CHAPTER TWENTY - Nairobi Cocktail, The Sleaze

The lunch took over three hours, two hours more than Kamau had given it. It had turned into a reminiscing moment with him and Selina telling stories of their childhood escapades. The last time he had laughed that hard was the last time he had sat down with Selina many years ago. By the time he returned to the yard just before five PM, he was euphoric, tipsy and giggly. He did not expect Oti to still be around so when he left the car and headed straight to the makeshift toilet to empty his pressing bladder, he had assumed the man sitting on a car bonnet was one of the salesmen. Until he looked again. And his euphoria dipped with every other feeling he had.

It was not a salesman, it was Oti sitting on a bonnet of a car in between many other cars, feet on the fender, shaking one leg nervously and furiously, chewing his nails intermittently, totally lost in his thoughts.

 Kamau stopped near his friend, his pressing bladder forgotten for a while. “Oti? I didn’t know you chewed nails…”

Oti turned slowly to look at Kamau. At least he looked towards Kamau but he felt like he was looking through him. A few seconds of silent stare and Kamau poked him on the shoulder to wake him from what looked like a trance. It worked.

“How was your lunch?” Oti asked, stretched, rubbed his eyes and yawned, like one would do after waking up from a long nap.

“Lunch was good. What’s wrong? You look like shit…”

Oti shook his head and jumped off from the bonnet. He looked around him nervously, like to ensure there was nobody within earshot, before bending close to Kamau.

“Boss was here…” He whispered.

Kamau took a step back. “Huh? When?”

“Just after you left. I was surprised you two did not meet at the gate.”

“What did he want?”

Oti shook his head, still looking around him nervously. “To look at the accounts…”

Kamau loosened the already loose tie then put his hand in the pockets. “Nothing wrong with that. It’s his company and he can look at his books whenever he wants…”

“Yes, true. But he looked funny…”

“What do you mean, funny?”

Oti shook his head again. He was struggling with words. He was still trying to understand why he had found Boss’ visit weird and yet, like Kamau put it, it was Boss company and he could make impromptu visits whenever he pleased. “I don’t know how to describe it but …he was…for starters, he did not remember me?”

Kamau laughed. “That’s ridiculous. He knows you. Boss never forgets a face and he has met you at least five times…”

“Well, he forgot mine. He also seemed to think I work here.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Exactly what I thought! Anyway, they went to that other office and stayed for about an hour. Then they just walked out. I was outside the office and he did not even acknowledge my bye bye…”

“Oh. Who was he with?”

“His bodyguard.”

“You mean, bodyguards?”

“No. One…”

“Boss always has two bodyguards with him…”

Oti shrugged. “I can count and I counted one.”

“Why didn’t he tell me?” Kamau had asked himself more than he asked Oti. That question had bothered him all evening. Even more because he had called Boss to ask him if it was okay for Oti to spend the night at the house. If he could have Oti as one of his close confidants.

“If you trust him, I don’t see why not.” Boss had told him with the same friendly tone Kamau had gotten used to over the week. “But remember not to trust him, or anyone for that matter. Your most important mantra should be everyone can be corrupted and the minute you think you know someone, they prove you wrong.”

Kamau had wondered if Boss was trying to tell him something. Was it pure coincidence that Boss had come to the yard the same day he, Kamau, was there and walked in just when he, Kamau, left? He remembered seeing a big black car parked outside the yard. He had not paid much attention to it because it was similar to many others within the yard but after his conversation with Oti, he did think it was possible it could have been one of Boss’ cars.

Still, why had he not told him he would be dropping by? What was so hard about dropping it as a casual statement? Wasn’t he the same man who had been dishing out all his trade secrets over the week? Was it possible that he, Boss, thought Kamau could already have done something to mess with the books within those few hours? Was the distrust that bad?  

And what was that about not remembering Oti? It was easy to forget some people but Oti had a face that insisted on sticking in people’s minds. Kamau remembered his concern about partnering with Oti was that the people they robbed at night may remember his face at day time. His heavy set face, his piercing red eyes and bushy eyebrows and a constant growly look were not the type of features people forgot, especially people like Boss.

“Haya. Keep your eyes open. We cannot relax just because we scared off the inspector yesterday. Some people are like the proverbial cat with nine lives. He is injured but he will heal and as soon as he does, he will try to get us all. Better keep Watcher One happy.”    

