Dear Reader,

Sometimes an author discovers that she has put her characters into an almost impossible emotional situation, and that is what happened to me with Finding Zara.

Umar Bello and Fola Ivy were perfect for each other, a fact they both recognized virtually the moment they met. They were well on their way to falling in love - or perhaps they were already beyond the falling stage - when the unthinkable happened. Umar's nine-year-old daughter was kidnapped while she was in Fola's care.

In the blink of an eye, Umar's heart turned to stone and Fola was consumed by guilt.

The only chance they had of finding Zara lay in working together towards that end.

But how could Umar accept help from the woman who was responsible for what had happened?

And how could Fola bear to be with the man she loved, when his love had turned to hatred?

I hope you enjoy the story of how they succeed in Finding Zara despite their impossible situation.

I'd be posting episodes on Nairaland twice a week...Monday and Thursday, and on my blog thrice...

However, you can subscribe to my blog www.lolaville.com (Fiction section) to get updates of new episodes.

Warmest Wishes,

xoxo

Lola.

Episode 1

Risk Management International was in the "survival business." At least, that was the phase the company's director preferred. He'd decided. Fola assumed, it sounded better than saying people came to them because they feared for their lives.

But semantics aside, the world was becoming a more dangerous place - practically by the day. People were clamoring for the sort of top-quality bodyguards and drivers that RMI provided. And the demand for sophisticated training programs in personal security was growing at an unprecedented rate. New companies, eager to meet that demand, seemed to be popping up all the time. RMI, however, had been around for almost twenty years and had a reputation as one of the very best. Its instructors were all top-flight professionals who'd demonstrated their skills in real-life situations, which translated into the company having as many clients as it could handle.

Many of them were accustomed to special treatment, so before each new tactical driving course began, Fola revealed her prospective students' files which generally helped her tailor her teaching to their specific needs.

Today, however, one of the files was doing nothing but puzzling her. Umar Bello simply wasn't standard RMI material. Oh, he wasn't entirely different from most of the individuals they trained. The vast majority were males, and she hadn't needed more than a glance at the snapshot clopped inside his folder to decide there was no doubt he fit into that category.

In fact, she was thinking she might have to create a subcategory reserved for men who looked enough like John Dumelo that they would sweep her off her feet by merely walking within ten feet of it. Regardless of that, though, why did Bello want to learn what her dad always called guerrilla driving?

For that matter, why had he already taken five other RMI courses?

Typically, RMI students were celebrities, high-level government officials or corporate executives whose work landed them in hotbeds of terrorism. Or they were people employed by individuals at high risk.

The other major category was composed of people in law enforcement of one sort or another. She had taught members of police departments from half the states in the nation, as well as SSS agents.

But when it came to law professors, Umar Bello of University of Lagos was her first. Actually, he was her first in any kind of professor Her gaze slipped down to the line on his application form that added his reason for taking her course. Interested in expanding the scope of my skills, he had written.

She wasn't buying that he was simply someone who wanted to be a better driver. She might have, just maybe, except for the records of those five previous courses. He seemed to have taken one every time there was a break between terms. Of course, he could merely be looking for some excitement in his life. Getting to Marina, where the RMI training center is located wouldn't require a lot of effort.

But six courses?

She set his current application aside, then flipped through the older ones. He looked to be working his way through RMI's entire range of offerings, and on each ofthe forms he had simply claimed to be interested in expanding the scope of his skills. She couldn't help wondering if that was a euphemism for "I'm paranoid to the max," then she began sincerely hoping it wasn't. Courses went far more smoothly when all the students were sane, rational people.


******************************************************

Umar stood on the edge of the track, waiting for the instructor to show and making small talk with the others.

It wasn't the easiest thing to do, given that confidentiality was the watchword at Risk Management International, but he had no problem with the first names only rule.

People who needed the sort of training RMI provided didn't want anyone flagging them as potential kidnap or assassination targets. And even if that wasn't the case, he wouldn't be interested in telling three strangers who he was and why he was there.

He glanced at his new classmates in turn, Ali, Mike, and the other one's name had slipped his mind, but...

At the sound of a door opening, all four men turned toward the building.

"Not bad," Mike said.

To Umar's mind that was a distinct understatement. The woman who had stepped out into the warmth of the June morning was tall and slender, with sun-streaked half the color of pale honey and the sort of natural good looks that would make any red blooded male take notice, She headed across the track, flashing a terrific smile as she neared them.

"I'm Folasade Ivy," she said, then waited a beat before adding, "I teach the tactical driving course.

"So let's start by getting the obvious questions answered," she continued. her amused expression telling Umar that her new students had done a poor job of concealing their surprise.

"I've completed every course RMI offers, as have the other instructors here, and I'm qualified to teach several of them."

Which, he thought, had to make her extremely capable of taking care of herself. "But I feel most comfortable with this one," she went on, "because I've been driving for almost as long as I can remember. When I was eight years old my dad stood me between his knees at the wheel and taught me how to drive. I was driving a Benz before I had a drivers license." "And beating all the boys." she added with another smile.

Then she pointed along the tack to where orange cones had been set up, creating an obstacle course, "We're going to begin with a test drive so I can see what level you are starting at. After that, we will spend the rest of the morning in the classroom, not just talking technical stuff, but studying real incidents and discussing how deaths could have been avoided.

"This afternoon, we will get down to some practice work with our driving simulators, then I will do individual sessions with each of of you on the track. And that is primarily where you will spend the rest of your time here, driving those training cars." She gestured toward the half-dozen that were parked nearby. "They have been specially modified for safety. In addition, they are equipped with racing style seat belts, fire suppression systems and special hydraulic brakes."

"Not exactly what we drive in the real world," Ali said.

"No. But we don't want to risk injuries while you are learning. And by the end of the week together you will have the skill to keep from getting into trouble, and know maneuvers that will get out of it. Regardless of what you are driving. Any other comments or questions?"

As the four men shook their heads, she said, "Fine, then let me explain how the test works. You will start at the far end, drive the course, turn around an drive back. I will be timing you, and each cone you knock over adds ten seconds to your time.

"This is Sam," she added, introducing a man who had materialized while she was speaking. "He resets the course after each run, and I should warn you that he gets a little snarly if you make him work too hard." She shot Sam a grin before looking at the rest of them again. "We will do the test a second time on Friday afternoon, and you will be amazed at how much better you are.

"And if we are not?" Ali asked,

She smiled once more, "I will be looking for a new job. So, who wants to go first?"


Subscribe: [email]www.lolaville.com[/email][url][/url]

front seat taken. i hope you dont disappoint like you did with hearts of steel sha.
#ghost_mode front seat taken. i hope you dont disappoint like you did with hearts of steel sha.
#ghost_mode

Episode 2

Since no one else volunteered, Umar did, mostly because he hated the feeling that came when you got no response from your students. A few minutes later, he was regretting having opened his mouth.

He'd always considered himself a pretty good driver, yet he had sent enough cones flying that he had probably made Sam as snarly as a half-sttarved cougar. By the time the others had completed their runs, though, he felt better. As bad as he had been, his three minutes fifty seconds was the second-best time.

"Now would you show us how it should be done?" Mike, who had gotten the worst score, asked Fola. His tone was more than a little challenging, but if she noticed she gave no indication.

"Sure, I will take a run if you'd like. But then we have to hit the classroom. Why don't you time me," she added, handing Mike her stopwatch.

When she started off, Umar found himself watching the enticing sway of her hips, and feeling the sort of stirring inside that he hd almost forgotten he could experience. It took him by surprise. As great loking as she might be, in the three years since Maria's death he had seldom felt the slightest whisper of attracion to a woman. And the few times he had, he had done absolutely nothing about it. Precisely what he would do this time around.

Maybe, way off in the distant future, he might be able to lead a normal life again. But not yet.

Oh, he realized some of his friends thought he was simply suffering from a case of "once hurt, twice shy," but they didnt know the whole story. They had no idea why the idea of getting involved in a relationship scared the hell out of him. Even if it was with someone who had apparently been raised on adrenaline. Shutting a mental door against the relationship thoughts, he realized his gaze had turned to Fola's hips.

He adjusted it upward and watched her put on her helmet. Then she climbed into the car and proceeded to impress the devil out of them by practically flying down the track and back up. As she reached the far end of the course again, Mike checked the stopwatch. "I don't believe it," he muttered. "A minute forty-five seconds."

Her time clearly ticked him off, which struck Umar as so childish he couln't resist saying, "And she didn't hit a single cone. Talk about inheriting good driving genes."

*****************************************************************************************************

Fola headed for her office, glad the morning's preliminary instruction session was over. Classrooms had never made her lisrt of favorite places, and sitting on the teacher's side of the desk did nothing to change her feelings about them. Se far preferred to be where the action was. Once she had reached her destination, she sat gazing at the little stack of student files, resisting the urge to have another peek at Umar Bello to read through the personal information section she hadn't looked at earlier.

