Chapter V

 

General Zulu sat outside his Ngwerere farm house smoking. In spite of the 1997 coup attempt, he considered himself a successful man. He was trained to control the minds of the young soldiers and officers. To date he could not remember how many trainees passed through his hands in both combat and regimentation. His specialty in infiltration and espionage gave him an incomparable advantage in coming out clean even when it was inconceivable to do so. The court martial proceedings were fierce and expeditiously conducted. Soldiers were condemned even before trial. President Chiluba was afraid and wished every soldier enlisted seven years before the coup to be executed without the due process.

He sat facing the western side watching the setting sun. Even though he was over seventy-five years old, he was as powerful as a recruit straight from MILTEZ. The young civilian recruit was impressive, he was more intelligent than he imagined. Kelly knew what he was talking about concerning the young street boy. He was in the streets but never really belonged there.

He was too smart and intelligent to be a street boy. It had taken the General a long time to request for a physical meeting with the unsuspecting lad. He remembered Kelly telling him about the skills and talents possessed by the boy. Finally the Syndicate decided to cast monitors and surveillance cameras in Katondo Street.

The five member group was called the Syndicate in all the places people dared to refer to it. The Syndicate was a highly clandestine small gathering of people whose physical locations were unknown to each other for security reasons. The members had no history together and their ages varied considerably. This was necessitated in order to tap knowledge and experience from different generational periods. The oldest was the General and the youngest was the young errand boy Kelly.

The name was coined at their first meeting and everyone agreed to call it the Syndicate. General Zulu was reluctant to chair the group until the Albino appeared on the scene. At first, the Albino didn’t buy to the idea and the tenets of the project until it took the State House envoy to bring him in with a classified message from the President.

Exactly fifteen months had passed from the start of the project and so far everything was falling into place. The economy was becoming worse as each day passed by. Dollars were becoming expensive and the Kwacha was plummeting. Urgent interventions were required and decisive measures needed to be taken. The State House had faith in the retired General to sort out the problem. This was the time to show not only leadership skills but ingenuity and craftiness. Since Zambia was a signatory to the United Nations and other international bodies, it had to conform to international requirements at the world market level where free trade and liberal markets were allowed to dictate the exchange rates.

Kelly had already introduced the street boy to the Syndicate as Justin Bwalya. Lt Col Chulu brought him in and the three were in the same house. The boy believed when the old pilot introduced him as her husband. She too needed to meet him for her own independent judgment since the young man was as important to the project as herself.

The Syndicate did not require a computer scientist with an office at some research institute at some University to achieve its objectives. The street boy was the most appropriate because no ethics guided his computer skills. He could maneuver to limitless extents in the computer world. Most educated people were restricted by many rules and guidelines in their practice. The expediency and urgency of the mission needed no such restrictions. The street boy was a freelancer and was dispensable at any given instance.

The old soldier sat alone outside and it was getting dark. Lt Col Chulu had left the farm house an hour earlier. He lived alone with only a batman who came for laundry and house chores twice a week. He was holding a book in his hands, the passport to political freedom and financial stability of his cherished mother Zambia. The entire country’s survival depended on the little but powerful book. The Chinese, Russians, Indians and Somalis had evaded the country embezzling huge sums of monies to their countries. They brought loans at exorbitant interest rates and the government was at their mercy because it required infrastructure development to impress the people.

To the common Zambian, the book contained poems and brought out real life issues which affected most people in the world. The young Tamara was the author and praises were already going to her Facebook page. That was exactly the Syndicate’s plan and all was flowing in the right direction. He went through the book several times from cover to cover. The more he read the more fear came upon the old soldier that the secret codes could be exposed. The book was the conduit of codes and messages understood by only five people in the entire country. Even the purported author did not understand what she wrote. Captured in a rucksack was to be the most important book in the country, even more than the Constitution of Zambia.

The old soldier knew what to do next, stood up to get his phone, and dialled the numbers to confirm. The phone on the other side rung once and went off. It was a good signal; he expected the phone not to be answered. The expert was dead. The executioner was finally executed and was no longer in the equation. Kelly had traveled to Nairobi to look for an electronics engineer with a specialty in enhanced security systems in the banking sector who could be hired by the Central Bank of Zambia.

