stomach again even though he was dead.
The other men took another subtle step
away from him, fear was plainly written
on their faces. There was something
clearly written on his own face too; it
was anger! He had done everything
perfectly, he had set up the portal,
connected to the right star but everything
had been destroyed. The man he had just
beaten to death had nothing to do with
the soldiers taking over the portal, he
was just the closest when he heard the
news.
He knew there was nothing the soldiers
could do to the portal but it did not
make less angry. Destroying Asaba was
supposed to be the beginning of the end.
It was supposed to drive the country and
the president to their knees. Now, they
would not surrender since they now
believed once they stopped the hazard at
Asaba, they could stop any other plan he
has.
He still could not understand it. There
was no way the soldiers could have
stopped the portal, nobody could! Except
it was not a human.
“You!” He called one of his men. “I need
to find out who disabled that portal. Go
and find me the person now!”
“It was probably a soldier. How do I find
who exactly?” The man trembled at what
he was asked to do.
“That is your business! You were once a
soldier, do whatever you have to do. Or
your family dies!”
He saw anger flash through the face of
the man. He smiled and walked away.
Apart from fear, the second most
common emotion his men showed was
anger. He loved it. They needed fear to
listen to his instructions and they needed
the anger to carry them out.
“Sarkin…” One of his called from behind.
He turned around to face the man;
Ayuba.
“He just called with some news.” Ayuba
said.
“He? He has no name?”
“I don’t…”
“I know who you speak of, what did he
say?” His men did not know the identity
of his source and he wanted it that way.
“The soldiers have the portal. They have
not been able to remove it but there is
heavy security around it. They have
scientists on site trying to figure out how
to disable it permanently.”
Sarkin Aljan smiled. They could have all
the scientists in the world working on it
and none of them would figure out the
portal.
“Did he tell you how the portal was
disabled in the first place?” He had to
know. Ibilis had to know. With the failure
of this mission, he had to meet with Ibilis
again. His lips trembled at the thought.
“No he did not say but there might be a
way to get the portal back.”
“If his suggestion is another slow
process of planning and plotting, I have
to say I do not have that time! We get
that portal back in forty eight hours or I
will kill every one of you! And he will not
be spared!”
“No, no, there is no delay. We will have
the portal back in twenty four hours.”
The man said with a confidence that
suddenly gave Sarkin Aljan hope.
“So what’s the plan?”
“You will need to call the president again
sir!”
***
Lange walked quickly to the conference
room. He had been held up in meetings
for hours but there was only one place he
wanted to be. He had already been told
that his soldiers had secured the
instrument the terrorist used and the
darkness had lifted over Asaba. It was
not time to celebrate yet; they had to
wait to see if none of the residents were
affected by the Black Death disease. But
first, he needed a full report on what
could turn out to be a big victory for him
and his administration.
He entered the room and the men in the
room rose up.
“I am sorry for keeping you waiting. I’m
sure you know this is the most important
thing right now but I had to attend to
other affairs of the nation. So what is
the situation in Asaba?”
“Aganga actually, Mr. President.” General
Kosoko, the defense minister said. “The
terrorist was found in a small village
close to Asaba; Aganga.”
“The terrorist was found?!” Lange
exclaimed.
“I think you should start from the
beginning.” Adigwe said.
Lange listened as the minister explained
how his soldiers found the site where the
portal was hidden and they had
apprehended the masked terrorist. He
wanted to be happy but there were some
things that had not been explained.
“You mentioned that the portal had been
disabled before the soldiers got there,
how did that happen?”
“We don’t know yet.”
“That is strange.” There was something
wrong. “Captain Ademola was supposed
to be in charge of this mission, why is he
not here?”
Lange’s heart sank when he heard how
the Captain had been attacked and the
soldiers with him were killed. He was
unconscious and in the hospital. Doctors
said he would survive but he needed a
few days.
“So Ademola was attacked on the other
side of town? There is something strange
about this story, don’t you think?”
