Tarasha 2 Chapter 18 Part 9 – Oyin Oluwatosin Emmanuel
® 18 + SNVL
© Oyinloye Oluwatosin Emmanuel.
All Rights Reserved.
‘Here, thank you,’ Rex said as he handed back the phone he borrowed to one of the men seated in front.
He rested his back on the wall of the bus and tried to stretch his legs through the empty space in the bus. He still felt uncomfortable in the seat even though he was the only one left to seat in the middle row. A man was seated with the driver at the front, two were seated at the first seat row and three others were at the third row.
He felt weak but still managed to keep his eyes opened and focused on the guy beside the driver. It was the guy from the Tiger Clan who had met him in the building and hailed him first. Rex knew he wouldn’t be treated nicely by the guy just because he was also a Tiger especially when they both did not know what their individual missions were and they would be conflicting.
The sound of Rex’s voice returning the borrowed phone made Eric realize that it was time to end his niceness to his clan mate. Rex was only still alive just because he (Eric) hadn’t been instructed to ki*ll any of the hostages and he didn’t think it was necessary since Rex wasn’t against them. Rex had asked him to assist him to get out of the building and that he had done, just to show solidarity to a kinsman, but now that they were out of the building and far away, the niceness had to stop and he had to return to his strict business mode.
‘Pull over,’ Eric instructed the man driving the bus.
The driver flashed a look at him but didn’t argue. He pulled over to the curb at the right side.
‘Hey!’ Eric turned back to talk to Rex. ‘You got to get down here.’
Rex raised his brows and stared at him for a moment. He could tell from all Eric’s activities since they had met that Eric was junior to him in the clan and did not have much expertise as he(Rex) had, he would have handled the situation in a totally different way. However, he was still grateful that he got help. He nodded silently and rose slowly, he proceeded to door and opened it.
The bus zoomed off as soon as he stepped out and locked the door.
He looked around in trial to identify where he was but it didn’t seem as if he knew the location. The day was dark but the area was well lighted, so he could see everything around. They had dropped him in the middle of an eight lane road and he had to cross the left side before he could access any building. He crossed easily to the other side as there were no vehicles approaching from either direction.
___
‘We are here sir,’ Ayo announced their return.
The voice sounded somewhat distant to him even though he opened his eyes immediately. He could only see a blur image of his PA standing right in front of him and it looked more like a dream than reality. Perhaps, it was part of the dream he was just being awoken from. He couldn’t tell where his dream started from or where it ended.
‘We’ve brought the two doctors,’ Ayo’s voice rang in his head again as his vision began to get clearer. He rested his back and flipped his head backwards for a moment with his eyes closed, he drew in a deep breath and released it slowly. Then he sat up and stared at Ayo, he could now see clearly. He was now sure Ayo’s presence wasn’t part of his dream.
‘Where are they?’ he asked, his voice still sounding sleepy.
‘We kept them in one of the extra rooms, I didn’t think you would want to see them tonight.’ his PA replied.
‘I would like to see them right away,’ the Vice President replied stubbornly even though he felt weak and knew that the right place he was supposed to be found at that moment was in his bed, taking his night rest. But who would be able to rest after finding out that the children he had loved all his life and worked so hard to cater for were not his.
‘Let’s go get them,’ his PA turned, saying to the other men standing at the back.
‘Bring Doctor Musa in first,’ the Vice President said as he watched their backs while they walked away. Ayo only nodded in response and continued walking without turning back.
Elvis Richards reached out for his phone as soon as the men walked out of sight. He unlocked it and opened his call history, he saw the call he received three hours ago, that meant the call from Rex wasn’t a dream and was as real as Ayo’s return. He remembered his conversation with Rex, both of them had agreed to meet in the morning at a guest house and iron things out.
Soon, Dr Musa was bundled into the room by two men and made to kneel some metres by the side of the Vice President. The Vice President turned his chair and faced the doctor directly. Ayo took off the sack used to cover the doctor’s face.
