RESTLESS : The Hunt For Peace Episode 142

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June 21, 2016

Benuit, Bethanna

09:46 AM

“I thought we had this under control, but I was wrong. The FOX outsmarted and killed over a hundred of our soldiers yesterday,” Daysman said on the table where all five of them were sitting. He could still remember vividly the pictures of dead Wolves men he saw on the news after the FOX had attacked them at South Husan the previous day.

“It seemed like a counter-attack on us,” Chanda put in. “We allowed them to discover the camp at Sisa but I’m amazed as to how the camp at South Husan was discovered.”

“It’s very simple,” Hutton replied in a calm voice. He was sitting on the chair in a relaxed manner and wasn’t looking touched like the rest of them. “Stan did not escape, the FOX allowed him to escape.”

They all turned quiet and stared at Hutton’s face except for Kahn who had already talked about it with Hutton the night before.

“The FOX men attacked our Strategy House at Ruthernard Estate the same night Stan escaped, it wasn’t Carl Winston like we thought. They managed somehow to keep an eye on Stan without letting us suspect. He was being watched even while in South Husan.” Hutton explained.

“What the bleep!” Chanda cursed. “But you knew all these before?”

“No,” Hutton replied to him. “I only had suspicions, they were just confirmed yesterday.”

“But how in the world did we not receive information about how Stan was being followed?” Daysman asked.

“You all should remember that we were previously told the executives now suspect there’s a mole amongst them,” Hutton continued. “This means that everything could have been done in secret by the FOX team handling the case. Or our informant possibly knew about it but it had seemed less important for him to tell us about it.”

“We need to ask him questions and be sure where his loyalty is,” the fifth man who had been quiet like Kahn spoke. “If he thought that such information was less important, how could he have also thought attacking our camp at South Husan was not important too?”

“He told us about the intended attack two days ago,” Hutton said softly.

The other men apart from Kahn all stared at him in surprise.

“Then why was nothing done about it?”

“It was too late,” Hutton replied. “He gave us the information less than twenty-four hours to the execution of the attack.”

“But that was enough time to cause a change,” Daysman protested.

“It was too short to take steps that wouldn’t ruin our future plans,” Hutton answered.

“What do you mean?” Chanda asked.

“If we had taken any step to evacuate our men from the place, it would have exposed the mole in the FOX executives,” Hutton answered. “They were only a few of them in the meeting.”

There was a brief moment of silence.

“But, we could have still done something,” Daysman spoke after fifty seconds, his voice was calmer. “We could have sent more weapons to the facility to help them combat the FOX men better.”

“We did that,” Hutton replied. “But it was unfortunate that our mole never got the complete information. Due to the suspicions, the FOX team that attacked the camp did not give full information about their mission.”

“And what was the lacking part of the information?” Daysman asked.

“The FOX team did not reveal to the executives that they already had two undercovers in the camp before that evening,” Hutton replied. “Those undercovers weakened our camp from inside.”

“What the bleep! But the FOX executives are supposed to get complete information at their meetings,” Chanda countered.

“Yes,” Hutton affirmed and then placed his hands on the table as he leaned forward. “Usually, the team gets punished for giving incomplete information. Paul Edwards punished Agents Evelyn and Steve the last time they took a similar step and killed scores of our men. But in this case, they can easily dodge punishment by saying their strategy changed after the meeting that night.”

Daysman shook his head and let out a breath. “So, we lost more than a hundred and twenty men in South Husan after losing close to the same number at Sisa.”

“We lost about 400 in less than two weeks,” Chanda put in.

“But there’s good news,” Hutton said and they all paused to look at his face without enthusiasm to listen to the good news. “We are closer to our aim.”

“What the heck! I’ve heard that a thousand times already,” Daysman flared up. “We have less than two-hundred men left, how do we combat the FOX successfully?”

“Truthfully, It doesn’t look possible anymore to achieve our goal,” the fifth man added.

