That night around 10:00 PM, and the old grandma and her grandchildren were already asleep, I checked my weapons and ammunition just to make sure everything was fine. When I was sure that everything was fine, I sneaked out of the house, through the back door and headed for Mr. Sunday's mansion.
I got there around 11:00 PM but could not get in because the generator was still on. There was no electricity in the village. So, wealthy people like him made use of electric generators. I skulked around in the dark until the generator was turned off. That could only mean one thing. It was bedtime at the Sunday Mansion. I waited for another thirty minutes just to make sure that everyone was really asleep before jumping into action.
From my personal experience, I had learned that people always sleep deeply during the first two hours of going to bed. So, I was banking on the fact that I could sneak in unnoticed, go to the guardroom where I strongly suspected that Mrs. Delia Sunday was being held, rescue her and leave before anyone noticed.
I climbed on a tree that was opposite the mansion and looked down into the compound. Everywhere was still and quiet. Perfect!! Now, it was time to make my move. I removed my handgun from the backpack, double-checked again to make sure that it was loaded, and scurried to the back of the house. When I got there, I climbed on the fence and jumped into the compound.
With my heart beating fast and my adrenaline pumping, I walked slowly and cautiously to the backdoor of the mansion. In my bag, was a crowbar. I hoped to get there and use the tool to force open the backdoor. That was the only way I could get access to the interior of the house.
I got to the door with no incident. Gently, I removed the bag from my back and unzipped it. Slowly and carefully, I removed the crowbar from the bag. I put the gun in its holster and was going to start trying to open the door when I felt something like a cold steel or iron, touching the back of my neck.
"Freeze." A voice said. "Make one wrong move and that would be the last move you will ever make. Now, drop the tool slowly and turn around with your hands above your head.
I did as I was obeyed but as I turned around, I spoke to the night guard. His name was Thomas, and I knew him very well.
"Calm down, Mr. Thomas. It's just me." I spoke casually.
"What? Mr. Ben. Sir, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you here in a while." He was surprised and confused but that didn't cause him to lower his weapon.
"Yes, Mr. Thomas. How did you expect to see me when you only work in the night? Have you forgotten that you are a night guard?" I was still trying to be calm.
"I know that, Sir. But I thought you were fired. You were sacked. Were you not?"
"Mr. Thomas, are you alright? I was never sacked. I just had a little misunderstanding with the boss, that's all. I had since resumed work." I lied.
"But Sir, with all due respect, I have received no notification of your reinstatement. Anyway, what are you doing here at night? I know you as an accountant and not a welder or carpenter."
I was tightlipped. I hadn't anticipated that he would ask that question. As I contemplated my response, I started walking towards him casually. He suspected I was up to no good, so he spoke.
"Stand back, Sah. Please, do not come any further, and please, keep your hands where I can see them. I have to go get the boss now to verify and corroborate your story. Once he does, you will be free." His voice sounded threatening.
"Mr. Thomas. I hope you know the consequence of your action. You will lose your job for this." I was playing mind games with him while moving closer to him. My aim was to disarm him, but how was I going to do that. Mr. Thomas was a former military man, and also a war veteran. That meant his was good with military gadgets. He was sure to nail me before I even got close to him. However, that didn't discourage me.
He kept moving backwards as I walked towards him and I came to realize that if he wanted to shoot, he would have shot already. Haven thought that my confidence increased and at that same time, the distraction I had been waiting for, presented itself. Mr. Thomas stepped on a piece of wood that was laid on the ground at the back of the house. As he stepped on it, he missed his footing and staggered. That was my cue.
I sprang forward like a frightened animal and grabbed his gun. There was no need for him to struggle with me. He was in his sixties while I was still very young. With very little effort, I disarmed him and pointed his own weapon at him.
"What is the meaning of this, sir?" He asked, shivering.
"What does it look like, Mr. Thomas? I just disarmed you. Now, let me tell you. You were right all along. I no longer work here. I came here for a mission, and you will not stand by my way."
"Sir, please, do not shoot me. I have a wife and kids." He begged.
"I will spare your life because you have not committed any crime. However, I am going to gag and tie you up so that you will not cause any more disturbance."
"Sir, please, I will lose my job for this."
"I am sorry, Mr. Thomas. There is no other way. I have to do this."
About ten minutes later, I had had him hogtied. I searched his pockets and removed a bunch of keys.
"Which one opens the backdoor?" I asked.
He motioned that he couldn't speak because I had gagged him. So, I temporarily removed the gag from his mouth and asked the same question again. He used his lips to point to the key I had to use, because I had tied his hands behind his back. I gagged him again and walked to the backdoor. I put the key in the keyhole, and it opened. I walked into the house and went straight to the guardroom.