She didn't usually bother with that, partly because it wasn't really relevant to her job and partly because the sections were so lengthy. Actually, she wouldn't be surprised to learn that RMI required more information from prospective students than the Government did from prospective special agents. But being careful about whom they accepted had always been a necessity, and at this point...

Well, if they inadvertently trained some wannabe terrorists, they'd lose the endorsement of the World Security Organization. Not to mention getting kicked out of the International Association of Counterterrorism and Security Professionals.

After eyeing the stack of files for another few seconds, she decided she was being silly by resisting. There was absolutely no reason she shouldn't satisfy her curiosity about Umar. Especially since he had turned out to be even better-loking than his snapshot. And when he seemed like a nice guy, too. Not that she viewed her job as an opportunity to meet men. But with the driving course spanning a mere five days, her students became ex-students quickly enough that she had no rule against dating the occasional one.

Actually, she had always figured a rule like that would be dumb, considering the "dating" seldom announced to more than a single dinner or a movie. RMI's students came from all over the country, and once they were gone it was usually for good.

Umar Bello, however, lived virtually just down the road. Which made it only sensible to see whether his lack of a wedding band was significant. She reached for his file, dug out the most recent application form and checked the line that asked his marital status.

Widowed, he'd written.

Ah. Maybe that explained all the courses he had taken. They could be his way of filling a void. Reading further, she learned he was thirty-five years old, but had a nine-year-old daughter and had been teaching at University of Lagos for the past three years. Before that, he had been a lawyer in Abuja.

Quite a drastic change in lifestyle, from being a Lawyer in Abuja to teaching in Lagos.

Of course, Lagos was a bubbling city, there were many things to do, And it had enough restaurants that one or another of her friends would sometimes suggest driving over for dinner.

She spent a couple of seconds speculating about what might have prompted Umar Bello to go from one extreme to another, then her mind jumoed tracks as she began to wonder whether he had felt the same chemistry between them that she had.

Given the way she had noticed him looking at her a few times, she suspected he had. Or maybe that was only wishful thinking. Recently, things had been awfully slow in the Department of Attractive Males. Oh, she had been seeing a little of Kunle Adeshakin, an SSS agent who had taken her course about three months ago. His location was in Port Harcourt, far away from Lagos, and...

But was she trying to kid herself?

A two-hundred mile round trip would hardly be a major obstacle if the attraction between them was really strong. And although he was nice enough, there were a few about him that she suspected would bother her in the long term. Especially that when he got talking, and he loved to talk, and tended to go on forever, giving her far more details about whatever he had done than she had any real interest in.

That was unusual in a special agent. Most of the officials she had met were so careful when it came to what they said that she had always assumed a philosophy of "better too little than too much" was drilled into them during their training.

But regardless of any of that, the fact she and Kunle had had exactly four dates in the past three months said the spark between them was far more likely to sputter out than to flame into something serious. Which was standard when it came to her and men.

She had always been...

Well, according to her mother, she scared men off.

If you would just make an effort not to intimidate them...

She'd bet, since she had first begun to notice boys, that her mum had repeated that phrase two zillion times. And every single time she had said it within her husband's hearing, he had countered by saying that any guy who was initimidated by Fola obviously just wasn't good enough for her.

Her dad, though, had always been proud that his only chid didn't conform to most people's expectations of how women should behave; whereas her mom...

Her mother loved her. There wasn't any doubt about that.But she had have been a lot happier if Fola had preferred gowns to sports and jeans. And if, as an adult, she had chosen a conventionally feminine occupation.

Then there was the issue of marriage and children.

Her mother was dying for grandchildren, and was growing more and more worried that her daughter would never find Mr. Right. Or that if she did, she had frighten them away, too. Just like the others.

But as much as Fola adored kids, she wasn't unhappy with her life the way it was. Far from it. She loved the freedom of being able to do what she wanted when she wanted, which was one reason she enjoyed her contract arrangement with RMI. It let her pretty much pick and choose when she wanted to teach a course, and she rarely did two back to back.

That way, she could lock her apartment door and take off virtuslly whenever the desire seized her, not somethingn that would be possible if she had more responsibilities. So if she never fell madly, insanely in love...

Well, settling for less wouldn't be something she could do It wasn't in her nature.

Absently, she looked at Umar Bello's picture again, thinking he didn't strike her as the type who had frighten easily. Then she tucked his applicaton form awayy anf headed for the restaurnt. There was barely enough time left to grab a salad before she had to get back to her students.

*****************************

Subscribe to my blog to get episodes www.lolaville.com

Next episode on Thursday

Omolola1 is back Yaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

How far?

You've had a very interesting history here, what happened to your first diary from when you just joined nl?

Thought you were still in school.

tpiander:
How far?
You've had a very interesting history here, what happened to your first diary from when you just joined nl?
Thought you were still in school.

I'm done with school

Episode 3

Until today, Umar had never given much thought to the "theory" of driving. He had always just climbed into a car and blithely turned the key. But by the end of this morning's sermon, his head had been so full of facts about weight transfer and traction, steering geometry and braking techniques, that he had hardly been able to think straight. And he had felt certain that if he did the visual-rotation-sequence exercise many more times his neck would freeze up.

Then, this afternoon, he had quickly developed a deep respect for driving simulators. If he and his classmates had been sitting behind the wheels of actual cars, they had probably all be graveard dead by now. He just hoped that enough of what he had learned transferred in the real thing, because he had prefer not to make a fool of himself in front of Fola Ivy.
Watching her get out of the training car after her third one-on-one with the fellow named Sam, he started thinking that the other guys probably felt the same way he did. Whether it was fact or fiction, the majority of males figured they were better drivers than women. And while a man would have to be delusional to believe he was better than Fola, none of them would want her deciding he needed training wheels. And then there was the other element that came into play. Fola Ivy was the sort of woman whom most men...
Hell, the way Sam looked, as if he had like to crawl across the hood of the car toward her, said it all. Not only was she over the edge gorgeous, she had a wry sense of humour and seemed as smart as it got. While Sam was saying a few final words and removing his helmet, Umar reminded himself he had no intention of trying to start somethin with any woman. Not in the present decade, at least. Which meant that this particular one's opinion of him really didn't matter in the slightest. He had barely finished putting together that bit of logic when she smiled over at him, and he went back to hoping he wouldn't make a fool of himself.

"Your turn," she said, gesturing him toward the driver's side before climbing back into the passenger's seat.

As he slid in beside her he could smell her perfume. He had been aware of it a couple of times in the classroom, then again, after lunch, when she had leaned close to adjust his hands on the simulator's steering wheel. The haunting scent put him in mind of a soft evening, the fragrance of night-blooming flowers in the air. But instead of thinking about how good she smelled, he had b e wiser to think about how you kept from understeering or oversteering at high speed. Wiping out on the simulator was one thing. Not handling a fast curve properlyy on the track would be something else.

"Okay," she said. "With the simulator, you can never get a really good sense of road feel, so we are going to begin with a few laps. And I want you to concentrate on being aware of the car. "Think of it as an extension of yourself, because that's actually what it is. It only does what you tell it to , so getting it to respond the way you want it is a matter of learning to tell it the right thing."
"You sound like my dog's instructor. He always said he was teaching the owners, not the dogs."

She smiled at that, and when she did he was alarmingly conscious of how lush her lips were. It almost started him wishing that someone else were teaching the course.

Almost, but not quite.

He liked being around Fola, even though the fact that he hid made him uneasy.

"Is your dog any particular kind?" she was saying

"A Bouvier."

"Named?"

"Peter."

"Ah."

"My daughter's choice," he added when she looked as though she didn't consider that much of a name for a dog. "And it could have been worse. He was still a little guy when we got him, and at first Zara was intent on calling him Tiny."

That made Fola smile again. "But you were thinking ahead.

"Exactly," he said. He also liked her sense of humour.

"And you chose such a big breed because...?"

"Because of Zara. I'd been told Bouviers were great with kids..."

Fola merely nodded, which was fine with him. He had no desire to elaborate further, to say that he had researched all the large breeds and had decided on a Bouvier, because, aside from being reliable around children, they were excellent watchdogs and protective as hell.

"Okay, let's get going." Fola said.

"Hands at three and nine o'clock," she aded as he started the engine.

"That much I remember."

"Good. Then we are off."

"Now, what I want you to do," she added as he shifted out of the Park, "is focus on your physical reactions whule you're picking up speed. The faster you go, the more your body will want to tighten up, so you have to work at not letting it. Keep your arms flexed and don't let your hands get stiff. As soon as they do they lose half their feeling, and feeling is control."

"Right."

