Eric shifted on the cold concrete bench.
His back ached, so did his legs. He had
no position he tried was convenient
anymore. He stood and screamed in
frustration. The policeman seated out his
cell eyed him and went back to his work.
The policemen were keeping a close eye
on him, they always had someone
watching. And they were smart to do
that. He had not seen too many
policemen in the station when he was
brought in so he had thought of nothing
but escape for the first few hours.
Escaping was not possible he had come
to find out. He walked to the iron bars
that closed him up in the cell. He
touched them again. The iron bars were
thick, they were not meant to be escaped
from. He sighed and went back to sit on
the concrete bench.
He had often wondered why people took
their own lives. He always felt it was a
cowardly thing to do, and he believed
that anyone who committed suicide really
deserved the death. He was not sure
anymore. He did not see the reason for
his life. He had done all the good he
could and become as successful as he
could be, yet he was going to jail for a
crime he did not commit.
“Hey you!” He heard a voice call and he
looked up. “You have a visitor and you
have five minutes only and she can only
talk to you from the other side of the
metal barricade.”
He stood from his bench and walked
forward.
“Eric…” It was his secretary – Pearl. “How
did you know I was here?” He was
surprised to see her.
“I found out and that doesn’t matter
right now. I gave the cop just two
thousand naira and that will soon
expire.”
“Oh, why did you do that? I thought you
were here to bail me out.”
“Bail you? Have you forgotten you
jumped bail once? You are here until you
go to court!”
He sighed and said. “How long is that
going to take? I can’t survive here for
long.”
“That is exactly why I am here.” She said
and she began to smile. “You are going
free Eric!”
“What? How? Why?” He asked, his eyes
wide.
“One of the girls that was supposed to
testify against you suddenly grew a
conscience. She says she was paid to
testify against you. Get this; she also
witnessed the murder!”
“So what are we waiting for? Let’s get
her to court immediately!” He said.
“We will be in court tomorrow! Your
lawyer is making that happen right now.
Eric, you could be cleared from all your
charges tomorrow.”
“So, I’ll walk tomorrow? And I was
beginning to have suicidal thoughts.” He
said and started to pace.
“Suicide? Eric Adesesan considered
suicide? Well, you are not in the clear
yet. Even if the judge dismisses the case
immediately, you will still have to be
punished for jumping bail. What were you
thinking anyway?”
“It’s a long story Pearl, you don’t want to
hear it on your two thousand naira’s
worth of time.”
“Whatever this long story is, please don’t
let it happen tomorrow. If somehow you
don’t show up tomorrow…”
“Hey, I’m in jail, where on earth am I
going? I just hope…”
“Your time is up Madam!” The voice of
the policeman rang from behind her.
“Leave now or I will throw you in jail with
him.”
“Eric, your lawyer will be here later, okay?
I will see you in court tomorrow. I will,
right?”
Eric nodded and smiled as she walked
out. If he was able to leave the court on
time, he could possibly still help Sango
save the country.
He looked up and saw that the policeman
at the desk had gone out after Pearl. It
was the first time there was nobody
watching him. He shrugged and returned
to the bench. He was just about to sit
when he heard footsteps in the hallway.
Maybe a new policeman was coming to
take over. The footsteps got closer and
suddenly he began to feel nervous.
The steps got closer and then a man
stepped out in front of him. The man
wore a dark grey three-piece suit, a white
shirt and a blue tie. He carried a bag in
his left hand and the right hand was
stuck in his pocket. Eric looked at the
man curiously but the man ignored him.
Was he a lawyer?
“Hello, who are you?” Eric asked.
The man looked at him for the first time
and smiled. The smile sent chills down
Eric’s spine. Who was this man? The man
set his bag on the floor and unzipped it.
He dipped his left hand into it and
brought out a small black object. Eric’s
heart was racing now as he looked
closer; it was a gun!
Oh my God!
The man moved towards him and pointed
the gun at his head.
