My trust is for sale

Mask man

Immediately the clock ticked 8:45 PM. Hacks opened the door to his bedroom  and went in. He had been waiting for Dora who was supposed to pick him up for an assignment.

She had promised to be here by 8:30 PM. This was fifteen minutes after the time. He had no credit in his phone. He would have called her. She could have called him to tell him why she was late. They never played with time.

He had been passing time by watching a boxing match which was his favorite sport. Now, he had lost interest. He was personally eager to find the root of the mysteries.

His eyes travelled round his bedroom. Was this why Dora was not interested in him. They earned almost the same amount of salary. She knew how his fairly furnished apartment looked like. But he needed a woman to share his life with.

His bed was getting old. The walls needed a new coat of paint. His wardrobe needed a change. His mattress…..He frowned. What was this? There was something on the mattress which made him cringe. It was a black horrible looking doll with a paper stuck to it.

It did not look like a bomb. He gave it a professional ocular frisking. He was sure he did not bring this in and he lived alone. He had not brought in any woman here for a while.

He just left the room barely thirty minutes ago. It was not here. He felt something cold in him. Whoever brought this must have done it within the last thirty minutes. He took jaunty steps to the bed and picked the doll.

He tore off the paper and read what was written with a pen.

Hello cop buddy, you are digging up things. What you are actually digging is your grave. You and Dora are crossing the boundary. Save your lives and submerge your zeal to unravel the case. We are watching you, heroes.

Hacks’ face crinkled. He knew their job was a dangerous one. A job where you constantly stepped on toes. But the manner at which this was done got him shaken. This message had just been brought.

He ran to the window and drew the curtain aside. The burglary proof had been removed. This was done while he was in the house! What! He rushed to his bedside drawer and opened it.

His pistol was missing!

This was serious. He tried to calm his nerves, and think of way out.

“I can’t shoot you in here.” A thick voice and someone appeared from his wardrobe. “The gun makes a lot of noise. I will use my bear hands.”

Hacks understood why the strange man was so confident he could kill him with his bare hands. He was a hunk of a beef. His shoulders were broad, with large strong arms. He wore a black woolen  mask. His blue and white skinny T-shirt accentuated a body rippling with muscles. His chest was stout, broad with a thin  waist which gave it a V-shape.

This monster was intimidating. Hacks was trained but this man looked athletic, pugnacious and strong.

“Who are you?” Hacks asked, trying to conceal his fears and doubts.

“That is a stupid question for a supposedly intelligent detective. Do you want me to tell you my name, address, or what?”

“What do you want?”

“That is a better question. I will answer that. Firstly, you did not thank me for the present. That is a doll for your future child. I heard there is a life after death. You can carry it along if you are really tired of this world. Are you so confused you forgot what you just read? You are over doing your job. Be considerate. You don’t have to expose innocent people. You are trying to expose things that do not concern you personally. Was it your money that was stolen? Did we kill any of your relative? Did it make the government reduce your salary? What the hell is wrong with you.” “I am a cop and everything that concerns crime concerns me. That is why I was drafted.”

“Shut up! You talk as if the government came to beg you to join. Since you have said that, it means you are not ready to repent. I think I should not waste any more time. I will see how your gallantry would save your neck tonight.”

He began to make slow deadly moves towards Hacks.

 **********

Hacks saw Mask-man’s hand clench to form a big fists that looked like jumbo sledge hammers. The confidence he displayed worried Hacks. He could not run away so he had to face him. He also clenched his hands.

Hacks began to move backwards, his eyes on the hulk, until he was stopped ny the wall. Hanks turned to his table and quickly picked up a screwdriver.

“Noooo, you are mal-practicing the game.” Mask-man said. “I have your gun but I am not using it. It is meant to be a hand-to-hand brawl. You are not honest. How did your parents bring you up? Don’t you remember Sunday School? Never cheat. Cheating is a sin.”

Hacks made a strike, swinging his hand powerfully with the screwdriver aiming for Mask-man’s face. Mask-man was ready for this. He swerved, caught Hack’s hand skillfully and squeezed. After a smack on Hack’s jaw, the screwdriver dropped and he blundered against the wall.

Hacks realized that he was not a match for this beast but he would not give up. Mask-man made another move, sent a blow to his face. Hacks docked before bending his  leg to ram his knee onto Mask-man’s tommy.

It painful even though he stiffened his stomach.

“Ouch!” Mask-man whimpered. This got him angry. He glared at Hacks. Hacks slammed his fist on his neck but Mask-man absorbed the pain and sent both hands to Hacks’ neck. He grabbed him and head-booted him.

