Hard Man

15

"I'm a grown woman. You're not about to tell me what to do or where to sit."
— Des

"So what happened when he accosted you in your room?"

"Accost me?" Lanre slapped his hands on the table and grabbed the edge. "He attacked me. Look—" he jabbed a finger toward his discolored left eye. "He came into my room and beat me up."

The table went silent for a moment as everyone gave Lanre Adejana time to express himself. It was clear he was still hurt, and in this game, he was one of the major players, everyone —including the President, wanted to make sure he was calm.

"I told Fisher to ensure my security was tight," Lanre continued in anger, throwing accusing glances at Fisher who looked ready to blow up. "But he gave me—"

"I gave you some of my best men!"

"Then your organization is questionable, isn't that right? Because the General was just one man! You should definitely check your men and—"

"How dare you!" Oga Fisher growled, rushing to his feet. "A weak man like you will not know—"

"Please, enough!" President Anini stressed, shutting down their argument. "Enough! We are one here, let's not allow distractions. Alright? Lanre, you know the General is a formidable man. Let's not ridicule Fisher's organization because of what happened with the General. He's well trained and strong, we wouldn't fault Fisher. By the way, we have always hired Fisher's men for security and protection on different occasions."

Lanre huffed haughtily and looked away. Oga Fisher lowered himself back to his seat, a sullen frown on his face. "Now, l know you're upset with everything that has happened," the President said calmly. "But I'll need you to tell us exactly how it went when he attacked you. What did he say? I need to know what he knows."

"Well, he didn't say anything," Lanre answered angrily. "That's the most annoying part of it all. He just came into the room and beat me up. No words were exchanged."

"That's strange," President Anini said, and Oga Fisher nodded in confirmation. "He knows something," Fisher said. "He does. He's passing a message to us. That's why he went in there without a mask, and without a word. He knows Lanre will come tattling like a child."

"Of course, I'll come tattling! I got beat up! Like you didn't hide five years because of this same man!"

"We have to get rid of him," Fisher turned to President Anini. "He knows something," he stressed.

At the look of pure malice and animosity on their faces, the President narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean get rid of him?"

"Get rid of him!" Oga Fisher repeated. "Kill him. That's what we need to do. He single handedly foiled this operation five years ago. He can do it again."

Even before Oga Fisher finished his sentence, President Anini was already shaking his head. "What? No. We can't kill him. Why should we? No."

"No need to be sentimental about it," Lanre argued. "He has to go."

"General Babalola Halal is an asset to this country," President Anini said. "I don't think we should get rid of him. I will handle him."

"With all due respect sir," Oga Fisher started in a tone devoid of disrespect. "I'm not sure you can. It's time we admit the General is beyond your power. It's fine to admit that. This is bigger than us." He shared a knowing look with the President. "You know if we fuck this up, we are going down. It will make what happened five years ago seem like a joke."

"I know what is at stake," the President snapped irritatedly. "That's why we have to be careful. For now, I'm trying to steer him in a different direction and take his attention somewhere else. He stormed out of our meeting yesterday because I told him to stay out of the base."