Two minutes later, the first of his shadows appeared: a navy Audi Q5�clean, forgettable. The driver, a man with a barber�s fade and a mechanic�s calloused hands, didn�t glance his way. He slid into a bay near the lift lobby, eyes fixed on a dead phone screen, thumbs tapping phantom messages.
Next came the Corolla�smoke curling from its tailpipe like incense on an altar. The driver nursed it into place, killing the engine with a shudder that echoed across the concrete cavern. The car was a ruin draped in paint: mismatched panels, a bumper stitched with cable ties, perfect camouflage.
Last to arrive: the third ghost�a gunmetal Toyota Hilux, double cab, glass tinted so deep it swallowed the light. It prowled into the row behind Themba, idled long enough to seem uncertain, and then settled like a wolf in shade.
They waited, each man alone, each car an island.
At 16:47, Kgole finally cut through the lot�broad-shouldered, head low, his body wound tight with tension. His Toyota slid into a gap near the Hilux, another anonymous slab of steel in the parking maze.
Soon after, Sergeant Mkhize stepped from the lift that ferried shoppers from the mall above to Section A of Carlton Centre�s parking deck. Grey backpack slung across his shoulders, he moved with purpose. He�d spotted Kgole earlier, slipping in through the Main Street entrance, and guessed where the Captain would surface. Now, here he was, threading across the concrete toward destiny.
Themba moved first. He stepped out of the BMW�jacket sharp, expression carved from stone. His stride was loose, but his eyes burned cold. He opened the Hilux�s rear door without a word.
�Captain,� he murmured when Kgole approached, voice barely a thread beneath the hum of idling engines.
Kgole didn�t hesitate. He slid inside, the door sealing him in darkness. As soon as he settled, he spoke�eyes on Mkhize, who was closing in fast.
�That�s the man with the gadgets,� Kgole said, tilting his head toward the Sergeant.
Mkhize froze mid-stride. Heat surged through his veins as panic knifed his gut. He thought he was watching his Captain being abducted�until Kgole�s voice cut through the static: