FicStorm's The Chase

Chapter Twenty Three

09:04

A rapt knock on the door once, and it was opened by someone who wasn’t much bigger than Bright-who was glad that he didn’t have to wait long. The young man standing in the door way had ice pressed to his badly bruised face with one hand and used the other to hold the door open. He looked like someone on the loosing end of a bout and Bright-as homicidal as he was-felt worried. His brother was a big fool at times and always knew how to mess things up.

“Egbon, you set me up o. Walahi!” The man said and walked away from the door before Bright could reply. Bright followed and shut the door gently behind him. His brother was already lying on a sofa chair with his legs crossed and the ice still glued to his face.

“What happened?” Bright asked grabbing a stool and sitting on it very close to the sofa his brother lay on. That way, it wouldn’t be so hard to strangle him-if he had to.

“You no come tell me say the guy na professional boxer.” He said sticking to pidgin.

“Tayo, I sent you after a doctor and not a boxer.”

“Dokita ati elese ni eleyi.” This one is a doctor and a boxer. Tayo said switching to Yoruba for emphasis.

“So you messed up, didn’t you?” Bright said as his anger came in a surge.

“Fara bale.” Tayo said softly.

“How do you expect me to calm down? I told you I wanted it simple; just a jab in the stomach! Is that so hard?”

“He fought back.” Tayo said sitting up and looking away from his brother as he spoke. “Mo fo ori e” I broke his head

“You’ve ruined everything, you bastard! What happened to the knife?”

“I don hide am.”

“What about the safe?”

“I arrange am well. He no use password.”

“Where are the gloves I gave you to use and plant the fingerprints?”

Tayo pointed to the dining. Bright looked at where he pointed and stood up. He walked through the archway and cursed his brother for being so careless to leave it on the dining table where anybody could have just walked in and seen it. He had felt the urge to pull out his gun and squeeze the trigger at the first complaint his brother raised, and he would have done it if they hadn’t come from the same mother. He told Tayo to thank his stars for that as he pulled the box closer to himself to check if the gloves were intact. The box looked like it would have fit a pair of Jordan shoes perfectly but it only contained a pair of next generation technology gloves that were engineered by a team of avant-garde scientists who worked for Blackhawk. The gloves could be programmed with anyone’s fingerprint DNA so that the handler could impersonate anyone of their choice. It worked well with unlocking devices and doors that used fingerprint technology. Bright had ordered the sweepers to fish out Chase’s house for fingerprints the previous night and within hours he had one of the scientist encode the glove with Chase’s fingerprint. Sending his brother was the only flaw in the plan. Chase was already involved in the first murder and so he had thought it wasn’t a bad idea to link him to a second, let the police follow the trail to get the boy out of the picture while he got Essy for Blackhawk. Bright closed the box and swept it off the table and under his arm.

“I wanted it to look like it was a serial killer but you just ruined the pattern.” He said as he walked back to the sofa where Tayo sat.

“Where the money wey you talk say you go give me?”

“You’d get it if the police report sounds good to me.” Bright said and began walking to the door as the urge to pull out his gun came again.

“What about the other thing? Connect me to your boss na.”

“My boss hates failures.” Was all Bright said.

***

09:04

“Say that again.” Victor said putting the phone on loud speaker so Robin could hear.

“The boy and the girl were at Okigbe’s last night.” The voice came through the phone.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, I’m sure. The boy mentioned that they needed to get out of town and they needed John’s help badly but he turned them down saying that his boss had forbidden him to help them. The couple made a break for it and John sent us after them.”

“You mean a bunch of kids escaped you twice?” Robin asked puzzled. He had always thought that the Grim Brothers were capable and efficient but now he was having second thoughts.

“I’m afraid so,” came the reply.

“Alright then. Just stick to John and let us know if they show up again.”

“Alright, sir.”

Victor ended the call and looked up at Robin. They were both seated in a smart van. It was one of those vehicles upgraded by the DSA and modified to take in cutting edge technology and modern surveillance equipment. From outside, anyone who saw the van would have thought it was just a clearing van because of the label. The call had been received through a sterile line that was properly encrypted.

