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JECINCTA

Taking Control

I battled with my nerves through out the 30 minute drive to the hotel. By the time we arrived, l had managed to regain some of my earlier confidence. I thanked his driver for the ride and greeted the hotel clerk, who informed me with a knowing smile that my host was waiting in the penthouse. During the elevator ride up, I popped open my first two buttons. I didn't have a clear cut plan in my head and I didn't need one. Things would flow naturally, I was confident.

He was drinking a glass of wine, watching football highlights on the screen when I let myself in. I noticed he looked tired, really tired. This was the very first time we were seeing during the week. He always seemed so relaxed and in charge during the weekends, but now he looked stressed, like he had something big on his mind. He was still in his suit pants and inner white tee. His shirt and tie were sprawled on the 3-seater couch. I wondered what exactly it was he did for a living. He always brushed it aside whenever I asked, apart from telling me he collected interesting things. Fifi still thought he was a bank ceo. I glanced at the jacket on the floor....that was more plausible.

"Hey darling.." I was pleased to notice his face brighten considerably when he saw me. His eyes didn't look so tired anymore as lust replaced fatigue in a heartbeat.

"Jessy, I can't believe how pleased I am to see you. I had a terrible day.." he sulked a bit as he ogled me with his eyes.

I wasn't wearing much and that was the idea. A vintage t shirt tied in a knot over my belly. The only visible buttons were undone and there was nothing beneath it, so the curve of my breast heaved with every breath, threatening to burst out the excuse of a shirt completely. Bum shots and gladiator sandals completed my look. I knew i had fresh killer legs and I knew it drove him crazy.

"Oh, you're just too damn sexy..." He tossed back the rest of his drink and began peeling off his tee with lightening speed.

I stopped him. "Go take a shower first baby, when you're done i'll give you the best time"

Like an obedient child he skipped off to the bathroom and was out in about 7 minutes toweling himself and grinning. "I must say I don't really know what got into you tonight but I'm loving....what's this?"

I had gotten the duve and bedspread from the room and spread it on the floor.

"Lie down honey, let me give you a massage and maybe you tell me why your day was so terrible."

I had brought the oils and lotions with me. Fifi had thought me the sensual act of the nuru-erotic massage, and I was thankful for that.

Mr D smiled and let the towel drop to the floor. He was already semi-hard.

I giggled, "Try not to get so big yet, you're lying on your front first okay?"

"Okay mami i'll try" He had such a gleam in his eyes, I knew I was going to enjoy this.

I poured a generous amount of oil on his back and rubbed it in gently. I started from between his shoulder blades, to his shoulders, down to his arms then up again to his shoulders, then down his back, gently rubbing, kneading and caressing. I literally felt his muscles loosen beneath my hands and he gave a relaxing sigh of contentment. "oh this feels so good....oooooooh......"

"you like it baby?"

"Yes"

"Good"

After a while, "tell me about your day, what happened?"

He didn't even hesitate. "Its my boss, he's crazy, I've wanted to quit long ago but he won't let me."

I wasn't really interested in what he was saying, I was still plotting on how to get him to rent me a house. "Why wouldn't he let you go?"

"Because i'm the best at what I do.....oh yes baby right there...."

I had gotten to his lower body, massaging his buttocks and thighs, my hands made him lose his train of thought for some seconds, "he wants something that he can't have but he's obsessed with it and each time I fail to get it he gets madder at me..."

"hmmm....." I couldn't imagine Mr D answering to anyone. He looked like a man's man, apart from his high pitched voice that is.

"what is it he wants so bad?" I asked

"Something that doesn't exist that's what! He's had me chasing shadows for years, wasted millions on a mere myth. I have my mind made up.....turn?" he asked

"yes love....." this was it. I planned to make my move while giving him the second part of the massage, with him lying on his back. But I had to make him stop rambling about his work first.

"i've made up my mind to get away from him, it won't be easy but I've been preparing for the eventuality for a long time now and I think I can pull it off..."

"Hmmm....." he lay on his back and I began to massage his torso gently. This time my movement was slower and more sensual.

He was silent for about ten minutes, enjoying the massage and when I was about to begin his lower body, I sighed.

"what's it?" he asked immediately

"I had the worst day also" I sulked

He oped his eyes slowly to look at me. "what happened maami?"

"I....had a fight with Fifi"

"really why? I thought the both of you were friends?"

"we are....or we were, but we've been having issues lately and today she had the excuse to pounce on me...." I began to massage his thighs gently.

"p-p--po-pounce on yo-you?" he stammered

"she's bigger than me and she beat the hell out of me."

"But why?...."

"Because of you, she's jealous of the way you treat me and she's been maltreating me at home cause she introduced you to me but we now get along better..."

I gripped his manhood. slowly massaging his throbbing member in my hand till he was rock hard.

He shut his eyes in pleasure, "oh....oh...my God....but...but that has to stop. You should have told me the minute she started misbehaving"

"no...no...no, she's my friend and I love her, I just think it's time I gave her some space."

I paused and unbottened my shorts, it fell to my ankles and I quickly stepped out of it.

"okay, I think that's a better option but do you have anywhere to go?"

I knew him very well. He was already quarter to his 5 mins -max climax, and once he came, he usually slept off almost immediately.
I straddled him, till I was on top, then I kissed him deeply.

He opened his eyes slowly and smiled, "Happy ending huh?"

"Yes baby, I want you happy"

I lowered down slowly, using my hand to guide him until he was nestled deeply in me. I gave a short gasp and he moaned loudly. "oooooooooooh Jessy"

"look into my eyes" it was an order

He looked up at me with cloudy eyes.

"will you make me happy?" I asked

"yes love, I'll do anything to make you happy"

I began to ride him slowly, up and down, rubbing his rock hard nipples and watching his eyes darken with pleasure

"staying with Fifi makes me sad, D.....what are you going to do about it" I increased my pace a little. He'll be coming in 30 seconds tops.

"what-whatever you want Jess....ooh don't stop"

"I want you to rent me a place baby, somewhere I can call my own, you can come see me anytime and we could have all the privacy we want."

"oh....Lord i'm coming...is tha...whu...you...wan...?"

"yes love, that would make me the happiest girl"

"ooooooooooh" He reached up to grab my breasts and I saw his eyes literally go out from the pleasure. A second later I felt him release and made a mental note to take the birth pill first thing in the morning.

He slumped back on the Duve and I watched him breath heavily as he found his way back from the sinful trip of sexual pleasure I had taken him. I watched and waited for him to say something, the little doubts returning to whisper suggestions of failure in my mind.

Finally his eyes cleared and I came into focus. "Jess, that was....that was amazing. Wow! Don't worry love. I'm going to buy you a flat tomorrow. Do you like the apartments at one thousand and four?"

I was speechless. Did he just say buy? not rent? buy. Me? A 20 year old, owning my own property. I wanted to pinch myself but the sticky fluid trickling down my thighs meant this wasn't a dream. "Oh my God.....Mr D! I love you!!" I squealed and gave him a hug, kissing him all over his face like I always did anytime he credited me.

"you're mine Jess, you belong to me and I take care of what's mine. I want you always happy" He said as I smooched him.

Normally such a statement would get me worried but Bleep it. What was it Fifi had said, 'if money was a verb it'll be Mr. Doings'

I believed her more than ever and now I knew I had his control.

Chapter 4

FUOYO

Love Scam

Shaq helped me pick up my first payment and like a proud teacher he smiled and gave me the full money. 5 minty 100 dollar notes. "No cut for me, this is your first, it's always special." He beamed at me

I sent my mom and siblings money then went shopping for clothes and shoes, upgraded my phone and the money was gone in a flash. Shaq was there to assure me once more. "If she pays once, she will pay twice, just calm down for like a month and shower her with lots of attention, then bill her heavily and see what happens."

And he was right. She paid again, and again, and again. In 2 and a half years, Lori sent me roughly 30000USD. She also helped me pick up really huge sums of money for other people on two occasions and I received a juicy percentage. Every transaction was always under strict instructions from Shaq and I did well to always follow his advice. If he told me, don't do it like that, do this instead, I did what he said and more often than not we were discussing percentages not long after.

The first year was the hottest. I kept cashing out thousands of dollars every month, Shaq always had a solid format which he shared with me, I sold her the story and she always bought it. Back to back to back, month after month there was always something urgently coming up and I always needed money and she sent it without complaints, assuring me she would do anything for me.

Of course Lori was not a bank, she sent me the money I asked for with full expectation from the many promises I frequently sweet talked her with. About how I was going to retire soon and we'll buy a house on the beach, get a dog and name her Sandy and spend the rest of our lives together watching the sun set. There was plenty of talk in my mouth and I fed her lots of romantic bullshit.
The only problem with creating such perfect images is that it creates a longing and when the longing gets too much, she would be willing to do anything to solve the numerous monetary problems preventing you two from seeing each other. Eventually she'll get hurt cause it's all a scam.

I broke Lori's heart a couple of times, disappointed her a couple more times, for example on 3 different occasions after sending money for first class tickets, she'd spent hours at the airport, waiting expectantly for a lover that never showed. When it happened, she barraged me with voice-messages, screaming and crying for me to get lost and leave her alone and I'd plead for understanding, always armed with a ready excuse. Sometimes she blocked me for a couple of days or didn't speak to me for one or two weeks but she always forgave me and before long we were back in the cycle. I suspected that deep down she had come to realize that Josh Ince was a fraud and fake but had become too attached.

The few times my conscience troubled me I told myself it was part of the hustle life. She was collateral damage. Other times I told myself it was payback for her ancestors selling my people to foreign lands to work as slaves. I got this particular school of thought from Shaq the day I brought up the guilt topic and it had done the trick, making me feel better immediately. I was only playing my little part by bringing back the little thousands of dollars I could get from the billions and trillions that had been stolen from Africa, and pumping it into the economy; hotel staffs, clothe designers, gold sellers, club owners and even runs girls were the major beneficiaries. There you have it, guilt problem solved.

lovebirds don't forget to pay tithe after every every

HelenBee:


Thank you too Soul.

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KANAKU


Soliloquy

I called my dad earlier just to say thank you. At first he was surprised then happy, even though before the call ends he would have already forgotten all I said.
"who's this?" he sounded weaker than the last time I heard his voice.

"Dad it's me, Kanayo"

"Oh...omo mi, ba wo ni?"

"Fine sir, how is your health?"

"Ah it's one day at a time my son. When it is time, it is time."

"God will preserve you daddy, I just called to say thank you"

"for what?" It felt good to hear him ask a question not caused by the dementia

"for being my father. And for being my siblings father. Daddy, 7 children. God bless you sir, it's not easy"

His next statement brightened not just my whole day but made my whole week less gloomy. "Ah Kay you're just starting now, shey you know you're still going to give your girl her own siblings"

He laughed and I laughed and playing with her stroller in the corner, my daughter joined the laughter too. My heart swelled with love and for a moment I was content. It was a picture perfect moment.

But the laughter led him to a coughing fit and I spent the next minute trying to calm him down till the coughing stopped.

"Are you okay sir?"

"Hello?"

"Hello daddy"

"ta ni ye? who's this?"

I sighed, "it's me Kanayo"

"Oh....kay, omo mi, ba wo ni?"

After the call I slumped back into the couch feeling drained. I tried not to worry cause I knew my mother was by his side, probably offering him water that very moment and patting his back.

