Muhammad was awakened by the ringtone of his mobile phone. He checked his bedside alarm clock, it was 2:30am. He had been asleep for just one and a half hours but it felt like he had just closed his eyes and opened them. He reached for the phone and checked the screen but it was a strange number. He hit the answer button. “I’m sorry for calling at this time of the day but I can’t get some sleep. I think I’ve something you might want to hear. It might just sound a little silly but I don’t know if it could be of help to you regarding your investigation,” the feminine voice said.Muhammad realized it was Dr. Maryam Farouk who was the more matured one among the friends of the late Dr. Salamatu.“I’m fine with you calling me at any hour of the day. Are you going to work later in the day?” Muhammad asked.“The hospital gave us the week off,” Maryam replied.“I’ll be at the house at daybreak or can you tell me what’s on your mind right now?” Muhammad asked.“Don’t worry, it can
Muhammad parked on the driveway leading to the gate of the large garage of the house. The four doctors lived at Asokoro metropolis. It was a quiet location in Abuja because most of the occupants there were top government officials or business tycoons.Muhammad looked around the quiet street and he still could not find the police patrol car he had ordered to keep an eye on the house. He radioed the SSS headquarters and ordered the control room to check in with the police and find out if the patrol car was dispatched like he ordered. Muhammad knocked on the gate several times and felt like his knuckles were going to crack. He brought out his phone and dialed Maryam’s number. Adrenaline was already at work and he could feel his heartbeat accelerating.After three 5 dials, no one answered the call. Muhammad decided to climb the large gate but the problem was there were sharp spikes at the top of the gate. He decided to try the fence and found out the gate was a better option beca
He was lying on a sofa in his sitting room, staring up at the ceiling. It was now twenty two days after one of the worst experiences in the line of duty. He lived in a self-contained bungalow at GwarinPa estate on the outskirts of Abuja. Rent was one of the major headaches of living in the capital city but he was well paid so he could afford it.Muhammad now had an idea about who he was dealing with because he now knew that he was no match for The First One when it came down to physique, speed or killer instincts. The only chance he might have against The First One is his psychological abilities and that was what he was going to use to take down the psycho. He needed to find a way to stay alive if he was going to end up being the last man standing in their inevitable showdown. There was a car parked outside his house with members of the Tactical Assault Team (TAT) of the SSS keeping watch over him but he was still not taking any chances because he had a tactical knife strapped
The First One sat on the beach and stared at the violent waves of the ocean as he deliberated. The killings had stopped but not for long. Officer Muhammad and Maryam must die in order to protect his real identity. The trip to Lagos had been taken for the main purpose of relaxing and approaching matters from a psychological point because where violence fails, logic is born. It had not been easy approaching the men running things at work and asking for some few days off but the greatest weapon in The First One arsenal was the power of persuasion.Salamatu had defied the orders given to her to keep their meeting arrangement a secret. It was during the process of torturing her that she revealed she had told her friend Maryam about their meeting arrangement. The First One smiled when he recalled the terror in Salamatu’s eyes when she spotted the bottle of concentrated solution of acid that he brought out of his bag of torture. Things had gone from bad to worse on that night becau
Muhammad opened the door to two beautiful blue eyes. Nicole Bradford was staring at him with a smile on her face. “Hello,” Nicole said.“Hi,” Muhammad replied mesmerized by her presence.Muhammad could feel his heartbeat accelerating and he felt disgusted with himself.“Please come in,” Muhammad said ushering her in.“Thank you Officer Muhammad,” Nicole replied stepping into the sitting room before she asked: “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”“No. I’m startled because I wasn’t expecting a pretty CME at my doorsteps. I hate the idea of going through an autopsy alive,” Muhammad joked and they both laughed.“Pleas have a seat,” Muhammad said.Nicole sat down on the couch and Muhammad took his seat on the couch opposite her. She was wearing a jasmine perfume and putting on a white suit with a knee length skirt and a black shoe that perfectly fitted her caramel complexion. Nicole’s suit was unbuttoned revealing a blue silk blouse which provided a good view of the shap
Forty minutes later, they were both sitting opposite each other at a restaurant called Prestige Restaurant. It was one of the best restaurants in Abuja which offered assorted delicacies. They placed their orders.“I checked on Maryam yesterday at the ICU and her injuries are healing fast. We are praying she pulls out of the coma soon because coma ias one part of medicine that is unpredictable,” Nicole said.“I hope she pulls through for her sake and for the sake of catching the monster who murdered her friends. She is currently the only lead we’ve on the case,” Muhammad replied.“Can I meet the woman behind the beautiful face and bloody scalpel?” Muhammad asked.“I guess that won’t be a problem,” Nicole replied smiling.Their dinner arrived and they talked as they ate.Muhammad learnt that Nicole’s father was a retired English doctor who lives in the United Kingdom (UK). She lost her mother who was a Nigerian to cancer when she was 18 years old. Muhammad revealed that he
The explosion brought him back to reality. He was already half asleep when the sound interrupted the peace of the night. It was the sound of a bomb explosion.Muhammad heard footsteps heading towards his front door. He brought out his pistol with adrenaline already at work. He left the bedroom and within some seconds he was standing beside the front door with his pistol ready to unleash hell.Muhammad heard someone pounding on the door and calling out to him. Muhammad recognized the voice; it was the officer in charge of his surveillance team. He concealed his weapon and opened the door. The officer was already speaking before the door was completely open.“Sir, the National Assembly had just been hit by a bomb explosion. All field officers had been ordered to report to the site of the explosion ASAP. I just wanted to let you know that we’ll be gone for some few hours,” the officer said breathlessly.“Good luck officer,” Muhammad replied.“In case anything goes wrong or i
The First One was sitting at the top of one of the tallest buildings in Abuja and clutching a pair of binoculars as he watched the drama unfolding at the national assembly.The whole place was overflowing with various law enforcement agencies and health organizations. The Air Force was patrolling the sky and ambulances were all over the national assembly.The First One smiled. Before tonight, the fools might have bet their lives that the national assembly was a fortress. The fact remains no security system was impenetrable.Planting the bomb inside the national assembly had been a child’s play. Words and diplomacy could get you what money couldn’t buy. It was just a matter of how good you were in the art of using them as a weapon.It was now 8:53pm. Any moment the final piece of puzzle will be completed with the arrival of Officer Muhammad. Intuition was his indispensable weapon and his intuition tell him Officer Muhammad was smart enough to smell the real deal and separate