₦airaland Forum

nice one bro

Don Gucci had meetings of this nature whenever there were important things to discuss. Important thongs being money of course. He summoned the heads of all his legal and illegal businesses scattered round the state. His accountant had brought to his notice that his five star Italian restaurant was performing badly and taking up too much loss. No one in his right mind would dare steal from Don Gucci. But he planned to find out soon enough.
"Belleti what is happening at Puzo's no turnover for the past two months. I know how much I invested and my expectations or are you stealing from me you punk bitch?"
"Capone! Never! Never in a million years would I dream of stealing from you. The problem is the goddamn Chinese restaurant next door sir. They added lasagna and pasta and some other Italian dishes to their menu for a discount price."

"Hmmm..the Chinese you say...well you disappoint me Belleti"
"I'm sorry Capone"
"Surely a fire accident ought to have happened by bow and burnt the place to the ground"
The underground boss smiled nervously as the tension reduced. He was safe, for now atleast "it is done boss"

"Good..Marchisio how is Stella and the girls?" He asked the man to his right.
"They're doing great boss. Most of them are on call tonight for a big shot dinner which should bring in a lot of cash"
"Good, good"
"Actually boss, Stella has been complaining about increased pressure from the cops, particularly a certain detective..."
"I don't care! She should get the girls to Bleep him for free or duck him herself and if that doesn't work...cops get killed all the time, this shouldn't be an exception. Nothing must happen to my money!"
"Yes boss!"
"Good, now I'm going up for a game of poker, I want to lose some money to myself" he laughed and left the room. The men all sighed in relief when he left. Don Gucci was one scary modafucka

°•°•
As usual he studied the tables first and was about to pick one at random but then he noticed a black woman. She was beautiful and seemed to be at the center of attention. He guessed she was on a roll.
The first thing that caught his attention was the amount of chips before her which meant she was either winning large or about to lose large.

He changed direction and joined her table. They were playing a game of roulette and just as he had thought she was on a winning spree.

As he joined the table, the board stopped spinning and the die fell on the number four.
"Number four! She wins yet again!" This drew cheers and applause from the growing crowd. "I like a lady with good luck" Don Gucci drawled in her ear. There was something about this lady that played the strings on his harp. He could already feel the bulge in his trouser.
"I like a man with with authority" Jemba replied him slyly "I've been searching for who to submit to and offer myself for any dirty command...you look like a man with plenty authority" she traced a finger on her collarbone drawing his eyes to her rather small but exposed cleavage. Her voice was husky and unbelievably sexy.
"Damn that's hot!" Streetwise said over the one way.

°•°•°•°•
Meanwhile in the parking lot some 25 miles away, Williams walked briskly towards Don Gucci's limousine. He could see the outline of both guards. The one Don Gucci had called Piko and another. The third, DiCaprio was nowhere to be found. He was probably inside the casino, not far from his boss.

Both men sat on the hood of the vehicle as they smoked cigarettes. They noticed the shadow approaching and called out "DiCaprio....DiCaprio is that you?"
"What of boss?"

Williams didn't say anything until he was an arm's length away "I need this car"
"What the-"
He was quick! With lightening speed he jabbed Pikko in the throat, caught his partner's fist, smashed his elbow into his face and barged into Piko who was bringing out his gun. He slammed Piko into the pillar and as the man sunk to the floor he have his partner a deadly head kick also known as 'go to sleep'.

Both men lay on the floor unconscious. He searched them and found the car keys in Pikko's pocket. He noticed the cap on the dashboard and immediately he started the limousine he put it on. The chauffeur was ready for business.

°•°•°•°•
Trump rounded up his speech as everybody applauded him. He smiled and raised his champagne flute in acknowledgement but the truth was he was troubled. He feared the worst had happened to Braham and he wondered the whereabout of the file. Too many things on his mind but still he noticed the blond beauty who kept on sending him suggestive looks. When he had been making his speech, she had found her way to the front and her seductive gaze and great body which her flimsy dress displayed had got him hot. Hr would have easily labelled her a LovePeddler but she reeked of class. Maybe a classy whøre he thought to himself but he wasn't convinced. She looked rich and she looked important. That was how he liked it. He was attracted to high class women, power hungry women feminists and women at the forefront of society. It gave him a feeling of power over his fellow man and the female herself
Trump wasn't a senator yet, just an aspiring one. He had taken just a shot of power but he was already power drunk.
"You're the most beautiful woman in this room" he said to her as she watched him with seductive eyes.
"Gracias and you're the most handsome" he smiled trying to place her rich European accent.
"What's your name?"
"I'm Nina Morieles" no sooner had the words left her mouth when the silent alarm went off

Streetwise sounded breathless and a bit panicked over the one way "okay, we have a problem ...the real Nina Morieles is at the entrance"

Damibiz:
Nice work #SOULOHO....u re the man

Tnx bro Jah bless.

P.s: to all ghost readers, you'll recall that the ghost has gone his way and left the gang, however he's feeling threatened by the number of ghosts we have on this thread. I'd advice you to comment oooo..the ghost can be jealous at times

"About 3 months ago I ran into some bad company in the City" Paul explained looking into disbelief and shock in the eyes of both girls.
"what kind of bad company?" Oluchi sounded confused. She folded her arms as she glared at her brother in disbelief. Amara watched the drama unfold silently. She was a spectator...for now.

"I owe people..some very bad people money. I had to leave Lagos for my safety but I couldn't come home straight, I had to sort myself and lay low somewhere close by, so I-"
"Paul all this one you're saying I don't understand, the day we picked you at the park did you arrive from Lagos or you just strolled in from the next village. That's my question"
"Not to mention that girl called you Emeka" Amara added studying him suspiciously.

"Oluchi, Amara please now is not the time, not here in the open" Paul said weakly as he noticed the tall pastor walking towards them.

