Changes

Part 1

The metal handcuffs on Dare’s wrist clinked as he clasped his hands together and leaned his forearms on the table before him.

The man in black across from him crossed his legs, adopting a relaxed posture, but Dare could see the muscle in his jaw tic in impatience.

“You said you were ready to talk. Now, talk.” The man said, folding his hands across his crossed legs.

Dare was silent as the past few days' events ran through his mind. Just five days ago, He had no clue he would be locked up in an EFCC cell, hopeless and powerless.

Dare felt disdain rise in him as he thought of the person who put him in this mess.

He looked up at the man in black, leaned forward and took a breath…

***

Dare’s iPhone 6s vibrated violently on his pillow, the ringtone blurting out of its speakers and jolting him awake. Dare grabbed his phone and brought it towards his face, its brightness almost blinding him and causing him to squint his eyes. He swiped the phone and brought it to his ear.

“Hello?” Dare said groggily.

“Dare, you didn’t send the money you promised.” A voice whined over the phone.

Dare pulled the phone from his ear and squinted at the caller ID. It read Precious. He checked the time; 6:30 a.m. Dare exhaled loudly and rubbed his eyes. He could feel a headache coming on.

“Good morning, Precious, I do deserve some courtesy,” Dare said, squeezing his eyes shut.

Precious was quiet for a few beats, then pounced, “There’s nothing good about the morning, Dare. Nothing. My birthday is in two days, and I have nothing. I’ve not bought hair, I’ve not bought clothes. My friends ask me where I’m going for my birthday, but I can’t say anything because you haven't planned anything for me.” She paused, “Are you even my boyfriend?” she asked.

Dare was quiet, processing all that Precious had on-loaded on him.

“I told you to bear with me. I don’t have anything yet, but I’d do something before your birthday,”  Dare said, trying to placate her.

“Fix it, Dare. Fix it before I do,” Precious said, ending the call.

Dare dropped the phone and let out a sigh. He wondered how he got himself into that. When he met Precious, he believed she was the one for him. He was making small cash from his small-time scam, and it seemed like she was contented with what he brought. That was until she started demanding more and more from him, and he could not provide anymore. Now, he can’t let her go because he has invested so much in her and their relationship. He didn’t want to acknowledge that he had wasted 3 years of his life on a failed relationship.

Dare allowed himself more time to wallow in self-pity before pulling himself up and deciding to move on with his day.

After cleaning up, Dare sat at his desk and turned on his laptop. Before going to bed the previous night, he had set up a scam on Facebook and followed up on one before he slept off. He hoped he could catch the unlucky victim as off-guard as he had been the previous night.

Dare’s scam involved posing as an agent for a financial institution, giving out POS machines to interested individuals, and convincing them to give away vital financial information.

Dare pulled up the number he was working on last night and dialled it.

“Hello.” A female voice said, taking Dare aback.

“Hello,” Dare said tentatively. He recalled the person who spoke to him on the phone last night was a man. He checked the name of the Facebook profile pulled up in front of him. “Is this Adetola Banwo,” he asked. It was a unisex name.

“Yes, who is this?” The lady said.

Deciding to forge ahead, Dare said in his best professional voice, “I am Micheal, calling from Paydown Nigerian Limited. You expressed interest in getting our POS machine. Are you still interested?”

“I expressed interest? When?” The lady said, sounding confused.

“Yes, you did, ma'am. Last night on Facebook.”

The lady was quiet before replying, “Yes... yes, I did. That was on Facebook yesterday.”

“That is correct, ma'am. So, I’m going to start the verification process. An OTP will be sent to your mobile, which you must provide me to verify your account.” Dare said, keeping his fingers crossed. This was a vital moment, and the target could choose to back out. “Should I start the verification process?” Dare asked.

There was silence on the other end. Dare could imagine the target in contemplation. Dare let his finger hover over the ‘enter’ button, which would kickstart the whole process.

“Hold on,” the lady said, and Dare shut his eyes. He had a feeling that his scam had fallen through. “What did you say your name was again?” She asked.

“I am Micheal,” Dare said, an inkling of hope emerging in his chest.

“Okay. What branch of Paydown are you calling from?”

Common sense told Dare to let go of this target and scout for another, but he didn’t want to let go quickly. It was the closest he had come to making money in the last few days.

“Lagos Island branch,” Dare said, lying through gritted teeth.

“So, if I search for your name on the Paydown database, are you assuring me that I’ll find you there?”

“Yes, should I start the verification process?” Dare said. Even he could hear the desperation in his voice.

“Hold on, let me verify you first.” The lady said, mirth colouring her words.

Dare ended the call without a second thought. It was a waste of precious resources. He consulted the comment section of his scam post, and disappointment coursed when he realized no one else had dropped a tangible comment he could work with.

He banged his head against the table, and Precious’s whining voice rang in his head. He thought he could fund her birthday expenses with whatever funds he managed to wipe from his target account, but his hopes had been dashed.

