The Complete Assassin Episode 26

The Complete Assassin Episode 26

Stella was in the back seat of Detective Samson’s car with Steven’s head lying peacefully on her laps. She had a hand on his forehead, gently caressing his skin. A tear dropped from her eyes. She hated seeing him like this. Helpless and unable to defend himself. She would give anything right now to have him back to his old self. Just then the thought of Sensei Marcus crossed her mind. He had died trying to bring down the Corporation. He risked everything just to achieve this and in the end, he died. He didn’t live long enough to see his hard work come to a realization.  She vowed silently to do everything in her power to see the Corporation burn to ashes.

Stella turned, looking outside from the back of the car. James was not far behind on the Power Bike riding like the amateur that he was. His instruction was to get to the safe house and wait for them there. However he had been too timid to exceed 80km/hr on the bike. Stella shook her head. She began to wonder if it was a good idea to bring James on board after all. Stella was convinced James had quality and had gotten her out of tight situations. He was a combat greenhorn and she would not be able to watch both their backs at the same time. She made a mental note to officially release him from the suicide quest they were embarking on. Her thoughts were interrupted by a ringing phone. The detective’s phone rang and he immediately picked it up. It was his wife.

“Hello sweetness.” He said, trying not to sound gloomy.

“Are you okay? You don’t sound too good. What’s wrong?”

“I am fine. How is Caroline?” The detective asked

“She is fine. Hold on”

The line went static for a while and the next voice he heard was his daughter’s.

“Hello daddy. I didn’t go to school today.” Caroline said, her voice sounding very sweet and animated. The detective’s face was all smiles as his happiness knew no bounds.

“Yes my baby. You had a little fever so I asked mum to keep you at home. How are you feeling?”

“Fine daddy. I asked mum if I could go on the bicycle but she said no. Please daddy? I really wanna ride.”

“Okay dearie. But not for too long. Mum needs to be sure you are fine and strong. Okay?”

“Okay daddy.”

“Let me talk to your mum”

As his wife came back on, he immediately asked her how it was possible that their daughter was now healthy and bubbly.  She explained that barely an hour earlier, the doorbell hand rang continuously. She had been busy in the kitchen but as the ringing got persistent she had to answer the door. She opened the door and found no one. She was about cussing when her eyes caught a small gift wrapped box at the doorstep. She picked it up and on it was beautifully inscribed “For Caroline”. In frenzied excitement she had opened the box and found a syringe and a note containing instructions on how it was to be administered. She had tried to contact him but his number was not available and Caroline’s condition was deteriorating, so she used the injection on her.

The detective heaved a huge sigh of relief. He was about to explain to his wife that things did not go as planned when he almost hit an incoming car that had wrongfully crossed onto his side of the road. He instinctively dropped the phone and stepped on the brake, while using both hands to steady the wheel as he swerved away from making contact with the car.  There was a screeching sound and the smell of burning rubber filled the air as he overtook the erring driver. Detective Samson made to swear but the driver was already apologizing. In all the craziness that lasted about three minutes, Steven did not open his eyes. This worried Stella. She felt his pulse and measured it against the ticking seconds of her wristwatch. His pulse rate was fairly normal. She relaxed. Maybe she was just being paranoid after all.

Detective Samson wanted to go home to his family very badly. He was so glad that Caroline was out of the induced coma that had pushed him to go to No 14. But his instincts told him otherwise. The drama was far from over. He was as deep as James and Stella were and he was not going to kid himself into believing that he could just return to his family and everything would just return to normal. Greater forces were at play here and he needed to know what he was dealing with. He saw a clearing ten meters ahead and pulled over there. James did same, parking the bike just in front of the car. He turned back and gestured asking why they were pulling over on the road when they were nowhere near the fortress yet. He got no reply, so he removed his helmet and sat facing the car. He waited. In all this Stella did not utter a word. She was as calm as ever. But she did not smile. She was at a very volatile state emotionally and the least bit of provocation could trigger a very hardened, pained woman. She was not ready to unleash all that hatred on Detective Samson. She was reserving that for those at the helm of affairs at ShadowCorp. So she kept calm.

