THE GENTLE RACKETEER: A Novella Read online

  THE GENTLE RACKETEER

  KINGSLEY AGUCHIBE

  Dec 2019

  For:

  Anyone reading this very book.

  And the time it takes us to find balance in our lives.

  Contents

  Title Page

  Dedication

  Epigraph

  CHAPTER 1

  CHAPTER 2

  CHAPTER 3

  CHAPTER 4

  CHAPTER 5

  CHAPTER 6

  CHAPTER 7

  CHAPTER 8

  CHAPTER 9

  CHAPTER 10

  CHAPTER 11

  CHAPTER 12

  Author’s Note

  Epigraph

  ◆◆◆

  How did you manage to get over that point in your life when you felt you’re waiting for ‘something big’ to happen? Something that could change your life for good… Maybe the ‘something big’ did happen and you didn’t have to get over anything. Or maybe you still have the feeling that ‘something big’ is about to happen. Whichever one, what you may like to know is that, that ‘something big’ may come, or might have come in a way you never even imagined. People change. And it is ‘something big’…

  CHAPTER 1

  I Want My Money Back!

  “Hello. Master Scott. We’ve got a situation.” Teezee said over the phone immediately his call went through.

  Teezee is a tough guy that could handle any situation on his own. Still in his early thirties, he was smart, quiet, handsome, intelligent, and always in suits. Based on his appearances, he is very much trustworthy. But his attitude said otherwise.

  He managed all Master Scott’s businesses with perfect efficiency. But he’s got a situation he didn’t know how to handle. He had to report to Master Scott. Master Scott always received Teezee’s calls with the expectations of good news, of how successful their operations went.

  “Ehh-hem!” Master Scott cleared his throat. “And what’s the situation?” he asked.

  “It’s the land I just acquired in South Africa. The locals are quarreling with us. They’re saying they didn’t sell the land. Sir, it… it looks like we’ve been scammed.” Teezee said, almost stammering.

  “We? Teezee! We? You’re the one that handled all the processes of acquiring the land. How come it’s now our problem? See, it’s not my problem. It’s your problem. I don’t have anything to do with it. I gave you money to get us land, and now you’re telling me… In fact, I want my money back!” Master Scott exclaimed and ended the call.

  And that was it. That’s all Master Scott could do – give a command and wait for it to be carried out.

  As the call ended, Teezee gave his phone to one of his men. He removed his glasses and held them with his left hand. He was standing still, filled with thoughts on how to get a huge amount of money from a scammer. Just then, another call came in from Master Scott.

  Teezee put on his glasses and breathed deeply. He was acting as if he didn’t want to pick the call. It was when the ringing from his phone was about to end that he collected the phone from his man and reluctantly picked the call.

  “And don’t forget to kill that little brat and his family!” Master Scott said over the phone and hung up.

  Of course, killing the scammer or even getting the money back wasn’t a big of a deal for Teezee. What he stood still again and started thinking was how to locate the scammer.

  He waved to his men to come together. When they all gathered together, he briefed them on the latest development. What the situation called for them to do was to go back to America and start mapping out a plan on how to track the person that scammed them.

  None of them was happy with how twisted the situation was. They just got to South Africa to start working on their new site. A site that would soon become one of their branches – well, had it not been for that stupid guy that decided to play games with them.

  “C’mon guys. We going back. If we hope on getting the whole money back, we have to locate the idiot quick enough before he does something stupid with the money.” Teezee said to his boys.

  With that sad comment from their boss, they started packing up their pieces of equipment. They came with all sorts of tools – measuring tapes, nails, pegs, hammers, ropes and some other useful tools. But then they had to park them all up and head back home. It was painful for all of them, especially their boss and their boss’s boss – Master Scott.

  Maybe that was why he called back again and ordered the person that duped them and his family be killed. Maybe he could not stand the thought of someone doing something like that to him. He had blamed it on Teezee. But maybe he started to feel humiliated. How could he not? He had been following the reports about the acquisition of that land. Teezee had reported every single move back to him.

  Teezee headed for his car as his boys started parking their tools. He was about to enter the car when one of his boys ran up to him, with his phone. Master Scott was calling again.

  “Hello Master Scott,” Teezee said as he sat in his car. One of his legs was inside the car while the other was out. He held the car door open with his right hand and answered the phone with his left.

  “Hey, Teezee. I figured my earlier responses weren’t so encouraging. If you need anything in tracking the guy, ask. I’d do my best.”

  “Alright sir,” Teezee said and ended the call.