“Who are you? Why are you killing me?”
Eric asked with a weak voice. He had
never felt so helpless.
“I bring greetings from the Professor.”
The man said and put his hand on the
trigger.
Eric closed his eyes and his legs gave
way under him as he heard the man pull
the trigger. He fell to the ground with
pain in his chest. He put his hand on the
spot – it was dry. He opened his eyes
and looked all over himself. There was no
blood! He looked up at where the man
stood; he was leaning on the metal
barricades with a hole in his head.
Eric jumped up and then he saw a man
standing a few feet away from the body.
He was a short and stocky man. He was
putting a gun in the pocket of his leather
jacket. The barrel of the gun seemed to
have been bent backward. He moved
closer to the metal rods and pushed
away the assassin. He looked at the iron
bars and he grabbed two of them and
pulled them apart!
Eric backed away in shock! The man had
pushed the rods apart as if they were
made of candle wax. The man stretched
his hands and beckoned him to come.
“Who are you and what are you doing?”
“My name is Ogun, the others are in
danger, they need us now!”
Eric stared at him with his mouth
open.Ogun- the god of Metals!
***
President Lange could feel his body
shaking. He held his hands in front of
his face and saw how visible his shaking
was. His phone was ringing every minute
but he had not picked any call. He
considered switching it off but somehow
he still held on to the hope that Shina
will call him from Abuja to say he had
found the real terrorist and that the news
from Minna was just a rumour. But he
knew the truth, he knew what he was
doing was mere wishful thinking.
He picked up his phone; he had thirty
four missed calls and seventy three
messages. He knew all these calls were
important and sooner or later he would
have to talk to all these people but it
was not time. He went to the messages
and scrolled through the senders. Now he
regretted giving so many people his
private number. Many of the foreign
ambassadors had called him, some of
them would want to help but most of
them will only make demands and put
pressure on him.
He kept scrolling then paused. He had
received a message from the Masked
Terrorist! He clenched his teeth and
opened the message.
I promised not to call and I won’t.
Whenever you decide your people do not
deserve to die,
Call me and we will name our terms!
Lange placed the phone on his bed and
walked away from it. He was done
talking with him. He walked in front of
the standing mirror beside his wife’s
dresser and looked at his reflection. He
looked old and weak. He could not say
he had done great as president but he
had gotten more than he asked for, more
than he thought possible.
He walked away from the mirror and to
his shoe cabinet. He picked a pair and
wore them. He had sworn to be a
president, even if he had no idea on what
to do, the least he could do was to show
his face in his office. He walked towards
the door and then he remembered his
phone. He was just picking up the phone
when it began to ring. It was his wife.
He considered not talking to her until the
solution was found for all the problems
he had created for the nation. That way
he would have something to say when he
talked to her. He was not sure that would
ever happen. He sighed and answered the
call.
“Hello Susan.” He said.
“Mr. President, I’m sure you have heard
about the darkness spreading in Minna.
And in case you forgot, that is where
your dear wife is!”
“I know Susan, I’m so sorry. I wish I
could be there with you, I wish I could
hold you in my arms and tell you
everything will be okay. I’m so sorry
Susan.”
“Well, you had your chance and you
chose another woman.” She said and
there was a brief silence. “Look Johnson,
I did not call to fight. I just called to ask
if you are making any attempt to rescue
me.”
“Susan, I’m not going to lie to you, I
don’t know…” tears were already pooled
in his eyes.
“So, you are doing nothing, right?
Remember how you went all out for your
mistress? You put the whole country –
including your legitimate wife at risk for
her. History won’t forget you – President
Lange, the man who gave his all to save
his mistress and left his wife to die.
Goodbye Johnson, I hope you treat your
next wife better.” She said and ended the
call.
Lange looked at the phone and the tears
poured down his face. He scrolled
through his contacts and called the
terrorist.
“I want to meet. I will send you the
address and the rules of engagement.”
He said and ended the call before the
terrorist could reply.
