We are really who we are, we all grew up in the same house though poor but we all past through the same experience but we turned out to be different people in life, Kehinde my eldest brother a dentist, Emily my immediate elder sister a medical doctor but I became a common thief, regardless of all the warnings and advice papa drummed into my ears “you are special Felix”, I had come to realise how special indeed I was, a renowed thief and assasin whom even the top goverment officials and the local drug barons respected.First I was wanted for petty pilferage but when I committed first murder and was sentenced to jail, then I became popular because the policemen who handled my case tried everything possible so that I would confess who my other members where, who was running the armoury for us and other questions they levelled at me, I remained strong and had sworn never to give up on any of my gang members, I was hanged, battered and tortured and was even given the highest drill which was the use of electric to eletricute me so that I would in pain break the strong wall I had built in my mind to confess but that didn’t happen, many atimes the dreaded officer Mubarak, a tall over 6ft policeman with his huge tribal marks that was like a scare on his face and his broad shoulder would pause during one of his too many quizzing to wipe the sweat of his face as he breathed heavily to look at me and say
“You bloody bastard! You are a hardened criminal, I swear by allah, if I have to peel you flesh to get information out of you I’ll go the extra mile”
Sitting in the dark room of my single cell as the stench from the prison cell was all that reminded of where I was and the eminent doom that had befallen me, with the small opening at the top left corner was all that made me know when it was day or night from the rays of light that passed through it, I had lost count of days, the only date I could remember was the day I got in but not certain the day I would go out, if there was even the slightest possibility that I would one day walk a free man, then I heard footsteps and I was tensed, the footstep and the imposing shadow that accompanied it made me scared, it only meant one thing each time someone walked towards my cell and that was torture, I stood up and then began to beg for mercy even before whoever that was appeared before me, first was the baton hitting on the bars of my cell block then appeared Officer Okon a kind short officer whose police uniforms were oversized as he look funny in them with his police barret always falling off his head each time he tried to walk fast or run, I heaved a sigh of relief, he is the nicest policeman I had every met, as all he did was advice me and then sneak in food for me, he acted strong and harsh whenever he is in the midst of other policemen, he was once ordered to drill me by a senior officer and the moment the senior officer left he began to advice me as his calabar accent affected his pidgin english and the way he pronounced things
“Abeg felix dis tin you dey so to yourself mbok! I swear e no good o, you for don end all dis katakata since by telling oga dem who your other members be, I no like as I dey beat you”
And the moment the heard the footstep of the senior officer that instructed him to drill me, he quickly grabbed me by the throat and then began to pretend as if he was choking me to say the truth, as he screamed so that the senior officer would hear his voice
“If you no confess I go kill you and bury you” he screamed.
All those thoughts came to my mind the moment he appeared before me saying with a smile
“You get luck o! Dem don release you.
TO BE CONTINUED

CONTINUES
I was confused and at the same time surprised as he brought out the large bunch of keys fron his pocket and opened the gates to the cell, I asked to know who was responsible for my being released and all he could reply me was
“Na one big Oga like that , instead of you to run dey comot you dey here dey ask me who release you, abi you no get money to pay house rent wey you wan take here like your house?”
I smiled as he escorted me the desk where my belongs were handed over to me and then I was made to sign my release papers then allowed to walk free, as I stepped out of the station with a happy heart, being skeptical about being released, enjoying the touch of sun to my skin which I had missed days or probably weeks, I noticed a black car with a goverment plate number parked outside with the glasses whined up and tinted, seeing who was inside was impossible and that was when a guy dressed in black suit and dark shade alighted from the car and waved at me, I smiled at him though I barely knew he was as he approached me and stretched his hand for a handshake, we shook hands as he introduced himself
“Am Khaled, I was sent by my boss to release you, officer Mubarak said you the right man for the job”
“Officer Mubarak? Your boss?…. Who is your boss please?” I asked
He smiled and then pointed his car saying
“Why don’t you join us in the car, I’ll explain better” he said
“Am not going anywhere bro, I need to know who your boss is and where you are taking me to” I replied
“I thought Officer Mubarak said you are a hard man, why are you puddling up all of a sudden” he said as he smiled
I summoned courage and walked into the car with him as I met an older guy and the driver in the car and they zoomed off, fingers crossed I said a little prayer as the car veered into the road, bedfore all this drama let me tell you how it all started.
Right after my WAEC, I had looked for admission into the higher institution but none was coming forth, as the popular saying goes “an idle mind is the devil workshop”, no money was coming from papa who was a bus driver, I had bills to pay, money to hang out with friends and experience most thing I heard my friends discuss each time we gather at the football field of the ancient primary school which almost everybody from this area of the suburbs graduated from, and it was two days to valentine’s day, all my friends were flaunting and bragging about the gift they had bought for their girlfriends or the girl they were trying to impress and I had nothing on me, Sarima my secondary school crush had asked what I was getting for her on valentines day when we met at the tap where everybody fetched water, I lied to her that her gift was ready but wasn’t going to disclose what I had as a gift for her, as the day drew closer my heart skipped with tension and sadness, so I called Anselem and narrated my situation to him, he looked at me for a while as he continued peeling his orange with a makeshift knife and then replied with all seriousness
“You sure say na dis ghetto dem born you? Oif true true say you drink dis sapele water with me, you no go ask me this mumu question” he replies
“Anselem tell me wetin to do na, shebi you be my friend?” I begged
“No worry you go follow me go The Great Supermarket for nite wen crowd plenty, na dia I go tell you wetin to do” he said as he continued peeling his orange.
TO BE CONTINUED

