At half past five on the dot Mary Kariuki was inside the officer's mess, seated in the corner, away from a boisterous group of airforce top guns, just arrived from a bombing raid in Somalia. They were cheering, high fiving and praying for a confrontation with Ethiopian jetfighters on their next adventure, they wanted a fight with something that could fight back. Mary was dressed in her casual clothes, a tight pair of jeans and a well trimmed long sleeved blouse that hid her extra pounds. Beside her was her brother Jack Kariuki who had recently made captain in the airforce, just arrived from Nairobi where he served as an errand boy for the airforce chief of staff. He was eating and catching up with her latest, he was married now and was wondering what was taking his beautiful baby sister so long.
One of the loud airforce boys looked over in her direction then the others did too. They lowered their voices for a few seconds then laughed loudly. Mary was about to ignore them and Jack was about to go over and beat them when someone entered the mess hall. It was Derrick, he was in black pants and a purple shirt, her brother could not hide his shock, he was a man of style and could not forgive the poor fashion sense of the new arrival.
Jack was in a leather jacket that did little to hide his bulging chest and biceps. He wore tight blue jeans and fashionable sport shoes, he sat back aggressively and waited because the man in purple seemed to be heading for them. What did the kid want? He turned when his sister rose from her chair and to his surprise she hugged the purple boy, and gave him a peck on the cheek! He shook his head to make sure he was not hallucinating.
"Jack, don't be rude," his sister teased.
Jack rose roughly and shook the kid's hand. He looked barely seventeen, what the hell was he? There was no way he was an officer, he was probably a cleaner or something. What was his sister doing with a cleaner? He was handsome alright, but what the hell Marie?
"Jack meet my boyfriend, lieutenant Derrick Masaku, army special operations," she added for extra points. Jack felt his mouth open then out of pure animal instinct he grabbed the kid's hand again and gave him a shoulder bump.
"Nice to meet you lieutenant, I'm Jack Kariuki, Marie's brother," he even smiled.
"Jack is a staff captain in the air Force headquarters," Mary explained, Derrick's face also lit up when he heard those words. Mary had broken the ice.
They all sat down and their long suffering civilian attendant headed for their table and took their orders, Derrick was famished and he asked for beef and pilau, Jack ordered nothing and Mary asked for salad and a glass of mango juice. Jack excused himself after shaking his hand warmly and giving him a look that said he had marked him down as important. Mary then grabbed his hands and said what a great time she was having. He was now her boyfriend as far as she was concerned and Derrick was just going along but at the moment he just wanted to eat in peace.
The meals came and Derrick ate with gusto as Mary kept going on and on about her commanding officer and how he was flirting with her, asking her out everyday, finding excuses to talk to her and offering to buy her lunch. He nodded and grunted every few seconds as she explained how she had said yes to him only because unlike other junior officers he had class and was not a womanizer. He agreed with a grunt and Mary went on, it was like she could talk for hours.
"Are you ready for the date tonight?" She suddenly asked.
"Yes," he had forgotten.
"What are you going to wear?"
He laughed, of course he was going to wear what he was in.
"I'll find something," he said when he saw the look on her face.
"No you're not," she started giggling then from beneath the table she produced a box with the words Armani across it's length.
"What is that?"
"A gift for you, you're now my boyfriend Der, you need to up your game," she said with a laugh, missing his eye roll and snort.
"Why thank you Marie, wow," he grabbed the box, it must have cost a fortune.
After being hugged and kissed all the way to the door, Derrick finally broke free and headed for his abode. It was located in the rear of the base, the tenth aluminum box building, the privilege afforded to him as a junior officer. It had three rooms, a bathroom and a toilet, the same setup was repeated hundreds of time throughout the staff quarters, each had a long line outside which was full of army fatigues, vests and underwear, everyone did their own laundry, officer or grunt. He was almost entering his box when he heard his name being shouted from afar. It was Haggai Ongaya and he was running towards him like a messenger of old. He finally reached where Derrick stood and he leaned on his knees panting and sweating.
"Haggai what's up?"
"I have been trying to reach you."
"I forgot to call you back, what is it?"
Haggai was plumpish and sweated gallons every few minutes, whether he was sitting or walking or running. He was in a light blue suit and red tie that really brought out the prosperous businessman look. He wiped his forehead with a giant light blue hankee and rose from his position with a sigh.
"I have something to tell you bro," he began.
"What is it man?"
"I asked Joan Mueni out, I figured since you and Mary are together now…listen, I can back off if you want, okay.…."
