Lt. Badoo stared at the security man. The tag on his shirt identified the security firm he works for as Solid Guard Security Company and his name as Maxwell Agbagba. He memorized the names, determined to advise the President later on to prevail on the Estate Manager of the Airport Hill residential area not to do business with Solid Guard Security again. Deciding it would be a waste of time advising Maxwell, he dashed back into the rain and to his car.
“What did you find out?” Lt. Clottey asked his colleague while clutching at his injured arm. The pain was becoming unbearable. He had been so far unkind to the injury. Just a few minutes ago, he had been wielding a gun and firing it with his right hand, bruising the injury to the shoulder.
“All the fears you expressed came to pass. That talkative security man tipped the Speaker off without knowing it. He told him the Vice-President was in the President’s house”, Lt. Badoo said. Lt. Clottey shook his head in disgust.
“Okay. Quick. Let’s get back to the President. He is still the man who has the power to bring this saga to an end. Time is not on our side”, Lt. He said, wincing in pain. They left the security post, heading back to the President’s residence. Lt. Badoo was all wet. The rain continued its relentless assault on earth.
The soldiers at the barrier to the President’s house let them in this time without much ado. Before the two lieutenants came speeding out of the residence, the soldiers at the barrier received a call from the First Lady instructing them to keep the barrier open for the two soldiers. They had come speeding through the opened barrier. And now on their return, the barrier was opened for them without much ado. Soon, the duo were back in the room where the President, his Vice and the First Lady were waiting. Lt. Badoo told them what had happened.
“The fiend! The scoundrel! He must keep running!” the President burst out in anger. His wife immediately moved to his side and quickly calmed him down, reminding him of his health. He took deep breaths and relaxed back in his chair, forcing out a smile.
“That’s better, Stephen”, his wife said, rubbing his chest soothingly with her hand. Lt. Clottey got up and asked permission to speak. The President nodded.
“Your Excellency, I am sorry to be pushing you but you are the only one who can bring this saga to an end and those behind it to book”, he said. Then he suggested what he and Lt. Badooo think should be done.
The President said their suggestion was good and immediately started implementing them. He placed a call to the Army Commander, Major General Omari Duah and quickly summarized for him what has happened so far. He then ordered him to arrest the Speaker of Parliament immediately and also instructed Brigadier Addy not to release Rex Yamoah and Kruger under any circumstance.
“Yes Sir!” Major-General Omari Duah responded. He started sweating immediately. What the President had told him about the plot to assassinate the Vice-President and that the Speaker of Parliament, Rt. Hon Kwesi Adu-Tutu was behind it with Rex Yamoah as his henchman was a shock to him. Just a couple of hours earlier, on the orders of the Speaker, he ordered men from the Special Forces unit to go and arrest the Vice-President. His boys had failed but he had again, on the orders of the Speaker, ordered them to go to Military Intelligence and secure the release of Rex Yamoah and Krugger. He had called Brigadier Addy and instructed him to release Rex and Kruger to his boys when they arrived there. Now, the call from the President sounding him about the plot by the Speaker, Rex Yamoah and Kruger to assassinate the Vice-President and ordering him to arrest the three meant he had inadvertently been aiding persons who were attempting to commit murder and treason against the state. He decided if he did not act quickly to reverse his earlier orders given the Special Forces team to arrest the Vice-President and release the trio of the Speaker, Rex and Kruger, he was sure to face a court martial later for his role in the plot to assassinate the Vice-President.
He got up from the dining table where he was with his wife and their only child, Collins, who was in medical school. He headed for the bedroom to dress-up. His wife followed him there, noticing that her husband’s countenance had changed after a while of listening to whoever had called him.
“Is there any problem, darling?” his wife asked, noticing also that her husband had suddenly started sweating.
“Yes, Eva. A situation has arisen. I have to go and deal with it immediately” he said as he laced his boots.