Rabbit fever, p.14
Rabbit Fever, page 14
The trio’s leader confirmed to King Rat’s satisfaction that they had carefully chosen the doctor. Eliminated any paper trail or evidence. Successfully spread false information about the doctor running away with a woman from the capital of Madagascar, whom he had met during a recent trip, to ensure that he wouldn’t be sought among the local population.
Perplexed, Jose turned his gaze towards King Rat and asked,
“What do you plan to do with this doctor? Are you simply going to have these men keep him somewhere? Have you considered the consequences? This isn’t a game, you know. Now that you’ve acquired him, what’s your plan for him?” he demanded.
King Rat, sensing he had regained some control over the situation, disregarded Jose’s questions and addressed the three men before him, saying,
“Now, we need to move on to the second phase. I now require a scientist. This is where it gets challenging. I suspect the scientist you need must come from the same location as the doctor you’ve taken. My research indicates that the charity medical station there is not only treating a specific disease but also conducting research on it. Therefore, I need someone who has been researching that disease to complete my plan.”
The three men remained silent, and once again, the one in the middle responded,
“This will be a costly endeavour. We’ve already taken one person from that area, and now you’re asking us to take another, and one who is even more prominent than a doctor. We need more information. What are your intentions with these individuals? What will you request next?”
King Rat, still apprehensive about revealing too much of his plan, carefully considered his response.
“I’m not asking you to harm anyone, if that’s your concern. I’ll only require the doctor to advise me on specific matters and verify certain scenarios on my behalf. The scientist will also need to provide guidance and answer specific questions I have, in addition to supplying some specific items I require. I have a feeling these individuals may need some encouragement to cooperate, but that’s as far as it goes. You’ll need to keep these individuals alive, I should emphasise, until I give you the green light to release them.”
A member of the trio who hadn’t spoken before asked,
“How long do you expect us to keep these people?”
Uncertain about what exactly King Rat was asking them to do, they were used to scenarios involving ransom demands or bribes. This man and his bodyguard seemed to be requesting that they acquire individuals of specific professions, check their credentials against provided lists, question them on his behalf, and then ‘keep’ them. As if they were exotic pets, until this strange Englishman decided when they should be released.
King Rat replied,
“It might take several years. I’m not certain yet. I’ll compensate you generously for this, but I’ll need your assurance.”
Jose was completely taken aback; King Rat had not only convinced the trio to abduct a doctor for him, to enable some random questions to be asked, but now he wanted them to do the same with a scientist. And, even more bewildering, he wanted them to ‘keep’ these individuals as if they were unusual pets, for an unspecified duration.
The individual in the middle of the trio spoke calmly,
“If that’s the case, then it’s acceptable. We will locate the scientist for you and transport both the doctor and the scientist to Somalia. They will be well-hidden there, and as they are originally from Madagascar, no one will think to look there. However, our fee has substantially increased. We will contact you with the new fee, and there is a new condition: if at any point you fail to make our payments, we will release a video to every outlet we can find.”
King Rat was perplexed, as he hadn’t received any video, but his phone suddenly came to life, displaying a message with an image of the doctor they had kidnapped on his behalf.
The text detailed the doctor’s identity and where he had been taken from, then went on to describe the trio’s mission that King Rat had given them.
The video concluded by sending a chill down King Rat’s spine as it displayed several still images. While they hadn’t uncovered any of his personal details, they had managed to discover his location in Maputo, despite his efforts to obscure it through multiple routers and VPNs.
“That’s not what it looks like at all,” King Rat stammered as he viewed a still photo from his conversation with Jose earlier conversation that morning.
It had been taken from outside, probably from the window across the road from their apartment living room.
The first image showed Jose sitting in front of King Rat on the sofa of the apartment, wearing only boxers and smiling. The second showed Jose’s back as he stood in front of King Rat in just his underwear, arms raised in the air.
While it wasn’t clear from the images what was happening, they certainly appeared suggestive, with the text ‘a kidnapper who also likes to engage in sex tourism’ displayed across the video.
“It doesn’t matter what it looks like,” the man in the middle of the trio commented. “What matters is what people think it looks like. We, for instance, believed you were paying for this man’s time purely for your own entertainment. It now seems he is somehow involved in your strange plan, which includes kidnapping doctors and the like. Others could make a terribly similar mistake. Don’t worry; we won’t do anything with this video, but we need you to fulfil your side of the agreement. We expect full and timely payments.”
King Rat looked horrified.
Jose, incensed more that the pictures suggested he had been used for sex tourism by King Rat rather than the insinuation that he would or did sell his time by the hour to those willing to pay, shouted after the three men.
As quickly as they had emerged from the shadows at the beginning of the interaction, they retreated into the darkness and managed to leave the warehouse undetected. With Jose and King Rat desperately trying to spot their escape route.
