He left the tarred road and turned to the un-tarred one. He was driving at forty-five kilometers per hour. Not so bad, that will not cause any suspicion, he guessed.
The tires left a small trail of dust behind. He chose that part of the town because he knew that the place was always lonely and its solitude was very good for this type of assignment.
He looked at the passenger's seat and saw his captive sleeping peacefully and unsuspectingly like a baby. Mathew Coker liked it. "The drug is effective," he thought. He chuckled and mused that atonement must be made for this nation. "And this scapegoat is very okay," he said to himself.
He looked through the rear mirror, the road was very lonely as he had envisaged. Then he cleared the last bushy path and then, when he had driven for about two hundred meters, he cleared the car and stopped. He pulled the hand brake. He never forgot that.
When he had unfastened his seat belt, he got out of the car and went to the passenger's side and opened the door. His captive was still deeply asleep.
"This drug is very effective," he said again to himself. He had chosen Lexotan because it is very common and even if found on him, nobody would suspect him. He smiled. This is a very clean and peaceful coup.
He tapped his captive on the shoulder, but all the noise he made was his rhythmic snoring. Mathew unfastened the captive's seat belt and carried him down. He locked the car, a Mercedes 200v-boot. He chose this car because it is common and even if people spotted it in that bush, they would not suspect anything. It might be assumed to be people who want to perform one ritual or the other. It is very common around this area.
Mathew lifted the man onto his shoulder and with the other hand picked his bag and placed it on the other shoulder and headed for the bush. His captive, a policeman he picked at a swimming pool, was still sleeping on his shoulders.
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At the Omambala Hotels and tourism that morning, Mathew had gone out to swim. He had no intention of catching a scapegoat there. Although he had vowed that atonement must be made for the land, he did not expect it to start that day.
"Hello, I'm Peter Audu, glad to meet you." Mathew was a bit taken by surprise with that greeting. He turned and stretched his hand to meet Peter's already waiting hand, and they exchanged a handshake.
"Good morning! Mathew is my name. Glad to meet you too."
"Do you normally come here to swim?" Peter asked as the two of them sat down at the far end of the bar, Mathew deliberately backing the other customers and bkocking Peter's view. Mathew hesitated weakly as he raised his shoulder and lifted his head a bit and answered, "Mm, not always. I come here once in a while."
"Likewise me, as a policeman, I come here once in a while when I have my 'off' on a sunday."
The mention of the name 'police' bit Mathew and he frowned his face and relaxed again. "Oh! You're a policeman", Mathew said.
"Yes, I'm a policeman", Peter emphasized with a feeling of pride. This irritated Mathew and turned his bile. He controlled his anger and feigned a smile. "In the U.S, they call them cops, here we call them police or Eke", he said and both of them laughed. He hated the policemen, politicians, corrupt government officials and people both in the public and private sectors who in one way or the other are contributing to the corruption that has characterized the country.
The holy book said that the only atonement that can be made for the land is only by the blood of the person who shed the blood. He has been chosen as the avenger of blood and here he is with a lamb for sacrifice. He must do the assignment. He tensed inside him, and then he woke from his reverie.
"You would like to drink something, I guess?"
"Yes. Beer will do", Peter answered. "And you...?" Peter asked, then completed the statement quickly "...which one is your choice?" He said that so that it won't sound as if he would take responsibility of the payment.
"A lager man has no choice." Mathew said as he beckoned the bar man. Peter giggled, pointing at Mathew and said, "you, eeh,you must be too funny."
.
.
As Mathew carried his captive on his left shoulder and his bag on the right, he used his right hand to clear his way. When he got to a point in the bush, he hesitated and looked around; there was nobody around, no sound. He must act quickly; anything can happen. But he knew that what he was doing was a divine assigment and as result, he had a divine protection.
He continued. The weight of the sacrificial lamb on him increased every second but this was the price he had to pay. "Afterall", he said, "The Son of the Holy One endured the cross because of the joy before him." The joy of ridding the country of evil men and leaders will make him suffer anything.
Under a tree, he lowered the sacrificial lamb. Peter was still sleeping and very weak. He tied him to the tree and handled him roughly. That was when Peter awoke from his sleep and become conscious of his environment. "What is happening?" He stammered, pains all over his body.
"Oh! You are awake," Mathew answered, ignoring his face and working seriously on the rope, "you'll know if you keep quiet."
Mathew finished binding him and touched him on his cheek and lifted his face slightly to face his.
This is just part of chapter one. Make haste and get yours.