The Complete Assassin_Kevin John (kayemjay) Episode 11 Stella pulled out of the garage and drove slowly through the narrow drive way. There was only one way out and it was through the barrier. There was an already long queue of cars waiting to leave the Cherry Manor and the barrier opening contributed to the slow pace at which the cars were moving. Stella squeezed her face and pulled away from behind the queue with a quick fast turn to her right. She guided the car over the small curb which served as a barricade from the greenery that flanked the drive in. Speeding through the grass, she got to the barrier in a flash. The guards were stunned and taken unawares. Before any of them could react, Stella came down from the grass, and sped through the barrier just as it was closing down. Shifting into gear four, she turned into the freeway and sped towards the toll gate. Three guards in complete combat gear got into a police Rav 4 and went in pursuit, hot on the heels of Stella and her brother. “You have bees on your tail and they are closing in on you.” James said into Steven’s ears. “We’ve got a car on our tail. We need to lose them. Can you shake them off?” Steven asked his sister. “I can. But I am more concerned about catching up with the b1tch.” Stella replied, stepping hard on the accelerator. Steven jerked forwards, but his seat belt was in place. He looked at the side mirror of their car and the police car was out of sight. Just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, two police cars came out behind them, speeding with a lot of ferocity. “James, how far out is Sheila?” Steven asked pressing a hand to his ear. “She’s third in line to be passed. You are seven minutes away from her. You have to hurry.” James replied. Steven had to make a decision. If he lost Sheila now, he might never see her again. Besides, he had to make her pay for humiliating him. He had two police vehicles on his tail. He needed to shake them off. Only one thing came to mind. “Slow down and pull over in front there.” Steven said to his sister pointing in front of him to a small cordoned area of the freeway. “What?!” Stella asked not believing what she had just heard. “I said pull over goddamit!” Steven repeated raising his voice through clenched teeth. Stella knew better than to argue with him. She reduced her speed as she brought the car to a gradual stop. She was fuming inside her as she released her foot from the brake. She attempted to remove her seat belt but Steven stopped her. “Don’t. Just leave the engine running and stay alert. When I give the go, you move. Understand?” Steven whispered to her. Stella nodded. One of the police vehicles parked in front of the car they were in while the other blocked them from behind. A man came down from the police vehicle that blocked them in front. “Come down from the car and put your hands where I can see them.” The guard commanded. Stella looked at her brother. He signaled for her to stay put. They had to come to them. The car was a right hand drive and Steven was going to have to come out first. They guards did not know that. The car was a 2012 Toyota Selica with tinted glasses visible only from within. “This is your last warning! Come out with your hands on your head!” The guard warned. Guns corked. From the sounds Steven knew there were at least three men in his range. He could only see one, the one barking the orders. He knew the others were very near. He put his silver ballers inside his hip and opened the door slowly his hands first. He shut the door quickly before anyone could catch a glimpse of Stella and lay face down on the roof of the car, his hands on his head. He quickly scanned the area. Three men, three automatic Kalashnikov rifles. There was one in front of him and two behind him. There were two men each inside the vehicles. He quickly calculated his move. All he needed was just one tiny mistake. And it happened sooner than he thought. “So you think you can escape from us ehn?!” The man barking the others said approaching Steven. Steven had calculated the steps. Just five yards and he would be near him. The police had a stupid habit of wanting to punch or slap a suspect who gave them a tough time. He was praying that this was one of such men whose hunger for hitting suspects was higher than his hunger for following protocol. The man began to move closer. “So you feel you are James Bond abi? I will teach you.” The man said. By now he was within arm’s reach of Steven but he needed to get closer. The moment had to be perfect. Steven pretended to be scared, shaking his legs and even letting a trickle of urine come down his legs. The man put his hand on Steven’s neck, pressing hard. “You will experience why they call me Mombasa!” The man screamed putting his lips near Steven’s head. Just then he saw the ear plug in Steven’s ear. “Move! Now!” Steven shouted at the top of his voice. Stella stepped on the accelerator and in a jiffy the car was out of