Elvis

Episode 18

Elvis felt himself going numb as he fell on his butt0ckz, his lips quiver in shock, he had just killed a detective, an officer of the law, they are both fighting the same course, they are both on the same side but different segment, they both have the same aim, the same goal; to stop the bomb but he had killed him, he just shot a friend, all because of his delusion, he had thought he was thinking right but he didn’t realize that till it’s too late. He sat dejectedly on the floor, forgetting his surroundings and wept.

Behind him the timer wasn’t aware of the abject emotional breakdown going on just beside it, it doesn’t feel concerned if it was aware as it blinked and countdown, determined to complete its obliterating task.

00:05:50 00:05:49 00:05:48

“Sir, come in, sir, please come in” Timi’s voice shrilled out of the walkie-talkie kicking him out of his slumping emotional state.
“Sir, report sir, the teams are about to storm the facility, I’ll need you to report sir if it’s safe” Timi said becoming apprehensive.
“Sir” Dauda said hiding his worry expertly
“Sir I’m coming to get you out” Ben said sounding determined.
‘The team is storming….’, ‘I’m coming to…..’, ‘is it safe?’ ‘Sir…..sir…’ ‘….storming the facility’ these are his hearing faculty playing prank on him; his brain is having an arduous task deciphering the messages with the current emotional slum he’s in.
‘Sir….there is a bomb under the building’ ‘Where is your board…..’ ‘Get out…….if you are not…’ ‘shey he no de do exam ni’ he held his head as the memories bashed around in his thought about the bombing of the past 8 years. He had to do something

00:03:40 00:03:39 00:03:38

He jumped up, took his walkie-talkie from where it had fallen. He had to do soft
“I’ve found the bomb” he said smartly into the walkie-talkie
“How many minutes does it have left sir” Timi asked relieved but quickly.
“Less than three minutes” Elvis replied.
“The bomb squad can’t get there and diffuse it within that short time, what are we to do” Timi asked
“Tell everybody to switch to channel 7, I want to speak with the IG” Elvis said.
“Elvis you will be punished severely for this, this is abject belittling of my orders….”
“Sir I’ve found the bomb….you can punish me later but right now I want you to clear the area” Elvis said calmly.

“The bomb squad will be there shortly”
“They can’t make it sir, just a few seconds more than two minutes left, clear the area!!” Elvis said looking at the Bomb counting down before him.
“Elvis, get out of there, you are going to get yourself killed” The IG said now concerned.
Just like the realization of what is happening just dawned on him; before him is an instrument of death and he felt cool about it; he started sweating all over, beads of sweat bigger than fists dropped from his body. He can’t get away far enough, he has to do something.

“Sir, can I speak with the leader of the bomb squad?” Elvis suggested,
00:01:20. 00:01:19. 00:01:18
The team leader of the bomb squad came online, Elvis asked him how he can diffuse the bomb, the man told him to try and describe the bomb, Elvis tried to describe it but his nervous self made him to make a mess of his description. Now peels of sweat are all over him, he started getting hot all over.
“Sir, there is a pen in your pocket, I kept it their in case of emergency, it is a micro-camera, unscrew the end and pull it out, you’ll be able to send the live video of the bomb” Timi said.

00:01:01. 00:01:00. 00:00:59.

He did as he was told, shaking all over, he directed the thin wire he had pulled out from the pen towards the bomb, the torch aiding visibility
“I have the video, I can see the bomb” Timi said.

“How will the team leader of the bomb squad see the video” Elvis replied now sounding alarmed as the timer has 40 seconds left. The increasing sound of the beep from the bomb hightening his agigation.

“I’m……sending……the…..life…..coverage……..to….. his…phone……..now, done” Timi said, sounds of his hands running over the keyboard can be heard all through.

“Oh my God, this is a F-13 atomic bomb, capable of bombing an area within the radius of 200m. It was last used in the……..” the bomb squad team leader rambled on
“Can you just stop this history and get me the f–k out of here” Elvis screamed, apprehensive.
Outside, the whole surrounding of the TBS is cleared, the empty vehincles of honourable Titus procession lies outside the podium, deserted vehincles are on the main road, gathering of people are standing at a safe distance, gentlemen and ladies of the press are already around, each trying to be the first to air the news but they couldn’t enter the restricted area so they have to make do with the distance. Buildings surrounding the TBS has been vacated, empty like a deserted farmhouse, how quick people react to the scare of death. How afraid are they of death.

Within a short while, TBS and its immediate surroundings looks like a graveyard, like a leper.

All team leaders of the CIO and their team are also at safe distance trying to hold back the crowd, something that doesn’t seem needed as the crowd has held themselves back. The IG and the ICO members are biting their fingernails, breathing heavily, praying,

expecting a miracle, hoping for the best, each clawing at his own thought and version of optimism. Ben had started moving towards the podium turning deaf ears to pleas for him to do otherwise. Dauda looked unperturbed but refused to leave his location, Timi is sweating profusely as he worked tirelessly on the computer in the van.

00:00:30. 00:00:29. 00:00:28

“Just beside the timer, there’s a metal plate screwed into place, you have to unscrew it, God knows we don’t have that time, under the panel is the wire connection” the Bomb squad team leader lamented.

Elvis saw the panel, luckily it has been unscrewed, seems the bomber left in a hurry….oops that’s what the detective was doing.
“I’ve seen the wire connection” Elvis said trying to hold together his inner self already tearing apart.

00:00:15. 00:00:14. 00:00:13

“What?, so soon?…em okay, you’ll see a red wire among the wires, you have to cut it” The team leader said.

“There are three red wires here” Elvis said his heart beating louder than a bass drum, with a plier in hand.

00:00:08. 00:00:07. 00:00:06

“It has to be one of them, there ought to be only one, what other colours are there?, it must be red, one red…..”

00:00:02. 00:00:01. Beeeeeepppp

Elvis had cut the three red wires, hearing the bomb give out a long beep before the timer stops brought his heart to his mouth. He sat down exhausted as he could hear clapping, whistles and sounds of jubilation from his radio, from the other teams and their members.

“Elvis, you are a sick son of a b**ch” the IG said
“Bomb diffused! You can now move in” the IG mellowed into his radio in awe
“Timi, bring up the information on Cedrick Nwosu, NBI” he said before dropping his radio, his heart still pumping loudly, as he tried to breathe in the whole atmosphere to make up for the ones he missed.