Vie Souterrain

Chapter 9: Dominance. 

Location: Undisclosed Time: Undisclosed

"Bastards, welcome to your last Home", I could detect the thick Hausa accent in the Warders voice.
The black cloth finally came off my Face roughly, my eyes were still shut as I knew it would take me a few minutes to adapt to the light and all my senses to acclimatize to the new surrounding. I was no rookie at this, I had had long experience bagging other men's head and taking them to unmapped locations, technically I was a rookie as this was my first time on the receiving end. But I had prepared for this day cause like my Sunday School teacher told me when I was young "those that live by the sword will die by the sword".  That day I had told Ogaga and he had laughed and said its not about what you die by, it's about how you chose to die by it, die like a man quiet and resolved.
After then I had evolved into a rock, senses heightened at all times, I listen and stay silent after all they both have same alphabets so they must go together. I counted down to 50 and opened my eyes slowly but my head remained bowed, according to my calculations I had been blind folded and in darkness for approximately 7 days, my other senses had sharpened up in this period.  The thing with being blind folded is that you have to imagine what's out there, for the first two days I was scared and vulnerable. Being kept in a 3 by 2 feet room with only the keyhole as my light  source, and rats I couldn't see as neighbors, my mind played games with me and I started to regret my decision to stay back after the our uprising.

The silence became my enemy and the Darkness my tempter, I paced and punched the wall till I fractured my knuckles and had to reset them. I was messed up, I was broken, my Life played out before me, decisions made and not made, I cried out to God for salvation I thought of my brothers, I masturbated and cried to thoughts of lustful pleasures I would most likely never see.  Is this how the Strika would die, I had reached my breaking point that night and had promised myself that after resting and gathering strength I would smash my head hard into the wall and die before they came for me or fighting the smell of my Urine, Feaces and Cum (UFC) kills me.

As I lay on the ground singing Bob Marley's Redemption Song...life began to come back into me.

".... Emancipate yourself from mental slavery, non but ourselves can free our mind,  have no fear for atomic energy,  cause non of them can get you down... Would you help me sing this song of Freedom is all I ever had, Redemption Song... My song of Freedom". 

In that moment my mind was emancipated as i glimpsed into what the possibility of my plan being a success held for me, the access to power, the money that would flow and the respect my name would enact when mentioned after this wilderness experience, hope flooded into me I rose up and grabbed the nearest rat I could find bit hard into it head, yanked it off and drank the blood, the thick blood rolling down my throat gave me sustenance and strength I ate it raw and was reborn.
Being moved to this new facility was a sign  that my plan was still in motion.  Now I've been unveiled but after so long with Darkness she becomes your lover and fills you with her euphoric beauty.

A Rust on the Box

PRESENT DAY

  Panic hit me! I've waited for this moment for 9months, and now it is here, but I'm at a loss as to what to do. I grab my keys and head to the car, open the back door so they can carry her in.

I arrive at the hospital, i can hear her crying, holding my hands asking me to be there for her. Of course I've been with you all these 9months, washing, bathing cooking and doing all possible chores, treating you like the queen you are. I admit I’m the one who has put you in this condition.

She has been taken into the delivery room, I begin pacing up and down the waiting room, and I know it’s of no use, but what do I care? No joke would be funny to me, i think of possible people I'd need to inform, but i decide against that, they are not doctors so they won't be of use right now.

What's happening in there, the doctors should have come out by now, how long has it been, I check my watch it says 15 minutes have passed, I think my watch must have stopped because it feels like 2 hours have passed.

The doctors comes out the delivery room with a smile on his face, I knew she had delivered and it was successful, I began blushing from end-end I’ve become a father. What a proud moment for me, i pray in my heart that it should be a girl. When the doctor broke the news to me, it wasn’t a girl, my prayers were not answered, it was a Boy. I was happy all the same, i wasn’t allowed to go in just yet to see my wife, some cleaning need to be done.

I began calling family members and friends to inform them about the good news. After several calls I checked my time and saw that its been over an hour since the delivery had taken place, my folks already confirmed they were on their way. I saw the doctors and nurses pacing up and down, I began wondering what’s going on? why the sudden panic amongst them? I kept hearing the doctor instructing the nurse to check the different wards, they needed to do a roll call and make sure everyone is intact, the doctor came up to me with some bad news,

 ‘YOUR BABY HAS GONE MISSING’ the word sounded like a loud alarm, 

I went ballistic, said that can’t be possible, how could such a thing happen? I immediately ran to a near-by police station to report the case.

The officer walked in, he asked that i write a statement, like I could do anything, my entire body had gone limp, my wife had not been informed yet, she was put on bed rest and induced sleep. Our first child, our son is missing. I did not even get to see him, to hold him, what monster could have done this? What did the child ever do to anyone? The officer is asking the doctors and nurses who handled the delivery to come over to the station and write a statement, instead of him to arrest all of them in the hospital. In the midst of this chaos, my parents came in with smiles on their faces expecting to see their 1st grand child, hard it was for me to break the news to them, with tears in my eyes I informed them that someone stole that away from us, my mom went hysterical, she wanted to kill the doctors, my dad was asking for security footage of the hospital if they had CCTV cameras. All that was running through my mind was I have been lied to, monsters really do exist..

 The search continued, no woman who had taken delivery had gone missing and their babies too. So how did this happen what went wrong, a search and interrogation of the nurses began, that was when they noticed that one of the nurses who joined them in the delivery wasn't a staff of the hospital.

