Must Read: The Cartel (18+)

Episode 7 years ago

Must Read: The Cartel (18+)

FURY

I and Vivi went on to talk at length about all what had been happening in Campus especially with regards to confraternities. How she was christened Milady by one of their patrons and how she rose to become the number three person in her frat. She opened up to me and answered all the questions I could think of then.



She also talked about her campus prostituting ring and how she started. At that point I had asked her if Jade was also a cultist or into campus runs. She didn’t answer immediately, and after what was like 30 seconds of silence she replied calmly “No. She’s not into campus frat”
“That took you forever to reply. And you didn’t answer the other question?” I said calmly, wondering why she had to pause before giving me an answer.
“I don’t think so. But why do you ask?” She replied and then asked what prompted the questions


I wanted to tell her what I saw, but I wasn’t sure again if that was actually Jade. But again the fact that she didn’t provide an answer immediately I asked the question made me feel there was something she knew and wasn’t telling me so I just told her “Nothing. Just that besides your other girlfriends, she’s just about the only close friend you have that I know of. Even though you’re always on and off. So I felt since your relationship with each other dates way back, then you two might just be into all these” I ended making a hand gesture when I said “all these”
“Hahahaha” She had laughed lightly hitting me the pillow in the process before saying “You now suspect everybody abi?”
“E no dey show for face and no be by body size” I replied her, ended with her own words when I had questioned her claims of being a bully in secondary school

She moved closer to me, held my face briefly while looking into my eyes. Then with a smile across her face, she closed her eyes as she kissed me. Everything happened so slowly like we had all the time in the world. We made love for the next forty or so minutes before laying nüde under the duvet next to each other.


It was at this point she began telling me the plan for the next day. Scary as it sounded (to a logical mind), I still agreed I was going with her. Later she proceeded to her room, did some cleaning up, had her bath while I had mine before we left together for dinner in one of our favorite restaurant in the heart of town. This was where we both ate whenever we didn’t feel like cooking.

*******

I looked at the time again on the car dashboard, 8:15pm. I had been sitting inside the for the past 30 minutes waiting for the guy we were stalking to emerge from the fast food restaurant. With me was a guy Vivi later confirmed was one of her boys who was attacked by the so called lady and her knights. He told me the guy had entered there with a girl. He was a student of the state university and was based in the southern part of Calabar like the fella we were stalking.

Vivian had brought the Camry car earlier in the afternoon and left me with the key saying I would pick up someone. Just when I was beginning to conclude she had tricked me into not going with them (because it was raining already), she called me. The time was 15 minutes past 7pm and she asked me to drive over quickly to a particular fast food restaurant on Eta-Agbor road and park on the opposite side of the road. Within 10 minutes, I had made my way there.

I parked the car a few meters away on the opposite side of the road not to arose any suspicion like instructed. I then dialed her number to inform her I was already there, but she cut me short saying she had seen me and that someone is coming over. Within three minutes, I heard a knock on the front passenger door glass and quickly opened the door by pressing the central lock button. In came this dude who I was a little bigger than in size.
“Hey” I said greeting the guy
“Guy” He said, his voice way deeper than his size. I could tell he was high, but not from alcohol
“Where’s Vivian?” I then asked to which he immediately gave me this look like I had committed a sacrilege ir said something profane
“Milady asked me to join you here. Were to follow him” He then said looking away from me towards the restaurant on the opposite side of the road. I left the air conditioning system running, so the car’s glasses were clear enough.
“So how long has he been in there?” I asked him
“As soon as you were called. Went in with a girl, so he should stay a while” He answered with a tone that suggested I was bothering him.

It was raining and the plan couldn’t be going any better I thought to myself. This was the typical Calabar rain which though wasn’t a heavy downpour, but always went on till the following day. Surprisingly I wasn’t a bit nervous. Probably because I hadn’t gotten any vision of things going wrong.

