The Last Insurgent

It happened

Mufty stood in the darkness, knowing he was completely hidden. He began to move with stealth, watching carefully as the man he stalked walked carelessly. He knew the line has been drawn. He was taking a step of no return. He had to find Leena.

The man he was stalking was tall, broad shouldered with very bushy mustache. He was walking hurriedly down a narrow footpath, moving away from the cluster of cabins, and down the bushy part with trees he went.

He had no idea that Mufty was coming after him. Satisfied that he was far away, he put on his flashlight and sat on a stone which he usually sat on.

Mufty watched him bring out a wrap of cannabis from his pocket, with shaky hands; he lit it; dragged smoke with a force and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

“Masha Allah.” He said with satisfaction. Life was good here.

He had free meals, ate a lot of meat, married a girl with ease, and got paid after each operation. This was far better than his humdrum life in Biu.

Marriage was very expensive in Borno State and he could not afford one. Now, he got his first wife after they invaded an all-girls secondary school. He got his second wife after they invaded a village close to Bama.

Now he had two wives. This insurgency must not stop. There was much to gain.

He was enjoying the herb. He felt as if he was flying, and he could feel an imaginary sound of music, and voices from above. This was good.

“Kacha.” He heard a voice from behind. He turned swiftly to see Mufty standing behind him. There was something about Mufty that sent a chill through nerves. He was not just taciturn, but mean. His expertise in killing ,which earned him the rank of the best sniper in the house, made them fear him. No one knew much about him.

“You almost scared me. I just want to chase bad spirits away.”

“How?”

“Bad spirits do not like ganja. I also need to clear my head so I can worship Allah better. Plus, I have two wives and it helps me perform better.”

“Hmmm….you have two wives. I had one.”

It now dawned on Kacha that Mufty was brooding and that was not good. But he could not see any weapon on him. He was not sure Mufty could match him in a bare-hand fight.

“I am sorry about that. It was the Amir’s decision. You know that, right? He never liked the knot. We feel he wanted her for himself……”

“You are part of those who transported them.”

Kacha was shocked to hear that.

“Who told you that?”

“I found out.”

“I don’t think that is true.”

“What you think does not matter. Where did you drop them?”

“Mufty……who told you that?”

“Kacha, talk to me now. Where did you drop them?”

“You know we don’t let that out. You know the rules better than me. You are a high ranking jihadist.”

“Licking my boots?”

“Amir will kill me.”

“How can he kill a dead person?

You will be dead if you don’t tell me.”

“You will kill me if I tell you.”

“Not today. I cannot kill you here. If you don’t tell anyone, nothing will happen to you…..” But kacha had plans. H swung his hand which had a knife. Mufty was expecting a move from him.

When Kacha realised that he had missed, he knew there was going to be trouble. He had only one choice: Shout .

He had barely opened his mouth when he felt an impact on his throat. For a spilt second, he thought it was a knife that was used to slit his throat.

That was a professional move from Mufty who was also a martial artiste. Kacha saw a gun pointed at him.

“Talk.” Mufty said. “I swear, if you raise your voice, I will kill you and vanish.”

“You can’t kill me here….”

“Do you want to try me?” Mufty showed him the knife that dropped from Kach’s hand. “It would be fun to kill you with your knife.”

“We dropped them at Kamtun Bwalla.”

“I am given you the last chance. You know you cannot lie to me.”

“Okay, promise that you will say I told you.”

“Now that is childish. Who needs more secrecy more than me? I want to get my wife back. Do not take it personally.”

“Okay. We dropped them at Darul Haq Station. They are to be taken to Nurul-Madina Barracks before being dispatched to various husbands.”

Mufty felt more disgusted. What a barbaric sect he had been with. Did anyone ever imagine what these girls felt? Could anyone imagine the constant pain their family members felt?

“Who did you hand them to?”

“Commander Sha’aban.”

“Have you ever thought of the evil we are committing?”

“Mufty! We are on a jihad. Do not blaspheme. We are cleansing the world. The world needs us. Please do not let the love for your wife make you derail.”

