Kazeem lay on the sawdust-covered floor, shaking like a wet chicken, his tears washing clean lines through the black grease on his face. The brand-new bundle of Abuja cash and the glowing military satellite phone sat on the table like evidence in a high-profile execution."Chief pikin, I beg you... na the Captain find me for workshop," Kazeem wailed, holding Adekunle's feet. "He say if I no do am, dem go look for my mama for village. I no wan betray you, I swear!"Sledge raised his heavy iron rod again, his teeth grinding in pure agony. "Blood or no blood, I go finish this boy tonight! He bring snake enter our house!""Sledge, drop the metal," Adekunle commanded, his voice sharp enough to cut through the rage in the room. He didn't look angry; he looked like a scientist who had just found the final missing ingredient for a bomb.Adekunle picked up the military satellite phone. The screen flickered, showing an incoming text message from the encrypted source: "Report status. Did Damini secure the mainland blocks?"Adekunle looked down at Kazeem, his cold eyes softening just enough to look merciful, though his mind was moving like a high-speed train. "Kazeem, you want to live to see tomorrow? You want your mother to remain safe?"Kazeem nodded frantically, his eyes wide with desperate hope. "Yes! Anything, Chief pikin! Anything!""Pick up the phone," Adekunle murmured, sliding the device into the boy's trembling hands. "You are going to text the Captain back. You will tell him that Damini failed because his high-tech equipment was too weak, but that I am currently moving all our mainland cash reserves—one hundred million Naira—to an unsecured warehouse near the Apapa port tonight. Tell him I am planning to flee the country by sea."Sledge gasped, looking at Adekunle like he had lost his mind. "Chief pikin, you dey craze?! If you tell the old man say money dey Apapa, his Abuja cartel boys and his corrupt military platoon go surround that port within one hour! They go destroy us completely!""Exactly," Adekunle smiled, a slow, brilliant, and terrifyingly wicked smirk that mirrored the dark genius of Chief Solomon himself. "My father thinks he is a master puppeteer sitting inside a VIP prison cell. He thinks he can use money to move judges and politicians. But what do you think will happen if the military police and the international media find his personal Abuja hit squad attacking a federal port warehouse filled with illegal tracking equipment instead of cash?"Sledge stared at Adekunle as the sheer depth of the counter-strategy slowly clicked in his brain. A wild, slow grin began to spread across the rugged street lord's face. "Omo... you wan use his own trap capture his boys live on camera again?""We are going to feed him the ultimate Nollywood sequel, Sledge," Adekunle whispered, his voice dripping with pure tactical dominance. "He used the internet to save himself last time. This time, we are using the federal port security to bury his entire network. Kazeem, send the text now."Kazeem's fingers flew across the keypad, his breathing slowing down as he sent the fabricated report straight into the heart of Chief Solomon's prison office.Message Sent Successfully.Adekunle walked to the window of the sawmill, looking out toward the dark horizon of the Lagos lagoon. He had started this journey as a spoiled boy who relied on his father's name. Now, at Chapter 40, he was officially writing his own destiny with the ink of absolute strategy.Chief Solomon thought he was the ultimate boss of the jungle, but the new king of the mainland had just moved his queen across the board. Checkmate was loading.
