A few minutes later, they dropped in the middle of a rocky area. Simon told Damon and his wife to alight. Damon could not understand what was going on. Simon went and removed something from the engine of the helicopter.

“ I ain’t doing this coz me don’t trust yah.” He told his comrades. “ I just wanna be sure I trust yah.”

What did he just say? He did not want them to fly away while he was talking to his son.
He led them to the back of a rock, they climbed a little hill then he looked at Damon.

“ I know you are mad that I cut some chunk off Mr Grant.” He said. “ I am doing ma thin’ and ya mama pop from nowhere. She cry, she cry, she aint seen her boy. I told her to shut the fuc*-up. Your boy is my boy and me was do the shooting and he was come.” He removed a small bottle from his pocket and gulped gin.

“ I leave ma hustle and I spend six months looking for yah. I go deep under-G to seek for yah ass. But you was no found. Now me is get yah and some thug wanna kill ma boy. Fuc*! So I squeeze him chicken neck, and me is told you got ya bitch kidnapped in Mr Grant’s crib.” He gulped gin again.

“ I was like wah da fuc*! You mean ma boy got Mr Grant’s girl baby shitting for him? I’m proud of yah boy. So I think of we coming to get yah bitch and ma grandpals. But I aint gonna do that without my beasts. We gotta family and we kinda broke. We never hit big. So this shit was like a chance to pay ma bills. I gotta pay ‘em. Me borrow some bills to get me a butterfly hire to fly us. I got get me an inside jerk to get it done. Now we got yah bitch and ma grandpals outta there. I ain’t asking yah or yah mama to pay me some bills. And if we don do this, they gonna know you was come to ge yah bitch. But getting cash outta ‘em got ‘em thinking we was robbers and we ain’t done with ‘em. We gonna get some ransom.” He grinned.

“ I don know yah but me like yah.” He said to Alicia.

“ Keep ma granddpals safe coz I wanna pop beer with ‘em ant tell ‘em war-time stories.”

Alicia understood the type of person he was so she nodded with a smile.

“ I told him to catch other bitches but I change ma mind. If you see him with ‘em ho, shoot her fuckin legs. No, if you got a handler, you can shoot her goddamn pus**…..”

“Dad!” Damon interrupted.

“ Don’t be shy. An ‘ol man gotta to sermon. Ok, you babies too prim. Now. I ma get yah some cut…”

“ No, thanks. We gonna be okay but….why bring us to the middle of nowhere?” Damon asked.

“ You gotta lie low. Mr Grant ain’t no piece of cake. Them murderfuc**ng FBI, CIA, KGB, police gonna sweep in on yah and we. I ain’t gonna get this cake and don’t eat ‘em. You are gonna be here. My boss had it, buh him die and it is a secret so I use it. When I hit, I come to cool here. Never let this out. I bring yah coz you my boy and she yah bitch….”

“ Dad, she is my wife and not a bitch.” Damon protested.

“ It’s okay Damon.” Alicia said.

“ Never meant disrespect. All they is bitches buh yah got good bitches and bad bitches. She is a good bi…..”

“ I get it.” Damon interrupted.

“Hehehe. I want yah to stay here till da heat cool.”

“ Where? This is a rocky area with no single house.”

“ Shut da fuc*-up!” He hit Damon’s head lightly.

He moved to the rock, used a small remote and a door opened. What! He led them unto a short ambulatory passage before they got into a large living room. It was a hidden house carved in a rock. There was a large living-room, four bedrooms, a kitchen, three toilets, a study and a store. There were a lot of aerators producing oxygen mechanically while some were powered by solar power. The house was powered by solar power with full electronic appliances.

There was a natural spring which produced water and pumped it into a reservoir. There was constant water and electric power supply. Then a small natural swimming pool at the court-yard which got Damon mesmerized.

“ Cool, huh?” Simon said proudly “ The man was a General. Got lot of cash in Iraq and he was spend it real good, yah know. That is a garage. Them got a truck in there. Yah can go into the city and gah groceries and come back buh never jump around much. Yah got TV and internet to go round da world so stay put.”

Damon nodded. “Thank you.”

“ And tell yah mama I’m gone. Tell her I love ‘em but I know me no good for ‘em.” He said. “ She is a good bitch but I get in too much trouble. I ma go outta America. Never got cash like this in ma whole Bleep*ng life. So, See yah and when yah through, keep ma goddamn remote safe.”

Damon nodded. He smiled at Alicia, touched the infants then saluted in a military way. He dropped an AK47 and a big pack of ammunition then said.” Never let ‘em catch yah.”

Damon watched him walked quickly, with great strength that he possessed until he disappeared. Damon walked out and saw the helicopter flying away. Who knew if this was the last time he would ever see him? His weird father.

He locked the door then turned to see his wife standing. He forgot the troubles of the world. That was what she did, made him felt life was a fairy tale. He was with her and their lovely children. Damn reprisal.

She ran into his arms while he held her tight.

They covered their faces with masks , wore hand gloves then walked through a Narrow path . They arrived the back of The Grant mansion which was situated in a ten-acre plot of land. They had no neighbours. Billionaires rarely had one.

“ Them fences is well secured.” Simon whispered.

“ There are surveillance cameras. I alert Chris, our inside man. When there is distortion, we gonna cross over and we gah only one Bleep**g minute to do that. Anyone who fails to cross within one minute is out. Eddy, you give us a runaway back-up so you stay behind.”
Jim was tall and big, heavily built with a clean shaven head. Desmond was short and chubby.

“ I ma let ‘em know we was ready.” Simon said and looked at Damon. “ You must do this, son.”

Damon nodded.

He dialled a number. That was a signal. Simon was enigmatic when it came to underworld business. He had gotten one of the security men on his side.
He got a beep.

“ Kimmon!” He said and that military in him was back. They broke into a run and like a flash, they all crossed the fence. They did it under ten seconds. They kept running until they were over hundred yards from the fence. They crossed the cameras guiding the fence. Damon was a stunt man so that was no big deal.

Simon glanced at the map.

“ I think I got this in ma head.” He said.” She is in the main crib. We gotta find our way in there.” He removed a bottle of whisky, gulped and then passed it on to Jim, who gulped then passed it to Desmond who passed it to Damon after he drank.

“ We must do all it takes to get there. We ain’t stopping.” He glanced round. “ Even if we have to kill every murderfu**ker in here.”

Damon felt a bang in his head.
They were still amid tall trees with well cut green grasses beneath. They had a golf course close to a big garden.
Then someone came with a trolley. Damon was scared at first then realised he was Simon’s inside man. How and when did he organize this? This man never seized to amaze him.
The inside man was called Chris. He was a tough looking man who worked as a security man in the mansion. He was also an ex-marine.
The trolley was used to convey things within the mansion but now, the men were packed in like canned-fish to avoid CCTV cameras. The security was tight and this could not be done without an inside help.

They were driven towards the main building, then they alighted while Chris left with the Trolley. Damon began to have a niggle doubt.

“ We here and yah can’t forget yah role, Son. You aint no nipper.” He said and dabbed Damon’s shoulders. “ I love yah boy.” Simon never said that before.

They moved to the front door. A security man saw them.

“ Hey!” The security man said, saw the mask and got alert but Jim was behind him already. He held him from the back and did something which Damon could not see clearly. The man passed out and he was dragged and dumped in a big drum.
Desmond went for the front door. He held a small machine and pressed some buttons. The door was electrically secured but he opened it with ease. When the hell did they plan all of these?
As Simon went in, Damon saw five men, heavily armed, running. He recognised two to be part of those who carried Agent Harrison”s body that day he was shot.

Ratatatatatt!
Jim was ready. He did not waste time before using his AK47. Damon saw sputtering fire, the bogey sound as bullets ricocheted and got the men fallen. It was done. There was no going back. If they were arrested, there was no issue of frame up any more. They were putting the laws into their hands.
When Damon obliged to this operation, he was desperate to save his family, to see them and be with them. But he never knew Simon had his thuggish ex-soldiers with him, or it was going to be this sanguinary. The level of organization scared him. But was it not his foolishness and myopic perspective?
Did he expect them to come into the Grant Mansion like someone coming into his one-room apartment? This was not just a presidential aspirant who was entitled to security operatives, he was a mafia who had his personal thugs and he was also a billionaire who had his house secured. As Damon saw Jim kill the men, they all went in. Damon saw Simon was running upstairs. He heard an alarm The security were been informed. Was this not the greatest mistake Damon ever made? But what other choice did he have? The law would not help him. He was a certified barmy, according to them.

He could not let them force Steve on Alicia, or take away his children. This was the only way out and anything was better than losing his family even if it meant losing his life. But he did not bargain for the killing which seemed to be inevitable now.
He saw Simon pointing a gun at Richard and Maria. They were all dressed in their pyjamas but Richard was in a male pyjamas while Maria was in a gown.
Damon knew Simon was wondering why Mr Grant was in a gown and his wife in a male pyjamas. Damon did not tell them about that. This was night and Mrs Grant was now the husband while Mr Grant was the wife.

Simon did not utter a word. He knew he had a peculiar way of speaking and that was not good for him.
Simon tied the Grants, so hard and gesticulated to Damon to come keep them stay put. Damon went and pointed his gun at them, while Simon and Jim ran upstairs. Desmond was peeping through the window.

“ What do you want?” Richard asked him. They were bonded together and made to sit on the floor.

Damon said nothing.

“ You are making a great mistake, whoever you think you are.” Richard added.

Damon heard a blasting sound upstairs.

Damon knew who he was and what he was capable of doing but he was not going to be intimidated. He was doing this for his family and Simon was doing this for him. Maybe he now realised how important his family was.
But as when Damon saw Simon and Jim come down with bundles of dollars, and trunks of jewelleries, he cringed. The blast sound he heard! They must have broken a safe.

Oh my God!
They ran back upstairs and brought more. This was not good. They had about sixty million dollars, from a rough estimate and jewelleries worth over one hundred million dollars.

“ We got the Grants in here.” Damon heard Desmond say into a loudspeaker. These guy planned a heist and used him as an excuse. “ Any intruder or over zealous guard would get them killed. Stay back, stand down.”

Damon saw Simon and Jim come down with more loots, so he sprang up, pointed at the Grants and ran upstairs, ignoring Simon’s gesticulation. He began to rummage through the rooms. The house was too big. He could spend hours without going through all the rooms upstairs.
Then someone opened a door. It was Alicia. She may have seen him and how wouldn’t she recognise him even in a mask? He ran towards her as she ran towards him too.

They embraced.
She cried.
She felt warm.

“ I’m sorry we have to do this.” He said quickly. “ But I never planned it this way.”

“ Thank God it’s you.” She said . “ I was scared when I heard the gunshots. I saw them take my parents away and then they began to pack valuables.”

“ It was not part of the plan.”

“ What matters most is leaving here. I told you what they plan to do, give me to Steve and steal my children. Aren’t they horrible?”

“ We are leaving here. Where are my kids?”

“ Come on.” She held his hand and they went into a big room.

Damon saw them for the first time. My God! What an epitome of identical twins! It was like a duplicated picture. They were so cute, sleeping innocently, unaware of the upheavals of the world.

“ I can’t differentiate them.” He confessed.

She chuckled.

“ It’s not easy for me as well and it seems I am the only one who tries most in differentiating them. For now, due to your absence, I call this one Damon, Damon Jnr and that one Simon, Simon jnr. So, meet Damon and Simon. But you can change the names if you wish.”

“ It’s beautiful. It’s perfect but Simon is my father’s name. Is he worth it?”

“ Whatever bad they do, we can’t take the biological aspect out of it. They brought us to the world, they did not murder us. Let’s give them credit for that even when we don’t want to be with them. It is their habits we despise not them.”

“ Yeah.” He said. A few minutes ago, he had contemplated putting a hole in her parents head and end this. But how would he feel living with her when he knew he killed her parents? No matter how bad they were, that biological tie was there. He never hated Simon too. But his ways got him sick.

“ Wah yah still doi’in here?” Simon peeped and barked. “ We gotta scam like right now.”

He looked at Alicia.

“ I’m proud of yah kid. I got eyes, but you got vision. I got plans but yah got mission.” He laughed and gulped rum. “ Get yah wife and my grandpals so we can kick it. Can’t wait to share beer with ‘em and tell ‘em war time stories. I love ma grandpals, yah know.’

He went out.
Alicia looked dumbfounded.

“ Damon and Simon got weird grandparents.” Damon said.

“ Except your mum.”

He concurred.

He carried one of the infants, didn’t know which, while she carried the other. She went to a box and removed a small bag and a pack of baby items. They could not carry anything else. What mattered was leaving here.
They ran downstairs. He was shocked to see the amount of loot Simon and his cronies had piled up. They had gathered almost two hundred million dollars worth of cash and items.
They stashed the money in bags. Why did the Grants have to keep such amount of money in a private safe? Well, you never know with criminals. They always made sure they had enough cash close in case of a sudden runaway.

Simon could be a weirdo, but he was very smart. He blindfolded the Grants so they did not see Damon and his family come down. Simon then scribbled something on a paper: We have your daughter and grandchildren. We would demand for ransom.

They went to the door, while Simon held Richard, whom he thought was the wife, hostage. Eddy opened the door, and Richard was used as a shield. There were a good number of gunmen outside the building waiting.
The gun men could do nothing with their boss held hostage. They got into a Rolls Royce, while Jim and Simon loaded their loot inside another car and got inside with Simon under the wheel. Desmond was behind the wheel of the Rolls Royce, while Simon and Damon’s family were behind the wheel. Richard was at the front and Damon had a gun pointed at him.

Damon had put a gun to Alicia’s head, knowing they were been watched and probably been caught on camera. It was like they were kidnapping her.
The two cars sped out. As they drove out, he heard cars coming after them. Desmond was driving at high speed.

As they got near the old Buick was, Damon understood what his father had meant when he said eddy should stay as an escape back-up plan.
Eddy was on a tree with a rare bomb dispenser. He fired and the cars chasing behind got bombed. These men meant business.
Satisfied there was no more threat, Eddy came down and Damon saw an helicopter dropping. What was going on? They alighted the car, and Simon came and flung Richard on the ground. He raised his gun but Damon quickly stopped him.

“ You can’t do this!” Damon barked, changing his voice.

He looked at his son, then smirked.

“Wah’ever.” He shrugged .

The helicopter was part of the plan. Damn! These man had planned for this heist. They transferred the loot into the big helicopter, and they packed themselves in. Damon kept telling them to be careful with the infants.
Damon did not know who was piloting the helicopter. As they were about to lift and eddy was climbing in, someone fired a shot and they heard Eddy shout. The bullet had hit him. Jim pulled him up, and the helicopter left the ground at once.
Eddy was bleeding profusely as the trained Jim gave him a first aid treatment. Damon doubted if he was going to survive it. He heard another gunshot but they were off already.

SIXTEEN

" They are so cute." Maria ( Mr grant) said with a gleam in her eyes. " I can't stop loving these creatures."

" We are grannies, isn't that awesome? " Said Richard.

They had been staying out longer with Alicia since the birth of the kids. They were so excited, and showed profound love for the infants. This scared her. They would not let these children go for anything and she did not want her innocent kids around them, plunging them into their bloody wealth.
The mad couple had spent over ten million dollars since the birth of the child, one week ago. They got the best of everything for them and so many dignitaries had been coming to congratulate them.

Steve came into the room, a smile on his face. How annoying. What kind of fool was he? He knew the children were not his, he knew she did not love him and would never. They were not even dating, how could he be so pesky?
He was no fool. He had a plan. It was not just out of love for the kids. He wanted to have her by all means. His pride had been hurt, he had hoped to have her, waited for life only to have Damon pull her out of the state of virgo intacta. He wanted to at least have sex with her, take her away from Damon, deprive him of the children and satisfy his ego. She was in deep hole. Imprisoned in her home, deprived of her life, her world, her love.

" Now that she is light," Richard said, " I think we think of fixing your wedding date." He looked at Alicia. " The divorce papers will soon be ready. Damon has filed for divorce."

Alicia saw Steve smile and she hated him like she had never hated anyone. Damon would never divorce her, but she knew they were going to manipulate the process.

Alicia forced a smile.

" That would be great." She said. " I can't wait to marry Steve."

Steve sat beside her and tried to give her a peck. She stopped him.

" I missed you." He said.

“ Thank you.”






Mrs Veronica Simon was a tall pretty woman, graceful and gentle. She was a complete opposite of Simon. Damon wondered how they got together. He was rough, tough and mean.
She said she had a feeling something was not well, she could not reach Damon on phone, and she began searching for him. She went to the police and nothing positive came out of it.
Then she looked for his father. Finding him was not a doodle and convincing him to come look for his son was another task. He had many contacts and friends. Not too good friends though. So the search continued until they traced him to Kim's place. Simon knew the underworld and lived a life there. It was then he trailed them to Hamilton's park but was not allowed to enter. He waited and that became Damon’s saving grace.

" Why do I feel bad about this?" Veronica said as she watched her son wear his shoes. " Why can't you tell me exactly what is going on?"

"I can't mum. It's better you don't know."

" Are the Grant's dangerous?"

Damon shook his head.

" No. The only problem they got is they don't want me near their daughter and they want my kids."

" Why can't you resort to the law?"

" You won't get it. Dad gets it more."

" That is because he always got it on the wrong side of the law. This is dangerous."

" Life in its entirety is dangerous. This is our last resort."

She wanted to talk when Simon came in and Damon was glad he did.

" Wah the f*ck are you do'in ? I got me my buddies wai'in and you still hooked up here." Simon said. He had a peculiar way of speaking which was difficult to comprehend. Damon wondered if it had to do with his days in Harlem peddling drugs with African Americans, or his stay in Texas, that got him talking like that.

Damon kissed his mother bye then went after his father. Simon wore dark sunshades, a bottle of rum in his hand. There was a black Long old modelled Buick waiting. In this car were three of his friends. God! They were all ex-soldiers. They looked so mean and ruthless.
Simon took the passenger's seat, while Damon sat behind with two of the brutal looking men.

" You got a fine kid Stone." One of them said. Stone. That was his code name since military days.

" Yah. I got my self a fine kid coz I do his mama fine, you do your bae bad, you get em bad kid." He said and they laughed.

God!

The car engine started and they moved.

" You don't talk shit with your son around Stone." Said the one they called Jim.

" Wah? My son is no lil boy. Now we go'in to try to save his babies mama." He sipped alcohol, " he din get babies without spanking, banging, drilling and you know wah? I'm real proud of ya my boy. Them buddies know me is good shooter. I shot ya mama once and you was come. And she stuck. But I never shot and reap two fuc*ing babies. You gah two fuc*ing babies in one Murderf*cking baby shitting." They burst out laughing.

" But, boy, never stick to one bitch." Simon went on,

" yah need lot of experience and one bitch aint gonna give ya that. And she says no, get the fuc* outta her way and go ."

" Hey," Said the chubby one with small rattlesnake eyes called Desmond." But you forced that lady in Afghanistan."

" Yah. Me was standing with ma AK47 and this slim lady pop up. I been off a month and I'm starving. I show her ma gun and I'm ban'in her, she's crying, and I'm done, and she's crying, coz she's married. The next day she pops up again. What da fuc*! I pull her down the stream and I'm ban'in her, I'm spanking her, and she's crying coz she's married. Straight seven days she's making the same goof of crossing ma way. And I see her, I do no'in. And she say's you bloody soldier can't you see me?"

The friends were now laughing hysterically, while they filled the air passive smoke. These men were weird though.

" And I say I see ya. You got a hubby and me sick of yah crying." Simon continued, inhaled smoke, and gulped alcohol, " and she's like why the hell do you think I keep coming? I like rough and my tears is tears of joy. What da fuc*!"

" But you left Harlem because you had a rift with Tonia." Said Desmond.

" Hell no. I left coz the only white rapper represen'in us was Vanilla Ice. Ya remember him, the ice ice baby guy? Yah! White boy can jump. Who da fuc* ask you that. So I left the black neighbourhood and it took a long long time before Eminem showed up."

The man behind the wheel, Eddy grinned. " I never used to listen to raps. It was gangster and I was too prim then."

" Crap!" Simon spat. " Most of 'em aint gangsters. Some of them are studio gangsters. In '85 Dr Dre, Easy E and Ice cube was bring'in gangster rap and all shit. In '83, Dre was like a science nerd hooked up in the lab trying to figure out where exactly the electron lies and drop Schrodinger equation. When Biggy Smalls rap saying he used to peddle drugz, and lived in a one room apartment and had no food on the table, him mama come out say hell no! I never lived in one room and Christopher always had food to eat. It's an act. West side, East side shit. It's like WWE, them bring The Kamala, the Ugandan Giant all dressed up in African attire when the dude is American and don't know shit about Africa. Sergeant Slaughter carry Asian Flag and he is American. It's a game, boy."

" I like Rock and Roll. Rock stars are my game." Eddy said.

" I hate 'em rock stars." Said Simon. " Iet 'em man be a man and 'em woman be a woman. Them come on stage all dressed up Natasha Gabriel. Why the fuc* should a man be wearing lipstick, eye shadow and all 'em woman stuff? Them not even androgynous, them like a woman. I hate that shit. That is ma take and don’t give a hoot about it. I love em music, but I hate em costumes"

" That's why you took that corporal in Iraq." Said Desmond.

" Which corporal?"

" The one in your platoon."

" Oh yah. That dude was meant to be a soldier but when we was blackening our faces, he was making up."

They were laughing.

"When 'em bullet miss him, he's like awwwn, I feel like crying."

More laughter.

" And I keep pray'in, Lord, let 'em enemies shoot this murderf**ker and yah know wah? Them real soldiers keep falling and that murderf**ker never die. So, on that day we was in a fierce fire fracas and I got myself alone with him and I put ma gun on his head and Pap! I spill his goddam brain."

They kept laughing, smoking and drinking.

" And I keep crying, crying like a baby so Colonel ask me, why you keep crying for him? And I say, he was my best friend. And Lieutenant is like, Wah! I never see you hang out. And I'm like , real friendship lies in da heart."

For the first time, Damon giggled. Simon would always be himself. He had not changed.

