Читать книгу The Street Detectives: Drugs are for mugs (school edition) - Janis Ford - Страница 6

Pre-reading

1.	Gangsters are often involved in violent crimes. Can you think of some reasons for this?
During reading
2.	Notice the details that contribute to a scary atmosphere in this chapter. How is the suspense achieved?

The small cellar stank of unwashed bodies, urine and excrement. High up on one wall, where a brick had been removed, a lighted stub of candle threw a faint glow onto the scene below.

There was no window and a short flight of concrete steps led up to a strong wooden door. An old coal stove was burning in one corner and a rickety chair and an old farmhouse table were the only furniture in the room.

Mlibo looked around apprehensively. The afternoon had been full of surprises. Louis had read the address on the note for him and the delivery had gone smoothly.

Then Lynch, Blade and Terro had picked him up, blindfolded him, bundled him into the back of a van and brought him to this place! Apart from telling him to shut up, no one had spoken to Mlibo. He was scared. Very scared!

Lynch grabbed the chair and sat in it with his feet up on the edge of the table. His finger traced the scar that disfigured his dark weather-beaten cheek. He had won it in a fight to death with the previous gang leader.

He tried to give the impression that he was totally relaxed, but Mlibo could see that Lynch was on edge.

“What’s up?” Mlibo asked cautiously.

“Boss wants to meet you,” Lynch muttered.

Mlibo swallowed hard. Was that a good sign or had they found out that he could not read and had asked Louis du Toit to help him with the addresses? Were they going to punish him?

Mlibo broke out in a cold sweat. He had heard terrible tales of boys who had had their tongues slashed and their ears cut off or been whipped to death for splitting on gangsters.

Blade casually leant the chair against the wall and proceeded to sharpen his already razor-sharp knife on a brick. The scratching noise was the only sound in the cellar. His small, black eyes shifted constantly as if always on the alert for trouble. No one spoke.

Terro took some electric flex out of his pocket and twisted it nervously to and fro in his fingers. His skin was lighter than the others. Two small gold hoops pierced his bottom lip and another one pierced his left eyebrow. He spoke with a lisp, revealing the absence of four front teeth and a gold stud in the centre of his tongue.

Mlibo wished he could run away.

Terro’s fingers began to make loops in the flex and his hands shook slightly as he drew each knot tight. Blade continued sharpening his knife. The seconds ticked away slowly.

Suddenly there was the sound of footsteps approaching the cellar door. Lynch quickly pulled his feet off the table, leapt up and stood stiffly to attention.

The door opened to reveal a small, slim figure dressed in a black shirt and black trousers. The person moved rapidly down the steps and approached them.

Mlibo gasped. A beautiful young woman! The black hair drawn tightly back from her face revealed perfect features, but her dark brown eyes were hard and calculating as she disapprovingly looked Mlibo up and down.

“We brought him like you said, Queen,” Lynch declared eagerly.

Mlibo’s mouth was dry. What was going to happen?

“Get water and a spoon,” Queen demanded.

Blade ran up the stairs. Seconds later he reappeared with a cracked mug and an old bent spoon. He placed them carefully on the table in front of her. Without thanking him, Queen took a small phial from her pocket, unscrewed it and tipped some white powder into the water in the mug. She picked up the spoon and stirred until the powder was dissolved. Queen lifted the mug and offered it to Mlibo.

“Drink!” she ordered curtly.

Mlibo gazed in panic at the woman. Was it poison? Were they going to kill him? Instinctively he knew that he should not drink it. Terrified, he backed away from her.

“Hold him down!” Queen hissed.

Blade grabbed Mlibo by the arms and dragged him towards the table. The boy tried to get away but Lynch caught a firm hold of his legs and the two men lifted him onto the table.

“Yaaaaaaaaaah!” Mlibo screamed in terror.

Terro took hold of the boy’s head and yanked it backwards so that his mouth fell wide open. Queen moved swiftly forward, held Mlibo’s lips open in a vice-like grip and tipped the white liquid down his throat.

Mlibo choked, spat and tried not to swallow, but it was no good. His throat constricted involuntarily and the mixture trickled down his throat. He had no choice; he had to swallow.

Queen moved away and the men let go of the boy.

Mlibo rolled off the table and backed away to cower in a corner. He held his stomach tightly. What had he drunk? He tried to spit it out. He stuck his finger down his throat in an attempt to make himself vomit.

It did not work. Miserably, Mlibo slumped back against the wall and prepared himself for the worst. He was going to die!

The gang ignored him. Blade and Terro gathered eagerly near Queen who gave them some tiny white plastic bags. She gave Lynch a wad of money which he stuffed quickly into his trousers pocket.

Suddenly Mlibo knew what it was all about. Drugs! This woman was a drug dealer! How stupid he had been not to guess what was in those parcels!

Thabo had warned him not to get involved with the gangs. Mlibo’s head began to spin and psychedelic flashes whirled in front of his eyes. The floor lurched upwards to meet him and when the boy looked at Lynch, bright rainbows appeared over his head and the room danced to a thousand tunes.

Mlibo clutched the wall, dragged himself to his feet and stood swaying uncertainly as the room spun violently. Wherever he looked, he saw vivid changing patterns and intense colours.

“He’s ready,” Queen declared coldly. “Brand him!”

Mlibo teetered drunkenly. Blade and Terro moved forwards and each grabbed an arm to hold him still.

Lynch went to the fire, eased out a red-hot rod of metal and walked towards the boy.

The last thing Mlibo remembered was the sound of his own long howl of agony as the blistering hot metal seared the mark of the gang forever onto his upper arm.

Blade and Terro suddenly released their grip.

Mlibo staggered and fell flat onto his face on the bare concrete floor.

“Come,” ordered Queen. She headed towards the stairs. “He’ll be out cold for the rest of the night.”

Without a backwards glance Lynch, Blade and Terro followed Queen out of the cellar.

Post reading

1.	Describe Mlibo’s feelings when he is brought into the cellar. Why does he feel this way?
2.	Nicknames are given to people for different reasons. Suggest some likely reasons for the names “Lynch”, “Blade”, “Terro” and “Queen”.
3.	What do Lynch and Terro’s actions contribute towards the atmosphere of suspense?
4.	What does Mlibo find amazing about the boss?
5.	At first, Mlibo thinks he has been poisoned. What, in fact, has happened to him?