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Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun - Literature (4) - Nairaland

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Black Maria 5 - Retribution (The Final Book) / Black Maria 4 (Nemesis) / "No Pleasure For Dead Girls" A Story By Mancrimes.. (2) (3) (4)

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Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Fazemood(m): 9:37am On Nov 05, 2019
king larrysun
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by francium001: 6:25pm On Nov 05, 2019
Black the Black, the brain guy, Larrysun keep it up. Thanks for the update
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Eddyella(f): 7:36pm On Nov 05, 2019
Just came across this today.
I must really commend u Mr Larrysun,u re a good writer.
More wisdom nd more ink 2 ur pen..
Kontiniu d good work Oga Larry.I dey 4low u bumper 2 bumper like kilode!!!
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by sparta191(m): 9:54pm On Nov 08, 2019
[quote author=LarrySun
I salute you, the chinua achebe of naira Land literature. baba u too much. i can almost visualize every and anything you're talking about through my mind eye.
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 11:50pm On Nov 10, 2019

Update 5

II

Peter held Maria’s hand as they disembarked from the bus. He knew how tired the girl was and he would have loved that they spent more time resting in the bus as it transported them across the cities of Lagos but he knew how unsafe that would be for both of them. One thing he was certain abut was that Basket must have memorised the license plate number of the vehicle; and the police had a way of locating marked vehicles.

It was already dark at this time and there was little chance that the bus would be found out so soon in this night but Peter was not willing to take that chance. Besides, if he knew Basket very well in the past, policemen would be waiting for the bus at the final bus-stop. To avoid that, they had to find another vehicle.

Lagos was a city that never slept; although it was very dark, people still went about their normal day-to-day activities. People walked up and down the roads, traders still displayed their wares; indeed, some were just beginning to set up their shops – these ones had goods that sold mostly at nights. Peter never left Maria’s hand as they strolled past the throng of a thousand different pedestrians to locate the vehicle that would transport them somewhere a lot safer. They found a taxi and hailed it.

“Where are we going?” Maria asked Peter as soon as they stepped into the car.

“First and foremost, we need to get away from here,” replied Black, “Then we find a good hotel to lodge in for the night.”

He saw her gasp in shock.

“Hotel?” she asked incredulously.

Peter grinned at her. “Get your filthy mind off the gutter. I’m not going to do anything to you except dress your wound. That thing needs to be treated fast.”

“You get your dirty mind a bath,” she returned. “I’m not worried about what you would do. We can’t go to a hotel.”

“Why not?”

“Officer JB will find us! Has that not occurred to you?”

Peter shook his head. “I doubt it. That’s not possible. Do you know how many hotels we have in Lagos alone? There’s no way he would possibly find us.”

Maria stared at him. “You really don’t know him as you claim to. If he could find me where I lived, then there’s no way he won’t find us in a hotel room.”

“He won’t.”

“We need somewhere more secure.”

“Where do you suggest? A church?”

“Oh, don’t be silly!” she punched him in the shoulder, “Don’t you have a home?”

Peter was silent for a short time. He was trying to process the question. His home. Would it be a wise decision to take this girl to his place? He had never brought anyone to his home. Since his encounter with Rhoda in Port-Harcourt, he had learnt his lesson. He had almost got caught because Rhoda knew where he lived she had been used to bring him down but he had narrowly escaped. Since that moment, he had sworn never to allow anyone know where he lived. Now this girl, a girl he had just met today, was asking him to take her to his home. It was dangerous. It would be silly of him if he did; he would be going against his own principle if he did, and he might pay dearly for it. The right thing to do was take her to a hotel, but she had disapproved of that due to her own reason, which seemed justified.

“Why are you suddenly silent?”

“I don’t think taking you to my apartment is a good idea.”

“Why do you think so?”

“I’d be exposing myself to a lot of risks if I did.”

“But that’s the safest place for now,” Then she suddenly paused. She held her head gingerly in one hand.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s the headache again.”

Without thinking further, Peter gave the taxi-driver the address of his home.

“Please drive as fast as you can, I’ll double your payment.”

“I’m so tired,” said Maria, “I feel dizzy. I just want to rest.”

“Careful, don’t rest your head against the seat.” He wanted to tell her to rest her head on his shoulder but he didn’t know how to say it. He didn’t want to sound to her like he was trying to take advantage of her. But before he would even say the thought out, he felt the girl’s head against his right shoulder. The next thing he felt was the warmth; she was burning up.

“You have fever, Maria.”

“I’ll be fine. I just need to rest. Don’t worry about me, Peter.”