Twenty minutes later, they pulled up in the middle of a lonely country side, with lots of trees and grasses. As they alighted and the boot of the car was opened, Damon realised the danger of what they were about to do. He felt like chickening out, remembered his mother’s fears but looking at these brutal looking ex soldiers, he knew there was no going back.
They began to assemble the bogey looking guns while they smoked and joked. There were AK47 and pistols. Simon threw two pistols, a mask and a pack of bullets at Damon.

" Get set boy." He said. " We have a little party and you are the celebrant."

Damon collected the guns, put it in his pocket, and then wore a mask. Simon began to give a final briefing as they set for the dangerous task.

" I hate it when a jerk try to queer my pitch ." Bug said in a low dangerous note as he smugly touched Damon’s side with the muzzle of his gun.

" And when a jerk put the kibosh on my hustles, I strike and when I do, it's macabre."

Damon said nothing, hoping Alicia had a safe delivery. He was jittery, and Bug was his least concern while Alicia and his baby topped the priority list.

"How was your report to the police?" He continued," did I not tell you we are untouchables? Why didn't you just vanish since you survived Han's bullets? How can you be so foolish to come here? Why do you make it so easy to me to kill you? I love interesting preys, playing cat and mouse...."

Damon was ready for that cat-and-mouse-play.

He sent an elbow onto Bug’s jaw, followed up with a jab then broke into a run. They were outside the park. Damon ran into the woods. Bug fired a shot and shouted, " He must not escape this time!"
Damon jumped down a steep hill and rolled down, as a shot narrowly missed his back head.

Phew!

That was close.
He quickly got on his feet and broke into a run, panting, gasping, but the thought of his wife in the labour room kept him driving on. He wanted to survive, wanted to save her, and to be with his family.

Bang!
A bullet zipped passed him. He hid behind a tree amid thick grasses. He could see a young, lanky man dressed in anorak . He held a pistol. His thin vicious eyes travelling round the woods, pugnaciously alert. Damon was as still as a pole, making his breath as inaudible as possible.
The man was just a nicety from Damon, his thin hand grabbing his gun, while his long finger rested on the trigger. Damon could tell all he wanted to do was put a bullet through him and drink beer later. The killer paused, turned around then smiled.

" I know you are close-by," he said in a nasal voice,"and you are mine. Bug gave you to me as a gift. Do you know I haven't killed anyone in two months? Isn't that tormenting? Don't you think I would lose respect? Please give me the pleasure. Add up to my profile. What's that term for it? Curriculum vital ( Curriculum Vitae), right? I skipped junior high and don't have no shitty idea about those things. My alma alunta (alma mater) is the streets so I gotta be good at what I do."

He took a step, turned back then Damon struck. It was a dicey, gutsy step which was his faute de mieux. Damon ran with an incredible speed and launched himself into the air, moving with shoulder first then blundered his strong shoulder into him. Damon saw a startled expression on his thin face before they crashed on the grassland.
Damon did not waste time. He hammered his fist on the thug’s eye, then a quick blow on his neck.
Pwak!
He heard a bone crack.
Very good.

" Fu*k!" He yelled in pain. Damon slammed his fist on his nose and blood emerged at once. Damon closed his strong arms round his neck for an asphyxiation. He made a futile attempt to hit Damon, but Damon was snuffing life out of him and was determined not to let him go. Then the thought of Bug fell on his mind. Where the hell was he?
The fear of Bug coming from behind got him nervous. He hesitated before he gave the neck a powerful twist .
A loud cracking sound.
A sharp single moan.
Stillness.
Silence.
He was gone.
Damon killed him! He have never done this! He killed him!
So what? He heard another voice in his head.
He wanted to kill you. He was a professional killer. Get the hell out of here.

Damon picked his gun and sprang up before he quickly dropped on the ground again. That was the fastest move he ever made. The bullet just missed him by an inch. Bug was standing some hundred of yards away .
Damon shot back immediately he landed. Bug had not expected it. He docked. Damon sprang up while he sent another shot, fire sputtered, smoke diffused, and he ran deeper into the woods. Bug came after him, but meticulously because he knew Damon had a gun.
Damon stopped behind a tree, looked back but quickly swayed his head as Bug sent another bullet after him. Bug was a professional. He was better with the rod but Damon was more desperate. He shot back at Bug who was also behind a tree.

Silence.
Nobody made a move. Damon did not know how many bullets he still had. He had no idea how to kill this monster, but that was what he wanted to do. To kill him and get done with him. He kept watching, listening , staying very alert.
Then he felt something in his breast pocket. It was flat. He brought it out. It was a small i-phone. Who owned this? Then it nudged his brain.
Alicia! She had put it there when she feigned to fight him and jerked him.
Bug was still there. Damon kept watching. He was not coming yet. Bug was like hundred feet away . There was a message. That was the alert sound he heard when he was having a rough session with thin-face.
He could not wait. Holding the gun with one hand, watching Bug with the corner of his eyes, drawing his ears to the ground, he opened the message:

I made it a few minutes ago. Only the nurses are here so I quickly send this. Keep this phone as our only means of communication.
Then pictures.

God!
Two lovely boys. So innocent, so beautiful, so infectious. Damon was in love with them already. He was a father!

They are like you, Damon. The eyes, the lips, they got yours but they got the colour of my hair. You can't take it all, darling. I am fulfilled. I have your children. I wish you were here. I need you to see them, hold them and embrace me. I was strong....... for you. It's hell doing this. Respect to all mothers # Giggling#

Boop!
A straight punch landed on his jaw and he blundered unto the tree trunk, hit his head and dropped like a bag cement.

" How can you be so foolish to be chatting in the middle of a fire fracas?" Bug said and a real expression of surprise splashed on his deadly face.

" Is this how love sucks?"

Foolish indeed. How could he? But it was done. He was carried away, seeing the pictures of his lovely, bouncing babies got him off his mind. All he could see was him, their mother and them. Just them in the world. No! Bug was there.
Bug pointed the gun at Damon, moved and picked the gun Damon was holding then put it in his pocket.
Bug gave out a deadly smile.

" This is going to be fun. Just me and you, dog."

Bug put his gun in his pocket. What was he doing?

" It will be a lost to shoot you at once. I must confess, you are not to be underrated. You are an amateur, but always fluked and stumble on big things. You escaped me a number of times, miraculously survived death, and discovered elusive facts so you don't deserve a single shot death.”

He clenched his fist.

" Then I will survive again." Damon said, trying to instigate and dare him.

" It's not a game of luck, as*hole." Bug said. " There is no such thing as luck."

Bug allowed Damon get on his feet. Bug’s confidence, stocky size and deadly face were intimidating. Damon was first to send a punch but Bug got to him first. His strong fist slammed on Damon’s belly.

Did he just cut my intestines ?
“Auughhh!” Damon let out a short intense cry.

Bug closed up on him, sent his fist on Damon’s jaw who hit his head on the tree trunk again. It was painful. Damon tried to kick him, but Bug moved slightly and missing the kick made him lose balance. Bug grabbed him before he fell down, raised him up and flung him away.

What! Bug! I just got me a set of twins.

Damon was in the air for a fraction of minute before he was slammed on the ground. He felt pain in every cell of his body. He lay still, just breathing, trying to assure himself that his head was still connected to his body, and his bones were not broken.
Bug walked up to him slowly, a smirk on his face, with his face glistening with sweat. He looked happy and that meant he was coming to give a quietus. There was nothing that gave him pleasure more than killing.

" You killed my man." He said, " Was that your first?"

Damon said nothing.

" My first was at the age of fourteen. I had a crush on a girl. I did not talk to her because I was not social. I rarely spoke in class and had no friend. I loved her. But this idiot kept getting closer to her, they had ice-cream together, walked to the bus together. So, I got fed up and tried to talk to her. I was doing so and he came out of nowhere and held her hand and took her away. She forgot me completely . So, I went after him, got to know his house and I got him. It was a knife, straight to the stomach and a twist, making sure he does not survive, and I watched him wriggle until he died. I became scared, I ran away, buried the knife, went to wash my body. I could not eat, and when they mentioned his name in school, I cringed. But after a while, the guilt left and I began to fantisize. I got a second one. A girl, she was alone, older than me, and pretty. She had a quarrel with her boyfriend. I saw them argue and he left her alone. She was sitting alone by the river. I said hello and she ignored me. It was just me and her. It was seductive. That was my first rape and kill. Then the guilt left, and the fun came. I wish you will have the chance to live longer, you could have taken more. Killing is like playing God. Deciding when to let him live or die. Is that not cool? But unfortunately, you are dying now...."

He came closer. Damon sent a kick to him, but it did not move him. He slammed a fist on Damon’s jaw. Bug was more experienced and stronger. He then closed his hands round Damon’s neck and pressed.
Damon felt his eyes bulge out, breathing seizing, energy drifting out of him. He hit Bug feebly, hoping he would let go but Bug he was adamant, dogged and determined. He had this calmed expression on his face as he snuffed life out of Damon.
Damon was becoming weaker, his sight blurring, and lacking oxygen as Bug blocked it's passage.

" Your nomadic idiot nearly broke my nose and kill me." Damon heard him say. " He owes me."

Damon was now very lassitude, could not struggle any more. The strength was out of him, his image became more blurry. Just a few more seconds and he will be gone .

Boop!

Someone landed a fist on Bug’s cheek. The arm was brawny and Damon saw the tattoo. Bug fell off and was forced to let go. Damon gasped for breath, opened his mouth, trying to catch all the air he could get.
The man who came to save him was of moderate height, heavily built with tattoo on his arms and back. He wore black singlet over brown khakis. His Timberland boot was brown and dusty. His chalk white hair was cut low, wearing a clean shaven face with aggressive jaw.
Bug stood up at once, glared then moved forward. The man flung a straight punch which smacked Bug on the nose.

" Jeez!" Bug cried and tried to get his gun. The man was as fast as light. He got to Bug before he could get out his gun. He used the side of his stretched palm and hit Bug on the throat, raised him up then squeezed his neck. This was a real professional killer, like he had a PhD in Killing. The man held Bug’s neck and gave it a single twist. Bug fell down, gasping, trying to get up but failed.
Bug began to wriggle, starring at the man, then he bent his head towards Damon, and he became weaker. He kept staring at Damon until he stopped moving.
Bug was dead. And this time, dead for good.

The man who saved Damon came and stood over him, removed a bottle of gin and disgorged it down his throat. He shook his head, gave Damon that wicked smile of his and extended his strong arm.

" Come on, kid. Ya mama gah me outta ma shell sa'ing ya gaah ya’self in some shit" He said in his thick voice.
" Me was loo'ing all over for ya. We gotta go."

For the first time in many years, Damon saw his father

excelmerry:
Does this mean u will stop posting now?

Married to a fink, soon
Others, No.

Meanwhile, Does this mean you wont buy our ebooks?

Naairah was siting between Adnan’s legs as he used a sharp object to loosen her plaited hair’
They were sitting in their living room. She planned to go and plait her hair and he offered to help her loosen the plaited hair.

“ You are trying, Hayati.” She said as she saw that he had gone half way.

“ Yeah but there is something missing.” He said, put the object between a twine, and pulled the hair apart.

“What is missing?”

“We are not gossiping. Plaiting and gossiping move along well.”

She laughed.

“I am serious. When girls plait, it is then you will here, ‘ hmmmm, wonders shall never end..and it goes up.”

“ Are you saying guys don’t gossip?”

“God forbid!”

“Please spare me. Even old men gossip and they will call it politics. When someone dies, it is better after burying him, Prophet SAW said do not stay long there. Just go, greet, pray and leave. But you see men, with canopies, and the next thing will be gossip and football talk. The issue of the deceased if forgotten. It will be gossip, politics, and football.”

“Miss Sunshine, by the time they are doing these, where are the women? They are inside like it is a wedding ceremony . Looking at each other’s style of clothes, what Dije did to Saude, how Kuluwa’s husband is treating her. It is the spirit of gossip that radiates from them that hit the men and hypnotize them to do 5% of what the women are doing.”

“ Men will beat women flat when it comes to gossiping.”

“ Sweetheart, the chairperson of Gossiping international Organization is a woman, same as the secretary and other key members. Read the History of gossiping by Fadila, the originator is a woman. The first 100 gossiping champions are women.”

“Now you just proved me right.” She said. “ You even know the names of the organizations and key offices, and books. That shows that men are more current when it comes to gossip. I have never heard of these. I am hearing of the detailed world of gossip from a man. Are you the information officer?”

He Laughed and grabbed her from behind then kissed her on the lips.
The chiming of her phone disengaged them. Adnan hissed jokingly. “ Who calls at the wrong time.”

“Someone who wants to save me.” She said. “Who knows what this would have led to?”

“ It may have led to ……”

“ I don’t want to hear….my innocent ears.” She said. “ It’s Ummi….Hello ……..inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un! Where ?When? How?.....toh..!”

She ended the call and tears began to cascade. “It is Abba! He is dying at the hospital.”

“SubahanAllah! What happened?”

“I don’t know. He is at Shukuran Hospital.” She rushed inside to get dressed.

Twenty minutes later, they were entering the hospital. They saw Addy, his father, her siblings except three who were out of town, all standing.
Was he dead? What was going on?
She rushed towards Hajiya Fatima who was tryng to calm her nerves.

“What happened?”

“ I just went into the room and found him gasping for breath. He is inside. The doctors would not allow us see him now”

Gajere walked in with his stealth attitude moved towards Aminu. He excused him and moved aside.

“ They are around.” He said in a low tune. “ BOE agents. They have come to take Addy away. They are making sure he does not get out of sight. They have about three cars.”

Aminu felt stuffy. Something seemed to be rising to his head. The dreaded time has come. He was impersonating Tiger 606 and that was a crime against the organization. Mason would do whatever he could to cover his tracks and that made them vulnerable and dispensable.
He looked at Addy and Alhaji Tofa and nodded at them. They joined him.

Hajiya Fatima was watching them , seeing the agitation on their faces. She was only concerned about her husband because of the bond, and being the father of her children but the treatment he meted on Adnan was bad.
He also got into this mess without checking his conscience, and integrity. He was so blind and hungry for money and power. Nemesis. Now it was the homeless, parentless, poor, uneducated Adnan that they were looking for. Where on Earth were they going to find him ?Where?

Tofa was just wearing a tight lip and his cheeks seemed to have inflated.
He just refunded twenty billions naira to the government as he was pressurized. Where was he going to get such an amount to pay back?
He was facing a straight way to being broke. He never knew all of these.
Now the people were around to take Addy to USA for the test.

Naairah and her siblings were perturbed. She knew her father was wrong in many ways but she wanted him alive.
The doctor had told them it was a heart attack triggered by high blood pressure and his condition seemed to be worsening.
Addy heard a notification in his phone. He quickly checked it and saw something that made him cringe :it was the picture of the cartoon he made when he was a kid, making fun of Adnan, as a super hero of dump site.
Was this real? Was he going barmy? He showed his father.

"Who sent this? "Aminu asked.

"I don't know. It is not on my contact list. "

Aminu sighed.

"Adnan is alive! " He said with a tinge of hope ." Call the number. We need Help "

Addy dialled but it was not available.

"Oh, please.... " Aminu started when he also received a message. He opened it:

Why? You deprived me of my parents and wealth, maltreated me and tried to kill me. Now there is trouble. I just called to say I have forgiven you. Good bye.

" No! Addy call him, I will send him a message..... "

They were seriously scared now. Adnan was alive but he was not going to help them. He just reminded them of what they did to him.
Only Naairah knew Adnan was there. Hajiya Fatima was watching them.

" I am closer than you think ." Addy heard someone say, turned and saw Hayat.

" I am Adnan Abbas. Baba Aminu Saminu, Tiger 606."

Aminu got the greatest shock of his life!

Alhaji Mukhtar received a call, said ‘ Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un.” He took three steps and felt something rising up from his feet. It was like a tornado sweeping through him, and then the world seemed to go dark. He felt as if a mountain was dropped on his chest.
What did he just hear?
He dropped on the floor and began to wiggle, gasping for breath while foams escaped from his mouth.
Hajiya Fatima walked in and screamed aloud! His eyes were rolling upwards and becoming blank. He was dying.







Mason waited until the line connected.

“ Tiger.” He said. “ It failed.”

Aminu felt a drum in his head. That was the last resort in trying to avoid the test: Mason said he planned to execute his father but the octogenarian escaped. He was to be bombed in his car, but he did not go into the car but used another car and the plan failed.

“Oh my God!”

“ He must pass the test….or else. That is the result of your stupidity! How could you let such a specimen out of your sight?’

“Specimen?”

“What else is Adnan? We could have used him but I was scared he has his parents’ genes and could derail. You should have kept him. Now we are going to face the reprisal. I don’t care how he does it but he must pass.”

Mason cut the line.
He ran his palm over his grizzled bald head. He inhaled smoke, his eyes looking desolate.
Maya was sitting on the bed, now looking older in her early forties.

“If he fails, you know what would happen and we have not yet planned it.”

“What do you mean?”

“He is going to fail and they would investigate. You will be the first suspect and all other accomplices will be gotten. Do you know what that means? The organization is still very powerful. They can still get at us.”

“I know.”

“So we must find a way to wipe them off: Tiger 606, Adnan and Hamilton have to go and would be at the spot of test. They must be investigated.”

“We cannot attack them at the spot. The security is too tight.”

“ I have a plan.” She said, “ Come to me first. I have needs.”

“ Not now. I am worried.”

“How do we plan if we are agitated? Come and relax. I got it under control.”

He dropped the cigar and moved towards her.





Aminu held the phone, feeling an internal heat while outwardly, he felt cold. He knew what was at stake. They may not only refund money, but Mason may wipe them off.
He took in a deep breath.What could he do? Run away? Where would he run to? And how far would he go before they are gotten? Adnan! Where on Earth are you? How can I find you? I don’t believe you are dead!

“ What is wrong?” Addy who was watching him asked.

“Mason could not kill the Grandpappe. The test would hold.”

Damn!

“Your allowance has been stopped for three months now. That is the handwork of Mason. I have not gotten a contract for six months. Everything is on hold until this is cleared and we know it would hardly be cleared. We are doomed and you messed it up. You shot him in the first place.”

“He did not die then. He came back.”

“ But the attack got him scared. He was moving freely at first and he never knew we had found him out.”

“ We should think about a solution and blames.”

“Shut up! Get out! Get out of here now!”

Addy grimaced, feeling irritated because no one talked to him like that…in the past. He walked out of the room and went out and got into his Hummer. Aminu watched him drive out. From the balcony, Aminu saw a tinted-glassed SUV drive after him.
The car did not look good to him.

“ Gajere, an SUV just followed Addy now. Get at it. I hope he is not being trailed.”

“ Hmmmm.”

Gajere quickly called Matti and they got into a Space bus and followed.
As they drove past a car, a man under the wheel of the car said into a mouth piece. “ Watch out, they suspect you are following TCO. Abort the trail and watch his house. Abort the trail and watch the house, I repeat.”





Addy walked into the room and found Lori sitting on a chair and it was obvious she was waiting for him. She wore a body clinging dressed that made Addy forget his immediate problems and felt the need for her. That was what she did to him: He could not resist her.
He moved to her, bent over and sent his lips towards her but she shoved him off.

“What is wrong, honey?”

She gave him a stern glance.

“ Addy, it seems you can’t meet up with my needs anymore.” She said. “ I was modelling before we got married and you promised to keep me floating even without modelling. I accepted the fifty thousand dollar monthly allowance and stayed by you. Now you can’t afford it any longer….”

“I can. I am just going through a period….”

“Then keep going through. I am done with this. Thank God I never gave birth to a child. I still need my figure intact.”

“What are you talking about?”

She looked straight into his eyes.

“ I need a divorce!”

Addy almost fainted.

He did not even realize that his phone was ringing until she told him. He felt his hands shaking as he picked the call.

“Hello.” He said.

“ Addy, Mukhtar has just being rushed to hospital. He is dying.”

“ I have a bigger problem right now.”

“What? That is your uncle and he has about ninety billion with him if we are going to pay back. He must tell us some things before he dies.”

“Okay, sir.” He said then looked at Lori. Her pretty face was alluring, and he wished he could just grab her and kiss her.

He went on his knees. He dropped his haughtiness; this was the power of a woman in display. Who knew what Generals, kings, governors did behind closed doors with a woman? Those beings had some hidden powers and Addy was one of those men captured in a trance, as if hypnotized by a woman. He had seen women in their splendour, and used and dumped a lot but Lori got him stuck.

“Please don’t leave. I am travelling and be sure the issue would be cleared. I am coming back to get everything back to normal…even better.”

She gave him a vague smile.

“ I am getting bored. We used to travel round the world, five star hotels, and entertainment shows but we have been stuck to just watching the shoki dance boys for long.”

“Do not worry. I promise to bring Arianna Grande for your birthday.” He said. “ We are going to have a yacht party and be sure Justin Bieber
would be there. All I need is to talk to the head of entertainment wing of my people and it is done.”

He saw a glint in her eyes. She was a valley girl and so worldly.

“What are you? Why do you command so much power?.....in the past.”

“Not the past.” He said knowing he was at the verge of losing the power, money and her. He was making empty promises, hoping to buy more time. He could not afford to lose her. Oh no! Where was Adnan? If really he was alive, he could come to their aid!

“ I have a dying uncle. I need to be at the hospital.”

She nodded.

He picked the car keys and said, “ I love you, Lori.”

“Thank you.” She replied.

He expected her to say something else but it seemed she was done. He left and rushed outside. As he drove out to the hospital, the SUV resumed its trail. Gajere was not to be deceived easily. He had not gone back as they thought. He was now sure the car was following Addy.
They were around ! Sent from above.

After waiting for about two hours in the reception, Zayyad was finally allowed to see the chairman. He had to wait that long because there were many people in queue to see him . Some came from abroad to see him and some stayed long inside.
He carried his file, still finding it hard to believe his luck, he went in hoping the chairman would give him an immediate approval. He was in need of money. His father, who had been acting strangely these days surprised him when he went to collect the papers of the confectionary.

“ How much is the person buying it?” The father had asked.

“Two hundred million.”

“What? That place is not worth that. Well ,that is our luck.”

