The Mirage of Life.

It is 5:30 A.M.

A bus drives down the road, the early morning hustle is cracking through the air. No one in sight, the sun barely rising. The bus stops abruptly across a beautifully constructed diamond shaped building.

The doors on the bus are forcefully opened from inside, four bulky looking figures bust out of the bus. All seem to be wearing facial mask of Abraham Lincoln...

The akara lady preparing her produces for the day quickly abandons her shed.

Her neighbor the aboki mallam quickly closes his windows and turns off his light.

These men all carry automatic warfare rifles some MP44 and M16A4 and M9. These men having the aura of menace and death, walk across the street quietly and purposely.

Two were tall and black while two others looked light skinned.

The first black man is balled headed (Ike), one light skinned is tattooed all over his neck (Don), the second black man’s face is covered with beards like Rick Ross (Ross) and the fourth man (Jamie) had eyes of a young man - you would want to meet at an executive luncheon.

Don pulls out an AK 74 with grenade launcher and shots down the back gate entrance of the door to the exquisite diamond shape building which happens to be a bank.

Ike being the bulkiest kicks down the down and lets himself in, the guards on duty at this bank are barely armed. They quickly throw down their supposed weapons pleading for their lives.

Don shoots into one’s stomach, Ross shoots into the other’s left knee.

Jamie draws back and shoots both on their forehead.

“Why?” scoffs Ross

“Did you have to kill them?” Spits out Ike.

“No witnesses!” Jamie bluntly informing the rest of the gang like he was in charge of the operation.

Don and Ross stop on their tracks turn behind to look at Ike who seems frozen.

Thinking to themselves…

“Isn’t Ike meant to be in charge?” Don speaks over his shoulder to Ross

“I thought there was something strange about Jamie today.” Ross

“Yeah, he became a new man with balls...“scoffs Don.

“Guy, won’t you go take care of that your nasty ass cough?” Ross

“Focus!” barks Ike, already pissed off by Jamie assuming command and over riding his authority.

Walking forward, they hear gun shots resounding through the entrance to the front banking hall.

“Move it guys, let’s crack the vault open before the bonny cantonment arrives.” Ike yells out as an order.

“Dunno if Jamie is here to rob or kill, but I don’t want to be here when the Calvary comes.” says Don

“Here, where is the lighter?” asks Ross.

A hand covered with splashes of blood, stretches out with a lighter. Bloodied facial mask is pulled over to reveal a handsome but senile faced Jamie looking excited.

“Let’s bust this joint!” giggles Jamie.

Ike resumes command.

“Jamie stay here with Ross and help with the vault, Don cover the back and I cover the front. Got me?” asks Ike.

“Yes boss!” chorused Don and Ross.

“Jamie, do you copy?” Ike asks sternly.

“What? Is this a commando series?” Jokes Jamie, finding Ike’s demeanor amusing.

Ike walks towards Jamie with the intention of using his gun.

“Bro! I heard you the first time.” cracks Jamie through a smile.

Ross wears his headphones listening to DMX’s ‘Get it on the floor’ to drown out the noise from the torch blower.

Placing the torch blower on the vault, starts torching up an entrance on the vault.

Out back…

Don feeling a bit nervous, brings out his wallet, opens it up and smile.

“Son, dad is going to change your life soon. Real soon, all will be better.”

He looks at the picture of him holding his son on a hospital bed with tubes thrown across him.

“Guys, we are in!” Yells Jamie.

“Yes!” Says Don under his breath. He turns to walk into the building, he feels a sudden wind breeze through him. He suddenly feels light and floating.

He looks up only to see his body moving ahead of him and wonders what he was experiencing.

Don’s physical form turns back and smiles at the quickly evaporate mist. “Regards to your son.”

“Don, what is taking you so long? Get over here.” Ike barks out.

Ike, Ross and Jamie are already packing up whatever they laid their hands on into the bag.

Jamie stops in his tracks and looks up. Ike noticed that Jamie stopped packing.

“Guy what no...” Ike stops

Stares at the red hole burning into Jamie’s forehead.

Thick and dark red substance slowly slides down Jamie’s forehead. Jamie falls to the ground, facing the entrance of the Vault. He falls face down and butt raised up in a praying position.

Don walks over Jamie, picks up the bag and continues to pack like nothing happened.

