SUNRISE (Excerpt)

A short excerpt from my novel Sunrise...

 
SIERRA LEONE, FREETOWN.

“Ambassador!”

                        

Anthony stopped and turned towards the unfamiliar, tall and dark man. He frowned slightly as the man raised a glass of creamy liquid towards him.

How did he recognize me? Anthony thought aghast at the fact that his cover had been blown. His eyes flicked over the huge thugs beside and around the tall and dark fellow and his frown deepened.  He had no idea who the man was. Waving briefly he turned and headed for the course. His caddy, a young boy of twelve who was apparently too tall for his age, tagged along behind him almost dragging his stand bag. 

Golf was a vital part of him now. Whenever he moved into a new town, aside from verifying his reservation at the hotel, he always made it a point of duty to check out the best golf club in the town. The famous Lumley Beach was right across the course and was one of the sights he found appealing in Freetown. Though there were few tell-tale signs of the long civil war, the club always took his breath away. He was no Tiger Woods, but he could hold his own grounds...

His thoughts went back to the man with the thugs and he turned towards his caddy, a light skinned boy in his early teens, who had taken his usual position of squatting near his stand bag. The boy had being a child soldier and had lost his father to the war. Apart from the local school, he enjoyed being a caddy at the club.  

“Brima?”

“Yes boss.”

“The man I greeted back there?”

“That’s Mr. Arif Malema. He is the youngest son of Isaac Malema. Their family is one of the richest here. He is always outside the country. People say he is the black sheep of his family and very ruthless.” The boy narrated with a slight stutter.

Anthony took in the small party of members gathering around Mr. Arif and decided he would have nothing to do with them. Being the Nigerian ambassador to Sierra Leone was a price he had to pay for falling out of favor with the president. He had being tipped for Canada, but someone had whispered some false stories into the president’s ears at the last minute and there he was, playing golf in a country still battling with the aftermath of its diamond fueled civil war.

He knew about the deadly alluvial diamonds and had witnessed firsthand the anti Nigerian sentiments recently heightened by the alleged killing of a foreign exchange dealer by some Nigerians. It had resulted in attacks on Nigerians and on the High Commission. It had taken the combined effort of the UNAMSIL and ECOMOG soldiers to abate the mob from setting the embassy ablaze. That was two weeks ago. As the days flew by, he had gotten tired of cowering within the walls of the embassy, the desire for fresh air and his beloved game had dragged him out. He had ditched his aides and sort after the peace of the golf course. Without his aides, he was just another foreigner or so he had thought. It was now obvious to him that men like Mr. Arif could recognize him without a blink.

Sighing, Anthony swung at the ball. It soared into the air and made a bee line for the trees lining the edge of the grounds.

“Damn!” He muttered under his breath.

“Sir! One of them is coming over.”

The panic in the boy’s voice jerked Anthony eyes off the ball and back to Mr. Arif’s side. The sight of one of the thugs headed towards them made him regret abandoning his security details at home.

Wearily, he looked further right and noticed that the handful of UNAMSIL Troops had left their spot. Cold shivers ran down his spine. Act normal he cautioned himself and slowly moved towards his stand bag. He thanked God that he had remembered to load and place his revolver in the side pocket the previous night. Unzipping the bag, he reached clammy and shaky fingers inside. The cold barrel of the gun boosted his morale. His grip tightened around the butt. His pupils dilated as he waited calmly.