₦airaland Forum

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JESSY

Dealing with the Devil

At first I couldn't be certain how many men were in the van with us. They sat across us and on the left and right sides too, blinding us with the bright flashlight beams in our faces. After squinting as much as I could, I deduced they were six in number in the van with us. Two across and two on the left and right sides.
They didn't say anything or seem interested in us, apart from blinding us of course.

Fuoyo finally gave a sigh...."can you guys please turn it off...we didn't even do anything neither do we know you, yet you just-"

He gave a sudden grunt and fell quiet. I guessed Kanaku had elbowed him in the ribs.

The drive back to the Town and Merina hotel seemed shorter than our Lorry ride that morning. I remembered the livestock we had been forced to abandon when the gunmen showed up.

By the time the van screeched to a hault in front of the hotel, it was totally dark. yet there was still movement and well lit houses, street lights and late night stores yet to close for the night.

The street had mashai kiosks scattered on both sides, with few customers munching on their indomie and egg so it wasn't lonely or secluded yet what surprised me was that the men hopped out of the van, still armed in their ski masks and automatic rifles as though they were wearing police uniforms and didn't infact look like criminals. In the few seconds before the two hefty hands gripped my arm and all but dragged me into the hotel, I managed to glance in both directions and nobody even paid attention, looked our way or batted an eyebrow.

The receptionist lady looked at us with expressionless eyes then she nodded at one of the man who gripped my arm and they headed for the staircase. Fuoyo was behind me and hefted in similar positon, only at the curve of the stairs that I crained my neck and saw the two men with Kanaku didn't hold him, they probably couldn't even lift him. Instead they each left a hand on his shoulder and prodded him from behind, with their guns pressed into his back.

Finally at the last floor, one of the goons released my arm and rapped his knuckles on the door.
The scariest and tallest man I had ever seen in my life opened the door and glared at me before staring behind at Kanaku and Fuoyo and stepping aside.

I couldn't move for a second, paralyzed with fear. If I once thought Kanaku had a rough, inimidating and mean rugged face and demeanor...next to this doorman he was like tejubaby face. The man had a nasty scar from his forehead, across his right eye, which meant he had just one functioning eye, which looked capable enough to see judging from how big the pupils and eyeballs were. He had a couple more scars from his neck down which thankfully disappeared under the collar of his shirt.
The gunman still holding on to my arm pushed me through the open door impatiently and I almost fell on my face.

Fuoyo and Kanaku were also shoved in and the door slammed behind them. I swirled around as I regained my balance and was shocked to see none of the gunmen had entered with us. It was Mr Scar who had shut the door. He crossed his arms across his big chest and stared at me with no expression but I had a feeling he was waiting for one of us to try something stupid.

He didn't hold my attention for long, cause right across the room, sitting on a chair with his legs stretched on the table and crossed at his ankles was the man from the video call.
The main man. Mr D's boss?

He rubbed his hands together and got up from the table and even gave a half bow. "I'm terribly sorry if my boys rough handled you...they get carried away at times cause of the passion they have for me"

"Who are you?" Kanaku barked.

Immediately, the one eyed beast took a threatening step forward but the pale elegant hand shot up, halting his progress.

He looked at me and smiled coldly, "I'm the man your boyfriend stole from..." Then flashed the same smile to Fuoyo and Kanaku, “I'm the one who can destroy everything you hold dear in a second, Í'm the one who has been on a divine quest for decades to have what belonged to me"

"what are you talking about?" Fuoyo asked

"That's it...no more questions except the one I ask. First where's my diary?"

"The diary of the general Gerald?"

"Southern Governor if you will...It belonged to my grandfather...and passed down to me Gerald the III in a last minute will which he cut off my weakling of a father and willed his entire estate to me as well as his secret and his right....his rightful place as a god amongst men and it is my destiny to reclaim his status....Brian was so smart and even though he didn't believe it existed he was the best person to track down the diary and decipher the map to find the bag, but he was greedy and foolish...foolish enough to think he could double-cross me. I've been after the satchel for years..you have no idea what I've done both centuries ago and in this present age to finally get close to reclaim what is mine....now where's the diary? unless we'll be having the video call once more with a gun to your sweet baby girls head"

Kanaku sprang up so violently and charged at the table...and I quickly shouted, "The diary is here....it's here....you can have it...it's in my bag"

"If you lay one finger on my daughter I promise you..." The scarred giant intercepted Kanaku just in time, grabbing him by the hand and both men grappled for a second before he successfully pinned Kanaku's hands behind his back.

The white man never even flinched, he chuckled, looking at me with reptile like eyes that felt like he was undressing me. I got the huge book from the backpack and approached his table and handed it to him.

He collected it but surprisingly put it to the side. "Good..since you have the diary which would mean Brian fell straight into the trap and gave it to you...I'm counting you also know the missing link? The other locations the supposed sons would be buried presently?"

"how do you....you've read it?" Fuoyo asked

"of course dummies, who do you think made it possible for it to be found in the first place? Brian traveled to Edo and believes all of a sudden, a century old treasure book would fall in his hands...I needed him to figure out what my ancestor never found out and he did that like I knew because he really was the best but then planned to betray me like I also suspected and it's now clear you all worked hand in hand..."

"Look we don't know anything...just the names of 5 states, we planned to just checkout Nassarawa because that was the only documented location in the diary.." Fuoyo protested

"My men already scoured the location days ago, Nassarawa is out of the equation...now this is what you'll do if you want to see your family...you have one week to get me the satchel of Eziza or else...your sweet parents would receive another signed package from their in-law to be but it's going to be a bomb and not a mini-fridge this time around..." he stared into my eyes as he said this and I began to shiver.... "or your dear mother would receive a box containing the big heads of your brothers which is supposed to be memorizing computer science and sociology subjects for the second semester exams...she's already lost her husband, losing two more children might be too much for her." He looked at Fuoyo when he said this and he also cried out..."please I beg you don't-"

But he was already facing Kanaku. "And you, I don't need to tell you what awaits your family if you fail. Yours is worst, you have so much family members I really don't know which to face first...but your father might receive a favour and get a sweet release from the dementia killing his brain first...or your pregnant wife could encounter a premature C-section, So get wise and channel your anger to finding me my Satchel....I'm giving you my personal chopper...with two of my trackers...they're the best and most skillful, so you're going to work with them and if I receive a wrong complaint from them, no matter how small, then the deal is off and we'll all get to have another video call which would be very graphic"

We were all speechless until, he gave a flick of his wrist and his body guard began to shove us to the door one after the other.

"pardon my bad hospitality, I would have invited you for dinner especially since you look very hungry and tattered...but for your sake you must make use of the limited time." He called after us before the door was shut in our faces

Elfaris:
Wawu. I don't know what to feel. I sha know we're going on another long Souloho adventure just like 'Hole in the Wall' & 'Delayed Diagnosis'. I hope this one doesn't get too long though.

Nah it won’t be long...just as a young C Ronaldo learnt to be more direct and shun excess showboating...same way I’ve learnt to cut out excess plot twists, anyway I might as well issue a fair warning...the story is about to come to an end as the first part of the securing The Bag series...there will be a concluding book 2; Securing The Bag (the satchel of Eziza...) about the adventure proper. The main reason I had to break it down into 2 books is because of the extensive research I have to carry out...having never even been to the North before. Anyway expect concluding updates for book 1 latest by weekend. Jah bless

Chapter 18


FUOYO

THINGS GET REAL

Jessy tried to assure him, "it doesn't mean they traced it or

"no...no...no...it's been over a week since Kenekelis died and they must have been putting serious surveilance since then...I can guess the moment they realized the enevelope was missing they'd printed Fuoyo's face and sent copies here ahead to frame you for whatever happened....because they knew we're coming for the treasure......I need to call my family....." He scratched his head....

"okay here bro, is Barakat on whatsapp?" I asked

"yes....."

"okay....my whatsapp line is a U.S number, works with vpn so its untracable....try call her on WhatsApp"

We huddled round him and watched him dial the number with trembling hands and the network went from calling to ringing.

"if it’s ringing then she's online, thank God" I announced hopefully

We all gave a sigh of relief and hurdled even closer around him, not minding we still stood at the lonely crossroad.

Finally she picked up and Kanaku broke into a smile. "Hello....Barakat.....Barakat how are you....how's Ruki? I'm coming back home, I love you all so much.... I was so scared I could lose my family and it made me realize you're all the treasure I need....I'll be in Lagos next tomorrow and we're going too get marri- -...hello? Barakat...why are you not responding?"

There was still silence, then we saw the notification light up the screen. (....wants to switch call to video)

He swiped up immediately, accepting the video switch and we all squinted at the screen, unsure of what we were seeing. I could see the couch I had squeezed myself in few nights ago, which meant the phone was on the tv stand opposite it. Barakat sat in the sofa and her eyes were swollen like she had been crying. Her sister sat on the handle of the chair, with her arm over her shoulder in a supportive stance.

"What's happened?"

At that point the phone shfted and the ceiling came intio view before dropping down to the face of a masked man. He glared at the camera. "Hold on a second, the boss is about to join this reunion."

A third party was attempting to join the video call and we all watched as the screen divided into 3 parts, The bottom half was dark, apart from 3 pairs of shining white eyes....; Kanaku, Jessy and me...the first half on the left showed the masked man, this time he held the phone up like a selfie, so Barakat was still in the frame, sitting on the sofa behind him. The second half showed a loading sign for about 20 seconds then suddenly we were staring at a white handsome middle aged man.

He smiled at us and his teeth were impecabbly white. He was dressed in a white spotless suit with white tie and his hair was white...too loud to be grey and sleeked back, whether from old age or artificial dye, I had no idea. But there was something powerful about him....and strange but it made me uneasy immediately. Despite his good and elegant looks, there was some kind of hardness and lack of empathy in his cold hard white eyes as he stared straight at us.

"What have you done to my family? where's Ruki?" Kanaku shouted.

"well well well....so these is the trio i've heard so much about...where in God's name are you....it’s dark and you look terrible..."

"I'm not going to repeat myself,,,if you harm my-"

he cut of Kanaku at once...."You'll do what? They could kill your wife right this moment before your eyes with just a snap of my finger...its up to you...if you wanna still save your unborn child and daughter"

"where is-"

"Shhh...you talk too much. Remain where you are....a Ford jeep would be pulling by any moment now to pick you up soon and bring you back to the same hotel you left in such a haste today...if you want to save your family cooperate and when you get here I'll make you my offer?"

"what do you want from us...we don't have anything" Jessy cried out..

"On the contrary...you have what belongs to me....and for your sake I hope you bring my diary with you or else this is all for nothing and you'll regret it"

"Your Diary...?"

"yes you barbaric coons, My diary...the time has come to reclaim what was mine...,"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.... "Are you a descendant of the Gene-"

"shh...there comes your ride....hey you Kanayo thug remember, any wrong move, your family dies tonight.." with this last threat to Kanaku he disconnected the line.

Kanaku quickly turned his attention to the other half screen. "Hey please give my wife the phone...lemme talk to her....Barakat its gonna be okay I promi-"

The line also disconnected.

"Bleep!"

Kanaku and I exclaimed

Just that moment a set of headlights approached us and I squinted, thinking it was another lorry from the farm we could follow to the town. But the vehicle stopped beside us and I noticed it wasn't a Lorry but a van. The door slid open and half a dozen flashlights glared into our faces. It wasn't blinding enough to obscure the view that the white lights were extensions, attached to some scary looking rifles.
"Get in"

The instruction was followed by the unmistakable cocking of loaded weapons and both Kanaku, Jessy and I raised our hands and got into the van slowly. Each of us thinking of the unthinkable danger we had foolishly entered because of the quest for adventure and legend.

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KANAKU

Crossroads


It was already dark by the time we got to the spot the Lorry had dropped us earlier. Jessy and Fuoyo were still numb from shock. I was numb too but I knew I had to come up with a solution. I had to try and think.

We stood at the crossroad, staring into space and doing nothing and it occured to me we really were at a crossroad.
I cleared my throat and looked at both sides of the road. There was no vehicle in sight. Finally I looked at my flabberghasted friends. "what was that about?"

"I don't know...." Jessy stammered....."They just pinned the murder case on us...why would that man do that? I don't know him"

"If I'm to guess I'll say he was paid and given the pictures, you heard what he said....we were spotted earlier in Town so they knew we'll be coming here"

"Who? who are the they?" Fuoyo asked

I shrugged, "The killer guys, the Boss Kenekelis worked for....the firm or whatever it is Mr D belonged to"

"Bleep!" Fuoyo swore again...."I can understand them having Jessy's picture-"

"I beg your pardon?" she interjected

"come on....you were dating the man....they believed you knew the whereabout of the diary right from time..."

"where's the diary?" I interrupted

"It's in my bag...Jessy's carrying it.....as I was saying, what I don't understand, is how did they find out about me? and why just me....why not you also...we both never knew Mr D personally or anything like that"

"your plate number" Jessy said suddenly.

"from the estate....Kenekelis' house remember....we killed him and we took the papers in the enevelope too"

"Bleep!" Jessy remembered another detail suddenly. "The camera! There was a camera recording in the room!"

We stared at each other in disbelief

"So, Kanaku is the only safe face for now...thank God for these costumes" She sighed

"What now?" Fuoyo asked

"we go back to our homes, lay low until this would pass and we forget about this cursed treasure...we clearly underestimated these people, we're no match, look what they pulled off in advance..put us down as the suspects before hand...what kind of power is that?"

"I agree...but how do we do it....there'll probably be lookouts in the Town now especially with the bounty from the so called white man the leader mentioned, the killers won't be far off"

"We'll have to create our own path. we'll hike North, sleep in the woods and by first light, find a vehicle to get us to Kaduna, from there it's straight to Lagos" I looked at the duo, "agreed?"

"yes"

I brought out my phone, thinking of calling the Lorry driver since we had become sort of friends and to ask him when next he was passing by this route. My signal bar was empty.

"Fuoyo let me use your phone"

"No I wouldn't advice that....for them to get my whatsapp picture that means my phone is probably being monitored”

"what if they're tracing us with your phone right now as we speak!" Jessy was almost in hysterics

"Jess relax.......if they trace my ip, they'll find themselves a Hawai location where a fictional chracter works the shore as a rescue pilot...as long as we don't use our local network to make any call or for anything else, we'll be fine, and even with local calls it's easier to trace the number receiving the call than to try to triangulate our current location because we’re in motion”

"I don't know much about these stuffs...are you sure?" I asked him

He nodded "positive, its kinda my line of work so trust me on this"

I nodded. "we need to find somewhere to camp for the night..."

"camp? like in the movies are you se-"
Jessy didn't get to finish her statement cause I suddenly whirled around and gripped Fuoyo by his collar

"Hey what is it!" he was shocked

I didn't care, a dreadful cold was running through my body, chilling my bones and making the hairs at the back of my neck stand.

"Your phone! I used it to call Barakat back in the bus park!"

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JECINCTA

Reality Jolt

I was caught up with Fuoyo's story. He told me everything about himself, his life, his family, his school life and his unbelievable nonchalant attitude to his studies, then he told me about his close friend Shaq and how he got caught up in the yahoo life and about Lori Mau and how he found himself running from two colleagues who believe he had stolen their money. I was intrigued when he rounded up, explaining how Kanaku came into the picture after the boys hired him to deal with Fuoyo.

"And that was how we ran into you that night, I really didn't know what I was doing...Kananku is such a mean bastard I thought he'll kill me"

"You know the crazy thing?" I asked him, "The both of us went through changes almost the same period"

He glanced at me, and his eyes were unreadable for a second, and I felt he was holding back from asking me something. He didn't hold it in for long. "How long have you known Mr D....and did you really love him?"

It was a simple enough question but hard to answer. I had known him for almost 3 years, I had come to care about him a lot, I liked him, and had deep affection for him, but did I love him? What exactly was love anyway and how did someone know when it was love? Before I could give him an answer, the Lorry jerked and came to a abrupt stop, causing Fuoyo and I to grip the railings tightly. I heard Kanaku exchange pleasantries fluently with the Driver and hop out the passenger door.

