TARASHA Episode 6 – Oyin Oluwatosin Emmanuel

TARASHA Episode 6 – Oyin Oluwatosin Emmanuel

**29.11.2015**

*7am

The news of the minister’s death was greeted with great shock and grief throughout the country and the African continent as a whole. Unemployed youths and adults remained indoors that morning, fixing their gazes on the TV screen as circumstances surrounding the minister’s death were being unveiled. Workers who rushed to their offices also had their earphones stuck to their ears, listening to the news reported on the various radio stations.

At first, the country’s news stations reported that the minister was shot by unknown gunmen in his residence and had been taken to the hospital ,immediately many well wishers and patriotic citizens  began to offer emergency prayers to God for the preservation of the man’s life. It was till morning time that it was divulged that the man died immediately after been shot by escorts of the Ghanaian minister. The country’s president also took to his Facebook page to pay tribute to the late minister.

‘Excellent job done!’ Chief Nonso exclaimed, his face beamed with smiles as he gave Chief Gab a high five and took his seat beside the man in the three seater sofa. ‘She delivered at the set time’

‘Yeah’ Chief Gab replied happily, keeping his focus on the TV screen. ‘The job was done neatly’

‘That girl is good, she did it in a way that the street cameras did not capture anything’ Chief Nonso continued.

‘Shhhh!’ Chief Gab hushed, he increased the TV volume with the remote control. The Lagos state commissioner of police was being interviewed by some journalists.

“The tragic loss of the honorable minister came as a shocking news to everyone of us in this nation including the security forces. What is  more painful to us is the fact that he died in the hands of our supposed trained security officials. But we are doing our best to capture all those responsible for this great offence and we promise to arrest the killers as soon as possible”

“How do you intend to find them?” A journalist posed a question. “We are aware that the security cameras failed at the time the murder took place”

“No, the security cameras were perfectly in shape” the commissioner lied. “We only had a little network issue with the transmission but we’re already working towards recovering the files”

“How long will that take sir?” Another question was thrown at the minister.

“I have to go” the commisioner ignored the question, he was being led away hurriedly by the junior officers guarding him.

‘Hahahaha’ Chief Gab laughed loudly, he tuned down the TV volume. ‘The commissioner looks so confused’

‘He is really confused’ Chief Nonso stood up to pick the bottle of wine on the center table, he removed the cover and poured the liquid into two glass cups.

‘Let’s toast to our success’ He handed a cup to  Chief Gab who stood up merrily. Their glasses met and they took a sip before returning to their sitting position.

‘One gone, three more to go’ Chief Gab said as he settled back into the seat. ‘I’ll send Jubril’s details to Tarasha today’

‘No, not Jubril yet’ Chief Nonso opposed, he dropped the glass cup on the table. ‘Let’s take down Kelechi Edwin first’

‘Why Kelechi first? Chief Gab asked with a surprise tone. ‘Don’t you think we should still leave him to enjoy Rivers State money a little before he dies? I don’t even understand why you want him down yet’

‘Come on, he has enjoyed enough already’Chief Nonso retorted. ‘He’s gaining the trust of so many people already, they are beginning to like him for governing Rivers State very well’

‘Well, that shouldn’t be our problem, the people loved you for governing Abia Statements well during your tenure’ Chief Gab argued.

‘It is our problem if he continues to gain so much fans, he’s done ten times of what I did in my right years in just six years of governing’

‘Well…’

‘I should have done better Gab, but remember that I couldn’t abandon you…’.

‘Don’t remind me of all that Nonso’ Chief Gab cut in. ‘I would have done the same, if you were in my position’

‘I know and that’s why I decided to help you, that’s why I saved so much from Abia. I knew we will need it some day’ Chief Nonso replied calmly, trying not to heat up the situation.

‘Okay, what are you saying now? I don’t really understand why Kelechi should be the next’

‘Simple, it is very obvious with the way things are going that he would succeed the president if something is not done’ Chief Nonso explained. ‘I won’t be able to beat him at the Party’s primaries, so if we take him down now, nobody would suspect be like they would if it happens close to the election period’

‘Okay’ Chief Gab prolonged the word as he nodded his head in realization. ‘You should have explained better. We have to take him out first because he’ll definitely step in your way’

‘Yea, that’s what I’m saying ‘

‘Okay, Kelechi is it then’

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

*9pm*

Cole laughed loudly as he read the several comments of the previously grieved Nigerians, who now turned around to insult the late minister after seeing the video of the man, where he connived with the Lagos state commissioner and other organizers of the conference to defraud the federal government.

The video circulated easily and quickly without need for special publicity since the minister’s death news was still trending on the internet that day. It received more than six thousand views in less than one hour after Cole uploaded it with a new YouTube account. Most of the viewers were those redirected from Google search while they surfed to find out more about the minister’s murder.

Now the video has reached over a million views in just five hours. Various social networks and forums like nairaland.com and LindaIkeji Blog also aided in the video spread; several comments on these forums revealed that the people were more shocked to discover that the minister was corrupt than they were at his death. Even the President’s tribute speech on TV that evening was slightly changed to a speech warning other government officials from involving themselves in corrupt deals.

However, the police authorities vowed to track down the person behind the YouTube account, stating that they were positive that the YouTube account had a connection with the killers. They also encouraged that anyone who witnessed the crime or had any useful information should waste no time in releasing the information to the police.

More reports on various news platforms disclosed that the police officers accused of carrying out the assassination were found laying unconscious in a mechanic workshop, tests conducted on them proved that they were drugged. The policeman who drove the Camsol used for the crime was later found dead in the same car, parked at the front of an abandoned guesthouse.

‘Cole’ Benny called, walking into the sitting room with a bottle of beer. ‘How ya doing man?’

‘Hey, you’re back’ He placed his tablet device on the table and sat up. ‘Where have you been?’

‘Around town man, remember Boss says we can flex if we want to. She only warned us to be careful’ Benny replied, he sat on another chair close to Cole and bent to take off his shoes. ‘Where’s Aisha?’

