The afternoon sun cast shadows at the corners of the large compound of the Alpha Shadows biggest warehouse base.
Savior crouched at the farthest eastward edge of the metal-frame warehouse, in a spot that made it possible for him to have a panoramic view of all that was transpiring in the compound without being quickly spotted.
He wiped off sweat from his brows as he discreetly watched a motorcade of three jeeps and two cars enter through the remote-controlled gates and enter into the underground car park.
Tekena came out of his Hilux jeep wearing a dark shade and a scarf around his neck while the sun gave off glints of light that reflected from the jewelry—a long, golden chain and Rolex watch—he wore.
Together with his personal sentinels and the rest of the team that came with him, he moved towards the large entrance.
He inputted the secret combination with his fingerprint and the large garage door rolled open. They all marched in. Two of the guards stationed themselves outside, their guns concealed in their holsters.
Savior watched the whole transaction silently through squinted eyes.
Pulling the phone closer to his ear, Savior lowered his voice and continued his talk with the commissioner.
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"Now, listen carefully to me Mr Commissioner. As I speak to you, the gang leader of Alpha Shadows has just arrived at their secret warehouse to ascertain the delivery of new ammunition. A total of thirteen armed men are with him. I'll send the details of the address to your email in a minute.
"What you will do for me is to send in the very best of your team. You'll ensure they surround the perimeter of the warehouse and then strike while the element of surprise is still there. If you are fast and lucky, you just might collect the accolade of being the commissioner to nail the lead criminal of the country. I will contact you once more after this mission is successful." Then Savior cut the line.
Fast as a robot, he typed the address and forwarded it to the commissioner. Then he shut down the phone, just in case, to cancel even the slightest chance that the police could pick up his phone's signal in close range and trace it to him.
He shoved the phone into his light backpack and hoisted it on his shoulder.
Then pulling the best alarmed panic face, he mentally and physically took on his role play.
He sprung up from the corner and ran towards the warehouse door.
The guards there recognized him at first glance so they made no attempt to stop him. In fact, when they saw his alarmed face, they hastily parted and granted him access into the warehouse.
Savior burst in ceremoniously just as Tekena was examining the stacks of AK-47s in the ammunition section of the warehouse. Everyone spun and faced him, startled by the abrupt interruption.
Savior bent over, doing his best acting of panting for breath.
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"Boss," he cried, choking on air. "The police. They're on their way here as we speak!"
Tekena's face squeezed into a deep frown.
"That's impossible!" the boss spat in disbelief.
"I'm not kidding, Boss. I hacked into their computer system a while back and I discovered the commissioner had ordered a team to come rout us here. They've found us out, sir. Someone must have tipped them off."
A murmur of unrest and suspicion spread through the gang.
"Silence!" Tekena barked. The warehouse was filled with terse silence as he paced frantically.
"What do we do? Tiger, what is their strength of force? Can we fight them off?"
"Boss, we're terribly outnumbered. And the classified info was very specific. The best of their top intelligence team have been sent. We have no choice but to retreat immediately. We have no choice..."
"No, no, no! What about all these?" He swept his hand across the spacious cubic warehouse.
There were segments for ammunition. Another for drugs of all kinds—loads of white powder, coke, marijuana and other rare experimental drugs. Then, there was a safe chest at another corner where there was a stack of high currency cash—Pounds Sterling, Euros, US Dollars.
"We can't lose all this!" Tekena shoved his hand into his thinning hair.
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"I swear, I'll find out the person behind all this and rip him apart limb by limb," he growled as he wagged his forefinger at the entire gang who cowered at his threat.
"Boss, we'll deal with that later. We don't have time on our side," Savior said in the most persuasive voice he could muster.
A very faint and distant wail was heard by all.
Tekena's eyes rounded in sheer shock. This was impossible! Alpha Shadows could never be found out.
'Good job, Mr Commissioner, That was very quick of you,' Savior thought and suppressed the rueful smirk that was ghosting on his lips as he took in the Boss' mortified expression.