The chief medical director was arrested for further questioning, what do I do next? Where does my search start from? I saw the roof above me spinning, and I was out....

  ******************************************************************************

YEARS BACK

'"Are you sure you are not hungry?" This was the 4th time in the last 30 minutes that she had asked. "Tesefe or whatever your name is, I am not hungry, when I am I'll go to the kitchen". I know I snapped but she was getting on my nerves, this new addition to the family, my dad said it was his way of bringing up the youths of this country but I don't see what difference he could make by sending just one person to school. Oh well I had better go apologise to her, I hate hurting women. As I entered the kitchen to say I'm sorry I notice that she's bent over writing a note, probably an assignment from her school, she was in her 1^st year at a federal university. I don't want to disturb her but I can't help but notice her figure, she's smallish with Moderately big C-Cups and a nice round but firm butt, from all the squatting to grind pepper in the village, the only thing is her arms are quite long but I don't seem to mind, infact I think it gives her a sort of graceful fineness. I'm staring from her legs up to her face when our eyes meet. For a second I couldn't breathe, her eyes are like a black river, I have to swim to shore before I drown in their depths so I break the gaze and look at the wall tiles instead, "Are you hungry now?" She asks. No I'm not, I just wanted to say I'm sorry for snapping earlier, I shouldn't have", "Oh no problem, you did not offend me at all" she replied "why are you so concerned about me eating now?" I ask "nothing oh, I just want to wait till you are eating so we can eat together, after all you are the boss around here, Master Bruce" The laughter erupted from my belly, I liked her immediately.

As I dished the steaming rice and okro for myself I asked, "So what is your name again?”She replied "why ask if you will just forget?" "I don't think anything you say to me from today will ever be forgotten" I replied. "My name is Tesefe" she said with a shy grin.

 Things changed for me eventually, one day My friends, Nihil a sad Buddhist that was my neighbour and Erat my course mate from my university days came over to my place for a Call of Duty marathon. Whenever Tesefe passed by, I seemed to go on a long kill streak, finished a round at 75 kills to 10. When she wasn’t present I lost my form. Erat then said out of nowhere, "Are you given her the good D, because I think she was checking me out?" Nihil laughed, "Checking you out, forget it man, she was giving Me the 'I-want-to-fuck-you-because-you-are-a-hotcake-eyes' but I'm a monk so I didn't give her the answer she wants". "Shut up!!!" I didn't know why their words made me so angry, I just knew I had to keep her away from these monsters, especially Erat, in school they said he was using jazz because no sane girl would fuck a Yoruba jagaban like him, known for breaking hearts."Ahh, my guy done fall in love" Erat screamed.

Slowly I began making efforts to get her attention, I wanted more, and this was not the usual housemaid oga of the house relationship, and we treated her like she was a member of the family, had her own room equipped to her comfort and taste. My mum calls her the daughter she never had, but she fondly called me ‘Master Bruce’, ever since she saw Batman she won’t stop. I couldn’t think of a better way to express my feelings and letting her know other than writing a short note to her, I'm not the most expressive guy but that did not stop me. 

                                                                                   

‘I was a lifeless planet,

Wandering through the dark,

And like a broken arrow,        

Could never hit the mark.

Until I chanced upon your fire,

And was captured by its might,

And although I may still wander,

You are never out of sight.

This you need not ponder,

For as I turn upon my pole,

I know my other side,

Is heated by your soul.

 I eventually sent it to her but I didn't write my name. I slid it under her door and I'm sure she read it and she must have suspected me because she changed her attitude towards me, it was like she was avoiding me.

 I got back from nysc camp, i had been away for 3 weeks. I was eager to see Tesefe, i got home, and it wasn't Tesefe who served me food and took my bags in. I had to do that myself. somehow i found myself fighting the urge to go to her room and check on her but i had to resist the urge. I just had to sound as casual as possible when asking about her, she's fine was the information i got.

 I started making conscious effort to come across her, only once was i able to get a glimpse of her, she was cooking with my mum in the kitchen, i smiled in her direction, but she turned her face the other way. The next morning i tried to sneak to her room before everyone gets up. I got to her door, it was locked i tried knocking gently but no response. I went back to my room, scribble down some more words, ran and slid it under her door.

 I’m thinking about you like

A thinks about being with C

And B thinks about seeing D

And E effing G

And H eyeing J

Like rain clouds think about pouring

Like thugs think about grass

And when I think about you the world makes cents

I noticed things had changed, all this notes and not a single response from her, instead shes keeping her distance. I felt maybe she needed time, even when my friends came around they noticed the change in her attitude.
 We were the only ones at home, I did not see her coming but we bumped into each other, first instinct was to keep moving and ignore her, I lost control of my six senses. I did not know when I grabbed her and began kissing her I searched her mouth with my tongue, slowly and thoroughly and she tasted fucking amazing, my skin got tight it was so hard I ached with it, she pushed me away and exclaimed “master Bruce what are you doing?” she immediately slipped from my arms and ran off to her room shutting the door behind her, I wanted to chase after her, but I could hear my parents driving in, I left and went back into my room.

In the coming weeks things did not seem to improving between us, oh how I craved for a kiss from her, her kisses shatter me completely making me feel raw and exposed leaving me vulnerable, but she avoided us being home alone. I had begun working at a my place of primary assignment, the little bucks I got on me, I went and got a rose and a card, dropped it in her room, this time I put my name on the card, I woke up the next day, I found the same rose and card by my bedside.

