by Eu Aristos
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"Did you get us the document??" Bosse asked Kunle who was made to kneel by Bosse's men.
"Depends on what you mean by the document." Kunle said stubbornly.
"You have a lot of nerve coming here boy." Bosse taunted him.
"I feel like killing you right now for all you've made us all go through; especially mama." His boys tried to punch him but Bosse stopped them. Bosse looked away as he began to speak again. "But I'm willing to let all that pass, provided you back out from whatever it is that made you do this."
Bosse smiled. "It’s late now." He said. "Even if I wanted to, the persons I'm working with will not. They are eager to get their will done."
"Who are they?" Kunle asked.
"Hahahahah do you expect me to share that with you? You must really be a child." Bosse scuffed. "So why should I back out when we are at the stage where even if I'm unavailable, they'll still get it done?! I think I should probably just stay and enjoy the whole drama."
"There's no guarantee that if they get their wish, that you will be rewarded." Kunle chipped in.
"Hahahahah… again you make me laugh. Don't be ridiculous. Just get me the document and forget about my dealings."
"Stay away Bosse. The next time we see, it may not be calm.” Kunle said finally as he stood up to leave.
“Is that a threat?”
“Call it whatever you like.” As Kunle spoke, Bosse’s gang boys tried to beat him again but were held back by Bosse. “I’m the only one that knows where those documents are. I'm your best assets now. I need to go out of here unharmed. If I don’t, you’ll never get that document.”
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Wanting to blend in, Bianca hacked the hospital’s database and got herself invited as a special agent - doctor of high repute. Presenting her CV, she was supposed to check up the patient Nelson.
"Good evening… ma'am." A young cute male nurse greeted her as she walked into the reception.
"Good evening." She responded as she rushed up. "How are you doing?"
"I'm fine." He said with a smile that could melt heart. "You must be the new doctor?"
"Yes." Bianca said proudly.
"Welcome ma." He smiled shyly.
"Thanks sweetheart. Where's my office???" The mere mention of sweetheart from a beautiful lady was enough confusion for the young male nurse.
"Hello..." Bianca said waving and smiling at the lost nurse.
"Ooh... Sorry. I was taken away by your beauty."
"Oh... Thanks..." She tried not to, but she blushed. He was a cute guy though. But she knew what she was doing.
"You are a cute guy too." She said as they began to walk. Her makeup was heavy. It was a makeover. So she definitely was not worried about the camera catching her face.
"How long are you staying with us?" He asked as he opened the office door.
"Oh, as long as the patient lives… Thank you…" she said as she walked in.
The nurse smiled, feeling happy that she was going to be around for his pleasure. "I'll see you later then...?” He asked.
"Oh sure…" She smiled at him.
As he tried to close the door she called him back. "Please how do I locate patient 5734..?" She acted like she was opening a file.
"That means his bed number. I'll check out who is there and get back to you." The nurse offered.
"Owkkk... Please could you make it fast?" She feigned a pleading face.
"Oh yes... Give me some minutes." He promised.
Bianca paced up and down the rather empty office which had just a doctor's seat, patient seat and a bed.
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As soon as he got home, Harry dashed into his room in search of the key. He spent a long time looking for it and just when he was about giving up, he found it stuck in the pocket of one of his jean trousers. Stepping out and into the car, he turned the ignition only for it to indicate an empty tank. “Shit!” He shouted. The time he spent on the unusual traffic which made him take another route, must have drained the fuel a lot.
Considering the area where the safe-house was, getting any means of transportation was going to be hard. No taxi could locate such a place and the closest landmark was kilometers away so he could not book one. So he had to hike it out. But that would mean arriving at the Nelson's house which was in another side of town late. Damn! He cursed.
It was better to be late than never. He moved.
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Bianca had received the information she needed from the young male nurse earlier but was courting her time. When she saw it, she walked straight to the patient's room. It was past 10pm. There was no single hostility towards her movement as they all admired her and thought she was a harmless beautiful young doctor. Sides, it was last and very little movements were seen.
Stepping into Nelson’s hospital room, she pulled out her secret box, took out the poisoned injection and injected it into Nelson's drip-bag. After she was done, she didn't bother returning to her supposed office. She walked down the corridors until she was outside.
Just then, the alarm sounded! It was the red light. Danger!
∞∞∞
Returning to the hospital that night, Nk and Vicky could not meet the doctor and the specialist. So they went away and returned two hours later after taking dinner. They were now ushered in to see the doctor and specialist but not after they noticed the change in atmosphere in the hospital. The news about Frankie was most encouraging.
"We will just have to perform a little corrective surgery and we'll be good. The specialist said.
"So no need for the transplant again?" Nk asked eagerly.
"Yes. There's no need for it." The doctor responded.
Vicky was even happier. She held the hand of Nk who was already crying in joy. "Thank you doctors" Vicky said.
"Thank God. He's a little boy and his body responded rapidly to treatment. He just needs more rest and he'll be good to go in no time." The specialist said.
"Ooh… Thank God". Nk said as she covered her face with hand palms.
"So... If you could excuse me, I need to finish up with some patients and be done for the day." The main doctor smiled as he stood up.
