The Psycho Logic

The Pyscho Logic

Part Two!

He woke up like a haunted man.

For a man who nothing scared, he was surprised at the way he was feeling at the moment.

It was strange.

Sweating and breathing hard, his instincts were as sharp as a cat.

Slowly he reached for the bottle of whiskey lying idly on the table, even in the dark he knew by habit where it was, and so in quick successions he gulped down the liquid contents and allowed the power of the taste to take effect.

God bless whiskey he said as he closed his eyes to the dark and unknown world of sleep.

There he would fight his demons who were never able to get to him in the physical but could only attack in his subconscious.

Sometimes he won and sometimes he lost, but who cares, the real battle was fought with open eyes and so long as he was awake, he was God.

They can have his dreams, but he owned reality.

Let them have their fun.

*****************************************************

Two weeks ago my plane landed at the Port Harcourt International airport, where I was met by Ginika.

He picked me up from the airport; we hugged in silence, no words spoken just two men comforting one another in silence during the long drive home.

I sat in the passenger side of the Benz, even though the AC was on, I rolled down the glass so I could smoke.

“That shit will kill you” Ginika said

“Wanna bet, I’ll kill it first.” I responded

I saw a glimpse of a smile but then it vanished quickly before I could tell if it was actually there.

I took a closer and longer look at Pastor as I loved to call him. If not for Christ this nigga would have been a badder ass, it showed. The demons in him would have been greater than the angel he was now.

I finished my smoke, crushed the dying flames in my palm, a habit I picked up in Uniport when I was trying to prove to my fellow cultists that I was a baddass.

“See, I killed it first.” I said without humor.

“Congrats.” He said with cold empty eyes that stared way further ahead, down the road we were taking.

*****************************************************
The Funeral was quiet and simple, like we wanted. Just few friends and family gathered around, no music, no yam, plantain or goat. He forbade it, he even did the sermon himself.

I was impressed.

The elders refused to come because he refused to buy drinks and food, the women too, he didn’t care, he buried him in the house.

He bought the land next to the house and buried him there.

"Fuck tradition, fuck culture." he said in disgust.
"My brother died premature, MURDERED, he screamed, and this old bastards want to eat a little as they said.
Bury him immediately they instructed, it’s a taboo for a child to die, who are they to issue a command to me about my family, where were the bastards all this while."

Of course he took his time and planned the burial, discarding their warnings.

Let the gods come, we were waiting.
I was waiting.
I was here to pay my respects and then go out for blood.
Someone will pay with their blood.

“IK, this is detective Betty, she is the one handling the case.” He introduced a chubby but strong and fit looking, dark lady in dark suit, as soon as we were done with the proceedings.

Beautiful with long hair and dark glasses. She stretched out her hand and we shook.

“Sorry for your loss” she said.

“I nodded without emotion, staring at her, my eyes also hidden behind dark shades.

“Any leads yet, I asked.

“We are ontop of it, and I assure you, we have the best team working to find and apprehend the culprits.

“Killer, I corrected. Just one."

‘”How are you so sure?” she asked.

“It’s how I would operate if I were an assassin" I said

“My brother is ex military, he knows this stuff" Pastor added, and I saw her relieved a little.

“Well, whoever it is, I promise you we will find them and bring them to justice."

“I believe you, anything else?” I asked dismissively.
I had nothing against her but I hated the police.

She took the hint. “We will keep you posted. Please stay safe just incase, and you have my card, feel free to reach me anytime if anything comes up.
My condolences once again.” She walked over and signaled to a tall dark guy who I surmised was her partner and with one glance to us, he stepped closer and walked her to a blue Volkswagen as they drove off into the hot Port Harcourt afternoon.

******†**********************************************

The room was darkly lit, that was the way they loved it. It was a place of shadows, they were known as the shadow men. Always operating from the shadows.
This was the most elite gathering of high class men, women were forbidden to join or even know about it.

Death was usually the penalty for defaulters amongst their ranks.

These men considered themselves gods and enforced decisions that shaped the fate of the country and their fellow men, here in this dark room.

