Chasing Halima – Chapter 12

The lady’s features were revealed, with a sharp deliberate turn.

Her intelligent eyes, though tired, held a piercing intensity.

A faint, almost imperceptible smirk played on her lips, mirroring the one in Halima’s polaroid.

Kelechi gave a confused look, because she looked like Zara, yet also different.

Kira, sensing his confusion, extended a hand. “Kira Mohammed,” she said, her voice calm and steady. “I am the main head of this extraction team.”

Kelechi, still processing her identity and the weight of her words, slowly, almost reverently, reciprocated the handshake.

Kira’s grip was firm as she shook his hand, then broke the handshake.

”The tactical operative moved forward with the padded case containing the hard drives, opened and showed it to Kira.
She examined it carefully -a silent acknowledgment of the immense value they held and closed the lid taking it with a firm grip.

“On your command, we’ll return to assist militant Kira and her sister, in their attempt to engage Nuradeen’s men with firearms, who were still in pursuit.” the tactical operative spoke.

“Permission granted. Proceed to open fire on Nuradeen’s men without hesitation, and ensure her sister’s safety.” kira commanded

The tactical operative acknowledged her command with a salute and exited with his extraction team members.

Kira turned towards the other operatives giving them instructions and they swiftly went into action.

She gestured to Kelechi to follow her, leaving the room where other operatives worked on the large holographic display, which now shifted from complex data streams to a detailed, multi-layered schematic of Nuradeen’s entire operational network.

They proceeded into a dark, silent corridor, lit by a dimming light bulb, which led them to a quiet room. This room featured a board displaying pictures, all pointing to one central image.”

Alhaji Nuradeen

“The fuel that started this whole fire” kelechi thought as he followed behind kira into the room

He scanned the rest of the room as Kira advanced with the drive to a table size secured vault, at the far end corner of the room.

She extracted an exact replica of the padded case containing hard drives and replaced it with the drives from the extraction.

From where he stood, the vault contained documents and what appeared to be bundles of money.

There wasn’t much in the room except another door that seemed camouflaged behind the board display of pictures, a center table and a standing fan that seemed to blow warm, stagnant air, perhaps because there was not a single window in the room.

Just behind the standing fan was a bag, which looked familiar.

Because, it was his.

The last time he had it, he was still at Zara’s Foundation guest house.

Without hesitating he reached for it to confirm his suspicion and its content.

First, he saw the sketchbook, then a few of his personal items.”

“How exactly did this bag get here?” He asked Kira, who was squatting beside the table-sized vault, to arrange bundles of money into a bag she had retrieved from the vault and placed the new padded case on top of the vault.”

“I’m sure you have a lot of questions.
I’ll try to give you answers to them, but…” Kira replied as she locked the vault and turned towards Kelechi, who was examining the contents of his bag.”

“… You need to understand that Halima’s plan is far more intricate than you realize. Every step, every encounter, every piece of information you’ve gathered – some were part of a meticulously orchestrated strategy by Nuradeen.” kira spoke

“What do you mean?” He wasn’t sure yet of what Kira was saying

She walked towards the board of pictures hoarding the bag of money to the ground beside her and folded her hands, while using her left foot to balance her body against the wall.

With the sudden body posture of her body, kelechi composed himself to rest against the wall, still holding his bag.

There seemed to be no available seats, maybe because they were trained to not be weak, but he wasn’t.

“You see, Kelechi,” Kira continued, her voice taking on a more explanatory tone, her gaze sweeping over the picture displayed on the board. “This whole thing started long before you entered the picture. I grew up in Ilorin, an orphan, with a difficult life. I had siblings – a brother, and a twin sister.”

“That twin sister happens to be Zara.” She stated coldly

This explained the resemblance which he tried to earlier, he thought to himself and tried not to react to her confession.

“To seek a better life, to escape that old, harsh existence, I had to leave them behind.” She paused, a shadow crossing her features.

“I went into military training, hoping to forget that past. It was there I met Miriam. We forged a deep friendship, a true team.
I was the brains, the strategist, and Miriam was the strength, the one who could execute any plan with precision. Our combined skills were so effective that we were recruited into becoming a backstage operating contingency plan for every corrupt activity we encountered, all of which were far away from my roots.”

Kira’s eyes narrowed, a cold fury entering them. “But then, Miriam became aware of something happening at home in Ilorin, through her sister who reached out to her – the insidious spread of corruption, the tightening grip of men like Nuradeen.
Ilorin was reaching a high rate of corruption and unfortunately, I was assigned here to do my job and act as the anti-corruption backstage Tech militant that I have to be trained to be and that’s what brought me back here.”

“When I returned,” Kira continued, her voice laced with pain, which made her pace back and front with her hands still folded firmly. “I discovered the unthinkable.
My own sister, Zara, who never left Ilorin, was being used as a minion by Nuradeen. She was running a foundation, a seemingly legitimate front, but it was all a disguise for his secret deeds, his evil schemes and corrupt activities. She was making a living, yes, but at the cost of her soul, unknowingly or not, facilitating his crimes.”

“If Zara is what you’re describing right now, then you’re wrong because she helped us.” Kelechi tried to object to Kira’s version of her twin sister.

