Chapter 1
Note: this story is based loosely on real events. Nigerien President Bazoum was ousted from power in July 2023, and was held under house arrest with his wife, son and exotic pets. The rest of the details of the story are entirely fictional.
Part One:
“Get out,” he barks.
I put my hands up, trembling as I slip out of the car. The man has four pistols in his belt and a wide mouth which I know can break out into a smile at any moment, even as he shoots me in the head. It does strange things to the brain, this giddy, heady rebellion. It has been only two days since the military has killed hundreds and sapped the government of power, and yet one would think the circus had just come to town.
“Get on your knees,” he spits.
This is not the way I had imagined this would go, and even as my heart is racing I’m thinking, God, make this fast.
He yells in a language I can’t understand and then suddenly a blindfold is placed over my eyes. Now I am really trembling. But they won’t kill me–not yet.
I hear the sound of an engine and then a car speeding away, and finally, it comes; a hard kick to the ribs which sends me flying.
Yet, for some reason, it doesn’t hurt. Nothing does, although I can feel blood trickling from my temple.
Perhaps it is the shock, but more likely it’s the pills Hugo had made me swallow five minutes beforehand; even more likely it’s the fact he had planned this down to the last painful kick, but the fact is: I am filled with a heady drunken elation that this crazy plan is actually working.
