ELVIS (ACTION) EPISODE 23&24

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

MSN camp

Musa Nwanchukwu Seyi commonly known as MSN is a man in his early forties, forth-three precisely. He had been at the apex of Nigeria’s crime underworld, top level crimes, smuggling, trafficking and drug dealings. As earlier said, he obliterated and sabotaged the business of his rivals and competitors, making him become the top power in Nigeria’s underworld. He has also broaden the scope of his business into political issues, he indulges in dirty crimes like assassination of high-ranked officials, sabotaging of meetings and conferences and smuggling of wanted corrupt politicians in and out of the country.

Single-handedly he can’t handle the large reach of his business world, he therefore delegate his duties among his subordinates, his trusted dependents. He only attends to very confidential duties that need to be overseen specially. His most trusted underling is a meek devil named stringer. His real name is unknown except to him only, he seldom talks but more cunning than the devil. He pulls strings and plan actions, he must have been the brain behind the unsuccessful attack on the Late Honourable Titus. He had been under the tutelage of MSN for more than ten years after MSN found him in the slum of Ajegunle. He just swindled a bank officer then and he successfully planned a bank robbery before MSN recruited him. His level of technicality and humane way of handling issues make him simply rise above his colleagues to the second in command position after MSN.

The immediate subordinate of Stringer is Ogunlusi Kolade. His name had become more of hearsay because he had ceased answering to the name ever since he was a kid; he had coined a new name for himself with which he prefer been called- Erinyes. He loved the name due to the monstrous tinge to it but the name was a pure irony of his identity. He was an orphan raised in an orphanage but he broke out into the street of Iwo road where he was living on the street before he was recruited by MSN. He had been with MSN for long longer than Stringer, right from the start of MSN illustrious career. Stringer came and rose higher than him hence the no love lost between the two. He scar run along his face, a souvenir of a knife fight with another kid over a plate of food while he was under the bridge. He always thought Stringer was a deceptive human who wasn’t what he proves he is, but with the close proximity of Stringer with MSN, there’s nothing he could do other than to watch from a distance in fury. The two of them avoid each other like a plague; or rather Erinyes avoid Stringer like a plague. He is a monster in human form, his venomous fury and quick to anger temperament makes him very dangerous. He believes that the total wiping out of the enemy makes it impossible for the enemy to fight back, so he kills with absolute abandon and with little reprieve.

MSN made Stringer his second in command just because Stringer sees things in a different perspective, he thinks differently unlike himself and Erinyes and he’s cool-headed nature and slyness charmed him into making him his right hand man.

The intrusion of Elvis into his plan had make thread more carefully, Elvis would have successfully foiled a key part of the boss’s plan if he hadn’t thought of a fast response; the boss’s plan would have gone down the drain. Elvis is becoming more troublesome and a pain in the neck, his first plan with the audio is not strong enough to deter him but he’s sure it’ll slow him down. The audio doesn’t hold enough evidence to defame a man of the people, but he hopes he buys it and hold enough long enough, it’s almost over. The grand plan will soon come into play; the prey will work right into his snare.

He had sent Stringer to seal a deal with a group of terrorist from Niger, he would have been there personally but he knows he had ward off Elvis, he won’t be troubling him for the time being.
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The location of the first warehouse isn’t difficult to find, it was a huge warehouse, it was used by the British to store tar in the 50s before the awakening of the Nigerian’s resurgence. It has been under lock and key since then due to the lack of continuity by the government. Just like infrastructures built by the British, the warehouse still stands elegantly, if refurbished, it can be put with good use without the fear of sudden founder.
It has a large fence surrounding it, the fence doesn’t go all way round, the other areas where fenced by wire netting. Elvis packed his car at a distance a bit far from the warehouse to avoid detection; he parked it a bit into the bush too. He was glad his car is black; it blended right into the gathering darkness of the newly born night. He waited a bit for the night to get a bit darker before proceeding to probe the warehouse and its environs.

