‘But so what if they noticed Kagiso? It doesn’t prove anything – doesn’t mean you’re linked to the Land Collective. It’s your job at Soil of Africa to visit farms and so on,’ said François, looking at Kagiso for reassurance.

‘Yeah, visit farms, but squatter camps is another thing. I’d never been into that one till the other day. So I probably stood out as an outsider.’

‘You’re seen in the camp and the next thing the Land Collective mentions the camp. It all adds up. It’s not exactly rocket science,’ Two-Boy added, stating what now seemed blindingly obvious.

Nobody else spoke for a minute or so. They had known there would come a moment when they would have to account for what they had embarked on all that time ago. They hadn’t recognised it at first, but this was it. Up till now their secret campaign had been precisely that: secret. It wasn’t attached to them. Now it was turning personal, the authorities were going to make it that way.

Kagiso looked at each of them in turn, as if he were seeing them for the first time. Each had had a different motive for being involved. Their commitment to the cause was as varied as their characters. For François, this was a mission of atonement, making up for a privileged past. As for Two-Boy, there were times when Kagiso wondered what he was doing in the same room as the rest of them. He sometimes thought it was no more than the sheer mischievous joy of cheating the system, breaking through virtual walls that kept Two-Boy onside. And Sharmi?

She was the genuine article, the real deal – he knew that. Sharmi was in it head and heart. She, more than any of them, had the sheer audacity and courage to take on the establishment, however explosive the outcome might be. In truth, he admired her conviction, even if the consequences for all of them could be disastrous, not to say fatal. The thing that made Sharmi so dangerous was that she was so alluring.

‘It’s going to get messy,’ he said. ‘Are we ready for this?’

One of his phones rang. It was the number he gave to friends and family. He looked at the others. ‘Shit! I’m sorry. Today was hectic, man, and I just forgot to turn the thing off. Let me answer it quickly.’

Kagiso slid his finger across the screen, put the phone to his ear and heard a voice that seemed familiar, but one he couldn’t place. He walked over to the window, turning his back on the others.

‘Guess who?’ said a female voice.

‘Who’s this?’

‘It’s me, Lindi.’

‘What? Where are you?’

‘Didn’t Maude tell you I was coming?’