RESTLESS : The Hunt For Peace Episode 90

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06:45AM

El Deols, Anthanna.

Sheila was still asleep when the loud ring tone of her phone began to sound in the quiet room. She stared for some seconds in the bed before she opened her eyes and stretched her hand to reach for the phone beside her pillow.

“Hello,” she spoke in a sleepy voice after turning her side and putting the phone on her left ear.

“Good morning Sheila,” Adrian’s voice came through.

“Good morning Adrian,” she replied.

“It sounds like you’re still asleep, sorry for disturbing. I actually thought you would be up because you are usually awake by this time.”

“Yes but I slept very late last night.”

“Oh! Sorry, maybe I should call back later.” Adrian offered.

“No, it’s okay. We can talk now,” Sheila replied.

“Okay, hope you slept well.”

“Yea, but it was short. Hope you did too,” she yawned.

“Yes, I did. Sorry for cutting your sleep short,” Adrian apologized.

no problem Adrian,” she replied.

“Ermm… I woke up early today and visited a news blog only to find out that another employee of yours was killed last night,” Adrian said.

“Yes, it’s so sad, it’s connected to the first murder. We have several policemen in my house right now on my Father’s order, he is currently in Zimbabwe but has promised to return this morning.”

“Wow! It’s so serious, please follow the police order and ensure that you are safe. I hope you are not planning to go out today.”

“I don’t know for now but I’m sure my Father must have instructed the officers not to allow me go out.”

“Please stay indoor, I’ll call you again soon.”

“Thanks Adrian, do have a nice day and make sure you do not miss your medications.”

“You too Sheila, thanks.”

Sheila dropped the phone in front of her after the call ended.

___

06:59AM

Somewhere in South Husan

Henry kept his eyes on the side mirror even as he held on to the steering wheels, speeding crazily down the road. The vehicles in pursuit of him were not backing down and the driver’s were also good motorists, they were able to follow him at a constant pace. It was more than thirty minutes after driving out of Kebba and the chase had not reduced in intensity.

Henry tapped on the device on his lap and navigated to the dial pad. He turned on the bluetooth headset before he dialed Jenny’s number.

“Where are you Jenny?” he said into the mouthpiece.

“I’m waiting, close to the location already,” Jenny replied.

“I should be on the bridge in twenty minutes time, be prepared.” Henry instructed.

“Sure boss,” she answered.

Henry ended the call and then glanced at the man behind him. “You can sit up now.”

The weak man managed to sit up and looked back to see those pursuing them.

“Someone is coming to take you to safety in twenty minutes time,” Henry said, now looking at the man’s face through the rearview mirror. “I’m sorry for the troubles you have been put through.”

The innocent man look was as confused as he was when he was compelled with a gun to sit in the wheelchair at the home of sacrifice.

A faint smile formed on Henry’s face as he observed the man’s confused look through the mirror. By that time, Cole and Dave would be far gone with Rex on their way to Bexford.

FLASHBACK

1 Hour + Ago

Morris was sleeping peacefully in the room when they got in. Henry walked straight to the bed and placed a knee on the ground, he held his friend’s palm and shook him gently. He noticed no movement and he paused for a second to look at his friend’s face. The illness had turned Rex totally into another man, the Rex he knew would have woken up just by the sound of their footsteps in the hallway but here he was still sleeping deeply after the noisy entrance and even after his body was touched.

He shook his hand gently again and then leaned forward. “Morris,” he called in whispers. “Morris,” he called again and noticed the eyes moved. He waited for some more seconds and Rex finally opened his eyes.

Henry smiled at his friend and leaned forward again. “Good morning Morris,” he said and paused as if to wait for a response. “Ermm… I’m here for something urgent,” he continued. “I now realize why you did not want me to find you but I found you already and we can’t undo it, the Wolves are coming this morning and I have to get you out of here in few minutes.”

He paused and looked at his friend’s face to ensure he was communicating. “Hope you can hear me?” he asked and without waiting for a response continued to speak. “I have a plan,” he said and turned briefly and signalled for Dave to step forward. He turned back to Rex to see him make a blink. “Dave here and his partner would be taking you out of here while I distract the Wolves, this would happen in few minutes from now. I thought I should explain so you wouldn’t be taken by surprise, I’ll see you later in Bexford later in the day.”

Henry rose up after his explanation and reached for the wheelchair. He looked at Rex’s face again. “They’ll be back for you shortly,” he said before heading out with Dave following behind.

They got into the hallway and Henry headed straight for the room at the end. There was another patient there who he had seen on the day he came back to talk with Rex, the patient had stepped out to hiss himself and was returning into the room that day. Henry opened the door and wheeled in the chair noisily. He walked to meet the patient who was still sleeping and gently nudged him until he woke. He stepped back and pointed his gun at the patient.

