Delayed Diagnosis Episode 22

Delayed Diagnosis Episode 22
Written by Kingsley Olanrewaju Efughi

My dad cleared his throat. “Rex, your mother and I have noticed some strange behaviour lately.” He glanced at Andy then back at me “it really got us worried… I don’t know what it is that you’ve gotten into but we’re your parents…you can talk to us”
My mother nodded “anything it is just know we love you and we would stand by you”
There was silence as they waited for my reply. I could tell they expected me to confess whatever sins I had committed and whatever I had gotten myself into.
They looked at Andy also their gaze saying he was also included in the topic and that he could speak if I didn’t want to.
This wasn’t one of those situations where I would use silence to ride out their patience till they got tired and left the issue. I had done that countless times during my teenage years. But this time was different, besides I knew I owed them some sort of explanation. I have been acting strange after all.
I looked at Andy and he shrugged with his eyebrows if it were possible.
I cleared my throat no idea of how I was going to dance out of the spot.
“I’ve been having some problems with work…the fact is that I’m broke.” Where had that come from? But I had succeeded in shocking them..their mouths both hung open. Especially my dad.
“What do you mean you’re broke? What happened? How is that possible?”
The best thing was to go with the flow.
“The truth is that..I got duped by fraudsters…millions of naira belonging to the bank went down the drain. I have been running helter skelter trying to pay it off all this while”
“So the house is really not yours?” My dad asked. I glanced at my mother like she had snitched me. But seriously when did they start telling each other everything?
“Who has the house?”
She asked me
“Its for my boss at work…he wanted my parents to be very comfortable and he gave me the house keys for your stay”
The news had weakened them and I was beginning to regret it. I could have thought of something else,
“So the car too isn’t yours?”
“No…its not..but the thing is..my boss is working on an appeal for headquarters once it gets approved. Its just a portion of my salary that I’d let up monthly until the debt is paid.”
“Andy is this true?”
Andy looked at me like wtf! Is that the best you can come up with? But he nodded sadly “yes ma..as a matter of fact, we’re both in the mess”
“Your boss is a nice man..but I keep on telling you that you need to sharpen up..eh” my dad sounded bitter.
He drummed on then table with his fingers “your mother and I would be heading back tomorrow..I’d send you what I can… Its not much but its all I have”
“No…honestly don’t worry…its not as bad as it seems..as a matter of fact I still have enough money that I plan to give you before you leave tomorrow”
“So…how come…or did you steal money from work and you’re lying that you were scammed?”
“Of course not” I had dug myself in a hole and simultaneously put myself in a corner.
My dad got up. “Honestly…I don’t know what is wrong with you…I need a drink then I’m going to bed”
He left and Andy, my mother and I stared at each other in silence.
My mother wasn’t done. “Rex…what scares me the most is that you’re still refusing to tell me the truth up till now…I’m your mother and I know you’re lying to me”

She looked at me and I looked at her. Then
I decided, for a change why not speak the truth?
“The truth is I’ve been involved with dangerous people and a smuggling ring that traffic women out of the country and last night I faced an assassin that was after my life and I’ve been running around to make sure everybody is safe” I rushed everything out then watched her…waiting for her reply.
She got up. “I’m going to bed. When you are ready to tell me the truth…I’m ready to listen”
I looked at Andy and he shrugged “don’t look at me..somehow you fücked up, but managed to unfùck your fûck up by refūcking up!”
“What the Bleep is that…where were we jare..”
I brought out the coordinates but was having trouble focusing.
My phone rang. Short Sam.
“S.s..how far.?”
“Tell the widow to be checking her inbox…I’ve done it”
“Nice..what number?”
“Men that number moves fast o..I put it two numbers down at 61”
“Already? How many hours ago?”
“Bro e tire me..wait you said those women are being trafficked out?”
“I’d get back to you..I promise!”
“Of course!…after I’ve done my part that is what you-“
I had ended the call.
“Men next time I’d call S.s he’s gonna put me through hell!”
“What’s up?”
I narrated our phone call to Andy and he nodded excitedly. “That means she should get the mail by tomorrow…if they move that fast!”
“Yes..which is why we need to check out at least one location tonight”
“I agree…when do we move?”
“Lets make sure my folks are asleep first”
30 minutes later and not a word from upstairs. They were no doubt upset with me and I knew they wouldn’t seek me tonight.
I checked on Olivia and she was still asleep.
I left Andy’s phone on the dresser with a note under it.