Our luck?

“ Okay, collect the money and take ten million out of it. I will get Rufai to represent me in the transaction.”

Zayyad had frowned.

“I don’t understand Baba. I thought it was mine?”

“Yours? Did we make such an arrangement? I am still alive and you can’t inherit my properties now. You asked me to buy it and I did so you could run it and you did a shoddy job of it. I am very kind to give you ten million naira.
Okay, Rufai will collect the money and give you the ten million. It is all the same. Thank you very much. He will give you extra one million for a job well done.”

So the confectionary was sold to Hayat and he was left with no substantial job. His father had twenty eight children. So this offer came as a blessing.
He went into the large office and was shocked to see Hayat. Wait! Was he the chairman?

“ Sit down. Zayyad Tofa!”

Zayyad sat down.

“Are you the chairman?”

“Isn’t that obvious? You don’t get such offers after a dinner without asking if you had no one. I am married to your sister, remember and you are sure going to get an approval.”
Okay, this was good but the fact still remained that he was Naairah’s husband and that was condescending.

“ Yeah, but you did not tell me the conditions were like this.”

“I thought I was going to be a subcontractor and use my company.”

“No Zayyad.” Adnan relaxed on his chair majestically. “Your company only qualifies you to be employed but you are not just an ordinary employee. You get thirty per cent of a project profit but you must supervise it. the money would be split into the monthly allowance within the time of execution. You will receive nothing less than ten million a month. We don’t do it like that. We give ten per cent. I am only helping you because you need help.
You are working for us, and it is our duty to send you to the appropriate sites. You would do the follow ups, and logistics organization.”
Zayyad did not like this. What would Naairah feel? That he was working for her husband. Adnan could guess what was going on in his mind. What if knew it was Adnan, his messenger he was talking with?

“ But if you are not comfortable with it, You can drop the offer.”

Then reality hit Zayyad in the face. Drop it? Where would he get this kind of offer? This was the best thing for him. He was not involving his capital, and bared no risk of loss.

“ It is okay with me Hayat.”

“I am sorry but we are very formal here. You will not address me as Hayat in the office. That is acceptable at home. After all I am married to your younger sister.”

Must he emphasize being married to Naairah?

“ I understand, sir. Mr Hayat, right.”

“ Yes, but it is Mr Chairman. More official.”

“Okay, sir.” He would have to swallow his pride. He had a family and things were not as rosy as it was. After all it was only in the office.

“ I will approve your letter immediately and being my protégé here, you have a special advantage because I am sending you to Kaduna at once. You are already on job and by next month, you start earning.”

Zayyad smiled.

“Thank you, sir.”

“You are welcome.” He said. “ I will sign now and you meet the personnel manager for other formalities. I have a lot of people waiting to see me.”

“I can see.” Zayyad said. “It took me two hours waitng.”

“I am sorry about that. Truly sorry.” Adnan said and began to go through his letter.


Meanwhile, Addy just left his father’s room after a lengthy discussion. He felt lassitude , and the world seemed to be on his head.
He thought of Lori, his friends, his status and felt a bitter taste in his throat.
One more week to find Adnan! Seven days!

SEVENTEEN

Alhaji Mukhtar walked into the bedroom with a heavy mind. His wife was lying on the bed but he seemed not to take note of her. He walked to the wardrobe, not knowing what he was looking for.

“ Abban Abdul.” Hajiya Fatima called.

“Allahu akhbar (God is Great)!” Alhaji Mukhtar said, almost startled.

“What is wrong? Look at you.”

“Nothing,” he said with the fakest grin she had ever seen. “ I am fine. I just want to perform nawafil (voluntary prayers).”

A new one. When did he start performing nawafil at night ?

“ I saw the expression on the faces of your brother and Alhaji Tofa. I have never seen you so jittery but if you feel it’s not something I should know…” she shrugged, “ when it stinks, the odour would be perceived and then we would know what stinks.”

Alhaji Mukhtar picked his phone, and rummaged through the contacts before dialing a number.

“My princess.” He said with a fake smile and soothing voice. “ I am sorry for calling at this time of the day. Hope you arrived home safely?”

“Alhamdulillah. “ Naairah said from the other end. She was laying her head on Adnan’s chest while his fingers combed her hair.

“ I love you, princess.”

“I love you too Abba.”

“May Allah bless you, grant you blessed children, grant you aljanna. You are a child who knows the value of parents, a daddy’s girl.”

Strange.

“May Allah grant you and Ummi aljanna.”

“Ameen. I also want you to forgive me for my past mistakes.”

“I am the one to beg for forgiveness, Abba.”

“No! Noooo! I offended you. I was too blind to see. Emm….If you are not happy with your present marriage, please let me know. You see, I just realized that boy was a good boy. I have been dreaming of him so a Mallam interpreted the dream to me. He said the boy is a good boy and would have made a good husband.”

“Which boy, Abba?”

“Allahu akhbar! Adnan dan albarka (Adnan the blessed boy). The gentle, honest boy you brought some years ago. He was diligently working as security man, do you know what the world would have been without security men? That is one of the most important jobs in the world. A place without security worths nothing. And that was the humble and important profession he was into.
He was also producing bread. Imagine a world without bread. My darling princess, if I see Adnan today, I will marry you off to him.”

“But Abba I am married already.”

“ You are not in love with your husband. We forced you.”

“So you knew Abba.”

“That is why I am asking for forgiveness.”

“ I don’t hold anything against you. It turned out to be a blessing, Abba because I have fall……I have come to …I have come to like him now.”

“Don’t be shy. You have fallen in love with him? It is not love, it is capitulation to inexorable condition. I Want you to be happy. Look for Adnan, let him come and ‘I will talk to Hayat to divorce you.”

“What? Besides I feel Adnan is dead. He did not die the first time he was shot but he died in an accident.”

“He did not die in Nnaemeka.”

“How did you know that? You knew he was in Nnaemeka?”

“Emm…emmm I told you I kept dreaming of him and after I discovered that he a nice boy, I organized a search for him. He was supposedly killed in an auto crash but we think it is not true. He is alive somewhere.”

“ I don’t think I still want to marry him. Hayat is good.”

“ That is not love. Okay, I need to see him and apologize to him and compensate him. I want him as part of this family.”

“Well, since you organized a search for him once and found him, I guess you can repeat the same process, Abba. I do not know where I can find him and I am now a married woman ."

“Who knows better than me? I have a way of finding him but I need your cooperation.”

“ Toh.”

“ When can I see you?”

“ I will talk to Hayat to let him allow me come on Saturday.”

“That is too far.” He said snappily. “ Tomorrow.”

“ I will tell him.”

Damn!
So his daughter whom he trained and brought up had to seek permission from another man before she could answer to his call. Why? Then he recalled that her mother was behind him and she also needed his permission to go to her father.

Okay. He understood.

“Okay my love. Please talk to him or do I talk to him myself?”

“No, Abba.” She said. “ I will do that.”

“May Allah reward you.”

“Ameen Abba.”

“Good night. Emmm if you are not yet pregnant be careful because Adnan may coma back.”

What?

She did not reply.

“ Good night sir.”

She ended the call.

“ You guessed right.” She said to Adnan who heard the conversation. “ They suspect you are alive. Did you hear him? Something big must have come up. I never heard him sound like this. He is flummoxed and jittery. He was even saying things he would not have said in his normal state.”

“It is almost time for the test.”

“Test?”

“ Yes. The chosen one must undergo series of intellectual ability tests in various fields of study.He would be facing high profile academics and experts. If Addy fails to meet up expectation, they would investigate and discover that he is not me. They have the record of my DNA. That is big trouble. They would have to refund every dime of mine that was stolen to the organization and the contracts awarded to your uncle would have to recalled even though he has executed them. That was his call and not theirs. They are in a dilemma.”

“Oh my God! And that includes my father.”

“ I just got information that he used them without telling them the real thing going on. I guess they just found out.”

“ I saw you discussing with Zayyad.”

“Bottom line, I had the dream of acquiring two places in my life. The confectionary and the estate at which I was a security guard. I acquired the estate about five months ago and I just sealed a deal with Zayyad. I offered exuberant prices for both properties though.”

“ Did Zayyad agree?”

“He has no option. Nobody will but it at that amount and he cannot handle the place.”

“That will be cool.”

“Yes and I made him an offer. He does not know that by accepting that offer, which is mouth-watering, he would become my employee and where would he get such an offer? I am not doing this to hurt him but to teach him a lesson maybe he would learn that life was dynamic. That messanger now owns the confectionary and now his boss.”

She smiled.

“I wonder how he will feel when he finds out…if he will ever find out.I guess he does not know you own the construction firm.’

“He doesn’t. He is still in love with you and still hopes to …..”

“Oh, Hayati, I don’t want to hear that now. His tales disgust me. What did Abba get himself into?”

“What did his brother get him into?”

“Do not take the blame off him. He did not ask questions. Some of the things were sticky. He just did them without asking.”

“ Yes, only a few primary school teachers having house rent issues would ask questions.”

“ Now they are in trouble.”

“Yes, but the one in real trouble is your uncle. Your father would only have to return money.”

“That is real trouble.” She said. She knew her father .

Meanwhile , Alhaji Mukhtar took in a deep breath. He hoped the plan would work. They were going to manipulates journalists, and make a story that a certain lady with undisclosed identity plans to commit suicide if she does not see the dead body of her boyfriend who boarded a car and was said to be involved in an accident.
There would be a fictitious interview with her, and the media houses would spread the news. All she wanted was to see his dead body or she would kill herself. They hoped if Adnan hears this, he would find a way to meet her and then, they would switch into action.
He only hoped she would cooperate. He was feeling a sharp pain in his chest and his breathing laboured sometimes.

“ There is a big problem.” He said, lurched on the bed and took in another deep breath. His heart was pounding. “ All the money and contract Yaya and his son have been getting belongs to someone else.”

“SubahanAllah!”

“ Yaya is not a doctor.”

“I knew that.” She said. “ We are not fools but I just did not know why he changed his name.”

“He took the real doctor’s name. He used us without telling us the truth. We did not seek for the truth because we were so hungry and avaricious. You know we could barely feed when he came back. I was given only one space for scholarship while most of the kids were chased out of school. We were about being evicted from the house. I did not bother to ask why he wanted me to snap a picture with a white looking infant and claimed he was picked at a dump site.”

“You did that?”

“ Yes. I did it and came back home with six million naira and then our lives changed. I got a lot subcontracts and he sent me into government. I and Tofa. I did not know anything about the boy and never asked again. You know the kind of person he is.

They said the boy was brought from Bolivia though he was born in USA and both of his parents were doctors. The mother was a medical doctor. The money Addy has belongs to the boy. The contracts were meant for his father because of the boy’s prowess.
The boy is a rare genius. An incredible savant who is very normal socially and health wise. Now it is time to test him for what he was being prepared for. Whatever that is, we don’t know. All we care about is the main message.
Addy took his position and would have to face the test. This explains all the bizarre attitude of Addy, his power and wealth which was sticky. He had a global organization behind him. Addy cannot pass the test because he is not the real genius.
If this happens and he fails, Yaya would have to return over seven hundred billion naira, Tofa would return about eighty and I will spill ninety.”

He felt the sharp pain again, his breathing was becoming more laborious.

“ If we sell all of our assets, we can’t pay that amount.”

“I always knew something was wrong…..”

“This is not the time for flashbacks. It is time for solution.”

“What has it got to do with Naairah . The things you said to her were far from normal ?”

“Yes.”

“How? What has that got to do with her?”

“ Because the genius who’s money we have been spending is Adnan. That was why Addy was named Adnan.”

“ Ya Rahman!” She exclaimed.

“ We have just one week to find him.” He burst into tears.

excelmerry:
SokoDobo, how do we sleep this night with this kind of suspense? Wow, I hope they don't discover Hayat. What a story!!

Worry not. More updates coming

There was a grave silence as the three men awaited Aminu to start talking. They sat on chairs at the top balcony.

Aminu cleared his throat.

“ I know you are all wondering why I summoned this meeting. It is an emergency.” Aminu began. “ There are things that came up which compelled me to get you together. I have been keeping some details from you for years. Over twenty five years.You all remember what you were before I got you up. Tofa, you were a primary school teacher while My brother was also teaching . I set you up until you all got to the places you never expected. Things did not just happen like that. There were driving forces.
I am going to open up to you today. I am in a fix and that means you are all in a fix. There is something about to happen. If it fails, and it is going to fail, I will have to pay back the sum of seven hundred and twenty billion naira.”

“ Kai!” Alhaji Mukhtar exclaimed, and he felt something running in his stomach.

“Yes and from what I see, Tofa will have to pay back eighty billion naira and Mukhtar will pay back Ninety.”

“Excuse me, please.” Mukhtar said suddenly and got up, took quick steps and ran inside. He rushed into the restroom and relieved himself. He was jittery, feeling his liver shaking. He did not know the details but it did not sound good. He went back.

“I am sorry, I was not feeling too well.”

“ We all feel the same way.” Aminu said. “ I belong to a system which awarded those contracts and got Addy employed. There is a reason for the gestures. It is a long story but the things did not belong to us.”

Alhaji Mukhtar felt his stomach rumbling.

“ Mukhtar, I know you wondered why I changed my name and became a doctor all of a sudden.”

Mukhtar did wonder but when he was making money, he shoved such thoughts aside.

“Yes, Sir.”

“ I assumed another person’s position.”

“Toh fa (Haaa)!” Alhaji Mukhtar exclaimed.

“ Do you remember the time I came back from Bolivia and sent for you?”

He remembered. He was sitting in his living room that day, thinking of what to tell the landlord the next day when he received a message that his brother was back and wanted to see him. Hajiya Fatima sold her new stove to get him transport money.

“I remember.”

“Remember the infant I asked you to hold and snap with, and then claim to have found on the dump site?”

Alhaji Mukhtar nodded in affirmative.

“ That boy was a child I brought from Bolivia using a fake mother.” Aminu confessed. “ I knew his parents. His father is the real Doctor Abbas Haliru Babangida, a rich academic and his mother was a medical doctor from Yemen.”

News! Alhaji Mukhtar wondered what he got himself into.

“The contracts belong to the boy’s father. The money Addy has belongs to the boy. He is the reason I named Addy, Adnan. You may not get the details now. Some of these things are highly confidential. I am not part of the main organization but I work for a wing.
Now this is where the problem lies. The boy was with me before he ran away and that was one of the greatest mistakes I made in my life. He was important to me, to us but he was not treated well. I was power drunk.
I made national and international friends. I had political protégés. I made you a governor and you were a minister. That is how powerful we could get. Now the time has come …..a time we never thought will come. My boss could not get the enemies before now. Addy was trained for a reason. That is why he had a very special education.
The elders are demanding to see him and go through series of intellectual capability tests to see if he is ready for the task ahead. We thought we could get the system out before it came to this level. Unfortunately, the head of the organization is my boss’s father and he is not on the same side as my boss.
The date has been fixed to present Addy in USA, in presence of two hundred experts in different fields. Addy cannot pass that test. He is going to fail and he would be tested. The original boy had an IQ of 350 if I have not forgotten. Out of school, he still gathered knowledge that baffled the world. Addy is not that intelligent. He is just a normal boy.

They will check and find out that Addy is fake and I am fake. And that means returning every dime before I face the penalty.”
Alhaji Mukhtar felt that sound again in his stomach.

“Why can’t we find the boy?” Alhaji Mukhtar asked. “The original boy.”

“ We found him. We were not sure at first but we confirmed through some kids who hacked for us and another mistake was done. I told Addy the truth and he felt the boy was a threat. He sent some thugs to shoot him.”

“Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi raji’un!” Tofa said.

Alhaji Mukhtar began to feel dizzy. Why would they shoot such a golden boy? A boy that was the source of their wealth.

“That was over four years ago.” Aminu said. “ But we believe he is not dead. We suspected he was alive and watched his girlfriend for years. He finally popped out after she got married to someone else and the day our man saw him, he left and was said to be involved in a car accident.”

“Oh my God!” Alhaji Mukhtar said.

“But I do not believe he died in that car.” Aminu said. “ I just don’t believe. I think he is still hiding. So we have only one option…find him before Addy goes to US or face the consequences.”

“How do we find him?”

Aminu looked at his brother.

“ We will talk to his girl, though now married to another man.” He said. “ We have a plan and you , Mukhtar, must make her oblige. If Adnan is alive, he will surely pop out.”

“Talk to her? How do I see her?”

“She is in this house. She is none other than Naairah and the boy is Adnan, the boy you know!”

The rumbling sound now exploded in Alhaji Mukhtar’s head.

Alhaji Mukhtar got on his feet immediately, producing a smile to hide is surprise. Everyone got on their feet to greet them. Here was a former governor following Aminu at his back and the expressions on their faces did not look good.
Aminu replied to their greetings, then said to Alhaji Mukhtar, “ Where do we talk?”

“ Let us go inside Yaya.” He said and led them inside. Adnan did not miss anything they did. Addy was also curious. What was going on?
The men disappeared with Gajere walking behind them.

After they left, Hajiya Fatima excused herself and left. She suspected that something was wrong. she never really liked this elder brother of his who passed his haughty mature to his children. He may have been helpful financially but there was something she did not like about him.
The couples kept enjoying themselves. After the meal, they stood in groups talking.

Adnan moved closer to Zayyad.

“ I guess we met once.” Adnan said.

“ Yes, we did on your…wedding day.” He said. “ I am like her big brother.”

“I can see.” Adnan said. “ Are you based here?”

“Yes, I am. That was my father, Alhaji Tofa, former….”

“Governor.” Adnan completed. “ I recognize him.”

“ I guess you are enjoying the marital life.”

“Yes, I am.” Adnan replied. “Especially when you are married to a lady who loves you so much.”

Zayyad felt a pain.

“ That is true. You see, I like you and I will be frank with you.” He went on. “ I have known your wife since we were kids. Her father and my father have been together since they were young men. I will tell you that she is a nice girl . I just advise you to be watchful.”

“Watchful?”

“Yes. She is obsessed with one low life.”

“Oh my God!”

“ A thief and one who had no origin.”

“How is that possible?”

“ We had a dinner like this once and he was asked to introduce himself. He could not tell where he was from, or who his parents were.”

“Damn!”

“ He dropped out of primary three, worked as a bread seller and security man and later as my messenger before I sacked him.”

“Your messenger?”

“Yes, my father bought the place for me. I mean the bakery where he worked so I demoted him to a messenger.”

“It seems you disliked him.”

“ He was going to destroy my sister’s life.”

“Hmmmm…She must have loved him and that get’s me jealous.”

“She still l does. I am scared if he shows up today, you will face problems.”

“ I pray he does not. What happened to him?”

“Who knows? Maybe in one prison or grave. You know how these criminals end up.”

“Yeah, I know how idiots end up. So how is the confectionary going?”

“I am facing a lot of challenges. I never had experience in the business and it is not moving well. I m thinking of something else.”

“Why did you go into it?”

“ I just wanted it badly. I spend a lot and the money from the business cannot keep me.”

“ I have an offer.” Adnan said. “ How much is the confectionary worth?”

“ About one hundred and fifty million naira.”

“ I will buy it for two hundred million and then give you an offer. We have a construction firm based in Germany. We are the only ones who use DIR machines so there is high demand of our services. I can make you a subcontractor. You will oversee the affairs of Nigeria and we have monopoly over the knowledge. Government deal with us because we are cheaper and got no contest.”

“What is the name of the company?”

“Nanad.”

Zayyad did a quick thinking. This was a cool way of making money. He had tried to sell the confectionary for hundred million naira but had no buyer. This was a golden chance. Things were not a rosy as they used to be. He did not need to think twice about this.

“I did not intend to sell the confectionary. “He lied. “But you are my sister’s husband. I will do you the favour.”

“Thank you.”

“And for the offer, I will not turn it down. What are the requisite factors?”

“You will write an application letter to my company for approval, and terms and conditions stated. You will have thirty per cent of each contract
but you must be around for at least two hours daily at the sites.”

“Okay. I think I need……”

“You will have to visit the office for more details.”

Addy and his wife joined them .

“ How are you, Zayyad?” Addy said to Zayyad as if he was talking to his younger brother and Zayyad was older.

“I am fine, Addy.” Zayyad said. “ I will see you, Hayat. I have to join my wife.”

“Thank you for the advice.” Adnan said and Zayyad left. He did not like being at the same place with Addy. “ Addy was intimidating and uncouth. They knew he was more powerful, pulling international power and stupendously rich.

Lori excused herself to join the other ladies.

“ I can see it worked out for you.” Addy said.

“It did.”

“So how did it go?”

“What?”

“The first time. I mean how you got her .”

“Tell you how I made love to my wife?”

“Now you are acting like these antiquated niggaz. What the fuc* is there? I can tell you what Lori…..”

“It was good Addy and it ends there.” Adnan said feeling disgusted. “But she keeps mentioning Adnan. What do you know about this Adnan?”

Nadia gave her friend a hug and quickly whispered, “ I told you, didn’t I?”

“ What?”

“ You are in love.”

“ Yes, you did.” Naairah replied with a smile. “ And I fell deeper than you would anticipate.”

Nadia laughed.

Adnan came out of the car and joined them.

“ Amarya.” Adnan said with a grin.

Nadia’s husband, Lawal saw Adnan and came out of the car. He had seen Adnan kissing his wife so he pretended to be using his phone not to embarrass Naairah. He walked and joined them, exchanging pleasantries with Adnan and Naairah.

“ Thank you for taking care of Nadia.” Adnan said. “ Like totally taking care of her.Well, that is what we do, take care of them.”

Naairah pouted.

“ What do you mean, Mr Hubby?” She said. “ You make it sound so one sided.”

“Of course it is.” Adnan said. “ We take care of you…is that not what we do?”

Lawal was just smiling.

“We do that.” He concurred.

“ And we don’t’ care of you?” Naairah asked him.

Adnan acted as if he was not sure if they did, trying to see if he had a reason to say they did.

“ Okay,” Naairah said, “we don’t take care of you, no problem. I accept that.’