“Gentlemen, I think we would make more progress if we stop complaining about what has happened and focus on what’s next,” Kahn spoke for the first time after a long moment of silence. “I know losing a lot of men is devastating but we have plans in place that have not been disrupted. We can’t stop or back down yet. I’m a hundred percent confident we are closer to our victory.”

They all went silent for a couple of seconds.

Hutton rested his back again and began to speak. “I spoke the last time we met concerning the strategy we’re putting in place to destroy the FOX totally. But, we need to follow up on Carl Winston simultaneously and that’s what’s delaying.”

“Yes, as long as Carl Winston breathes, he remains a problem for us,” Kahn replied.

“You said before that we should focus on him and finish him up. So, why have we been delaying this?” Daysman questioned.

“We have not gotten him at the place we want him to be yet. And we’re still in search of the weapon to ki*ll him,” Hutton replied.

“And what’s that weapon?” Chanda asked.

Hutton smiled for a second and then turned to Kahn. “Please, the weapon is known to all of us.” He turned to the others and looked at their faces one after the other. “I hope we do remember that Carl Winston has gotten my real contact number. He can easily gain access to your numbers and track down any of you. The only way you can prevent that is having the protector app running on your phones always”

“I turned on the protection app after you told us on Sunday,” the fifth man said. “I believe everybody else did too.”

“I’ve had the protector app on for months now, since the FOX started tailing me,” Daysman replied. “So, let’s get straight to the point. What weapon are we in search of?”

Hutton turned to him and stared at his face silently for a while. “The best way to ki*ll Carl Winston is to ki*ll him inside before trying to ki*ll him physically. We need a weapon that can ki*ll him inside,” he paused and looked away from Daysman. He looked at the other men’s faces again and then settled his gaze on Daysman’s face again. “We almost killed him recently, by using Sheila Jack. It was going well until the FOX interrupted. This means we also need to ensure he wouldn’t get any support even after we find the right weapon.”

“What support are you talking about? Is it Agent Rex?” Chanda interjected. He looked at the other men’s faces to see if they were thinking like him. “We don’t know Rex’s whereabouts yet, but he must be somewhere recuperating at the moment.”

“It’s going to be easier for us if Rex ever comes back strong. I feel pity for Carl Winston.” Hutton turned his face to Chanda and laughed.

“You think so,” Daysman countered.

“I know so,” Hutton replied with so much confidence in his voice.

The other men looked at his face and wondered how he was so confident.

“So, what support are you talking about for Carl?” The fifth man asked.

“His men, all those that work with him and all those that can save him before when we want to ki*ll him eventually,” Kahn answered the question, speaking again after a long time of silence. “We have to make sure Carl Winston is alone without anyone to help him, then we ki*ll him slowly.”

“You’re right Mr. Kahn,” Hutton interjected with a broad smile. “And it will happen so soon.”

Except for Hutton and Kahn, the rest of the men sitting around the table were in confusion. Only Hutton and Kahn understood the moves they were about to make.

____

10:25 AM

The FOX Corporation Headquarters, 

Bexford, Bethanna.

“The President of South Husan just called a few minutes ago, to congratulate us on the success of the mission yesterday.” Paul Edwards announced as he entered the room where four other executives were sitting.

“Yeah, it was a well planned and executed mission. Agent Mark and his team deserve the honor,” Agent Sylvanus said, his eyes following as Paul walked to his table.

The room was a slightly large one, containing thirteen tables. Twelve of the tables were well spaced and arranged to form a rectangular shape. The thirteenth table was close to the left wall of the room with some electronic devices on it and a screen hung above on the wall. There were no seats in the room.

Each Agent was standing at a table. There was a laptop on each of the tables the Agents were standing at. They also had pictures and documents spread on them. Paul Edwards and Agent Mensah had newspapers additionally on their tables. Some long cables were connecting the laptops to the device below the large screen.

“I think I have found something here,” Mensah announced after some minutes of working silently.

