An Evening With Eva

Episode 21

The Colonel sat in the living room, scrutinizing
the sim cards that the detective had just
gotten. With his personal phone, he called
Customer Care and complained that his
number was not going through. He could not
make calls neither could he receive calls. He
was asked to call the digits of his phone
number so that they could help ascertain what
the issue was. He called the digits on the new
sim and was put on hold. After a while of
holding on, he was told that the number was
not in use. It could be a new number or an
incorrect number.

“How long have you been using this line
please?” the Call center agent asked
pleasantly.

He hung up.

He tore the sim from its pack. He was going
to insert it into Ahmed’s phone later, probably
at midnight. He relaxed on the couch and
touched his g—n, rubbing his ball5 gently.

The kick Ahmed gave him had hurt. He was
surprised himself at how he was able to fake
the absence of pain. But such sacrifices were
necessary. He needed Ahmed to be ready.

There was still a lot of work to be done. The
Colonel’s eyes moved to the small table in the
center of the room. The bugs he had taken out
of Ahmed’s bedroom and also the ones he
took out from the living room lay scattered all
over. He had forgotten about them.

The bugs were powerful high functioning
cameras. But they could only be deployed and
monitored over a 200 meter radius. The
Colonel was in deep thought. This meant that
whoever was watching Ahmed had to be close
by. Very close. He had not seen or heard any
strange sounds in the house. This meant that
the control device was not there. Ahmed
walked lazily into the sitting room, holding his
waist. He sat on another couch, a
considerable distance away from the Colonel.

He did not want another lesson so soon.

“Son, have you noticed anything strange or
out of place in the attitude of your neighbors?
Or estate residents?” The Colonel asked.

Ahmed almost asked why but thought better.

“I have not Uncle. I do not have the time to
monitor my neighbors. I don’t speak to
anyone. The Old woman who lives two houses
away says a greeting every time I drive by. I
always murmur a reply. I barely hear myself. I
am not concerned about their affairs.” Ahmed
replied.

“Detective Ahmed Haruna! Don’t just say
whatever comes to your head boy! Think! Have
you noticed anything strange lately?” The
Colonel insisted.

“If I had said the first thing that came to my
head, we would be having another fight by
now.” Ahmed thought to himself.

“Uncle, nothing strange has happened. Believe
me, I would know. Other than a new resident
moving in the next house beside us, and then
the reconstruction of the drainage system,

nothing has happened over the past 7 weeks.”

“You have a new neighbor? Since when?”

The Colonel asked suddenly very interested.

“I don’t know. A couple of days back or so. I
was coming home from work and a truck
blocked half of my gate because it was trying
to off load furniture into the new house. I
asked for the owner of the house but whoever
it was wasn’t available. I haven’t seen or
heard anything since then.” Ahmed finished.

The Colonel’s brain was at super speed. He
was thinking deep and trying to draw logical
conclusions. Patterns formed in his
subconscious. Ahmed watched his with keen
interest as the Colonel drummed his fingers
on the table.

“From the moment you heard the gunshot and
the moment you got to the veranda, how
much time do you figure had passed?” The
Colonel asked.

“About two to three minutes. I even checked
the streets. There was no sign of any one. It
seemed like they just disappeared into thin
air.” Ahmed said.

He was thinking in the same direction as the
Colonel now. The escape was too quick and
perfect. It must have been planned and
properly rehearsed. His assailants had to be
close. Perhaps, too close.

“There is only one way to find out. My guts
tell me they are the occupants of that
building. We will have to draw them out. This
is what we will do. You are going to make a
call with your old sim. Let us hope it is still
being monitored. You will call Sheila. Tell her
you were attacked. Your dogs were killed. You
went out today and you noticed suspicious
men trailing you. You shook them off. You
know where their hideout is and you will need
backup to take them out.” The Colonel said.

“How does draw them out sir?” Ahmed asked.

