₦airaland Forum

CHAPTER FIVE

It was a beautiful sunny morning in the capital city of Abuja. A large orange ball lit the east side of the sky, casting a bright orange colour over the city. As much as the morning sun beautified the skyline of the city, it was also an indication of another hot day. Traffic in the city centre was beginning to thin down because most workers were already in their offices.

Those still stuck in traffic were anxious to get to their places of work before their bosses got mad at them for coming to work late.

One man particularly was in no hurry to go anywhere. He had all the time in the world and didn’t seem to be in a haste to do anything.

Alpha Gricks lived in a palatial mansion in River Park Estate, close to the city centre. His house was equipped with state-of-the-art facilities, including an indoor workout room and a game centre. He spent most of his time playing PS5 games on a large-screen HD television. He installed infrared motion sensors and fibre optic cameras that gave him a good view of his property at all times.

Even though his neighbours at Samuel Nlemoha Street were not aware, he watched them through his cameras very closely. The cameras were also connected to a mobile device he carried everywhere. So, even when he’s not around, he’s always watching.

Alpha did all his cleaning and laundry by himself. The only thing he never did was mow his lawn. He hated the sound of the lawnmower so much that he contracted his gardening job to a kid in the neighbourhood. The kid came in once every week to mow the lawn and trim the flowers. He always paid cash each day the kid worked. Nothing documented. The kid was happy about his steady tax-free income, Alpha was happy to have his lawn mowed without questions. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement that was perfect for both parties.

But while the kid did his job outside every Saturday morning, Alpha was always inside watching very closely.

Today, he woke up feeling good about himself. His life has been a remarkable journey from nauseating penury to affluence. He thought about the uneasy journey of his life and the things he had done to rise from the ashes like a phoenix. Smiling to himself in self-satisfaction, he turned on the treadmill, stepped into it and began his daily two-kilometre jog on the treadmill.

Midway through his workout session, he heard his mobile phone ring from somewhere nearby. He turned off the treadmill and stepped out of it carefully to take the call. He walked slowly to where he kept the phone and picked it up. When he noticed that the caller ID did not show up on the screen, he wasn’t surprised. He pushed the call button and placed the earpiece on his right ear without uttering a word.

A clear but familiar voice spoke from the other end of the line. “Jesus is calling you now but before you answer his call, read Matthew chapter seven verses thirteen and fourteen. While you’re at it, watch the gate of your heart with the eye of an eagle.” The caller spoke quickly and hung up. It was a coded message from Bruno’s Asokoro home.

Alpha had never read the Bible except to decipher a code usually hidden in a cryptic message disguised as a scriptural passage. Messages like this came very rarely from Bruno but when they did, there was always very sensitive information being passed on. It was the only way Bruno gave him information whenever he suspected his telephone line was being monitored by the police.

Alpha picked up his King James Bible, dusted it up and opened it to Matthew 7:13-14. He read it out loud and the instruction was clear. He was to meet with Bruno in his house but not to go in through the main gate. He was instructed to enter through a secret tunnel that only five people know about.

Alpha knew Bruno Obeten to be a very smart man that was highly intolerant of error. When he gave an order, he expected it to be carried out just the way he wanted. Their relationship had worked out this smoothly partly because they are more alike than they seemed to realise.

Alpha liked to think of himself as being as smart as his boss, if not even smarter. He knew he had the same perfectionist disposition as Bruno so Bruno never had any reason to complain about the way he did his job. Whatever needed to be done was always done with pinpoint accuracy. Because of this, Alpha was Bruno’s most trusted associate. Alpha always carried out Bruno’s instructions to the letter without asking questions. In return, Bruno rewarded him with more money than he could spend in a lifetime. Alpha, in his own right, was a very wealthy man with little to spend his money on except indulge his few lusts occasionally.

He believed in saving for the rainy day so he hid large chunks of his money in offshore accounts controlled by shell corporations within and outside the country.

He had been following the news since his boss was released on bail but never tried to contact him directly or anyone close to him. It wasn’t safe to do so. He kept his distance because he knew Bruno will find a way to contact him if he needed him. And he was right about that. He was anxious to see Bruno after three years.

Three long years were enough to get a man agitated but not Bruno. Alpha felt like he went to prison with Bruno. Throughout the time Bruno was away, he lived a bland, inconspicuous life, hiding like an animal in hibernation. With literally no activity, he felt like he too was in prison. Bruno could have been able to control his vast empire from his prison cell but chose not to. He was a very prudent man who had learned the virtue of patience.

But while he stayed quiet in his cell, his lieutenants roamed the country watching and waiting for their boss. No one understood why their boss refused to rule his kingdom from the place of his captivity. Some even thought he had gone soft. Even Alpha had misjudged Bruno by entertaining the thoughts that life in prison had made him grow weak. But the gentleness of a lion should never be mistaken for timidity. When everyone thought he was weak, he carefully orchestrated the events that led to him being granted bail on frivolous health grounds.

