CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE, Nairobi Cocktail, The Sleaze

                                                                                    

 Cecelia will never be able to pin-point what exactly made her make that first move that triggered a plethora of events that would see Kirinyaga Road turned into a live action movie scene. It could have been pure instinct, and that would suffice because for years, her instinct had been responsible for many right trigger timings. But it could also have been because from the corner of her eye, she did see two of the police-looking men tense, just for a second, before reaching for their guns and taking quick steps towards Boss’ entrance. From the other corner of her eye, she saw Boss and his bodyguards in the company of another man, a man who got Cecelia gasping in shock, step out. Whatever it was, she knew it was up to her to try and save Boss’ life.

Just as she made that decision to act, she saw the bodyguard in the lead pick a call, tense for that one second, look around before pushing Boss down to the ground and covering him. At that point, Cecilia was not sure if it was Boss that was pushed down, or the other man who looked like Boss, but she knew the message she had sent the street boys with had been delivered, a tad too late to avoid casualties and injuries.

But she did act, triggering a series of chaotic events that lasted for five minutes, five minutes that felt more like five hours for those who got caught up in the middle. She literally jumped up from her sitting position and by the time she was upright, her jacket was off and her gun was on the ready on her left hand. One of the shooters picked her; saw his eyes grow wide with realisation that he was exposed, saw him pointing a gun at her. She could swear she saw the bullet from his gun head towards her, but it missed her because she was already on the ground and shooting back at him. His bullet made a hole on the wall behind Cecilia before deflecting and hitting a random person on the shoulder. The hit person screamed, setting pace for everyone to do the same and run.

Cecilia secretly mourned for her vegetables, now squashed and sprawled all over the street. It was a pandemonium. People running in all directions, bumping into one another, sliding on her tomatoes. Falling over one another. Crawling over one another. Cecilia was screaming at people to stay down but her screams were swallowed by the screams.

Her first shot was a good start. It landed right bang in the middle of the man’s groin. She would never know if he survived or not. She saw two of the man’s partners  who were walking behind him hesitate in confusion, trying to locate the person who shot their colleague, seemingly deciding there were bigger fish to fry and started shooting towards Boss. The bullets were indiscriminate. The body of the bodyguard who had covered one Boss a moment earlier had slid off to the ground. He looked dead. The other Boss screamed and held his stomach as he went down as well, writhing in pain. The Boss who had been pushed down by the bodyguard was unmoving.

Cecilia rolled towards the entrance, towards possible death because the bullets were still pinging on everything in and around the two Bosses. A couple of seconds before she got there, the shooting stopped.

By the time she picked and carried on her adrenaline pumped shoulder the man she hoped was the real Boss, Samuel had shot at the original shooters, himself taking a shot on his shoulder for his trouble. He could see two more shooters but they were having the same trouble as he was, trouble of making clean shots with people were still running to and from every direction. He was counting on them not spotting him.

The stampede would claim more lives than the bullets, injure more people than the bullets. One of the dead would have a bullet right through his groin.

The centre of the storm cleared some, giving Samuel a couple of clean shots, shots he made the best out of by taking down two of the people shooting towards the entrance, the same entrance Cecilia was rolling towards.

The shooting stopped. He quickly scanned the crowd around him and when he did not pick a shooter, he rushed towards Boss’ building, into the building.

Just as he disappeared within, he heard one more shot, hesitated for a moment then ran up the stairs, taking three at a time. He may not have been to Boss’ hideout, but he knew the way.

The shot that Samuel heard had come from Kerubo’s gun. It had taken her a little more than four minutes to run to the centre of the storm. It would have taken her less than two minutes under  normal circumstances but everybody was everywhere on the streets, the vehicles were hooting nonstop and bumping into people and each other as they tried to drive from the chaos, the motorbikes were being ridden dangerously, there were people running to the opposite side of where she was running towards, the mkokoteni pushers had abandoned their carts on the road and she stepped over a couple in high speed.

Kirinyaga Road was just as she imagined Armageddon.

It was nearly over by the time she got there, heaving from the running and adrenaline. From where she stopped to take in the scene, she saw nothing for a few seconds, then she picked him because he was so conspicuous in the midst of running people and people on the ground writhing and screaming. She saw the overweight man peeping from behind a parked car, looking towards Boss’ building and pointing his gun towards it. Kerubo stopped and closed her eyes for a moment. She had been on the street long enough and was familiar with the type of people who surrounded Boss. The fat man could never have been one of them and in her books, if he was not for Boss, he was against Boss. She took her shot. A shot that dislodged the gun from the man when it hit his shoulder and got him screaming.

And then the street went quiet. For a moment, an eerie silence befell. The footsteps stopped. The screaming stopped. All movement stopped. The smell of gunpowder was overwhelming her. She coughed and pulled down her hood. She was the only one standing. Every shop door was shut. The apocalypse was, leaving her feeling like the human who missed it all. A reflection made her look up. She gasped. The shops and offices on the street level may have been quiet, but up on the buildings were heads hanging through windows, all of them with phone cameras focused below. She was part of the below.  She groaned, knowing that she would be starring in many of those videos and photos on social media. Somebody was probably doing Facebook Live. Instinctively, she pulled down her hood further, tucked in her gun and jogged back towards the shop, on the way stepping over injured people, some of them not moving, others groaning in pain and cowering in fear.

She found Selina and all the shop staff standing outside the shop, listening to someone who claiming to have been a witness.

Selina broke from the group when she saw her. “What the hell is going on there? We heard gunshots…”

“I am not sure…” Kerubo answered, entering the shop because the man recounting his story to her shop assistants was looking at her. “It was over by the time I got there…”

“Why did you go? That is so dangerous. I never thought you to be one of those Kenyans who run towards danger…” Selina had followed her to the shop.

Kerubo laughed. She was struggling to keep her heart rate stable. Her adrenaline was going down very fast and she was starting to worry about Samuel and Cecilia and Boss. “I…I just found myself going there…look, can you look after the shop for the rest of the day? I need to take care of something…”

“What something?” Cecilia was looking at her strangely. Kerubo was avoiding her eyes.

“I will tell you about it later…” She picked her bag and started walking out.

“Kerubo, you…”

“Please. I will call you later, I promise…” The man was still outside the shop, still giving his version of events to an unbelieving audience. He paused again when Kerubo emerged. She ignored him and quickly walked away in long and quick steps, only stopping when she got to her house.

Her first stop was the fridge to fetch a beer, then she removed her phone and with shaky hands dialled Cecilia’s number. It rang, which was a good sign, but Cecilia did not pick up. She dialled Samuel’s, it was off. She drank half the can of beer without pausing before dialling Onyango’s line.

“What the hell is happening?”

“Goodness knows. Were you not there?” She could hear him heaving, like he was walking fast, or even running.

“I got there when everything was over…nearly…”

“What do you mean, nearly?”

“I shot some fat dude whose movements I did not like…”

“Ah…ha. That would be the Inspector…”

“Oh ooooh….”

“Don’t worry. Not yet anyway. He is not one of the good guys…”

“Do you know anything? I cannot raise Cecilia or Samuel…”

“I can’t raise them either but from the initial information, I believe they got away. I am about to enter the cop station now. I will call you after I have more information.”

Kerubo was done with the first beer. She opened another one and turned on the television and as she expected, all the local television stations were on ‘Breaking News’. She took her position on the sofa, covered herself with the blanket and with bated breath started watching and checking social media. There were reporters everywhere interviewing eye witnesses. At the background she could see blurred images of police activity. There were tens of clips shared on social media. She saw herself on two of them, one of them captioned her as “Nikita spotted! Does anyone know the identity of Nikita?” None of the clips she appeared on were clear enough but anyone who knew her well would easily be able to identify her, especially her staff at the shop who had seen how she had dressed on that day. That particular clip was shared hundreds of times, and it had only been a little over an hour.

Her phone was ringing. It was Selina. She ignored the call. Joe was next. She ignored his call too. They both called her repeatedly, she ignored them all. She could see WhatsApp messages coming in. She ignored them all. She would only talk to Cecilia, Samuel or Onyango, for now.