"Amara, nice to see you again..hello...I can't remember your name" Osi said cheerfully as he caught up with them.
"I'm Oluchi.."
"Oh..very nice to meet you, hope you enjoyed the communion"
"Yes I did"
Osi finally looked at Paul. The young man looked flustered and Osi studied him with an intense gaze.
"Its nice to meet you once again..I'd like to have a word with you..if you're not too busy"

But Paul had his shoulder up. He didn't look comfortable. "I'm sorry but not today...or not at this moment I'm really busy"
With that he walked briskly away leaving his sister behind.
However Oluchi was not done yet and she followed, calling after him. "Paul? Paul? Talk to me now.."

°•°•°•
"Hope I didn't interrupt anything?" Osi said to Amara as they watched brother and sister walk away.
"No you did not" she smiled at him "I enjoyed the sermon and the communion...it was my first time today"
"Wow..how was it?"
"It felt...strange at first but I'd go for unique now"
Osi smiled "the important thing is to understand the concept and what it represents..are you ready to go home? I'd walk you"
"Actually I was planning to pay my last respect to Chinaza and her father when they bury them later today"
"Oh...I'd be heading there myself, we can walk together, I just have to make sure that everything is okay over here first"
"No problem...how is your investigation going?"
"Investigation?" He looked at her surprised
"You were asking some questions about Ozioma if I recall correctly"
"Oh...well the questions haven't really brought any form of enlightenment"
"Oh...thank God the killer has been identified"
Osi frowned, he hoped that was true and that he was wrong to have his doubts.

"It just struck me, do you have any idea where one can find plenty second hand clothes that he can tear out a piece of material to be used as a blindfold?"
She thought hard for a minute then shook her head "nope...I can't think of anything at the moment"
"Okay...please don't hesitate to let me know if you remember anything.

°•°•°•°
Little Jelemba ran round the village wailing and crying, stopping every now and then to pick up sand and throw in the air as he shouted.

The dibia was dead!!
The dibia was dead!!

He soon drew a loud crowd and people began to follow him. No one talked to him and they kept their distance.
Jelemba was a chosen one, handpicked by the gods in his early years. Only few people dared speak to him.

Before long, just as Bush fire is known to spread, the news of the dibia's death went ahead the wailing messenger and reached the elders' ears.

"The dibia is dead!"
"What!"
"Its an abomination!"
"Its not possible!" Dé John began pacing frantically. "I dare say our land is cursed...cursed!!!"
"They say his young one is weeping on his way here"
"What do we do..what about the body?"
"This means that Okudili is still in our midst"
"How could he not foresee his own demise"
"This bastard Okudili!"
"What do we do now?!!"
It was not a good day to be a leader.

°•°•°•
"Please leave him alone...pastor Osi you are a stranger...you don't understand how things are done here...let him be, the kind of news he's carrying has so many evil spirits attached to it, please...biko Osi let's mind our business"
But Osi wasn't listening. All he could think of as he watched young Jelemba wailing round the village was: this misguided lost soul!

"Amara believe me..it is because of people like this young boy that I'm here" with that he moved closer to the boy who was busy writing something in the sand.
"Hello, young one..peace be unto you"
"He's dead! He's dead! The one who calls the rain when our soil is dry...the one who calls the sun when our lands are flooded! He's gone! Killed like a dog...ooooohhh...the gods have cursed us!"
"Listen to me, you are not cursed..no one cursed you, the bible says cursed is he who hangs from a tree...do you know what that means? When Jesus hung on the tree..he took your curse..he took my curse..its left to you to believe and claim it"
The boy blinked. This was the first time he was hearing such. It sounded alien to his ears. "Jesus?"
"Yes son...lemme tell you about Jesus...then you'll tell me why you are crying okay?"
Surprisingly the boy nodded.

Amara watched in disbelief then the disbelief gave way to pride, then the pride she felt for Osi melted into something else. As she watched him interact with the child, she knew she was in love.

°•°•°•°•

The devil always made sure he never regretted his actions. Which was why he took his time to plan out every attack and why he hated losing control when he was overpowered by rage and lust. But he was angry now, the Pastor was obviously very much alive and healthy the poison hadn't worked!
And then the [i]dibia. That had been a calculated move, besides the dibia really knew who he was and he couldn't take chances.
But he wondered about the piece of clothe he had left at the scene. He had gone with impulse then and had thought to tie the murder with the previous attacks but now he wondered if it was such a smart move.
It didn't really matter. What mattered was that he was beginning to feel the urge surfacing. The urge to have Amara to himself, the urge to ravish her body and it was getting stronger than ever.
[/i]

°•°•°•°•
The dibia's shrine was in the middle of nowhere. Surrounded by trees and rocks. It was more or else on the outskirt of Amaife and closer to the next village.
And as the few villagers marched grimly towards the shrine, a heavy silence descended on them as they stomached the fact that their messenger, the one they turned to for advice and held in high esteem as their liaison with the gods was as vulnerable as everyone of them. He was so vulnerable that he had been killed.

Dé Nwachukwu led the small crowd walking in a very slow pace, eulogizing the dead and greeting all the spirits sure to be hovering about in a dialect most people didn't understand.

Their minds were so far away and deeply troubled that they all missed the shoe print in the sand just in front of the shrine. If one studied it closely he would conclude the size couldn't be more than 9 or a size 39-41 meaning whoever had left the print didn't have big feet.

But each of them were either shocked, scared and angry or shocked+scared+angry so they didn't notice anything.

At the front of the shrine, they all saw the dibia's legs protruding out of the tent as he had been knocked backwards.
And this time everyone noticed the torn piece of clothe around the deceased legs. It was from a shirt that had definitely seen better days. The material was stained with blood and had smudges of dried alcohol stains.
Everybody knew the shirt. It belonged to Okudili.

emmyN:
Wow, I just saw your mention. I know this one must be hot. Lemme go'an start from first page, I'm coming

Welcome bro..long time

JaeSharp:
Paul is the killer... according to October 1st (a Nigerian movie with the same story line) but let's see the twist cos am sure my Oga at the top have a lot of surprise for us... well done sir

Welcome bro..tnx for ur comment.u SHARP. But despite the likeness with Oct 1 don't take it like that o. After all I used to think the movie was about our independence ...Jah bless

AminatOpe247:
Souloho weldone ooo. Tot u said u won't lemme crawl back to my shell wit ur stories. Bt here u are, U started anoda story n u didn't lemme kno. Issokay ooo.

