Tarasha

"Hmmm…" Henry kept shouting out words

which were inaudible as he struggled on the

seat he was tied to. His chair and Tarasha"s

were placed backing each other. She was also

tied in the same manner. Each legs tied to

corresponding leg of the chair and both hands

tied together at the back of the chair and their

mouths covered with a large plaster.

"Ooh shut up you idiot!" One of their abductors

barged into the room angrily and smacked

Henry on the face.

"Leave him alone" another one said as he came

in bare chested with a red jersey hanging

around his neck. "Let him scream all he can

now, he might not have the opportunity to

scream again until his next life"

The first guy hissed and turned towards the

main entrance followed closely by the second

who hurriedly put on his shirt. Soon they were

out of the compound, the sound of the gate

closing could be heard.

Henry became calm all of a sudden, his mind

was full of sadness, for Evelyn and his parents.

Evelyn was just an innocent girl whom he put

into trouble. His parents also depended on

him as their only source of joy and proof of

their parenthood. He could not think of what

would happen if he was killed, his parents

could die just from the shock of the news.

He struggled fruitlessly again to set himself

free, shaking the chair vigorously, his head hit

Evelyn"s. She gave a soft groan, the only sound

that she made after several hours that they

had been tied.

**2.00pm

Tarasha could still feel the steel on her wrist,

now she could sense that it was time to use it.

She used the rope tied on the wrist to push it

down and it cut her jacket and fell in between

her palms, causing a small cut on her middle

finger. She took a hold of the knife"s handle

and carefully moved it up and down the rope,

slicing it slowly. Her hands got free in a

minute.

She stretched her fingers before removing the

covering on her mouth. The heavy breath she

let out after got Henry"s attention, he

suspected that her mouth was free and made

some noise to alert her in case it really was.

She looked at him but ignored and continued

to cut the rope off her leg. After the rope was

off, she got up and stretched her legs. Henry

noise was louder as he was fully aware that

she was now free.

She hid back her knife before she walked to

him and took off the covering on his lips, then

she bent down to loose the ropes on his legs.

"How did you loose your ropes?" Henry asked

impatiently without waiting for Evelyn to finish

setting him free.

"They didn"t tie it as tight as yours is." She said

after setting him free totally.

Henry got up and stretched his body tiredly.

He looked straight into her eyes but she

turned away and walked towards the window

to peep.

"Thank G.o.d" Henry said. Tarasha stood

suddenly still. Henry did not notice and he

continued. "Thank G.o.d, I"m sure he"ll still get

us out of here alive." He turned to look at

Evelyn as she wasn"t responding to him

Their eyes met. Henry had never seen such

fury like he did on anyone"s eyes. He couldn"t

explain it but he knew there was a kind of

dangerous anger in her. Then he remembered

that he had just given "G.o.d" the credit.

Tarasha suddenly remembered the reason for

all the knifes in her pockets. This could just be

the right time to drain out life from his body,

she thought.

+++++++++

Mallam Jefa carefully arranged his the seats in

his joint. Very soon, several of his customers

would begin to troop in to fill their bellies. He

deals in toasted bread, tea, noodles, roasted

cow skin (ponmo), "suya" and a.s.sorted drinks.

Jefa was well loved and patronised around the

area. Many atimes, his customers would not

leave after filling themselves but would stay

and have fun as it would turn to a large

gathering. Jefa always had to send most of

them away when they began to lit their

cigarettes or drink alcohol heavily to avoid

violence and destruction of property.

Mallam Jefa whose real name was Jeffery was

not an Hausa man nor does he dress like one,

he only earned the nick as a result of his job,

height and popularity among young men of

the Hausa tribe.

Merely looking at Mallam Jefa"s face, one who

conclude that he was in his early fifties or

close to sixties as wrinkles and spots had

begun to show on his face. But it was not to be

so, Mallam Jefa was just in his early thirties, a

young man who looked so aged and troubled

because of problems and several misfortunes

that had befallen him in the past.

Very jovial and kind he was to everyone but a

closer look at him would reveal his sorrowful

mind. One who"s heart wasn"t at peace, one

who only tried to feign happiness even though

he never was.

As Jefa opened the window, he could see two

of his customers stroll out of their compound

which was just about three metres from his

joint. He knew they were coming to him as

they turned to his direction. He quickly

cleaned two seats for them and returned to

his stand room where he attends to

customers.

"Mallam Jefa" one of the guys hailed, putting

up his hands as they strolled into the neatly

made wooden building.

"Hey!" Jefa hailed back. "Welcome my guys"

"Thank you" the first guy said as they took their

seats. The other guys just continued to puff his

cigarette in silence.

"What do you want me to offer you?" Jefa

asked.

The guys whispered to themselves. "What do

we take?"

"I"ll go with moi moi and bread first, then a

bottle of beer later" the cigarette puffing guy

spoke.

"You want to stay here and drink?" The other

guy asked in low tones. "You know we"ve got to

watch over those "dogs" back there"

"I know" came the reply in a harsh tone.

