“So long, Tammy,” Barigha said.
“I have other copies. And you still don’t have the original.”
“Nice try.”
“Embarrassing for you when someone else sees it.”
“No one else will see it. And if they do, they’ll know who their friends should be.”
They all chuckled, and while they were expecting nothing from me, I hit Thompson in the jaw. As he fell back, I grabbed the Uzi.
Once I had the Uzi, it was not so tough. Nothing is that tough if you have an Uzi.
Mr. Gorilla and the driver reached for their pistols but the quick bursts from the Uzi were faster. They fell, as did Thompson. It was not hard. All I had to do was pull back on the trigger. Suddenly they were dead. Suddenly it was just Barigha Duncan and me. He reached into his jacket for his own gun but stopped as I leveled the Uzi at him. I could have shot him. I almost did. Instead, I gave him firsthand knowledge of what it felt like to be punched in the stomach.
He writhed on the ground for a while, surrounded by ex-employees who had recently suffered an abrupt termination. I took the CDs and threw them into the Explorer. Then, getting a pair of cuffs from my car, I hooked him up to the steering wheel of my damaged car. I took away his cell phone.
“Where are you going? You can’t leave me here like this,” he shouted at me.
“Sure I can. I’m borrowing your SUV. I have an appointment with Chief Olatunji. Don’t worry. I’ll tell someone you’re here.”
I got into his car and drove off, leaving him surrounded by death.
I made one call on the way. When I arrived, Stella was not there. Chief’s front office was deserted, but his door was open. From inside I heard him say, in that deep voice, “Come in, Tammy. I’ve been expecting you.”
I thought I heard a tinge of pride in his voice, pride that I had turned up alive. He had taught me well.
I walked into his office. He sat behind his desk, his hands folded over his stomach, looking at me.
We just stared at each other for a while. There was no need for talking.
Finally, I said, “I have the evidence, sir. The tapes showing you, Barigha, Okpara, and your young friend. I never got his name.”
“George Minima.”
“Who is he anyway?”
“Okpara’s campaign manager.”
“Hmm. I guess he’s probably going to jail with the rest of you.”
“You think so?” His eyes were unwavering. So were mine. “How does one million naira sound?” he asked.
“I don’t care about the easy life, Chief. You disappoint me. What do you think your antigang crew would think? And please don’t tell me that meeting with those criminals was part of your police work. No one would believe that.”
“Everyone cares about the easy life.”
I thought more. “Maybe. Okay, how does three million sound instead?”
“Two.”
“How about two and a half?”
He blinked, then frowned, realizing he could not buy me.
“You wanted me dead, Chief.”
“You have it all wrong. I never wanted you dead. That is why you are still alive. Port Harcourt depends on pretending, Tammy. I do a lot of good as chief of police. I turn my eye to the rest. Someone has to balance the interests of the citizens against organized crime and the oil companies. Tammy, I kept order in Port Harcourt.”
“What a crusader you are. What about Femi?”
“I was sorry about Femi, but I was left with only one choice. I have not personally killed anyone for a long time. I’ve been able to leave that to others.” He sighed, and finally looked away from me. “It won’t work with you, will it?”
“No.”
I opened my suit jacket, to show him the mike and tape recorder. “We’re done,” I said loudly, over my shoulder. Behind me, I heard Captain Akpan and his men walk in from the hallway, where they had been waiting.
“It’s over, Chief.”
“Is this what I taught you?”
“Yes.”
“I was like your father.”
“You were grooming me. Eventually you would have wanted me to kill for you.”
“I was grooming you, Tammy, yes. But you killing anyone was never part of the plan.” He smiled with no humor, and in his eyes, for the first time, I saw a deeper hurt than I had ever seen in anyone before. “I had other people for that.”