The Kisumu Affair

“Mr. Abernathy? Mr. Donald Abernathy!?” Was someone speaking to him? That name didn’t seem right. Familiar, though… shit, it was his name for the moment! Why were his eyelids so heavy? Bright lights, fuzzy. A man… a doctor was looking down at him.

The doctor spoke loudly and slowly. “Mr. Abernathy, I am pleased you are with us! I am Doctor Dariuki. You have been in a car crash and are in Kisumu Specialist Hospital.”

A crash? Where was he? “Where?,” he managed to croak.

“Kisumu. Kisumu Specialist Hospital.”

“No, what country?”

“Oh…” The doctor was quiet for a moment. “You are in Kenya. Do you remember where you are from?”

“United States. What time is it?” Things were coming back to him. He had an assignment.

“It is just past five pm. You have been sedated for…”

Abernathy struggled to get up. “I have to leave right now.” The pain that erupted in his legs as he moved was intense and overwhelming. “What is wrong with me?!” He tried to look down at his legs, but even bending his neck caused enough pain to make him nauseous.

Doctor Dariuki put his hand on Abernathy’s shoulder and gently pushed him back into his pillow. “Both of your legs have been broken badly. We had to put pins in your left leg to hold it together and set a compound fracture in your right. The surgery took four hours.” The doctor smiled down at him. “I think you will have a good recovery, but you won’t be leaving this bed for some time.”

Abernathy’s head spun. Drugs, pain, shock… what a disaster. “Is my phone here?” Then he passed out.

His phone was lying next to him when he awoke. Abernathy texted his boss- ‘In hospital in Kisumu. Cannot complete assignment.’ Less than a minute later he received a reply- ‘No one else is near. Find a way.’ Christ! He looked at the IV drips, trying to figure out which one was the medication. Was there any way in which he could leave the hospital? His legs had metal contraptions on them and he’d already learned the cost of movement. His first time in Kisumu and he didn’t know a soul. He was going to have to involve an outside party.

A nurse came in. “Oh, you’re awake! I am Nurse Ola. Is there anything I can get you?”

“Yes, I need to locate a person.” How was this going to work?

“A friend?”

“No… I don’t know the person, but I have a name.” Nurse Ola nodded and Abernathy tried to think of an option, any option. “Is there… a company in Kisumu I could hire to find this person?”

“Well, the police might be able to help you find them. They are helpful.”

“No… no, nothing like that… An investigative company or someone who can do some online searches for me.”

Nurse Ola shook her head for a moment, then stopped. “I don’t know about investigators or anyone who does that, but my son is here at the hospital with me on this shift. He is… very good at finding things and people online.” Even in Abernathy’s state he could see the sadness flicker across the nurse’s face. “He is here right now because of some trouble he got up to on the computer. Perhaps doing something for someone on the computer would be good for him.”

Abernathy doubted the boy could do anything for him, but he was grasping at straws.

“Yes, I would appreciate it.” The nurse left to retrieve the boy and Abernathy thought about the futility of his task. He drifted off.

When he awoke, a very young boy was sitting in the lone chair in the corner. He had a duct-taped together laptop open on his lap and was typing on the screen. “Who are you?” Abernathy rasped. Maybe he could get them to turn down the medication drip. He really needed his wits about him.

The boy looked up. “I am Haki.” When Abernathy showed no reaction, Haki continued. “My mother is the nurse. She said I might be able to help you.” He smiled. “She gave me my computer back!”

“Yes… I need to locate a person.” Haki stared at him. “A woman from here.” Still no response. “She has something I need to get back.”

“How much will you pay me?”

“How old are you?” Abernathy needed an alternative to this child, someone who could actually help him.

Haki said, “I am fifteen.” He checked for a reaction from Abernathy. “Almost fifteen… at the beginning of next year.”

Abernathy sighed. “$100.”

“200 American dollars.”

Abernathy sighed again. “Okay, fine.”

Haki laughed. “I can find anybody! What is this woman’s name?”

“Her name is…”Ah, these drugs! He needed to think. “Fay Barasi.”

