THE MURDER WEAPON

THE MURDER WEAPON EPISODE SIXTEEN

He did as I had asked and told Clark to pick the gun then get a hold of him but before Clark could get to him he started running wailing claiming that his life was in danger and before I knew it, the guy whose hands I was holding forcefully pushed me back knocking me on the car then hit me in the stomach with his elbow before giving me a blow that sent me down on the ground. When Clark saw him reach for his gun to shoot me he shot him twice on the chest instead and he dropped with a thud. The other guys who were at the warehouse must have heard the shouting and the gun shots because it wasn't long before they came rushing towards the junction where Clark and i were.

Clark: what do we do?

Clark asked waiting for my direction since he thought I was still incharge.

Me: if we wait fir them they will outnumber us so we run!

Clark: what?

Even before I could tell him another word, a bullet missed him and hit the car and that might have told him why I had suggested that we run.

These were people who were scared after their boss had been killed. They didn't know the truth and they wouldn't listen to us either, not after killing the other guy too so they saw us as the enemy and there was no time for negotiation or explanations.

Having been close to the car, I opened the door and got in as I waited for Clark to get in too with bullets hitting the car but we were lucky to escape unhurt.

I sat on the wheel and drove off at my usual speed knowing by the time they went to get their cars I would be long gone.

a few seconds into the drive, the bullets had stopped though I didn't slow down knowing the guys would come after us.

Me: (to Clark) thanks for saving my life back there.

Clark: it was nothing. i did what any sane human being could have done.

Clark and I had a common issue on the ground and that was Waridi's love. I didn't want to dwell much on that and even though I couldn't trust him because he was working for Faruk, we were caught up in some s**t that needed us to tolerate each other abd be partners for the night..

Me: did you know he was setting us up, you can be honest. i understand you guys were close.

Clark: who are you talking about?

Me: Vjay. was there another set up apart from his?

Clark: was he?

Me: you are too slow and it's annoying.

Clark: you have something you want to tell me?

Me: Vjay told me he had set us up. The question I can't answer is why?

Clark: I have never given him a reason to want to set me up to be shot dead. i told you that a few minutes ago..

Me: the guy who shot Vjay seemed very specific, more like he was given an order not to leave him alive.

Clark: so you think he made a deal with the guy we were going after?

Me: is there any other explanation to what happened?

I pulled over by the side of the road and stopped the car.

Clark: well, there's only one way to find out. How about we pay him a surprise visit?

Me: we?

Clark: look man, I know we differ in alot of things but this was an attempt on my life too and I know that even if I don't help you, Vjays guys might choose to come after me.

Me: you know I don't trust you right?

Clark: and you shouldn't. I don't trust you too but do we have a choice right now?

I looked at him then picked some piece of clothe from the dashboard and wiped the steering wheel and the door handles.

Me: get out.

Clark got out without asking questions and I wiped his side of the door handle and seat before I got out too.

Me: we are dumping this car here, get a cab to your place. Let's meet tomorrow say around 1:00 pm.

Clark: where?

Me: save your number in my phone, I will call you.

I said giving him my phone and checking around for any suprises as he saved his number in my phone and gave it back before he started walking away.

Me: hey,

He stopped then turned to look at me.

Me: waridi should never be a problem between us, she is capable of choosing whoever she wants to be with. I have a question though.

Clark: what's your question?

Me: you saw my face on the screens earlier right, am wanted for murder. A guy named Dukes was shot by Faruk but it has been pinned on me. Did you happen to be there on that night?

Clark: No I wasn't. I don't go on killing sprees with Faruk. you should have known better than to trust him.

Me: i did not trust him, the i***t set me up and now the cops are after me, well i guess it is okay because that only means you have no idea that the guns used that night are missing?

Clark: what exactly are you asking me?

Me: do you know of any missing guns?

Clark: no I don't. you think I'm the one who took the guns?

Me: i don't know what to think. you work for Faruk and you hate me. that's reason enough to want to get rid of me.

Clark: i did not take the guns okay, if I want to get rid of you i can as well just aim at your head.

Me: okay..

Clark: Can I go now?

I didn't answer him but walked away first. I got down the road and got myself a cab hoping the guy wouldn't recognize me. I avoided engaging in any conversation with the driver and I didn't even let him know where exactly I was going so I alighted a bit far from my place, like a ten minutes walk.

