The silence in Arman David's room was broken by the hum of his laptop, its screen casting a cold blue glow over his face, he stared at the folder titled
>LAST RUN
Its padlock icon taunting him with secrets, no password had worked so far, not his birthday, not his mother's, not even his father's, not even the variation of "DavidGonzalez1980"
It was close to midnight but he couldn't fall asleep, something had changed in the last 24 hours, that night his phone had buzzed twice with calls from privare numbers and each time there was only static, nothing else, he still told no one about the flash drive, not even Peter, but deep down, something within him screamed that someone knows about him possessing it.
The next day in the afternoon, classes at NIT had dragged, in his Computer Networking lecture, his mind drifted to the voice of his father from years ago "Son, there's power in knowing things that others don't know, but, always remember that it can also burn you" resting an arm on his chin, he looked at the lecturer, still deep in thoughts thinking about his late father.
He took his phone and browsed through the whatsapp group titled "MLBB TZ" (Mobile Legends: Bang Bang) there were talented players in it that he also admired them, like Cunning Fox who dominates the map as the unstoppable mage whose ign (In-game name) is Cherry and Dubster, aah! just thinking about him gives him assuarance whenever he takes the exp lane, he aknowledges his abilities
He joined in the conversation to skip the boredom of listening the boring lectures, at the moment, he found the group discussing about having a custom match later in the night
>Dedero: I think everyone will be available at that time tym ryt.
>Cherry: It will be about time im done with my unfinished assignment so I'll be there on time.
>Purple: Well my level is not that high but count me in too, I want to experience the thrills of battling powerfull enemies
Gaytastrophe: Something about Purple being in there screams turret hugger hehe.
>Anime Ghurl: Bwahahaha
>Melee Mage: Lmfao
>Larita: Lol lol
>Purple: These people are all bullying the weak me
>The Unknown: Hell nah sweetheart
>Leeyun: There are some people who always don't participate in group convos and today we have Gojo, bruh's always zooming us... and wait I see Cana pia, gosh these guys dont talk fucking shit
>Musty: Language Leeyun, Language, im still a teenager I don't need my mind to be polluted ugh!
After that statement, the whole group erupted into laugh frenzy as waves of laughing emojis flooded the group even from those who were quite.
Seeing them all lively, Arman didn't want to spoil the atmosphere, he also reached for his keyboard and started typing.
>Cana: Count me in too
Soon after he sent it someone also texted
>Ishah: Hi Cana! how you doin
>Cana: Im gucci, what about you ghurl?
>Ishah: Im cool, can you dm me plz, got something I to tell ya
>Cana: Aight ghurl, be there in a jiffy
>Gojo: Cana my good bruv hehe, I also need to talk to you about something
Gojo joined as soon as Arman was invited by Ishah
>Cana: Hehe bruv I'm kinda busy right now, check me back later if not tomorrow.
He finished up by adding an emoji with a mischeveous smile
>Gojo: Im going to report this to high level, just wait
>Cana: Be my guest bruvvah
>Gojo: Sigh.. you asked for it bro, someone call for me that girl
>Cherry: Hehehe, interesting
Dubster: Hehe I need more popcorns
>Damn, i feel betrayed, btw I'm in the middle a lecture so catch y'all later.
His classes still dragged till later in the evening, some were exiting the class, some were in groups discussing different things, couples could also be spotted sitting in pairs.
As he was packing his things in his bag, someone approached him, just looking at those legs he already knew who that person was, she was none other than Joyce, one of the few girls who always initiates a conversation with him.
"Arman mambo" she started while on a seat next to his.
"Poa" he answered uninterestedly.
Still packing his things, Joyce was already used to his personality so she remained neutral .
"I have a problem with a few things about Computer Networking so I came to ask if you could somehow explain to me a few things, that's if you don't mind"
Arman paused for a sec, casting a penetrative gaze at Neema as if he was looking deep in her soul, after some time he spoke.
"Just half an hour, no more, I still have personal things to conduct myself to."
