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Chapter One

I

Peter Black stared at the doctor with eyes wide open. A lot of things had surprised him in his thirty-five years of existence; in fact, so many shocking things had happened to him that it was hard for anything to really surprise him anymore. For what would have rocked another person with astonishment would simply have elicited a chuckle from the legendary Peter Black. Life had taught him to always prepare himself for the most surprising of things. Perhaps that was what had kept him from being sucker-punched by the reality of life. Things hardly surprised Peter Black because he had prepared himself for the worst – but he had not prepared himself for this one, which, of course, rather than being the worst, might actually be the best.

In all of Peter Black’s life since he was old enough to discern things, situation had always gone from good to bad for him. Somehow, his happiness was always cut short by some extraordinary means. He had always lost the people he loved most in the world – it started from his father, mother, Priest Duba, Old Cargo, and a host of other people who had died. Even though Basket, his childhood best friend, was still very much alive, Peter knew he had lost him too. However, the worst blow that could ever have struck him was losing Maria. The kind of love he had for Maria, even though they had only been together for just two years, was more than that he had for any other person in his life. He and Maria shared a special kind of love – a kind of love he wasn’t sure any other couple had ever shared before. It was a love beyond the mere physical; it was a love that went deep down to the core of affection’s crust. It was hard for two people to find each other and love each other as deeply as much as he and Maria; but they had found each other and their love had been incredible. Losing Maria would have threatened Peter Black’s sanity, but the thought of having their product out there kept him going. Her death would have completely shattered him had he not have a new mission of getting back his son from Basket. Finally getting back his son was the highlight of his achievement. His son was the closest connection he had with Maria. In a way, Peter had thought nature had finally found a way to compensate him for his huge losses by giving him his son. He had never imagined that someone would tell him that Maria was alive. Hell, he had attended her funeral. Surely, he must be hearing things.

He continued to stare at the doctor dumbfounded. Rationality was spinning out of control; everything he believed in was slowly taking a different form before him. It was as if the earth was suddenly becoming flat. He stood rooted in the spot, not moving a limb – the shock of the news rendered him paralysed for a couple of minutes, until slowly the ridiculousness of what he had heard slowly dawned on him. Then his expression of shock transformed into that of great ire. He stared at the doctor with a vile expression. How dare he? How could he taunt him with this news? Who the hell was the doctor to come here out of the blue to dig out what he had been trying so hard to keep buried? What reason could the doctor have to tear open an old wound?

“Are you the new enemy I must fight, Doctor Rukewe?” Peter finally said, his words came out slowly, and the timbre of his voice was of grave bleakness.

The doctor frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“Did anyone send you here to torment me? Who sent you? Was it Basket? How could you be so cruel? Why would you agree to kick a man that was already down?”

“I honestly do not understand what you are talking about,” the doctor replied nervously, “I thought you deserved to know the truth. I’m sorry it took me so long to inform you. I thought you had the right to know that your wife is still alive.”

Again, those words! Your wife is alive! Those were probably the only words in the world that would jeer Peter Black. That statement was like a desecration to the memory of his wife. It was like he was being tormented by those words. Basket must have thought that those were the words that would get to him. As far as Peter was concerned, Maria was a saint whose memory should not be made mockery of in this way.

The doctor studied Peter’s expression and realised that the young man didn’t believe him. He realised that Peter thought he was mocking him.

“Oh, you think I’m lying? I swear to you with everything I hold dear, Mr Peter Black, your wife did not die! She is alive!”

Peter took a step forward. He cocked his head to one side and stared into the doctor’s eyes, trying to detect a sign of falsehood, but the elderly man’s expression seemed genuine.

“Maria is dead, doctor,” Peter said sadly; he did not want to raise his hopes yet. “You told me yourself in the hospital that day. Have you forgotten what you said? ‘I’m sorry, young men, she’s gone’. Those were your words, doctor. That’s what you told Basket and I that day. How could you now say that she’s alive?”

“There’s a lot of things you did not know,” the doctor replied, “Can we speak inside?”

Peter thought about this request. Was this something he wanted his son to know about now? No. What if what the doctor was saying was a lie? He would not want to raise his son’s hope when he was not entirely sure about what he was hearing himself. His son was going through an unfamiliar change already; Junior grew up knowing Rhoda as his mother, and he was still trying to process the fact that his real mother was dead. Hell, the boy was still finding it hard to accept Peter as his father. It would not be right to inform him now that the mother he had just been told died when he was born was actually alive. Even though the boy was smart, such was too much information for a child like him.

And so Peter Black shook his head and said, “Not yet.” He folded his arms across his chest and asked, “Are you saying that you lied to me ten years ago?”

The doctor looked guilty. “Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I’m saying. I lied to keep her safe from Officer John Balewa. I knew that if the officer found out that she lived he would make sure she ended back in prison, and I didn’t want that. As much as it hurt me to lie to you, that was the only thing I could do to keep OJB off her trail at the time. For the past ten years, I tried everything I could to get the information across to you but I could not. Besides Maria, only I and my most trusted nurse knew that she was alive, and I made her swear to secrecy. No other person knew. I decided that you will hear the news about Maria from only me alone. But for some strange reason, I could not get in touch with you enough to share the news with you. You were kept in a maximum security prison. The only person who was allowed to visit you was Officer John Balewa himself. I couldn’t risk passing the message across for fear of the secret coming out, especially to the ears of OJB. I lost the chance to tell you at Maria’s funeral. I came here as soon as I heard the news about your release from the radio.”

“Oh my goodness!” Peter whispered with passion, “My Maria is really alive?”

Doctor Rukewe nodded. “Yes, she’s alive.”

Tears rolled down Peter’s face. Once again, he was finding it hard to believe. This was a dream come true for him. The only place he had always been seeing Maria was in his dreams. He never imagined that he would have a chance to see her again, to talk to her, to touch her. The love of his life, his Maria, his soulmate, the queen of his heart – was alive.

“Oh, my Maria,” more tears rushed to his eyes.

“I’m sorry I kept the truth from you for so long. I tried my best to reach you.”

He wiped the tears with the back of his hands. “So where is she now? Please tell me where she is. I will go to her right now. Tell me where my Maria is.”

The doctor’s expression became gloomier. “I’m afraid I don’t know.”

“What!”

“I don’t know where she is.”

Again, Peter stared at the doctor in awe; this time the surprise was mixed with a heavy dose of sheer disappointment. He felt like he had just been hit on the chest with a sledge hammer. He was at the precipice of losing his mind. How could he have received such good news and have the hope grabbed from her a moment later?

“Are you messing with me, doctor?”

“I have no intention of causing you such grieve; but I’m afraid I don’t know her whereabouts. After treating her back to health, I lodged her in a hotel because she could not remain in the hospital for long. She was supposed to stay in the hotel for a month while I process her travelling documents. The plan was to get her out of the country, to London precisely. That was the agreement we both had. She was supposed to leave for London and return to this country after ten or twenty years when no one would recognise her anymore. But just two weeks after staying in the hotel, she informed me that she was no longer interested in leaving the country. She told me she was going to lay low somewhere else. I tried to persuade her and let her know how dangerous it would be for her to remain in this country, but her mind was made up. She said this was her father’s land, and she was not going to run out of it because of Officer John Balewa – she claimed that she was not a coward. Another reason was that she did not want to be so far away from you. It seemed like she believed you were going to break out of jail and both of you would be together again.”

“Where did she tell you she was going?”

The doctor shrugged his shoulders. “She wouldn’t tell me. She said the less I knew the better it would be for me. In her way, she was trying to protect me. She refused to tell me where she was going. I begged her to tell me but she didn’t. Since she left, I have not heard anything about her. She did not even bother to call me.”

“So what you are telling me now is that no one knows where my Maria is?”

Rukewe nodded. “No one does. I believe that you are the only person who can find her.”

BOOK FIVE

RETRIBUTION

(2005 – 2015)

Seun:
Congratulations, my humble brother. You achieved your dream.

Update 10

***

Peter Black was in jail, and Maria was recovering and keeping a low profile – but there were five people who were ready to fight their battles for them. These five people had no familial affiliation with the two aforementioned people, but they took it upon themselves to defend and fight for them. They were ready to do whatever was necessary to ensure that the person who hurt them didn’t go free, and that he would not be able to hurt them any further. And while they would be defending the couple, they would also – by extension – be defending the third party – Officer John Balewa.

Murphy and Uche came up with most of the plan; they chose the right moment the Bonifacio mansion would be infiltrated and how Murphy could easily gain access without being detected by the other guards. The job seemed a lot easier because Uche was now involved. If there was anyone in the world who knew the chink in Roberto Bonifacio’s armour, it was Uche. And it was great luck for Doctor Rukewe, Nurse Muyiwa, Yinka and Murphy to have someone like Uche in their corner. On the other hand, the only way Uche agreed to help out was because the nurse begged him to assist them. It had reached a point between them where Uche could not say no to Muyiwa any longer; and from the way the two shared glances and occasionally held hand, even the other three knew that the two liked each other. It was just remarkable that two people would find love in this kind of situation.

The Black Followers that started with an initial number of three people grew to become five, and the number would continue to grow.
And so on the eve of the day Officer John Balewa was to be promoted, a car parked a few yards away from the mansion. It was a cold night because a heavy rain had just stopped. The streets were mostly deserted due to the cold; everyone was in their houses. It was a Sunday night, a cold Sunday night. The car remained there for several minutes. And so when it was around eleven, the door of the car was opened and Murphy stepped out of it. He was totally clad in black attire, just like Uche had told him to. Roberto’s right hand had informed him that the black clothes would help him in blending well with the night, and that would give him a better chance of gaining entry into the compound without being detected.