Now, nine PM, Kamau and Oti were done with their dinner and were at the balcony that faced a high wall full of uninteresting nothingness of a Nairobi night. They were ten minutes into sharing a joint when Kamau suddenly asked “Do you have your gun?”

Oti chuckled, taking three quick puffs, holding them in for a few seconds then blowing them out as one long smoke that disappeared into the nothingness. He passed the joint to Kamau. “As useless at it is, I never leave it behind. It is like having a security alarm that does not work but still gives you some sort of comfort. Why are you asking?”

“Can you use a gun?”

“Of course I can. I know how to hit people’s heads with the muzzle…you have seen me do it many times.” Oti said with a chuckle, louder than the one before. Kamau emulated him as he took the weed and took a drag.

“You are foolish…”

“Also…” Oti chuckles were breaking into laughter. “Also, I have watched enough movies to know how it is done…just hold it like this…” he stretched his right hand,  index finger facing forward and thumb facing up.

They laughed long and hard at that. Laughter that was followed by a long episode of silence.

Kamau cleared his throat. “I have bullets. I want you to be part of my security…”

“Dude, I may end up shooting you instead of at the enemy, my aim would not discriminate…”

They laughed again. Long and hard.

“Then we have to make sure you get some shooting lessons. Tomorrow morning when you are not making stupid jokes, I will show you how to load bullets. We can pay for shooting lessons later.”

“Are you okay?”

Kamau shrugged. “I don’t know…I am just wondering why Boss did not mention coming over but then again, perhaps I am overestimating my importance to him. Or I am over-thinking. At least he is okay with you being close to me and that’s something because you are the one person I can completely rely on at this point.”

 “Thanks for the vote of confidence. You are the only friend I have, but you know that…” Oti said, sounding sad. “You really think he is okay with me being around you? I don’t think he trusts me that much…I don’t even think he knows me, judging by his earlier attitude.”

“Boss? When I spoke to him, he was okay having you here…that is a vote of confidence for you, at least he is giving you benefit of doubt. He has a lot on his mind so perhaps that was what the problem was …”

“I hope so, because that was weird.”

***

The following day.

Naliaka smelled before she saw. She woke up to the smell of warm toothpaste laced breath. Then she smelled Boss’ perfume. She fluttered her eyes and when they finally settled on open, Boss was bending just inches away. He pulled back a little and smiled, running his finger over her cheek. Without turning her head, she let her eyes roam the unfamiliar room that was neither her house, nor Queen’s or even Boss’. She looked at Boss in confusion.

“Hey beautiful…” He whispered, kissing her gently on the lips.

“Where am I?” She tried to sit up but gave up when the pain in her head immobilised her. “Ouch…’

“Shhhh…stay still. I will call the doctor…”

“The doctor? I am in hospital? Why? What time is it?”

“If you are asking in relation to how long you have been here, it is the following day…” He was still rubbing her cheek gently with his thumb.

“I slept here? Why?”

“Because you fell and hit your head bad. You have quite a gash on your head…perhaps you should consider growing some hair for cushioning if you are going to make a habit of hitting your head on hard things…” He smiled. Naliaka folded her face and continued staring blankly. “You will be fine though…if you can recognise me, then you are fine. You do recognise me, don’t you?”

She folded her brow. “Of course I do…why wouldn’t I?”

“Concussion apparently can play around with your memory…”

“Oh…” Then she remembered. She remembered the phone call and the crushed phone screen and the bang on her head and …and that’s it…oh, wait. There was more. She remembered the caller and…and…”Ohhhhh… Julia! I need to talk to Julia…did you say it is the following day?”

She was attempting to sit up. Boss was pressing her chest gently to stop her from sitting up. “Please…can we talk about Julia after the doctor checks you out?” He pressed the bell at the top of the bed. The nurse came in within seconds.

“Oh, good. You are up…let me inform the doctor.”

Half an hour later, Naliaka got a clean bill of health from the doctor but with a warning. “You need to take it easy. You may feel sleepy and that’s normal with concussion…just sleep if you need to.” The doctor told her as he scribbled something on the board. “Thankfully I don’t think we have to worry about memory loss…” His first questions to her were if she remembered her name and why she was there. “That’s a good sign. I will give you painkillers to take care of the headaches and probable nausea. If the symptoms do not improve over the week, you need to come back.”

Her head was still in pain when she let Boss help her get dressed, let him wipe her face. She was sweating and she wanted to throw up but worked on hiding it from Boss, afraid that if she told them she was not feeling well, they would make her stay longer in the hospital. She needed to see Julia right away. When they were ready, Boss led her not to the exit but next door to Queen’s room.

