I don't like you again @souloho19 bcus u killed my lovely Helen....

Weldone soul
why did Rex let his brother in law go now,

Guess the assistance is Jimoh not Jumbo.

Andy again? Jesus!!!

queenitee:
Andy again? Jesus!!!

as in, be souloho19 no like the guy sef

chaiii ANDY must survive ooo,

but wait oooo, so Helen don go jst like that,

nah lie the bae still dey alife

I love this.... Souloho19, thanks for the updates

do4luv14:



as in, be souloho19 no like the guy sef

chaiii ANDY must survive ooo,

but wait oooo, so Helen don go jst like that,

nah lie the bae still dey alife

Imagine o, that's like killing Andy twice

I'm actually short of words here..
.

GOSH SOUL YOU'RE THE BEST!.!!

I must confess, i i have never seen any writer on NL as articulated as you


While other writers try to use sex and lewd scenes to beef up their write ups, you were outstandingly professional..My God! i'm awed!


I really wish i can see you in person... honestly.. ahh!

God bless you!!!

I agree with you on the issue of him not using sex and lewd scenes. His professionalism is outstanding. Souloho19 has my respect any day.

ChisomDgreatest:
I'm actually short of words here..
.

GOSH SOUL YOU'RE THE BEST!.!!

I must confess, i i have never seen any writer on NL as articulated as you


While other writers try to use sex and lewd scenes to beef up their write ups, you were outstandingly professional..My God! i'm awed!


I really wish i can see you in person... honestly.. ahh!

God bless you!!!

Keep on killing it Soul.

May you never run out of ideas and styles.

Welcome back boss...Those episodes were lit buh we're still eager for more....Btw, I doff my hat for you.

ChisomDgreatest:
I'm actually short of words here..
.

GOSH SOUL YOU'RE THE BEST!.!!

I must confess, i i have never seen any writer on NL as articulated as you


While other writers try to use sex and lewd scenes to beef up their write ups, you were outstandingly professional..My God! i'm awed!


I really wish i can see you in person... honestly.. ahh!

God bless you!!!

All his stories are sex and lewd free, that is the major reason i prefer his stories on nairaland.

Soulho19!! where art thou? why are you treating me like this nah? you want to kill me with anxiety? Do you know how many times I refresh this page in a day?
please come and update nah... okay come I will buy you hot akara and breand

Ah, Helen is gone! my heart is broken.

Ghostreader mode deactivated
Baba souloho come update na

Doubleprof1:
We knew. He knew and I knew.
He knew I knew.
And I knew he knew I knew.
This is deep. Bravo Souloho 19. Such an impeccable write up.

Thanks boss

LightQueen:
I am here now.
Well done Souloho

Welcome on board queen

Eberechi24:
Soul, you didn't give us mention. e no good o

My dear no vex, @ readers pardon me for the lack of mention once more as I'll be updating soon

::::::::::::::::

The only time Ada had experienced this kind of headache was the morning after she turned 18. She had celebrated her 'adulthood' by partying with her girlfriends in the brand new Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster, which her father had surprised her with. She had gotten drunk like never before and the next morning her head had felt so heavy, she spent an extra hour on the bed, trying to get up without moving it and also trying to figure out who the naked man beside her was.

Now she felt that way again, staring unblinking at first at the ceiling, unable or unwilling to think or remember the painful nightmare she had gone through the night before, Bridge....

Even now the headache multiplied and she had to stop thinking, stop remembering. She was on the floor, and her hands were bound with duct tape, which was good as well, because she wanted to hold her head so bad, but if she did, she feared it would probably explode.

She could hear low voices from outside the door, (which was slightly ajar.) She tried to look without raising her head which was almost impossible but she could see the upper half of the door.

One of the thugs had failed to catch her when the handkerchief was pressed against her face, choking her while the chloroform did the rest. As a result she had hit the side of her head on the corvette, which was a major source of the headache that worried her now.
She heard the sound of a gate opening, then the mumbled over tones of a woman's voice and her assailants as they no doubt gave a status report and answered the woman's questions.
Maybe that was the person who would initiate the ransom call, she thought to herself, a little sign of hope.
The volume of the voices increased as they got closer to the open door and she heard the word; F-three clearly, F3? What the hell was that?

Not a what but a who apparently, she entered the room, a remarkably thin woman sharply dressed, with expressionless eyes and a poker face which somehow managed to hint at impatience and irritation.

Florida Florence Fumilayo aka F3 or 3F, number 12 in the red letters, was a successful business woman and the only female in the hole.
She lived an extremely quiet life, away from the public eye and despite owning a chain of jewelry stores across the country and in South Africa and the Uk, was still almost anonymous.

