An Evening With Eva

Episode 41

PREVIOUSLY ON “AN EVENING WITH EVA”:
“You are strong sweetheart, but not strong
enough. Watch your step my lady.” – Sean
“Target heading to execution area. Advance
now sir. Do you copy?” ¬– Austin
“How much time have I got Robin? I’m held
up by a little lady here in the loo.” – Sean
“If you leave now, you have five minutes sir.” –
Austin
“Sorry my lady, but I really have to go. Sleep
tight.”

“Three minutes sir. Target is now mobile in
the execution area.” – Austin
“Copy that. I’m en route” – Sean
“Don’t worry. I won’t hurt you. Just close your eyes.” – Sean
“Sit down Eva. It’s time for you to officially
meet Sean, your anchor.”¬– Sophia
“We have gotten to the final stage of this
operation. This final mission is the most
difficult and tasking this Corporation has ever
dared to embark on. With the General at the
helm of affairs, nothing can go wrong. For the
first time ever, the Deadly Quartet will be
involved in the same mission including Bruno,
Eva and Sean. An encrypted email will be sent
to your individual accounts at 14:00hrs. It
would self-delete fifteen minutes after delivery.

In your own interests, be with your various
devices. We reconvene tomorrow at mission
time.” – Sophia
“Please I have a delivery for your Oga. Can I
drop it here?” – Tawo
“Wetin dey inside the envelope?” – Gateman
“Would you like me to drop it? Or you want
me to go with it? I don’t have time for your
nonsense this man.” – Tawo
“I warned you not to eat that whatever you
saw on the menu, Bujunoir means boiled
octopus. Now, you are shitting your intestines
out. How do you feel?” – Colonel
“Not good Uncle, Not…

hmmmphhh..arrrrggghhhhh…

hhmpphh….not..good… at… all ooooo” –
Ahmed
“Alright then, we leave in the morning.” –
Colonel
“Tsk tsk tsk tsk. I would not do that if I were
you. I have limited time on my hands. I am
going to ask you this question only once. The
life of your wife on holiday in PortHarrcourt
and that of your three children in Ghana
depend on what comes out of your mouth.

What is the location of Colonel Giwa Haruna?”
– Tawo
“Thank you Abel. You are Hawk Eyes but you
never saw this coming did you?” –Tawo
“Agent Shina. You are required to pick up Eva
at noon tomorrow and drop her off at a
location she would disclose to you. Thereafter,
she will give you the destination you should
head to next. That would be all. Thank you.” –
Corporation
“Agent Ambrose. You are to infiltrate the
presidential security detail. Your ultimate
target is to stall any move by the presidency
on his travel plans to the United Arab
Emirates. We will send you the full plans
later.” ¬ – Corporation
“Agent Bruno. You have been assigned as the
Personal Assistant and guard of Agent Bravo.

You are to do whatever he tells you. He will
contact you.” – Corporation
“Hello son. Warm night don’t you say?” –The General
“Agent Eva. Agent Shina would pick you up at
noon tomorrow. You are expected to be at
Hotel Paradise at 15:00 hours. A suite on the
west wing has been prepared for you. You are
to lodge in the hotel and await further
instructions.” – Corporation
“Agent Bravo. Agent Shina has been
compromised. Take him out. He would be at
Hotel Paradise. Arrive at noon and wait for
him. Leave no trace. When mission is
accomplished, return to the Hotel and ask for
a room key in the name of Alexander
Bashorun. It is a suite in the west wing of the
hotel. Further instructions will be given to you
later. Good luck.” – Corporation
“Tawo, you are my son. However, you are also
a Super-Agent accountable to me, The
General. I will forgive this indiscretion of yours
one final time. I have been tracking the
Colonel. I know everything he has been up to. I
monitor all my Super-Agents, you inclusive. I
do not want you to do something silly like you
have already done today. Are you listening to
me? If you disobey me, I will kill you myself.