"Okay, now speed up so you're going about ten miles an hour above your comfort level as we hit the first curve. And remember what I talked about this morning. As the car takes a corner, the weight ransfers to the outside and front as you 're braking and to the outside and rear when you accelerate out of the curve." He nodded. "And you avvoid fishtailing by making that transfer go as smoothly as possible."
"Exactly. So even though you feel you're going too fast, make sure you ease off the accelerator and onto the brake. If you lift off the gas rapidly you will also hit the brake hard. That's just the way the body works."
"And I don't want to twist the wheel too abruptly," he said, glancing at her and trying to shake the sense that he was back in school.

"Good," she said, shooting him a smile. "You were paying attention."

He focused on the track again and managed to negotiate the curve without skidding.

"Very good," Fola told him.

Then, just as he was starting to feel a little more relaxed, she said. "Now, by the time we reach the next curve, I want you going fifteen miles an hour above your comfort level."

This is such an enthralling piece the plot is highly organized with captivating words. Thumbs up Omolola1 more updates biko.

Missmossy:
This is such an enthralling piece the plot is highly organized with captivating words. Thumbs up Omolola1 more updates biko.

Thanks dear
New update tomorrow

The pleasure is all mine

Looking forward to it.

Finding Zara Episode 4

After her students had spent forty-five minutes on the accident stimulators, Fola decided thy had better hit the track. This was their final day, and before the lunch she wanted to demonstrate the reverse one-eighty degree spin, a maneuver that could prove a lifesaver for someone being pursued.

If she got the demonstration and their questions out of the way now, they could begin practicing as soon as they had eaten, so she told them to head out to the training cars.

"I'll be right behind you," she added.

But as they walked toward the door, she found herself simply standing where she was, utterly unable to take her gaze off Umar Bello's broad shoulders. Closing her eyes solved the immediate problem. In her entire life, though, she had never met another man who...

Well, when it came to the subject of Professor Bello, she didnt even know where to start. Should it be with the way she was so ridiculously attracted to him that she found herself smiling when she took her birth control pill in the morning? Usually, she was more likely to frown and wonder why she bothered with them, given that her sexual encounters were so few and far between. But, of course, she took them because years ago she had promised her mother she would. The result of a particularly embarrassing mother-daughter talk, during which her mother had made clear that she worried immensely about what she had referred to as her daughter's "frequent spontaneity."

Shifting her thoughts from her mother back to Umar Bello, she began musing that the pull she felt toward him seemed to grow stronger with every passing hour. But there was more involved than pure and simple lust. She liked the man. Really liked him. He was intelligent and level-headed, yet fun at the same time. And he seemed genuinely interested in her as a person. Which wasn't a common trait in men. Not the ones she met, at any rate. Umar, though...

She let her thoughts drift back to the conversation she had with him during their break this morning. All it took was one of his smiles to make her heart skip half a dozen beats. And as if he had decided that the days weren't enough, he had been wandering around in her dreams for the past four nights. Plus, he had her totally confused, never mind seriously doubting her intuition, which until now she had considered eminently reliable. But mabe she had been deluding herself on the count. Because her instincts had been insisting from the outset that Uar felt the same dynamite chemistry between them as she did.

Yet if that was so, why hadn;t he said or done anything to indicate that he did feel that chemistry? Of course, this was the twenty-first century. Women no longer had to sit on their hands until a man expressed interest. However, in her situation... Well, she might not have a rule against dating students, but she did have one against making the initial move. After all, she was the instructor. And even though, it was hardly the same as being a secondary school teacher, even though she taught adults, she just wouldn't feel right about...

Probably, the best way of summing it up was to say she wouldn't want to risk putting someone on the spot. Having brought that thought to a satisfactory conclusion, she firmly told herself - for the nine hundred and third time - that obsessing about Umar Bello like some lovesick teenager was ridiculous. And not the sort of behaviour that had ever been her style. It also couldn't be good for a person's mental health. So if the man was content to walk out of here at the end of today, without a backward glance, she had simply forget about him. Once she had silently repeated that a few times to ensure it sank in, she left the simulator room and headed down the hallway.

When she opened the door to the outside world, the situation with Umar suddenly made more sense. The attractive woman standing on the edge of the track and talking to him explained a lot. She looked a few years older than Fola, probably mid thirties, like Umar, and their body language said they knew each other very well. Trying to pretend she wasn't feeling a sting of disappointment, she reminded herself that she had been aware all along that a man's being widowed didn't guarantee there was no female in his life. But since, in this instance she hadn't wanted that possibility to be reality, she had pretty much ignored it. However, she couldn't ignore a flesh-and-blood human being.
Forcing her eyes from Umar and the woman, she focused on the cute little girl with them, Umar's daughter, she imagined, given the casual way his hands were resting on her shoulders. The child was gazing up, listening to the adult conversation with a somber expression. Neither Umar nor his girlfriend seemed happy, either. Actually, the woman looked downright grim. But whatever they were discussing was noen of her business, so she started toward the cars, where her other students were waiting. She had only taken a few steps before Umar called,
"Fola?"
When she paused, he strode rapidly over and said, "I'm sorry, but I won't be able to finish out the day." He nodded toward his girlfriend, adding, "My daughter's nanny has a family emergency, so I have to take Zara home."
His daughter's nanny?
Not that she couldn't be both that and a romantic interest, but maybe she wasn't.
Fola turned her attention back to what Umar was saying in time to catch that it was something about the woman heading for Port Harcourt.
"And the neighbour wbo sometimes looks after Zara wasn't home," he added. "Which meant Lilian had to stop by here with her. So I guess I will just have to hope I never need to do a reverse one-eighty."
"Ah, but hoping isn't always enough," she said glancing over at the little girl and thinking that no one would object to her being here for a few hours.

Then she looked back at Umar and said, "Why doesn't Zara spend the rest of the day with us?"

"Well, he said slowly, "Lilian is going to be gone for a while, so I will have to make some arrangements. Although, I guess I don't have to get on to it right this minute," He hesitated, then added, "But if Zara stays here, there would be nobody to watch her while I'm on the track."

Watch her? Lord,when she had been Zara's age...

Her father, however, believed that children should become as independent as possibe, as quickly as possible. Whereas that wasn't the way Umar seemed to think.

Reminding herself that his early parenting experience had been in Lafia, which would go a long way toward making anyone overprotective, she said, "We can all keep an eye on Zara. And I will bet she will be happy seeing you practice."

"Well..."

He hesitated longer this time, before saying, "You don't think she'd be in the way?"

"Not at all. And if she gets bored she can go inside and help our receptionist. Esther is great with kids,"

When that didn;t seem enough to convince him, she added, "Hey, you aren't thinking that leaving now would get you out of retaking the driving test, are you?"

"Of course not."

"Good, because if you don't face up to something like that, it can leave psychological scars."

He smiled at that, making her heart do one of those half-a-dozen-beat skips she was almost getting used to. Then he said, "Fola, is there anything you can't turn into a challenge?"

**************************************************************************************

To be continued next week...

Its getting more suspense filled keep it coming Lola. Kudos but next week is really too far.

Nice write-up. Thumbs up. But next week?

would have wanted a short synopsis of what the storyline is actually about, you can do that next time you write something.

It's a bit much having to read through the entire thing without having a clue where it's going or what it's trying to say.

good job though.

yet to read the other episodes after the first one, will do that later.

tpiah11:
would have wanted a short synopsis of what the storyline is actually about, you can do that next time you write something.

It's a bit much having to read through the entire thing without having a clue where it's going or what it's trying to say.

good job though.

yet to read the other episodes after the first one, will do that later.

@tpiah11
I did give a short synopsis. It's the very first post

Episode 5

Umar shot another glance in Zara's direction, but she was oblivious to him. She hadn't taken her eyes off the car Fola was using for her demonstration, obviously fascinated his "special driving" teacher had proven to be a woman. He hadn't mentioned that, hadn't gone into any more detail about this course than about the others he'd taken at Risk Management. His daughter couldn't have a perfectly normal childhood. Their circumstances wouldn't permit that. But he did his best to make it as close to normal as possible, and he didn't want her putting together enough facts to frighten herself. With that in mind, he'd referred to his handgun training as "target practice" and to the defensive tactics and personal protection courses simply as "exercise workouts."

He turned his attention back to the track, where Fola was just finishing up a seriess of reverse hundred eighty-degree spins. That completed, she climbed out of the car and delivered a minilecture on how to execute the maneuver.

"Which is about all I have to say," she concluded.

"After lunch, there will be lots of time to practice before the dreaded driving retest," she added with a smile. "But does anyone have questions now?"

There were only a couple,and once she had finished answering them, she caught Umar's eye and nodded toward Zara. When he mouthed a "Sure" in response, she turned and started over to where the girl was perched on one of the benches alongside the track. While the other fellows headed for the cafeteria, he trailed after Fola, uncertain whether he liked the idea of her introducing herself to his daughter. But that was hardly surprising. When it came to Fola Ivy, he was uncertain about an awful lot of things. Despite knowing that letting a woman into his life would be extremely unwise, he just couldn't shake the thought tha it might not be safe to make an exception with her. Well, no safe was hardly the word. Downplaying the risk involved would be stupid. But when it came to someone like Fola...

