The Complete Assassin Episode 12 by kayemjay

The Complete Assassin Episode 12

written by kayemjay

Steven jerked awake. His phone had been ringing continuously for two minutes. He had no friends, no acquaintances. Only one person called his phone, Sensei. He checked his phone. Four missed calls. It sure had to be important. As he made to dial Sensei’s number, the phone rang again. He picked immediately.

“Morning Sensei.” Steven greeted.

“Turn on the news. Channel 108.” Sensei replied ignoring Steven’s greeting.

Steven got off the bed, picked the remote and switched on the television. There was breaking news. The target for Steven’s next mission, Fredrick Obi had been murdered in his sleep. Two other high profile individuals were also murdered the same night. Senator Frank Mbonu who was the Majority leader in the house and in line to become the next Senate president, and Professor Mammud Coker the Vice Chancellor of the University of Abuja.
From the news, there were killed in their hotel suites. They all had a slit through the neck. The killer left a signature: An ace of spades playing card in the mouth of the victims carrying a message in bold face: RETRIBUTION. A correspondent from the news channel was speaking outside the scene of the incident. Steven increased the volume of the television.

“The police are doing everything in their power to make sure that they unravel this mystery and put an end to the menace of insecurity eating deep into the bane of this country. If you recall, this sad incident is happening just after a month Mr. Emmanuel Bright, the nation’s leading Mineral Scientist was murdered at The Haven. This is a very sad time for the family and friends of these great men. We were able to catch up with the lead investigator Detective Samson and he had this to say.”

The screen changed and a very brisk Detective Samson who was now looking very plea and unhappy, was walking to his car outside the crime scene. The cameras caught him and the correspondent asked,

“What is the situation like in there detective?”

“It is a bad one. A really bad one. However, the Criminal Investigation Department has teamed up with the Intelligence Agency and the FIA to speed up this matter. We already have very strong leads and have recruited one of the sharpest minds in Criminal Science and Information Technology and Forensic Science. We have also invited top foreign agencies to provide assistance as they have experience with these kinds of issues. I believe strongly that those responsible for the killing of Mr. Emmanuel Bright also have a hand in the deaths of these fine men. Soon, we will bring these killers to book and our country will be safe once more. I urge my fellow countrymen that we will not be complacent. We will not rest until we bring back security and sanity into this country. Thank you.” Detective Samson said.

The correspondent tried to ask more questions, but the detective gave no more comments as he entered the back of his car and zoomed off.

“The president of the country is due to give a statement on this as he has cut short his four-day visit to Australia to give support to the investigation. He was interviewed…” The reporter was saying but Steven had heard enough. He turned off the television. Sensei was still on the line.

“This is interesting.” Steven said.

“So what do you think?” Sensei asked.

“I think we have another assassin on the loose.” Steven said and laughed.

“I also think he is doing us a huge favor. He has successfully done our job for us. Besides the other two men that were killed were also corrupt public officials. I say we relax, put our feet up and see how this drama unfolds.” Sensei said.

“There cannot be another assassin while I am still breathing Sensei. I am not comfortable with it. I need to know how many of them there are. I need to know who they work for. I need to know what their vendetta is. I need to know why they are on my turf. Worst of all, I hate my job being done for me!” Steven said raising his voice.

“Somehow, I knew you were going to say that. I implanted some of my stooges inside the police department just for cases like this. I have everything they’ve got on the Emmanuel Bright’s murder. In addition, I also have all the forensic detail, pictures, and all the information they have gathered so far within the past 12 hours. Would you like to have a look?” Sensei teased.

“Of course you know my answer. The police won’t get anywhere near these guys. They seem very organized, sophisticated. I am curious to find out how they were able to penetrate three different heavily guarded hotel suites at the same time.” Steven answered.

“Good. Already sent you an email. I have done some ground work already. Be careful Shadow Prime.” Sensei said and ended the call.

Steven threw the phone on the bed and walked into the sitting room. He picked up his Ipad Xtreme. Still standing, he accessed his email,
opening the mail that Sensei had sent him. It was a lot of information. He needed a wider view and help in arranging the facts.

“Isis” Steven called out to his supercomputer

“How may I be of assistance Shadow Prime?” Isis replied from the speakers in the wall.

