John Biko: You Know My Name.

This is a short story about a counter intelligence operative in the service of a fictional South African government. Events may be altered to suit the narrative of the story.

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It was stuffy in The Minister’s mahogany waiting room. The large doors where always closed.

There were no windows in sight and though one could understand the security precautions being taken, the part one couldn’t understand was why the air-conditioning was never turned on. As a result, the room had the lingering smell of leather, lavender and woman’s perfume.

The man seated on the long burgundy leather couch uncrossed his legs and then crossed them again. A thin layer of sweat sat on his brow and the collar of the black polo neck he was wearing seemed quite constricting. But he seemed nonchalant. He coolly wiped his brow with a handkerchief before looking at his watch, the time was 19h15. He had been waiting for 30 minutes for Minister Zulu now.

He glanced at the large oak double doors to The Ministers office and then looked at the woman sitting opposite him, her expression was that of focus. Her thinly braided hair was tied in a pony tail and her horn rimmed glasses sat comfortably on the bridge of her nose, as she busied herself typing something of import. She wore a white silk blouse that strained to contain her ample bosom and a tight black skirt that was accented by her toned caramel legs. Though she seemed to have a formidable poker face, she pouted and bit her lip occasionally as she navigated her way through her work.

Zinzile Khumalo, The Minister’s secretary, was perhaps the most beautiful woman in the entire building. But according to the whispers in the department, she was also a bitch. But one could understand why she was not overburdened with a need to make friends, considering the gravity of her duty as gatekeeper of the Department Of State Security. She was not inclined to suffer fools or flattery and many a self important suit had found themselves cut down to the size of a bonsai as she put them firmly in their place, before continuing to type calmly and stoically while they sat and waited to be attended by the Minister Of State Security.

The young man looked at his watch again, 35 minutes. He was of course in no rush, but the fact that he had been told to come to The Minister’s office at 18h45, only to be still waiting to be attended… was a little annoying. Standing up, he buttoned the top two buttons on his blazer and walked towards the desk of the intimidating beauty across the room.

His walk was that of a confident man. A powerful and agile man. At 5 foot 9 he was not tall, but he was also not short. He was quite good looking and well groomed, though not carefully so. Being a man trained to dance with death, he was perhaps more of a rugged character than his dark navy suit belied. As he reached her desk he sat down on a corner and smiled down at the rather busy looking woman. As abrupt as his action was, Zinzi didn’t flinch. In fact, she didn’t even look up at him until she had completed typing the sentence she had begun. Once she had finished typing she sat back, crossed her arms and looked up at him over her spectacles, her irritation more obvious than visible.

“Yes?” she inquired. “Yes?” smiled the suave young gentleman in reply “I don’t recall asking anything. But if your answer is yes, then perhaps we could go and get something to eat? I don’t think The Minister will be coming out any time soon.” Zinzile didn’t smile back. She looked down at the spot where he was sitting then back up at his face. The two stared at each other. Eventually she spoke up.

“Can you get off my desk please?” “Why?” asked the man with a smile. “Because my desk is not a chair sir. Now, if you could kindly take your seat, I’m sure the minister will be with you soon Captain Biko.” Ignoring this request, the young man in the navy suit continued “But it has been 30 minutes that I have been waiting and the Minister hasn’t come out yet. Is he in another meeting?” “Yes.” responded the young woman politely. “Can I ask with whom?” “No.” was her curt response “Also,” she continued “I must insist that you get off my table at once, or I will be forced to remove you.”

Standing up, John put his hands up in surrender. He then put his hands behind his back and walked over to one of the portraits hanging on the wall. The portrait was of Jimmy Kruger, former Minister Of Justice and an infamous politician. “A lot happened under his watch.” mused the man in the navy suit “do you know who his secretary was?” he asked. Zinzile didn’t respond. He looked over to see that she was watching him intently. “I assumed you guys would have some kind of Fraternity of The Horn Rimmed Spectacles…” As he smiled at her, amused by his own joke, Zinzile didn’t smile back. Instead she stood up and walked lithely and gracefully over to the coffee table in the corner and began making some tea. Once she was done she walked over to him, her body swaying hypnotically as she moved and handed him the tasty beverage. She then motioned him over to the chair and without waiting to see if he acquiesced, turned around and returned to her seat, paying him no more heed.