if you wake up and I’m not back, call my number..its saved ‘Oba’ on the phone

We set out of the house and locked up. Andy had insisted we were a dull colour of shirt to blend easily with the shadows and I agreed.
I had the gun under the seat and he had the dagger under his. I started up the car and pulled out of the close.
We were heading for the nearest coordinates.

6°27′N 3°22′E / 6.450°N 3.367°E

This region of Apapa lies near the mouth of the Lagos Lagoon and contains ports and terminals for various commodities such as containers and bulk cargo.
Adjacent to the container port is the Tin Can island port.
As I drove towards the port, I remembered something Mona had told me about strange eyes and his agents chasing Fome around the Apapa mariner. At the time I had thought Mona was an agent too but now I wondered at her hidden unknown message then, perhaps Fome had been trying to track down this very location?
I looked at Andy.
“Any idea how we can locate it exactly? And avoid the Ports Authority also?”
“No idea…lemme try and download a digital compass on my phone”
“If that would help…but if widows are locked up in one of these many containers…we are not leaving here till we free them”
Andy…my niggèr had transformed to a real fearless lion. He smiled “that is what I like to hear”

Andy had downloaded some kind of compass on his phone and he keyed in the coordinates.
“Okay okay…we’re almost there”
“What I don’t understand is, the coordinates is it for the place specifically or this port in general”
“I don’t think so”
“You don’t think so for which one?”
“Oboy just find somewhere to park we would locate it on foot”
I complied with him. That looked like the smartest thing to do. It was 10:15pm and the car headlights were a giveaway.
I had no idea how the security of this place looked like but it had to be sparse. After all illegal activities had been going on here.
I parked the car in between two container carrying trucks parked for the night. The parking was very hard and I had to reverse and move forward little by little like ten times until the car was parked appropriately.
I killed the headlights then dug under the seat for the gun. My mind had been on bullets. I knew it had 9 rounds. I had shot 3 at shadow in the hospital and I had killed(i wasn’t losing any sleep over it)a cleaner earlier at Andy’s place. So I had five bullets left to use carefully. I didn’t really know much about guns, didn’t know where I could get bullets. Maybe I could check the internet..sites like (you know that site that means ‘well’ in Yoruba? And the other one OL… Na bot cause am no vex) I made it a mental note to check. Maybe delivery would be included.
“How did the suppressor work last night?” Andy asked me.
“Like a dream, I didn’t even notice the sound very much”
He retrieved the dagger from underneath his seat and we got down.