Things got so bad I found myself volunteering and eager to do domestic assignments she was assigned to do, I had to put myself in check from time to time.

I was exhausted from trying, I had given up on the outside, but on the inside, I was in search of a chance an opportunity something extra that I can do..

  Tweet to @Ned_Cruz

Bloody Matrimony

Monday 5th March 2012  

Esera

  I won’t be expecting my husband back, till about 4:00pm today. I wonder how he made it to work, last night we had a really good time. So good I called in sick at work, because I know my energy level is very low. Its 12:35pm already, I have been in bed all day, grudgingly i get up from the bed. I wearily move my feet and find myself in the kitchen, i don’t think it would hurt to prepare a nice meal for the husband; as a reward for a job well done. I open the freezer, everything is frozen from the beef to the tomato I barely blended. I’d need to also get spices, but first i need the ice pick to get these things out. What could that be?! where did that noise come from? I hold the ice pick more firmly with my two hands, i'm not going to be an easy prey for anybody. I check around the house; nothing. After the scare; i get busy in the kitchen.

Detective Cruz

  Its 3:20pm Monday afternoon. I am still at work, my buddy Frost won’t shut up and he keeps telling me all about his weekend. I don’t know how to tell him I need to leave. Suddenly he checks his watch and its 3:30pm already.
"wow!" he interjects.
 Then it dawns on him, that it’s time for us to leave work; we grab our jackets and head to the his car. While we drove home he kept on bringing up one topic after another. I was drifting away in my thoughts, before I heard a bang at the back of the car. We both step out of the vehicle to check the extent of the damage, apparently some random bus driver used our car to bring his bus to a halt. i gave out a rather quiet sigh! I'm having a rather long day, this is the least of my worries, the damage isn’t too serious. Frost is already tongue lashing the driver, his about to pull out his ID, before I ask him to calm down, that we let the man go. Frost drops me off at my place, all I need right now would be to shower and sleep. I may stroll to a bar nearby later on. i drop dead like a log of wood on my bed exhausted.

Esera

  3:35pm I am back home, my husband is around, why so early? I can see his car parked, I get to the door it is locked, I knock repeatedly no response, I get out my copy of the house key open the lock and rush inside.  

“WHAT?! Onel!!”

 I keep calling, but no response, he lays right there on the floor stiff like a log of wood covered in a pool of blood, he was stabbed several times in the neck and the abdominal region. I am confused what do I do? What could have happened? I look around for clues, I notice that his ring finger has been chopped off with the ring on it because he never took it off. We have been married for barely two months, we had our initials engraved on our wedding rings, and his own had my initials E.E, while mine has is O.E.  Where is Captain Fluff? Yes silly, I know, but i call my husband's driver ‘Captain Fluff’. I get my phone out, with my fingers shaking and tears rolling down my eyes I dial the emergency number and request urgent medical attention. I can’t believe my eyes.

“Onel” you can’t do this to me! You can’t leave me! No! No! No! I won’t be a widow. This can’t be happening it must be a dream, Onel can’t be gone, my hands are shaking and covered with blood, Onel's blood as i dial 911, i can barely recognize my own voice

"Hello, i need an ambulance"

 ..still in tears, a few minutes later, i can hear approaching sirens blaring, the medical team must be getting close, i'm sure they would be coming around with the police.

Detective Cruz

    4:16pm, my phone is ringing, sigh! It’s the head of homicide division, my boss Mr Nhill. What could it be? Just when I get home and let go of all the Monday stress, he has brought stress back and is sending me to a crime scene. Grudgingly, I grab my police jacket, get my notepad and things I’d probably need, put a call through to my partner Frost, he picks on third ring, i can hear a female voice in the background, it sounds like queent the new rookie in the office, i tell him details of our assignment and hang up. bloody savage! i get a cab and zoom I’m on my way.

   4:35pm I arrive the crime scene, it's a big house, but there seems to be no staff around, just a woman in tears wailing loudly, there is blood all over clothes but no injuries on her, she could possibly be the wife. How do I even ask a woman in obvious pain questions, in between sobs she keeps saying "Onel", i assume she is the victims wife and his name is Onel, i take a deep breath oh well, I can go ahead and do a survey of the area before I start asking any questions, I bring my notepad and pen out, the house is in perfect order, asides the pool of blood left by the deceased. I take a deep breath, as I approach the wailing lady she becomes erratic, screaming;

“I DID NOT KILL MY HUSBAND!”

 “Hi, I’m Detective Cruz and i never said you did; but I need to ask you a few questions”, I try to keep a sober face.

“I’m Esera, and he is my husband; his name is Onel” with tears flowing freely down her eyes, she must be in real pain, or its just pure drama.

I can barely hear what she is saying in the midst of the wailing and tears, but what I make of it is; she found him lying in a pool of his own blood when she got home and some other stuffs that she added, alright that should be enough, when she is in a better frame of mind I’d come back for more questioning, relatives have started arriving, the mourning is about to enter the next level, i do a quick inspection of the body, trying my best not to tamper with anything forensics haven't handled; hmm stab wounds everywhere. i see a bulge within the side pocket, what could be in it? oh it's an ice pick and a pocket knife, whoosh the ice pick has blood stain all over, but the pocket knife is clean, still inspecting and checking the body parts, oh his ring finger has been chopped off, I put the ice pick and pocket knife in my evidence bag to drop it at the forensics.  I give the go ahead they can now take the body to the Cabina hospital mortuary. Frost is just getting here, as I am about leaving, he has a satisfied grin on his face. we both head for the bar, and there I’d update him on all that has happened.

leaving the crime scene, my thoughts plagued with the intricacy of this case, there is something i must be missing, my mind is made up on cracking the case. I could still see Esera through the window, she was all sweat and tears as we drove away.   

