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Title: Content: For the first time in his career, real fear pressed down on him�not the kind that sharpened instincts, but the kind that carved at bone. He could feel it: the weight of political muscle flexing in the shadows, the long reach of men who didn�t just make problems disappear�they erased them from history. Mazibuko wasn�t just warning him. He was giving him a lifeline. And Kgole had just walked past it. The line trilled once before a voice cut through, low and clipped. �Talk to me, Brigadier.� �The hack is a vault of secrets,� Mabena said, each word carved from granite. �I�m coming to your hotel�if that�s acceptable.� �Waiting,� the General replied. Then the line went dead, leaving only the hum of the room. Mabena slid the phone back into his pocket and turned to Shadows. His voice was calm, but it carried an edge that could cut. �I need a copy of the most sensitive files�the email chains, the offshore accounts, everything that ties him to the money.� Shadows gave a short nod, wordless, and tugged open the desk drawer. From its hollow he drew a flash drive no bigger than a thumb, its plastic worn smooth by time�as if it had been waiting for this night. He fed it into the laptop. On the screen, the progress bar crawled; slow at first, then surging as if the machine itself understood the weight of what it carried. The room held its breath while the counter climbed�ten, fifty, and ninety�until at last it hit one hundred. Shadows ejected the drive, its metallic glint catching the dim light like a shard of danger, and placed it in Mabena�s waiting hand. �We stay here tonight�everyone,� Mabena said, his voice a quiet command as he moved toward the door. He paused, turning to Kgole, eyes hard with something that wasn�t quite reassurance. Page Number: Update Page