Odafe Atogun's Blog, page 3

Cube the Fox on the Trail of a Corrupt Politician

Prologue: Cube works for the Fox Secret Service as an undercover agent. His exploits earn him recognition in the secret service circle as the smartest undercover agent of all time. In this story, Cube is hired by the government of a small country called Cora to catch a corrupt politician who stole all the money in the country’s treasury. Cube must recover the loot from the politician or else the entire country will starve to death. The fate of a country of over 5 million people depends on a fox.

1.

One bright Monday morning, weeks after the government of Cora had announced a new budget, the Accountant General of the country arrived at work to discover that all the money in the treasury had been looted, right down to the last penny. Unable to believe his eyes, the poor man collapsed from shock, and was promptly rushed to the hospital by his aides.

News of the heist spread quickly. No one wanted to believe it at first. But as the truth became obvious, the entire country of Cora was thrown into pandemonium. The world watched in amazement.

As soon as the Accountant General showed signs of recovery, he was taken before the President, a man with penetrating eyes, who grilled him with questions regarding the missing money. But it quickly became clear that the Accountant General knew nothing about the theft. So State Security was called in, marking the beginning of an investigation that would grip the world for weeks to come.

2.

Several days passed without success. Nobody had been arrested. In fact, the agents didn’t have the clue as to who the culprit could be.

Each passing day heightened the anxiety of the President and the whole country, knowing that if the money was not found they would all starve to death.

One week passed, and still the investigators made no progress. The FBI were called in to take over. They came with state-of-the-art forensic equipment. They fingerprinted everyone and launched investigations in major towns and cities.

They assured the President that the culprit or culprits would be caught, and that all the money would be recovered. For many days, they were upbeat about the investigation. They went about with shiny pistols in leather holsters. They chewed gum and grilled anyone they cared to with a flurry of questions. They went about looking and talking tough.

But at the end of three weeks they drew blank. The thief or thieves remained at large.

The FBI reported their lack of progress to the President, who responded angrily, calling them names.

‘We are only trying to help,’ one of the FBI men grumbled. ‘After all, you must appreciate that we are dealing with an unusual situation. It is not our fault that you have very unusual criminals in your country.’

The frustrated President dismissed the FBI and summoned an emergency cabinet meeting.

4.

It was at the cabinet meeting that the President learnt of the existence of a fox from Newbury by the name of Cube.

Without wasting time, the President sent officials to Newbury to request Cube’s help with the investigation. To the President’s delight, Cube arrived the very next day.

But the President was dismayed when Cube arrived armed only with a pen and notepad.

‘Where is your forensic team and equipment?’ the President asked.

‘I don’t need any of those,’ Cube replied simply, smiling, a toothpick in a corner of his mouth.

‘Then how do you intend to catch the thief?’ the President asked in amazement.

‘You have asked me to do a job. I will do it my way. Just give me time.’

For some reason, the President felt confidence in Cube. So he allowed him to carry out the investigation his way.

Cube spent the next few days eating and drinking in fancy restaurants, talking to anyone who cared to listen. He ran up huge bills on expensive champagne, to the consternation of the President.

‘Hey fox, we are bankrupt as it is,’ the President complained to Cube on the phone. ‘And now you are trying to make things worse for us.’

‘Don’t worry, Mr. President. Just trust me. OK?’

‘OK,’ Mr. President said reluctantly.

Cube continued his eating and drinking spree.

6.

A week later, Cube met a certain elderly man with an impressive potbelly in a five star restaurant. He had an entourage of over fifty people who were singing his praises, and he spent money as if it was going out of fashion.

Cube approached the man and told him how great he was. This compliment inflated the man’s ego, and the two of them chatted away like old friends.

The man introduced himself as Babake (meaning ‘the man’). Cube told him just how wonderful his name sounded, and with that they became the best of friends.

7.

‘What do you do for a living?’ Cube asked suddenly.

‘I am a politician,’ Babake replied proudly.

