Chapter 2 Reminiscing

As I drove back to the institute, so many memories began to reappear in my mind. I wasn't where I am now when it all began because it started out very differently. So, let's take a trip back to the beginning. First off, my name is Adam, and I work for the Federal Republic of Nigeria's Secret Special Corps as an agent. I didn't have a last name, but I went by many aliases, including Vincent Onuoha, Matthew Jacobs, and Davis Anthony. In Nigeria, however, I was known as Bartholomew Davis.

I really don't know much about myself other than the fact that I was born on March 3, 2002, and I'm not sure if any of my family is still alive. I don't remember a lot of things and I didn't find that strange at all. According to what we were told at the training facility where I was detained when I was young, the government had chosen a large number of children to take part in a specialized training program designed to produce more dependable and effective soldiers who could perform duties both at home and abroad. For my benefit, I was picked. The children selected ranged in age from six to ten. They were also selected from orphanages all over the nation. In this manner, the government will receive praise for putting together a program for orphanages since they obviously won't disclose to the public that they were converting us into soldiers. It was convenient for them because nobody would look for us if something happened to us.

Along with some other children, I was removed from the orphanage home and taken somewhere I didn't know at the time. I would have been six years old when I was removed from the orphanage if I had guessed my age correctly. So allow me to describe our experience to you. First, Maxis Special Training Institute chauffeured us to a small training facility (MSTI). Private security training institute Maxis Special Training Institute has cutting-edge training facilities all over the country. The government announced that all security personnel would receive their training at Maxis Special Training Institute after MSTI was recognized as the largest security training facility in Africa. A few years later, the government gave Maxis the contract for the Secret Special Corps training program. One hundred forty children were chosen nationwide after Maxis was given the project. The sheer number of children without families was so astounding. Following that, we received training in every facet of military operations. Training in the physical and psychological domains came first. Most of us found the psychological training to be simpler than the physical, which was quite laborious. This series of injections was routinely administered to us. Our bodies needed those injections, it was explained to us, in order to adjust to the intensity of the physical training we were undergoing.

Some kids were taken away after a few weeks, and this went on for a while. For whatever reason, they were unable to keep up with the training schedule. Our training got tougher every week, but on one particular day, it went to a whole new level. I had never previously handled a real rifle before that. We learned how to take a rifle apart and put it back together. The Steyr HS.05 sniper rifle was the first firearm I ever handled. Both cold and weighty. I could still vividly recall how satisfying it was to disassemble that rifle in three minutes. Awesomeness ensued. We were never asked to shoot it, which was unfortunate because I was excited to do that. We trained and competed for weeks on end and we were ranked at the end of every week. It was like assigning positions in class to determine who the best student was, and I could proudly say that I was the best. You should have seen me. Because I was the young child who knew more than the other young children, some of whom were older than me, I frequently found myself in trouble. We could all see the scoreboard because it was set up in the cafeteria. We received injections throughout our training, but they eventually stopped after a few months. Since I was afraid of needles, I was happy that they did. We never left the training facility, so it was difficult to keep track of the passing of time. We were only able to view the world on a screen.

We were clueless as to when the sun rose or set for a very long time. We were always in training while living inside a brick wall. Only eight hours total-split into two hours-were spent during our siesta. The second eight hours of regular training in all areas came four hours after the first eight hours of rigorous physical training, which included combat training. We could only keep track of time in that way. Some of our trainers told me that I was improving more quickly than the other kids. I felt invisible as a result, and I never wanted to stop. I made a concerted effort to maintain my lack of material possessions. It alternately felt magnificent and like I was alone at times. As the days went by, our training remained difficult. We quickly moved on to another skill after mastering one. During the training, more children were removed, and by the time there were only 26 of us left, I was the youngest. I wasn't sure of my exact age at the time, but all the other kids were already in the puberty stage, and I resembled their younger brother who was always ready to kick them in the ass. Our training transitioned from regular training to super training as a result of the introduction of new trainers. Shooting moving targets was followed by advanced combat training and then an endurance test. It was a lengthy list of laborious exercises.