"he speaks hausa fluently too" I murmurred

"full of surprises, that one..." Fuoyo agreed before Jumping out the back of the Lorry. He stretched his hand to help me but I ignored and jumped down as well. They saw me as a fragile person, the weak link, someone who would slow them down and I was going to prove them wrong and show I could be just as tough as them. Even when a sharp sprain spread through my ankle, I kicked it off and refused to limp or wince.

Fuoyo smiled at me, "you know you have a serious ego problem right?"

I'd heard that a lot of times, from my parents, to teachers and classmates to Fifi and now Fuoyo.

"There's nothing wrong with having an ego and I have a healthy one" I replied him fixing the straw hat atop my head, it was bigger and kept sliding down to cover my eyes.

"suit yourself" He actually snapped his fingers and whistled and the sheep immediately hopped off the Lorry and practically into his hands
"Woah" he exclaimed, patting the sheep affectionately

Kanaku's ram was more stubborn and took a lot of pulling and tugging before it finally got subdued and stoped trying to get away from him.

"It's like Fuoyo was a shepherd in another life" he commented after finally getting the ram under his control and tugging the rope. He waved the driver off once more and turned to face us.

"The time is already almost 5, the good news is I got directions to the ranch, but the bad news is there's no hotel in this village. The closest is still in the Town we left hurriedly"

"That means we do this together like we planned originally" I chipped in.

He frowned at me in reply

"What?"

"why are you wearing your jeans under the wrapper?" he sighed tiredly

"I can't wear just a wrapper...no way" I insisted

"But it's a perfect camouflage"

"It can't be perfect...I'm backing a knapsack...Fuoyo is rolling a traveling bag behind him...it's good enough.."

"But-"

"no buts Kanaku, what if we have to run suddenly? do you know how it would slow me down? especially with this ridiculous sackclothe I'm wearing" I was firm

He nodded. "you have a point..." He turned and observed the path and I followed his gaze

There were thatched roofs and huts and manual water pumps here and there, plus a cleared path with four standing tires the children no doubt used for goalposts when they played street football.

There was no sign of life and Kanaku turned to us once more. "This is the outskirt...the driver isn't from this village but he did say there's a popular ranch some kilometers east." He pointed with his hand then tugged the rope, pulling the reluctant ram behind him.

::
I stayed in the middle and Fuoyo brought up the rear, making cute noises at his sheep like one would do to a baby.

"remember, we're farmers, passing through the village if anybody asks" Kanaku announced

"where exactly is everybody?" I asked worriedly. We had now passed atleast a dozen thatch houses and yet there was no sign of life yet

We picked up our pace and walked for 30 minutes before we saw the first sign of life.
An elderly woman, walking barefoot with a chewing stick in her mouth and a distant look in her eyes. Kanaku attempted to greet her but she just kept on walking, not sparing a glance at all.

It was when we finally got to the turning of the cattle ranch we understood why the village was so empty. There was a crowd of over 500 people hurdled together, listening intently to one of their villagers who spoke rapid Hausa and couldn't seem to stop his hands from fidgeting and shoving two sheets of paper into the faces of the crowd around him.

I looked around and noticed a smaller group of people gathered round another villager who held a bundle of papers which he was sharing to the people around him, even from the distance I noticed the pages were coloured...looked like pictures of two people.

Wondering what the cause of the chaos was, I continued to inspect the surroundings until I saw it in the distance; burnt black grass, blackened wood and ash spread over what had to be at least an acre of land. The ranch had been burnt to the ground. The only remaining structure was a barbed wire fence a good distance away which housed about a hundred cows.

I tapped Kanaku's shoulder, "what's he saying?"

"He's saying two strangers from the South are responsible for the attack and fire on the ranch late last night....they murdered the watch men...." he shut his eyes tight in pain, "and two children died in the fire"

"Bleep" Fuoyo cursed, "It must be those same murderous bastards from the hotel....this would mean they're close by...."

"That's exactly what he's saying....he mentioned two culprits.." Kanaku strained his ear, we were a little distance from the murmuring crowd. "wait a minute....he says it's a female and a male"

I looked at him, "are you sure?"

"that's what he's saying....it looks like he's the chief or leader of the community or something..."

The man kept on talking and I suddenly had a terrible feeling. I tugged Kanaku who was still trying to follow the conversation. "I think we should leave..."

The words were just out of my mouth when the speaker got down from the small podium and approached the smaller crowd. He barked a couple of words rudely at the smallish man who immediately handed bulk of the sheets to the people around him and they began to spread it quicker to the others, circulating it faster.

He watched the papers spread and announced in broken english, "The pictures you're being given be the killers...the bastard infidels, They were sight in the Town early today, they will come back.....(then he switched back to Hausa which Kanaku translated in shock)
"There's a big reward from the white man for anyone who sees and reports them....They are dangerous so don't let them fool you to take care of them or else they will kill you like they did the Allama family and raid the graves of your ancestors and burn your houses to the ground when they're finished!"

A woman in a hijab finally passed me the pictures of the suspect and handed one over to Fuoyo and Kanaku.

"Nagode" I thanked her

"what the Bleep!" Fuoyo was the first to gasp,
luckily the uniform murmurings of the crowd meant his voice wasn't audible. I wanted to tell him to lower his voice and ask what on earth made him exclaim in such a manner but then I looked down at the paper in my hand and I was also too shocked to speak. I wondered how they had been able to get such a close up picture of me. I remembered the day in particular because of the hoop earrings I had been wearing, the picture was about a year old, I had accompanied Mr D to a fundraising dinner and he had bought me the gold earrings specifically for the event. I seemed to be looking straight at the camera judging by the angles of my eyes but with no idea that my picture had been taken. Someone had taken my picture without me knowing....maybe they had been watching me all this while? It was hard to fight back the panic but I tried my best.

The second half of the picture was Fuoyo, the resemblance was unmistakable, he looked straight at the camera and even smiled, shutting his right eye in a cocky wink and kissing a neck chain with a gold lion head pendant`.

"That's my previous whatsapp dp...." he stammered "....how, when....."

The leader began to thrust the paper to the air and shout and the crowd joined.

I was paralyzed with fear. Shocked, confused and out of my depth.

Thankfully Kanaku had seen and heard enough, he turned away and grabbed my cold hands in his.... "Fuoyo close your mouth for God's sake and scram before someone recognizes you..."

His legs obeyed him and he spun ahead of us and we all hurried towards the path we had come.

We didn't say a word as we walked through the empty village. We were completely shaken and confused, we didn't even know what to ask.

Chapter 17


FUOYO

Transformation


"what exactly did he say?" Jessy asked me
She had been in the shower while i'd been trying to catch an hour's sleep before Kanaku interrupted me as usual.

"I think something came up and we need to be on the move immediately, we're to pack up and wait outside the motel, he's on his way." I didn't have much load, apart from the backpack which contained I and Kanaku's two pair of clothes each. Jessy's bag was now much lighter. Kanaku had discarded most of the clothes she had brought along and apart from a pair of slacks, sweater and tracksuit hoody, the remaining items were the food stuffs her parents had plied her with. at least a paint of fresh Garri, A ziplocked bag of fried fish and meat, at least a half a paint of rice also and what i took to be dried cow skin (ponmo) wrapped in a newspaper and cellotaped tightly.

"Why on Earth do we need to carry this? It's too heavy are we even planning to cook?" she grumbled.

I smiled at her, "I have a feeling Kanaku is right here, we may need it....here carry my backpack, its lighter."

She handed it over gladly and I grimaced at the weight but still behaved like it was nothing serious.

We waited outside, a little nervous as we looked around. Every well dressed person seemed suspicious to me. I wish we had an idea of how Mr D's killers looked. I had a bad feeling they were closer than we imagined.
Finally Kanaku arrived in a lorry and signaled for us. I climbed in first and helped Jess climb in the back too. He leaned to the drivers window and rattled of instructions in Hausa before climbing in the back with us, I recognized the name of the village.

"you speak Hausa?" Jess asked

"yes..picked it up mostly on the streets...you wouldn't believe how loyal hausa people can be in the street once you identify their language with them"

I had a more pressing issue. "Where did this ram and sheep come from?"

"our perfect alibi..."

"How did you get it?"

"I obtained it"

"Kanaku! this isn't Lagos, is that why we had to leave immediately?"

"Desperate times bro..."

"so what, we move in tonight?"

"let's see....first plan is scrambled already so we stick together, that's the only plan now, the most important thing is trying to locate the ranch"

We were silent for a while. Kanaku kept stroking the ram's horns...he really looked like a herder.

"You two better change into the clothes I got you.." He kicked a huge sack towards were we sat. I brought out the faded clothes unimpressed.

"Hell no! what is this?" Jessy help up what looked like an empty sack of beans to her chest.

"That's our ticket if we want to get out of here alive. I'll go sit with the driver and give you guys some privacy"

"how exactly are you going to do that?" I shouldn't have bothered asking cause he was already hanging on the side of the moving lorry, inching himself slowly until he got to the passenger side and swung it open with one hand and accrobaticallty swung his heavyset frame in and shut the door.

"how can he do something like that, is he spider man or what?" Jessy couldn't believe but
surprisingly I was already used to Kanaku's surprises. I grinned at her, "That man has been doing stuffs like this before you were born, it’s an inate ability...we're just lucky he's on our side"

"before we were born" she corrected, sticking her nose in the air and pouting her lips in that egoistic way that annoyed me yet made me want to kiss her if only to test if she'll be affected or still remain so arrogantly poised

I shook the thought out of my head and frowned at her, "i'm older than you"

"you don't look too old, if i'm to guess, I'll say you're mid 20's"

She was smack on and I couldn't help but smile. "And if i'm to guess you're in your late teens" I joked.

"you wish, I'll be 23 in about 2 months...yeah pisces rule!"

I pulled off my trouser and began to tug on the ridiculous pants Kanaku had gotten for me. "what kind of trouser did he buy?" It was inches above my ankles and looked like a drunk tailor had once attempted a boot cut but given up halfway through.

Jessy burst out laughing and I smirked at her, "I'll like to see how you look in your oversized shirt."

"There's no way I'm putting this on, it doesn't look new...doesn't even look second hand! only God knows where it has been"

I tugged of my precious American rag shirt and regretfully squeezed it in the bag. I picked up the shirt and sighed, "don't tell me he rolled the shirt in the dirt"

Jessy lugged and when I turned I saw her eyes linger on my shirtless body for a second and immediately tightened my abdominal muscles, forcing my usually hidden 2 and the half packs to a complete 6.
She didn't look too impressed and I hurriedly wore the shirt...."what the hell....how did the neck slack this way.?” Still when I put on the straw heart I could tell I pulled the look off. I looked like an impoverished farmer who had a long long day.

Jessy burst out laughing...."I swear it fits you...especially standing beside the goat."

The Lorry entered a pothole and I gripped the railing.

"Your turn" I smirked at her.

She sat down on the bench and gently began to tug the sacklike blouse over her shirt.

"This weather is something else...you're going to fry, not to talk of when you add the wrapper" I adviced

"Fine, then give me some privacy" she snapped

The Lorry was in a long stretch of road with trees on both sides so I gripped the back railings and turned slowly while she sat in the corner. I could sense her tug the shirt over her head and could catch the dark material of her bra from the corner of my eye but I stared straight ahead, stroking the sheep which seemed to have taken an affinity to me.

Finally when she was done and I turned, I forced a laugh, pointing exaggeratedly and saying, "you look like my land lady during my Nysc, God bless her soul, very no nonsense hard working woman, she doesn't play with her bitter leaf farm..."

She looked down in dismay and I tried to lighten her up, "relax we're not here for a fashion parade...have you forgotten?"

"I know....it's just...." she shook her head,
"never mind"

"what is it?" I joined her on the bench, the sheep followed me and rested its head on my lap.

She didn't reply, instead she said, "tell me about your service year? where was it? did you enjoy it?"

I forgot about how she'd looked a second before and decided to oblige her. This time I didn't tell her exagerated tales or heroic lies like I'd told my family. I told her everything, the good, the bad and definitely the ugly.

:::::::::::::::::::
KANAKU


First Violence

I had never been as angry as I felt that minute. How dare Barakat refuse to let me speak to my daughter? She accused me of bailing out on my family impromptu yesterday and that if I really wanted to talk to my girl I had to come home to do that. I was livid. And to prove she meant business she didn't pick when I called with my phone, which was what made me use Fuoyo's phone. Ruki was the only person who lifted my spirits on low days and just talking to her would hve been a much needed boost for the stressful and risky operation ahead. But Barakat refused to let me talk to my love who could remind me the real reason I was embarking on a treasure hunt. For her and her unborn sibling.

The gin helped a bit and after a while I softened. "Fuoyo, before this passengers kill me why don't you play the song you were playing that night?"

"what ni-night?"

"should i remind you, the night I caught you sleepi-"

"okay okay I recall...its a Kendrick and jcole mix"

"Thank God!" The corper explained from the back with relief

The second half of the journey was uneventful, I managed to put a reign on my feelings and was extremly focused on the plan ahead. This was my last chance of a possible mastermind and fulfilling my dreams. If I failed then it was a job as a school security for the rest of my life, for my family's sake.

:::;
By 1pm we arrived at the Town and in accordance with our plans, we asked around and were finally directed to a hotel which was more like a motel. But it was good enough and would have to do. We checked into 2 rooms, although we all cramped into one of the rooms.

"Okay you guys, since we have a little more time, just give me an hour to make a run to the market."

"okay...please don't buy anything too drab" Jessy told me

I raised an eyebrow at her, "I'm a hoodlum I don't know what that means"

::::::::::::
The market place was bigger than expected, Almost everything I could think of was sold there. Everything looked fresh from the farm. I moved around the Market for what felt like 2 hours until finally I found the perfect clothes; A jumpy faded trousers that looked like a whole clan had taken turns to wear it yearly. I bought this for Fuoyo although I knew he would hate it and I couldn't help chuckling. Then I pitied him a bit and purchased A high round neck black t shirt, but once outside the store, I stretched the material with my hands, till I had slackened the neck line terribly, then I looked around and rolled it on the dusty floor until the black material was a dusty shade of brown.

The weather was so hot, it felt like the Devil was running routine maintenance in hell so I added a straw hat.

Jessy's selection was easier; just a wrapper and a kind of oversized shirt and also a staw hat. I remembered the classy footwears I had seen while rummaging through her bag that morning and smiled, these girls...always used to slaying. I chuckled. I finally bought a pair of second hand rubber sandals, which was quite masculine but would have to do.

I bought a Danshiki armless shirt for myself and a straw heart, I was satisfied with the joggers Fuoyo had bought for me in Nassarawa, the many dust in the market already gave it the perfect shade. Still I felt something was missing.

I saw it and the moment I saw it, I knew. A young lad leading a small heard of cows, goats and rams.

I approached him and spoke in fluent hausa, "nagode, how much for the smallest cow?"

"i no sell," he raised the stick threateningly to my face and I gasped in surprise.

"See this small boy o, not even more than 15...." still I kept my cool. "Okay which one for sale"

"I say none.... dangoroba shege!" He actually spread his palm close to my face. Telling me waka

I almost grabbed his hand and broke his wrist, but the market was busy and I knew I could be mobbed by people.

From the 50k Fuoyo had given me for the shopping, I still had 35k in cash, so I strolled after the boy in a distance while he led his herd down a bushy path to no doubt go graze a little. I followed him, carrying the sack of clothes on my shouler until we were deep into a path and far from prying eyes.

"Hey, oya I have 20, no 30k in cash....not for your cow, i know you guys love cows...but that ram...it’s even the smallest of the lot, that's a scoop, I have the money alre-"

The bastard suddenly dropped his stick and pulled out a 3 foot sharp dagger. "I no get sense walai...I go treat am por my fuckup since I no dey hear word..." (then he rambled of in a native tongue I couldn't understand but knew he had just probably insulted my generation)

"I don't think it's wise to threaten me with a knife, we're only talking-"

To my utmost surprise, the lad lunged at me and swished the dagger dangerously close to my neck.

