The next morning, Adrian sat by the window in Sam's small apartment, watching the street move slowly like it always did. Kids with school bags dragging their feet, traders setting up tables, keke drivers shouting prices. The world just kept moving, even when your own life felt like it was falling apart.
Sam came out of the room yawning, scratching his head. "You didn't sleep?"
Adrian shook his head. "Barely."
Sam walked into the kitchen and came back with two cups of pap. "Eat something at least. Starving won't solve anything."
Adrian took the cup and nodded. "Thanks."
After a while, Sam sat beside him and said, "You still thinking of running?"
"I don't even know where to go again."
"Maybe it's not about running anymore. Maybe it's about fixing."
Adrian looked at him. "Fixing what?"
"Whatever got you in this mess. Go back to the beginning. What started all this?"
Adrian didn't answer immediately. He stared at his cup like it had the solution inside.
"It was a file," he said finally. "A document I wasn't supposed to see. But I opened it. I read it. And I knew… I couldn't ignore it."
Sam raised an eyebrow. "What was in it?"
Adrian sighed. "Proof. Real, hard proof. About a company taking public funds and turning it into private deals. Names. Accounts. Audio recordings."
"And you leaked it?"
"I sent it to someone. Lara. She said she'd handle the rest. I didn't know they'd trace it."
"You still trust her?"
Adrian paused. That question had been bouncing in his mind since the last message he got.
"I want to," he said. "But I don't know anymore."
Sam stood up. "You've been hiding. And I get it. But maybe it's time to fight back."
"How?"
"You said you had proof. If it's out there, maybe there's more people who can help you."
"Like who?"
"I don't know. Journalists. Activists. Someone who cares."
Adrian gave a small laugh. "People who care usually die first."
"But people who hide don't change anything either."
Adrian went silent again.
---
Later that day, while Sam went out to get groceries, Adrian sat alone and opened his laptop. The battery was weak, but enough for one more thing. He connected to Wi-Fi and searched the old email he used when he first contacted Lara. It was still active.
He typed:
"It's Adrian. I don't know if I can trust you anymore. But if you really want to help, meet me. No phones. No cameras. Just you. At the old bus park in Ilupeju. Tomorrow. Noon. If you're not there, I disappear forever."
He clicked send and closed the laptop.
Now it was all in motion.
---
The next day came too slow. His heart kept racing every hour. Sam didn't ask many questions, but he knew something was up.
"You sure about this?" Sam asked as Adrian packed a small bag.
"No," Adrian replied. "But I don't want to keep running."
Sam nodded and handed him a folded piece of paper. "In case anything goes wrong. That's my brother's number. He's in Ibadan. Stay low there if you have to."
Adrian pocketed it. "Thanks."
"You still owe me a FIFA rematch."
"I'll try not to die before then."
---
Ilupeju Park was half-dead, like most places in the city that used to be full of life. Just rusted buses, tired hawkers, and old men playing cards. Adrian sat on a broken bench near a kiosk. Noon came and went. No sign of her.
He checked around again.
Then, finally, he saw her.
Lara.
She wore sunglasses and a black scarf. She moved like someone watching every step, every face.
When she reached him, she sat slowly and didn't say anything for a while.
Then she whispered, "They killed Oje."
Adrian's stomach dropped. Oje was the journalist he had met once. The one he thought could help.
"They made it look like a robbery," she said, still looking straight ahead. "But we know it wasn't."
Adrian clenched his fists. "Why are you here?"
"Because I want to finish what we started. And you're the only one left who can help."
"I don't know who to trust anymore."
She turned to him. "Then trust what we have. The truth. That file you sent… it's not just corruption. It's murder. It's drugs. It's bigger than we thought."
He swallowed. "So what do we do?"
"We go public. Fully. Video. Names. Everything. No secrets."
"They'll come for us."
"They already are."
Adrian looked around. His hands were shaking, but his mind was clearer than it had been in days.
"Then let's finish it," he said.
They both stood.
And for the first time in a long time, Adrian didn't feel like he was running.
He felt like he was standing.