Simon Chuba checked his watch and waited. They had earlier contacted the power company and he knew that there would soon be a temporary power outage that would allow him to bore a hole in the fence before the emergency generator could kick in. When the lights went out, he worked quickly, until the hole was large enough to admit him, then he entered with his head and shoulders till his hands found the ground and he slipped in. Then he retrieved his backpack and hurried to the back entrance of the building. He found the kitchen window. He slid it open with the aid of his knife. He was faced with a security grille but he was prepared. Simon took out a handsaw from his backpack and began to saw through the metal grille till it gave way. He lifted his slim body and his head entered first. His hands found the kitchen sink and the rest of his body followed.
He pulled out his torch and lit up the kitchen. He listened. Everywhere was quiet; he opened the door and found himself in a spacious lounge. He could see the stairs before him, and moved up them slowly. As he reached the top he came to a door, just as the plans had shown; he pushed and it opened. He entered a lobby; he walked down to the room at the end. He waited and listened. Nothing but the faint snore of an old man. He tried to open the door but it was locked. If it was locked with a key, he could pick it, but if it was bolted he would have to burst it open. He prayed for luck as he picked the lock. When it opened, he smiled, and drew out his Bersa Thunder 380 with a silencer already in place. The room was so large that the bed in the centre looked small. The assassin could see two figures in the bed. He approached the bed where the Minister lay with his elderly wife.
He collected a spare pillow, placed it gently above the man’s head, not allowing it to touch the Minister. He pressed the nozzle of the silencer to the pillow. He pulled the trigger once. The old man’s head blasted as his legs kicked up and he lay quiet. The small pop the blast generated and the kick did not wake the sleeping woman. Rather, she turned lazily towards her now dead husband and began to snore. He smiled, realizing it was her snores he had heard.
Simon Chuba didn’t shoot the woman. He turned and hurried out of the room, closing the door. Then he headed down to the kitchen and opened the door. He saw flashlights from the security quarters and heard footsteps approaching the backyard, probably for a regular security check because of the power shortage. It wouldn’t be long before they noticed the hole in the fence. He hurried to the fence and crawled out.
TWENTY-FIVE
Friday, 26th March 2010
Easter was approaching with great speed. Lots of preparations were being made on the Island. Chief Amechi was inspecting his businesses. He also wanted to attend the burial of the Minister of Justice, two days after Easter.
Donaldo and his father went to shop at a supermarket in Abakaliki. The Chief had been insisting that his son accompany him on his various errands under the guise of spending quality time together before his trip to Italy, but they both knew it was a lie. While there, they met the Chubas.
Evangelist Chuba was dressed in a shirt tucked into well-starched plain trousers. He walked side by side with his wife, Miss Spencer and Adeline.
Donaldo watched the men exchange hugs. His father then hugged Adeline and her mother. Adeline felt like killing him for what he had done to Donaldo and to Donaldo’s mother. Now she knew everything.
‘You are grown up now, Adeline,’ Chief Amechi said.
‘Thanks.’ She and Donaldo avoided each other’s eyes. He leaned on a rack of goods and watched other shoppers go past. He could see the Chubas’ guards scattered all over the mall.
‘Your daughter is now a grown woman… I guess it’s time I came to see if she would agree to marry me,’ Chief Amechi joked. When Adeline was much younger, she used to call Chief Donald Amechi her husband and everyone would laugh. This was because he had bought her a gift on her seventh birthday and called her his wife.
‘No… no! You are an old man. Besides, you are an Islander. My daughter won’t marry anyone who lives there!’ Mrs Chuba said. She laughed with her husband and Miss Spencer. Donaldo would have smiled too, if he hadn’t known that his father was aware of his relationship with Adeline. He wondered if he should tell her.
‘Why wouldn’t she marry someone who lives on the Island? It’s a nice place,’ the Chief said.
‘Because it is surrounded by water. One of these days, with climate change, floods will swallow all of you,’ Mrs Chuba joked.