Aminat oooooooo
Honestly I mentioned you..some people were not notified of the mention I'm sure that's what happened here. And I've been waiting and wondering for/about your comment(lack of)
Anyway please forgive me..no going back to the shell for you o

Frankenstein:
The devil is this, the devil is that.



Souloho19, please take your time with the story. There is no deadline!

The last few updates were written in a rush.

Thanks bro duly noted. Pls I would appreciate any observation and criticism...I understand you're very good at that

bakeuhappy:
@souloho19 keep it coming.. I love the twist and turns. I took time out to read delayed diagnosis and I was thrilled. Thanks a lot but you need to write a sequel to it.. cos we need to know what happened to Mr Kehinde?

Thanks a million ma'am..as for delayed diagnosis I'm thinking of a short series that would cover the cases they'll tackle as a PI firm and also their hunt for the shadow leader Mr Kehinde. *rubs hands* thanks once more I so love ur idea

Chapter 6

The communion service was scheduled to hold by 12 noon. It had been estimated that by that time, everyone would have rested after the previous Virgil and still have time to rest before nightfall brings another.

Osi looked at the mirror as he adjusted his tie. He was the one officiating the service and so he had decided to wear a suit.
He studied himself for some seconds then shook his head removing the tie. He never really liked ties, they disturbed his bulging Adam's apple and gave him a choking sensation more often than not.

Ovie walked into the room a towel round his waist as he headed to his luggage.
"Ovie for God's sake we should be in church at least two hours before the service and its already 11"
Ovie just looked at him and began creaming his body. They had gotten home by 6 am that morning and Ovie had over slept. He still felt tired and blamed Ovie for taking him round the village the day before looking for "clues"

"Hurry up so we can have our own communion before leaving"
He walked to the kitchen where Bukky was busy wrapping the unleavened bread in foil.
"I can't find the other bottles of wine" Bukky complained as she rolled the foil expertly. She was a work machine.

"Samuel and I already moved it to the church..we left one behind" Gregory came in from the parlour, he was already dressed and held his shoe in his hands. "I think we left it...." He scanned the cupboards with his eyes "here". He transferred both shoes to his right hand then stretched with his left and opened the cupboard.
"Ahhh...there it is" he took the whine.

Somehow he thought he could close the door of the cupboard with the back of his hand while holding the wine.
The bottle slipped from his hand and crashed to the floor.
CrAaaash!

"Oh my God..you've broken it" Bukky shouted. She had been sounding stressed lately.
"Hope you didn't cut yourself" Osi said as he scanned the kitchen for a broom or mop.
"Why didn't you drop your shoe first or you should have just left it now-"
"Bukky!" Osi cautioned her with a frown.
"We still have half carton of wine..I think 11 bottles in church..it would be more than enough"
"I'm sorry" Gregory said sheepishly.
"Haba! Why are we acting like strangers? We'd have our communion in church with the rest"

°•°•°•
The departed Chinaza and her father were getting buried today in their compound. There was going to be a short service, singing hymns and prayer in the church before the communion and before they were laid to rest.
She had no family in Amaife but had uncles from her mother's side coming from the nearby village. Indeed her father had been involved with a land dispute with one of her uncles. The acre of land was supposed to belong to her mother and her father had been fighting for the land ever since she died and her elder brothers held on to it. As a matter of fact it was rumoured that he had been afflicted as a result of the land dispute. Over the past one month, Chinaza had made frequent trips to her mother's home to plead with her uncles for her father's sake. Whenever she visited, she talked with her cousin and the two had grown very close.

Her cousin's name was Ada. She had arrived Amaife with her brothers and sisters and her father and two uncles. Tears streaked down her cheeks as she walked the streets, Chinaza had been a wonderful person and her best friend and confidant.

She could see different people moving about. They held bibles in their hands and were mostly headed towards the church.
Her younger brother who was just shy of his eighteenth birthday held her hand and pointed at a man in a leather jacket.
"Is that not Emeka, Chinaza's boyfriend?"
Ada followed his finger and was suprised.
"That's Emeka now..he's been in our village for about two months" he used to come and see Chinaza whenever she came visiting and Ada knew for a fact they had been lovers. She never knew what had happened but they seemed to have had a spat and broken up sometime last week. She was surprised to see him.

°•°•°•

The church was a big church. Massive with a very big compound.
Osi studied the building as he scrutimized the church. The service of songs was going on inside but he had went outside to receive the call from his Reverend Okonkwo.

"The deacon arrived here this morning, with a lot of negative comments. Osi what's going on?"
Osi tried to explain as clearly as he could.

"So what do you want to do..I think you should come home" the reverend concluded when he was through
"Sir..when you sent me on this assignment, you said God had a purpose for every thing..my being in this villagw was not by chance and I remain committed to your word sir"

There was a short silence then "alright...I understand and respect your choice..I would intercede for you with prayers you can be sure of that"
"Thank you Sir"

He ended the call and studied the building idly, noticing the structure of the building was like a group is shops that had been joined together.

"Pastor Osi...your sermon is coming up soon" pastor Bartholomew announced.
He noticed him staring at the church and sighed. "It wasn't easy...when I heard the divine call. I ditched my trading business and started with my small shop. But look at where we are today...the Lord is faithful"
"Yes indeed...he is..I'm really impressed"
"Now let's go in and break bread"

°•°•°•°
"And Jesus said, take eat, this is my body that is broken down for you, do this in remembrance of me...my brethren take the bread and eat" Osi preached from the alter and the whole congregation complied. Chewing the unleavened bread.
"Take this cup..this wine represents the blood of Jesus that signifies our redemption...take the cup and drink"

The communion was over.

°•°•°•
After the service, some villagers stayed back to linger behind and ask questions. Most of them had never taken communion before so they had a lot of questions.

Osi was already sweating and had since removed his blazer. He heard a familiar voice and turned to see the white man coming his way.