“Well sir, we don’t know everything yet
but I believe with the capture of the
masked terrorist, we will get all the
information we need in time. He is not
saying anything now though.”
Lange folded his arms across his chest
and leaned back in his seat. He had
come into the room with ecstasy but now
he was not sure what to feel. It was
obvious he had drowned the enthusiasm
of the men in the room too.
“Adigwe, can we confirm yet that there
are no residents of Asaba positive with
the BDD?”
“No sir. We don’t have the half-life of the
disease yet. We have decided to seal off
Asaba for two more weeks.” Adigwe said.
“Two weeks is a long time especially as
the disease is not contagious.” Lange
said.
“Better safe than sorry sir.”
“You will need to address the nation this
evening. People need to know what
happened in Asaba.” Mrs. Martins, the
information minister said. “The
opposition is already saying a lot to
upset the people, we need to calm them.
Nothing calms them more than news
that the masked terrorist has been
captured.”
Lange sighed. “Set it up Martins. Don’t
tell anybody about the capture just yet.
We need to be sure.”
His phone vibrated on the table and he
peeked at it; it was an unknown number
but it looked familiar. The masked
Terrorist!
“Please I need everyone to leave the
room, I have to take this call alone.”
Lange said.
He smiled as they all walked out of the
room, they could not see his fear.
Whatever the man wanted to say, he had
to hear it alone. By the time the room
was empty, the call had ended. He tried
to call back but the number was switched
off. If the masked terrorist was the one
calling, who was the man the soldiers
had in custody? What did he have to do
with the Darkness in Asaba?
He stood from his seat and paced. Bola
and her son Segun were still in Asaba.
The stupid son was not going to call
anybody, he had made sure his phones
were confiscated and he was locked up
alone in a room. As soon as he got
confirmation that Asaba was safe he
would have them both flown to Abuja, he
needed to have a serious talk with Segun.
The phone vibrated again and he grabbed
it immediately. He placed his finger on
the ‘answer’ button then he hesitated.
Whatever the man was going to tell him
would not be good news. He sighed. It
was better to know than to assume.
He pushed the button.
“Mr. President, how are you today?” It
was him!
“What do you want?”
“That was not polite. I am the one who
should be grim, after all you disturbed
my plans in Asaba. Although I know you
did not do it on your own, whoever or
whatever it was that helped you won’t be
able to help you next time.”
“Next time? You have to be kidding, we
have your device.” Lange said not too
confidently.
“Yeah, about that; I think you might have
a change of mind when you hear what I
have to say. I happen to have a certain
woman with me – very pretty I must add.
Her name is Bola, you know her?”
Lange sank into his chair and stifled a
gasp. Oh my God!
“Oh, no more talking? Well, I have her
son too, although I doubt you care much
for him, he clearly doesn’t care much for
you. The woman on the other hand, I
believe….”
“What do you want?” Lange asked.
“Straight to business, that is wonderful. I
would have voted you for president if I
was around during the elections. I’d vote
you for second term but I can’t promise
there will be any elections then. You
understand what I’m saying?”
“What do you want?!” Lange shouted.
“Okay, calm down. I want the device
back!”
“You have got to be kidding me.” Lange
said and laughed.
“Just withdraw your soldiers and I will
come get it myself.”
“No way am I doing that! That device will
destroy my country and who knows where
else.”
“Okay, hold on please…” The masked
terrorist said and Lange heard some
noise in the background.
He wondered what the terrorist was
doing. Suddenly he heard a gunshot.
“What did you do?!” He shouted, jumping
off his chair.
“I just killed the son. In case you don’t
believe, the mother will confirm. Alright
madam, speak up please.”
Lange held his breath and covered his
mouth with one of his palms.
“Johnson, they killed him.” Bola’s voice
was barely audible. “They killed Segun.
He did not do anything, he did not do
anything Johnson… He has a knife,
please, please…no please. Aaaaaarghh.”
