The Nigerian Post, 25th of March 1994. Written by Bamidele Matthews.

Where is the seventeen billion naira loot?

It made the headlines many years ago when it was revealed that the illegal looting of government funds by the late general Rasheed Yemisi had been recovered from a secret bank account in the united kingdom, it is not uncommon knowledge that the late general's reign was a tyrant one, while many will argue that his reign restored order to the nation, many will also argue that it was a reign that suppressed basic human rights and freedom of press and other crimes ranging from the yet confirmed cases of homicide and rape against the late general.

It was revealed that not only was General Rasheed's tyrannical but it was equally corrupt and news of the retrieval of those lost funds was well received by the public with the hopes that it would be used for its original purpose.

Three years past and now, all information regarding the seventeen billion naira fund has been deemed nonexistent, the transparency behind its use also nonexistent. It is as if it never existed and now with the current financial debt the country has found itself in, seventeen billion would go a long way. The country has applied for aid and funding from the IMF.

Additionally, the team of journalists investigating this case two years ago were discovered dead last year. If there really is a loot somewhere out there, we aren't supposed to know of it, it makes one wonder when freedom of press becomes something other than a word of mouth.

TRANSCRIPTS FROM 8PM NEWS, 1ST OF APRIL 1994, NTA NEWS.

Mysterious oil well discovered on the outskirts of yet named land in Abuja State, more details coming soon.

TRANSCRIPTS FROM 8PM NEWS, 4TH OF APRIL 1994, NTA NEWS.

Rumours of oil well discovery in Abuja state nothing more than a hoax, says Nigerian government. More details coming soon.

***

Sanmi Ilori woke up with a splitting headache, the urge to spew his guts and in a bed that was definitely not his. He knew so by the scent of the sheets he lay on, it smelt faintly of lemon, Sanmi's own bed usually smelt of cigarette ash and the scent of clean laundry. But while he was not in his bed, this one felt familiar to him.

His first thought was that he had ended up in bed with another girl, again. He didn't exactly make a thing of being celibate, he liked women and he didn't exactly shy away from pleasure but the last thing he needed was relationship problems, usually when he woke in the house of a female companion they liked to pretend he was their boyfriend and force him to stay for breakfast when he wanted nothing more than to get the hell out there.

He couldn't deal with any fussy girl, not when shame had began to settle deep in his stomach like a heavy stone sinking into water. He was already thinking of ways to get away when he realized he was still wearing yesterday clothes — wherever he was, he had definitely not slept with anybody, which left him with another question; then where the hell was he?

The door creaked open and he had his answer.

"Fuck," he swore, blinking at the girl by the door.

Tope seemed slightly amused, leaning against the open door, with a little smile on her face. She was dressed in an old shorts that he had seen her wear many times and a T-shirt that was sizes bigger than her and her face was bare of make up.

"Looks like sleeping beauty is awake, welcome to the land of the living." She said sarcastically.

Sanmi blinked again, why was she being pleasant to him?

"Did we?" He trailed off, the question in his eyes making the smile slip off her face, her face was blank but showing none of the hate he had come to be familiar with.

"No, you called me a few hours ago and I picked you outside The Love Club." She told him. "I just dumped you here after you puked in my car."

Tope didn't appear to care that he had been on enemy territory, or that she might have seen him, probably slumped against the wall and white powder staining his fingers and nose. Sanmi wasn't sure if he was grateful that she wasn't chewing him to shreds or if he was disappointed that she didn't seem to care anymore.

"What's the time?" He asked, pushing himself up so he was resting his back against the headboard, one look at the window in the room told him it was late outside. He sighed and blinked up at the small chandeliers suspended from the roof and directly above the bed.

"Almost nine o clock." She glanced at the phone in her hand, she looked back at him, cool and collected. "Use the bathroom, you look like shit and meet me in the living room."

Tope spun on her heels and left the room, leaving the door wide open. Sanmi stared even after she was gone, she had changed, a lot. The Tope he had known was stubborn and headstrong, they used to clash like water and fire, she was opinionated and never failed to dish it out to him whenever he messed up but she had also been sweet, she had always had a smile for everyone she met, this version of her was quiet, like a still storm and he wasn't even sure he was the cause of the change — he couldn't be cocky and think he was important enough to break her.