sight…. ****************************** ****************************** ************************ Steven was the first to react. He already knew where the guards were and had timed his move to perfection. As Stella zoomed off, he instantaneously turned moving away from the car. He grabbed the hand that was on his neck, twisting it painfully backwards. At the same time, he put a hand in his hip and took out one of the twin silverballers. The guard yelped in pain at the brute force that Steven used in breaking his wrist. The other guards whose rifles were lowered suddenly took aim at Steven. They were not fast enough as Steven took three very precise shots. The two guards behind him fell as a bullet each went to their foreheads. Deadly headshots. The guard who was still screaming and yelling obscenities tried to lift his heavy rifle. Steven shot him on his other hand. “Stay still.” He said, shooting another bullet on his leg. It all happened in less than ten seconds. Three down, four to go. He pulled out the other gun from his hip, switching the safety off. He spread his legs, arms wide apart, and guns in both hands, waiting for the next victims. He knew these men were not trained special operatives. They were just goons who had little training in the art of gun slinging. One of the important laws of gun slinging was to always predict the enemy and never rush into a gun fight. The men in the car did not know this. All he needed to do was wait for them. He did not need to wait long. In a few seconds, seeing that their colleagues had just been shot, the first to react were the men in the vehicle in front of him. The man in the passenger seat of the Rav4 came out first, followed by his partner in the back seat. Immediately after the two men in the front seats in the car behind him also came out, with guns. Steven knew he could not take them all at the same time. He had no cover. He predicted that he had just a few seconds before he would be caught by a bullet. Fortunately for him, the men in the Rav4 did not move. They just stood by the open door, and fired at him. Moving sideways, he took two precise shots with each gun. One struck the man on the passenger side on his neck. He fell forwards. The other bullet caught the man behind on his forehead, a deadly headshot. Steven’s signature. He fell to the ground, blood oozing from the wound. The men in the car behind shot at him with .23 pistols. He was quite distant from them and they had a ridiculously terrible aim. Steven rolled on the floor to get himself in a favorable position. Just as he was about to aim, a bullet caught him in the thigh. ‘‘Argghhh” Steven groaned, stifling a scream. The area around his thigh where the bullet had hit hum immediately soaked with blood. He aimed at the fuel tank of the car behind him and pulled the trigger. The explosion was deafening and devastating as the bodies of his assailants were swallowed in the inferno. He winced as he got up on his feet. The pain on his left thigh was excruciating. He had to get the bullet out but there was no time. He needed to get to Sheila first. He put a finger in his ear. “James. Update me.” Steven commanded as he half limped to the Rav4. “Are you okay? You don’t sound good SP.” James replied sounding worried. “I am fine. Answer me.” Steven said, going round the car and opening the driver’s door. He got in and pushed the body of the man out into the road, shutting the door after him. “Stella is just a few minutes away from her. I bought her a few minutes. I managed to hack into the e-tag software system of the tollgate and was able to delay Sheila from using her automatic e-tag pass. But it was just for a few minutes as the attendant asked her to reverse and use another booth with the manual access. Stella just passed the toll gate and is hot on targets tail. Target is on Ozumba moving at 100km/h while Sheila is hot at Admiralty. ETA is 4 minutes.” James replied. “I hope this baby can fire.” Steven spoke to himself, starting the ignition. “Pardon me?” James replied. “Never mind. Give me an alternate route to get to Bonny without going through the tolls. I need to catch up with them.” Steven ordered. “Okay…Sent to your GPS. Check your phone. You have to drive as fast as the devil himself if you hope to catch any of them.” James advised. Immediately, Steven’s Iphone beeped. There was a new message. He opened it and a GPS mapping guide appeared, showing him the directions that he requested. He was quite familiar with the route and memorized it in seconds. He accessed the mess he had just created. Two dead bodies, an injured guard who probably would recall his face, his bullets, a burning vehicle. Too much evidence. It was a desperate situation that had called for desperate measures. He shook his head and sighed. He had to finish this. He shifted gear and drove like a mad man. ******************************* Detective Samson was home with his beautiful wife and kids. They were all watching their favorite TV Series, Goodluck Chuck when