₦airaland Forum

The Colonel sat in the living room, scrutinizing the sim cards that the detective had just gotten. With his personal phone, he called Customer Care and complained that his number was not going through. He could not make calls neither could he receive calls. He was asked to call the digits of his phone number so that they could help ascertain what the issue was. He called the digits on the new sim and was put on hold. After a while of holding on, he was told that the number was not in use. It could be a new number or an incorrect number.

“How long have you been using this line please?” the Call center agent asked pleasantly.

He hung up.

He tore the sim from its pack. He was going to insert it into Ahmed’s phone later, probably at midnight. He relaxed on the couch and touched his groin, rubbing his ball5 gently. The kick Ahmed gave him had hurt. He was surprised himself at how he was able to fake the absence of pain. But such sacrifices were necessary. He needed Ahmed to be ready. There was still a lot of work to be done. The Colonel’s eyes moved to the small table in the center of the room. The bugs he had taken out of Ahmed’s bedroom and also the ones he took out from the living room lay scattered all over. He had forgotten about them.

The bugs were powerful high functioning cameras. But they could only be deployed and monitored over a 200 meter radius. The Colonel was in deep thought. This meant that whoever was watching Ahmed had to be close by. Very close. He had not seen or heard any strange sounds in the house. This meant that the control device was not there. Ahmed walked lazily into the sitting room, holding his waist. He sat on another couch, a considerable distance away from the Colonel. He did not want another lesson so soon.

“Son, have you noticed anything strange or out of place in the attitude of your neighbors? Or estate residents?” The Colonel asked.

Ahmed almost asked why but thought better.

“I have not Uncle. I do not have the time to monitor my neighbors. I don’t speak to anyone. The Old woman who lives two houses away says a greeting every time I drive by. I always murmur a reply. I barely hear myself. I am not concerned about their affairs.” Ahmed replied.

“Detective Ahmed Haruna! Don’t just say whatever comes to your head boy! Think! Have you noticed anything strange lately?” The Colonel insisted.

“If I had said the first thing that came to my head, we would be having another fight by now.” Ahmed thought to himself.

“Uncle, nothing strange has happened. Believe me, I would know. Other than a new resident moving in the next house beside us, and then the reconstruction of the drainage system, nothing has happened over the past 7 weeks.”

“You have a new neighbor? Since when?” The Colonel asked suddenly very interested.

“I don’t know. A couple of days back or so. I was coming home from work and a truck blocked half of my gate because it was trying to off load furniture into the new house. I asked for the owner of the house but whoever it was wasn’t available. I haven’t seen or heard anything since then.” Ahmed finished.

The Colonel’s brain was at super speed. He was thinking deep and trying to draw logical conclusions. Patterns formed in his subconscious. Ahmed watched his with keen interest as the Colonel drummed his fingers on the table.

“From the moment you heard the gunshot and the moment you got to the veranda, how much time do you figure had passed?” The Colonel asked.

“About two to three minutes. I even checked the streets. There was no sign of any one. It seemed like they just disappeared into thin air.” Ahmed said.


He was thinking in the same direction as the Colonel now. The escape was too quick and perfect. It must have been planned and properly rehearsed. His assailants had to be close. Perhaps, too close.

“There is only one way to find out. My guts tell me they are the occupants of that building. We will have to draw them out. This is what we will do. You are going to make a call with your old sim. Let us hope it is still being monitored. You will call Sheila. Tell her you were attacked. Your dogs were killed. You went out today and you noticed suspicious men trailing you. You shook them off. You know where their hideout is and you will need backup to take them out.” The Colonel said.

“How does draw them out sir?” Ahmed asked.

“These people have a zero tolerance for failure. The only reason they are called The Ghosts is because they do not exist. They leave no trails, no clues, and no souvenirs. The do not make mistakes. They are thorough and highly trained. The best part is, they do not respond well to threats. If they sense a threat, it is quickly neutralized.” The Colonel said.

“And my call to Sheila is a threat they will not be willing to let lie fallow, thus bringing them out and then we nab them?” Ahmed asked.

“Exactly, my boy!!! The phone call to Sheila is a threat. They will make a move after your call. Now this is the detective I know!” The Colonel answered happily.

“I will send a cryptic message to Sheila after you call her, telling her not to respond to your phone call. We are on a trip together and we just decided to play a fast one on her. We will laugh over it. I have already ‘photoshoped’ you into a picture I took during my visit to Massachusetts, USA. I will send it to her as proof to calm her.” The Colonel said.

