48 Hours before the Asteroid Crash down.
Somewhere in the Doctors' Mess of Mutukula Regional Hospital, Doctor Jean Pombe jolted upright in bed, his breath coming in short, ragged gasps. A cold sweat slicked his forehead as he clutched the sheets, his fingers trembling. His heart pounded violently against his ribs, as though trying to escape the horrific vision that had just assaulted his mind.
The nightmare had felt so real. He had dreamt that the asteroid Apocalypse2 had landed in his home, it had obliterated his three-story apartment while extinguishing the lives of his family members: his elderly parents, his four children and their mother as well as the families of his two maternal aunts who had come to stay with him. The nightmare was so vivid- he could still hear the terrified screams of his family members, and the twisted faces full of fear before being swallowed by the merciless flames. He could still smell the acrid smoke, and feel the searing heat licking his skin.
"No way, this can't be – I reject this bad dream." he murmured, his voice hoarse with desperation while trying to shake off the dread of what he had experienced in the dream.
He ran a trembling hand through his damp hair and cupped his face, rubbing his temples in an attempt to ground himself. Doctor Jean Ponde tried to calm his breathing by taking in long breaths while telling himself it was just a bad dream but that overwhelming fear and dread of losing his loved ones could not be banished easily.
He cupped his face in between his hands and whispered, "Come on Jean, it is not real. This is just another bad dream."
"I reject this bad dream; my family is safe and by the grace of God it will not be in the area where the asteroid strikes." He verbally consoled himself. Despite his words, an unsettling feeling still clawed at his chest. The thought of losing his family gripped him with an unbearable weight.
What troubled him the most was the idea of losing his loved ones, the apartment was not a big deal as he had enough money in his bank account to buy over three apartments or bungalows in any city of the East African Federation.
Money was not a problem for him. Being a doctor employed in a Regional Hospital, his salary as the Supervisor of the General & Specialized Laboratory was 700 WCs without taking into consideration the allowance he got. If the allowances were included, he took home close to 1000 WCs per month which amounts to roughly 12,000 WCs annually. This was three times higher than an average civil servant in the Federation and far better than other professionals. If this was ten years before the Global war, his annual salary could be 2.5 million USD.
However, this was not his only source of income. Doctor Jean Pombe was a Lieutenant in the Jua Kali Cartel having been promoted some years back from the position of Falcon. His salary from the cartel was almost twice what he was paid as a supervisor in the hospital. And if he finished any urgent mission the rewards were very lucrative.
Doctor Jean Pombe swung his legs off the comfy bed and walked to the bathroom to wash his face, as he walked barefoot on the tiles, the cold tiles sent a jolt through his body which acted as a stimulant to banish away his sleep and fear of what he had experienced in the dream. In the bathroom, he stood over the white sink and turned on the tap, cold water splashed over his hands, and he splashed it onto his face repeatedly, as though trying to wash away the remnants of his nightmare.
He saw a reflection of a middle-aged man in his mid-fifties, with short black hair and a small beard containing some grey whiskers, sharp brown eyes. And a large short nose. Wrinkles had started appearing on both sides of his face but this made to appear more mature and experienced.
'Bloody Mary! I am getting older each year if only there was a supplement for reducing on the effects of age.' He conversed in his head as he took a deeper look at his reflection, he hated it that he was losing his youthful appearance and no amount of exercise or dieting could put a stop to it.
A smirk tugged at the corners of his lips, but it quickly faded. He exhaled sharply and ran a hand down his face, his fingers lingering on his chin as he contemplated the state of the world.
"I hope this fucked up world does not end; I am not ready to give up on the joys of living the good life." He muttered to no one in particular but he meant each word he said.
He had millions of WCs on his account and dozens of assets across the continent which fetched him some good money that could enable him to live comfortably even if he retired from being a Doctor in the Regional Hospital.
To Doctor Jean Pombe, money was something more important to him than even the Hippocratic Oath he took in Medical School. When he was in Medical School, he foresaw that the salary of a doctor could not satisfy him, so when the Cartel offered him the opportunity to join them, he took it up eagerly.
As he was observing his reflection in the mirror and contemplating the fate of the world, he heard a peculiar notification sound coming from the Home theatre speakers. He quickly rushed to the table where his smartphone lay, he knew that whatever message had dropped in was important since this notification sound was reserved for important communication from the Governor of Jua Kali cartel. He picked up the smartphone and saw one high priority message in his inbox.
Doctor Jean Pombe hurried unlocked his phone, and decrypted the message to hear the audio command in the Governor's crisp voice.
"Authorization code CR00X11, TERMINATE Bosco Masaba with extreme prejudice. Bounty is ten thousand WCs; duration is 72 hours starting now." He listened to the message till the end, he didn't need to replay it as everything was very clear.
"Hahaha hahaha hahaha!!" Doctor Jean Pombe's boisterous voice echoed off the walls of the living room, laced with genuine amusement.
"The Gods surely love me despite my wicked way, this mission is a godsend." He muttered to himself.
What was so exciting about this mission that it roused his spirits? During the day, the Ministry of Health sent their hospital a list of trainee doctors to help out to reduce the workload in the coming days until the emergency had passed. The list contained two names and one of the names had stuck in his mind. The name Bosco Masaba stood out since he had chosen this trainee doctor to fill out in the Specialized Laboratory during the duration of his posting in Mutukula Regional Hospital.
Never had he imagined that the trainee doctor he had chosen to be his workhorse in the Specialized Laboratory could end up being his target, this was so fantastic. It felt like the heavens were appreciating him for his deeds and giving him a bonus.
The irony was almost poetic. The very trainee doctor he had selected to assist in the Specialized Laboratory had now become his target.
A reward of 10,000 WCs was so appetizing to him. This felt like a personalized mission. He had direct access to this trainee doctor and he was going to see that he completed this mission before the 72 hours elapsed.
Doctor Jean Pombe began scheming how he was going to murder this Bosco Masaba and make it look like an accident. His mind began churning out schemes on how to achieve it, each one more ruthless than the last. But what was the easiest and least suspicious method?
There were many ways he could do it; the easiest one was to cause a fire in the Specialized Laboratory and ensure that Bosco Masaba did not get to run out. This means he was going to disable the fire safety features and ensure that there was no one there apart from this trainee doctor. Currently, there are two other personnel in the Specialized Laboratory, but now he was going to transfer them to another department to avoid them being caught up in Bosco's bad luck.
Not daring to waste time, he sat on his computer and composed an email re-assigning the two staff in the Specialized Laboratory to other departments for the duration of the asteroid emergency.
He leaned back in his chair, lacing his fingers behind his head, a look of pure satisfaction washing over his face. "This should do it." He told himself. He had set the ground, what was remaining was the flawless execution.