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Chapter 5 - THE MISSING THREAD

CHAPTER 5

Chidi was absent from work that morning.

Adanna initially believed he had slept off while using his phone. He occasionally arrived late. By midday, however, his desk was still empty. No coat. No scattered files. His coffee cup was gone, too.

She called him. Not responding.

She went to his office. The smell of boiling yam and old paper from the canteen filled the hallway. His door was open. The frozen image on his computer screen was a login page. The chair shoved in. Neatly arranged papers. He had his zippered bag on the floor. It appeared as though he had just gotten up and left.

That did not make sense.

She asked around. A cleaner claimed he left the building late last night. Another journalist claimed he had a meeting with someone from the ministry. None of them has seen him since then.

Adanna walked to a small market near his office. Everyone there knew Chidi. He buys plantain chips from Mama Ebere and always departed smiling. Mama Ebere's eyes widened when Adanna asked about him. "Chidi came this morning," she explained. "But he didn't buy anything. He just passed by like a man in a hurry. He told me, "Tell Ada to calm down." Then he waka".

"Waka go where?" Adanna asked.

Mama Ebere shakes her head. "I don't know oo, Madam. "He no say where."

Back in the newsroom, her editor Tomi frowned when she told him. He called Chidi's number again. Straight to voicemail. He instructed Adanna to keep her head down. "This is not a small matter, Ada. "Move slowly," he said.

Adanna left at three. The sun was already low and gentle, like a tired gold. She had a list of sites to check: Chidi's apartment, the ministry, and the restaurants he used to eat. Her chest felt heavy. Every time she touched her phone, she hoped for a message or an explanation, but nothing happened.

The door to Chidi's flat was unlocked. The lights were off. Someone had set the TV to a low volume. A bowl of cold soup sat on the table. The window was open. On the kitchen counter, a napkin with hasty lettering lay flat. Her name is simply 'Adanna,' and beneath it is a single line: Don't believe the file. Burn it. Meet at the Yobe bridge. Midnight. Alone.

Her hands became numb. The message confirmed a dread she had previously felt: someone was watching her and them. But what about burning it? Was Chidi telling her to erase evidence? Was he trying to protect her?

She searched his apartment nonetheless. Drawers. Bookshelves. Under the mattress. She found a little cassette tape wrapped in ripped tissue at the bottom of a shoe box. Chidi had scribbled on the label, "Ada, Play if I don't call".

She nearly chuckled at the old-fashioned stuff. Cassettes were considered outdated technology. But she took it. She packed it in her luggage and left.

On the street, a little rain began, making the dust smell bitter. Adanna walked quickly. The city closed in on her. People hurried with umbrellas, and vehicles cursed the traffic. Abuja felt like a mask that may be removed at any moment.

She carried the cassette in her coat pocket until midnight.

Then she sat down at her tiny table, turned on a battery-powered tape player, and clicked Play.

Static filled the room. Chidi's voice was low and trembling. "If you are hearing this, Ada, I am gone. Don't panic. Don't run directly into them. They aren't only after me. They're after anyone who digs. There is a file called Project Void. It's bigger than we expected. They wiped their tracks. I attempted to get to copy pieces.

"I couldn't finish." His breath caught. Paper rustled. "If you want to find me, go to the old transmitter near Aso Rock". The smaller tower, not the big one. It's an old place. At the base, there is a red brick with a deep crack. Under it, you will find a key. Use it to open the green box at the back of the tower. The box has a blue envelope. Take it. Don't let anyone see you. Trust no one from the ministry".

A prolonged pause. Then, softer: "If I'm still alive, I'll find you." "If not, burn this tape." The tape ended with static.

Adanna sat very still. The room was small, and the light from the tape player glowed lonely. Her thoughts operated in irregular patterns. Chidi's instructions made sense. But the more sense it made, the riskier it appeared.

She considered calling Tomi. Concerning phoning the cops. Then she remembered the men who had tried to shadow her and the SUV that had stopped across the street. Calling the cops might simply reveal her location to whoever was watching.

She knew what she needed to do.

First, she needed to locate the transmitter. Then she needed to find Kene. If Chidi thought Kene could help, he must have known something crucial. And if Kene didn't, Chidi had set up a trap that could take them all out.

She stuffed the cassette back into its tissue and placed it in her bag. She jotted down the instructions on a small note. She then burned the tape in the sink, watching the smoke curl and the plastic melt. It felt like prayer and punishment at the same time. She did what Chidi asked. She wasn't sure why she obeyed him, but the action made her feel less empty and more dangerous.

By eleven o'clock, she was at the foot of the smaller transmitter. The night smelled like wet metal and diesel. The tower loomed like a black skeleton against the moonlight. She crouched by the base and ran her fingertips along the bricks, discovering a deep fissure. Her heart thudded as she moved aside a loose stone, revealing a small tin box. Inside, there found an old rusty key and a folded sheet. The page listed a name and a location: "Kenechukwu Okafor: Garki Workshop; Bed 4". She reread it twice. Her hands trembled so violently that the paper burnt around the edges.

Someone was watching her, though. She felt it like a hand on the back of her neck. A shadow passed between the towers. She froze, clutching the key like a weapon. "Don't turn," a voice murmured in the darkness. Adanna's muscles tightened. She could hear boots on the gravel. Someone approached slowly and cautiously. She swallowed and turned. "Looking for ghosts, journalist?" he inquired. She couldn't tell what accent he spoke with. A man stood barely ten feet away. He was soaked from the rain. His face was disguised beneath a hood. He appeared ordinary, the type of man who wouldn't stand out. However, his presence was heavy.

Adanna put the key into her pocket. "Who sent you?" She inquired. Her voice didn't shake. He chuckled gently. "Nobody sent me. I came because someone had summoned me." He lifted his hand slightly, and Adanna noticed the gleam of a badge. Not the police; not the ministry. Something else. "You're getting too deep, Miss Adanna." She wanted to take a step back. To run. Instead, she squared her shoulders and maintained his gaze. "Who called you?" she repeated. He didn't respond. Behind him, another man shifted. The night closed in. Adanna scraped a stone with her shoe, attempting to conceal the panic that rose in her throat. If Chidi's voice was on that tape, the game had started. And she was already there, in the middle of it

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