An Evening With Eva

Episode 30

Sean’s heartbeat rose as the seconds grew
closer. It was a few minutes to 9am. The
Sniper commander had just radioed, saying
that the Governor and his convoy were very
close and would pass by any moment. He
demanded sharpness now more than ever.

Beads of sweat broke out on Sean’s forehead.

He was nervous. Who wouldn’t be? Asides the
fact that he had to take out the number one
citizen of the state, this was his final test. His
performance would determine the next thing
that happened to him. Still sprawled on the
roof top he looked through the lens of the
sniper rifle positioned on a small tripod stand.

The street beneath him was free of cars but
filled with armed police men who were
desperately trying to control the teeming
crowd and still watch out for strays. He
slotted in the only available single long silver
bullet and snapped the bullet chamber shut.
He needed only one shot. He closed his eyes
and waited. Closing his eyes always helped
him gather his thoughts. It made him focus on
the task at hand and helped block out any
form of distractions.

A few minutes later, he heard sounds of
drumming and fanfare. The trumpets blared at
heightened tempo while the drummers
desperately tried to match the intensity of the
blasts. They were close by. He opened his
eyes. His heartbeat was intense. But he had to
do it. He had come too far to stop now. He
could not help it. He put his left eye on the
lens and closed his right eye. The Governor
was about 5 knots to his left, standing
through the open roof of his car and waving to
the ecstatic crowd who chanted his name. He
waited as the Governor’s car moved slowly
into the target zone. Sean’s hands were
sweaty under his black cotton gloves. He
suddenly felt the need to ease himself. He
fought it. Sophia’s words rang in his head:
“Take out the Governor”.

He put his right forefinger in the trigger hole.

As the Governor’s car moved, slowly entering
the target zone, Sean’s finger slowly grabbed
the trigger. The Governor was finally in the
zone. The target mark was on his head. Sean
pulled the trigger. 20 meters to his left, the
Governor fell on his head. Dead.

There was commotion everywhere as the
crowd scattered in different directions. The
Campaign carnival had suddenly turned into a
blood bath. The Governor was immediately
pulled inside the car. The once slow cars that
moved at snail pace during the parade now
sped dangerously through Ozumba Mbadiwe,
rushing to get the Governor medical attention.

The armed police men were confused and
surprised at the same time. Nobody envisaged
this. Nobody knew what to do.

From his ground position the Sniper
Commander stood perplexed. He looked
through his highly powered ultra-binoculars at
the rooftops of the nearest buildings.

He spoke into his radio:
“Snipers! Maintain your positions! No body
moves! I repeat, NOBODY MOVES!” He
screamed
As he spoke, he scanned the entire sky rise
buildings, making sure that each sniper was in
place as commanded. As he radioed the
choppers for a head count, whilst scanning
the rooftops with his binoculars, he noticed
one of the sniper posts without a sniper.

“Code Red. Track down Sniper 038 now!” He
ordered Sean got up very quickly, moving away from the edge of the roof. There was a small door on the roof which also served as a fire escape.

He opened the door, revealing a stairwell that
led to the ground floor. As he hurried down
the stairs, he took off this sniper uniform. He
had another uniform underneath which had
RRS written back and front. He was on the
third floor when he heard the radio call from
the Sniper commander. There was a gun and a
helmet by the landing of the second floor. He
wore the helmet and took the gun. He got out
through the back door looking very smart. He
saw a team of RRS soldiers and joined them.

They nodded at him as they walked in a
group. They had walked for fifteen minutes,
searching every nook and cranny when a grey
Peugeot car pulled over. A man opened the
door and called to him.

“Hey you. Come in here.” The man pointed to
Sean.

Everything was going according to plan. This
was the exact way Sophia had said he would
be extracted. He felt relieved.

Immediately he got into the car and shut the
door, he knew he was in trouble.

There was no one he recognized in the bus.

As he calculated his options on how to
escape, a punch hit him on the face from
nowhere. He felt blood trickle from his nose.

Before he could react, someone put a wet
handkerchief on his nose. He could not
breathe. There was some form of liquid on the
handkerchief. It smelt like sulfur.

Sean passed out.