The vibration of Kunle’s bb broke the silence in the car. He ignored it. As we turned into Allen avenue the vibration started again. He reluctantly reached for it, placing it on the steering in-front of him whilst attaching the head piece to it. ‘Hello’, he said in a quiet voice. I felt he wished voices could be mute whilst talking. I continued staring blankly ahead like I was in deep thought but the truth was that my whole body had become an ‘ear’. I dared not move lest I miss something. ‘I’m on Allen avenue’, he said in an even quieter voice. I could make out the faint voice of a lady and that was it. My brain was imagining the whole conversation based on his answers. My stomach turned.
‘No Cynthia’, I could not have told you’ his voice took on a steely edge. Oh so it was Cynthia, I thought to myself, let’s see what his response will be. ‘I had to see Bosun , why?’ Kunle asked sounding irritated. Silence…… He replied very sharply, ’Look Cynthia, I can’t deal with this now, I’m driving’. ‘Then get Tade’s driver to drop you’ he said almost immediately. ‘I have to go…….there is a check point right in-front of me’. What…..I can’t hear you……the network is bad’. ‘Hello….hello’. He looked at the phone and shrugged and placed it back in the phone pocket as he brought the SUV to a halt where the uniformed police men was standing.
‘Oga how now’ Kunle said blandly rolling down the window. The officer stepped towards the car, everything happened in a flash. ‘GET OUT NOW OR I SHOOT’, the officer said raising his gun and cocking it. ‘Ah….oga calm down now, what’s the problem?’ ‘I get my papers’ Kunle added looking worried. I turned to see four other officers surround the car with raised guns. I was looking into the nuzzle of a gun through my window. I started trembling, whimpering , I felt the blood pound it’s way to my head, fear engulfed me. ‘Armed robbers, they’re armed robbers, my God…..what have I done to deserve this? I thought, ‘SHILEKUN!!’ The guy at my window shouted and hit the door yanking at it. ‘IF YOU MOVE, I GO BLAST YOU, SHILEKUN ‘. ‘O GBO, ABI YOU CRASE? ‘ He hit the door with the but of his gun, the other two guys were fiddling with the doors at the back, they jumped in quickly and held my head back to the seat with a knife against my throat. ‘ I GO SHOOT YOU’, the guy at Kunle’s window shouted, ‘BOLE!’. ‘WHO BE OFFICER ABONSERE, GET DOWN’, as he fired into the sky.
The guy in the seat behind Kunle hit him on the head, I heard him scream in pain. He stretched forward and yanked Kunle’s door open, then climbed halfway to the front and used his heel to shove Kunle out of the door whilst leaning on my chair. He opened my door as well. My arms felt like they were being yanked off as I was dragged from the SUV. A blow hit my head. ‘SHOOT AM’, ‘I SAY MAKE YOU WASTE AM’. ‘WE NO DEY TAKE PRISONA’, the guy on Kunle’s side shouted. I heard the guy in the back seat shout, ‘OGA ESHU’, ‘WE DON SECURE’.
‘WETIN BE YOUR NAME?’ , the guy asked Kunle hitting him hard with his gun. The guy in my seat turned and shot at me before slamming the door. I felt an excruciating pain in my right leg and it buckled under me. As I fell…I heard Kunle’s voice……‘Kunle ….I beg no kill me’,….’YOUR NAME NA KUNLE, MY NAME NA ESHU’. A shot rang out. My body hit the ground. They drove off. The sky above me was hazy, someone was screaming nearby, my thoughts were muffled….everything looked like it was fading away and getting darker…..darker. Darkness……..
