ELVIS (ACTION) EPISODE 6&7

CHAPTER SIX

The place is in ruins, broken blocks, twisted irons, and boulders of buildings chipped off lies everywhere, dust fume fills the air, wails pierce the air, muffled cries of agony and pain spice up the already saturated atmosphere, anguished grunts and stifled groans rent the air.

Dead students are seen littering the ground, some have their head bashed in, some with hands or legs torn off or both, some students are trying to help themselves from under broken fallen walls, some tries to stand but shouted in despair as broken bones pierce their skin, breaking bones can be heard as some try too hard to pull themselves from under debris.

This is disaster.

There is a man with sunshades standing over a student, then bending down to examine a student; the student is a young boy, his hair are in disarray, he face is down, hands stretched beside him, legs together at the thighs but spread out a bit with each lying on its side in opposite directions, a triangle comes to mind with the legs position, there’s no telling that he’s unconscious.

The man turned the boy over, and examined him as if he’s checking for broken bones but he’s not checking out for that, he’s piercing look has a tinge of anger and awe. Evil oozes out of him. He raised the boy’s head up and tossed it right and left like a precious stone one’s admiring.

That face, I know that boy, that boy is me……….

He woke with a start, he let his eyes stray around his room, and he arose from bed, went to the toilet for his morning urine, he went ahead to take his bath and brush his teeth. While toweling his body, he stood before the huge mirror to examine himself.

Now a full grown man, he stood at 175cm with a fit muscular body. He had a broad chest; his stomach has been hidden with a pack of 6 that remains in shape even after he had taken a full meal. A scar ran across his chest; the scar he won when he flew in the air and sharpened a rod with his chest during the bombing. In all, he has the muscular frame that ladies die for. He smiled on thinking of all the ladies trying to get his attention.

He rushed a breakfast of toasted bread and egg before rushing off to work.
……………………………………………………………

“What’s going on?” he asked on getting to work, meeting them in an excited state.

Timileyin walked up to him, “sir, a call just came in about a matter that needs investigation”

“What’s it about?” he asked, his attention piqued

“I know very little about it sir, the IG has been waiting for you, he’s in better position to explain to you sir” Timi said.

“Ok, thank you” he replied dismissing Timi.

He walked briskly into the IG’s office, the man is busy looking thoroughly at some files.

“Morning sir” he greeted

“Morning Elvis, something came up, gather the other team leaders and meet me in the board room by 1200” Esiogu replied looking up and down at intervals.

This must be deadly serious, Esiogu has never been serious.

He walked out of the IG’s office, delivered the message to the other team leaders, four in all and strutted to his office.

His secretary sat at her desk at the entrance to his office. She’s putting on a blue velvet gown that adorns her like emerald, her weave-on hairstyle danced on her back as she typed furiously on the keyboard of the computer before her, and her earrings jingles at each turn her head makes.

“Good morning sir” her voice piercing his thoughts, flashing those white, even, well arranged set of teeth.

“Good morning” he replied smugly, his bad night hanging over him like a cloud.

“Bad night?” she replied with a selfless candor.

“Something like that” he replied before he could stop himself.

She’s also sensitive.

“Is that why you have a face of someone who just saw a ghost?” she replied with the same candidness.

“Is it that obvious?” he replied, at least someone cared about him.

“I’m sure you don’t want to talk about it, I understand, but worry clouds the mind, laughter eases it, a touch of smile can heal a lot of things.”

“Is that why you always smile?” he replied feeling relieved, to see someone to talk with.

“Doctors said it take more muscles to frown sixty something…..”

“Sixty four” he said correcting her.

“….thanks sixty four than that needed to smile, so I guess I don’t want to stress my muscles unduly” she said now smiling broadly

“Your spouse must be a doctor” he replied increasing the level of humor

“Wrong guess” she replied now with her teeth showing with a broad smile “and a saying says ‘laughing makes someone older’, maybe I don’t want to get old” now laughing freely.

“He must be a philosophy expert then” he said now laughing mildly.

It’s been long he felt this way, he felt lighter and she’s also a nice lady apart from the bumpings, He lingered with her for a few more minutes, telling her of the meeting he’s having by noon. He went to his office to get some sleep if he has the resources to afford it before the meeting.

He had not slept for up to fifteen minutes when someone barged into his office. A painful shriek followed which brought all thoughts of sleep to a halt. He stood up to see who it is; his shoulders slumped as he saw Ellie again.

“I’m sorry, I think I twisted my ankle” she replied with a suckling face.

A gentleman is meant to care.

Masking his annoyance, he walked towards her, picked her up and checked the ankle she allege to twist to discover she only lost the heel of her shoe.

“I’m sorry” “Thank you, I came to give you the file about the Hallmark BTU hall collapse” she said with apology written over her.

His anger didn’t let him listen to her; he collected the file, threw it at the table and walked out of the office.

Seems sleep has a way of pestering and then eluding him.

