RESTLESS : The Hunt For Peace Episode 141

0
1053

19:25

The train had been on the journey for about an hour and Henry remained quiet on his seat. He had his eyes fixed to the device which he was busy with but he remained conscious of his surroundings and had an eye on the suspicious-looking men in sight. He was aware they were there for him as he had caught two staring in his direction at different intervals.

None of the men had also gotten up since the journey began and it made Henry conclude they were either waiting for orders to attack him or waiting until they got to the final destination. Whichever one it was, there was only one hour more for the journey. Whatever their plans are would be executed by then.

He took out another phone from his pocket and opened the text message tool.

Drive by 9 PM to the Bexford Nexus junction and wait for my instructions.

He selected Hannah’s number and clicked on send.

____

The FOX Corporation Headquarters,

EPA Hill, Bexford.

19:35

Some of the executives with Agents Steve and Lydia were sitting around the table in the underground meeting hall. The large flat screen was at the wall opposite the table. Paul Edwards was sitting at the centre of the shorter side of the table, with the screen directly opposite him. A laptop from where he projected the details on the screen was in front of him. He explained the slides as he navigated from one page to another.

“The team is made up of forty-one men with Agent Mark as the leader. The camp contains about 150 Red Wolves Soldiers and more than 400 captives. Our team of 41 would be further split into four units. The first unit would be made up of sixteen people, the second unit 14, the third 6 and the final unit 5 people.

We should remember that there are two major routes into the camp while there are several other routes some of which have been covered with bushes. The job of the first sixteen would be to attack from the major entrance. The second fourteen men would have to fuse into the camp through the other routes. The 7 men group will be a backup for the first unit.”

“Have these men been selected yet?” Agent Mensah questioned and Paul Edwards had to pause the slides.

“Certainly, they have,” Paul answered.

“The operation is for tomorrow and the team is moving to South Husan tomorrow, will they be able to master the routes and the plan?” Agent Michael asked.

“I will handle that,” Agent Mark, the team leader answered. “There are thirty-seven men waiting for us in the room for a briefing after this meeting. And we also have enough time to master it before the operation kicks off by 3 PM South Husan time.”

“You spoke about the first three units, what about the last unit of 4 people?” Agent Sylvanus asked.

“The last unit consists of Agents Mark, Steve, Lydia, Dave, and Evelyn. Their work started already,” Paul Edwards answered.

“And what would be their job?” Agent Michael asked.

“Coordination,” Paul replied.

Michael and Paul stared at each other for a while before Paul Edwards continued the slides. The session lasted for fifteen more minutes.

“What do you all think about the strategies put in place?” Paul asked, giving room for them to contribute.

“I think it’s just perfect,” Agent Sylvanus put in. “I love the detailed study and survey of the area, it gives our men the edge.”

“It’s perfect,” another member of the executives said.

Paul looked at everyone else face and they all nodded in agreement.

“Well, I think we can all close for today except for those who have to put things in place for the flight,” Paul Edwards said in conclusion. “Do enjoy a good night rest, Gentlemen,” Paul added with a smile and got up. He picked his two mobile devices from the table and stepped back.

The other Agents also began to get up one after the other. Agent Mark was the first to rise after Paul and walked from his seat towards Paul.

“Sir, we’ve composed the memo to be sent to the South Husan office and forwarded it to you.” Agent Mark said to Paul.

“I’ll look into it and send it before I leave tonight,” Paul replied. He noticed Agent Steve also walking towards them. “It’s not your first time working with Steve, is it?”

“No, this would be our second major mission together,” Mark replied.

“Then, it should be easier to get along,” Paul remarked. He turned his eyes to Steve who was now close by. “I hope you selected the right men for the job.”

“Yes sir, I went briefly through their profiles before picking them.”

Paul was about to say something else when his android device beeped. He raised it up and looked at the screen. He swiped down the notification bar to read the message. A frown formed on his face.

“Hello Gentlemen,” he spoke in a loud voice, calling unto every one in the room. Agents Mensah and Michael were already at the door. Agent Sylvanus was still sitting while another standing Agent was discussing with him. They all turned their faces to him.

He stepped forward to where he sat previously and placed a hand on top of the backrest of the chair. The two agents standing close to Paul also moved back to listen to what he had to say

“I just got a text informing us about four new explosions at different locations,” Paul announced. “I’m sorry we may have to stay back at work for a while.”

The men all looked surprised to get the information. There was silence for a couple of seconds.

“The mission at South Husan must be accomplished tomorrow,” Paul continued. “Agents Mark, Steve, and Lydia can get to work. The rest of us will look into these new reports.”

“Alright, please excuse us,” Mark said as he stepped back from the table. He signaled to Steve and Lydia who made their customary salute before they all stepped out of the meeting room.