“That’s a problem.” Victor said.

“It’s like you’re thinking what I’m thinking.” Robin said. They both knew John had no other boss apart from Blackhawk.

“This is going to be difficult if Blackhawk wants the same thing we’re after. The minister would nearly run mad when she hears this.” Robin said.

“It’s bad.”

“Well, I think John would be on our side. If he gets the kids, he’d hand them to us.”

“Don’t be so sure. The last time I checked, he fears Blackhawk more than he fears death.”

“Then I’d have to put the fear of God in him.” Robin said cracking his knuckles. He was already getting angry at the thought of Blackhawk coming in to ruin things. There was nobody as desperate as Blackhawk. He always got what he wanted. The man, Blackhawk, was unstoppable. And that was just the man. Robin didn’t want to think of the monster within the man.

“Any luck with the woman’s computer?” Robin asked.

“The computer is active but it’s empty. Our tech guys said it’s totally like a brand new computer.”

“Dead end?”

“No. They’re not giving up yet.”

“That sounds promising .”

“So, first, Chase kills the woman and now he goes after the daughter. Do you think he knows about Labyrinth?”

“I think he knows about it and he wants it for himself.”

“He’s going to get her to trust him, make us look like the bad guys and then he’d get it from her.”

“That i***t is just as smart as his father was. We must not underestimate him for any reason.”

***

09:04

In a short time, they found themselves at Allen Avenue and alighted from the taxi. Essy suggested that they lodge into another hotel and Richard agreed with it because he didn’t have a better idea. The hotel that they lodged into this time was way bigger than the last one and more expensive. They requested for a room with one bed and as they didn’t plan on spending the night, paid in advance for a couple of hours. This time, Richard paid. He had made sure to remove some naira notes from the bag earlier on and kept them in his pocket. The ride to Allen was a very silent one, but it had been very loud in Richard’s head with questions firing one after the other like Molotov cocktails. And as he didn’t want the driver overhearing his conversations, he kept his thoughts to himself. However, it turned out that it was the same for Essy. He had barely closed the door behind him when she blurted out.

“How did they find us?” He looked and saw that she was already seated on the exquisite bed with a firm grip on her hair as though she wanted to rip it away from her scalp.

“George led them to us.” Richard said dashing for the nearest window and looking down. It gave him a clear view of the entrance to the hotel.

“George had no idea where I was. I didn’t tell him. Besides, why would he send someone to kill me?”

“You didn’t have a problem with that thought when you called it a Bells prank-whatever that is.” Richard said moving to another window that gave him a view of one of the parking lots. He liked the view but he preferred the first and went back there as Essy fired a riposte.

“That was different. I was freaked out and wasn’t thinking straight.”

“Are you sure you aren’t right now? Look, I don’t know your relationship with George, but I don’t think we can trust him for now.”

“We’re talking about my boyfriend here.”

“I thought you used the word ‘ex’ at the train station.”

“I thought you just said you didn’t know my relationship with George.”

Richard sighed and looked away from the window at Essy. “Maybe his call was traced.”

“Who are these guys?”

“You have something they want, Essy. What is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“These people are the same people that killed your mother. I’m sure they belong to some deep secret organization and you should have an idea how these people are. They hate people messing with them. I’m sure your mother did something that…”

“No! You don’t know her!”

“Everyone has secrets. She might have…”

“Don’t even say it!”

“Okay. You’re angry. I’m sorry” Richard said and he meant it. He should have known that it was still too early.

“My mother won’t be involved with anything like that. Why? You don’t even know her.”

“I’m on your side, but we’re dealing with some really bad guys right now and I’d rather not be on their bad side.”

“So, you’re saying that…”

“I’m saying we need to find out what they are after. Why they want you so badly. We need to know what’s at stake here. Tell me, Essy. What is it?”

“I still don’t know what you’re talking about. I guess I’m too hungry to understand anything right now. I’d call for room service.”

“Not yet. We’d go out.”

“I’d just die before then. Dude, can’t you see my nose is broken? I think it’s high time I called my dad.”

