SITA
"It's evident that they will try and double cross us either by not releasing Baba after collecting the money or by leading you to a trap. Either way, we prepare ahead."
"Let's go get that 30 billion." Ismaël sent the coordinates to his tracker and they made their way to the bank.
I made a call to the bank manager who personally came down to give me the money.
"Thank you so much, manager. I appreciate." I said in gratitude. I stepped on the accelerator and we zoomed to the venue.
While on the way to the rendezvous point, Ismael and I discussed the various scenarios that might occur.
"At best, capturing you is the best option we have."
"And why is that?"
"That will lead us to find who is really behind it and secondly, a better chance of finding Baba."
"And at worst?"
"You could die on the spot even before you reach the venue. That's if they have a sniper good enough to shoot from a far distance. But let's not think about that." I stared at him in total unbelief.
"So, what you are saying in essence is that I die in both scenarios."
'No. What I'm saying is… you have a better chance of survival in the first one. And you might die a peaceful death there too. But hopefully you won't."
"You are unbelievable."
The location for the rendezvous was an old dump located on the outskirts of town. It was the perfect place for rendering such transactions especially if you didn't want the other party to know your location. I dropped Ismaël a little farther from the location.
"Get your tools ready. Let's hope that your prediction skills are as good as they say."
"Can you stop doubting my skills, please? Be careful, ok?" I nodded as he disappeared behind the heaped load of junk.
I drove slowly into the dump cautiously moving my eyes from left to right and across all my mirrors. Those guys were indeed smarter than she had initially thought. Maybe I underrated them. I parked my car and alighted, making my way to the blue truck which stood at the center of the dump. The money in hand. My phone rang as soon as I was close to the truck. So, they are watching?
"Drop the money inside quietly."
"I want to hear from Baba first."
"Don't try to play games with me."
"Why would I play games when you have the money, I just want to make sure that he is safe that's all."
"There is no guarantee, you have to move by faith."
"I've got them." Ismael's voice came through the bug in my ear.
"Fine." I dropped the money in the truck and walked away. I was about to enter my car when a bullet moved inches away from my body. I immediately took cover.
"Looks like they chose the second scenario."
"Can you stop your jokes and take care of him?"
"Don't make it sound like an order. Let me find the son of a bitch. Oh, there he is." The next sound I heard was a gunshot and silence. "Looks like I got him."
Ismaël Immediately came out and entered the car and we zoomed out of the dump.
'Do you think you could track them?"
"It seems the first location is their hideout. Because that's where I traced the second call and from the looks of it, the money is headed that way too."
"Where exactly is that?" Ismaël turned the screen of his laptop to face me and tapped at a location, where a red dot kept blinking indicating the money.
"But there is a possibility that it's a trap so what do we do?"
"I would have suggested we call for backup up but I doubt that will be helpful. The police are always loud and late. They might end up making things difficult for us." I said thoughtfully.
"So, I guess we are handling this our way then. Thankfully, I brought some toys for us to play it." Ismaël brought out a brown bag from the back seat and opened it. Inside it were different toys I was going to enjoy making use of.
"Have I ever told you how much I love you?"
"You could start to mention it quite often."
Their hideout was swamped with guards. There were no blind spots. Which meant that the only way for us to get in was for me to surrender myself.
"Do you think that's a good idea?" Ismaël asked concern etched on his face.
"That's the only way. While they are distracted, you can go ahead and do your thing. And please don't let me die." With that, I alighted from the car and made my way to the entrance of the hideout.
"Who are you?" a guard said as he spotted from a distance. I fired three bullets at him hitting him in vital points. He fell dead. The others on hearing the sound, came out rushing. I quickly hit behind a truck and began firing well-calculated shots at visible targets.
I kept switching between vehicles to lure them away from the entrance.
"You can't keep hiding forever you know?" a voice said heading directly for my current position. I instinctively sneaked to the next one. I fired a bullet at him but his instincts were faster than the bullet so he hid immediately.
"Ismael, do you have an eye on them?" I said over my commutator.
"Yes, I do. Looks like everyone took the bait."
"You have to be careful."
"I will." I turned it off and began firing bullets but none of them hit the targets.
I moved further away from the hideout and they followed me in groups. I aimed for a man walking just behind the thin wall of a stacked car. I fired and it hit him in his head.
"Jesus Christ! I exclaimed as Ismaël touched me from behind. "Don't ever scare me like that again."
"I can't promise you that."
"Where is Baba?"
"I've already let him to the vehicle. Let's go!" As we stood up to leave, we realized that were already surrounded.
"That was a nice game of hide and seek we just played but I believe the game is over." He aimed the gun at me and reloaded the gun. "Dead or alive, that's what the bounty said, either way, I get my money back." I closed my eyes at the sound of the gunshot. I slowly opened them hoping to be in heaven but was surprised to see Ismaël still standing close to me. I stared at the body lying on the ground with a hole planted at the center of his head.
"What happened?" I asked trying to trace from where the bullet had come.
"Looks like reinforcement finally arrived." He said with a smile spread on his face. There were sounds of gunshots all around. I quickly picked up my gun and shot the two guys behind us before they had the time to retaliate.
"You called for reinforcement?"
"Where are you expecting me to go for this suicide mission without backup?" I smiled as we made our way to the car parked a few meters away from the hideout.
As we reached the car, we saw a man holding a gun on Baba's neck.
"Fuck! Why do things like this keep happening?"
"Drop your weapons." The man said as he pointed his gun at Ismaël then at me. "Don't try anything funny." He was agitated for some unknown reasons.
"I'd be careful if I were you," Ismaël said dropping the gun slowly. I followed suit, just then there was a gunshot and the collapse backward.
"You guys owe me a treat." A voice came over the commutator.
I quickly rushed to Baba and helped him inside the car, reversed, and left.
The drive back to civilization was silent. Everyone was exhausted from the little adventure. I parked my car close to a suburban. And took Baba to a hospital just close by.
"Looks like this is the last raid," Baba said before he was rolled inside.
"Yeah, guess it is."
"It was nice working with you, Sita, Ismaël."
"Come on old man, don't make me look as though you are dying. It's just for you to get those scratches treated."
"I guess you are right. See you around." He was rolled away. We both stood and watched until he disappeared behind closed doors.
"I guess it's about time I go back to my family," Ismaël said as he kept his hands akimbo.
"Yeah, me too."
"I know you have no interest in retiring but if you ever need a hacker, you know where to find me." He turned and started heading in the direction we had just driven from. "I'd do so before I reconsider relocating again if I were you." He shouted as he walked away.
*************
As the last notes of their favorite song faded into the night, Alessandro and Sita swayed gently under the twinkling fairy lights that adorned their terrace in Ivory Coast. The soft hum of the ocean waves provided a soothing backdrop to their quiet celebration. They had overcome misunderstandings, faced their fears, and found their way back to each other's hearts.
Sita looked up into Alessandro's eyes, finding warmth and unwavering love reflected back at her. "I never thought we'd get here," she whispered, a smile playing on her lips.
Alessandro tightened his embrace, his voice steady and filled with conviction. "We were always meant to find each other, Sita. Our love was written in the stars."
With those words, they knew their journey, though fraught with challenges, had led them to a place of profound connection and joy. Their love had blossomed anew, stronger and more resilient than ever. Together, they walked back inside, their future illuminated by the love they had fought so hard to preserve.
In each other's arms, they had found not just a lover, but a partner for life, and with that certainty, they were ready to face whatever came next, hand in hand, heart to heart.