The room grew colder with each minute of silence. 6 middle aged men sat on black leather sofas not daring to meet the President's eye. These six men were well respected ministers of the country. They had never seen a man so audacious as to make the ruler of the country wait for him. One of the ministers with a balding head wanted to speak out but the doors suddenly opened.
A man in a 3 piece, perfectly ironed suit walked in. He held an expensive looking cane in his right hand. The other ministers were also wearing suits but they felt inadequately dressed in front of this gentlemanly aura.
"Mr President and these distinguished gentlemen, to what do I owe the pleasure of such an auspicious visit?" The man said as he made himself comfortable on the sofa opposite the President. His words sounded pleasant to hear but the ministers felt he was demeaning them, the man's words didn't have an ounce of reverence. The ministers privately thought this man needed to be taught a lesson in respect.
How could the President not know what his precious ministers were thinking? He had brought them along to intimidate this man. For some reason though, he kept feeling a strange sensation.
"Mr President, you are a busy man. Aren't you supposed to be at the Trade Fair tomorrow?" The man asked. His gaze moved leisurely at everyone.
"Mr Langa, I assure you. Even if I'm busy I still ought to come visit you." The President flattered. He couldn't help but grit his teeth and give the man a fawning smile.
"Well then, what is the purpose of today's visit?" The man asked crossing one leg over the other. Four of the ministers puffed up in rage but the other two silently observed. The President's eye twitched but he didn't comment on that disrespectful gesture.
He knew to get straight to the point but he still disguised his accusations and demands with flowery words. If there's one thing the President definitely knew about this man, it was that he hated anyone or anything that wasted his time.
Tea and scones were quickly served. The man listened quietly as the President spoke. It wasn't until he placed his tea cup back on the table that the President stopped speaking.
"Mr President," the man looked at him, not smiling. "I believe you know what my favorite saying is, right?"
The President felt a cold sweat when he heard him say that.
"I believe the agreement between us when I placed you on that seat was that you should be content on what you are given." The man spoke gently as if he wasn't threatening the country's sovereign leader.
"You think these measly years you've sat on that seat give you the right to question my authority? I was lenient enough to only cancel the marriage agreement between our two families but do not be mistaken..." The man leaned forward, uncrossing his legs. "I would have instantly dealt with your son for disgracing my daughter's honor back then. If you can't bear being a puppet, I don't mind getting rid of your entire family."
Several soldiers instantly pointed their guns at the man. The President signalled them not to shoot.
"For this unbecoming little act that you showed me today, I expect you to step down peacefully at the August Presidential elections." The man stood up under the outraged and shocked gazes of the ministers, "The Card Legacy has been here longer than you may think. Don't forget who the true rulers of this country are."
The ministers immediately deflated when they heard the mention of the Card Legacy. The President's face was even more somber. He had only wanted more control of Langa's territory. It was too late to feel regret over his greed and ambitions now. Losing the Card Legacy's support, he would become nothing.
Rainbow Hotel, 8pm.
It was quite noisy over the table that a group of young men occupied. Each were dressed impeccably for the occasion, designer brands could be spotted everywhere. It was obvious that this group were the second generation of wealthy children. At first when the banquet began they were all well behaved and tried to carry favor with the big shots. As soon as the big shots went upstairs to discuss serious business, these young men became unrestrained.
"I don't see Thuba here." One commented, straining his neck to look through all the socializing people.
"Don't hold hope for Thuba. He never comes to these things. Getting closer to him at school is even harder. He doesn't talk to anyone." Another young man responded. He was holding a glass of wine which he raised to take a sip of, "This stuff is too weak!"
"He's royalty duh, he can't just associate with everyone."
"Oh? Then what does that make me?" An arrogant voice cut in. The young men instantly sobered upon hearing that voice. They all stood silently like lackeys whose boss had arrived. One youth in a black suit laughed awkwardly, trying to ease the suddenly tense atmosphere. "That's not what we meant Sanele. You know how Thuba is."
Sanele's displeased expression made everyone uncomfortable. The Langa kids stopped attending these banquets when Thabiso died. Sam, from hearsay was apparently in rehab and Sandile didn't like these events either so he hid at school. It was okay for him because he was daddy's precious prodigy so schooling was more important than socializing with the rich. Sandile hated the Khumalos, it was a good thing he hadn't spotted one otherwise a fight would have been inevitable. The sweet Moyo girls were probably around somewhere. Now those were treated like royalty, a pity the real Langa princess was abroad. Those girls would definitely be treated with the status befitting of their family.
