₦airaland Forum

Ishilove: Where was he barned at?? Which farm? I hope there is enough fresh air in the barn o!

You guyz let's contribute money for another roaster o, the old one na Chinco and e don expire!

Baddest Ishi! LOL! The barn was quite stultifying, and the roaster nearly electrocuted me.

Rap maestro: Baddo's "First of all", Wizkid don talk am, "don't dull", W4 say him own, "onto tha next one, its another one.. Who's got the controoolll?", abi "Itz Ova?" like Tonto, if not let them talk about this thread like "Illuminati's" track by Sarkodie.. Maestro asks, "do u want more?" and peepz are like Banky's "YES/NO", if na NO, na u sabi, just go meet Terry G to knacck u 'AKPAKO', from Wiz Again, "THANK YOU"

You must be kidding me! Wasted precious meg for this?

avicky: Larry weldone!
Are u done with d chapter?

U can edit some of d typo errors like policemen as against policcement, major insted of mojor and a few others.

Thanks a lot, Avicky. Bless you, ma'am.

Shugamania: It's the new nairaland....anything's possible.

Please save me o! Instead of throwing me a welcome party, HBG is after my head with a cutlass.

HumbledbYGrace: we checked and u were not banned Larry! You can't just leave like that without an explanation.

Who are the 'we'? Someone tell me NL admin didn't give my personal personal info to HBG. I'm going to sue someone here!

HumbledbYGrace: mod nko?

M glad you know how to say NXA! Just don't let southies catch u sayin it

I hope to learn some other new words from the South. It'll be quite unethical for us not to know your language when you know some of ours. What I hope not to learn, though, is your temper.

Really lagged behind, I am. From whence do I begin reading?

Shugamania: Missed ya too..
u were banned?

I thought I was, until Mynd claimed otherwise. HBG said I banned me'self, is that possible? For someone to ban himself?

HumbledbYGrace: you banned yourself....

Did I? Things have really changed during my absence; HBG has turned a mod too...nxa.

Mynd_44: I hope you realise that I can actually check your ban history

Check history, chemistry, whatever...all I know is that I wasn't able to log in.

Mynd_44: This is a room na. You people should excuse us

Guy, you no try at all o! Who banned me?

Shugamania: @howdy Larrryyy..
Been looking evrywhere for u.

Sweetest Shuga! Where've you been? Missed you a bunch.

HBG and Mynd, would you guys just get a room?

Howdy guys?

Danhumprey: Pls,Larry-sun,it's seems u are flattering Ishilove frequently nowaday. Or hasn't anybody noticed that? If u are having a crush on her,pls just feel free and bold to go ask her out. I'm 100% sure that Ishilove won't turn down ur advance!

I only appreciate good writing when I see one, there's absolutely no string attached.

This is absolutely great. Reminds me of Adichie's power of the pen. Weldone, Jake.

alutacontinua: Good Job, Larry!
Although, I have to ask, are you a medical personnel for you to come up with all those medical stuffs?


I think there might be some blunders in the medical stuffs, notable among them is where you said something about a needle in the muscle joining the 2nd and 3rd metacarpals. That's a blunder in medicine. First of all, ligaments join bones together, not muscles. Secondly, how a needle would fit in between the 2nd and 3rd metacarpals is somehow cos dt place doesn't look like a place that a vein would be noticed enough to place a needle (not rily sure how to explain that) but maybe you could check out pictures to understand what I'm saying. Also, the needle (for a drip) is not even supposed to be intra-muscular, it's supposed to be intravenous.

The cerebral hypoxia part: What exactly caused the hypoxia. Is it the blow to the head? Dt looks a bit confusing. I'm trying to understand it but I can't. It's like the whole thing is making the guy look like a super-man. The amazing part is how he suffered such brain damage, came out of coma, and went ahead IMMEDIATELY to be hurting people, driving and even engaging in mind-blowing sex not up to 24 hours after. The write-up, I must be sincere, is medically shady!

Couldn't really figure out others at a glance, although, some of them still stood out as 'possible errors'. My simple suggestion, if you;re not a medical personnel, maybe you'll need to get one to vet the writing for you. Also, don't you think the whole thing would bore some people? You people have already made Lucan to appear as a super-man, i don't think there's much you can do about that at this point since you can't kill him.