They found Queen sitting up in bed. Naliaka nearly gasped because when she was upright, she looked sicker and smaller and her eyes were hollow. The two women hugged as Naliaka cried, wondering if it was possible for a human being to lose a lot of weight overnight, wondering if her eyes and mind had refused to see the severity of Queen’s situation before.

When she calmed down, Naliaka sat on the bed and told them about the phone call.  

All through the narration, Queen remained expressionless. Boss stood against the wall with a blank stare. She could understand Boss’ expression, he had no personal relationship with the dead and he was used to dead people. What she did not understand was Queen’s attitude, even made worse when she said, “But why would you react so badly? Their death is good riddance to bad rubbish…” She said dismissively. Naliaka looked at Queen in confusion, burning to question her about her attitude, to ask if she did not care, even a little, that two of her friends and clients were dead.

“You are not upset?” She asked Queen.

Queen shook her head convincingly. “Nope. I already told you yesterday. I don’t feel much for either of the brothers. More so when they are dead. I feel bad for the kids…” If Naliaka could read minds, she would have seen tears flowing in Queen, alongside her blood. She was hurting but a mother’s instinct, only active in her when it involved Naliaka, got her acting the opposite of what she was feeling inside. She would have all the time to cry and mourn when Naliaka left in a few minutes.

“And Julia…”

Queen chuckled. “Ha! Julia will look at it as a blessing. Now she can enjoy her children without worrying about her husband. Probably end up with all the money. I am sure that idiot did not have a will…”

“I still feel terrible… I must have been the reason they died. I don’t even know how they died.”

“It doesn’t matter how they died but they are dead. Also, it doesn’t matter if you were responsible or not. Those two buffoons have finally done something good for the world by dying. Do not beat yourself about it. You go to Julia, call the son in her presence and find out exactly what happened, mh?” Queen squeezed Naliaka’s hand. Naliaka nodded, sniffling back tears. “Now, go on. You need to rest. So do I.” She turned to Boss who was still leaning on the wall. “Come on, you two lovebirds go home and relax. I will be fine.”

“Please be fine…”

Naliaka had assumed that Boss would drop her to Ndenderu but when they got to the hospital reception, he tagged at her. “I summoned Mambo for you.”

“Who is Mambo?”

“Your usual cab…”

“Oh…Why though? Are you going somewhere?”

He shook his head. He looked sad.

“So…why?”

“Because I still do not think it is safe for you to be seen with me.”

“How long is this going on? When can I see you?”

He shrugged. He should have relaxed because he believed the Inspector was taken care of for now, but he still had a niggling feeling that something was not quite right and until he pinned it down, he needed to keep away from Naliaka. “I don’t know but as long as I do not think it is safe, I will stay away from you…”

Naliaka’s eyes were misty. “I miss you…”

“I miss you too…” And right there, in front of sick people and medical personnel, Boss pulled Naliaka to him, kissed her on the mouth hard and long. She let him, drinking safety from his very mouth. “Come on now, you cab is outside…”

She started walking away but he tagged on her hand. “Good luck with Julia…and I love you.”

“I love you too. Please stay safe…”

***

Earlier on.

Last night the Inspector had almost peed his pants when the two burly men forced him to walk with them. If he could be honest, he would admit he had actually peed on himself a little, but he preferred to think he almost did. The men, one following so closely behind with a gun stuck to Inspector’s back had escorted him to another car at the far end of the parking lot. He still wondered how they had known he would end up there, or if they had followed him all day. Those two possibilities made him equally nervous and left him feeling vulnerable. He had always used the power of the crown to be invincible, or to convince himself he was. That there were people who did not respect the crown scared him.

He was saved from embarrassing himself by fully soiling his pants when the man he thought he recognised told him, “Relax, Inspector. We mean you no harm. In fact, we need your help…”

And for an hour, at the back of a car, he had listened in disbelief. What was being proposed to him would get rid of all his enemies within a day, it would make him a darling of his bosses and win their favour, and that would give him the power, and the money, he had been craving for all his life. What was more unbelievable was it came with close to zero risk from him. All he had to do was sit and watch and appear at the right time and read a statement to the press.

He had driven straight to his girlfriend’s house and spent all night watching television because he was unable to sleep.

Today morning.