I got home and by the door was waridi seated scrolling through her phone and when she saw me she got up and met me half way and gave me hug that lasted close to a minute holding on to me so tight like she didn't expect i would be back home.

Waridi: thank God you are okay!

We broke free from the hug then I opened the door and we got in. she was outside, ready to hop into her car abd go to God knows where. Having had a crappy day, I found my way to the bar and poured myself some whiskey and all these time, waridi was standing there staring at me not sure of what was going on.

I swallowed the whiskey and poured another round but before I could do it again.

Waridi: stop, what's going on with you?

she said taking the glass from me and she put it on the counter.

Me: at what point did people stop being human and became animals?

Waridi: that sounds like Greek right now, what are you talking about?

I pulled my hand from hers and reached for my glass again and took a sip of my whiskey then looked at her.

Waridi: what happened today?

Me: Vjay is dead.

Waridi: Vjay as in the guy who sold guns Vjay or someone else with the same name?

Me: yeah, the one and only. the sane Vjay who sold guns.

Waridi: poor thing, what happened to him?

Me: he got shot in the chest though he deserved it. the bullet should have gone to his head instead. i should not feel bad about his dead but Why am I even feeling bad about it?

Waridi: Rahim!

I took a mouthful of the whiskey again then added some more to the glass and not having much to say, she got up and started walking away.

Me : wait!

She stopped and turned to look at me.

Me: am sorry.

i said knowing she was already upset or maybe she was just giving me space to get drunk and wasted.

Waridi: we don't have to talk about it if you are not in the mood.

Me: it's not like I don't want to talk about it, it's just that things happened so fast. The death that killed Vjay was supposed to be mine and I can't shake it off my mind. How could he set me up like that and what was he to achieve with that. He was my G you know and I trusted him with my life.

Waridi: am sorry Rahim.

She came back and sat next to me at the bar. She remained silent for a while as she supported her head with her hand watching me process whatever it was that was going on in my mind.

Me: Vjay had my back and I trusted him so much that I didn't even notice him holding a knife to my back.

Waridi: luck was on your side today, I know he was your friend and you can't stop feeling bad about his death because that's who you are. You see the good in people even when they really don't deserve it.

We talked for the better part of the night before catching some sleep.

The following day I asked waridi to get my car from Renee's place and I also gave her some money to give to Renee so that she could get a few things that she was missing.

Two months and a few days, Duke and his mum were still lying in a mortuary. None of the relatives showed interest in their funeral arrangements so i decided that I was going to have them buried the following day with or without the relatives around. I never felt like a friend of the family anymore but a son who had the responsibility to take care of a sister left behind and burry a brother and a mum.

The following morning at 10:45am I called Clark and asked him to pick me at my place since I didn't have my car with me and I couldn't risk being seen getting a cab for some of these guys could never be trusted.

Clark showed up at 11:15 and we didn't waste any more time. We drove all the way to the airport for I knew who exactly I was going after though I wasn't sure of how easy it was going to be getting a hold of him.

Clark: so what's with the cape and sheds?

Me: am a wanted man remember, can't you drive any faster?

Clark: it's not a life or death situation.

I looked at him briefly then decided to keep myself busy on my phone before I blew his head off the window for driving like a grandmother.

We got to the airport at around 11:45pm and the place was packed with alot of activities going on.

Clark: so what's your move genius?

Me: this way. come with me.

We pretended to be going to the gents but diverted to one of the rooms where we found a cleaner who told us that the room was a restricted area are we were not allowed in there. I got close to him and grabbed him by the neck and he dropped the mop and the bucket he was holding..

Me: listen up, you have two options, to cooperate with us and tell us what we want to know, or I kill you and find out whatever information I want on my own. if i were you i would be very wise while making that decision.

cleaner: okay, what do you want to know?

Me: how do we get to Don, you know him right?

cleaner: yes, Don left a few minutes ago as I was cleaning his office.

Me: how few is a few minutes?

cleaner: like ten or so but he hasn't gotten far.

Me: does he drive, of cause he drives. what does he drive?

cleaner: a black SUV, i don't know the number plate of the car.

Me: that's helpful enough.

I knocked his head on the wall and he dropped. i think he passed out and Clark's jaw dropped

Me: let's go.

i peeped outside, adjusted my cape and walked out and he followed me almost immediately.

Clark: did you have to be that ruthless with him, the guy cooperated.

Me: relax, i didn't kill him. if i had left him Conscious he would have gotten us in trouble. from the look of things, i don't think Faruk has taught you survival tactics.