The man widened his eyes in shock as he saw the gun pointed at him. He managed to drag himself to sit up.

“Get into the wheelchair,” Henry ordered, gesturing with his head to also communicate.

“Please, don’t hurt me,” the man said in a weak voice as he struggled to get out of the bed.

Henry squinted briefly at the man and smiled. “You speak English?” he asked, now remembering that most of the patients in the facility were usually not Kebba natives.

The man did not give a response as he was groaning in pains as he tried to get into the wheelchair. The man’s legs were swollen from an infection which he was being treated of but could still walk short distances on the legs, even though very slowly.

Henry moved closer and knelt in front of the man after he sat on the wheelchair. “I’m sorry I have to do this but I’m not here to hurt you and I won’t do so, just follow my instructions and you’d be safe. I’ll get you back here safely and you’d be allowed to return here or get treatment anywhere else you want.”

He got up and kept his gun in his pocket. He grabbed the wheelchair at the handle behind and wheeled it out of the room. Dave followed holding his gun.

_

PRESENT

The Wolves’ men were unrelenting in the pursuit of the vehicle. However, it still maintained a far distance from them. They had shot severally initially and got only a few hits on the car before they realized it was also bullet resistant like theirs. They had no option than to pursue until they were able to stop the car.

Four men were sitting in the car leading the chase. The man sitting in front with the driver had a stone-hard face with a scar close to his eyes. His heavily built muscles were obvious through the armless shirt he wore. He had a long gun on his laps and a cigarette in his mouth. He was the leader of the chase team.

The phone in the front pocket of his shirt rang and he took it out quickly. Hutton was the caller.

“Sir…” he answered the call.

“I’m tracking you and your location right now is towards the third bridge,” Hutton said.

“Yes,” he replied.

“The black car is our target right?”

“Yes sir, the patient was taken into the car.”

“I’m watching through the CCTV, keep following and be careful. I’m sure he’s got another plan.”

___

Unknown road, Bethanna

“Doctor Alan isn’t answering his calls,” Cole said to Dave. He was sitting at the backseat of the car close to Rex while Dave was driving the car. Rex was sitting upright with eyes wide open. The seat was not as comfortable as the wheelchair and the movement of the vehicle made it difficult for him to maintain balance but Cole was sitting very close to him to make sure he was comfortable.

“You have to keep trying,” Dave replied Cole. “The doctor needs to be ready for him,” he added before turning on the traffic indicator. He queued the vehicle behind two others who were waiting to make a turn into the opposite direction lane.

Cole picked up his phone and dialed Doctor Alan’s number again, it rang for some seconds but wasn’t still answered. He heaved a sigh and dropped his phone beside him. He looked at Rex’s face and held his hand as Dave made the u-turn.

Rex’s mind was filled with thoughts on what the future was going to be like. He didn’t want to come into Carl’s life to distract him from fulfilling his mission, but now that Carl had found him despite his efforts to make sure he wasn’t found, he knew Carl would never want to leave him helpless. He would have probably done the same if he was in Carl’s shoes and Carl was in his.

His inability to speak made him feel totally useless, his speech being intact would have made him at least contribute to their efforts with ideas and strategies. He was sure in his heart that he was only going to be a distraction to Carl and hoped Carl would not end up losing the war while trying to keep him alive.

He managed to close his eyes and could see Carl’s face in his imagination. He remembered some of their times together and then recalled how Carl had woken him that morning.

“Would you like to sleep?” he heard the voice of the man sitting beside him.

He wished he could open his mouth to say no and tell him his eyes were closed to shut out the world to himself.

“I think he’s dozing off already,” Dave glanced back.

“Well, I can’t tell. Ovil did tell us he sleeps for long at night and barely sleeps during the morning except after his afternoon dosage and he also previously told us he prefers sitting up while awake,” Cole replied Dave. He looked at Rex’s face and noticed it was still closed. He decided to leave the man as he was and not to disturb him.

FLASHBACK

“We’ve got to turn back now,” Dave said to Cole, driving the car while at the passenger’s side in front

“Let’s get to the gate,” Cole replied.

They got to the gate and stopped, they watched for thirty seconds the vehicles continuing to chase Henry before they reversed and turned and sped back to the Priest’s Lodge.

On getting back there, Cole jumped out of the car with two pistols in his hands but leaving his backpack in. He hurried into the building. Dave stepped out and locked the doors before he followed him.

Cole picked the wheelchair left in the first room and hurried into the hallway with it. No one he came across tried to stop him, so he proceeded until Ovil Matuse appeared in front of him, carrying something that seemed like a jar in his right hand, the cover being held in his left. The vapour escaping from the opening of the jar made it obvious that it contained hot liquid.

“What would happen to the other man Louis went with?” Ovil asked, standing in front of Cole, stopping him from going further.

