TARASHA Episode 14 Pt 1 – Oyin Oluwatosin Emmanuel
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**Monday morning**
5am
Tarasha was laying on the giant sized bed, the pillow under her arm as she stared into her tablet device, studying the information she had gathered the last night. She had gotten so much already about the targets, their jobs, investments and family, all that remained now was to plot the best way to carry out their murder. This time she planned for it to be neater than the previous jobs.
She turned off the device and turned to face the ceiling, putting the pillow under her head. She closed her eyes and took in a deep breath.
Nasiru Attahiru, the Senate president who was also a business tycoon had three major companies in Nigeria and several other branches in other African countries. He had a cement factory, a large cocoa plantation; the largest in the country and an Agro products factory. He had three children, Fatima, Aisha and Kamal who were all schooling in the United States. His wife was also a business woman who travels out of the country on regular intervals.
He had several houses; one in Abuja, three in his hometown, Katsina , one in Lagos and many others in different parts of the country and in Africa. He had a mother who he held in very high esteem. She recently celebrated her seventy fifth birthday and it was reported that he spent money lavishly in honouring his mother and entertaining all the guests that were in attendance. He had only one sibling, a younger brother who was also a businessman though not as successful as he was but was doing well enough to fend for himself and his family and also live comfortably.
Elvis Richards, the vice President was a greatly feared and at the same time loved in the nation. As a result of his great contribution towards curbing the crime rate in the nation and bringing the country’s security to a dependable level, he earned respect from several countries and world leaders. He was also known for his intelligence and wisdom; he was never outsmarted in anyway.
He had three children also, James, Nathaniel and Vivian. His first son James had gone into the police force like him and was gradually growing in rank while Nathaniel his second son was the director in an oil company. The only girl and last born Vivian, was a hip-hop artiste who had several hits across the nation and regions beyond. His wife was late, she died two years ago after suffering several years from brea$t cancer.
Elvis was brought up by a single mother in a poor home. His father who used to be a politician was thrown in prison before he was born, after several of his political enemies had come together and plotted against him for his unshaken honesty and incorruptibility. The man was subjected to serious hardship and labour in prison, he was later found dead after few weeks. His wife who was a foreigner and had forsaken her country and family to marry him was left to bring up the boy alone after all the father’s properties had been seized by the court.
He finished his primary education easily through scholarship that was provided by the government of his state but had to stop schooling for some years after primary six. But he was desperate to survive especially when he heard about how his father died and those who caused the death. He was also desperate to continue schooling and become successful. He left his mother’s home at a very tender age to live under the bridge, there he learnt the very harsh lifestyle. He started with hawking sachet water by the road and later graduated to selling beef roll and plastic bottled soft drinks. He also involved himself in petty thefts at times and was arrested by the police on several occasions; they always had to release him because of his age and because no one was coming for him.
From the little money he made, he was able to enroll himself for evening classes which he did for three years after which he wrote the university entrance exam and passed after the second attempt. Elvis’s strong will and determination to survive continued to push him forward. After he graduated from school, he joined the police force in determination to pursue and ensure that the perpetrators of the crime against his father. But he discovered that it wasn’t possible because of the rot in the system. He lost his desire and will to fight back. He was now influenced and corrupted by the system, since he couldn’t fight them, he began to live by their rules.
Tarasha got up from the bed and began to take off her night gown, it was time for morning exercise.
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Henry stopped and turned to face the opposite side in front of the old gate before turning off the engine. He took off his seat belt and opened the door. He took out his phone and dialed Jefa’s phone number.
‘Hello sir’ he spoke as Jefa answered his call.
‘Are you there now?’ Jefa’s asked anxiously.
‘Yes but I’ve not gotten into the house. I’ll call you when I’m with her. Just pray that everything goes well’ Henry answered. He spoke for another few seconds before the call ended. Then he stepped out of the car and began to walk towards the gate.
He stopped in front of the gate, it was properly closed unlike the way it was the day before. He stared around for a while, it looked like something had changed. He didn’t know what it was.
He pushed the gate open and walked in, the compound seemed different, he couldn’t tell what was amiss. He shrugged and continued walking further, undisturbed.
Nothing was going to stop his excitement, the excitement of breaking the news of a new job to Omotara. He hoped that she would appreciate it and that he would be able to totally convince her to totally leave her job as a fraudster.
He also had plans for all her accomplices, with his reputation he could get a job for everyone of them no matter what qualification they held. He was positive that Omotara would accept his idea especially when she hears about the handsome pay attached to it.
He stepped on the balcony, that was when he realized what had changed in the compound. He turned back, the two vehicles he had met there the day before were no longer there, his heart skipped a beat. Does that mean that Omotara had left the house? He proceeded to the day immediately with curiosity. He began to knock. After knocking several times without getting an answer, he started to call out her name, he got no reply also. He touched the door knob and it opened, revealing that it wasn’t locked before. He walked into the living room, it was devoid of any living thing.
‘Omotara’ he called repeatedly as he walked towards the room section. He entered into the first room, it was empty apart from the furniture in it. Same as the second and third rooms, they only had the beds and wardrobes in them, it was obvious that Omotara had left the place with her team.
He ran his fingers into his hair, frustrated. He had lost her again.
