UAEC

The Saturday morning sun blessed Mbare with its rays. This day the diner was already filled by young and old couples who were just enjoying their lives. Munashe was sitting outside reading the digital newspaper on the holographic screen from his phone.

The heading on one of the stories made him sigh. 'UAG (United African Government) has sent a small squad to the southern states to curb the emerging criminal activities.'

His fingers kept swiping the air as he jumped from story to story until he stopped on one. 'Another accident on the highway to Mbare.'

He smiled as he read through the story. He was getting happy until the rotors of airships ruined the nice mood in the city. One of the airships descended on the pavement close to the diner. Two men jumped down wearing full military armour and had their guns in their arms. They approached Munashe who stood up to greet them.

"Detective Munashe. A pleasure to meet you." Munashe could guess that man in the armour was a young soldier of the UAEC. Their helmets were labeled AHS (anti headshot system). The protruding cylindrical machinery that provided visuals to the man inside made the UAEC more intimidating.

"Yeah yeah. I feel the same. So how are we proceeding with the case?" Munashe asked.

"We are here to get all the files you have on the case. From here now onwards we will contact you every twenty four hours until the cases are solved and whenever we feel like we could use your help."

"Ohh. Here you go. The lead and the witnesses information are on this drive. I will continue investigating on my own then and relay what I find."

"Thank you for the cooperation. All the information you gather from now on should be reported to the superintendent and he will relay it to us. Good bye."

The two men turned and went back into the airship. As it ascended into the skies Munashe went back to his chair and sat down. He was now burdened with coming up with a plan that would help keep the Dzimba Dzemabwe foundation a secret. The UAEC showing up wasn't a pleasurable thing because they left no stone unturned.

The UAEC were a very strong force that was tasked with keeping Africa safe. Their duty was to curb insurgency from the several criminal organisation that had penetrated the continent. They were only created to step in when the police from each state would have failed to contain any threats. They were also aware of the several cases of mysterious creatures seen by the residents all over the continent. This time if Munashe couldn't keep the secret of their foundation they were going to have to answer to the UAG.

Panashe was in the slums of Mbare sitting on top of a wrecked bus as he saw his peers play hweshe (homemade soccer game). In his hand he was holding a picture of Jess. 'I will find you.' He said in his heart and jumped down from the bus. "Hey Panashe are you done brooding." someone called out but he didn't reply. "It seems not." the young boys laughed as they continued and Panashe just smiled.

He walked up and down enjoying the game but an airship descended on their makeshift pitch. The children cried out but the man who jumped out made them all go quiet. The gun in his arms induced the fear more and he took a few steps and scanned the small crowd. "You. Come with me now. We are going for a ride." the man pointed at Panashe. He escorted the young man into the airship and it lifted off.

The airship hovered above the pitch for twenty minutes before descending and dropping Panashe off. Panashe glared at the airship is it left his line of sight. He looked fine. A part of him was happy because the UAEC were known to solve 80% of all the cases they took. The only thing that worried them was how they treated people. "Dude we almost thought you were going to jail for all those street brawls you have been involved in."

Panashe walked away from the crowd that had surrounded him showing anger. He went to the small apartment they rented and at the door there was a box. 'From Ruvarashe.' He sat at the couch and opened the box. His face lit up when he saw all the parts in the box. His VCB was flashing a green light indicating a new notification. He forced the VCB onto his wrist and turned it on.

The small holographic screen revealed blue prints for a drone but Panashe didn't care about it. The message that said 'Your gear is ready.' was the one that interested him. The previous night Ruvarashe had sent a catalog of gear to chose from and Panashe had chosen something he wanted to know how it worked.

Two members of the UAEC jumped from the airship on the rooftop of another residential flat. "Says here that Mellisa a relative of Nhamo is staying in this building. And she happens to learn at the same college with our witness Panashe."

"Of course it does. Let's be fast I don't want to waste my time solving this case."

The two men went into the building and approached the apartment of said lead and barged in. Mellisa was in the house alone and most of the stuff was packed in boxes. Mellisa knew who the UAEC were so she didn't panic. "How can I help you?" she asked politely.

"Where is Nhamo?"

"Oh I haven't heard from uncle Nhamo ever since my parents disappeared five years ago."

A slap pushed the girl to the ground.

"Don't play with us little girl. Where is Nhamo?" a second question was asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him ever since.... ahhhh." the man placed his foot on the girls hand and pointed his gun at her.

"How about now? You still don't know?"

"Why are you doing this to me? I don't know." her cries fell to deaf ears as the man kept pressing his foot down. His partner was already toying with the girls phone and laptop.

"She is telling the truth. She hasn't contacted Nhamo in a long time. Let's leave before the neighbours come in."

The UAEC left and Mellisa kept crying on the floor for a few more minutes before she stood up. Her eyes filled with hatred. She went to close her laptop and switched off her phone. 'I will kill them all.' She left her apartment with her angry expression as makeup.

