The Complete Assassin Episode 19

The Complete Assassin Episode 19

written by kayemjay

Sensei Marcus shut the door behind him. He stood there for a while, deciding on how to proceed. After a few awkward seconds he decided he was fine where he stood. He broke the silence.

“Steven, Stella, James and Victoria. Good Morning.”

Stella looked at Steven surprise written all of her face as if saying, ‘how the hell did he know?’

“Don’t look so surprised Stella. Yes, I know who he is and what your plans are. Unfortunately what I know, the rest of the Guardians know. However, the good thing is there is always a loop hole in every structure, no matter how fail safe it is.” Sensei said, walking to the edge of the seat where Aunt Vic sat.

“Are you alright?” Sensei asked Aunt Vic, sitting on the arm of the chair and giving her a side hug. She just nodded her head and looked at him. He kissed her lightly on the lips and turned to face the others.

“Can someone explain what is happening here?” Stella asked, getting over the initial shock of seeing her Master walk into the room.

Steven did not utter one word. He sat still, watching faces, reading mannerisms and looking for anything that might activate the danger signals his instincts had been trained to recognize. So far there was nothing unusual. Everything seemed natural, unpracticed. It was either Sensei and Aunty Vic were telling the truth or they were perfect actors. He was not decided yet, so he remained calm and continued to listen.

“After I left ShadowCorp, I took up my passion: Medicine. I maintained a very low profile and hardly made contact with Marcus. We knew that the organization was always watching. They have spies everywhere. So we planned to make them think that the relationship between us had become strained at best. It worked. They still kept an eye on me, watching my every move. Even though it was painful to have to see him only once in three weeks, it was a sacrifice worth taking. When you came into my life Steven, I forgot all about ShadowCorp until I got a message reminding me of my promise that any child I had belonged to the organization. I knew I was being watched closely and failure to agree to their terms meant they would take you out. I set things in motion for you to join ShadowCorp. I was behind your getting into that Confraternity in school. I was behind your entry into ShadowCorp. I know everthing about you my dear. I wished I could open up to you but it was a risk I was too afraid to take. You are the son I never had, Steven. I could not afford to lose you.” Aunt Vic said and paused.

She looked at every person seated in the room, wondering if the information she was giving was too much to handle. Her gaze settled on Sensei who smiled at her reassuringly and nudged her gently to continue.

“Marcus informed me three days ago that Steven was in danger. He said the Guardians saw him as a threat, a Shadow Prime gone rogue who had his own vendetta. He gave me the location of this place and told me to come warn you Steven. I am glad I got here just in time.” Aunt Vic finished.

A tear rolled down her cheek as she stared at Steven who now relaxed in his chair, legs crossed and arms spread eagled. He smiled at his guardian, a warm comforting smile.

“I intercepted an order by Sensei Magnum to take you out. He had just spoken to me about the need to shut you out permanently even hinting that I may have to do it myself. I was however suspicious that something else was at play. So I kept my ears on the ground to find out if anything strange was happening at HQ. After asking around, my trusted aides brought to my attention that the STK Squad had been deployed to a remote island somewhere in the Southern District. The operation was hush-hush and very secret. I cross referenced the database and searched all the information we had on crises that needed solutions in our Southern District. There was none. That was when it dawned on me. They were coming for you. That was when I sent a coded message to Victoria through a series of seven different couriers, re-routing and scrambling the message such that only Vic would be able to decipher the content. I only hoped she would get to you quickly enough. ” Sensei said.

“From the look of things, she did. So what’s next?” Stella asked.

“You have to go under the radar. Scrap whatever you plans you are having and leave it till everything subsides. While you are at it, I have information on the woman who killed those men at the hotel. It’s been sent to your secure cloud drive. You’ll get access to it in three days when you would be strong enough to carry out the instructions there in.  That is your new mission.” Sensei said getting up.

Just then, there was a beep sound. Sensei put a hand inside his blazers and took out his phone. He read the content of the message he just got and shook his head. He turned to James.

“Detective Samson has been calling you. Why have you been ignoring his calls?”