“Jihad is when you kidnap and constantly rape the two girls in your possession. Jihad is when you have no scintilla of empathy for them, or think of how they feel, how their parents feel. I heard it all from the Sheikh we murdered. Jihad is when you kill people at random, rustle cattle and eat beef.

You said the world needs you. Let me tell one thing the world needs right now….to have one terrorist out of the world…..”

Phooop!

It happened within the twinkle of an eye. The knife passed through Kacha’s  throat and he went down, wriggling in pain.

Mufty jumped back to avoid blood stain. He went and carried a big stone, moved to Kacha and smashed it on his head. That made his death come quicker.

“That is called cleansing.” Mufty said. He walked to a part of the bush where he hid a digger and shovel. He had a burial to do.

Kamal stood before a dressing mirror and fixed the buttons of his Calvin Klein shirt which he wore over brown Feliraro  khaki. He tucked in the shirt to expose his leather Bacucci belt. Wearing a brown rimless Dunhill glasses, he looked at his Gucci shoes and felt he looked swell. He opened a locker and brought out a bundle of five hundred naira notes, counted it: fifty thousand naira. That was more than enough for the night.

Leaving his bedroom, picking his car keys from the living room, he went out and locked the door. He had taken his 406 Peugeot to the car wash in the afternoon and it looked immaculately clean now. He was ready for the date. Ann amused him. There was something about her that tickled his fancy. She had this infectious smile, captivating eyes, and personality that intrigued him.

He had not felt this excited for long. He got into the car, put his Smitt and Wesson in the pigeon hole, made sure he had a good number of bullets, he started the car engine and drove out to climb General  Ladipo Boulevard. Driving past the General Chris Avenue which housed top officers, he arrived the gate which was heavily guided by military men.

 A corporal saluted, “ mon Sir”

Kamal replied, removed two five hundred naira notes and gave the soldier. The soldier saluted again. “I will be there when you will be decorated as a General.”

 Kamal smiled, nodded and drove off as the gate was opened for him. He drove straight to Kalem Street where she had told him to pick her up. She said she had to see her aunt and would be there till 7:00PM. He arrived there three seconds before seven and saw her come out of a beauty salon. He pulled up the car by the roadside, came out of the car and walked to her.

She smiled as she saw him. That smile! She looked like a celebrity on the red carpet. Her red skinny gown was  glittering, matching with a red designer bag and shoes. He did not know much about women jewelleries, but he knew that her necklace and earring was nothing close to a faux.

“ You look stunning, Princess.” He said with a smile.

“Thank you. In uniform, you are dashing; out of uniform, you are a model.”

“ Thank you, Princess. May we.”

“Oh, sure.”

They walked slowly to his car. He hoped she was impressed.

“Nice car.” she commented.

“Thank you.”

He opened the passenger’s door for her while he went behind the wheel.

He started the car engine and set the car in motion.

“How long have you been with the CID?”

“A year. Mind you I am not a cop. I am a civilian working with the police.”

“I know. What difference does it make? You serve the purpose. I have heard of your ambidexterity when it comes to IT. Policing is all about fighting crime and keeping the citizens save and that exactly what you have been doing .I wish you were with us.”

“You mean ATOF?”

“Yeah. We have this guy behind the system and I see nothing special about him. Just very normal. We need a genius.”

“ Then I should have been the wrong pick.”

“I am not licking your boots, but I have heard about your works. We work closely with the CID, DSS and other agencies.”

“Is this supposed to be about my transfer to ATOF?”

“ No, Princess. It’s about been with someone special  and damn me for bringing work into it. I am an….”

“ You don’t have to be hard on yourself. I know how it feels when you are surrounded by unsolved mysteries. The insurgency is biting. Suicide bombing and kidnapping are all new to Nigerians. We only used to see them in movies or news .”

Kamal sighed.

“You are right. We should talk about something else. I am out of uniform, so I should be out of work…for a while. I am human after all. Been on this for two years and nothing is coming out of it. Beginning to feel I have failed this country.”

She put her hand on his, “ You haven’t. You are not the only ATOF officer. You guys are much, why take the heat?”