[b][/b] CONTINUES
Later that night while I was sitting outside with papa and the aroma from the goat meat Emily was preparing in the kitchen had papa and I salivating as the aroma filled the air, discussing about who was going to win the june 12 election , glancing through the newspaper he had on his hand as he would momentarily stop and say“Am sure this Abiola would shock the world if he win, that guys philantrophic feat can’t be matched by any other in the race, he is a man that has shown he has the people’s interest at heart” he said
The goverment or the election meant nothing to me for the two thing I cared about at that moment was the pot of stew on fire and the gift valentine gift for Sarima, not long did I hear someone whistle a sound with his mouth, which was the signal we used in calling ourselves as friends, I did not turn immediately so as not to give papa the impression that I was the one being called, I spent few more minutes with him and then slowly stood up, dragging my feet and yawn in pretence as if I was not going anywhere far, the moment I had reached the edge of our house, I turned and saw Anselem squatting at a corner, he stood up and pushed me on the shoulder saying
“You sef I no know how you allow your papa to dey package you like ajebutter when you be real kpako like us”
I smiled as we peered through the dark as the electricity that was available made visibility a little bit impaired as candle light even shined brighter than it, loud music from virtually all the houses in the slum blaring through their various speakers, everybody trying to outwit the other for these was our own way of showing who was richer than the other, we walked through the dark until we got to the main road, from where we were standing we could both see the huge signpost with “The Great Supermarket” boldly inscripted on it across the main road, than was when Anselem held my hands and said
“See wetin go happen if we reach there, I go dey ask Oga the great something while you go select one better gift put inside your shirt then we buy even if na biscuit fifty naira and then we comot”
That seemed like a perfect and easy plan, but the moment we crossed the road and then began to walk to the supermarket then I began to have cold feet, my mind jittery as I was sweating profusely in my palms, then Anselem walked into the supermarket with so much boldness, I followed behind trying so hard to conceal the fear inside of me as Anselem and I walked into the supermarket, I walked to the gift section where loads of perfume of different bottle shapes where put on display, Anselem engaged Oga the great in a discussion as he priced every biscuit in front of him while I slowly grabbed the bottle of perfume and tucked it inside my short as I walked to where Anselem was standing and that was when he pointed the biscuit he wanted as he handed Oga the great fifty naira and then we moved, now outside the supermarket as I slowly unveiled what I had stolen from the supermarket for Anselem to see we both heard Oga the great calling out Anselems name loud, I made the move run but Anselem was fast to hold my shirt while Oga the great walked to where we were standing, I concealed the perfume at my back as he looked at us with our heart pounding he said
“Una forget una change”
I smiled immediately as Anselem stretched his hand and collected our balance of the biscuit we bought which we forgot to collect when we were in a haste to leave his shop so that we would not be caught.
TO BE CONTINUED

[b]CONTINUES
Presenting that gift Sarima on Valentine day and the way she smiled and gave me my first peck since I started crushing on her made me see the beauty in stealing, you don’t have to stress yourself, you just have to wait let others acquire then you steal it from them, and that was how I slowly began to perfect the art of stealing, but what thickened the soft petals of my heart was when we went for our first robbery, the shoplifting was no longer fun anymore as we had perfected that art and did it with ease, we needed money to throw a wild party as we were slowly becoming famous in the slum, we were nicknamed “Legion of Doom” by the boys and girls in the slum, it was december period and we needed to throw a wild party and that when Anselem approached me at the football field were I was gambling with friends, he knelt down beside me as we formed a circle rolling dice, he tilted his head to my neck and whispered
“O boy make we see one side abeg, I get something important to tell you” he said
I lifted my face and looked as his and I could see that he was serious, I rolled the dice in my hand and threw it on the ground and the dice rolled two uneven numbers, which meant that I had lost, in pain I stood up, cleaned the dust on my shorts and followed him, we walked farther into the field where it was just him and I as he drew me closer and spoke in a low tone and said
“I get info say that man wey dey change dollar for junction carry better money come him house today”
I was a bit confused as at how the information was of importance to me so I asked
“Wetin concern us for the guy money na?”
He looked at with disgust and then shook his head and then spat on the floor
“You be just mumu, I dey tell you confirm gist, instead of you go think of how we go take move the money you dey here dey ask stupid question” he said
Then it dawned on me that he wanted us to go steal the money
“How only two of us go take enter that house thief that money, be like say to die don dey hungry you” I queried
He sat down on the ground almost immediately and then looked at me smiling as he began to shower praises on me
“Hardman! I talk am say you na born criminal, you know say my mind no reason reach that side sef, how we go do na? We gats recruit people enter this our clique oh” he said
And that was how we became a gang of six, first to be recruited was Bomber, a tall lanky dude known for fighting in the slum, if someone had offended you and you had no strength to settle the scores, you would hire Bomber for a fee which is usually a bottle of dry gin and two wraps of marijuana and then we recruited Ceasar, followed by Solotinto and then Mountain whose dad was a notorious native doctor, he bragged about how he could use the efficacy of his fathers juju to aid our robbery to go as smooth as planned with no hitches, so we drafted the perfect plan on how to rob that house that night.
TO BE CONTINUED[/b]