The inspector had insisted on being at the epicentre of the action. He knew he was too fat and too slow to play any active role, not that he was required to. In fact, he was not supposed to be anywhere near here but he had been unable to keep to that side of the deal. His intention was to be one of the first people to see the first bodies. He smiled, anticipating the satisfaction that would give him. He might even take a few gory photos to remember this day with.

Seven AM, his vehicle was parked in Ngumo Estate outside a high gate with an equally high wall. He arrived before everyone. He saw them arrive. He saw his new best friend and waved but his new best friend ignored him. Inspector shrugged and sat back. He would wait for the gunshots to subside before leaving the car.

He watched, from the safety of his car, as the group of four knocked on the gate and gain access within five seconds. He fought the temptation to follow them.

***

Inside the house, Kamau and Oti were just done with breakfast and Kamau was demonstrating to Oti how to load a gun. Oti had just done it on his own when they heard the knock.

“What the…who could that be?” Kamau jumped from his seat, rushing to the window and drawing the curtain a little. He could clearly see two burly men who could have been Boss’ bodyguards. “Boss?” He asked, turning to look at Oti. Oti was standing up, holding the gun he just finished loading. "What could he want at this time? Why did he not call first?”

“Do you want me to open the door?”

Kamau paused. He had a bad, sinking feeling. “You do that as I get into some decent clothes…” He was still in the clothes he had slept in, a vest and a pair of shorts. So was Oti. Oti burped, tasting bile in his mouth. He had a bad feeling about this.

He waited for Kamau to disappear upstairs before opening the door, coming face to face with Boss.

“You…you live here too? You are everywhere…” Boss said, pushing Oti aside.

“Sir…you…” Oti was about to tell Boss that he was the one who gave permission for him to be there but Boss was already way inside and looking around.

“Where is Kamau?”

Oti pointed up the stairs. His throat was dry, his lips were stuck together. He wanted to shout at Kamau to jump over the balcony but his throat had suddenly lost ability to remove any sound.

He had just worked out what was happening and it made his weak.

The four men were half way upstairs when Oti decided to follow them. He had just reached the top of the stairs when he heard the first shot, then he heard another one that could have been from his own gun or another gun. Many years later, he would wonder why there were no human sounds. No screaming, no groaning. Just gunshots that rendered him deaf for a few hours. Then he heard another shot and he ran out, still wearing his shorts and vest and a pair of socks to protect his feet. At the door he bumped into two security guards who were coming in to check what the hullabaloo was about.   

“Get the hell out of here…run for your lives you idiots….” Oti screamed at them. The dogs that lived in the compound but locked in at day time were going crazy in the kennel. He went through the gate, ran back and threw his gun, ran out of the gate again and kept running. He stopped when he got to his own house, realised he did not have the keys. He found a rock big enough and used it to break the lock. It gave in with one hit and for a moment he wondered why nobody had ever tried to break into his house like he just did.

Oti had run for kilometres, wearing socks, a vest and a pair of shorts. He only became aware of his heaving chest and aching muscles when he was behind his door. He went on his knees and started weeping, but only for a minute. He did not have luxury of time and after that, he was on survival mode.

***

Inspector had heard the gunshots, all six of them. He had tried to leave the car only to realise his legs were too shaky. His cue to enter the compound came when he saw Oti run out of the gate, half naked, looking like a mad man. His first instinct was to shoot at the fleeing man, and he tried, but his gun was still on safety mode. By the time he cocked it, Oti was too far gone and there was a dog crossing the road. He did not want to shoot an innocent dog but truth be told, he did not trust his shot.

With more speed than he had moved with in years, he entered the compound, bumping into the two security men running out. The impact dropped him to the ground. He cursed but quickly got up and rushed to the house.

Head in first, three seconds of pause. “Hello…” He called. It was quiet. Whole body inside. “Is anyone here?”

He heard the sound coming from upstairs, a bang but unlike the ones he had heard earlier from the guns, it sounded like somebody banging the wall, repeatedly. With gun on the ready, he walked up the stairs, his weight stopping him from walking silently or walking fast. The run from the gate had already exhausted him too much and he was heaving. For the umpteenth time, he promised himself to lose some weight. He stopped outside a slightly open door and listened. The sound had stopped but he could hear loud human breathing. He pushed in the door but something was stopping it from opening wide. He put his head through the door and gasped. Or screamed.  “What the…” right by the door was a body. Then another one. And another one, and a last one. There was only one man still alive. He was breathing hard. Everything about his pause told Inspector that he was in shock. He didn’t even seem to notice Inspector’s presence.

