📖 Chapter Seven:
[The Hacker's Blood]
(The erasers recruitment rituals)
In a forgotten warehouse outside Lokoja, seven figures stood in a circle. Hooded. Silent. A single candle flickered in the center, casting shadows like crawling ink.
One stepped forward. His voice was low, deliberate.
Eraser Commander:
"Memory is a weapon. History is a lie. We do not kill. We erase."
He held up a photo—Senator Okon. Then burned it. The flames curled around the image, and the others chanted:
Erasers:
"Let the archive forget."
Behind them, a wall of names. Crossed out. Vanished.
The morning in Benin city was weirdly serene. For a town that always buzzed with chaos.
The morning was quiet, but Kite's mind wasn't. He had been tailing a politician from Enugu to Benin—one he suspected had ties to the erasers Kite had been tailing a politician—one with ties to the Erasers. He hacked into the clinic's system. Patient's logs, visitor's records. While combing through clinic records, Kite spotted a familiar name: Ejiro. Nkemdilim's childhood friend. He pulled up her record, food Poisoning. Vulnerable. And now, possibly a target.
Eyes widening as he sensed the danger that was fast approaching. He quickly sent dimeji the hospital's address and a few pictures.
He didn't hesitate. Jacket on. Blade tucked. He moved.
(🔪 The Attack)
At the hospital. Ejiro lay half-asleep, the room dim and quiet. A shadow slipped in—tall, hooded, lethal. A syringe glinted in his hand.
Just then, Kite burst through the door.
Kite:
"Step away from her."
No words. Just violence.
They clashed. Fists. Steel. Blood. Kite fought like a man who'd survived betrayal. But the assassin was trained. Precise.
A gunshot cracked the silence.
Kite staggered, blood blooming across his ribs.
Ejiro jolted awake. Confused. Terrified. Two men fighting. One bleeding. One demonic.
She didn't think. She moved.
Just he was about to take the final shot to end kite.
Ejiro Grabbed a scissors, she stabbed the assassin from behind.
Ejiro (screaming):
"Wetin be dis?! Who una be?!"
The assassin roared,painfully. knocked her down, and fled.
Ejiro crawled to the hallway, shouting.
Ejiro:
"Help! Somebody don enter here! Dem wan kill person!"
(🚨 The Arrival)
Nkemdilim was nearby. She'd felt the veil pulse. Heard the gunshot. She sprinted in, found Ejiro dazed, Kite bleeding.
Nkemdilim:
"Jesus!. What happened!?"
As she rushed to Ejiro holding her hands tightly.
Ejiro (panting):
"Na one man! E just enter! Dis one Dey try fight am! Dem shoot am! I manage stab the guy, e come run comot.!
Amaka arrived minutes later, breathless.
Amaka:
"Omg!. Kite? What the hell happened!?. Why was he here?"
Ejiro:
"Me I no sabi. But e save me. E fit dey track the person."
Then came Dimeji. He saw Kite and froze.
Ejiro:
"una sabi am,? Make una call doctor nah.
Dimeji nodded. Sat down. And began.
🔙 Dimeji's Story
Dimeji:
"Back in 2015, I worked for the Nigerian Directorate—ISDSN. Intelligence Signal Defense System. We were hunting a cyber fraud syndicate in Benin City. Ruthless. Smart. We called them The Black Circuit."
Nkemdilim:
"Sounds like a villain squad."
Dimeji:
"They were worse. Kite was with them. An Orphan. A Tech prodigy. But they used him. Treated him like dirt."
Amaka:
"So what changed?"
Dimeji:
"One day, we got anonymous intel on the group leader's location. We moved in. Took them down. Later, I found out Kite was the one who sent the intel. He wanted out."
Ejiro (softly):
"So na him save una first… before me."
Dimeji:
"I took him in. We became brothers. I got him into EFCC. He's been my eyes ever since."thought me a lot of things, like hacking .
They all looked at Kite—unconscious, bleeding, but alive.
Dimeji:
"He's not just a hacker. He's a guardian."
🕵️♂️ The Hunt Begins
They regrouped. The veil pulsed. The assassin had vanished. But his scent lingered.
Ejiro (firmly):
"We go find that Baba Osei. Na him send that devil."
Amaka:
"Let's call the police."
Dimeji:
"No. If Baba's working with the Erasers, the cops won't touch him. We move quiet. We move smart."
They nodded.
The hunt had begun.