Book Serial: Last Oda Chapter 1 continued

That was why, when his pal demanded his gun that morning, he didn’t need to ask him where he was heading. He had a fair idea. There was a score to settle somewhere. And his friends don’t even need the approval of the family to tidy some personal jobs.
He could have wagered with his life that a hit was imminent. But what he did not realize was that the BBs would be after them sooner. He was not to know that after he left his friends’ room, four 2–2 men had gotten in, snuffing their lives out. What would have shocked him more would have been the knowledge that his beloved Luger was posing the greatest threat to his life.

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The BB men had taken the gun after killing the PC men. In possession of the gun now, was one of the BB hit men, following silently behind him. The 2–2 men trailing him had not reckoned that he would be this sensitive. But unknown to them, those things were a natural part of Gomorrah. His senses were so sharp. The 2–2 guys had alarmed him when they stamped on dried twigs and leaves. Any other person would have missed it but not Gomorrah. With his ears to the ground, he could pick out such tell-tale sounds. They had seen him hesitate when the first sound was made, and had quickly ducked in the bush. At the second noise, they had performed the same ritual, this time a bit faster. But one thing was certain to them, they had not fooled the man this time. The way he held the gun told them a lot. Seeing him negotiate the bend briskly told them he was laying a trap for them. They stepped out of the bush cautiously and continued on his trail. After a few steps, they stopped to ensure that he was completely unaware that he was being followed. If they delayed a little they might even break his patience and then he will give away his position.

*

The few minutes that passed were the longest Gomorrah had ever experienced. To him it seemed as if he spent more than two hours where he squatted. He looked at his watch and it was twenty-five minutes after five. Since he had been there, he had heard and seen nothing. But deep inside him, there was that feeling that danger was lurking around. He decided to wait for another thirty seconds before moving back to the footpath.

The nerve-shattering wait was not only assailing Gomorrah but also the two BB men. To them, seconds no longer existed. No one could have been able to convince them at that moment that thousands of minutes had not passed since they started waiting. Their main problem was that the man they were now after was not the one they had been detailed to kill. From their reckoning their main target would be appearing any moment. The mere thought of failing in a major assignment was horrifying. They decided to abandon the hide-and-seek game they were into with this bastard even though they realized the risks in it. Signaling to each other, they rose from their hide-out and the man with the Mauser went first. They made their approach like ghosts. Then all of a sudden, the man with the Mauser abruptly stopped. Seconds later, his gun roared. He had noticed a movement and fired. Looking at where he had just fired, he became confused, as nothing was there. He had been certain he noticed a movement.

But he was now not so sure. The bush was so thick that visibility was impaired

greatly.

*

The bullet came first, before he heard the explosion. It hit him in the arm. He had focused his attention on his wristwatch, and did not see them approach. He was thrown back to reality when the hot pellet found its way into the bicep of his left arm. The impact shook him, but he was still holding his gun. He raised his head in the direction the ugly sound had come from, carefully searching for his assailant. Fortunately, he was lying down, and

that enabled him to spot the hem of his attacker’s pants. Then he saw him fully!

Though the man was edging closer, Akpan knew that he had not seen him, as the man was looking elsewhere. Probably the shot had been a guess. No wonder he was still breathing. The distance separating them was not much, and Akpan knew that the bullet could not have missed him in that short distance.

Slowly he raised his gun and aimed. He was about to squeeze the trigger when a sudden wave of pain rushed through his body, blurring his vision and triggering a brief dizzy spell. But that brief pause was his greatest undoing as his assailants had spotted him.

One of the assailants fired in his direction and missed Gomorrah’s head by the whiskers, burning a few strands of his hair.

But this second shot brought Akpan to consciousness. He could clearly see the man now. He pulled the trigger of the Beretta, which he had aimed at the man’s chest. The Beretta rang out, exploding on the man’s chest. As the 2–2 man began to go down, his fingers squeezed the trigger of the Mauser. But, the bullet missed its target.

Akpan fired again into the lifeless body. His problem was now over, he thought. It was now time to find his way out of the bush and get his wound attended to. He ran out of the bush with renewed zeal, and continued on the path, unknowingly exposing himself to one of the assailants still alive. Ironically, he thought he had come out of another hot jam–victorious.