***

Naliaka bid Mambo goodbye at the gate. She needed the one hundred metres of walk to collect her thoughts to face Julia. Njogu, the gate man said a cheerful good morning and she forced one back.

“Madam why do you have a bandage on your head?”

“I fell, but it’s nothing serious…” Smiling was giving her a headache but the last thing she wanted was to spend a moment explaining her injury to Njogu. Her legs were already shaky and she needed a seat.

It had rained the night before but by morning it had relented. The ground was wet and the weather was cold. Naliaka was shivering but she doubted the cold was responsible for her shivers.

Julia and Naliaka were at the front of the house and they spotted her from metres away. They stood up, their poses and looks full of anxiety. She forced another smile as she approached them, they did not return the smile but stood up with arms folded across their chests, watching her expectantly.

 “Are you okay? What happened? You did not come back and your phone was off. You had us worried sick…” It was Julia who spoke first, hugging Naliaka.

“I am sorry. My phone fell and broke… I got another one though…” Boss had presented her with a new phone that morning. She showed it to them, still in a box.

“But why did you not come back?” Malaika asked as she hugged her, then she saw the bandage at the back of her head. “What the hell? What happened to you?” She turned Naliaka round to study the bandage.

“I fell and hit my head. It’s going to be okay though…”

“It’s bleeding…” Julia gasped as she covered her mouth. “There is blood on the bandage. Why do you have a bandage on your head?”

“I said I fell. Look, can we please go in? I need to sit down, please…I need to shower, I need to eat and I need to arrange my brain.”

 Julia and Malaika exchanged looks then led Naliaka to the house, in silence.

“I have a lot to say and none of it is good news. Can we meet at Queen’s balcony in about half an hour, please?”

“Queen does not like the rest of us up there…”

“I want you up there. Queen is not coming back today…” or ever, she added in her mind.

“Okay. I will come up with your breakfast. You go have a shower.”

“Come with some wine glasses. I will get some wine from Queen’s room.”

Half an hour later, Naliaka had showered, wore a pair of tights and a tee-shirt and socks. What she really wanted to do was sleep but she forced herself to stay up because she needed to update her friends, and Julia deserved to know what was going on without further delay.

***

At the hospital, Boss gave Naliaka a five minute head start before he walked to his car, his bodyguards in tow.

“Let’s go home…” He instructed.

“Don’t leave…just…just stay around. Get something to eat while at it.” He told his bodyguards when they got to the house. Usually, they waited for Boss to enter the house, they would check if everything inside was okay and then would go to their houses next door.

Before today, Boss had never had reason to feel unsafe. Today though, he did. The feeling that had started eating on his sixth sense days ago seemed to reach a sort of a peak. The metallic taste was so strong, he was sure there was blood in his mouth. He spat on the sink to check for blood. Nothing. Yet, not only could he taste it, he could smell it as well. His tummy was queasy but when he sat on the toilet, not even a fart came out.

He had spent the night at the hospital, sitting by Naliaka’s side on a seat provided by the kind nurse. He didn’t have to sleep there because they had sedated Naliaka enough to knock her out for hours, but the hospital had given him a sense of security he had not felt in days in his own house. On the plastic seat covered by a hospital blanket, he had slept more than he had slept over the week.

Right now, he knew the sensible thing to do was to brush his teeth properly because that morning he had just sucked on toothpaste, then have a shower. He only brushed his teeth. Not even his shower felt safe and he kept thinking the instant shower head he had installed when the original one blew would have a short circuit and electrocute him. Last night he had eaten a bad sandwich at the hospital canteen and that was the last meal he had had. He still felt stuffed. He settled on a coffee later as he tried to work out what was bothering him.

And something was bothering him. It was at the tip of his brain. He could smell it because its smell was as intense as the smell of blood but whenever he was this close to pointing at it, it would disappear. He was frustrated, and scared. Scared for the first time since he became a crime boss.

If he couldn’t have a shower, he could have a change of clothes. He did and just as he zipped his trousers, one of his bodyguards knocked on the door.

“What is it?”

“Mike is at the door.”

“Mike? What does he want?” Mike was his lookalike. Mike never turned up without an appointment. Boss thought he may have missed Mike’s call so he quickly checked his phone. It was off. Out of battery. “Oh. My phone battery died. Still, what could bring him here so early? Is he inside?”

