The Prodigal Renegade. Victor Fakunle

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СКАЧАТЬ down from his collar to his shoes and checked his wallet. He felt relief when he remembered he’d removed everything except a five-dollar bill before leaving the apartment in the morning.

      “Nothing here, sir,” the agents said to Walker.

      “Thank you gentlemen,” he replied looking very disappointed.

      When had Agent Walker called for back-up? He had been right in front of him the entire time. Maybe Walker had a secret button under his table. After the agents left the interview room, Walker apologized.

      “I was just doing my job, he said. I’m still going to go with my gut feeling and deny your asylum application. Do you have anything else to tell me? Can you show me further evidence to corroborate your story?

      “I can check when I get back home.”

      “Alright, your file will be on my desk. You are free to go. Here is my card, just in case you need to call me.”

      Danny said, “thank you” and quickly walked out of the building.

      “That was close”, he muttered.

      Before he got back on the train, he threw Agent Walker’s card in the bin. He hoped never to see that building again.

      Chapter 8

      IT HAD BEEN SIX YEARS SINCE EVELYN LEFT DANNY IN THE U.S. Danny became an undocumented immigrant once his B2 visa expired. Getting a job was challenging. Danny wandered for miles and filled out several job applications, but was unsuccessful. It wasn’t long before Danny knew all the characters on the popular daytime soaps. After agonizing months of joblessness, he became frustrated. It had not been comfortable living with Chubi and Bunmi. Chubi came home from work drunk every day and slept on the couch snoring violently.

      Who could blame him? thought Danny.

      He had caught his wife cheating with Musa, an old friend of Chubi who also lived in the same apartment complex. Chubi began paying daily visits to the liquor store after his shift. The atmosphere was tense, and it was soon clear to Danny that he was no longer receiving free board. One day, Danny came home after a fruitless job hunt and decided to get something to eat. He was looking forward to the delicious leftovers from the day before. He opened the fridge and was greeted with a sign on the pot of egusi soup that read, “PLEASE DO NOT TOUCH.” Danny called Dele over.

      “Do you know anything about this?”

      “Now you know why I eat at work before coming home. I don’t need this crap,” he said.

      “Well, I don’t have that luxury since I don’t have a job yet. Until then, I’m just going to skim off the top.”

      “What if you get caught? asked Dele”

      “Bite me,” he replied.

      Danny finally got his first job as a cook at Pizza Hut. Desperate, he had called Jimmy, his cousin living in Dallas for help. Jimmy’s friend was a manager at the restaurant in the upper east side of Maryland. In six months after a lot of hard work, Danny became a Shift Manager and was proud of his achievement. He loved going to work. It was exciting. There was always some kind of drama at the restaurant with a customer. Once, a customer complained that her pizza did not look exactly like the one advertised on television. She created such a scene, the police were called to address the public disturbance.

      Danny later got a job as a security guard and finally decided to start his own business, selling used cars. He was passionate about cars. He got the idea from Nnamdi, a regular at the bank where Danny worked. His company had won the contract after the bank got robbed during the previous Christmas.

      Nnamdi came into the bank daily to make deposits. Danny admired the way he dressed and the cars he drove. Every time he came to the bank, he drove a different car. Danny got curious and approached him after his daily deposit.

      “Good morning to you Danny. How are you today?”

      “Great I suppose. Sorry to bother, are you a car dealer?”

      “Yes, I am. Why do you ask?”

      “Well, just wondering how I can get in on the action?”

      “Oh! No worries. I go to different auto auctions every day to buy cars. Anytime you are free, you can join me.”

      “How about next Monday? I’ll take the day off.

      “Okay. Send me your address and I’ll pick you up on Monday.”

      “Great,” said Danny. He was excited.

      At his first auction, Danny purchased two cars for five hundred dollars each, and sold them for a profit over the weekend. Danny had found his niche. He continued to gain notoriety and expanded the assets of his dealership. Ultimate Motors Inc. was established. Danny quit his security gig to pursue his business full-time.

      Danny had lots of friends and developed a massive business network. He also attempted to further his education. He attended the University of District of Columbia but flunked most of his courses. He majored in Accounting and hated going to class. But Danny’s popularity continued to grow. He frequented night clubs in the D.C. metro area. He partied hard every other weekend and accumulated a lengthy list of girlfriends from all walks of life.

      It was customary for Danny to showcase his latest merchandise upon a grand entry at the clubs. He had exotic sport cars and SUVs. He always reserved a VIP spot right at the front door to guarantee a spectacular entrance. For Danny it was all about the publicity stunt. He secured a VIP lounge for his friends and potential dates and spent his nights sipping his favorite, Moët.

      Over the years, Danny had gotten involved with the underworld. He wanted to turn more profits. Danny invested in cars known to the Nigerian syndicates as “Abiku”. The term referred to the resurrection of an older sibling who had died, through the birth of another child to the same family or parents. Cars sold at Ultimate Motors, came from the streets of Baltimore and all over the northeast. The operation was carried out by the “B-More Boys,” a notorious outfit that specialized in car theft and chop shops. The cars were given new VINs and titles and sold to Ultimate Motors for a fraction of the current retail value. Danny made the trip to New York via Baltimore at least twice a month with a couple of hired hands to drive the cars back to his lot in Laurel, Maryland. He had to make another run in couple of days. He got a call in the middle of the night about the arrivals of a new batch.

      It was eight o’clock in the morning and Danny was fatigued from his trip to New York. He always drove the speed limit and was constantly on the lookout for police cruisers. It was tedious for him.

      Danny knocked on Dexter’s bedroom door. He knew Dexter had worked the late-night shift. Evelyn had brought Dexter to the U.S. two years after Danny’s arrival. By this time, Danny and Dele had moved into their own apartments. They all parted amicably. Chubi needed his space as he pursued divorce proceedings from Bunmi. The divorce was brutal on the kids and was later finalized based on irreconcilable differences. Despite all his personal woes, Dele and Danny were grateful to him for providing a roof over their heads.

      “Good morning, little brother”.

      “Good morning,” he muttered under his breath, still half-asleep.

      “Are you going to work today?”

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