“These people have a zero tolerance for
failure. The only reason they are called The
Ghosts is because they do not exist. They
leave no trails, no clues, and no souvenirs. The
do not make mistakes. They are thorough and
highly trained. The best part is, they do not
respond well to threats. If they sense a threat,
it is quickly neutralized.” The Colonel said.

“And my call to Sheila is a threat they will not
be willing to let lie fallow, thus bringing them
out and then we nab them?” Ahmed asked.

“Exactly, my boy!!! The phone call to Sheila is
a threat. They will make a move after your
call. Now this is the detective I know!” The
Colonel answered happily.

“I will send a cryptic message to Sheila after
you call her, telling her not to respond to your
phone call. We are on a trip together and we
just decided to play a fast one on her. We will
laugh over it. I have already ‘photoshoped’
you into a picture I took during my visit to
Massachusetts, USA. I will send it to her as
proof to calm her.” The Colonel said.

“I still do not understand sir. When are we
doing all this?” Ahmed asked.

“You will call her two hours from now. I will
send the message immediately after. Any
moment from then, we should expect
company.” The colonel finished.

“How many agents are they likely to send?”
Ahmed asked suddenly jittery.

“They are silent assassins. They do not draw
attention. Maybe one or two. They would want
to act quickly before Sheila’s fake backup
arrives. Then, we’ll have them for dinner!”
The Colonel finished and showed his spotless
white teeth.

Ahmed did not have cause to smile. The very
thought of the assassins coming to get him
made him shudder with fear. The Colonel
noticed this.

“sU-Ck it up boy. I did not raise a coward! Be
ready when I ask you to.” The Colonel scolded.

Ahmed could only nod.

---

Bruno was sleeping on the chair in the
bungalow when Tawo called. He acknowledged
Tawo’s orders and dropped his phone on the
table after he hung up. He had underestimated
the detective. His men had lost the detective
for over an hour and saw him later when he
approached the estate gate. Where he was
and what he went to do was a mystery. Bruno
did not like mysteries. He was still pondering
how he was going to unravel the detective’s
past hour off the radar when Tawo called
telling him to ready himself for the kill. He
woke Marshal and told him to get himself
ready to take out the detective. Marshal
grinned. He had not killed anyone in a while.

He was really happy he finally had a chance
to. When Tawo ordered for the trigger to be
readied, it did not take long before the target
was wiped out. The longest it ever took was
18 hours.

Bruno relaxed in his chair and noticed a red
indicator on his transmitting device. Ahmed
was making a call. He quickly plugged in the
earphones and listened to Ahmed’s voice.

“…found out their hideout. It is beside my
compound here. I cannot say for sure how
many they are. Send backup just in case so
we can move in tonight. 2 hours. Good. I’m
ready. Bye.” He heard Ahmed finish and hang
up.

How the heck did this happen? How did
Ahmed know? Bruno was never one to throw
blames. He now needed to act. And fast! He
checked the time. 8:14pm. Marshal was fixing
the silencer to his .45 automatic pistol. He
called Tawo. It rang for a while and there was
no response. He tried to call Shina. It was
switched off.

This was his call. If he decided to wait, the
whole operation would be blown. If he decided
to flee, he would be ‘discharged’ by the
Ghosts. He had only one option. He had to
take out the detective.

He got his gun from a hostler strapped to his
waist. He fastened a silencer to the gun and
put the gun in his trouser by his waist and
covered it with his shirt. He picked his phone
and sent a text to Tawo.

“Operation at risk. New development. Moving
to take out target.”

He waited for the message to deliver. He put
off his phone.

Marshal was so happy. He would finally get to
shoot and kill someone. He was ecstatic. He
grinned at Bruno. Bruno’s mind was racing.

This could be the end of them. It could as well
be the best move he could take. But he could
not afford to sit idly by or to flee. It was
against The Code.

“It’s going to be a clean sweep. Get in, get
out. No trace. No mistake. Copy?” Bruno
asked.

Marshal nodded.

They packed their bags, wore their gloves and
got out of the bungalow.