Chapter 4 First Shipment

The morning of her first shipment felt like stepping into someone else's life. Aisha stood in a hidden apartment in Festac Town, surrounded by silence and shadows. Her stomach churned, not from fear, but from the pressure of thirty-six wraps of white powder that had been expertly packed and inserted inside her. She couldn't move too fast, couldn't laugh too hard, and couldn't even cough without feeling the shift of danger inside her.

The women who prepared her were swift and clinical; former couriers turned handlers, who offered no comfort, only reminders: walk straight, don't look nervous, and whatever you do, don't drink water.

Her flight was to Frankfurt, with a short layover in Amsterdam. Teni had drilled the plan into her brain like scripture: from Murtala Muhammed Airport to Germany, she would meet a contact named "Victor" outside the arrivals gate. He would take her to a hotel where the wraps would be extracted. Her passport was fake, but good. Her name, on paper, was Janet Olamide Arowolo, a twenty-three-year-old student from the University of Ilorin. She memorized the birthdate, address, and fabricated student ID that matched.

As she shuffled into the departure hall, every sound seemed louder, every face more suspicious. Her heart pounded with every step toward immigration. But when the officer looked at her passport and smiled, asking, "First time flying?" she forced a grin and said, "Yes, sir". He stamped her in. Just like that.

On the plane, every minute was a war between breath and panic. She didn't sleep, didnt eat, only stared at the emergency card in front of her and prayed silently. When the plane touched down in Germany twelve hours later, Aisha felt reborn. But this new life, she was beginning to realize, came with a price she hadn't yet imagined.