“I still do not understand sir. When are we doing all this?” Ahmed asked.

“You will call her two hours from now. I will send the message immediately after. Any moment from then, we should expect company.” The colonel finished.

“How many agents are they likely to send?” Ahmed asked suddenly jittery.

“They are silent assassins. They do not draw attention. Maybe one or two. They would want to act quickly before Sheila’s fake backup arrives. Then, we’ll have them for dinner!” The Colonel finished and showed his spotless white teeth.

Ahmed did not have cause to smile. The very thought of the assassins coming to get him made him shudder with fear. The Colonel noticed this.

“Suck it up boy. I did not raise a coward! Be ready when I ask you to.” The Colonel scolded.

Ahmed could only nod.

*****************************************

Bruno was sleeping on the chair in the bungalow when Tawo called. He acknowledged Tawo’s orders and dropped his phone on the table after he hung up. He had underestimated the detective. His men had lost the detective for over an hour and saw him later when he approached the estate gate. Where he was and what he went to do was a mystery. Bruno did not like mysteries. He was still pondering how he was going to unravel the detective’s past hour off the radar when Tawo called telling him to ready himself for the kill. He woke Marshal and told him to get himself ready to take out the detective. Marshal grinned. He had not killed anyone in a while. He was really happy he finally had a chance to. When Tawo ordered for the trigger to be readied, it did not take long before the target was wiped out. The longest it ever took was 18 hours.

Bruno relaxed in his chair and noticed a red indicator on his transmitting device. Ahmed was making a call. He quickly plugged in the earphones and listened to Ahmed’s voice.

“…found out their hideout. It is beside my compound here. I cannot say for sure how many they are. Send backup just in case so we can move in tonight. 2 hours. Good. I’m ready. Bye.” He heard Ahmed finish and hang up.


How the heck did this happen? How did Ahmed know? Bruno was never one to throw blames. He now needed to act. And fast! He checked the time. 8:14pm. Marshal was fixing the silencer to his .45 automatic pistol. He called Tawo. It rang for a while and there was no response. He tried to call Shina. It was switched off.

This was his call. If he decided to wait, the whole operation would be blown. If he decided to flee, he would be ‘discharged’ by the Ghosts. He had only one option. He had to take out the detective.

He got his gun from a hostler strapped to his waist. He fastened a silencer to the gun and put the gun in his trouser by his waist and covered it with his shirt. He picked his phone and sent a text to Tawo.

“Operation at risk. New development. Moving to take out target.”

He waited for the message to deliver. He put off his phone.

Marshal was so happy. He would finally get to shoot and kill someone. He was ecstatic. He grinned at Bruno. Bruno’s mind was racing. This could be the end of them. It could as well be the best move he could take. But he could not afford to sit idly by or to flee. It was against The Code.

“It’s going to be a clean sweep. Get in, get out. No trace. No mistake. Copy?” Bruno asked.

Marshal nodded.

They packed their bags, wore their gloves and got out of the bungalow.

ugonnah: Kayemjay...dis is pure talent at its best!...21 gun salute for you!!!

Thanks bro.

@mutaino, @olushola, I see you guys. Thanks.

Na wetin I dey talk so. Una comments just dey make my head swell. Luv u guys die.

The rest of the 'chop and clean mouthers', I dey wait una o.

@kslib, ooooshey!

@pwetty temmy, Thanks hun.

Action continues @ 8pm.

The plot thickens.

I think I need to see this Nikita movie

Vivy Gift: . Okay oga kay. I know u are one of the best writers on nl. I still hope on HBG that she will add you to d list. I'm happy that u are not discouraged

She doesn't have to hun. I won't be available. I've got a lot to handle.

Pls can you tell me? Why aint they coming?

@frank, what an honor it is to have u read and comment. Glad I could distract you.

Abt the change of perspective, it was a mistake. I had started narrating Sean's scenes from his own side using a first person style, but got carried away with using second person narration for him. I hoped no one wld notice. You did. Thanks. I'm more comfortable this way jare. I'll think abt editing Sean's scenes when I'm done.

Abt the indication for change of scenes, noted sir! Tonight's update will have the changes.

Frank, thanks a lot. These sort of criticisms are priceless.

Thanks so much. If u run from here ehn! I go....

@Bee, if my wife catch you! Lol. She no dey share me o.

@ruki, I fit change am 4 u o

Vivy Gift: Kay self don dey use style dey beg

Lol. Vivy, if I catch you!

