**20 minutes later *
* Tarasha carefully observed her image formed in the mirror as she posed in front of it in her pink mini gown. Her makeup was well done to match her the attachment used to plait her hair and her dressing as a whole. Her phone rang as she picked her bag to walk out of the room. Dare was calling.
‘Hello’ she said in a low tone, she wasn’t expecting his call.
‘Hello Evelyn, I’m on my way. Let’s have lunch’ Dare spoke hastily.
‘Huh? Dare, we can’t…’ She was still talking when the call ended. She paused for a while to think of her next step. Henry just called that he was already waiting for her and now, Dare was also coming for her.
‘Well, it’ll work together’ she said to herself and headed to the restaurant. *5 mins later * Henry and Evelyn sat opposite each other on the table as they awaited the return of the waiter.
‘So are you really shy or you’re just pretending?’ Henry broke the silence. Evelyn chuckled as she turned to face him.
‘Do I look like a shy person to you?’ She asked in a melodious manner.
‘No, not at all.’ Henry gave a short laugh. ‘I never knew you could sing too’
‘I don’t sing.’ She said and relaxed back into her seat, giving enough space for the waiter to serve them. Henry gave a look at Evelyn as he watched the attendant serve, he was surprised that she only ordered for drinks. He continued after the waiter left.
‘Are you new in this city? Or what are you doing in a hotel?’ He suddenly changed the subject.
‘I’m new’ she answered with a smile. ‘I’ve spent almost a week here, i came to do business’
‘Ok… Where are you based?’ Henry rolled his eyeball.
‘Canada, with my parents’
‘Oh! I see. I was thinking you were just one of our linguist here, your English doesn’t sound Nigerian’ Tarasha chuckled. ‘For how long were you in Canada?’ Henry continued.
‘Over ten years of my life’ she replied. ‘My parents relocated there when I was at a very young age’ Henry paused and shook his head from side to side in a doubtful manner as he murmured ‘Canada, Canada, Canada. Your English doesn’t really sound North American either’ Tarasha’s phone rang, interrupting their conversion.
‘Please, excuse me’ she said before answering the call. ‘I’m in the restaurant’ she answered the caller’s question. ‘With a friend… Yes, come over’ She ended the call and stared into Henry’s face in a pleading manner. ‘I’m sorry, a friend of mine wants to see me’
‘It’s okay’ Henry sounded indifferent. ‘Let’s make an order since you already asked the person to come here’
‘Don’t bother, maybe when he comes’ Tarasha said. ‘He doesn’t really take soft drinks or juice’
‘Ok.’ Henry felt strange as she revealed her visitor was a male. ‘So you can have friends?’ Henry continued in an attempt to make the atmosphere lively until the visitor comes.
‘What do you mean?’ She laughed. ‘Everybody has friends’
‘Is that so?’ He laughed too. ‘You sometimes look too serious to have friends’
‘How?’
‘How? Except for today, you don’t look as friendly as this on the other days I met you’
‘Hmmm’
‘Or you’re not always friendly to strangers?’
‘No… I’m friendly to anyone I can be friendly to’
‘But the day we first met. The day I bumped into you in the gadgets shop, you were…’ He paused. ‘You responded in a very harsh manner and …’
‘And even reported you to soldiers’ Evelyn completed his statement. Her face turned dull. ‘I wasn’t really in a good mood that day, I’m sorry and you were…’ She stopped.
‘I was what?’ He demanded anxiously.
‘You were scary that day. The way you followed after me got me really scared’
‘I thought I knew you from somewhere before. Sorry about that’
‘It’s okay. I should be the one apologizing’ She held his hand which was placed on the table. Henry laughed suddenly, shaking his head side to side.
‘What?’ Evelyn asked with a surprise smile.
‘It’s just funny remembering what happened that day’ Henry raised up his head to face her. ‘What did you tell those guys that day? They were not even ready to listen to me’ Tarasha joined in the laughter.
‘Did they hurt you so much?’
‘Not too much, a friend came to my rescue’
‘I’m sorry’ she said holding his two hands on the table in a manner.
‘Its okay.’ He smiled.
‘I have a question to ask you.’ She said after taking a sip and relaxing back into the seat.
‘Yes, what question is that?’
‘How did you know my location? Have you been following be around?’ She gave him a serious look. The question met him unprepared. The juice spilled from the glass cup he took a sip from as he coughed. He cleaned his mouth with a handkerchief and apologized. Evelyn stared at him indifferently. She handed him tissue paper to clean the table and continued to stare at him with waiting eyes.
‘I… I have not been stalking you’ he managed to say. ‘In fact, I’ll never try that after what happened before’
‘Okay, how then did you know my location?’ She cut in impatiently.
‘I…’ Henry was looking for words to say when he got distracted by Evelyn’s eye movement. He turned back to see a guy staring at them from few metres away, a look of discontentment was on his face. The guy slowly approached them.
‘Your friend?’ Henry whispered as Dare came nearer.
‘Good evening’ Dare greeted as he added a third seat to the table.
