₦airaland Forum

Uthman51:
Souloho19 u no mention me wen u start dis story >

bro either you didn't get the mention or I genuinely forgot, welcome man!

EkopSparoAyara:
My Joy is Ali No Joy is awake and someone will be baked..
I hope Tonye will comb the house thoroughly and disconnect the recording devices..
Asshole Buzz, you couldn't even withstand a gun bang, I think say you be strong man, mtchewww..
Dagnet, Dagnet... Focus...
Thomas Bigelow, It is well even inside the well...
Mr Souloho, much respect to you... That part where the man is talking to Dagnet is what am so particular about... You're a good researcher...
BRAVO SOULOHO....
Don't forget my birthday gift oo... 29th June..

hehehe I got your back bro, I sight your doings ma guy, thanks.

ChizzyMaris:
Wow. I love you Souloho19. You just keep amazing me with your writings. Listen, I'm one of your greatest fans.
Please if you're ever around Enugu biko inform me. I'd like to buy you a drink, and meet with the wonderful person behind these captivating stories. And I am serious.
Thank you for sharing all these with us for free.
God bless you.

Well i'd definitely hold you to that The pleasure is all mine...Gracias

THE MORNING AFTER



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

?? ??

*5:15am

"Driver which kain thing be this? for the ticket the last bustop says maza-maza now you dey telling us you'd be stopping at jibowo park?"
A man from the front complained murdering english in the process.

They were finally in Lagos and she hadn't slept a wink. Not even when the nosy neighbour had fallen asleep and resumed with the head rolling.

She didn't mind the destination change. All these transport companies were notorious for it afterall. At the park they'd promise to drive you to venus but on the road it becomes another story. plus the baby was stirring more often. She would be awake soon and she planned to be home before then. But this woman.....

She still had her silenced pistol but she couldn't just shoot the woman in front of everybody....or could she?

No...that would be crazy, but she had a feeling the woman would be heading to the police station...and she couldn't let that happen. It was to her advantage that they still thought she was in Benue and a report about a woman with a stolen baby arriving Lagos would definitely point the investigators back to lagos. And she wasn't ready for that yet. She was in full control and everything would happen only when she wanted it to.

She chewed over the situation as the bus sped past Ojodu Berger b/stop.


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


The Obasi residence....


Alli no Joy, Utebo and both twin boys were up however Martha and Soma-Utebo's three year old daughter were still conked out.

Alli no joy stood in the doorway observing his wife. Even when Tonye had come and explained everything to him, he still found it hard to believe.
Fome?

They had been nothing but kind to Fome, when they found out about her death they had been genuinely heart broken. Now this....two years later she does this! The Fome he remembered wasn't violent or wicked.

The only silver lining was that she was in benue, meaning his grand daughter was near by and Alli was going to find her. He had let go of his rakish ways a long time ago and even stopped gambling, focusing on the ram fights instead. But right now he literally had no joy. His wife could very well have been killed! even now he studied her chest till he noticed the soft rise and fall sign of respiration. He turned away reluctantly and went to the parlour.

The agent called Buzz was tied to a chair. His eyes were swollen shut and his face was red from the multiple backhand slaps he had received.
He was still unconscious.

Alli had beat the shit out of him and he was not even satisfied. It had taken just a few blows and the agent had immediately told them were the bug was: behind the lamp holder. It would have been almost impossible to locate it otherwise. Tonye crushed the little chip with her heels then threw the broken pieces outside.

Alli tried calling the number the kidnapper had used to call Buzz earlier but the phone was switched off.
It was helpless and useless sitting around the house waiting for a ransom call he feared would never come.
What he wanted to do right now was take the useless Buzz whatever outside and slaughter him like a goat. Guns were not his thing. He preferred a good dagger and back in the day he had been an excellent knife thrower. Although he hardly practiced the skill. His fists had always been enough.
But there was the slight hope that the man was romantically involved with the kidnapper and could be used as some sort of leverage. So Alli no joy could only do what he did best; head out to the streets. There had to be some underground rumour that would shed some light on the kidnapper. There was always 'word on the street'

The problem was his wife. He couldn't leave her when she hadn't woken up. He wouldn't be able to concentrate. He was already filled with dread that she may slip(sleep) into a coma and never wake up...

:::::::::


Tonye rubbed her eyes tiredly.
"thanks" she recieved the cup of coffee Utebo handed to her. She refused the milk, just sugar and the nes cafe in boiling water. She needed the caffein to stay sharp or atleast to stay awake.
"That reminds me....was there anything you all ate that Olivia didn't?" she asked

Utebo's eyes were puffy red and tired still she was still in shock and frowned in thought "no...I don't think we even had dinner, apart from Dad that had swallow"

"how about earlier in the day...maybe a snack?"

"Oh my God...."

"what is it?"

"There was this ice cream lady, we all bought ice cream only Olivia didn't want one and the woman kept insisting she have one but she didn't."

"hmmmm.....can you remember what she looked like?"


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

Bigelow entered his brother's house few minutes past seven. The same house he had arrived less than 24 hours ago and led the owner to his death. The bullet had been meant for him. He sat down and closed his eyes, thinking.
He was going to go after the assassin and avenge his brother's death. That was something he was going to do even if it was with his dying breath.

The door bell woke him up. He must have dozed off. He got to his feet hurriedly and headed for the door. his fuzzy brain hoping and expecting to see Tom on the other side but there was no one there, just a sharp glimpse of a young boy in a school uniform before he disappeared round the bend.

"Arinze...."he muttered. His brother had complained about the rough rascal yet with a certain fondness when he spoke of the mother.

As if on cue a petite woman approached the hallway. She had a tray in her mitten clad hands and it was steaming hot. She was good looking and Ryan guessed she was in her early 30s. He could sense she and his brother had been involved. The look on her eyes said it all.

"Oh Tom...I heard your bell again, I'm sorry about that, he promised to stop yester- you're not Tom"

"No i'm his brother"

"Where is Tom?"

"He...he....he went to buy newspaper, he'd be back soon" he couldn't bring himself to say what he hadn't fully accepted

she nodded satisfied and the worry erazed from between her brows. "I got his favourite cookies"


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

Rex

A sharp pain woke me and my eyes flew open. The doctor was carrying out physical examination which meant prodding and poking my sides.
"Doctor I need to leave, you need to discharge us please" I pleaded

"I'm afraid I can't do that yet.. Its good news the rib is cracked not broken like I earlier feared but I need to observe you people for some days and be sure your aorta and other major blood vessels is okay"

"Doctor what can you do to make it heal faster?" Bami asked and I glanced at him. It seems the doctor had started the examination with him cause he was wide awake, lying down with his back supported with pilows.

"Open your eyes wide" the doctor instructed

The doctor used the opthalmoscope to shine a bright light into my eyes. "Follow the light" he said
I complied.
In reply to Bami's question he said "I'm afraid there's really nothing we can do, the rib heals naturally....but I can assure you in the next couple of days the pain would lessen drastically and you'd be able to move about better"

"doctor, we don't have 'the next couple of days'" I said "you need to do something...we need to leave today...please"

"But my hands are tied...your body itself makes the rules in this case-"

"doctor my daughter is in danger...with every second I spend here she is in the care of a dangerous kidnapper" I felt like killing the chief for sending his goons to disable us so, I also wished I hadn't scattered his roasted fish earlier.

The doctor was silent as the words sunk in. He looked at me with questions and compassion in his eyes and finally said "okay, I'll see what I can do"

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


Short Sam heard the news on the radio. Top government agents had been killed the previous night, it was suspected to be a terrorist attack or an agency duel. The deputy director of the National Intelligence Agency had assured the press that there would be no rest until the killer was found. The names of the dead agents were not given as such information was classified. But it was whispered that a senior official had been killed.

Short Sam was currently sifting through the hard drive of the senior official and the man was basically scum, a corrupt official. Illegal deals were littered everywhere and strange emails. Too bad the man had died before he could answer for his crimes.

One particular email caught his attention.
'Churchhill, have you retrieved the letters? they must be destroyed immediately
_counselor

To which the counselor had replied 'not yet sir, but soon'

The sender of the mail was an anonymous address; and Short Sam dug a little and uncovered the address 'firstminister@gmail
He sighed and scratched his beards. He had a feeling BROTA was out of their league. Overwhelmingly out of depth.

Dedicated to:
Magicmeemee Charminee Ann2012 Phoenixchap joislim criis bigbauer ekopsparoAyara iamloyalty mynet11 explosive04 oroolorun chisiudeh queenitee joshnes opeade939 Segibambo paafin horladstar proncessadeola uthman51 stevodot22 hazardman Godwinfury jeweltab dimssy kaycee9242 mcbliss samexdx chizzymaris jumizie13 kunleAJ helenbee charminee

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


?? ??

The nosy woman beside her didn't sleep again. Which meant she couldn't sleep either because she could feel the threat radiating off the woman. She could almost imagine the woman screaming and waking up the whole bus, calling her names like kidnapper or ritualist.....

But the woman did no such thing. Yet each time she glanced at her she saw the uneasy suspicion on her face.
She cursed herself for loosing control. She had planned everything down to the last but the call had really disorganized her. How could Buzz let himself get captured?
She would deal with that when she got to Lagos, the most pressing issue right now was the woman beside her whose antenna ears had picked up her short outburst.


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


Tonye tapped her foot impatiently, stepping on her own imaginary pedal. The road was free yet the driver was doing about 60km/h.

"Driver....I swear if you don't step on it I'd book another taxi right now and you'd drop us" she threatened.
The needle rose to 80.
She dialled Kirsten's number worriedly. Alli no Joy had sounded disoriented, unbelieving and unbelievably pissed in the recording and she could imagine her assistant would scare easily at the sight of him.

"hello"

"hey Kirsten.....we're on our way...Rex's father is awake?"

"yes ma...."

she heard his voice over the line "who's that, is that Rex?"

"My God why is he shouting.....just hang on, few more minutes okay?"

"No sir, its my boss....what about Olivia....don't worry ma...I'm okay here...I'm just briefing Mr Obasi about everything that has happened so far, but Mrs olivia would need to see a farmiliar face when she wakes up"
Kirsten said

Tonye felt a strange feeling of maternal pride swell inside her. Her Kirsten could hold her own alright.
"you have a point, nevertheless I'd be there soon"

She ended the call.