I was extremely shocked and staggered a couple of steps back. Then he lunged again, narrowly missing my eye as I ducked to the side then I became mad. This bastard wants to kill me before the journey even starts, one little bastard about to make my daughter fatherless because of livestock.

A street guy 9 times out of 10 would never depend solely on his fists, think about it...you're in a bar and suddenly two rugged guys start fighting, the first sound you hear is a bottle smashing.

I wished there was a solid plank around to scatter his head with, but as he lunged at me again I employed the rule of the street fight, which was; there were no rules, especially when your opponent had a dagger as long as a fucking sword aimed at your chest. I employed the closest external factor to give me an advantage.
Thankfully we were on a sandy path, and I dug my shoe into the earth and kicked up lots of sand and dust, blinding the murderous bastard temporarily.
He loosened his grip on the dagger as his right hand fell to his side and he tried fervently to dust out his eyes with his left.

In a flash I had grabbed the blade from his grip and when he looked up, still half blinded, I saw terror in his eyes as he caught the glint of the blade in my hand.

"You coward, because of this stupid weapon you feel you have the right and strength to take a life?" I threw the dagger to the ground and clenched my fist.

He seemed relieved and also took a fighting stance.

"ehen! if you had done this the first time like a man, I would have put the money for the ram in your pocket after knocking you out and even make sure your remaining cows are safe, but you tried to kill a whole Kanaku..."

He screamed obscenities and lunged at me.


45 seconds later, I checked his pulse while he lay unconscious on the floor. I took his guiding stick and directed a ram and a sheep, leaving the dozen cows hovering around their leader's body, a few of them began to wonder far off...literally chasing greener grass without their master's direction...free to roam.
About 3 loyal bulls remained with him, waiting patiently for their master to stand up from the floor.

"Perfect, with half a dozen lifestock missing it'll be harder to pinpoint me..." I wore my straw hat and directed my two latest acquisition. Still the unexpected incident made a change of plans. We couldn't remain in the town any second longer. News would spread like fire about the stranger who had beat up a young herder and stole cattle.

I walked my new livestock property a short distance until I got to the main road then I flagged down a ride. I chartered a pick up Lorry and gave directions to the hotel.

On the way, I called Fuoyo and instructed him and Jessy to pack up and be ready to move. We couldn't stay in the town so we were moving straight to the village. It was 3pm, we would make it before nightfall and see how it goes.

:::::::::

JECINCTA



Stomach Caterpillars

Despite my earlier fears and premonitions, I enjoyed the bus ride immensely. It was a hilarious journey with plenty characters in the bus which made the trip very lively.
I sat on the 3rd row beside Fuoyo, my head nestled on his shoulder while Kanaku sat beside the driver which actually started the lively interaction in the bus.

The driver had an Auxillary cord and after playing some gospel songs for about 45 minutes, Kanaku disconnected the music and plugged in his phone.
"Driver, God don hear us..Chioma Jesus don tire to dey repeat chorus for our matter, our journey is safe you hear? make we jam lively gbedu."

A youth corper at the back nodded in agreement. "you get mouth bro, abeg you get Meek Mill? make we hear the trillest"

"or Burna's latest album" a young lady on my other side chipped in

Kanaku scoffed, "Meek Mill ko, Mikano gen ni....abeg feel better song wey dey burst brain..."

we all listened expectantly until the shrill voice of popular small doctor filled the bus, "They call me small doctor...Aye, Aye Aye Aye"

Fuoyo and I burst out laughing while some members began to grumble. "you for kuku leave our chioma Jesus jeje, which one be this now?"

Kanaku turned deaf ears and shuffled his Mix proudly, singing along and bopping his head.
After about 2 hours, the bus made its first stop, at a filling station/eatery. Kanaku was the first out of the bus, and for a second I thought he was pressed but then he asked Fuoyo for his phone to make a call and dialed a number from memory before walking briskly away and was soon in a heated conversation. Judging by the stressed look on his face, I guessed it was his wife or baby mama. But to me they were already more married than some officially married people.

Every other person got down from the bus except Fuoyo and I.

"I'll like to stretch my legs a bit if you don't mind" I punched him playfully on the arm. When he didn't shift for me to pass

"I know.... just a second, I want to tell you something," he sounded really serious and I shifted in my seat to get a clear view of his face.

"what's wrong?"

"Jessy, I want to assure you something, first of all...I won't lie...I really hope we find the treasure, I crazily believe it exists and we can pull it off....but I know I've been greedy and selfish, I got into this whole mess in the first place because of greed...but I want to tell you, you're more important than any fucking treasure. It's all on you Jessy, if this is too much I'm ready to call it off now and we return to Lagos..."

I was shocked beyong words. "I don't understand...where's all this coming from?"

"I heard you and Kanaku talking yesterday morning...I wasn't deep asleep cause ironically, I was thinking of the treasure...I know you're worried and it's the most personal case to you..." he smiled. "so I promise you, it's all down to you Jessy...you come first before anything else...I just hope you can trust me"

No one had ever put my feelings first, not without expecting something in return, but here was this guy who I feared had lost his soul to the obsession of the hunt like Mr D, willing to abandon the dreams so much evident in his eyes and reign in his yearnings cause he valued my state of mind more than the treasure.....
Oh my.....I suddenly felt a little teary eyed and punched him playfully. "I'll trust you only if you shift and let me get down to stretch my legs first."

He smiled at that and came down, turning and stretching his hand to help me down.
At that point we saw Kanaku walking briskly back to the bus. A bottle of gin in his hands which he had even gulped half of its content. He looked extremely pissed

"What's up with him?" I whispered to Fuoyo

"well I think he just called his wife or stay home baby mama, I can't even ask him for my phone he looks like he's looking for a scapegoat to unleash his anger" he replied in an equal whisper

"Oh that explains it," I didn't know whether to laugh or feel sorry for him

Kanaku scowled at us before getting into the front seat once more. "This driver should hurry up, he's inside there eating fufu, he should hurry up joor!" He barke

Fuoyo and I avoided the angry lion and went to buy some snacks and drinks.

Yes boss

KelvinCoaster:
Update is till June ending!
Lol...Souloho19 hope you're putting pen to paper?

Hydriss:
Welcome back Souloho19

Caught lurking

Bodydiialect57:
@Souloho19, you are such a fantastic writer that held me glued to my device from the first page to the last posted update.. I enjoyed reading your work. God bless you.

Bless you bro

Make I drop that small update make we for fit sleep well as this place full today

Chapter 16


FUOYO


Journey Of A Thousand Miles

As early as 6am Kanaku and I were at the motor park, I purchased 3 tickets to Nassarawa and was told the bus was scheduled to leave by 7:30. The next bus wouldn't leave till 10. It was a 5 hour drive at most so we really had to make the first bus. I smiled sweetly at the cute attendant and rejoined Kanaku outside the ticket booth where he stood away from the small crowd of travelers, smoking a cigaret.

"I hope Jessy comes on time, the bus leaves by 7:30" I said

"she'll be here" he took a deep drag and raised his shirt collar. "This weather is really cold"

"That stuff will kill your lungs you know," I told him

"Please shut up, I smoke less that 5 sticks a day, you should preach to people who finish two packets before noon"

we fell silent, looking around for any sign of Jessy. After a while I asked him, "why do they call you Kanaku?”

He crushed his ciggaret stump with his boot and looked up at me, "I picked up the habit of smoking weed with paper in prison"

"now using paper would even kill you faster than....wait, you went to prison?"

He nodded

"What for?"

He shrugged, "I'm a criminal remember"

"no you're not...."

He scoffed, "you don't know me. I'm a terrible person, I've done horrible things kid"

I didn't know what to say. He was right. This time last week I didn't know him.

"what'd you get locked up for?" I asked

He looked over my shoulder, "Jessy's here"

I turned around and waved, about to call her name but Kanaku put a restraining hand on my shoulder. "shhh....she's with that man.."

True enough, she was accompanied by an older man, I could see a little resemblance, they both had the same eyes and the way he looked round the park reminded me of how she also looked around when arriving someplace new.

"I think that's her dad.."

"yeah me too"

She had a big rolling box and she stood to the side while the man went to the ticket booth with 'Abuja' on the window.

She looked around and our eyes met, she didn't show any flicker of recognition and Kanaku and I watched on as the man returned to her and handed her the ticket. They spent some minutes talking, he seemed to be sternly instructing her and she nodded morosly every now and then. Finally he gave her a hug and turned to leave. He looked at Kanaku and I before turning and we quickly looked away. I feared he would approach us and demand to know why we were staring at his daughter and I continued to look away until I heard Kanaku say, "what's with the big bag?"

Her dad was gone and she had come to stand with us.

"my mom insisted on packing food items and other stuffs....I'll just waybill it to Lagos instead, Hi"

"no don't do that, we'll take it with us, you never can tell what and when we could need emergency supplies"

She shrugged uncertainly. This is fried meats and cereal and some spices....how on earth woud we......hmmm okay I think i see your point"

"good, don't worry I'll select the most essential items." Kanaku took the bag from her and dug in

"what did you tell your parents?" I asked as we watched Kanaku select wrapped packages of fried fish and meat

"that something came up at work, and Mr D and I would reschedule our visit..." she replied

"but later on are you going to tell them..." I couldn't bring myself to say it

"tell them what?" Kanaku asked

But she knew what I meant, "I don't know...i'll like to focus on staying alive first"

"yeah you're right"

"that Lagos ticket, you won't be needing it... can I have it?" Kanaku asked, straightening up

"sure," she handed it to him, "what you gonna do with it"

"I'll sell it cheaper to someone else" he walked away whistling and we laughed

"he's not serious...always looking out to make quick money" she observed

"he'll say he's from the street so what do you expect" I laughed

We watched him negotiate with a traveller and I looked at her, "how're you feeling?"

She glanced at me, "honestly I don't know...I keep trying to stay positive..."

"Everything'll be alright, as long as we have our backs"

She nodded but she didn't look convinced and I suddenly began to have a bad feeling about the journey we were about to embark on. Not the 5 hour journey to another state, but the journey through time to find the ancient treasure.

We finally boarded the bus and exactly 20 minutes after 7, the driver pulled out of the bus park.

"Make una no vex, I wan buy fuel" he apologized as he turned into a filling station close to the park.

"no wahala driver," Kanaku called out. "The journey of a thousand miles begins with fuel in the tank"

Up The Blues

Happy sunday ma people thanks for the comments

::::::::::::
KANAKU

Plan A and B

The plan was a simple one and also a complex one at the same time. Each of us brought up our idea, speaking one after the other, adding something to what the other had said and it flowed so well which made it seem very simple. Until Fuoyo began to recount the stages of the plan and it didn't seem so straightforward anymore.

"Okay, so we'll charter a space bus or Sienna early tomorrow morning. By noon we should be in Nassarawa. We'll lodge somewhere in the nearest Town and Jess and I would remain out of sight while Kanaku goes to the market to buy the tools he says we'll need....then we take another taxi to the village, once we're there, we'll look for another hotel to lodge if we find it fine...Jessy would stay in the room-"

"I don't agree with this part" she interjected

"if we don't see then we go-ahead to the next stage, interrogate the villagers as discreetly as possible till we have the address of the farm....if we're able to find it on time, then we all have a look....get a feel of how big the place is and determine if there's any buried body on the acres, guards, etc..if it's late Jess and I would return to the city while Kanaku does the night snooping to determine where the late AbdulRauf is buried...this is the part I don't agree with..." Fuoyo broke off and looked at me

"We can't all be sneaking around somebody's farm at night...." I stated

"Yes, but if Jess is in a hotel in the town, it'll just be you and me-"

"I won't be-" Jessy interjected again

"Look, I've been snooping around at night while you guys were still eating baby food...anything involving night, I move alone....now continue" I interrupted

"okay......whichever scenario plays out, the next morning we discuss whatever we find, if the rave is indeed in the location, then we change to the clothes and tools Kanaku bought the day before..."

"What exactly is he going to buy? farmers don't have a specific clothe or uniform, hope you know?" Jessy interrupted

"nothing much....just some straw hats, Okrika clothes, one or two shovels for digging and a machete for security" I added

"yes good...a cattle ranch would be at least 1 or 2 acres so our costume would help disguise us and we try to break in with the best route Kanaku would have figured out the night before and wait till nightfall before locating the grave...unless the coast is clear enough then we dig it up immediately, and exit the premises at once..."

"you forgot to add we wouldn't dig any other grave apart from the specific one" Jessy added

I remembered our discussion that morning and added, "that's true..we can't afford to waste time, so we only dig the grave we identify"

Fuoyo nodded, "yes that too....but what if we are unable to identify the particular grave....we don't expect to see a tombstone and epitaph...."

"Hmm...." I bit my lower lip, "you know what...we should have another plan....a kind of what-if plan....a plan B, just in case nothing plays out as we expect, what do we do if there are people on the farm and it's too busy? what do we do if we can't find any grave? what do we do if we run into the trackers and Mr. D's work colleagues excavating the graves already?"

"Haa....the best plan B I can think of is to run away and leave immediately," Jessy said

"wait...I think I have an idea of what we'll do if any of these things happen..." Fuoyo said slowly

I smiled at him, "fire down soldier, we're all ears"

:::::::::::::::::

JECINCTA

Research And More Planning

By the time I left their hotel, it was way past 9. They escorted me to the road and we stood talking until I flagged down a taxi. Kanaku wanted to know what we thought about the last entry, could it be possible that the General had been immortal for a short while until the bag was stolen?

Fuoyo and Kanaku both dismissed it as the ramblings of a mad man...The General had believed his ramblings but it didn't make it any reality. Finally, I got into the taxi and we decided to meet up at the hotel by noon tomorrow to make up our final plans and decision. The diary had been too exciting and for 48 hours I'd been caught up and all I could think of was the treasure and showing my friends what I had found, but now that they were making plans to really go after it, I was unsure and scared. I spent the entire ride thinking of how to change their mind from going. Funny enough I wasn't scared for myself but what really worried me was the excitement and determination I saw in their eyes....especially Fuoyo, it really had me worried.

While reading the diary I had recognized the same determination in the words the dying General had written...full of belief and hope that the treasure was his to find. Same way Mr. D had been determined and confident he would find it, and now they were going down the same path. If I followed them maybe I could control them and when we didn't find anything in Nassarawa it would be up to me to remind them we had agreed to let it go if Nassarawa turned out to be a disappointment.

I got home and mumbled an excuse to my parents before heading straight to the kitchen to microwave my cold plate of rice.

I couldn't work up an appetite and I gave up after few spoonfuls and picked up my dad's laptop once more. Fuoyo and Kanaku would be making research by now and I couldn't sleep anyway. I enabled the hotspot on my phone and was soon searching about the history of the Allamadagitsu clan. The family tree went as far back as the 15th century and originated from the state of Kwara before they moved North, each generation becoming more Nothern than the last but still maintaining important traditions of their ancestors. The most notable tradition was that when they died, they got buried with their most expensive and valuable items.
The clan believes if they take all their precious valuables to the Earth when they die, their descendants would be born rich.
In the early days, it was usually just bags of crops and peanuts from the farm but then the family continued to get wealthy and generations down the line, the dynasty continued to grow, as well as belief in their tradition. It was required of only the men and over time, trinklets, cowries, and jewelries replaced the grains. Grave robbers were caught on every attempt and an example was made of the criminals to ensure no one dared to rob the graves again. By the early 1900s, the family name had been greatly reduced by the colonial rule but the family remained wealthy and powerful and kept on with the tradition. However after the death of Mallam Aminu II his oldest son took over the plantation and his brothers moved on to different States with their wives, each adopting a different name because of a long-standing rivalry with the Sokoto caliphate and other elite rulers of the core North. Another reason historians speculate they changed their names was to discourage grave robbers when they died. If their identity wasn't known to all, then the secret of their burial tradition would remain safe. It was believed that if any of the valuables got stolen then the spirit was cursed to wander the Earth until his direct heir died and was buried with additional valuables equivalent to or worth more than had been stolen from his father. Strange enough according to the records, no grave had been successfully robbed. Armed guards made sure trespassers were shot on sight and over the years, the family developed a more effective strategy of secrecy and shortened the long name which preserved the lineage especially after the amalgamation.....