But honestly, I don't clamour for such things. If I'm recognized and appreciated, wonderful. If I'm overlooked, life goes on dearie.

When you know your onions and what you can deliver, certain things really do not matter.

But I'll be watching closely on this one.

U guys who read and comment are the best. Even those who read and pass too.

I am just getting home. I updated in a commercial bus. From Aja till Gbagada. And I did that because you guys show me so much love, I can't afford to disappoint you.

Rock, sexitee, Bee, everyone here. I mean everyone!

I love you all.

You make me tick...

Still, I write.

Easy guys. Easy.

Feeling the love from y'all.

A million muahs for u guys!

Sexitee03: Dear, u r a genius! I didn't expect an update with your tight schedule today n with wat u went tru on 3rd mainland bridge! You keep amazing me oo, my superhero I'm curious? What's d connection between the ghost, Sean,Eva.

Thanks honey. Anything for you baby. Anything.

We are supposed to set examples for fresh writers.

Not show a mockery of ourselves.

@repo, let it lie. Hundreds of fans already know what you are worth.

Me sef wey my name nor dey, I siddon dey look.

Let's get on with the business of the thread pls.

UPDATE DELETED

Visit www.amazingkevinjohn.

Thank you

Evening guys. Still on 3rd Mainland. Update will come late.

Sorry guys.

Thanks.

Oga u no pay for advert. But as you be my guy, no wahala.

Carry on.

#spoiler alert!!!!

#Batts eyelids

Thanks bro. Are you by any chance the bf of bodashee?

Just saying.

Me nkor? Me nkor?

Can I? Can I?

Pleeeaaassseeee?

Yippeee!!! Just found out my thread is among the Trending Topics!

Thanks guys. You ROCK!!! All of you!

Na front page remain o. Lol.

Na tomorrow I go get una time.

[size=14pt] PREVIOUSLY ON “AN EVENING WITH EVA”: [/size]


“Do I have a choice?” – Sean.

“There is actually a choice. You can walk out that door and call the police. You will not be alive to finish the call. And they will never find your body” – Sophia

“I know I am supposed to be scared right now. But the funny thing is, I am not.” – Sean

“Thomas.” – Sophia

In one very quick motion, she pulled her pants (Trousers) up at the ankles and brought out a small gold embroidered pistol. From her sitting position, five meters from where he stood she pointed the gun at Thomas and pulled the trigger. Blood splattered on the wall behind him as he fell down in one heap, the tray falling from his hands. He was breathing softly and was in pain. He groaned. Sophia got up, walked to the body and stood in front of Thomas, looking at him. She aimed at his heart and shot him again. He was dead.

“Lesson number one: Be Ruthless. Be very very ruthless. Be as gentle as a dove and as dangerous as a shark. Stop shaking and clean up this mess. You have two hours to scrub this room clean and get rid of the body. Chop it into pieces and feed it to the dogs in the fortress. Bring the head to me. See you at 11pm.” – Sophia

“Hello Eva.” – Shina.

“Where am I? Who are you? What’s happening?” – Eva.

“You have been here for two days. You are at The Mansion. Breakfast is at 8am. Someone would like to meet you.” – Shina

“I have a situation here Bruno. Two dogs. What do I do?” – Marshal

“I can see that. Take them out” – Bruno

“Shiittt! He is awake. Get out of there, now!!!!” – Bruno

“BE CAREFUL AHMED. YOU WILL NOT BE WARNED AGAIN.”
– Banner with Blood.

“Hello Uncle. There is something going on I do not understand.” – Ahmed

“I will see you in 2 hours son.” – The Colonel

“The Colonel has finally come out of hiding. Dispatch some of your guys at Berger and I’ll be at the other entry point to Lagos. Ready some of your best buggers. The Colonel is coming to town.” – Tawo

“I changed my mind. I will drive myself. You can take the rest of the day off. I will call you when I get back.” – The Colonel

“He decided to drive himself. I had planted the tracker in the car he asked me to wash. He is currently driving a black Honda Accord with plates AA106SMK. It is a very ordinary and plain car. His rims are alloy and gold plated. He just left.” –James.

“Where are we?” – Tawo

“The situation is dicey sir. He is driving a very common car and he is going to be hard to pick out.” – Agent Ope.

“Merge the connection between Saturn –U134 and Mecury-00A. Now, bridge them and combine their transitions. Use the WSPTA protocol to rewrite the imagery and log into all CCTVs, mobile phone and every fuccking device that has a lens and is in proximity. Launch a new search.” – Tawo.

