The Angel And The Fugitive – Chapter Twelve Part B

THE ANGEL AND THE FUGITIVE – CHAPTER TWELVE PART B

© Reginald Obetta

Bin-Ahmed’s capture made the biggest headlines in the world news and the security Chiefs with Ajuwa Williams were all impressed and joyous. A big credit was given to them for their relentless efforts and dedication. Bin-Ahmed would have to face criminal charges of terrorism and war against humanity in court which, by the constitution was death by hanging. In as much as Ajuwa Williams was happy about the capture, he was still dissatisfied and his moment of happiness was incomplete after he got that call from the military base in Moguil State about the non-rescue of his daughter. In politics wise, his capture will mean something of a plus, a big benefit in the country’s quest to be a permanent member of the UN security Council and also, to lead other African nations in terms of security crisis. Plethora of soldiers went ahead of him and trailed him as he was led through in the base. Only terrorists or people capable of causing insidious threats to the live of people and the country in general were kept as prisoners in the base which was nicknamed, an abode of torture and a place, where an escape was practically impossible. Every eye was on him, some spitting on him, some hitting him like the betrayed Jesus in the Bible, till he saw himself, land on his back against the cold floor. He wasn’t scared, instead, he wore a look of ecstasy, no different than when a woman is cuddled in the hands of her romantic lover. Eight soldiers guarded the entrance to his cell, all looked perplexed at his inexplicable attitude. Each of them thought Bin-Ahmed was smiling at his own death, something they considered normal among criminals when they realize, there was no atom of hope to escape and so instead of dying in sorrow, they die in the opposite but Bin-Ahmed believed in something, entirely different, he knew he wouldn’t last long somehow in his confinement , his instincts had told him once more and maybe , his boys will come rescue him.

Mrs Williams was one of those who saw the capture of Bin-Ahmed as an unpleasant incidence. She was still in agony and rage about the failure of the military to rescue her daughter. Her daughter’s life was more important than the global applause, the country was receiving from all quarters about the capture of Al-hida’s leader. It was a dull morning to her for she hadn’t slept a bit. Each time she tried to take a nap, the picture of her daughter being chased by a group of masked men, she concluded was the Al-hida group shows up almost immediately and then, she Jerks to her feet. That will always tell her that her daughter wants to escape but she couldn’t and ended up caught again. She would tell her husband the dream repeatedly and her husband will constantly remind her that if she continued, she would end up being dead before her daughter eventually returns, but usually, the warnings fell on deaf ears.

“How can she come back when I kept on dreaming about the same thing. And your soldiers seem relaxed because of Bin-Ahmed’s capture “

“I promise, they have been relentless in this search and will continue. Every security personnel out there is looking for her. The capture is nothing till our daughter is found”

“Well, it doesn’t seem so. It’s almost six days since her capture. Do you know what those monsters could have done to her? They rape women, girls, ki*ll people and burn them alive, destroy churches and buildings. It’s taking too long darling, you have to do something”

“You are already like this, trying to starve yourself and avoid getting sleep. Look at you, you are like a shadow in the evening, only that yours is in the afternoon, mourning as it she is dead already. What then happens if she really dies, then you go round naked in public like a mad woman who just discovered that she had gone nutty.”

“How do you expect me to be, she was my last child and only girl since I was diagnosed of cancer and had a hysterectomy performed to remove my uterus. Tell me?”

“She is my daughter too and my precious jewel. We have Bin-Ahmed, that’s a big step in the right direction honey. We will torture him and then, he will give up her whereabouts”

“No, it isn’t a big step in the right direction. Do you think he would give up so easily when he knows he has nothing to lose. Death will be knocking at his door.”

“You have to be positive and optimistic, that’s what situations like this demand from us. Now please, take your bath, freshen up, eat and get some sleep. Evelyn won’t spend another forty-eight hours more in her captivity”, he opined and took her into his arms. He had been very supportive of her since Evelyn got missing and made sure he always was there to alleviate her from the sorrow since the only member of his family not present with them was his son, who was abroad.

President Ajuwa Williams placed a call the next day to the military base Grand Commanding Officer, Brigadier Solomon , asking Bin-Ahmed to be tortured till he gave up his remaining allies and his daughter. Bin-Ahmed was strong-willed and endured all forms of torture, he made up his mind to die for his members, Ajuwa Williams was contacted again to be informed of Bin-Ahmed’s non-compliance and refusal to submit, He took a flight that day and arrived at the base with his personal security guard, few hours later to administer his own kind of torture, when it seemed not to work, he resolved into negotiations, his freedom for the safety of his daughter which the unimpressed brigadier reluctantly agreed, suggesting it was unwise and would lose their goal and bid in the UN security Council and would be made a laughing stock when they realize we are weak and incapable of rescuing your daughter and thereby, exchanging the life of a terrorist to a civilian.