He slapped his hand against the table, making a slapping sound that sent tingles up his palm.

In a fluid motion, he pivoted from his chair,  picked up his t-shirt and made for the door. He needed to clear his head; the headache he had nursed since Precious’ unfortunate call was pounding behind his eyes.

Dare reached for the doorknob, pulled it open, and paused in surprise.

“Tommy?” He asked the august visitor leaning against the wall adjacent to his door. His voice conveyed his surprise.

“Hello, brother, can I come in?” Tommy said.

Wordless, Dare moved out of the way and pulled the door wider to accommodate the broad shoulders of his visitor.

“Thanks, man,” Tommy said as he crossed the threshold of Dare’s apartment. “Hmm, nice,” Tommy said, looking around Dare’s sparse space in admiration.

Dare felt self-conscious as he shut the door behind Tommy. He cleared his throat.

“What are you doing here, Tommy?” Dare asked.

“You won’t even offer me a seat?” Tommy asked, turning to look at Dare with his eyebrow raised. Dare couldn’t get a read on Tommy.

“It’s been years since you shut me out. What do you want now?”

Tommy sighed and shook his head, “that isn’t the point now. I have something for you. Something big. It’ll change your life.” Tommy said excitedly. His tone was urgent, and he rushed forward to grip Dare’s shoulders. “You’ll move from this-” he waved his hand dismissively at Dare’s apartment, “to bigger apartments. A whole house, if you will. It is that big.”

Dare shrugged Tommy’s hands off his shoulders and took a step back. He gave Tommy a contemplative look.

“What’s it about?” Dare asked.

As much as he wanted to keep a grudge against Tommy for walking out on him all those years ago and forsaking all their years of friendship and struggle for a few trinkets dangled in front of him, Dare wanted to know what Tommy was on about.

“Before I tell you, I have to know if you’re in,” Tommy said.

“How can I commit to what I know nothing of?” Dare asked, raising his own brows.

“Just trust me, bro. I can’t bring something not beneficial to you,” Tommy said.

“Okay, get on with it. I’m in.” Dare said, deciding not to argue further.

“Good. This is the thing. One of the guys got information about a big government official moving large funds from one account to another. I mean large.” Tommy said excitedly.

“One of the guys?” Dare interrupted.

“You know. Those guys.” Tommy said, giving Dare a strange look. Realization dawned on Dare.

“Those guys?” He asked. Tommy nodded.

Those guys were the ones Tommy had dumped him for years ago. They were big-time scammers who couldn't be bothered with petty scams like Facebook scams or love scams. Tommy had connected with one of them and promptly dropped Dare like a hot yam.

Dare was content with the petty scams they did and how it was enough to cover his expenses. He was not interested in ‘living large’. Tommy, on the other hand, was obsessed with making it big. He coveted the big cars and big houses that other scammers had. It came as no surprise that Tommy left.

Dare scanned Tommy. From his dress and the key ring tucked into his belt hoop, Dare could assume that Tommy’s dream had been realized.

“Here’s the deal. We need someone to monitor the drop and divert it to us at the last minute. That’s all you need to do. I told the guys I knew someone who could do that for us. There was no way I’d let this pass you. Think of it as small work, huge money. Your cut will be in 6 digits. Maybe even 7.” Tommy said, his eyes wide in excitement.

Tommy was convincing, and Dare could feel himself wavering. He mentally checked his account balance and calculated that if he didn't make more money, he wouldn't have anything to feed himself before the week ran out.

“When is it?” Dare asked, clearing his throat. “The drop, when is it?”

“Tonight, brother. Tonight.”

Precious’ face flashed in Dare’s mind. He could imagine the happiness on her face when she received her birthday funds from him tomorrow.

“I’m in,” Dare said, not allowing himself to think further.

“My man!” Tommy yelled excitedly, pulling Dare into a ‘bro’ hug. Dare laughed, returning the hug.

“So, what's next?” Dare asked.

“I’ll come here to pick you up when it’s time. Don’t worry. All you’re doing is monitoring some computers and making cool cash.” Tommy said.

They both gravitated towards the door. Tommy stepped out with Dare on his heels. His eyes snagged on a luxury black BMW parked on the street, and he whistled in admiration.

“Is that yours?” Dare asked Tommy, who nodded enthusiastically.

“2022 M760. My baby is speedy.” Tommy replied. “This and more could be yours, Bro. I’ll come for you when it's time.”

Tommy jogged down to his car, which pulled away within seconds, purring silently as it went down the road.

Dare closed the door and stood with his hands on his hips inside his apartment. The last time he felt this good about himself was when he bagged a target who was dumb enough to post his card details on social media.

All thoughts of his failed transaction in the morning had been thrown out of the window. Dare whistled cheerily as he went back into his apartment.

Dare didn't care about the morality of his work. Life isn’t fair. Humans put themselves in many situations and mess that, when exploited by people like Dare, turn into money-making opportunities. You snooze, you lose.

Part two comes in tomorrow.