He must have slept off; he woke up to the sound of cars approaching his cars. The route leading to the warehouse was difficult to detect from the main road, so the chances of innocent civilians plying the route is less than nil. The cars are jeeps which must have been travelling from a long distance due to the amount of dust on them; the dust on the jeeps is enough to build a large auditorium. The jeeps sped past his car which has been shielded by the bush in which he had parked; the jeeps are accustomed to rugged terrain due to the ease with which they rumbled over the rough eroded clayey road. They got to the warehouse and turned into it. Elvis raised his head which he had bent during the passage of the jeeps to avoid been spotted. He waited for some minutes before approaching the warehouse.

He got to the warehouse, unsurprisingly the gate was locked, he walked round the huge fence till he gets to the wire netting that was used to fence the place the concrete fence didn’t get to. He walked along it looking for an opening through which he can gain entrance, he had almost given up hope before he found an opening at the far end, large enough to allow his passage without been scathed. He bent low and gained the entrance he had so much wanted.

He entered into the poorly lit compound of the warehouse; the scent of tar could be faintly picked by a crisp sense of smell. He walked on his toes as silently as he could afford towards the warehouse. He nudged into the wall softly with his back on getting to the warehouse. With his back still on the wall, he walked gingerly along the back of the warehouse, at the acuate bend of the side; he peeked to check if there’s any movement before advancing, his heart already in his mouth.

He walked along the side of the warehouse, he passed a few windows but they aren’t giving a good enough view of what’s going on the inside. He could see the four jeeps that drove past him some moments ago parked at the front of the warehouse; its occupants must be inside the warehouse.

He heard footsteps approaching him from the front and the beam from a torch lighting the floor haphazardly. He was lucky he was standing beside a window; he crept over the iron railings and landed inside the warehouse softly and quickly hid himself behind the wall. The footsteps grew into two guards armed with AK 47 rifles; they walked past the window obviously carrying out a vicinity check. He was brought out of his oneirism by the sound of movements in the warehouse; the sound was coming from a contiguous location. He quickly hid himself between two large tanks and glued himself to one of the tanks body has a guard walked briskly past him. He touched the tank in an attempt to push himself away; his hands have been heavily smeared by tar. He groaned in disgust.

He crept quickly and cautiously along the tanks which was used to house oil till he found a location where he could have a clear view of the proceedings. Before him are about twenty armed men standing loosely around the clear area in the warehouse. The armed men walked around the clear area noiselessly speaking only in whispers. Elvis chastised himself internally for the rash decision of walking into his death he took, he was sure he need some help from a spy or no spy, from his team as a whole.

In the middle of the clear area were a table and two chairs just like a meeting is taking place. On the chairs standing at opposite sides of the table were Stringer and another man. They are obviously talking on closing a deal with the hushness and precise pattern with which they speak. The deal must have a large discreet value with the quiet way the bargain is been negotiated. After sometime the two men laughed hysterically and loudly, a sign of a good enough deal for both ends.

The stacks of boxes Elvis had noticed at the Emeralds are piled up at a section of the warehouse. Stringer poured a drink into the glasses provided by the standing guards for himself and his guest; he rose up and walked towards the stacks of boxes. One of the boxes is lowered by a guard and the contents are examined by the guest. He seemed satisfied with the quick examination with the way he was nodding his grotesque head.

“Look who I found” A guard shouted dragging Ben after him “Found him lurking against the wall of the side of the warehouse” before dumping Ben rashly on the floor.

“This is the guy that feigned been an electrician to break into the Emeralds last week, his friend hit me with a rod on my head” a guard said walking towards Ben before dealing Ben a good and hard blow on his face with Ben groaning in pain.

Stringer beckoned to one of the guards after a while of internal delibration, he mummbled some incoherent words into the guards ear, the guard nodded in understanding before walking hurriedly away.

Elvis heart sank when he saw Ben, what the f**k is Ben doing here?, why did he come?, he just get himself caught, now he had to get Ben out again.

His thoughts was brought to an abrupt end when he felt something round and cold on his neck, he froze when he remembered that gun’s nozzles are cold and round.

