She didn't tell me she had a brother, and he wasn't at the party," I thought.
Rahma's was the biggest hotel in Taiwo's drive There had always been stories and rumors about the owner and meeting her was a revelation that most of them were true.
"Hey, Kid," Sanusi's voice broke my line of thought.
"I didn't thank you and your crazy brother for saving my life, so thanks, I owe you one. Welcome to the family," he patted me on the shoulder as we got into the car.
There were three cars, Bammy, Sanusi, Chuks, Kaz and I were in the same car, and the rest of the men were in two other cars. Kazeem seemed lost in his own thoughts, he said nothing to nobody, not even me.
The cars pulled up in front of Rahma's and everybody got out. The hotel was massive, one of the biggest even back then.
"Let's get you boys brought into the family properly! The old guys have all that voodoo, juju shit, but we got our own thing too," Bammy explained as we made our way through the hotel.
"A man in a suit rushed down to meet us. He bowed his head in greeting when he saw Bammy. Welcome to Rahma's Mr. Sarumky. The normal place has already been prepared for you and the gentlemen,"
"Hello, manager. It's been a while huhn? Is Shadae still here?" Bammy asked with a smile.
"Of course, sir. Madame Shadae is still with us. I'll have her meet you shortly. And please whatever you or any of the men needs, just ask and it shall be provided."
We took the elevator to the topmost part of the hotel. The whole first floor of the hotel was vacated, and the guests were relocated to lower floors to accommodate us.
"Welcome to a life of prosperity, boys. You stick with the family, do whatever you're told to do, and most importantly...be fucking loyal. Do that and you'll get everything you've ever dreamed of. You mess up on the other hand and you end up dead," Bammy blurted.
He unbuttoned his jacket, removed his wristwatch, started rolling the sleeves of his shirt, and all the other guys did the same and form into two lines, each containing at least six men. They stood facing one another and the space between them formed a kind of tunnel.
"Now you boys have to get from one end of the tunnel to the other. On the side, you stand now is your old life all your troubles, families, friends, and other bullshit.
"On the other side, that's your new life, your new family, which is us, and all the good things you can ever imagine, but in between these some obstacles would fuck you up!
"Now begin your journey, boys!" Sammy blurted, pointing his hand at the tunnel.
The task was to get through the tunnel made by the men while they landed blows on us and we did, Chuks was in fact enjoying himself but I, on the other hand, did not at all like getting punched in the face but I managed to he through the tunnel right behind him.
Bammy grabbed the two of us, and hugged us tightly, soaking his expensive shirt with blood from both our faces. "Welcome, brothers. Welcome, men. Now you are no longer outsiders, nor are you boys. You are men. Our men."
All the men who had earlier treated our faces like punching bags embraced us one after the other, smiling widely and occasionally murmured "welcome, brothers."
Sanusi stood from where he sat with Kaz, showing no interest in all the activities. He picked up two bottles of beer and gave one to me and the other to Chuks. Chuks instantly opened the beer and started gulping it like someone who had been thirsty for weeks.
"I've never taken beer before," I murmured.
"Well, this is an opportunity for you to start, because you are surely gonna need it."
Kazeem kept staring from where he sat and I joined him where he sat. He grabbed my shoulder and ruffled my hair with his hands, finally forcing a smile.
"You're a man now, little brother."
The shouting and drinking were interrupted when Madame Shadae and her girls entered the room. She was a tall and very beautiful woman, oh she was. Every step she took was followed by bouncing and jiggling of her large breasts and this caused all the men in the room to stare with wild excitement in their eyes.
"Hello, Bammy. Long time no see," she said, smiling like an angel.
"Hello, Shadae, I know. I only just got back from overseas, thought I needed a break from it all, but there is no place like home as the saying goes," he hugged her tightly, and their body remained touching for what seemed like a long while.
"Well, we're glad to have you back, Mr. Sarumki," she chuckled.
"I am glad to be back, baby. Now, what do you have for my men?"
"See for yourselves," she stretched her hands and all the girls started forming a line. This was followed by screaming and excitement from the men and just like in a market, they started making their choices.