He carefully made his way towards the front gate of the mansion, waited a brief moment to listen to the sounds of the other thugs within the compound. While he waited, he looked at the surface of the watch strapped on his wrist. If not for the full moon above, he would not be able to see the time. But when he checked, the time was 11:28. At exactly 11:30, Murphy began to hear the sounds of receding footsteps. Things were going according to plan. Uche had promised that he was going to help distract the attentions of the guards, and that was exactly what was happening. When he was sure that the guards were no longer around the front yard, he gently pushed the gate in – it was unlocked, as expected. He didn’t know how Uche did it, but the man had ensured that the gate was unlocked.

As Murphy stepped into the compound, he wondered if he might be stepping into a trap. What if everything was a form of deception by Uche? What if Uche was too loyal to Roberto Bonifacio? It was not easy for someone who had been loyal for over twenty years to suddenly change his allegiance. Murphy realised that he might just be stepping into the den of a waiting lion; but he was not scared; he had stopped getting scared of people since a long time ago. If he died now, he was going to die without having any regret; he was going to die for what he believed in. Maria was someone worth dying for. Perhaps if he died, he would have the opportunity to meet her in the afterlife. He just wanted to make sure that he took Roberto Bonifacio along with him when he finally died.

As he stepped into the compound, he noticed one guard seated at a corner. The thug was inconspicuously huddled in a lonely spot and his rifle was leaning against the wall beside him. But fortunately for Murphy, the thug was fast asleep with his mouth hanging open. Besides this particular sleeping guard, the compound was practically deserted. He knew that it was only a matter of time before the men returned to the front yard. Uche had given him just a brief moment to gain access into the mansion. As he was making his way towards the building, he heard the approaching footsteps of one of the guards. Murphy quickly concealed himself among the flowers planted in the compound. He waited there until the guard turned a corner before he came out of his hiding and quickly walked to the front door. He turned the knob and pushed the door in. Like the gate, the door was also unlocked – Uche had made sure of that too. As he stepped into the building Murphy half expected to see Roberto Bonifacio seated in a chair and waiting for him, with his armed guards by his side. But there was no one waiting for him. He drew out the gun Yinka had given him and located the stairs. Uche had offered him a pistol but Murphy had refused it, instead he wanted to make use of the one Yinka had given him. He had never killed anyone in his life before, and he never thought that one day he would have to do it. But he knew he was going to kill the bastard Roberto Bonifacio and not feel the slighted guilt for doing it. Killing a man like Bonifacio would be a great favour to the world. He was going to do what no other man was willing to do. Even Uche had refused to be the one to kill his boss; in a way, he was still loyal to Roberto. He could help in making sure Roberto died, but he was not going to directly participate in killing him. If Uche had agreed to do it, all these drama of sneaking into the house late in the night would not have been necessary – but in a way, Murphy himself wanted to stare into Roberto Bonifacio’s face when he pulled the trigger. It would be a great pleasure to be the one to finally end the terror called Bonifacio.

The house was even a lot quieter than the compound, and it was totally deserted; Murphy had expected to encounter at least two guards in the living room, but Uche had done a good job in clearing the paths for him. He climbed the stairs and located the door leading to Roberto Bonifacio’s bedroom. He sighed deeply and turned the knob. He stepped into the room and saw the villain sleeping soundly on the bed that was illuminated by the bedside lamp. A brief smile crossed Murphy’s lips as he moved closer to the sleeping figure. He reached across and gently pulled the blanket off the sleeping man. The action woke up Roberto who stared into his eyes in shock. Murphy immediately pressed the gun over the man’s head before he made any sound.

This was exactly how he had pictured doing it. He wanted to stare in the face of the monster before killing him. He wanted Roberto to know that he was not as untouchable as he thought he was. He wanted to show the man that he had messed with the wrong people. Most importantly, he wanted to let Roberto know that the citizens of the country were not as weak-minded as he thought.
“Who are you? What do you want?” Roberto asked him.
Murphy gave a wicked smile. He has the upper hand over the dreaded Roberto Bonifacio; and it was even sweeter because the foreigner knew nothing about him. Even if he did, it would not make any difference; the man was going to die soon anyway. But before he killed him, he wanted Roberto to know that he had been played for a fool. A trap had been set for him and he had foolishly taken the bait.

And so while the gun was still pressed against Roberto’s forehead, Murphy explained everything to Roberto. How the man had been played by the doctor and how he made the greatest mistake of his life when he shot Maria and caused her death. He took his time in telling Roberto everything. He enjoyed the horror that crossed the man’s face as he explained how the plans were orchestrated, most particularly the fear that came to Roberto’s face when he knew that he was going to die. Nothing gave him more pleasure than Murphy finding out that Roberto Bonifacio was as scared of dying as any other person. He had thought that the man would prove to be a lot braver than this. And yet in even in the coldness of the night, Roberto Bonifacio was sweating. Although he was not begging for his life, his eyes were pleading. Murphy expected him to scream and alert the guards but he didn’t. He probably hoped that his life would be spared. But that was never going to happen. He could not let Roberto live. He knew the man; Bonifacio would use everything in his resources to take his revenge. The madman would kill everyone remotely associated with Peter or Maria, then he would dedicated everything he had into locating Murphy and killing him slowly. There was only one solution; only one mercy existed in this case – the killing of Roberto Bonifacio.

Murphy pressed the gun more firmly against Roberto Bonifacio’s forehead and said, “This is for Peter Black – and Maria.”

Then he pulled the trigger.

The report of the gun was louder than he thought. He knew without a doubt that the other guards would hear the gunshot. He had to get out of there as fast as possible. There were pieces of Roberto’s brain splattered across the wall, the headrest of the bed and the bedsheet. Some were even sprinkled on the bedside table; there was blood everywhere. As he was about to step out of the room, he noticed a framed picture on a mantelpiece at the east of the room. He quickly moved closer to the picture. He picked up the frame and took it close to the light of the lamp. He gasped in shock at what he saw. He looked back at Roberto Bonifacio in desperation and regretted his action. The man was dead – he has just killed the only man who could answer the question he desperately sought an answer for.

Murphy quickly took out the picture from the frame and pocketed it before he stepped out of the room. The rest depended on Uche who would take the picture of Roberto’s corpse and send it to the rest of TBF. Then Yinka would take the picture and hand it to Officer John Balewa at his inauguration ceremony.

Murphy met Uche at the staircase and he was led through the back gate that led to where the car was parked. His partners were already waiting for him.

As soon as he reached the car, Nurse Muyiwa stepped out and asked, “He’s dead, isn’t he?”

Murphy nodded.

She remained silent for a while before speaking. “May his soul rest in peace. May God forgive him his sins. I sincerely wish we didn’t have to do this.”

“But we had no choice,” replied Murphy, “He had to go or the child’s life would not be safe.” He stared into Muyiwa’s eyes and said, “Your life would not be safe. He tried to kill you before; he would try to kill you again.”

Nurse Muyiwa thought about this, nodded and said, “Let’s get out of here. The doctor is waiting.”

As they entered the car, Murphy’s mind was focused on the picture he had taken from Roberto’s room. His mind was in turmoil. He swore to find out the truth about the picture.
What Murphy Khalid didn’t know, however, was that it would take him more than ten years to discover the truth.

NoChill:
LarrySun, I am a big fan.

How do I contact you, I'll like us to work together. I am into 3d Animation and I will like to adapt some of your stories.

Update 9

“We didn’t condemn any baby to death,” Muyiwa said helplessly.

“Lying won’t save you, so don’t bother.”

“You don’t understand. We will never put any child to death.”

“Explain that to the innocent babies of Peter Black and the police officer. Did you guys know what you have done? Just for some lousy amount of money, you have not only signed the death warrant of one child but also of another. Do you know how many people are going to die because you and the rest of your gang chose to be greedy? What kind of human beings are you people?”

“It’s not what you are thinking. That’s not our intention.”

“Of course, you are going to say anything to save yourself.”

“Please listen to me. Even if you are going to kill me, at least you should know the truth. Please hear me out first.”

Uche stared in her eyes; they seemed to be honest. He wondered if this was just deception. She could be very skilled in deceiving people. He decided to give her a listening ear. He would know if she was lying or not.

“Before I listen to anything you have to say, first tell me where I can find the doctor.”

“He’s in the hospital. I work for him. I’m a nurse. I’ll be resuming my shift in a couple of hours.”

“So you’re a nurse?”

“Yes.”

“What hospital?”

“Fortress Hospital.”

“The same Fortress Hospital where Maria died?”

She nodded diligently, “Yes.”

“So it’s you guys who brought her child to the world?”

She nodded again.

“And you still sold the life of the baby? This is unbelievable.”

“Just listen to me first, please.”

Uche shrugged. It wouldn’t make any difference anyway, but he was going to allow her to explain herself before killing her. After getting rid of her he would seek out the bastard doctor and kill him too, but not before he made him reveal how the remaining two males could be located. He would find those ones too and kill them. They all deserved to die.

Still aiming his gun at her, he sat in the cushion seat opposite her and said, “I’m listening. And don’t try to do anything funny or I’m going to blow out your brains.”

“It’s true that the doctor went to Roberto and revealed that Maria’s child is alive, but there is more to it. The intention was not to have the child killed. It’s a deception.”

Uche frowned. “What do you mean by deception? Are you saying the doctor lied to him?”

“No, no, it’s true. The child lives. We told Roberto about them so that we could get the money from him. The money, however, is meant for a vengeful purpose.”

“Speak in plain words. I don’t understand what you are talking about.”

“Our plan was to kill Roberto Bonifacio before he would make attempt on the child’s life. I know it’s a very silly risk, but that was the only way we could really get Roberto’s attention, and the money we needed.”

“So what you are telling me is that you planned to kill Roberto by putting the life of Maria’s child in his hand? The same Maria whose death he was responsible?”