None of them acted like they heard him, they continued with their work until the screen came on. A picture of a storeroom was displayed on the screen. It had a security man sitting on a chair under the shadow of the fenced wall.

“A yellow Toyota van from this storeroom had visited all the explosion scenes on Friday and Saturday before the explosion on Sunday,” Mensah explained as the slides began to play. Pictures of the Toyota van leaving through the gate of the warehouse on different days were seen. “The man who drove the van on Friday to two event centers is one of the culprits arrested on Saturday. I’ve taken shots of the man who drove on Saturday, we’d do an investigation on him soon.”

They all had their eyes fixed to the screen now, and their ears attentive to Mensah.

“I believe the explosive devices were transported from this warehouse to the explosion venues,” Mensah added.

“But what do they store in that building?” Agent Sylvanus asked.

“It’s a depot for soft drinks,” Mensah answered, sliding to another picture to show men loading crates and packs of soft drinks into different vehicles.

“The venues of those explosions were event centers,” Agent Ted put in. “So, it’s possible the explosive devices were transported to the event centers in the Toyota van.”

“I think it’s beginning to make more sense,” Agent Paul Edwards joined in. “The study from the fragments taken by our anti-bomb squad shows the explosive devices could have been hidden in drink containers.

“What? Is that possible?” Agent Ted asked.

“Yes, it could be,” Sylvanus answered calmly.

“This is the most reasonable point from our investigation today,” Paul Edwards continued. “It explained the reason there were no signs of terrorists at the event centers. It meant they planted the bomb before the time, and only ignited it when the people were there. It happened the same way for the explosions on Saturday.”

“We need more proofs to ascertain that the devices went in with the Van of drinks,” Ted said.

“I have something here,” Paul replied. He clicked some buttons on his laptop and his laptop screen was soon projected on the screen at the wall. All the other men fixed their eyes to the screen. “These are pictures of the fragments I talked about. There are steel elements with explosive chemicals.”

The pictures slid slowly, giving them enough time to view each and they all watched with rapt attention. They were yet to finish the pictures slide when Paul’s phone on his table vibrated. He picked it up and looked at the caller. The number was unsaved and it was a South Husan number.

“I think we have a call from our men in South Husan,” Paul Edwards said before answering the call. The pictures slide continued.

“Good morning Chairman, I’m in Husan and I need you to give me some information.”

Paul frowned as he heard the voice, it wasn’t the voice he expected.

“Who is this?” He answered in soft tones.

“Paul, it’s Carl Winston. Are you alone? I need some important information from you now,” Henry replied from the other end.

“What the f***!” Paul Edwards caused and quickly looked around as if to see if the other men could hear he was talking to Carl. He muted the call and lowered the phone for a moment. “Please excuse me, gentlemen, I’ll have to go to my office urgently, I’ll be away for only a brief moment.”

He walked out briskly without waiting for a reply from any of them. He proceeded quickly into his office and locked the door behind him.

“Hey, Carl, why the hell are you calling me at this time? You would have sent a text,” He fumed.

“I’m sorry but it was urgent,” Carl responded. “I couldn’t wait for long to get an answer.”

“I was with the executives when you called,” Paul said, still sounding angry. “So, what are you doing in Husan?”

“Don’t be scared man, I’m not concerned with the FOX’s job here. I am on a different mission and it’s a pure coincidence that I’m here at this time” Henry answered.

“Okay, tell me what you want from me?” Paul requested.

“I need the full names and profile of the warder at the prison facility when Hughes Kanwa served, please get it to me as soon as possible. I know you can find out in a few minutes,” Henry made his request.

“What the heck do you need that for?” Paul questioned.

“For personal reasons, Paul. Please, get the details and send to me.” Henry replied.

“I hope you’re not about to breach our agreement. You promised to stay out of the investigations,” Paul reminded him.

“Yes, I don’t break my words. Just help me get the details I want, I won’t get in the FOX’s way.” Henry answered.

“Okay, I hope so,” Paul let out a breath. “I’ll see what I can do and get back to you in minutes.”