It frustrated me a lot that I wasn't able to take better care of him, of them both. God forbid I had been an only child, what would be their state right now? I shook my head bitterly. Thank God for my siblings, even though none of them was rich per se, most had blue collar jobs; 2 tailors, a teacher, a shop owner, a footballer and a welder. I was the last child and the proverbial black sheep of the family. It was pretty obvious my parents didn't exactly plan for me. My immediate sibling was 10 years older than me.
By the time I was 10 years and in primary 4, none of my siblings were at home. My parents looked more like my grandparents. There was literally no one to play with, learn with or even discipline me. So I began to spend time on the streets. From my preteen years I was a rascal, known as far as the next three junctions first for my defying stunts with a bicycle and then for my general notoriety. I was an absolute terror during my teenage years and a growth spurt ensured I easily maintained my status as the neighbourhood bully. I realized early on that I could instill fear in my mates and soon I developed a street following. I was always up to some mischief, if you were around me, sooner or later you were bound to break the law. It's just how I was programmed. A particular heist sent me to the police station for the first time at age 16. The heist was so daring, news of it spread through the entire Ikorodu to the extenct the pressure became too much and the police had no option but to work tirelessly to fish out the perpetrators.
It took me 3 weeks to plan the said heist and it was very risky, because it meant I had to stay out every night, sometimes till dawn as I observed the local vigilante that patroled the neighbourhood, taking note of how the 3 man team secured the 3 streets while avoiding detection. I always prefered to move with two men, anything more than 3 was a crowd but the problem was I had at least 5 friends/followers all eager to accompany me. The following week, I laid the plan to my two chosen pals and we chose the next saturday. Both of them were light on their feet and quick with their hands.

I'd noticed the guards were very sluggish and slept a lot on Saturdays, thanks to the numerous Owambe's they must have attended earlier.
At the end it was a clean swoop that left everybody shocked. A total of 18 cars in the area, stretching the whole 4 connecting streets all had their gear box, radios and batteries stolen in the dead of the night. There was an outcry from almost every compound in the hood, and one of the vandalized cars happened to belong to a ruthless colonel.
The tracking was swift, we didn't even get the chance to sell all the parts to the buyers we had on standby. We were arrested two days later and I ended up spending 2 months locked up in a cramped police cell which housed a minimum of 10 souls at all times.
That was the first but not my last visit behind bars. I became a constant face at the local police stations and even developed some sort of rapport with the constables.
They'll exclaim, "Customer! Wettin you do this time?"
I would smile sheepishly and narrate the heist I had pulled off, knowing my father would always come bail me out after letting me cool in the cell for some days, sometimes if he got too exasperated he left me for some weeks.

When I turned 19 my elder brother decided I was going to be a Tailor and sent for me. My mother practically rushed me out the door. 'Odabo....bye bye, I didn't kill my father, don't come and kill me."

Moving to Mushin was a change of scenerio, and a breath of fresh air. I saw it as a new challenge. I had conquered Ikorodu, Mushin to Oshodi was next. I had no intention of touching a sewing machine, me sew clothes? I was rugged and strong, I had never lost a fist fight in my life and I had been in a lot, I was street smart and with the right amount of muscle 6 ft was a towering physique, not to mention I had a solid reputation, thanks to the many street operations I master minded in the past. Intimidating people was as easy as breathing and in a short time I was fully mixed up in the streets and yet again I found myself in the same cycle, comitting daring crimes like snatch and grabs at buststops or grabbing phones from cars in traffic. I could smell a gold earring in a car from a mile away and if the windows were down then it was pull and run. But this time things were different, I was older, in my early 20's and ready to take things to the next level. And when one of my new pals said he knew a guy who had some guns, I wanted in.

Picking a target was the next hurdle, the idiots kept suggesting we rob a bank which I thought was foolish, you don't rob a bank with 3 pistols, you'll die like fowl. Finally we hit a fueling station I picked out and everything went according to plan. We cleaned out all the cash on the attendants, with the manager, then cleaned out the supermart in the station too. For a while we had some cool hard cash. We partied like dogs, spent the money on things I can't even remember and like crack addicts we were back to hit another fueling station, this time in a different location, along the highway. We had three more successful hits after that before we were caught. I was thrown in the big cage; Kirikiri maximum prison. After 4 years in hell, I was a lot calmer when I got out of jail. I washed my hands off armed robbery completely. (Emphasis on armed) and promised my parents my life of crime was behind me.

Although it helped a lot that I had a reputation on the streets, I stuck to my word and dropped my Kay nickname and soon after people started calling me Kanaku, having picked up the habit of smoking weed with paper when I was in prison. Prison was rehab for criminals. If you landed in kirikiri maximum and you were lucky to step out. You would never ever want to lose your freedom to those walls again.

I spent over a year with my Tailor brother while I found my feet and got my own house. It was during my stay with him that I met a pretty hairdresser in the shop adjacent his. Her name was Barakat and from the moment I saw her I liked her a lot and wanted to ask her out. When I finally did, she gave me a hard time for a couple of weeks before she finally agreed. If I had known she'll become a constant source of headache maybe I would have kept my distance.

I broke off my thoughts for a second and looked at my daughter before shaking my head. No, I take that back, Ruki was the best thing to happen to me. Still, Barakat wanted my surname but unfortunately I couldn't let that happen, at least not yet. She would never see things my way but with serious crime out of the picture, my reputation was my next source of income. Which is why people must never know that somehow the fearless and adventurous Kanaku had been domesticated. She would never understand, instead she had called me crazy and paranoid. Saying I cared more about my reputation than my own daughter.

Thankfully she doesn't bring up the marriage topic any longer but living with her has been like living with a volatile vulcano.

Ruky was growing so fast, already almost 2 years. Which meant diapers and babyfood were now out of the equation but not so fast, creche fees and solid food had taken up the vacant spot seamlessly. Just yesterday I gave Barakat money for the week's expenses and since then I began to think of my dad and appreciate him more. How did he take care of 7 children and even though only one of my siblings went on to the university, at least we could all boast of the basic secondary school certificate. Plus I never went to bed hungry. There might not always be meat or fish but there had always been stew and soup. I won't even try to calculate all the money he wasted on my bail, or the numerous times he had to settle the police under the table and settle my disgruntled victims not to press charges against me.

Thinking of my dad again made me remember his condition and I found myself becoming depressed again. What I really wanted was to sponsor their trip to Mecca. Its been my parents dream for as long as I could remember and time was fast slipping by. The dementia was getting worse and I was not even close to raising a single flight ticket.

I usually imagined making so much money and sponsoring my parents to Mecca. I won't have to worry about digging holes or taxing people off their hard earned cash. I wouldn't even be on the streets anymore. I might even marry Barakat, shut her once and for all...kikiki. During the holidays I'll take She and Ruki to Europe. As a sharp street guy I wouldn't pay for a return ticket. It was a waste of money to me. It was common sense, instead we'll overstay our visa for some weeks then stroll into the airport immigration and get deported. I smiled at my wisdom. You can take the boy out of the streets but you can't take the streets out of the boy.

I sighed, ordinary bus ticket to Cotonou I couldn't even afford right that minute...where on Earth was I going to find millions to fulfill my fantasies?

My daughter continued to play with her building blocks with no stress in the world. I envied her for a second then continued my soliloquy as we both waited for Barakat to get back from the market.

udoekere:
This life ehn enno just balance...when an old man is spoiling a little girl with money the feel on top of the world.they won't even have time for guys of their age but when they get older they will now turned to the once broke guys she once rejected for marriage.
Moral lesson: always keep in touch with the broke guys �����
Nice one op

broke guys need love too not a broken heart
thanks for reading and commenting sir

Reuben700:
Nice story you got please try to mention me next time
The part I love is kanaku

JustCruise:
Nice update. please mention me whenever you update. Thanks

would be dropping a short update in the next few minutes...Kanaku's pov

thanks for following guys

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JECINCTA

Pros And Cons

My mom taught me when I was little to always take a pen and paper, draw a table with two columns and title it; Advantage & Disadvantages of ("whatever stupid decision you're about to make" as she had eloquently put it)

The first time she brought up this method, I was 15 and my school principal had sent for her because our English teacher had caught me and a boy in my class, kissing and smooching behind the mini mart.

When we got home, she brought out the turning stick from the plate rack and thrashed me about 7 strokes on my buttocks while I cried and begged.

I stayed locked in my room that day and refused to eat lunch or dinner, later that night she came into my room. "Jessy, I know you're growing and you're a big girl now in SS2, by next year you'll write Waec and before you know it, you're getting ready for University"

I was pretending to read the paperback novel, still very upset with her but curiosity got the better of me and I closed the book. "I know mom, we were just playing truth or dare, mister Patrick just entered and started-"

"Jess, Jess it's okay. I understand. I was once a young girl too. I know how it is with boys, but you're still too young. That's how it starts, from there now you you start sleeping with boys and then you get pregnant. Is that what you want? When your mates are in University you'll be breastfeeding and taking care of your baby at home. Yes now, cause I won't nurse and take care of any bastard child under my roof. At least you're not a bastard, you know your father"

Then she told me, "next time you feel your body itching you, take a pen and paper and calm down, then list the advantages and disadvantages of whatever stupid decision you're about to make. In this case what are the advantages....I can't even think of many, okay maybe you'll enjoy 10 minutes pleasure or lets even say 1 hour pleasure, by the time you list the ways it could derail your life and what it could cost you eh, if you're a smart girl you'll decide to keep yourself for your husband." She paused for effect and let the words sink in after-which she seemed satisfied with my reaction to her wisdom. "That's all, put off the gen by 10. I'm going to bed."


Strange that I would remember that conversation tonight. Cause I didn't draw any table when I first decided to sleep with Mr Doings. Come on, earning 6 months salary in one night was all the advantage I had needed. Plus I wasn't a little girl anymore, I would be 20 soon. I knew how to take care of myself. I wasn't going to get pregnant.

But now I found myself drawing a mental table, comparing the pro and cons. The pros were many; the money was good, right now I had just less than 400k sitting in my account, Mr Doings was very well connected and I constantly found myself in the kind of social circles I used to dream of, he also took good care of me, few months ago I never thought i'll get to wear a wig of 100K for instance.

It's been three months since my first date with him and I noticed some things about him. For one, he was extremely possessive and a very jealous man. The first red light was when he asked me to break up with my boyfriend. We had just finished showering together in his penthouse and I was watching Entertainment weekly, draped in his bathrobe and toweling my hair when my phone rang and my screen showed I had an incoming call from Abobo my boyfriend.

We spoke for a couple of minutes. He was missing me, he wanted to know when would I come to Jos, how come I didn't text or call like before, bla bla bla....at the end of the call he said; "I love you"

"I love you too" I replied automatically.

Mr. Doings was slumped in the bean bag chair, surfing on his laptop and I felt him tense and look in my direction.
Immediately I dropped the call he said, "who was that?"

"its my boyfriend"

"your boyfriend? You have a boyfriend? So what am I?"

"Ah Ah....you're my baby now," I was a little baffled at first but then I decided it was sweet. He was a little jealous. I got up and swayed seductively to were he sat, letting the robe hang open and catch his eyes like I knew it would. "you're my baby..." I leaned over, intending to give him a sloppy kiss but he turned his face and I kissed his cheek instead. He didn't talk to me much or touch me that day, until I was prepared to leave and then he credited me with times 2 of the amount he was supposed to send me.

"Oh my God, baby! Thank you so much!" I squealed and grabbed him in a hug

He stiffened and didn't return the hug.

"What's wrong baby, what did I do?" I pouted my lips and widened my eyes.

"I want you to break up with your boyfriend." He looked me deep in the eye and I saw a mixture of emotions dart across his features.

"Oh......" I was basically speechless. Maybe I didn't love Abobo but he was my boyfriend, we were even in the second year of our relationship even thought it wasn't that great.

There was some irony in my sugar-daddy demanding I break up with my boyfriend but I wasn't finding it funny at the time. Still I smiled, "baby we're so far apart sef so its not really a big deal-"

"Just do it Jessy." It was weird hearing an edge in his shrill voice.

I smiled sweetly. "Okay hunny, whatever you say."

Rule 1 of the Runs business; always keep the money source happy.

Back at home I discussed it with Fifi. "Mr D said I should break up with Abobo!"

"And so? who Abobo help?"

"But he's my boyfriend"

"Abegi which yeye boyfriend. Can Abobo send you urgent 50....let's not even go that far ordinary 10k like this like this..?"

