After two tedious but informative days in the capital, the business inspection trip was nearing its end. The inspection group returned to the Swazi Sun Hotel and enjoyed a day of leisure. The following morning, they were scheduled to visit the presidential palace and be received by President Ndofa.


    The Toyota Coaster minibus headed southeast along Highway 3 for half an hour before turning onto a western interchange, eventually stopping in front of a six-foot-high wire fence. Deng Shiyang deliberately sat on the left side of the bus to observe the terrain around the presidential palace.


    Formerly known as Lozitha Palace, the presidential palace had been a royal residence before the coup but had since been converted into a fortress with a 1.5-mile-long perimeter of wire fencing. Through the fence, one could see a large expanse of bare ground, with a tall iron-gray wall in the center. The tops of trees were visible above the wall, and the white roofs of several buildings could be glimpsed through the gaps in the foliage.


    Near the fence''s entrance was a small checkpoint manned by six soldiers from the Presidential Guard. This elite unit, directly under the president''s command, appeared more disciplined and better equipped than the soldiers seen previously. They wore dark blue berets and charcoal-black uniforms with jungle camouflage tactical vests and were armed with Chinese-made QBZ-97 automatic rifles.


    The soldiers carefully verified the driver''s entry documents before opening the electric gate and retracting the tire spikes on the speed bump, allowing the Coaster to proceed.


    Between the wire fence and the main wall was a clear zone at least 300 yards wide. This flat area of yellow dirt showed tracks indicating it had been leveled by bulldozers.


    As they approached, the details of the presidential palace''s walls became clearer. The iron-gray wall stood at least twenty feet high, with guard towers every fifty yards equipped with spotlights and machine guns.


    Deng Shiyang pressed the shutter button on his iPod Shuffle, which was clipped to his lapel, capturing the scene outside the window while imagining a large group of anti-government fighters advancing across the open ground under heavy fire from the guards atop the wall.


    At the end of the road was a small parking lot with over a dozen vehicles. The Presidential Guard''s vehicles were mostly British-made, with older-model Bedford and Leyland trucks as the heavy-duty options, and various Land Rover models. In one corner, four silver-gray Toyota Land Cruisers stood out sharply against the olive-green military trucks.


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    The presidential palace was rectangular, with the only entrance located in the southeast corner. The black iron gate was open, but the retractable barriers in front had not been lowered. Each barrier was approximately eight feet wide and four feet high when raised, with sharp steel spikes facing outward, making them quite intimidating.


    The Coaster stopped at the barriers. Soldiers emerged from a guardhouse on the left side of the road to verify the driver''s documents again and used an under-vehicle inspection mirror to check the minibus. Through the window, Deng saw a black officer wearing a peaked cap in the guardhouse pick up a phone and speak briefly. The barriers then slowly lowered.


    Upon entering the palace grounds, a wide road, large enough for two trucks to drive side by side, led to the gardens along the wall. To the left, a tall gray-white wall separated the palace into the "Outer Court" and the "Inner Court," with the Outer Court occupying about a third of the total area. Formerly the royal gardens and servants'' quarters, it had been converted into barracks for the Presidential Guard.


    To the left of the road, adjacent to the wall, stood a three-story white building with a microwave antenna on the roof pointing north towards a transmission station on Mount Madimayaba. What had once been an open lawn in front of the building now had three two-story plastic prefabricated houses serving as barracks for the guard.


    Deng Shiyang had heard from Xu Zhaoxiong that the coup-born president understood the importance of the national radio station, so he had moved it to the presidential palace, allowing him to broadcast directly to the nation from the radio room while preventing others from seizing control of the airwaves.


    The minibus turned left at a T-junction, entering a straight road leading to the gate of the "Inner Court."


    The passage connecting the Outer and Inner Courts had double layers of heavy iron gates, with about thirty feet between them, forming a small barbican. The entrance was less than eight feet wide, barely allowing a medium-sized vehicle to pass, making it appear narrow compared to the broad road.


    The presidential residence was a three-story white flat-roofed building with strong colonial architectural influences. In front of the mansion lay a meticulously manicured lawn that resembled a golf course.


    Upon entering the Inner Court, the Coaster deftly turned left, driving onto a circular road lined with palm trees, then proceeded clockwise around the roundabout before parking under the canopy at the entrance.


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    Annotations:


    Bedford Vehicles: A British manufacturer known for producing commercial vehicles.


    Leyland Motors: A British manufacturer recognized for producing trucks and buses.


    Barbican: A defensive feature, typically a semicircular or square structure, built outside or inside a main gate to strengthen the defense of a castle or fortress.