CHAPTER TWELVE

CHAPTER TWELVE

"Surprised to see my good friend here?", Kelvin blurted.

I was visibly fuming at him, I felt I needed a hand gun that moment. He used us and led us to a trap. I had imagine this happening; we work for him but he punishes us for attempting to rob from him, now the maths were adding!.

"How dare you!...", Stein raged, "this was not part of the plan Kelvin. We did what you asked and now as reward you deem it fit to reward us by double crossing us, this is not the end Kelvin..."

"Relax my very good friends, I am an honest man, at least to an extent and I won't go as far as double crossing two teenagers who risked their lives for me, nah!, I'm not that heartless, my friend, Ross has a little explanatory speech to make, listen and be calm"

"Alright guys, I'm Ross, I'm sure you know that now and my friend Kelvin said he hired you to rob from me right?. The truth is that you weren't actually robbing from me. That warehouse has a long history, it is owned by a group of merciless associates known as the Disciples and my father happens to be one of them. They run underground business, anything that's illegal but profitable, that's where you will find their hands. The diamond which I believe is in your possession right now was stolen from a miner in the outskirts of the city and when he resisted, the Disciples didn't resist the urge to kill him. If you hadn't stolen it, it would be on its way to Germany via courier first thing tomorrow morning"

"But you were in your office earlier tonight, why couldn't you have taken it and bring it to Kelvin yourself?, do you know the risk we went through, like we almost got killed by your men!", that was me expressing my burning anger!

"Point of correction, those guys weren't my guys, they work for the Disciples and would shoot any anything that enters that place without their permission and about me just taking the diamond and leaving, it's practically impossible. Those guys don't even trust me, they search me each time I enter the warehouse and every time I leave. I don't fancy the operations of the Disciples but my father won't let me be, that's why he gave that order but we needed the diamond, Kelvin needs the money, I just want the diamond out of my office and I want to also compensate the family of the miner that was killed by the Disciples that why we hired you guys, Kevin says you were up to the task so I gave it a go!. And for your information, I noticed the picked lock and the light bulb and I knew you were already in that's why I made that particular statement. It won't be pleasant if you met me in there so I figured it was better we brought the meeting here. Do you understand now?"

"Fairly, we are already late...", I unzipped the backpack, "I guess this belongs to you"

"Yeah...", Kelvin received it from me, "and now for my own part of the deal, you can have the jewellery and we go our separate ways huh?"

"Yeah...", Stein searched his pocket and brought out the drive and handed it to Kelvin, "How about you compensate us for almost getting us killed by converting this drive into some sort of necklace so I can keep it closely, you can add a chain or something, I would appreciate if you could do it for me"

"Sure friend, you can stop by tomorrow for it, it should be ready by then. Have a goodnight and enjoy the rest of the bonfire night!".

We left the store fulfilled, we had the jewellery and we made it in time before the end of the bonfire night and we had our own share of barbecue and grape wine. When we narrated the whole story to the rest of the team, they found it hard to believe but we didn't need them to believe, we knew what we went through and we got what we wanted, that was all that mattered. The next day, we presented the jewellery to Mrs Elizabeth and she was very happy beyond measure though she did not ask how we got it or how much it cost, we were all happy and things stayed that way. Stein collected the drive from Kelvin, it now had a gold chain attached to it and KDK made it worth keeping and Stein made sure it never left him again. We left Imo State, few weeks later and we kept in constant touch with Kelvin and Ross although we ran no more missions for them, it was a promise we had made to the whole UFC!.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Now I needed Stein to help me with rescuing Nisi.

"Anyone...do you read me?, is anyone there?", I said over the walkie-talkie.

"Anthony!, I can hear you, where are you now?, have you seen Nisi?", that was Mary.

"Not yet Mary, tell Stein I would need him here. Tell him to meet with Hobbs and Shaw and tell them he's from Tony, they would unlock the gate for him and he would find me near the garage area. Tell him to come ASAP!"

"Okay Tony"

Alright, now a plan. I had to bring out the occupants of the duplex so that I would be able to sneak in without them knowing. Stein would have to do the diversion. The gate slid open once more, Stein made his way in and met me in the garage.

"Okay Tony, what's the plan?"

