FINAL PREPARATION

I didn't sleep a wink that night. Tolu had returned briefly around eight that evening and gave me his laptop, with a folder containing the printed email exchanges he had with the white guy. 

'I hope you find some clues there,' he said, moving toward the door. 'But the guy is not after us or working with the police. He is probably one of the most gullible people I have tried to swindle.'

'I hope you are right,' I said, opening the laptop. 

'I am,' he said. 'It's a gift I have; otherwise, I would have been caught by now.' He scratched his elbow. 'I am off to a cousin's birthday party in Surelere. Want to come?'

Eric and I shook our head in unison. 

'Alright, see you guys tomorrow,' he said and opened the door.

'Tolu?' Eric said.

Tolu turned. 'Yes?' 

'Don't get drunk and tell stories.'

Tolu smiled and raised his two fingers to make the peace sign. 'I won't. See you later.' 

And he walked out of the door.

'He must be brave,' I said. 'We are going to kidnap someone in two days' time and he is going to a party.'

Eric laughed. 'He loves his entertainment, that's for sure, but bravery is not one of his assets.'

Eric stood up and left the room and I took that as the cue to go through the emails. I read the emails, and after a while, I began to write a plan for the operation. I woke Eric up at about four that morning and we worked through the plan together. I wrote every step—the days, the locations, the action to be taken and who will take which action. 

'What are these?' Eric asked, pointing at the green lines. 

'The routes we are taking,' I said. 'The spot for the hideout is labeled in blue. The post office, the airport and the highway are the ones in red. These are the danger points. These are the points we have to be extremely careful about because they are the likely places to get caught.'

Eric studied the paper. 'It looks okay. Tolu and I would not have conceived half of what you have here.'

I smiled. 'What about food? What have you done about food?'

Eric looked at me. 'Food? What kind of food?'

I smiled again. 'We are holding him for a week or more. What do you intend to feed him with? What do we eat while we wait?'

'I didn't think about that,' Eric said. 'I guess we have to budget some money for that. We can buy Gala sausages and noodles; anything we can cook easily.'

I nodded. 'Do you think he will be able to eat Gala?' 

'Who? The white man?' Eric asked. 'That's his headache. He eats whatever we give him. He should be familiar with sausages and noodles; after all they originated from them.'

'I thought noodles came from Asia,' I said.

'Asia or Europe, he will eat what's given to him. When in Nigeria, do as Nigerians do. If he doesn't eat, he will starve.'

I smiled.

'What?' Eric asked.

'Nothing,' I said, yawning. 'I was thinking about the plan.'

His eyebrows arched upward. 'What? Do you have doubts it will work?'

'Not that,' I said before another yawn stretched my mouth wide open. 'I was just hoping we won't get to the stage of hurting the guy. But what do we do if the relatives refuse to pay the ransom?'

'They will pay,' Eric said, his voice rising. 'I will make them pay. Don't worry about that. I will make them pay. Even if all the relatives are as tough as Putin, they will pay.'

'How?' I asked. In my mind's eyes I saw the white guy all bruised up and bloody. 

'They will pay,' Eric said, getting up from the bed. 'By the time I ship parts of his body back to them, they will pay.'

I considered these words for a couple of seconds, searching my heart to see if I will be able to cut off a man's finger if it became necessary. Eric's expression told me he was serious and he will do it when the time comes. 

'What about fuel?' I asked to keep the thought away. 'Are the tires okay?'

'I think so.'

 'And how long would we have the car tomorrow before Tolu takes it back?'

Eric sighed. 'I don't know how long; only Tolu can tell. If his uncle goes out of town, we can have it for the whole day.'

'Okay.'

'But I don't have money for fuel or the food. It's been tough around here.'

'Yeah, I noticed,' I said. 'I haven't received the money you promised to send to my account.'

He laughed. 'Not to worry. Soon, you won't need the chicken change; we will be swimming in Pounds Sterling.'

I yawned again. 'I need to sleep. What's the conclusion on the fuel and the food?'

Eric sighed. 'We will find a way to buy the food and fill the tank tomorrow. I just have to source for the money.'

I looked at Eric. 'What would you use to frighten him if he proves stubborn?'

Eric smiled. He got up and walked to the foot of the mattress where the three bags sat in a line. He bent, opened the bag in the middle and rummaged through it. He pulled out a large, brown envelope and stood up, looking at the envelope. He walked back to the settee and sat, dipping his hand into the envelope. 

My eyes followed him with interest. He brought out a black wrap and unbuckled it. A black gun fell into his palm and he raised it, smiling. Then he pointed it at me. 

I sat up on the bed, my heart thumping. 'Eric, stop it. Stop this nonsense before you make a mistake.'

Eric laughed and lowered the gun away from me. 'Don't worry,' he said. 'It's not the real thing. It's a toy gun.'

'What?' I said, breathing heavily. 'That's not a toy gun.'

'It is,' he said, and laughed again. 'Looks like metal, right? The first day I saw it in Chinatown I thought it was the real thing too. It's all plastic; but it looks real, doesn't it?' He stretched his hand toward me. 'Take a look.'

I took it, feeling the lightness immediately it fell into my palm. I turned it over. 'Where did you get this from?'

'I told you—from Chinatown. I hope it will do the job—it worked with you, didn't it?' He began to laugh again.

I glared at him. 'Don't do that again. You almost stopped my heart.'

He continued to laugh. 'It will do the job, I think.'

I nodded and handed it back to him. 'It sure will. If it got me scared, it will scare the white guy.' I paused. 'Do you have a sharing formula?'

'Sharing formula for what?'

'For the money; for the ransom.' 

'I thought I said it before,' he said. 'We will share it equally between the three of us.'

'I know what you said. Was that your agreement before I came on board or was it a way to convince me to sign up?'

'No, of course not. Everybody gets equal share.'

'Tolu feels the same way? Did you discuss it with him before I came?'

'Discuss it with him? Of course, he knows everyone takes equal parts. Without the two of us he couldn't pull this if there were no policemen in Lagos. He doesn't have the nerves to do it; he scams people online, but kidnapping is a little beyond him. I know him.'

'Okay,' I said. 'It's just to clear things out because most kidnappers get discovered because one of the partners felt the sharing wasn't fair and does stupid things to make it fair and in the process the police will catch on. It's better to clear that outright so there won't be confusion when the money comes.' 

Eric shook his head and yawned. 'There is no problem there. Tolu may not be brave, but he is not greedy. Anything else? I need to get back to sleep.'

'Go ahead,' I said. 'We can discuss the other aspects tomorrow.'

'What about you? Don't you want to sleep?' he looked at his phone. 'It's four thirty. You need to have some sleep for.'

'Your gun stole my sleep away.'

Eric laughed. 'Get some sleep; you will need it.'

'Yeah,' I said. 'I will join you soon.'

Eric climbed the bed and turned his face to the wall and I heard his soft snore about ten minutes later. I lay awake, looking at the ceiling and thinking about Talatu and the doctor, until the sun chased the darkness from the window and out of the room. 

Then I fell asleep.