seconds he did not know where he was.
He looked around and then he
remembered. He was on a tree outside of
Sarkin Aljan’s compound. It was getting
dark and quiet and he could not see
through the leaves so he slowly dropped
down. He stood still and as close as
possible to the tree and looked around;
he saw no one. Something was wrong.
After his escape from Sarkin Aljan’s
public execution, he had helped the
soldiers to point where they could
hopefully make it to town but he had
returned to the house. He came for a
purpose – save Anne and he was yet to
fulfil it. To his surprise Sarkin Aljan did
not send dozens of men after him, just a
couple and they soon gave up the chase.
If Sarkin Aljan was not after him, he
must have something more important
going on.
He peeked at the house from behind the
tree and saw three men come out with
heavy guns. They looked around the
compound, walked several metres across
the open space in front of the compound.
Two of them walked back in and the
other started to pace in front of the gate.
Damola crept a little closer to the house.
Something was happening and it was
better that he knew what it was.
He got closer to the house and he heard
the sound of car engines revving in the
compound. Then a huge truck came out
of the house. The truck was filled with
men, they all carried big guns. Where
were they going? Close behind the truck,
a Toyota Tundra followed. He sighted
Sarkin Aljan in the car and he dropped
low on his belly. Wherever they were
going, he needed to be there. As the car
pulled out of the compound, another
truck followed it. This one was almost
empty. There was only one man seated at
the back.
Damola crept out and hurried towards
the truck while trying to stay out of
sight. He got close to the truck, jumped
and hung to a chain hanging on the side
of the truck. The man in the truck turned
and looked in his direction. He must
have heard the sound the chain made.
He stood and walked towards where
Damola hung. He removed his gun from
his belt and pointed it forward. Damola
hung as still as he could and waited. The
man got close and saw him.
“Hey, who are…?”
Damola punched him in the throat before
he could finish. The man fell and crashed
into a metallic object. Damola jumped
into the truck and caught the man before
he recovered. He punched him in the
head and he passed out. He dragged the
man to a side of the truck and tied him
with his belt. He sat and hoped no one
had heard the noise. Whatever Sarkin
Aljan had planned and he knew he had
something planned, he hoped he would
be able to stop it.
***
They had driven for hours before arriving
at their destination. It was the early
hours of the morning and it was still
dark. He hid the gagged man underneath
some debris and jumped off the truck. He
ran away from the vehicles and hid
himself. They were parked in front of a
small building. He could not tell for sure
but it looked newly built. There were too
many men marching around for such a
small building. He was yet to see it but
he was sure the portal was in the
building. Whatever the town they were in
was, it was the next target for Sarkin
Aljan.
Sarkin Aljan came down from the Tundra
and headed into the house immediately.
The other men came down from the truck
and huddled together, one of them was
addressing the others. Damola counted,
the men were seven. There were five men
already on ground and he had no idea
how many were in the building. He could
maybe try and take them on but he had
to know what was in the building first.
He watched and noticed the pattern of
the men who paced in front of the house.
He had a small window of time when one
corner of the building was not covered.
He crept towards the building and
waited. The men moved and he ran
towards the house. He tiptoed around the
house and got to a window. He peeped
in; he was right, the portal was in the
building. Sarkin Aljan was talking to a
man; they were the only two in the
building. He looked around the building.
There was a metal barricade surrounding
the portal, Sarkin Aljan was obviously
fortifying his gadget this time.
He looked around the building and saw
there was another door behind the
building but it was bolted from inside.
He knew he could attempt to fight all the
men and break into the building but it
was dangerous. If he could get the other
door open, he could sneak in. He doubted
he could but he knew someone who could
– Esu!
***
Oya opened her eyes and shook her head
to clear her drowsiness. She looked up
and looked around her. Something was
happening. She usually had at least two
armed men in the room with her at all
hours of the day. Sarkin Aljan did not
trust her and he had no reason to. She
had already killed four of his men and
had tried to escape twice. He knew she
would try again and truthfully if she
could, she would. He had been smart
enough to keep her hands covered and
tied all the time and to keep water away
from her. She knew it was only a matter
of time before he slipped or one of his
men made a mistake. And then, she
would make her escape. She wondered
why there were no men in her room at
the moment.
She heard a creak and the door to the
room opened. A man stuck his head
inside, looked at her and looked around
the room. Through the door opening she
saw some men loading some bags and
moving out of the house. Were they
going somewhere? The man closed the
door and left.
If Sarkin Aljan was moving, it meant his
threat to take over the nation had
started. She tried to move her hand but it
was stuck, she could not.
She heard footsteps outside the door and
she stopped moving. The door opened
and a young man entered. She had never
seen him and with the way he looked at
her, he had never seen her. He quietly
closed the door without taking his eyes
off her. She had seen the look on several
men, she knew what it was – lust. She
had that effect on men and it could be
what would help her escape Sarkin
Aljan’s captivity.
“Where is everybody going?” She asked,
trying to sound as uninterested as
possible.
“It’s none of your business.” He answered
without taking his eyes off her body.
