Palmgrove Hotel was one of the best in town, and as a first-time visitor, she must have been referred there by someone or a website. She sat in the back seat of the cab, and to every question Timi asked as he drove, she gave only short, to-the-point replies. To Timi, this revealed her to be either an introvert or someone who disliked familiarity with strangers. So, he switched to his usual approach with clients of this nature: he kept the conversation short and simple so as not to become a nuisance. While some passengers would keep conversations alive until they reached their destinations, some would not speak unless questioned, and once they answered, they reverted to their reserved mode. Different strokes for different folks, he thought.
From time to time, Roja glanced at Luke-the-dude, who nodded his head to imaginary music as he drove three vehicles behind their target. He chewed gum, as he often did when driving.
"We will strike when they take a turn off the expressway into a street. I will tell you when we are striking," Roja said, and Luke-the-dude nodded to acknowledge him, while Monster-J remained quiet in the back, his head between the two front seats.
Only those who worked with him knew he was brutal. That was why Evans nicknamed him "the Quiet Danger"; his gentleness could be easily mistaken for niceness.
Timi maintained his speed of 50 kilometers per hour, occasionally checking on his passenger through the rear mirror. She must be in her late twenties, he guessed. And by her undoubtedly Asian appearance, her beauty was flawless. In fact, he could say she was the most beautiful Asian woman he had ever met, taller than the average Asian woman and with skin capable of glowing in the darkest of nights.
He noticed that she had been busy with her phone ever since they left the airport, and the only times she looked up were twice: when they were stopped by the traffic warden and by the traffic lights at junctions.
"How long are you staying, madam?" he intentionally broke the silence with the question.
"Three days, I think," she replied, sounding unsure about how long she would be staying in the country.
Knowing that there would be another long silence after her reply, Timi put on the radio and changed the channel until he found one playing music and left it there.
You are my African queen, girl of my dreams. You'll take me where I've never been. You make my heart Tingalingaling. The music blasted from the stereo.
"Is that 2face?" her voice came from behind.
"Yes," Timi replied. He was surprised that a stranger was familiar with the Nigerian artist. He looked at her in the rear mirror, their eyes met, and she smiled softly.
"You listen to Nigerian music?" he asked after removing the facemask on his face.
"Yes! Of course, 2face, Davido, and Wizkid. They are my favorite Nigerian artists," she replied in an accent that exposed her to be American despite looking Asian, and the golden smile that adorned her face refused to fade away for some seconds.
As he looked at her bright, beautiful, angelic face in the mirror, he was tempted to give her a compliment. But, on second thought, not wanting to sound flirty, he never did.
"That's good to know, madam," he replied and allowed her to enjoy the music uninterruptedly.
They were 30 minutes away from the hotel when they came to a halt in heavy traffic. It was common in Lagos, the most populous city in West Africa, where virtually all races and tribes worldwide were represented.
The sun was still high and blazing, seemingly uncaring if anyone baked or burned. This made the weather hot, so hot that Timi wound up the window glasses and put on the air conditioner to regulate the temperature for his client's comfort.
He always left the windows open whenever he carried a first-time visitor so they could experience the nation right from the moment they left the airport. But this day, the weather was not at all friendly for such a practice.
Hardly do people know that cab driving has its own techniques and rules, he thought.
She sneezed and blew her nose, and he checked on her through the mirror.
Holding a white handkerchief, she sneezed into it a second time.
"Pardon me," she tried to be polite, and he told her not to worry.
As she blew her nose, there was a tap on the window glass beside her, and she shifted her attention to it. A young boy was shoving some products in transparent nylon toward her and seemed to be saying something.
"What does he want?" She asked her driver.
"He is calling your attention to what he is selling. Please ignore him," Timi replied.
He increased the speed of the car when the traffic eased off, and to the amazement of his client, the boy selling the stuff ran after the car and kept pace with it, still holding his goods for her to see. He did this until he could no longer keep up with the vehicle's speed as the car sped off.
Luke-the-dude kept nodding and humming as he drove. His mouth was busy chewing gum too. Monster-J, on the other hand, was busy cleaning his AK47 with a handkerchief, while Roja kept thinking about how to carry out the operation easily. There must be no flaws! He remembered Evans's words.
