₦airaland Forum

rukidanty:
thanks for the update and finally you are back

germaphobe:
so rosemary33 you though you can continue this story without me abi, na lie!!, i don catch up with una. Oya kwantinue ma'am

Reflex01:
Madam Rosy tanx for the update, biko kwantinue

Rosemary33:
Meanwhile, I am working on my next story, so I want to ask you my good readers: what would you want to read again from me? What do you want me to write about?

Romance, Horror, Crime, or a story like this one we are about to finish. Let me know your thoughts

Secondly, what would you have loved to see in this story "Victims" what didn't seat well with you? What of the characters, what did you love or hate about them. Where would you have loved for them to end up?

What of me? Criticize me Biko, I will not cry

Rosemary33:
Ehe ehem.... I got a surprise gift yesterday from rukidanty. I seriously wasn't expecting it, but she decided to surprise me with a Token

Chai ruki, you will have more money in your bank account o, NEPA will not cut your light at all God bless you so much, I really appreciate. You have encouraged me with this gift. Respect to you

cuteguy14911:
First off, I'll start by commending your sincerity towards we your readers. You're really worthy of emulation!!!

Then, congratulations for being able to paint the true history of a national event in words. You're really a fierce writer!!!

I can still remember like it was yesterday when I stumbled upon this story and what captivated my attention was the opening intro... Twas just like a movie.And since then, I've been following quite closely.

My favorite character in this story is Ukuoma.. well she's actually the hero anyways . Her character depicts the strong doggedness of every female folks trying to survive in harsh conditions. God bless you all.


Well I hope she gets Justice... I forsee the government helping her and she in turn would establish an NGO . Every other characters in the story would smile at last due to Ukuoma affluence.

Now to the real koko gangan... Maybe in your quest to quickly write and update us your reader's , you made some major/minor grammatical blunders in some episodes of the story. So my dear, next time take time to proofread and edit before posting .

My last submission.... You're a highly intelligent and prolific writer who understands how to paint situations in words. Thumbs up my dear... You're going places. Chinue Achebe , Chiamanda Adiche, Wole Soyinka and others go dey learn from you. Just continue your good works. God bless you!!!!!!!!!!

rukidanty:
well thanks for the compliment but we would like to read a romance story from you and i am not a she but he,ok?well i would love the imam to die and ukwoma to be compensated for all the pains she has gone through and live happily again

Rosemary33:
Thank you so much much for your sincerity and everything. I really appreciate you. I will strive to do better and will not disappoint.

Rosemary33:
Meanwhile, I am working on my next story, so I want to ask you my good readers: what would you want to read again from me? What do you want me to write about?

Romance, Horror, Crime, or a story like this one we are about to finish. Let me know your thoughts

Secondly, what would you have loved to see in this story "Victims" what didn't seat well with you? What of the characters, what did you love or hate about them. Where would you have loved for them to end up?

What of me? Criticize me Biko, I will not cry

Rosemary33:
, I am so sorry Sir. I was confused with the Name Ruki. I once had a friend in school with that name 'Ruky' please forgive me

Rosemary33:
Meanwhile, I am working on my next story, so I want to ask you my good readers: what would you want to read again from me? What do you want me to write about?

Romance, Horror, Crime, or a story like this one we are about to finish. Let me know your thoughts

Secondly, what would you have loved to see in this story "Victims" what didn't seat well with you? What of the characters, what did you love or hate about them. Where would you have loved for them to end up?

What of me? Criticize me Biko, I will not cry

rukidanty:
thanks for the update and ukuoma might fall in love with abdul and live happily

Rosemary33:
EPISODE 2

In as much as she wanted to mourn her own, she decided to leave the dead behind and move on, carrying only their memories with
her, she staggered out of the room with almost nothing as cloth.

she moving out like a ghost in the street. Bodies lying on top of each other, headless, amputated, hacked,lost children, crying and calling “mother”, women screaming the names of their children and husbands.