“Thanks, I’ll be expecting your reply.”

The call ended and Paul dropped his phone on the table. He picked up the official line on the table and typed in a number.

“Hello, come to my office right away.”

His secretary arrived in less than two minutes after.

“You called for me sir,” she courtesied.

“Yes, I want you to get me a list of all the head warders that served at the Husan High-Security Prison between 1995 to 2015,” he said to her. “Please, send it to my mail as soon as possible.”

“Alright sir,” she saluted and then turned to leave.

______

Naim Hotel,

Husan, South Husan.

Henry walked into the beautiful reception of the hotel with a backpack hung on his left-hand side and a phone in his right hand.

“Good morning sir, you’re welcome to Naim hotel.” A beautiful woman sitting behind the reception desk welcomed him.

“Good morning ma’am, I need a room,” Henry replied.

“Kindly check the list and make a choice sir,” she placed an opened booklet in front of him.

“I’m here for work, so, I’ll like a simple one with a table in it,” he said and turned back the booklet to her.

“Okay, will you like to pay in cash or with your card.” She asked.

“Do you accept Bethanna credit cards?”

“Yes, we do.”

Henry pulled out his wallet and took out the card. After his payment was confirmed, she took out a key and handed it to him. She then called for one of the attendants to direct Henry to his room.

Henry settled in the room five minutes later. Without taking off his shoes or doing anything else, he opened his backpack and began to bring out the items he needed. He positioned the laptop on the table and pressed the boot button. Then he took out two phones, two new sim packs, and a modem, and placed them on the table.

He sat on the chair and waited for the system to boot. In the next few minutes, the laptop was connected to the internet. He clicked on the tracking software to launch it.

While it launched, he took one of the phones and opened the back cover. He picked one of the packs of sim cards and found it empty, he kept it aside and picked the second. He inserted the new sim into the phone and turned it on.

The software on the system had finished launching. He moved the cursor to the menu and clicked on one of the options which open a dialog box. He typed in the number on the new sim pack on the dialog box. He went to another option on the menu and clicked. Another dialog box opened, he picked his other phone and searched out a number in the contact list. He typed in the number from the phone and saved.

Then, he picked the phone he had just turned on and typed the number form the other phone on the dial pad. He waited a minute and stared at the laptop screen until a live network graph showed on the screen. There was a dot at the center of the graph which showed his present location.

He dialed the number on the phone and placed it on loudspeakers. After a few seconds, the call ended without any response from the network. He tried two extra times but the number still did not connect. Then he dropped the phone and picked the other one. He searched on the contact list and selected the contact named “Dave Anth”. He dialed and placed it close to his ear.

“Hello,” Dave’s voice came through the phone speaker.

“Hi Dave, it’s Henry. It’s good you can receive this call, it means you’re yet to leave Anthanna,” Henry replied.

“Yes boss, our flight is for 1 PM Anthanna time,” Dave replied.

“Great, I’m in South Husan and I need you to join me here. Cole, Samantha, and Jenny can proceed to Bethanna without you.”

“Alright boss, I’ll check for the next flight to Husan.”

“I’ve checked already, the only flight from El Deols to Husan left by 8 AM. You’ll have to come by road.”

“Wow! The road journey takes close to six hours, I hope you don’t want me there for something urgent.”

“It’s not urgent yet, but you should start coming right away,” Henry replied.

“Okay boss.”

He ended the call and paused to think for a while. Then he picked the other phone and proceeded out of the hotel room. It took him two minutes to walk to the reception where he met with one of the hotel staff and pleaded to use her phone to make a call.

“Okay, I hope you are not speaking for a long time. I don’t have so much airtime,” the woman said before handing him the phone.

“No, it’s just for some seconds. Thank you,” He collected the phone and walked some distance away from her to a corner where no one could easily hear him. He dialed the same number on her phone. It began to ring without delay.

He then realized that the user had blocked new lines and numbers from calling his number. That way, only if the user had stored the new line on his phone first before he could be reached. However, any old phone numbers could reach the number, whether it was stored on the receiver’s phone or not.