“Let’s get to work guys, the four of us will be in charge of handling four of the response teams tonight. We should avoid having casualties like the last time.” Paul said and they all picked their things and began to leave.

He was left alone in the room. Still standing behind the seat, he took down a deep breath. He squinted his eyes at the screen opposite him which was now displaying a screensaver. He wondered what strategy the Red Wolves were taking. They did not strike in the morning when it was expected but did at the time it was least expected.

___

20:25PM

The train was slowly approaching the last stop at the train station and there had been no action from the guys yet even though none of them had alighted. Henry knew whatever plan they had for him was after they all stepped out of the train.

It finally came to a halt and the remaining passengers including the men got up to alight. Henry remained sitting in the chair and was busy with the device in his hands. He sat still for two more minutes after every other passenger had alighted until a train conductor came to meet him.

“Sir, this is our last stop for tonight. Do you need somewhere to pass the night?” the young man asked.

Henry looked up and smiled at the young woman. He then locked his phone and kept it in his pocket.

“Thanks, I’ll find my way,” he responded before getting up from the seat.

He strapped his backpack on and proceeded out of the train. He stopped at the entrance for a second and took in a breath before stepping out.

The day was already dark but the station was well brightened with bulbs everywhere. He stood for some more seconds and his eyes scanned around without turning his head. He located some of the men at different corners around and wondered what they were still waiting for before they would come for him.

It took him a minute to get to the main road for vehicles. He located a restaurant at the other side of the road and proceeded towards the place. He remained vigilant and kept noticing the men following him carefully. It was now obvious to him that they were looking for the right place to get him and he was going to lead them to one.

The restaurant was part of a bigger facility in a compound. It was a three-storey building. Many of the other outlets in the building were already closed for the day and only a few were still open. The restaurant was rounding up with their services for the day and there were only two customers who had almost finished their meals in the eating hall. The customers were sitting at the left side of the hall as the chairs at the right side had been stacked.

An attendant approached Henry politely immediately he sat at a table at the right hand side.

“Good evening, what can we offer you?”

Henry delayed before replying. He was looking around and he noticed the other two guests getting up from the table to pay.

“Good evening, may I have the menu?” Henry finally turned to the man.

“It’s late and we don’t have most of the things in the menu at this time, we only have…” The attendant stopped when he noticed Henry was not paying attention to him. He stared towards the direction Henry was looking at. He saw three men approaching the transparent large glass door from the road and he thought they were all with Henry. “Are they with you sir? I’m not sure we have enough for all of you.”

Henry turned back to him sharply and stared at his face. “How much is everything here?”

The attendant frowned, wondering what Henry was talking about. Henry looked out briefly again and turned to the man. This time the men were already in front of the door.

“How much is this facility and everything in it?” He asked the man for the second time.

“What are you talking about sir?” The guy asked with a confused look.

Henry did not turn his face towards the door again but he knew the men were already entering the eating hall. The other two guests were leaving at the same time,

“Can you lock your doors from outside and leave me with this men?” Henry requested.

The man was totally confused now and could not say anything. He raised his face to look at the men who were already walking towards Henry. He realized they were much more than three people. Four had already entered and five others were outside. He suspected foul play but was still confused until he saw the last of the four men pull out a gun. His eyes shone widely as his mouth opened in shock.

“Get out of here now,” Henry said in a soft tone and a nod to the attendant.

He got up sharply the next second and grabbed the closest man with his left hand while he pulled out a gun from the side pocket of his backpack. He shot at the man who had a gun in his hand and then lifted the man whose neck he grabbed and slammed him on the table, making it crash totally. The bullet entered into the left side of the man’s chest and he fell to the ground dead.

The man right behind the man who was first slammed launched a blow but Henry caught his arm and struck him in the face with the boot of the gun. He pulled him close and struck him again in the neck and chest before kicking him to another table by the side.

The third man came with a kick which Henry dodged so easily by sliding forward. He was pulled back by his collar and an uppercut was dug into his belly. He bent over unconsciously and grabbed his belly but Henry met his face with a knee kick. The man staggered forward. Henry followed quickly and landed two kicks which sent the man crashing to the floor.

Henry turned back quickly to dodge an attack from the first man he had slammed to the table. His hand grabbed a chair and he picked it up and slammed it on the face of the man.

A fifth man had entered and was rushing towards Henry while the second man rushed to him at the same time from another angle. Henry moved back quickly and took a chair from the table where the previous guests had left. He slammed it on the head of the fifth man as he dodged a blow from the second one. He dropped his gun and picked the fork from the plate on the table. Then he grabbed the second man’s arm as he attempted to strike another blow and stabbed him with the fork in the neck repeatedly until it penetrated deeply. He kicked him away and picked the gun again. He had the gun in his left hand and the fork in his right. There was only one bullet left in the gun.