 Wednesday 7Th March 2012

Detective Cruz

  8:00am Wednesday morning, as soon as I arrive at work, I head for Mr Nhil’s office to give him full account of the crime, having spent the whole of Tuesday writing the report and filing the case, plus submission of evidences, a man standing at over 6’4 inches tall, can be intimidating for the rest of the team in the homicide division, except for me and Frost.

   9:20am me and Frost drive to Cabina hospital to see Dr Hephi she is the chief medical director, hot female, I could see Frost checking her out, we ask her and the pathologist Dr Klaws to perform an autopsy on the body of Mr Onel, and submit the report when done, or keep us posted. The result should be out within a week or two.

   We on our way back to the office, I inform Frost of my suspicion of the young widow and on that note I put two undercover cops Karim and Niyi on her tail,  I can wait to prove my suspicion,
  

“Frost let’s go ask Esera some more questions”

 “Why don’t you let her be done mourning?”

  I ignore Frost’s advice and insist that we still go.  We arrive at Onel’s compound at about 11:00am, the place is crowded with sympathizers, we make our way through until we have eyes on Esera, I yell to her,

“Can we see you for a brief moment?”

  Esera

    Its 11:00am and I can see Detective Cruz and his partner approaching, I just wish these two men would leave me to get myself together before they begin to bug me with questions I don’t have answers to, I was thinking of sneaking into my room to avoid them, when Detective Cruz called for my attention.

   “Sorry for coming back so soon to disturb you” with a rather feigned sympathetic face.

The last two nights I have barely had any sleep, can’t believe my husband is gone just like that, my eyes are sore and swollen from all the tears;

  

 “It’s no problem, I’m here to help in any way I can” I say that with sarcasm, but obviously the detective is so unemotional, he won’t notice that.

  “Exactly what happened on Monday? In full details please”

 Slowly I begin to narrate, the events of the faithful day, my voice still shaking from the shock, I can see he is taking notes,

"I went to the market to get a few items, then also checked on the carpenter making a new furniture for us, his name is Ricky. I get back home, see my husband’s car parked, I’m surprised why he is home so early, so I assumed he was probably too tired and took the day off, I expected to see him and the driver inside the house…."

Then the detective cuts me short, he has drawn conclusions already i guess

  “This Ricky fellow, can you tell us exactly where we can find him? And where is your husband’s driver right now?”

I write down Ricky’s address and phone number and also that of Captain Fluff and hand it over to Detective Cruz

  “I have not heard from him or seen him, since yesterday, I tried to contact him but no response”, all these questions, I wish he would come back and ask at a better time.

  “That would be all for now, thanks for your cooperation”, 

i walk them out, he and his partner get into their patrol car, they pull out of the driveway and zoom off.

Detective Cruz

  As we zoom off from Onel's compound, I ponder on how we must find a way to locate ‘Captain Fluff’, could he have something to do with it? But first let me get to Ricky.

“Frost, we are making progress I believe” I said as he drove to the address Esera wrote down.

“No! Cruz I see no progress in what we have done so far, but the lady sounded innocent”

“Innocent until proven guilty” I reply with sarcasm.

We are arrive at the Carpentry workshop belonging to Ricky.

“You must be Ricky, I’m Detective Cruz”

 “Sir, I no do anything, I just dey try to survive”*in Nigerian Pidgin*

“Do you know Esera?”

“Yes! In fact she come my side on Monday, but no too tey before she commot, she bin dey rush” *Nigerian Pidgin*

“Ok, that should be enough for now, we may come back if we need anything”

 “Anytime, I dey” *Nigerian Pidgin*.

we have done enough inquiry into the Onel's murder case for today, about time we head back to the office. i get into the patrol vehicle, off we go.

Friday 9^th March 2012

Esera

 My in-laws are already talking about burial preparations, while there is an ongoing investigation, and my husband’s body is being used, so all burial plans has to be on hold I explain to them, my mother inlaw has begun to throw tantrums at me, every passing minute I spend with this lady makes the pain I feel worse. Somewhere in my head, I believe Detective Cruz is looking for what to hold on to, but I am confident he won’t find anything linking me to the murder.

My phone is ringing, who could it be? Ricky? He calls to inform me on Detective Cruz visit to his workshop, I knew the Detective would do that. what next? has Captain Fluff been seen already? how come he hasn't even tired to contact me.

Detective Cruz

  Word has been put out there on the street, that captain Fluff’s attention is needed by the police in connection with the death of Mr Onel, hopefully he turns up before we declare him most wanted.

There is a knock on my door, I don’t need any interruption now.

“Come in, how can I help you?”

“I have information on the whereabouts of Captain Fluff; but I am not snitching for free”

Erat the street thug, has always been useful to us in the police department giving us vital information, I consider him an undercover cop without a badge, that’s why we haven’t locked him up yet, and he keeps coming to ask for favor for favor.

“What do you want in exchange for the information?”

“My gran pa Ema OD, is locked up for possession of cannabis, you know what to do”

“Consider it done.”

Finally we have a lead on the whereabouts of captain Fluff.

