I tutored the cultist that failed physics

chapter 2 - The fallout

*Chapter 2 –

Fallout*

The gunshot cracked through the silence.

For a second, nothing moved. Not Jamal. Not Venom. Not Kachi. Not me. The sound hung in the air like it hadn’t decided where to land.

Then Kachi surged forward.

He slammed into Jamal before the second shot could come. The two of them hit the floor in a tangle of limbs and curses, the pistol skittering across the concrete. One of Jamal’s men lunged for it. I didn’t think. I kicked it away, and it slid under the door of Room Four.

“Amara, get out!” Kachi shouted.

I didn’t need to be told twice.

The corridor erupted into chaos. Fists hit flesh. Chairs overturned. Venom stepped back, watching, letting her men handle it. She wasn’t here to fight. She was here to make sure the job got done.

Someone grabbed my arm. I twisted, elbowed hard, and ran. My bag bounced against my hip, but I didn’t stop until I hit the stairwell.

Footsteps pounded behind me. I didn’t look back.

I burst out into the night air, lungs burning. The campus was empty. Past curfew, no one moved near Old Engineering unless they wanted trouble. I ducked behind the wall and pressed my back to the cold concrete, hands shaking.

My phone was in my hand before I realized I’d pulled it out. Tunde’s number.

It rang once. Twice.

“Report,” he answered. No greeting.

“They have guns. They’re fighting. Jamal and Venom are here. I don’t know—” My voice cracked. “I don’t know if he’s—”

“Location?”

“Still at Old Engineering. I’m outside. I’m okay.”

“Stay there. Don’t move.”

The line went dead.

I slid down to sit on the steps, knees drawn to my chest. My heart was still hammering. Every sound made me flinch. Somewhere inside, Kachi was fighting for his life. And it was my fault. I’d signed the contract. I’d walked into that room.

I didn’t know how long I sat there. Ten minutes. Twenty. Long enough for the adrenaline to wear off and leave my hands numb.

Then I heard footsteps.

Not the heavy, deliberate tread of the Scorpions. Lighter. Faster.

“Kachi?” I whispered.

It wasn’t Kachi.

Two Viper enforcers came around the corner, eyes scanning the area. When they saw me, they relaxed slightly.

“Tunde sent us,” the taller one said. “You’re safe?”

I nodded, unable to speak.

“What happened inside?”

“Jamal and Venom showed up. Guns. Fighting.” I swallowed. “I ran.”

The shorter one cursed under his breath. “We’re moving you. Now.”

They didn’t wait for an argument. One of them took my arm, not rough, but firm. We moved fast across campus, sticking to shadows, avoiding the main paths.

“Where’s Kachi?” I asked as we walked.

“Handling it,” the taller one said. It wasn’t an answer, but it was all I got.

They took me to a dormitory I didn’t recognize. Off-campus housing, rented by the Vipers. Tunde was waiting in the living room. His face was unreadable.

“You’re unharmed?” he asked.

I nodded.

“Sit.”

I sat.

Tunde looked at the enforcers. “Leave us.”

They left. The door clicked shut.

“Kachi sent word,” Tunde said. “He’s alive. Jamal escaped. Two of his men are in custody with campus security.”

Relief hit me so hard my knees went weak. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath.

“Is he hurt?”

“Bruised. Nothing serious.” Tunde studied me. “He said you followed instructions. Good.”

I stared at him. “He told me not to follow.”

“And you didn’t.” Tunde’s mouth twitched. Not quite a smile. “Kachi’s not wrong about you. You listen when it matters.”

“What happens now?”

“Now, you go home. Get some sleep. Classes resume in the morning. Act normal.”

Act normal. Like I hadn’t just watched two people draw guns over me. Like my mother’s life wasn’t tied to a man who ran an illegal organization.

“Normal isn’t an option anymore,” I said quietly.

Tunde’s expression didn’t change. “Then act like it is. If you panic, you get people killed. Including yourself.”