"how's she?" Clyde asked

"oh she's okay....did you hear that?" she asked suddenly

"no..."

They listened and soon enough they heard the muffled sound again. It was coming from the booth.

"mmmmmm......mmmmmmmmm....mmmm"

"he's awake" clyde said


"good thing you stuck that sock down his mouth, he would have started shouting and draw attention to the car" although the road was almost empty. "Driver have we passed the hospital?" Tonye asked

"I took a different route but there's a five minute shortcut I can take to the hospital"

"why what's wrong?" Clyde asked

"Olivia needs security, she shouldn't be alone....so we'd drop you at the hospital"

"but what about him?"
Clyde jerked his thumb towards the booth.

"mmmmmm.....mmmmm......mmm!" came from the booth as if to say ' yes, what about me?

"oh I can handle him...besides Ally no joy is awake right?"

Her phone rang before he could reply.

"hello Kirsten"

"I want in"

"what....Bigelow?"

"I want in....I don't know whatever it is you're involved in but it has become my battle now....I want in"
she could hardly recognize Ryan Bigelow's voice. It was filled with so much raw pain and anger.

"Ryan, what happ-"

"Tonye, I just watched my brother die in my hands. killed by the assasin who mistook him for me....I WANT IN!"

Tonye was stunned then sorrowful. Her heart ached for his loss. She had never met Ryan's brother but her conscience told her she had played a hand in his death the very minute she involved Bigelow in the messy situation.
She almost blurted out' i'm sorry' but she knew better. that would be a slap in the face of Ryan presently so instead she took a deep breath and said "welcome to the BROTA agency"

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

"So you're telling me the whole family was drugged? And a woman came in the house and shot Olivia and stole my grand daughter?" Alli no joy asked

"y-yes sir"

"but how did she manage to drug everybody? and if we were all asleep why did she wake Olivia up and shoot her in the legs?"

Kirsten was silent. How come that fact hadn't crossed anybody's mind?
The only explanation she could think of was that it was something personal or Olivia had been awake. But even if she had been awake it was still personal. Besides Clyde said he had mopped up the blood and tidied up. There was no blood stained bedsheet anywhere meaning she probably hadn't been in bed.
"Sir..." she said slowly as Ally no joy stood up and began pacing. The air vibrated with violent energy "its possible that only olivia wasn't drugged, maybe she didn't eat whatever it was that was contaminated.
"

"hmmmm....it must have been in the park maybe......and you say Rex is in the hospital...just what exactly is going on?"

Before Kirsten could attempt to give an answer she didn't have, Rex's sister stumbled into the dining room. Her eyes were also bloodshot and she looked like hell
.

"God I have a splitting headache and I can't find the panadol" she said sleepily.
"I can't believe I went to bed without showering and changing my clothes" she muttered to herself then her eyes settled a bit and she noticed the two people in the room.
"Dad good morning...." she said groggily

"actually its 11pm, you've been asleep since last night" Kirsten corrected

"wait...what?"


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


The man had a lovely voice. It seemed to caress Dagnet and she shut her eyes as she tuned her mind to his words. She could literally feel the regret, the guilt, the anger being flushed away or sucked into the vacuum as the man had called it.

She could go on sitting with her legs folded till eternity. She had never felt this relaxed in her life. Plus a cool breeze kept blowing her even though she hadn't noticed any window or a.c in the room.
It took her a long time before she realized he had stopped talking. She opened her eyes slowly. The strange man remained on the mat across studying her intently. She suddenly realized she had misjudged his age, probably from the poor lightening in the room but he looked to be around early 50's at most.

"Well....our session is over, I'd like you to come back if possible tomorrow or anytime you're free within the week"

She blinked trying to remember why she had come in the first place.

"There are some excercise i'd like to show you...and its best done outdoors and in the morning...i'd recommend a nice spot surrounded by trees where you have a clear view of the sky."

"excercise......" the man had a strong jawline and with his ponytail she found him very attractive indeed.

He laughed "oh no.....not like press up or any kind of thing, its a different type of excercise....its called lifting the sky....there's another one called heaven and earth...it would take just 5 minutes tops and its the best excersice for replenishing and purifying your soul...I can give you videos but I'd prefer to teach you myself"

"well I believe I could make time in the morning" she didn't have a job anymore after all and for the first time the thought wasn't so painful.
Suddenly everything came rushing back and she remembered why she had come.

"oh dear...."

"what is it? remember, kick all negativity out the gateway"

"no its not that.....the owner of this club...mister Amunike, where can I see him? Its very urgent"

The man's voice changed a bit and she thought she saw his expression darken "what's the matter?"

"actually....." she stopped herself just in time. She had almost blurted out everything. It was time to leave. "you know what, never mind" she got up and he followed

"there's a massage therapist and I'd strongly advice she looses the knotes in your shoulders, you'd feel competely different trust me"
he walked her to the door.

"okay I'd like that" maybe she would be able to get answers from the masseuse

"as for your earlier question, he's not around...but he should be tomorrow"

"oh...thanks so much"

"So I'd see you in the morning?"

"definitely"


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


With tears in his eyes, Bigelow stood over the shallow grave he had dug for his brother. This was not the befitting burial a hero like Thomas Bigelow deserved.
Bigelow stood looking into the grave at his brother for over an hour just crying. The moon was out in full and he could see his brother clearly. Just his body in the earth, no casket, no priest, no pall bearers nothing!
"forgive me brother....I never should have involved you in this....forgive me..." he broke down again and fell to his knees. he dropped the spade and dug his hands into the soil he had dug out. Slowly almost one grain at a time he began filling up the grave and with every fistful of sand he cried harder and begged his brother's forgiveness.

There's nothing to forgive bro, I wouldn't have forgiven you if you hadn't come to me...but you did...there's nothing to forgive. I love you always....


Ryan heard the words clearly in his head and he felt a chill and a cold breeze sweep over him.
He stopped crying and got to his feet. he picked up the spade.

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


When the cab finally pulled up in front of the house it was already past 12.
Tonye brought out her gun then tapped the booth, signalling the driver to open it.
He popped the trunk and she opened it fully half praying Buzz would spring at her so she could shoot him and bury the 9 rounds in her chamber into his skull. But he remained in his fetal postion and she realized he was asleep. The bastard could still sleep after everything he had done. She stood contemplating how she would drag him out of the booth. She didn't want to involve the driver anymore than he was already but she had no choice. She wouldn't be able to carry Buzz to the house alone. She almost called the driver to help her but changed her mind. she shut the booth and hurried into the house. She came out a minute later with Alli no joy.

He stumped to the booth and when the driver opened it, he hefted Buzz roughly like a bag of pure water and carried him inside.

By this time Buzz was awake, wide awake.

Inside, Alli dumped the betrayer roughly on the floor then looked at Tonye. His eyes were hard. "So what did you find out from him?" he asked

"please come with me sir...just a minute, you too Kirsten...." she glanced at Utebo who continued staring into space. She was having a hard time digesting everything that had happened and was happening.

Once they were out in the open Tonye said. "We need to sweep the house, I found a listening device in the address Buzz gave us....I could hear every word you said."

"What? you mean my house has been bugged all this while?" Alli no joy was outraged

"No sir i think its more recent...." she glanced at her assistant "Kirsten, where were you people talking when I called earlier?"

"We were in the kitchen"

"good lets start from there....its safe to assume everywhere in the house is bugged but the main transmission must be in the kitchen, the signal was just too clear"

"wait wait wait....hold on" Alli raised his hands "that man you brought in planned with the kidnapper shey?"

"yes"

"which means he was probably involved with the bugging or atleast he knows about it....we'll get the exact spot from him" with that he turned and went back into the house.

He came out seconds later holding Buzz by the collar. This time Buzz was on his feet and the jumper cable that bound his legs had been removed and Ally no joy had it in his hands. He glanced at Tonye "release his handcuffs"

"But..."
she tossed him the keys when his eyes narrowed. She brought out her gun just in case. Buzz was a trained agent after all, he was dangerous.

Ally removed the cuffs and dropped them on the floor with the cable. His voice was rough when he finally spoke "Listen, I'm going to say this once. you have a fair chance here, If you beat me you're free to go....just like that but if I beat you, you're going to tell me where the listening device is and everything you know or else I slit your throat....and if you refuse to fight, I'll slit your throat anyway"

"But I already told agent Tonye everything I know" Buzz protested. But he was thinking; ....this man doesn't know he is old, he thinks he's still a badass he doesn't know things have changed...I'll beat him to a pulp and maybe kill him, then Bleep sweet Kirsten, she always thought she was too good for me always turning down my advances, well I'd show her......
If only he could get a gun...

"That would mean you refuse....so the throat cut then" Ally said and there was no doubt he meant every word.

"Sir..." tonye was uncomfortable with the way things were proceeding but she couldn't really offer any resistance. If only Rex were here or Andy, they were closer to him and could handle him. To an extent at least.

Ally looked at her and Buzz who had been rubbing his wrists saw the perfect opening. He delivered a perfect right cross to the side of Ally's head, expecting to see the old man crumble to his knees but instead Ally looked at him and rubbed the spot.

"I take it you accept then"

Ally no joy clenched his fists. He had so much rage and he needed something to fight back, offer some kind of resistance and he had just found the perfect outlet.

He cracked his knuckles then both men began circling each other.


Ten seconds later Tonye replaced her gun in the holster. There would be no need for that. instead she hoped Ally no joy didn't kill their only suspect.

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


Dagnet was led into another room by the nude lady in the nylon dress and was told the masseuse would be with her in a minute. This room was different, there was a stereo playing classic blues westlife or backstreet boys, she never could tell the difference.

She counted to ten then slipped out of the room. She walked down the dimly lit hallway observing the strange paintings on the wall.

Finally she came to a door lettered 'O'

She turned the knob and entered.