Ada wouldn't have known her, couldn't have....but somehow she recognized the face or remembered the face;
She was about 14 and her parents had been having dinner parties once a month during that period. Family and friends came around, well maybe family in the most singular form imaginable, cause the chief didn't have anybody on his side; no brother, no sister, no father or mother(or so they thought,) while his wife's brother came occasionally with his wife and teenage son. The rest of the guests had been friends - her father's friends mostly, She and her immediate elder brother used to study the guests then later make jokes about them and she was absolutely certain she had seen the woman before because immediately she saw her again, the same joke she had made up years ago- (likening the woman's 'flat' surface to the tarred road of the Ibadan expressway,) came to her mind. She could tell, this woman whoever she was, had once attended the dinner party, probably more than once, which would explain why she could recognize the face so well.

The woman studied her without expression. Ada was still in the gown she had worn to dinner with Bridge. (Thinking of him brought a sharp pang to her heart.)
She felt exposed under the woman's gaze. The gown wasn't short but was a bit hitched up her thighs, exposing part of her laps and legs.

"Did they touch you?" the woman asked

Ada had been knocked out but she knew she hadn't been defiled at least not in that manner. On the other hand, her little dignity, hope and love had been defiled. Plus she had been groped mercilessly which was why her body was sore all over.

The way the woman asked the question showed that there'd be trouble if they had touched her.

The hole was clean and efficient. They played dirty but they were not filthy. They were professionals. Sir Holly had made sure every single member of the hole, (from the main members down the chain of command to the thrall, foot soldiers and street enforcers,) had understood that philosophy at the expense of few scape goats that had served as perfect examples.
Ada didn't reply and the woman called out, "come help her up"
Two men came into the room immediately. They still wore the blue electricity company jumpsuit like last night and holding her by the legs and hands, they lifted her and placed her on a bed she didn't know was even there.

"why did you leave her on the floor?" 3F asked.

"she must have rolled and fallen down during the night. We placed her on the bed." One of the men replied.

That would partially explain the other part of the splitting headache....again! Ada thought to herself.

But what really had her worried was the fact that the people; her kidnappers; (these two men who helped her to the bed just now were definitely among the attackers the previous night) didn't wear any masks and this woman who was clearly in charge of everything hadn't bothered to hide her face from Ada or atleast to have her blindfolded. It seems they were not bothered that she had seen their faces, which could only mean bad news, (like they say; dead people don't talk......or to be precise; like her father used to say)

At the woman's direction, the duct tape holding her wrists together was cut with a knife and the two men exited the room.

"You can sit up," the woman said

Ada tried to, lifting her body to rest on the headboard. It felt like her head would fall off.

"I know you're disoriented and confused, but I can make all these go away if you tell me what I need to know. Where is your elder brother Emenike?"

"I...I don't know..." her voice was a whisper, "I got to his house and he wasn't there...."

"where could he have gone? Does he have a secret house in this country? Outside?"

"I don't know.."

"your father is not a stupid man, at a point he must have told you something, given his children some kind of instructions, things to do, places to go incase of any emergency.."

She shook her head and winced, and the 3F lady observed her. "you must have a terrible headache," with that she walked to a cabinet, and opened it, she removed a pharmacy's nylon bag which had the usual green and white cross on both sides. Ada heard the sound of a container opening, then the rush and sound of the pills as the small plastic cup was bounced a bit, to get the right number of pills into her palm. Then she heard the container clamp shut and water rush into a glass cup from a dispenser she never noticed in the corner. Then the woman was nudging her and handing her two brown pills that looked like the mini version of a rugby ball and a glass of water.

"here, take this drug, in a couple of minutes the headache and any other pains would be gone."

Ada took the drug gratefully, she opened her mouth as the woman, who didn't seem so bad after all, helped her tilt the cup so she could drink well without bending her head.

Then the woman straightened and looked at her. "You can rest for a while, remember you still have another brother studying medicine in Michigan but I feel it's better you tell us whatever we want to know so we don't need to ask him."

With that she walked out, still holding the glass cup which was almost empty.

Ada waited for some seconds before spitting out the tablets she had tucked under her tongue. It left a nasty taste thanks to the water the witch had forced down her throat. She spent the next two minutes gargling and spitting like she was pregnant. They were done with her already, she didn't know how she knew, but she knew the pills the woman had practically shoved down her throat were lethal. Then she remembered last night; the split second after the gun had shot Bridge straight in the face at point blank range. The way his handsome face had been disfigured. She wished she hadn't seen it, then she wished it hadn't happened.

She began to sob gently. She knew it was over. She was finally going to pay for her most gruesome sin; being born into the Amunike family.


::::::::::::::::
Sparrow got on the floor and practically crawled under the car, checking for any IED. While Dagnet stood back(a safe distance away,) full of fear. The dimension of what was really happening seemed to finally dawn on her.

