SHEM

The air was thick. The kind of thickness that made your ears ring before anything happened. Shem adjusted the grip on his smaller weapon, a black SIG P365 tucked close under his vest, and slung the AK tighter against his back. His boots crunched softly against the dry red gravel as the team flanked the perimeter. No one spoke. The Colonel was ahead, fingers signaling silent instructions.

Above, a military helicopter hovered like a mechanical vulture, the sound low and steady, heartbeats beating beneath its blades.

They were five steps from the safehouse door when Shem’s phone buzzed.

He ignored it.

Buzzed again.

He saw the name and hesitated.

Malaika.

A breath caught in his throat. He answered without thinking.

Her voice came like water crashing over concrete. “Shem…”

He paused. Her voice was shaking.

“Are you crying?” he asked, voice low, eyes still scanning the building ahead.

“No— I— I don’t know. Are you guys okay? Are you okay?”

He looked back once, then forward. “We’re okay.”

She was silent.

Then she whispered, “But you’re not okay.”

Something in his chest pinched. He blinked. Kept his face set. “I’m fine, Malaika.”

“You’re not. I’m worried about you, Shem. Really worried. Japheth says it’s a big deal.”

“It’s not.” He exhaled, lying.

He slid the safety off his AK. A soldier beside him nodded, signaling that the lens in the safehouse had gone live. They could see everything inside. Guns laid out on the table. Grenades in crates. A transaction was taking place.

“Proceed.”

Shem whispered into his receiver, “Copy.” Then, still holding the phone, he stepped forward.

Malaika’s voice cracked, “Sounds like you’re already there.”

“We are.”

She breathed in sharply. “Shem… am I distracting you?”

He stopped just short of the door. Turned slightly so the others wouldn’t see the emotion pressing into his jaw.

“No. You’re not distracting me.”

But she was. God, she was.

A long pause.

“Then I have to say this now. I can’t hold it. Especially not now, not when something could happen.”

He braced for it. “What is it?”

“I like you, Shem. Not just as a friend. I really, really like you. And I’m scared. My heart is breaking because I can’t do anything but watch, wait and pray for you.”

The words fell over him like the weight of his body armor, heavy, protective, necessary.

He swallowed hard. The room ahead was alive with movement. Officers counting guns. One of them laughed, unaware of the storm coming.

Shem’s mouth parted. “I like you too, Malaika.”

“As a friend?” She asked.

He couldn’t answer.

Then—

“Shem! Move!” the Colonel barked from ahead.

“Now!”

“We’ll talk later,” Shem said, and ended the call.

He slipped the phone into his vest and rolled his shoulder. A soldier kicked open the door.

Boom.

Five armed men spun around, eyes wild. At the center of the room stood General Nkandu, and beside him, Chairman Kalengo, both frozen mid-conversation. Weapons gleamed on the table. Surveillance footage still playing. Incriminating. Loud. Undeniable.

General Nkandu straightened, growled, “What is the meaning of this?”

The Colonel stepped forward. “This is an authorized military bust. You’re being detained for illegal arms possession and conspiracy against the state.”

“Are you mad?!” Kalengo shouted. “Do you know who I am?”

A soldier moved behind him, snapping his wrists into cuffs. Another read him his rights.

“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do may be used against you in a court of law…”

The general lunged, “This is treason! I’ll have your badges—”

Shem raised his AK halfway, calm but firm.

“You’ll have to take that up with the President,” the Colonel said, who’s watching this raid live.

Chaos. Noise. Shouts erupted as the men resisted arrest, but eventually succumbed. They were outnumbered.

Shem stood still in the middle of it all, one voice echoing louder than the rest in his mind.

“I really, really like you…”

He blinked once.

And smiled.

Japheth’s voice broke through the chorus of tongues rising in the room.

“I feel peace. I feel peace. This is over.”

Kaweme was still on her knees, face streaked with tears, praying in the Spirit. Luyando’s voice trembled as he called on God to take over, to seal what He had started. For the last three hours, they’d heard no word from Shem, and that silence had felt louder than any scream.

Then, a phone buzzed.

Japheth scrambled for it, his heart lurching. “It’s Shem!”

Everyone turned.

Malaika’s breath hitched, her eyes fixed on Japheth’s face as he answered.

But the voice didn’t come through the phone. It came from the doorway.

“Brother, it’s done.”

They spun around, Shem stood there in full camo, dust still on his boots, his voice husky, but alive.

Everyone erupted.

“Praise the Lord!”

“Hallelujah!”

Luyando rushed forward and wrapped his arms around him. “You did it!”

Shem nodded, smiling faintly. “Indeed, praise the Lord. It was bigger than we imagined, but we got all of them. We got them all.”

Kaweme’s brows furrowed. “All those betrayers that killed my father?”

Shem turned to her, slowly, gently. “Yes. And there’s more. Japheth, your hacking helped us tie all of this together. Your evidence, we submitted it to the police. And after the raid on the chairman’s safehouse, we went straight to Nkandu’s estate. It was all connected.”

Everyone fell silent.