[b]CONTINUES
I sneaked out from our house at exactly 11pm when everybody had gone to sleep, walking through the dark slowly so as not arouse the attention of the local vigilante, I got to the point where they used as their camping point, I saw five men in circles as they had gathered round a fire they made, clutching their long matchete as they discussed, my heart racing fast as I walked in slow calculated steps, my legs kicked one of the too many empty cans that littered the floor of the slum, one of the vigilante turned to my direction and flashed his torch as I hid at a corner, using the darkness as my only shield as the light from his torch was not able to expose me where I had closely hidden myself, another member of the vigilante group turned to the guy with the torch saying” E go be one of these hungry pussy wey dey find wetin him go chop”
And immediately the guy switched of his torch, the moment his back faced me I ran with the speed of light, not looking back if anyone had seen me, as I ran to the agreed meeting point only for me to realise that I had come late as every other member of the gang was there as I had come late due to the time I wasted trying to dodge from the vigilante group, Bomber was the first to react as he stood up and walked up to me and grabbed me by the throat, pressing my neck so hard as if he wanted to strangle me to death while I gasped for breath as I went straight for his loins and grabbed his penis and squeezed it harder than he tried to strangle me, instantly he left my throat while in anger I held unto his pennis, he groaned in pain as he tried to get my hands off but I resisted, Anselem got pissed at the turn of events, he stood up quietly and walked to where I was and spoke slowly with the odour of alcohol coming from his mouth he said
“Una be real mumu!, Felix I swear you no get sense, c’mon leave Bomber for him blockos make we go hustle jor”
My rising temper calmed like the seaside breaze on a hot afternoon, I relieved Bomber of the pain I was inflicting on him and walked to where others were sitting and joined them, while Bomber held his groin region and then looked at me as he shook his head and said
“I go show you pepper no worry, no be sarima papa house we dey go so!”
At the mention of Sarima I became tensed and scared what Bomber might do to Sarima if we finally break into their house, as we all stood up and began the journey to our first ever robbery as a gang, my legs began to get weak as sweat fuelled by the tension I was feeling dripped off my face as I wished the robbery plan did not go successful as I was afraid of what Bomber would do to Sarima, just like a goat been dragged to the alter for sacrifice I had no option, this was not the time to bail out, I would be looked upon as a snitch or a half-man so joined them without thinking of the consequences.
TO BE CONTINUED[/b]

[b]CONTINUES
We tried so that he would not see us as we threw our faces at different directions, but with his imposing shadow getting close, we knew that he was fast approaching us as Mountain maned up and walked up to him with a big smile and stretched his hand forth and shook hands with him saying
“O boy howfar na? Dis wan wey na only u come club alone?”
He smiled too and then gave Mountain a path on the back saying
“I don dey find una since, I go like join una clique o!”Mountain and the rest of us were shocked as Mountain held him by the hand and lead him to our table, as if automated we all stood at the same time, flashing our teeths with a fake smile and then shook hands with him, immediately Mountain began a proper introduction as he said
“O boy we don get new member for this our squad o, this Abdul guy resemble person wey get mind and na wetin we need right now”
I was shocked to my bones that Mountain didn’t even think of the implications of letting someone we had hurt that bad to sit with us, not just merry with us but be a member, the rest of the gang members felt comfortable with him in our midst, days later when I confronted Anselem and told him my stand on letting Abdul to be a member, he waved it off with a simple reply of
“The guy no know say na we make that waka, him just wan join the squad wey dey reign for this ghetto”
I felt like the rest of the members were deluded and couldn’t see a red light at the end of the tunnel.
……………………………………………………………………
The sun was in a happy mood as it smiled at us mildly while we were under the tall mango tree, the leaves provided enough shade as we gather under it gambling and smoking marijuna, a strange dark short man decked in a well starched white shirt and black trousers, his expensive wristwatch and shoes sold him out that he was not from this part of the ghetto, were money for such expensive watch would be used to pay house rent to somewhere far from the slum, he was afraid to come closer to us as we could visibly see his legs shaking as he greeted us in his well polished english
” Good afternoon boys!, am looking for Felix”
I was shocked when my name came out of his mouth, we all paused starring at him as we closely observed if he was clean shaved for a clean shaved man putting a black shoe is what we use to identify those in the military, all set to run when he said
“I was told that I can trust him and that only him and his friends can do the business I brought for him”
At the mention of “Business” I raised my hands immediately and identified myself, as I walked up to him with the countenace of a bad guy, frowned face with my jumbo sized marijuana in my hands I asked him with my fake Baritone voice
“Na me be Felix, which business b dat you bring come meet me”
He smiled as he happily shook hands with me, I offered him a sit amongst as he sat beside Abdul our newest member as he narrated the reason he was here to see us, his company was about to transfer a huge sum of money to their headquarters and he wanted us to intercept the money as it would be just him and the driver escorting the money to their headquarters, we intercept them with the information he would give us and take it to a safe location where we would then share the money in percentage ratio, the doubting thomas in me made me so scared as I asked him
“Oga what if police come catch you and them beat you, hope you no go call our name? Because na you and the driver go be the prime suspect”
“If you shoot either my hand or leg, I won’t be seen as a suspect” the man replied
We burst into laughter, Solotinto could not believe the words that came out of the man’s mind
“Oga aswear you suppose join us dey do this work because walahi I never see person wey get mind like you, so you ready take bullet because this operation”
He shook his head and replied “yes I can, for twenty one million naira I can do anything”
That was when he did really let the cat out of the bag, as initially he didn’t disclose the amount, indeed we were all in as such kind of opportunity barely comes on a platter of gold, we exchanged phone numbers as he told us the exact date and time when the money would be conveyed to their headquarters, it was exactly in two days time.
We knew such robbery was huge for this was not a war of knives and mere threats but of guns and a blotted off fears and emotions, we knew this was not only dangerous but if not properly handled could lead to death, so we took all the necessary steps to make sure it was a smooth operation, Abdul and Solotinto were sent to survey the point where the vehichle would be intercepted and then we were faced with an uphill task of getting guns for the mission, we had asked virtually all known notorious guys in the ghetto to lend us their gun but there replies were the same[/b]

