False Pretense Episode 58

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Kite sat huddled in the corner of the room, her chin resting on her knee, she was hungry, thirsty, tired with a million and one thoughts going through her head at the same time. What were these guys up to? Where had Jeje been moved to now and who the hell was that damn woman who had shot into the ceiling, bringing about an end to Kite’s outburst when Jeje was being taken?

Since the past few hours Jeje had been moved she’d begun some seriously deep thinking, she couldn’t just sit by and let these guys get away with this, she had to do something. Usually she wasn’t one to just lie around and take things sitting down but she’d had to because of Jeje’s safety. Now that she was sure Jeje had been moved out of the building she knew she had to act.

She didn’t think she was ready to die yet and passively for that matter. She was too intelligent and crafty to be just sitting around and waiting for whatever to happen to her. She could do so much more, living a normal life for a few weeks had turned her into a softie, she had Ise to thank for that. The old Kite would have been planning an escape route since the minute she’d been abducted. She used to be a master strategist, but being with Ise, she’d put her old life aside for a while.

She thought about Ise for a while, he’d been on her mind for most of the time she’d been held captive, she was sure he was out of his mind with worry by now, having both she and Jeje taken away from him would be hell on him. She could almost imagine what he would be going through and felt sorry for him. She almost smiled at the Irony of it, she was the one who’d been kidnapped but she was feeling sorry for someone else who was out there, but she couldn’t help it, he wasn’t just anyone, he was Ise, the love of her life.

He was so obsessive compulsive about everything, she knew exactly how he would be feeling. She had to put him out of that misery and do something instead of sitting and waiting. She knew from his end he’d do all he could to find them but she had to help also but what to do?

Thinking for a few more minutes, she decided that she deserved some sort of information as to why she was being kept here and why Jeje had been taken away and something told her that, her captor, the woman whom she’d seen quite a lot of, the one who seemed to be calling the shots might just be willing to divulge some information. Women and their big mouths. If the woman refused to talk, she could entice her with something. She still had that expensive wristwatch on her, tucked securely underneath her weave sometime during the drive to where she was now being held, on the day she had been abducted. It could be used as a bargaining chip, she thought.

“Oh my goodness!” She almost screamed aloud as realisation dawned. What the hell had been wrong with her? She’d not been thinking at all, she’d carried the key to her release in her hands all this while and she’d been acting like an helpless sheep. She’d definitely lost her touch

“Ise Williams, what did you do to me?” she wondered briefly. Within a few minutes, she had an idea what needed to be done and knew how she would go about it. Whoever said there was a silver lining behind every cloud definitely had a point, the Cartier wristwatch might actually save her.

“Hey! Hey!” She began to call out, hoping to God that this would work.

*********

Ise sat in his study, deep in thought. He’d just entertained a not so cordial visit from the Inspector General of police himself. Inspector Ohi Ben Emmanuel had chastised him on negotiating with kidnappers and keeping the police out of the loop. Ise had lost his temper and had talked back quite disrespectfully to him, giving him a lecture on keeping information safe and secure. He’d told him since someone in the police had let it slip that a woman was involved in the abduction, he’d decided to keep them out of it because he couldn’t trust them. Not to leak valuable information.

The Inspector had gone on to deny the information leaking from his end, just as how the press had been tipped off on where to find his sister, the police had also received an anonymous call to get there quickly before the press swarmed the area. Someone was giving out tips freely here and it wasn’t from his end. He’d advised Ise check his end too because he could vouch for the detectives and officers on this case.

After the Inspector had left, he’d run it through in his mind for a while. Did he really have a leak on his end? He’d gotten an email confirming the whereabouts of his sister and had left for the location immediately in tow with Sal and the rest of his security detail in a second car, could the leak be from someone in his security detail?

The Police had been there first, and then the reporters before him, could the kidnappers have done it? To what end? He really couldn’t see how it would benefit them broadcasting it to the whole world that they’d abducted and freed Jeje Williams, they would have wanted this done quietly, what sort of kidnappers wanted the limelight? It could endanger their operation and risk them getting caught. This had to be someone else, and if the inspector was right, then the person might be from his camp, possibly doing this for money.