Joyce's face beemed with happiness after the reply "Thanks Arman, let me go take my things quick"
She stood and went to where she was previously sitting during the lecture, and she soon came back carrying her bag, she took out her book and placed it on the table
Arman's personality differed according to the people he was with, when he is with his mother he has a loving personality, in class he has a personality of a silent and quite person, when gaming he's always silent but his actions speaks louder than most but when he is in the group chat, he is always lively, it's like he is living different lives in every occasion and they sync very well, apart from all those things, Arman is among of the bright scholars, he is blessed with having an intelligent mind.
During their short session, Joyce rarely concentrated on what was being explained by Arman, the only thing he concentrated on was listening to his sweet voice filled with aroma and a powerful aura which melts the icebergs covering her heart
The flow of time paced quicker than she thought as only three minutes remained from the 30 minutes countdown, she sighed silently deep in her heart as Arman summed up.
"Thank you so much Arman" she sincerely thanked.
"Dont worry about about it, we ought to help each other"
"What do you say for a dinner together? my treat, all bills on me" she requested.
"Not interested" Arman denied without a second thought.
"Maybe you are thinking too much, it's not a date, just a dinner to express my gratitude to you" she insisted though Arman was seriously not ready for it, not even to the beautiful Joyce who most guys chase her, he just didn't want to trust everyone who seems nice to him.
"My answer is still NO" "But Arman, I jus..."
"I guess that we are done here so... bye." he carried his bag heading towards the door.
"But... Arma.....ughhhhhhh!!!"
Joyce reamained seated on her chair, frustrated, her mouth moving but no words were formed, some people saw this but kept quite as they watched the drama before them, Joyce was 21 and very beautiful girl who was sought by most men in the campus from different levels, even some lecturers and professors wanted her but she turned down all of them and rarely showed interest in men.
Arman was one of those guys but he was also not interested, he kept turning her down everytime she tried to get close to him.
"Is my face not pretty enough for him, is this what they say, what comes around goes around just like the blades on a chainsaw"
She smiled, carried her bag and also exited the class
Walking away from the venue, he started feeling a presence behind him
'Maybe its Joyce, no she can't do such a thing, then who?' he thought as he kept feeling unsafe.
He made a sharp turn in hope of finding the one who is following him, but he only found it was just a first year student, carrying books and hurrying past him.
'Seems like im thinking too much' he thought.
He turned and proceeded with his journey, but after some time he still had the same feeling he had felt a few minutes ago, he casted glances at his back from time to time to time only seeing no one suspicious, he reached the bus stand and boarded a bus to Buguruni.
Now, alone in his room just after having a hearty meal together with his mother, infront of him was his laptop, he stared at the folder "LAST RUN" thinking of which password would make it open, he thought and thought for it but nothing came in his mind, he typed the name of a route he remembered from one of the documents
*Zanzibar_Port_Five*
Still, nothing happened, after a while, he decided to use the name that he had avoided, his fingers hovered above the keyboard as he typed
*GonzalezLegacy*
The darkness outside Arman David's window matched the weight pressing against his chest, his breath hitched, the file was open, the folder "LAST RUN" had unlocked, inside it were cargo manifests, video footage from an old dashboard cam, a list of ecrypted files and at the bottom was one audio file labeled *Goodbye, Son*
The cursor blinked slowly on the screen, the folder was open, the file *Goodbye, Son* waited like a wound he didn't know he had untill it bled, his hands hovered over the play button, a thousand thoughts ran through his mind
'What if this was just a recording from years ago? What if it was planted? What if.....it wasn't his father's voice at all?'
He opened hundreds of file from the flash drive in the last few days but this one... this was completely different from those.
Curiosity got the best of him, with a single presss of the spacebar, his father's voice filled the room, the voice that emerged from his speakers was gravelly tired but unmistakable
"Arman, my dear son, if you are hearing this, then something went wrong, I either messed up... or you are stronger than i thought" Arman froze
The message continued "I've hidden things from you... from your mother... for good reasons, but if this drive ended up in your hands, then i failed to protect what mattered most" his eyes were wet from just listening to his father"s voice
The audio message played on, riddled with hints about a smuggling ring tied to the ministry, about enemies masked as friends and about a coded term called *Runway Protocal* David Gonzalez had been more than just a trucker.