If you looked closely, you could find the number three man in the country, somewhere else you would find the richest man in the country too, even the most powerful Imam and one of the richest pastors stood in their congregation, and other top dogs, all dressed in a red cloak and dagger style attire, with a hood over their coverall, no shoes or footwear of any kind, for it was considered a holy ground.

These men were all shapes and sizes, and of course ages too. You had to be a powerful and influential man to even be considered for a place among these men. They were a pack and when one was hurt, the others rallied around to support and fix, and eliminate when necessary.

An old bald man in white, the leader of the pack walked slowly to the middle of the gathering, he had three young men following closely behind wearing black, for black was for recruits about to be initiated and new members too but red was for elders and those who had attained a higher position, they were the only ones allowed to partake and participate in the initiation. The new members and low level members weren't allowed for this ritual.

He walked like a God, with an air of confidence, like a man who knew he had the fate of the universe at the palm of his hand and believed nothing could ever go wrong.

Reaching the middle, he turned and signalled with his hands, did a thumbs down sign, and immediately, all three knelt down on one knee, for they had been prepped for this ritual for months now.

This was not an ordinary ritual, it took months to be vetted and a lot of tests to ascertain their authenticity, loyalty, claims and worth, to even be allowed into the inner triangle.

The one known as the masked man was sweating profusely, he was tensed, what if this was a set-up, here he was trusting Chief and these gang of criminals with his life.

Once he turned and tried to find Chief, the client that introduced him to the shadow men after he did the last job for him, killing his daughter's boyfriend and putting her in check so she could serve his personal interest, a job that wasn't approved and sanctioned, so none could ever know from the shadow men else the penalty was a fate worse than death.

Yeah, there are fates worse than death and these men could arrange that.

He smiled briefly as he remembered that hit, it gave him an erection and immediately his fear evaporated with the thrill of the kills he had carried out for these old goats.

They should be worshipping him, they should be on their knees before him not the other way round, yet these bastards, weaklings, who couldn't do anything for themselves but needed his skills, strength, wit and perfection to carry out their plans so they can come out tomorrow with their shoulders high and their voices raised, claiming his glory.

These usurpers, these charlatans, these...

"Only one of you will survive this night!"

The voice interrupted his train of thoughts. He tried remembering what was said before then, but he was confused, is this a trick as he suspected all along, his mind started calculating while staying as sharp and alert as a cat.

"You thought you had finished the final ritual" the leader asked mockingly. For a man as old and fragile looking as he was, his voice was a surprise.
It boomed and echoed power and immortality.

"Well, you three must prove your mettle, only one of you will be crowned today or none at all, the choice is yours. You must have to spill blood to be one of us, then shall you be one with your brothers and new family." The leader said and signalled with his hands again, then a lone man in dark purple coverall walked with a small tray filled with three daggers.

For colors meant everything to this group, this was the messenger of death and he came bearing gifts with a royal color.

Placing the tray in front of the three men, he bowed to the leader who bowed in turn and then exited backwards into the shadows...

The three men looked at themselves in shock and surprise as realization hit them. It was a game of deaths.

*****************************************************

I didn’t waste time working my contacts after the funeral rites were done and dusted. I visited all the clients I knew and even the dirty police, in Nigeria all the police are dirty, all of them except for a handful, let me break it down for you all to understand.
If there are 100 police officers, 95 are corrupt.

So finally, I settled down in the creek, borokiri, for the cabal had it's strongest ring operating from the waterside. That was the home and headquarters of the most fiercest fighting force the cabal managed, and the ring leader was my close acquaintance, for we had had several dealings in the past.

I had no friends just work acquaintances.

In our line of work, you never made friends, for friendship could mean the end of your life.

"School boy, I need Intel and I need it now. I've exhausted every available source I have and I know you know something, so how about you scratch my back and I grease your palm."
I had just spent the night with School boy in his hood, partying, clubbing and booze, it was non-stop partying in the creeks.

Before I left Ph for Lagos, we had traded Intel and carried hits for the cabal, even though I operated alone, sometimes even the best need help.

"C'mon IK, we go way back you and I. You hurt my feelings thinking I would charge you for public service, and now you hurt my feelings even more because it seems you came all this way for Intel, here I was thinking you missed me." He smiled his boyish smile that got him the nickname, school boy.
For his smile could deceive you, but School boy was the most lethal and deadly snake to rear its head from this side of town.

