Adam

CHAPTER FOURTEEN (14): - MEMORIES

 Kabir was still explaining things to Adam

 “They contacted the one person who had access to bulk of the nation’s funds in liquid cash. The governor of the Central Bank”

 Adam’s gaze was riveted into the screen, everything Kabir was saying told him that his father had a deep connection to the CCA.

 He caught his breadth before speaking

 “You’re telling me, that my dad went deep into all this, because his friend’s wife had been killed six yrs earlier by the missionaries? Isn’t that a bit vague?”

 “Your father had his personal grudges” Big D replied

 “Take for example, the disappearance of his four siblings when he was still a teenager. That remained a mystery till he died. In pursuit of what might have happened to them, he discovered the CCA. He had no idea however, that he was biting a lot more than he could chew”

 “My father’s siblings disappeared?” Adam was getting a bit confused and more curious now

 “What happened to them?”

 “Your dad was beginning to suspect that the CCA were behind it” Big D answered “but honestly, no one knows till today. The important thing was, the three men involved in this investigation, all had personal drives strong enough to go up against the CCA and the cartel sponsoring them”

 Dr Kabir gazed at Adam now, studying the young prodigy and his countenance before speaking.

 “Do you understand, Adam. Even till the end, both Hon Peters and Sen Makinde thought they were finally reaching the root of the CCA”

 “Huh!”

 “But unfortunately,” Kabir continued “They were wrong”

 His gaze turned to one of solitude “They had no way of knowing, that the entire depth of whatever dark grave they were digging, was only a faction of the CCA. The missionaries”

 He fell silent, Adam had begun to understand just how serious was.

 “Every Jagaban in the CCA” Adam slowly began “Has a faction under them that is powerful enough to crush an entire country’s military. That power alone puts them at the peak of every calvary’s aspiration. So, all the effort made by my father and his colleagues, could only scratch on the identity of one, of the country’s four Jagabans.”

 Kabir sighed “Sadly that is true. Putting it casually, Adam. Your father died for nothing”

 Adam was frozen, he didn’t budge, didn’t utter a word for the next five seconds.

 Then,

 “Doctor” he turned his gaze to Kabir “please continue”

 Dr Kabir managed a weak smile and turned back to the screen.

 The image changed again to an image of Banks.

 “It was at around this time, that Banks broke away from the missionaries, and decided to work for Dr Salih”

 Adam clasped his hands together and listened intently

 “Under normal circumstances, this was a plus to your father’s side. A calvary suddenly coming to their side, they could finally understand what the organization was all about. And it was, in the sense that Banks contributed majorly to the scientific approaches of Sen Makinde to kill a genetically different being like calvaries. In the process, he donated the entire bones from both hands for the creation of the same bone bullets that Remi used on you”

 “All his bones?!” Adam was genuinely amazed “Simply because he could regenerate?”

 “That was by the way” Kabir continued “Where his help was crucially needed, in the aspect of information, Banks lacked the ability to properly relate everything about the CCA to them. He failed to let them know of the distinctiveness of missionaries, or that they even had solo operatives in the field. As a result, Hon Peters could never have known that on the night of may 20^th, two years ago, he would be brutally murdered before his son, by a solo missionary operative”

 Adam caught his breadth at that moment.

 His blood suddenly felt hot.

 He struggled to gain composure after hearing the news. He knew his father had been killed by them, but hearing the news officially just hit different.

His grip tightened on the side of the bed and it started cracking.

 “Tell me” He said solemnly “who was the missionary?”

 “I wasn’t there personally” Kabir said and finally slowed down “But details the news carried was that he was brutally murdered with over 300 knife blows. More than 20 of those knife blows were to the skull”

 “Arrgghh!” Adam suddenly yelled and clutched his chest

 Something was pounding hard like a mallet

 Definitely not his heart.

 Or was it?

 Hearing the details of his father’s murder hit with much more force than he had anticipated

 “Who was it?” he groaned “Tell me who did it?”

 “That method of killing is akin to only one missionary” Big D said calmly and walked to Adam’s side “A missionary known as, John Knife”

 “John…Knife” Adam repeated, etching the name into memory

 “Yes” Kabir said softly “In that dark and gloomy night, the missionaries sent a cold, deadly warning to al of them. They were coming, and there was no escape”

 Veins rapidly pumped out of Adam’s neck.

 He gripped the side of the bed again and crushed it.

 Blood began clogging his eyes, turning his vision of everything to blood red.

 Big D rested his hand softly on Adam’s shoulder “Bro, are you sure this isn’t enough? It’s a load of information that might be too much for even me”

 “It’s fine…” Adam groaned and sat up “it’s fine. Dr…” he muttered with blood red eyes “please continue”

 Kabir glanced at the destroyed part of the bed, then he sighed and continued.

