And take it easy,? came the voice over his shoulder. ?Speed kills.?
He nodded, put on the helmet, and pulled on his gloves.
?You know all that I know,? said Janina Mentz, but she lied. ?I planned the operation on Ismail Mohammed?s testimony. I recruited Johnny Kleintjes. Me alone. No one else knew anything. We compiled the data together. It is false but credible, I am sure of that. He contacted the Americans. They showed interest. They invited him to Lusaka. He went, and then the call came to his house.?
?And she got Mpayipheli.?
?Unforeseen.?
?Unforeseen, Janina? According to the transcript of Monica?s interview, Johnny came to her work two weeks before he left for Lusaka and said if something happened to him, Mpayipheli is the man. And moreover, on top of the hard drive in his safe was a note with Mpayiphlei?s phone number.?
Then she saw what the director saw, and the hand around her heart squeezed a little tighter. ?He knew.?
The director nodded.
She saw from a wider perspective. ?Johnny Kleintjes sold us out.?
?Us and the Americans, Janina.?
?But why, sir??
?What do you know of Johnny Kleintjes??
She threw up her hands. ?I studied his file. Activist, exile, ANC member, computers ??
?Johnny is a communist, Janina.?
She sprang up, frustration and fear the goads. ?Mr. Director, with respect, what does that mean? We were all communists when it suited us to have the help of the Eastern bloc. Where are the communists now? Marginalized dreamers who no longer have a significant influence in the government.?
She stood with her hands on the desk and became conscious of the distaste in the Zulu?s demeanor. When he eventually answered, his voice was soft. ?Johnny Kleintjes may be a dreamer, but you were the one who marginalized him.?
?I don'?t understand,? she said, removing her hands and stepping back.
?What don'?t you understand, Janina??
?Sir,? she said, sinking slowly into the chair, ?to whom could he go? To whom did he sell us out??
?That is what we must find out.?
?But it makes no sense. Communism ? There?s nothing left. There?s no one anymore.?
?You are too literal, Janina. I suspect it?s more a question of ?the enemy of my enemy? ?
?You must explain.?
?Johnny always had a special hatred for the Americans.?
Insight came slowly to her, reluctantly. ?You mean ??
?Who does the CIA currently view as threat number one??
?Oh, my God,? said Janina.
A bespectacled black soldier with the epaulettes of the Anti-Aircraft School on his shoulders came to fetch Captain Tiger Mazibuko under the tree. ?The colonel asks the captain to come quickly.?
He jumped up. ?Have they got him?? He jogged ahead, aware of the expectations of the RU behind him.
?I don'?t think so, Captain.?
?You don'?t think so??
?The colonel will tell you, Captain.? He jogged into the building. The colonel stood at the radio, microphone in hand.
?We have a situation.?
?What??
?There are thirty-nine Hell?s Angels on motorbikes at the Windsorton Road roadblock. They want to come through.?
?Where the hell is Windsorton Road??
?Forty-five kilometers north, on the N12.?
?The Johannesburg road??
The colonel nodded.
?Fuck them. Send them home.?
?It?s not that simple.?
?Why??
?They say there are another fifty on the way. And when they arrive they are going through and if we want to stop them, we will have to shoot them.?
