This chapter is dedicated to neptunereadss

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"Mr. Sylvester has a higher advantage when compared to you, especially when we look at time management. This is as a result of our party's sluggishness. As we can see the other party is doing better in that aspect.
Regardless of that, we can plan our future well. The primary elections are holding on Friday Friday. That's a done deal. I don't mean to count my chickens, but I'm certain were going to have more than one chick hatching from one egg."

He looked around to make sure he had the full concentration of his audience.

"Money they say is power," He said proudly.

Mr. Emmanuel shot Mr. Ikenna a disapproving glare after he made the last statement.

"So, I see how the plan is going,"Mr. Adedeji said looking at the world from the vantage point located at the top of his Three storey mansion in Osogbo- the least of his houses,"By the time I win the primaries, Nigerians will be shocked to see that I'm running for the post. All eyes will now be on me. I will now have the spotlight under my control and I will not hesitate to point it to any direction I like," He said with an evil glint in his eyes.

Mr. Ikenna stared dreamily at his mentor as he watched him speak.

"If I may advise you, try to be on the news for all the good reasons helping people hia and dia and other similar stuff."

That was Mr. Ikenna the personal advisor to Mr. Adedeji. He was employed by Mr. Adedeji only a week ago.

He continued,"You should also cancel any non-political time-consuming activity."

"Noted," Mr. Adedeji muttered.

Mr. Emmanuel chewed his finger nails listening to Mr. Ikenna drone on.

"On Saturday you can attend a local football match. To achieve the best results, attend any of the two derbies. On Sunday, you can attend a popular church. On Monday, you can go to the slums of Lagos and help some of the less-priviledged-"

"You make that sound so easy," Mr. Emmanuel interrupted, with a face.

"On Tuesday," Mr. Ikenna continued, ignoring his colleague's remark, "you can openly fund NDLEA and NAFDAC-"

This time it was Mr. Adedeji who interrupted.
"What business does an oil baron like me have with those smoke heads?" He said proudly.

"Oh Sorry," Mr. Ikenna said, smiling foolishly,"Then, you can visit other countries and build rapport with them."

"I think the rapport I have with the leaders of OPEC member states are enough. I don't need more foolish, money-sucking allies around me," Mr. Adedeji said scoffing.

"Ok sir," Mr. Ikenna said, smiling foolishly again.

Mr. Emmanuel tried his best to muffle his laughter. He ended up grinning from ear to ear and had to turn his face the other direction so he won't be noticed.

"A long line of fatigue-causing activities," Mr. Adedeji said with a very weird kind of coldness and a distant look on his face.

"I also think you should pay a lot of attention to your health. I'm not a medical practicioner neither am I an orator like Mr. Ikenna here, but that is my own little contribution," Mr. Emmanuel said, causing Mr. Ikenna to boil.

Mr. Adedeji stared into the thin air and said,"Excellent reasoning. I am happy to be blessed with two great intellectuals like you both."

"It's our pleasure," Mr. Ikenna said, smiling foolishly yet again.
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"Welcome to the Weekly Meeting of the Inner Circle-" Daniel started.

"Skip all these formalities and let's get to the business of the day," Efe interrupted.

Daniel glared at Efe angrily.

"Bose, let's hear your story," Tiny said, trying to suppress the tension.

"Okay, James, Mohammed and I had a little meeting to discuss a request that Mohammed received. We met at The Town Park and decided to go to the cave, when three armed men, not in uniform shot James and Mohammed -who later escaped, with plastic bullets I guess. As I was about to run, I saw four security men in uniform, closing up on me. I ran into the bush and it was like they were expecting me to do so and they sent a drone after me. I destroyed it and later found my way to Mohammed and James. I was not pursued, probably not worth the effort or it was just a warning," Bose said and immediately gulped down half of her bottled water.

Efe was repeatedly tapping the table hard- a gesture he makes when thinking hard and trying to come up with a solution.

"Mohammed," Ikubor called.

"Yes."

"Let's hear the request."

"Before we hear the request, tell us who sent the request?" Efe, their leader inquired.

"Erm...the request was sent by a wealthy man in Minna who chose to remain anonymous. Stupid though cause we'll eventually find out. He wants us to eliminate his younger brother and make it a clean job. He just wants to make it look like his brother went missing and was never found," Mohammed said.

"What is the name of his brother?" James asked.

"I don't know but if we accept the job, then we'll know or we can go dirty doing the hacking and tracking,"

"Purpose for murder?" Short asked

"Political reasons, I guess."

" I think we should not go with that. Let's refuse the offer," Daniel said.

"Why?" Short who was thinking of the millions they were about to throw away asked.

Nobody answered him.

"I hope you're right. After all, one million no dey last again. We wanted an offer that would fetch us tens of millions and now, you guys are throwing it away, because of what?" He said aggrieved.

