Under Wraps

Characters

Penelope Rand                     A thirty-something sophisticated businesswoman

Oliver Punt                             A thirty-something sophisticated businessman

Prudence Wiseman              A thirty-something psychologist

Donovan Lawson                  The editor of Ferret

Tom, Mike, Ian                       Journalists with Ferret

Background

Penny and Ollie are partners in the Wealth Risk Assessment Portfolio [WRAP] Consultancy that assesses financial risk of major investments in large commercial and government projects. 

Pru and Penny have been friends through school and university and have remained friends since.

Don is the editor of Ferret, a new periodical that has emerged as competitor to Noseweek, dedicated to exposing corruption.

Tom, Mike and Ian are investigative journalists with Ferret.

Setting

Scene One:                Ollie's up market penthouse lounge. 

Scene Two:                Pru's consulting practice. 

Scene Three:             Don's office. 

Opening Scene

Stage is dark and empty.  Penny is alone in the spotlight.  She is miming running in panic.  Faint sound of three pairs of running footsteps in the background, growing louder.

Penny:            Wouldn't listen…. Could see me now…. Where to?  Can't make

it…. Taxi? …. Isn't one…. Running steps…. They're behind me….

Pepper spray…. Handbag gone…. Not the alley!…. Run, run, run…

Don’t trip…. Want me dead…. That email….. Mustn't know…. Need to tell…. Can't scream…. And  Pru?….  Can't breathe….. Wouldn't listen …. Faster, faster, faster….  Is she in danger, too?…  Catching up….. Warn her?… When I'm gone, will they know?  Get away…… Exhausted…. Run, run, run….. faster, faster, faster…… Wouldn't listen…… 

Spotlight fades to darkness, only the sound of three sets of running footsteps and Penny's rapid panting.

Scene One

Ollie                You're doing it again, Pen.

Penny:            What, Ollie?

Ollie                Fiddling with your wrists, Pen.

Penny:            I'm not, Ollie.

Ollie:               Yes, you are.  Look at your skin!  It's chapped and red from all the chafing.  I'm worried about you, Pen.  You're losing it.  You're not even aware of what you're doing.  That ceaseless plucking at your wrists…. Have you thought of seeing someone?

Penny:            I'm trying to work it out, Ollie.  The sequence of actions.  What tiny sign triggers what reaction?  I keep going through it in my mind.

Ollie:               You're imagining the whole thing, Pen.  There is no such thing as conspiracy theory.  We're all individuals on this planet getting on with our lives in the most constructive way possible… as you were, until a few months ago.  I wish you hadn't done that leadership-training course at Pollsmoor Prison.  It really got to you.  You're paranoid.

Penny:            But I've explained Ollie, quite often, actually.  That was the trigger point.  The time when I realised that I've seen it repeatedly whilst consulting.  It was seeing the same behaviour in an unfamiliar setting that brought it all together for me.

Ollie:               We've been close friends for more than ten years now, Pen.  I must believe that there is something of the old you left inside your head.  Go through it for me one more time, and whilst you're at it, sit on your hands.  That plucking really gets to me.

Penny:            I'm not sure I'm up to repeating it.  You won't hear me anyway, Ollie.

Ollie:               One last time, Pen.  Maybe this time you'll convince me.

Penny:            You know on these leadership-training courses we appoint roles for the participants? 

Ollie:               Yep, you've told me about it before.

Penny:            You see what I mean?  I've repeated it so often you can almost tell the story yourself.

Ollie:               Ok, ok.  Sorry.  Back to the roles.  Describe them to me.

Penny:            The point of the course is to position reformed prisoners to function in the outer world.  It's an attempt to re-integrate them into society, and to assess their response to both being in authority and being sub-ordinate to authority.  Most prisoners landed up in prison because they abused power or flouted authority.  So the sessions are designed to gauge the extent of their rehabilitation.

Ollie:               I hear it, Pen.  And I respect what you do.  To get involved in helping people in this way is socially responsible.  What I don't understand is how your involvement in this somehow turned you into a gibbering idiot.

