Chapter 1~ Honarable discharge
The United Nations aircraft touched down at the SSK international airport, the military cars were already there waiting for them.
They boarded the vehicles and were immediately transported to SSKB, they’d come a long way.
*****
He limped along the red carpet that had been laid down for the kings to walk on, soldiers from all ranks were standing as proud spectators who were all cheering, clapping, and hyping them up. Wabogosi smiled, the feeling was kind of nice, the stench of pride lingering in the air was so intense, after all, as they described it, they had just walked out of hell alive.
But a part of him bled in pain at the pouring thought of the predestine inevitable fate lying ahead for him.
******
“Gentlemen, on behalf of the country and this uniform, we salute you,” the offices stood at ease and saluted the group of men who sat on specially designated chairs.
They deserved the salutation from their fellow Brigadier.
Another soldier walked into the room and whispered something into the ear of Brigadier, Wabogosi notice his expression change, he stole a side glance at the officer sitting down with a crutch beside him.
He gave the cadet a single nod.
“Sergeant King, report to Lieutenant Cornel Kenneth after this, he’d like to see you.”
Wabogosi could almost feel the blood rush up to his ears.
Coming here in the first place was never his choice, he didn’t like the idea but over time he grew tolerant and eventually loved the job.
Now when he might lose it, the feeling wasn’t nice at all.
He felt the intense looks of pity from his colleagues, he hated it.
The pity.
The stares.
They only made him feel worse.
“Well,” Obakeng’s voice boomed across the room, he’s always been a loudmouth.
He was in the same group of men who’d been recruited along with Wabogosi and he also happened to be a person Wabogosi saw as a tolerable version of a friend.
“Bottoms up boys, let’s get wasted,” he chipped as he lightly slapped Wabogosi’s shoulder, he wanted to lessen the tension and divert the attention from him.
Wabogosi nodded at him, they all got up to leave for the bar while he remained seated there.
******
AT THE BAR
“Cheers,” they clicked glasses together in cheers, drinking the night away.
Michaela noticed Obakeng sitting alone by the bar, sipping on the beer in his hand. She tapped his shoulder lightly, he smiled at her but he could already feel his logic and consciousness running low.
He was on his 4th bottle.
“didn’t they give you alcohol in Iraq?”
They both chuckled and drank in silence for a while.
" I don’t know what happened out there but I know he was an honorable man, an honorable soldier who did a very brave thing, he saved lives.”
Obakeng nodded silently, almost absentmindedly, and sipped on his beer.
His thoughts drifted to a week ago, back in Iraq.
**********
“Commander, 4 cars, loaded, coming east. Armed,” said a voice behind a radio.
“What?!”
“All Units withdraw, I repeat, we’ve been trapped, all units withdraw. Immediately!!!” the American Chief commander yelled the command and instantly his soldiers started withdrawing.
“This is Sergeant King reporting, over.”
“Sergeant, I said withdraw immediately, stand down, and head back to the base. The mission has been sabotaged.”
“I’m afraid not, commander, I’ve got my men in there. I cannot leave them.”
***********
Wabo knocked softly on the door, he looked at the large board written, ’LIEUTENANT CORNEL KENNETH.
He opened the door after a while, he was greeted with a bright welcoming smile from Lieutenant Kenneth.
“Sergeant King,” he stood up to welcome him, Wabogosi smiled briefly as he limped in, supporting himself with his crutches.
He exchanged a handshake with the Lieutenant and then took his seat.
They heard a knock on the door a while later, two cups of coffee and some biscuits were brought in.
“Please, help yourself.”
“I read through the reports from the Iraq mission,” Wabo sighed and drop his gaze to his hands, they were still trembling slightly.
“I did what I had to do and I don’t regret it, those guys wanted me to leave my men and I couldn’t do that, captain.”
Now it was his turn to sigh, he pitied Wabo. Wabogosi King was one of the best guys he’s ever had to work with, he was a bit of a loose cannon who didn’t take orders very well, yes, but he always knew that he always broke rules for the best.