Evans could be very deadly. He could be smiling with you and the next minute, pull a gun to your head. He was such an unpredictable psycho that was not worth daring. In anger, he had killed guys who worked with him twice in Roja's presence simply because they couldn't execute a job successfully as he had expected. But that notwithstanding, he could be as nice as an angel sometimes too.
"Guys, get set! We may not need to wait until they take a turn into a street anymore before striking," Roja announced.
Obviously, he was becoming irritated and impatient with the long, seemingly unending trip.
They were now approaching a roundabout, and looking from afar, it seemed there was another traffic jam ahead. Attacking at this kind of time could be dangerous, he thought. So, he decided to wait until the traffic became light to give the instruction.
"Boss! Look at the back!" Luke-the-dude said after a look at the side mirror.
Roja and Monster-J immediately looked back and saw a lorry loaded with soldiers six vehicles away. The soldiers were making some noise and singing.
"Soldiers! Oh! Damn it! Where could they be going? This job is getting too long to execute," Monster-J said, and immediately lowered the gun in his hand, putting it back under the seat.
Luke-the-dude kept his eyes on the military truck behind and saw eight soldiers jump down, each holding an AK47 rifle. They were jogging up towards them.
"The soldiers are coming forward," he quickly alerted his colleagues. On hearing this, Roja checked through the side mirror and saw that it was true. Therefore, he cautioned Monster-J about the weapon in his hand.
"MJ, be careful, the soldiers are coming," he warned.
"It's been kept already, boss," Monster-J replied.
Roja nodded in commendation of Monster-J's swift action as he reached for his cigarette box in the vehicle compartment. He removed a stick of cigar, put it between his lips, and lighted it. At the first inhale and release of smoke into the air, he sighed satisfactorily.
Within minutes, the soldiers had jogged past them and were instructing and yelling at every vehicle on the road for obstructing the free movement of other road users.
Timi watched the soldiers as they directed the vehicles to ease the traffic. Not long after they got to the spot, the road became free, and free flow of movement commenced again. The SUV of Roja and his gang members drove past the soldiers who were waiting to join their military truck coming behind.
After another five minutes of driving, Luke-the-dude and his colleagues were now close to Timi's taxi, with only two vehicles between them. The military truck, too, was three vehicles behind the SUV driven by Luke-the-dude.
"I hope these military boys won't disturb our mission today," Roja said, turning to face the window and blowing smoke out of the car.
"I hope so too," Luke-the-dude replied, nodding to the spiritual beat he alone could hear in his head.
Within thirty minutes of leaving the roundabout, they arrived at the junction leading to the hotel. The taxi's left turn signal was on, and Luke-the-dude saw it and alerted Roja, who was busy checking a message on his phone.
"Okay, guys, get set. We are about to strike now," Roja informed his boys again, and MJ drew out his rifle from where it was kept, while Roja picked up his pistol too.
Timi drove into the street where the hotel was located, and Luke-the-dude drove after him. He increased the speed of the SUV to catch up with the taxi and overtake it. But Monster-J looked back again at that moment and saw the military truck turn after them too.
"Boss! The military truck is right behind us again," he announced.
"What the fuck!" Roja cursed and smashed his hand on the dashboard.
"MJ! Return the weapon now!" he ordered.
Monster-J quickly put the rifle back where it had been taken from, following Roja's instruction.
"Are they after us?" Luke-the-dude asked, almost panicking.
"It can't be. Let's keep watching," Roja said confidently.
Timi turned the taxi towards the hotel gate and pressed the horn to alert the gateman. Luke-the-dude, on the other hand, drove past the hotel gate, his eyes on the mirror. He slowed down and parked meters away when he saw that the military truck had also stopped in front of the hotel gate.
The hotel's gateman came forward to the taxi and bent his head to look at the faces of the cab occupants. Before he could utter a word, "She's lodging here," Timi announced to him.
