The Complete Assassin Episode 17
It was 2am.
The currents of the river were really strong and the waves were higher than usual. It had been raining for close to six hours and the river was threatening to overrun its bank. However, no matter how bad it was, it would never come close to Steven’s beach house. Asides from the strong barricade that prevented any form of flooding, there was also a drainage system that was a hundred percent full proof. The edge of the barricade had a 15-feet deep canal that could suck in half the quantity of water that the river currently had. And that was the worst case scenario. The security lights outside the beach house shone brightly. There were two of them, one on either flank of the beach house standing eleven feet tall connected through an iron pole. Even though the rain did not look like it would stop anytime soon, it was a peaceful night.
Suddenly, the security light on the left went off and that area of the beach house went into total darkness. There was movement on the ground. Three men moved in distinct and organized fashion. One of them went to the gate of the beach house and took out a device from his sling bag. Another quickly climbed up the security light and scanned the area. He put two fingers across his chest. It was some sort of signal. The third man stood guard at the bottom of the security pole, keeping his eyes and ears open. Another set of three men out of the drainage at the edge of the barricade and walked briskly in formation towards the beach house gate. The man who was on top of the security light took out a gun from his hip pocket. He pointed it at the second security light. After aiming for a few seconds he shot the gun. It was not an ordinary gun. It made no sound, just the click of the trigger. The bullet of the gun landed on the security light and it went dead. Now the area surrounding the beach house was in total darkness.
The three men who came up from the drainage walked in a straight line and took positions, on the right side of the gate. The man with the device at the gate finished implanting his device at the gate, and then moved to join the one standing guard. Coming down from the security light, the one who shot the gun joined his team. There were six men, three on each side of the gate. They looked very professional and highly trained. No words were spoken. They were all in black ninja uniforms with matching masks. They waited.
Seconds later, the area on the gate where the man had put the device began to melt. In three minutes there was a gaping hole on the gate big enough to conveniently allow an elephant pass through. The man who installed the device nodded and the second team marched in, half running. The first team came in immediately after. As soon as both teams were inside the beach house, the two security lights came back on.
They walked on both sides of the small house. There were two entrances to the beach house. There was the main door, and there was another door upstairs with a staircase by the side leading to that door. The man who planted the device on the gate, bent low and picked the lock to the main door of the beach house while the second team marched upstairs.
“Team eagle. What’s your status?” The commander of the team that went upstairs whispered, holding a hand in his ear.
“I’m in.” The man who picked the lock answered. He had two other men behind him and seemed to be in charge of the second team.
“Synchronize watches at 00:10 minutes normal time.” The commander said again.
All six members of the assassination squad noiselessly synchronized their watches.
“Ten minutes to get in and get out. Shoot to kill.” The commander said with a tone of authority and finality.
“Roger that sir.” The commander of team eagle replied.
They went in.
The door opened slowly and noiselessly. The commander of the eagle team was the first to go in. The room was in pitch darkness. The air conditioning was working as the whole room was comfortably cold. Some of the light from outside the beach house filtered into the sitting room. It was just enough for them to find their way to Steven’s bedroom. The commander held a hand up in a fist, above his shoulder signaling to the men behind him to pause. They had ten minutes. They could not afford to be in careless hurry. Every second was important. He turned the fist into two fingers then pointed the fingers west. The last man behind, quietly but smartly moved to the far left of the sitting room. He reduced the finger to one and pointed east. The man behind him went right to the extreme end of the room. He pointed two fingers at himself and at his eyes repeatedly, explaining to his team that they should watch him and provide cover. He dipped his right hand behind him and brought out a .45 semi-automatic. The other men did the same. Taking slow, steady and very calculated steps, the commander moved forwards and gradually approached Steven’s ground floor bedroom.
Steven got up with a start. There was a tiny device attached to his wrist like a bracelet. It had become suddenly very hot and had burnt him. It was a device that he had gotten when he travelled for a mission in Russia and met with an old friend who was a tech geek. He had given it to Steven as a birthday present. It came with tiny rice-shaped plastic balls. These balls were the transmitters. All he needed to do was to sprinkle a sizeable amount of the plastic balls on the ground after locking up for the night, small enough to be inconspicuous and plenty enough to be effective. If there was an intruder, he would step on at least one of the plastic balls and that would immediately activate the heat sensors in the device on his wrist. He would instantly be aware that someone was in his house.
So when Steven woke up to the stinging sensation of the burn, he had no doubts in his mind about what had just happened. There was an intruder.
