Unedited
Husan, South Husan
The team decided to take a rest briefly while waiting to hear from Henry. They booked two hotel rooms but all stayed in one. Dave and Samantha fell asleep in the bed while Paul Edwards sat quietly and dozed once in a while. Maxwell was sitting at the table with his computer in front of him. He kept on reviewing available footage from the explosion scenes.
The call they were waiting for eventually came in. Maxwell picked up the phone immediately after it began to ring. He checked the screen and a gleam of hope appeared on his face on seeing that it was a Nigerian number.
“Hey,” he answered the call with a soft tone.
“Max,” Henry sounded from the other end.
“Henry,” he heaved another sigh of relief on hearing Henry’s voice. “I’ve tried to reach you earlier with the same number.”
“That phone was from the cab driver,” Henry replied. “What about everyone else?”
“We’re together, right here. Except for Jennifer who is in El Deols of course.”
“Can you gather everyone, I’ll like to share an update with you all.”
“I’ll gather them in a minute,” Maxwell replied before muting the call and getting up to his feet. “Hey, everyone. Henry is on the line.”
He moved to the bed and sat at the edge. Paul Edwards moved closer and Samantha was stretching in the bed.
Maxwell held Dave by the ankle and shook him gently. “Get up, Dave. The boss wanna speak with all of us.”
After some more nudging, Dave and Samantha finally got up. Maxwell unmated the call and placed it on loudspeakers.
“We’re here now, boss. You can talk.”
“Sam,” Henry called from the other end and waited until he got a reply. He called the other two’s names the same way to confirm before he finally broke the news. “I found my wife and my son. They’re alive.”
There was complete silence for a moment. Dave, Samantha, Paul, and Maxwell exchanged glances among themselves, each one’s face carrying concealed smiles. They could feel the happiness in Henry’s voice and they were also happy for him.
“How are they doing?” Samantha broke the silence.
“They’re fine, hale and hearty,” Henry replied.
“Good to hear,” Samantha replied. “I can’t wait to see them.”
“Hopefully, you’ll get to meet them soon, Henry replied. There was another moment of silence before Henry spoke again. “How is it going there?”
“The President is dead, Evelyn also sent us a confirmation message,” Maxwell replied.
Henry heaved an audible sigh.
“Looks like we’ve come to the end of everything,” Paul remarked.
“No, this can’t be the end,” Henry replied. “We can still stop them.”
“I don’t think there’s so much we can do,” Paul added. “The Vice President would take over the country immediately and set up structures for Hutton Ryker to take charge of the FOX.”
“We can stop that from happening if we find Hutton Ryker and ki*ll him before he’s installed,” Henry insisted.
“You’re just being hopeful, Carl. You know there’s nothing we can do at this time. Our best chance was to stop the President’s death and we’ve lost that already.”
“I still believe we have a chance to do something,” Henry replied. “I just need some time to think.”
“I really hope you’re right about that, Carl. I really do,” Paul remarked.
“Yes, I am right,” Henry replied confidently. He then called Maxwell’s name and waited until he got the reply. “I need you to look at the footage, news, and everything you can get about the explosion.”
“I’m already doing that, I’ll let you know if I find something,” Maxwell replied.
“Is there anything else I should know at the moment?” Henry asked conclusively but there was no response. “If there’s nothing else, I’d get back to you guys later.”
“What of Rex?” Samantha asked quickly before Henry could end the call.
Henry was silent for a moment. “I shot him, twice. He was there to ki*ll Sarah and Kellar. I don’t know why he wanted to do it. He killed Foden and I had to sh00t him before he killed someone else.”
“So, Rex is dead,” Samantha stated.
“No, he wasn’t dead when I left him. He got two bullets in his belly, I don’t know if he would survive it.”
“Oh, Damn! I wished you had the chance to finish him up,” Dave exclaimed.
“I did,” Henry replied in a soft tone. “I just couldn’t finish it when I noticed he was still breathing. I could have left with him but I couldn’t risk being caught in Nigeria with a man with two bullets in his belly. Worse still, if he died while I was trying to get away with him, I would have gotten into a deeper mess.”
“What the f***, Carl!” Paul and the rest of the team were shocked. “How could you have let him live when he wanted to ki*ll your family? Or is there something else we don’t know yet?”
“I don’t know, but I think there’s something else too,” Henry replied. “We’re going to figure that out if he survives it. The good news now is that I’ve gotten my family away from him and the Red Wolves and we’re safe now.”
“That’s good,” Paul remarked. “But we must hope that Rex died. If he didn’t, your decision not to finish him up could bounce back on you or all of us.”
_____
YGG Hotels,
Ibadan, Oyo
Nigeria
Henry heaved a sigh and buried his face in his palms after ending the call. Paul’s final words to him during the call kept ringing in his head. Sarah stepped out of the bathroom with Kellar at the same time. She had just bathed Kellar after taking her bath first.