He fired a shot at one of the men who had just entered with a gun and the bullet penetrated straight through the man’s forehead. He kept the gun in his back pocket and then picked up another fork from the second plate on the table.

His eyes scanned around the place quickly and he noticed one of the man sprawling on the floor trying to reach for the gun which had dropped from the hand of the first man he shot. He picked one of the plates quickly and stoned his face with it while he turned to face another man who was charging towards him.

After two more minutes of jabs, punches and stabs, he brought down three other men totally. He ensured no of them could pick the gun close to them.

However, two of the men were still alive and one of them was able to pick the gun which dropped at the door side. He began to sh00t at Henry and Henry had to run for cover. He found his way to the back of the front stand where the foods were being served from. The man followed him and Henry had to proceed further towards the kitchen where the food was cooked from.

He met open the exit door of the kitchen where the restaurant’s attendants had escaped through. It provided him an easy way to step outside.

Henry quickly found where to hide after stepping to the backyard. It was a concrete stand where a large tank of water was placed upon. The two remaining men also stepped out to the backyard and began to look for him with guns in their hands.

Henry remained still where he was and got ready to take down the first man to discover him. One of them came so close but could not notice anything because of the darkness behind the concrete stand. Henry noticed from the sounds of his feet that he was about to turn back. He made some noise with his foot to alert the man of his presence there. The man turned quickly and proceeded straightforward to the direction.

He had only taken few steps when Henry took him by surprise. Henry grabbed the arm with which he held the gun and raised it upward while digging a kick into his belly with his knee. He sent two punches to his face and then held his neck and slammed his head against the concrete stand. The man dropped weakly to the ground. Henry picked his gun and took the other side of the stand to attack the other man who was coming.

The man was also caught unexpectedly. Henry sent a kick to his belly first before firing a bullet into his shoulder. He followed quickly and sent him too more punches. The man was unable to lift his hand and the gun dropped as he fell to the ground.

Henry stepped over him quickly and squatted by the side. He put the gun by the side of his head and slapped him on the cheek.

“Tell me, where can I find him?” He asked in an impatient tone.

The man gave no reply but Henry slapped him hard on the face twice and asked him again.

“I don’t know,” he finally replied in a weak voice.

“Don’t bleep with me dude,” Henry said and then pressed the gun to his chest. “I’ll ask you one more time, where can I find him?”

“I don’t know,” the man repeated. “He doesn’t talk to all of us, he only talks to one of us on phone.”

“Which one of you does he talk to?” Henry asked.

“Rodger, he was putting on red.”

Henry hit his head with the butt of the gun immediately and he went unconscious. He picked his gun and proceeded back quickly into the restaurant. He looked around quickly for the man on red and found him sprawled on the floor, terribly injured but still conscious.

“Where can I find him?” He said as he dragged the man and turned his face up.

“I don’t know,” the man replied in a weak tone. “I’ve not seen Hughes for years.”

“Then, why were you following me?”

“We’ve been there for a year, he asked us to stay and watch until anyone comes to ask for his mother. We called him when we heard of you and he asked that we should capture you after we described how you look.”

“And how…” Henry was about to ask another question when a phone began to ring. He searched the man’s pocket and took out the phone. The caller was Hughes. Henry answered the call.

“Hello Carl,” the voice sounded calm.

Henry made no effort to reply. His eyes shone and he looked towards the transparent glass door as he began to hear police sirens.

“I guess you must have talked about me with Paul Edwards,” Hutton continued. “I have nothing against you except that you’re in my way. Just get off my way and you can have a good life.”

“We need to talk Agent Hughes,” Henry replied.

“Oh No! Bleep you man, no one calls me that anymore. There’s nothing between us, so there would be no need to talk.”

“I need to see you,” Henry insisted in an aggressive tone. He was getting more impatient, now that the sound of the siren was getting closer.

“That would not happen Carl, step out of my way and face the right enemies.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” He asked but the connection went off immediately.

He stood up hurriedly and look outside. The police vehicles were already arriving. He bent down and struck the man with a blow. Then he proceeded to the backyard after putting the phone into his bag. The fence was high but he was able to scale over by running a short distance after running a short distance.

40 Minutes Later

Henry sat quietly at the backseat of the car, holding his phone and the phone gotten from the man on red. He had just done a quick investigation of the number Hutton had called with and it seemed it was his personal contact line. It had his real names and profile in the registration database. Tracking the line could help him create more links and get quicker to Hutton.

He kept the phone and then dialed Hannah on his phone.

“Hey, have you gotten to the junction?”

To be continued