ELVIS: EPISODE 21-23

Phone ring, phone ring.
“Hello” Caller
“Hello sir” MSN
“Why did you have to kill him” Caller
“That’s what we need to do sir, he is a timid emotional person, he will crack if pressed” MSN replied
“I know that already, I mean why do you have to kill him like that?” The caller replied.
“He was shot straight through the head, he wasn’t able to talk to anybody even if he wished to sir” MSN replied
“The shooting will wet the investigative appetite of the police and importantly the ICO and NBI” the caller replied getting furious.
“Sir, I’m very sorry about the attention we might have drawn but we had to do it on time to prevent him talking with the ex-governor, he might say a word too many sir” MSN replied.
“What will you do about the ICO and the detective that foiled our plan?” the caller replied having calmed down a bit.
“He’s name is Elvis sir, I have a plan sir, I’ll personally deal with him” MSN replied.
“Make sure you do, I don’t want any hitch in the grand plan, oversee that yourself, if you foil it, you have much to lose too”
“I won’t sir” MSN replied lowering the phone from his ear, nodding inadvertently but with intent. He wasn’t having a plan, he has two, a mini plan and a real plan, if the mini doesn’t work, the real will surely do. He must bring Elvis down, the guy looked determined and he had been neglecting him thinking he’ll thin out; it seems his curiosity will end him just like a cat’s.
……………………………………………………………………
“When did it happen?” Elvis asked after recovering from the shock and successfully closing his mouth.
“He was unable to see the ex-governor yesterday due to the delay from the bombing incident, he was shot dead this morning for the make-up meeting with the ex-governor, the news hasn’t been publicized yet, seems it’s a bit political” Timi said but he wasn’t aware that he had lost Elvis during the course of the narration.
Elvis jerked to life as a realization hit him. the bomb wasn’t meant for the public, it was meant for the Honorable, it has all been preplanned, the tanker accident, the hold-up, the plumbing activity, Honorable Titus’s route were all designed, how come did he miss this?
“Is there any idea of the identity of the tanker driver?” Elvis asked
“What?” Timi asked baffled by the twerk in direction of the discussion.
“The tanker that had an accident yesterday, get me every piece of information on the owner, the driver, its route and mission everything.” Elvis said firmly to Timi.
“Yes sir” Timi said getting to work on his system.
Elvis walked towards Ben and Dauda’s cubicles, luckily both of them are at Dauda’s.
“Get me the information of the plumbing company, the identity of the plumbers deployed to the old facility, everything about them” he said to Dauda, who headed towards the exit immediately.
“Get to the 20th floor, get me all the information about the two dead bodies from the forensic department, and anything unusual about them.” He said to Ben, who walked briskly towards the elevator.
Elvis was amazed by the excogitate brain behind the whole planning, the timing and the actions were all designed and executed to the latter. The Bomb squad leader had said the bomb can only blow up a radius of 200m, just enough space to have the Honorable in it. The tanker and hold-up were contrived and accomplished, the timing has been calculated to force the Honorable to time lag in the TBS, as a distinguished Nigerian, the senator will have to park and wait for the traffic to ease up at the less busy part of the square which was what the planner expected, the plumbing company arrived almost immediately to start their day job, something they ought to have started since forenoon, they entered the facility and got to work, while the bomber too set to work.
Something is still puzzling, some questions still need to be answered, why was the honorable planned to be killed and later killed before the meeting with the ex-governor?, what was the meeting about?, does the plumbing company have a hand in this?, what is between MSN and honorable Titus?, what was the money for? And many others which make Elvis’s head throb. Something is certain, the death of honorable Titus means something big is going on, something very big, but firstly he had to have a chat with the ex-governor. He’s sure of something though, he must catch the brain behind this.
