The golden Staff of Office sitting on the mahogany desk inside the Chief of Army Staff's private executive suite looked flawless. But to Chief Solomon, it felt heavier than a field mortar. It was exactly 10:00 AM on his first official day in office, and the air-conditioned sanctuary was already vibrating with silent chaos."Sir, we have an emergency operational briefing from the North-Central sector," Corporal Titus said, stepping into the office with a tight, sweating face. He dropped a red classified folder onto the desk. "A platoon of our boys deployed to secure the local market lines was suddenly ambushed by a fresh wave of heavily armed gunmen. Seven casualties recorded within thirty minutes."Chief Solomon's eyes narrowed into slits of cold steel. He slammed his fist on the desk. "Ambush? How? That sector has been under total military radar since I wiped out the main bandit camp years ago!""That is the gbege, sir," Titus whispered, leaning closer, his voice dropping into a tense murmur. "The operational deployment route was changed at 3:00 AM by the Internal Intelligence Division. General Bello's signature is on the routing dispatch. He leaked our boys' exact GPS coordinates to the guerrilla cells to make your first day in office look like a bloodbath for the international press."Before Chief Solomon could even roar with military fury, the office door flew open. Adekunle walked in, his custom-tailored suit jacket completely unbuttoned, his breathing fast and shallow as he held his glowing tablet."Papa, the internal sabotage is only half the problem," Adekunle hissed, his face ash-grey as he locked the office door behind him. "Valerie's offshore syndicate didn't just freeze our Switzerland servers; they just filed an emergency motion at the International Maritime Court in London. They have officially flagged our two hundred million dollars shipping funds as 'illegal finances funding a military dictatorship' [INDEX]."Chief Solomon stood up slowly, his massive frame casting a terrifying shadow across the room. "They frozen the harbor routers?""Worse," Adekunle muttered, tapping his screen frantically. "Two of our biggest container cargo ships carrying imported manufacturing machinery are currently stuck at the international maritime border line. The coast guard has orders to seize the vessels if we try to force them into the Apapa terminal. General Bello is using his corporate connections inside Aso Rock to completely choke our maritime economy from the outside while he destroys your command from the inside."A cold, wicked chuckle suddenly echoed from the speakerphone on Chief Solomon's desk. The encrypted satellite line had just connected automatically through an overriding security protocol."Solomon... Adekunle... I hope you are enjoying the view from the mountaintop," General Bello's smooth, terrifyingly calm voice boomed through the premium office speakers. He was sitting inside his shadow intelligence office down the hall, completely relaxed. "You thought because you have the golden staff and the four hundred street boys, you own the script? I told you before, you are dinosaurs. You fight with tanks and cutlasses, but I control the data. By noon today, the international press will broadcast that the new Chief of Army Staff cannot even secure his own border lines. The crown is already bleeding.""Bello, you are a dead man walking," Chief Solomon growled into the microphone, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the desk."No, Solomon, I am the system," General Bello laughed softly, a chilling sound that made the room turn sub-zero. "Enjoy your first day in office, General. The pepper is just starting to cook."The line went dead, leaving the room in a suffocating, high-velocity silence. Adekunle looked at his father, then down at his locked tablet. General Bello had dropped his ceremonial mask completely, and the Mainland empire was officially surrounded by an invisible, destructive ring of high-level state treason.
