil and Darren Webb. If you object, we’ll consider you apart of their team trying to expose the N.O. What do you have to say on that, Henny?”
“I think it’s dangerous. It will only make things worse with everything coming out into the open. Why not leave them be? You have nothing suggesting they’re the ones conversing this back and forth to a contact.”
“The contact works for both the N.O. and your unit. What section that is, we’ll soon narrow it down. But we have been chartering everybody who doesn’t work for our special corps and many have red flags against their names. A bunch of liars and deceivers we shall weed out.”
“You can’t kill Lee Coil. Having Lotan shot was also very risky.”
“We do as we please. Herman is due to fly over to Torbelli. And so, will I. The residents don’t know about our glorious mansions out there. Soon, we’ll no longer need to be afraid of what will come back to bite us. And our money can transfer faster into the banks we want to create.”
“Please ... Lee Coil and Darren ... you can’t” –
“If you try and be a hero too, you’ll end up like Lotan” -
“You damaged my home, Eman.”
“A warning only. It was my idea. They wanted to blow it all up with you inside. Be thankful I got the go-ahead on just giving you a kick-up-the-ass!”
Henny knew he wasn’t getting anywhere with Eman. He was the only correspondence who wanted anything to do with him. And that was a sickening thought. Herman was no longer in contact. And all the other members wanted him out and finished, so he wouldn’t talk. But Eman was keeping him alive and Henny needed to kiss that backside until it meant he could run for his life!
The life savings he invested wasn’t even an issue. Lee had not called. Bennie could not find her. And all that was left, was him at his home wondering how long he had left? The news was replaying Torbelli and the fascination that it was not on the map. Henny was not a drinking man, but he had sipped more of his wife’s vintage port that was deliciously sweet with his dinner.
Henny sits down and drinks some more. Ignores all his messages expect from the ones his wife sent that he deletes just in case. He tells her to stay there for a few months, and he’ll transfer eight-thousand to keep her satisfied. He gives his daughter three-thousand that goes through, and it makes him smile to know
they’re not involved in this.
There’s a knock on Henny’s door. He drops the red wine out of nervousness and it spills over onto the carpet. He goes to get a damp cloth and wipes it up before the knock comes again ... and he runs up those stairs to put on his waistcoat and jacket combo. His pocket pistols are loaded and he’s ready to use them.
He checks from his daughter’s windows to see who it can be. When the person steps back from the window, he sees that it’s a woman. And an attractive one at that. It’s nearly eleven when he comes down to open it and sees that the attractive woman is Laura from his unit. He invites her in, offers her a glass of wine that she refuses and then they sit on the sofas as he switches off the news.
“What can I do for you, Laura?”
“Am I the last one to see the news?”
“Yes. You surely are.”
“Henny, I was there the day Camila was in your office. It was us three. And remember what we spoke about? Have you forgotten what she told you?”
Chapter 10
Camila was good at what she did because nobody had the guts to take on the stories that she would. There was a risk factor behind all the stories she wrote. One was a cannibal behind bars, and she was the one who wanted to hear his side of the story. She would venture to military infested areas where you could get shot for going to the nearest store to purchase some milk.
It was that aspect and danger that kept the job engrossing. Torbelli was not given to her lightly. She stumbled upon it one morning accidently, when she was breezing through social media on one of those spook sites that uploaded images that were either voted fake or true. And she loved to get stories from there that were either fact or fiction.
When she came to an image of Torbelli, her heart sank when she saw the mines, the poor people, and the picture of Shaka. Most voted it as fake because it wasn’t on the map and even Camila found that to be true. But Shaka was very much real. And that was him, in this country called Torbelli. Most would not know this, but Henny and his unit had busted one of his operations and that was news to her and Mark which wasn’t allowed to be broadcasted.
And another fact that stood out was the hangar with the N.O. painted on the wall. If Camila was correct, then N.O., was where she worked and there was no other. “Henny, you’ve got to let me go? Didn’t you say that there was an opening for a story in a remote place?”
“I did –”
“So, this must be it? Torbelli. And I know that your unit wants to find the man. Well, I can confirm that he’s in Torbelli. But I need to get there, and I don’t know how, when no flight can take me?”
“Torbelli isn’t real.” Camila presented printed pictures in full scale with images of Shaka. “That’s the man, isn’t it? And do you know he goes by another name out there?”
Laura walked into the room when Camila released the name, “Alabastor. That’s what they’re calling him.” Even Henny at the time was shocked by this. But he knew that many of the board members had not seen Shaka in person or at all. And this Alabastor, as time went on, fitted the description perfectly as their mole that they trusted without a face.
Alabastor had no face, but with his many hands he would could convey messages back to the N.O. And when the Americans came over, Camila said, they would deal with everybody except for him. “It’s him. I’m certain.”
“And this site? Does the fact or fiction stories get deleted?”
“It’s like snapchat. Only it disappears after the votes come in and everybody opts for fake. And Torbelli was fake news. You’re a part of N.O. Henny, a valuable new member. I should do a story on what they actually need you for? Very interesting to know.”
“Well, that’s my business, Camila. And what does this have to do with me?”
“Everything. I had an inkling what was going on ... but I never said a word because they scare the shit out of me. They really do. But I need to redeem my wrongs and put this on the map for people to hear. And with your help, we could do that together.”