That was how she met him, Oguguo (as she later named him) he was standing beside the body of a dead woman crying, with no cloth on and mucus running down his nose.

Buried in her own grief, she took no notice of him at first, she kept walking, but as she walked, she could hear the cry of a child trailing her, yet she
kept walking without looking back, following the movement of others towards a destination she knew not.

“Madam, carry this pikin (babe) for hand, you wan make him die,” a woman shouted at her amidst the chaos.

She turned and looked at him, for the first time she actually saw him, his big owl like eyes, piercing her heart, going beyond it to plead for a chance to live.

She was not sure if it was pity for the boy or consolation to her sorrowful soul, she yanked him off the ground and carried him with her, hurried her
feet, with the air so thick with smoke and sting of burning flesh, she ran blindly, praying that God would at least spare her life and lead her to where she could at be safe before thinking of the next thing to do.

***
3rd Armoured Division Barracks, Bassa.

They were greeted with the sight of overcrowded camp filled with people seeking refuge in the barrack.

Getting a good spot to settle with Ogugua wasn’t easy, it seems like the number people seeking refuge in the barrack was more than the available space.

As she walked from corner to corner with Ogugua now sleeping in her hands, she was almost stepping
on others who were lying face down like dead bodies out of hunger, some were chatting noisily about the violence going on, some still mourn the loss of their loved ones while others were looking at nothing in particular, one could hear the wailing of hungry children and the shout of frustrated mothers.

She looked around the dirty interior of the camp in search of a space, when she finally found one she made a quick move to it before another person takes it.

The next challenge would be where to get a mat to lay the sleeping little boy,

‘‘nwanne i nacho ebe iga enweta ute?” (Are u looking for where
to get mat?) Her Neighbor, an Igbo woman with her two daughters who were sleeping and a husband who was arguing loudly with another man, asked her.

‘‘eehm, yes ma” she answered

‘‘okey, I know u need a mat for yourself and your son” her neighbor commented

‘‘ yes, I was about to ask you where you got yours from”

‘‘ just get to that corner at the beginning of the camp, meet the officers in charge and tell them you just arrived”

‘‘ok, thank you so much, please help me secure this space while I get the mat” she answered before leaving.

The queue was long at the officers offices, people were already losing their patience in the hot sun and once in a while fight would erupt from one point or another as people try to maneuver another in other to be in the front roll.

She took her head gear off, tied the edges around her neck and allowed it to flow down her back in other to cover Ogugua who was still sleeping, a torn
head gear and wrapper she got from a woman who could not bear seeing her tattered cloth, and decided to share her little cloths with her, “to say someone still look out for another amidst such chaos”,

When it finally got to her turn after a long
wait, she registered her name and was waiting for the officer to hand the mat over to her. the officer gave her a sheepish smile, exposing a set of teeth darkened with tobacco and kola nut;

‘‘fine woman, oyibo pepe (fair like an English woman), see as your skin dey yellow, dey shine like fresh paw-paw”

Other officers were drawn to her by that comment, laughing and looking lustfully at her, it was not difficult to see her once beautiful
face and yellow skin even though life has decided to flip an ugly side on her

‘‘Please can you give me the mat now, my boy needs to rest” she replied in disgust, wondering within her how easily she came to accept the boy on her back as “His boy”
‘‘Hei! see as you dey speak like oyibo (you speak like the whites), come make I tell you, if you need anything for this place ehe, meet me, i go give you” still smiling sheepishly

‘‘the mat sir” she requested pretending not to notice his
flirtation.

She finally settled Ogugua on the mat to continue his sleep and decided to go and get the pitiable food she saw some others eating.

It was already dusk before it could get to her turn to
get the food, it was The same officer who she met earlier, he looked at her, savoring her body while licking his lips

‘‘madam abeg wait for me inside make i come give you the one way dey inside”

‘‘Ah! oga officer, my baby fit don wake now, abeg give me the one way dey here make I go give am” Ukwuoma replied, deciding to speak in pidgin English to avoid drawing attention to herself

‘‘Madam I said you should wait ” he shouted

After waiting for a while, the officer came in and took her inside the office

‘‘Ehe! Madam, I say make u wait make I give you your own food and provision special” the officer said as he walks close to her trying to hold her in a romantic embrace.

