Don’t forget your real name

They soon arrived the the Agency's office in Bumpai GRA, a heavily guarded building filled with lots of vehicles. They had cleared security at the gate and were soon in the building.

Musa opened the door to the main building and entered. "This way Raheem. Please hurry up. The deputy director is a no nonsense man". Musa said to him.

They both got into the room where a number of people had been sitting. Deputy Director Kennedy was already addressing the staffs. Musa and Raheem both walked in quitely and took their sits beside each other at the rear of the room.

The meeting was taking place in the conference room and everyone could see them as they walked in. Deputy director Kenny had paused to let them have their seat before continuing with his brief. " Musa you're late again", Kennedy said, as he takes a stern look and Musa. " Ladies and gentlemen let's all welcome Raheem to our midst. He's from the Lagos office and has just been transferred to Kano. Please do well to see me after this brief." Kennedy retorted as the entire room took a pause to look at Raheem.

Musa had been starring away from Kennedy all the while. Raheem smiled as he saw Musa's reaction.

It was a long brief and people were beginning to get bored in the room. Musa had put on his dark glasses and rested his back against the chair he was sitting on. He was already asleep. Only a few who looked closely would know, as the dark glasses he was putting on had concealed his eyes.

Raheem thought about Aisha again. His mind went back to the moment he had seen her. He wasn't sure what to feel. He had wanted to flirt around with her. But he was too tired from the trip and he couldn't afford to deny himself the opportunity to rest.

"My name is Aisha. Not ma'am. Do have a wonderful stay Sir". Those were her last words to him. He remembered her smile. He had wondered if Aisha was going to come for the night shift. It was going to be a long day at work and he wanted badly to see her.

The meeting soon ended and deputy director Kennedy worked out of the room. Some other staffs of the agency office started exchanging pleasantries. He smiled as he greeted them one after the other. Musa was still sleeping until a lady tapped him on the shoulder. He woke up suddenly and tried to pretend as if he was awake all the while.

"Haba Musa!! You've been sleeping all the while?" Ngozi said to him. Ngozi was the office Secretary of the agency in Kano. She appears to have some kind of relationship with Musa.

" No oooh!! I was just meditating." Musa said as everyone laughed. " When oga no wan free finish nko? Musa added.

They all engaged in a bit of conversation before everyone walked back to their various offices. Musa and Raheem walked into Deputy Director Kennedy's office.

"Oh come on in gentlemen. You're welcome to the Kano office Raheem. Please have your seat. "Kennedy said to them.

Both men sat down quietly as Kennedy continued to address them. " I'm sure you already met Musa. He's your station handler for your mission here. He will provide anything you need. Please feel free to come to me if you need anything to aid your mission. That would be all gentlemen" Kennedy concluded as both men stood up and thanked him before exiting the office.

Raheem and Musa went straight into Musa's office. Boma, came in just as they got in. And began to brief Raheem on the mission.

Boma brings out a file with the word "Classified" boldly written on it. The file contained documents and some photos and she hands them over to Raheem.

"Massaud Abdullah AKA Tashinn Ankali

He's the leader for the brotherhood of sharia or al-Ikhwan al-Sharia as we know them to be. We have been monitoring the organization for a couple of months now and we suspect that they have affiliations with another jihadist group in Morroco." Boma narrated while handing over the files to Raheem.

"And we think that they may be planning to recruit more members here in Kano for something bigger." Musa had added.

It was a special operation and the agency wanted to narrow the rate of failure to almost zero. 'Raheem' or 'Ebiye' had become popular after the operation in the South South. The agency had never recorded any undercover work with a high rate of success such as he had demonstrated in the operation that led to the capture of "vulcanizer".

The Kano office had earlier informed headquarters in Abuja of a need to carry out a covert operation to infiltrate a potential terror cell in Kano. Headquarters had okayed the mission providing that they find a capable agent and execute the operation seamlessly.

Audu, who was his handler, back then during the operation 'Canker worm' as the code name was or 'Vulcanizer operation', as it was commonly called in the agency had been transferred to the Abuja office.

He had been instrumental in recommending 'Ebiye' for the 'Maganin bechi' (in English, 'sleeping pills) operation. Audu had seen 'Raheem's profile before. He knew he could speak Hausa so well and that he had received some basic Islamic education.

