Christopher
Thirty-one years ago, Emeka's mother had had a child out of wedlock. The shame and the struggle for survival had caused her to leave her home and reside in a village particularly far away from her relations. She stopped in this strange village to live a quiet life and bring up her child; but she met a man who fell in love with her and married her according to the custom of the village.
Immediately after the union, the couple decided to leave this village too for the city; Emeka did not deserve to grow up in a community of people who might later educate him on a history he wasn't supposed to learn; for Emeka's mother and her husband had agreed to hide the fact that the child was a bastard.
In the city, however, Emeka's parents decided to change his name to Christopher for security reasons. The little innocent Emeka became Christopher Oka. Fifteen years passed and the family increased from three to five members - three males and two females. It was a happy family; Mr Oka treated Emeka like a son, even Vincent and Margaret considered him a fully legitimate big brother. Everything went on fine with the family until Christopher, now seventeen years old, stumbled upon the truth behind his existence. He confronted no one else about this discovery, and he refused to let his feelings show. He disappeared from the house early the next morning. No one knew his whereabouts, not even his mother; and every search for Christopher proved abortive.
But unknown to the Okas, their Christopher had joined one of the dreaded gangs far away in Lagos.
Within the same month of Christopher's disappearance, killers had broken into his parents' house and brutally killed everyone. Mr and Mrs Oka, Vincent Oka and Margaret Oka - they were all slaughtered in cold blood.
Christopher's return thirteen years later set off a more brutal chain reaction.
“Be careful, Christopher is armed and dangerous,” came the warning from the mobile phone, “He can kill you all without blinking an eye. Approach him with utmost caution. Take any careless action and you will become corpses in an instant.” The phone was put on speakers as the three men listened to the instructions.
“How do we identify him? We don’t even know what he looks like. Why don’t you send a picture of him to this phone so that we can know exactly who we are after.”
“No one really knows what he looks like, not even me or The Boss. All you have to rely on for now is the information you have been given about him. I’ll call you later.”
About an hour later, the call came in again.
“Where are you guys?” The voice sounded more urgent.
“We are still at the entrance of Tafawa Balewa Square, we are searching for the bearded man in the red cap. We’ve not seen anyone who fits the description so far.”
“Forget about TBS, he’s no more there; and stop searching for just a bearded man. A new intel just got to me; Chris is not only bearded. He is now spotted in Shoprite at Ikeja. Go there now! Call back when you get there, one of our operatives will be watching him until you arrive.”
The three men rushed back into the Hilux with a tinted glass and drove away.
Five minutes later, a bearded man in a red cap came out of TBS.
They arrived at Shoprite about another hour later; luckily for them, the Lagos traffic was at the barest minimum at this time. The men placed a call and informed their instructor that they were at the location.
“Good,” said the voice from the other end, “You arrived right on time. In about ten minutes, Christopher and an elderly man will come out. Christopher is the bearded one dressed in a blue pair of jeans, a customised T-shirt bearing a picture of Mr Incredible. His hair is tainted brown and he’s wearing dark glasses.”
“What about the old man? How is he dressed?”
“He’s dressed casually in a simple shirt and a pair of trousers. Don’t concern yourselves with the elderly man; your job is more concerned with Christopher. You have to know that Christopher is reputed to be a great deceiver. He’s a master of disguise. Grab him immediately and make sure you disarm him if he has a weapon; and like I already said, be very careful around him. Don’t you believe anything that comes out of his mouth. Remember, his birth name is also Emeka, don’t be deceived. Bring him to the address given to you as soon as you have him.”
“What should we do about the elderly man?”
“The odd variable,” observed the instructor from the other end, “I should tell you to leave and not bother yourselves about him because our major goal is to apprehend Christopher, but we don’t know who he is to Christopher or what he knows. Take him but don’t hurt him. Bring both of them in; we’ll question the elderly man to know what he knows. Good luck to you. Call me only when you get to the destination.” The call was cancelled.
The men waited for another ten minutes before they spotted the targets as they came out of the big gate. Two of the waiting men came out of the Hilux, drew out their pistols and walked casually towards the approaching men. No one paid them any attention because they had expertly concealed the guns within them, for they well aware of the chaos the knowledge of their pistols might cause, and that might lead to the escape of the target once again. This was a mission they could not afford to get foiled due to their own crass stupidity, or carelessness. The capture of Christopher was more important than their own lives. Now that the location of this very elusive man had been offered them on a platter of gold, all they had to do was take him to the location alive and they would become very rich. A huge sum of money was waiting for them at the delivery site.
The armed men casually walked past their targets on either sides and still casually turned, following them behind.
The elderly man and his partner froze as the men jammed their guns against their backs.