"You are welcome. Please use your face masks," the fat gateman said and gave Timi a plastic tally with No. 25 written boldly on it. That reminded Timi of his birthday, and he smiled as he collected it. He was born on Christmas Day and he believed 25 to be his lucky number.
"The day is going to be a lucky day," he mumbled.
Slowly, he drove in and parked at the reception entrance. The military truck drove in too after the taxi, after being attended to by the gateman. Ten soldiers jumped down with their bags and rifles from it after it pulled up.
One of them was supported by a colleague and limped as he walked. They had come to town for guerrilla warfare training at the second battalion headquarters and were lodging at the hotel for two days before returning to their various states.
After Timi had parked the car, and his client had got down, he got down also, and hastily walked to the back of the car to fetch the suitcases from the boot. While he fetched the luggage, his passenger stood in front of the magnificent twelve-story golden glass building and admired its unique architectural design, which stood elegantly like a masterpiece work of art among other buildings in the area. On its body was a reflection of the sunny sky and the surrounding landscape, which had been brightened by the blazing sun. Apart from its name, The Palmgroove Hotel, its glass-covered body earned it a nickname among city residents. They called it The Glass House. The exterior appearance was impressive, and the Asian woman loved it.
Timi walked back to her with the suitcases, and they both walked into the hotel reception. She walked in front, while he came behind with her luggage.
Watching her walk before him, his mind went to the fashion shows he used to watch on the fashion television channel, and there was no difference between her steps and the ones in those shows. She had the shape of a model, and her curves were perfect. Her behind was perfectly round and firm, bouncing seductively as she walked. Every Asian lady he had met or seen on TV, none was endowed with such round and firm buttocks like the woman walking before him, he thought.
At the thought of her tempting figure, he could imagine how lovely it would be to hold her in his arms, and he could literally hear his heart scream to have her. She looked like his dream woman. They were almost getting to the reception desk when he snapped himself out of the daydreaming and forced his eyes away from her curvy body. He doubled his steps to walk by her side and cautioned himself not to go lusting after her.
They both walked into the reception and were met with warm smiles from two beautiful ladies in T-shirts bearing the logo and name of the hotel. Being always conscious of time, he dropped his client's suitcases and told her he wanted to leave.
"Oh!" she exclaimed and blew her nose, sneezed, and reached for her purse.
"Thank you, Mr. ..?" she said, making a gesture that suggested that he should fill in the gap, and he replied, "Timi."
"Yeah! Mr. Timi, thanks for the trip," she said, and hurriedly put her hand in her purse and gave him three ten-dollar notes.
"I am yet to change the currency. I hope you don't mind," she pleaded.
"No! Not at all, madam, and thanks for patronizing me," Timi replied.
On counting the notes, he notified his client of the huge difference:
"Ma'am, this is double the amount of the fare," he told her, but she responded with a flip of the hand,
"It's okay. You can keep it as a tip," she replied and faced the hotel workers to inquire about their services. She felt tired and could not wait to take a cold shower and rest.
Remembering that he had gotten double the amount he was supposed to be paid by the current exchange rate, he was full of gratitude and smiles as he walked out of the hotel lobby whistling. Every encounter with number 25 oftentimes attracted favor, he believed. But for the pretty lady's sneeze, he pitied her. The city of Lagos could be dusty sometimes because of the bad roads, and foreigners who are allergic to dust could easily catch catarrh through it. She will get over it, he concluded as he left the hotel premises.
Monster-J was instructed to go and survey the activities within the hotel compound and was lucky that the gate was left half-opened all the while he reclined on the electric pole adjacent the hotel gate. He smoked a cigar and pretended to be unconcerned about the activities going on in the hotel premises when in reality he was there to spy. He had witnessed the military truck leave after some soldiers disembarked from it and walked into the hotel lobby. He had also seen the taxi driver leave without the lady he brought. But when the hotel gate was closed by the gateman not long after Timi had left, Monster-J walked back to his colleagues to inform them about all he had noticed at the spy post, and they remained in the car to change their strategy of getting the job done. If they should attempt to kidnap the lady within the premises of the hotel, the soldiers who had lodged at the hotel would repel them, and it would be a bloody operation. So, in the meantime, they put heads together to come up with a perfect strategy.