James was shocked. How did Sensei know?

“I did not know what excuse I was going to give him. I was scared that I may mistakenly spill some of the things I have heard from here. I don’t think I can face him.” James said.

“One of my spies in the department has just informed me that he just asked for your portfolio. Knowing the detective, it is just a matter of time before he tracks you and makes you spill your guts. Call him in ten minutes. Explain that you were following an anonymous tip that led you here. And then ask him to come here and see for himself. I’ll handle the rest from there. Steven, go with Stella to your fortress. I know you have one, but don’t worry I have no idea where it is. Vic, head back to your normal routine. The last thing we want is the organization having a wind that we are working together. I will contact you soon.”  Sensei Marcus said and got up.

He walked Steven and Stella to the car with Aunt Vic beside him. He kissed her deeply before allowing her get into the back seat. He watched as the car drove out of the garage and out of the beach house.

What they never knew was that they were never going to see Sensei Marcus again.

***********

Sensei watched his wife drive away in the car with Steven and Stella. He was almost tempted to go along with them but he knew no good was going to come out of it. He had to stay back and sort out issues with James, perform a thorough clean up and obliterate every trace of his wife’s presence in the room.

He looked at James.

“Have you made the call?” Sensei asked.

“I just got off the phone with Detective Samson. He did not seem the least happy that I have been incommunicado. I guess I am yet to get used to his erratic outbursts. He was on his way to the Police HQ but has turned around and changed course. He should be here soon.” James replied.

“Good.”  Sensei said, walking away from James and into the house. He went to the dining table, looking at the contents on the table. The sight of homemade food, especially one prepared by AuntVic brought back feelings of nostalgia. He shrugged away the feeling and moved away. He went back to where he sat, relaxing his heavy frame on the seat.

“I hope you know what you are getting into James.” Sensei Marcus said, waving at him to take the seat opposite him.

“I think I have an idea what it entails. We are the small team that intends to bring down the bad guys.” James replied with a smile on his face.

“ShadowCorp is the most feared, most ruthless and the most brutal underground organization in the world. Usurping them is not a task for the fainthearted. Have you considered that you may not get out alive? Are you willing to lose your life for this cause?” Sensei asked.

“I have no plans of dying anytime soon sir. I intend to see this to the end and with people like Steven, James, Stella and you, I am very sure that good will prevail.” James finished, crossing his legs.

Sensei Marcus let out a soft, short cackle.

“There is no good here James, just two evils the lesser trying to rid the greater. What we have done, what we have dipped our hands into is so great that this step can be likened to taking a small tip from the iceberg of injustice and corruption that has eaten deep into the fabrics of every sector of government. This path is not an easy one. Brace yourself.” Sensei said with a tone of finality.

James began to worry slightly. What was Sensei Marcus all about? Why was he stressing so much about the sacrifice and consequences of going against ShadowCorp? Did he know something that the others did not? Was he just trying to scare him away from doing his bit? All these questions took root and began to grow branches as the minutes wore on. Exactly twenty minutes later, the sound of a jeep was heard in the distance, crushing the gravel laden road on its way to the beach house.  James got up from his seat, and moved to the window taking a peek at the incoming vehicle.

“It’s the detective. He is almost here.” James said, not taking his eyes off the window.

“Good.  Let’s wrap this up and get it over with.” Sensei Marcus replied, getting up and straightening his Italian tailored jacket.

The jeep parked just in front of the beach house gate and three men got down. Two of them got off first from the back seat, wearing police uniforms and looking very smart but aggressive.  Then Detective Samson came down next from the passenger side. He still had the same look of sarcasm he had come to be identified with. He paused for a few seconds, took out his sunglasses and wore it. He was like that; very weird and unpredictable. The driver remained in the jeep. With the detective leading the way, they walked into the compound of the beach house and then entered the already half open door.  Stepping into the house the detective scanned the whole room. He took off his glasses and put them in his breast pocket. He took two steps forward and waited. James left the window and approached the detective. When he was within three meters of the detective, he stopped.

