They watched as the man continued to fidget with various things in the engine while occasionally looking around furtively. Finally, when he was done, he dropped the tools he was having in his pocket and walked away.
“Whew! I got it right again!” Lt. Clottey said.
“You got what right again?” the Vice-President asked, getting scared.
“Your Excellency, what the man is doing is connecting explosives to the engine of your car. As I had suspected, we would have blown into pieces had you turned the key in the ignition. While trying to deduce what their next move would be, it occurred to me that they may try to blast you together with your car. That thought occurred to me the moment we sat down in your car. And now I have been proved right” the soldier explained.
The Vice President was listening to Lt. Clottey with rapt attention. If there was one person, he had come to trust, it was he. She realized she had missed death by whiskers and again, thanks to Lt. Clottey. She felt cold at once and weak at the knees.
“Oh my God” she said, repeatedly as Lt. Clottey put in a call to his unit to request for the anti-bomb squad to come and dismantle whatever explosives had been planted in the car
“Lieutenant, what exactly is happening,” Brigadier Addy asked him.
“Sir, I will explain to you as soon as I report back”, Lt. Clottey said.
“I want a full report on my table by 9: 00 a.m tomorrow. Meanwhile, I am sending the boys right now,” Brigadier Addy said.
“Yes sir!” Lt. Clottey responded.
Ten minutes later, the anti-bomb squad arrived. Lt. Clottey and the Vice-President, accompanied by the two National Security operatives, went downstairs to meet them. Lt. Clottey briefed them about what the CCTV had captured and why he called for them.
“But before you go and dismantle whatever had been planted there, let us go and arrest that scoundrel called Cpl. Attinka” he said.
The two national security operatives led them to the Presidency's workshop, of which Cpl. Attinka was the head. When Lt. Clottey and his team arrived there, nobody seemed to be around. They went to the back of the workshop where they found Cpl. Attinka seated on a table, smoking. He was waiting to hear the sound of an explosion so he could call Rex Yamoah and tell him the assignment went well.
“Corporal, how be?” Lt. Clottey greeted. Cpl. Attinka grunted and asked what they wanted. Lt. Clottey told him the Vice-President wanted to see him.
“Okay. Please tell her I am coming right now” Cpl. Attinka said, puffing on his cigarette...
“We are to come with you” Lt. Clottey shot back.
“I said I am coming. Go and tell her that,” the corporal said, sensing the game did not succeed. Why else will the Vice-President want to see him? Fear began to gnaw at his stomach. Suddenly, he could see in his mind’s eye his picture on the front page of most newspapers as he was being taken to court for attempting to assassinate the Vice-President. His thoughts went to his wife and his eight months old son. How were they going to fare without him? His greed has seen him letting them down.
Lt. Clottey delved into his pocket and pulled out his ID. He showed it to Cpl.Attinka who read what is on it but did not stir. Having seen what was on the ID, he knew he should have been up on his feet immediately because he was dealing with a senior military officer. However, he was in such hot waters that refusing to obey command from a superior officer seemed insignificant.