***

Cecilia only carried Boss to the first staircase before her knees buckled. He was heavier than he looked, or she had lost half of her strength in five minutes.

“Let me carry him…” It was the bodyguard. When she had picked up Boss, the bodyguard had watched her from inside the building. His gun had been in his hands but he looked like he did not know what to do with it. Who could blame him? There were gunshots heading his way every two seconds.

He did  not know Cecilia but he had loudly sighed with relief when he saw the relatively small woman lift Boss up and enter the building. She looked familiar, but he would worry about that later. He got behind her to cover her. When she stopped at the top of the first flight of stairs, looking like she was about to drop Boss, he took over. “Cover my back…”

With ease that made Cecilia feel slightly inadequate, he ran up the stairs, a slump Boss on his shoulders. She followed, scaling the remaining staircases backwards.

  “Get the keys from my pockets…” Cecilia dug into his pockets with one hand, the other hand still holding the gun, eyes looking towards the stairs. It was silent, but that meant little. She was good at moving with zero sound and if she could, others would as well.

She had just retrieved the keys when a figure appeared at the end of the stairs. She pulled the trigger and cursed because her gun was empty. Then breathed in relief because it was Samuel.

“Samuel! I almost shot you…”

“Thank goodness for limited number of bullets…”

“You know him?” It was the bodyguard, looking both confused and relieved.

“Yes…can we talk from inside…”

It was a single key. Cecelia opened the door, let in both men and then locked the door immediately, taking time to breath in relief as she leaned on the door.

“He’s bleeding…” The bodyguard said in panic. Boss was lying on the sofa, the bodyguard and Samuel standing over him, checking him everywhere.

“He got a shot on the stomach…” Samuel declared as he untucked Boss. “It looks  bad…”

“Is…is he alive?” the bodyguard asked, taking a step back.

“He is…” Samuel said, checking his pulse. “Slow pulse rate though. We need to stop the bleeding first…”

“You are bleeding too…” Cecilia said in panic. She had just seen blood trickling down Samuels arm. His white vest was no longer white.

“It’s just a graze. I am lucky…I will tie it up in a bit.” He turned towards
Boss.

“Who are you people?” the bodyguard suddenly asked, standing up and looking at them menacingly.

“Sit down!” Samuel commanded as  he started checking Boss’ wound. “If we were bad people I wouldn’t be trying to save your boss’ life…For now, all you need to know is we are friends. Come on, bring some towels…we need to stop this bleeding or he will bleed to death in minutes…”

The bodyguard ran towards one of the rooms.

“Do you know what you are doing?” Cecilia asked, still leaning on the door.

Samuel shrugged. “I am not a doctor, but I was in the army and extreme first aid is something you learn…”

“Will he survive?” She asked, approaching.

Samuel shrugged. He was staring at the wound at the side of Boss’ stomach. It was pulsating better than the heart, regularly rising up and down, gushing some blood every time it gushed up. “I don’t know…the wound is bad, but if we can stop the bleeding we can buy time…”

“We will never be able to get out of here… someone may already be coming up here…” Cecilia said, looking around the house in search of escape roots. “This is a dungeon!” She declared in frustration. “You would think that someone like Boss would have an exit…”

The bodyguard was back, carrying five towels.

“I just need one, thank you.” Samuel covered the wound, pressing it down gently.

“Has it stopped bleeding?” Cecilia asked when Samuel lifted the towel to look. The bodyguard had taken a spot near the window, looking at them worriedly.  

“It’s certainly slowed…but we need to get help…”

Cecilia turned to the bodyguard. “How the hell do you guys not have an escape route? They will probably be kicking down this door any minute?”

“What do you mean? There is an escape route…”

“Where?” Samuel and Cecilia asked simultaneously.

“Up the roof…”

“Huh? Where do you go from the roof?”

“Down. With a ladder…”

“How…”

“Can we just go up the roof for starters? Anything to buys more time…” The bodyguard lifted Boss and headed towards the bedroom. He placed him on the bed that got red wet immediately, opened a wardrobe and pressed something that let in light from above.

“Wow….” Cecilia said, covering her mouth.

“I will be damned…there is a ladder to go up?” Samuel, for a minute seeming to forget about the dire situation, was peeping up at the ladder. “This…this is genius.”

“I will carry him up. When you climb up, press this button here…it will cover our tracks…you go up first.” He addressed Cecilia. “Then you can help me haul him up…”

As the two disappeared up, Samuel was left rummaging Boss’ wardrobe. He picked a random tee-shirt and a zipper jacket but before he wore them, he tore a shirt and tied his own wound. Lastly, he undid the bloody bed, used the bed sheets to wipe of blood from the floor, and dumped the bed sheets into a wash basked at the corner of the room. He entered the wardrobe, started walking up the ladder, pressed a button that covered the open hole behind him and hoped that by the time anyone else discovered the escape route, the bodyguard would have unleashed another genius.

***

No. He wouldn’t lose it. He couldn’t afford to lose his mind. He could not. Not before he was ready to and no way would he be ready before he sat in a bus on the way to anywhere but here. Anywhere but a hundred kilometres radius of where he was. Several times, his mind and body colluded against him, threatened to give in, give up. Every one of those times, he managed to pick himself up in the nick of time.  

It had been three hours since Oti came face to face with the face of death. It was surreal then, it was as surreal now. He knew he had run for several kilometres, half dressed, no shoes, over tarmac, out of Ngumo across the roads into Kibera but somehow, he could not remember that run. There were always a lot of people in Kibera, whatever time of the day, yet he had no memory of seeing anyone’s face.

He had arrived in his house, broken into his own house, allowed himself a few minutes to catch his breath and make a decision. It had been an easy decision; to get the hell out of his house, out of Kibera, out of Nairobi, and never, ever return. He had packed within four minutes. Not that he had a lot of stuff to pack. He just wanted his money, the one in a box under his bed and the one hidden up on the roof. He had taken a minute to get dressed.

In an A4 envelope, he stuffed as much money as he could.

Then he walked out of his house. Deliberately, he did not shut the door. He would never return to the house, that he was sure of. He was making an open invitation to anyone, seasoned thief or opportunistic thief, to raid his house. He had no use of anything in the house. With as much calm as he could summon, he walked to his parents’ house…

…And knocked. There was no answer but when he pushed the door, it gave in. He peered inside. The stove was on, and a half drank cup of tea. His mother was probably in the toilet. He placed the envelope on a stool and quickly disappeared out of the house, walking all the way to Uhuru Park.

It was now nearly six PM, and it was cold. He was shivering and wishing he had worn a jacket, one he had forgotten in his haste. He sat on a bench, his two bags trapped between his legs. And finally allowed himself to think about what he had seen, what he had done, that morning.

Kamau was dead. He whimpered at that thought and fought back tears. He gasped, like he had just found out. His best friend was dead. No way could he have survived the head gunshot. He had seen the blood, its source was Kamau’s head, spreading around the head, Kamau’s head turned to the side; eyes open in shock. Immobile.

Then he, Oti, had shot two of the three men. He probably shot all three of them because his recollection of the events was hazy. Or selective. If he had not felt the jerk of the gun as the bullets left the muzzle, he would never have believed he had shot those men. Him, the same person who did not know how to load a gun until Kamau demonstrated how, only a few moments earlier. He had used the same gun to shoot the men, then he had panicked and done the only thing that made sense at that point, running away.

“…it was drama. So many people were shot…” it was two men who interrupted Oti’s train of thoughts. They were sitting on the grass behind the bench Oti was occupying. He picked his bags, just in case he needed to leave in a hurry and like an antenna, he adjusted his ears to hear them better. “See…they are all over. I hear they were all wanted criminals…even the policemen.”

“You cannot trust anyone these days…”

“The police are the worst…”

It was after a minute of eavesdropping, a minute of Oti trying to work out if they were talking about the shooting he was involved in. He pulled down his hat and turned around.

“Excuse me…where were the shootings?”