The beach house was one of the numerous gifts ShadowCorp had given him for his unflinching dedication and flawless service. Only ShadowCorp could come in uninvited at that ungodly hour. He knew that this time would come. He always dreamt of it. However he was not expecting it to come this early. He quickly got out of bed and opened the drawer by his bedside. Two .43 automatic pistols, a silenced Mac pistol and his favorite twin Silverballers stared at him. He picked the Twin Silverballers, one on each hand and backed the door. He stayed for a few seconds, barefooted in that position. He needed to know for sure how much company he had. He was virtually combat blind. Only Isis could help. He decided the risk was worth taking. He pulled an ear wig from the bedside table and inserted it on his ear. Then, he pressed a button on the wall beside the door. The button went from white to green.
“Isis we have a code blue. Who else is in this house?” Steven asked
The whole beach house suddenly illuminated. The lights in every room immediately came on. In a matter of seconds, Isis replied:
“Three men approach the ground floor Master Bedroom, heavily armed. ETA is fifteen seconds.” Isis replied through the ear piece Steven had on.
“Any more, Isis?” Steven asked.
“There are three more men in the pent house bedroom. ETA is 45 seconds.” Isis replied.
“Thank you Isis. Activate hidden cameras and move to self-defense mode.” Steven commanded.
“Cameras activated. Self-defense mode Initiated.” Isis replied.
Walking barefooted back to the drawer, Steven took out a wristwatch and put it on. It was not just a wristwatch but also a monitor for the cameras in the house. He switched it on and saw that the three men approaching his room where already at the door. Instinctively, Steven dived under the huge bed and waited. He watched as the bedroom door opened and just one man came in. Steven looked at his monitor. The two were behind him and would enter the bedroom too. He would not be able to handle the firepower of three men against him. He needed to be in control. So he acted quickly.
As the man took two steps further to allow the other members of his team entry, Steven brought his hand from under the bed and shot the man, The bullet caught him on the hip and he let out a loud yell.
The man fell, grabbing his thigh. Steven looked into his monitor. The two men did not rush in. They stood outside the door weighing their options. These guys were professionals. He intentionally aimed for the man’s thigh so that his scream would alert the others. He was expecting them to rush in after their commander with guns blazing. Then he would pick out two perfect headshots. Or more if the need be. If they wanted him, they would have to come through the door. He had the higher ground. But they just stood there. If he waited for too long, they may decide to smoke him out. That would mean the end for him. He moved to plan B.
He switched the monitor to the pent house view and noticed that the second team was coming down. He had to move fast. He rolled out from under the bed and backed the wall beside the door. He pulled the drawer and rummaged it for a while, hoping his hand would find the item he was looking for. The men were on the last flight of stairs and would soon join the other two men. He found it and brought it out. It was a grenade. He held the grenade in one hand, while he watched his monitor.
There seemed to be another commander in charge he was giving orders. They now formed a formation. He was in front, two men flanked him and two walked behind, with the last man facing the opposite direction. They were planning a mass attack. As they walked towards the door, Steven armed the grenade and threw it in their direction.
“Grenade! Move out!” the commander screamed.
The grenade went off and the explosion rocked the room, scattering items here and there. There was dust everywhere as some blood splattered on his face. There were three dead bodies in the room, with debris covering them, leaving two unaccounted for.
Steven moved like lightening. He stepped over the pile of bodies and dirt, walking into the sitting room. He saw one of the men on the ground, bleeding profusely. He would not be an issue. There remained one more unaccounted for. Steven was out in the open. He walked gently looking for any clue as to where the last member of the crew was. He paused. He had heard some movement. As he turned, he saw the gun too late.
The commander had taken refuge behind the door, cushioning the effect of the grenade’s blast. He had waited patiently, knowing Steven had to come out. He allowed him move far enough before he pulled the trigger. The bullet caught Steven squarely on the chest as he fell to the ground. His singlet immediately soaked with blood. He held his chest as the commander approached him, aiming at his forehead. Steven began to back away, moving on his back. The commander followed him, smiling wickedly and toying with him. When Steven had gotten to the wall he could no longer move. He was getting weak and losing a lot of blood. This was going to be the end. He closed his eyes and prepared for death. He saw the look in the commander’s eyes and he knew this was the end.
A loud gunshot pierced the early morning quiet.
*******
Stella finished her usual routine of exercises and sat on the only available plastic chair in the gym. She had been thinking of how to explain things to James and what she would say to convince him to join her brother in the quest to bring down the Shadow Organization. All the strategies she came up with were not convincing enough. She grabbed a bottle of water from the floor and drained the contents. Steven would call her anytime soon to find out how far she had gone. She had to have some sort of report to deliver.
She got up from the chair and dismantled the dumbbell and weight lifts. As she was removing the last ring from the weight lift, her phone rang. It was her boyfriend. He had been ignoring her calls for days since she stood him up the last time. She had sent countless messages to him but he did not respond. She was happy he was calling. She picked immediately.
