The Complete Assassin Episode 22

The Complete Assassin Episode 22

Pls Note: Episode 20 and 21 has been adjusted, click HERE to read

Steven’s leg had gone numb. He had lost all feeling on that leg due to the huge amount of blood that had left his body. He was determined to catch Sheila no matter what it took, even if it meant losing his life in the process. He had initially wanted her alive so that he could question her, get some information about her clique and who she worked for. However, after almost condemning him to death by the audacious move that she had just pulled, he no longer cared in what way he got her. Dead or alive, it no longer mattered to him. His eyes were red with rage and fury.

Sheila descended the bridge without slowing down. The car went up a few feet in the air and then landed on the asphalt. She released her leg from the gas, regained control of the car and accelerated as the tires hit the ground. Steven did not follow suite. He slowed down a little as he approached the descent of the bridge and as soon as the car began the downward plunge, he stepped hard on the accelerator, descending the bridge with deadly speed.

From the rearview mirror, Sheila could see that Steven was going to catch up with her in no time.  She took a left and linked the Rita Lori road. She put her hand in her ear again.

“Raven, I have Steven on my freaking a5s! I need extraction immediately!” She said, screaming and hoping that she would get some sort of response.

Four seconds later, there was a reply.

“Sheila, I have your coordinates and I see hostile on your tail. Keep your distance and maintain speed at 80km/hr. Extraction point is just ahead.” Raven said.

“It had better be because if I go down, I am taking you all with me!” Sheila said angrily.

Steven saw Sheila put a hand in her ear and caught her reactions as she seemed to be communicating with someone. At that point he wished he had not thrown away the ear wig that linked him with James. He shook his head and cleared the thought. If he had not thrown the device out, he may not have gotten this far. He had a feeling in his gut that he might lose her soon. He needed to act quickly. Keeping one hand on the steering and taking the other hand off, he brought out the twin SilverBallers slowly from his hips, keeping his eyes on the road. He checked the first pistol. It had no more bullets. He checked its twin.  There were just two bullets remaining. He had to make it count. He brought the barrel of the gun to his face and kissed the cold metal steel frame.

“Make me proud baby.” He whispered.

***********

Detective Samson pulled out of the parking lot slowly and honked at the gate of the City County hospital. A gateman quickly came out of the gatehouse, hurriedly opening the gate. As the detective waited for the gate to be opened, his captor spoke slowly but very precisely.

“Do not try any stupid move, Detective. Drive out slowly and make no funny attempts. For your own good, do not underestimate me.” The man said.

The detective had originally thought of flashing his headlamps so that the gateman would be forced to come over. It was just as the thought crossed his mind that his kidnapper spoke. The gun was now at his right side. His captor lay flat on the back seat, but held the gun at a deadly and professional angle. The thoughts of calling the gateman’s attention vanished immediately.

As he pulled drove out of the gate, he increased speed moving towards the main gate of the estate in which the hospital was situated in. He honked twice. Summoning some courage, he spoke.

“Can you at least tell me what you want? And where we are headed?” The detective asked without turning back.

The car was in darkness, he tried to get a glimpse of the man through the rearview mirror but it was just too dark for him to make out a face. As the security man approached the car, the man quickly got up from the back seat and eased into the passenger seat beside the detective, his gun still at a deadly point. The guard got to the detective’s window and knocked on it. The detective pressed a button by the door handle and the window wound down slowly until it was half way down. Bending his neck to view who it was in the driver’s seat, the security guard asked:

“Who I be for hia?”

“Well done officer. Open the gate for me.” Detective Samson ordered.

It took a few seconds for the sleepy guard to register the voice and when he did, he jerked with sudden realization.

“Shaun sir! Ten gunshot for my oga sir!” The guard saluted standing in attention.

“At ease officer. Open the gate. I am in a hurry” The detective said.

The guard ran to the gate and opened it, standing in rock stiff salute as the detective cruised through the open gate. He made a U-turn at the round-about, took a left and connected Airport Road.  They got to Charity Bus Stop and the man ordered the detective to pull over. The detective obeyed, hitting the brake and parking deftly on a lonely part of the road.