“This wasn’t just about Nezelcom,” Shem continued. “This was about Zambia. A full-scale takeover was coming. Military rule. They needed control of telecom infrastructure, they needed someone who could breach the encryption layers, reroute communication, and spy on private calls. Japheth, that’s why they tried to recruit you. And when your father, Kaweme, stood in the way, when he refused to sell out the network’s security to these men, they knew they had to remove him.”

Kaweme’s knees buckled. She sat, stunned.

Shem moved closer, his voice softer now. “Your father wasn’t just an obstacle. He was the firewall. So they took him out. And your mother, because she wouldn’t stay silent.”

Kaweme pressed a hand over her mouth as the sobs broke free.

Japheth gently pulled her to himself, wrapping her tightly in his arms, whispering into her hair, “It’s okay. It’s okay now. They didn’t die for nothing. This is the justice we’ve been waiting for.”

Shem gave a small nod. “The President has summoned me. I leave for the State House in the morning. There’s going to be a press briefing. An inquiry. Maybe even arrests beyond what we’ve seen today. But for now—”

He looked at each one of them. “For now, I just wanted to say thank you. You’ve all been part of this.”

Maliaka nodded, then walked out of the room.

Luyando walked up to Shem, clapping his back. “No, thank you. You’re brave, bro. Like… mad brave.”

Shem gave a small, tired smile. “Yeah, that was brave. I will be right back.”

His eyes had followed Malaika.

She had quietly slipped out of the room.

Through the glass doors, he saw her heading toward the garden. Her silhouette, faintly outlined by the soft glow of garden lamps, looked small and withdrawn.

Without another word, Shem handed Japheth his bag. “Hold this.”

And he walked out after her.

The night air was cool, brushing gently against their skin. Shem stepped into the garden, the soft crunch of gravel under his boots giving him away. Malaika was seated on the bench beneath the jacaranda tree, her back to him, her frame wrapped in silence.

She heard him approach and turned slightly, her voice was a whisper.

“Oh. You followed me.”

He nodded, a small smile tugging at his lips.

“Yes. Because you were my light tonight. You made it easy to walk through the dark.”

Malaika looked away quickly. “I must have distracted you. I’m sorry. Please don’t mind anything I said earlier. I guess… I was just afraid.”

Shem moved closer and sat beside her. Quietly, he reached for her hand and traced his thumb over the delicate gold bracelet on her wrist.

“So… you’re saying you don’t like me?” he said, teasing softly.

She groaned and covered her face. “Oh God. I’m so embarrassed. I shouldn’t have said anything. I have no right to do that to you.”

He chuckled, still holding her hand.

“Do what to me? Make me feel good? Give me the assurance that the girl I like… likes me right back?”

She glanced up, eyes glassy.

“Yeah, but… I don’t know what this is”

Shem leaned in slightly.

“Can I hug you?”

She gave a small nod. “Yes.”

He pulled her gently into his arms, one hand resting at the nape of her neck, fingers slipping into her hair. His other hand stayed at her back, grounding her, steadying them both. He brought his forehead to hers, and for a moment, they breathed in the same air, still, close, tethered.

Then he pulled back suddenly, breath shaky.

“Oh God. I need to leave. Right now.”

Malaika blinked. “Why?”

“Because I want to kiss you.”

Her breath caught. “You like me like that?”

He smiled, eyes searching hers.

“Of everything I’ve just said, that’s what you picked up on?”

She smiled too, sheepish. “Yes.”

He exhaled. “I want to kiss you. I really do, and so we have to be careful. I don’t know what’s happening between us yet, but I know I like you. A lot.”

She stared at him, almost disbelieving.

“You… like me?”

Shem nodded. “I do.”

Malaika’s voice trembled.

“I don’t think anyone’s ever genuinely liked me. Some liked me because of my father’s money. Some… I don’t even know why. But you? If you say you like me, I’ll believe you. Because you’re a man of integrity.”

Shem chuckled gently.

“The way you talk about me… sometimes I want to look in the mirror and ask, ‘Is that really me?’ Man of integrity?”

She smiled. “Yeah, I don’t know…”

He paused, then said slowly, “Let’s not rush this, Malaika. We’re still getting to know each other. I’ve wanted a woman for a long time. But not like this. Not indulging in an attraction. You’re interesting, sweet, special. You make me feel like maybe… God’s finally given me something good. But I don’t want to jump ahead of grace. I want to know you properly. I want us to pray, to be intentional. To see where this leads, and, if God says yes.”

Malaika’s eyes shimmered with something deeper than relief.

“I like that, but God has to say yes. Because I like you too much.”

She reached forward. “Can I hug you again?”

He didn’t answer. He simply opened his arms.

She folded into him, and he wrapped his arms around her. Her small body fitting perfectly into his. And in that long, quiet embrace, Shem felt something settle inside him.

Peace.

If he hadn’t forgiven Japheth. If he hadn’t stepped into that fight, he would never have met this soft, fierce, beautiful girl who made life feel wide open again.

This, she, felt like God’s reward.

A sweetness he hadn’t even known he needed.