‘Welcome Dare, meet Henry. Henry, Dare ‘ Evelyn introduced both guys to each other. Dare struggled to turn and look at Henry’s face, Henry already extended his hand to him. Dare was about to take his hand hesitatingly when they recognised each other. Two longtime enemies had just met again.
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**flashback **
8 years ago Dare stormed into the house in a furious manner. He stopped at the living room and to stare at his two friends playing a video game, they both stated back at him in surprise, the look in their eyes demanded an explanation for his attitude. He ignored the duo and proceeded to his room. He returned in few seconds, holding a pistol. He was about to dash out of the house when he was blocked by one of his friends.
‘Where do you think you’re going to with that thing in broad daylight?’ Julius questioned, pointing to the gun in Dare’s hand.
‘Julius, leave the way’ Dare replied in an angry manner.
‘Leave which way? Give me the gun first’ Julius ordered.
‘Julius, leave the way now. I have to drop the two of them’
‘Abeg, give me something jare’ Julius dragged the gun from him unexpectedly and pushed him to the floor. ‘You want to implicate the rest of us? You don’t even know how to use a gun well yet’ Julius fired as he returned back to his gaming position.
‘Julius’ Dare grumbled as he got up from the floor. He clenched his fist and teeth as he stood in between the gamers and the television.
‘What is wrong with you?’ Julius barked. He shook his head furiously and gave a calm down signal to the other friend who was about to flare up. Julius and Justice were three hundred level students of the university while Dare was a hundred level student. Dare’s wealth, father’s influence and frequent clubbing were what attracted Julius to lure him into the fraternity just after the first semester.
Dare did not go through the rigorous initiation process as he was seen as an “Ajebutter” and his money was really needed in the fraternity at that time, so the leaders of the group did not bother. Just three weeks after his “gentle initiation” , Dare began to behave in an unrestrained manner.
‘Jennifer dared to lie to me, she said she doesn’t want to have a boyfriend now and I found her passionately hugging another guy’ Dare lamented. Julius stared at him awkwardly.
‘Is that all?’ Justice picked his bag, hissed and shook his head before leaving the sitting room.
2 days later The scar faced guy zipped his button and put on back his trouser. He spat on Jennifer who was panting heavily on the floor, he never knew he wouldn’t enjoy having s-x with a virgin. Her clothes were torn off her body, her legs were widely spread and tied apart with different ropes, her hands were also tied in the same manner. Dare bent to have a last quickie but was slapped on the back by the third guy.
‘Is it not okay?’ he whispered angrily. ‘Let’s get out of here’ Henry’s vision was still blur as he was still suffering from the impact of the butt of the gun on the back of his head, but he could clearly recognise Dare who he had met before. His sister, Jennifer had also told him that Dare was asking her out. As soon as the rapists left, he turned his face to the direction where his only sister was tied and was panting heavily. He managed to get up after a few staggers , his vision was still very blur as he proceeded towards her. She was already having an asthmatic attack.
He frantically searched through her torn clothes for the inhaler but it was nowhere to be found. Tears flowed down his eyes as he watched his sister struggling for her life helplessly. Shakily, he got up and struggled to untie the ropes. It was after four minutes he was able to cut off the ropes. His sister had stopped breathing.
**PRESENT**
‘My sister died that day and till date, I’ve not been really able to stop missing her. We were so close, always found moving together when it wasn’t school or work time’ Henry fought back tears as he narrated the story to Evelyn in his car. Evelyn placed a palm on his shoulder, she stared into his eyes as she thought of what to say to him. What bothered her mind most was that her plan hadn’t worked out, she wouldn’t have allowed them meet each other if she had any idea that they were enemies. Still, she wasn’t feeling any pity about Henry’s sister’s loss, but she had to make herself feel something so that the acting could go on smoothly.
‘I understand how you feel but didn’t you take any step to report the matter?’ She managed to say.
‘I did, but there was no proof. My parents even had to pay for damages as ordered by the court. His father was a very influential man then, so it was easy for him to go scot free’
‘What about the two other guys?’ Evelyn asked.
‘I couldn’t recognise them, I’m sure I would have seen them with Dare after then but I couldn’t point accusing fingers when I wasn’t sure’ Henry explained. ‘Dare was later withdrawn from the school by his father before the next semester and was sent to restart his university education overseas’
‘Hmm’ Evelyn sighed.
‘My sister’s death doesn’t really hurt me as much as the manner at which she died’ Henry continued. ‘She died in a most horrible manner, they stole her dignity which she held in high esteem and after then took her life’ Evelyn helped Henry cleaned his face as drop of tears rolled down his face. She really wondered how he felt. And what dignity was he talking about? She frowned.
Well… She and numerous other girls were molested sexually for several years by uncountable ruthless men in the Nefary Clan in the most brutal way. Rape meant nothing significant to her anymore.
‘Sorry I had to make you meet an enemy, I never knew Dare was that kind of person’ Evelyn apologized.
‘It’s okay, I forgave him a long time ago’ Henry muttered.
