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Contd.

He didn't have to wait for much longer to find out because some moments later, the iron door was opened and a young man with light beards and a turban around his head walked in with a tray in his hand.

The man walked towards where Damien sat, bent down and dropped the tray in front of him. Damien watched him carefully and was trying to study his facial expressions. The man looked like he wanted to tell Damien something.

The man looked backwards toward the iron gate and looked back at Damien. He then whispered, 'what is your name?', in a strong northern accent. 'My name is Damien Abbah', Damien replied. 'How come they brought you with her? She was supposed to be brought alone', he whispered again.

'I was mistakenly kidnapped with her.'

'Is anyone aware you are missing now?', he asked again. 'I have no idea', Damien replied. 'Don't worry I'll get the word out', the man said.

'How are you going to do that? Who are you?', Damien whispered.

'My name is Mustapha Danladi. I'm a CID officer in the Police force. I'm presently undercover', the man replied.

Damien's eyes brightened up. There was hope after all. 'How long have you been here?', he asked again. 'I been here for almost five months now', Mustapha replied.

'I heard there was no network here. How do you get word out?', Damien asked. Mustapha was about responding when they heard a bang on the door. They were both startled.

'Mene ne yake faruwa?', a voice asked. 'Ina zua yanzu', Mustapha replied.

'I'll be back tomorrow', Mustapha said to Damien. He got up and walked towards the door and knocked. The door opened and he walked out.

Damien heard Mustapha speaking with the men outside and after a while there was silence.

Mustapha Danladi was a Police Officer under the Criminal Investigation Department in the state. Being a young man and very ambitious, he sought to eradicate crime in every way he could. Several months earlier, he had infiltrated the Taliban group with the aim of disbanding them from within. He went under very deep cover and very few people knew his present mission. Everyone thought he went on a long holiday.

He had gradually risen up the ranks in the group, due to the military attacks against them which had cut down their numbers. He usually communicated details of the operations of the Taliban group to his handler via an encrypted Satellite phone which he hid beneath a tree deep in the forest and these had led to some of their attacks being foiled.

Mustapha left the men outside the prison and crouched behind the hut to look around if anyone was watching him. He was satisfied no one was watching and he crept silently into the forest. He walked silently in the dark, counting trees and noting marks he had previously made. He stopped a few times, crouched below some shrubs and looked around to see if anyone was watching or following him.

He was satisfied no one was, and he continued his walk. He walked a few minutes and got the tree. He looked back to see if anyone was following him. There was no one. He then bent down and moved the dry leaves he used in covering the small box containing the device.

He opened the box, connected the device to the phone and pressed a button. He waited for several seconds before he heard a voice.

"Hello... What do you have?"

"Two persons were brought in today. A male, Damien Abbah and a female, Funmi Coker."

"Come again?"

"Two persons, Damien Abbah and Funmi Coker were brought in today."

"Did you say Funmi Coker?"

"Yes sir."

"Jeez..."

"Anything sir? What about her?"

"Just know that she's a big deal. Nothing must happen to her. Ok?"

"Yes sir. What about the male, Damien Abbah?"

"Damien Abbah? Never heard of him. Would check around."

"Ok sir."

"Be careful."

"Bye sir."

Mustapha clicked off the phone and looked around. He didn't see anything suspicious. He put the device back into the box. He covered the box back with the dry leaves, got up and walked through the trees cautiously.

After walking several minutes, he got to the camp and went to the kitchen. He was hungry because he had not had dinner. He sat at a table after asking one of the women to get him some food.

He had just began eating when two of Zaw's lieutenants walked up to the table and stood before him. 'Zaw want to see you now', one of them said. 'I'll go to him when I'm through', Mustapha replied. 'He said now!, the second lieutenant said. Mustapha looked up at them and was shocked. He washed his hands, got up, and went with them...

T.B.C

Hey folks! Thanks for reading. Please na, you guys shouldn't just read and go. Click 'like'/'share', or drop-a-line in comments. I'll also appreciate corrections and suggestions. Lemme know any part you didn't like, and if you did, I'll still love to know.
Goodnight guys, ladies...

Chapter Eight

Damien couldn't see anyone because he was locked in a prison in the Taliban camp. He and Funmi had been pulled and dragged across the clearing into the trees in the forest through some men who were hissing and jeering at them.