“See that black car there?” the man behind the major target said, speaking loud enough for the hearing of elderly man with a white moustache and a mountain of greying hair. “Nod your heads if you see the car I’m talking about.”
The hostages nodded.
“Good,” said the one behind the elderly man, “You’ll both walk towards the car. If any one of you tries to walk away, you shall be shot in the spine. Just walk obediently to the car and you will be okay.”
They were easily escorted into the waiting car. The door was closed and the man behind the wheel started the engine; a dumb thing for a professional kidnapper to do. He should have kept the engine running. The hostages were relieved of their mobile phones and tied up with ropes as soon as they were taken inside.
“Hello Christopher,” the driver greeted, staring at the hostage through the rear-view mirror. He was looking at the hostage as if he had seen a live idol.
“What do you want from me? The tinted-hair asked nervously.
“Who are you people? Why did you take me? Where are you taking me? What did I do wrong?” The man asked.
“Shut up, old man!” one of the men thundered, aiming his gun forward.
“Why don’t we call Rough-88 and inform him that we have them?”
The elderly man put his hands in his pockets, watching the drama.
“Didn’t you hear him when he said we should call him only when we get to the destination?” The other abductor replied.
“We can just let him know we are on the way.”
“Knock yourself out,” replied the partner as he threw the phone to him.
The man collected the phone and dialled Rough-88’s number. It was picked almost immediately
“We have them,” he said, “We’re on our way,” The call was terminated.
“Who are you people?” The elderly man asked, detaching his hands from his pocket, “Where are you taking us?”
“Say one more word, old man, and I will beat the living daylight out of you.”
“Who is Christopher?” The younger hostage suddenly asked.
The abductors stared at him for a moment and suddenly burst into laughter.
“Good one,” said the driver, “We’ve already been told that you would play smart, Christopher. It’s normal for you to pull the denial trick.”
“Wait,” said the hostage, “you must have had me confused with someone else. I don’t know any Christopher.”
“Yeah right,” another abductor said in a bored disposition, “Who is the old man, Christopher?”
“I don’t know him,” said the elderly man, “We only met at the mall. See, I don’t want to be a part of whatever you guys have against each other. Just let me go, I beg of you. I am an old man with grandchildren.”
“How did you two meet?”
“He’s a good Samaritan,” said the old man, “I can’t believe you boys are accusing him of being someone else. Anyway, that is none of my business. All I know is that this young man held me when I lost my footing at the staircase. I would probably have fallen and broken my neck if he hadn’t come to my rescue.”
“I don’t believe you. The way you were both discussing shows that you have known each other for long.”
“The man wasn’t lying,” the younger hostage replied, “I only met him today.”
“What were both of you discussing before we grabbed you?”
“He was thanking me for rescuing him at the staircase.”
“No one told us Christopher could be kind-hearted,” one of the men joked and the others laughed.
“I already told you my name is not Christopher. You must have had me confused with another person.”
“Okay, let us assume – for a moment – that you are not the Christopher we were searching for, what’s your name?”
“My name is Emeka.”
The men glanced at each other and smiled knowingly.
“All right, Emeka, what were you doing in Shoprite?”
“The same thing others were doing – having a nice time.”
“Weren’t you supposed to be shopping in Shoprite? We can’t seem to find your shopping bag. The same thing goes for you, grandpa.”
“Like I said, I went there to have a nice time. I don’t go there to shop.”
“What ‘nice time’ exactly did you have?”
“I wined and dined.”
“What do you do for a living, Emeka?”
“I am a musician.”
“What kind of music?”
“Hip-hop. I’m actually a rapper.”
“Do you have a stage name?”
“Yes.”
“What’s it?”
“Emeka.”
“You’re trying to be funny, aren’t you?”
“I’m rapper, not a comedian. You asked me a question and I answered.”
“None. I’ve released just two singles.”
The abductor turned to his mates and asked, “Has either one of you heard any song sung by an artiste called Emeka?”
“Nope,” they answered, smiling, pretending to play along. They evidently didn’t believe any word the young man was saying.
“Why is it that none of us in this car has heard your song before?”
“That’s because I’m an upcoming rapper. Someday, I will be as famous as rapper M.I.”
The interrogator shook his head, “You are so full of lies, Christopher.”
“I’m telling you, my name is not Christopher. My name is Emeka.”
“Where are your parents, Emeka?”
The young man stared at the abductor whose gun was posed directly at his chest. The abductor’s eyes were cold, as if he was ready to pull the trigger at any slight misjudgement by the young hostage.
“Where are your parents?” the question came again.
“My parents are dead,” Emeka replied grimly.
The man stared at him for a moment before he grinned widely. “You are not a great liar after all.”
“What do you mean?”
“We are taking you to your father.”
