CHAPTER FORTY ONE

What to do with Chambers since they now had first hand information of where to find Smoke and his gang became another worry to Colour and Ken Solomon as they headed back to the beach bar that evening. Colour had briefly explained Chamber’s role to Ras Pako and his part so far.

‘’ Why una no put am inside the next bus back to Abuja, and settle him. Wow! That guy fit drink river, Rasta! ‘’ Pako exclaimed with a smile.

‘’ Yes, Chambers worship beer…so what do we do with him? ‘’ Colour threw the question at Ken Solomon who was now excited that he was finally getting closer to his mission.

‘’ Everyone we meet along the circumstances of life has a part to play… Chambers has played his part… his part brought us here and we met you as fortune along the way…’’ KS responded philosophically with a broad smile at Pako and then turned to Colour. ‘’ I think that decision should be left to Chambers to decide.’’ He added thoughtfully.


*********
Chambers who was visibly drunk when they went to picked him up at the bar became fully alert on hearing the sudden changed of plan. He listened attentively as Colour explained things to him on their way back to their hotel inside a chartered taxi.

‘’ So the question be say you dey ready to follow us to Tinapa for Calabar?’’ Colour asked beside him from the back with a smile.


Chambers who was enjoying the cool breeze of the day and the noisy traffic noise stared thoughtfully at him with his drunken eyes and then smiled broadly.

‘’ We don start the journey already, I dey ready if una sure say una information dey correct… at least I don play my part. At all- at all, na him bad pass.’’ He finally responded. However, deep inside him, Chambers was not too happy that his trip to Lagos was suddenly coming to an end, and if he was not careful and smart his entire involvement in the adventure could suddenly come to an end as well. This he reasoned silently.
‘
’ Ok, no worry about our information, Ras Pako dey reliable’’ Colour assured him.

‘’ Well, if you say so. Everything dey una hand now’’ Chambers said. Half shutting his eyes for a short nap as the cab speeded off in the dense traffic and negotiated a lesser busy road.

Ken Solomon who had been enjoying the view of the rowdy city and the fast phase at which almost everything was being done everywhere noted the haste of the passengers and their desperation to board some of the yellow cabs and the popular Danfo buses. He then turned from his seat with a broad smile.

‘’ Everyone seems to be in a hurry here. From the way they walk and the way they jump on those buses; a fast moving city, with fast moving people.’’ He observed with a wide smile.

‘’ This is Lagos…’’ Colour responded with a smile.

‘’ Yes, this is Lagos; I believe the fastest city I have so far visited on earth,’’ KS responded with his capricious tone. ‘’ I wish Nigerians are as religious as the many churches and mosques I have seen dotting everywhere. You have the largest concentration of churches and mosques across the world, yet your country has a frightening records of various criminal activities; raging from smart fraudsters, kidnappers, corrupt public officials, rituality and now terrorism. Could the churches and mosques been more of hypocrisy?’’

Colour, Chambers and the cab driver listened silently to him as he rattled out with his mischievous grin, they all knew the Whiteman was saying the truth, some damming facts they were all aware of and could do nothing about.

‘’ But oga , bad, bad things too dey happen for America, we dey hear some of dem and see dem for television. In fact, I see the dead body of the many innocent school children wey one mad Whiteman go shot for one school for California yesterday. Dem show am live for CNN, we no get that kind madness for Nigeria.’’ The cab driver proudly defended in pidgin with a cynical smile on his face.

‘’ Yes, and upon all our religious fever we are yet to have wide spread of Satanism and its followers openly building churches for the devil and proudly worshiping Lucifer as exhibited by Anton LaVey and his lost members of the Church of Satan in America. Again, men do not openly court and marry each other here; neither do our women openly acknowledge Lesbianism. I think every country has its own sins.’’ Colour added proudly with a smile after explaining what the cab driver had said to KS.

Ken Solomon stared thoughtfully at the road, nodded and then gave both of them a cynical grin. ‘’ Accept, we tolerate every form of religion and freedom of association and speech in America, but, tell you what…we do not do these things hypocritically in hiding. We do what we are and say what we are, we do not pretend or claim to be what we are not.’’ He rattled out still grinning.

‘’ Na true, Oyinbo man yarn so, I support him talk. We dey claim to be religion people for this country with big, big churches and mosques everywhere, but the wickedness wey we dey do ourselves pass wetin man fit talk. No be under religion cover Boko Haram take land begin kill people anyhow so?. Abi no be in the name of religion many pastors take dey Bleep other people wives and children and even give some of their church members’ belle? I beg make una forget religion matter. But, my brothers, na true, Oyinbo yarn so.’’ Chambers who had remained quite all along suddenly chipped in with his eyes still shut.

