CHAPTER 17

            Shola tossed the coin up, using his thumb and index finger and it landed on tails on the back of his hand, this was one of his most reliable way of dealing with a problem, or rather a dilemma, he had assisted Fasting's goons in kidnapping Alice, had single handedly prevented Sunday from helping her, and had trapped him in the agency's web, but now he was stuck between the bridges of his next conspiracy, one way or the other he knew Sunday would go after her, and trusting Sunday, finding Alice wouldn't be much of a difficulty, but however, there was his dilemma, how he was going to go about stopping Sunday, bringing us back to why he needed the coin, heads meant he wouldn't have to kill anyone to carry out his plan, while tails on the other hand meant there would be a casualty, seeing as that would be the case he highlighted from the car and proceeded to set his next plan in motion. 

             Moving in his usual purposeful strides, he headed for the building only few feets away from where he had parked his vehicle.

            On the outside, the ordinary six story building was just a fancy mall, a nice place to pick out couture clothing, brogues, denim jackets, that kind of thing, but that was what the CSS wanted the outside world to believe, no one other than the agents knew that the CSS operated in that same building, and several others as well, hatching their hidden operations under the very noses of the public, and they intended for it to stay that way, which made the accusations against Sunday all the more serious, he was kept under tight security, and thanks to Shola, he had received a more than deserving amount of hours long probbing, he had the lesser part of the agency's confidence,  something his enemies had been sure to make good use of .

             Shola's left hand remained tucked in the deep pockets of his grey pants, still tossing the coin as he slithered through the crowd down to the corridor, he maintained a sinister demenour, rough and almost impossible to read, after seconds of long strides he stopped at the metal door of the elevator, and pushed his finger against the small round button with a dark green sheen, followed by a " ting" as the doors pulled open.

             Immediately the doors pulled open, a little girl with a dog on a leash, alongside a much older woman starred back at him, and call it courtesy or pretense, he couldn't help but smile at them as he hopped in, right before the doors closed again, knowing fully well the risks and implications if the agency was ever discovered, as well the suspicions the lady would have of him should he fail to pick a floor, he tapped on a random number, but again realized the older lady had her eyes on him and again he returned her smile.

            The little girl, having noticed something pointy sticking to the side of his pocket thought to satisfy her curiosity with a question.

           " What's that ?" she questioned, pointing at the object of her curiosity.

             But Shola only answered with a smile.

           " It looks sharp " she continued " my Nana says you shouldn't play with sharp things " she said again.

             But before she could probe anymore the older woman stopped her.

           " Katherine ? don't you know it isn't nice to bother other people ? "she questioned.

           " But I was only asking a question Nana " the little girl responded, trying to justify her actions.

           " It's okay, I don't mind " he responded to the older woman's rebuke of the child, and squatted down in front of the girl, feigning a smile, but the dog immediately reacted to his sudden approach with harsh growls, even the animal found him dangerous and suspicious, and felt uneasy enough to react, until the pat of its owner tampered its aggression, but only barely, as it didn't pull its eyes away from Shola.

            " Katherine ? am I right ? " Shola asked.

            " Yes, what is your name ? " she questioned.

            " My name is Jack " he liked.

              For some reason the sound of his name brought a sparkle to her eyes and an excitement that she couldn't conceal.

             " Jack ? " she questioned again as though in disbelief, almost jumping off the ground, as she cast her eyes at the older woman and then back at him, as though a long lost relationship had been rekindled, her voice laced with unpretentious excitement,  she chuckled in delight " I know a Jack, " she finally responded, and turned her head back to look at the older woman before she fixed them back on him.

             " Really ? " he questioned.

.            " Uhh uhh, " she nodded in affirmation, " he killed a giant, and saved the princess, and he cut down a beanstalk, he was really brave, " she confirmed, with the smile still plastered across her face .

              " Are you brave Mr Jack ? she asked suddenly, as the smiled morphed into a serious look, " You're not a scardy cat are you ? " she questioned again, as the smile reappeared on her face.

              " Katherine ! " the older lady rebuked her again.

             " I try not to be, " Shola responded softly " do you still want to know what I have in my pocket Katherine ? he questioned, and immediately the woman stood by the girl's side, as she rested her palms gently on Katherine's shoulders.

              Katherine's eyes sparkled again as she saw Shola dip his hands into his pocket, the dog growled even more harshly and the older lady couldn't help but be cautious as she pulled Katherine slowly away from him.

