Also it didn’t take an Einstein to see that somebody could be left nursing a very stinking baby if things went wrong in this job.
“I’m afraid, sir I will have to respectfully decline your kind offer.” I was trying to sound like a suave man of the world, a Leslie Charteris character. You see, sir I have no desire to become involved in politics in any form.
The General shattered my suave act with one sentence, “Sullivan, it’s not about what you want, it’s about what I’m telling you, you’re going to do,” that was like a dash of cold water in the face, “You see you either join me or I have you sent to jail for ten years for murder.” This was the first indication of what the future held.
The only thing that could be said about the future was that money is the root of all evil and every man has his price but before the price is paid comes distortion, extortion and murder. Reality becomes a hall of mirrors, truth becomes lies and lies reflect as truth and the way through is easily lost. Where trust and deceit intersect they form a double cross.
From the outset extortion, manipulation and coercion is the name of the game. Sullivan, the character around whom the events unfold in a fit of rage kills his wife s lover and gets an unusual sentence.
The General, sinister and feared head of BOSS, the Bureau Of State Security, coerces Sullivan into a position where he can pin every crime from treason to assassination to kidnap to embezzlement on him. Sullivan lets nothing stand in his way of getting out of the General’s clutches and blackmail money is just the tool he needs in his bid for freedom.
Xhosa sentenced to spend time in a Juvenile Correction Facility where sentences are not measured in years opts to join the South African Communist Party on his eventual release. Because of his ability and temperament he rises rapidly through the ranks. It is his Russian controllers who manipulate him into a position where he is accused of being a spy and has to flee for his life. He too, sees the money being extorted from the General as a means toward an end.
Dube is a disillusioned actor who works as a clerk for the African National Congress at a time (the time when Mandela et al were getting arrested) when it’s leadership was reeling like a punch drunk boxer because of the sweeping actions carried out by BOSS. His love for acting can never materialize due to the Apartheid laws of South Africa and when certain information that can net him a fortune come his way he jumps at the opportunity but he has the temerity to blackmail the most powerful man in the land, an action not without risk.
The extortion money that Dube demands soon becomes the sought after prize by all concerned, including the man being blackmailed, since the government is unwittingly funding it. In its pursuit alliances form and dissolve conveniently. No method is overlooked including kidnap, sexual extortion and perversion of political power. In the race to claim the millions at stake the antagonists are prepared to fight a bitter mini war. Death is a small price to pay and love exposes one s weak spots.
The story is not political in nature although it is set against political events occurring in South Africa at the height of the Apartheid period.