Audu had thought that if Raheem was able to infiltrate the group as a non practicing Muslim with basic knowledge of the 'deen' and later becomes transformed after joining the brotherhood, it would earn him an edge.

And so Audu had requested to be part of the operation but not directly from the ground.

They had put together a profile for Raheem to fit into. A Kano state indigent who had lived most of his life in Lagos. But had to return home after being released from jail for a crime he knew nothing about. He was to go by the name of Abdulraheem Abubakar.

Boma, who was the head of field operation in the Kano office had been concerned about using someone who doesn't know the ground for the ops. She had approached the station Director, Dr. Amina Basambo, to refute the idea of bringing in an outsider for the task.

She had proposed that a woman be used instead. But the agency had refused her advice and proceeded with the plan to deploy Raheem for the task.

The headquarters had contacted the Lagos office six months before, to determine if it were possible to deploy Raheem for the new operation "Maganin Bechi"in Kano. The office had asked to know if he would take the job and he had agreed.

He had been immediately registered as a student under an Islamic scholar in Lagos to solidify what he had already known. He had to had to study about and understand more about the deen for six months prior to his mission.

Although he had always learned to pray and recite some basic chapters of the Quran since he was a little child growing up in Bauchi several years ago. His father would leave him alone with the neighbors who were Muslims and he would join the children in the neighborhood to attend the Islamic education school in the neighborhood.

By the first week of December, Audu was sure that Raheem was ready to be deployed. His cover had been perfected and everything was ready. The agency had already procured a shop where he would be selling petty provisions in Sabon Garin. The shop was not far away from the mosque where the members of the Islamic brotherhood prayed on daily basis.

Raheem wanted to be sure he understood the operation correctly before commencement. He offered to take the files home and study it. He also requested an on-sight assessment of things before commencing his operation fully.

They all agreed. The operational details was to remain between Boma, Musa and Audu. Deputy Director Kennedy would interface with Kano in the advent that additional security clearance was required and so, all was was set.

Raheem took a map of the city from Boma and stared at it for a while. His mind went back to Ebiye. After about three years of being undercover, he had nearly lost his life at the tail of the operation. He took a deep breath and decided to go into the city by himself.

Musa was to provide support in the advent that anything goes wrong. He picked himself up from the chair and made for the exit, Musa followed suite. Musa drove in a different car while Raheem drove in another.

A car was quickly provided for him to ride in by Boma. She offered to join him but he declined. He wanted to be publicly unseen.

They soon got to Sabon Garin round about and he was perplexed at the energy of the city. So many people moving about and seeking for their daily bread. No anyone knew who anyone else was or where they were from?

He quickly got himself a place to park the vehicle. A Toyota Camry 1998 model. He had to carefully put the car in the middle of two other vehicles. He got down from the car and looked around. He could see Musa from about 80 meters away. He knew he was in for a long and dangerous mission.

He could hear the muezzin's call to prayer from afar. He decided that the muezzin's call was going to be a reminder of the importance of his mission.

He quickly locked up the car and made his way into the neighborhood where his shop had been rented. After walking for about two minutes, he could see the mosque from a distance. We walked further and he could see the shop to his right, just under the shade of a mango tree. He remembered the shop vividly from the pictures Bola had shown him.

He paused for a while and continued walking towards the mosque. "Salam Alaikum Mai gida" one man greeted him and offered a kettle of water. He grabbed the kettle from the man and responded swiftly "Wahalykum Ma salam Mallam". The man went into the mosque quickly before he could start a conversation. He quickly performed his ablution as prayers had already begun and he soon joined the men praying inside the mosque.

Prayers had ended and the men were leaving randomly. He waited to complete his prayers then moved on toward the window of the mosque and grabbed a Quran from off the window. He sat down for something that looked like 25 minutes, staring at the Quran and muttering words to himself. When he was done, he looked back and he could see Musa kneeling a few meters behind him.

He smiled and wondered if the whole thing was actually about faith for Musa or it was just a job. He wondered if Musa's real name was Musa. It was agency standard protocols that operatives were not to know each others real name. Except those who had higher security clearance and could look into agent's file.

He remembered while he was in the hospital receiving treatment after 'Ebiye' had been shot at. Audu had said to him just before leaving the hospital ward; this job is a crazy job my friend. Whatever you do while you're still working this job, please don't forget your real name". He had smiled and didnt make much sense of that statement then.