               Despite having his hand out of his pocket, she could barely see the object, as he buried it inside his clenched fist. That made Katherine even more impatient, and she tried to peer through his hand, until finally he looosened his fist, and allowed her a glimpse, 

             " It's ... a pen ? " she questioned, not hiding the disappointment .

             " Yes, and you can have it, " he replied, stretching out his hand to her.

               After a five second long stare at his hand and the not so appealing pen, she turned to her nana and then back at Shola, and gave him reply.

            " No thank you, my Nana says it isn't right to accept things from strangers, right nana ? she questioned  in a way that couldn't have been more innocent, and turned to her grandma then back at Jack.

.            " Wow ! that's very good, " he confirmed, and smiled at her " you must really love your grandma a lot " he said as he brushed a finger against her pointed nose, dropped the pen back into his pockets, and stood up, just as the sound of a " ting " echoed again, and the doors came open.

               He watched them exit, and even waved at her as they went down the corridor on their floor before the doors shut again.

               As he stood in front of the closed doors, he thought of the different options he would try out to make sure things got heated up for Sunday. He glanced down at the silver watch that held around his wrist, it was only two in the afternoon, there was still time, in that moment, using both hands, he pressed against the buttons on the elevator, one and seven simultaneously, then he began the process that would eventually grant him access into the agency many never knew existed, immediately he pushed the buttons, something like a slot pushed out from the button panel, and he placed a card on it, the black card bore his name as well as the acronym CSS behind it, in seconds the card got sucked in with the slot, as a computerized voice echoed from the elevator, it requested for his password and name,

            " Password and code name required " the voice echoed softly.

            " 2796, Shola Ochuba " he responded, giving his actual name.

            " Facial recognition required " the computerized voice requested again, then one of the buttons pushed out, the cap of the button split in two, each half moved to one side, till there was enough space for the mini scanner that looked like a spoke to go through them, with only few inches between his eyes and the needle sized scanner, a sudden flash of blue shone against his face, it ran upwards, down and then back up again, and finally the voice confirmed...

            " Facial recognition acquired, welcome, Agent Shola.

              Almost immediately, the slot pushed out again and he retrieved his card, then it slithered back, as did the scanner. The buttons adjusted to one side, and another one appeared, bigger than the rest, with a scarlet shade, right before the voice echoed...

            " Push button to complete process "

              The tight security wasn't there for no reason, the CSS had to make sure that no one other than the agency could have access to the place, and considering the fact that other non agents equally used the same elevator, caution was necessary.

               Seconds after he pushed the red button, the motor stopped, and the doors opened with the usual "ting " sound, then it revealed a room full of agents, no less than fifty agents parading the hall, each finely dressed in fitted suits and fairly expensive designers, some of the agents had loads of files on their desks, others clicked away at the keyboard, but any hardly seemed to notice him as he headed across the hall, none, except for Reuben who had seen him the moment he walked in, the chatters and clicking faded as he moved further away and into a slightly less illuminated corridor with doors lined on opposite ends, the doors were completely sound proof, which rendered useless the saying that walls have ears, Sunday was behind one of these doors, no doubt hand cuffed to a metal table, as other agents probbed him.

             Despite being hit by a car at lethal speed, he was still alive, a little bit shaken, but he was very concious of his enviroment, only a bruised forehead, and a dislocated shoulder, but nothing falthered his senses or sharp reflexes.

              He was locked up in a special room, the thick glass cut him off from the outside world, those on the outside could see and hear him, but he had no chance of doing the same, with his wrist locked in a set of metal cuffs, as well as two muscular guards securing the cell, they rested at ease, and watched from the outside as agent Kennedy repeated for the uptint time, the same questions, that Sunday gave the same response to.

            " Why did you do it ? why did you kill them ? I mean... they trusted you , and you blew them all away, quite literally , why did you do it ? " the middle aged man that sat across from him asked ?

            " I didn't kill anyone " Sunday responded

            " Then tell me this, how did you survive a blood bath without so much as a scratch on you, honestly I'm curious " the man continued, as he leaned even closer on the table

            " I got lucky I guess " he responded sarcastically, which made the agent scoff up a laugh.

            " Really ? then why did you attack those agents last night, "

            " I'm done talking to you " Sunday replied as he sat back in his seat.

