Chapter 7
Cliff had been wondering about what Douglas might be doing in the village that prevented him from returning to school. Despite announcements, Douglas didn’t come back to write examinations. Some months later, the school closed for the term. Cliff assumed that Douglas might return by next term. However, the school re-opened, closed, re-opened and closed again but Douglas was nowhere to be seen. Worse still, Cliff did not know the way to Douglas’ town. Jeffery, Cliff’s uncle, returned from the States where he lived for ten years. Jeffery spent some days in the country and promised to take Cliff along when he would leave again for the States. When Cliff finished his final school examinations, he wrote a letter to Douglas and gave it to the school principal to deliver it to him. Some months later, Jeffery took him to the States.
Douglas had not visited his school since he joined the gang. He had been engrossed with the gang’s operations and he was quite enjoying his share from the operations. One day, Black Axe, the informant of the gang, came to disclose his findings from a mission. He had been sent to go and gather some information about a certain bank. The gang members had already assembled and were waiting for him in the hideout when he entered.
“Black Axe, what kept you for so long?” Scorpion fired as Black Axe entered the hideout.
“We’ve been waiting here for eons” remarked Dragon, another member of the gang.
“Look, Black Axe, we are not here for child’s play. Don’t ever waste our useful time again. Do you get that?” Bullet rebuked.
“Now tell us your findings from your mission”, Douglas enquired. Black Axe then cleared his throat and began:
“You see, the mission was quite a difficult one. You have to move from one person to another in search of information and answering some difficult questions in the process…”
“Hey, hold it!” Dragon interrupted. “We have not come here to listen to folktales. Just tell us your findings and stop wasting our time” Spider, another member of the gang, stood up and lighted a cigarette. He took a deep draw and puffed the smoke directly to Black Axe:
“Mister”, he said, “Be fast and stop wasting our time”
Black Axe coughed and staggered. Then he coughed again and began with a hoarse voice:
“I observed that the bank has a poor security system; the two security men there are old men with nothing but old-fashioned guns. Secondly, there are three escape routes from the bank; the route that leads to a hospital is the safest of all the routes. There’s a flight of stairs inside the bank. I noticed that people go up the stairs to collect or deposit money while selling of forms and paying of bills are done underneath the banking hall. Finally, I discovered that there are no mobile police officers around the bank”
“That’s a good one, Black Axe” commented Bad Bird, the driver of the gang. “But are you sure that the route, which leads to the hospital, is the safest of all the routes?”
“Yes, I’m sure”
Spider lighted a wrap of Indian hemp and said:
“Bullet, the master planner, it’s now over to you”
Bullet nodded, lighted a cigarette and dished out specific instructions. Bad Bird went to check the condition of their car while Scorpion and Spider were asked to sort the guns for the operation. Dragon and Isabella quickly went and emptied a heavy bagful of bullets. Then they sat on the floor and started to sort the bullets. Afterwards, the leader distributed the guns to the gang members. Douglas was given a locally made pistol while Spider was given a heavy brownish gun. Jude went and picked a revolver. The leader simply took a .48 automatic. The rest of the gang took the remaining guns. The leader later assembled the gang members and began:
“My men, you all know the tradition of the gang, most especially on the issue of being caught. I always emphasize that anyone caught in any of our operations will have himself or herself to blame; every one of you should think fast and act fast to avoid being caught and consequently jailed or even killed. Always remember that there must be no bloodshed in any of our operations except, I repeat, except in an extremely necessary situation. Finally, everyone must always be obedient to the orders of his or her seniors. Is that clear?”
“Yes, leader!” the gang members echoed in unison. Afterwards, they loaded their guns with bullets. They also performed a ritual and left the hideout for the bank. Bad Bird drove with a high speed. He recklessly overtook several vehicles on the way and failed to stop at police checkpoints. Shortly, they approached a traffic sign. Douglas poked his head through the window and read:
“Slow down, school children crossing”
But Bad Bird refused to slow down. He increased his speed instead.
“Time is not on our side, Dog,” he said.