“Is this where I die?” The detective asked.

There was no fear or concern in his voice. He had a feeling that if his captor wanted him dead, he would have died already. He also knew for a fact that this was no cheap car burglar or hungry kidnapper. He had caught a glimpse of how he gripped the gun, the way he spoke and the way he acted. He was a professional.  So he decided that he was going to play by whatever rules of engagement that this stranger set, until he found an opening where he could act.

“You don’t die detective. You live. You could also get a very big career leap; if you play your cards right and not try to be smart. Or you can decide to say no. You will suffer a great deal if you try anything stupid. You have a lovely family. Your daughter is performing a star role in five days at the Easter Concert coming up in her school isn’t she? Your wife is going for a scan tomorrow to confirm the gender of your unborn third child. Your son is the captain of the soccer team and you have plans to watch him next week as they play in the finals of the Fly Emirates Grassroots Cup in Abuja. Need I go on?” The man said.

The Detective was stumped. His face contorted with rage as his hands turned into fists. How the hell did this man know so much about his family? He wished he could do something but he could not. The man’s gun had a silencer. He would be shot before he could reach for the gun in a pouch on his ankle. He decided to play safe.

“What the hell do you want?” The detective asked through clenched teeth.

The man let out a gentle, small laugh.

“Easy detective. Recognize the people in this picture?” The man said bringing out a phone.

He handed the phone to the detective. Samson could not believe his eyes. There in the picture was a selfie taken by an unknown man with his wife and son smiling beside him. His daughter was still watching the program on TV that he had left them on. He was shocked.

“Who…what…how…” The detective stammered.

“That picture was taken exactly seventeen minutes after you drove out of your compound. We can snuff you out like a fly. Just like that. And we will still get someone else to do the job. But we are of peace. Violence is usually our last resort. So I make you an offer that would benefit you and us. Refuse and you will lose every member of your family. Your daughter will die during her stage performance. Your wife will die at the hospital and your son will be killed on the soccer pitch. Accept my offer and you become the Director of the Federal Intelligence Bureau. It’s a win-win situation. All you need to do is nothing.” The man said.

“Nothing? What do you mean nothing?” The detective asked with fear in his voice.

“You will understand soon enough. First, let me introduce myself.” The man said.

He took off his face cap and the heavy thickset glasses he wore, and then removed his wig. The detective was shocked upon recognizing who it was. This was a seemingly harmless man that had contacted James to inform them of a murder at the beach house.

“Mr Marcus?!” The detective said almost shouting. He backed up to the door not believing his eyes.

“Please, call me Sensei.” The man said and smiled.

*****

Steven kissed the barrel of one of the SilverBallers. He had just two bullets. He had to make it count. Sheila was getting some sort of help from an external source. He had no idea the kind of help that would be given to her. Would he be ambushed? Would he be shot at? He had no time to think of the what-if and the what-not. He had this situation under control. The next second might not be in his favor. He wound down the window to his left, the cool early morning breeze kissing his face. The road became bumpy and it disturbed his aim. There was a traffic light in front and just as Sheila approached it, the light turned yellow and then red.  In his attempt to aim at Sheila, the gap between them and widened. He could not believe Sheila was slowing down. He stepped on the accelerator, moving faster than he currently was. He needed just 10 meters and Sheila would be history. As he approached her, she suddenly turned right. The light was still red.  She was going against traffic in a one-way direction.

“Sh1t” Steven cussed.

Without thinking, he stepped on the gas and approached the traffic light. He took his leg off the accelerator, turned left as he approached the bend, and changed gear. He was greeted by the blaring horn of a huge petrol tanker. The tanker was speeding towards Steven and did not look like it was going to slow down.  It was too late. Steven froze for a few seconds not knowing whether to swerve into the culvert or to step on the brake. The tanker honked continuously, not slowing down. Steven’s heartbeat tripled. In a matter of seconds, he would be dead. He did the next thing that came to his mind.