“Do you need directions to The Fortress?” Stella asked

“Not yet. I can’t go back to my family. They are not safe until this whole nightmare is behind us. I need to know what exactly I am up against. How much sh1t have I gotten myself into?” The detective asked his head turned facing Stella.

Stella felt like giving him a very strong reprimand. But she held her cool and appraised the situation. He could actually be a useful asset. He had military training and could use his sources in the police to their advantage.

“Mr. Samson. If you must know, you are in very deep sh1t. My advice is to relocate your family somewhere safe. I can help with that. You will need to finish what you started. A lot will be explained to you, but at the moment we need to complete a very simple task. Get us to the fortress in one piece. Can you do that?” Stella asked

The detective knew that was not just a question. It was all he was going to get from her until she was ready to talk. He took his phone and sent his wife a text explaining that he had not completed his task yet and would call her as soon as he got the chance. He honked twice at James who had gotten carried away looking at a girl hawking corn. He quickly adjusted, wore his helmet and rode out behind the detective. Close to an hour later they arrived at the bush path. Stella led the way, with James in the middle carrying Steven on his shoulder, and the detective behind covering their backs. After walking about ten meters, they got to the hatch that served as the entrance for the Fortress.  The hatch was still covered in grass so Stella put a hand in the grass and rummaged for a while. Seconds later there was a ‘hiss’ gas-like sound, as if something with a lot of pressure was being released. The grass patched moved from where it was and rotated gradually into the bush, revealing a tunnel into the ground. There was no ladder, just a rectangular piece of metal that stood in the center of the tunnel’s circumference six feet from the entrance. Stella remembered it from the last time she was there.

“Emmm, I don’t think that panel is going to contain all of us at once.” James said timidly.

“It won’t. It will take two people conveniently. Three can squeeze through. I will go in with Steven and James first while you will stand guard here. Then I will come back for you.” Stella said to the detective.

“I thought Steven was the only one who had access to this place. How are we going to survive without him” James asked.

“I have access now too. Hope you took swimming lessons? Hold your breath.”

“For how long?”

“At least ninety seconds” Stella replied

James took a deep breath and held his nose. It was not easy for him as he was carrying Steven. A mechanical sound came from under the pad they stood on and slowly the pad began to descend.

Five minutes later they were all inside the safety of the fortress.

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

Sensei Magnum trudged towards the front door of the building. One of the guards who knew the codes quickly went to the door. Looking at his wrist watch he attempted to key in the code when the Sensei stopped him.

“Wait.” He commanded.

He bent low and looked at the panel as though something was wrong with it. After about ten seconds of careful scrutiny, he stretched his hand.

“UV glasses please” he ordered.

The guard brought out a pair of UV glasses and gave it to the Sensei. The UV glasses also had a finger print sensor and identity match. He pressed a button and the UV glasses scanned the panel and tried to match the fingerprints with the information on the ShadowCorp servers, In less than a minute, they got a got a hit. The Sensei took off his glasses.

“Get me everything you can on Detective Samson from the Federal Intelligence Bureau, District Detective and Principal Head of Investigations” He said and one of the other guards standing at the entrance of the fence left, moving towards the limousine.

“Larry, I want information from the day he was born till five minutes ago. I want information both public and private. I think you should let Raven handle this.” He commanded.

His voice was thick and heavily accentuated. He looked at the guard on his right and nodded at him. The guard put in the codes in the panel and the opened the door. Immediately the door opened, two armed guards went in scanning the room, spreading out in diamond formation. The smell of blood hit Sensei Marcus and he smiled.

He walked slowly to where Sensei Marcus’ body lay. There was not a single emotion on his face. He got up and shook his head.