I was silent for some seconds while I thought of the excuse. "He is still a student naw.."

"Exactly! See its a no brainer. I wonder what you're even asking me for, girl drop that broke nigga like a bad habit"

"hmmm.....okay, I think I'll do it"

"Good"

"Another thing....when you're with him, is he always saying things like, you're mine, you belong to me, your pussy is mine alone?"

She chuckled, "ah ah is that what he used to say?"

I forced a laugh, "yes o...everytime, I'm tired sef."

Fifi sighed and when she looked at me I couldn't read her expression. "Everytime I chat him up, he's always asking about you...it's always Jessy this, Jessy that, where's Jessy? Nawa o.....I even offered to come see him and he turned me down that he wants you."

I swallowed a little and laughed nervously, "hope he won't get tired of me soon sha"

Fifi remained with a poker face for 10 awkward seconds before she said, "Hmmm i'm jealous o, I wish I had one big fish in my pocket like you."
We laughed it off and I didn't think too much about what she said or how she had looked.

But 2 months down the line it had become another row on the disadvantage column. Mr Doings didn't look like he was getting tired of me anytime soon and Fifi was clearly unhappy about it. Her feelings had gone through phases also; at first she was happy for me, then a little surprised when the dough continued rolling in, then she became jealous....but still jealous in the good-natured friend kind of way.

When jealousy becomes envy, there's a problem. I wonder when exactly it all changed but I couldn't put a finger on it. I guess it accumulated over time, and the little signs I dismissed were more important than I had thought. Fifi was always saying she couldn't believe I had "hit it big" on my first try. She on the other hand had to occassionally maintain her online profiles where she got most of her dates from. I knew her lowest price standard was 30 thousand for a night but she had few high profile clients that crossed the 100k mark for a night occassionally and Mr Doings had been the top of the bunch. And I had stolen him away. And to add insult to injury, I had been spoiled silly. I mean, I couldn't even imagine myself getting down with anybody for 30k a night. Plus her instagram was logged in my phone, I went through her messages one night she was away and was shocked to find out she had agreed 15k. As in fifteen.

So in retrospect I could understand her envy better and even sympathise with her. She was out almost every night, fucking strangers for 30k while I stayed home watching netflix and well, chilling. Then Mr D would take me for a boat ride, or maybe a comedy show or celebrity party or somewhere fun for the weekend and I came back with 150 or 200k. Not to talk of the many dispatch riders that turned up at our door on a daily, all with gifts from Mr. Doings. From lacy lingerie, to expensive silk, wigs, shoes and even gadgets. Mr D had pimped the hell out of me, I was classy, sexy and always looking good. Fifi was sexy too, she was thicker than me with very nice hips and her jumpsuits always flattered her curves. She was sexy all right. But there was no denying it, when we walked into a room all eyes were on me, and all eyes usually remained on me.

I was always a little shy and uncertain about the swift changes and whenever she made an observation I usually replied with a self depreciating comment, all cause I was trying so hard not to ruffle her feathers. Fifi was like my elder sister. 4 years my senior, we had been neighbours till her military father got transferred and her family moved to Lagos. We kept in touch and while I was waiting for admission and post-Utme, she was the one who had extended the invitation to me, said she lived alone and we will have so much fun together.

She handled the house rent, feeding and bills all on her own until she got fed up and approached me about it and I became caught up in the lifestyle. It seemed like years ago already. So much had changed within 3 months.

Want to know why i'm sitting in the living room at 11pm, staring at a muted television and thinking these specific thoughts? Want to know what triggered my trip down memory lane? I'll tell you. You see I stayed up late last night binge watching game of thrones and when Fifi came back by 6am I had only retired to bed an hour earlier. She spent about an hour banging the gate, calling my phone and shouting my name all to no avail. I was deep in la la land. When I finally woke up and opened the gate, apologizing profusely, she was like a tiger. She slapped me hard....twice, but that was nothing. She was bigger than me and if she really wanted, she would give me a serious beating. But it was her words that hurt me the most. She threw the most vile curses at me, spitting horrible curses at me. Shouting so the whole building could hear her voice. And the way she looked that moment.....with her hair in disarray from the night, her make up undone, she must have been tired and furious and had me backing into a corner like a cowed puppy

"I've been watching you since! What have you been feeling like you this ratched thing! you've become too big right? oh you're now feeling like the finest girl in the world. Have you forgotten where you come from you this bush girl! No amount of foundation will hide your poverty stricken background, I took you under my wing, fed you, clothed you, introduced you to the lifestyle but now your wings have come out and you think you're bigger than me. You ungrateful bitch!" The last exclamation was her palm landing a third slap.

I continued to apologize while wondering where the outburst had come from. Her words had cut me to my very soul, I was deeply hurt and I'm not proud of it but I stayed in my room crying and sniffling until she went out again tonight, then I came to the parlour, put the Tv on mute and began scheming.

I might be a little naive but I wasn't a fool. I knew the dynamics of our relationship had changed. I was no longer the little girl she gave advice and sex tips anymore, I probably had more money than she had right this moment and she couldn't believe and understand it. Neither could I
But one thing I was sure of, what happened that morning wouldn't be the last time that much I was sure of. I had been walking on egg shells for weeks and the first crack that morning had deeply hurt my pride. Which brought me to my decision. I had to leave Fifi. Stay on my own, get my own place.

But how? I had to live on the island or really close to it and a self-con in the locations I had in mind would cost anything from 500k - 2million naira. Not to talk of furnishing.

Hmmmm.......what to do? I didn't want to stay with Fifi till I could comfortably rent my own place but it was looking like that was the only choice I had. That is if she didn't kill me first.

What of Mr Doings? I thought suddenly. That was an angle to explore, I could ask him to help me get a place......yeah that could work. Afterall he was always saying things like he'd do anything for me and give me the world. I usually never really took it too deep but the Fifi's slaps must have reset something cause now that I really took my time to think about it, I realized that he really would do anything for me. What did Fifi say the other day, "I wish I had a big fish in my pocket like you." I don't know what it was, whether love, infatuation or obsession, maybe a combination of all 3, but somehow I had managed to get Mr. D without even trying to get him or being aware.

My phone gave a shrill beep, invading my sinister thoughts.

"Speak of the devil...." I smiled as I answered the devil.

"Oh Jess love, I had a really stressful day flying in a helicopter all day from one point to another but all I could think of was you...."

"Baby I miss you too....I can't wait for the weekend. I'll be wearing the teddy you got for me"

"Oh sweet Jesus. Jessy I fucking love you-"

That made me smile for the first time that day and I suddenly felt more confident, felt more mature. And what's more, I felt in control and I made my decision on the spot. I knew what I wanted and so help me God I was going to go for it.

Mr D was apparently very busy during the week collecting whatever it was he collected and he only had his weekends available for me. That had been the terms he had laid out and I had accepted all too eagerly.

But now for the first time ever I made the request. I made the first move.

"Baby," I interrupted him in mid sentence as he was talking about what he had planned for the weekend. "I want to see you tonight. I want to see you right now"

"is anything wrong, are you okay?" he sounded worried and I smiled a little manipulative smile. Wow, this was easy.

"I miss you too much, I can't wait till Saturday."

"But babe you know i'm really swamped, it's already Thursday. I have somewhere I have to be very early tomorrow, I planned to go to bed after hearing your voice."

"So what are you saying? You don't want to see me?" My voice was a mixture of sadness, disappointment and anger. I loved it.

"arrrrrrgh....errrrrrrmmmm......hmmmmmm......you know if I had my way I'll see you everyday. Eh my love"

I remained silent.

"My love?.......okay , okay....I guess we can make it work. Let me make some calls, my driver will come pick you in 30 mins and bring you to Bohemian Blue Hotel. I'll be in our usual suite."

"ooh baby you're the best, love you." I purred into the receiver.

I fingered the strands of my Brazilian hair as I thought of my plan. It was quite straight forward, I was going to give him a good massage, Bleep his brains out and I was going to get my house. Oh yes.

There was a confident spring in my step as I went to the bathroom to wash up and get ready. I knew just what to wear. Fifi had said I was going to be badder than her. I was going to show her just how bad.

Chapter 3

FUOYO

Sink Or Swim

Whoever said yahoo was easy told a big lie. I don't know what I really expected at first, but the first full month I started 'hustling' with Shaq was a living hell. Imagine staying up all night sitting in a fishing boat, casting a wide but torn net into a shallow river. Most of the fishes you pull up are no good, some are just out to waste time, others have already been scarred and wiser to your fishing antics, but if you're lucky enough and hardworking enough and play your cards well, you just might catch a nice big fish, rich enough and in love enough to oblige your frequent financial requests. This was the goal.

Shaq was a rare kind of yahoo boy. He seemed to have principles,
"I live by 3 rules..." he told me, "3 golden rules....if you stick to them, me and you will get along just fine and you'll cashout better block sooner or later;
1, you either involve God or you involve the devil. There's no sitting on the fence in this business. Me I go to church every Sunday, I pray first thing every morning and every night before bed. I read the psalms when I can, this life is not just about hustling, the main thing is seeing results. You must hustle with the belief that you have grace and activate that grace if you want to have a fruitful hustle. But if you want to go and wash your head in shrine or start eating shit and all those rubbish, I wish you all the best but not in my home bro"

I was flabberghasted but I nodded.

"number 2, never rip off your hommie. Any business you run with someone, always make sure you fulfil your end and the person sees something from it, even if it's the least money you can deliver, do it for the sake of future deals. I'm saying this cause when better money gets involved now, it will bring out your greedy side, especially since owu don dey give you over 2.5 since" he broke off laughing and I chuckled.

"no mind me jare," he became serious again. "Okay finally number 3; there has to be blood in your eyes, as in you have to be relentless. Can you keep hustling for months with nothing to show for it until you catch the perfect fish? See forget all these long talk you hear about G, all you need is to catch one person that can change your life. Just one! But first you need to be hungry." He stared long and hard into my eyes, "are you hungry?"

"oh I'm hungry bro, i'm very hungry"

"Good"

:::
Shaq already had two children from 2 different women, he was also a very chronic mama's boy. I mean his mom called him almost every night and he drove to go see her every weekend. Now that I think of it, I guess he was able to lead a somewhat stable life because of the considerable influence his mother still wielded over him. I mean Shaq had millions sitting in his account, yet preferred to spend friday and saturday night at home, drinking booze, smoking skunk and playing call of duty on his playstation.

As for me? oh...just wait till I get this money first. I was going to ball, as in the highest kind of balling, I was going to conquer Lagos, Bleep fine girls, classic babes, bad bitches, I was already handsome I just needed the freshness that came with money.

I sighed and shook the thoughts out of my head. 3 weeks 4 days gone and nothing to show yet. Shaq kept telling me, "remember, be relentless...nothing comes easy. Or do you think it's easy to scam a rational person. We're talking about emotional manipulation here, it doesn't happen overnight. You either sink or swim, the choice is yours"

"I know, I know...but you nko? I don't see you chatting with anybody iht after night..." I sighed. To tell the truth Shaq hardly ever did anything. He had gotten to Godfather status now and he had dozens of younger and even older boys who were under him. He put them through, gave them instructions and tools and they put in the work while he picked up the money and collected his generous cut. And no matter how we looked at it, I was also one of his boys now. The only difference was I had friends status and lived in his house and drove his car.

Shaq scoffed at my comment, and the way he looked at me made me think he had been privy to my thoughts. "Do you know when I started bombing? Since secondary school I've been hustling, that's almost a decade now. You're even privileged, there's unlimited data in this house, laptop dey, phone dey, there's good food, even alcohol. You can't compare yourself to me right now bro. Where were you those days of saving money all week just to treck to Eric Moore and use cyber cafe for 1 hour?"

After his reprimand, I felt a fire begin to burn in my belly and over the next weeks, I practically threw myself into my catfish profile. I put in all my mental capacity (if it was worth much), my emotions, I invested myself totally in the life. My girlfriend broke up with me saying I had become emotionally unavailable and I couldn't care less. I basically became the phony profile I had created and over the coming days I got more replies.

