The guardians, a story by mynd44
Episode 1
The story below is an exclusive work of the
author, Mynd_44. All forms of reproduction in
parts or full without prior written permission of
the author is un-allowed. No part of this story
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into
a retrieval system or transmitted in any form
orby any means (electronic, mechanical or
otherwise)
This is a work of fiction. A result of my boredom
and crazy imagination. Names, characters,
Places and incidents are the results of said
imagination and any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead,business organization,
events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Bullcrap aside, this is a result of my thinking, it
does not have any truth in it. I know how a lot of
people roll so please don’t think any part of this
actually happened or will happen
Mynd_44 April, 2013
Chapter 1: Matters Arising
It was a hot morning in Ketu; the type of
morning which makes everyone wish it would
rain or better still that a massive cloud would
cover the sky and block out the sun completely
but there was no respite for everyone. The
traders at the ever busy Kosofe market were
already about business and the fact that it is a
Thursday made them more vigorous in their
attempt to get the attention of their customers.
It was just a couple of minutes past 10 in the
morning and the market was beginning to fill out.
The customers were already coming in and the
traders were in a mad rush to display their
wares. It is always like this during opening hours
and this Thursday morning in April is not any
different.
The market opened late today due to a directive
from the Lagos state government that says that
all markets must clean their environments before
10am every Thursday or risk closure. A lot of
markets have been shut down due to this
directive and top on the list include the
Automobile market at Ladipo and the popular
fruit market at Mile 12 so the traders battle
every Thursday to keep their environment clean
before the Lagos state waste management
authority(LAWMA) inspection agents show up at
their door. The cleaning process that morning
went the way it should have gone with each of
the traders showing up as early as 6am to clean
his/her immediate surrounding and then
gathering the flit in a dump made available by
the government.
The earliest customers were pouring in from
buses bringing them in from one side of the
Ikorodu road while the rest coming from the
other side of the road came through the
pedestrian bridge. The commercial buses on the
side of the market were already set up for
business as the time before trading commenced
had been dull but now, the day is just beginning.
The few who had managedto display their wares
were already shouting on top of their voice in a
form of oral advertisement; calling on customers
to come buy what they had. Some were basic
and some just so interesting that even if you
were not interested in buying what they had, you
would be pulled to look at the person
advertising.
The noise from the sellers combines with the
noise from the old rickety buses most of whose
engine did not completely burn the Premium
Motor Spirit (PMS) they used as fuel created a
feeling of chaos from all around. The fact that
the conductors of the buses were also
screaming and calling out their routes did not
help the noise situation one bit. In the course of
the night, it rained making the floor muddy and
that was even an added disadvantage to
everyone but still as though the cosmic
conspiracy against everyone was not enough,
the sun was beating down on every one.
The market was along the ever busy ikorodu
road expressway which ran from Yaba to Ikorodu
making it one of the longest state operated
roads in the country and keeping the sanity there
traffic wise is the dreaded Lagos State Traffic
management Authority (LASTMA). Their men are
always on ground here to make sure the traffic
keeps moving asthe road is one of the most
important ones not just on mainland Lagos but in
the whole state.
Some meters away from the market stands a
branch of Cadios bank, one of the most
profitable and financially stable bank in the
country. The bank had opened the branch
forbusiness besides the market more that 5
years ago just after the re-capitalization business
by the then Central bank governor Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi. The bank is big and occupies a space
that is the envy of other banks. Even the banks
in the area envied it due to its distance from the
market. The queues at the ATM gallery is always
filled and even the banking hall is always filled
with customers either depositing or withdrawing
money so they acquired more ATM machines. It
was a great idea because it reduced the number
of customers coming into the banking hall to
withdraw but it did not help those who wanted to
deposit money into thebank. These consist
mainly of traders who prefer putting money in
the bank’s vaults than their houses.
The fact that there is always a large population
of customers withdrawing money makes sure
that there is always a high amount of cash
exchanged by the bank. Most times, the bank,
gives out more than it takes in and such money
is brought in by heavily guarded armored
vehicles from the central bank branch. The bank
made money and business is always good and
this Thursday is not any different.
There is an entrance for customers and a “back
door” for taking in and bringing out money. The
entrance to this back door is always locked and
armed police men could usually be seen at the
entrance as they always stop non staff of the
bank from venturing near that entrance. When
the vans bringing in money are about to enter or
depart, the whole place would be shut down and
nobody would go in or out until the money has
made its designated route. That is the standard
procedure taken by the bank in a bid to avoid
mistakes and prevent a Vehicular .
Inside the banking hall was spacious. The
counter had cubicles for more than 12 cashiers
but they are not always filled with them. On the
right, were the offices of the head of banking
operations and some other offices for some of
the staff. On the left was the customer care
department where more than 5 staff attended to
the various issues and complaints of the
customers. It is supposed to work more like an
avenue for customers to ask questions about the
services the bank provided that they did not
understand but they dealt more with complains
of customer who had issues with their ATM
cards. In front of the counter is a huge space
where the customers queue up mostly as they
wait their turn. There are three long chairs that
can naturally contain 3 people comfortable at a
corner opposite a section of the corner for
customers who would rather sit while waiting
their turn to be served. In front of the customer
care section, there is a walkway that leads to
the bulk room which is used to handle large
sums of money.
