NINE

KAGISO

I woke up a few days ago been in a coma for 2 months that boy really meant it when he said he will do it I hope he is in jail as we speak because if he is not I’m coming for him 

I coughed my throat is very dry 

?? I’ll get the water for you

I jumped a bit hurting myself in the process I didn’t realize that someone was in the room 

I looked at him but he had his back on me but I could tell from his accent and hands that he is not African 

Me: who are you and what do you want?

Him: all in good time 

He turned around and I shivered immediately what would Thunder want in my ward I have never been to his territory and I made sure to tell my boys to stay away from it 

Him: don’t be scared you’ll wet yourself

I looked at him hoping that he will tell me what he wants 

Me: man I have been staying away from your playgrounds and so did my boys and as you can see I’m in hospital been here for 2 months and of one of my boys crossed the line I’ll make sure they are punished 

Him: relax boy I am here about something else

Me: what could that be?

Him: I don’t usually do this myself but because it’s personal I have to

He kept quiet and moved around my ward 

Him: taking a life is easy as killing a flyone squash and it is history you do know that right?

I nodded

Him: I have been watching you you recruited my son taking advantage of his poverty that he didn’t choose for himself his mother did you used him to make millions for you and your family while he risked his life for you but you were just too greedy and you saw a fool in him and you robbed him off your weakling brother couldn’t do half the things my son did but you paid him 100K didn’t give my son half of that you gave him R20000 when he gave you cars worth of millions I’m sure you have figured out who I am talking about now

Me: Zack is your son

Him: I see you are smart but dumb enough to make him a fool where do you think he got his skin color and his blue eyes from? He got them from me 

Me: I didn’t know he was your son Boss T 

Him: now don’t start crying like a little bitch didn’t you ever wonder why he was never caught while out on the Job? Why he was never killed? Because I have been his guardian angel all his life but he doesn’t know but you have hurt my little Carb used him in ever possible way you could 

Me: I made that boy who he is and he got the guts to put me in this bed !!

He pressed on my abdomen while closing my mouth 

Him: I don’t care what he did to you because you have taken a lit from him now I already made the calculation and figured you owe him millions so I took it upon myself to and took it from your savings and saved it for him now back to the reasons why I am here 

I swallowed hard 

Him: when the police come in here you will tell them you were trying to recruit that boy back to your gang but he refused so you fought and that’s when he stabbed you it was self defense

Me: and if I don’t?

Him: I figured you'll ask that that is why I took precautions after all I’m Thunder

He showed me a live video of my mom doing laundry outside

Him: you have a lot of enemies and everyone in your hood knows you are a gangster so I can stage a robbery and have her raped and killed but I don’t like to hurt women I have heard a fair share of what hurting a woman does to a person which is why I decided to wire your whole bed with explosives if you press that panic button “boom” fireworks and your blood will decorate this dull wall and since I know you will not press that panic button so that you can be safe I decided to go for Plan C which your Grip it’s got a toxin that is undetected but when it gets to your body it shuts it down slowly and if not caught early your brain will shut down slowly you’ll start forgetting thingsstart seeing things hearing voices you’ll forget your name and then it will shut down eventually and so will your heart if it starts with it you’ll feel it beating slow and you’ll feel like you are suffocating and then blood will stop flowing to your body after 7 seconds you will be brain dead and then due eventually 

Me:what do you want from?

Him: I already told you that and I don’t repeat myself now the detective will be here in 10 minutes to get your statement so you better start remembering your speech and just know I have ears and eyes everywhere you don’t say your speech right you die I can make fireworks in this place by just making a phone ring and if it’s answered …you know how that ends now you have 9 minutes and 8 seconds 

He walked out 

I looked around for any cameras and I could see none 

I looked at the wall clock and exactly at 12:15 a detective should come in and if no one comes I’ll know he was just bluffing

I moved carefully to look under my bed and he was right about the bomb

Fuck fuck 

I curse the day Zack came to me for help because I wouldn’t be in this position right now 

At exactly 12:15 the detective got in and I told him exactly what I was told to tell him 

And he left 

THUNDER

Me: Grace please don’t do say no

Her: I am saying no because your wife is very evil and I am in love with someone now just leave me alone to be what I am paid to be your slave 

Her words cut deep in my heart they broke my little heart because I never treated her as a slave and I know for a fact I give my wife R5000 to pay her For doing laundry and cleaning 

Me: a slave? But you are not a slave Grace I take you as my family

Her: family? Family sits together on the table and eats dinner or breakfast they broke my little heart because I never treated her as a slave and I know for a fact I give my wife R5000 to pay her For doing laundry and cleaning 

