Themba paused for a bit. When he saved Linda, her belongings were not burnt. He had gone through them and realised that Linda was in fact a secret service agent that was sent to kill him. He quickly burnt the photos and got rid of the guns.
“So, they sent you to come kill me. I knew they would eventually send someone but I did not think it would be Philani’s daughter. What did they say? I bet Mr Yako told you that you need not negotiate with me but kill me right?” Mr Ntini sobbed.
“How did you know his exact words?” Linda was shocked.
“I have been with the secret service for 18 years and have carried out a lot of tasks that involved killing. We killed innocent people just to protect Mr Yako. He made us do his dirty work but made us believe we were doing the state work,” he said.
“Philani was killed by Mr Yako’s man because he was believed to know a lot and his retirement was said to be a risk to the service. I am next to die because I know as much as Philani did. I knew they were going to send someone to kill me. I could not even attend my friend’s funeral because it was a risk for me as they were going to take me down,” Mr Ntini explained.
Tears clouded her eyes, as Linda stood speechless. Mr Ntini walked towards her and gave her a hug. It was getting dark and they were preparing dinner when Mr Ntini heard an engine sound. It was of a car approaching.
Mr Yako had gotten impatient waiting on Linda who had now been gone for about a week without any communication. He then decided to take one of his men and follow up on Linda to see what was holding her up.
The car sound died and Mr Ntini alerted Linda. The car was not in sight and so they waited to see who it was. Mr Ntini lived in an area that hardly had any neighbors and hence everyone who drove to the area would be coming to him.
He opened up a cupboard and reached for two firearms. He gave one to Linda.
“I’m sure Mr Yako has sent someone to come kill us both,” Mr Ntini said.
They saw a man slowly approaching with a gun in his hand. Linda was led through the back door.
“Run! I’ll take care of this,” Mr Ntini ordered.
Linda ran into the small forest until she reached the road where a car parked and inside was Mr Yako. She went over to it, and without wasting any time, she pulled the trigger and shot Mr Yako twice in the head. She went inside and pulled a bag on the backseat. Inside was an envelope with more pictures.
“Gasp!” she yelled.
There were pictures of Mr Ntini strangling her father and also of him dumping the body in the back yard.
Mr Ntini had played her. She quickly returned to Mr Ntini and when she got there, he was long gone. She found a dead body laying in a pool of blood. Mr Ntini had shot the man before escaping. Linda felt stupid and used. There was not much to do but break down and cry…
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