He had been at his thoughts for some minutes if not an hour, sitting on Dauda’s desk. His phone rang halting his thoughts, he had switched it on after Timi’s conversation, it was his sister. Jane was asking for when to come for the selfie, he had managed to tell her he’ll call her much to her chagrin and discontent. He saw Timi walking towards him, he rose in expectation, hoping for some ‘news’.
“I found out that the name of the tanker’s company was Exxon Mobil, the tanker was bound for Warri to upload petrol, the driver was found in a drunken state much later after the event, he claimed two men offered to buy him beer at a bar he branched at, he didn’t remember anything afterward, he woke up late in the evening in the same bar he had visited” Timi briefed.
“So that is a dead end?” Elvis asked.
“But we can still interview the man, see what he remembers” Timi said.
“Oh yes we can which we will, but if you are a criminal, will you go to a drunkard when he’s sane?” Elvis asked rhetorically to which Timi was mute.
“Arrange a meeting with the man, let Ben interview him, but I assure you that is a dead end, the brain behind this is much more astute than that.” Elvis said.
Dauda’s call came in next, this is his brief:
“The plumbing company was the Kyle’s plumbing company, ranking among the best in plumbing works in Nigeria. The reconstruction of the dilapidated old facility was a state contract so all hands of their best professional plumbers where made on deck, professional plumbers were hired on contract from different part of the country, so the less familiarization between the professionals, a particular plumber was injected into the team by an high ranked official stating the reason to be ‘for national security’, the company obliged willfully. Only two of the plumbers were from the Kyle’s company, the others are mercenaries. The company claimed that one of the plumbers hired was later found drugged in his apartment later yesterday, the complaint has been filed to the police.”
Elvis doesn’t need to be told, that is another dead end. The ‘for national security’ guy was Nwosu, so Cedrick didn’t go dark, he was on the case. The other dead guy was the plumber; Cedrick had killed him and was trying to disarm the bomb when Elvis killed him. The bomber must have drugged the real plumber and had taken his place, recognition was at a minimum due to them all been mercenaries.
His phone rang again, he absent mindedly moved it to his ear, his eyes widened when he heard the caller talk.
“Hello” the caller said.
“Hello, please who am I speaking with?” Elvis said thinking it was one of the numerous bloggers and journalists.
“I’m sure you are quite busy right now, so I won’t want to waste your time, and mine too” the caller replied.
“Who is this and what can I do for you?” Elvis asked getting exasperated.
“Oh yes, I like your straight-to-business attitude, what can you do for me?, what you can do for me is pretty simple, GET THE F**K OFF MY CASE” the caller replied boldly and suprisingly calm too.
Elvis’s eyes widened in shock as the identity of the caller seeps into his processing unit.
“Why would I want to do that?, don’t tell me you are scared….so soon?” Elvis replied determined to win the war of words about to ensue.
“Scared?, let’s see who’ll be scared, as I said I dnt want to waste your time, more importantly my time too. Check your inbox, I’ve sent you something that’ll interest you” MSN replied before the line went dead.
An MMS message alert tone rang from his phone immediately the call ended, his hands were shaky h
as he opened it. It was the audiotape of the brief conversation he had with Cedrick before he shot him. How did MSN get the audiotape?, how was it recorded in the first place?.
The audio was followed by the caption:
What would the whole of Nigeria think if I release this audiotape to the press with a nice article?
The idea struck him, someone else was with him, not physically but ‘technologically’, the pen, it records. He had found the spy effortlessly at that. He marched furiously towards Timi’s cubicle, his phone rang again, it was the Chief Commander of the NBI.


 EPISODE 22-23
MSN camp
Musa Nwanchukwu Seyi commonly known as MSN is a man in his early forties, forth-three precisely. He had been at the apex of Nigeria’s crime underworld, top level crimes, smuggling, trafficking and drug dealings. As earlier said, he obliterated and sabotaged the business of his rivals and competitors, making him become the top power in Nigeria’s underworld. He has also broaden the scope of his business into political issues, he indulges in dirty crimes like assassination of high-ranked officials, sabotaging of meetings and conferences and smuggling of wanted corrupt politicians in and out of the country.