Douglas kept on pondering in his mind on how the operation would be. He had never accompanied the gang to rob a bank. As he was thinking about the operation, several fearful thoughts came to his mind. He became afraid and decided to whisper his fears to Jude:
“Jude, em…do you think we’ll succeed? You see, I’m afraid…” “Shut up your mouth, Dog!” Jude shouted. “What is that?” Scorpion asked.
“Oh nothing, we’re just discussing”
“What is that thing that you are discussing?” Scorpion persisted. When Jude saw the countenance of Scorpion, he became afraid and spilled the beans:
“It is Dog and his chicken-heartedness. He’s worried about being caught, what people will say of him, this and that...”
“What!” all the gang members shouted.
Scorpion was greatly infuriated. He instantly released two deafening slaps to Douglas and all his fears evaporated from him like water vapour.
“Look, Dog”, Scorpion said, “We don’t tolerate chicken–hearted people in our gang. Everybody here has one fear or the other haunting him like a ghost but that does not prevent us from fighting and struggling to survive. Look, we must take the risk and join the league of millionaires. Many guys are even looking for this kind of opportunity to make some money. For instance, the queen, here, is a university student but what her parents usually give her is usually not enough to sustain her in school. Therefore, through connection, she came and even begged us before we accepted her into the gang. Now, she had been using what she gets from the gang to complement what her parents give her to tackle her education comfortably. So be warned, all our rules must be kept and none of them should be broken”
“Dog, don’t you know that there are many people out there who are respectable gentlemen in the morning but ravenous robbers at night?” queried Spider. Douglas was mute.
“Men, you don’t have to think that our business is the only risky business in the world. After all, there are some elements of risk in other kind of businesses” Isabella concluded.
“Hey slow down, Bad Bird, we are approaching the bank” Black Axe chipped in to end the crossfire of queries directed at Douglas.
Bad Bird applied the brakes and slowed down a bit.
“What’s next, Black Axe?” he asked.
“You will drive past the bank, and then reverse into the bank” Black Axe instructed.
Bad Bird finally approached and drove past the bank. Then he engaged the reverse gear and reversed into the bank exactly as Black Axe said. On entrance, the old security men mistook them for the people that usually come to the bank to deposit large sums of money. Suddenly, all the gang members, except Bad Bird, jumped from the car and started shooting indiscriminately. Black Axe went and surrendered the old security men.
“Lie down both of you!” he ordered.
The rest of the gang quickly dashed inside the bank and surrendered the people there too. Then there were rants and raves and echoes of: “Lie down!”, “Where’s the money?”, “Drop the briefcase!” “Hands up!”, “Drop the phone!”, “Face down!”, “Get up!”, “This way!” “Get out!” etc. Some people descending the staircase were attacked and dispossessed of their money. Scorpion entered a room and saw a woman punching some digits on a telephone dial. He quickly grabbed the woman by the throat and slapped her. Then he brought out his dagger, disconnected the telephone and shredded the wires to pieces. Scorpion searched the room thoroughly. He found nothing but he turned and released another thunderous slap to the woman before leaving the room. Douglas was busy dumping heavy bags of money, snatched from the bulk room, into the boot of the car. Spider climbed the stairs and entered the manager’s office. He saw two bags of money and signalled to Douglas, who came and carried the money to the car. When the leader saw that, he signalled the rest of the members and they all jumped into the car. Black Axe finally released the security men, pumped some bullets into the air and jumped into the car. In a couple of minutes, Bad Bird was already driving recklessly, racing at a very high speed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
The gang made merriment when they got to the hideout. Although they usually observe a ritual before an operation, they would also observe a ritual and merriment after a successful operation. Soon, Bullet emerged from a corner and lighted a cigarette. He then started to share the stolen money between the members according to their ranks. Douglas, being the most recent member, was given the least share, which he took and made for a hotel at once. Spider took his share and left for Lagos while Isabella took hers and left for her school. Scorpion and the rest of the members took theirs and headed for one joint or the other to enjoy themselves.
Spider went to Lagos to visit Acid, a former member of the gang. Acid was suspended from the gang because he had a quarrel with another gang member, who was later suspended too. Acid had been suspended since two months. He was very happy when he saw Spider.
“Hey Spider, any good news for me?” he asked. Acid was eager to return to the gang. Spider laughed and said:
“Acid, I’m afraid, there’s no good news. But, I think, there’s hope” “Oh!” Acid cried, “Hasn’t Bullet thought about my case?”