"Hello...nice service sir..the communion was powerful"
"Thank you...we give God the praise"
"I guess you all had your own communion this morning before coming"
"We were supposed to..however the bottle got broken"
"Wow..sorry about that hope no one was hurt?"
"No...not at all...wait how did you know we planned to take communion this morning?"
"When you were out cold and the youths arrived. I happen to look around out of.curiosity ..pardon me but as a writer i jave insatiable curiosity snd when I saw the bread and the bottle I guessed as much."
"Oh...it was to bad it got broken that was why we did it generally..I feel it was even better this way"

°•°•°•
Amara was with Oluchi they were both looking in the direction of Osi and Steve. Oluchi had love in her eyes as she stared at the European and Amara had stars in hers as she watched the pastor.

"Amara...I'm glad I found you...please forgive me..I beg of you, it would never happen again" paul said walking up to her. He sounded sad and she softened.
"Its alright Paul..but I would prefer you keep your distance at least for a while"
He nodded meekly. How could he have messed up?

As they spoke a young lady walked up to them. She tapped Paul on the shoulder.
"Emeka, I've been wondering were you were we never see you around again"
Paul turned to study the person and his face went pale.
Oluchi frowned "who's Emeka? His name is Paul...okay are you from Lagos too"
The girl seemed baffled "no..I've never been to Lagos..I come from gorabe the neighbouring g village"
Amara spoke up immediately she had a feeling something was about to be revealed.
"So how do you know him?"
"He arrived our communty about 2 montns ago..he was a good friend of Chinaza and everyone in the village liked him.

Paul looked like he had been slapped. "There's a misunderstanding..you mistake me for someone else" he said in a weak voice.
Oluchi looked at her brother in disbelief.
"Paul you mean you didn't come straight from Lagos..like you said? You've been in a village fifteen minutes away for the past 2 months?"
He scratched his head. " I can explain.."

°•°•°•
The dibia was in his shrine enjoying the tobacco as he puffed on his pipe.
Jelemba his young protege had gone to the woods to get some local herbs he was making, a fertility concoction to give to a woman who had been childless for 10 years.

He puffed on his pipe as he relaxed in his shrine staring at the cowries. He suddenly heard footsteps and shouted "Jelemba is that you?"
He stood up, opened the tent and saw the crowbar descending on his skull.
He fell down immediately and died within seconds as his head split open.

Criis:
This is good stuff

Tnx bro and welcome

charytea:
Its October 1 actually. Lovely story, why am i beginning to suspect Pastor Barthlomew?

.
But but...pastor Bartholomew is a man of God and a good member of the society.

Truth is I've already revealed the devil with a clue but it would become clear soon enough. Tnx charitea

Mobecs:
I think the devil might not be Paul but Pastor Barthlomew, with this update......weldone Souloho19.

Lol don't switch so fast o...remember the devil had no problem 'returning ' to the house. Meaning he was among the people who arrived that night Steve, Paul the youths Bartholomew and the elders..and Okudili himself had been there earlier that day..so fingers crossed sha

Cjizzy:
Keep it coming hot and fresh

Thanks for reading bro..I'll definitely do that

Bleeze2:
Soulho, u will never disappoint me
U dnt invite ur people on 'delayed diagnosis', its not fair o

Bro if you check the mentions in page one you'd see I mentioned you..maybe you didn't get the notification but I mentioned every one who comme ted on delayed diagnosis. Thanks FAM and welcome onboard

I swear I loved and hated this book at the same time. I used to think Daniel steel was a saddist! I'd still read it again tho..
I think the third daughter was fathered by the soldier's friend can't really remember

"I want you to come with me, there's something I want to show you.
Williams interrupted Davina and Jemba as the two ladies trained. Williams had trained Davina specially in physical combat but Jemba was something else. She continued besting Davina each time they sparred and showing her tricks to evade an arm twist, neck hook and breaking a grab.

Both Ladies followed Williams outside. They were currently in Texas. Williams had a family ranch and he had insisted they fly down there before heading to Washington.

The ranch was huge with acres of land which provided secrecy and privacy.

"What is it darling" Davina smiled as they followed him outside. She had been acting a little more emotional since the previous night when he has been wounded. He noticed it but didn't say anything.

"How do you kill two birds with one stone?" Williams asked the deadly women.
"I don't understand" jemba said with a frown.
"Practically..." He pointed at a nearby tree. "Pick a stone and use it to kill not one but two birds..at the same time"
They looked at him baffled. The tree was home to dozens of ravens. They whistled happily as they built the nest.

Jemba wasn't one to resist a challenge. She picked a pebble from the ground, took aim "if you could get it to strike at the right angle...it could ricochet" she threw the pebble, spinning it with force and precision.
A bird fell from the tree.
"Good..but not good enough, you used force and you were precise...but that only got you a kill...to do the impossible you need other things force and prescription can never be enough"
Davina giggled "he sure is preachy today"
Williams silenced her with a look.

"Watch this...." As he spoke they noticed the crane for the first time. The hook strangely resembled a pirate's hook also known as 'go to hell'

The crane lowered a little wooden house to the ground. It was a bird house. It had a little hole in the roof and mechanical bird tweets played from inside. The crane lowered it completely to the floor and disengaged.
Streetwise was behind the wheel and he gave the women a mock salute before lifting the hook.

It didn't take long, barely a minute and the first bird appeared. It pitched on the roof warily but after some few seconds it felt at ease and began to whistle. It was soon joined by another. And another.

"You see...force isn't all you need to kill two birds with a stone..you need deep planning. He gave a nod and the crane dropped the massive rock, smashing the bird house and the three birds underneath it.
Davina and Jemba were startled, they hadn't even noticed the crane had been holding a rock over the little house.
With flawless planning and flawless timing and flawless force and precision, a stone is all you need to kill any amount of bird you want..hope I'm clear"
Davina shuddered "why do I feel its easier killing people than birds"
"Cause the birds are innocent" Jemba replied quietly.
For the first time Williams smiled.

"Okay...tonight at exactly 20 hundred, Don Gucci is going be at his casino in D.c, he's going to have a meeting with some underground bosses after which he would enjoy a game of poker before heading for his penthouse to spend the night.

