Chapter 6

Rory is at Cassandra’s apartment doing his homework when Zeb arrives. Rory bumps fists with him in passing and tells him, ‘You’re coming to dinner at our house. Aunt Cassie is, and so is Anne.’

‘Can I say no?’

‘Nope.’ Rory grins.

Dinner is the usual cozy affair with Lauren and Anne bustling about serving great food. Anne is accompanied by her stockbroker boyfriend this time, a likeable guy exudes good humor.

Rory tells them about how Zeb’s pitching practice has helped him get into his class’s baseball team.

‘All right, squirt,’ says Connor when Rory has finished, ‘it’s time for the adults to talk now.’

Rory makes a face but goes to his room to play on his Xbox.

‘I got back from the Congo a few days ago,’ says Connor without preamble, ‘and I think it’s fair to say that over there feels like a different planet.

‘I visited ten mines in the east and southeast, many of them gold and diamond mines. The treatment of women and children is shocking. Child labor is the norm; women are raped regularly by the mining authorities and militia – and this is just in the Western-owned mines. Alchemy, Hardinger’s family company, owns three mines in the DRC, and I managed to visit all three of them and spoke extensively to the miners, the security guards, officers…all levels in the hierarchy.

‘I expected the workers to be treated differently there; I am not naïve and have been around the world, to the sweatshops of Asia, South America, and the factories in China. But in the Congo, the workers are as good as slaves. I saw miners being whipped, children being beaten, and women being stripped of their clothes. These incidents happened every day at all the mines I visited.’

‘How come you were able to wander freely in the mines and witness this?’ Anne’s boyfriend asks.

‘I had a very expensive cover story prepared for me by the paper. I went in as a buyer of ore and had the word put out that I wasn’t interested in how the mines were run. I had good backup, proof of funds, references, even my own security. So moving around the mines and seeing the operations openly wasn’t an issue.’

He laughs. ‘I had state-of-the-art stuff for recording – pen cameras that took stills and video in high resolution, button-hole recorders, all those gizmos – so I could record everything. In the evenings I used to mingle with the workers and talk to them as if I was looking to improve their conditions, and they spoke openly about their treatment. I used that same ploy with the employees of the mines, security, everybody.

‘Hardinger’s mines were run no differently from the other mines I visited. Child labor in all the mines, exploitation of women, and rampant brutality on display. In fact, some of the miners said that the mine near Kivu was hijacked by Alchemy’s security company and thereafter claimed as Alchemy’s own mine.’

He leans forward, his eyes glittering. ‘I picked up rumors that there’s an email trail between Hardinger and his mining officers about the mine hijacking and that he is aware of child labor. Imagine that. A high-profile senator, a fund-raiser for the President’s party, who is complicit in the use of child labor, piracy of mines, and might have even sanctioned them. If I can get a paper trail linking him to those activities, it will be the end of the good Senator.’

Zeb is curious. ‘Why is Hardinger attracting all your attention? Surely all mines in the Congo, in fact, all mines in Africa, must be indulging in these activities. Why aren’t you going after all of them?’

‘A lot of companies are Canadian-owned. I’ll write about all Western-owned mines, but exposing Alchemy will have more impact, and that will, in turn, lead to more scrutiny of all the mines.

‘And I know you’re probably thinking that I’m going after Hardinger for the glory. There is that, I won’t deny it. However, if the threats I’ve received from Hardinger’s camp are any proof, then there is a smoking gun out there, and I aim to find it.

‘My initial series of articles will be on the state of mining in Africa, and I will send the exposé with the focus on Alchemy and Hardinger. That should give me enough time to get the paper trail.’

‘How serious are these threats?’ asks Anne.

Connor shrugs. ‘You get this in my profession, especially if you’re going after someone high profile. There haven’t been any direct threats. There never are. Just veiled references from people in his camp – saying my life will be easier if I focus on other issues…that these stories impact family too.

‘There were a few anonymous calls asking me to drop my current story.’

Lauren is shocked. ‘You never told me about those calls.’

‘What’s there to tell? They were anonymous calls. I used to get those when we were in Kentucky, remember?’

‘But you never wrote about anyone so powerful.’

Connor snorts. ‘This is my profession. I can’t and won’t turn tail at the first threat.’

‘So, Major, what have you been up to since our last meeting?’ Anne asks, changing the subject.

‘Stopped three muggings, advised the Mayor on his security, and helped Matt Damon on some stunts for his movie,’ replies Zeb.

A minute of stunned silence and then Connor laughs, then Anne, Lauren and the stockbroker follow. Cassandra smiles politely. She catches Zeb’s eye. He shrugs.

‘Well, well, Major. I didn’t know humor was in your dictionary,’ Anne comes back at him.

No reply from Zeb as he goes to the kitchen to fill up his glass. The stockbroker has noticed the byplay between Cassandra and Zeb.

‘He wasn’t joking, was he?’

Cassandra laughs out loudly and genuinely. ‘Zeb hasn’t joked in a century!’

‘Advising the Mayor and Matt Damon, Zeb? I’m impressed!’ the stockbroker exclaims on Zeb’s return.

‘Who are you? Batman?’ Anne asks, finding it hard to believe.

‘Just earning a living, ma’am.’

‘The muggings? That’s a living? You get paid per mugging prevention?’

‘Things just happen when I’m about, ma’am.’

‘That we can all believe!’ Connor smiles widely, thinking, I shouldn’t be surprised. This is what he’s good at and has a reputation for. I knew he worked with celebrities and public figures. Connor comes back to his story. ‘Zeb, do you think I should be doing anything about these threats? The last phone call was about a month ago.’

‘You should find a way to record those calls, and if you can’t, then make a note of them and report them to the police. About the veiled threats, the same, ideally record them, or make a note of them. Take normal precautions, such as not being alone at night on the streets. Make sure Lauren or Rory are not alone at any time or with strangers. They will be your weak points.

‘It’s easy to become paranoid about these things. It comes down to how seriously you want to take these threats,’ he continued.

‘I have reported those calls to the police. Nothing much that they could do about them. They had no caller id, and a reverse call check revealed nothing. What would you do if you were in my position?’ asks Connor.

‘I would do what I told you,’ answers Zeb. ‘I would also look into arranging protection for Lauren and Rory till the threat disappeared.’

Lauren shivers. ‘Why don’t you drop this and write about something else?’

Connor shakes his head. ‘I can’t. This is what I do. This is my life.’

‘When do your articles start appearing in the paper?’ asks the stockbroker.

‘A week from today and then every week, culminating in the article on Hardinger. Depending on what evidence I have by then, I’ll submit it to the police and call for an investigation.’

‘So in a few weeks, things will be jumping like a dog on hot chili.’ The stockbroker smiles.

‘You betcha, and Lauren will be going all frazzled. In Kentucky, when I broke the story on corruption and we became the center of attention, both welcome and unwelcome, Lauren ran for it. She took Rory with her and went to her folks. That’s standing by your man for you.’ Connor chortles.