“Her gestures may seem kind but she works for Nuradeen, who is capable of a lot of which you have experienced just a bit of and she acts as his middle-man for every corrupt exchange deal within her metropolis or jurisdiction, she is a criminal as well.” kira changed from her posture and stood firm, still folding her hands

“Halima chose to strike a deal with Zara, which I’m still against and that’s why she’s helping as you say. But, the moment she turns against that deal I’ll be waiting to strike her down. That’s the only reason why she is not out of the way yet.” Kira added

“But she’s your sister, doesn’t that count as something. You should at least reach out to her and know why she’s doing all of this before…” kelechi tried to state

Kira cut him off with a scoff and extracted a recording from her pocket, she placed it on the center table in the room and let it play.

“Why exactly are you doing this, what do you stand to gain?”
The voice of kira filled the silent room

“You shouldn’t ask questions when you’re fully aware of the answer…” the response was from Zara. “…Life was difficult, Kira. The things we went through as children cannot be forgotten. Everything we had to lose, I stand to gain by choosing this side of this conflict.”

“Correction. It’s a war, which you stand to lose by siding with him. I won’t let you intercept my mission and allow it to be aborted.”

With that, the recording went silent.

Kelechi didn’t know what else to say; the Zara he tried to remember didn’t seem like someone capable of uttering such words.

“That is the last conversation I had when I reached out to her, and that’s how I came to possess your bag,” Kira stated.

Kelechi nodded at the small detail of clarity, and Zara’s unexpected gesture.

Not every arch-enemy would do that, would they?

“So you see, she made her choice, and it was very clear,” Kira concluded

He realized it seemed like he was dragging sisters into digging up their past and causing family dramas, at every crucial point of this truth-finding.

The last thing Kelechi wanted to do was interfere with any personal matters, not related to him.

“And Halima?” he asked, his voice tight, trying to steer the conversation back to their mission. “Where is she now?”

Kira’s gaze hardened, a flicker of pride in her eyes. “Halima will join us soon; she’s gathering the final pieces, the irrefutable evidence that will bring Nuradeen down. She’ll be here with more evidence to make sure he has nowhere left to run.”

Kelechi was going to see Halima soon,
he thought. At least seeing her might distract him from everything that was happening and the unfolding of true events.

He needed to freshen up and look presentable for whatever discussion he was going to have with Halima.

As if Kira was reading his mind, she opened the door that was camouflaged behind the board of pictures, revealing an aisle leading to different doors .

“Walk down and open the second door on your left; it has a bathroom with whatever you need. I need to contact my extraction team to know the update on Miriam’s situation.” Kira instructed as she advanced to retrieve the padded case resting on the vault, hanging the bag of money over her shoulder.

“you’ve helped in a lot of ways that you may not understand right now.” she said patting Kelechi’s shoulder and heading to the room’s exit

Giving kelechi a last glance she informed him “We are running out of time so hurry up, if you need help ask Jide when you meet him .”and with that, she was out of the room.

Kelechi dragged himself with his bag into the aisle to reach the described room. When he reached it, he pushed the door open and entered.

It was quite spacious, with five bunk beds lined up along one side of the room, each facing long cabinets. It felt like a school hostel.

Thankfully, there were two windows situated at the wall where the cabinets rested against, showcasing the fully risen sun.

As he walked in, he noticed only one bunk which was the first was occupied; the others seemed to have no occupants.

He chose the last bunk space and placed his bag at the top bunk, emptying what was left in the bag, with the sketchbook dropping out midway as he scavenged.

The sketchbook was calling out to be reopened.

He couldn’t resist and flipped through it while sitting at the lower bunk, his thoughts all centered on Halima.

The wedding
His old flat
Him
Them….

The sketches were still there, but they weren’t reality.

He couldn’t stop himself from shutting his eyes while hugging the sketchbook to himself, wanting the sketches to come alive.

“This is all too much, Halima, how did you get yourself into this?” He thought out loud in loneliness.

“I think only Halima has the answer to that.” a hoarse voice replied to his out-loud thoughts.

He wasn’t alone

Of course, the person occupying the first bunk space.

He opened his eyes to see a man wrapped in a towel from his waist and wiping off his upper body with a small towel.

Kelechi’s next gaze fell on his face and he recognized it with the burn on his left cheek.

It was him, the guy he chased in the market that led him to Halima’s Polaroid picture.

“Could this be the Jide?” Kelechi thought, the question escaping his lips in a whisper.

✨ Why This Chapter Won!

• Perfect Continuity: This chapter picks up exactly where Chapter 11 ended: Kelechi in the secure hideout, facing the mysterious woman with the blue scarf (confirmed here as Kira). It directly addresses the immediate cliffhanger.
• Logical Progression: It focuses on the next logical steps: debriefing Kelechi, securing the drives, and explaining the hidden network (Kira’s anti-corruption team) that Halima has been working with.
• Character Consistency:
  • Kira: Her identity is revealed logically. She is not a random new character but the leader of the extraction team mentioned in Chapter 11, given a name and a crucial backstory that ties her to Zara and the conflict.
  • Zara: Her morally ambiguous role is maintained and explained through Kira’s backstory, resolving the question of her loyalty without making her a simple villain.
  • Kelechi: His exhaustion, confusion, and singular focus on Halima are perfectly consistent.
    Plot Payoff & Setup: It provides major revelations (Kira and Zara are twins, Kira’s military background, the true nature of her mission) while creating a powerful new cliffhanger with the introduction of Jide—the burn-faced man from the market.
    Respects Established Lore: It does not contradict any previously established character or plot point, instead weaving new layers into the existing tapestry.