Chapter 3: the current II

"You should have seen their faces," he said while laughing. He actually laughed, Unbelievable!

"It's not a joke, Emeka," I replied, not sparing him a glance as we walked down the halls. He had always had this nonchalant attitude to him and it was nerve racking sometimes.

My mind was still hovering on the fact that I may have issues with the Commander because of this guy beside me. Richard Young was strict in his dealings and never spared any of his boys that defaulted and broke rules. I had a fall out with him last month for some personal reasons and another one following it up in line would just be destructive.

It was unbecoming of me to keep disappointing Richard, I still had so much to pay for.

"Come on, Lade, lighten up, we are not in trouble," he said, still finding everything amusing before throwing his arms around my shoulder, leaning his weight on me a little as we walked.

I checked my watch and five minutes had gone, it would take another three to finally reach the conference hall in the building. Everywhere was large, and we had already noted that down, so definitely, getting anywhere around would require long walks.

Emeka didn't seem fazed and I wondered how he always managed to seem calm. It was like he was constantly chirpy and had nothing that could rile him up in existence. He might have just been putting up a pretentious stance or maybe he was actually like that and nothing really ever did bother him.

I didn't want to jinx it though but I guess Emeka already had because at the next turn we were both met with the scowling face of our commander.

We saluted immediately and when he gave us the command to rest, I made sure my eyes were on every other thing except him and it was funny because Emeka did as though he didn't understand what was going on. Tricky bastard! He always acted like the fool but I always knew, deep down, was a more calculated and astute guy, maybe even cold too.

"Seems like you two have grown wings," the Commander said sternly to the both of us and Emeka just kept his head down and I was trapped in the place of being the one to deliver reasons and answers.

"No sir," I replied firmly, straightening my features like we were taught.

"What time is it?"

"10:54 am, sir," I answered, using my programmed military voice.

"And what does that mean?" He asked and I bent my head, now lacking the boldness in my words after knowing he had caught on to our slip up.

"No answer?" He questioned again while raising an eyebrow with a mirthless laugh following. I looked over and still saw Emeka's head hung judiciously. I was alone in this, meaning any wrong words and it was all on me, he might even end up being forgotten.

"No sir," I said again, lifting my head, trying to act a bit bolder and when I finally answered, he looked at me as though waiting for a more detailed explanation.

"Uhm, Sir with all due respect, we hadn't meant to miss the briefings but we were held up unexpectedly by an unconventional scene involving an army officer and we had to settle it," I explained, making sure my words didn't break as I stared at the stern, half Asian man before me.

He didn't say anything further as he looked at us, contemplating his next line of action.

"Meet me in my office after the meeting, the both of you, Now proceed!" He ordered, pointing at us both just as his steely eyes set themselves firmly in our direction. We didn't waste anymore time before scurrying away from his presence, seeing as the discussion wasn't exactly pleasant for us.

A minute to the meeting time and we walked in through the conference hall doors. It was almost too overwhelming and breathtaking as I took in the view before me. Men and Women from different ranks in the military and many other organisations, were seated on each of the double chairs spread across the arena.

The hall was spacious and was almost capable of swallowing voices, if not without the help of a public address system.

On the right sat the ICRC, NSC and the homicide Bureau, then to the left was the special forces, the armed forces which consisted of the Navy, the police and the air force. Directly at the centre was where the ICS sat, our black coats an entirely different attire from the others. With us sat some Senators and important Ministers while the Chief of Defence, Mr Dan Gambari and the Vice President, Abubakar Ali sat on the high table before us all.

We went our separate ways, as I headed to the front of the seats where the D3 agents of the ICS sat while Emeka joined the J4 agents, who were lower than us in ranks but still performed almost the same functions.

The arena became quiet when the Vice President picked up the mic to address us. I didn't expect his presence but I guess him being here was a necessity as he was the second in command in the whole nation.

Our attitudes and body postures had shifted to being more rigid and concentrated on all the words about to be said. Even I noticed the involuntary shift in my actions, I had entered into work mode now. No time for jokes or unseriousness as this was a National Crisis we were trying to solve.

Mr. Abubakar had started with his opening remarks, stating the obvious circumstances that we were well aware of. Of course, he had written another boring speech due to protocols, instead of getting to the main point of the event

"I welcome you all seated here to the 1st emergency meeting of security personnels we have ever had in Nigeria. I appreciate your presence and interest in coming here to join ideas and create a standard solution that would save us from this evil that has befallen

It was about 10 years ago..."

He began again and I trailed off as he was about to go down a path in history that was absolutely time wasting and irrelevant. I had crossed my legs, resting my elbows on the arm of the sit while looking straight at the stage. It seemed as though I was fully engrossed in the boring tale the Vice president was currently delivering but I wasn't, instead I was thinking.

My thoughts were currently on the move, as it began to trace the previous engagements and hostilities of the terrorist group, Jama'atu Haram. Why was it that this group of ignorant people were smarter than a whole nation's military? I needed to state the obvious here, it was strange that they had all the resources capable of turning a whole nation into chaos but yet, were a bunch of nobodies.

Although I was deep in thought, my eyes still silently scanned the room, registering every action precisely. An important conference of this sort could end up having problems accompanying it, and so, I was sure most of us were expecting and searching for anything strange or discrete actions that just didn't add up.

I almost missed it but I didn't, those subtle fidgets, never seeming to be comfortable in a sitting and the constant adjustment of the hand of the cloth.

It was rather weird as there was no sign of comfort and easiness on the person's features.

A woman sitting at the far end of the row in front of mine, wearing a rather provocative lace red dress with an elegant updo hairstyle but surely that wasn't what had caught my attention. We were trained to always discern people's thoughts and actions through body movements and now the woman in question was visibly a bundle of nerve endings.

This meeting was top secret, as the President didn't want anything leaked. We were here to conjure up a plan that would put us a step ahead of the terrorists. The need to smarten up and change strategies had challenged us but now, could this strange woman be the sought out loose end?.

People might have overlooked her, thinking she was maybe amongst the present ministers or representatives, but I didn't, I saw through the facade.

I knew first hand how it felt to be the different person amidst others and Yes, this woman was beautiful, she had classy looks and her style was chic but she clearly had an agenda.

It was obvious as it was written all over her, the perfect dress for the perfect disguise, something that would throw any attention on her, off the principal fact and I doubted it was any good.

My eyes were still looking straight at the stage but I was focused on her every move.

She could be dangerous, a spy, an informant or maybe she was even sent on a suicide mission. One could never be too sure and it was at this moment, I knew I had to do something to eliminate the hidden threat, quietly.

There was no one in this room who didn't expect the Jama'atu Haram group to infiltrate this conference. Deep down we all knew they would be here but now I could be wrong about her or I could be right.

I had no intentions to cause a scene, so I alighted carefully and tactfully from my seat, going round to where the woman sat.

I made sure my movements weren't noticed but apparently, when I reached the end of the aisle, I felt the weight of someone's stare on my back. I glanced back a little and when I saw it was Emeka's eyes that were glued on my every move, it hadn't shocked me. The way he perceived things in quick and volant successions was almost striking.

Now, a guard had passed me by, holding a tray of drinks. Nevertheless, it showed how serious the level of security here was. They couldn't even allow workers inside and instead, soldiers waited on guests by themselves as a replacement. I stood for a while at an area where it was a bit darker, waiting for the same guard with the drinks to pass by again.

I had a plan. It might have been a bit impromptu and uncalculated but it was the closest thing that would not cause confusion and disrupt the serenity of the meeting.