            " Are you ? " the man questioned, he was about to say something when the door opened and two agents walked in, standing by the door were Paul and the agent who had initiated Sunday's arrest, James wanted to get all the details checked, he had already assumed they would put Sunday under tight security aside from the cuffs and the thick glass, but he wanted to know just how many there'd be, and having spotted the agents at the door, he was sure to an extent that his plan would follow through accordingly, they appeared tough, tough enough to take on the newbies maybe, but not him, they were hardly a match, with lesser skills and experience, he could take them on with one eye closed, that much he was confident about.

               Both agents remained at the door, as Paul beckoned to Kennedy, he didn't have to say a word, by the way he moved his eyes, the message was clear, immediately he joined Paul, who whispered in his ears, jetting careful glances at Sunday amidst their whispers, Sunday couldn't care less about their assumptions, it was very clear that someone set him up, he couldn't risk giving them the chip at this point, that would only be a foolish decision, it was the only hold he had on fasting, and he wouldn't give it up that easy, on the other hand he had to find Alice, she had been taken right before his eyes, if the CSS didn't take her, it only meant that Fasting did, and to draw him out no less. She was now his responsibility, and the earlier he escaped, the earlier he'd be able to save her.

               After minutes of their whispers and suspicious glances, Paul finally pulled away from the other agent, who appeared more than ready to continue with his swarm of questions, right before another agent walked in to deliver a message.

             " Agent Thomas would like to see you " he said, agent Thomas, the one who instructed Reuben to keep an eye on Sunday, which he had all but failed to do. 

             " Tell him I'll be right with him " 

             " He wants you there now " the agent replied, Paul took one more dagger like stare at Sunday and eventually walked out .

                Only after a few hours did someone return to his cell, and it wasn't Paul or James or even Kennedy, but Thomas, despite being much older his posture could be compared to that of a younger man, he took few strides and in no time sat across from Sunday, legs crossed, in an intense stare, until at last he uttered audible words.

              " How are you Sunday ? he asked, his question was unexpected, but there wasn't any response to it, " I've been hearing a whole lot about you lately, tell me, what have you been up to ? " he questioned and  pushed back on his seat, still there wasn't any response, then Sunday fixed his eyes on the glass wall, despite being unable to see the agents on the other side of the room, and then starred back at Thomas, he was aware they were there, Thomas got his message and he too looked at the wall, and nodded for the other agents to leave, the sounds of closing doors assured the two men who sat opposite from each other of a little privacy, then Thomas spoke again...

               " Look, I'm going to need you to work with me, the board will soon be on your case, and I know you don't want that, " he spoke followed with a short pause as Sunday looked the other way, " I also know you didn't kill any of those agents, " 

                  His last statement was enough to draw Sunday's attention, but he tried not to appear too relieved, and after a careful look at Thomas, responded,

                " Why should I believe that, word is you were the one after me " 

                " That I was, i have known you for a long time Sunday, more than anyone else here, if you have any reason to hate me for bringing you here, that ,we can adress another day, I know Fasting is after you, what I don't know is why? we' ve been trying to track him for years and suddenly he takes an interest in you ? what is it that you're not telling me ? he questioned, his eyes fixed on sunday as though they would somehow compel the secret out of him. " I can't help you if you won't confide in me " he spoke after a minute of silence 

                " I took something from him "

                " And what is that ? "

                " Information, his networks, sales, competition, future deals, everything.

                " Where is it now ? " he questioned 

                " Safe " Sunday replied, obviously not ready to spill anything just yet.

                " What do you want me to do ? "

     ************************************

                  Ruben had his fingers on the keyboard, scrolling through the files they had on Fasting, aside from his multiple aliases, he had a long history on drugs, he was an original crime boss, despite his jaw dropping life of crime, he also had a terrible childhood, one of the reasons he went down the alleys, but other than that there was nothing, he was a ghost, no one really knew what he looked like, he had enough doubles to fool anyone, and that made him more dangerous, the mall was closing up, and the last agent had just packed his stuff, and was on his way down.

                  

               " Hey Reuben ! " the agent called out to him, " aren't you leaving ? " he questioned with concern, his voice immediately caught his attention.

               " Yeah I will, in a bit, just need to check out something " he replied politely.

               " Oh ok, I'm off then, take it easy buddy, have a nice night " he replied as he headed for the elevator.

               " Sure thing, I'll see you tomorrow, " he replied, followed by the " ting " as the elevator opened and he walked in.

