The helicopter blew to smithereens, a
huge ball of fire in the sky. The flaming debris cascaded down on the forest in
a massive shower of fireworks and the resultant effect of the explosion created
a momentary tremor in the earth underneath us that I actually shifted on my
feet. Then came a sudden uproar of jubilation; the entire village of Rihuku was
agog. A tremendous victory for them.
There wasn't a moment to waste, and Chief Mahiri again began issuing new
orders. At his command, the women and children began disappearing back into the
huts. I followed him back to the clearing. Able-bodied young men amounting to
sixteen in number had assembled themselves before him. Dabilu was evidently the
leader of the pack.
Chief Mahiri's voice was fierce as he bellowed words to the men. Like
soldiers heading out to war, they listened raptly. When he was through
speaking, the men turned and followed Dabilu away from the clearing. Then one
after the other, all disappeared through one of the dark crevices between the
huts.
"Chief, what are you proposing to do now?"
I asked.
He turned his face to me. "I'm leading the men
out to Inua's. It has been ordained that he dies today!"
"Are you talking about an ambush—a surprise
attack then?"
"If we don't move fast, he will send his men
out here to hunt for you. Already the helicopter is late in returning, though
unknown to him it has met with a fate far greater than he can ever
imagine."
"But Chief," I said, "my friends are
there at the villa. They can easily be mistaken for Inua's thugs. They are
innocent. If your people should…"
He looked at me innocuously. "It can't be
helped, I'm sorry. This is war. In a war, lives are sacrificed. Inua has to be
taken out, and to achieve this anything will be compromised."
"Including the lives of my loved ones? Your war
is with Inua and not them. Your men are not trained in the requisite military
maneuvers required in a situation like this. Look, Chief, it can be helped. You
can get Inua, and at the same time save the lives of my friends trapped there.
If you order your men to—"
It was hopeless; the chief was inattentive. Mahiri's
soldiers were re-emerging, all fully armed with a variety of modern assault
weapons: automatic rifles, and a couple with mortar guns. They looked like
savages—which was actually what they were at the time. Without pausing for a
moment, they walked with heavy feet past us, marching their way into the
waiting jungle, and disappearing one after the other through the curtain of
tall grasses.
"Chief Mahiri, please!" I pleaded,
clutching at his arm. "Please, you must halt this madness!"
In a single jerk of his hand, he loosened himself
from my grip. He stared at me, all the sanctity gone from his face. He was now
somebody different: a warrior—leading his men out to an unpredictable war.
"Madness, you say?" he spat out in anger.
The bulging veins in his neck were budding as though they were being fed
compressed air. "I am the chief of this village; it is my duty to look
after my people. Already, in whispers they speak that I am weak. Is it madness
to avenge the lives of those Inua has killed? My daughter? We have consulted
with the oracle, and even now that we go, four from our party will not return.
It pleases my heart if I should be the only one. The guilt of my daughter's
death weighs heavily on my conscience." Then again turning his face toward
the huts he barked, "Kaila!"
Keywords: Mystery, Crime,
Drug Runners, Murder
Blog URL:
Twitter:
Facebook:
ALSO BY FRANCIS BENEDICT:
Two states are under siege of an
unknown strain of meningitis outbreak among children…
Eight highly reputable
laboratories are in the race for a potent cure within the shortest time
possible...
Of the lot, only IngoSmart is on
the threshold of coming up with a deliverable vaccine, but this is so because
scientists there are using indigent children kidnapped from the streets as
guinea pigs. It is a well kept secret, right up to that night Dr. Adeishi Omini
opened the door she mistook for the antigens storage room.
Consequently for Adeishi, her
inadvertent discovery has led to the gruesome murder of her boyfriend and set
her on the run for her life. What she has discovered hidden in the dark
basement mustn’t reach the knowledge of the outside world. IngoSmart’s owner,
Morgan Nicholson, has sent killers on her trail and nothing will stand in the
way of their finding her.
But another figure deep within
has a different plan in mind. Working in synergy with Obed Ringim, an ex-army
investigator, the duo are bent on thwarting IngoSmart’s every move concerning
the use of children for an unwholesome experiment. But for their plan to work,
first, they will have to be quick enough to locate Adeishi and, possibly, her
shadow confederate, Mike Ellams, before the wealthy American’s assassins can
rid the one major witness of her life.
No comments:
Post a Comment