‘‘She wiggled herself away from his embrace.

‘‘You be pikin? You suppose know watin I want now or you no want the food again? ” asked the officer who tried to forcefully embrace her

‘‘Get off me you idiot” she shouted, pushing him off

‘‘Look make I tell you, for here I dey in charge o, no be only food I go give you but I go give you plenty milk for your son and new wrapper so you fit change this dirty one”

‘‘Oga, na only food I need, I no need any other thing. And no near me or I go shout make everybody hear and see waiting you dey do” she threatened

‘‘See this woman o, i wan help you and you dey do shakara, common comot for here, you no dey serious o, go make you and your pikin die of hunger, i go push you o”

‘‘What of the food oga, please no do this to me, for my son’s sake abeg help me, just a little for my boy please…”

‘‘Common shut up your mouth, which food, get out of here, when you dey serious you come” he pushed her out.

her head was light, with tears blinding her sight she walked back to the camp only to see the mat empty and Oguguo missing.

‘‘Where could he be?” she thought, the few hours that passed has brought them close so quickly, because to her he became a consolation, yet she saw her past, and her future in him.

She asked her neighbor who said she was sleeping and didn’t know when he left.

‘‘Oguguo ! O..gu..guo!!!” she called out, shouting his name aloud, her eyes roaming to and fro in search of him.

She spotted him at the far end of the camp, standing beside a family who were eating without noticing him.

He was trying to grab some yam from their plate while a woman, who must be the mother, shove him off like a chick being shooed from grains, and each time she did that Oguguo cries.

Ukwuoma watched the scene like a movie, her son was being treated as a common beggar and she blew the only chance she could have provided food for him,
she had watched and her family was snatched away from her, so helpless she was and death stole them away, and could not watch this one, the reminder of the sons she once had, taken byhunger, her tears was uncontrollable as she ran to pick him up, away from there.

‘‘Ogugua my son, I will not fold my arms and watch hunger take you away like the others” she came back to her mat pleaded with her Neighbor to look out for him and left.

She ran as if something was after her, crying aloud and her breast flapping side by side with the force of her speed.

She knocked at the door of the office, the officer opened the door as if he was waiting for her, he smiled broadly and ushered her inside the little office, with no much words to say, she removed what was remaining of her cloth and allowed it to fall on the flour.

She eased herself on the floor and closed her
eyes.

As he had his way, she refused to feel any physical pain, the only pain she could feel was the pain in her heart. at that moment all she could remember was that fateful day when she lost everything, her family killed before her, as he thrust deep in her, tears ran down her cheek,

She opened her eyes and turn her face at the other side of the office, all she could see was the hungry face of her the boy Ogugua.

SkimpleD:
LisaAnne, we don’t do that here o

rukidanty:
thanks for the update and ukuoma might fall in love with abdul and live happily

Rosemary33:
Please I welcome criticism o, a writer is never too good. Be sincere about what you think about the story and my writing styles.

When I wrote "kiss me one more night" you guys helped me, your criticism over my grammatical errors put me on my toes, that story is with the publishers now.

So I don't take constructive criticisms lightly, and commendations too
You know, give me accolades when you think I deserve it .

More especially have a constructive arguments about the story and the characters, let us not generalise with any religion

You guys mean so much to me

Rosemary33:
Meanwhile, I am working on my next story, so I want to ask you my good readers: what would you want to read again from me? What do you want me to write about?

Romance, Horror, Crime, or a story like this one we are about to finish. Let me know your thoughts

Secondly, what would you have loved to see in this story "Victims" what didn't seat well with you? What of the characters, what did you love or hate about them. Where would you have loved for them to end up?