Engineer Wakungu who boasted with thirty years’ experience in this field had been going round Africa rendering his rare expertise to the financial sectors. He was a well renowned engineer as far as anti-hacking and cybercrimes were concerned in banks.

He flew into the country and was taken straight to an office along Cairo road, two blocks away from the Main Post Office. Two days after he signed a $70,000 contract with the Bank of Zambia. The scope of work was to increase the firewall and security systems at the newly constructed vault for the biggest bank in the country. A security system was designed to protect the bank vault from thieves or unauthorized persons. The system consisted of four sensors and Internet Protocol camera, which was a type of digital video camera commonly used for surveillance that could send and receive data via a computer network and the internet. Live videos could also be viewed from any computer, anywhere, and also from the smart phone and from other compatible devices making the vault room monitored at anytime from anywhere.

The Kenyan expert installed the Global System for Mobile communication module which consisted of SIM Card holder, GSM Antenna, RS232 serial port. This low power consumption device helped to send warning messages to the dedicated phone number in case of any disturbance to the vault. For maximum protection the imported engineer installed four types of sensors all around the vault. These were Sound sensors, Motion sensors, Laser sensors and Gas sensors. The Sound sensor composed of a transducer, which sensed sound variations within the enclosed area. It worked by mimicking the human body processes that involved the ears and signal transmission to the brain. Therefore, when any kind of sound produced inside the vault room, then the sensor would be activated.

The Motion Sensor implored the use of Passive Infrared Sensor. This device depended on the theory that all objects with temperatures above absolute zero emitted heat energy in the form of radiation. Usually, this radiation was invisible to the human eye because it was radiated at infrared wavelengths. Therefore, the Passive Infrared Sensor worked entirely by detecting the energy given off by other objects. The sensor could not detect or measure heat, instead it detected the infrared radiation emitted or reflected from an object. So when an unauthorized person entered the vault room, the Passive Infrared Sensor would detect and send a signal to the Arduino, then the Arduino created an alarm and generated a warning SMS.

Engineer Wakungu employed the LDR Sensor because of its low cost and availability on the market. Laser rays directly reflected to the LDR via several mirrors. Since laser light was invisible, when someone tried to come closer to the vault, then the laser light would be interrupted and hence a warning message would be generated.

The gas sensor detected the leakage of hydrogen, LPG, Methane, Carbon Monoxide and Alcohol. Whenever, someone leaked any of these gases in the vault room then a warning message was generated. When any of the four sensors detected something wrong, then a warning SMS was automatically transmitted to a dedicated phone number and also a warning alarm turned on through Arduino microcontroller and GSM module

The old soldier believed in sacrificing a few for a better good. It reminded him of the basic military course at Sandhurst where the instructor told the class that in times of war everybody was dispensable. In order to spot the enemy lying in wait, the Platoon Commander was at liberty to command any of his troops to march forward so that the enemy could fire at him. From the direction of fire, the enemy would be spotted. So it was allowed to sacrifice one troop to secure a better good for the rest.

The expert was sacrificed. He did his part and his family would benefit from the money the Bank of Zambia paid into his account. He could not be allowed to leave the country alive. Zambia was bigger than an individual and the future was brighter for the Seventeen Million Zambians who desperately needed it. Since the Engineer had the knowledge of circumventing his own creation, he backed up everything in the chip that had all the reverse installations, including the linked SIM Card. The Bank Governor was the only one with the original number to receive the warning messages transmitted from the vault room and so the Kenyan was ordered to replicate every step he took in ensuring the vault was hundred percent secured.

Without knowing where the Engineer’s allegiance was, the Syndicate could not take risks. Extermination was in order; nothing was to be left to chance, not when large sums of money were involved.

There was no one else who could pull the trigger other than the five of them. It had to be kept within for easy accountability.

Besides being the dermatologist, the Albino was also the executioner. His murders were clean, not a clue left behind. It was evident that the Kenyan committed suicide in his hotel room and a note was left addressed to his wife just below his legs. The Albino was smart and swift. Though he attracted attention because of his color, his feebleness and vulnerability countermanded any suspicion. Most people despised him and looked down upon him. No one expected anything from a person of his status in society. Even those like him who had made it still had uphill battles to conquer for them to fit in society.

