toykathy:
dearie, hw re u n hw is ur weekend going? Can u kindly tell us wen to expect ur updates? We keep refreshin dis page over n over bt got none. I knw its nt easy bt pls try ur best even if its once or twice a wk. The Lord is ur strenght. @ Princesa

waistaa:
Princesa,audrey timms don finish unfulfilled promises oooooo

zyzxx:
princessa pls come and update oooooo

zyzxx: princessa pls come and update oooooo

I think she wants us to get hooked like drugs....
I don wait taya self.................. Since last two weeks fa. 19th August


I'm still following......

Toeyean1507:
There used to be E-traffic on this thread before the Tsunami but I don't wanna believe dats a very gud reason y u have to neglect it. Dis is a very gud piece and u re just letting it waste away. So many writers dat re not half as gud as u re are clinching d glory. Me nor likey o. O ya,pls come and update.

princesa:
Indeed, no more excuses, I'm reviving the thread. Thank you both for caring, I appreciate.

losprince:
ok p talk to me. what happened? you just abandoned us. atleast tell me you found love or riches...

princesa:

riches? Always with me
love? Which it did

Just academics. Tru with exams tho, tnks

princesa:

riches? Always with me
love? Which it did

Just academics. Tru with exams tho, tnks

princesa:
Kamal's phone rang just then, disrupting any further banter from Mark. They were already irritating him with their ridiculous banter anyways, he thought as he lazily picked up the phone. Soon his brows arched in surprise as he saw whom the caller was. His change in expression piqued Aisha's interest and she sat up abruptly, watching him like he was some exquisite pottery on a show glass. Everything about Kamal had always fascinated her since she had laid eyes on him.

'what is it?' Kamal asked plainly soon as he picked the call, his voice masking the emotions that had played on his face seconds ago.

Aisha watched him receive the call, watched as his face that had been set in a stern, moody cast throughout the day ease into surprise...then unbelief...then elation and then back to the masked cool and nonchalant exterior that characterized his handsome face. She wondered who or what the caller had said to make him so.

'Are you absolutely sure about this?' she heard him ask.

'okay' he said and ended the call.

The atmosphere in the car turned quiet again, Kamal said nothing about the call he just received, his face gave nothing away either and no one dared ask him. Aisha was inwardly burning with curiosity, and a sudden feeling of foreboding fell on her, but she kept mute.

Mark on the other hand couldn’t care less. He felt it wasn't his business to pry especially since Kamal wasn't one to be pressurized into doing anything. The guy was a world on his own, hardly did he talk or associate with the others -something borne out of character than pride, and the only person that could get through to him was his father. He'd heard rumours about some sort of past between them. And sincerely, he didn't care one bit what they did with their lives, he was only in for the money he could get. Aisha was simply dumb worrying over him or trying to...

'Mark, who were those appointed by my dad to handle Angie's case?' Kamal asked all of a sudden, cutting into his thoughts.

'err...err...I think Thunder, Scorpion and James. Why?' he replied.

'Thunder was part of the operation?'

'yeah…headed it. Why? Any trouble?'

Kamal didn't answer; instead he glanced briefly at Aisha who was trying hard to look detached and nonchalant, then surprisingly, a smile, though very brief, crept up his face. It was that smile Aisha knew she would recognize anywhere, the smile she thought made him look more happier and friendlier, a smile that was genuine and was as rare as rain in the desert, a smile that had always melted her insides whenever she saw one, the 'kill me softly' smile she'd often described to her friends whenever she spoke about him to them. It was that smile alright, but she wouldn’t have been this bothered since the other person that could make him do so was dead. Or was she?

This time also, her insides melted alright, but not in the giddy, floating kind of way. It burned with pure anger, jealousy and spite for the girl whom she knew could make him let down his 'smooth and in-control' guard to smile deeply so, her heart sank deeper as she contemplated the possibility of that girl still being alive, lending credence to her recent feeling of foreboding. Slowly, she turned facing the window, trying to hide the emotions of dread and confusion that were threatening to engulf her and make a mess of the cool, confident and in-control image she had built over the years. The last thing she also wanted was to let Kamal know how she truly felt towards his little singing b.itch for she didn't want to lose the luxury of his priceless friendship.

So caught up with grief and ruminating was she that she didn't notice that the Jeep had stopped and Kamal was now reversing the car around.

'Kamal what is it, where are we going?' she asked a little alarmed when she finally did.

Kamal didn't answer. His eyes stayed focused on the road as he tried to avert oncoming cars.

'Mark?' she called, peering back at him for answer.

He gave her a casual shrug in response. He too was curious but not impatient, plus he didn't really care what the dude did, he had always acted like one being chased by some unknown demons, blowing hot one moment and cold the other, the best he could do if worst came to worst was to alight and find his way home. He was in for the money and couldn’t care what they all did with their lives.

'Smooth, I asked where we are going?' she tried again, turning back at him.

After a protracted silence, he simply replied: 'To see for ourselves'. And then he sped off.