“You can use the bathroom now,” she informed Henry as she began to wipe the boy’s body with a towel on the other side of the bed.
“Oh! Thanks,” Henry looked up briefly and smiled at his wife. Then he readjusted his body to face her. “I’ve ordered the food. I believe it’ll get here very soon.”
Sarah smiled back in reply.
Henry turned to face the wall again. For a moment, he stared blankly without doing anything. Thoughts of what was happening in Bethanna kept running through his mind. He was also considering how safe it would be to take Sarah and Kellar back with him when he still wanted to look for and ki*ll Hutton.
While he was considering that, thoughts of Sheila drifted into his mind and he remembered he had yet to talk to her. He picked up his phone again and dialed her number.
___
El Deols, Anthanna
Sheila was asleep in the bed when her ringing phone woke her. She hesitated for a while before reaching for it. A slight sigh escaped her lips as she saw that the call was from a Nigerian number. She instantly knew it would be Henry. She sat up to answer the call.
“Hey, Henry.”
“Hi, Sheila. How are you doing?”
“I’m fine, how is it going over there?” She asked.
“Fine, I found them.”
For some reason, Sheila froze for a moment. She could not give a reply.
“I want to say thanks for all you’ve been doing, Sheila. Without you, this would have been impossible. Thank you for always being available to help.”
“I’m happy for you, Henry,” Sheila finally replied. “You can be happy now that you have your family back. I hope it solves all your restlessness.”
“I hope so too,” Henry replied. “Nevertheless, Hutton’s men still have to be taken out.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
“I’ll let you know if there is,” Henry answered. “I just called to thank you. You’re such an amazing person.”
Tears formed in Sheila’s eyes as a smile appeared on her face. She couldn’t reply until the connection went off.
____
Ibadan, Oyo
Nigeria
Sarah who was applying cream on Kellar’s body turned to Henry immediately after he finished the call.
“Who’s Sheila?” She asked in a jealous tone.
“A friend,” Henry turned to her. “A special one,” he added and got up. “I promise I’ll talk to you about her later.”
He proceeded towards the bathroom and paused at the entrance. He turned to look at her face again. There was still an awkward look on her face.
A smile appeared on his face as he walked up to her. He squatted beside Kellar and looked straight into Sarah’s eyes.
She was combing Kellar’s hair but paused immediately and squinted at Henry’s face.
“Since that day, I’ve not been with anyone else, Sarah. There’s been no one,” he said in a reassuring tone which made her blush.
She placed a hand around his neck and drew closer to kiss his lips lightly.
Henry got up and proceeded into the bathroom.
Sarah quickly dressed Kellar up and tuned the TV to a cartoon station for him. She then walked up to the hotel door and locked it from behind. She took the keys with her and proceeded into the bathroom to join Henry.
Henry was washing off soap from his body when she got in. He paused in surprise and stared at her face.
She smiled seductively and began to take off her clothes. A wide smile was plastered on his face and he quickly washed off the rest of the lather from his body before she joined him under the shower, completely naked.
He held his breath for a moment as he grabbed her butt and she pressed her body against him. Both looked at each other’s faces with bright smiles.
He caressed her hair gently with his fingers before his lips reached for hers. They kissed gently and passionately, enjoying every moment. Henry reached for her bre^^ast with his right hand and squeezed it softly.
Her hands slowly reached for his manh**d below and she grabbed it. Henry’s body tingled in excitement as she rubbed it gently. It was as hard as a rock.
The kiss graduated into a deep and fierce one, each sucking the other’s lips like their lives depended on it.
Henry grabbed her by the butt and lifted her. He sat on the covered water closet and placed her on his.
She moaned slightly as he inserted his manh**d into her. His lips reached for her left n*ipple and his hand grabbed her other bre*ast as she began to ride on him gently.
After a few seconds, she began to ride faster and also moan loudly. Henry had to stop her and remind her that Kellar was in the bedroom. She managed to keep her voice low and kept on riding.
A minute later, Henry stopped her and lifted her again. He made her stand and turned her back towards him. She placed her hands on the WC for support, expecting his manh**d to get into her.
To her surprise, Henry did not make any move. She turned anxiously to find him staring at her back with a horrible look on his face.
She disregarded the look on his face and grabbed his manh**d to put it inside her but he stopped her.
“What happened to you?” Henry looked so confused, staring at the marks on Sarah’s back. It was after he touched her back that she realized why he stopped.
She reluctantly stood upright and turned to him. She reached for his face with her palms and stared deeply into his eyes.
“What are those marks on your back?” Henry asked again, holding her both hands.
“When we were in South Husan. They discovered I used a phone to communicate with some people. I was flogged on the back for being disobedient,” Sarah explained.
Henry couldn’t believe his ears. “Who did this to you?”
“Some of the guards, I don’t know who they are.”
“Who ordered it?” Henry asked with an angry look on his face.