Next, Sparrow opened the door, slowly...she marveled at his stillness. He opened the door so painfully slow, it looked like it wasn't moving. He studied the ignition then removed the encasing, under the steering, studied the wiring and replaced the casing, so gently that it still didn't make a sound. Then he pulled the lever that popped the trunk, after exploring the engine and poking about for some minutes, he shut the bonnet, apparently satisfied.

He finally signaled it was safe for her to get in and she entered the car feeling scared but still safe in Sparrow's presence.

She got behind the wheel while he settled in the passenger seat, reading the instruction filled paper he had recovered from the van.

The purge
-All waste products and affiliated garbage
-method of disposal: incenerator
-Locations Lagos, Benue(On hold)
Time frame: 48 hours.

In the van it was also very clear what had been intended. There was a 20 litter keg of petrol.

The house next to Dagnet's was vacant, the 'for rent' sign had been on the door for so long, it had faded from red to pink. It remained vacant partly because of the ridiculously high asking price of the landlord.

Sparrow had piled the bodies on top each other, then he poured the fuel strategically, in every entrance point, the windows and exit doors, then trailed the petrol to the kitchen, splashing it over the cylinder and the gas cooker, which he also opened the knobs and released the valve.

Then he left the house and joined Dagnet who was standing away from the car like he had instructed. Then he proceeded to inspect the car for any bomb.
When they settled in and she started the engine. He brought out his gun, closed one eye and aimed through the front door of the house which he had left open, then he pulled the trigger.

The house engulfed in flames immediately and was quickly followed by a loud explosion.

"It's better they believe they got us in there....at least even if for a while," Sparrow said as she shot the car forward and away from the carnage that had been her home. Now her only property was the small golf bag she had squeezed in some clothes, documents and her weapons. Sparrow had surprised her by coming out of her house with a light blue drycleaned police uniform in a dusty plastic bag. It was her old uniform, before she had been promoted to detective, she hadn't worn the uniform in years and it wasn't even the same uniform with the one being used since the Lagos police force had been (upgraded?) to the MetroPoliceDivison or MPD.

"I have a premonition it's going to come in handy," he had said before handing it to her and proceeding to inspect the car. Now as she sped away, she glanced at the uniform hanging on the back seat.

She couldn't stop herself from muttering, "I also have a premonition and it's scary"

He surprised her by placing his hand gently on her shoulder. "Just take a deep breath, everything is going to be alright. The first chance we have, I'd take you through the lifting the sky exercise, you're full of shock and fear and some negative expectations. You need to clear your soul, pure belief and pure hope is what you want to have right now"

Then he leaned over and kissed her cheek.

Dagnet almost veered off the road. Just the kiss, which was more like a peck, sent electrical jolts down to her toes. Sparrow was full of energy, like he had some serious fire burning inside him. She began to have hope....pure hope, of a future with him.


:::::::::::::
Ryan Bigelow woke up that morning feeling lethargic. Some kind of dullness came over him the minute he opened his eyes. Maybe it was because he was in his brother's home, his brother's room, had slept in his brother's bed. Enveloped with his brother's sharp scent, courtesy of the after shave and cologne which Ryan had complained countless times to his brother before, was too sharp and strong.
But now it was not sharp or strong enough.

He was surprised to see the time was 8:33am. He and the young mother and her son, little Arinze had sat on the stairs for hours, then the boy had gone in to sleep but he and the woman had remained on the stairs. Her head still on his shoulder as she received the little comfort and support he could give and vice versa. He had gone inside by 3:44am, finally, after she went in, he stumbled on his bed and slept off before his head hit the pillow.

He didn't switch on the television or radio when he woke up, instead he sat on the bed, staring out the window. He had literally woken up on the wrong side of the bed. He wasn't even thinking about anything, just staring out the window.

When the call came in at first, his mobile ringing on the bedside table which was on the right side of the bed. He let it ring twice, showing no intention of stretching across the bed to grab the phone. Then it gave the short beep signifying an incoming message then there was a little silence.
He looked at the phone and it began to ring again. This time he grunted and stretched, grabbed the phone and answered it, "hello"

"Bigelow, it's Bami, are you okay?"

"yea, what happened....you're shouting"

"you've not seen the news? The H is on to us...we need to meet up, Dagnet and sparrow are on the road, I'll patch you to them...hold on.."

By now Bigelow was on his feet. His phone glued to his ear as he opened the wardrobe, scanning for any of his brother's clothes to wear. The brothers were of similar physic, although Thomas Bigelow had been more broad shouldered. Still the shirt would fit perfectly. Ryan selected a checkered shirt and a camo hoody.

By this time his phone buzzed again. Dagnet was on the line, he calculated the time and suggested a round-about they should meet.

