CHAPTER TWO
We dropped the bike and board under a shed near the rendezvous spot and I began moving, though hesitantly so that Anthony would find his way around the large supermarket before I get to kill the power. The cars parked on my route were all Comfortable Recreational Vehicles and their height aided my cover as I tiptoed gently, my breathing betraying me. I halted sharply, I heard voices; the security men were at it
"Have you checked the generator house?, Chief said we should keep an eye on it for tonight."
Wait, who was Chief and why is he interested in the generator house tonight?.
"I've checked it mate, everything's safe there" The second security man confirmed, piercing a toothpick into a piece of spiced steak placed on a plastic stool in between the two chairs where they sat... here, we call it 'suya' which is usually wrapped in old newspapers and extra spiced with lots of onions. Well.... I was allergic to onions and security men.
There was a gap between where the lined CRVs stopped and where I was to skip into the passage that led to the generator house. In between this nine- foot space was where the security men sat, devouring their onion-spiced steaks and unfortunately, that's where I'm to cross!. I closed my eyes, did a little breathing exercise Luke taught me to do when in distress, and prayed silently for invisibility as I waited for the right moment to zoom past these hungry-looking men. I decided after my breathing exercise and short prayer that I would run quickly on my toes. Running past, I mistakenly kicked an empty energy drink can. I froze!. It was finished! Busted! Wasted!. I felt a flush of disappointment all over my body. I smelt fear so much that I could almost taste it. I felt guilty, I had disappointed the UFC and now I was going pay and the method of my payment depended on the level of kindness of the security men or maybe, just maybe on how satisfied they were from the 'suya'!
"Did you hear that Sule?, I'm sure you heard that" The first security man asked, standing up and switching on his bright halogen-powered lamp. I now knew from where I stood who was Sule from the voice I heard but of course, that was of no help to me!
"Forget it mate, it's just some hungry rats looking for some touch of livelihood" The security man called Sule responded, using the toothpick now for its real purpose.
"Maybe..... but I'm going to check just to be sure we're clear of infiltration". It seemed this guy called 'mate' was dedicated to keeping his job and following Chief's order to the very end. I could already hear incoming footsteps.
"Suit yourself mate, but while you are gone chasing innocent rats, I will be here consuming all the 'suya'" He smacked his lips in satisfaction. Sule sure knew how to play his card I thought.
"Leave the 'suya' out of this Sule"
"I can't mate, I just can't leave some food as spicy as this, I'm sorry mate"
"Okay, you win ". I heard him retrace his steps and crash on a plastic chair that seemed to annoy the ground, it seemed 'mate' wasn't that committed like I thought, or maybe it was just the irresistibilty of the steak.
The alley was darker than how I imagined it would be. Every where was dead silent and the only sound heard was that of my feet on the smooth concrete ground and my wheezings loud enough to sustain my heightened fear.The thought of those uniformed men protecting the store from no obvious security threat gave me the shrills. Well finding the generator was as easy as cheese as I could see amber flashes coming from a soft but steady vibrating object at a distance.
"Hey Nisi, you there yet?"Anthony asked, his voice sounding calm and collected over the walkie -talkie.
"Almost, I can see yellow light beaming from a distance, I think that's what we looking for, right?"
"That's it Nisi, lay your sweaty palms on it and kill the power after my signal.....ermm, I'm already approaching the medic side of the store"
I looked at my palms, they where indeed sweaty!. Predictable me!. I must cut down my salt intake I thought, maybe it's just fear, well lemme get back to business.
"Alright Nisi, I've got eyes on the drug and moving in for pick up, give me a couple of minutes to confirm if it's the right one, you wouldn't want to go through all these for the wrong drug huh?"
The walkie-talkie went cold again. I sighed, nobody wanted that.
I stared at the power switch of the generator, observing nothing in particular about the switch, just running my mind through the plan again. Wait.....the security men said something about the generator house where I was now, something about keeping an eye on it for tonight I thought. Well, that's strange because I don't see anything special about this place; the supermarket may be posh but this place.....nah!. The walkie-talkie had a small flashlight powered by a pair of battery, I switched it on and pointed it around the walls and corners of the generator house maybe, just maybe I would find anything peculiar or fancy about my temporary hideout. Well, no doors on both sides of the alley, no windows, no vents, only a small square window for the large metal pipe of the generator.....exhaust pipe?....I mean the one that releases smoke outside..... and oh!, there's the light switch Anthony was warning about which was there screaming 'press me', I had been tempted to switch it on when I first sneaked into the dark passage 'cos I was used to putting on the light switch each time I enter a room. What's with Anthony, he said few minutes. I had already gotten to the metal entrance again, swinging the flashlight and waiting for Anthony's signal then I heard voices right outside the slightly ajar door where I stood, my ears glued to the wall.
"My sources have informed me that the Chip would be here in two" That was 'mate'
In where?, oh no! I got to tell Anthony the plan has been busted. We had to change our plans now!
"Anthony.....Tony, do you copy?" I shrieked, what's holding Anthony?
"Nisi.....", his voice sounding distorted and distressed over the walkie-talkie, "sorry for that delay, I was being monitored by one of the internal security which I never knew existed. I had to walk about the store to put him off my tail, now I'm headed for the drug now, give me..."
"No more extra time to give man!, I overheard something would be in here in two minutes, where precisely, I don't know, we got to get outta here man...I'm sorry, I .can't get caught....I promised!", my hands were already trembling.