  He handed the phone to his boy, who stood quietly by the side and waited while the call was still on. The boy collected the phone and was reluctant to go and join his fellows in arranging their tools bags.

  “What?” Teezee looked at the guy and asked.

  “Why don’t we stay here and track the guy? Since the land is here, it would be easier for us to ask around and see what we can find. I know the guy would be smart enough not to stay around here anymore. But if we look really closely, we might find some mistakes that would take us to the guy.”

  “Hmm,” Teezee said while still thinking the possibility of staying there for days. “Well, I don’t think I can handle that. This place is not so conducive for what I planned to do next.”

  “Alright boss,” the boy said and went away to join his fellows.

  “Hey, guys! Leave those things! We don’t need them anymore! C’mon, let’s go!” Teezee shouted to his boys.

  All the boys dropped what they were doing and hopped into their respective cars, in groups of fours. They were going back to America, to initiate the tracking process. Or maybe they just needed some refreshment before embarking on the process.

  CHAPTER 2

  The Tracking

  When they got back to America after a few days, they spent one more day gathering Intel and tools they’d use in tracking the guy that played them.

  Teezee had thought about the whole drama, over and over again. He knew the guy that played them was no ordinary guy. Even the four elders that claimed ownership of the land, Teezee always wondered how the guy managed to get them into playing games like that.

  Everything looked legit until the locals started making some angry moves. Teezee then knew that the guy was also a master at the game. And that’s why he had to take his time in preparing all the tools they needed. He knew that the tracking won’t be easy, but he was sure he’d finally say hi to the guy, someday, just someday.

  On day two, everything was set and the tracking has just begun. All the programmers and IT professionals they hired were busy punching buttons and making calls. Teezee just sat by the side. He made sure he provided them with all they ever needed – emails, phone numbers, dates, the nature of the ad about the land, descriptions of the guy that played them, details of all the money transactions with the guy, and some other useful or us
eless pieces of information.

  After many hours of trying, the IT guys and the Programmers admitted they couldn’t trace the guy. Each of them gave a different reason why they couldn’t trace the guy. Some said the guy used strong encryption, some said his location changes regularly, some said he already blocked the email he used and many other reasons why they failed.

  Teezee was so disappointed. He promised to pay them more. He wanted them to try harder. He offered to let them go and keep trying on their own. But they refused his offer. With enormous anger within him, he dismissed them all. As he thanked them for their efforts, he smiled and patted them on the shoulder. He even dressed the collar of one of them. All these he did because he didn’t want them to know he was angry. That was how he was – always masking his emotions.

  The Programmers have failed. The so-called professionals have nothing to prove their profession. Teezee had no other choice but to initiate plan B. And what’s the plan B? He had to go report his failure to Master Scott. And that was the hardest choice.

  After Master Scott listened to everything Teezee had to tell him, he kept quiet for a very long time. With the way he was thinking, Teezee knew he couldn’t just accept failure. He couldn’t admit that he’d been beaten by probably a small child in the game.

  “Well, there must be a mistake somewhere. There must be. You must go back to South Africa. Go there and ask around. You said the guy used four elders to make everything look legit?” Master Scott asked.

  “Yes.”

  “That was a very smart move. And the smartest move could also be the biggest mistake. I have the feeling that those elders are from South Africa. You must go and ask the locals if they observed any suspicious moves the time you were about to purchase the land. Certainly, someone must have seen you and the guy, or probably the guy and the elders. Go and see what you can find. And make sure to stay discreet.” Master Scott advised.

  “Okay sir,” Teezee said and went away.

  The following morning, he gathered three of his men and asked them to get prepared. They were going back to South Africa.

  When they got to South Africa and started asking around, it turned out that the guy they were looking for had stayed there for over 6 months. That was a big clue, but unfortunately, the guy stayed in many different hotels with different identities.

  Teezee was pissed. The fact that the guy was always ahead of him, entirely changed his state of being. He would always sit alone to think. He couldn’t wait to finally meet the guy that gave him all those troubles.

  His daily routine had been to dress up each morning like a happy sojourner and go around with his men, asking the locals if they’d seen certain kinds of men. That approach wasn’t so helpful but he had no other choice.

  He did like this for four days with no luck. Then on the fifth day, one of the locals admitted having seen the guy with an elderly man, someplace near the recently disputed land. Teezee quickly got all excited. He immediately changed his facial expression and started asking like someone looking for direction.

  “Please mister, how can I locate the elder man?” Teezee politely asked.

  “I don’t know. His house is on the other side of the stream,” the man said.

  “Please, can you take us there?”

