The data plug

*Chapter 2: Client #27

*Chapter 2: Client #27*

The message came in at 1:17 AM.

`Client #27: I need 50GB. Corporate. Tonight. 1.2M. No questions.`

Tolu stared at her phone. Her heart did a stupid little flip.

1.2 million naira. For data.

She had never done corporate before. Her clients were students, yahoo boys, small business owners who paid 300 naira for 1GB and complained for 10 minutes. Corporate meant traceable. Corporate meant dangerous.

But 1.2M could pay rent for a year. Could move her and Mama out of that one-room in Yaba with the leaking roof.

Her fingers hovered over the keyboard.

`Me: Where do I deliver?`

The reply was instant.

`Client #27: Not deliver. You come to me. Victoria Island. The Waterside Towers. 3 AM. Come alone.`

Tolu laughed out loud. Alone? At 3 AM? To VI?

She typed: `Make it 500k deposit first.`

Three dots. Then: `500k sent. Check.`

She opened her bank app.

500,000.00 credited.

The room went quiet. Even the generator outside sounded far away.

This was real.

Tolu looked at the cracked mirror on her wall. Her braids were messy. Her eyes were tired. But underneath that, something else. Hunger.

She grabbed her laptop, her power bank, and the small USB she kept hidden in a soap case. The one with her code. The code nobody was supposed to crack.

Her phone buzzed again.

`Client #27: Don’t be late. And Tolu… don’t try anything funny.`

Her blood froze.

How did he know her name?

She never gave her name.

Outside, a bike man honked. 3 AM.

Time to go.