TARASHA Episode 20 Pt 5 – Oyin Oluwatosin Emmanuel
The morning was calm and cool, Henry had just opened his eyes from the best night rest he had had for days. As he calmly took in air in the fully sure conditioned room, Omotara’s last words to him the last night began to play back in his head.
‘Just leave my room,’ she had said to him after he mentioned that he had nowhere to sleep.
‘Where should I go?’ he replied her with a question.
‘Go anywhere you like, just go.’ she said and waved him off.
‘Okay, I’ll sleep outside the gate. I think there’s a shop there with a neat balcony that I can spend the night.’ Henry had replied and turned towards the door, he took two steps forward and placed his hand on the knob.
‘Do you really want to sleep outside?’ she turned back and asked in a concerned tone.
‘But you just said I should go anywhere I like,’ Henry paused and replied.
”Ermm… You can sleep in the living room.’
‘Are you sure you want me to stay there?’
Omotara hissed and turned to lay her bed properly, ‘please sleep anywhere you want,’ she tried to act coldly but he could hear it deep in her voice that she was concerned about him.
He then unlocked the door to her bedroom and walked out. He proceeded to the living room and completely turned off the television which was already partially off, as it was programmed to do when nobody was watching.
He searched for the switches to the bulb in the living room and found the box, he turned the lights off and then laid on the three seater sofa, staring up at the ceiling which had lost it colour due to the absence of light. He was like that for the next one hour, unable to sleep; he kept on reminiscing on all that happened that day. He thought about Omotara, if his words have made the desired impact on her. Would she change and turn over a new leaf?
He wasn’t clear as to what would be the outcome of his discussion with her. She was an assassin, one who had been used to killing people and he believed that she must have learnt a lot of things that had formed her and formed her beliefs, how could he then just change her with a night’s discussion?
His heart began to pound in fear as he thought of her waking up the next day to be the same assassin that she used to be, maybe all the words he had said to her would have even been washed away from her memory. Maybe she would have even developed enough confidence to murder him the next morning. He was still lost in his thoughts when noise of a door opening caught his attention.
He looked through the darkness and only saw something that looked like someone’s nightgown, it could only be Omotara because the noise was coming from the direction of her room. Maybe she was restless like he was too, he thought.
He began to hear her soft footsteps and then the light was turned on, he used his palms to cover his eyes to shield the light from entering too much, then he slowly removed his hands after his pupil was able to accommodate the light.
She stood some centimetres away from him, in her cream coloured night gown, with her arms folded and her lips pouted in a serious manner. Her skin shone under the light, her face still looked beautiful even though she wasn’t smiling.
‘Why are you not sleeping?’ Henry asked and sat up, covering his mouth with his palm as he yawned.
She moved closer to the three seater sofa slowly, then she stopped at Henry’s front and looked into his eyes. She closed her eyes, let out a deep breath and sat on the sofa, facing him directly.
‘I can’t let go of these things, I can’t let go of killing, that’s who I am. I was created to ki*ll, I was created like god; to be a murderer…’
‘Shh…’ Henry hushed her, ‘Don’t say that anymore, God is not a murderer, God does not ki*ll. Those guys lied to you, God did not send them. God is good and would never wish for anybody to die gruesomely.’
Tarasha stared silently at his face for a while, the words of her brother rang back in her head. ‘God has been good to me.’
‘Okay,’ she finally continued. ‘If God is really good, then I don’t think I know the good God, the only god I know is the one at my home, the Nefary City. That god killed always and taught us how to ki*ll, he taught us through his several servants how the other gods operates, the ones of the Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists and several others. I wasn’t created by these other gods and I don’t serve any of them, I was created by the god of the Nefary Clan and he created me to ki*ll…’
‘No! The god of the Nefary Clan or whatever you call it didn’t create you, you were created by the only true God who created the heavens and the earth.’
‘You don’t seem to get it Henry,’ she said and got up from the seat. ‘I can’t stop killing, that was what I was born to do.’
Henry got up and stood in front of her, he held her hands and made her sit back on the sofa.
‘Listen to me,’ he said, looking into her eyes. ‘You were made for something better, not to ki*ll. Don’t let the bad people have the victory over you. They’ve made you do a lot of wrong things already but you’re still young and you could still do a lot of other things that will impact the world better.’
‘No, Henry. I don’t think so,’ she said and looked away from him. He tried to turn her face to his but she resisted for some few seconds. ‘I’ve only come to ask you one question,’ she said after turning her face back to him.
‘What’s that?’ he asked.
‘I know you have me already if this is a trap but I can’t find anything around the house and I’m confuse,’ she paused to see his reaction but his face was expressionless, so she continued. ‘Tell me the reason you’ve come here, even though you know I want to ki*ll you.’
Henry stared at her face expressionlessly for a second and then he smiled, ‘I came here just to tell you the things I told you.’
