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Episode 28

The Colonel woke up slowly, stretching his
arms and trying to stifle a yawn. It had been a
long night. He had driven for hours and his
back was beginning to ache. He was now in
Akure, hours after driving nonstop from Benin
City, Edo State. He had booked and paid for
the hotel reservation online using a fake ID
and money from one of his alias bank
accounts. Hiding was easy but expensive. He
was glad that the country had gotten to the
stage where everything was done almost
paperless. The hotel sent him a 4 pin code
that served as his suite key. He arrived at the
hotel in the dead of night, punched in the 4
pin code and got to his suite. He landed on
the bed fully clothed sleeping off almost
immediately. Ahmed however was more alert.

Over the years he had now become very
vigilant. He suspected everything. He even
suspected the air he breathed sometimes.

Ahmed did not sleep. He went from the toilet,
to the bathroom, to the living room and then
into the bedroom, looking carefully and
searching for anything remotely suspicious
and out of place. He lifted vases, opened
covers, searched the wall for bugs, ran the
taps, and checked the furniture. He was
extremely thorough. They had been to half the
states in the country in the space of 35
months. They never stayed in one place for
too long. That was the price they had to pay
for pitching their tent against the Ghost’s
Corporation.

The Colonel looked round the huge bedroom of
the five- star hotel they had lodged in. Ahmed
was nowhere to be found. Throwing the duvet
aside, he climbed out of bed, and walked into
the living room. Ahmed stood arms akimbo
facing the wall. Newspaper clippings in
different shapes and sizes were pinned to the
wall. For three years Ahmed had been
carefully observing perfectly orchestrated
assassinations, high profile murders and
unexplainable disappearances of political
hotshots. Every morning when he got the daily
newspaper, he cut out parts that caught his
fancy and kept them. Wherever they set up
camp, he took the clippings out and studied
them. He tried to find a pattern. He
desperately wanted to understand the motive
behind the killings. Every day at dawn, he
painstakingly scrutinized the clippings looking
for any form of clue. And every time he ended
up angry and frustrated. He got more
confused by the day. He had no doubts in his
mind that the Ghosts were behind these
murders. They were efficient and invisible. Yet,
he strongly believed that there had to be a
weak spot. There had to be a slight loop hole.

And it was that loop hole he sought to find.

Two days earlier, the Chief of army staff had
died in a hotel in Lagos. Autopsy reports had
it that he suffered a strong heart attack.

Rumor had it that the woman who he had
intimate relations with was too hot for him to
handle. Others said that he loved to
ma5turbate and had done one too many, the
last one being his undoing. The official report
from the Army Barracks had it that he was
only resting after a long meeting when he died
in his sleep.

After Ahmed read the news, he cut it out and
added it to his collection of clippings. He
hacked into the hospital’s server to access the
Chief’s medical history. The Chief had no prior
heart issue, and for five years running had
never missed his appointment with the
doctors. The doctors passed him fit at the last
checkup two months back. His wife and four
children were based outside the country and
kept in touch regularly. He got an
unannounced promotion just recently and was
a very happy man.

Ahmed suspected foul play.

The Colonel walked up behind him, placing his
left hand on Ahmed’s right shoulder. Without
looking back, Ahmed greeted,
“Good Morning Uncle. Trust you are refreshed
after that irresistible nap?” Ahmed said.

“Yes boy. I am. What was it with the entire
search you were conducting last night? I was
too tired to get up and ask you. Do I sense
some form of paranoia boy?” The Colonel
sounded worried.

“Uncle, you have taught me a lot these few
years. Part of what I have learned from you is
to always be aware of my surroundings. One
can never be too certain of how safe he is.

Extra precaution has to be taken Uncle.”

Ahmed said, his eyes still fixed on the
newspaper clippings.

“Spoken like a true soldier. Any luck with
those?” The Colonel said pointing at the wall.

Ahmed shook his head.

“Uncle, do you know anyone in the late Chief
of Army Staff’s cabinet that we can coerce to
speak to us? I smell a rat in the stories going
round about the cause of death. Something is
not right.” Ahmed said facing his uncle.

“I actually do. I personally got Mustapha the
position of Chief of Army Staff six years ago.

And along with that, I planted my spies. One
of his security details is a trusted servant.

Hold on.” The Colonel said.

The Colonel got out his phone and inserted
the new sim card he got the day before. It was
registered to the Alias that paid for the hotel.

“Son, set your stop watch to 18 seconds. It
takes 20 minutes for a pro to trace a call. I do
not know if the mole has been compromised.

When I start talking, begin the countdown.

Stop me immediately the timer ends.” The
Colonel said and Ahmed nodded.

He dialed the number.

There was a click on the other end of the line
showing that the mole had picked the call.