"OK... Thank you so much." They both said as they all stood up and left the office. It was good news for the day. Stepping out of the office, again, they noticed that the whole hospital was sober and that there were fewer security men around. It was past 10:26pm. They walked up to the security detail in front of Mama's room and asked him what happened.
"Why's everywhere so..... Quiet?" Vicky asked.
"That man you guys brought in after an accident has died."
"Whaaa... What..!" Nk and Vicky exclaimed. From their exclamation, one would have known that they knew Nelson well. But the security detail didn't care about that.
"How come..?" Vicky asked him with her hands spread out.
"It seems he was murdered. A hunt is on for the person involved. They've also taken the security footage of all that happened within the last hours."
"Who..? How come..? With all the security around..?"
"Shit happens ma'am." The security guy responded smiling. In that shock, they both went into Mama's room. There they wept. Mama was asleep already.
∞∞∞
Chapter 22
He was driving and was almost at the office when he remembered he noticed the home camera in Nelson's House and so decided to go back and get it.
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Bianca walked fast but not enough to raise suspicion. She was just about opening her car door when the young male nurse sighted her.
"Hello!" he waved almost shouting. She tried to ignore him. But he walked faster to her and blocked her when she was about driving out.
"Hey... I was waving..." He smiled.
"Oh sorry... I didn't see you." She lied.
"What's up? You seem in haste."
"Oh... Sure I am. I forgot an important file needed for the examination of the patient." She looked away to notice some security moveme
nts.
"Oh... You should better get going then." He distanced himself from her car.
"Oh... I'll be back." She said finally. She barely drove out the gate when some security men rushed to the gate and demanded that the gate be shut. Looking back and smiling, she pulled off her wig and with her handkerchief she cleaned her facial makeup thereby looking different and ready to make the long drive home.
She picked up her phone and dialed her dad's number.
"Hello dad. Mission Accomplished" She said proudly.
∞∞∞
10:15pm
After his warning visit to Bosse, Kunle found his way to Nelson's house but could not find Harry. He tried calling him but the number wasn't going through. He stood in a dark spot hoping that Harry would arrive. But for one hour he didn't come. At 11:00pm he decided to go in alone by himself. There was no telling what was to happen. But since he was able to subdue the security initially, he could do it again. He checked his gun, making sure he had a personal backup before crossing the road to the side of the house and knocked on the gate.
"Who's it..?" the sleepy sounding voice asked.
"It’s me... I'm Nelson's friend."
"Ah ah. How many Nelson's friend we go see here today?" The gateman asked.
That rang a bell. Seems Harry had been there he imagine. "Which other friend come before?" Kunle asked with an innocent voice.
"Na one detective like that..." The gateman gave up information recklessly.
"Oh... I see..." He wanted to back out but decided to try again. "Just open fes."
A soon as the security opened the gate, with him still in the dark, Kunle pointed the gun to his forehead. "Turn around. I know you've not seen my face. Cause if you do, I'll have to kill you and I don't want to kill you. So please turn round and meet the ground." Kunle said as calmly as possible.
"What do you want?!" The security shivered from the ground where he lay.
"I want just your access to the house. Don't worry. I'm not here to steal. Just to take something that belongs to me."
"I don't have the keys."
"How then did the detective get in?"
“He came with his own key."
"What's the fasted way into the house?"
"I shouldn't tell you that na."
"I know but I'll shoot you if you don't. And still find it myself. So why don't you just spare me the stress and still stay alive?" Kunle threatened him.
"It’s through the back. The door is faulty. I just held it close with wire"
"Good. Thanks." Kunle said as he knocked him unconscious. He didn't want to, but he had to.
∞∞∞
11:15pm
Being at the house earlier, Joe ran through the images of what he saw when he went in. First to be noticed was that the smell of alcohol perverted the entire building.
"This guy loves booze mehn." He said to himself.
He went around the house admiring the beauty of the construction. A lot of money must have been spent there considering that most of the properties looked foreign and imported.
He went to the master bedroom and checked through the drawers on the left side of the bed for any sign of documents. He figured that the childhood character of keeping new thing closer to us may not have left Nelson. He found some pictures, of Nk, some of those he took with Harry and Vicky. He figured it was just mere pictures but still yet he took them. He might just need to interview them.
Luckily enough he nearly missed the documents from the company that sold the car to Nelson. But finding it, he was disappointed. There was no credible address of them. Maybe he got the car from the black market. Joe imagined. But then a card fell out of it. On it was written 'BASTION AUTO DEALERS AND GENERAL MERCHANDISE'. He took the card and put it in his back pocket.
He was driving and was almost at the office when he remembered he noticed the home camera in Nelson's House and so decided to go back and get it. Getting to the house, he noticed that the gate was open, unmanned. That raised his suspicion of danger. He pulled out his gun and began to make his way to the house as gently as he could.
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Kunle was almost stepping out when he noticed the other presence in the house – an unfamiliar face. Sighting the gun the person had, Kunle knew that was a hostile. He pulled out his own gun and ran his way through to the back where he entered from. He took the CD plate and putting it into his jacket pocket he positioned and held his gun high. It was a game of survival at the moment.
