"Mr Charles never told me to go to your house" said Anita as she protested over the offer from Gideon for her to accompany him to his house. "Going to your house was not part of the business deal. I don't believe you would mistake me for one of those cheap ones" Anita was angry that Mr Gideon would think of her so cheap.
"I'm not trying to downgrade you Anita. I know you and I know how much Charles invests in you to ensure you carry out his tasks effectively. I'm not going to and I'm not ready to disrespect him by asking you to come to my bed. I did not invite you onto my bed but into my home but since you say no then you have to stay in a hotel while I look deeper into this to know if I will sign it or not. Since you are already in Abuja it will do you well to tour the city and feel good" He said and Anita stood up and said, "I will be waiting for your feedback Sir" she then walked out having left her card on the table.
That evening Anita stood on the balcony of the hotel she had rented and was looking down on the people as they passed the roads. He knew the north had a good atmosphere and she would love to be back there next time but not for business dealings but to rest. She retired to her room and just then her phone began to ring. She saw it was a strange number. She picked it and it was Gideon.
"You mind an outing with me tonight?" he said. She stared at the phone as if the phone had spoken to her annoyingly and cut the call. She threw the phone to the bed and sinking into it asked, "What exactly is wrong with this man; does he think I have come to this city for outings? He should better get this done and over with so I can get back to Enugu, back to business" She sighed and just then her phone rang again and she saw it was him. She picked it and was holding herself from shouting at him.
"What do you want exactly?" she asked.
"I want you; is it too bad for someone to want you?" asked Gideon. She didn't say a word for a while, waiting for him to be done with what he was saying which didn't make any sense to her. After he had spoken to her for like two minutes she sighed and said, "Sir, with all due respect you need to know that I haven't come here for you to tell me what you are telling me right now. I did not come to Abuja to flex rather I have come under the order or my boss and I have come to do business with you and go back to report to him. You asking me to go out with you is against what I have come here to do with you. Please Sir with all due respect stop what you are asking of me and let's get down to business. I'm not meant to stay here for a long time and you are keeping me here because you want to get in-between my legs which is also a betrayal to my boss"
"Betrayal? Your boss doesn't own your private part does he and if I remember correctly you are above 20 and so you have what it takes to make your own decisions. You need to know that I am not here to make use of you and then dumb you"
"Really? You sound so innocent" she said sarcastically and hung the call. The phone rang again through out that night but she did not pick. She had thought it was still Gideon calling by 11pm that same night but it was no longer Gideon but it was Charles who called to know how it was going with her and the deal with Gideon but she missed his calls.
******
Rose was brought to to Mr Charles and she stood before him in his house. Charles dismissed the men that had brought her in and then he said to her, "You can have your seat" She hesitated before she sat down.
"Tell me then; what exactly has happened to you and to your baby?" asked Charles. Rose wasn't sure if she heard him correctly for she was wondering why he was asking her when she should be the one asking him as she had not set her eyes on her son for the past five days.
"You asking me; I should ask you where is my son" she said almost looking alarmed.
"Your son is fine. What I asked is how have you both been treated?" said Charles and she sighed with relief and said, "We were treated fairly but my heart not being at rest doesn't make things easy for me and my son I would like to know where he is?"
"Your son is in safe hands and he will remain in safe hands. Now let's talk about you. Now that you have decided to be with us and to walk with us we are going to put you through the necessary things needed for your swearing in"
******
That night Rose got back into her house and found that Ken was there. She knew he had the key to her house and having played the role with the police to take out the case of her husband's death from the case file of the police she was free to walk about. She sat down and sighed deeply.
"I know that you are tired. I had to come to ensure you are fine" he said.
"I'm fine Ken. I should ask you same" she said.
"I'm surprised that you are asking after me. I'm good. It's been long anyone asked me how I'm fairing. Now that you ask I feel so much elated" he said and stood up to go.
"Why leaving so soon, stay back a little while I prepare something for us to eat Ken" she said and stood up. He remained inside the siting room. Few minutes later she reappeared in the sitting room with a plate containing two plates and she gave him his and took hers. She sat down and about to eat but to her surprise Ken asked for a switch. She gave him hers and he took hers and started eating.
"Why stay in a family that you don't have trust with?" asked Rose.
"What do you mean?" he had to ask.
"What I'm asking is why are you looking over your shoulders in fear of being hurt by same people you call family?" she asked. Ken sighed and said, "You see my dear there is nothing that cannot happen and as long as anything can happen it is left for us to decide whether to be caught up in a situation that we could have avoided if we were only more careful. You see, in our family we have those though with us are not entirely with us. I cannot entirely trust that you are with us Rose, not until we have done enough for you that even you yourself will be ashamed to do anything against the hand that has so raised you. So I'm scared of you and I am sure you understand perfectly" she nodded at his words and continued to stare at him as he continued to eat.
"Are you married?" she asked and he chuckled. "Why are you laughing?" she asked.
"Marriage is not in my list now dear. I am afraid of getting married only to be exposed to someone that will be my downfall. You see, you have what it takes to marry and so does most of us in the organization but what happens if I get married to someone who will not be ready to support what I'm doing" said Ken.
"She will be saving you" she said and he laughed.
"I don't need to be saved dear Rose. I am already saved. You need not bother about me" he said and then stopped eating, stood up and left after he bade her goodbye.
*******
Jude had to send Shanty away from the house and even though he did he had been instructed or rather ordered by boss to eliminate her and bring home the evidence of that elimination" At that moment it was already as if there was something else that needed to be done that had not been done and he could not hide it. He was restless that night. He would toss from one side of the bed to the other side of the bed, hoping that day would break so he could go outside the house and find fresh air.
Shanty on the other hand had developed so much feelings for Jude and she could not see herself leaving. She had gone to the places where Jude had made her MD and signed letter of resignation. She walked to the pack and entered a public transport and headed to the village where she thought she could find peace of mind for the time being. When Jude discovered that she had left the city he sought for her. He had his Intel right and there be was informed the exact place she was in the village, her own village to be precise and he had to be there. He left the city and headed to the village of Akima where she was staying for the moment.
******
Rose was driven to he school where her son was schooling and made to see him. Still seated inside the car Ken said to her, "It's break period and there he is. He is fine and moving happily with the rest of the kids and you have nothing to bother about him"
"Can't I go down and atleast touch him and speak with him?" Rose was almost crying.
"That won't be good for either you or the boy. If he sees you he will insist to go with you and you may not be able to take it, leaving him behind while he cries. We need to go now" he said and after a while she wiped her tears and nodded to that. He drove off and headed to his house with Rose.
******
In the village Edu had just had a terrible dream and in that dream he was with a strange girl and they were standing beside a river. Inside that river was a live crocodile and they were wondering why it looked like it was dead. He was particularly scared as the girl he was with was going closer to the crocodile to her own peril. He had shouted at her to come back but she would not listen. Suddenly the crocodile jumped out of the river and grabbed her by the arm and tossed her into the water. Edu was not sure what was expected of him so as to save the life of the girl. He was still running around looking for what to use to save her and he woke up from the dream. He sat up on the bed and kept thinking about the dream.
"It looks like there is more to this than just an ordinary dream. The girl in my dream, I do not know her but I can easily relate her to Veronica and her condition. Does it mean that nature is not happy that I am neglecting her? But what can I do for her now that she can't do anything for herself? I can't rescue her from whatever it is she is into if she is not willing to let me into it" He spoke to himself before he got down from the bed and peeped into the next room to ensure his mother was still asleep and yes she was asleep. He concluded to go back to the city.