What of me? Criticize me Biko, I will not cry

Rosemary33:
EPISODE 28

“We have succeeded in shooting ourselves on the leg”

Mr Party chairman said solemnly. The little room was silence except for the periodic shuffling of Agbadas and the buzzing of the Air conditioner.

The meeting was not the party’s planned one, it was an emergency meeting for the Inner caucus. And the venue was chosen for the fear that gripped all of them after Usman’s gruesome murder made the news.

“Whoever did this is trying to send a message, he may come for us” Whimpered Honorable wali

The Honorable has always been fearful and pessimistic, sometimes Mrs Party chairman wondered why he was allowed to be part of this Elite party members

“I suspect the president is responsible for this” Alhaji Danjuma said

Mr Party chairman shook his head in the negative “No, Danladi could be desperate but he is not this brutal…”

“He must have paid someone to do the gruesome job for him…” insisted Danjuma

“I still insist he didn’t do this, I have worked with Danladi, brutal murder is not his thing, poisoning yes but not this type of…”

The room was silence again, the men looked at each other helplessly before Mr party chairman spoke again

“That Imam did this” he waited for someone to object but none did “I got a letter from him the morning I saw Usman’s dead body”

“Me ya sa? Why?...” Senator Kazeem spoke for the first time

“He is beginning to demand more than we can offer, he played us to his advantage…I am afraid Honorable members, we can no longer control this man or his quest for power…” Mr party chairman heaved a sigh

“we cannot allow him ruin us, he has overstayed his usefulness, we can dispose of him and plan another strategy to get what we want…”

“I am afraid honorable Mohammad, he has become stronger than all of us, this man knows weapons like the back of his palm and commands thousands of faithful followers who would burn this country down in the name of his Allah…”

“We can use his own against him” Senator Kazeem cut in
“How?”

“I know Imam Husayn, at least I know his family so well, I heard he framed his in-law and got him locked up in Kuje for sometime now while his nephew, the son to the old Man he locked up works for him…we could offer the young man something he could not refuse in exchange of selling out his uncle…”

Mr party chairman weighed the suggestion for some time, he didn’t know what to make of it, as long as he wanted to jump into any suggestion that would relief them of the tension hanging on their necks, he would want to be careful not to complicate issues;

“these boys are always brainwashed into doing anything for their leader including sacrificing their families and loved ones…”

“The boy has lost his mother already, and I heard he lost his second wife too, no thanks to his uncle. Now his father is in prison… we could speak to him and get him see the other side of his uncle…then…”

“Where is this boy now?”

“I don’t know… but he would not be hard to find…”

“Make contact Kazeem, then get back to me as soon as possible…I think we should also pay the Old Mallam a visit in his new home at Kuje”

*

It wasn’t so difficult to track the big men with the boy. Kazeem could pull strings even in the Enemy’s territory to get what he want, he was a retired military General so playing the fox to get what he want would not be so difficult

“As-Salam alaikum” Kazeem had greeted with all humility he could feign

“Wa-Alaikum Salaam” Husayn had responded, a little disappointed that it wasn’t the voice he had wanted to hear since morning

He had hurriedly excused himself from the secret meeting where plans were being made for another riot in respect of the announced ‘miss world beauty pageant’. He had tried to put up a strong font even though a huge storm was forming inside his head.
The riot would be carried out in four major cities; Kaduna, Jos and Abuja, “send words to brethren in these states, make it violent if you must; burn their houses, set their cars on fire, push into American Embassy in Abuja and bring it down…Allah will make way for you…Islam should not be disrespected like this, and you must not watch Allah blasphemed” he had told them with so much venom.
That was before he felt his phone vibrate, he ran off to his sacred room inside the office and held his phone firmly on his ears.

“Who is this?” he asked when he felt it was a voice he wasn’t used to

“It’s senator Kazeem…”

“Oh! Senator” Husayn adjusted his tone to sound amiable “How is my friend the Party chairman?”

