THE PLAN: The Man in Purple

Zuri adjusted her posture, keeping her movements fluid and controlled, exuding the effortless confidence of someone with old money. She subtly placed herself near a group of socialites, nodding at their conversations, feigning interest. JC’s natural charm had already kicked in, his lazy smirk blending seamlessly with the room’s air of superiority. Musa, ever the silent shadow, kept his eyes moving, scanning the layout, the security, the possible exits.

A waiter passed with a tray of champagne. Zuri took a glass, not to drink, but to complete the image.

At the front of the hall, the auctioneer, a distinguished older man in a crisp tuxedo, lifted a golden gavel. His deep, commanding voice cut through the hum of conversation.

“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to an evening of history. Each item tonight tells a story, a legacy passed down through generations.”

With a dramatic pause, the first item was unveiled: an antique Fabergé egg, deep blue with delicate gold filigree. Gasps of appreciation rippled through the hall, whispers of private collections and exorbitant wealth filling the air.

“Let’s start the bidding at fifty thousand shillings…”

A manicured hand shot up. “Sixty thousand.”

“Seventy.”

“Ninety.”

The numbers climbed at an increasing pace, the room electric with competition. Each bid was a calculated display of power, wealth and status.

Zuri glanced at the security guards as they poured in suddenly around the hall, men in tailored suits with discreet earpieces, subtly scanning the room. One of them was tall, bald and built like fighter. Their eyes made contact for a few moments too long. She didn’t react but inside, her instincts screamed. They are here for them.

Across the room, the auctioneer struck the gavel.

“Sold! To the gentleman in the purple suit at the back.”

Control Room

Anita leaned forward in her chair, her sharp eyes narrowing as she tracked the trio. A small smirk tugged at her lips.

“They’re good,” she admitted. She then pressed a button on the console. “Let’s turn up the heat.”

The Auction Hall

Zuri joined in on the polite applause as the man in the purple suit leaned back in his seat, his fingers tapping the armrest of his chair. She didn’t know him but already found him annoying. The way he smirked, showing of his gold tooth and his thick chains wrapped around his shoulder. He moved leisurely making his way toward the front to claim his prize, chatting up the guests along the way, enjoying the attention.

JC, who was busy chatting up some old rich woman stopped for a second and watched the man in purple.

“Oh, Shit.”

Outside the Estate

The Alpha House plan was in motion. A few blocks away, Ali sat with his laptop on his lap, tapping on the keys with extreme speed. The screen scrolled with lines of code in green, running multiple processes simultaneously.

Shiko sat in the passenger seat, tapping impatiently on her phone. She glanced at him, unimpressed.

“Arrgh, are you done yet?”

Ali didn’t look up. “Hacking isn’t like in the movies. I can’t just slam my keyboard and yell ‘I’m in!’”

Shiko rolled her eyes. “If you don’t hurry, I’ll hack your fingers off.”

Ali sighed dramatically. “I’m lucky to have such a supportive teammate.”

Alpha House was a back-up plan that was designed in the chance that they would be locked in the estate. Zuri had expected this. Anita was always two steps ahead, but so was she. Once upon a time, Zuri and Anita worked together back when they were friends. There was a time when she even trusted Anita more than anything, believed in her vision. Its because of that that she knew Anita well enough to predict she’d have a lockdown plan.

The estate’s external security grid was the first target. While Anita controlled everything inside, Lavington Heights had its own security system—separate from Anita’s private team. Even worse, the estate’s generator automatically rebooted power within seconds of an outage. Not enough time for a clean get-away.

But that’s why Ali was stationed outside. His task? Bypass it all. This plan wouldn’t work without him. He wasn’t just a hacker, he was a strategist and at one point in his life he was gearing up to become an engineer. He previously had mapped the estate’s infrastructure, identified weak points in the system, and written custom scripts to exploit them. If he could access the failsafe protocols, he could override the lockdown sequence from inside.

Shiko checked her watch. “Ali, whatever you’re doing, do it faster.”

Ali cracked his knuckles. “Almost there.”

Inside the Vault

Brayo and Sifa stood in the walk-in vault stretched before them. They were plenty of shelves stacked with gold bars, rare jewels and old artifacts but the Kulindwa Necklace was not there.

“Zuri said it would be here.” Sifa’s brows furrowed as she scanned the labels, frustration creeping in. “Where the hell is it?”

“I don’t ...” Brayo’s words were cut off as they heard a muffled thump outside the door that made them freeze.

Brayo grabbed Sifa’s wrist. “We need a way out. Fast.”

Panic set in on Sifa’s face as she looked around before spotting a security panel.

“Ali’s jammer worked on the first lock, so maybe…” She reached into her bag, pulling out the compact frequency disruptor.

Brayo nodded, understanding immediately.

She placed the device against the electronic panel, waiting as it overloaded the system with false codes. Then they heard a buzzing and the light on the scanner blinked red.

“Shit,” she whispered in frustration.

Brayo sighed. “Haina Shida. That panel can’t help us anyway.”

Frustrated, he slammed a fist against the wall—then paused.

“Shut up,” Sifa whispered.

Knocking softly, he pressed his ear against it. “Listen. It’s hollow.”

Sifa’s eyes widened. “A false wall?” She went close to him and listened for herself.

Brayo scanned the area until his gaze landed on something—a loose hinge.

“Up there.”

Sifa climbed on top of him reaching for it but the metal was stubborn refusing to budge.

///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

JC came to Zuri and whispered something to her ear. “We might have a problem.”

Musa joined them, his low voice staring at the man in purple suit. “Fuck. What is he doing here?”

The man in purple stopped beside them, smiling like a shark who had just cornered its prey.

JC’s voice was tense. “Zuri, what’s our next move?”

“Fancy seeing you here.” His voice as smooth as it was dangerous. “Didn’t take you for the art-collecting type.”

Musa met his gaze, forcing a smirk. “Otis, I didn’t take you for someone who bought things instead of stealing them.”

Otis chuckled. “Well, I like to keep things interesting.” His gaze shifted to Zuri and JC. “New friends?”

Musa tensed but didn’t move.

Otis leaned in slightly. “Tell me, Moses… are you here for the same thing I am?”

Musa’s expression didn’t waiver. “Maybe.”

Otis’s grin widened. “That’s disappointing. And here I thought you turned a new leaf.”

FURTHER INFO FROM CHAPTER

Haina Shida = No Problem