11:55

He picked himself up from the metal chair for guests he had been sitting on and walked towards the boardroom.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Esiogu walked in briskly, seeing that his subordinates have mounted the chairs in the boardroom, he walked to the head of the table and started arranging the files he brought. The board table is a typical conference room table but shorter than a conference table. It accommodates about 6 chairs on either side and a chair each at the edges, so fourteen in all. Important meetings that boast larger attendances are held in hotels. Esiogu signaled to the attendant standing at the door, the light went off and the projector flickered to life brightening the dark room. A landing pin will be louder than a trumpet, this very moment.

“There are two cases that have been thrown before us, but I’ll have to talk on the most grievous and heart-wrenching one. There is a bomb in Lagos state.” He paused for a few seconds, to make the words sink in. Elvis felt a something kick to life in him, excitement.

“My sources will update me about the current location of the bomb. The proposed bombing site is alleged to be the Tafawa Balewa Square.”

“TBS? Hope it’s not what I’m thinking?” Juliet, the team leader of team B curt in.

“Then we are in the same direction of thoughts” Esiogu continued, “the president is coming for his electoral campaign next two weeks, he’ll be using the TBS” he dropped attracting murmurs from the four team leaders.

Stares of misbelief and shock graced the room, someone bombing the president? who could it be? What a height of utter ‘criminalism’, a disgrace to the security of the nation, an indictment of the high level of security. Whispers flew across the room and heads can be seen turning to each other with malevolent ease.

All heads turned in unison at Esiogu as his phone beeped, their ears stood tall as they listened and grasp as much as they could from the conversation he’s having with the caller, understanding the call is made difficult by the one-sided conversation open to them. They waited in reckless anticipation for the quick disconnection of the call. Relief shone on them as Esiogu dropped the call, clicked his phone’s screen and then dropped the phone. He’s face is stony.

Humans can’t be completely known can they? The lively Esiogu now with a stony expression playing across his face. His fist clenched and his lips tightened, something is not right.

“I’m just been told that the bomb will be detonated on Saturday” he dropped.

Gasps of “Saturday” galloped round the room.

“Why Saturday” Kelvin asked the air.

“If the bomber is targeting the president, why will he detonate it a week before the president’s arrival?” Brian asked again following Kelvin’s footstep.

“Maybe he’s not targeting the president” Elvis asked breaking the silence, 8 eyes stared ‘blinklessly’ at him, “I mean, it’s unreasonable detonating the bomb before the president’s arrival if you are targeting the president, but it’s reasonable if you are not targeting him, just trying to scare him off or something” he said standing up and jesculating all through.

“Scare?” they said in unison, like a sacred word

“I think Elvis’s right on that, you shoot the land before someone to scare a person.” Esiogu said, talking for the first time, seeing the ignorant look on all their faces, he decided to go on.

“I agreed to Elvis’s thought because of who our suspect is.” He continued pressing the remote of the decoder as pictures of Musa Nwanchukwu Seyi comes to view.

Musa Seyi Nwanchukwu, known as MSN is the leader of the underworld in Nigeria, a feared criminal but knows how to meander his way from justice, police’s evidence are always baseless against him and mostly too shallow to sink him. He had a name each from the three major tribes of Nigeria to prove that he is ‘for all’, only a few knows of his original background, an orphaned child at birth, rejected by all except a beggar who took care of him as his own before the beggar’s death. MSN has lived in the ‘street’ since then and could walk the whole lagos with his eyes closed, he fought through the hardship and hard his own group of smugglers and drug traffickers at a tender age of 20, his superfluous zeal was on display when he staged the total obliteration of the other groups. Now he’s the definition of monopoly. Rumors has it that he sponsors some politicians and has their backings, as I said, rumors. But something is not a rumor, he can shoot a fly, and kills with absolute cruelty. He doesn’t beg to be feared.

“MSN flexes his power at will and acts like he owns Lagos; he dislikes the president and has recently openly criticized the decision of the president to go for a second time, to him the president coming to Lagos is utter over-confidence, the president is coming to his lair and he needs to be warned, what else than to blow up his proposed campaign location”.

“What of the lives at stake?” Juliet asked, guess the woman in her did.

“Our job is to save the lives and stop the bomb.” Esiogu countered

Everybody nodded absentmindedly, each frolicking in his own thoughts.

“The other case at hand now is about a politician, who’s believed to have embezzled a large amount of money, we are to get some evidence proofing likewise” Esiogu continued with the screen displaying Omosehinde Titus, a key member of the PPDP political party, he was the vice governor of the last governor, he was once the ambassador of Nigeria to Oman, a former member of the cabinet of minister for an ex-president, he had been a member of the house of representatives of his state for two terms and he’s aspiring for the post of senator in the coming election.

And youths are the leaders of tomorrow.

“Team D will handle the politician’s case, the remaining three teams will work together for the BIG one” Esiogu said with finality.

Elvis shoulder slumped, why his teams of all teams?, now he hates this man.

After spending hours deliberating on the tactical aspect and the know-how of the investigation, they walked out of the rooms to fill their team in about the latest development.

That dream cost him a day, a very bad day.