Great! I pulled up my net but there was nothing of note, most of the women seemed to sense the profile was fake and they either stopped responding or blocked me. But this time I didn't get frustrated, I got hungrier and became a nocturnal animal. Sleeping all day, pressing all night.

:::
Every yahoo boy has one prayer, that is, to catch one sure client. That's what keeps the hungry ones going, even after running into brick walls of disappointment, time and time again. This was what kept me going, and the fact that Shaq was kind enough to let his own generous cuts from his many working boys trickle into my hands and so I wasn't outright broke and could afford to send my mother some little money every week. It wasn't much but she was grateful I was sending her something from my salary and still saving on the side, plus I kept assuring her I was going to get promoted and get a huge salary raise anytime soon from my phony job. So I kept grinding or as Shaq called it, 'hustliiiiiing'

It was in the 11th week I met Lori Mau. Lori was a medical doctor, in her late fifties, she had been widowed for 18 years and was tired of being alone. Her daughter Stacy had married an European and so she only got to see her grandchildren during the holidays. Probably feeling a little guilt about how lonely her mother was, Stacy persuaded her to try out an elite dating site for the elderly.

After weeks of continuous hounding from her daughter, Lori gave in and opened a profile. On her 4th day on the site, she received a message; "Hello, you have the prettiest eyes"

"Thanks" she replied. Curious, she clicked on the thumbnail and checked out the profile. She liked his name; Josh Ince. She spent a couple of minutes going through the colourful pictures on his profile and who could blame her? Josh was a handsome middle aged man, with blue eyes and a dreamy smile. He had a couple of pictures with a young teen who looked a lot like him and a picture with a cat. Lori loved that one the most, she thought he looked so sweet, snuggled in bed with the cat, and for the first time in a long time, Lori felt a kind of longing in her heart.

His bio was also very interesting. He was a sea-search and rescue Helicopter pilot. "Wow," She was quite breathless as she scanned his info and when she heard the notification of an incoming message from him, she smiled and felt her heart race.

Lori spent 3 hours chatting on her laptop with her new admirer. When she finally had to call it a night, she gave him her number and Josh promised to call the next day. She stayed up an extra 30 minutes, rereading all the messages and smiling like a little girl. She went to bed feeling happy and hopeful.

::
Somewhere in Lagos, a young man of 22 logged off his laptop and glanced at the wall clock. The time read; 5:18am. He gazed into space for some seconds then smiled and pumped his fist in the air. His name wasn't Josh, it was.....you guessed it, yours truly.

::::::::::
KANAKU

Anger Issues

Life as a thug is hard. Although there are different seasons with different opportunities which you have to recognize or be smart enough to create, but the truth is that in the long run, the struggle is real. I like to believe I'm well feared from Mushin to Shitta and this respect has its own perks, like I could always expect to get weed for free and I'm assured of taxing at least one or two people to take care of my bread and beans breakfast plus jedi and cigga.

"Mtcheeeew"
lately I had been sighing and frowning a lot but can you blame me? Decades hustling in these godforsaken streets and what did I have to show for it? everyday a new scheme to survive, to earn small money that didn't even last. The hole digging had worked perfectly fine the other day. I think the three of us had made abaout 7k each, but then, we got to do it only once in a while cause the weather conditions had to be just perfect with the perfect amount of rainfall before Isa did the digging, that was the only way the cars could get stuck.

Apart from similar schemes the other way I made money in the street was by good old fashion intimidation.

There was good money in the streets even if it was change, but it was easy come, easier go. You see, I have a daughter, she was just 7 months and her mother, the ever stubborn Barakat had decided it was her life calling to nag me to death until I "did the right thing and married her" She just refused to understand that I had no plans of settling down anytime soon. I could imagine it; the great kanaku, self acclaimed lord of the streets now a loving husband and father. Hahaha, no one would fear me again for sure.

It was fine just like this, Barakat and I had been practically living together before she even got pregnant, why complicate things and add a ring? I liked life with her and the baby just fine but the only problem is she had decided to punish me by constantly milking every little money I have to always buy something urgently for the baby. It's always urgent, and God help me if I failed to give her, I won't be able to rest, and when she starts shouting, Ruki will always start crying, and she knew my daughter was the most important thing in my life and I will always do my part and provide.

Which is why I was always angry these days. The small change that used to be enough wasn't cutting it anymore. In fact the small change alone was diaper money these days. I still had to hustle for formula money, clothes money, drug money. And trust Barakat, since I refused to give her what she really wanted, she made damn well sure to collect whatever baby money she asked for. Ask me what she was doing with her life apart from making my life a living hell? I wonder. She's supposed to be a "very good hair stylist." Once in a blue moon, a customer comes to the house....my house, they gist, eat my food, watch my tv and then she finally plaits her hair.

I was so cranky I decided to head to the bus park instead of going home.

It was at the bus park I saw the Jjc. It's never hard to spot a jjc, some of them try their best to hide it but if you scrutinize them long enough you'll notice the signs; they never maintain eye contact, they are always restless and they're always unfamiliar with the hood usually cause they don't go out much. This particular jjc had shades on to cover his eyes and was dressed in carrot jean and some fancy footwear. His swag was complete up to the durag and down to his airpods. I had a category for his type, I called them ice cream boys and they were my favourite type of jjc's. How? Just observe;

"Fine boy, wettin you dey find?" I barked out from outside Isa's shop where I had been sitting and observing the young fellow. It was obvious he wanted something and I could guess what it was. He looked at me then hurriedly took some relieved steps forward. Merche' the vulcanizer idly observed me from his tree spot prepared for the show since business was slow today.

"weldone bros...please, abeg I dey find...I want buy...errrm arizona"

"How many you wan buy?" I asked.

"Please I need 1k"

I stretched out my hand and he brought out one thousand naira note which I immediately squeezed in my palm. "Suleiman" I called out

My unofficial right hand man appeared in a flash. He was never too far away.

Now I could predict what will happen next all too clearly ; "Take this 1k, collect AZ from Baba for this young man, sharp sharp"
"sure tin egbon," Suleimon would take the money and dissapear and bring the weed and I'll give the kid and say; "make I hold something for here," or maybe ask; "you no go buy our own?"
Either way, maybe he'll drop 5hundred, maybe 1k, then I give suleiman 40% for his troubles. So I go home with how much? I had SmA gold on my mind, frisocreme on my mind, pampers on my mind, lots and lots of pampers. For such small creatures, babies pooped a whole lot.

Unsatisfied with the scenerio, I shook my head and pocketed the 1 thousand naira. "first things first..." Suleimon was looking at me expectantly, ready to follow any direction I play it.

I noticed the jjc move from side to side from the corner of my eye, restless. Perfect.

"Suleimon them dey sell weed for here?"

"no officer"

Hahahaha crazy Suleimon called me officer

I looked at the boy, "do you know who I am? you want to buy Arizona from soldier, you will explain yourself in the barracks,"

Normally the boy wouldn't believe this crap, not with my bushy goatie and casual but terrifying face, heck I was even wearing a faded small Pasuma concert t-shirt but then again he had no choice than to believe because he didn't have the balls to challenge this bullshit I'm feeding him. You see how this works? it's all about guts, and if you wanna go far in the streets, you have to learn to say no or else vultures like myself would hustle you to the ground.

I ended up cleaning the boy out of extra 3k. Of course he got his weed, I'm not heartless. Sule got 1k and I went home with 2k, which entered Barakat's claws not long after.

Still it's important to always turn it around and become friends with these people, when you hustle someone once in the streets, you make him your friend. That's because no one likes to be taken a fool for long. Even a coward will fight back after a while. That's why you see crooked police exchange contacts and tell you to call them if you run into trouble, after they finish extorting you.

Same thing happens on the street. After everything I did to him, we smoked one of the 10 wraps and I gave him my phone number. "if anybody bother you on this street, just find me come. You be sure boy, oya na ma guy!"

I found out his name was Jackson and he was lodged in a hotel close by. He had asked around discreetly and been told he could buy dope at the motor park.

I saw him like three more times after that day and always taxed him continuously while reminding him I was now in his corner.

Back at home I had figured out a simple recipe that worked and reduced all the nagging.

Barakat couldn't complain about anything if the baby was asleep because my small apartment carried voices through the thin walls. So anytime she was about to throw a tantrum or complain about something, I always stopped her with, "shh, the baby's sleeping"

And my little girl was just like her old man, she didn't like stress. She just wanted to eat, sleep, play with her fish chewy toy, have a fresh change of diapers and sleep some more. So you see, all my street scheming, intimidation tricks, scowling and frowning and even at times fighting is just to make sure my baby girl is comfortable, cause when she's comfortable I get a little peace.

::::::::::

Mr. Doings


JECINCTA




"His name is Mr Doings, he is really rich, like super rich, but he likes his things coded which is understandable because of his position...."

"Mr doings? what kind of name is that?" I interrupted her

Fifi giggled, "oh funny! his real name is one Brian something but he likes me to call him mister doings"

I was still a bit confused, "What does it mean?"

"it means he has doings now, according to him, if money was a verb it'll be called doings..hahaha, don't worry you'll see what I mean....just let him enjoy you, once he likes you, he'll spoil you with so much unimaginable things"

It was exactly 4 days since our first discussion, Fifi was prepping me up for my date with Mr Brian something, (I couldn't bring myself to call him Mr Doings)

An uber was going to drive me to an exclusive 5 star hotel where he'll be waiting, then we'll have dinner. From there it was either to the room for the night or we could go clubbing first, it depended on his mood.

"hmmm....for someone that you say likes to stay coded he sure likes to enjoy o" I observed

"babe believe me you'll come and thank me tomorrow, oya come let's decide on what you'll wear...this gown is short and the front brings out your boobs well, but this crop top won't be bad, your cute bellybutton will just drive him nuts"

"abeg o fifi..." I couldn't stop my pulse from racing as I considered the line I was about to cross... but then again; what was the big deal? not like you're the first or only girl to do this, what the hell is wrong with you sef?
Somehow Fifi's scolding voice had managed to end up in my head and it seemed to have retired my conscience of late.

I chose the gown, my belly button was too sensitive.


:::::::
I had never been to a supposed 5 star restaurant or hotel before and I was in for quite a shock when the driver pulled up at the curb and hurriedly turned around to open my door.
"oh it's not necessary," I opened the door before he could get round the hood. Then he did one better and hurried to the restaurant door, holding the elegant glass handles open for me.

I shook my head but smiled. Luckily there was no one around to view the embarrasing scene. As I walked through the doors, I wondered why that was so, at the very least there would be a doorman? The restaurant was in a totally different wing from the very popular hotel and stood on its own, surely there'll be other guests having dinner, other cars in the lots.....but everywhere was empty.

Inside was beautiful, colourful chandeliers hung from mirrored ceilings, the red carpet was spotless and the tablecloth had symmetric patterns that went with the huge curtains on the wall beside the giant ac units.

All the tables were empty, the chairs were faced down like the restaurant was closed but the a/c was on and soft music was playing from two small speakers on the ceiling. I liked the song playing; Dido-life for rent.

Finally I spotted him at the very last table on the last row. Actually I noticed the red glow of a cigarette first before recognizing the refined looking older man smoking the cuban. He looked cool and even though I didn't know much about men's suite it was obvious his was pretty expensive. He signaled me with his index finger, which on getting closer I noticed was perfectly manicured and stuffed in a golden lion head ring. He said nothing for some seconds, just stared at me intensely with a kind of awed look in his eye, then he gestured for me to sit, "please dear, have a sit"

Somehow his voice wasn't what I had expected. I guess he looked so alpha that I had expected him to have a deep baritone that would somehow resonate the power he seemed to effortlessly exclude. Instead he had a kind of high pitch, almost like he didn't have an Adam's apple. The thought made me smile, and he seemed to take the smile in good faith cause he smiled too.

