Chasing Halima – Chapter 8

The night clung to them like smoke. Kelechi wiped sweat from his brow, eyes narrowed as he crouched behind a ridge near Alhaji’s estate. The walls stretched high into the moonlit sky, guarded by coils of barbed wire and rotating security patrols. Each minute that passed felt like a dare from death.

Beside him, Amina tapped furiously on a modified burner device. The screen flickered, then lit up with a grainy CCTV feed.

“South corridor,” she whispered, showing him the route. “Two guards, forty-second rotation. We have a twenty-second blind spot.”

Kelechi nodded. “That’s our window.”

Amina’s hands trembled slightly. They both knew this was more than a rescue mission. Zara’s message still rang in their ears:

Halima might not be the prisoner you think she is.

Kelechi wanted to scream. Halima—his Halima—was the reason he was here, the reason his heart beat faster with each risk they took. But the idea that she was playing a deeper game? That thought gnawed at his chest like a slow burn.

Suddenly, a rustle in the grass behind them.

Kelechi turned, hand instinctively going to the switchblade in his boot. A shadow stepped forward.

“Don’t,” came the voice, calm and aged. “If I wanted you dead, I’d have let the dogs find you ten minutes ago.”

The moonlight revealed his face—creased with time, his eyes sharp, calculating. The man wore a black cap and faded military fatigues.

Amina’s eyes widened. “You’re Baba Segun.”

“The one and only,” he said with a humorless smile. “Alhaji’s old watchdog. Until he threw me to the wolves.”

Kelechi’s grip loosened. “Why are you here?”

“To finish what I started. Alhaji took everything from me. Now I return the favor. You want in?” He pointed toward a jagged rock near the west perimeter wall. “There’s a tunnel. Built it myself. Used for moving contraband when things got hot. Alhaji thinks it collapsed years ago.”

“And it didn’t?” Amina asked.

“I reinforced it. I’ve been planning this for a long time.”

Kelechi exchanged a glance with her. Trust was a luxury they couldn’t afford, but desperation had its own price.

“We move now,” Baba Segun said.

—

The tunnel was damp and narrow, smelling of wet stone and rust. They crouched, crawling at times, their breaths loud in the silence. After fifteen minutes, the space widened, leading to a steel grate embedded into a wall.

Baba Segun knelt and tapped a code into a keypad hidden under a loose stone. The grate clicked open.

“You’ve been preparing for this,” Kelechi noted.

“I knew Alhaji would slip up eventually. Greed makes men arrogant.”

They stepped into a maintenance hall inside the estate. The walls were lined with ancient wiring and vents. Amina stopped suddenly.

“There’s a live feed signal here,” she said, raising her device. “Give me a second.”

She hacked the frequency, overriding one of the estate’s inner camera loops. Through the feed, they saw a large vault room, dimly lit. Something shimmered inside—rows of cases and stacks of documents. Possibly evidence. Possibly secrets.

Then, a voice broke the silence—filtered through static.

“Amina,” it said. “If you’re hearing this… you’re already too deep.”

It was Zara.

“What the hell?” Amina breathed.

Zara’s voice continued, calm and composed: “Halima isn’t waiting to be rescued. She made a deal. She’s not who you think she is.”

The feed cut.

Kelechi stood frozen, the words clawing at his mind.

“No,” he whispered. “That’s not true.”

Baba Segun stepped closer. “I suspected she was working both sides.”

“You knew?” Amina asked.

“I knew she had meetings with Alhaji long before you two got involved. She was supposed to broker peace with his rivals, but somewhere along the line, she stopped taking orders.”

Kelechi staggered back. “That doesn’t mean she betrayed us.”

“No,” Baba said. “But it means she’s capable of more than you realize.”

They reached a door—metal, reinforced. Baba Segun frowned. “This wasn’t here before.”

“Can we bypass it?” Amina asked.

“No. Only Alhaji or Halima would have the clearance.”

As if on cue, footsteps echoed from the other side.

Kelechi reached for his blade.

The door creaked open.

And Halima stood there.

Alive. Dressed in black silk. Unbound. Regal.

Behind her were two guards—not aiming their guns, but present.

Her expression was unreadable.

“You shouldn’t have come,” she said, her voice colder than Kelechi remembered.

Amina stepped forward. “What the hell is going on?”

Halima glanced at the guards. “Leave us.”

They hesitated, then obeyed.

She turned back to them. “You broke into a fortified estate. Do you even know what you’re risking?”

“We came to save you!” Kelechi barked. “Zara said—”

“Zara said too much,” Halima interrupted.

Silence stretched.

Then, Halima sighed, almost regretfully. “There’s something you need to understand. I never belonged to Alhaji. I used him. I played his game better than he did. That vault?” She gestured toward the hallway behind her. “It’s not just money. It’s leverage. Evidence. Names. If I walk away with it, I don’t just free myself—I control the board.”

Kelechi felt as if the ground beneath him had vanished.

“So you lied to us?” he said. “You pretended to be a victim?”

“I was a victim,” she snapped. “But I refused to stay one.”

Amina stepped back, shaking her head. “You had us risking our lives.”

“And I still need you,” Halima said.

Kelechi laughed bitterly. “For what? As pawns?”

“No,” Halima said. “As witnesses. If Alhaji dies tonight, someone has to tell the world why.”

Baba Segun’s face hardened. “He’s here?”

Halima nodded. “He doesn’t know you’re coming. Yet.”

Another pause. Then, a low hum filled the air—a generator starting.

Halima turned to Kelechi. “You want answers? Come with me. But you need to decide now. Once we enter that vault, there’s no going back.”

Kelechi stared at her, the woman he thought he knew, the woman who had become a storm.

He stepped forward.

“I’m in.”

Amina followed.

Baba Segun grinned. “Been waiting years for this.”

The door to the vault loomed ahead.

And as it opened, revealing the secrets within, none of them knew that hidden in the shadows, a camera had captured everything—the betrayal, the reunion, the deal.

Somewhere far away, Zara watched.

And she smiled.

NEWLY ADDED CHARACTERS

1. Baba Segun (Built Upon)

✨ Why This Chapter Won!

• Continuity (Excellent): Seamlessly picks up from Chapter 7’s tension — the looming threat of Alhaji Nuradeen and the mystery of Zara’s cryptic warning.
• Linkage (Strong): Connects established plot points: Baba Segun’s history, Alhaji’s estate, Halima’s strategic maneuvers, and Zara’s surveillance.
• Character Consistency (Outstanding): Kelechi’s emotional turmoil, Amina’s tech expertise, and Halima’s enigmatic intellect are preserved and deepened.
• Thematic Resonance: Sharpens the story’s core theme — chasing Halima is no longer about rescuing a victim, but understanding a master strategist.
• Pacing: A gripping blend of stealth action (the infiltration), emotional confrontations, and cliffhangers.
• Originality: The narrative twist that Halima controls the game — not Alhaji — is fresh and adds complexity to her character.
• Setup for Future Chapters: The vault of secrets, Halima’s ambiguous allegiance, and Zara’s hidden surveillance open up rich storytelling paths for Chapter 9 and beyond.