“Good morning sir. This is Mr. Marcus. He was the one who gave me an anonymous tip about this place and warned that I come quickly. I was so eager and interested in what the man had to say that it did not cross my mind to inform you sir. I got so engrossed in the details and was completely overwhelmed in the amount of information I was given that I completely forgot to contact you. It was when I remembered that I called you sir.” James explained to the detective.

“Oh, I see.” The detective replied, keeping a straight face.

He was apparently unmoved by the explanation that James just gave. He needed something stronger to convince him that coming here was worth it. Sensei Marcus sat on the sofa, his legs crossed and his composure relaxed. He did not seem intimidated by the presence of the most revered detective in the whole South West District. Detective James was used to people cowering at his presence, avoiding his gaze, murmuring words to him. Here sat a man who was clearly unperturbed by his presence. Maybe he did not know who he was.

“Hello Mr. Marcus, I am Detective Samson. District Detective and Principal Head of Investigations of the Nigerian Intelligence Bureau, South West District. How are you doing?” The detective greeted stretching his hands towards Sensei Marcus for a handshake.

“I am doing great thank you. Can I see your ID?” Sensei Marcus asked, shaking the detective.

The detective brought out a black wallet from the pocket of his jacket, revealing a gold plated badge with NIB crested boldly on it and his name carved in beautiful calligraphy below the crest. Marcus nodded his approval and the detective sat on the empty sofa beside him.

“So, what is this huge intel that you have that you think is so important to keep my staff away from work and get me dragged half way across the state to come here?” The detective asked, with menace in his voice.

“I have already told James everything. I think he should explain to you.” Marcus said.

The detective smirked. He took out a piece of Cuban cigar from his breast pocket, cut of the tip and put the rest in his mouth. He was doing all this very slowly and deliberately, making sure that every move he made registered with Marcus. It was psychological torture, a skill he had harnessed over the years and that has served him well whenever he needed to use it. He brought out a lighter, slowly took it to his face, and lit up the cigar. An action that would normally have taken less than ten seconds, he spent two minutes executing. In those two minutes, there was silence in the room. He took a long drag of the cigar and blew the smoke in Marcus’ face.

“I am not a fan of recounted stories Mr. Marcus. If I wanted to hear James’ story, I would have asked him to report at the office for debriefing. I want to hear from the horse’s mouth. You know who the horse is? You, Mr. Marcus. You are the horse. Now, I ask again. What is the information you have?” The detective asked threateningly.

Marcus coughed softly. The smoke from the cigar seemed to choke him. After he had regained his composure, he sighed.

“I think there are killers living here.” Marcus said.

“Quit wasting my time Mr. and get on with it! I have a very important meeting to get to and I am already behind schedule.” The detective barked.

Marcus went on to tell a tale of how he was trying some new surveillance hacking codes, and how he was tracking random coordinates when he stumbled on high amounts of data packets being downloaded through an uplink and rerouted through a backdoor gateway. It seemed to fascinate him so he tried to attach himself to the data transmission but he kept getting cut off by a high tech firewall. This triggered his curiosity the more and he tried everything he could to get into the transmission. When he finally did, he discovered that a super computer was downloading updates and patches for its back up sequence and had a huge database consisting of files, mp3s, .avis and other packaged data. He confessed to how he could not resist the urge to ‘peep’ into the database and what he found was too much for him to handle. However he needed someone who was police but could also speak computer language. He knew it would be difficult explaining to a layman, so he sought out James and called him.

“What did you find in the database?” The detective queried.

Marcus paused. He seemed hesitant and did not know how to proceed. He looked at James as if asking for reassurance that things would be fine. James nodded at him, a sign that he could go on.

“Answer me, goddamnit!!!! What was in the database?” The Detective shouted.

“The reason for the large amount of data upload and back up was that the supercomputer was erasing its database and backing it up in a remote cloud server where it would be totally inaccessible. By the time I finished battling the firewalls and encrypted Trojans, there was not much left in the database because most of the files had been erased from its drive and transferred to the cloud server. However, I was able to attach a recycle program to the final part of the upload without attracting the computer’s attention. While the data was erasing from the supercomputer’s drive, the recycle program automatically forwarded those files to me. It contains just one video and some incomplete codes that had been abandoned. The video is where the intel is.”