[b]CONTINUES
If una no go involve us for the waka, then I no go borrow you my kpanla make you go use hustle”
They all wanted in before they could lend us their guns and a third party was not needed at the moment, so Bomber suggested that we meet “Old Soldier”, that was the name we all called him in our slum, an old haggard looking police officer who is always drunk and staggering each you see him, most times I wonder how he got into the police academy, rumour has it that it was the blood of the innocent people that he killed in the past is what is haunting him and that’s why he is always drunk so as to evade the thoughts of the evil he had committed.
We met “old soldier” at the brothel a night before the robbery, as he was willing to supply us guns only if we are willing to divulge our mission to him, Bomber was quick to reply him with all the information we had on ground as he felt Old Soldier wasn’t a threat in anyway to us, he pleaded anonymity as we followed him to his house where he handed the guns over to us, two pistol and two AK47 for fifty thousand of which we made a down payment of seven thousand naira.
By dawn we all gathered at the filled, everybody’s was high as we drank ourselves to stupor, the fear of the unknown was visible on every faces as nobody talked to each other, and then my phone rang, we all knew who that was, when I picked the call the voice on the other side said
“You guys should start coming to jakande street, we are about to move”
For the first time we held hands together while Anselem prayed, we needed journey mercies for a safe robbery!, there was nothing weird about it when Anselem lead the prayer but when we chorused “Amen” it was then it dawned on us that what we were about to embark on was a high profile robbery, but we ignored our inner conscience as we entered the bus hired by Solotinto and then drove off to Jakande street.
We parked our bus at Jakande junction waiting in fear for the said car to appear on the road from any direction it so chooses, not long had we waited when my phone beeped and it was a message from the insider which reads
“In the next three minutes you will see us”
I filled in the rest on the build up of things as Solotinto, Mountain and Bomber jumped out of the car and walked down the street with their pistols concealed in their shirts, while Anselem, Abdul and I sat in the car waiting in anticipation, my heartbeat raced fast as I was engulfed with fear, I did the sign of the cross almost thrice and then held on to the long AK47 in my hand with all courage I could muster, our roaming thoughts was brought back to reality when we heard shots fired as I turned to see a blue van in high speed with Solotinto and Bomber chasing after it, immediately Anselem rushed and put the car in ignition, he used the bus to baricade the road as we all jumped down from the bus and rounded them up, the guy that had arranged for the robbery attack was inside the van with the driver, he was pleading as if he had no hand in the robbery and acted like we were total stranger to him, he begged Bomber as he held unto Bomber’s shirt screaming
“Abeg no kill me! I am a family man o!”
Bomber pushed so hard that he fell to the ground and almost immediately Abdul and Mountain opened the back of the van and there was the twenty something millions stacked in bags, they began to quickly transfer the money while Bomber and Anselem kept firing shots in the air as passerbys took to their heels, by the time they were done transferring the money into our bus, Bomber faced his gun at the driver who was crying and pleading for his life and shot him on the head! We all were surprised as we all paused starring at Bomber, the guy that had arranged the robbery was surprised too as he watched blood gush out of his drivers head, he then turned to Bomber saying
“I never said you should kill anybody! Jesus christ! You just killed my younger brother”
He began to cry as he grabbed the now lifeless body of his brother screaming as he left his blood stain his white shirt freely
“This was not the plan! O what have I done to myself”
The blaring of the police siren gave us the needed push to know that it was time to leave the crime scene, as Anselem bent down to console him, he pushed Anselem’s hand away and dived him, he held on to Anselem so hard screaming
“One of you must pay for this” we all jumped into the bus when the police van had appeared from the other end of the road, as their van drove closer Abdul tapped my shoulder pointing at the police van saying
“See Old Soldier inside the police van, this guy don leak our info give him men”
Anselem tried to struggle himself out of the man’s grip but it was not possible as our car was about to move I raised my gun up and shot the man point blank, but then our car had already moved.
TO BE CONTINUED[/b]