Me: a slave? But you are not a slave Grace I take you as my family

Her: family? Family sits together on the table and eats dinner or breakfast and you have never seen me there

Me:Angela told me you said you preferred to eat alone

Her: and you believed her I need to finish my work I have to wash your wife’s under wears 

Me: you don’t have to do that Grace please look at me

Her: no I will not just let me go please 

Me: you are not going anywhere until we’ve spoken and it’s 10am Angela will only be back at 15:00 relax and talk to me 

Her: there is nothing to talk about besides the fact that Sipho and I are going to go live together find other jobs or sell things to make money 

I could feel my anger rising

Him: you are not going anywhere with him or anyone Grace 

I said pulling her closer to me she tried to wiggle herself from my hold but she couldn’t after all I’m a man slowly my lips met her soft lips she didn’t respond at first but eventually she did 

‘Bang bang' I got startled by that loud noise and I almost jumped from my seat 

John stood there look at me 

Him:I have been standing here for over 15 minutes and you have been shaking that glass of whiskey in your hand for a while what’s going on?

Me: it’s just one of those bad days 

Him: Grace??

Me: who else can do this to me? Do you know that up to this day she still refuses to take money from me or the house I bought her 

Him: then that means she doesn’t want you then just move on it’s been 26 years man 

Me: haven’t I tried? I have tried but I can’t even be intimate with a woman unless I use pills 

Him: I told you she used witchcraft on you you should have listened to me and not fucked a black woman 

Me: I didn’t fuck her we made love she was screaming my name begging me not to stop and I didn’t 

Him: and since then things went sideways for you you lost your gift the one that God gave you that’s when you joined us on the bad side I never wanted you to be here your heart is pure which is why we still can’t do the initiation ritual for you you created Thunder so that you can cope with being bad this life is not for you Zack 

Me: did you come here to lecture me about that or you came for something else?

Him: I came for something else but I couldn’t tell you that since your mind is still thinking about Grace I am going to get you a woman who is going to make you fuck her without even drinking pills 

Me: no woman can do that only Grace can

I said looking at the people in my club through the mirror window in my office I can see everyone from up here but none of them can see me 

Him: I was thinking that we but another place but make it a strip club 

Me: I told you I don’t like strip clubs because they are full of prostitutes and I want nothing to do with men abusing women in that manner 

Him: those women do it willingly they don’t get abused

Me: but now they will be working for me using their bodies for that no thank you I will pass on that 

Him: it’s either we do this or I tell the whole world that Thunder/ M.r Billionaire needs pills to get an erection

I turned quickly like lightening and in few minutes I was holding him up against the wall 

Me: I may be your friend and have a good heart but I will not think twice about killing you nobody threatens me you hear? Now if you want to go into a prostitution business do it alone fund yourself you have money but like I said I want none of it I am not going to open a whore house now get the fuck out of my office 

I let go of his neck and he coughed so much and left rubbing his neck 

I am not going to open a brothel 

I took my phone and dialed the only woman who can calm me down 

Her: hello

Me:….silence 

I just kept breathing 

Her: who is this? Did you call to just breathe on my ear or you are going to talk?

 I still remained silent 

She kept quiet too 

Her: Zack 

How did she know because this is my office number and she doesn’t have it 

Her: I am just gonna listening to you breathe since you don’t want to talk 

Me: Grace

Her: Zack

Me: Please allow me to meet my son 

Her: no Zack I can’t it’s bad enough that he has followed on your footsteps imagine the kind of man he will be when he gets to know you

Me: I will not corrupt him I swear I just want a chance to be a father to him 

Her: no please leave my son alone Zack he stopped going to church because of the gift you passed on to him he got scared of it and he started being a thug to avoid seeing things and he stopped seeing them now he is about to graduate at varsity he is trying to clean his life please don’t spoil this for me like you did before

Me: The gift? He has the gift?

Her: bye Zack and please leave Zack alone 

She hung up 

I sat down now this explains why I stopped seeing things after sleeping with Grace 

Each time I played about it trying to get answers as to why all of a sudden I am blind to seeing beyond human nature and I would just see Grace God would just show me Grace

It was not really her that God was trying to show me but rather the seed I had planted on her but by then I was too frustrated because same night I couldn’t satisfy Angela 

I couldn’t see anything my gift was gone Angela got tired of me not being able to make love to her so she asked me what’s going 

And I had to tell her what had happened and she painted Grace as a witch and I believed it