Unhooking the seat belt, Steven hurriedly opened the door to the driver’s side, and flung himself out of the moving car, with his gun in hand. As he jumped out of the car, the door returned hitting him on the leg as he dived out of the moving car. His leg hurt terribly but he managed to roll on the interlocked tiled road until he felt he was clear from harm. As he rolled, forcing his body to move beyond its will, the tanker zoomed past him, squashing the car and dragging it along with it. The sound was deafening and Steven ducked just in time as the tanker removed the open tanker door from its hinges sending it Steven’s direction. Slowing down the tanker swerved left and right a few times, releasing the car from its death grip and abandoning it meters ahead in its wake as the driver increased speed and zoomed off.

Steven stretched his neck to view what had become of the car that he had been in a few seconds back. It was a total disaster. No miracle could have saved him from that sure death had he been inside the car. He was weak. He had lost quite a lot of blood and his body hurt all over. Certain calm descended on him. He began to see flashes of his father during their last dinner together. There was a smile on his face as if welcoming him home. Steven smiled back. His father was with his mother, his hand on her shoulder as they stood side by side smiling at Steven. There was a certain peace he felt, like he had not felt in a long time. He knew it was time. He had been postponing seeing his parents for a long time. At last he was going to be with them.

He closed his eyes, a smile playing on his lips.

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

As Stella climbed the Ojuelegba Bridge, she noticed car tracks burnt deep into the asphalt. There were two different tire tracks. Instinctively, she knew that she was on the right track. She increased speed as she descended the bridge, her car bobbling a few times as she hit the road.

“James what have you got?” Stella asked pressing a hand to her ear.

“I am tracking radio reports, social media and the police radio system for any information about two trigger happy racers. The last report came in less than a minute ago. A certain Alade called 911 to report that there were two cars racing dangerously on Adetola street. They can’t be far off.” James said.

“Good. Do you still have the location of Steven’s phone?”

“Not anymore. I lost signal a few minutes ago. The phone is probably off. I managed to intercept Sheila’s communications signal. She is being assisted by one Raven.” James informed.

“What? That’s risky. He could have allowed you access so that he could tap into our signals, jam it or probably hack into our database! What were you thinking?” Sheila said. She turned at a round-about and was approaching Adetola street.

“Relax. I used a back end corridor that he left open for emergency. Every hacker has a back end corridor just in case he gets nabbed and wants to escape before all his vitals are downloaded. It’s usually very secret secret. Besides, he hacked into us before. If he really wanted all that he would have gotten it. I am very very . . . .  Wait. I just intercepted a communication between Sheila and Raven. She’s currently approaching the Sabo traffic lights as we speak.  It seems like they have a plan. Please hurry.” James said his voice shaking.

Sheila hit the brakes hard and the car screeched loudly to a stop. She did a very dangerous one time U-turn on the narrow road and sped out of the street. She knew it was now or never.

“James, say a prayer.” Sheila said.

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

“Sensei? If I am correct that means Master. What is happening please?” Detective Samson asked.

Sensei Marcus adjusted on his seat and began to explain to the detective. He told him about the ShadowCorp and how they have ties at every level of government. He explained that the original mission of ShadowCorp had been sabotaged by power hungry and blood thirsty individuals who used the agents of ShadowCorp for their own personal gains. Sensei gave a brief history about himself, his missions and the many crimes he had committed. He had done all that without a shred of guilt. He met his wife, at the ShadowCorp training facility and gradually she had been able to revive what was left of his humanity. That was why ShadowCorp had to be destroyed.

“How else do you defeat an invincible enemy?” Sensei asked the detective.

“Use a Trojan horse.” The detective replied almost immediately.

“Yes. Attack from within. However there will be casualties. I do not intend for your innocent family to be a part of it. Your superiors will want to tighten the noose around the neck of the Trojan horse.  They already know that there is a defiance going on. It is just a matter of time before they realize who the main actors are and then come after us. This is where you come in.” Sensei explained.