"It's boring here, let's go to The Oval." Someone suggested. It was Sanele's bar anyways he'd be sure to treat them.
In the conference room on the thirtieth floor, the mood was even worse. Thokozani Langa sat at the front of the table looking down on everyone with a domineering air. He held a glass of whiskey in one hand and his cane in the other. His aura was so imposing that no one dared to even sneeze in his presence. He was well groomed, making him stick out like a sore thumb amongst all the old men despite being the same age. Such a fierce lion yet not a scar marred his skin. Behind him stood his ferocious looking loyal guard Victor. His presence was enough to strike fear into these grown men.
"I'm not dead yet. What's this talk about the next generation Card Legacy?" The man who started the topic instantly bowed, begging for forgiveness. Langa didn't bother staring at him. The only woman in the room, Mrs Moyo spoke, "it's mere hypotheticals Langa don't mind him. We all know you will live for a long time."
Good, she didn't mention any successors. Whether that appeased the man nobody knew. The pressure only abated a little. Mrs Moyo always knew what to say. "Besides none of these children are showing much potential." She complained.
"You say that as if your daughters aren't capable enough. I hear everyone is flocking to your Fragrant District every night." The oldest man in the room said. Calling it a Fragrant District was being polite, no one wanted to be the one to call it a whore house. Langa didn't like such classless names. Khumalo was probably the only one who could stare at him eye to eye since he was older. Seniority was still important despite the younger generation ignoring it amongst themselves. It didn't matter even if you were at the top of the food chain, elders were to be respected.
Mrs Moyo smiled, age only made her more beautiful. These men knew that this woman was nothing more than a poisonous viper. They could only appreciate her beauty from afar. "Bro Khu you also say that as if your sons haven't been doing well lately."
This talk about children gave some headaches especially Sibanda. As long as no one towed the line about heirs, they could discuss their children all they wanted, it was still a dangerous topic so no one dared say anything in front of Langa. They didn't want to lose their heads just because they touched Langa's sore spot.
The man himself just listened to their chattering without a care. As soon as he placed his glass back on the table, everyone went silent and stared at him in a synchronized move. "You all came here today for the territory distribution in Masvingo. Send all your proposals to Leah. I'll not allocate land to anyone without a promising development project." He stood up, "Take your time drinking."
Everyone stood along with him and said their goodbyes. As soon as he was out of the room, many slumped in their seats. The man who had been on his knees stood up on shaky legs and mumbled to himself as some cleared out of the conference room, "Acting all powerful like this, who doesn't know he beat his own child to death!"
"Despite that, don't you think he's actually doing good for the country? Very soon we'll also be developed!" The man next to him exclaimed.
"That's quite a good mindset." Khumalo praised as he got up to leave. "What land under the Card Legacy isn't flourishing?"
"Flourishing in crime." Many silently muttered in their hearts. It was a pity Langa was such a cunning man, he could see right through their selfish thoughts of wanting the land to build fancy mansions for themselves.
Was it a blessing or curse that a man reeking from blood actually had the country's development at heart? All the small leaders in the Card Legacy felt stifled in their hearts.
The Oval Bar, 10pm.
What was special about this bar was that teenagers could get in with fake IDs. But if you were poor then you weren't allowed in even with your fake ID. The bar was located right at the heart of the CBD with only two floors.
The loud music boomed but not to the point of it being deafening. Disco lights flashed all over the place. Bodies swayed back and forth on the dance floor. Sweat and various perfume smells cloyed the air. Sanele sat with his crew in one of the private booths watching the electrified crowd. The lads were in varying degrees of non sobriety. That is why Fadzi thought he was seeing things when a familiar white girl arrived in the arms of the eldest Khumalo sons.
"Hey isn't that your girlfriend?" Everyone turned their heads to look at the entrance. Fadzi was Sanele's closest friend, they were best buddies at school too. He instantly knew this would not bode well. Sanele's popularity mainly came from him being a Spade. He was a notorious bully at school, everyone dreaded interacting with him in fear of his short temper.