“ Honey you are trying to intimidate me.” Adnan said. “ I am not scared of you, or what you will do but I only want to say it was a joke. You know I call you Care sometimes ,on Sundays and Saturdays I call you welfare. I am even angry with myself that you take care of me and I don’t take care of you. I am not rational.”

They laughed at the way he was saying it.

“Haba Ya Hayat. Nadia said. “Do not disgrace men, why are you so scared? Are you not a man?”

“ Mallama Nadia, do not instigate me.” He said. “ I am not man enough for that. What would happen if she takes that smile away, or refuses to soothe my heart with that voice? I repeat, I was only joking. You take care of me.”

They laughed at him.

“ I have heard men complain about their wives going taciturn and they ask, honey what is wrong? And she is like’ nothing’. That is the worse type of ‘nothing’. When it is nothing and you know there is something and you don’t know what it is. You start acting like a fool, cracking dry jokes.”

“ I prefer her telling me what my crime is.” Lawal said. “And one of such nothings could be that she called you and you missed the call.” Lawal said.

“You get the point….”

It was at that point a Hummer jeep drove in. The car came to a halt and Addy alighted. He was elegantly dressed in white caftan, and his wristwatch glittered with his air of vain-gloriousness . Lori alighted, dressed in a skinny dress, and a look at her showed that she was a model.
Naairah wondered. Addy rarely attended family functions. He felt so big ,and looked condescendingly at people.
Now as she looked at him, she exchanged a quick glance with Adnan. She now knew better. Addy was rolling on top of the world with her husband’s money, All those while he was hustling for food, working in heat just to survive, someone else was living his life, spending his money and making him feel homeless, and lonely.

“ Dr Hayat.” Addy came and shook Adnan, with a smile and ignored Lawal, Nadia and gave his cousin just a slight nod. They were not on the same level with him. Hayat was a doctor, and a big boy and he knew that from the States.

He felt Naairah and her siblings were his father’s parasites and he did not really like to relate with them on equal terms. Addy only related with people he felt were of his class or close.

“ Addy boy, hope you are good.” Adnan said.

“ We are good.” He said, placing his hand on Lori’s waist. Lori said hello to everyone there and Naairah had to put an effort to tell Addy that he nothing but a jerk, the son of a cleaner who stole somebody’s life. She did not care if her father was part of it. It was just not fair and the fact that he felt more important than everyone in the world made it more gut-wrenching.
She felt more irritated that they tried to kill Adnan, take him away from her and leave her in melancholy. Nadia was not surprised at Addy’s rudeness but Lawal was.

They went inside the building. Lawal simply recoiled, held his wife’s hand and slowed his steps. Let them move ahead, while Adnan and Addy talked. Addy had Lori’s hand in his.



The dinner was to be held at the open yard behind the mansion where a very long table was arranged. Abba loved such things, and the varieties of food they saw was alarming. Gaddafi and Abdul-Rahman were with their spouses and children. Abdul-Rasheed, Sadiq, and Habeeb were now married and they all came with their wives. Sadiq and Muhammad were not married yet. They were about to settle down when Zayyad came in with his wife, he raised his shoulders knowing Naairah was there. They settled on the table and it seemed it was a serve-yourself dinner. Hajiya Fatima had been keenly observing Naairah and her husband. It seemed she had finally capitulated and moved on. Masha Allah.

But she never forgot Adnan. She pretended to have done so but she sometimes cried for him. She was a mother, and had children so she felt what he was going through. She really wanted Adnan to get married to her daughter but fate did not allow that.
She knew Naairah only agreed to marry Hayat just to please her and when she realized that Naairah was not happy with him, she felt guilty but seeing them tonight lifted her spirit.

Abba looked so happy. He could see his family growing larger and that feeling gave him a sweet sensation.
They prayed, and the ladies began to serve their husbands and themselves.

“ What are you ladies doing?” Abba asked. “ Who would serve Sa’eed and Muhammad?”

They laughed.

“I don’t even want anyone to serve me.” Muhammad said. “ I will help myself best.”

“ Boy, get married.” Zayyad said proudly, then gave Naairah a sharp glance. He was trying to show her that he also had a wife and to hell with her but he could not do it successfully. He was told that she did not love Hayat but what he was seeing tonight was contrary to that . He saw the way she looked at him, talked to him, and even dare to whisper into his ears in front of everybody. She could not control her love.
That was disappointing! He still wanted her and thought she was going to seek for divorce and he would come for her. He could divorce his wife for her. He was just so in love with her and she was growing more beautiful.

“ You don’t know how happy I am to be here with you kids…oops! How dare I call married men and women kids.” Abba said and they laughed.

“I thought you were referring to Sa’eed and Muhammad.” Abdul- Rasheed said and they laughed again.

“ Before next dinner insha Allah.” Muhammad said. “ She would be serving me food.”

“Who?” Sadiq asked. “ Which among your wives? Pilo’atu, Bargo’atu or katifatu (pillow-atu, blanket-atu or mattress-atu)?”

“Savage!” Zayyad exclaimed and they laughed.

“Alhamdulillah.” Abba went on. “ We used to have this dinner inside but now, the dining-table can no longer contain us and this is just the beginning of the expansion. You are all my children and part of the family. When your child gets married to someone, you have an additional child.
That is why I was careful to know who was coming in. I have rejected some people in the past, I was misconceived, but today, they understand better.”

Naairah and her mother exchanged glances.

“This is our first dinner after a long time and we have new members here. “ we would introduce ourselves, get to know each other better and get united. We must have a strong bond. I value family. I love family and family is important.”

Adnan remembered that night when he was humiliated for not having a family.

The introduction started, and it was obvious that they all belonged to the high class or middle class. Lawal was from a rich family and he was doing okay. He studied in the same school with Naairah and Nadia and that was not a school for the poor.

Addy swaggered as he talked about his alma mater.

“ I am Hayat Anas, married to the most precious lady on the Earth. I think that is my greatest achievement. It encapsulates all of my successes.”

“Awwnnnn.” Gaddafi’s wife said with a smile.

“But I will also like to add to that by saying, I am the son of Professor Anas , and Professor Hafsat. I had my first degree in computer science from Harvard, where I also bagged my Masters and PhD.”

Abba gave Naairah a proud smile and glance.
The smile read, ‘now you see what I did for you? You would have been married to a primary school dropout, one with no trace of paternity and maternity. A boy who was a security man and bread seller.’

Zayyad felt intimidated. He was going for his masters soon and he would not rest until he got that so-called PhD.

They ate and talked leisurely and laughed.
It was amid this laughter they heard Sallama and an elderly man came in: Aminu. With Gajere behind him and another big looking man behind him: Alhaji Tofa, Zayyad’s father.

Alhaji Mukhtar saw the expression on his brother’s face and knew it was not all well. He rarely visited him.

Adnan felt a little bang in his heart. Only if they who he was! What was going on here?

SIXTEEN

Naairah was shocked and speechless. That meant Adnan was the source of their wealth and power?
He had a home, parents and origin. Men of global importance. And she remembered all the things meted out to him.
What a shame!
What an irony!
What a twist!
She wondered how she was going to act at the dinner with her family members.

Damn!

So Uncle Abbas,....No! Uncle Aminu was a cleaner? And all those times it was Adnan's money!!!!
She wanted to know how he transformed, came back, what he was into, why did they relocate, and what he planned to do next.
But now, they had a dinner with her family members.

" I need you to do me a favour." Adnan said. " You must act normal. I am telling you things I ought not to say. You must not act strangely."

"I am trying, Hayati but remembering what they did to you and knowing it was your money puts me on edge."

"It does not matter." He said. "That was my fate and I had to go through. Maybe it was done so I could meet you. If I had not been hungry, would I have come to you?"

She heard this and smiled.
He bent over and gave her a peck on her cheek.

" You must be strong because you have been under watch for years....since I left."

"What?'

" Yes. They were not fully convinced I was dead. No one saw my dead body and they are too smart to just believe that was the end of me. They questioned you but you never knew it was your uncle who organized it. They know you did not know what happened to me after the incidence. But they kept you on watch because they knew if I was alive, I would definitely come for you.
That is why I took the act to the extreme. If I had revealed myself to you, you could not have been able to pretend enough to convince them. But I was tired of being just Hayat so I deduced a plan.

And the plan was to use a Trojan horse. I knew they were watching you so I took advantage of that to send them away.
My father told me that he was sitting in Angela's room one day when he peeped and saw a gang of men coming with her. They had a gun on her. They chased her from the hospital and caught her. He knew what they wanted so he ran to the basement and put something there. He was a very proactive person. He made a fake list and made it look so real, and had since taken the real list away from the house.
He found her gun and he fired a shot at them. There was fire fracas but he was able to shake them off, and he and Angela escaped. They had not expected the shot.

That incidence brought back some or most of his memories. He saw Mason and remembered a lot of things. He and Angela left Bolivia after surviving a lot of attacks from Don. It was at that time he remembered what they wanted to use his son for.
He later found out that his wife was alive. It was not easy but he traced her and they met and left for good. They moved to Yemen before moving back to USA. They had my sister there."

"What about your elder sisters?"

"They are not biologically related to us. They are part of a fictitious profile." Adnan replied. " I will tell you more about that part. My father did not reconnect with the Bastions at first . Mason was bound to know. He had the list so he began to trace the pioneers.
His father left mysteriously, and the Mr Ford became the Grandpappe. That is Mason's father. No one knows what happened to my grandfather. Mason manipulated things to his wish. So my father got an approval from some of the few pioneers left and a secret wing of the Bastions was formed with the guile of making an relieve team.And the Grandpappe approved it.

Mason and his gang do not know who the men handling the relieve team are. I told you that the whole affairs involve a lot of secrecy. Men of the organization don't know each other. We are lucky the head of EBM Regulatory board has a lot of integrity in him. My father do not know him. He could not locate him even with the list. Some of these men are dead. So Mason wants to find out the faces of the men behind the team, and he wants to know the man behind the EBMs.
It was rumoured that he killed the EBM experts when she discovered that my father was alive. Mason wanted that to be kept a secret and he seriously wanted my father's code so he could hack into his EBM and tap into his projects. They really want to hijack the Evolution. The Evolution is a murky project, with a secrecy that baffles me. We don't know what exactly the project is all about, yet it is in motion.
It is like telling a woman to grind chilli and mix with seasoning, you go somewhere else and tell another woman to fry oil with onions, then tell another to put rice on fire, and so it goes only for you to mix it finally and these women do not know what the other woman is doing or who is doing it. That is how the EBM department works.We don't know how successful Mason has gotten into collecting data. That is what we want to find out and know what exactly is happening. We want to have the organization back and make Mason pay for his sins.

He makes his sins and trackless as sea. His father do not support him and he is beginning to dig into the past. I am the real Chosen One . My parents were astonished to find the knowledge I acquired without formal education but he has not told the elders that he found me and Addy was a fake but Ford is raising some dust.
I was sent to Harvard to study computer science. I got my degree in two years and then a Masters degree in one year...."

"Whoa!"

" I never told anyone this but there was a time in my life I felt I was weird. I felt odd because I realized that I had some abilities that were not common. My memory was almost photographic and eidetic. My abilty to recall things, and mentally calculate things got me scared.
Then I read learnt about Kim Peek, an American savant known as megasavant. Though he experienced social difficulties, he had an exceptional memory. He was the inspiration behind the movie 'Rain Man' featuring Tom Cruise.
Kim remembered almost everything he read, as a child, he could read both pages of an open book at once, one page with one eye and the other with the other eye. He could do this until his death in 2009. He could retain 98% of the information he read. He read thousands of books, encyclopaedias and maps and remember almost everything.
He could read a thick book in an hour and remember almost everything. He was known to be a living encyclopaedia and walking GPS. He could provide driving directions between almost any two cities in the world.
He could also do calendar calculations( 'which day was March 23, 1345?" and remember old baseball scores and a vast amount of musical, historical, and political facts. His had an astounding memory....."

"Ya Allah! For real?"

"Yeah. I also learnt about Daniel Tammet. He is an English essayist, novelist, translator and autistic savant.
This guy was able to learn a new language in one week and granted an interview on a TV program. He has one of the most extraordinary brains on Earth. He has exceptional language and mathematical abilities.
He calculates things with results that end with decimals the calculator cannot contain. He counted the number pi to 22,514 decimal places! And like me, he has no mental disabilities.

Finding these people calmed me down. I had my degree, Masters and PhD in four years. After we met on your graduation, I left to complete my PhD.
I also got my extra training for the task ahead so your husband is a doctor.....and the result I kept for you to see was to make you believe I was Hayat because I realized you had your suspicions. The pictures you saw were not me. Just a younger look alike.
I had to take a new identity just like my father who became Anas and Aaliyah became Lena. I chose the name Hayat and you know why. It was closer to the truth.

I did not undergo any surgery. As a child. I had very curly hair and I did not like it. I felt different from the rest of the kids and I loved African afro hair so as I grew older I used a gel which straightened my hair and gave me the afro you knew me with. That explains the hair.
Then my eyes are lenses as you can see. I am wearing it now, my teeth is faux, and my lips are painted. My voice is faked by a voice changer.

Then my complexion. Okay, I grew up in a very harsh condition and worked in a bakery for years. You don't know what it is like to work with an oven so I got darker. Living a life of luxury in US void of that harsh sunny condition, I got my real complexion back. It is natural.
I am a mulatto. My mum is white , I told you she is in US. She is from Yemen. Then I had a lot of rigorous physical exercise and body building. That explains my brawny body. I covered the mark just like girls cover pimples. That does not need a complex process.
So I told them that I had to come back home. They asked why. I told them I could not exist alone without someone. They wanted me to get married there because continuity is a watch word in the organization. I told them I was coming back to pick up my life and fulfill a promise I made to myself and you.
The timing was good and I knew it was an answered prayer. I set up Naanan a year before then. I was given millions of dollars by my parents. So I came back but as a different person.
We set up a profile to match my claims but my father came along because of the discovery of Aminu. We want to get at Mason through him and I established a relationship with Addy in US. I am stalking him.

They have been watching you, hoping you will lead them to me. So when I came, I tried not to make you recognize me because you may be so emotional. They know you did not love Hayat and you were still hoping to see Adnan.
I know this so I let it play for six months. It was not easy but I had to so we could enjoy ourselves later.
I know you spoke to Adnan while you watched me, and I also spoke to Adnan...myself. It was programmed. The phone was programmed by me with a complex voice algorithm. It is like Google, if you want to search for something and you spell it wrongly, it will bring out the correct spelling and say 'search instead for'. It is algorithm.

I knew the things to say and possible reply. I was not talking to myself but a programmed voice...just to convince you.
They saw us go and search for Adnan and guess what? You saw me coming back from the masjid that day....I was from the garage. I removed my disguise and registered as Adnan.
They had my picture to convince not just you but them that I was there. But there was something else. I boarded a small car for six passengers. All of the other passengers were my boys. The car was reported to have had an accident and the passengers died.
I paid the driver three million naira and a job in USA to do this. He has left the country since. Adnan is officially dead. It is more complicated than I have explained. By this, they stopped watching you. You lost Adnan and fell in love with Hayat and I involved Addy.
He feels his advice got you to love me. I think we should go inside. We have a dinner waiting for us."

Naairah did not know how to respond to this.
Adnan bent and kissed her.

"Kai!"She exclaimed. " What if someone sees you. This is our compound!"

And someone did.

Nadia was just alighting their car with her husband. She saw the love air between the two. There was no doubt Naairah was not pretending.
'I knew it', she thought, ' she would fall for him and forget Adnan.'

Adnan felt he was going to enjoy this dinner. He had a family and a PhD!

Married to A Fink and The Root of A Cynosure is now available in ebook format (PDF).

The price is N1,500 for each or N2,000 if you are buying both books.

Send a mail to info.bellanbooks@gmail.com indicating your interest, we then take it from there.


Beneath My Heart and The Last Insurgent will also be made available soon.

Note: Beneath My Heart is a large book consisting of three distinct parts.

2011

Ann Lann alighted her car, locked the car doors, and took long strides towards the entrance of the big building. Her solferino-red hair sprawled with an amazing grace. Her rapture-blue eyes was endowed with velvety eyelashes below slender eyebrows.
A sway of her hair accentuated her delicate ears which framed a button nose. When she split her syrup-sweet lips into a smile, her set of dazzling angel-white teeth gleamed.

A glossy skin with a burnished complexion covered her twine-thin body which was hidden in gothic clothes she wore in a rebellious way.
Her joyous personality was vivid but not without perlocution. She stepped into the big building and walked jauntily, nodding and exchanging pleasantries with people without stopping. She got into the lift, smiled at a man who kept gawking at her, mesmerized by her beauty and he felt embarrassed.

Stopping at the fifth floor, she walked down the ambulatory passage and passed through a common room ,down a corridor before she stopped before a door with a tag: Director.
She opened the door to find his secretary behind her desk.

“ Miss Lann, he has been waiting for you.” Said the secretary. “ He said you are two minutes late.”

“ I was summoned fifteen minutes ago.” Ann said in a sugary voice. “ good morning.”

“ I hope the morning is good. He does not look good.”

Ann went to the door and knocked. She opened the door and saw him behind his large desk.
The man was smallish, with child-like innocent looking eyes. His nose was long and hooked, looking as if his face had trouble carrying it. His hand-made Italian suit looked immaculate. He was sipping coffee, a pile of files in front of him while a cigar waited to be burnt after the coffee.
The smallish fifty three year old man was the MI6 director, British intelligence agency.

“ I have been waiting for you.”

She knew he just summoned her a few minutes ago but there was no point of any explanation. She said she was sorry. It was traffic jam.

“ Something came up. A girl was abducted yesterday, here in London. I want you to look into it and I want result.”

He noticed her astonished expression.
He sipped coffee, relaxed then locked his small fingers and rested his chin on them.

“ I know where you are going to, Agent Ann. This should be the MI5’s call. Yes, we deal with foreign stuff, terrorism…I think I know. The MI5 dropped it on us because she is a Nigerian. Came into the country a week ago and got abducted yesterday.
We don’t want to Take chances, thinking it is all domestic and an international sinister precipitates. When we are sure it is domestic, then we let them handle it but don’t you think it will be nice if we just clean the mess and they thank us?”

“Yes ,sir.”

“I was in touch with the Nigerian embassy. This lady was here for nine years, attending law school. It could be domestic but we should give it a shot.”

“Yes, sir.”

He pushed a file to her.

“ You got my backing. Just let me know what the desideratum is.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Semper occultus.”

“Semper occultus.”

She opened the door and slipped out.

“ Okay,” said the secretary, “ I guess the morning is good. I did not hear banging of desk or high voice.”

Ann smiled.

“ Good morning.”

“Good morning.”

Ann left the office and the smile vanished. Her long legs moved nimbly and her mind already set. This was the director personally putting her on this. She went into an office where a man sat behind computers.
He was tall and slim with sun tanned skin and clean shaved face.

“ Ray, I need you to work on this.” She passed him a chip.

Ray grinned.

“ And how about a lunch date?”

She sat next to him, opened the file and brought out some papers and began to go through as Ray fixed the chip.

“I talked about a date.” Ray said as he operated the computer.

“Has it occurred to you that you have asked me out twenty three times, and I said no twelve times, shook my head seven times and ignored you four times. This is the twenty fourth and I am doing a recap. I guess and hope it would be the last time. Twenty five is a special number and I don’t want to disrespect the number.”

“ Why? You are so dedicated and don’t want to give yourself a life? Prince William is already married. What price do you need from the Queen for your dedication?”

“The price I need from her is to have a pesky, gut-wrenching bloke like you get off my back. And now back to work. There is a display already.”

It was the footage of a CCTV camera.
The door opened and a man in his early thirties came in. This was agent Greg Thomas.

“ Sit down Greg. I got you on this.”

“ I got your call.” Greg said. “ Are we doing the MI5 thing?”

“ Shut up and sit down. We obey and ponder in secret. This was laid on the boss himself.”

“Damn! She must be high profile.”

“Who knows?”

They could see Maryam’s car stop abruptly as the blind woman jaywalked and then a man in a red hooded top could be seen come out of a car and walks towards Maryam’s car.

“Zoom that guy in red.” She said.

Ray did that.

“Hmmm…okay, play on.”

The guy in red went to the passenger’s side door and began talking to the girl’s boyfriend. It had happened so fast. A man had appeared from the back, out of camera focus, and opened the car, door, used a hanky to cover her nose and it seemed she passed out at once. Carried her out and a van appeared, pulled up by the side of her car and they carried her away.

“Phew! That took just thirty three seconds. ”She observed. “ Swift bastards. They are all white guys.”

“ They got it planned.”

“ Greg, deduce details from the footage. I got to scrutinize the file. It won’t take an hour.”

After an hour, she was through.

“I need to talk to her boyfriend now.”

“Now?” Greg asked.

“Now. Kimmon.”

Forty minutes later, she was knocking at door of Ameer’s hotel room. He was lugubriously sitting with Sanam, waiting for the arrival of the Kankias.

“ I am agent Ann Lann and this is my partner, Agent Greg Thomas. MI6.” She showed him her badge.

“ Glad you came. Please come in.”

“ I am sorry about your girlfriend.”

“Thank you.” Ameer said, “Please sit down.”

They sat down on a couch.

“ I have gone through your statements and it’s quite comprehensive but I need to clarify somethings.”

Ameer nodded.

“ Where were you when she said you were heading to Central London for the surprise package?”

“In the car.”

They must have been followed and the car may have been bugged. She also reminded herself that Ameer was naturally a suspect until he is proven innocent.

“ You don’t have the slightest idea what the package was all about.”

“No.” Ameer replied. “ But I talked to her brother on phone and he said something. He said she received a message via g-mail on the 5th of last month and she exclaimed in joy then said she was coming to London. He feels the message triggered the decision.”

“ This was not in the report.”

“The report was yesterday and the call was today.”

“ Yeah. Do you have her g-mail address?”

“Yes. Bar-mar 44 @g-mail.com.”

“I am afraid it is imperative we know what the message was all about and she is not around. Do you have her password? This is unethical but we must check it out for her safety but if you feel we shouldn’t do it, then fine.”

“I never tried to find her password. I respect privacy.”