“I still don’t understand where I come in. You said do nothing.” The detective asked. He was feeling a little bit relaxed, having this conversation. As long as he did not do anything funny, all will be well. He knew that this man here would not hesitate to smoke him if it became priority.

“You will be given sensitive information about how to find the rebels and exterminate us. They do not like to get their hands dirty so they will leak the information such that it gets to you and it remains airtight. Do not comply with the order. Just relax and do nothing. Take your family for a vacation, get out of town, do whatever you fancy but do not go ahead with their order. Are we clear on that?” Sensei asked.

The detective nodded.

Sensei Marcus put a hand in his ear and said to nobody in particular.

“Raven, come in. I am at the rendezvous. Send extraction.”

“Extraction approaching. ETA thirty seconds.” Raven replied.

“Good. What is the status of Sheila and the target?” Sensei asked.

“Last contact with Sheila was at 02:37 hours, five minutes ago. She needed extraction so I gave it to her. Target is immobilized.” Raven replied.

Just then the sound of a chopper could be heard in the distance. As the chopper approached, it flew closer to the ground and dropped a metal ladder for Sensei to board. Opening the door to the passenger seat, Sensei stretched his hand for a handshake.

“Thank you for cooperating. The lives of everyone you love depend on it.” He said.

The detective took his outstretched hand, shaking it. Sensei Marcus got out of the car and jumped unto the ladder that hung from the chopper. A few seconds later he was aboard the chopper.

The detective was suddenly shocked. He began to replay all that had just happened from the hospital to the point where he was. Everything seemed hazy. He felt his hand where Sensei had taken a handshake. He had a very strong grip. Only one thought crossed his mind; to be with his family. He turned the key in the ignition and the car came to life. Speeding along the freeway, he headed home.

Sensei Marcus settled in by the side of the pilot in the chopper. He got a headgear from the hanging panel and put it on. He turned to the pilot and asked.

“Raven, is the bug live?”

“Affirmative sir. The bug is firmly implanted in the detective’s knuckle and he won’t notice a thing. We have got this covered.” Raven replied.

“Good. Head to base.”  Sensei Marcus said with a tone of finality.

******

Sheila hit the brakes when she heard the loud bang resulting from the truck’s impact with Steven’s car. She knew that there was no way that he could have survived that. She was lucky she was able to avert hitting the truck herself despite prior information from Raven. And even at that, her manoeuver was by the whiskers. Steven had no prior knowledge that there was a truck approaching as he followed Sheila onto the one-way road and going against traffic. There was no chance he could have survived that.

However, this was not just any person. It was Steven, the captain of the most feared underground mafia group in the world. Sheila was not prepared to take the tiniest of chances. Over the years, he had proved to have an uncanny knack for defying death. She put a hand in her ear and spoke.

“Hello Raven. Give me hostile report.”

A few seconds later, a voice came on in her ear.

“Vehicle completely destroyed. Blood is visible on the scene of impact. I can’t really ascertain if there is a body. The ultra-zoom function of the surveillance system could not pick any flesh in the destruction. But I do not think anyone could have survived this.” Raven replied.

Sheila did not wait for Raven to finish his analysis. She put the gear in reverse and made an impressive 360 turnaround of the car, facing the direction of the accident. She changed gear to drive and stepped on the gas.

“What do you think you are doing? You need to get out of there as possible!” Raven advised.

“Steven is not anyone. If he is dead I need to make sure. I need to see a body. I am going back.” Sheila said and cut off the connection.

In minutes she arrived at the site of impact. Stepping on the brake, she pulled the car over at a safe distance from the smoking pile of metal and stepped out of the car.

Everywhere was glistening white. It felt so serene, just like he had always imagined it to be when he was a kid. He felt himself drawn to his parents who were in sparkling white robes, their faces beaming with receptive smiles, hands outstretched. He waltzed towards them effortlessly as if winged. The inner peace he felt was so unbelievable he wished it would never go away. The closer he got to them, the more overwhelming the feeling became. Steven smiled back. He felt no pain nor worry. He had no lingering sense of regret or want. It was exactly where he wanted to be. This was the best reunion ever.