‘She’s gone out, she’ll be back tomorrow morning’ Cole answered, standing up to take the beer. He walked up to the mini bar in the sitting room to pick a cup.

‘She’s gone out?’ Benny asked like he didn’t hear the first time.

‘Don’t worry Benny, your food has been prepared’ Cole laughed as he took a sip. ‘I know that’s what you’re worried about’

‘Better’ Benny’s face brightened up, he stood up and picked his shoes.

‘I’m thinking of hitting the club tonight, are you in?’ Cole inquired.

‘What kind of question is that?’ Benny gave him a funny look, he glanced at Cole’s phone ringing on the table. ‘You know I’m always in’

Cole walked to the table and picked up his phone with his left hand, the cup of beer was in the right hand.

‘It’s Boss’ he whispered to Benny before answering the call. ‘Hello Boss’

‘Hey man, whats up with you?’ Tarasha greeted in a friendly manner.

‘Nothing much Boss, what about you?’ Cole replied

‘Same here, I’m just trying to get used to the country’

‘Oh! Lagos is cool, you’ll find it lovely’

‘Maybe you should have taken me out, instead of staying indoors all day’ she said.

‘Huh? Me? Take you out?’ He was a bit surprised hearing her suggest that he should take her out.

‘Isn’t that better than staying in all day like you’re also new in the country?’ She continued.

‘Ermm…’ Cole stammered, he cleared his throat, trying to gain more confidence. He finally did and asked, ‘would you like clubbing tonight?’

‘Oh! Not tonight, maybe some other time’ she turned down his offer.

‘Okay’ he replied in a low tone, disappointed.

‘Where’s Aisha?’ She demanded, ignoring the note of disappointment heard in his voice.

‘Huh?’ The question met him unprepared, it was her first time of ever asking about Aisha. ‘She went out’

‘Alright’ Tarasha said with a concluding note, ‘rest well, our job continues on Monday. Goodnight’

‘Goodnight Boss’  the call ended.

Cole was lost in deep fantasy for a moment, he wondered what it would have been like clubbing with Tarasha, he wondered how it will feel having her on the same bed with him.

‘What did she say?’ Benny’s voice jolted him to reality.

‘Nothing’ he returned sharply. ‘She only said she’ll like me to take her round town next time’

‘You??’ Benny asked with jealousy showing in his eyes. ‘I’m sure she was joking with you?’

‘No man, she was serious’ Cole laughed, noticing the jealousy in Benny’s voice. He stopped abruptly after something came into his mind, a confused look appeared on his face. ‘How the hell did she know I was indoor all day?’

Benny hissed and walked away, leaving Cole to figure out things for himself.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

**30.11.2030**

*6am

Don got up sluggishly from the bed with a blanket tied round his body and opened the window curtains to have a view of his men working in the compound downstairs. He caught a glimpse of Aisha in his kitchen through the slightly opened door as he slumped back lazily into his bed, she was wearing one of his shirts on her pant.

His eyes met the trousers and boxers he scattered on the floor last night, when he couldn’t control his urge on seeing her, after she had gone away for over a week. He remembered pleading with her to come spend the night with him that weekend, his pleading wasn’t in vain as he had been compensated with several rounds of sex.

‘Hi Don’ Aisha greeted, walking into the room with two cups of hot liquid in her hands.

‘Hi’ he responded, getting up to pick his clothes on the floor, he got into another boxers.

She dropped the cups on a stool and sat on the bed, waiting for Don to join her.

‘I made some… ‘ she was saying when Don gently pushed and laid her on the bed, covering her body with his.

‘No coffee is sweater than you’ he said and dragged up her shirt, revealing the upper region of her body.

‘No Don, it’s okay already’ She resisted and rolled away. ‘I have to leave soon, I didn’t take permission to come here’

‘Do you have to now take permission to come to me? Remember I sent you there’ Don grumbled.

‘Come on, you know I have to work by rules of the job’ Aisha retorted. ‘She has warned us against going out frequently to avoid suspicion from the neighborhood’

‘Oh well! I really have to salute you guys for the Minister’s job, I wouldn’t have believed it wasn’t police officials that gunned down the man if you didn’t tell me’ Don commended as he sat up. ‘It was done neatly’

‘Thanks, but please no one else has to know how we did the job’ Aisha pleaded.

‘Of course, you can trust me’ Don took a sip of the hot coffee and mocked. ‘I’m already overrating you people,It’s not that the job was to hard though’

‘Hehe’ she chuckled. ‘Could you have done the job without leaving any traces behind?’

‘Yes I would have, I have the best team in Nigeria right now’ Don boasted.

‘No you couldn’t have done it. Do you remember that little Doctor’s job we did last?’ She asked as she took her own cup of coffee.

‘That was just an unusual error’ Don defended his team. ‘It doesn’t mean we’re not the best’

‘No, it wasn’t an error’ She argued. ‘You did your best in that job but we couldn’t just cover up our tracks, we had to poison some of our members before the police took them’

‘When are you going to find out where Tarasha lives?’ Don changed the discussion, after a moment of awkward silence.

‘I don’t know yet, no one seems to know. She just appears and disappears’

‘And you can’t try to trail her?’ Don pushed further.

‘I dare not, I won’t even go far before I’m caught’

‘That’s a lie, isn’t she human? She has just succeeded in creating fear into you. All you need to do is watch and monitor her carefully’

‘Don, please I don’t want any trouble’ Aisha said, looking straight into Don’s eyes.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

** 01.12.2030 **

Tarasha inhaled a huge quantity of the the moisture filled air as she parked her bike close to the bush, she removed her helmet and hung it on the bike. She gently brushed back part of the long hair which covered her left eye with her hand. She looked right and saw another bike approaching, ignoring it she began to walk slowly towards the narrow path of the bush which probably led to a village.

After riding the expressway for about two hours she decided to take a break, walking around the bush a little. She surged forward through the narrow path, playing with the leaves as she moved.

