by Terry Morgan
CHAPTER 28
"Where are you, Sol?"
"In Accra. More to the point, Femi, where are you? I've been trying to phone you all day."
"Right now, Sol, I'm in the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Washington in a room that Jim McAllister uses for meetings. Craig Donovan was here once. Jim's expecting Governor Frank Jameson here in an hour. I've not seen him since Los Angeles. Remember that? A lot's happening, Sol. We need to catch up."
"Definitely we need to catch up. I've already cancelled two events. Why didn't you tell me you were flying to Washington from Nairobi?"
"You were at a funeral. I've not even had time to call Mark. Well, I tried Mark once but his phone was off. Bill Larsen's was off too. Anyway, I got a free flight out here so don't worry about the expenses. Listen I gotta go. Why don't you call me later?"
"Where are you staying?"
"Hampton Inn, Chinatown area."
"What's wrong with the Holiday Inn Express?"
"Jim McAllister wanted me to stay at the Mandarin. Imagine that?"
"So how much is the Hampton Inn?"
"McAllister's paying, Sol. Stop worrying. Listen, I'll call you later."
"Who paid for your flight?"
Gabriel laughed. "Steve Kendrick. He'd already paid for my bail and, by chance, he was in Nairobi. We flew to Washington together in Albatross One. I'll phone you, Sol, Jim McAllister's just arrived." Then the phone went dead.
"Femi?" It was Solomon's third time of trying since the phone died on him. This time the ring tone stopped, there were voice noises off as if someone had picked it up and was holding it. "Femi?" he shouted.
"Sol. Yes. I'm in the middle of........"
"Listen to me for fuck's sake, will you?"
"Phone me back in........"
"For God's sake, Femi, listen to me. Benjamin's dead."
There was a rustling sound in Solomon's ear then silence. "Femi?"
"I heard you, Sol........ Benjamin? Dead? When? What happened?"
"COK, Femi. They also killed two village people."
There was a longer silence this time. "How, Sol?"
"You really want details, Femi? I'm surprised no-one's told you or is it because no-one's interested where you are? His body's being flown back to UK. His family already know. The British press have already picked it up - 'Aid worker killed in COK attack in Niger'. That's it. And Mark's in trouble, Sol. That's why he's not using a phone. He's with Martin Abisola?"
"The SS? Why? I thought..........."
"Listen Femi. I can talk to Colin Asher but not Mark. Mark's co-operating with the SS. Someone tried to shoot him again. He's playing it down - all in a day's work. Point is Femi, Mark works for us. I feel as responsible for him as I do for Kenneth and Benjamin. And Halima, remember her?"
"Of course,"
"Daniel Bakare is organising for her to go to Abuja for a press conference, a PR stunt according to Colin Asher, but Bakare and Taj Harding think it might pay off with aid money. Are you really saying you're too fucking busy to know what's going on in your name?"
There was a quiet pause. All Sol could hear was talking and laughter in the background but Gabriel, if he was still on the phone, was silent.
"But we got our drone surveillance, Sol. You hear about that?"
"I heard. Did you clinch that or did Craig Donovan have something to do with it?
"OK, OK. I'll fly back, Sol."
"Fly back to where, Femi? To Nigeria? To London? And what will you do when you get there?"
Solomon could no longer wait for Gabriel to respond. "And Craig and Colin Asher have been busy organising your bail, getting arrests for money laundering and bank fraud - Nigerians with COK connections. Are you starting to understand me? Most of this is Mark's work but he's putting his own life on the line. This is our doing. We started it. So, do you want to talk about things over a fucking phone and carry on with your party or what?"
"OK, OK. What do you suggest, Sol?"
"I suggest you finish what you're doing right now and meet me in Accra. And while you're in the air, Femi, give some thought to what you're going to do about the Project, about Halima, about Bill Larsen and about what Mark's uncovered. Then start updating your plans to change the world."
"I hear you. Sol, I hear you. What happened to Ben?"
"Why do you want to know? Do you, like me, feel some responsibility?"
"Of course, Sol."
"Then do you remember what you always say at conventions about more and more atrocities and that they move closer and closer to home? If so then I'll tell you. Ben's throat was cut and then he was beheaded."