At the opposite side of the busy expressway, the
bank acquired a plot of land just for its
customers to park their cars as it was becoming
difficult to drive to the next point and turn just
because they want to do some transaction so
they would easily park there, make use of the
pedestrian bridge to cross the road and carry out
what ever transaction they want to carry out and
this morning, a silver colored Toyota Hiace pulled
up into the parking space and three men got out
of it while the driver remained in the car.
Security at the space barely took notice of the
bus and its passenger because they assumed
that the driver was a designated one bringing in
his bosses to the bank.
Almost immediately, a Nissan Serena pulled up
into the front of the bank and blocked the
entrance to the car park of the bank itself. A
traffic official walked up to the car to see why
the bus was parking there and to suggest other
spaces to park when two men(one sitting beside
the driver on front and another beside the door)
got out of the minivan clutching automatic rifles
and started firing into the air indiscriminately.
The door on the other side opened and the
remaining 5 passengers got down leaving only
the driver in the car all of them holding the same
match grade rifle as the men who alighted
previously.
While the two men were shooting, everyone
around scampered for safety and that included
both customers and sellers at the market close
by. One of the men who got out earlier walked
towards the road and stood there with the gun
pointing parallel to his feet now and shouted;
“Everybody get down or you will get killed” and
he opened fire.
Some people who were peeping and trying to see
what was happening got hot pieces of lead shot
into them as suddenly, the ever busy Ikorodu
road became empty. Cars had turned around with
accuracy that could only be imagined as they all
scampered to safety. The traffic officials
controlling traffic at the bus stop also lay down
with their faces in the muddy water while some
who were fast ran into the market complex.
The market at this time was now a ghost of
itself. There was screams from people who have
been struck by stray bullets and those who were
not hit had found somewhere to hide. Even the
disabled beggars who sat at the entrance of the
market were nowhere to be found. The remaining
5 men who had got out of the car later ran into
the bank’s compound and within seconds,
everyone making a transaction at the ATM
machines were on the ground one of them said
calmly;
“We don’t want to hear your phones ring and we
don’t want you looking up. All you should do is
lay down as you are and stay down or else, you
will be killed right there.”
The story below is an exclusive work of the
author, Mynd_44. All forms of reproduction in
parts or full without prior written permission of
the author is un-allowed. No part of this story
may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into
a retrieval system or transmitted in any form
orby any means (electronic, mechanical or
otherwise)
This is a work of fiction. A result of my boredom
and crazy imagination. Names, characters,
Places and incidents are the results of said
imagination and any resemblance to actual
persons, living or dead,business organization,
events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Bullcrap aside, this is a result of my thinking, it
does not have any truth in it. I know how a lot of
people roll so please don’t think any part of this
actually happened or will happen
Mynd_44 April, 2013
Chapter 1: Matters Arising
It was a hot morning in Ketu; the type of
morning which makes everyone wish it would
rain or better still that a massive cloud would
cover the sky and block out the sun completely
but there was no respite for everyone. The
traders at the ever busy Kosofe market were
already about business and the fact that it is a
Thursday made them more vigorous in their
attempt to get the attention of their customers.
It was just a couple of minutes past 10 in the
morning and the market was beginning to fill out.
The customers were already coming in and the
traders were in a mad rush to display their
wares. It is always like this during opening hours
and this Thursday morning in April is not any
different.
The market opened late today due to a directive
from the Lagos state government that says that
all markets must clean their environments before
10am every Thursday or risk closure. A lot of
markets have been shut down due to this
directive and top on the list include the
Automobile market at Ladipo and the popular
fruit market at Mile 12 so the traders battle
every Thursday to keep their environment clean
before the Lagos state waste management
authority(LAWMA) inspection agents show up at
their door. The cleaning process that morning
went the way it should have gone with each of
the traders showing up as early as 6am to clean
his/her immediate surrounding and then
gathering the flit in a dump made available by
the government.
The earliest customers were pouring in from
buses bringing them in from one side of the
Ikorodu road while the rest coming from the
other side of the road came through the
pedestrian bridge. The commercial buses on the
side of the market were already set up for
business as the time before trading commenced
had been dull but now, the day is just beginning.
The few who had managedto display their wares
were already shouting on top of their voice in a
form of oral advertisement; calling on customers
to come buy what they had. Some were basic
and some just so interesting that even if you
were not interested in buying what they had, you
would be pulled to look at the person
advertising.
The noise from the sellers combines with the
noise from the old rickety buses most of whose
engine did not completely burn the Premium
Motor Spirit (PMS) they used as fuel created a
feeling of chaos from all around. The fact that
the conductors of the buses were also
screaming and calling out their routes did not
help the noise situation one bit. In the course of
the night, it rained making the floor muddy and
that was even an added disadvantage to
everyone but still as though the cosmic
conspiracy against everyone was not enough,
the sun was beating down on every one.
