Читать книгу By any means - Kurt Ellis - Страница 13

“Building desks?” asked German. “Why the hell are we doing that?”

“Because it needs to get done,” was Captain’s curt reply. After his chat with Mr Williams, Captain had joined his friends in the shade of the middle entrance of the main building. The group was made up not only of Godfathers, like Spider, Bruge, German, Lees, Wahied and the rest, but also non-members who floated around the periphery of the gang. Although they chose not to have the letters “GF” tattooed on their skin, they were still welcomed as friends by Captain and his crew.

“The desks are for our benefit, bru. We are the ous that are struggling with broken desks and shit when we’re trying to do our tests,” Captain continued.

Spider added his voice in support. “It’s an hour or two a day, gents. Not a lot. Let’s not be lazy.”

The decision was made and they agreed to meet after school to get started.

Shivas laughed. “I bet fifty rands German takes a finger off before the end of today.”

“Fuck that,” responded German. “I will gooi a hundred rands that Shivas causes a flop and makes a peg bag by mistake.”

The Godfathers laughed. All but Captain.

“Why so serious, ek sê?” Bruge enquired.

Captain shook his head. “Gents, even with the time we put in today, it won’t be enough. When is the last time our library had any new books? Or even the last time the rugby poles got painted. Only one toilet is graafing in the boys’ toilets ever since we came to this school, bru. We need some proper money to make a difference here.”

“José offered us proper money last night,” Spider said matter-of-factly.

“That’s not an option,” Captain said firmly.

“What’s not an option?” enquired Lester.

Captain sighed. “José wants to start taking cars from South Africa to Mozambique. He’s offering twenty thousand to thirty thousand rands. Per car.”

The amounts of money mentioned piqued everyone’s interest. “Are we talking about stealing or hijacking?” asked Wahied.

“It doesn’t matter,” Captain replied. “We aren’t doing it.”

“Bru,” started Bruge, “think of the money, ek sê –”

“It doesn’t matter,” Captain repeated. “We don’t steal. Ouens, what we do now is a victimless crime. Supply and demand. Druggies want our shit, so we provide our shit. Simple. But if we start stealing cabs, it isn’t right. First, there’s a victim that’s going to go to the police and report it. If we start hijacking, we’re talking about putting guns in innocent people’s faces. Accidents happen. We could end up shooting an innocent ou just trying to protect his shit. I don’t want that. Plus, what are the consequences if we get caught? Those are serious crimes, ek sê. I don’t want to go to the tronks and become the wife of some 28 called Big Daddy.”

“What about the Joburg plot?” Spider asked. He went on to explain to the Godfathers José’s desire to expand into Gauteng.

“That is a plot I am interested in,” Captain said. “But it’s Lazarus’s call, not mine. And speaking of which, I got a call from Lazarus this morning. He wants to have a chat with me and Tyson once he is released.”

“On top of?” asked Bruge.

“I can think of a few things he wants to talk about,” smiled Captain. “But I’ll find out for sure after our little chinwag.”

“I think I should come along,” stated Bruge. “After all, you need someone to watch your back.”

Spider slowly shook his head. “That might not be wise, Bruge,” he said, in that soft, monotone voice of his. “It might be seen as a sign of weakness. It could show Tyson that Captain is scared to meet him alone. That he needs backstops.”

Captain shrugged. “I know what you mean. And you’re right, Spider. There’s no need for backstops. I’ll be fine one-out. I’ll go alone.” Captain knew he was making the right decision, because Spider agreed with him. He trusted Spider just as much as he trusted Kyle and Jimmy.