Single-handedly he can’t handle the large reach of his business world, he therefore delegate his duties among his subordinates, his trusted dependents. He only attends to very confidential duties that need to be overseen specially. His most trusted underling is a meek devil named stringer. His real name is unknown except to him only, he seldom talks but more cunning than the devil. He pulls strings and plan actions, he must have been the brain behind the unsuccessful attack on the Late Honourable Titus. He had been under the tutelage of MSN for more than ten years after MSN found him in the slum of Ajegunle. He just swindled a bank officer then and he successfully planned a bank robbery before MSN recruited him. His level of technicality and humane way of handling issues make him simply rise above his colleagues to the second in command position after MSN.
The immediate subordinate of Stringer is Ogunlusi Kolade. His name had become more of hearsay because he had ceased answering to the name ever since he was a kid; he had coined a new name for himself with which he prefer been called- Erinyes. He loved the name due to the monstrous tinge to it but the name was a pure irony of his identity. He was an orphan raised in an orphanage but he broke out into the street of Iwo road where he was living on the street before he was recruited by MSN. He had been with MSN for long longer than Stringer, right from the start of MSN illustrious career. Stringer came and rose higher than him hence there's no love between the two. He scar run along his face, a souvenir of a knife fight with another kid over a plate of food while he was under the bridge. He always thought Stringer was a deceptive human who wasn’t what he proves he is, but with the close proximity of Stringer with MSN, there’s nothing he could do other than to watch from a distance in fury. The two of them avoid each other like a plague; or rather Erinyes avoid Stringer like a plague. He is a monster in human form, his venomous fury and quick to anger temperament makes him very dangerous. He believes that the total wiping out of the enemy makes it impossible for the enemy to fight back, so he kills with absolute abandon and with little reprieve.
MSN made Stringer his second in command just because Stringer sees things in a different perspective, he thinks differently unlike himself and Erinyes and he’s cool-headed nature and slyness charmed him into making him his right hand man.
The intrusion of Elvis into his plan had make thread more carefully, Elvis would have successfully foiled a key part of the boss’s plan if he hadn’t thought of a fast response; the boss’s plan would have gone down the drain. Elvis is becoming more troublesome and a pain in the neck, his first plan with the audio is not strong enough to deter him but he’s sure it’ll slow him down. The audio doesn’t hold enough evidence to defame a man of the people, but he hopes he buys it and hold long enough, it’s almost over. The grand plan will soon come into play; the prey will work right into his snare.
He had sent Stringer to seal a deal with a group of terrorist from Niger, he would have been there personally but he knows he had ward off Elvis, he won’t be troubling him for the time being.
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The location of the first warehouse isn’t difficult to find, it was a huge warehouse, it was used by the British to store tar in the 50s before the awakening of the Nigerian’s resurgence. It has been under lock and key since then due to the lack of continuity by the government. Just like infrastructures built by the British, the warehouse still stands elegantly, if refurbished, it can be put with good use without the fear of sudden founder.
It has a large fence surrounding it, the fence doesn’t go all way round, the other areas where fenced by wire netting. Elvis packed his car at a distance a bit far from the warehouse to avoid detection; he parked it a bit into the bush too. He was glad his car is black; it blended right into the gathering darkness of the newly born night. He waited a bit for the night to get a bit darker before proceeding to probe the warehouse and its environs.
He must have slept off; he woke up to the sound of cars approaching his cars. The route leading to the warehouse was difficult to detect from the main road, so the chances of innocent civilians plying the route is less than nil. The cars are jeeps which must have been travelling from a long distance due to the amount of dust on them; the dust on the jeeps is enough to build a large auditorium. The jeeps sped past his car which has been shielded by the bush in which he had parked; the jeeps are accustomed to rugged terrain due to the ease with which they rumbled over the rough eroded clayey road. They got to the warehouse and turned into it. Elvis raised his head which he had bent during the passage of the jeeps to avoid been spotted. He waited for some minutes before approaching the warehouse.