Ellie Noels had transferred to their school during the second term in their lower 6 year. It quickly became known that Sanele was smitten with her. Despite everything he did to impress her, she still didn't budge thus his friends took to calling her his girlfriend. It was one thing for Ellie to reject him and make him Mpophoma High's laughing stock and another to actually show up in David freaking Khumalo's arms.
"Sa, don't." Fadzi immediately warned, watching Sanele's indescribable gaze. Sanele ignored the warning and strode downstairs to confront them. Weighing the pros and cons Fadzi sat down and watched the scene with a frown. A club showing up in a spade's territory without prior notice was basically asking for a fight. Langa favored respect and order, that's why he had a tight leash on many townships. It wouldn't do for every small fry to fight for a piece of land. With the four families ruling over most of Bulawayo it was only polite to inform someone if you had business in their territory.
"I thought I made it clear that Clubs aren't allowed in my bar."
The annoying thing about David was that he was the eldest from their generation since Thabiso Langa had died so he treated everyone like a kid. The burly man with a buzz cut turned to smile at Sanele. When he saw Sanele's sneer, his smile widened almost as if mocking him. He was truly infuriating.
"I'll leave." He raised his hands in surrender, "Just had to deliver my baby safe and sound. Now that you know she's mine, back off little spade." He ruffled Sanele's hair like an elder brother and sauntered off with a wave. Ellie didn't look at Sanele after David left, choosing to catch up with her friends. This kind of cold behavior made Sanele even more angry. That David was clearly picking a fight with him! He had the audacity to steal Sanele's girl and rubbed it in his face.
Fadzi came to drag Sanele back to their booth. He kept quiet but he felt something wasn't right as Sanele drank with a dark face, eyes never leaving Ellie Noels' table.
Meanwhile at the Criminal Investigation Department in Luveve there was a bang as an officer hit his head on the table. His partner, working the night shift with him didn't even look his way. It was clear that he was used to this. "Why does being an investigator seem so boring today?"
The unfazed man, Walter merely glanced at him then his gaze went back to the computer. For some reason whenever they worked the night shift together it was always quiet. "You say that everytime. Go join the Narcotics Unit and have fun chasing after drug lords."
"Nah those guys are way too passionate." The man leaned forward as if to share some juicy gossip, "I heard they even have an informant undercover called Joker."
Walter scoffed, "this Card thingy is really quite popular tsk."
"It's always been there I think, maybe from around the sixties. My dad used to tell me stories all the time about how officers used to mysteriously disappear back then. Apparently it was really dark and secretive. Now the big shots can do whatever they want in public because they have the power and money for it. Dunno how the calm is going to last cause that lion is still in power despite there being a rule about a generation change after 20 years." Farai stopped to take a sip of water and continued, "It's also really annoying how their claws have sunk so deep into the law system."
"You really know a lot." Walter commented.
"Sometimes I feel being an officer is meaningless if these families get to do whatever they want without repercussions. It's like us police officers are a joke to them with our sense of morality and justice. We can't even arrest anyone related to these people or the higher-ups will be banging at our doors." Farai felt upset just talking about it.
"That's because they haven't properly landed in our clutches yet. When they do, we'll topple their empire." A woman walked in, carrying a plastic bag with takeout. She handed it to the two officers who would be working through the night. Farai who had already sniffed the mouth watering scent was already drooling.
"Captain! It'll take a long time to cleanse Bulawayo of them." Farai dug into the takeout with a curious ooh.
Walter shrugged, "Who knows, we might just get a case that will link all these people's crimes together and we bring the mastermind down." He opened his own food and thanked the Captain.
Farai burst out in a mocking laugh, "Ha! The likelihood of that happening is very low." He stared out the window, "I didn't expect you to be the kind that reads mystery novels."
Walter only smiled and quietly ate his food.
It was around 4 a.m in the morning where an old man pushed his trolley to collect the empty bottles. There weren't any street lights in the alley so he used a flashlight to brighten the way. Whilst he was moving the bags, one of them wasn't properly closed and a couple of cans fell out. He picked them one by one until he reached the last can that had rolled a bit far. When he picked it up, he felt it was sticky so he shone the flashlight on his hands only to see blood. Startled he opened the big trashcan in front of him and fell backwards with a loud thud.
Inside was the corpse of a white young girl, barely clothed and eyes wide open.