He was within a few meters of sinking into the warm embrace of his mother when everywhere suddenly turned fiery red. His parents’ smile turned into a frown and they began to shrink from view. He tried to run towards them but the more he tried, the farther they went away from him. He began to fret, wondering why this was happening to him. Then he felt a hand on his neck. The hand was cold and soft.  Steven opened his eyes slowly.

“Sh-h-h-ee-i-l-aaaaaa” Steven spoke weakly, barely breathing.

Sheila was crouched over him. After getting out of her car, she had walked to what remained of Steven’s car at first, hoping to find his body contorted beyond recognition. She searched the debris and did not find any trace of Steven. Her heart skipped a beat. There were two possibilities. He had probably been flung out of the car somewhere from the impact and was dead, or he was somewhere lurking, waiting for the opportunity to strike. Her adrenaline kicked in immediately as she pulled out a .45 semi-automatic revolver from her hips holding it expertly in both hands. She scanned the area for any movement, watching out for anything suspicious. Next, she moved forwards slowly, taking measured steps and looking around her. A few steps more and she saw a trail of blood. Still alert, she followed the trail and found Steven lying by a culvert, bleeding and unmoving. She bent low and felt his neck for pulse. He was still alive. She was half excited and partly disappointed.

“Sh-eee-i-lllll-aaaa. Let me die. Pl-eee-a-sseee.” Steven said, his breathing labored.

Sheila smiled. She took out a silencer from her pocket and attached it to the gun she was holding. After making it tight, she placed the nozzle of the gun on the left part of Steven’s chest and turned the safety off.

“Please make it quick. Please.” Steven said and smiled. He coughed and blood came out of his mouth.

Sheila smiled. She was about to pull the trigger but stopped. Putting a hand in her ear, she contacted Raven.

“I have hostile in custody. I repeat, hostile in custody. Relay to Sensei and advice action.” Sheila said.

Sheila waited a few seconds. There was no reply. She was getting impatient.

“Raven, come in. I have target in custody. Barely alive. I need advice on action. Relay to sensei. Over.” She repeated.

Raven seemed to have abandoned her because she decided to go back to the crash site. She did not like the idea of waiting endlessly without knowing what action to take.

“Well, no one’s replying. I guess you will have your wish Shadow Prime. Goodbye.” Sheila said and put the gun back on Steven’s chest.

She was about to pull the trigger when a voice came on in her ear.

“Agent Sheila. Stand down. Do not take out target. I repeat, do not take out target. We need him alive. Bring him to HQ. We’ll take it from there.”

It was Sensei Marcus.

“Roger that Sensei. I’ll be right away.” Sheila said. Looking back at Steven, she continued

“Well well. Today is your lucky day Shadow Prime.”

Sheila lifted him up, carrying him on her shoulder as she walked back to her car.

“Damn! You are heavy!” She lamented as she put him at the back seat, tying his hands and legs together.

Satisfied with the turnout of events, she kicked the ignition to life and drove away from the area.

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

Stella was driving like she had never done before. Her nerves were sky rocketing after the news that James had just given her. There had been a terrible accident and it was along the route that Steven was suspected to have taken while chasing Sheila. She hoped that it was not him. However she had a very numb feeling about the information she just got. No matter how she tried, it proved impossible to shake off the feeling that Steven was in danger. So she sped. She got to the traffic light and her heart sank. On the road to her left was a car that had been wrecked beyond identification, huge smoke drifting from inside it. The traffic light was still red. She looked left and right. There were no cars in view. She ignored the red light and turned into the road, parking the car some distance from the rubble. Getting out of her car, she half ran towards the car hoping that it was Sheila. Somehow, she already knew it was not her because Steven would have called in. In her head, she kept making assumptions and counter assumptions as per who was driving the car.

