Once indoors, Lt. Clottey led his guest to his sister’s apartment, opened the door to the bedroom for her and asked her to feel at home, pointing out the bathroom to her. Then he left for his own room to have his bath too. Ten minutes later, he came to the living room all dressed up in a military uniform.
The day had really been a long one. First, he caught Gloria trying to poison the Vice-President of the country. Then he and the Acting President escaped a car bomb trap. Afterwards, he had to deal with Cpl. Attinka twice. Then the visit to the hospital and President Marfo announcing he was stepping down, making Vice-President Gertrude Mensah automatically the next President of Ghana per the country’s constitution. It did not end there. There was the high speed chase where he had to shake off persons who were pursuing them. He had no doubt that the pursuers were members of the gang who had planned to assassinate Gertrude Mensah. He was so buried in thought, wondering what was going to happen next that he did not see the Acting President come in.
“Hello! A penny for your thoughts” she said. The soldier whirled around to face the woman who was now his direct boss. She was in a light grey executive suit with black shoes to match. Her hair was neatly done. Her make-up was so lightly done one would think she was not wearing one. The Yves Saint Laurent Black Opium perfume she had radiated elegance and power.
“Do I look okay?” Gertrude Mensah asked Lt. Clottey.
“No, Madam. You don’t look okay. You look stunning. Every Ghanaian will be proud to have you as his or her President when you are sworn in as President” Lt. Clottey said. The Acting President laughed.
“I see you are well versed in flattery, Lieutenant,” she said.
“If telling the truth is flattery, then I am well versed in it, Your Excellency” Lt. Clottey replied.
“Thank you. And, as you said, I found your sister’s bathroom really neat. She really must be somebody who has neatness as her priority. The whole place was squeaky clean” the Acting President said. Just then, her phone rang. It was the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Kofi Apau. The Acting President answered the call and listened in silence. Suddenly, she let out a low scream. Lt. Clottey saw her countenance change immediately. He wondered what it was. He heard the Acting President tell the CDS to manage the situation, promising to return to him later. Then she turned to Lt. Clottey.
“The National Security Coordinator, Ian Sackey has been assassinated” she announced. Lt. Clottey was startled by the news. Just less than an hour earlier, they had been with him at the 37Military Hospital. That he was now dead, assassinated, shocked him and made his skin crawl.
“I am sure his Deputy, Alex Yamoah, ordered his assassination after getting wind of the order for his arrest. That man is a dangerous character. To think he was the very person I was going to confide in after you informed me of the plan to assassinate me. I was virtually going to sign the death warrant of you and me by reporting the matter to him. Now, he is on the loose and nobody seems capable of stopping him. I am sure the vehicles that were after us when we were heading to my house were full of his men. I feel so unsafe with him on the prowl” Gertrude Mensah said.
Lt. Clottey did not begrudge the Acting President her sentiments. He too felt unsafe knowing that Rex Yamoah was unhinged and out to get the Acting President. He was sure that he too was now a target.
Then also Kruger. Hiding underneath dead bodies at the James Town Police station when the policemen and inmates of the cell were massacred, he had witnessed the ferocity with which Kruger and his two henchmen, Tiger and Sphinx, massacred all at the police station. Tiger and Sphinx were now dead but knowing Kruger was not dead was cold comfort for him.
“Your Excellency, can I make a suggestion?” he asked.
“Why not,” the Vice-President said.
“Please order my colleague, Lt. Badoo, to go after Rex Yamoah and arrest him. He will deliver. All you need to do is call our Director, Brigadier Addy and tell him you have given an assignment to Lt. Badoo. Tell him you will brief him fully about the operation later” Lt. Clottey said. The Acting President said that was no problem. A few seconds later, he was on the phone with the Director of Military Intelligence. She told the Brigadier she has assigned a task to Lt. Badoo so wants him released to the Presidency for the next 48 hrs.
“Consider it done, Your Excellency”, Brigadier Addy said. The Acting President thanked the military chief and ended the call.
It was now time to leave for the airport to welcome the Russian Prime Minister. Gertrude Mensah had only twenty minutes to spare because the Russian Presidential Jet carrying the august visitor was expected to touch down in twenty-five minutes time. Luckily for the Ghanaian leader, the airport was only five minutes’ drive away with an escort but ten minutes without one. She did not have one.