chapter 5

"yeah, Damascus. Right in the heart of the city". expounded grand parents.

The first word that flashed in henry's head was hostile territory.

But which of his mission had been an easy one. No country in the world would let you go after murdering their citizen on their own soil.

His adrenaline surged with anticipation.

"When will it happen?". he asked.

"in seven days". said the man. " I will give you the briefing later".

"Yes sir". muttered Henry, and he turned and began walking out of the office. He shut the door behind him and left.

Henry walked out of the building and Strolled the where his car was parked.

The building is a yellow four storey building. A grim and simple looking building, housing the staffs of the national intelligence agency, N.I.A. The national intelligence agency is the apex intelligence organization in Nigeria.

They are taxed with intelligence gathering. But behind that fancy name, behind all the banal and simple looking employees, lurks some of the most lethal and efficient assasins in the world. Underneath their guise of intelligence gathering, away from the prying eyes of the public, is their covert duty of eliminating anyone or anything that is a threat the national security of the country. It is so secretive and classified, that even some of those working at the N.I.A are not even aware of most of the operations.

Henry pressed the remote control of his Audi, opening it. He boarded it and slowly wheeled out of the N.I.A compound.

The Audi raced through the Madison boulevard. Henry held the steering wheel with his left hand, and using his right hand, he brought his phone from his pocket. He scrolled through his contact, searching for a number. When he found it, he typed in a message and pressed send. Henry put the phone back into his pocket, and focused on the road straight ahead.

The usual bustling Madison avenue looks calm and tranquil now.

It is a eight lane asphalt paved road. On both sides of the road were palm trees, which ran the full length of the road. The famous ogada market is located here. Henry like coming here to get some of the foodstuffs he needs. He always like to say. " I like them fresh".

Though the market is quite far from his house, which is located on the outskirts of the city.

A solitary and thoughtful person, henry had specifically choosen to live on the outskirts of the city, away from the hustle and bustle of the city centre. He doesn't want the stress that comes with living in such a environment.

* * *

Miriam stirred at the beeping notification sound of her phone. She stretched her 6ft2 long body to it's full length and yawned loudly. Then slowly eased her eyes open and shone them up at the ceiling for a while, before slowly lifting her legs off the bed and placing it on the floor.

Her nails were cut short and clean. No artificial or coloured nails. Miriam is very tired. She felt like burrowing back into bed and going on another round of sleep. Miriam wondered which idiot had waken her up with the message.

She groggily rose up and Sauntered towards her desk where her phone is.

Miriam okah is a very beautiful woman. Well rounded hips, sharp and intense looking gray eyes, full lips, and a heart warming smile when she wants to. Her beauty was one of the main reasons why she got a work at the place she is currently at. The place had told her that they needed her good looks for a personal and important reason.

Miriam grabbed her iPhone from a book on top of her desk, and read the message.

"GEAR UP FOR PLAY ON THE DAY OF REST".

The sender was Henry obi.

Miriam smiled, it was no idiot after all. She cringed when the thought of the smack Henry would have given her on the back of her head, had she said that to his face.

He would have brought out his tongue and whizzed a playful smack at the back of her head.

They were quite fond of each other. Miriam sat on the edge of her bed and read the message again. " in seven days?". she muttered to herself.

She and her colleagues, Henry included, had devised a coded and esoteric way of communicating among themselves.

In their world, a world where the most secretive person wins. A world where you can never know who is watching and listening to your every word and message--and their suspicions are not unfounded because there are people who do watch and listen. So they had devised a secret and codified way to be communicating among themselves, so as to keep their discussions within themselves.

Miriam's face lit up with a sly smirk, as she typed in her own message.

"WHICH OF THE PLAYGROUND?" She pressed send and dropped the phone on her lap.

Henry's message was loud and clear, she understood every detail of it. She needed no soothsayer to explain that to her.

'Play' means they have a action, a assignment to carry out. Miriam smiled when the she remembered where the idea of the ' day of rest came from'. In the book of Genesis 1:6, after creating everything and seeing that they were good, on the seventh day, God rested.

"Day of rest indeed". she mused to herself. "In seven days, it is".

In short, what henry's message said if interpretated in a lay man terms is. " PREPARE FOR ACTION IN SEVEN DAYS TIME".

Not long, her phone beeped. Indicating another message.

It was from henry in response to her question. She peered down at it. "AT THE PLACE WHERE OUR MAN 'S' TO 'P' WAS GOING TO WREAK HAVOC, WHEN HE WAS ARRESTED BY THE MAN WITH A FLASHLIGHT".

"Acts 9:3. And as he journeyed, he came near Damascus. And suddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven, and he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why are thou persecuting me?".