“Cool down, Acid, cool down. You see, Bullet is a difficult man. Anyway, you will soon join us – I assure you that”
“Please, Spider, please I beg you, please help me to return to the gang. I will be glad if you do it for me. See, life’s hard for me and I’m suffering here” Acid pleaded.
“No problem, Acid, I know what to do” Spider assured.
Acid heaved a sigh of relief. He offered Spider a cold bottle of wine. In a moment, they started to discuss their past and successful operations:
“Men, do you still remember how we escaped the hands of the police officers the other day?” Acid asked.
“Which day?”
“Oh… some…em…I think, some six months ago when we went to rob the petrol filling station near the expressway”
“Ohooo! That was simply great!” Spider exclaimed. “You see, Bad Bird was looking at a pretty girl walking by the roadside when we almost fell into a deep ditch. He had been warned never to look sideways while driving. The other day he was looking at another girl when we almost collided with a
police van. I wonder what was wrong with him”
Acid started to laugh.
“It is not a laughing matter” Spider continued. “I think he and Dragon should exchange roles” “Ah? Dragon? Do you think he’ll make a good driver?” Acid asked in disbelief.
“Dragon handles heavy guns like sticks. Heaven only knows what he would do with the steering wheel if he should exchange his role with Bad Bird”
Acid started to laugh again. Shortly, he started to discuss some issues, which were not related to the gang, with Spider.
“Acid, I’m itching…” Spider said suddenly.
“Itching? By how?”
“Yeah…why don’t you take me out to any of the brothels here in Lagos for some big chicks?” Acid hissed.
“You’re itching for big chicks?”
“Yeah. Nice and sexy chicks”
“Sexy chicks?”
“Yeah”
“Sexy chicks are for rich guys…”
“So what?”
“But you’re not rich”
“Acid let’s go and meet them first!”
“Alright, that’s only if you’ve got some heavy pockets” Acid said.
Spider finished up his drink and in a couple of minutes, they were already on the way to a brothel. When Acid and Spider got to the brothel, they went for more drinks before they went to pick the girls. After a while, Spider unknowingly picked Doris, Douglas’ sister! He took her to a bar for some drinks. Soon, Spider asked:
“Fine girl, please what’s that your beautiful name?”
Doris smiled and said:
“I think I’ve told you my name”
“Yes but... you see, in fact, I’m sorry. I always forget people’s names. My name is Smart, a businessman based in Dubai. Please what’s that your beautiful name?”
“Well, I’m Doris” Doris said styling her hair.
Spider gulped a glass of beer and continued:
“I returned few days ago to clear my consignments in the wharf. Dubai is quite a nice place for someone like you to be. In fact…”
Doris smiled again.
“I have hit a jackpot, a real jackpot” she thought.
“I can see you’re a very rich young man” Doris said, winking. Spider smiled and took another glass of beer. There was silence.
“Now Dorothy, oh sorry, Doris, wouldn’t it be nice if you tell me something about you family background?” Spider asked after a while. Doris sipped her drink and asked:
“How can I reveal my family background to a stranger?” “Oh baby, I am not a stranger. I – I just want to know …”
Doris sipped her drink again, hesitated for some time and began:
“Well, once again, my name is Doris. I was born in a family of five - three boys and two girls. My elder brother dropped from school because of our father’s death. I also dropped from school and followed a woman to this place as a housemaid, but the woman turned against me. We had a quarrel and I left her house. Then I went to live with a friend. Later my friend’s sister introduced me to this business. So, that was how I found myself in this place”
“Wow, it’s a pity!” Spider said. “Well, I wouldn’t like you to continue with this kind of business.
I promise to help you” Doris was happy and delighted.
“Oh, that’s kind of you” she said.
“Don’t mention it” replied Spider.
He eventually had sex with Doris and left the brothel.
At home, Acid called Spider and started to discuss his case with him again. He wanted to return to the gang earnestly.
“Spider, are you sure of what you’re saying – that you will discuss my case with Bullet as soon as you reach the hideout?” Acid asked.
“Be patient, I assure you that you will join us very soon” Spider assured.
