Don't Let Me Go (A Kenyan Story)

A Man Named Cyrus

Leslie stared at Mark, her eyes boring into his very soul. He'd been fidgeting with his food since she has served him. "So,are you going to fidget with that food all day or are you going to actually eat it?"

"Huh!" Came his absent minded response.
"Eat the food before it grows any colder than it is Mark. We still need to talk. And I'd rather you do it on a full stomach."

"Okay," he said as he began eating. He stared at the spoon he held for a long time before he took his next bite. "A few months ago, I got involved with some very shady people. I was broke and I didn't know who to turn to. Thing is  my firm has been going through a rough patch economically. We've had to lay off some people and it took a toll on me. There's this guy, Cyrus, he offered me some quick cash only if I could smuggle some drugs for him through dad's shipping company where I'm a junior partner." He stared into the distance, as if reliving the events that followed. He was quiet for close to five minutes and Leslie knew better than to interrupt him. He got up and went to the kitchen sink to get a glass of water. "Want some?" He asked from the kitchen.

"Sure,why not?" He came back with two glasses of water and set them down on the table. He finished his in one huge and long gulp and looked at her, as she sipped hers in small gulps. He waited till she was done before he continued. Leslie had by now long forgotten about their unfinished food.

"At the time I convinced myself that it would be a one time thing and then I'm out. But as fate would have it, the money was good, and I mean real good. So I couldn't keep my hands off that cookie jar. Cyrus had almost every government official you could think of in his payroll. From port officials to cops to a prominent Permanent Secretary in the current cabinet. So, I wasn't worried that we would be caught. A week and a half ago, part of his shipment was stolen from our shipping yard. Among the culprits involved was Josiah, one of our company's longest serving employees. Convincing Cyrus that I had nothing to do with it has proven difficult. He gave me five days to have the contents if the shipment delivered to him else there'd be hell to pay. I still haven't managed to get that shipment."

Leslie looked at him, a mixture of hurt and bewilderment written all over her face. "You could have come to me for help Mark, from the very word go. You know I could have helped you."

"Don't you think I know that Leslie! I didn't want to be anyone's burden. Heck I didn't even tell Jayson about our firm. The shipment was worth two hundred and fifty million shillings. What was stolen was worth seventy two. Jayson was targeted as a way of getting back at me. And Cyrus ain't gonna stop there. Of that I'm sure. He's going to keep coming at me till he gets back his drugs or an equivalent amount of money." His face looked forlorn and Leslie's heart went out to him.

"We're going to figure this out Mark. I promise." Her right hand clasped his and she gave it a slight squeeze.

"Well, if you know where I can get my hands on seventy two mil', I'm all ears."

A few yards from Mark's apartment building,an unregistered black minivan was parked. Inside, it was full of sophisticated military grade audio surveillance equipment. One of the two guys at the back signalled the driver to mark the call.
"Hello, boss man, you were right about him. Amemwaambia, kila kitu; well, everything he knows that is. Tufanyeje sasa?"  He listened for a while before the line went dead.

"Bado, amesema wasiguzwe kwanza. We observe,listen in and report our findings. Upload that audio to his cloud," he relayed the message. If it had been up to him, he would have given the order to have Mark taken care of a long the minute they learnt of this. But then again, he wasn't in charge. He was just hired muscle and he knew his place. He knew better than to question Cyrus' decisions. That man was as ruthless as they came.

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Translations

1. "...amemwaambia, kila kitu..."
"...he's told her everything..."

2. "...Tufanyeje sasa?"
"...What are we to do now?

3. "Bado, amesema wasiguzwe kwanza..."
"Not yet, he's said they shouldn't be harmed for now..."