“I am heading  an Intelligence team, with plenty access and resources at my disposal but nothing substantial has come out of it. Too many dead ends.”

“The insurgents seems to be well prepared . It looks like a well-planned, long nursed  sinister but there will be a mistake. I hear they commit suicide when about to be apprehended.”

“ Yes. I wonder what substance is that. Our forensic experts are still  working on it.”

“ We are there, slow down.”

Amar pressed his foot on the gas pedal, decelerated then put on the traffic signal to make a turn off the main road.

“ Okay,” he said putting on a smile, “ no  more talk about it….for now. Don’t want to ruin my appetite.”

He pulled up at a parking space ushered by a security man. They alighted, walked towards the main entrance. Ally’s was a big restaurant owned by an American business man. He had opened it five years ago to serve the Americans who worked for an oil company, oil explorers and tourists.  Soon it became a hot spot for natives who loved American and European food . It had branches in five states of the federation and became an instant success. There were dozens of customers, mostly couples sitting at various tables, eating and drinking. They found and sat at a table, and a smiling black waitress walked up to them. Ann did not bother to look at the menu. It seemed she knew what they had so Amar asked her to make the order.

She looked at the waitress and said, “Let me have chicken parmigiana. I mean one with mozzarella, parmesan and tomato sauce, Lobster Newburg and  a 1939 Cabernet sauvignon.”

“The waitress nodded after taking notes, then turned at Kamal expectantly.

“I will go for carne alla pizzaiola with rice, coleslaw made with mayonnaise and chilled raspberry frost sodas.”

The waiter nodded and left.

“This is my first time here.” Kamal confessed.

“Do you have a problem with American food.?”

“No. I  had problems with time and…..the motivating factor .”

“Do you need a motivator to eat?”

“I usually cook or get food from the nearest restaurant. Coming here hardly cross my mind. Only been to the States once and spent just six months on a course. I was a second lieutenant then. I was born and raised in Nigeria.”

“Tell me more about yourself.”

“Nothing special to say. I was just a normal kid from a family of six and the fourth child of a retired Colonel and a Biology mistress. Born and raised in Kaduna, attended Nigeria Defence Academy and graduated as an engineer, Mechanical to be précised; had my Masters in Strategic Studies and here I am, with the most beautiful woman on Earth.”

She blushed. “ I am flattered. Thank you. “She looked at him. “ Why military?”

“ Always had the dream. As a child, I loved kiddies military uniforms, toy guns and war films. I was nicknamed Soldier Boy, but as I grew older, I developed a passion to serve my country even if my contribution is not felt, at least I would feel nice trying.”

 “ So you decided to take the hard job. From Peace keeping to ATOF. I mean the action part.”

“I did not opt for that part. But as a soldier, we take any task that comes. So…..”

They were interrupted by the arrival of their orders. The food looked good with scintillating aroma.

They began to eat. Ann was served her red wine. Kamal took a spoon of  pizzaiola, chewed then nodded with approval. “You made the right choice.Cally’s is good.”

She smiled. “ The next time we come, I would recommend  their mouth-watering snacks. Their recipes are next to none.”

They spent the next twenty thirty minutes enjoying their food and drinks. Kamal fell in love with the place: so serene and romantic . He felt nice to be with her and he enjoyed every moment spent with her.

A few minutes later, they were on their way back. He was taking her home.

“I had a wonderful evening. Thank you for making me feel life.”

“The pleasure is mine. Same here.”

He smiled and then turned the car to a boulevard.

Out of a street, a man dressed in white caftan and cap, crossed the main road carelessly before a sound of gunshot emerged. A ricocheting bullet hit  him. He screamed aloud and fell on the ground, rolling until he dropped into a gutter. Kamal pressed his foot on the brake pedal at once, the tyres screeched, producing  sputtering sparks, and the car was forced to a  halt . Ann screamed in trepidation. Kamal saw the silhouette of a short stocky man holding a gun. He was trying to cross the road to finish the man in the gutter. Kamal opened his pigeon hole and removed his Smith and Wesson.

“Stay back,” he said to her , “ I need to see this.”