"Jess, you can continue this project tomorrow...you're sleeping already. Go and lie down inside" My mom shook me awake by 2 am and I shut down the laptop without a word and staggered to my room.

The next morning I slept till 9. After depriving myself of two nights of sleep in a row, I still owed my body some more hours of rest but I felt a whole lot more refreshed. I was the only one at home, my mom opened her shop by 7 am daily and my dad was the vice principal at the Government college so he left the house earlier.
I fried 2 eggs sunny side up and made a quick sandwich and quickly rushed the slices, looking at the wall clock. By 11 I had showered and locked up the house.

Fuoyo was still sleeping when Kanaku opened the door, and I noticed even he looked tired and his eyes were red.

"you guys are still sleeping?"

He stretched and rubbed his eye tiredly with the back of his hand. "I didn't sleep till like 6...I don't even know what time Fuoyo slept off, he was reading the diary..." he went to the restroom and I heard the tap running. "Is it noon already?"

"almost"

"let me wake him" he came out drying his face with a towel

"no let him sleep a bit..."

"oh, sheybe I shouldn't have washed my face yet" he grumbled

I chuckled, "6 to 11 is about 5 hours Kanaku....besides I want us to talk"

I liked how he became serious all of a sudden
"What is it? what's bothering you?"

I took a deep breath, "Kanaku I know you're the only one that can really control Fuoyo...he listens to you....looks up to you....."

"Woah...are you serious? cause I'm pretty sure it's the other way around"

"no....you guys have mutual respect for each other, but he looks to you for confirmation for almost everything...."

"hmmmm......I guess you're right, is that what's bothering you?"

"no.....I want you to promise me that after we check out the village in Nassarawa and even if we don't find anything you'll put an end to the hunt"

"me....we're a team remember? i'm not in charge-"

"Kanayo" I called his name in a patient tone and he looked at me in surprise. "when it comes down to it, you're the only one who'll be able to talk him out of it-why are you looking at me like that?"

"nothing...the way you just called my name, reminded me of my dad......." he looked wistful for a second before shaking his head, "I think you're underrating how important you are to Fuoyo, you have more control over his decisions than you think"

That made me think for some minutes, finally I chose a middle ground. "well if the both of us put our foot down, that means he wouldn't have a choice but to agree"

"yes.....but......" he sighed

"Oh no....don't tell me I have to talk you out of the hunt too?"

"oh no....I have a family to think about...with another baby on the way I can't afford to be chasing legends"
He sounded like he was trying to convince himself but I chose to say nothing.

We talked about our research for a while. He and Fuoyo had found a possible trace about one AbdulRauf Allamad who had migrated from Nassarawa and started a cattle farm with his family in 1915. "That's the closest we could come, the timeline fits perfectly just the name is wrong...."

"I think I read somewhere that after the amalgamation they began to shorten their last name" I remembered

"really? well, three heads are definitely better than two....who knows? maybe we'll be lucky and he's the son who was getting married at the time the bag was given to his father as a wedding gift"

"I hope so too" but I doubted we would find anything, if he was really the one, I doubted we would find the grave untouched. We were one week late

"that's it....time to wake sleeping beauty..." Kanaku winked at me and began to shake Fuoyo roughly. "Sleepyhead oya time to get up..."

"Well this is making sense...." Kanaku began to flip through my pictures, trying to spot the state each Asterix was located.

I picked up the Diary from the bed and looked to Jessy. "what else does he say, did he ever get to trace it?"

"No....he suffered a partial stroke, plus the condition of his legs had worsened making him more or less a cripple....he wrote a letter to Eggerton offering every cent he had in his name and all his property to the Mallam in exchange for the Satchel but the reply never came...his next entry is almost 2 years after, he just found out that Eggerton had been demoted and sent overseas and his replacement Lord Luggard was planning to join the North and South together....his long-held dream....the news almost killed him but he still held the hope of getting the Satchel once more....although when you read it you'll know he wasn't really thinking straight...still he makes a short entry where he keeps hoping Lord Luggard would reply his letter...I think he wrote another letter or maybe he was hoping he'll reply the one he wrote to Eggerton....anyway that's the second to the last entry"

"second to the last?" I flipped the pages in surprise, "this big book?"

"It's not all filled up, plus more than half of it covers his own tales as a colonel and General and his fight against the Ekumeku movement" Jessy explained....."Turn to the last page....the last entry is about 10 pages before the last..."

I turned the book to the back and gently flipped the pages.

I saw the last entry she talked about and decided to read it out....


"Both my legs are gone, my right hand is gone, I grip this quil with my left hand and I fear this would be the last. The nightmares have become worse and so has the pain. I struggle to hold on to the last thread of my sanity lest I kill myself like Moor but I know it's my destiny. I must find it even though my body betrays me. I remember what the local medicine man told me years ago, wearing the satchel for over a decade has bound my soul to the deity. Without it I remain nothing but chaff, an empty vessel...soullessly dying away limb by limb.
I yearn to feel unlimited power once more, but what can I do? I have no one to help me retrieve what is mine. Even my own son refuses to help me. It's been 3 years and no word from him in London. My Gerald was my only hope to find what I seek but it is clear he has no intention of coming to Africa, not even if it's my dying wish
I sense my death is fast approaching. If only I could wear it one more time, I'll be immortal again. I only fear that the Mallam son would take it to his grave as the clan has a stupid tradition of being buried with all their valuables when they die. The Mallam is dead, and It's been 8 months since the amalgamation put an end to their family supremacy. His first son now runs the plantation and his 5 other sons have migrated farther up North, I know not where or which son holds on to my destiny but I know I will find what is rightfully mine.
A strange tradition to be buried with gold but I hear it's one they have practiced since the days of their ancestors.
I know I will find it again for it is my destiny, If not in this life then the next. If not in this body then in a better body. My soul continues to call my spirit and I wait till I roam the Earth once more in a new body, but with old memories and find it.
I must keep this diary safe If my soul is really bound to the satchel, as they say, I sense my reincarnation in the future, Gerald junior has been a disappointment but he's still the bone of my bone. And, one-day theessence of my consciousness would be born again. Even if it's a hundred years from now, and if I have to dig the grave of every Allamadistu male who ever lived, I will find what is mine. And when I do, I must make sure it never leaves my lineage. For now, I understand my soul needs a Deified body to truly be immortal. This entry is my longest yet, took me 29 days to write this and my hands fail me more each day.
To my future being, write the next entry, detailing your victory.
-Gerald F


"He must have run mad" Kanaku exclaimed, "if he really believed that nonsense then maybe we're just wasting our time"

I turned the blank pages.. "no entry from his reincarnated self yet....he was obviously mad but his findings are still valid..."

"What findings?" Jess asked, "he only figured out the Nassarawa location"

"yes, I agree with Jessy he was still coherent when he made that discovery....we could take the risk and check out the Nassarawa village just to fulfill all righteousness then we forget about this careless legend and move on"

"no....no....see, I didn't understand most of the research Mr D had made in that envelope until Jessy broke down the diary then I understood a bit more, but this last entry just opened my eyes to what Mr D found out and was so excited about..."

Jessy was looking at me with a worried look but I was too excited to bother. "Mr D took it a step further and found out where all the remaining 5 sons relocated to after the amalgamation.....Jess please pass me the envelope on the Tv stand..."

She passed it over and I flipped through the pages till I found the particular one I was looking for. "Here: Nassarawa, Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Yobe and Gombe....and...where's the second one..." I dug around the envelope once more, "yes here....it lists the states again but this time there's a margin titled date of death....1931 for Nassarawa, 1938 for Kaduna, 1933 for Kano, 1942 for Jigawa, 1949 for Yobe and 1930 for Gombe"

Kanaku still held my phone, "so is this the same date with the ones you snapped?"

"No, I believe the asterixed dates stands for the years they moved and the treasure appeared in that location...depending on which of the sons had the treasure in his possession"

"are you sure?" Jess asked

"okay that's just an educated guess, but I've studied the map, each asterix is exactly where each of the mentioned state is located...that's why the line curves like a hook..because Gombe is directly under Yobe...."

"So are we going to start digging graves in every location?" Jess asked

"no...no.....okay I don't know....this is really hard to swallow..." I turned to Kanaku, "what do you think?"

"we should take our time to research this family clan, how legitimate is this their burial tradition? where are the descendants now...? and if you guys have the mind for it, I'm down for only just this Nassarawa point....that's the only location i'm convinced about....we may get lucky and find something. And if we don't we should just forget about it and go back to Lagos cause it sounds like a waste of time"

I realized I agreed with him totally. Jessy still looked unsure

"But what about the mail Fuoyo read...Kenekelis already sent trackers to the village...they might have found it already"

"she's right....plus it's going to be very dangerous...." Kanaku bit his lower lip, deep in thought. Finally he straightened up. "okay since Nassarawa is close by, Fuoyo and I can make the trip and see what we find, we could disguise as herdsmen or farmers....once we get close enough we do some figurative and literal digging and disappear quickly"

I nodded, "sounds good"

"oh no....there's no way you guys are living me behind..."

Chapter 15

FUOYO

Treasure Map

It took Jess a full hour to show up, a very nervy hour that had me pacing and thinking while the lingering effects of my earlier drinking reduced until I was clear headed and as sober as the pope.

By the time the knock sounded and Jessy called out, "it's me"
I opened the door immediately and grabbed her in a hug. "I really thought we'll never see again"

She seemed happy to see me although you couldn't be too sure with girls. She returned the hug and even gave me a peck on the cheek. "say the truth, you thought you'll never see the treasure not me"

We separated but I still held her hand, "no treasure is worth half our friendship"

"Abeg, make we hear word" Kanaku rebuked me from behind and she ran to give him a hug too.

We exchanged pleasantries and a little small talk but I know Kanaku was thinking the same thing I was; what was in the back pack she had placed on the floor?

Finally she rescued us from the suspense and unzipped the bag. "I'm sorry I couldn't call yesterday, I was so caught up with it, then I had to consider the pros and cons before I could make my choice"

"pros and cons?" Kanaku asked

She waved her hand, "just an old habit of mine...so I unwrapped the package and i've been reading it ever since..."

I held my breath, "is it the map?"

"no, I didn't see any drawing of any kind of map. It's the diary of the first man to take the satchel of Eziza as his own"

"you mean the general?" Kanaku asked

"yes"

We watched her retrieve a huge book from the bag; it was as big as the most detailed study bible if not bigger.

She watched Kanaku and I marvel at the ancient book,

"easy with the pages...it breaks easily" she warned as Kanaku lifted it to the light

"you read it all?" I asked

"Yes, twice....it's only half full. You won't believe what it contains...for years the diary was just an avenue for him to pour out his lonely thoughts and complain about the natives who resisted their invasion, until he became a colonel and led the raid on the benin palace. There were hundreds of valuables that they looted. According to him, one of his men detached a necklace from the deity but he didn't add it to the inventory but decided to keep it for himself, apparently it looked good with his uniform. From that point his entries become less coherent and more like the ramblings of a mad man...He really believed it was a necklace with mystical powers, he was drawn to the stones and began to torture some captured palace slaves till he learnt more about the Legend and the sacrifices the people made to the gods. He even writes about trying the sacrifice one night....the first time he actually put some gold coins and slit his thumb to squeeze a drop of blood but the next morning the coins were still in the bag untouched. Enraged, he executed the palace guard who told him about the excercise and continued his frantic search for answers until his men raided a small cave on the outskirts of the kingdom, where some displaced natives had run to seek refuge. One of the captured men was an elderly man the people believed to be a messanger of the gods," I glanced at her and she smiled, "That's how he phrased it in the book...the man was the high priest...."

"Like Native doctor?" Kanaku asked

She nodded, "Yes, he got a translator and moved the priest to a special cell where he employed horrible means of torture..."she broke off and shuddered, "The General was a really sick and ruthless person, and he enjoyed detailing everything he did to the priest until the priest told him what he wanted to know. He quickly got one of his men to get him cowries. He put 3 pieces instead of the one the priest had told him to and squeezed a lot more than one drop of blood. He called on Eziza the god and demanded a promotion, and the next morning he woke up to find the bag was empty...the cowries gone, and that day he received a letter announcing the Rear admiral had been recalled to England and he was now a General and put in charge of the entire area stretching his influence further South ... "

"What? Just like that?" Kanaku couldn't believe it and neither could I

"That's what he writes," she pointed at the book still in Kanaku's hands

"It could have been just coincidence, nothing more..." I added

she shrugged, "maybe, but he believed the satchel gave him the power"

"so what happened next?" Kanaku added, he held the book but didn't so much glance at the pages, he stared at Jessy, caught up in the story. I was caught up too

"There was a resistance springing up from the South called the Ekuku movement and it was fast gaining ground and pushing back the forces... I looked it up in online history books and I think it was from Delta to majority of the South East villages. The General had so much land under his control and a small army at his disposal so he appointed both a local head and a ranking officer as overseer of each conquered Kingdom and from there he started making lots of money, he had an agreement with a portuguese slave master and even though the high Commisioner had abolished slave trade, he secretly captured hundreds of people he sold as slaves, he quickly became very rich and he still received market levies, bribes, and even loots...and he believed it was all because of the bag"

"My God....so it's all true," Kanaku sat down slowly on the edge of the minifridge, he looked at me in wonder, "it really exists"

Since the night Mr D had spoken about it, I'd been sold. No matter how rational I tried to be, deep down I always believed there was a necklace with a cubed of precious gemstones, made specifically to be worn on the statue of the Olokun Deity of the Benin people.

"Jeez but the map is still missing" I watched Kanaku scheme through the diary, with nothing more than a cursory glance down each page

"No no....there's no map" Jessy said

"That's what I fear.." he replied

"no you don't understand, the diary is the map. Kanaku easy with the pages, it's very weak...."

"I don't understand...is there a drawing of a map in the diary?" I asked

she explained, "The man was so obsessed with the bag that he recorded everything concerning it in the Diary, he kept making sacrifices of blood stained cowries and seeing immediate results and in one entry dated I think 1902 or 3.... he led a deadly strike on most of the villages in Asaba. It was a series of battles but at the end he conquered the resistance and imprisoned all their leaders. He believed the resistance was broken and made the conquered territory his base which meant he now had control over most of the South. He grew richer got promoted yet again and continued his push, aiming to conquer the South-South and South-East and bring the whole South under the command of British Rule or really he just wanted command, cause his plans were more selfish than patriotic... he was already older then, from my calculations he would have been in his mid 60's but according to him, he hadn't aged a day since he performed the first sacrifice and got promoted. He was stronger than ever and even led his soldiers to every battle, wearing the satchel...he called it a necklace, for every battle. He believed he had become immortal ever since the priest had cursed him for challenging the gods"

"how did he challenge them?" Kanaku asked

"well...apparently it was an abomination for a mere man to wear a necklace meant for the gods and live"

"The priest was still his prisoner?" I was surprised

"No, he killed him immediately after his promotion, shot him in the head himself and had the body burnt"

"wow.....so what happened? He took the treasure back abroad or what?" Kanaku asked

She smiled, "This is the satisfying part, One day he made a sacrifice but this time he demanded to be made commander of the Royal Army ....he was obsessed with power and even though he was one of the most powerful officers stationed in the South, he felt his superiors were moving too slow. He couldn't conquer the rest of the South with his hundreds of soldiers and he still received orders and instructions from above. He dreamed of controlling the whole South and North and becoming Commander in Chief of the whole territory....the crazy thing is he believed it was his destiny. Believed he was no longer human and with the satchel he could even take the English crown as his stature grew...I tell you he was crazy" she blinked, "what was I saying before?"