“What is in the video?” The detective asked growing impatient.

“I have to show you.” Marcus said, bringing out his handheld tablet. He navigated to the video folder and selected a video file. He played it and handed it over to the detective.

It was an eight minute video showing how the STK team had infiltrated the beach house, had tried to take out a target in the room, showed where a grenade had exploded and where the commander of the STK team had been killed. The face of the target was not really clear and the killer of the STK team was not visible in the footage.

The detective played it over and over again, trying to digest the contents, look for loop holes, and find any sort of clue that could help him decipher what the video could be leading him to. He needed time.

“James, what can you say about this footage?” The detective asked, watching the video for an umpteenth time.

“I have seen the video sir, and I am as confused as you are right now sir. I checked out all his claims and they were true. I hacked into the Cloud Server directory as active in the past 72 hours and all of them were accessible except one. I have a feeling that could be our honeypot. It would take me a long time to crack her open. But it is not impossible. However I still need to take the video to base to carry out other tests.” James replied.

The detective handed the tablet to James.

“Get to the office right away. Work on this footage till your freaking butt can no longer stay on the chair. I need answers today. Am I clear?” The detective said, making to walk out of the room.

“But detective, that is my tablet!” Marcus said, almost in tears.

The detective turned and looked at Marcus. He was tempted to smack his face to the ground.

“As of now, that tablet ceases to be yours and is now a piece of evidence in a murder investigation. James will take you to the Base where you will write a statement and recount your story.” The detective said. Looking at one of the men who came with him he continued,

“Musa! Escort them to the base. If he misbehaves, give him a bloody lip.”

The man nodded. The detective entered his jeep and drove off.

James got a taxi and sat with Marcus at the back while Musa sat in front with the driver. After they had left the island and were heading towards base, James said in a whisper such that only Marcus could hear.

“That was fantastic acting. How did you get that idea?”

Sensei Marcus just looked at James and smiled. A wicked, knowing smile. He leaned sideways towards James and replied,

“This is a journey where the end is uncertain and we have only just begun.”

************

Steven and Stella sat on the floor of the Fortress, facing each other with their legs crossed underneath them. There was a board game of Chess in between them, the generals and pawns designed in transparent glass. Stella was leading in a sense. Steven’s best and strongest general was the Knight and she had captured both. She also had one Bishop and ten pawns in her custody. Steven had only captured one Castle and seven pawns. He was deep in thought as it was his move. Stella looked up from the board and into his face. He seemed weak, his resolve wavering. He had come near death a lot of times so the experience at the beach house should not have had this effect on him. Could it be his sudden reunion with his foster mother, or that she was the one who saved him, or the recent involvement of Sensei Marcus in their planned sabotage? Something was really bothering him and it was affecting him. Rumor had it that asides from the art of combat and the knowledge of guns and espionage, the Shadow Prime was undefeated in Chess. So why was he losing terribly? It definitely had to be a rumor because with what she was seeing he was not the least invincible, Stella thought to herself. She looked back to the board.

Steven moved his remaining Bishop from the face of his Queen, threatening to capture her Knight. It was a devastating move. There was nothing she could do. There was no way to counter the move. The only way she could move was to take the Knight away from its position and if she did, it left her Queen and Castle vulnerable. If she left the Knight and moved another item, she would lose her Knight and a pawn.  Losing her knight was not a blow she was willing to risk. She looked for another counter move she could make. He had a few generals left and they were much protected at all angles. It would take a great mistake on his part for her to capture any other. He needed to be tricked. She decided to give him bait. She moved her other Knight in the direct view of his Queen and smiled. She had played the perfect counter. If he did not take the bait, the Knight would wreak havoc to his remaining generals. If he did, her Knight would be captured but his chain of protection around the remaining generals would be broken.  It was a wise move. It was Steven’s call. If he took the Knight he initially aimed for, she would take out his queen and castle, placing the King under a check. If he went for the Knight that threatened his generals, he would weaken his protection of the King. It was a win-win for her. She smiled a broad, sinister smile.

