My trust is for sale

New phase

Jibril unbuttoned his shirt slowly, wearing a smile as he lustfully gaped at Rabi as she lay half naked on the bed. He had carried her along, convinced her that he was actually having the deal, hired her as a PA and felt he deserved his reward now. She was not just the most expensive but most difficult to lay.

Rabi knew how to keep him spellbound, and acting as if in a trance. She knew after giving him a hot session, he would become hypnotized and obsessed. He was not her kind of man. He was obsolete and looked like a cast for 1940 movie but for forty million naira, she ready to bear with his bad breath.S

Jibril moved slowly to the bed, licking his lips as he planted a kinky smile of his thin face. His eyes bulged out as he saw her unclad body. This was the best!

He pushed her gently and laid her on her back. He tried to kiss her but she reclined. She smoked but she hated cigarette stained teeth. She could not allow him kiss her. She did not even want a cuddle. Let him just do it and get up. She would close her eyes and pretend she was dead or having a nightmare. This was all for forty million naira.

Bang! Bang!

Jibril frowned, grimaced and hissed. Who was this intruder? He reluctantly got up and walked angrily to the door. Okay, whoever it was would have to leave. There was no cause for alarm. She was still there and still his for the taking.

“Excuse me, I will be back.” He said and wore jallabiya. He unlocked the door and opened it. He stiffened as he saw a hunk of beefcake standing before him. The face was hard and cold. Something about the eyes sent a chill through him and his anger was converted to confusion.

“What do you want?” He asked.

“He wants to talk to you. He is outside.”

“Who? Who are you?”

“Forget about me. I am his voice. My actions display whatever he says. I am his hands. I pick whatever he wants to pick. I am his teeth; I grind what he considers as prey. Who I am does not matter. It is who he is that matters.”

Jibril could not understand this.

“Who is he?” Are you sure you are not onto the wrong person?”

“You will meet him outside. It is not a mistake. I don’t make mistakes.”

“I am not here to see anyone. I do not have a boss in Nijeriya(Nigeriya). I am here on behalf of my country and seeing anyone outside my duties is not an obligation…..”

Jibril swallowed the rest of his words as he saw a pistol in the man’s hand. The manner and speed at which he brought out the gun baffled and scared him.

“I am his hand.” The man said, in a low tone, and  Jibril thought Rabi could not hear them as the CD player blared Sa’adu Bori’s song. “I pick whatever he wants to pick. Come with me.”

Jibril remembered the next line. I am his teeth; I grind whatever he considers as prey.

“Take it easy.” Jibril said. “I will be right back.” He said aloud to Rabi.

“I hope it’s okay?”

“I guess so. Just an old pal of mine.”

As Jibril followed the huge man who hid the gun in his pocket but had his hand on it, he felt himself shivering. They got out of the hotel and crossed the road to the point where a big black SUV was parked.

“Get inside.” The man said after he opened the back door. Jibril went inside and saw a man sitting majestically on the backseat. His head was small but his cheeks were round and very fat. His sulky eyes made him look as if he was about to cry. He was very fat, with very big belly. Jibril wondered if the back seat could accommodate three people with this man almost occupying the whole space.

He wore a very expensive brocade sawn in babanriga style. The car AC was on, and the air was cloudy with cigarette smoke. He turned his face at Jibril.

“You look scared.” He said in a very soft and slow manner. His voice was light. “Did Boro manhandle you?”

The huge man was already sitting at the passenger’s side, as still as a pole, while the driver rested his hands on  the steering wheel.

“Boro.” The fat man called softly.

“Sir?”

“Did you touch him?”

“No Sir. I only showed him my Hajiya.”

The fat man coughed. As he coughed, his tommy vibrated even when he did not move his body. It Remmynded Jibril of water bed.

“Do not worry about Boro. He made you look like a foe. You are a friend. A partner in success. My name is Mu’azu. You are Jibril Maradi, I know that already.”

“What is all these all about?” Jibril asked as he saw the boss to be more friendly.

Mu’azu  coughed again. Jibril quickly sent his eyes to his tommy to see how it vibrated.