LikeFola...

Now, that was funny.

In the first place, he truly doubted there was anyone else in the world like Fola. Her uniqueness was one of the things he found so appealing about her. And in the second place, he realized he was trying to rationalize a foolish idea. He also realized why. In a single week, Fola Ivy had... Would "mesmerized him" be a good way of putting it? It had to be, he decided, because when she was anywhere in his field of vision he simply couldn't keep his eyes off her. Even when the two of them were doing a practice session in the car and he should be concentrating solely on his driving, he'd find himself sneaking glances at her, while his thoughts would be drifting in all kinds of crazy directions. He'd be wondering whether she was even marginally as turned on by him as he was by her.

And, hell, it wasn't just when he was around her that he couldn't shut her out of his mind. Regardless of where he was or what he was doing, she'd been front and center in his head since practically the first moment he had seen her. He had been playing a board game with Zara, and suddenly, an image of Fola would be right before his eyes. Or he had take the dog for his after-dinner walk and find himself speeding up, thinking some woman ahead of them bore enough resemblance to Fola that it might be her. Which was absurd.

Man, it was a good thing this was the last day of the course. Because his willpower had been fading fast, and if he had to spend mich more time around her...

He caught up to her just as she reached Zara and was saying, "Hi, I am Fola."

"Hi." Zara gave her a smile.

"I guess you are ready for lunch, but I was thinking that if you are not too hungry you might like a little tour first. I'm sure your dad's told you about our simulators, and I could let you try one out."
Zara shook her head. "He didn't tell me about them."
Fola seemed surprised; Umar fought the urge to explain that he did talk to his daughter, that just didnt talk to her about everything.

After a few seconds, Zara filled the silence by saying, "But I'd like to try one."
"Good," Fola said, "Then let's go."
"Should we see you in the canteen?" she added to him. "In twenty minutes or so?"
"Ah...sure."

He watched them walk away together, an all-too familiar tightness in his chest - even though he knew nothing awful was going to happen to Zara here in the RMI compound. Hell, he had bet that with Fola looking out for her, she had be perfectly safe.

****************************************************************************************************************

Zara was enthusiastic, fun-to-be-with little girl, and so enthralled by the driving simulator that Fola found it tough resisting the temptation to let her try the accident simulator, as well. But the lunch break was half over and they hadn't eaten. As they started for the canteen, Zara gave her a huge grin and said, "That was really nice."

Fola smiled. "I am glad you enjoyed it."
"It's just like a video game. Only bigger and better."
"And you were good at it, too."
That made Zara grin again. "I wish I could play with stuff like that all the time."
"Oh, I bet you get to do lots of good stuff."
"Only sometimes."
"What about this weekend? Have you and your dad got anything exciting planned?"
The minute she asked the question, she regretted it. Zara's expression went from sunny to dark in the blink of an eye.
"We did have," she said. "We were going to celebrate, because school finished last week."
"Already?"
"Yes. It's a private school and we vacate a little early."
"Ah."
"So we were supposed to take Pete, our dog, to a veterinarian doctor tonight. Well, not a real veterinarian, but a friend of my daddy who was going to take care of him."
"And then?"
"Then, early, early in the morning, my daddy said, we were going to drive to Benin. And stay until Sunday. In a hotel,
"But now my dad is going by himself. And coming back tomorrow night."
"Why the change of plans?"
"Because Aunty Lilian had to go home. Aunty Lilian is my nanny."
"Right. Your father said there was some sort of emergency."
"Her mummy is in the hospital. And I think she must be really sick." Zara continued in a confiding tone. "Because Aunty Lilian was crying."
"Oh. That's sad, isn't it?"
"Uh...but her boyfriend said he would drive her and that made her feel better."
"Well, that's good."

Boyfriend... The word lingered in Fola's mind long enough to whisper that Lilian wasn't a romantic interest as well as the nanny. Focusing her attention on Zara once more, she said "But couldn't you still go to Benin? With just your dad?"

"No. Because he is going to talk at a conference. And me and Aunty Lilian were going to have fun while he was busy. But now that she won't be there he is going to get someone to look after me at home. Probably, Tony's mum, our neighbour."
"Ah. You must be disappointed."
Zara nodded. "We had tickets to see a movie tomorrow night. And on Sunday, we were going to go swimming."
The girl was silent for a minute, then said, "Have you been to Benin?"
"Sure. Lots of times."
The thought flitted through her mind that the last couple had been because she had dates with Special Agent Kunle Adeshakin. But since there was no reason to say anything about him to Zara, she went with "It's a very long drive."
"I know, but I've never been there. Do you like it?"
"Yes. It's a nice place.
She didn't elaborate beyond that, even though Benin was one of her all time favorite cities. Saying wonderful things about it would just make Zara feel worse. Yet...why wasn't Umar still taking her? If he was only going to be tied up for part of the time, then canceling their plans entirely seemed extreme, Lilian or no Lilian. But she had better not raise that thought with Zara. In fact, she wouldn't utter another word on the subject. Then, not more than three seconds later, she found herself saying, "You know, I think most hotels can arrange for someone to stay with kids when their parents are busy."
Zara shook her head, "My dad would never let me stay with a stranger."
"Oh." Not even a stranger vetred by hotel management? When the alternatiev was leaving her home, disappointed?
The word overprotective popped into her head again, this time in capital letters. But it simply wasn't her place to voice an opinion about parenting to Umar. She could just imagine how much he had appreciate an unsolicited two cents worth from someone who didn't have even a single child of her own. They reached the canteen, where the man in question was sitting at a table with her other students. When he spotted them, he seemed almost relieved to see that his daughter was safe and sound. But Fola assumed she had to be misreading that. Nobody who had known her for even five minutes would worry about leaving a child in her care. He rose from the group table and walked over to the counter to buy Zara some lunch. Then. as the three of them sat downn at one of the other small tables, he asked Zara how she'd liked the simulator.

"It was awesome," she told him. "I wish I could have come here with you all week."
She slowly ate the bite of her sandwich, her gaze flickering from her father to Fola, then back to Umar.
"Fola likes Benin," she said at last.

Umar nodded. "We will go another time, honey. I promise. Just not this weekend.

"But"

"Zara, we will do it soon. Not tomorrow, though. I got hold of Tony's mum while you two were off having fnn, and she will be happy to look after you."
Zara sat staring at the table for a long moment, then said, "Daddy?"
"Uh-huh?"

"Why can't Fola come with us? Then I could stay with her while you are giving your talk."

Fola glanced at Umar in time to catch him looking more than a little flustered.

"Well..." he said. "I imagine Fola already has plans for the weekend."

"Do you?" Zara asked her.

She gazed at the girl, thinking about a bit of advice her father always used to give her.

You don't get what you want by waiting for it to fall into your lap, darling, he'd say. You have to speak up. Reach out and grab opportunities before they can slip away.

"Do you?" Zara repeated.

She thought rapidly. She could end this, right here and now, by saying that she did have plans. And then?

And then she'd probably never see either of the Bello's again.

After weighing her options for a couple of seconds longer, she said. "You know what, Zara? I don't have even the ghost of a plan."

To be continued on Friday...

Hey folks,

I'm sorry I abandoned this story. Been suffering from Writer's Block

Anyway, I'm back now and I promise not to disappoint.

Episode 6
Umar and Fola picked Zara up so early that they were only half-awake, and intitally all three of them were subdued.

“Fola and me are going to have two beds in our room, right?” she continued after pausing for breath.

“Fola and I,” Umar said automatically. “But, right.”

“And our room is going to be next to yours?”

“That’s the plan.”

And hotel rooms next to each other often had an adjoining door.

The moment that thought snuck into his head he ordered it back out. Fola would be in the next woom with his daughter. Besides, things hadn’t changed overnight. There was still no way he was going to let himself get involved with a woman. Yet even while he was reminding himself of that, his gaze strayed across the car to Fola, and he couldn’t help thinking she looked even more gorgeous than usual.

She was turned half around so she could see Zara, and the morning sunlight was catching strands of her pale hair, transforming them into spun gold. “And when we get to Benin, the very first thing we are going to do is check into the hotel?” Zara said.

“Uh-huh. I specified an early-morning check-in, he told her, starting to wonder if he had only dreamed that she had made him repeat all the details at least thre times last night. “Then you go to the conference and Fola and I go see stuff, right?”

“You’ve got it.” Fola agreed.

“And what else can we do? Besides what you already told me about?”

“Oh,” said Fola, “there’s just way too much for us to choose from. There’s the aquarium. And Chinatown.”

