© Abdulrahman Muhammad
“You know it’s always good to be far away from everyone,” Taye said drunkly, sipping from her glass cup.
“I know right,” Jake cleared his throat and shifted forward. “Listen Taye, there’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“I’m all ears.” She cheered with the air.
“Okay, it’s about us,” he began. “Hey, are you even listening?” He tapped her face as she was dozing off. She was drunk and later fell in a deep slumber. He then booked a room in a nearby hotel for the both of them.
Sola’s house was charged up with tension also, his wife was also on panic mode. What exactly what she afraid of. He tried to figure out. “He would never suspect you put it there.” He had said to her.
“But I was the last person he saw that day.” She had replied.
“Wait, how are you so sure you were the last person he saw? I thought all you did was hide the chip and get out.” Curiosity colored his voice.
“Yes. Yes that’s correct.” She swallowed. She gasped as he left her.
Four weeks later, they didn’t hear anything from the General and they all assumed he had left the country or in a hide out from the authorities. “Mahmoud!” Henrietta shouted his name.
“I’m in here baby.” He answered, frying some chips.
“What’re you doing?” She asked as she stepped into the vast kitchen that was facing the sitting room.
“I’m making breakfast as you requested, you said you wanted to eat fried chips with eggs right.” He smiled.
“No, I don’t want fried chips anymore,” she put up a moody face and he sighed.
“Wow, and I’ve finished almost everything. But are you sure__”
“Shh.”
“What is it__”
“Shh,” she shushed him again. “I thought I heard something from the back.”
“Are you sure? Must be one of the guards then.” He said and she placed her hand on his mouth. They became silent to the extent that they could hear a dog barking from a far distance. Just then they heard a thud, as if someone or something had fell to the ground. “I think there’s someone in the house.” She whispered to him, he could see fear in her eyes.
“That can’t be. Someone in the house this early, if it’s not the guards then who?” He asked and she shook her head. “Okay I’ll go check, wait here,” he walked a bit and saw one of the guards lying face down by the glass door. He quickly turned to her. “Bisi, call__” a bullet came from the window pane and hit him.
Henrietta had started screaming but no one would hear, they were far from people, their neighbors were kilometers away. And the guards had all been shot dead, she was sure it was a sniper. “Mahmoud,” she called squatting under the kitchen table. She couldn’t see him move so she wasn’t sure if he was still alive. “Baby,” she cried quietly and glanced at her cell phone that was on the cushion, which she wouldn’t get to without being spotted by the sniper.
Back at the hotel, the duo had done what they did best. But Jake wanted to take their relationship forward, he wanted to change its status from “singles who mingle” to “in a relationship” or “married” or something that fits his imagination. “Morning.” Taye interrupted his thoughts.
“Hey, you’re awake. Finally,” he said and she groaned. “I told you not to drink too much.”
“Yes, you did and I’m sorry.” She apologized.
“It’s alright, I want our relationship to move forward__” he paused as they heard a knock on the door.
“Did you ordered for something?” She asked and he disapproved.
“Who’s it?” He asked and the knock stopped. Then it came back again which startled them. “Who’s it?!” Jake asked as he threaded with caution. He reached the door and looked to the bed, Taye had entered the bathroom. “Who’s it?” He asked again.
“Room service.” A voice said from the other side.
He began to unlock the door. “But we didn’t order for any__” the person pushed the door at his face, breaking his nose. Then the man with a black hat that was covering almost half of his face jumped on him with a knife Jake hadn’t seen before. “Help! Taye!” Jake shouted, stopping the man from stabbing him on his chest. He kept on pushing the knife to jake’s chest and Taye came out of the bathroom. As expected, she shouted in fear, shaking from side to side.
Quickly a wave hit her and she found herself carrying a lamp and hitting the unknown man in his back, he slapped her and she fell down. Jake was barely on his feet when the man came back, they started to struggle, breaking glasses. Taye came from his back and choked him with jake’s belt. Soon they all fell to the floor, the man began gasping for air, he was going to lose the fight, two against one wasn’t a good odd for him. In a minute time, he stopped struggling and they released him. “Is he dead?” She asked.
“He should be.” He answered panting.
Back at the couples residence, there was silence longer than Henrietta expected. Was the shooter gone? Is her husband still alive? He was far from her, he was lying right where the window was, so she knew the only thing she could do was go for the phone. She quietly lied flat on the floor and began to crawl to the chair where the phone was. “Hello,” she whispered as she quickly dialed on it. “Hello, please help. There’s someone in the house.” She said.
An hour later, the securities and the police where all over the presidents daughter’s house. The shooter was gone when they arrived. Mahmoud was alive but in a critical condition, and was being taken to the hospital by the ambulance which was escorted by his 2months old pregnant wife.
“I can’t believe this!” Mr Adewale paced angrily with hands on his waists. “My family? He’s coming after my family? How dare him!” He shouted.
“You need to take things easy sir.” Jack suggested.
“What was that?” Mr Adewale walked to him. “Take things easy? I just got a call from a hotel saying my son and Taye was attacked and now my daughter and her husband! First he runs like a coward and now he’s attacking my family from the shadows!” Mr Adewale scolded at Jack as if he was the enemy.
Jack took him to the hospital where Mahmoud and his daughter were taken to. He opened the front door and 5 of his top secret service guards walked down the hall with him. “How’s he?” He asked as he reached where Mahmoud’s parents were standing.
“He’s in surgery. He was shot just below the heart, but the doctor said he will make it,” sola said and added. “Whoever the sniper was, he knew what he was doing. And has a significant order.”
“Which is?” Mr Adewale asked.
“To kill.” Sola answered and the president looked to his guards and back at him. “We need to talk.” Sola said.
“Damn right, we do.” The president opened a blue door and entered an empty room with sola and closed the door. “None of this would be happening if it wasn’t for you and your selfish interests!”
“I know and I don’t know how many times I have to apologize for what I tried to do to you,” sola began. “But I wanted to fix things and you took matters into your own hands.”
“What’re you talking about?”
“If only you had waited for the right moment, strategize before going with his nephew to take him down. I mean, how did that end up?”
“What exactly are you saying?” Mr Adewale interlocked his fingers, sola wasn’t still making sane to him.
“What I’m saying is, if you want to catch someone like Tukur, you have to use everything you got. Otherwise when he gets away, which he has__”
“Summarize.” Mr Adewale said.
“If he can kill his nephew to escape getting caught, then there’s nothing or no one he can’t kill. He’s out there right now, fierce and angry that we tried to take him down. Only God knows what he’s planning to do next.” Sola finished.
“Well he won’t be planning for long.”
“How so?”
“He came after my family, those I love dearly. So I’ll make sure he gets what he deserves. Hell, I’ll hunt him down myself if I have to.” Mr Adewale said with rage in his eyes.
Sola scoffed and moved up to him. “You need to be careful. We need to be careful. Because anything we do now affects our families, those we care deeply about,” sola said and they both looked out to the door and saw their wives. “We need a plan, something that could lure him out.” Sola said.
“You’re right,” Mr Adewale agreed. “But first we need to find the sniper, he’s our ticket to finding Tukur.”
