Chapter 9: Lord Frizzy

Frizzy and I weren't exactly close back in the day. We were members of a group of intellectuals that engaged in pointless debates. During one of those debates we realized that we agreed on some major points as regards ambition and a thirst for greatness.

This realization made us create a loose but highly functional bond, a brotherhood that didn't rely on constantly meeting or checking up on each other.

If the tables were turned, he knew he could come to me. But the tables were not turned and I couldn't be sure that he would honor our unspoken pact that might just have been a figment of my imagination. Afterall, we never actually swore in real terms.

His home was only five minutes away from where Uzo and I were, and the trip there didn't require us getting back on the express. This was my reason for calling him and asking for his help, the fact that I could get to him with ease without running the risk of appearing in the radar of the overzealous men of the force.

My second reason for calling him was that he had vast resources that he could unleash against my growing problems.

As I was allowed through the mighty gates of his estate, my eyes scanned his vast estate. His compound was humongous, acres of land encased in a white fence that stretched for miles. Driving in, I couldn't help but wonder how my life would have been if I had followed the path of politics rather than business.

Frizzy was living the dream of wealth and opulence. His mansion was even bigger than the alhaji's,p spotting more signs of luxury and ostentation. His fleet of cars featured vehicles of all sizes and origins, from sport cars that can never last on Nigerian roads to heavy duty SUVs designed to strike fear in the hearts of monsters and men, Frizzy seemed to have it all.

We made our way into the interior and saw what wealth looked like in the hands of a man with good taste.

The entrance of the mansion opened into a small hall that extended into a living room which further opened into what seemed to be a large dining hall. Frizzy had clearly pumped immense wealth into his home, every detail was gorgeous, from the fixtures to the furniture. His home maintained a theme of white, brown and red in the Victorian style, exuding the majesty that one expected to find only in a palace.

We were told by the house maid who was dressed in uniform to sit in the small living room and wait for the lord of the house. She called him my oga but I preferred to see him as a lord. I mean, what else would you call someone who lived in a palace if not king or lord.

While in uni, we had called ourselves lords. He was Lord Frizzy while I was Lord Seth. However, while he had gone ahead to become royalty, I had fallen into the depths of mediocrity and become a merely incompetent robber.

I am a rather confident person, however, my position was bad enough to trigger feelings of inferiority and anxiety. The only thing that kept me from falling into despair was that I still had a bargaining chip. I wasnt coming to him with nothing. Yes, I was asking for a lot, but I was offering something in return.

Frizzy entered the room, dressed in a red sleeping robe and a pair of black pajamas trousers. He was a little taller than me and way more handsome. As he walked towards me, he smiled and I felt that aura of grace and charisma that was his true power. As I stood up to shake his hands, I remembered exactly why I couldn't go into the game of politics. I was not him.

See Frizzy was built differently, built for politics. He knew how to inspire a feeling of warmth and loyalty in people. He had the face, the smile and the voice for the job. Furthermore he had the mind for it.

He invested in people, took time out to help so that people owed him greatly. His actions and behavior impelled people to galvanize towards him, believing in him and willing to give a lot for the furtherance of his cause. They knew he could move mountains and they were confident that when the mountains did move by his command, he would move the mountains on their behalf.

I remembered his famous words about a leader being an expression of the people's will. He understood this because he was him.

"Seth my bro. What's up? It's been too long."

"It has man," I replied.

"And who is this," Frizzy said, turning to Uzo and shaking him jovially, ensuring that he didn't feel left out. I could already see Frizzy's spell working on Uzo as Uzo began to smile like a fool. It reminded me of the first time I met Frizzy, the ease with which he related with me despite his already amassed popularity at the time.

"This is Uzo. my partner."

"Nice to meet you bro. What would you like to eat or drink?"

"We are fine," I said, too uneasy to drink or eat.

"I could use a drink," Uzo said.

I was annoyed by Uzo's request. But I could sympathize with his situation.

"My man. Would you also like a few puffs?" Frizzy said with a mischievous smile. "I know Seth doesn't indulge but you seem like someone that is cool."

"Yes man, I could really make do with something to calm my nerves."

"Come on guys. Based on the look in your eyes and the time of your arrival, it seems you are here to discuss something very delicate."

