It was six days since he woke up in a strange house in Esu’s bed and a lot had happened since then. Now that he knew who and what his opponent was he was more interested in listening to Orunmila.
He had listened to everything he said and it had helped him. He discovered that he had incredible power and according to Orunmila, he was yet to discover the half of it. He felt ready to attack Sarkin Aljan again but Orunmila would have none of it. Anne was still being held by Sarkin Aljan, it was only a matter of time before he went without Orunmila’s consent.
“Put on the TV!” Damola turned around to see Esu walk in. He did not like the man one bit but Orunmila had insisted he stayed in his house – he did not have a choice really. Despite his dislike for him, he was intrigued with the way he could disappear into thin air at will. He was intrigued and envious.
“Put on the TV!” Esu said again.
Damola picked the TV remote and pushed
the power button.
“You see that? The darkness is back; this
time in a big city!”
The darkness had apparently not reached
its peak. He could see the faces of the
people who stood behind the reporter.
The anxiety and confusion on their faces
stared at him through the darkness.
“…The darkness has spread around the
city as you can see behind me. It is not
yet clear what this means for us as
residents in Asaba, Delta state. All roads
leading into and out of the state capital
has been sealed as we await further
instructions from the governor who is
currently in Abuja. We have no comment
from the president yet but Nigerians will
be waiting for word from Aso Rock.
According to the last National address by
the President, the government have
everything under control. We wait to see
if that is true.” The reporter said.
“Can they be saved?” He asked Esu
turning away from the screen. “Is there
anything that can be done for them?”
“I don’t know. We have to wait and hope
Orunmila shows up.”
“So now you are ready to help?” a voice
came from behind them.
They turned round, Orunmila stood there
with his arms folded.
“Can they be helped?” Damola asked. He
was no longer surprised at the way the
old man came and went whenever he
wished.
“Yes, they can be helped. The real
question, can you help them?” Orunmila
said.
He did not quite understand the man yet.
Sometimes he was telling them the fate
of the world rested on their shoulders
and now he doubted if they could save
one city?
“Tell us what we must do!” Esu said. “I
might be losing my career in film
anyway, I might as well find another.”
“You are not ready to face Sarkin Aljan…”
Orunmila started.
“We will never be ready! Whatever do we
have to do, let’s do it now!” Esu said.
“If you insist but I have to warn you; this
will not be easy.” Orunmila said and he
was gone.
***
He remained in his office and continued
pacing. He had to think. He had done a
lot of thinking; six days’ worth of
thinking. He had done little else than
think of what he would do when this
moment came. The call from the masked
terrorist did not help him at all. He had
told only Adigwe and had put him to
work on the research on the Black Death
disease. Now, he wished Aweda was still
alive. He was crazy half of the time but
he could have the solution.
He had been in his office when he saw
the news that the darkness had
reappeared. He had shut his door
immediately. He did not answer any of
his calls either. He had stood in the front
of his citizens and lied to them. He
would have to lie again, he needed the
people to be calm, not panicky and
calling for his head. For the first time he
considered hiring a PR consultant.
After six days of hoping the masked
terrorist was only making an empty
threat, his worst dream had finally come
to pass.
His phone rang again; it was Adigwe this
time. He answered it.
“Sir, have you…”
“Yes, I saw the news. Any luck with the
research?” He said, hoping against his
better judgment.
“Sir, our best bet right now is to catch
this terrorist. If this darkness or whatever
it is is affecting only Asaba, I am
assuming he will be in Asaba right now.”
“Err…but don’t you think he would be
killed too if he stays in the city he has
inffected. He could be in one of the
surrounding cities or villages.”
“True sir. We could seal up the villages
around Asaba too.”
He shook his head. He knew Adigwe was
only trying to help but he could not help
but think he was wrong. The terrorist
they were dealing with was not a usual
person, he needed to be dealt with in an
unusual way. Sealing up the area would
alert the terrorist but at least the people
would see he was doing something. He
knew nothing else he could do.
“Call Gen. Kosoko tell him to set a
perimeter.”
“Alright sir. I will give you an update in
one hour!”
“Thank you.” Lange said and remembered
Aweda again. “Wait! Do we have
anything on Aweda’s death yet?”
“No sir. We have people working on it
though. The terrorist attack is priority,
right?” Adigwe sounded surprised he was
asking after Aweda.
“Of course…of course, thank you.” He
understood why Adigwe was surprised
but he had a feeling that whoever killed
Aweda had something to do with the
masked terrorist.
There had to be something he could do,
there is no way a terrorist will run the
country aground.
The office phone rang and he jumped. He
had ignored all calls to his office lines
since he heard the news about the
darkness spreading across Asaba but
something urged him to pick this one.
“Hello?” He said and held his breath.
“Mr. President, my name is Segun. I don’t
know if you know who I am but I am the
son of the woman you are sleeping with.”
“Wh…wh…what?” He could not believe his
ears. “Who did you say you are?”
