Tightened Strings

The jungle

Two warning shots were fired. Almost immediately, six lads clad in drabs fled the scene. Marauding street urchins were gradually becoming a menace. They moved around in gangs led by ‘fathers’.

In this particular crew, Pepper was the leader. Leadership was obtained through combat. Alternatively, fellow members would elect whoever they deemed fit. At worst, one would be ‘father’ only after murdering his would-be predecessor.

Banditry was nothing new amongst street folk. After all,

gang members paid allegiance to leaders who were more experienced in this infamous practice. Pepper, affectionately known by his partners as General Njere, marvelled at his achievements. Since his endorsement as the father their group emerged as one of the most respected amongst the street clans. They owned most of the territory in the envied parts of town. To be specific, First Street and Vivacious Boulevard were recognized as theirs.

Territory was definitely a treasure. It determined whether or not a gang would thrive. Streets with retail outlets and banks provided gang members with prolific hunting grounds. On the other hand, downtown was a battlefield, survival of the fittest.

When I met Pepper for the first time, our eyes interlocked. I noticed a faraway look in his eyes which left me with so many questions. Unfortunately, for me, he left the scene twenty dollars richer. Town life was probably too harsh for me. On my first day I very nearly lost dear life. My biological father always made it his duty to give me tips and tricks of surviving in the concrete jungle. Indeed, they came in handy when four inches of shiny, piercing metal were held a few centimeters from my precious face.

Father’s death hit me like a brick. His decision to join the Blue Eye was condemned by most of our relatives. He was committed to serving the country with all his might up until death. That’s exactly what happened. It all began in 2008. Our government had been analyzing the mobilization of the well feared terrorists, IBIS. Word came to their ears that they were planning to attack our beloved nation. The tension subsided for a while but it was reignited in 2011. Underground operations to acquire intel on their activities revealed that IBIS were making great strides towards achieving their long-term goal.

When the Minister of Defense contacted my father, ordering his entire crew to embark on one of the deadliest missions ever, he could only afford a sigh of self-pity. Captain Tait had no choice, after all, he always dreamt of disclosing as much information of the enemy as possible. This was an opportune moment for him to prove his worth to the discrete organization.

The plan was for dad to change his identity, befriend the enemy and lure them into spilling the beans. Captain Tait and his crew utilized a two-headed train for safety and mobility. The thirteen men crew was eager to topple IBIS for good. They jumped off the train and made their way through the thick, hostile jungle. After several hours of marching, they were within earshot of a market. They were dazzled. After hours of toiling they caught sight of the trade Centre. It was no ordinary trade fair. Large boxes were being ferried from one lorry to the other.

Jimdanger and my father took it upon themselves to join the struggle. They made conversation with one of the bandits and they were given the nitty-gritties of what transpired at the ‘station’.

“Did you bring an order?” the bandit asked. Captain and Jimdanger stared at each other naughtily.

The couple could only manage grins.

Indeed, he knew why they were there. Their cover was blown when one of father’s subordinates fired a shot. They hurriedly made their way back to the barely moving train and hopped on without further delay. Barricades were set up, the train derailed and the rest is, as they say, history. That’s all I was told by a senior official who had been a close pal of my father’s.

That same official, Dr Ludendorff, invited me to one of his prestigious dinners. For the better part of my life I grew up in the outskirts of the capital. Save for a few occasions when my mother and I would journey into the heart of the city to acquire some essentials which were inaccessible in our home town. Father’s tales, complemented by those few trips, painted a vivid picture of what the city was like. I had drawn a conclusion that the Blue Eye had forgotten all about my old man. It was a cold-hearted world after all. Ludendorff’s call rather struck me by surprise. My mother was equally perplexed. There I was, a nineteen year old lad who had recently completed his A’ levels.

Mother and I interrogated the matter (as to whether or not I were to attend the dinner). Father’s savings were virtually exhausted. I called Ludendorff and without further delay he sent through some money for fares. I caught the first bus next morning. I came to a bold conclusion, this was my longest journey ever. Boredom got the better of me and I dozed off.

“Young man ,wake up! Leave the bus with everyone else lest highwaymen take advantage of you,” bemoaned the bus driver when we arrived.

With twenty dollars the only thing between myself and poverty, I looked around the bus station hoping to spot a police officer. Unfortunately, no officer was within sight. Father did a good job in telling me how critical it was for a person to avoid asking for directions from strangers. Brigands were numerous in this part of town anyway.

That is how I met Pepper. In my bid to match reality with my imagination of how the city was like, I ended up stuck in Vivacious Boulevard. There was pretty much no activity in the area when I got there. Save for a few vendors setting up their stalls, street folk and people from different walks of life rushing to their workplaces were the only beings around. I noticed a gang approaching me. Possibly, I invigorated them when I failed to hold back my laughter. One of them, whom I perceived to be the leader, charged in my direction . I could only watch. He pulled out a pocketknife, which I discovered as being rusty and held it to my face.

“Uri kusekei? Try me and you will leave this place toothless!” he threatened.

I reacted instinctively by pulling out the crisp twenty dollar note which I hid earlier in my inner garments. Indeed, he had no manners. He did not even thank me. Actually, I thanked him! He forced me to do so as he felt I was obliged after he taught me some respect.

The city was getting busier by the second. A young gentleman came to where I was. I noticed a shiny nametag on his shirt, or was it a uniform. Enoch, the name on the badge sounded too familiar to be new.

He started,“Not the ideal welcome one would expect..My name is Enoch.” Enoch said so stretching out his arm. Perhaps he was trying to break the awkward silence which had been utterly unbearable.

“Nice to meet you Sir,” I replied,“I never imagined that it would kick off this way.” I said so whilst returning the gesture.

Father’s advice came in pretty handy. I decided to give Enoch the privilege of befriending me. When I told him about my destination he dropped his jaws in amazement. The same look that a lottery winner gives when his name gets called out. I wasn’t too surprised. The logo on his nametag was identical to the one on father’s blazers. I could draw the Blue Eye logo with both eyes closed. Enoch was Dr Ludendorff’s attendant.

He assured me that everything would be okay and repeatedly reminded me that I was in safe hands.

“The Doctor is a well respected citizen. His patriotism is certainly second to none. The country owes him a lot you know? The Blue Eye is on the verge of dying😑.” Enoch’s tone went from jovial to sad.

“What do you mean?”

“Well, a few years ago the government decided to decentralize. We weren’t going to be affected..At least that’s what we thought, up until the Presidium reshuffled.” Enoch sighed.

My face remained puzzled.

“Don’t you realize?”

“No, the Blue Eye was independent. Not so?”

“Well, we are. The government decided to outlaw secret societies. They reinstated the Secret Service. Things got worse when we lost Cap in that fateful mission up North.”

I was about to tell him that ‘Cap’ was my old man when he interrupted me, “So..what brings you here?”

“Uhh..I have a message for Doctor Ludendorff. A close relative of his lives in our part of town. She fell ill..”

“Oh..you don’t have to tell me the rest. Doc keeps mentioning something about an old friend in Chishawasha. He’s always worried bout their kids. Doc hadn’t made an effort to support them earlier on and now he feels miserable. Please forgive me, I’m such a blabber.”