"There"s no problem, they can never get away

with those ropes used to tie them"

"What of if Afo comes?"

"Afo would return by three thirty and this is

just two pm" he said after glancing at his

wrist.w.a.tch. "We still have a lot of time"

"You guys are selling dogs now?" Jefa asked

innocently as he served their order.

"No, we"re just keeping them for someone" the

first guy replied with a smile.

"Okay now" Jefa smiled back.

Several customers trooped in one after the

other and Jefa soon got busy. His first two

customers did not stay as long as expected,

they paid him and walked away by exactly two

thirty pm.

+++++

02.30pm

Tarasha motioned slowly to Henry, her hand

slowly finding its way into the pockets where

she hid the knifes. Henry stood still, puzzled

as she approached him. The look in her eyes

was unexplainable as well as the atmosphere

around. Just two steps away from him, the

gate clanged and she stopped. She removed

her hand from the pocket and turned back.

Their abductors were returning.

Tarasha"s strange mood suddenly returned to

normal. Her eyes blinked severally as she let

out a deep breath, an unusual calmness

overwhelmed her .

Henry quickly walked to the window, he

opened the curtain and peeped, two of the

guys were returning inside. He motioned back

to Tarasha and grabbed her right hand. "We

have to get out of here" he said and dragged

her along with him. They walked further into

the other rooms in the house, all the rooms

were dark except one that was brightened a

little by a dim torchlight. Henry picked up the

torch and pointed it round the room, looking

for something to use for their defence.

The main entrance door creaked open. The

smile on the guys" faces changed into a deep

frown immediately as they saw that their

captives had gotten loose already.

"D--n!" The first guy cursed under his breath

and brought out his gun. The other man

followed suit.

"I believe they are still around, we didn"t stay

long at Mallam Jefa"s." The second put in.

"Afo would kill us if they escape" the first guy

whispered. He bent down to pick something, a

wrist.w.a.tch. "They went this way" he said,

pointing towards the direction their captives

took.

"The backyard door is closed" the other added

softly. "So, they must be in the house" he

brought out a phone and turned on the

flashlight. He returned it into his pocket to

hide the light, planning to bring it out when

it"s necessary.

The guys proceeded in slow steps in the same

direction their captives took.

Tarasha sat at the corner of the room, looking

pale like an helpless person. Henry felt the

need and the responsibility to protect her. He

already found a rod, with the help of the dim

torchlight, a huge long one whose proper use

was to close tightly the door at the back.

He positioned himself behind the wall by the

entrance of the room, planning to take by

surprise anyone that enters first.

The room was silent so the slow steps and

breathings from the guys could be heard softly

by Henry as they approached the room.

Henry raised up the rod in antic.i.p.ation as

someone got behind the door and touched the

handle. The person paused, Henry paused too

and strained his ear to listen. "You… backyard"

was all he heard. There was another pause

again, footsteps could be heard walking fast

away from the door. Then the handle was

turned and the door opened.

The first thing that entered was the ray of light

from the flashlight, then the person"s right leg

and the whole body. Henry landed the rod on

the back of the man"s head and he went down

immediately, his gun falling away, blood began

to ooze out of his head. Henry quickly

dropped the rod and picked the gun. He

checked if it was loaded and gave a brief smile

before bending to search the man"s body. He

found a phone. He squatted and began to type

into it.

"I"ve been kidnapped, report to the police and

let them locate this phone number, that"s

where I"m kept. Henry" Henry quickly sent a

text to his boss, Sylvester.

+++++

Sylvester hurried into the police station with

the security guard running after him.

"h.e.l.lo officers" Sylvester greeted as he got to

the reception stand. The officers who

recognised him saluted back and gave him

attention. "I heard you brought in one of my

new workers to your station today"

"When exactly?" One of the officers asked with

a frown.

"Few hours ago, between ten am and twelve

noon" Sylvester replied looking to the security

man for confirmation.

"Yes" the shivering security man replied.

"Sir, are you sure it"s our station? We"ve not

brought anyone in today"

Sylvester turned to the guard. "Please explain

everything to them, the same way you

explained to him"

The guard began his explanation in details of

how the officers parked beside the

corporation and one of them approached him

and asked him questions and how they also

took Sylvester when he drove out of the gate.

"And they said it"s Division A?" An officer

interrupted.

"Yes"

"n.o.body has been brought in here today and

none of our officers have gone out to make an

arrest along your direction today" the officer

spoke after checking through the records in a

book.

"Are you sure of what you"re saying?" Sylvester

asked the guard again.

"Yes"

"Why didn"t you tell me early ?"

"I couldn"t get to you, so I told the secretary"

the guard replied.

"You told Bola?"

"Yes"

"But she never told me anything" Sylvester said

and turned back to the officers. "Please can I

see any of your senior officers?"

"Let"s check is anyone is available first" one of

the officers said and walked away from the

reception.

"Have you called the person who was arrested

on phone?" Another officer asked.