“Ohh, very common name.” Haki typed, absorbed in his screen. “Three in the city, seven in the municipality, yes.” Haki looked at Abernathy. “Do you have more information?”

Abernathy tried to think, with only moderate success. “I would think she will be in the city proper. She would have been in Nairobi in the last few days.”

“Uh huh.” Haki typed some more. “Car, train, bus, or plane?”

“What?” Abernathy could barely keep his eyes open.

Haki looked up. “How did she travel to and back from Nairobi?”

Did he know before the accident? Abernathy wasn’t sure what he knew. “I don’t know.”

Haki didn’t look up and continued to type. “That’s okay. There are always records.”

Abernathy jolted awake. The boy was looking at him, his computer closed and a little notebook in his hand. “Did you find anything?”

“Four Fay Barasis have been to Nairobi in the last week, two from the city and two from the municipality. Did she steal something from you?”

“She… received something that she should not have…” Must. Think. Clearly. “Tell me about the two women from the city.”

Haki looked at his notebook. “From the city, one flew and one took the train. I thought that maybe the third one in the city could have driven and paid in cash, but she’s 72.”

“Yeah, okay, not her. Any other information?”

“Are you a private investigator? Police?” A curious child.

“I am… a type of investigator.”

Haki laughed and clapped. “You are a spy!”

Abernathy was not used to giving information and certainly not to a child, but his mind was working oh so slowly. “Of course not! Do you have more information?”

Haki laughed again and shook his head. “You are a spy!! I knew it.” He was very pleased. “The woman who took the train had a big deposit in her bank today! One million shillings!” (^$7500)

“Ah… that sounds right.” Abernathy thought about it for a moment. “How did you get that information?”

Haki smiled coyly. “I am very good at finding things on the internet. Very good!” Abernathy suddenly realized (terrifying how slowly his brain was connecting things) why Haki was staying at work with his mother and wasn’t allowed to be on his computer. This kid was headed down a bad road.

Haki continued, “I have her address and phone number. Do you want to call her?”

Abernathy knew she would flee if he contacted her. “No… no. I will need a way to track her.”

“My friend Hasani and his little brother, Dani, are outside her apartment now. She is home!”

“Ah, I see.” More kids. What else could he do? “Can he tell you if she leaves?”

“He will follow her for 100 American dollars, fifty more for his brother.”

Abernathy sighed. This was all so ludicrous, not to mention unprofessional. “Fine. What time is it?”

“It is 11:20 at night. Do you think she will leave tonight?”

“I’m not sure…” Abernathy thought about the time frame of the people who were buying the item. “Yes, probably tonight, probably soon.”

“Okay, Mr. Abernathy, what does she have? We could help more if we knew what to look for!” Haki was pacing the small room.

Clear thinking was going to be impossible. The pain in his legs made it hard to think and the drugs in his blood made everything foggy and impossibly slow. Abernathy knew that relying on a fourteen year old and his young friends was not smart, but he couldn’t think of any other options.

“She has a very special computer chip that she is going to give to someone else. Tonight is likely.”

“A chip? I will go meet Hasani and we will follow her. For another 200 American dollars…”

Abernathy nodded and sighed. “Okay, let me give you my phone number.”

“I’ve already got it!” And Haki was through the door and gone. Abernathy fell asleep.

“Hello, how are you feeling?” It was Nurse Ola. She looked at the monitors and wrote notes on his chart.

Abernathy was groggy. “Pain is not as bad. Can you turn down the drip on my IV drugs?”

“Hmmm. I can do that, Mr. Abernathy, but the pain will get worse. I suggest we not.”

“Can we try it? You can always turn it back up.”

“That is not how it works, but if you really want to try it, we can do it. Where is Haki?”

“Um, I… he is running an errand for me.”

Nurse Ola glanced at her watch and looked irritated. “You sent a fourteen year old boy on an errand at midnight?” Abernathy nodded.

“What exactly was this… errand?”

“Uh, he is finding someone for me?” He could see her anger building.

“So, let me get this straight. A fourteen year old boy is out in the city, at midnight, finding a stranger for you. A stranger you didn’t want police to find. Is that what you are telling me?”