“May  peace be upon you and your entire family.” Sabr said softly through the mouthpiece. “May Allah protect and guide us. I said I have news about your wife. Praise is to Allah, she is alive, sound and safe….for now. I do not want to talk too much. She saved your number as Abu Haneef. May Allah bless Haneef. May he not lose his mother today, or tomorrow? I just want to give you the good news that you will see your wife again I you wish.

All you need to give us is ten million naira only. We need this money before Friday which is two days from now.

A lot of people try to involve the police. That is very bad for them. They only end up losing their loved once but this is my take. They involve the police because they don’t love them.

It is just possible you are tired of her; you are looking for an excuse to get rid of her. This is your chance to do that. Just tell the police and she is dead. And then you can marry another woman. But if you still love her, just listen to us and comply….”

“There is no way he can raise such an amount.” Beeba said.

“Please talk to your wife. I want you to know we are not lying. We have her here. Why should I lie? Lying is haram.”

Sabr gave the phone to Beeba.

“Beeba.” Isa called excitedly.

“Abu…..”

Twai!

The sound of the slap Sabr gave her pierced through the phone and hit Isa’s ear drum. Beeba let out a loud scream that shook not just her husband but Moore.

Sabr snatched the phone from her.

“May Allah forgive us all.” He said softly. “I am very sorry for what just happened. She said there was no way you could raise that kind of money and I felt a woman should not interfere when men are talking. We must teach our women morality because of our children. I hope you understand. It was for the good.”

Beeba was still crying, and she felt as if it was an acid he poured on her cheek.

“Please Sir, don’t touch her.” Isa begged. “The truth is I lost my goods a few months ago. I am in a financial crisis. Sometimes she supports us with her salary….”

“Innalillahi wa innalillahi raji’un. I am so sorry about your loss. That is why you have properties. Sell your house but let me advise you, be very careful with those real estate agents.

Let me tell you a story. There was a military man who was in need of money. He contracted some agents to sell the house at the rate of twenty million naira. He told them that he needed money desperately.

Just two days later, somebody offered forty million naira. The agents refused to sell the house. They will not sell it anything less than forty-five million.

The house was not sold for more than two months. On this fateful day, the military man went to the house to check on it. Incidentally, the man that wanted the house went there to show his friend, seeking for advice if to add the five million naira. When he saw the military man, he greeted him and asked if he just bought the house.

The military man said no; he said he was the owner. The man told him that he offered forty million naira about two months ago but the agents said the least they can collect is forty-five million naira.

The military man was perplexed. He said there was no problem. He would sell it at that rate. Lawyers were called and the deal was sealed.

The next day, the military man asked the agents to let him have the keys. He said he forgot his and wanted to get some things.

He collected the keys and gave it to the new owner before he told them that he has sold the house to the man who offered forty million naira.

The agents were mad. They took the case to court. The military man won the case. The agents went back to their office to brood. They did not just lose twenty million naira, plus their ten per cent commission from both sides, which made a total of twenty-four million naira, they also lost the money they used to process the case and hire a lawyer, and lost their time and effort.

As they sat brooding, they saw a truck of soldiers and set brutal looking soldiers alighted.

It was not funny. You need to see men made to frog jump and got whipped…..” Sabr laughed. “You see why you must not rely on them. Get someone to buy it. Make it cheap and you will get a buyer very soon. I am just advising you.”

“Please Sir.” Isa pleaded. “I can source for five hundred thousand naira.”

Sabr laughed.

“Haba! Do you know how AK47 cost now? We feed them, give them shelter, and protect them. Think about logistics. This is business and we are meant to make profit. People think what they call kidnapping is easy. We take a lot of risk so the ransom should worth it. You have to be considerate Malern Isa. Okay, make it nine point five million.”

“Please….”

“I will call you in the next one hour so we can talk about how to deliver the money. That is one very delicate part that is difficult. We have to make sure you are not with cops, we are not followed and a lot of other things. Goodbye Malern Isa.”

He disconnected the line and then glared at Moore. “You have no one to pay for you. I swear to God! I will kill you. May Allah forgive you sins. I think the meeting is over. Let us close the meeting with prayers…..” He began to pray.

Then it happened.