They walked some miles through the forest and passed beside what looked like a mini camp with small huts built with clay. Damien looked through the corner of his eyes and saw some scared looking young women and children staring at them. There was fear in their eyes. They passed by the huts and passed by some group of women cooking. They all stopped what they were doing and stared at Damien and Funmi as they were dragged by the men.

The men didn't talk to either them or those staring at them. They just continued marching them on. They finally go to a long row of huts built with clay and reinforced with iron rods.

There were men each posted as sentry in front of each hut. Immediately they approached, one of the men opened one of the iron gates and pushed Damien in. He crawled up and heard the doors slammed and the keys turning loudly behind him. The men continued forward and put Funmi in another hut.

Damien tried looking around his new accommodation, but visibility was low. There were no windows in the prison and the ground was floored with cement. The prison was hot because of limited ventilation. The only source of ventilation into the prison was the space beneath the iron doors and the space between the roofing sheets and the top of the walls.

Damien sat on the mat and placed his head between his legs. So many thoughts were running through his head for several minutes.

'How the hell am I going to escape from this place?'

'Would I even survive this ordeal?'

'What are they planning on doing with us?'

'Is anyone even aware of what is happening?'

But that was the least of his worries because he was hungry. Very hungry. The last time he ate was some hours ago. He tried swallowing his saliva, but even that had been exhausted. His throat was very dry.

He was on the verge of collapsing when he suddenly heard some voices outside the door. They were speaking a language he didn't fully understand, but one word which he heard and knew what it meant was, 'Abinchi'. From the time he spent in the northern part of the country during his youth service days, he knew 'Abinchi' meant food.

He knew this meant food was around. But whether this food was meant for him or for the guards posted outside the prison was what he didn't know.

He didn't have to wait for much longer to find out because some moments later, the iron door was opened and a young man with light beards and a turban around his head walked in with a tray in his hand...

Contd.

Suddenly a cluster of men parted and a huge, fully bearded man in olive fatigues with a machine slung around his shoulder walked towards the Leader. He spread out his arms and yelled into the silence, 'Sannu dai zua!'

The Leader took some steps toward him and they embraced. 'I heard you had some complications on your way', the bearded man said with a strong northern accent as he broke away from the Leader.

'Yeah, it was just a minor complication, but we were able to handle it', the Leader replied.

'That's good', the bearded man said while nodding his head. He turned towards Funmi and Damien. Dread was written all over her face.

'My name is Nasir Al-Zawari', the bearded man said while walking towards them, 'they call me Zaw. You might have heard about me, but if not, you would get first hand knowledge here. I assure you no harm would come upon you if our demands are met, but if not, I'm sorry I would be left with no other choice. Do you understand?'

Damien and Funmi didn't utter a word. They just continued staring at him.

'Do you understand?!', Zaw screamed at them.

'Yes sir', they chorused while nodding their head.

Zaw signaled two of his lieutenants, and he gave them orders to take them away. 'You can go and rest now my friend. Tomorrow, you would get your money before you leave', he said to the Leader.

While they were being taken away, Damien recalled all he had read and watched on the television concerning the Taliban group and he realized he had just met the leader of the most dreaded terrorist group in the country.

Nasir Al-Zawari aka 'Zaw', was the leader of the Taliban movement in the country. They emerged as a resistance to western education and western ideologies in the country. They had taken responsibility for the various bomb blasts in different locations in the country. They take pride in their various infiltration mechanisms, making it impossible for them to be detected before carrying out their various terrorist acts.

In recent times, the government of the country, through the military, had taken them head-on which had led to the incarceration of many of the Taliban members and the dwindling of their numbers. They had to push deeper into the forest and lay low for a while.

But now, 'Zaw' was prepared. The military had fought him hard, and they won the battle. He was now prepared to fight them smart, with the confidence that he would win the war....

Guys, ladies, comments/constructive criticisms/ideas would be highly appreciated...

Contd.

About one thousand two hundred and fifty kilometers away, Funmi's head was on Damien's chest as both of them laid on the ground in their modified room.

Damien was on his back, staring at the wooden ceiling board, counting numbers in his head and listening to the changes in the vibration of the engine beneath him, trying to decipher the motion and speed of the vehicle.

