Trackers (36 page)

At 23.00 Quinn went to the office to monitor the break-in and
installation taking place in Walvis Bay.

The operator had him listen to the conversation between
Gauteng crime boss Julius Shabangu and the mysterious Lukas Becker. When it had
finished Quinn shook his head in concern and disbelief. He wrote a quick email
to Masilo and Rajkumar. He said that Becker was no longer just comic relief,
since it was his call to Shabangu that had upset the Musina interception so
dramatically. He was an unknown factor, with the potential to derail the whole
operation. Consequently, they urgently needed to find out more, do an in-depth
profile on him. And seriously consider intercepting him.

He sent
the email and went to the Ops Room. Fifteen minutes before the Walvis Bay
break-in. He sent up an emergency prayer. Dear Lord, please don't let there be
any mistakes tonight. Amen.

28 September 2009. Monday.

Twenty past twelve at night, Milla's cellphone dragged her
from sleep and she stumbled to the sitting room with a feeling of foreboding.
She saw it was Barend calling and her stomach contracted.

'Are you OK?' was the first thing she asked.

'It's Pa,' he said.

Milla had to sit down suddenly. 'What happened?'

'He's been assaulted. He's in hospital.'

'Assaulted? Where?' She couldn't understand the reproach in her
son's voice, it was not her fault.

'In Jacobsdal, but the ambulance took them to Kimberley ...'

'Barend, how serious is it?'

'Serious. They broke his cheekbone and nose and his ribs ...'

'How do you know this? How did you hear about it?'

'He phoned me, just now ...'

'Your father phoned you?'

'Yes ...'

Relief, and she nearly said, 'It can't be too bad then'. She
sank back slowly on the couch. 'Who assaulted him? Why?'

'A bunch of guys just walked in and started beating them up
...'

'Them?'

'Oom Tjaart and Oom Langes and Oom Raynier, they were on the
Harleys, they stopped in Jacobsdal to have a drink, then these freaks came into
the bar and started beating them ...'

That was why Barend had to go to his grandparents for the
holiday. So Christo and friends could go on a Harley road trip. He was still
not taking his fatherly duties seriously, he still put himself first. But she
would have to restrain herself, her son needed her.

'Does Granny know?'

'No.'

'I'll phone the hospital and find out how serious it is, then
I'll call you back.'

'Ma, why don't you phone Pa?'

'A doctor would ... we need an expert opinion.'

Only
once she had rung off, did she realise Barend's question meant that he still
had hope, that he saw the assault as an opportunity to bring her and Christo
back together.

Half an hour later she phoned Barend. 'I spoke to the ward
nurse. She says none of their injuries are serious, they will all be discharged
later today.'

'How will Pa get home, Ma? He can't ride his bike with broken
ribs. Can't we go and fetch him?'

'There are regular flights between Kimberley and Cape Town,
Barend ...'

'Ma, how can you be so unfeeling?'

Rajkumar was not good with conflict management. So this
meeting was painful to him, the oppressive atmosphere, the obvious antagonism
between the Director and Masilo. A contributing factor was that there would be
no praise, despite the good work of the previous night.

Masilo was stubborn. He stood throughout the meeting. It was a
form of protest, Raj thought, a way of saying: if I sit down at a table with
her, it indicates consent, solidarity.

And Mentz would not look at Masilo. She sat beside Raj, her
eyes on the wall, while Rajkumar gave his report. 'The operation at Consolidated
Fisheries
was a
resounding success, beautiful teamwork
between
Tau's operatives and my technicians,' he said and looked at her, saw it made no
impression.

'Go on.'

'We are now cloning all their drives. Some of the software is
proprietary, some is custom written, but we will be up and running in record
time,' said with all the optimistic enthusiasm he could muster. 'The really
great news is that we are already logged into their Fleet Tracker website. We
will have a full report on all vessels' patterns for the last month by
lunchtime.'

She merely nodded. 'Anything else?' she asked without looking
at Masilo.

'Only bad news,' the Advocate said. 'We can't trace de la
Cruz or Baadjies. Our attempt to intercept the truck has produced nothing. That
is all.'

Milla was the first one in the office. Mrs Killian hurried in
carrying a thin file. She greeted her, and placed the folder in front of Milla.

'Theunie will explain to you how a new profile works, look at
this until he gets here. We only expect the first reports from the operators
tomorrow, the idea is that you add to the document as you receive new
information ...'

Milla opened the file. Just one sheet of paper, the original
instruction under the title:
In-depth Profile:
Lukas Becker.

'This
is an important one, Milla. You need to focus ...'

Operation Shawwai

Transcription:
Audio surveillance, A. Hendricks and L. Becker, cellphone
conversation

Date and Time:
27 September 2009. 17.41

LB:
Kan ek met Shaheed Latif Osman praat, asseblief?

AH:
I'm sorry . . . ?

LB:
Verstaan jy Afrikaans, Ouboet?

AH:
Who is this, please?

LB:
My name is Lukas Becker, I'm looking for Shaheed Latif Osman.

AH:
I think you have the wrong number, sir.

LB:
Tweety the Bird? Is he available?

AH:
You definitely have the wrong number.

LB:
Are you sure?

AH:
There's nobody here by those
names.
LB:
OK. Sorry.

