Finally!
Now let's get down to bizness.

Neduzze5: Can I now comment? ?

No

Shugamania: Finally!
Now let's get down to bizness.

What business?

Hehehe..
Fear not, i wont derail this beautiful piece.

Hey man!
Ur doing a nice job.
Just know am following this piece and no cut throat suspence.
Bring it on

Mynd I know how long it took me to read this Ūя̲̅ wonderful write up. pls tell me I won't regret it cos u fit forget now oh n me I D̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣γ̲̣ promise u say I GƠ̴̴̴̴̴̴͡ disturb u tire

Nice 1 plus didn't know you write...

Ehm with this number of updates i hope you typed and stashed em somewhere cos i don't want to hear stories that touch . Keep em coming

Oga Mynd nice piece of art! U sure know how to weave those words!

Thanks y'all

Nice write up but it seems ur space bar is not working properly

Chapter Three

Black Water


The forests of Africa around the equator are not called the tropical rain forest for nothing; they are characterized by one thing, rain and a lot of it. Tetuan falling into this belt was not different from the other places that was in this vegetation range, forest that was green all year round and trees that grow so tall, thatthey almost hide the volcanic hills that characterize the small country which made the terrain difficult to walk or pass through except by people who are used to the country’s terrain. There are a few roads through the forest even though the country is blessed with diamonds and other precious stones.

The stones which had the potentials to bring the country out of obscurity and poverty turned out to be a curse on it like most countries in the world. Years of blissful leadership under a citizen oriented military rule was thrown away as external influences forced the military to relinquish power to a democratic rule and that’s when the problems started. The military leaders came from training that the people were the most important people in the society and were trained to respect and out the citizens ahead of their own selfish interest. During this time, Tetuan grew to be one of the pride of West African and although did not exact much political authority outside its borders, it was acountry which had a strong internal trade, a rich culture and citizens who were proud of the purple flag.
Water and electricity was provided for its population which was not too much and food was grown from their own land as the government subsidized fertilizer and provided seedlings for the farmers, they wereexporters of cocoa seeds and banana. Tobacco was also a valuable export and they had an upcoming oil palm industry. A lot of their citizens were educated and ended up working in the country as they were conservative and did not ask for much. The military although lacked the vision to set up home grown corporations and companies knew enough to give the citizens what they need. They ensure that the mines were sourcing for the majority of their employees from the local work force and also that the funds from their resources were put to good use. Corruption was discouraged as a short drop from the hang man’s noose made sure it was not attractive to people who wanted togo into it. The military had big neigh ours like Nigeria and Ghana running her finances as they did not have banks to run it.

The country was an active member of ECOWAS and OAU as it paid its dues as at when due and did not have problems with their neighbors until the citizens who the military government sent outside on scholarship came back and started pushing for a democratically elected government. The protested and backed by the imperials from outside the continent, they fought the military government with propaganda, the battle between the idealist and the government was peaceful but long, the companies which handled the mines were hoping the military government would relinquish power as they had t pay heavy fines to the government and they did not like that. They also paid for environment degradation and were forced toemployed people they did not want to as they preferred to bring their own staff from outside and they pitched their tents with the so called “progressives” and they financed them heavily. They paid for television and radio commercials which sent messages to the people that democracy was better than military rule and showed pictures from foreign countries as they said that was the dividends of democracy and that the then government was mismanaging their funds and their lives would be better if they had a democratically elected government. Western governments which were spreading their gospel of democracy being the savior of the new world also joined their pressure on the people to reject the government.

Eventually, the government bowed to the pressure as it did not want to be unpopular with the people and because they saw the civil wars breaking out in the nations surrounding it as it turned the people’s lives around and threw countries into hell and caused massive humanitarian issues. The military government organized elections which were majorly between the western educated politicians with their new ideas andthe ones who were educated back home. Theforeign one who had a better understanding of how politics work and knew that basics of elections swept the offices and resumed power of the country’s economy and resources but there was a problem. During their campaigns against the military government, they made some promises to the mining companies and also to the foreigncountries who helped them out and the countries came back to collect.