And this was for the best.
He saved lives.
But at what cost?
He opened his drawer and took a white envelope from it, he pushed it over to Wabo who looked at it for a while, his gaze moving between the letter and his captain before he took it and opened it.
“And?”
He read through the letter and the captain thought he could almost see the color drain from his face.
He looked at the captain briefly then back at the letter.
It was a letter from the UN Headquarters, he was to be given a badge of honor in light of the act of bravery that he’d displayed in Iraq. He disobeyed a direct order, yes, but that improvision saved innocent lives which would have otherwise been lost.
: Therefore, Mr. Wabogosi Lefika King, you’re hereby awarded the badge of bravery and bestowed the title of Lieutenant in honor of your bravery.
He finished reading through the letter but had no words to say, he didn’t know what to say and frankly speaking, he didn’t know if he should be happy with this.
Kenneth put his hands on the table and leaned in.
“You were brave out there, sergeant. You not only saved your team but also managed to rescue those people,”
Wabo knew from the look on his face that there was a, ‘but’ coming with this statement. He kept quiet and listened then.
“But unfortunately, that act of bravery came with a cost so severe to you. We received your medical report which showed that the exposure to that blast caused a series of nerve damages both to your left leg and your left hand. We are hoping you could heal,we’re truly praying because you’re honestly one of the best Botswana has ever had but the report gives us no hope for your recovery, at least not in this near future. I’m sorry.”
He listened up until the captain finished and yet he was still quiet. He was always a man of few words anyway.
He sucked in a deep breath and got up on his feet after a while, he stretched forth his right hand to the captain. The captain took his hand and shook it back, he felt the tremor but he chose to ignore it.
“Thank you, General. It was an honor serving under you,”
“Likewise, King, likewise.” the man gazed at him with so much sorrow that Wabo didn’t wait to acknowledge.
Wabo turned and headed for the door. He didn’t want to be pitied, walking away felt easier that way.
“King, you do know you’re welcome to call me anytime you need anything, right?” he turned to his captain, his hand on the doorknob.
He gave him a ghost of a smile, “Of course, captain.” He gave him one last salutation before leaving.
*******
*AT THE UNIVERSITY OF BOTSWANA CAMPUS*
“All right, time up.”
The whole class yelled in cheers as they threw their pens high up in the air.
Nothing like finishing the last exam of the last semester as a student, officially.
“Now, now, let’s get those grad dresses and suits ready. But of course, if you trust that you’re graduating this year,” they laughed.
Nelisiwe walked out of the class with her classmates and they went back to their rooms.
" Bathong, I still can’t believe that we’re graduating, we’re finally adults, literally,” the girls laughed in excitement.
It all felt so unbelievable as they thought of the first day, they walked into the premises of UB as nothing but dusted village girls and now look at them, they were just a week away from being degree holders.
“I know what we need,” Neelo exclaimed, her eyes lighting up so brightly, Neli chuckled at that.
“we’re going dress shopping tomorrow but tonight, ladies, we’re getting wasted,” Sebaga announced.
“Whoooooa!!!”
Neli’s phone vibrated in the back pocket of her jeans and she reached for it. Her smile dropped when she noticed who was calling, she gulped nervously and put the phone on silence, ignoring the call.
******
At around 2130hrs, the girls arrived at the club and already Sebaga and Neelo the dance floor, Nelisiwe excused herself and went to the bar instead.
She was always the type to boost her confidence with a few drinks first before she got to the dancefloor and that hadn’t changed even now.
She smiled when she found her friend, Thabiso, on duty at the bar tonight.
“eyyyy,” she bumped hands with him as she sat on the stool by the bar.
“Damn girl, you hot,” his eyes ran down her curvaceous silhouette clad on a tight sparkly black mini dress
She playfully rolled her eyes and shook her shoulders, dancing as he hyped her up.
She and Thabiso came from the same village, Tonota. They’d practically grown together and though Thabiso had always had feelings for her, he never found the courage to tell her because he always felt like she was of a higher league than him.