The driver turned to face them and said, “We are about ten minutes away from our destination.”
Then a truck suddenly appeared before them.
“Look out!” The passengers screamed as the approaching truck gave a loud horn.
In a split-second, the driver turned the steering wheel sharply, swerving the car off the tarred road to the sideway. The car lost control and smashed hard into a giant pole.
The last thing Emeka saw before he lost consciousness was the blood that covered the shattered windscreen.
It was hours before Emeka awoke. Dusk was already making its identity known. The young man was the first to wake up. The unconscious elderly man beside him was bleeding at the temple; the side of his left eye was split open. The front of the car was a total write-off; it was grotesquely shattered, pinning the driver and what remained of his head to the seat. He was dead, no doubt, for a long steel had penetrated his stomach and spilled out some of his guts to the side of the driver’s seat, towards the passenger’s. The scenery was bloody and disgusting.
Emeka tried the door on his side, it was unlocked. He smiled. The other kidnapper were sprawled on their seats as if they were dead but Emeka knew they weren’t. He stepped out of the car and began to run. He stopped when he realised that no one was chasing him. He thought about the elderly man. He had to do something. Besides, if not for anything else, he had to go back and retrieve his phone that was taken from him. The men might later use that phone against him if he didn’t take it.
After taking the phone, he returned to the back seat and loosened the rope used to tie the man’s hands behind him. Then he gently tapped the man in the arm. The elderly captive came awake groggily. It took him a moment before he was conscious of his surroundings.
“What happened?”
“We were in an accident,” Emeka replied.
“It’s getting dark,” observed the man.
“Yes,” Emeka replied as he helped the elderly one out of the car. “We have to leave quickly before the men wake up.”
“Thank you, my child.”
“Can you run?”
“I can’t dance, but I think I can run.”
“Okay, let’s go.”
“Wait, I have to take my phone from these workers of iniquity.”
“Please be fast about it, we have no time to waste!”
The elderly man gently walked to the unconscious men and picked something from the floor of the middle seat where the men laid. By the time he returned, he was aiming a pistol at Emeka.
“What are you doing?” Emeka asked, looking astonished and scared.
“Go down on your knees,” the elderly man ordered. Emeka could see that the man meant business. His order must be obeyed or there would be consequences.
“Please don’t do this–”
A shot rang out and a bullet lifted dusts right beside Emeka’s feet.
“The next shot will go into your skull if you disobey me again. Turn around and go down on your knees.”
By this time, the gunshot had awoken the unconscious abductors. They rushed out and beheld the drama going on. They were too dazed to interfere, all they could do was watch in open-mouthed beffudlement.
Emeka turned around and did as he was told. His phone was taken from him; and then, again, his hands were tied behind him with a rope.
Emeka turned around and faced the three men. Then to everyone’s surprise, the elderly man removed the false moustache and the wig on his head. He was not elderly after all; he was a young man like the rest of them. He boldly walked towards the confused abductors and shook their hands.
“My name is Lucas. I am undercover operative for the corporation that employed you to take Christopher in.”
“An undercover operative?”
“Yes, I am the agent Rough-88 told you was watching Christopher. Knowing how clever Christopher can be, R-88 ordered me to stand in as the odd variable. I had to disguise as a helpless old man to avoid him from suspecting me; and I had to be taken alongside him too so that I could be there to foil his plan if he succeeded in outwitting you guys. I don’t want to believe the accident was a coincidence; even if it was, you guys have greatly underestimated the cunningness of Christopher. You should both consider yourselves lucky that I am here or he would have escaped. Do you have any idea what would be done to you if it was discovered that the hostage escaped from your custody?”
Both men were short of words, they did not know whether to apologise to the man or thank him. But the man wasn’t waiting for their apologies or appreciation,; he walked to Emeka and pushed him forward. He turned to the other men and said:
“Lead the way,” his words were authoritative.
They walked to the expressroad and relieved an innocent driver of his car by gun threats. As the four men boarded the new car and drove off, Lucas returned the gun he had taken from one of the abductors, including the phone he had relieved of Emeka. The men in turn offered Lucas back his phone but he told them to keep it.
It was about half past six when they reached the destination. They all disembarked from the car. Emeka – whose hands were still tied behind him – was pushed forward. The location was an old warehouse in a place that seemed like an abandoned industry. There were series of big machines around, but it was doubtful that any one of them was functioning.
“The warehouse is where your father is waiting for you,” one of the abductors informed Emeka.
“What do you guys want from me?” The hostage asked, sounding frightened.
The second abductor smirked and replied, “You shall soon know.”
“Why don’t we call Rough-88 and tell him we are at the location so that he can come and receive us?” suggested the first of the two abductors.
“That’s a good idea,” Lucas agreed.