“I know it sounds dumb but it’s the truth. There was no way we could get the money from him without giving him that information. We couldn’t lie to him; he would find out about it immediately and the story would change. Instead of us hunting him to kill him, he would be the one hunting us.”

“You’re still not making sense to me,” Uche said, “What’s the money for?”

“The money is meant for the purchase of a gun, and it would also aid us in gaining entrance to his mansion.”

“How?”

“We supposed that we would be able to bribe some of the men and gain entrance into the mansion when he slept.”

Uche laughed and said, “I’ve never heard a more stupid plan. That’s, of course, if everything you’re telling is not a load of balderdash.”

“It’s the truth.”

“If what you’re saying is the truth, then what made you even conceive it in your silly minds that you could take down Roberto Bonifacio? Do you guys realise how powerful the man is? Do you know how rich and well-connected he is?”

“Everyone can be killed, no matter how powerful they are.”

“Why do you even want to kill him? What wrong did he do any of you? His issue is with Maria, Peter Black and that stupid police officer. Why have you guys chosen to involve yourselves in something that does not concern you?”

Muyiwa sighed and said, “Roberto Bonifacio is a terrible man. He deserves to die. He has killed a lot of people.”

“He’s my boss. What makes you think I’m going to stand idle and watch as you plan to kill him. I can just have the four of you killed for even conjuring that thought in your minds.”

Muyiwa looked directly in his face. She didn’t seem to be scared of the gun aimed at her anymore. “You are a good man. I can see it in your eyes.”

Uche laughed again. “Girl, you have no idea the terrible, terrible things I have done in the past. I’m far from being a good man. I don’t even want to be a good person. Good people are stupid people. This world is not meant for good people. Have you not heard the expression ‘the good die young’? Nothing good comes to good people.”

“But here you are trying to kill people you think have condemned an innocent child to death. If you are not a good man you would not even bother about the life of that child. Either you accept it or not, the truth remains that you have an element of kindness in you.”

“I’m loyal to Roberto. I won’t allow you guys to kill him. You will have to go through me before you get him.”

“You are willing to protect that evil man so much? Even with all the terrible things he has done?”

“I’ve done some terrible things too. I’m not holier than him.”

“The bastard killed my parents.”

Uche stared at her. “Oh, now I understand. This is about your personal vendetta. He killed your parents, it’s just natural that you must seek revenge. It’s not about getting justice for Maria it’s all about you all along.”

“Someone like Roberto Bonifacio is not fit to live. How are you not seeing this? He caused the death of a pregnant woman and a lot of other people, most of them innocent. He ordered the massacre of my family when I was a child. I still have the scar of the machete strike on my back. All my family members were killed – my dad, mom and all my siblings, they were all brutally murdered, and you think my vengeance is not justified.”

“Wait – did you say your family was attacked when you were a child?”

“Yes.”

“Why were they attacked?”

Muyiwa shrugged. “I was too young to know. I just know that we were attacked by the men sent by Roberto Bonifacio and our house was taken over by him.”

Uche slowly stood up and walked closer to her, his raised gun was now at his side, the muzzle pointing to the floor.

“What’s your father’s name?”

“Bolade Williams.”

“Oh my goodness! You’re Bolade William’s daughter?”

“Why? Did you know him?”

“Yes, I knew your father briefly. I had recently been recruited into Roberto’s gang at the time. Your father had come to borrow some money from Roberto and he was unable to pay up the interest on time so his property was seized. He made the mistake of threatening Roberto. He had no idea how cruel the man could be. Roberto ordered the massacre and took the property. Oh my goodness!”

“You were part of the men that attacked us?” Muyiwa glared at him, as if she had the physical power to attack him.

Uche shook his head. “He ordered me to carry out the killing but I refused. At that time, I still possessed a little bit of humanity in me. I couldn’t participate in the killing of innocent family members – people who didn’t directly offend Roberto.”

“But you know the men who attacked us, don’t you?”

“Yes, but they are dead now.”

“Dead?”

“They died during the shootout between that police officer and Roberto in the Maria situation. The police officer killed them.”

“Good,” the information seemed to please Muyiwa.

“If Roberto knows that you are alive, he’s going to have you killed without a second thought. You are an injured snake that has grown even more venomous.”

“Are you going to tell him?” Muyiwa asked him.

Uche stared at her as she asked the question. It was indeed a very important question. He was loyal to Roberto and it was his job to inform the man of any important information he learnt about him; but then again, this girl didn’t deserve to be killed by Roberto. She had suffered too much already from his hands. Her family had been wiped out because of him, and their house had been taken from them by Roberto. No, he was not going to tell him. This was not a piece of information Roberto should be privy to lest he wreaked a new disaster. Besides, he would not bear seeing the girl get killed by Roberto because he already had a soft spot for her; he had liked her since the first moment he set his eyes upon her, and that was part of the reason he had trailed her to her apartment. He didn’t know if she was going to like him back; he was a lot older than her – he was old enough to be her father; but the heart wanted what it wanted. However, this was not the time to dwell on the matter of the flesh, or of the heart, as the case might be. There was still something very important that needed straightening out – the issue of having Roberto Bonifacio killed.

He shook his head and said, “No, I’m not going to tell him. The fact that you survived that attack means that your death is not in the hands of Roberto. The universe is trying to say something here, and I am willing to listen.”

“You have not been listening enough,” Muyiwa told him.

“How do you mean?”

She spread her hands. “Isn’t it obvious? There is a reason why I survived that attack. There’s a reason why you had to come to me today and learn the truth about my history. There is a reason why you are no longer pointing that gun at me. You know everything I’ve told you is the truth, but for some reasons, you are trying to find a reason not to believe me. The universe is saying it out loud and clear but you are choosing not to listen.”

“And what is this universe saying?”

“It’s saying that our fates are entwined.”

Uche frowned. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“There’s a connection between us. We are meant to save a lot of innocent people, you and I. And the only way we can do that is by ensuring that Roberto Bonifacio dies. I feel bad knowing that I’m wishing death on another man, but Roberto is an embodiment of evil. The world will be a better place with him dead. This country will be safer if he’s dead. You know a lot of the terrible things he has done. You and I have the responsibility to stop him. This is our chance.”

Uche swallowed hard. He felt even closer to her now after hearing those words. Maybe they were going to be together after all.

“Before I decide anything,” he responded, “I want to meet the rest of your gang.”

Update 8

***

It was after two days later that Roberto Bonifacio brought the leader of his thug, Uche, into his confidence.

“I received a piece of information about Peter Black’s child,” Roberto had said smiling cruelly as he usually did. Then he had further explained to Uche his plans about how he would retrieve his diamond from Peter. Further revelation of Roberto’s plan had brought horror to the mind of Uche but he managed to keep a calm disposition in the presence of his boss.

He would not have had any problem with the plans had Roberto not told him that a baby was going to be killed. Uche didn’t have any problem about killing men, either guilty or not – but the killing of a child? He didn’t sign off for that. That was a line he was not going to cross, not even for someone like Roberto Bonifacio.

Besides the fact that Roberto had wanted to kill a baby, the Italian’s little plan was ingenious. In this way, he would be able to back the formidable Peter Black into a corner and finally retrieve his diamond. Uche wanted Roberto to get back his diamond as soon as possible and leave the country. The Italian had promised him that the mansion was going to be left for him when he left the country. This was going to be Roberto’s little reward to him for being loyal all these years. For over twenty years, he had served Roberto faithfully. Although he had committed some grievous crimes for the Italian over the years, he had never sanctioned the death of a child. He would never do it. He recalled many years ago when Roberto had given the order to wipe out the family of a man who had fallen short of his payment to him. Roberto had lent the man some money with huge interest to be paid within a short time. The Italian had collected the documents of the man’s house, to be released back to him upon payment of the money owed and the interest. Unfortunately, however, the borrower, although able to pay back the money borrowed, was unable to completely pay the interest. He had come up with fifty percent of the interest and had begged Roberto to give him a grace of a week to return with the remaining fifty percent; but the Italian had disagreed and claimed ownership of the house. The poor man had begged Roberto, crawling on his knees and crying, but Roberto would not be moved. When it was clear that the Italian’s mind would not change, the man had foolishly threatened Roberto – he had threatened to go to the police and report the issue to them. Roberto had laughed at this threat.

To the man’s shock, the police did nothing about his complaint. It occurred to him that the police was also under the Italian’s pocket, as if the man controlled every aspect of the country. The poor man could not bear to see his own house taken over by a foreigner. It was his house; he had worked all his life to build it; he would not just hand it over and allow his family to go homeless. He would fight tooth and nail for what belonged to him. The following week, the man borrowed the remaining fifty percent from a friend and went back to Roberto. He begged the man to take the money and return his house to him. Roberto had gladly received the money but he still refused to return the documents to the man.

That same day, Roberto had ordered that the man and his family be slaughtered. That was the first time Uche refused to obey Roberto’s command. He chose to not be a part of a group of people who would not only kill an innocent man but also wipe out his family, killing his children – kids that did not offend him in any way. Luckily for Uche, Roberto did not find out about this disobedience. That was the only time, as far as Uche could remember, that Roberto had ordered the death of little children, until this moment. And like he had refused those years ago, Uche was also going to refuse this one. He would not take part in the killing of two newborns just because Roberto wanted to take his revenge from Peter Black and Officer John Balewa.

But not taking part in it was not enough. If he refused, Uche knew there were some other thugs who were so damaged that they wouldn’t mind killing those babies. He must have to find something to prevent those newborns from being killed. Either he participated in the killing or not, if those babies died, their deaths would be on his conscience. It would be known to him that he knew about what was going to happen to the babies and he didn’t do anything to stop it. He would be as culpable as the men who had committed the crimes.

