Night In London (Night Series Book 2)

by Casey Christie

  South Africa to hand back Col Gaddafi’s money

  IOL had a piece titled:

  Found in SA… Libya’s Trillions

  The Times read:

  Gaddafi Billions found in SA

  Fin24 had:

  SA to return Gaddafi Billions

  And finally BizNews.com

  Hunt is on for Gaddafi Trillions stashed away in SA

  The police officers all carefully read through each article and were all relieved to see no mention of their involvement in recovering part of the loot or that of General Arosi’s private military company, World Net.

  But the officer’s interest didn’t end there as one paragraph in particular, in the BizNews.com article, caught their attention and Night highlighted it for them all to read one last time:

  The Sunday Independent reported that some R2 trillion in US dollars, hundreds of tons of gold and six million carats of diamonds, were ferried to South Africa in at least 62 flights between Tripoli and South Africa. The loot is now being stored at seven heavily guarded warehouses and bunkers in secret locations between Pretoria and Johannesburg.

  Shaka whistled through his teeth and shook his head from side to side.

  “We should have asked for more money!’ said Kalahari.

  “And it looks like what we recovered was only the tip of the pyramid” said Shaka attracting odd looks from his colleagues.

  “Anyway, gents, now it makes sense why people are still asking questions, we better watch our backs because that kind of prize is sure to attract all types of people.”

  Chapter Twelve

  It was just after midday when the three police officers managed to officially book off duty. Kalahari was keen to get to his bank and pay off some long standing debts with his new found wealth. Night and Shaka wanted to do the same thing but thought it better to take the opportunity to go visit their boy, Wamba.

  But before they parted ways all three men agreed to make no large purchases and to not flash any of their contract commissions until they had spoken to the General and tied up any loose ends. It wasn’t a difficult decision for the men to make because in truth all three officers hadn’t a clue on how to spend their money. They were all to used to being broke for most of their lives or living off credit or money borrowed from a friend or family until their next meagre police pay arrived.

  Night and Shaka met at Night’s pride and joy, his Lumina SS parked in front of Norwood police station, some time later, both now out of police uniform and in civilian clothing after changing in the barrack rooms.

  “Yellow t-shirt, really?”

  “What’s wrong with yellow, Mike? One of my ladies said it brings out my eyes.”

  Night rolled his eyes. “At least it’s not too tight this time.”

  An hour later and the two off duty police officers were half way to their destination, Ermelo. Night was enjoying the feel of driving his car and letting her engine open up on the highway. The men hadn’t said a word since leaving Norwood and were enjoying the music, the balmy weather and for the first time in their lives the freedom of feeling financially secure.

  “Are you going to get a new car, Mike? Or just pay off this one?”

  “Don’t know yet, but I was just thinking that perhaps it’s time I buy my first house, you know, since I’m getting married…” Night stopped himself short as he realised his future with Lisa wasn’t so secure anymore. Perhaps that would do it, he thought to himself, if he could buy a house, or at least put down a deposit for one, maybe Lisa would feel more secure and stay with him and not move to Cape Town with her parents, if that was in fact what she planned on doing.

  “Can you buy a house for two million?”

  “I’m not sure, I have never really looked, but from what Lisa has told me it might be enough for something small and entry level in a very good area or something bigger in a not so good area. But I’ve heard a lot of the General’s friends talking at dinner parties and events and they always say to never use one’s own money when buying a property. I’ll need to talk to my bank manager.”

  “Ja, me too but first thing on my list is a new car” said Shaka while smiling at the thought.

  “Let me guess – a V6 Ford Ranger, like The Beast?”

  “Nah, Mike, that would be nice, but I have had my eye on an even bigger one since doing the job…”

  “All right, well, not yet right, let’s first speak to the General and put this whole thing to bed first.”