But Black was worried. The girl was in a lot of pains; she was only trying not to show it. She had exerted herself too much from running from Basket. She was not supposed to be running in her condition. Now she was not only bleeding from her wound, her illness had also returned. As they travelled in silence, Peter swore he was going to make her well again. He would heal her wound and then treat her fever.

By the time the car stopped in front of Peter’s apartment, Maria was already asleep on his shoulder. He tapped her gently.

“We’re there, Maria,” he spoke gently.

He guided her out of the car and held her firmly to prevent her from falling off. He could see that she was very weak now; she could not walk any further distance. He paid the driver, watched him drive away and disappear from the road before he took the girl to his particular apartment. He had to be very careful, and he ensured that nobody saw them as he took her in.

Peter Black’s apartment was a two-room self-contained bungalow among other apartments of the same design. He turned on the lights as he guided the girl into the living room. He made her sit in the sofa, locked the door behind them and went to the bathroom to get some water. He proceeded to the store cabinet and got some aspirin. Maria was half-asleep by the time he returned to the living room.

“Lie on my legs, Maria,” he told her as he sat beside her.

The girl looked into his eyes before she obliged him. He gently pulled her hair away to reveal the wound more clearly; it was gory to look at, but he was going to take good care of it. Firstly, Peter cleaned the wound with the napkin and the water he had provided. Then he continued to dab it with the hydrogen peroxide he had purchased from the pharmacy. When he was satisfied that the wound had been cleaned right, he applied a healing ointment and the drugs Maria had told him to buy. Finally, he bandaged the wound very carefully. He was certain that the wound would heal up within a week if he continued cleaning it and changing the bandages. But he doubted if Maria would want to stay that long with him, or if Basket would not discover them before that time. He looked at the girl lying on his laps and he felt tears welling up his eyes. She was suffering too much. He wished he had known her earlier; he would have protected her against any harm. He pulled a strand of hair away from her face and listened to her laboured breathing as she slept.

He gently rested her head on the sofa as he rose up and went to the kitchen. He made a quick meal of rice and stew within half an hour. He returned to the living room with a steaming plate of the food. Then he tapped Maria awake.

“Sit up, Maria, it’s time to eat.”

“I want to sleep,” she spoke groggily.

“I know, but you need to eat and take some medicines.”

“I have no appetite.”

“Just try to eat as little as you can. Your temperature is increasing; you have to eat something and take some drugs.”

She reluctantly sat up and collected the food from him. Peter watched her as she ate the food slowly. She was chewing deliberately and steadily.

“Aren’t you going to eat too?”

Peter smiled. “Don’t worry about me. There’s more food in the kitchen for me. You just eat to your fill.”

She paused and said, “Take a bite with me.”

“The food is for you.”

“I can’t finish it.”

“Just eat as much as you can.”

She scooped a spoonful of rice and brought it to Peter’s face. “Here, take it.”

Peter looked in her face and a smile crossed his lips. He opened his mouth and Maria fed him. She gave him another spoonful and he accepted it. Then another, and another. Black was wise enough to know that what she was doing had nothing to do with romance; she was only worried that he was trying to starve himself because of that, and she would not have that, so she decided to feed him. Her intentions were far from any form of intimacy but he liked her gesture all the same. At least, she cared about him; it might not be as much as he cared about her but it was something. Love is sweetest when it’s requited; an unrequited love is a torturous feeling, especially when you discover that the one you genuinely love is in love with another person – even more painful when that person she’s in love with does not share her feelings. In this case, however, things seemed to work for him, although he wasn’t entirely sure. He knew nothing about this girl’s past except what she had decided to tell him. What if she was in love with someone else in her past? What if that person was still around somewhere wondering where she was? Peter was beginning to feel insecure and he didn’t like this feeling. He was scared, scared of losing her to someone else.

He knew there was nothing he could do about it if Maria was in love with someone else. It was just something he would not be able to control. If she had eyes for any other man, then he had lost her already. He knew how the mind of a woman worked. If they loved a man, nothing in this world could take their affections away from that man. Experience had taught him so much in that discipline; Rhoda Gold had done everything she could to have him to herself, but unfortunately, he didn’t share the same kind of love she had for him, and everything had ended in disaster.

Somehow, he felt that everything that had happened to him so far, what had brought him here to this moment, was as a result of the unrequited love between him and Rhoda Gold. Although Rhoda was no longer here, she had been responsible for everything that had happened to him, to Basket, and even to Maria. It was a kaleidoscope, it was a butterfly effect. The decisions the three of them had made about a decade earlier had somehow resulted in what this girl, Maria, was going through. He knew how hard it was to explain but he believed strongly in it. The resultant effect of him, Rhoda and Basket had affected Maria’s life. It had caused her to be jailed, it had resulted in the injury she had, it had cost her the freedom she deserved, it had made her a fugitive. If that was not the case, how did Basket suddenly enter the case after five years of both of them losing touch? How come Basket was willing to arrest Maria whereas he was ready to save her? Everything was connected, he believed.

