Chapter 44 - the executioner choice

oiceThe silence that followed Valerie's condition was thick enough to choke a man. The faint buzz of mosquitoes near the leaking toilet bucket in the corner of the sawmill sounded like chainsaws in the quiet room."Kill your father, Adekunle, and the global empire belongs to you."Sledge's breath hitched. He looked at the glowing satellite drive containing two hundred million dollars, then at Adekunle. Even the remaining street boys in the back stopped whispering. They hated Chief Solomon with every fiber of their being for the primary school massacre, but ordering the execution of your own flesh and blood inside a maximum-security prison cell was a different level of dark geometry.Valerie stood there, her hands folded neatly over her sharp red blazer, her expression completely indifferent. To her, this wasn't a family matter. It was just a liquidation of an asset."You have twenty-four hours to make a decision, Adekunle," Valerie said, her voice smooth like silk. "The syndicate does not keep its vaults open for long. A capsule of compressed chemical toxin has already been delivered to a compromised warden inside Kirikiri prison. One drop in Chief Solomon's morning tea, and his heart will stop. It will look like a natural stroke. No autopsy, no investigation. All we need is your green light."Adekunle walked slowly over to the wooden crate. He picked up the encrypted satellite drive, turning the heavy metal casing over in his calloused palm. He looked at his reflection in the shiny surface. He looked exactly like the man they wanted him to kill."My father told me something inside his bunker," Adekunle murmured, his voice cold, steady, and terrifyingly calm. "He said that in this country, you do not wait for power to be given to you. You grab it by the throat."Valerie smiled, thinking she had won. "Then we have a deal?"Adekunle suddenly dropped the drive back into the briefcase and slammed the lid shut with a loud BANG that made Valerie's two massive bodyguards flinch."No deal," Adekunle hissed, his eyes turning into two blocks of dry ice.Valerie's smile instantly vanished. Her eyebrows snapped together. "You are rejecting two hundred million dollars? For a father who tried to have you executed by a military hit squad? Don't be a fool, Adekunle. Your mainland street kingdom is nothing compared to what we are offering.""I am not protecting my father because of love, Valerie," Adekunle said, stepping directly into her personal space, his towering frame casting a long shadow over her expensive designer sunglasses. "I am protecting him because Chief Solomon is my prisoner. He belongs to the Mainland now. Nobody touches him, nobody poisons him, and nobody skips his punishment until I say so."Valerie stared at him, her corporate mask cracking for the first time, exposing a flash of genuine fear. She realized that the boy standing in front of her wasn't just a tough street guy—he was a completely different breed of dictator. He wasn't driven by greed; he was driven by absolute control."You are making a very dangerous enemy, Chief pikin," Valerie whispered, her voice dropping into a deadly, low pitch as she snatched her briefcase. "The syndicate does not take 'no' for an answer. If you won't kill your father to join us... then we will use Damini and the Island cartel to erase both of you from the map.""Tell Damini and your global board members to bring their worst," Adekunle growled, turning his back on her as he signaled Sledge. "Sledge, clear the yard. We have a prison breakout to plan."Sledge's eyes went wide as Valerie and her bodyguards stormed out of the sawmill, their high heels stomping furiously against the dirt. "Chief pikin... break out?! You wan break your papa comot for maximum security prison?!""My father's life is the only shield we have against this international syndicate, Sledge," Adekunle said, pulling out his burner phone. "If they poison him tomorrow, the ledger secrets die, and they will wipe us out next. We are going to kidnap Chief Solomon from his own cell tonight. Call Corporal Titus. It's time to use the real barracks blueprint.