THE NDA

THE NDABOOK 5CHAPTER 9: THE HUNT

THE NDA

BOOK 5

CHAPTER 9: THE HUNT

They took him at 10:02 PM.

By 10:05 PM I was alone in a black studio with 2 million viewers who just watched me beg.

By 10:10 PM my phone had 300 messages and 0 answers.

Phase 4 begins.

You’re on your own now.

30 days to find him.

- The Board

Day 1 of 30.

I didn’t sleep. I went to the police.

"Mr. Cole was released from custody," the officer said. "We have no record of him being arrested again."

"They took him!" I yelled. "On camera!"

"We’ll look into it," he said.

He didn’t.

At 6AM I went to Cole Group. Security wouldn’t let me in.

"Asset Zara access revoked," they said.

I was Asset Zara yesterday. Today I’m nobody.

At 8AM I called Layo. From jail.

"They got him," I said.

"I know," she said. "I’ve been tracking the vans. They took him to Facility 12."

"Where’s that?"

"Outside Lagos. In the jungle. 4 hours drive. No address. No records."

"Can you get me in?"

"I can get us in," she said. "But you’re not going to like how."

She sent me a location. Abandoned warehouse. 12PM.

I went.

Layo was there. In a stolen Cole Group SUV. And 3 other women.

All of them looked like me.

"Version 1.0," one said. Scar on her cheek. "They call me Ada."

"Version 2.0," the second. Tattoos. "They call me Tolu."

"Version 4.0," the third. Young. 19. "They call me Simi."

"Where’s 5?" I asked.

"Dead," Layo said. "Last month. She failed a test."

My stomach turned. "We’re going to get him back."

"No," Ada said. "We’re going to burn Facility 12 down."

At 4PM we were 2 miles from the facility.

Fence. Cameras. Guards with guns.

"Plan," Tolu said. "We go in at 2AM. Power outage. I hack the grid."

"And if that doesn’t work?" I asked.

"Then we die," Simi said. Like it was normal.

At 1:55 AM we cut the fence.

At 2:03 AM the lights went out.

We ran.

Facility 12 was a concrete block in the middle of nowhere. Cold. Smelled like bleach.

Room after room. Empty beds. Straps. Monitors.

And in the last room: Damian.

He was strapped to a chair. Awake. Bruised.

Monitor still on his ankle.

"Zara," he said. "You shouldn’t be here."

"I came to get you," I said. Cutting the straps.

The door opened.

Victoria.

"Hello girls," she said. "And welcome to the final test."

11 guards behind her. Guns.

"Final test of what?" I asked.

"Of loyalty," she said. "One of you leaves with him. The rest stay. Forever."

"What?"

"You have 5 minutes to decide," she said. "Who loves him enough to let the others die."

"This is sick," Damian said.

"This is business," Victoria said. "Choose."

I looked at Layo. At Ada. At Tolu. At Simi.

At Damian.

"None of us," I said. "We all leave."

Victoria laughed. "Then no one leaves."

She nodded. Guards raised guns.

"Wait!" I yelled. "I choose. Me."

The guards lowered guns. Slightly.

"You and him," Victoria said. "The rest stay."

"No," Layo said. "Not happening."

"Then die," Victoria said.

Gunshots.

Tolu went down first.

"No!" I screamed.

More shots. Ada grabbed me, pushed me down.

"Run!" she yelled.

I ran. Dragging Damian.

Behind us, screaming.

We made it to the SUV. Layo driving. Simi in the back, bleeding.

"Go!" I yelled.

We drove.

In the rearview: Facility 12 on fire.

Tolu and Ada didn’t make it.

At 5AM we were in a safehouse in Ibadan.

Simi was alive. Barely.

Damian had a broken rib.

"Why did you come for me?" he asked me.

"Because you asked me to," I said.

"And the others?"

"Because I couldn’t leave them," I said.

He touched my face. "You’re going to get yourself killed."

"Probably," I said.

My phone buzzed. Day 2.

Good. You found him.

Now keep him.

29 days left.

If he leaves your side for more than 50 meters, the monitor explodes.

- The Board

I showed Damian.

"Explodes?" he said.

"Yeah," I said. "So you’re stuck with me."

He laughed. Hurt. "Best prison ever."

We stayed in the safehouse 3 days.

Healing. Planning. Grieving.

On Day 4, the board sent food. And cameras.

"For the stream," the note said. "Day 4. Target 97%."