Chuks wanted to stand up but a stare from Kaz made him slowly sink back into his seat. We sat there, the three of us as the men chose their girls and disappeared into their rooms. It wasn't long before it remained the three of us, Bammy, Shadae, and Sanusi. "You are a guy with a code and I respect that, Kazeem, but boys grow very fast in this our world. Your brothers are now men. I sense you do not approve but you have no choice, all you can do now is to help them grow so that they can survive," Bammy said.
"Oh and I plan to do just that, Bammy," Kaz replied.
"I expect nothing less from the butcher," Bammy murmured as he turned to leave, Shadae in his arms. Sanusi followed behind him.
The whole room was silent for a moment. The two of us sat staring into space, avoiding Kaz's piercing gaze.
"Well, I never wanted this life for you but you found a way to get yourself into it anyway," Kaz finally spoke.
"What the hell? That is some bullshit right there Kaz! You had me doing collections with Chuks and you never wanted..." I snapped.
Yeah, I only did that just to throw my boss off your ass! After the issue with those kids from your school, he wanted you to join the gang."
"Well, then you are a fucking hypocrite! You have Chuks doing all that crazy shit but you were keeping me out? He is our brother too, isn't he?"
"Chuks was already in the street before I found him, the only thing he knows is how to steal, and how to kill. You on the other hand you are smart, you're fucking brilliant! I wanted you to be more! Senator Badur, Governor Badur, maybe an accountant or something. I wanted you to be something respectable and honest, not this, not me!"
Chuks sat there smoking cigarettes, paying no attention to the whole scene. We both got quiet for a moment. He walked to the large glass windows and opened them, letting in the cold night breeze. He stared into the street.
"These streets ain't for you, little brother. You are a kind-hearted person and these people you're about to start dealing with only understand violence, they'll see your kindness as weakness. I thought I did all the unspeakable things I did to shield you and the twins from this life but I failed," Kaz said as tears stream from his eyes.
I walked up to him and grabbed him, he quickly hugged me tightly. "I love you too, Kaz. I'm going to be fine, and if these people fuck with me, then I'll let them know what a crazy bastard my brother is," I whispered into his ears.
We were interrupted by the flash of a phone camera and we both turned our faces towards Chuks who held his phone taking our pictures as he smiled from ear to ear like a child.
"Chuks, you better delete that fucking picture right now!" Kaz roared.
"You are crazy, Chuks," I mumbled, laughing loudly.
"Well, welcome to the family, boys. Tomorrow...your training days start, Kaz, said as he left for his room.
"Get your skinny ass off that bed and get dressed now, Kaz screamed as he pulled open the blinds," letting in the morning sun.I struggled to open my eyes and when I did, my sight was foggy, coupled with a sickening headache."I'm never taking alcohol ever again," I whispered."Lesson number one. Avoid all things that dull your mind and slows you down. Your life might depend on how sharp you are and how fast you can react to situations," Kazeem shouted."So that's why I never see Kaz drink, I thought to myself."Now get out of that bed, little brother! We have business to attend to."Chuks was already up and I wasn't surprised. He barely slept even then. I got up, rinsed my face, and got dressed hastily."What business are we attending to today?" I asked."First of all, we must make sure that Bammy gets home safely. I don't have to remind you that we are at war, and we might be hit at any time. You don't want to be the one that partied
They say you never really know until you do. Back in those days, we were born into the violence, and I was no stranger to people I knew ending up dead, but pulling the trigger? That was another thing entirely. Killing a man leaves a dent in your soul forever. I was never a religious person, never had the time for it. But yeah, I knew right then that if heaven and hell exist, it's gonna be hell for me. I also knew it was only the start, not the end, the kid in the street was the first, he wasn't going to be the last.Sanusi was pronounced dead at the hospital, and some weeks later we had to attend his funeral. He was a Muslim, and they had this whole ceremony that mostly involved Muslim clerics praying and getting paid for it. He was very popular, the most important person in his family actually.The service was full of praise-singing by the clerics. They would talk and sing of the good deeds done by Sanusi when he was alive, but they never really pointed out that the man
Violence is a behavior involving physical force intended to hurt, damage, or kill someone or something, but poverty is the greatest violence that can be unleashed on a person or people. A hungry man is an angry man like the saying goes. Later in my life, I sat down to think if given better chances, maybe I would have made better choices. I mean I didn't dream of being a career criminal but at a point, I thought I decided there was nothing else out there for me. I and a lot of other kids like me. But the truth is somehow that choice had been made for us before we were born. We were born poor and struggling, just like our parents before us, and the same people who made us poor did everything in their power to keep us down. I, like others like me just had to do everything to break out of the chains, the chains that held us down was poverty, their very effective weapon of control. Of course, things could have gone differently. I could have gone to school, stay away from the gangs,