“Hey, you don’t have to bother about this,” Sarah reached for his face with her palms again. She tried to quench his anger with her smile but he still looked furious.
“Tell me who ordered it. Was it that woman that took you to the airplane?”
“No, it wasn’t her,” Sarah shook her head. “That was Sister Florence Brown. She is just a good nun who came to get us out of danger.”
“I don’t think she’s good, she works for the Red Wolves. Otherwise, why would she have left you in the airplane for Rex to catch up with you?”
“She said she wasn’t travelling with us, so she could have gone somewhere else then.”
“But she works for the Red Wolves and that means she’s not good.”
“Please, can we forget this, honey? I just met Sister Florence Brown yesterday and she was there to help us. Let’s just forget this,” Sarah pleaded with him.
Henry closed his eyes and heaved a sigh.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized after realizing he had let his anger take control of him. He had stopped a time of fun without considering her feelings just because he was angry. She just wanted to enjoy the time with him and he could have just pleased her instead of trying to satisfy his anger.
______
Lusaka, Zambia
10:15 PM
“Hey, Hutton,” Kahn hailed as his friend walked into the room where he was laying. “Now that the death of the President has been confirmed, are we going ahead with the next step?”
Hutton settled comfortably on the seat beside Kahn’s bed before replying. “Yes, we are. The Vice President resumes power tomorrow and will call for the mercenaries to intervene in the country’s situation. Unfortunately, you can’t go with us like this. But you’ll be the invisible man. I and the other men will resume the FOX tomorrow after the acting President’s press conference and call.”
____
Oyo, Nigeria
09:15 PM
Kellar was fast asleep, alone while his parents were awake, watching the news attentively. Sarah was in the bed with him while Henry was sitting on the one-seater sofa in the hotel room.
“I never thought terrorism could grow so bad in Bethanna, enough to take the President’s life with it,” Sarah remarked after the newscaster finished reporting about the situation in Bexford.
“I never thought so too,” Henry remarked in low tones. “It grew worse than we all expected,” Henry added and switched the TV to a local news station, hoping to hear a report about the incident at the private aerodrome. He was interested in finding out if Rex was still alive.
Sarah busied herself with Foden’s device while Henry kept his attention on the TV.
The newscaster kept reporting other local activities but Henry remained hopeful that something will be said about it. Fortunately, the reporter got to the news item close to the end of the program.
He reported how gunshots were fired at the aerodrome and how the incident was reported by a cab driver whose vehicle was stolen. The police had gotten there to find the security man at the gate post dead, four dead men on the road leading to the runway, and one dead man in a plane which was supposed to take off.
That was all Henry needed. If the police found only one dead man in the airplane, that would be Foden’s body. It meant that Rex had moved away or someone else had moved him before the police arrived.
Henry quickly took out his phone and dialed Maxwell’s number.
“Hello boss,” the call was answered by Samantha.
“Hey, Sam. I think Rex is alive. The Nigerian police found only Foden’s body,” Henry informed her.
“What does that mean for us?”
“Nothing, he doesn’t know where we are. I just need you to pass the message to everyone else, including Jennifer. Rex must have been taken by the Red Wolves. If he survives, he could be a good way to bring down Hutton Ryker.”
Paul Edwards’ voice came on. “You said Rex just tried to ki*ll your family. I really do not think he’s gonna ever wanna work with us against the Red Wolves or Hutton.”
Henry shot his eyes for a second and remembered his brief encounter with Rex on the airplane again. Rex seemed to be putting down his gun already before Foden’s entrance into the airplane made him sh00t. Henry believed that there was still some good in his friend, regardless of his involvement with the evil Red Wolves and Hutton at that time.
“If Rex is alive, I can get him to work with us. He’ll listen to me,” Henry replied with confidence.
“If you say so, Henry. We’ll let the others know what you just told us.”
“Good,” Henry remarked. “Since there’s nothing else to do at South Husan, we should meet up at Bexford tomorrow. Tell Jennifer this too.”
“Understood, boss,” Samantha was the one with the reply now.
“Goodnight.”
Henry ended the call and took in a deep breath. He looked sideways and caught Sarah staring at him with concern.
“Is everything alright?” She asked.
“Yes, it is,” he got up and walked to her.
He sat beside her in the bed and embraced her for a while.
“I have to go back to Bexford tomorrow, but before I leave, I must hide you somewhere safe in Nigeria or Ghana. I’ll be back to get you once everything is over.”
Sarah quickly disengaged from his arms and stared at his face, shaking his head. “No, Carl. If we’re going to Ghana or staying here, you’ll have to be with us. We’re not staying anywhere without you by our side.”
“Sarah, please understand that I don’t want to leave you two anymore, but it’s dangerous to leave here with me.”
“No, it’s dangerous to live without you,” Sarah argued. “We’re safe with you, honey. I’m afraid to stay alone with Kellar again.”
Henry sighed in frustration. He knew there was no way he could convince Sarah to stay back.
To be continued