Did I mention that none of us had names? We were never given our names during the training; only our serial numbers were used. A one triple zero eight was mine (A10008). Over time, we lost track of our real names. We used serial numbers to identify one another. Anyway, there were only 26 of us left when the institute abruptly assigned names to each of us. How kind of them, don't you think? We were given names based on where we were on the scoreboard. It was strange that everything was alphabetical. Most, if not all, of the names are still fresh in my mind. They were:

Adam

Bartholomew

Cynthia

Dammy

Ella

Faisol

Gideon

Haleem

Isreal

Jimi

Kehinde

Lydia

Mobarak

Nimot

Oriel

Peter

Quadri

Raymond

Salah

Titi

Usman

Vincent

Wendy

Xander

Yosef

Zubair

The first name was mine, Adam. I'm fairly certain that our training lasted for years. For a long time, the other kids and I followed the same routine every day. Eventually, the only topics we could discuss were our combat training, how it was going, and how much I was enjoying shooting my rifle. Without any diversions, we were reducing ourselves to mere soldiers. We never explored the outside world because that was all we were aware of. Because of the orientation provided to us, we never felt caged. We were eventually removed from the facility in 2020. We loved the adventure so much. We didn't know how the world looked, so it seemed absurd to us. After twelve years in the facility, we finally realized that we were now going on a world tour. It served as a sort of reward for us being good students. One of us would have been expected to flee, but we didn't. After a few weeks, we were transferred to a new facility in Gombe, where we simply had as much fun as we could. Now that I wasn't a child anymore, I was aware of the location's name. I had just turned eighteen.

We all anticipated our training to be tedious once we arrived at the training facility, and the instructors didn't let us down. We were ready for any kind of instruction. This time, we had new instructors, most of whom were foreigners. The team was divided into pairs of twos. I ultimately was paired with an old friend. We were taken from the orphanage together, and her name was Ella. We have always practiced being a one-man army, but now we must practice working together. Most of us found that difficult, especially Ella. I wasn't anyone, and she didn't like working with anyone. I was the squad's best player. She was an older than I was, so I couldn't control her. Additionally, we were informed that if more than one person was needed for the mission, we would go on it with our partner. We then received a handler who served as both our trainer and our guide. He was from Italy and went by the name Adrian Corsette. We consistently practiced. Ella and I adjusted to Adrian's training style. We develop into formidable opponents for any team we come across after some time. We used every means possible to torment the opposing teams. Ella was unbeatable with her strategies, whereas I was good at taking action.

The same routine, which mainly involved training, was followed week after week. The director called us for a briefing one lovely day. He described the procedure for approving us to join the Secret Special Corps. If we completed the mission, we would be given the authority to act as agents. So, there was only one more test to take. Hearing that made me very happy. Being able to perform the task for which I had spent my entire life training felt quite relived. Before Ella, several others left on their first mission. She was tasked with eliminating a human trafficker who had powerful connections and would therefore escape punishment. Ella had already gained entry because she was so graceful and attractive. She would perform the role of a hooker, which is how he obtained the girls he abducted. Ella returned a couple of weeks later. Her mission was finally complete. Ella gave the man permission to kidnap her thanks to her brilliant way of thinking. He transported her to Kano, where he was supposed to meet with his buyer, after drugging her in a hotel. Both the buyer and the trafficker were killed by her. Wasn't that awesome? Only the bad guys were targets for her mission. Well, the purchaser was also one of the bad guys. That didn't, however, win Ella the director's favor. Ella was a soldier, and soldiers do exactly as they are instructed. They do not perform extra tasks in order to impress their superiors or earn points. I was furious about the ridiculous notion of letting the buyer leave. When I had my first mission, it was more than just a success and I was only nineteen years old. Without sounding egotistical, I became a hero and was regarded as one of the SSC's legendary agents. My objective was to rescue some foreign nationals who had been kidnapped by militants who wanted $200,000,000 to free them. One of the men was an American, and the other was a Swiss engineer. The director claims that these foreign nations were prepared to send troops into Nigeria to rescue their citizens but decided against it after reaching a deal with Nigeria. I, a nineteen-year-old boy, was instructed by the director to free those men from captivity. I answered without any hesitation. I couldn't wait to embark on my first mission. If I failed, the government wouldn't have lost anything. All they would have to do is allow those foreign troops to enter the nation with safety. Fortunately, I was successful and that didn't happen.