his phone rang. He recognized the number and cussed. His wife turned to look at him with a frown on her face. “I’m sorry. I forgot the kids are here.” He apologized. “It’s not just about the kids honey, you have to stop cussing. It’s not healthy.” His wife said, smiling and rubbing his jean covered thigh. His eleven year old son and four year old daughter did not seem to be interested in the conversation as they watched the television with rapt attention. “Work, I guess?” His wife asked, after the phone stopped ringing. “Yep. Why can’t I get a weekend with my family without any interruption Nora? Am I asking for too much?” Samson lamented. “Honey, it’s what you love. It’s your job. I could not have asked for a more responsible husband. Sometimes . . .” His wife was saying when the phone rang again. The detective looked at his wife with sad eyes. “. . . Answer it.” His wife said, smiling. He picked the call. “Yep. Yes sir. What? How? Jesus! Okay. Okay sir. Right away sir.” Samson answered at intervals. His wife looked at him intently as his face contorted and his countenance changed. The detective ended the call. “Baby, there has been an emergency. I . . .” Detective Samson started but his wife put a finger on his lips. “Shhhhh. Honey you don’t need to explain anything to me. I understand. Go get them.” Nora said and smiled. Her smile warmed his heart. She meant everything to him. She fueled him. She pushed him. She was his tonic when he needed the extra boost to go on. He did not know what he would do if not for his wife and lovely kids. They were his world. He got up the settee in which they sat and kissed his wife deeply on the lips. He did not want to break off, but she pushed him away playfully. He went to the rug where the children sat and kissed them both on the forehead. “Daddy, where are you going?” His little daughter asked. “Daddy has work to do. I will be right back.” Detective Samson said, running his hand through her hair. He picked his gun holster, wearing it as he clipped the buttons in place. He kissed his wife on the head and go out of the house. ****************************** ***** Steven zigzagged though the alternate route, speeding from FourPoints to Eko Hotels, then through Silverbird and then linking Bar Beach. He was going at 120km/hour speeding like his life depended on it. The car seat was soaked with his blood as wound gushed. He approached Bonny and put a finger in his ear. “I am approaching Bonny. Tell me I made it.” Steven spoke weakly. “Wow. Now I know why they call you the Shadow Prime. You are two minutes ahead of time. She should be coming around the bridge in about… Shiitt!!! She just turned left going towards Waziri Ibrahim. I can’t find her anymore. She has jammed my signals.” James replied “And Stella?” Steven asked. “Stella is hot on her heels. Target is aware of someone on her tail. I’ll track her using Stella’s coordinates. Stella, I’m using your coordinates to track the target. Keep on her tail.” – James “Got it.” Stella replied, “One more thing. I suspect that SP may be in trouble. I accessed one of the traffic cams and although the image was not too clear as he ran the red light, he seemed to be bleeding. I’m connecting the line to him. Maybe you could get him to go for help.” James said worried. “Go ahead but I doubt he would listen.” Stella replied. “Listen to what sister?” Steven said butting in. James had already connected them. The idiot. “Steve, I can handle this. Please. Get help for yourself. You are losing a lot of blood.” Stella pleaded. “James, I know you can hear me. You are so dead. Sister, I am fine. Just make sure that you have eyes on her. Where are you now?” Steven said clearly. “Looks like she enjoys the chase. She knows I am on her. Seems she’s going to climb the bridge.” Stella replied. “I have a feeling that she’s up to something. Sheila NEVER works alone. I have an idea.” Steven finished and pulled the ear wig out. He always followed his instincts and he was never wrong. Something told him that their communication system had been compromised. He threw the earwig out the window and did a U- turn, heading towards Osborne. He was going to be the blackjack. ****************************** ****************************** ************************* Detective Samson arrived at the crime scene, the area already cordoned with proximity yellow tapes. Reporters, paparazzi, cameras and bystanders formed a little crowd as they all went about their business trying to decipher what had happened in this open freeway, leaving bodies dead and debris everywhere. As the detective bent under the tapes he was greeted by a familiar face. “Morning sir. It’s a terrible situation.” The officer said, walking with the detective as they approached one of the bodies. “You can say that again Malcom. What’s the stats?” The detective asked. “We have five bodies. Four dead. Two from precise headshot wounds and the other two from severe first degree burns and decapitated limbs, their