This is a passion work. So, I would really appreciate it if you leave behind a review when you're done reading.
***
CH45: LEDGER
Inside the safe were cash, passports, documents, and a ledger. The cash was stacks of one thousand Naira bills, totally around two million Naira. Passports for both Peter and Esther under fake names. The documents included identification for the couple under their fake names and property certificates all over the country and a few abroad.
The ledger was the most important. It contained a list of properties and businesses, both legal and illegal, owned by the NDz to the knowledge of the couple. It also contained co-ordinates to different locations in the country.
These were just the information Korede got from skimming through the things in the safe.
Having learnt his lesson from last time, he didn't take his time to read through. He just took a picture of everything and returned them to their original position.
He searched the entire house to see if he missed anything but didn't find anything else. Thus, he exited the building the same way he entered.
He got into his car and drove off.
**
Back at the safehouse, Korede went through all the information he got with a fine-tooth comb. It was clear to him that everything in the safe was the couple's contingency plan.
They would hand over the ledger to the authorities in exchange for immunity or simply flee the country with the fake passports and documents or both.
[What a tragic story. Are you going to let them go?]
'Not a chance. Though their situation looked pitiful, those two aren't saints. The amount of crime Peter is suspected of committing, the number of people he is suspected of killing, if he was convicted he would be given the death penalty multiple times over. I'm only saying 'suspected' because security agencies can't prove the crimes in court. However, they know he did it. The NDz had always been thorough in making all evidence and witnesses 'disappear'. Also, Peter had been responsible for providing young girls for his brother to have his way with. That is something I won't forgive.
Esther, though originally a victim, also doesn't have clean hands. Every time Duke has consensual sex with any female after their marriage, she would for gang members to rape and/or kill her. In her words, 'since they act like sluts, they might as well die as one'. Also, according to this ledger, she was skimming money off some NDz businesses and blaming it on members of Duke's inner circle in order to maintain and improve Peter's influence. In the NDz, the punishment for betrayal and theft was not only the offender's slow, agonizing death but also the death of any and all family they could find. I don't have any qualms about the gang members but her actions lead to the death of many innocents. It wasn't an accident, it was something she knew would happen.
These two don't deserve my pity because they would do any and everything to achieve their goal. I can already deduce the endgame.'
[What is it?]
'To takeover the gang from the Duke before killing him like he killed the previous bosses of the gang, Poetic justice in a way. They have no plans to end or reform the gang. They just want to bring it under their control. That, to me, makes them no different from the Duke.'
[Alright. I see your point.]
The atmosphere between the two became somewhat awkward. Korede frowned. Since the six months, or decade in the {Training space}, he and Aon had known each other, it mostly adopted a personality of a laid-back 'person' that enjoyed pissing him off. In important times, however, it would make seemingly useless comments that were actually worth looking into.
One shouldn't forget that it was a being that had lived for a long time. It must have experienced a lot of things. Since it asked him what should have been a question with an obvious answer, he decided to look at things from another perspective.
Though Korede didn't like her and how she did what she did, he was impressed by her intelligence.
Jonathan Duke thought he had a trophy wife, one who didn't do anything but just made him look good due to her beauty and influence. Unknown to him, Esther was a very good accountant. She was able to find NDz businesses, some of which even the Nigerian Department of Intelligence didn't know, and steal money from them and push the blame onto others in such as conclusive manner that they couldn't defend themselves. She had done it multiple times and still, someone as suspicious as the Duke didn't notice anything.
Also from a psychological perspective, one could argue that she felt trapped. She could have felt that the only way she could safely move on was to kill the Duke and take control of the NDz, making sure the gang wouldn't come after her and once again ruin what she had.
She was also not directly responsible for the deaths of the family members of the people she framed. Every one of them knew the risk before entering the gang but they did so anyway. It could be argued that it was the gang members themselves that put their families in danger. If it wasn't her framing them, a number of things could have happened that would have led to the same result.
'Fine, I see your point but that doesn't mean I sympathise with her.'
[I wasn't asking you to. I just wanted you to learn to see from other people's perspectives without letting it affect your judgement. The world isn't as simple as you see it.]
'Yes, I know. The world isn't black and white. It's grey. People do bad things for a 'good' reason while they can also do 'good' things for a bad reason. Case in point, we soldiers kill to defend our country. While defending the country is a good thing, killing is not. However, such kills are accepted.
Some people try to say the kills are not bad but that's not true. If it was a good thing, why does it feel like we lose a part of ourselves with every kill? At the end of the day, not only do we put our lives on the line, we put our humanity on the line as well. Such is this shitty world.'
Korede's gaze became hazy as he was lost in thought. Aon also didn't say anything and just sighed. Soon Korede recovered.
'I will not directly go after her and her lover before I get the Duke. However, I can't promise my actions won't harm her. In the case it does, I will not help her. If they manage to survive all this, I hope they will leave this life because If they don't I will have to kill them. That's my final decision.'
[Up to you. I've achieved my goal.]
Korede chuckled at the response. He shook his head before taking his phone to call the only number on it. Special Agent Ndike's number.
"Hello." Special Agent Ndike's voice was heard
"Hello. It's Korede." Korede said. "I sent you a file. I need you to confirm the intel. I hope you don't make any moves though, as it would affect my plans here."
"Alright, I will look through it and pass it to HQ. Is there anything else you'll need?"