Still in my teen years and I already got blood on my hands. I tried not to think about it so much but every time I let my mind wander, the thoughts crept into my mind. I started seeing faces, at first, I recognized these faces. I recognized their last stares, how scared they were. They were the faces of men I had shot dead, I started having nightmares, once the nightmares started they never stopped, not even now. Then the faces got so much I stopped recognizing them. If salvation was a thing I knew I was well past it, so I stopped hoping for it and started doing everything and anything it takes for me to survive and keep my family safe...as safe as possible. In this life, in Harmony city, you are never really safe.The following weeks after Fani and his crew were found dead in the desert, the war got tenser. Fakunle went on a rampage, taking a shot at everything and everyone affiliated with the Sarumky family while looking for me and Chuks.Killing Fani earned us more
Zarratown is just a little town in the desert just outside of Harmony city. As the trucks drove us out of Harmony city, and I was leaving my home for the first time, I looked back and the view I saw almost made me cry, it was damn beautiful.The Alsaebun was an organization on a different level, the little town of Zarratown allowed them so much growth, the people there basically viewed them as royalty and saviors. They were involved in everything in the town, ranging from politics to religion. The town was ninety percent Muslims and this also helped the Alsaebun to gain more popularity and influence among the population. They were involved in any and every crime in the town, ranging from international coke deals to robberies, and nobody could stop them, nobody would.The trucks that took us from Harmony city suddenly halted after a three hours drive and we were greeted by some other men, they were also turbaned and carried assault rifles like the ones that took u
It was no secret that Shurrah and I were together. There was no point trying to hide anything in that place when the Alhaj's men were everywhere at all times. I really did not care anyway, I was in love for the first time and it was beautiful. Shurrah connected with me in ways I would later in my life miss so much. It was like she knew what I thought in my mind, and for someone with a noisy mind, it made me happy, happier than I had ever been since my mother passed away.For two months we lived in the Alhaj's mansion. Eating, and relishing like kings, but like the saying goes "good things don't last long."When Zaheer came to get me, it was exactly two months after the day we left Harmony City. He walked into the room smiling from ear to ear that early morning."You've been summoned, Mr. Badur. You and your brother," he said as he opened the large windows of the room."Summoned by whom, Zaheer?" I murmured. We never saw the Alhaj again after the fir
On the way back to the mansion the Alhaj explained how he had been trying to expand his cocaine business into Harmony City because of the seaport which would make his business easier and more profitable."The council continues to block my expansion even though I had toasted them for years. Your brother was going to open the gate for me but he cannot do that right now, and I am out of patience," he explained."An expansion now would put me and my brother in more trouble, Alhaj. The council would see it as another betrayal. I don't think I understand what you're asking me to do here.""I am asking you to wake up, kid. Your brother saw your bosses for what they really are, and he was ready to finally do something for himself. You have two choices in this life, kid. You can either be the grunt or be the fucking general!"You can continue to serve a man that does not give a fuck about you and maybe if you're lucky you'll make it to your early twenties
The representative of the Cartel that attended the meeting was a guy named Osiel Blanco. He came to represent the matriarch of the Blanco family, who was his mother. The cartel was seeking new routes to Europe, and the corrupt nature of the country made it the perfect place to do business. This resulted in the expansion of two distinct trade routes, both of which went through West Africa. One route exported domestically produced cannabis from West Africa to South Africa, Europe, and Asia. The other trade route moved cocaine from Latin America and heroin from the Middle East and Southeast Asia to Europe and the United States. I sat with the Alhaj, Osiel and we were later joined by the Chinese. All this was moving way too fast for me to keep up. I never knew how Alhaj was able to convince these seasoned criminals to trust me, a kid... I was just a secondary school kid without any experience of the world I was being introduced into. These were world-level, very dangerous people. They c