“Bassey, call up the cleanup team.” He said to the guard nearest him.

He took out a handkerchief and covered Sensei Marcus’ face.

“You had this coming didn’t you? What a waste. I will find your friends and make sure they die slowly and painfully.” Sensei Magnum muttered under his breath with clenched teeth.

He got up and smiled.

Stepping over the Sensei’s body, he moved to the other parts of the room.

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

Detective Samson could not get his mouth to close as he marveled in awe at the sight of the Fortress. After getting off the launch pad that took them down the tunnel, Stella had activated the lights and ambience in the Fortress, illuminating the room and revealing high tech devices. James took off his knapsack, emptying the contents onto a table in a secluded kitchen area of the fortress. Stella laid Steven on the only available couch and felt his temperature. His fever had reduced considerably and his pulse was back to normal. She approached the west wall and put her left palm smack in the center. An infra-red sensor scanned her palm and fingers for authentication and accepted the request. Stella took two steps back as a large rectangular portion of the wall changed into a large screen, made entirely of glass.

“Welcome Agent Stella.”

“Thank you Isis. I want all news, information and correspondence regarding Block 14 Mariana Estate, Osborne Lekki. Cross-reference the address with activities of S-Corp whether past or current”

In seconds, Isis had created a database on the address and had divided the information into video, picture and text folders. Stella was not too patient when it came to technology and gadgets. The only gadget she loved was her .43 automatic. However, it had become necessary that she picked interest in technology for her own sake.  She hated it.

“Data retrieved and archived. View now?” Isis asked

Stella looked out the control room. She needed James to make sense of all Isis had put together. She did not have the patience to sift through tons of data. Besides, she did not really know which data was important and which was not. She needed someone to sift, and then she would guide. James was the go-to guy. But she instead saw Detective Samson looked shocked. She smiled immediately as she knew what was going through his mind. It had happened to her to the day that Steven had first brought her to the Fortress. It had taken her quite a while to take everything in. The detective seeing the smile on Stella’s face mistook it as an invitation to join her in the control room. He had taken two steps forwards. The third step would lead him into the control room and onto his death. He would be electrocuted by huge volts of electricity, plenty enough to power a bakery.

“Don’t!” Stella screamed at the top of her voice.

Perplexed, the detective froze in his step, wondering why she had to scream at him that way. He relaxed and put his hands in his pockets.

“You’ll be dead before you even lift your other leg.” Stella finished.

The detective did not utter a word. He watched as Stella walked out of the control room, past him and straight to James who had earphones plugged in both ears. He was busy with his laptop watching something that seemed to excite him. He had a smile on his face. Stella yanked out one of the earphones.

“What was that for?” James asked.

“I need you to help me sort out the files Isis retrieved on Block 14. It should not take too long for you to sort out.”

“Okay. How do I download them?”

Stella gave James the location of Isis’ secured shared drive where the files could be gotten. James fiddled on his keyboard and waited as the file copy operation displayed the progress of the download. He seemed too excited and ready to get back to what he was doing before Stella had interrupted him. Stella eyed him uncomfortably but he avoided her gaze. He could feel her eyes melting through his mind, trying to understand why he was so suddenly nonchalant about Steven and every other person.

“Copied. How soon do you want them?” James asked.

“How long do you need?”

“Ninety minutes?”

“You have half an hour.”

“On it”

As Stella walked back into the Control Room, the detective moved past her and into James’ area.  He put a hand deep in his pocket and extracted the bullet that he had picked from the picture frame in his house earlier. As he approached, James quickly shut the lid of his computer not wanting the detective to see what he was doing.

“James, I know things have taken a dramatic turn recently. You used to work for me. Now I find myself in this position…”

“It’s okay. Life is all about change. I can’t wait for it to be over too sir.” James said, cutting the detective short.

“I need you to look at this for me.” The detective said and continued, “Someone tried to kill me today. The Sensei used that to get me to No 14.” He said dropping the bullet on the table beside James’ laptop.