“The second man picked his phone and placed the call. The phone in the other man’s pocket began to vibrate.
“It’s ringing,” said the caller.
The other man was puzzled. He extracted the phone from his pocket. The vibrating phone was the one they had taken from Lucas. He slowly pressed the green button and placed it against his ear.
“Hello, Rough,”he heard his partner’s voice on the phone. It immediately dawned on him that Rough-88’s phone had been with Lucas. He turned around to see Lucas aiming a pistol with a silencer to his head. The other man was still having his back to them, unaware of what was going on behind him; he was still busy with the ‘hello Rough’ mantra. Emeka stood at a corner and watched everything going on.
“Where is Rough?” The abductor at the wrong end of a pistol asked. The phone was still placed against his ear as he spoke.
“Dead,” Lucas replied and shot the man point-blank on the forehead.
The other man involuntarily turned around, and before he could react, Lucas shot him twice in the chest.
Emeka watched all these with horror written on his face. The man who had disguised as an old man, the man who had said he was the odd variable, the man who had called himself Lucas – was not who he said he was.
In his open-eyed mien, Emeka could utter just three words; the three words that confirmed a shocking discovery:
“You are Christopher!”
“How – how did you do it?”
“Do what?”
Emeka didn’t know where to start from; instead, he said, “How did you do everything? I could never believe you were that Christopher they were hunting.”
“You know nothing about what you are talking about.”
“You did all these to save your captured father; this I know at least.”
“Like I said, you are saying rubbish. Keep your mouth shut and stay behind me.”
They crept stealthily towards the entrance of the warehouse. The door of the warehouse was slightly ajar. Emeka caught someone armed appear from the corner of his left eye, he turned sharply, pointed the gun in his hand towards the approaching figure and pulled the trigger. The bullet caught the enemy in the nose, blowing his face open. The sound of the gunshot was muffled.
Lucas was startled. “Where did you get the gun?”
Emeka smiled proudly and said, “I took it from one of the men you killed. I thought I should keep myself busy too and help out my friend.”
“Let’s get something straight. I am not your friend, okay? And if you get killed tonight, it’s totally your fault. I’m not responsible for you. I have given you the freedom to leave peacefully. This situation is none of your business.”
“I won’t get killed,” Emeka replied, smiling widely. His confidence annoyed his partner but there was nothing he could do about it. This was the idiot’s choice.
Emeka offered to stay out and keep watch as soon as they reached the entrance of the warehouse. Lucas stared at him and shrugged as he went in – his funeral.
He boldly walked into the warehouse. He saw an elderly right at the other end of the structure. The man wasn’t being held a hostage as the abductors had said; he thought as much. And with this discovery, he knew that nothing would be done to him now. At least not until the old man discovered who he was. He knew how important his presence was – or how important they thought his presence was. There were two armed men flanking the old man; they evidently worked for the man. He knew who the old man was, but he doubted if the man knew who he was. He walked further and saw two other operatives with guns drawn. There were a total of four bodyguards in the warehouse. He wondered how many more were outside trying to blow the amateurish Emeka’s brain out. In fact, Emeka might be dead by now, for he was hearing series of gunshots it would be such a waste if he lost his life right at this final destination. Anyway, he shrugged, Emeka might just be a collateral damage.
“We finally meet, Christopher,” the elderly man greeted, smiling warmly.
He didn’t give the old man a glance as he shot the two guards on either side. He walked bravely towards the remaining two men. He knew they would not shoot him. He was very important; his death wasn’t in their hands. They aimed their guns but unable to pull the trigger. He shot them both in the faces.
“Christopher, what– ” his words hanged in his throat at what he saw.
He walked to the old man and aimed the gun at his forehead.
“This is for Christopher,” he said as he pulled the trigger.
As he stepped over the corpse of the man and picked the four bags of money at a corner, he recalled how the man had looked before he pulled the trigger.
It was a look of horrendous revelation as the man gazed past him to the entrance – that he was not his son.
He was not Christopher.
He was relieved to find Emeka still alive. Indeed, the foolish one had not been killed.
“You just killed the man!” Emeka carried a horrified expression, “You killed – you killed your father!”
“That man was not my father,” said Lucas.
“What!”
“How come you are still alive?” Lucas could not help asking.
Emeka grinned stupidly, “I didn’t see anyone.”
“That’s strange, because I can swear I heard the sound of gunshots.”
“That was me shooting randomly to scare away potential shooters who might be after my life. And I think it worked; but I think I’ve used all the bullets in my gun, for nothing comes out again each time I pull the trigger.”
“You talk too much. Shut up and let’s go.”
They both returned to the car and drove away from the abandoned industrial location, Lucas sat behind the wheel while Emeka sat beside him. The bags of money were deposited on the backseat.