The two men looked at him for a couple of shocked silence then burst out. “You must be the last person to know about it…Kirinyaga Road was like Hollywood…”

Oti was both relieved and newly stressed. Kirinyaga Road, he knew, was where Boss lived. What were the chances that it was Boss? He cursed that he did not have a phone, no way to get online. As he stood up to walk to the city to look for a cyber café, he silently, posthumously, thanked Kamau for showing him how the internet worked.

***

Two PM.

Kirinyaga Road was clear of chaos but a cautious excited mood had taken over. Those who had survived, those who had watched from the windows were competing to narrate what they had seen, to the press and anyone else who wanted to hear. Anyone but the police. Nobody was talking to the police.

The numbers were in; ten people had died. Seven of them from gunshots. One was Boss’ bodyguards. There was Mike, Boss’ lookalike. The other five were policemen.

Tens of people were injured. Broken legs and arms from the stamped. Shrapnel from broken windows. Gunshots.

Kerubo watched everything from the discomfort of her couch. By two PM, she had finished six canned beers and itching to open the bottle of vodka on the kitchen table. She didn’t think any of the dead or injured were Samuel or Cecilia, neither did Onyango, but that did not lessen her worries because they still had not returned her calls, yet Cecilia’s phone was still ringing off the hook.

Boss was dead. She had seen his photos circulating on social media, along with those others of dead people. She never could understand how people felt alright sharing photos of dead people but just this once, she was happy they had been shared. The photos had found her in the discomfort of her couch. That she was alone had allowed her to mourn loudly and shamelessly. His death had left her feeling empty. Hopeless. Widowed even. Seeing his body lying awkwardly on the ground had made her cry, wail.  

His death, besides feeling like it was the death of a loved one, had brought reality home that it really was the end of an era. She had Samuel no longer had to be on Kirinyaga Road. They could not. It would take decades for their faces to be wiped off the memories of Kirinyaga Road dwellers.

She had scrolled photos that had her images countless times and although none of them had a clear shot of her, she was too tall for the people familiar with her not to know it was her. The hashtag for Nikita was still trending, it had been trending since the shootings. There was another hashtag trending, one about Samuel the mad man.

Mwenda Samuel had inspired people to tell stories of undercover agents they knew. There were many stories of mad men who turned out to be intelligence officers. Hawkers. Newspaper vendors. Mama mboga. Shoe shiners. Kerubo imagined all the shoe shiners and vendors receiving very strange looks from people for a while.

Somehow, mama mboga, aka Cecilia, had escaped scrutiny.

Over the coming days, there would be a report of Kerubo and Samuel. People would call for a script about such a partnership. How she used to feed him on a daily basis. How people thought she just had a kind heart ‘while she was actually collecting intelligence’. The feature would have interviews with one of her shop assistants, shop owners on Kirinyaga Road who would recount how they had been against her feeding Mwenda Samuel and how she had protested. The feature would feature the mechanics on the streets, among others. Kerubo would be happy that Selina was nowhere on the interviews.

She was about to go to the kitchen to open the bottle of vodka when they interrupted the Kirinyaga Road streaming. The police was giving a statement.

“Fellow Kenyans. This morning, something happened on Kirinyaga Road. By now, most of you will have an idea of what happened. In the incident, several police officers and gangsters were gunned down. It is rather unfortunate that innocent civilians were caught up in the melee. We have launched an investigations and a full report shall be published in the next few days. Two gangsters, one of them a most wanted criminal, were shot down. That would be something to celebrate if only the gunned down officers were not rogue. It is rather unfortunate that within the force, as most of us are determined to uphold the law and protect citizens and property, there are those among us are here to use the crown to enrich themselves. The gunned down officers have also been in our radar and were under investigations. However, their leader with the rank of an Inspector was only injured on the arm, not dead. He is collaborating and helping the authorities with investigations.  Fellow Kenyans, it is still too early to give an exhaustive report of what happened on Kirinyaga Road but within the coming days, we shall be giving a fuller report. Thank you, and stay safe.”

Kerubo walked to the kitchen and opened the bottle of vodka.

***

There was no blood flowing from Boss’ wound, but that did not make Samuel feel better. There was a possibility that Boss’ veins were like dry wells that could run no more. Besides, Boss was cold as metal and his pulse was very slugging. The bodyguard had been back to the house a couple of times to get more blankets to keep Boss warm. “At least the pulse is not getting lower. We still need to get him help…somehow…” Cecilia was walking to and fro nervously. The bodyguard was stuck on Boss’ side and crying shamelessly, no longer wiping his own tears, letting them run down his nose and drip to either the floor or his clothes. Samuel was the one who finally walked to the edge of the building and peered down, head first, inch by inch. He returned after a minute.

“What do you see?” Cecilia asked.

“Nothing much. Definitely less people but nobody seems to be running from anything anymore…” It had been an hour since the shootings happened.

“Do you think it is safe to leave through the front door?”

“Definitely not. I bet there are several pairs of eyes keeping watch…” Samuel said, turning to the bodyguard. “Did you say you can use a ladder to get down?” The bodyguard nodded. “Where is the ladder?”

“The parking boys usually have it…”

If Samuel had not already connected the dots about the parking boys being part and parcel of Boss’ operation, he would have been confused. But he understood right away. “How do we get to them?”

The bodyguard looked thoughtful before suddenly appearing to snap himself out of the gloom they were all beginning to get used to. “We call them…I can call them.” He said excitedly, standing up to retrieve his phone. “Oh, but how do we get him without people noticing…”

“Let’s call Onyango…” Cecilia said. “Onyango will know what to do…” It was when she retrieved her phone from her jeans pocket that she saw all the missed calls from both Onyango and Kerubo. “Shit! I forgot the most basic thing…”

“What?”

“To check it. I have a million missed calls from Kerubo and Onyango…they must be worried sick!”

“Don’t beat yourself too hard. We have been busy…call Onyango first.”

Cecilia did.

“Hey…sorry, Samuel and I got caught up in something…yes, he is here with me and he is alright. We have Boss too…yes, of course it is him. No, he is not dead, that is a completely different person, long story. We have one of his bodyguards too and he confirms we have the right Boss…yes, yes…listen, I promise to spend a whole day updating you on everything that has happened today but for now, we need your urgent help, or Boss will be really dead for sure…”

***

When Cecilia finished explaining to Samuel what Onyango had suggested, she took a deep breath before turning to the bodyguard. “You are sure we have the right person, right?”

“Of course I am. I was with him all night and all morning. I know what he looks like. I know what he was wearing. I have spent the last ten years with him, seeing him everyday. Of course I know it is him…” He looked so hurt, Samuel coughed to submit a laugh.

“Who was the other guy?”

“Mike…his …” He looked at both of them hesitantly.

“His double. I know.” Samuel finished for him.

“Well, he is dead…”

“Good. Because he sold out Boss…”

“And you know that how?...”

“I just do. I …I have never trusted him and when he came in alone this morning, I had a really bad feeling.” He was clenching his fist. Cecilia took a step back. “How long is your man going to take? I do not like how Boss looks like…he looks…he looks dead!”

Samuel took Boss’ pulse again. “Good news – he is barely alive and that is good news because it is better than dead…”

The bodyguard stormed away to the end of the building."

“You do know you are not very funny…” Cecilia said accusingly. “On a serious note, how is he?” She was folding her hands across her chest, looking down at Boss who looked dead to her.

Samuel shook his head. “Dude is on hell’s door…nothing I can do about it. I don’t think the bullet got any vital organs, otherwise he would already be dead. It’s the loss of blood, and the shock I guess.”

“Did the bullet go through?”

“Nope. He is cyborg…”

“I told you, you are not funny!” Cecilia said, but she was giggling.

“So why are you laughing?” He started giggling too, turning away so the bodyguard would not see him. “Come on, call Kerubo.”

Cecilia did.

“The hell!” Samuel clearly heard Kerubo screaming on Cecilia’s phone. Cecilia held it away from her ear. “Where the hell have you been?”

“Gosh, stop screaming…we were busy.”

“You and who?”

“Samuel…”

There was a short silence on the other end. Cecilia heard a gasp and a sigh. “He is with you? You two are okay?”