I liked the Sigmund Freud part, that guy is a good reference to use when you want to confuse people totally. He's controversial personified!

Above all, you did a good job, even though you threw Mynd's perspective away totally. Would be expecting the new twist.

There was no time, ma'am. I blame Google's explanation

JoBlè: Oh! and Larry,about your last update- I was willing to overlook Lucan's miraculous awakening,it's rare bt possible,right? Probably got carried by your vivid description of the same awakening(are those terms and descriptions real? If not,you did a better job than I thought) BUT don't you think his energy was a bit superhuman? I mean,the guy "nodded a flying bullet"!! I expected him to be very weak or at least disoriented but to my utter amazement he rendered an able-bodied guard unconscious and went on to steal a car which he SPED off in. ?¿?! Am I the only one missing something here? One more thing, am assuming Amina and Enoh are Nigerian,what is with the "long silky black hair" and "beautiful redhead"? Did someone mention Brazilian hair and red hair dye and I didn't notice? Pls someone should clear up this issue for me. It's hard for me to imagine a full-fledged Nigerian woman with silky hair. As for the red hair. . .*shudders*

1. About Lucan coming out of his coma, I didn't make enough research.

2. He didn't exert too much force, he only hit the sleeping guard with the heel of his palm. The nose of the bone is a soft one, just like a plastic/biscuit Driving an automatic car, too, requires little or no muscles, just skill.

3. A Nigerian lady could have a long black hair (without attachment o), I know one or too. Especially a lady from the north. Northerners are gifted with long hairs. And, Amina hails from the North. Silky? Did I say silky? Did someone shoot me in the head too. The red hair was not written by Sun. Maybe Enor got her hair dyed or she rolled in the mud

princesa: #finished reading#
And Larry, what's with the whole medical boring lengthy narrative about how the brain or something works It was totally a ploy to lengthen the story...... And i just got bored half way. But i guess it was due to unforeseen issues, right?

and now Jack, how can the mess be pieced?

I don't really understand the 'unforeseen issue' you mean. Lol! The narrative isn't a ploy to lengthen the story a bit. I just had to explain how Lucan came out of his coma. It's rare but possible, one can survive a bullet to the head. Lucan is the protagonist, so sooner or later, he'd have to come back to the picture. It'd be donwright cheating if h'd just jumped into action suddenly. Ishilove caused it jor! She shot Lucan in the head, of all places.

About Jack, I'm hoping to give a plausible explanation.

Bless you.

ijebabe: I just finished reading the first post by Larry and wanted to drop a few before I carried on.

Firstly, Larry I love your sense your humour in that post, I found myself laughing like a goat there.

Second, dude you need to balance the adjectives, amidst my confusion they made me laugh. Maybe I'm wrong but can you use 'bellow' and 'viciously' together? Instead of saying volcano wouldn't inferno had been a better reference? I know as humans we tend to exaggerate in moments of panic but volcano seemed reaching.

There were others but these are what I recall and I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. I may be wrong. I'll go back now to continue reading. This is so exciting!

Thanks a lot for your comments, Ije. You're quite shrewd.

I think 'bellow' and 'viciously' can be used together. The former is a verb, while the latter is its modifier (showing the degree of the action). Or, rather,
viciously is a strong term. I should have used 'furiously'. Hell! I thought I used 'furiously'.

You're absolutely right about the use of 'volcano', I agree I stretched the exaggeration a bit thin. I basically used it to create humour though, from the POV of Lucan himself. I've never been in one, but I think I'd have the same thought if I found myself in that kind of blazing building.

Bless you.

Apology sustained. Our anger is calmed. I was worried, but I see that you're okay.

Bless you.

JoBlè: Like the story. Love the way everybody's ideas flow seamlessly. Umm... you guys might want to rethink adding critical characters at this point.I'm sure we (readers) would like to enjoy the story without forgetting half of the characters. I think (jst thinking) y'all should work with those you have now and cover up loopholes. Generally,it's a great story. Who said too many cooks spoil the broth? P.S- Mynd,a Japanese SAMURAI SWORD used by an SSS AGENT no less,really? And you should revisit your description of the compound,it wasn't really descriptive.

