So I'm sure some of you (at least the ones smart enough to find this link) caught onto the fact that I was trying to push a few buttons when I was interviewing John for this story. Well the deeper truth is that I didn't give ya all the facts.
After getting the tip about him I went up to Gainesville and hung outside the gun range until I saw him leave. Then using my ultra stealth skills (which involves following someone without looking like I'm following someone) I tracked him to his home. (A lovely house might I add) That gave me enough information to give to Lan who used her fact gathering skills to find out a few facts about Mr. "Mysterious-Muscle-Guy-Who-Saw-the-Mokele-Mbembe." It was after getting these facts that I went back the next day for the interview.
In 1997 when John says he was in the Congo there was some real bad things going down. At that point in time the country was called Zaire and a rebel group called the AFDL (Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo) was trying to oust Dictator Mobutu Sese Seko from power. They were being aided by outside forces and had money to burn so a lot of free lance guns for hire and mercenary types were jetting down there to get in on the action. By April of 1997 the rebels and these mercenaries pretty much had control of the country.
But Lan came across an interesting report that in March of 1997 one such group of mercs were sent to chase down a squad of regular army guys who were trying to make off with a cache of diamonds. Can you guess where the army guys were headed? That's right, straight for good ole' Lake Tele and our friend the Mokele Mbembe. From what Lan could find out it looks like these mercs must have figured out that the war was winding down and they would soon be out of work cause they never showed back up for their last paycheck. And neither did the army squad but in 1999 human remains were found in the Likala swamp near Lake Tele. They were dressed in old Zaire army uniforms but the diamonds weren't with them. The mercs were never heard from again.
Was John part of the mercenary crew who was sent after the diamonds and then disappeared when they got the goods? I got no proof he was in on it but it sure makes a compelling reason for him not to want to discuss the where's and why's of his adventure.
Hurdy gur,
Derek