“Uh… yes.”

Nurse Ola pursed her lips, adjusted the dial on one of the IV bags, and left the room. In five minutes, the pain had intensified enough that Abernathy was blowing breaths in and out. At ten minutes, the pain was his whole world. He pressed the nurse button on his gurney. A minute later he pressed it again. Finally, he continuously pressed the button. After an eternity, Nurse Ola came back in.

“Pain is bad?” Sweat poured down his face. The nurse turned the dial on the IV. The intense pain stayed and stayed until he noticed that it was slightly less than before.

“Mr. Abernathy. If anything happens to my son on your ‘errand’, I will make sure there is no more medication. I might even add to your pain. Do you understand?”

He nodded. Nurse Ola appeared to want to say more, but she turned and left the room. The pain was slowly receding. Abernathy fell asleep.

When he awoke, Haki was sitting in the chair without his computer.

“Finally, you’re up! Mom’s shift ends in 20 minutes. She is so mad!” Haki laughed in the out of control way Abernathy remembered from middle school. “Luckily, more at you than me! She did take my computer away again.”

Abernathy took a few moments to clear his head, picked up his phone and saw that it was 4:40 am. He tried to speak but all that came out was “auugha”.

“Maybe you want to know what happened while you were sleeping?” Haki looked pleased with himself. He pulled out his little notebook, opened it with a flourish, and began to read.

“23:57- Meet Hasani and Dani in front of suspect’s apartment.

“00:35- Suspect leaves apartment. Text Abernathy.

“00:36- Follow suspect. Text Abernathy.

“00:44- Suspect approaches car parked at Uhuru and Okore Roads. Blue Toyota Camry. Text Abernathy.

“00:46- Suspect gets into car with man, now subject 2.

“00:47- Car starts to leave. Hasani jumps in front of car. Car stops. Suspect 2 gets out. Suspect 1 gets out.

“00:48- I take suspect 1’s purse. Dani and I run! Hasani gets up and runs the other way.

“00:51- Suspect 2 is faster than us, but we go through a break in a fence and he runs past us.

“01:14- Meet Hasani in front of his house. Call Abernathy.”

Haki closes his notebook and looks at Abernathy. He pulls a ziplock sandwich bag from his pocket and waves it in front of the spy. In a corner of the bag is a computer chip.

“Is that…”

“I guess so. There were no other chips in the purse.” They both stare at it. Abernathy reaches for the bag, but Haki pulls it back.

“There is a laptop I really like. It is 1359 American dollars online. Do you think this chip is worth that?”

“Done,” croaks Abernathy.

“And maybe another $200 for Hasani and his brother?”

“Done.”

“And money for my mom. Say $500?” Haki shook his head. “It probably won’t make her less angry with you, but it will make it better for me!”

“Done.” Abernathy fell asleep.

Three weeks later, James Jensen laid down on his couch with a groan. He carefully wrapped ice bands around his legs and gently placed them on the armrest. He’d just finished his third day of physical therapy and knew the pain and swelling would be bad for the next few hours.

He glanced at the messages on his phone. A couple from work, some from friends, and one from SoulofKenya. He knew it was Haki before he opened it.

‘Hello, Mr. ‘Abernathy’! I wanted to thank you again for the computer! However, since I didn’t know your real name, I spent a little bit of time finding you. The CIA has very tough cyber security!

‘Anyway, my mom isn’t mad anymore and wanted me to thank you for her as well. I apologize for using CIA payroll to track you. I tried not to look at your accounts, but I was disappointed to see you are not a rich man. Not to worry! I promised my mom I wouldn’t do wrong things again! Your money is safe.

‘I really enjoyed doing spy stuff with you! I have decided that I will probably be a spy when I’m older. I am not sure how to do that, though.

‘If you are ever back in Kisumu, stop by and say Hi!

‘Your friend, Haki’

Jensen shook his head and chuckled. “Damn… crazy kid.”

He texted his supervisor. ‘Does that cyber intern program still have openings? I know someone who could be a very good fit.’