Penny:            That's cruel, Ollie.  If you refuse to see what I'm saying in a reasonable light, then there's no point in continuing.

Ollie:               Ok, keep going, and you're at it again, Pen.  For heavens sake, sit on your hands.

Penny:            We went through parliamentary procedure with the participants and the voting of various participants into roles.  There is a Chairman, a Vice Chair, a Secretary and a Treasurer.  As we were describing the roles, I sensed pressure building in the room.

Ollie:               What do you mean by pressure?

Penny:            I can't describe it.  Everyone went very still.  Unnaturally still.  Until then there had been the normal amount of fidgeting, coughing, playing with pens, scribbling.  As we went through the roles, the stillness set in and I noticed everyone looking at Sinethemba's cuffs.  Sinethemba was slowly rotating the buttons on the cuff of his left sleeve.  It was about then that things started to connect.

Ollie:               What do you mean connect?

Penny:            It's the same behaviour that I see in meetings where major financial decisions are made.

Ollie:               It's co-incidence, Pen.  How can such discrepant groups be vaguely connected?

Penny:            Let me finish.  Normally in these training sessions, people nominate

                        each other.  This session was different.  Sinethemba didn't say a word.  Gerald nominated himself for Vice Chair.  This was quickly followed by Lucky nominating himself for Treasurer, and Andiswe nominating herself for Secretary.  It was right at the end that Sinethemba nominated himself for Chairman.  No one else nominated anyone else and everyone supported the nominations.

Ollie:               Ok, so it's a bit different from the norm.  It doesn't explain why that's a problem or how things are connected?

Penny:            As we left, I commented on what had seemed a bit odd.  Howard, my co-facilitator explained about the number gangs.

Ollie:               You mean those gangs built on some kind of legendary folklore?

Penny:            Yes.  Johnny Steinberg, a journalist, wrote about them in his book 'The Number'.  They wield absolute power and absolute control in the prisons in a strict order of prison society.  Its anti-social and what we would regard as sick.

Ollie:               So you're in a prison dealing with prisoners, some of whom may be involved in these gangs.  So what?

Penny:            I was disquieted.  I know without doubt that I've seen exactly that behaviour before.  Remember that tender meeting at the South African National Defense Force?  We had to assess the purchase of one of four short-listed software packages for handling their accounting?  After that debacle in SANDF about the armaments deal that was so corrupt, it was imperative that a system with failsafe checks, balances and escalations was implemented.  The decision was critical, with three compliance officers watching the proceedings.  Remember? 

Ollie:               Of course.  I was there.

Penny:            Do you remember what happened?

Ollie:               Of course.  The decision went through to purchase a locally built product, which supported the ICT industry here in South Africa.

Penny:            Yes.  I also remember that we both thought the system inferior in several respects to the likes of SAP, which was another of the short-listed packages.

Ollie:               These things happen, Pen.  Sometimes one has to trade off risk

against bigger issues like promoting the ICT industry in South Africa.  It's not a perfect world where each decision stands alone.

Penny:            That's not the only thing that happened.  Prior to the decision being taken, there was that deathly stillness in the room.  And as I recall, there was intense focus from various people in the room, and the Chairman was playing with the cufflink on his left sleeve. 

Ollie:               I don't recall in that detail, Pen.  Even so, so what?  It's not unusual for men to fiddle with the cuffs on their sleeves, or to straighten their ties, or refold the handkerchief in their breast pocket.  The same as women pat their hair, study their nails and bat their lashes.  It's just normal human behaviour that you've witnessed in two vastly discrepant scenarios.  That doesn't mean to say that the whole country is now involved in some conspiracy theory.

Penny:            Those aren't the only examples.

Ollie:               What other examples do you have?

Penny:            More recently, and after the Pollsmoor course, we were called in to assess which investments would be used to support the pension fund portfolio of all government employees.

Ollie:               Yes.  That was a difficult one.

