Vice-President Gertrude Mensah was not only petrified but also confused. She knew being Vice-President has its hazards but she never bargained that she would be the target of assassination.
“Don’t you think I should inform the President at once?” she asked. There was silence for a while as Lt. Clottey pondered over the question.
“I do not think it will help, Madam”, he finally said. “If you tell the President, the only thing he can do is to direct National Security, or at least somebody to investigate the case. He may end up calling on the very people who want to assassinate you to investigate the case. This will place my life in danger and also not prevent your assassination.”
The Vice-President nodded. She saw sense once again in what the soldier said.
“Okay, gentleman, then what do I do? I am not an intelligence or security expert. But, you are, so what do you suggest?” she said. Lt. Clottey began to analyse the issue for her.
“We know they have three different strategies to assassinate you. Somebody in your office, somebody who is supposed to be close to you, we know, will carry out the first. My bet then is that this person will not be using a gun; he or she will poison you. They want to assassinate you through poisoning. That is the reason why they would recruit somebody close to you to do it.”
“Poisoning? I See! Then they will fail because I do not eat anywhere apart from my home. In the office, I take only tea and I prepare it myself. All I use to prepare the tea is in a safe in my office and only I have the key. So, it will be difficult for them to poison using somebody from my office” the Vice-President said a bit more confidently. The soldier smiled.
“Madam, even though you do not eat anywhere else, you could still be poisoned”, he said. His comment was cold comfort for the Vice-President.
“How will I be poisoned when I prepare my own food?” she asked, perplexed.
“Madam, you can be poisoned through many other means. A poisonous substance can be rubbed at the edge of your teacup or on your spoon. Even your lipstick can be use as a tool for poisoning you. Just be careful,” Lt. Clottey said.
“May I know your name, please? So far, I have been talking to somebody I do not know. How do I even know this assassination thing is true?” the Vice-President asked.
“Madam, my name is Lt. Victor Clottey of Military Intelligence (MI). I am at our Headquarters in Accra. I have nothing to gain from fabricating this story. Your life is at stake,” the soldier said.
The Vice-President sighed. Her instincts had long indicated Lt. Clottey was telling the truth. And, from what they had discussed so far, she was left in no doubt that he was the only one he could trust in this matter.
“Okay, Lieutenant, you are obviously the only one who can save me now. I have no experience in such matters so I have to rely entirely on you. I trust you to get me out of this. So far, your deductions and appraisal of the issue at stake has been spot on. If things go wrong, it may mean my death,” she said.
“And possibly my death as well” Lt. Clottey said.
“You are right,” the Vice-President said.
The soldier told the Vice-President he has to find a way of having access to her office because he was sure it was there that the poisoning would take place.
“If they fail to poison you, their Plan B will be to plant a bomb in your car. If that fails, Plan C is to have an assassin shoot you dead at the Independence Square during the Independence parade. Now, with Independence Day just six days away, I am sure they will execute their Plan A any moment from now. It could be today, tomorrow or the next day so that there will be enough room to execute Plan B. Plan B, if it becomes necessary, will take place before Independence Day. Plan C, we know, will take place on Independence Day if Plan B also fails
Now, we cannot tell when they will activate Plan A. Somehow, my hunch is that it will take place in your office. What we have to do is find a way of getting me into your office without anybody noticing it. I will spend the night there to see who will come in while you are away. The poisoning is likely to be done in your absence,” the soldier said.
The Vice-President was impressed with the way the soldier was analysing the possible plan of the plotters. She became more confident that he would be able to stop them from assassinating her. She silently vowed that if he succeeds, he would give him a very handsome reward.
“Now, how to get into your office without getting anybody suspicious is the issue. But I have a plan and I hope it works,” he said. Then he proceeded to explain the plan to the Vice-President. When he was done, the Vice-President agreed that it was the best way forward.