Dr Musa was in his pyjamas, he was in the bed with his wife when he began to hear the dogs barking in the compound. He called on the security man to find out what was wrong but the security man did not answer the calls. After some minutes, the dogs stopped barking and everything seemed to return to a state of peace and total silence. Dr Musa was however still bothered as the security man was yet to answer his calls. He decided to step out into the compound and check what was happening but as he stepped down the verandah of the house took some steps in the compound, he noticed some strange smoke in the compound and one of the dogs gasping for breath. He realized that the dogs had been poisoned with the smoke but as he made his way to turn back into the house for safety, he was seized by strong hands and his nose was covered with a handkerchief. He woke up to find himself tied up in the boot of a moving vehicle with his face and head totally covered and his mouth taped in it.
The Vice President’s PA removed the tape from his mouth and stepped back. Dr Musa was shocked to see the Vice President sitting before him. His mouth was free to talk but no words could come out of his mouth. He knew he had not been good to the Vice President but he didn’t know which of his crimes the man had found out.
‘Excuse me all of you, I want to be alone with him,’ the Vice President ordered all the men.
The PA was hesitant to go out at first but when the Vice President flashed him a look, he had no choice than to walk out after making sure that the ropes tying Dr Musa’s hands behind him were firm.
‘You, Doctor Musa,’ the Vice President began in a low but shaky voice after being sure that the men were out of earshot. He suddenly couldn’t find words to say anymore. He turned to the table and picked his tablet device. He unlocked it and opened his email account, he opened the message he received from the hospital and downloaded the documents containing the DNA results. He opened the results and turned the tablet to Dr Musa to see.
Dr Musa’s eyes scanned through the first result quickly and the Vice President switched to the next when he noticed the doctor had finished with the first one. The Doctor only glanced at the screen the second time but did not bother to scan through anymore since he already identified it as another DNA result. The Vice President still switched to the third one which the doctor did not bother to read at all.
Dr Musa shook his head in self pity, he had never thought that a day like this would come. He knew there was no way he was going to get out of this mess he had gotten himself into years ago.
‘You were my Doctor for more than twenty years and you delivered my wife of all the three kids, can you explain to me the results I just displayed to you?’ The Vice President asked as he returned the tablet to the table.
Dr Musa was silent. Even though he had always known the truth, it wasn’t easy to spill it out now even as he knew death would be the consequence for saying the truth or even hiding it.
‘Talk to me,’ the Vice President said, shaking his head threateningly.
Dr Musa remained silent. There was no way he was going to let the truth out. He preferred to remain silent and die because he knew he would still die after saying the truth.
The Vice President pulled out a gun and pointed it at him, he moved it closer till the tip touched the doctor’s forehead. He placed his finger close to the trigger.
‘I would count one to three and I would blow off your brains if you remain silent,’ the Vice President threatened, now in a harsher and louder voice.
Dr Musa wasn’t moved by the threat, he knew the Vice President wouldn’t pull the trigger yet if he really wanted to know who the real father of his children were. He didn’t think the man had any other option to get the truth from.
‘One…Two…,’ Chief Elvis Richards cocked the gun. ‘Three…’
Dr Musa closed his eyes in anticipation for the worse but nothing happened. The gun was slowly removed from his head and taken down.
The Vice President put the gun on the table and continued to stare at the doctor for almost a minute.
He let out an evil smile and chuckled, ‘I won’t let you give you rest easily, that would be bliss for you. I won’t let you escape this same suffering that you’ve put me to.’
Dr Musa’s heart was beating fast as his gaze was fixed on the floor. He feared to suffer but he knew it was inevitable as the Vice President had promised. However, he was still resolved to keep his mouth shut no matter what the Vice President did to him.
