This is a passion work. So, I would really appreciate it if you leave behind a review when you're done reading.
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CH51: REPRESENTATIVE
The gang members hesitated but seeing the disdain in his expression, they couldn't take it anymore and attacked Korede.
Compared to the previous group of thugs he fought, this group were not only stronger individually, they also knew how to fight as a group. They showed a rich group fighting experience as they tried to cover for each other while taking advantage of any openings Korede might show as a result of fighting multiple people.
All in all, they fought well.
Alas, Korede was stronger individually and had a richer and longer fighting experience than all of them. Plus, add on the use of his various Will abilities, the group never stood a chance. The thought of holding back and not using his abilities never crossed Korede's mind. He used them as he saw fit. Within minutes, all the gang members were on the floor.
'The quality of these NDz members is far better than those thugs from before.' Korede thought as he evaluated the men on the floor.
[Isn't that obvious?]
'Touché'
Korede asked as he looked down at the men on the floor.
"Do you now understand why I'm here? Are you going to follow my orders or not?"
"Yes, sir" The men replied immediately.
"Good." Korede nodded.
In the criminal underworld, combat strength was a determinant of respect. Those with great combat strength are feared, respected and honoured. Even though the group still wasn't sure if Korede was who he said he was, his strength alone has made them not dare question him. Besides, it's not like any of them could call the Duke to confirm. They decided to play along for now and see how things turn out.
"Good." Korede said. "Let's go meet the buyers."
He got onto the bike while the others got into different vehicles. They called their men to let them know their jobs had commenced. As they made their way to the buyer's location, Korede noticed gang members around. These members were watching the roads leading to and out of the Warehouse section.
The convoy of vehicles soon arrived at the designated meeting point.
Korede got off the bike and made his way over to the two gang leaders with the NDz members in toll.
Each gang had fifteen people each including their leader. They couldn't bring too many people as that might raise a lot of suspicions.
Everybody on the scene was armed with at least a pistol. Some people carried rifles on all three sides. Korede had his Beretta M9 hoisted, frontally, in his belt visible to everyone. The two gang leaders had their pistol hoisted in the same way as if by a previous agreement.
As Korede approached them in the lead position amongst the NDz, the two gang leaders were surprised. This wasn't their first deal with the NDz so they were familiar with Chidozie and knew how much he cherished his bike. Hence, they couldn't help their surprise when they didn't see him lead the NDz delegation as they expected, even more so when they saw someone else ride his bike.
"Who are you? Where is Chidozie?" Adesusu Amadin asked with a frown.
Korede answered with a faint smile. "A matter came up. Chidozie is currently occupied. The boss asked me to take his place in completing this deal."
"You still haven't answered my question. WHO ARE YOU?" Adesusu Amadin asked loudly.
The smile on Korede's face reduced. "I already answered. I am the guy that's replacing Chidozie in completing this deal. You don't need to know more than that."
"That's not good enough. Why did the representative change so suddenly?" Adesusu continued to push.
Finally, the smile on Korede's face disappeared. "I don't seem to remember when the NDz needed to report its activities to you. Do you want to trade or not? You are free to leave. Nobody is stopping you. Just know that if you leave, we will not return your previous deposit. It's your choice."
"You f*cking bastard." Adesusu said angrily as he pulled a gun on Korede. This caused a ripple effect and almost everybody brought out their guns.
Korede didn't even flinch. He just stared darkly at the man as he said, "You better get that gun out of my face or you'll be dead in five seconds."
Adesusu was put in a tough position. He knew he let his anger get the best of him. Unfortunately, because of what Korede said, he would lose his reputation if he just lowered his gun. Sweat filled his palm as he looked for a way out.
Since the conversation started, Oziomo Okoh hadn't said anything. He was looking around the NDz side. He knew Chidozie loved his bike as almost much as his life. It was unthinkable for him to let others ride it. The fact that this new guy was riding it meant he wasn't a low-level character. He also recalled when Jonathan Duke left the Three Star Gentleman's club abruptly.
'What's happening with the NDz?' He couldn't help but wonder.
Though he felt something might be wrong, he chose to disregard it because of the familiar NDz members behind Korede. They were the same ones always with Chidozie. They didn't seem to be disturbed by Chidozie's absence, if anything, they looked like they respected this new guy more.
'I have never seen this guy before. I wonder who he is.' He thought.
He had to pull himself out of his thoughts because the conflicts of words between Adesusu and the new guy escalated and guns were pulled out.
He noticed that, for some reason, this new guy didn't flinch at the sight of the gun. Even the other NDz members weren't that disturbed even though they also pulled their gun. It was almost as if they weren't worried anything could happen to their leader.
Being a conservative person, alarm bells went off in his head. He knew he had to stop this from escalating further.
Seeing Adesusu's awkward position, Oziomo quickly said, "Everyone let's calm down."
"I am calm. Tell that to the guy who's pointing a gun to my head." Korede said with a raised eyebrow as Oziomo had been looking at him when he said those words.
Oziomo turned to Adesusu and said, "Amadin, I know you are concerned about the deal because of the amount of money involved but this isn't going to help anyone. This is me pleading with you. Please put the gun down."
What Oziomo said had given Adesusu a way out without losing his reputation. He inwardly sighed in relief.
"Just because it's you." Adesusu said in false bravado, causing Korede to smile.
Oziomo quickly said to Korede before he could say anything, "Please understand, everyone is tense. It's an important moment for everyone. Let's just do the deal. We are all here to make money not shed blood for no reason."