∞∞∞
He was almost approaching the house when the car drove past him. It looked familiar but didn't pay attention to it, until he noticed that the car pulled over in front of Nelson's house. He paused and hid himself just enough to see what the driver wanted to do. From where he was hiding, he noticed the driver knocked, pushed the gate and then grew hostile by pulling out his gun. That enough was a sign to him that Kunle was inside the house. “Shit!” He exclaimed under his breath.
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"Good job my daughter. See you at home soon." He said as he dropped the call.
He wheeled himself to the bed and helped himself onto the bed. He almost fell. Ah...! Bawa you made me a disabled person. He cursed under his breath as he lay with no single atom of remorse on his bed of revenge. He lay there, thinking of what else to do to bring more pain to Bawa. He was going to attack his franchise and make it a laughing stock and watch Bawa lose all the value and respect he had left. He, Bastion will make him suffer. Why shouldn't he suffer after he killed and destroyed his family? My life! My joy! My hope!
Yes. We did kidnap people for ransom, but we never for once, took a life. Not until Bawa came along. He killed the first victim he met even with the ransom paid. So mama, sensing he would cause more harm than good didn't hand over to him even though he provided the bulk of the Intel on victims. That was where their rivalry began. He didn't want to think about it anymore. So he took a pill and was soon asleep. Tomorrow, I'll call Bawa. He imagined as he dosed off.
∞∞∞
Meanwhile, back at Nelson's house, Joe noticed the rapid movement within the house. He quickly took cover with his gun ready to shoot while scanning the area for the next possible movement. But there seemed to be none so he spoke up.
"Who's there..?! Come out!!!"
Silence greeted his question.
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Kunle heard the question but decided not to answer. He was in a dire situation. He wasn't in the best shooting position and above all...he didn't plan on shooting anyone tonight. "Calm down..." He told himself.
"Who are you?!" He decided to respond.
Silence was what he got.
∞∞∞
Harry pulled out his gun and ran closer behind Joe’s car. From there he heard the conversations by the two familiar voices. Knowing his way around the house, he knew that from the positions the voice was coming from, one was cowed behind the flowers at the parking lot. While the most familiar voice sounded like it came from behind the house.
He figured that the second voice was Kunle's, because if he was to be at the parking lot, it would have been easier to just make a run for the gate and escape.
"I'm detective Joe of the city police command. Who're you?" Harry heard Joe ask.
"Shit!" Harry knew that guy. He was Nelson's childhood friend. And being close to Nelson, he had gone out to hang out with Nelson and this Joe guy. He knew Joe was a no nonsense person and would want to get to the root of this. So to avoid getting Kunle further entangled, he had to distract Joe just so Kunle could find a way out.
As he tried to touch the gate, His phone vibrated. He brought it out of his jean trouser. It was 11:30pm when the call came in. Harry looked at his screen and noticed it was Vicky calling. He didn't want to pick it up. But decided otherwise.
"Hello" Harry tried to sound discrete.
"Baby... Nelson is dead" Vicky said with a teary voice. Harry was silent. The shock of the news made him that way. "Hello..." Vicky called out, hoping
that the line was not cutting.
"I'm here... I'm just speechless." Harry said as he tried to control himself.
"Where are you?" Vicky asked. "Ask him if Kunle is with him." Nk said in the background.
"Is Kunle with you..?" Vicky added.
"Ye…yes...” He mumbled, peeping into the compound again. “Let me call you back please.”
"Ok. Are you guys coming to pick us up or should we just go..?" Vicky asked.
"Go home; both of you." He whispered as he dropped the call and crept into the compound. Determined to make the standoff end, gently and quietly he walked in behind the detective who was preoccupied with the enemy in front. That was so unprofessional of him, Harry thought. With the back of his gun, he knocked the detective out. Touching him to make sure he was unconscious, he shouted Kunle's name and told him to come out. Kunle came out, albeit untrustingly.
"Where's he?"
"That not necessary. Let's go."
“Did you check him?” Kunle asked.
“Yea... We need to get out of here no!”
As they got to the gate, Kunle untied the Security man who was still unconscious and then, joined Harry. But they needed a means of transportation as they left the compound. So harry ran back and searched the pocket of the detective for his car keys. That in hand, they both drove home; with Kunle still holding onto the Video cassette.
∞∞∞
The news of Nelson's death spread like wildfire. When Bawa heard of his son's death one hour later, he was driven to madness. He scattered and raked everyone around. Even the death of his former wife was not that destabilizing. Taking the car key, he drove himself roughly to the hospital. It was very late. But he insisted on seeing his son's body. And when he did, Bawa wept bitterly. What have I done to deserve this?!!! He asked rhetorically. Who is doing this to me?! Why don't you make yourself visible! Why go after my innocent son?! Bawa shouted in tears as he was consoled by all around.
He turned to some of the security guys around and began questioning them violently. He wanted to know how this could happen under their nose. Knowing fully-well that it was his emotions acting at that moment, they ignored him. Bawa wept until Nelson's body was taken out of his sight. He tried to call Joe but could not get through. "Typical of the police they are never available when you need them! They never function!" Bawa exclaimed.