RESTLESS : The Hunt For Peace Episode 182

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“Do you know Kahn is going to do in Venux?” Henry said into his mouthpiece. He had a two-sided earpiece covering both ears while he stared at the computer in front of him.

“No idea,” Maxwell answered from the other end. “She said he visits there often and could have his family there.”

“Oh!” Henry exclaimed. “If that’s true, we need to find the exact location his family resides.”

“Could it be possible he has his family there, truly?” Maxwell asked, with a note of doubt in his voice.

“Yeah, it could be,” Henry replied. “It’s a 50-50 chance. And it is also possible that what she thinks is family is his terrorist organization.”

“Okay, I’ll start digging for details about his family right away.”

“We did a lot of digging sometime ago, I’ll send you our records. But you too search and see if you can find anything extra.”

“For now, I’ll keep checking for the upcoming events taking place there and also check the history of his visits.”

“Okay, have you run a check on the mobile number I sent to you?”

“Yes, he’s connecting through a private network at the moment, we can’t tap his calls or extract details but we can’t conclude until he leaves to a neutral area.”

“Yes, we can’t conclude.”

“I’ll hit you up once I get any valid info,” Henry said conclusively. “Keep in touch with Emily as much as lovers do.”

He had just disconnected the call and dropped the earphone when Dave walked into the control room.

Henry glanced at him and noticed he was restless. He ignored for a moment and turned back to continue his work on the computer. A thought came to his mind after some seconds and he turned to Dave again.

“I think there’s something you can do,” he suggested.

“What’s that?” Dave unfolded his arms and stepped forward.

“We working to see why Kahn is going to Venux,” Henry continued. “I think you should check the records of the State, in terms of violence and terrorism. We need to know if there’s been any terrorist attacks in the state, the exact dates, and circumstances.”

Dave let out a breath and shook his head. “Right away,” he shook his head before walking towards the computer.

*

07:30 PM

Dave was sitting in the living room when he heard sounds of a vehicle coming into the compound. He got up and rushed to the window to check who it was.

A smile appeared on his face as he saw the car driving into the compound. He proceeded to the door immediately and was about to open the door when he had a rethink. It could look overzealous on his part if he stepped out to welcome them instead of waiting for them to come in. Besides, there was no real reason he should be overexcited to see Evelyn again.

Reluctantly, he walked back to the sofa and picked up his device. He navigated to a game app and clicked it open. The game finished loading in less than 30 seconds and he proceeded to play, even though his mind was not in it.

After a minute, the door opened and he turned his gaze there immediately. It took a few seconds after the door opened before Evelyn walked into the house.

“Evelyn,” he called with a release of breath as their eyes met. His device dropped from his hand and he stood up immediately to approach her.

She smiled as she watched him coming and walked into his open arms.

“Ouch!” She exclaimed and pulled back immediately after he tried to hug her. “You gonna open up my wound if you hug so tight like that.

“Oh! I’m sorry,” Dave chuckled and moved closer to embrace her again. This time, softly.

Samantha walked past them, carrying polythene bags in both hands.

“It’s nice to see you again,” Dave remarked after letting her go. She was still standing so close in front of him.

“It’s nice to see you too,” she replied and placed a peck on his left cheek before walking past him.

Dave stood transfixed to the ground for a minute, wondering if she had pecked him or it was his imagination.

“Where’s Henry?” He could hear Evelyn asking and he quickly turned.

He’s either in the control center or in his room,” he answered her.

“Dinner is ready,” Samantha announced after setting up the table with the meal she had gotten on their way back.

“Look who’s here,” Henry remarked cheerfully as he walked into the living room.

“Good evening, sir!” She turned and saluted him in their usual military tone.

“Agent Evelyn, why the heck have you been missing at your post for days?” He played along with a bossy tone.

“We were overpowered at the special mission, sir. We had the situation misread and we’ve…”

“Shh…” Henry interrupted her with a loud laugh. “Come on, come here,” he added, opening his arms to embrace her. “I’m glad to see you back again.”

“I’m glad to see you too boss,” Evelyn replied. “And I’m ashamed to say you were right all along.”

