UNTAMED

Part Eleven

{I find this outrageous-the worst thing about living on this earth-that everyone’s lumped together in one fate. Is it any wonder that so many people are obsessed with evil? Is it any wonder that people go crazy right and left? Life leads to death. That’s it.}
      
      He was still very angry and was not satisfied with the fight he had just had with Wild. Sabrina had ended it before it had started. She had actually shot them with a robber bullet, his back still hurts and he knew it must have drawn blood. There was no guessing if Doc would shoot them with her Desert pistol. She had done it before. He still had the scar where the bullet had grazed his leg tearing his skin. She had made sure it was a clean wound, and had later treated his leg. Even Wild had also been her victim. He also had just a slash on his left arm which was Wild’s doing. Wild too was not exempted because he had slashed him too. Halima continued hitting the door as he entered the living room.
Even though they were outside, Wild had made him stay by the door with him. Wild said he had to listen to their conversation so he could understand how to approach her. But he could not see what good had come out of it.
“Doc what are we going to do about her? It’s disturbing.”
“She will soon sleep off” Doc responded.
Wild was not in the living room but as he heard the sound of his generator, he knew where he went to. As the light came on, Doc went to switch on his flat screen TV. He had not switched it on for a long time.
“What are you doing?” he asked Doc.
“The video conference” she answered.
The TV did not work.
“I was right. Good I came with one” he heard Wild’s voice making him to turn.
He was carrying another bigger flat screen TV to where the old one was hanged.
“I don’t remember giving you permission to invade my house and switch on my gen.”
“I don’t need your fucking permission” Wild responded.
“You know...”
“Wild you know Major had banned that language. We need to learn how to be responsible citizens. Most importantly, a baby is coming and we can’t be saying the F word in front of a baby. And Tamed this is not personal, we are already late for the conference which is your fucking mission. Don’t forget I’m still with my gun” Doc said interrupting him.
“Doc” they both called her name at the same time.
“What?” she shouted.
He looked at Wild and they both shook their head. There was no need telling her she just used the F word. She was still in her crazy state. It was better to avoid Doc during her forty minutes madness.
Doc was right. He had seen the message that there would be a briefing on Chief and the way forward. He was going to focus on that for now, later he would deal with Wild. He sat down on one of his cushion chair made for just one person. He watched as Wild and Doc replaced the old TV with the new one Wild had brought. They connected some wires to it and also connected it to a small system Wild brought out from his back bag.
“I thought you flew a helicopter. But I only saw Jason’s jeep.”
“Landed the helicopter in Benin, we don’t need any unwanted attraction” Wild answered.
“But how come you still remember the jeep?” Doc asked
“I don’t forget cars I see especially good ones. Jason had once driven it to Circle house. I remember it's a birthday gift.”
Although Jason’s parents were both doctors, they had shares in different companies which Jason and Cindy had inherited after their death, including a big construction company. He had initially wanted to sell his shares but Wild had advised him not to. Instead, he had transferred everything to Cindy.  Jason’s mum was much known to all of them because she had frequently visited Jason. She came with food for all the Circle members anytime she visited. She had always come on her own, so they did not know much about Cindy until their death. She was brought up by Jason’s parents and not too long ago, she had become his wife.
“You guys are three minutes late” he heard Major’s voice.
He raised his head to look at the TV, they were already online. The screen was split into six. Five showed Mark, Major, Jason, Fast and Ghost while the last one showed their faces. The cushions were very close to the TV. One small one with one big one placed in a curved shape.
“Is that blood I’m seeing?” Mark asked.
“Doc please tell me Tamed won” Ghost said.
“Did Wild win?” Fast asked.
“If I had allowed the fight to get to a winner do you think we will be having this conference now?” Doc answered.
“Ghost and Fast please transfer my money as soon as possible” Jason surprisingly said.
“I can’t believe you guys betted against Jason” Major said.
“But Jason your drum is full already, where do you want us to pour the water?” Fast said.
“Remember the money must be in my account before midnight.” Was Jason’s reply.
Jason had been mute since they taunted him about Cindy but he was suddenly talking again.
“Great work Sabrina, that’s why you are my girl” Mark said.
“In your dreams” Doc said.
Her statement immediately attracted an applause from Fast and Ghost which was somehow confusing. They were really not afraid of Major.