First the mining companies wanted a reduction in the revenue sharing formulas between government and companies and they got it. There was also an agreement to stop compensating the people for damages to their lands and this greatly affected the farms and employment for those who are notmine workers. As the issues of unemployment grew, crime also grew and the country had a problem on their hands. The destruction of the farmlands also made staying back in the farming area unattractive to those who stayed there and this resulted in rural-urban migrations which saw populations in the urban areas soar while the mining companies used that excuse to bring in more expatriates who chose to live above every other person in the country. The locals saw the way the foreigners lived and they wanted that as they suddenly realized that their standards were lower than that of the foreigners and they strived for it but there were no jobs as the mining companies were not employing. The western countires also collected theirs in form of finances as they encouraged the country to ignore its West African neighbors and put its finances in their countries more and more.

By the time the first democratic term was over, the country was going down economically and socially as greed and envy grew. The new leaders started amassing wealth to themselves and kept it abroad. Theyalso built mansions back home which were like rubbing their wealth in the people’s facesas every sector of the economy was abandoned. The foreign companies paid less and less into government accounts as they paid off accountants and changed their records to reflect what they paid in. the government did not really care as they were paid off and corruption did not just grow at the top, it simmered down to the ordinary people. Custom officials increased taxes at the ports and borders and so the prices of goodsincreased without an increase in the income of the ordinary people. Poverty which was previously a rare thing in Tetuan became common as firms closed up and unemployment grew. With that crime grew and the youth grew frustrated. With that frustration, they lashed out at the people they could which were the few among them which still had jobs and hate grew.

There were elections after 4 years and the same government took power and the circle continued but it grew darker. Power failures started as the government had a shortage of funds and a population shift from rural to urban made the demand in certain areas more than usual. With all this problem, the locally educated politicians decided to fight back and they started campaigns to take backtheir country to what it used to be but when the government saw that it might be kicked out and possibly tried, they arrested the leaders and accused them of plotting to take over the government and summarily hanged. The hanging of the opposition leaders’ sparked riots all over the country as the poor majority fought back burning structures and setting up road blocks but where fought back by the same military that their interest barely 8 years back.

The same rot in the country had crept into the military and that made they took the sidesof the government but they were those among them who did not share the corruption either because they had commanders who was too selfish to ensure that everyone had a share or because they refused and they planned a coup against the president. The coup failed and a lot of them took to the forest were they launched attackson the government from there. They took mines from the companies and bought weapons with the funds as they fought the government and the government fought back. This made the government put more of its money into the acquisition of weapons and the western countries which were too glad to sell guns did not hesitate to take sides as long as the money flowed.

Soon the officers which were tagged rebels had enough funds to also get weapons as they struck deals with mining companies which operated the mines they controlled and provided them with funds. Soon, Tetuan the shining light of the sub region was engulfin a civil war that left no one untouched

a very exquisite style of writing coming from an intellectual ! (do not let your head swell too much)

weldone mynd. u are doing a great job here.
a very matured sense of writing
cheers.

Nice one mynd, we are all behind u.

The war was fought on two fronts; the mediaand the battle fields. The government had the backing of foreign countries because of the presence of the precious stones and the mining companies put pressure on their government to support the government forces even though it was obvious that they were not popular among the citizenry. The government had more funds and so had more weapons which were supplied by some western countries but the rebels had money from the mines they held and could buy weapons from China and Russia. The fight went on just like any civil war on the continent and lives were lost as well as limbs.

The government knew it was not popular and that a lot of people were aligning with the opposition forces and they did all they could to get the back on their side. This included intimidation and threats. It also included making them fear as examples weremade of people who even showed signs of not liking the government as they were hanged in public places without trial, their wives and children taken to detention camps where survival was implausible and the chances of escaping was not existing. The government had hoped that this would turn the people against the opposition and make them give up their support but it made the people hate the government more and more.

After years of fighting and tens of thousands of lives had been lost, the African union called both parties to a meeting with the hops that they would find a solution to the problem but neither side wanted to shift grounds. The government demanded that the opposition surrendered and its army disbanded. The opposition also wanted something the government did not want to give as they asked that elections be held but by a neutral body to decide who rules the country. The government forces knew that elections would see it being thrown out of office so they turned it down and they continued their confrontation and fighting until something happen which both sides did not envisage.