"Who again?"
"You don't remember, I introduced you two…..," Haggai stopped talking. He sounded a bit confused.
"Oh her, well I barely know her, you don't need my permission to go out with a girl you fancy pal, go have fun with her."
"Really?"
"Yes, of course. Go have fun," he laughed and gave Haggai a pat on the head, Haggai reminded him of a toddler.
The newly promoted colonel William K. Rono's house was majestic as befitting a man of his caliber; a corrupt, crafty and imaginative senior officer. It was made of white stone, was two floors, had a giant porch and a garden to top it all up. As seven p.m drew closer, the vehicles kept parking upfront, most of them government issued SUVs, pickups and even a few Humvees. They were met at the porch by the man himself, dressed in a British artillery dress suit and bowtie, holding his wife's arm and smiling broadly, his lips parted slightly because he was a bit tipsy.
"It's nice to see you, welcome to my humble home," he would be heard saying.
"Congratulations colonel," many kept answering and smiling, shaking his long thin hands.
"Congratulations sir," the junior officers professed meekly, the few who had been invited.
One of these was Haggai Ongaya, he was also a bit tipsy, he needed all the guts he could muster to go out with a girl well out of his league or face the army and airforce gliterrati in that grand house in the outskirts of Mandera. He still could not believe it, he was in a dream, he was in a dream, that was the only explanation. He was arm in arm with Joan Mueni, he, Haggai Ongaya! They entered the house and it was bigger than he had imagined and the people even brighter. The conversations were lovely and the cocktails delicious, it was like a little piece of Nairobi had been airlifted all the way to Mandera.
"So what did he say again? Repeat what he said word for word," Joan Mueni asked in that sweet voice of hers that turned heads.
''Huh?'' Haggai was confused.
"What did Derrick say when you told him you were going out with me?"
"Well," he was trying to remember, wondering why their conversation was so Derrick-centered. What about me?
"Please start from the beginning."
An officer he vaguely knew saw Joan, came towards her like a hungry wolf and shook her hand greedily, he then left with an angry look directed at Haggai. The officer's wife was at hand and managed to grab him before he saw another beautiful woman.
"Tell me Haggai."
"I met him outside his place and told him I was going out with you."
"What did he say?"
"He said 'who again?'"
"Okay and then?"
"I told him about you and he said it was no problem if we went out, said he barely knew you," Haggai decided he was going to go all the way, this was fun, damn her for caring so much about Derrick. "He added that he found your use of synthetic hair annoying and inauthentic and told me he stayed away from such women."
"What? You hadn't told me that earlier!"
"I was afraid I would offend you."
"Tell me everything Haggai."
"Well, he went on to say your application of make up is just not attractive at all. He then said he had never even considered dating you."
It was working, she was almost crying, it was so sweet, this revenge was sweet, he was going to go all in. The party gathering pace stopped existing, he was a machine gunner and his words were bullets, he was going to take out the competition for once and for all, maybe he would even get lucky…
"He even said…..I don't know if this is appropriate, no I won't do this to a friend, noo," he shook his head and looked away like this was really struggling with the dilemma before him.
"Speak damnit," she hissed, he could not look into her eyes but he went on faking a kind of sadness that only comes from betraying a friend's confidence.
"Well, he said as far as he was concerned you were cheap food for all the senior officers, he said he knows your type, the kind who rocket through the ranks because they let some fat brigadier have their way with them..," he was about to go on when a hush fell over the giant sitting room.
All around them the people who up until a few seconds ago were milling about, drinking and gossiping fell silent. Even the highest ranking officers who were seated in the dining room laughing prosperously went mum. At the door the final guests were arriving and one couple was especially the cause of the silence, not because of their beauty but rather their stark contrast. The man was dressed in a grey, fitting Armani shirt and tight black pants, the shirt was open just enough to show off his smooth and chiseled chest and tight enough to show that he had no stomach or waist for that matter, like someone had chipped away at his waist and stomach to build his neck and chest. The woman was in a very expensive, glittery and tight night gown with an open back and of course, an open cleavage. The dress was however meant to be on a slimmer body because it displayed her extra belly fat to all and she did not do her pretty face any justice with the tons of make up she had applied on herself.
The people parted and could only smile with wonder, how had she nabbed him? They asked. Taking this to mean they were admiring her exquisite taste and grace; Mary strutted into the center of the room, dragging her eye candy with her. They walked past, greeting everyone like celebrities until they came face to face with Haggai and his date. Mary ignored them and guided her date to safer grounds.