I knew the only way to catch up with the Don guy was to wait for him at the parking and kill him there and then, but then again I thought the airport was a dangerous place to start a fight so we decided to wait for him.

Clark: what if he doesn't show up, or what if he chose to use a cab instead?

Me: he has to show up. I can only see two black SUVs here.

As we were still talking I saw Don and another guy approach and after a pat, Don got in the car and drove off as the guy headed back.

We followed Don making sure we were like two cars behind him. The plan was to follow him and know where he was going before we could actually kill him. If he led us to the rest of his team then we would surely wipe them out at once.

Even though we maintained our distance, something happened. Don realized he was being followed and sped off and that was the beginning of our chase after him. The road wasn't so busy so it wasn't hard to keep a clear view of his car though when he felt like we were getting close he started shooting at us and that's something that attracted everyone's attention but we did not stop the chase.

Don took a different route and we followed him I didn't like the pace at which Clark was driving on so I asked him to let me take the wheel so he stopped the car and we exchanged seats real fast and I was on to Don as Clark did the shooting.

Me: can't you get the tire or something, where did you learn how to shoot?

Clark sprayed bullets on the car but nothing happened so I sped and hit his car severally before it lost control and started swaying. The i***t still had the guts to shoot at us but it wasn't long before his car landed in a ditch.

I stopped ours and quickly rushed to where he was as Clark followed.

I opened the door to his car pointing my gun at him and there he was with his arms raised.

Me: get out of the car and be fast while at it.

He did as I had asked and i quickly led him to our car and after he got in, I hit his head with the gun and he passed out.

Clark: was that even necessary?

Me: yeah it was. Stay with him at the back. We need some info from him before I kill him....

Clark: just when i thought i had seen killer himself. you are something else.

The commotion we had caused on the road after the shoot out session was on another level as people had panic with most of the pedestrians having scattered to different directions. The idea was to get the hell out of the scene before the police got there and luck having been on our side because we did.

I took a different route from the one we had used and after driving for a while we got to some road that not many people used so I pulled over by the side of the road and got out of the car and went to the back where Don was.

By then he had been awake so I grabbed his arm and asked him to step out and he did with a scared look on his face.

Don: what do you want with me, please dont kill me. please...?

Without answering him, I took him to the other side that was hidden to the road and pushed him having his back to the car as I c****d my gun and walked up to him.

Clark: you want to kill him right here?

Don: please don't kill me. It was not my idea, i swear on my mothers grave..

Me: i am waiting to listen to something constructive come out of your mouth. so far i got nothing. start talking.

Don: he came to me with a proposal after failing to get the money to clear the guns he had taken from me, not once but three times assuring me that he would pay after a deal he was waiting for came through.

Vjay told me he could get some cocaine and some huge cash from you but only if we took you down. You had told him everything about your life so it wasn't going to be hard. I believed him and after telling me you were coming for an attack, I prepared my guys too. It was just self defense.

Me: why did you kill him?

Don: if Vjay could play you yet you were his close friend, who am I? I thought by taking him out I wouldn't have more problems to deal with.

Me: who else knows about me in your team?

Don: I don't have a team anymore, you killed everyone yesterday or have you forgotten?..

Me: you and one other person escaped, who was he?

He thought for a while then looked at me but didn't say a word.

Me: there are more productive stuff I would be doing right now so stop wasting me time. Who was he?

Don: his name is Nick. We have been doing business together for a while.

Me: what business do you do together.

Don: the gun business. He supplied Vjay and other clients.

Me: where is he now?

Don: I don't know.

I raised my gun, shot him in the head and watched him drop.

Clark: are you in sane?

I didn't respond to that but got back to the car and waited for him to do the same.

Clark: are we going to leave the body there.

he asked getting inside the car still looking out to confirm that the guy was really dead.

Me: do you want to carry it home and cook it for dinner?

He did not respond to what i had just asked and that was enough to let him know that the question he had asked was indeed irrelevant. he put on his seat belt instead and soon after I drove off.

Me: you don't understand what is going on do you?

I asked seeing just how disturbed he had been about the whole me knocking out and killing people thing.

Clark: enlighten me.

Me: Nick betrayed and stole from me. Vjay did the same and here I was thinking Don was the enemy while Vjay and Nick were the worst of them all. Just yesterday I asked Vjay to help me find Nick so that I could deal with him but it happens that Nick and him were business partners all along, Damn I've been a fool......