I sat down and he offered his hand.

"Sweetheart, nice to meet you. I'm mister Doings"

I clasped his hand in mine, they were cold.

"I'm Jessy," I offered sweetly. Did he just seriously introduce himself as Mr doings?

"Oh you look lovely, I hope you like the privacy I arranged" He gestured his left hand across the empty dining room holding the Cuban cigar with so much ease

I gazed around "oh my...."

"yes love...now let's look at our menu while you tell me all about yourself okay." He finally released my hand and raised what seemed to be a glass of red wine to his lips. "Would you like a drink?"

"wa-water is fine"

"fair enough, but I must insist you join me on a glass during dinner, it sets the mood for more intimate conversation" He flashed what he obviously considered a charming smile.

He took a sip then tapped the side of the glass cup with his ring as if expecting a magic menu to pop out of the air and I kind of braced myself cause there was a kind of confident aura about him. This was a man used to having his way.

After a couple of seconds, a waiter approached from behind the restaurant holding two menus. I ordered the samosa rolls, roast lamb with fries and potato salad and a slice of chocolate cake for dessert. He went for the seafood special and snail sauce with a side helping of Ofada rice.

The waiter retreated wordlessly and Mr Doings smiled at me, "So Jessy, Fifi tells me you want to study accounting?"

"Yes sir"

"Oh please drop that sir nonsense, you call me Mr D or baby," he winked at me

I decided to go with the flow, "yes baby"

That seemed to please him more. "accounting is good, that's really good, we need more accountants in this unaccountable part of the world" he chuckled

"how about you baby, Fifi says you're a bank ceo?" I asked him

The question seemed to throw him off guard but he laughed it off, "oooh I like that, you're a curious one eh?"

I smiled sweetly, wondering if that was all the reply I was going to get.

He took a long drag of his cigga then said, "I collect things"

"Oh...."

The waiter reappeared, pushing a trolley of some sort, he put a second bottle of wine on the table, along with a carton of juice and some bottles of water. My small chops followed next in a sealed saucer and he gave a half bow and retreated as noiselessly as he had come.

When we were alone once more I asked, "what kind of things?"

He looked into my eyes and smiled, "interesting things"

That was all he told me about himself, on the other hand he wanted to find out all about me. We spent most of dinner talking about my life; where I was from, about my parents, down to my likes and dislikes and then he got a little explicit and sexual with his comments.

I had decided that Mr Doings had a little drinking problem. The wine and cigar were his appetizer and main dish. The rice and snail stew was more like dessert, judging by the few spoons he took. Then he was back to drinking again. Still he drank with a rare kind of class, it will make it hard to call him a drunkard. Maybe cause he wasn't drinking whiskey or rum or spirit, or beer but kept taking small sips of his red wine and smoking his cigar. By the time dinner was over, The two bottles had been cleaned out and I had barely finished my glass. Still I decided I had a nice time, the food was wonderful and despite his all too prying, intimate and at times sexual questions, Mr Doings seemed alright, a little mysterious but I guess it added to the charm.

Finally dinner was over and he brought out his phone. "Bring the car out front"

"Oh....I thought you were lodged here?" I asked

He smiled at me, his speech was a bit slurred, still he gave the impression that he was tipsy, not drunk. "oh I am but you're so fucking innocent and sexy I changed my mind. I want you for the weekend, we'll go to one of my favorite suites on the island, it's a penthouse and we'll have a private time, just you and I"

"but sir I'm sorry, I have to be at work tomorrow"

"tomorrow is saturday" he reminded me

"yes sir, I work at the mall"

"oh, nonsense...forget work my dear" Then he said something every girl, no, everyone likes to hear. "call your account number"

I rattled off the 10 digits automatically, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible and almost immediately I felt my phone vibrate in my purse.

"That's a little something just to show you how serious I am. now let's go. Thaddeus has already brought the car"

"I'll like to use the bathroom first" I told him
Two things; I had to call Fifi cause this wasn't the agreement we had made and even though she'd vouched Mr Doings wasn't a freak or anything, his change of plans still made me a little uneasy. A weekend was either too long or too short, depending on who you were stuck with and filthy rich or not, I had just met the man.

The second thing was I had to check how much had just entered my account. My available balance was ingrained in my memory; 4,891.

In the toilet I gave a shocked gasp. I was 150k richer. Just like that? My 6 months salary earned already?

Well not yet earned, you're obviously in for a long night. I sighed, that's it Fifi's voice had to go.

Chapter 2
The G Club


FUOYO

We lived in a boy's-quarter apartment behind our Landlord's huge mansion. Back when I was in Secondary school I always got girls in my school to believe my family owned the huge white house which towered over the high fence but had a fierce dog that roamed the compound so they couldn't come inside. As I walked down the street reminiscing, I realized nothing had really changed since I left for camp a year ago. The same shops and the same pharmacy still lined up both sides of the street, my barber friend's 'Bassey Cuts' barbing saloon was still blasting music loudly as usual, this time an old Tuface mix.

I'll never forget how uncertain I felt walking down my street, rolling my travelling box with one hand and dragging my huge Ghana must Go sack with the other, the question that had been plaguing me since the terrible bus ride still continued to weigh heavy on me.
What now?

I had to explore my options as slim as they looked, I could get lucky and find a job, it can't be that bad....things will surely brighten up I told myself as I pushed open the gate and entered the compound.
I didn't tell anyone I was coming home today and I quickly dropped my baggage (pun intended) at the door and wore a big smile, wore my khaki cap or headdress as they made us call it in camp and marched into the house like a soldier. 10 minutes later there were happy squeals from my mom and siblings as I made mock salutes and told them made up tales about my service year.

:::
Later that night my mom called me to the parlour. I already knew what she would say next, I knew her too well and anytime she was worried about something her eyes betrayed her easily.

"fuoyo so what's your next step?" She asked after I had taken a seat

I had my reply ready; "mum I'm just waiting expectantly for good news, I attended a lot of interviews and sent my cv's to some good companies before I came home. By God's grace I'll hear feedback"

"Amen"

I saw she didn't still look convinced and a long talk about my chances of securing a good job was incoming so I quickly added, "Also there's this close friend of mine, his uncle is the head of HR in a....errm....firm and he promised to talk to his uncle on my behalf, I'll call him tomorrow to find out."

"Oluwa ma se' loruko Jesu" (God will do it in Jesus name)

"Amin ma"

::::::::
The next day I spent a couple of minutes debating on what to say to my friend on the phone.

Yes there really was a friend but no, there was no uncle and there was no firm and definitely no HR department. My friend's name was Tobey but everyone called him Shaq cause he was similar to the ex Lakers basketballer in body build. He was at least 6'4 and anything but lanky. The funny thing about our friendship was we both went to the same school but never really knew ourselves cause we rolled with entirely different cliques. He played basketball while I played football, He was in business while I was in science department, we shook hands and bumped shoulders whenever we met at the cafeteria or school hall but that was about it.

Then a year ago we both got posted to Kogi state and ended up in the same platoon and the same hostel and overnight we became best of friends. We spent lights out lying on our bunk beds in camp, reminiscing about our school days and mutual friends and wondering how come we were never close back then. Shaq was very generous and I never had to eat the poorly cooked camp food cause thankfully he was there to foot my maami market meals. It became pretty obvious he'd come to camp loaded with cash but it wasn't till the third and final week of camp I found out Shaq was a yahoo boy, well to be fair he hated the word; 'yahoo' according to him every Tom Dick and Harry was a yahoo boy nowadays. He seemed to prefer the term G boy.

We were chilling at our usual hangout in the maami market when the beagle sounded instructing us to go collect our bicycle allowance. The corpers around us had enthusiastically skipped off to the collection points and I was also excited but Shaq had other plans.
"just imagine, see how people are rushing to go and queue under this hot sun all because of how much?" He said disgustedly and I shifted uncomfortably in my chair, having come within a second of joining them.

"I now remember why we didn't talk for four years, you're snobbish" I accused

"call it whatever you want but i'm right, most of these people will use the money to sort their outstanding debts in maami market, and drink the rest away then they start begging around urgently for 2k until allawee start to enter. allawee wey no fit buy my nike slides" he snickered

"ehen? but guy come first on a serious note, which work you dey do?" I was a little more than curious.

He laughed long and hard, "yeye guy, so all of a sudden you want to know ba? because i've pricked your conscience. Abeg go and collect your allowance o, I no hold you"

I pestered him some more until he finally opened up to me. "Guy if you're really interested in my work, throw your android phone away and get an iphone, then come and learn work"

"but which work? you won't even tell me what it is"

"have you heard of dating?" he watched me closely

I nodded, "you mean yahoo?"

He took offence to that. "Did you hear anything like yahoo from my mouth? when you're serious do what I asked you then hit me up. If you get ororo for head atleast within 6 months of dedicated hustle with me money suppose touch your hand"

I laughed and changed the topic after a while. "oya big shark like you....you go do me sharwarma and declare beer for my head tonight abeg"

He just smiled and after a while I stood up and joined the reduced queue for my 19,500.

Camp had been fun. Everyday Shaq and I shut down maami market, and Shaq spent a fortune. Every night was a party, the soldiers would drink and switch from their daytime crazy strict to more jovial characters, the girls loved us and were always around us and guys hailed us. It was easy to enjoy it all and forget or ignore the fact that my pal was a G boy.

Then camp was over and the real work started, Shaq and I were surprisingly also posted to the same local government but Shaq ghosted, he cut a deal with the L.I and even had his certificate mailed to him so he returned to Lagos and never had to step foot in the community we had been posted.

Over time I immersed myself in my activities, determined to enjoy my service year to the fullest, and I sure did and it was easy to forget my little discussion with Shaq and I held on tight to my android phone, it was a samsung afterall.

11 months later I was sitting on a bench in my compound, back in Lagos and facing a little moral dilemma before I embarked on the point of no return. I dialed his number thinking I'll finally have to have that phone swap we talked about.

The conversation was unexpectedly short; "Hahahahahahahahaha so allawee don finish, owu don blow you now you wan hustle?" He laughed once I made my intentions known

"guy I dey serious, I don buy iphone 7 already, make I come your side?"

"no not yet...do these 3 things first let me know you're really serious, first scout online for the profile of a handsome middleged white gentleman, get as many pictures as you can get, then get a vpn login....you know what? I no fit shout I go text you the details for whatsapp."

"okay, thanks man"

"welcome to the club ma G"

EkopSparoAyara:
Fuoyo has lived his life in truancy, cared less about the future. The aftermath of his youthful exuberancies are staring at him in the face.. Finished school and gone to service at age 22, yet nothing to show for it, no good plans.. Will he come back to the right track or will he continue being wasteful? We will know soon.


Jecinta, oh Jecinta, the almost innocent girl is about to be introduced into the destructive world of prostitution, she has overestimated the short term benefits and underestimated the long term nemesis..If only she knows what the future holds..


Kanaku, the street thug on the other hand is feeding off on people's pains, that is parasitic.. He has forgotten that he who digs a pit will one day fall into it.. Karma respects nobody.

All of this just to secure the bag, I await as the story unveils..


BRAVO SOULOHO19

The great Sparrow himself, your surmise got me smiling sheepishly already. Glad to have you onboard bro

Igyeseh:

You didn't called me, but anywhere you go, there I will go. Your thread will be my thread, your post will be my source of joy.

Welcome back brother.
Always remember you have a staunch follower in me.

pardon the omission my boss, it's a privilege to have you on board

extremelygolden:
Glad to hear from you, Souloho. Happy New Year.

Thank God you're back now.

Please before starting another story, kindly round up this one. We, your ardent readers /fans have waited for too long.

Your inspiration is hereby commanded to return fully in Jesus Name, Amen.