“We all do. I will need to send a team to check this room, her room and the car. They may be listening to us right now. I got men outside there to keep watch before the team comes. I guess this is her sister.”
Ameer nodded. Sanam looked very sulky, her eyes bulging from crying.
When she left and got outside, she called someone.

“ We have no option other than to do this. I sent a g-mail address to you. Hack into it. Trace the messages that was received on twenty fifth of last month pronto. Then connect me to it. I need to scrutinize her activities. We might get a lead.”

“Yes. Ma’am.” The person said.

Twenty minutes later, the person called back.

“ A message was sent from a Barrister Joe Beckam.”

“Read the message.”

“ Hi, Miss Kankia. The expiry date is a month away. If you don’t come now, then it is over.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it.”“Okay, I think I will need more time to go through the other messages. Anything strange?”

“I can’t say for now. This is the only message I traced.”

“Thank you Mark.” She said, “ what do you have on the barrister?”

“ A London based senior attorney. Divorced, lives alone in Linton Lane and has an office in Duke avenue, Central London.”

“Central London?”

“Yes. 678 Trimpoli street.”

“Please send his picture to me. I need to identify him.”

Mark was one of the most dangerous white hacker in the house. A computer genius.

“Out of record, Mark.” She said. “ I went out of my way to do that. MI6 did not send me hacking.”

“ This is not the first time I am doing this for you.”

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

Ann looked at Greg.

“The surprise package was in Central London and the attorney who sent her the message has an office in Central London. And this lady is also a lawyer. Mysteries. I love them. We gotta see this barrister.” She said. “Now.”

She called an agent who was sitting in a car.

“Watch the hotel and the guy. I will put a call through. I need to check if they were bugged. We are on our way to Central London. Kimmon.”

They Traced the office but to their disappointment, they said it had been closed for almost a month. They could not find anyone to tell why so they traced his residence.
It was a portable, well-built bungalow. They rang the bell but got no response. Then she pushed the front door. To her surprise, it was opened. They found no one. They began to rummage through the house but found no one. Then they opened the door to his study, and found that everything had been turned and scattered. Someone or some people must have searched for something.
She removed her pistol, her eyes travelling round and her mind alert. What was going on?

Then Greg came out of a room in a rush, his nose wrinkled in disgust.

“ Agent Ann, I found something.”

He led her to a closet and tugged the door. There he sat and the odour from his decaying body was the worst she had ever come close to. She could barely recognise him. The advocate had been dead for weeks and there was something he had that was important to some people.

Ann’s phone rang.

She listened, then said, “ copy that.”

She looked at Greg.

“Their hotel rooms and car were bugged. We need to know more about this lady.” She said. “ I need to call headquarters. The head of a beast is popping up.”

Thank you all for the nomination. I really do appreciate.

FIFTEEN

2011

They arrived Bloomsbury and she drove straight to Great Russell Street, London. Alighting the car, Ameer held Sanam’s hand while Maryam locked the car doors.They were at the British Museum.
Sanam was eleven years old and the last child in the Kankia family. Maryam knew it was not proper for her and Ameer to be alone in a room which was inexorable even though they lodged in different rooms.
So her parents obliged when she said she was coming with her. This was their sixth day and everything was moving as planned. She went to her doctor the next day and could scarcely believe when she was told that she could give birth to children without infecting them.

But she had to resort to some certain drugs. She almost hugged Ameer who was beaming with ear-to-ear smile. They had also discovered a drug for her which she could use when attacked. The drug could keep her safe for one week before she is fixed to the machine.
The machine was the only known remedy for now. This was good news. If a woman could move about with make-up kit, what about a lifesaving drug? But no cure has been found yet. She did not bother about that. With this development, she could live happily.

They spent a lot of time touring. Ameer had never been to London. He had only visited USA and Dubai and that was a long time ago. They visited so many resorts and monumental sites.There were over eight million permanent collections there, making it among the largest and comprehensive in existence. It was established in 1753.
After touring the museum, they went for lunch. They have had enough of Sunday roast and Yorkshire pudding, Eton mess, pie and mash, cockles, etcetera. She took them to Gida dadi restaurant at Flamingo lane, WC2.

It was owned by Hajiya Nafisat Adam. She started the business when she was doing her degree program and her husband supported her. It was a place where you could enjoy Hausa traditional cuisines.
They went in and sat at a table. There were a lot of Africans in there, including white people.
A chubby white man came in with his girlfriend and sat down. A white waitress came and smiled at them.

“ I need a plate of danwake and beetroot-rutabaga sauce spiced with zucchini.” He said. It was obvious he is a habitué here. The way he pronounced the danwake nearly made Ameer laugh.

The man was served well prepared danwake, and not just with mai da yaji but a sauce with vegetables and squash. Danwake a hotel!
The lady was served masa and taushe sauce, mutton soup, tsimi juice and small plate of dambun nama.
Most of the waitresses were trained white girls but most of the cooks were Hausas.

“ Moulded maize flour and baobab soup…” Ameer began and he saw the confusion on the waitress’ face then he got it at once. He had used Nigerian term.
Most Nigerians refer to tomato sauce as stew. But stew was a food that was taken alone and not used on rice or any other food. A sauce is believed to be smashed tomato, pepper, onions fried with egg or any other thing.
Most of them knew the words were been used wrongly but it had become prevalently used terms, so they accepted it.

Taushe, miyan kubewa, jan miya, kuka were all sauces and not soup because they were not eaten alone but used to eat other food. A soup was a light food taken alone. Pate was a soup. The use of these three words; stew, soup and sauce were grossly mixed up.

“ Moulded maize flour and baobab sauce, mutton soup and tiger nut juice.”

The waitress smiled.

“ Are you a Nigerian, sir? I hope you don’t mind me asking?”

“ I don’t mind. I am a Nigerian.” He replied.

“ You could have said tuwon masara, miyan kuka, naman akuya and kunun aya. I was trained in Kano, and had a waina course in Bauchi. Bauchi and waina, phew!”

She left and Maryam chuckled.

“ Baobab sauce.” She said and laughed.

“ Ta samo ni fa.” Ameer laughed.

Maryam ordered for sinasir, and kuli-kulied powdered sauce with dambun naman kaza.

“ Ever tried this?” she asked him, “ Sinasir and kuli- kuli mixed with dambu, and spice? The sauce is sprinkled with a little mai.”

“ I go with soup…sauce sorry.”

“ Try that for a change and you would thank me.”

Sanam said she was not eating there.

“ Tuwo agida, tuwo a London (Tuwo at home, Tuwo in London)? Never!” she had said. “ Get me pizza, London broil, carne pizzaiola, lobster Newberg amma tuwo, waina da sinasir, kuma?”

They had laughed.

“ She is always like that when we come. You know dad can not do without tuwo for two days but she….”

“What about you?” Ameer asked.

“ I love tuwo…..sometimes.”

“ Zaki fada gaskiya ai (you will confess) . Many girls have issues with tuwo. Only very few love it. they also don’t like koko or kunu. Me, I love kosai and kunun tsamiya. Favourite iftar dish.”

“ I get the message. I do know how to fry cowpea cake.”

“ Please don’t make it sound less delicious with that name. kosai, kawai.”

She giggled.

They enjoyed their meal. After which Sanam was taken to another restaurant where she had lunch.

Ameer received a call.

“ Hey, boy, hope you are good.”

“ Who is your boy?” Amaar said from the other end. “ I hope you have not forgotten all the things I taught you, and respect is one.”

“ Guy go and look for a girl to marry. We are not mates and the reminds me, I was suggesting to Maryam that she should set aside a plate for you in my house. It is my responsibility to feed you, bachelor.”

Amaar chuckled.

“ We are getting married the same day.”

“ Maryam cannot afford to share her day with a spirit.”

Amaar giggled from the other end. His brother was in for a surprise. They were getting married the same day. But he would keep the truth until he came back. “ If not for the sake of Maryam, I would have deported you. So, hope London is cool.”

“ Super cool, bro. I just ate tuwo masara and miyan kuka.”

“ Like seriously?”

“ E mana.”

“ What the hell are you guys doing there?’

“ We are just good….and Maryam got to see her doctor.” He said and his mind went to the ‘surprise’. What was it? Be patient, he cautioned himself. “ I talked to Mama this morning. I told her to get Sumayya to stay with her. I don’t like the idea of her being alone there. You are always travelling.”

“ Yeah. I am at home now but will be travelling soon. I got a contract.”

“ Seriously?”

“ Yeah. A school needs two thousand desks.”

“Wao! Where?”

“ Gombe. I would take twenty samples there. They even gave me an advance payment.”

“ It is called motivation, science boy.”

“Whatever, it is still money and that is most important.”

“ Congratulations!”

“Thank you. Akwai labari (I have a gist), bro.”

“What is it?”

“Till you come back.” He said and smiled. He could not believe he was getting married to Ameena at last. It was time to let the cat out of the bag.

“ Insha Allah. We got a month visa but we only plan to stay two weeks so we should be back soon.”

“ Cool. Please take care of her. I love that girl.”

“ kai! You like her dai.”

Amaar laughed and Maryam blushed. She could hear them.

“ Whatever, take care of her…she is a jewel, a rare one, and one in a zillion.”

“ If you have such romantics words, why not get a girl to shower her with them? My bro is romantic.”

Amaar smiled. His brother never knew he had been in the system for six years, and saddled with responsibilities.

“ I will surprise you.”

After the call ended, and through with lunch, they left.

“ After Sanam is done with lunch, we would go to. Time for the surprise package.”

“ I can’t wait for the package to be unveiled.”

“You are a patient man, You never asked me even though it has been boiling in you.”

“That is what happens when you have a lawyer as a wife. She sees through your heart.”

“When it comes to that, then all women were lawyers. We observe every details, change of feelings but…we could pretend not to.”

“Hmmm…..good that I know. Let’s take the princess for lunch. Tuwo agida, tuwo a London? Never!”

They laughed.

Forty minutes later, they were on their way to Central London.

“ You know your way around here.” He observed.

“ Nine years of my life here. Do I have an option?”

“ I wish Amaar could call me when I am back and tell me he has gotten a girl and was ready to get married on the same day with us.”

“That would have been splendid. Anything could happen.”

“ But the interest has to be there. I have never seen him with a girl.”

“ He is not a misogynist, so don’t get perturbed. Maybe all he needs is just someone to spark his interest.”

“That is if no one has done that.”

“ How?”

“ The way he talked to me today. Sounds like he has been there. And he receives some calls which he would start babbling before sequestering himself. I suspect there is someone but maybe he feels she is not good enough to present and he is stuck to her. Just a wild guess.”

“ He is your brother. Confront him.”

“Yeah. That is the job of an elder brother.”

“ Let him hear you.”

“ I will talk to him like a son….”

“Innalillahi !”

She suddenly pushed her leg on the brake pedal and the tyres screeched before the car was brought to a halt.

A blind woman jaywalked on the road and she nearly hit her. She could have at least looked for a guide.

Maryam was breathing hard, trying to get over the shock.

“It’s okay.” Ameer said. “ You did not hit her.”

She nodded. Sanam was nervous, her eyes wide opened. But she realized that there was no accident, she relaxed.
Then someone tapped the window glass of the passenger’s side door. It was a young man with deep set dark eyes. His aggressive jaw was square with a thin mouth. He wore a red hooded top and a flat top haircut.

He was saying something, but it was not audible. The only thing Ameer heard was blind woman. Ameer wound down the window glass.

“What?”

“ The blind woman is safe. It’s okay.” He said in a husky voice.

Did he think they did not know?

“Thank you.” Ameer said curtly and wound up the glasses. “ Come on, let’s go.”

No response.

He turned at her and jolted. Was he dreaming?

Her seat was empty! Where was she? He had only looked away for a about a minute.

He turned right. The man in hood was missing. Completely out of sight. What the hell was going on? He turned back, “ Sanam, where is Maryam?”

“ I don’t know. I was looking at the man in the red hood.”

Ameer opened the car door and checked, his heart skipping beats but he kept telling himself it was some sort of joke. A few cars were behind him now, and the drivers complaint , so he went round, and pulled the car to the side. He had to hurry because he had no driving license there.
He looked round the road, back, front, sides and there was no sign of her.

Ya Salam!

He picked his phone, dialled her London number but realised the phone was in the car. It was then he saw a note on the driver’s seat. With shaky hands, he sprawled it opened:

Welcome to London, the Queen’s City. I hope you enjoy the rest of your stay.

JeeZ!

2011

They arrived London city and Ameer wondered what the surprise package was. A package that had to make them fly all the way to this place. He would be patient but whatever it was, he knew it was not a small deal.
He was right. It was a big deal. This was London

“ You said you are Gamba?” The woman asked, still wearing a stern face.

“Gambo.”

“ I need you to tell me your real name, now.”

Adnan looked her face, then saw in her eyes seriousness, fear and impatience.

“ My real name is Adnan…..”

“Raise your shirt up,.”

“What?”

“Raise up your shirt.”

Adnan hesitated. What was wrong with her? What did she want to do with him?

He raised up his shirt and she moved closer, studying him. She grabbed his right hand and checked his back hand.

The gun fell off her hand and she screamed, then grabbed him for a bone crushing embrace.

“Ya Allah!” She was now in tears. “ My son!”

Her what?

Adnan could not understand this. Was that an idiomatic expression?

Pappy rushed into the room, followed by Whiteman and Lena came back. The woman was crying. Not wanting to let Adnan go for any reason.

“ Twenty years looking for you.” She said, “Adnan, Twenty years.”

Then the fact began to dawn on him.

“Aadila.” Pappy who was the real Dr Abbas said, holding her hands. “I told you that Allah would bring him to us insha Allah.” He said moving to tears.

“Are you Dr Abbas?” Adnan asked.

“So you heard about me.” He said. “I am your real father and that is your mother.”

Aadila had to let him go, and Dr Abbas hugged him. It was so surreal to Adnan. He was finding it hard to believe. As he embraced his father, his eyes met Lena’s.
She now understood what she felt for him, the love and affection that swept through her when she saw him. She had been told she had a brother who got missing just months after his birth. And she always wanted a brother, craved for one, and at that moment when they were competing, and he won her but let her feel like she won, and she hit him on the chest slightly, it was the natural bond between them in play.
Adnan released his father to hug Lena. This was the hug he felt like giving her since the first time he saw her. He did not know why, but he felt something for her and he was surprised the way he flowed with her.

Whiteman quickly played a flashback of how he treated Adnan since they met and hoped he would not be in his black book. If this was true, then Adnan was the one they have been looking for and that meant he was going to be in control.

“ Come on, let’s get out of here.” Dr Abbas said.

“ He needs to rest.” Aadila said. “No one is talking to him now.”

Dr Abbas was going to tell the council. The awaited one was around and this was his best day. He had a son and he was back!
There was a lot to ask the boy, a lot to explain but not now.

Tiger 606!
He felt his lips twitching.

“ My real name is Aaliyah.” Lena said as he was being led to a room. “ I love you.” And tears accumulate in her eyes.

He smiled at her.

“ I love you too.”



There was a grand reception that night as dinner was organized from him. He saw people of importance and wondered who his parents were and why he was given so much attention.
There was a lot of emotions when he told them about his history. He told them what he went through in the hands of Aminu who was claiming to be Dr Abbas, the life he lived since he was nine years old and how he was deprived of formal education.
The parents cried, especially Aadila.

Dr Abbas told him how he and his mother went through a lot before they got married. They met in college and he found out that she was not living with her biological parents. She was an orphan and lived with her uncle.
They maltreated her and nearly killed her when they discovered that she was dating him. The uncle wanted to marry her off to a friend of his. It was a tug of war before she finally got married to him. It was at the time of their courtship they discovered each other’s talent.

Aadila was a gifted biologist and she ended up studying medicine and surgery to become a medical doctor. Not just a doctor but a researcher and specialist.
Abbas was a theoretical Mathematician and physicist with exceptional gift. These two was a couple to be reckoned with. These led them to be part of the movement: The bastion of ethics which was an organization formed by young military officers immediately after the second world war.

The pioneers of this group were in what was called ‘The list’. They were men who fought the war and saw the millions of lives claimed, destruction of properties and they saw the hands of despotic oligarchs controlling the world.
These men were talented and started the organisation with a small amount of money. That was before the treasure island was discovered: a place where Germans hid tons of gold, and art works.
That was when they organized to get it. Adnan’s grandfather was part of these men. They went through thick and thin to get the treasures and the beginning of the divide popped up.

Some of these men suggested that the money should be shared among them and only ten per cent should be put into the organization. There was a debate and vote. Majority were for the organization.
This was the incipience of a hidden rift even though they all feigned to be okay with the outcome. One of the men who wanted the money to be shared was David Vasitto. One of the leaders of those who wanted the money to be used for the organization was Haliru Babangida who was Dr Abbas’s father, Diego Sanches Who was Angela’s father, Ford Rickson who was Mason’s father and Haliru’s close friend.
Haliru was a Nigerian who served bravely and settled in USA after the war. Then the man made a list of the original men.

The first Grandpappe , the leader of the group was Haliru, Adnan’s grandfather. He was a man with foresight and exceptional brilliance. He devised a code, and means of communication which made it possible to relate without meeting each other.
There was a central administration which was in charge of disseminating information, given orders, and management. These men were scattered around the world and began a company called BOE.

They never revealed the meaning of the acronyms. It meant Bastion of Ethics. They wanted a world where war was not a means of resolving conflicts, better health and technology. Some of these men were part of the brains behind some great inventions during the world war.
Haliru was a Physicist and regretted his contribution to development of some virulent bombs which were used for the war to destroy lives and properties.
The company flourished and he made a way where the members could make money but it depended on your knowledge. Inventions were and ideas had a lot of monetary value. The organization paid a lot and some of them made a lot of money.
Haliru himself became so rich because he invented six machines for the company. David Vasitto had no talent in this. He was an excellent soldier, brave, fierce and rugged. To calm him, he was made the head of a branch of the company in Brazil.
He embezzled money, gambled, drugs and women.
Diego was not a scientist but an economist. He was sent to Brazil to see the financial affairs. David tried to bribe him but he refused. David was sacked and expelled. So he organized the rebels and they secretly planned to execute the founders suspected to be the ones stopping their success. He was already involved with mafias.

And they got stronger, with their children growing up to join the organization. The Bastions believed in continuity and they trusted their blood more. They trained their children for the course. Don joined, same as Abbas and Mason who was his childhood friend.
Mason had talents. He was a geologist, and played a great role . Don ,unlike his father was good at Government and international politics. They were called the second generation. David and his accomplices instigated some second generation members and formed a secret cabal.

They planned a putsch: to eliminate the ‘enemies’ and take full control of the organization. They succeeded in killing two members but they did not know the rest. That was a result of Haliru’s foresight.
That was when the internal crisis escalated and sinister became more prevalent. Mason became more virulent .
And he began to recruit more men outside BOE and Tiger 606, which was a code name given to Aminu Saminu was part of them. Aminu was a cleaner and Mason noticed his avaricious inclination.

Haliru was born and bred in Nigeria. His father was a wealthy farmer and was very inventive but had no formal education. The colonial masters noticed his prowess and saw the sign of intelligence in the then young Haliru.
They made sure Haliru had formal education after much dabate. The villagers said it was an apostasy to engage in western education and they used to sing a song, reproaching those who went to school.
Yan makarantan bokoko (western education students)
Ba karatu ,ba salla ( no recitation of Qur’an, no prayers)
Sai yawan zagin mallam ( all they do is insult Islamic teachers)

But Haliru went to school before he was drafted into the army. He was very intelligent with a high IQ. It was after the war he settled in USA, got married and had three children. Abbas was the last child and showed more intelligence.
It seemed their lineage had high IQs. Abbas was so brilliant he was inducted into BOE at a very early age. Abbas and Aadila had their first child and just two weeks later, the child was discovered to have an IQ that was dumbfounding.

The word was whispered to the elders.
A meeting was held and a consensus reached. They had to plan against the future and they had found a boy that may have the ability to face the task.

The task.
The big project called ‘The Evolution’.
Adnan was chosen and the time was set at twenty five years. The details of Evolution were kept secret even from members but experts in different fields were put to work.
The first to leak the secret of the idea he had was Dr James Cooper. He got a wind, and being part of the rebels, who called themselves The new world, he laid it on Mason’s lap. Then they begin to look for the blueprint of the project.
To get this, they needed the list to figure out those who had it. Now the list was needed for two reasons: To know the core members and the one with the blueprint.

Adnan was chosen and he was to be kept a secret. He had to be with a custodian. He was to attend a special training and educational system. Adnan was entitled to one million dollars monthly until he was twenty five years old.
His father was to be awarded some major contracts. This was to be kept a secret and the identity of the child would be hidden.
The child’s DNA was taken, same as the father, and he was given the mark they called The seal of life. It was to be on his hand.
Adnan was given the mark and Abbas agreed. He chose to handle Adnan to his cousin who was based in Nigeria to be the custodian. Then they set to go to Nigeria but had to go to Bolivia first to see a friend of his who owns a ranch.
It was there he discovered some things that got him mad.

Mason got a wind of the development and he would not allow Abbas be the father of The Chosen One. He knew Dr Abbas was very principled and if Adnan became the chosen one, their ambition to hijack the project would fail.
The original code for the father of the chosen one was Tiger 606. Mason quickly set Aminu to impersonate Dr Abbas. This was so perfect for him because Aminu’s wife had just put to bed three days before Adnan was born . That prompted the idea of using Aminu's child who he quickly named Adan.

Aminu's wife was based in Nigeria while Aminu worked abroad.
Addy was given the mark and he became the chosen one.
Mason knew a lot because of his position. Dr Abbas trusted him but later discovered his conspiracy.
It was while they were about to leave for Nigeria Aadila told Abbas what she suspected.
The project was being hijacked and it was not going to be good for the kid.
She was a medical doctor and got a wind of it. Abbas decided not to give his son to them.

They were in Bolivia when they found out but he never knew Don was part of it.
They planned to kill him and his wife and then snatch the child.
Mason, in cahoots with Don executed the plan and gave the organization a wrong impression.
The money that was meant for Adnan went to Addy and Aminu got a lot of contracts and became so rich and powerful.
Every member had an Electronic Box Manuscript (EBM) which was used as a store for research data, messenger, and secret information. Each EBM had it's secret code set by its user.