The government during the war started putting more and more money in accounts outside the country as they saw that they might eventually have to leave office and so the principal officials decided to gather as much as they could and escaped if that ever happened at that was at the cost of weapons. While the opposition used their funds to make the areas they controlled livable and also buy weapons, the government took their funds to private accounts outside the countryand neglected the military and this lead to the opposition gaining more territories and the military suffered the shame and also losses inpersonnel as most of them fought with insufficient weapons and there were times they lacked food which affected their morale.

The military chiefs did not really care about this as long as they got their share of the lootand they turn the other way as their men were sent out to die and most times captured by the lesser trained opposition army who were better fed and had more access to weapons and this led to a mutiny. The junior officers decided they had had enough and they took over the government. The junior officers killed or jailed most of the members of the previous government and the international community had hoped that they will agree to have elections but the government led by Lucas Radonsolema had seen it all before. He feared that elections would bring a government which might be as corrupt as the one they overthrew and so he refused asking that the opposition forces dropped their weapons and stop their campaign. He demanded that the opposition troops would be absolved into the main army and their leaders will be given top seats in the government until the country is stable and infrastructure was good enough to carryout elections but Lucas had plans of his own.

He said the African Union brokered meetings were not achieving results and he asked that they meet in Tetuan to discuss the problems of the country as they were the ones facing the challenges and in his words, “Know where the shoe bites”. A venue was picked for the meetings and all parties were to come without arms as they were just going to discuss the issues faced by the country but Lucas had paid a group of mercenaries to attack the venue and act like it was something he did not know about. As the meeting went on, the building came under attack and a lot of people both on Lucas’s side and the opposition were killed including his own chiefs.

Lucas survived as planned and forged medical reports that he sustained some injuries during the attacks but the opposition did not buy his claim. They did not trust that Lucas was not behind it or perhaps people within his own government who wanted to take over from him and so they attacked the government troops more as people rose up to take over the positions of those that were killed and the fighting took a different dimension as the opposition got more cruel and did not spare the government troops.
Lucas on his own side, got better weapons for his army and unlike the previous government, he made sure they got everything they wanted and this worked in his favor as the army were better equipped and were more prepared to follow commands. There was continuous bickering as to what side was responsible for the attacks during the peace talks as Lucas denied any involvement and the war raged on with innocent civilians mostly women and children being caught in the cross fire. The effects of the war was not just felt in Tetuan alone but soon it spilled into the sub-region as civilians fled the fighting and moved into the surrounding countries. These countries had to set up camps and also guard their borders as guns from Tetuan found their wayinto their country and increased crime there too and so the Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS got involved in the issue and started having meetings with both parties.

The Nigerian government observed that a cease fire had to exist and they were successful in brokering one and they sent troops to enforce it as both side kept sneaking up and attacking one another. The Nigerian troops just had one objective which was to stay between the government troops and the opposition until a lasting solution was found.

The Nigerian president was delegated by ECOWAS to help find a solution and she met with both parties frequently; sometimes together and sometimes alone. She took tripsto talk to them in their territories and everyone thought the meetings were going fine until Lucas Radonsolema decided to up the stakes and take her captive in his presidential palace.
***************************** ***************************

One hour after walking into the briefing room, Izu, IBk and the other 7 men in the room which were drawn from the DSS and DMI walked out and walked towards a military helicopter which was waiting for them. During the hour long briefing, they were informed of the situation in Tetuan and they were briefed about the mission. It was top secret and only a few people would even hear about it if it was successful. They were to sneak into the presidential palace in Tetuan and get the president out.

Izu had thought the DMI official telling them had lost his mind when he mentioned that they would be sneaking into the presidential quarters of another country and he said;

“Excuse me but is the army not more equipped to handle such issues?”

The officer replied;

“You think the army is better but the army is more suited for ground assaults and not moving into hot spots to free hostages. This mission has to go according to plan or we might be in deep poo so we need people who are experienced in being discreet and still as efficient”

IBK had hoped there would be a talk about them saying they were not interested but nothing of that nature was said. He had reservations about going to Tetuan, and sneaking into a presidential palace seemed tohim like something which was impossible even though they had the plans to the place and the complete layout of the entire palace. It just sounded to him like a suicide mission but he knew Izu and him were probably familiar with missions like that. They had been involved in helping a lot of hostages and sometimes without the knowledge of thecaptors so this seemed the same way except that the stakes were bigger and there was no way they could afford to make mistakes.