At the exact same time, Trump himself would be at a campaign fund raiser dinner exactly 25 miles away from the Lincoln memorial in a mansion owned by a fellow senator. We're going to kill both of them tonight"
"Tonight!"
"Can we pull it off!"
"Ladies..." He smiled, a charming and wicked smile "flawless planning...flawless timing and flawless force..remember"

°•°•°°
Don Gucci arrived the magic hat casino at exactly 10 minutes to 8. He got down from his limo as his guard opened the door for him.
"Dicaprio...you come with me, pika..you and the rest stay round the corner.."
"Are you capone boss..we'd rather escort you"
With the true arrogance of a Don, Gucci smiled. "I own this casino..now move!"

In a car across the street, Williams and Jemba watched the Don stroll arrogantly to the entrance waving at the valet as he entered.
"Are you ready" he asked her
"Oh Will...I was born ready"

°•°•°•
Few miles away...
Davina cat walked confidently to the entrance of the mansion. She was sexy and she knew it, a deadly vixen very much aware of her arsenal.
She was in a strapless gown that accentuated her curves in every way. The gown had a high slit and her gorgeous legs were put on display with each step. She was meant to turn heads.

The federal agent guarding the door looked more like a bouncer. He and a second used their burly physique and broad shoulders to block the entrance.
"Yes...your name...are you on the list?" The first man drawled, he sounded Russian.
"Just ten seconds...baby...you can do it" streetwise said in her ear.
The truth was she didn't have any invitation, and her name wasn't on the list. She just needed to stand before the guard for some seconds for the scanner in her necklace to pick up an unchecked name on the list and transmit it to strange eyes who would then relay the information to her.
"I said are you on the list?!" The man drawled again. When he looked straight in her eyes and didn't glance at her chest she knew this was going to be a tough one.
"Oohh...I just love a man in suit, so formal and so baad...it gets me hot" she purred seductively as she smiled at his partner. This one couldn't look her in the eye, his eyes were drawn southward.
"Lady..you get out of here if your name is not on the list!" The first one was taking no chances. He took a step forward and she feigned shock. "How dare you! No party would ever be complete without me..I'm going to complain about this..I assure you"
The guard gripped her roughly by the arm and was no doubt about to usher her away when her ear beeped. "Okay...you are Nina Morieles..Spanish socialite...you came alone"

"Unhand me at once..I'm Nina Morieles you don't treat me like that and go free!"
The guard checked his partner. "Check the list"
His partner brightened the tab screen and scrolled down with a finger. "Yes..she's on the list"
"So sorry ma'am" the first guard offered stiffly.

She placed a hand on his arm with a smile. "Don't worry...you're cute, I forgive you"

"Will..the bird cage has landed..I repeat the bird cage has landed" streetwise relayed to his boss.
Williams voice came back over the one way "copy that..prepare the Stone"
"Roger"
Streetwise focused on the screen and tapping away.
A small speaker was beside the monitor. It would receive sound waves from a small fibre like transponder that was attached to the arm of the guard's coat jacket.
It had been skillfully attached by Davina and it was designed to sound off a silent alarm when the words "Nina Morieles" was mentioned.

Smh..

Dedicated to Forzarush and my newest friend: Prince Fortune Oluwafiresademi.
Congratulations Forzarush. God bless your family.



°•°•°•°

Karma was a bitch. Everybody knew that. She was a bitch. But her mode of operation was longevity, you know in the back of your mind you're going to pay for your actions but subconsciously you expect the repercussions to come in the nearest future. Some time far away, not immediately.

But as Okudili fled down the path he couldn't help remembering the European fleeing in such manner while Okudili himself threw the biggest stones.
Now the stones were were behind him and he was the one being chased. This had to be karma, and just hours apart too.

Okudili had been lazing around as usual feeling sulky at the lack of girls out in the open for his eyes to feast on when he had seen the youths marching his way, at first he thought it was for another protest and riot but then he saw the elders in their midst and noticed they were really marching his way and the intent was clearly written on their faces. He took off immediately. Darting like an arrow towards the woods. The youths had pursued him. This time they were not armed with sticks and branches but with machetes and broken bottles.
Dé John attempted to join the chase but gave up few steps later.
"My friend, gone are the days" he panted to Dé Nwachukwu.

Okudili was a short man with short legs but the lack of distance covered was made up for by the rate his legs ate up the ground. He was well ahead of the youths and zigzagged through the forest.
If he was caught now, worst case scenario: he'd be beaten to death. Best case scenario: trial by kangaroo court and death by hanging come nightfall.

He ran through a thorn bush, bruising himself badly but he needed to be out of the line of sight.
He immediately took a different path as he emerged before anyone could see him. He ran, his life depended on it.

°•°•°•°•
Gregory always complained that his phone didn't receive good signal in the house. So every time he wanted to make a call, he stepped out. The signal was slightly better outside, at least he could hear the other person.

He was currently speaking to his younger brother who had called him from the university asking for money.
"Hello..junior, wait I can't hear you...I'll call you back"
He strode towards the parlour but then he stopped, he decided to go through the kitchen, the kitchen door opened to the backyard which was at the mouth of the woods and thus quite private. He was still being careful. The shouts from the day before had really scared him and he wasn't ready to take any chances.
He opened the door and stepped outside, his eyes on his phone as he waited for the notification of his credit balance.

He didn't see the man until it was too late. The man came from nowhere, he barged into Gregory, sending the man(who was on the slim side) stumbling back into the kitchen.

The short man got up and locked the door. He looked scared scary and mad.
"Shhh..shh...shhhh!!"
"Jesus!! Who are you?!" Gregory was stunned, he felt this man would kill him.
"My friend keep quiet...you want them to kill me"
Bukky came running out. "What is going on here... Who are you!"