He had been counting from 1000 backwards and he was already at 69 and still counting. He tried thinking about something else he could do to task his brain. He made a mental note to recite all the countries of the world alphabetically, which he had learnt while in secondary school.

Damien and Funmi felt the lurch as the trailer suddenly pulled to the right, off the smooth highway, and they felt the tires grabbing at the pavement as the trailer hauled around a tight right. Then there was a confusing blur of turns, brakes and increased acceleration.

They were now fully awake and they sat up. The trailer cruised down on slowly on winding roads, rough roads, potholes and twigs of branches on the road. It later slowed almost to a stop, turned a tight right while shuddering them from side to side. It felt like they were very close to their destination.

The trailer later move up over a hilly road and leveled out. It then rolled forward another few yards, stopped and the engine noise finally died. It was replaced by an
eerie silence.

Striker, the Leader and the Lady heaved a sigh of relieve as they finally got to their destination.

Damien tried to listen if he could hear anything, but he heard nothing. Everywhere was frighteningly silent.

Suddenly, Striker, the Leader and the Lady got out. Damien clearly heard their doors open, like he was with them outside. Their doors slammed with enormously loud metallic clangs in the stillness. He heard them come around to the back of the trailer. He could hear the sound of the keys swinging gently as it was slid into the lock. The lock clicked back, the handle turned and the door swung open.

Striker pulled back the door and propped back the metal contraption used in holding the entrance to the wooden room in the trailer. He put it away and gestured them out with his Glock.

Damien walked down the steps of the trailer and he helped Funmi down the steps. They stood together, looking out and around. They realized everywhere was already dark. Funmi held his arm with obvious fear in her eyes.

They were in a forest clearing surrounded by wooded slopes and jagged hills. Damien could perceive the fresh smell of wood. It was a strong smell. Clean and fresh, and there were huge trees all around them.

Damien could see faint black outlines of buildings off to his right. They were long, low huts. They looked like wooden structures, crouching in the dark.

There were some persons clustered in groups standing among the nearest trees. Damien could see their vague shapes. Most of them wore a headdress consisting of a long piece of cloth wound directly around their head like a turban.

There were more than seventy people just standing there silently watching. Some of them were holding weapons. Damien could see rifles and machine guns slung casually over their shoulders.

Suddenly a cluster of men parted and a huge, fully bearded man in olive fatigues with a machine slung around his shoulder walked towards the Leader. He spread out his arms towards him and yelled into the silence, 'Sannu dai zua!'

T.B.C

Chapter Seven

By midnight in the Lagos state command of the SSS, everywhere was cool and relatively quiet. The technicians had swarmed all evening in the situation room, running phone lines, tracing calls, banging on computer keyboards, analyzing data and connecting dots on maps. Some agents had already scoured the blast site for clues as to the type of explosives used and the mode of operation of the terrorists. Everyone was now tired, but none of them could go home.

There were several agents sprawled in the leather chairs in the situation room. Even Col. Coker still sat there worried. As the DG of the State Security Service in the country, he couldn't leave. This was not just because of his relationship with Funmi. The issue had left the realms of ordinary kidnap, to an issue of national security. If Col. Coker was worried, then everyone in the office was worried, and they were going to stay worried until she was found, safe and sound. So they all sat there. Quiet, worried, and waiting.

Some hours earlier, they had listened to a voice over the phone, claiming to be responsible for the bomb blast at the bus park. The voice threatened to orchestrate more blasts at other locations if his first demand was not met, and attempts to trace the location of the call proved abortive.

Col. Coker had already informed the Presidency of what was happening. He didn't have a choice. He had other plans in mind, but he knew the President needed to briefed since the situation had escalated beyond controllable proportions. If speaking with the President could prevent another spate of attacks, then they were going to speak with the president.

The SSS were in possession of a voice mimic device which synthesizes the voice of any individual on file and allows it's user to speak as that person. The device basically analyzes the voice print of the individual and stores it on it's database, and when in use, someone else could speak and the sound heard would have the same voice print of the original individual. The agency knew the dire implications if this device was used without authorization, hence the only person authorized to approve the use of the device was the Director General himself, and this was only in strictly exigent circumstances.

Col. Coker knew this was a situation requiring immediate action, and it would not be convenient for the President to have a conversation with a terrorist, so he ordered the use of the device.