Her voice went off as she began to
scream.
“Okay, Mr. President, what do you say?”
“The soldiers will be out of Aganga in
twenty four hours!” Lange said.
“That’s kind of too long, you have twelve
hours or she is dead!”
“Okay. But you have to let her go with
the soldiers.”
“You have my word Mr. President. I
should let you go now, you have eleven
hours and fifty eight minutes to rescue
your concubine.”
The call ended.
He always suspected Bola would be the
end of him; it looked like the end had
come faster than he expected.
***
Damola looked at the soldier with hate.
He had tried his best to explain to them
that he had just come to help but they
did not listen. He had tried to fight them
but he could not stand the pain in his
hand when he tried to bring out any fire
from it.
“Where did you say your camp is again?”
The soldier asked, his very painful
metallic instrument of torture swinging
from his side.
“I have told you and every other fool that
has asked that question, I am not the
one you want! It’s no wonder you fools
keep losing to him.”
“Well, I guess we have to go through
another round then.”
The soldier moved behind him with his
metallic whip outstretched. Damola shut
his eyes and bowed his head.
“Stop!”
Damola opened his eyes and looked up.
The president stood in front of him.
“Who are you?” The president asked. He
looked troubled.
“Not who your soldiers think I am.”
“Who are you then?”
Damola considered telling him who he
was but he doubted he would be
believed. But he had no idea what else to
say.
“My name is Adedamola.” He said and
stopped. The president kept quiet and
waited. “What do you want to know?”
“Look here Adedamola, you may not be
the Masked Terrorist but you are one of
his men for all I care. Why were you at
the scene?”
The soldiers looked at one another, they
looked surprised the President was
actually questioning him. He was too.
There had to be something going on. If
he was to tell the President the truth, he
could not tell him in the presence of the
soldiers.
“Sir, can they leave us alone please?”
“Are you crazy? No way are we leaving
the president alone with you!” One of the
soldiers said and moved closer to the
president.
“Leave us please.” The president said.
The soldiers did not move. “You can stay
just outside the door, I won’t get close to
him, alright? Give us five minutes.”
Slowly the soldiers went out. They were
probably more interested in what he
wanted to say than protecting the
president.
“Okay, we are alone. Who are you?”
“I was at the scene with a colleague of
mine to stop the portal…” He started.
“You stopped the device? How did you
even know about it?”
“It is a very long story sir. Let’s just say,
I have some history with the masked
terrorist.”
“You know him?” The president said and
started to pace. There was obviously
something on his mind.
“Is there something going on Mr.
President?”
“Everything you are saying could all be a
big lie but something about you makes
me want to trust you. Or maybe I’m just
desperate. I’m about to do something
stupid, but I have no choice.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Damola
asked.
“You say you are not a terrorist, right?
Well, I will give you a chance to prove it.”
What is he talking about?
“You could lose your life doing this, but
you will die fighting for your country and
not as a terrorist. What do you say;
would you take my offer?”
***
Eric sat alone in the darkness and waited
for Pearl to come. He had not been in his
office in a long time and even now he did
not know why he was there. He had not
appeared in court in a while and his
lawyer had left him several messages but
he was not going to reply any of them.
Not just yet.
His experience in Aganga was all he
could think about. He had left Sango to
face the soldiers alone. He had no
choice, if he was arrested he could not
escape, Sango could. At least he
expected him to. That was what worried
him the now, it looked like Sango did not
escape. If he was still held by the
soldiers, he was in a lot of trouble. They
had stopped the darkness, which should
count for something. He had to wait for
Orunmila to show up.
There was a knock on the door and he
opened his eyes. He looked at his watch;
he had been asleep for almost two hours.
He walked to the door and opened it.
Pearl walked in.
“Are you alright Eric? You look like hell.”
She said looking him over.
“Yeah, I’m okay.” He said and returned to
his seat.
“Where have you been? I have called and
called. You usually tell me when you
won’t be available. And remember we are
in court?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you but I just had
to deal with a few personal matters.”