[b]CONTINUES
We drove at high speead, scaring other cars ahead of us with the sound of the gun shot fired into the air by Bomber, while Solotinto drove faster than any F1 race I had ever seen, as the police van chased us to close that when we got to a bend their van was now too close for comfort, that was when Mountain opened fired on them, shattering the windscreen of the police van as a loud scream of pain was heard, it ticked in our sub consciousness that the bullet must have hit the driver of the police van as their van which was in a hot chase began to turn in circle, we did heave a sign of relief when we turned and notice that their car had been compelled to come to a compulsory halt, as we drove faster without any sign of them behind us, Bomber was the first to start the jubilation as he peered the three large bag and screamed singing the popular Olu maintain 2007 hit song“Maga don pay, shout halleluyah”
We all smiled as we drove into another street this time in a normal speed like every other cars in the street, looking for a link road that would lead us to the highway so that we could drive home and share the dividends of a near death experience we all just had only for us to see the police van at our back out of the blues, my heart skipped when I turned and saw them driving at high speed with us, this time it was Old Soldier that was on steering, he cared less that we all could see his face, as the police van got closer to us the opened fire on us, the anger of what we had done to one of their men made them pull the trigger non-stop as their bullets shattered the back windscreen, burrying holes every part of the car, we all laid down flat so that the bullets aimed at us wouldn’t get to touch us.
I grabbed the gun in my hand slowly lifting up my head to see how close they were while Mountain kept shouting at Solotinto to drive faster
“My man march that truttle! If dis people catch us we don die today”
Solotinto lowered his head while he pedalled us to wherever he felt would lead to the highway, the sound of the bullet tearing through metal showered like rain on us, our heads down as I and Bomber stare at each other in fear when he looked at me in a rather awkward way and said
“O boy dem don shoot you o!”
I was confused at what he was saying as our car swerved and we rolled to the other side of the bus and then he continued
“See blood for your ear”
It was then I began to feel the stint of pain as I touched my ears and felt it, looking at my hand as it was covered in blood, the bullet missed my head by the whiskers, fear gripped my being and that was when I began to feel the stint of pain from the bleeding, Solotinto who was driving began to shout
“Kai! Bleep up! Kasala don burst be dis o!”
We all thought he was hit by a bullet as I raised my head up and asked
“Solo wetin be dat”
“No road for here o! Na here the road end, after this fence na lagoon o!” He replied
I began to shiver as Solotinto drove close to the fence and stopped the car, we all jumped out of the bus, dragging the large ‘ghana must go’ bags along with us, Solotinto fired two shots into the air before lifting one of the bag and then threw it over the fence and followed suit, while Mountain threw his bag too over and jumped the fence too, it was now I, Abdul and Bomber that were left, as Bomber threw the bag over and made for the fence, he was almost over the fence when a policeman shot him on his leg, he screamed and fell back to the ground and then began to beg Abdul
“Abeg help me jump this fence! I no suppose die here”
I was shocked when Abdul walked closer to him and spat on his face saying
“You get mind come my house come rape my sister in front of my mama and papa, make thunder fire you dia!”
He corked his gun and shot Bomber twice to the chest and then turned me saying
“This is between us!”
And then jumped the fence while I followed him and dived into the lagoon, we swam to safety and then found refuge in a hotel room with over twenty million wet naira notes, to others it was the police that killed Bomber as we sat in the hotel room still shivering in fear, Mountain could not believe he got out alive as he kept shouting and thanking God
“Oluwa na him save us o! If we no go back ghetto go deal with Old Soldier na mumu all of us be” he said
I walked to where Solotinto was sitting and staring at the mirror as he had been silent since we lodged inside the hotel, I shook hands with him and thanked him
“Solo if no be you all of us for don die today”
He just smiled and continued looking at the mirror, while Abdul kept starring at my as if I would reveal what I witnessed, he then decided to talk.
TO BE CONTINUED[/b]

CONTINUES
By morning the story of the robbery had gone out, it was headline news on every television station, when we switched on the Television and saw Anselem sitting on the ground in handcuffs with a swollen face which was as a result of the torture he had passed through in the hands of the police officers, the newscaster was quick to add that he was been held by the men of the Operatives of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, it was then it dawned on us that Old Soldier had guts to gather the most feared squad of the nigerian army to lay ambush for us, it was either for the money or promotion that would be the motive, the newscaster also said that Anselem would be charged to court later today as the D.P.O been interviewed said it was all in the vein of bringing criminals to justice.We sent Onome who has now become like a sister to all of us to go to the police station were Anselem was been held and pretend that she was looking for her missing brother and then while away her time there until she sees Anselem whose pictures we had shown her, if she sees where he is been taken into the car, she should call us and notify us, she was also instructed to observe the number of security details that was arranged to escort Anselem to the court, I also told her to find a way to get his attention and that when she get his attention all she should say is God is Great supermarket.
Onome walked into the large expanse of land of the SARS headquarters, the neatly lawned grasses and the flag of the nigerian police that was hung at the center of the compound gave it the ambience of a staunch security outfit as it was quiet but inside the SARS headquarters is home to some of the most dreaded criminals, her feets were shaky as she walked closer to the building, when she got inside she noticed that it was quiet different from the normal police station settings she had known, instead of old painted building and hungry looking officers who spoke pidgin english freely and insulted visitors without regard to class, instead she saw a well furnished reception with an LCD TV hung up at left side of the wall, while the receptionist is a fair pretty police recruit who looked dashing in her police uniform
“Excuse me officer, please am here to report a missing person case” Onome said
The police officer smiled as she stretched her hand on the table saying
“Am sorry madam, missing persons cases aren’t meant to be handled by us” she replied
Onome was quick to reply so as to ensure a steady discussion and kill time so as to see when Anselem would be driven to the court house
“I have reported this case to the police but yet its almost one week now and no result is coming forth” Onome quickly replied
“Alright that means you have to fill this form” the police receptionist handed her a white sheet of paper.
Just as she began to fill the form she heard struggling from inside the inner part of the building until the noise began to build up and then she saw Anselem decked only on his pants as he was handcuffed and been dragged by two policemen, the moment they got closer Onome began to ask the receptionist in a rather unsual loud tone
“Please can you spell God is Great Supermarket?”
And the receptionist was a bit surprised at her question as she tilted her head reeling out the body language of someone who didn’t hear what she had said and then Onome shouted
“God is Great Supermarket!!”
The moment Anselem heard those words from Onome’s mouth, he turned and was staring at Onome who had her gaze fixed on the receptionist, immediately he sensed that their was the presence of his other gang members as only I and Anselem could understand what that meant as it was the beginning of where we began to rob, immediately Onome dropped the form on the table, stood up and walked out briskly, she got out of the building as she hurriedly dipped her hand into her phone and called my phone, the moment I answered the call I heard her low tone over the phone saying
“He is been taken to the car now, when I dropped the code he was quick to understand, am coming back now now…”
Next I heard was another male voice on the background saying
“Coming back to where?”
When Onome turned she saw a male police officer and the receptionist at her back, the male officer shouted at her
“If you no bring that phone now I go smash your head for wa”
Onome almost urinated in her pants as fear took a total hold of her being, she handed her phone to the male officer who then looked at the phone scrolling through the contact and then dialled the last number Onome called and then put it on loudspeaker, Onome was surprised when a female voice answered the call and then began to talk
“Pls give Onome the phone, tell her that our brother just returned from only heaven knows where.
TO BE CONTINUED