I put together a patrol team, together we follow the lead, we arrive at a shabby looking ghetto, something like a small town, the kids and everyone disperse as we drive through, we have the warehouse in sight,

“HALT!” I order the drivers of the patrol vehicles to stop

“We are going to round them all up, every one of them, nobody escapes, beware of friendly fire”, at my command the teams disperse, we have the warehouse fully covered. We break the door to the warehouse down, what a surprise there is only one person in here, and I brought the full team here, just for one man! Sigh! Erat definitely gave us “lamba” i thought I’d meet a group of thugs and hooligans.

As I squat in front of him, he calls out.

 “I am not running from the police! My sister was sick and I was only taking care of her”

I look around the place, can’t see no sick sister lying anywhere around, such a wimp.

“Oh, so how did you hear about the death of your boss? And your sister, she fell sick the same time your boss died?”

“Yes sir... No sir!”

He has lost his coordination, and was finding it difficult to make complete sentences.

I have had enough of the back and forth, time get to the actual matter at hand.  I have to find out why he ran and the last interaction or dealing he had with Mr Onel.

 Having asked all possible questions, apparently he was warned by his boss to stay off, until he heard from him, which he never will. Mr Onel had sent him to the bank to cash out a cheque and asked that he doesn’t return unless he hears from him, which implies Mr Onel drove himself home. Captain Fluff still has the cheque on him, clearly he could not cash the cheque, because he was not with his driver’s license, which was a perquisite to cash the cheque.

i guess i'd just take him to the station with us, to write down his official statement, we get him into the back of the van, no need for handcuffs, and drive with him to the station.

Tuesday 13th march 2012

Esera

 My phone won’t stop buzzing, right now I need peace and tranquility to mourn my husband. He did no wrong to anyone, who could be calling? Strange number, hmm I’m not the type to answer unknown numbers, but there is an itch to pick the call, I wait till the phone rings a second time then I pick and slowly I bring the phone close to my ear, to see if I’d recognize the voice,

“Hello”

“Hello, Esera”

A familiar voice, and he even calls my name with such familiarity,

“Who are you?”

 “OG”

 The words hit me like a knife, do I hang up? What does he want? No not now, he is going to rub it in my face. How come he has heard so soon?

“Sorry about the death of your husband, but he wasn’t the right man for you”

“Who made you a judge of what’s wrong or right? Please if that’s why you called, goodbye!”

CALL ENDED! I’m mourning and you are telling me what? So you happy he is gone? Argh! Such guts! after hanging up, i try to take a nap, now that i can.

Detective Cruz

  After the interrogation of Captain Fluff forensics have just gotten back to me with their report, alas, progress they just confirmed that the finger print on the ice pick matched that of Mr Onel, I spin on my chair, I need to contact Dr Hephi and hear what she has for me, I inform Frost and he grabs his keys and off we go to the hospital.

  If only Frost can put himself in check and stop starring at Dr Hephi’s cleavage, oh well his lust, his business.

  “Doctor, what do you have for me?”

  “Hi, Detective”

   “Can we skip the pleasantries?”

  She smiles in Frost’s direction before turning back to reply me.

   “Yes Sir, so from the autopsy done, I can confirm that there is nothing more to it, he died from the stab wounds, and the stab wounds damaged his wind pipe in the neck area, and also did damage to his pancreas and many other organs around the torso region.”

  “Thank you, I guess that would be all, I’d be taking the autopsy report with me”. I see Frost is still lost and not ready to leave yet, I have to tap him on the head for us to leave.

Friday, 16^th March 2012

Esera

   We are gathered for the funeral service of my late husband, seated among the crowd is no else but OG, well dressed for a funeral he wasn’t invited, tailored suit and bow tie, I feel like asking the guards to walk him out. He should not come an inch close to me, because I’d embarrass him.

Watching as they lay my husband’s body into the ground, to return to the dust from which it came from.

 “Esera”

A voice from behind me, I turnaround to see who it is,

 “Oh detective”

 “Sorry once again about your loss, I’d like to discuss with you at a later time” 

 “Thank you, I could come around two days from now”

 “Great, see you around”....

   ......................to be continued 

The Thousand Mile Meadows

D

eserted. Miles and miles of deserted land dogged our march and more stretched before us. A strange and unsettling thing it was to behold…the absence of life. Of human and animal presence there were none. Abodes and communities once crawling with life lay vacant and desolated. The company had gone silent over the last half mile, our voices lost in the oppressive and eerie stillness of the thousand mile meadows. We had planned to make camp on the second leg of our march but the Captain had had the order rescinded. A hundred other soldiers and I couldn’t help but agree with her decision. There was something terribly wrong about this place. The air hung too heavy, the fog too still. Tarr had once grunted that we walked through a painting, I agreed. Everything was too still. A group of our most talented magi had undertaken a questing to uncover the spell that held this place bound. They had returned ashen faced and a shade paler.  They could detect no malaise or sinister arfa at work but they had all felt something. Something so utterly alien they risked their sanity trying to uncover it. They all agreed however that it had no interest in us but rather than reassuring us, their comments served to buttress the strain on our frayed nerves. Mutiny was fast becoming an option entertained by some squads. I could see it in the eyes of the men, could hear it behind every footfall dropped harshly in our march. Supplies had depleted faster in our haste to leave the haunted meadows behind. I had to talk to the Captain before it became too late, but about what? We had covered half the distance already, turning back now was suicide. Our food reserves were already being rationed our only salvation lay in the camp of the main army that awaited us at the end of the meadow. Our only choice was to push forward through this nightmare reality. I still felt I had to let the Captain know something. I decided to pass on my concerns to the Lieutenant. She was in the best position to approach the captain seeing as I was but a mere grunt. Needless to say, I wouldn’t be doing myself any favors should things fall through with a mutiny and I was caught in the vicinity of the Captain’s tent. We were already in a precarious position because the Captain damn her pretty head, had played favorites with her squads.