"You took the words right out of my mouth," I said as Frizzy turned and began to lead us deep into his mansion. We passed a servant on the way and he gave her instructions before he resumed walking. He led us into his study which also doubled as an office.

The left and right walls of his study were lined with shelves, while the wall at the far end of the office was more of a glass door that opened to a balcony. Frizzy took his seat at his desk and motioned for us to take the seats across from him.

"Okay, let's get down to it. What's going on?" Frizzy asked.

"Well, the short version is, I am fucked and I need your help," I replied.

"I gathered that much. But I would need a lot more than that."

"Okay, here it goes," I said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. I understood the gravity of the situation. Informing Frizzy meant putting him in a very difficult position. Knowing about a crime and refusing to report made one an accomplice. I knew it and Frizzy knew it too.

I knew that as soon as I told him the things I had done, he was going to get thinking and have to make a decision. Was he truly going to risk it all to help a friend or was he going to turn me in to the cops.

For a brief second, I considered not telling him at all. It is unfair to place your friends in difficult situations of this sort. But I was out of options. I had no choice.

"I robbed a bank, bro."

"What?" Frizzy said with a weak smile. "Tell me you are joking."

"I won't come to your house in the middle of the night just to tell a joke."

"Technically, we robbed the bank," Uzo said.

"And he killed a man," I added.

"We have killed four men bro. Remember the three guys at Alhaji's place. You killed one, I killed the other two. Remember.'

"Of course I remember. I was there, goddammit."

"You guys killed four people. Seth, what is going on here? What have you brought to my doorstep?"

"It wasn't meant to happen like this. Nobody was supposed to die."

"Fuck man," Frizzy said and let out a nervous chuckle. "I don't even know what to say. So what is going on now. What's the situation and how can I help?"

"Bro. I'm sorry for bringing you into this mess"

"Stop apologizing. It's too late for you to apologize. If you were really sorry, you wouldn't have come here in the first place. You are here now. I can't turn you back. But to be honest bro, I'm disappointed in you. if you needed money so badly, you could have come to me. I could have helped you…"

"Dont," I said in a firm tone.

"What?"

"I said dont, as in don't even try to do what you are about to do. i didnt do this because I was finding it hard to survive or I needed a hand out. I did this because I am tired of my station. My position in life is an insult to my ambition. You couldn't help me fulfill my dreams and you know it. Surviving wasn't the problem. Living in comfort wasn't difficult for me. But I was getting nowhere in achieving my goals. My dreams and reality were so far apart that it made me sick. You don't know what it's like. You started making progress early on."

"Says who?" Frizzy shot back. "Who told you that I started making progress early on. I know what it's like to be far from your dreams."

"If you know what it's like then you will understand my actions. It was a good plan. We had the cops and the bank manager on the payroll. But then he shot that man and then it all went tits up from there."

"So there are other parties aware of this heist of yours?"

"Yes," I confessed.

"They would also be expecting their cuts?"

"Yes."

"Fuck. Okay. You say that he killed a man at the bank. And then you guys killed three other men. Where, when and how?"

"Do you know Alhaji Danke?" I asked.

"Yes. Big money changer. Wait, you killed Danke?"

"No. We killed his thugs. We also stole his money and…"

"Stop," Frizzy said. "Just stop. You robbed a bank then robbed a rich and powerful man."

"I also shot him in the foot," Uzo said, grinning for no reason, to him it was all an amusing string of events.

"What… How is it that each minute I spend in this meeting, things get worse? Robbing a bank is bad enough. Robbing Danke, that's terrible. And now you tell me you have maimed him. Seth, you just made a powerful enemy. A very powerful and vindictive enemy."

"Yeah I know. The cops are also already on our tail. They all but chased us here. We lost them when we got off the express but we can't go back out there. They will find us."

"What the fuck bro. No, what the actual fuck bro. You could have led them here, you know that right."

"I didn't."

"You sure."

"Nothing is true," I said.

"Don't you dare get philosophical with me right now," Frizzy said angrily.

"Fine. I don't think so."

"You dont th… fuck," he said, getting to his feet and pacing angrily. "How much? With all this bad and ugly, the good better be worth it."

"The bank loot or the full loot."

"What do you think, genius?" Frizzy said sarcastically.

"I don't know for sure. We took a million dollars and fifty million naira from the bank. We didn't count the money we took from the alhaji. We were kind of in a hurry."