Chief Elvis Richards rested his back in the chair and kept his stare at the man’s face a little longer. He always suspected that the doctor had something to do with his wife. His wife had always frequented the doctor’s office when she was alive with the excuse that she was going to see him for advice about her health condition when he didn’t even notice her acting or feeling ill. His suspicion had gotten to its height when he began to notice late night calls between the two and on a certain evening when he noticed a pack of condoms in his wife bag when she returned from the hospital. He had accused her but she claimed that she had bought it for her husband to use and for him to last longer during that night’s intercourse. He never caught them red-handed, so there was no way he could have come out boldly to accuse the doctor. It was for the same cause he decided to change their family hospital to the hospital where they met Doctor Reuben. Just after that was when he had the accident that almost took away his spine and affected his sex life. That was when Doctor Reuben claimed that he could no longer make babies. But his wife had rejected Dr Reuben’s result and insisted that they return to their previous hospital and doctor Musa. Then Dr Musa had given a slightly different report which was that the man could still make babies but he would have to live on drugs and possibly use some drugs some hours before sexual intercourse with his wife. The Vice President and his wife took the drugs home and used them as prescribed, and confirming Dr Musa’s words, the Vice President’s wife began to show signs of pregnancy two weeks after the couple’s first intercourse after the accident.
‘Ayo!’ the Vice president shouted his PA’s name all of a sudden.
Dr Musa glanced at his face in fear.
The PA came running in about thirty seconds after the call.
He stood beside the doctor and bowed slightly to the Vice President.
The Vice President glanced briefly at the PA’s face and placed his gaze at the Doctor’s face.
‘I’m not going to let you die easily, I want you to suffer the same thing you’ve done to me. You won’t die until all of your kids are killed right in front of you and then you would be given a painful and slow death. With that you would be able to go to hell knowing that all you did not leave any of your children in this world.’
The Doctor was shocked by the Vice President’s words and very little was the fear he felt before compared to what he now felt. The Vice President was going to attack him where it would hurt the most; his children’s death.
‘Ayo,’ the Vice President called again and turned to the PA. ‘I want you to locate all of his kids whether home or abroad, no matter how long it takes you, they would be used as sacrifice for his sins and we would make him watch how all of them would be slaughtered.’
The PA nodded in response.
‘Now, take him out of here.’ The Vice President ordered.
‘No please, don’t touch my children,’ Dr Musa began to plead, tears were forming in his eyes.
Ayo beckoned on two other men and they walked in to carry out the doctor.
‘Please, don’t touch my children,’ the doctor continued to plead as the men laid their hands on him. The Vice President paid a deaf ear. ‘I would tell you everything you want to know…’
‘Stop!’ Chief Elvis ordered the men as they lifted the doctor. The put him back on his knees. ‘You would answer my questions?’
‘Yes,’ Dr Musa answered, still in tears.
The Vice President remained silent for a while, then he looked at the men and ordered all of them to leave him alone with the doctor.
‘So, explain the result I showed you.’
The doctor took in a breath. ‘They show that you are not the father of those who the test were carried out on.’
‘And who are those people?’
The doctor was quiet for some seconds. ‘Your…chi…’
‘My children,’ the Vice President completed the statement with an evil chuckle. ‘So how do we explain that my children are yours?’
The doctor flashed a quick look at the Chief’s face and frowned. He didn’t understand the Vice President meant by the question.
‘How do I explain to the world that my doctor was sleeping with my wife and was lying to me that I could make babies?’
‘No sir, I never touched your wife,’ the doctor denied in a strong tone.
The Vice President narrowed his gaze at him. ‘Don’t lie to me.’
‘I’m not lying, I never slept with her.’
‘Then who did? Who owns the bas***d children she brought to me?’
‘I don’t know sir, I don’t have an idea who the person is.’
‘Stop playing with fire Musa, it takes me nothing to wipe out your entire family.’
‘Sir, I don’t know who the person is.’ Dr Musa pleaded with tears dropping from his eyes.
‘But why did you lie to me that I could still make babies?’
The doctor began to sob uncontrollably. ‘Your wife…’
‘My wife did what?’ the Vice President cut in impatiently.
‘Your wife was already pregnant with the second child, she found out in the same week you came to me for the check up and she pleaded with me to help save her marriage,’ Dr Musa explained.
‘And you agreed to help her by lying to me?’ the Vice President stared at him with disbelieving eyes, feeling disgusted by his explanation.
‘I was indebted to your wife, we were close friends in the university and she saved me from dropping out from school, there was no way I could reject the first favour she asked from me.’
