'You can't tell deacons from demons from up here'

When Senior Superintendent Dipheko Motube confirmed that our request to fly with the police had been approved, I felt a wave of excitement rush through my body before he could even finish. It was something we had been trying to secure since the arrival of the two helicopters in March. "They say you will leave the airport at 6am," Superintendent Motube said. He then gave me a number to contact Johnson. "He is responsible for the flying," he said.

"We will not wait for anyone," Johnson said after confirming the departure time for 6am. That's how we work," he said. I was disappointed because I love my sleep and wondered how these guys could be so cruel. "You should come early to have a feel of our working environment," he continued. "You will find someone waiting for you at the terminal and they will take you to our hanger."