Tarasha

"That girl is d--n wild!" Dare laughed loudly as

he got into the driver"s side of the car. "I had to

beg her to stop because she wouldn"t get tired,

she just kept on riding without pity"

He cleaned his face with a white handkerchief

as he paused to listen. He loosened his tie and

took it off his neck, opening the two top

b.u.t.tons of his collared shirt. His eyes met with

the scar on his forehead through the front

mirror as he relaxed back in the seat.

He had gotten the scar two months ago when

he got himself drunk to stupor on his birthday.

He had attempted to pull the shirt of one of his

friend"s invitees to the party and she responded

by pushing him violently away, not minding that

he was the celebrant of the day. He hit his

head on a table beside them. Since then, his

face had been disfigured with the black scar.

"OK, I agree I"m not strong" he began with

another round of laughter. "Just get me

someone better this Friday night"

He rounded up the call in few seconds and

started the car engine, he wasted some more

seconds to fasten his seat belt before

proceeding to drive out of the company"s gate.

He received salutations from other employees

as he drove out and face the main road. He had

driven for only one minute when his eyes met

something attractive. He smacked his lips and

took a deep breath as he fixed his eyes on the

s.e.xy legs walking up the road.

"h.e.l.lo Pretty, where are you going to?" He pulled

up close to her.

"Sir?" She pretended not to hear as she bent

down to look into the car.

"What way are you going to?" He took another

deep breath as he viewed her b----t neatly

packaged in the cleavage showing dress.

"Bello road" she answered and stared at him in

antic.i.p.ation.

"I"m going to Bello road too" he lied with a big

smile on his face. "Let me help you"

"Thanks" Tarasha replied and opened the door

quickly.

"You"re welcome" he responded.

Tarasha heaved a sigh of relief as she sat in.

She was already tired of waiting for him outside

the gate. She has tried to trap him also the day

before and waited at that same point for him,

only for him to drive happily by without taking

any look at her side, it seemed his mind was

disturbed the other day.

This was the only trick that Tarasha could play

this time as going to his office could revealed

her ident.i.ty after the operation. The company

had been studied and it was found to have

several security measures that could keep

records of her visit. Trying to break and corrupt

their security devices would only waste more

time, so Tarasha opted for the option of getting

him to notice her on the road.

"Can we go sir?" She said to the stunned Dare

who waa still feeding his eyes on her thighs

sheepishly.

"Oh sure" he replied like he was caught

unawares and started the driving.

"Thank you" Tarasha said again.

"No thanks. G.o.d would have gotten angry with

me if I had refused to help an Angel. I did it for

myself" he replied, putting a smile on her face.

"So where were you heading to in Bello road?"

"Lorita restaurant" she answered.

"For lunch, I guess?" He took a quick glance at

his wrist.w.a.tch.

"Yea, kind of"

"Wow!" He exclaimed. "So who"s this lucky guy

who"s opportuned to take you out for lunch?"

"No one, I"m going alone"

"Alone?" His eyes widened in disbelief.

"Yes, alone" she replied firmly.

"Okay, your boyfriend is coming to meet you

there " he voiced out his a.s.sumption.

"No, I"m going alone" she repeated. "I"m new in

Abuja and I"ve got no friends yet, I came to do

business"

"Are you kidding me?" He talked with so much

excitement. "I hope you won"t mind if I join you"

"Of course, you"re welcome"

"Wow! " he smiled happily.

......…..

"Why didn"t I even check here?" Henry laughed

at himself as he tossed the bug on the table.

He remembered arguing about itbwith the

attendants at the computer company when he

had gone for his ID card. He insisted that they

would have found it the same way they found

the card and that one of the workers had taken

it for himself because it was seen as a special

type of bug. He totally forgot that he went to

the company with a bag.

He picked up the bug and brought it close to

his eyes to scrutinize again. He sighed and

shook his head in a negative manner. He had to

dismantle the device and check the

components before making any reasonable

conclusion.

What he planned to do was to learn the working

techniques of the device, that would help him

avoid getting into a trap like Robin Kahn did.

Then he would be able to trace the real

address from whatever trap was set.

.........

"The last time I saw Daniel was last year"s

December, here in Oshodi, in this street" the

plumpy girl explained to the two officers seated

in front of her. "He was with a girl I know to be

called Franca"

"Okay, did you guys talk when you saw?" James

asked.

" No, he acted like he didn"t see me" Bose

replied. "We didn"t use to really greet in school,

our matriculation numbers were just close

because we registered at almost the same

time"

"And Aisha registered at the same time with you

too?"

"Yes, she registered after Daniel"

"Okay, are you sure he saw you?" James

inquired

"Yes, he did" she gave a quick reply.

James paused for a moment, he scanned

through all he noted down in his tablet device.