:::::::::::
My dad came outside to meet me where I stood watching the dust settle as the stretch disappeared.

"what is it son?"

By this time I was going through some major internal war and guilt. What did Sam mean when he said; "when they see the car, tell them to take it."

Why the hell did I let him go? I should have fleeced good information out of him, I should have been more threatening, I should have-

"come on boy, whatever is the matter you better share it," my dad urged, clapping impatiently as I looked on, dazed.

I shook my head. "Dad, remember the letters the agent who killed the shadow brought to the headquarters that early morning?"

"yes, you guys called it red letters or something"

"it had a list of their members and it turns out Sam is among, the second in command, he goes by the alias, 'first minister'

" Sam....which Sam?"

"Cynthia's Sam."

My dad's expression was indescribable for a moment, then he looked at me like I was out of my mind. "Sam? What evidence do you have about that? The very same man who just left here?"

Tonye came outside next. "What happened?" she asked.

"he denied it, but it's him. There's no two ways about it....he mentioned something about taking one car when we see it, something like that...." I said

My dad looked at Tonye. "Is this thing true?"

"yes sir, your son in-law is the enemy"

"wait wait wait.... Cynthia's husband, kidnapped Emma?"

"No, but the person kidnapped her because of him and the people he works for. But I believe he's responsible for the bomb blast."

My dad looked at me, "good Lord, Rex is this true?"

"yes, last night, I saw this picture," I brought out my phone, Kirsten had sent the picture to me that morning. I opened the gallery and showed him the picture immediately. "that's him, that's the shadow assassin there....in the background.."

My dad scrutinized the picture then looked at me again, but this time his expression was different. "My God, Rex...so he's responsible for what happened to Andy?"

I nodded,

"Why didn't you let me know?" my dad asked incredulously.

"I don't know...OK I was scared, I've made some decisions in the recent past that had terrible outcomes, I guess I froze..."

Short Sam's trace scare had shaken me up a notch, I thought of his family and the possibility that someone was on to him.

I looked at Tonye, "did you make the call?"

"Yes, Clyde and Kirsten are tailing him."

My dad looked confused, "what?"

"Pa, I noticed he kept on hammering on the fact that Cynthia would take the early morning flight tomorrow...whatever he has planned, won't happen while his wife is around. We got less that 24 hours."

"24 hours for what?..........hmmmm.......so what are you thinking?" he asked. He had gone through the different phases, in a short time (surprise, ridcule, disbelief, denial...etc) and now he just looked tired.

This time Tonye answered him, "our agents following him are going to try and get him to miss the flight, if possible the airport. It would have been good to somehow coerce him to a location, but we don't have any point or safe house in Benue"

My dad looked at me, "location is not a problem, there are plenty spots. Are you sure you can get him there?"

I nodded. "It is imperative they shouldn't know," I jerked my head towards the house, "especially mama and Olivia, Olivia has gone through enough already and mama worries too much."

Apparently Clyde had come back to the house during the night and driven the agency's car back to the hotel. Tonye(bless her soul) had just given him the instruction as a possibility of shadowing the stretch if the option became a viable move. But come morning, with the news of the bomb blast rocking everybody, the moment I watched the stretch speed away and called Tonye, asking her for the keys to the agency's car, that was when she told me that Clyde and Kirsten were on my in-law's tail already. At first, they had followed the stretch with the intention of returning the agency's car but midway through, she (Tonye) had called them and given them what seemed like a mission impossible.
Clyde and Kirsten were to interfere with the vehicle, diverting it away from the airport and to the location my dad would supply, without causing any noise...literally.

She had also assured them that we were on our way, right behind them so we had to move.

I really believed my theory about my in-law not giving any order as long as my sister-his wife was still under the roof but I still had to think twice about leaving them. The two people That I had almost thought I would never see again; my wife and daughter were here...I should be with them not leaving them to go after someone. But in the long run, if I let Sam get away again....

There wasn't time for any back and forth, my dad said, "don't worry son, Paul and I will look after everyone here."

As if his name conjured him, Paul the newly promoted Lt-colonel strolled out.
"What's happening?"

"Paul, please bro, we need your car."

"woa....I'll have to take you, you know that's my service issued automobile"

"but that's the only car we have right now and we need your presence here." I said

"Rex, you can get into big trouble, all it would take is one military check point on the road..."

Tonye looked at me, "he's right...and we still have the ambulance"

I looked down the road. The doctor had left last night, immediately after checking Olivia for the night, according to him, all she needed was rest and time to heal, but he'll be by to check her again in the evening.

It seems my in-law had commandeered the ambulance for the whole day, I could see the outline of the driver hunched over the steering.