Thanks, Jo. Corrections duly noted. We are trying not to make the story boring.

Bless you.

princesa: Well well well...
Chapter 7 by sigmunfreud was not disappointing a bit, that guy writes beautifully...never really seen other works of his, but he did justice to the plot...'the suspense king' where do you draw your dexterity from? Cos i need to tap in!

chapter 8... By our very own Ishilove, as expected, she more than dealt with the story, she was spectacular!...but almost killed Lucan anyway he was saved....one thing about this chapter is the indepth and apt imageries employed, offcourse you know Ishi, U're a writer i look up to

chapter 9......uniquexty, uhm, the narrative was good, albeit rushed, nothing intriguing happened & all that 'rib tale' bored me

Una over try...
The story sha long, wonder when I'd be tru But no qualms as far as it takes me on a jolly ride to the world of secrets, scandals and puzzle, am all in...
evidence of too much season movie the Nigeria police was portrayed as an organised system of dedicated & intelligent officers, make i hear

#still reading#

Thanks for following, your comments are encouraging. We're just trying our bestests.

HumbledbYGrace: Larry pls tell us wen you are done, I hate reading in between.

Okay, ma'am. Bless you.

JAKEMOND1: Larry: I'm truly humbled by you guys effort in creating this wonderful medium by which aspiring authors can express themselves literately... it's both honorable and patriotic. Thanks to you all from the bottom of my heart..

Jakemond.

Thanks a lot, Jake. Nairaland is gifted with wonderful writers, you're one of them. If you don't mind, I'll like you to be a part of the collaboration.

Bless you.

Rap maestro: I sure hope nobody brings anoda wild fantasy of their's.. Like Lucan jumping from 3rd Mainland Bridge into the ocean and saved with a submarine or the use of SENSEI DOUBLE-END STAFF... Lets just be indigenious.. Koboko dey there, kondo olopa dey there, infact u fit add "Lucan dipped d Eba on his assailant's eye to leave him sightless" Lol
>
Larry, can I join now? {probably d 2nd 2 d last to post MYND niyen}

@bolded...Lol! I like that sense of imagination.

You can join if you really wanna. As a matter of fact, I wan't you to join. I'm certain that you'll bring some homorous touch to the plot. But, I still have one post to update, still trying to tie some few loose ends. Forgive me if I seem to be taking days, typing isn't fun. And updating on Nairaland has not been smooth for me lately. I apologize. After that update, Bob's your uncle.

Amina woke him up three hours later for dinner, she had ordered for hot Semovita with vegetable soup garnished with beef and snails. The succulent molluscs were so delicately prepared that Lucan kept savouring the delicious taste with relish. The aroma alone was enough to make a condemned man smiling through his last meal.

After the food, Amina gave him some aspirin. He dropped the two tablets into a glass of water and waited for them to self-destruct before he downed the medicine.

"Can we talk now?" he asked her.

She nodded.

"Tell me about the dream."

She looked perplexed, "What dream?"

"I had a dream where I was trying to rescue you from a burning building. You particular told me in that dream that you sprained your ankle. When you saved me from Tracy's burning room and got me to yours, I saw you limp slightly as you rose to get me some drugs. And the grandfather's clock in your room has a close resemblance with the one I beheld in my dream. How do you explain that?"

"The only explanation I can give about that is that it's either your dream was merely a coincidence or you're a descendant of Joseph. In addition, you could be psychic."

"That's not enough explanation, Amina. I hadn't met you in person when I had that dream. And I didn't hope I'd ever meet you."

"Do you read Sweet Love?"

"Yes, I do. How do you know? As a matter of fact, I have all the issues of the magazine. It's the only mag I read."

"That explains it."

"Explains what?"

"Your seeing me in your dream, of course."

"What are you talking about? How can reading a magazine affect one's dream?"

"Every issue of the magazine has my picture on its front cover. Because you read the magazine, your mind has stored my image in a place there. It wouldn't be a surprise if I appeared every now and then in your dreams."