Chapter 14
The car was filled with an eerie silence as it slowly carried Jose and King Rat back to their small apartment. Jose had instructed their friend, who had travelled to the port with them, to join his three acquaintances in the other SUV and head home.
He provided no details about the warehouse conversation, only stating that their help was not needed and that they should return home. Jose would drop off the car later. Although they claimed it was ‘their’ car, everyone understood it was merely a stolen vehicle imported from abroad, making it as much Jose’s as anyone else’s.
King Rat sat in silence as well, still in shock over what he had seen in the video.
He was terrified of the potential consequences if it were released and rattled by the fact that he was now financially entangled with the three Somali ex-pirates, who seemed to have a hold over him for the foreseeable future.
While it was true that no one knew his name in his current location, the release of the viral video would likely reach the UK. And despite his anonymity, it was probable that someone in the UK could identify him.
Once his identity was exposed, it could have disastrous consequences, not only for the plan itself, which might sound too outrageous to believe but due to the implications of him being labelled a ‘sex tourist’ in Mozambique.
Headlines of “Like Father, Like Son” would likely follow once his true identity became known.
The thought of it was unbearable.
Jose, too, was furious.
It wasn’t that he cared about the false accusation of receiving money for personal services – he had done it before and would do it again if necessary – but he had standards. He was furious at the prospect of a video implying that he engaged in any act with someone as repulsive as King Rat.
He contemplated how to extract himself from this predicament, how to slip away and never have to deal with King Rat again. These thoughts were counterbalanced by the fact that the incriminating images already existed.
King Rat, for all his boasts of IT expertise, had somehow allowed his location to be tracked and discovered. It was clear that King Rat had a plan, but his execution was decidedly amateurish, and it had not only entangled Jose but firmly established him as a key player in the unfolding drama.
Pausing to consider his options, Jose thought about the money. He could argue that King Rat should pay him even more. It was a delicate line to tread, as it was evident that the Somalis were going to raise their prices, and Jose needed to ensure they were also paid, lest they become irate and release the damaging video.
There was no perfect way out of this situation, but for his own sake, he concluded that sticking around was necessary. In the short term, he needed to guarantee the Somalis received their payment, if only to protect his reputation. He would find out from King Rat the available funds and then determine what he would demand as his own fee.
Jose had resolved to take control of the situation. If he was going to be involved in this mess, he was determined to ensure it ran smoothly. While it was true that making the current situation worse would be challenging, it had room for improvement.
He decided that he would extract every detail from King Rat: his plans, the peculiar schemes involving doctors and scientists, and, most crucially, King Rat’s true name. The time for silly nicknames based on his shabby appearance had long passed.
Even if the name was fitting, Jose needed to understand the identity of the person he was entangled with and the fantasy world he had been pulled into.
He turned to King Rat and stated firmly,
“When we return to the apartment, you will tell me everything. I mean every single detail. No half-truths, no omitting parts of the story, no evading my questions. I have no idea what you’ve involved me in, but you will answer me properly, and then I will figure out how we can extricate ourselves from the mess you’ve created for both of us.”
King Rat, realising he had no alternative but to comply, nodded meekly and focused on the road ahead as the apartment drew closer. He silently hoped for a traffic jam, an accident, or any event that would delay their arrival at their destination.
Surprisingly, in Maputo, traffic was flowing relatively smoothly. It seemed that, as it approached midday and the sun was scorching, most sensible people were indoors, seeking respite from the heat or resting. Certainly not driving back from a meeting about the kidnapping of a doctor and a scientist.
Pulling up outside the apartment, King Rat speedily exited the car and dashed inside, moving faster than Jose had seen him more before. Jose assumed he was rushing to be sick, and as he made his way up to the small apartment, he was proven right.
He heard retching, followed by the toilet flushing, then more retching, and more flushing as King Rat emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. The stress was taking a physical toll on him, making him not only feel but also be physically sick.
Taking a beer from the fridge, Jose settled on the sofa and contemplated the situation. He pondered his first move and what was most important for him to uncover, considering how to navigate this troublesome predicament. Sipping his beer and gazing out the window, he noticed a balcony across from their apartment.
It dawned on him that this was where the compromising photo had likely been taken earlier. At that moment, the balcony was adorned with white sheets, hanging to dry in the midday sun. However, he reasoned that earlier, someone must have been on that balcony, capturing those images and prying into their apartment.
He found a piece of paper and a pen and started making a list:
‘1 - Assign someone to investigate the occupant of the apartment with the balcony and gather information on their activities.’
Jose acknowledged that he couldn’t undertake this task himself as it was too close to home. Nonetheless, he believed that attempting to identify the person living in the apartment with the balcony from which the photos were taken might satisfy his curiosity. Allowing him to confirm that the individual responsible for taking those photos had departed for good.
