Crystal night of anarchy

CHAPTER 4 (THE LAST GAMBLE)

It was dark and quiet, he could hear his own breathing. It was difficult finding his way in the factory, he constantly hit his leg against objects in the factory, and held his mouth to stop himself from shouting, he was bleeding from his metatarsals. He heard some distant noise, and some feet running towards his direction. He was scared, and didn't know where to hide. He is blind here, and doesn't have a means to see in the dark. He pushed his hands around, and held on to an iron rod, he proceeded forward, using the rod to find his way like the disabled, he was scared out of his wits, but he was determined. He saw a dim light ahead, as he got closer it got brighter, he could hear some voices coming from the direction of the light, he hastened his pace and saw two hefty figures, they were looking unkempt, and damped from perspiration. They were talking in slang and laughing, they took turns smoking a m*******a stick, they inhaled and exhaled the puff into the air. He watched them closely, suddenly his eyes caught hold of something, he saw her, tied to a chair, she was gagged. Her eyes were teary, and her cheek showed evidence of dried tears, she must have cried for a long time. Tears welled up in his eye, and dripped slowly down his cheek. It has been two months since he last saw her.

He remembered the day she was kidn*pped vividly, they were returning from her school, his car had broken down and he had no other choice than to resort to boarding a bike. The bike man was one of the kidnappers, he took a route different from their usual route. He claimed he was avoiding the policemen at the checkpoint. He wasn't suspicious of anything, he was preoccupied with the thought of celebrating his daughter's birthday in the best way possible. The bike man suddenly stopped the bike along the road in a bushy path, claiming he was out of fuel, he asked Agya to pay him, so he could quickly get fuel. Agya was enraged, but he wouldn't want his daughter to see him this way, so he brought some bills and gave them to him. Suddenly, he saw some men trooping out of those bushes, they encircled him and in a flash they overpowered him. They pinned him to the ground, and made away with his daughter. She kept screaming, shouting, calling his name, but he could do nothing, they were too many for him to handle, he was just there, powerless to stop his daughter from being taken from him. He felt helpless, exactly the same way he felt when Ifemi was murdered. He held up the rod firmly and sway it towards one of the men, he hit him hard on the head, that it sent him rolling down a staircase soaked in his own blood, the second man was shocked, but he was quick to dodge the blow, he held on tightly to Agya, and raised him up like he had no weight, he threw him against a wall, and picked up a plank to hit him with when a bullet pierced his skull. Agya looked around and saw Cobra, he reached out for his g*n and pointed it at him.

"You liar, you said you knew where she was" he spatted irritably,

"Easy now, it's been a long journey don't spoil it now"

"I had my doubts about you" he said, still pointing the g*n at Cobra, the safety was now off,

"Careful Agya, listen..." he paused, he noticed Dhalla was awake, he pointed his g*n at Dhalaa, she was scared, she started shivering, Agya quickly dropped his g*n as a sign of resignation. Cobra smiled and shoots, Agya was terrified, he felt a warm tingle down his legs, he had missed on purpose, it was just a few inches away from her. She screamed out loud, for a second, she had thought she had been shot. “The next time you try this, I won't miss," he threatened.

Agya rushed towards her and untied her, she held on to him weeping profusely. He couldn't control his tears, he felt her temperature, she was cold, her skin wasn't as radiant as it was, she looked thin, and her eyes were red from constant tears. "Father" she said, still sobbing "Why are they doing this to us" she lamented bitterly. Agya was short of words, he didn't know what to say, he looked into her eyes and sighed. All that has happened these past two months has been terrifying. He put her in the situation she was! He never blamed the late Ifemi for his predicament, he assures himself there must be a good reason for her dealings with Agidi. He shouldn't have sought revenge, he now realizes the importance of the scriptures that say “Revenge is evil”. He rubbed her head and assured her, "It will be over soon”

“I want to go home” she said sobbing, she held onto him, hugging him tightly. Cobra was annoyed and disgusted “We have no time to waste, it’s Eleven o'clock already, we need to move”. Agya stood up reluctantly, and he held Dhalaa behind him, “Let me take her home” he implored. Cobra let's out a wild laughter, that the whole factory echoed of his laughter, “What do you take me for, a fool” he inquired sarcastically,

“No, no, it's just… I…I…I need to keep her save” Agya said persuasively hoping to sway him, Cobra smiled and turned to the others, “He needs to keep her save” he chuckled “You heard him” he added giving his goons a signal, they moved towards Agya, and took his daughter from him.

“Father…Father…Father” she called out,

“No, you can't do this, you can't take her away from me again”

“You had better figure out how to find Agidi, if not, you and your daughter are useless to me”

“How do I do that? I don't know where he is”

“In that case, I have no use for you and your daughter, kill them”

“Wait” he said fearfully, “i..i..I kno..know some…one that c..c..ca..can he..lp” he said stammering

“Speak up” Cobra blurted,

“Sheila, his brother's w***e”

“What about her?”

“I heard she's having an affair with Agidi, that was how I traced him, she could know his whereabouts” Agya said, not sure of himself,

“Where does she stay” Cobra inquired,

“She stays at Cassidy”

“That's four streets from here, let go on then”

He instructed his goons to take Dhalaa to their hideout, she shouted and scratched and screamed. It was terrifying, her nose was dripping, her voice was coarse, it was a terrible situation for a teenager.

“You can't do this, you don't need to do this” Agya pleaded,

“She's your collateral, if you don't find Agidi before dawn, I'll make sure she doesn't live to see noon” he threatened.