He trusted his security detail, they were ex military and security operatives who were well paid to do their job. Aside from them and Princess who had access to his mail, he couldn’t think of anyone else.

“Williams!” The slamming of his front door jerked him out of his thoughts. “Where the hell are you, Williams!” He rolled his eyes, it was Izy. He’d demanded not to be disturbed by anyone or anything short of the world coming to an end. He’d needed the space to think.

“ I’m here Izy.” He called from the study. It had to be important or she wouldn’t be here.

“Ise,” She called stepping in, angry as hell, Sal following quietly behind, an unsure look on his face. “Look, I get it, I get how you are feeling but it doesn’t give you the right to lock yourself away from friends and those who care about you, dammit! I’ve been trying to get to you for hours now but kept getting your……” She pointed at Sal “ Kept getting to him telling me you didn’t want to be disturbed. Really Williams? You call concern, disturbance?”

“ I’m sorry if you’re offended, Izy….” He said getting up from behind his desk, the ‘love’ part of her name which usually threatened to slip from him was forgotten now. He had a new love now, Kite-luv. “I needed to think, I needed some quiet.” He tried to explain but she wasn’t here to listen to whatever he had to say.

“Quiet! How has that worked for you so far? Mr always in control…. Don’t you realise that you can’t handle everything on your own, Williams? You of all people should understand being a team player, you run a conglomerate for crying out loud! I’m surprised you are so successful with this your ‘leave me alone attitude’.

“Running a business is different, this is my family.” Her eyes widened

“Your family? So non family should stay away? Get your head out of your….” She glanced at Sal and stopped herself “Williams, I swear you can be such an…..annoying and aggravating person.” Sal cleared his throat, signalling his departure but they barely paid him any heed.

“Look Izy, I’m sorry but seriously this hasn’t been easy for me. I needed the space to think clearly, I didn’t need calls from people clogging up my thinking. I’m sorry if you’re offended but…”

“Offended? Ise, I’m insulted! I know we’ve had our issues in the past but I liked to think we’d gone past that and had formed some sort of comfortable friendship? You can ignore other calls but not mine, Ise. Never mine!” She was right, she was family too, they’d been friends even before they’d been lovers. “I’m not just here for your business transactions only…” Her voice trailed as her eyes became questioning “Or am I?” Ise sighed

“Izy..” he’d hurt her deeply.

“Please let me know, Ise…. Maybe I had a warped view about our friendship?” Seeing the pain and hurt on her face, he knew he’d been in the wrong

“I’m sorry.” He simply said going to take her in his arms. “I’m so sorry, we are friends, very good friends. I’m sorry about locking you out but….. it’s not just you” Holding her close, he realised it felt so good to hug someone, to reach out to someone, to feel vulnerable even for a while. “ I’ve locked out everyone, I… I guess I was afraid if I let them in, I would break down, I might have been wrong.” He sighed again thinking that he would have to make a lot of apologies when this was all over. Izy pulled away from him

“Classic Ise Williams style, in the face of adversity, lock yourself off from everyone who cares about you. You can be so .. annoying.” He managed a weak smile

“I know.” She rolled her eyes pulling away from him slightly

“ Okay, I’m here to help.”

“Help?” He asked frowning

“Yes.” She nodded “hows Jeje by the way, I hear she’s at the hospital?”

“She’s fine, but I’m sorry…help? What do you mean by help?” She shrugged

“ I don’t know… help with whatever… help you find Kite…. you can run your theories by me, let me be your sounding board. I’m very good with these sort of things, you know? I can manoeuvre out of tricky situations, I’m not one of the highest paid attorneys in the country for no reason, you know?”