Henry had also tried the number when he was in Bethanna and it did not connect. His Bethanna sim was also new and not up to a year.

The phone number was gotten from his investigation on Hutton Ryker’s phone number. The number he got from the men who trailed him from Gogiatha was Hutton’s Ryker’s main line registered in his real name. From Henry’s investigations, he had discovered that Hutton only called a few numbers with that line. But this particular South Husan number which Henry was tracking was the first-ever number to be called by Hutton on that line and the most frequently called number.

“Hello,” a gruff male voice sounded through the speaker after the call was answered.

Henry raised his brows. He hadn’t expected a male voice. He had thought the number was owned by Hutton’s mother.

“Ermm, Good morning. I need to speak with Joe,” he gave a random answer.

“Joe? This isn’t Joe,” the man replied.

“Oh! Sorry, I must have dialed the wrong number.”

He ended the call and deleted the number from the phone. Then he proceeded back to return the phone and thank the woman. He was about to turn back to go to his room when his other phone vibrated. He took it out and checked the notification. It was a message from Paul. He opened it to read. Paul mentioned that his request was ready and asked him to send an email address to receive it in. He quickly typed in an email address and forwarded it to Paul.

____

London, England

07:15 AM

The doctors had predicted that changes would be noticed In Rex’s health between two weeks to six months after the surgery. Any change noticed before that given period would be a miracle and if it passed six months without any change, then it meant Rex would never recover.

However, it was only close to two weeks when Rex began to notice changes in his health. He was gradually feeling strength return to his bones and body but he was yet to move.

He was in his bed in the room in the apartment in the UK. The last time he was at the hospital was the third day after the surgery. Since then, he had been taking drugs and been tended to by Doctor Alan at home.

He had woken up about an hour earlier but always had to wait for Simon Perry to get him into the wheelchair. Simon had always come by seven o’clock, but he was yet to come that day. Rex felt no need to be in a hurry to get up. Simon had always been good to him, always checking up on him frequently even at midnight. This was regardless of the fact that Rex had a tube for urination connected to his male organ and barely needed help at midnight.

Somehow, Rex felt some more strength in his body that morning. He decided to make a trial to move. He was shocked when he made an attempt and he felt his fingers moved. He took in a breath. Then, he attempted to move his toes and he felt them move too.

His eyes shone in surprise. He knew strength was gradually coming back. A thought flashed through his mind and he wondered if he could move his legs or whole hands. He attempted to move them but nothing move. After some more trials, he gave up.

Soon enough, Simon Perry walked into the room. He was putting on an armless vest and had a face towel around his neck.

“Good morning Morris, sorry I came late today. I went to the gym and…” Simon was trying to apologize when he noticed the smile on Morris’ face. He squinted his eyes at Rex and moved closer slowly. “You look happy today, you’re smiling”

The expression on Rex’s face changed immediately.

A female nurse joined Simon in the room at that moment. They both helped Rex get to his wheelchair. After ten minutes, the nurse had also cleared the urine bag and fixed a new one.

“He’s supposed to take some drugs at eight, I forgot to bring them in.” Simon suddenly remembered.

The nurse looked at his face. “You should go and get them now while I go prepare his water to bath.”

Simon Perry proceeded out of the room immediately while the nurse proceeded to the bathroom int the room. She was about to open the bathroom door when she heard a sound.

She stopped suddenly and turned back to see where the sound was from. She looked around the room for a while and saw nothing. Then she stared at Rex’s face for a while.

Rex stared back at her and did not blink until she proceeded into the bathroom. He took in a deep breath. She had truly heard a sound and it was from him. He had tried to open his mouth and an unclear word came out surprisingly. His speech was gradually returning also.

It was time for him to plan his next move, he thought. He had to make sure these people never knew he was recovering. He would keep it secret even after he could talk and could walk. There was an incomplete mission for him to finish.

To be continued.