He dialled the number of his Vice
President, he picked at first ring.
“Mr. President, I have called you
severally.”
“Listen to me carefully.” Lange began. “I
was always going to hand over this
presidency to you, although I thought it
was going to be after eight years of
working together. The next few hours will
be critical and anything may happen. As
soon as I can’t be reached for more than
four hours, I want you to take over the
presidency immediately! Even if they
don’t make it official, they will still listen
to you; they respect you as much as they
respect me. Alhaji, the nation is counting
on you, I am counting on you.” He ended
the call without the Vice President saying
a word.
He doubted that he deserved redemption
for the harm he had caused the nation.
The least he could do is to try and
salvage what was left of his reputation,
even if it meant losing his life.
***
He was tired of waiting but he was not
sure if there was more he could do.
Damola had sent the address of his
location to Esu but he had not
acknowledged receiving it neither had he
answered any of his subsequent calls.
Something had to be wrong.
He was in a hurry for him to come. And
maybe his haste was more because of
Anne than Esu. He wondered what she
had been through or how she escaped.
He looked at his watch again. The
darkness had started to spread and he
had no idea how long it would take it to
mature. Once it did, it meant he was
going to die along with the other
residents of the city.
He had had enough. He crept out from
behind a pile of logs where he had been
hiding and slowly moved towards the
house. Sarkin Aljan had stayed in the
room with the portal since he arrived, he
would have to fight and win him to get to
the portal. He was not sure if it was a
good idea to take on Sarkin Aljan but he
knew he would have to fight him at a
point; the earlier the better. As he
crawled closer to the building he heard
Sarkin Aljan talking to one of his men.
He paused and listened.
“Tonight we meet the president. I expect
him to hand over the country to us, his
wife is here you know. Get everything
prepared, we will make our broadcast
from Abuja. Get me a big flag of Nigeria
and then use…” The voice faded out.
Damola moved closer to the building and
peeped inside, Sarkin Aljan had left the
room. He heard the engine of a car start
outside and he peeked; Sarkin Aljan was
leaving with a few of his men.
This was his chance! He would get to
destroy the portal without even fighting
Sarkin Aljan. He rose to his feet and
matched towards the building. Two of
the guards noticed him and pointed their
guns, he threw his right hand in their
direction and they were hit by fire-bolts,
they fell unconscious. He got to the edge
of the building and paused. He peeped at
the front of the building, there were five
men there. Three of them were lying
down on their backs on the floor, the
other two held their guns combat ready.
He raised right hand and shot two bolts
of lightning at the two men carrying the
guns, they fell down and one of their
guns discharged. The other three stood
and three lightning bolts hit them in
quick succession. The men were all down.
He shook his head, it was too easy.
He ran and quickly stepped into the
building. The portal was working at full
force now. There were several bright blue
sparks and a few red ones. He could not
get as close to the portal as he wanted
because of the metal barricade Sarkin
Aljan had installed. If he would stop the
portal, it would have to be from behind
the barricades.
He took a deep breath and closed his
eyes, then he put his hand around the
barricade. The fire came from both his
hands and then he released it. He felt a
pressure against his hands and he
opened his eyes. The fire was stopping at
the barricades; there was an invisible
wall stopping it. He could not
understand. He closed his eyes and tried
again. The invisible wall resisted again
and he pushed harder. He started to feel
pain in his hand but he could not stop.
There was no gain without pain, the
nation needed him. He felt the pressure
against his hand start to spread to his
chest and his face but still he did not
stop.
And suddenly, there was an explosion
and he felt himself go up in the air. He
crashed against the wall of the building
and fell down in a heap. He could not
hear anything but the hum of the portal.
Pain enveloped his body, no part of him
seemed to be functional. His eyes began
to close but he struggled against it.
Whatever happened, he had to be alive if
and when Sarkin Aljan came back. Or
else, he was as good as dead.
.
.
.
.
.
To be continued
