Tina fainted and fell in a heap on the floor. Eno’s eyes widened
as she covered her mouth with both her hands to stop herself
from screaming. The gunshots attracted chaos from outside
the bedroom as Donald’s goons knocked frantically and
screamed out their boss’ name in worry.
Nkem was on the floor in a crumpled heap; blood sipping
through her hands, all over her neck and her chest. Her bra,
formerly white, was now a crimsoned tie-and-dye hue. The
room was silent save for the occasional sniffle that escaped
Eno. Nkem gasped for air, her breath coming out in short
labored bursts. She felt like she had been tackled by a rodeo
bull and having the wind knocked out of her. With shaky
hands, she managed to push Donald’s naked lifeless body away
from on top of her; scrambling up and hurriedly putting some
distance between herself and the dead man. Her aim had been
perfect. The first shot had landed squarely on his chest. The
second was a near-miss; it hit him on the shoulder. The third
shot could have been executed by a pro. It landed on his
forehead at a perfect angle between his eyes. Donald hadn’t
had the pleasure of uttering his ‘Last words’ before slumping
forward, his deadweight taking her down with him as he fell.
His cold lifeless eyes still expressed shock.
The goons in the living room were trying to break down the
bedroom door. Nkem had to act fast because she knew two of
the four men were armed. Unfortunately, she was shaking so
bad, she dropped the gun. As she retrieved it, sudden chill
engulfed her. What if they burst in here? She hadn’t
considered them a factor when she’d made plans to kill
Donald. Now she was stuck in a kill or be killed situation. She
managed to calm her shaky nerves and checked the bullet
rounds in her gun. The fifteen round gun still had twelve
bullets in it. Nkem took a deep breath and looked around the
bedroom, trying to think of a sensible place to hide or take
succor from the goons.
The door was giving in slowly and she knew the goons were
going to burst in, guns blazing… but strangely enough, she was
ready. She turned to Eno who was still whimpering by the
corner. “You’d better go into the toilet and hide” she told
her emotionlessly. “And drag your friend in there with you.
Make sure you lock the doors because its going to be
messy in here”. Nkem realized that her voice sounded alien
even to her own ears and wasn’t surprised that it propelled
instant action from Eno. She watched the naked girl drag her
comatose friend into the adjoining bathroom and locked the
door.
The entrance door burst open and the two armed goons ran
into the room first; armed, poised and ready to kill. The ladies
were nowhere to be found but their boss lay dead on the
floor; his blood forming a weird rug-pool around his body. The
armed goons made a beeline for the bathroom door while the
unarmed ones were trying to resuscitate a dead Donald. Nkem
had the perfect aim from her vantage position behind the
window drapes. She raised her gun again.
Boom! Boom!! Boom!!! Boom!!!! Boom!!!!!’
Five rounds fired in quick successions. Two goons on the floor,
two others out of the bedroom in panic. Death seemed to
make her adrenalin pump. She threw herself on the ground
dramatically, expecting reprisal gunshots, and crawled –
combatant style – on the floor, trying to duck. There was no
retaliating shot, just groans of pain and anguish. Stealthily, she
made her way towards the men. The first goon was groaning in
pain, clutching his chest that harbored two bullet holes. The
second goon was hit on his right arm and was trying to reach
for his fallen pistol with his left. Nkem smiled. Three of the
five fired shots had met their target. She was getting pretty
good at shooting people, she thought. Her glee was temporal
though. The second goon had managed to grab his gun but did
not survive the lifting. She shot him in the head and made
sure she didn’t miss. His death was instant. She finished off
the first goon out of mercy because didn’t want him bleeding
to death.
She kicked them a few times to ensure that they were
certifiably dead before going to lift the door from the floor and
placing it in its rightful position. She needed it as a shield in
case the other goons returned. She calmly got out her cell
phone from her handbag and called Desmond. to be continued ...