  They slipped into anther comfortable silence as Night increased the volume of the track currently playing and applied more pressure on the accelerator. He was looking forward to seeing Wamba and wanted to get to him as quickly as possible but not before stopping at a butcher along the way and getting some of Wamba’s favourite treat – Bones!

  Night pulled the Lumina onto a dirt road and once again passed the large herd of cattle before coming to a stop in front of a large farm house surrounded by Rondavels.

  Night was surprised not to see anyone, no human activity whatsoever.

  “You did call ahead and let them know we were coming?”

  “Yeah, I spoke to the farm manager and he said to come anytime, it’s not a problem.”

  Just then Shaka’s phone rang and he let Night know that he had to take the call as it was important and to go to the rondavel where they had last seen Wamba.

  Night grabbed the packet of bones from the back seat of the vehicle, adjusted his weapon in his holster, partly to make it more comfortable but mainly out of force of habit while he scanned his surroundings. It was eerily quiet he thought to himself. He considered waiting for his friend but when he bent down to look at Shaka who was still on the phone, sitting in the front passenger seat, Shaka simply waved him away. The phone call must be significant.

  Night entered the farmhouse and walked all the way through it to reach the far side of the building to where they had exited previously a couple of evenings ago. He opened the rickety wooden door, closed it behind him and stepped out into the bright sunlight and had to put his hand over his eyes to readjust to the light from coming from the near complete darkness from inside the outbuilding which had very little natural lighting and no electricity.

  Satisfied he could now see in front of him, Night looked around and located the rondavel he had last seen Wamba in. Happy it was the correct one, Night put his head down and walked quickly towards it. Looking down, avoiding the sun’s direct gaze, and after only a few steps Night came to an abrupt halt. The sound of large paws beating against the gravel caught his attention and he looked up to see Wamba running directly at him.

  In a moment of pure relief and joy Night allowed himself to fall to his knees, he let the packet of bones drop to the ground next to him and he stuck out both arms in order to received Wamba in a huge embrace as he arrived.

  In a heartbeat Night realised that he had just made a potentially fatal mistake as he realised that the large beast sprinting towards him wasn’t his beloved boy but… what was his name… as if reading Night’s thought Dingiswayo let out a deep, threatening, growl and pinned his ears behind his now lowered head while charging directly at Night.

  “Ah, yes, Dingi, the king around these parts… oh… shit!”

  Adrenalin kicked in as Night realised the danger he was now in and time slowed as he saw the magnificent working dog charge straight for him, in mere seconds, the powerful cattle dog would be on him. A thousand thoughts swam through Nights head as he considered his options and the adrenaline caused his perception of time to slow considerably… turn and run and hopefully make it back inside the farmhouse… no, he wouldn’t make it and would only expose his back to the animal further inducing a hunt instinct from Dingi. Night thought about drawing his weapon but decided against it for a number of reasons, the primary being that it would probably just anger the animal further even if he had time to draw and fire. Night had seen a number of powerful working dogs shot by ruthless criminals while on duty and although the dogs sometimes died f
rom the 9mm gunshots they usually survived the initial trauma long enough to kill the suspect. And this was no ordinary city guard dog. Just as Night resigned himself to being taken down by the animal and wishing he carried a .45 calibre instead he remembered a story once told to him by his father about a family friend who had once mistakenly walked on to a De Beers diamond mine property out in the country while walking his own dogs. He was confronted by two large Great Danes, with the specific purpose of dealing with trespassers. His own dogs, poodles no less, had recognised the danger and had run back to their owner’s vehicle. The man was somewhat of a dog whisperer and often took in strays and had at any given time around a dozen dogs on his property. Apparently the man had stood his ground, calmed his energy and had offered an arm each to the dogs, which they had graciously accepted – each dog had clamped it’s jaws around each arm and he spoke calmly to them. He stood there for what felt like hours but by checking his watch the man had realised was more like 40 minutes until a security vehicle patrolling the estate had chanced upon him while on patrol. The patrol officers immediately ordered the dogs off of the unknown man while pointing their firearms at him. After questioning and explaining to the men that he was simply walking his dogs one of the guards had apparently shaken his head in disbelief and had said ‘You should be dead! These dogs are trained to attack and kill on sight! Didn’t you see the bloody signs all over the place, man!’

