Previously:

CHAPTER ONE.

CHAPTER TWO.

CHAPTER THREE.

CHAPTER FOUR.

CHAPTER FIVE.

CHAPTER SIX

While Chika mused over the meeting with the Director and yearned for some soothing words, she suddenly caught herself as she remembered that she should be at the Director’s office. 

Chika stood just outside the office of the Director thinking of several unrelated things at the same time. Her mind went from her late husband, Ike to Ebuka, from Dede to her career, from her office desk to her shoes … just random uninterrupted thoughts that spent only a few seconds in focus before giving way to another. 

The Director soon arrived after the meeting with his deputy. The door to his office is locked with a double security check; the first is his fingerprint and then a code made of a combination of numbers and letters. He opens the door and with his hand beckons Chika to come in.

His office is a sparsely decorated one with a few pieces of furniture. Made of wooden floors, the office decor is a mixture of ancient and modern. While the roof, walls and other electronic gadgets are state of the art, the windows, doors, and other items of furniture either date back to the ’50s or were refurbished with materials that date back to that time.

The main desk is a dark brown piece of furniture made from the ancient Bururu tree that grows majorly in tropical regions. Long three metres and 150 centimetres wide, the oval-shaped table is 15cm thick with smooth golden edges. In front of the table is a carving of a running lion on grass.

On the wall are portraits of the regional governor and the president hanging beside that of the Director. A few metres away is an antique walnut comodino, with the photograph of his family comfortably sitting on top. By the sides and behind the desk are three windows that are approximately 135cm long each with grey blinds, which he rarely uses by the way. He prefers the white silk curtains that keep the place warm and help spread the light evenly across the room. Then, behind this main table is a wooden armchair.

The exciting thing about this whole setup is that the chair is the cheapest item in the room – just a little above 15 dollars. And the Director will always tell the story of the chair to anyone that crosses that entryway; it’s sort of a nice way to start a conversation that sometimes can be quite tense along the way. 

It’s rumoured that one of the days, the Senate President came to visit him because of a bill that was about to pass in congress. The Senate President was his schoolmate at the prestigious Cabiojinia University in Pirro. They both studied law and along the line became very good friends, although they choose different career paths.

While the Senate President explained the bill and its effects on the socio-political system of the country, he simply listened, nodding at intervals, but without uttering a word. When the Senate President finished, the Director simply began telling him the story of his armchair. Rumour has it that at the end of listening to this long ‘interesting’ story, the Senate President changed his mind on the bill. So, the chair, or rather the story behind it has hidden powers to change people’s decisions.

The chair is actually a reminder of his humble beginnings. His grandma got it during his years at St. John’s secondary school. Then in school, you had to come with your own desk from home. Since he hadn’t one, his grandmother stopped by a carpenter that lived nearby and asked him to make one for his grandson. That was her gift to him for successfully getting admitted into secondary school.

After his secondary school education, he left the chair at home as he proceeded to the university. But when he was appointed Director of National Intelligence, he asked a good carpenter to make some adjustments to the chair, while maintaining the original piece of wood used. Whenever he sees or sits on it, he wants the chair to constantly remind him of his roots and how far he has come. 

‘Good morning once again, Miss Chika,’ he says as he walks to his table positioned close to the window, on the opposite side of the entrance. 

‘Good morning, Sir,’ Chika responded, standing beside the table in the well-decorated office.

‘Alright. Please have a seat.’ He says, pointing to the padded ergonomic chair in front of his wide desk. 

‘Thank you, Sir.’ Chika responded.

While he spoke, Chika was still thinking through the entire Operation Harbinger and the possible questions he was going to ask her. ‘Ike would have been a perfect tutor. If he were here, we would have rehearsed all the possible questions and figured out the best ways to answer them. But he’s not here even to cheer me up. Even to say a word of encouragement,’ Chika mused.

Her thoughts were soon interrupted by the words of the Director, ‘would you mind a cup of coffee? I could make for both. As you know, I have a coffee machine right there at the corner. That’s one of the advantages that come with the office.’ He smiled as he pointed in the direction of a dark Espresso machine, 45° West behind him. 

‘No Sir, thanks. I had one already this morning, Sir.’ Chika politely responded.

The Director adjusts his chair and goes through some files on his desk.

‘Miss Chika, what do you think of this?’ he gestured at Chika, handing her a piece of paper containing some figures. Chika gently takes the paper and goes through the figures, acting as though she fully understood what it’s all about.

‘But the figures don’t seem to add up.’ She said.

‘Exactly. That’s the same thing I told him. I’ve said several times that this bill can’t pass. You can’t cut the military expenditure now and in this manner.’ The Director cuts in. 

Chika nods in agreement and continues to peruse the figures. She was aware that the senate was trying to cut the military expenditure and the amount the various agencies get. But she didn’t have the details of where nor how far the cut was going to be.

‘Anyway, things will sort themselves out today as we go to see the Senate committee on intelligence,’ the Director says as he closes the file and moves it to a corner.

‘So, tell me, how have you been and how’s your son, Ebuka? He must be a big boy now,’ he asks as he walks to the comodino to take a folder. 

‘I’m doing great Sir. And Ebuka is doing the same. Thanks, Sir.’

‘Good to know. What do you think of Operation Harbinger?’

‘What?!’ For a moment Chika was jolted. She has been relaxed for these few minutes and wasn’t expecting that question at all. Her rehearsed lines completely evaporated as she struggled for a moment to articulate a reasonable response.

‘I think it was an interesting operation that required some great deal of skill and experience. We tried to do the best we could but unfortunately, I didn’t anticipate the shot that was fired at Blaze as we attempted to cross the border. I’m deeply sorry about that Sir.’