  I… I am going…”

  “Please. We’ll pay you later. Alright?”

  The man reluctantly accepted to take them there. Teezee found the whole thing fascinating and at the same time, all messed up. How did the guy manage to convince the elders to do such a thing to their community? He thought.

  It was unfortunate for them again, when they got to the elder’s house, nobody was around. They thanked the man that brought them and gave him some money. The man went away, but they stayed. Teezee insisted that they stay and wait for the man.

  All four of them took a hiding position, and they all stayed in this position for about four hours. It was around 6 pm that the elder man came along with his dog. He was whistling and walking slowly.

  His dog started barking. Maybe it picked a strange scent. The elder man didn’t notice. He ignored his dog and walked to his door. Immediately he inserted his key into the keyhole, he heard his dog make a weird sound. He turned. What he saw almost made him collapse. Three men were pointing a gun at him. And his dog has already been shot at.

  The elder man was shaking as he raised his two hands up. He even pissed on himself. Teezee and his men didn’t seem to care. He just stood back with his glasses on and watched the shaky elder man beg for his life.

  “Alright boys, calm down,” he said to his men.

  His men put down their guns. The elder man was a bit relieved. He knew those men weren’t joking at all. With the way they shot at his dog with no single sound from their gun, he knew he had to do whatever they asked him.

  “Hello old man, remember me?” Teezee asked as he removed his glasses and smiled.

  The old man remembered. “Please don’t…” He was about to say something.

  “Shhh! We not here for that old man.” Teezee shushed him. “Open your door.” He commanded, but the old man was all shaky that he dropped the key. “Open the goddamn door!” Teezee shouted.

  The man picked up the key and immediately he opened his door, one of Teezee’s men grabbed him by the neck and pushed him over a couch inside the man’s living room. The man sat up on the couch as Teezee entered into the house and shut the door. He put his hands into his trousers’ pockets and started asking the man questions, all the while moving to and fro in the room.

  “How did you know Mr. Kenneth?” Teezee asked. Kenneth was the name of the guy that they’ve been looking for. Well, maybe not his real name, but Kenneth was what he said his name was.

  “I… I don’t know him. It was my friend that introduced us to him. He told us that Kenneth needed our help. We were told that his friend from oversea wanted to establish an enterprise that would help this community. All we had to do was show up as the representatives of the community. And that was the day we saw you. You came to see the community land and see if you can start convincing the leaders to rent you the land.”

  “Wait. Did you say ‘convince the community leaders to rent me the land’?”

  “Yes. And all we were asked to do was just to be present the day you first came.”

  “That wasn’t even the day I first came. Anyway, so you didn’t know that I bought the land?”

  “No! After that day, we didn’t see Kenneth again. We were even…”

  “Oh shit! How could I be played like that?” Teezee asked nobody in particular. “You’re taking us to that your friend, the one that introduced you to Kenneth. Move now! Ah. Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. Take us to your friend please.”

  The old man got up. The five of them came out of the house. The old man locked his door and went with them.

  They got to a house after a few minutes of walking in silence. In the house, there were two old men sitting outside, drinking. And they played a game that looked like chess.

  “Good evening sirs,” Teezee greeted with a smile, putting on his all-so-good attitude.

  The old men were happy to see strangers in their house. One of them opted to go into the house and bring them something, but Teezee asked him to forget it.

  “Are you not the one that wanted to rent our land?” One of the old men asked.

  “Yes, sir. I am,” Teezee replied to him. He asked the man whether they can discuss it in private. The man agreed. Of course, he had no idea what was going on.

  He was smiling and talking to Teezee cheerfully. As soon as they got into his house, Teezee shot the door by himself. The old man was beginning to wonder, but Teezee pulled out a gun and asked him to remain silent. But the man knelt down and bent his head to the ground, at the same time, he raised his two hands.

  “How did you know Mr. Kenneth?”

  “Please don’t kill me. Please. I don’t know him. I swear. I met with him in a shopping mall, where he opted to pay my bills.
He was nice to me. I liked him for that, that was why I invited him over my house and offered him some drinks. While we were drinking, he told me he was looking for a land for his friend oversea…”

  “Skip that part. Do you know how to get to him?” Teezee asked impatiently.

  “No. I swear I don’t. But he told me he is from Nigeria…”

  “Do you believe that he’s from Nigeria?”

  “Yes. Yes, I do. I asked him to speak to me some local Nigerian language, which he did. I can remember because I told him his language sounded funny.”

  “Do you have any means of reaching him?”

  “No. After your visit, he has never called me, and I haven’t seen him since then.”