It was also a means of locating members. Dr Abbas had a lot of secrets Mason wanted to know about.
It was late before Abbas realized Mason was the head of the rebels.
The way he survived the Bolivian saga and found his wife was a story for another day.
They gave birth to another child, Aaliyah who they called Lena.

Adnan was going to learn what happened later. He had a lot to go through. This was the beginning of his physical transformation. But the saga wasn't over. It was just taking a new dimension....

Adnan was shocked!

Lena took her eyes off Adnan at once. What was wrong with her?”

“What is going on?” She asked.

“ He needs to be broken.” Whiteman said meanly.

“So it is you?” She asked Adnan, studying him with immense interest. “Leave us alone.”

“ Miss Lena, he is not to be trusted….”

“Leave us alone ,now.” She said with a tone that brooded no argument.

“ Okay.” Whiteman said and shrugged. He nodded and they left the room. He hated taking orders from this little girl who got her position due to that thing in her skull called brain. She was the chief ICT analyst of the organization and that was big.
She graduated from the university at the age of fifteen. Some had cried of nepotism so the top men organized an examination. The matter was settled at once. She beat them all with a distinct mark.

They went out and she closed the door. This was dangerous, she knew it, but her instinct was arbitrarily domineering.

“Sit down,” She said.

Adnan was trying to calm down. When their eyes met, he felt from nowhere a whirl of love sweep through him. He felt like grabbing her and hugging her and the feeling got him astounded. What was wrong with him and who was this young girl who was so authoritative?
It was obvious she had an important position here. And was she making him nervous?

He sat down.

“ I am Lena Coora.” She said. “We met on Q-Mail.”

Damn!

“You are the genius?” He asked.

“No, you are the genius and the image of the emoji still lingers.”

“ I am impressed. Never thought anyone would get over those obstacles and get in.”

“ And do not think I am not the best.”

“You are.”

“Shut up.” She went to a shelf and got two laptops. “ I have Daracle Synthecs on these systems.”

She dropped one in front of him and the other in front of herself.

“ Put it on.” She said.

She connected the laptops to a large screen and then came back and sat down before her laptop.

“ I need us to program a web security code in ten minutes. The first person to finish wins and it will be displayed. After the count of three…three, two, one…go!”

The two geniuses set to action. Program in ten minutes? That had to be the shortest cuts to advanced results.
Their fingers moved on the keys with incredible speeds, the brains hot and vibrant. Unknown to them, they were being watched and heard.

Click!

“Done.” Adnan said. “ Seven minutes. I got a 5 mega anti-cracking code.”

Click!

She did it. He was three minutes faster.

She grimaced.

“ Get into any celebrities E-mail account. Name any.”

“Me.”

“Shut up. Okay, Julian Tim. Get the link yourself. It is part of the game. Go!”

They set to action.

Click.

“Oh my God!” Adnan said. “ She is cheating on her man.”

“You even had time to read before me?” She grimaced. “And don’t read. Respect her privacy.”

“Okay. Hackers got ethics.”

“I am not the type of hacker you think I am.”

“Same here.”

“Now, build a maze frame for animation. Go.”

They set to it, this was a bit longer and the two experts did what they did best,

Click.

“I beat you!” She exclaimed with a smile.

“Ohhhhh! Damn! Okay you got me there.”

“Yes, I did!” But she stopped smiling, and gave him a suspicious stare. She got up, walked round the table then looked at his screen.

“You cheat, you did it before me! You did not display it on the screen and you made me felt like a winner.”

She hit him on the chest slightly. He chuckled.

“I did not want to be mean.”

“I give up.” She said. “I am not the best after all.”

“ You are one of the best.”

“I thought I was the best

“ I am also not the best. We have hidden talents.”

“Yes, but we have the known best. I won three computer competitions. I am the official fastest programmer but there is no competitions for hacking. Lee Chang, a Chinese genius is second. You will beat both of us put together.”

“ Maybe.”

“So, tell me about yourself. I am curious.”

“ What do you want to know?”

“ What you were doing in Q-Mail. That is an unusual site and you crashed my months of trying. How long did it take you to do that?”

“ It took days to discover the account but the main hacking took four days.”

She opened her eyes.

“Four days?”

“ If I was using my PDA, it would take only a few minutes.”

“PDA?”

“Yes, but I lost it.”

“What kind of PDA?”

Wait, why was he telling her this?

“ Who are you people?”

“ We are just a group of concerned citizens of the world trying to make the world a better place.”

“ Why the spooky secrecy? You are not FBI, or a government agency.”

“Why did you use the word ‘spooky’?”

“Because I was blinded by a pair of opaque glasses and driven for about fifteen minutes eight seconds…”

“How did you know the timing?”

“ I have a way of mentally calculating time. And we took three turns to the right within 2 minutes, 4 minutes and 1 minute intervals respectively then a boat was used and from the direction which I deduced from the point at which I was blinded, we went north-west then got into an helicopter which travelled for eight minutes.
It went vertically upwards then did a left turn . Then another car which drove for fifteen minutes but finally stopped at a south direction from the point of take-off. And after a short walk, I felt a wheelless cart move and I guessed this place is underground even though they made it look like a flat fall.
The fall was free and travelled for about eighty seconds. With neglected friction, and rolling down a slope, and using v=I * (alpha),cI>h. 0’ < alpha < 90’. I deduced that height is about sixty meters. We are deep down the earth. Is that not spooky?”
Lena was speechless. Okay, this was the point when she agreed that this guy was not one she would compete with. He was a genius in his class.

Pappy could not take it anymore. He had seen and heard enough.

“What did you call this boy?”

“Gambo Sabo.” Whiteman said.

“ Is that what is on his passport?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“ I want to know more about him.” He said.

“ How, sir?”

“ I will figure it out.”

The door to the room burst open and a woman came in. The stare she gave Adnan scared him. She bore her eyes into him, as if she was going to shoot him down out of anger.
Lena did not like this. The woman seemed not to be happy to see her with Adnan. She was holding a gun.

“ Put your hands in the air.” She said to Adnan.

Lena grimaced.

No! She loved this guy already. There was something between them and this woman was going to ruin it.

Adnan put his hands in the air.

“ Leave us, Lena.”

“Please don’t do this.”

“I said leave and do that now!”

Lena felt tears in her eyes as she walked out. She turned, gave Adnan a glance of affection and love and he did the same. He made it worse by smiling and she saw a guy who needed sympathy. She turned and left feeling dejected.

“ Do not try a wrong move.” The woman said with a stern expression. “ You are going to do exactly as I say!”

Naairah helped Adnan fix his caftan buttons, then moved back and gave him a glance.

“Did I ever tell you look like a model?” she said. “The type that you see on Gucci catalogue cover?”

“ Now my head is swelling.” He said with a smile. “Thank you honey.”

They were ready for dinner.

“ Did you say Nadia and her husband were also invited?” Adnan asked.

“Yes. She is considered as part of the family. We have been together since primary school.”

“ Whoa! I thought you guys met in secondary school.’

“No. Shall we, remember we have to get Ummi’s bread.”

Adnan laughed.

“What is funny?” she asked.

“ I remember when I said I was entitled to two loafs of bread daily and that was enough to keep us going.”

She chuckled.

“ That is life for you…and as we drive, you are going to keep on with the story. I am so curious.”

“ I will dear. Shall we?” He studied her. “ Talking about models, did I ever tell you that you are a model to models ?”

“ No.”

“Know that today. You are the most beautiful woman I have ever set my eyes on. Beautiful in body , at heart, and soul. I don’t want to ruin your lipstick I would have given you a hot kiss.”

“ You are so considerate.”

“Don’t praise me. I would not always be considerate. This lips of yours cannot make me considerate always. Let just say, you are lucky.”

She held him and smiled.

They walked out and he begged her to drive.

“Why?”

“I love to sit by the side of my wife while she drives…if she wants to.”

“Hmmmm…okay.”

They left the mansion. Nadia called and said they were getting ready to leave their house.
They stopped by the road where Adnan went into Yummies to buy bread. He remembered the days he used to hang here to waylay girls for food.
There were some men near where Naairah parked the car. They were commercial bikers called different names at different places: Okada, Express, acaba, Going, etc.
They sat on their bikes, eyes alert, searching for prospective customers. When they sighted one, they raised their fingers.
One of them looked at Naairah.

“Chai! See this babe inside moto. She fine, the moto fine, all na fine fine. Her bobo fine. Only God know how she use get the moto. All these Abuja girls . Maybe na one minister buy am for am , now she dey use am carry small boy.” He said.

“ How you use know say na runs she take get the car? You dey there?”Another guy said to him.

“I don dey Abuja for years, no be today I start this work.”

“Na him make you go die dey do this work. Instead wey you go pray make your life better, na gossip you dey do. What if nah in husband.”

“How wife go dey drive husband? “

“ Because your wife no dey carry you for this your Boxer machine no mean say big men wife no fit drive them. School wey you no go na wah”

The guy got angry.

“How does you say I am no schoolating? “He said ,changing from broken English. “ Because I spoked pigeon with yous or doesing okada is no means that I am no schoolatimg. It is just humbilty so doesn’t told me bastard vocabulary!”

“No vex.”The second guy said. “ This your English fit knock my engine.”

The rest of the men laughed at him. He got angry the more, started his bike.

“ I doesn’t can stay with illitarated peoples like yous.” He moved his bike and left while they kept laughing.

Adnan came back and got into the car.
He was going to have dinner with the family. He remembered the last time he had dinner with them.

“You promised, darling.” She said.

“What sweetheart?”

“The story…”

“Ohhh, okay. I met the girl behind the computer. She was very young..... "

FIFTEEN

Detroit was the largest City in the Midwestern state of Michigan. It has a nickname “ Motor city” which was inspired by the city’s tie to auto industry.
It was Adnan’s first time in USA (though he was born there and naturally a citizen) and he felt it would have been nice under another circumstance. He did not know what they were going to do to him.
He was sitting at the backseat of a Ford SUV with Whiteman, while another white guy sat at the front. The Igala man was left in Nigeria.

“That is where Hitsville is located. You know it?” Whiteman said pointing a finger.

“ No.” Adnan replied.

“ Heard of Motown records?”

“ Yes. Who hasn’t?”

“That was the first office. Berry Gordy Jr. bought it in 1959 and the guy is still alive. The record label played an important role in the racial integration of popular music as an African American owned record label that achieved a great success.
They discovered the most successful artiste of all times. Heard of Steve Wonder, the blind Superstar? They discovered him as a kid and signed him, They also discovered Jackson 5 where Micheal Jackson was the youngest. See what Michael Jackson became.
Other big names include Lionel Richie, Brian McKnight ,Marvin Gaye, The Miracles, The Supremes, Eddie Kendricks, Diana Rose who was given the credit of discovering Michael Jackson and his brothers, Johnny Gill, Queen Latifah, Bruce Willis , Akon, Ashanti, Babyface, Ne-yo, Toni Braxton, Drake, and a lot more.”

“That is great.” Adnan said. “ Great for them and their intentions.”

Whiteman did not understand what he meant.

“Yes.” He said.

The car kept moving until they got to a pint where the car stopped. The guy sitting at the front alighted, came and opened the back door.
Whiteman showed Adnan a gun.

“ You will not act funny.”

The other guy hand-cuffed Adnan and his eyes was covered with an opaque eye glasses. They got him out of the car and was put in another car. Whiteman followed him and the car moved for some time before they stopped.
Adnan felt the movement of a boat. They were on water, and after a while, they stopped and alighted and the next thing Adnan knew was being in a helicopter.
The helicopter moved for some time before it came to a stop and another car picked them and it was obvious that the area was quiet.
They alighted then Adnan felt them going down something, then heard sounds of electronic doors before he was finally released from the cuffs and the opaque glasses was removed.
He found himself in a large room . The walls were white and looked like ceramic. There were strange machines fixed at different corners.
There were chairs by the wall, and one at the centre with a chair. Adnan was made to sit down and Whiteman smiled at him. There were three other white men in the room.

“ Okay buddy boy, let us get it straight.” Whiteman began. “ We do not have time to waste. Pappy could be impatient at times. Tell us what you know about Q-Mail.”

“Nothing.”

“You got into it.”

“I only know how to use Microsoft word and CorelDraw and Photostatting machine.”

Whiteman grabbed him by the collar angrily and flung him on the floor.

“Do not fuc* with me!”

One of the white men went and put on a screen and asked Adnan to watch.

"I am very good at making people talk. I don't think you will want me to do the things I do to compel. "

What? Torture?

“ You may go through that now. The place is called Downtown." Whiteman said meanly. “ Take him to Down room.”

Adnan was grabbed forcefully and pulled out. It was at that moment the door opened a girl came in. She was very beautiful, with small beautiful structure. Her pigtail stopped at her waist, very dark but she looked more of a mulatto than a pure white girl. "
She had been dying to see the person whom she hated most in the world. The person who turned her skill into a fiasco, made her cry for weeks. Her technical ego was hurt and she could not wait to see him or her.
Now she set eyes on him. Their eyes met and something happened. Something she never expected.











“ The most logical place for a survivor to go is that way.” Maya said pointing a finger. “Let us go that way.”

They had moved towards the way she had suggested and they met some men. After a lot of enquiries, Carlos’ name popped out. That was done because Don Vasitto was there himself.
They traced Carlos to his restaurant. It was not difficult to point at Dr Mark. No one wanted trouble with Don.
Dr Mark was in his office when he saw Don, Mason and Maya walk into his office. He felt a bang in his heart.
This was what he was trying to avoid. He knew why they were there. They asked and he told them all he knew.

“So he lost his memories?” Mason asked.

“Yes.”

“ Can we see his file?” Maya asked.

“Sure.” He said and used a message box to call Angela and asked for Walter’s file.

“ Walter?” Don asked.

“He could not remember his name so I called him Walter.”

Angela came in with a file. She was smugly jittery. She was in the same room with Don, the man who was looking for her father, and she had what he was looking for. She was also harbouring the man they were searching for.

“Here, sir.”

Don studied.

“What is your name?” He asked.

“ Angela.”

“Angela. What is your surname?”

“ Alexander.” She lied.

Maya looked into the doctor’s eyes at once.

“She is lying.” Maya said.

“What?” Angela said.

“The doctor’s eyes told me that, She is lying.” Maya said assertively.

“Why would I lie?” Angela asked confidently.

Mason went through the file.

“He lost his memory.” He confirmed. “Where is he?”

“I told you he left.”

“Left? Where did he go?” Mason asked.

“I don’t know. After I did all I could do for him, and he was back on his feet, I asked him to leave. He may regain his memory if he is lucky but there is no full assurance.

“So he just left?” Maya asked. “With no money, knows nobody, and he did not come back?”

“I don’t know about that. I can’t say if he knows no one or not. He lost his memory.” The doctor said.

“ I know all the people he knows around here and he did not go them.” Said Don. “I hope you are not hiding anything Doctor. You did a lot of work to become a licensed doctor. Losing your license would not be good.”

“I have no reason to lie, Mr Don Vasitto.”

“Call the nurse.” Maya said.

“When did she walk out?” Mason asked.

“Get her here.” Don said.

Dr Mark called her but there was no response.

Maya was alert already.

“We must find her! She knows something.”Maya said.

Don felt she looked like someone he knew. She did. She was a replica of her father but Don could not relate it then. Maya was sure the nurse knew something.

Angela was out of the hospital running down the street. If they traced her to her home, they would not only find Abbas but the list.
They came out of the office in a rush.

“Where is the nurse?” Maya asked one of the henchmen.

“Down.”

“We must get her fast.”

They went after Angela!

This was not good. Angela was losing her breath,and getting tired. She saw them coming after her. How would she escape these men?

It was a few minutes after midnight, Adnan sat behind the computer trying to figure out more about his parents. On the table, by his right hand side was pop-corn mixed with peanuts, a sachet of water close by.
He would scoop some pop-corn and peanut and ingest, while he worked, and then take a sip of water after a while. It was at this moment he heard a sound. He was alone in the café and Abul, the security man was outside.
He heard the sound again, like the creaking sound of a door.

“Abul.” Adnan said, thinking it was the security man coming to ask him for money to buy cigarette but it was very late. He heard no reply. He got on his feet, then went to the door, he peeped through the keyhole and then saw two men.
One of the men had a completely shaven head, big and looked mean. From his tribal marks, it was obvious that he was an Igala man. Then the second man was a white man, dressed in black jacket. What was going on? They must have used a master key.

White man?
These were probably not armed robbers. Then what? Adnan frowned. Wait! This was not his OFA and it could be traced. Damn!
He rushed back to the computer. He had to log out, his applications were on and it would be very bad to let then see it and the damn thing was not like TV that you switched on and off at once. This would tell you’ please wait, logging off, booting’ and if there was anything he lacked, it was time.
He heard them trying to open the door, he managed to close his applications before they walked in.
The white man held a small electronic box which he must have been using to trace him.

“ I am Whiteman.” The white man said.

“ Oh, I thought you were from Koton-Karfe, you look like an Ebira.”

“ That is my name, Jim Whiteman.”

“Don’t mind me. I love ‘oyibo’ names. Wood, Bush, Brown, Green, Water, Fish, Frog…..”

“ I guess you are the man behind ……”

“We have closed and you just broke into this place. That is trespassing, burglary, and it is a punishable offence in this country.”

“ You must be the man behind the Red zone clash.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about.” Adnan said. “ We do photocopies, type projects, browsing which is mostly used by students checking their results, applicants, but we don’t let all these small boys…like me who come to watch porn…….”

“You know what I am talking about. I came all the way from USA and we traced you all the way from there. It took us two weeks to locate you so there is point of hocus-pocus.”

“I still don’t know what you are talking about but listen to me…” He scooped more popcorn and peanut, and then blundered his shoulder into the Igala man who seemed to be a bigger problem before he dashed outside.

“Get him!” Whiteman ordered. Adnan ran out. He saw A man standing over Abul who was made to sit on the floor. This was not good. Adnan jumped over a bench, and ran down the street.

He escaped that night.

He took the very big risk. He did not leave the vicinity. He was scared of leaving because if the management found out what happened and he was not there, they might report to the police and the last thing he wanted was a clash with the police because that was prone to making them know he was alive.
He hid somewhere then went back to the café at dawn.
The management reported the case to the police and the involvement of Whiteman, and the fact that nothing was stolen made it clear that it was not a robbery. It was opened for investigation. Adnan gave his statement, registering his name as Gambo Sabo.

He resigned the next day, claiming he was traumatised. The management asked him to take a break but should come back after a while. But he knew he was gone for life. He went back to the village to settle in Achimugu’s hut.
He resumed fishing with him which was mostly done at night and he would spent the day in the hut. But he could not remain like this. A second without Naairah was tormenting. He had to do something to get his freedom and the chance of doing that in the café was crushed.
Was Whiteman the computer genius that he tugged out? Who was he? He did not introduce himself as a fed. They must also be hackers because that was unauthorised access they were using. Adnan hid for another one month when he was discovered.

The people did not relent. They were told by locals that the boy who worked in the café used to cross the river to his home. So they spent one month, and a lot of money asking, searching until they discovered where he lived.
They were helped by their Nigerian counterparts.
They watched Adnan for three days and realized that getting him was going to be easy. They went fishing at night.
They caught him at night as they were going to fish. They showed him a gun and took him away. They took him to a Lodge where Whiteman was waiting.

“We meet again.” Whiteman said. “ You did not allow us finish our conversation the other day. We were not going to eat your popcorn. All we wanted was to talk to you.”

Adnan had stood listening.

“What do you want?”

“ You are coming with us to USA.”

“What? You can’t do that! Who are you?”

“We are us.” Whiteman said. “ FBI.”

Adnan felt a frigid feeling crawling up his spine.

FBI? Microchip era? Did they discover him?

“ You can’t come all the way from USA to arrest me without the consent of my country’s authority.”

“That will not be good for you.” He said. “ We have a lot on you.”

“You cannot smuggle me out of the country.”

“No, we can’t but you will have to come with us. We will make papers for you, and you will come along.”

“What if I refuse?”

“We will expose you.”

“What have I done?”

“Hacking, cyber crimes.”

“You do not have anything on me!”

“Try us then. Please do.”

Adnan was not sure if he was telling the truth or not.He could not risk it. That was one of the weaknesses involved with guilt. He knew he had some wrong doings and he could be telling the truth.
Unknown to Adnan, they knew nothing about him apart from the fact that he was a hacker. If he had known this, they would not have taken him away.
That was how Adnan left Nigeria for USA where he was going to meet the things he never expected in his life.
He promised to come back to Naairah, insha Allah. He wanted to be around when she graduated and get married to her. How? He could not tell. He was not even sure what he was going to encounter over there but that zeal, optimism was there. And he was going to pray seriously about it. With Allah, all things were possible.
Naairah, I am going away, so far from you but my heart is right by you. I love you,he said in his heart as the plane left the ground.

It was now very dark and frosty. The wind moved the saturated cloud smoothly, obstructing the rays from the moon, except for the flashing of the lightening that emerged within intervals.
Mangal had watched the cabin for almost one hour, and saw no sign of life. It seemed there was nobody there as he had anticipated.

“Let me go and check the place out.” He whispered.

“I can’t stay here alone.”

“Okay, come with me.”

He did not put on the flashlight, but firmly held the gun. They snuck towards the cabin. It was not locked. He hesitated before he pushed the wooden door open.
They went into the room before he put on the flashlight.

“Good.” He said at once as he saw groceries.

He began to pack them into a sack randomly. She helped him. They worked so fast without a word.
He sent a beam of light round the room. He was not surprised to see a camping tent. It was folded.

“We must leave. I think we have enough. I hope we should be back home by tomorrow.” He said.

She felt a wind of bliss hit her as she thought of her children and husband. She could not wait to see them again.

“It seems they left in a hurry.” She said.

“Shhh….” He said at once and put off the flashlight. “I heard something.”

She listened.

“It sounds like the sound of a bike.” She said.

“It is!” He said. “Let us leave here, fast!”

He carried the sack while she carried the pack of camping tent. They ran out of the cabin. They had barely left when strong beams of light emerged coupled with roaring of bike engines.

