Chapter 2
The waves lap against the rocky beach around the hind legs of the lion of Lion Mountain. On the white sand of Table Bay beach, it washes softly up and down, and the evening breeze blowing inland drives fine droplets against the castle’s cliff walls. No light burns in any window. Only the streetlamps cast a dull glow against the mist that blankets the city.
In the darkness, just around the corner of one of the large granaries near the beach, five men stand against the wall. A black mask is tied over each one’s eyes and nose. They are dressed in ordinary clothing, but it is made of dark material.
The front one signals, and they sneak silently along the building and slip across a cross-street. On the corner stands a residential house, but they pass it. In front of the second house is a white-washed wall, about four feet high. One by one, they jump over it after briefly looking around. They step through the garden as if they know every step of it. In the backyard, a dog starts to bark.
They freeze. Motionless, they stand under the fruit trees next to the house. The dog barks continuously.
In a room with a window in the back wall, a trigger is pulled. The shutters are closed, but they can see the flashes of light through them. Then the light disappears.
“He will most likely come out to look from the stoep,” one of the five whispers. Without hesitation, he runs closer and lightly jumps onto the stoep in front of the house. It is dark under the awning, but when they reach the front door, they can already see a glimmer of light behind it. They stand stiffly against the wall on either side of the door.
A latch is pushed back. The door swings open, and a man with a lamp in his right hand peeks out.
One of the masked men throws his arm around the man’s neck and presses a hand over his mouth. A second grabs the lamp so that it does not fall on the stone steps. A third grabs him by the waist and pins his arms to his sides. They act hastily but orderly. Barely five seconds after the door was opened, they have already dragged him back into the hallway and slammed the front door shut.
“What is it, Hannes?” a woman from a room adjacent to the hallway asks.
The man who is being held so tightly turns his eyes from one masked face to another. Five pairs of eyes peer through the slits in the black material. Then one of them speaks.
“Tell her not to be scared,” he commands softly. “If you shout or make any noise, you will die!”
An expression of fear fills the man’s eyes. He tries to nod, but the arm around his neck tightens. Yet the masked man understands the gesture. He removes his hand from the man’s mouth.
“It… it is nothing, dear,” he stammers. “I have visitors.”
“Oh. It is so late.”
“Tell her it is urgent. She should just keep sleeping,” the masked man who spoke first orders him.
“These are urgent matters, madam. Just keep sleeping.”
They push him into the first door on the right, immediately check if the shutters of the living room are locked, and close the curtains. One of them has already closed the hallway door behind them. The lamp stands on the table, and the terrified resident of the house stands next to it.
“What, what... do you want?”
“We have come to talk to you, Hannes de Walt.”
“About what?” De Walt’s voice trembles.
“If you have a clear conscience, then why are you behaving this way?” The five stand in a half-circle in front of him. Their lips are tightly pressed together.
“My conscience does not bother me! What do you want?”
“All the money you have in the house.”
“You are robbers!” the man exclaims, but they silence him.
