CHAPTER THREE
Everywhere went pitch black!. Cries and sighs of despair and confusion rent the air around the store. From where I stood observing the tumult, I could see the security pacing around the store scanning the environ for a likely electrical fault or maybe for the childish entity that decided the light switch was the next available toy around!. I turned around and started moving, dodging any possible apprehension from anyone concerned and though I sustained some unknown blows as a result of the tussle, I clutched the drug firmly; it would be folly to lose the drug after initiating this one-off opportunity at the gross expense of the public's sanity. The two security men, Malik and one other guy whose name.....unknown to me, were fortunately not at their duty post, their 'suya'must be lying cold on the plastic stool (I had seen them munching on it when I first slid in), I paced out of the gate, took the skateboard where it stood expectant..... and why was Nisi's bike still here? Maybe he's kinda delayed, he would catch up. I skated straight to the safe zone and waited.
The time's already 8:15pm; fifteen minutes had gone after scheduled time and yet no sign of Nisi!. What's keeping him?. I gotta do something quick; I have to go back ! I slid the drug packet into my jacket and jogged back down to the supermarket. Everywhere was already settled and the frantic efforts of the workers and securities had eventually paid off; the light had been restored and I guess no one had noticed a thing about the op: Blackout. The security men?, where were they?, they weren't at their duty post again!. I sneaked into the alley that led to the generator house and made to push the metal door; the one with the tampered lock I know before I heard voices grunting in the darkness.
"What did I say about keeping this place clear of infiltration eh?..... What did I tell you morons about safe-guarding this place?!, you had only one job!, just one and you blew it", I couldn't recognize that voice but I assumed he must be the one in charge.
"We're sorry sire, we checked every nook and cranny here but.....", now this was Malik's voice
"Excuses, huh?, spare me please!, now open this hatch and let's get moving, we've got a lot squeezed into one night!"
I heard the hatch open and close then everywhere went dead again. I pushed the metal door open and crept towards the generator, I found the light switch and pressed it down [there's isn't gonna be a consequence for that 'cos the guys to be alerted at their duty post were already buried under some kind of underground!], immediately, my eyes caught the picked numeric lock; that's must be Nisi's handiwork, I taught him well and he learnt so fast, or maybe it was just the pressure that quickened his skills, he must be down there trapped!. The hatch, it was left open; strange!, it meant two things: it's either they are going to be back here soon or maybe they were expecting more visitors!, in either ways, I gotta leave here fast!. I made for the door and left the dark alley. I had to use the other entrance to the basement since they were two. Huh..., this might be too much for you guys.....how on earth do I know all of these right?.
I am Anthony, leader of the UFC clan and my story?....my parents died in a plane crash when I was four and nobody, absolutely nobody was interested in keeping me in their custody....., they were only interested in my parent's wealth. I wonder how much it would have cost them!. I had been on the streets for two years, surviving on petty stealing, some menial stuffs and brotherhood, most times, the brotherhood did the sustenance and I was grateful for all the skills I had learnt from them, most of which are still paying off. Then one night, tragedy hit, a clash ensued between Rex, the leader of the brotherhood and the local authorities due to the basis of our operations that most times went rogue and the police got involved and busted our haven in the ghetto that same night and sprayed bullets!.....not plastic ones..., real deadly bullets and wasted the brotherhood, most of it though. I could still remember Rex's voice when he saw the police van arriving.
"Run Tony.....run!". The rest of what I heard was rapid gunshots and cries of agony as I ran deep into the adjacent bush. I could hear marching footsteps approaching as I got to a large river mouth.....swimming?, I was best at it. I dove deep into the flowing water and held my breath as I could see the uniformed police men pointing a bright touch into the water and into the dense forest ahead hoping to find anything or anyone to kill. I could only hold my breath for forty seconds then and they were still overhead when I counted thirty!. Ten seconds left to live!, then one of the desperate ones among them fired multiple shots into the forest and few into the river, luckily the bullets weren't as interested in the idea of killing me as the merciless shooters and they just zoomed past me though at a safe radius to crash on the river bed, then the leader gave an inaudible order and they all retreated back to the ghetto. I hurried out of the freezing water and lied on the river bank, struggling to catch my breath. Tears flowed from my eyes; the whole brotherhood was gone, my only known family was killed by crazy gunmen in khaki. There was no going back, I crossed the river and made my way up an untarred road that led to a fenced guarded estate that had no entry shortcuts except a drainage system that emptied into the river that just saved my life. I crawled into the canal and when I came out on the other side, I found myself in heaven!, I had never seen an environment so tidy as this place blessed with beautifully designed houses and structures with tarred roads and functioning streetlights, it was really heaven!. I found my way with bare feet to large building with the name 'United For Christ Orphanage' and knowing what orphanage homes do, I knocked the iron gate and after a while a young woman opened it, looked down at me and smiled. That was how I became a member of the UFC. Over ten years now, I have done a dozen of successful harmless breaking in and out, adventurous lone missions most of which were unnecessary but due to my restless nature, I did it anyways and I have learnt a lot about this estate than most of those with permanent residences here and honestly, I'm proud of it!.
The basement had been one of those places that caught my attention when I first moved here. I was sent by Mrs Elizabeth to get groceries for the orphanage and after I was done with the purchase, I decided to use the toilet located inside the supermarket and what I found shocked me. I saw uniformed men from the keyhole of the fancy toilet door carry huge wooden crates past. I then waited for them to walk past again and this time, they were empty-handed. I walked away from the toilet and went straight ahead beginning one of my crazy adventures. I saw a door with a warning in red and white colour pasted on it 'do not enter, high voltage, restricted access, instructed personnels only'. Funny, I thought. The door had a padlock,..... that made me laugh, if you want to restrict access, why not use a swipe lock or a digital lock?, padlock..., so primitive!. In a minute, the padlock came off and behind the door wasn't anything that has to do with high voltage or even electricity, it was a flight of stairs that led downwards into a basement guarded by metal door left open. There was nothing special about the underground basement to sustain my interest, just those crates I had seen earlier littered the floor space, so I retraced my step back up and escaped without being noticed.....as usual.