The room was cloudy and she caught the whiff of marijuana immediately. There were 4 people in the room and none of them seemed to notice her. They were all far gone so she took her time to study the room. It was spacious, the a/c was on and there were half a dozen bean bag chairs scattered round the room, well spaced to give everyone privacy and judging by the way the occupants all sank in the chair, It was either filled with feathers, water or the cushin was just extra soft.
There was a small table in front of every chair and on this table there were ashtrays, red paper cups filled with unspeakable mixtures and other paraphernalia she couldn't see clearly. There was a giant television and a music video was playing in high definition although the thick smoke in the air reduced the video quality.

She studied the occupants. 3 men and 1 woman. the men were all smoking apart from the woman who had about three rows of white powder lined on her table. She had a crisp 5 naira note which she rolled up and to enable her sniff the powder effectively.

She ran the 'vacuum' across the table sniffing deeply then rolled her head back in ecstacy. "
Hey come have a seat join us...lemme ring the bell." she said noticing Dagnet for the first time and without a word Dagnet hurriedly exited the room.

Rooms P-W were all locked from the inside and she didn't need to guess why. She could hear the moans and cries of pleasure coming from within. The 'sexually frustrated' she guessed.

"miss....what are you doing here....it is against club policy to wander about" The nude girl was back again. This time she was followed by a man in a dress. A bloody dress! The nude lady led him to the room Dagnet had been about to enter and she was glad she hadn't entered. She definitely didn't want to know what was going on there.

The lady turned to face her. "I have to ask you to leave....its against club rules to wander about into rooms you have no business with...this is a place everyone strives for anonymity"

"To be honest I had no idea a place like this existed in this country...the owner must be a man of vision"

The nude girl beamed "oh he is....he is very special indeed"

"wonderful....is he in? I'd like to see him briefly"

Nude girl glanced at her so sharply dagnet almost flinched.
"This way please, you have to leave now"

[i]It seems someone is in love...[/i]Dagnet thought to herself.

She collected her phone from the bouncers, ignored the lesbian's not so subtle advances and headed for her car.

Behind the wheel she went through everything in her mind. She had basically learnt nothing...well not nothing exactly, she had learnt a great deal about ancient chineese philosophy but she still had no idea what Amunike jnr knew about the kidnapping or the explosion or if he and his father had a hand in everything that had happened so far.

One thing she knew though; something was going on in the club...something really fishy.

phoenixchap:
Bro I'm still waiting for the lil extra you spoke of na..

� the extra has been dropped na

jeweltab:
I must comment! you are good, this story is a banger, keep up the good work, more wisdom to your brain, thanks for sharing this with us

Gracias mon ami...and thank you for reading

Criis:
Caught up, finally!

Finally!! good to have you my man, welcome

okeyben10:
thanks man

now lemme go n read

phoenixchap:
Thanks for the mention and update, but it is said more thirst is the cure for thirst, can't stop yawning for more...... Kudos Souloho19

Don't go too far , there's a lil extra

Dedication: To every father out there who would grind and go the exrtra mile for their family. We love y'all even though we don't say it enough...


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


Dagnet exited the 3rd mainland bridge reciting the address over and over in her head. Emenike, the chief's first son had a club in Obalende. The name of the club was 'Rebel'. As in [i[club rebel.[/i]
She just wanted to ask questions that was all. And even though she didn't have the power of her badge anymore and she wasn't a cop any more, she was obsessed with seeing justice served in this particular case.

There had been news paper articles about the chief's son, all claiming he was also involved in his father's illegal business but no solid proof. All it took was a confession from chief Amunike exempting his children from his charges on the basis of ignorance.
But the word on the street was that Emenike was his father's right hand man.

Finally she located the club and she didn't know what to think. It wasn't what she had expected at all. The building was flashy enough with neon lights flashing the name; club Rebel but there was almost no sign of life outside. No blasting music, no body selling suya or scoochies for the club goers. Instead about a dozen cars were parked round the building. Some cars were parked carelessly and took up double space so she spent almost ten minutes before she parked her vehicle. She considered taking her gun with her then finally strapped it under her seat.

It was just as well she left her gun because there was a female bouncer as well as a male. The woman was obviously a weight lifter and she had impressive muscles and broad shoulders for a lady. Dagnet instinctively thought she was a dyke. She had that aura about her.

The search was thorough and intimate, confirming Dagnet's suspicions about the woman's sexuality ,finally the bouncer stepped back and blew a bubble with the gum she chewed noisily. "she's clean" she announced

"How did you find out about club rebel?" the man asked her

"errrm....an online friend recommended it on face book"

"what exactly are you looking for in club rebel?"

"uhm....I just want to have few hours to myself without worrying about the children or what they'll eat tomorrow" She never knew she was such a good liar. She rarely needed to lie. Most times she flashed her badge and people started talking

The man observed her then nodded deciding he was satisfied with her reply.
"you have to drop your phone and every gadget here...you'll take it on your way out"

she dug into her pocket for her phone wondering what kind of club the chief's son was running.

"No pictures allowed darling" The female bouncer/body builder said with a wink.
She handed her a book to fill in her name and sign.

Dagnet signed then handed her phone and was allowed in through the velvet rope. She heard the male bouncer say "Christ! if you keep hitting on all the women, what will I do?"

The club had dim red lights in the hallway and doors on each side lettered A,B,C,D.....
Where was the dancehall? The bar? VIP?
She had imagined the club would be full of gyrating bodies and she'd mix easily and probably see Emenike in the VIP corner, surrounded by girls or something like that.

"please take of your footware" a woman in a transparent dress instructed her. she complied
"are you a first timer or a club member?"

"first timer"

"so what is it you're looking for? what is it the rebel in you seeks but society won't let you explore?"
The woman was of a mixed race and Dagnet could detect something asian in her accent.

Dagnet was at a loss for words. what she needed was the bald headed Emenike who was the spitting image of his father to answer her questions.
She didn't understand all these rebellious talk!

"Are you sexually frustrated, or mentally? are you stressed? or is it physical? whatever you need, you'll get here"
the woman assured her. The red light made it impossible to tell but Dagnet thought she was light skinned

Now Dagnet hadn't had sex since dinosours became extinct and she had survived so far by channeling the drive to her work but now....

she felt herself considering the temptation but with steely resolve she said "I just lost my job....I need to ease the stress off my shoulders...I want to be at peace with my soul"
She was a bit suprised she had said that.

The woman nodded, finally satisfied "follow me"



:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Rex

"Jimoh....get in touch with Olivia, I need to speak to her, call my parents....i need to speak to them, call tonye, I need to speak to her" I shouted at my assistant.
He looked confused and held his phone unsure of what to do "sir, which one?"

"call anyone! the first to pick or maybe the first on your contact list, just fucking dial!" I shouted
I winced in pain, the result of raising my voice and Jimoh pressed his mobile cell to his ear.

"Andy did you see the hilux outside?" Bami asked

"I'm not sure...we came in another car though"
Andy answered

I couldn't even remember how we had ended up in the hospital, if we had come by molue, or the hilux or if we had been carried . The main thing was it was time to bounce.

"we need to leave here....Jimoh I need you to book another flight as soon....." I trailed of when Jimoh thrust the phone at me "its ringing"
"who is it?"

"its agent Tonye"

"hellooo....can I speak to my wife?" Bami said

I ignored him and took the phone and waited for her to pick up.

"hello...Tonye"

"hello....Rex?"

"yes, how is my family? have you seen Olivia? any news of my daughter?"

she sounded distracted "not yet, Olivia is fine, she's recovering..your family is sleeping the effects of the drug off....and Emma...well I'm on a lead now, hopefully before morning she'd be back safe and sound"

I heard a car horn from her side of the line. She was on the move, and here I was stagnant!

"What of bami, is he awake?"
she asked

"yes..." I gave the phone to Jimoh and he rushed to Bami who was already turning purple.

"hello honey..." terms of endearment flew out of his mouth rapidly now adays. I blanked out their conversation. At least he was talking to his wife. I hadn't even heard my own wife's voice.

Slowly I placed my feet firmly on the floor and pulled my self up with all the strength I could muster

"heey...relax bro don't do that" Andy said. He sounded horrified.

"its okay, see...one step at a time" I tried to take a step forward but the pain was back, in double dose this time around. I returned to the bed slowly, careful not to exert pressure on the right side of my torso where most of the pain originated from.


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


Kirsten sat at the dinner table going through her tab and glancing through all the reports she had compiled for Tonye. There had to be something everyone was overlooking...something to crack the case.

She was lost in the hotel balcony stabbing report when she heard a scraping sound. She glanced up immediately, her hand going to her side arm reflexively. It was a necessity for all agents of BROTA whether senior or juinior to go through the week long gun training program and the shooting examination at the end. She was a decent shot. And that was her just being modest.

A huge man stumbled into the dining in khaki shorts and a singlet. He had massive strong calves or 'yam legs' although he was old, he was tough looking and very fit. She imagined how he would have been like twenty years ago, probably a young rascal causing trouble wherever he went.
But he was Rex's father now.
He was Alli no joy.
And he was currently disoriented. He rubbed his eyes which were bloodshot then scratched his head as he looked round the dining as if it was his first time there.
His eyes finally settled on her "Who are you? where's everybody? Why do i sound like this?"

His voice was cracked, probably from all the snoring.

Kirsten stood up slowly "sir, a lot has happened while you were sleeping, I'd advise you to sit down"

He rolled his neck sharply causing a loud cracking noise. "who are you?" he asked again. he sounded less friendly now and his voice was much clearer.

"I work with your son Rex....I'm here because....because your grand daughter Emma was kidnapped"

The eyes cleared immediately, they remained red but this time not from sleepiness. Alli no Joy stopped scratching his head and blinked at her "What?!"

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


When Tonye ended the call, she felt slightly better. She had just spoken with Rex and Bami and from the sound of things they were okay...plus Bami had called her honey again and even told her he loved her. She couldn't remember when last they had said that to each other since their little wedding ceremony 2 and a half years ago.

She noticed the car had stopped moving
.
"driver is this the place?" She asked

"yes"

Clyde nodded studying his phone "he's right, we're here"

The apartment was small, and on its own, not really in line with theo ther houses in the close and not the same design. It looked like it had been built on afterthought.

Buzz was handcuffed and still unconscious but Tonye wasn't convinced, plus she couldn't leave him with the driver, an innocent civilian whether he was unconscious or not.