Ike, drops his bag. Looking around the vault for any security defense system they were not aware of.

“What the fuck Jamie? Stop kidding around kid.” He pulls Jamie’s Shoulder up.

Jamie is barely breathing, smiling and crying silently at the same time.

Ike walks towards Don.

“What is happening?” he touches Don’s shoulder

“Guy answer me jare. Wetin dey happen for here? Abi, bank don dey use babalawo for security measures again!!!”

In that instance, Ike noticed he could not move his hand. He looks towards the hand he placed on Don’s shoulder.

Shudders at the sight of his hand melting into Don’s shoulder.

“Guy!!! Wetin dey!?” Yells Ike, filled with fright.

The harder he pulled his hand, the more Don’s body swallowed him up.

Don glides towards Ike like a rubbery substance…smiling.

“Say hello to Don for me.” he says as his body in a rubbery texture glides all over Ike and forms as one.

Don’s face being his face while Ike’s face serves as his back skull.

He glides over to Ross, who seems to be in a world of his own.

Thinking about his next appointment with the sexy therapist he hopes to convince he was her missing ribs. Thinking of this as his last gig, and severing his ties with this guys - his associates.

He notice an odd silence and slowly turns back to look at his associates. Hoping to find them packing and filling up their bags, he sees Jamie on the floor. Ike is nowhere in sight and Don...

“Don, why do you look bigger? What is that on the back of your head mate?”

Being a born and brought up Britain, his curiosity takes over him as he takes a step toward Don.

He freezes on his track.

Ike’s eyes filled with tears pouring down Don’s Scalp. Ross gently drops on his knees, accepting he has nowhere else to go but to beg for his life.

He finally realized that Jamie was in fact motionless and not goofing around as he thought.

“Don, I don’t know what happened to you or what is going on but, I suggest you take a minute and think about your son.”

Ross says, praying for a miracle under his breath.

Don ignoring Ross, keeps packing up his bag and whistling a tune known best to him.

“Don, please. Hear me out. You don’t have to do this. We can work things out.”

Still being ignored, he asks “Right buddy?”

He continues talking, hoping to redeem himself. “I could walk out now with just my bag and I leave all three with you. I will not contact you and you will never hear from me again.”

“Or I could walk out with none and you have all four. I will never look for you, I promise.” Ross says, still praying under his breath.

“Who is she?” Don asks.

“Who?” Ross asks, confused about the ‘she’ in question.

“The lady you were thinking of some minutes ago.” Don tells him.

“What lady?” Ross still confused while calculating an escape measure from his current situation. He suddenly remembers his therapist.

“Oh...how did you know I was thinking of her? She’s my therapist.”

“Okay, I get it now. You came in contact with some psyche voodoo right?”

Still trying to throw off this strange Don with his familiar cheerful charisma while he slowly creeps to the exit.

“Well, brother to brother. No one will know I was here. I will be going now. I will leave on foot, you can keep the bus or whatever is fine with you.”

Ross scampers off his knees to his feet and heads quickly for the door.

Suddenly, his ears are filled with pain and sounds of agony. He drops his bags and falls to the ground. Stretching out as he rolls.

“Well, one thing is certain. Jamie was right, no witness allowed.”

“But, he was wrong about one thing. Someone has got to take the fall.”

“Don’t you agree, Ross?”

“You will take the fall. Won’t you?” Don ask as he moves towards Ross stretching out in pain on the floor.

Don reaches out to Ross’s forehead, places his thumb on his forehead - he mutters some words in Latin and smoke starts flowing from the connecting tissues of his thumb to Ross’ head.

Ross wrights in pain and gives up.

Don smiles cornily, taps Ross on his chin.

“Don’t worry, you will not be thrown into Kirikiri and I will send my regards to Lilian.”

Standing up, Don’s body slides off the glistening body frame as it transforms into Ike. Dropping Don’s body to the ground, Ike steps forward and shakes his head at Don’s empty eyes.

“I think I look better in this. Right?”

Greeted by silence…

“Oh the joy of smelling good money!”

“Come!” The four bags merge together as one and transforms into a small back pack.

Hearing the sirens and loud noises escalating from the street.

“It is just 6:40 A.M. Just in time for Lagos police. Thanks Ross, I will relieve you when you will be needed. For now, stay well.”

Ike steps forward and disappears...