Read the excerpt:

KwaZulu Union Bay City, October 31^st, 2023

The man begged for mercy as he tried to pull himself upright in the dark alley. He had no way of escaping, but even if he did, there was no place to hide where he could not be found. He was surrounded by a group of three men and a woman, all dressed in grey waistcoats, trousers and overcoats. “Presentation demands respect, respect gives power,” the boss would always say. He only had three rules he and those who worked for him were forced to follow. Respect your elders, always have a backup plan, and dress like you own the world. 

“Please, stop. I will pay whatever he wants. I just need a little more time to get the money.”

“This is not about money,” one of the men responded. His attire was finished with a silver pocket watch which he had in hand to remain mindful of time. “This is about respect,” his voice echoed, demonstrating his dominance. 

“And you, don’t seem to understand how that works,” another added.

“You had a chance to pay back the money and you didn’t. You made your bed, it’s time to lay in it.”

After checking his watch again, the leader stepped back. “Let’s wrap it up,” he instructed. The other two men closed in, but the leader stopped them. “Let the noob do it.”

The men stepped aside.

The woman, who hadn’t spoken or moved as yet looked to her instructor, turned to her other associates, then fixed her attention back on the man who was on his knees, helpless. She took a step forward, raised her hand and took a swing. From that very first punch, she felt her stomach turn. She accepted the situation and reminded herself that when the boss wants something done, it has to be done, no questions asked, no answers given. Again, she raised her hand as she got on a knee and took another swing. Right, then left, then right, and another left. She felt the urge to keep going boiling inside of her and she knew what it meant. She composed herself as she got to her feet. Gritting her teeth, she tossed the man to the feet of her associates. 

The leader pulled out a gun, checked that it was loaded then aimed at the man at his feet. 

“Wait.” The woman could feel her heart jump to her throat as her leader focused his attention on her.

“I’m sorry, are you giving the orders now?”

“No. And I do not question you. But the king said to teach him some respect, not kill him.”

“Okay then, please explain to me how exactly those two things are any different.”

“Well, killing him won’t change anything, besides leaving a trail of debt and bodies. But leaving him in this state sends a message. No one can hide from the king. And once he’s back in full health, he will pay back everything he owes. With interest of course.” She turned to the bleeding man. “Right?”

With his face half swollen, he nodded as best he could.

Mulling the words, he pulled his gun away. “Consider this a message to those who think they don’t need to pay their dues. Long live the king.” Using his gun he knocked the man to the ground, then lowered it. 

The anxious woman could feel an internal sigh of relief. 

“The boss would be impressed by your skills.”

“Would be?”

“Yes,” he turned to the woman. “Unfortunately, he won’t be, because I’m not,” he growled. “It’s my job to ensure every employee is trustworthy. And you are not really giving me a trustworthy feeling. You negotiate like a cop. And you know what they say,” he took a step forward. “If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck,” he concluded, lifting his gun to Mandisa. Using his free hand, he pulled out his phone from his pocket. 

“You’re making a mistake.”

“We’re about to find out.” After dialling, he held it to his ear. The phone rang.

A scream of agony reverberated on the walls of the alley and faded into the night. The handgun clattered on the ground. It was a shot to the wrist. 

“Sniper,” one of the gangmen shouted as he tried to make out where the shot came from while ducking to the ground.

The woman pulled out her gun, and took a few shots in the direction of where the sniper could be then she pulled the man who just held her at gunpoint by the arm, dragging him behind a large disposal bin. Quickly, she peeked from her hiding place and ducked back. A bullet hit the ground next to her.

“How convenient.”

“Are you serious?” Ignoring his glare, she grabbed an old cloth from the side of the bin and wrapped it around the man’s wrist.

“Ah!”

“Apply pressure and hope we make it out of here.”

“We aren’t. And I’m not going to jail.”

“So what, you want to Kamikaze this?”

“It’s better than nothing.”

“It’s really not.”

“Gun.”

Without thinking twice, one of the other men threw his gun to him and he caught it with his only good hand. 

“Don’t try to play cowboy.”

The leader nodded to his crew, strained to get up and jumped out from his hiding place. Before he could pull the trigger, bullets ripped through his body till he hit the ground. All they could do was watch.

There were no sirens, no sound of engines, just the thundering of dozens of footsteps closing in on the alley. In moments, lights flooded the alley, flushing out the darkness enveloping the assailants. 

“Hands up!” a voice called out. Behind the brightness of the lights, police officers zoned in on the perpetrators. 

The other man, still having a gun in hand started panting heavily. He looked up.

“Don’t do it.”

The man got up and immediately received two bullets in the chest. 

“You are a cop.”

Cover blown, Detective Mandisa Xaba looked at the only survivor of the three men she started the night with and sighed. She looked up and shook her head. With a sigh, she got to her feet. “We’re coming out, don’t shoot.”

An officer rushed to check on the injured victim. After a quick exam he looked up, “get the medic to check on him, and stay with him for the night,” he instructed. Two officers helped the man up, one of them referring to the instructor as “detective”. 

Mandisa walked over to where the phone landed when the sniper shot for the first time. 

“What were you thinking—”

Mandisa placed her finger on her mouth and pointed to the phone on the ground. She spun her finger around horizontally.

The detective froze for a moment. “Still on?” he mouthed.

Mandisa nodded.

“You shouldn’t have taken money from the kingpin,” he put on his best acting voice. “Get him out of here.”

Mandisa slowly picked up the phone.

“That thing still on?” He waited for a second. “Turn it off.”

Only then did Mandisa release a breath she didn’t realize she was holding. “What are you doing here?”

“You mean besides saving your behind?”

“I had it under control.”

“It looked like the only thing you had was a death wish.”

Mandisa turned her attention to the injured man as he was pulled away on a stretcher. She wasn’t comfortable with the situation she was in, but she understood that it was the job. Part of being undercover was not blowing your identity, and she knew that if she wanted to get the big boss at the top of the food chain, she had to swallow every bite of humanity she had and play her role. She already knew that tonight was a waste, the kingpin wouldn’t trust her again. “We’re going to talk about this tomorrow.”