She suddenly stopped midway on hearing the sounds of some movement behind her, she looked behind her, nobody was there. She took another two steps and paused, she bent to pick a stone. She turned backward and aimed something at the left side of the bush.

‘Yaaay!’ Someone moaned and came out from the bush, using his hand to massage the part of his forehead where the stone hit him. Tarasha ignored and kept walking forward.

‘That was cruel’ he shouted at her.

‘What was cruel?’ She stopped and asked, without turning back. ‘Why have you been following me?’

‘Huh? Did you look now I was following you?’ He trotted closer , still rubbing his forehead.

She turned back and proceeded out of the bush path without looking at him. He paused and stared at her before following.

‘Your bike started following me from the Solid Quarry junction’ Tarasha stated, heading for her bike. His bike was parked just behind hers.

‘Huh? You knew? Why didn’t you stop then?’ He was perplexed, his shoulders dropped as he stood still after getting out of the bush part. He wondered why Tarasha did not take a look at him, he walked further closer to her.

‘What?’ Tarasha growled, offended as his hand was on hers resisting her from putting on the helmet.

‘Why are you shy? You can’t even look at my face’ he mocked.

‘Shy?’ She took his hand away and wore the helmet.

‘If you aren’t shy, then why are you hiding your pretty face? You don’t want me to see it clearly?’ He taunted.

She ignored him and sat on the bike, after wearing her gloves well she started the engine. She attempted to ride off but he stopped her, standing at the front with the front tyre in between his legs.

‘Come on, I won’t hurt you. I just want to have a little chat. Let’s get to know each other’

She raised her head and stared into his face through the helmet transparent cover. She spoke in a harsh voice, ‘Your name is Henry and you’re a rider, I have no time for your association’

She pushed him with her right hand gently, but powerfully enough to make him stagger backwards. She reversed the bike and drove off, narrowly missing him as he jumped away quickly.

He stood still watching as she raced off, wondering what type of girl she was. Her declaration of his name affirmed to him that she was the same girl he had met on the same expressway some few weeks ago.

Since that day, he had been riding through that location every Sunday evening, hoping to  meet her again. Now that he had the opportunity, she didn’t give even listen to him, rather she put up a wild behavior.

Maybe she was scared that he was dangerous or that he might harm her. But he was just a rider who wanted to make friends with a female rider who he viewed to be very skillful. He wished she could see that his intention was pure.

He heaved a sigh and headed for his bike, he bent to dodge a nylon of sachet water thrown at his direction as an inter-state passenger’s bus sped past. 

He tried to picture Tarasha’s face in his mind as he sat on the bike, putting on the helmet. He didn’t get a very clear view but he could conclude with the little he got that she was pretty and had a light skinned complexion.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

‘Officer James’ James stood up from the cell’s cold rigid floor as he heard his name. He saw a uniformed warder with the approaching with Officer Segun.

He moved closer to the room bars, the warder opened the door and motioned him outside. Segun saluted him,trying fruitlessly to hide the look of pity in his face.

‘You’re free to go, officer James’ the warder said, handing over his clothes in a nylon bag to him. 

**few minutes later**

Segun drove in the black Camry, with neatly dressed James at the front seat with him. He glanced occasionally at his boss, trying to figure out the right way to begin a conversation.

‘You said Oga is waiting for me?’ James began, using Oga to refer to his immediate superior.

‘Yes, he says he wants to speak with you as soon as you’re out’ Segun answered.

James heaved a sigh and paused for a moment before talking again.

‘What about Emeka?’ He asked of the stout officer who drove with him in the jeep that picked the Ghanaian minister.

‘He should also be released today’ Segun replied.

‘So he was put in detention too?’ James posed a rhetorical question. ‘What about Officer Tunde and the others?’

‘Officer Tunde is dead o’ Segun voice was full of pity. ‘He was found dead in the car, the others were found drugged in the mechanic workshop beside our office’

‘So there’s no way to find out if Tunde was a party to the assassination?’ He questioned without expecting an answer, he rubbed his palm on his forehead and on his face.

Silence reigned for the rest of the journey to the station. James immediate boss was standing in the compound with his hands at his back, facing the station building. James’ eyes met with his when the man looked back as they drove in. The man turned well to face their direction and watched as they drove the car to a halt and stepped out.

‘Good afternoon sir’ James and Segun saluted, waking towards the man.

‘How are you James?’ The man responded and extended his hand to James. ‘Well done Segun’

‘Fine sir’ James replied, taking the man’s feeble hand in his.

They began walking slowly into the station as they talked.

‘James, the truth is I’m really disappointed in you’ the man continued with a note of regret in his voice. ‘I didn’t believe something like that could happen when you’re in charge’

James bowed his head in shame, avoiding the look on the various officers� faces as they walked through the opened offices to the man’s office.

‘What were you thinking when an escort car suddenly disappeared and then reappeared? Why didn’t you stop to check?’ The man reprimanded loudly as they moved away from earshot. ‘This shouldn’t have happened to a officer of so much experience and training like you’

‘I’m s…sorry sir’ James replied almost in whispers, trying to find his voice. ‘I was only trying not to disturb the minister’s comfort’

The man punched in the pass code to the office door and metal door slid gently open. He took off his suit jacket and hung it before taking his seat.

‘Sit down’ he said to James who still remained standing, waiting for the order.

‘Thank you sir’

‘There’s more work now, the killers have to be found before the end of next month, that’s the deadline given to us by the commissioner’ the man explained. ‘That means that there’s no rest for you, you have to get to work immediately and you must not fail’

‘I will not fail sir’ James replied, swearing under his breath to do everything possible to nab the killers within the given time.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

‘Damn! Slash his head dude’ Cole exclaimed excitedly, punching the buttons on his joystick as his avatar stood over Benny’s after taking it down with a uppercut, it stood over the opponent drew out a sword. Cole sat on the rug close to the TV, in order to have a close view and enjoy the game. Benny was sitting on a stool not far from Cole at the other side, eyes glued to the TV screen with the other game pad in his hand.