The blood drained from Richard’s face immediately. He dashed for Essy, snatched her phone from her hands and threw it on the floor tramping it hard with his foot several times till the phone was completely wrecked.

“What did you do that for?” Essy managed to say after she recovered from the shock of Richard’s reaction.

“You can’t be calling anyone right now! Not after what George just put us through!’

“What the hell is wrong with you? Who ever said it was George that led them to us? George would never…” Essy screamed at the top of her lungs as she jumped to her feet.

“And just yesterday you were thinking this same guy sent me to you. How come you trust him so much now?”

“You’re out of your mind! I said that was way different!”

“Oh! Was it now?”

“If you’re jealous, why don’t you just say it?”

“Jealous? Who gives a damn? I don’t! You have no idea what’s at stake here, so just shut up and stop acting like a child!”

Essy looked like she had just been slapped and Richard realized his mistake. But it was too late.

“You know what? I’m done. I’m leaving, and I don’t give a damn about you or any of these.” She began removing the money from her backpack. The cold resolve was back in her voice. He hadn’t heard it since the previous day

“Wait, Essy.” Richard said reaching for her.

“Don’t you touch me. Don’t even dare.” She said looking over her shoulder at him and then she continued to zip her bag.

“It shouldn’t be this way, please.” Richard said and gripped her arm gently as she made for the door. It was a gamble and he was ready to face the consequences. Nothing she did could be worse than what he had been through in the past twenty four hours. She stared at the hand that gripped her for a moment and then she looked up at him. The anger was there in her eyes. The hatred, in her tightened jaw and clenched teeth. He thought he felt the pulsing in her hand and could only imagine what she was thinking. What she would have done to him if she could.

“I’m sorry. My head is just a mess right now. Maybe I’m also hungry.”

“Let me go.” She said calmly. The icy edge was still in her voice.

“I was just acting on your mother’s last wish. She wanted me to keep you away from your father.”

Essy blinked twice and just like that the anger disappeared and was replaced with something Richard couldn’t understand. He could have assumed that it was indifference.

“That didn’t sound like what you meant. Your excuse was George.”

“It was a diversion. I just thought it would sound odd if you found… if I told you that your mother wanted to keep you away from your father.”

“It wouldn’t have been odd.” She let out a sigh as indifference was replaced with exhaustion. She was really hungry and he had to agree that a bite of something was already due. “But you should have asked if I was going to call my father or my stepfather.”

“You have a stepfather?”

Essy nodded.

“Well, I didn’t know that. She might have meant either or both of them.”

“Just let go of my hand.”

“You’re not leaving, Essy.”

“For heaven’s sake, I’m hungry.” She said throwing her bag onto the bed. Richard smiled and let go.

“Room service is not such a bad idea, I guess.” Richard said pointing her to the desk phone resting on a stool beside the bed as he walked back to his spot at the window. He watched her as she placed her order and when she asked what he wanted, he declined the offer saying that he wasn’t hungry yet. She shrugged and returned the receiver to its cradle once she was done, and then she asked why he didn’t want anything to eat. He waved it off, she shrugged once again and sunk into the bed leaving Richard with his thoughts for a moment. He went back to John Okigbe and found himself pondering about who was at the top of the chain. It was hard to believe that, upon everything his father had said about the man called Okigbe, there could still be someone more powerful. But then, how powerful? A politician? It fit the image forming in his head very well. All these thoughts raced through his head while staring at Essy lying on the bed. Her hands formed a steeple on her chest that kept rising and falling with each breath. He drifted away from his thoughts and began to guess what she was thinking about. Her mother most likely; their past time together and the future they wouldn’t have together. It could have been that, but it could also have been George.

“You’re back with that look again.” She said without looking at him. Her eyes were fixed on the ceiling.

“Just thinking hard.”

“About me taking my clothes off?”

Richard giggled and for a second he thought about how he had nearly lost her a few moments ago. He was beginning to admire her strength. It was barely two days since she lost her mother and here she was making sarcastic remarks. He had taken a whole month to get his spirit back after the news came to him. She sat up on the bed and looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

“Not that. I’m thinking about Okigbe.”