‘I see!’ Cube sounded very impressed. ‘Do you hold any political position?’

‘No. I am just a politician,’ Babake replied, patting his potbelly and smiling from ear to ear. He went on to tell Cube how he wanted to get a chieftaincy title in every village, every town and every city of the country. ‘I have enough money to pay for a million titles. And then I will marry one hundred new wives,’ he boasted.

Cube smiled with admiration. ‘You are a great man! In fact, you are fantastic!’

‘I am being crowned with a chieftaincy in my village in three days’ time. The ceremony is taking place at my country home which I just finished building at a cost of five hundred million dollars. You are cordially invited as a special guest of honour.’

Cube smiled to himself.

8.

Years of experience had taught Cube that those who steal big are the most reckless people you could ever imagine. He had no doubt that Babake was his man.

On the day of the ceremony, Cube requested sixty special agents, and instructed them to take strategic positions around Babake’s home.

The ceremony commenced with Babake spraying wads of dollars and pounds. The music was intoxicating. There was enough food to feed an entire city, enough wine to drown a battalion of soldiers. People travelled from far and near. Present at the ceremony were pastors, imams, cabinet ministers, labour activists, human rights lawyers, secret cultists, drug barons and mafia bosses. It was the guest list of a society without conscience.

The village shook with excitement.

Three hours into the ceremony, Cube gave a signal, and special agents sprang out and placed Babake under arrest. Promptly, they commenced a thorough search of his country home. To the amazement of all, money was found in overhead storage tanks, in barns, in cooking pots. Every wardrobe was stacked with wads of money. They found pillows and mattresses stuffed with money. They found money in underground vaults.

‘This place is a goldmine!’ Cube thought with a smile.

Under interrogation, Babake confessed that he masterminded the looting of the national treasury along with several top ranking cabinet ministers, many of whom were present at the ceremony. The trial was brief but sensational.

Babake and his gang were sent to prison for a very long time.

Talkido the Parrot Takes on Seven Armed Men

Talkido is renowned to be the greatest orator in the parrot kingdom of Boca. In this story, relying only on her great power of speech, she takes on seven armed men who had taken the parrots of Boca hostage.

1. The parrot kingdom of Boca was very quiet that Saturday morning. After the party thrown the night before by the king of Boca, most parrots were still tucked up in bed, apparently in no hurry to get up.

The sun was rising on the distant horizon, and a perfumed breeze blew across the kingdom. The rivers of Boca flowed with dreamy songs and trees and flowers swayed in harmony.

On that particular morning, Boca was the most peaceful and beautiful place on earth.

Suddenly, the quiet of the morning was shattered by the sound of gunshots. Then more gunshots. And Boca was thrown into confusion.

2. Parrot after parrot flew from their homes to see what was amiss. At first no one could explain. The marketplace was full of parrots all talking at the same time. The commotion was so great that no parrot could understand what the next parrot was saying.

More gunshots rang through the kingdom. The parrots became noisier than ever. ‘We must be under attack!’ one said.

‘It appears so,’ others squawked in agreement, fear etched on their faces.

‘I think we should go in the direction of the gunshots and find out what exactly is happening,’ a parrot suggested.

The rest nodded in agreement.

3. And so the parrots flew in the direction of the gunshots, south of the kingdom. It wasn’t long before they found the invaders stationed at the Great Gate, which was the only way in and out of Boca.

There were seven huge and muscular men in bulletproof vests, armed with guns and grenades. Their mean faces made the parrots shake with fear. Realising they were in mortal danger, the parrots tried to turn and run. But it was too late.

4. ‘If anyone moves we will shoot every parrot in sight!’ the ringleader of the invaders barked. He fired a round of bullets into the air to demonstrate his seriousness.

Every parrot stood still with fear, not daring to move a muscle. They looked at each other in disbelief that these violent men could have invaded their kingdom. ‘Please, don’t shoot!’ one implored. ‘We will do exactly as you say.’

‘Good!’ the ringleader said with satisfaction. ‘Remain right where you are.’

