The walk out of the maximum-security prison felt longer than the walk in. Adekunle's face was a stone mask, but inside his head, a war room was operating."Your most trusted boy is the one who collected the mobilization funding from my account this morning."His father's words were a poison eating away at his confidence. Was it Sledge? The rugged street lord who stood by him in the swamp? Was it Kazeem, the young mechanic who found the tracking device? Or was it one of the other surviving boys from the Surulere raid? Trust on the streets was more expensive than refined gold, and right now, Adekunle was completely broke.By 4:00 PM, Adekunle stepped into the Ebute-Metta sawmill. The dark interior was quiet, except for the sound of Sledge and the boys counting out local currency from a nylon bag—their share from a recent warehouse protection deal."Chief pikin! You don land!" Sledge hailed, waving a stack of five-hundred Naira notes. "Omo, the prison visit clear? How the old man look for cell? He still dey vex?"Adekunle didn't answer immediately. He walked straight to the center of the room, his eyes scanning every single face. Sledge, Kazeem, and the three remaining boys. They all looked normal. They all looked loyal."Sledge," Adekunle said, his voice dropping into a chillingly quiet tone. "Lock the main gate."Sledge frowned, sensing the immediate shift in the atmosphere. He dropped the cash and signaled one of the boys to slide the heavy wooden beam across the entrance. "Chief pikin, wetin sup? Danger dey road?""The danger is already inside this room," Adekunle said, walking over to the wooden table where the nylon bags of money sat. He casually picked up a stack of notes, but he didn't look at the numbers. He put it close to his nose and sniffed it."You people are counting local market money," Adekunle murmured, tossing the stack back down. "But my father just released a fresh batch of mint-green, high-denomination notes from his secret Abuja bank account this morning. Fifty million Naira to be exact. It was paid to the person who told Chief Solomon about my meeting with Damini."The room went dead silent. The boys exchange nervous glances, their hands slowly moving away from their pockets."Chief pikin," Sledge muttered, his rugged face turning dead serious. "I swear with my life, nobody for here fit double-cross you. We bleed together for that primary school compound!""Everybody thinks they are loyal until the credit alert hits their phone, Sledge," Adekunle hissed, his eyes suddenly locking onto Kazeem, the younger brother. Kazeem was standing a bit too far back in the shadows, his hands shaking slightly inside his oversized mechanic overalls.Adekunle walked slowly toward the boy. Every step felt like a heavy combat boot crushing dry twigs."Kazeem," Adekunle whispered, standing directly over the sixteen-year-old. "You are a very brilliant mechanic. You found the hidden tracking device under the dashboard. You found the microphone inside the engine block. In fact, you are the only one who always knows exactly where the surveillance equipment is."Kazeem swallowed hard, his eyes darting toward his older brother. "Brother Sledge... tell am say I no do am now... I be your blood...""Shut up!" Sledge roared, stepping forward, his heart breaking as he looked at his younger brother's guilty face. Sledge aggressively grabbed Kazeem's collar, ripping the mechanic overalls open.THUD.A thick, tightly wrapped bundle of brand-new, mint-green currency notes fell out from the inner pocket of the overalls, bouncing against the sawdust-covered floor. Attached to the money was a small, high-end military-grade encrypted satellite phone—the exact twin of the one Chief Solomon used to call Adekunle the night before.Sledge stared at the cash and the phone, his face twisting into a mixture of absolute shock and murderous fury. He lifted his heavy iron rod, his eyes filling with tears. "Kazeem... you sell us out? To the same man wey kill our brothers?!""Hold on, Sledge," Adekunle commanded, extending his arm to block the iron rod. He looked down at the crying boy on the floor, a dark, brilliant plan forming in his mind.Adekunle picked up the encrypted satellite phone from the floor. He didn't smash it. He unlocked it, a cold, ruthless smile returning to his face."Your brother just gave us the ultimate weapon, Sledge," Adekunle whispered, looking at the phone's incoming call history. "Chief Solomon thinks he bought a spy. He doesn't know he just handed us a direct digital line straight into his new Abuja cartel. We are going to feed the old man a fresh script."