“He sent his greetings, he would want to pay hcurtsey visit one of these days” both knew it was an ice breaker, to pave way for the real conversation

“I heard one of your boys visited an old man in prison here in Abuja, I mean the Man that was alleged to be responsible for the twin bombing”

Husayn didn’t know where the conversation was going to but he decided to play along “I don’t know about that, and the connection any of my boys have with an old man in prison” Husayn laughed nervously

“Well, it got me worried…this act may give us out and I heard the boy in question said somethings he was not supposed to say, and these confessions were recorded…” Kazeem only know about the visit because the arrest and detaining of the Islamic scholar got his attention and he had wanted to know who had wanted the old man locked up and why. And when the news of the prison break got to him, with only the Old man not able to leave, it became obvious that there was something more to that story, so he had bribed his way into Kuje Prison and had gotten himself allies.

“Well Senator…I don’t know what to say, I am not aware of such visit…”

“Imam, the way I see this, I will advise you give up the boy, you know how these things work, if he manages to spill, all of us goes down…and a well-respected cleric like you…”

Husayn has not gotten himself in a position where he lacked words before, but he suddenly felt he could use this to his advantage, after all has been looking for a way to kill Yusuf, what if he throws him in the hands of these politicians and watch them do the job for him?

“I know the boy you are talking about, but I tell you he is not one of us, he is a rebel who is on the run”

Kazeem tried hard to hide his excitement, he was about to get the news he was seeking

“…he left Jos Long ago, with the report I have of him, he should be in Abuja with a little boy who happens to be my son”

“Your Son? Why?”

“I will not tell you that senator, but Yusuf is a very dangerous man, do with his however you please but don’t let him or anyone harm my son…”

“Sure…sure, do you have any idea where we can locate this…Yusuf you mentioned?”

“No for now, he may be hiding in any hotel there in Abuja, he has lots of money with him and I guess he may be armed too”

“Thank you so much Imam, I promise you we will nab him and your name will not be mentioned at all”

That was two hours ago, before Kazeem alerted his party Chairman

“We have the information we are looking for, the boy is here in Abuja and it seems like he has fallen out with the Imam” Kazeem said

“You need to get to him before Husayn gets to him”

Mr Party Chairman dropped the phone, threw 40 milligram of Enalapril inside his mouth, he gulp down th drug with water, tapping his chest to make the drug go down, a habit he picked up as a child, he had hated taking tablets even when his mother would slide the tablet inside balls of food for him to swallow.

He would have taking 20mg of the Hypertension drug, but after what he saw two days ago and the threat that came from the cleric, his heart has been playing bass drum and was threatening to pull off his chest, his Blood Pressure has gone up as well.

He took more water, dropped the bottle on top of the small table in the small hotel room. It was not the kind of hotel he was known for, but he had wanted to be careful of giving a lead to whoever that killed Usman. He had not slept in his mansion since yesterday, and had located this hotel after several search for a safe place for himself.

He had come in wearing a pair of jean and a T-shirt with a face cap, he hoped some miserable blogger didn’t capture his picture or he would be trending on social media the next morning.

He adjusted the pillow that was worse than what he saw in a boarding house in his village community school where he went to commission a toilet three years ago. He turned and tossed on the bed that was as strong as a stone.

He would have switched on the television to keep himself busy but the Hotel has turned off their generator for the night. He thought of calling Mira, but dismissed the thought, Mira would definitely laugh him to scorn and would want to know why he was hiding here, he really needed to f**ck a wet p**sy in other to forget his fear and getting one or two of those cheap prostitutes downstairs would put him at risk. he resolved to watching some pornographic clips of women licking and humping women while he relief his urge.

*

They got to her apartment in the evening after Ukwuoma has been with Ife in the hospital, she had refused to stay outside while the nurses perform their duties on the girl.

Ife was sedated before it was possible for them to tend to her wounds. She was hysterical, screaming and throwing fits and her eyes fixed at a spot like she was in a tussle with an unseen present.

Ukwuoma had wished Ife could wake up and talk to her but she didn’t, not even when it was time for them to go.