*********
Kamal's mind rolled over the scenario that had played out at the Okoro's villa as he drove into his two-bedroom bungalow flat situated in a secluded and quiet street along the Apapa expressway. Even though her obstinate and un-cooperative father had refused them getting anywhere near the main house, he was sure that something was amidst and his insider couldn't have mis-informed him.

The poor guy was scared stiff of his threats to have done otherwise and play pranks on him, because even though he wasn't big on murder, he wouldn't blink a second while he shot a hole through his pathetic heart if that had been a trap set up for him. That definitely meant Angie was alive, unbelievable but very plausible.

The situation had however left him more confused than happy. How could she still be alive, especially since Thunder spearheaded her case. The infamous Thunder, known to be one of his father's ruthless men, couldn't have done a messy job as to let an unarmed 25years old girl have a second chance on life. There was definitely a catch somewhere. But still, whichever case it was, he was glad that his feisty, high-spirited and cocky Angela - scratch that - Angie was back.

For she had made it plainly clear to him that she never ever liked to be called Angela. Remembering now how she had seriously set her face to explain how Angela sounded so dumb and non reflective of her aspiring superstar image, made a smile spread across his face. Her total obsession with music and stardom had always intrigued him, gave him something else more pleasant to think about. She was indeed the best thing that had happened to him since his return to Nigera.

And so, with his feelings still ambivalent and his thoughts unsettled, he rode his Prado Jeep to a halt and headed straight for his wine rack soon as he entered his parlour. And as he relished the burning feel of the alcohol calming his fray nerves, he went to recline on one of the couch. But now, relaxed and ruminating over the issue again, he discovered a problem.

What if his father became aware of her reappearance? She would be dead and for real this time around!

Considering that possibility, made him shoot up on his feet. His fist tightened when he realized that he would have himself to blame if Alhaji knew of her reappearance. For one, he hadn't been discreet about the call he'd received on the road, neither had he acted wisely when he reversed and drove straight to her house to 'see for himself', especially when Aisha, who was trying hard to make an impression on his father that she was loyal and able to handle the affairs as well as the males, lurked around.

She had watched from a distance as Mark tried to trade territorial supremacy with Chief Okoro's guards. It had taken his timely intervention to calm the face-off from escalating and turning into an unnecessary shoot out. Something Mark was well capable of. And now he was worried that they could squeal to his father, if not Mark, then definitely Aisha. Matters weren't even better as he had dropped them to go relay their findings on the Senator to his dad while he'd drove straight down here, needing to clear his head.

How much more silly can I get? Kamal wondered furiously as he paced round the middle of his marble-tiled living room.

Some Minutes later his phone rang. Picking the shrieking piece, his worst fear was confirmed. It was Alhaji calling.

'I hear your girlfriend is back?' Alhaji said immediately Kamal picked up. He wasn't one for idle chatter, had always considered himself an important and busy person and believed in tackling situations head on, giving no room for hesitation.

'And I don't know what you mean' Kamal replied, His voice betraying no emotion.

'Now Kamal, you should know I don't play games, that girl was supposed to be dead.' he reiterated.

'I don't see how that is any of my business since I wasn't part of the operation or was consulted before it was executed.' Kamal replied flatly.

'walai Kamal! I hope you have not infiltrated my men with your stupi.d Arabian mentality? Or by Allah, you're not working with my opponent against me, because I swear, insha Allah, I shall surely send you to meet your usel.ess mother if you dare me!' Alhaji spat, his intonation taking on the typical Hausa colouration. Something that became pronounced whenever he was seriously angry, like right now.

Kamal's blood heated with the mentioning of his mother. The fact that his father would never allow her tortured soul rest in peace, made him wish at times like this that things had not gone wrong, and he had shot him instead of her. How he hated his father and wished for any means he could get to bring him and his dynasty down. But the problem was, his father was simply untouchable. Highly connected to the country's powerful political personalities, with contacts in places that mattered, and the very useful services in carrying out their political dirty works he rendered, he was way above the law.

And there's not forgetting to mention his unreasonable paranoia - the reason for his mother's death and the reason he presently wanted a harmless 25 years old aspiring superstar dead - he was no match for his personal vendetta, not in a wide berth.

'Are you still listening to me?' Alhaji shouted angrily bringing Kamal back from his mind travel. 'Even though Thunder will definitely pay for this stu.pid mistake of his, you should also know that I will definitely finish what I started Insha Allah!' He completed and cut the call.

Kamal stared blankly at his phone, if he had felt threatened by his father's words, his face didn't show. With a sigh, he sank back into the couch and drained the last of his drink. So much for acting on impulse, he thought. His uncharacteristic excitement had endangered Angie's life, and though he was reluctant to admit it, he knew she was as good as dead. His father never made empty threats.


Yet the unanswered question remained what had gone wrong? If Alhaji was as surprised by her arrival as he was, then who was playing the games here? And since things had taken an un-redeemable down turn, there was little he could do to save her life, for he hadn't been able to do so before. Even though she was the best thing to have ever happened to him in a long while, he was no hero; plus it was her stubbornness had gotten her here in the first place. What was so hard in her calling before she came visiting?
*********

end of chapter 1