“He’s going to be safe,” Cole replied quickly. He dipped his hand into the front pocket of his jacket and took out a small piece of paper. “Call this number by four p.m this evening,” he handed the piece of paper containing the phone number to Ovil. “He would be kept safe in a hospital and we would tell you how to get him back,” he said.

Ovil collected the number and stared at it for a while.

“Please let me pass quickly,” Cole said and Ovil slowly gave way, following him with the jar in his hand behind.

He had been surprised to see Henry step out with another man in the wheelchair and did not understand what was happening. While Dave and Cole had gone to check outside to see if it was safe enough, Henry had told him that none of the men were killed but sedated and also that Cole and Dave would return in few minutes to get Morris.

“I wasn’t sure if you were coming back but I prepared enough concoction to last Mr Morris for seven days, you have to warm it always before giving it to him.” Ovil Matuse explained as they got into Morris’ room.

Rex was still on the same spot in the bed where Henry had left him with his eyes unclosed, he noticed when they entered but could make no movement. He had also heard the distant sound of gunshots and knew something was happening.

Ovil Matuse dropped the jar in hand close to the entrance and moved closer to help Rex into the wheelchair. It took some few seconds before getting him to balance well on it.

“Please bring the jar with me,” Dave said as he began to wheel Rex out of the room.

“You’ve got take it easy, you cant wheel him too fast like that.” Ovil warned Dave on seeing his impatience.

They got back to the first room after ten minutes to meet Cole waiting. Cole on sighting them hurried out to check the area. He rushed down to the car and opened the backseat before beckoning on Dave to proceed with Rex. Dave wheeled Rex to the corridor but with Ovil Matuse’s help carried him together to the car and made him balanced at the backseat, Cole sat inside with him while Dave rushed to the driver’s side.

“Don’t go without his medication,” Ovil warned as he rushed up into the house to get the jar he dropped in the first room. He rushed back out to meet the car engine already started and Dave trying to turn. He waited until the turn was completed and moved closer to hand the jar to Cole.

“One tea cup four times daily,” Ovil said to Cole. He watched the glass wind up and stepped aside as the car finally sped off. He turned back towards the building after the car was out of sight.

PRESENT

“Doctor Alan is finally calling back,” Cole said as he picked the phone. He shifted a bit away from Rex as he answered the call. The car was now on a smoother road and there were less chances of a sudden jerk. “Hello Doc.”

“Hi Cole, sorry, this girl has been giving me issues since morning.” The doctor replied.

“Which girl?” Cole asked. Dave glanced at him.

“This girl with us, she wants to leave but the doors are locked.”

“Oh okay,” Cole finally remembered Henry mentioning that Wilson’s sister was with the team in Bexford. “We’re on our way there, it’ll take us approximately 2 hours.”

“Henry told me you’re coming with someone who is paralyzed,” the doctor stated.

“Yes, he’s with us.”

“You need to get some provisions for him, I composed a text containing what you’d buy and what you should feed him this morning, I’ll forward it immediately after this call.”

“Okay doc,” Cole replied. He placed the phone back beside him.

“That girl is hell of a stubborn kid,” Dave commented.

“The sister to the guy who was taken with Samantha?” Cole questioned.

“Yeah,” Dave answered.

Cole’s phone beeped. The text message from the doctor was in.

___

Bexford, Bethanna.

“Can I make a call with your phone please?” Sophia asked the doctor. Her voice seemed calmer than it had been and only because she was asking him for a favor.

“You shouldn’t be making calls to anyone from here,” the doctor replied.

Sophia looked wild. Her unplaited hair was scattered and rough and her eyes were swollen as a result of lack of sleep. She had woken up around two o’clock in the morning the day before to find herself in a dark room. She was in bed when she woke but from the feel, she could tell it wasn’t her bed in Vincil. She then recalled how she was home alone and began to hear sounds , she turned on the light of the living room and she turned to see something like a shadow and that was the only thing she could remember before she woke in a different place.

She turned on the light in the room but wasn’t able to go out until the next morning when a lady came to open the door. She had seen two other faces since then. The man they called doctor and a younger man and none of them bothered to explain how and why she was there. They only told her it was for her safety. She tried to call for help by screaming and shouting on the first day but was surprised that no one bothered to stop her. It was until hours later the lady explained to her that the walls of the building were sound proofed and no one outside could hear her shouts.

That same day she stopped seeing the younger man and she was left alone with the Doctor and the lady. It was the second day and she couldn’t find the lady when she woke up, she was home alone with the doctor. She was scared and began to search and scatter things around to get out of the house but the doctor explained to her that the doors were locked from outside and that none of them could get out until the others returned.

“You said you are protecting me from danger, at least you should allow me call my older brother.” she said in defence.

The doctor sitting on the sofa stared at her where she was standing at the entrance door, after making several failed attempts to open it.

