Street Diaries.

Unknown Gunmen.

The news of the senator hit the media, it was everywhere. The television, the radio, newspapers, and it was blowing up on the fucking internet. What blew up more than the news of his death was the fact that he was shot while having sex with a nineteen-year-old. The poor girl was unfortunate to be the old man's girlfriend that night, the moment we decided to get the senator at her house was also when I decided that I would have to kill her, but when I heard how young she was, I felt bad for her in a way.

"Senator Abu Sani shot dead by unknown gunmen." Unknown gunmen, a term used by both the police and the media when they have absolutely no clue about a crime that involves people getting shot. I knew a lot of people back in the day that got shot, and when you use the term, "shot by unknown gunmen," it meant the case was not going to get solved or taken seriously. But Abu Sani was a politician, of course, they were going to try harder to make the unknown gunmen known this time.

I told Samson to drive us over to the Ogun mart. Kaz had already paid a friend of his who worked in one of the foundries to help us destroy the guns we used, all of them. When I asked Kaz if we could trust his friend, he replied:

"He knows what would happen to him if he betrayed me."

The guy's name was Wasiu and he and Kaz went way back, they were childhood friends. He was already waiting for us at the back entrance of the foundry for a while when we got there.I could tell by the frustration showing on his face.

"You guys are late, I thought you weren't coming," he complained but none of us answered him. I grabbed the bag that had all the weapons in it and threw it at him. He got the message that we were not interested in a chit chat and led us into the factory. He then took us to one of the furnaces and emptied the already disassembled guns in it. I waited until the heated metals started to melt and dipped into my pocket and gave him some money.

"Your brother already paid me," he mumbled, surprisingly.

"Yeah, I know. Think of this as payment for your silence," I pressed the money to his chest and stared into his eyes without saying anything for a moment.

"I get it," he whispered.

"Good," I replied him as I turned and walked out of there.

It was time to call Mr. A. He had provided me with a special phone number to reach him on when he gave me the files on the Senator. But I was so surprised when I continuously dialed the and he did not pick. The time was ten in the morning and the cold morning weather was starting to give way for the hotness of the afternoon. I was starting to be bothered by Mr. A not picking my calls and I needed to think.

"Let's get something to eat," I said to Samson who then proceeded to a restaurant downtown.

"You're going to enjoy the food here, they are the best," Samson said as we all sat down at a table. The waiter came and asked us what we wanted to eat and Samson was busy ordering the food when it happened... A black van suddenly stopped in front of the restaurant, and five men armed to the teeth emerged from the back and immediately opened fire on us. Chuks was fast enough to push me to the ground and pin me there. With my face looking upward, I saw as the bullets ripped through the waiter and Samson, sending pieces of flesh mixed with blood spattering everywhere. Other people in the restaurant also got shot to hell as they scattered in different directions.

When the gunfire ceased, the whole place was a mess of dead bodies, blood and debris of all sorts. Chuks returned fire but they immediately ran into the van and sped away from the scene. I was blinded for a moment and I couldn't see clearly, Samson's blood had splattered into my eyes and mouth when the bullets ripped through him as he sat. His chair was directly above my head when Chuks pushed me to the ground.

"I can't see, Chuks!" I screamed loudly,  Chucks pulled me from the ground and carried me on his shoulder as he ran through the back door of the restaurant and sirens from police cars rose in the air.

The gunmen had run away when they heard the sirens too. It was downtown where the rich people lived, so the police would of course respond more quickly.

I slowly regained my sight as Chuks ran through the alleyways and we finally could not hear the sirens anymore. When I opened my eyes, we had gotten to a cornfield, far away from the restaurant.

"I'm okay now, Chuks," I told him but he still continued moving.

"Damn it, Chuks. Put me down!" I protested, then he suddenly threw me to the ground and fell down too. He was breathing heavily with his mouth opened as he laid on his back and stared into the the clear, blue afternoon sky.

Thank you, Chuks. You saved my life, brother, I placed a hand on his chest as I laud down on the ground beside him and looked at the sky too. Everything was at a standstill in a peaceful way for a moment. The chirping of insects and the birds, and the sounds of other animals made the place magnificent.

"I think about retiring to a farm one day, when I'm old and grey. Preferably, a beautiful quiet place just like this. A place where I could just be at peace. And maybe pass away in my bed...peacefully." I looked at Chuks and he signaled to me the words:

"No peace for the wicked." I laughed out loudly and my voice echoed through the beautiful field, sending some birds and insects flying.

"I guess you are right, Chuks. There is no peace for people like us, not in this lifetime," I replied him as I got to my feet and dialed Mr. A's number again. This time he picked the call.

"Hello, Mr. Badur, I was busy..." He started to explain why he did answer the calls earlier but I cut him off.

"Did you betray me, Mr. A?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I was just attacked now by some men, highly trained and equipped, government type of hitters. Are you telling me you have got nothing to do with it?"

"Wait... The attack at the restaurant downtown? That was you?"he mumbled confusingly.

"Yes, motherfucker! That was me. I lost one of my loyal men and if you tried to have me killed, Mr. A. You have just made a grave mistake."

"Calm down, Mr. Badur. I thought you were smarter than that. Why would I have you killed now, you have just proven to me what an asset you can be. And you know if I wanted you dead, you'd be dead right now."

"Then who the hell just shot at me and my men?" I shouted furiously.

You have quite a lot of people who want you dead, kid. It might have been any of them.

"These were not hitters from any of the family! They were better trained and armed."

"Look... I'll try to help you find out who they were. In the meantime, I need you to stay out of anything that would expose you. The feds are going to be coming to town. You just shot a senator, remember? Good job."

He ended the call and I was standing in the middle of the cornfield, confused. "Who the hell were those bastards," I thought to myself. The phone rang again and it was Kaz.

"You need to come over to Rahma's hotel right now!"he shouted.

"What is the problem, brother?"

"You have to come see this yourself," he said and ended the call.

"Now we are going to have to walk all the way to the next street, Chuks. We have to get to the hotel...our hotel. It feels good to be able to lay claim to something as ours, but you were right. There is no rest for the wicked. Not in this lifetime, not in this business of ours."