The device had already been set up, and he was prepped to speak with the terrorists as the President but they had not called yet. They had all been waiting in the situation rooming, but no call came through. Col. Coker sat in the chair watching the clock. He was quiet, worried, nervous and waiting for the call to come through...

cherrybrown:
No problem dear but I hope no be the babe way you give belle carry you go Delta State

LolzzZ... What happened to your BBM?

Hello guys, ladies... I'm so sorry for my going AWOL. I actually went for a project in a village in Delta State and I was unable to access the internet. Never knew such places still existed in Nigeria. Just came to town now and realized I have lots of reading/catching up to do. Would post updates most likely by the end of the week. Make una no vex abeg...

Dioxidane

Contd.

He went to the back of the trailer and reluctantly unlocked it. One of the police officers threw open the two doors and looked inside. He saw some hungry looking eyes staring at him and he screamed, 'Holy shiiit!!!'.

Immediately, the man took to his heels and fled into the bush beside the road. Two police officers ran after him, pointing their guns at him as he ran. The man ran deeper into the bush and the officers continued in pursuit. One of the officers was faster and he got closer to him. He realized he had a clear shot and he fired. The bullet caught the calf of the man and he fell.

The officers got closer and rounded him up. They brought him back to where the trailer was and by then, the driver and the other occupant of the trailer were already on their kneels with their hands cuffed behind them.

The persons behind the trailer were still coming out when the officers placed the man who ran together with the other culprits. There were about thirty two persons, most of them young girls between the ages of 15 and 25. They all looked famished with skinny legs and protruding eyes, and when they were asked questions, none of them could reply. It was the driver who spilled his guts and informed the police officers that the girls were being transported by a syndicate involved in abducting young girls and shipping them out of the country for prostitution and the likes.

The officer immediately called his boss and informed him of the bust. He was happy with the fact that he carried out the arrest, or at least he initiated it. Perhaps it would quicken his long awaited promotion. He was convinced that Funmi would be among the girls because most of them fit her description. But he wanted to be sure. He needed this big win for himself.

He went towards where the girls sat beside the road and asked, 'Which one of you is Funmi?' About seven of the girls raised up their hands. He looked at the seven of them in confusion. 'I mean, which one of you bears the name Funmi?', he asked again. The seven girls raised up their hands again. He forgot her surname, so he couldn't ask them using her surname.

He went and called back his boss to ask after her surname. He was told. He came back and asked again, 'Which one of you is Funmilola Coker?' The girls looked at each other, but none of them raised up their hands. He looked at each one of them individually and asked again, 'Which one of you bears the name Funmilola Coker?' No hands were raised.

He shook his head and walked off in utter disappointment. No big break for him after all. He consoled himself with the fact that some arrests were made at least. 'Load them up', he screamed to one of his subordinates.

On that very road, some twenty vehicles behind, Striker was driving an industrial sized trailer used in conveying goods between the northern and southern part of the country. The Leader and the Lady both occupied the front seats. Immediately the police officers made the bust of the girls, they reduced the intensity with which they search other vehicles because the traffic gridlock was heavy.

'What do you have in there?!', an officer asked as Striker drove the trailer to the checkpoint. 'It's just feed for animals', the Leader replied. 'Park!', the officer screamed up at him. Striker drove the trailer to the side of the road and parked. 'Officer, manage this one for drinks', the Leader said as he came down and tried doling out some cash to the officer. 'Open your cargo! I don't need your money!', the officer screamed back at him.

Another officer heard the voice of the officer and he came to join him. The Lady was watching what was happening in the side view mirror, and was narrating what was happening to Striker.

'Officer, it's just animal food that is there', the Leader said again. 'Open it up!', the police officer barked at him.

The Leader dipped his hand into his pocket and the two officers quickly leveled their guns at him. He noticed the guns pointed at him and slowly brought out a key.

He went to the back of the trailer and reluctantly unlocked it. One of the police officers threw open the two doors and looked inside. He looked up at the contents of the cargo and saw what looked like bean chaff stacked in bails up to the top of the trailer. He looked carefully, but it didn't look like anything was hidden behind.

'You can go', the officer said. 'Thank you, officer', the Leader replied and smiled as he walked away from them....

saintwill:
next update na abi u want mak i complete d story

Bros, as e dey be me so, walahi I no mind o...