"You said they were dating in school"

"I didn"t say they were dating" Bose refuted. "I

said they were so close that people a.s.sumed

that they were, Aisha said they weren"t"

"I thought you said you were not close to Aisha,

how did she tell you they weren"t dating?"

James asked with suspicion in his voice.

"You see" she began her explanation. "Aisha was

a sportswoman, she was loved by everyone.

The only reason some people stayed far from

her was get a.s.sociation with Daniel. Daniel was

a rough guy, believed to be a deadly cultist but

that a.s.sertion wasn"t proven. So everyone

except teammates maintained a distance from

Aisha, they could only speak with her briefly

when she wasn"t around Daniel or his friends"

"So he was already dreaded in year two?" James

raised a brow.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there were rumors

that he was already a committed member of

the cult before he gained admission"

"Hmm, serious" James nodded his head slowly

and took a glance at Sandra. "Do you know

where we can find this Daniel?"

"No, I don"t have any idea" she replied.

"What about the girl you saw him with?"

"She lives down the street, I can show you to

her house"

......

"So Evelyn, what part of Nigeria are you from?"

Dare asked as he took a bite of the chicken.

They were seated opposite each other in the

restaurant on a table for two.

"Rivers State" she answered, "my parents are

from Orogb.u.m"

"Orogb.u.m" Dare corrected her p.r.o.nunciation, he

gave her a suspicious look. "You don"t even

know how to p.r.o.nounce the name of your

town?"

Evelyn quickly put up a bright smile, "I wasn"t

born or brought up here so you can"t blame me"

"I see. I"ve been to Orogb.u.m before for a

friend"s mother burial" he paused and stared at

her face. "What part of Canada did you stay?"

"Ontario" she took a sip of the fruit juice and

rested back in the chair.

"Hmm, cool. So what brought you back to

Nigeria? "

"I told you earlier that I came to do business"

"Business?" He started stared at her in disbelief.

"Yes, business. To invest in the many

opportunities here"

He gave a broad smile, "I like that, it"s very rare

to see young girls talking business in this part

of the world"

She replied with a chuckle. She took another

sip from the gla.s.s cup.

"Ain"t you eating again?" He stared at the

remnant of the food in front of her.

"I"m full" she smiled.

"Come on" he cleaned his oily lips with a tissue

paper. "You"ve not even taken up to five bites"

"I"m full" she insisted

"Or you want something else?"

"No, thanks" she took a glance at the wrist.w.a.tch

and exclaimed. "Oh! I have to leave now" she

said and hurriedly grabbed her bag.

"Why?" He asked

"I have an appointment with my Dad online in

forty minutes time"

"I see…"

"Yeah"

"Let me drive you home" he offered, getting up

from his seat.

"No, thanks. Don"t bother, I"ve troubled you a lot

already"

"You don"t have a choice" he said mockingly. "Do

you know how to get back home?"

"Of course" she laughed heartily. "How do you

think I know this restaurant? I"ve been briefed

about this city and I also have the map" she

displayed something on her phone"s screen to

him.

He smiled. "Well, I insist on taking you home"

"Alright, I agree" she eyed him playfully and took

the lead.

He licked his lips and rubbed his palms together

as he had a view of her behind once again. He

caught up with her and they walked silently to

the car. He opened the door for her to sit first

before entering into the driver"s side.

"So where are you staying exactly? Where"s

your house?" He asked before starting the car

engine.

She smiled. "I don"t have a house yet, I"m

planning to pay for a property next week, I"m in

a hotel for now"

"What?? That means you don"t have somewhere

to stay?" He glanced at her as he began to

drive.

"I just told you I stay in a hotel"

"And you"re comfortable there?"

"What? Why not?" She wiped her hair

backwards. "I"m not staying there for too long"

"I can help you get your own property this week,

a very good one" he said

"No thanks. My Dad specified what he wants me

to get"

"We can get something of the same kind" he

persisted.

"OK, let"s see what you can offer" she gave in.

"Tell me about this weather" she changed the

topic of discussion.

"It"s harmattan. It was harsher than this two

days ago, it"s gradually subsiding" he grinned.

"Hope it has not been bad on you"

"Not at all. I"m putting on a sleeveless short

gown, it doesn"t seem cold to me. I only hate

the dust"

He smiled. "You hate the dust?"

"Yeah". She looked at him funnily.

"You"re lucky that everywhere is tarred in this

city. If you get to the rough side of the country,

your whole body would be covered by dust

already"

"Wow! Is it that bad?"

"We don"t see it as bad anymore, it"s just one of

our seasons"

"What season does cotton grow here?" She

suddenly changed the topic again.

"Hmm…" He scratched his beards. "I don"t really

know but I can find out for you. Why do you

ask?"

