A moment later as Dlamini was about to turn the Police Radio back on so he could listen in the phone rang. Dlamini immediately picked it up and put the receiver to his ear.
“Norwood Police Station, what’s up?” said Dlamini.
“What’s up!? Did you just say what’s bloody up?”
“Ah yeah man, what’s up, what can I do you for?”
“This is General Amos Arosi and I need a patrol vehicle sent to my address in Houghton immediately – something may be wrong here. Now send a vehicle at once!”
The line went dead. Steven felt the blood drain from his face, now depleted of colour, as the Charge Officer Commander had ended her private call and was now staring at him. “Dlamini, what’s wrong, Alpha call?”
Dlamini took a moment to compose himself and finally put the phone down “Ah, yes Warrant. It was General Arosi, he said he needs a vehicle sent to his place straight away.”
“Why?”
“He didn’t exactly say, he just said something was wrong”
“Well we don’t have any vehicles who can respond now, as you know our only charge office vehicle went to go collect him from the airport, you know we sent one of the Afrikaans brothers to collect him. And both Alpha vehicles are guarding those bodies from the huge car accident, waiting for the mortuary vans. That’s why I took the phone off the hook, you idiot!”
“So what do we do then, Warrant?”
“You do nothing, go back into the Client Service Area and wait until you knock off. I’ll call 10111 and get a Flying Squad vehicle sent there. Now go away” said Warrant Officer Lesogo while picking up the landline to dial 10111.
“But that could take forever, they might not even be close by, but Houghton is close to us, we could be there in a few minutes..”
“Who’s we!?” demanded the Warrant Officer. “We have no vehicles or members to respond!”
“Me! I’m a member! I can go with that square head, I mean Juhu.”
“You don’t even have a vehicle” the Warrant Officer laughed and waved the young student constable away.
“I do, Warrant, I have the keys to the Beast!”
Lesogo now looked up at the cocky young student with surprise. “You have the keys to Zulu’s vehicle? And how do you have them? Actually I don’t want to know, he’ll kill you when he gets back and I don’t want any part of it.” She waved the student off once more but Dlamini just stood there in defiance.
Lesogo put the phone to her ear but 10111 was engaged.
“Sho! 10111 must be down, again” she looked up at Dlamini and after a moment’s pause said “Fine, take Juhu, he must drive, you don’t have authorisation to drive State vehicles yet and go, quickly. And don’t put a scratch on that vehicle.”
Dlamini turned on his heel and headed for the door.
“Wait, Student Dlamini, do you know the General’s address?”
An embarrassed looking Dlamini turned and admitted he did not. The warrant officer shook her head and gave him the address and Dlamini ran towards the Client Service Area.
He got there in seconds. “Juhu, come with me, we have to go, now!”
Constable Juhu was already on his feet, ready to begin the paperwork to knock off duty.
“Fuck you, shark shit. I’m not going anywhere but to the barracks and then my bed.”
“The Warrant has ordered you to come with me, as my crew, in November Whisky Fifty, while I drive and respond to an Alpha call in Houghton!” Dlamini held up the keys to the Beast in one hand while his other clasped the grip of his 9MM in his thigh holster.
“Yeah right, fuck off, shark.”
“It’s the General’s House, he’s having an Alpha!”
“Haha, what do you mean ‘he’s having an Alpha’… wait.. did you say General, in Houghton?” Juhu’s face took on a strange look which conveyed fear, surprise and panic.
“Jesus, okay, give me the keys, let’s go” and Juhu snatched the keys from the student’s hands and marched out towards the police parking lot.
Smiling, Dlamini turned to Farmer and was surprised to see his friend holding up a Bullet Proof Vest for him. “Here take this, I brought it for my brother so he could wear it when he drove the marked police vehicle for the General but he refused. He said it was too heavy and he didn’t need it as he wasn’t on patrol.”