He got to the warehouse, unsurprisingly the gate was locked, he walked round the huge fence till he gets to the wire netting that was used to fence the place the concrete fence didn’t get to. He walked along it looking for an opening through which he can gain entrance, he had almost given up hope before he found an opening at the far end, large enough to allow his passage without been scathed. He bent low and gained the entrance he had so much wanted.
He entered into the poorly lit compound of the warehouse; the scent of tar could be faintly picked by a crisp sense of smell. He walked on his toes as silently as he could afford towards the warehouse. He nudged into the wall softly with his back on getting to the warehouse. With his back still on the wall, he walked gingerly along the back of the warehouse, at the acuate bend of the side; he peeked to check if there’s any movement before advancing, his heart already in his mouth.
He walked along the side of the warehouse, he passed a few windows but they aren’t giving a good enough view of what’s going on the inside. He could see the four jeeps that drove past him some moments ago parked at the front of the warehouse; its occupants must be inside the warehouse.
He heard footsteps approaching him from the front and the beam from a torch lighting the floor haphazardly. He was lucky he was standing beside a window; he crept over the iron railings and landed inside the warehouse softly and quickly hid himself behind the wall. The footsteps grew into two guards armed with AK 47 rifles; they walked past the window obviously carrying out a vicinity check. He was brought out of his oneirism by the sound of movements in the warehouse; the sound was coming from a contiguous location. He quickly hid himself between two large tanks and glued himself to one of the tanks body as a guard walked briskly past him. He touched the tank in an attempt to push himself away; his hands have been heavily smeared by tar. He groaned in disgust.
He crept quickly and cautiously along the tanks which was used to house oil till he found a location where he could have a clear view of the proceedings. Before him are about twenty armed men standing loosely around the clear area in the warehouse. The armed men walked around the clear area noiselessly speaking only in whispers. Elvis chastised himself internally for the rash decision of walking into his death he took, he was sure he need some help from a spy or no spy, from his team as a whole.
In the middle of the clear area were a table and two chairs just like a meeting is taking place. On the chairs standing at opposite sides of the table were Stringer and another man. They are obviously talking on closing a deal with the hushness and precise pattern with which they speak. The deal must have a large discreet value with the quiet way the bargain is been negotiated. After sometime the two men laughed hysterically and loudly, a sign of a good enough deal for both ends.
The stacks of boxes Elvis had noticed at the Emeralds are piled up at a section of the warehouse. Stringer poured a drink into the glasses provided by the standing guards for himself and his guest; he rose up and walked towards the stacks of boxes. One of the boxes is lowered by a guard and the contents are examined by the guest. He seemed satisfied with the quick examination with the way he was nodding his grotesque head.
“Look who I found” A guard shouted dragging Ben after him “Found him lurking against the wall of the side of the warehouse” before dumping Ben rashly on the floor.
“This is the guy that feigned been an electrician to break into the Emeralds last week, his friend hit me with a rod on my head” a guard said walking towards Ben before dealing Ben a good and hard blow on his face with Ben groaning in pain.
Stringer beckoned to one of the guards after a while of internal delibration, he mummbled some incoherent words into the guards ear, the guard nodded in understanding before walking hurriedly away.
Elvis heart sank when he saw Ben, what the f**k is Ben doing here?, why did he come?, he just get himself caught, now he had to get Ben out again.
His thoughts was brought to an abrupt end when he felt something round and cold on his neck, he froze when he remembered that gun’s nozzles are cold and round.
“Stand up gently and turn around” he heard, he complied like a dummy.
His frozen state went offline and his heard went numb when he faced his accoster, he sure has hell knows the face, the face with the evil and devilish smirk glaring back at him, the face that brought tears to someone he cares about’s eyes.
Lo and behold, its Ellie’s boyfriend.