An offer to the world

**At Paschal's Hideout:**

The doorbell resounds with a ~ding dong~.

"Hello! It's the pizza guy!" he exclaims.

~ding dong!~

"Hello! I've been waiting for more than five minutes. Anybody home?"

~ding dong, ding dong, ding dong!~

"Okay, I guess I'll just keep it here then... or better still, take it back. Argh!! Dammit, this is my first time doing this kind of job. I'm so clueless on what to do now," he cries inwardly.

"I guess I'll just have to return it and hope I won't get sacked." 😓

~Tap, tap~

"Who's there?" the boy asks in high alert, tears still running down his eyes.

"Hello dear, we want to have a word with you. Do you have time?" A group of about seven people appears, the female leading them with a sinister smile.

"Who... who are you?" the pizza guy stutters.

"Oh, you'll soon find out, hehe." Her smile turns into an evil smirk.

**Inside the Cruiser:**

The car halts in front of a police station, already surrounded by numerous reporters eager for an interview.

As Sergeant Davis and Paschal step out, reporters swarm toward them.

"Excuse me, sir! I heard you were posted here just a few days ago, and you've caught the grand thief," a reporter inquires.

Normally, Davis avoids reporters, but since he's newly posted and will soon leave, he decides to entertain a few questions.

"Yes, that is correct, as you can see," Davis replies.

"Sir, how was your mission? How did you manage to locate him?" Another reporter probes.

"It's among the things you just know how to do when you're in the job," Davis answers.

"You must have had a good experience in your job. How long have you been a Sergeant?" Yet another reporter asks.

"That is classified," he responds.

"Is it true that the thief is your arch-nemesis and how does he keep escaping?"

"I can't answer that," Davis says.

"Can we interview him?" Another reporter requests.

"No," Davis firmly states.

"Come on, I would like to speak to my fellow citizens. It won't be bad, would it?" Paschal pleads with Davis.

"I don't know what you're planning, but you have only a minute." As soon as Davis gives the go-ahead, the reporters turn towards Paschal.

"Why and how did you steal the huge sum of money?"

"Do you feel any remorse?"

"What motivated you to do such?"

"Do you have any backings?" The reporters bombard him with questions.

"Woah, woah, relax. I'll answer all your questions. For the first question, I would love to share how and why I swiftly maneuvered the security and hacked the system, but that will take ages, and I only have a minute," he says and continues.

"For the second, not at all. For the third, it was just for fun, and for the last question, no, I don't have any backings. I only have myself. Now that we're done with that, I have an offer for everyone who is capable." He pauses, seeing the huge question mark in everyone's faces, including Davis.

"I know you're all curious, so I'll cut to the chase." He moves close to the live camera and smiles.

"As you all know, I stole a whopping sum of two billion naira. So I realized, that was quite greedy of me, considering some of you that are on the streets struggling to survive each day that it seems that survival is becoming a burden. You feel like ending it right here and now.

Listen, for I am about to offer you a life-changing opportunity. I'm about to be moved to another location and put in prison, and I hate prisons, so I'll give anyone who's able to safely rescue me from the prison half a billion," he says.

"Shit!" Davis curses as he hurriedly pulls Paschal away from the camera.

"Wait, I'm not done," Paschal struggles, and the live camera focuses on what's going on.

"Wait... I'm not done, listen! If you work in a group, I'll give you a billion and also bring me piz..."

~Bam!~

"Urgh!" Paschal wasn't done with what he was saying as a heavy punch from Davis shuts his mouth.

"Get the damn camera out of here!" Davis screams at the cameramen still following him, and the other soldiers start chasing them away.

*Damnit, this idiot is going to cause a huge chaos now. He has planted the seed of greed in the hearts of thousands of civilians. There'll be a lot of casualties if care is not taken. And the worst part is, it was a live video and was broadcasted on many streams.* He thinks and makes a call.

"Prepare the helicopter; we'll be leaving immediately."

"Yes, sir."

~beep~ The call cuts, and they go back into the car.

"This is why I hate you, Paschal. You're the most troublesome human being ever," he says to Paschal, who is still rubbing his chin in annoyance.

The angry Paschal said nothing but a look of fury envelops his face.