Chapter 5: NEON SHADOWS OF IKOYI
278 Words
CHAPTER 5: NEON SHADOWS OF IKOYI
Krueger ditched the wrecked flatbed just as the armored transport crushed
the engine block into the concrete barrier. He vaulted over the side of
the elevated highway, dropping fifteen feet onto the roof of a parked
delivery van in the affluent district of Ikoyi. Neon signs from high-end
nightclubs and corporate headquarters bled bright pinks and greens into
the reflective, wet streets.
His left shoulder was dislocated from the impact. Krueger gritted his
teeth, backed into a brick alleyway, and forced his shoulder against a
steel utility box until the joint popped back into place with a sickening
wet click. He didn't allow himself a second to bleed out or process the
pain. His enemies had local intelligence, funding, and a massive tactical
footprint in the city.
He moved through the shadows of the rain-slicked commercial avenue,
looking for a place to disappear. He needed information. If Teriq had
burned him, his primary accounts were frozen, and every mercenary team in
West Africa would be hunting his silhouette for the bounty. He needed a
secure network terminal that didn't rely on state-monitored internet
backbones.
Entering an underground internet cafe lit by flickering blue fluorescent
tubes, Krueger walked past rows of local teenagers playing video games.
He found a terminal in the furthest corner, slipping a small, custom
hardware encryption dongle into the USB port. The screen flickered,
bypassing local protocols to trace the digital signature of the hit order
that had reached Lagos before him.
The screen didn't load a standard file; instead, a live video link
initiated automatically. Teriq's face appeared on the low-resolution
monitor, cold and utterly devoid of surprise.
- Writer