He stood up. “A car will take you to your hostel at dawn. Don’t tell anyone what happened. Not your roommate. Not your friends. Not the police.”

“The police?”

“This stays in-house,” Tunde said. “Kachi will handle it.”

I wanted to argue. I wanted to demand answers. But I was tired, and my hands still wouldn’t stop shaking. So I nodded.

---

I didn’t sleep.

At 6 AM, the car dropped me off at my hostel. My roommate, Loola, was already awake, studying with her earphones in. She glanced up when I came in, frowned at my face.

“You look like hell, Amara. Did you sleep at all?”

“Library,” I lied. “All-nighter.”

She didn’t push. Loola knew better than to ask about my nights. Everyone at LIT knew some doors stayed closed.

I showered, changed, and forced myself to eat something. My hands were steady now, but my mind kept replaying the gunshot. The way Kachi had moved. The way he’d put himself between me and Jamal without hesitation.

Class started at 8 AM. Physics 101. My class.

I walked in ten minutes early and sat in the front row. I needed the routine. I needed the control of numbers and equations, even if only for fifty minutes.

Kachi wasn’t there.

Professor Adeyemi started the lecture without him. I took notes mechanically, my handwriting sharper than usual. Every time the door opened, my head snapped up.

He didn’t come.

After class, I packed my bag slowly, hoping. Hoping he’d walk in late, bruised but alive, and tell me it was over.

He didn’t.

Instead, I got a message on my phone as I stepped outside.

_My office now.

– Dean Ibrahim_

My stomach dropped.

---

The Dean’s office was on the third floor of the Administration Block. Polished floors, glass doors, the smell of old paper and authority.

Secretary Nkechi looked up when I entered. Her eyes flicked over me, assessing.

“Amara Okoro? The Dean will see you now.”

I walked in.

Dean Ibrahim was behind his desk, hands folded, face neutral. He was in his late fifties, Lagos-born, known for being fair and ruthless in equal measure. He didn’t rise.

“Sit down, Miss Okoro.”

I sat.

He studied me for a long moment. “You’ve been on this campus for three months, Miss Okoro. In that time, you’ve maintained a 4.8 GPA, received no disciplinary reports, and secured a full academic scholarship. Do you know why I called you in?”

“No, sir.”

“Because your name came up in a security report last night,” he said evenly. “Old Engineering Block. After curfew. With Kachi Eze.”

My throat went dry. “I was tutoring him, sir.”

“Tutoring him,” he repeated. He didn’t sound convinced. “At nine PM. In a condemned building. With a known violent offender.”

“He needed help in Physics,” I said. My voice was steady, even though my palms were damp. “I’m the best in the class. He asked.”

Dean Ibrahim leaned back. “Kachi Eze asked you. And you agreed.”

“Yes, sir.”

He was quiet for a while. Then he sighed, the sound heavy.

“Miss Okoro, I’ve reviewed your file. You’re brilliant. You’re the kind of student LIT needs more of. You’re also the kind of student that gets caught in crossfire you don’t understand.”

“I understand fine, sir.”

“Do you?” He leaned forward. “Kachi Eze is under investigation for assault, illegal assembly, and possession of a firearm. If you’re associated with him, you become associated with that. Your scholarship is at risk. Your safety is at risk. Your future is at risk.”

I said nothing.

“So I’m going to make this simple,” he said. “End it. Publicly. Announce that you’re no longer involved with Kachi Eze in any capacity. Tutoring, dating, whatever this arrangement is. Cut ties, and I will ensure your record remains clean. Refuse, and I cannot guarantee that.”

My heart sank.

“You want me to dump him,” I said.

“I want you to survive,” Dean Ibrahim said. “Kachi Eze is a storm, Miss Okoro. And storms don’t care who they take with them.”

He sat back, waiting.

Outside, the campus bell rang for the next class.

I looked at the Dean, then at the door, then at my hands.

I didn’t answer.

*[End of Chapter 2]*