Robert is in high spirits while he drives to Michelle’s apartment. He spots a traffic officer manning a speed trap and he lifts his foot from the accelerator. No fifty meters from the over eager Traffic Officer a flower peddler tries fruitlessly, to sell his flowers to the passing motorists next to a sign prohibiting stopping. The lad is annoyed and he stares bitterly in the direction of the Traffic Policeman, who by his very presence disrupts all of his business.
Robert pulls his car out of the busy traffic and reverses back to where the flower vendor watches the traffic, with a sense of growing discouragement. While Robert's one hand opens the window the other hand pulls a bill out of his purse.
"I want your most beautiful flowers. Roses or something." Robert explains through the open car window and in the rear view mirror he notices the angry Traffic Policeman walking briskly in their direction. The Traffic Officer is really quite furious. Can't that feeble-minded motorist see the yellow line and the sign prohibiting stopping? No, it out of mere impudence, but I will teach him a lesson the Traffic Policeman decides.
I must help him get away, flashes through the flower peddler’s brain while he selects a huge bunch of deep red roses, from the variety of flowers that he sells. Across the street a couple are embracing and the hawker seeing his chance. "Assault! Look there! He's forcing himself on her in brought daylight!" The vendor shouts and the Traffic Cop stops in his tracks.
It really seems as if the man is forcing himself on to the girl, since it appears as if the girl is wrestling to tear herself away from the man. In his mind's eye the Traffic Officer can already see the headlines in the next day's paper. "Traffic Officer heroically rescues girl." He hurries in the direction of the couple and the flower peddler is now also in a hurry.
The enormous bunch of red roses is almost thrown into Robert’s hands and the hawker stares astounded for just a moment at the blue hundred rand bill in his hand, while Robert's car draws away and then he gathers his flowers and rushes of with the Traffic Cop safe at the other side of the road.
Robert is almost at Michelle's apartment when he realizes that he had bought red roses and the past few days events, flashes through his mind and he doesn't notice the two black cars that are following him.
After parking his car at Michelle's apartment, Robert realises that he is a bit early and his fingers brushes through his hair, more out of habit than any thing else before he opens his cars door. Suddenly Robert feels the cold muzzle of a pistol drilling into his neck and then his eyes shifts to the apartment building’s foyer, where he see how Michelle confirms to the thugs that they have got the right person.
Robert and Michelle's eyes meet and bolts of anger shoot out of his, which shocks her and a tear drop rolls down her cheek when she notices him throwing the bunch of flowers angrily at the sidewalk sending roses in all directions and before his lips form the words she reads it in his eyes and her eyes begs for forgiveness. "Delilah!" Tears at her soul. Still there's a questioning glance in his eyes, as if he cannot believe that she has really betrayed him to Morgan, which gives her some hope.
"Why Michelle?" Robert's voice cuts through the noise of the traffic, but the only answer that Robert gets is the cold muzzle of the pistol in his neck. Robert is hit merciless with the pistol when he throws the bunch of flowers away from him. "Another sudden movement and you’re dead," one of the thugs hisses through his teeth while they bundle Robert into the waiting black car.
When some of the thugs try to abduct Michelle she runs into the building and they fire with their pistols at her. At that moment she realizes that she had made a grave error. She will never see her son alive again and Morgan cannot afford to let her live to tell the story. She turns around and fires at one of the thugs hitting him in the arm and then manages to escape.
Later Michelle finds Robert's car keys, where he had thrown them in his car and she picks up the roses one by one as if they are the most precious gift that was ever presented to her. There are again tears in her eyes and she exclaims: "Oh my God what have I done?"
Mark Morgan had abducted her son Eric and the message, was very clear to Michelle. "If you really want your child back, you will see to it that I get hold of Robert Desmond." "I can not. I refuse. It will be like sending Robert to his death. Will you rather let your own child die, than a man that you only have known for a day?" Michelle can still remember Morgan’s cold eyes that send shivers down her spine.
"Well the choice is yours. It is either Desmond or your child." Michelle was prepared to give her own life, to safe the life of her child. She wanted to at least warn Robert, but her child’s imploring little voice kept ringing in her ears. "Mummy I am scared, but I love you Mummy.
In South Africa today security plays a vital part in any business or private home. This book and the volumes to follow, will guide you step by step through the essential precautionary measures to be taken in protecting your family and valuables. From employing security guards, evacuation of your site and security measures to burglar bars and alarms in your private home.
a Book compiled by me from experience gained after 10 years in the security industry as Industrial relations officer with Nosa qualifications, 1st Aid, fire protection and also S.O.B. grade A.
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