₦airaland Forum

devlishGINGER:
Would rather drop my own contact

BOLAPE:
SHADOWS: #5

Janet Smith sat at the newspaper joint and browsed through the punch, absentmindedly. The baggy black jean shorts and shirt she wore did nothing to hide the fullness of her bust and the curve of her hips. She turned a page and stared straight into the face of her nemesis.
Men argued in loud voices around her. Some nearly came to blows over politics and football. She was oblivious as she looked down at the smiling face which hide a heart that was as black and more devilish than the devil. Chief James Daniels was one of the wealthiest men in the country, he had incredible power and authority.
Her smile was grim as she folded the newspaper and paid for it before leaving the stand. She headed for the bus-stop.
*****
‘Matthew, you can’t believe my purse was picked at Fadeyi bus-stop yesterday.’ Linda told her brother as they engaged in a friendly Table Tennis game at the mini court in their compound. It was a weekend.
‘What were you doing at the bus-stop? What happened to your car?’ His breath came out in short puffs as he ran to keep up with the ball. His sister had always been a great athlete.
‘I was coming from work when my car chooses to break down at that bus-stop. Evening was approaching. I called the mechanic but he was far away. I left the car there and proceeded to take a cab. It was inside the cab that I realised that my purse has been stolen. I spent less than 30 minutes at that bus-stop. It is unbelievable!’ She wasn’t breathing hard as she effortlessly returned her brother’s serve.
‘This is Lagos. Nothing is impossible. How did you pay the cabman?’ His voice was curious as he ran to catch up but his bat missed the flying white ball.
‘Mummy was already home when I arrived. I sent Adam to collect some cash for me. It was so embarrassing.’ She laughed heartily.
‘You had better be more careful in future before they steal you from the bus-stop. You won again!’ He hissed as he dropped the bat and walked out of the court.
‘You are a sour loser!’ She laughed as she followed him out of the court.
*****
“Wow! You chop lucky this evening?’ Roseline whistled through her gaped teeth as her friend emptied the purse she stole from the bus stop.
‘I chop am plenty. Na from one careless rich babe wey stand yakata for bus stop like say na her papa own am. This ATM cards go to Ebele. He fit work am to get more cash.’ Janet picked up the wad of notes, divided it into two equal halves and gave it to her friend.
‘You dash me all?’ Her jaw dropped in shock as she stared down at the raw mints of money in her hand.
‘Babe, we no fit continue this way. Look at us! Sleeping in the same room with six other guys. We get to upgrade. The time don reach.’ Her voice was lowered but Roseline caught the grimness in them.
They were hunkered down in a corner of the room which they shared with six male roommates. Survival was hard. Two guys were arguing over a bowl of Eba and okra in another corner of the room. They ignored them.
‘What is wrong? What are you up to?’ Roseline was speaking in what they termed ‘Serious English’ between them.
‘It is time to move out of this slum. This is the key to our freedom.’ She pulled the rumbled newspaper out of her back pocket and smoothed it out. The smiling face of Chief James Daniels stared back at them. Her fingers trembled and her face tightened into a cold mask.
‘Who is he?’ Roseline’s voice dropped lower still. She took her friend’s cold hands in hers and rubbed it.
‘One day, I will tell you.’ She struggled to firm her voice. ‘I need to see ‘black eye’ first. I can’t do anything without his assistance.’ She met her friend’s worried gaze and winked. Roseline was about to speak when the door opened and she kept her mouth shut.
A short thickset man came in, whose left eyes was covered with a dark patch.
‘Black eye!’ The occupants of the room hailed him.
‘Yo! How una dey? Wey the others?’ He flashed teeth which had gone brown with tobacco, in a grin as he looked around the room. They knew the look. They all came to attention and faced him. ‘Job dey oo. Big money going to private bank. Monday morning. You game?’
‘How we wan take do am? We go meet them for road or na for bank.’ Donald, popularly known as Don rubbed his hands together with glee, the half-eaten eba he was dragging with his roommate, forgotten.
‘Na for inside building go dey better as security go don relax small then. Na so my informat talk sha. I go dey update you as parole dey go.’ He scratched his shin as he met their gazes one by one.
‘Wetin be the name of the bank? Who own am?’ Janet pulled out a rumpled cigarette from her pocket and put it between her lips.
‘Sadona Bank Plc. Na chief James Daniels get better part of it but na the son dey manage am sha. You no am?’ His eyes lit with interest as he noted the frozen shock on her face.
‘Come make I see you.’ She exchanged glances with her friend before rolling to her feet and dragged black eye out of the room.
*****
Mathew Daniels was running late this Monday morning. He had spent the Sunday at a friend’s birthday party where liquor was the only liquid available with finger foods. He was feeling high by the time he got home, close to mid-night. His girlfriend, Charity had let herself into his apartment and was waiting in bed when he staggered into the bedroom. It was a wild night which left him feeling tired and shaky in the morning but he was smiling when he walked into the bank.