Now it struck Dlamini that Farmer’s brother might be in danger or already seriously injured, or worse.
“Quickly, man. Take it and go, my brother might be in trouble!” pleaded Farmer.
Steven took the vest, flung it over his head and strapped it on while jogging after Juhu.
For all his bravado and enthusiasm, a cold sweat now broke over Dlamini and he felt a bolt of fear down his spine. Then his adrenalin kicked in and his pace doubled.
Dlamini ran to the back of the station and out into the police parking lot and caught up to constable Juhu as he hopped into the driver’s seat. Juhu placed the key in the ignition and turned it but nothing happened.
“Crap, man. These fucking state vehicles are always broken” said Juhu. “The battery must be dead.”
Dlamini jumped into the passenger seat: “It’s not broken, Poo-Hoo, there’s a special kill switch you have to hit, here” and Dlamini placed his fingers in the central console next to the gear lever and pressed the hidden immobiliser.
Juhu gave the student a sideways look and then tried the ignition once more. This time the powerful engine roared to life.
“So what are you, then. Dlamini? The Bastards’ pet or what, why would they tell you about it? And don’t call me that!” said Juhu, pulling the large vehicle out onto the road.
“They didn’t tell me anything, I’m just observant. Remember, I’ve ridden with the great Bastards, I won the Rookie Ringer” Dlamini replied with a grin: “Should I call for backup?”
“No, Dlamini, we can handle this.” Juhu put on the vehicle’s blue lights and siren.
“Why the siren?”
“Because, shark, we’re responding to an Alpha call, remember – the General is having one!” And Juhu laughed.
Dlamini switched the vehicle’s radio on and made sure it was on Channel 26 – The channel designated for Norwood and other nearby police stations. Another vehicle from Sandringham Police Station was performing a vehicle check with control – testing to see if it was stolen or wanted. It came back negative and Dlamini was happy to hear that Lisa, Sergeant Night’s fiancé was on duty as the Radio Controller.
Dlamini went for the radio’s transmitter but was stopped by Juhu’s hand which shot out and grabbed his arm.
“What the fuck did I just say, shark? We don’t need backup!”
“I heard you, Juhu, but I’m not calling for backup, I just wanted to say hello to the controller, I know her.”
“The police radio network is not a toy, you can’t just use it to say hello to people you know, Dlamini.”
The police vehicle approached a busy intersection and Juhu had to slam on the vehicle’s brakes to stop their Ford Ranger from ploughing into the back of a civilian car stopped at the red traffic lights.
Dlamini used the distraction and quickly picked up the mic and radioed control:
“Control, come in for November Whisky Fifty”
Juhu turned and glared at the young student.
“November Whisky Fifty send for control and who is this?” said Lisa.
“Thank you, control. It’s student constable Steven Dlamini and I wanted to let you know that we are responding to an Alpha call at 9 3rd Avenue in Houghton Estate.”
“Copy that, November Whisky Fifty. What is the nature of the Alpha call?”
“We don’t know control, call just came though to the station” said Dlamini who had thought it better not to mention that this was General Arosi’s private residence over the radio. He was a rookie but he knew enough to know that the police radio network was monitored by criminals.
“Copy that, November Whisky Fifty. Let me know when you break. D
o you need backup?”
Juhu now placed his hand over Dlamini’s on the mic. “Say no, boy!” and then released his grip while slowing the vehicle down and pulling it to the side of the road.
“November Whisky Fifty?”
“Tell her it’s fine, we can handle it.”
Dlamini put the mic to his mouth and keyed it: “No, it’s okay control.”
Dlamini was surprised not to get a response or argument from Lisa and put the microphone back onto its cradle.
The radio crackled to life once more.
“Yankee Six Six, come in for control.”
Yankee is the call sign for all Flying Squad vehicles in the Johannesburg Area.
“Send for Yankee Six Six, Control.”
“I presume you have been monitoring this channel’s traffic?”
