THE ILLUSION OF PERFECTION 13

Tayo was yanked from the van, the force nearly making him stumble. He staggered into the dimly lit courtyard. The faded blue, yellow and green paint on the wall confirmed they were at a police station. 

As they were lined up against the wall, his gaze swept over the building and the officers, darting frantically, searching for an opportunity, a familiar face—anything. 

I have to get out of here. I have to make a call. I have to reach out to Deji. This was just a terrible mix-up and there was no way he was spending the night there.

Grasping onto the dwindling instincts that built "The Tayo Brand"—the charm, the calculation, his ability to read any room and bend it to his will, he scanned the officers, weighing postures, ranks. 

Just then, his gaze locked onto one officer: a woman receiving a sharp salute from the others. Her face was stern, eyes rimmed with fatigue, but her presence commanded the tense space and her rank demanded respect. 

Tayo didn't hesitate. He knew: it was now or never. 

Breaking away from the lineup, he took two desperate steps toward her—heart pounding but set on making her listen. He had barely managed two strides when something heavy slammed into him from behind, sending him sprawling, face-first onto the abrasive concrete. Pain, sharp and immediate, tore through his chest.

A pair of polished boots paused inches from his face and Tayo lifted his head, vision swimming. He was hurled upright with a force that made his knee buckle. Blinking rapidly through the haze and pain, he found himself face to face with the officer he'd tried to approach. 

Her eyes clinically moved from his designer suit to his scuffed shoes, taking in his overall appearance, curated for admiration. Then her lips curled into a slow, cynical smile.

"Oga," she said, her voice dripping with pure sarcasm, "you think say your suit go save you? Nobody special here o. All of una na the same—common criminals!"

With that, she leaned in, her cold gaze penetrating his panic-stricken eyes, "We go see who you be for this station."

With a sharp turn, she barked orders. Tayo and the area boys were instantly marched through a low doorway, into the oppressive interior of the police station. 

Tayo’s hope withered fast, dying the kind of death that leaves no room for rites, only silence.

CONTINUE