‘Never’ Benny retaliated; his avatar sent a heavy kick to Cole’s, making it stagger far behind. He smiled as his avatar stood up and charged towards Cole’s avatar in rage but Cole was faster, he dogged Benny’s attack, returning it with a heavy kick.

‘Hey guys’ Tarasha walked into the sitting room, dividing their attention.

‘Welcome Boss’ Cole replied, he paused the game and stood up. 

‘Good afternoon Boss’ Benny greeted, also getting up to his feet. ‘We’ve been expecting you’

‘Been trying to get something done’ she replied and took a seat. ‘We’re leaving for Rivers this week’

‘Rivers?’ They asked simultaneously, surprised.

‘Yes Rivers, we have a job to do there’ Tarasha continued. ‘Which of you knows the city very well?’

Both stared at each other for a moment before Benny spoke, ‘I’ve only been there once’

‘That means we have more work to do’ she crossed her leg and leaned on the chair arm. ‘Cole would get some geographical and street maps of the city for us to study’

‘Okay, but what job is it? Who’s the target now?’ Cole curiosity pushed him to ask.

‘I’ll keep that to myself for now’ Tarasha denied him the answer. ‘Let’s focus on getting there first’

‘Why don’t you want to tell us?’ Benny interrupted. ‘It would help us in guiding, you know we are used to the country more than you are. Or are you scared that we’re going to sell you out?’

Tarasha narrowed her look at the guys and gave a long wicked laugh. She suddenly stopped and asked, ‘where’s Aisha?’

‘Humm’ Aisha answered with a shaky voice before any of the two guys could respond. She appeared with a bottle of wine and three glass cups from the corridor leading to the other rooms

From the way she appeared swiftly, one could easily conclude that she had been listening silently to their conversation and was shocked to hear Tarasha ask about her.

‘Good afternoon’ Aisha curtsied.

‘Hi, where have you been? And where did you go on Friday night?’ Tarasha asked with a frown.

‘I went to my boyfriend’s place’ she gave an already prepared answer, ignoring the first question.

Tarasha smiled and turning back to face the two guys, she took a sip from the wine Aisha served her. ‘We’ll leave on Thursday with two vehicles’

‘Huh?’ The surprised trio exchanged glances and returned their focus on Tarasha

‘Why land transport? Port Harcourt is a long distance from here’ Benny questioned.

‘How many hours journey is it?’ Tarasha inquired.

‘I’m not sure, but it shouldn’t be less than seven hours’ Benny replied.

‘Which of you can fly a jet?’ She paused, staring at their faces to get an answer. She continued when she got none, ‘I can fly a jet but we won’t be able to use it for to travel for this operation because there’s no personal landing space for us to use’

�We could get one to use, if you talk to Chief Gab, he can provide one for us� Cole suggested

�No� Tarasha objected, � that would announce our presence, it would make us exposed to the authorities�

�True� Benny whispered, aligning his thoughts with hers.

�We�ll go in two vehicles, a truck which would carry some cartons of books with our instruments hidden in them� Tarasha elaborated on the plan. �I and Benny would drive in the truck while Cole and Aisha would follow in a car. We�ll buy another car when we get there�

�Have you gotten a place for us to stay when we get there?�

�Yes, there�s a building prepared for our use in Oro�ro�gboom� She struggled to pronounce the town�s name, she brought out a tablet device and scrolled through. �Latitude 4.79071, longitude 7.01174�

Cole got up from his seat and proceeded to where Tarasha was seated, he placed a knee on the floor and bent to have a study the map on Tarasha�s device. She handed the device to him.

�Orogbum� He pronounced correctly, staring at his Boss� face. �It is very close to Port Harcourt�

�Its Okay, does anyone of you have questions to ask?� She got up from her seat, collecting the device from Cole.

�For how long would the operation last?� Cole asked.

�I don�t know yet, it depends on how fast we are able to come up with ideas� she gave a quick reply. �Any other question?�

They trio exchanged gazes in silence, not having any question.

�I�m sure that you guys are trained enough to keep all we�ve said here to yourselves� she admonished with a serious look on her face. Turning to Aisha, she added with a contorted look on her face �no one else should hear about this, including your boyfriend�

‘How on earth were three officers like you abducted so easily? I wondered where you got your training from’ James slammed at the three ex-officers seated before him. The guys had been dismissed from the force that morning, for incompetence and neglect of duty.

The trio stayed quiet, looking deeply grieved while James hurled insults at them.

‘You guys are most incompetent fellows I ever came across in the force’ he hammered. ‘Imagine, you don’t even remember a single thing that could help us with the investigation’

They remained mute with their heads bowed. Segun shook his head on contempt before he spoke, ‘there’s no need wasting time on this folks, I think we should just let them go and focus our investigation on something else’

James nodded in agreement, he stepped back gradually and turned, then he walked out of the room with Segun following closely.

‘I still think there’s something we can get from those guys’ James spoke as they walked the corridor.

‘I don’t think so, sir’ Segun retorted, ‘the doctors already confirmed they had memory loss’

‘But at least, they should remember what occurred before they were drugged’ James argued.

‘No, tests revealed that the impact of the drug on them was much and they lost memories of everything that happened two hours before they were drugged’

‘Well’ James sighed, he punched in the code to their office door and entered with Segun, he glanced at Sandra’s seat which was empty. ‘Where’s Sandra?

‘With the IG’ Segun answered sharply.

James halted before his desk, ‘I think the EFCC headquarters is our next place of visit now’

‘Yes’ Segun gave a short reply.

‘Just pick anything you need’ James said, picking up a pen and notepad. ‘We might be out for the rest of the day’

‘Sure’ Segun replied, he picked his phone and car key from his desk. ‘I’m ready sir’

‘Okay, let’s go’ they matched out of the station and proceeded to Segun’s car in the park. They drove out without wasting much time.