When I got there, I turned on the light of my phone and pointed it towards the entrance. I felt so sad when I saw Delia. She was sleeping on the cold hard tiles of the place. She had no blanket or sheets to cover herself. But there was no time to pity her. I had to the job I had come to door and leave before anyone discovered I was there.
"Delia! Delia!!" I whispered, but she seemed to be in a deep sleep. How could someone fall asleep in such a situation? "Delia!!!" I called again.
She shifted slightly in her sleep, adjusted herself and continued sleeping. Then, her body stiffened. She seemed to have noticed my presence because of the light of my phone. She was waking up from sleep and that made me smile.
"Delia." I whispered. "It's me, Ben Samuel."
"Ben." She shouted, realization taking over her entire face.
"Shhhhhhhhh! Do not shout. You don't want us to be caught, do you?" I hushed her.
"Ben, you came to rescue me. You came to rescue me. Oh! Thank you, Jesus. I never thought you would come." She was super excited.
"Yes, I saw your message and I decided to come to your aid. I could never allow you to stay in this condition."
"How did you get in here? How did you open the door?" She asked.
"There is no time for that now, Delia. Let's get out of here now."
I tried to open the door of the guardroom, but I didn't know which of the keys in the bunch could open it. I started trying one after the other, but Delia ran to the door and pulled the key from my hands. She knew which key it was. She opened the door without any effort, as soon as she walked out, she dived on my body and covered my face with kisses.
"Thank you so much, Ben. Thank you so, very much." She was overwhelmed.
"It's alright, Delia. Let's go."
I held her hand and we ran back to the backdoor. As soon as we got out of the compound, we realized that we had a new problem. Delia, because she was a woman, could not climb on the high walls of the fence that surrounded the building. That meant we had to pass through the main entrance.
Passing through the main entrance was supposed to be as easy as walking into church because we had the keys to the gate, and we had also secured the night watch. But there was a problem. What if someone from inside noticed us and raised alarm. That would not be a good thing at all. That is because we would be captured again, and since I couldn't of course, allow myself to be taken into captivity, I would have only one choice and that would be to shoot, something I was avoiding doing.
"What do we do now?" I asked Delia. "Do you think we can successfully pass through the front gate without being noticed?"
"It is possible, but that gate makes a loud creaking sound when being opened. So, someone from inside might wonder who would be opening the gate at this time of the night and come to take a look. That would mean trouble for us. So, I prefer we go attempt to scale the fence again." She spoke.
"That is funny. Imagine someone seeing me and someone's wife trying to scale the fence of her house at this time of night." I smiled.
"I am not someone's wife, Ben. What are you talking about?" She asked, slightly irritated.
"But we both know you are married to Mr. Sunday."
"We have divorced."
"What? When?"
"This morning. He brought the divorce papers to me and forced me to sign them. I had no choice. By signing the papers, I was automatically cutoff from all his property. Luckily for me, I had stashed that money I told you at the bank."
"How much is it?" I asked.
"Twenty million or thereabouts."
"That is enough. We can start with that. Now, let us go see how to scale the fence again."
We went back to the back of the house and tried to scale the fence again, but once again, Delia couldn't. Mr. Sunday had built the house like a fortress. The walls were as high as those of a maximum-security penitentiary. There were also razor wires running the full length of the fence.
We had no choice now. We had to go and try to pass through the front gate. We had to take our chances. We bent very low and almost crept to the gate to avoid being detected. When we got there, Delia used the key and opened the lock of the gate. Then, gently, very gently and cautiously, she started pushing the gate to open it. I held my breath as if holding my breath would stop the gate from making its infamous creaking noise.
Miraculously, we managed to push open the gate making as little noise as possible. As soon as we got on our feet and were about to exit the compound, all the lights of the compound suddenly came on, causing us to freeze in confusion and surprise. Then, we realized what had happened.
Parked directly in front of the gate, was a shiny new Range Rover. I recognized it immediately. It was Mr. Sunday's favorite car. Standing beside the car, was Mr. Sunday himself with two armed guards standing on either side of him. Their weapons were pointed at us.
"Good job, Mr. Ben. Once again, I have outsmarted you." He laughed menacingly.
"What? How did you know I would be here? You were supposed to be asleep." I spoke. I was still in shock.
"Yes, I was supposed to, but if you were me, you would never have been able to sleep after haven been informed that someone was going to invade the privacy and sanctity of your home, would you?" He laughed louder.
"Informed? Who informed you? NO one knew about this?"
"But someone knew, and you told him with your own mouth. Young man please, come forward so that Mr. Ben Samuel could see you." He spoke.
Then, I received the greatest shock in my life. The back door of the car opened and my police inspector friend stepped out, smiling."
TO BE CONTINUED…