"Yes, his line is switched off. That"s what"s

making me alarmed, I believe I"m the first

person he"ll call if he gets into any trouble"

"Hmm… But you"re the Boss of the Security

cameras corporation. Have you checked the

tapes?"

"There"s no record. I"m suspecting that he has

been kidnapped by the same people who have

been hacking our security, I only want to

confirm if he"s here first before I make a

report"

"Okay"

Sylvester"s phone vibrated in his pocket. He

brought it out and checked. It was a text

message.

+++++

2.30pm

In a large uncompleted building, an

abandoned one. Boys could be seen sitting on

the window edges, smoking Indian hemp and

drinking. Another guy was parading the

compound with a cigarette in his mouth.

A policeman stood right in front of the

compound"s gate. He looked around the

environment to see if anyone was watching

him before opening the gate slowly and

walking in.

"Hey you!" The parading guy was the first to

accost him. The other guys also jumped down

from the windows, alert. "What do you want?"

"Your boss, Afo is waiting for me" the

policeman replied.

"Okay" the parading guy nodded and signaled

to the other guys while the policeman

proceeded to the building. One of the guys led

the policeman to their boss.

Afo was seated on a set of neatly arranged six

inches blocks. A half unclad lady was seated on

his laps.

Afo noticed the policeman"s entrance and

engaged the girl in a kiss before dropping her

off his laps. He then smacked her on the

b.u.t.tocks playfully before asking her to excuse

them.

The policeman turned to look at the girl

walking away and she eyed him mockingly. He

turned again to look at Afo who"s body was

thrice of the girl"s He shook his head in pity

for the lady, wondering how bad she would

scream when Big Afo starts banging her

mercilessly.

"Miko" Afo hailed, extending a handshake to his

guest.

"Afo" Miko replied unenthusiastically, still

looking at the girl who was walking slowly

away, rolling her b.u.t.tocks in the process.

"Miko!" Afo hailed again and tapped his guest

playfully on the shoulder. "Do you want me to

arrange an "opeke" like this for you"

"No" Miko shook his head in disagreement. "I

don"t need that"

"Well, that"s your problem" Afo brought out a

cigarette and his lighter. "Why have you come

here in your uniform today?"

"There was no time for me to change before

coming, I had to come like this"

"Okay, so what have you come here for?"

"What have I come here for?" The officer asked

with a look of surprise on his face. "Didn"t we

have an agreement?"

"What agreement?" Afo asked, blowing some

smoke into the air.

"Come on Afo. Didn"t I release a car and some

uniforms to you today?"

"Oh! That?" Afo feigned surprise.

"Yes, I"ve come to get it. That"s our agreement"

"Ermm… It"s true. That"s our agreement, but…"

"But what?" Miko was getting impatient.

"I still want to use it"

"No, I have to leave here with everything now"

Miko disagreed boldly.

"Calm down Miko, I"ll triple your money"

"It"s not about money, I"ll get into trouble if I

don"t return with them this evening"

"Then don"t return at all" Afo said coldly.

"What do you mean?"

"Go somewhere else"

"No, I can"t "

"You can"

"No, the police would find me anywhere I run

to hide" Miko retorted.

"I know somewhere where they won"t find you,

I can help you get there"

"I"m not…" Miko couldn"t complete his

statement as a bullet sank into the back of his

head.

"Take out the idiot" Afo commanded the same

guy who shot from the back.

Afo took in another large amount of smoke as

turned back. He picked out his phone and

dialed a number. "Mr. Dare"

"Afo" Dare answered from the other end.

"How far? Hope you"ll keep to time, we are

expecting you by 4pm like you said"

"No, I"m sorry" Dare sounded down. "My Dad

just called me, he wants me to meet with him

after work immediately"

"It"s okay, so should we still wait for you?"

"No please, drop the both of them"

"Alright"

"You can do that immediately, make sure that

their death is slow and painful, especially for

the man. And do make sure that their bodies

are never found"

"Okay, I will ensure that" the call ended. Afo

dipped the phone back into his pocket and

finished the stick of cigarette before

proceeding out of the uncompleted building.

+++++

"Come, let"s get out of here" Henry motioned

Evelyn who was already coming towards him.

They locked hands and crossed over the dead

body at the entrance of the room. They began

to head back in direction of the main door,

Henry leading the way and guiding her with his

gun.

"I can"t find them anywhere." Henry and Evelyn

paused as they got to the first room where

they were tied before. The man who had gone

to check the backyard was returning through

the entrance.

Henry c.o.c.ked his gun, he made Evelyn to hide

behind his body and got set to take down the

approaching enemy. The door opened and the

guy came in unsuspecting, a bullet entered

into his chest immediately.

Henry jumped up and rejoiced with Tarasha as

the second enemy fell flat. "Let"s get out of

here now" he said to Tarasha who was looking

indifferent.

They opened the door and began to run to the

gate. The gate creaked, Evelyn and Henry

paused in fear. Then the gate began to open

slowly, a car was behind. Their fears were

confirmed, Afo and his other men had

returned.

….

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