“You used me!” Emeka suddenly bellowed, “You used me to carry out your evil machination. I feel raped!”
“I did it for a friend,” was the reply Lucas gave him.
Emeka looked confused. “A friend? Which friend?”
“Christopher.”
Emeka’s jaw almost dropped. “You’re not Christopher?”
“I’m not.”
“Who is Christopher, really?”
“Christopher was my friend.”
“Was?”
“He’s dead.”
“What killed him? No, scratch that. Tell me everything from the beginning.”
The clock on the dashboard read 08:03PM.
Lucas turned to the passenger and asked, “What makes you think I would tell you?”
“Because you know I deserve to know. You pulled me into this mess. The least you can do is tell me everything.”
“The bags of money behind us belong to you. They are compensation for everything I made you go through.”
“Wow! That sum of money is mine?”
“Yes, everything.”
Emeka grinned, “This is good business. When are you going to kidnap me again?”
“I’ll drop you back at Shoprite. You’ll take the money and disappear.”
“That’s not enough!” Emeka said emphatically.
“What else do you want, young man?” Lucas said exasperatedly.
“If you don’t tell me what happened, I will not take your money and I will never forgive you.”
Lucas hit the steering wheel in frustration. He looked at Emeka angrily in the dark, wondering whether to blow the idiot’s brain out and get it over with; but he was already liking the rugged guy. “Okay, fine. I’ll tell you everything.”
“Yes!” Emeka wriggled happily, much to the chagrin of the piqued driver. “I’m all ears, no pun intended, please.”
Lucas sighed and began: “Christopher was my saviour. He was my messiah. If not for him, I would already be dead, because I was the mark of a dangerous gang named The Mantis.”
“The Mantis?”
“Yes, do you know it?”
“Who doesn’t know The Mantis Gang? They slaughter people in dozens and pray over their corpses.”
“Well, I was marked to be killed by The Mantis Gang.”
“Why? What did you do wrong?”
“What I did was terrible. I truly deserved to be killed, but not by The Mantis. As a matter of fact, TMG ought to honour me with medals, not bullets; but I was marked to be eliminated. You see, I was a Mantis myself; my job was to penetrate a rival gang called KK, this stands for Kabba-Kabba, whatever that means. For two years, I was feeding the secrets of KK to TMG. Spying is a risky but an exciting avocation. The secrets I was feeding TMG caused the gang to have an upper hand over KK. The Mantis were killing the Kabba-Kabba in multitude, and Christopher was a Kabba. He was the one who suspected the presence of a spy among them. Christopher was a powerful member of the gang;almost everyone feared him, because he could hide his identity and blend among enemies. I had to run to TMG to seek refuge, for I knew that I would be killed if I was discovered to be the spy among them. When I returned to TMG and narrated my ordeal, the leader of the gang, Mandela, ordered my execution.”
“What! Why?”
“According to him, it would be to the detriment of the gang if I was eventually captured by the rival gang and tortured into revealing the secrets of Mantis. He couldn’t allow that; and so the only way to ensure the safety of the gang was to have me taken out. Another Mantist could easily be sent to penetrate KK. So there, I had to run from my home gang too. But Mandela kept sending killers after me. There were so many times I’ve tried to kill Mandela himself, but I’m no match for him. He has killed people tougher than I am without breaking a sweat. He’s just too fast. No one touches him. Touch him and you die. I ran from his killers and killed some of them. Mantists came after me, KK came after me. I was getting tired of it all. I knew it was only a matter of time before either of the two gangs catch up with me and hack me to pieces. I resigned my fate; a soldier does not die twice. What will be should be. I couldn’t run forever.
“Finally, the day of reckoning came. I couldn’t run anymore when five Mantists cornered me. I gave up my fight and surrendered. I knew they were not there to take me in, they were there to take me out. I knelt down before them and shut my eyes, waiting for the one bullet that would penetrate my skull and end it all. The bullet came but it was not for me. I opened my eyes and beheld something strange. One of the five Mantists was shooting at the other four. The killer’s face was shrouded. After killing them all, he removed his shroud and there, right there, was Christopher.
“This wasn’t something I was expecting would happen. I couldn’t wrap my befuddled brain around the realisation that Christopher was a Mantist. Then it suddenly dawned on me that Christopher was just like me. He was a KK spying on TMG. With this revelation, it was easy for me to understand why he had saved me. He knew what might happen to him too if his cover was blown; he might suffer the same fate as me if TMG, too, suspected a spy among them. He might also be hunted by both gangs.