This negative trait gave the doctor an upper hand. His weakness was his weapon and he knew best how to maximize the impact. It was a Saturday afternoon, after receiving a call from the General, that he left his office on the third floor of the University Teaching Hospital and drove to Ndeke Hotel. The General’s instructions were too clear to be doubted and no loopholes were tolerated. His mission was simple and straight forward, the guest was registered as Wakumusi Kungu. He knew it wasn’t his real name but it still did the job. He knew the room number and a photo the General sent on WhatsApp.

At ten past nineteen, he was walking upstairs carrying a key holder for the Toyota Corolla that he parked across the road. He didn’t want a car that would attract attention from the garden boys along Kabulonga road and surrounding areas. A Corolla was a poor man’s car, befitting an Albino. He took a step at a time looking for any possible counter insurgence. The easiest target to eliminate was an engineer in a foreign land, especially one who did not even have proper papers. He was flown into the country through Mount Eugenia Air strip using a Beechcraft G36 Bonanza. The Central Bank under the instructions from Corporate Affairs and Debt Management Department ensured the Engineer moved incognito and limited his other movements. The secrecy attached to the expert baffled those not in the bank inner circle.

He was three doors away and anytime he would be inside the room. Opening it, was not going to be a problem, he had done his background check. The mortise locks used were the basic Union brand, which had recently flooded the market. He had mastered their technology and within a short time he had known its downside.

The Albino turned left and halted right in front of the named door with a door tag printed in black and white. He looked left, then right and left again. There was no one in sight; dextrously he removed his housewife as it was called back in the days, from the back pocket. The housewife was an assorted tool kit for performing all manners of illegal activities necessary in any persons’ life. He inserted the short end of an Allen wrench into the lower edge of the keyhole before applying a bit of pressure to turn the lock slightly in the direction the key would turn. He kept the pressure as stead as he could and then used an unbent paperclip with a small crook at the end to pick the lock. The Albino pushed the paperclip in gently at the lower end of the keyhole, then lifted it back and upward. He repeated in a circular motion while increasing the pressure on the Allen wrench until he felt the lock shifted and turned it only ten degrees anticlockwise. The door swung open and like the hotel customer, he was inside.

Patience was a virtue he took long to cultivate. He knew that the best hunters were good at waiting. They did not count minutes when waiting for prey but like the King of the Jungle, they waited until they caught. To them results were more important than the process.

When he was inside, he quickly searched the room for anything that would disturb his mission. He walked briskly but carefully to the dressing mirror adjacent to the double bed and silently opened the drawers one by one looking for the unknown. There was nothing important. He saw a small bag next to the bed looking not to contain much, but he still needed to know the contents. It was from such small neglected things that life could be lost. Doctors by training were particular in everything down to the tiniest organic items like cells.

He looked at everything for anything. After a few minutes, the Albino sat on the dressing table by the window sides. He stood up and locked the door leaving it exactly the way the visitor left it. It was doctor versus engineer. He monitored his heartbeat, it was normal. The albino wasn’t very anxious about this mission because it was a holy and a blessed one. He looked at the bigger good and the ultimate victory for mother Zambia.

Minutes passed, hours passed until a different sound was heard. He heard a person walking and coming to a stop. The doctor heard the clicking sound and the door opened.

She walked in with a handbag hanging on her shoulders and straightaway sat on the bed. For a second the doctor was confused, he expected a tall and dark man of Kenyan origin. To his surprise, a friendly face stepped in unaware of the Albino’s presence. He went through the General’s conversation mentally and everything was clear. He was there to eliminate the expert engineer not the woman.

‘Could I have missed the room?’ he asked himself.

‘Not me. I have never missed my target’s destination,’ the Albino answered himself.

He knew his next move. Between the two of them in the room, she knew where the Engineer was and he urgently needed to know what happened to him.

‘Could they be together?’ the Albino desperately needed answers that nobody could provide.

He sat behind the dressing mirror and felt drops of sweat from his brow with a surety of mind that his time was short. He recognized the woman from the photos and no doubt, she seemed at ease compared to him. She did not look like one on a wrong mission. Before he could implement his action plan, he saw her leaving the bathroom and started dressing up. He liked the view; she had all he dreamed of for all his life. These were times he hated because most people never considered him a complete human being yet he could be more normal than most. Her breasts were firm and round. He saw the sharp and fleshy nipples as though inviting him for a fresh meal. The doctor struggled to read the small tattoo above her right breast. Then he managed to read the neatly inscribed word: kindness. He wondered if truly the girl was as kind as she portrayed.