“You are a fascinating woman Zinzile Khumalo. You are also quite rude.” he sipped his tea and waited for a response as he gazed at her over his steaming cup. Nothing. The tea of course was perfect. “So you are really going to ignore me?” he asked with a smile. Zinzile again didn’t respond. The young man proceeded to go back to his chair and looked at his Tag-Heuer, sighing audibly as Zinzi tried to mask her smile. Unbuttoning his blazer, he sat down and sipped his tea.

As he looked at his watch he recalled how the departments technology unit had offered him an Omega timepiece and how he had had a long conversation with The Quartermaster Archie Moodley about why he would not wear it. Luckily The Quartermasters lieutenant, Maryke Van Vuuren, had been trained to work on Tag-Heuer’s as well. She also happened to be one of John’s lovers. So before he could be disciplined for refusing to wear a required part of his uniform, he was supplied with a rather fashionable watch to go with his rather fashionable suit. And though its form was quite attractive, it was it function that he appreciated the most.

Without warning, the door to The Minister’s office flew open and the Minister Of Police emerged, walking rather swiftly towards the elevator. He seemed upset. A few seconds later the Minister Of Telecommunications sauntered out and she was followed by the Minister Of Justice. No doubt they had had a rather interesting meeting. As the Ministers were exiting, Zinziles phone rang and as soon as the politicians had left, she stood up and beckoned for Capt Biko to follow her as she lead him into the office of the Minister Of State Security.

As they walked in, they found Minister Zulu pouring a drink at his decanter table on the far end of the room. In the corner on the opposite end the Minister Of Defence, Robert Van Vuuren, was seated at The Minister’s desk quietly sipping an already refilled whiskey. “Ah, Agent Leo 36. Just the man I was hoping to see. Of course you know Minister Van Vuuren, yes?” “Yes sir. Good evening General.” Minister Van Vuuren merely nodded and smiled. looking on quietly. Minister Zulu walked over to Agent Biko and handed him a whiskey, motioning for him to have a seat next to the Minister Of Defence.

“Thank you Zinzi, that will be all.” Zinzile nodded and took the cup of tea from John. As she left, the young man smiled at her and waved. The door closed shut. “Oh that is not a battle you can win my boy.” pointed out The Minister as he observed the exchange “Anyhow, I’m sure you are curious as to why I called you here, yes?” “Yes sir, I am. If the attendees of your meeting are any indication and judging by the moods of said attendees… it seems rather serious?” “Yes John. Very serious. Very serious indeed.”

Agent Biko was not really surprised by this. He suspected that his boss had a reason for summoning him. Especially considering that he was a field agent and not an analyst. It was not uncommon for The Minister to meet with his agents, but he normally only met with senior agents and their supervisors to gather intelligence and relay information to be disseminated. However, John Biko was a special case.

He had not joined the National Intelligence Agency straight out of college as most did. Instead he had joined the army as a pilot and had excelled at physical training, weapons training, hand to hand combat, computer programming and his test scores where remarkable. His prowess at Ditholo was even more notable because not many of the predominantly white afrikaaner seniors expected this from a “black” trainee and in record time he had earned 4 mustering & proficiency badges and all 3 silver shooting proficiency badges.

Upon graduation he was assigned the rank of Second Lieutenant and sent to the Makhado Air Force Base to join Squadron 85, the Advanced Flying School. It was here that he excelled the most. Not only did he learn to fly the old Impala Mk.I/II and the Hawk Mk.120, but he took to the Gripen like a fish to water and upon completing his flight training he was assigned the rank of Lieutenant and added to the illustrious Squadron 2.

His first assignment was to fly a stealth mission to take out a rebel base in the DRC as part of the UN Force Intervention Brigade – Special Forces & Reconnaissance Company and had found himself in a dogfight with a couple MiG-23s that had fallen in the hands of the March 23 Movement. It was a fierce fight and his squadrons captain was shot out of the sky. Though he had tried to eject in time, he had been caught in the blast and the UNFIB SFR Company found themselves in a fight for their lives as the rebels began firing surface to air missiles into the aerial skirmish.