“Hey, I will only be tied up for part of the morning,” Umar teased. “You don’t really figure you can cover all those things, do you? Half of them won’t even be open when you get going.”

Fola smiled, making his heart thud against his ribs.

“Well,” she said, “I just want her to know what all our options are.”

When he nodded and turned his attention back to the road, she began telling Zara about hhow many great restaurants there were in Benin. And his daughter, whose interest in food rarely extended beyond peanut butter and icecream, seemed utterly fascinated by every word Fola spoke.

Or maybe she was just utterly fascinated by Fola.

He’d never seen her take to anyone this way before. Fola was all she’d talked about the entire way home from RMI yesterday. And she had not very subtly pointed out that since Fola hadn’t had any plans for the weekend, she probably didn’t have a boyfriend. Hoping Zara wouldn’t be too disappointed when this didn’t develop into anything more than a one-shot deal, he turned back into their conversation.

“And the hot dogs we’ll get at the game tonight,” Fola was saying “are going to be the best you have ever eaten.”

“I’ve never been to a real live football game before.” Zara said. Except for kids ones.”

“Oh, you will love it.”

“Honest?”

“Uh-huh.”

Zara giggled.

“Sorry,” she said, “I get carried away now and then. My father didn’t have any sons, just me, so he made sure I became a serious sports fan.”

He shrugged, told her that you never knew when sports trivia might come in handy, then began to reflect, yet again, that he was probably crazy to have gone along with Zara’s idea that the three of them make this trip. Or maybe that should be undoubtedly crazy.

If his attraction to Fola was only physical…

Well, if things were that simple he had hardly be concerned. It would just mean that he’d recovered enough from his wife’s death to be seriously noticing other women.

Things weren’t that simple, though, There was more to what he felt toward Fola than the merely physical. A lot more. For starters…

But, no. He wasn’t going to let himself dwell on the subject, because the fact there was more made him damn uneasy.

After all, those other feelings had developed awfully rapidly, and given the way they kept getting stronger, voluntarily spending more time with her sure didn’t qualify as one of the smartest things he’d ever done.

But what choice had he had once she’d said she was free for the weekend? Especially when Zara was so taken with her?

And now… now Fola and Amy would be on their own together.

He’d been avoiding thinking about that part, but he he’d have to have a talk with Fola before he headed for the conference. And he wasn’t going to enjoy it.

He hated explaining what had happened. It forced him to relieve the horror, which even after so long always left him in a down mood. And it also made the person he was telling uncomfortable.

There’d been an uneasy expression, a break in eye contact, followed by a few mumbled, sympathetic words that never made him feel even marginally better.

It was the same each time, and he certainly wasn’t looking forward to playing the scene with Fola. Especially not right before he had to stand up in front of a room full of lawyers, plant a smile on his face and try to be both informative and entertaining.

And it would put a damper on her day, as well. She wouldn’t enjoy herself half as much when…

For a few seconds, he tried to ignore the thought wriggling up from the bottom of his brain. Then he gave in and began to consider it.

Did he really have to tell her?

Episode 7

The thought lingered, repeating itself in his head. Did he really have to tell Fola the whole story? He had just automatically been assuming he did, but could be he had simply grown so accustomed to...


Ever since his wife’s death, he had made sure that everyone who took on any responsibility for Zara knew the situation. Maybe, though, with Fola, he could make an exception.


Hell, he couldn’t have asked for anyone better than an RMI instructor to look after his daughter. So would it be enough to merely make her understand that she had to keep a close watch over Zara?


He could say Zara had a bad habit of wandering off or something, and…


Feeling that familiar, gnawing worry, he reminded himself that nothing at all had happened in the past three years. Which might mean the threat had been an empty one. From the very beginning.


He had always known that was a possibility. In fact, at the time the police had told him it was a good one.


And even though he had never taken a chance on that being the case, he realized the older Zara got, the less he had be able to monitor her. Sooner or later, he’d have to begin easing up. So maybe this was the time and place to start.


As unsettling as he found the prospect, he knew that the odds against something going wrong, within the space of any specific few hours had to be astronomical. And filling Fola in wouldn’t stop him from worrying.


He didn’t imagine anything would do that. He’d be worrying for years yet. But when it came to the other…


Considering things again, he arrived at the same conclusion. Both logic and the odds that everything would be just fine today. Whether he confided in Fola or not.


And if by some remote chance anything did happen, she’d likely deal with it better than he could. Or than Zara’s nanny could, regardless of the fact that she was a trained bodyguard.


That had been a primary requirement when he had hired her. He’d wanted far more than a mere nanny. But given Fola’s extensive training at RMI, the nanny would qualify as an amateur in comparison, so…


Just as he made his decision, Fola said, “I think I want the next exit.”


“Right.”


He flicked on the turn indicator and changed lanes.
Then, Fola said, “Do you know exactly what time you will be free? What time we should arrange to meet?”


“Well, I’m the opening speaker. And I know they’re expecting me to stay through the morning break. But I should be able to escape after that.

“So why don’t I call you then. I’m guessing it will be around ten-thirty. Eleven at the latest.”


“Okay. You have my number?”


“Yes I do.” They’d exchanged phone numbers yesterday, after deciding that Fola would come along.


“Then we’re all set.”


“And after this morning,” Zara said, “you will be spending the rest of the weekend with me and Fola, right, Daddy?”


“With Fola and me.”


“Fola and me,” she repeated. “And you won’t make us wait around while you do something on your laptop, right?”


“You brought a computer along?” Fola said.


He shrugged, feeling a little geekish. “I always take it when I travel. I’m an early riser. And sometimes…


“But, no,” he said, focusing on Zara again. “To answer your question, I won’t make either of you wait around. We will spend every minute just enjoying ourselves.”


“Sounds good,” Fola said.

Good. Yes, in one way it sounded incredibly good.


But in another way, the prospect of spending the best part of two days with Fola Ivy scared him half to death. Given the rate at which his willpower had been fading, by the end of the weekend it might be gone completely. And then where would he be?


*************************************************


INITIALLY, FOLA had hardly taken her eyes off Zara. Afterall, the impression Umar had given was that if she so much as blinked the girl might vanish.


But Zara must have left her tendency to wander away back home in Lagos, because she had not made the slightest attempt to head off on her own. In fact, she had been clinging to Fola’s hand ever since they left the hotel.


Of course, they were having a great time together, which could explain why she was content to stay close.


“Look!” she said, tugging on Fola’s arm.


“Look at what?”


“That bear wearing the policeman’s uniform.” Zara gestured in the direction of a teddy sitting behind a window they were passing. “Isn’t he beautiful?”


“He sure is. Do you want to go in and see what else they have?”


“No, that’s okay.”


Fola glanced at her watch, thinking Zara might be getting tired at the market. It was almost ten thirty, though. And since Umar had figured he would be free then, or shortly after, it didn’t make any sense to start for anywhere else until he called.


“I don’t suppose you like ice cream, do you?” she said.


“I love it!”


“You do? Really?” she teased.


“Yes!”


“But I’m sure your daddy doesn’t allow you to have it in the morning, does he?”


“Yes he does. It doesn’t matter.”


“Are you sure?”


As Zara nodded enthusiastically, she said, “Okay, then let me guess. Your favorite flavor is…”


“Chocolate.”


“I was just about to say I’m sure you are the chocolate type. And it’s such a coincidence, because they have some of the best chocolate ice cream in the world at a little stall down this way. So I think we should get some. Sound like a good idea to you?”


Zara happily nodded again and they started off.


When they neared the stall, they could see people were packed in three’s waiting their turns.


“Looks as if I’m not the only one who knows how great this place is,” she said.


“Fola?”


“Yes?”


“Is it okay if I just wait here? I don’t like it when there is so many people.”


“Well, maybe we should come back later then. It is not usually this busy.”


When she nodded, Zara said, “And he might want to meet us somewhere else. Then we won’t be able to come back. But, look” She pointed at an empty bench. “I can sit right here, where you can see me. And I won’t move, I promise.”


“Not even an inch?”


“No. I’m a good girl. I promise.”


“Well…”


Suddenly, the absurdity of her hesitation struck her. It was high noon, more or less, in the middle of a tourist haven. What on earth did she imagine would happen to Zara when she was ten feet away and in plain sight?


Lord, it hadn’t occurred to her until this minute that Umar’s overprotectiveness might be contagious.


“Okay,” she said. “You stay right there and I’ll be back in no time.”


She joined the crowd at the stall, keeping one eye on Zara, not because she was being overprotective, but just in case the child hadn’t left her tendency to wander off back in Lagos.


“What can I get you?” the kid behind the counter finally asked her.


“Two chocolate cups, please.”


Glancing at Zara once more, she gave the girl a thumbs up.


As she did, a familiar voice said, “Fola!”


She’d barely turned around toward Kunle Adeshakin before he wrapped his arms around her in a big hug.


“Your cups, ma’am,” the kid behind the counter said when Kunle released her.


