An Evening With Eva

Episode 23

At 8pm The Colonel was ready. He got
Ahmed’s phone and inserted the old sim.

Ahmed took the phone from the Colonel and
dialed Sheila’s number,
“Wait son. Don’t make that call yet. We have
got to be ready immediately after the call.
How many guns do you have?” The Colonel
asked.

Ahmed frowned and shook his head.

“Not much Uncle, about two to three guns. Let
me show you.” Ahmed said, getting up.

He led the Colonel to the corridor inside the
house, opening the room adjacent the one
they were in earlier in the day. It was the last
room by the wall. The room was empty. Asides
from a stack of plastic chairs by the tiled wall,
the room was nothing to write home about.

There were no rooms, no entrances, nothing.

Ahmed looked like he was lost. The Colonel
waited for 70 seconds expecting the detective
to say something. Ahmed was mute. He gave
the impression that this was the wrong room.

The Colonel looked at him.

“There’s nothing in here boy! Is this a joke?
We have to move fast!” The Colonel asked
irritated.

Ahmed smiled. He had just gotten the
expression he wanted from his uncle. That
feeling of disappointment. He moved the
chairs, dragging them a little bit sideways
away from the wall making sure he marked the
exact height where the stack of chairs
reached. From the point he marked, he
counted four tiles north. When he got to the
fourth tile, he moved a finger to the edge of
the tile and pressed. The tile turned inside out
to reveal a small digital screen and a
numerical keypad. There was also a finger
print scanner and a retinal activation. It was
a high tech security safe. He looked back at
his Uncle. The Colonel was not impressed. He
had broken into more complicated vaults. He
could take down Ahmed’s safe in four days
max. Ahmed pressed a yellow button.

“Welcome Ahmed. Please provide retinal
recognition.” A voice said from the device.

Ahmed leaned closer and a mild infra-red
signal scanned his retina.

“Retinal Scan complete.” The voice said and
continued. “Please provide fingerprint
recognition.”

Ahmed placed his forefinger in the scanner
and another infra-red signal scanned his
prints.

“Prints accepted. Please enter password or
Voice recognition.” The computer said.

Ahmed was dying to impress The Colonel who
so far was staring with a straight face. His
arms folded across his chest. Ahmed pressed
a button on the device.

“Please enter voice password.” The voice said.

Ahmed read out the letters of the alphabet in
a song like fashion.

“A,B,C,D,E,F,G…Now I know my 1,2,3. My
name is Ahmed Haruna. Take it away.” He
finished.

The Colonel laughed hard. What a joke, he
thought to himself. He almost turned away to
leave the room when the was a soft whooshing
sound. A part of the wall where Ahmed stood,
caved in and moved to the left, creating a
small entrance into a room. Ahmed walked in
and turned on a switch. The bulbs came on,
illuminating the small room.

“Here we are.” The detective said, pleased with himself.

“I can see where you keep your two or three
guns boy. This is impressive.” The Colonel
said.

The colonel smiled as he walked into the
enclosure. He was delighted at the caliber of
artillery he saw. He went to a shelf and picked
a rifle. It was a Kalashnikov AK-47 Assault
Rifle. One of the best he ever handled. He
remembered his time at the military academy
13 years back. It was the perfect weapon.

While he stroked the AK-47 in his hand, his
eyes scanned the room looking at the other
guns. There was a Thompson M1921 Sub
Machine gun, an F-2000 Assault Rifle, a 1965
HK416 Assault rifle (a rare spec), an SPG
classic, six .43 automatic pistols and a Uzi
Sub-machine Gun. Ahmed shared the same
taste with him when it came to ammunitions.

He turned and nodded at the detective smiling
pleasantly. As he checked the cartridge of the
AK-47 assault rifle, his eye caught something.

He bent low and pulled out the butt of a gun
from the lower chamber. It was a DSR 50-
Precision Sniper Rifle. His all-time favorite.

Every spy loved to have this deadly piece of
metal.

“Where did you get this my boy?!” The Colonel asked delightedly.

“Scavenged it from a crime scene.” Ahmed
asked.

Ahmed picked one .43 pistol and inserted
bullets in it while the Colonel took another.

They corked their guns and got ready for
action. Ahmed closed the ‘door’ after his
uncle and pushed the chairs back. They exited
the room and went into the sitting room.

“Make that call now.” The Colonel said
handing the phone to Ahmed.

Ahmed dialed Shiela’s number. She picked on
the first ring.

“Hello ma. My house was invaded. My dogs
were killed… I don’t know. I can’t say. I did
some research on some clues I got. Unknown
men trailed me throughout today. I managed
to shake them off. I 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” Ahmed said and hung
up.

The Colonel nodded at Ahmed.

“They should get here anytime from now. Be
ready. I will stand watch by this window and
join you later.” The Colonel said.

Ahmed left the bedroom, took station by the
bathroom, and waited for the Colonel to join
him.

---

Bruno and Marshal exited the bungalow,
walking in the shadows and avoiding the
‘street lights’ shinning on every area of the
street. They backed the fence, moving slowly
and quietly. Bruno signaled for Marshal to
hold on. They had gotten to Ahmed’s gate.

Bruno crossed to the other side of the road.

He walked past Ahmed house for 10 meters.

Marshal watched him. Bruno walked back
towards Ahmed’s compound stopping in front
of the gate. He looked inside and knocked. No
response. He knocked again. There was no
reply. The initial plan was to pretend to be
looking for number 12 of the street. If Ahmed
came to the gate, Bruno would ask him for the
street number and directions on how to get
there. While they were talking, Marshal would
appear from nowhere and take him out. So far
Ahmed did not come out. He nodded to
Marshal.