I strolled warily down the flanks searching for my squad, hating myself for always straying away from them during the day marches. I found them soon enough. They were barely keeping up with the stragglers. The trio of the Dune brothers, Frost, Ned and Reki led the squad, Nep and Tarr came shortly behind, Nep was perched on the big Nords’ shoulders clutching a bottle of that foul smelling stuff he brewed. Leoni and the Lieutenant walked abreast of the Nord. The warmagus was unusually quiet but then again so was the whole army. I guess it had more to do more with what he had sensed than with the solemnity of the company. The Lieutenant on the other hand had her short blades out and was making a show of flicking them between her fingers with blurring speed. Deyija was unquestionably the most deadly blade holder I’d had the displeasure of meeting. Her sanity was possibly the only questionable aspect of her character but if anything she was a good team leader and also had a good nose for trouble.  Klaws and Ifae brought up the rear. Ifae was our newest addition to the squad since our last squad healer decided to bail on us and transfer to the fourth. The scarcity of healers among the squads was no new development. The healing arfa arts were extremely difficult to master and their services did not come cheap. The most talented of healers were often human-fae half breeds. Ifae had joined our squad on high recommendation from Efae Harvern, squad healer of the sixth.  They both had attended the same war college in the far northern region of Eurani situated on the outer provinces of Kharvina. Apart from that she was like every other halfae, golden haired and blue eyed with inhuman grace, strength and beauty. Frankly I was glad for the addition as the only other female in our squad was an unhinged psychopath with an unhealthy penchant for cutting things. The halfae was more than a welcome addition amongst the guys which said a lot.

I passed the Dune brothers who were engrossed in some inaudible argument no doubt about which of them had the bigger pee shooter. Nep threw his foul brew at me but his aim was horrible. The bottle smacked against Reki’s head and its contents spilled over the trio. Nep was shortly nowhere to be found. A few seconds of cursing and spitting passed then the brothers were hot on his elusive tail, the stench from the putrid brew parting crowds in their wake.

The Lieutenant watched them go, a bored expression on her face. She finally seemed to notice me waiting.

“What is it now Nhil? And this time it better be worth my time”

I was hurt; I didn’t think I was that much of a bother and certainly not to the Lieutenant. 

She played her signature mind reading trick, her face transforming to an expression of extreme sadness and worry..
“Aww did I hurt the little soldier’s feelings?” 

I didn’t give her the benefit “I’ve got some concerns regarding the march sir” 

Not waiting for her to prepare another verbal barb, I pressed on “Moral is in the pits and I think the Captain needs to do something about it. I have a strong feeling that Gedler’s second, Hienza’s fourth, Sedah’s fifth and that big Gite up at seventh are gearing up to make a move before sundown"

The Lieutenant cocked her head. I had mentally steeled myself for her notorius tongue lashing that I was near disappointed when it failed to come.

She replied in barely a whisper “You’re mostly right Nhil except on one thing, the second, fourth and seventh aren’t the only squads with turncoat ambitions”

For a second my heart stopped. Had I overlooked something? Could Deyija be planning on turning against the Captain herself? If so just how many in the squad would fight with her? Tarr, Nep, Ifae? The Dune brothers, Klaws, the magus Leoni? I had no answer. Any of them could have reasons for betraying the Captain. If so…I had already damned myself.  I stepped back, my hand reaching for my blade.

The Lieutenant chuckled, “don’t be so hard on yourself Nhil. You have little to fear from us. You know as well as any that we swear absolute fealty to the Captain” 

She turned to Leoni and nodded. The Magus made arcane gestures and I felt the air around our squad grow heavy. My ears popped, this was war grade conceal arfa. 

The Lieutenant spoke freely “We have little time; I already sent the Dunes ahead to strengthen the first squad and…” 

I was interrupted “But you just saw them… they left now, trying to get back at Nep for throwing his…oh…I see” 

How could I miss it? Nep could be a little eccentric with his pranks but they never involved throwing away his precious brew. He loved the foul poison like a child. It had been a ruse to keep potential watchers off their real aim. I couldn’t help but be saddened, if the company had become this dangerous, there was nothing the Captain could do to hold it together again short of offering her head and even then blood would still be spilled before dusk and not a drop of it would belong to the enemy.

The Lieutenant let me run through my thoughts then continued “As it stands, the Captain just has the first, we the ninth and parts of the Nhoner’s sixth.  However, it would be impossible for the third, eight and tenth to remain neutral once the fighting starts”

Klaws snorted and spat, his face twisted in disgust “I say she cut them off right now, the thought of bleeding someone always excites me but I’ve shared many a campfire with many a soldier from other squads”

Deyija nodded “As have many of us, cutting them off would have been best but there’s the problem of location and supply. We are more or less in the last half of the thousand mile meadows. By my guess,going forward we have roughly five hundred miles between us and the next supply depot. Even more miles lay behind us in land empty of water or food. We cannot forage of the land for there is nothing of it, it is no secret that the meadows are bereft of all that should supports life” pausing she tossed a short blade into the earth. It sank to its hilt. 