"You see, there are four men in the house and that shouldn't be a problem initially but I can't access the house through the vents, this car is blocking my way. So the plan is if I can get this car out of the way, the problem is half solved but if that's impossible, I will have to use plan B which would mean I would have to rescue Nisi from inside while you wait on standby for further instructions, we can be in a situation where I might need your help later "

"So what do you really want me to do here?, I can't see my usefulness here yet!"

"What I want you to do is to distract those guys inside so that it would give me the opportunity to sneak in through the front door, then I would find my way to where Nisi is and then we figure out the escape plan. Now how you will do the distraction is what should be bothering you right now"

"Don't worry about that, I'm a professional, just leave it to me"

"Who else would I have called if not Hitler himself?, I trust you, that's why I called you in the first place!"

"Okay Tony!, it's go time!"

Stein went straight to the door and knocked loudly, what was he thinking?, these men were heartless money launderers and you go knocking their door like that!, I hope his plan to distract them better work. The door dragged open and four heads popped out angrily but curiously.

"Who are you and why are you knocking my door like that?", Mr Collins roared, Stein had disturbed their party, his reason has better be a good one.

"Aftenoon sir, I work for a charity organisation and hearing how benevolent you are from your orphanage neighbours, I decided to solicit for your assistance. Any amount in cash or kind is accepted..."

"Wait...you said those ophranage kids said I am benevolent?, that's shocking, but that's not even the issue, who let you in here in the first place?"

"Yeah, about that, your guys...", his speech was interrupted by Mr Collins's friends, they signalled to their host and informed him they were about to leave!. I crawled from the garage area where I had been observing the whole scenario and crept under Mr Collins's jeep, next to some large flower pots arranged behind some sets of pillars, I guess I was safer there for now, as long as Mr Collins wasn't going out again.

"We would be going now boss", one of the men called, "take care, till next week, enjoy your weekend". All of them entered into their car and drove out of the compound leaving Mr Collins and Stein alone.

"You were saying..."

"I said your men allowed me in when I told them my purpose and since I perceived they were reasonable men and shared the same purpose as I do, they considered it a part of their contribution to charity by letting me in sir"

"Where are those boys....", he walked to the gate to correct the actions of Hobbs and Shaw which he considered to be an anomaly, this is my chance!, I dragged myself from beneath his car and made for the air vents, at least, the cars obstructing the vents shouldn't be there anymore but I was wrong!, the car I thought belonged to Mr Collins's friend unfortunately belonged to Mr Collins!. Quick, switch to plan B, Mr Collins was still discussing with Hobbs and Shaw and scolding Stein right in front of his partially closed gate, this gave me the chance to sneak in through the open main door. As I passed through, I guess I wasn't quick enough or was it that I ran out of my ever present luck, Mr Collins decided the scolding was enough and turned to go back inside catching a little glimpse of me!. He must have swore he saw someone slide into his duplex and decided to check it out.

"Okay boys, don't just let it repeat itself, always ask for my permission before letting anyone in, I thought that was how civilised men behaved, that would be all, resume to your duty post!", he turned his back and made for inside when Stein realised what just happened seeing the expression on Mr Collins's face. Stein reasoned that if I just made my way in, it would definitely take some minutes to find my bearing and even a longer time to find the vault in Mr Collins master bedroom where Nisi was.

"Sir, you haven't attended to me, about the charity program...."

"Listen boy...", Mr Collins started impatiently, "I have no money here with me to give you..."

"Fortunately sir, we take transfers, in fact most of the donations are made through bank transfers and we would appreciate if yours is no exception..."

"Don't you understand me...", he was beginning to lose his temper, luckily, Stein could handle lost temper, "I don't have any money, cash or transfer to give you and your baseless charity organisation, now you are overstaying your welcome!, any more questions, I seems like I do have a rat to fish out!".

Delaying him further would amount to nothing so since Stein calculated I must have reached a safe spot in the duplex, he decided to let go.

"Okay sir, now I understand, sorry for delaying you. Don't forget to send your donations the moment you have cash at hand, we will be expecting you and your honest donations, that would be all for now sir, I will come back later...", Stein started for the gate.

"Yeah, you can come back later...", Mr Collins said sarcastically, "it's just a pity Bingo is down now, I don't know what's with him these days but when you come back, I will see to it that he's up and angry!"

Stein just laughed as he heard this threat, his mission for now was accomplished and Bingo was just lucky I pitied him and he was drugged with sleeping pills, if there was a next time, Stein was going to see to it that Bingo doesn't make it up again!.