“More or less…we will survive…”

“Boss is dead. It is all over the news…”

“No he is not. Just half dead. He is here with us.”

“Who died then?.. oh, wait. It’s his double…”

“Everyone but me knew about him! I am so hurt…oh, can I call you back? There is an incoming call…” As she waited for Kerubo to disconnect, Cecilia turned to Samuel and whispered. “She loves you…”

Samuel smiled and stood straighter.

***

If there had not been too much excitement on Kirinyaga Road earlier, someone may have noticed that it was odd how four men, all wearing reflective workers’ overalls and hard construction hats and gone up a building, using a ladder that was being supported by excited street boys. That the same men had stayed up there for twenty odd minutes and when they came down, they were not four, but seven of them, and they were carrying something rather heavy in a huge bag.

People saw them, some even stopped to look, but there is only so much drama humans can handle in a day – people saw them and duly looked away, unwilling to be witnesses in something sinister. It was safer to think that they were all repair men who probably needed to take away equipment for repair. It did not matter that the equipment looked rather wobbly.

Cecilia, Samuel, the bodyguard, a slump Boss and four other men walked to three waiting cars.

“I hate it when things are easy…” Samuel remarked. He was sitting at the back with Cecilia. Boss and the bodyguard were in a different vehicle, the one that had a doctor.  

Cecilia scoffed. “You call that easy? You are mad. I have been doing this for a decent long time and what happened this morning made me feel like I am ready to retire…how is your arm?”

Samuel shrugged and run a hand over the bandage he just got. “Too much ado about nothing. Just a graze…”

“Alright Mr Tough Guy…do you know where we are going?” They were driving out of the city through Globe Roundabout.

“I hope we are driving to Timbuktu…I kinda need a holiday.”

“And your idea of a holiday is Timbuktu?”

“Isn’t it a holiday destination? Anyway, what do you think we should do about Kerubo?...oh, look, we are outside her gate. Driver, why are we here?”

“I am supposed to pick someone from here…”

“Oh, how lovely. The more the merrier…oh, there she is…”

Kerubo, wearing a different set of clothes, was waiting outside the flats, hands folded, hood pulled down her face. She saw the vehicle and quickly walked towards it.

“Oh lord!” Kerubo gasped then started crying. “I am so relieved to see you two...”

“You speak for the three of us…this is going to be a big party, wherever we are going…” They pulled out, heading farther into Thika Road…

***

…To a safe house.

There were three vehicles in the compound. One of them was an ambulance. Samuel could see Onyango’s car. The one that had ferried Boss was also there.

Onyango, the bodyguard and three other people were gathered outside the ambulance, talking in low tones. They all turned when the last vehicle pulled in.

 Samuel led the others out of the car, joining the group. “What’s going on?”

Onyango pointed at the ambulance with his mouth. “Doctor is operating on him…”

“In an ambulance?” Samuel asked incredulously.

“You have a better idea? A place they will not ask questions about gunshot wounds?”

“Oh…makes sense…”

“Who is there?” Kerubo asked. She had stayed behind everyone, knowing who was in the ambulance but too afraid to confirm.

“Boss…he got shot in the stomach…”

“Is…is he going to be okay”

“Join the queue to find out…”

“I have a better idea…” Cecilia cut in. “Let’s go inside and sit down…those who pray can pray. As for me, I am going to get drunk…all safe houses have alcohol…are you coming?”

Kerubo and Samuel nodded and followed her.

***

Five PM.

Oti had twice attempted to board matatus that go to Kisumu. Twice too he had changed his mind because he knew if he left before doing that one thing that was bothering him, he would not be able to rest. He believed in ghosts, his mother always invoked the spirits on them when they were younger to discourage them from mischief like lying and stealing. Not that it had worked on him, but he was still afraid of ghosts.

The thing stopping him from boarding the bus out of town was his fear of being haunted by Kamau. He had spent hours at the cyber café, checking each and every information and misinformation about Kirinyaga Road shootings. He had checked about other shootings in the capital and its surroundings, it all came out nil. Was it possible that after all those hours nobody had discovered the bodies in Ngumo?

He had also learned that Boss was dead. What Oti was wondering was who had killed Boss…Boss had obviously killed Kamau, he had seen it with his own eyes. Whoever had killed Boss must have been avenging Kamau. But why was nobody talking about Ngumo shootings? He was tempted to call the emergency 999 but he was afraid of being traced, of being asked how he knew about the dead bodies.

Walked back to Ngumo because he could not imagine Kamau’s body lying there for days, undiscovered, rotting, being fed on my maggots and flies…

Gate was still open. The dogs were still barking, less viciously. They had probably barked themselves out of energy. As he put his foot inside and looked around, he hope that this would not be the most stupid idea he had ever had, and he had had many of those. The compound was deserted. One step. Two steps. Stop, look around, and repeat.

The front door was open. Head in. Listen. Look around, and that was when he realised most of the furniture was gone. So were the electronics. He did not need an investigation to know that the security guards had returned and decided to secure their future first.

This, he hoped, would be like the most stupid

He made it upstairs. The smell of death was choking him and he knew the bodies were still there, even before he saw them. The thieves had not come up there, but that only made Oti work faster. He did not want to risk them finding him here. He stepped over Kamau and fought down a wail. Kamau’s phone was still on the dressing table. It was charged at a hundred percent because it had been charging since morning.

There were thirty three missed calls, all from Selina. Nobody else had tried to call Kamau and Oti found that strange. The only reason would be because everybody else had been wiped out. He stepped over Kamau’s body, paused and apologised one last time. On his way out, Oti picked his own phone that had also been charging all day in the bedroom he had spent the night in.

He went to the kitchen and tried not to be surprised when he found the refrigerator and the microwave missing. But he found what he was looking for. The night before, him and Kamau had eaten chicken. Both had been too lazy and high to clean up. The plan had been to clean up after breakfast…

Chicken bones and other leftovers. He put them on a plate and filled a bowl with water, carrying both to the kennels. He placed by the door in front of the kennel, closed his eyes and opened the door. Oti sighed when the two German Shepherds ignored him and went for the food. His work was done. He left the gate open and wished anybody who would try to walk in good luck.

***

As the fields of Kirinyaga Road were figuratively burning, Naliaka pretty much remained ignorant about it all. In the morning, Julia and Malaika had joined her at the balcony, carrying breakfast for the three of them. For ten minutes, they had all silently munched on their food. Naliaka searching for the right words to say everything that needed to be said. Julia and Malaika too afraid to ask for bad news. It had to be bad news.

 “Argh… just get it over with already!” Malaika finally snapped as she crashed her second cigarette in one of the flower pots.

“I agree. Whatever it is needs to be said. My blood pressure is stretched out…come on, Naliaka.”

Naliaka studied both girls for a while then cleared her throat. Her hands were busy too, patting her bandage, scratching her nose and rubbing them together. “Queen is dying…” She finally said, using the softest tone she could summon.

“What was that?”

“Queen is dying. She has cancer…” She repeated more boldly, eyes averted from her subjects. She expected them to cry, scream…react somehow, so when ten seconds later there was no sound or movement from either, she looked at them. They were both staring at her, wide eyed disbelief, mouths open. “It’s true. She is at the hospital now… I don’t think she is coming back…”

“What does that even mean? Where is she going?” It would be the first time Naliaka would hear Malaika’s voice squeak. She squeaked so much that Naliaka had to look around to make sure there was nobody else around.

“You want to say she is dying?” Julia’s voice was more controlled, but she still looked shell-shocked. Naliaka nodded. “There is more…she is closing down the house…”

“Oh…fu…what? I knew it! I knew something was off…what the hell are we going to do?” Malaika’s deep voice was back. She paced up and down, unlit cigarette in her hand. Julia stayed in her spot, studying Naliaka, like she was waiting for Naliaka to say it was a prank.

“She is giving the house to me…she is giving me everything!”

“Huh?”

“Yes. I can do whatever I want to do with it…”

There was silence. Malaika finally stopped pacing and stood next to Naliaka. Julia finally shifted on her seat.