“I have an email on my Ipad from Sensei. Access the email and display the information on the 48’’ screen.” Steven instructed

The lights in the room dimmed and the screen came on. The information from the email was displayed on the screen. Steven went to the screen. Using the touch function, he sorted the png files, the doc files and the web files. He scrutinized every detail and cross referenced every lead. It
was quite an amount of work. He did not want Isis doing the work for him because he wanted to deeply understand every fabric of what was going on. After two hours he concluded that he needed someone to help him. The three men were killed by one person. Whoever it was he was very good, so good that even Steven was upset to admit it. He had also found out a very critical information. The assassin was a woman. He caught a shadow from the frame of one of the video feeds. He had tried as much as possible to see how he could do reverse capture and reconfigure the feeds to reveal the identity of the woman but he could not. He needed eyes above him. Someone who would see things he would not quickly see. This was a case not to be taken lightly. And he had the perfect person in mind.

The only trouble was, it was not going to be easy to get this person to work for him. After several minutes of brainstorming, he hatched a plan.

He smiled.

It was going to be one helluva day.

*************
“Sixteen, seventeen . . . eighteen . . . argghhh” Stella grunted as she strained her muscles to complete the 20 count one arm push up.

Beads of sweat formed around her forehead, her tank top soaked at the neck as she paused in mid push, contemplating whether to give up or to complete the push up. Going against her body’s wishes, she psyched herself and pumped two last, hard and grueling times.

“Nineteen . . . arggggh” She almost gave up.

Her heart was threatening to burst out of her chest. She could do this. She knew she could. She ignored the searing pain at her wrist and biceps.

“Tweeeeentyyyyyy!” Stella screamed as she completed the push up and almost immediately fell on her back.

Stella was breathing hard and fast, her body’s reaction to the extended work out she had just subjected herself to. As her breathing and heart beat normalized, she immediately turned her attention to her phone. It had been ringing all through her work out session. She knew it was Bankole calling her. At first she could not pick up. Only very few things could interrupt Stella’s routine work out sessions and a phone call was not among them. But when the ringing became persistent, she knew it was her beloved boyfriend.

He had been calling her all night and this morning. Stella had bailed out on their date the night before. She did not show up or send any form of communication as to why she could not make it. Bankole was like a mother hen. Very protective.
Stella picked the phone. 13 missed calls. She clicked on the green dial button. The line clicked at the very first ring.

“Hello handsome” Stella said smiling.

“Hi killer” Bankole replied.

“Killer? Who died?” Stella asked, surprised.

“I almost did! Do you know how worried I was about you? I kept calling your phones frantically till I slept off! You want me to die early abi?” Bankole queried.

“Baby, I really am sorry. Something came up. The timing was so abrupt that I did not have time to contact you. Mabinu olowo ori mi.” Stella teased.

“I am still angry jor. Your bribe will not work. Not yet anyway. What came up?” He asked.

“Work related.” Stella replied blankly.

“Na wa o. One day one day, you go choose between me and this your work wey dey always pour sand sand for our garri. Now that I know you are alive and well, you need to make it up to me.” Bankole said.

“Like I don’t know that already? Just sit your ass where you are baby. Mama’s coming for you. I am just gonna take a shower, wear that sexy gown you bought this summer from ATL, no single underwear underneath, spray that perfume that wickedly turns you on and be with you in twenty. You can imagine the rest.” Stella said, making her voice slow, husky and delayed.

She could feel his heart racing at the other end of the line. There was a slight pause.

“Why not just head out now? That way you cut out the bathing and dressing part and also save us ten minutes. Twenty minutes is a long time. Person fit die o.” Bankole replied.

“What do I do on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 6-8am?” Stella asked.

“Oh. Silly me. Gym and workout. Oya make that 15 minutes. Your time starts now.” Bankole answered.

“Your blood is hot baby. Let this keep you till I arrive. Muuuuuah!!!” Stella finished blowing him a long kiss and ending the call.