"you mentioned a satisfying part..." I reminded her

"yes.....well he had been writing his Superiors asking for the go ahead to capture the remaining kingdoms in Asaba since his victory against the Ekuma movement and finally he received orders from the consul General to lead an expedition into an Igbo Town called Ogwuashi Iku... the Oba of Benin hadn't been caught and it was believed he had been hiding out in Asaba under the protection of Nzekwe, the crown prince"

"why was he after the Oba?" I asked

"The Oba's army massacred thousands of british soldiers years before...the year before the raid on the palace, that was one of the catalyst for the palace raid but the Oba escaped, so he sent a small expedition to the village but, the Obi had seen how the Oba of Benin had been exiled and believed the British would take his throne from him...he was prepared to fight for it and the whole Asaba including the conquered territory still sympathized with the Ekuma resistance which was now mostly underground. They resisted fiercly"

"The expedition failed?" Kanaku and I were both caught up.
Jess was unbelievable, how had she managed to read and understand all the details so perfectly, down to the dates and names?

"Yes it did, the local warriors resisted the invasion. After the loss, the General who was now a lieutenant General of the Southern province was mad with fury..he sent an agitated message to Lagos, demanding strong numbers of reinforcments to squash the rebellion once and for all. That night was when he performed the last sacrifice...to enable him conquer the entire South East, starting with the Ogwuashi village..."

"Did all this really happen?" I asked

"just google Ogwuashi Iku and see for yourself" she replied

"I'm still waiting for the satisfying part...tell me the bastard slit his veins by mistake during the blood sacrifice or something?" Kanaku sounded agitated

"Even better...that night, he made the sacrifice and hung it in a private room he kept it every night...some kind of shrine he had made.., he then wrote the entry after, detailing his plan and his demand to conquer the villages and kill every rebel, there's even a splotched stain which I believe is a drop of his blood. But the Ekumeku rebels must have been planning a coordinated attack for so long because that night hundreds of warriors attacked his Governor quaters. It was a surprise attack, swift and precise..the Ekumeku movement had been quashed years ago and learnt from past mistakes, they no longer employed guerilla warfare tactics, instead they performed stealth operations, targeting commanding officers and leaders they identified. From what I read online, he had been a target for many years and that night after the failed expedition his ranks was vulnerable enough that the warriors knew they had a golden opportuniy to strike and kill him."

"Did they succeed?" Kanaku and I asked together

"No....he managed to escape although many of his men gave their lives for him, but both his quaters and the town hall were burnt down, as well as every military outpost"

"And the Satchel?"

"It was stolen. He only managed to escape into the night, whisked away by his surviving men, back to Edo"

"Wow...that's what Mr D made mention to that night...." I said slowly

"Yes....the news of the victory spread like wild fire and by the time he returned to Edo, the Benin people had heard the news, and what's more there were whispers that the precious satchel of Eziza had been looted from the Governor and was now back safely in the hands of their King, who had found refuge in Asaba"

"What na happened?" Kanaku urged

"The General was never the same again, he was unable to hold his post and he seemed to age overnight, he became very weak and within a month he couldn't even walk without the help of a cane. Thousands of armed soldiers arrived but he was in no shape to lead them or give orders to the commanding officers, He was retired to the background and the Consul General had to take his place and oversee the war. The consul General was the one who finally caught the Oba of Benin and exiled him to live the rest of his days in Calabar. The Consul was more democratic and didn't execute captured warriors but almost immediately he fell terribly sick and was flown back to England, but mere months after he was found dead in his home"

"The General?" I asked

"no, the consul who took his place"

"he died abroad?" Kanaku asked

"yes"

"what happened?"

"He poisoned himself, the official record I found online says the poison was deliberate while he was temporarily insane after suffering acutely from insomnia caused by Malaria and backwater fever he had caught in Africa"

"And the General...or Governor? The treasure too?"

"The queen retired the Governor permanently and ordered his return to Britain for health treatment so he was also in London around the same time Ralph Moor-that's the Consul was receiving treatment. After hearing first hand accounts about how the Consul was gradually going insane from lack of sleep, he believed the consul had taken the satchel of Eziza when he captured the Oba and had worn it but since it wasn't his destiny, he wasn't worthy and the curse of the priest affected him. He writes about paying him a visit and when he mentions the Satchel, Moor tells him it was cursed and gave him nightmares till he became too afraid to sleep. It wasn't in his possession anymore, he had handed it over to his successor, a man named Egerton. A couple of days later, Moor commits suicide and the retired General retrurns to Nigeria. But by now his health had gotten worse and he couldn't move around like before, still he believed that once he recovered the bag he would be back to his previous state and regain his power. He wrote the new Consul but Eggerton didn't reply his letter for almost 2 weeks and each day he got worse until finally he received a reply and found out Eggerton who was even more diplomatic than Moore had given the Satchel to a local Nothern ruler as a peace offering to settle a dispute between the Hausas and Yorubas over Ilorin which was under Nothern rule much to the agitation of the South West..."

"How did you learn all these in two days?" Kanaku asked full of surprise

"I have a strong memory, like very good...." she replied. Then sat down on the bed, "I read each entry back to back and browsed on any date and name he mentioned...it was a lot of research I didn't even leave my room for 2 days"

"so the satchel was now in the hands of the Sultan or Emir?" I asked

"Yes, but the North didn't have a single Ruler and the General wrote another letter requesting to find out which of the leaders had been given...By this time most of the North had been captured and each Leader more or less reported to the colonial rule. It took some weeks but Eggerton sent his reply and the General makes his next entry stating the richest family head of Kaduna, one Aminu Allama.....I can't pronounce the surname, had accepted the satchel as a goodwill gift on behalf of the southern kings to one of his sons who was getting married"

"Kaduna? Not Nassarawa?" Kanaku sounded confused

Jess shrugged, "that's what it says in the diary"

I would have been confused too, if I hadn't stayed up every night poring through Mr D's notes...I snapped my finger...."Jess....that name, Mallam Aminu...Allamagaditsu right?"

She was surprised, "yes....I think that's it...how do you know?"

"Mr D did his research....the Mallam was the ruler of Southern Kaduna...Kaduna was so big in those days that it was divided into 2; North and South....that name Jessy mentioned was the head of the ruling family of the South at the time, he had so many wives and children.....the family was known as the Allamagaditsu clan"

"So what are you saying....it's no longer Nassarawa again but Kaduna? Haba!" Kanaku sounded tired of everything

"That part also confused me a bit" Jessy agreed

It felt good to have the stage, "you people are forgetting your civic education....Nassarawa was only formed in 1966 from Plateau State....and the time we're talking about I'm guessing is before the 1914 Almagamation...right?" I looked at Jessy

"yes the entry about the letters is dated 1911..." Jessy added

"perfect...." I snapped my fingers as it fit together, "During colonial rule, Nassarawa would have been part of Southern Kaduna, under the rule of the Allamagaditsu family...."

"wow, good job bro, how did you figure this out?"

"Mr D had already figured it out. Remember that village I told you guys was circled in his document....? well It's location on the map is exactly where the Allamagaditsu clan was said to own one of the biggest peanut farms at the time...and that's not all..." I unlocked my phone and scrolled through my recent pictures. "It's the second asterixed point on the timeline of the Map Mr D drew on the floor..." The last 2 digits of the date had been covered with blood but it was the first date that started with a 19, the first and only visible date was 1897 , the first marking on the diagonal line originating from the South West which signalled the Benin attack before the turn of the century, the primary location of the treasure and where it all started. I was excited, "I think I figured out the map...." \

"The diary?"

"well yes...the diary is the source but Mr D was able to crack it and interprete it in a drawing"

Kanaku came to stand beside me and I showed him my phone

"This is the drawing he was showing us..." he remembered

"yes, a timeline of all the known points the treasure passed through....There are 7 Asterix....minus the Benin looting which makes it 6....The treasure should be in one of these points...."

"How do we know where exactly these points are on the map....apart from the Nassarawa point?" Jess asked

"We just need to cross it with the diary and confirm it with a state and capital map...I've downloaded several already"

:::::::::::::::::
KANAKU

]What will be will be

"Is this the hotel you paid 30k for?" I asked Fuoyo for what had to be the hundredth time since we checked in two nights before

"yes Kanaku"

"They should give us change, na better street dem wan run us....they don't even leave the gen on overnight," I complained

Fuoyo shrugged but I was still adamant. "Nobody can play me like this, let's go to the receptionist and demand some refund"

"I paid online, with reservation fees, there's no refund" He snapped and continued staring at the ceiling

"Is this how you're going to be moping about because your girlfriend hasn't called you?"

"it's been two days"

"which should tell you to forget it, I wonder why I let you drag me along, I need to see my family, this hotel sef doesn't make sense so there's no need wasting time here. We should be planning to be back in Lagos by Friday, forget about Jessy"

"How many times will I have to say I'm not thinking of her? we came here for a reason and she hasn't even called to tell us what the package was. How can we go back without closure?"

I shook my head, "you can keep lying to yourself, but remember you told her it was up to her, unless you didn't mean it.....and stop going through those same papers over and over again, I get tired just watching you read"

He returned the papers back into the envelope. "I'm just so restless...I haven't even hustled since this whole thing started and I've spent and lost a lot of money"

"That's it, by tomorrow if we still don't hear a word from her then we cut our losses and go back, you have to be a man" I said fiercly

He sighed sadly, "I just hope she's alright...I didn't expect things to play out this way"

How could I tell him I felt the exact same way. I had dreamt, imagined, thought up scenerios where we found the map and went after the bag or satchel. If what Mr D said was true, just a piece of the precious stones it was made of would settle me and my family for life. I was vocal with my skepticism only because deep down I had begun to dream and hope. The earlier we got back to Lagos the better. Things would return to normal or could it? Could I still spend productive hours in the street smoking weed and reaping people of meager pocket change?

"I'm restless...let's stroll to that church bus stop, there's a fine woman who sells fruits there she keeps greeting me and flirting each time I pass..."

He looked at me, "what about Barakat?"

"you fool, it's just harmless chit chat, I'm tired of seeing your long face morning afternoon and night, infact stay and don't come...download some style plus songs so you can think of Jessy well well"

That got under his skin and he stood up. "you win... you win, I'm up"

We spent 2 hours outside, strolling and making friends. Benue was blessed with beautiful women and some where straightforward and direct enough to make the first move. A particular girl even stopped us and boldly offered Fuoyo her number.

He touched his pockets and smiled sheepishly, "I didn't bring my phone," he turned to me, "I must have forgotten it on the bed"

"Too bad, why don't you give me your number and i'll flash you so you'll call me later. Maybe we can hangout later tonight" she replied

I watched him call his number with alarming speed. When we were alone I elbowed him playfully in the ribs. "You see, if you were still crying in the hotel now, would you have met that pretty girl?"

He laughed and we talked about random things for a while before we stopped at a bar to drink beer and watch a soccer game.

It was getting dark when we stumbled back to the hotel, up the stairs, and fumbled with the key. I was 3 big bottles of stout gone and a little drunk, Fuoyo was 2 bottles of beer full and a lot more drunk.
Thankfully the big Generator was on and the Airconditioner was on full blast. I fiddled with the Tv remote while Fuoyo threw himself on the bed. "ehen my phone" he burped and picked his phone from the dresser. "wow that girl really means business, 4 missed calls" he exclaimed and proceeded to dial the number.

I sat on the mini-fridge, removing my shoe and listening to the one-sided conversation.

"Hi, Steff sorry I just got in and saw your missed calls, do you still want to meet up tonight? Oh....Jess? Jess! how are you? I thought you'll never call.....it's not like that...she's just someone I met earlier......wait I don't owe you any explanation, it's been 2 full days and not a word from you, not even to tell us goodbye......Are you serious....does that mean.....okay okay, it's a hotel called AI suites around....yes downtown....yes.....room 141.....okay"
He ended the call and looked at me,

"well....?" I prompted when he kept looking without saying anything

"she's taking a cab here now, she says she has something we need to see"

"Did she say what it was? Did she find the map?"

"she wouldn't say, she only said it was big news and she'll be here soon"

I sighed, "I hope she's not messing with us, hope can be exhausting"

Fuoyo yawned tiredly, "tell me about it....let me save her number now, she wouldn't have bothered to come if there was nothing, but she specifically said she had something of interest." He looked at me, "this could be it"

I kept my face neutral. "Don't expect much, it could be anything" But my pulse was already racing.

Damn Fuoyo and his wild theories, Damn Mr. D for...God rest his soul but damn him for getting me sucked into the legend, and damn that treasure....after all the stress it had put me through, it better be real.

sorry for the delay guys, actually lost the raw file but long story short it has been recovered, tired now but i'll be sure to drop some episodes tomorrow.

:::::::::
JECINCTA

Home Sweet Home

Fuoyo chattered a direct Taxi from the airport and it was yet another long drive. Luckily the driver was a pro and knew a lot of hidden shortcuts which halved the time it would have taken us to reach my Town. By the time we got to the Makurdi park, Kanaku and Fuoyo helped me transfer my bags into another Taxi drop that would take me home. I negotiated with the driver while they loaded my bags and after that, we had an awkward moment staring at each other, This could very well be the last time we saw each other. I had gotten used to them and we had become close friends in such a short time. There was no doubt I would miss them but it was time to move on. They would always be a reminder of the bloody night Mr. D was killed and even if I might never fully forget what had happened or put it completely behind me, at least I wouldn't have to see them and be reminded all the time. I just wanted to spend some months with my family and seek some level of normalcy.

Kanaku was the first to grab me and crush me in a bear hug. I hugged him back affectionately, remembering how I had misjudged him the first time I set eyes on him. He was a man of many layers, easy to be misunderstood and dismissed as nothing but a mere thug but he was much more than that and beneath his hard and tough exterior and crooked ways, I knew that deep down he was just a soft-hearted man who loved his daughter and shuffled his feet uncomfortably while his girlfriend shouted at him.

"Be good kiddo, whatever you find, remember you don't owe us anything. If you truly see the map and you want to burn it, burn it....just do what would make you happy ok?" He released me and I smiled

"Thank you Kanaku..what's your real name?"

"Kanayo"

"like the actor?"

"yes," he laughed, "like the actor"

Fuoyo stepped forward a little unsure. "Jess....I want you to know I agree with Kanaku...your state of mind is more important than any stupid treasure....you were right, I've been selfish all these while, I never really thought how hard this could be for you, I promise whatever-"

"shhhh, it's alright, I'll miss you too" we embraced, it was a short hug and he gave me a gentle squeeze before releasing me.

"I understand if you don't want to see us again, but I hope we could still check up on each other at least"

I just smiled, "Goodbye Fuoyo"

My driver tried to make small talk, commenting on a radio talk show and trying to bring me into the conversation but my mind was far away. I couldn't help feeling a little guilty about how I had treated my friends. Especially Fuoyo, I had been ruthlessly blunt with him and the worst part was I didn't want to cut off contact with him....or Kanaku, but sitting in the car that morning, hearing him talk about his map theory and the cursed treasure...he had seemed almost as excited and determined as Mr. D had been, almost as obsessed as he had been the night he'd been killed for it. And that had scared me. Especially when the thought of him dying spread a kind of ache in my chest. I had to stay away, he was trouble nothing more.

For the umpteenth time, I prayed the package my father had mentioned would be just a gift and nothing more, or something personal that belonged to Mr. D and wasn't linked to the treasure. It had brought nothing but bad luck and I couldn't bear seeing another person I'd come to care for lose his head in the hunt and ultimately lose his life.

It was nearly 10 when I got home. The driver was friendly and helped me carry my bags to the gate and stood with me until my parents opened up before he took his leave.

My dad was surprised to see me. "Jess, you didn't tell us you were coming..." he looked behind me as if expecting to see Mr. D

"He couldn't make it yet...he got delayed with work," I explained before hugging my mom tightly.

My father shut the gate and hefted my bags. "It's good you came alone, we have to talk....Jecincta that man is almost my age, I can't believe for 3 years you never mentioned-"

"Percy not now, she's had a long journey..." my mom cautioned, "she put her arm around my shoulder and led me into the house, "have a nice hot bath and something to eat then you rest"

"I'm not hungry, I'll just bathe and go to bed.." What I really wanted was to demand to see the package and end the suspense once and for all but I wasn't ready for whatever I would find yet. It could wait till tomorrow.



::::
The next day I had a long talk with my parents, they had been impressed with Mr D a lot, and no doubt they had put 2 and 3 together and realized he was the man behind the huge sums I sent them weekly. Yet they were worried about the age gap.

