For a while, she remained speechless. Finding out that Gloria, of all people, was the one who they chose to assassinate her had been a shocker. Now, she was also finding out that the main man behind the plot was the Deputy National Coordinator, a man she considered her friend and who he was going to report the matter to when she first learnt about the plot.
“This world, Whew, I am so shocked.” She said, It was clear to her that, had the polonium-120, which Gloria coated the handles of her drawers with, entered her body, she would have died a horrible death within a matter of seven days.
“I did not know it was polonium-120 that they were going to assassinate you with but I guessed it would be something lethal, something even if inhaled can kill because trying to poison your food may be too risky for them” Lt. Clottey told the Vice-President.
The Vice-President sighed and asked the soldier what they should do under the circumstances. She suggested they hand over the cleaner to the police.
“That will be a false move, madam. If her co-conspirators realize we have busted her, they will strike before we even make any move. Remember the massacre at the police station, they may kill anybody to get to her and even kill her to shut her up from talking. Nothing will stop them.
For now, they think we do not know about the plot. We have to let her go back quickly before they begin to suspect anything because she kept for a long time.
“Let this murderous woman go?” the Vice-President asked, surprised at the suggestion. Lt. Clottey nodded.
“We have to let her return to them so they will think she has succeeded. They will be expecting you to fall sick in the next couple of days. Then your health will begin to deteriorate. After about a week, they expect you to die. During that time, Gloria will cooperate with us. She will be our source within them and let us know about their Plan B and C which the policeman at the James Town police station told me about before they burst in and opened fire. Remember, they still have other plans to assassinate you if this fails. In the next couple of days, you will feign sickness so they will think the polonium-120 is working. By the fifth day, we will have gotten enough information from Gloria to enable us to round them all up,” he said. Then turning to Gloria, he asked her if she would cooperate with them. The cleaner nodded her head vigorously.
“If you go and tell them we caught you and that you confessed and told us about them, they will kill you. I hope you realize that. Therefore, we are letting you go. Every eight hours, you will come to Madam’s office and brief her about what is happening. Do not tell them about me. You don’t know me”. Gloria nodded again. Then Lt. Clottey told her to leave. She looked somewhat relieved as she thanked them profusely repeatedly before walking out of the room.
Thirty minutes after Gloria left him, Kruger, seated in his car, stared at the time. The assignment she was to undertake could not have lasted for even ten minutes. He wondered what was keeping her so long but he resisted the temptation to phone her. When an hour passed and there was still no sign on Gloria, he began to suspect something had gone wrong. Then he saw a car speed into the Presidency. He could not tell who it was or whether it had anything to do with Gloria. He thus moved his car far away from where he dropped Gloria off and then getting out, walked back to where he dropped her off and hid behind a tree. As the minutes passed by and there was no sight of the cleaner, Kruger decided to phone their boss, Rex Yamoah. He got him and quickly briefed him about his suspicion.
“Okay, just hang around to see what will happen” the security capo said. It was almost one hour and forty-five minutes after Gloria left him before Kruger saw her returning. She was alone. However, Kruger stayed hidden behind the tree to make sure no one was following her. He saw her get to where he had parked the car earlier and looked around. He picked his phone and called her. He saw her reach for her phone.
“Did they bust you?” he asked her.
“No. It went well” she lied.
“Did you notice anyone follow you?” he asked again
“No. I am alone. All went well”
So why did you keep long?” he asked.
“I lost the key to the room. It took me a while to find it” she lied again.
“Okay. The car is at the far corner. Walk to it, I am observing you to make sure nobody is following you” he said.
“Okay” she replied.