The roads were clear on this perfect sunny afternoon. The traffic jam and rush on the street was at the lowest minimum. Henry was driving while Omotara was seated with him at the front seat. They seemed to be involved in a deep heart talk with each other as both of them smiled occasionally. After driving for some few minutes, they halted the car in front of a drinks store and Henry pushed the horn twice. In one minute time, Jefa came out of the store and proceeded towards the car. He entered into the backseat and the couple greeted him warmly. Then they continued the ride.
āIāve got something for you two,ā Jefa spoke from the back seat and handed a small white polythene bag to Omotara.
āOh, ice cream!ā Omotara flashed her teeth as she opened the polythene bag to see the contents. Henry also peeped and smiled.
āThank you, Uncle Jefa.ā Henry said in appreciation.
āItās nothing,ā Jefa replied. Omotara took her own ice cream cup and took off the seal. She took a spoonful and widened her eyes in excitement as she fell in love with the taste. She turned to look at Jefa who was smiling at the back.
āI never knew you had such a good taste too,ā she joked.
āCome on, Iāve got a better taste than you two.ā
āYou think so?ā
āI know so.ā
āHehe, no problem if it makes you feel better anyway.ā She said and added a short laugh. Jefa gave her a playful punch on the shoulder.
āBetter leave Uncle Jeffery,ā Henry joined playfully. āHeās a gentleman and gentlemen always make a good choice of things like this.ā
āYou can say that again if it will make both of you sleep better tonight,ā Omotara said with another round of laughter.
āI feel like taking beef roll too.ā She added, to Henry.
āBeef roll and ice cream?ā Henry questioned.
āWell, itās none of your business what I combine.āOmotara answered playfully.
āOkay Boss,ā Henry saluted in the same playful manner, ājust mention when you see any store where it is sold, so we can stop by and youāll drop to get it yourself.ā
āHuh?ā Omotara queried, pouting her lips and staring straight into his eyes. Henry sighed, trying his best to focus on the road.
āSo I should be the one to get it for you?ā He asked with a raise eyebrow.
āYes, or you want me to lecture you on what it means to be a gentleman again?ā She spread out her hands to emphasize her point.
āGentlemanliness is not defined that way,ā Jefa cut in from the back, āheās been a gentleman enough to agree that we stop by a store to get one for you when youāre only a few metres to the house.ā
āHahaha, Uncle Jeffery is an ancient Gentleman. Well, enough of the talks.ā Omotara raised up her two hands girlishly to halt the conversation.
āStop, thereās a store over there.ā She said, pointing to a small neat kiosk at the other side of the road. Henry took his time to pull over and then glanced at the direction she was pointing at, he took a glance back at her.
āYou know my favorite,ā she winked at him. He sighed and pulled off his seatbelt. He opened the door and stepped out.
āYou just want to trouble this guy,ā Jefa said to her as they watched him look out for vehicles before crossing the road.
āNo, Iām just helping his destiny come quicker.ā Omotara replied in a stern voice. She turned back to look at Jefa, her happy face had changed into something different, she now had a smirk on.
āWhat do you mean by that?ā Jefa questioned with a raised eyebrow.
āJust watch and see,ā Omotara answered and then looked towards Henryās direction. He had already gotten the beef roll and was waiting to cross the road with a nylon bag. He was seen dipping his hand into his pocket, his phone was taken out, he answered a call and placed it on his ear. Just then, he stepped into the road and started walking back. Suddenly, a sand carrying tipper truck appeared from nowhere and was rushing towards him.
Jefa finally jerked off from his dream, sweating profusely in the cold air conditioned room. He rolled out of the blanket and turned on the blue light. He wiped off the sweat from his forehead after sitting up. What manner of dream was this? He asked himself. This was the third nightmare he had had within a very brief period of days and there seemed to be a connection between the three. In the first dream, Omotara was the one who was attacked. In the second dream, he, Jefa was pointed a gun and in this third dream, a vehicle was rushing towards Henry.
In the first and the third dream, it wasnāt clear if Omotara or Henry was killed but it was obvious that their lives were in great danger but in the second dream, the bullet of the gun clearly pierced into Jefaās head. Jefa buried in face in his palms in frustration, his wounds suddenly began to ache him again. He had never been a clairvoyant person but with the way the nightmares are coming, he believed that God was giving him premonitions of something about to happen very soon.