“I don’t care about the publicity. It’s my daughters life we are talking about. It is perfect for you to think that way because it isn’t your daughters life at stake. Am the president and we are hoping with the proposal”

Bin-Ahmed whose face and body was covered with lacerated varicose ulcers was led out of the torture room into another room, with three chairs, two of them opposite the other and a table separating them. Bin-Ahmed sat in the lonely one and Ajuwa Williams sat opposite while the Brigadier, opted to stand.

“We would like to trade you for the life of my daughter. If you agree to this, you will be granted pardon and become a free man. Every single charges of terrorism will be dropped against you”

Bin-Ahmed shifted his gaze from the pleading Ajuwa Williams to the standing examining Brigadier and back to the President, spat on their faces and chuckled.

“To hell with your insanity. You are desperate and came with a proposal, so stupid. Do you think I care about life, Death is only a shortcut to my heavenly rewards for my duties here on earth. You think, your daughter will be raped and molested to death like the rest of the dead women It had happened to? She will and will be cut in several pieces fir her nakedness to be viewed in public “, Ajuwa Williams rose in rage, slapped him hard thrice on his face and gave him a right darted punch on his eye socket, blood gushing out from it. He left without saying a word but gestured with his hand to the Brigadier to take him to the inner cell different from his former cell. The inner cells were the dirtiest and most disgusting of them all and had the same weather all the time for no light, not even the sun rays penetrated into the dark dull atmosphere.

The vehicle halted finally, when they realized that they had misled their pursuers into thinking, they were in Moguil. They no longer made a stop there as planned because they knew they would be trailed and so, decided to stop for a while at one of their hideouts in Moguil, in order to change their outfits and change vehicle. They journeyed for another day and made a stop at Iragulu State, another neighbouring state by the east. It was night, the period they loved traveling and stopping and the hideout was very remote. They all dropped off, Rogers was the first, apparently tensed so much about what to do next even when asked by Al-Amin and others, he simply told them he was bereft of clues and Bin-Ahmed was in a hell filled with soldiers that they just couldn’t overpower unless, he assembles all of the Al-hida group in the region. He assumed they must have taken him to Moguil military base, which was the closest of them all. Evelyn was taken inside, still blindfolded and had her hands tied but could hear every utterances they made. The inside was dark, fallow and void. One couldn’t make a good capture of the inside that much. Every little sound made echoed, that accounted for its emptiness. The captors knew their ways around, having been in a similar place like that multiple times. Kamal lit a small lantern and took it to the room where Evelyn stayed, that revealed, there was a table and a stool. Kamal placed the lantern on top of the table and was about to take his leave when Evelyn called him back shouting.

“Am hungry and thirsty. Do you want me to die of dehydration and starvation? I will be of no use to you then if I give up the ghost”. Kamal didn’t retaliate by hitting her which he would have done on a normal circumstance, he was to occupied by a bigger problem than she just shouting for food and water. It had been two days since they last fed her, all due to the unwanted prolonged journey.

“I will get you some food but never shout at us again or your mouth will be cut off “, he responded with a threat and exited. Rogers remained on the same spot as he was since dropping off for the past two hours. It was 1.30 am and sleep seemed to have eluded him. He was racking his head for a possibility of rescuing Bin-Ahmed. Binani too couldn’t sleep as well, engrossed in the same thought as Rogers and so, decided to be outside for a while to clear his head. He took with him a bottle of gin and a packet of cigarettes, surprised to see Rogers still outside.

“You haven’t slept yet”, Binani said astonishingly. Rogers said the same thing out of surprise and they both concluded, they couldn’t sleep. Binani was closest to him as Rogers was to Bin-Ahmed. Got initiated the same day, entered University the same day but Rogers was the more intelligent one, a great manipulative person and so, his rank was higher than he but never at one time, did it affect their friendship.

“Bin-Ahmed is still out there. Someone has got to rescue him and it’s our sole responsibility and burden to do so. I just don’t know how”

“You will figure it out somehow am sure. Nothing is impossible with you remember. You want some”, he offered Rogers his packet of cigarettes and he handpicked two, got one lit and supported it with the bottle of gin which was his favourite combination. His phone beeped afterwards and he answered, after wondering who it might be.

“Rogers speaking “

“Have you got a plan yet”

“Who are you? “

“Alhaji “

“Not yet Alhaji but we are on it and will get him out, I promise. “, he said after realizing it was Alhaji Saheed.