“The usual, please,” she request, finally taking her seat by one of the stools by the bar area.
“Coming right up, my lady,” he flashed her a smile as he got busy with mixing.
Neli sat there for a while, she looked behind her as she heard Sebaga screaming. She chuckled when she saw them dancing with some men.
They were always this fast, one moment they’d be dancing with one man on the dance floor and tomorrow they wake up with another one, she never knew how they did that.
Sometimes she thanked God that she was just a Tonota girl, even after living in the big capital city, Gaborone, for four years now, her Tonota girl shyness still stuck up with her and saved her from doing some things like one-night stands.
She turned back to the bar when Thabiso placed a cup of Tequila in front of her and another one of vodka, she always liked the two combinations.
She gave him a bright smile as she gulped the tequila in one go.
“Whoa!” she yelled and threw her hands up as she felt the sourness course through her veins, she felt it hit hard on her brain.
This, she loved.
She moved on to the vodka.
“You might want to be careful with that one, it’s not for kids,” she rolled her eyes at his warning and gulped it down in one go, living to regret it after a while as it burnt her throat so bad, it drew tears to her eyes.
She coughed hard, drawing the attention of the people around her who looked at her with this disgusted and amused look.
Okay, now she regretted that.
Thabiso laughed at her all the while because he’d warned her about this so many times but she did it anyway. This always happened every time she came to the bar but she still did it anyway, it was like a normal thing to them.
Neli raised her eyes when she saw a bottle of water being pushed towards her, she gulped when she saw the brute of a man standing beside her. So awestruck, she almost got lost in admiring him but the coughing came back, embarrassing her even more.
The man chuckled and opened the bottle of water for her, she clung to it for dear life and gulped down all the water in one go.
******
“Why do you drink so much if you can’t handle it?”
She kept her eyes as far away from him as possible, she was embarrassed.
She took a sip of the orange juice before her.
“I can handle a few drinks.”
He laughed lightly, she wished the world could open up and swallow her right then.
He turned back to the beer in his hands, realizing that he was embarrassing her.
He chuckled again lightly and took a sip of his drink.
“Lefika, but you can call me Fiks,”
She looked at him for a while in silence.
He turned to her and chuckled, she was funny.
“Nelisiwe,” she snapped out of her trance finally.
She was a drunk mess to be honest and seeing a hot man didn’t make it any better. She found herself studying him longer than she’d have probably done in her sober state.
He had strong arms, she looked at the bulky biceps clinging to the Navi blue Redbat t-shirt he wore. She was impressed.
“I’m Nelisiwe but my friends call me Neli.”
“So, I qualify to call you Neli?” he smirked.
A good show is what he needed tonight after everything.
Neli smirked meekly.
“Depends, can I call you Fiks?” she could already feel the confidence sizzling through her drunken ass, good timing.
She was a grad student, she was turning 22 in about a week from now, and she was old enough to flirt a little, right?
Lefika drew closer to her and whispered in her ear, “Then you’d be agreeing to be my friend, do you?”
Neli shuddered slightly as his breath hit her ear, waking an adrenaline rush through her body. She pressed her thighs together and her heart beat faster.
“Mm,” she unintentionally moaned, she surprised herself. Lefika chuckled lightly beside her.
“o sharp?”
She took out a deep breath. She forced a smile onto her lips.
“Yeah...Yeah, it’s just.... many drinks, I drank too much and....” She shut her lips when she realized that she was stuttering too many things.
She felt too exposed, she saw the look of amusement he gave her; he made her too nervous, and she didn’t like the feeling.
She hopped down from the stool.
“You know, I’m just going to,” she tried to walk but lost her balance, Lefika caught her hand faster before she could fall and helped her up.
He supported her by her waist, leaving no space between the two of them now, Nelisiwe cursed under her breath at this.
“My friends are...” her eyes opened and shut occasionally; she really was drunk.
