Rex Yamoah had immediately come with a devious plan to do away with the Vice-President just before the President resigned. And when he spelt out the road map to the Speaker, he was impressed. It involved recruiting at least seven persons. After receiving the go ahead from the Rt. Hon Adu-Tutu, he contacted Kruger whom he had used for several dirty jobs. He told the thug there was an operation to be carried out; the assassination of a VVIP. Kruger was to bring along Sphinx and Tiger whom he had always used when given an assignment by Rex.
From within the National security outfit, Rex brought on board Cpl Attinka and Derrick, a daredevil of a driver. Then he made contacts with persons he knew outside Ghana and through them recruited and brought into the country Phan Xuan, the Vietnamese sniper. Finally, he seduced Gloria, the Vice-President’s cleaner to become part of the plot. Thus, his plan A, B and C were well covered; there was no way Vice-President Gertrude Mensah was not going to be assassinated; and the Speaker had promised mouth-watering financial results to all if their plot succeeds, financial rewards that was above the imagination of all those who were part of the plot. As a sign of his seriousness, he released US $3.5 million dollars for each of the seven. They were each to receive US$1.5 million each if their plot succeeds.
Rex Yamoah had introduced Kruger to him when he said he wanted a job done, a job that would scare the devil himself. And Kruger had done the job exactly as he wanted. He rewarded him adequately and swore him to silence.
“I know you are not married but you have three children. I know they are with your grandmother in the village. If I ever hear this matter from anybody, I would have your children and your mother killed. If I never hear of it, consider you my best friend and one on whom I would be counting on when I become President” he had told Kruger.
Now, as he sat in his living room reflecting on what had happened so far, he realized he was in deep trouble unless he was able to spring out Kruger and Rex. If he doesn’t and they squeal on him during interrogation, he is finished. So he would either have to free them or kill them to shut them up. If he shuts them up, at least his name would not come up as the one who had plotted to have the Vice-President assassinated. Then he can hang on to his position as Speaker of Parliament, the youngest person ever, at his age, 59, to have held that position in the annals of the history of the country.
Come to think of it, the Speaker of Parliament was not a bad position. In fact, it was a position only a few would be able to attain in their life. And he has been one of the lucky few. But he did not attain this height through merit. He did through several machinations and crude tactics, from blackmail through sabotage and threats to sheer treachery and framing up innocent people. But virtually nobody saw him for the invidious character he is because he managed to keep a clean image in the eye of the public. An elder of his church, he was well known for his benevolence. But that part of him was only to hide the other part, the part which Lucifer would envy.
He sighed as he got up. The time had come for him to physically get involved before he gets disgraced. He walked to the window and looked outside. It was still raining. He went to the bedroom where his girlfriend, Akpene, was. She was still asleep. He stared at her. She was one hell of a beauty! Just twenty-three years, he had met her two years ago at a beauty pageant. He did not talk to her that night but used Rex Yamoah to locate her home and where she was schooling. He got Rex to place surveillance on her and when he discovered that she had a boyfriend, he got Rex to fix the boy. Drugs were planted in his bedroom…then one dawn, operatives of the Narcotics Control Board (NACOB) stormed his house, found cocaine in his bedroom and arrested him. His trial lasted only three months. He was sentenced to nine years imprisonment and according to the judge, he was being lenient with him because he was a first time offender. With the coast clear, the Speaker, aware of the trauma Akpene was going through because his boyfriend had been shot, made his move. She tried playing hard initially, claiming the age gap between her and him was too much. But after surprising her with a brand new Lexus, the latest model, she fell for him.
They had been in the relationship since then. Often, he dreamed he was the President of the Republic and her, the First Lady. Just a couple of days ago, his dream was on the verge of becoming a reality; but suddenly, everything had gone wrong and now, he could see no way he could become President.
She stirred, opened those dreamy eyes and smiled at him. He smiled back. Even without make-up, she was stunningly beautiful. She was like a straight line drawn by God. She was his weakness; his Delilah. There was nothing in this world he would not do for her. How he so much wanted to make her the First lady!