"Nisi, we can't afford to quit now...for Dan remember?, let's do this for UFC!. Just find a good hiding spot behind the generator and besides, everywhere would be dark.....no one's seeing anything or anybody in there....just hang on, we can pull this off!"
"I don't know Tony!, I just feel that.....damn....". Footsteps were already approaching, I scurried back to my hiding spot at the back of the generator, breathing as fast and loud as I could, my heart was already in my mouth and my mind?, praying for invisibility again!
I didn't hear any sound again, it all subsided...I could relax just little bit, I would be over soon I thought. I made to stand up, my flashlight falling down from my slippery fingers; the light beam fell on a shiny object that reflected back, I checked what it was and behold, it was a huge padlock, those ones with number codes used to offer some sort of protection to a hatch that led to some sort of basement! Where is this place? CCTVs, surveillance systems, motion sensors, security men and now a basement !. I got to get outta here!, then as I was considering giving up, I reached out for a safety pin which I always kept in my pocket and started picking the numeric lock of the padlock. I had mastered lock- picking from Anthony and now, it might just save my life tonight!. In a minute, off came the padlock and then I heard a loud bang; the metal door with the tampered lock swung open noisily!
"Coast clear sire, we carried out your orders perfectly, you would be impressed", this was coming from Sule as three men made their entrance into the dark passage without switching on any form of light, maybe they were the 'men in dark' I concluded.
"The light bulbs, are they working?" The stranger among the three asked, his voice sounding harsh and authoritative.
"Yes Chief, in fact...."
"Thanks Sule, but I'm not interested in facts. Switch 'em on and let's get moving!", the stranger retorted sharply.
Just as they made efforts to locate the light switch, Anthony's voice pierced the combined darkness and silence in the alley.
"Alright Nisi, you can kill the power now!"
No! This can't be happening to me again!
"Did you hear that Malik?" Chief asked with noticeable fear in his voice, oh!, 'mate's' real name was Malik!
Immediately, the light came on and I heard guns cocking, I could see it from the looks on their faces that it was over. I decided that whatever or whoever resided in the basement couldn't be as malevolent as these guys in the same alley I was. I groped for the power switch on the generator and killed the power leaving everyone both in and out of the supermarket in gross darkness and confusion then I lifted up the heavy metal hatch and beneath I went, but deep down, I knew I might not survive Sule and Malik or even Chief; I might pay for this daring action wtih my life!
This kind of basement which I never knew existed in this country had huge sturdy metal ladders that led downwards and I was determined to get to the last, keep my head low around the much darker basement and make a run for it as soon as I'm presented with an escape opportunity; I pray I find one soon or I might just end up living here. Anthony!, I pray he has enough time to get out of the supermarket before Malik and Sule get the generator running again.
"Anthony!, do you hear me", I tried reaching him when I felt the ground. No response, he must have joined in the uproar as a pretence to exit the store with the drug. I switched off the walkie-talkie to avoid the same problem I just escaped from. He had better hurry and get to the safe zone, I had to save myself... alone! Right above, I could hear them grunting as they tried to undo what I just did, well....that would give me some minutes before they bust into the basement to fish me out and I do know what people like them do to fish: smoke 'em, fry 'em, boil 'em or even roast 'em. I didn't want any of that inhumane treatment. Well, there was nothing spooky about the basement, just large boxes and crates arranged everywhere though orderly. What's special about these boxes?, as I made to feed my curiosity using the flashlight, I heard the hatch three metres above me creak open!
The light went on and from where I hid behind these huge crates, the subterranean was so large that I couldn't even see the end or the corners of this place, it must be the hideout of some kind of drug pushers, crazy gunmen or some wanted arms dealer I thought. There were large wooden counters, large metal and wooden crates and several plastic chairs scattered around, some bottles of liquor also stained the ground and everywhere reeked of the stench of damp rotting wood, strong liqour and the musty surrounding.
"Find him, he must be in here somewhere!, and when you do, bring him to me, I would show him the reason why actions do have consequences!" Chief roared grumpily. I must have ruined his mood tonight and seeing his appearance now, I was happy I did. He wore a long black leather coat like the one worn by sleuths in movies with a matching black bowler hat and dark sunglasses, cigarette in mouth; what a scary way to dress!. His boys; Malik and Sule scurried off in the wrong direction to look for me and I was relieved....at least for some minutes, now to draw out an escape plan. The ladder wasn't far from where I hid and from my semi- accurate rough calculations, it would take me about forty seconds to make the run for it and get to the surface, I was gonna take that risk; I couldn't afford either being stuck with scary-looking Chief and his boys or being fished out by the latter!.
"I found him sire....." Malik screamed eerily from a distance after five minutes of combing.....but...but how?... I was still here, where I was hiding.....behind the crates!. I made to peep from where I was, had they sighted me from where they stood?. Malik dragged a young guy of about my height roughly from the dark side of the basement and shoved him right in front of Chief. I looked away and produced a sigh of relief, leaning my back on the side of the huge wooden crates. Lucky me, I thought, now this poor little dude was gonna pay for my sins. Sad!
"What's your name?,...tell me you spoilt little sneaky brat?!" Chief yelled, grabbing his captive by his shoulder, his temper getting the better of him.
"Tony...., Anthony's the name!" He coughed out rather boldly.
What a cute name for a crafty guy...., wait did he just say "Anthony"?!