He wondered why audu had kept calling him Ebiye even though audu might have seen his files. Only those at the Lagos office and porthacourt office called him by that name.

He wondered if Audu's name was really Audu or Deputy Director Kennedy's name was truly Kennedy. He thought about Boma too. What if her name is something else entirely? He queried in his mind.

He got up from his kneeling position and looked straight up at the old clock on the wall. It was very much past 3 pm. He wondered how long he had been kneeling for. He made for the exit and Musa followed suit. They walked past each other without making any contact. He went back to his car and drove back to the station office. Musa had arrived back at the office before him.

He went back into Musa's office, picked up the file he had been given by Boma, put it in his backpack, and exited the room. Musa had offered to take him back to the hotel. But he had told Musa that from now on no one in the station office can make contact with him outside the station office.

It was important for him to make no contact with any person in law enforcement or similar organizations. Raheem got outside the building on a secrete exit inside the facility.

Musa had led him there and he was soon outside the town. He took a taxi back to the hotel and was soon inside the reception. It was past 4:00 o'clock in the evening and he hadn't eaten anything. Haruna, the receptionist from earlier on in the morning was still there.

They exchanged pleasantries as he picked up the room key from Haruna who reminded him that it was time for prayers. He had wanted to just get back to the room and request the hotel restaurant to bring some food to his room.

He could here the muezzin's call from the little mosque inside the hotel vicinity. He wondered if he had to keep his cover back at the hotel too or just at sabongari where the centre of the operation was.

He remembered how he had kept his cover all through out his mission in Portharcourt. He decided that it was best for him to maintain his cover at the hotel as well. He reminded himself again that the muezzin's call will be a reminder of the importance of his mission in Kano.

He quickly went to the little mosque right in front of the hotel, performed his ablution and rushed into the mosque where prayers had already begun. He was amused to find that the mosque contained more people on the inside than anyone would imagine from the outside.

After the prayers, Haruna had offered to help take his backpack but he declined. He thought that Hurana was either a kind gentle man or was just doing his job. He asked Haruna if he could get food from the hotel restaurant and Haruna had promised to send someone to his room to take his orders.

He was just taking off his clothes in room 404 when he heard a knock on the door. He moved towards the door and unlocked it. A young teenage boy was standing right in front him. "My name is Amino Sir. I come to take your order for food" the young man said. He grabbed the menu the young man had and orders for a portion of rice with a bottle of soda as well as a bottle of water.

It was not long after before the boybjad returned with a tray of food, a bottle of soda as well as a bottle of water. He grabbed the food from the boy, deeped his hand into his pocket and brought out a new #200 note and handed over to the boy who was smiling.

Thank you so much Sir" the boy said, just before leaving.

Raheem quickly sat down and treated himself to the sumptuous meal. He had finished the food in a record time of 6 minutes. He felt a relief from the pain he had been feeling in his stomach. He took a glance at his watch to see what the time was. He had been looking forward to seeing Aisha all day long.

He cleared the emptied plate of food into the tray as well as the empty bottle of soda to a corner of the room. He moved close to the window and dragged the curtains apart so he could see through.

He love the view of the city from his window room. He could see a building that looked like the Agency's Kano station office with its red roof and distinct architecture. Several vehicles were driving through the busy roads and the day seemed to have just started.

He went back to his bed and lied gently on his back. He wondered what time Aisha was slated to come in for her shift. He thought about Jessica again. They had only been together for 2 two months when she started asking questions about marital plans.

He remembered how he used to enjoy making love to Jessica. Her breast was magical he thought. Round and succulent. About the size of two big oranges and her black tithees.

He had met Jessica in the bus on his way to Lagos from Ibadan. He had been returning to Lagos after attending his father's burial. She had been nice to him and he had decided to ask for her contact and address. After that journey, he would later meet up with Jessica at her apartment in Ikeja and they would later have sex on their first date and from there, the rest is history.

In his thoughts, he wondered if Vulcanizer was corporating with the authorities to apprehend other arms dealers in the region as well as other top militant leaders like Kabari and Tampiko.

"What if somehow, Vulcanizer got to find out about his operations? What would happen if he were to escape from KiriKiri prison in Lagos? He remembered Gunpowder and his brother Egudu whose brain was blown off. He felt bad that two brothers of the same parents were killed on the same day. He felt bad about letting Gunpowder get killed.

While he was lost in his thoughts, he fell off asleep.