“Zoom in on that.” – Tawo.

“The Colonel is about to pass through Mowe. Set up your guys at the MFM area. This should be as easy as taking a pee.” – Tawo.

“Target was not in the vehicle. He somehow maneuvered his way and we lost him. I put a tracker on his decoy. Trace it and have a man on him.” – Shina.

“Don’t you recognize me son?” – The Colonel

“Are you okay Uncle?” – Ahmed

“I am fine son. Tell me what happened in this house. I saw the banners.” – The Colonel

“Don’t!” – The Colonel.

“After installation and boot up, these devices must never be handled with bare hands. They have been designed to be sensitive to the touch of the skin and would immediately inject the skin surface with a deadly toxin that would paralyze the handler if held for more than two seconds. If you had touched it, you would have become a ‘vegetable’.” – The Colonel.

“Oh my God! Who the hell are these people?” – Ahmed


[size=14pt] AND NOW. . . [/size]





Sean woke up startled. He was sweating profusely despite the intensity at which the air condition was blowing. He just had a nightmare. Was it? He saw himself chopping off a young man’s body limb by limb. Each time the sharp machete made contact with the dead flesh, little spurts of blood were deposited on his face. The dead man was screaming for help and begging for pity as Sean cut him mercilessly. Ignoring the man’s pleas, he took the huge pieces of meat with the bones dangling on one side and approached the den in the Fortress. The sight of the dogs alone brought fright to him. The dogs were huge and menacingly wild. No one in his complete senses dared to enter the fortress when the dogs were not leashed or caged. There were three Rottweilers, two German Shepherds, one Husky, and one Wolf dog Hybrid. Ferocious dogs that were usually made to go very hungry before they were fed. The last time they ate was the evening before. And they were quite hungry, and ready to pounce. As Sean approached they began to bark in their den, the Rottweilers spewing huge amounts of saliva from their mouths. Sean stood a few meters away from the Den. Even though the cage was locked tight, he still did not want to risk taking any chances. He began to throw the pieces of flesh into the cage. Some got in. Some did not. In the demented rush for the meat, the Wolf Dog Hybrid forced the cage open. It came after Sean and the remaining pieces of flesh he had with him. Sean ran for dear life. He ran as fast and as swift as his legs could carry him. But Sean was not fast enough. The Wolf Dog pursued him and caught up with him. It pounced on him, sinking its teeth in Sean’s right arm which he used as a shield to cover his face. He screamed.

Sean woke up.

He was sweating. He turned on the bedside lamp, partially illuminating the room and casting a small shadow on the walls. He looked up at the wall clock. 3:26am. He could not go back to sleep. He was haunted by the dogs. He got up from his bed and opened a door to his left. He entered the bathroom and saw a large brown bucket stained with a reddish liquid. He moved closer to inspect the bucket. He was shocked at what he saw inside. There was a human head soaked in a pool of blood. His heart raced. So it was not a dream after all. He suddenly wished it was all a dream. He remembered all that happened the evening before. He recalled how Sophia had wasted the life of a promising young man just to prove a point. A ridiculous point. What in the world did they want with him anyway? He stopped starring at the bucket and face the small rectangular mirror on the wall by the sink. He washed his face and looked up at his reflection. He was looking very haggard. He hadn’t shaved in days and looked very unkempt. He made a mental note to ask for a clipper in the morning.

Sean got back to his room. He switched on the lights and looked around. He had previously scrubbed the tiled floors clean. The walls still had a little blood stain. That could be ignored, he told himself. He opened the drawer attached to his bedside table, pulling out a file. The first few pages contained a summary of his whole life and the past 4 months were summarized in more detail. He skipped that part and concentrated on the second module of the file. This contained a list of things he was supposed to do and a timeline for the completion of the tasks. He was expected of produce a 90% accuracy at the least.

There was a 3 months special online course on Cybersystems and Cyberspace. After that, 2 months of Router Hacking and Password Decryption. He had another four days of Wireless Systems, Radio Configuration and Cloud Redirection. His performance after all these would determine if they would continue with him to the advanced stage or discharge him. He did not like how that sounded. ‘Discharge’. He had a feeling that he would not be let go so easily. He feared the worst. He closed the file and thought about his girlfriend in Canada. He had not spoken to her in over a week. He missed her. He missed his mother. He knew there were agents at her very doorstep and that really worried him.

He heaved a huge sigh. He was going to get to the bottom of this. No matter what it would take, he was not going to give up until he got to the end of the line.