When Roberto finally released him, Uche’s mind was not at peace. He kept thinking about the terrible fate that would befall those babies if he didn’t do anything about it. But how was he going to stop that from happening? He could not go against Roberto’s order – he would be killed in an instant. It didn’t matter if he was the leader of the thugs. The men under him were more loyal to Roberto than to him, and they would not hesitate to kill him if Roberto gave them the order. Besides, there were vultures among those men already – they envied Uche and his position; they would gladly kill him and take over his position. Uche knew he would have to do this very wisely; he was walking on dangerous grounds. Nobody ever went against Roberto Bonifacio and lived to tell the tale – well, except Peter Black and Officer John Balewa; and according to Roberto’s plan, those one’s too would be dead very soon. Uche didn’t care about those two; what he cared about were the two babies.

It eventually dawned on Uche that this was the doctor’s fault. The doctor who had paid Roberto a visit had revealed that Peter Black had a child. Even seemingly respectable men could be rascals where money was concerned. He decided that the only thing he could do at the moment was punish the doctor for what he had done. Such kinds of men didn’t deserve to live. He would find the doctor and kill him. At least if the innocent babies would be dying, then the man who had sanctioned their deaths should also die. He might not be able to help those infants but he sure as hell was going to help them seek vengeance.

But there was now an issue; he didn’t know where the doctor lived, or where he worked. He had followed the man to a hotel but had not bothered to trail him to his office or home. Instead, he had followed the young woman among them instead. He assumed that to find the doctor, he would have to locate the lady, seeing that the doctor, the lady and two other men had left the hotel that afternoon. The lady would surely lead him to the doctor. He would make her tell him where the man lived. He guessed that the lady was in on the cruelty of exposing the babies’ existence – Uche might have to kill her too, including the two other men when he found them.

The following evening, Uche was driving towards the streets he had followed the lady in. Thankfully, he had written down the address of the house and so it was a lot easier for him to locate the girl’s home. He tarried in his car for some minutes, trying to observe the environment and watch the house. He wanted to be sure that the girl was at home, and that she was alone in the house. He was not going to harm anyone who didn’t deserve to be harmed – he was not Roberto Bonifacio.

He remained in his car for another hour before he finally opened the door. He tucked his pistol under his shirt before he stepped out. Then he gently walked to the front door of the house. He looked around to see if anyone was watching him but there appeared to be no one in sight.

When he got to the door, he knocked it gently. He would have easily broken down the door had he been working under the order of Roberto Bonifacio, but Roberto must not know that he was here. There was no answer at first. When he knocked again, he heard a female voice come from within the house.

“Coming,” the voice said. He knew that it was the lady’s voice; he also knew that she was alone in the house. He had spent the hour waiting in the car just to be sure.

The door was finally opened and the lady stood before him. From the expression on her face, Uche could tell that she didn’t recognise him.

“What can I do for you, please?”

Uche’s heart broke at the thought of what he was going to do to her. She was a beautiful girl; he had been somehow smitten by her the first time he set his eyes upon her. Although Uche was already approaching his fifties, he never considered having a spouse; in fact, he had never liked any woman to the level of planning to spend the rest of his life with her. He was always contented with his occasionally time with prostitutes whenever he needed a warm body. But the sight of this lady had made him consider the possibility of ever settling down. But then again, he knew that was never going to happen, not as long as there was Roberto. The evil man would use this weakness against him eventually. The bastard enjoyed taking people’s loved ones from them, and so if he discovered that Uche had a soft spot for anyone, he would find a way to kill that person. That was always the way of the monster called Roberto.

Uche smiled briefly at the girl standing before him, then he swiftly brought out his pistol and pressed it against her forehead. She took steps back into the house and Uche followed, using his leg to shut the door behind them.

The lady was beginning to sweat. Her eyes were open wide in horror.

“Please, please, don’t kill me. Please. I will do whatever you want. Please don’t kill me.”

They were in the living room and Uche motioned her to sit in one of the cushioned chairs.

“Do you live alone?”

She nodded obediently. “Yes, yes, I live alone.”

“Good” said Uche, the pistol still pointed at her, although this time it wasn’t aimed at her forehead but her chest.

“Do you know why I’m here?”

She shook her head.

“Where can I find the doctor?”

Her expression of fear received a hint of surprise. “The doctor?”

“Don’t act dumb. That’s only going to make me angrier. Where can I find the doctor and the other two men in your gang?”

She suddenly realised that the man before her was one of Roberto’s men and her fear intensified. She assumed that Roberto had learnt about their little plan and he had sent this man to come and kill them.

“Please don’t kill us,” she started to beg and weep.

“Shut your filthy mouth and tell me where the doctor is. Your pleas are falling on deaf ears. Were you thinking of the innocent babies you have condemned to death when you and your gang were making your little plans? How could you do something so cruel? I thought people like you were supposed to be respectable in the society. How could you condemn innocent children to death all because of money? How could you live with yourselves?”

Nurse Muyiwa Williams stared at Uche in utter shock; she thought she must have been dreaming to have heard such words come from a man working for Roberto Bonifacio.

Update 7

***

Nurse Muyiwa, Yinka and Murphy Khalid convened in Felicity Hotel where the plan about how to get even with the powerful Roberto Bonifacio was seriously discussed. Doctor Rukewe had later joined them about an hour later. The discussion lasted many hours. When the meeting finally came to an end, a well-laid plan had been put in place. These four people had been the pioneer members of TBF, and they were dedicated to the cause.

A week later, Doctor Rukewe, who knew where Roberto Bonifacio lived, paid a visit to the man in his mansion. He knew he was stepping into the lion’s den but he was not scared. He believed that the plan already in place was going to work. Right from the gate, there were armed men highly devoted to Roberto Bonifacio. He demanded to see their boss; and after much hassle, was finally taken to meet the man.

“I heard you wanted to meet me,” Roberto said to Rukewe. The Italian was seated on his leather sofa and the doctor remained standing before him.

“Yes,” Rukewe replied confidently. “I believe I have a piece of information you will need.”

The Italian leaned back and carried a smirk on his face. “Really? What could a nonentity like you have that I would need?”

Rukewe ignored the insult and said, “It’s going to cost you. It’s going to cost you big.”

Roberto scoffed. “Tell me you are not trying to take money from me. Do you realise whose presence you are in?”

Rukewe remained unfazed. “I know who you are. Like I said, I have a piece of information that you need.”

“And you think you can step into my house and blackmail me with it? Do you not fear for your life?”

“If you kill me, you will never know the information I bring, and that’s going to be a great shame.”

“And what information is that?”

“It’s about the man named Peter Black.”

This time, Roberto leaned forward. “What about him? The last time I heard, the bastard is rotting in jail.”

“I assure you that this information is going to be of great benefit to you. But I’m not saying more until you pay me.”

“What’s going to stop me from killing you after getting the information from you?”

The doctor gave a weak smile. “I assure you that you are not.”

“We shall see. How much do you want for this information?”

“Ten million naira.”

Roberto stared at Rukewe for a moment, his face hardening viciously, then he suddenly broke into a laugh. He laughed so hard that the doctor thought for a moment that his host had gone mad.

“I like you, old man. You are really ambitious. What information could you possibly have that will make me give you ten million naira?”

Rukewe smiled at him and replied, “Peter Black fathers a child.”

It took a few moments for the information to sink into Roberto’s brain. When it finally did, his eyes were opened widely. “You lie!”

“Don’t you think it would be foolish of me to approach you with a lie? I am Doctor Rukewe of Fortress Hospital. It was me who attended to the pregnant Maria you shot. Before she died, Maria gave birth to a baby boy. No one else knows about this except Peter Black and me. Now I know what this information means to you, and I’m sure you will be willing to pay ten million for it. I know about the black diamond you seek, and I know that it’s in Peter Black’s possession. Now if you use this information against him he’ll have no choice but to give up the diamond. You and I know that ten million naira is a small price to pay for what you are going to gain in the long run.”

“So where is this child you are talking about?”

“That information will come after I receive payment. I’m not saying anything further.”

Roberto stared at him for a moment, then he finally nodded. “Okay. But you are going to tell me as soon as I give you the money, right?”

It was Rukewe’s turn to laugh. “Of course not.”

Roberto’s face darkened. “Are you playing games with me?”

“I know that you will not hesitate to kill me as soon as you have the information. So I’m going to hold on until I get to a safe location before telling you. You will give me your telephone number and I will call you to give you the information within an hour after I leave here.”

“And you expect me to trust you with my ten million naira?”

“The last thing I would ever think of doing is screwing you over. I know you have the resources to locate me wherever I am and kill me if I don’t meet up with my end of the deal.”

“You said you are a doctor from Fortress Hospital, right? Do you have a family, Doctor Rukewe?”

“I’m not going to answer that.”

“It does not matter. I will find out. If you turn out to be a traitor, you will die a slow painful death after I make you watch your family gets massacred. I am not someone you can dupe and get away with it.”

“When should I be expecting the money?”

Roberto stared at him for a moment, then he stood up and disappeared into an inner room. He returned about fifteen minutes later with a large bag. He dropped the bag in front of the doctor.

“That’s the ten million naira you requested. Take it and leave immediately before I change my mind.”

Rukewe quickly picked up the bag and left the building. The bag felt heavy in his hand. He did not have to check it to know that it contained hard currency. When he got out of the gate, he climbed into his car and drove away.

He returned to the hotel and dropped the money with the rest of the team.

Then as planned, he placed a call to Roberto through the telephone provided by the hotel.

“Did you hear about the pair of twins Officer John Balewa’s wife gave birth to?” Rukewe asked Roberto after the Italian had picked up the call.

“Yes, I heard the news.”

“Well, the kids are not twins. One of them is Peter Black’s child. Balewa does not know that he has Peter Black’s son under his roof. Only Peter and I know the truth.”