“Mark, you are making progress. She has finally permitted you to have her in your dreams” Ghost said making everybody laugh except him Major and Wild.
“Ghost it’s too early in the morning. Let’s start with your update first before we get to the main issue” Wild said.
Looking at Fast, Ghost and Mark on the screen, they appeared like normal people with Ghost being the comedian. Apart from him and Wild, the others were not huge. Ghost was the slimmest. He was lanky but a good example of what looks can be deceitful meant. Fighting with Ghost was like fighting a ghost. As for Fast, he was just like his nickname. Fast could drive any locomotive object. All he needed to know was if that object could move. And those with weak heart must not allow Fast drive them. Surprisingly, nobody taught him how to drive a car. When it came to using his legs, Bolt who is supposedly the fastest man on earth have not met Fast. But Mark was entirely a different case. Trying to explain Mark was like trying to describe how to fly a plane to a two year old baby. He came from the riverine area. What was very clear to understand was to never allow Mark take the fight to the water, if that happened, that would be the end. Mark also had a way of interpreting the law to suit his taste, although Wild would beat him to that. The greatest mistakes the U.S navy made was to agree to Mark’s suggestion of taking the physical combat underwater.  
“I’m still on the trail of Alhaji Umaru. I’m yet to see anything that could connect him to the continuous death of his political rivals. He seldom use his phone for big task, I guess he is the paranoid type, but I picked something new” Ghost said.
Ghost face was replaced by a picture, it was the screen shot of a text message.
‘I cannot continue with this sir. I guess you should turn yourself in. I have the evidence and I will no longer be part of your crew’
Ghost face appeared back on screen.
“This is a text sent by one Mr O. That is how the name was saved in Umaru’s phone. I tracked the number and discovered Mr O is actually Barrister Omakor who is surprisingly his lawyer.”
“What about the mistress phone you picked pocketed?” Wild asked.
“Point of correction, it was her bag I took. The phone was in the bag. There was nothing, except for money for all kinds of things, there is nothing on her phone.”
“Then move over to stage two. That text message already proves there is something fishy” Wild said.
“Don’t bug only Umaru, add his lawyer to it” Jason said.
“Let’s move over to the main issue. Jason brief us on Chief and the media” Wild said.
“Jason pick one, blue or black” he heard Cindy’s voice.
“Blue” Jason answered.
“The black then. Come and help me zip up” Cindy said.
“Just some seconds” Jason said leaving the screen.
“Unbelievable. Jason just left us to attend to Cindy. It had gotten to this?” he asked.
“He is getting worse by the day” Fast said.
“Let’s be grateful his miracle is close by. we will be hearing directly from Jason instead of reading texts from him” Major said same time Jason’s face appeared back on the screen.
“Sorry for the interruption. I hope everyone have seen the news.”
“What news?” he asked.
“Except Tamed” Ghost said.
“It’s even in different newspapers and online news site including entertainment bloggers. This is Edo State Broadcasting Service 9:00AM news” Jason said.
His screen changed to the news. There was a reporter by Chief’s house. The compound was completely burnt and it was still emitting smoke.
“As you can see, I’m right now at Honorable Esigie’s compound where the attack took place. According to Honorable Esigie, the attackers had missed him by few minutes and six of his security guards were killed, then five more were killed on their way to counter the attackers.”
The screen changed, it showed Chief being gathered by journalists. From the different microphones that were being pushed to his face, he could see, Independent Television, Channels TV, Nigerian Television Authority, even Delta Broadcasting Service, there were also different big time newspaper companies.
“I received a call just few minutes after I left my house that there was an ongoing robbery at my compound. I alerted the police and also my personal security personnel, but before they could get there, the robbers had killed six of my security men and were already gone. Five of my men were also killed while chasing the criminals. The house was already aflame when the police got there. The fire service men were contacted and after they had gutted the flame, I entered to see if my wife’s jewelries and my gold and artifacts were still there, but it was empty. Some artifacts were burnt beyond recognition. My most expensive artifacts was not among the burnt properties. I believe I was the main target but the perpetrators had made it look like a robbery. I believe this was politically motivated and I call on….”
Jason stopped the video and his face appeared back on the screen.
“Punch words” Wild said.
“Six dead men instead of twenty eight. Reporting the total number will cause suspicions” Doc said.
“But he was right on that one. Don’t forget the ratio was two men to six men” Ghost said.
“Funny you” Doc replied.