Lucan scoffed, "Do you really expect me to believe that?"

She drew closer to him, "Listen to me, Lucan. I'm a model, I'm beautiful, granted, but I'm not one of those beauties without brains. I read a lot too, you know. A model is expected to know stuffs. I learnt that from Agbani Darego. There are many theories about the cause and meaning of dreams. But not one can be scientifically proven to contain the whole truth."

"Continue." Lucan said.

"One theory is that dreams are caused by something affecting your body: If your bedclothes becomes twisted round your neck, you might dream that you were being strangled." she paused and continued, "This, however, would not explain why you dream you were being strangled by your best friend."

"So, in that case, there will be another reason aside that of the bedclothes, right? I never imagined a blanket could be murderous."

"You may recently have had a quarrel with your friend, for example. In a dream though, a friend may appear as an enemy, and this may turn out to be true."

"You're confusing me, Amina."

"Relate this theory to the burning building in your dream." She continued her explanation, "Perhaps, over a period of time, all sorts of tiny hints about your friend's true character have been stored up in the unconscious mind, and for the first time they add up in the dream."

"Wow!" Speaking of friends, Lucan thought about Jack Etim. He could not believe that Jack was among the league of killers.

Amina continued, "Sigmund Freud was the first person to put forward the theory of dreams as 'wish-fulfilment'. Everyone, according to Freud, has subconscious wishes and fears of which their possessor is not consciously aware. A middle-aged man, who never gives a thought to girls during the day, might have a dreeam in which he was a sort of James Bond, with lots of glamorous girlfriends. Hence your dream of rescuing the striking model, Amina Dasuntu." she winked at him.

"Siggy must be out of his mind to come up with that. Where did you learn this, Amina?"

"As I said, I read a lot." She smiled warmly and continued educating the astonished Lucan, "On waking up the man might be quite shocked at having such a dream, but perhaps because of his shyness he has covered up and long forgotten his secret anxiety about his lack of contact with the other sex. Freud took his theory to the point of saying that unless people were able to express their secreet wishes and fears in the form of dreams, they would not be able to sleep, and that therefore dreams are essential to our health."

"You amaze me, Miss Dasuntu."

"Have I been able to answer your question?"

"You've given me something to ponder about."

"And about claiming to have seen me limping, I sprained my ankle at the Koko Mansion but it was not severe until I aggravated my injury trying to save you in Tracy's apartment. Relating that to your dream could only be sheer coincidence. Your mind gave you what your heart ached to do; saving a model by carrying her in your arms. The only way that can happen is if the model can't walk."

"What were you doing in Koko Mansion?" he asked sharply.

"I wanted to see the chief."

"What for?"

"He wanted to give me something. But that's not important now, what's important is that as soon as I reached the building a text message got into my phone. The message was an order for me to get out of the building if I needed to stay alive. In my agitation, I sprained my ankle while trying to escape.

"Do you still have the message on your phone?"

"The message self-deleted as soon as I read it."

"Is that possible?"

"I've never witnessed anything like that before."

"Do you know the phone number through which the message came in?"

She shook her head, "No, I don't."

There was silence for a few seconds.

"Tell me about the Avengers."

She sighed, "Who told you about the Avenger? Tracy?"

"I learnt about it on my own."

"It's strictly confidential. Can I trust you to keep your mouth buttoned?"

"Your secret is safe with me."

"The Avengers is a secret organization for women, devoted mainly to protecting its members against any possible danger of attack from an outsider. If a member is having any problem, all she has to do is to let the rest of the members know on our social networking thread and steps would be taken about it."

"What networking thread?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

"I already know. Continue."

She smiled at him, the site wasn't really hard to guess. "We don't communicate directly. We place our comments in quotes in such a way that only the members would understand the deeper meaning behind it. Any outsider can just read it and not get the message per se."

" 'Seductive charm may mask lethal injections. A woman's charm can be hard to resist but her deceit is impossible to escape' " Lucan quoted Amina, "Whatever does that mean?"

"You don't want to know, trust me."

" 'Our insatiable greed destroys livelihood and lives' " he quoted again, "Who wrote that?"

"Your late girlfriend, Tracy Oluwami. She posted that quote after the unsuccessful meeting with Chief Koko."