Amen

iamL:
As a fan from your earliest days and first story I see no reason why you want to abandon this story. Finish this before another, we aren't rushing you to write another.

obicoolnino:
Honestly it won't feel right if u abandon this wonderful story of yours, we readers keep refreshing this page in hope u'll drop an update... Atleast finish this story b4 starting another and I pray u find that inspiration u're searching for.

I appreciate your feedback guys and I assure you abandoning this story isn't my intention, but reading your replies, I realized the least I can do for you guys is to close this chapter once and for all, cos you've been dedicated to this thread for about 3 yrs and didn't unfollow even when I was Awol. So I've decided to start writing the concluding chapter today, even if it's just 100 words a day till I get my flow back. And to clarify, the other story isn't all that new, about 60k words have been written and published on webnovel already which is about 70% of the novel volume, I just decided to post it on NL cause of the level of interaction we have here and I can be sure of a couple positive criticism. Jah bless

tillaman:
souloho19 my G!!
Been a while mate!
This is a new year present

it's been ages hommie!
a real privilege to have you here

anneboy02:
Nice 1 bro following bumper to bumper

chatinent:
In.

Nice to have you guys here

Roll call;

rchilee haryodejy EdmundAlma Ayoshewa meneski blueflowers HelenBee EkopsparoAyara Centitan labelle123 cerowo hidhris Horladstar vakjay08 charytea honourable356 DzTzl Ayoshewa joislim missnande nastynic jonsyn7154 moffat queenitee bigbauer shurley ceecane2 marvin906 Oroolorun Horladstar genius43 dview001 dupsai oroolorun charminee Ayoshewa12 genius43 vickyluvspices nifebabe skubido lildiamond chommieblaq fertilewomb Eberechi24 chii8 marischerry chisiudeh smileing Oluwakemi65 yemike ceecane2 Nostradamus SPDAZZY explosive04 Anno81 rchilee dimssy tenderblaze sexyolori phoenixchap Evaristomonarch Gracito mitchelljnr queenDD neurojosh phoenixchap WHOcarex Damibiz dimssy SleekHoyeen jupitre rayvelez labelle123 Twizzy30 iamL iamLoyalty princessadeola switkera marianlsy IRALIFE mRaRcH olaayinkha Agp19 joshnes heemah Nmaglit WAACUT nikz Nawtiblayse donnaD Opeade939 Kaycee9242 Godwinfury Ebonyqyeen001 ADECULATE adedolapo2017 UE=RANTAALLWELL afamjb paafin HazardMan Raingirl smhart1 silvertrinity bimberry1307 sussybae Beetunez44 mcjesuspikin Bleeze2 kpagoGIN Ann2012 cyndy1000 alarmednigerian pweetygiftofGod ladidacanon preshb mekonglobal mynet11 wizsolzy warfibabe Jazmiynne fatherjp segibambo pinkfeet Boywest1 matrycx WEALTH304 youngzubi talk2saintify oluwaseunliz tonyxxx adamsbadoo stevodot22 uchihaclassiq konphido paqman Dhemmyjay Mayorkay1 Patotelli okeyben10 uthman51 jeweltab enohorglo mcbliss samexdx ChizzyMaris Jumizie13 kunleAJ solomonbrown64 magicmeemee Toeyean1507 slimbless cylovee nkemdave Erudite202 Gotee11 donteanz samwobi pinkbae mariansly Mrintegrity247 coolie1 laraemi skyUrch Oluwahfemi seunfunmi18 RegArmani Elviswifey1 spixytinxy kechbeau Ariremako30 Evold shaydeenamz Amhappy Olalake preciousbouy PToretto mikeybrainy Doubleprof1 iamkingoludav phayth gabi98 jalo1 wonderz1 solly1 speakout03 mrsochy virtuedagirl stephenGee12 arrestdarrester wizsolzy FameG Iamabraham koligns mirej rowdymind do4luv14 classicman202 iamochyglows wonderz1 queenbetsy TeameeMoses cassbeat Teehsticckz bakeuhappy Dnimaa smooth278 chibestjerry Sunak mimilight paulohgirlie silensa Abelranking Honeydawealth MhisTahrah opalk xriah18 Riele Harmymy cameoluv chigozie1010 obicoolnino ladysunshine94 toyean1507 shekinah190 excelmerry crazo rapfrick khennykhay ifemism02 jenkvnq Asek1 ashiko9 Ebonyqueen001 Iamjaxx marycookie93 ratty03 hotswagg12 ChisomDgreatest winie chiprince007 hfinest1 emmyN HisGrace000001 princevirus Kimmiebabie Taniaa Akinz75 Destiny4fame uweminyang Elfaris benicta Aphroditee xeenoblack15 spyrodee Assurance1000 hardeybhayour slimynonny donblazer10 josipov Nathalya jellymusty vulcanheph ewaski welcome guys, we go again

::::::::
The Hole



KANAKU


"Heavy is the head that smokes weed with paper....oya Kanakun!! E file fuun!!" Suleimon lifted both hands up and stamped his feet like a soldier, praising me with his usual nonsense which always managed to draw a smile from me no matter my mood. And this morning I was in a very bad mood.

"Oya awon eleyin ma fa anything...twale egbon kanaku! I greet you!"

I gave him a thumbs up and immediately launched my usual, "make I see H for your hand na"

He automatically brought out fifty naira from his breast pocket and handed it over, "na white I hold egbon"

I nodded and signaled to iya Dada who sold jedi concoctions in white nylon bags. She hurried over, the Mushin bus park was now fully up and about and it wasn't even 7 yet.

"washing and setting abi?" she asked

I nodded stiffly, my face settling into its normal scowl, I didn't smile much, except when I was being hailed and eulogized in the street. In the streets, too much smiling would get you taken for granted.

I was pissed cause I was broke. I had just #150 in my pocket, which meant after my compulsory bread and beans breakfast by 8 I couldn't even buy one cigarette to wash it down. Sometimes the street was like a hole, the deeper you dug the deeper you got.

"mtcheew" I hissed

"egbon kanaku what happen na?" iya dada enquired lightly as she mixed two different dark liquids in a jug and poured a generous amount of the mixture into a nylon and tied the mouth expertly.

"Iya I dey find better money jare...better money. This country dey tire person"

"Kanaku you wey be big man" she smiled, handing me my drink.

"Abeg no dey whine me joor." I cut the edge of the nylon and drank a little. It was bitter as hell. I grimaced at the taste although my taste buds were all too accustomed to the bitter drink. I continued to squeeze my face as I drank slowly, looking across the road at the holes we had dug on the service lane immediately after the U-turn. The logic behind the holes was that any vehicle turning from the express lane and into the next major road would have to follow the service lane and encounter the wicked potholes.
On a busy Monday morning like this, at least before 12pm we would have helped push a couple of cars out of the holes and get paid some cash in return. For now we remained out of the way, on the bench outside Isa's shop, drinking jedi and smoking cigarettes.

"Isa you sure say you dig the sand well?" I asked Isa for the 10th time. Isa was a young vibrant Fulani man from Mali who was now probably more Nigerian than me.

"chei of course oga, phanaku......I use my hoe dig am por well" He smiled, showcasing his few remaining nicotine stained teeth and for the second time that morning I smiled a little, the expectation of getting some money had brightened my mood a bit. Isa was very efficient, he was the best at digging in the sand deep and wide so it looked like it was no big deal from a driver's perspective, until the back tires got stuck deep in the sand while he/she tried without luck to accelerate out of the hole. Sometimes we approached the car ourselves and offered to help, sometimes we let them call us, other times we pointed and laughed if they tried to push the car themselves or speed out of the fix but the truth is only 4 wheel-drives really had a chance.

I drank the rest of my drink and burped loudly, "okay now, make we dey wait"

:::::::
"You can't what?"


JECINCTA

"Omo Jessy you're my friend...no you're like my sister and I won't lie to you, you know I must tell you the truth"

Fifi got up from the bean chair and began pacing, a clear sign something big was on her mind, I instinctively shut the paper back novel I was reading and sat up, worriedly thinking of what she was going to say. True, I knew I didn't contribute enough for the monthly upkeep of the house and most of the bills were on her neck and I'd been expecting her to complain for a while now. Seeing her pace however, my heart began to beat fast. Was she going to send me packing, maybe replace me with another roommate?

".....The last three months I was like you're still settling down....but Jessy I can't take it anymore. This is Lagos o! you're not in the village anymore and you're not a child. You're 19 Jessy."

She sat down and looked at me. I'm guessing she could see the horror on my face as I was expecting her to give me a deadline to move out. But instead she said, "that supermarket you work is just wasting you. You're wasting away Jessy. Don't you know how beautiful you are? So many men have asked about you but I've been waiting, expecting you to take the initiative. I thought that maybe once you got settled and got a taste of the lifestyle you'll come and meet me to show you the way. But now I see that you're satisfied with your twenty-five thousand naira salary"

At first I was stunned...then relieved when I realized she wasn't going to send me packing. Then when she mentioned the men I started to panic a bit. It was no secret that Fifi was a high class runs girl. She literally stayed in shape from all her runs. But she had never breached the subject to me and I had even come to look at her as my elder sister...

"Jessy..." she placed a hand on my shoulder, "let me tell you, do you know with your figure and your face you can make your first million in a year, do you know how much I make every week? And i'm very very selective"

'But fifi...I can't..."

"you can't what, are you a vaargin?"

"no, I have a boyfriend back in Benue"

"ehen so what's the big deal? see, there's this particular man who's a big dog, he saw your picture on my status and he wants you...and when I say big dog I mean big-dawg with real mo-ney." She lifted her hand from my shoulder to rub her thumb and fingers together.

I stammered, "errm fifi..."

"Jessy trust me, this man will give you 100k just for a night and it's not like he's a freak or anything... I've been with him several times....he just likes head a lot," she giggled at my disgusted expression then frowned immediately. "What's wrong with you self, what are you forming holier than thou for? This is Lagos, how do you plan to survive without hustling...don't get me pissed oh!"

"No na I didn't say anything....okay who is he?" I was almost pleading at this point

"He's a top bank ceo, very fine gentleman...not too old, he's the one that bought me my latest iphone sef just for birthday gift..."

I took a minute to think of it, imagined myself in bed with this stranger and getting paid 100 thousand after, that was my 4 months salary, earned in one night!

"Let me see his picture," I said finally

"ehen babe now you're talking.....ah you're going to be a really bad bitch...badder than me...." she giggled, trying to make me laugh now that my eyes had a resigned look

I wasn't so sure if that was what I wanted, I thought of my boyfriend Abobo, it wasn't like we were the perfect couple or anything. He had cheated on me before and ever since he got admitted to Unijos he didn't even call or text me like he used to.

Of course I knew deep down I was already preparing little excuses to sooth my conscience if I chose to go ahead with it.

As Fifi handed me the phone and showed me a picture of an older man I already knew my choice, the 4 months salary in one night had long sealed it.

Chapter 1

RED DUST



FUOYO


The journey back to Lagos is one I would never forget for too many reasons. For one thing the condition of the bus was really terrible. The transport company had apparently played a fast one on us and put us in a faulty bus. The first sign of this was when the air conditioner began to turn to a heater barely 30 minutes into the journey. We had no choice but to roll down the windows or suffocate to death especially when we realized someone in the bus had a rotten stomach.... as in, really rotten.
Red dust occasionally surrounded the bus, forcing us to quickly roll up the windows and wait till we got to a more tarred road before rolling down again. But most of the road was un-tarred and the dust was a recurring problem plus rotten stomach kept releasing frequent gas, making me roll down my window once more; preferring to die by red dust.
To make matters worse, the bus was overloaded; travel bags and food-sacks were stashed here and there and even a goat was in the bus which made it impossible to stretch my legs fully...plus the bus broke down twice.
As you can guess the mood in the bus was foul, with plenty complaints and curses to the unknown messer but I remained quiet through out.

Staring out the window at the red dust, lost in my own world, plagued with the same question that had been disturbing me since the pass out parade three weeks ago.

What now?

What do I do with my life?