The port was quite well lit but the amount of cargo lying about provided suitable shadows for us to move in.
We were at a spot were they piled sand after excavating it from the water.
I noticed some bodies scattered about. People actually slept here. I beckoned to Andy to kill his phone screen as it gave us away. He was busy tilting his phone checking the compass which was still running.
We moved in a zig zag manner for some while, avoiding every reflection of light. Finally we got to the foot of the first container. Row after row after row, on top of each other. I could see the hook of a stationary crane just hanging above the containers.
“Wait lemme check the compass” Andy stopped me then consulted his phone. “Men this place big o…”
Honestly it was almost discouraging. The thing was we had not even started. This was just a small part, like the outskirts of the port.
“I truly think this coordinates would lead us to the spot exactly…look at it..we’re not there yet”
“I hope so..if not we would sleep here today…I never knew this place was as big as this!”
We continued our movement in silence. ducking in between containers whenever we heard movement or saw the beam of a flashlight. I had a torchlight strapped to my belt, but there was no need to put it on. For now, the darkness was our friend. I remembered something that psycho Killer shadow had said…’I operate in the dark’ and I shivered despite myself. I caressed the butt of the gun strapped to my belt for a little confidence boost.
“Okay…we turn right” Andy said
“Are you sure that thing is legit?”
“It better be, it finished my data to download”
I followed his lead however and we continued our zigzagging through the containers. I could smell cigarette smoke or was it hemp? But I didn’t know where it was coming from. I prayed we didn’t run into any company.
“We’re almost there…look at it” he thrust the phone under my nose and true enough I saw the coordinates were winding down and the the green mark was getting closer to the red point.
I nodded. “Please lower your voice…be careful if the widows are here we better not give away our location to whoever is on the lookout”
He nodded and we were quiet. We continued our slow painful journey for almost five minutes then he slowed down. I brought out the gun and it felt good to hold. My heart was beating though…’this is it…showdown!’
I almost ran into him when he stopped suddenly. He turned and nodded to a particular container that was out of line with the rest. This side was quite dark and I brought out the torch but didn’t switch it on. I approached the container and as I got closer I saw it wasn’t sealed, the lock had been broken. I took a deep breath then yanked it open, switching on the torch at the same time and pointing the gun where I directed the beam of light. I expected to see the terrified faces of about a hundred widows but inside was empty!.
I moved into the spacious container and Andy followed me closely behind.
I pointed the torch everywhere, looking for some kind of evidence…anything at all. But inside was plain empty.
I saw a little shoe on the floor. Very little, made of cotton. The type a baby would wear. I knew this because I had gone shopping for my elder sister when she had put to bed and I had gotten something of this sort. The baby this had belonged to couldn’t be more than 5 months old.
“Oba what is that?”
I handed the shoe to him without a word.
“Darn..shīt just got real…even babies too?”
I couldn’t even speak…my mind was filled with anger…I felt like slitting the chief’s throat…child trafficking? I looked at the shoe again he handed it back to me silently. There was something painful about that little shoe. I felt the soft material of the cotton in my palm. I imagined a little boy or a girl with his/her tiny foot in it.
“Oba..did you hear that?” Andy perked up suddenly and I listened.
“No I didn’t hear anything..what did you-“
BAAAAAAAAANNNNNGGGGG!!
The torch clattered to the gun as I jerked in shock! The noise had come from the door. Somebody had closed us in!
I was suddenly Claustrophobic..”heey…heey…somebody is in here!”
“Heeey who did that open up!” Andy shouted and we ran to the door.
The lock had been broken when I had checked so I threw my body on it hoping and expecting it to fling open but I bounced back. Andy also threw his thin frame at the door but to no avail.
“Heey..somebody is inside…please open up!!”
No answer. Then:
“This container is supposed to leave this port by noon tomorrow. There was a last minute change of plans but it looks like we just found a replacement to the widows…that’s who you came here for right?..the widows..well you have saved them don’t worry. You will take their place!”
Who the hell was this lunatic? I hadn’t heard his voice before.
“You better open up now and just maybe I won’t kill you” Andy shouted but I could feel him starting to panic.
I suddenly remembered a time we had gone to head office at work and he had been stuck in the elevator for like five minutes during a brief power outage. He had almost died..he hated tight spaces to the limit. If I thought I was claustrophobic, he was a chronic one.
“Andy calm down..we would get out” I tried to sound assuring.
He wasn’t even listening.
“You hear me? Open this door…open it immediately!!!” He screamed at the top of his lungs.