“Your brother is with us, that’s why you shouldn’t even try to reach him.” the doctor replied her. “Besides, you cannot even make calls to anyone from here, you must have seen that your phone receives no signal, the only people we can reach from here are members of the team.”

Sophia checked her phone again and confirmed what the doctor said. The network bars on the phone had been empty since the day she found herself in there.

She couldn’t understand whatever was happening. Whether it was a house arrest or a kidnap, it was unclear to her. All she knew was that she was tired of being locked in all day.

___

Unspecified Road, South Husan

“I’m approaching the bridge, where are you?” Henry said into the mouthpiece. There were now more cars on the road and it took him more effort to drive with so much speed without colliding with anyone. The wolves men were still after him but at a farther distance as they found it more difficult to dodge the cars like him.

“I’m waiting boss,” he heard Jenny’s voice in the earpiece.

He adjusted his rearview mirror and looked at the man behind. “Hey, listen up!” He called his attention. “Once I climb down the bridge, I’d park behind a red car. I’d carry you out immediately and get you into the backseat of the car. The lady in the car would take you to the government hospital, your treatment bills would be fully paid and Ovil will contact you by evening.”

The man remained in silence. He could not say anything as he had no choice than to obey.

After two more minutes, Henry descended the bridge and located the red car parked some metres away from the curb. He turned on the traffic indicator and gradually switched lanes until he was in the lane next to the curb. He pulled up behind the curb and stepped out quickly. He carried the man in his hands and moved forward. The door to the backseat of the red was opened before he got there. He placed the man gently inside and returned to his car.

Jenny was in the red car and the engine was on already, she switched into the road immediately Henry closed the door and drove away. Henry stepped back into the driver’s side of his car but left the door opened. He looked in direction of the bridge where he descended from for signs of the men coming after him and waited until he saw them on their way down before he closed the door and moved into the road again. He continued slowly, allowing for them to descend well and see his car before he increased his speed.

___

Hutton sat at the right side in front of the Mercedes bus, three other men were in the bus sitting at the back with the driver in his seat. Another bus was following behind the Mercedes and in it were eleven other men.

Hutton had a tablet device in his hands which he used in monitoring the movement of Carl Winston’s vehicle and his men’s through the CCTV. He was just seven kilometres away from them, a distance which was closing in because they were also moving closer to them.

“Remember we’re turning into the lane,” he said to the driver.

“Yes,” the driver began to prepare to switch immediately, looking for the right entrance into the lane.

Their plan was to get into the other lane of Carl Winston direction and drive in opposite direction to block Carl Winston from the front and it seemed perfect until they were only three kilometres away.

Hutton watched as Carl Winston’s vehicle parked behind a red car at the curb and he saw Carl step down and carry the man who was supposed to be Rex out and dropped him in the back seat of the red car. Something seemed fishy about the way Carl carried Rex but it was unclear to Hutton. The only thing that was clear to him was that Carl Winston was trying to confused his men. His men would keep on following his own car without knowing he had dropped Rex into another vehicle. He only had the privilege of knowing because he was monitoring through the live stream.

“Plan changed,” Hutton suddenly announced again when the driver already queued behind another vehicle to change lane.

The driver stared at his face. The vehicle before him moved but he waited to confirm which part of the plan was changed.

Hutton delayed, trying to see the direction in which the red car would go. Vehicles queuing behind their two buses began to honk but they remained unbothered.

“Go into the lane but you turn in the right direction, we’re pursuing a different car now.” Hutton finally said, taking out his phone to make a call.

He kept his eyes on the live feed and saw the red car turn into a different street off the main road while Carl Winston’s car continued in the same direction.

Hutton smiled to himself. Carl Winston must have thought he made a good plan and would be thinking Rex was safe now that he had delivered him into the red car, he thought amusingly. It was going to be another loss for Carl Winston. Hutton would go after the red car and catch up with it. He would take Rex and then whoever was driving the car.

“Hey! I’m no longer coming in your way, keep pursuing the black car.” he said through his phone to the man leading the chase on Carl.

He was however sure that Carl’s plan was to lead his men to a discreet place and kill them all and that was fine with him. That would be enough distraction for Carl while he followed the red car and take the two other men. Once Rex was in his custody, he was certain Carl Winston would have no other choice than to come to him.

___

Jenny was dressed in a blue top and blue jean with a white jacket on top. She had a white facecap on her head. Her face was heavily made up to form a slight disguise for her. She only took a glance at the man Henry dropped at the backseat and had said no word to him nor Henry himself.

The hospital she was to deliver him to was just a kilometre away and she was going to link into another main route through the untarred road she had turned into. She drove carefully on the road avoiding the potholes, oblivious of the fact that someone was coming after her. It took her almost four minutes to drive through the untarred route and link to the major concrete road. She had about half kilometre to get to the hospital.

To be continued……