“I will find out what I can.” James replied.

Minutes later, Stella was explaining details of what ShadowCorp did and how she had been involved over the years. The missions she had partaken in and how she got estranged from her brother. She was talking about the day at the grocery store when James called out.

“Stella, I think you need to see this.”

Stella sprinted from her chair and went to James, with the detective following her closely.

“What is it?”

“As we were leaving No 14, I planted a video bug on the door panel. There has been some activity at the house recently. Do you recognize any of these men?” James asked as he turned his laptop towards Stella.

Immediately Stella saw the video feed, her countenance changed. She looked like she had seen a ghost. She fell back on the chair, speechless.

“What’s wrong Stella? Is everything okay?” James asked.

After several tense seconds of quiet, Stella  finally replied.

“That’s Sensei Magnum. He is the Head of all the Senseis. Whenever he comes out in the open, it means that all is not well.”

Stella glanced at Steven lying down on the couch in the Control Room. She closed her eyes and said a quiet prayer.

Without Steven, they were as good as dead.

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

FIVE WEEKS LATER

The fortress seemed empty and devoid of any activity except the steady sound of clanging metal. Steven was on the padded press bench, pushing the barbell up above his head and down back to his chest. He had drilled himself hard, working on the dumbbell and the treadmill. Now, he was doing the final rounds of this grueling work out, squeezing his face as he pushed the final stretch. He was alone in the fortress and he needed an extra pair of hands to help him place the barbell on the hook. He used the last strain of energy in him to place the instrument in its holder as he screamed. He lifted his heavy frame from the bench. He was panting heavily as he sat up and tried to gain his breath. He was testing his endurance limit, stretching it to the extreme and he felt good about it. So far, he had not broken down. This workout had been his regular routine for the past three weeks. He had to be mentally and physical complete if he was ever going to succeed with the suicide mission he had in mind. He got up after a few minutes and stretched. The pain in his muscles did not let him extend his hands beyond a certain point, but that did not bother him.

Steven’s muscled bulged, threatening to rip his body hugging t-shirt apart. He had grown bigger and tougher and his shape had taken a semblance to that of a body builder, only milder. He wondered where the whole gang had run off to. At any given point, there was always at least some one in the fortress with him. He had woken up to find himself all alone. It was strange but he didn’t mind. He only wondered why there was no communication of any sort to him. He walked slowly to the part of the fortress that had been redesigned into a mini kitchen. He opened the pots and found some food.  He helped himself to some food and carried the plate with him into the control room as he made himself comfortable on the sofa.  He had disabled Isis’ entry authentication requirements for access into the control room. He reckoned that since they would be down here a while, there would not be any need to keep repeating the same cumbersome access verification every time. As he settled in the sofa, there was a loud scream from behind him.

“HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!”

The trio of James, Stella and the Detective screamed as they came out of hiding in the electrical room behind Steven. Their faces were all smiles as Stella led the party, carrying a huge cake with just one tiny candle in the middle.  Steven was surprised and shocked. He was rooted to the chair as he still tried to comprehend what was happening.  He got up as Stella approached him, receiving the cake from her. He hugged her heartily and pecked her on both cheeks. James and the detective came after Stella as they congratulated him for getting a year older.  Steven shook the detective more firmly than he had done to Steven.

“Heard from your wife? How is Caroline?” Steven asked

“Not really. The safety of my family depends on how often I don’t get to contact them. Yesterday, James created a mock demo of a transmission, mimicking my attempts to contact them. He noticed that there were two traces on the transmission from unreadable IP addresses. He managed to lead them on a wild goose chase before abandoning the traces on a remote server serviced by MDT communications in Port Harcourt. We were almost caught.” The detective replied.

“I’m sorry about that. Things will sort themselves out soon.”

“It’s okay. Besides, it’s your day. Let’s make merry. Where is the booze?” The detective said as he sat on the floor and opened his arms in curiosity.