She seemed confused about his answer, she didn’t talk but the confusion was well written on her face.
‘I’ve been watching you for some days now, been monitoring you using the street cameras. I decided to take the risk and come to you.’ Henry paused and took in a deep breath. Tears filled Henry’s eyes, a drop rolled down from the left, ‘I don’t want you to continue the way you are, you may end up badly. I want you to choose another path that isn’t of destruction, so that you can have a fulfilled life and enjoy your future.’
‘And is that the reason you came? So that I can change?’ Omotara asked in a loud voice and got up from the sofa again. ‘And what is a fulfilled life? How does one enjoy life?’
Henry got up and faced her, this time he placed his hands on her shoulder. ‘Tara, I learnt from Uncle Jeff that you’ve been with him for a few weeks now. I know you’ve spent some quality time with him. Tell me, that feeling you have whenever you’re with him and that excitement in your heart when he’s happy, do you wish to have them everyday and everytime?’
Henry paused to wait for her answer, she didn’t reply, but from the look on her face he could tell what her answer to the question was.
‘I know you wish to feel like that everytime,’ Henry continued talking, he took his right hand off her shoulder and rubbed his palm on her cheek, then he repeated the same process with the left and returned the both hands to her shoulder, holding the shoulder muscles. ‘That feeling is fulfillment; you feel fulfilled when he’s happy, you feel fulfilled when he’s smiling, you feel fulfilled when you’re with him. You know why? Because that’s what gives you real joy. You never feel the same way no matter who is executed by your hands, am I right?’ he waited for her reply again but got none.
‘Look at me Tara,’ he said and turned her face back to himself as she tried to look away. ‘You enjoy life when you’re with those you love. That’s why I came to you.’ he dropped his hands off her shoulder and turned his back to her, taking some steps forward. ‘That’s why I came to you, I couldn’t stop myself from loving you even whenever I remember that you sent people to ki*ll me, I only wish to see you happy always. I had to muster courage to come here, I don’t care if I die or not.’ Henry paused and turned back again. ‘I don’t just want to die without having the chance to see you enjoy your life. I know you Tara, I see it in your eyes. You’re a person who can show love to the world, you’re a person who can inspire young ones to be strong and take hold of the future, you’re a person who can change the world with your strong passion and will.’ He stopped and stared straight into her eyes, ‘if only you can convert this negative energy into positive.’
‘… You guys have not slept yet,’ sleepy Jefa was saying as he walked out from his room towards them.
‘Not yet,’ Henry turned back with a smile.
‘I’m going to bed,’ Omotara said and proceeded to her room immediately.
‘Goodnight,’ Henry said to her as she walked away.
‘Are you not going with her?’ Jefa asked after she had entered into her room.
‘Going with her? You mean sleeping in her room?’
‘Yes,’ Jefa replied.
‘No,’ Henry said with a smile. ‘I’m staying here,’ he added, pointing at the three seater sofa.
‘No, why? Didn’t she allow you stay in her room?’
‘No, not that.’
‘Okay then, come into my room.’ Jefa offered.
‘No, thanks. There’s no need…’
‘I insist,’ Jefa cut in.
And that was how Henry found himself in Jefa’s room. He didn’t find the man in the room when woke up, after some minutes of stretching and turning lazily, he finally decided to sit up. Jefa walked in that moment, he was holding a new toothbrush and toothpaste.
‘Good morning sir,’ he greeted Jefa.
‘Good morning Henry, did you sleep?’
‘Yes, thank you sir. What about you?’
‘I also did,’ Jefa said, stretching forth the toothpaste and brush to Henry. ‘Omotara has gone to work already, she left so early, immediately after preparing breakfast.’
‘Hmm… It’s okay.’
_____
‘Can I become a better person?’ this question kept on ringing in Tarasha’s head as she drove to her office, even after settling down to work.
It was nine o’clock now and she was supposed to be at the Vice President’s house by 10am. She was already halfway in her plans to take out the Chief, she already studied the in and out of the mansion. She knew when and where to walk in and walk out. All she was waiting for was the right time to strike.
Now Henry’s words were echoing in her mind, she thought of going with what Henry had told her but she finally decided that it was going to be after she took out the Vice President. She may consider leaving the Inspector General since his matter was already a long forgotten one but she just had to take out the Vice President which would mean completing the mission Chief Gab had brought her in for.
She would end it that day, she had everything she needed to take out the Vice President already.
++++
10am
‘It’s time babe,’ Cole said to Aisha who was still dressed in her black underwear. She rose up immediately and put on her gown. She passed the bag containing the weapons to Cole who had it strapped to his back. Aisha picked up the bag containing the kits for makeup which they were going to use for changing their disguise.
++++
11am
‘Good morning sir,’ several officers saluted Dakolo as they passed by him and Clem. The place was crowded with several uniformed and non uniformed police officials. They had come to pay their last respects to officer Ken and carry out the official parade required to be done for officers who died in service.