“You have to give him that,” thought Alpha. “He’s patient and calculating.” He wondered how a man could be that patient. But perhaps, Bruno’s greatest strength was in his uncanny ability to detach himself emotionally from all situations, no matter how terrible. That way, he stayed on top of every situation and by extension, on top of all his enemies.

Alpha learnt a vital lesson. Discipline makes a man and a man in control of his emotions is always able to carefully control his circumstances.

He got in the shower, took a cold bath and dressed up in one of his most expensive suits. He stood in front of the full-length mirror and admired himself. Then he entered his garage, got in his Innoson G80 and drove out of his compound.

CHAPTER FOUR

Chidi Peterson, a cranky old man, very close to retirement, sat in his office watching the hands of a large wall clock move close to his closing time. At fifty-nine, he looked far older than his age. With a large bald head seated incongruously on top of slim shoulders, he had the appearance of a scarecrow.
Both the inmates and the guards knew him as Headmaster but no one dared call him that to his face. Like a lion, he ruled his territory by tearing down and devouring whoever encroached on his turf.
Today had not been one of Chidi’s good days and it showed on his face. Since he got the order to put Suleman Ade in an isolation cell, he knew something was up but couldn’t quite put his finger on what.
As his closing time ticked closer, he became more irritated. He needed answers but no one was offering him any. He wondered why the DSS was suddenly getting involved with his prisoner.

At the entrance to the prison, Tosin Freeman handed her service pistol and backup weapon to the security guard for safekeeping. She walked through the metal detector into the prison. Down the hallway, she met an officer who walked her to the Warden’s office
Warden Chidi wasn’t particularly happy when he was told to give Tosin Freeman whatever she wanted and to stay out of her way. He didn’t like being told how to run his prison but he knew better than to disobey a direct order from his boss.
He had been in the correctional system long enough to understand that when the Abuja boys start steering up the water, there was usually a lot going on underneath.
Suleman was a high-profile convict and if the guys in Abuja were suddenly sniffing around him, he desperately needed to know why.
Chidi heard a knock on his door. He impulsively sat up in his chair and adjusted his tie.
“Come in.” His deep throaty voice bounced off the walls.
“Good morning, sir,” Tosin said as she walked in. Going straight to Chidi, she offered him a handshake.
“Good morning,” he said almost in a whisper.
He looked at her suspiciously and did not bother shaking her hand. He didn’t like her and did not see the need to pretend about it. She had been a frequent visitor to the prison in the past few weeks. That wasn’t the problem though. The way she levitated around the prison, acting like she ran the place put her in Chidi’s bad books.
She took the seat directly facing Chidi Peterson. He glared at her like a school principal about to grill a student for violating a school rule.
“What the hell is the DSS doing sniffing around my inmate for the past three weeks?”
“The DSS has jurisdictional prerogative on cases bothering on national security.” She spoke calmly, not perturbed by Chidi’s petulant behaviour.
“Suleman Ade is a convict quietly serving his term in my prison. He is neither a flight risk nor a threat to National Security. He’s the last person the DSS should be worried about.”
Tosin said nothing.
“Look,” he continued, “I’ve been around long enough to understand that when the DSS starts sniffing around a dead carcass, something is going on. So, out of professional courtesy, how about you tell me exactly what?”
Tosin decided it was her turn to play hard to get.
“The information you’re asking for is classified.”
“Then declassify the damn information and give it to me.”
Tosin thought for a moment as if deciding whether to tell him or not. She shifted her chair an inch closer and leaned forward a bit, talking in a conspiratorial tone, choosing her words very carefully.
“Suleman Ade is walking out of here today a free man.”
“What! Is that a bad joke or what?”
“Though not really free,” she added.
“What are you talking about?”
“The president has signed a pardon for him in exchange for his testimony in a high-profile case.”
“You mean the Bruno Obeten case.”
“Yes. But he will be taken into protective custody by my team that is arriving shortly.”
It all made perfect sense to Chidi now. While he processed the implication of this unpleasant news, Tosin continued.
“The paperwork will be coming in with my team any moment from now and I’m here to make sure the transfer happens without hitches. I’m sorry I can’t go into any more details without compromising the case.”
Chidi nodded as if he understood perfectly.
“Where are you guys taking him?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. I already told you I can’t give you any more details than I already have.”
They looked at each other with nothing else to say. Then the sound of a helicopter nearby broke the silence.
“That’s the sound of my team’s arrival. We’ll airlift the prisoner to a safe location now. You might want to help facilitate that process immediately.”
Chidi got up from his chair, followed Tosin to the door and walked out of his office as he closed the door gently behind him.

Glistinin:
As we start to list scammers posing as writers so as to deter others and warn those that could fall into their net in the future, let me list my first scammer:

Name: Muhammad Adesola J
Bank details: 3068633322, Access Bank.
Phone: 09151367829.
State: Ekiti State.

Just posting someone's details as a scammer without incontrovertible proof is illegal. You can be sued for defamation of character.