For a split second Okudili calmed down(at first to ogle the lady) but then he realized they were not indigenes. They were strangers.
In a show of devilish intelligence, the short man fell to his knees "I want to come to God..I want to give my life, this battles are too much!"
"What battles?" Bukky asked
"Is that why you ran into me! Are you blind!" Gregory flared up.
"I'm sorry...I can't control myself..I need your prayers..I'm a troubled man" he made a noise like he was in pain.
Gregory was not really convinced. He got to his feet slowly "you smell of alcohol" he said condescendingly.
"Greg!" Bukky said with a warning. He looked and her and she shrugged "we have a duty to pray and bring this man to Jesus were he can find the peace he desperately needs"
Gregory frowned. He wasn't still convinced. He seemed wary to shut the door, but he did.

°•°•°•°•
Osi and Ovie met Stevenson on the way to the house.
"Pastor! Pastor!" The European shouted as he hurried to meet up with them.
"Afternoon..Stevenson"
"Did you hear?"
"Hear what?"
"The devil...the devil has been exposed!"

°•°•°•
"This is good news...wonderful news that means we can go on with the crusade like we planned, we may even experience significant increase...the deacon was wrong! God is indeed faithful!" Ovie was in good spirits as the both of them walked home.

They had encountered many youths on the way, they seemed to be searching for the killer but nobody was hostile to them anymore.
Yet Osi frowned as his brows were drawn together. He was deep in thought.
"Ovie...do you know the person the white man described"
Ovie looked at him with a puzzled expression "why would I want to know someone like him"
"Well...from the description I can vaguely recall seeing him once or twice...and I don't know it doesn't just fit with what I was thinking"
"Well thank God you were thinking wrong..this animal deserves to be caught."

°•°•°•
The animal was currently seated on the couch, listening to Bukky as she read from her bible. His eyes were on her chest. She was well endowed and her breasts stretched the fabric of the sweater she had on.
Women! They had always been the bane of his existence and he had long accepted that a woman would be the course of his downfall and maybe demise He couldn't help himself, he loved women. But he had to be smart. He wasn't ready to die yet, he knew he had to come up with a plan, maybe run to the nearest village, or maybe he could work his way into this house and lay low for the time being.
As he entertained these thoughts, he heard voices from outside and a knock.

°•°•°•
Oluchi shook her head in disgust as her best friend reported her elder brother to her. What a shame. When Amara described how Paul had grabbed her rear with Joy offering sound and visual effects, Oluchi shook her head. "He says he's sorry...he doesn't know what came over him"
"Hmmm...do you know what my father would do if he hears this?"
"Chai....I can imagine...biko forgive him,please.. for me" Oluchi badly wanted to change the topic. "By the way...did you hear that they've announced the killer?"
"Ehn...who is it?"
"Who else but Okudili...who else"
"I knew it..that man is a pervert...just the way he'd look at you, you'd feel abused" she shuddered.
"They don't know where he is. But they say the youths chased him out of the village"
"Hmmm....at least our daughters can have peace"


°•°•°•°•
Osi couldn't believe it. He was looking at the very same man Steve had described earlier. The man that had been staring at him two nights ago at the opening service.
The man was on the chair, head bent as he held Bukky's hand while she prayed.
"Who is this?" Ovie asked Greg as they watched them in silence from the kitchen doorway.
"I don't know!" Greg replied.
"He's the killer" Osi said at the same time.

Both men jumped which was no small feat for Ovie.
"What!"
"Shhh....I don't think he's the killer"
"My God he has been with Bukky all along."
"Okay..its okay...here's what we'd do..I'd have a word with him then you can call the villagers"
"What no...I'm going there right now!" Greg panicked.
Osi held him back. "You've been with this man alone for an hour...I just need five minutes, there's something I need to find out"
"Pastor...before I reach the market square or see a villager it would have been five minutes already, I can't believe you want to risk our lives like this" The stubbornness brought about by fear is the most potent, and Ovie wasn't hearing any excuse. He sneaked out the kitchen and was soon on his way, running walking as fast as he could move his heavy self.

°•°•°•
Okudili could sense something was wrong. He was not the kind of person to sleep with both eyes closed not to talk of to close both eyes when he seldom prayed. And so from the corner of his eye, he could notice the movement and feel the tension from the men as they hovered around the kitchen.

When he heard the door slam, he opened his eyes. Cutting the prayer short.

"Thank you for the prayer...I have to go, I'd come back for the Virgil."
"Oh...lemme get you some tracks first" Bukky stood up and headed for the room. "Oh...I didn't know you were back, welcome... Where is Ovie?" She asked Osi when she saw him.
"He's coming" Osi said as he passed her moving towards the short man who was watching him with an unreadable expression on his face.
"Okudili right...nice to meet you" Osi sat opposite the man, funny he was not afraid, maybe because he didn't believe this man was responsible for the crimes. A wise voice asked him what if he was wrong. What then? he swallowed, unable to come up with a suitable reply.

"Did you know Ozioma personally?"
"No...I did not" the man stood up he seemed restless he had a strong dislike for this tall man.
"Okay...please just try and answer my questions objectively...do you have a pink shirt or maybe shorts or trouser that has part of the material missing?"
"You're trying to keep me here until they come for me abi...your plan can't work...Okudili is not stupid."

"Believe me I want to help you" Osi said standing up.
"If you want to be helpful why don't you donate your body as an electricity pole, I'm sure the villagers would be happy" he pushed Osi aside and hurried to the door.
Osi gripped the man on his shirt tail stopping him. "I'm sorry, I can't just let you leave"
He knew he had made a big mistake when he saw the fist coming.

°•°•°•
"Where's my belt! I'm going to kill you today!"
He began to cry..."daddy please....daddy please...I would not do it again"
"Ugo where's my belt!" His father shouted for his elder brother. "You...you this boy..you ..are you sure you're my son, how can you have such a wicked heart" his dad slapped him, The famous backhand as he moved back crying in fear.
"What do you even know green card means? You took scissors and started cutting up everything in the drawers abi...your sisters birth certificate...even my work ID card..."
"Its because....its because...." The boy sniffed as he tried to explain himself "Sarah said only me did not have green card and that you people will leave me and travel"
"Ohooo...so that is why you cut everything....you terror, I'd kill you today!" His father didn't need the belt anymore, he descended on him.
"Don't kill my son for me ooo..." His mother came to his rescue like she always did "Osi! Osi! Osi!...