“What do you want to do?” It was Julia who asked.

“I don’t want the men anymore, but I will not kick out anyone.”

“How do we earn a living?” Malaika started pacing again.

“We shall talk about that later.” She took Julia’s hands and squeezed them. “There is something else…Kaggai is dead…” Julia pulled her hands from Naliaka’s grip so fast that she, Naliaka, nearly fell off.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

That morning, in the taxi, she had called Jamie back to explain why she had gone off line and why Julia had not got in touch. Jamie, sounding calmer than Naliaka would have expected, had explained how the two men had died within minutes of each other.

 “He was shot. At home…”

“By who?”

“By your husband…”

“W…wait…wait…you are telling me my husband killed his brother?” Naliaka nodded. For a moment, Julia looked like one about to faint, or scream, or wail but what she ended up doing was laughing. A few seconds later Malaika joined her. Naliaka would have joined too, but her headache was denying her luxuries like laughing.

“It’s not funny…”

“Oh come on!” Malaika said between laughs. “You have to admit that it is funny…that oaf is no more. There is justice in the world, after all…”

“There is no justice if my husband is still alive…”

“He is not!”

“What?”

“He died. Of a heart attack…”

“Oh joy! Long live poetic justice…” Julia said in between giggles.

For the next five minutes, Naliaka watched her two friends laugh. Stop. Look at each other. Laugh again. Eventually, her headache was too much and she stood up. “I am going to bed. My head is killing me…”

“Wait…you never did tell us how you got injured…”

“When your son called me with the news, I was so shocked. I fainted and hit my head on a metal rod…”

Julia and Malaika looked at each other and started laughing again. Naliaka shook her head and walked to be, intending to sleep for not less than twenty four hours.

She almost did.

***

Somewhere on Thika Road. At the safe house.

The surgeon and a nurse had been in the makeshift theatre for a couple of hours, still stitching up Boss. According to Onyango, the doctor had refused to work on Boss unless they signed a document that would abdicate him from all blame in case the patient died. “This is a case for a well-equipped theatre…” He had argued. 

Onyango had assumed his full towering figure, stood in front of the much smaller surgeon, hands akimbo, and gave a speech. “What we are going to assume is you are in the bush, say somewhere near Lokichogio, and people were caught up in a shootout, and you have to operate on them. You are going to appreciate that you have an ambulance that is better equipped than the bush in Lokichogio – unless of course, you do not have much faith in your skills as a surgeon…” That had worked and the doctor and his nurse had scrubbed up.

As the medics worked, the other ten or so people sat inside the house, watching television that was still intermittently streaming Kirinyaga Road, checking social media, trying to piece together the events of the day. There was one black leather sofa that could not hold more than Onyango, Samuel and Judas so everybody else was sprawled on the carpet, holding on to a beer.

“So what do you think really happened?” Samuel asked Judas. By this time, everybody knew who everybody else was. They had even bantered with one another about their roles for a few minutes.

“It is no longer a matter of what anyone things, it is now a what happened. Mike is what happened. Mike must have been upset for not being picked to take over from Boss…”

“…So he went to the very person who wanted to topple Boss, the Inspector. What a scumbag…”

“…I don’t think so.” Onyango said, playing devil’s advocate. “Imagine being with someone for so long, playing second fiddle, knowing all the secrets of that person, living your life to take a bullet for that person, and then you are bypassed for a promotion? I say Boss is the scumbag…”

“But if he did not pick him, he must have had his good reasons. Surely you do not pick someone just because they have been with you for long. Perhaps he did not think he was up for the task…”

“He was not. He was weak. He should have just been happy playing Boss and getting paid a lot of money for it…”

“What did he do when he was not playing Boss?”

“He used to be a lawyer, not anymore…” the bodyguard answered. “They met many years ago. He used to work for Boss’ lawyer. Everybody kept commenting how alike they looked. After the first murder attempt on Boss, he approached Mike to ask him to be his double. Mike didn’t even think twice…he had a nose job though. He had a very ugly nose…”

Everyone laughed. Even the bodyguard who had been all tense laughed.

“Who was going to take over?” Cecilia asked.

“Kamau.” Judas answered. Kerubo choked on her drink. Samuel cleared his throat. “He is an extremely brilliant guy. I met him and I must admit he is more user friendly than Boss…”

“Where has he been in all this?”  Samuel asked. Everybody shrugged. “I think we need to know where he is…” he turned to the bodyguard. “Do you have his phone number?”

The bodyguard nodded and dialled Kamau’s number. It rang but there was no answer.

“Do you know where he lives?” Onyango asked. The bodyguard did. Onyango turned to Judas. “You should send someone to check out the house…”

“I agree.”

Kerubo poked Samuel, signalling him to follow her outside. When they were safe into the compound she whispered, “I should check up on Selina. I have not been picking up her calls or responding to her WhatsApp messages…do you think Kamau is…”

“Dead? I don’t know…but if I were Mike, I would have started with Kamau…”

“Oh…gosh! The two of them had lunch yesterday. She was still euphoric this morning…this would break her.”

“Call her.”

Selina’s call rung just once before she picked up. “What the hell is wrong with you? Why have you been ignoring our calls and messages?”

“You and who?”

“Joe of course. We have been looking for you all day…where are you?”

“I am fine. Listen, a quick question. Have you spoken to your brother?”

Silence from the other side. “Selina? This is important. Have you spoken to Kamau today?”

“Why?” Kerubo could hear the shakes in Selina’s voice.

“Have you?”

“Who are you?”

Kerubo sighed. “I am Kerubo, your boss, but I am more than that. I know you have questions and I promise I will answer them at the right time. One thing you should know, I am with the good guys…” she punched Samuel when he chuckled. “Please, have you spoken to Kamau?”

“No. I called him so many times. His phone is ringing but he is  not answering…”

“Okay…is Joe with you right now?”

“Yes…”

“Give him the phone…Joe? Hi…please, no questions right now. I will tell all at the right time. There is a possibility that Selina’s brother was killed today. Please, stay with her, please…thank you…”

“…so, you with the good guys, ey?”

Kerubo grunted, pushing Samuel away. “You stink by the way. I think you should have a shower…” As Kerubo walked by the ambulance, she had her fingers crossed. They would remain crossed for a few hours.

***

Selina and Joe were in Joe’s hotel room. For ten minutes since Kerubo had called, Selina had been inconsolable. She did not want to be held, hugged. She kept hugging herself, rubbing her arms. Pacing up and down the room, throwing herself on the bed. She vomited a couple of times. She had hit her head repeatedly against the wall. They were gentle hits but they worried Joe all the same. He stood leaning against the wall, watching Selina helplessly repeat ‘I know he is dead. I know he is dead…’

Then her phone rang. It was Kamau’s number. She squeaked and threw it on the bed. “Pick it…”

Joe picked the call. “Hello…”

“Hello…erm…hi. Is…who is this?”

“This is Joe. Is that Kamau?”

“Erm…no. My name is Oti…I am looking for Selina.”

“Why?”

“Erm…well. It is Kamau…he…he was shot this morning. Thugs broke into his house and shot him.”

“Oh…okay…thank you.” Joe turned to Selina who was standing by the toilet door. “I am sorry…”

She ran to the toilet to throw up again.

***

Oti breathed in some sort of relief but the bile in his mouth was tasting more bitter with every minute. Selina knew her brother was gone – she would definitely help with identification. Oti had had a couple of nightmares of him dying and his body not being identified, then he would have to be buried in some shallow grave where the dogs could get him easily.

He walked to the city, feeling lighter yet heavy hearted, feeling relived but newly burdened. He was about to throw Kamau’s phone in the nearest bin when it rang. Bodyguard One was calling. He only hesitated for a second before picking it.

“Kamau?”

“No. Kamau is dead. It is Oti…”

“Oh…what happened?”

“Why are you asking me? Your Boss killed him.”

“Where is Kamau now?”

“Ngumo…” When Oti dumped the phone in the dustbin, he had not disconnected it.