"Can you get a cleaning crew on the ground? And at a moment's notice?" Korede asked.
"We already have a cleaning crew ready for you in Onitsha. Just call and they'll move in to clear whatever mess you need to be cleared." Special Agent Ndike replied.
"Alright, thanks. I'll begin making my move tomorrow."
"Understood." Special Agent Ndike said and the call ended.
Korede looked at the time. It was 10:30 pm. He decided to take a bath and sleep.
[Aren't you going to train?] Aon asked.
'No. Not until the mission is over. I can't risk my body, mind, or Will being exhausted from the training. Although the {Training Space} doesn't consume resources to train inside it, it still takes a toll on my mind and Will.'
With that said, Korede took a bath and went to sleep. Bringing an end to Day 1 of Operation PythonSlaying.
___________________________________________________________________________
The next morning, Korede woke up to the ringing of his phone. He looked at the clock and saw it was 4:30 am. He wondered why Special Agent Ndike was calling him so early.
"Hello." Korede said in a low tone.
"Hello." Special Agent Ndike's voice was heard. "We checked the co-ordinates you sent and as you said, they were training and initiation sites for NDz members in those states. We have the places under close surveillance. We should be able to identify all the members involved with the sites and get them all in one fell swoop. As for the other intel you sent, HQ has started verifying them. So far, they seem legit. HQ will factor it into the total operation plan."
"Copy that. Anything else?"
"No. That's all for now."
"Copy that. Please get the clean-up crew to be on standby. There's a strong chance I'll need them today."
"Will do." Special Agent Ndike said, bringing the call to an end
**
Since he was already awake, Korede got up and did some exercises. Done with that, he took his bath and got ready for the day.
At about 8 am, Korede is seen typing away on the laptop. He compared his findings with the pictures of the ledger. He nodded his head in satisfaction when he was done.
Dressed in blue jeans and a grey hoodie, Korede left the apartment. He drove his car to an industrial district full of warehouses. His car stopped in front of a particular warehouse before he got down.
He looked around and confirmed that the warehouse hadn't been used in a long while. According to the ledger, this was one of the NDz properties that they got through 'special means' but weren't using.
Korede decided to use it for his goals.
He got back into his car and drove to the restaurant the Duke liked to eat. He always ate there every Thursday and Friday morning. Today happened to be Thursday. As the intel said, the man was eating in the back corner of the restaurant. For one of Korede's plans, he needed to approach the man. The best place to do so was in this restaurant.
Of course, Korede wasn't going to approach him today, he just came to recon ahead. This was the first time Korede had ever seen the Duke in the flesh. The man's picture didn't do him justice.
In the pictures, the impression you get is a fat brutal man. The man in front of him, though looked fat, was actually quite fit. The aura around him was not brutal but savage. The man had a natural air of suppression. Evident in the fact the restaurant was empty. Everyone knows the Duke ate here, no one dared disturb his meal.
His bodyguards were also something.
Nigeria is a country with strict gun laws. Civilians were not allowed to own guns. In fact, most people have been indoctrinated that anyone, aside from defence and security forces, who carried guns were bad guys. You could easily find people who hadn't seen guns with someone, other than a policeman, in their entire lives.
Getting a gun licence was strict, cumbersome, and frustrating, even for private security companies. Yet, the Duke's bodyguards were able to carry guns in broad daylight. One of them even had a rifle. This showed the gull of their boss.
Korede shook his head. 'Enjoy yourself, your days are numbered.' He thought.
He reconnoitred the surrounding area with the restaurant in the middle. After an hour, he left the area.
Korede spent the next few hours driving around Onitsha and getting himself acclimatised to the trade city. He even bought some souvenirs for his nephew and Kola's son, Dare Balogun. Of course, he wasn't just site-seeing, he was moving around places he considered key locations.
By 3 pm, Korede arrived at a ghetto area outside the city center. He parked his car and continued on foot. He soon arrived at a closed street.
Street thugs were wasting their lives away on both sides of the street. Seeing a stranger enter their territory, they all left whatever they were doing and closed in on him.
There were about twenty of them but Korede wasn't intimidated. He waited for them to come close to him before he said,
"I'm looking for the Okafor brothers."
"So? Why should we care?" One of the thugs, who seemed to be the leader, said.
"I can pay you for the information. I'm not in the mood for trouble." Korede replied.
"Oh! You hear that boys. Our friend here is not in the 'mood' for trouble." The man said looking at his colleagues. He turned to Korede and said, "Unfortunately for you, trouble is in the mood for you. Give us all the money you have if you know what's good for you."
Immediately he said this, the gang encircled Korede. Korede looked around and sighed,
"You're not planning on letting me go even if I give you the money, are you?"
"Of course not. I don't know who you are and how you were able to find that the two bosses stay here but you won't be leaving until you tell us everything about you." The man said.
"Then you will decide whether to dispose of me depending on what I tell you. Am I right?" Korede asked.
"it seems you are not stupid." The man replied. Although Korede's calmness gave him warning bells, he ignored it because he didn't believe one man could take on more than fifteen men. Also, there were lookouts in the area, if others arrived to save this person in front of him, he would know beforehand.
"Do you think things will go as you expect?" Korede asked.
The alarm bells got louder in the man's heart. Feeling very nervous, He ordered, "Beat this guy up for me!!"
Almost immediately, the thugs attacked Korede.
[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion matters to me.]