‘It’s ok. It was a difficult Operation. I knew the risks involved and decided to assign it to you. I knew you were the best person to coordinate that expedition and you didn’t disappoint. I’m deeply sorry for the loss of Blaze, but it was impossible to predict that shot.’ The Director concluded.

‘Alright. I called you because we’re creating a special unit that will be detached from here. It’ll still be under the supervision of this agency, although you’ll be reporting both to me and to someone else that is not directly linked to this agency. It’ll be a special antiterrorism unit with a budget and functions that will be highly classified. 

When we deliberated the whole thing with the President, most of us on the table had no doubt as to who should coordinate the unit. So, when I proposed your name, they simply agreed; it was as if they were waiting for me to speak so they could chorus. So, Miss Chika, here is your immediate appointment from the Presidency. You’ll be coordinating the unit with effect from now.  

I’ve scheduled an appointment to meet with the architect designing the new building that will house your office and those of your assistants. He’ll be here tomorrow at 10 am so you can see the plan and make your input. We need to erect that structure in less than 6 months because of the urgency needed. In that building, we’ll also have special rooms that will be Code RED. We’ve decided to separate some confidential issues because of the breach we experienced here last month.’ 

The last words had not left the mouth of the Director before Chika shouted, ‘Thank you, Sir. Thank you, Sir. I sincerely appreciate this opportunity to serve, and I’ll never disappoint you and the country.’ She has contained her excitement all the while. She couldn’t hide her joy any longer.

‘Chika, as you get into this new office, I want you to always remember where you’re coming from and why you are here. You’ve worked so hard to be where you are today, but never forget where you started. Remain focused, treat others fairly and justly, and most importantly, don’t allow these politicians down the street to steer you the wrong way. Ours is to serve the nation, theirs is to serve the donors, don’t forget that.’

As she went back to her office, she was visibly excited but she was also a bit sad. She thought of what it would have been to have Ike around to enjoy this rare moment with her. They had both dreamed of excelling in their careers when they first set out. They couldn’t have imagined that she would become a director of a unit one day. And a director of a unit that reports directly to the President. That was just too much for her. 

Immediately she entered her office, she shut the door behind her and burst into tears. ‘Ike, this appointment is for us. We did this together. You sacrificed so much for me to be where I am today. This can only be the reward of the profuse efforts you made while you were here with me,’ she muttered as she cried the more. 

When she eventually got herself, she called her Dad to break the news to him and the Mom.

‘Dad, we made it. Your girl has made it,’ she repeats excitedly. 

‘Yes, my love. I knew you’d make it; that you’d get to where you are now. But be careful, the difficult job begins now. But I’m sure you’ll triumph too,’ he adds.

‘Alright. See you later this evening or over the weekend. I had told Ebuka that you’ll be coming to pick him up if I am late at the office, but since I have some time, I’ll go pick him up myself. So, you guys can come later this evening or during the weekend.’

‘Alright, Nnem. I’m so proud of you. God bless and keep you in this new office. You’ll shine beyond your imagination. I believe that God will use you to make our country safer and less corrupt.’ the mom adds. 

‘Amen. But Mom, I’m not in the anti-corruption agency. I’m just focused on keeping the country safe.’

‘Yes, I know. But as a Christian, I know that you won’t see corruption in your agency or those in other places and keep calm. You have an obligation to speak out against such practices. So, my daughter, God will use you to eradicate corruption in our system.’

‘Ok, Mom. Amen. I’ll see you later tonight or during the weekend.’ 

As Chika dropped the call with her parents, she got a call from the Director’s office asking for her presence immediately. She quickly closes the files she was examining and walks to the office of the Director. She was a bit apprehensive because she wasn’t expecting to go back to meet with him, seeing that they just finished discussing barely 45 minutes ago. 

Standing next to the Director in his office is a dark chocolate young man of medium size and average height. Initially, Chika couldn’t classify him, but with the aid of a prototype laying on the Director’s table, and the fact that the Directors had previously spoken of an appointment with an architect, Chika soon guessed that the young man could be the architect after all. 

‘Sorry Miss Chika, I had to call you back because the architect came around, and I thought we could meet him at the same time instead of having a different appointment for tomorrow. I’ll be leaving for the senate committee hearing soon. So, you two can continue with the various amendments you want to make. Later, you’ll relate to me any changes you agreed to.’

‘It’s alright Sir,’ Chika responds before turning to greet the architect, Chukwuma. He in turn greets her, and they both move to the general meeting hall to discuss the project in detail, while the Director gets ready for his hearing.

In the meeting room, Chukwuma carefully illustrates the project, and for over an hour, Chika spent time asking questions on any detail she deemed fit. And Chukwuma was willing to clarify. When the meeting lasted for over an hour, she thought that it’ll be great to take a coffee break and continue later. Chukwuma instead suggested that the meeting be adjourned until tomorrow seeing that he had an appointment on the other side of the town in a few hours. Chika obliged and they agreed to meet at 10 am tomorrow and maybe go to see the site of the project. 

As Chukwuma left the National Intelligence headquarters, Chika quickly ran to her office to get her car keys. For a moment she had forgotten that her son will be expecting her at the school and that grandpa won’t be going to pick him up. 

She grabs her key and bag and dashes out of the office, cycling down Pirro’s lane to Ebuka’s school. While cycling to Ebuka’s school and reflecting on how her day is unfolding, it dawns on her that this may be the last time she’ll be cycling freely without a security detail. As the director of a new unit, she’ll be eligible (without choice) to always have two guards with her whenever she’s on duty. 

AND HERE IS CHAPTER SEVEN

Thanks for reading. Kindly share this story with your contacts and make sure to go through the previous chapters. God bless and keep you.