Finally she and Clyde doubled the handcuffs then used jumper cables from the booth to shackle his feet together. They folded him in the booth like a foetus is the womb after tonye reloaded his slumber with a gun slap.

"Driver, five minute tops and we're out" Clyde assured the driver who didn't look the least bit bothered by what was happening

She and Clyde headed for the house watching the dark windows. "Clyde remember the baby might be in here so we need to be extra careful"

"roger that"

It was strange to find the front door unlocked and according to proceedure, Tonye stayed to the side then pushed the door open slowly while Clyde went in gun first.
Tonye followed him and five seconds later it was established that the house was empty. whoever had been here probably left in a hurry although there was barely any furniture to begin with, there were a few telling signs to the critical eye. She guessed the apartment was just a crash pad, somewhere to squat and not the main hide out.

Clyde called out from the inner room "i found something"

she hurried to the room and saw the device. It was medieval looking box with lots of wires but she could recognize the mechanical disc moving in circular motion. it was a recording device, receiving transmission from somewhere. The head set was on the table unplugged and Clyde plugged it into a port under the word 'AUX'

She wore the head set and the voices filled her ears. As clear as crystal.

"What do you mean my grand daughter was kidnapped? who took her? How? Somebody wants to die.....Oh somebody is going to die....Emma? my Emma?!..."

The voice sounded strained, confused and was steadily building towards anger.

She recognized the next voice as Kirsten as her assistant stuttered "well sir....its...its just a matter of time...I believe she is being rescued as we speak"

"Great! just what we need....Rex's father is awake"
Tonye sighed

Her tone baffled Clyde. He had heard the tales of the man named Alli who had no joy. 'isn't that a good thing?" he asked

"sure...but....' she looked for the right adjective to describe her feelings "you know how a juggernaut is shey? that's Alli for you, once he gets started he won't stop till he knocks down every wall, no matter what"

"with all due respect ma'am that's a good thing, its to our advantage he's on our side"

"yes..you're right, I only worry cause he can't really be controlled"

"man always fears what he can't control....maybe that's what we need now, because if you look at it, we've not been in control so far"

She studied the agent for a second "well that's an interesting perspective, I never knew you were this wise.." T

he topic of their discussion raised his voice in the headset and she removed it and headed for the door "we better hurry before he thinks Kirsten is a wall too"

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


Tom Bigelow walked down the stairs slowly. There was a camera on the downstairs above the gate but he didn't care about that now. he just wanted to get out of the building.

Outside was chilly and cold. He glanced across at the building his brother was positioned. watching his back. He couldn't see any sign of him but he could feel the eyes on him. Ryan was that good.

The counselor had fixed energy light bulbs in strategic places for security reasons and Tom was under a street light when it suddenly went out and the glass rained on him. Someone had shot the light out!

He looked around and crouched low as his pulse started the relay race again and he caught sight of movement to his left. The form was very swift and was more like a shadow. But the shadow of what exactly?
Alarm bells went off in his head and he fired three shots in the direction. he turned round and round with his gun, not knowing where the attack would come from but feeling the attack was coming.

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

Bigelow had his eye glued to the scope and he watched his brother walk out of the building and relief flooded through him. He couldn't still believe he had agreed to the plan in the first place. He was never placing him in such danger again.
Even as the thoughts bounced round his head, the street light suddenly went off. No gunshot nothing, but he knew it had been shot. He scanned the street hurriedly but it was all darkness. He couldn't even see his brother.
When he heard the gunshots he almost jumped down from the building but instead he grabbed the sniper and got to his feet and with lightening spped rushed down the stairs three at a time.



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

The woman led Dagnet down a different corridor then opened the door. She stood to the side and gestured for the ex detective to enter. Dagnet wished she had her gun with her, although she ws a little curious.

The room was spacious, illuminated by a purple bulb. There were two mats on the floor and a flower pot in the center. That was all.
Dagnet eyed all these things skeptically from where she stood just beside the door. A minute later the door opened and an elderly man entered. He had his hair in a pony tail and both ears were pierced although he wore just a silver stud in his left lobe.
He seemed to float into the room.

"miss Dagnet, shall we begin our session? you seek inner peace?"

she studied the man without responding. What kind of game was going on here?"
Actually what I seek is the manager of this club, or whatever this is....Mr Amunike"

"Miss Dagnet you must first of all understand that no one can give you inner peace...inner peace is inside of you, but most times things from the outside eclipse it" the man said like she hadn't spoken, he sat down on a mat and folded his legs "I'm told this is your first session, so what we'll focus on doing is packing together all the things smothering your inner peace. Like a vacuum.." he made a motion she couldn't decipher with his hands "then we'll send everything where it should be...back outside into the trash can, and only then can you get innerpeace, come sit down....your aura is quite interesting....I can sense your soul is clogged with contradicting emotions"

Dagnet found herself sitting and folding her legs.

The strange man took her hands in his "First of all you must understand something important, as your physical body has few openings like the mouth, nose, anus and so on....so it also has openings called gateways that are not visible. Now this gateways are specific spots in your body and ancient chinese philosophers and monks believed that essence of life, human essence which they call qi or which our very own eastern brothers call Chi can either increase or diminish through these gateways. The very middle of your head is one, the inside of your elbows, the center of your collarbone, they're over 20 and......"

For a moment Dagnet forgot the reason she had found herself in club rebel that night. And to be honest she was indeed a troubled soul. after all.


It took Ryan Bigelow 18 seconds to get to the spot the bulb had gone out. He had his torch out and the sig sauer in his hands and he scanned the street with apprehension.

"Tom?....brother?" he called out.

He heard the groan and flashed the torch. Immediately the beam fell on the form his heart sunk. He could tell it was his brother. He rushed to his side and fell on his knees. "Tom...Oh God" he scanned his brother looking for where he had been shot. But the question was sadly where hadn't he been shot? His brother was riddled with holes like a crazy secretary had run loose with the perforator in an office full of A4 paper.

"Its okay Tom, stay with me....stay with me" Ryan Bigelow had only cried twice in his life. When his mother died and four months later when his dad followed and now he was crying again.

Tom coughed up blood as he tried to speak "Its okay bro...don't be afraid....don't cry....I can see it all clearly now..I've never felt so alive, its....its too bad it took me dying to realize......" Thomas Bigelow never got to complete his sentence.

Dedication: Explosive04 Godwinfury Kaycee9242 Ann2012 dimssy tonyxxx helenbee pweetygiftofGod Boffinjay konphido oroolorun paqman mayorkay jeweltab queenitee stevodot22sexyolori evaristomonarch joshnes criis illicitblood rayvelez fatherjp phoenixchap ekopsparoAyara Honourable356 Hazardman cerowo whocarex sussybae patotelli horladstar silvertrinity charminee


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


Ryan had given Tom a detailed description of the counselor's office and Tom walked straight ahead, counting the few agents hunched over computers. There were 3 agents in all. The overly dedicated ones so thirsty for success that they did not mind working 24/7

He reached the end and glanced back quickly before he turned right. no one seemed to pay him any special attention.
He located the counselor's office. It was the only office without a name plate on the door. He paused for a moment debating whether he should knock or barge in.
Finally he knocked
He expected to hear the words 'come in' instead the counselor asked "who is it?"
"damn...."
He barged into the office pulling out his glock as he did so. The counselor was in his chair and he looked up as Thomas Bigelow barged into his office but he didn't say a thing. He studied Bigelow showing no hint of fear even with the gun pointed at him.

"stand up...on your feet! keep your fucking hands where I can see them" Tom instructed as he advanced closer.

The counselor remained sitting "do you know the implication of what you're doing? you'r a terrorist now, an enemy of the federal republic of Nigeria"

Bigelow cocked his gun " I won't repeat myself stand up!"

Just then the door swung open and Bulky came charging in. Tom swiveled but before he could get a clear shot the giant crashed into him pushing him on the table. The counselor rolled his chair back, his face remained impassive as he watched the men struggle. He was totally at ease, there was only one way the fight could end and that was in Bulky's favour.
If he had a cigarette or if he smoked he would have smoked one, that was how at ease and calm he felt.

Bigelow held on to the gun tight trying with all his might to keep the muzzle from pointing at his face. Bulky was stronger than him and Tom could feel his wrist snapping as it literally turned on him.

The gun was few inches from his face and Bulky smiled "good bye fool, hope you enjoy hell"

Bigelow tried to knee him in the groin but there was no space to make an impact. He was pinned across the table and Bulky's huge frame was suffocating.

"bulky hurry up and clean the mess when you blow out his brains" the counselor snapped impatiently.

"yes sir" Bulky replied with a wicked grin

The words seemed to spark a circuit in Tom's brain.......blow out his brain? his very own brain? see the way they were talking about his brain as if they were talking about fish intestine? they were going to blow his brains out and it was going to make a mess that would probably be mopped up.

Tom relaxed his hand from the barrel and immediately his wrist was free, he raised his hand with lightening reflex and pulled back the chamber of the gun disarming it. The bullet catridge slipped out from the the butt of the gun the same time Bulky pulled the trigger.
Click!

Tom closed his eyes waiting for the farmiliar pain of a gun shot wound or the black void that could only mean death.

"You motherfucker! you want to play smart right?" Bulky sneered and dropped the disarmed gun tto the floor then he loaded his fist and punched Bigelow straight in the face.

He saw stars, big giant stars, the type that used to turn round and round over his cot when he was just a baby. Then it got harder to breathe. It took him few seconds to realize that Bulky was choking the life out of him with his extra large hands. Everything was begining to look blue and feel blue. Tom could taste the blood from his tongue as he bit into it with every choking sound he made.
He tried to pry the hands from his neck but it was locked in a death grip. His eyes were already closing as he put his left hand in his jacket pocket and pulled out the maxim9. He raised his hand weakly to Bulky's side. He was sliding into unconsciousness already and he was in a subconscious state when he pulled the trigger. Three rounds blasted out of the semi auto and into the mid region of the giant.
The hands on his throat went lax at once releasing Tom's wind pipe from its grip and Tom gasped for air as Bulky fell on him fully.

His throat felt bruised on the inside and inbetween short breaths he managed to shove Bulky off him.