“Right.” She dug out money and paid him.


“What are you doing in Benin?” Kunle asked as she reached for the ice cream.


She looked at him, thinking he didn’t seem quite as attractive as he used to. But that was silly. His appearance hadn’t changed a bit. He was still the tall, and fair type who didn’t at all fit the image of an SSS agent able to blend right in with any crowd.


“And why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” he demanded when she didn’t answer his first question.


“Oh, it was one of those last minute things,” she said, not really certain whether she was glad to see him. Or that he had seen her, would be a more accurate way of putting it.


Since she’d met Umar, her sense that she and Kunle weren’t on their way into a serious relationship had pretty well evolved into a feeling of certainty.


Not that she was an expert when it came to the man-woman thing. Her own mother would be the first to attest to that.


But surely, if Kunle was Mr. Right or even Mr. Right-for-the-Moment, the merest glimpse of Umar shouldn’t make her heartbeat accelerate the way it did.


However, she’d just as soon avoid hurting Kunle’s feelings. And telling him that she was in town with another man, even if she explained the circumstances…


Attempting to sidetrack him, she said, “But what are you doing in Benin? You are supposed to be in Garki.”


“Hey, even agents are allowed to go on a vacation. And there are nice spots here. You changed the subject, though. How come you are in Benin?”


Rats. She should have known he wouldn’t forget about his question. SSS trained their people better than that.


“Actually, I’m baby-sitting,” she said. “A friend is speaking at a conference here, and he suddenly needed someone to come along and watch his little girl while he was tied up.”


“A friend?”


The appraising look Kunle gave her made her wonder if he was more fond of her than she’d realized. But since that wasn’t something she wanted to get into, she simply turned toward the bench, saying, “His daughter’s name is Zara and she’s sitting just over there.”


Only she wasn’t. She was nowhere in sight.

To be continued on Friday...

http://lolaville.com/2016/02/24/finding-zara-episode-7/

Omolola1:
Episode 7

To be continued on Friday...

http://lolaville.com/2016/02/24/finding-zara-episode-7/

I hope so

Interesting,keep it coming.

Missmossy:
Interesting,keep it coming.

more than interesting....fingers crossed.

Episode 8

Telling herself the girl couldn’t have gone far, Fola tried to ignore the shiver of uneasiness she felt and said, “She’s taken off. I’d better find her.”

“I’ll help.”Kunle volunteered. “Describe her. "

“She’s nine. Cute. With long dark hair pulled back in a ponytail. And she is wearing a red T-shirt and denim shorts.”

“Shouldn’t be hard to sport.” Kunle said.

Fola sincerely hoped he was right, but Zara could have darted away to a hundred different places. They headed over to the bench and looked carefully in all directions. When neither of them spotted the girl, Fola felt a twinge of panic. And she never panicked. She stepped up onto the bench, but even from that vantage point she couldn’t see Zara.

“She’s nowhere,” she said, hearing that the panic had crept into her voice.

“All right. Don’t worry. “ Kunle said. “She has to be around somewhere. So we should head in opposite directions, and if I find her…”

“No, she will know better than to talk to a strange man. You’d only frighten her.”

“Then we will stick together. Which way do you think she would have gone?”

“I’m not sure. We came from that direction, so she’d probably head where we hadn’t been yet. Unless…she was looking at a bear in a window back there and ___”

She stopped midsentence and swore under her breath when her phone started ringing. Then she began to pray it wasn’t Umar calling. But this was about when he said he would call, so who else was it likely to be? She dug the phone out of her purse and answered it.

“Fola, it’s Umar.”

She silently swore again, vaguely aware that she wouldn’t have been sure it was him if he hadn’t told her. He hadn’t sounded quite like himself.

“Fola, is Zara with you?”

“Well…yes, of course.”

“She’s right there? You can see her?”

“Ah..not exactly. I mean, I could see her a minute ago, but..”

“Oh, God,” he whispered.

“Umar, we are in the marketplace. And she wandered off like you warned me she might that’s all. She…”

“No! Fola, someone’s got her! He just phoned and told me!”

“What?” she whispered.

“Someone has her!”

Every thought in her head vaporized into a white hot surge of horror. Then the panic was back, not a mere twinge this time, but so strong it threatened to swamp her. She couldn’t let it. She had to deal with this.

“Umar, listen,” she said as calmly as she could. “Zara’s been gone no time at all. Really. Not long enough for them to even have gotten out of the building. “

Oh, Lord, she prayed that was true.

“And there are always police officers around here, so…”

“No! No police.”

“What? But that…”

“No police! It would be the worst move you could make. This isn’t a straightforward…Fola, it’s complicated and there’s no time to explain now. But if I involve the police the guy would kill her.”

“What?” she said again. This was so ghastly she almost couldn’t believe it was happening.

“Don’t say anything to anyone.”Umar was telling her. “Understand?”

“Yes, but…”

“Just start looking for her. Don’t do anything else. I will be there as soon as I can. Twenty minutes. Tell me where to meet you in twenty minutes. Someplace I can find easily.”

Forcing herself to think outside the box of fear surrounding her, she said, “the front door of the smallest building. The one with the grasshopper weather vane on top, and I’ll have her by then, Umar.” He clicked off without another word, leaving her feeling sick and frantic. What if she didn’t have Zara by then? What if they never saw her again?

“Okay, fill me in.”Kunle demanded.

Don’t say anything to anyone, Umar had said. But how could she not tell Kunle when he’d already heard her side of the conversation? And when he could help? She took a deep breath and exhaled. It had almost zero calming effect, but she managed to say, “Someone has taken Zara.”

“What?”

“In that few minutes I wasn’t watching her. While I was getting the ice cream and talking to you. Then he called her father’s phone and said he had her. Kunle, we’ve got to find her.”

“Do you have a gun?”

“Well, it’s back in Garki.”

“Well, I do, so we will stick together. Let’s go.”

As they started off, half running, scanning the crowd, Kunle fished a phone from his pocket.

“What are you doing?”

“Calling the police.”

“No! You can’t.”

“Fola, don’t be ridiculous.”’

“I’m not! He said…”

She took another deep breath, hoping to regain more self-control. “Zara’s father told me not to bring the police into this,” she explained,still moving fast and trying to see everything and everyone around them. “The guy said he would kill her if he did.”

“Look, Fola, abductors always say that. But the sooner the police are in on it the more likely they will find her.”

“No!” she said so sharply that people turned toward them as they hurried past.

“This isn’t…Kunle, I don’t know exactly what is going on. There was staff Zara’s father didn’t take time to tell me. But we can’t do anything except search for her until he arrives. That much I got. Loud and clear.” Kunle obviously didn’t think that was a good plan, but he stuck his phone back into his pocket and they continued on, her terror growing with each passing moment.

“How did this guy know the father’s number?” Kunle said after a few seconds.

She glanced at him. She was so upset she hadn’t even wondered about that. But ofcourse, she wasn’t a secret agent.

“Did the girl tell him?” he asked. “Or did whoever grab her already have it, in which case this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment thing. It would mean she was targeted.”

“I don’t know.”Fola said, both her heart and her head pounding. All she knew was that either way, it was her fault that Zara was gone. And that she’d never be able to live with herself if Umar didn’t get his daughter back safely.

*******************************************************

UMAR TOSSED a handful of bills through the open divided, then bolted from the taxi and took off running for the building’s entrance. The traffic had been torturously slow, barely crawling by the time they’d reached the market place. But during the entire trip he’d clung to the hope that Fola had found Zara, despite being virtually certain she’d have called him if she had. The slim hope vanished when he spotted Zara standing outside the front door. Alone.

His heart sank to the pit of his stomach and his entire body turned to ice. His worst fear was now reality. He could no longer even try to deny it. Fola started toward him, her face a portrait of fear and remorse. But what good was regret after the fact? And how could she possibly have let this happen?

“ I’m so sorry,” she murmured as she reached him. “I know that can’t be any consolation at all, but…

“Oh, Umar, if you pulled a gun and shot me dead, I wouldn’t blame you. I think I’d even welcome it.”

He said nothing. He couldn’t let himself respond to that when, deep down at gut level, the prospect of murdering her was far from repugnant.

Had he really spent an entire week unable to think straight because of this woman? That seemed totally unbelievable when, at the moment, merely looking at her was like twisting a knife into his heart. He’d trusted her with the most important person in his life, and now Zara was…

Which made trusting Fola the worst thing he could have done. And as painful as it was to admit, that made what had happened his fault as well as hers. If he’d left Zara at home with his neighbor, the way he should have…Or if he’d told Fola that his daughter might be in danger and why…

All he’d been trying to do was spare both of them a tough conversation. It had been a terrible mistake, though. Now he just had to pray it didn’t prove a deadly one.

“Umar?” she said.