"He swore to us he wasn't married and you were going to be his first wife, is that true?" My mom asked

I thought of the estranged Arabic wife and son he once told me lived in Algeria. I said nothing

"Jecincta I didn't raise you to date married men so you better answer me?" my mom demanded and I quickly nodded, "he doesn't, we started dating normally and I was surprised when he mentioned marriage"

"Oh, he asked you already?"

I had to think fast, "yes, after dad's call I went to see him and he told me he wanted to surprise me but work wouldn't let him come for like a week or two. That reminds me, he also said I should tell him what I think about the gift he gave to dad to keep, dad was right... it's for me"

"How did you two meet?"

"What does he do for a living? He seems really wealthy. Is he a politician?"

The questions were far from over and I tried my best to answer them, mixing the truth with lies and made up facts about his life. Finally, they took me to the kitchen store and showed me the bags of rice, garri, beans, tubers of yams, plantain bunch.

"carton of chicken, turkey, goat meat, your father and I can't even finish it for months, we had to give most to neighbors and friends..." My mom opened the deep freezer which I had never seen so full in all my years at home.

"Then your father made a joke to me that it was too bad our Generator can't carry the freezer and that evening long after he had left, a jumia agent delivered brand new gen...it's in the garage, come and see....there's a dishwasher too...I don't even know how to use it I just left it...."

She led me through the kitchen to the backyard where a 5-foot powerful-looking Generator had replaced our former one.
When they were done showing me all the goodies and satisfied with my answers, I got them to get me the package. My dad was a bit hesitant to hand it over cause Mr. D had insinuated he would be coming back for it, but he had no choice but to give me, I suspected he was curious to see what it held.

My heart was beating fast as I tore open the gift wrapper, trying to slow my movements and keep my hands steady. It felt like a box but when I shook it there was no rattle or sound of trinkets or even the rustle of chocolate wrappers so that I began to wonder if it was empty.

By the time I stripped off the last of the gauze and peeled back the remaining wrapping paper, I knew why I didn't hear anything. It wasn't a box but a book. A big book with a kind of wooden cover which was faded and dirty. The pages were old and weak, so weak that I felt it would tear if I turned a page too quickly.

I knew what it was from the first look and my reaction was a series of conflicting emotions, from anticipation to foreboding, excitement to despair.... There was a faded logo and inscription on the wooden cover but I could make out neither so I slowly turned the page and my heart sank.

'Memoirs of colonel General Gerald F.'

The 'colonel' had been struck out with a single line and 'General' had been written above. I remembered Mr D mentioning the diary of a British commander. The man who had raided the Oba's palace and taken the satchel for himself....I tried to remember what else he had said about the man but I couldn't. Fuoyo would remember, I was sure.

"Is that a textbook?" my dad asked

"no father, it's an old family property... it belonged to his great grandfather, I can't believe he wants me to have it, that means he sees me as a part of his family..." years of lying to my parents had made it one of the easiest things on Earth. My dad was still curious, craning his neck and waiting for me to flip the page.

"What kind of book, What's in it??" he asked thoughtfully.

"It's his autobiography, please I need to call him and tell him yes"

"yes?"

"to his proposal"

I stood up and headed to my room, holding the diary, like it was a time bomb
"you mean you didn't give him a reply yet?" my mom called after me as I entered my room and shut the door.

I lay on my bed, forgetting about everything else, and flipped the page gently. Each page had a new date and a new entry of about 10 lines. From the dates, the book was well over a century old, now brownish and soft to the touch. The writing was curvy and beautiful but time had rendered the letters faint and I had to strain my eyes to read most of the words


Entry 1:
News of the November massacre continues to spread among the people. They seem to be getting bolder, as a result, resisting the invasion and even launching strikes against two Royal Company outposts in the South. Their primitive weapons are no match for our firepower, and they might despise us but they fear us greatly which if fine. I don't need affection from their kind. We expect the admiralty to order the advance of the punitive expedition any day now. Turnpike even says if we're successful the Admiral will commend every officer for a promotion, which means I could be signing my next entry as a Major of the Queen's royal army.
Long live the Empire
Signed, G.Fhorne


He was still a captain here, not in charge of his own battalion yet, which meant the Benin raid was still pages away. I was too engrossed to skip any page. I turned on my back, facing the book towards the daylight streaming through the open window.
I turned the page gently, reading the next entry, then the next. As the captain detailed the advance of the British squadron forces to the South, I realized I was holding a valuable piece of the Nigerian history, a first-hand account of a colonial soldier who would go on to play an important role in the looting of my country's heritage and sacred artifacts. Nothing else mattered at that point but the faded words of a racist soldier who had lived over a hundred years ago.

DannyG8:
Thanks for update
You made my date

you're welcome my good man

Chapter 14

FUOYO

Unsolicited Advices

There was a 4 o'clock flight to Benue that evening and another one by noon tomorrow.

The 4pm flight still had available seats but each ticket was almost double its normal fee. These airline people were another kind of scammers entirely, I mumbled to myself as I finished up the transaction. The 3 tickets cost me almost 150000 and I got angry and booked a hotel online when Jessy continued to hint again and again that we weren't welcome in her home. It cost an extra 30k because the minimum payment was for 2 days.

"Everybody na yahoo boy for this country las las" I sighed tiredly.

"you no know before? every Nigerian is a sure client to our leaders, as in eh! they take us for complete fools.." Kanaku scoffed

"exactly, with so many useless lies and half baked format that doesnt't even make sense!" I added

Kanaku chuckled, "like telling a whole 200 million people that snake swallowed 50 million"

"This yahoo metaphor is spot on if you think of it, cause our constitution is unstable like vpn, so they keep changing ip for us every election"

Kanaku was lost, "which one is VPN?"

"never mind..." I looked around the clothes store for Jessy, "God! this girl likes clothes too much, how long has she been there?"
Kanaku shrugged.

We were sitting in the corner, waiting for Jessy to emerge from behind the stall where she had disappeared to try all the clothes she had selected.

Kanaku and I had left to a next-door male clothing store and bought some clothes too, not much. I bought him a pair of jeans and two pairs of joggers and a couple of short sleeve shirts. I got myself some underwear and joggers with a pack of V-neck inner whites and a zip-up jacket.

We did all these and came back to still find Jessy raiding every clothing rack before she finally decided her two baskets were full enough. But that wasn't all, she still planned to test each piece of clothing to be sure it looked good on her and fit perfectly. It had been cute yesterday morning when we went shopping at the mall but now it was annoying.

"What is she still trying in there?" I complained again, glancing at my watch

"She's going home and never coming back, let her buy all the clothes she wants, relax.." Kanaku glanced at me, touching his chest in a calm down gesture

"This is 2:30, we should be at the airport by 3 at least"

"There's still time, I don't know why you didn't book a flight for tomorrow instead," he complained, "now I can't even say goodbye to Ruki"

"The earlier we find out about this package, the better. Besides I thought her name was Barakat?"

"Ruki is my daughter"

"oh....well if Jess comes out before 3 we can make a quick stop on our way" I suggested

"No no need, I don't want to see Barakat or her evil sister"

"why do you hate the sister so bad?" I asked him

He looked at me as if I just asked the dumbest question. "She's evil"

"But still, the only reason you can leave your pregnant wife behind for days, is because you know she's looking after her"

"It doesn't change the fact that she's a witch....and Barakat isn't my wife how many times will I tell you?"

I raised an eyebrow, "bro let me give you an advice, just marry your woman so you can be at peace"

Kanaku snickered,"ote' what do you know about marriage? lemme also give you advice, stop catching feelings for Jess. She's obviously sick of you and I know deep down you're hoping she finds the map so you'll have an excuse to still see her, as a fellow man it's embarrassing watching you throw yourself over that girl"

It was my turn to snicker, "please....she's not my type, she's spoilt and sassy, very vain and I've noticed she doesn't let go of things easily, of course I hope she finds the map but that's causing the only thing I'm interested in is securing the bag"

"Speak of the.....no she looks nothing like the devil" Kanaku looked over my shoulder and I followed his eyes.

She had changed into one of the new dresses. A high necked long-sleeved dress that reached her ankles. It didn't expose any skin but it hugged her figure, clinging to her subtle curves, it had a waist-high stylish slit and every step revealed the dark blue calf hugging leggings she wore underneath.

I stood up slowly, still looking on as the salesgirl followed behind, holding half a dozen bags to bring out to the car. Kanaku was right. She looked more like an angel.

We got to the airport on time and I paid for a week's parking ticket. We boarded our flight a few minutes past 4pm. 20 minutes later, we were in the air.

::::::::::::::::::::

KANAKU



The Unknown Package

Since I had never owned a car before, I was just finding out driving was the sharpest means to clear my mind and calm me down whenever Barakat upset me. I was sick of it all. Nothing I did was ever good enough for her, and see how she'd been yelling at me in front of Fuoyo and Jess, so embarrassing. Normally I'll head to the street for another cranky day but instead, driving seemed to lighten my mood. And after a short race with another car in which the other driver had to slow down when I didn't give him an inch to overtake me. I laughed and called out, "Ode you for fly now since na you hurry pass"

Fuoyo also chuckled and I continued driving.

Finally, after driving aimlessly for 40 minutes, I waited till immediately Jess ended her call then I pulled the car to the side of the road.

"So what is our next move, or your next move? None of you can go home again"

"My house may still be safe I told you-" Fuoyo began

"You'll just die a careless death, or police would arrest you if you're lucky" I cut Fuoyo short, "Jess how about your friend, can you guys stay with her...what's wrong?"

She shook her head but she still had a strange look on her face. "I don't know, I don't think it'll be fair to just dump ourselves at her door"

"Then what? you guys can't stay in my house, I don't even want to stay there right now," I looked at Fuoyo, "Don't you have any suggestion? What of your family or friends?"

He looked at me, "actually I have a suggestion...."

"what?" Jess and I asked together

Fuoyo sat up and started gesticulating with his hands excitedly. "Okay, I figured out something from a message Kanaku sent out the night Mr D was killed...It's a location...the same location in Nassarawa he told us about that night"

"okay.....so?" I asked slowly

"so, we go there, I'm still studying the clues, a lot of arrows lead to other cities but I believe that's the first major stop and from there we can find the next step to the treasure"

"I don't understand, are you a tracker? cause I thought we were just playing along the night before?" he sounded so sure that I had to ask

"I have a good feeling ....the village was circled but not only that, it had arrows leading to other sites, plus it's consistent with one of the points on the timeline Mr D drew on the floor, I believe the map is there... the first Asterix on the line that leads up from the South and curves to the North East...remember he implied we'll find the map when we got to Nassarawa and move on from there"

"I don't understand....Do you want to go after this treasure that might not exist?" I asked

"think about it....we have some measure of evidence already, I spent all night going through the papers and there's a good possibility it could exist...imagine if we get it.... how our lives would change forever..."

I've always had a rich imagination and I hated that he managed to get me thinking...managed to get my pulse racing with possibilities.
"So what? you want to travel to Nassarawa and start your own treasure hunt?" I hated how thrilling it sounded and I could imagine going with him, it was the perfect break I needed from home. And what if we really found it? That would be the greatest score in history, and I'll be part of it, at the very heart of it.

But we were not the only ones in the car and I glanced at Jessy, shaking my head as if Fuoyo had gone mad, "can you imagine your friend? he wants us to go treasure hunting...." She had a distant look in her eye, "what's really wrong? you've been acting somehow since the call?" I asked

"I think I need to go home"

"are you sure? it's not safe remem-"

"no...my home in Benue"

Fuoyo joined me to look at her, "Is everything alright?"

"I just got a call from my dad, Mr. D went to see my parents before he came back to Lagos"

"Really, for what?"

"To ask their permission for my hand, and bribe them with gifts..."

"Hmmmmm....I'm really sorry for everything that happened.." I sympathized

"so you want to lay low for a while at home then?" Fuoyo asked her

"yes....but the strange thing I don't understand is, he told them we'll come see them yesterday"

"But why will he do that? I thought he planned to be in Nassarawa"

I shrugged, "it's not really far, just a couple of hours....I think Nassarawa and Benue share state lines..."

"yes they're neighbouring states" she confirmed

"But why do that?....was he planning another last minute change.." I looked at Fuoyo, "are you sure that village you mentioned is not in Benue or something?"

He shook his head, "It's in Nassarawa..."

"Hmmm...."

Jessy cleared her throat, "There's something else bothering me...he gave my dad something to hold, said he'd pick it up when we come by"

"A package ?"

"yes, my dad said it's a wrapped box...maybe an engagement gift or something, he didn't open it"

I didn't know what to make of this bit of news but Fuoyo seemed to have a theory for everything.

He cleared his throat and begun; "What if....what if...." he looked unsure of what he was about to say at first, "okay first of all if you recall at the hotel, the killers were pretty convinced that if the map wasn't with him It's cause he had given it to you...now...what if, Mr D found the diary and map in Edo but before he flew into Abuja he stopped by Benue to keep it somewhere safe....far away from his boss and every other person who might be after it, but still close enough to the starting point in Nassarawa...that way, he could claim not to have it cause he really wouldn't have it"
"so what, was he also planning to take two of us....strange trackers he just met to his in-laws house too?" I asked
"No of course not, it's actually really brilliant if you think of it. We all get to Nassarawa that night, he gives us the trail to start and sets a rendevouz point for the next day or two days after, then he leaves early the next morning with Jessy...or maybe they leave that same night, he said he had a personal helicopter after all.." He turned to look at her, and he looked sure now, even confident, "Jess...didn't you say he asked you to bring your passport....? he planned for you guys to spend the whole of yesterday at your parents house, he proposes to you and when he leaves by evening or early this morning, he collects the package he left with your dad, and joins us and we track the map to the treasure then he comes back for you with a fortune"

The car was silent. Shit, it sounded crazy and yet it made so much sense. I studied Fuoyo, unsure of what to think, it was either a brilliant theory or a stupid one. I wanted to dismiss it as stupid but there was just too much potential and it was more realistic than any idea or suggestion I could come up with.

Finally, I found some kind of middle ground, grudgingly admitting there was something there. "well your theory has potential I must say....but what if it turns out to be a box of chocolate or a gold set or something....?"

"Then we count our losses and forget about everything..." he looked at Jessy when he said, "try to move on with our lives"

"so you're willing to throw money into the wind?" I narrowed my eyes at him, "you don't even have money to throw, I withdrew every scent from your account, remember?"

He smiled slyly at me,"I still have some backup crypto coins, I can handle our flight bills"

"well played," I smiled back at him impressed, Jessy hadn't said a word yet. "Jessy what do you think?"

"I've told Fuoyo I'm not interested in any stupid treasure hunt...I just want to go home, be around my loved ones for a while and try and forget everything,"

"But what if he's right?" I asked, and I realized I was hoping he was. I was hoping for a legendary adventure as much as Fuoyo

"He's not" she dismissed

Fuoyo sighed, "look Jess...how about we both fly to Benue, you go spend time with your family while I stay away from sight in a hotel somewhere. If it turns out there's nothing like the sort all you have to do is call or send a message and I'll return to Lagos and dissapear from your life forever...if that's what you want"

I watched her through the rearview, she looked confused and a little sad, learning your boyfriend was killed days after asking marriage permission from your parents would put anybody in a moody state.

Finally, she nodded and stared at Fuoyo. "promise me you'll keep your word? I just want to put all this behind me"

"I understand" he replied, I wasn't sure but I thought I detected a note of bitterness in his voice.

She seemed satisfied, "okay then it's settled, we should try and book a flight as soon as possible"

"I'll book two tickets on the nearest available flight." Fuoyo replied stiffly

I tapped the steering impatiently "wait wait wait...so all of a sudden it's just the both of you huh? we're no longer a team? why just 2 tickets? Last time I checked we were three people with Mr D that night"

"But your family...I didn't think you'll....."