                  Less than a minute after the elevator doors closed, Reuben closed the laptop, got up from his seat, and took off his pants, sleeves, his watch, and his shoes, everything that would prevent him from being recognized, black was the right camouflage and it suited him nicely, in no time he had his mask on and then proceeded down the corridor, he took confident strides as he approached the room where Sunday was being held, his footsteps being the only thing the guards heard before his figure came into view, they reached out for their guns, but he was faster, and with an almost excellent aim, he lodged a bullet through one's shoulder, and shot at the other one's knee, blood gushed out from the wounds as they let out painful groans, and before either of them could regain composure, he was by their side, the back of his boot landed against one's forehead, and before the other one could shoot, he kicked the gun out of his hand, and smashed his head with the metal tail of his own, with both guards subdued he advanced to the door, and pulled it open, but the sound that came with it was hardly that of a sliding door, it was so loud he could almost feel it, and for that minute he thought he did, there was a sudden cold that crept under his black shirt, it suddenly felt damp, and then like a sting, sharp and painful, he looked down at his chest, the spot had turned darker, and the darkness kept on spreading, he tried to talk but felt as though there weren't words coming out of his mouth, he dropped to his knees, and in no time the silence like a flood swept over him, his plan had crumbled before he even set it in motion, with that, the thought of his fleeting life force, he saw the flaws in that plan, and the air vents sounded like a better idea.

                  

                  The silence in the hall was immediately broken as the elevator doors opened again, and a shadowed figure trailed in the direction of the room.

                  Reuben could see the room, but not Sunday, he landed with a thud, and scanned his enviroment, but suddenly felt metal cuffs round his neck.

                 " Who are you ? and what do you want ? " the voice behind him questioned, and squeezed even harder.

                 " I.. I'm..here to help you " he struggled to respond as the cuffs tightened.

                 " Why should I believe that ? "

                 " Because..I can help you stop him " he responded right before Sunday loosened his grip round his neck.

                    Before either of them had the chance of a proper introduction, they heard the agents at the door ...

                  " Hey !! what are you doing here ? " the two agents questioned on seeing another man inside with Sunday.

                    Then the resounding blast of three consecutive gun shots, and the loud thud as the bodies of the agents hit the floor, whoever it was that shot them had attacked when they were distracted, he had gotten the better of both of them.

                    The footsteps drew even closer, Sunday was still in the cuffs, and he wouldn't be able to defend himself properly unless they were removed, but the keys weren't in sight, he took a quick look at Reuben, and noticed the revolver in his back pocket.

                  "How good is your aim ?. " he questioned 

                   Reuben understood, and the next minute, he brought out the revolver, aimed it at the cuff and fired.

                   There were two of them and one of him, he was outmatched no matter how brilliant his fightings skills were,  Sunday moved to the other end of the room, they were eight stories up, and that made the vehicles appear like little toy cars, he moved away from it, and towards Reuben.

                 " Do you have another gun ? " he asked

                   Reuben handed him another one, and he angled it at the door, at the exact same time the mystery man walked in, his posture put his hand in direct aim, he was sure to make the shot.

                 " Are you scared of heights ? " he questioned, despite that hardly being the priority at that moment.

                 " How is that relevant at this point ? "

                 " Well are you ? "

                 " No "

                 " Good " he responded 

    

                   At that very moment he changed his target, and released a bullet at the glass, bringing it all to pieces, but before anyone understood why, he had grabbed Reuben by the arm and was about to do the unthinkable, with the younger agent by his side he rushed at the window and in seconds launched both of them out of the building, falling eight feet to an inevitable and quick death.

                   Of all the things Shola had expected, he had never anticipated what happened before his eyes, and in seconds he too was by the window, Sunday had indeed leaped off the building, taking Reuben with him, it was nothing less than genocide, but they were far from dead, infact they were very much alive.

                   As he walked away having witnessed the ingenius escape, he had a grin plastered on his face, one of the guards, though wounded was still concious, and he tried to get backup, but James only took one look at him and then reached for a coin, he tossed it up and it landed back on his hand.

                   Upon seeing it, his grin widened

                 " Would you look at that, today's your lucky day, " he said and fixed his eyes on the man, with the coin still on his hand, then he frowned as the next words left his lips..." Or not " he said again, and angled the gun at the man's head as he sent the bullet right through his skull, the phone fell from his hand and his body collapsed in the pool of blood that gushed out from underneath him, he had died from the shock even before the bullet got to him, but he died non the less.

                     The games weren't over, on the contrary they had only begun.

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