He forced himself to look at her again, but before she had time to say anything more, a man appeared at her side and she focused on him. When he shook his head, she pressed her lips together for a second, and then said, “Umar, this is Kunle Adeshakin. He was still in there searching for Zara, but…

“He’s a friend,” she continued just as Umar was going to ask how this Adeshakin even knew about Zara.

“We ran into each other only seconds before I realized that Zara had disappeared. And I know you told me not to say anything to anyone, but he was standing right there when you phoned, so…

“At any rate, he helped me try to find her.”

Umar managed to string together enough coherent words to thank Adeshakin. Then he was at a loss about where to go from there.

Raking his fingers through his hair, he did his best to stop his mind from racing and get his emotions under some semblance of control. His best wasn’t much, though.

Usually, he was good in a crisis situation, but not today. For three long years, he’d lived with the knowledge that something like this could happen. He’d conjured up a thousand awful variations of exactly what evil might befall Zara, and had planned how to deal with each and every possibility. Yet now that the unspeakable had happened, a sense of helplessness had him by the throat. Helplessness so overpowering that he felt as if all the connections in his brain had been unplugged. He’d tried so hard to keep his daughter safe, but he hadn’t succeeded. As a result, she was in the hands of some monster.

“Umar?” Fola said. “Please, tell us exactly what is going on. Explain what you didn’t have time to when you called. If you fill us in, we’ll be able to help.”

Help? The last thing he wanted was her help. He wanted nothing more to do with her. Wished he’d never laid eyes on her. If he hadn’t enrolled in her stupid driving course, if he hadn’t gone along with the idea of her taking care of Zara…

Some care she’d taken.

“Oh, Lord,” she murmured. “I know you must be wishing I’d just drop off the face of the earth, but you have to let me help you get Zara back.”

“Look, Umar,” Kunle said, “I’m a special agent with the SSS. I’ve been trained in dealing with kidnappers. So…

“Well, Fola told me that whoever has Zara warned you against involving the authorities. But that’s something I think we should discuss.”

“Kunle, this isn’t-“ He stopped there. Discussion was futile, so he simply said, “There’s no point getting into details. The bottom line is I can’t involve authorities of any kind. Period.”

“Okay. I hear you. But let’s just-“

“No. I can’t handle it that way.”

Kunle eyed him for a moment, his expression unreadable.

“In that case I can’t help you,” he finally said. “Not officially. But unofficially…”

Once again, Umar tried to get his brain fully into gear. He might not want Fola’s help, but he could definitely use someone’s. Kunle Adeshakin was a total stranger, though. Plus, he was Fola’s friend. So since she’d turned out to be unreliable…

“You know,” Kunle said quietly, “I think you’re in shock. And that talking to us about this might help you pull out of it.”

Would it? He wasn’t sure. But if Kunle had been trained to deal with kidnappers, didn’t that make talking to him a good idea? Only then Fola would hang in, too.

He was starting to think in circles again, and he had to focus on what was most important. He could worry about getting rid of Fola later. Right mow, nothing in the world mattered except finding Zara. Because if he didn’t find her…

He warned himself not to go there. Negative thinking wouldn’t help. Besides, he would get her back. He just wasn’t confident he could do it alone. He wasn’t even…

No matter how badly he wanted to stay positive, in truth he wasn’t even confident he could do it with help. The old saying about two heads being better than one whispered in his ear, at the same time that Kunle was asking whether, when the kidnapper had phoned, there’d been a number on the caller ID screen. Umar shook his head “There was the caller ID blocked message,” he said, half surprised he remembered noticing that. His brain definitely wasn’t working on all six cylinders.


“So he was probably using a phone,” Kunle muttered. “I wish all the criminals in the criminals weren’t onto that trick. When they used pay phones, even if they cut the call short a trace would sometimes at least narrow the location down to a neighbourhood.

“But did your guy make any demands?”

“Uh-huh. He didn’t say much more than that he had my daughter. And that she hadn’t been harmed.”

“Thank heavens,” Fola murmured.

“That’s what he said.”

Fola made a little noise in her throat, but he didn’t look at her.

“The next time he calls, make him put Zara on the phone,” Kunle advised. “That way we will be certain she’s okay. And ask her some questions.

“He’ll probably be listening in and cut you off, but it’s worth a try. Maybe he is not so smart. And any clue about where he has her would be a starting place.”

“Right.” If his head had been working properly he’d have done all that the first time.

“He said he will get back to me in an hour or so. Tell me then what he wants me to do.”

Glancing at his watch, he saw that an hour or so had become less than half an hour or so.

“Do?” Kunle repeated. “You mean you don’t think he’s just after ransom money?”

“No. That won’t be it.”

When Kunle eyed him curiously, he said, “Trust me. It won’t be money he’s after. But until he calls again…”

“While you’re waiting,” Kunle said, “you could take Fola’s suggestion and fill us in. Unless we know what’s going on, we’ll have a hard time coming up with any good ideas.”

Okay. Shock or no shock, he had to stop vacillating. Which way was he going to jump?

He rapidly considered the question, then said, “Yeah. Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Let’s find somewhere quiet to talk.”

To be continued on Monday

Woza! We get to read new episodes. BTW, did you bail out on me?

agrovick:
Woza! We get to read new episodes.
BTW, did you bail out on me?

Lol
I didn't

Omolola1:

Lol I didn't

Alrightie, it will be nice to have you back

Episode 9

THE THREE OF THEM ended up in an almost deserted restaurant, sitting, with three coffees, at a little table in the back.
Fola hadn’t opened her mouth since they’d left the marketplace, afraid that if she said anything it would be the wrong thing, because all she could think about was the excruciating pain she could see Umar was in, and that wherever Zara was, whatever was happening, she had to be absolutely terrified.

Swallowing hard, she wondered yet again how she could conceivably have let something so horrendous happen. It went without saying that if there was any way in the world she could undo what she’d done, she would.

But there wasn’t. The only thing she could do now was try to help. Yet she was growing more and more afraid that Umar had changed his mind, and that he wasn’t going to confide in them afterall. And if he didn’t…

She began willing Kunle to think of something to say that would make Umar start talking. Unfortunately, though, he was a lot better when it came to talking about himself than getting other people to talk about themselves. Just as she was starting to feel a sense of desperation, Umar cleared his throat.
Her gaze flashed to him.

“All right, here is the deal,” he said, “Someone took Zara as a way of getting revenge against me.”
Fola exhaled slowly. His voice was still on the shaky side, but he sounded a whole lot more together than he had fifteen minutes ago.
“Revenge for what?” Kunle asked.
Umar shook his head. “I don’t know. Not exactly.”
“But more or less?” she prompted when he paused.
He didn’t so much as glance her way, making her feel even worse, which she wouldn’t have believed was possible.
“I have several ideas,” he finally continued. “That’s the problem. There are any number of people who…”
He paused once more, then looked across the table at Kunle and said, “I’d better start at the beginning.

“I’m a lawyer. And I went straight from law school to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Due to my intelligence, they had me in the courtoom within weeks. And I turned out to be a very good prosecutor.
“That meant I got assigned higher and tougher cases, until I was prosecuting the “Danladi brothers”, the ones who were very well connected, they almost never got caught. Only I managed to ensure that a fair number of them were.”
“You’re talking organized crime,” Kunle said.
“For the most part. I made a lot of enemies that smart people wouldn’t want to make. Enemies who swore revenge.”
“but you told yourself those sorts of threats were watery,” Kunle said.
“Exactly. Basically, I laughed them off. I was pretty cocky in those days. Young and invisible. I figured nobody was actually going to hurt Umar Bello.
“And no one did. Not directly. But…”
Fola waited, telling herself she wouldn’t say a word this time.
Then, after the silence had stretched for so long that she felt certain he was never going to complete his sentence, she heard herself whisper, “But?”
Umar stared at the table for an eternity before he said, “But they killed my wife.”

*******************************************************
UMAR HAD BEEN FORCED to recount the story so often that he’d pared it down to the basics. That way, it didn’t hurt as much in the telling. Today, however, he knew it would hurt like hell. Having to talk about what happened always brought back the horror of it. And this time…
With Zara gone he was at a level of reality he’d prayed he’d never reach.
There wasn’t the slightest doubt in his mind that the same man who’d murdered his wife now had his daughter. And if Zara ended up dead it would kill him, as well.
But she wasn’t going to end up dead. She just couldn’t.