The Economic Financial Crime Commission, EFCC had immediately arraigned all the government officials involved in the planning of the dubious deal with late Nnamdi Okafor, using the video as the proof. Officials of the pharmacy which included Dr Hammed had also been invited to the headquarters for questioning.

‘I think we should head for Derl pharmacy first’ James suggested, making Segun halt to make a u-turn to the opposite direction.

They drove for another fifty minutes before they got to the Derl pharmacy headquarters. Entrance into the pharmacy was allowed by the security guard immediately the police officers flashed their ID cards.

James stepped out of the car first and walked into the pharmacy building, he was already discussing with the receptionist before Segun joined him.

‘Good morning, I’m Inspector James’ he displayed his ID card to the lady.

‘Good Morning sir, how may I help you?’ She replied politely.

‘I need to get some information from you, I hope you’ll help me’ James said without facing her, his eyes searching round the pharmacy.

‘Yes sir, I’ll try my possible best sir’ She answered.

‘Good, I need to know everyone that was in charge of the health conference that was supposed to come up last Saturday’ he began.

‘Ermm’ she stammered and gave a light frown. ‘I’m not really in the position to help you with that but I can show you to someone who can’

‘Please do immediately, thanks’ James said and stepped a little backwards. He and Segun whispered something to themselves as they watched the receptionist pick up the landline and spoke to someone briefly.

‘He will be here shortly’ she said to the officers, motioning them to the waiting area.

‘Thank you’ James replied, but advanced towards her instead of going to sit down. He continued questioning, ‘what about those doctors that were caught in that viral video? Where are they now?’

‘I don’t know where they are now but I know they’ve been fired already and invited by the EFCC for questioning’ the receptionist confirmed.

‘All of them?’

‘Yes’ she replied and looked towards a middle aged man approaching.

‘Is that the person you called?’ James asked, looking in the same direction.

‘Yes, he is the one’ she affirmed.

‘Good morning officers’ the man greeted as he approached them.

‘Good morning sir. I’m Officer James, officer in charge of the minister’s murder case’ James introduced, displaying his ID card once again.

‘Officer Segun’ Segun displayed alongside with him.

‘You’re welcome officers’ the man gave a faint smile. ‘Please let’s go to my office’

They took the elevator to the eighth floor, after which they walked another one minute to the office.

‘How may I help you gentlemen?’ He asked as he ushered the officers to the two visitors seat.

‘Like I said before, we are here in connection to the murder of Minister Nnamdi Okafor’ James started. ‘We are aware that he came to Lagos for a conference organized by your pharmacy’

‘No, the conference was being organized in conjunction with the ministry of health which the man controlled’ he corrected.

James smiled and continued, ‘we are also aware that he was in a meeting with the commissioner of health for Lagos state and some of your pharmacists that morning of the day he was murdered’

‘Yes, there was a meeting that held in our small conference room’

‘Were you aware of the meeting beforehand?’

‘Yes but only the senior pharmacists were in attendance’

‘The video of the meeting has gone viral, how did that happen? Why did your company release the video?’

‘We did not release any video neither did we know that the meeting was been recorded, it took us by surprise when we saw the video’ the man answered slowly, thinking deeply before he mentioned each word, he was being careful not to say anything that could further cause damage to the company’s name.

‘But you had a camera installed in the room? Who are those in charge of the cameras?’ James pressed further.

‘No camera was installed in that room, we only bring in cameras when there’s a meeting that we plan to air’

‘So you didn’t plan to air that?’

‘No, it was supposed to be a preparation meeting for the conference’

‘Then how was it recorded if you guys had no camera there’

‘I’m still confused about that, I personally checked the room after I saw the video but I found none of our cameras there’

‘Could it be that one of the participators did the recording?’ James queried.

‘No, I don’t think so. All of them were implicated in the video’

‘That’s true’ James thought deeply for a while. ‘Can we see the room where the meeting held?’

‘Yes for sure’ the man got up immediately. He removed a key from his drawer and led the way. ‘It’s on the tenth floor’

They used the elevator once again and got to the conference room in no time. James and Segun eyes wandered around the ceiling carefully, trying to locate any hidden camera.

After some minutes of searching, Segun got tired and spoke up. ‘I think the camera has been taken away from here’

‘Yea, I’m thinking the same too’ James added, looking at the pharmacist’s face for answers.

‘I don’t know about that’ the man gave a frown.

‘What about the cleaners and other people that gained entrance into here before and after the meeting?’ James asked.

‘We can call the cleaners and ask’ he answered, bringing out his cell phone.

‘Please do’ James joined Segun who was still inspecting the large table and chairs.

Twenty six people appeared ten minutes later in their cleaners uniform, most were middle aged women, only four young men and two ladies were among them.

‘Come inside properly’ Officer James ordered.

‘Which of you cleaned up this place in preparation for the meeting held last Thursday?’ the pharmacist asked the cleaners the first question.

‘It was the both of us’ a woman came forward shakily, pointing to one of the young men.

‘Only two of you entered here on Thursday?’ James asked, putting up a tough look.

‘Yes except for me’ another woman stepped forward, she was the head of the cleaners. ‘I assigned both of them to do the job and I monitored them properly’

‘Which job are you talking about?’ James squinted.

‘Cleaning the place of course’ the woman answered confidently.

‘Okay, where was the camera hidden?’ James question took the cleaners a little off balance, he smirked at the look on their faces, he loved the effect he had on them except the cleaners’ head who was looking indifferent.

‘I mean the camera used to record the meeting’ be reiterated when he got no answer.

‘There was no camera when I inspected here that day’  the head replied.

‘But there was a video’

‘Maybe one of the guests brought it in and took it out when he was leaving’

‘No, none of them could have done that. The video implicated all them’

‘Well, there was no camera found here before or after the meeting that day’

‘When last was this room used before that Thursday?’ James asked more. ‘Was it on that Thursday you started cleaning it?’

‘No’ she answered. ‘We started cleaning here on Wednesday’

‘No prior entrance before Wednesday?’