‘You’ve forgiven him?’ Evelyn seemed surprised. To her and the Nefary Clan, forgiveness was a sin. Those who forgive are weak and deserving of death
‘Yes’
‘You don’t want to get back at him?’ She stared into his eyes, a strange kind of emotion began to overwhelm her. ‘You don’t feel like making him pay? Or making sure he dies too?’
‘No, I’ll rather act like God. God doesn’t kill even when you wrong him, he still loves you’
‘Naaaah…’ Evelyn suddenly screamed and flung the door open. ‘god is a killer and love doesn’t exist’
‘What? ‘ Henry got out of the car, shocked by Evelyn’s new display. ‘What do you mean?’ Tarasha was dumbfounded. Even she was shocked at her outburst. A button had been pushed, her emotions weren’t dead, some elements of feelings still remained in her. ‘Are you okay, Evelyn?’ Henry moved closer to her. She was the one who needed consoling now.
‘Please, can you get in?’ He motioned her back into the car and winded up the windows, cutting away the stares of several onlookers in the garden.
++++
Dare threw his phone angrily on the sofa as he stormed into the living room. The maid that opened the door for him had quickly hid herself to avoid receiving his anger. He never knew he was going to ever meet Henry again. He had stopped involving himself in cultic activities since he started the new university in the united kingdom. He had also dropped his other vices, of course except for partying, alcoholism and womanising, those ones were inbuilt “talents”.
Henry had suddenly showed up now that he had decided to drop womanising and partying as he already started developing feelings for Evelyn. He wished they had gunned down Henry that day. He suggested it to his friends but Julius refused, advising him that the way to really punish people was to leave them to feel their pains after the torment. He bit his lips in anger as he sat briefly on the sofa, loosening his shirt buttons. He had to act quick and act wisely.
Killing Henry now would make Evelyn dread him more or even testify against him, he was sure that Henry would have told her about his bad deeds after he stormed out of the restaurant immediately. Maybe he wouldn’t have stormed out in that manner, he could have waited and tried to pick up a conversation with Henry in pretence that they did not know each other and deny the accusation vehemently of Henry tried to raise any. Or he could have be the one to stay and would have allowed Henry to leave and then feed Evelyn lies about him. But it was too late, he had already acted like a criminal caught red handed.
He scratched his head. Henry had to die, and Evelyn too. He thanked God his feelings for Evelyn had not developed into something big, he could still do without her. Moreover, she was a friend to his enemy and a friend to his enemy was also his enemy.
‘Hello Afo’ he said into the phone. ‘Meet me at my house in the next twenty minutes. I have a job for you’
………
Chief Jubril sat comfortably into the leather sofa, skimming through the Weekly Sun newspaper. The newspaper was just a distraction, his mind was on something else. He was thinking about the event of the whole day. AA Ltd according to his research would be a very good partner to do business with. It would further improve the image of his own companies in the international sight. The only thing that troubled his mind now was his doubts about Evelyn. She could just be an impostor claiming to be Alexander Amaechi’s daughter. He needed to find a way to confirm her story. He smiled as his thoughts drifted to his son.
The boy must really be ‘jobless’ for him to leave his own company matters and accompany someone else to do business. He wished his son could just have investment ideas like this Evelyn seemed to have, he would just make his own billions in few years. But his son wanted to become a lawyer, he was even studying law before he withdrew him from the Nigerian university after suspecting that he had begun to move with bad guys.
He picked his phone and dialed a number as another thought flashed across his mind. He bit his lips, waiting for the call to be answered.
‘Hey Afo’ he hailed and smiled at the response.
‘Were you at the office today? … okay, there was a lady who came to the office with Dare, I want you to keep an eye on her from tomorrow. I want to know her movement’ He heaved a sigh of satisfaction as he dropped the call.
No one could play pranks with him in Nigeria, the country is his domain.
++++
‘Who’s that?’ Dare asked the haggard looking Afo who just ended a call.
‘It’s one of my clients’ Afo hid the truth from him.
‘Ok…’ Dare continued. ‘There’s this girl I’ve been going around with recently, have you seen her with me?’
‘The one you came to Chief Jubril’s office with?’ Afo asked.
‘Exactly’ Dare nodded in affirmation. ‘I want her dead… and there’s this guy following her around now’ Afo exhaled deeply as he thought about compiling the father and son’s job together.
The father wanted the girl monitored while the son wanted her killed. Whatever beef was between the girl and the family was not his business, he only needed their monies. Dare racked his brain trying to put together what best description would the second target. He remembered that he saw Henry’s ID card hung on his neck.
‘His name is Henry, he works with the cameras security corps’ he explained.
‘You don’t have his picture?’
‘No, you have to do that job. When you find out someone who you suspect to be him, send me his picture for confirmation.’ Dare said and got up to leave.
‘How do you want the job done? Should we hide away their bodies or leave it in public?’
‘Let the bodies never be found’ Dare stated. ‘I want them killed on the same day and it must happen before Friday’
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