"Boss, we have to go right now!" Savior called, firmly.
With a final groan of resignation, Tekena issued the order, "Guys, retreat! Emergency exit at once."
They all rushed out of the warehouse, through a secret door that led to the underground garage.
Savior, being the last to leave, paused after they all had trooped out through the door, turned and with a smug smirk whispered, "Good luck, Mr Commissioner."
Then he followed them through the escape portal.
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They all bounded up into their vehicles and drove straight through a tunnel that continued forward, slowly rising. It would lead them to an enclave of Tekena Green's house garage which was miles away. He had paid heavily for engineers to design and construct this link and secret escape route. It played a dual escape function from both sides. Who knew that such a rare time as this would come when they'd actually use it?
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The police came a few minutes after the gang had made their escape. They surrounded the main gate, innocent-looking as it was.
The commissioner, eager out of his wits at the info delivered to him by the anonymous guy, had decided to go on this mission with his boys.
He had a strong hunch that today would be his lucky day and he didn't want to miss the chance for anything in the world.
After the police had cut off all obvious escape routes, and had stationed their guns, the commissioner took the PA speaker and barked out commands while the loud, police siren wailed in the background.
"ATTENTION! ATTENTION! THIS BUILDING HAS BEEN SURROUNDED BY THE POLICE. ALL
OCCUPANTS IN THIS BUILDING SHOULD SURRENDER WITH THEIR HANDS IN THE AIR, ELSE
WE WILL BE FORCED TO SWITCH TO FORCEFUL MEASURES!"
Five minutes and no response later, the commissioner sent part of the squad in. They stealthily crept in like mice.
It was surprising that the gate was left open.
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The compound was larger than was expected, the main warehouse imposing.
As soon as he saw the building, the commissioner could tell that Alpha Shadows had retreated and deserted the place in a hurry.
Somehow he was thankful for that. It granted them an easy, without-struggle entry into this hell arsenal.
There was no way they would have been able to unlock the door of the warehouse otherwise, because Abubakar noted that its lock operated on fingerprint sensor technology. And he was partially relieved that there would be no open fire fight, that was the vibe his disheveled emotions was giving him. At least, for today.
But he was disappointed that they would not place those criminals in cuffs and behind bars today like he dreamed for a long time. Especially their maniacal leader.
And just look at this place. All sorts of weapons and tech gadgets, both those that were familiar and strange to him, were displayed like artwork in a gallery.
Soon, the forensic team would arrive and begin their quest for clues and evidence.
Oh look, here they were, as swift as lightning.
And behind them, the news hounds and vultures. Those reporters were like hyenas. It was a wonder if they ever slept.
Almost an hour later, the commissioner started to leave, but was promptly intercepted by the throng of reporters trying to be the first to get a statement from him.
The commissioner, knowing this was his moment to shine, decided to pause and give them to the audience all at once. Cameras flashed and different sizes of microphones and phone recorders were thrust forward in the direction of his mouth.
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"Today, the Rivers State Police force were only a hair's breadth away from capturing the infamous Alpha Shadows gang. Unfortunately, they escaped. Investigation is in high gear. The forensic team has gotten DNA samples and we'll be working with that. Also, all the loot in this warehouse has been confiscated and is now under government custody. We want the public to rest assured that we are working tirelessly to bring these criminals to the book. Thank you."
But the reporters wanted more juice and details. So their curious and prodding questions pressed on as they trailed the commissioner while he entered his official police jeep.
"How was the police able to find out this location?"
"Was the escape of the gang preventable?"
"Can you give an estimate of the value of the loot and spoils Alpha Shadows had stored in this warehouse?"
But the commissioner was done delivering his info. They could all go enjoy and expand what he had told them for all he cared, or they could go to sleep.
The police entourage drove out. The commissioner felt a strange mix of triumph and a sense of dread that he was playing in favor of the cards of that anonymous caller that called himself Omotola in this game.
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