“Guy, I’m running out of patience as a car runs out of petrol. I–I mean, I’m total penniless and I need some cash. Yes, I need some cash. How can a man be happy without money?” Acid lamented.
“Be patient, Acid. What else do you want me to tell you? I have heard you, be patient” Spider said.
Acid sighed and scratched his beards.
“Well, you can’t believe what happened today” Spider said suddenly.
“What happened?”
“You see, there’s this pretty girl I met at the brothel…” Acid hissed.
“So?” he asked, “Was that your first time of meeting pretty girls? I said that I want to return to the gang and you are here talking about pretty girls. Will pretty girls feed me?”
“Acid you don’t understand, you just don’t understand” “What don’t I understand?”
Spider drew nearer to Acid, cleared his throat and said:
“Look Acid, there’s a very big difference between that girl and the rest of the girls there. She’s very beautiful, tall, fair-complexioned, charming and…in fact, she is all you can think of.”
“Is that all?”
“No Acid, that’s not all. There’s one more thing…”
“What is that?”
“Acid, I’m afraid. Could you believe that I’m already in love with that girl?” “What! Already in love with a…”
“Yes, I’m already in love with a prostitute, but that’s not withstanding…love knows no bounds” “Spider, are you drunk?” What do you mean by ‘that’s not withstanding?’”
“I am not drunk. I’m still with my senses. Look, if it is possible, I will go ahead and marry that girl right away, I’m serious”
“Spider, you are drunk! You have lost your senses!”
“Acid, I am not drunk. I’m serious. I - I mean… I can’t just lose the girl. Look, she is …” “Anyway, when the time comes for that, we will see what can be done, but at the moment, I
seriously want to return to the gang” Acid interrupted.
“That’s great!” Spider shouted.
“That’s not great”
“Why?”
“If you’d help me to return to the gang, as you promised, that would be great” “Acid, you will soon join us, I promise”
Spider spent another week with Acid and left for the hideout. When he reached the hideout, he excitedly made straight for the hotel where Douglas was hiding. Douglas was watching a TV programme when he entered:
“Hi, Dog” Spider greeted.
“Ah, Spider” Douglas responded, “What brought you here?” “Guess what? Spider said excitedly. “Guess?”
“Yes, guess. Guess, guess!”
“Spider, I can see you’re excited. Come on; tell me, what’s the news?” “Dog, I asked you to guess. Just guess”
“Okay” Douglas said. “Em… the police”
“No, not at all”
“Emm…no bullets for an emergency operation?”
“No, you failed”
“Em…em… Acid has joined another gang?”
“No, you failed”
Douglas scratched his head.
“Has any of us been caught?” he asked.
“No. Guess, just guess!”
“Look Spider, I haven’t got time for guesses. Tell me what you what to tell me so that I may know what next to do” Douglas said.
“Alright” Spider said. He then cleared his throat and started to narrate his experience at the brothel to Douglas:
“Dog my dear, I have hit the jackpot…”
“Jackpot or honeypot?” Douglas asked.
“Now listen, just listen. I got my share from the last operation and left for Lagos. You know
that?”
“Yes. Is that the jackpot?”
“No, that’s not that. Just wait and listen”
“Okay”
“So, when I reached Lagos, I went to stay with Acid. He was very happy to see me. I was also glad to see him too. He offered me some drinks and we then started to discuss our past operations. He was eager to return to the gang and begged me to ask Bullet to revisit his case. I promised to help him to return to the gang. He thanked me and we started to discuss again. Midway, I asked Acid to take me to any spicy joint. You know… I - I… in fact, I asked him to take me to a brothel…”
“Wow!” Douglas exclaimed. He snapped his fingers, turned down the volume of the TV set and came closer to Spider to get the gist of the story.
“That’s the beginning of the story” Spider continued. “We got there and I picked a very beautiful girl. Acid also took a lady and went into a room, but I took mine to a bar for some drinks. I gulped my drinks hungrily but she sipped hers gently. In a while, we started to discuss. I bragged about this and that and fed her with mendacious and bombastic sweet nothings, which she took for granted”
“Oh, poor little girl!” Douglas pitied. “Why must you poor beautiful creatures always fall prey to men and their sweet tongues as bees do to honey? It’s but an unfortunate and almost unavoidable natural phenomenon. Anyway, what is good for the goose is good for the gander. But I wonder: who is to blame?”
