₦airaland Forum

Santi222:
Gud story.

Thanks.

Essyprity:
Larrysun where are u?! Hope u are ok?

I'm back and better. Thanks a bunch.

tonbari:
Larrysun the Achebe of NL! Can't wait for your next update






#TEAM Basket

Thank you, sir.

Achebe was a far greater writer. Comparing me with Achebe is like comparing a glass of water with an ocean.

Afamdman:
This is the original Afamdman, how are you doing Larry.

Afam!!! I've missed you, sir!

Rapfrick:
am a grown man but I truely can't stop de tears in running down my eyes dis guy is narratting de story of my life to de world mine is difference is dat my mum is still living and she is de only reason y I want to make money my struggle will come to an end if crime is de only way I den I might consider it as an option

Good day, sir.

I read your comment and I must confess that I'm truly touched by your plights. I honestly pray your dreams come through. God has a plan for you - a brilliant plan. He has plans for each one of us. Don't go ahead and neutralise that awesome plan He has in store for you by engaging in crime. Exercise some restraints. Take on the patience of Job. The bright future awaits you, sir. Crime is never the way.

kingphilip:
u go look for ha picture whether she fyn ba

Looooooooool!!! I couldn't help it, sir.

.

Mourin:
Larrysun where art thou, hope u re good, missing u badly.

Awesome signature. Missed you, too, ma'am.

dademonie:
I hope Larry is fine?

Larry is fine. He appreciates your care.

efzbah:
hope ua good..its been a while

I'm good, ma'am. Thanks.

supernet4:
Larry I beliv u re alryt, God is ur strength

You're so caring ma'am. God be with you.

I'm all right, I've just been busy.

zyzxx:
larrysun why nw, what up, hope u are gud?

Thank you, brother. I'm good, sir.

A4dams:
Finally board d bus. Larry where u dey

I'm here, sir. You're much welcome.

umahi69:
I Finally caught up wit u you guyz... Keep it up larry

You are very much welcome, ma'am. I sincerely hope you are enjoying the story.

It's time for me to start commenting on your story, I have been reading it as a guest all this while,

You are doing a very nice job here, as in, you are really intelligent, Keep it up.

Whoever you are, thank you so much.

Marcela04:
Larry Sun, hope all is well?

I'm good, ma'am. I've only been quite busy. Thank you so much for the concern.

Ollyfad:
o boy! just like that!! chai!!
*places one hand on head and d oda on legs praying*
oh my head my head! oh my leg my leg......any of u must no f@ckup ooo. anyway dat my breakthrough bin dey hide....make una no waste tym ooo....na dia make una jst dey go jeje!
but cwiuzly....one ghana must go filled with money just like that abeg i dey envy dem ryt nw.
nyc one oga larry....atleast basket can now finally go to school if black doesnt wanna go

You're so on point, ma'am.

lekinz:
Happy New Month ....
Btw, The story is becoming hotter, More Mb to Ur phone ... Jah bless

Thank you, sir.

princessadeola:
Happy New Month

Happy New Month in advance, too, ma'am.

nellyme:
Wow, wat a huge gain. But y do I have this feeling that this discovery will separate them? *nyc update dearie...*

Three things should be chosen with care: Women, Friendship and Money.

jayhaywhy:
Hmmmm....nyc update mhen....bales and bales of hard currency....dem don hammer b dat ooo....

Thieves have a hubris; it's insatiability.

adeh39:
Jeez!!! Black and Basket life don turn to better ooo. Na enjoyment things remain now, at least they won't steal again.........

But......... I don't trust this guys, they might want to steal again o....... well, let me keep my fingers crossed.

Larry..... Thanks for the update...... expecting more o.

'Once a thief...' they say. It's in the bloodstream.

JeffreyJamez:
O boy ye!!!! ...levels don change!!!

Lol! They're now comfortable thieves.

kenigwe18:
ur story its..............killin! Suspens fild *thumbs up*

I'm glad you're enjoying the tale, sir.

kayemdy:
A great story I must say... More words to ur vocabulary and more ink to ur bic

Thank you so much, dear sir.

I know I've offended a lot of you. I'm deeply sorry for my late updates; I've been very busy lately. My writing hands were tied. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I know, I know I've apologised more times than I can count, but I hope you would be kind enough to consider my humble pleas.

You've all been patient enough and I immensely appreciate every one of you for that. May God bless you all.

I solemnly cross my heart as I promise that my next updates would not take such a long time again.

Thank you all. The next update shall come soon.

COMPLETE BOOK NOW AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD HERE:

http://okadabooks.com/book/about/black_maria_book_one/20094

larrysundynasty@gmail.com

CHAPTER THREE

Good jobs.

The letter contained the obvious. The old man wrote to Timi to inform him that the property had been bequeathed out. In the letter, the old man had confessed to receiving Timi's letter but he had disregarded its content because everything written therein was false. He ended the letter with his usual gibe of rebuking Timi for the terrible being he would not stop being. He still prayed his grandson die in prison.