“What about Balewa’s wife? Does she know?”

Rukewe paused before replying; he had not considered that angle. “No, she does not. She believes she gave birth to a pair of twins.”

“Which one of the two belongs to Peter Black?”

“I trust that you will find out this on your own. Goodbye ,Mr Boni.”

He cancelled the call.

The four TBF stared at each other after the call had been made. They didn’t exactly know what they were going to do next. The question was hanging in the air but none of them was ready to ask it. Finally, Yinka rose to his feet and dipped his hand into his pocket and brought out a pistol. The three others shrank back in shock and fear.

“Where did you find this?” Murphy asked him.

“This is the gun belonging to one of Roberto’s thugs,” Yinka explained.

“Where did you find it?” Murphy asked again.

“I told you I witnessed the shooting of Maria. This gun fell from the hand of one of the thugs when he was shot. I picked it up before the police could find it.”

“And why did you do that?”

“I had the intention of using it to shoot Roberto dead whenever I set my eyes on him. He killed Maria; I was going to avenge her death whenever I set my eyes on him. I didn’t mind if I was going to lose my life in the process. I thought I was the only one who wanted to fight for Maria until Mr Khalid approached me.” He moved close to Murphy and handed him the gun. “Please do not miss.”

“I am not going to.”

Muyiwa spoke for the first time. “So when will the deed be done?”

“In two days’ time. We have to act fast before Roberto finds a way to get to Peter Black.”

“How do you plan to gain entry with all the guards stationed everywhere in the mansion?” the doctor asked.

“If I could successfully escape from a maximum security prison, then I can easily gain entry into the house undetected.”

“Everything lies on you now. If you fail, that means that I have signed the death warrant of an innocent child. You know Roberto is not going to spare that child, don’t you?”

“I’m not going to fail.”

“Good.”

“All we need to do now is wait,” said the nurse. She and the doctor shared a glance. They knew they were keeping a secret of their own. They were the only two people in the room – even in the world – who knew that Maria was still alive. And if her son died because of their little plan, she was not going to forgive them. Muyiwa desperately wanted to tell Murphy that Maria was alive but she could not – she had sworn an oath with her life to keep the truth of her existence a secret.

About two hours later, the four TBF left the hotel one after the other. None of them took notice of the car parked at the other side of the road, or of the man behind the wheel – the man who had been watching the hotel for the past two hours.

He was one of Roberto’s men. When Doctor Rukewe left the mansion, the Italian had ordered one of his trusted men to tail the doctor in another car and find out where he lived.

He watched from his car as the four came out of the hotel. First it was the doctor who got in his car and drove away, but Roberto’s thug did not bother to follow him. He had another mark in sight. He was going to follow the girl.
While the other three men went in their different directions, the girl remained at the side of the road, apparently waiting for a car. She eventually hailed down a taxi and got in.

The thug followed the taxi.

By following the girl, he would easily be able to connect with the three other men. He tailed the taxi for about forty minutes before the girl finally disembarked from it at her bus-stop. And from the bus-stop she took a motorcycle into the streets. The man behind the wheel followed her still. He kept a good distance between his car and the motorcycle to avoid raising any suspicion.

It was about another half an hour before the bike stopped in front of an old house. He parked at a safe distance and watched the girl pay the motorcyclist before she disappeared into the small building.

He remained there for another hour before he decided to drive off and return to the mansion. He made sure he got the proper address of the house before he left though. And as he drove back to his boss, he kept thinking about the girl. He didn’t know why but he could not stop thinking about her.

Weirdly, he felt like seeing her again – he felt like talking to her. He had never felt like this before.

He had no idea about the piece of preposterous news he was going to hear when he got back to his boss – the news that was going to make him a new convert; the same news that would change him from a mere thug and become a bona fide fifth member of the TBF.

Uche’s conscience was going to make him a better person.

youngest12:
Larrysun you are doing a great job but why is it that all the update uve dropped only talk about the past without touching the present
I'm not a writer but I think the past suppose to be in form of flashback.

Update 6

His heart broke as he watched Peter Black break down and cry on Maria’s casket. The man was shackled with chain on both hands and legs and so he could not move freely. There were two police officers stationed close to him, watching his moves. The policemen were armed; and it was clear that they would not hesitate to use their weapons on the man if he did anything they didn’t like. Murphy could tell that Peter really loved her – the feeling of great loss could be seen all over the young dark-skinned man’s body. It was indeed a terrible thing to lose the person one dearly loved. Even though he didn’t know the kind of person Peter Black was, Murphy was sure he must have been a great person to have married Maria. The Maria he knew might be a thief, but she was a girl of very high standards; he had not thought there would be any man who could match her psychological standards. And so for this man to have married her, then he must really be something. He was sure Maria had not married him simply because he was a thief, or because he was a very good-looking person – surely there must be something wonderful about him, something unique. Maria had a gift – she could see people. With one look, she could tell if someone was a good or bad person; she was indeed a great judge of characters. And so Murphy decided to accord Peter Black the same respect he had for Maria. The least he could do was take care of Maria’s husband – that was what Maria would want him to do. He decided that he was going to find out everything about this man and try to make him as comfortable as he could. But first he would have to get rid of the man who took Maria from him – from them.

A short while later, the police officers who had been watching Peter came and dragged him away just as Maria’s casket was being lowered into the grave. He wished the casket was an open one; he wanted to view her body for the last time, but the casket was shut. Around him, people were starting to cry as the interment process took place. he wanted to reach the casket and try to touch it at least before it disappeared into the grave, but he was too far away, and there were too many people around. There was no way he would be able to do that.

Resignedly, he stopped struggling to reach the casket; there was no point fighting for what he could not get.

“I’m going to fight your battle for you, Maria,” he said out. “You will not die in vain. I promise you that. I will make the man who killed you pay. I won’t rest until I bring him down. This is my solemn vow to you, Maria. I will dedicate the rest of my life into locating him. I will not rest until I avenge your death.”

“Did you know her?” a voice sounded close to him.

Murphy nearly jumped out of his skin. He could not believe someone heard what he was saying. He had not thought he had spoke out so loudly. He thought the noise would drown out his voice, but someone had heard him. He might just have put himself in a serious problem. What if the person who had heard him was a policeman? Or worst of all – what if the man was Officer John Balewa? But that was highly unlikely; there were hundreds of people here. The chance of Officer Balewa being the person behind him was very slim. Still, there was something about the voice that spoke to him; there was a hint of sadness in the question.

He slowly turned around. At first, he expected to see the doctor he had sought out in the hospital a couple of hours back, but the person standing before him was a very young man, and there was no chance in hell that the young boy could be the doctor.

“Who are you?” Murphy asked irritably; he didn’t know the boy. He was not in the mood to chat about Maria with a total stranger; someone who didn’t know his story or her story. Most of everyone here didn’t really know Maria. All they knew was that she was a great woman, but they didn’t know the extent of her greatness. They had no idea the loss the world would suffer for Maria’s death.

“I asked the question first,” replied the young man, “Did you know her?”

“Why are you questioning me if I know her or not?”

“I heard what you said. It’s only someone who knew her personally that can say something like that.”

“Really? Then what if I knew her?”

“How do I believe what you are saying?”

“I don’t care if you believe me or not. Maria was my friend; she does not deserve to die this way.”

“She was my friend too.”

Murphy gave a dry laugh. “Of course, she’s everyone’s friend. Please excuse me. I have no time for this discussion.”

“I really knew her. I was there when she was shot.”

That stopped Murphy from walking away. “What did you just say?”

“I was there. I saw everything.”

“Boy, this is not something to joke with.”

“Do you really think I’m joking? Does my facial expression look humorous to you? My sister has been crying her eyes out since the moment she heard the news about her death. She has refused to eat anything since. Maria was her role model, now her role model has died.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Yinka. Peter and Maria knew me very well. It’s so sad that Peter too is going to jail. He’s such a nice man. A lot of terrible things are happening because of that bastard.”

“What bastard?”

“Roberto Bonifacio – the man who killed Maria.”

Murphy stared at the boy; everything he was saying appeared to be true. Roberto Bonifacio was really responsible for Maria’s death, and he had slipped away from the law. According to the news report Murphy read, Bonifacio had been discharged and acquitted for lack of tangible evidence. Murphy had not been surprised though; the law of the country was too weak for the strong, but too strong for the weak. Well, it was better that the man had not been jailed though; for if he had been sentenced Murphy would have a hard time exerting vengeance on him. Now his mind was almost blown knowing that there were other people who had the same thought about Bonifacio as him, and this gave him a sense of comfort. He would not be doing this alone; he was already gaining support from people who truly loved Maria.

“Did you know that Maria was pregnant when she was shot by Roberto?” Yinka asked tears running down his face.

“What!”

“Yes, she was. She was heavily pregnant and still the bastard shot her. She died with the baby.”

“Oh my goodness!”

Yinka pointed, “That’s her husband right there, being taken away in the police van. Imagine the darkness he’s in right now. He has lost so many people in his life. He’s now the shadow of himself. It’s so sad. Besides the police officers that died that day, Roberto Bonifacio was responsible for the deaths of four other people. If I could do it myself, I would have killed him. He’s an evil man. He left his own country to come and cause havoc here in Nigeria. He’s taking us all for jokes, like everyone in this country was his slave. Because he’s rich, he’s able to have a lot of powerful people of this country in his pocket. He takes pictures with them and shakes their hands. Whenever I see him in the television, I turn off the set immediately. I can’t bear seeing the man who killed Maria.” Yinka wept further. At this point, those who had come to pay their respect to Maria were beginning to disperse. The casket had been buried and there was nothing else to do but to return home. To them, that was closure – Maria had come and gone; now she would only exist in their memories as they continued their normal lives.

“Do you know Fortress Hospital?” Murphy asked him.

