CHIBOK (COMPLETED)

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Here's the beginning of the end!

News article from The Militia 2015 ed. Page 4.

IEDS LITTERS THE SAMBISA FOREST—IMPEDING THE NIGERIAN ARMY.

Countless reports from the men on the frontline confirm that Improved Explosive devices have been buried at random around the forest making it the more difficult to infiltrate the camp.

Lieutenant Jang, from the new zone B division, spoke of his suspicion about the nature of the IEDs, alleging that the devices were being controlled by telecommunication. The device he dismantled was proof of his theories as sensor devices are integrated into the motherboard and his demonstration proved that the sensor-trigger effect was regulated through an online matrix. This makes the military force even the more vulnerable as the advantage of stealth is eliminated.

Zone B division awaits information from the central intelligence while they figure out any pattern to the distribution of the land mines. He told that two of the men were almost killed when a mine exploded underneath a tank.

In a brief interview with the head of the intelligence staff, Colonel Bolu Hingir, asserted that Jang's observations were accurate but that there has been no success in reverse engineering the device or in using the sensor to locate the online matrix.

"We are still working on it, and we hope to have results soon." He told reporters.

In the mean time, the men are held at bay at the edge of Sambisa. It must be worthy of note that during the course of the recent drastic intervention of the federal military, there have been claims of Boko Haram insurgent escaping across the Cameroonian border and presently, not less than 200 hundred members are  in the Nigerian custody. The military is winning the war. It's just a matter of time.

******

With the present victory around the vicinity of the camp at the edges of Marte, Bello decided that night that Mr. Blake was right, it was time to disable the mine fields and he needed to gain access to the camp's database so that Amanda can reverse engineer the software and disable the IEDs at least for the next 24 hours before the insurgent would ever notice to rectify the breach in control. He needed to get to Wizen.

Immediately after the evening prayers, Bello was up, after Wizen. The man only looked him up with a bland expression on his face. Bello smiled. Wizen simply nodded. Together they arrived at his tent, Bello knew the connection between them both had something to do with their curiosity, Wizen was most certainly trying to place him and he wanted to do the same, more so, gain information.

That evening one of his 'student' a potential suicide bomber brought the food, Wizen forced her to take a bite before she left, said it rules out the possibility of poisoning. After the brief meal, the man walked inside to survey his computers. Bello sat silent, his hand slowly reaching to his pocket where a crushed sleeping pill lay finely crushed in folded paper.

He waited till he was sure that Wizen wasn't spying before he poured it into his drink in one fluid motion. The solute dissolved and the entire water in the still cup was crystal clean again.

Wizen returned after which Bello freely expressed his curiosity about how the IED works. Wizen had his way of answering questions in such a way that he spoke few words and make vague so many fact, you can't even get what he wanted to say. Bello knew that was a deliberate tactic, Wizen was a worthy opponent and it did takes two to play.

The night wore on. And it was obvious from Wizen's beady eye that he wanted to retire, but Bello sat prying him with countless question with a single purpose in his mind: That wizen would drink the water. With the thought came the uncanny luck, Wizen raised the cup to his mouth and didn't as much as glared his direction before he slurped the content. He dropped the cup, stared blankly at Bello who tried his best to look innocent. Wizen wiped his mouth and continued the headless-tailless discussion. Soon his gaze got even heavier, his head finally rolled on his shoulder till it landed roughly coordinated on the table. Wizen began to snore.