"what? Surely you're not thinking of that..." Paul said in disbelief, "ok, take my car, or let me go with you so I'd drive, the other agent can stay," he nodded at Tonye.

"Paul, if I had the opportunity, to stay with them, be with my wife and daughter and never leave them alone during this period, I'd grab it with everything in me. I need you to do that, and be that, for their sake, for my sake."

He nodded and dug into his pocket for his car key but I shook my head, "don't worry, we'd use the ambulance"

"we better hurry!" Tonye called out.

"I'd send the address of the place you can bring him to, once I make some calls," my dad said.

"okay" I thought of rushing in to hug my wife but had to walk briskly to the ambulance. The chief's daughter was on my mind too, she had been kidnapped. Andy was on my mind; my assistant had not yet reached me with ticket confirmation, for the flight to Lagos. Olivia and Emma were on my mind; I couldn't leave them, Short Sam and his family were still on my mind; I had to make sure they were safe. The reporter(God rest her soul) was on my mind and would probably remain there forever, then I was thinking of Clyde and Kirsten and how they were holding up...I increased my pace.

The driver must have woken up as Tonye and I made our way to the ambulance.

I opened the door, "why don't you go into the house and relax," I said to the driver. It sounded like a suggestion...almost. I noticed the keys were still in the ignition.

He shook his head, "I dey OK...this is my job, I earned money for it." I could tell whatever Sam had paid him had been beyond his imagination which as a result had churned out this fierce dedication.

"We need to make use of this ambulance, we need to go somewhere," even as I said it my phone rang. It was Bami, my heart quickened its beat as I answered the call, hoping for good news about Andy.
"hello Bami"

"Rex, hold on... I have Sparrow on the line"

A minute later the musical voice of the sensei came over the line. I moved away from the ambulance as Tonye and the driver were still haggling over releasing the vehicle.

"Sparrow," the relief in my voice almost gave me a foreign accent. "you came back"

"we're under attack Rex, I told you never rest when dealing with the hole"

"I know I messed up, do you have any suggestions?"

"Get in touch with Carmichael, let him get you to Betran, you may also need to get Beatrice too..."

"wait...for what?" Beatrice had killed the fake shadow, she was Fome's lover, Emma's kidnapper, shooter of my wife's kneecaps. I never wanted to see her again, except perhaps behind bars.

"we need every help we can get, Rex"

"okay, but any heads up in the direction we're taking?"

"Mr X had a plan, but the only problem was he never knew the members of the hole. During his last days he lost control and chose a random gathering with some dignitaries with the hope that members of the hole would be among the high profile guests."

I remembered it all too clearly. He had given me a trickish code, after I managed to chip his bitterness a little with the mention of his daughters.

"it's about what you stopped from happening then, making it happen this time but with a targeted audience. I can't say more than that, make contact"

With that his voice faded away and Bami's voice came back on the line. But my mind was already racing. The media had carried out the news two years ago, misdirected as always that a time bomb had been stopped - by me, saving the governor, and a hall full of commissioners and dignitaries, politicians, journalists, etcetera. It was not a bomb but a deadly nerve agent, called sarin gas. One whiff of the gas was all it would take and death would occur within one to ten minutes.

"how are you holding up?" Bami asked me, bringing me out of my thoughts.

"I feel like shit, naturally. We are terribly understaffed at the moment, but we need to find a way to get short Sam and his family to safety."
"I'm on it." Bami said. "What of Tonye?"
"she's fine, another thing is the chief's daughter. Ada was kidnapped last night, apparently because Emenike surrendered the red letters to us, but Emenike himself is missing, having absconded in the middle of the night. Ada was caught in the crossfire, wrong place wrong time."

"Good Lord, how do we do all these things at once and try not to get killed at the same time?" Bami complained

"I'd try and work it from this angle, I'd call you back once I get any useful info."

"wait wait....what about what Sparrow told you?"

"I'll also get it, any info that he knows, as long as he knows, I'll get it"

"wait Rex, you have to come to Lagos you know it. We need you over here men, Andy's fighting for his life for God's sake" Bami's voice broke and also broke me.

"I'll get back to you soon," I said as I saw Tonye wave to me from the ambulance. I locked my phone screen and hurried towards the ambulance as I pocketed my phone. I couldn't see any sign of the driver and when I got to the door I saw why; Tonye had tazed him and he was out cold, on a stretcher in the back, a gas mask over his mouth just for effect.

"Jesus, Tonye."

"Hey, he refused to budge, then I began to suspect he could have been placed there by the first minister"

I opened the door and got behind the wheel. I started the engine and was surprised the engine started off once and was very smooth and steady.

"any word from them yet?" I asked Tonye.

"let me call them again"

She dialed a number and put the phone on loudspeaker as we listened to it ring.

"hello, k-c what's your status" (kc was Kirsten and Clyde.)