‘There was, I came here with only Dr Hammed on Monday’

‘So are you telling me you don’t know when a camera got into this place?’

‘No, there was no camera brou… Ermm’ the woman paused, suddenly remembering something. ‘There was a young lady who came in with Dr Hammed that morning’

‘Young lady? Which young lady?’

‘I don’t know her, I’ve not seen her before’ the woman answered and shook her head in doubt. ‘She couldn’t have brought in any camera, she was wearing a tag, I believe she’s a just a student’

‘Just a student?’ James queried, a scornful smile appeared on his face.

‘Yes and she didn’t bring in any camera because I found none here after that day’

‘Then how was the video recorded?’ James barked angrily.

‘We don’t know’ the woman bounced back, refusing to be intimidated.

‘Three of you will have to report to the station this evening for further questioning, I’ll make sure you pay if you had a hand in this’ James threatened as he scribbled something into his notepad. ‘You can all leave now’

‘I think the receptionist would know about the student, we should ask her’ Segun suggested after the cleaners left.

‘Hmm nice suggestion. We would, let’s go’ James tucked back his pen into his pocket. He looked around for the last time as Segun and the pharmacist proceeded outside, he followed after still searching with his eyes.

‘Wait! What’s this? ‘ James’ eyes caught something at the door, a tiny and flat black device stuck to the frame of the door, camouflaging with the black colour of the frame.

‘Wow! Wow! ‘ Segun exclaimed, his eyes widened as he saw the bug in James’ hand.

***Twenty minutes later, with the receptionist, in the junior Pharmacist�s office***

�Do you recall any student that visited Dr. Hammed last week?� James began the questioning section.

�Student? Dr. Hammed rarely has visitors� the receptionist replied, narrowing her eyes, she struggled to remember those who visited the past week

�But a student visitor was with him in his office last week� James pressed on. �Precisely on Monday�

�Yeah! That�s true!� She exclaimed, remembering a certain pharmacy student who visited. �There was a Unilag girl who was here to see him last week�

�Who�s she? Was that the first time you saw her here? Do you know what she came for?�

�No, I saw her for the first time on Thursday the previous week, she came asking about Dr. Daniel Umaru and I told her that he doesn�t have her time�

�So?�

�She was making trouble with me when Dr. Hammed saw us, he then asked her to come back on Friday to see him�

�What did she want to see want to see Dr. Umaru for?�

�About the conference and I told her to check our website for more information but she insisted on seeing the Doctor�

�Hmmm, the conference� James glanced at Segun who nodded; it seemed they were making progress already. �Did you suspect anything unusual about her?�

�No, she was just a stubborn University student�

�Nothing unusual happened when she was here?�

�No except on Friday when Dr. Hammed slept off during work hours, that was very unusual of him�

�He slept off after meeting with her?�

�Yes, he slept off after she left his office and�� she paused, she narrowed her gaze. �We had to remind him about a lot of things when he woke up�

�How did you know that he forgot a lot of things�

�I know� she sounded confident. �For example, he came to ask if some of our clients which he was expecting to visit him came that day, whereas they met him when he came, he even followed them out to the reception when they were leaving�

�You saw him come down with them?�

�Yes, he came down with them and went back to his office with Tarasha� she affirmed. �I was surprised when he came down several hours time to ask if I had seen any of the clients or if they had call to inform us that they were not coming anymore�

�Interesting� James nodded slowly, thinking deeply about all he heard and trying to draw a conclusion from it.

�You said she is a student of Unilag, what�s her name and what course does she study?�

�She didn�t tell me� the receptionist lied, not remembering if the Unilag girl mentioned her name. �But she�s a student of pharmacy�

�Okay, thank you very much. We�ll get back to you if we need more information and please, don�t hesitate to provide us with any you remember� James concluded.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

**5pm**

Benny grouched within himself as they drove past the developed areas of Orugbum, he glanced at the compass application on Tarasha’s device; they were still on track, now very close to their new lodge. He wondered what kind of job they came to do, which required a desolate place like this to work from.

At five pm, they finally got to the place which the compass was indicating; it was a large bushy compound, with a hold rickety house in the middle. A water well with several green plants grown on it was at the left side of the house. They drove in through the widely opened rusted black gate.

Cole and Aisha also drove into the compound in a Benz after Benny brought the truck to a halt at a far distance from the house. The vehicles couldn’t go close any further because of the thick bushes that had grown in front of the house.

Tarasha was the first to jump down from the truck, she placed her both hands on her waist, turning round as she surveyed the place with her eyes. She walked to Cole and Aisha, demanding that the boot of their car be opened. Her request was granted immediately, Cole came out of the car to join her, Benny was also trudging towards them.

Tarasha brought out three tools bags from booth, dropping them on the floor. She opened one which contained machetes and some other clearing equipments.

‘I believe you know the reason we need this now’ she said smiling, motioning Cole and Benny to grab their tools. ‘Make a clear path to the entrance of the house

Benny and Cole obeyed the order while Tarasha opened another bag, a bigger one. She brought out some satellite devices and scattered them on the floor, carefully selecting the ones she needed . Aisha came to join her.

‘We’ve got no foodstuffs here, start making a list of everything we need. Someone would go to the town with you to get them’ Tarasha said to Aisha. She picked up another machete and put some of the devices in an empty bag, then she proceeded to the various sections of the compound she had already selected to install the GPS and network devices, clearing the way with the machete as she walked.

They all converge where there vehicles were parked after completing their tasks. All looked dirty except for Aisha, who as a result lost confidence to talk them about eating seeing their condition.

‘We need water ‘ Tarasha stated an obvious fact.

‘I have only little water here’ Aisha said, she opened the car and brought out a 100cl bottle of water

‘We need more’ Cole said sharply after taking a glance at the bottle.

‘There’s a well over there’ Benny joined, pointing to the left side where the well was.

‘What do we use to fetch from it?� Cole questioned.

‘Let’s check the house’ Benny replied him, ‘we may be lucky to find something to use’

With that, the group proceeded into the house except for Cole who went to first inspect the well.