He only thought about himself and wouldn't waste a second betraying or back stabbing you if it serves his purpose. Even the cabal knows this and so they had him on a tight leash, no one knew what they had against him that made the viper loyal, but it had to be good and it couldn't be all about money.

I lighted my cigarette and puffed the smoke in the air, studying him as he talked and smiled. He studied me too, that I could tell, for he knew if there was anyone more dangerous than him, it was me. But we had no beef with each other, it was just business. Plain and simple.

"How much school boy, let's cut the chase, I'm late for class." I spoke with finality. He knew the dance was over, no need moonwalking.

"How about this IK, I won't charge you, but you will help me write an exam I missed." Yes, he loved the nickname so much, he literary lived in the moment every fucking minute if he could help it.
 By exam he meant a hit.

"If the expo is good enough, I'm sure we can work something out." I replied, dousing the butt of my cigarette.

"Oh, IK, trust me when I say, the expo solid reach ground.
Have you heard of the name, shadow men?" He smiled and his eyes lit up.

"Who in our circle hasn't. I asked. What bout them?"

I had heard of this elite group, not rivals just another arm of the body of power and order in a world were chaos meant business.

I mean, I belonged to one, we were never at logger heads but words passed and even the cabal had business and affiliations with them.

So School boy schooled me that day and gave me all the info I needed to hear about this triangle of shadows operating at the very core of our Country and how it was semi-related to my own story, he didn't quite connect the dots.

He didn't tell me who killed Uche, he just gave me a headstart. That was all I needed, a head start.

I drove away, and I almost missed the headlight tailing me, they were good but not that good. At first, I thought it was School boy, but why would he, he could have killed me over the night if he wanted to or even all day today, I quickly deduced it was Detective Betty. I confirmed my suspicions when I lost them and in their panic, surfaced behind them and honked.
Then drove past into the night and towards home

She had followed me, impressive.

*****************************************************
I heard Ginika opening the door, minutes after I showered.

"IK, we need to talk." He lay down on the bed, I could tell he was exhausted. His eyes spoke volumes.

"Pastor you look beat. You sure this can't wait till morning?" I asked, knowing what the answer was going to be.

"No IK, if it could you know I would have waited till morning." He said.

"I believe you. Everybody knows with you, nothing waits." I replied and we both laughed.

"We had the funeral two months ago IK, we both know you are not the police so why are you still here?" He asked concerned.

"Are you kicking me out already?" I asked, teasing him.

He took the bait.

"Don't be ridiculous, you know what I mean. Isn't it time you went back to Lagos and continued with your life. Uche is gone and no matter what we do, we can't bring him back." He said and paused, I looked at his face and saw the darkness pass.

"Don't worry about me Pastor, Uche might be dead and gone, but I am here and as long as we both share the same blood, it will never be over for me until his killer and everyone involved share his fate." I said it so carefree like I didn't mean it.

"I feel the same way, but it's two months already and the police hasn't gotten any lead." Ginika replied.

"Did you ever think they would? I asked. The Nigerian police are best at chasing shadows than solving crimes, like I said, don't worry about me or my work. I'm mourning and I'm on leave." Go and get some rest, except you are scared and wanna sleep with me on the bed." I asked with sarcasm

"Fuck you" he replied and stood up

"Good night too sugar." I joked

He smiled and left, shutting the door behind him gently. Ever the gentleman, even with closing the door.

Morning came early and I was surprised to see Detective Betty on my door step, conversing with Ginika. It's surprising Giniks is always the first up even if most times I hear him praying when I sleep off. How does he do it.

"Good morning sleepy head, he beckoned cheerily. The detective has some good news."

"Good morning Mr Ikechukwu" she greeted

"IK please, good morning to you too. So spill." I said impatiently.