“Ja, Control, that’s affirmative. We are posted to this area.”
“Good, then please proceed to the Alpha call and provide the November Whisky unit with backup. Do you need the address again?”
“Copy that control, we were surprised to hear November Whisky Fifty on air when Sergeant Night and his men are currently on leave. So we heard everything and although we are a little wide (Far from call), we are already en route - I would like to know who is stupid enough to drive Zulu’s car without his knowledge.”
“Thank you, Sergeant Snyman. And so would I.”
Lisa van der Westhuizen knew that General Arosi owned the home that the Norwood vehicle was attending and so did Sergeant Snyman.
“Stupid, idiot! Now look what you’ve done! That fucking maniac white cop and his demon are coming now!” said Juhu.
Dlamini smiled inwardly to himself. He was glad that the veteran Sergeant Snyman and his partner known as Demon were also attending. He had no reason to totally distrust Juhu but something, perhaps a developing policeman’s intuition, told him that Juhu was not to be trusted.
Chapter Two
3rd Avenue, Houghton. Johannesburg. En Route Arosi Residence.
Amos Arosi liked the young student constable who had arrived at Lanseria Airport to collect him. He was polite, his uniform was crisp and he didn’t speak to the General unless spoken to. Something the General found very welcome given the amount of thoughts that swam through the commander’s head. Their mission had been a success and Arosi was happy to know that all of his men, bar one, had survived the operation. His trusted driver and bodyguard, Tony Tshabalala, had remained in Durban with the rest of the surviving men where they were currently enjoying some R&R and recovering in hospital. Soon after the one hour car ride home from the small airport had begun Arosi had fallen asleep. Now five minutes away from his ex-wife’s house, and as instructed, the young student woke the General.
“General, we are nearly there.”
Amos Arosi yawned and winged his large frame and said: “What is it you guys call these vans?”
Jan looked nervously at the General unsure whether he could be candid with such a high ranking officer.
“Go on young man, remind me, I have forgotten is all.”
“Um, cheese van, General. I have heard the other officers refer to these vehicles as ‘cheese vans’.”
The General laughed. “Ah yes, now I remember. Not very comfortable are they?”
“No, General. And not very fast. They don’t handle very well either, particularly with the prisoner cell on the back. And they break down often…’ looking a little embarrassed the young student constable focused once more on the road ahead deciding he had said more than enough.
The ‘cheese van’ turned into 3rd Avenue and the road was lined on each side by large Jacarandas, their petals a deep purple, creating an exquisite canopy over the road. Above the trees the clouds were dark grey and heavy rain began to fall while thunder sounded and lightning flashes streaked the darkening sky.
“You’re right, these bakkies (pick-up trucks) are not the most suitable police vehicles, but they are cheap, and because they are so slow we hardly ever have to replace them as our members don’t write them off in nasty accidents. You’d be surprised how many vehicles we lose each month through accidents young man.”
The police vehicle turned off the road and stopped in front of a large gate surrounded by white walls 8 foot high, capped with electric fencing.
Student constable Jan van Rooyen pulled up the handbrake and rolled down the window. “Shall I press the intercom, General?” Rain immediately began to soak the student constable.
“Put your window back up, young man. Something is wrong here.”
Without another word and without waiting for a reply General Arosi took out his mobile phone from the inside pocket of his suit and found ‘Norwood Station’ in his phone book and hit dial. It was engaged. The General tried twice more but the phone line was still unreachable. He put the phone between his legs and looked at his driver.
“I see you are armed, constable. A little unusual for a student still on charge office duty but perhaps your charge officer Commander thought it a good idea since you would be in a marked vehicle?’
“Um, we had special permission given to us by our Station Commissioner, General. Student constable Dlamini did it, he put the request in writing, citing all the recent attacks on police stations this year.. he was denied his request at first..”
The General put his hand up to silence Jan.