But contrary to being an object of irritation, the letter turned out to be a treasure to Timi. The old man had made a terrible blunder of sending a letter to his son six months prior to his release. He had also made a more grievous mistake of closing the letter with his signature. These were the two things Timi needed to reclaim his inheritance—handwriting and signature. Timi could almost not believe his luck when the letter reached him. He had received this gift at the moment when he was at the expiration of his silver lining. Without dwelling too much on the synchronism of the timepiece, Timi approached Malaika with the letter. Malaika was a crime genius. He was in jail for forgery, and he had been in prison for nine years. He had only two years left before his release. Malaika could forge the handwriting and signature of anyone living or dead. Even those who put him in the house of corrections knew that there was nothing to correct about his talent. Several law firms and local detective agencies were patiently waiting for him to come out; they were willing to offer him employment under their tutelage. Malaika himself knew that he was a hot bun, so he had been living a secluded life in prison; he was anticipating the time he would be released. He wanted to start earning a decent living for himself. He had decided to leave his criminal life behind. None of the inmates knew that he was the infamous Malaika, except of course, Timi Alara.

It was shortly after his imprisonment that Timi came across an old newspaper that contained the trials of Malaika nine years earlier; the criminal's pictures had been clearly printed therein and Timi had recognised him immediately. He had kept his discovery to himself, and the newspaper well-hidden in his possession. He was with the hope that the information would come in handy someday. Now this was the right moment to utilise his discovery. He grabbed the newspaper he had concealed, took the letter he had received and sought out Malaika at lunch period. Surely, everyone in prison had heard about Malaika but none among the inmates, except Timi, knew he was being held in that same prison; his heavy growth of beards had altered his true identity. But Timi would not be fooled; even though the man, rather than being addressed in his popular name, was being called by his real name—Michael. The infamous criminal was trying to enjoy his meal of watery beans alone when Timi sat in front of him and placed the newspaper on the table. On seeing his pictures in the old newspaper, Malaika paused at the moment of taking a spoonful; he looked at the young man smiling cruelly in front of him, then he slowly dropped the spoon. He knew trouble was coming.

"Hello Malaika," Timi greeted.

"Who is Malaika?" The genius tried his hand at ignorance.

"I know you're the notorious forger of nine years ago. I know about what landed you here in prison. You forged the signatures of the director of CBN and duped a brazilian bank of several millions of dollars. You allowed yourself to be caught because you still remained in the country with the money, causing the money to be easily traced to you. I always wonder why a genius like you would allow himself to be caught by such a simple manner."

Malaika assumed a blank countenance and said, "I don't know who you're talking about."

"Really? I'm sure you don't want me screaming out to the hearing of our fellow pleasant prisoners that Michael Azu is the famous Malaika the Forger. Remember, pictures don't lie." Timi said, tapping emphatically on the newspaper on the table.

"You're a mad man, do you know that?"

Timi shrugged, "Many people have called me that, but I doubt the veracity of the accusation. Frankly, I don't even care what anyone thinks about me."

"To me, someone who hacked his father to pieces is mentally deranged. Do you know that no one in this prison wants to associate with you?"

"That's their problem."

"What do you want from me?"

Timi took the newspaper from the table and replaced it with the letter he had received, including the personal note he had written on a piece of paper.

"Help me to copy what I wrote in this note, using that handwriting and the signature."

Malaika spoke only two words. The first was a short guttural verb not suitable to the hearing, the second 'you'.

"People lose teeth talking like that." Timi's voice was still amiable though his face had become wooden. "Will you do it or not?"

"I don't do this anymore. Please, young man, don't let me do this."

"I promise you're not doing it for free. In six months' time, I would be the sole ownership of my family's fortune. I'm sure you've heard about the Alara Firm. My grandfather's bank account is in the darkest black."

"Who doesn't know about the Alaras and their shylock reputation? Your ancestors accumulated wealth by brutal money-lending system."

"It's an honest banking system. I'm the sole heir to the Alara's fortune and I promise to give you an impressive cut as soon as I gain my inheritance."

"If you were truly the sole heir, why then would you want to forge your grandfather's handwriting?"

"I'll let you know when that is any of your business."

"I'm not going to do it." Malaika replied grimly.

Timi smirked. "I don't think you've got many choices here. It's either you refuse to do it and I tell everyone your true identity, or you do it and make a good sum of money from it. The choice is yours. I'm sure you're smart enough to make the right choice."

Malaika stared at Timi and said, "You know that blackmail is a crime, don't you?"

"I'm already a criminal, and so are you."

"If I do it and you are caught, just know that there will be a complete deniability on my part. I'll never admit to helping you."

"I won't get caught. I've planned everything to the smallest detail."

After the meal, Timi and Malaika went to a quiet part of the prison where Malaika easily forged the handwriting and signature. The process took Malaika precisely five minutes.

"Leave the date blank." Said Timi.

When Malaika finished the job, Timi gave him the newspaper and said, "I'll be leaving here in six months' time, I don't need the paper anymore. When you are released, try to find me. I'll repay the favour."

Timi turned to leave.

"You wondered why I allowed myself to be caught, didn't you?"

"As far as I'm concerned, it was a pretty dumb thing to do."

"I allowed myself to be caught because I wanted to be caught."

"Indeed?"

"I wanted to be popular, even if it's in a bad way. And truly, I enjoyed the popularity. I didn't really need the money I stole. The simple truth is that I don't need your money. I hope to never see you again after your release. I don't want to have anything to do with a bird of ill-omen like you ever again."

Timi shrugged indifferently, "That's your funeral. Maybe I cut my father to pieces because I wanted to be popular, too. You see, we both have madness in common."

"I have nothing in common with you."

"See you around, convict."

Awesome!
Well done Royver, Divepen1 and Thronekid.

Awesome! Lol! I've been using that word (awesome) a lot lately. And I really can't think of any other befitting adjective. Well done, ma'am. Keep them coming.