He looked down her body; she had what it took to make him uncomfortable where he sat in concealment. Could she be kind enough to help him quench his excruciating thirst?

The woman was beautiful enough to tempt the saint, and he was no saint. Her hips were nicely curved, her buttocks taut and round, perfect for a man to seize. Each time she bent to dampen the cloth she washed with, he could see the curve of her breasts, plump, round breasts with the nipples taut from the faintly chill in the room. His mouth watered with the need to taste them. Her skin was pale, glistening faintly where it was wet and unmarked. He turned his gaze away. His whole body ached with the need to go over there and touch her, touch that skin, and trace every womanly curve. It was going to take a while to rid his body of all the obvious signs of that need. The sight of her nakedness, of her slim, womanly beauty was going to haunt him for a very long time.

It was clear to the doctor the woman invested so much on her body than anything else. The skin texture of her bottom half agreed with her appetizing lips. She was the definition of African beauty, the beauty that left the beholder salivating and wanting to see more. His eyes toured majestically up and down the well-balanced streamlined body noting the sensual parts with greatest appetite. The appetite stronger than the one Eve had in the Garden of Eden for the forbidden fruit. The more he looked the more he craved for her indulgence and the more the invitation grew louder. He wanted to throw himself at her and do the necessary drill.

Then he remembered the basic rules of medicine. He needed to look at her like he did on female patients. No matter how appealing the patient could appear, the doctor was a lifesaver and not a predator. He told himself to behave and never disobey the first principal of war: maintenance and selection of aim. Regardless of the situation on the ground, a troop should never lose focus of the aim. Though the dermatologist never attended a formal military school, the General taught him those basics. He calmed himself and waited. He was like the eagle in the Ituri forest ready to strike at the slightest movement. He was there not to act but simply to react. She was not his target, the engineer was. He waited longer before his phone blinked and a series of codes came through.

‘The engineer is dead in 34F East wing.’

It wasn’t a question but an informative statement. After doing some mental calculations, the doctor knew that the room was directly opposite from where he was. As to who killed the target, the message did not say. Somebody out there was doing what he was sent to do. Perspiration increased, his mind boiled and the brain was cloudy. He sat as though waiting for the second message from his commander. Finally, the Albino was tempted to doubt whether the message was correctly sent to him, but again such mistakes were just never possible from within the Syndicate.

For a few minutes, he allowed himself to be absorbed into the world he never liked, the world of wonder. The world where anything was possible provided it appealed to the present. His eyes were closed and slowly he emptied his brain and surrendered his entire being to the gods to take charge maybe he could understand the full meaning of the message. It was apparent; there was another Albino outside there charged with the same orders as him.

 

three hours earlier

People underestimated her capabilities probably because she had a baby face as most of her friends said. Just because she was a woman, they took her to be weak and docile. To the contrary, she was smarter than what most people thought, and she understood the dynamics of life as regards to the controls of life itself. Kelly took her to be naïve and tender, a woman that never required a man to be taken care of. A woman with probably less or no ambition. She wanted it to be exactly that way; she mastered her only law that had seen her through the life many hurdles:

Always make those above you feel comfortably superior. In your desire to please or impress them, do not go too far in displaying your talents or you might accomplish the opposite – inspire fear and insecurity. Make your masters appear more brilliant than they are and you will attain the heights of power. Therefore, never outshine the master.

Kelly was her master, and Tamara knew the boy was comfortably using her for his personal aggrandizement and satisfaction. She allowed herself to be led, to receive directions and ultimately be his follower. She ensured he got her unwavering trust. On the other hand, she viewed herself as one and equal to the task - the task that had been predominantly masculine. She never allowed anybody to cross her path and take advantage of her. It was her principle to look feminine but act otherwise. After all, she needed to look sexy and attractive to the opposite sex.