“It’s okay if they all leave. None of them
was man enough to satisfy me anyway.”
She said and he looked up at her face.
She had his attention. “You tie up a
woman for months, the least you can do
is get her a man who can satisfy her
desires.”
She looked away from him but she could
feel his gaze. His lust for her had
increased. If he was as naïve as he was
beginning to look, she could have her
escape very soon then.
“Could you please help me remove my
shirt please? Those fools know how hot
it is, yet they won’t even open a window.”
She said casually.
He looked at her and hesitated.
She laughed and said. “You are scared of
me too? My hands are tied, what will I
do, set you on fire with my breath?”
He did not smile like she wanted but he
moved closer to her and started to
unbutton her shirt. She looked down at
his trouser, she saw the growing bulge.
She had him already. He removed her
shirt, all the while staring at her
cleavage.
“Thank you dear. Could you please help
me removed these leather gloves off my
hands too? My hands are boiling from
the heat.”
He swallowed and started to remove the
gloves. She smiled at him and nodded
her encouragement. She was not sure
how much she could do with her hands
tied, but at least she had a chance. The
gloves came off and her fingers tingled
as the air touched them. She bent her
head towards him and kissed him lightly
on the lips. He closed his eyes and held
his breath.
“Thank you my love. Maybe, just maybe
you are the man who will finally satisfy
me in this god forsaken dungeon. All I
need is for you to do me on big favour.”
“What do you want?” He said.
“I need a bucket of water. Those bastards
would not let me have my bath everyday
even though I promised they could watch
me bathe. Can you get it for me please
love?”
He looked at her face and she winked. He
turned around and walked out of the
room. With the bucket of water, she had
all she needed to destroy the place and
make her escape. Her only fear was how
she would escape Sarkin Aljan and his
dog Manzo. If she could get out of the
room, she had a great chance of
escaping.
The door opened and the young man
came in with a bucket of water.
“I have not asked for your name love.
What is it?” She asked.
“Umar.” He said bringing out a long
knife.
She stiffened at the sight of the knife.
What was he doing? He moved closer to
her and began to cut the ropes that tied
her.
“Just so you know, I have a gun with me.
If you try anything stupid, I will shoot
you.” Umar said.
“Oh, come on love, I just want to have
my bath and that’s it.”
He nodded and cut the rope off both of
her hands. She rubbed the rope marks
and smiled again at Umar.
“You are my hero today Umar, you have
made me so happy. But I have a question
though, how many people are left in the
building and where were those others
going?”
“I don’t know where the others went but
it’s just me and my three brother left in
the building.” He said, eagerly waiting for
her to start removing her clothes.
Anne dipped her hands into the bucket of
water and she felt the energy of the
water enter into her. She turned around
and faced Umar. He saw her face and
stepped back in fear. She raised her
hands and a whirlwind started to blow in
the room. It started slowly but it began
to gain speed. Umar looked at her and
started to run towards the door. She
threw her hands forward and the
whirlwind ran in front of him and
knocked him down.
She picked her shirt and walked towards
Umar. She waved her hands in the air
and threw it backwards. The wind picked
up Umar and threw him across the room.
She got to the door and waited. She had
no idea if Umar had told her the truth
about the number of men in the building,
but it did not matter. She had waited for
too long for an opportunity to escape.
Now, she had it!
***
Eric drifted through the street towards
his house. He had stayed in Toni’s house
for a few hours. But he knew he could
not stay in hiding forever. He had to
prove his innocence. The morning was
cold and breezy, one of those mornings
when he loved to cuddle with one of his
girlfriends. Of course he had no
girlfriends now. He looked at the people
who walked past him; they did not see
him of course but he felt just as
exposed. He sighed and turned towards
his house.
He looked around to see if there were no
police men hanging around. They might
not see him but they would sure see the
door opening. He was satisfied, there
were no policemen around. He turned to
his door and stopped! There was a
woman at his door. He moved closer and
looked; she was familiar. And then he
remembered; she was a model, he had
seen her around at events. What was she
doing at his house though?
He went around the house and came to
his backdoor. He looked around to make
sure there was nobody watching, he did
not see any. He opened the door and
entered the house. He paused at the door
and looked around as far as he could
see, nothing seemed to have changed. He
closed his eyes and became visible. He
walked to the front door and looked
through the peep-hole, the lady was still
there.
He turned the knob and opened the door
slightly without showing his face.
“Who are you and what do you want?” He
asked.
“Hi, is Damola here? I was told he was
here the last time he was seen.”
“Who are you?” He wondered why the
model was interested in Sango.
“I’m his girlfriend! Is he here? Open the
door please!”
He opened the door without saying
anything and she entered and started
looking around the house. He waited in
the living room with his hands in his
pockets. After a few minutes she came
back.
“You are definitely not a shy person.”
Eric said.
“Where is he?” She asked. He shook his
head. He had to get her out, he had other
things to do, he also did not know if she
knew how Sango really was.
“Where is he?” She asked again. “Who are
you by the way and why was he at your
house?”