An hour later, he was standing beside a cashier to hasten up a transaction for one of their important clients, Adigwe and Sons limited when a young lady walked in. He was sure she was a woman because despite the baggy shorts, t-shirt and low hanging hat pulled over her face, she had one of the most curvaceous figures he had ever come across. Blood rushed to his lower body and he found himself crossing his legs to hide the slight budge in his expensive charcoal black pant trouser.
‘There is an issue on the account sir.’ The cashier called his attention to the screen.
‘What is the problem?’ Get a grip, Mat! He mentally chided himself as he struggled to give his complete attention to the cashier’s explanation.
The next moment, a gunshot rang out. The banking hall was thrown into pandemonium. Mathew and cashier jumped and hide under the cashier’s work station. He wondered what happened to the alarm and security system in the banking hall. Fury and fear battled in his mind until fury won!
‘Where are these security men for God’s sake?’ He shouted as he jumped to his feet, even as the young cashier tugged at his trouser leg.
‘Mr Daniels, they have not gone yet. Please keep your voice down.’ The cashier pleaded in a hushed voice.
*****
The robbery operation took less than thirty minutes to be completed. Janet was the last to leave the banking hall. She turned when she heard the cashier’s voice and realised who the young well-dressed man was. Resentment and bitterness burned through her soul.
He could almost hear the thought forming as she raised her gun and aimed it at him.
‘Don’t do it please!’ He raised his hands in a plea as his voice dropped to a desperate whisper. No sound came out but he fell with a sharp scream as his right ankle seemed to caught fire.
She slipped out of the hall and disappeared.
He was rushed to the hospital immediately the banking hall was cleared of immediate danger.
*****
The party was in full swing. All sort of illegals and drinks were available. The booty had been shared. Everyone was in a cheerful mood. Janet sat apart from the crowd and smoke with a brooding look on her face.
‘Sup babe? A penny for your thought?’ Roseline sat down beside her friend with a glass of champagne.
‘I need to get out of this place as soon as possible. I need my own place to achieve my goal.’ She dropped the half-smoked cigar and stepped over it.
‘I will come with you. When are we leaving?’ She took a tiny sip of the glass, not fully trusting the content of the glass.
‘We will leave soon. By the way, go and throw away that shit in your hand before you got stoned.’ Janet jutted her chin at the glass cup in her hand with an amused smile.
‘I should have known better. Stupid guys! I will meet you outside the house in a minute.’
‘Do that before they took us for the girls they planned to have orgies with. They are fucking useless already.’ Janet was laughing as she weaved her way around the exuberant dancers, groping each other and made it out of the house.
*****
‘You are a lucky young man. You could have lost the use of that leg forever.’ Doctor Sani Abubakar told him as he came into his private ward, closely followed by his parents.
‘Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate your timely treatment.’ He dared not move his right ankle in fear of the radiating pain that had plagued him since the gun-shot.
‘You are welcome. Chief, I will be in my office in case you need to see me. Excuse me.’ The doctor went out of the room and closed the door gently behind him.
‘How are you feeling, son?’ His mother ran her hands and eyes all over him with obvious concern.
‘I am fine, mum. I thought she will kill me. I am thanking God for the narrow escape.’ He shuddered with dread as he recalled the terrifying moment all over again.
‘It was a clean job. An inside job no doubt. The security system was deactivated for the period of robbery operation. Several of the security team including the head and some staffs in the IT department had disappeared off the surface of the earth.’ Chief’s voice vibrated with barely restrained anger.
‘I have a friend who is an expert in security. He may still be able to salvage some of the clip or at least hunt down some of the culprits. We lost a lot, right?’ His voice was low with misery.
‘Yes, we did. I am sure it will run into billions but we are insured. I will hunt down the culprits or whoever is behind this, even if it will take my last breath.’ Chief’s smile was grim.
His wife tried not to cringe at the tone and thanked her star she was not at the receiving end.

*****
It is the love season again. It is the season to show your friends and loved ones that you care for them.
The only love I need from you guys is to go to the link below and download my e-book.
https://okadabooks.com/search?term=TWISTS+OF+FATE.
Or send a mail to me on obolaji2002@yahoo.com for the PDF copy.
It is #500 only!
Thank you as you show me some love!
May true love locate you today and forever!
Cheers!

BOLAPE:
Thank you.

For some reasons, I have not been able to post on nairaland since last week.

I sure hope this gets posted.

I have logged in severally on different systems.

Olusharp:
Divepen i don't know if there is any group for Nigerian freelance content writers, i will love to join and also enjoy some mentorship

Olusharp:
I am making some research on this and i need answers from anyone that understands this well.

Is writing under a pen name (a name which is not one's real name) for a blog outside Nigeria allowed

Please I await your response...

Cc Divepen1, Lalasticlala

Teespice:
You are not the author of this novel, are you?

Stop stealing people's work and passing it off as your own. I have bought and read this same novel on okada books

Divepen1, please do the needful abeg.

queenitee:
Eh eh eh, Family is family

germaphobe:
God knows if you abandon this eerh!!