Returned

Changeof Pace

Twelve

Change of Pace

Cho told Yanng to stand down and watch. Jennifer had already been given a job to leave for Jos as soon as possible. However, Yanng was to watch her compound keenly and to find a way to lift a satellite feeder over the compound as soon as she left. Jennifer had been watched for two years and they were not to blow their cover now. And Yanng was to launch the feeder only when Jennifer had left the compound. Meanwhile, Cho also instructed Yanng to dispatch some agents to track down the mobile hospital. The registration number of the truck which Yanng had sent was being processed at the headquarters and the location of the vehicle would be available in fifteen minutes at most.

When Cho dropped the call, his hunches began to nudge him that he was about to have a very busy day. Perhaps, one of the busiest in recent times. It was not long when his mobile phone vibrated again on his large oak table. He picked it up while he maintained his gaze on the television so as not to miss a moment of the news going forward. But looking at the call, he saw that it was sure to distract him. It was Moscow.

**************

Prescott was a bit worried with the dramatic change of the pace of his mission. He knew that by now, if Russia and the Chinese had the alien technology, it was only a matter of time they would find out about their current target. The chopper was going at a fairly good speed, but somehow, he felt they had fallen behind. He checked his time and realized it was 8:45am. The coordinates showed that they were 30 minutes out.

“Ready your gear everyone,” Agent Sloane said. He was apparently the leader of the CIA group. “We’re thirty minutes out.”

But something else struck Prescott. It seemed to him that somehow, Sloane was now calling the shots on the mission.

“Agent Sloane here,” the man was on phone for the third time since take off. “Yes sir! Understood sir… yes sir… copy that.” Sloane turned to the Pilot and said, “Accelerate. We need more speed. We may lose out.”

Sloane turned back to face his agents in the passengers cabin. He sat facing the agents and with his back to the pilots. He tried not to look in the direction of Prescott, but Prescott caught his shifty eyes. Quickly, the NASA agent suspected that the CIA had more game here and were gradually taking over a mission that was supposedly NASA’s. His top priority was not to fail Brannon… or himself and his country. Whatever game the CIA was playing was only their business. He too had his own business to take care of.

Prescott took out his Pamphlet and read the coordinates of his destination. He checked his rucksack and made sure that his D3 Handchute was in place. At the moment, he didn’t know what his play was, or how he was going in without the other agents, especially now that Sloane was calling the shots. But he had to be ready to take whatever chance that came his way. Suddenly, an idea dropped in his head and he quickly typed out a message and sent to Bruno’s system. It would be the brightest idea, if it worked.

*************

Dr. Idu had not had Chinese patients in months. He was surprised to hear that two Chinese fellows and another man, a Nigerian, were looking for him. More surprising was the fact that they had refused to go through any protocol but had insisted on seeing the Doctor as it was a matter of National security.

He stepped out briskly to usher his strange visitors into his cozy, comfortable office.

“You’re welcome gentlemen, how can I be of help in this issue of national security?” the doctor asked with a wide smile that seemed rather awkward.

“Of course doctor, we are not here to waste your time,” the Nigerian said. “We learnt that you conducted a medical exercise with your mobile hospital at the premises of Ms. Jennifer Koko yesterday evening. We want to know what kind of exercise that was, and for what purpose.”

“Who is asking?” the doctor pressed.

“Like I said earlier, it is a matter of national security, and so the federal Government is asking. We are not here to waste each other’s time, are we?” the Nigerian insisted.

Dr. Idu understood the last statement to be a threat that came with authority. He decided to cooperate without much hesitation.

“I understand that this is a very serious matter,” he said, as the listening trio nodded in unison. “I have been a personal physician of Ms. Koko for ten years, and it will be against my profession to volunteer such information…”

“You are not volunteering sir,” one of the Chinese guys interrupted. “Please, try to cut out the preambles, one way or the other, we have to get the information.”

“It’s okay,” the doctor said, startled. “I examined three persons. One was female, two were Caucasian, and only one seemed to be Nigerian.”

“Why were you examining them?” the Chinese man pressed.

“I don’t know. But I was meant to understand that they needed checkup to ascertain their medical fitness and state of asepsis.”

“And there was nothing strange about this to you?”

“errrr… I think… they were been pretty closed-mouth about it. Something was amiss for sure, but I wasn’t told. I was only required to perform my duty and leave.”

“Thank you very much,” the Nigerian said, getting up. “We may contact you again if such need arose.”

The three men walked out as briskly as they had come.

*************

Cho had already confirmed what he wanted. President Chekov had reported that his territory was harboring three individuals who had visited an alien planet. From what he gathered, the description fitted the men Yanng had earlier reported to have entered Jennifer’s compound. His only regret was that his team from Guangzhou had taken too long to arrive. However, he already had good Intel to move in on Jennifer now. But he thought that would have to wait momentarily, as he had all the time he needed. Or so he always thought. As he was known to be meticulous, this was another moment for him to prove himself by thinking before acting. Now was not a time to make mistakes.

He called Yanng again.

Cho reminded Yanng once more to launch surveillance over Jennifer’s residence as soon as she left the premises. He expected that she would leave soon to take the flight to Jos, the Plateau State capital, and proceed to the scene of discovery from there. He had already ordered a private jet on standby at the Makurdi international airport. If Jennifer went on the errand, it would serve him two purposes. First, she had proven her resourcefulness of infiltrating places where she was not expected to be, in previous operations. Secondly, her absence would provide the ample chance to watch her house. To make sure that she did not suspect anything, Cho decided to call Jennifer again.

After the call, Cho was satisfied that Jennifer was clearly not aware of the fact that they had Intel on her, or that they knew she was habouring strange visitors, or even watching her. He had therefore urged her to make haste and catch the flight to Jos, as so much was already at stake. Cho then dialed the only person he needed around him now, Kim Sung.

*****************

Yaang sat with his binoculars trained through his window towards Jennifer’s gate. He didn’t want to miss any detail by chance, lest, there would be the devil to pay, with Cho. It was nearly thirty minutes since Cho had last called him, and from what Cho had told him, Jennifer was supposed to have been on her way out already. What was taking her so long? “Women, they loved elaborate make-up even when the occasion demanded haste,” Yanng thought.

But as he took his cold coffee to his lips, momentarily abandoning his binoculars, something else caught his eyes. He could see what looked like a Boxide chopper a few miles away. What bothered him however, was the fact that the chopper’s shape was non like the latest versions that Headquarters had recently launched. Again, they were still gathering Intel and nobody had told him of any significant action being taken, except Jennifer’s trip to Jos.

Yanng dropped his coffee and took his binoculars back to his eyes and watched the helicopter closely. He didn’t need anyone to tell him what he already confirmed. The chopper was American. The men, though dressed in Tame Dragon’s uniform, were American. What he was seeing was just an elaborate disguise. The chopper seemed to be coming right at him, or was it at Jennifer’s house?

The latest realization made him scramble to his feet, with Binoculars still to his eyes. At that moment, Jennifer’s gate slid open and her large Ford Galloper eased onto the street. As he turned his binoculars to Jennifer’s car, another action unfolded at the chopper that overtook him by surprise. He returned his binoculars to the chopper hastily in order not to miss the recent action. Without slowing down at the speed which it was coming, someone jumped out of the chopper. Before he could return his watch back to Jennifer’s car, the SUV had turned the street.

Yanng knew that his place was no longer indoors. He grabbed his paraphernalia and galloped down the stairs.