CHAPTER 180: CHAPTER 180 - PRIDE OR SURVIVAL

The chamber that housed King Nzinga smelled of beeswax and old cedar. Tapers guttered along carved beams, and the low, round table at the room’s center was scattered with maps and chipped cups of now-cold drink. Kiprop and Zara entered together; the king rose and offered a weary, grateful smile. Father Nzuzi, General Kazadi, and Lord Mvemba were already seated, faces drawn by too many long nights.

Kiprop did not waste time with courtesies. He placed both palms on the table and looked each man in the eye. "Your Majesty. Lords. We come with a plan that will save the heart of Kongo."

Nzinga steepled his fingers. "Speak plainly, Kiprop."

Kiprop’s voice was steady. "Nuri and Buganda will march an army into Kongo’s borderlands. They will do so openly — as bait. Lumingu will feel the pressure and draw his forces out to meet them. When his army leaves the capital exposed, our team, the shadows, will move to remove the Portuguese backer and strike the Restorers in Mbanza. Cut the foreign support, and Lumingu’s power crumbles."

A hush fell over the chamber. Lord Mvemba’s eyes shone with hope. "And you are sure Lumingu will take the bait?"

Zara rose then, and her voice had the cool, lethal calm of someone used to danger. "The shadows are already at work. Starting tomorrow we will feed rumors of Nuri’s strength into towns near Mbanza. Lumingu trusts strength; he fears a direct strike. Once he hears Prince Khisa leads the charge himself, his paranoia will cost him. He will move to meet the perceived invasion."

Father Nzuzi folded his hands, eyes troubled. "And the Portuguese? You say you will find them before the strike. How certain are you?"

"We have leads," Zara answered. "Reinforcements are on their way. We’ll use the towns and warehouses as bait and check compounds and chapels close to the governor’s house. It won’t be clean, but it will be precise."

King Nzinga leaned forward, voice soft with gratitude. "Nuri has given us aid when we were adrift. I thank Prince Khisa and King Nakibinge for their hand."

Kazadi’s mouth tightened. He did not look grateful. "Forgive me, Your Majesty, but no one gives without collecting a debt later. Nuri sends soldiers into our lands — what do they expect in return? A trade port? Control of our rivers? From my years, I have learned that foreign help carries chains."

Kiprop’s face grew hot. "Nuri seeks alliance, not land. They seek safer trade and stronger neighbors. Prince Khisa would not risk his life to claim yours; he would risk it to free the innocent. Nuri’s interest in trade is mutual — we stand to lose more from Portuguese entrenchment than we stand to gain."

Kazadi snorted. "Words. Men risk crowns for words as easily as gold."

Zara’s eyes flashed. "Enough, General." Her voice was low, but the room felt it like a strike. "You have seen what the Portuguese bring. We have seen what their men do to villages. Nuri has stood with you through worse. If you cannot trust our motives now, then what do you expect when Lumingu tightens his fist and the foreigner extends his hand? Do you want to let that hand choke your throat?"

Kazadi’s hand slammed the table. "And you would have the king march into battle? You would have His Majesty expose himself on the field?"

Kiprop’s jaw clenched. "Part of the plan is for His Majesty and General Kazadi to follow the army and seize control from within. When chaos erupts and the soldiers see the truth, they must have a leader to turn to — not a man hiding behind a foreign broker."

Kazadi’s eyes blazed. "Do you propose to put the king in harm’s way to play puppet masters? This is madness. You thinly veiled truth — your plan is to use the king as bait to remove Lumingu and then seize power! We will not be complicit in a conspiracy to replace one tyrant with another."

The words were a match thrown into dry grass. Kiprop’s hand tightened on the table, but it was Zara who rose like a struck animal. Her voice was cold and then hot with anger. "How dare you! Our prince — your ally — places himself at the head of this charge, risking his life to spare your people. He will not sleep knowing innocents burn and he could have acted. If you would let Lumingu rule because you fear the motives of friends, you would doom Kongo to a slow death. If you will not risk everything to stop the rot, then turn your face away and live with the consequences!"

The room erupted. Father Nzuzi clapped a hand to his forehead. Lord Mvemba barked a short laugh that was almost a sob. Kazadi rose, face red as a fever. "You speak of sacrifice easily, when it is not your king who stands in the sun to be shot at!"

Zara took a step forward, eyes like flint. "Our prince stands. What do you stand for, General? Lumingu? Foreign gold? Your pride?"

Kiprop moved between them, voice raised but controlled. "Zara — take a breath." He turned to the king. "Your Majesty, this must not become a quarrel that destroys what we have built. The plan works only with trust and unity."

Nzinga’s face was drawn, sorrow etched into his brow. He looked to Kazadi, then to Zara, then to Kiprop. The anger in the room seemed to shrink beneath the weight of the king’s gaze.

"Kazadi," Nzinga said slowly, "you are a man of battle. The defence of Kongo is ours to take or to lose. I will not gamble with my people for a coup. I will follow the army in order to hold it together. If you insist that this endangers me, then say so plainly, and we will discard the plan."

Kazadi’s jaw worked. He looked at the men assembled — at the tired faces, at the maps, at the knowledge that Lumingu already burned villages in his name — and the heat in his shoulders cooled a fraction.

"This is not a plan to kill a king," Kiprop pressed. "This is a plan to save a kingdom. Your presence will give our soldiers a face to rally behind when they see the truth. The general will provide order, and the king will provide legitimacy."

The chamber still hummed with charged air. Kiprop put a hand lightly on Zara’s arm. "Go. Cool yourself. We need your clarity."

Zara’s shoulders were hunched; she opened her mouth, as if to argue, then closed it. With a sharp nod, she strode from the room, the weight of fury like armor thrown off.

Kiprop turned back to the king. "We need everyone’s cooperation. With it, this plan has a chance. Without it, Kongo may be lost to foreign hands."

Nzinga rose, and his voice was the one that finally carried the room to a reluctant stillness. "Then prepare your men. General Kazadi—ready your unit for the field. I will follow the army. If this is to be done, it will be done as a kingdom — together."

Kazadi stared at Nzinga a long moment, then bowed stiffly. "As you command, my king."

The final words hung in the air like a war drum. Outside the chamber, the palace breathed on, unaware — or perhaps painfully aware — that tomorrow they would march into a fight that would change the fate of a kingdom.