Chapter 12: The Hunt Begins
427 Words
Chapter 12: The Hunt Begins
Lola didn’t sleep.
She sat by the window, gun in hand, watching the street below. The silence felt unnatural, like the city itself was holding its breath.
Ugo was asleep on the bed, exhaustion finally claiming him. He didn’t know how to live like this—on the run, waiting for death to knock. But Lola did.
And death wouldn’t knock.
It would kick the door in.
At 4:12 AM, her phone vibrated. An unknown number.
Lola answered but didn’t speak.
A smooth, amused voice filled the line.
"Detective Ajibade. You have their attention now."
Lola’s fingers tightened around the gun. "Who is this?"
The man chuckled. "A friend. And a warning. You think leaking a few files changes anything? You think Odukoya is scared? No, Detective. You’ve only made him… angry."
Lola’s jaw clenched. "Good."
The voice sighed. "You don’t get it, do you? There’s no escaping Black Shield. But don’t worry. You won’t have to run for long."
The call ended.
Lola didn’t move.
Then—
A loud crack outside. A car door slamming.
They were here.
---
The Attack
Lola turned sharply. "Ugo! Wake up!"
Ugo groaned, sitting up groggily. "What—?"
BOOM!
The front door exploded inward.
Lola dived, yanking Ugo down with her as bullets tore through the apartment. Wood splintered. Glass shattered.
Two men in tactical gear stormed in.
Ugo was frozen. Lola wasn’t.
She rolled, grabbed her gun, and fired twice.
One man dropped. The second dived behind the overturned table.
She grabbed Ugo’s arm. "Move! Now!"
They stumbled toward the back door as another gunshot rang out. A bullet grazed Lola’s shoulder. She hissed but didn’t slow down.
They burst into the alley.
A black SUV screeched to a stop at the entrance. More men. Trapped.
Lola’s mind raced. No escape forward. No escape back.
She spotted a drainage tunnel beneath the fence.
"In there!" she ordered.
Ugo hesitated. "Are you crazy?!"
"MOVE!"
She shoved him inside just as bullets peppered the ground where they had stood.
Lola slid in after him, landing in the murky water.
Dark. Tight. Disgusting.
But they were alive.
For now.
---
The Fallout
They emerged from the tunnel half a mile away, drenched and exhausted.
Ugo collapsed against a wall. "They found us in less than a day."
Lola wiped blood from her arm. "They won’t stop."
Ugo looked at her, eyes filled with something close to fear. "So what do we do?"
Lola took a slow breath.
"We stop running. We take the fight to them."
- Writer