In the
office of the Minister, over a cup of tea, Janina Mentz chose her words
carefully, as she had prepared thoroughly. 'Sir, we have a potential target
for the act of terror, and it seems to be a highly sensitive one. Of course,
our first priority is to secure the target, But we have two dilemmas. Firstly
we have no incontrovertible evidence that it
is
the target. We are speculating on the grounds of a date that we intercepted
from the extremists. Secondly, to secure the possible target, we would need the
assistance of our colleagues at law enforcement, with the possible inclusion of
certain
local
authorities. As you know, the
DA
provincial
government in the Western Cape will try to gain political advantage out of
anything. We simply can't trust them.'

The Minister nodded his agreement.

'I am
here for advice, sir. How can we prevent the terrorism, without jeopardising
the whole operation?'

29 September 2009. Tuesday.

'If
there was contact between the Ravens and the Committee, we've missed it. Or
maybe there was no contact,' Quinn said.

'So
where are the diamonds?' asked Rajkumar.

'On their way to Oman.'

The two deputy directors looked sharply at Quinn.

'Think about it,' he said. 'They are Muslim extremists. The
stones are tainted. Sinful. They don't want to touch them. And they want as
little contact with the Ravens as possible, for all the obvious reasons. So
what are the options? You tell Terror Baadjies to pack it all into a strongbox,
and DHL the thing to Macki in Oman. The minute it arrives, the money is paid
over. Or something like that.'

Masilo just sat there.

Rajkumar said, 'Shit.'

Quinn said, 'We have to assume that the deal is done and
dusted. We need to focus on the weapons now. Or explosives. Or whatever the
hell it is they're going to smuggle in. And the 12th of October.'

30 September 2009. Wednesday.

Milla showed Oom Theunie the four new documents for the Lukas
Becker dossier - a single sheet from the National Population Register, a
concise bank report, a SAPS query, and a printout of an email from a R. Harris.
'It reveals nothing,' she said. 'And ... it's not very good.'

He took a look at them, then explained. 'R. Harris is the PIA
operator, he sits in a little office somewhere, receives an instruction that
says go and find out more about so-and-so, and make it snappy. It's not his job
to interpret or organise, he's just the collector of information. So he sends
every bit as he goes along. It's our job to put the pieces of the puzzle
together. Some of these profiles can look like mangy strays for weeks, then
suddenly a whole bunch of meaningful data comes through. It's normal. Don't
worry about it, you do what you can, with what you have.'

'I
understand,' Milla said. 'Thanks.'

Report:
Profile - Lukas Becker

Date:
30 September 2009

Compiled by:
Milla Strachan. Field report: R. Harris.

Background

Lukas
Becker (42) currently of no fixed address, was born on 23 July 1967 in
Bloemfontein, the son of J.A. and E.D. Becker, apparently from Smithfield.
Credit card expenses indicate a presence in Johannesburg, especially the
Sandton area, since 13 September 2009. Purchases include clothing (R2,118.64)
and meals.

Criminal record

None.
(According to ID number Becker was the victim of a car hijacking in
Johannesburg.)

Education and Training

BA degree in History. (Unconfirmed.)

Finances

Becker
has four accounts at Standard Bank:

A
cheque account. Balance: R2,294.60.

A
Mastercard credit card account. Balance: R4,646.27.

An
investment account (32-day notice). Balance: R138,701.89.

An
investment account (Fixed deposit). Balance: R1 425,007.22 Transfers to and
from a current account with Wells Fargo in the USA (balance unknown).

Late that afternoon Mrs Killian gave Milla new documentation
on Lukas Becker. She saw there were two field operators working on the profile.
She wondered what that meant. What could a man with a degree in history have
done that was so bad? She read, in a hurry and inquisitive.

She saw
the study majors first, and that fascinated her. When she came to the
information on Lukas Becker's parents, she lowered her head and read more attentively.

Report:
Profile - Lukas Becker

Date:
30 September 2009

Compiled by:
Milla Strachan. Field report R. Harris and P. Lepono.

Background

Lukas Becker (42) currently of no fixed address, was born on
23 July 1967 in Bloemfontein.

He is the only child of Johannes Andreas Becker (1934-2001)
former owner and farmer of the farm Rietfontein in the district of Smithfield,
and Esther Debora Becker (nee Faber, 1941-1999), former teacher, later
housewife. (Mostly unconfirmed.)

After his school education (Smithfield Primary School, and
Grey College, Bloemfontein) he matriculated with a distinction in History in
1984. After two years' compulsory military service in the SA Navy, he completed
a full-time degree in B Agric at the University of the Free State in 1989. A BA
degree in History and Anthropology (part time, UNISA, 1994), and post-graduate
study in the USA followed. (The latter unconfirmed.)

Parents

Around 1995 Esther Debora Becker was committed to an institution
for the mentally disturbed, allegedly Witrand in the former Transvaal, and
later to a private clinic in Johannesburg, where she died of natural causes in
1999. (Unconfirmed.)

Johannes
Andreas Becker was allegedly declared bankrupt in 2000, and the farm
Rietfontein was sold to W.E. Stegmann, who continues to farm the property.
Becker Senior committed suicide in 2001 in Margate, KwaZulu-Natal - See list of
references.