*Jazz Nights at Jupiter: Origins
*PROLOGUE: “Existence”soundtrack: “Summer Moved On” by AhA
With his gun tucked behind the back of his denim jeans, Mendacity “Milk” Mensah walked calmly towards the hooded man behind the driving wheel of the BMW 520i.
The man was holding his bleeding head as if he had just experienced a seismic headache.
Ironically, AHA’s “Summer Moved On” was playing ever-so quietly on the radio, which was crackling from the impact of the crash.AFRIPOL agents had the man cornered from all angles.
Headlamps were broken all over the road.The hooded man looked right – to meet a cocked gun pointing at him. He turned to the broken windscreen of the BMW to meet yet-another cocked gun.
To his left, Mendacity was still walking slowly towards the BMW.The man mustered the courage and shouted. “Oga! Stay back. Don’t come close!”
Mendacity accentuated his outstretched arms, indicating he was ready to negotiate any demand made.“No vex, Ogochukwu! No vex. I come in peace.”
The man was annoyed. “My name no be Ogochukwu. I be Tchidi! Tchi-di!”“OK, Tchidi. You see, I dey hear you now. I wan apologise. I’m sorry. I just wan see my wife.”
The hooded man spat blood out through the smashed window of the driver’s side. “Which one be your wife? This be informant!”
Mendacity was now some ten metres away from the BMW, still walking calmly with both arms outstretched.“Tchidi. You see I no dey carry gun. I am here for you. Talk to me. That woman no be informant. She be my wife. It be case of mistaken identity.”
The hooded man suddenly started honking the car horn. It caused AFRIPOL agents to draw closer to the car from all sides.“
Stand down! Stand down!” shouted Mendacity. “Lower your guns!”
As the agents began lowering their weapons, a shot from a sniper rang out straight in front of Mendacity, causing him to step back.
The hooded man laughed mockingly. “Who be big man now? Tell me, who be big man?! You all dey scatter soon! I be big man. Me!”
Mendacity opened up his palms in a form of surrender. “You be boss! Tchidi. You be the boss. Boss dey do right things.”Tchidi laughed again. “ Aaah! This head…Listen, I have your woman in the back. She be alive.”
Mendacity’s gut churned. He hesitated with a move forward, with hands still open. “I don’t know that. Show me!”
With a grimace, Tchidi pulled a gun from his right side and jabbed it at the covered body behind his seat. “Talk, woman!”
The body revealed itself to be a young woman in her thirties with an afro, but pink lipstick and diminutive earrings that emphasized her good looks. She looked through the car window with fearful eyes. “Baby!”, she shouted, “My milkman. It’s me!”
Tchidi unexpectedly laughed one raucous laugh. “AFRIPOL boss. You be milkman, too?”
Mendacity bit his lip. “Boss. Do the right thing now. Let’s end this. We all dey go home! We dey talk about this well well.”
Tchidi looked at Mendacity menacingly. “I don’t think so, boss!”
Without warning, he honked the car horn. This triggered a series of shots from another sniper trained on Mendacity, followed by one into his thigh.
Mendacity slumped onto the road. The BMW went into reverse gear at 100km/h zooming chaotically into a series of Nigeria Police Force cars parked behind him.
The car swung round in a sharp U-turn, with a scattering of broken car lights and car parts on the road.
The car seemed to have stopped suddenly, with a hellish heat emanating from the engine. Agents hesitated to move any closer.
Suddenly, Tchidi moved into first gear with the dexterity of a car racer, then sped off into the night, triggering a series of wild shots from AFRIPOL agents in the direction of the car.
AFRIPOL agents swarmed Mendacity, with one shouting “Call an ambulance! Man down! Man down!”A voice crackled over the police radio.
“Operation Existence has been compromised! Get the UK High Commission on the line. And call the National Crime Agency!”
As Mendacity struggled to remain conscious, the sirens of the police and the ambulance conspired to converge into cacophony that caused him to black out.