But Lt. Biko had taken command and lead his two remaining squad members to victory. The 4 MiG-23s where shot down and the rebel base was blown to kingdom come. The next day M23 leader Bertrand Bisimwa called for his forces to immediately end hostilities and Squadron 2 came home. It was upon his return home on the 11 of November in 2013, that Lt. John Biko met Minister Of State Security Linda Zulu. He had been introduced to him by then chief of the SANDF, General Robert Van Vuuren. The Minister had invited Biko to join the SSA and offered him a promotion to Captain. John had not looked back ever since.

“Well, what do you need me to do Minister?” asked Biko as he sat down and sipped the dark whiskey in his glass, a 50 year old Glenfiddich that The Minister had gotten from the British Foreign Secretary. It was the Minister Of Defence who responded in his rough Free State accent “We need you to go to Syria and retrieve a briefcase, Johnny.” “A briefcase?” “Correct. It was taken by a defector who intends to give it to the ISIL command I believe.” “The son of a bitch hadn’t even been 5 months out of SANAI before he turned traitor!” spat Minister Zulu as he walked over to his desk.

“The briefcase contains classified details of our former nuclear program and details of our intentions to restart it.” finished Minister Van Vuuren as he rubbed is thick silver beard. Biko looked at the Minister Of State Security and then back at the Minister Of Defence “We are restarting our nuclear program?” “That is classified.” responded the Minister State Security. “Yes,” responded Minister Van Vuuren “but we do not want this to be public knowledge and we do not want to be the ones that help ISIL go nuclear. I’m sure you can think of the ramifications and can see the urgency of your mission here Johnny?”

Standing up, Agent Leo 36 nodded and drained his drink. “When do I leave sir?” “Immediately.” responded Minister Zulu. “I must add that we have had a series of attacks, both cyber and real world occurring since the defector disappeared.” added Minister Van Vuuren “We suspect they are trying to get a hold of the materials and equipment they need to start their plans. So you are going to have to find and retrieve the briefcase, but also to find and terminate the defector and those who know the contents of the document. I have a chopper leaving from Waterkloof that will take you to Hoedspruit within the hour. From there you will join Squadron 19 and fly an Oryx to Kinshasa as cover. Once you are in Congo I trust you can make your way to Syria?” “Of course General.” “Good. Then good luck Johnny. Whether this escalates into a global catastrophe depends on you.”
“One more thing Agent Biko…” John looked over at Minister Zulu “If you get caught or compromised, you understand that you will be disavowed, yes?” after a pause, John nodded “Then Godspeed boetie.” Standing at attention he saluted his superiors, turned around and exited the room.

As he walked out of the Minister Of State Securities office he headed straight for the elevator, passing by Zinzile’s desk. She was staring at her pc and typing, as he expected. As he pressed the button for the lift and began running his mind through scenario’s of what was to come, he almost didn’t notice as the beautiful young woman walked over to where he was and leaned against the wall. He looked at her and she looked at him. As he leaned in for a kiss, she put her hand on his chest and smiled. She then handed him a back pack. “This is from The Quartermasters Office. A Lt. Van Vuuren dropped it off?” “Thank you.” he replied, continuing to stared into her eyes until the lift arrived. As he stepped in to the lift and looked back at her, the beautiful young woman called to him. “Come back in one piece John Biko.” “Ah, so you know my name, Zinzile Khumalo.”

With that, the elevator closed and he looked at his watch. He had 50 minutes to get to Waterkloof. Taking out his car keys, he threw them in the air and caught them as the lift opened in the basement. Clicking his immobilizer, he walked over to his Nissan 370z and opened the door, climbing into his bucket seat. After pulling the butterfly door down, he put the key in the ignition and started the car, revving the engine of the sports car and rubbing the leather of his steering wheel as he felt the machine torquing under him. “Okay then,” he said to himself “lets see how fast this thing can go.”

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And that is our first look at Biko, John Biko. Its about time we had a South African secret agent don’t you think? Shout out to SANDF, SAAF and our SSA.

John Biko will return.