Prose

There is a light knock on the door of Maria’s bedroom and when she opens it, she looks into Roberto’s smiling face.
 
“You lot are early,” she remarks worried and her eyes flash to the watch on his wrist.   “I see that the South African have arrived,” he answers and walks into the room.   I do not want that man on the outside to mistake you for the enemy and have a unnecessary fire fight taking place.”  Roberto smiles comforting.

”Do not worry.  It’s only I that am here.  The others are busy with setting up lights at the opening, which is going to be used as the landing strip.”   There’s some glee in his grin when he notices Ryno lying on the bed.

”Who is that?  I see some people have got all the luck in life,” he remarks teasing.   Once more she blushes.   “It’s the sniper.  He is deadly ill.  It will only be the other South African and Dumisani that flies off tonight.”

Roberto shakes his head.   “What are you going to do with him?   He cannot stay here?”   She is resolute.   “He is far too ill to be moved.  I... I will look after him.  I have arranged it with Pretoria.” 

”And if he dies?   Or Mahambo and his tame Russian catches you red handed with him?   What will you do then, Maria?”   “He will not die.  I... I will not allow it to happen,” she answers with flaming eyes, as if Ryno’s survival can be determined by her willpower.

Roberto shakes his head.   “Woman, you have got to think rational.   It is a chance that you cannot afford to take.”  She shakes her head forcefully.

”No, Roberto.  You are wrong.  It is my choice.   If he dies, I will burry him and if we are caught, I will face the consequences,” she remarks bravely.   It is the expression of caring with which she looks at Ryno when he gets delirious, that convinces Roberto to agree to her decision.

”Right, you know what you are doing.   I am going to return to the landing strip.   Expect us to arrive in an hour’s time.”   They synchronise their watches and he disappears into the night.   When the South African returns, Maria sneaks with him along a long stairway to the top storey of the villa where she gives him a room.

”Come, it’s high time that you taste some proper food,” she invites him and she takes him to a living aria a way down a corridor, that is arrange as her private dining room.

The table have been set for four places and when they walk into the room, there is already somebody waiting on them and the South African immediately recognizes him.

”Good grief!   I knew that I could not trust you,” he shouts.  “You... you despicable traitor!”  She smiles sweetly at him when he swings his firearm first on the man at the table and then points it at her.

As if he does not exist Maria draws a chair out and sits down with the man at the table.   “You are making a big mistake,” Dumisani Gololo remarks calmly when the AK-47 swings back threatening to him.   “Sit down, man.  The whole afternoon we have been waiting on your arrival.  The food is getting cold.”

Mechanical the South African sits down, but he keeps his firearm within reach and he notices that another place has been set.   There are fried steak, porridge, a grave of fried tomatoes and onions and two salads and suddenly he is extremely hungry.

”I have prepared the food especially for you,”  Maria remarks in Afrikaans and her eyes burn into those of the South African.  He can hardly believe it but she is talking his own language and the food is truly South African.

”You knew... that we were coming here,” he wants to know without conviction and comprehension.   “What do you want from me?”  “Only that you enjoy your meal, before you are flown out to Ondangwa in South West Africa (Namibia),” Maria answers and dishes up a plate of food that she is really loading.

The South African can hardly believe his ears, but it is when he realises that the whole time they have been talking in Afrikaans, that a vague hope suddenly arises in him and he tiredly starts eating some of the food.

The black man prays for the food and the South African feasts on the food while he watches the scar on the black man’s face, that moves every time that he chews.   “Am I going to be traded for one of your people,” he wants to know while he drinks some of the coffee that had been poured by Maria.

Her bubbling laughter catches him.  She shakes her head.  “Did the unconscious man tell you nothing,” she wants to know surprised.  “Ryno?  No.  Just that a aeroplane will land to pick us up near to here,” he answers and his faces says that he is disbelieving his own words.  

”As difficult as it is for you to believe, Brigadier Gololo is one of your people.   He’s an agent of the South Africans.   One of our orders was to help you escape from the camp, but some enemy agents had blown his cover.   Luckily we did become aware of this, after the agent had died in a freak accident and there had been enough time to send the sniper.”

”Do you want to tell that you people are working for BOSS (the Bureau for State Security), NI (National Intelligence), or MI (Military Intelligence) he wants to know unbelieving.   Maria laughs again.   “Believe what you want to.   At about ten o’clock tonight a light aircraft is going to land near to the hospital to fetch you.”

Suddenly there are some shooting and yelling outside and the South African comes to his feet with his chair falling down and the AK-47 ready in his hands and just as suddenly its silent outside.

”Stay calm it’s only UNITA,” Maria’s voice cuts through the room.   “What are they doing here,” he wants to know surprised.

”How do you think I am going to explain to Mahambo what has happened with Brigadier Gololo?”   It is when Roberto walks into the room that the South African knows that they are talking the truth, as for some time he had the suspected Roberto as belonging to UNITA, while he had been a prisoner in the enemy camp.

”What is going to happen to my buddy,” the South African wants to know suddenly.   “He is staying right here.  That man is far to ill to be moved.  He will die while he is being transported.   I will look after him,” Maria answers and starts blushing again.

”What has happened to the nurses,” Dumisani asks.  “My men are keeping them under safe protection,”  Roberto answers and asks:   “Do you have any food for me and my men?”