was useful�but in the game Kgole was about to play, it could also get them both burned.
�Find somewhere secure, I need to give you instructions,� Kgole said, his voice low but carrying an unmistakable edge.
Kagiso heard him�but instead of responding, he kept repeating, �Hello� hello,� as if the line was breaking up. The captain didn�t bother playing along. He cut the call.
The few seconds between hanging up and redialing were all Kagiso needed. By the time the phone rang again, he had drifted away from the chatter of the common area, stopping in a quiet corner where no one could overhear.
�I�m on my own now,� he said when he answered.
Kgole allowed himself a brief grin. The rookie�s quick thinking�pretending not to hear and using the break to slip away�was exactly the kind of low-key improvisation that kept a man alive in this line of work.
�Locate Constable Moloyi and collect the evidence�quietly,� Kgole said, his voice low but firm. �Meet me at Cori Coffee Bar at Gandhi Square.�
By now, his trust in the rookie had grown. He abandoned the detailed plan he�d originally intended to give, deciding that if Kagiso could pull off the little stunt he�d just executed, he could improvise something equally slick to smuggle the items out without raising suspicion.
Kgole stepped out of the office and dialed Mkhize, instructing him to meet the rookie at the coffee shop. Locking his door, he let his gaze sweep over the common area. He was certain someone�maybe more than one officer�had been tasked with watching him.
Kagiso played his part, pretending not to notice the captain. He strolled casually to a table stacked with neatly arranged dockets, slid one into his backpack in plain view, and set off down the hallway as if heading somewhere routine. The act was deliberate�something for the watchers to fixate on�while his real objective lay ahead.
Outside, Constable Moloyi stood in the thin shade, a cigarette pinched between his fingers. Here, beyond the station walls, they were out of most prying eyes. The spotters would be trailing Kgole inside, not the rookie.
�I need to collect the items,� Kagiso said quietly, �but no one can see me walk away with