At the reception, after all the paperwork was done, Jane was ushered up the stairs to her room by one of the ladies, while the other attended to the soldiers.
Immediately, Timi went back to the airport to pick up a new client. The traffic was light on his return drive, and he quickly arrived back at the taxi tarmac of the airport. He drove into the parking area, pulled over, wasted no time getting out, and locked his cab. Then, he walked into the airport to scramble for a client as usual.
Sometimes, it was like a tug-of-war between the cab drivers to woo arriving passengers. They scuttled with each flight arrival to entice visitors and returning residents. It could take a long while sometimes to get a new client, depending on the number of passengers that came with each aircraft. When the number was large, it boosted the chances of getting a new passenger on time.
Luckily, within fifteen minutes, Timi emerged from the airport with a Caucasian American expatriate who had just arrived from the U.S. He was a resident returning to the country after an official trip. He told Timi he lived on Victoria Island and that was where Timi was to take him.
Like everyone, he had a mask on his nose and mouth. All conversation and bargaining between him and Timi were done from behind the mask. After putting his passenger's hand luggage into the taxi boot and his passenger had entered the back seat of his cab, Timi sat behind the wheel to turn on the ignition. He was still adjusting his seatbelt when the passenger addressed him from the back seat.
"Hi! Who owns this?" The man held up a credit card he had found on the floor of the car and handed it over to Timi.
Curiously, Timi looked at the name on the card: Jane Aimi Cho.
"Oh! It must be for a passenger I drove to a hotel almost an hour ago," he said.
Although he didn't know her name because she hadn't mentioned it during her time in his cab, being his first passenger of the day, and being familiar with names that sounded like the one on the card through his interactions with Asian clients over the years as a cab driver, he was sure the card belonged to the lady.
He flung the card on the dashboard, and his hand went back to the key in the ignition hole to start the vehicle.
"Thanks, Sir," he said, as he started the car engine and drove off.
As they began the journey, he thought of how worried the Asian lady must have been to have lost her credit card, especially since she didn't have his contact. He believed she must be distressed because of it. To that end, he made up his mind to return to the hotel immediately after dropping off his current client at the Island.
In no time, they got to the man's residence in the Victoria Island area of Lagos. It was a nicely built white bungalow, surrounded by a well-kept lawn and plants. A boy of about 12 years, a half-caste, ran out when he heard the cab enter the compound.
"Daddy, daddy!!" he shouted happily.
He joyously came close to the cab after Timi pulled up, and the man got down and walked hastily to give him a hug. But before he hugged the child, he brought out a bottle of sanitizer from his khaki jacket, poured the content on his palm, and rubbed the liquid on his hands. That reminded Timi he needed to do likewise when he would be ready to drive back. He had forgotten to sanitize his hands since he started work that morning, even after his contact with the first client of the day.
Timi looked at the two, and he could feel the bond between them. The man ran his hand on the boy's head and mumbled some words into his ears, and the boy shouted excitedly.
As this was going on, a tall, beautiful, chocolate-skinned woman came out from the house, full of smiles. Happiness was written all over her face, and her smiles seemed to have the energy to lighten up the darkest room.
"Welcome darling," she walked hurriedly towards the man.
The man left the boy instantly and moved to her, giving her a long, warm embrace. They began to talk, and her accent revealed she was Nigerian.
Having brought out the luggage already, Timi walked up with it to the foot of the stairs and put it down. Afterwards, he went back to meet the man who was busy telling the young boy something quietly.
"Sir, I am ready to go," Timi announced.
At once, the man straightened up and brought out some new 1,000 naira notes from the front pocket of his jeans trousers. He counted eight notes and handed it over to Timi. That was eight thousand naira instead of the five thousand Timi was entitled to. Three thousand naira extra was not something ordinary. A beam of gratitude was revealed by a bright smile on Timi's face, and gladly he said, "Thank you, sir." The man smiled back with a "don't mention" kind of look and returned his attention to his wife and child. He promptly walked away with the woman and the kid, and a young man came out to pick the luggage inside their home.