“I’m just, I’ll go to my friends,”
“o sure? You don’t look too okay, you’re drunk.”
She pushed his hands off her waist.
“i’m fine ,” she walked away but not before Lefika caught her hand again.
He looked her in the eyes, she felt his hand tug her dress down, her eyes widened as she looked at what he was doing.
“It was too high,” like the gentleman he was raised to be, he didnt allow his eyes to check her out.
She looked at him again and subconsciously wet her bottom lip as she listened to the debate going on in her head. Probably the alcohol speaking though.
A voice in her head was telling her to kiss him and before she could think again, her lips grew a mind of their own and she found herself already lip locked with the hot guy.
He was caught off guard when she did it but he eventually responded and kissed her back, passionately so, her lips felt ecstatic.
He let her run her hands on his chest, when realized that this could get worse, he purred as he pulled away, and she heaved as she looked at him, wondering why he was stopping.
“You’re too drunk, Neli,” his stubbled lips smiled sweetly, his gaze eating up the look of confusion on her drunk face.
“Isn’t that what makes it more exciting?” Lefika chuckled this time, her eyes were pleading but no.
He held her by the nape of her neck.
“You need to go home, where do you stay?”
Neli smiled, she could now barely keep balance on her feet, she really was too drunk.
She smirked, “Is that your line of trying to get me to bed?” a fully fleshed man laughter erupted from Lefika’s larynx, exposing his perfectly aligned teeth that even in her drunk state, Neli noticed and admired.
This man was so handsome, she thought.
“Nice one, it’s really working.”
“Actually, I was going to call a taxi for you,”
She pouted, disappointedly.
“UB.” She spoke lazily, if he wasn’t listening carefully then he wouldn’t have heard that.
“You’re still a student?” she frowned.
“I’m graduating next week.”
“of course, you are, come on,”
Neli collapsed onto his chest, gone. He sighed.
This wasn’t exactly how he’d planned to spend his last day in Gabz. He’d thought he’d get mad drunk, met a hot girl, get laid then leave early morning but guess God had other plans.
A hot girl on a drunken silver platter.
Awesome.
He looked around the packed club, he didn’t even know who her friends were and she didn’t even have a purse or anything with her.
Fingers crossed she wasn’t lying about staying at UB.
He looked around again to search for his best friend, Obakeng but he was also nowhere to be found.
He supported her and walked her out of the club to his car then drove to UB.
He arrived after a while.
“Neli?.....Neli?...” he shook her awake, she stirred awake after a while, it took her a while to register her surrounding through her hazy eyes.
“Hmm? Sebaga? Neelo?” her eyes searched the dark car for her friends.
“it’s me, Fiks. I brought you to school, you were too drunk and I didn’t know your friends.”
“Ohh,” she nodded and unbuckled her seatbelt then opened the door but it didn’t budge, she tried again but still, it didn’t open.
“It won’t open.”
“Child lock” he said as a matter of factly, that smile pulling at the corner of his lips, lighting up his whole face. Taking her by surprise, he pulled her closer and crushed his lips against hers and kissed her hard.
He sucked on her bottom lip for a while, smirking as she moaned in his mouth.
She put her hand on his chest to push him back but he held her tighter and kissed her harder, he parted her lips with his tongue and plunged his tongue inside her mouth to savor her.
He French kissed her and she whimpered in his arms, her drunk mind clearing slowly as he kissed her. He let her go after a while, he wiped her lips with his thumb, they were swollen.
“I’ve been wanting to do that all night,” he pecked her lips one last time before unlocking the door for her.
“Go and sleep, don’t drink more than you can handle in a club, there are too many bad guys out there,”
“Like you?” she leaned her head back on the headrest and looked at him, she watched as dimples she’s only noticing now in proper lighting graced his light-skinned face.
His Adam’s apple bobbing up and down when he leaned in closer into her again, so close his breath hit her neck, leaving her with shivers and he whispered, “trust me, Neli, if I was a bad guy, you’d be in my bed under me right now.”