The good Lady Doctor was generous enough to share her one-bedroom flat with her, seeing the modesty of the house made her want to run away, ‘I don’t deserve this place’ she had thought

She feared what would happen to the Good lady if the demons that has been following her pay them a visit, like they did to Mariam and had her throat slit.

“Let me stay here with Ife…I can sleep on the floor” Ukwuoma had objected

“It is not allowed ma, besides, my house is big enough for us…”

“What would happen to her? Who will be taking care of her here? What if she needs me?”

“Your daughter will get all the attention she need, the nurses will see to that and you will be coming every morning to see her”

She sat in the good lady’s car and shivered as the rush of fresh air hit her. By the time they got to the house, she was already sleeping.

*

Yusuf stepped out of the hotel, with his pair of tight faded chinos, a shirt and a backpack, one would mistake him for a student except for the little boy by his side.

The boy has a lollypop stuck in his mouth with spittle sliding down from the corner of his mouth and he was trying to walk as fast as the adult that held his hand.

“Excuse me sir, we need you to step over here”

Yusuf cursed softly, he would have worn his military Uniform, it would have saved him being checked

“What for?” he asked, feigning anger

“For security check”

He would have objected, or even created a scene ‘do you know who I am’ would have been the right thing to say, but he didn’t want to draw more attention and get his bag searched

“See Mr Man, I am already late, my sister is waiting for us…”

“We don’t need to act any drama sir, please follow me” the Security guard said and walked towards the gate. Yusuf had two options, to run or to follow the guard, he chosed the later, not knowing how far he would run before his cover would be blown.

“Step in” he was ordered as the door of a waiting tinted Toyota Prado opened for him

“What? Why?”

He wasn’t given the luxury of a response, the security guard pushed him inside the SUV and the child was made to seat at the front seat before the car drove off.

“Mr Yusuf…good to see you”

xoxocandy
He wondered how this man on a black tuxedo, well-trimmed beards and a brief case got to know his name.

Rosemary33:
EPISODE 28

“We have succeeded in shooting ourselves on the leg”

Mr Party chairman said solemnly. The little room was silence except for the periodic shuffling of Agbadas and the buzzing of the Air conditioner.

The meeting was not the party’s planned one, it was an emergency meeting for the Inner caucus. And the venue was chosen for the fear that gripped all of them after Usman’s gruesome murder made the news.

“Whoever did this is trying to send a message, he may come for us” Whimpered Honorable wali

The Honorable has always been fearful and pessimistic, sometimes Mrs Party chairman wondered why he was allowed to be part of this Elite party members

“I suspect the president is responsible for this” Alhaji Danjuma said

Mr Party chairman shook his head in the negative “No, Danladi could be desperate but he is not this brutal…”

“He must have paid someone to do the gruesome job for him…” insisted Danjuma

“I still insist he didn’t do this, I have worked with Danladi, brutal murder is not his thing, poisoning yes but not this type of…”

The room was silence again, the men looked at each other helplessly before Mr party chairman spoke again

“That Imam did this” he waited for someone to object but none did “I got a letter from him the morning I saw Usman’s dead body”

“Me ya sa? Why?...” Senator Kazeem spoke for the first time

“He is beginning to demand more than we can offer, he played us to his advantage…I am afraid Honorable members, we can no longer control this man or his quest for power…” Mr party chairman heaved a sigh

“we cannot allow him ruin us, he has overstayed his usefulness, we can dispose of him and plan another strategy to get what we want…”

“I am afraid honorable Mohammad, he has become stronger than all of us, this man knows weapons like the back of his palm and commands thousands of faithful followers who would burn this country down in the name of his Allah…”

“We can use his own against him” Senator Kazeem cut in
“How?”