 “The rest isn’t much in comparison. The missionaries had you killed in an orchestrated car accident. Since you were the first child and only son of your father, you knew about his secret war with the CCA and therefore you would become a potential threat”

 “Just like they did with Remi” Adam realized

 “That wasn’t the only reason” Kabir interrupted him “they also had another sinister motive. That was why they waited two years after your death. For you to be transformed into a calvary, so they could use you to wipe out all the alliances and everything your father spent his life building. It was a dark plot, a punishment to your father even after his death”

 Adam stared for a while at the reflecting image from the projector, processing all the information he had been given.

 His eyes were still blood shot; rage still boiled his blood.

 But he was trying to be logical.

 Just one bit logical so he could see the bigger picture.

 He exhaled, forcing himself to think of anything other than finding and killing John Knife.

 Then something clicked in his head “Wait!” there was realization in his eyes “Did you say I was the first child?”

 Kabir nodded “Yes. The first child and only son”

 Adam suddenly got to his feet “That means, I have a younger sister!”

 “What are you thinking about Adam?” Big D cut in

 “They won’t remember you! Both your mother and sister don’t recall ever having you as a part of their live. Remi is the only exception and nobody still knows why”

 Adam fell silent, battling his inner demons.

 “She doesn’t need to remember me” he said softly “If I can see my mother and sister again, maybe a spark of the bond of family might be ignited in me again. Even if it doesn’t, at least I can get to watch them from the sidelines”

 Big D exhaled, he had a disappointed look on his face “you don’t understand” he began

 “The missionaries would target anyone you get close to. They’ll cut off all the relations you have to non-calvaries. That’s why Dr Kabir suggested you stay away from Remi”.

 Adam’s eyes widened a bit more, realization suddenly descending.

 He sat back on the bed, his body going limp.

 “They’re just going to…take everything from me. I don’t have any memories of them, and now…I’m not allowed to make any memories with them”

 His throat made a squealing sound as he struggled to hold back tears.

            For two whole minutes, silence dominated the room.

 No one knew any words of comfort to give Adam; he only had to accept their presence as condolence enough.

 Then he sniffed, rose, and walked to where his clothes were.

 Big D was the first to speak “Where are you going?” he asked

 Adam was putting on his trousers “I’m going to find a place to yell”

 None of them really understood what he meant.

 “I’m going with you” Big D put in “It’s already past 8pm, people don’t move around that much in the Capital once it’s late”

 “I’m fine” Adam replied

 “Still” Big D insisted “You’re not in a mental state that completely agrees with the term ‘fine’. So, I’m going with you”

 Adam paused, he had put o n his shirt as well,

 “Alright. Suit yourself” then he vanished with a flash of lightning.

 Almost at the same time, the two of them appeared in an empty highway in the middle of the capital city.

 Big D stretched out his arms “Whoa!” he groaned “I don’t always get a stretch this good”.

 He looked over at Adam “Where are you headed now?”

 “I needed some fresh air” Adam replied “That’s all”

 “Adam” Big D said softly “You can’t let this crush you. If anything, it should be your driving force. From here onwards, let’s work together to bring the CCA down”

 Adam breathed in slowly, then exhaled

 “You are free to choose the path you want’’ Big D continued “Forcing you to come to our side would be no different from what Douglas and Frankenstein did. You should have the freedom to do what you want”

 “During the Eko raid” Adam began calmly “I witnessed something amazing. I saw, for the first time, a seemingly indestructible calvary die before my eyes. I had thought for a long time that calvaries couldn’t die again. After all, we don’t even age. But when Banks killed Jerry, I wasn’t even angry. I realized that calvaries could die after all. And that notion was reinforced when I managed to kill Banks. Since that moment, I promised myself that I would find a way to do it. A way to kill Frankenstein”

 He started crying, tears rolling down his cheeks without his permission

 “But hearing this today. Knowing now that my father was killed because he found out about the missionaries’ senseless killings. An act orchestrated by Douglas, my motive has changed completely. I’ll kill Douglas, then just like Banks should have done, I’ll burn his empire to ash. Believe me Big D, I’ll make every single of them pay. Starting with John Knife”

 “Oh!” a voice exclaimed from the wind “What do you we have here?”

 Suddenly, hundreds of knives shot out of thin air and all accelerated towards Adam.

 When they got face close to him however, electricity pulsed in his eyes and slender surges of blue electricity ran through the knives, pinning them in place.

 “Very impressive” the voice said again.

 Space warped before their eyes and a portal opened in thin air.

 A slender man stepped out first, then a huge muscular man like Big D followed.

 The slender man clapped his hands and smiled mischievously at Adaam and his company.

 “I’ve heard about your uniqueness, stormbringer” the slender man said “but honestly, I am still very impressed. Who would have thought that the junior hand man, would want me dead”

 The blood immediately filled Adam’s eyes again the moment he realized who was standing before him.

 “John Knife, you bastard!”