‘No. Our God is not that of the white men. Things like that don’t happen in Africa,’ said Chief Amechi.
‘God is God,’ Chuba retorted. They laughed.
‘Donaldo, how are you?’ Mrs Chuba asked.
Donaldo came forward.
‘I am fine.’
‘Donaldo has grown up too,’ Evangelist Chuba said.
Chief Amechi was proud. ‘Oh yes. His art is now world class. He is a genius in that field. Nothing and no one will prevent his success, he is meant for greatness.’ Chief Amechi looked briefly in Adeline’s direction. She noticed it, but thought her mind was playing tricks on her. Donaldo stepped back and Miss Spencer joined Adeline.
Evangelist Chuba excused himself and the Chief, telling the others they had much to catch up with, the boring business of old men, and that the others should continue shopping.
Donaldo quickly hurried away. Adeline’s eyes searched for him as she walked down the supermarket aisles.
‘It was a fine job, that of the Minister,’ Evangelist Chuba said, in a lowered voice.
‘I trust your brother. The police and the Security Service will investigate the case forever.’
‘Any information about the terrorists?’ Chuba asked.
‘So far, everything is going smoothly. The young men have grown in number. The pay is good. They have a new sport and believe that they do the will of the Almighty, so recruitment is not a problem. Our friends in the North have silenced all their enemies. We will win almost all the seats in the Senate and in the Lower House, the governorship positions, everything. Sheikh Kabiru Ibrahim has told me that the local government election in Sokoto in the next two months will be used to reward those men who have been sympathetic to our cause.’
Chuba was quiet, listening. He leaned closer and whispered, ‘They are doing great in Katsina. But what about other nearby states?’
‘Did you not hear of the Kano bombing? Sheikh Kabiru arranged it and Shedrack built and transported the bomb there. Their base in Kano is bigger than that in Katsina but we have chosen to make the operation clandestine for now… that is even better. The Government has concentrated their efforts in Katsina, but they do not know that we have a bigger establishment in Kano. We are working in Sokoto and Zamfara. Maiduguri is too hot. But we will get there.’
‘Why is Maiduguri so hot?’
‘There are a lot of other smaller groups operating there already.’
‘With different motives?’
‘Yes, different motives and fighting for different causes. But we will bring them into our fold as soon as the backing comes from Afghanistan—’
‘Oh! The training?’
‘Yes.’
‘And the funds?’
‘Turkey, Yemen, Syria, UAE and the US.’
‘Great.’
‘Yes. Alhaja Amina Zungeru and Professor Yerima Musa are working on it. Amina has been of great assistance from her base in London. Women are extremely valuable. They can achieve what men would never even dream of.’
‘I didn’t know she was in this.’
‘There is much you do not know, brother.’
‘The more I know, the more headaches I have. It is better for me.’
‘On Good Friday, the Government will pay JMJ a lot of money in an attempt to stop the attacks. We hear there is a lot of international pressure on them. They are looking into negotiations.’
The two men paused for some shoppers to pass. They walked to a more secluded part of the shop.
‘What is the option?’ the Evangelist asked.
‘Are we n
ot the Government?’
‘So do we negotiate?’
‘Do you negotiate with death? We receive the money and order the Sheikh to hibernate the boys for a month or two or even three. Then they will announce a provocation and start all over again. Look, brother, the way I see it, things won’t calm down till after the elections. When we are sure of where we stand.’
Evangelist Chris Chuba took a deep breath. ‘May God be with us,’ he said.
‘He is with us, brother.’
Chuba noticed his wife standing at the other end of the aisle waiting for him. The Chief said, ‘There is a problem.’
‘What?’
‘Alhaji Umar Hassan’s brother has received help from Chad.’
Chuba was silent. As his wife approached them, Chief Amechi took his friend’s hand in a handshake and in a louder voice said, ‘Join us for lunch on Easter Sunday.’
‘That will be our pleasure,’ the Evangelist responded.