"I"m into the cotton business and I hear the

industry here is big. I"m looking for a good

company to partner with" Evelyn explained.

"You"re into the cotton business?" His eyes

widened as he asked.

"Yes, do you anybody who is also involved in it?

Or any company?"

"Yes, I know" he started joyfully. "My father has

the largest cotton firm in the whole nation.

Julal Limited"

"Your father is Jubril Lawal?" Her eyes widened

in surprise as she exclaimed.

"Yes, he"s my father" he stated proudly.

..........

"Who do you say you were looking for?" A middle

aged woman walked into the living room with

her teenage son who went to call her.

"Is Franca your daughter?" James asked.

"Yes, she is" the woman put on a serious look

as she placed a hand on her chest.

"We need to see her concerning one of her

friends" James continued. "We are from the

police headquarters"

"Eh! " the woman began an unforeseen wailing,

adjusting her head tie as she sniffed.

"Calm down madam, let"s hear you well" James

urged, as he couldn"t hear what she was saying

amidst tears.

"My daughter has left this house since the thirty

first day of December and has not returned

since then" she repeated.

"Where did she say she was going to?" James

enquired.

"She only said she was going to see her friend"

"Which of her friends?"

"She did not specify, she said she wasn"t going

to stay long"

"Has this been reported to the police?"

"Yes, it has. They"ve questioned all her friends

that we know but no one seems to know where

she is"

"Have they questioned her friend Daniel?"

"Who is Daniel ?" She asked ignorantly.

"You don"t know Daniel?"

"None of her friends bear that name"

James turned to look at Sandra to come in with

an explanation. "Daniel is very tall, he"s dark and

not too slim"

The woman looked more confused at the

explanation. "He came here with her on the

thirtieth of this December" Sandra put in.

The Woman looked at her son standing beside

her for affirmation or denial. "I don"t know if he

came to the house with her but I saw them

walking on the street" Sandra quickly added.

"Yes, I saw her with a stranger that day" the

light skinned teenage boy joined in. "But they

did not stay together for long"

"The person was a total stranger?" James

turned to the boy.

He affirmed by nodding his head. "Was he a

stranger to Franca too?"

"I think he was her Facebook friend. I overheard

them saying something like that"

"What"s Franca"s Facebook ID" James brought

out his phone and began to type into it.

......…

16/01/2031

**7am**

Henry looked sober in his room. His head rested

on his two palms that were clasped together as

he mumbled some words under his breath. He

had just finished listening to a salvation

message by popular Nigerian televangelist ,

Chris Oyakhilome and had been fired up from

inside. Though he was a Christian, he wasn"t a

committed one. Now, his mind had just been

awoken again to the love of G.o.d and how why

he should be pa.s.sionate about G.o.d.

His phone rang, disturbing his prayers. He

switched it off immediately and hid it under his

pillow. He picked up the bible on the stool in

front of him and began to flip through the

pages, he was unsure of where to stop. He

turned back to the concordance and located

the word "love", he began a more intensive

study on it.

...…

"Make sure it is organized before this afternoon"

Tarasha said, looking into the laptop screen.

"Sure, I"ll get it done" the reply came in a thick

Russian accent.

Tarasha closed the video calls application and

shut down the laptop. The landline in the room

rang aloud.

"h.e.l.lo"

"Good evening Miss Evelyn, A man by the name

Dare Lawal is waiting for you" a voice came

through.

"Thank you, I"ll be down shortly" she said and

dropped the call.

She catwalked to the mirror and viewed herself

one more time. She was looking perfectly okay

in her blue trouser suit, more importantly she

looked business minded.

She picked her handbag and proceeded out of

the room. She got to the reception in two

minutes.

"Hi" Dare smiled and got up as he spotted her.

"Good morning"

"Good morning." She smiled back.

"How was your night?" He extended his hand to

her.

"Perfect, how about you?"

"Awesome" he said and placed a gently kiss on

the back of her palm. "I was thinking about you

all night"

"Really?"

"Yeah. It"s like I never met someone as

beautiful as you are before"

"Oh! That"s sweet" she blushed, getting her

acting skills perfectly.

"Anything for an angel" he grinned. He arranged

the tip of his suit properly before taking her

hands in his. "Shall we?" He smiled and ushered

her forward with his other hand.

"So what part of the city are you taking me to?"

Evelyn asked as they walked out of the hotel.

"Asokoro. There are lots of apartment you"ll like

there"

"Alright, let"s see" she gave a bright smile as she

stepped into the car.

"You will like it, my Dad stays there. You"ll be

able to see him often and partner well with him"

he said before closing the door. He smiled as

he turned to the driver"s seat. His concern

wasn"t her partnership with his father. He was

so focused on getting in between her thighs

that he wouldn"t have raised any doubt if all she

had told me about herself the last night didn"t

sound authentic.