The Vice President stayed silent for a while. He seemed to be trying to figure out if the doctor was saying the truth or not.
‘I had the accident after the first child, how come James is not my son too?’
‘Sir, I can’t explain that. The only one who can explain is their mother.’
‘But I remember that you said I could give birth before then, when we came to meet you to complain about the delay in childbearing.’
‘I didn’t tell any lie then, you had the problem of watering sperm which was a result of low sperm count. It caused the delay but you could still have given birth because I prescribed the necessary treatment for you.’
The Vice President was silent again. He couldn’t believe this was happening to him. It meant his wife cheated on him right from the beginning of their marriage probably until her death and she pretended to be the most faithful woman ever.
He closed his eyes tightly and ceased his breath, hoping it was all a dream but he opened his eyes to still meet the doctor in front of him.
‘Musa, you were close to my wife. She tells you everything, even our private matters. You should know who she was sleeping with.’
‘I swear I don’t know who it was, she never told me. She said they had sworn to each other to keep the affair secret until death.’
Chief Elvis heaved a deep sigh. He was full of grief and he didn’t know what to do. He felt like the most miserable man on the planet and didn’t know if life was still worth living. But even if he had to die, he needed to make everyone who had caused him pain suffer first.
‘I don’t believe you, you can’t tell me you have no clue about the man who my wife cheated on me with. That would only mean she was cheating with you,’ Chief Elvis suddenly spoke again, frightening the doctor with his tone.
‘I swear, I know nothing about it.’ Dr Musa said, shaking his head in self pity. He froze as his eyes met with the eyes of Chief Elvis. He could see the anger and desperation in it, he could see a man who would not stop until he got what he wanted. He could see a man who was going down and was desperate to pull others down with him. He suddenly squinted as he got a glimpse of memory, he remembered something which could be of help. ‘Sir… There was a man who used to drive her to the hospital and around town, especially when you were out of the country.’
‘Is that the man she cheated with?’
‘No, but I think it’s the driver of the man she cheated with.’
‘How can I get that driver?’
‘He came for treatment in my hospital some few months ago, I have his records.’
____
Location: Vespa, Ijanikin, Lagos.
Time: 8:05am
‘I think we’ve been tricked,’ Carl said as he looked around the dusty warehouse, the soles of his shoes making noise as he paced about the empty floor.
‘Do you think that Cole could have told Samantha Osman about the link?’ Eric asked as he stepped closer to Carl.
Carl was the name of the American Tiger while was the Eric was the name of the Nigerian. They had three other men (Nigerians) with them in the warehouse and they had come in search of Cole.
‘F***, I can’t believe I was tricked,’ Carl exclaimed as he turned back and proceeded towards the exit of the warehouse.
‘I don’t think it’s all about the trick, I’m sure there’s something more. We need to return immediately before we get more surprises.’
____
Location: Asipa Road, Lagos.
Time: 8:22am
A gunshot sound made Tomi’s eyes pop open. She shook her body but couldn’t make any reasonable movement. Her body was tied with strong ropes to the chair. She felt weakness all over her body. She had rejected the food offered to her by Carl the last night and now she was wishing she had taken a little, it would have left some strength in her that morning.
Another gunshot sounded and this time closer. She wondered what was happening. She had not slept for so long. All through the night she had not been able to sleep straight for an hour and kept wondering if she was ever going to get out of the place alive. She soon began to hear sounds of footsteps and a familiar lady’s voice approaching.
She held her breath as the door of the room opened and a man was pushed inside. She hoped the owner of the female’s voice was who she thought it was. She was full of joy and shock when Tarasha stepped in immediately after and dragged the man up. Tarasha’s eyes met with her’s as she pulled the man up by the collar of his shirt. She inserted a pin at the left side of the man’s neck and dropped him as he fell unconsciously.
Tarasha quickly proceeded to where Tomi was seated and began to take off the ropes from her body. Tomi was dumbfounded. She closed her eyes, she didn’t believe it was happening so fast. How in the world was Tarasha able to locate her that quick, it could only be a dream. She finally opened her eyes.
