‘Oga, you too dull,’ Ghost said, obviously infuriated, ‘make you pull trigger, you dey fear’.
Tobi did not bother explaining to him because he was still not sure what his strategy was. Ghost just drank his beer, still grumbling.
‘It’s your life bro’, he said finally, ‘I have a major hit tonight’.
Tobi wondered why it was easy for him to talk about taking someone’s life without flinching.
‘..you go follow?’, Ghost voice slipped into his subconscious mind.
‘I’ll pass’, Tobi replied hurriedly which made his friend laugh, ‘what’s funny?’.
‘You too dey fear’, Ghost replied still laughing.
Ghost briefed him about the target which shocked Tobi. He thought the target was a corrupt politician.
‘You want to kill a man because of what he wrote’, he asked stupidly, ‘You should target corrupt people’.
‘Am I Robinhood or Batman’, Ghost said, with ice, ‘Wake up from your sleep. Corrupt and rich people pay people like me’.
He stood up angrily and walked away; not before throwing a parting shot at Tobi.
‘See how far your sanctimonious attitude has brought you’, he said.
Tobi was left speechless. He has a point though, he reasoned. He saw the envelope Ghost left behind. After some minutes of deliberation, he opened it and saw the details of the target. He remembered reading a newspaper that featured an interview with the author – Rahman Abubakar. He carefully arranged the documents back into the envelope before his friend got back. Nawa o, he could not get it off his mind, na so person go die. The thought was on his mind when he slept off.

Oge wondered why Ella’s images kept crawling into his dreams. He had stumbled on their pictures. I guess that’s what triggered the thought, he reasoned. He wondered if she was doing fine. He almost paid her a visit once but chickened out at the last minute for obvious reasons. She go don become big nurse by now, he thought while pacing around his room. He felt stupid for thinking about her when she must have obviously moved on. He found himself pondering if she was thinking about him too. That brought a smile to his face; just the thought of her having sleepless night because of him. Oga you have better things to do, he reminded himself. He continued packing what he needed for the weekend. He was on two weeks leave and he intended to enjoy it to the fullest; or rest as the case may be.

Rahman and Tolu had spent the whole day signing one document or the other so they decided to enjoy the rest of the night at a bar.
‘I’ve been receiving calls all day with silence on the other end’, Rahman informed his lawyer, ‘I wonder who the prankster is’.
‘Maybe just an admirer who is shy to talk’, Tolu said smoothly, ‘moreover maybe na fine babe’.
‘I no get time for babe now’, Rahman said.
‘Aboki, you need Yarinya soon’, Tolu said laughing. He meant ‘wife’ in Hausa; which was Rahman’s tribe.
‘No be only Yarinya, na iyawo’, Rahman replied shaking his head but a smile tucked at his lips, ‘I just want to focus on my goals before facing any woman issues for now’.
‘Take your time brother’, Tolu said patting his friend on the back, ‘Babu Kudi, babu yarinya’. Rahman laughed so loud that everyone looked over at them. No money, no wife; he laughed at his friend’s ingenious coinage from an Hausa adage: Babu kudi, babu aboki – No money, no friend.
‘You no well’, he giggled.
They talked some more and left the bar after some drinks.
‘When next we go see?’, Tolu said when they got to the car park.
‘I don’t even know,’ Rahman said thinking of when he would create time.
‘Just buzz me anytime’, Tolu said.
‘I really appreciate your help bro’, Rahman said sincerely, ‘I don’t know if I’ll have the chance to say it as often as I should’.
‘Don’t mention bro’, Tolu replied appreciating it all the same and gave his friend a hug.
Just then a deafening shot rang out disturbing the serenity of the night. Rahman turned around but saw nothing but a sound from Tolu brought his focus back. He noticed a red spot on his friend’s shirt which was spreading. The shock on his friend’s face was matched only by his own. He caught his friend as he slumped.
‘No, Tolu..’ Rahman stuttered. Random thoughts filled his head, ‘someone please hellppp’.
He tried to stop the bleeding when he noticed a movement out of the corner of his eyes. He looked up hoping to see an helper but he looked into eyes as deadly as a vampire. He stared at the eyes of a stone cold killer; the eyes of Ghost…….


www.realyans./2014/10/01/the-convict-the-broken-and-the-storyteller-links-to-the-part/