A minute later the guests started speaking in an order that was astonishing in all the disorder of the celebration.
"And now I would like to introduce our first speaker, major general Richard Poghisio," a self-declared master of ceromonies announced to loud claps and discreet cheers. The major general was at hand and without wasting time he stood before the group just where a TV set was supposed to be. The general was the highest ranking officer in the room and his demeanor communicated just that. He was of medium height, heavily muscled for his age and had a calm and tough face. His hair was very white and his eyes arresting. He was dressed in a suit but every inch of his body screamed general.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the Kenya Defence Forces," he began sweetly, "I am happy to be among you today, thrilled in fact. I have known colonel Bill for most of my adult life and despite many responsibilities in Nairobi I decided I had to come here and congratulate Bill personally on his promotion. Bill has been a true champion of the KDF, a man beloved by all and with a humility and sense of duty unlike any that I have seen in my forty year career in the KDF. Again congratulations Bill, you deserve it."
They clapped vigorously, especially second lieutenant Haggai, he loved men like Bill; men of ambition and glory, men who won and won and kept winning no matter the weather. Bill was moving onto the fore of the gathering, smiling giddily with alcohol-induced pleasure. He gave the general a firm handshake and received a pat on the back as the general left the stage for the man of the hour.
Bill Rono nodded at the gathering, a slight nod that ended the loud cheers, he was so articulate and charismatic, Haggai at that exact moment felt entranced by the man. They were all looking into his eyes, waiting for him to speak, even Joan Mueni was paying rapt attention, even the generals in the dining room had moved to the front of the small crowd and quickly a pecking order was established behind them.
"Ladies and gentlemen of the KDF, welcome to my humble home," they clapped.
"I am delighted to be among so many fine people and stars of the KDF, humbled in fact," they laughed knowingly. "I would also like to give a shout out other officers who have been promoted or will be promoted in the next few weeks, they worked hard and deserve their promotions."
There were murmurs of assent and a few respectful claps.
"There are men and women in these room who also deserve special mention, not that the rest of you aren't dear to my heart," he gave them a blinding smile and they could not help but laugh. "First of course is major general Richard Poghisio, a man of greatness and influence who is feared and loved in equal measure."
Everyone clapped loudly as they turned or cranes their necks to see if he was paying attention to their sucking up. The general simply nodded and remained as ramrod straight as a ruler. Rumors were he would soon be made the chief of staff of the Kenya army and everyone wanted to make a good impression.
"In our midst we also have, brigadiers; Mohammed Barre, Francis Mureithi, Joseph Ogolla, William Kibos, Charles Ole Sunkut and James Macharia," they answered with very loud cheers and claps, these men they knew and loved.
"I would also like all of you to give a special shout out to the first female brigadier general in the whole of eastern and central Africa. Please come forward Michelle," his voice rose a little with excitement, there were some murmurs, the first female brigadier general? From behind the gathering people stirred and a woman started moving forward.
She was in a pantsuit, a black expensive one. She was of medium height, a bit plump and without any makeup at all. She had her hair blow-dried and tied behind her head in a neat pony tail. The woman walked without any poise or style, she just walked-plainly and without fear or doubt. She smiled thinly when colonel Bill took her hand and turned with her to face the crowd. They clapped some more then let the woman retreat safely to the back of the gathered pack.
"Thank you Michelle and congratulations on your promotion, we as Kenyans are proud to be at the forefront of empowerment and progress," he droned on and on and on. Joan did not hear the rest of the speech she was busy sulking, Haggai was not either, he was slowly but surely lowering his hand towards her bottom, his eyes wide with lust and desire. Mary was not there too, she had her hands on Derrick's right shoulder loving the looks she got from other female officers. Most men and women simply wanted the colonel to be done already, their sexual urges were coming to the fore and by morning most knew they would regret it but were at the moment unable to stop.
The Saudis arrived at half past five in the morning two days later. They landed on Malindi's only private airport, mostly meant for wealthy mafioso who now called the beautiful beach-town home, free to do their mafia things with little interruption from the Kenyan government. The airport overlooked the Indian ocean to the east and was flanked by acres upon acres of palm trees to the South. A lean but well maintained two Lane tarmac road snaked through the palm trees, providing the mafioso and other wealthy guests with stunning views as they drove towards Malindi town which was only five kilometers away.