“Stand up gently and turn around” he heard, he complied like a dummy.

His frozen state went offline and his heard went numb when he faced his accoster, he sure has hell knows the face, the face with the evil and devilish smirk glaring back at him, the face that brought tears to someone he cares about’s eyes.

Lo and behold, its Ellie’s boyfriend.

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

Elvis was stunned when he saw the face, the evil smile adorning the handsome face he had seen on Ellie’s phone, it’s the same face that had brought tear to the pretty pair of eyes Ellie has. If this is Ellie’s boyfriend, then Ellie must have a part in this or better still Ellie’s the snitch he had been frantically looking for. She must have been planted in the ICO to pass information across to the MSN camp.

His height of thinking got invigorated as he was been ushered into the middle of the large area, he was oblivious to the jeers and gibes been thrown at him by the standing guards, seems they haven’t known his identity yet. He remembered that Ellie was always passing or loitering around their meeting places. She had successfully and deceptively clouded his mind with illusions of emotional legerdemain, and he had fallen into it headlong and he couldn’t come out of it unscathed. He had fallen in love with her.

He regretted for the umpteenth time the rash and hasty decision of jumping into conclusion with Timi while Ellie was the real spy. He remembered her bumping into him on his first day at work right in front of the IG’s office, later that day she brought a file on the BTU bombing, something he hadn’t spoken with her with yet, logically she has a crisp sense of hearing; all their subsequent meetings, she had always been around the meeting area, feigning visits to the washroom, feigning illness just not to conjure suspicions against her and he had been blind to it all. He hated himself for that.

He had been ushered into the middle of the gathering, a blow from the butt of a gun to the back of his knee sent him to his knees beside Ben, he groaned in pain as the pain shot through his back to his brain. Stringer walked silently with a hard face towards him, he raised the head of Elvis examining him censoriously and dutifully.

“What is your name?” Stringer asked after his inspection

No response.

A jab to his face sent blood trickling out of his just busted lips, he was sent sprawling to the ground, he managed to drag himself to his previous position.

“I asked you a question, and when I ask the questions, you answer.” Stringer said coldly examining the cup of wine he’s still holding before taking a sip. Stringer flicked his finger towards Elvis, four guards advanced towards Elvis immediately.

Elvis face had gotten a new shape; the trickling blood has now started trotting down a side of his face, his breathing has gotten heavy and his eyelids could house a ship with their new sizes by the time the guards were through with him. He coughed hardly and moaned in pain as he painfully tried to pick himself up from the sprawling position he was just given.

“Let’s start again, you know the logic, it doesn’t get easier but otherwise and personally I love being obeyed” Stringer said nonchalantly as he took another long sip from his cup. Elvis smiled awkwardly when he remembered Esiogu’s ‘been obeyed’ fanatics.

The smile caught Stringer’s attention.

“You are Elvis aren’t you?” Stringer asked. The silence from Elvis made Stringer laugh hysterically; he dropped his cup on the table and started clapping his hands. All the while, the guest and his men were watching in awe and obviously befuddled by the turn of events.

“Wow, Bravo, you are the man that almost stop my plan if not for contingency, you would have soiled everything” Stringer said all the while clapping admirably “Wow, you are really a hero and pious detective too, let me add nosy to that”

“The great Elvis right in my grasp, that is some achievement, I’ll add that to my C.V” Stringer continued still reveling in awe.

A foreign language incomprehensible to Elvis broke Stringer’s dominance of talking. All eyes turned to the speaker, it was the guest, he must have inquired about what is going on. Stringer stopped abruptly and replied him in the same language.

“Tie the two of them up” he said to some of the guards, the guards complied immediately and set to work, dragging Ben and Elvis to a new location while Stringer started a conversation with the guest in the foreign language.

The guard tied Elvis and Ben with their hands on their back to an iron pole in a secluded section of the warehouse, each sitting on the floor opposite the pole with their back on the pole. The guard left not after giving each of them a good punch on the face worsening the grotesque shape Elvis’s face is having.

“How did you find me?” Elvis managed to say after sometime.