Colour and the driver glanced at him and kept quite. The driver thought over what he said and accelerated to overtake a crowded Danfo bus, and then drove the rest of the journey in silence.
Ken Solomon still wearing his cynical grin returned his gaze to the crowded street. Although he had little idea of what Chambers had said, but he sensed the guy was on his side. He smiled up at him and then turned to face Colour. ‘’ So where do we stand with him?’’ He asked, staring back at the sleeping Chambers.

‘’ Positive, he is ready to go.’’ Colour told him, and half-glanced at the snoring figure beside him.



*******
Lizzy still trilled and excited about her latest shopping conquest, sprayed everything she bought that evening on the King size bed, inside her exclusive room. Now stripped only in her bra and pant, she excitedly tried some of her purchases as the sweet captivating tune Subway, by Asa, filtered softly from a mini music box close by. This was the kind of life she had always dreamed of not the stern poverty that had almost ravaged her beauty, if not for her kind rich aunt from her late father side who saw the beauty in her and forcefully snatched her away from the slum she had lived with her other two siblings, a boy and a girl, helping their poor mother grand tomatoes and grains from their old grinding machine for survival. The aunty, though with two girls of her own had sponsored her to secondary school before she also died and a scholarship from a foundation had helped her completed her schooling at the University with a Bsc in Sociology; a course she had never practiced for once.
Elizabeth Dunga, Lizzy for short, was a woman more interested in the sweet things of life, and she knew she could always get them quick by using her beauty and an unconventional method. And that avant-garde method presented itself the day she met Skinny through Titi, her bosom friend now living in England. The two had stroke a mutual friendship instantly given the fact that they both cherished bespoke designer clothes, fast cars, big mansions, designer perfumes, grooving and spending money. Again, the handsome slim shape of the pidgin speaking and confident looking guy in African designer apparel by Silks, one of her favourite’s designers, and the fact that the sweet scent from his body was the famous ‘wild’ perfume, by the same Silks sealed their friendship that day.
Skinny had then cunningly told her about the Free-Hands and subsequently introduced her to Smoke. Whom she realized fell in love with her beauty right away and conscripted her into the gang. Although, their relationship with Skinny had remained platonic throughout their period of sucking innocent people off their money across the globe, both of them knew deep inside them that something lustful was bound to happen one day and they could not both controlled it the day it happened. It has been their secret ever since.
She smiled as she reminisces over her life and excitedly went through her expensive purchases on her king-size bed. On one side of the bed was her new designer sets of braziers and pants, her eye-catching dresses from Deola Sagoe, Folake Coker, Zizi Cardow and Donna Karan and two multi colour fashionable bags from Louis Vuitton all lay side by side. Also proudly in display were some seven package of designer perfumes; from Silks to Gucci, Chanel, Bvlgari, Prada, Cartier, Van Cleef and Richemont all lay side by side. Their popular logos enticed her eyes and also gave her some tickling excitement. She adores perfumes. She reminded herself happily and then half glanced at the sofa nearby. Sprayed on the sofa was a male designer blue jeans with a brown skin belt, a multi colour V-neck sweatshirt from Tom Ford and a brown handmade buckle sandal lay on the fur rug.

‘’ Which kind shit you dey shit since, hope no be say u dey born sha?’’ She suddenly called out to someone in the bathroom in pidgin.

‘’ I don finish, the shit hold me no be small.’’ A male voice answered back from the closed door of the lavatory.


Just then, she heard a soft knock on her door. ‘’ Who is that?’’ She asked with a surprised look at the door, then at her purchases.

‘’ Room service, Ma! There is a message for you.’’ She heard a male voice answered from outside.

‘’ What message is that?’ She asked as she hurriedly got into a T-shirt that ran to her knees, and remotely reduced the volume of the music.

‘’It’s a package, I don’t know.’’ The voice replied softly.

What Lizzy abundantly had in beauty, she lacked much in brain. Quite okay, she was a fantastic beautiful woman, this had always been her selling point and her power of attraction, but she was not too smart on the head. The Free-Hands had initiated and carried her along in the group because of her magnetic gorgeousness and seductive charm. So thinking she had forgotten one of her packages at the shopping mall and they had thought it wise to send it over, she sauntered over to the door and called out.

‘’ Okay, wait, I am coming.’’ She walked to the door and walked into a trap that began her down fall.