The Saudi jet, a sleek gulfstream eased into a private hangar and three Saudis in black suits alighted. They looked tense, rigid, maybe even a bit crazy. Chris Ngure was just happy he was not the one being handed over to the Saudis, a people whose bloodthirst and penchant for the bizzare was well known and documented. Chris the shapeshifter as he was widely known, was dressed in a forgettable blue t-shirt and blue jeans, his colleague was in a suit, so was the blindfolded Arab wedged between them; a man who only forty eight hours ago was in a swanky restaurant, rubbing shoulders with the high and mighty of the Kenyan-Somali bourgeoise.
The poor bastard had been kidnapped, held in a motel and handed over to Chris's outfit. They were the ones who took his briefcase and electronics and were just about to hand him over minus those electronics and the briefcase. Chris scratched his beard with no trace of self awareness as the Arabs came closer and one of them spoke in crisp English.
"I am captain Ali, here to take Mr. Amir back to the kingdom where he will answer for crimes against his royal highness the crown prince and the good people of Yemen…."
"Of course, it is our pleasure to hand over this dangerous man to your country," Chris cut him off and looked at his colleague with a raised brow; can you believe this shit? They pushed Amir towards his new captors and the other two Saudis immediately grabbed him roughly and held him tightly between them. Amir cursed in Arabic, they cursed back and one even slapped him across the face. What tortures Amir was going to suffer-Chris in no way felt responsible but a part of him felt pity, or curiosity, he could no longer tell the difference.
"I was led to believe by your bosses that he had a laptop, two i-phones, a briefcase with documents and a satellite phone with him," captain Ali, asked softly, with threatening undertones.
"Sorry pal, he ditched them before we could get them," Chris answered without bothering to hide his grin.
"I assure you, we are doing everything in our power to look for….," Chris's colleague, ever the diplomat was starting when he was cut short with a sharply raised hand from 'captain Ali.'
"Save it, I will take it up with your masters, and you can be sure I will mention your absolute lack of respect and professionalism."
With those words they promptly marched towards their jet and true to his word captain Ali was already on his phone barking away in Arabic. Chris and his colleague marched to their vehicle and drove away thankful they were not poor little Amir.
"What's your name beautiful?"
He got no reply, just a sad puppy look and the sharpest of glares, then the helicopter pilot beside him gave him a look that wiped the smile off his face. He was her co-pilot and passenger, along with the beautiful second lieutenant in the rear seats and another plumpish lieutenant who wore too much make-up. The pilot was big, really big, she was blondish but her name tag was dholuo: captain Oludhe, what were the odds?
"So what do you do in the interior ministry wiseguy?" The pilot asked in a loud, confident and weirdly reassuring voice.
"Isn't it obvious captain?"
No it was not obvious, they all waited for his reply.
"I'm an assassin," Chris Ngure answered with a smile and they all laughed, even the pretty second lieutenant
Twenty minutes later they landed just outside Wajir town. Wajir is not far from the Kenya-Somali border and just like Mandera it is predominantly Somali and loud, and dirty, and disorganized and also home to one of the largest army bases in the region. The burly pilot landed the chopper on a patch of grass just inside the base with only the slightest movements of her giant arms. Chris thanked her and disembarked, the ladies waved him away still laughing. As far as they were concerned they had just ferried an interior ministry bureaucrat to the frontlines of the war against terror to observe and report.
He was dressed for the part; neat black tie, black suit and fake glasses, he even carried a briefcase to complete his bored bureaucrat look. He was received by his main host just as the chopper he had arrived in took off, off to lands unknown, to conduct the business of the state. His host was small, rigid and tough, they were all tough this side of the yatta.
"Agent Ngure I take it?"
"Yes, and you must be colonel Pete Mwaura," he got a wry smile.
"Follow me," was his reply and they marched between tents, rushing soldiers, jeeps, mobile homes and aluminum houses. They finally arrived outside the castle on the hill so to speak. It was a large administration block made of whitewashed stone, vehicles were parked beneath it's splendour as military officers walked in and out, giving them little acknowledgement.
On the third floor the colonel punched in a code then waited as a giant reinforced door slid open with a short beep. In they went, Chris still not sure what the secrecy was all about, they were just army like the rest for fucks sake. A guard from across a bulletproof glass was the first thing he saw in the small anteroom they were now in. He gave them a look that demanded something and after an awkward second he realized he had to hand over the briefcase. It was put through an x-ray machine and he went through a metal detector and of course the damned thing went off, he was always armed.