“No Boss. I wanted to ask you if it is okay to let him in.”

“Ah. Okay. Let him in. I will finish dressing up and join you.”

Five minutes later, Boss, fully dressed even in sneakers and a sweater, walked into the sitting room. He expected to find Mike and his bodyguards but he was alone.

“Where are you bodyguards?” He demanded, feeling alarmed.

“I left them. I had to do this alone…”

“What is it?”

“You need to leave the house. Now…”

“Why?”

“Because if you do not, they will kill you. I have information that they are on the way…”

“Information? From whom?” Boss asked suspiciously. That feeling again. Then he mentally slapped himself because it would be ridiculous to suspect Mike.

“Boss, can we talk about this on the way out? We do not have time…please…but I can tell you that they almost killed me, thinking I was you. I was lucky to escape.”

Boss studied Mike for a few seconds, so many questions running in his mind, questions he knew he should ask before doing what Mike was asking him to do, but the urgency on Mike’s voice and body language discouraged him. Boss looked at his bodyguards.

“We got you…” One of them said. “I will call downstairs for them to be on the ready. We got you…” The bodyguard already had his phone out and barking orders on the phone.

Boss nodded, feeling slightly reassured. He turned to Mike. “Where do you have in mind?”

“You have enough safe houses. Pick one…come on, we need to go…”

They all started towards the door. Boss stopped and looked back at the house, one last time, because he was sure this would be the last time he was seeing it. He had lived in this house for seven years. This house was home for a lot of his favourite clothes. A week or so ago before the bad feeling took over his life, it had been home for a lot of his fortune. He had moved the safe elsewhere. He nodded at it, like it was a living being, and followed Mike and one bodyguard out of the door. One bodyguard was behind him.

His only regret was not having time to have coffee.

***

Kirinyaga Road was a right mess.

People who witnessed the pandemonium that morning would narrate the story hundreds of times in their lives to hundreds of people and each of those times, nobody would believe them. Each of those times, somebody would accuse them of having watched too many action movies, of confusing fiction and real life.

They would tell how they witnessed a Mama Mboga transform into a Lupita Nyong’o when she played Nakia in Black Panther, how Mama Mboga threw off her leso and jacket and unleashed a gun from somewhere, nobody was sure whether it was from under her clothes or from the kiondo, how she had lay on her back and started shooting, like they did in the movies. How one of the bullets from her gun had landed on a man’s groin, splitting his trousers and body parts, how she had then somersaulted towards two men, knocked both out and carried one of them on her shoulders into a building.

The people would tell about how Mwenda Samuel, the resident mad man of Kirinyaga Road, had abandoned his sack, shed off the other sack he used as his jacket and revealed a clean white vest and arm muscles nobody ever suspected him to have. How, with a gun hanging from his right hand, he had ran across the road, stepped on a moving car’s bonnet, somersaulted and landed perfectly with both feet on the ground, rolled on the ground as he shouted at people to take cover by lying on the ground and when he had stood up, he shot two men, one on the leg and the other one through the chest. Eye witnesses would tell how someone had shot Mwenda Samuel on the shoulder, how the bullet had gone through him and hit a shop wall and how he had continued shooting with the same arm, bringing down two more men. How he had disappeared into the same building that Mama Mboga had disappeared into.

There would be others who would tell how the tall beautiful girl, the one who owned a hardware shop and fed Mwenda Samuel two meals a day, had run so fast, leaving formidable wind behind her, gun hanging on her right hand, cussing at people to make way, then she had started shooting as well. Some people would remember the cussing more than they would remember the action, they would tell how shocked and ashamed they had been at such a beautiful girl using such rude words.

All those people would be telling the truth. In fact, the events happened too fast for them to take in all the nitty-gritty details. This is where I come in. You see, I was there and I saw everything… or, should I let you imagine the chaos yourself? You have all been awesome in creating your own storylines along the way, I am sure it would be totally entertaining to read your imagination.

I have a deal for you though; I will write my memory of those events, then perhaps you could swing me how you imagine the events happened.

This is what happened…part of what happened. I need to search my memory for all the details.

Nine AM. Cecilia had been on her spot for exactly seven minutes and already trying to ignore the stink of danger that surrounded her. She was tense and the hairs at the back of her head were as erect as a porcupine’s spikes, probably as hard. On a typical day, Kirinyaga Road was a hustlers’ street and in her short stint there, she had grown familiar with the smell of concentrated sweat, even started smelling it on herself because somehow, the sun downtown was hotter than the sun uptown. Today’s sweat was not just sweat, it was laced with the fear chemical, adrenaline. 