CONTINUES
The moment the officer heard the female voice, he handed the phone back to Onome and the gave her a strong warning
“Next time report missng person case somewhere else” he said
She walked out of the premises of the SARS headquarters with a thrubbing heart and then watched as the car conveying Anselem zoomed off, immediately she boarded a taxi heading towards the hotel.
……………………………………………………………………
“Make we share this money na! Me I wan use my own travel go yankee, dis thief man life don tire me” Abdul said
As we sat the bed preparing to go lay ambush for the army officers and then free Anselem, Abdul who sat very close to the small refrigderator with his arm resting on it was visibly shaking wit fear as he was not even holding his gun which he had beside him, I raised my head not in fear but in surprise that he could open up and say he was done with all that being an armed robber entails, I knew he joined our group to seek revenge on Bomber which he had fufilled that to the letter and now he wants to move on, what happened to Anselem must have instilled the fear of “dis world na jungle, no be all bush meat wey comot go find food dey come back” for this was the popular saying in the ghetto, we all knew deep down that anyday we went our on a mission, that there is a very obvious possibility that one of us might not come back with the rest,
“Na craze dey worry you abi?, look all of us wey sidon here so, you think say as we dey thief the thing dey sweet us? Who no wan travel go yankee? We go wait until Anselem come before we begin reason to share dis money” Solotinto barked at him
Abdul stood up and stretched his hand towards the center table, grabbed a bottle of whiskey that was open and gulped almost its content and then said
“No wahala, anyhow una want am, me Abdul Usman I position gidigba”
Immediately Mountain stood up with the strap of his gun on his shoulder and a stick of cigarrette in his hand and then signalled that is was time for us to move, I grabbed the pistol beside the bed and conceal it in my trousers as we walked out of the room to the hallway of the hotel, and then down to the car park and then jacked a car and zoomed off.
Solotinto was the driver while I sat in the front and then Mountain and Abdul sat at the back, we drove towards the third mainland bridge and then parked our car for that was the only route leading to the court house, Solotinto and Mountain opened the bonnet of the car in pretence that the car was bad as we waited patiently for the prison car to pass, Abdul who was so moody and sober touched me on my shoulder while I was looking at the rear mirror to see if the prison can was in view, I turned towards him and he said in a low tone
“Felix I no go lie I dey fear, I dey sense say something bad wan happen, why we no leave dis thing comot here” he said
I tried to reassure him that everything was fine as I smiled though with a heart shrewded in fear I said
” Abdul no worry nothing go happen to us, all of us go flex that money wey dey our hotel room together”
He was not convinced enough but he gave out a faint smile in agreement, just then I turned my eyes back to the rear mirror and saw the van of the prison officers approaching third mainland brigde, I honked the horn of the car which was the signal for Mountain and Solotinto to know that I had seen the car, they closed the bonnet of the car and joined us inside, as the car approached where we were, we alighted from our car and then opened fire on the car, aiming the tyres and the driver side so as to bring the car to instant halt, there was instanteneous chaos on the bridge as drivers were reversing their cars while the two army officers in the car that conveyed Anselem began to exchange fire with us when their car came to an instant halt, as they were inside their car shooting, Abdul was quick to move forward towards them and then skillfuly ran to the back of the closed van and shot at the padlock that was used to lock Anselem, and Anselem was set free!, he smiled the moment he saw Abdul, they hugged each other while the rest of the gang members engaged the army officer in a heavy gun duel, Abdul fired some shots aimed at the army men as he bent down with Anselem closely following him behind as they ran towards their car, his shot hit one of the army officer in the head and he died instantly.
We all ran into the car as Solotinto put the key in ignition and zoomed off, Mountain kept shouting out of joy as he fired shots into the air, it was not evident that our reign as the lords of the dark world is going to reverred as legendary for none had pulled such feat.
I turned to see Abdul wriggling in pain as a bullet had hit his side and he was bleeding, he looked at me which pity all over his face
“Please incase I no make am.
TO BE CONTINUED