I wandered inside the luxurious duplex, the living room was fully furnished, it was just a pity I didn't get to check out the whole stuffs. The living room had a passage that led to several doors that I didn't know what was behind them. I entered the first room, it looked less furnished and more like the visitor's room, as soon I as came out and closed the door gently, I heard the main entrance door slam close!, Stein had done all he could to stall Mr Collins and now my survival was based on how sleek and evasive I could become right now!, Mr Collins was surely going to look for me. He must have built this duplex to accomodate a lot of guests as there were five more doors lined opposite themselves, I had to make a quick choice on the next door to open as I could already hear angry footsteps approaching. I closed my eyes, took in relaxed breaths and went straight ahead to a door that looked fancy to be the one that opened to the master bedroom and fortunately, I was fortunate to find out I had made the right choice, with the way everything was designed and positioned in this room, this was definitely where Mr Collins slept each night. I could hear him open other doors and check inside them, it was just a matter of time he checked here. I saw a key left hanging on the door and immediately, I locked myself in the room!. That meant two things: one, Mr Collins would definitely realise someone was in his house right behind the door and had now taken possession of his room, two, I had to find the secret entrance to the vault and get to Nisi after which we can find an escape route but all these had a disadvantage, I didn't have the luxury of time!.

Quickly, I started to feel the wall in a way that would tell if there was something behind, I searched near his wardrobe, his bed, his book shelf stacked with books I'm sure he had never opened but I found nothing. I heard him open another door, it just remained four more doors before he realised I was in here. I tried to think but I couldn't come up with anything, in frustration, I started tapping the walls of the room 'semi-violently', maybe, just maybe Nisi could hear the sounds and react. I was about giving up after I tried calling his name softly as I tapped the walls when I had a soft continuous tap on the side of the wall just between the wooden wardrobe and the bookshelf. I moved closer and whispered

"Nisi, are you there?...", I couldn't hear any words but the tappings continued, then I figured it out, Nisi was probably uttering some words but because the vault was soundproof, he was using the tappings to attract me, I couldn't hear him but I was sure the entrance was somewhere where I stood!. I checked everywhere, the books, the shelf, the clothes, everything if I could see anything I could press or shift that would open up the entrance. I heard another door open, three doors remaining!, I thought, he couldn't be so unwise to put such a thing on the bookshelf so it had to be somewhere clandestine...the wardrobe!, I opened it and carefully shifted his coats and clothes doing as mcuh as possible to cover my tracks, luck smiled on me and when I was about giving up and checking other areas, I felt something wasn't just right in this wardrobe, it was arranged weirdly; in one area, traditional attires were mixed up with English dresses and that's when things began to add up, I shifted one last cloth to the other side and behold, I saw the lock!. The only thing now was that it wasn't just any kind of lock I could unleash my sharp skills on, it was a complex next-gen digital lock and you know my deal with digital locks. It had buttons on it and to access the vault, you have to input a pin known to only Mr Collins and his associates...unless...we hack it!, and fortunately I have the right guy on my team for this kind of situation, Steve!.

He is Steve and he is the tech wizard of the UFC team. He can hack anything that can be hacked and can beat the most advanced technological security measures on this planet, you think I'm exaggerating right?, wait until you hear his full story!. Steve had been an orphan a long time ago, nobody knew who his parent was, questions to find out who they were proved abortive so at the age of nine having lived with his foster parents for a long while, Steve decided to run away from his home and joined an orphanage, not UFC, I've forgotten the name now. He joined the orphanage not because he was being maltreated by his kind foster parents, he just felt that he was being a little restricted and he needed some 'space' alone, little did he know he was treading on thin ice!. The orphanage he joined was kind of okay, they had the cash, the love and the freedom, that was what Steve was asking for. He stayed and enjoyed every bit and moment of his stay there until things began to take beautifully ugly turns!.

A program was founded by Mr Chris, an Englishman who decided to scout for young brains here in Nigeria so he and his team could help them discover and develop their talents in advanced technology and computer literacy so that they could be independent and all. It was the Tech Minds project. Mr Chris proposed that these young kids to be involved in this project should be made up of mainly orphans and displaced kids, he had such a heart of gold and offered to sponsor the feeding, accommodation, clothing and all other expenses of the potential Tech Minds. The program kicked off and fortunately for Steve, he was handpicked alongside some of his friends from the orphanage and he was so belated to be among the Tech Minds when the project started.