“You’re not eating enough,” said Peter. He took the plate of food from her and began to feed her.

A few spoonfuls later, Maria shook her head and refused to accept more. Peter did not force her to take any further as his mother always begged him to do whenever he was sick as a child. Instead, he gave her the aspirin and some other drugs to take. After making sure she took the drugs, left her to lie back on the sofa as he went to the bathroom to have his bath.
After a few minutes, he returned to the living room and gently tapped her awake again. Without any explanation, he took her by the hand again and led her into the bedroom; she did not resist him.

He laid her on the bed and pulled the sheet over her body. He would have preferred that she had her bath but he knew how terribly weak she was. The following morning when her strength returned, she would have a thorough bath. Right now, the most important thing for her was to have enough rest. He grabbed a second blanket, turned off the light and returned to the living room. He laid on the sofa and covered himself. It was not long before he slept off too.

***

Maria woke before him the following morning; and by the time Peter rose from the sofa, the girl had already taken her bath. She had regained her strength. He found her in the bedroom dressing her own wound herself.

“Good morning, sunshine,” she greeted as he stepped into the room. “Help me with this bandage, will you?”

Peter smiled. Truly, this was a very strong girl. It was almost unbelievable that this was the same girl who was dying last night.

“How are you feeling now?”

“I feel a lot better,” she replied, “I feel safe.”

“Are you strong enough to go out?”

She stared at him. “Where are we going?”

“You need a change of clothes.”

“I don’t want to expose myself,. You know I’m wanted. Every police officer out there will be searching for me. They will want to take me back to prison.” she said, “Why don’t you get it instead?”

He nodded. She made sense. If she went out now, people would notice her, especially considering the conspicuous bandage wrapped around her head.

“What kind of dress would you like?”

She smiled at him. “I’ll wear anything you buy.”

“I’ll be back as soon as possible. Lock the door as soon as I step out. Don’t answer anyone who is not me, okay?”

“Okay. Please don’t stay too long. I’ll be worried.”

“I won’t.”

Peter left the house. He was dressed in a flannel shirt, a face cap and jeans trousers. He wore a pair of black shoes to match the black spectacles that shielded his eyes. He did not go to the boutique immediately. Instead, he returned to the spot of chase the previous day. He was very careful. He walked to the spot he had parked his car when he was trying to get away from Basket. He wasn’t trying to get it back, he just wanted to know what had become of it. The car was no longer there; he knew exactly what had happened. Basket had had the car taken to the police station. They would take it apart and try to find anything that would lead them to Peter. Black was not worried about this; he knew they were never going to find anything.

He bought the clothes and returned home. He knew exactly what he was going to do next. Maria had already prepared breakfast when he returned. She made yam and egg sauce. Then she fried plantain to go with it.

Before the meal, Peter allowed her to wear the clothes he bought her. They all looked perfect on her; she looked stunning, and every time she returned to the living room to ask him how she looked, he was always speechless by her beauty. He wanted to tell her how he felt about her but the fear of rejection held his tongue in place.

“Now what next?” Maria asked as they sat behind their meals.

“How do you mean?” asked Black as he shoveled a forkful of yam into his mouth.

“What do we do next? How do we totally get Officer JB off our back?”

“I’ve not come up with a solution yet. What do you suggest?”

“Let’s leave Lagos for good. We’ll be safe in a faraway state.”

Peter shook his head. “No, that won’t work. Basky is determined; he will chase us to the end of the earth. No matter where we go, he will find a way to get us. Besides, I can’t just leave like that.”

“Why not?”

“I have a friend I am taking care of.”

“A friend? Where is he?”

“The same hospital you escaped from.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I wish I were,” replied he, ‘He’s an old man I found. He was dying in his home. I had to take him to the hospital. It turned out he had appendicitis and the doctors had to perform an operation on him.”

“Is he still in the hospital?”

“Yes.”

“What about his family members?”

“I don’t know them.”

“But does he have?”

Peter nodded. “He once told me his grand –” he suddenly paused.

“What’s wrong?”

“Tell me, Maria, what ward were you kept in in High Cross Hospital?”

“Ward 37.”

“He was kept in Ward 32, along the same corridor as yours."

“What has that got to do with me?”

“You don’t understand!”

“Please make me do.”

“Old Cargo once told me he met his grandson in the hospital. Although the grandson didn’t recognise him but Old Cargo knew him. Everything is connected now. He told me his grandson had come to check a patient in the hospital. You were that patient he came to check. I didn’t realise it at the time but it’s now very clear to me.”

