CHAPTER ONE

“Who be rat?”

There was another knock on the door.

“Who is shit?”

Still no answer. But the person knocked again.

“Who dey knock my door?”

“Na me Lado.”

“Why you no come answer before?” Okuta asked as he opened the door. He was bare chested and wearing shorts.

“I no be rat and I no be shit,” Lado answered and pushed past him into the room.

The room smelt of smoke, sweat and sex.

“Wetin you want this early momo?” Okuta asked as he closed the door.

“Na AlawoDre send me.”

“Wetin he talk?”

Lado looked around and saw a teenage girl seated on one of the settee in the room. She had a wrapper around her chest that barely covered her breasts and thighs. The way her elbows held the wrapper in place and her bare back, showed she was naked under. She locked eyes with him, smiled and looked away to continue wrapping her joint.

“Wetin he talk?” Okuta asked and moved from the door to stand in front of Lado.

“He say make I collect back the Iphone and mac notebook your boys snatch yesterday night.”

Okuta grunts, “who get the Iphone and the mac?

“Nothing concern you with that one. Just get it back from your boys.”

“Una no dey even allow person enjoy him stash in peace.”

“The person wey get the things dey under AlawoDre protection. Your boys should never have attacked the car.”

“How dem wan take know na? You know say dem get daily target and if dem no meet am, no food be that.”

“I hear you. Sha gimme the things. I dey wait.”

“I dey come. Make I call them. I sha hope dem never sell am.”

“If they don sell am, dem go buy am back.”

Okuta looked at him with disgust. He walks away to pick his phone and starts to bark out instructions.

Lado looked at the girl.

She was smoking and staring at him. When their eyes met, she smiled and winked at him. The wrapper on her chest slipped down an inch or two, hiding only the summit of her bosom. His eyes followed the drop and then returned to her face. She smiled and winked again.

He looked away.

To be continued…

CHAPTER TWO

“…may we not walk when the ground is seeking blood to drink in Jesus name. May bullets not be shot at us and may knives not be thrown at us in Jesus name. May axe not be used to remove our head and may hammer not be used to smash our skull in Jesus name. May birds not eat our flesh and may dogs not lick our blood… “

She chuckled. “This old woman sha, why all these funny funny prayers this morning,” she thought to herself. “Time dey go and I’ve plenty things to do today o. Kai, I need to even iron my skirt before dem take light. I need to call my source for the scoop he promised me. I hope my psycho boss won’t give me stress today. I fit vex yab am o.”

Her mind flashed back to the conversation with her boss over 3 weeks ago.

“You know Fisayo Soyombo went undercover to get into Pedro police cell and Kirikiri prison. He gained international recognition cos of that and also won awards. You should do something like that too,” her boss had stated.

“But oga, I be woman o, what if they rape me?” She had protested.

“Won’t that be the highlight of the story? And will you be the first to be raped?”

“Haa.”

“Look, we are an investigative media organisation. I need scandal, I need controversy, I need conflict. Get me these or get out!”

“But oga, I am handling financial news and stuff.”

“Young lady, all financial institutions especially banks, have skeletons in their cupboard. You have friends working in banks. Get them to show you where the skeleton is hidden. We will do the rest.”

“Hmm.”

“Let’s ruffle some feathers and be seen by power blocs as someone to be taken serious. We can even spur EFCC into doing their job or a media trial or both sef.”

“Ok sir.”

“We will also get international recognition and collaboration, and with that comes funding. Do you understand? “

“I do sir.”

“Now get to work and earn your pay.”

“Ok sir.”

She noticed everywhere was silent. She opened her eyes and saw her grandma staring at her.

“You are not saying amen,” stated her grandmother, who stopped praying to look at her.

“Sorry grandma, amen ma,” Erowo replied.

Her grandmother continued the early morning prayer, and Erowo responded loudly and intermittently with amen.

_____________________________________________________________________________

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

“God bless you and be with you darling,” his wife called after him as he hugged and kissed her on his way out of the apartment.

“Amen,” Lotana said and closed the door behind him.

He got into the SUV and put on the Uber app to set his destination to V.I. He decided to wait a little before driving off in his car.

He had lost his banking job about 7 months ago. And after 4 months of applying for jobs and not getting one, as well as, seeing his wife’s pregnancy steadily progress, he knew he needed to start earning fast.

The need to do something was also heightened by the fact that most of his severance pay was used to offset his outstanding car loan. He had bought an SUV a year before he lost his job. Thus, he had had to dip into his savings and liquidate most of his investments to supplement his cashflow.

Prior to his 7 years stint at the bank, he had worked as a bouncer, security guard, bullion van driver and a mechanic. Given his assorted working experience, he realised that the car can be an asset if used rightly. So he decided to become a Uber driver.

He had also reasoned with his wife that becoming a Uber driver was a way to play it safe. And God willing, he might meet a passenger that can help him get a well paying job.

This was his 3rd month as an Uber driver and he can only be grateful to God that things had not turned out as bad as he had feared. He knew some of colleagues, who also lost their jobs, were working on travelling out to Canada. While some had invested in business and lost it all.

His phone beeped and flashed. He looked and saw there was a request for his service. He dialed the number.

Smoking Guns and Bleeding Streets is a gritty, gripping, and gravely real crime story.

The story is set in Lagos, Nigeria, West Africa. It brings together an investigative journalist, an assassin, law enforcement agents and some shady characters. They are all in a race to obtain an incriminating piece of evidence.

To download your copy as an E-book, please click on any of the links below:

Flutterwave: https://flutterwave.com/pay/smokinggunsandbleedingstreets

Paystack: https://paystack.com/pay/smokinggunsandbleedingstreets

Amazon USA: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08FZVKLXB/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_QFHoFbJE4XHDA

Amazon UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08FZVKLXB/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_TFHoFb8KTHXEN

Beautiful write up.

Iykoto86:
Beautiful write up.

Thanks.