The Tope he knew would have never dabbled with cults. Sanmi wasn't sure if the old Tope he had known was nothing but a facade, he thought about it as he stumbled his way into the adjoining bathroom.

Even after he rinsed his face, tugging at the skin until he was sure he would bruise, the haunted look did not leave his eyes and his hands shook when he let then dangle by his sides. He settled for shoving them in the pockets of his jeans and left her bedroom.

He knew this house like the back of his hands, and every corner he took, everything he saw held memories, as he stepped into the hallway, he remembered fighting with her every time in this same spot before he was forced to back down because she would never do so.  He remembered whispering in the dark with her the night he met her parents. He remembered thinking of this place as his safe haven, now it was another place that mocked him in the face.

In the living room, she sat on the white sofa, watching the news and she looked up when he entered. Sanmi looked around, unable to keep away the feeling of insecurity from welling up in him. It had been the first stumbling stone in their short lived relationship, his insecurity, the fact that he was too little for her, that she could do better than a stupid boy more in love with the drugs he took rather than her.

Tope hailed from a wealthy family although she'd never give it away, she had told him it was the reason she never let anyone get too close to her in the fear they discovered she was rich and begin to kiss up to her — even Grace had no idea that Tope was the daughter of a wealthy politician. Her parents had also thought that Sanmi was no good for their daughter from the moment he had informed them he was studying music, they were the typical Nigerian parents who thought success lied in following career paths like law, medicine or engineering, certainly their daughter could do better than some musician.

The last stone had been him letting her know that, then somehow she had been more determined to prove him wrong. It hadn't ended well.

Tope reached for the remote and muted the TV. Sanmi remained standing, half slouched by the wall.

"We need to talk," she said.

"About what?" Sanmi asked, truly baffled, he didn't think they had anything to speak about, except he did owe her an apology for calling her dragging her into his problems again. "Look, if this is about the drunk dialing thing, then I apologize, I'll even delete your number so it never happens again." Even though I have your number memorized.

Tope shook her head.

"You weren't drunk, you were fucking high out of your mind, Sanmi." She pointed out, something like anger in her voice. "Let's not pretend you were anything but."

Sanmi took one look at his crumpled black shirt and felt his anger flare as it usually did when anyone made mention of his dangerous lifestyle. Usually they did so sounding superficial, as if it wasn't a lifestyle he had tried to quit many times, as if it was something he could easily throw away and be brand new.

"My problems aren't yours." He said, struggling to keep his voice calm.

"You're spiralling, Sanmi." She stood up, her voice raised in anger.

"I. Am. Fine." Sanmi ground out, he lifted a hand to his face and rubbed it harshly, he felt weariness settle deep in his bones, it wasn't the physical type of exhaustion, he was mentally exhausted.

Tope walked to where he stood, looking him up in the eye because he towered well over her, there was something glittering in her eyes, it was something that was reminiscent of the old Tope, the one had that looked at him as if he was capable of anything he set his mind to.

"I'm not judging you, Sanmi," she said softly. "Because no matter what delusion runs through your head," she gave him a look when he parted his lips to speak.

"We both know the demons that run through your head, we both know that the lies they whisper to you, of how you don't matter, of how worthless you are. I wish you could see how I once saw you, how everyone who cares about you looks at you."

"There is no shame in admitting to needing help." She told him quietly, she took several steps back as if she had reached her limit and Sanmi hated himself for the bleak look that settled in her eyes.

"After I had the abortion, I fell into the darkest times of my life, I hated myself, I felt like I had somehow failed myself — even a part of me knew I had done the only thing I could have done and I took it out by pushing everyone away, I spent the holiday with my godfather, he gave me an avenue for my grief and I buried myself with fighting his cause, looking for his revenge."

When she saw Sanmi's look of loathing, she was quick to add; "I'm not blaming you, I wasn't blind when I decided to pursue a relationship with you."

"Well, I blame myself either way." He muttered darkly, because I should have stayed away in the first place.

Tope threw up her hands in exasperation. "This is my problem with you, you put all your sins and secrets in one dead pool and keep killing yourself for  each one, until you're bleeding all over the floor."

Realization hit Sanmi like a brick to the chest, before he knew it, the corner of his lips tugged into a smile. Tope turned and her eyebrows furrowed with confusion.

