Benin City – Rebel Relay Station – Nightfall
A silent tension filled the room as Tunde read the encrypted message that had just appeared on Glyph's console — no origin, no traceable code. Just one line:
"Mr. Ajayi, the world watches. Would you like a seat at the table? – Odion Group."
He stared at the screen, brows furrowed.
Arewa read over his shoulder. "What kind of arrogance is that? They invite you after trying to erase half the country?"
Alero paced behind them, her jaw clenched. "This is how they work. The Odion Group isn't built to fight in the dirt. They lure you up the ladder... and then slit your throat with golden wire."
Glyph murmured, "The message came from a node inside Zurich's financial cloud... but bounced through quantum shadows. Only people with nation-state keys can send something like that."
Ejiro leaned against the wall. "They're giving you a chance to either join them... or become their next public enemy."
Tunde's Mind – Internal Conflict
He closed his eyes.
In his mind, he saw Obara, his mentor, whispering "You can't burn down the system without knowing its blueprints."
Then he saw his father's old photo — a man who was crushed by the same silent forces.
He opened his eyes. "We answer."
Alero turned to him sharply. "You want to go to them?"
"No," he said. "We want them to think I will. That's our way in."
....
Abuja – NDLEC Shadow Cell – Early Morning
Colonel Gambo, head of the newly fractured NDLEC loyalist faction, sat in a cold steel chamber reading a dossier marked CLASSIFIED – PROJECT HUSK / SUBJECT 117B.
"Tunde Ajayi," he said aloud. "Son of two erased names. Grandson of a civil war ghost. And now... the most dangerous man in West Africa."
An aide entered. "Sir, should we initiate contingency? He's in contact with the Odion Group."
Gambo lit a cigar. "Not yet. If he joins them, we shoot him. If he infiltrates them, we own the future."
....
Dubai – Odion Group Proxy Hub – 10:32 A.M. (GMT+4)
Tunde sat alone in a small, clinically white room. Clean lines. No cameras. Just a glass table, a chair, and an earpiece.
The voice came through smooth as silk, yet layered with synthetic distortion.
"Mr. Ajayi. Congratulations. You've disrupted a billion-dollar ecosystem in less than thirty days. That takes... talent."
He said nothing.
The voice continued. "You're not here by accident. You were born from fire. Groomed by ghosts. Raised by wolves. But you've always lacked one thing — a throne."
"And now you want to give me one?" Tunde replied.
"No," the voice said. "We want you to earn it. Join us. Help us craft a new order — one where rebellion and obedience are indistinguishable."
Tunde leaned forward. "And if I say no?"
A pause.
"You disappear. And someone else gets the offer. Someone less... principled."
....
Back in Benin City – Rebel HQ – Simultaneously
Alero's comms flared.
"Transmission from Dubai. Tunde's signal just went dark."
Arewa stood. "We shouldn't have let him go alone."
Ejiro started suiting up. "If they try anything... we burn their offshore towers to ash."
Nana Kojo loaded his weapon. "War doesn't start when bullets fly. It starts when power forgets fear. Let's remind them."
....
Dubai – Odion Group Proxy Hub – 10:50 A.M.
Tunde stood.
He smiled faintly. "You know the difference between a throne and a coffin?"
Silence.
He answered his own question.
"One's made for power. The other's built to hide weakness. You're offering me a tomb."
He turned toward the door. "I'll build something better."
....
Final Scene – Unknown Location – Surveillance Feed
In a dark room, multiple screens flickered. One showed Tunde leaving the Odion Proxy. Another showed Arewa in Benin. A third, a shadowed Zuma boarding a submarine.
A final figure stepped into frame — old, regal, and calm.
He placed his hand on the chair in front of the monitors.
Behind him, a plaque read:
KASIM BAKO – FOUNDER EMERITUS – THE ODION GROUP
Bako smiled.
"Let the game continue."