“Of course. Who wouldn’t know Fortress Hospital? That’s where Maria died.”

“Good. I want to see the doctor of that hospital. I was there a few hours ago but the nurse I met told me I would find him here.”

Yinka frowned. “I think I saw him somewhere close to the casket. What do you want from him?”

“I was told that he’s the only person who knows where Roberto lives.”

“I don’t trust the doctor.”

Murphy stared at the boy. “Why? What happened?”

“Everything that happened is his fault.”

“I don’t understand what you’re talking about. You have to be clearer.”

“It was the doctor who called Officer John Balewa the day Maria was killed. He told the police officer where Peter and Maria were living. Somehow, Roberto Bonifacio got the address and went after Peter and Maria just at the same time the police were coming for them."

“Why was Roberto hunting them?”

“I have no idea. I think the only person who can answer that question is Officer John Balewa himself.”

Murphy thought deeply about this. He had to be very careful now so that he would not implicate himself in the quest to search for the truth. He could not go and confront Officer John Balewa because he knew the man would recognise him and drag him back to jail. He decided that he didn’t need that information; it was enough knowing that Roberto was responsible for Maria’s death. But the new revelation the strange boy had just given him about the doctor seemed strange. He could not know who to trust or believe anymore. Was the doctor working for Roberto? Did he call Roberto just as soon as he called Officer John Balewa? Murphy decided that he would get to the root of all these, especially about the stand of the doctor. If he found out that the man was one of Roberto’s confidants, then he would have no choice but to get rid of the doctor too. Anyone who betrayed Maria deserved to be duly punished. He was going to confront the doctor and find out the truth from him. If he would have to beat him, Murphy was ready to punch the truth out of the man – but first, he must locate the doctor.

“Do you know a nurse name Muyiwa Martins?” Murphy asked the boy who frowned at the question, racking his brain.

He shook his head. “I don’t think I know her. Who is she?”

“Someone who wants Roberto punished too. She’s one of Roberto’s victims.”

“That’s so unfortunate.”

An idea suddenly occurred to Murphy and his eyes lit up with brightness. “Will you be busy this weekend?”

“No, I’m free. Why?”

“I want you to be in Felicity Hotel by 12 noon on Saturday.”

“Okay.”

“Do you know the place?”

“I’ll find it.”

“Please don’t be late.”

“I won’t,” replied Yinka, “But what’s the invitation all about?”

“You shall find out when you get there.”

Yinka shrugged and said, “No problem.”

As Murphy discharged Yinka, he decided to go back to the hospital. He needed to meet the nurse again. He would give her the same instruction. He wanted to have a meeting with his allies. They would need to plan about how they were going to avenge Maria’s death on Roberto Bonifacio. He had a perfect plan of his own, but he decided to seek the suggestions of the other allies. A better plan may come up.
The meeting, however, was going to be the first gathering of The Black Followers – a group of people dedicated to serving Maria and Peter Black.

Update 5

***
It was six months after his encounter with the strange woman whose name he had no idea that Murphy Khalid learnt about the death of Maria. The news had come as a great shock to him. Since the moment of his escape from prison he had been searching around for her, but it was very hard to locate her, especially since he had no lead to go with. He had simply been groping in the dark for a couple of months, reaching his hand into the black abyss and coming up with emptiness.

He had been filled with guilt when he watched the news on the television. He would not have believed that the reporter was talking about the same Maria he knew if her picture had not been displayed on the screen. In a way, he blamed himself for her death. He believed that she would not have died if he had met her sooner; he would have protected her. He listened to the news with rapt attention and learnt about the cause of her death – she had been shot in the neck by someone named Roberto Bonifacio. He almost went mad with rage. Maria had not died from sickness or accident – she had been shot by another human being. As tears rolled down Murphy’s face, he swore that he would avenge her death. He would not rest until he found the man named Roberto Bonifacio and killed him. Further information from the news revealed that Maria had died in a place called Fortress Hospital. Murphy took that as the first lead and got to work immediately. He would find out everything he needed to know about the reason behind the killing of his friend. He would locate the killer and eliminate him. He was not a killer by nature but this time around there was going to be an exception. Roberto had murdered someone very dear to his heart; he would not stand by and let him get away with that. Nobody would kill Maria and still live to tell the tale.

When he finally located Fortress Hospital, he had no idea that it was the same day that Maria was supposed to be buried. As he stepped into the hospital, he met a nurse come out of a ward. But something struck him as odd; the nurse was locking the door of the ward with a key. He frowned; it was strange to him that a hospital ward had to be locked with a key. He supposed the patient therein must be a very important person – perhaps the person was a hardened criminal who might escape with any chance they got. This made him remember Maria; the girl had escaped from the hospital she was kept in after her breakout attempt was foiled. She escaped even though there was a police officer stationed in front of her ward. And when Officer John Balewa gave a chase, she still managed to slip away from him. Maria was an extraordinary woman; she didn’t deserve to die the way she did. She might have committed some little crimes here and there but no one had the right to take her life from her. His heart broke further as he took careful steps towards the nurse. A part of him wondered why there was no police officer stationed in front of the ward the nurse had just locked – surely if the patient was a criminal, there would be a policeman guarding the ward, but there didn’t seem to be any around. Still Murphy was careful to not reveal his own identity. There might be plain-clothed policemen around, and if anyone recognised him he might be arrested. At this point, arrest was no longer an option now; he must locate the killer of Maria and waste the bastard. He was ready to spend every dime he owned to find the man. Well, it had been over six months since his escape from jail and he had tried to change his physical appearance as much as he could – it would be hard for anyone to recognise him now. The only person who might was none other than the bastard Officer John Balewa. The man had always been the thorn on the sides of many criminals in the state, and the country at large.

“Good morning, nurse,” he greeted as politely as he could.

The nurse stared at him in surprise. Murphy could notice a hint of fear cross her face as she stared back at him. “How-how may I help you?” She sounded very uncomfortable.

“May I see the doctor, please?”

“I’m afraid the doctor is not on seat. May I ask what your visit is about? If you have come for treatment, complaint or medical checkup, you should speak to the nurses behind the desk. They are there to answer all your questions.”

Murphy shook his head. “No, no – not that. I want to see him for a personal issue. Could you please tell me when the doctor would be back?”

“I’m sorry I can’t tell you anything except I know what your visit is all about.”

Murphy sighed and continued to stare at the nurse. He was sizing her up, trying to determine if he could trust her or not. He would need every help in trying to locate the bastard who murdered Maria. He finally felt it wouldn’t hurt if he told her anyway. The doctor was his only link to locating Roberto, and he would have to be forthcoming with this nurse if he wanted to gain access to the doctor. He felt it in his bones – the doctor would have the information he needed; it only depended on how he would be able to extract the information from him.

He gave a rueful smile and said, “It’s just about a patient that was once brought here who died. Her name was Maria.”

As soon as he said those words, he saw the nurse take a few steps away from him. She was staring at him suspiciously. Murphy almost felt like his cover had been blown; the nurse recognised who he was. He began to look all around him for any sign if a police officer, but there didn’t seem to be any around.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked her.

“Who-who are you?” she asked him, “Are you a police officer?”

Murphy frowned at first, then a smile crossed his lips; he was beginning to relax. There seemed to be nothing to worry himself about.

“I’m not a policeman,” he told her, but she didn’t appear to believe him.

“If you’re not a policeman, then why are you so concerned about Maria?”

Murphy was starting to feel anger boil up in him but he tried to calm himself and exercise a little patience with her. If he ruined his relationship with the nurse it might be hard for him to get an audience with the doctor.

“Maria was my good friend,” he said and regretted it just as soon as the words came out of his mouth. By revealing that he used to be friends with Maria, he might just have exposed himself. He might now be running the risk of being reported to the police. But to his surprise, the nurse’s suspicious look softened.

“She was everyone’s favourite,” she said, her voice registering sadness, “She’s my favourite woman. She didn’t deserve to be shot that way.”

“I just want to find out the location of the person who killed her,” he said, “I know his name is Roberto Bonifacio but I don’t know his location.”

“What would you do to him if you found him?” she asked. Murphy noticed that she was unusually curious. He felt he had been giving up too much information, but from looking at the lady he also felt that he could trust her. There was something about her that was pleading, like she had an inner pain of her own.

“Nobody kills my friend and gets away with it.”

“Mr Bonifacio is a very powerful man. There’s no way you will be able to kill him, sir.”

“All I need is how I can locate him and I will do the rest.”

She shook her head. “You will be killed even before you get close to him. There is a better way to approach this. We’ll need the help of the doctor.”

“We?” Murphy frowned. “Who is ‘we’?”

“I want the man dead just as much as you do, but like you, I’m very powerless against him.”

“Why do you want him killed?”

She hesitated a moment before replying. “Roberto tried to have me killed. His men massacred my family members. I am lucky to have survived the attack. The man is an evil man; he needs to be taken out. But the only way we can do that is by gaining his confidence. We have to infiltrate his defense, make him feel like he has the upper hand, and then strike him when he’s relaxed.”

“And how do we go about that?”

“First and foremost, you have to find a way to bring the doctor in. He’s the only person who knows how we can locate the evil man. He’s also going to play a major role in our little plan. If you can bring the doctor in, then we will have a great chance of getting across to him.”

“When will the doctor return?”

“I have no idea. He’s at the cemetery.”

“Cemetery?”

She stared at him. “You don’t know?”
“Know what?"

“That today is Maria’s burial?"

“Oh my goodness! Where is the cemetery? Please tell me.” This was his only chance to pay his last respect to his friend.

She gave him the address. And as he turned to leave, she said, “You didn’t tell me your name.”