I interrupted Fuoyo, mimicking him rudely, "I didn't think..." I sat up and fiddled with my seatbelt. "Look we'll be gone one or two days at most, once Jess confirms that you're wrong and there's no map, then we can all put this behind us and move on...and I could do with a few days away....maybe Barakat will miss me and come back to her senses"

"But what if I'm not wrong and she finds the map?" Fuoyo asked

I didn't know what to say...the thought alone sent a shiver of excitement down my spine. "We'll cross that bridge if we get to it," I said finally

"fine"

I started the car, "let's go get something to eat, I'm hungry"

"and we'll go shopping after, I need some good clothes" Jessy added

Thanks for your comments, really love them.
Presently editing a couple updates right now, have a productive week fam.

Ayemileto:
Thanks for the update souloho19.

But you didn't mention if Jecinta or Fuoyo killed the Camera in that room before freeing the girl or if they carried it along.

I don't want to believe they left it there with the tendency of it videoing them.

ClassicMan202:
I hope they took care of the camera

Detectives

We'll find out soon

:::::::::::::::::::::
JECINCTA

A New Direction

Loud voices woke me up just a little after 7, the voices were coming from the kitchen. A shrill angry female voice screaming all sorts of accusations and on the verge of hysteria judging from how she was sounding. Kanaku's voice was not as loud as hers but loud enough to make sure he could be heard.

"Listen it was just for the night, these are my new work partners, I told you I've been working hard.."

"And the lady? who be she?"

"Barakat stop being reasonable, you no see the other guy too? You no hear wettin I just talk, they're work-"

"that's the same thing Mukaila kept telling Sukirat until he impregnated his salesgirl, under her korokoro eyes"

"Lower your voice for God's sake, how many times will I tell you I'm not Mukaila and you're not your sister. She's just jealous of you cause she knows I love you but you can't see that"

"if you love me you would have married me-"

I sat up on the mattress and looked at Fuoyo, he was folded on the sofa, with his leg swung over the armchair but he wasn't sleeping. He was staring at the ceiling no doubt also listening to the argument. I noticed the envelope was on his chest and he held on to it possessively.

"Good morning" I greeted

He looked at me and smiled, "morning, they woke you huh?"

I nodded, "it sounds serious, she's really tearing him up"

Fuoyo grinned, "she's killing him...I love it"

The curtain parted and a woman stepped out. She held a cute little girl in her hands and she looked at Fuoyo before sending me a cold stare. I instinctively knew she was the so-called Sukirat and jealous sister, according to Fuoyo anyway.

"Good morning" I greeted and was ignored abruptly. Instead, she hissed and sat on the other chair across the parlour.

I hurried to my feet and signaled to Fuoyo who immediately shifted over and I sat beside him.

Kanaku burst into the parlour with a tired frown, "Barakat please not in front of Ruki, is it until she starts crying again?" He looked at us, "let's go.."

"of course you're going again... every time I tell you the hard truth you turn and run!"

Fuoyo and I stood up and she glared at us, looking at me with suspicion.
"Good morning"

"morning ma"

She ignored us and turned on Kanaku, If you like go and don't come back...your children are kukuma bastards!"

Kanaku whirled around quickly and I half feared he was going to strike her, his hand vibrating at his sides as if itching to slap, but he spoke calmly, in a manner that suggested he was used to such verbal assaults from her. "I've given you 30 thousand, maybe your dear sister can stop gossiping for once and help take your list to the market." He glared at Fuoyo and I who remained rooted to the spot. "I said let's go"

We hurried after him, the little girl waved at us and showed us her missing front tooth in a sweet smile. "Bye-bye daddy"


We drove around in silence for about 20 minutes and I was about to ask where exactly we were going when my phone rang. It was my father calling.

"Hello, Jess how are you?"

"I'm fine daddy"

"what happened? your mom and I has been expecting the both of you since yesterday"

"yesterday? But I never said I was....wait the both of who? me and who?"

"your fiance now, Brian"

My mouth fell open and I felt Fuoyo and Kanaku both glance back at me.

"My Fiance....how? who?"

"He said you guys would come yesterday, that he was going to surprise you"

"daddy I don't understand...when did he call you?"

"No he didn't call me, he came to see your mom and I last week. He introduced himself and asked for permission to marry you, I still feel he's too old for you, but it's clear he really loves you so he won my approval. where did you people really meet?"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. When had Mr. D gone to see my parents? Last week he was in Edo, finding the diary and maybe map that put him in a frenzy and made him call me excitedly...

My dad was still speaking. "Had to dash out most of the gifts he brought just too much, A whole truck full, and I haven't even met with my kin yet for the brideprice agreement..."

"Gifts"?..."

"There isn't even enough space to put the foodstuff, Where is he, let me say hello...Is he with you there?"

"Errrm not right now"

I fell silent still trying to digest the news. So Mr D hadn't just proposed in the spur of the moment that night, he had made plans beforehand., gone to meet my parents. My own parents? Oh my God..

"what did you say?" I interrupted my dad suddenly

"I said even your room space..."

"no before that?"

"I said the package he dropped is still with me, tell him I'm keeping it safe for him till you two arrive, like he asked me"

"package...what package?"

"I don't know I didn't open it, Your mom says it feels like a jewelry box...I suspect it's some kind of engagement gift he plans to give you. It's in a kind of wooden box which is wrapped with gift paper, hold on your mom wants to say hi"

Chapter 13

FUOYO

Filtering Clues

We dropped Amanda outside the off-campus building by 2:15 am and Jess collected her number. We didn't bother to tell her not to mention the homicide to anybody, we all knew she was going to try and forget everything about the night. I even suspected she had given Jess a fake number. We said goodbyes although I couldn't afford to look up from the phone in my hands. There were lots of potential clues I didn't even know where to start, I just kept forwarding every text message, both inbox, and outbox to my phone. His mail app was logged in and I forwarded every inbox and sent items to one of my phony mail addresses. I also went through his contacts and shared anyone that caught my attention to my phone. There was no contact saved 'boss' or 'oga' or 'work' but there was a particular contact saved as 'G' who judging from the call logs, called him a lot and sent him some instructive messages. I shared the contact with myself. The phone was loaded and it was serious work.

"His battery is low, I don't think I can finish checking it all before it dies"

"shit...okay just speed up, I want us to throw it over the 3rd mainland bridge sef" Kanaku replied

"Why?" Jessy asked

"It's easier for the police to trace iphones" Kanaku replied her.

There was something like experience in his voice and I wanted to jokingly ask him if he'd been nabbed for stealing an iPhone before but when I glanced up I realized we were heading in a different direction

"hey, aren't we going to my place? It's late, we need to get some rest" I complained

"no, no....your house is casted now....didn't the security man take down your plate number?"

I remembered, "yes....but it doesn't mean anything...I bought my car and had the papers done before I moved in"

"you'd be surprised....it's better not to risk it....if you've been to jail before you'll learn never to leave anything to chance, always be on your guard...that's free street orientation i'm giving you"

I stared out the window lost in thought and by the time I got myself, the phone screen had locked again. We were almost at the bridge anyway, and soon enough Kanaku pulled over to the side and I threw the phone into the lagoon. Good riddance

"so where are we going? first, it was my place now it's Fuoyo's" Jessy asked

"well I don't see another choice...we'll go to my home and catch some sleep, by morning we'll go through everything we have and decide on the next step"

"sounds fine" I agreed

"but what about your family? we could be bringing danger" Jess worried

"how?" Kanaku glanced back at her, "no one knows me and by tomorrow we'll decide something. My house isn't big, we'll just manage for the night"

"All the clothes I bought are still in Fuoyo's house" Jess complained

"same here...I have just the clothes on my back" I added

"That's a small challenge, I have some clothes that should be okay on you Fuoyo....and Jess, Barakat's old clothes would fit you perfectly"

"thank you....but maybe I'll go shopping in the morning," Jess told him

"toooh...then let morning reach first"


A companionable silence followed until I asked, "Kanaku....why were you so specific about if the girl had been sodomized, what really happened to you?"

"me? nothing...."

"come on, it was obvious there's something-"

"it happened a long time ago, I don't want to talk about it" he said abruptly

"fine"

"yeah"


Kanaku's house was in a rugged area of Mushin in a neighborhood that even in the dead of night without a single soul in sight, the poverty was like a pungent odour that hung in the air like a mist. The combination of cigarette smoke, marijuana, exhaust fumes, bleached palm oil smoke, and the odor emanating from overfull trashcans came together at the beginning of the street. There was no light and it just felt like they had light only once or twice a year. The darkness was that familiar and too normal, even to a first-timer like me.

His house was actually not bad, at least compared to the wooden shacks and zinc houses and containers in the neighborhood, his was a real house with foundation and blocks. A self-contain apartment at the very end of the street and out of formation with the remaining makeshift houses, as if Kanaku had pushed it forward with his bare hands to stand alone.
His baby mama and daughter were fast asleep so we followed his lead and tiptoed into the living room, whispering to ourselves, trying to make as little noise as possible and depending on our phone flashlights.

"I plan to buy a big gen this week" Kanaku explained. He brought a spare mattress to the parlour. It was more or less a student mattress and he signaled that Jess and I should manage it. "Just for a couple of hours, it's 3:30 already"

I wanted to shower or wash my face at least or even pee at the very least but I kept mute and Jessy and I squeezed in, although apart from my head and left shoulder, the rest of my body was on the cold hard floor, I watched Kanaku squeeze into the two-seater sofa which was the longest chair in the house, he tossed and turned, trying to tuck his legs comfortably until he decided to sit straight and stretch his legs out on a small wooden table. He was soon snoring softly.

I couldn't sleep, Jessy's breathing was calm and steady which meant she had slept off too.
I shut my eyes tight then stared at the ceiling when I still couldn't sleep. By the time it was 4, I gave up and brought out my phone. I had over 45 unread messages and 17 new emails and I began to read. I removed the papers from the envelope, using my phone flash to scan each paper, while checking the messages and emails for any sort of connection.

I lost track of time but an hour or so later, I read a particular email that made my ears perk up. I quickly scanned the papers, one after the other. A particular word had caught my attention...I was certain I had seen that name underlined and asterisked in one of the papers.

I flipped through the pages from the envelope, scanning the lines with my phone flash until I saw it, I placed my thumb on the word. It was on one of the plainer sheets with one of the faded sketches of a map. A couple of words had been scribbled over the sketch, some were linked with arrows, others were circled. But this word was circled with multiple arrows leading to other circled words which was why it had stood out. I glanced at my phone to confirm the spelling. Yes, it was the same. The mail was short and straight to the point. I was also sure Kenekelis had forwarded it. It read, 'TataraMari Village Kokona district, I have to confirm exact location on the map for first excavation'

And there it was, the circled word with half a dozen arrows: "TataraMari?" I pondered about the question mark for a minute then shrugged. It must have been an important name for Mr D to circle it....right?.

I turned to Google and Wikipedia soon educated me that Tatara Mari was a village in Nassarawa State. The same Nassarawa state Mr D had planned to fly to that night. I considered the possibilities. Then I remembered the picture I had taken on the floor of the hotel. I flipped through my pictures until I was looking at the drawing with the line cutting across in a kind of curve. A visual map of Nassarawa's location on google map looked pretty close to one of the asterisked points on the map. At first glance, I had thought it was Abuja but now I was convinced it was Nassarawa and this Tatara Mari location. Unfortunately, the blood had spilled over most of the digits of the asterisked point so I couldn't determine the timeline. But it was 19 something. It could be any date from 1901-1960 for all I knew.

I pondered my new discovery for a while, That was the only instructive message/mail related to the treasure, which meant that was all Kenekelis had known. I suspected Mr. D had told him the location when he requested for trackers.

Well, I had found a starting point but the question was, what now?

:::::::::::::::::

KANAKU


An Eye For An Eye


I knew the rapist was incapacitated and so I went to the kitchen, thinking of getting a nice sharp bread knife to cut off his manhood, but a long jagged piece of glass caught my attention. I picked it up and carefully slipped it in my pocket. Then I returned to the hallway stepping on the bastard and checked the remaining rooms in the house. I could hear Fuoyo and Jess gasping in shock and I deliberately refused to look into the room. Even though it was impossible, I half feared I might see them freeing Mosquito's body and lose control and slit the devil's throat where he lay groaning on the floor.

The house was empty like I guessed but I found something interesting in one of the rooms. A thick envelope on a dressing table, I opened it expectantly and sighed in disappointment when I realized it didn't contain money but about a dozen sheets of papers with scribblings and drawings. Wait a minute....these were some of the same papers I'd seen strewn about Jess's boyfriend's suite. That means this man was really the killer and the answer we'd been searching for.

I took the envelope with me and shoved it in his face, his eyes were open now and he still held his chest and looked up at me although his legs were bent awkwardly and he looked like he was unable to move. I wished I had paralyzed him from the waist down, then seriously hoped he would still feel the pain when I cut off his old shriveled dick. "you thief, you killed your colleague for this didn't you?"

"who...who....are...." he couldn't complete it.

I whipped him across the face with the leather belt, satisfied when he cried out in pain. Okay, his nerves were still very much functioning...the ones in charge of pain anyway. I grabbed him by his hand and dragged him the whole length of the corridor and down the two short steps that led to the living room.
When Fuoyo and Jessy reappeared, they held a girl in their middle, each of her hands was around their neck so they half-carried her, and I suspected her legs would give in from under her if she tried to stand or walk on her own. I remembered Jessy's friend saying she'd been unable to walk after he'd been through with her and I felt my neck turn red in rage.

"He raped her?" I demanded

"No, he hadn't gotten around to that yet...we found a sachet of unopened viagra pills...he tortured her, but we interrupted him before he could take the pill and go further." Fuoyo bent down and swooped the girl in his arms before laying her on the opposite sofa.

She looked dazed and weak and scared. She grabbed the sheet around her body, shivering and looking fearfully at the man on the floor.
"I'll go get some water or milk from the kitchen," Jessy said

I approached the girl, "he can't hurt you anymore, look at him...." I offered her the whip, "you can beat the hell out of him....take it..."

She shook her head and sank deeper into the chair, pulling the sheet to her chin.

"she needs a hospital, she can't even move her hand's bro, we can only guess how long she's been stretched out in the air....how can this old man do something like this" Fuoyo said, "Kenekelis look at her...she's young enough to be your granddaughter"

Jessy returned with a glass containing a creamy brownish foamy liquid.
"It's malt and condensed milk....here take little sips...don't rush it...when you're ready you tell us your name"

The girl seemed to trust only a fellow female and stretched shaky hands for the drink. Jessy changed her mind and sat on the arm of the chair, then guided the cup to her lips.

"what's this?" Fuoyo picked up the envelope from the center table.

"some of the papers they stole from the hotel" I replied

"Wow...." Fuoyo leafed through the sheets excitedly, "they were a great deal more than this but well...this is better than nothing. We can study it later....hmmm......." He looked at the papers a little longer before he dropped the envelope and bent down over Kenekelis. "who do you work for? what's the name of your firm? Why did you send killers to Mr. D's hotel?"

"Fu-Bleep--y-y-y"

"The bastard is not even remorseful" I observed.

"yeah and he can hardly talk...." Fuoyo straightened, "looks like his body would never be the same again....I'll go snoop around for any thing that'll tell us about his workplace or who he works for"

"look for his phone" Jessy suggested

"yeah that'll be smart" I agreed

"huu....so...dead....huu messs with......wro-......ahhh...huuuu...huuu....huuuu" Kenekelis began to clutch his chest with both hands and shake violently, he looked like he was trying to stand up but he couldn't move his legs or rollover.

I watched him convulse without pity, "better save your little strength for our questions if you don't want to lose your prick" I snapped at him
The threat must have gotten through his arrogance cause he shut up immediately and even shut his eyes.

I turned my attention the girl, she was young...even looked younger than Jessy. What was happening to the world? I thought of my little innocent Ruki and shivered.

"what's her name?" I asked Jessy

"I don't know"

"Amanda.." the girl's voice was coarse and stressed but there was now a survivalist edge in it. Maybe it was cause of Jessy's presence but I felt she had decided we weren't going to hurt her

"Amanda...how did you get entangled with this pig?" I asked

"a hookup site..."

