Niger State, 9:02 a.m.
THERE IS AN ONGOING DEBATE THAT ZUMA ROCK WHICH IS ON THE outskirts of the federal capital territory Abuja lies in the very centre of Nigeria.
From the rock itself to the belated commercial capital Lagos is an approximate distance of 780 kilometers and from it to the northern hemisphere of Maiduguri is a distance of 790 kilometers and 740 kilometers from it to the coastal boundaries of calabar.
Egunu perched comfortably on the 725 meter high monolith fondly referred to as ‘Gateway to Abuja” and waited.
Waiting was one thing he could do well.
One time he had waited on the top of a tree in the Congo forests for two whole days without as much as a stir and eventually his patience had payed off. The elusive prey had finally emerged. A business partner who suddenly had gone AWOL after an alleged embezzlement scam and was holed up in a cabin in the forest. The contract was for a clean job. He smiled wryly to himself, conjuring up the memory of that kill. It was a masterpiece in itself. Hungry and tired after his endless vigilance he had put a bullet clean through the guy’s eyes and another closely followed one into his temple. Those were the days.
He was wearing a windbreaker with the hood up and wrap around sun shades that did a good job of disguising his facial features. No point in being remembered by some nosy holiday people picnicking nearby who would pass on the information to the police. On arrival he had picked a spot between two jutted rocks, produced his killing gear and arranged himself as comfortable as possible.
The view was breathtaking.
Lazy clouds sailed nearby, slowly parting ways to accommodate the morning sun. If the Intel given him was on point, then the car would be cruising past in another 20 minutes. He lit a cigarette and studied the layout below through the cross hairs of his military grade sniper rifle. It was a bit windy up here; he noticed and adjusted his rifle for wind interference. The Russian manufactured military rifle Elvinch 6.0 was fashioned to ease the process of delivering death. It had a sniper scope that could pick up a cockroach from a thousand meters and a man’s pimple at close to a thousand two hundred. Packaged with infrared vision for night hunting, body heat signature recognition and mercury tipped explosive bullets; it was in high demand amongst black market arm dealers. An assassin’s accessory.
He finished the cigarette, crushed the butt on a nearby rock and put it in the side pocket of his windbreaker. In the relative quiet of the rock, he heard the sound of an approaching vehicle and adjusted his sights for a look. The image of the driver’s face jumped at him and slowly shifting to the left, he got his prey in the cross hairs.
It was common practice for Reverend Jaiyesimi Davids the senior pastor of rock city assembly church to ride on the passenger seat next to his driver. The Intel Egunu had gotten was solid. It was one thing to pick off a stationery target but a moving one was not as easy. It involved the complex process of exacting minute movements on a solid grip of the rifle while maintaining the prey in sight. Timing was as important because you never really get a second chance.
He exhaled slowly and squinted into the riflescope.
The bullet exited the silenced rifle with a soft ‘putt’, travelling the distance in-between at lightning speed. Shattering the windscreen of the car, it came to rest between the eyes of Reverend Jaiyesimi Davids, exploding on impact. The car screeched fiercely swerving wildly as fragments of blood and bone splattered all over the driver. It finally crashed into an electric pole with the reverend’s head resting awkwardly on the driver’s lap. The top half of his face was gone.
Egunu smiled.
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