“Come on, that’s passed. Just sit your a$$ down and let’s eat,” he said to her and moved to take a seat at the dining table.

“What about the others?” Evelyn asked as they settled at the dining area.

“You mean Jennifer and Maxwell?” Samantha replied and Evelyn affirmed with a nod. “They’re on a task, don’t know how long they will be there for.”

“Let’s eat, you will get more updates tomorrow,” Henry said to Evelyn.

“I’m resuming work tomorrow,” Evelyn stated.

“I’d be driving you?” Dave blurted out. He felt slightly embarrassed as he saw all eyes on him.

“But you’re sure not going to stay for so long at work, you’re just recovering,” Henry said to her.

“Yeah, there wouldn’t be much to do. So I’ll be closing early. But I also got to get to my Mom’s,” Evelyn affirmed.

“You go there after work and bring them here to stay with us,” Henry replied.

“Okay, that sounds cool.”

“Yeah,” Henry nodded and then opened his plate of food to start eating. He suddenly remembered something and then dropped his cutlery. “You’re just joining us after a long time, Eve. Lead us in prayers before we eat.”

The dinner was taken in total silence and they were all done in about ten minutes. Samantha was the first to leave the table. Dave remained at the table, hoping that Henry would leave for him to be alone with Evelyn.

As if reading his thoughts, Henry cleaned his hands with the napkin and also got up from the dining. A smile escaped Dave’s lips and he watched Henry walk towards in direction of the second verandah of the building.

He turned to Evelyn with a smile. She was cleaning her hands with the table cloth when her eyes met with his. She smiled back but contrary to his expectations got up immediately.

“I’ll talk to you later, Dave. Need to speak with Henry now,” she said as she got up from the table and walked in the same direction as Henry.

He was not so pleased to watch her go but it still didn’t mean much to him since he would be driving her to the office the next day. He let out a sigh of relief and then got up from the table.

*

“Evelyn,” Henry called in surprise as he glanced back from where he stood. He was not expecting her to join him there. Moreover, the only person he was used to talking with at that Verandah was Sam. So he had thought it was her when he heard footsteps.

“There’s something I think you need to know,” she said as she approached him.

“Can’t it wait until tomorrow?” He asked.

“Well, we’re not going to be discussing for long and I think you’ll like to hear it now,” she replied, placing her hand on the rails just like Henry.

“So, tell me, what’s that?”

“Due to our failure of the mission, some changes have been made.”

“That’s expected,” Henry put in. “Steve would most likely be replaced by a senior Agent and more people will be introduced to your team.”

“Well, Steve wasn’t removed from the team. I was told the executives are suspicious of themselves. So they decided to keep out the executives who have been involved in the mission with us,” Evelyn explained.

Henry changed his position and turned to face her. “Of course, you know Agent Michael works with the Wolves. I hope he’s one of those who would be banned from knowing anything about the case.”

“Unfortunately, he isn’t.”

Henry sighed.

“Agent Michael never worked closely with us, so no one suspects that he is the mole.”

Henry was quiet for a while and then turned again away from her. “I don’t think the mole was the issue here. I think the source of information was the issue.”

“Daysman?”

“Yeah, bleeping Daysman! He knew you were going to get killed, so he led you to the Wolves ambush.”

“He gave us seven different locations, we narrowed it down to two ourselves.”

“He bleeping knew you were going to narrow it down,” Henry responded. He turned his gaze to Evelyn. “It would have been so cheap for him to tell you the exact place to go. So he gave you seven locations and left you to work it out yourself. They had these things planned out already.”

Evelyn let out a deep breath as she pondered for some seconds. “So, does that mean his arrest was a setup?”

“Maybe or maybe not,” Henry shrugged. “What is certain is they knew a day was going to come when he could get caught. So, they planned for it already.”

“That bleeping Daysman needs to rot in jail for the rest of his life. I’ve got to prove that he worked with the Wolves to set up the FOX.”

“He might be aware but it’s also possible that he isn’t aware,” Henry stated.

“I don’t understand,” Evelyn frowned.