°•°•°•
"Osi...Osi...Osi..." Bukky knelt over him shaking him gently till his eyes fluttered open. "Mom...?"
"No..its me..its Bukky"
He struggled to sit up, his head was pounding and the unpleasant memory from his 12th year still lingered in his mind.
He looked round the parlour, seeing some strange and familiar people.
Dé Nwachukwu, the white man, Dé John, Gregory talking to pastor Bartholomew and Ovie and countless young men crowded in the small parlour. He noticed the young man he had seen in Amara's house earlier, He stood beside the white man and looked at him strangely or maybe it was the poor lightning.
"What happened?" He asked holding his head in his hands. The headache was killing him.
"The killer attacked you son, how are you feeling?" Dé Nwachukwu replied.

°•°•°•°•

Coming back to the house was very easy for him. It was past 12 midnight and everybody was at the Virgil service which meant the house would be empty. He headed towards the house careful to remain in the shadows. He had a bottle of wine in his hand. He didn't care if they all drank the poison tomorrow, as long as the pastor died. He had no trouble forcing the door open. He was good at this. He moved about the darkness, his palm over the torchlight as he shielded the powerful beam. He opened the cupboard and saw the bottle of wine. He smiled and exchanged it.

God bless you for this bro, I actually picked the bat at random but after reading this I had to check up some research.

tillaman:
Is there anything called a pregnant bat? According to research all bats are naturally carrying a kinda fetus inside of them, so I doubt If bats copulates, and I think Paul is the devil, Nice work man!

About Paul, I think he 'myt' the devil too.

http://www.batworlds.com/bat-reproduction/

The female is very intelligent when it comes to manipulating the time for her pregnancy and the birth of the young. This typically is going to happen when the highest levels of food is offered. It is also going to occur during the period of time when the other environmental factors are best.Such control helps to give the young bats the highest possible chances of ultimately surviving to become mature. In order to obtain such control, it is possible for the female to delay the fertilization process of her eggs.
With that in mind, it is possible for the actual mating process to take place in the fall. However, the female won’t release the sperm to meet with the eggs until some time in the spring.


https://in.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20071231093433AAz6PrM

According to this second link above, a bat undergoes gestation (pregnancy) for at least 5 weeks about once a year.
Thanks for your comment bro, I learnt something new

Happy birthday, wishing you decades of joy, prosperity and loads of wisdom
Have fun madam

Meneski why don't you give it a try. Write

Chapter 5
Ozioma had been killed a day to her 23rd birthday. She had been loved by everybody and had been beautiful, dark skinned and average height.
Amara wasn't sure she had been in a relationship at the point of her death but now that she thought about it, Ozioma always talked about a mystery crush.

What did she mean? Osi was eager, taking everything in with a look of concentration on his face.
Well Ozioma had always talked about someone she liked in the village, she was the shy type and never revealed who the person was. Although she claimed to have gotten some anonymous gifts some time ago.

When was that? Could she remember what the gifts was?

Amara thought hard till her head began to ache. Finally she shook her head. She hadn't really paid deep attention to her friend's activities then. She tried not to feel guilty but it was in vain. She couldn't help thinking and blaming herself for not being observant about her friend.

"Don't beat yourself up, its not like you knew she was going to die" but Osi noticed she looked depressed. He felt guilty. "Look, why don't we take a walk, clear our heads and talk about something else?"
"I'm sorry I can't...I have to watch my sister"
"Oh...okay, there's going to be a Virgil tonight and the communion service tomorrow if you can't make it tonight I understand perfectly"

"Clothes" Amara said suddenly
"What do you mean?"
Amara got to her feet, she seemed snapped her fingers trying to recall something "How could I forget it before..clothes, I remember she received clothes, gifts on two occasions!"
"Clothes....what kind of clothes?"
"A top and a gown..I only saw the gown but she told us he had sent a top for her too"
"He?" Osi asked holding his breath.
She sighed "she never told us...she would just have this dreamy look in her eyes and keep quiet whenever we asked who he was"
She was getting depressed again he could see.
"Amara just think back..is there anything you can remember at all?"
She shut her eyes tight deep in thought and Osi waited patiently, using the opportunity to study her beautiful face.

"Actually...I remember the clothes had this distinct smell" she said slowly
"What kind of smell?"
"Like...like....second hand- like okrika clothes. I remember because Oluchi mocked her when she showed us the blouse and she said we wouldn't understand.
"Hmmm....you've been extremely helpful...I'd like to come and check on you later today...please don't feel sad, I'm sure your friend understands, she sounds like a wonderful person."

He met Paul at the doorway. The young man obviously wasn't happy with the fact that he had been with Amara alone and couldn't stay away any longer.
Osi wondered if the two were a couple. He was just curious though, he had no ulterior motives..God forbid (that's what he told himself anyway)

"I didn't get your name" he stopped and offered his hand again but the man ignored it, his eyes trying to see over Osi's shoulders and catch a glimpse of Amara no doubt.
Osi towered over him and don't afford him any view.
"We'd be having a virgil tonight and a communion service by morning"
"Okay..where is the communion going to hold? In the market square"
"No...in the church, that's Pastor Bartholomew's church"
"Don't forget to bring your family" Ovie added and Paul cringed.

°•°•°•°•°•
Ovie and Osi walked down the path to the stream. "Who was that man?" Ovie asked him.
"I have no idea, they could be dating"
"Well if they are, the guy is really insecure"
"why do you say that?"
"Just the way he kept on looking and edging towards the house, as if he thought..." His voice trailed off and Osi said "good..follow that impulse, don't even go there"
°•°•
"What are we looking for?" Ovie panted, he looked tired and hungry.
"I don't know...I just want to have a feel of the place"
Ovie studied him sceptically "with all due respect, sir..you're beginning to worry me with your detective habits"
Osi waved it off "Two girls have been killed in just four days...you should be worried, we won't be long don't worry...there may be something waiting to be detected"

°•°•°•°•
"Who was that...is that the pastor you asked about that night?" Paul asked her as she bolted the gate.
"Yes...Paul I really have some important work to do" she unbolted the gate again, her message subtle but clear.
"Relax...I'm not going to get in your way"
"I know but Paul please...please just leave..I just want to be alone, with my sister...I need my full concentration when dealing with Joy, she could leave the house and I wouldn't know...my father would kill me"
"Hmm...but when the tall man was here you didn't think of that"
She frowned "what do you mean"
"I saw the way you responded to him.." his voice grew hard and his eyes too.
"Paul please just leave, we'd see later in the day"
He came closer, "you want me to leave...fine...gimme a hug first" he came closer and she stepped back instinctively, this was not the Paul she knew.
"Paul what are you...let go of my hand!"
He held her wrist firmly and pulled her to him with such force.
She struggled and was surprised to realize that he was very strong.
"Paul...Paul...let go...hmmmmm!"
She struggled as he held her tight and tried to force his lips on hers.