He walked on. Towards the bus that would take him to Kisumu. His parents were originally from Kisumu. He had never been to Kisumu. There was never enough money to go visit. He had never had the desire to go to Kisumu, until now.

He would create a new life for himself there, a life that did not involve crime. He was done with that. He had enough money to start a legitimate business. He might even think of getting married. Oti left Nairobi, never to be heard of or from again.

***

Half an hour later, a call came through Judas’ phone. He listened then disconnected without talking.

“Yep. Kamau is dead. They found his body, and those of three others. Apparently the dogs almost tore them into pieces…”

“Don’t tell me they shot them…the dogs I mean!” Cecilia asked in horror.

Judas looked at her with amusement and shrugged. “I guess if you can shoot a human you can shoot a dog as well. I am not saying they shot the dogs anyway…”

Cecilia clicked her tongue.

“Anyway, they believe the other dead are the police officers who were working with the inspector…”

Just then, the front door opened and the doctor, still wearing his scrubs and looking worse for wear, walked in. They all stood up.

“He will live. I chose not to remove the bullet. That would need a proper theatre but hopefully it will not bring him problems for now.” They all breathed in relief. “Of course I would rest easy if he were in a hospital…”

“We all know that is not going to happen…” Judas cut it. “Everyone out there thinks Boss is dead. That is the only narrative that will kill this whole story and we can all move to different things.”

“He will need to stay in the ambulance for at least twenty four hours…”

“It’s your ambulance, I am sure you can make that possible…”

The doctor owned a private hospital.

“I guess…”

“You will be compensated for it…especially if Boss comes out with his life.”

“Right. In the meantime, my nurse will stay with him overnight. Another one will come to replace her in the morning…”

“Thank you doctor.”

“I will get out of these clothes and leave…” He disappeared into the bedrooms.

“Well, that’s a relief. As for the rest of you, you only have twenty four hours to be in this house…”

“What do you mean?”

“This is government property. If they know we are housing you and a supposedly dead criminal, my boss and I may become roomies with the inspector. Not a nice prospect. My boss gave you a maxim of two days…”

“Where are we supposed to take him? He is your problem, remember?’ Onyango demanded. “You employed us to look after him. You cannot dump him on us…”

“Watch us.”

“You are kidding…”

“Nope. After tomorrow, we have never met you. We do not know you…we are only here because everyone out there is too excited trying to work out what just happened. Boss no longer exists…”

“Hilarious…” Samuel declared and laughed. Kerubo and the bodyguard were looking at Judas incredulously. Onyango was growling at him.

“Oh, come on Onyango. You are a very resourceful man. If I didn’t have my job to worry about, I would hide him in my house knowing I would be well compensated when he recovers…”

“So it’s all about money?”

“When is it ever about anything else?” He sneered. “By the way, somebody in this house stinks real bad…”

“Okay, okay! I am going to take a shower…” Samuel said and walked away.

***

Kaggai was dead. A bizarre death, one she was still trying to not feel responsible. Whichever way she looked at it, she ended up taking responsibility. First, she had wanted him dead for years, wished him a painful death. He died, but it had not been painful.

If she had not told on Kaggai to his brother, he would still be alive but then again, if she had not, he would STILL be alive, and Julia would not be re-united with her children. Three days ago after she had left Malaika and Julia at Queen’s balcony and went to sleep, she had slept for fifteen hours. She had woken up to a quiet house, everyone had gone to sleep. Her headache was less painful but the hunger pangs were painful. She warmed some food in the microwave, eaten in the dark because she did not want to turn on the lights in the dining room, swallowed her medication and gone back to sleep.

She had woken up at nine AM, feeling better and sore from sleeping too much. She checked her phone. There were several missed calls from Queen, Julia and Malaika, none from Boss. After a shower, she had gone downstairs and found all the women, except Julia and Malaika, chatting in low tones.

“Morning…where is Julia and Malaika?”

“They didn’t come back yesterday…is it true what they told us? That Queen is dying and shutting down this house?”

Naliaka took a seat before answering. She would have wanted to break the news herself, she should have remembered to tell Julia and Malaika not to say anything, but she had been too focused on her sleep. “Yeah…it’s true…”

“What happens to us?”

Naliaka smiled. “The only thing that will change for now is there will be no clients coming in. We can talk about everything else when I am better…”

“So, you mean we can eat and sleep and…”

“…leave if you want to. Just relax and think about what you would like to do. We can all talk about it when I feel better…”

“Can I get you breakfast?”

“Oh no…I will get it myself…”

“No. I will…you just sit like a queen and wait…”

Naliaka cringed and sat back. She did not want to be treated differently but she was too tired to argue. She was in the middle of her breakfast, sitting alone at the table, smiling because there was happy laughter from the backyard, when her phone rang.

Boss was calling.

“Hey…”

“Naliaka?” It was not Boss. It was a woman.

Naliaka looked at her phone screen with confusion, sure that she had misread the name on the screen. Nope. It was definitely Boss. Then she decided it had to be a line mix up. It had happened to her before; calling one number and the system picking a different number. She disconnected it and dialled back.

A woman’s voice, the same voice as before, answered. “Don’t disconnect!” The woman barked.

Naliaka took a sharp breath, feeling dread taking over her body, like a poison serum. Why was a woman picking Boss’ phone? The answer, whatever it was, could not have been good, and that was the answer she did not want to hear yet the answer she needed to hear.

“Who is this?” she finally croaked, holding the phone against her ear with the right hand and her left hand holding the right wrist to stop it from shaking.

“It doesn’t matter, not for now. Where are you?”

“Why?”

“Oh for Christ’s sake!” the woman sounded exasperated. “Listen, Boss is injured. He is badly injured and you need to be here. He is asking for you …”

Naliaka did not know how long she was silent for, but she was, for a considerable amount of time, considering that she was on the phone. There was a woman on the phone, telling her Boss was injured, badly. But she didn’t say dead, and injured had to be better than dead.

“Hello! Are you there?”

That snapped her back. She shook her head slightly. The shivers were now all over her body. “I am here. How is he?’ She whispered.

“No way to know for now. I asked, where are you?”

She was about to answer truthfully, then she changed her mind. “How do I know it is not a trap?”

The woman groaned. “Listen Naliaka, it is up to you to come or not. Your boyfriend is injured and he asked for you…”

“I can come to you. Tell me where you are and I will come to you…”

“You will never find us. We…hang on…” The phone went quiet and for a second Naliaka panicked that it had been disconnected.

“Naliaka?” It was a man this time. But it was not Boss. This voice was much deeper, and familiar.

“Who is this?”

“This is Samuel…”

“Should I know you?”

“Yes. Remember Mt Kilimanjaro view?”

“What about Mt…oh. My. God! What the hell is going on? What are you doing with Boss? Who the hell are you?” Naliaka was now pacing up and down the room.

“It’s a long story. One I can tell you when we have more time. We need to move from where we are, and we are giving you a choice to move with us…because of Boss. It is up to you.”

She stopped in the middle of the room, shut her eyes and cringed her face.

“Where are you?”

“I would rather come and pick you up. Where are you?”

“Let’s meet in Ruaka…”

They met in Ruaka. They did not talk. Naliaka got into the passenger’s seat. Samuel nodded at her. She stared back blankly. They drove to Thika Road, into a house that had an ambulance at the front. She followed Samuel silently to the ambulance. When she peered inside and recognised Boss with tubes running to his body, she gasped and took a step back.

“What’s wrong with him?” She demanded. She was crying.

“He got shot…”

“Why? Who shot him?”

Samuel, putting hands in his pockets, chortled. “So many reasons to shoot Boss. So many people who would want to shoot Boss…”

Naliaka took several steps back, staring at Samuel wide-eyed. “Who are you?”

“Come on inside. I will tell you everything…”

Samuel walked away, towards the house. He knew she was not following but he also knew she would eventually follow. He left the door open as he joined Cecilia, Kerubo and the bodyguard.

“How is she?”

“Shocked, obviously…”

“I bet. Does she know how you fit into all this?”