Jefa rolled out of the bed and turned on the white bulb. He took a glance at the wall clock, it was already close to eleven pm. Then he stared around the room to see where his clothes were kept for him by Omotara, he had to start packing immediately. He would leave by the next day since it was obvious that the reuniting with each other would cause tragedy, the nightmares alone already spells doom for them, he didnāt want to wait until the physical manifestations begin.
He proceeded to the wardrobe when he couldnāt see any of his clothes or bags around, he tried to open it but it didnāt open. He looked around to see if there was any keyhole hidden somewhere but he found none, it seemed that the wardrobe lock was electrical. He struggled to bent down and search under the bed but there was no pin under the bed, under the bed looked recently swept and mopped. He gave up searching for his clothes and returned to sleep in the bed. He would make sure he leaves the house the next day after Omotara returns in the morning. He will try his best to explain his decision to her before parting finally.
~~~
Don and Stainless were now in one of the underground rooms of Stainlessā caban. The room which was a long abandoned old arsenal looked like a mud house that was about to collapse, sands dropped on their heads occasionally. The arms and ammunitions were all cover in sand and dust. A fully charged lamp by the top left corner of the room served as the source of light in the room. Stainless had inherited the whole place from their former Master and Boss, Scot whom Don murdered after a disagreement.
Don kept staring at Stainless from time to time, partially in anger and then in thankfulness. He was angry that Stainless could theaten him so much with a gun which had no bullets in it when he himself had a gun which was fully loaded in his pocket. And he was thankful because he wasnāt dead, until now he never believed that he could be so scared of death.
āHere,ā Stainless passed an old hard cover book to him from his bag.
āWhatās this?ā Don asked, taking a close look at the book.
āSome of my old deals with Elvis Richards are in there,ā Stainless answered.
āI donāt think we should be searching about Elvisā old deals now, I think we should be more focused on who sent Tara⦠Samantha.ā
āTaraā¦?ā Stainless raised an eyebrow with a questioning look. āYouāve been mentioning that since, are you still hiding something from me?ā
āI told you I was going to tell you more after the meal,ā Don answered.
āAnd now weāve finished the meal and weāve even left the house.ā
āYes, Iāll tell you. Letās take it one after the other.ā
āI still think we need to find out Chief Elvisās connection with Samantha Osman also, it may help us in getting her.ā Stainless suggested.
āI donāt really think thereās a connection between them until now, Elvis Richards is scared that sheāll be coming for his life soon, thatās why heās hunting her. She doesnāt even know that heās after her. And who knows, he may not be part of her targets.ā
āBut whatās the purpose for his fear?ā
āHe mentioned to me once that all the people that Tara⦠Samantha has brought down were once involved in a deal with him, except for the Rivers State Governor.ā Stainless closed the bag he was searching in and got up, he folded his arms and stared at Don.
āNow youāve got to tell me the connection between Tara and Samantha Osman, youāve made the mistake of calling Tara almost more than half of the times you wanted to refer to Samantha.ā
āTarasha is her real name,ā Don finally said, āshe was exported down to Nigeria, I donāt know which country she was exported from but report says that she looks like an African.ā
āTarasha,ā Stainless mumbled under his breath, wondering what African country and language the name could be from.
āHave you met with her before?ā
āNo, except for today when we both met her for the first time.āDon answered reluctantly, wondering if Stainless was deaf and didnāt hear the answer when he had told him earlier that day.
āHow do you know so much about her?ā
āShe works for Chief Gab,ā Don stated.
āChief Gab!ā Stainless exclaimed, āwhere the hell is that man?ā
āHeās kicking, heās in Nigeria.ā
āWow! I never knew heās done with his jail term.ā
āHe was released some years ago.ā
āOkay, I think I remember when the media reported it but since then weāve not heard anything else about him.ā Stainless said before bending down to bring out a long gun. It was covered with dust.
āHeās not been making public comments, so the media may be quiet about him.ā
āInteresting! But whereās he getting the money heās using to send Samanthaā¦I mean Tarasha these errands?ā
āThatās best known to him,ā Don remarked with less concern.
