‘Open the door,’ Malik said, his pistol pressed into Amaka’s back. Shehu was standing by his side in the corridor on the first floor. Amaka didn’t move.
Shehu reached past Amaka and opened the door. It was a bedroom. There were two camera lights on tripods looking down on the bed and between them was a third tripod with a video camera. Black cables ran from each tripod to the ground and along the floor to a black extension box that was plugged into a wall socket. Above the bed’s headboard was a metre-wide framed picture of a Great Dane sitting on a golden cowhide rug. The walls of the room were covered in white wallpaper with silver rose petals falling off bunched bouquets. Sunlight shone through the two windows behind thin white curtains.
Malik pressed the weapon into Amaka’s back. She walked into the room followed by Shehu, then Malik, who closed the door behind him.
‘Take your clothes off.’ Malik said.
Amaka had stopped just behind where the video equipment was set up. She turned and stared at him.
Malik raised the gun to her head.
‘I said take off your clothes.’
‘Why?’ Amaka asked. ‘What do you want to do?’
‘Do you know you talk too much?’
‘I hope you’re thinking of your mother when you fuck me.’
‘I never knew my mother.’
‘I’m sure you can’t even get it up.’
He lowered his gun to his side, looked at Shehu and laughed, then in a flash he brought his gun hand up and across his chest and smacked the side of Amaka’s face with the butt of the weapon. Amaka fell backwards onto the ground, taking the camera down with her.
‘See what you made me do?’ Malik said. He reached towards her and Amaka recoiled. He grinned. ‘I’m not touching you,’ he said. He lifted the camera tripod, set it back upright and checked that the camera was working. ‘Take off your clothes,’ he said as he continued inspecting the camera.
‘What do you want to do?’ Amaka asked.
‘What do I want to do? Do you know why the Romans nailed Jesus to a cross like this?’ He spread his hands wide and Shehu moved away from the barrel of the pistol. ‘It was not to punish him. They crucified him and planted his cross on top of a hill so that everybody would see ‘this is what happens to anyone who tries us’.’
He switched the camera on. A red light blinked.
‘By the way,’ Malik continued, ‘I need to thank you. You did me a big favour today. My house that you burnt – the insurance on that building is worth more than ten times its value. Just like this one. Just like every property I own. You saved me the trouble of burning the place down myself. Now I really need you to take off your clothes and get onto the bed.’
Amaka propped up her body with one hand, touched her mouth, then looked at the blood on her fingers.
‘You brought all of this upon yourself,’ Shehu said.
‘Get up, take off your clothes, and get onto the bed,’ Malik said. Amaka got onto her feet. ‘No,’ she said, spitting blood onto the white rug.
‘But why?’ Malik said. ‘Because I hit you? I already apologised for that. Or, didn’t I? My mistake. I’ll just do it again and this time I’ll make sure I apologise.’
He stepped away from behind the camera and took a step towards her. She flinched and stepped backwards until her feet hit the edge of the bed.
Shehu held Malik’s hand. ‘Miss,’ he said, ‘there is only one way this is going to end, but I can make it fast. A single shot to the back of the head and it would be over. You won’t feel anything. You won’t even hear it. Or it can be the other way. His way. The choice is yours. Tell me who else has seen the videos and the pictures you took from Ojo and I’ll make sure it’s quick.’