“Think about it well, Evelyn. The man behind the Wolves is an excellent strategist. He is intelligent enough to use his men against the FOX or anybody even without them knowing they are being used. He knows the FOX can break Daysman and make him talk, so he would have never shared information that would endanger him to Daysman. He knows every detail Daysman could tell you and he’s working with that. For instance, he knows Daysman would give you details about the seven locations. So he was ready even before the FOX began to plan the attack.”

Evelyn let out a sigh, this time one of frustration.

“I think you should go to bed now,” Henry suggested. “You need to rest.”

“Yeah,” Evelyn shook her head. “I guess we’ll just have to figure things out slowly and diligently.”

“Yeah, slowly and diligently.”

“Goodnight, Henry,” she said as she turned towards the door.

“Goodnight,” Henry smiled and turned to his previous position, where he was staring at the blank sky.

Evelyn was yet to get to the door when he remembered something and turned quickly.

“Evelyn,” he called and waited for her to turn. “Could you help me find out some details on Venux?”

“Details on Venux?” She questioned for clarification.

“Yeah, you can check through the FOX files and tell me if there are any records of explosions there or something similar. I need everything you can get about the place.”

Evelyn nodded in agreement. “I got you.”

*

07:45 AM

Dave had gotten up early that morning to prepare the car. He busied himself in the living room while expecting when Evelyn would be ready to go. He had been in the living room for about fifteen minutes before he heard Evelyn’s voice.

“Good morning, Dave. Care for breakfast now?” She asked from the dining area.

He was laying on the three-seater sofa but sat up quickly and turned to look at her. She didn’t look like she was ready to go to work yet. “Good morning,” he replied, staring with a surprised look. She was dressed in a T-shirt and bum shorts. “You prepared breakfast?”

“No,” she answered. “I’m only helping Samantha serve it.”

He got up and slowly walked to the dining area. “What time are you leaving for work today?”

“By nine o’clock,” Evelyn replied without looking at him but then turned to face him. “By the way, you don’t have to worry about driving me to the office this morning. Samantha would drive today.”

Dave frowned. “Why?”

“Ermm… Nothing really, I just thought Sam should be in a better position since she came to pick me yesterday.”

“Well, I would have loved to come yesterday. I was not just chosen. Are you angry about that?”

“Angry?” She stared at him in surprise. “Why the heck would I be angry with you?”

“Or was it…”

“Dave, you’re here,” Samantha interrupted the discussion. She seemed surprised to see Dave there. “I thought I saw you exercising outside.”

“That was Henry,” Evelyn corrected.

“Oh!” Samantha exclaimed. “I didn’t have a good view.

“Would you like to take your breakfast now?” Evelyn asked Dave again.

He let out a breath and shook his head gently. “No, I’ll be back later,” he answered and walked away.

Samantha watched him go and then turned to Evelyn. “What’s wrong with him? It doesn’t look like he’s in a good mood.”

“I don’t know,” she shrugged.

*

Dave walked into the room and slammed the door shut. He fell flat into the bed and shut his eyes. It felt to him like he was overreacting. He wasn’t supposed to be mad that Evelyn had chosen to be accompanied to work by Samantha instead. He wondered why he was so worried. Maybe he probably had to follow Henry’s caution afterall and not let the love he felt take control of his emotions and actions.

However, he still kept on wondering why Evelyn had chosen Sam instead of him. He remembered she seemed happy to see him and even pecked him last night when they saw each other. So, what could have happened between then and that morning to make her not want him to drive her to the office? Or could it be that Henry had said something to her when she went to talk to him at the Verandah? He swore in his heart that he would never forgive Henry if it was confirmed that he was indeed trying to separate him and Evelyn.

*

11:30 AM 

“I won’t lie to you. I think I like the structure of things this way,” Steve said as he and Evelyn walked back to their offices. They had just finished a brief with the executives where they had been told how they would continue on the case. “It takes away a lot of pressure from you.”

“It also takes away promotion from us, it’s going to stall us in this rank way longer than it should,” Evelyn stated.

“Yeah, I prefer that than leading men to get killed.”

She sighed.

“Anything that happens now won’t be on us directly,” Steve added.

“But do you think there would be much more progress with the case than we’ve had?”

“Yeah, the executives bringing in their experience might be helpful.”