“Robbery and attempted assassination. He believes he was the target” Mark said.
“The police. He must have called the police after doing some clearing” Fast said.
“Politically motivated” Ghost said.
“He did not report about Halima” he said.
“He did” Jason said.
“Explain” he said.
“Is it not obvious? His most expensive artifacts is not among his burnt properties but was stolen” Jason said.
“Never thought it that way” Major said.
“Wild you know what that means?” Jason asked.
“He is never going to let Halima go” Wild said.
“This is worse than an obsession” Doc said.
“Part of it” Jason and Wild said almost at the same time.
“Okay I’m lost” he said.
“He is already on the move to get her back and he is putting his all into it, he is even risking suspicions and rumors. Only obsession cannot make him do that” Wild said.
“What are we missing here?” Major asked.
“Jason” Wild said.
“Remember I’m already on a mission to find out the main people involved in Ojogolo arms deal?”
“Yes, I read your report” he said.
“I had trailed one of the major players and bugged him. Before he could change the trouser I bugged, I sent Flight 11 to track the bug. Flight 11 is a beetle, just for sound. Its eye cameras are just for movement, too tiny to give needed visual. Right now, Flight 11 is permanently attached to their meeting place. Last night immediately after the attack, John had contacted Ojogolo, who is the leader to use his network to find her. He had finally revealed her as a girl and even her picture too. I could not stop anything from being distributed through their phones because they are using the slave method of communication”
“Pause Jason. What does that mean?” Mark asked.
“Meaning they will be communicating using their mouth to transmit from one person to another. When one meets any of their partners in crime, they will use their mouth to send the message. They are very good at it that words will never get to the wrong person” he explained.
“The price to whoever will bring her to Ojogolo is three million naira cash. Chief had made sure only John and Ojogolo are the only people linked to him, and those two will never betray Chief.”
“How vast is their network?” Fast asked.
“Very large Fast. When it comes to slave method of communication, especially if someone is being looked for and there is a monetary award attached to it, every criminal is involved, from arms dealers, to armed robbers, to drug dealers and even buyers. In most cases, enmity is suspended if the message carries a peace sign” Ghost explained.
“Ghost how far did you go?” Mark asked.
Mark was the latest addition, which was two years ago and it was expected he was still learning about them. Ghost could only be defined by his name. He was exactly a ghost. His crimes were more of pickpocketing and delivery boy to most of these bandits. He had lived most of his life on the streets and survived by playing by the street rule and disappearing when necessary. As sensitive as Jason was to everything, Ghost had still succeeded in pickpocketing his car key from his pocket right under his nose. Ghost and Fast had later taken the Jeep for a ride. Then when it came to combat, he had quickly looked down on Ghost because he was the slimmest although lanky and tall. But after fighting with someone he could not touch for thirty minutes, he knew he was fighting a formidable opponent. And he had always made sure to use his body structure as an advantage because most targets always saw him as an easy opponent but they always realized when it was already too late that Ghost was not an easy target. George had said targets saw Ghost only once. Some were privileged to see him twice. When they would see him as an easy target and seconds before their death.
“A porridge for your birthright” Ghost said.
“Forget it, my Sabrina, my sweetheart will tell me” Mark said.
“I’m bitter Mark, you can take a bite if you want to die of poison” Doc said.
“Focus guys” Wild said.
“Jason please continue” Major said.
“It’s just as Ghost said. This time I believe it’s a peace message, all kinds of criminals will be involved. There are few pictures and it won’t stay one place. Criminals don’t easily forget a face, once they take a look, they will pass it on to the next person” Jason said.
“Which brings us to why Jason and I think Chief is not just obsessed with Halima. He won’t go this far. I know he is a psychopath but there must be something else” Wild said.
“And what do you think is it?” he asked.
“He said most expensive artifacts. From my study on criminals like Chief, there is one thing common to them. They always believe their captives will never escape or get away from them and because of that, they normally reveal too much to their captives, they talk about their deepest secret and where evidence of some criminal activities can be found. They tell their captives everything” Wild explained.
“And Chief had risked many things by telling John and Ojogolo she is a girl and also he has exposed her face. This can only mean one thing. The risk of not getting Halima back is higher” Jason said.
“So what you are saying is Halima can never be free?” Doc asked.
“Except Chief, John and Ojogolo arms dealers are no more. There would be no need to capture her again” Ghost said.