"What meeting? What are you talking about?"

"You don't know? Koko summoned Tracy to meet with him hours before his death. He wanted to tell her something."

"Was Chief Koko screwing Tracy?"

She was shocked, "Who told you that?"

"Someone. Is it true?"

"It's a lie! Koko was a pathetic womanizer but he wasn't sleeping with Tracy."

"How sure are you about that?"

"I'm very sure. Chief Koko was Tracy's father."

The information did not register in Lucan's mind at first, "But..." then it did. He stopped himself and screamed, "What!"

"Calm down. It's true, but unfortunately, Tracy didn't know. Chief Koko summoned her to the hotel the night he died. But he was already killed before Tracy could reach him."

"She didn't tell me that."

"She couldn't, because she didn't know what the chief could possibly have wanted from her to summon her. She was a reporter so she took up the job of trying to find out the truth behind the death of the man who had called her. I believe that was part of why she was killed. I didn't know that Chief Koko's death was connected to the Avengers until Tracy was killed too."

"How did you know that Koko was Tracy's father?"

"The chief told me himself. I thought he was having an affair with Tracy, so I confronted him and he told me the truth. The man liked me a lot, he could not hide anything from me."

"How did you know him?"

"It's a long story."

"I'm listening."

"I met Chief Koko through Madam K."

"Who is Madam K?"

"She's part of Avengers. No one among the members knows her except me."

"How did you know her?"

"She's my sponsorer, she made me who I am today."

"What's her name?"

She became silent, reluctant in devulging The One.

"Amina, what's Madam K's name? Aren't you getting it now? Your Avengers club is just a facade. There's something more dangerous beneath. Some powerful people are manipulating you ladies, using you to do horrible things of which you're not aware. When you make any error, they kill you off. They've killed Tracy, Susanna and her husband are dead. They tried to kill you, remember? Is it after you're dead that you'll come to your senses? They know that the Avengers club is exposed and they're killing off all the members to keep their mouths shut. Give me Madam K's name now!"

Her lips shook as she uttered the name: "Honourable Cathering Adams."

Lucan jumped up, as if goosed by a loose string in the chair, "The same Cathering Adams? The woman of the people?"

"The same. But there's a sixth member, HIM."

"Him? Who? I thought you said Avengers is only for ladies."

"H-I-M," Amina spelled, "We don't know the identity of HIM, neither do we know his gender. None of us knows his identity. Madam K, perhaps, but no one else."

"Then we need to reach Madam K. She'll lead us to HIM." he paused and asked, "Did you sleep with Chief Koko." The question shot out like the forked tongue of a serpent.

"I don't have to answer that, do I?"

"No, you don't. But I'll like to know."

"Yes, I slept with him. More than once, actually. Madam K made me do it when I was still struggling in my career. It was like she sold me to him. Something of that sort. I knew Chief Koko had paid her a large sum of money to bring me to him. Chief Koko had been humping me ever since then, till he died. He paid me handsomely too, and I clunged to him."

"I'm sorry, all these are none of my business."

"Having taken a bullet for me, I think you have the right to know the whole truth."

"I appreciate that." Then he asked, "Is Enor's husband aware of your club?"

"You mean Jack?"

Lucan scoffed again, "Does she have any other husband except Jack?"

"Not that I know of."

"Is that the answer to Jack being a part of your group or Enor having any other husband?"l

"Both. Why did you ask?"

"Ask what?"

"About Jack belonging to our group."

"Because I'm flummoxed. That morning I dreamt about rescuing you from a burning building, I got a phone call as soon as I woke up."

"I heard about everything."

"I cracked the number today. Guess who picked up when I dialled the number."

"Tracy's killer?"

"Jack Etim."

"Are you sure?"

"I can swear on a stack of bibles. I'm very sure."

"There must be an explanation for that. I don't believe that Enor's husband is behind all the killings."

"I'll find out tomorrow when I meet David. He's got something to tell me."

"It's late , Lucan. I should got and take my bath." She rose and went into the bathroom. She spent almost an hour doing God only knows what women do in bathrooms. By the time she came out of the bathroom, Lucan was already dozing in the armchair he sat.