"you agreed to......." I didn't even know the correct term to use

"it was meant to be normal dominant role play...but once he had me tied up he started.....he became.....he didn't stop even when I called out yellow...."

"yellow?" I raised a brow

"the....safe word" she couldn't say anymore but her hands were steady enough to hold the cup. That was a good sign at least.

"what kind of thing is this sef, how can you allow this dirty old man tie...." I was incredulous

Jess sent me a cold look and I abandoned the sentence.
"hope he paid you at least?"

she nodded.

I wanted to ask her how much, how much was worth being submissive to an old man who could fall and drop dead before freeing her from her restraints, but Fuoyo walked into the room excitedly. "Okay I don't think this is his main residence, there's just a couple of clothes...nothing else relating to work, but.." he held up an iPhone, "I found his phone"

"Anything interesting?" I asked

"I don't know yet, it uses facial recognition"
I nudged Kenekelis with my shoe, he didn't move. I kicked him harder yet he didn't budge.

"is he sleeping or what?" Jess asked

"Probably unconscious" I replied. I didn't want to feel for his pulse cause I already feared he was dead. I couldn't detect the faintest rise and fall of his chest. He wasn't breathing.

So instead I signaled for the phone and knelt over the body and pulled both his eyelids up till the white of his eyes showed then I pushed the phone into his face, after a couple of tries the phone unlocked.

I stood up and tossed it to Fuoyo. "don't let it lock again, not until you go through every message, email, and call log."

I looked at Amanda and Jessy, they had bonded with few words. "Jessy can she walk? let's get her to the car, we'll drop her by a nearby hospital"

"No...no...please I'll be fine, if you guys can drop me off at yaba..."

"Is that where you live?" Jess asked her

"No, I stay off-campus...I'm a student of Unilag"

"oh....I was supposed to go to Unilag" Jessy said a little wistfully

I sighed impatiently, "we can share life stories on the way, let's leave here first"

Fuoyo looked up from the phone with a frown, "How about him? he hasn't really provided any concrete answers yet"

"I know, that's why I said you should check his phone for clues and not allow it lock, I'll take the envelope"

"I don't understand..."

"He's dead"

Outside, the security/gateman was still knocked unconscious.

"is he dead too?" Amanda asked and I felt her glance quickly in my direction

"no of course not...I did something to his head that'll keep him out till daybreak...and I didn't kill the old man in there, he died of a heart attack so you guys can stop looking at me like a serial killer"

We exited the compound and got into the car in silence. I knew what they were all thinking as I got behind the wheel. I was thinking it myself, a heart attack might have claimed Kenekelis' last breath but I had pushed him to the point of no return.

God forbid that I would lose a single blink over his death, he was a sadistic pervert and a murderer. He'd gotten no less than he deserved.

:::::::::::::

JECINCTA

First Assault



Kanaku led the way and Fuoyo and I followed. He didn't go straight to the main entrance but led us through the narrow side of the house slowly.

"What are we doing?" I whispered to Fuoyo who in turn asked him

He turned back and put his hands to his lips, "shhh...I need to get a feel of the place, please stay quiet"

Fuoyo turned to me, "he's right....you don't just go barging in without observing first"

"yeah right, you were just as lost as me" I snickered

"shhhhh" Kanaku hissed and we fell quiet. We tiptoed around the house until Kanaku stopped at a particular window.

The rest of the house was dark and felt empty but this particular room had a blinking red light. The drapes were shut tight and we could only see a dull shade of each blinking flash.

That wasn't what caught my attention. There was a sort of mild commotion going on in the room. I recognized the song that was playing, A Nathaniel Bassey song, crooning about the beauty of Nature and the omnipresent nature of God. But there was something else coming from the room that sent a shiver through my spine.
Thuwack!
Thuwack!
Thuwack!

A continuous whipping sound and then a muffled voice which was definitely feminine crying out something that sounded like, "yellow, or mellow or fellow..."

It was hard to tell cause the voice was muffled and the word was throaty and mono-syllabic like the person was struggling to speak with a mouth full of food.

Without another word Kanaku continued his slow movement, tiptoeing to the rear of the house and we followed. I had a nasty idea of what was happening that very moment and I desperately hoped I was wrong.

The back of the house was spacious and there was a back kitchen door which was unfortunately locked. It was bolted from inside and the top half was made of glass, the kind of glass that was too thick to be transparent.

We watched Kanaku struggle with the door with no luck until he got tired and looked around for a stone. There wasn't any stone big enough and I watched in amazement as he walked about, bending every now and then to try and pull what on Earth from the ground?
Then he found a section where weed had managed to grow between the interlocking. He got on his knees and we watched his shoulder heave for some minutes till he managed to dislodge one and I marveled when he returned with a brick of interlocking.

He motioned for us to step back and hit the glass with such force I flinched back, expecting the sound of breaking glass to ring out but the glass was too strong for the brick.

"Bastard!" He snapped and next he went under the kitchen window where a small roof had been constructed over 2 glass cylinders.

He grabbed the biggest and I suspected it was empty because there was no way he could lift a full gas of cylinder above his head with such ease.

Fuoyo grabbed my hand and pulled me further behind just as Kanaku slammed the cylinder into the glass. The glass had met its match this time and the cylinder cracked a clear hole before the shards began falling off, landing on the kitchen floor with a loud smashing sound.

"There goes the element of surprise," Fuoyo said and I heard a little panic in his voice

Kanaku didn't look back, he knocked down the remaining glass and flipped open the bolt from inside. "You guys stay here" He threw over his shoulder

Fuoyo actually didn't move and I tugged his hand, "would you come on? I thought we're in this together?"

"sure.... sure of course....you should stay behind me" he added, suddenly going Macho

I rolled my eyes and we entered the kitchen
"watch the glass and don't turn on the lights" Kanaku warned in a low tone

The kitchen was pitch black and I stepped right in the glass, crushing and crunching the shards thankfully I wore my brand new double-soled leather boots.

I could see Kanaku's silhouette ahead and I followed the shadow, walking slowly with Fuoyo creeping behind me.

We were in a long narrow hallway when I realized Nathaniel wasn't singing anymore, as I wondered if the song had run its course or been stopped abruptly, the overhead bulb suddenly came to life, sending bright light down the corridor and illuminating the three of us. Up ahead, with his hand still on the switch, stood the tallest man I had ever seen. He was at least 3 inches taller than Kanaku and in his day I imagined he could have made a comfortable income as a bouncer or personal guard for rich celebrities. Now he was much older and the shoulders that once stood broadly now slopped downwards in a kind of slouchy posture.

He was holding a kind of leather whip in his hand and what had once been impressive triceps now flapped under his arm like soft jelly. I noticed he had worn his boxer short inside out and front to back, probably shocked out of his skin when the crash had sounded. His look turned from shock to annoyance and rage. There wasn't even a flicker of fright on his face. This was someone used to inspiring fear not feeling it.

"Who the hell are you?" He demanded. Because he was taller, he glared at each of us before focusing on the closest threat, Kanaku who had paused his advance for the time being.


"Kenekelis?" Kanaku spat the name out with disgust and hatred. I almost didn't recognize his voice

"Do you guys know who you're messing with?" He actually took a step forward, and another...approaching Kanaku with growing anger and irritation, striking his palm with the leather whip, like a sadistic School principal about to whip his students for late coming "Y'all are dead? if you Bleep out of here immediately then I might reconsider sparing your lives but if-"

Kanaku was too fast for him and his sentence was cut midway. It happened so fast, despite watching closely I still almost didn't see it happen. Kanaku must have been waiting for him to step into range and in a flash, he had lifted him and slammed him on the hard tiles in a swift unbelievable wrestling move that could rival the best smackdowns. The impact was tremendous...the floor shook, in fact, I could swear I felt the whole house shake and some of his bones definitely snapped, that one I was very sure of.

"hhuuu.....hhuuuuu...hhuuuu" he sounded like he was coughing, sneezing, crying and demanding 'who?' at the same time, the pain was very much clear in his voice.

Kanaku stood up and pressed his feet into the man's chest. Then he looked back at us. "If there's anyone else here....they would have rushed out by now..." He bent down to wrestle the whip from the now lax grip, crushing a couple of ribs in the process and Kenekelis howled in pain.
"You guys should check the house....check whoever is back there...." He nodded towards the room Kenekelis had come out from....the same room we had stood outside the window just moments ago.

I feared Kanaku was going to kill him, there was a kind of rage in his eyes and movement that suggested this was personal for him.

"Please we need to question him about Mr D....he needs to be able to talk, so calm down" Fuoyo cautioned

"I know what I'm doing" He snapped in reply

"Are you sure?" Fuoyo mumbled under his breath but Kanaku heard.

"Just check the room okay?"

"sure....just take it easy that's all I'm saying"
Fuoyo and I crossed over the body and I wanted badly to kick the bastard in the throat for what he had done to Fifi years ago and for betraying Mr D two nights ago but his face was already contorted in pain.

The wind was knocked out of me the moment I got to the open doorway. The red blinking light we had noticed from outside the room was from a fancy camera set on a tripod pointing towards the center of the room. A bedside lamp was on the floor, connected to the wall socket and provided a yellow glow bright enough to reveal the horror taking place.

There was some sort of sadistic hand-made swing hanging from the ceiling, it was made of chains fastened to the pop ceiling, but had a leather strap attached to each end.
There was a girl tangled in it, her hands and legs were spread wide and clamped tight by the contraptions, she was stark naked and the leg chains had been pulled farther apart so she was spread immodestly with the core of her womanliness exposed. There was a wicked-looking lever that had been connected to the chains and it was bent so low it almost touched the floor, pulling the 4 chains further apart, stretching her limbs painfully to the limit. I realized in horror that he had pulled the lever till there wasn't any room left. Her mascara had been messed up and she had some kind of elastic band around her head which held a plastic ball in her mouth so she couldn't speak coherently. Her eyes were horrified and she looked like she was about to pass out. Her neck, back, and buttocks were marked red from the whipping and beating with the leather whip. The sight was inhuman, evil, ungodly...I couldn't think of enough words to describe what I was seeing.

Fuoyo also couldn't stomach the sight. "oh my goodness..." he gasped and headed for the door, "I'll wait outside, try and get her down....i'll be outside..."

"Fuoyo I need your help, I can't do this on my own..."

"But she's naked..."

"so? she's almost unconscious she could be dying, come and help me now!"

He slowly retreated back into the room. "God what kind of thing is this...I thought it's only whites that did such"

He sighed as he grabbed the lever and slowly returned it to position, and I began to unbuckle the trap around her right ankle.

sorry for being AWOL guys..couldn't help it. would make it up to y'all as usual

Chapter 12

FUOYO

]Infiltration

Fifi said the house would be easy to locate once we got into the estate cause it was the only bungalow in a row of Duplexes. Once we made the first turn, it was the fourth or fifth house on the left. The first challenge was that the estate obviously housed rich and well to do people, which meant the security was tight.

The security at the estate gate ordered us to park and asked who we were there to see at such a late hour.

"Who are you here to see? Is he expecting you?" He stood few feet away and made a motion with his torch, instructing we roll down the glass

"For heaven's sake is this a bloody hotel?" Kanaku demanded

"I beg your pardon?" the security looked like he needed just one reason to make our night miserable

I had to think fast, luckily Jessy was thinking faster. She leaned across me and called out, "Please we're here to see my uncle. We should have been here earlier but we had car troubles"

The guard redirected his torch beam from the frowning Kanaku to the back seat, shinning the bright light in Jessy's face

"Hmm....and what is your uncle's name?" He asked

"Well...." she trailed off

"Mr. Kenekelis" I blurted out

Now he faced the beam on me.
"Is he your uncle too?"

"yes....well no...not my blood uncle, but he has been more than an uncle to me"

I squinted and raised my hand to shield the bright light while the guard rudely continued to blind me.
"Okay...,but you have to call him, I'll speak with him"

"okay sure, that's what you should have said since, please can you get the light off my face?" He complied and I looked at Jessy, "call him, tell him we're at the main gate"

She looked at me but expertly didn't show her surprise. Without missing a beat she brought out her phone and dialed a number. After minutes of silence, she sighed, "his line is busy....he's on the conference call already."

I nodded, and turned to the guard "please we have a meeting with him it's very important"

The guard scoffed, "what important meeting by midnight?"

"we're coming from Ondo state sir" I countered

But he wasn't having it, "why don't you tell me about this so-called meeting and I'll determine if its important or not.."

Kanaku suddenly couldn't take it anymore, he opened the driver's door and stepped out. "Listen here you bastard, you can either get in the car and follow us to the house or you simply let us go. But you're not going to stand here and use us to pretend or act what police life would have been like if only you had made the cut-off mark."

The two men faced a stare off and I craned my neck out the window, half expecting them to come to blows. The guard was tall and buffy but I had my money on Kanaku. The anger in his voice alone made me a little chilly.

The guard finally backed down, deciding to take the safe option. "He glared at me, suddenly unable to stare at Kanaku again. "You have to sign in first" He pointed to a table where a book log lay open.

I got down and signed in as' Mr. Brian Karma,' 11:48 pm and scribbled a phony signature.

"Hold on, I have to write down your plate number" the guard insisted when I ignored the plate number column.
I could do nothing but watch him write down the car number.

"Welcome to Canary estate" he snickered but I noticed he still avoided looking in Kanaku's direction.

I entered the car once more and Kanaku started the ignition.

"whew" I sighed in relief as he drove towards the first turning

"He's lucky I didn't break his nose" Kanaku hissed

"you guys are missing the important fact," Jessy said and I stared at her, "what fact?"

"He recognized the name....which means Kenekelis lives here...."

"That's true....what are the odds!" I exclaimed, "maybe he's the same person Fifi described"

"we'll find out soon enough" Kanaku gritted his teeth, making me glance at him through the rearview.

Soon enough we were pulling up beside the house and staring at our second challenge. The fence was shorter than that of the neighbors which made it easy to spot the bungalow immediately but 3 lines of charged electric lines ran across the fence around the house, quickly ruling out any plan I first had of scaling the 5-foot fence.

"Shit...what now, do we knock?" I asked

"come, get behind the steering" Kanaku instructed and opened the door. He glanced up, "....The street lights here are motion censored so you just take a drive to the end of this close and turn, I'll have the gate open when you get back"

"How are you going to do that?" I asked in disbelief, but I put the car in gear.

"The gate is never wired...I'll use the gate"

True enough the wires didn't touch the gate, stopping a couple of inches before the sturdy iron gate but I didn't still see how he planned to get through a gate that was locked from the inside. "How do you-"

"Fuoyo for Bleep sake just move" he snapped and I did as I was told.

"Something's up with him" I said to Jess as I accelerated, "He's been edgy since we left your friend"

True enough the street light grew dimmer then went off as I drove farther from the house and instead our path became lit up with each light pole we approached. How on earth did he know that? I shook my head in awe.

"Oh my....he's climbing the gate" Jessy exclaimed suddenly. She was squirming in the back seat, trying to look behind and I looked at my side mirror in time to see Kanaku grab the spear-like spikes at the top of the gate and lift himself over and out of sight.

"What the....!"

"how can he move so fast?" Jessy wondered

"I have a feeling he's been doing stuff like that since he started walking" There was no need to drive to the end of the close again and I made a U-turn

The light came on again, once the sensors detected the car mass but this time Kanaku had the gate wide open and immediately I parked, we strolled in like visitors in case any insomniac neighbor happened to look out the window that very minute.

I observed the towering gate as I passed through, there were some lion head carvings on the gate, about four, lined diagonally but still too far apart and not big enough to provide a sure footing. The spikes at the mouth of the gate looked like it had once been part of a medieval torture device and I suspected it must have pierced his hands badly when he pulled himself over.
He shut the gate when I entered and nodded toward the entrance. "no dogs" he assured us, "just this unfortunate fellow"
I followed his gaze to the man lying unconscious on the floor. He was dressed in a different security halogen uniform from the security men at the front gate and he wasn't moving. For a second I thought he was dead.

"He wouldn't be waking up soon but we better move," Kanaku said impatiently

I stepped aside and spread out my right hand, still looking at the body, "I think you should lead the way"