“When did you start having personal
matters?” She knew something was up,
she always knew.
“I’m here now, okay? Let’s move on.”
She opened her mouth then paused and
nodded. Eric knew she was going to come
back with her questions and it was only
a matter of time before he told her the
truth.
“Morayo called.” She said.
“What did she want? She hasn’t done
enough to ruin my life?”
“That’s the thing Eric, I don’t know if
she’s the one trying to ruin your life.”
Eric looked up at her. “How do you
mean?”
“She said somebody paid her to sue you
and they will kill her for calling…
something like that. I think you should
call her.”
“She was paid to sue me? You believe
that crap? And why will I care if someone
is going to kill her, it is none of my
business.”
“Come on Eric, I think there’s something
going on here that we don’t know about.”
“Is that all that happened? I thought you
would have a lot of things waiting for
me.”
“Your girlfriend has been asking a lot of
questions about you!”
“My who?”
“Your girlfriend…the pretty reporter. She
has been here a couple of times subtly
asking me questions about you.”
Eric stood and walked to the large
window looking down at the highway in
front of his office building. He knew Toni
could be trouble for him, especially now
he knew the truth about himself. If she
pressed hard, she would know all about
him very soon.
***
Toni Adedoyin walked into the X-Media
building for the third time in a couple of
weeks. Some men would call it stalking,
but she was so desperate to have
answers to her question. She had not met
Eric the previous two times she came and
his secretary was not the most open
person you could meet.
She was not sure if she was curious from
a professional point of view or if it was
personal. She hated being the dark, it
was probably what made her a great
journalist. And there was a lot of
darkness about Eric, she had to know.
She climbed a staircase and got to his
door. Her hand was on the door to knock
when she heard some voices from below.
She glanced and saw two men in suit, she
knew them; they were detectives. She
wondered why they were in X-media.
She knocked on the door and entered.
“Toni!” Eric said, he looked surprised to
see her.
“Where have you been, I have come here
a few times.” She said.
“I’m sorry, I was just…”
A knock on the door interrupted him. The
door opened and the two detectives she
had seen earlier entered.
“Good afternoon. Are you Mr. Eric
Adesesan?” One of the men – Detective
Thomas asked.
“Who are you?” Eric asked, eyeing them
carefully.
“I am Detective Thomas and this is
Detective Omotosho. Are you Mr.
Adesesan, please?”
“Yes, I am. Is there any problem?”
“Detectives, what’s the problem?” Toni
asked, trying to get their attention.
They ignored her. “You have to come
with us sir, you are under arrest.”
Under arrest? Toni looked at Eric, he
looked agitated. What was going on?
“We didn’t do anything wrong, the whole
country would be in trouble if not for us.
We were just trying to help.” Eric said.
“Trying to help?” Detective Omotosho
brought out a pair of handcuffs and
walked towards him. “You were trying to
help by killing the poor lady?”
“Wait a minute!” Eric said and started to
move backwards, away from the
detective. “Kill what lady?”
“I suggest you do not resist arrest Mr.
Adesesan. She was going to ruin your
career and you killed her, we get it but
don’t make this worse than it already is.”
Toni looked from the detectives to Eric in
confusion. What were they talking about?
Eric killed the lady that sued him?
“What are you talking about? I did not
kill anybody!” Eric said and stopped and
his face became rigid. “You will not
arrest me for a sin I did not commit.”
Toni moved towards the detectives but
stopped. She looked at where Eric had
stood just a few seconds before she
moved, he was no longer there. She
looked around the room, he was gone.
She felt a hand in her pocket and she
jumped. She dipped her hand in her
pocket and brought out a folded piece of
paper.
“Where did he go?”
“What just happened?”
The detectives looked at each other in
confusion. Toni turned away from them
and unwrapped the paper. There was a
note scribbled on it.
Meet me in your house, I’ll explain
everything.
.
.
.
.
.
To be continued