He closed his eyes and drifted into dreamland.


Tawo was furious. He was angry at himself and at the whole team. He was raging and venting his anger at anyone who as much as spoke a word to him. He sat on his swivel chair swaying left and right, both hands on his forehead. He was rubbing his temple and trying to find out where everything went wrong.

“Sir, there is…” Agent Ope started but stopped when he saw the bloody look of anger in his superior’s eyes

“You have 15 seconds to say what you wanted to blurt. If I am not impressed, I will have you monitoring the CCTV at Park ‘N’ Shop by tomorrow.” Tawo threatened.

The Agent hesitated for a few seconds. He kept quiet. He knew that if he still did not speak, the same fate awaited him. He decided to say what he wanted to and hope that it impressed his Boss.

“Sir, upon gruesome scrutiny of the playback tapes of the bugging operation, I noticed a blind spot. We overlooked that little glitch but upon proper inspection, I noticed that it was actually not a glitch.” Agent Ope said.

“You’ve got my attention. Go on.” Tawo said.

“There was a point that the target was stationary for about 90 seconds. That was our blind spot. I decided to check it out. I was able to override one of the surveillance cameras around the Redemption Camp. The nearest camera was a CAM70-Extreme. I zoomed in on it and adjusted the capture area.” Ope said, getting up and moving to the large touch screen monitor on the wall.

“This is where the target was blinking for 90 seconds,” He said touching a portion of the map. The touched portion grew large filling the whole screen. He continued.

“From here onwards for about 500 meters, there was no traffic and there are no fuel stations, restaurants, shops, fast foods or anything to make him stop. He was constantly on the move.” He touched a smaller portion of the now expanded map.

“This is the most acute angle that the camera could pick. I will rewind the footage of the camera at this point of the map sir.” Ope said.

He pressed a button on the screen and a video footage appeared in very slow motion, at the exact point the mechanic came out from. It showed the Mechanic coming out of a small hut which served as his workshop, crossing the road and going left. There was nothing after that. Exactly 90 secons later, the Black Honda zoomed past.

“Impressive Ope” Tawo asserted a smile on his lips.

“Thank you sir. The Colonel is very smart. He had the Mechanic come meet him at the exact spot where he knew that he would not be captured by the cameras. He deliberately put this Mechanic on the spot. We have no records against the young lad sir. I am sure he knew that. We can’t make him talk. It seems he is going to win with this one.” Ope concluded.

Tawo was thinking. His fingers were playing with small beard. As the video replayed, something caught his eye.

“Stop that. Yes. Start the footage all over. And pause it on 03mins:14secs” Tawo ordered.

Ope obeyed. They watched the video all over again. From the beginning, cars were passing. At 01mins: 16secs, the Mechanic crossed the road and started walking left. He was not visible anymore. At 02mins:55secs, they watched as the Black Honda zoomed past. Nothing happened for the next 17 seconds. Two seconds later, Tawo half screamed, “Pause Now!”.

There was a Danfo in the footage, pause as it was accelerating.

“That Danfo is just accelerating. Zoom in on the front passenger seat.” Tawo barked

Ope did that. A blurred face with a white background.

“Now take that that image and move it to the facial ID defragmenter. “ Tawo commanded.

Ope pressed a button on the screen, used the tip his fingers to trace the edges of the image and pressed another button. With his two thumbs, he flipped the traced image in one very swift fast motion onto the next screen by his right.

“Image received. Scanning and Defragmentation in progress” came a computer voice from the screen.

They waited 12 seconds and then an image appeared before them.

It was The Colonel in his white linen,

Tawo smiled.

“Get me that bus registration plates.” He said to Ope.

“Yes sir.”

Ope zoomed in on the registration plates, defragmented it and printed it out.

“Done sir.” Ope said.

“Good.” Tawo replied getting the printed sheet from him.

He pressed a button on his table. His voice went into loud speaker mode in another office on the previous floor below them. There were eight trained search agents in that room. Give them a tiny detail (a name or a place or a phone number) and they would search out and deliver every single information regarding it. They had access to any electronic device that had access to the internet or used a database. They were the best.

“Bee Hive. This is Super-Agent Tawo. I want all routes taken by commercial van with registration plates BZ739FST between the hours of 6:30 and 7:30. You have 15 minutes.”

He pushed back his chair, put his legs on his table one on top of the other. He put his two hands behind his head and closed his eyes.

“I am going to nail this bastard.” He said to himself.


To be continued…