He paused in his track and turned around to stare at her. He didn’t reply her immediately. He was deciding whether he could trust her with his identity. He knew that this was a critical moment. If he told her his real name and she turned out to be the wrong person he would be in serious trouble. The cover he had protected for so long would finally be blown and the police would begin a new hunt for him. Telling her his name would be a bad idea, at least for the first time.

“My name is Murphy Khalid,” he said. He could not help himself.

It was her turn to frown. “Murphy Khalid? The same Murphy Khalid? The escaped convict?”

Murphy nodded. “I hope you are not going to give me off.”

“Why would I do that? Any friend of Maria’s is my friend. And you are the only person who has the same passion as I.” She extended out her hand for a shake. “Nice meeting you, Murphy Kha
Ild. My name is Muyiwa – Muyiwa Martins.”

Khalid left the hospital and immediately sought out the cemetery. He wished he had a personal car of his own; he would arrive there faster if he did. He decided that he would need to get a car. He had close to a million naira; he could afford to get a personal car.

He arrived at the cemetery just at the moment when Maria’s casket was about to be lowered into the grave. He was amazed by the large number of people that had come to pay their last respect to Maria. Indeed, Maria had indirectly influenced a lot of people. It was the first time something like this was happening – a known thief becoming the favourite of everyone.

It was at the cemetery he saw Peter Black for the first time. It was also there that he got to know that Peter Black was Maria’s husband – and that he was a thief too.

felix00:
Is it coming up anytime soon?

sulorog:
No update yesterday, oga Larry

Update 4

***

For many months after breaking out of prison, Murphy Khalid searched around for Maria. She was the first person he went looking for when he got out. Maria was one of the reasons he had to break out of Ikoyi Prison. After learning about her escape from the hospital she was kept in after her failed breakout attempt Murphy was motivated to plan his own escape too. Maria’s attempt inspired him into believing that it was possible to escape from the prison if a prisoner was determined. Therefore, he owed his freedom to her; hence his reason for searching around for her. The only information he had about her was that she was in Lagos, but it was hard to locate her. It was like searching for a single needle in over twenty million haystacks.

While he was busy searching for Maria, he met a strange woman. He was in a restaurant having lunch when this woman approached him. She was young and beautiful; Murphy could guess that she would not be over thirty years old at most. From the way she carried herself he could tell that she was an affluent lady. At first Murphy had been suspicious of her when she approached him. He had initially thought she was an undercover policewoman who recognised him as an escaped convict. But Murphy decided against running; he would wait and find out who the woman was. He had zeroed his mind that no matter what happened, he would never be returning to jail; he would rather die than go back there. As the woman walked closer to his seat, he kept doubting that she was really a police officer. Her appearance, her grace, her looks – nothing gave her off as a policewoman. If she was really an undercover operative then she was a pretty good one.

When she finally reached him, she sat herself in the seat opposite him without asking for permission. Murphy guessed that she was not really a woman who was fond of seeking people’s permissions.

“I’d like to pay for your food, if you don’t mind,” she said pleasantly.

“Why would you want to pay for my food?”

“I’m here to offer you a deal.”

“I’m not interested,” Murphy said and returned to his meal.

The lady remained seated opposite him. She was silently studying him. A waitress came around and gave her the menu. She scanned through the menu briefly and ordered the first meal on the list, shooing the waitress away with the wave of her hand.

“Why don’t you listen to what I have to say first?” she said, her voice remained pleasant.

“I told you, whatever you are selling, I’m not interested in buying.”

“I’ll pay you a million naira,” she said in a matter-of-fact way.

Murphy paused at the point of putting a spoonful of rice in his mouth. He cast his eyes up and looked into the lady’s face. “What did you just say?”

She smiled warmly. “I got your attention now, didn’t I?”

“Are you messing with me, young woman?”

“Of course not. I’m actually going to pay you a million naira if you agree to do what I ask of you.”

Murphy did not believe her, and he let her know through his expression. “Where would you find a million naira to give me?”

“It’s either you don’t know who I am or you are a terrible pretender.”

“Who are you?”

“If you have to ask that, then you don’t need to know. It’s better that you don’t know anyway. You don’t know who I am and I don’t know who you are. Let’s keep it that way. I don’t want to know who you are – don’t even want to know your name.”

“What do you want me to do for you?”

Instead of replying, she reached into her expensive arm bag, extracted a jotter, scribbled some things into a page and tore the page off. She handed it to Murphy. “If you are really serious about making a million naira, meet me at that location on Wednesday by 8pm prompt. Do not keep me waiting. If you are later than five minutes you will never see me again. Goodbye, stranger.”

She rose to her feet, brought out her purse and counted out some money which she placed on the table in front of Murphy – it was payment for the food he was eating, and the one she had ordered, which she would not be eating.

Murphy watched her walk out of the restaurant and climbed into a black jeep. The model of the car alone was enough to convince Murphy that the strange woman was really packing big. And considering that he was a wanted man, the one million naira was really going to help him in maintaining a low profile from the police. The problem, however, was the fact that he had no idea what the woman would request him to do for her. After racking his brain for close to an hour right there, he finally came to the conclusion that perhaps the woman wanted him to kill someone for her. That was the only deal that seemed likely to him – and if that was the case, it would be a great shame because he was not a killer. The money would have really helped him but killing another person was a line he would not cross, not for all the money in the world. Besides, he didn’t know what the person did to her; he would never kill someone who didn’t hurt him just because the pay was good. He would meet the stranger at the location she had written down and he would listen to her request. If it turned out that it was actually what he suspected, he would simply walk away. To hell with her and her money; he used to be a common thief, not a killer.

He arrived at the location the following Wednesday just as the lady had directed him. It turned out to be a hotel – it was a very grand-looking hotel. He was there two hours before the appointed time and waited at the reception hall for her arrival. He wondered why the woman had chosen a hotel for them to meet. By 7:53pm he noticed the familiar jeep pull up in the parking lot and the lady got out. This time she was wearing dark shades and had a scarf covering a major part of her face. Murphy could tell that she was trying to hide her identity – he wondered why. A distant warning bell began to ring in his head but the prospect of having a million naira to his name kept him seated. Besides, he was curious about what the woman wanted him to do for her.

He still remained seated in his position as the woman stepped into the reception. He could see that she noticed him where he was seated but she didn’t acknowledge knowing him. Rather than walking up to him, the lady approached the hotel receptionist and booked a suite. He watched her pay in cash and the receptionist handed her a key.

She walked to him and briefly spoke to him before walking away, as if she didn’t want anyone noticing her speak to him.

“Meet me in Room 53.”

Murphy sat there and watched in confusion as she walked away. She soon disappeared at a long corridor. For ten minutes he didn’t rise up. He kept wondering what all the mystery was all about. Why would she demand that they must meet in a hotel room? Why couldn’t they just sit here and discuss about the plan? He guessed the woman must have some personal skeletons in her own closet too. That was the only thing that could explain why she had to wear those dark glasses and cover her face with the scarf – she definitely had something she was hiding from. Finally, Murphy stood up and made his way into the heart of the hotel. He climbed some stairs and came upon a corridor that had doors with different numbers on them. He had to climb a couple of steps up and down before he finally located the door that bore the number 53.

He stood in front of the door and knocked three times. The door was opened almost immediately.

“Please come in,” she said urgently, “Be fast.”

Murphy stepped into Room 53 which had an adjoining room. The first room was like the living room, with single, double, and triple seeters. It was a very neat room. and from the door he could see the king-sized bed that occupied the other room, which, of course, was the bedroom.

“You can have your seat,” she told him, finally pulling off her dark glasses and getting rid of the scarf.

“What am I doing here?” Murphy asked, refusing to sit down.

“Just have your seat first.”

“I’m not sitting anywhere until you tell me why you have invited me to this place.”

“Sit down, Mr Khalid.”

Murphy immediately backed away from her. “What is this? Is this a trap? Are you working with the police? You must be gravely mistaken if you think I’m going to surrender. I will rather die than go back to jail.”

“Calm down. I’m not with the police.”

“Then how did you know my name?”

“You’re quite a popular man, Mr Khalid. I didn’t know who you were when I met you at that restaurant last week. But in the weekend, I saw in the news that you are a wanted man. You broke out of jail and the police are searching for you. If I wanted to give you up I would have told the police about our little meeting. But I didn’t do that, so calm yourself down. Whatever problem you have with the police is none of my business.”

Having heard that, Murphy slowly sat down. “So why have you invited me here?”

“I will come straight to the point. It’s either you walk away or you accept my proposal,” she said and paused, staring at him. She sighed audibly and added, “I want you to sleep with me for three nights – tonight, tomorrow night and Friday night. You are not permitted to use condoms. After the three days I will pay you the one million naira, either by cheque or by cash, it depends on your choice.”

Murphy remained quiet for a brief moment; he was trying to process what he had just heard. “You want me to sleep with you till Friday?”

“Yes, but it’s going to be every night. If you accept, you will remain here in this suite till Saturday morning.”

“Are you saying we’ll be together for three days?”

She shook her head. “I’ll only be here every night till Friday. I can’t be seen with you.”

“Who are you?”

“You don’t need that information, Mr Khalid. Is my offer accepted or not? I can always find someone else to approach with this offer. You have the choice to either accept or refuse it.”

“And what if I refuse?”

“Like I said, you will never see me again.”

“Why do you want me to sleep with you?”

“That’s none of your business,” she replied casually and stood up. “I’ll be in the other room waiting for you. You are free to take your leave if you are not interested. You have five minutes to make your decision.” And with those words, she disappeared into the bedroom.

Murphy sat there, unsure about what to do. This was a weird offer; it was something he had not even considered at all. It seemed highly unusual, even immoral. How would a random woman just approach him and ask him for sex? Not just sex, he would also be paid a million naira. That kind of money was hard to turn down.

He rose to his feet and unlocked the adjoining door to the bedroom. She was already lying on the bed. She was naked.