Tamara knew a Kenyan electronics engineer was engaged by the Bank to aid her work with no more details. Many voids and holes needed to be filled. There were so many unanswered questions that she could not personally ask Kelly for fear of invoking suspicions. She needed to continue being a faithful and a blind follower. She did not want to push Kelly for answers or else her operation could be jeopardized. She didn’t care much for the things she wasn’t privy to. The less she knew the better for her.

Tamara had monitored the construction of the new vault room with keen interest. She went beyond her terms of reference simply as the Senior Manager but also worked hand in hand with the imported expert. Instead of focusing only on the end use of the project, the young woman found herself assimilating engineering concepts with the intelligence which even shocked herself. A local firm did the actual construction until the Kenyan expert was brought in for the security installations.

Tamara studied the Infrared Transmitters installed and understood their operations well. She understood the different types of Infrared Sensors for different types of applications. The banker together with the engineer worked together to ensure maximum safety of the biggest vault in the country because of her senior position, the engineer accepted the young woman as his partner and so divulged everything he worked on including the strengths and weaknesses of the technology.

Her input was important to the execution of the project, she with a few other local engineers witnessed the installation of the full proof security system that could be monitored and controlled from the distant control room by a wireless module. The five layered security system was more reliable and durable with low power consumption. The new technology did not need to keep an eye on surveillance continuously because of the alert sound that could call law enforcement team when necessary. The engineer connected the vault room on a twenty-four seven online protection. The geared motorized door coupled with the high movement detection and obstacle counting sensors controlled its heavy-duty vault door.

Tamara needed the engineer’s intelligence to undo and reverse his installations. The young woman understood that the entire history of humans, diverse systems were built to protect properties from intruders. The Egyptians built the pyramids; many European civilizations built castles, humans the world over invented safes, vaults, doors, locks, CCTV and alarm systems. However, no security system has ever been completely impenetrable. The main reason for this is less about flaws in the design though they existed, and more about the humans involvement in using the security systems.

The young Banker mastered both the strengths and the weaknesses of the newly installed security system. Besides the Bank Governor, Tamara was the only one who had full access to the vault by both the fingerprint signature and the voice identification. She went further, behind the expert, cloned the SIM card and became the only other holder of the linked number for alarm messages.

Three weeks had gone by and the two had become closer. She spent much time dressing for the expert, did all she could to paint a picture of an executive woman but at the same time inviting him to her. Time wasn’t on her side, the contract the Kenyan signed was only for six weeks and so far five had gone. Tamara knew she was not going to fail, not this time around. She considered herself a master of seduction. No man could stand the real woman when she decided to bring him down as attested by most noble and great men in bible times. Women were the most potent weapon readily used by the master of deception himself. This time Tamara gave herself to him, got possessed by the cunning serpent, and seduced the foreigner. She needed the technology, which she was very sure he wouldn’t give her on sober grounds.

The electronic laser diode was the Kenyan’s magic box that contained the codes, the decoders, passwords and keys. The two-terminal electronic component that conducted current in one direction was all she needed. She had seen him feed it with the confidential data and made her wonder if there was any memory chip inside. This unidirectional flow of current was the major storing and assorting factor of the security system. The woman researched the availability of the technology on the market, to no avail. There was not even a mention of the diode with storage memory. After a fruitless check, Tamara knew that the Kenyan was the user and inverter of the technology.

The zero resistance in the direction of flow and the infinitely high resistance in the reverse direction contained the strengths and versatility of the diode. The positive side contained thousands and millions of microscopically small iron nails, each of which could store one tiny piece of information. Since a bit is a binary digit, so it had either a number zero or a number one. Zeros were towards the anode whereas the Ones towards the cathode. Data stored intrinsically was only retrieved when the laser diode was connected in series with the Barrett Diode.

The normal and obvious tactics did not work for Tamara; the engineer was proving to be a castrated Swahili speaking Masai that needed a sixth sense to penetrate. She engaged the only and embarrassing way, she asked him out for dinner.

She dressed up in a new black dress and let her streaked Brazilian hair flow down her back in soft curls. She had worn makeup, sexy black under wear and red high heeled shoes to impress the Kenyan. Tamara knew the attire was going to induce the normalcy the engineer had been lacking. Her light makeup exposed the dimple on her cheek and emphasized the natural beauty in her. The few weeks Tamara worked with the foreigner were enough to make her understand his weaknesses. He was a type who avoided eye contact at all cost, thereby rendering him fragile especially at the dinner table. Tamara thanked God the engineer accepted to have their date at the hotel room she booked under a false name.