The Nine of them sat down in the military helicopter as they were introduced. 5 DMI officials who were trained in fire arms, explosives and capable of getting in and out of a lot of security situations and the other two were from the DMI and were involved in the Militancy in the North east. Apparently, everyone involved had an experience of two which made them stand out even though they looked ordinary. There was a woman among them and she was a DMI agent but she did not look one bit scared. IBK had reservations about her more because he did not think women had the strength and perseverance for missions but he kept the thoughts to himself as they were hand picked and if she was picked out of the DMI, she hadto hav some special qualities.

The team leader was an agent who had worked in Tetuan before as part of an investigation to see how the weapons were going in and out of the countries and he had also gotten some Nigerian nationals out of the country when they were trapped along with two of the members of the present teamso he knew the terrain and this time, this was more of going back to somewhere he was comfortable with. They had gone through the capital city and seen the routes that they should take and also the plans to the presidential had also been provided so they knew exactly where to pass and how to go through it.

They were to land on a Nigerian warship off the coast of Tetuan as they were sure all aircrafts coming into Tetuan would be monitored and from there, they would get to shore on speed boats and move through the rest of the journey.
**************************** **************************

Ifeoma had decided she was not going home until the mission was over. Kuyi had said she needed rest but she could not sleep. Al her years of training had not prepared her for something of this nature and she had no ideahow it would go. She looked at the watch on her huge desk and saw that the helicopter carrying the men to Tetuan should be leaving any moment, she had requested that she addressed the agents going but Kuyi had said it was not so important.

He mind went back to Kuyi. He was probably the most dangerous person in the country but he rarely showed it. he has something oneveryone and he knew about everything. It is his job to keep the military from going off the edge and he is feared for it. She in turn respects him especially how he seems to be in control of everything. They had grown closer since she was the minister for defence and every time the troops were going out fora mission outside, he always had information about the country and always had men on ground to provide initial support and information. Kuyi dealt in information and that made him dangerous.

She looked into the large TV screen hanging on the wall in a far side and the 4’O clock news was on Channels television and they were talking about some bank robbery in Lagos. They had earlier spoken about a foiled terrorist attack in that same Lagos and she wondered how the country came to a situation like this. She walked towards the television to switch it off; she never got used to the remote control and she mostly had her assistants operate it but this time she walked over with her phone in her pocket. When she got close to the Television, the screen got distorted and then it rang.

.She picked the call and a voice said;

“Ma’am, they have left the Abuja airport”

She replied with an “Okay” but wondered why her phone acted so strangely when close to the television. Most times, the phone gets no interference but she ignored and went back to her chair as she drafted a mail to Kuyi

And now we will take an ad break......

come back here and continue the story

Mynd_44: And now we will take an ad break......

D break s last 4 how many hours?

Damex333: D break s last 4 how many hours?

I don't wanna say one thing and my oga at the top would say another

mynd 44 abeg now:we don tire oh.

Hello people

She put her phone besides her and the screen of the laptop fluttered and had some lines on it but she was too tired to notice. Shestarted typing the message she had drafted in her head a long time ago when the phone rang and this time, it was from Kuyi himself.

“Hello Kuyi, I was just about to mail you. I just got reports that the helicopter had left for the coast of Tetuan so I wanted to make sure all other plans were going according to plans”

“E-mail? Does anyone still use that? I don’t even remember my address; all I know is thatI get a notification when I get one. My phone works better. I was at the airport With Tope Adesanya to watch them lift off and we are in contact with the Admiral. From the ship, they would make their way to the shore and the mission will take place in the early hours of tomorrow”

“But Kuyi, don’t you think the men might be tired? Flying to the ship then the hourney to the presidential palace and still moving in on it tonight? We should allow them get some rest before pushing them in”

“Ifeoma, don’t worry, these people are trained for that and we have to move fast too so Lucas does not smell we are planning something. If we moved against him as planned, he would not believe we already have a plan like that and that would work butif we delay, he might sell a rat and besides if we intend to keep the media out of this, we really should get the president back home fast”

Ifeoma paused for a bit and said;

“I hope this goes well else we are all going to be in deep…..”