CONTINUES
make una carry my share of the money give my sister, she need use am take care of her pikin”
There was silence as I tried in every was to reassure Abdul that he would make it alive
“You sabi talk anyhow, you wey go follow us go club dis nyt, you no go die jare”
We had not drove for too long when we Anselem was the first to notice that Abdul was no longer breathing again, his heart was stung by that as he screamed
“Chie! Chie! Abdul don waka! My man don kpai! Dis life no go sweet again o” he cried
Tears drooled down my cheeks as we all cried and then Solotinto stopped the car at the lonely bush path, tears in his eyes as he opened the back seat and pulled out the lifeless body of Abdul and dragged it into the bush and dumped it there and then entered the car and continued driving towards the hotel.
When we got to the hotel and opened the door, we notice that our hotel has been ransacked clean and the two hefty bag of naira notes were missing!, only for me to see a note on the fridge, while Solotinto, Mountain and Anselem were screaming and shaking their head, I unfolded the note which reads
“I am sorry I had to betray the trust you guys had with me, judging from how you got this money, if steal it back from you guys I guess its the same way that you got it is the same way it went, don’t bother looking for me for am no longer in lagos, I have travelled to a far place, Goodbye Onome”
I felt goose pimples all over my body after reading that letter, its not been up to an hour since we left for the mission and back and from the letter I can deduce that she was not travelling out of the country, for she to say ” I have travelled to a far place” indicates its within nigerian
“Dis no be time to dey cry like pikin, na Onome thief the money, make we rush go all park wey dey carry people go benin, if we dey fast we go see Onome.
TO BE CONTINUED

CONTINUES
Instantly they all obeyed, this was the first time I had brought up a suggestion and no one countered it, we smartly hid our guns in the wardrobe and left in search of our fortune in the hands of Onome who knew almost nothing of what we passed through to get that money.
I headed straight for Agofure park in mile 2 which is one of the most famous transport company known for conveying people travelling to benin, the park was filled as people struggled to get tickets, while traders displayed their goods at another corner, the floor was littered with sachet of water and empty cans of various kind of frenzy drinks, I peered through the crowd as I stood at the entrance looking carefully if I would see Onome but she was nowhere to be found, I walked into the park where the big inscription “BENIN“ was hung on the wall and passengers queued to get their tickets, scanning through the crowd in desperation but Onome was still not there, it became obvious to me that she was not in the park, her bus must have left the park before I arrived!, tears came cascading down my cheek as I walked out of the park slowly dragging my feets, when I got to the entrance of the gate I bought bottled water from a trader, quickly opened it and poured the chilled water on my head to calm my aching nerves, just as I waved a taxi to stop, entered it and he was about to move that was when I saw Onome coming down from a tricycle and the dragging the two hefty bag of money off the tricycle, I told the taxi driver to drive a little bit farther so as to properly hide and not let Onome see me
“Oga once I put this car for ignition anywhere u drop na thirty naira” driver replied
If only the driver knew how much I was trailing he would have known that thirty naira was the least of my worries, the real lagosians see every opportunity as one to make money, as he drove me further, I quickly opened my wallet with my fixed on Onome who could not see me from where I was and then I gave the driver fifty naira, he knew I was in a hurry to leave as he pretended to be looking for the balance of twenty naira, after almost a minute of frantic futile search, he raised his head up and said
“Oga no change o!, wetin we go do”
I just turned and began to walk towards the park, from the corner of my eyes I could see the driver smiling, I walked in the park when a bus drove inside, using the bus as a cover until it parked right in the middle of the park, I tiptoed to a corner where an Hausa man sold cigarretes and sweets and sat by his kiosk, I was right with my thinking initially as I looked at the spot where passenger who were travelling to Benin stood to get ticket and there was Onome waiting for her turn to get ticket.
I paid one of the touts in the park to stand at her back and buy the ticket that was after her, since buses arrange passengers according to serial number on the ticket, when he handed the ticket over to me I was number eight, I had no plan on how to get the money from Onome but I had resolved to follow the money to where ever it was going, so I waited patiently until the driver of the bus that was taking us to Benin began to call the numbers boldly written on our tickets for us to enter, I saw Onome carefully lift the two bags of money into the back of the bus and then her number was called as she looked at her ticket and then entered the bus, my number on the ticket was called as I came forth and handed over my ticket to the driver who wrote something on it and then handed it over to me, I walked into the bus and then sat beside her!, she felt like jumping off the window when she saw me
“Just calm down, let’s get off this bus in peace” I said
“Dis one no go happen for this park o!” She replied
Out of the purse she was carrying, she brought out a pistol from her hand bag and then slowly placed it on my tommy and said
“We all go die here be that, you better shutup and follow me, if we reach benin I go find you your cut” she said
Keeping a mean face void of emotions, I knew she meant every word that came out of her mouth so I remained silent and maintained decorum while other passengers began to sit in their respective seats.
TO BE CONTINUED