The market was along the ever busy ikorodu
road expressway which ran from Yaba to Ikorodu
making it one of the longest state operated
roads in the country and keeping the sanity there
traffic wise is the dreaded Lagos State Traffic
management Authority (LASTMA). Their men are
always on ground here to make sure the traffic
keeps moving asthe road is one of the most
important ones not just on mainland Lagos but in
the whole state.
Some meters away from the market stands a
branch of Cadios bank, one of the most
profitable and financially stable bank in the
country. The bank had opened the branch
forbusiness besides the market more that 5
years ago just after the re-capitalization business
by the then Central bank governor Sanusi Lamido
Sanusi. The bank is big and occupies a space
that is the envy of other banks. Even the banks
in the area envied it due to its distance from the
market. The queues at the ATM gallery is always
filled and even the banking hall is always filled
with customers either depositing or withdrawing
money so they acquired more ATM machines. It
was a great idea because it reduced the number
of customers coming into the banking hall to
withdraw but it did not help those who wanted to
deposit money into thebank. These consist
mainly of traders who prefer putting money in
the bank’s vaults than their houses.
The fact that there is always a large population
of customers withdrawing money makes sure
that there is always a high amount of cash
exchanged by the bank. Most times, the bank,
gives out more than it takes in and such money
is brought in by heavily guarded armored
vehicles from the central bank branch. The bank
made money and business is always good and
this Thursday is not any different.
There is an entrance for customers and a “back
door” for taking in and bringing out money. The
entrance to this back door is always locked and
armed police men could usually be seen at the
entrance as they always stop non staff of the
bank from venturing near that entrance. When
the vans bringing in money are about to enter or
depart, the whole place would be shut down and
nobody would go in or out until the money has
made its designated route. That is the standard
procedure taken by the bank in a bid to avoid
mistakes and prevent a Vehicular .
Inside the banking hall was spacious. The
counter had cubicles for more than 12 cashiers
but they are not always filled with them. On the
right, were the offices of the head of banking
operations and some other offices for some of
the staff. On the left was the customer care
department where more than 5 staff attended to
the various issues and complaints of the
customers. It is supposed to work more like an
avenue for customers to ask questions about the
services the bank provided that they did not
understand but they dealt more with complains
of customer who had issues with their ATM
cards. In front of the counter is a huge space
where the customers queue up mostly as they
wait their turn. There are three long chairs that
can naturally contain 3 people comfortable at a
corner opposite a section of the corner for
customers who would rather sit while waiting
their turn to be served. In front of the customer
care section, there is a walkway that leads to
the bulk room which is used to handle large
sums of money.
At the opposite side of the busy expressway, the
bank acquired a plot of land just for its
customers to park their cars as it was becoming
difficult to drive to the next point and turn just
because they want to do some transaction so
they would easily park there, make use of the
pedestrian bridge to cross the road and carry out
what ever transaction they want to carry out and
this morning, a silver colored Toyota Hiace pulled
up into the parking space and three men got out
of it while the driver remained in the car.
Security at the space barely took notice of the
bus and its passenger because they assumed
that the driver was a designated one bringing in
his bosses to the bank.
Almost immediately, a Nissan Serena pulled up
into the front of the bank and blocked the
entrance to the car park of the bank itself. A
traffic official walked up to the car to see why
the bus was parking there and to suggest other
spaces to park when two men(one sitting beside
the driver on front and another beside the door)
got out of the minivan clutching automatic rifles
and started firing into the air indiscriminately.
The door on the other side opened and the
remaining 5 passengers got down leaving only
the driver in the car all of them holding the same
match grade rifle as the men who alighted
previously.
While the two men were shooting, everyone
around scampered for safety and that included
both customers and sellers at the market close
by. One of the men who got out earlier walked
towards the road and stood there with the gun
pointing parallel to his feet now and shouted;
“Everybody get down or you will get killed” and
he opened fire.
Some people who were peeping and trying to see
what was happening got hot pieces of lead shot
into them as suddenly, the ever busy Ikorodu
road became empty. Cars had turned around with
accuracy that could only be imagined as they all
scampered to safety. The traffic officials
controlling traffic at the bus stop also lay down
with their faces in the muddy water while some
who were fast ran into the market complex.
The market at this time was now a ghost of
itself. There was screams from people who have
been struck by stray bullets and those who were
not hit had found somewhere to hide. Even the
disabled beggars who sat at the entrance of the
market were nowhere to be found. The remaining
5 men who had got out of the car later ran into
the bank’s compound and within seconds,
everyone making a transaction at the ATM
machines were on the ground one of them said
calmly;
“We don’t want to hear your phones ring and we
don’t want you looking up. All you should do is
lay down as you are and stay down or else, you
will be killed right there.”
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