“Before long, Christopher and I became good friends; it was the two of us against the whole TMG and KK. We fought, ran and bled together. We became the most wanted among the community of killers. Christopher was a great shooter; ‘Never let any bullet to go to waste,’ he would always say. He also believed in equality and fairness. He would rather die than cheat a friend. We shared everything equally. It was Christopher who taught me the art of disguise. On so many occasions, Christopher had turned himself into a total stranger. There was a day I nearly shot him, I thought he was an enemy. He was able to kill a lot of TMG and KK members with this gift of his. And soon, I was getting good with disguises like him. However, no matter what disguise I pulled, Christopher was always recognising me. Christopher was just too much; he was always many moves ahead of me. He’s also a great chess player, except for his lack of sense of humour. Christopher had no sense of humour whatsoever. Even though he always saw beyond my disguises, I was always walking freely among enemies without the fear of discovery. Christopher and I were formidable. We shared secrets of the two gangs. I told him everything about my past and he did the same about himself. We became like mirror-images. Our friendship grew deeper and stronger. Then one afternoon, tragedy reared its ugly head.
“I was relaxing at home when I received a call from Christopher. He had been shot twice. He said he was okay but I knew he wasn’t. You don’t feel okay on sustaining two gunshot wounds. I wanted to go and help him out but he refused to devulge his location. All he said was that he was going home. He told me to vacate the house immediately because the others were coming for me too. The last words I heard him speak were ‘It was such an adventure’ – that was it; I didn’t hear anything from him again. I tried calling him many times but the call never went through. I didn’t know what had become of my friend. I decided to follow his warning and fled the house. For two months, I stopped being Lucas. I changed my identity totally. I went off the grid. I cut loose my ties with anyone who knew me. I became a different person entirely. That was what Christopher would be if he was still alive. But I refused to believe my friend was dead; Christopher was not an easy kill. Then I suddenly recalled that he had told me he was going home. I decided to seek out my friend after three months of his disappearance.
“He had told me he had a family in the eastern part of the country. I decided to seek him out there. Perhaps that was the home he was talking about. The journey to the East took me two days by road. His family home was hard to find but I eventually located it. The house was an aold building with the paints already peeling. I knocked on the door and was greeted by an old couple. They were nice people; they welcomed me like an old relation and offered me cold water. I thought they were Christopher’s parents until I asked them about their son. They smiled at me and said they had never had children. They were a model couple. They grew old together without children. How many couples could be like them? I initially didn’t believe them. I thought they were trying to hide Christopher from me but they seemed honest about their conviction. They didn’t know anyone named Christopher. Then the wife suggested that maybe I was talking about the family that had live in the house before them. I begged them to tell me about this family. What I heard shocked me.
“Thirteen years ago, armed men had attacked the family and killed everyone. Rumours had it that they had actually come to eliminate the oldest child of the family but they didn’t find him. The family membered were tortured and questioned to tell them the child’s whereabouts; his younger sister was raped and the younger brother beaten senseless. When none of the members could give them any information about the location of whom they sought, the men killed them all. I couldn’t control the tears that ran down my cheeks as I listened to the news. My friend had lost his family. If he had really come to seek his family out, then the news must have broken him. I was about to leave when the old couple told me that someone had come before me to ask about this family. They said the young man had wept much more than I did, and he looked wounded. They swore they noticed blood on him. He was trying to hide it but the blood still seeped out. So Christopher was alive after all. The sadness in me mixed with the joy of the news I had suddenly heard, and the combination of these feelings left a strange sensation in me. I implored the couple to tell me where he went but they refused to divulge his location. They said they could not because Christopher had told them some people were after his life. Even these old people were loyal to Christopher, a total stranger to them. Then something happened.
“As I was still pleading with the couple to tell me where my friend, two men suddenly broke into the house with cutlasses drawn. I didn’t know who they were, and i was sure they didn’t follow me from Lagos. By the local way they were dressed, I could tell that they were thugs from the neighbourhood. They must have been watching the house to see if any stranger would visit the couple. They didn’t even acknowledge my presence as one of them tried to hack the old man down with his cutlass. In a second, I drew out my gun and blew his brains out. The old man was baptized in the killer’s blood. The other one that tried to kill the woman got his own in the spine. He fell down lifeless immediately. The couple didn’t even scream; they must have witnessed worse in their lifetimes; but they were visibly shaken. I had to make them some tea to calm their nerves. I didn’t know who those men were but their mission was to kill the couple first. The old people knew them; they were among the street nuisances that always terrorised the locality. I told them they were not safe there. Others might come. I assisted them in packing the few things they could and saw them to the bus that would transport them far away from that area. I bid them farewell and wished them luck, the bus was already moving when the woman put her head out of the window and gave me a new address in another village. And her husband had also poked his head out and said that was my friend’s mother’s hometown where it all began before the buses faded into the horizon. And so my second journey began in earnest. I just had to see Christopher.