He moved his second hand roughly down her back, griping her backside and she was getting really scared as she struggled to no avail.

"Amara I'm going, I don't care what you- hey! What's going on here" Joy burst outside and Paul jumped back like he had been scalded.
Amara looked at him for a full second, saw his eyes clear and the wild looked disappear from them before she slapped him. Hard!

"Amara...I didn't know what came over me...I'm sorry...please..."
"Get out!!!"

°•°•°•°•
The stream could be approached from any direction. It was quite large and apparently very deep. Osi studied the water for some seconds trying to judge the flow of the current.
He began to move west, walking down the bank and studying the water intently.
"Oh my God, what is happening" Ovie muttered from behind, rolling his eyes and following him.

Osi was thinking the dead body had to have been thrown in the water around this point, from what he heard two little girls found the body and they would have been drawing water from the shallow side of the stream which was in line with the current, meaning the body had most likely drifted from this direction.

He and Ovie walked around for two hours without any luck. Heck, he didn't even know what he was looking for. He was now tired and hungry not to talk of Ovie. His friend's face was like a rumpled clothe.

They started up the path again, and had walked for some distance before Osi stopped his comrade.
"I think we took the wrong turn"
"I knew it...we didn't walk this long when we were coming" Ovie whined.
As they turned however Ovie was the one to stop him this time. "What's that pastor?"
Osi followed the gaze and he saw it, a piece of clothe on a branch, it must have been caught on the twig while the owner ran...probably at night, either chasing or running from the victim/assailant. He didn't know who it belonged to, Maybe it was just a coincidence, something to landmark someone's plot of land or maybe to ward off crows, but he didn't think so.

he snapped it free and smelt it...it smelled like it had been in a dark wardrobe for sometime, it smelled damp and he could notice the scent of cotton or the distinct smell of the camfor balls used to ward off termites from clothes. To cut the long story short, it smelled just like Amara had said, like an okrika material. Like the others he couldn't tell where it had come from, whether a shirt or shorts but he imagined it round the girls eyes used as a blindfold and he knew what it was.

"What is it?" Ovie asked. He didn't look tired anymore, he watched Osi with renewed interest.
"I think whoever this person is, its someone they know very well...maybe someone they are comfortable with...he has issues, and I suspect he wouldn't want them looking at him when he performs his vile act"
"You mean guilt?" Ovie prodded.
"No...not necessarily guilt"
"You mean you got all that from the piece of rag?"
"Yes.." He studied the material longer "the thing is I thought the material got ripped from the cloth but it seemed he had cut it out before hand intending to use it"
"To use it as what?"
"As a blindfold"
"Hmmm...pastor, let's have our communion and leave here....let's not even wait for the communion, I have a bad feeling about this village"

°•°•°•
"Oluchi...I messed up, please help me speak to Amara, help me beg her...I don't know what came over me"
"Paul how could you? How could you try to kiss her by force, especially with what has been going on?"
"I don't know...I was just jealous and she looked so beautiful...please you have to beg her for me, please..tell her I'm sorry"
"I'd talk to her..but you know Amara" Oluchi said sadly she could as well tell her brother to kiss his romantic aspirations good bye. She was appalled by his behaviour and to be frank, she was disappointed in him.

°•°•°•°•
In Pa Kenneth's compound, the three wise men watched the dibia perform his duties.
Everything he had requested for had been provided. The pregnant bat had been a challenge but Amaife was rife with avid hunters. Hunters who wanted to put an end to the recent attacks.
As a matter of fact, when they had made the announcement, they had gotten a dozen pregnant bats in an hour.

The dibia didn't ask for the bowl of water anymore but kept on 'oooohing' and aaaaaaahing' throwing coweries and studying them.

Unsurprisingly, the tobacco hadn't come into play. That was obviously for personal use.

The dibia spoke by himself this time. The young lad was no where to be found.
"I see him....oh he's evil!!!...the worst...he's a devil...he is ...he is....he is the one you call Okudili"
Dé John jumped up. "I knew it!"

°•°•°•°•

The moment he was alone, he brought out the bottle of wine from the stash and observed the contents, pouring a little into a glass cup. It was still very much red. The ricin must have dissolved perfectly, come tomorrow he was going to find a way. The pastor had to drink this. The whine symbolised blood after all so it was only fitting it would draw blood. He laughed wickedly at his twisted humour then sighed "pastor Osi, you're not going to be an obstacle anymore"

charytea:
I watched a movie similar to this 'Black October' i guess. And frm all indications, Paul is d killer, cos in d movie, d killer raped 2 gals nd brutally killed dem b4 entering d village. So, he wasnt a suspect so is Paul. Souloho19 av u watched that movie. Ur story seems similar to it bt ur twist nd suspense no be here! Great work.

Tnx a lot..I haven't seen that movie, but I heard it was d bomb. Is the plot really that similar?
Tnx for reading and commenting BTW..
As for Paul.....

Tolezy001:
Soul come update na

Kai..I don enter am o

PWEETYWIZZY:
FINALLY ooo, I came in late buh not too late, jst wondering who dis devil is. Souloho, my nigga my nigga. My fellow corper in d nysc race. I feel u scatter and thks for the Mention. Jah bless

Been waiting for you, welcome wizzy lol how the clarion call na