Penny:            It was.  We both thought that investment in RandGold and Exploration was not the wisest decision, but it went through anyway.

Ollie:               Sure.  These things happen.  We both know that financial decisions are influenced by external factors and that decisions are not always optimal.  It has to do with distribution across market segments.  And sometimes it's the best of a bad basket.  I'm not about to argue Statistics 101 with you.

Penny:            Well, prior to that decision, there was intense silence from some of the decision makers and the Chairman was fiddling with his left cufflink.  I even nudged you so that you would take careful note of what happened.

Ollie:               Yes, and I did take note.  Sure, some people were quite still.  People do that when they're deep in thought.  And the Chairman was fiddling with his left cufflink, and the guy opposite me was stroking his chin, and the guy on his right was scratching his nose.  You're imagining it, Pen.  This simply isn't real.  I think you're restructuring memories to suit this weird theory that's got into your head.  And I still don't see how these vastly discrepant worlds can possibly be connected.

Penny:            Maybe you should read 'The Number'.  During the apartheid years many people were imprisoned for political reasons.  They weren't necessarily criminals.  Through that process, the folklore of the number gangs permeated through society.  With the affirmative action requirement in South Africa, many high profile positions are filled by ANC activists, some of whom were in prison, and some of whom know someone who was in prison.

Ollie:               That's just a fact of South African life.  It still doesn't add up to your fantastic conclusion.

Penny:            Let's reserve judgment.  The two of us can go through one or two more of these meetings and if you watch carefully, you might just agree with me.

Ollie:               The thing is, Pen, your behaviour in these meetings is becoming disruptive.  At our last meeting, you were fiddling with your wrists, and I saw the Chairman staring at you.  He called me aside afterwards and asked if there was something wrong with you.  I can't have you damaging our relationship with clients.  Our company is successful right now, and I have every intention of keeping it that way.

Penny:            What are you saying, Ollie?

Ollie:               Quite frankly, Pen?  You're not going to any more meetings with clients until you've sorted your head out.  Take some leave, see a psychologist, get yourself sorted.  I can manage on my own in the meantime.

Penny:            But, Ollie, we've always said that there should be two of us at any meeting to debrief afterwards.  It's the only way for us to keep perspective and ensure the integrity of our recommendations.

Ollie:               That's true, Pen.  I won't be working on my own.  I've sourced a really hot analyst who can replace you in the interim.  Get help in the next month or two and afterwards perhaps we can continue working together.  Otherwise, I'm going to force you out.

Scene Two

Pru:                 What do you mean, force you out?

Penny:            That's what he said.  He won't hear me.  He keeps fobbing me off with accusations of insanity.  I can't believe that after years of working together he could contemplate this.  I helped build that company.  He has absolutely no right to force me out.

Pru:                 Let's keep perspective on this, Pen.  Your theory is a bit over the top, and it's built on such flimsy evidence.  You're talking about a whole nation being subject to some kind of corrupt conspiracy and you've arrived there by watching arbitrary bits of body language, all of which are quite normal in context.

Penny:            That's true, Pru.  It's that it repeats over and over again.  Bear in mind that these decisions involve millions of Rands.  If money is being siphoned off, it has to be criminal if it's not public. 

Pru:                 You're making quantum leaps here, Pen.  You start with a bit of cufflink fiddling, build it into some kind of conspiracy theory and then accuse the entire government of being corrupt.  Even though there are examples of corruption, it's not necessarily on such an enormous scale.  This does smack of delusional.

Penny:            How long have you known me, Pru?  Years and years.  We went to school together, varsity together, and we've been seeing each other regularly ever since.  Have I ever before seemed delusional to you?

Pru:                 Well, not unusually so.

Penny:            What do you mean not unusually so?  I'm not nuts.  You're my last resort, Pru.

Pru:                 Well, for starters, we're all a bit odd in some ways, and I was teasing you, and you're being histrionic by suggesting for one minute that I'm your last resort, Pen.