āSo itās Chief Gab who is behind all these killings?ā Don gave no reply but kept gathering the bullets he was picking. There was silence for a while before Don spoke again.
āIf we can get Chief Gabās list of targets, we can know all her moves.ā
āThatās true but how do we do that?ā
āWe have to travel to Lagos, I can easily break into Chief Gabās apartments.ā
āThen letās travel tomorrow, or can you send your people from your Nanl Gang to do it?ā
āWe canāt travel tomorrow when we already know her immediate next move. Letās tackle that first.ā
āHuh? How do you know her next move?ā Stainless turned to stare at him in surprise. Don shook his head as he saw Stainlessā surprise. He had thought by Stainlessā action that day, Stainless had become wiser but he was just proved wrong.
āDonāt you know her next move?ā He stared back at Stainless in surprise.
āErmmā¦I donāt know.ā Stainless scratched his head. Don gave a chuckle, he felt like taking out a gun to blow off Stainlessā dumb brain immediately but he restrained himself, he still needed to keep Stainless to finish off Tarashaās execution. Don was sure that Stainless was also keeping him alive because he was interested in conquering Samantha Osman. After that goal was achieved, he knew that only one of them would be left alive as the fastest between the both of them would kill the other immediately.
āHer next move would be to look for us,ā Don stated and returned to what he was doing.
āLook for us? Why?ā Stainless Asked another set of questions. Don was obviously irritated by the question. He was now sure that Stainlessā dumbness was the reason Elvis Richards did not entrust the job to him.
āShe saw both of us in Henryās house, Iām sure she came there to get something. Sheāll want to find out what we were doing there and who are, especially I that called her by her name.ā
āHmmm⦠True,ā Stainless could not but nod in agreement. He wondered why he had not thought about it that way, the only people he was expecting to be after him was the police. Now, he could understand the reason why Don excelled better than him at the job.
āThen weāve got to prepare in case she comes here for us but I donāt think sheāll be coming soon now that the police are keeping an eye on the place.ā
āDonāt talk like that, sheās super intelligent, she always has her way of getting past the police.ā Don cautioned.
āDoes that mean that sheāll come immediately?ā
āMost likely, I believe she was looking for something in Henry E.Gās house. Maybe something she forgot the last time. If she doesnāt find it there, she may think that we have whatever it is. That gives her more reasons to look for us.ā
āGreat! Then we donāt need to struggle since we are expecting her. Weāll just wait for her here. I would call back some of my men.ā Stainless said, with a note of confidence in his voice.
āWeāll get many boys to join us but what we need more importantly is the brain to match hers. If we act stupidly, weāll end up putting ourselves in trouble.ā Don cautioned again. āRemember Robin Kahn,ā he quickly added to emphasize his point.
āThatās true, so what do you suggest we do?ā
āWeāll use a method I learnt from her,ā Don paused and turned to Stainless with a crooked smile. āThe same method she used for Robin Kahn. She knew that Robin was coming, so she set him up to come to a place which she knew better than him, then she set traps there for him. We have a better situation.ā Don paused to clear his throat. āWe know sheās coming here and we also know sheāll be coming during the night time cos she canāt enter during the day when sheāll not be able to hide herself from the police monitoring. Weāll set enough traps for her and Iām sure sheāll walk into it.ā
*****
Tarasha made her way out of the room again carefully, this time she went in direction of the study. After walking for one minute, she was able to locate the study, it was locked and there was a need for an access card to unlock it. She quickly rolled up the tight skirts and took out two screwdriver- like metals, she began to unscrew the access panel.
~~
Three minutes had passed and Benny had not gotten any message from Tarasha. His heart began to fear at the thought of leaving Cole in the explosion that was about to rock the house. He began to think of anyway possible to reach Cole and help him out. He took out his connection device and punched in Coleās code. He fixed the earpiece in his left ear, just as it was about connecting, the Senate President returned to the living room.
āYour friends have not still returned?ā Mr Nasiru asked with a worried look on his face.
āSir, Iām not very happy with what is happening.ā Mr Alfred replied in a sad tone.
