THE DEVIL BARGAINS
453 Words
The old market was half-dead at this hour.
Stalls stood shuttered. Torn tarpaulins flapped weakly in the wind, while stray dogs wandered between broken crates and abandoned produce. The place looked as though time itself had forgotten it.
Jamal arrived alone.
No bag. No phone call. Just silence and the crushing weight of a decision he had already made in his heart.
From the shadows behind a closed stall, Kabir stepped forward.
He wasn't alone.
Another man stood behind him—quiet, watchful, his face hidden beneath a cap.
Jamal noticed immediately.
His eyes narrowed.
"Who is that?"
Kabir glanced over his shoulder.
"Relax," he said. "He's not your problem. He's here to help you get in and get out. That's all."
Jamal folded his arms.
"I said I'm not doing anything that puts me deeper than I already am."
Kabir stepped closer.
"You're already deep, Jamal. You just haven't fallen yet."
The words lingered in the cold night air.
Then Kabir nodded toward the silent man.
"He knows the area. He'll show you the safest route in and out. Once you're inside, you're on your own."
From his pocket, Kabir produced a set of keys.
Then he reached into his jacket and handed Jamal a pistol.
Jamal stared at it.
His stomach tightened.
The metal felt cold and heavy in his hands.
Kabir began explaining the plan in detail—the routes, the entrances, the location of the office, and where the money and diamonds were being kept.
Jamal listened without interruption.
When Kabir finished, Jamal looked up.
"You already planned this before today."
Kabir didn't deny it.
"I planned options," he replied. "You're just the one who chose desperation."
The statement struck Jamal harder than a slap.
His jaw clenched.
"What exactly am I supposed to take?"
Kabir's eyes remained fixed on him.
"The cash. The diamonds."
Jamal swallowed.
"And if I get caught?"
Kabir gave a faint shrug.
"Then your wife dies in a hospital bed. Your mother and sister suffer the same fate poverty has always reserved for them, while you stand before a judge explaining morality."
Silence.
No more arguments.
No more excuses.
Just reality.
Then Kabir added one final condition.
"Once you're done, the diamonds belong to me."
Jamal looked at him.
Kabir continued.
"You'll also give two million naira to the man behind me. The rest is yours."
The silent man nodded once.
Kabir extended his hand.
"Deal?"
Jamal lowered his eyes to the keys and the gun.
They felt impossibly heavy.
Like the weight of his soul resting in his palms.
After a long moment, he lifted his head.
"Deal," he replied.
And with that single word, Jamal crossed a line he could never uncross.
- Writer