Follow me” – The General
“Hi Uncle. Who was that?” – Ahmed
“Ahmed, please see what that guy wants. I am
so angry right now; I fear I may blow his head
off.” – Colonel
“Giwa, I know what you feel. I know how you
feel. No one has to die tonight.” – The General
“Marcus, I am not sure you know how I feel.

My son was murdered. Yours is still alive. You
know what I think? I think you would
understand how I feel when your son is dead.”
– Colonel
“I did not intend for this to end this way.

Obviously you are not ready to be sensible.

Bye Giwa” – The General
At 9pm, Shina got into his car and headed
home. He had not moved for more than
twenty minutes when he began to vomit, He
parked his car and began to throw up, spilling
a lot of blood through his mouth from his
intestines. He opened the door to get fresh
air. He fell on the floor and into the gutter.

Blood came out from his eyes, ears and nose.

Three minutes later, his heart stopped. Shina
was dead.

Eva was bored. She had been in the hotel for
six hours now, yet there was no word from
Corporation. She knew she would be
contacted. One of Eva’s strengths was her
patience. She was never in a hurry. She had
kept herself company with a bottle of red wine
from the well-stocked fridge. She opened her
email for the umpteenth time to check her
messages. Still nothing. It was a few minutes
past 9pm. She couldn’t take another second
of the boring hotel. She went on the internet
and searched out the nearest club. The wine
was beginning to have effect on her and she
needed to unwind. There was a strip club
about 30 minutes south of the hotel. It was
the perfect way to unwind and let loose.

Wearing a provocatively short mini skirt and a
chiffon see through blouse, she stepped out of
the hotel. Eva routed all her emails to her
mobile phone just in case Corporation decided
to send her a message. She had not had fun
in quite a while. She had every intention to let
loose and go wild.

---

Sean passed by the Redeemed Camp at
exactly six minutes past ten. He put off his air
conditioning and wound down the windows.

He needed the gentle wind that blew him as
he sped through the Lagos-Ibadan
expressway. About an hour earlier Sean had
driven by Shina’s convertible. A small crowd
had gathered around the car. He knew what
had happened but he had to be sure. Parking
his car away from the growing crowd, he had
walked over to the scene. He managed to
make his way through the barrage of bodies
and got to the front. Shina’s lifeless body lay
face up in a shallow gutter, both hands on his
stomach. Sean looked round at the faces of
the different people that gathered. Gloom,
sadness and fright could be seen on every one
of them.

As he walked back to his car, he heard tiny
whispers of how it was possible that the man
in the gutter was a ritual killer and had met
his waterloo. Still others whispered in low
tones that he must have done something
terribly evil to have met that kind of fate. If
only they knew.

As Sean got into his car and sped away, he
had a slight feeling of guilt and remorse.

Shina did not do anything against him to
deserve to die. He had pondered for hours,
how he would take Shina out. He had settled
for the poisoning, feeling that poisoning him
would give him a quick, painless and private
death. It was not his intention for Shina to be
humiliated this way. Shina was a very good
man. A man of honor. Class. Taste. Finesse.

Sean was even in awe of him sometimes.

There were times that he wondered how a man
could be so meticulous. Shina was good at
noticing every single detail. Pity he did not
see his death coming. Orders were just what
they were; orders.

As Sean connected Ikorodu road to the Lagos
Ibadan Expressway, he called Sophia.

“Voice recognition. Make me one blabber
blubber bulging bunch of balderdash.” Sean
spoke to his high device phone now connected
to the sound system of his car.

“Voice recognition initiated. Welcome Agent
Bravo.” A mechanical feminine voice replied
from the speakers of his car.

“Thank you Iris. Call S.” Sean said, not taking
his eyes off the road.

He wound up the windows and put on the air
conditioning.

“Calling S… Do you want to block all incoming
transmissions?” The Voice replied.

“Yes Iris. This is a Code Call.” Sean replied.