She barely finished when Kuyi cut in

“Don’t worry, it will go well. We have this under control, now get some rest; I will inform you when we are moving in”

“Okay, I will call the admiral and ask Buba to get his people ready but Kuyi, please get her back safely”

Kuyi was silent for a while and then he replied;

“Is that an order from the Minister of Defence?”

“That is an appeal from a close friend of the Commander in Chief to another close friend. At this point, we have gone beyond orders”

“She will be back home by tomorrow ma’am. That I can guarantee”

And the phone went dead. Ifeoma looked to her screen again and closed the page to her mail address. She thought of how the president would feel right now; she could notsay if Lucas would be a nice host or perhaps her just let her sit down all on her own but if one thing was sure, it would be that Lucas had just bitten more than he could chew because if this plan succeeds or fails, he is going to be at the receiving end of a lot of issues from very angry men and in her case woman. She opened a file on her PC showing the plans which was drafted by Kuyi and Tope and she went through it again as she was oblivious of her surroundings and did not notice when her assistant walk in and then she heard a cough.

Ifeoma almost jumped out of her skin but she maintained her cool and looked up slowly to see the assistant standing above her and said

“You should learn to knock you know”

The assistant who did not expect her boss to be caught unawares and said;

“Sorry ma’am, I knocked but got no reply”

“Fine what do you want?
The assistant said;

“I just got a call from a reporter from Channels Television ma’am, they want to havean interview with you to discuss the military operations outside the country”

She replied without raising her head;

“Tell them you could not reach me and keep them away from yourself and me for the time being” and she said the rest to herself

“The last thing I want right now is to be asked silly questions by some nosy reporter”

As the assistant walked towards the door, she remembered something important; how would they explain this to the citizens and the rest of the world even after the president is rescued? It will cause ripples in every aspect of their lives she was sure and some serious dusts will be raised but that was secondary. The most important thing was getting the president back”
**************************** ****************************

The helicopter touched down on the warshipoff the coast of Tetuan 2 hours later and the occupants got off without anyone on the ship even looking at them twice. The crew was already used to people coming and leaving and they thought this was just a normal. The ship was always used to transport things to land to the peace keeping troops for supplies that cannot be flown in directly. All nine of them got off the helicopter and they were directed into a briefing room by the captain of the ship himself.

They entered with the lady among them went last behind the two SSS agents like she was looking out for them and IBK was not happy about that. He was used to being in charge ofall his operations and even with hostage situations in the Niger Delta where he would probably have his head blown off, he lead but here he was with a woman who was acting like she had more testosterone than him and he was disgusted. To him, women should not be in this type of jobs, not when mistakes or failure cannot be tolerated. He could not hesitate looking around the frigate as they moved towards out of the landing pod into the ship itself though.

The ship NNS Owuro is one of the many frigates owned by the Nigerian Navy operating in the gulf of Guinea; most of the other ones are stationed across the oil installation platforms or around the territorialwaters to protect against oil thieves or pirates which seem to be increasing around the area. The country’s navy being the most sophisticated one in the sub region also helps in protecting the waters of its closest neighbors since the criminals who run such operations will have a free access into the country if they are allowed to run freely in theother countries so the other ships are scattered all over the sub region.

Most other the other frigates however operate deeper into sea so as not to disrupt the activities of the other countries except there is a special use for them. in a lot of crises situations, these ships are called upon to provide support to the troops from the country of the troop from the country where they watch in terms of fire power, arrest of ships used for criminal purposes or in some cases, as a way to transport troops to shore in case the army needs to create a base on the shore. The beach assault team are mostly responsible for this and they include a specially trained unit which are trained in the use of hand guns and to make sure they create a space on the beach for the troops to set up camp but in this case.

The NNS Owuro is one of such ships but it has berthed close to the Tetuan’s waters to support the troops in terms of launching helicopters for air support and communications and its position made it perfect for the mission at hand; it was apparent that Lucas Radonsolema would be tracking the air space over Tetuan and shouldany helicopter or airplane lands anywhere, they will most likely be aware and that could affect the success of the mission so they intend to go by speed boats towards the beach and then go into one of the rivers that empties into the Atlantic and go up river fromthere which will take them just hours away from the presidential palace. They were to getsome rest on the ship so fatigue would not be an issue while the palace guards around the presidential palace get more information as to the location where the president was being held and only communicate with the team when they get close to the palace. The team on the other hand had been instructed not to discuss their mission with anyone and after a three hour rest, they were on the boats and on the Atlantic towards Tetuan.

