Chapter 43: The Warning

 

A week had passed since Slindile tried to seduce me. I thought Mapaseka’s family would give up after failing. I thought they would realize that nothing could break Mapaseka and me apart.

I was wrong. 

It was a quiet Thursday evening when my phone rang. I looked at the screen—it was my cousin, Mzo.

"Mzo, what's up?" I answered.

"Bafo," Mzo said, his voice low and urgent. "I need to tell you something. Someone wants you dead."

 "What are you talking about?"

"I heard from my friend who stays at the hostel," Mzo continued. "They said people came looking for men to take you out. They wanted to hire hitmen from the hostel. But the guys there refused to take the job."

I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. "Why did they refuse?"

"Bafo, everyone knows you in hostel," Mzo said. "You fix our taxis. You are one of us. No one from the hostel would touch you. Not for any amount of money."

I felt a warmth spread through my chest. Despite everything, the community had my back.

"But," Mzo continued, his voice dropping even lower, "You need to be careful. They will find other people, people who will do anything for money."

My heart pounded. "Who are these people?"

"I do not know. But I think they are connected to your girlfriend's family since you told me they are trying to brake your relationship. They are desperate bafo. They will try anything, you need to protect yourself."

"Thank you, Mzo," I said. "I owe you."

"You owe me nothing, you are my cousin. I will always look out for you, just stay alive."

We hung up, and I sat in silence, my mind racing. Mapaseka's family had gone too far. First the investigator, then the woman sent to seduce me. Now they wanted me dead.

They were trying to kill me.

I called Mapaseka immediately.

"Qondanisa?" she answered, her voice sleepy. "It's late, what’s wrong?"

"Mapaseka, I need to tell you something," I said, my voice shaking. "Your family hired hitmen to kill me."

There was silence. Then she gasped. "What? No. That cannot be true."

"My cousin Mzo called me. He heard from people at the hostel. They came looking for men to take me out. The hostel guys refused because they know me. But Mzo warned  me that your family will find other people. People who do not care."

She started crying. "I am so sorry, Qondanisa. I am so sorry. I did not know they would go this far."

"I know you ," I said softly. "But I need to protect myself now. I cannot take any chances."

"What are you going to do?"

"I am going to hire a bodyguard. Someone to watch my back. I will not let them win. I will not let them take me away from you."

"Please be careful," she whispered. "I cannot lose you. "

"You will not lose me," I said firmly. "I promise."

The next day, I made some calls.  I found a man named Sipho. He was ex-military, tough, loyal, and carried himself with the quiet confidence of someone who had seen it all.

"Are you the man who needs protection?" Sipho asked when we met.

"Yes," I said. "Someone wants me dead. I need someone to watch my back."

"Tell me everything."

I told him the whole story about Mapaseka and her family.

Sipho nodded slowly. "I understand. I will protect you. Wherever you go, I will be there. 

I nodded. "How much?"

He named a price. I paid it without hesitation. My life was worth more than money.

From that day on, Sipho was with me everywhere. At the workshop and home. In the car. I felt safer with him around, but I knew it was only a matter of time before they tried again.

It was a busy Monday afternoon at the workshop. The yard was full of cars, and my  workers were scattered around, busy with their own repairs. Thandi was at her desk, handling phone calls and appointments. I was under a car, working on an engine, when I heard a vehicle pull into the yard.

I slid out from under the car and wiped my hands on a rag. Three men got out of a battered sedan. They looked rough—unshaven, with cold eyes and hard faces. They wore old clothes, the kind that made them look like ordinary workers. But something about them made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.

Their eyes were too sharp. Their movements were too calculated.

"Qondanisa?" one of them called out.

"That's me," I said, walking toward them. "How can I help you?"

The man who spoke stepped forward. He had a scar above his left eyebrow and a voice that was too smooth for his rough appearance. 

"We heard you are the best mechanic in town. Our car has been giving us problems. We need you to fix it."

I looked at the car. It was old, beat-up, the kind of car that was always breaking down. I opened the bonnet and began to inspect the engine.

"The alternator is faulty," I said after a few minutes. "It needs to be replaced. The belt is also worn out. I can fix it, but it will take a few hours."

"Fix it," the scarred man said. "We will wait."

I nodded and called one of my workers. "Bongani, come here. I need you to help me with this car."

Bongani walked over, wiping his hands on his overalls. He was one of my best mechanics, a young man who had been with me for years.

"What do you need, boss?" he asked.

"I need you to replace the alternator and the belt on this car. I want to keep an eye on these men."

Bongani glanced at the three men and nodded. He understood. Something was not right.

While Bongani worked on the car, I stayed close, pretending to inspect other vehicles nearby. The three men stood around, watching everything with cold eyes. They did not talk to each other. They did not look at their phones. They just watched.

After about three hours, Bongani finished the job. He walked over to me.

"It is done, boss," he said quietly. "But something is off about those men. I do not trust them."

"I know," I said. "Stay close. Be ready."

I walked over to the men. "The car is fixed. That will be two thousand rand."