When Lucan came awake, Amina had already towelled herself dry and donned a pyjamas. The pyjamas was flimsy, mildly transparent, and Lucan could make out the outline of one of her naked inner thighs. There was something marvellously wanton about her; the way her long black hair fell over an eye, the way her almost bare shoulder moved, the outline of that fleshy thigh. She tied the cloth carelessly. Her pyjamas had come stylishly apart above the waist. He could see the milky mound of her cleavage. She caught him watching, it was too late for Lucan to cast his eyes away now.

She walked towards him seductively.

"Amina, what..."

She placed a finger on her lips, "Shh!" she hushed.

She kissed his mouth, pressing until she found his tongue. Lucan stood up and had her in his arms, embracing her roughly, shoving his body against hers until she could feel his erection. He slid his hand around the back of her neck and eased her closer towards him.

She felt herself grow moist and damp, her body preparing for what this kiss had promised. And there was a lot more promise in that kiss. Holding him in place with her own body, she raised him up and rammed him against the wall, she undressed him frantically as they kissed and romanced, as if time was of the utmost essence. She pushed up his T-shirt, exposing his hairy chest and stomach. Finally, she pushed the garment over his head and tossed it onto the floor like a gauntlet.

She ran her fingers over his hairy chest and had the thrill of hearing him suck in his breath, barely touching his chest, with just her fingertips. He grumbled softly when she moved her fingers to trace the outline of his left n*pple. She lubricated one finger with the fluid behind her full lips and stroked the right n*pple with the wet finger. He gasped. Even half-naked, Lucan had that bad-boy image. Desperado muscles in his arms, that I-dare-you look in his smoky bright eyes. His mouth, still wet from their kisse, looked edible. And it really didn't surprise Amina to realized that she had a sudden yearning to put her hands on Lucan and all that badness. The heat rolled through her. She leaned in and took his mouth again, and she felt it all the way to her stomach when he made a deep male sound of satisfaction and pleasure. She pushed him on the bed and eased all the way on top of him. Aligning her body until she felt the solid muscle of his chest against her bre*sts. Felt the sinewy strength of his arms. She especially felt his erection.

He didn't even try to pull back, her scent was all around him, covering him, drowning him, yet he wanted more of her. This was catharsis; a purgement of emotion, of emptiness. A reward for the days he'd spent without his beloved Tracy. Amina turned slightly, her loose pyjamas slid off her shoulder, exposing the right curve of her white bra. And exposing the top of her bre*sts. Yanking off her pyjamas, Lucan unclipped the front closure of her bra and had the satisfaction of her generous bre*ast slipping into his hands. She was full, firm and perfect. Man, she was beautiful. He skimmed his hand over her bre*sts, just enough to make her n*pples tighten, just enough to make her arch her back and thrust her body closer. Lucan took her up on the nonverbal offer. He levered himself up and nipped her right n*pple with his teeth. Not hard, but it was enough to make her moan softly. Since he liked the way that sound shaped her mouth, he did it again, and again.

She evidently liked the sensation because she immediately began to fight with his clothes, she went after his zipper. Her hands hurrying but she failed. Only because he went after her black tight shorts first. Basically, he played dirty and outmuscled her. She grappled with him, and just when he thought he might lose, he played even dirtier and took her n*pples in his mouth.

"Oh," Amina said.

Just "Oh." Breathy and needy, with a few extra syllables added to it. It was everything he wanted to hear. And it was just enough of a distraction that he peeled the tight right off her. While he was at it, he took off her bra totally as well, leaving her with just a pair of flimsy white panties. Lucan took a moment to savour and appreciate the view. Amina also did some dirty playing of her own. She slid her hand over the front of his jeans, this was certainly the way to get his attention; the fastest way actually. It was a not-so-subtle move that had Lucan going from seriously aroused to rock hard. She tackled his zipper again and this time she succeeded, he succeeded as well, and got her out of the pant, the only barrier left between his hands and her smoking region. He moved his fingers down her stomach and between her legs. Lucan wished he had four hands, no, eight. He touched lightly, testing her response and learning what she liked in the process. He slid his finger deeper and heard her say a very naughty word not meant for the ears of a pope. He touched her again, his finger going deeper until he found her sensitive spot. Meeting his gaze head-on, she rocked against his hand. A long lingering caress that brought on another 'Oh', another erotic hitch of her breath, and he was sure he had her close to climax but he was wrong.