āIām really sorry sir,ā Nasiru tried to calm him, ābut do you know of any substance that the both of them may have an allergy for?ā
āIām not aware of anything,ā Mr Alfred said angrily, he took a glance at his wristwatch, four minutes was gone already. āTheyāve been eating well since we got to Nigeria and theyāve not been selective of anything.ā
āErmm⦠Maybe I need to check out on them.ā Nasiru said and was turning back.
āNo sir,ā Mr Alfred stopped him. āI think I have to call the office first.ā
āNo please, donāt do that.ā Nasiru pleaded, āitās just a little thing that we can sort out.ā
āNo, Iām not calling to report you, Iām calling the medical unit to find out if they had any previous case or records like this.ā
āBut are you sure thatās the right thing to do?ā Nasiru asked in fear, not wanting for his relationship with their foundation to be destroyed.
āYes, donāt worry. Theyāll be no problems.ā Mr Alfred said and got up.
āI need to get to the car and take my second phone. Please can you show me the way?ā
~~~~
The guard flung Cole out of the toilet to the floor outside mercilessly, he stepped out of the toilet and closed the door. Cole felt his body weaken more as he landed on the floor, his head almost hitting the wall. For some seconds he left his eyes closed and opened it again when he didnāt hear sounds of the manās movement. He saw the guard standing in front of the toiletās door, staring at him. Cole took his gaze away and turned his neck to another side and there he saw the tranquilizing pin he had wanted to use earlier. It was not out of his hand reach but he felt too weak at the moment to stretch forth his hand and he wouldnāt even want to do it while the man was staring at him. The guard started taking slow steps closer to him, Cole tried to turn but couldnāt, he felt the metals in his pockets again. Then he saw something, something which he could use. He remembered his bossā saying that anything could be a weapon. Some hope returned to him and he managed to dipped his hand into his inner pocket, acting as if he was grabbing his stomach in pains so that the man wouldnāt suspect anything.
He gave a very faint smile on seeing the manās shoe lace carelessly loose and dragging on the floor. The guard kept marching to him with slow steps. He stopped right in front of Cole face, close to the wall and squatted, staring straight at Coleās face.
āWho sent you?ā He barked. Cole turned his face away but the man turned it back to himself and added a slap. āI said who sent you?ā He barked again. Coleās fingers by this time already touched the metals he needed, a tiny rope clip and a short knife. He stretched his free hand and placed it on the guardās left shoe. The guard glanced at the movement but took it for granted as he believed that Cole was too weak to do anything dangerous to him. āYou wonāt talk?ā He shouted once again.
āShe sent us,ā Cole finally answered, still doing his work on the manās shoe. He had gotten a hold of the lace and held it softly. Then he noticed something else on the manās left shoulder, there was kind of swelling which wasnāt on the other side. To Cole, it looked like the man had a dressed wound there.
āWho is she?ā The man asked in low tones, mentioning the words one after the other. Cole stared at his face and gave a smile, bringing confusion to the man.
āEven if you kill me, you canāt cause our mission to be aborted. She never fails and wonāt fail this either,ā Cole said, with the hope of buying more time.
āWho the hell is she?ā The man slammed and stood to his feet to take out something from his pocket. With that Cole removed his hand from the inner pocket and clipped the manās shoe with the metal clip, he mustered enough strength to get up and drag the clip, making the man fall to the ground with a thud. Immediately, Cole followed up by driving the knife into the manās shoulder where he noticed the swelling. The man responded with a loud groan that echoed round the room. Then Cole turned to search for the pin where it was, he located it and carefully picked it up. He drove it into the manās neck at once.
~~
Tarasha had just picked the book and was about proceeding out of the place when she heard some voices approaching. With what they were discussing, they had seen the door left ajar.
āThe study is not locked?ā A coarse voice expressed the ownerās surprise. āHow come? The man never leaves it open.ā The accompanying voice said. Tarasha quickly hid herself beside the door. Someone pushed the door open a little and closed it back.
āWhat may have happened to the access panel?ā
āMaybe the man is trying to change it,ā the accompanying voice replied.
āWhatever,ā the hand drew the door close again but it still went ajar. Tarasha waited until she heard their voices and footsteps no more. She quickly opened the door and peeped, there was no one else in the corridor. She stepped out and looked left and right, it was time to set up the other bomb and leave the place. She started following the route where she had come from. Her connection device beeped.
āCole,ā she called.
āBoss,ā Cole spoke in a low voice.
