Abuja – Ministerial Estate Zone 7 – 3:42 P.M.
The red earth around the Bako estate was the color of dried blood.
Beyond the platinum-plated gates, the mansion loomed — a fortress of mirrored glass, ceramic-tile walls with embedded nanocams, and two black panther statues flanking the main entrance. Inside, power moved in whispers. Secrets festered in golden hallways.
Tunde had only seen this place once in his life.
He remembered the scent of jasmine and cold marbled floors. Remembered the echo of his mother's quiet voice, reminding him to "bow when you see Uncle Kasim."
But Minister Kasim Bako had never been an uncle by blood.
Only by betrayal.
....
Flashback – Kaduna, 14 years ago – Tunde, Age 9
It was the night his father disappeared.
He was playing with plastic soldiers under the flickering bulbs of their compound's living room when NDLEC officers kicked in the door.
They didn't knock.
His mother screamed. Papers flew. And in the chaos, one name echoed in his ears like thunder.
"Kasim said the boy should be spared!"
Then a voice like granite followed:
"The father didn't know his place."
Tunde never saw his father again.
Three weeks later, his mother received a sealed envelope — and a transfer to Abuja under a new name. With it came silence, safety, and a warning.
"Speak of this, and the boy dies too."
....
Present – Abuja — NDLEC Covert Office #91 — 4:15 P.M.
Arewa stared at Tunde across the glass meeting table, a frown shadowing his face.
"You sure you're ready for this?" he asked.
Tunde nodded. His expression was stone.
"I've run from the truth for too long. It's time to face it."
He placed an old photo on the table. Faded edges. Three men in suits — one tall and stern (his father), one smiling like a serpent (Kasim Bako), and a third in military fatigues.
"My father and Kasim were cousins. They built part of the early NDLEC intelligence wing together — back when it wasn't corrupt. But somewhere along the line, Kasim sold out. He made a deal with foreign interests and offered up a scapegoat to protect it."
"And your father paid the price," Arewa said softly.
Tunde looked him in the eye.
"My father died because he tried to expose the Neurotrace trials back in their early phase. He discovered Kasim's cartel was just the tip of a much larger funnel — one that ran through medical aid contracts and international arms-for-pharma swaps."
Alero stepped forward, her voice sharp with disbelief.
"You're saying this started over a decade ago?"
Tunde nodded. "Before I ever joined the academy, I already knew what I was fighting. I just didn't have the proof."
He tapped the table.
"Now I do."
....
Bako Estate – Private Quarters – 4:47 P.M.
Minister Kasim Bako sipped aged cognac in his private lounge, eyes locked on a quantum-stream of the latest resistance transmission. His hands didn't shake, but the vein near his temple pulsed with measured fury.
His daughter, Samira Bako, entered the room — tall, graceful, draped in a royal blue abaya with embedded AR lacework.
"You always said we were protected," she said quietly.
"We are," Bako replied.
"Then why are our servers bleeding? Why are White Ops scrambling like rats? Why are our supply routes burning from Warri to Dakar?"
Bako set the glass down.
"Because the boy survived."
Samira narrowed her eyes.
"You mean Tunde."
He didn't answer.
She stepped closer.
"I knew he looked familiar when I saw that footage. He was the one in the compound. The little boy with the soldier toy."
"You were twelve," Bako murmured. "I told you to forget him."
"You told me his father was a traitor."
Bako stood and turned his back to her. "History is written by survivors. And if we don't crush this rebellion now, you'll be writing yours in exile."
Samira's voice was barely a whisper.
"Maybe it's time the truth wrote itself."
....
Abuja – Underground Resistance Tunnel – 5:29 P.M.
Tunde stared at a blank wall of concrete. Then pressed a hidden switch.
The panel slid open to reveal a locked box, lined with dust.
Inside, wrapped in faded cloth, was his father's last notebook — recovered by a retired NDLEC mole named Garba. Within it were lab codes, pharma transfer manifests, names, locations.
And at the top of the first page:
"If I die, it's because Kasim Bako sold me to foreign devils. Let this truth outlive me."
Arewa stepped beside him.
"You ready?"
Tunde held the book tightly.
"Now... I begin."