But what Henny didn’t know is that Camila had an idea of what she truly wanted to do; get Lee Coil out there. There was no one better to take this case down than her. And Bennie, who was another addition that Camila had revealed as a man of many talents, to laugh in the face of the N.O. who didn’t know he was an undercover cop trying to break into the unit.
And Lee had helped him do it. And played dumb all the while to his associations even out in Torbelli. The N.O. was always watching. And Lee and Bennie had to play along to keep that a secret. It was never enough to let down their guard.
But back to Camila, “get me out there, Bennie.”
“You won’t come back –”
“Lee Coil will get me out. And the N.O. needs to look good on the news. Trust me. They’ll want me and Mark over there writing a piece on Shaka and being the first to broadcast a simple story about the people of Torbelli to the world. They’re pretentious pricks! You know it will fly on the right wall.”
And Camila was right. When Henny brought this to Herman, he thought it was the perfect decoy for the currency and the bust on Shaka. It would keep the public happy that life out there was no different than Malaysia or rural parts of India. It would cover-up the truth. And sending Lee Coil out there would be another factor to their names. It was all for the benefit of concealment.
“It was Shaka. Shaka, is this man who is running things. Why not tell them what Camila knew from the very beginning?”
“That’s one thing I won’t give the N.O., who think they’re so smart. And you shouldn’t be here. It’s not safe to be around me right now. I’m being honest here, Laura. Leave now and make sure you aren’t followed back home” –
“Lotan got shot trying to help them. I’m not stupid. And neither are others. If you can get Shaka’s face on the news, then maybe it will involve the authorities in this matter who can stop the mess?”
Henny got up from his seat and kindly asked Laura to do the same. “Go around the back. A car has just parked on the other side of the street.”
Henny who had taken out his pocket pistols grabbed Laura by the arm and lead her to the garden door, “Wait in my shed. It’s quite snug. You do nothing. I’m going to my car and will lead this person away from my home. I have a feeling I know who it is.”
Laura listens and goes outside into the shed. Henny opens the front door because his keys were already in his trouser pockets and he bounces them inside his hands and strolls casually into his car.
The man got out very slowly, and Henny was already able to reverse back speedily into the middle of the road, causing the man to move from the back of the car with a silencer in hand, before Henny whacks his side of the door violently against the man’s whole upper body and then jumps upon him whilst suffocating his wrists with the gun that he tries to direct at Henny’s skull.
Henny squeezes the life out of that wrist and uses his other hand on the man’s other arm to mount it upon the road. Henny gives the man a few knees in the gut and then slams the hand onto the road. He does a combo until his hand becomes looser but still clings on to the silencer.
Henny then forces the man’s arm to come close to his neck and the other. He has more power; and he slams the forearms into the chest a few times but has trouble with the resistance as the man tries to fling back his arms into Henny’s neck. But he pushes them right down until they compress the airwaves and the face of the man becomes constrained with the discomfort that this is causing.
Then Henny brings those forearms up through the constant resistance and bangs them into those lymph nodes. He does this plenty of times until the man is coughing, and he can now turn the man on his side until he has that shoulder and digs his knee on the side of his cheek. Henny is animalistic and not stopping. When it comes to his life, he values it. And he won’t lose without giving this man a kick up the cylinder.
Henny grapples for the gun and starts to knee the man in the head more than six times before the man gets a little woozy. Now his ha
nd loosens, and Henny gives another squeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeze! He really goes for it, and the man who can barely open his eyes now, let's go. Henny has the silencer. Checks the man with a thorough pat-down, finds the mobile but he doesn’t recognize any of the numbers. So, he grabs the man’s keys and heads to the car before the man regains his strength. Nothing to tell Henny who sent him. So, he has a better idea; he’ll walk this son-of-a-bitch to the car and let him drive to where he needs to go.
...
“I wasn’t going to kill you, Henny. You got me in these handcuffs, it’s me. Why are you acting like we’re strangers?”
“You come with a silencer, so now you are a stranger to me. You were going to try and sneak into my house and shoot me in my sleep. No noise. No neighbors woken. And you’d be able to sleep at night?”
“That was my orders. But I wouldn’t have shot you. I promise. Maybe something that you’d wake up from ... but murder you? No way.”
“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I want to know who sent you? Because I’m done being the sap they can push around. They’re in for the fall and I won’t let them bring me down.”
“Why not take a flight and join your wife and kid?”
“They’re trying to kill me! I won’t allow that to be the end of it. They’ll follow me there. And then that gets my wife and daughter in this mess. I can’t bring this to them. If you weren’t going to kill me, Joel, then it’s time you help me! Or else I’ll have to say it was self-defence, and shoot you now. It’s your choice.”
“It was Eman.” Henny didn’t need to feel the aftershock of that knocking against his pounding chest. They do say the closest thing to a friend is your enemy. And it was worse for Henny to know that Eman was his only point of survival. But no longer.
The only person who could get Darren, Mark, and Lee out of Torbelli was Eman, and that was his propeller when Joel began the drive to his home. Eman lived modestly with his wife and dogs. Not much in terms of what he was earning: a five-bedroom wide-spread home with four windows on the front, and a nice front and backyard that was maintained by a frequent gardener and cleaner.