King Rat entered the room, wiping his mouth and trying to make light of the situation,
“Oh, you’ve still got your clothes on” he tried to jest.
Jose was astounded, was he not in the same meeting he was just in, did he not see the same video Jose did and now he was trying to joke about it.
It was almost as if he found this funny, the fact that Jose was now implicated somehow with this dirty individual and was trying to make light of it.
In a fit of rage Jose stood in front of King Rat
“Is that what you find appealing?” he inquired, his voice filled with frustration. “Is this what brings you satisfaction? And is that why you’ve got me ensnared in this situation – because you derive pleasure from gazing at me? Were all those other meetings a ruse? Maybe, just as you harbour an unusual desire to keep a doctor and a scientist captive in a distant land, you derive some kind of gratification from having me here. Making me participate in meaningless meetings. Just to assert control over me.”
His words were infused with intense anger as he challenged the nature of their predicament.
King Rat was left in surprise. He had believed that injecting some humour into the situation might ease the tension and reintroduce a sense of normalcy. After all, they were both trapped in the same predicament, and he thought that finding the lighter side of things could help them both make sense of the surreal turn of events.
It was evident that Jose did not share this perspective. As King Rat stood there, uncertain of his next move, Jose suddenly lost his temper.
Pulling off first his t-shirt, then his trousers and finally his underwear, he stood in front of King Rat completely naked, his chiselled torso dripping with sweat that also had the effect of making it glint in the sun.
Stretching out his arms and then turning around, giving King Rat a rear view, and then turning back to face him.
He stood staring King Rat straight in the eyes.
“So is this what you wanted all along,” he demanded, “this was the whole plan. Well come on then. Here I am,” shouted Jose. Furious that the previous events were seen to be a joke.
“You asked me why I still had my clothes on, now I am here without them” he continued to rage.
Jose knew or presumed that King Rat had no interest in him in that way.
He was sure it was straight pornography he often heard King Rat watching late at night. With him not realising the walls of this apartment were less than soundproof.
But he had a message to convey: he was not a commodity to be appeased with escalating sums of money, with the amount increasing according to the severity or complexity of the situation.
As he stood there naked, he also recognised that this bold move served the initial phase of his plan in establishing his dominance and taking control of King Rat’s scheme. He was now at the forefront of the situation, ensuring that things unfolded according to his terms, whilst this strange little man stood meekly before him.
King Rat found himself at a loss, never having been in such an unfamiliar and perplexing situation before. He glanced around aimlessly, uncertain of what to say or where to direct his attention. He looked helplessly at Jose, who had also cooled down and recognised the escalating tension wasn’t getting them anywhere.
Both men stared at each other, locked in a standoff. King Rat made a tentative suggestion,
“I think you should get dressed, and then we should talk. I’ll explain everything. Maybe we could go for a drink to ease the tension.”
Jose felt a sense of caution.
This man rarely ventured out of the apartment, except for his many unproductive meetings. Now he was proposing they leave the apartment, not for another meeting, but to visit a bar.
Jose hesitated before responding.
What if this was a ploy to capture them in more compromising photos? What if this was an attempt to further entangle him in this unpleasant situation, making it harder for him to break free? As he pondered the suggestion, he slipped back into his underwear, maintaining a direct gaze at King Rat.
“Okay, my English friend,” he began, “we’ll go out for a drink, and perhaps even grab a meal. But just as you’ve imposed your rules, I’ll set my own conditions now, given the situation you’ve ensnared me in.”
Surprisingly, King Rat nodded in agreement, asking Jose to lay out the terms. He realised that he had to concede on some fronts and couldn’t rely on an endless supply of cash to expect others to be content with whatever predicament he had drawn them into.
The list of rules instantly presented by Jose took King Rat by surprise, it was almost as if Jose had these rules pre-prepared for this very occasion.
He had anticipated demands for ever-increasing sums of money, restrictions on what he could or couldn’t do within the apartment. Perhaps even a suggestion that he should give up the bedroom, relegating himself to the sofa where Jose had been sleeping for the past few weeks. He expected these rules to strip him of power and hand it over to Jose while he continued to serve as a financial resource for Jose’s various endeavours.
King Rat’s assumptions proved to be completely off the mark.
In a rather unexpected twist, most of Jose’s rules were designed to improve the situation for both of them. Jose mandated that King Rat should bathe twice a day, dress appropriately for the weather, change his bed linens, and maintain a groomed appearance. Jose insisted that if King Rat wanted to accompany him to a bar, he should at least look presentable.
This was a disconcerting proposition for King Rat. It had been years since he’d worn anything other than black, and he was concerned about the risk of drawing attention to himself. He preferred to blend into the background, believing that his distinctive, dishevelled appearance served as a form of defence. Nobody paid him much heed, and he felt it provided some security during his many meetings with dubious individuals.
Jose remained resolute, arguing that these new rules were for the benefit of both.