At eighteen thirty, Tamara was climbing the stairs. Taking half a step at a time, she adjusted her walk to help her in the high heels. She needed to have her own room. A room she could book in an anonymous name. The room was reserved for her strategically not far from the engineer’s. Fifteen minutes before the agreed time, Tamara was in the room arranging for her first outing with the Kenyan. Both were adults and so she could not speak it any louder than she already did.

After the room was ready and fit for use, she dialled his new Zambian line only to find he was already half way the corridor. Tamara sat still on the bed wondering what could be going on in the man’s mind. She initiated the date for her personal gain while being too careful not to appear desperate. The engineer was walking to her new room, an environment ripe enough for her mission. Nothing was insurmountable to the young banker at this stage in life. Her mind and body had agreed to the ultimate objective, she was to break free. Tamara was ready for the task, anyone who dared stand in her way was just making himself destructible.

Then she heard the faint knock before the door was gently pushed. The Man was standing on the door wearing a red short and a Manchester City shirt. He looked more casual than she expected. However, she stood up and extended her hand for a warm handshake. To her surprised, he asked for a hug proving her right, her dress fitted well, leaving a V-shape right on her chest exposing her spotless chest. Her neck stood out above the golden chain around her slender neck. The effort and energy she put in on herself was to bear fruits. The fruits that were going to be more appetizing than the fruit Eve ate. She needed the Kenyan under her control; he was to hand over his magic box before he could fly back to Nairobi.

‘Wow! I never saw this coming,’ Wakungu said pulling a chair opposite the only bed in the room.

‘What?’ Tamara asked shyly. ‘You are looking stunning, I wish I knew earlier. I was going to postpone my flight back.’

The confession seemed genuine. The man was captivated. His eyes betrayed him. They spoke louder than what came from his mouth.

‘Thanks for the compliments; anyway I wasn’t sure if you could like my appearance.’

Her perfume added to her seduction, to her charming and irresistible presence. The two sat around the table and chatted as if they had known each other for long. After twenty minutes, the waiter served their orders.

Tamara chewed graciously, timing her intake while maintaining a horizontal gaze on her partner.

She had everything prepared and carefully put in her handbag. Amidst endless chats, using her long nail on the pinky finger, she dropped the Gamma-Hydroxybutanoic acid in powder form in his wine glass. The drug was odorless and colorless and when served within the right concentration it could cause death in less than fifteen minutes. She could not take long with him or else she could be exposed to many and later be a suspect. The fifteen minutes seemed interminable. The stories became jerky and directionless. The young girl could not wait to see the reaction; her heart started bumping faster than normal. She fought harder to repel the guilty mind that occasionally flooded her. She was staring at the victim, caught in between ambition and murder.

True to the effects, the engineer became dizzy; his mouth gasped for more oxygen and frothy saliva dropped from his mouth and breathed his last. Immediately she wore her gloves, and lifted him onto the bed, wiped him clean, scattered some plates down and then removed the bottle of blood she carried along and smeared it on the headboard and to a few utensils on the table. The waiter had found two people in the room booked under Mary Musonda. She needed to leave Mary’s presence in the room; she was going to be his girlfriend and the stains of blood would then lead to a nonexistent person. The two quarrelled before killing him and put him on the side of the bed in prone position. She avoided the center, as it was a direct indication of foul play. Then in shock, the man either took his own life or the woman was too smart and murdered the man. The police would then have two options both pointing away from Tamara. Finally, she removed the suicide note and put it on the dressing table. Smartly and quietly, Tamara picked the keys to the engineer’s room to conclude her mission.

Present

‘Did the General play something behind me,’ he couldn’t tell. But his loyalty to the General was unquestionable. He saved his life a number of times from many enemies. He owed the old soldier his entire existence. The Albino remained hidden until the young woman left the room. No sooner had she disappeared than he swiftly and stealthily stepped out as well. He had more questions to be answered but he could not get hold of the General on the phone. They had a defined channel of communication. He knew even on the other side, the General felt the same. In five minutes, the Albino was driving back to his office.