The program was to last for a year or two and during those period, these kids would be housed in a modern tech facility equipped with tools and personnel who taught them everything about the computer, the internet and ethical hacking. Everything was going on smoothly and the Tech Minds project was booming, the kids learnt fast, well the superb conditions they were placed in made sure of that, their knowledge were sometimes also tested on the field and it proved successful. On a occasion when an important government official bank account was hacked, the Tech Minds saw to it that the account was recovered intact and this increased their fame and nationwide acceptance. Then when no one expected, tragedy struck...

"Wake up Steve, there's an emergency meeting, can't you hear the alarm?", Kate, Steve's bestie said as she tried waking Steve from his deep slumber.

"Oh..., what's the noise all about?", Steve said wearily as he tried standing up from his lower bunk bed.

"Emergency meeting...", Kate stood up and pointed to the door, "now!". To think of it, Kate and Steve were similar in all ways; their qualities and all, that's what brought them closer in the first place.

"Right now?, ohhhh!, it's already bedtime now", Steve complained, apart from being a tech lover, Steve was also a sleep addict.

"That's why they call it an emergency meeting, I'm going already so get up and let's move!".

He followed her humbly like lamb to the slaughterhouse and when they reached the meeting point which was their general- purpose hall, everyone had gathered there expecting Mr Chris as usual to state the reason he had woken them up an hour past midnight!

"Silence guys!...", that wasn't Mr Chris!, Mr Chris had always taken the speeches, why wasn't he here tonight?. His Nigerian assistant, a tall solid dark farily handsome man with dark eyes and rough curly hairs, Jay-Dee was the one on the podium. Nobody knew his real name, the whole staff and all the kids all knew him as Jay-Dee and it remained that way, nobody cared to inquire about his name or his past probably because he was quite irrelevant to the Tech Minds project aside being at the call and beckon of Mr Chris, he had nothing else to offer!.

"I've called you all hear to announce a very sad and disturbing news...", he took a momentary pause probably to increase the tension in the hall and silence the noise makers, Steve's heart was already in his mouth, the other thing he hated most apart from spiders was bad news!.

"Mr Chris, my boss, your father...is critically ill and has been hospitalised!", the news generated enough shock in the room to charge a defibrillator and revive a dying heart, everyone loved Mr Chris, he couldn't be sick!.

"I will advise us to join our minds together and pray for him...", with the way Jay-Dee spoke, had they not known his common attitude prior to this speech, one would think he had an iota of compassion for the ailing man, Jay-Dee had a greedy, annoyingly bossy and selfish personality and the whole Tech Minds group disliked him for it but now, his voice was the only compassionate thing about him as he spoke.

"You can all disperse, training continues tomorrow morning by ten, both fitness and endurance training, so get ready, that would be all for now!", he dropped the mic on the pulpit and exited the hall, then everyone dispersed sadly.

Days turned into weeks and after three weeks had passed, news got to Tech Minds that the inevitable had happened!, Mr Chris had died!. Everyone was devasted and couldn't believe the news and a whole week was assigned for mourning the tech icon who had a dream and pursued it till the end. Information later got to them that Mr Chris had died of cardiac failure and being a old man already, it wasn't so much a bad news again, Steve had expected Jay-Dee to mount the podium once more and announce Mr Chris had died of some sort of dreadful incurable cancer!. Well, nothing happened, no comforting speech was made and every kid got their own share of information through the rumours and whispers that filtered among the not-so-sad staff. After the mourning period, work resumed as usual, training was intensified and I guess time was what they needed to heal them up. Everyone did their task cheerfully, then, Steve had graduated top of the class from the penultimate class to the final training class and had become a tech maestro and hacking genius. He did tasks and cracked tough codes that proved difficult for even the best of his trainers, he was attracting the attention and the jealousy of the whole trainers, staff and most especially Jay-Dee who had now taken over the helm of affairs and was in charge of the smart kids, staff and funds of the organisation and indirectly became the CEO of Tech Minds since Mr Chris had no heir from his country...at least none that they knew of. Steve's intelligence and technical prowess became a talking point and I guess he shouldn't have tried that hard at excelling at Tech Minds... the next events in his life proved why!...