bodies charred beyond recognition. The Forensics team would be carrying out a DNA and Blood test to confirm their identities.” Officer Malcom replied. The detective was emotionless as he moved from the body he was looking at to the next one. He had seen a lot of dead bodies in the last few months that it had begun to dull his senses and look pretty routine. This corpse had caked blood on his forehead, the whites of his eyes showing. He had one tribal mark on each cheek and no other sign of battery. “Get me some gloves.” The detective commanded. Officer Malcom turned and whistled at one of the men at the ambulance, signaling for them to bring a pair of gloves. “So what happened to the last man or woman? You said there were five bodies. You only talked about four.” The detective spoke as he wore the gloves. He turned the man’s rigid face left and then right to see if there were any signs that he was hit. He examined the body and saw that the only contact was the gun wound. “He was still alive although barely breathing. He has been rushed to the EU so that his life could be saved.” Malcom replied. “How many times have I said, do not tamper with evidence till I arrive?!” Detective Samson complained. Malcom had a sorry look on his face but did not utter a word. He followed the detective as he bent over each body, examining it and taking notes. This did not add up. He pondered on the motive for this killings. Self- defense? Making a statement? What was it? He stood and surveyed the surroundings again, and then his eyes caught something. There was a shiny glitter just under the arm of the first body he had looked at. He went back and bent, turning the body sideways. As he turned the right arm, he noticed a lapel pin. Just on the left shoulder of the uniform. “King’s Guard?” Samson asked looking up at Malcom “The King’s Guard is a privately owned security outfit that train and supply special officers for events and huge occasions. They are highly trained and not easy to procure because of their high charges.” Malcom replied. “But there doesn’t seem to be any event happening around here. So why is there an officer of the King’s Guard far from his den?” Samson asked rhetorically. “There was an event today at The Cherry Manor. The King’s Guard were the security outfit at the venue.” Malcom said, reading from his hand held tablet. He saw the look of bewilderment and surprise on Samson’s face so he quickly added, “Google sir. And it says here that after the rancor of the death of the Speaker, guests were being checked out of the venue when a car left the queue and ran through the barrier. The guards went in pursuit.” Malcom finished. “Get me a torch.” Samson ordered, as he walked forwards. He walked for about eight yards and crouched. Malcom handed him the torch. Collecting it, he beamed the lights at the tar covered road. “Car tracks.” Samson said, looking up at him. He walked away from the scene, removing his gloves as he bent under the yellow tapes. “I need the traffic surveillance between here and five bus stops before and after. I need number plates. I need witnesses, anyone who may have seen or heard anything. You get that, Malcom?” Samson asked. Malcom just nodded. “I also want the bullet in each body extracted and brought to me. Untouched, as in with the blood. You got that? With the blood.” The detective ordered. As he approached his car, he asked Malcom, “Which hospital was he taken to?” ‘City County Hospital.” Malcom replied. The detective got to his car, and pressed the security button in his hand. The tail and front lights flashed twice and the car door unlocked. As he opened his side of the car, reporters and journalists appeared from nowhere blocking his path, cameras flashing and asking a multitude of questions with different microphones, mobile phones and tapes being pushed at him. He caught one of the questions. “We cannot confirm to you at this time who is responsible for the killings or what the motive is. However we can confirm to you that this was not a traffic accident. An official statement will be replease by the department later today.” Samson said as he bent and entered his car, ignoring the barrage of questions that followed. He honked twice and drove away from the crime scene as he headed towards The City County Hospital. ************************** Stella slowed down, confused as to what just happened. Sheila seemed to have disappeared into thin air. No sound of the engines, no trace of burning rubber, nothing. She had just turned a bend a few seconds after Sheila did and was supposed to be on her tail. But now, there was just darkness. She stepped on the gas, moving slowly. There were two roads in front of her. One to the left and the other to right. If she took the wrong one, she would never get Sheila. She breathed in deep. Taking one last look at the cross road before her, she shook her head on went left, hoping that she made the right decision. Sheila smiled as she crouched in the passenger