“I am the owner of Mu’azu Oil. I am an independent marketer with over eight filling stations and seventy trucks because I also transport. You are the Niger agent, I know. This is your second year representing your ministry. I want to strike a deal with you. I have been watching you for long and my conclusion after studying you was that you are a very big fool. I am sorry for my choice of words. Two years of transaction and you have not changed. You have not changed. The only thing you have improved on is having more women and beer. You are supposed to have become rich.”

“I never had any chance to become rich which I missed. I am a paid worker with fixed amount. The transaction is not a personal deal.”

“Listen to me shallow head. I want to buy the goods you buying this month. This month is rough. Most of us did not get our allocations approved. I guess you are very lucky because of diplomatic relations. I am in dire need of goods. I want your ticket for two hundred million naira.”

“My ticket? You said you have been watching me. It seems you watched me wrongly because if you did that correctly, you should have known that I just a paid government worker…”

“Balderdash! I know right. I am just pulling the veil off your eyes. This is your chance to get rich. Your allocation has been approved and you will load in three days’ time. You are going to pay tomorrow. You are buying at the rate of two hundred and forty million naira. I will buy it at the rate of two hundred million naira. Loss? You have nothing to lose. It is not your money. I will give you the money and simply vanish. I can arrange something for you. A fake abduction. Your country will be worried for your safety. It will be like you were kidnapped. You will live a low key life for a while and I will plan how to make it look like you hit a contract with us. You can relocate to Nigeria.”

Jibril just listened while he felt his heart throbbing.

“I will think over it.”

“I hope you are not planning on bringing in the police.”

Boro turned his face at them and smiled.

“Oh oh, You can see Boro smiling. That means a lot. That smile means you will have the imam standing over your body as you lay covered with white piece of cloth. If you don’t believe me, please try it.” He said and coughed. “You can go round refinery and ask about me. They will tell you that had doubted me but never lived to tell. They will tell you that I did this and that but the law could do nothing about it. I am a planner. I rule my world. I hope you will be very smart. You have just tonight to think about it. Here….this is my number.”

He gave a card to Jibril and tossed a bundle of cash him.

“I think Boro got your heart shaking. This is just fifty thousand naira. Use it chill your frayed nerves at the bar and have a good time with your woman. Thank you very much for your co-operation. Goodbye.”

Jibril alighted from the car and watched the SUV go out of his sight. He walked slowly back to the hotel. He saw Rabi still lying half naked on the bed but the mood to have her had gone. He opened the refrigerator and poured a glass of gin and gulped it at once.

“What is wrong?” She asked.

He said nothing but just lolled  on the bed.

“Nothing.” He managed to say.

“That is a lie. You are tensed up. Look at your face.”

“It is business. “He said.

“Are you a gangster?”

“What? Why?”

“The way that man behaved. It’s you had a cocaine deal that went wrong. You looked so jittery. Are you in trouble?”

He turned at her and saw concern on her face. It seemed she was falling in love with him. Damn! She loved him.

“ I am good. I just need to be alone for a while. I need to do some thinking. I will do that at the bar.”

He got up, tore the wrap of the cash and counted five thousand naira and dropped it on the edge of the bed.

“Why not take a walk? I need a break. When you come back, we will pick up from where we stopped.”

He walked out of the room and went to the barroom. As the barman served him, his mind dwelling on Mu’azu. There was no doubt he was a dangerous and powerful man.

The idea did not sound okay to him. And he was not foolish enough to believe that it would work out as smooth as he had planned. If he agreed, they will kill him to bury the truth. If he disagreed, they would still kill him for knowing the truth.

Police?

He pictured Boro’s face and Mu’azu’s words.

Oh oh, You can see Boro smiling. That means a lot. That smile means you will have the imam standing over your body as you lay covered with white piece of cloth. If you don’t believe me, please try it.

Damn!

You can go round refinery and ask about me. They will tell you that had doubted me but never lived to tell. They will tell you that I did this and that but the law could do nothing about it. I am a planner. I rule my world.

He had to quit this job. He was absconding. This was too dangerous. He needed smoke. He took a gulp of beer before sending cigarette to his mouth. Oops! It was the lighter he put in his mouth while he wanted to use the cigarette to light it. He was confused. It was 5:00 PM already. He had just a few hours to save his life. He had even began to spend Mu’azu’s money. There had to be a way out.

Meanwhile, Rabi was on phone with Zina.

******