“You call her Bola and I know about you
two.”
“I did not know… are you trying to say
you are my son?”
“What? No! This is much worse. My
mother is in Asaba!”
“Jesus Christ?!” The words hissed out of
his mouth.
“Jesus Christ is not going to save her,
you will! You said on TV that you have it
all under control, right?”
“Well… Segun, are you sure she is in
Asaba?”
“What kind of question is that? I am here
with her, how do you think I got your
number? I am not going to die here,
neither will my mom!”
“What do you want me to do, I don’t…”
This was getting worse. Bola could not
die, he needed her.
“You don’t seem to get me, if by
tomorrow I don’t see any move to save
my life and my mother’s, I will call your
wife; my mother has her number too.
When I’m done with her, I will call the
press.”
“Are you threatening me?” Suddenly
anger roused up in him. He was been
threatened by a boy? He was the
president of the whole country!
“Tomorrow by eight pm, I will be calling
my press. Then you will know for sure
that this is real.” He said and ended the
call.
Lange slammed the phone against the
table and screamed! He was not going to
lose his presidency to a selfish and angry
boy. He’d rather break every law in the
constitution than do that. He brought out
his phone and punched in some numbers,
he had people, they would take care of
the boy. He had bigger problems.
***
Sarkin Aljan paced around the makeshift
tent. He liked the position he was in at
the moment but somehow he was still
nervous. He should not have called the
president. It was not as if Lange could
do anything to stop him, but still he
knew gloating should be left till after the
victory is won. Destroying Asaba was
going to be a big breakthrough for him.
Everyone who ignored him as just
another terrorist would understand they
had ignored him to their peril. One by
one they would surrender and even
though they would not be spared, it
would make the job of killing them
easier.
It upset him that he had to wait till the
darkness was fully set in the city but he
had to. The portal he used for Asaba was
different from what he had used for the
two previous villages. This time it would
take three days for the darkness to be
fully deployed but it would take only
three days for everyone in the city to die.
When the world saw how fast the people
were dying, they would fall at his feet.
And very fast.
“Boss, are we just going to sit and wait
till this stuff is done?” One of the men he
had recruited to help him asked.
He looked at the man and ignored him.
They had no idea what stood in front of
them; the power it wielded. It would
make him the ruler of the world. As soon
as he got Ibilis off his back. It was a
great thing Ibilis could not enter into
man’s realm. All he had to do was
conquer the earth and remain in it.
“Boss?!” A voice called from outside the
tent and Nonso entered. He looked
agitated.
“What is it?” Sarkin Aljan asked.
“They have cut off access to and from
the city.”
“That is really sad. It means nobody in
the city can be rescued then.” He said
with a sneer.
“But it also means we can’t get out! It’s
only a matter of time before they find
us.”
“We are not in Asaba, remember? They
cannot and will not find us in this small
village.”
“That’s the problem sir! The search has
been extended, this village is in the set
perimeter.”
He looked at the portal set on the
concrete slab in the centre of the tent. A
slight distortion of the portal will stop
the darkness and he could not have that
happen. But he could not be caught
either. He doubted they could be found in
the three days it took for the darkness to
fully mature. Agreeing to Ibilis’ deal
meant he relinquished his immortality
and although he could not be killed by
their metal bullets, he still would not
take the risk of waiting for them. He
should have brought Manzo, he would be
the perfect protector for the portal.
“Nonso, you wait here with two of your
men. I will go with Muka.”
“Okay boss!”
“Nonso, remember if anything disturbs
this…” He said pointing to the portal.
“Your family dies!”
“Nothing will disturb it.” He loved to see
the fear in the eyes of his men, he owned
them.
He took a last look at the portal; it was
the ticket to his world domination. As
long as it was not disturbed.
***
Captain Adam Ademola did not
understand why he had been called off
his holiday. He had heard about the
terrorist and but he had tried to take his
mind off it. He was on holidays, a very
rare one and he planned to ignore
anything official. But when his boss said
he had to cut short his holiday to come
oversee the search and possible arrest of
the masked terrorist he had gladly
obliged. His wife fussed and complained
but even she knew he gave affairs of the
state priority.
He deployed his men to every single road
that led out of Delta state. His men
could not enter into Asaba but they
sealed off all entrances and exits, if the
terrorist was in Asaba, there was no way
he was getting out. But his gut told him
Asaba was not the place to watch. He
had deployed the highest number of men
to Asaba but he himself stayed with the
men deployed to Aganga. It was a small
village close to Asaba and rarely paid
any attention. It was the perfect hiding
spot for a terrorist. His men were only
just arriving at their respective stations
but some were already heading into the
village to question the villagers. It was a
small village, they would know if a
strange person entered into Aganga.
His radio crackled on his belt and he
removed it.
“Captain, a car just sped past us! We
flagged it down but it did not stop. We
shot at it but it was moving too fast.”