With the new information I had, it didn’t take too long before I located Christopher’s mother’s family house. The house seemed deserted except for a bent old man. The dilapidating house was built with mud and thatched roof; the old man didn’t seem to mind the situation of this godforsaken hut. This was his house, and he would either die in it or under it. I greeted the man but it seemed like he didn’t even understand English, so I had to relate with him in the local language i was sure he would understand. He initially regarded me with suspicious and wary look until I told him my name and asked after Christopher. He said Christopher had told him I might come. Right there, sighed with relief. I had finally reached the last destination. The man invited me into the hut and offered my the oly drinks he had – palm wine. He skillfully avoided my question when I asked him about Christopher; he was rather talking about things unrelated to my visit – the birds, the trees, the music, the cultures and traditions of the ancient village. I thought old age must have been denying the man of his sharp mind for him to be talking about things that didn’t concern me.
“ ‘Where’s Christopher?’ I interrupted him sharply. I was getting tired of his unending spiel.
“ ‘He’s dead, my son,’ the old man replied, ‘Christopher is dead.’
” ‘What!‘ I couldn’t believe my ears. what nonsense was this old man talking about?
“Let me explain everything, my child,’ said the man, ‘Christopher came in here with two gunshot wounds on his body – on the stomach and on the back. I didn’t know who he was at first but I decided to treat him. his wounds were too deep and infected; he didn’t get himself treated on time, so it had gone beyond redemption. I knew he was going to die; all I could do was relieve him of his pains.’
” ‘You killed him?’ I was about to pounce on him and beat him black and blue.
” ‘No, I gave him some medicines to relieve his pains. then he told me who he was. He was my grandson. he was the son of Ifeoma who left this village many years ago because she had a child out of wedlock. He was the child of Ifeoma my daughter who was killed with her family thirteen years ago. I asked him why he left his family for thirteen years and he replied that a stranger had accosted him on the street and told him Mr Oka was not his real father; his real father wanted to kill him.
“ ‘Why would a father want to kill his own son?’ I was confused. Nothing the man was saying made sense to me.
“The old man continued as if he had not heard me, ‘The stranger had told him to run for his life and not tell anyone his whereabouts..
“ ‘Does that mean that it was Christopher’s biological father who ordered the execution of his family?’
“The old man nodded sadly.
“ ‘Why did the man want his son dead?’ I asked again.
“ ‘Mazi is a public figure with a family. He is the village’s most powerful man of wealth. He has a family with children. It was rumoured that his wife’s family helped him to attain the fame and power he got; but he could not put his zippers on check when he saw Ifeoma. He ended up raping her; but his wife must not know about this lest he be stripped of all his fortune and power. He wanted to kill Ifeoma as soon as he discovered that she was pregnant. His wife must not know about this. Sleeping with a random girl was one thing, impregnating her was another. His wife’s family would destroy him. We managed to hide Ifeoma from him until she put to bed. Somehow, someone had informed him that the baby had been born; and so we had to send Ifeoma and her baby to another village where we believed she would not be found; but after almost twenty years, Mazi still tracked her and her family down. One of the many regrets my grandson had before he died was the fact that he would not be able to avenge his family’s murder on Mazi.
“And so the old man struggled upright and led me to the back of the hut where he showed me my friend’s grave.
“ ‘That’s my grandson buried beside his grandmother,’ he had said, with sadness etched on his wrinkled face. He told me that Christopher was initially named Emeka. He shared the same first name with you. Can you see why I had to use you?
“Filled with so much anger at what Mazi had done, I stood over my friend’s grave and swore that I would avenge his death. Mazi, TMG and KK would all pay for their wickedness. I turned to the grandfather and asked him to grant me the permission to adopt Christopher’s name. It was only both of us who knew that Christopher was dead; and no one really knew what he looked like except me and the man. Mazi didn’t know, neither did Mantis and KK. I would go after Mazi first then return to square off with the gangs – they had killed my friend; they, too, would pay the steep price. The old man blessed me and told me that Christopher would always be with me. Barely two days after I became Christopher, I lured Mazi to Lagos by killing one of his operatives and leaving a threatening letter for the rich thug to find. In a week, Mazi left the east for Lagos.
“Lagos is a big city. How was Mazi able to locate you?” Emeka asked.
“I located him. I tracked down one of his goons and beat Mazi’s whereabouts out of him before I killed him. Then I proceeded to give Mazi a false location about Christopher’s whereabouts.”
“Please go on.”