  Decision made. Night got to his feet just in time to extend his arm forward, bent double to offer his forearm to Dingiswayo’s large jaws.

  “That’s a good boy, Dingi…”

  It didn’t work. Dingiswayo leaped onto Night landing his two front paws on Night’s shoulders and forced him to the ground. As Night hit the floor the air was violently expelled from his lungs and it took all of his considerable strength to keep the dog’s vicious teeth away from his neck. Night had a chunk of skin from the side of Dingi’s head in one hand and Dingi’s ear in the other as he used every ounce of his fast diminishing energy and might to keep those massive canines away from closing around his wind pipe. Night thought about going for his weapon and emptying the clip into the animals soft underbelly but to do so he would have to remove one of his hands from the dog’s face which would guarantee the dog would be able to get to his throat. Night felt the dogs claws cut into his shoulders on either side as he started to knee the dog in its chest on either side. It seemed to have little to no effect and Night changed tactics and began to kick at the dogs groin. First one hit, then another and another. Finally the blows to the dogs nether region seemed to be working and Night started to think he may actually live through this when he heard another dog bark and then run towards them.

  Night managed to steal a glance around Dingiswayo’s massive chest and what he saw made his heart beat even quicker. Gwala.

  The massive Gwala was now charging in and when he arrived Night knew his fate would certainly be sealed. The pack mentality would take over and Gwala, even larger than his already large brother, who ‘never did anything without Dingi’s permission’ would finish him off.

  With a renewed sense of urgency and a reserve of strength Night violently kicked and racked at Dingi down below. But although his shots were having some effect his strength was waning much quicker than that of Dingi and he could feel the dog’s jaws getting closer to his throat with each heartbeat, Night could actually see bits of dead flesh and spots of blood within the animals mouth as his maws violently snapped open and closed. The dog’s breath almost made Night gag.

  Seconds later and Night could hear and sense, rather than see, Gwala within feet of him. In an almost unconscious acceptance of his fate Night felt his strength begin to leave his body.

  “Not like this!” Night thought to himself as he closed his eyes and fought deep down for one last reserve of power.

  An instant later and Night felt the immense weight and power of Dingi lifted off him and he turned his face to the side, now flat against the rough earth, as he saw that another blur of dog had knocked Dingiswayo off him. Night didn’t have a chance to see what happened next as a large, boney leg caught him on the side of his jaw and knocked him out cold.

  Night woke with a start and immediately moved his torso up and forward and went for his firearm at his midriff. It wasn’t there. Night then looked down at his body and realised that he was naked from the waist up.

  Night felt a hand on his shoulder and he whipped his head around to see Shaka standing next to the bed Night was on with a look of total and utter sympathy, concern and embarrassment etched across his broad face.

  “I’m so sorry, Mike, I’m so sorry, I should never have let you wander about here without me.”

  Realising that the immediate danger had now passed and that he was now safe Night relaxed his tensed body and let out a huge breath of air before letting his head fall back onto the pillow under him. Night took another deep breath and looked around him. The room was full of concerned looking people. None of which Night immediately recognised except William the vet and the man that had been singled out as the Chief of Shaka’s clan.

  The chief moved towards Night and his mouth spread into a warm and welcoming, fatherly smile. “I am so sorry about what happened out there, Captain Night. We were expecting you but you arrived at the most inopportune time as we were all attending to one of cattle that had just been attacked..”

  William now stepped forward and said: “Rest assured, Captain, Dingiswayo’s fate is now sealed.”

  William moved towards the door and Night saw he was carrying a shotgun in his hands.

  “Don’t hurt him!” said Night with a lot more force than he had intended.