She got to the car and immediately recognized that it was exactly the kind of car the King’s Guards used to chase them as they left The Haven. Her heartbeat tripled in speed. She tried to look inside. It was not so clear and the smoke made it difficult to see anything. She gazed hard trying to pick out a limb, or body. There was nothing. She stepped away from the car and put her hands on her hips. She looked around and her eyes caught something on the ground. Walking fast, she went towards the spot and saw traces of blood. She followed the trail to the culvert and saw another small pool of blood. Her heart pounded. She stared at the blood for some time, as if she could deduce whose blood it was just by staring. Stella crossed the culvert and studied the pool of blood. Then her eyes caught something under the culvert. She bent down and put her hand under the concrete, pulling out the shiny metal that had caught her eye.

It was one of Steven’s twin SilverBallers. Her eyes turned red. She knew that she had come in too late. A tear dropped from her eye. She walked back to the wreckage and managed to lift the driver’s seat away from the steering. There on the floor by the brake was the second twin Silverballer. She sniffed as she picked it up and walked back to her car. She was distraught. Just as she turned into the expressway, James spoke to her.

“S? How did it go?” James asked.

Stella sniffed as her eyes filled with tears. She fought them back as best as she could but James’ voice seemed to have broken all her resistance. She began to sob. She hit the brakes suddenly as she almost hit a street lamp. She parked by the road and began to cry.

“S? It’s okay. Please. Just come home. I’ll make you hot chocolate.” James said trying to lighten her mood.

“I could not find him quickly enough James. I failed him. Now I have lost him, forever.” Stella cried.

“It is not entirely your fault Stella. Just leave the road and get into the house. I’ll come up with `

“Okay” Stella sobbed and pulled out the ear wig.

She sniffed hard and cleaned her eyes. Composing herself and clearing her head, she began the tortuous journey to meet James.

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

Detective Samson got home tired and unhappy. Sensei Marcus had just given so much information, albeit much more than he could handle. As he drove off, he felt that he would just do as the man said, afterall, he had guaranteed that his family would be safe and that eventually he would get a promotion. However as he got home to the warm embrace of his wife, coupled with the sight of his children, his conscience got the better of him. He could not bring himself to go ahead with the plan that the man wanted him to follow. He was quite worried and it was evident in his face. He ate without saying a word which was quite unusual. She watched him all through, waiting for the right moment to ask her question. After clearing the dining, she sat on one of the chairs and held her husband’s hand.

“Samson. I have known you for a long time now. I know the job is taking its toll on you but the look of worry I see on your face is not that of worry about your job. That is a look I know too well. This look is strange. Olowo Ori mi, please do tell. What is the matter?” She asked

After a lot of insisting, Samson finally agreed to tell her.

“We have to leave the country. At least for the rest of the year. When we are safely away from here, I will tell you everything that happened. I will start making the plans tomorrow. The less you know the better. For now. Trust me honey.” Samson replied, caressing her laps.

Just then, a phone rang somewhere in the living room.

“Who could be calling me at this time?” Samson’s wife asked as she got up and walked to the living room to pick her phone.

Seconds later she came into the dining, handing the phone to the detective.

“For you, says his name is James.” His wife said.

“So why did he not call my phone? How did he get your number? This boy is definitely growing wings and I will clip them.” The detective said angrily as he took the phone from her. She could only shrug.

“James. What is the meaning of this nonsense? How dare you call my.  .  .” The detective started but he was cut short by the voice on the other end of the line.

“Mr. Samson. You want to travel out of the country for six months with your family? I see. You seem to underestimate me detective.”

It was the Sensei.

How in the world did he know what he was planning? Samson was shell shocked. His wife saw the countenance on his face. Samson swallowed.

“Ehm… Ehm… I…” Samson stammered.

“Detective, I hoped it would not come to this but you leave me no choice but to show you how we deal with people who are not trustworthy. I am so sorry.” Sensei Marcus said and hung up.

Samson’s heart raced. His wife was confused. Seconds later they heard the shrill cry of their daughter from the bedroom.

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