He joined her.

Idaraobong5:
Larry sun how much is the complete copy and how do I pay?

felix00:
Yes boss but I don't fully remember the details. Maybe you can clear it up for me or give me a jolt

felix00:
Maria did not ask anything about her baby? Or did she think it did not survive Mr LarrySun

Shegzdave:
Thanks for the update.

Bukolaberry:
wow gracias

Teco2:
Wow, very interesting

do4luv14:
Wow nice one Oga larrysun, you had me wishing next week Sunday is tomorrow already

ufss:
wow ...interesting

fioky:
Mr Larry!!!!!

Abosede512:
LarrySun always on point, thanks for the update

Update 3

***

Maria remained in the hospital for another two months. Her recovery was still kept a secret from the patients and hospital workers, except, of course, Doctor Rukewe and Nurse Muyiwa, who were fully devoted to helping Maria remain anonymous as much as they could – and, indeed, anonymous she remained. Nurse Muyiwa was always there to provide for all her needs; she would bring Maria some food and a change of clothes. To her, Maria was a goddess, and so she worshipped her and made her very comfortable in the hospital.

Within the first and second month after she woke up from the coma, Maria was beginning to regain lost strength – her beauty was beginning to return and the shrunken body was gaining back lost flesh. Soon, she was fully alert and back to her old self. Initially, before the commencement of the surgery, the hair on her head was shaved off to allow the surgeons easily open her skull and work on her brain. And even after then, the head had constantly remained shaved until the wound fully healed. Now her lost hair had returned. It was black and long, its sheen was bright and attractive. There was no doubt that the dead Maria had come back to life, all thanks to Doctor Rukewe, Nurse Muyiwa and all the surgeons that worked on her.

“Now that you are fully healed, Maria,” said Rukewe after the two months of her stay in the ward, “I don’t think it’s safe for you to remain in this ward any longer. It’s getting harder and harder to conceal you in this hospital. People are starting to get suspicious about this ward. I am beginning to hear whispers and it’s only a matter of time before they demand to want to know who is in this ward. I hope you understand what I’m talking about.”

Maria stared at the doctor for a moment, then she smiled and nodded her head, “I understand. So what’s the plan?”

The doctor looked uncertain and Maria briefly thought that he might decide to throw her into the streets – but she immediately killed the thought. The man would not do that, not after everything he had done for her. He was a good man.

“I don’t know if you would like my suggestion.”

“Please tell me.”

“Well, I’m suggesting lodging you in a hotel.”

“A hotel?”

“Yes.”

“And you think that’s safe? People might recognise me.”

“Well, I’ve thought about it. A hotel is our best bet. I know a hotel manager I can trust. He will keep your identity a secret, as long as you remain in your suite and do not attempt to go out.”

“For how long will I be there?”

“Well, I’ll be booking you for a month. You will remain there until things are finally settled. The country is still mourning your death now. It will take a while before people finally get over the fact that you are dead and then move on; only then will you have the freedom to move around, at least under an assumed name.”

“An assumed name? What if someone recognises me?”

“That’s why you have to maintain an assumed name. I’m hoping you will come up with a name for yourself. If anyone recognises you, all you need to do is pretend that you don’t know what they are talking about. Everyone believes that Maria is dead, so if you are recognised, the only explanation would be that you are a doppelganger. That’s why you have to maintain an assumed name. Besides, I’m hoping that things will not get to the level of you being recognised, as long as you remain in that hotel room. I will continue to check on you occasionally. If you need any assistance, I can tell Nurse Muyiwa to stay with you. She will always run your errands.”

“That nurse seems devoted to me,” Maria observed.

The doctor smiled and said, “You both have a lot in common than you think.”

“Really?”

“She’s the victim of the same man who tried to kill you.”

“Roberto?”

The doctor nodded. “Roberto Bonifacio had her family massacred when Muyiwa was a young girl. It seemed like her father had a deal gone wrong with the man and so Roberto chose to wipe out his entire family. Her parents and her four siblings were brutally murdered. She was the only one who survived the machete wound to her body. She was treated by a nurse who took her in – the nurse inspired her to become a nurse herself. When I needed someone to trust with your situation, there was no one I could bring in except Muyiwa – she had gone through almost the same terror you went through in the hands of Roberto Bonifacio, and she really looks up to you. She watched all your performances in the television. Imagine her sadness when she heard that you were arrested for scamming another person. She was highly disappointed but she never stopped loving you or caring about you. She swore with her life that she would never tell anyone that you are alive. If she could kill Roberto, she would have done it the day she found out that he shot you in the neck. But Nurse Muyiwa is just a nurse, she is totally powerless against men like Roberto Bonifacio. If Roberto discovered that she survived the massacre of that year, he would have her killed again without blinking an eye.”

“Well, an eye for an eye will only make the world go blind,” Maria said absentmindedly.

“What?”

“It’s something I read somewhere. I suppose it means that revenge is futile. When you take revenge then you are no better than the person you are taking your vengeance on. The world has a way of balancing up things that seem crooked; you don’t have to seek revenge before nature fights your battle for you.”

“I really don’t understand what you are talking about, Maria.”

“All I’m saying is that I bear no grudge towards the person who tried to kill me. The fact that I’m alive after all means that I have won already. At this point, I just want to be left alone. I want to live my life in peace. I only need one favour from you, Doctor. I know you have done more than enough for me already, but I want you to do this one for me.”

“Tell me anything, Maria, I will do it.”

“If you can, I want you to find a way to inform my husband that I’m alive. I know Peter, he’s in a very dark place right now, and I know what must be going through his head. All he needs to know is that I am alive and he will find peace within himself. You see, he has lost too many people in his life. All the people he cares about are gone; he must be feeling very alone in the world right now. I’m afraid he may end up doing something very terrible.”

A look of doubt crossed the doctor’s face as he scratched his own neck. “I don’t know how I can get to him. He has been sentenced to life imprisonment in a maximum security prison, and Officer John Balewa is making sure that no one pays him a visit in prison.”

“Why would he do that?”

“Well I’m not sure about the rumours but the news on the streets is that Officer John Balewa believes that Peter Black may try to break out of jail.”

“If Peter really plans to break out, no one – not even Balewa – can stop him. Anyway, just try your best to get to him. He deserves a little bit of peace after everything he has gone through.”

“I’ll try my best, but I’m not promising anything.”

“That’s all I ask.”

The doctor rose to his feet and said, “I think everything is settled now. I’ll start the preparations about getting you checked into that hotel.”

“There’s one little problem, doctor.”

“Problem?”

“I don’t think the doppelganger excuse is going to work.”

Rukewe smiled. “It’s supposed to work.”

“Not on John Balewa. There’s no way either you and I would be able to deceive him that I’m a doppelganger. He always finds a way to discover the truth. He’s going to know that Maria didn’t die, and that’s going to be a big problem to you. You won’t only risk losing your license to practice, you may also face some jail terms. Everything is going to come back to bite you and me in the fingers. Nothing is going to stop him from making sure I go back to prison – that means we’ll be back to square one.”

The doctor sighed. He knew Maria was right. He had not thought things through to that level. “Well, it now depends on you. You must make sure you are not discovered by anyone in the hotel. At least remain discreet for the first month until my final plan is successful.”

“What final plan is that?”

“Well, you’re not going to live in the hotel room forever. We must find a permanent solution. I’m planning to secure you a passport with an assumed name. After that I’ll get you a plane ticket to London. You can be there for about ten or twenty years. By the time you return to this country, nobody would recognise you anymore.”

“You’re really going to do that for me?”

“It’s going to cost me a fortune but I’m willing to do it. I didn’t save you from death only to have you back in prison, Maria.”

“How can I ever repay you, Doctor Rukewe?”

“Just continue being the awesome person that you are. You have been given a second chance at life; you should use it to do some good in the world. You are a great woman, Maria. The world needs someone like you,” he paused and studied her for a moment before adding, “You may have to dye your hair to a different colour when it’s time for you to fly out of the country. And at the airport you would need to wear dark shades too. You know, to hide your identity.”

Maria nodded. “Peter’s original plan was that we leave the country, but something always kept us down. How I wish Peter and I would be leaving together.”

“I’m very sorry to say this, but I think I should say it. You need to accept the fact that you and Peter may never be together again. Your paths have crossed but now it’s time for both of you to go your separate ways.”

Maria smiled and said, “The world works in mysterious ways. Never say never. You and I do not know what fate has in store for us. If Peter and I are meant to be together, nothing is going to keep us apart – not John Balewa, and definitely not the prison he’s kept in.”

“Anyway, just stay under the radar and my plan will work smoothly.”

“Thanks for everything, doctor. You have been an angel.”

“You must be exhausted now. Let me leave you to get some rest.”

He carefully left the ward and lock the door behind him. He hated the fact that he always had to lock Maria in the ward, but he knew he had no choice. That was the only thing he could do to keep her identity hidden, and also to keep him from getting into serious trouble with the police.

Then shortly after leaving Maria, a pregnant woman was brought into the hospital by her husband. Doctor Rukewe did not recognise the pregnant woman but he recognised her husband quite all right – he was a popular politician. He could hardly believe that the man had chosen to have his baby delivered in this hospital.

As Doctor Rukewe helped the woman deliver the baby, he had no idea about the extraordinary sequence of events that would soon unfold in future.

Noah94:
Beautiful morning to you Larrysun. I'm an ardent follower of your stories here on Nairaland and I must confess that you are just too good, keep up with the good work.
I have tried to purchase one of your books (Kanu: The journal of a rogue) on the okadabooks website but I haven't been able to due to server issues. Please can you send it to me directly. How do I pay? Recharge card?
I await your response, thanks ��

Khaleel04:
This is a masterpiece, big kudos to the writer.

Nmezor:
Really?