I could still recall how I had felt following my first mission. I was greeted with cheers and a rousing round of applause as soon as I walked into the building. It turned out that the drone I released prior to the battle was playing back the status of my mission to my teammates. I had freed foreigners who were being held captive by about 60 armed adults. I crashed their party like a wrecking ball. I rose to the status of a living legend after that day. I was solely responsible for the Secret Special Corps receiving the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria's approval as a successful security program a few weeks later. I don't want to sound arrogant, but it was my effort that put the cherry on top in the end. It was a fantastic accomplishment for both the nation and the SSC. The foreigners recounted the events, but they were forced to omit the specifics of being saved by a teenager. The SSC eventually received permission from international security organizations to access global data.

We sent money overseas several weeks later. For three years, we traveled all over the country-France, Germany, America, and Britain-not for sight-seeing but rather for additional training in spying, linguistics, and computer use, as well as to forge connections with the global community. The first set of SSC was activated and assigned tasks on April 24th, 2024. In order to keep our identities a secret, we were also honored in a private ceremony. We received covert identities and fake backgrounds after the ceremony. My assumed name was Bartholomew Davis, and I was set to work as an estate agent for one of Nigeria's most prosperous businesses. Ella pretended to be Dora Ciroma, a travel agent who was supposed to be employed. The Federal Republic of Nigeria's president had to give his or her prior consent for the SSC operations to be carried out. The operation was to be coordinated by the SSC director and overseen by the Defence minister and the Department of Covert Operations. The Maxis Special Training Institute, the primary overseeing body for their subsidiary program, is where every SSC agent reports. The SSC and the agents referred to MSTI as the Institute. After that, the SSC was operational. Do you recall the young people who were taken away during the training? They turned out to be useful after all. They served as spies for the institute. They were assigned to every department involved in maintaining national security, including the police, customs, border patrol, air force, navy, and army. It enabled the institute to compile such a large amount of data from across the nation. After a number of years, we are now regarded as one of the security agencies that criminals are most afraid of. We've had a lot of successful operations abroad and have gained recognition all over the world. The SSC was given the freedom to be mentioned alongside illustrious organizations like the FBI, KGB, CIA, and numerous other strong security organizations. On a few occasions, the SSC and a few of these security units worked together on joint task forces, and we never fell short. Instead, we got compliments. There were some negative moments mixed in with all these joyful ones. I lost a lot of friends, and the SSC continued to enlist new recruits. Additionally, the program to train children to become super soldiers was discontinued. It appeared cruel. The new strategy involved moving aggressive personnel from any security organization in the nation, including the army, navy, air force, and police, to the SSC, where they would receive specialized training to help them control their aggression. The Institute grew so large that there were branch offices in all 36 of the federation's states as the years passed and there were many new faces in the area. There are about 2,000 safe houses and a sizable information network both inside and outside the nation. We are now living in a new era. The enemy's network expanded as we grew in size. It appeared as though we were battling the same forces once more.

Even though I was growing weary of it, I couldn't grumble. I was a soldier, and I must perform. I snapped back to reality and kept on the expressway, driving my car. I was about to have a special day, and I wouldn't trade it for anything. I was returning to the headquarters, located in Jos, Plateau. I fastened my seatbelt and increased the gas because I knew it would be a bumpy ride.