She located his mouth again, kissing him roughly as if her life depended on it. Frantically, she caught the waist of his jeans, tugging and trying to rip them apart off him. With his help, his jeans came off. And when she had him naked and lying beneath her. She arched her back like a cat and slid her hands slowly over his chest. Her fingers gliding through the sweat that had already beaded on his skin. She snared his gaze, gave their bodies a necessary adjustment, no fumbling, she got it right the first time, but she gave him one last dirty playing shot by skimming the sweet heat of her body right over his erection, not once but multiple times. Until Amina was sure he'd soon beg for mercy. By degree, an inch at a time, until she had taken all of him. Amina paused a moment, maybe to catch her breath, maybe to savour the moment, or both. Lucan was certainly doing some savouring and breath-catching of his own.

Bracketing her hands on his chest, she began to move, slowly at first, then faster and faster, no frantic rhythm. But each move calculated, precise, each time sliding the moist of her body over the entire length of him. Her unique scent and taste lingered around him and made him crazy. A long, deliberate sigh left her mouth; a moan, and a gasp of pleasure. Once again she moved in an ancient rhythm, and she moved against him; deeper this time, so deep. She took him, claimed him, and sent both of them spiralling out of control. She rode him vigorously. Out of control was the only place Lucan wanted to go, and he wanted Amina to take him there. With their blood raging with passion, face-to-face, body-to-body, wet skin whispering against wet skin, him inside her and feeling the shaft of Lucan's rigid Instruments. Her moving, clutching, gripping, sliding to a frantic feverish pace that built and built and built until it was no longer pleasure, but a necessity.

"Come with me," he managed to say.

She drove her body one last time, one last heavenly thrust, until neither had a choice. They slipped into that spiral together and surrendered. The eruption within her was warm, milky and sticky.

She collapsed on him and in minutes, both slept off like spoons in a drawer.

The Double K restaurant was an elegant one occupying a mammoth side of the road. A rich man had built it for his wife and initially named it King Kong restaurant. When people refused to dine in a restaurant supposedly named after a breed of gorillas, the wife changed the name to the current, and diners began to fluorish in thereafter. Even though the price for a single plate of rice could knock a sumo wrestler unconscious, people in large numbers still patronised. Most people who dined in Double K were lavish spenders. Both movie and music stars had chosen this restaurant to provide their daily meals.

Lucan parked his car at the other side of the road to await Dasuntu. The model didn't appear in two or three hours she had promised, she came in five hours; two or three hours later than she had stated. Lucan watched as she drove into the restaurant's parking lot. It was a long straight but slender leg that firstly came out touching the ground from the iron steed before the other parts of her whole body came into view. He watched her walk gracefully into the restaurant. Lucan did not follow her immediately, he wanted to be very sure that she was not being followed. He waited for another ten minutes, watching the road carefully for any sign of a stalker around. He knew that Amina would be trying his number by now, but the line wouldn't connect. He'd gotten rid of the SIM card. Certain that no one had followed the model, he crossed the road and entered the restaurant.

The restaurant was crowded. The time at the extreme wall showed 3.15. It was lunch time. People were masticating vigorously all around the tables and chattering like monkeys in a barrel. So much for Double K indeed. He caught sight of Amina at the left corner of the restaurant; she was having her back to the entrance and looking furtively around her, evidently searching for Lucan. He could not help but notice the full black hair that covered her head like a crown and descended like a waterfall down her back. He studied her ebony skin, the contours of her body, and the legs that went on forever, the way a Hausa farmer would study a cute cow he was thinking of buying. Amina Dasuntu was a pretty lady in any setting. He walked up to her.

"Hello lady, is this seat taken?" he asked her.

Amina looked up at his face briefly before she replied, "Oh yes, it is. I'm waiting for someone." She did not recognize him.

Lucan occupied the seat opposite her.