“The one that tried to kill us last night and…”

“He wasn’t trying to kill us. I’m thinking he wanted us alive-you mostly-so his boss could have us. Now, I’m thinking about who this boss is.”

“It’s a big circle, I guess.”

“A very big one, I guess. Look at it. Okigbe is a very powerful man with immense wealth that can only be imagined. Wealth of which not even a dime was gained through legal means…”

“Just cut to the chase. I’m too hungry to understand anything right now.” She said after a yawn.

“We’re talking about a monopolist drug dealer who owns several clubs and bars.”

“So? There are others like him.”

“That’s my point exactly. Don’t you get? There are many like him out there and who knows how many of them are in this same circle, reporting to this same boss.”

“That’s something. We could be talking about monopolists in other aspects, magnates and sole proprietors. They could be club owners like Okigbe or restaurateurs. Maybe even hoteliers.”

“Essy, we have to leave.” Richard said walking away from the window with his backpack still on his back.

“I take it back. I shouldn’t have mentioned hoteliers.”

“Don’t do that right now. Remember what happened at the train station.” Richard was already at the door with a hand resting on the door knob.

“I remember taking a punch that was meant for you. My nose still aches from that one.” Essy said standing up in frustration. She grabbed her bag and stacked the money back inside.

Satisfied that she was tagging along, Richard opened the door to step out but was rocked back by the force of a kick to his chest. He lost his balance and nearly fell which gave the man in the doorway time to get into the room and shut the door behind him. In a flash, he whipped out a gun from his waistband. Essy threw her bag at the hand holding the gun and watched as the gun flew away before rushing to attack, and then she got her second bash in the nose. She squealed as the big fist made contact with her face and sent her to the floor. Richard regained his balance, took off his backpack and watched with narrowed eyes as the man pushed up his sleeves to get ready for a fist fight. The man was big. Not big like either of the twins that he had encountered earlier, but bigger. He was clad in a white shirt and a black trouser. Richard didn’t wait for him to finish. He rushed forward with clenched fist, aiming a punch at the man’s face, but the man ducked it easily and shot his leg out to shove a kick at Richard’s back that sent him smashing into the door. He grabbed a handful of Richard’s hair and pulled back before ramming it against the door twice, and then he used his leg to sweep Richard off the ground. Before he could make his next move, Essy jumped on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck yelling at Richard to get the gun which was just a short distance away. Richard crawled for the gun but the man grabbed his legs and pulled him back. Essy swore loudly as she tightened her grip on the man’s neck. He easily twirled with her on his back and threw his back against the door so that Essy took the impact and another expletive escaped her lips. Richard managed to aim a fist for the man’s chest but he caught it in an open palm and lashed out his other hand, dealing a blow to Richard’s face.

“Get the gun, you idiot.” Essy said through gritted teeth. The man reached one hand behind his head to poke Essy where her eyes should have been. A grunt and she lost her grip. Richard returned with a right hook and a left hook both landing in the man’s midsection and followed it with an uppercut to the man’s chin. All strikes went home but the man didn’t react to Richard’s attack in anyway. Not even a flinch. He had no idea why, but he knew that he had successfully irritated him. It was obvious in the look the man gave him and the retaliation. The retaliation was a nasty slap to Richard’s chest from the man’s big palm. It pushed Richard back with a cough and it was followed with a backhand to Richard’s cheek. It felt, for a moment, like his head had left his neck but then the headache that followed the vibration made him realize that his head was still on his neck. He took a few steps back and shot headfirst for the man’s middle. The expected effect was that the man would lose balance and fall, but that didn’t happen. Instead, he only got the man to move back one step. It was death, and Richard knew it as the man’s elbow crashed into his back knocking the wind out of him. Richard lost his grip and fell to his knees.