"Still tailing the Fm, Google map estimates 20 minutes till airport." Clyde replied, his voice vibrating from the motion of the car. I guessed he was driving.

"just try, improvise...anything you can, give me ten minutes and we'll be there." I flipped on the siren and flashing lights, activated the central lock and put the windows up as the ac began to cool. I cracked my neck and revved the engine. I planned to drive like Lewis Hamilton right now.

I reversed out of the street completely, and zoomed unto the highway, leaving behind a cloud of dust.

"just try and delay the car for 10 minutes, tell me your location"

"head for the round about." Kirsten said

"OK, don't forget outside Lagos, we're just Private detectives, no matter how popular." Tonye added, a subtle warning to stay safe.

::::::::::::::::::::
Rex had indeed guessed correctly, Clyde was behind the wheel. He was two cars behind the stretch, which wasn't speeding exactly but at the same time wasn't crawling.

"So how do we go about this?" Kirsten asked for like the thousandth time.

"it would have been better if he didn't see us, but he knows our face, even the driver would recognize us." Clyde replied

"Rex said to improvise," she muttered

"maybe that's an opportunity up ahead." Clyde said squinting. There was a little traffic just before the round-about because of the street light and it seems a noodles company was having their official launch.

Over a dozen youths littered the road, wearing the red polo shirt with the noodles logo, holding bags and carton of noodles, squeezing in between the slow moving cars, sharing about 3 packs each to passersby and vehicle owners. Up ahead was their pickup truck, covered with banners of the noodles and speakers blasting Davido songs.

Clyde accelerated - greatly, weaved past the cars and past the stretch too, watching the rear view mirror intently to make sure he switched lanes if the stretch did.

The damn light was showing green as he approached and he slowed down as the noodles marketers stood to the side of the road, eagerly waiting for the light to turn red. The stretch was getting closer in the rear view. The driver had increased his speed, wanting to beat the light no doubt.

The driver switched lanes when it became obvious the grey Toyota in front was slowing down, probably to turn at the round about which was like two lanes away, "stupid drivers," he sighed.

Clyde watched the light and the rear view mirror, his eyes going back and forth like a pendulum bob. The light began to blink, it would be changing in a matter of seconds.

As the stretch got closer, Clyde switched on the hazard light and veered into the next lane- directly in front of the stretch.

The stretch blew its horn immediately and the brakes screeched. For a second it looked like there'll be contact.

"Clyde!!" Kirsten couldn't help but call out as she flinched reflexively, expecting the stretch to ram into their car from behind.

The light blinked once more, and turned red. The noodles marketers went into action immediately, flooding the road and approaching the cars, creating "awareness" of their product.

Because of the way Clyde had changed lanes and slowed down suddenly, about four of them approached the car.

Clyde's eyes were on the rear view mirror. Their car and the stretch were practically fender to bumper.
There were two guys trying to market the noodles to the stretch but the tinted windows were up and afforded a view of only their reflections.

On the other hand, Clyde and Kirsten engaged the marketers as they swarmed the car.

"what's the name of the noodles?" Kirsten asked.

"it's chilly crisp noodles ma, it's better than all other noodles, and healthier, no Wax at all ma, but fresh vegetables dey inside"

"you sure? Na so you guys go dey hype yourself every time" Clyde said, eyes still glued on the rearview mirror.

"Sir just one trial will convince you, just 500 naira for half a dozen, it's our special bonus package."

"Oh! You guys are even selling? I thought it was free." Clyde sounded disappointed, he looked at the traffic light, it could turn green in any moment.

"The bags are free sir" one of them, a lady said, she peeled off and gave Kirsten two nylon bags printed with the noodles name; chilly crisp noodles and a mouthwatering dish of the said noodles, garnished with all manner of protein.

The light began to blink again and the marketers rushed through their deals, made last minute sales and released change.

The stretch was already blasting its horn impatiently, even though the light wasn't green yet.

"God what do we do?" Kirsten asked.

For a split second Clyde wanted to ask Kirsten who she had asked the question, but the light turned green and the stretch was blowing the horn carelessly.

The road was quite busy and there was a momentary confusion as the line of cars behind the stretch increased. Clyde let the car jerk a little bit, using both feet to accelerate and brake at the same time. He stretched his hand out the window, gesturing and apologizing, that his car was experiencing fault. The cars began to switch lanes as he repeated the jerking trick. The moment the stretch trafficated left and entered the next lane, the car also veered onto the same lane, still in front of the stretch. The driver horned and horned, leaning on the steering. The stretch had a powerful intimidating horn and both the marketers and hawkers and pedestrians standing on the sidewalk, waiting for the next red light and the cars that passed them all looked at them.