“We always had them working with us, not just this particular set,” Evelyn noted. “What I think is they wouldn’t have done anything differently if they got the same information we acted on.”

“Yeah, I agree,” Steve stopped when they got to the door of Evelyn’s office. “But we might just be moving around circles until we find the mole.”

“That’s another thing,” a frown formed on Evelyn’s face. “But I don’t think any of the executives we shared our plans with could be the mole.”

“I don’t think it’s from the executives either,” Steve stated. “I think I have an idea of who it is.”

“Who do you suspect?” Evelyn asked him.

Steve stared blankly at her face for seconds without replying. He wished he could just say to her face that she was the mole.

“I need to confirm my suspicions before making any form of accusation,” he voiced out finally. “I can’t tell you now.”

“Alright, but if there’s any way I could help in that regard, please let me know.”

“Of course, I won’t,” Steve thought in his mind without voicing it out. He only nodded in reply. “Get ready, in thirty minutes, we will be interrogating Daysman again.”

Thirty minutes later

Evelyn and Steve stood outside the interrogation room, listening to Agent Mensah who spoke to them in whispers. Another Agent was standing there with Mensah.

“So, take your time and ask him questions that would make you tell him the truth unconsciously,” Mensah said to them. “Before your interrogation is completed, we would have finished searching his cell.”

After communicating their instructions, Agent Mensah and the other man stood behind the one-way mirror wall to watch and listen to the interrogation from outside. Evelyn and Steve proceeded into the room where Daysman was already sitting with his lawyer.

A mischievous smile appeared on Daysman’s face as he saw Evelyn and Steve get in.

“Hey, Evelyn and Steve,” Daysman exclaimed as they took their seats. “For once, I thought you two had forgotten me here. Where have you been? I hope you know my trial is coming up next week.”

“Did you think we forgot you, or you thought we were dead?” Steve questioned.

The expression on Daysman’s face changed. “Why would I think you were dead?”

“You gave us those addresses so you could lead us to an ambush planned by the Wolves.”

“What the heck are you talking about? I gave you seven addresses that you requested for, and you’re accusing me of trying to ki*ll you?”

“You had it planned out, you knew we were going to narrow down to two places and your men were waiting there for us.”

“Excuse me, Agent,” Nathan interrupted. “This is supposed to be an interrogation, do you have questions or accusations?”

“Why don’t you let him deny them?” Steve slammed at the lawyer.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Daysman fired back.

“Mr. Daysman,” Evelyn joined in calmly. “You told us about one Hutton who is the strategist of the Wolves. In all of the house addresses you gave to us, we found none owned by anyone who is Hutton.”

“Well, his house was a part of those addresses I gave to you,” Daysman replied. “I don’t know which name he registered it in.”

“One of the houses was registered in your son’s name,” Evelyn stated and Daysman’s eyes widened in surprise immediately.

“No, that’s not possible.”  Daysman refuted.

“It’s true,” Evelyn reaffirmed and brought out a document to prove it.

The lawyer took the document to check while Daysman peeped inquisitively. “Your son’s name is on this.”

Daysman snatched it and scanned. “No, this is not possible.”

“Of course, it is. This could only mean that Hutton could be your first son and we will be bringing him in for questioning and possible arrest.”

“You can’t do that, my son doesn’t know anything. This must be the work of the Wolves and they’re probably trying to punish me for giving you those addresses.”

“I believe you,” Evelyn said in a calm voice and Steve glared at her immediately. “I think the Wolves are trying to bring your son into this mess but there’s certainly no way he’s going to escape this until you stop hiding information about the Wolves.”

Daysman let out a sigh. He was totally confused. He didn’t know what to think. Hutton had warned him about something of such some time ago but he didn’t know it would show up this way.

He knew that at this moment, it was possible Hutton would pull more dirt on his son and the rest of his family. But he didn’t know if Hutton had only done this only to warn him or if the Wolves were done with him and about to bring him and his family down.

“I think we need to get the arrest warrant for your son right away since you chose to be loyal to the terrorist,” Evelyn threatened and picked her document to get up.

“His full name is Hutton Ryker,” Daysman blurted out.

tbc