Samuel shook his head. “We haven’t discussed that.” He was trying to control his feelings. He had not had enough sleep, he had pumped enough adrenaline in such a short time and he was blaming his state of mind for feeling jealous of Boss. The way Naliaka had reacted to Boss, how worried she was about him…how, how he had wanted to take her somewhere and make love to her for long.

She walked in but hesitated at the door, taking in the people inside.  The four people in the room stood up. “Hi…”

“Naliaka…so good to see you.” It was the bodyguard. He walked to her, hugged her and held her hand, walking her in.

“Hi…my name is Cecilia…”

“Kerubo…”

“Hi…erm…” she looked around the house. “What is this place?”

“One we have to vacate in not a very long time…would you like a drink?” Samuel asked. Naliaka wanted water. “I will get the water, then we can fill you in…”

An hour later, Naliaka knew as much as she could know about what was going on. She had gasped, she had cried and gasped, she had growled and gasped, she had sneered and gasped. She had been unable to ask questions because the shock had left her feeling insecure about her voice.

There was Samuel. He knew who she was all along.

There was the tall very beautiful woman, one emitting negative and uncomfortable vibes to Naliaka. Like she did not like her. Naliaka kept her eyes averted from Kerubo’s even though she would have wanted to look into her brown eyes. She had never seen such brown eyes. There was the shorter woman. She was nice, and friendly, perhaps too friendly, but too friendly was better than the aloofness she was getting from Kerubo.

“So, there you have it.” Samuel finished. “Unfortunately, we need to leave the house tonight…”

“Is Boss ready to get off the ventilators?”

Samuel nodded. “He sure is. He is a tough one. He was off them this morning. That was when he asked for you. He is only on ventilators because the doctor did not want to take chances…”

“Where are you going to take him?”

“We are still trying to work it out…but it has to be a place that would be the last place for anyone to look for him, for now. Not my house, not Kerubo’s, not Selina’s…”

“I could take him to where I live…”

“Too many people…”

Naliaka nearly snapped her neck as she looked at Samuel. So, he knew she lived in a house that had too many people, too many women. What did he not know? She would talk about it to him later but for now… “I might know a place. But I need to call somebody first. Give me a minute…”

She walked out and dialled a number as everyone sat silently. Five minutes later, she was back.

“Can I talk to you…alone?” she addressed Samuel.

“We will leave you guys…” Kerubo started getting up but Samuel stopped her.

“No…I will take her upstairs…” they all gasped. “To the balcony…” he added defensively. He led Naliaka upstairs, knowing all the three pairs of eyes were on them.

“Oh…he is so going to shag her…lucky bugger. I could do with such a woman…” Cecilia giggled. The bodyguard frowned and shifted on his seat before crossing his legs. Kerubo’s face fell as she walked out, heading straight to the ambulance.

***

Samuel opened the bedroom door and held the door for Naliaka to enter then shut it behind him.

The first slap caught him off-guard. So did the second and the third. She was two inches from landing the fourth one but he managed to hold her wrists. He felt her knee head to his groin and jumped back a step, just in time. It was not by strength that he managed to turn her body around to face away from him, it was by technique. He would for a long time wonder how such a skinny woman had such strength.

Imprisoned in his embrace from behind her, it was easy to push her towards the bed, the same bed he had spent the night in, one he had not straightened. She was still fighting him, and cussing him when the landed on the bed, he on top of her.

“Get off me you bastard!” She screamed but her screams were muffled by the duvet. He tightened his grip. For a minute, she fought and struggled and cussed before her body relaxed in submission. Then she started crying. For another minute she cried and he felt her every heave, lying on top of her. “Get off me.” This time round, it was an appeal.

“Promise not to go feral on me…”

“I won’t. Just get off me. I can’t breathe…”

Slowly, he released her and lay next to her, breathing as heavily as she was.

“I am sorry…”

“Piss off…”

“I am.”

“For what, exactly? For using me to get to Boss?”

He sniggered. “I did not need your help to get to Boss…”

“Then why? Why?” she sat up on the bed but she did not turn to him.

“Naliaka, you are a prostitute…”

“Were…” She snapped.

“Good to know. You do not remember it but I have been with you before last time… I liked you, a lot. I was so excited when I saw you the second time…but I knew something was different…”

She turned her puffed face to him questioningly. “What do you mean?”

“It’s not like you and Kamau were doing a good job at pretending you did not know one another. Also, I was familiar with Kamau. I put two and two together…”

Naliaka gasped. “And you let them rob you? What if they had killed you?”

 He shrugged, still lying on the bed. “They wouldn’t have. It was not their thing…I wanted to know how it worked. And I did…”

Naliaka looked away towards the window. “So…at your house, was that part of finding out how it worked?”

He shook his head although she couldn’t see him. “No. No, it wasn’t. That was one of my best times in my life…”

“Mine too…” She whispered, bringing up her knees and hugging them.

“I want to do something, but I want you to promise you will not beat me up again…”

Naliaka giggled and nodded. Samuel pulled her down, she let him. He ran a hand over her bandage, one he had not yet asked about. “What happened?” He asked, bringing down his face to hers.

“It’s nothing…” she whispered and closed her eyes. “What happened to your arm?”

“It’s nothing…” He whispered.

And they kissed. Then they made love. Then they giggled when Samuel said he hoped they had not made too much noise for the people downstairs to hear them.

“Does it matter?” She asked, snuggling close to him.

He thought about Kerubo, felt guilty for a minute and shook his head. “No. No it does not matter…not to the people I know. How about…you know, Boss? What if his bodyguard tells him?”

Naliaka did not hesitate in shaking her head. ”Nah…we are not like that.”

“What? You and Boss never shagged? What is he, impotent?”

Naliaka was glad he couldn’t see her face. “It’s complicated…who is the woman downstairs?”

“There are two?”

“The tall one…”

“Kerubo? She would be my best buddy actually. Also partner in the field…why do you ask?”

“I don’t think she likes me. She was making me uneasy…”

Samuel had noticed that Kerubo was glaring at Naliaka. What he could not work out was if she was doing it because of his history with Naliaka or her history with Boss. She always tried to hide it form him but he knew she had an unhealthy obsession with Boss. Now here was a woman who she probably thought stood between him and Boss.

“Kerubo is awesome.” He said truthfully. “She is just not very people friendly but once she gets to know you…”

“The other one? Is she gay?”

Samuel laughed loudly. “Is your gaydar that good?”

“She was leering at me…”

“I do not blame her. If it wasn’t for her, Boss would certainly be dead by the way…” He was about to kiss her again when she pulled away.

“I think I found a place to take Boss…”

“Oh yeah? That was fast. Where?”

“A priest’s  house…”

“What? Why would a priest hide a fugitive? He does know it is a fugitive I hope…”

“He does. He ….he was my client but we became friends…”

Samuel burst out. “A priest was your client? Is anyone really going to make it to heaven? Wow…”

***

Three days later.

Naliaka sat in what should have been absolute silence, but there was the near comforting meditation-like hum of the water pump. The pump had automatically turned on a few moments ago, making her jump even though there was nothing about it that should have made her jump. But it had surprised her line of thought. Or lines of thoughts because they were many and jumbled.

During the last three days, her brain, deprived off any sensible sleep had protested and she could hear, from inside her head, the sounds of an overheating computer with a faulty fan. During those moments of near brain explosions, she would slap her forehead lightly and then look at the bed and the comatose figure in bed.

She sat by the window and stared outside through the sheer curtains. Curtains that had to remain drawn because the last thing they all needed right now was attract any sort of attention. Sometimes she stood by the window when her buttocks threatened to go numb, but eighty percent of her day and nights were spent in this room, sometimes staring at the sifted life beyond the curtains, sometimes at the figure in bed. Once in a while, unable to keep her eyes open or her body upright, she would slip in bed with him but would soon wake up, afraid that he had died while she slept.

How did they all get here? So many dead bodies on the trail…

The door opened slowly. She turned her head slowly towards the door. It was father Joshua, carrying a cup of coffee. She smiled at him. She and Boss have been in his house for three days. He had cooked for her, reminded her to go to the shower, sat with her as she ate, stayed up with Boss as she took a few hours of sleep. He had not complained. And it was making her feel guilty.