It would have been embarrassing, if any of them cared. Their sole attention was on the agitated sleek ride directly behind them.

Clyde slowed down almost completely, "I hope Rex gets here soon."

The stretch had to slow down completely or run into them. The driver reversed a little and turned right. Clyde followed, blocking the stretch yet again. By this time it was clear that the Toyota was bent on blocking the vehicle behind from overtaking it.

"Hey, what are you doing?" a man in a Mercedes said as he drove past.

"My transmission is acting up!" Clyde shouted in explanation. The traffic light was blinking again, the only problem was they were at the round-about, while the cars behind them would be stopped, those coming from the sides will be activated. Once again the stretch reversed and shot forward, this time it was too fast for their car, when Clyde tried to block it again, it breezed past, brushing their fender in the process.

"Shit!" Clyde exclaimed, he accelerated immediately, chasing the stretch. The transmission he had complained about just few seconds ago was now apparently okay.

Plus he could hear a siren faintly. Strange, but it sounded a little like an ambulance but he was sure he was mistaken, it had to be the police.

Clyde and Kirsten or K-C as Tonye had referred to them had the bad state of the road to thank, if not the stretch would have surely disappeared out of sight. Even now, with the numerous pot holes, it still pulled ahead.

A little distance away, (behind) the ambulance blasted past the other cars, the siren was on full blast and most cars cleared out of the way, thinking it was an emergency, a case of life and death. They were not exactly wrong.

Seasons greetings to you fam. Thanks for reading and commenting. Jah bless!




::::::::::::::::::::::

Bami floated round the hospital after his call with Rex. So many things on his mind, so many threats. He had to deploy agents to S.s for his safety and family's safety. Rex had every right to be worried. They hadn't really grasped it before but now it was clearer to them: The hole took no prisoners.

He looked around the hospital, almost absent-minded, scanning for the doctor he had seen earlier to give him a breakdown of what was happening with Andy.

He replayed the conversation with Rex in his mind. He had to deploy the troops, they were undermanned right now, it was a great deal of luck that they had gotten a boost in manpower in the trio of Sparrow, Dagnet and Bigelow. He needed to get Short Sam and his family to BROTA headquarters, at least the headquarters could serve as some kind of Fort.

He thought of which of them to contact first and decided on Bigelow. Back in the agency they had both worked on a terrorist case together and exchanged data even though Bami had been a senior agent, so subconsciously he veered towards Bigelow as his choice, sent a message before hitting the dial button.

The phone rang just once and Ryan was on the line. Apparently a good choice.

"I'm at the meeting point, just spoke to Dagnet, she said they're two minutes out." Bigelow said

"yes yes, look I just sent you a message, it contains an address of a member of BROTA. His life is in danger as we speak, you guys are to go and bring him and his family to BROTA."

"family?"

"yes, he has a five year old son and a wife, she works in a bank but I'm sure Sam would be able to reach her"

"okay, I'll let Dagnet and Sparrow know once I see them"

"okay good"

"how about you, what you doing?"

"I guess I'll have to go after the chief's daughter"

"what happened?"

"kidnapped"

"damn it!"

A silence then, "what of Andy, any word?"

"not yet but I don't plan on leaving here without some kind of information"

"okay, I think they're here. Keep me posted"

"likewise"


He ended the call and scrolled through his call log, among the calls he had received earlier. He dialed one of the numbers.

If possible S.s picked up the call before it rang.

"Hello"

"Sam how are you?"

"I'm not fine...I'm scared"

"it's okay, just hold on tight....where are you?"

"I'm inside my house. I let my boerbull and bull mastiff loose in the compound just in case...but...." his voice shook. He really sounded scared. "Have you spoken to Rex? What did he say...I have a wife and son man....and I've put them in danger"

"relax Sam, here's what's going to happen. Don't go anywhere, don't answer the door. Remain inside your house with all the exits locked both doors and windows. It's a good thing you have dogs. A couple of agents are heading your way as we speak. They'll call you when they're at your place. You're going to follow them, you'll go pick your son from school and your wife from work then follow them to headquarters. You'll be safe there"

"okay...oh shit!" he snapped suddenly

"what is it?" Bami said, alarmed.

"simba is barking." Simba was his dog. "okay it has stopped....please tell your agents to hurry up," he pleaded.

Bami ended the call and looked around. There was still no sign of the doctor, there were other doctors bustling around. Walking briskly like the fate of the world was in the pockets of the shinny white lab coats they had on.

He didn't feel like asking any of them randomly so he retraced his steps, back to the waiting room he had been earlier. There was a worried looking woman who had been there all along, he had met her there that morning and even now she remained sitting on one of the few chairs, eyes fixated on the television in the corner with a worried tug at the edge of her mouth.