I later found out the guy (with me in the car) was able to recognize this particular guy as one of the guys who were with the lady on the night of their abduction and threat. He according to Vivian was her most trusted boy and was in charge of Calabar south axis. This guy whose name I didn’t know (and couldn’t ask him because of his awful silence and mood all through) had been suspecting the guy we were stalking for a while as the dealer of the new products in his hood.

He found this out because his clients were always mentioning the guys name when making comparison with their own products quality and price. And the guy who wasn’t a student of the university soon became a regular face there.


At exactly 8:10pm, we saw the guy and the girl emerge from the restaurant clutching takeaways.

The guy ran first towards a golf car while the girl waited on the veranda of the restaurant. After he opened his door and went in, he flashed her the headlamps (obviously as a sign that the passenger door was now open) and then she ran towards the car and entered.

About two minutes later, we were tailing them gradually while keeping a reasonable distance. I was certain the only thing on his mind would be how he would fvck that girl all night in this rainy and cold night. “Silly and greedy girl. Why Dem no go fvck you like mad? Even after spending hours eating inside the restaurant, something must follow you go house” I said in head.


Mr no name put a call to Vivian telling him he was headed home as expected and we were right behind them. I drove for another fifteen or so minutes after them, making sure I didn’t make it obvious.


Finally I found myself somewhere around Eyo Eta deep in Calabar south. The vehicular traffic in this part of the city was very low at that time since most people had called it in (probably because of the rain), so I had to loose him at several points so he doesn’t suspect a thing. Mr no name asked me to park finally and got out of the car asking me to wait.
*** As later narrated by Vivian***
He lived in a fenced compound although with no gate as the fence seemed to be more of a mark of property or privacy than of security. They were parked on a lane in his street, so he didn’t see their car. Again with the rain which picked up intensity at intervals and having no fear of an impending attack, he wouldn’t be looking over his shoulder for anything other than concentrate on his driving.

Two of her boys had gained entry into his house. Fortunately there was no power supply so they waited for him inside. As soon as he drove into the compound, he left the girl behind in the car and ran up to the stairs, opened the door and went inside. The girl had sat back in the car probably waiting for an umbrella or for him to turn on his power generating set.

According to her, he walked into his house feeling like he won a lottery. As soon as he stepped in, one of the boys grabbed him just as the other one pressed a handkerchief soaked in chloroform to his face. Within seconds of inhaling, he fell like a sack of cement, passed out. At that point she and the other guy who stayed back in the car moved into the compound. Neighbors had their power generating set on and with the rain, there wasn’t a soul in sight.


Vivian pulled out her Beretta pistol (which I saw later that night and realized she had for the first time), walked over to the car and opened the door. The girl who was engrossed in pressing her phone didn’t notice anyone approach and began by asking “What happened to the Gen…?” when she realized it wasn’t him that opened the door and that a gun was pointed at her head.
“Make a sound and I’ll put a hole in your head do you understand me?” Vivian said giving the girl an ice cold warning

The girl fearfully nodded that she understood. Vivi (who had a mask on) then grabbed the girl by her precious hair and pulled her out of the car with the girl fighting hard to suppress her screaming due to pains. She then pushed her over to the boy with her and they all went into the building

*****

I got a call directing me to drive to the next street and into a particular compound. There, Vivian joined me in the car taking the front passenger seat while one of the boys got in with the girl whose hands where now tied behind her, her eyes blindfolded and her mouth taped (and obviously stuffed too).
“Hey” I said not sure of her state of mind.
“Hi love” She said breathing heavily just as she handed me what was a face mask saying “Here. You’ll need this”
I collected it and waited for further instructions from her (as per boss lady).
“We’re following them” She then said just as the other car drove out.


We drove for very fast another 30 or so minutes, leaving the highway at a point. Finally after many negotiated bends on a dirt road with a few houses, we stopped before a building with a gate. One of the boys in the other car got down and opened the gate for us to drive in, before closing it behind us. It had been raining heavily for the past ten minutes, so everyone got really soaked as we made out way inside.