"Right to business. She said. Well, we have discovered the father of the girl your brother was seeing wasn't too pleased with the relationship and we got word from reliable sources that he threatened your brother several times, in public, and even had him beaten and locked up." She said

I turned and looked at Ginika, raising my eyebrow

"I had no idea IK, I'm just finding out too. Uche was very private and although I remember times he went Incommunicado and other times he came home with bruises, he always said it was cult related and business as usual. Ginika said with sadness. Now looking back, I wished I pushed further."

"It wasn't your fault, the detective said. Anyways, we tried inviting him to the station, but I guess you know who he is and the kind of power he wields. I'm here because I hate the way the police works and hate the Nigerian police force but not my job, don't know if that makes sense, but I know you guys can do something about this Information and I promised to get it for you.
That being said, we have been instructed to close the case and I suppose it was after I started asking the right questions, so if anyone should know anything, it is Chief, as the father of your late brother's ex is known." She said and looked at us squarely in the eyes.

An unusual police woman. She got guts, I liked her even more.

"And why are you telling us all this detective," I asked.

She turned and looked at me, "well because like I said, I hate the police force but not my Job. Corruption has tied my hands and I get the feeling nothing can tie yours. So I'm fulfilling my duty." She said without emotion.

"Wasn't he never a suspect from the beginning?" I asked surprised.

"Why would he, she asked. I mean his daughter was almost killed, and like you said, your brother had so many enemies and secrets, don't forget this is a very rich, powerful and upstanding citizen in this shit hole country. Of course he was never a suspect."

"Thank you detective, Ginika said. Let's leave it to God now, he alone knows best and why everything happens."

"Not really, she said as she smiled briefly at me and turned to leave. With proper investigation, we know best too." Then she exited the sitting room while we walked behind her as she climbed her car and zoomed off, alone.

"Maybe God might know best, but I know some and I'm gonna work with what I know." I said and walked inside, headed to the shower.

I had a Chief to visit, and I am very sure he is the name I got from the Intel School boy gave me, about the shadow men. This must be one of them and I can beat my chest the bastard ordered the hit so his stupid daughter I sent a friend request on Facebook with a dummy account I opened for that purpose, and had been chatting secretly, would marry the son of one prominent citizen and business mogul of our beloved country.

Some of this news I got from Twitter and instablog, the rest, his daughter gave me on a platter of gold, funny, in two months the girl whose boyfriend was murdered in her presence had so moved on, she had sex with me countless times and now would soon be married off, while Uche was still warm in the grave.

I didn't tell Ginika that I had been sleeping with Uche's ex for information, he would never approve or understand, besides I couldn't hurt him further for I know beneath the religion, there was pain like no heaven could erase.

My phone beeped, I peeped and...talk of the devil, it was the bitch, demanding to see me again tonight.

I smiled as I dropped my phone and turned on the shower, I stood still and closed my eyes under the cascading water, feeling every drop and allowing my self to be washed clean and free. I felt free for only a second and then opened my eyes and stood face to face with reality.

It was time, Port Harcourt will indeed burn.

*****************************************************

The three men knelt facing each other and in one second, the one who was known as the masked man, swiftly picked a dagger and with his other hand lifted the tray and smashed it on the face of the stronger of the two men, as the man was on the floor trying to defend himself from the onslaught, the dagger slit his throat before he could become aware of his surroundings.

The other man knelt and begged for his life, he was but a very influential and well known pastor, rich and very successful with no stomach for violence and bloodshed. He was not a fighter, and so smiling, the one known as the masked man, walked to him, in his usual dramatic style, knelt before him and opened his arm for a hug, he looked so genuine the pastor obliged and raising the dagger, he plunged it down so hard on his head, and left it there like a stamp.

After the bodies were cleared and the room cleaned, he was welcome into the fold as a brother and one of the family of the shadow men.

Another black coverall was brought and there before his brothers, he stripped naked, turning around and giving them a fill of his sight, for he was strong and fit, tall, broad shoulders and heavily muscled arms and torso with six packs. He worked out and worked hard everyday to maintain this perfection, lifting weights and daily pushups.

He wanted them to notice, and then he picked the coverall and adorned himself as one of them, it was chief who hugged him last and whispered to his ears, welcome to the family, David.

Finally he belonged.

Kingdavid Chinaeke Ofunne
Authorpreneur
www.ofunneceo.blogspot.com

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