Leoni spoke, his tone as if quoting from a tome long ancient "barren, the land lies dry of moisture yet the plants thrive but not on water...never on water" 

I fought back a shiver

The Lieutenant continued, but even she couldn't hide well the edge that crept into her voice “The only way they can survive if the Captain cuts them off is if they take a substantial part of our supplies with them and we both know that would doom us long before we arrive at the ressuply depot”

The Lieutenant had uncharacteristically spoken at length and she wasn’t one known for her brevity, I guess she was as badly shaken as we were. None of us signed up to kill our brothers and we had no illusions how the day was going to end up.

A quirky voice broke the silence that stretched after the Lieutenant had spoken.
“Well, glad to see everyone’s hale and hearty, almost expected to find you lot as crow fodder” 

We all turned to watch Nep make his was towards us, he carried a large bag and grunted from its weight. Grudgingly, Tarr helped him ease the load off his back. I stood aside to give the Lieutenant room as she made her to the mystery bag.

“Took you long enough” said the Lieutenant as she reached down and proceeded to open the bag.

Curiosity got the better of me and I edged closer for a look. Within lay a king’s ransom of jewels and gold.

“By the sweet tits of the godess Galloran!” I swore softly, a low whistle emanated from Tarr and even the usually stoic warmagus had his jaw betray him. The Lieutenant seemed satisfied. She closed the bag and frowned when she saw disappointment in our eyes. 

“This here is to buy the services of the fence sitters, the third, the eight and the tenth respectively. Courtesy of the Captain herself” 

I disagreed “There’s no guarantee that they won’t take the gold and still attack us”

The Lieutenant sounded pleased “That’s the idea, Nhil dearest. They take the gold and whatever happens next happens” 

Ifae long silent seemed to understand the Lieutenant’s train of thought. She smiled, shaking her head softly, she mused “The Captain is a very scary person”. 

She and the Lieutenant shared a smile and chuckled.
I couldn’t help but think that the scary ones were right in front of me.

The Lieutenant paused. Cocked an ear as if listening for something “Shit! it’s starting! Nhil and Tarr take vanguard, Klaws you form a wall for the warmagus, Leoni you do what you do best but don’t hurt them too bad, we once called these men brothers. Ifae and I will cover the rear. Nep get this loot to the appropriate hands before it’s too late then meet us at our predetermined location like we discussed”

Nep nodded, Tarr helped him with the bag and he vanished into thin air. One could trace his movements through soft footfalls and the dust he kicked up as he scuttled away.

Tarr took point, his twin broad great swords leading like metal appendages. 

I followed in his wake with my single edged tapered long sword. Its weight was finely balanced and rested comfortably in my grip. Leoni walked behind us, the air around him hummed with barely contained power and his eyes glowed a haunting shade of scarlet. I hate to admit it but he was one of the major reasons I wasn’t abandoning my post at vanguard. 

Apart from the ninth only one other squad in the whole company had an apostate of the supreme order and that was the third. Last I heard, they were still neutral, I prayed the remained so. Havinar Do’rathi put the fear of magi in the heart of the talentless. Leoni Vartrasi was her polar opposite, the young warmagus was mostly daydreaming when he wasn’t conjuring fire imps to wrestle each other for his entertainment.  Although new, everyone in the squad had quickly warmed up to him. Presently he did not look anything like the calm aloof warmagus we had come to know and taunt. I preferred him this way, all doom bringing and death dealing. Klaws strode along his flank occasionally switching position from his right side to his left. Ifae and Deyija brought up the rear which was fortunate. If they had picked vanguard, our eyes no doubt would have assaulted their jiggling rears until we were blindsided.   

Together we set out, members of the ninth. The light of day was almost gone but our journey into darkness had yet to begin.

The RIFT 3

4:45am,
Cole stood at the secluded end of the Golden gate bridge. He thought of Iraq, Kuwait, Nairobi and Borno...."ahh, good ol' Borno, the black op that was accepted by the world in general, thankful the team had assassinated the leader of a jihad group that almost brought a whole country to its knees....one of the toughest missions..." . " That's the same look you had when we found out that secret in Nigeria, seen it once and we faced a damn son of a bitch, seeing it now means this must be a damned son of the devil" Brody said as he walked close with a grin, " Hello Cole", the two men fist bumped and hugged, Trey and Grimsby are running late.....airport traffic I presume. Cole sighed and just then the wrrrr of the BMW i8 filled the air and out came the Brit and the Brat but nonetheless pals.
"Now that we are all here, let's get down to business shall we??. Boys there is a battle coming, this could be WW3 and the thing is we are right in the middle of this, its time to go black".

.............................................
In the White House, the Commander walked into the oval office..." Mr President, RIFT is a go sir!.....They have been activated" . " Good, good, commander and did the colonel respond positively?...." Better than expected Mr President, he  only needs more time to understand his abilities Sir". "Goddamit Collins, we do not have that time, Jokaeiv is already making moves in eastern Europe, Ukraine is being taken over as we speak, we do not have the opportunity called time, let him figure it out the hard way, that's why you are there aren't you?.."
Commander Collins sighed and saluted all at once, and with a turn he was out of the oval office.