The counselor's mouth hung open in suprise and disbelief and Tom stood up keeping the gun level on him.

"for the last time, get on your feet and put your hands where I can see them!" he instructed.

It happened fast, the counselor must have had a gun taped under his desk and removed it during the brief struggle. He raised the gun intending to shoot but Tom was faster. He fired two shots, burying both of them in the left side of his chest. The heart region. The counselor died immediately.
"Shit!" Tom said

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

Bigelow observed the window through his sniper scope. when he heard the gunshot, he zoomed into the office. The window only afforded him a view of part of the cubicled offices but two agents were in his field of view. When the first three gunshots rang out, both of them became alert and made hurried gestures. Bigelow thought they looked confused. When the second 'double' gunshots rang out almost immediately, one of the agents pulled his gun out and rushed out of the office and out of his field of sight.

The second agent bent down briefly and when he stood up straight, Bigelow saw the machine gun clearly. He didn't think, he squeezed the trigger immediately, hitting the man in the throat. Although he had wanted a head shot. The agent went down immediately.

Ryan quickly dialled his brother. They hadn't bothered with any communication device or walkie talkie before because of the detailed scrutiny at the gate.


::::::
Tom stood looking at the counselor's dead body slumped in the chair. Now what?

He heard a strange noise and turned sharply. It was Bulky groaning in pain. Three bullets hadn't killed the bastard. Tom placed the muzzle above his ear and squeezed the trigger, blowing a gulf ball hole in his head. "looks like its your own mess they'll be mopping up" he said

His phone vibrated and he guessed it was his brother calling to enquire about the gunshots. well he'd just have to tell him the only witness was now dead.
"hello"

:::::::::
"Tom there are agents heading your-" Bigelow was interrupted by the gunfire.

"hello...Tom, Tom....are you there...Tom, speak to me buddy..." he shouted into the receiver but there was no reply.


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

The driver was indeed a 'sure' guy. He drove them through twists and turns till they got to a deserted alley.

Buzz was already shaking his head awake when Tonye got down. Clyde grabbed Buzz by the scruff of the neck and hauled him out of the car. Buzz had long been disarmed and didn't even have a pen knife or even a pen on him.

The driver killed the lights but Tonye told him to switch the headlights back on...in full glare. Clyde forced Buzz to his knees facing the blinding light.
"who did you let into the house last night?" Tonye shouted into his ear

"I...I don't know what...."

"you planned it so she will come when it was your turn to be on the look out! who is she?"

"I have no idea wha-"

BANG!

The bullet was deafening and Buzz could definitely hear a buzz in his ears.

Tonye had placed the gun next to his ears and fired at the trash cans in a corner.

"I don't know her name I swear! a couple of months ago I met her in a bar and one thing led to another and the next thing I know I'm doing stuffs for her"

Tonye clicked the gun. The sound was chilling in the late night. "just like that?"

"she paid me...she's very rich but it wasn't about the money...I loved her"

"So you helped her kidnap a little girl?"

"I...I didn't know....she said she was owed money and needed to take it since they refused to pay.....I knew it was a lie but I believed her to calm my conscience."

"you're a worthless human being. Tell me, where can I find her?"

"i...I loved her" he stammered shielding his eyes from the head lights.

"Keep telling yourself that" Clyde said in disgust

"where can I find her? How do you locate her?" Tonye barked

Buzz was silent filtering the details in his head...deciding what to and what not to reveal.

BANG!

Tonye fired another shot again and Buzz grabbed his ear, cupping it in both hands. "She has an apartment downtown makurdi, I've been there twice" he rattled the address still holding his ear.

Tonye looked at clyde for confirmation as he hurriedly typed the address in his google map application. He nodded. "Its about 20 minutes from here" he said

She looked at Buzz. "I so badly want to shoot you now, but we'll hold on to you as collateral....as long as Emma is still with her. If she cares for you as you claim, she'll want you safe."

She and Clyde hauled him to his feet and she waited until he had walked by himself to the car before she hit him hard on the head with her gun again. sending him on an all expense paid trip to oblivion.


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

The moment Tom answered the phone, the door crashed open and two agents rushed in with their guns drawn.

The joy of a semiautomatic weapon was the continuous fire and Tom clamped his index finger down on the trigger and sprayed the entrance with the gun. When the bullets finished he was already pulling out the desert eagle and firing. He continued shooting until he felt a pain in his left hip. One of the agents had shot him with his last dying strength.
His eyes cleared a bit and the adrenaline rushed out of his head as he looked round the room were the fallen lay. He had killed four men. Four!.....but wait a minute he had counted 3 agents outside...one was missing. One agent was still out there.
He picked his phone which had fallen to the floor at a point. A frantic Bigelow was at the other end.

"Hello! Hello Brother?!"

"i'm here man"

"My God! thank God you're okay"

"The counselor is dead"

"it doesn't matter just get out of there"

"i think there's still one more agent..."

"I've taken care of him already"

"okay I'm coming out"

"alright bro...I got your back"


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

The real shadow heard the gunshots from his spot under the tree. He froze for a minute, considering his next action, maybe he should back away, he would strike another day. But he remained. The pride of an assasin is not just the kill record, but to be able to kill fearlessly, ruthlessly and efficiently. The shadow was the best at it because he was always careful and logical however he was a man. And men had egos. His was larger than most.

So he remained in his spot with his gun still out, thinking of the lethal injection in his pocket and trying to decide which to use between the bullet and the syringe.

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

The wife in question directed Buzz to the taxi. The agent made to sit in front but Tonye blocked him "no, no....its better you sit behind"

he nooded then slid into the car unaware Clyde strolled out of the hospital that very minute. Tonye glanced at Clyde and tilted her head. The agent immediately went round the car to the other side and yanked the door open. Tonye brought her gun out and slid in through the other door. She and Clyde had Buzz sandwiched perfectly inbetween them, Their guns pressed aginst his sides.

That was when his phone began to ring

"aren't you gonna answer that?" Tonye asked

"errmm...." he glanced from her to Clyde "what's going on ma....what's going on Buddy....what happened?"

"you're going to tell us who you helped get in the house....the crazy bitch you talked about earlier"

"I don't understand.....what do you mean?" he asked with a straight face that Tonye almost shot him in the ribs. instead she raised her gun and smacked him hard on the temple.

Clyde dug into Buzz's pockets and brought out the phone which was still ringing he handed it to Tonye.

She picked the line but remained silent.

"hello, Buzz....do you hear me...I need you to disappear right now...your cover has.......hello, Buzz?"

"Listen to me and listen good....you better not harm one hair on that baby's head....whatever you want...we will get it to you for Emma's safe return....but know this for what you did to Olivia...I would not rest until I-"

"Oh shut up....you people don't even have no idea what is going on....running round like headless chicken....release Buzz at once....and tell Rex if he wants to see his daughter, he better rise up from whatever sick bed he is and start doing as he is told because he has a lot of-"

"hello....hello!!" Tonye shouted into the receiver but the call was lost.

The driver had been quiet all along. Now he turned and observed Buzz, whose head was lolled to the side, unconscious from the gun slap. "so where to?" he asked with a straight voice.

She glanced at Clyde. "we have to get answers from him....but I don't want us to take him to the house...plus I'm not comfortable leaving Olivia all by herself"

Clyde nodded then said to the driver "driver, shey you be sure guy....you know whats up, please just take us to any very coded place around here....like any backyard, somewhere that is lonely and quiet and is not far from here....we won't spend up to ten minutes."

The driver was already nodding as long as the meter was running, even if they wanted to go to the moon, he would drive them there


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

...No mobile network..' the call disconnected to be replaced with the annoying message.
The bus was back speeding through a remote area. She felt like smashing the phone in anger, but the baby whimpered and she remembered where she was.
The woman beside her must have woken sometime during her call and she stared at her with wide eyes. She must have heard her threat about Rex not seeing his daughter again.

"what is it?" she snapped at the woman

She shook her head quickly, but the message in her eyes were very clear. It said she had heard too much and was a loose end that needed to be cut off immediately

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

Thomas Bigelow strolled into the building like he belonged. He was a force man and had that look about him, although his recent hiatus from service had left him with a beard similar to Arda Turan's.

He saw the gate just like his brother had described once he was in and on the other side of the gate was a giant of a man.

He studied Tom with interest then raised his eyebrow in question.

"i'm here to sign my annulment papers"

"did you sign a prenuptial before?" the man (Bulky) asked, that was futher interrogation. There was something familiar about the man yet he was almost sure he hadn't seen him before.

"no...there haven't been a divorce hearing yet, this is my first case"

Bulky nodded slowly. The man had all the right answers, he was from another zone but had been sent here to carry out an investigation, which details were obviously top secret that there hadn't been a "divorce hearing" yet...which meant there hadn't been exchange of data or intelligence.

He got up from the stairs but there was still something off about the guy.

"can I see some ID?"

"What! unbelievable! What an insult...would you prefer i take the papers back to the other lawyer?" Tom sounded incredulous but his pulse was racing.

Bulky opened the gate. This guy must be a very senior agent...probably from Abuja. 'sorry about that....there has been some security issues of late"

"Its alright" tom thought of putting his hands casually in his jacket pocket and pulling out the glock and burying about 5 rounds into the belly of the beast. But he could sense the alertness in the man...it seemed even the hair at the back of his neck was standing at attention. His instincts told him to relax and play it calm. But his pulse was racing a 100 yard dash..., this was a different kind of war, there were no dug trenches, no defence perimeter, no air support ...just stealth and sharp thinking....

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

Ryan Bigelow settled on the very last floor. Since the building was roofless. he got on a knee and placed the sniper on the window seal. He stared through the scope, very much alert and with his heart beating as he scoped the building.


He was so focussed on the lense in the scope that he didn't notice the man leaning on a tree in the shadows.


::::::::::

The real shadow narrowed his eyes as his target got down from the car and headed toward the Law office. He was quite suprised, from his intel he had expected the man to be few inches shorter and not as fit as a rock but he shrugged. Even if he were the incredible hulk, he was going to die tonight. He screwed the silencer on his gun as he watched the entrance sharply. He would wait in the shadows as was his normal modus operandi for the target to come back outside then it was goodbye.


