Chapter 5: Enemies in Uniform
You can trust the streets before you trust the school gate.
That was the rule Bra T-Man used to repeat when Kgosi was little. He never understood it back then. But now? It made too much sense.
It was Monday morning. Cold breeze. Quiet yard. The type of day that feels normal — until someone turns and stabs you in the back.
Kgosi walked through the gate just as Mr. Ngwenya, the school's security guard, gave him a long, silent look. Too long.
He'd known Mr. Ngwenya for years. Used to joke with him. Give him leftovers. But today? The man barely blinked.
"Morning, boy," Ngwenya said flatly.
Kgosi nodded, eyes sharp. "Sharp, malume."
But as he walked away, Kgosi noticed it — Ngwenya had a new earpiece tucked just under his collar. Not standard school security. And on his wrist?
A tattoo of a red wire.
His father's symbol. Bra T-Man's mark. But it was scratched — like someone had tried to burn it off.
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Later that Day – Toilet Block, Second Floor
Kgosi pulled Lethabo aside.
"Do you trust Ngwenya?" he asked, lowering his voice.
Lethabo blinked. "That dude? Why you asking me about him?"
"Because I think he used to work for my father."
Lethabo paused. "Then maybe he's one of the good ones."
"Or maybe," Kgosi said, voice sharp, "he's the reason the gun landed back in the system."
Lethabo stepped back. "You think he snitched?"
"I think he's not who he says he is."
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Flashback – Three Years Ago
Kgosi remembered it now, clear as daylight. He was 13. His father had taken him on a quiet drive to the edge of Mamelodi — a dead-end scrapyard.
Bra T-Man pointed at a man in the distance. "That one there? He was Red Wire once. But when things got hot, he disappeared."
Kgosi squinted. "Disappeared where?"
Bra T-Man smirked. "Into a school uniform."
He never said names.
But that man looked exactly like Ngwenya.
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After School – Secret Meeting
Naledi met Kgosi behind the old netball courts.
"I got something," she said, handing him a flash drive. "It was in my mother's files. She investigated Red Wire before she left SAPS."
Kgosi plugged it into his burner phone and opened the folder.
PHOTO_001.jpg
He tapped it.
And there he was — Ngwenya, younger, leaner, holding a rifle and standing next to Bra T-Man. Same tattoo. Same eyes. Same scar.
Kgosi stared at the screen.
"He was one of my father's top men," he whispered. "And now he's back… watching me."
Naledi looked around nervously. "If he's here, he didn't come back by mistake. Someone sent him."
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That Night – Burner Phone Buzzes
Unknown Number: Watch who you talk to. Uniforms don't mean protection.
Kgosi froze.
The war wasn't coming.
It had already started.