Steven let out a slow laugh, clapping his hands.

“Sister! What did you just do? I just won this game with that stupid move!” Steven laughed.

“Won? You must be kidding Steven. I’d like to see you try.” Stella boasted.

Steven moved his queen forwards, taking out a pawn and checking her King. She had no choice but to protect the King so she moved the King sideways. He continued move after move taking out all her generals leaving behind just one Castle. He was about to setup a checkmate when his phone rang. He ignored it, intent on finishing off Stella by keeping her on the defensive. He was thinking of how to take out the Castle and Check the King at the same time. The phone rang again.

“Who’s calling?” Stella asked curious.

“Your boyfriend, James.” Steven replied.

“Why not pick up?” Stella urged

“So that you can have time to think of how to thwart my strategy, ba? My dear sister, I go finish you today. James no go save you o.” Steven mocked.

“Bros, forget matter. As long as King still dey alive, shaking no dey.” Stella boasted.

“Make we dey look na.” Steven replied.

Steven’s phone began to ring again. He reluctantly picked the phone.

“It had better be good or you are dead.” Steven said, sounding furious.

“Sheila is going to strike in five hours.” James said flatly.

“What?” Steven said, getting up from the ground. He motioned Stella to come closer and he put the phone on loud speaker.

“You guys seem to forget that I am The Eagle!!! I feel insulted! If it is recorded, uses radio waves, infra-red signals, fiber optics, or anything techy, I can find out. Besides, there’s a click sound that comes on when you activate the loudspeaker option. Hello Stella.” James blabbed.

“Hey Wizard. SP is not too impressed. You just interrupted him from making the greatest comeback of his Chess career and he is not in the chatty mood. Out with it.” Stella scolded.

“I cracked into the codes and hacked into the bits of data that SM gave me at the station. He had intercepted a string of encrypted messages between Shiela and an unknown entity. After a great deal of filtering, I came up with co-ordinates. And guess what those co-ordinates are? The Cherry Manor.” James said and paused.

“So?”  Steven asked.

“So what is happening at the Cherry Manor in five hours?” James asked.

There was no answer.

“You guys must be kidding me! You don’t read the news? The meeting of the Executive members of the ruling party earlier scheduled to hold in Abuja in two days has suddenly been shifted to The Cherry Manor in five hours! Someone is going to die!”

“Better still, Shiela is going to be there. I don’t care who dies.” Steven said.

“We would need eyes in and around the perimeter James. How do we go about that?” Stella asked.

“Already done. I have hacked into the secured severs of the Cherry Manor and have alternate control of the surveillance systems. The fire alarms and smoke detectors have also been cracked and I can activate them at will. SM has sent three rookies with repeater bugs for tracking and sensors, just in case. They have been planted in security and catering respectively. And yes, you are welcome. All you need to do is show up and BOOM!!! It’s fireworks baby!!!”

“I am impressed James. How about the layout of the Cherry Manor, exit routes, entrapments and other logistics?” Steven asked.

“Piece of cake. I already created three demos for you to choose from. Included in those demos are the design, layout, entry and exit strategies, vantage points, defcon4 modules and hot spots. They have already been sent to your secure drive. Stop smiling Stella, I know my onions” James replied.

“Okay. So how long do we have?” Stella asked.

“4 hours, 53 minutes, 47 seconds and counting. There is a black Toyota Sienna just outside the Interrogation Console. It should prove useful cover during your exit from the Cherry Manor. It would take you an hour at the most to scrutinize all three demos and decide which to go with. I designed it such that you could even merge the three.  Another two hours to prepare and get to the location, and 45 minutes to mark your spots once you are at the Manor. I left you a few techy gismos in the Sienna. You may find them handy. Be careful guys. Heard Sheila is oneb1tch you don’t want to mess with. I’m out.” James finished and hung up.

“What’s next?” Stella asked Steven.

“Know thy Enemy.” Steven replied.

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