Bose who was opposite Short replied,"If you were listening, you'd have realized we're in danger and have to temporarily suspend operations, in case we are being set up. I can't blame you after all, love of money has paralyzed your sense of reasoning."

Short gasped and then glared at her

"The problem with introducing girls to powerful groups," He said and hissed.

Ikubor started. "I think we have to leave now even though today's meeting was short. In it all, it shows that we have to be more careful in all our dealings. It seems that the police is after us or worse still the NDLEA and EFCC. It means they know us or some of us at the very least."

"So, we need to know our enemies and eliminate them one by one," Efe declared.

"We already know our enemies, Efe. Let's be factual," Bose countered.

Efe looked at her thoughtfully, then shot a glance at Daniel and then at Tiny.

"We know Mr. Sylvester, Sen. Okonkwo and Mr. Hamzat are our major enemies. These three men are out of our range, almost impossible to touch," Tiny said half-heartedly.

"It's going to be hard to eliminate these people because of the high wall of security around them," Daniel said.

"If we want to do it, we can. It will only take months of planning, and taking cognizance of details which might be useful in the process," Ikubor said.

When he saw the way everyone was looking at him, he simply shrugged and looked away.

"Sometimes, I wonder why you're not a motivational speaker," Efe said, and everybody excluding Ikubor burst into fits of laughter.

"Hey guys. One thing we should not forget is that Senator Okonkwo and Mr. Hamzat at one point worked for Sylvester. He must have been a great influence on them," Mohammed said.

"This simply means that Mr. Sylvester is our main enemy. We need to take him down before the election in a few months time," Tiny said, leaving everyone to think.

After about three minutes of silence,, Efe stood up.

"I think at this juncture, we can call it a day," Efe said

Everybody stood up and began to disperse.

"One more thing," Efe shouted, making everyone to pause in their tracks,"Leave Mr. Sylvester's death to me and James."

Everybody left leaving Efe and James behind.

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David licked his lips, adjusted his cap and cleaned his face before knocking on the door.

He knocked again. The door opened. He didn't like this house at all. Kemi did not like living with her parents, so she saved more than half her salary for almost a year to build a house in Fagba, Lagos where she now lives with her friend, Tolani. David offered her a house in Lekki but she refused.

"Hey baby," She cooed.

"Hey darling," He replied.

"What happened? You were late today." She asked as she dragged him inside her room.

"Let's talk, David," She said, assuming a serious tone.

"About what?"

"About you. Let me just inform you that I'm feeling sleepy and might not make it past 30 minutes. Punishment for coming by after eight when you know I sleep early," She complained.

David sat on her bed and dragged her into his laps, before whispering in her ear,"Are you sure you can punish me? Cuz I don't see you sleeping for the next two hours, Kemi"

"Ahh stop. You cocky cheat," She groaned.

"What of Tolani? Is she home?" Daniel asked.

"Oh, I take it that you like her now,"Kemi said teasingly,"Sorry, Mr. Miser, she ain't your type."

"Says the girl that was so shy when asking her boyfriend to sleep over," David said, grinning from ear to ear.

"Idiot," Kemi said, turning around to hit him repeatedly while David just watched her. He didn't even flinch.

She eventually stopped and leaned back into him, catching her breath.
"Tolani went to Ogba to visit a friend."

"Okayyyy," He said dragging the 'y' dramatically.

"So what did your Dad say this afternoon that made you so angry? You looked like a cute baby," She said, turning her head round to look at him.

David held her in his arms before standing up and dropping her on the bed. Instead of answering, he walked to her AC and turned it on.

"You little gossip. Your colleagues need to see your behavior outside the office. You will explain what the C.E.O is doing in your room,"

"The C.E.O's son you mean," She corrected.

He ignored her statement.

"Well, the bad news is that Mr. Adedeji is contesting for presidency and Femi has broken ties with me. The good news is that dad is stepping down and I'll be the C.E.O. So, anytime I feel like I can call my secretary to my office to work," He said with a sly grin."

"Congratulations. I would be looking forward to that sir," She said sardonically.

David laughed,"Well, you have no choice."

"So, how is this related to your anger?" She asked with a look of confusion on her face.

"Umm...he asked me to cut my dreads off, if I want to be the C.E.O."

"So?" Kemi asked him.

"I don't want to. I want to have control over my life. Is it because of one company that I would become enslaved?"

"I've never seen you act this childish before. You have the chance to run a billion-dollar investment and you're complaining about that little condition," Kemi said.

"Awwn come on. Personally, I'm no longer comfortable with the height of the hair and I want you to cut it down and look more responsible." She said before giving him a chaste kiss.

"You certainly have a way with words. You've succeeded in making me look foolish. But I will do as you have said," David said, looking at her to realize she was trying to sleep.

"Uhh, my bad," He said making a mental note not to turn on her A.C when talking to her.

Then, he covered her up and snuggled up against her.

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