“Call Connected. Call Secure.” The voice
replied.

The next voice that came on was Sophia’s.

“Hey baby. You miss me?” Sophia said
smiling.

“I wish I did. Sadly, I do not.” Sean replied
and continued
“Target is deactivated. What next?” Sean
finished.

“Good. Can you come over? I really miss you
inside me.” Sophia said sounding er0tic.

“I am currently en route Hotel Paradise as the
instructed in the Mission Command. I guess
I’m next on the hit list, aren’t i?” Sean said
with deep seriousness in his voice.

“Sean, I recruited you myself. No one touches
you. Besides, if you are going to die I will have
to do it myself. And I don’t see that
happening anyway. You, my love are in the
master plan of the Corporation.” Sophia
assured him.

“Why did Shina have to die?” Sean asked.

He had been dying to ask that question ever
since he read the Mission command. However,
bringing up such questions at the time would
mean he was questioning authority. It had
happened before. Mission commands were
switched and the initial target had
automatically become the executioner. He
knew better. Now that he had achieved ninety
percent of his mission objective and was now
heading to the hotel, he felt it was safe
enough to ask.

Besides, he and Sophia had developed a bond.

“Shina was compromised. He made contact
with the other side. Four years ago we noticed
his unusual distaste for Execution Missions.

He rejected three execution missions,
preferring Extraction Missions. He was the
best Extractor the Corporation ever had and
one of our best agents, so we really did not
think anything of it. However, when he rejected
the last mission to take out the Governor, the
General had me look into him. So I planted
Eva in his care. I knew he had a soft spot for
her right from the first day he extracted her.

He dotted on her and took her in his wings.

So when I made him take up Eva as his
protégé, he was more than happy to. What he
did not know was that Eva had her
instructions too. She was to spy on him and
make him fall madly in love with her. However,
she had to be subtle about it and make sure
he was scared enough to tell her his true
feelings. She passed in flying colors and
delivered Shina to our hands. Are you still
there Bravo?” Sophia said.

“Go on S.” Sean said.

He slowed down to 80km/hr. and kept to the
right lane of the road.

“The Governor Mission was a very important
one and we needed it to be very clean. Only a
Super-Agent could perfectly execute it. Shina’s
refusal to take it up only shined more doubt
on his loyalty. The rest of the Super Agents
were busy with other assignments, so no one
else was available”
“Then you guys decided to hang the mission
on my neck. What if I had flopped? What if I
could not pull it off? The Super-Agents have
56 years’ experience combined. I had a
meager two. You surely were betting on the
wrong horse, weren’t you?” Sean interrupted.

“We took a huge risk. We had no choice. But
deep inside, we had this confidence you could
pull it off. You are the fastest risen agent ever
in the Corporation’s hundred year history.

That was the little hope we held on to.”

Sophia replied.

“So after I had taken out the target, who the
hell came up with the idea of torturing me?”
Sean asked
“Actually, that was my idea. I needed you to
be strong. Besides, I can’t have a weakling as
my right hand man. I fell for you the first day I
saw you, when I picked you up on that lonely
path. Ever since then, all I wanted you to be is
what you are now. Besides, is this not
supposed to be about Shina?” Sophia asked.

Sean was passing through Ogere now. The
once very busy road had now become
isolated. During the day, scores of young lads
would flock around the window, advertising
different kinds of edibles. There was usually
light traffic and cars moved at an agonizingly
slow pace, coupled with the policemen who
were conducting searches and checking
vehicles.

Now, Sean just cruised through. No hindrance.

“What did he do exactly?” Sean asked.

“Shina became born again. He wanted out. He
did not want a part of crime anymore. How
that happened, I cannot tell. Eva intercepted
one of his phone calls. He was watching
football with friends and had left his phone in
her room after one of his visits. A certain
number had been calling him continuously.

She picked his call, acting like she was his
wife. It was the Superintendent of Police and
he wanted them to meet at the usual place.