The recording mentioned hidden files, people who couldn't be trusted and a final shipment meant to vanish without a trace, then it cut off, no goodbyes, just static.
Arman sat back, stunned, he couldn't move, it wasn't just a message, it was a warning, the room seemed to shrink.
Over the next few days, he balanced his two lives more delicately than ever, at NIT, he sat in classes but couldn't focus, his programming project with Peter lagged behind, he forgot to submit assignments, he was less cooperative in group discussions and assignments.
And at night, he trained with his eSports team, the "GHOST KNIGHTS", practising split-second reaction drills, but even in his training, he focused less and his hands kept trembling from time to time, Peter noticed it
>Xiorra (Tigreal): Bro, you good? you are playing clumsly and amateurish, whats wrong with you
He said during a session
>Cherry (Kadita): I thought i was the only one seeing his transformation but now I'm assured that something is indeed wrong with our boy
>Dubster (Dyrroth): Bruv c'mon tell us wats wrong wid ya
He watched as the others asked him, seeing they were waiting for his answer he typed and sent his reply
>Its_cana (Hayabusa): Its nothing serious, I'm just a bit tired today
>Anime girl (Hanabi): I dont believe a word you say
>Cherry (Kadita): I also don't believe him
Arman just shrugged and nothing anymore, neither was peter nor his other collegues were convinced with his explanation
That weekend, Arman made a very bold move to visit a retired customs officer his father once mentioned, all thanks to his investigation which made him to know the exact location on where to find the retired officer, Mr Ngogo.
The man lived near the streets of Ubungo, after explaining himself of who he is only then did Mr Ngogo allow him inside though he still had his vigilance
"I knew your baba,"
Mr Ngogo said, his eyes misting, Arman was listening more focused than how he listened his lectures afraid that he'll lose even the slight details from Mr Ngogo
"He was onto something much much bigger than he knew" he continued.
Mr Ngogo was deep in thought as he was telling the adventures of David Gonzalez to Arman, after some time on a long talk, Mr Ngogo went inside and took a picture album from his room, took out an envelope and put one photo in it.
Outside, Arman was seemingly deep in thoughts by what he had been told, he knew his father was always righteous but didn't understand why his father took such hard task for himself.
Mr Ngogo came back outside holding an envelope, he handed it to Arman, inside it were photos, Arman pulled one out, in it was his father with a tall man in a blue uniform, written on the back:
**Zanzibar, May 2002.**
After receiving it he thanked Mr Ngogo then left to home.
In the following days, Arman's investigation intensified but also the danger that lurked in the shadows also intensifies as surveillance came, men in dark Land Cruisers parked outside NIT and in most places where he usually visit, the same car appeared outside his street twice already.
His mother started to doubt that his son was onto something that he shouldn't do so she began to worry as she one day found a shadowy figure outside the window one night
Apart from those, Arman's team participated in tournaments and finally they got qualified for the regional East Africa eSports tournament, although victory should always taste sweet but in the case of Arman, he never felt happy nor excited about it, Peter along with his fellow teammates grew increasingly suspicious noticing Arman's anxiety and secrecy.
One night after he was done practicing with his team, he took bodaboda (motocycle) to his residence, it was already late in the night when he arrived, the atmosphere was quite abnormal.
Lights were off
Door ajar
He called out but no reply came back, he walked to his room,only to find it hagard, turned upside down,things scattered all over the place, clothes, books, bedsheets, almost everything was scattered all over the place.
As he was staring blankly at his room he heard heavy unfamiliar footsteps, his mind went aghast, the first thing that came in mind was hiding under the bed.
Without a second thought, he dived straight under the the bed silently and curled in the darkest corner, blending perfectly with the darkness, the flash drive firmly clutched in his hand.
The intuder's footsteps reach his room, the door handle turned, footsteps entered, a pair of black boots stopped right beside the bed under which Arman was hiding.
Then...
They turned towards him.......