---

The Colonel waited at the window for twenty
minutes. His instincts told him to move to the
roof. He would have a better view from there
and see whatever was happening outside the
compound. He climbed the ladder attached to
the water tank, continuing up until he was a
few inches above the roof. He leaped gently
from the ladder, landing softly on the padded
roof. He walked to the edge of the roof and
prostrated, keeping his jaw in both hands, his
elbows acting like a tripod. For six minutes,
nothing happened. On the seventh minute, he
saw a man cross the street and walk pass the
house. He immediately sensed danger when
the man crossed back to his side of the road
retracing his steps. When the man stopped at
Ahmed’s gate and began to knock, the Colonel
knew it was time. Immediately, he got up, half
ran across the roof and jumped on the ladder.

He raced down the ladder and got into the
house through the back door. He made it just
in time to see Ahmed moving to the front
door, about to open it.

As fast as lightening, the Colonel moved to
where Ahmed was, dragging him by the hand
just as he was about to grab the door handle.

Ahmed looked back frightened and almost
pulled the trigger of his gun, when the Colonel
put a finger on his mouth indicating that
Ahmed be quiet. He signaled to Ahmed that
they had company and that he should be on
the alert. Ahmed nodded. The Colonel signaled
again that Ahmed wait at the door and do
nothing, while he went to keep watch at the
back entrance. The Colonel was as calm as
ever. Ahmed’s heart was racing. He swallowed saliva and nodded again like a dummy.

---

After Bruno nodded his head at Marshal,
Marshal leaped over the fence from outside,
landing in Ahmed’s compound. As he landed,
he simultaneously brought out his gun from
his hip area and scanned the area. He did not
want anyone to take him unawares, especially
dogs. When he was sure no one was alerted,
he moved cautiously to the gate and silently
opened the smaller area for Bruno to come in.

Bruno shut the gate behind him noiselessly
and moved ahead of Marshal. They decided to
take the back entrance.

Ahmed saw the way the two men entered his
compound. He noticed they had military
training. Their signals, silent communication
and perfect sync scared the living daylight out
of him. He watched them move very slowly
taking calculated steps toward the back of the
house. They moved like they knew where they
were going with the heavy one behind looking
behind and scanning for aerial and ground
threats. He decided he would attack them
from behind. Two quick head shots and they
would both be dead. They would not see him
coming. He smiled.

As the thought crossed his mind, his uncle
stole into the sitting room.

“Any luck?” The Colonel whispered, barely
audible.

“They are going to the back entrance. I will
take them from behind. It would be easy.” The
detective said.

“No! Don’t! I will handle this. Just cover me.”

The Colonel ordered.

As the Colonel took silent steps towards the
back entrance, Ahmed felt disgusted. Why
would The Colonel want the glory for himself?

For God’s sakes he was retired! His uncle did
not completely trust him. He felt he was not
good enough. All these thoughts ran through
Ahmed’s head in milliseconds. He decided he
was going to show his uncle that he was no
sissy. He turned and headed for the front
door. The Colonel turned and noticed Ahmed
heading for the front door. He tried to call him
back but he was too late. Ahmed was already
outside.

“Shiitt!!!” The Colonel cursed and raced after
his nephew.

Ahmed was already way ahead. The Colonel
did not want to run. He did not want to draw
attention. So he moved fast, but very quietly.

Ahmed could now see Marshal. Bruno was
right in front of him. Ahmed moved closer
taking his aim at the back of Marshal’s skull,
moving closer still to get a clean shot. 3
seconds later, he had the perfect shot to take
out Marshal. As he took his final step to pull
the trigger, his boots crushed some gravel.

Marshal turned. Bruno looked back too.

Ahmed’s heart skipped a beat.

Marshal brought up his gun to take his aim.

Ahmed was quicker. Ahmed pulled the trigger
and his bullet caught Marshal squarely on the
face. Blood splattered everywhere. Marshal fell
to the ground, his brains scattered everywhere.

Bruno rolled on the ground and fired two quick
shots at Ahmed. A bullet caught Ahmed on his
left thigh. He screamed, falling to the ground
and holding his thigh. As Bruno ran closer to
finish him off, The Colonel appeared from the
corner. He fired three perfect shots at Bruno.

Bruno rolled on the ground and ducked behind
the wall. A bullet caught him on the arm. He
was bleeding.

The Colonel approached Bruno, shooting at
the wall. Pieces of bricks scattered around
Bruno. Bruno moved backwards. The Colonel
got to Ahmed and knelt on one knee, not
taking his eyes off the wall. He felt Ahmed’s
pulse. He was still alive.

“Hang in there my boy.” The Colonel said.

As the Colonel got up approaching Bruno,
there were gunshots at the gate. The Colonel
backed into the wall. He saw someone jump in
from the fence and roll to the gate. She got up
and continued shooting sporadically at the
Colonel. The Colonel backed away dragging
Ahmed with him. He was out of rounds. He did
not expect this much firepower. Bruno saw
Sophia and ran towards her, shooting at the
Colonel’s direction with his good hand.

Sophia covered him, her back to the gate while
Bruno opened the gate and went out. Sophia
moved slowly to the gate still shooting at the
Colonel.

She got out of the gate, got into the car and
sped out of the estate.

“How are you?” She asked Marshal as they
sped along Palm Groove, Ikorodu road.

“I will be fine. Marshal is dead.” Bruno replied.

Sophia did not say a word. Marshal was her
cousin. Her eyes were red.

She stepped on the accelerator and bit her
lower lip.

Someone was going to pay for Marshal’s
death.