Trying to ignore the tension on her shoulders, she started scanning the crowds around her and across the road. It took her a few minutes to pick what was wrong, where the adrenaline was coming from. To a casual observer, there was nothing off about the crowd, but Cecilia was anything but a casual observer. People on Kirinyaga Road walked fast. It did not matter if they were the traders or customers but there was always an urgency about people’s movements. Down here, time was money and not walking fast meant you did not value time, or money. The fast walkers were going about their business, what she wanted to know was who the slow walkers were, why they were there. Cecelia did not need her nose to smell cops, her foot was good enough and she did not need anyone to tell her the slow walkers were cops.

Before making a hasty decision, she observed them, walking up and down, pretending to be window shopping but making a classing mistake of looking at bare walls that had no windows, wearing dark glasses when the weather was grey. She caught the expressions on their faces and they were most telling because she was familiar with the expressions. She had seen them on people she had worked alongside, she was sure she had worn the same expression many times, just before making a big move.

They were on a mission. Her body jerked with the realisation that it was here, that thing they had all been waiting for, was here.  

The hair at the back of her head stood taller and harder. She felt a thin sweat run down her spine and her heart was about to beat out of her chest. She looked across the street and everywhere else her eyes could reach, hoping to spot Samuel. He was not there. She called Kerubo. The phone rang four times and Cecilia decided she did not have time to wait.

She turned around to look at the street boys. Today they were two, both eating mandazi and laughing at something one of them had said.

“Psst…” she called them. They did not hesitate. They had become borderline friends by virtue of familiarity, and that Cecilia kept giving them fruits. “I am about to tell you something that may shock you but please, I do not have time to answer questions…”

They opened their eyes wide in confusion then looked at each other.

“Do you promise not to act stupidly?” They nodded hesitantly, still looking confused. “There are strange men on the street…have you seen them?” The two early teenage boys looked around and shook their heads. “There are. Do you see the man standing by the next shop?”

“Huyo ni karao…” One of them said.

“Yes, he is a cop and he is not alone. They are many and up to no good. They are after Boss …” they both gasped and covered their mouths and took a couple of steps back at the mention of Boss. “Don’t worry, I work for him too.” She lied. It worked because she saw them relax. “You need to run to the person you report to, right now, and tell him that there is trouble on the streets. Tell him I have counted five of them so far, there may be more, and they are not up to any good. Do you understand me? Tell them to keep Boss inside…scoot!” The two boys disappeared.

Cecilia nearly screamed in joy when she turned and saw Samuel. He was his usual slow self and she guessed he had not picked the atmosphere, a realisation that disappointed her a little because he was supposed to be the best among the field people, then she remembered he was probably tired, that the streets were not a five star hotel.

She picked a random apple and a banana and crossed the street to where he was, offering the fruits to him, speaking under her breath. “Be ready. Shit about to hit the roof. Strange bad people on the road…” Samuel nodded and accept the fruits. He put his sack between his legs as he felt for his gun. It had been cocked since the threat to Boss was upgraded to orange. Now it was on red.

If Cecilia had walked to Samuel a few seconds later, she would have easily spotted the Mike as he entered the building.

Now that Cecilia had told him, Samuel spotted them easily. In fact, he picked seven, two more than Cecilia. His heart started beating dangerously. She shook his body, adjusted his mind-set and started observing. Only now did he accept how he had looked forward to this moment because after this, he could leave the streets legitimately, if he made it out alive.

***

Kerubo was at the backroom laughing at what she called temporary madness of Selina, when the phone rang. It was still in her handbag that she had left at the counter. Twenty minutes later she went to the counter to serve a customer. Five minutes later, when she was through with the customer, she checked her phone and found two missed calls from Cecelia. When she called back, Cecelia told her, “Get the hell down here and have your gun ready. You have five seconds.”

***

Next week.

So, what really, really happened? What happened in Ngumo? Who died? Who was the lone survivor in Ngumo? Who kidnapped Inspector (he wasn’t really kidnapped, just forced to have a talk)? Who did Cecelia shoot? Who did she carry on her shoulders? Who did Samuel shoot? Who did Oti shoot? Does Boss survive or did he die without experiencing orgasm?

Would you like to try and answer these questions?