The day passed by quickly for Panashe who just waited for the diner to close. He needed to take the bus to get to the diner from his living area. After he reached the diner he walked in and there were still a few customers. He proceeded to enter the diner and sat down with his box. "What's in the box?" a female customer asked him and he said a school project.

"Can I see?"

Panashe showed the drone he had made which lacked covering for the important components. The people congratulated him. When most of the customers had left only a young female and male remained.

"Zviko and Tapiwa help me clean up will you. You too Panashe." Ruvarashe called out and finally the members got to see each other without their masks. "Well, I guess it was only of time huh." Tapiwa said as he rotated the cap on his head. "Where are the other three?" Panashe asked as he looked around. "You guys are early." Munashe popped out of nowhere and dragged Panashe outside the diner.

"What's up with them?" Zviko asked Ruvarashe.

"That is going to be our main mission cousin. Panashe's guardian was kidnapped and we are going to find out who did it."

"Wait. You two are cousins?" Tapiwa was shocked.

"I once told you that the only way you get in the foundation is through recommendations or your own personal skill." Ruvarashe smiled.

"I told them everything I know." Panashe was being questioned by Munashe about the UAEC.

"Darn it. We are in more trouble. I should have hinted you to leave out the part about the deflection of bullets."

"I am sorry, Munashe. We can work with them."

"Trust me kid. If this foundation is found out. We will all be spit out by the elders. We are already on our last legs as it is."

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't worry Ruvarashe will send you the files with all the information."

Munashe avoided answering the question and walked back into the diner. Panashe followed behind but he didn't look happy anymore. "Hey dude. Do you think Zviko and Ruvarashe are related?", Tapiwa asked Panashe.

Panashe's eyes darted between the two females and shook his head in refusal. "Well guess what? They are cousins for real. See here there are last names are the same. Masibanda. See."

"Nah that's just a scam. I don't believe it." Panashe kept refusing and the door slid open. A male and a female walked in. "Hey guys. I see we finally get the freedom from these horrible things." the female said as she removed her mask and the male followed suit.

"Only one left and we go for an adventure." Tapiwa said as he flicked the ring on his cap.

"Nope. He ain't coming." Munashe said as fetched his car keys from the counter. "Okay boys let's go for a ride."

"Can I drive?" Tapiwa asked as he ran out of the diner.

"Nope. My car. I drive."

The males of the small club had left when Ruvarashe picked her keys and followed outside. The boys had already left and the girls left the diner unattended.

Munashe parked his car at the parking lot across the Mupedzanhamo market. He motioned for the boys to leave the car. No one said a word as they all followed Munashe. Their masks hid their faces as they traveled through the labyrinth of stalls and small shops until they reached a small building that was guarded by a masked humanoid creature. The way it breathed gave away that it was non human. It released groans everytime it breathed out. Looking at the surrounding areas, the boys saw that there were less humans in this part of Mupedzanhamo.

"Open the door." Munashe ordered the creature and it opened the door.

"Okay kids. Welcome to the real Mupedzanhamo." Munashe smirked as he led the crew down a flight of stairs until they reached what appeared to be a huge dome in the underground. From their entry point they were at most seven stories above the floor of the dome. The most shocking thing was the amount of humans and creatures they could see from this point. There was another marketplace underground.

Munashe led them down and the boys couldn't stop their eyes from darting all over the place. In this market, stolen goods and arms were being sold. Several stalls were selling cultural artifacts that were counterfeits but no one really cared because you couldn't tell them apart from the original ones. They reached a certain stall that said "Real weapons".

"Hey old man. I am here for my gear." Munashe banged on the mesh wire that was used to prevent people from stealing from the stall.

"Have some manners Munashe, or I will never do business with you again." the old man was also wearing a mask but he looked like he could die at any moment. His body was so thin that the young males felt like scolding Munashe for losing respect.

"Good evening." they all said in unison as they clapped their hands as a sign of respect.

"Now that's better. Let me fetch your equipment.

As they waited for their gear a small group of people passed by dressed in armour that looked identical. Their armour was made from carbon fibre and embedded systems that made it very alluring to look at. They all had the same type of mask that was mechanical and had two viewing points that were circular and had a greenish colour to represent their ability for night vision.

"I don't know why you had to shout at the boss lady like that Melli. It's not her fault the UAEC are in the city." one of them was trying to reason with the other as they walked.

"Hey Panashe aren't those the guys who showed up on our hunt?" Tapiwa asked as he stared at the female who was being talked to.

"Digital witches. They are in the same profession as us." Munashe butted in as he tapped Tapiwa's shoulder. "Don't attack back yet. Those are the youngest recruits they have. So someone is monitoring them."

"So what you are saying is that they are enemies?" Xolani asked Munashe.

"Both enemies and a dangerous competition." Munashe said slowly.