"I said the seat is taken, Mister." Amina protested sharply.

"How is your ankle?" Lucan asked solemnly.

She opened her eyes as wide as a cocoa pod and looked scared, "How do you know about..." Then she recognized the man before her and exclaimed in excitement, "Lucan!"

Startled diners glared in their direction. Some men looked from Amina to Lucan, trying to determine what excited the pretty lady about the vagrant before her.

"Keep your voice down," Lucan whispered, and then said, "Next time, never tell a stranger you're waiting for someone; it'll give room for conversation. Just say the seat is occupied and stop there."

"I didn't recognize you at first, you're not the most handsome man now, Lucan. You look like hell."

"I know, a bath won't hurt."

"And a shave. What is it with the beard and the mark on your cheek?"

Lucan only shrugged and said, "I tried to kiss one of the flying bullets but I missed." He smiled and fondled the towel that had grown thickly on his face while Amina beckoned to the waitress. They ordered their food and spoke as they ate.

"What happened to you, Lucan?"

"I was abducted, I'm sure the kidnappers would have sent you the ransom note."

"Don't be naughty. Who abducted you."

"I didn't wait to ask for their names when I was escaping."

"Who was the man who shot you."

"Someone who is not yet born-again."

"Where were you kept?"

"I'm sure it's not in a sarcophagus."

"Why..."

"Listen, Amina. There're so many questions I've been asking myself but couldn't find a meaningful answer to any one of them. But I know you'll have answer to some of them, that is why I called to meet you. We can't discuss here, we'll have to find a less crowdy place to talk. Christ! This restaurant is a jukebox. I need a bath and a change of clothes, these one on me I borrowed from one of the men that held me, but I'm not planning to send them back to him."

"You'll also need another bandage around your head, and some drugs for the wounds to heal fast."

He nodded, "I guess so. I'm so tired."

"I've got some cash on me as you have instructed; when we get out of here we'll drive down to a boutique and get you something more decent, then we'll lodge in a hotel for the day. We've got a lot to discuss."

"Thanks a lot, Amina."

"Come off it. I should be thanking you, I owe you my life. That bullet you took was meant for me. I can't thank you enough."

They consumed the rest of their meals in silence. Amina paid for the lunch and they went out of the restaurant. As Amina walked towrads her car, Lucan pointed towards the black car at the other side of the road.

"See that black car over there?"

Amina nodded.

"I'll follow behind you in it."

"Lucan, how did you get the car?"

"Let's just say when I was bading goodbye to my friends last night, I was given the car as a sent-forth gift, unwillingly."

She was impressed, "You're full of surprises, Mr. Lucan Ode."

"I'll ditch it when the time's right."

They drove to the first boutique they could find and Amina bought him a week's worth of clothings. She also bought some for herself. They drove farther away and lodged in a hotel as Mr. and Mrs. Okoro. They took the hotel elevator to the top-floor in the company of an elderly couple. The couple held hands as though they were young lovers.

Overhearing the word 'anniversary', Lucan asked how long they had been married.

"Fifty years," the husband answered, aglow with pride that his bride had chosen to spend most of her life with him.

Amina saw the hurt in Lucan's eyes and pressed his hand in comfort. She knew he was mourning his own loss, Tracy. The elevator door opened and they walked to their room. Room 94. The room lived up to the model's taste with adjoining apartment; the bedsheet was new and the curtains at the windows were fanciful.

As soon as they got in, Lucan took a new towel and headed towards the bathroom. He shaved the beards off before taking his bath. His bath took him more time than usual as he scrubbed the mountain-load of dirt off of himself. Lathering and relathering so vigorously that by the time he was through, a hotel-size bar soap was reduced to a tiny sliver. He came out of the bathroom a newer and cleaner Lucan Ode. Amina helped him to get the old bandage off his head, the bullet wounds were aready healing but the hole at the back of his head was still horrible-looking compared to the exit wound at the top of his ear. She cleaned the wounds carefully with Lucan wincing with pain every now and then. She covered them neatly with a new bandage and gave him some painkillers. He dressed in the clothes Amina had bought for him; a black T-shirt and a blue jeans. Then he slept.

He dreamed about Tracy.