Not taking his gaze from the table, he made himself begin.
“It happened a little more than three years ago,” he said.
“My wife’s name was Havilah, and we both worked in Abuja.
“We had irregular hours, which meant we needed two cars. And the day it happened…
“Havilah was leaving early. I was supposed to drop Zara off at school. So the two of us were still in the house when Havilah left.
“Zara was slow over breakfast. I was trying to get her to hurry up. And then…”
He had to pause. This was the hardest part.
“There was an explosion,” he went on at last. “I rushed to the front of the house and…it was Havilah’s car. Someone had planted a bomb in it.”
“Oh, Lord,”Fola murmured.
“I thought, well, the only reason that made any sense…It had to be related to one of the cases I’d prosecuted. And at first I figured they had a mistake, that he’d mistaken Havilah’s car for mine. “Then a few days later after her funeral, I got an anonymous letter explaining what he was up to.
“He said that just killing me wouldn’t be good enough. That he hoped I lived to be a hundred, because he intended to make the rest of my life a living hell.
“Murdering Havilah was only the beginning, he said. From then on, terrible things were going to happen to anyone I ever loved.”
“Oh, Lord,” Fola murmured again. But why on earth hadn’t he told her this before?
She’d assumed he was overprotective, when in reality…

If she’d known why he actually worried so much about Zara, she wouldn’t have taken her eyes off the little girl for a second. She had, though. Regardless of what she’d known or not known, it was her fault Zara was gone. And every time that fact pounded itself against the inside of her head she wanted to cry.
“The note didn’t give the police any leads?” Kunle was asking.
“No, not really. I mean, the most obvious people were the ones who’d openly threatened me with revenge. So they interviewed all of them. As well as their associates. But the authorities couldn’t find hard evidence pointing at anyone.
“And when it became clear the case would probably remain unsolved, I had to decide what I was going to do. How I was going to keep Zara safe.
“I considered creating a new identity for myself, but if a major crime figure is serious about tracking somebody down it really isn’t very hard.
“So rather than give up my profession and cut myself entirely off from my family and friends, I opted for a low profile and an ultracareful lifestyle, and hoped the guy would eventually decide that killing Havilah had been enough.
“I left my job in Abuja, took a lecturing position at Lagos Law School and University of Lagos. I relocated to Lagos,” he added, remembering that Kunle didn’t know some of the things about him, Fola did.

“It wasn’t a hard move to make?” Kunle said.
“Well, getting the job wasn’t hard. I’d been an assistant lecturer all through university, so I’d had exposure to working with students. Plus, I had great real-life experience and good references.
“At any rate, I moved to Lagos and hired a bodyguard for Zara.”
“Lillian?” Fola asked.
“Yes. As far as Zara knows, Lillian is just the woman who helps look after her. I figured I would wait until she was older to explain, but…”
Fola knew why his words had trailed off. He was terrified that now Zara might not get older.
That made her want to cry, too.

Next episode on Friday...

http://lolaville.com/2016/02/29/finding-zara-episode-9/

Wow, I love the story. You're a great author! Can't wait to read more

Episode 10
FOLA took another sip of her now-cold coffee thinking that if the tension at their table grew any thicker none of them would be able to breathe. A good fifteen or twenty minutes had passed since Umar had finished telling her and Kunle about some of the other precautions he’d taken, installing an alarm system, getting his big dog, sending Zara to a private school and doing RMI courses whenever he had time off from teaching.

At this point, the conversation had run down and they were simply waiting for the kidnapper to call again. Waiting and worrying. She felt positively sick with fear. For Umar, this had to be pure torture. And she was the one responsible for it. Swallowing hard, she snuck another peek at him. The lines of anxiety etched into his forehead appeared even deeper than they had the last time she’d checked.

“Umar?” Kunle said, breaking the silence.

The sound of his voice had almost made her jump, telling her that, as impossible as it seemed, she was even more on edge that she’d realized.
“You have no idea what this guy could want if it’s not money?” Kunle continued.
She looked at Umar once more, waiting to see whether he’d have an answer this time.
Kunle had posed the question before. Slightly different phraseology, but the same basic question. And Umar’s only response had been to shake his head.
When he did the same thing again, her gut feeling was that he really didn’t have any clue what the demands might be. But sooner or later they were going to find out.

Assuming the man did phone back. Assuming his plan wasn’t to torment Umar by saying he would and then not following through.
Oh, Lord, she desperately hoped that wasn’t it. If Zara didn’t come out of this okay…
Fola was trying not to imagine all the horrible things people could do to children, when Umar’s phone rang.
“Umar Bello,” he answered, his voice sounding almost, although not quite, normal.
He nodded that it was the call they’d been expecting and said, “No, wait. Before you tell me anything I want to talk to my daughter. Unless I’m sure she’s all right, we have nothing to discuss.”
Seconds dragged by, then he finally said, “Zara, honey, are you okay?”

That wanting-to-cry feeling swept through Fola yet again, twice as strong as it had been the previous times.
“Oh, baby. I know you are scared,” Umar said. “But are you all right? Nobody has hurt you?”
She held her breath until he said. “That’s good, darling. And this lady? Is she nice?”

Please let her be nice. Whoever she is.

“That’s good,” he said once more.

Thank heavens.

“Zara, listen, you will be fine. I promise. And I’m going to get you back here with me just as soon as I can. But right now I have to ask you a few questions. And you answer with a yes or no. Don’t say anything else, understand?
“Good. Now, are you in a house?
“No? In an apartment, then?
“Okay, good. And when the man made you go with him, was it a long drive to where you are?
“Yes. Does that mean you think it was more than half an hour?
“No? Less, then. Okay, terrific. Now…Zara? …
Dammit, will you put her back on so I can finish what I was saying?”
The kidnapper apparently ignored that, and Fola sat gazing at Umar as he listened to whatever the man was telling him.

He looked as if the stress of the past couple of hours had totally drained him, leaving him operating on adrenaline and nothing else, which made her desperately wish she could think of some way to make him feel even a little better. But nothing was going to make him feel better except getting his daughter back, so she had to do everything in her power to help ensure he did.
If he let her, that is. If he didn’t decide that having her around was more than he could bear. She knew he had to hate her for what had happened, although it couldn’t be any more than she hated herself. She was positively consumed with guilt.

“I can’t do that,” he said at last. “There’s just no conceivable way.”
Her throat went dry. If it would mean Zara’s return, he had to do whatever the kidnapper wanted. No matter what it was.
But if he really couldn’t…
“Okay, then,” he eventually said. “Here’s the deal. I’m not sure I will even consider it, but I will give it a try, on one condition. As long as you have Zara, I talk to her everyday.
“I don’t hear from you by nine o’clock and I will assume the worst. Then every police in the country will be looking for you.”

There was a brief pause before he said, “Of course I know what you mean about keeping my mouth shut forever. And what you will do if I don’t.
“So. We’re agreed, then. I’ll…
“Gone.” He clicked the phone off and set it on the table.
“But you did well,” Kunle told him.
“Only because the guy must not have been listening in.”
“The reason doesn’t matter. And from your side of the conversation, I gather she is in an apartment within half of hour from here?”
“Yeah. Some woman’s place.”
“That’s good,” Kunle said. “I know how far half an hour takes you, so we can draw a circle on the map. It won’t get us close to pinpointing the location, but it will be a start.”
Umar nodded. “The woman must be his girlfriend. Or…oh, she could be anyone, for all I know.”
“Whoever she is,” Fola said gently, “Zara probably won’t be quite as frightened with a woman there.”
“I hope not. She sounded awfully scared, though. She was managing not to cry.”

Fola had no idea what else to say, and she resisted the urge to reach across the table and rest her hand on his. She was positive he wouldn’t appreciate any
gesture of reassurance from her.
“What does he want you to do?” Kunle said.
After a moment or two of silence, Kunle said, “I can’t tell you.”
“What do you mean?” Kunle asked, more than a touch of annoyance in his tone.
“I mean, look, thanks a lot for the help you’ve already given me. But I have to handle the rest of this on my own.”
Without another word, Umar rose and headed off.

As Fola watched him walk away there was no doubt in her mind that she was going after him. She couldn’t not, regardless of how much he wouldn’t want her to.
“Pretty rough,” Kunle said quietly. “But I guess there is nothing more we can do. So…are you up to lunch? We could stay here or go somewhere better.”

She forced her gaze from Umar and simply stared at Kunle, wondering how he could possibly have gone from concerned to cavalier in mere seconds. Just the thought of food had started her stomach churning. Of course, he was probably insulted that Umar had refused to confide in him. But even so, how shallow could someone be?
“I didn’t mean to sound as if I don’t care,” he said, his expression guilty. “I do. But when someone flat out turns down an offer of…”
“Kunle, I have to help him,” she said, pushing back her chair.
He shook his head. “You can’t force help on someone, you know.”
“Well, I am going to try.” She rose from the table and started for the door.
“Fola?” Kunle called after her.
She paused and glanced back.
“Look, I care how this turns out. Really. So call if he changes his mind. If there is any way I can help.”

To be continued on Monday

y am i suspecting kunle already?? nice story

Omolola1, this is a great piece but please be consistent with your updates. Its been 19 days since you last updated. On the other hand, I don't knw what's happening @ ur end. I can only hope all is well. Looking forward to another sizzling episode.

I love this.