Читать книгу Piranha - Rudie van Rensburg - Страница 15

Natasha watched everyone find a place for themselves in IESA’s cramped offices. Their eyes shone. Everyone smiled. They had such enthusiasm for the task at hand, it made her feel guilty. Most of them had been unemployed three years ago and, in a few months’ time, half of them might be unemployed again because of the budget cuts.

She didn’t want to tell them about the budget yet, but she’d have to in about a month’s time. It would only be fair to give them a chance to find other employment. But for the next thirty days she wanted their full cooperation so that they could achieve to the fullest of their capabilities and channel every grain of energy into a single focus. The only way they were going to make the Americans change their minds was to achieve unprecedented success where the crisis was at its worst – in the Kruger National Park.

She’d called in the two teams from Zim, the three from Mozambique and the one in Botswana. She’d withdrawn another two teams from areas adjacent to the Kruger. With the teams already working in the Kruger, it meant there would now be thirty-three IESA rangers deployed in the game reserve.

Initially, Werner was dead set against her strategy.

‘Mozambique’s elite anti-poaching unit helps to keep poachers from entering the Kruger from the Limpopo National Park,’ she’d said. A white lie – the Mozambican poachers were their biggest problem. ‘It’s going to be hard to stop them from Zimbabwe, but we’ll wait for them in the north on the Kruger side of the border. Just give me a trial run of a month,’ she’d pleaded until he’d given in, unconvinced that her plan would have any effect at all on the Americans’ budget decision.

Natasha briefly explained her plan of action to the group.

‘SANParks is extremely excited about the extra support we’re going to be giving them. We can rely on their full cooperation.’ She motioned towards the map of the game reserve. ‘The red stickers are the rhino-poaching operations that have taken place in the last three months.’

There was a chorus of shocked exclamations.

She nodded. ‘Yep. That’s how bad it’s been. Altogether 179 rhinos killed and fourteen mutilated.’

‘And the black stickers?’ asked one of the Mozambican team leaders.

‘Those are the ones where we believe The Silencers were involved. If our assumptions are correct, it means they were active in more than thirty successful operations, harvesting ninety-two horns.’

‘They’ve been particularly busy in the north,’ said Petrus Venter, leader of the Kruger team of game rangers. ‘But they’re a clever bunch and they use sophisticated silencers that completely muffle the shots. They also don’t waste time: they cut the horns out and they bugger off.’

Natasha nodded. ‘Which is why we want to deploy most of you in the north.’ She motioned towards Gert beside her. ‘The helicopter’s also only going to look at that area. Catching The Silencers is first prize.’

‘Are we only going to focus on rhinos, or are we going to look at elephants too?’ Gert wanted to know.

‘For the next month we’re going to be on rhinos only.’

She felt bad about this. She’d recently read in a report by conservationists that twenty percent of Africa’s elephants could be wiped out in the next decade. Twenty thousand elephants were killed annually, but the biggest crisis was currently in central Africa, where the tempo of poaching was estimated to be double that of the rest of the continent. Ivory poaching was a growing problem in Mozambique, though. Ivory poachers were active in the Kruger too, but for now she wanted to target the rhino plundering.

‘Use all your contacts in the area. See how many locals you can get to put their ear to the ground. We’ve budgeted for intel. If anyone gives us a tip that leads to arrests, we’ll pay them.’

She looked at Petrus. ‘Have you brought in new helpers?’

He nodded. ‘Yes. A Zimbabwean. Freedom Chiweshe. He and three of his colleagues are acting as extra eyes for us. They provide wood to all the camps in the north, so they’re on the ground all the time.’

Natasha smiled. ‘Good stuff. The more people we involve, the better chance we have of busting these bastards.’

* * *

Maria Wolhuter shook her head. ‘No, I have no idea what plan Barnie was dreaming up.’ She gave a tight smile. ‘He’s already sold everything of value in this house, so I couldn’t have been the target this time.’

Kassie nodded empathetically. ‘Tell me about his friends. Any dodgy types?’

She snorted. ‘All his drug buddies were dodgy. Not that I ever met any of them. I don’t know any of their names.’

‘Any colleagues from his last job that might be able to shed some light?’ Rooi asked.

Maria sighed. ‘I wouldn’t know. Barnie didn’t talk about his work much. He was away most of the time, travelling, especially to Asia. He was the only person at the company who managed exports. He left them a while ago, I believe, but I suppose you could try them.’

‘Who did he work for?’

‘African Curio.’

‘African Curio!’ Rooi exclaimed. ‘That’s where Bugsy just got a job.’

He laughed self-consciously when Maria looked at him. ‘My pet name for my wife. She’s just started working at their shop in the Waterfront.’

‘Yes, I know they have a number of outlets here on the Peninsula, but Barnie never had anything to do with the shops. He was in charge of export consignments. That’s where most of their profit lies.’

Kassie looked at Rooi. ‘Should we go and talk to them?’

Rooi nodded. ‘Wouldn’t do any harm.’

‘Do you have a name of someone we could talk to there?’ Kassie asked.

‘The big boss is Montgomery Smith. As far as I know, Barnie reported to him.’

* * *

I would only read the full background of what happened in Uganda leading up to the shocking events on 17 May 1972 in the newspaper later.

Apart from his self-declared position as president of the country, Idi Amin was also the commander in chief of the armed forces, the chief of staff of the army, and the air force commander. He’d changed the name of the presidential residence to ‘The Command Post’.

His most radical step was to dissolve the country’s intelligence agency and replace it with his own ‘State Research Bureau’. Its headquarters was in Nakasero, a suburb of Kampala, and it became a place of torture and of execution.

Smiley’s father had completely underestimated Amin. He openly criticised the president at agricultural gatherings and public meetings in the south-west. The fact that he and Obote were friends also counted against him.

On 16 May 1972, he received instruction to report to the State Research Bureau for questioning. Late on the afternoon of 17 May, Smiley’s mother was informed that her husband had had a heart attack during questioning. His corpse was never delivered to Kabuwoke as the authorities had promised. ‘Bureaucratic blunder’, was all she got out of a civil servant.

Smiley went to Uganda for the memorial service.

The minute he got back to Stellenbosch he informed me that he and his mother were unable to continue paying for my studies. ‘And you’re going to have to move,’ he told me. ‘I need to rent your room out to someone who can pay for it.’