Pieces of Silver

Chapter Seven

137 7 t had been approximately two hours since it reluctantly stopped drizzling and the air was still thick with the cold wind now blowing in through the windows of Jet2 whose louvers Big Buggie Matts had resigned replacing. The inner walls of the drinking spot carried the marks of the multiple fights that had taken place within that square room under the amused eyes and encouragement of the bartender and owner, Big Buggie himself. Even from the outside, Jet2 didn’t hide its broken windows and split wood on the door panel that appeared like scars on a famous boxer’s face. Big Buggie was a chunk of a man, build like a wedge, a strong violence addict. He had a bushy moustache and a glass-sparkling bald head. It was said that he began fighting for money during break time when he was still in primary two and had carried on his hobby to the gambling quarters in rusty twenty-foot containers abandoned under the mangoes trees behind the defunct TASHA Ltd. When Ebong Mathias later on bought over the TASHA Ltd property, and set up the imposing furniture shop SPLENDID WOODS, Buggie and his cronies moved their activities along the stretch of highway between the Njopongo Roundabout and Campo College Hill. There, they preyed on those greedy men and women in luxury cars dying to double their stolen wealth overnight at all cost. They stopped cars and told the occupants stories of treasure boxes full of raw bank notes worth hundreds of millions that needed only a small quantity of mercury the value of a few million francs to wash in order to render them authentic. It was widely believed that Big Buggie was forced to retire after two of his gang members went too far by murdering a trader for a suitcase that ended up containing sachets of slimI 138 tea. Those arrested by the mob were tugged into motor tires and set ablaze in front of Moquo Onion Market. Big Buggie went under for seven months and resurfaced to open Jet2. Running Jet2 was his only occupation which, most often, was a boring pastime without a beef of quarrels. As there was time for everything, his high moments always came at the end of the month. That was a period when Big Buggie actually wore a permanent smile in his small, bright and calculating eyes. He relished the general ambience in his off-license especially after the workers had received their salaries and came to consume their portion of the pay before taking the rest home (for those who didn’t squander every franc). A month hardly went by without a brutal fight in Jet2 resulting in broken chairs and bottles and bleeding heads. During such fights in which chairs and bottles were flung about, when a target was missed, the broad windows with rusty iron rods dutifully intercepted the blows. Big Buggie welcomed these fights and showed his support by offering a round of beer to everyone present after a fierce fight had been successfully quelled with at least a victim rushed away for medical attention. He was known to cherish the sight of blood. If nobody was hurt, Buggie shared no drinks. He stayed behind his counter and sulked. He obviously saw those frequent uproars as some effective form of publicity. His joint was sometimes referred to as the Mberes’ Corner as it was notoriously attractive to men in uniform like Commissioner Ntoko Linus and his boys who often got steeped in some of the arguments that resulted in fights. They became deaf and blind when the quarrels began and conveniently sneaked away before the fights inadvertently erupted, and only returned to perform the arrests. Jet2 was a favourite spot for people seeking a pinch of action to spice an otherwise tranquil and monotonous life – just like Buggie’s. However, Sadi wasn’t here today in search of any kind of action. His crushed bus had been plundered and skinned. Kondeka Shadrack had helped him tow the 139 wreck to his garage. Sadi didn’t mind to share a drink after the hard work. After all, food and drink were among the most precious things that a corps took down with it to the grave. Sadi wandered lazily away from the counter to one of the empty tables with two cold bottles of Castel Beer, one for Shaddy and the other...