‘Ken lived a great life dedicated to the service of the country, he fought for his country and gave his life for what he believes in.’ Dakolo was saying to Clem and other officers. ‘It’s our job to protect the citizens and we would continue to, Ken has died for this good course; and we know that one of desires is that the police force continues to wax stronger.’ he ended his speech with a salute and walked away with Clem.
‘Agent James Elvis would be coming to work with us, I believe that with his input, we would be able to defeat the assassins.’ he said to Clem.
‘Alright sir, but what are we going to do about the Henry issue?’
‘Since we’ve placed new boys to watch over the place, that should be enough for now.’ Dakolo replied. ‘The mistake we made before was to stop watching, that was why it was broken into.’
‘But sir, do you think someone else could have broken into Henry’s security room?’
‘That is what I’m still baffled by,’ Dakolo said, looking confused. ‘The fact that the security room was broken into suggests that it was Henry who entered into the house himself. His bank account was also debited, the bank says it was through the ATM. Nobody else except Henry would know the details of his ATM card. The only thing that makes me strongly doubt it was Henry is because Henry’s memory has been lost, so he couldn’t have remembered any details about his card details or house, since he doesn’t even know himself.’ Dr Tobi who was making efforts to help him regain his memory is now late, his final burial is tomorrow.’
_____________________
Henry sat quietly in the car, with his eyes fixed to the tab. He was monitoring Omotara’s car through the streaming from the street cameras. The last place he saw her drive into was the Vice President’s compound. With the security beef up at the chief’s mansion, Henry could tell that the man was already receiving threats and was getting himself ready for the assassin’s arrival, not knowing that he was already working with the assasin.
At fifteen minutes to two, he saw the Tara’s car been driven out of the compound. Then it was driven a little distance from the man’s house, into Godax hotels. Henry could see her park the car and take off the seat belt, she made no movement for fifteen minutes which suggested she was waiting for someone or something. Henry minimized particular footage and checked the other ones capturing the surroundings, he could find nothing, so he opened back the footage capturing Tara’s car after eight minutes.
Henry stared intently at the screen as he noticed that someone had joined her in the front seats of the car, then he noticed another person at the back seat, a lady. Tara was talking to them. The visitors stepped out of the car after five minutes, the man had a big bag strapped to his bag which he gave to the lady, then the lady turned to the back of the car to take something from the boot. Then Henry saw the man’s face, he recognized him at once, it was Tara’s boy, the same one who killed Ken while trying to sh00t him. His heart began to beat fast, he knew that they were up to something.
______
‘Room 654 on the tenth floor, the window is directly opposite to the left side of the Vice President’s House. You focus on the place where you see the transparent glass wall, it’s a small extension of the house. I’m going to bring the man there between 2.30pm and 3pm, I’ll be showing him how the surveillance camera works. We would be there for fifteen minutes, so you have enough time; it shouldn’t take you more than two minutes to aim at him. I’m going to be looking for the radiated red light on his chest and once I see it, I’ll count to three with my fingers, then you send in two bullets. Okay?’
‘Okay boss,’ Cole replied.
Tarasha then turned her face to Aisha at the back, ‘in this car boot, there’s a cleaner’s uniform and ID card in a black bag. You take it and go to the left side of the hotel, you’ll find a dressing room. Change into it and take in Benny’s bag to room 654 for him. You won’t be screened by the security because you are going as a staff of the hotel.’
‘Okay boss,’ Aisha replied.
‘Good, everyone should do their tasks properly,’ Tarasha said and then added a warning, ‘mistakes this time would be heavily paid for’.
With that she dismissed them, Aisha went to the boot to take the bag while Cole went straight into the hotel. By 2.10pm, Tarasha drove out and proceeded straight back to the Vice President’s house.
+++++
2.20pm
Henry was standing directly opposite the Godax hotel, he was sweating in the pullover he had on but couldn’t take it off so as to keep hiding his face. He checked the past footages from the street cameras and saw that she had driven out already but not with the two people that joined her in the car. He tried to find out how the her two companions entered but he couldn’t, so he concluded that they could have come from inside the hotel.
What Henry had in his mind was that the assassins were planning to do exactly what they did at Rugbe village but the footages from his device just showed him that Omotara had driven back into the Vice President’s house, and so he knew they wouldn’t bomb the place without allowing her come out first.
He turned back and entered his car, planning to wait until he sees Omotara come out of the VP’s house. After ten minutes of waiting, he decided to check around with his self-customized binocular. He took the covering off his head and looked through the binoculars, first all around the streets and then to the hotel, he was still checking around when he saw a straight long red line being emitted from window of one of the rooms on the upper floor of the hotel. He came out of his car to check where the line was reaching to, he couldn’t see it until he climbed on his car with his binoculars, then he saw where the line ended.
…to be continued
