CH57: NOT ALONE; ALONE

This is a passion work. So, I would really appreciate it if you leave behind a review when you're done reading.

***

"It's not that I'm ballsy, I'm just that confident in his abilities." Said a voice.

The team turned to face the door. They saw Colonel Kola Balogun standing there with a smile. They quickly stood up and performed a salute.

"At ease, soldiers. This is a social visit. I'm just here to check up on you guys." Colonel Balogun said.

"The mission was time-sensitive in a way. So, we had to move immediately. There was no way we could wait for you guys to heal up. At least, one of you will be the one to bring down the NDz." He continued while looking at Mary.

"You shouldn't spy into secured communications again. That can get you court-martialed if you are caught." He said to Champion and Abdul-Lateef.

The team looked at each other in horror. It looked like their superior heard their conversation.

Temitope frowned and couldn't help but asked, "How did you hear? There's no way we wouldn't have been able to tell if you were close enough to hear us."

"How indeed." Colonel Balogun replied with a teasing smile. "Did you think you guys were the only ones that are 'special'?"

"You mean there are others like us?" Champion asked, shocked.

"It depends on what you mean by 'us'."

"Mutants." Champion said. His teammates grimaced.

Colonel Balogun was taken aback. Then, he roared into laughter.

"You actually think you are mutants. That's so funny." He said as he laughed out loud. "You watch too many movies."

After finally struggling to control his laughter, he said, "You are not mutants. You are just accessing something all humans innately have. That's all. Nothing in you mutated, hence, you are not mutants."

"Then what are we, Sir?" Fatima asked. "You seem to know a lot."

"Sorry. I'm not the best person to explain that to you. You should wait for my brother to come back. His explanation would be better." Colonel Balogun said.

The team was not happy with his answer but they could only accept it as they couldn't force the answer out of him.

"Anyway, I just wanted to see how you were doing. I had heard from reports that you were all behaving weirdly. I had my suspicions and your earlier conversation confirmed it. I came by because I knew you would be confused. The questions you have, keep them for now. I will only teach you how to control your newfound abilities."

The team pecked up. They felt they couldn't afford to miss a single word, so they paid full attention.

"You don't have to be so serious." Colonel Balogun said, waving his hands. "The method is quite simple. Just think 'Stop'."

"Huh?!" The team was taken aback.

"You heard me. Just think 'Stop'." He repeated. "It's that simple."

Abdul-Lateef, whose hearing had been fluctuating, did as the Colonel said and after a few tries,

"It worked. My hearing is normal again."

The team was surprised. Colonel Balogun merely had a faint smile. He got up to leave when Temitope asked,

"How did you know that would work?"

"Didn't I tell you? 'You are not the only ones'."

"You mean…"

Colonel Balogun nodded.

As if reading Temitope's next question, he said

"Find out what I'm called amongst the veterans and you will have your answer."

Then he left.

"Phoenix." Fatima said.

"What did you say?" Mary asked.

"He is called 'Phoenix' amongst the veterans."

"Phoenix. A mythical bird that looks like an eagle in some depictions that can arise from its ashes after its death. A bird that is hard to kill. A bird that refuses to die." Temitope said.

The team members' eyes widened as they came to a conclusion.

"That means…" Abdul-Lateef said.

"It seems so." Temitope agreed.

With varying emotions, the team looked at the back of the man who was walking away through the glass door.

At the same time,

Duke Mansion, Onitsha.

Jonathan Duke was looking out a window in his study. He was looking at nothing in particular. The scenery just allowed him to wallow in his thoughts. He was feeling melancholic as he was lost in his thoughts. He had watched the video and to some extent understood his brother's action.

He couldn't believe the mess he had made. He couldn't believe the odds that a girl he randomly chose happened to be his brother's lover. He recalled the things he had done to her while his brother was away. Recalled how he maltreated her. Recalled how he confessed his misdeeds to his brother with a smile on his face. How he told him he didn't love her. How he just took her as a beautiful trophy wife.

He had ruined his brother's happiness just to get a 'trophy wife'. Yet, he had bragged about it to his face. He couldn't help but sigh.

Even though he understood, he still couldn't also help but get angry. A brother he struggled to support while he was growing up when their parents died and they had no one.

A brother for whom he joined the underworld to provide for in the first place.

A brother for whom he drew his first blood to protect.

A brother with whom he shared everything.

A brother with whom they built an empire.

A brother to whom he thought he could hand over the empire in a few years.

A brother he never once doubt and enjoyed his full trust.

That same brother had betrayed him.

The person he least expected or imagined to, had betrayed him.

And for what?

A single woman!

His brother had betrayed him for a single woman when there were millions more he could have chosen from. Even women far more beautiful than her would not be that difficult to find.

YET!…

it was for this seemingly insignificant woman that he, Jonathan Duke, was betrayed by his closest confidant, his own brother, Peter Duke.

His emotions alternated wildly between sadness and anger.

Suddenly, he heard a knock on the door. He quickly assumed a stoic look before he said,

"Come in."

His head bodyguard, Chike, walked in.

"Sir, I've brought the report you wanted." Chike said as he handed over a folder containing all of Peter's activities for the week.