“Really?” He raised a brow crossing his arms over his chest “I thought it was because you were a partner in your father’s law firm?” He joked “but I like the idea, I do need a sounding board, might give me perspective on some things I have in mind.” She raised a brow

“You’re welcome, Williams. What do you have in that ever working mind of yours?” She asked as she took a seat on the couch in the room. He perched on the edge of his desk.

“I’ve got more of questions than answers.”

“Oh, great! Hit me with them….wait, before you continue, Joe my fiancé… he’s been trying to get back to you on that business proposal of Dr. Sholanke’s.” Ise frowned, that had been a while ago

“what about it?” She frowned

“Not good at all, from what he told me…. It was all a hoax! He did a background check on her and found out she’d been on the rough side back in the states. Drugs, alchohol, fired for embezzling funds from some charity affiliated with the hospital she worked and was even suspected of having a hand in the deaths of her two husbands although nothing concrete was ever found. The woman is a huge mess! That proposal she gave to you was a fraudulent one, she wasn’t planning on opening a hospital, she most likely wanted to get the money and run or something.”

“What!” Ise screeched getting up from his sitting position “ There must be some kind of mistake….are you sure…” He didn’t finish his statement as Sal came running in like the hounds of hell were at his feet. Ise’s and Izy’s heads snapped around

“What?”

“it’s Kite, she’s on the phone.” Ise wasnt sure he’d heard right but grabbed the phone from Sal, even Izy got up from where she sat.

“Kite! Where are you? Are you okay, have you been released?”

“Slow down, lover boy….” the voice on the other end said and he frowned, it wasn’t Kite. The voice was masked, made to sound robotic so he couldn’t place if it was female or male. That could be easily done by a number of phone applications.

“Who are you, What do you want!” His tone was angry and frustrated “What the hell do you want?”

“Wow, Mr Williams, I don’t like that tone of yours in the least bit” The psycho taunted slowly “ Might get me quite pissed and if I get pissed, I’ll have to take it out on no one else but your fiancée over here.” Ise held himself from replying the crazy nut job. The person continued “You really need to improve on your manners, you know? Your girlfriend by the way has been a wonderful guest… also quite resourceful too… such a clever morsel you found yourself? I can almost see why you’re smitten…” The person drawled slowly. Ise frowned, ‘smitten?’ Did this person know him personally?

“You could definitely do better but I guess the trashy gutter type appeals more to you…. anyway, she gave me an offer which I couldn’t refuse…. A twenty thousand dollar merchandise in return for a phone call to you….. You’ve got a few seconds as I’ll cut this call anytime I deem fit… use it wisely as it might be your last… tick tock, William…time matter, the next voice you hear will be your fiancee’s…….” There was a brief pause and then Kite’s voice came on

“Hello…… Ise?:”

“Kite!” He took in a harsh breath as he gripped the phone tightly “ Sweetheart, are you okay?”

“Well… aside from being kept against my will, I think I’m doing fine,” she joked “ Is Jeje alright? I was told she’s been released?”

“Yeah, she’ll live… it’s you I’m worried about… I’ll do everything to get you out of there, I promise…just hang on for a while.”

“I know you will…. I trust you to think up something…. you… you do remember that Cartier wrist watch? The one I didn’t want?” Ise frowned

“Of course I do, what about it?”

“Well… I had it on me at the time of abduction and that’s what I promised my gracious abductor here in return for a phone call to you. So, it will no longer be in my possession anymore, hope you don’t mind?”

“For heavens sake, it’s yours to do with as you please Kite, you could burn it for all I care, thats not important.”

“Of course it’s important, Williams, I didn’t want it at first, remember? Until you had to……..” she paused as if trying to remember something and Ise finally got the message she was trying to pass across. “Oh….yeah, I remember now…I had to keep it for a while and then beg you to accept it….”

“yes, yes!” She sounded relieved “You remember!” He almost laughed but held himself back not to be so joyful for fear that her abductors might get suspicious.

“Oh Kite, I do so love you” He found himself saying. She smiled

“ I know, you had no choice anyway!”

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Tbc

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