It turned out to be a good summer day when Victor pulled into Saldanha. He knew that school would have been out a while ago, but it did not bother him who might see that they skipped school, because he had more important things to do. They drove past Seven-Eleven, turned up the road and headed up the inclining road.
Numbers could not believe how Saldanha had changed in the last couple of years. Houses were erected everywhere. It seemed like everyone was in competition as to who could build the biggest house. Numbers remembered the good old days when there had been a few houses scattered around and the place was under control. He knew his task to demonise the area to submission would be harder than he originally thought.
They turned right and Numbers could see their old house in the distance. He noticed a maintenance job had been done on it. His heart sank at the thought of someone else in their old house. They drove closer and Numbers knew that he was not wrong about the new inhabitants. The window frames had been painted, and the lawn was tidy. He had expected grass to grow in the gutters and some broken windows which would have been fine with him, but he did not like the fact that strangers were living in their old house. There were too many good memories to simply accept that their house was invaded by someone else.
'Stop here,' Numbers said.
Victor slowed down and stopped in front of the Edison's new home. Numbers regarded the house with a vengeful expression.
'Who are these fuckers staying in my house?' Numbers asked.
'Don't know. I thought the house was still empty,' Victor guarded.
Numbers noticed movement at the curtain of the windows facing the street and his eyes focused on it. He needed a face. He would get his old house back and no one would stand in his way. The people must leave this place for good even if they had to be killed. Numbers was back in town and he had motives of his own. The devil on his side was just the beginning. Victor also noticed the movement behind the curtain and lowered his head to be able to see through the passenger window. The curtains opened slightly and he could hardly believe what he was looking at. It was his favourite rival from school, the new guys from Johannesburg. The Jo'burg cunt. He noticed the frown on Patrick's face just before he was joined by his brother Andrew.
'Got ya,' Victor said.
'What,' Numbers snapped.
'I know who they are,' Victor smiled.
'I want these fuckers out of my house,' Numbers said through his teeth.
'They are in our school, two brothers and a younger sister,' Victor said. 'Now I know where they live. We can kill them one by one, but first, let's have some fun.'
'Okay, I've seen enough, let's go,' Numbers said still staring at the two brothers looking back at them through the window.
Victor pulled away slowly and turned the car down the first corner.
'Did you see that?' Patrick asked turning towards Andrew.
'Yes, I did. That's bad news,' Andrew confirmed still looking out the window as if the car was coming back any minute soon.
'No wonder school was such a pleasure today. Those bastards were skipping school. Who do you think that scumbag was in the front seat?'
'Don't know, but he looks like he just escaped from jail.'
'Yeah, he has definitely done some time. What do you think they want?' Patrick asked.
'Don't know, but it can't be good. Maybe we should tell dad about it.'
'I don't know about that,' Patrick said. 'Maybe they're just trying to scare us.'
'You've seen what they've done at school and it seems to be getting worse,' Andrew said. 'These guys look troubled if you asked me. Something's not right, I can tell.'
'Okay, maybe we need to tell dad. Just keep it quiet for now. I don't want Emily or mom to know about this. We can discuss it with dad in private okay?'
'I agree.'
Andrew felt uneasy. Something about those guys spelt trouble. What did they want and why did they look at their house? He had the unsettling feeling in his gut that this was the beginning of something that would eventually end badly. He was afraid, not for himself, but for his family. He had seen the look in that guy's dark eyes. They were like two pits leading straight to hell.