Adrian woke up sweating.
The fan in the room barely worked, and the heat felt like it was sitting right on his chest. But it wasn't just the heat. It was the dream. Or maybe nightmare. He kept seeing the black car. No driver, no plate, just the sound of tires on wet street and a pair of eyes staring at him through the rear window.
He sat up, hands on his face, trying to breathe. It was past 5am. The sky outside was still dark. He hadn't slept much, maybe two hours tops.
His phone was off. He hadn't turned it on since Lara's call yesterday. He didn't know if he should. It could be tracked, and now he had to assume anyone could be watching him.
He got up and checked the window. The street outside was empty except for a guy pushing a wheelbarrow full of onions. Everything seemed normal.
But normal didn't mean safe.
---
By 7am, he was already on the move again. The guesthouse receptionist didn't even ask why he was leaving so early. Probably didn't care. The less questions, the better.
He walked to the main road and flagged down a danfo heading towards Ojuelegba. His cap was low over his eyes, and he wore an old hoodie he found in his bag. He looked like a broke student, not a guy hiding from something big.
Inside the bus, a woman was talking loudly on the phone beside him. Something about her church cancelling a program because of "security reasons." Adrian looked at her quickly.
Security reasons?
She noticed and smiled at him.
He looked away.
Everything was starting to feel connected, even if maybe it wasn't. His brain wouldn't stop making links. He just needed to find somewhere quiet. Somewhere to think. Somewhere safe.
---
Around 10am, he reached an old friend's place in Iwaya. His name was Sam. They hadn't talked in over 6 months, but Adrian remembered he once said, "If you ever need to crash, just show up."
So he showed up.
Sam opened the gate and blinked. "Guy… you look like you saw ghost."
Adrian forced a smile. "You got food?"
Sam let him in.
He didn't ask too many questions at first, just gave him garri and groundnut and turned on the fan. Adrian sat, breathing slowly for the first time in days.
"You want to talk about it?" Sam finally asked.
Adrian shook his head. "Not now."
"Alright. But you know you can, yeah?"
"Yeah. I know."
For the next few hours, they just played FIFA and didn't speak much. It helped. A little.
But everything came crashing again when Sam's cousin came into the house around 3pm and dropped a newspaper on the table.
The headline made Adrian's stomach twist.
"Whistleblower Claims: Political Scandal Brewing in Lagos"
Below it, in small print: "Unnamed sources inside the firm may have leaked documents. Security agents possibly investigating an insider."
Sam looked at him slowly. "Bro… you know something about this?"
Adrian didn't speak.
Sam sat down. "Talk to me, man."
Adrian rubbed his eyes. "It's not safe for you if you know."
"I'm already involved if you're here."
Adrian nodded. "Okay. Just… just don't tell anyone I came here. Not your cousin. Not your neighbours. Nobody."
"You gonna leave tonight?"
"I don't know."
Sam sat back and looked at him for a long time. "You're scared. Real scared."
"Wouldn't you be?"
"Yeah. But if you did something good… then maybe you don't have to run forever."
Adrian smiled a bit. "Tell that to people who end up dead for doing good."
---
Later that night, when the street was quiet and Sam had gone to bed, Adrian sat alone in the small kitchen and finally turned his phone back on.
One message came in.
Unknown number.
"They know you're not at home. Someone was there today. Asking questions."
He froze.
Then another message came.
"Don't trust anyone. Even the ones close to you. Trust me."
No name. No picture.
But something told him it was from Lara.
Or someone who knew her.
He deleted both messages instantly and turned the phone off again.
Then he just sat there, in the dark kitchen, holding the phone like it was a bomb.
The world was still spinning outside.
But his life was standing still.
And the walls were closing in.