SITA
The restaurant had a scent of attiéké. One could hear the clattering of different dishes all over the restaurant as well as hushed whispers. I stared at Alessandro a smile spread widely on my face as I heard him tell me about his day.
"Wow, looks like your day was filled with adventures," I said as I cut a part of my poulet braisé with my knife and fork.
"Well, we always get to meet different people in my field. What about you, how did your day go?" He picked a fried plantain from attiéké and put it in his mouth while staring at me.
What was I supposed to tell him? That I spent the whole of last week uncovering the dirty business of the government? I hadn't had the courage the tell him the truth just yet. There were so many dangers attached to it and I couldn't risk putting his life in danger because of me.
"You know how politics are. Having conferences here and there. And now that elections are around the corner, I have to run campaigns. So, the stress."
"I think you deserve a break. You know, like a vacation to relax your nerves."
"I was thinking of that too but Amina won't let me breathe. Each time I tell her I want to take a day off; she will tell me that the only day I'll be allowed a day off is on my wedding day. Can you imagine?" Alessandro smiled broadly.
"So, that means I'll have to propose sooner or later, right?"
"I'm guessing that's the case. But it's not like we are in a hurry, are we?" I leaned forward and dropped a gentle kiss on his lips and sat back. I was about to pick up the glass of wine when I heard my ringing tone. I opened my bag to check the caller ID.
"I'm sorry babe but I have to take this okay?" Alessandro nodded quietly. I stood up and went to the female bathroom to answer the call.
"I sent you an address, Meet there in one hour." The line immediately went dead. A few seconds later, a message notification popped up. I opened it and saw the address that Baba had sent.
I walked back to Alessandro. I knew that he wasn't going to be happy if I just left him without any reasonable excuse but what else was i to do?
"I'm sorry babe, it was Amelia something important came up and she needs me." I saw a faint hint of disappointment in his eyes before it disappeared.
"That's fine. I also have work to do by the way. Let me settle the bills then I could drop you on the way. What do you say?" I wanted to tell him not to but that would only arouse suspicions so I reluctantly agreed with a smile. He called the waiter, paid the bills and we left.
The drive to my office was very short, I couldn't tell if the distance had always been this small or whether it was because of the fact that he was here with me.
"So, I'll call tomorrow." I pressed a kiss on his lips alighted from the vehicle and waved him goodbye. I stood before the office until his car disappeared before boarding another vehicle to take me to the destination.
The old dump was as silent as a graveyard. The only sound that was heard was the chirping of the crickets and my footsteps hitting the sandy ground.
"You are late. That's unusual of you." Baba said as he stood from a bench and walked towards me.
"I was on a date when you called. He insisted on taking me to the office before leaving."
"Oh, do you think you can keep the façade for another three years?"
"Three years is too long. I'm sure I could keep it for another year. I don't want to put his life in danger."
"Two things are involved, either you tell him, or you let him go. I'll advise the latter, you will be protecting the two of you at the same time."
"I doubt you called me in the middle of nowhere to give me relationship advice, did you?" Baba cleared his throat.
"Unfortunately, I didn't. I received some reports this morning about some notorious shipments containing some fake drugs."
"How exactly is that a problem? There has always been a threat of fake drugs in the market. How is this any different?"
"Yes, but these aren't just your everyday drugs. They are hard drugs in disguise."
"If they were hard drugs, wouldn't the Ministry of Health have done something about that?"
"That's where things become interesting. I received another document showing that someone within the WHO had issued the passage of the drugs and it was signed by the minister himself."
"If the ministry is directly involved, then this is even more complicated than it seems and it poses an even greater threat. If it was only about the drugs then you would have taken care of it by now, so what's the real deal?"
"We aren't able to locate the shipments."
"If they are at sea, then the ports should have documents on them."
"We've searched through the entire archives but there is nothing. And the conspiracy runs even deeper. The ministry had signed a large sum of money to an unknown account which has completely disappeared."
"How much are we talking about exactly?"
"Billions of dollars. So, I'd like to first find the shipments. That's the most important part. Should those drugs find themselves in the black market, it will be a threat to this country."
"That means there is someone who is directing the affairs of these shipments because I thought the higher-ups could handle it themselves."
"That's it. We find whoever is handling the deals and the shipments, and we have solved the problem halfway through. I'll forward you the little information we've gathered."
"I'll be waiting."
"And Sita, please be careful. This mission might be more dangerous than it looks."