"Did you just say, a million dollars, fifty million naira and even more from Danke?" Frizzy said, greed shining in his eyes as he retook his seat.

"I didn't come here hat in hand Frizzy. I need help but I'm willing to pay."

"A reasonable price," Uzo said, butting in.

We heard a knock on the door and immediately, Uzo and I reached for our weapons and pointed them at the ready.

"You bastards brought those things in here?" Frizzy asked angrily. He had failed to see that we were armed as the guns were in holsters and covered by our jackets.

We looked at him confused. After being on edge for so long, being armed had become normal to us. We had walked in with the pistols stuck in our holsters and drawn them at the first sign of trouble without thinking twice.

"Hide those things. It's the maid," Frizzy said.

"Oh," I muttered, sliping my gun back into its holster as Uzo did the same.

"Come in," Frizzy said and the young maid made her way in. She had a tray in her hand upon which laid a bottle of hennessy, three cups, a small transparent box that clearly contained weed and a few sheets of rolling paper. She set the tray on the table, curtsied slightly and left the study, closing the door behind her.

Uzo and Frizzy helped themselves and when they were fully armed with drink and smoke, the meeting continued. I was way too tense to join in their indulgence. Frizzy began to speak.

"Your situation is difficult and to get you out of this mess, we need to employ extreme measures. Half measures won't do. Half measures in situations like this get people killed or arrested. You can't stay here. The chances of someone figuring out that you came here is way too high. You also can't leave. So that means you simply have to vanish."

"What do you have in mind?"

"It would be a great sacrifice. It would cost you a lot of money, and it would cost me way more than you can imagine. But your safety would be all but guaranteed. Even after you pay me in cash, you must never forget that you owe me your life. What I am giving you isn't just a way out, it is my way out, my escape plan in the event that things suddenly go tits up for me."

"Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet. Wait until you understand how much I am giving and how much I am asking. There is a bunker, deep in the sahara deserts. It is my bunker and it is my safe haven that I plan to run to in the event of a revolution or my enemies suddenly finding the willingness and capacity to end my life. The protocol is simple. A helicopter picks me up, takes me to the bunker and I lay low there for as long as is necessary. Food and supplies, enough for a year, are already there. Unfortunately, the moment the protocol is triggered it becomes far less secretive. For one, the pilot would know the location of the bunker as well as you two. My life, in the event that I do go up there to hide, is in the hands of all those who know about the bunker and where it is. The larger the number of people with this information, the less secure it is. Nevertheless, I see no other option for you guys. I will call the pilot. He would come here to pick you guys up. Then you lay low there for a few months. I believe six months would be enough for things to die down. Enough time for the cops to have given up their pursuit. I would have to pull some strings to kill the investigation and I would also have to organize some form of protection for you in the criminal underworld. If I can't get Danke to forgive you, perhaps I can get the kabal to declare you untouchable. That would make him think twice before sending assassins against you and only a very old and stupid assassin would touch a chosen of the temples. "

"What are you talking about? Chosen of the temples. Kabals?"

"Oh, Seth, you should have come to me rather than take this path. I could have put you on, for real. But what's done is done. I have calls to make."

"You haven't started your fee?" I said.

"Oh. Ten percent of the whole loot. Not just the bank shit. That would be my fee for settling your partners, cleaning your money and providing protection."

"Ten percent, that's a lot," Uzo complained even though he really didn't have to.

"Don't insult me," Frizzy said angrily. "Ten percent is more than fair. It is Kindness."

"Yes it is," I said because I understood that he was literally saving our freaking lives. "Why ten percent though?"

"Because," he said with a smile as he stretched his arms to the side like a holy being. "On this day, I am your messiah and it's only right that I collect tithe."

"I let out a chuckle. You haven't changed a freaking bit."

"So do we have a deal?" Frizzy asked.

"Yes we do," I replied but Uzo didn't.

We both looked at him, waiting for his consent.

"Fine. You have us by the balls anyways," Uzo said.

"Aptly put," Frizzy replied and pulled his phone out of the pocket of his sleeping robe. "I will call the pilot now. It would take about thirty minutes for him to get here. In the meantime, go get your car. I will tell my boys to let you drive it into the garage. We would move the bags up here ourselves, count the money and then sort out the details. Sounds good?"

"Yeah," I said as Uzo and I got to our feet, leaving Frizzy to make the calls that would save our lives.