“I know Imam Husayn, at least I know his family so well, I heard he framed his in-law and got him locked up in Kuje for sometime now while his nephew, the son to the old Man he locked up works for him…we could offer the young man something he could not refuse in exchange of selling out his uncle…”

Mr party chairman weighed the suggestion for some time, he didn’t know what to make of it, as long as he wanted to jump into any suggestion that would relief them of the tension hanging on their necks, he would want to be careful not to complicate issues;

“these boys are always brainwashed into doing anything for their leader including sacrificing their families and loved ones…”

“The boy has lost his mother already, and I heard he lost his second wife too, no thanks to his uncle. Now his father is in prison… we could speak to him and get him see the other side of his uncle…then…”

“Where is this boy now?”

“I don’t know… but he would not be hard to find…”

“Make contact Kazeem, then get back to me as soon as possible…I think we should also pay the Old Mallam a visit in his new home at Kuje”

*

It wasn’t so difficult to track the big men with the boy. Kazeem could pull strings even in the Enemy’s territory to get what he want, he was a retired military General so playing the fox to get what he want would not be so difficult

“As-Salam alaikum” Kazeem had greeted with all humility he could feign

“Wa-Alaikum Salaam” Husayn had responded, a little disappointed that it wasn’t the voice he had wanted to hear since morning

He had hurriedly excused himself from the secret meeting where plans were being made for another riot in respect of the announced ‘miss world beauty pageant’. He had tried to put up a strong font even though a huge storm was forming inside his head.
The riot would be carried out in four major cities; Kaduna, Jos and Abuja, “send words to brethren in these states, make it violent if you must; burn their houses, set their cars on fire, push into American Embassy in Abuja and bring it down…Allah will make way for you…Islam should not be disrespected like this, and you must not watch Allah blasphemed” he had told them with so much venom.
That was before he felt his phone vibrate, he ran off to his sacred room inside the office and held his phone firmly on his ears.

“Who is this?” he asked when he felt it was a voice he wasn’t used to

“It’s senator Kazeem…”

“Oh! Senator” Husayn adjusted his tone to sound amiable “How is my friend the Party chairman?”

“He sent his greetings, he would want to pay hcurtsey visit one of these days” both knew it was an ice breaker, to pave way for the real conversation

“I heard one of your boys visited an old man in prison here in Abuja, I mean the Man that was alleged to be responsible for the twin bombing”

Husayn didn’t know where the conversation was going to but he decided to play along “I don’t know about that, and the connection any of my boys have with an old man in prison” Husayn laughed nervously

“Well, it got me worried…this act may give us out and I heard the boy in question said somethings he was not supposed to say, and these confessions were recorded…” Kazeem only know about the visit because the arrest and detaining of the Islamic scholar got his attention and he had wanted to know who had wanted the old man locked up and why. And when the news of the prison break got to him, with only the Old man not able to leave, it became obvious that there was something more to that story, so he had bribed his way into Kuje Prison and had gotten himself allies.

“Well Senator…I don’t know what to say, I am not aware of such visit…”

“Imam, the way I see this, I will advise you give up the boy, you know how these things work, if he manages to spill, all of us goes down…and a well-respected cleric like you…”

Husayn has not gotten himself in a position where he lacked words before, but he suddenly felt he could use this to his advantage, after all has been looking for a way to kill Yusuf, what if he throws him in the hands of these politicians and watch them do the job for him?

“I know the boy you are talking about, but I tell you he is not one of us, he is a rebel who is on the run”

Kazeem tried hard to hide his excitement, he was about to get the news he was seeking

“…he left Jos Long ago, with the report I have of him, he should be in Abuja with a little boy who happens to be my son”

“Your Son? Why?”

“I will not tell you that senator, but Yusuf is a very dangerous man, do with his however you please but don’t let him or anyone harm my son…”

“Sure…sure, do you have any idea where we can locate this…Yusuf you mentioned?”