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


Detective Dagnet still had some loyal friends in the force and she was able to get the information she needed.
The boutique had shut down, and the owner was in prison. Her first son was still in the country, The second had come back briefly during the crises but run back to Canada to continue his studies. The girl was however in the country, she had spent a brief stint in París but came back about 11 months ago and started a small fashion design school. It wasn't doing very well since nobody wanted anything to do with the Amunike's

She was able to get the address of the fashion school and also get the address of the club Emenike owned.
It looked like a long shot but.....someone had been murdered in a hotel 3 days ago, the print found at the crime scene belonged to someone who was supposed to be dead. The person supposed to be dead had been identified as someone else who had worked for the notorious family.
Meaning the owner of the print was still alive, she had kidnapped a baby and sent a message to trap and kill officers of the law.

Now the fact that the body six feet below had someone else's name and epitaph on the tombstone could only point her to the owner of the grave and fingerprint found at the crime scene as the killer who was the same kidnapper and who had caused the death of five men hours ago. And she was still one way or another linked to this same cursed Amunike family! To be frank she thought the whole matter was somehow.

So although it was a long shot, it was nevertheless a clear one and she was going to take it.

She sighed as she slowed down at a traffic light. she watched the red light and couldn't help but feel it was going to be a bloody night.

Dedication: Uchihaclassiq ann2012 silvertrinity iamloyalty pinkfeet joshnes oluwaseunliz phoenixchap mitchelljnr oroolorun konphido cindy1000 paafin eberechi24 boffinjay samexdx stevodot22 helenbee kaycee9242 light4life ekopsparoayara charminee mynet11 danyceo vhiktorveroon Godwinfury explosive04 dview001 paqman prapfrick phoenixchap joislim hazardman dhemmyjay silvertrinity sussybae bigbauer preshb alarmednigerian chisiudeh iamloyalty mekonglobal bimberry1307 pweetygiftofGod

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


Dagnet drove around aimelessly. She was in a kind of haze.....a numb state. Everything was like a blur. So many emotions clashing like waves inside her. Guilt, terror, shock, disbelief, disgust, anger.....

The worst thing was she still had no direction. Here she was burning fuel driving round and round without knowing where to vent her fustrations. The only lead she had was Tonye. The BROTA agency could help her and if she really wanted to avenge the deaths of the bomb victims then she was going to need all the help she could get.

"Speak of the devil" she muttered to herself as her phone rang. But it wasn't Tonye calling her, it was forensics expert Terry.

"Hello Terry, what do you have for me?" She was sure the news of her dismissal would have swept through all the 5 floors of the station by now.

"Ma....I heard what happened, I'm sorry"

She was not in the mood for condolence or pity calls but she replied softly "Its okay Terry, thanks for everything..all your hardwork. I'll miss working with you"

"Yes ma...." The man sounded like he wanted to cry and Dagnet seriously wanted to get off the call.

"Look Terry...."

"I have some news ma, I finally found the DNA match."

"Which DNA?"

"The one Rex brought....that didn't match the DNA from the crime scene"

"Oh!" She had totally forgotten. The past 10 hours had been like ten days. "who is it....who does it match?"

"It had a 99.9% match with one Miss Bisi Brown , 24 years....her last known address was from tax payment documents from her place of work, she worked in a boutique.... but it was shut down two years ago after the widows initiative scandal and after the owner, one Mrs Benita was arrested. That's the last trace we have of her"

"Oh Terry God bless you for this" her voice was emotional as she thanked him profusely. It was a little light he had just provided no doubt, but the tunnel wasn't so dark anymore. She dialled Tonye's Number excitedly.

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

Thomas Bigelow had left over jellof rice and he microwaved it while his brother busied himself with the biscuits. "Hmm....these cookies are nice... whats the name?" Ryan asked

"Actually its home baked. I baked it myself"

Ryan's eyes widened in disbelief "you! Bake this kind of delicious chocolate cookies?"

"You know how it is...I've had a lot of time on my hands and apart from the vigorous excersises every morning and evening....I basically have nothing to do inbetween"

Ryan still wasn't buying it and he raised a questioning eyebrow at his brother.

"Okay...okay....its one of my neighbours, she's a single mum....she has a son and I don't know....I think she...likes me, and I.......well I think she's cool, she's very friendly though and she actually bakes professionally so she always brings things like cookies, cup cakes and the rest"

"Wow, lucky you" Bigelow said with playful envy "what of her son?"

"Oh Arinze is a terror...absolute Terror"

Bigelow laughed "he was the one you were screaming about when I arrived"

The microwave beeped and Tom opened it then used the kitchen rag to hold the sides of the steaming ceramic bowl and place it on the counter. "That boy would always ring my bell and run away every time"

"How old is he?"

"I think 9 or so"

"Now that's funny because if I remember correctly you were doing worse at his age. Its karma, you have to deal with it" Bigelow couldn't help laughing through his sentence.

"If its karma, how come only me has to pay....we were partners in crime after all" Thomas Bigelow grumbled

Ryan Bigelow laughed long and hard. There was a hit on his head a deadly assassin on his tail so he was going to laugh now that he could and enjoy every second of his life. He wiped the tears from his eyes "oya brother dish the food abeg"

20 minutes later, Bigelow's plate was spotless while his brother still had a reasonable quantity left. "Bro you better finish your food o" Bigelow advised

"Honestly I've stuffed myself with so much cookies since morning and I ate this same rice not up to 2 hours ago, I'm full"

"Well in that case..." Bigelow dragged his plate to his side.

5 minutes later, both plates were sparkling and Bigelow wasn't smiling now. The plates were replaced with the gun trays. It was time for action

A Smith & Wesson .44 magnum, Sig Sauer 9mm and a small .32 caliber revolver were arranged in strategic positions in Ryan Bigelow's body. Under both armpits in his shoulder holster and the small gun was strapped to his ankle.

His brother had double the guns he carried. He had on a jacket that had as many compartments as an industrial company. Desert eagle .50 express, glock 17, maxim 9...all were powerful semiautomatic handguns.

He also removed the sniper from the tray. It wasn't the sniper Bigelow remembered Tom used and as if his younger brother could read his thoughts he said "This one is called the L42 Enfield. Its british made....I had to turn in the Remington to the army after the accident"

"Is it any good?" Bigelow asked eyeing the wooden barrel. It looked more like an exhibition gun to him. Like it belonged in the museum.

"Eh.....I used it to shoot some birds from the Balconey.....Its okay...but you're a better sniper than me so it would be more effective in your hands"

Bigelow nodded " so do we take my car or yours?"

"Let's go with mine....yours would be too easy to identify"

"alright I agree" he helped Tom replace the trays and hang the raunchy poster back over the safe.
Two minutes later, they were in Tom's SUV speeding towards the law office of Esq. Mark aka the counselor.


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

"Clyde...Buzz betrayed us, he planned the attack with the kidnapper....how come you didn't notice anytrhing?" Tonye asked suspiciously

"actually ma....we took shifts and it was my turn to sleep and Buzz didn't alert me about anything until agent Bami called from Lagos"

"I'm heading back to the hospital" Tonye said. she sounded like she was chewing gravel!

"I'd come with you ma" Kirsten said immediately

"No" Tonye could remember the way Buzz had aced his shooting exams. He was a sharp shooter in every sense of the word. "Stay here with the family....Clyde you come with me"

"yes ma"

Clyde was a decent shooter if not as good as Buzz but he was top notch when it came to hand to hand combat and Tonye valued that more in this situation. It was a hospital after all not an open field, everything was in close proximity.

They headed out of the house.

"Don't worry forget the car" Tonye told Clyde when he reached for his keys "I don't want any of us to be distracted by driving"

So they got into the Taxi much to the pleasure of the driver who was glad to keep the meter running.

"Back to the memorial hospital driver"



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

The nosy woman beside her had fallen asleep but still managed to annoy her because every five minutes her head would roll to the side and rest on her shoulder and she would have to shrug the woman awake.

The baby was still asleep and she began to consider closing her eyes also but before she could fully make up her mind, the ice cream tune that was her ringtone went off and her eyes opened wide. The number calling wasn't saved but she knew it.

"hello?"

"sister, they're unto us...i had to fight with one of them in the lab before I could leave"

"where are you now, are you okay?"

"I'm fine...I'm in our safe house"

"okay...just lie low I'm on my way to Lagos"

"okay.." the young girl sounded nervous and shaken up.

"christie who was it, who did you fight with...Rex?"

"no, the tall one...Andy"

"okay, just lay low...I'd be there by morning"

She ended the call and frowned deep in thought. So Christie had been made, which meant they must have put two and two together about the DNA switch. She wondered what else they knew. What was really happening now. The only news she had received was from Buzz when he told her about Rex's hospitalized state. But what was going on in the house....?
She had programmed the recording before she left, ensuring that every conversation would be saved in the hard drive which was remotely linked to her laptop. The question was; should she wait..or was there reason to check in now...She knocked the idea back and forth and after a while, she unlocked her phone and linked it to the laptop's hotspot network which she left on in her bag.
She needed to hear what they would be talking about, What was happening, if the family was up or if agents had arrived...

She was linked to the laptop but the problem was in playing the audio. It was taking forever to load. The network was very bad or to be frank, non existent. The bus was presently somewhere inbetween Anambra and Delta. It was just the endless road and endless trees on both sides.

She waited impatiently each second more convinced something was on the saved tape. She reloaded the page and it showed an error message instructing her to check her connection.

They'd have to pass through a city sooner or later and there would be network. She would prefer sooner.


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

"Driver step on it a bit" Tonye said from the back resulting in a slight increase in speed. The driver was a cautious type and didn't overspeed or maybe he wasn't being cautous but being cunning, making the meter run at double rate.

"we'll be there in the next ten minutes" he announced

"make it five" she said

"No problem ma" the driver said and she could tell he was thinking; in your dreams...

She couldn't believe the height of treachery Buzz had commited which only meant they had all been caught sleeping at the agency, unaware of the virus that had been spreading within.

She was officially filled with the rage now, there was someone to vent the fury that had burned in her since she saw Olivia lying helplessly on the hospital bed.
She was about to urge the driver to step on it again when her phone beeped. The ending of the number looked familiar and she guessed correctly that it was the detective calling again.