You know how it is when you attend school, graduate from the university, enjoy your youth service and the prestige of being called a 'corper' but then the moment you pass out, you suddenly realize you have no concrete plan for your life nor any safety net to fall back to.
Okay, obviously not you. I'm sure like most normal people you have your goals set down from the beginning, whether you plan to stop at a Bachelor's degree or go for your Masters or even pursue a Doctorate degree. Or at least you have a clear idea about the line of work you plan to contribute your labour quota.

But not me. You see, I went to school but my studies didn't come first, to me the university was a place to finally enjoy my freedom and catch fun and occasionally attend lectures. Nysc was a year long vacation in the middle belt, receiving monthly allowance and sowing wild oaths up and down, sleeping with corpers and indigenes alike.

But now it was over. I had my certificate in my bag and here I was, sitting in a terrible bus thinking of what to do with my life.
Do I start looking for a job? That didn't hold much promise cause even first class students were still roaming the streets not to talk of a 3rd mainland bridge holder like me. My degree was more or less useless....the ultimate culmination of 4 years of unseriousness.

Chai...

I'm going to be 22 in two months and all I had to my name was 40 thousand naira in my account. And I was going home to meet my widowed mother and two younger brothers.

For the first time in my life I began to feel the weight of the responsibility I was stepping up to. It was so heavy I could feel the pressure spreading in my chest.

As rotten stomach released another deadly gas and I rolled down my glass, I knew I had a messy path ahead of me and I had to hustle or become dust.

Guys this is just a heads up that I'll be taking a break from this story to focus on another, It doesn't feel right leaving this hanging at the latter stage especially when I could round it up with like 5k words at most, but its been 3 years now and I can't just bring myself to wrap this up...I know what to write, I've had the last concluding twist laid down in my mind for almost a year now, but I just don't feel inspired whenever I try to write and as a result my writing has really stagnated cause I wanted to finish this up before starting another...for the die hard readers that still kept commenting, I assure you this story is not abandoned, The ghost of Rex Obasi continues to hunt my imagination begging for closure and to know his true fate whether he's really dead or not, however I need to focus my creativity on a different kind of story right now. I've been writing it for a while now and feel inclined to share with you guys. I'll drop the link here soon.

Anigreat:






This is going to be a bomb!


Another crime story, fill with suspense loading.

Souloho ride on, i will be following

I welcome you officially my good man

Disclaimer: This work is 100% the imagination of the Author, any resemblance to people and/or events either living or dead is purely coincidental and unintentional

©souloho19*2021 - plagiarist please keep off

Dedicated to; Everyone of you readers, Jah bless



Synopsis;

A yahoo boy, A runs girl, A street Thug - 3 strangers going about their day to day hustle in the suburbs of Lagos witness a gruesome murder that will change their lives forever and put them on the hunt for a legendary treasure dating from precolonial Nigeria.

When they find themselves up against a powerful foe, the trio realize they must work as a team if they want to stay alive and who knows, maybe they could secure the bag.
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Note:

-Contains some explicit scenes of a sexual/violent nature and strong language


-Updates would be twice a week, every Wednesday and Sunday. Jah bless!!

Hi,
I was in a car accident few weeks back in Lagos ,and haven't been in the best state of mind to write anymore. I don't think I can conclude the story, at least not right now. I'm recovering fine and thank you for spurring my imagination and following my stories.

p.s: I'm fine and just thankful to be alive, Jah bless.

Kawo9ze:
Souloho19 pls come n continue pls!
Na gawd I use beg jhoor naw!

I dey with you bros

Nickshrapnel:
Rex is not dead

We’ll find out really soon...shady doctor Rasheed would tell us

:::::
Bami was half worried about the giant in the car who seemed vaguely familiar but he soon forgot about him as he fought against the swarming bodies into the hospital and ran up the stairs to the ward Andy had been admitted.
He rushed into the room and saw Andy from the corner of his eye, thank God he was okay,..but then he noticed the 2 doctors in the middle of the room trying to lift what was no doubt a body under a tarp on a stretcher" One of them looked extremely ashen, Bami noticed as he worriedly looked around for Jimoh. He hurried to Andy’s side. “Andy are you alright? Can you hear me?”

“Bami...My ears hurt so bad”

“I’m so sorry bro...I’m going to get you out of here...”

“Jimoh is gone....his face blew up...oh my God..." he began to sob and Bami felt his heart break.

"It’s alright...it’s going to be alright” Bami sat on the edge of the bed and tried to comfort his friend.
“It’s alright.....whoever did this is going to pay...I promise”

"Where’s Rex" Andy asked struggling to sit up. Bami swallowed, but apart from that he didn’t miss a beat. “Rex is in Benue. Can you move? let me get the wheelchair closer...we need to get out of here”

“It hurts but I can take it”

One of the doctors turned back to look at them. “Hey hey...where do you think you’re going? I've not cleared you”

"We’ll take our chances" Bami replied curtly, he remembered the man from the stationary car and he suddenly wanted to get out of the hospital...fast.

He didn’t see the man enter, he was so invested in getting Andy into the wheelchair as quickly and less painful as possible, it wasn’t until he heard the same doctor say, "Hey you shouldn't be here.." he glanced up and saw the same man he had seen earlier.

Up close he was like a Bull. Slim, almost tiny legs that somehow managed to balance a heavy torso and muscular frame.
He had broad shoulders so rocky, his shoulders were level with his ears and hard biceps that didn't need him to make a fist to become visible.
To cap it off, as if he wasn’t intimidating enough, he was freakishly tall. Had to be 6,4 at least.

“This dude would easily weigh times 3 of me and he’s not fat...he’s not fat....” Bami's mind was already going in alert mode with the realisation.

Andy on the other hand must have been feeling some lingering anaesthetics effect because he apparently wasn’t intimidated enough and said, “This guy looks..upside down...”
he squirmed a bit uneasily as dark cold eyes narrowed menacingly on him.

The little drama happened in no more than 5 seconds and the doctor who had spoken up before was still waiting for a reply, or to be acknowledged in the very least.

They finally got the body on the stretcher and he immediately rushed to stand before the intruder
"Hello...did you hear me? This area is sealed off...the police is coming, there’s a dead body here you need to-"

It happened so fast, Bami almost didn’t see his hand move. For such a heavy looking log of firewood disguised an arm, he sure moved it quickly.
He grabbed the doctor by the coat, seizing the syllable in his throat. "You get out of here if you don’t want to die"

"Wait...what?" Andy gasped

Both doctors ran out of the room with such speed..abandoning the body on the stretcher. The beast of a man glanced at the body under the tarp and smirked. “At least I got one...” Then he kicked the stretcher so hard, it rolled across the room and bounced off the wall, the body fell to the floor and rolled from under the tarp.

It was hideous. Bami retched and almost threw up in his mouth, looking away hurriedly. He caught the man smirking at him and cracking his knuckles, ready to beat them to death.

Bami had been kicking himself for leaving his gun in the gloved compartment of the car. The thought of going one on one against this man wasn’t pleasant in the very least. It seemed even impossible to contemplate but was there any other choice? He had to protect Andy...and protect himself too.
"Who are you? What do you want?”

"You break my heart! You mean my reputation doesn't precede me?" He placed his hand on his chest. “Well let me reintroduce myself before I cave your skull in. I’m the one man army the press nicknamed the unsleeping cell...aka Big foot!"

Bami snapped! ”Of course I knew it...I’ve seen your file...one time number 2 most wanted man in Nigeria, and wanted by Interpol till date...”

“Oh so my reputation does precede me...” he walked to the door and closed it shut.
Bami used the chance to move Andy as far away as possible to the other side of the bed. "Just stay here but be watchful, any chance you get you have to make a move for the door...can you do it?"
"No I can't Bami...it hurts to move myself...do you plan to fight him...he’s very huge.."

That wasn’t the morale boost Bami needed at that moment so he turned away, "just watch and make a move the first chance don’t worry about me.”

Big foot seemed to be down for the ceremony of it all, he didn’t rush Bami immediately but obliged him as both men circled each other slowly, sizing each other up. The sparkle in his eye said he humoured him. A tiger shark having a little fun with Dinner.
“Look at your bleeped up eyes...” he sneered at Bami, enjoying playing the part of antagonist.

Bami was privy to his thoughts and determined to prove him wrong. Still he didn’t make a move or lunge, he just remained out of reach from a first strike. The beast would have to step in for a second punch and hopefully he could counter.

Bami’s fighting style was a mixture of techniques built mainly on a defensive fighting style that employed quick and strong arm movement to perform blocks and counter strikes as well as strong flexible legs for close up kicks. The blueprint, based on an ancient kung fu style called wing Chun (also practiced by the infamous ip man)requires the elbows close to the body and arms positioned across the vitals, and 100 percent alertness and reflexes at all times

Bami readily employed his stance, both arms crisscrossed across his stomach, chest and face because he knew he had to protect his vitals as much as he could, if he were to survive the bout...not to talk of win it.
Big foot gave a yell and lunched his attack,
Swoooosh
Swoooosh
Swoooosh
3 quick fire punches. Bami backed away the first, backed away the second, but Big foot was well in range for the third and Bami was lucky to have it miss his head with inches, he heard the fist cut through air with a slice.

He returned a quick upper cut to the beast’s side, aiming for a kidney shot and brought up his elbows just in time to block a head shot...The punch bounced off his arm and the pain shot through his whole hand immediately....he staggered.

Just one blow and he felt his arm would break already....and yet he didn’t have enough time to catch a breath, Big foot was coming after him throwing another punch which he had no option but to block yet again and take the pain. He saw from the corner of his eye that Andy had moved round the bed and was slowly and painfully making his way to the door. It gave him hope and he used his right hand to land a clean right cross across big foot’s face.
It made the beast stagger a little bit and he glanced at Andy trying to painfully move himself across the room.
“Haha I know you’re thinking you can keep me engaged and have your friend escape...let me show you just how futile that is....let me end all hope"
He charged at Bami with a barrage of punches but Bami was ready. He made a clean leap and used both feet to plant a deadly kick to Big foot’s chest.
All that stress and trouble and big foot only staggered a little, he didn’t even clutch his chest, but instead charged at Bami again.
Bami scrambled to his feet and put his arms up, but big foot punched his hands down. And when the first fist connected with his jaw, he fell backwards....fighting to remain on his feet and desperately trying not to lose consciousness.
Big foot followed him up, giving him a nice shove with his feet to help him get down easier. Then he sat across him and grabbed him by his throat.

"I’m gonna make your eyes pop out of your skull...I’m gonna squeeze until your face goes purple and your brain pops out of your ears...you interfering little prick!.....I’m gonna squash your head like a big tomato...your brain is gonna make a paste on this floor...just like your buddy on the floor here....and I’m gonna.....” he stopped immediately and whirled around...his ears picked up a sound, Andy had opened the door.

Big foot hurriedly got off Bami and lunged after him. “Oh no you don’t get to escape...you soiled my clean record you bastard”

Bami struggled to breathe. For a second he couldn’t feel any pain....his whole face was numb, he knew his throat was raw and on fire but he couldn’t feel the pain, only knew his throat was killing him. The only thing he was aware of at that point was that Bigelow was charging at Andy.

Bami struggled to his knees he glanced around in despair...searching for anything, a weapon...something! His eyes fell on Jimoh’s corpse. The assistant wasn’t a gun carrying type, even now, the faceless corpse was still smartly dressed in a sweatvest and slacks.
Jimoh didn’t carry guns, he carried pens...
Pens...strong fountain pens.
Bami scrambled to the corpse and dug into the pocket immediately. He found a glass point fountain pen clipped to his right pocket. Jimoh always carried two different Inks, blue and black...he knew this.....he knew this....yes! He found another one....a metal point pen clipped to his back pocket.
Rest in peace bro...his heart bled for Rex’s assistant and he perceived in that moment he was going to kill big foot with it.