Korede looked at the man. Perhaps if it wasn't because he had a plan to follow, Korede might have contemplated how to get rid of everyone here. Alas, they still had a role to play.
'Fine, I'll let you all live for a moment more.'
[Be careful, you are about to leak your murderous intent. You already grasped {Life Communication} to an appreciable degree. It's easy for you to transfer your intents. Take note of that. It's not always a good thing.]
'Thanks for the heads up.'
Being stared at by the new guy made Oziomo uncomfortable for some reason. He felt like prey being stared at by a predator. He was about to say something when the feeling disappeared as fast as it came. He heard the 'new guy' say
"Alright. I'll let it go. You're right, after all. Money is why we are all here."
Seeing the leaders settle down, the subordinates also put down their weapons.
A good thing that came out of this was that Korede was able to identify the weapons on each person. Any little information more about an enemy is always welcomed.
As everything calmed down, Korede looked between the two gang leaders and asked, "Shall we leave?"
Adesusu and Oziomo looked at each other and nodded their heads.
"Well then, follow us."
Everyone got into or onto their various vehicles and a convoy was formed heading in the direction of the Onitsha Main Market. Luckily, it was in the early mornings or the convoy might have attracted some attention.
The NDz members had a confused expression on their faces because they realised that Korede had just been driving around without heading to the location of the drugs. Although they didn't know the exact location of the drugs, Chidozie had previously told them the area he hid the drugs. It looked like Korede was intentionally avoiding going there. A journey that should have taken no more than thirty minutes had become an hour. They were starting to get suspicious when Korede suddenly turned in the right direction.
After heading to the correct area of the warehouse section, the convoy headed straight for the warehouse where the drugs were kept. Warehouse 4D.
Warehouse 4D was one of the biggest warehouses in the area. The convoy entered the warehouse and the automated warehouse door closed behind them. The warehouse was bare. There were only four tanker trucks and multiple wooden crates in front of them. The group left their vehicles and approached them. Korede took a crowbar and randomly chose a crate to open. The crate was packed full of cocaine.
"All the crates are full of product. You can open any one you want for testing." Korede said. He closed back the crate and stood to the side.
Oziomo looked at Adesusu who stepped up and chose a crate to the left of the pile. He opened it and brought out a sample. He took a small knife from his pocket and made a small hole in the packaging. He took a small scoop of the product on his knife before bringing it to his mouth and ingesting it. He found the taste was a little off, so he took more.
"What is the NDz trying to sell to us? This isn't at the usual purity. Are you trying to double-cross us?" Adesusu Amadin roared at Korede.
"You are really unlucky. To think it would be one of the contaminated ones you took. A pity." Korede said, shaking his head in mock pity.
Adesusu was alarmed.
Unfortunately, before he could say anything, he felt difficulty breathing. He quickly collapsed to the floor before gasping for breath.
Oziomo was stunned. "What the hell is happening?" He asked.
"We found out a batch of the product had been contaminated. It was a single crate but we didn't know which one. We couldn't cancel the deal to test every crate now, could we?" Korede answered like he didn't care about what was happening. Well, actually, he really didn't care.
"So, you went ahead and sold it to us without informing us?" Oziomo asked.
"Of course. Better your reputation gets ruined than us losing money. We just didn't expect for this guy here to be so 'lucky', he actually found the crate." Korede responded, still with the same uncaring attitude. "On the bright side, the guy is going to die soon and if you help us get rid of his gang, you can keep half of his portion."
The A4 members were in shock. Before they could do or say anything, their leader was on the floor. He hadn't even died yet and the person most likely responsible was already planning to kill them and share the loot. Some of the A4 members raised their guns at those present warily. They didn't make any rash moves because they were outnumbered. If they sparked off a gunfight, they were definitely going to die. The only thing they could do was wait for Oziomo's decision. As only with the Saints' help could they survive this.
Oziomo was furiously considering his options. He had been put in a bad spot. If he chose wrongly, he and his men might not leave here alive. He didn't trust Korede's words at all. The man was willing to ruin them to protect their reputation and money. Who was to say he wouldn't silence everybody on the scene to protect the NDz reputation. However, he was tempted by the offer. He and Adesusu weren't that close.
While he was hesitating, Adesusu who was choking struggled to turn in his direction. He tried to say something but couldn't.
He drew the last gasp and finally choked to death excruciatingly.
"He died. Finally, some quiet." Korede said dismissively. "So, what did you decide?"
The A4 members tightened their grip on their guns. The stand-off continued as both sides awaited Oziomo Okoh's decision.
Hearing what Korede said, Oziomo, who was hesitating, came to a decision.
'This guy can't be trusted. It will be my turn after he's done with the A4s.'
He stared at Korede who also did the same. The two ignored the raised guns of 'their' men. He asked, "Were you ever truly ever going to let either gang leave here tonight?"
"Not bad, you figured it out." Korede 'praised'. "I don't know what happened nor do I care. The fact that the Boss sent me here means that he wants all of you dead. I'm after all the NDz disposal expert. So, even if one of you didn't find the crate, I might still have tried to kill you. After all, you know the drugs came from us. We can't have you telling people bad product came from us."
"Why didn't you just ask us to let you deliver the drugs another day?" Oziomo Okoh asked agitated.
"Not my decision nor my problem." Korede said with a shrug. "Alright, I guess you aren't taking my deal. Kill them, boys!!"
[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion matters to me.]