“No for now, he may be hiding in any hotel there in Abuja, he has lots of money with him and I guess he may be armed too”

“Thank you so much Imam, I promise you we will nab him and your name will not be mentioned at all”

That was two hours ago, before Kazeem alerted his party Chairman

“We have the information we are looking for, the boy is here in Abuja and it seems like he has fallen out with the Imam” Kazeem said

“You need to get to him before Husayn gets to him”

Mr Party Chairman dropped the phone, threw 40 milligram of Enalapril inside his mouth, he gulp down th drug with water, tapping his chest to make the drug go down, a habit he picked up as a child, he had hated taking tablets even when his mother would slide the tablet inside balls of food for him to swallow.

He would have taking 20mg of the Hypertension drug, but after what he saw two days ago and the threat that came from the cleric, his heart has been playing bass drum and was threatening to pull off his chest, his Blood Pressure has gone up as well.

He took more water, dropped the bottle on top of the small table in the small hotel room. It was not the kind of hotel he was known for, but he had wanted to be careful of giving a lead to whoever that killed Usman. He had not slept in his mansion since yesterday, and had located this hotel after several search for a safe place for himself.

He had come in wearing a pair of jean and a T-shirt with a face cap, he hoped some miserable blogger didn’t capture his picture or he would be trending on social media the next morning.

He adjusted the pillow that was worse than what he saw in a boarding house in his village community school where he went to commission a toilet three years ago. He turned and tossed on the bed that was as strong as a stone.

He would have switched on the television to keep himself busy but the Hotel has turned off their generator for the night. He thought of calling Mira, but dismissed the thought, Mira would definitely laugh him to scorn and would want to know why he was hiding here, he really needed to f**ck a wet p**sy in other to forget his fear and getting one or two of those cheap prostitutes downstairs would put him at risk. he resolved to watching some pornographic clips of women licking and humping women while he relief his urge.

*

They got to her apartment in the evening after Ukwuoma has been with Ife in the hospital, she had refused to stay outside while the nurses perform their duties on the girl.

Ife was sedated before it was possible for them to tend to her wounds. She was hysterical, screaming and throwing fits and her eyes fixed at a spot like she was in a tussle with an unseen present.

Ukwuoma had wished Ife could wake up and talk to her but she didn’t, not even when it was time for them to go.

The good Lady Doctor was generous enough to share her one-bedroom flat with her, seeing the modesty of the house made her want to run away, ‘I don’t deserve this place’ she had thought

She feared what would happen to the Good lady if the demons that has been following her pay them a visit, like they did to Mariam and had her throat slit.

“Let me stay here with Ife…I can sleep on the floor” Ukwuoma had objected

“It is not allowed ma, besides, my house is big enough for us…”

“What would happen to her? Who will be taking care of her here? What if she needs me?”

“Your daughter will get all the attention she need, the nurses will see to that and you will be coming every morning to see her”

She sat in the good lady’s car and shivered as the rush of fresh air hit her. By the time they got to the house, she was already sleeping.

*

Yusuf stepped out of the hotel, with his pair of tight faded chinos, a shirt and a backpack, one would mistake him for a student except for the little boy by his side.

The boy has a lollypop stuck in his mouth with spittle sliding down from the corner of his mouth and he was trying to walk as fast as the adult that held his hand.

“Excuse me sir, we need you to step over here”

Yusuf cursed softly, he would have worn his military Uniform, it would have saved him being checked

“What for?” he asked, feigning anger

“For security check”

He would have objected, or even created a scene ‘do you know who I am’ would have been the right thing to say, but he didn’t want to draw more attention and get his bag searched

“See Mr Man, I am already late, my sister is waiting for us…”

“We don’t need to act any drama sir, please follow me” the Security guard said and walked towards the gate. Yusuf had two options, to run or to follow the guard, he chosed the later, not knowing how far he would run before his cover would be blown.

“Step in” he was ordered as the door of a waiting tinted Toyota Prado opened for him

“What? Why?”

He wasn’t given the luxury of a response, the security guard pushed him inside the SUV and the child was made to seat at the front seat before the car drove off.

“Mr Yusuf…good to see you”

xoxocandy
He wondered how this man on a black tuxedo, well-trimmed beards and a brief case got to know his name.