seat of her car, watching as Stella stood confused in the middle of the road. The manoeuver that she had just done was one she had practiced for months. She had picked her spot a long time ago and practiced painstakingly twice every day until she got it right. The move had to be perfect. No screeching tires, no burning rubber or smelling clutch. Just a subtle U-turn that allowed her park in a very obscure and unnoticeable part of Adekunle bus stop. The fact that it was very dark also aided her as it was very difficult to notice tire marks in pitch darkness even with the illumination that the headlights provided. She watched as Stella turned the opposite direction, speeding away as if being chased by a ghost. She put a hand in her ear. “Raven. I have lost her. Am I clear to proceed to hideout?” She said “Clear. SP is still somewhere on the island. I guess he finally bled out. So much for that. There is incoming. ETA is twelve seconds. There are no surveillance cams to ascertain that it’s not hostile but I am sure it’s nothing. Mission complete Sheila. Come on home.” A voice replied. Sheila pulled out of the tiny parking space, shrouded by cramped houses and slowly moved out. She turned left, going the way Stella had come and cruising slowly, enjoying the midnight breeze that filtered through the half open windows. It had been an easy mission. Easier than she had expected. She unhooked her ponytail, shaking her head so that the hair fell on her shoulders. Just then, the car that was passing by rammed sideways into her. She was taken aback and very shocked but recovered quickly. She had made to get out of the car when her assailant reversed, preparing to ram into her again. That was when she saw who was behind the wheels. It was Steven. ****************************** ****************************** ************************* “I lost her. I can’t believe I lost her!!! Furk!” Stella cussed as she turned the car around heading back the way she came. “How could I have been so stupid?!” She continued. She was speeding back towards Adekunle now hoping with any luck, she would catch up with Sheila. She put a finger in her ear. “Any luck?” She asked “None. The location of Steven’s position is still static. He could have run out of strength to continue, bled out, or even worse. Don’t you think you need to check it out? I can send the location to your phone.” James suggested. Stella thought for a few seconds. She slowed down and took a right, evading a hole in the road and increasing her speed. “I could be running around this whole area in circles and still not get her. I have lost her already. I do not want to lose my brother. Send the coordinates.” Stella replied. “Done already.” James replied. As she was about taking another turn towards the third mainland bridge, she had a brainwave. “James, how did Steven know where we were and how to get to continue the chase?” “I sent him the coordinates on his phone. He sounded pretty hurt and I informed you accordingly.” James replied. “Can his phone be traced?” Stella asked full of hope. She was parked at the roundabout, waiting for James’ response. It would decide which way she would be headed. “It’s a long shot Stella. But I can try.” James replied. “Make it short. You have 90 seconds.” Stella threatened. James moved to his tracking laptop and launched the NoteWizard Tracker. He typed in Steven’s phone number and hoped that it would not reject it. After 10 seconds, a message flashed on the screen. “NUMBER NOT IN USE BY ANY CUSTOMER” James cussed. He knew that the number would not be traceable because it was a unique noncommercial phone number. He held his hand in his head. Stella never made empty threats. He suddenly got an idea. He pressed a few keys on the tracker and got into the source code of the tracking program. He began to search line by line, hoping to find what he was looking for. As he searched, his eyes landed on something. ”YES!” James screamed. “You found him?” Stella asked. “No, not yet. Hold on” James replied. He found a line in the source code which said “Search NonCommercial Numbers” with a value “No”. That was the problem. He clicked on the “No” and changed its value to “Yes”, saved it and then re-ran the program. He could not believe his eyes. “Stella?” James called out. “Yes?” Stella replied wondering why James was so timid. “SP is mobile and moving very fast. He is along the Yaba axis and from the movement in this radar, he’s either going after something or he is being chased. . .” James informed. Stella did not wait for James to finish. She had already started the engine and moved wildly forwards, as she hit the accelerator hard. “Damn! James, I am approaching Adekunle police station. I need shortcuts from here till I meet up with them. Copy that?” Stella commanded. “Done ma’am.” She slot in an Eminem CD, and increased the volume to a very high level, drowning all other sounds around her. She lost Sheila before. She was determined not to lose her