The scarred man smiled, but it did not reach his eyes. "Two thousand rand? That is a lot of money."

"That is the price," I said. "You agreed to it."

"Did we?" the man said, his hand moving toward his jacket. "I do not remember agreeing to anything."

I felt my body tense. "What do you mean?"

"I mean," the man said slowly, "we are not going to pay. We are not here to pay."

I took a step back. "Then why are you here?"

The man laughed. "We are here to send a message. Stay away from Mapaseka, or you will die."

Before I could react, all three men reached into their jackets and pulled out guns.

My workers saw what was happening. They dropped their tools and scattered, taking cover behind the cars they were working on. Thandi ducked  inside the office under her desk.

My heart pounded, but I did not move. I kept my eyes on the men, my face calm. "I will never stay away from her. She is the woman I love. And I will die before I let anyone take her from me."

The man laughed again. "Then you will die."

He raised his gun. I braced myself.

But before he could fire, Sipho appeared from the back of the workshop. He had his machine gun raised, his eyes cold and focused.

"Drop your weapons!" Sipho shouted. "Now!"

The men turned, surprised. They had not expected me to have a bodyguard. For a moment, they hesitated.

Then the scarred man fired.

The bullet whizzed past my head, embedding itself in the wall behind me. I hit the floor, rolling behind a car for cover.

Sipho did not stop firing. His machine gun roared continuously, bullets flying everywhere, shattering windows and tearing through the walls. 

Sipho had prepared for this. He knew someone wanted me dead, so he had hidden a gun under the workbench for me, just in case. I reached down, my fingers finding the cold metal. My hands were shaking, but I forced them to steady.

"Qondanisa!" Sipho shouted. "Cover me!"

I raised the gun and fired at the men. My shots were not as precise as Sipho's, but they forced the men to take cover behind their car.

One of my workers, Bongani, grabbed a heavy wrench and threw it at one of the men. It hit him in the back, making him stumble. Another worker, Sello, grabbed a fire extinguisher and sprayed it at the men, creating a cloud of white foam that blinded them.

"Good!" I shouted. "Keep them distracted!"

The scarred man shouted something to his partners. They spread out, trying to flank us.

Sipho was ready. He moved like a soldier, his movements smooth and practiced. He fired burst after burst, keeping the men pinned down.

I fired too, my gun barking in my hands. I hit one of the men in the arm. He screamed and dropped his weapon, clutching his wound.

The remaining two men were desperate now. They fired wildly, their bullets flying everywhere. One of them hit the gas tank of a car in the workshop. It exploded, sending flames and debris into the air.

I shielded my face from the heat. "Everyone get back!"

My workers scrambled further away, taking cover behind anything they could find.

Sipho fired again, his machine gun cutting through the chaos. One of the men fell, clutching his leg. He was down, but not out.

The scarred man was the only one left. He looked at his partners—one wounded, one crawling for cover. He was outnumbered, outgunned.

"This is not worth it," he shouted.

He grabbed his wounded partner and dragged him toward their car. The other man limped after them.

"Get in!" the scarred man shouted.

They piled into the car, their tires screeching as they sped away. Sipho fired a few more shots at them, but they were already gone.

The workshop was destroyed. Smoke filled the air. Fires burned where the explosion had hit. Glass was everywhere. Bullet holes covered the walls.

I looked around at my workers. They were shaken but unharmed.

"Everyone okay?" I called out.

They nodded, one by one. Thandi emerged from under her desk, her face pale but composed.

Sipho lowered his weapon and walked over to me. "Are you okay?"

I nodded, my heart still racing. "I am fine. You?"

"Fine," he said. "But that was close."

I looked around at the destruction. My workshop—the business I had built from nothing—was in ruins. But my workers were alive. I was alive.

And I was more determined than ever.

I gathered my workers together. "Listen to me. You all did well today. You helped save my life. I will never forget that."

Bongani stepped forward. "Boss, who were those men? Why did they want to kill you?"

I took a deep breath. "They were sent by Mapaseka's family. They do not want us to be together. They will stop at nothing."

"So what do we do?" Bongani asked.

"We fight back," I said firmly. "I am not running. I am not hiding. But I need to know if you are with me. This is dangerous, if you want to leave, I will understand. I will pay you what I owe you and let you go."

Not a single worker moved.

"We are with you, boss," Sello said. "You have always taken care of us. Now we will take care of you."

I felt a lump form in my throat. "Thank you, all of you."

Sipho walked over to me. "We need to move. They might come back with more men."

"I know," I said. “But I will not let them scare me away from Mapaseka."

Sipho nodded. "Then we will be ready for them. I will get more men. I will secure your home and your workshop. Next time they come, they will not leave so easily."

I looked at the ruins of my workshop. The cars were damaged. The equipment was destroyed. It would take months to rebuild.

But I had survived. My workers had survived.

And as long as I was alive, I would keep fighting for the woman I loved.

No matter what her family threw at me, I would not back down.

Because Mapaseka was worth everything.