Chapter 50 Johannesburg, 26° 12′ 16″ S, 28° 2′ 44″ E, Krueger National Park

A message came in from Akiko.

Andalas, my father tracked you all the way to Africa. Be careful!

A message that of course made Andalas a little confused. Wondering what to do with Hitoshi. Armed encounters in the field are completely unpredictable. Even when there were only two options life or death.

I know. I'm looking at it on the monitor screen. He's with the Target W-07. They are hunting lions in Krueger National Park.

Andalas deliberately mentions all the details. This was a test for Akiko.

No more messages from Akiko. Andalas turned to observe the monitor screen. He opened a map of the national park and measured the distance manually. It took about 3 hours to get there. He was trying to predict the direction of the convoy. There were three possibilities lion area in the East, Hyena in the West, wild dogs up North.

Andalas thought for a moment. Afolabi has a special guest who is one of the phenomenal leaders in criminal world. Surely, he would be presented something that stimulates the adrenaline. Lion hunting would be the most appropriate for his guest.

Andalas turned off his laptop and took his bag and hurried off. He drove his SUV slowly and greeted the national park officers on duty. Once inside the Krueger National Park fence and out of sight of the guards, Andalas drove at high speed. Evening has fallen on the savanna. Andalas was sure that the lion hunting would occur in the middle of the night. He still had enough time.

Andalas punched in the group of illegal hunters last coordinates into car's navigation panel. It was not a normal route for safari trip. He had to be extra careful. All predatory animals were active at night. He didn't want to bump into a Cheetah or a Leopard on his way.

Andalas turned off the car lights. The sky was clear and moonless. The headlights of the car would be visible from afar. Andalas immediately put on an infrared googgles to see the path.

Andalas knew that they also had their lights off. Only a searchlight from the hunter's car was turned on to look for the lions. And they would turn the spotlights on and off so as not to arouse the suspicion of the national park rangers.

It was almost midnight. Andalas turned off the car engine. The savanna was never quiet at night. Suddenly a lion's roar was heard announcing its territory. The sound of herbivores running around. And don't forget the commotion caused by a herd of Hyenas while fighting over the rest of the lion's prey.

But Andalas sharp ears could still distinguish the sound of nature with the sound of gunshot.

The sound came from 2 o'clock direction, Andalas drove his car slowly. The sound was close enough. This area was known where herds of lions often spend their nights hunting. A wide expanse of meadow with acacia trees a little here and there. Lots of African Deer, Antelope and Buffalo in this part of the region.

Andalas climbed into the modified safari car. Mounting the barrel of the Sako TRG 42 with the handle. His eyes were concentrated on the telescope which was equipped with infrared.

Spotlight! Not far! At least 500 meters from where his car was parked under a large Acacia tree. Andalas get ready.

The sniper's advanced telescope has a range of up to 5 km. That meant that even at that distance the object would be clearly visible. Shooting accuracy using infrared was reduced by half. So at a range of 500 meters would be ideal for accurately recognizing targets.

The spotlight pointed to a patch of ground. Andalas followed the light. A large male lion was dying there. Next to him a smaller male lion laid dead.

Andalas' anger rose. He hated hunters who killed for fun. Lions only kill when they are hungry or defend their territory. Not for fun at all. Hunters like Afolabi must be taught a lesson. Andalas pointed his telescope at the safari car that was between the three Humvees.

Afolabi seemed to smile widely. He patted Hitoshi who was sitting next to him. It seems that he was encouraging the Yakuza leader not to lose point as he had killed two Lions.

Hitoshi smiled faintly. It was not that he couldn't shoot. To him, shooting something which could not shoot back was not at all challenging. He came here because he was asked by the Executor to accompany one of the OWC leaders to establish a relationship and of course his main job was to take care of this damn rich guy.

Hitoshi's smile immediately faded. He saw an unusual flash in the distance. Hitoshi immediately pointed his infrared AWSM telescope at the flash. At the same time Afolabi's massive body collapsed with a hole in the chest, Hitoshi instantly realized that the flash was coming from a sniper rifle.

Hitoshi's eyes met the eyes of Andalas who was also aiming his Sako TRG 42 at Hitoshi after sending 1 bullet into Afolabi's chest earlier. Hitoshi pulled the AWSM trigger. But he was a fraction of a second behind Andalas. The AWSM bullet missed and only hit Acacia's trunk on the side of Andalas' car because a Sako TRG 42 bullet hit him in the shoulder first.

The guards and members of the entourage only realized that they had been attacked when the lights were turned on and they saw that Afolabi had died and Hitoshi Nakamura lay pale and covered in blood.

Everyone were looking around by shining lights here and there. Only to see the headlights of Andalas's car drove away fast.