Eva began to keep track on him and
eventually had him bugged. We have six tapes
of different meetings. He wanted to confess
everything in exchange for protection and
100million USD. He even squealed out that
something big was going to go down. He did
not know what it was yet and was waiting for
the information before he finally spilled his
guts. That is why you had to take him out.”

Sophia explained.

“Serves him right anyway. I have to go now.

I’m already behind schedule. See you soon
sweetheart.” Sean said.

“I’ll be waiting dear. Be safe.” Sophia said.

Sean waited a few seconds then said more
audibly,
“Thank you Iris. Terminate Call.”

“Call terminated Agent Bravo. Anything else I
can do?” The computer asked
Sean thought for a while.

“Iris, how long is it from my current location
to Hotel Paradise at current speed and
altitude?” Sean asked
“Processing Data… please wait.” Iris replied.

After thirty seconds, Iris replied
“Approximately forty five minutes, Agent
Bravo.” Iris said.

“Thank you Iris. That would be all” Sean said.

“Have a safe trip sir.” Iris replied.

Sean shifted gear and increased his speed to
120km/hr. He wound down the window again
and put off the air conditioning.

He just wanted to get everything over with.

---

---

The General stood at the back of his house,
rain pouring on him. He wore a long black
mafia suit and gazed on the ground before
him. His hands were behind him as he stood
motionless, his dark shades protecting his
eyes from the drops of water that fell from the
heavens. He did not shed a tear as he stood
alone as he had done for three days now. He
bent on one knee and dropped a single
hibiscus flower on the tombstone.

On the tombstone the epitaph read:
“Here Lies The Remains of Tawo Marcus
Kushim. Brother, Friend, Son.”

The General got up and took off his glasses.

Not a single tear dropped from his eyes. His
eyes were red. Fiery Red.

He walked to the head of the tombstone and
kissed it gently. He smiled.

“You had it coming, didn’t you T?” He said to himself.

“But guess what? Our code still remains. An
eye for an eye. An arm for an arm. A tear for a
tear.”

The General walked away from the tombstone
and moved towards the huge brick house.

As he opened the door, he turned and took
one last look at where his son lay buried.

“A life for a life.” He said.

He entered the house, shutting the door
behind him.

---

Ambrose got to the Capital where he was
ushered into a dimly lit office. He waited for a
while before he was joined by a grim looking
man with three tribal marks on each cheek. He
got up to greet the man but the man waved
him off, asking him to sit. He presented his
special letter to the Head of the Presidential
Security.

“I see that you come highly trained and
recommended. Your statistics are really
impressive. Why do you think we should bring
you in?” The HOPS asked.

“It has always been my dream to serve my
country in a special capacity. I only want to
help my country in the way my talents can be
fully utilized. What better opportunity than to
be in the Special Presidential Protection
Squad? None sir.” Ambrose replied.

“Have you been interviewed?” The HOPS asked
“Yes I have sir. I have been interviewed in
archery, sniper shots, hand to hand combat,
gun slinging and infiltration.” Ambrose replied
“How long did that take?” the HOPS asked
“Four hours sir.” Ambrose replied.

“Are you sure you went through all the
prerequisite interview drills?” the HOPS asked
amazed.

“I did everything that was presented to me
sir.” Ambrose replied.

Just then his computer beeped informing him
he had an email.

“Your interview results just came in. You were
in the 99th percentile in all drills. Really
Impressive. How soon can you resume?” The
HOPS asked.

“In a week’s time sir. I would want to clear
with my family back in Lagos sir.” Ambrose
replied.

“Alright then. When you are in the Capitol, call
me directly. Congratulations Peter.” The HOPS
said and gave his mobile number.

“Thank you very much sir.” Ambrose replied.

They shook ends and Ambrose left the office.

As he prepared to board a plane to Lagos, he
sent an email to Sophia.
“I’m done.”