āSpeak up Cole, have you gotten away from the man?ā
āYes, heās down. Cole tried to raise his voice.
āErmmā¦ā Tarasha delayed the reply as she thought of the best step to take now that Cole was free.
āBossā¦ā Cole called when he heard nothing again from the other end.
āCole, find another security guard whose clothes you can use and take the clothes.ā
āHuh?ā Cole sounded surprised, he wasnāt expecting such an order now that he just had a hard time defeating one guard. āCole,ā Tarasha chuckled, noticing his surprise. āIf you could defeat the the manās personal security official, you can take out anyone else.ā She added to encourage him.
āSh*t! One is here already.ā Tarasha heard Cole mention before the connection was cut. She took out her phone and dialed Benny.
āWhere are you now?ā
āI just finished timing the bomb and Iām about to leave with Aisha. The Senate President is walking at the front of his house. Iām waiting for Aisha so that we could both take the escape route.ā Benny replied Tarasha, watching the Senate President and his wife standing in front of the house while Aisha was coming towards the car from the house.
āHow many minutes has it run for already?ā
āJust one,ā Benny answered after glancing at where the bomb was placed in the car.
āSo that means it took you nine minutes to go out of the house?ā Tarasha questioned, in something more like a scolding manner. Benny was quiet. āSet the time to thirty minutes now and return into the house, Iāll send something into your phone for you to show the man.ā She ordered and the call ended. Benny stepped back into the car and picked up the detonator, he entered in the password and stopped the reading, then he set it afresh for thirty minutes.
āWhatās happening?ā Aisha asked as she got near the car. She had been in darkness all the while since it was only Benny the boss was communicating with, the only thing she knew was that Benny gave her the signal to follow him when he was going out to the car.
āNothing,ā Benny smiled and stepped out, then he closed the door. āIām just following the bossā instruction.ā
āBut youāre not telling me anything.ā
āDonāt worry, Iāll tell you everything you need to know.ā Benny said and grabbed her by the arm and they both returned into the house.
~~
Cole rose up to face the new guard who just entered. The slim guard was staring around the room with great awe of the disarray in the place. He took a glance at the Chiefās personal bodyguard laying lifeless, his face clearly showed his shock on seeing the man down. He raised up his head and stared at Cole with a frowned face.
Cole rushed to the guard as the manās hand made way into his pocket. He landed a kick on the manās belly and the man staggered backwards, his body closing back the door.
~~
Nasiru and his wife began to walk back slowly into the house with their guests, there was an unvoiced tension and unusual silenced amongst them. Benny took out his phone and unlocked it, he clicked on the chat application and opened the conversation box with Tarasha. She was already typing in a message.
āShow the pictures I send you to the man,ā the message entered as they stepped into the living room.
āOkay Boss,ā Benny replied and proceeded with Aisha to the three seater sofa to sit. Another message came in shortly,
āis his wife still with you?ā
āYes.ā
āMake sure that she and her husband does not leave there but show only the husband the message.ā
āOkay Boss,ā Benny answered and the messages paused for a minute.
āI think I need to go check your colleagues now,ā The Senate President said after he saw that the guests were seated for a while. His wife was seated at the opposite sofa to them.
āNo need sir, I have a message for you.ā Mr Alfred said and got up.
āWhat message is that?ā Nasiru answered reluctantly and walked back to Mr Alfred who was also walking towards him.
āHere,ā Mr Alfred clicked on the loading picture. A blurry image first appeared and it became clearer in few seconds.
āWhat?ā Nasiru screamed out loud on seeing the photo. There was his daughter Fatima tied to the bed, with an explosive device around her body. Aisha and Mrs Nasiru got up immediately in shock as they heard the manās scream. Two of the guards also came into the living room from different directions.
āCalm down mister,ā Mr Alfred said to the man in a low voice, āwe donāt want to harm her if youāll cooperate with us.ā
āYes, I would cooperate.ā The man said nodded his head in agreement, almost in tears already.
āNow tell your guards to return, assure them that thereās no problem.ā Benny said to his ears.
āGo back everyone, everything is fine.ā Nasiru ordered immediately.
āCorrect,ā Benny smiled. He checked his phone again, there was another text message and more pictures.