"Detective, why didn't you wait like I told you to before sending your men to the location?" She said accusingly

"I'm sorry, I was rash and unprofessional....my conscience is burdened believe me"

"well I'm in the middle of something.."

"Terry found the match to the DNA" Dagnet announced

"DNA?....oh you mean the one we brought? whose is it?"

"It matches a girl who used to work in Mrs Amunike's boutique"

"huh....that means the chief must somehow be involved" Tonye said thoughtfully. She didn't even know what to do with this information right now, every one she could have called was in the hospital.

"thank you detective....I'd be sure to let you know whatever we come across....driver overtake that keke now! haba!"

"actually I'm no longer a detective" dagnet said slowly

"you were demoted?"

"No...I was discharged"

"I'm so sorry..."

"no its okay, i deserved it I guess"

"we're there" the driver announced and Tonye could see the tall hospital building looming just ahead.

"I'd call you back detec....errr....I'd call later" Tonye ended the call hurriedly and was almost out the door in a blast but she held herself back. She turned to Clyde. "We act like everything is normal. we'd be in the hospital observing Olivia when Kirsten would call saying the house is under attack, so the three of us would rush out and we would corner him and subdue him or we play it cool till we get to the car....whichever one, we're apprehending him"

Clyde nodded and they both got down.


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

It was already dark, around 8pm when the luxurious pulled over at a filling station to buy diesel. There were people selling banana and potato chips and some passengers bought while some got down to stretch or find a spot to urinate. She checked her phone network and could see as much as four bars. She quickly recalled the last session and reloaded the audio. It began playing at a painfully slow rate....; Woman's voice: so much hate......ehen.....outside..hear......anything?

She pressed the phone even closer to her ear and stared out the window with her eyes intense as she focused on the next words.

The bus started up. It was time to go.

A man's voice she could recognize as the agent Clyde: 'sleepin......wait.....girl?.......you mean...?'

'yes' another female voice.

The bus began to drive out.

The woman's voice angrily this time: 'had....idea....son......bitch!-'

The audio stopped playing and the play sign turned to a circle rolling on and on with the words 'please wait.'

She had heard enough. she immediately rushed the digits into the dialer.
"hello....they are unto you...leave there now"

But it wasn't Buzz that picked. the phone didn't even ring. It was the recorded voice of the service provider saying '....can not be completed at the moment, please try again later....your call can not be completed at the moment, please try again later.'

She checked her network status. It was down to one bar.

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

The counselor hardly left the building. Sometimes he left the next morning, sometimes by midnight, sometimes by evening. His movement was always unpredictable but they were going to have to smoke him out.

"The plan was to go in guns blazing but there's a gate barrier and an armed guard."

Tom shook his head. "hey, they don't know me right? you give me the protocols and I go in and pretend like an agent, locate the counselor and kill him once"

"No...no....this isn't a kill, we need answers...like why did he put a hit on me? just because I tried to access a file? what's he hiding?" Bigelow reasoned

The brothers were parked across the street, the engine off as they observed the building.

"Bigelow this is what I want from you....you find a way up this uncompleted building opposite the firm, find somewhere you will have a good vantage point...then you provide cover with the sniper."

"but the windows are bulletproof trust me and the counselor's office is not even visible from this side, lets look for another way" What Bigelow really meant was it was to risky for Tom.

But his younger brother shook his head "Ryan, I just need you to be my eyes and have my back....i'll go in, identify myself through your code word then locate the counselor and march him out like a hostage.... so I'll need you to be ready for me."

Ryan nodded "you can count on me....but I need to warn you....the 9-5 agents may have gone already but there's this particular agent...he's the one by the gate, you have to be careful with him"

"noted"

"alright..." Bigelow opened the door "give me ten minutes to get into position then you head in....be careful bro"

"No problem."

Ryan Bigelow slipped into the darkness. climbing the abandoned building overfilled with grass. The building had been like that for about 3 years and Bigelow used to imagine how many snakes were crawling about. But he wasn't going to think about that now.

Tom sighed and watched his brother disappear in the shadows then he looked across and studied the buiding. He squinted at his watch. about 8 minutes and 43 seconds left.

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

Tonye found Buzz still sitting outside the door and she wondered what his ulterior motive was. he had been in this same spot for about 18 hours. Maybe he wanted to kill Olivia. Finish the job... her eyes got bloody with anger but she calmed herself as she asked "Hey Buzz, how's she?"

He had been dozing and he jerked up in his seat. "she's fine...the doctor said she's recovering well...." he looked from her to Clyde.

"I can see your'e dozing, I guessed you'd be tired that's why I brought Clyde for a change of shift...he said you've been the one awake sine last night" she said

"he scratched his head...well ma..."

"Just go...sleep for a few hours in the house, everyone is still asleep after all and Kirsten is there"

His eye brightened at the mention of her assistant's name. "well I suppose you have a point" he yawned, exaggeratedly this time and stood up.

Tonye was hoping the call would come in. All though the time they had estimated was still about 5 minutes away.

Buzz turned to Clyde "you brought the car I guess"

"No its a taxi sef....let's go outside, lemme talk to the driver" Tonye replied

She turned and led the way. Buzz followed her and after precisely 5 seconds Clyde followed. Two slices of bread and the pastrami inbetween. The sandwich was being prepared.

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

She began to see houses frequently. They must be approaching Asaba by now. She checked her network status, it had improved to two bars. She dialled buzz again. This time it didn't announce 'unable to complete' but continued dialling without getting the other phone to ring.

She cut the call, waited for like Two minutes then tried again. 'riiing....riiiing' It was ringing!


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

When Andy and Jimoh got to the hospital, Rex and Bami were awake.
Andy shook his head in disbelief as he looked at his friends. Even though shaking his head gave him a headache. His friends looked like.......he couldn't even think of a word. Swollen eyes, crooked noses bandaged tightly, puffy lips split open and glistening from some kind of ointment that had been rubbed on it to make it soy quick.

"Andy....what's going on....who's in Benue....? The note....wait help me stand up bro" Rex said as he struggled to sit up

"ahh....I think you should remain horizontal" Andy said, actually he himself didn't have the strength to help.

Rex sighed then called to his assistant "Jimoh come help me sit up.."

"yes sir..." the young man looked uncertain but hurried to his side nevertheless

"uuuuuhn......!" Rex groaned as he sat up "please help position the pillow on my back..."

Bami had been quiet all along, just staring at the ceiling and Andy wobbled to his side "how're you doing man?"

"i feel like shit....where's my wife?"

"errrm....I think she had to go to Benue to check on the family"

"Andy I need to get out of here!" both Rex and Bami said together

Mynet11:
Clyde looked away embarrassed "actuall ma, I was sleeping when....wait she? You mean a woman did this?"
"Yes" Kirsten replied when Tonye didn't answer.

I think am lost

danyCEO:
I am lost too. Doesn't add up. Op pls see to this

Break it down for me guys, I'm lost too....Kirsten is with Tonye presently and she had to reply for her boss because the realization of Buzz's betrayal was just occuring to Tonye at the time....or am I missing something else?

tonyxxx:
Just finished reading the devil wears okrika & it was mind racking & thrilling all the way... And now am just catching up with this & i have to say ure truly amazing. I thought only foreign writers could keep my heart racing all the way,but uve proven me wrong beyond a doubt. Thanks for sharing your time & awesome mind with us.

you very much welcome bro, the pleasure is mine

Dedication:
Konphido Oluwaseunliz Horladstar charminee (wishing you a swift recovery) Ekopsparoayara ann2012 faspen mekonglobal faspen oroolorun cyndy1000 joshnes pweetygiftofGod silvertrinity tonyxxx queenitee explosive04 helenbee Iamloyalty adamsbadoo bigbauer light4life Yemike joislim stevodot22 paafin eberechi24 kaycee9242



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



The director general of the Metro police force was an elderly man who was on the thin line between slightly over weight and obese. It didn't help that he hardly got up from his chair, his phone was always glued to his ear 24/7 and judging by the disaster that had happened in Benue few hours ago, he now had two phones glued to both ears. He watched Detective Dagnet with a frown as she entered his office and gestured for her to sit down.
He was mostly silent and Dagnet could hear whoever was on the other end of both lines shouting like a mad person.

He held his mobile phone away when he spoke into the landline and vice versa "Sir I can assure you heads will roll....I wasn't even aware..... Sir?....yes sir....I mean No....Its not like that sir......"

Dagnet sat quietly looking everywhere but at her superior. She could feel his angry glare on her face and feared the temperamental director would do more than bark at her this time. She feared a suspension because now more than ever she needed to crack this case. Not because of her perfect record but for the valant men who had lost their lives by following her orders.

The director returned his the landline to its craddle and focused on his mobile. His eyes never left Dagnet.
"Yessir......yessir.....would do that immediately....I would get back to you sir....yesssir...thank yo-" he sighed in disgust as the line went off, cutting him in mid sentence.

He placed the phone on the table then placed his chin on his hands. "Detective what the hell happened?" His voice was suprisingly calm.

"Sir I received a lead concerning the hotel murder and a related kidnapping case, but it was in Benue and time was already against us, so I reached out to the middle belt strike team to make the arrest"

"And what happened?"

"Well....sir, unfortunately it appears it was all a setup sir...."

"And who did you discuss with before sending my men out on a suicide mission?"

She glanced down "no one sir...."

He tapped the landline "that was the governor.....the freaking governor and.." he raised his cell phone "that was the Inspector general of police...the fucking IG!"
His voice was getting louder now and Dagnet strangely found that more reassuring than his calm and controlled voice.