again. *************************** Steven gave a quirky smile. He loved the look of surprise that Sheila now had. He reeved his engine as he prepared another assault on her. He stepped hard on the accelerator plunging forwards in an attempt to ram the car into her. Sheila was fast enough as she quickly put the gear in reverse and moved out of Steven’s path just in time. She was scared. Not because she was afraid to face Steven one on one. She could easily manage that. What scared her was the raw horror she saw in Steven’s eyes. The thirst for blood. The desire to kill her. It was bad enough that she was messing with a Shadow Prime. She was now messing with a Shadow Prime who was now blinded and obsessed with only one thing, his desire to see her dead. She did not give this too much thought as she did a 180 turn as she reversed facing the road the same way she had come. She looked in her rear view mirror and saw Steven right on her heel. She thought about pulling off the move she did with Stella but thought against it. There was a high probability that Steven would not fall for it and she was not mentally stable to pull that off. She increased speed as she turned left linking the freeway. Steven checked the gauge of his fuel. There was more than enough for him to run around the entire city for the whole day. He smiled wryly. Nothing was going to stop him from killing Sheila this day. The road was very free as they sped through, going past the very few cars they came across with blinding speeds. Three minutes into the chase, Sheila realized that Steven would not stop chasing unless she did something drastic. She could not outwit him as all her plans had flown out the window and nothing readily came to mind at the moment. As she approached a speed breaker, she slowed down and put a finger in her ear. “Raven, I have got Steven on my ass. I need extraction.” Sheila spoke as she got over the speed bump and increased speed. There was static at the other end. No reply. Steven did not bother reducing his speed to climb the speed breaker. He went on the speed bump at the same speed, the car hauling itself a few feet in the air and landing back on the ground. Steven hit the brakes mildly, steading the car as the impact made him lose control for a few seconds. He got his grip back and increased speed again, hit in pursuit of Sheila. Sheila noticed the brief gap that she had managed to create between herself and Steven and for a moment was temporarily relieved. She wished there were more speed breakers as Steven got closer second after second. She was not really very good at adrenaline races and this was what running from Steven was turning out to be. She had still not gotten any form of response from Raven. Steven hit her from behind and she jerked forwards. She struggled with the control of the car, gathering her composure. Increasing speed she began to swerve left and then right at intervals, to avoid getting another bump in the back by Steven. Steven did not follow her swerves, he maintained speed in the middle of the road, studying her movements, waiting for the right moment to speed up and hit her to the curb. The road narrowed from five lanes into two lanes preparing them for the ascent of the Stadium Bridge. There was a Toyota Yaris in front of them and an idea occurred to Sheila. She swerved right, going on the same lane as the Yaris and speeding ferociously as the second lane was one-way. “You can run baby but you can’t hide.” Steven said to himself and joined her on the Yaris lane. She was nearing the Yaris quick and fast. Steven was just a few meters behind her. She smiled. Without warning, she slowed down, swerved left, overtook the Yaris and got back in lane in front of the Yaris. She was now ascending the bridge. Steven did not anticipate that move. He was still on the same speed when Sheila pulled her stunt. At the speed he was going if he did not swerve, he would hit the Yaris and the ensuing impact would be very fatal. If he dared swerve at that speed, the car would lose balance and skid off the road. He had less than two seconds to think. He did not think. He removed his leg from the accelerator and stepped on the brakes, simultaneously turning left to avoid impact with the Yaris. The screech from the tires was deafening. Steven did not notice the car coming towards him as he swerved left to avoid the Yaris. Stepping on the gas and pressing the cruise control button by the steering wheel, he accelerated quickly overtaking the Yaris as the incoming car continued towards him blaring its horn. Steven quickly swerved back right, going in front of the Yaris and switched to gear five. Luckily the car coming towards him had reduced speed as it saw Steven, making it easy for him to make the swerve back. For the first time that morning, Steven’s heart beat with fear. He had almost died. His countenance changed from fear to anger. “You’ll pay for that b1tch” He murmured to himself. •••
Posted on: Wed, 14 Jan 2015 13:39:31 +0000