It was 3:45pm when he got back to the HQ of the SSS. The HQ was one of the best and well-equipped federal facilities in the country. It was made up of buildings that were built to withstand various natural disasters and ballistics attacks. It was guarded by armed security personnel 24/7/365. It was operated by modern technology. The HQ was also one of the most expensive facilities in the country and it was located close to the presidential villa. The SSS HQ was a fortress.Muhammad had a progress analysis briefing with his boss, the Director of the Department of Intelligence (DI). He was not ready for the meeting but he had no choice but to attend it. His boss hated theories and loved results but right now all he had were theories. The director of the DI had a reputation of being a butcher because he had a habit of kicking officers with below average out of his department. Below average in the butcher’s dictionary was a success rate of less than 90%. Muhammad knew he should
The meeting was coming to an end and he was zonked out. Muhammad had been expecting the worst but what he had not been expecting was walking into an office occupied by the Inspector General of Police (IGP), the Defense Minister and last but not the least, his boss. He thought his boss was bad enough but with two deputies, he couldn’t have asked for a more tormenting triad. Monday had no doubt lived up to its reputation. The SSS never abandoned their traditions of not playing a role in politics and not fully accepting the legacies of the police but the president has insisted all security agencies unite and work together in sending thE rising doom known as The First One back to hell where he belonged. The moment Muhammad stepped into the office, the look on the face of Mr. Lawrence Esson told him there was no fire burning but volcano erupting on a mountain. At that moment, Muhammad knew that his time was running out and if he failed to beat the deadline his boss has given him, he was
The name of the victim was Dr. Salamatu Salis. She was 29 years old and a young medical doctor working at Abuja Teaching Hospital (ATH). She was single and lived with three female friends who were also doctors that worked at ATH. The victim was single and it was one of her friends that had found her corpse under a deserted flyover. The Medical Director (MD) of ATH was currently in tears. He was being consoled by a colleague. Earlier Muhammad discovered the victim had been personally hired by the MD.The friend of the late Salamatu had found her friend’s car parked under a deserted flyover on her way home from work. She stopped to find out what the problem might be and instead ended up finding her friend lying dead in the pool of her blood. The difference between the murder of the late Salamatu and the other victims was that this time, the killer had taken less precaution in committing the murder because the crime had been committed at the place where the corpse had been f
Muhammad was awakened by the ringtone of his mobile phone. He checked his bedside alarm clock, it was 2:30am. He had been asleep for just one and a half hours but it felt like he had just closed his eyes and opened them. He reached for the phone and checked the screen but it was a strange number. He hit the answer button. “I’m sorry for calling at this time of the day but I can’t get some sleep. I think I’ve something you might want to hear. It might just sound a little silly but I don’t know if it could be of help to you regarding your investigation,” the feminine voice said.Muhammad realized it was Dr. Maryam Farouk who was the more matured one among the friends of the late Dr. Salamatu.“I’m fine with you calling me at any hour of the day. Are you going to work later in the day?” Muhammad asked.“The hospital gave us the week off,” Maryam replied.“I’ll be at the house at daybreak or can you tell me what’s on your mind right now?” Muhammad asked.“Don’t worry, it can
Muhammad parked on the driveway leading to the gate of the large garage of the house. The four doctors lived at Asokoro metropolis. It was a quiet location in Abuja because most of the occupants there were top government officials or business tycoons.Muhammad looked around the quiet street and he still could not find the police patrol car he had ordered to keep an eye on the house. He radioed the SSS headquarters and ordered the control room to check in with the police and find out if the patrol car was dispatched like he ordered. Muhammad knocked on the gate several times and felt like his knuckles were going to crack. He brought out his phone and dialed Maryam’s number. Adrenaline was already at work and he could feel his heartbeat accelerating.After three 5 dials, no one answered the call. Muhammad decided to climb the large gate but the problem was there were sharp spikes at the top of the gate. He decided to try the fence and found out the gate was a better option beca
He was lying on a sofa in his sitting room, staring up at the ceiling. It was now twenty two days after one of the worst experiences in the line of duty. He lived in a self-contained bungalow at GwarinPa estate on the outskirts of Abuja. Rent was one of the major headaches of living in the capital city but he was well paid so he could afford it.Muhammad now had an idea about who he was dealing with because he now knew that he was no match for The First One when it came down to physique, speed or killer instincts. The only chance he might have against The First One is his psychological abilities and that was what he was going to use to take down the psycho. He needed to find a way to stay alive if he was going to end up being the last man standing in their inevitable showdown. There was a car parked outside his house with members of the Tactical Assault Team (TAT) of the SSS keeping watch over him but he was still not taking any chances because he had a tactical knife strapped
The First One sat on the beach and stared at the violent waves of the ocean as he deliberated. The killings had stopped but not for long. Officer Muhammad and Maryam must die in order to protect his real identity. The trip to Lagos had been taken for the main purpose of relaxing and approaching matters from a psychological point because where violence fails, logic is born. It had not been easy approaching the men running things at work and asking for some few days off but the greatest weapon in The First One arsenal was the power of persuasion.Salamatu had defied the orders given to her to keep their meeting arrangement a secret. It was during the process of torturing her that she revealed she had told her friend Maryam about their meeting arrangement. The First One smiled when he recalled the terror in Salamatu’s eyes when she spotted the bottle of concentrated solution of acid that he brought out of his bag of torture. Things had gone from bad to worse on that night becau
Muhammad opened the door to two beautiful blue eyes. Nicole Bradford was staring at him with a smile on her face. “Hello,” Nicole said.“Hi,” Muhammad replied mesmerized by her presence.Muhammad could feel his heartbeat accelerating and he felt disgusted with himself.“Please come in,” Muhammad said ushering her in.“Thank you Officer Muhammad,” Nicole replied stepping into the sitting room before she asked: “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”“No. I’m startled because I wasn’t expecting a pretty CME at my doorsteps. I hate the idea of going through an autopsy alive,” Muhammad joked and they both laughed.“Pleas have a seat,” Muhammad said.Nicole sat down on the couch and Muhammad took his seat on the couch opposite her. She was wearing a jasmine perfume and putting on a white suit with a knee length skirt and a black shoe that perfectly fitted her caramel complexion. Nicole’s suit was unbuttoned revealing a blue silk blouse which provided a good view of the shap