Brayo was under strict instructions by Mr. Big Shoe to be as normal as possible during the call, if he wanted to be free again. He swipes right of the screen to receive the call, puts it on loudspeaker and for a moment there is pin drop silence. The call is then ended. As we are try to decipher what is going on, an SMS from Stan pops up on the phone;
“Meet me at Munchy’z Restaurant in 20 minutes. Come with it.”
You read the text and remember you haven’t eaten all day; your stomach rumbles . What a witty organ! You think; the stomach must have read the message too! Just hold on, you’ll eat in 20 minutes; you console yourself. Big shoe analyzes the SMS and decides that you and Mike should get ready to leave for the mission in a while, and exits the room.
Johnny, who has been quiet, perhaps still dumbfound by the events of the day, begs you to give him the chance to accompany Mike to the restaurant. Everyone in campus knows Johnny’s history with food and the fact that it was Munchy’z, with the best chicken in town, the only answer you afford to give him is that you’ll see, once Big Shoe comes back.
Big Shoe returns with 2 hefty men, each carrying identical backpacks. He introduces them as the task force set to complete the operation. They’ll accompany you to the rendezvous. Mike is to carry the backpack with fake cash, while you, on the other hand, the real cash. Both backpacks were bugged. They explain that the identical-bag-trick is part of their contingency plan in case things go south. You’re confused and hope everything goes as planned, so that all this can come to an end. They’ll follow you at safe distance. Johnny whispers in your ear, reminding you to float the idea of him going instead of you, you tell him to go to hell.
You secure a table with four chairs near the entrance of the restaurant. A petite waitress approaches your table. She is tidily dressed in a black and white uniform and you can see the testosterone levels rise on Mike as he stares at her. You benignly knock him back to his senses as you order your Ugali kuku. You ravage the drumsticks of the hopeless chicken and three bites later, Stan calls. You don’t really know if you’re feeling sorry for Stan or elated because this is actually coming to an end.
Brayo hasn’t started eating yet, so he receives the call and you note the sudden change in his facial expression seconds into the call. He tells the person on the other end of the call, presumably Stan, to find him at the first table on the left inside the restaurant and that he is wearing a red v-neck tee.
A scruffy looking young man holding a white phone immediately enters the restaurant and looks around. He starts heading towards your table. Brayo glares you in disbelief and gestures the man to an empty seat next to you. The young man narrates how 30 minutes ago, he was approached by a guy who paid him a thousand shillings upfront, handed him the white phone and instructed him to make a phone call to a man saved as Brayo on the phone. He was to later meet Brayo inside the restaurant where Brayo was to give him a bag. The young man was to return the bag to the guy, and collect the remainder of his cash. He says it was the easiest money he ever made in his life and there was no way he was letting that opportunity pass him by. You’re impressed with Stan’s smarts and you’re curious how he got wind of the plans to arrest him. The score board reads; Stan 1- 0 CID Task Force. You think quickly, grab Brayo’s phone and text Big Shoe the situation at hand. The taskforce is probably hidden at a nearby location outside the restaurant where they are able to monitor all the activities at the restaurant.
Big Shoe immediately replies, instructing you and Brayo to give the man the backpack with the fake cash. The man takes the backpack and disappears into the night.
Brayo texts Big Shoe asking for the next order of events. He replies stating that they’re on the young man’s trail and you should head back to the CID headquarters.
The anxiety can’t allow you and Brayo to finish your food, so you pick the tab and saunter into the streets.
Minutes into your walk, at a dimly lit alley, two guys with very dark clothing block your passage. Fear and adrenaline kick in and you clench the backpack as you slowly backpedal and prepare to take off. Meanwhile, Brayo stands still as if not afraid of the impending danger, but he is the least of your worries now.
You turn to run and unexpectedly, a sharp pain caused by the butt of a blunt object strikes the back of your head just above the neck. It is the last thing you remember.
You wake up but can’t tell for how long you’ve been unconscious. Brayo is out of sight. You struggle to get on your feet and remember you had a backpack with about 11 semesters worth of your school fees. You pat your back pocket, and your wallet is also missing. You check out your front pockets thinking the people who took the backpack and those who took your wallet, might have been kind enough to leave you your mobile phone…you find nothing but a note in your right pocket. You head to a streetlight and read it aloud;
Tell your CID friends to be wiser next time and eliminate the MOLE.
Stan.
READ: The Makings of A University of A Student’s Friday Night : Part Two
This is the second of a three-part series on Black Friday.
This article was written by Capital Campus Correspondent Isaac Shiundu.
