laptop: Mashudu and the Minister - McBride�s crown jewel. He never trusted anyone else with it.
That�s why, on Monday morning, the Minister had called Mashudu personally, ordering him to deliver it to 93 Abel Street. Lesley Black would meet him there, and together they�d head out to greet the Boss. Even when Mashudu confessed that the laptop was gone, McBride hadn�t blinked. He had a backup locked away in his vault. For him, this was an inconvenience, not a catastrophe.
Until he heard where the gadgets had landed�under Captain Kgole�s nose, that changed everything. Even then, the Minister didn�t panic. Getting those gadgets should�ve been child�s play for Mazibuko. But when the lieutenant went dark�when calls started going unanswered�that�s when the red flags turned into sirens. That�s when the real panic hit. Now, the situation wasn�t just bad. It was toxic: Terminal.
Since then, McBride had been breathing down Mashudu�s neck. Mashudu could feel it in his voice�the edge of frustration, the weight of disappointment. It cut deep. Six years they had worked together, ever since Lesley recruited him to be the Minister�s courier. Six years without a single slip - Until now.