Maria continued staring at him. “I still don’t understand what you’re talking about.”

“The grandson Old Cargo was telling me about, the same one who didn’t recognise him, was Basket.”

“Basket?”

“The same one you called Officer JB.”

“Wow! What a small world! What are you going to do now?”

“I need to talk to Basket.”

“How are you going to do that?”

He smiled. “Leave everything to me. I now have leverage over my old friend.”

12 Likes

Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Kaycee9242(m): 4:47am On Nov 11, 2019
well done Larry and thanks so much for the update
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LOGOBELT: 7:15am On Nov 11, 2019
Interesting


Meanwhile, is your Laptop faulty? Let's fix it for you. Do you need Laptop Chargers/Adapter or Cables? We sell. Check my signature for contact
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Tolulopefinest(m): 7:43am On Nov 11, 2019
When will Larrysun become a worldwide celebrated writer? He's just too good to be at this level angry.

3 Likes

Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by chioma8(f): 8:06am On Nov 11, 2019
Larrysun, you're too talented..... keep it up.
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by rukidanty: 9:10am On Nov 11, 2019
larrysun..this book never finish since..i stopped reading since you stopped sending me my constant update on WhatsApp even though you are still owing me one episodes I paid for..well nice work
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Vulcanheph(m): 11:24am On Nov 11, 2019
Hooray ! ! ! This story has made it to frontpage.

1 Like

Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by jayman00004(m): 1:08pm On Nov 11, 2019
well done sir , please update in time ooooo
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Aniesko222: 1:31pm On Nov 11, 2019
[color=#000099][/color]Nice story u have here larrysun more Wisdom from God to you
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Ann2012(f): 1:36pm On Nov 11, 2019
Thanks for the update
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by sheyflixy1(m): 5:49pm On Nov 11, 2019
...
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Anigreat: 7:09pm On Nov 11, 2019
shocked






Dear LarrySun


I just want you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to nairaland literature section even outside nairaland.
I have been praying secretly for you, that you have the recognition you deserve in the world of literature, and i will be the happiest person on earth the day that happened.


"A man’s gift opens doors for him, and brings him before great men" This rare gift of yours must open doors for you... This is not my word, but God's word!

16 Likes 1 Share

Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Eddyella(f): 10:49pm On Nov 11, 2019
Nyc write-up Oga Larry.

Xpecting more......
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by queenitee(f): 9:23am On Nov 12, 2019
What a small world!!!
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by indodon(m): 10:28am On Nov 12, 2019
larrysun baba... Man wey sabi ride on
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by Dackrapper(m): 1:50pm On Nov 12, 2019
Larrysun the great! ride on.
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by arfezces: 5:18pm On Nov 12, 2019
Infact I'm speechless, may God bless you.
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 8:19am On Nov 17, 2019
OlufemiWhit:
Wonderful........ Bless up larry
Thank you, boss.
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 8:20am On Nov 17, 2019
jenifer007:
Thank you Professor Larry.....your level of intelligence is undisputed
Thank you, ma'am. I'm just doing what I love. wink
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 8:21am On Nov 17, 2019
arfezces:
Thanks for this update, have been follow this story for so long now, I must say you are such a grate writer, I wish you more wisdom.
Amen. Thank you, sir. smiley
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 8:22am On Nov 17, 2019
Fazemood:
king larrysun
My boss! How have you been? cheesy

1 Like

Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 8:23am On Nov 17, 2019
francium001:
Black the Black, the brain guy, Larrysun keep it up. Thanks for the update
Thank you, sir.
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 8:25am On Nov 17, 2019
Eddyella:
Just came across this today.

I must really commend u Mr Larrysun,u re a good writer.

More wisdom nd more ink 2 ur pen..

Kontiniu d good work Oga Larry.I dey 4low u bumper 2 bumper like kilode!!!
Loooool You've been consistent with me, dear. I appreciate you, ma'am. smiley
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 8:25am On Nov 17, 2019
sparta191:
[quote author=LarrySun
I salute you, the chinua achebe of naira Land literature. baba u too much. i can almost visualize every and anything you're talking about through my mind eye.
Boss, I remain loyal.
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 8:26am On Nov 17, 2019
Kaycee9242:
well done Larry and thanks so much for the update
Thanks for your consistency. smiley
Re: Black Maria: Legends A Story By LarrySun by LarrySun(m): 8:28am On Nov 17, 2019
Tolulopefinest:
When will Larrysun become a worldwide celebrated writer? He's just too good to be at this level angry.
I believe God has a plan. His will be done. Thank you so much, sir.

3 Likes

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