They knew there was no chance of leaving at that moment.

“Come here.”

They hid behind thick shrubs.
Three bikes appeared with two men on each. The men seemed to be armed. Mangal could not recognize any of them but guessed they were Sabr’s men.

“Check the cabin!” One of them said, “the police may come at any time.”

“We cannot leave any exhibit.” Another man said and three of them rushed into the cabin.

They came out just five minutes later.

“Someone was here.” One of the man said. “A tent and some provisions are missing.”

“That means…they are close-by. We might find them if we try.”

Beeba began to shiver. She knew if these men saw them, it was going to be the end for them.

“We do not have the time.” Another man said.

“I don’t think they called the police. This is the only place with service.”

“That reminds me, did you remove the service enhancer?”

“I will go for it.” Another man said.

“Disassemble it and tugged it out. This place is not safe anymore.”

“Let us look for them. Even if they call the police, it would be difficult to locate this place.”

Beeba was now shaking more than ever.

“We don’t need them. Mallam is still negotiating with her husband. He does not know that they escaped. We may get the money.”
Mangal saw one of the men going to disassemble the so-called service enhancer.
He quickly turned, using his bogy to obscure the light of the phone, before he wrote a text: I escaped. I am still lost. Don’t pay them.

“Send it to your husband.”

It was after she sent it she felt something cold on her legs. She looked down and saw it. It was a snake.

She screamed.

Mangal who saw it did something very brave. He grabbed the snake by the neck and knew it could do no harm at that point.
But the screaming had attracted the criminals.
Mangal flung the snake away, fired a shot and shouted, “Stay right there! It is the police.”

Mangal knew he had to act fast but not before bullets were sent to them. He grabbed Beeba and pushed her down and they rolled on the grass.
That move saved her life.

Bang! Bang!

Mangal fired more shots and he knew he got one of them.

The criminals were confused. Was it really the police? If it was, then they would be a bunch of them. They could not risk it. They made sure they carried the man who was shot. They mounted their bikes and escaped.

Mangal and Beeba did not waste a single second. They got up, ran to where Mangal hid the bike, put the sack in front of him, while she held the camping tent and they mounted the bike.

As the criminals ran away, so did Mangal and Beeba.

They had ridden for about forty minutes when the rain began to threaten them.

“We have to stop here. There is more space here.”

He had to fix the tent quickly. It was so small and not very comfortable for two people.
It began to rain so they ran inside with the sack . It was only when they got inside he realise what was happened.

“Oh my God! What is wrong with you?”

SEVEN

The driver covered his heard with a turban, enjoying a Sudanese song, shaking his head. Next to him was a stern looking man holding a rifle. By the first door was a gunman while another gunman mounted the second door. They all wore turbans and military jackets over caftans.
There were about two one hundred and fifty girls in the car. Behind the luxury bus was a Toyota Hilux truck with heavily armed men.
Among these girls was Leena. She sat next to a chubby, swarthy girl. Leena had run out of tears. Even in captivity, she felt more at ease with Mufty.

She wondered how he would have felt if he came back to meet her gone. That was if he would come back alive.
Where were they taking them to? She had no idea of where they were. All she saw was a desert, the bus raising heavy dust. They had being driving for hours.

“I have a child.” The girl sitting next to her said in a little above whisper as if talking to her herself. It was the first time she would speak with Leena.

“Where?”

“I don’t know where he is.” She said. “I had gone out with him that they when they attacked. He was just three years old. They came and started shooting. They killed some people. I held on to my son. I was a widow. I lost. my husband just a few months after our wedding.
They abducted some of us and one of them seized my son and kicked me. I was shouting, wailing and begged them to leave him with me. They agreed and I had him with me. They took us to the camp and …they took my child away.” She was now sobbing. “ I never saw him again. He was looking at me, shouting and calling me, mama. Mama, mama, mama. I tried to go after him but was pinned down. I watched them take him away. I can still see the look in his eyes.”

“Oh my God.” Leena’s eyes became wet. “When was this?”

“Three months ago. I know he is alive. I feel him but what I don’t know is…if I will ever see him again.”

“You will insha Allah.”

“Ameen. My name is Aisha.”

“I am Leena.”

“I used to see you in the camp. I thought they married you off to Iceman.”

“Iceman?”

“Mufty. That is what they call him.…behind him though. He is cold. He has no friend, no sense of humour and has never being seen laughing. Rumours has it that he has never being seen smiling.”

It was at that time Leena realised that it was true. She stayed with him for three weeks and he never smiled for once.

“I don’t know why. But the Amir did not bless our union.”

“We heard that. The man they called my husband was killed by the military.”

“Good for him. Did you say you heard?”

“Rumours and gossip cannot be obliterated even if it was in a camp like ours. I hope you are not pregnant.”

“No.”

Aisha hesitated.

“We thought he was going to wake up one day and just shoot you. Even the men fear him. They say that is all he does: kill.”

“I don’t know what to say about him. He is a difficult person to understand but….I would have preferred staying with him. At least I was with him for three weeks but I don’t know what lies ahead now.”

“We don’t know what lies ahead.”

“I was supposed to get married today.”

“Ohhh my God.”

Leena felt like crying again as she pictured Adam.

“I was abducted just three weeks to my wedding.”

“What are you two planning?” The man that was by the first door said as he appeared before them suddenly.

“Nothing.” Leena said.

“Better.” He said. “Okay ladies, we are just a few minutes to our first port of call. We all need you to behave. “I hope you girls don’t have phobia for water because you will be transported via canoes. Don’t be scared, it will be just ten in each canoe.”

Oh my God! Leena feared. Where were they taking them to? Who would come and save them? Why?





Mufty watched Jahl walking towards his cabin where he had about twelve wives. He said only four where his wives and the rest were his slaves.
Mufty rubbed his jaw absentmindedly while his eyes became thinner. His teeth grinded and this only happen when he was getting into his dangerous mode.

He saw him giving orders to the driver who was going to deliver provisions to a minicamp a few kilometres away from them.
Very good, Mufty thought. He ran back into the darkness and broke into a run. The time has come.

It happened so quickly. Mangal sent a heavy fist and smacked the man holding the flashlight. The punch was so heavy and unexpected the man blundered into the wall.
Almost simultaneously, he sent his long leg to hit the second man in the belly. He had it calculated. They were shocked to see that he had one of the guns.
He had to show them that he was serious and capable. He pulled the trigger and shot one of the men in the leg.

“Nobody moves.” He warned, holding the gun with one hand and the flashlight with the other hand. “ Hands up and do not try any wrong move.”

“You are making a great mistake.”

“The only mistake I will make is not fighting to leave here. You are an idiot! A dangerous criminal acting like a pious man. Now move over there.”

The man that was shot was still whimpering in pains.

“You cook up excuses to become a criminal. Do you think you are making fun of religion?”

The two men reluctantly moved to an end of the room. Mangal was very alert, watching them carefully. He walked backwards, with Beeba behind him.

“Where is the key to this place.”

“There is no key.” The second man said.

Mangal sent a bullet into his thigh. He screamed and fell down. They knew he was not joking.

“I need our phones. Madam, go and pick them.”

She went and picked the phones.

Immediately Mangal sent the beam of light to Sabr’s face ,he covered his face and turned around. Mangal fired another shot and Sabr shouted,

“ My fear!”

“Let’s go.” Mangal said aloud and they went out with alacrity, leaving the men inside. There was a bolt outside the door. Mangal bolted the door and realised that they were in a forest.
It was dark and cold. They could see nothing but grasses, shrubs and trees. He wondered how they got phone service there.
They did not know where to run to, or the direction to take. What mattered most was leaving this place alive.
They saw no car. There was another cabin a few yards away from the container. He hesitated. What if there were others? Then they heard a gunshot. The men still had another gun and they were shooting at the door.

Mangal could not believe his eyes when he saw a bike parked by the side of the cabin.
He ran to the bike, broke the ignition, and exposed some wires. He could hear them shooting.
He joined two wires and started the bike. He asked her to get on it and he rode away. He had not gone far when he heard the door burst open.
They were out. No. it was just Sabr. He was bleeding but he looked so determined.

Mangal fired a blind shot, Sabr docked and before he could regain his balance, the bike had vanished.
Mangal rode on the low grasses, not having a specific direction.
Having moved a distance, he pulled up.

“Why did you stop?” Beeba asked, alarmed.

“We will hide here for a while.”

“Why? What if they come for us?”

“We may get lost for life if we go blindly. We may still die if we get out of gas. We have nothing, no shelter or food.”

“So?”

“I will go back there. Not using the bike.”

Her eye widened.

“That is crazy! They will kill you and I will die here.”

“No. They will not come after us. They know we have our phones. They won’t not take chances. They will run away for the fear of police. That is my bet. Life is a game of risk and I must take this.”

She did not like this even though it made some sense.

“But I can’t stay here alone.”

“We will wait for an hour or more. We will go back.”

“ May peace be upon you and your entire family.” Sabr said softly through the mouthpiece. “May Allah protect and guide us. I said I have news about your wife. Praise is to Allah, she is alive, sound and safe….for now. I do not want to talk too much. She saved your number as Abu Haneef. May Allah bless Haneef. May he not lose his mother today, or tomorrow. I just want to give you the good news that you will see your wife again if you wish.
All you need to give us is ten million naira only. We need this money before Friday which is two days from now.
A lot of people try to involve the police. That is very bad for them. They only end up losing their loved once but this is my take. They involve the police because they don’t love them.
It is just possible you are tired of her; you are looking for an excuse to get rid of her. This is your chance to do that. Just tell the police and she is dead. And then you can marry another woman. But if you still love her, just listen to us and comply….”

“ There is no way he can raise such an amount.” Beeba said.

“Please talk to your wife. I want you to know we are not lying. We have her here. Why should I lie? Lying is haram.”

Sabr gave the phone to Beeba.

“ Beeba.” Isa called excitedly.

“ Abu…..”

Twai!

The sound of the slap Sabr gave her pierced through the phone and hit Isa’s ear drum. Beeba let out a loud scream that shook not just her husband but Mangal.

Sabr snatched the phone from her.

“ May Allah forgive us all.” He said softly. “ I am very sorry for what just happened. She said there was no way you could raise that kind of money and I felt a woman should not interfere when men are talking. We must teach our women morality because of our children. I hope you understand. It was for the good.”

Beeba was still crying, and she felt as if it was an acid he poured on her cheek.

“Please Sir, don’t touch her.” Isa begged. “ The truth is I lost my goods a few months ago. I am in a financial crisis. Sometimes she supports us with her salary….”

“Innalillahi wa innalillahi raji’un. I am so sorry about your loss. That is why you have properties. Sell your house but let me advise you, be very careful with those real estate agents.
Let me tell you a story. There was a military man who was in need of money. He contracted some agents to sell the house at the rate of twenty million naira. He told them that he needed money desperately.
Just two days later, somebody offered forty million naira. The agents refused to sell the house. They will not sell it anything less than forty-five million.
The house was not sold for more than two months. On this fateful day, the military man went to the house to check on it. Incidentally, the man that wanted the house went there to show his friend, seeking for advise if to add the five million naira. When he saw the military man, he greeted him and asked if he just bought the house.
The military man said no; he said he was the owner. the man told him that he offered forty million naira about two months ago but the agents said the least they can collect is forty-five million naira.
The military man was perplexed. He said there was no problem. He would sell it at that rate. Lawyers were called and the deal was sealed.
The next day, the military man asked the agents to let him have the keys. He said he forgot his and wanted to get some things.
He collected the keys and gave it to the new owner before he told them that he has sold the house to the man who offered forty million naira.
The agents were mad. They took the case to court. The military man won the case. The agents went back to their office to brood. They did not just lose twenty million naira, plus their ten per cent commission from both sides, which made a total of twenty-four million naira, they also lost the money they used to process the case and hire a lawyer, and lost their time and effort.
As they sat brooding, they saw a truck of soldiers and a set brutal looking soldiers alighted.
It was not funny. You need to see men made to frog jump and got whipped…..” Sabr laughed. “You see why you must not rely on them. Get someone to buy it. make it cheap and you will get a buyer very soon. I am just advising you.”

“Please Sir.” Isa pleaded. “I can source for five hundred thousand naira.”

Sabr laughed.

“Haba! Do you know how much AK47 cost now? We feed them, give them shelter, protect them. Think about logistics. This is business and we are meant to make profit. People think what they call kidnapping is easy. We take a lot of risk so the ransom should worth it. You have to be considerate Mallam Isa. Okay, make it nine point five million.”

“Please….”

“ I will call you in the next one hour so we can talk about how to deliver the money. That is one very delicate part that is difficult. We have to make sure you are not with cops, we are not followed and a lot of other things. Goodbye Mallam Isa.”

He disconnected the line and then glared at Mangal. “You have no one to pay for you. I swear to God! I will kill you. May Allah forgive your sins. I think the meeting is over. Let us close the meeting with prayers…..” He began to pray.

Then it happened.







Kamal held his pistol, pointed it at the stocky man who was a few hundred yards away from him.

“Hold it right there!” He said with a hard voice. “Drop your weapon.”

The stocky man had other ideas. He fired a shot at Kamal. He had expected it so he docked and fired a shot at the same time.
The stocky man dropped on the ground. Before Ksmal could take another shot, the man swallowed a pill and began to wiggle in pain, shaking vigorously as he got burnt while he shouted.

Kamal moved cautiously towards him. He was dead.

The man who was being chased was still lying in a state of shock. Kamal moved to him.

“Who are you?”

“I am Alarama Saheed.”

“Who was he and did he attack you?”

“I don’t know. They killed my Mallam, sheikh Jabir. I was his reciter of the holy Qur’an. The police have not told us if they knew the exact reason he was killed. I barely escaped that night.”

“I know about it. I did not recognise you. Are you hurt?”

“Not much. Just some bruises.”

“We must leave this place now. You were always with Mallam everywhere he went to preach. I will need a serious talk with you.”

“Thank you for saving my life. Who are you, Sir?”

“I am Captain Kamal of ATOF.”

SIX

Kamal stood before a dressing mirror and fixed the buttons of his Calvin Klein shirt which he wore over brown Feliraro khaki. He tucked in the shirt to expose his leather Bacucci belt. Wearing a brown rimless Dunhill glasses, he looked at his Gucci shoes and felt he looked swell. He opened a locker and brought out a bundle of five hundred naira notes, counted it: fifty thousand naira. That was more than enough for the night.
Leaving his bedroom, picking his car keys from the living room, he went out and locked the door. He had taken his 406 Peugeot to the car wash in the afternoon and it looked immaculately clean now. He was ready for the date. Ann amused him. There was something about her that tickled his fancy. She had this infectious smile, captivating eyes, and personality that intrigued him.

He had not felt this excited for long. He got into the car, put his Smitt and Wesson in the pigeon hole, made sure he had a good number of bullets, he started the car engine and drove out to climb General Ladipo Boulevard. Driving past the General Chris Avenue which housed top officers, he arrived the gate which was heavily guided by military men.
A corporal saluted, “ mon Sir”
Kamal replied, removed two five hundred naira notes and gave the soldier. The soldier saluted again. “I will be there when you will be decorated as a General.”

Kamal smiled, nodded and drove off as the gate was opened for him. He drove straight to Kalem Street where she had told him to pick her up. She said she had to see her aunt and would be there till 7:00PM. He arrived there three seconds before seven and saw her come out of a beauty salon. He pulled up the car by the roadside, came out of the car and walked to her.
She smiled as she saw him. That smile! She looked like a celebrity on the red carpet. Her red skinny gown was glittering, matching with a red designer bag and shoes. He did not know much about women jewelleries, but he knew that her necklace and earring was nothing close to a faux.

“ You look stunning, Princess.” He said with a smile.

“Thank you. In uniform, you are dashing; out of uniform, you are a model.”

“ Thank you, Princess. May we.”

“Oh, sure.”

They walked slowly to his car. He hoped she was impressed.

“Nice car.” she commented.

“Thank you.”

He opened the passenger’s door for her while he went behind the wheel.
He started the car engine and set the car in motion.

“How long have you been with the CID?”

“A year. Mind you I am not a cop. I am a civilian working with the police.”

“I know. What difference does it make? You serve the purpose. I have heard of your ambidexterity when it comes to IT. Policing is all about fighting crime and keeping the citizens save and that exactly what you have been doing .I wish you were with us.”

“You mean ATOF?”

“Yeah. We have this guy behind the system and I see nothing special about him. Just very normal. We need a genius.”

“ Then I should have been the wrong pick.”

“I am not licking your boots, but I have heard about your works. We work closely with the CID, DSS and other agencies.”

“Is this supposed to be about my transfer to ATOF?”

“ No, Princess. It’s about been with someone special and damn me for bringing work into it. I am an….”

“ You don’t have to be hard on yourself. I know how it feels when you are surrounded by unsolved mysteries. The insurgency is biting. Suicide bombing and kidnapping are all new to Nigerians. We only used to see them in movies or news .”

Kamal sighed.

“You are right. We should talk about something else. I am out of uniform, so I should be out of work…for a while. I am human after all. Been on this for two years and nothing is coming out of it. Beginning to feel I have failed this country.”

She put her hand on his, “ You haven’t. You are not the only ATOF officer. You guys are much, why take the heat?”

“I am heading an Intelligence team, with plenty access and resources at my disposal but nothing substantial has come out of it. Too many dead ends.”

“The insurgents seems to be well prepared. It looks like a well-planned, long nursed sinister but there will be a mistake. I hear they commit suicide when about to be apprehended.”

“ Yes. I wonder what substance is that. Our forensic experts are still working on it.”

“ We are there, slow down.”

Kamal pressed his foot on the gas pedal, decelerated then put on the traffic signal to make a turn off the main road.

“ Okay,” he said putting on a smile, “ no more talk about it….for now. Don’t want to ruin my appetite.”

He pulled up at a parking space ushered by a security man. They alighted, walked towards the main entrance. Ally’s was a big restaurant owned by an American business man. He had opened it five years ago to serve the Americans who worked for an oil company, oil explorers and tourists. Soon it became a hot spot for natives who loved American and European food . It had branches in five states of the federation and became an instant success. There were dozens of customers, mostly couples sitting at various tables, eating and drinking. They found and sat at a table, and a smiling black waitress walked up to them. Ann did not bother to look at the menu. It seemed she knew what they had so Kamal asked her to make the order.

She looked at the waitress and said, “Let me have chicken parmigiana. I mean one with mozzarella, parmesan and tomato sauce, Lobster Newburg and a 1939 Cabernet sauvignon.”

The waitress nodded after taking notes, then turned at Kamal expectantly.

“I will go for carne alla pizzaiola with rice, coleslaw made with mayonnaise and chilled raspberry frost sodas.”

The waiter nodded and left.

“This is my first time here.” Kamal confessed.

“Do you have a problem with American food.?”

“No. I had problems with time and…..the motivating factor .”

“Do you need a motivator to eat?”

“I usually cook or get food from the nearest restaurant. Coming here hardly cross my mind. Only been to the States once and spent just six months on a course. I was a second lieutenant then. I was born and raised in Nigeria.”

“Tell me more about yourself.”

“Nothing special to say. I was just a normal kid from a family of six and the fourth child of a retired Colonel and a Biology mistress. Born and raised in Kaduna, attended Nigeria Defence Academy and graduated as an engineer, Mechanical to be precise; had my Masters in Strategic Studies and here I am, with the most beautiful woman on Earth.”

She blushed. “ I am flattered. Thank you. “She looked at him. “ Why military?”

“ Always had the dream. As a child, I loved kiddies military uniforms, toy guns and war films. I was nicknamed Soldier Boy, but as I grew older, I developed a passion to serve my country even if my contribution is not felt, at least I would feel nice trying.”

“ So you decided to take the hard job. From Peace keeping to ATOF. I mean the action part.”

“I did not opt for that part. But as a soldier, we take any task that comes. So…..”

They were interrupted by the arrival of their orders. The food looked good with scintillating aroma.
They began to eat. Ann was served her red wine. Kamal took a spoon of pizzaiola, chewed then nodded with approval. “You made the right choice. Cally’s is good.”

She smiled. “ The next time we come, I would recommend their mouth-watering snacks. Their recipes are next to none.”
They spent the next twenty thirty minutes enjoying their food and drinks. Kamal fell in love with the place: so serene and romantic . He felt nice to be with her and he enjoyed every moment spent with her.
A few minutes later, they were on their way back. He was taking her home.

“I had a wonderful evening. Thank you for making me feel life.”

“The pleasure is mine. Same here.”

He smiled and then turned the car to a boulevard.

Out of a street, a man dressed in white caftan and cap, crossed the main road carelessly before a sound of gunshot emerged. A ricocheting bullet hit him. He screamed aloud and fell on the ground, rolling until he dropped into a gutter. Kamal pressed his foot on the brake pedal at once, the tyres screeched, producing sputtering sparks, and the car was forced to a halt . Ann screamed in trepidation. Kamal saw the silhouette of a short stocky man holding a gun. He was trying to cross the road to finish the man in the gutter. Kamal opened his pigeon hole and removed his Smith and Wesson.

“Stay back,” he said to her , “ I need to see this.”

Mufty stood in the darkness, knowing he was completely hidden. He began to move with stealth, watching carefully as the man he stalked walked carelessly. He knew the line has been drawn. He was taking a step of no return. He had to find Leena.
The man he was stalking was tall, broad shouldered with very bushy moustache. He was walking hurriedly down a narrow footpath, moving away from the cluster of cabins, and down the bushy part with trees he went.
He had no idea that Mufty was coming after him. Satisfied that he was far away, he put on his flashlight and sat on a stone which he usually sat on.
Mufty watched him bring out a wrap of cannabis from his pocket, with shaky hands, he lit it; dragged smoke with a force and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.

“Masha Allah.” He said with satisfaction. Life was good here.
He had free meals, ate a lot of meat, married a girl with ease, and got paid after each operation. This was far better than his humdrum life in Patiskum.
Marriage was very expensive in Borno State and he could not afford one. Now, he got his first wife after they invaded an all-girls secondary school. He got his second wife after they invaded a village close to Bama.
Now he had two wives. This insurgency must not stop. There was much to gain.
He was enjoying the herb. He felt as if he was flying, and he could feel an imaginary sound of music, and voices from above. This was good.