“Then act fast like you mean it. You waste anymore time and he is tried and killed and we will be losing a valuable asset or he spills everything about us all and are doomed. The ball is in your court. Save him now when you can or ki*ll him when it’s too late to rescue”, he hung up.

Rogers was more at sea than the way he was initially, he just wouldn’t give up rescuing his ex-roommate and boss. He would never ki*ll him for no reason if when it seemed impossible for him to be rescued, even if it means spilling through blood of every soldier in the country. With so much furiousity in his red eyes, he smashed his mobile phone on the ground. Binani knew what went wrong and never endeavored to ask him. Their overall boss had threatened him to do something against Rogers will and that angered him. Alhaji Saheed’s eyes was everywhere, watching them in his imaginable television screen. He knew everything and couldn’t be manipulated. Suddenly, Rogers face beamed with cheeky smile, progressing into a big uncontrollable laughter. Binani looked at him strangely.

“What are you laughing about? “

“I have a plan. We will rescue Bin-Ahmed soon”

***********

The pressure on Ajuwa Williams was tremendous. Bin-Ahmed didn’t consent to his proposal, Evelyn was still in confinement and the worst possible scenario was that his wife was terribly sick and was in Apex house clinic. For two days, he was absent from office to stay in the hospital to take care of his wife whom recovered after a week. He was in so much stress that he was diagnosed of High Blood Pressure. This further kept him away from country affairs for some period. He wouldn’t give up on his daughter, he knew she was still alive and believed in her miraculous escape.

Chief of Army Unit had passed an order for every soldier, guarding the cell of Bin-Ahmed in Moguil should be replaced every week. Brigadier Solomon saw to it that it was properly implemented. The reason was obvious, they wanted to avoid any kind of compromise and relationship with Bin-Ahmed, knowing he could offer a form of bribery to them to foster his escape and so, were very careful of him and the need to keep him there till his hearing two weeks time, where he will be transferred to Abuja. Some of the new recruits had already arrived, a selection was made on a routine bases on who’s turn it was to guard and then, when it clocked 7 days, they become replaced again. They were given one instruction, to prevent Bin-Ahmed from escaping and if he does and seen anywhere, he should be shot. The new recruits were the fourth batch to be recruited in another exercise. However, one of the soldiers, who was on duty was particular to Bin-Ahmed. He bore the same recognition with someone he knew from his past, very close to his heart and at that moment, he couldn’t reminisce. His saviour were the letters on the left side of his uniform which, he comprehended was his name. It was written as Ibrahim W. His mind only thought of one person, his dead mentally unbalanced brother. It couldn’t be a coincidence, he thought that he rose from the dead or has his spirit reincarnated into another human flesh that bore the same identity and appearance as he. He was dead even if, his body wasn’t found, it was convincing the building crushed him into pieces and made him totally unrecognizable. He rebuked the thoughts and stated that it was a sign he was going soft. The thoughts arose in him to weaken and break him and that wasn’t he needed at the moment. But it kept coming to him, the more he looked at him, wander from place to place with his helmet, hiding some part of his forehead. He came nearer to the gate of his cell and called the name on his uniform softly. Ibrahim answered, looked at him for a moment and turned away, realizing it was he calling. The second calling of his name got his full attention, the voice was so familiar to him and very particular. Once, he turned, gazed at Bin-Ahmed and got closer to his cell, not very close but not too distant either from the point where he could hear everything he says. They were face to face now and Bin-Ahmed was beginning to get convinced.

“Ibrahim, it’s that really you? “, he asked. The compassion he never had before or perhaps, he hadn’t felt for a long time overwhelmed in Toto. He believed, he was alive and not dead. He didn’t die under the collapsed building. He was beginning to smile a bit but Ibrahim’s face had turned into a frown.

“Do you think am stupid and unintelligent to realize that you are a psychopath. You want to break me into complying with you to be your friend , beguile me into allowing you escape. Shut up and be quiet this minute or will be forced to blow your brains out. Don’t ever call my name again “, he warned and continued to pace back and forth. Bin-Ahmed released his grip on the gate and went back inside. His mind was playing with him. He wasn’t his brother or perhaps, Ibrahim doesn’t recognize him or his voice anymore, doesn’t recognize that the renowned Bin-Ahmed was Tafa, his church freak brother turned terrorist. For the first time, he was defeated inwardly, the love for his brother had broken him finally. Ibrahim looked healthy and wasn’t the poor delusional boy always going to the clinic when he is out of control. He sat, turned to face the wall and cried silently.

To be continued

 

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