The goons drove off with her, Cobra needn't do anything more to persuade Agya, he had no choice than to conform to his demands. He doesn't know where his daughter was taken to, so he couldn't risk attacking Cobra. He wondered what manner of human being he is.

They left the red building, and proceeded to Cassidy. The house was a small bungalow fenced and enforced with live wires. They noticed a sign that read A PEDIGREE DOG LIVES HERE, Agya hated dogs, he couldn’t stand them, it wasn't that they irritated him, he was just scared of dogs. He remembered his secondary school mate was killed by a dog. It was raining one afternoon, and they had just closed from school, most of the students had gone home in the rain, it was the last day of school. Agya was in the rain with his friends, when they sighted a puppy drenched in rain, they were taunting it and poking it with a stick, the puppy kept whining and moaning, but they didn't stop, they were having fun with it. A huge boy amongst them took a stick, and whipped the dog with it, and it let out a loud cry whilst barking. The others felt it was taken too far, the boy didn't stop, he hit it again, but this time the mother saw him from afar and charged at him, she was in the company of two other dogs. She must have heard the puppy wail from inside, they ran out through an opened gate, the boys took to their heels, but the huge boy slipped while attempting to run, it was too late, the dogs pounced on him and tore him, he was wailing and screaming in pains, none of his peers could rescue him, they all scampered for safety, when they got help it was too late, one of the dogs had bitten him in the throat. He had lost too much blood. He died on the spot. That day incident stuck to Agya like an odour, he had this fear of dogs. He was always careful when near canine. He had no choice, he moved towards the gate, it wasn't locked, he walked in, scanning the area for sign of the dog's cage, he couldn't catch a glimpse of any. He saw a glimpse of someone at the window, it seemed like a kitchen. He moved closer to see who it was. Cobra was behind him. He saw Sheila and a guy who looked like Agidi's brother. He was surprised, he moved closer and discovered it was in fact Agidi's brother. He pondered, he thought he killed him. He now sees reason, clearly Agidi loves his brother, he wasn't going to let off his brother's killer, only that he didn't kill him, he shot him in the chest, yet, he survived, he was certain he saw him fell to the ground, drowning in a pool of his own blood. That definitely explains Sheila's frequent visits to Agidi, only that she wasn't seeing Agidi, she was loyal, she had been seeing her fiance Agali.

“Isn't that Agali” Cobra asked, he was surprised,

“Yes” he whispered,

“But you killed him”

“Seem like he survived”

“The dude is dangerous, we have to be careful” Cobra said, and he goes round the back, and Agya followed suit. They entered the house through a backdoor, they heard the noise coming from the kitchen, there were more than two people in the house, the voices they heard gave them the impression. Cobra brought out his pistol, and moved slowly towards the kitchen, the laughter was getting louder, suddenly someone grabbed Cobra by the neck and fell him, he kicked the pistol away from him, and they engaged in a tussle. Agya brought out the pistol Cobra gave him, and pointed it at the assailant, when suddenly a bullet ran past his ear, he was a few inches lucky, he heard a scream from the kitchen. It was Sheila, she was frightened by the gunshots and noises she heard. The assailant was choking Cobra. He loved the situation Cobra was, and would love to see him die, but only he knows the whereabouts of his daughter. He shot back at the direction the bullet flew in from. He saw Agali, he also sees him, he was filled with rage, this was the person that left him drowning in his blood, he came out in full rage and fired multiple shot at Agya, luckily for Cobra, one of the shots hit his assailant and he fell to the ground, Cobra quickly grabbed his pistol and landed a shot on Agali’s arm, in a twist Cobra had Agali to the ground, with his pistol to his forehead.

“Where's Agidi?” he inquired visibly angry,

Agali chuckled and lets out a wild laughter amidst his pain. He faces Agya

“You and your daughter are dead meat”

“What do you mean by that?” he inquired, he pushed Cobra away and grabbed him by the neck.

“What do you mean by that?” he asks again fearfully,

“Do you think Olowo okereke would let you and daughter go freely, knowing what you know”

“Don't listen to him” Cobra said,

“He will kill you right on the spot once Agidi is dead, I bet your daughter is dead, that's how they work no loose ends” he added, Agya faces Cobra and points his pistol at him,

“Whoa, easy tiger”

“Where's Dhalla? where did you instruct your goons to take her” he demanded, he c****d the g*n,

“Careful, she is alive, at least for the moment, think about what you're doing, you kill me and she's going to die anyway”

Agali laughed and coughed, he tries sitting up, but cobra shot him in his thigh,

“Argh!, son of a b***h!!!” he screamed, they heard a scream from the kitchen, they've almost forgotten her, Cobra dragged Agali into the kitchen. They saw Sheila, shivering at a corner, she was scared, she never had the stomach for violence.

“What do you intend for me after this” Agya said bitterly,

“You should know yourself, I can't guarantee I'll let you live, but certainly your daughter would be unharmed, of course that is if you can deliver me Agidi” he faces Agya confidently. He points his g*n at Agali,

“For the last time, where's Agidi?”

“You can't win, it's too late now”

“Wrong answer” he shoots him on his forehead, Sheila was scared that she fainted.

“What did you do, he knows where he is”

“He clearly won't say, moreover we have sheila, we don't need him, quick we need to leave this place, he's right about one thing though we are late” he point to the clock on the wall “It's past two, we’ve wasted precious time, an emergency indoor meeting would be held by the party by 7, Agidi must be dead by then”

He carried Sheila and they moved out.