It was an occupied building, but there was no one inside. So many questions ran through my head and for once I had a bit of fear for Vivian.
“Turn on the lights”, “Bring him out (from the trunk of the car)”, “Let’s go behind”…… She kept giving instructions and the four guys obeyed like rank and files taking orders from a general. We found our way to the back of the house into a room which looked empty and more like a torture chamber.


The guy who had obviously regained consciousness had been brought out of the trunk if the car, hands and legs bounded like a common criminal. He was also blindfolded and had his mouth stuffed too. He kept murmuring all through but no one paid him heed.
Both the boy and the girl were then tired to separate chairs just as Vivian gave me a sign by snapping her fingers that I should put on my mask. A big flashlight was pointed at his face and then one of the boys removed his blindfold and mouth gag. It took him about five minutes to fully regain his composure, but due to the light beam on his face, he couldn’t see anyone.
“Who the fvck are you guys? Do you know who you’re messing with? If you want to die there are easier ways to kill yourself you know!” He finally asked, sounding tougher than he actually was while trying to look beyond the touch beam.



His voice still showed signs of weakness because of the big piece of clothing that was earlier stuffed in his mouth.
“Yea. Your name is Peter Bassey, and you’re a big time drug dealer working for the Cartel in Calabar south right?” Vivian answered him
“Yea. And who the hell are you?” He asked still trying to avoid the light and see the faces of the people behind the beam.
“I’m the lady who wants to take back what’s hers. By the way, I learnt your boss sent me a message? Care to deliver it?” She replied stepping forward and providing the much needed respite his eyes needed from the light.
“Milady…!!! Oh no. No no no” He said as he began to sob when he immediately realized this must be Milady.
“Wow. Is this how people fear this name” I thought to myself
Pulling a seat, she moved closer to him and sat down.
“Peter. I have some questions for you. And how your answer these questions would determine what would happen to you and your girlfriend right here” She said and it was at this point he obviously remembered he had left her in his car because he looked shocked.



The girl suddenly started murmuring and struggling like she wanted to say something. Vivian asked her “What is it girl?” angrily but the girl kept murmuring.
“I think she’s trying to say something” I said.
Vivian snapped her fingers while pointing to one of her boys who then removed the gag from her mouth leaving the blindfold.
“Please don’t kill me. I’m not his girlfriend. I just met him today. He gave me a lift this morning and collected my number when he dropped me off in my school. He took me out this evening. Please I’m just a student of the school of midwifery. Please.. Please..” She begged immediately the gag came off her mouth. She only stopped talking when Vivian nodded for the boy to replace her mouth gag
“Long throat. You meet boy one day, because of yeye motor, you give am number, e buy you food for fast food joint, you jump enter motor follow am dey go house” I said in my head
“So Peter, tell me about the cartel”.

*******

He talked at length, providing no useful information. Contradicting himself at several points while also denying earlier statement he made. I heaved loudly and Vivian looked at me and smiled.

Standing up, she moved over to where I stood before turning to face him saying “Peter, I heard your boss and you guys her knights have a knack for chopping off body parts. Well, I’m please to announce to you that that’s our favorite pastime. Perhaps only then will you take me serious.
“Lets start with the left hand” She said to her boys. The one behind him replaced the gag inside his mouth just as another picked up from a table what I later found out to be a cigar cutter. He tried to struggled but was helpless as his thumb and index finger were first ripped off.


He screamed a s loudly as he could but it was only audible to us in that room. Not even forgetting the rain. As his fingers were chopped off, Vivi held my hands as our fingers were locked firmly together. She didn’t look at me, but I knew she did that to say something like “This is who I am”
And my squeezing hers back was like me saying “It’s ok babe. I’m still here for you”. I looked over to the girl, I saw she wet herself as the urine dropped from one end of the seat to the floor. No body said anything or made a sound about it even though we (except of course Peter) all saw it.
“That’s enough” Vivian said and moved back to him asking “Are you ready to answer my question now truthfully?” And he nodded his head faster than a hummingbird flapping it’s wings.

*******