The next Monday, Donaldo was at the chapel for the Easter confession with his father. The crowd was bigger than usual. He sat in the back pew. Rain clouds roamed the sky, and thunder roared like a group of hungry lions. The breeze made the gmelina trees outside the chapel swirl about and birds flew across the chapel as if to join in the confession.
He watched his father kneel to pray before confession and he watched as the priest entered the confessionary. His father was the first to go to the priest and kneel down. Donaldo checked his watch. His father spent about seven minutes there, and he wondered what sins he was confessing. His heart asked him to stop. He was committing a sin by even thinking like that.
Donaldo’s heart was beating faster than usual: how could he confess fornication? He was afraid the priest might tell his father. His uncle from Palermo had taught him to trust no one, not even priests. They could whisper, he thought.
‘Next!’ He heard the priest shout after banging on his seat and saw no one coming. Donaldo was startled and hurried up. Some girls in the congregation admired him as he trudged to the confessionary.
‘Forgive me, oh Father, for I have sinned through my own thoughts, my characters and words,’ he said. His voice was sober. ‘Father, I lied so many times—’
‘Please, my son… when was your last confession?’
‘A couple of months back, Father…’ He had forgotten the actual date ‘… I called the name of my God in vain… I missed mass.’
‘Son, can you tell me how many times you committed each of those sins?’
Donaldo was uncomfortable. One thing bugged him and he wondered whether to confess it.
‘I missed mass about ten times, Father. I called my God’s name in vain so many times. Father, I, I stole money from my father twice… I gave it to someone who needed it.’
The old priest’s voice came abruptly, ‘It’s a sin to steal. No matter the cause. What is the fifth commandment?’
‘Thou shalt not steal, Father.’
‘You see. You must report yourself to your father and ask for forgiveness. Understand?’
‘Yes, Father, I understand…’ After a pause, he said, ‘All these sins and others I don’t remember, I plead for forgiveness from the Lord.’
‘Say five decades of the rosary for three days. Don’t miss mass again, son.’
‘Yes, Father.’
‘The act of contrition,’ the priest reminded him. He said the act of contrition. The priest blessed him and knocked at his seat. Another person was already coming as the priest lifted his arm to bless Donaldo.
That night Donaldo was troubled, as he did not know how to tell his father that he had stolen from him and his heart pricked him for failing to confess his whole sins before the priest. For the first time in many years, he watched television with his father. He pleaded with him to include Ogiji’s name on the list of people to be sent for training on modern rice milling. Chief Amechi agreed, to his son’s utmost surprise.
‘I will agree because you have agreed to travel to Italy,’ his father said. Donaldo stopped smiling.
TWENTY-SIX
Easter Sunday, 4th April 2010
The Chubas sat with the Amechis at the long dining table. The food was served by Madam Vero, whose own family had come for Easter, but they were eating in the kitchen; only her daughter helped her serve the food. Donaldo watched Adeline. He wanted to grab her and kiss her and caress her. He played with his food, even though he was hungry.
After dessert, they all moved to the sitting room.
‘So, my dear, what do you do now? I believe you have graduated from university, right?’ Mrs Chuba asked Donaldo. Adeline felt like closing her mother’s mouth. Miss Spencer gave Donaldo a knowing look. He kept quiet.
Chief Amechi cut in, ‘Donaldo does not waste his talent at college. When he finished primary school, we noticed he had an extraordinary gift for art. An expert saw Donaldo’s great potential and advised that I shouldn’t send him to school any more. He said Donaldo would do better if he could focus on art and be trained by special teachers from all over the world. So Donaldo studies art, away from distractions that would dilute his natural talent. He has been taught by international professionals and they all said he knew even more than they did.’
‘That’s wonderful,’ Mrs Chuba said, ‘but won’t that make him less social—’
‘Hey no! Does a man need to be social? What a man needs is money and fame and power. And he is on the verge of achieving that.’ The Chief smiled at his son. Donaldo said nothing. Mrs Chuba knew that her husband and his friend cared only for wealth and power.