“Kacha.” He heard a voice from behind. He turned swiftly to see Mufty standing behind him. There was something about Mufty that sent a chill through nerves. He was not just taciturn, but mean. His expertise in killing, which earned him the rank of the best sniper in the house, made them fear him. No one knew much about him.

“You almost scared me. I just want to chase bad spirits away.”

“How?”

“Bad spirits do not like ganja. I also need to clear my head so I can worship Allah better. Plus, I have two wives and it helps me perform better.”

“Hmmm….you have two wives. I had one.”

It now dawned on Kacha that Mufty was brooding and that was not good. But he could not see any weapon on him. He was not sure Mufty could match him in a bare-hand fight.

“I am sorry about that. It was the Amir’s decision. You know that, right. He never liked the knot. We feel he wanted her for himself……”

“You are part of those who transported them.”

Kacha was shocked to hear that.

“Who told you that?”

“I found out.”

“I don’t think that is true.”

“What you think does not matter. Where did you drop them?”

“Mufty……who told you that?”

“Kacha, talk to me now. Where did you drop them?”

“You know we don’t let that out. You know the rules better than me. You are a high ranking jihadist.”

“Licking my boots?”

“Amir will kill me.”

“How can he kill a dead person? You will be dead if you don’t tell me.”

“You will kill me if I tell you.”

“Not today. I cannot kill you here. If you don’t tell anyone, nothing will happen to you…..” But kacha had plans. H swung his hand which had a knife. Mufty was expecting a move from him.
When Kacha realised that he had missed, he knew there was going to be trouble. He had only one choice: Shout .
He had barely opened his mouth when he felt an impact on his throat. For a spilt second, he thought it was a knife that was used to slit his throat.
That was a professional move from Mufty who was also a martial artiste. Kacha saw a gun pointed at him.

“Talk.” Mufty said. “I swear, if you raise your voice, I will kill you and vanish.”

“You can’t kill me here….”

“Do you want to try me?” Mufty showed him the knife that dropped from Kacha’s hand. “It would be fun to kill you with your knife.”

“We dropped them at Kamtun Bwalla.”

“I am given you the last chance. You know you cannot lie to me.”

“Okay, promise that you will not say I told you.”

“Now that is childish. Who needs more secrecy more than me? I want to get my wife back. Do not take it personally.”

“Okay. We dropped them at Darul HaQ station. They are to be taken to Nurul-Madina barracks before being dispatched to various husbands.”

Mufty felt more disgusted. What a barbaric sect he had been with. Did anyone ever imagine what these girls felt? Could anyone imagine the constant pain their family members felt?

“Who did you hand them to?”

“Commander Sha’aban.”

“Have you ever thought of the evil we are committing?”

“Mufty! We are on a jihad. Do not blaspheme. We are cleansing the world. The world needs us. Please do not let the love for your wife make you derail.”

“Jihad is when you kidnap and constantly rape the two girls in your possession? Jihad is when you have no scintilla of empathy for them? or think of how they feel? how their parents feel? I heard it all from the Sheikh we murdered. Jihad is when you kill people at random? rustle cattle and eat beef?
You said the world needs you. Let me tell you one thing the world needs right now….to have one terrorist out of the world…..”

Phooop!

It happened within the twinkle of an eye. The knife passed through Kacha’s throat and he went down, wriggling in pain.
Mufty jumped back to avoid blood stain. He went and carried a big stone, moved to Kacha and smashed it on his head. That made his death come quicker.

“That is called cleansing.” Mufty said. He walked to a part of the bush where he hid a digger and shovel. He had a burial to do.

Naairah opened her eyes and wondered where she was. It was not her bed or room, then she remembered. It was her first night with her husband. She was glad it was a Saturday, having skipped work yesterday, and spent the whole day together with Adnan.
He had told her a part of his story before they fell asleep. They needed that sleep.
She was stunned to see him sitting calmly on a chair with folded hands, watching her. He wore a white T-shirt, immaculate and white boxers. He looked so handsome, more handsome than he was before the incidence. He still had to explain how he got some of the physical changes.
But Adnan would not rush his story or ignore chronology, so she agreed to get it bit by bit.

"Good morning Miss Sunshine." He said. " How was your night?"

" Good morning Hayati. I had the best night ever." She said then covered her face with her palms.

" Oh my God, it is ten already."

It was two minutes after 10:00am.

"What kind of married woman sleeps till ten o'clock without thinking of breakfast?" she said.

" The type that is lying on the bed." He said. " But it was her husband's fault."

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

" I wanted you to have a good rest, and I can have the chance to watch you sleep, that oasis, and see what the phrase' sleeping beauty means'. I could sit here all day watching you Miss Sunshine. I never get enough of everything about you.
As I watch you sleep, I see that innocence in you that cautions me to be loyal, dedicated, and truthful to you. I see that softness in you that warns me to handle with care. I see that strength that tells me I got an amazon behind me. I see love radiating from you and I am covered with bliss, ease and love. As I watch you sleep Miss Sunshine, I feel the need to appreciate Allah for giving you to me, because you are a divine blessing, a light and a soothing phenomenon.
I pray you are my first and last, and I will take it slow and fast, moulded into the right cast, this love is more explosive than atomic bomb blast. Naairah, I still find it hard to believe, that being with you is real so the fact I try to retrieve, You are to me a sieve, separate me from impurities and make me achieve.
You fell in love with me, not what was with me. You stood your ground, even when you thought I was not around. This love is bound, sound and the greatest thing I ever found. I trust you so all your imperfections I will condole, and accepting my flaws will be a console, I love you whole, my heart you stole, your expressions are like sweetened barcarole, and your smile a parole cause you lifted me out of a deep black hole."

This guy!

" Awwwwwnn Hayati your words slay, I so love you although the day, from May to May, loosing you is a price I can't pay. Your love is straight and no sway; to the land of dreams you pave the way. We lie so close like jay and Kay. Oh my champion you deserve a bay, on you I lay, your name in reality and dreams I say, and when they said to him go I say nay"

Adnan watched her in amusement, the words came out smoothly, and the movement of her lips mesmerized him. Her eyes told a story, and he saw victory.

He got up, moved to her slowly then knelt before her.

"Okay queen, we are going on a little ride." He held her gently, and his touch sent her nervous system into action. They called it response to stimulus. He held her hand and she dropped her legs on the floor. He helped her slip her legs into her flip-flops.
He made sure his moves were gentle, showing care, like a wrong move may break her bones, or cause a lacerate, and his moves gave her that feelings of royalty, importance, and made her felt so special.
He helped her get on her feet, drew her closer to his body, she pressed her soft body against his masculine, brawny body, and welcomed the hardness. He sent his hands moving on her body, with a stealth inclination, as if scared of waking her from a slumber.
She was awake yet asleep.

She did not know if she was sitting or standing, walking or running, all she felt was joy, comfort, serenity, love, love and love.

" Come with me, Miss Sunshine." He said in a low tone.

He led her out of the room, she felt a bit uncomfortable because she in lingerie. It was her second day with a man, and still felt shy but he was bent on sweeping the shyness away and he was making a success if it.

They ascended the stairs, still holding her hand, like a queen alighting a royal cart. They got downstairs and he walked through a corridor and she realised that she had never come to that part of the house.
She did not because she never felt it was her home. She took it as place where she stayed before the return of Adnan. She never knew that it was her home.
They stopped before a steel door and then he opened it. She was dumbfounded. He led her into a very large hall with a mini pool at the middle, the water looked pellucid and blue. The poolside beds and chairs were beautiful.
There was a jumbo aquarium by a wall and she saw the most beautiful aquarium she had ever seen. The white pebbles, water plants, tiny rocks and gold fishes and blue lights gave it a scintillating sight.

On another side of the hall was a large LCD TV, theatre size and home cinema systems below. There was a large refrigerator at a corner, then a fruit preserving machine close to it. The floor was 3D Asian-Vogue and a Jacuzzi was fitted at a far end. The walls were made covered with white expensive tiles.
She loved the place. It was so chic, simple yet sophisticated, and set romantically.

"Oh my God!" She exclaimed, " I love this place."

"Shhhh..this is Queen Naairah's mine" He said , "where the hidden treasures are kept . We must keep the secret from pirates...."

"And one of the big pirates is Captain Ramat." She said. " She is looking for the queen's treasure desperately." She touched his chest with her fingers. " You are my treasure, with pleasure in no measure."

He grabbed the hand and kissed the back.

"Your majesty, your servant is going to give you a wash." He said and led her to the Jacuzzi. She closed her eyes, as he got her set for a bath, got himself set too and the slowly went into the 5-seat hot tub with cast acrylic shell, supported by a frame structure showing vents for water circulation and massaging.
Like a baby, he bath her, and after summing up courage, she did the same. Marriage! She kept reminding herself that it was not wrong, it was halal, they were even getting rewarded because at a point, she felt as if it was a debauchery.
Come on, this was sunnah!

She let go, flowed and relaxed. She was married to the love of her life and she was going to enjoy every bit of it. Leaving the bath tub, the moved into the mini pool, after he went and brought some fruits and placed on a large floating tray.
She loved the fruits which were romantically set. This guy was killing her softly with his ways. There was cherry, pomegranate, red delicious apples, red grape fruits red grapes. By the pool side was a jug of fruit juice with glasses.

Then he used a remote control to put on the player and she was amazed when the first thing she heard from a sonorous voice singing was, Naairahhhh.

A song made for her?
The voice was melodious, full toned with a feel of compassion.
It was acapella .

Verse one:

How could I breathe without you around me?
It is stuffy when you are far from me
You are magical
The love is mystical
And you words are lyrical
Miss Sunshine, before our hearts met on a star at that level
They were paired from heaven so don't marvel
When we resist the devil
We are married and by His grace will survive
My lost heart you revive
Stashed up love scenes in my archive
I remember hanging out just for food
A lone boy in the hood
And came Miss sunshine and made me good
I believe
You relieve
We achieve

Chorus:
If I would live again in another life
I pray you will still be my wife
Naairah
Naairahhh
If I could live again in another life

I pray you will still be my wife
Nairah
Naaiiiiiiiiiiirahhhhh

And the song went on till the end.
While the song was played, he fed her fruits, and played with her as the lyrics of the sweet song went straight into her heart. It was as if the world belonged to them, and revolved around them as the scene gave her the feelings of complete la dolce vita. But the song got her emotional, with her back against his chest, the warm cosy water sending its sensation, she felt tears in her eyes. Tears of love and joy.
She turned around and wound her hands round his neck. He cupped his palms, fetched water and rinsed her face.

" Hayati," She called, " I will never stop begging you not to leave me."

He gave her a pacifying smile.

" Where else do I have apart from your world?"

" Nothing should take you away again....Who sang this song?"

He widened his smile.

"I never told you that I sing...unprofessionally though but I do just acapella. I did for you honey."

"Whoa! You are a talent. I love it! A song for me from you! A song from your heart to mine. Thank you darling."

They kissed.

" Just doing my duty, Miss Sunshine."

"Hayati..."

"Miss Sunshine."

"Please hold me, I want to feel your heartbeat."

He grabbed her, drew her closer until her wet face was on his chest. She held him tight, saying no word, glad to hear the rhythm of his heart beats.

"Why am I scared?" She whispered. " Why do I feel this is too good to last. I am not being pessimistic but reality scares me. They tried to kill you and I know you are still in hiding. There is a great complication around you, like you against the world. You are being chased, have been chased right from childhood when you knew not your crime.
Now you stopped at the part where you met another computer genius on line. And the fact that my father was the one holding you in front of the dump site scares me. Tell me, is he a criminal? Is Uncle Abbas a criminal?"

"I told you not to get emotional or judge any one yet. I hid many things from you for reasons and what I need you to do now is remain strong. We are in the clear. Your fathers involvement would be explained to you. He is not a criminal but a tool. We don't have to let this spoil our mood. We are stronger than this."

" It is not spoiling the mood. I just want you to assure me that it is all honky dory."

"Yes, Miss Sunshine. It is and be rest assured that we will pull through. The world is just deeper than we think. Insha Allah, I will always be here for you."

" I will always be by you, behind you, in front of you, in you....."

He kissed her again, and then put a grape into her mouth. They shared it.

"What time are we leaving?" She asked.

"Leaving?"

"You are getting old..."

"I am a family man, got to think of school fees,...."

"Shut up, when did you get married that you won't give us space and which children's school fees?"

" Future children."

"You have grown side burns so grow up."

"You don't like it."

"I love it."

"Naughty girl" he chuckled. " I did not have it then, it had not come."

"Yes, you were a baby then."

" We are not of the same generation, mark that."

" With your gazillion seconds older than me stuff."

He laughed.

" So what did I forget?"

"Abba invited us for a family dinner. We have never attended."

"How would we have attended when you were angry you got married to Hayat?"

She laughed.

"I am going to deal with you for taking me on such a long ride ."

Dinner with the Muhktars!

He remembered the last time he was invited. Hmmmm...

" We are leaving in the evening."

"We have a long time ahead."

"Let me continue my story."

"I thought you were not going to offer."

"I am not going to say it then."

She pouted, made a crying sound jokingly. "Hnnnnn, please."

"I want to but my mouth is stuck."

"Stuck?"

"Yes, I don't know what to do. Do you have an idea? "He said and winked.

She eyed him, rolled her eyes.

"You are addled." She said with a smile and then gave him a long, deep kiss.

"Yeahhhh...I am healed. Okay, I was sitting in the café that night when I heard ........."

FIFTEEN

Halima was seated on a sofa, the remote control in her hand, her legs folded on the sofa, like an actress set to act as the princess of the universe. Her hands and feet were designed beautifully and he felt like licking them.
She was watching a Korean drama. Girls with Korean dramas!

" Welcome back sweetheart." She said softly

" Thank you, my princess"

She got up and he felt a dose of aphrodisiac. She was in skin-tight pants, blue coloured. On top was just another skinny white singlet. He gawked.
She walked slowly and collected the polyethylene bag from his hand with traditional respect. As she turned to take it to the dining room, and he saw the movement of her back, the roundness, the wideness of her hips, the vibrations, the subconscious twerking, he subconsciously exclaimed, " Ya Salam!"

She turned abruptly, looking scared after the sudden exclamation.

" What is wrong darling?"

" Em..I thought I lost my- my shoe keys."

Her beautiful large eyes widened.

" Shoe keys?"

" Did I say shoe keys?" He chuckled. " I meant car keys. But Alhamdulillah, it’s here."

" You got me scared. "

She dropped the bag and came back. She rushed into his arms and they embraced......for the first time.
No word.
No caress.
Just hug. But a lot was spoken through the heart. He could feel her sweet breath, the fragrance ,her warmth, the succulent body, the electric impulse, the love he felt made him close his eyes.

It was a hug that spoke about the pains of the past eight months, the pains of been apart, the fear of losing each other, the pains of those times they suffered in the hummocks, the rain that beat them, the joy of having each other, the joy of fulfilment, and the love they shared.
They stood like that for about ten minutes, then she touched his earlobe with her soft lips, tickled him then whispered, " Alhamdulillah."
He now moved his hands slowly, mildly down her back, round her butt then settled on her waist.

" Subahanallah, Walhamdulillah." He whispered, his lips travelling through her neck, over her cheeks then brushed her lips, and he thought of sending his tongue in, but hesitated and changed his mind. It was too early, it had to be chronological, so he moved forward, then touched her earlobe, then whispered, " you are a divine gift, you give me a quantum lift, we are humans and prone to rift, but let our undying love make peace so swift. I am now yours, you are now mine.

We are now merged and have become a single line, you are eight and I am nine, all your good I will announce and that's fine, but your goof will be a secret and I will admonish you after we dine. I am not perfect, but I will try to let the best in me reflect, and the worse deflect, any bad in me you detect, admonish me with caution and respect.

You have come not to leave but confined to my world yet not a prison, I will play with your body and it's not a treason, all what we went through love is the reason, insha Allah you are mine from now till the end of the season.
I promise never to leave you, I promise to love you, through thick and thin I will be there with you,
I have lifted my feet for you, just make sure you do what God wants from you, I belong to you, I love you."
She did not move. He felt her hand holding him tighter, and her weight on him increased as she lay her head on his chest while her palm chest dabbed.

" I love you too, we are now one in form of two, it's your life I just walked into, I will never leave because I don't want to. Please remember, I have no parents again, you are all I have and all I gain, even if they were alive, Allah has put you at the peak so I must maintain, I'm a woman so please your patience you should retain, I will always be like your baby so play with me and let love rain, your pleasure I will obtain, and your anger I disdain, my heart is open to you and plain.
Do not expect me to always be right but please forgive me when I goof. No matter how intelligent, religious, or nice a woman is, you must be patient with her or else you would throw her out through the roof. I will give you all my attention and not on the hoof.
I pray you will be my husband in the world and aljaannah."

" Ameen."

He raised her head and smiled at her.

" You are in safe hands. You are in able hands. Wara shit niga."

And she laughed. How much would Swissbeat buy the sound of her laughter and make the best sound in the world? No, it was priceless, he could not afford it, and it was for his amusement only.
He held her face between his soft palms, and saw unadulterated beauty. He could stand looking at her for the whole day. he looked at the lips.

The first kiss? No. Not now.

" Now that Allah has made our wish come true, now that He has made you mine and me yours, it is imperative we show our gratitude. We should perform at least two raka'ats.”

They went into one of the restrooms. He loved big restrooms and this was one. Everything was white and sparkling. They performed ablution and she wore her long veil. She lay the praying mats diligently, and he led the prayer.
They prayed to Allah for blessings, fortitude to be perseverant, resilient, tenacious, benevolent, pious, dogged, and also prayed for seraphic and lovely offsprings. They prayed for means for upkeep, prayed for the dead, her parents, useful knowledge, their country, and the world at large. They prayed to die with the Kaleema.

After prayers, she went in to pull off her veil then came back. This time, in lingerie. It was all white, and the pants was thigh-length. He gaped at her. This lady was driving him insane.
He was sure the governor's daughters must have coached her, and the old women who give the sermons. He wondered what they told them. He's your lawful husband, he will come to you, he will touch you, he will lie you down, he will, he will, he will, don't do this , don't do that, don't, don't, don't, you should, you should, and on and on and on.

Whatever it was, she had learnt. She knew they were into a legal connubial tie and all shame and what-so-ever has to go. This was good. For every touch, they will be blessed. Halal.

She went and brought the bag . They would not use the dining table. He was sitting on the three-sitter sofa which faced the TV. She carefully placed it on the floor, got a tray and removed the meat before she slowly began to cut it into smaller pieces. He joined her, holding a part while she cut.
She placed the meat on a stool, and then poured yoghurt in a glass. He felt on top of the world. This was not some waitress, or house help, or sister, but his wife.

After she was done, she came and sat across his thighs, pressing her soft body against his. She drew the stool closer, carried a piece of meat, then tore a part and put it in his mouth leaving half outside. She then moved her head closer and tore off the part outside and began chewing slowly.

Whoa! Whoever couched her did a good job.
It tasted so nice.
It felt so nice.
She would put the glass to his mouth to sip yoghurt within intervals while he did the same.

" Do chickens pee?" He asked, " I have never thought of it."

" Hmmm....they do but only when they happy."

" Whoa ! That's cool but what makes it happy? Is....." He paused, then playfully hit her.

"The sweetness got over you." She said laughing at me.

" Hey, don't ever let Zarah hear this, she always looks for things to strike me with."

" Then I got your weak point. So, now I am in control. Don't do what I want, I get to Zarah."

" I will do what you want."

They laughed.

" I have learnt a lot about life." She said using her hands to dab his chest, " I remember Sakina, a friend of mine. She was privileged to go to school and got married to a banker. She stopped hanging with me before she got married. She met me one day while I reared cattle and said, I would rot in the village and end up hawking fura da nono. She said her husband has two cars and they were going to live in the city.
She said I was not educated and no educated man would marry me. I believed her and cried my life out. But I prayed to God to take control of my life. Then you came. I can never forget what you went through to get my attention.

She was there when the Governor and other dignitaries came to talk to me. She was told that you took me off in an helicopter. I never dreamt of meeting the governor but today, he is a father to me. She was among the ladies who accompanied me here. She saw the lepe. Sweetheart, sixty sets of boxes, five cars, and a perfect husband who loves me for who I am."

" That is the irony of life. I hope she takes that home. Plus I am the one who is lucky to have you. And I swear, you will do nothing but school. I will buy houses for you, build shopping malls for you, so you can earn money without using your time. I want you to concentrate on education. You will have informal secondary education then go tertiary. Meanwhile, we will be shuffling between Nigeria and USA , but I want to take you round the world. I don't have a private jet but dad has. Dubai, London, Rio de Janeiro , Caribbean island , France, name it and we must go for Umrah for gratitude. I love you."

" I love you."

He was now looking into those white eyes as they beamed. She smiled and he saw light and felt life.
She got up and carried the tray out. He asked the house helps to stay in their quarters, and did not want anyone around.

That figure of hers!
He kept looking, then stood up, as if in a trance, as if hypnotised, he followed her into the large kitchen. She was standing before the sink. What? She wanted to wash the plates. He knew she had that habit. She hated to leave dirty plates. He went and held her from behind, she sighed, chuckled and pushed his hands away.

He turned her and wound his hands round her, pulled her to his body, then she paused. He could feel her body vibrating. Was she nervous? Those lips, he had dreamt of them, fantasised about them. Patience was a virtue. The time had come.

He kissed her. The first kiss. At first, she was stiff, not moving her tongue, then he explored her mouth, it was better than he had imagined, sweeter than anticipated. It was good. He thought they were floating, defying gravitational law.

Then she relaxed. He had passed the current, she held him tighter, squeezing him, and let out a short moan. He held her back, handling her, caressing her.

He carried her, she held him by his neck and he climbed the staircase with a doddle. Straight to the bedroom and he placed her carefully on the bed. He spent another five ten minutes fulfilling his promise: body exploration. She was his wife, it was halal, she was his, he was hers.

He slowly began to UnCloth her while she went for his buttons.