“Andy relax..we would get out” I tried again but he wasn’t listening.
He began throwing his body at the door and I knew it had to hurt judging by the sound it made.
I couldn’t hear any noise from the other side. It seems whoever had done this to us had left. Not as if Andy even gave me a chance to listen well. “Heeeeeey! Open up! Open this door!”
He looked at me and I could see he was already sweating profusely.
“Oba are you not bothered?! We are going to die here and you’re just standing!”
“Andy just calm down…all this noise won’t help. The first thing is to relax. I have-“
“Relax?relax? Does this look like the beach?”
With that he faced the door and continued banging and shouting.
I walked deeper into the container. Truth be told the confinement was already getting to me. I was somebody who loved my freedom and something told me that if it was just me I would have freaked out maybe worse than Andy. But his presence made me struggle for a little bit of control. Although it seems I held onto ‘control’ with a thin thread, and it could snap any minute.
I brought out my phone. Who could I call now? As much as I hated calling strange eyes I could see no other option. As I was battling myself mentally, my phone rang. It was Andy calling me. I looked at him suprised but he was still busy banging and shouting. Then I remembered I had left his phone with Olivia.
“Hello”
“Rex..what’s going on?”
“Nothing much, how’s your leg? You just woke up?”
“No its been quite long. Your mother came to check on me so I just had dinner. How’s the operation going? What’s that noise?”
“That’s the sound of Andy freaking out..but everything would be okay…we’d be home in no time” I don’t know if I believed that or if I just said it to make her feel better.
“Rex. What is happening?”
I could hear the panic in her voice.
I didn’t need this right now..precious time was seeping away. I rushed through the call with some empty sounding assurances then cut the call.
I called strange eyes.
Can you believe it, not reachable!
I tried again..switched off!
Again…not reachable!
Haaaa! Today of all days!
Now I was loosing it. I was feeling like I couldn’t breathe. It seems the walls were closing in. And it seems the darkness was eating me. I hurried to the torch that had fallen on the floor when someone had closed the door.
Andy had removed his shirt by now. He had stopped shouting but was still yanking the door to no avail.
I planned to go and tell him that help was on the way. Anything to just calm him down.
There had to be someone else I could call..someone who could come running to this port by…11pm at night. I could only think of short Sam and Ariyo.
Both of them were definitely a no show. Ariyo was definitely out of the picture. Our branch manager..he had called Andy and I countles times regarding work. And we had ignored his calls, Still there was no harm in trying.
I scrolled through my phone searching for Short Sam’s number. My phone vibrated again. A message this time.
I checked it out expecting to see something from Olivia.
However;

roses are red, violets are blue,
Bullets are lead.
Expect one soon,
Straight to your head!

P.s: when a man starts writing poetry, know he’s in love…in love with the idea of killing you..(just so you know I’m laughing crazily and wickedly right now!)
Yours killingly!

P.PS: you let my message enter two pages abi? That’s two bullets then!
Hahahahahahahah!

“This guy is a sick idiot!” I was about to delete the message again but I stopped.
I studied Andy, he had gotten tired of banging and banging and he was on the floor. I felt he would pass out.
Calling short Sam now would be a waste of time.
1. He was a family man
2. He lived at the other end of Lagos.
3. If he agrees to show,the journey itself would be like almost a day. Our fears would have eaten us alive before then.

I took a second to think of what I was about to do, then I decided I didn’t have any choice.
I dialled the number.
Rrrring! Rrrrrring! Rrrring! Rrrrr-
“Hello Target” he sounded like he didn’t believe I had the guts to call him.
“Listen carefully I’m only going to tell you once! Stop sending messages to me..you’re a bloody coward and you know it!”
“Oh you have mouth now abi…because you think you’re safe somewhere..just wait till I get you!”
“I’m sick of your bullshït! You want to get me? I’m at Apapa presently..come! I’d be waiting let’s end this once and for all!.”
“If you have mind remain on the line for 15 more seconds let me lock the signal and trace your location!”
I was silent.
After some seconds. “Hmmm…you’ve grown balls haven’t you…well start praying all your sins are forgiven you! Because I’m coming to send you to your maker!”
He laughed that his crazy wicked laugh before he cut the call.

I walked to were Andy was.
“Oba” he sounded weak “so this is what those widows have been going through? Even children? At least its just me and you alone, but imagine when this place is crammed full with women and children all crying and afraid. Some of them would even die in here”
I was silent and I sat down beside him.
“Andy I’ve got good news and bad news”
He looked at me. “Good news and bad news..start with the good news first…no no start with the bad news”
“I’d start with the good news” I cleared my throat.
“Help is on its way..someone is coming here as we speak”
He gave a sigh of relief. “Oh thank God” but then he frowned. “Wait, what’s the bad news?”
“Its the assassin…and he’s coming to kill us”
Andy just looked at me like: ‘wonders would never end!’

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