‘The Lord is good. “And I will lift thee from Egypt and put thee in the land full of honey and milk”,’ the Evangelist chanted.
‘Donaldo is so good that if he were to paint your daughter, you would mistake her for one of the angels of God,’ Chief Amechi boasted. His words made the Evangelist uncomfortable.
After the meal, Donaldo asked permission to show Adeline around the Island. Chief Amechi, fully aware of his son’s true intentions, tried to object, as did the Evangelist, trusting no one with his daughter, but Madam Vero and Mrs Chuba insisted they let the young people be. Chief Amechi conceded, but knew then that something had to be done if he was to protect his son’s future.
Alone near the river, Donaldo and Adeline held hands. He wanted to put his arm round her waist, but thought better of it, in case his father should send someone or the Chubas came for their daughter. Fear still gripped him over his father’s words, but he tried to put it out of his head, focusing on Adeline, who looked so lovely.
To hell with my father, he thought and turned Adeline to face him. Then, looking round one more time to check that they were alone, he took out a small box from his pocket that he had been carrying around for some time.
‘Adeline,’ he said, ‘I am a mad man now… I am madly in love. I do not sleep at night. I can’t do anything without thinking of you. My heart pounds at the very thought of you. Sometimes I wonder if my heart will fail me.’ He went down on one knee.
‘Donaldo! What are you doing? Someone might see us…’ Her voice trembled.
‘I believe that this madness is a good one. I am in love. I am in love with the most beautiful girl in the world. And if that is madness then I want to be mad for the rest of my life.’ He took out a ring from the box. Adeline’s hands went to her mouth. ‘Please marry me, Adeline. Please.’
Adeline was so overwhelmed that she was left speechless. He placed his mother’s ring on her finger. She kissed it before kissing him.
When they finally released each other, their eyes scanned the whole area for anyone watching them. There was no one around. They stood there for a while, hand in hand, until Adeline regained her composure, and said, ‘Let us hurry back. I don’t want our fathers to get suspicious.’
As they walked they talked, and as they approached the house Adeline removed the ring, placing it safely in a handkerchief in her purse.
‘So, how many kids do you want?’ she asked him.
/> Donaldo laughed joyfully and, with a final stolen kiss, they walked back into the house to join their families.
The following night, as Chris Chuba was changing into his pyjamas, the phone rang on his private line and he picked it up, glad his wife was with Adeline. He locked the door.
‘Hello!’
‘The Brotherhood greets!’
‘May His reign be forever,’ the Evangelist responded.
The voice at the other end of the line was silent for a few moments, then said, ‘You are aware, Evangelist, that every seven years you are required by the Brotherhood to make a special and solemn offering as proof of your loyalty.’
‘Is my loyalty to the Brotherhood in question?’ Chris Chuba was taken aback. He had never been prompted about his offerings before, and he certainly needed no reminder of his duties.
‘Should it be?’
‘No.’ Chuba began to worry. ‘Forgive me. Seven years have passed so quickly. I will arrange a contribution—’
‘That won’t be necessary. The Tais has already decided upon a suitable offering, something that will guarantee the Brotherhood’s satisfaction with your loyalty.’
‘I see.’ Chuba’s palms began to sweat. It was rare for a specific offering to be ordered, and it was never good.
‘Have you not been blessed beyond the imagination of the angels in heaven?’
‘Of course I have been blessed. I cannot ask for more—’
‘Good. As you know, family life can be such a distraction for a man as great as yourself. The love of family can make it difficult for a man to act in the way he was created to, with logic and reason. There can be no greater show of strength than to learn to sacrifice even one’s own family for the greater cause. And no greater honour for those we love than to play such a vital role in the success of our Brotherhood.’
Chuba could not speak, his mouth was dry and his hands shook. He thought of his wife and slumped onto the bed. He knew her increased fame and success as Evangelist Franca Chuba had raised eyebrows among his peers, and everyone knew how he obsessed over her. He waited for the inevitable.
Satans and Shaitans Page 13