"You know what..." his mobile rang interrupting him

"hello, yes honey....okay dear....no don't stress yourself to pound the yam just mix the powdered one....or maybe semo, okay honey love you"

Dagnet's eyes almost popped out of her head when the director's voice changed from loud and harsh to sweet and romantic. But then he cut the call and his trademark voice was back. "Dagnet drop your gun and badge"

"Please sir....I understand the repercussion of my rash actions and I'm fully ready to take responsibility, but please sir don't suspend me....I need to personally avenge the death of our agents and I need the power of my badge to apprehend the killer" The director opened his mouth and she rushed on "sir I'm willing to go on without pay for the duration of the suspension but please sir, let me still work this case"

"Who told you you were being suspended?" The director asked in a baffled tone "detective you're fired.....dishonourably discharged! As from this minute you're no longer a recognised officer of the MPD"

Dagnet's heart sunk to her knees and her knees sunk to the floor "please sir....please....this job is all I have....don't take it from me"

"Look here detective....that was a direct request from the IG himself...the 'transmission' of his message was very clear"

"Please sir.....there has to be something you can do to help me"

He looked at her considering and his eyes took a look it never did when he looked at her before. He stood up and wobbled his fat self to her side. "Let me see how good your mouth is, if it is only giving orders you're good at" He unzipped his trouser, brought out his member (which was like the last finger on a new born baby's hand) then placed his hands on his hips expectantly.

At first Dagnet was confused, then it slowly dawned on her what her superior wanted from her. The same man that had spoken lovingly to his wife just moments ago! She had heard rumours but never believed them. Now she did.

Slowly she got to her feet, unhooked her gun holster from her hip and placed it on the table. She removed her badge and dropped it also and without a word walked out of the office and out the Metro police department building.


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

When Andy arrived at the BROTA agency everywhere was like a ghost town. It was almost empty apart from two or three agents running about with staplers and A4 sheets. He couldn't even see his own assistant although to be fair he hardly needed assisting with anything.
Well now he needed assistance with climbing the stairs. He was still in pain and it seemed the pain killer just made him hyper active and his eyes to shine like torchlight without really numbing the pain.

As he stood observing the stairs, Jimoh, Rex's assistant came rushing down.

"Hey Jimoh...what were you doing upstairs? You know its out of bounds"

"Yes sir, but I just got a call from agent Tonye to head to the hospital and keep an eye on Rex and Agent Bami so I had to go to his office to check the-"

"Woa....back up....Rex and Bami are in the hospital?"

"Yes sir, I'm on my way there right now"

"Well lets go....let's go!"

Andy followed Jimoh out of the building hoping it wasn't a female again that put his brothers in the hospital. That was a manhood killer indeed.


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

"Oh....your daughter is so beautiful, what's her name?" The woman seated next to her asked as she 'ooooh' and 'aaaaaaahd' over the sleeping baby.

"Erm......." where was a handy name when you needed one? "Cynthia" she thought of Rex's eldest sister and gave her name.

"What a lovely name....how old is she?"

What the hell was wrong with this woman? This was how people died carelessly for not minding their business.

Still she managed to reply the woman "she's about a year plus"

"Oh...lovely, just lovely, where in Lagos is your destination?"

That was it! Enough was enough. She turned harshly on the woman "Look here miss, if you don't have a million naira to give me then stop asking questions like Frank Edoho!"

That shut the woman up. She busied herself with her phone and didn't say another word the rest of the trip.


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


Tonye had only felt the kind of anger she was feeling now once in her life. And that was when she thought Bami had been killed and she saw scores of widows trembling in fear with their freedom, dignity and hope stripped from them. As she watched the shadow raise his mop stick with the dagger tip to kill Rex who lay helplessly on the floor, a rage had taken over her and she had let the killer in her loose.

Now as she stood looking at her friend, the closest thing to a sister she ever had, she could feel the anger again bubbling beneath the surface, struggling to get out.

She had never known Fome personally, only heard about her from Bami and Rex but one thing she was sure of, as long as her name was Tonye and she was the child of her parents, whoever was behind this was going to pay dearly!

"Buzz good job....I want you to remain here...guard the door with your life, I'd head over to the family house and check on Clyde"

"Yes ma!"

"Kirsten lets go"

They headed to the taxi which they had booked for the whole day much to the pleasure of the driver.

"I'm sorry ma, I know you two were close" her assistant said as they settled in the backseat.

"No Kirsten.....don't be sorry, be angry!"


::::::::::::::::;;;

Thomas Bigelow was 37 years, a staff sergeant with the Nigerian Army, The Beta Calvary offensive squad division which the soldiers in the unit jokingly referred to as 'the better squad' ('better' with the pidgin intonation)

He had been at the very forefront of the war against the terrorists plaguing Nothern Nigeria. Because like their squad name implied, they were the calvalry, the very tip of the spear of the armed forces of Nigeria.

Three months ago he had been with his unit investigating a terrorist sighting in a small village. Their convoy consisted of two trucks containing about 40 soldiers and a pickup truck with a 50 caliber SAW machine gun attached on the roof. Bigelow and his partner and friend a fellow soldier called Abdul were manning the gun.

The convoy usually moved at a snail's pace of about 20km/h and Bigelow was so pressed he had jumped down to relieve himself in the nearby bush. He was just zipping his trouser when disaster struck. The bomb came from nowhere and till today he didn't know if it was a grenade, an RPG aka 'shakabulla' or if they made contact with land mines the enemy had set on the road. The next thing Bigelow could remember was the loud noise, then the immense heat, then the gun fire that went on and on. The explosion flung his body into the bush and maybe that was what saved his life as he was hidden from the enemy's line of sight or maybe it was because he was so bloodied that the terrorist assumed him dead.

However one of the soldiers managed to radio for help and in less than an hour, the army was there in full force, with armour tanks foot soldiers and Air force captains providing air support with fighter jets.

Thomas Bigelow regained consciousness 48 hours later in a hospital in Abuja. He was given a medal from the Chief of army staff himself and instructed he was off the active combat squad. Only a dozen soldiers had survived the attack and only two of them still had complete limbs. Although there was fear his spinal cord had been damaged because of the amount of shrapnel they pulled out of his back. But he would walk again although with a bad limp because a metal screw had been inserted in his knee cap to keep both femur and shin bone in place. He couldn't go to the bank without tripping of metal detector alarms and couldn't pass through the airport detector even if he was naked without the alarm going off.

Thomas Bigelow was a fighter not a quitter and he was gradually working himself back to fitness with the hope that he would be recalled to the better squad and if they didn't he would retire. Screw the pension, he wasn't made for a desk job or to be guarding one general or his family, no he was made for the battle field. He craved the action like a baby craved breastmilk. He had lost countless relationships because of this. He was married to the battlefront and it was better this way. If the worse should happen, he won't be leaving a widow behind or a child fatherless or his parents heart broken (they were both dead) The only family he had was his brother and he loved him more than anything in the whole world.

If he had killed for his country, he would slaughter for his brother.

Ryan Bigelow watched his brother remove a half naked picture of a female singer from the wall. He chuckled as his brother handled the poster like an egg and placed it gently on the bed.
He returned to the wall were the poster had hidden a rectangular safe with a combination code. He punched in the digits and the latch popped open. Tom pulled out a metal tray, then another, then another, then another. There were five trays he pulled out and each of them had about six guns each except for one that had just three rifles: a sniper and two machine guns.

Bigelow got to his knees then rubbed his hands excitedly as he observed the guns "Ehen....hope you have a snack or something someone can chew in this house"

"I have cookies....you've not eaten?"

"Actually I've eaten about 8 pieces of pizza today but you know now" Bigelow picked a Sig Sauer 9mm, he tested the weight then closed one eye testing the aim.

"Hahahaha....you can eat for Nigeria I swear...its a miracle you're not fat"

"I have to eat as much as I can, I have a feeling I won't have the chance again very soon"

Tom Stopped laughing and frowned "bro, what exactly is the matter....what have you gotten yourself into, who is this assassin that is after you?"

"He's a very dangerous man bro believe me"

"Well I'm also a very dangerous man myself...we'll just have to get him first"

"I have a better idea....we go for the person who hired him"


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


I was still in the hospital, lying like an invalid unaware of the recent events. I felt totally helpless and the worse thing was I couldn't help my helplessness. Tears streamed down my cheeks freely but it wasn't from the pain in my torso, or head or anywhere....no, my heart was in incredible pain.


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


Tonye arrived at the house, noticing the unmarked sedan infront of the next house. She recognized it as the agency vehicle immediately and frowned. If Clyde and Buzz were here last night how did she get in without them noticing? Just how good was she?

Clyde met them at the gate and walked them through the compound Pointing and trying to recreate the events of the previous night.

"This spot was where the ram was killed, a single bullet lodged in the brain, the animal has been buried but the stain refused to clean off completely" He pointed at the faint stain on the interlocking.
He led them into the house, taking them room by room showing them the occupants who were still in slumber land. When they got to the room Olivia had been attacked, everywhere had been cleaned up and tidied.

"I took care of the mess when I thought Rex was coming....I didn't want him to see the blood" Clyde explained

"Oh...that's very thoughtful Clyde, but I would have loved to study the crime scene"

"I took pictures of every angle...its in the kitchen with the note"
"ehen let me see the note"

He led them to the kitchen and showed them the note which was still pinned to the refrigerator.

She studied the note with a frown.
"Hmmmm....so much hate, ehen that reminds me you and Buzz were outside when she attacked the house and all these was going on how come you didn't hear anything?

Clyde looked away embarrassed "actuall ma, I was sleeping when....wait she? You mean a woman did this?"

"Yes" Kirsten replied when Tonye didn't answer.

She had a strange expression on her face and she shouted suddenly "you didn't know...you had no idea it was a woman......oh no....Son of a Bitch!!!"

Clyde was taken aback, he blinked in suprise "what's it, I don't understand"

Kirsten also looked worried.
"Ma what is wrong?"

The nagging thought that had been disturbing her from the hospital was finally clear. She turned to her assistant slowly. "At the hospital when I asked Buzz why he claimed to be Olivia's husband, he said it was incase the crazy bitch returned....that was how he said it....the crazy bitch, now how did he know it was a she?"

bigbauer:
Haven't commented coz no data, but I'm fully apprised and following via airtel free basics

I appreciate you very much boss

Joislim:
The 'thing' nagging Tonye might be buzz telling the doctor he's Olivia's husband, did he even notify them he is watching over her in the hospital?

How did Buzz know the attacker is a crazy bitch..... I thought they were not aware of the attack till it was over.

My dear your head is there

While I script the next update, fellow detectives what is the 'thing' that keeps nagging Tonye but she cant put her head On?