“Two days ago, I contacted Mazi again and told him that Christopher would be appearing at the Tafawa Balewa Square in the afternoon of today. With the anger of hearing about how Christopher had been killing his men, he didn’t even verify the information that reached him; he just gave the order to have Christopher taken to him alive. He had a personal score to settle with him. The truth, however, is that I led them to chase after a more dangerous person. The bearded man in the red cap would kill them all in a single stroke; that was actually what I was counting on. I stood far away watching how they would all be wasted on trying to confront the man. But my plan was foiled; I thought Mazi himself would be there when they try to attack the bearded man, but that was not to be. I didn’t suspect that Mazi would ask that Christopher be brought to a certain location.
“When that realisation occured to me, I quickly sought out Mazi’s right-hand thug and killed him within that hour. I took his phone and went to the only place I knew would be crowded after TBS. I went to Shoprite. I needed to find a mark fast. I sat down in the restaurant and ordered for a bottle of wine as I looked around for a suitable bait. I had another plan in mind. I was still searching when you picked a table close to me and ordered for a meal. You made a call at that moment and I heard you introduce yourself as Emeka to the person at the other end of the line. On hearing your name, I knew I had found a bait; you share the same name with Christopher, and your full beards was enough to convince the abductors that you were really Christopher. I walked out of the restaurant as soon as I heard you mention your name. I walked away and made a call to the men waiting in TBS. Then i went to the restroom wth my bag, changed into these casual shirt and faded trousers, fixed the false moustache and wore the wig.
“By the time I came out of the restroom, you were already leaving the restaurant and walking towards the staircase close to me. I had to act fast or I would lose you. As you reached the staircase, I suddenly came before you and tripped. You grabbed me immediately. Then I knew I had had you. The rest you know.”
“Wow,” said Emeka, “I’m speechless!”
“Good. Now listen very carefully to me, Shoprite is just fifty metres ahead. You will get out of this car, take the four bags of money at the backseat and disappear. You have served your purpose well. The money is your compensation.”
Emeka stared at Lucas for a moment. He wanted to say something but thought better of it and opened the door.
“One other thing, Emeka, you must not breathe a word of everything I told you to anyone. If you do, I will find you wherever you are and I will kill you. I don’t make empty threats. You didn’t hear anything about Christopher, Lucas, Mazi, Rough-88, Mandela, The Mantis Gang or The Kabba-Kabba.”
Emeka stepped out of the car without replying. He opened the back door and retrieved the money.
“That was such an adventure,” he said as he walked away with bags containing money.
Lucas zoomed off immediately. The time was 10:25pm.
That was such an adventure!
The revelation hit him like a raging matador. He pressed the brakes sharply and the car screeched to a stop.
“Oh my goodness!”
He made a sharp U-turn and zoomed back to where he had dropped the passenger.
The loose pieces of the puzzle were slowly engaging themselves in his head as he drove on. Emeka had intentionally called out his own name to his hearing at the restaurant – he wasn’t making any calls . Emeka didn’t grab him at the staircase by chance – it was purposeful . Emeka didn’t take the silenced pistol from the abductors – the dead men didn’t have silenced pistols. Emeka didn’t shoot aimlessly at the warehouse – he had actually killed all the men outside, because no bullet must go to waste . Mazi had stared with surprise at the entrance and had seen Emeka before he fell down dead – that was because he saw a resemblance I didn’t see; he knew whom he was staring at . Emeka had removed his glasses that short time. The eyes! God gracious! The eyes!
The table had turned a long time ago. He didn’t use Emeka; instead, Emeka had used him. Emeka had always been many steps ahead of him right from the beginning. Another revelation suddenly occured to him and he groaned out loud. The master deceiver was not dead – the god of disguise had done it again!
Emeka was the grandfather he met in the village!
The grave he was shown was Christopher’s grandfather’s.
Emeka, the brown-haired rapper, was Christopher!
Christopher was alive. And he had used him (Lucas) to kill his evil father, because he didn’t want to commit patricide. His friend was alive!
The joy that filled his heart was beyond description. He finally felt whole again.
But there was no Christopher where he had dropped him. He laughed out loud. He had told Emeka that he didn’t want to see him again. His friend would make him sweat a little bit before revealing himself. The knowledge that Christopher was alive and well was enough to keep him happy for the rest of his life.
However, he knew Christopher too well. He would not stay hidden from him for too long. Christopher himself had told him in the village that he would always be with him. He had always been with him.
He looked behind him and found two of the four bags of money. Typical Christopher; he had always believed in equality. And talking of equality, he knew what Christopher was going to do next. He had used him to kill his father, now he would pay back the favour by fighting the one ultimate battle.
TMG and KK, watch out, Christopher is back in town.
The first person Lucas knew Christopher would be going after was Mandela – the bearded man in the red cap.
And lastly, Christopher would unleash terror on his enemies with one single name – Lucas!
THE END
********©Larry Sun, January 2017
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