The voice came over the radio. It was one
of the soldiers that were headed for the
Aganga.
“What kind of car is it?”
“It is a black Range Rover sport. It’s fully
tinted, we did not see the occupants.”
“Okay Corporal. How far out is the car?”
Ademola asked.
“Not very far Captain! E.T.A. ten
minutes!”
“You go on to Aganga, we will wait for it.
I will call for back up from the next
village if we need it.”
“Okay sir!”
It could be the masked terrorist. He
expected him to travel with more people
than one single Ranger rover could carry.
You threaten a whole nation on
television and you do not travel with an
army? The terrorist was either a lot
stronger than they thought, or he was
incredibly stupid. He would not risk the
life of his men finding out.
He had five men left with him. He had to
position them well in case there was
going to be combat.
“Gather round soldiers.” He called out to
his soldiers. “In less than ten minutes a
car will be arriving here, it’s a possible
threat so we have to be ready. Here is
the plan.”
He explained their positioning and
functions and sent them off to their
positions. He had instructed one of his
men to park the Humvee across the road.
There was no way any car was passing
except through the road except it went
through the Humvee. He stood in front of
the Humvee, his gun held across his
chest. One of his men stood beside him
and they waited.
Fifteen minutes later and no car had
appeared. There was no other way out of
the village. The men had either returned,
stopped or reduced their speed. His men
were battle savvy, they held their
positions but he could tell they were
beginning to wonder too.
Just then the car came around a bend. It
was coming at a very high speed.
Ademola moved to the center of the road
and held up one hand and pointed his
gun upward with the other. The car did
not slow down. He leveled his gun at the
car, if it got too close he would
command his men to start shooting.
Suddenly the car slowed to a stop. Then
one of the back doors opened and a man
stepped out.
“Put up your hands right now, and come
here slowly.” He shouted and the man
put up his hand.
He held the gun trained on the man has
he approached.
“Don’t shoot, I don’t mean any trouble.”
The man called out.
He watched him closely as he got nearer.
There was something about the man that
put him off, he could not be trusted. He
held his gun tighter, alert.
“Who are you and where are you going so
fast?”
“I’m just trying to escape before the
blackness spreading in Asaba gets to my
village sir.” The man said. His head
bowed, Ademola could not see his face.
“Are you alone in that car?” He asked,
taking another look at the Ranger rover.
“Yes sir, I am.”
The man was close now and the soldier
beside him moved towards him. He
reached him and patted his pockets,
there were no weapons.
“Who are you?” Ademola asked and
pushed the man’s head up with his gun.
Immediately he saw the face he knew
who he was; the masked terrorist! He had
no mask on but he knew the eyes.
“Hello Captain!” The masked terrorist
said and knocked his gun of his hand
before he could shoot.
Immediately his gun fell he reached for
another hooked to his belt and shot the
terrorist. The bullet caught him straight
in the chest and he fell backwards.
Ademola rushed closer to him and shot
two more bullets into his chest; he was
not taking any chances.
He signaled for his men to come out of
their positions. He instructed two of
them to pick the body and dump it in the
Humvee.
He turned to the others and said. “I want
you to go check out that car
immediately. Be careful, there might be
others in there.”
Something was wrong, it was too easy.
Aaaargh! One of the men headed to the
car screamed and fell. Ademola looked at
the man and just then another screamed
and fell. He turned around and the
masked terrorist was on his feet, with his
mask on. Ademola opened his mouth in
shock.
“You really thought you would get rid of
me that easy? I feel insulted.” The
terrorist said.
All his men were down. How could he
have been so careless? But he had shot
him three times and he was not wearing
a vest.
“I can see you are trying to do the math.
‘I shot him three times, how is he still
alive?’” The terrorist said and laughed,
and then his eyes became cold. “If you or
your government thinks you can kill me,
you are mistaken.”
He was a soldier, there was no way he
was allowing the terrorist get away so
easily. He pointed his gun again at the
terrorist and started to shoot. He shot till
his gun was empty. The terrorist had not
moved one step.
“I do not like that!” The terrorist said and
moved closer to Ademola. “There is
nothing I want more than to kill you right
now but I will not! I need somebody to
talk the president. I cannot be killed, it
would be great if he surrendered now.”
“We will never surrender our country to
any terrorist! Not you or any other person
who feels he can toy with us.” Ademola
said.
“Oh that is where you are mistaken
Captain. You will surrender or else I will
kill everybody one city at a time.”
“We will rather…”
“Just shut up! I do not have time for this
chat. Tell your president; Abuja is next!”
Ademola opened his mouth to speak but
felt a sharp pain in his chest. He tried to
scream but he only slobbered. He held
his chest, his feet gave way and he fell to
the floor. His eyes were starting to close.
He watched as another man joined the
masked terrorist and they entered the
Humvee. He tried to move but all the
muscles in his body were paralyzed.
The Humvee zoomed off and he gave up
and passed out.
To be continued