“Your secretary came to us immediately you left, she was very concerned when we told her you have left, she was all mumbo jumbo about you going home. She said your home is dangerous and there are some people waiting for you at home to hurt you…..” Ben replied

“She was the spy amongst us…..wait, my house?” Elvis said.

“yes your house, we tried your mobile number immediately, it was switched off, that’s why I and Dauda decided to follow your car and tried to stop you.” Ben said

“You and Dauda?” Elvis said.

“Yes, Dauda is outside in the car, waiting for us” Ben replied.

“But how did you track my car?” Elvis asked.

“Timi tracked it using your car GPS, he directed us on where we should take, we were all surprised when he led us here, to the warehouse we were supposed to look into tomorrow….why did you come alone?” Ben asked.

“I was thinking Timi was the spy found it difficult to trust anybody again, that’s why I ventured into this alone, I regretted the decision on getting here and almost collapsed when I learnt that Ellie was the spy.” Elvis replied.

“Me?, a spy?” Timi said into the earpiece with Ben.

“Your secretary?, Ellie was the spy?” Ben said as if he could just decipher the sentence.

“Yes, her boyfriend was the guy that found me.” Elvis said “You have a wire on you?” Elvis added.

“I have the micro earpiece on, so she’s the spy we have been looking for?” Ben replied.

“Yes she is, I’m very sorry Timi, I know you can hear me, I’m very sorry to you guys too” Elvis said.

An uncomfortable silence engulfed them, each lost in their thought.

The silence was broken by strings of gun shots and shouts from the large area of the warehouse. Groans and bullet sounds reeling off the tanks ricocheted around the whole warehouse. Their view was blocked by the two large tanks so impeding their line of sights, making it difficult for them to see what is really going on. A guard rushed towards them a gun in hand; he walked haphazardly before falling down right before them, a bullet hole in his head. That summed up the situation of things going on outside. They have to get out of there ASAP.

They have not even thought of escaping, the thought exploited the situation at hand as a medium to get across to them.

“We need to get out of here” Ben sounded alarmed.

“The ropes are too tight and strong, we can’t wriggle out of it, any knife?” Elvis said.

“None” Ben replied getting more alarmed already trying to wriggle his hands out of the tight ropes.

Elvis started tugging at the rope too, but the rope held firm, he realized his hands slipped an inch in the tight rope, he remembered his oil smeared hands, he tugged harder and saw it slipped a bit more. After several minutes of exhausting tugging and pulling, he managed to wrestle himself free; he freed Ben too who was amazed when he discovered Elvis was free.

They both walked quietly towards the large space in the middle of the warehouse, bullets flying around; one specifically missing Ben’s head by a few centimetres, they lowered their heads and meandered their way between the tanks holding each other like kindergarten pupils. In the middle of the warehouse, a miniwar is ongoing, Elvis had always watched it in movies, now he’s having a live and free view, the men of the guests are at war with the men of MSN. Dead bodies littered the floor and more bodies are falling. They turned back and looked for another way to get out of the warehouse. They stopped in their tracks when they saw Stringer pointing his gun at them.

A shot rang and one of the guest’s men fell behind them, Stringer turned and walked away. They hurried to one of the windows and went over it, they landed outside the warehouse and hurried towards the space in the wire fencing through which they had come in. they met Dauda at the front of the warehouse.

“I’ve called the other teams, they’ll be here soon” Dauda said on sighting them.

Sirens could be heard closing in on the warehouse. Elvis had other plans. He collected the mini earpiece with Ben and hurried to where he had parked his car.

“Timi, is Ellie still at work?” Elvis said into the earpiece.

“She refused to leave sir” Timi replied.

“Don’t let her leave, I’ll be there right away” Elvis said opening his car.

“Okay sir” Timi replied.

“The pen you put on me in the old facility, does it record?” Elvis asked.

“It does sir, but it was stolen yesterday” Timi replied.

“I’m sorry I suspected you” Elvis said into the earpiece, kicked his car to life and zoomed of towards his place of work. He will surely kill her.