Penny:            What do you mean you're not my last resort?  If you don't believe me, then no one will.  We've gone through way too much together for you to doubt me now.  I am not unhinged, and you know it.  There simply isn't anyone else that I can go to.

Pru:                 Well, that's where I think you're wrong, Pen.  There are organisations that have their ears to the ground.  You might want to consider speaking with someone who’s closer to these corruption issues than you are.

Penny:            Like whom, for example?

Pru:                 Well, there's Noseweek and there's Ferret, that new periodical that takes up issues of public interest that large organisations might not want the public to know about.

Penny:            That's a thought.  Would you like to make a recommendation?

Pru:                 I read both.  Public opinion seems to be moving away from Noseweek to Ferret.  It's new, it's zippy, and it's available on the Internet.  You subscribe and read on-line.  It's making a major dent in Noseweek's market for these reasons alone.

Penny:            Do you know anyone there?

Pru:                 No, but hang on a sec, I can look up who to contact on-line and you can take it from there.

Penny:            Maybe I can just send an email from here whilst we're at it, and book an appointment?

Pru:                 Sure thing.

Penny:            Thanks, Pru, for being a friend, for giving me space, and helping me.  As always, I'm not sure what I'd do without you.

Pru:                 What are friends for?

Scene Three

Don:                Well, Penelope - may I call you Penelope?  This is all rather frightening.  Are you suggesting that there might be a nation-wide conspiracy to defraud the South African public and that this conspiracy is controlled by the Number Gangs from the prisons?

Penny:            That is quite baldly put, Don.  But yes, that's pretty much the gist of it.

Don:                There are certainly fraudulent activities within the South African Government.  We write about them quite extensively as you know.  Our investigations have not led us to understand that these isolated occurrences of fraud, however large or small, are inter-connected.  What a fascinating theory.  Have you mentioned this, perhaps, to anyone else?

Penny:            Only those who know me well and who might be affected by what I'm going through as a consequence of this deduction.

Don:                Would you be comfortable if I asked some of my journalists to join us?  They would be most interested to hear what you have to say, and might throw some light on the situation.  Perhaps they've stumbled across scenarios that support your theory.

Penny:            By all means, Don.  It's quite a relief to have someone outside of this scenario actually listen to me who doesn't think I'm completely nuts.

Don:                Tom, Mike, Ian.  Would you like to join us for a few minutes?  Tea for you, Penelope?

Penny:            Thanks very much, Don.  Iced water would be great.

Don:                Well, gentlemen, thanks for joining us.  May I introduce Ms Penelope Rand.  Penelope, these are Tom, Mike and Ian, three of my investigative journalists.  Ms Rand has some rather compelling evidence to support a fascinating theory of conspiracy pertaining to grand scale fraud perpetrated on the South African public by prison gangs who have infiltrated key positions in the government and private sector.  Penelope, would you like to go into more detail, now that you have a captive audience?

Penny:            I'm not sure how much time you have available.  It's a fairly lengthy story.

Don:                Take your time, Penelope.

Penny:            I'm going to walk you down a road that I've been walking for some time now.  I can't really tell you when the conspiracy started, probably before 1994.  I can only begin where my understanding of it begins…

                        [As Penny speaks, she notices that Tom, Mike and Ian are sitting deathly still, and that Don is slowly but surely twisting the button on the left cuff of his sleeve]

                        But before I commence, may I use your cloakroom?

Don:                Of course.  Mike, please escort Penelope to the Ladies?

Closing Scene

Stage is dark and empty.  Penny is alone in the spotlight.  She is miming running in panic.  Faint sound of three pairs of running footsteps in the background, growing louder.

Penny:            And Pru?….  Can't breathe….. Wouldn't listen …. Faster,

faster, faster….  Is she in danger, too?…  Catching up….. Warn her?… When I'm gone, will they know?  Get away…… Exhausted…. Run, run, run….. faster, faster, faster…… Wouldn't listen…… 

[A single gunshot.  Penny drops to the ground.  The stage goes completely dark]