...................................
"Tarev !!!! ...you bring me good news, yes?" ....Tarev was a man with connections, being the second in command to Jokaeiv was no mean feat, a dark man clearly not Russian but abandoned by a German mother and found by a teenage Jokaeiv back in Sputnik and as a vow he's been loyal ever since. "Yes my leige, but the American 4 have gone dark.....that is not a problem just let's take out mind off them now, they will emerge, I advice to hit our first mark now, they will never know what hit them" ...." I trust your judgement Tarev, get on to it...this western scum will feel the wrath of a Russky"......

The Last Kiss 2

....After much debate, she finally let me in, she then explained why she had denied knowing who I was based on strict instructions from her sister, who knew that I'd one day wake up and say I'm going in search of her, i shook my head, consoled myself that I'm only searching for her because she's now a widow. I asked the sister about Tonia's whereabouts but she was unwilling to give out information until i shocked her with the information that Payne was a married with two kids adding to the fact that he is now dead. That's when she began spilling beans, she informed me, that in all honesty it was her sister who contacted her, and in over a year she has not heard anything from Tonia, she was aware of the fact that Payne was a doctor and her sister claimed they travelled often for humanitarian acts, so they won’t have a permanent residential address and a steady phone line.

'What about your parents?' I asked,

She replied,

'I thought Tonia told you all about them'

'Nope'.

She informed me about how their father had fled when they were young because Tonia's mum went mentally ill, i put up a sober face, requested for the address of the psychiatry hospital. She then pleaded that if i do go get in touch with Tonia i should inform her.    

After leaving Tonia's sister's house i did not see the need to visit the hospital, Tonia'mother could not possibly have anything tangible or useful to me. I called up my friends who had been helping to know if they had any update for me, but they had nothing for now, even though Enil sounded like had something cooking but nothing of note, they suggested we go to a bar and grab a few bottles, i told them I'm not supposed to be drinking since I'm on medication, but I'd be there. We got to the bar, Erat came along with a student from the university where he lectures her name was Keik, she was a final year student, rounding up on her project, after initial refusal, i found myself on the 3,4,5th bottle.

Tonia was in my arms, kissing me passionately, her boobs laid bare on my chest, ever so soft and sizeable but this time they felt bigger, I could not help myself but grab and squeeze on them, she began to slowly kiss me from my neck, down to be abdominal region, as I lay my back on the bed, slowly she unzipped my pants with her teeth, put her hands inside my pant and brought out my wiener, placing it slowly on the edge of her lips, I shivered, cause the touch was enough to give a grown man chills, she sucked slowly but steadily, I knew the distance between heaven and earth had been shortened, I was suddenly in heaven.

Head banging, everywhere seemed dark, I could not seem to get my eye lids to part ways, one thing I’m sure of is the fact that I’m lying down on a bed, but whose bed? Was I dreaming or was I with Tonia for real? Had she suddenly come out of hiding just to be with me for one night? Finally my eyes could open and the bright light of the sun was the first thing that came rushing in,

 HUH??

I knew the moment I looked around that I wasn’t in my apartment.

‘Where am I?’

‘How did I get here?’

 I noticed I had no clothes on, saw my shirts and pants on a couch nearby, while putting on my pants with urgency, I heard footsteps approaching the room, I saw an above average height lady standing at about 5’10, with a nice curve at the hip, slim waist, thick thighs, her mammary glands made my jaw drop, still trying to put together the image that had walked in, my thoughts were interrupted

‘Glad you are awake’

She continued by saying,

‘You need to shower, you passed out last night’

I was about to ask who she was, then it all made sense, she was the student Erat came to the bar with Keik,

‘I'm sorry’,

Those were the first words to come out of my mouth

‘For what?’ she asked as she sat on the couch.

‘I don’t know what I’m doing here, and whatever happened i….’

‘shhhh…’

With her finger to my lips, she continued by saying,

‘I hope we get to finish what we started one day’

‘I need to leave, right now’, shyly I said.

‘I’ve some painkillers’, she insisted that I take the painkillers before I leave, I conceded. The only thing at the back of my head was getting out of there as soon as i can, i just wanted to get home and clear my head, i got dressed up and did the walk of shame, from her hostel to the campus gate, with students looking at me, like I had a ‘JUST HAD SEX’ stamp on my forehead.

Shocked, puzzled, what more could i use to describe how i felt? What next? I'm not done with the search for Tonia now this. I did not bother to collect keik’s contact, I don’t need it, whatever happened was a rookie mistake by me, but somewhere inside of me i wanted to see her again, those words ‘I hope we get to finish what we started one day’ kept on repeating itself in my head over a few times, snapped out of it real quick, this was asides the fact that i was pissed with Erat for not taking me home instead.

Enil called me up,

'Dude you got yourself in a mess'. Those were his very words.

My mind immediately went to keik, like in a nollywood movie could she be pregnant already?, was she underage? Is she in trouble with her school? A thousand questions ran through my mind.

He continued by saying,

'You need to leave town, but before then i need to see you'.

Goose bumps all over my skin, what could be so serious that now requires me to also go into hidding?. I began regretting every sip of the alcohol.

We met up at a secured location, i was about to say the word,

'Ke….'

He cut me short by saying,

‘Tonia…. Mob’

That’s all i picked. I asked that he repeats himself, he said its a long tale and a puzzle but if we sat down and put the pieces together, we would figure it out soon enough, then he asked if i had my bags packed and had a destination in mind, i lied, but in truth i wanted to know what's going on, before i jump on the next bus to nowhere.... to be continued Tweet to @Ned_Cruz