We ignored it.

At 8PM the monitor beeped. Warning.

At 9PM it beeped again.

At 10PM Damian stood up. "I need to go to the bathroom."

The monitor beeped. Loud.

"Don’t," I said.

"I have to," he said.

He took one step away.

BEEP BEEP BEEP.

The ankle started to glow red.

"Damian!" I ran to him. Grabbed his hand.

The beeping stopped.

"50 meters," he said. "They’re serious."

So we didn’t leave each other’s side for 24 hours.

We ate together. Slept in the same bed. Showered with the door open.

The board ate it up.

Day 4 stream: 98%.

Day 5: 98%.

Day 6: 99%.

At Day 7, Victoria called.

"You’re doing great," she said. "Keep him close. Keep him happy. 23 days left."

"What happens in 23 days?" I asked.

"You’ll see," she said. "Phase 5."

She hung up.

At night Damian couldn’t sleep.

"They’re going to kill me," he said. "Once they don’t need me anymore."

"No," I said. "We’ll find a way to cut the monitor."

"There isn’t one," he said. "I tried. In the facility. It’s bonded to my bone."

He showed me. Scar tissue around it.

"They did this to me," he said. "To keep me with you."

I held him. "Then we stay together."

"Forever?"

"For 23 more days," I said. "Then we figure it out."

On Day 10, Simi died.

Infection. No doctors.

We buried her behind the safehouse.

Damian dug the grave. I said the prayer.

After, he said: "I’m so tired of watching people die for me."

"Then live," I said. "For them."

He kissed me. Hard.

The camera in the corner caught it.

Day 10: 100% spike.

At Day 15, the board sent a gift.

A house. In Lekki. Big. Empty.

With a note: "Move in. 15 days left. Make them count."

We moved in.

No guards. No cameras inside.

Just us. And the monitor. And the countdown.

We cooked. We talked. We pretended we were normal.

At night we didn’t pretend.

On Day 20, Damian said: "If we make it, what do you want to do?"

"Leave," I said. "Somewhere with no Cole. No board. No you."

He flinched. "You’d leave me?"

"If I could," I said. "Yes."

He nodded. "Fair."

On Day 25, he got sick.

Fever. 104.

The monitor was making him sick. Radiation.

"I can feel it," he said. "It’s killing me."

"Don’t," I said. Crying. "Please don’t."

"I’m not going anywhere," he said. "Not until day 30."

On Day 29, Victoria came to the house.

Alone.

"Last day tomorrow," she said. "Congratulations."

"What happens?" I asked.

"You choose," she said. "Him, or freedom."

"What does that mean?"

"It means at midnight, the monitor comes off," she said. "And he can walk away. Or you can."

"And if we both walk?"

"Then we activate protocol," she said. "And both of you die."

She left.

That night Damian and I sat on the floor. Back to back.

"30 days," he said. "Did we do it?"

"We survived it," I said.

"Do you love me?" he asked. Quiet.

I was quiet for a long time.

"Yes," I said. "I do. And I hate you for it."

"I know," he said. "I love you too. And I hate myself for it."

At 11:59 PM, the monitor beeped.

Once.

Then went silent.

A message on my phone:

Time’s up.

Choose.

Door A: He walks free. You stay. 10 years.

Door B: You walk free. He stays. 10 years.

Door C: Both walk. Both die in 60 seconds.

Choose now.

In front of us: 3 doors.

Damian stood. "I’m going through C."

"Don’t," I said.

"If we die, we die together," he said. "On our terms."

He grabbed my hand.

We walked to Door C.

Behind us, Victoria’s voice on speaker: "60 seconds."

We opened the door.

Outside: not death.

Outside: a car. Engine running. Keys in it.

And a note on the dash: "You were supposed to choose A or B. C was the trick. You have 60 seconds to drive before the house explodes. - L"

Layo.

We got in.

Drove.

At 60 seconds, the house blew up behind us.

We didn’t look back.

At 1AM we were at the border. Ghana.

No monitor. No board. No Cole.

Just us.

Damian turned to me. "What now?"

"Now," I said, "we disappear."

He smiled. First real smile in 30 days. "Deal."

We crossed.

At 2AM my phone buzzed. One last time.

Congratulations.

You passed.

Phase 5: Honeymoon.

Location: Unknown.

Enjoy.

- The Board

I threw the phone out the window.

And for the first time in 3 years, no one was watching.