āTell the man to sit with you as if nothing happened and wait till I come.ā
āWhatās the matter?ā Mrs Nasiru stood at her husbandās front and asked.
āNothing o, nothing.ā Mr Nasiru sang back like a terrified child, his body trembling all over.
~~
Tarasha climbed down the bed after attaching the bomb to Fatimaās body, then she started to pull off the maidās uniform. After a minute, she had stripped to her underwear and was proceeding to pick her previous clothes, her connection device beeped.
āCole,ā she called as she answered.
āBoss, Iām in the security guards uniform now.ā
āDo you have a cap with you?ā
āErmm⦠I will take the cap now.ā
āBetter, meet us in the living room. Connect me if anyone confronts you. And if you get there before me, ensure that the target and his wife does not leave there.ā
āOkay boss,ā Cole said and the connection was closed.
Tarasha began to put on the clothes hurriedly, she turned back to Fatima who was staring at her, tied to the bed with the bomb attached to her body. She was too terrified to scream or move as Tarasha had threatened that the bomb would go off if unnecessary movements were made or if there was any attempt made to detach it.
āSorry baby,ā Tarasha said with a smirk, āsometimes, the children partakes from the Fatherās sins.ā
~~
āWhat do you want from me?ā Nasiru asked from Mr Alfred, now seated but still trembling.
āCalm down mister, youāll find out soon.ā
āI said what is the matter?ā Mrs Nasiru shouted at her husband in an angry manner. Benny gave the man a threatening look to warn his wife.
āWill you sit down woman,ā Nasiru shouted back at her.
āSomething is clearly wrong, Iāll alert the securityā She said and began to hurry away. Aisha followed after immediately to stop her.
āNo madam, you canāt do that.ā A man dressed in the securityās uniform walked in from the corridor of the inner rooms and stopped at her front.
āCole!ā Aisha exclaimed as she saw the security manās face.
āYea baby, Iām with you.ā Cole winked at Aisha and took out something from his pocket.
āWho the hell are you and what authority do you think you have to stop me?ā Mrs Nasiru tried to push Cole away and proceed on but Cole pushed in a pin into the side of her neck. She felt dizzy immediately and collapsed into Coleās hands, he carefully placed her on the floor.
āPlease donāt hurt her,ā Mr Nasiru screamed and stood up.
āGet seated man,ā Cole took out a gun and pointed at the man, āsheās not dead, sheās only taking a nap.ā Up to five security officials rushed into the scene at once, two from the same place Cole came from and pointed the guns at Cole. Then Benny got up and held the man neck, he pointed his gun to the manās head.
āTell them to drop their arms or you and your daughter would be killed.ā All the men directed their gun focus to Benny now.
āDrop your guns,ā Nasiru said to the men. They slowly began to comply.
āHello Senate President,ā Tarasha came in from behind the guards. She walked to the manās front and stood. Then she took a quick glance at her men, Cole, Benny and Aisha before returning her gaze to the man. āCome on Benny, treat the Senate President with respect.ā She said in a tone of mockery. Benny slowly took off the gun from the manās head. Cole bent down and began to pack the guns of the security men.
Tarasha took out her phone from the bag she had carried with her upstairs. She turned on the screen to check the time.
āWe only have fifteen minutes to get out of this house,ā she announced loudly. She took out a timer from her bag and showed it to the man, it was at thirty minutes and twenty three seconds, counting down.
āThe bomb on your daughterās body would be going off when this time counts down to the end. The place where the control point of the bomb will require fifteen minutes drive from here.ā She said, staring at the manās face squarely. āWell, fifteen minutes if thereās no traffic.ā
āWho are you?ā The man managed to mutter, squeezing his face bitterly.
āHahaha, youāre asking questions?ā Tarasha laughed out loud. āI will do you the honour of replying.ā She cleared her throat and folded her arms.
āYour people call me Samantha Osman.ā The manās face fell, a tear dropped from his eyes.
āIāve been expecting you, but please spare my daughter and my wife.ā
āOnly you can do that now, just follow us quietly and tell your security officials to remain calm until you return.ā She ordered.
Cole, Benny and Aisha kept staring at their boss in surprise. This was not their initial plan, what she was doing was far from their plan but they had complete trust in her. ā¦
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to be continued