Stella turned around, stripping her clothes off and heading towards the bathroom when she heard the beep of her tracking device. She paused and waited. One beep was okay. Two beeps were not good. Three beeps meant she had to get ready for action. The beep signified that Shadow Prime was leaving his proximity zone. She had put a hundred meter radius proximity around her brother. If he moved beyond the restriction, she had to move too so that she does not lose him. Sensei had ordered that she always be on his tail. Her job was to be on the lookout. She had cleaned up after her brother twice now. She had this feeling that he might get sloppy again and she may have to come in.

Now Shadow Prime was on the move. There was no time to waste.

She took her phone and sent Bankole a message:

“I am so sorry baby. Work came up again.
I promise to make it up to you. Please don’t be mad.
I will call you as soon as I can,
I love you.”

She put off her phone, dressed in a fresh pair of black jeans and a black tank top, and then exited the house. She half ran to the garage and unlocked her Chevrolet Camaro before she got to the car. She pushed the start button and waited a few seconds for the engine to warm up.

She initiated the GPS signal in the car and began to trace the signal using the GPS coordinates. After driving for over eighty minutes she began to have an idea of where Steven was headed. During the final stage of training to become a Shadow Knight, the member was taken to a secret hideout where he would be tortured till the point of death to reveal the identity of the members of the Shadow Organization. The place was codenamed, Interrogation Console. If he spilled, he would be killed. If he did not he got promoted to a member of the Alpha team.

The torture was severe and a near death experience at best. Asides from the Sensei and the Shadow Prime only three other people out of a total of twenty seven had crossed over to a member of the Alpha Team: Rebecca, who was now dead, Stella and General Shontel. They were the deadliest team of assassins in the underworld.

Stella had followed the signal from Shadow Prime, zigzagging streets, entering corners and coming out to a very lonely bush path. Ten minutes later, Stella parked her car behind an uncompleted building. The signal indicated that Shadow Prime was in the Interrogation Console.

It was not right. Protocol demanded that only a member of the Alpha Team spearheaded the Interrogation. General Shontel was in Russia, taking care of another mission. And she was here, watching over her brother. Something was not right.

The Interrogation Console was about four minutes away from where she was. She did not know what was going on in there and as such could not risk direct entry. She got out of her car and scouted the area. The uncompleted building she parked behind could serve as a good vantage point for her. She went to the trunk of her car and took out a small briefcase. She set the briefcase on the trunk of the car and opened it. It contained different kinds of sophisticated gadgets, including a state of the art R2000 Sniper Rifle with infra-red auto focus, an x-ray binoculars, and a few other guns and tiny transmitters. She took the stairs of the uncompleted building, Sniper Rifle in hand. There was also a .45 smart automatic reload pistol on her hip, held steady by her belt. She had to be prepared for anything.

She set up the rifle at the roof of the building. It was four stories high and the roof was blocked from view by some other high rise buildings in the deserted area. Using the focus of the rifle, Stella watched the Interrogation console with hawk eyes, monitoring every movement, every ruffle, listening for every sound.

After two hours, there was no sign of movement or life in the Interrogation Console. It was a small hut with just one small wooden chair in the middle. There was a 60 Watt bulb dangling from the center of the ceiling, which dropped as low as two feet from the chair. If anyone was in the place, they should have moved by now.

Steven’s wine colored Kia Picanto was parked outside The Interrogation Console. Yet there was no sign of him. Something was wrong.

Stella waited.

Thirty minutes later, Stella decided that she had waited enough. She left the rifle on the roof and went with her trusted automatic pistol. It was not silenced. It gave her perfect aim and a good shot. She walked quietly, going behind houses and taking the dark and covered bush paths. In three minutes she was one house away from the Interrogation Console.

Stella never rushed. Every move was well thought out and calculated. She bent on one knee, her pistol in her left hand, covered in a thick black glove as she hid behind a tree, one house between her and the entrance of the Interrogation Console. She waited for another 45 minutes in that position, looking for any sign of life. Nothing happened.

Taking a very deep breath, she jogged briskly and in seconds was in front of the Interrogation Console. As she grabbed the door handle and made to enter, something pierced her palm despite how thick her glove was.

She felt weak immediately. Her legs gave way under her and she fell to the ground. She had been injected with some sort of toxin. As her eyes closed, she saw the image of someone coming towards her. She could not place the image as the toxin took its full effect on her.

Closing her eyes, Stella drifted away into unconsciousness.

TBC…

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