  William stopped dead in his tracks and turned to Night.

  “Don’t hurt him? Oh, I won’t hurt him, Captain. But I will ensure that he will never again be able to hurt another visitor of ours ever again.”

  William reached the door and opened it.

  “It was my fault, the dog, Dingiswayo did nothing wrong! He is trained to protect this homestead against any and all intruders and I was alone when he came upon me.”

  “But, Captain Night, you are not an intruder. Enough of this, the dog’s fate is sealed.”

  “If you touch one hair on that dog’s head I will take it as a personal insult to my dignity and honour as one of your guests and I will open a case against you myself.”

  Night knew that Zulu tradition and etiquette demanded that they observe the will of their guests as well as the guest’s feelings of honour and pride.

  William laughed without mirth.

  “And what case would you open against me, cop?”

  “Enough of this!” said the Chief. “We will meet later when our guest has recovered from his ordeal and all discuss with level heads what to do with the animal. Now, will everyone leave and let our guest and Daniel talk about what just happened.”

  The chief then leaned over Night and put a hand on his shoulder.

  “I’m sure he would like to know the full story of what happened and when he finds out who stopped the attack, then perhaps he would feel slightly better about things. Not all of our dogs wanted you dead this day, Captain.”

  The Chief then led everyone out of the room. William was the last to leave but not without giving Night one last glare as he closed the door.

  Night turned and looked up at an incredibly embarrassed looking Daniel Shaka.

  “What happened, Danny?”

  “I’m so sorry Mike but you shouldn’t have spoken to William like that… you’ve undermined his authority here…”

  “For God’s sake, Daniel. I don’t care about that right now. Would you please tell who or what got that bloody bastard off me! Was it Gwala?”

  Suddenly Shaka’s look of embracement turned into one of joy.

  “No Mike, it wasn’t..”

  Shaka smiled.

  “Then who, Wamba?”

  “No Mike, it was.. well.. let me rather tell you what happened from my point of view
… I was on the phone, not for more than a couple of minutes after you left and when I got out of the vehicle I was met by Nandi. She had obviously heard us pull in and had come from inside the main residence where she now sleeps, with Wamba.”

  Shaka paused for effect and smiled before continuing.

  “She gave me her customary warm welcome before we followed you through the farmhouse. Before we reached the door I saw her demeanour change. She growled and I immediately knew that something was wrong. I ran after her to the door and opened it as soon as I reached it. That’s when I saw you on the floor with that bloody little bastard on top of you. And the great big bastard, Gwala, was at your feet. I drew my weapon, not to fire at the dogs, mind you, but to let off a few rounds in the hope of scaring him off of you. But Nandi was quicker than me. In a flash she shoulder charged Dingiswayo and had him off of you, unfortunately she caught you on the chin with one of her legs as she tackled Dingi. You were out cold, I brought you here.”

  Night looked at his friend and knew that there was more to tell.

  “And?”

  “They had quite the fight, Mike.” Shaka whistled through his teeth and shook his head while remembering the scene.

  “As you know Nandi is no match for Dingi though she fought like a demon… but it looks like the devil itself has got into Dingi this day. Shit, Mike, to tell you the truth I stood frozen to the spot for a while, I’ve never seen a fight quite like it before…”

  The memory of the dogs fighting chilled Shaka to the bone and once more all he could do was shake his head in disbelief, he looked down at his skin and noticed the gooseflesh spread across his arm.

  “I thought Dingi was going to kill her and prepared myself to kill him.” Shaka patted the .45 at his side.

  “Although I have a soft spot for the little guy, as you know. Thankfully though Gwala finally got involved and barged Dingi off of Nandi, then it was his turn to take a beating. Thankfully he’s big enough to take it. And you know, Mike, not once did I see Gwala bare his teeth at his brother. Seconds later and William and the rest of the farmhands came running in from the field and broke it all up, the dogs reacted instantly to William’s commands. That’s when I brought you here.”