James joined him on the floor and looked at Stella, who had now sat on the couch and was helping herself to Steven’s meal.

“Me? What are you guys looking at me for?” Stella said with her mouth full.

Steven dragged the plate away from her and moved to a far corner of the room. There he sat in silence eating his food.

“When were you guys going to tell me about Sensei Magnum? I know he is in town and I know about the messages he sent.” Steven said.

Nobody spoke. About a month earlier when Steven had begun to feel better, he asked to know all that had happened in the time he had been unwell. Reluctantly, Stella had narrated how he had been kidnapped and tortured by Sheila, how they had gone to rescue him and how Sheila and Sensei Marcus had died. Steven had asked for detailed description of what happened at Block 14 Mariana and Stella had unwillingly obliged. Ever since then he had not spoken about the incident and had kept to himself. He began his daily regimen of extreme workouts and grueling exercises.  They had all watched him every day as he immersed himself in his exercises, drilled his mental alertness by solving riddles, puzzles and codes that Isis drew up at his request. They had all assumed, and quite wrongly that that was his way of dealing with grief. Sensei Marcus had been like a father to him and he was visibly shaken by news of his death.  Little did they know that what brought out the dread in him was a very good motive, and now he had the strongest motivation he needed to take down ShadowCorp.

“How did you find out?” Stella asked surprised.

“I know I have not really spoken much since I learned of Sensei Marcus’ death. However, my ears and eyes have been open. Shedding tears or getting emotional will not bring him back. I channeled all that negative energy into getting stronger. I think I am ready. When you guys are asleep, I work on Isis and she gives me all the information that she has processed during the day.  Five days ago during my debriefing of Isis, I noticed that Sensei Magnum had been in contact with you. He said he wanted me delivered to him or you’ll all be dead.” Steven said and paused.

He looked round, scanning the faces of the three people in the room. These were people who risked their lives to rescue him, and still risked more to keep him away from the hands of ShadowCorp. He looked at James. His world as he knew it was over a long time ago. He had stopped being in public places and had no social life all because of him. Detective Samson was cut off from his family and he was a target. He turned and looked at his sister. He locked her gaze as they stared at each other for seconds. She meant everything to him and had proven that the feeling was mutual. If he was ever going to do anything for someone, he was going to do it for her. He stood.

“Magnum wants me. Let’s give him what he wants.” Steven finished and clamped his hands. A tiny smile played on his lips.

The others got up too. Stella approached her brother and hugged him tight.

“What was that for?” Steven asked confused.

“I have been waiting for you to give us the go ahead. We already have a plan drawn up.” Stella replied.

“I figured that you would have had something planned. I searched Isis’ database but found nothing. Where is this plan drawn up?” Steven questioned.

“Inside his brain.” Stella replied pointing at James.

James crossed his hands across his chest, feeling very important. Steven merely laughed, shaking his head. James deserved to feel a little bit cocky. He was the brain behind the operation and a lot depended on the tiny details that he would provide. He let James enjoy the moment.

“Well done James.” Steven said, giving him a thumb up.  He continued,

“Well, are you going to let me in on this master plan?”

“With all pleasure. If you please . . . ” James replied motioning that Steven take a seat on the couch.

As Steven, Stella and the detective all sat on the couch facing the giant smart screen on the wall. James opened a blank presentation on the smart screen and began to explain the strategies he had drawn up. He took time to explain in detail, the extraction points, the decoy moves, the infiltration styles and the cloning of the network infrastructure.

“We have been watching Sensei Magnum for the greater part of one month. He leaves the Sanctuary on Wednesday and Fridays at exactly 14:00hrs each day. He moves in a convoy of four identical Porsches never riding in the same position twice. The closest we have gotten to him is the Sanctuary gate. He keeps a close knit of highly trained guards who have very vast knowledge of hacking, martial arts, and network infrastructure. Planting a stooge is a no go area because these guards show unbelievable loyalty to the Sensei. They all have a cyanide pill lurking inside the roof of their mouths at all times. If there’s a threat on the Sensei from their part, they take their own lives.” James explained and paused.

