Room service

I make my way to the hotel lobby and get settled in. I order some cocktails while I wait for my target. My target is none other than the black Queen herself. She’s been dubbed the black Queen of crime by most security agencies around the globe because she runs a crime syndicate that has tentacles reaching some of the most powerful governments in the world. She runs a syndicate of contacts that range from spies, thieves, assassins, mercenaries, hackers, smugglers and the whole shebang. So imagine my surprise when the DSS finds out that they have it on good authority that she’ll be in the country for a couple of days. And guess who they got to make her disappear of the face of the earth. Yup. Good old’ me. Olu Johnson. You’d think the worst thing Nigeria would have to offer would be terrorists but no. An international criminal just had to fall into my lap. I mean Sheila is in town and we’d be having some serious coitus right about now, but I had to cancel that because of this assignment. Sheesh.

My target walks into the lobby carrying a briefcase and heads straight for the counter. A little chitchat occurs between her and the receptionist, a key card is handed to her and she promptly makes her way for the elevator. Now to the outside world I’m pretty sure I look like some rich dude in fancy clothes who’s getting some work done on his tablet while he waits for an important contact or something, and to an extent they’d be correct. But what they don’t know is I never looked up from the tab, even when my target stepped into the lobby so it doesn’t even look like I’m watching her. And the reason why that is, is because I got one of the boys back at the office to help me tap into this hotel’s devices and communication array. So I’m watching everything through their CCTV cameras, which is how I knew when she stepped into the lobby without looking up. And it’s also how I know the floor number she punches in while in the elevator, and it’s also how I know which room she checks into with her key card. And then I take out my earpiece and connect it to my tab and wait. I wait for the opportunity to strike.

I know she’s spent over 12 hours in flight travels to get here. And from the look on her face she’ll need to rest. But most importantly she’ll likely order room service or something. Which is when I’ll have the opportunity to get in. I’m not going to lie, for the head of an international syndicate, this woman seems sloppy. What kind of criminal of her reputation would enter a hotel without any security whatsoever? There are no guards hiding in plain sight. At least none that I can see because I’m pretty good at this stuff remember? Or does she think this hotel is secure enough for her to be vulnerable? Before my worries can get the best of me my thoughts are interrupted by the buzz of the phone in the reception. The receptionist picks it up and listens to the orders from the black Queen while I listen in on the conversation through my earpiece. Before the call ends I message one of the staff whom I had bribed earlier in the week to get my things ready. I had paid him to get me a staff uniform to help disguise me as a hotel employee. And I had also paid him to take care of a certain package for me. As soon as the receptionist is done with the call I tuck away my tablet and earpiece and head for the door. On my way out I bump into someone and feel a slight prick on my arm which I presume to be from one of the many rings on her fingers. She turns around to apologize and for a second I’m blown away. She is possibly one of the tallest women I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m about 5’9 and this woman must have been 6’1 or 6’2 and had the build of an athlete and also quite beautiful. I just mumbled a reply and quickly got out of there. I had someone to kill after all.

I had gotten changed into the uniform. The ‘package’ I had told my good friend to keep was intact-it’s a special kind of poison if you were wondering-and I had retrieved the gun I had hidden in one of the trashcans for emergency purposes the day before, and now I was on my way to meet the Queen. But I had certain doubts about this mission that weren’t going away. For starters, it was going too well. Not that that’s a bad thing but my spider senses were tingling and I couldn’t place the source of danger and that worried me. And I had also started sweating profusely for no apparent reason, which is weird because I’m not the sweaty type. I eventually managed to get over myself and made my way towards her room and knocked on her door with her tray of Asun in hand. Waited for a while before I heard a faint “come in”. I opened the door and went in. I didn’t see anyone in the room, but I heard the shower running. “Just set it on the table and I’ll be right out” she said. I did just that and stood there arms akimbo. She came out in a bath robe and said with a smile “Please take a seat. I’ll be right with you.” And I replied in the most patronizing voice I could muster “Thank you ma, but I don’t think that would be necessary.”

“I think it would.” She said. “Once you take a look in the bathroom Mr. Johnson.”

If I said a cold chill went down my spine it’d be an understatement. My blood froze, but I couldn’t stop my legs from moving towards the bathroom. And that was when everything in me exploded. I knew what my eyes were seeing was real but my brain was finding it difficult to comprehend because it felt like years passed in those moments. And then a few moments later I just started acting on instinct and emotion and brought out my gun and aimed right for her chest. If she knew who I was the moment I stepped in then the gig was over and it was time to end things right here and now. “I know what you’re thinking” she said while seated on a chair and eating the peppered goat meat I had just brought. “You’re wondering how I got Sheila here-she is not dead by the way just unconscious-and you’re wondering how I knew everything and where you went wrong. Well I’m not going to tell you because you don’t have much time.” She was right. I was wondering where I went wrong but I was also feeling guilty for ignoring my instincts about this whole mission earlier. But I also wondered what she meant when she said I didn’t have much time, but if I were to guess I had probably been poisoned earlier today which was I why I was sweating a lot and feeling dizzy. “Before you ask. Yes, you were poisoned and you’re going to die in about three minutes.” She said while glancing at a wall clock in the room. I knew I was running out of time and I hadn’t even realize I had been standing for a while until she spoke, so I did the inevitable and pulled the trigger and…nothing happened. No blood no nothing. She didn’t even move. I pulled the trigger two more times before I realized what had happened. I was shooting blanks. She had somehow found the gun where I hid it and swapped the magazine for blanks. I couldn’t stop my jaw from dropping. “You might want to take that seat now.” She said. I followed her advice after all I wasn’t going to be standing for much longer. “I’m sorry about your girlfriend” she said nodding towards the bathroom. “But I needed something from you and I needed you to take me serious.”

“What do you want from me?” I managed to spit out. She told me what she wanted. She wanted to know everything about how to access the records and files on the DSS personnel that were no longer with the agency. I told her everything I could. She seemed to be interested in one particular guy called Briggs but I lied and told her I don’t know who he is. If I was going to die I might as well make life a little bit difficult for her. When everything was done I managed to ask “Will you let her go?” She glanced towards the bathroom and said coolly “No.”

My heart dropped. My head was spinning and I knew I was going to die with the knowledge that I had brought death to Sheila’s doorstep. As my life was playing before my eyes someone walked into my field of vision. It was the same tall woman I had run into on my way out and I instinctively knew that little prick I felt wasn’t by accident. I knew she had poisoned me with the prick. But it didn’t matter anymore. Nothing mattered as I entered the vast abyss of nothingness.

She didn’t have to lie about letting sheila live but she did it because the man had lied and she wanted him to suffer a little more before he died. When the black Queen noticed the man was dead she turned to the tall woman and said “Sam please tell Sheila to come out of the bathroom now. She did well.” Sam did as she was told and called the other woman out. Sheila came out smiling and asked “So do you think I have what it takes now?” The woman replied with a smirk “Yes I do. Now wash all that make up off and help Sam clear the body. We still got more work to do. This bastard was lying about not knowing where Briggs is.” Sam shifted a little on her feet, obviously hesitant about what she was about to do, the black Queen noticed and asked “What’s wrong Sam?” It’s not like this was her first rodeo after all. If anything at all out of all the operatives that had worked with the black Queen she’d been with her the longest. “It’s just…I was wondering…who is this Briggs to you?” The Queen smiled a gentle smile and said “You’ll see.”

They got rid of the body and the Queen ate her Asun. It was the best she ever had.