Chapter 22: Syndicates, Secrets & Schoolbells
The school bell rang, but it wasn't the sound that bothered Kgosi — it was the message Naledi showed him during class.
She passed her phone under the desk.
> Unknown sender:
"Your father betrayed B&Y. You're next. We don't forget blood debts."
Kgosi swallowed hard, hiding his reaction. That name again. B&Y Syndicate.
His dad had once told him in a recording: "Not every enemy comes with a knife. Some come wearing a smile."
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🧠 The Meeting Underground
That night, Kgosi called a meeting. Not at home, not at school — in the drainage tunnel near the soccer field. The one with graffiti and rusted pipes.
Present:
Naledi (still ride or die)
Lethabo (tech guy, nervous as always)
Tebza (surprisingly loyal now)
And a new face: Zodwa, a quiet girl from Grade 10 who apparently hacked the school database once for fun.
Kgosi dropped the USB on the ground.
"This has everything my dad left. Code names, drop-off points, police informants. If we use this right, we can crush B&Y before they make their move."
Zodwa raised an eyebrow. "Or they crush us first."
Kgosi smirked. "Only if we play defense. I'm done playing scared."
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💼 A Dangerous Discovery
Zodwa plugged the USB into her tablet.
Click. Load. Scroll.
Suddenly, her face changed.
"Yo… this isn't just about drugs or weapons. There's a ledger of cash payments to school officials. Teachers. Even the principal."
"What!?" Lethabo shouted.
"The school's been a laundromat for years," she said. "Hidden in plain sight."
That hit hard. Kgosi always thought the worst happened outside school. Turns out, the real power sat behind desks and chalkboards.
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🚷 When Loyalty Is a Trap
The next day, Tebza was missing.
Didn't come to school. Didn't answer calls. His gogo said he "left early" but never came back.
On his bed? A note written in red marker.
> "Blood loyalty means silence. He talked. He paid."
Naledi stared at it.
"B&Y took him."
Kgosi felt fire in his stomach. "Then we take something back."
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🧃 School Fight Turned Setup
During break, two boys from a rival school rolled in with uniforms and fake IDs. No one questioned it.
They walked up to Kgosi by the tuckshop and threw a juice on his blazer.
"This for your daddy's sins," one whispered.
Without thinking, Kgosi swung. Fight broke out. Kids screamed. Teachers ran.
But something was off.
A plain car across the street had its window cracked — camera aimed directly at Kgosi.
"Set-up," Naledi yelled. "This isn't a fight — it's to get you expelled."
They dipped.
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🧊 The Fire Isn't Over
That night, Kgosi went through his dad's map again.
Each red X lined up with strange events:
Disappearances
Police arrests
"Accidents" in the Kasi
And one final X near Zone 7, where the old meat factory used to be.
"I think B&Y's new base is there," Kgosi said.
Zodwa nodded. "If we hit it first, we end this."
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🔥 Ending with a Message
Kgosi opened his private blog again. Wrote a new post.
> "To the ones still hiding behind shadows: You tried to break my family. You failed. You took one of ours. We remember. You call it loyalty — I call it fear. We're not scared anymore.
– t.four.nineteen 🩸🎒"**
By the time the post hit the Kasi's phones, the war was already heating up.
And Kgosi wasn't just the son of a legend anymore.
He was becoming the legend.
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End of Chapter 22