He heard the door slam and grabbed both pens....his left hand was numb with pain and moved slow so he sensed it was basically useless. Luckily, right hand was still mostly unhurt.

“I’m going to make you wish you died with the reporter slut” Big foot shouted as he grabbed Andy back into the room roughly.

“Bleep you! You killed her...” Andy’s voice was hoarse and pained...he was devastated about the reporter’s death and enraged yet he couldn’t do anything. He had exerted all his strength and threshold for pain making his way across the room earlier.

Big foot cut him off with a slap. He wrapped his big hands round Bami’s face, blocking his mouth and clamping his nostrils with his thumb and forefinger.

“There’s something terribly intimate about snuffing the life out of someone...At that very moment I own the breath you need, if I don’t want you breathing, I seize your supply and you die...don’t you see now...I’m your god...It could be addicting doing this....but not as addictive as watching things burn...”
His eyes narrowed and he let Andy go immediately, spinning around on his heels and catching Bami’s hand just inches from his face where the sharp point of the glass ink had been heading for his eye.

“You’re terribly slow, I doubt this stuff would even pierce me with how slow you swing...what are you a cripple....oooh...I hurt your hand didn’t I?”
He twisted the pen out of Bami’s hand, snapping his wrist. “Let me really show you hurt...” He sneered sadistically and held him with both hands, intending to break Bami’s hand like a piece of wood or something more horrific. But he unwittingly provided Bami with the opening he had been going for. His throat was exposed from this angle, and he dug into his back pocket with his free hand....his right hand which still functioned very okay and moved with lightening speed.
He grabbed the fountain pen and with all his strength drove the pen into Big foot’s neck.

::::::::
Somewhere in Benue...
Mynet went over the instructions again at the pharmacy. He had a flight booked to Abuja and from there, a long flight to the United States. Private Plane. Nice

He looked at the message details.
Received from one ‘Flacko’
For the first time ever the assassin wondered about the chain of command. Did hejust receive instructions on a device and go running to kill whoever they passed down to him? How far up did the messages go.
Hmmm...
He stroked his jaw and felt a pang in Bosnia’s chest as he remembered the way the old man had looked at him earlier as he drove past.
Such intense scrutiny...a grieving father recognising his son’s killer perhaps?


:::::::

Kirsten snooped round the house with her flashlight, it was still choky with thick black smoke and her eyes began to water immediately. Still she swung the beam, walking through the debris, careful not to touch anything and hoping her boots were thick enough to withstand the heat for long.

“I should probably get out...” she thought to herself, but she kept looking...driven by the urge to make a discovery. And she made it 2 minutes later. Another dead body. Stuffed into a cabinet in the kitchen...as if the killer hadn’t wanted the body to keep the body away from the fire as much as possible...strange.
Why start the fire on a body, burn one totally beyond recognition and hide another from the fire?
Strange indeed.

The smoke got too much and she hurried out...drawing long breaths of the clean fresh air once she was outside.

Alli and Clyde were talking. Clyde was telling him about the plan to keep the body and perform an autopsy.
Kirsten noticed Alli seemed to be in better control of his emotions now. He just looked angry and cold.
He looked at her as she approached.
“Find anything?”
“Yes...a body?”
He frowned, “who...”

“I’m not sure but I think it’s the driver....your in-laws driver.”

They all looked at the stretch parked in the corner. The car Rex had been driving that day.
The car was there, engine still on and running...and the two people who had been in it were now dead....and burnt....but Alli refused to believe his son was dead.

:::::

There is a particular state of mind where someone has been fatigued for so long without rest or reprieve finds himself still having to function. It’s like the brain turns on its reserve energy or power bank and juices up the senses and for a few hours your perception becomes heightened, and for the short period your sensory mechanisms functions at its possible highest.
This was the state Bami was in, if not there was no way he could have noticed the car and the odd looking giant of a man in it.

There was something just odd about the car parked in the shadows, the entrance to the Apapa hospital was alive with chaos; cars were driving out, people were running helter skelter in fear. Sick patients, rocked out of their sleep by the loud explosion from upstairs suddenly decided they were well enough to leave the hospital. There were whispers about another bomb threat among some of the hospital staff who wisely joined their wards to flee the hospital.

And yet in all the chaos, the Volvo car remained a little way in the shadows, watching everything like it was parked at a drive show cinema.

The hairs on the back of Bami’s neck stood as he drove into the hospital, especially when his flashlight illuminated the car and he locked eyes with the giant behind the wheel. The man didn’t even flinch from the glare of the headlights. Stared dead at Bami for the full two seconds before he turned into the hospital drive way.

“Oga where you dey go?” A young man in a halogen uniform half blocked the path. He had a baton and was trying fruitlessly to control the flight and fright of the people....he looked like he was out of his depth.
“I’m a police man, what happened here” although he knew already. Could perceive it, could smell it.
Bomb blast

“There was an explosion sir....” the young man was really happy to see a law figure but Bami was gone. Screeching to a stop in front of the hospital with one thought on his mind...Andy!

A part of his brain alerted him to the strange figure he had seen in the car and he tried to make a connection.

:::::
Big foot waited for the go ahead from Flacko and gritted his teeth in annoyance. He hated this corporate chain of command bull shit. They were the foot soldiers yet every little action and detail had to be ironed out and permission given....like they were running some kind of messed up diplomacy or hierarchy bullshit!

He was one pissed off foot soldier...he was the one in the streets, and there were times when a soldier made a split decision and made a call, but no, the Hole didn’t afford them that opportunity. There were grave consequences for anyone who acted without verifiable permission or orders.

For a man like Big foot to thrive in such a setup, all he had was his name and fear and both was built by reputation. This was essentially why he was still sitting outside the hospital, sulking by 2:44am. He couldn't believe his clean record had been soiled not once, but twice....in the space of 48 hours. The first time wasn’t that bad, he hadn’t been the main target, but to survive Big foot twice.....! And he knew deep down that Andy was still alive. He had survived the car bomb and now the paper bomb....Big Foot could feel it. He had a sixth sense about these things. Bombs were his babies, he knew when he hit a mark and right now he didn’t feel that sensation in his gut. The little prick was still alive.

No way. He was going to confirm and kill Andy himself. He wouldn’t wait for the go ahead. He would get this done. It was personal. Andy had to die tonight. Then he could touch the journalist’s house if they gave him the go ahead. The apartment would have been swept clean by now and any incriminating article they had been working on would have been destroyed. He would just add an explosive touch. He loved to hear things blow, watch things burn....

Then a strange thing happened. He got a message from Flacko, interrupting his thoughts.

“First minister denies the requests. No more fireworks, there’s been too much bombs already, forget the reporters house too”

“But the boy still dies right? He may have survived!”He typed furiously

“That’s the strange thing, he aborted it totally”

“What! Why?”

“Who knows? It’s from higher authority”

“But-”

"Hey just get out of there!"


-Connection lost-

Big foot clenched his jaw. "Fucking pricks"

As he sat contemplating his next move, he saw the car pull up and a man looking at him as he drove through the gates.
Big foot felt such an intense anger suddenly. He stared coldly without flinching, even when the driver didn’t have the courtesy or common sense to dim the lights.
He knew who it was. One of the bastards of Brota.
He got down from his truck.
He didn’t carry a gun. He was all about explosives but he was a hulk of a man. He was going to crush Andy's head like an orange.
And he wished the man who just drove in would try to stop him. Oh he really wished.
He slammed his door.
"Time to edit my record" he started for the hospital.


:::::::::::

In the backseat of the Uber, Tonye was immediately arrested with a barrage of messages. The first thing she did was to reply one F. Flacko’s hour long message, saying Big foot was set to ‘light up the house’ and also requesting permission to plant another bomb at the hospital.
“What!” She was shocked to her bone, thinking of Andy immediately. She called it off and to be safe typed an explicit order; to terminate the whole goddamn purge operation.



::::::::
Benue...


Olivia felt a kind of calming effect as she cradled her daughter, hugging her closely. She had Emma in her arms, but it was the little girl who held her, cause the fear that had been building in her concerning Rex’s whereabouts immediately faded. Here was their daughter, so beautiful. They were a family. Rex would be back soon.

“He’ll probably walk through those doors any moment now...” Utebo said softly and Olivia glanced at her. She was sitting on the arm of the sofa, her arm around her mother, but her eyes were on Olivia.

Olivia gave a knowing smile and mouthed, “thank you”
She glanced towards the door and that minute she really expected to see her husband.

Nothing.

The curtain remained unmoving, the door behind it bolted shot.

Cynthia was the one to speak up. “I think we should call dad”

“Yes call your father” Martha agreed immediately.

Her friend, who had not left her side gave her a side hug then called out, “dear! I think you should call Alli now, it’s been almost thirty minutes already.

De Omirida hurried into the parlour, he seemed to have been hovering in the corridor and he had his phone in hand.
He looked a bit worried as he brought the phone to his ear and faked a call. He stared intensely at the ceiling for a couple of seconds then sighed, “he’s not picking,” then he repeated the gesture again, as if he was redialling.
All the while he was thinking of what to do...what to say...

For he just got off the phone with his friend a minute ago.
Alli broke down the situation to him frankly, with a hard edge in his voice; The house was gone, Rex was missing and there was a dead body.
A dead body?
Yes a dead body.
And Rex..
..Is missing.

Alli went on to give him instructions. “Don’t tell my family about this....as long as they’re concerned the house is still standing...just some rooms are burnt...I’ll tell them myself....” there was a long silence, “whoever did this would pay. I’ll see you soon I have to take care of the body.”

Whose body?
And where is your son?

The questions had Mr Omirida pacing worriedly along the corridor till he heard Martha say, “call your father”

And his wife called out for him.
So there he stood, gazing at the ceiling with a slight frown on his face, finally he gave a start, “Ehen...Alli are you there yet...? What happen....oh...how is it?....okay see you soon.”

He brought the phone down quickly before it rings and make a fool of him and he stared at a bunch of eyes all staring at him expectantly. He stammered...."errrm that was Alli....he’ll be here soon...the fire wasn’t really serious, just a couple of rooms”

“Whew...but how did it start?” Cynthia asked

“Errrm well...it started...you know what? He didn’t really say but it’s under control” he felt so terrible lying straight to their faces but there was no way he was delivering such terrible news to women in such emotional state. Especially when Martha asked, “what of Rex, are they together?”

“Errrm”
no they’re not...he says Rex is missing.... he almost said, but then his eyes caught the lady in the wheelchair, stroking the little girl and he found himself saying, "yes yes, both of them would come home together....now you all should get some rest, it’s really late."

A wave of relief swept through the parlour after he made the announcement and for a moment he hated himself, for he had just given them hope...well Alli had said Rex was missing. He would be found soon, for sure. Mr Omirida comforted himself with the thought.


::::::::::::
Back in Brota, the fatigue finally got to S.s and his wife, they had been gazing at a monitor screen watching sparrow and Dagnet perform the strangely comforting ritual with the birds. when they finally got tired, they settled on the camp beds in the corner. His wife joined their little boy, holding him protectively. It would take a while before she can fall asleep.
S.s on the other hand, confirmed the door panel was activated and the bunker locked. He was soon snoring softly in the corner. Every now and then he twitched and groaned, muttered something incoherent and his face contorted into a grimace.
Nightmares.


:::::::::
Beatrice lived in a secluded 2bedroom on the ground floor of a 3 storey apartment building.
She parked the car along the street and led Ada into the house. They had to jump a couple of open sewage and gutter drains and the latter scanned the environment without any flicker of emotion.

Still it was Beatrice who said, "I moved here six months ago...me and my cousin stay here....rent is really cheap, I had to sell my uncle’s house, the house I grew up in....to settle hospital bills. Mr X would have come through for us but then he died, because he couldn’t bare the loss of Fome and Mona...his daughters" she said in explanation

“I knew them. I was there that night”

“The night they died?”

Ada nodded

"The night Rex blew her up?"

"Yes"

"The bastard"