He laughed at her expression, the sound so sudden that it made his head ache and her own face contort into a frown.

"You're a genius, Tope, a fucking genius." He told her, without thinking, he gathered her into his arms for a quick hug that startled the both of them.

"Are you crazy?" She spluttered after he let go.

"I need to speak to your godfather, now," he told her, urgency seeping into his tone. The truth about Project Eden had been sitting under their noses all this time and they had been too busy chasing stars.

"Why?"

"I think I know what Project Eden is, and if it is what I think it is then he needs to know urgently."

"Sanmi, something's wrong, that was partly what I wanted to talk to you about."

He paused, wondering what could go wrong.

"Tolu Kingston is missing, my godfather seemed to have disappeared immediately after he spoke to you that day, we've been trying to find him since." Tope told him, eyes widened in fear, she began to pace. "I wasn't supposed to tell you so soon."

Sanmi narrowed his eyes when Tope refused to meet his gaze, he knew her ticks and her tells and Tope was probably the worst liar he knew, when she lied she tended to avoid eye contact and instead focus on clenching and unclenching her fists.

"What else aren't you telling me?"

Tope blew out a sigh of defeat. "While you were out, there was a call, from Amina Khalid."

"Why the hell was she calling me? I already saw her this evening." Sanmi groaned, he caught Tope chewing on her lip. "I'm not mad you took the call, if that's what you're worried about."

"No, apparently there was a bomb blast near Jamal Popola's new club a few minutes ago."

Sanmi narrowed his eyes, wondering where she was going with her speech, he didn't care for Jamal or even ORION business in total.

Tope inhaled a sharp breath, twisting the ring around her left ring  finger and Sanmi braced himself for the worst.

"Grace was there."

***

The ground shook beneath their feet and the sudden screams that followed made fear pound a beat into Kendrick Yong's chest. He gripped uselessly for anything in sight and instead reached for nothing, slipping to the floor.

Kendrick met Grace's eyes from across the small office space, she was on her knees like he was. Jamal was clinging to the open door like his assistant was.

"What the hell was that?" Kendrick found his voice, for a moment, the ground stopped shaking but the screaming downstairs prevailed, he could only imagine the panic and chaos that had taken over — there were almost a hundred party goers packed like sardines downstairs, there was no guarantee all of them would make it out alive without trampling each to death first.

"An explosion," Jamal said, he had one hand slapped over his mouth so his words came out muffled, but a second later, he was steady on his feet and glaring at Kendrick. "You definitely didn't tell Joshua Phillips you were coming here, did you?"

"Of course we didn't," Grace snapped, her words slurring into a half scream when the shaking began again, this time, a loose piece of concrete fell down from the roof, and she barely rolled out of the way in time.

"There's a door behind the shelf," Jamal's assistant shouted. She crouched and began to crawl to the shelf of wine resting on the right wall. "Help me get this shit out of the way."

Another brick fell, and this time, Jamal let out a shriek and Kendrick couldn't even find it in him to laugh, not when he could feel heat, sudden and suffocating. The explosion was probably from a building nearby and this one was not stable to withstand the aftershock.

Kendrick stumbled after the assistant; Shikemi if he remembered her name right, they didn't have to do much work with the shelf because one single push sent it to the side and the expensive wine bottles on it crashed to the floor, shattering glittering pieces of glass before their feet.

There was indeed a door behind it, albeit its knob was broken, Kendrick didn't have to worry, a single touch made it creak open, wherever it led to dark and unknown.

"Get up, and let's get the hell out of here." Shikemi snapped at a cowering Jamal.

"I swear I'll get back at fucking Phillips for this, my crib!" Jamal moaned as he stood.

"If you don't shut your mouth, I swear I'll kill you myself." Grace said shakily, She half stood, gingerly crossing the short path to where Kendrick stood with Shikemi.

The noise downstairs was loud as ever, and several crashes echoed every few moments. Kendrick wanted to cover his ears and pretend it was all a dream — it was a nightmare however.

Another boom echoed, more violent than the former. Just when they were about to step into the dark door, the lights in the office went out and this time, Kendrick could barely keep sane as the screams intensified.

Everything went dark at the same time blue and red siren lights lit up the flaming sky.