A bomb expert was apparently educating an audience on force field and the way a bomb blast goes off, which Bami thought was stupid. All of a sudden everybody was interested in bombs. The so called expert on TV was even trying to explain how the explosion had happened. What was there to explain? There was a bomb blast and someone had died. All the talk of first wave, second wave, sound wave and the rest was just fancy gibberish to him. He sighed and peeled his eyes away from the television. He moved towards the double doors the doctor had come out of earlier and tried to peer through the thick small circular window above the handle. The glass was thick and he could only see blurry movement as he squinted.

Finally he straightened, took a deep breath and pushed the door. There was a glass door immediately after the double doors. This glass door had been responsible for the distorted vision earlier.

The blur was a bit better now, he could see it more clearly. Andy's lengthy frame was on the surgery table and there were at least half a dozen forms clad in green overalls, nose masks and latex gloves hovering around him, plus two more moving round the room. He stood transfixed by the movements on the other side of the glass door, the frantic race against time, struggle against death. But what really chilled him to the bone was the red splashes that seemed to give the surgery room a blurred red undertone or to be precise, a bloody undertone. That was blood, Andy's blood.
Jesus.

One of the two hovering surgeons turned out to be a nurse as she opened the door briefly and stuck her head out. "please you have to leave here....you're not allowed in here"

"how....how is he?"

She lost track for a minute and blinked, "he has a fighting chance. He's very strong and not ready to give up the ghost." Then she frowned, "your being here is not helping him but on the contrary, the surgeons don't like being watched...your presence is distracting and disconcerting."

That was the last thing Bami needed to hear. He rushed out of the sliding doors, his heart beating madly. Once he was outside he reached Jimoh, Rex's assistant and instructed him to come stand watch at the hospital to monitor the progress. In return Jimoh told him he had successfully booked two seats for a flight back to Lagos the next evening. He hadn't been able to reach Rex and Bami assured him it was under control.

Bami left the hospital thinking of his next step. What could he do for the Chief's daughter. He had no single information. No place to start from. He decided to start from the beginning. The crime scene.

He drove towards the house she had been abducted and her boyfriend murdered the night before. Emenike's house.


:::::::::::::::::::
Hurried hugs and handshakes and the quick relay of the instructions Bami had given and they were back in their cars. Sparrow was in a hurry to get to BROTA and get the letters to help implement the plan he had talked about earlier. The plan which according to him was the best chance they had of striking back.

But the fact that a young boy could be left fatherless and a young woman, widowed and the further possibility that they could all be killed settled it for him. He settled in the car, saying nothing as Dagnet sped down the road, following Bigelow closely. The traffic was yet to build up seriously-thankfully and he estimated in 45 minutes they'd be at Agbara, in Short Sam's house.

:::::::::::::::::
The chase was almost fruitless. My dad had sent the address we were supposed to interrogate the first minister. But we had to catch him first, and to be frank catching him was looking like an impossible mission.

At least from the way Clyde narrated the happenings over the phone. He was barely managing to keep track and keep up with the stretch which was getting closer to the airport.

"shit...he's going to get away....there has to be another way...an alternative route?" I said.

"I'm on it." Tonye muttered beside me. She brought out her phone and I saw her launch the Google map application.

"I don't know boss...this place is quite strange to me." Clyde said

"don't worry, don't let up. We'll see what we can do from this end."

I called my dad's number next and studied Tonye while it connected. "Any luck?"

"I'm still rerouting directions....the network is really slow...."

"H - hello?"

"dad..."

"you got my text?"

"what text?"

"the address."

"yes, please I need your help again....I'm presently at the mall, the one around downtown. I need another route, like a shortcut to get to the airport in like 5 minutes."

"errrrr.."

"not necessarily the airport per se, just somewhere I'd burst out, somewhere close enough"

"let me see," I could tell he was scratching his jaw thoughtfully. After a while he said, "okay, if you passed the mall, keep on going straight, you'll see one catholic school on the left, St Michael's something... There's a road beside it..."

At the same time the recorded voice from the navigation app Tonye was running spoke out, "in 900metres, turn left."


To be continued

Thanks boss I luv me yuh new kinda generous.

d action is hot everywhere.

buh pls nothing should happen to short Sam o.

ds one d dog suddenly stopped barking.

All I can say at this juncture is awesome......... Big up season greetings everyone.

Splendid update

Thanks souloho.. Fantastic update

What more can I say souloho you are blessed

Oya chop kiss Souloho19

See better update, u just made my night

Just wish I never see "to be continued". It should have been in continuation. May your inspiration never get expiration in all your life duration.

Well done Souloho
Thanks for the update

I've missed out good long, thank God an back on track

shi.t, this is getting really serious

Wow! I'm loving this,as in I'm really loving this,as in am extravagantly loving this.You too much BRO.