Meanwhile, Essy had gone for a flower vase in the room and she smashed it on the man’s head. The result was simply the shattering of the vase and nothing else. It had no effect on the man who just paused for a moment and turned to face Essy who was moving with eyes open wide in realization that she had only succeeded in vexing a madman. Their movements were very slow till the man shot out a hand abruptly and grabbed Essy by the neck lifting her up to eye level. Essy kicked her legs in the air and stretched out her hands to grasp the man, but the only thing they grabbed was thin air as her hands weren’t long enough. She felt her breath slipping away.

The pain in Richard’s back made it difficult for him to stand up, but he did. He needed Essy alive. She was the key. He moved forward and locked the man’s neck in a tight grip with one arm and used the other to secure the grip. In a matter of seconds, the man let go of Essy and began clawing at Richard’s arm. Richard tightened his grip and kept his head low as the man’s hand kept flailing wildly, feeling behind him for Richard’s face obviously to poke his eyes out. He wasn’t sure if his grip could get any tighter but he tried anyway. Grunts were escaping the man’s mouth as he struggled for air and Richard felt encouraged to constrict the man even harder. He had no idea how long he could hold the grip or how much longer the man would last before fading out, but he could feel his palms getting sweaty already and knew it was only a matter of time before his grip slackened. And there was no saying that the man wouldn’t seize the slightest opportunity to strike back. Even now, he was starting to break free of Richard’s grip. Richard’s head was still low and his eyes shut tight when he felt the man jerk backward twice, and then once more. The man’s hands had stopped trashing and his body was heavy all of a sudden and leaning into Richard. He quickly let go of the man’s neck and the body fell with a thud. He saw blood spreading on the man’s white and looked up to find Essy sitting with her back leaning into the door, panting heavily with shaky hands that held a gun. It had a silencer. That explained why he hadn’t heard the shots. He looked back at the body to see that the blood was still seeping out from the bullet wounds.

“So that’s what this hotel’s room service is all about. I’m impressed.” Essy said amidst heavy breathings.

“We have to go now.” Richard said moving for his bag and Essy’s while using one hand to support his back.

“God knows I can’t feel my legs.” Essy said still sitting down with the gun resting on the floor beside her. “Check to make sure the bastard is dead. I have a feeling hell rejected him.”

“He’s stone dead.” Richard said as he tossed Essy’s bag to her and backed his. She caught it, but didn’t get up until Richard reached her side. He picked up the gun and detached the compressor. It was just his kind of gun; the one with a safety catch. He put on the safety, kept the gun under his waistband and gave Essy the compressor to keep in her bag.

“There’d be more of this guy around here and I don’t want to face them.” Richard said taking one last look at the body. “Get up, Essy.”

“Help me.” Essy said stretching out her hand to Richard

“You look like shit.” Richard said taking the hand and helping her to her feet.

“Hello, mirror.” Essy said with a grunt draping an arm around his shoulder as he helped her out the door.

***

09:26

Dr. Ugochi locked the gate of her house and kept the key in her handbag. She lived alone and so she valued security more than any other thing. Her Mazda Shinari beeped as she used her fingerprint to unlock the car and got in dumping her bag in the front passenger seat. She had barely started the car when she felt something cold against her temple.

“Shh.” A voice hissed in her ear. It sent a shiver through her spine and her heart raced. Goosebumps invaded her skin and made it their home. Her unstable hands went up in surrender and her eyelids snap shut.

“I don’t have it. It was stolen and we don’t have any idea who took it. I…I haven’t heard a word of Labyrinth since that night Dr. Ezekiel was taken and…” She began.

“Shhh…” The voice cut her off. “I know you don’t have it. Just do as I say and this won’t have to drag too long.”

“I’d do anything.” She said in her still trembling voice.

“Drive.” The voice said without relaxing his grip on the gun. “You’re taking me to a hotel at Allen Avenue. I dictate the turns and if you make a wrong turn, I’d blow your brains faster than you can say Labyrinth.”

Bright loosened his grip on the gun as the car began to move. He looked in the rear view mirror and saw that the doctor was doing everything she could to avoid looking up in the mirror. He liked it. Dr. Sarah wasn’t his for the taking and Tayo had made a mess of Dr. Christopher, but she was his. He would do things just right by himself.