The Duke looked through the report. Soon, his eyes locked onto a particular line.

"It says here that my wife and brother were seen together in a jewellery store buying female jewellery. What's this about?"

"According to our contact, a salesgirl overheard the two talking. She said they were talking about how it would be a perfect gift for Peter's girlfriend. It seems like your brother finally found himself a girl. The madame was helping him buy a gift for her." Chike said with a smile.

The higher-ups in the gang that were close to the brothers had been wandering when Peter would find himself a lover and settle down. Things were great with the gang so it didn't stop him from tasting the joy of having a family. Even Jonathan on a few occasions had mentioned it to him. It looked to Chike that it had finally happened.

Jonathan smiled.

Chike saw the smile and thought his boss was pleased. Unfortunately, he didn't know the smile was cold. The smile of a wounded betrayed beast.

This smile intensified when he came across a line that mentioned Peter disappearing for a few hours two nights ago. Jonathan knew it was the night the video was shot.

"Is that so? I didn't know the two were that close." He said.

Chike didn't notice the hint of sarcasm in his tone. He replied, "Perhaps the madame was the only woman he could talk to or trust her judgement enough being that she's your wife."

"Well, that's good. I can't wait for him to introduce this girl to me." Jonathan said. He looked out the window before he continued, "By the way, did you find their whereabouts yet?"

"No sir, we're still searching." Chike replied. "We've checked the previous orphanages but we couldn't find your wife. Perhaps she went to a new one. As for Peter, he hasn't been seen since the evening. It's possible he went to meet his girl and didn't want us to know about it."

Jonathan smiled outwardly but was gripping his hands tightly out of Chike's view. Chike didn't know how true his guess was. He also had no idea who the 'girl' was.

"Anyway, if you find them, let them know I have an important family matter to discuss with them and they shouldn't dally to return." The Duke said. He continued in a low voice, "Or maybe I should just ask the men to bring them here when they find them."

Chike heard the mumble but wisely chose not to answer. He was about to leave when his phone rang. He picked up.

"What?! When did that happen? Why are we just hearing now?" He asked over the phone. "Find out what happened now!" He ordered after listening to the other party.

"Boss, bad news." He said as he turned to face Jonathan.

"Out with it."

"I just received word that the A4 and Saints have declared war on us."

"What?! Why?"

"They claim we double-crossed and ambushed them at the deal this morning. Amadin and most of the men at the scene were killed. Only Okoh and a handful of men managed to escape."

Only now did the Duke realise that he had been so preoccupied with his family affairs and brother's betrayal that he didn't realise that he hadn't received a bank credit alert.

"Is this true?"

"Our men checked the scene when they received the news. It's true. They found twenty-three dead bodies that belonged to the A4s and Saints. They also found a handful of bodies that belong to us. It looks like a shoot-out really occurred between us and them which we won. However, the drugs are missing. No one can find them. We are tracking the men that should have been at the meet."

"How did this happen? What about Chidozie?"

"According to what the two gangs announced, Chidozie wasn't our representative at the meet. It was an unknown man, who identified himself as your 'disposer', who represented us. The gangs believed you planned this ahead of time which was why Chidozie was not at the meet." Chike explained.

"Are they stupid? What do I have to gain from doing this?"

"Oziomo Okoh announced that the drugs in one of the crates amongst the product were contaminated and caused Adesusu Amadin's death when he tested it. He claims we attacked them to keep the fact that we wanted to sell a contaminated product a secret to protect our reputation."

"Are they this stupid? Obviously, someone is trying to set us up." Jonathan shouted as his hands banged the nearby table.

"You're thinking the Mob is responsible for this, sir?"

"I wouldn't put this past them. Has someone checked on Chidozie?" The Duke asked.

As soon as he asked the question, Chike's phone rang again. The call went on for a few minutes before Chike put down his phone again.

He said, "We've confirmed that Chidozie has been missing since yesterday. It looks like he used a secret door to leave the night club. His bike is also gone."

"Why didn't the guards report it? What are they there for?!" The Duke said angrily.

"They said they didn't think much of it because he had already told them beforehand that something was in the works and he might need to sneak out discretely to avoid prying eyes."

"Damn it. Then they let him leave like that?" The Duke said furiously. "Now, look at what has happened. I should have their heads. So you're saying we have nothing to go on?"

"Not necessarily. They mentioned that Chidozie met a guest for one of his side gigs. Chidozie and the guest apparently left together through the secret door."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't sound like Chidozie."

"Exactly what I thought sir. The guards mentioned that the guy left his gun behind. The gun is currently on its way to one of our contacts in law enforcement. Maybe, they can help us identify the man." Chike said.

"Make sure you find this man. Or rather, find Chidozie. He is definitely at the centre of all this as he was the one who knew the location of the drugs. For this mystery disposer to have found out about it, Chidozie had to have told him one way or the other."

"On it, sir." Chike said before taking his leave.

Jonathan Duke positioned himself back in front of the window, looking out. Very soon, he became lost in thought.

Day 3 Operation PythonSlaying came to an end.

[A.N: Please, don't forget to leave a review of the work to encourage me. Your opinion matters to me.]