When I got here this time, nothing's changed much, in fact, nothing changed about the other entrance that led to the basement. Same warning poster, same padlock, same flight of stairs, same vault door and even same odour emanating from the underground. The light here seemed to be on perpetually which was quite contrasting. The door leading to the basement was slightly ajar so I could see what was happening down there; from where I peeked, I saw the man with the unrecognized voice and now, I could see his weird dressing!, he had such a horrible taste and sense of style... I mean who still dresses like that?!. His boys were scouring the basement; they were probably looking for Nisi and I would be lucky if I could sight him first. Alright, a plan: sneaking in was not an option.... no it sure wasn't, if I even get to sneak in, sneaking out might just be impossible especially now when you are two!, what if I create a diversion?.....that might just work with lesser consequences I guess. Imma try it out.
I slid into the basement and hid behind a crate, I could see Malik and his partner heading towards where I hid.....perfect. As they got near, just a few centimetres separated us, they made to turn, that wasn't good, I needed them to see me not walk away from me!. I let out a mild cough, I knew their sharp senses would react. It was Malik who smelt a rat first!
"I found him sire", his bright touch blinded my eyes that had been used to the darkness around before he grabbed me by my arm and shoved me right in front of their strange boss. Their boss sure wasn't a fan of Blackout and he made it so obvious that he wasn't
"What's your name....you spoilt sneaky brat" He shouted, his face flushed with anger.
"Tony...Anthony's the name!" I said, using all the effontery I could garner. I waited for a reaction from the dark; if Nisi was in here, the mention of that name should jerk him to action. I scanned the room but I saw nothing; no reaction, no sound, no movement!
"Alright kid, why did you decide breaking the hornet's nest was the last action you would do in life"
What did he mean by 'last action you would do in life'?. He was just being scary, nothing more.... I pray so.
"With due respect sir", I started without knowing where I was gonna end, "I am a huge fan of your personality....very huge fan of your works and your achievements, I really believe you deserve more"
He looked at both his boys, let out a silent chortle and faced me again, frowning. Well, that seemed to relaxe his temper, he must be an egocentric guy, I concluded.
"But in life, we have ups and downs, some of which we can't control", I continued, it seemed I already found his weakness; pride! "but I say to you that you've conquered your fears and competitors as well and you have risen to the zenith of your career"
His grip on my arm loosened, I was getting results I never imagined I would get so fast!
"Well....let's just say I've been doing my assignments so well kiddo!, you are a hell of a kid, how come you know so much about me?" He was already impressed, falling for my tricks so easily.
"Everyone deserves to know about you sire!" I added with a touch of exaggeration.
That made him wild!, he let go of me completely, using both of his hands to applaud me himself while he struggled to contain the pleasure he was getting from my hyping.
It was time to introduce my wild card also.
"In life, we have ups and downs right, so then we have a way up and a way down both leading to the same place. Sometimes we pass through the way up and get stuck, hidden, afraid and unready to take the way back up as an escape route but a saviour might just come as a bolt from the blue from the way down to create that medium of escape. So we need to allay our fears ourselves, remember our training and time our actions. You know, ten seconds might just be enough to free yourself from some dark unknown space. You know what to do! Trust me!" After my seeming distorted speech, their leader looked at me strangely, wondering how I deviated from what I instituted. I prayed I had passed my message!.
In a flash, I heard rapid movements, he knew!, it worked, Nisi made for the ladder, my turn!, Malik's hand was the only hand that could reach me if I initiated an escape. His partner had started a chase while he stood unmoved. I clenched my fist and drove a powerful punch under his groin.....you know that place that hurts the most. He went down immediately and I made for the door. Their boss drew out a rifle and fired at Nisi....why not me that was close by?, maybe he had been appeased by my hype. I heard the shot ricochet off the metal ladder, lucky Nisi!.
"Good to see you brother, thanks for coming back to get me" Nisi started one of his dramatic speeches when we reconciled at the lined car space.
"Right now, we've got bigger problems than appreciation.....get down!"
Malik and his partner found their way out also flashing their blinding touch around where we stood.
"Quick....under the car" I whispered. We crept slowly under one SUV as the two infuriated men passed by cussing under their breath. Time was running out, couldn't they have assumed we were already out of sight?. Their search was interrupted by an inquisitive voice coming from a close distance just at the rear of the SUV. Immediately, the two guards and the owner of the voice converged right at the side of the car.
"Guys, what was the outage all about?, you seemed to have caused an uproar and angered a lot of customers, myslef inclusive!" The voice queried with displeasure demanding an explicit explanation of course.
"Never mind sir", it was Sule who took it upon himself to satisfy this 'angered customer' with obvious dissent in his voice, "just some minor electrical issues, nothing much to worry about, everything's back to normal now....have a good night!". I see what Sule was trying to do here, trying to get rid of this man in order to progress with their frustrating search. Well it worked, he didn't get a response from his new friend instead we were the ones shocked by the next action!, the beeping unlocking sound coming from the car we were hidden under indicating that this 'angered customer' was the owner of the SUV and well... he was ready to use his vehicle!.
Footsteps began drawing closer to where we were, then the door swung open and in a matter of seconds, the door was slammed and the engine revved smoothly into life!,... now what?