“All very interesting I am sure. Nonetheless I am glad you are armed. You see that BMW in the drive way” said Arosi while pointing ahead and through the gates security bars. “Well that’s my ex-wife’s car and it’s never parked outside of the garage it’s currently parked in front of. It presents too much of a target for passing criminals and we have had many discussions about it. I may be overreacting but my wife is a very security conscious person and it’s highly unusual for her to leave it there. Now I’m going to try once more to phone the station and have another vehicle sent here just in case. If it’s still engaged get on the radio and call it in through radio control, although I might be wrong so I’d rather avoid doing that.”
“But if there are suspects inside wont they have seen us by now, General?”
The General shook his head “no, the only room that looks out onto the driveway is the main bedroom and I can see the curtains are closed.” Amos picked up his phone once more and dialed. Again it was engaged.
“God damn it, man” said Arosi. The General wanted to avoid calling over the radio network for many reasons. “I’ll try one last time.”
He dialed and to his great relief the phone rang and was almost instantly picked up.
“Norwood Police Station, what’s up?” answered a young male voice.
“What’s up!? Did you just say what’s bloody up?”
“Ah yeah man, what’s up, what can I do you for?”
“This is General Amos Arosi and I need a patrol vehicle sent to my address in Houghton immediately – something may be wrong here. Now send a vehicle at once!”
The General ended the call.
“Remind me to find out who answered that call. Now, we’re going to play this by the numbers. Sound the siren, constable.”
Jan did as he was instructed and the police vehicle made it’s distinct Whoop Whoop. The two men waited and then Arosi saw what he was looking for, a tiny sliver of light as the curtains parted infinitesimally in the main bedroom.
“Did you see that, constable?”
“Um, I think so, yes General. Looks like someone peeked out of the window.”
Arosi picked up his phone once more and opened its phone book and found his former wife’s phone number stored under her name ‘Maria’ and hit dial.
The phone rang unanswered to voice mail. The General ended the call and put his phone back into his pocket. “Sound the siren once more and if it doesn’t open we’re climbing over.” He then reached into his waist where he kept his revolver in an in-holster and held his weapon at the low ready.
Whoop. Whoop.
A few seconds later and
the gates began to open, very slowly.
“What do we do now General, should we wait for backup?”
Intuitively, as the gates began to open, General Arosi knew what this was all about. Recovering the Gaddafi gold and cash had been too easy. Nothing in life is ever that easy. He should have had private security posted to the house until he had come back home and tied off all loose ends, he thought to himself.
“No, whomever is waiting for us in there will know we are onto them if we leave now and who knows what they will do to my family as they know this will be there only chance, if they were just opportunistic criminals they would have run when they heard the siren. These guys must know who I am. Our best bet is to go in as if we are none the wiser and hope backup get’s here very soon. I hope you carry one up and if you don’t do it now.”
“Um isn’t that against standing orders, General?”
General Arosi simply continued to stare at the aspiring constable waiting for an answer.
“Um, yes I do, general. Always.”
“Good to hear, some standing orders should not be followed. Now pull in, act natural and be ready. .”
Young student constable Jan van Rooyen had been dreaming of the day he could respond to an armed robbery/home invasion in progress since the time he first made the application to join the Police. But certainly not like this.
The young constable pulled the vehicle inside the property and parked it next to the BMW. His heart was racing and he noticed his mouth was dry, his hands were sweating and despite the cooling rain he felt his temperature rise.
The two police officers got out of their vehicle and approached the large front door. Both policemen had their weapons drawn and held low and out of view from anyone watching from the front. Jan found it odd that the Generals wife had not already opened the door and come out to greet him, neither of his two daughters appeared either.
General Arosi put out his left hand about to knock on the door when it suddenly opened. His worst fears were realised when from inside the house two men, both dressed in blue overalls stared back at him, both were armed, and both weapons were pointed at the two policemen.
Night In London (Night Series Book 2) Page 2