“Carry on.” Steven insisted

“Going in the dark is not an option. There is a general wariness about darkness so security would still be top notch. We will attack in broad daylight. Possibly before midday. Detective Samson will carry out a frontal assault providing the decoy we need to infiltrate their systems. I have a plan of the building and have marked out entry and exit points, including vantage positions from where you and Stella can strike from within. It will not be easy but from where I stand, we can pull this off. The only challenge is, how do we draw Magnum out?” James asked.

“Leave that to me. Is this the only plan we are going with?” Steven asked.

“Of course not. We have plans B and daredevil plan C. I hope we won’t have any reason to use them.”

James went on to describe the details of the other plans he had in case the first one failed. Steven kept nodding at intervals as James animatedly gave vivid description of infiltration plans. By the time he was done, Steven agreed that the other plans were deadlier and required more gut. He did not make any modifications to the plans and agreed in totality with what James had proposed. Ninety minutes later, he was done with his presentation and the Fortress was quiet again. They were waiting for some sort of order from Steven.

“Where are my SilverBallers?” Steven asked.

“I thought you’d never ask” Stella replied.

She got up from the chair, moving into the electrical room behind them. She reappeared in seconds, brandishing twin nine millimeter silver pistols.  They looked polished and clean. Steven got the guns from her, checked the safety and corked them. He felt alive.

“I need to visit a shooting range. I think I may be a little bit rusty. Detective, do you mind coming with me?” Steven said.

It sounded more of an order than a request. The detective obliged. Not that he had anything else doing. Besides, he yearned for fresh air too. The detective took his gun from his hostler putting it behind his hip. Stepping on the panel, the detective and Steven ascended the fortress and then got out into the grassy plains that surrounded the fortress’ entrance.  As they walked away from the Fortress, Steven uncharacteristically came close to the detective and put a hand on his shoulder, holding him tight. They were approaching the road now, where they would take a ride to the outskirts of town.

“Don’t look detective. There are three people tailing us. I noticed the grass move immediately we got out of the fortress. I could have attacked but I needed to be sure of how many they were.” Steven said and laughed loud. They were getting closer to the road and their initial fast pace had reduced to a slow stroll. It seemed like they were discussing something that was very amusing.

“Do you know where they are exactly?” The detective said silently while he also laughed out loud and slapped Steven on his back.

“I do. How good is your aim? Especially your blind spot aim?”

“In the 99th percentile” Detective Samson replied.

“That will suffice. There is one at my six o’clock, one at my 7 o’clock and the other is at your 3 o’clock.  We will turn the bend and when I say move, take out your 3 o’clock. Leave the others to me.” Steven replied touching his wristwatch.

They kept moving slowly as they approached the road. The detective who was more alert now could see the movements from the corner of his eyes. He laughed hysterically for no reason and told Steven he was an idiot. They kept taking funny jibes at each other. Getting to the road, both men turned the bend and moved forwards very quickly. In an attempt not to lose visual of Steven and the detective, the three goons had to come out of hiding as they half ran towards the road.

“Now.” Steven whispered to the detective, brandishing his twin silverballers in each hand and taking aim. The detective was ready too, his gun in his ever trusted left hand.

The men had barely stepped on the asphalt of the road when the bullets were fired. They did not even know what hit them. It happened in a flash. The detective took out one of the men with a clean headshot, sending him falling to the ground. Steven also hit his target, shooting the other two men, one on the eye and the other in the groin. The three men lay on the ground, their blood changing the color of the tarred road.

“You missed.” The detective said, mocking Steven.

Steven uncorked his guns and put the safety on. He looked at the detective and smiled.

“I never miss. Never.”

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