“Hello” Stella said
“Hi. It’s Banky.” Her boyfriend replied
“I know who it is Bankole. You think I deleted your number?” Stella asked
“I know you did not. Even if you did, I am sure you know my number. I guess I am just nervous.” Bankole replied.
“Nervous? Why would you be?” Stella asked again
“Maybe I overreacted and pushed the issue farther than I should have. I was just upset that you left me hanging.” Bankole replied. His voice was sober.
“I called you for days Banky. I sent you twenty three messages. You totally ignored me. Well, how do you expect me to feel?” Stella asked, walking out of the gym and shutting the door behind her.
“Wow. She called me Banky! You only call me Banky when you are happy. Yippeee. I am coming over!” Bankole said, sounding excited.
“Coming over kor, coming over ni. Coming over to where? See this man o. For your information, I no dey house.” Stella teased
“Baby na. I am sorry. What can I do?” Bankole asked.
“I have forgiven you baby but I am still going to punish you. This is how it will go. I will come to your house. It could be now, later today, tomorrow, in three days, whenever. I am not going to inform you when I am on my way but you must be home when I come. If you are not, you will have 10 minutes to meet me at home. That is your punishment. If you don’t meet up, then I guess you will pay a bigger penalty.” Stella finished.
“Baby, but I will go to work in two days na and even if I fly, I can’t make it home in one hour sef.” Bankole argued.
“Sorry baby. Those are my terms. Don’t worry your little head, I will be in your house sooner than you expect. Just be home and if you aren’t, make sure I do not wait for more than ten minutes. I have to go take a shower now. I’m sticky all over.” Stella said.
“Yippeee. Blow me a kiss na, please?” Bankole begged.
Stella was now in front of the guest room. She turned on the video option of the call and activated loudspeaker. Bankole could see her in a black tank top with her sweaty face.
“I love you Banky. Muah Muah Muah!” She said kissing the screen of her phone.
“After all your shakara.” Bankole teased
“Gerrout jor” Stella replied.
Both lovers laughed and then she ended the call.
There was a rectangular device beside the door knob of the guest room which required a combination code. Stella keyed in the four digit password and there was a click sound. The door opened inwards and Stella entered, shutting the door behind her. On the bed lay James still knocked out, sleeping like a new born baby.
********
The commander staggered moving two steps back, managing to stay on his feet. He still had that wicked snarl on his face. He looked down slowly at his chest and saw blood tricking from a bullet hole that had not been there five seconds earlier. He raised his gun to shoot at Steven but was stopped by another bullet. The bullet lodged itself perfectly in the middle of his head, scattering blood all over the walls. The commander fell in one huge heap, his head hitting the floor, and his eyes wide open. He lay lifeless on the ground still clutching his gun and the wicked snarl lingering on his face.
Steven could not believe he had just escaped death by the whiskers. Barely a minute earlier, he had concluded that he was going to die and had closed his eyes, bracing himself for the quick pain and death that was to follow. The death instead went to his would be killer. He had been shot at the chest and was losing a lot of blood. He was breathing heavily but he managed to turn and look sideways at the person who had just saved his life. He was losing consciousness but struggled to stay awake. He could not make out who it was as the person was covered in a shawl, wore a black turtle neck dress and matching military jeans. There was an automatic pistol in one hand and both hands were in thick black gloves. As the person walked towards him, he realized that he had just been saved by a woman. He threw his head back and closed his eyes. He was in excruciating pain.
The woman walked slowly at first, but upon noticing that Steven had been shot, threw her gun aside and ran to him. She knelt beside him, raised his head up, and put it on her lap. Taking off her shawl, she used it to put pressure on his wound.
“Steven! Steven! Come on! You cannot die on me. You are stronger than this. Fight Steven, fight!” The woman said, rubbing his head and putting more pressure on the wound on his chest.
Her tears fell on his face as she checked his pulse. She was losing him.
“Steven! Wake up!” The woman shouted at the fear of losing him.
Steven gradually opened his eyes. He was drifting between life and death. The woman was rubbing his head lovingly and calling his name softly.
“Doc?” Steven whispered, opening his eyes fully.
“Yes baby. It’s me sweetheart. Mama’s here. I’m going to take of you. Be strong Steven.” The woman replied
“Doc? How? Who are…” Steven said slowly and painfully.
“Shhhh… You need to relax. Save your strength. I thought I told you to stop calling me doc?” The woman said and sniffed. She was in tears.
““I’m sorry Aunt Vic. Doc is just…” Steven started saying
“… one syllable and is quicker to pronounce.” Steven and the Doctor completed at the same time. She laughed and cried at the same time. Steven could only manage a weak smile.
“Rest now my child. I am going to take care of you.” Aunt Vic said.
Steven let out a soft groan, gave a slow nod and gradually closed his eyes.
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Hmmmmmm…. lovely