‘Anything you say. Please, don’t shoot.’

5. Talkido stepped forward at this point. Renowned as the greatest orator in the animal world, she had used her power on many occasions to resolve conflicts.

‘What do you want from us?’ she asked.

The ringleader laughed. He marched towards Talkido, his gun dangling from one shoulder. The rest of the men had their guns trained on the parrots, ready to shoot.

‘You must be a very bold parrot to ask me that question,’ the ringleader sneered. ‘What is your name?’

‘My name is Talkido.’

‘Talkido? What a name for a parrot. I bet you are very talkative!’ the ringleader taunted.

‘I am not talkative. I am simply the greatest orator alive.’

6. The ringleader and his men laughed until tears rolled down their faces. They could not believe how boastful Talkido was.

‘The greatest orator alive, indeed!’ the ringleader said, roaring with more laughter.

‘What do you want from us?’ Talkido said calmly. The other parrots continued to shake with fear.

The men stopped laughing. The ringleader assessed Talkido carefully, stopping just a few feet from her.

‘We have come to take some of you away with us to the city where you will be sold in cages to merchants from distant lands.’

‘That is slavery!’ Talkido sounded incredulous.

‘You have no choice,’ the ringleader said firmly.

‘We have a choice!’ Talkido replied.

The ringleader and his men were stunned by Talkido’s audacity. A brief silence followed.

7. ‘What choice do you have?’ the ringleader asked at last.

‘Give us the chance to fight for our freedom.’

‘And how do you intend to do that? We have military might, you have nothing, not even bows and arrows.’

‘I will fight all seven of you on behalf of my fellow parrots,’ Talkido replied confidently.

‘How?’ the ringleader sounded puzzled.

‘I will take you on one after the other with my oratorical powers. If I lose, take as many of us as you like. But if I win, you go away empty-handed, never to return.’

8. The ringleader and his men exchanged curious glances, unsure how Talkido intended to use her oratorical powers to fight their guns and grenades. Sensing their hesitation, Talkido persisted: ‘Surely, it is only fair that you give me the chance to defend myself and my fellow parrots. After all, you have military might on your side.’

The men had no choice.

‘Okay,’ the ringleader agreed.

‘Tell your men to attack me one after the other,’ Talkido said, stepping away from the other parrots.

The ringleader gave order, and the first of his men charged at Talkido with his gun.

‘I command your bullets to turn into yellow petals!’ Talkido yelled in a high-pitched voice.

As the man squeezed the trigger of his gun, bright yellow petals fell out instead of bullets.

‘I command you to fall asleep!’ Talkido shouted with authority. And the man promptly fell asleep on the ground.

9. There was a stunned silence. The ringleader barked out furious orders, and the second man charged at Talkido.

‘Be paralysed from head to toe!’ Talkido squawked. And the second man froze, falling to the ground with a heavy thud.

The other parrots looked on in disbelief. The ringleader barked out order after order until all his men were lying on the ground, taken down by Talkido’s magical oratory.

10. For a split-second the ringleader was gripped with fear, but he shook it off. He cocked his gun and took aim at Talkido. There was a boom. Several parrots began to cry, knowing that the bullet would surely blow Talkido apart.

But just before the bullet hit Talkido, she commanded in her shrieking voice: ‘Return to sender!’

As the gun smoke settled, all the parrots were amazed to see the ringleader rolling on the ground in agony. The bullet had returned to him, catching him on the right thigh.

Slowly, the other men rose drunkenly to their feet. They were all shaking with fear.

Talkido marched towards them.

‘I won. You lost,’ she said proudly. ‘So you must return to your city and never come to our land again. Is that understood?’

The men nodded in agreement.

‘Off you go now before I finish you off!’

Falling over themselves, the men carried their leader on their shoulders. And they left Boca as fast as they could.

‘Let the party begin!’ one parrot shouted in delight.

And then the whole of Boca exploded into celebration as the parrots sang the praises of Talkido.