“Augghhrrr! “ Hacks shouted but was chocked as the giant pressed his powerful hands round his neck. He began to have problems with breathing. He was suffocating. He made futile attempts to hit Mask-man but he failed. He could feel his eyes bulging out, his sight becoming blurry and his limbs were becoming numb.

Gradually, he felt so light and blank. He stopped thinking, or seeing or feeling. He just hung there. Mask-man noticed this and let him go. Hacks dropped on the floor like a piece of rag left in the air.

Mask-man wanted to be sure he was totally dead. He removed a dagger from his pocket and aimed it at Hacks’ chest. He had to be very sure he dead.

“Hacks.” A female voice emerged. “I am sorry, it was the traffic. Where are you?”

Mask-man did not hear her come. Before he could think of what to do, she had drawn the cuttain and seen him.

“Oh my God!” She exclaimed. Mask-man flung the knife at her. She moved back and  hidd before a wall while she simultaneously brought out her gun.

 She was very fast. She fired a shot at once. He was trying to c**k Hacks’ gun but he realized that she was faster with gun.

He tried to shoot her but she took a shot and a bullet brushed his hand. The gun dropped off his hand. Before she could take a second shot, he ran to the window and jumped out. She ran after him. She also jumped out through the window but he was nowhere to be found.

She wanted to keep chasing him but remembered that Hacks was lying motionless inside. He looked dead. She ran back into the house and bent over him. She was confused. She removed her phone and called the Headquarter. The call did not go through. She needed a backup and paramedics. She was not sure he was alive but something had to be done. What could she do? Hacks was dead?

She hoped he was not dead. He looked dead, she could not hear him breathing but she did not want to believe he was dead.

Tears filled her eyes. She shook him, called him but there was no response. She attempted to call again but the network seemed very bad.

Wait! It seemed she saw him move. She set her eyes on him and saw his lips twitch. He was alive!

“Hacks!”

He opened his eyes, expecting to see a mask, which was the last image he could remember seeing. Gradually, Dora’s image came to focus.

“Dora.” He said in a whisper.

“Don’t talk.” She said. “I will get a doctor.”

“No.” He said. “I am okay.”

She got up and went out of the room to get him water. He felt much butter and revivified.

“Raise your head and take water.” She said.

He tried to raise his head but dropped.

“Let me help you.”

He felt like laughing. He was only pretending now. He had recovered but he was enjoying the care and attention which she would not have given him ordinarily.

She sat by him, raised his head and put on her soft laps before she gave him water to drink. He was still feigning to be very weak.

“Hacks you need a doctor.”

“No.” He whispered. “Just the weakness. I will get over it. Just help me to the bed.”

She got up and helped him to his feet, and let him lean on her, his hand on her waist and his body pressed to hers. As they got to the bed and she tried to help him lie down, he dropped his weight on her and they both fell to the bed. He held her by the waist, down and pressed her body to his. A smile lit his face.

“You i***t! Get go off me.”

“I love you, Dora.”

“Tell that to the birds.”

“I swear.”

“Let go off me. I should have let the thug kill you and save myself from your grip.”

He smiled.

“Thank you for saving my life. He got me unconscious but I am okay now. He also gave me the chance to touch the woman of my dream.”

“That was a mistake really. You should not have let me live to love you. He caressed her and lowered his lips to hers.

“Stop it. Are you crazy?”

“Yes. Crazily in love.” She closed her lips tightly as he tried to part them with his. He touched her with his hand and her lips parted.

Forty minutes later, she said, “get dressed. Tell me what happened as we go for our mission.”

“You are right. I will tell you in the car.”

“I hope this is not going to affect our jobs.”

“No. We are professionals. I love you Dora.”

“I am scared of you. You are a flirt. I hope it is not just about my body.”

“I just found the right woman. I promise, you won’t get hurt.”

“I hope so. I will be skeptical though. I will not give you my heart now until I feel more secured.”

“Trust me.”

“Who is he?”

“I don’t have a scintilla of idea. But he is definitely connected to the NNPC heist…

 He told her what happened.

“I met Alhaji Babawo. The man who was allege d to have bought the goods. He denied buying anything like that. Since it was not an official deal, there was no record. So we lost the chance of identifying the seller through him. I know he bought it but we can’t prove it. I went back to Alhaji Mu’azu. He gave me a name: Rebecca. That was the name she used to lodge at the hotel. Now, we must do all we can to find this lady. Plus, you are not safe here. You need protection.”

“We are all prone to attack. I don’t think anyone will take me by surprise anymore.”

“Then I should go back home. We cannot go on any mission anymore. Let us just set to find out who she is and ….who the man in the mask is.”

“You are a police officer. I need protection. I am in danger.”

She looked at the bed.

“I seem to be the one in danger now.”