Chapter 4: The phone call
1016 Words
TYSON
I am in my shop doing ordinary business when my phone rings. It's a new number and I wonder who the caller could be.
I let it ring then pick up after the fifth ring, when it's about to disconnect.
I like it that way, to keep the caller waiting lest they think I'm always available.
I talk to the man who introduces himself as Antonio for about twenty minutes and I conclude that he is a fool.
What he wants is not something people discuss over the phone.
I gather that someone has directed him to me, which is okay but the business he is discussing needs a face to face encounter.
Phones can be taped.
I tell him about the protocols he should undertake in order for us to meet then we arrange the date and time.
I have an idea about what he wants from our conversation. Something I used to do in the past, a past I discarded long time ago.
Now I do honest business, selling phones and accessories.
After college I joined the army to serve my State, to give back what the State had given to me, to serve.
I believed that it was my patriotic duty to do so, and I still hold that view.
I fought for my State in many places including the middle east and parts of Africa, having acquired specialized training in modern warfare.
I flew planes and helicopters and even fighter jets.
I had dedicated my life to serve my State, until something happened that changed my mind.
We were in our camp in the jungle when two terrorists invaded our camp at night. They were so stealth in their mission which started with killing the two soldiers at the gate.
Then donning the dead soldiers uniform,the two terrorists moved around the camp, did a lot of espionage unnoticed, then stole some of our communication equipment.
We only came to know about their intrusion in the morning after the two dead soldiers were found. Then CCTV footage gave us all the answers.
From that day I learned to become a silent operative, getting in and out undetected.
I went into serious training and in six months I could do all that and more.
Then I was dismissed from the army for reasons I didn't comprehend, something that made me very bitter.
I went back home a disgruntled man, to look for something else to do.
After about a week at home a friend visited me, and we talked about my future.
After voicing my worries about being unemployed, he laughed at me, asking me why I was not using the skills I had acquired in the army.
“My friend,if you become an assassin, orders will flow in quicker than you can handle. Always look at the bright side.” He advised and I remember his words clearly.
It took time as I contemplated on his advise. I later concluded that I had nothing to lose.
And just like that I became an assassin, trotting the globe taking out politicians, business rivals, Mafia Dons and terrorists.
The pay was good especially when it came to the Mafia.
Then a few years ago I quit the game. I was just tired of it and I needed an honest life.
I moved to another town and established this business.
I severed all my past contacts and started a new life. I was not going back to my past and that's what I intend to tell this Antonio guy.
But on a second thought, I need to see the man face to face.
The meeting place is a bit far so I close my shop and head there.
I need to be there earlier than him so as to check whether he will adhere to the protocols I laid down for him.
In my pocket there is my favorite weapon, a desert eagle pistol.
In my shoulder holster there's a revolver and in my socks a Swiss knife is carefully tucked in.
I always take my security seriously.
I arrive at my observation point and wait. Part of my training is the importance of patience. A professional assassin can sit still for three hours, just watching.
I keep myself busy chewing gum. Smoking cigarettes can sell you out quickly as smoke is visible from far.
This Antonio doesn't keep time, he definitely is a joke.
Our agreed time passes without a sign of him. I plan to leave in ten minutes but before I rise to go, at the eighth minute, I see a car approaching with caution.
I adjust my binoculars and peer inside the car and all I can see is only the driver.
Then I see something else. The guy is being followed. Another car stops some distance away, out of sight of the first and a man steps out and fishes out his binoculars too.
Who are these people and what games are they playing with me?
Antonio calls and I inform him that he's been late and that we should meet again tomorrow.
I hang up amid his protests and continue watching.
He gets into his car and speeds off.
The hidden car follows suit, maybe I should call and tell him about it, then I remember to mind my own business.
Minutes after they leave I go back to my car and drive back to work.
On my way I call Antonio and emphasize the need for keeping time.
But I can not stop asking myself who this Antonio is or who he works for.
Who referred me to him because it must have been someone who knew me before I quit that dirty job!
A person who can afford my services, because I'm sure he was given my price, can not be this careless.
How long has he been followed?
And he didn't notice?
Is that gullible? It's obvious he didn't notice he was being followed and I wouldn't want to do business with such a person!
I'll find out more about him.
We arrange to meet the following day.
- Writer
