Once we hit the highway, everyone got moving. I boarded a Lights mat then a Likoni one. My bag was so full that even the set books had to be in the side packs. The River Between ilikuwa imetokelezea and being the student I was, nilifloze nayo kwa mat till I alighted hapo ferry.
My instructions were that I’d meet the client upon notifying him that nimevuka ferry. It was my first day at work so I couldn’t afford fucking up. Once in the ferry, I remained calm trying to figure out how this worked. I already knew I was trafficking some illegal shit but all I needed was some pay. A lot was going on in my mind that I realized we’d already crossed as everybody was on move. As I passed the fish stalls i called the client and told him nimevuka. He told me to stand by the simu ya jamii kiosk and wait for him. Here I am again. I greeted the guy but he wasn’t the one I had met there previously. He asked me if I wanted to make a call but told him I was okay, only waiting for someone to pick me up. I waited for about 20 minutes and surely, a swagged up dude came. He greeted me and faked a persona. " Sikudhani utachelewa hivi kaka. Haya njoo twende nyumbani basi" he told me. He told the simu ya jamii dude that I was his younger brother as we left.
He was on lead. Tulipita machuom hata siwezi kumbuka poa until a place where there stood remains of a house. If you know you can relate. He sat down and asked me to hand over the cargo. I gave him the bag which he opened slowly and took out seal taped lumps of black nylon paper. He opened one so as to check if it was the shit he wanted. He looked contented and that’s when he came back to me. “Wewe ni mgeni, sio? Usiwe na wasiwasi kaka utazoea tu.” He said to me. He asked me if I smoke weed but told him no. He lit a joint and persuaded me to try which I declined. He gave me my now saggy bag. He told me to wait for him since tracing the way back would be difficult for me. Splendid white fume curled up the air and he seemed to enjoy every puff. I had never been so near a ganja smoker smoking in my life. I remained calm though i felt insecure. He was done with his joint and kept telling me all sort of stories. He hid his stuff and took lead again out of the bush.
When I reached a point where I couldn’t get lost, I told imma be fyn. He then gave me Ksh. 10,000 and told me to take it to my boss. Tukangota akarudi na mimi nkaishia. WTF? This seems easy. It was a sunny afternoon kama kawa. I was thirsty and hungry as well. I still had Ksh. 150 balance and fare back would be Ksh. 50. Nikaingia kibanda nikajitibu. Maji baridi. Yes. This is good. Coastal life seemed fine. To ferry again. I thought about the others. Was their mission this successful? I got anticipated to see where this new tide would rest.
I played cool all the way to Kongowea where my phone rang. I answered and was told to wait for Arif to take me home. Once again the tinted prado picked me. Once in the car, Arif inquired if everything was fine and since I was already getting along with the system, I said everything was awesome. We drove towards Bombolulu as we talked. I explained my ordeal and he took the amount and here we were, at the first gate. G4S opened , (though later on I discovered they aint real G4S) we drove to the second and I was back to heaven.
I met the real boss eating life big literally. I was escorted to the changing room again where I changed to my civilian. There was a food and drinks laden table where my crew was. I joined them though one yengs wasn’t there. That’s when we interacted and got to know their names. They told me that indeed I had passed my induction. Tim, one of the boys explained that the Likoni mission is where everybody starts. They also gave me a clue that the job was really paying if at all I got what it takes. They told me a lot about everything around. I was now sipping a glass of KC screwdriver. Tim seemed to be conversant with everything and had lit a joint. Arif came and asked me if I had any problem so far. I was fine, veery fine, infact I was overwhelmed by everything so far.
He told me to feel as part of the family. “There’s nothing to fear about us, but dont do anything stupid. Dont be a snitch. We hide people never to be seen again.” Arif said that looking straight into my eyes. I got it clear. It was pay time. Arif gave me Ksh. 800, Tim was given Ksh. 1500, Dan Ksh. 1500 and Bella the yengs 2k. That was awesome for the day. We were escorted out. It was 5pm and yeah, hii ndo ile time. Tukawekwa highway, Tim and Bella boarded a Mtwapa mat. Dan lived in Kisimani, like me. We trekked as he enlightened me more. We had to part when he reached his hood. I was not far from ours too. I longed to meet Kabete to share this new experience.