He gave the gun to colonel Pete who handed it over to the man behind the eternal bulletproof glass. They next got into another room, after patting aside a giant plastic curtain ,it was waiting bay of sorts, here he got his gun and briefcase from another blank faced doppelganger of the soldier behind the bulletproof glass.
"Now we wait," the colonel said softly and sat on the only available space on the three rows of benches, benches he had last seen when withdrawing money from his many accounts throughout Africa.
Holy shit, the waiting room was parked, like what the hell! Was the secretive unit 1200 really this open to every Tom, Dick and Mohammed! He scanned the waiting faces and bodies, what a group this was! He saw captains, sergeants, suits, white men, brown ones and even somalis!
"Staff sergeant Leonard Kulet and lieutenant Derrick Musau, you are clear to progress, an officer will escort you to your desired department," a cold, mechanical voice barked over a loudspeaker, so menacing Chris expected the Russian national anthem to play as they waited for comrade Boris to take his lunch break.
Two jokers from the rear bench shuffled awkwardly and ambled to a waiting sergeant. They looked straight out of a Kenyan army propaganda photo; the giant metallic-faced NCO and the fresh faced lieutenant with a lean body and immaculate uniform, how he hated that type. Their Sherpa led them away, as the rest waited, waited for what exactly?
"I thought you were in charge around here man. What's with all the waiting?"
"Sit down Chris, all are going through a thorough background check, I am just tagging along, headquarters said you were a hot headed one. Said you were likely to assault one of our staff," colonel Pete said all these with a straight face.
Twenty minutes later they entered the inner sanctum of the legendary 1200 unit. Chris was not impressed, it was mostly a giant office with hundreds of hackers, then another with servers and what-have-you of the silicon valley people. A smaller room was where the chosen few were sifting through only the important stuff; 'terrorist Ali's' metadata, his associates, locations, aid, surveillance footage, assets, bank accounts, everything. The two jokers he had seen before were leaving now, lieutenant Derrick and the other guy, the giant NCO. They met as Pete was leading him to the sifting room, the young lieutenant's face lit up when he saw them! It was strange, Chris was almost touched, it had been ages since he had last seen such authenticity from another human being.
Oh not here! Chris watched with contempt as the two saluted and shook hands warmly with the colonel. They nodded at him and smartly marched away. What a bunch of suck ups!
"This way Chris, pretty sure you will be working with those boys soon, they are special operations by the way, our muscle in the region."
"Those guys are special ops?!"
"Yes."
"Boy scout's more like it, cant believe the lieutenant would even hurt a fly, he looks lost, like a puppy."
"You'd be surprised."
They entered the hallowed office of one Eitan Weinstein, the son of Benjamin Weinstein, one of the founders of unit 1200, he was a Kenyan, born and bred, now in service of the unit, having learnt everything from his now dead father. Eitan had giant 120 inch screens on one end of the office while six of the best computer engineers slaved over data, determining what counted as important. Eitan was 5''8 and slightly muscular, with the rank of Lt. colonel proudly worn on both his shoulders, only the second jew to ever serve in the KDF.
"Colonel," he saluted swiftly and calmly.
"At ease Eitan, meet Christopher Ngure, works with the interior ministry, " Eitan nodded, he knew what that meant.They shook hands and they sat before his desk, mounted in front of the screens, both displaying maps of the region with key assets and troop clusters marked in all colors of the rainbow.
"I'll cut straight to the chase, we managed to get into Mr. Amir's laptop but could not access his i-phone, for that we need to ship the device all the way to Moscow and pay a ridiculous amount of money to some kid who may or may not hack through Apple's notoriously tight cyber phalanx, a feat our overlords cannot even begin to consider, " Eitan tapped his mouse and several documents filled the screen. "What you are looking at are bank filings, money transfer details, targets, business adresses and human assets."
"Al shabaab linked probably," Chris mused loudly.
"No, I don't think so," Eitan quickly said. "What we have here are new accounts, people, connections and businesses. This is an organization on its formative months, something organized, efficient and well-oiled."
"It has been on our radar for sometime, but with this trove of documents and electronic data we believe we are onto something here, " colonel Mwaura said slowly then both he and Eitan gave Chris a knowing look.
"It can't be!" Chris had also heard murmurs but had never wanted to believe them.
"It is, we believe we are looking at the silent but swift creation of ISIS in Somalia-so far this knowledge is known only to a few in this unit and maybe a dozen men and women in the executive, " the jew grandly proclaimed.
"Now here is where you come in Chris," the colonel began as he put a hand on his arm.