The entrance door gave way easily to a soft kick from Tarasha. The sitting room had been taken over by cobwebs, dusts and several other impure particles. The black turned grey old fashioned sofas had already become a habitat for little flying insects. Red headed lizards, cockroaches, ants and rats of various sizes were also seen sprinting in different directions for safety as the group walked in.

A look of disgust appeared on Benny and Aisha’s faces while Tarasha remained indifferent. The chaotic condition of the house was little compared to several other situations she had experienced during her training, so it didn’t mean much to her.

‘The water in the well is so dirty, I don’t think… ‘ Cole was saying as he walked in through the entrance, he stopped abruptly on noticing the condition in which the house was. He gave a prolonged whistle and stood dumbfounded, forgetting temporarily about the need for water.

‘Huh? What tha hell is wrong?’ Tarasha slammed glancing at their faces one after the other, she turned to Aisha. ‘Where’s the list I asked you to make?’

‘Here is it’ Aisha handed a piece of paper to her.

After scanning through the list, she spoke out, ‘by now you guys should understand why I asked us to bring a lot of things you thought are going to be useless. I’m going to town it some of the things we need, you guys should clean up this place for us to sleep tonight’

‘I thought you said I’ll go with someone’ Aisha cried as Tarasha folded the paper and tucked it in her pocket.

‘Yea, I changed my mind. I’m going now, you stay with Cole and Benny and help them clean this place’ Tarasha smirked, she stretched out her palm to Cole, demanding for something.

Cole understood and handed her the car keys before she could voice out her demand, ‘are you going like this, you look dirty?�

‘I can clean up with the water Aisha has’ she answered. ‘I’ll get more water for everyone�s use tonight’

‘Tonight?’ Benny stressed, ‘you’re talking about tonight only, does that mean we’re leaving here tomorrow? Won�t we use water for the rest of our stay here?’

‘We’ll have to dig out a new source of water tomorrow or better still clean up that old well’ She replied calmly, smiling as she looked at their faces.

**05.12.2030**

‘I don’t remember her name’ Dr. Hammed stated for the umpteenth time

He was sweating in the air conditioned room though he was putting on very light clothes, the endless sessions of interrogation which started on Saturday had begun to wear him out.

At first, it was the EFCC who started questioning him on Saturday, their lists of questions never seemed to end. Several of the officials would come asking questions, most which he didn’t have answers to, they would leave after they had threatened him and didn’t get results, only for a superior to to show up in a space of two to three hours with another set of questions when he thought the session had ended.

He had already sworn to return all the monies he had stolen and kept in both foreign and Nigerian banks after the officials at the EFCC cracked him, so that his judgment in the court would be tendered with mercy.  He now wondered why the police were after him again, he returned to his house from the EFCC’s headquarters only to be welcomed by a letter from the police criminal investigation department inviting him for another session of interrogation.

‘We heard that you had an unusual experience on Friday after the Unilag girl visited’ An Inspector whose name he found out to be James asked, another dark skinned inspector was standing close to him.

‘I didn’t have any unusual experience’ the man countered.

‘But you slept off during working hours’ James focused his eyes on him and smiled mockingly. ‘Or is that how you sleep off lazily at work?’

James pushed a button with his statement and it was visible on Dr. Hammed’s face, he wished he could land a heavy punch on James’ face but his situation would only worsen if he acted stupidly.

‘Sorry sir’ James apologized calmly, ‘but we only want to help you, if you just tell us the truth , it would make our investigations easier and we would stop disturbing you’

‘I slept off truly’ Dr Hammed finally gave in. ‘I think I took something poisonous that day’

‘Did you found out what it was you took?’

‘No, I didn’t have the time. I’ve been very busy’

‘But was sleep the only effect it had on you?’

‘No’ the doctor stuttered for a while. ‘It came with loss of memory, I didn’t remember some of the things I did before I slept off’

‘Like two hours before you slept?’

‘Yes’ the doctor glanced at his face suddenly. ‘How did you know the duration of time?’

‘Calm down sir’ James said and stood from the table he was sitting on. ‘Some of our men had a similar experience like that recently. For how long did you sleep that day?’

‘I don’t really remember, but I slept until someone woke me when it was almost closing hours’ He paused, licked his lips and continued. ‘But my eyes were still very heavy when I got home that day, I slept off without even taking dinner till morning the next day’

‘Hmm, maybe you were poisoned with the same substance as our men’ James stated, he returned to his former position on the table. ‘They slept from evening till early the next morning when they were found’

‘Incredible! Someone must have played far on me’ the doctor exclaimed, covering his lips with his two hands.

‘You said you slept off after she visited?’ James pushed further immediately, taking advantage of the man’s new mood.

‘I don’t know when she visited, but everyone said I didn’t come out of the office for several hours after I went in with her’

‘You see, you need to remember her name so that we can trace her, she might just be a very dangerous criminal’ James emphasized.

Dr Hammed remained silent for some minutes, he cracked his brain furiously for answers. ‘I saw her name on a notepad she left in my office on Thursday, I don’t really remember but I know her first name was not a Nigerian native name’

‘Try harder sir, you can remember’

‘ I’m trying, I don’t just know what happened to me. Since then I’ve been forgetting things very quickly’

‘Well, our only hope for now is her name’

The doctor scratched his head, looking at James’ face, a feeling of regret suddenly took over him. He regretted the day he submitted his application to Derl Pharmacy, the day he was promoted and started to work closely with Dr Daniel Umaru and the day he succumbed to doing dubious deals with Dr Umaru.

Now, he was going to loose all he had gathered all his life, both the ones gotten legally and illegally. The case had prompted EFCC to investigate deeper and they dug out several other dubious deals that Dr Umaru had done, including his name in the ones he didn’t even know about. There was no way out for him, the only thing he could get was a very short prison sentence and that was why he decided to give up all his assets.

‘Her name is Samantha Osman, she’s a 300Level pharmacy student of the University of Lagos’ Dr. Hammed recited suddenly, his face glowed as he spoke.

