HON's success was a threat in itself. The white van, once wonder-struck, became a symbol of an operation in parallel. Each vaccinated child, each case of dysentery avoided, each literate family which learned to boil its water was an implied criticism of the city's failure. The very efficiency that made Reuben proud was a magnet that drew the ire of those who thrived in the nimbus of red tape.
The first shot across the bow came in a stern letter, delivered on the back of a scornful delivery motorcyclist unwilling to cross solid ground. It was addressed to "The Unregistered Entity Conducting Business as 'HON,' Makoko Slums." The tone was drier and more ominous than the previous letters from the Water Board.
It was from the Harbor City Department of Public Health and Sanitation. It cited a