The Colonel signaled to Ahmed to start the
timer. He obliged.

“Chameleon Brown. It’s Alpha speaking.”

The Colonel said
“Sorry. Wrong number please.” The voice at
the other end replied.

“What really happened to Strong Man?” The
Colonel persisted
“Baby, d–n. Did you see that? She just killed
that man and dived into the pool through the
window. Wow! She left her gown and that
rough bouncer has picked it up. Baby you are
missing! In fact it seems I am going to wait
for you to finish so you can join me o. This
movie is so interesting. I want
” The man was
saying but the Colonel cut in.

“Excuse me? Please can I talk to Chameleon
Brown? It’s really urgent.” The colonel
pleaded.

“Oga, I said this is a wrong number. What is
your problem? Can’t I enjoy my movie in
peace? Can you
” He was saying angrily but
the Colonel dropped the call on him.

“How many seconds?” The Colonel asked
asked Ahmed
“16 seconds.” Ahmed replied and continued,
“Seems like you dialed the wrong number.”

The Colonel put off the phone, opened the
back cover and took out the sim card. He
scratched the gold area of the sim with the
back cover of the phone, and then broke the
sim in two.

“Actually, it was the correct number.” The
Colonel said, walking to a chair. He sat down
and crossed his legs smiling mischievously.

“I don’t understand Uncle” Ahmed said folding his arms across his chest.

“Mustapha was killed by a female. She
escaped through the window, diving into the
pool below their hotel. She may have forgotten
to take a piece of clothing along. It’s with one
of the bouncers.” The Colonel said.

“Or Uncle, she may have left it deliberately to
set the police on the wrong track. The Ghosts
are very smart.” Ahmed said walking towards
his uncle. He continued.

“Can I access the internet from this building? I
want to dig into the hotel surveillance. I also
want to check the architectural design of the
hotels. Doors, windows, suites, corridors,
pathways, and everything that I can lay my
hands on.”

“I know some access codes and encrypted
hash tags you can use to override the Access
Control Protocols that protect the firewalls
you may encounter. However, I just made a
transmission from this location by calling my
informant. Making another transmission is
pushing it too far. I know a place where we
can go. We leave at dusk.” The Colonel said
with a tone of finality.

He picked up the Intercom and called kitchen.


Sean finished his early morning ritual drowned
in his own sweat. His muscles rippled under
his sleeveless shirt and his skin glowed under
his own perspiration. He was not satisfied
with the day’s work out. He still had more
energy to burn. He prostrated on the gym
floor, balanced himself on his hands and toes,
and began to do push-ups.

“1, 2, 3, 4
” he counted as he pumped. He
was feeling the strain and bulge in his biceps.

He loved it. He loved the pain. He had become
so accustomed to pain. In the previous year,
he had spent four months in interrogation by
the harshest standards.

“51, 52
” he counted as he pumped.

He switched to pumping with one hand.

“58, 59
 60.” He groaned the last number and turned on his back. He was breathing hard
and fast, his heart trying to adjust to the huge
demand of blood from his body.

As he breathed, he fell into revelry,
remembering all that happened eight months
ago:
8 months ago:
Sean hurried to the roof of the Civic Center. It
was 5am. He was disguised as a member of
the Lagos State Elite Sniper Team. It was
campaign season in the country and every
eligible candidate was flaunting posters,
carrying out different campaign strategies and
lobbying for voters’ support.

The governor was running for second term and
was scheduled to hold a campaign parade
later in the morning. The Governor and his
entourage would start their open air parade at
9am, starting off at Ajah, up until CMS bus
stop. Therefore the amount of security
provided was immense. There was a convoy of
police cars, a huge number of armed foot
soldiers and helicopters flying around. The
Ghosts had worked their magic and Sean had
been included in the Sniper team. There were
50 snipers in all. His designation was at the
top of the Civic center. Snipers lined almost
every high rise building on the Ozumba
Mbadiwe road. He was dressed in a police
uniform with “SNIPER” written boldly behind
and in front. He kept radio communication
with the rest of the team as he set up his
Sniper rifle adjusting the focus and scanning
other roof tops for similar weapons.

Earlier that morning just before the snipers
were dispatched, the Sniper Commander had
assembled them and gave them a harangue.

The order from the Sniper commander was:
“Make sure there are no infidels out there!”
He charged and continued
“The Governor is in full view of the public.
Make sure there are no smart as5es up on
that roof! You see a threat, you take it out!!!

Nothing and I repeat Nothing happens to the
governor on my watch! Copy that?!!!” The
Sniper commander yelled.

“Yes sir!!!” The snipers replied.

However, Sophia’s instructions were simpler:
“Take out the Governor”.


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