‘Samantha Osman, 300Level pharmacy student of Unilag’ James repeated, scribbling it into his notepad.

‘Yes, that’s it’ Dr Hammed affirmed.

‘Good’ James smiled as he glanced at the details written down once again. ‘Do you also remember now if you saw her do anything suspicious when she went into the conference room with you?’

‘No, I didn’t see her do anything there. She only helped me move something from my office into the room’

‘Alright, I think it’s okay for now’ James got up from the table again. ‘Thank you for your cooperation, we’ll get back to you if we need any other help from you’

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

**07.11.2030**

*5.30am*

Cole’s mouth was left agape as he watched Tarasha silently from the window exercising her body, he was counting the number of pushups she was doing and she just got to two hundred without struggling or showing any sign of tiredness.

He couldn’t hold it anymore, he closed the curtains and rushed outside to join her. She was already dusting off herself when he got outside. He was so disappointed as he hoping to see more action from her when he got outside.

‘Good morning Cole’ she greeted first, ‘how are you?’

‘Good morning Boss, I’m fine’ he replied, with a note of disappointment still hidden in his voice.

‘Why did you stay there peeping for so long instead of coming to join me?’ Cole was taken aback by the questioned.

‘How did you know I was peeping?’ He asked.

‘I saw you’ she replied smiling, ‘even if I didn’t see you, I feel it when a pair of eyes watches me’

‘Wow! But you didn’t towards the window side at all?’ He was confused.

‘I didn’t have to look there with my physical eyes, every part of me including the physical and non physical pays attention to the environment’

Cole shook his head, he tried to assimilate what she said but ended up greatly mystified. He wondered what it would be like if Tarasha comes against him, he’ll definitely be hopeless and helpless. Tarasha’s fear increased in his heart rapidly.

‘I noticed you’re the one who wakes up very early amongst the three of you’ she disrupted his thoughts.

‘Yes, I wake up most times before Benny and Aisha does’ he responded.

‘That’s good’ she said and began walking towards the well, Cole walked with her. She suddenly turned and faced him. ‘You have to learn very well from this operation henceforth’

He stared at her face, the look on her face sought more explanation to what she started.

‘I have an assignment for you’ she continued, ‘You have to complete the first operation we did’

‘The first operation? Didn’t we finish off the minister already?’ He asked, puzzled.

‘Yes, we finished off the minister but did not eliminate every trace’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Listen carefully’ she said sternly, ‘we left some traces that would be used to find us in the minister’s operation and it is possible that we are discovered sooner or later’

‘What? Why? How?’ His heartbeat increased

‘Calm down Cole’ she said and took three steps further before going on with the discussion. ‘If anyone is going to trace that murder successfully, it must be a very competent officer’

‘But…’

‘Shh…’ She hushed, a smile gradually appeared on her face. ‘Don’t be scared Cole, it’s only a game, my favorite game and I’m sure you’ll enjoy it too’

‘How? I don’t understand’

‘Its a game between myself and the police’ she said and then gave a wicked smile. ‘You, Cole will be my avatar for this first round’

‘Boss, you’re only confusing further’ Cole was beginning to get frustrated.

‘I want to weaken the security system in the state’ She walked further to the well and picked up the fetching bucket. ‘The trace is only going to lead a competent officer and his team to our trap and you will single handedly handle them when they come. Ot would be done in a way that would pount directly to you’

‘I’m still confused’ he said.

‘Don’t worry, you’ll understand later’ she said, drawing out water from the well. ‘Go in and wake the others, it’s time to reveal or mission here to you guys’

Cole’s mind was greatly troubled as he walked away slowly into the house, he tried to figure out what she meant. She mentioned that he was her avatar in the game, that might possibly mean that she was playing games with him and his life was in danger.

She also said that she didn’t eliminate all traces in the last operation so that the police could trace them and she’d set him up to face the police. That was something he had never done before, he never singlehandedly handled a police team before, he was only good at escaping when the police pursued a group of them and not when he was the only one being pursued.

How on earth was he even going to escape if a team of ten to twenty officers were sent to him? He wasn’t even supposed to escape, the purpose of the game was to weaken the police force, that means he had to defeat the team.

The thought alone sent shivers down his spine and he quickly uttered a prayer that moment. ‘Lord, if it is your will, let this cup pass over me’. But he wasn’t Christ neither did he follow Christ, so God would not answer his prayer. He resolved in his mind to run away if she insisted on setting him up with the police.

**
Tarasha walked in after ten minutes to meet Cole, Benny and Aisha already waiting for her in the sitting room.

‘Good morning Boss’ Benny and Aisha greeted.

‘Good morning’ she answered and took suitable seat which faced three of them. ‘I hope you guys are ready for today’s job’

‘Today’s job?’ Aisha spoke lazily, yawning. ‘I thought we did everything already. We cleaned the house, cleared the bushes and …’

‘Shut up’ Tarasha scowled angrily, making the jovial girl shocked. ‘Are you crazy? Do you think that’s all we came here to do?’

‘I’m sorry ma’ Aisha replied in low tones, greatly terrified. She wondered what went wrong and why Tarasha who was friendly with them the day before had suddenly become cold.

Tarasha got up swiftly, her frown changed into a smile surprising her audience more.

‘Are you scared?’ She asked laughin loudly, mocking Aisha who was shaky already. ‘I’m not angry, I was only teaching you something, learn to switch your mood as it pleases you, don’t let your feelings control you. So it’s time to switch to the work mode’

Aisha heaved a sigh of relief, her rapidly increased heartbeat speed returned to normal. The two guys just watched in awe, wishing they could switch modes like that too.

‘We’ll start real work today’ Tarasha interrupted their thoughts. ‘We must drop our target, Kelechi Edwin before the end of the month’

Realization hit them as she walked away, Tarasha had brought them on a suicide mission. Killing the governor of Rivers State in office, with the quality of security surrounding him was an impossible mission.