What We don’t See
Part 1
10:00pm
I am standing outside the Irish. A black-tinted Vanguard signals me by flashing headlamps. I proceed to enter the car. We greet each other warmly then she instructs me to seat at the back. I move. She is a friend from my earlier years. We bumped into each other a few months back and began talking. In our conversions she disclosed what she does for a living and I asked if I could join her and see if it was something I would consider doing. It seemed like it paid really well. She agreed to my request and now here we are.
11:00pm
I am seated at her back seat like a toddler. My manly ego is bruised. She drives to a densely populated estate in the suburbs of Eldoret City. It’s a stakeout. So many gadgets in her car, we look at each other, she could tell I was puzzled… A fairly brown-skinned lady, curvy, wavy hair, aged between 22–26 and with a thick coastal Ascent, how did you get here? I ask, where did you learn this, she hesitates for a minute then says “Nilijua kwa kazi”. She grabs a briefcase and removes some gadgets. I look at her and all I could see was female version of gadget boy.
And if you don’t know gadget boy which cartoons did you fancy in childhood?
The case contains a lot of spy stuff. We sit there in silence as she sets up her eavesdropping equipment. I watch her carefully, it seems like she has been doing this for a while. I try to make small conversations to get more details on how she got into this information business done at odd hours. All my attempts to get information are blocked. Women are very secretive humans.
1:00am
It has been over two hours of real Spy-ninjutsu. Recording what was relevant and making sure we are undetectable from preying eyes. Night calls are nasty. Calls made between 9 and 12 are mostly flirtatious and contain a lot of intimate discussions. In this area atleast. Some parts contain very grotesque conversations involving illicit shenanigans. The conversations are entertaining, and this finally breaks the Ice. We listen to one conversation between a man and his mistress and their notorious tale of how they intend to ravish each other when the wife is away. We laugh and try to imagine how the situation plays out. Some calls are outwardly hilarious, some are utterly embracing and others just made the night more cheerful. She shows me her favorite callers and those who are genuine people in society. She has made an entertainment roster of the people who make her night. She knows the whole neighborhood and its dirty secrets. The private investigator looks relaxed and more open to an honest conversation. I ask what she was looking for, she says,
you know Evan I can’t tell you such information you might decide to be one of those good-willed individuals and try to stop my search… I can tell you though that “hii kazi inanilisha” and I intend to keep it that way.
We are distracted by a caller who’s made a call to the police, a robbery was taking place 2kms from where we were. We listen intensively before going back to our conversation. She rarely interferes with matters security but she is constantly hearing and recording. She says she can be Vigilante when called upon by paying people.
3:00 am
I get out of the car to take a smoke. My tensions are high and instinct more aware of my surrounding. A lot of information came in without the knowledge of anyone. After a couple of puffs I go back she begins to explain one device she likes. This right here is an IMSI Catcher, it acts like a cell tower. It’s a small box device that has two antennas on top of it. It’s connected to her pc. You’re a smart guy you understand towers and stuff like that she ask? I nod in agreement, she continues — this device intercepts communication between the cell tower and you the caller then it sends the communication to the cell tower. With this device, I am able to intercept your communication like SMS and store them, get to pinpoint your location with regard to the information you’re broadcasting and I can deny you connectivity to a real network, therefore, you cannot make calls(denial of service). She looks at me and tries to read my expression. I remain fixed on the little box she’s holding. A truly impressive asset.
6:00 am
After collecting the information needed we head back to the Irish. I order some hot tea. She orders double shots — black label, after a gulp she looks at me and says see you tonight and walks off…