“Hey Naliaka. I got bored on my own. Mind some company?”

She stood up and stretched, accepting the hot cup of coffee. “Thank you so much. I feel so bad for making you go through this…”

Father Joshua took the sofa next to the bed. “Don’t be silly. I feel like this is my chance to reclaim my spot in heaven…”

“You joke too much.”

“It’s not a joke. From what you have told me, this man has been a victim of circumstances. I do not think he is a bad man at all, just someone who has been constantly been given a hit after another. You push a cat to a corner, you have to be ready for a scratch of your life. He had to scratch back somehow. Now, if I can help him follow the right path…”

“You mean religion?”

Father Joshua shrugged. “Not necessarily. You cannot force religion on people. But he sounds like somebody who has not been shown a lot of kindness by people. I am glad you have been good to him. I can too…”

“Thank you.”

“Thank you for giving me this opportunity. Besides, this house has been lively since you moved in…I like it when the nurse and the doctor visit and I make food and coffee for them. I even like it when Samuel comes and he can be rather annoying…”

“He is not!”

“Touche. But I understand. When you love someone, you do not see their faults…”

“I don’t love him…”

“Tell that to the birds. I like the girl too. She is uptight but she looks like a lovely person…”

“I think she loves Boss…”

“Good.  That makes a crowd of people who like the dude…” He turned to look at Boss. “He looks better though. His skin is no longer purple.”

“Yeah. In the morning the doctor said he should be able to reduce his sleeping medication from tomorrow…”

“Oh, Samuel called earlier. He said to tell you he is coming to pick you up…”

“Take me where?”

“I did not ask.”

“Who stays with Boss? You have to go give mass…”

“Kerubo is coming too.”

“Oh…”

“Come on Naliaka. You have a man who loves you, one you love back. Let the girl love Boss…”

“Does he not have a say?”

“Has he said no?”

***

Kerubo nervously sat on the same seat Naliaka had been occupying a few hours earlier. She had been talking to Boss nonstop because she read somewhere that unconscious people could actually hear and understand. What was making her nervous was that she was professing her feelings to him. She had told him she loved him. She had told him, in so many words, that she would understand if he did not love her back, but she would not regret her words, or her feelings.

She had seen him flutter his eyes several times, like he understood, or so she hoped. She had smoothened his hair, caressed his overgrown beard, kissed him lightly on the lips, apologised for taking advantage of him, told him it was because she needed to have something to remember him by, just in case he did not want her when he woke up.

She had all the time. Three days at least. Samuel had taken Naliaka out of town. It had been under duress but eventually she had agreed she needed to rest. She had made Kerubo promise she would call her as soon as Boss regained full consciousness. Kerubo had promised but it was a promise she had no intention of keeping.

For two days, she had done like Naliaka had done for three days. Sat with Boss. For hours. Slept in the bed with him, careful not to touch the tubes running into his body but making sure part of her skin was touching part of his skin.

It was at two AM when Boss stirred next to Kerubo. Kerubo, a light sleeper but sleeping even lighter next to Boss, sat up and turned on the bed switch. Boss had his eyes opened and he was looking at her, brow folded, looking confused but happy at the same time.

“You are up…hi…” Kerubo whispered, suddenly feeling naked. She had been sleeping in a see through night dress. She pulled it up a little to cover her cleavage. Boss looked at her cleavage and blinked.

“Hi…erm…my mouth is really dry.” He declared, attempting to move.

“Careful…don’t move too fast. You have tubes all over you!”

Boss looked at his left hand and cringed. “I need water…”

“I will get you water. You cannot drink much though unless the doctor allows it…”

“I don’t care. I need water…”

“Okay, okay, Boss!”

Boss had seen her roll her eyes at him and smiled. In his deep sleep state, he had dreamed about a woman like her, a dream that had looked and felt so real. He had listened to that voice for long enough to have it memorised…what he needed to know was where he was and who she was, and where Naliaka was.

Kerubo returned with a glass of water. “Here is the deal. You will drink a sip at a time. I will feed you myself. If you try to drink too much, I will take it away…”

He smiled. “Deal. I just need water…”

She sat at the edge of the bed, supported his head and gave him a sip, then took it away. “That’s enough…how are you feeling?”

“Like shit!” He tried to sit up and groaned in pain.

“Don’t do that yet…”

“What’s wrong with me?”

“You got shot, of course. You could pretend they removed your appendix…”

“Are you making jokes?”

“Would I? I don’t know any shooting jokes. Anyway, I am glad you are up. A lot of people will be glad you are up, including Naliaka…”

His face brightened. Hers darkened. He saw hers darkened and folded his brow.

“Where is she?”

“Away. She needed to rest. She refused to leave your side so we had to force her…”

“Oh. Where am I?” he looked around. “This does not look like a hospital…”

“You are in a Catholic Priest’s house…”

Boss gasped. “Effing Father Joshua?”

“You know him?”

***

For the rest of the night, Kerubo stayed up updating Boss on what had happened. He had lay on his back and listened, holding back his emotions but dying inside. In the end thankful that he had been given a lifeline to start a life while the government thought he was dead.

At eight AM when the doctor arrived to check on Boss, Kerubo called Samuel.

“Are you alone?” She whispered.

“She is in the bathroom. What’s up?”

“He is up.”

“That’s good news. We can return later…”

“No! You will do no such thing. You will stay where you are for two more days. If Boss does not show any interest in me within two days, I will bow out…”

“Kerubo, you are asking me to lie to Naliaka…”

“You owe me, dammit! You are happy with her. I want a chance to be happy too…please…”

“Okay. I promise.” He took a deep breath. “Kerubo, you know I love you?”

“I know. And I love you too. I also know you and I could never be what you and Naliaka are. I have a feeling Boss and I can be that…I just want a chance…”

“All the best. Rooting for you. We cannot go shagging everyone forever…”

The laughed and signed off.

When she returned to the bedroom after a shower and breakfast, the doctor was gone, so were the tubes on Boss’ body. He was sitting up, having a conversation with Father Joshua. 

“You are okay?”

“Yep! I can start walking around the house today…if you help me, of course.”

“Ask no more. Come on…”

Kerubo and Father Joshua helped Boss ease out of bed, helped him with his wobbly legs, and supported him to the door and back to the bed.

“Well, that was a whole marathon…” Boss declared with a laugh.

“It shall get better. I can massage your joints. That should help…”

“You are a wonder woman.”

For the rest of the day, Kerubo massaged Boss intermittently, exercised his joints, fed him, gave him his drugs, spoke to him, and snuggled next to him when he fell asleep…

…and it was during one of those sponge baths that it happened.

It was day three since Boss regained full consciousness. Kerubo was happy, even confident that she had Boss where she wanted him, that he also wanted to be there. If she was not so afraid of hurting his gunshot wound, she would already have mad the first move to have sex with him.

Boss studied her, watched her big brown eyes. Closed his eyes when her long fingers massaged him. Listened to her soft voice and soft laughter, found it hard to reconcile the woman in front of him and the one she was supposed to be. And she was funny. And she was here, and Naliaka was not.

So during the sponge bath, one she no longer had to do but did anyway, she had lingered on his manhood, her eyes locked to his. For the first time in three days, she had seen and felt response from his manhood. To her, that meant he was ready for the next level. She saw him lift his head and shut his eyes, pull her towards him and kiss her.

“…you are a very beautiful woman…” He was lying on the bed, naked, watching her step out of her clothes. “So beautiful…come here…” Kerubo did. She lay by his side, not the side with the gunshot. She found his manhood, paused to feel the throbs. “I am just so afraid of disappointing you…” He whispered.

“Why? Because of the gunshot? Well…if it does not happen today, we have the rest of our lives to try…”

“Rest of our lives?”

“Of course…you think I go sleeping around with every Tom Dick and Harry?”

Right there, Boss decided he loved Kerubo. She was forward, she knew what she wanted and went for it and he could blame his gunshot wound if he failed in love-making. When he slid in her, he nearly screamed. When he hit an orgasm, he screamed.