Spider started impishly but Douglas sighed and shook his head. He did not know that the girl in question was Doris, his sister. Also, Spider did not know that Doris was Douglas’ sister.
“Well, to cut the story short…” Spider continued.
“No, don’t cut the story short. Tell me the whole story” Douglas interrupted, “We are not rushing for another operation”
“Okay. While we were discussing, I jokingly asked her to tell me something about her family background. To my surprise, she yielded…”
“She yielded? Without hesitation?” Douglas asked in disbelief.
“Yes, she yielded almost at once”
“What did she say?”
“Well, she said that she was born in a family of five – three boys and two girls. That her father died some years ago and that made her brother to drop out of school. She also said that she followed a woman to Lagos as a housemaid and that she later quarreled with the woman, left and started living with one of her friends. After some time, her friend’s sister introduced her to that kind of business”
Douglas was bewildered and puzzled.
“That’s a piquant story” he said. “Her name is…?”
“Doris” Spider reminded.
“Doris?” Douglas wondered.
“Yeah, her name is Doris. Dog you need to come and see this girl yourself. She is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen in my life. When she speaks, her voice rings like a bell. She doesn’t walk but wriggles flexibly like a worm, her skin is as smooth as an egg and as soft as a pillow…oh! When you enter her, it would be as if you are already in Heaven. Spider, you’re a lucky chap!”
“A lucky chap? By how?”
“Dog, I didn’t finish the story. Can you believe that I am already in love with the pretty girl, and so much interested in her to the extent that I would love to marry her?”
“What! You want to marry her? No, you can’t be serious”
“Douglas, I’m serious. Look, I’m already head over heels in love with the girl and I want to marry her, period”
“Spider, are you sure that you’re not joking with me?” “I am not joking”
“This is amazing and almost unusual. Anyway, please tell me more about her family background”
“Ah, I told you that she came from a family of five. Her brother dropped out of school because of their father’s death, she followed a woman to Lagos, left her house and went to live with her friend. Later, she found herself in that kind of business. What else do you want to hear?”
“Her brother dropped out of school?” Douglas asked after a while, puzzled.
“That was what she told me” Spider answered.
“And a woman took her to Lagos?”
“Yes”
“I see. Did she tell you the name of her brother that dropped out of school?” “No, she didn’t”
“Did she tell you the name of any of her siblings apart from her brother?” “No, she didn’t”
“I see. Did she tell you the name of the woman that took her to Lagos?” “No, she didn’t.
“That her brother that dropped out of school – was he her elder or younger brother?” “She told me that her elder brother dropped out of school and not her younger brother” “I see. Did she tell you the name of that ‘her elder brother’?” Douglas repeated.
“No, she didn’t” Haven’t you asked me that before?”
“It’s true but how long did she stay with the woman that took her to Lagos before she went to live with her friend?”
“I don’t know. Why all these questions, Dog?”
Douglas sighed and said:
“Nothing”
“Nothing?” Spider wondered.
“Yeah, nothing”
“Dog, tell me, is anything the matter? You seem to be thinking about something and your countenance has changed”
Douglas did not say anything. He was buried in thoughts.
“Could that be my sister, Doris, or was it just a mere coincidence? He wondered.
“Well, Dog, believe it or not. I have told you what I want to tell you and I’m off to other places I wish to visit before returning to the hideout” Spider concluded. He opened the door to leave but Douglas called him back:
“Spider, please one more question. When next will you go to Lagos?” “After the next operation” Spider replied, “Would you like to follow me?”
“Yes, I would like to follow you so that I can see the girl for myself” Douglas suggested.
“That will be great” Spider acquiesced. He opened the door again and left.
Douglas was disturbed. He was so buried in thoughts that he did not sleep that night. He kept on thinking about whether the girl in question could be his real sister or whether it was just a mere coincidence, or even whether Spider was pulling his legs. He was anxious to go and see the girl for himself. One week later, the gang had another successful operation. The next day, Spider and Douglas loaded themselves with money and left for Lagos.