Happy for a day of tipping-galore, Timi entered his car whistling and swaying his head as he drove off gladly. It was always a good omen every time he came across the number 25. What followed was always a bundle of blessings. He smiled, amusing himself in his strange belief.
"HELLO BOSS, I will call you back," Roja stopped the conversation he was having with Evans when he saw the Uber taxi return to the hotel from the distance the SUV he and his colleagues drove to the area was parked.
He was briefing Evans on the reason why the kidnap was yet to be executed.
"Is that not the same Uber taxi?" he asked Luke-the-dude and Monster-J, who were listening to the report he was giving to Evans.
"Yes, it is," Monster-J answered.
"That Bob Marley sticker on the back windscreen reveals it to be," he added with his usual cool tone.
"She must have probably sent the driver on an errand," Luke-the-dude guessed.
"Whatever it is, we might have to add the guy to the catch eventually," Roja glanced at the two guys' faces as if he was trying to get their approval on what he said, but none of them uttered a word because he was their superior in crime and his words were mostly final.
"MJ, go back to the watch post," Roja ordered. And Monster-J stepped out of the car and went back to the spot where he did the spying.
Timi drove into the hotel compound, and the fat gateman quickly recognized him.
"Here to see our customer?" He asked, and Timi gave him a "Yes" accompanied by a nod. This time around, not giving Timi a tally number, he opened the gate and let him in.
Timi drove to the parking lot and pulled up. Always conscious of time, he picked up the credit card from the dashboard and put it in his shirt pocket, and then, without delay, he got down. As he locked the car door, he checked his wristwatch: it was exactly 12:45 PM. In haste, he dashed towards the hotel reception, eager to be quick so he could pick up at least two more clients at the airport before the end of the day.
At the reception desk, he met one of the girls this time around. He asked to see the Asian woman, and the receptionist put a call through to the guest's room. He watched her as she talked. After a few seconds, the receptionist handed the receiver over to him.
"She wants to talk to you," she announced.
"Hello, Mr. Timi. I hope there is no problem?" Her angelic voice glided through the receiver, and her question revealed nothing but that she was yet to know that her credit card was missing.
"You dropped your credit card in my cab. Are you Jane Aimi Cho?" he asked.
"Yes! Oh! Yes!" she replied, and he could feel surprise in her reaction.
"Please give the receiver back to the receptionist," she pleaded. And he, giving the phone receiver back to the lady, announced, "She wants to talk to you."
He took a look at the watch again, and he felt uneasy. He hated working late into the night, and that was why he worked with time all the time.
After a while of listening on the phone, facing him and dropping the receiver, the receptionist said, "Room 42. She said you should come up." She pointed to the staircase, and right away, he marched there to go upstairs.
Being in a hurry, he almost fell from the stairs. He had miscalculated his steps and stumbled. But all thanks to a timely reflex that saved him from tumbling down from the middle of the stairs to the base. He had quickly grabbed the rail and moved on.
Finally, he got to the door with number 42, and with a tap on the door, the door opened gently, and he walked in. Surprisingly, she was not in the room. She must have left the door unlocked because of me, he thought. He could hear her sneeze amidst the sound of splashes of water in the bathroom.
On hearing this, he moved the small luggage that was on the chair to the floor, and pushed it under the writing table so that he could sit down and wait.
"Good afternoon, Miss Cho," he greeted her and sat down on the small cushion chair.
"Mr. Timi, I am so grateful," she said from the bathroom.
"You are welcome, madam," he replied.
He looked at his watch, and it was 1:00 PM. He needed to make some quick bucks before the day ran out. So he was impatient.
"Should I drop the card on the table and go?" he inquired.
Although he wanted to leave because of his business, he did not want to disturb her either, since it was a single room, and she would need to dress up after leaving the bathroom. Dressing up in his presence would look awkward and embarrassing. And it was against his Christian faith.
"No! Wait. I will soon be out," she replied, sneezing twice in-between the sentence.
With the reply, he realized he had no choice but to wait. So, he accepted the fact that it might not be possible for him to go back to the airport again until the day after. After all, he had made more money through the tips, and it would make up for not being able to work till his normal closing time of 5 PM.