He sighed and sank into a chair. “My
name is Eric, I…”
“Eric? You are Esu aren’t you?” She asked
very excitedly.
She knew who he was? It meant she
would know who Sango was too.
“Yes I am. How do you know that?”
“I just escaped from Sarkin Aljan’s
dungeon. I heard…”
“Wait a minute.” Eric said surprised. “He
always talked about Oya, that’s you?”
“Yeah, the one and only. Now that we are
properly introduced, where is my man?”
Eric explained all that happened to them
and how he had seen Sango stop Sarkin
Aljan’s execution.
“Right now, I have no idea where he is.
I’m assuming he escaped though, but he
is yet to come here. I was in a little
trouble myself. How did you escape from
Sarkin Aljan’s place?”
“That’s a long story but I think he is
planning something big. He moved out
almost all his men, something big is
going on.”
He started to talk but his phone rang. He
considered not taking the call; it could
be someone on the murder case. He
shook his head and pushed the answer
button without talking.
“Esu, this is Damola.” He sat up and
waved Oya over. “I need you to listen
very carefully.”
“Wait, your girlfriend is here!” Eric said.
“What?”
Oya snatched the phone from him.
“Hello sweetheart, are you okay?” Oya
asked.
Eric watched her talk for a couple of
minutes. Her face glowed as she talked,
it was easy to believe they had loved
each other for centuries.
She put the phone on loudspeaker and
placed it on the chair and sat next to it.
“Esu, we have a big problem.” Sango
said. “Sarkin Aljan is set to destroy the
country totally all at once.”
“What? How?” Eric asked.
“I don’t know everything right now but I
need you here. I need you both actually
and I need you now!”
“I am a wanted man now, I can’t go
anywhere I want. And where are we going
exactly?”
“I’ll text you the location, I really have to
go now.” Sango said and the call ended.
Eric looked at Oya, she returned the look
and nodded. He had his own problems
but getting to Sango was priority.
“I brought my car, we should head out
immediately.” Anne said.
“We don’t even know where we are going
yet.”
“We will get the address before we get
out of town but we need to leave now.”
He nodded and walked into his room. He
had to take some things .They might be
away for a while, he needed to be
prepared. In five minutes he was back.
They walked out of the house and he
started to follow her to where her car
was parked.
Suddenly he felt a strong sting on his
back and pain surged through his body.
He turned around and looked; there were
four uniformed policemen all pointing
their Tasers at him. He fell to the ground
the effect of the shock still heavy on him.
He closed his eyes and attempted to get
invisible, it did not work. He looked
around, Oya was gone.
“Mr. Adesesan, you under arrest for the
murder of Miss Morayo Adebisi…”
He looked away from the cops as they
read him his rights. He could not afford
to be arrested, not now when he was
needed the most.
***
Lange paced around his study mumbling
to himself. He was not sure what he was
saying but he knew he was frustrated.
Since the Masked Terrorist’s call, his men
had been watching the movement of the
portal. It was the source of his
frustration. The device had been moving
around in a weird way. It looked like it
was headed to Abuja alright but it had
not gone through the straight route
instead it kept going into villages,
turning back and getting back on the
road.
Apart from the weird movement, it was
going very slowly. It looked like the
terrorists were not in a hurry, almost as
if they were in charge. But then strangely
the device started moving very fast. It
was close to Abuja now. His men were
already waiting for whatever vehicle was
bringing the portal. His heartbeat was
far from normal now as he waited. If he
caught the terrorist now, he could
probably still rescue his reputation.
His phone rang and he grabbed it.
“Talk to me Shina!” He said.
“The tracker stopped sir and so we
decided to go to it.”
“Okay, and…?” He asked, wiping sweat
off his brow.
“Well sir, we found the tracker on the
floor.”
“What?!” He suddenly felt light-headed.
“The terrorists must have found and
disposed the tracker sir.”
Oh my God!He could not afford to have
terrorists in the Federal Capital Territory.
It would be the end of him. There had to
be another way.
“When did the tracker stop moving?”
Lange asked.
“About thirty minutes ago, sir.”
“Okay, do we have our men still
searching every vehicle entering the FCT
via all the roads?”
“Yes sir, we do.”
He nodded and ended the call. How did
they discover the tracker? If they
discovered the tracker, it meant they
knew he was on to them. He still had
hope, soldiers were searching every car
entering the city.
His phone rang again and he grabbed it.
“Did you find them Shina?” He asked as
soon as he answered the call.
“Sir, this is not Shina but I’m afraid we
have a problem.”
“What is it?” Lange asked and held his
breath.
“The portal was not headed to Abuja, it
appears to be somewhere in Minna. A
strange form of darkness was reportedly
sighted a few minutes ago, sir!”
“Find that portal and destroy it!” Lange
said, his voice and his body shaking
furiously.
Aaaaargh!!!He screamed and threw his
phone against the wall.
“Why Minna? It was not a very
important… oh my God! Susan!”
.
.
.
.
.
To be continued