CONTINUES
Few minutes after the bus moved a passenger stood up and then began to advertise the drugs he was selling, we all listened carefully as he told what each drug in his hands were meant for, finally he said
“Una see dis medicine wey I hold for hand like dis, if you never shit for plenty days or you wan purge or deworm your pikin, dis medicine dey work like magic”
I raised my hand up and bought the drugs, Onome looked at me and said
“How you wan take sleep when every night na gun una dey carry till morning”
I smiled at her and then the journey kicked off, not long had we moved did Onome bring out a pack of orange juice from her bag, she opened it and drank from it, the heavy breeze from the open window made her sleep, I slowly lift the juice and then turned the whole bottle of the liquid into the pack of juice and then relaxed back like nothing had happened, minutes later she wokeup and then grabbed the pack of juice and then drank from it, the efficacy of the drug wasn’t in its full power, I was beginning to get worried that the drug wasn’t working so I began to think of the next move when Onome wokeup and then began to hold her tummy, she raised her head up and wiped the sweat off her face, as we drove to another park were the bus driver was to refuel his car and to allow passengers stretch, she looked at me and said
“If you make any funny move I swear I go kill you” she said
As she stood up and walked so fast and then ran towards the toilet of the park of Agofure, I waited until she was out of sight and then walked to the back of the bus and then opened the booth of the bus and then removed the bags of money, a passenger turned and said
“Na you get that bag? I think say na one girl get am?”
I shook my head and replied her quietly
“Na me get am, na here I dey stop”
The rest of the passengers turned back and then carried the bags and then loaded it on a waiting bike, as the bike began to move I saw Onome coming out of the toilet, before she could run towards were I was, we had gone far when she began to raise alarm!.
I safely returned the money to the hotel, when I opened the door of the hotel room and saw the rest of the gang members waiting patiently in anticipation for me, they all jumped up in happiness and hugged the bag of money.
We had shared the money and then drinking in happiness, as the day grew older older we began to prepare for the final battle, to go pay Old Soldier a final visit, I was scared and skeptical about the final visit, the burning anger of revenge could end up burning us all, at exactly nine O’clock we had set out to pay Old Soldier a final visit and also to give Salamatu the share of her brothers loot.
Walking into the heavily densed slum were we all grew up reminded us of were we grew up, the pain and poverty that drove us into the hard life none of us initially planned, as we walked past my house I could hear my fathers voice in the background, my heart skipped and I remembered what home felt like, though we had no money but there was love, not long had we rigmarolled through the small space did we run into Salamatu as she had a portuding tummy with a bucket of water on her head, it was Solotinto that first saw her and called out her name, she turned and quickly recognised us as she dropped the bucket of water on the ground and ran towards us, she hugged Solotinto and the rest while I was the last she hugged, immediately she saw she began to cry as her head was buried on my chest, she sobbed for a while and then raised her head up and asked
“Where is my brother? This one he is not with you guys?
TO BE CONTINUED

Real or fiction?

Following silently

CONTINUES
I looked at her and felt the pain in her heart but couldn’t tell her the truth about the whereabout of her brother Abdul, I opened my mouth to talk and I lied
“You brother is alive but he is in prison, he gave me this money to give to you to take care of yourself”
I handed over the school bag I was carrying and gave it to her, she took the bag from me and opened it, she almost screamed as she looked at me saying
“How did he get all this money?”
“That’s not the issue Salamatu, take this money and get out of this hood and find a better life for you and your family” I replied
She took the bag, leaving the bucket of water and walked briskly into the dark towards her house direction, and then we continued to walk towards Old Soldiers house in twos, when we got to his house we began to hear noise in the house, Mountain pimped through the window and noticed they were packing their luggage, seems Old Soldier must have got the signal from his other military friends that we had rescued Anselem, he knew there was fire on the mountain and he had to run before we could get a hold of him but it was too late because we had surrounded his home, Solotinto was the first to walk to the door in anger and marched the wooden door open, they were all cut by surprise as we walked into the house and Anselem ordered every member of Old Soldier as he screamed
“If una make one noise aswear all of us go die here” he said
Old Soldier who looked really surprise as he began to shout
“Egbami o!”
Mountain slapped him as the rest of his family member obeyed us and laid down flat on the ground, Anselem pulled out his pistol and shot Old Soldiers wife on the head, in total desperation he jumped up and began to struggled the pistol Anselem was holding, the tussle continued, there was a moment of chaos as his son and daughter felt they could over power us, I pulled out my gun and decided to end the tussle between Old Soldier and Anselem as I aimed at Old Soldier and fired, he turned swiftly and then used Anselem as a shield, piercing through his rib cage Anselem screamed out and it was then it dawned on me that I had shot my bestfriend, as I turned to check and I noticed that the rest of my gang member are lying dead on the floor, as Old Soldier quickly rushed me I fired two shot at him, falling to the ground while his son and daughter began to raise alarm, I quickly made for the window, I was almost through to the window when Old Soldiers son shot me on the leg, before I could raise up my head I was surrounded by neighbours.
That’s how I got to the beginning of this story, I was l locked up in prison while the money we all fought and all died for was left in that hotel wardrobe.

THE END.......

eeyah!!!sorry oo...men i love that old soldier

Ouch! What a touching story to got there. Hmmm nice anyways, it brings me bak to tinx past.

U welcum dearie. Hope u wil write a new story soon?