The left with enough guns and ammunition to start a mini war as each agent was handed their weapon of choice and but also a back up and enough supplies. They were armed for any eventualities. The female among them lieutenant Shade was the communications officer while another DMI agent captain Charles was in charge of medical. Although they did not think they would have a problem relating to the need of a medical officer but someone had to care for them in case one of them got shot or they need an emergency. They had the supplies just for that reason. They had communications with one another to communicate with one another but if they needed to get a call out, it would go directly to the ship which was just in range and then it would be redirected to the office of the director of the DMI.

They were ordered not to break radio silence unless it was an emergency as their messages might be picked by the wrong people. While in the boat, each member concentrated on their individual thought as they had no idea what to expect once they got near the palace. They knew there would be troops watching the palace and that’s whythey were to go in at night. Most of the electricity to the city had been cut out as a result of years of war but the palace had installed a gas plant to supply it power which meant sneaking in would be almost impossible. There were men situated all around the palace and there was no way they could get in without being seen but their mission said they should be 30 minutes away from the palace at midnight and they were going towards that.

Lucas Radonsolema sat down in his office scared inside him but doing a good job of showing the opposite to his men. He knew the Nigerian government would try something. They had sent a message that they agree to his demands to pack up and leave but he did not believe it one bit. They would not just leave their weapons, get back to their ships and go without at least trying to save the president and so he kept his men on 24 hour duty. For the past 6 months, the Nigerian troops had watched over the palace but now his men had to guard it against them. He had double the number of men around the palace and more on the streets, there were roadblocks everywhere and a lot of troops were combing the streets around the palace and all the houses were being watched.

Some of his generals had questioned the rationale behind holding the Nigerian president captive but he had his reasons and those reasons only made sense to him. He knew the Nigerians would make a move on him soon and he was prepared for it. They would not move in with heavy artillery for fear of hitting their president and they sure would not but something still told him they would not just leave without putting up a fight. It was not right.

One of his generals entered his office and said,

“Sir, we have noticed that the Nigerians are beginning to move. Their troops are pulling back and backing up”

Lucas smiled inside and thought;

“Finally”

“Which of their troops are moving first?”

“Those in the south sir and they seem to be moving fast too. Do you think they have agreed to leave and do as we wish?”

Lucas got off his seat and looked out the window and said;

“So it would seem for now. Get in touch with our troops, immediately, they move out, take positions there, we don’t want the Nigerians to leave and the rebels take those positions”

The general nodded his head thoughtfully and was about to walk out the door when the phone on Lucas’s table rang.

He picked it up and said;

“Hello, what’s going on?”

“Sir, something does not add up”

“What does not?” he said looking at the general in front of him

“A detachment just left their camp and is heading towards the palace. They sneaked on foot and just across the corner; they got into trucks and are driving towards the palace sir. They just stopped not far from the river to pick up another set of men who seem to have been waiting for them close to the river”

Lucas paused for a while and said;

“What are you really telling me?”

“Sir, I think they are planning an attack on the palace through the east wing”

Lucas looked around the room and for some seconds, he felt the room move around him and his head felt light and he felt a strange feeling he had not felt in a long while creep up his spine. Goose pimples took over his skin and his brain seemed not to control his body functions well as beads of sweat broke on his skin.
He looked around the office and he almost did not recognize him as the reality hit him that the Nigerian army might be coming over to get the president themselves but he pulled himself together and he said;

“keep them in sight and report everything you see”

He hung up, looked straight at the general in front of him and said;

“The Nigerians are going to hit us from the east wing, get the men around there fast to help the guards out”

Hmmm

Moderator Mind, nice moviee. Sorry, nice story.
.actually, d story z great

More! More!! More!!!
9ce 1 mynd!!! I D̶̲̥̅̊ε̲̣̣̣̥γ̲̣̣̥ feel U̶̲̥̅̊ die.......

Mynd ...u r good !