"You knew about my going out to see my son?" she was asking and he nodded in response. "How did you know this?" she went further to ask.
"Because you are not aware where you are are you? There are many many things you are yet to know but it is good that you have showed interest to learn. I will help you to learn and then after you must have learnt you will then have enough reason to believe in us" said he. She wasn't sure if she heard him right and she wasn't also sure if there was something she was missing. She rose to her feet and paced. Having walked up and done for a while she stopped and said to him, "Is this who you are; a dangerous, a very dangerous man?"
"Don't judge me. You need to come clean with us and we will come clean with you. You had no reason sneaking out the way you did this morning when infact you should have told me about your wanting to go and see your son in his school. The school you went to is actually owned by Charles" he revealed.
"What?!" she was shocked.
"Yes, the whole teachers in the school are his servants and they know who he is. You see, in this city nothing goes unnoticed. The boss knows everything and he will be pissed if he hears you went behind his back to see your son" he said.
"To see my son? did you hear yourself right now? We are talking about my own son..."
"Will you keep quite!" Ken shouted at her and she was shocked for she had never seen him in that mood. She waited like a dead woman. "You need to keep your mouth shut. When we tell you that you must not see your son we are actually trying to protect you and your son. If he is noticed, if he is discovered by the enemies of this family you and I know what that means. You are better of not close to him and if you are not close to him then you must be far away from him. So you must know this as a fact; you must stand off and let the boss handle this the way he wants. Listen, I will try to make him understand that you didn't mean any harm and that you were moved by you emotions. You must also promise me that you will not repeat that ever again. Am I understood?" When he said this she didn't say a word but kept mute, just staring at him and wondering what else he had in mind. "I need to rest" he added and then walked out of her presence. She sank on the seat and kept staring into space.
*****
In the village and inside the hut where Shanty was with Jude she had been tied to one of the seats in the room and the door of the room had been forced closed by Jude who sat down and started to wear his hand gloves.
"Jude please, please don't kill me" she begged but he did not look at her face nor give her any reply. She was sobbing silently and trying to attract his pity but it seemed Jude was not ready for all of that as he simply stood up and walked up to her and said, "Close your eyes and I will do this quick. You will not feel the pain Shanty"
"Please I don't want to die, please Jude" she begged.
"You don't? what was that you were doing? You were actually trying to expose the company, to tell the whole world that the X Company is not what it is and that the owner of the company is Charles and that he is a drug lord? is that what you started a blog for? Now what you fail to understand is that you don't know I have alot of things to search out for concerning you. You do not know or Oh you do know that if you try to expose the company you are also trying to send me to prison. You have failed"
"Please Jude, that's not what it seems like" she begged.
"What does it seem like then!?" he was furious.
******
"Rose thinks this is a group of uniformed people that she would think she could go to that length of disobeying the order from boss?" Sarah was talking to her husband Emeka.
"Well, it is good she has been brought back to her senses by Ken" said Emeka.
"Yeah, except that Ken isn't happy that Boss had to leave without informing him. That is a terrible thing for boss to do" said Sarah.
"We'll be careful how you talk like that about the boss, he is the boss" warned Emeke and for a second Sarah kept looking at his face and wondering if this was more loyal to Charles than he was to her. She being his wife she expected to be in the same both but time and again he had proven he was walking in loyalty with boss and there was nothing that could be capable enough to take away the regard he had for boss.
Charles had arrived Enugu and had already taken Veronica to a hotel where he allowed her to take her shower and have a meal. As she ate he stood and began to take off his suit. He dropped his pistol on the bed and kept looking at himself in the mirror.
"You already have something to eat?" she asked him.
"No, but I'm okay, I'm much more concerned for you" he said without looking at her.
"I am fine Sir" she said.
"Good" he just said and then turning to her he added, "Stay inside while I go to somewhere to meet with someone. You must listen to me this time" he walked out and she wondered why he had to add the last part; has she ever disobeyed him in the past? she wondered.
******
Ken was so happy to receive Charles and he said, "The group awaits your return to the basement Sir" said Ken.
"I know, Ken, I know. How are you?" he asked.
"I'm fine boss" said Ken.
"Ken, come and walk with me" Charles said and both of them began to trek, away from the car that Charles had brought and packed aside. As they walked Charles spoke.
"I know that you hold so much regard for your former boss Jude but then I need you to know that he has not been himself lately and such a person whose mind is no longer in good shape with the works of the business is not supposed to be allowed to still operate at the apex of the business" he the waited to hear what Ken had to say. Meanwhile Ken was being careful for he did not know what the boss was trying to reveal through this and so he kept mute. Charles turned to him and said, "I am not trying to pull your legs, I'm not trying to lure you into offending me or disappointing me or betraying the trust I have for you. It will interest you to know that amongst all those I work with and all those that move with me, and all those that move my drugs, you are the one I trust with my life and that is why having returned from Abuja you are the first to know about it. Veronica is back and I keep her with me until she is ready to show herself to the rest of the family" As he said this he could see the face of Ken litter with smiles on hearing that Veronica was back safe and sound.
"Boss, I'm elated and honored to hear these words from you and believe me it gives me the assurance that I wasn't wrong after all to love you and insist to stand where you stand and so shall it always be my boss" Said Ken. Charles then turned to him and said, "I have someone who is now betraying me with every of his move, one who has allowed his heart to wonder far and not with the family, one whom I so much trust but has become a green viper in a green grass. You Ken will have to put off the life of this green viper in the green grass when the time is right. You are to put it out before it begins to bite all those working in the field. Do you understand what I am saying to you?" Charles asked and studied his face to see what he was thinking.
"Boss, are you saying Jude needs to die?" asked Ken and Jude nodded.
"Boss, whatever you say that I must do and this will not be an exception. When do you want this done?" asked Ken.
"When he returns from where he has gone to do what needs to be done concerning the lady in his life that challenged me right inside my office" Charles spoke and they discussed other things before they headed back to their car and then Charles drove off.
******
Days passed and Veronica was ready to leave the hotel.
"I will meet with you at the office Sir" she said while avoiding his face.
"It is okay, and then Veronica; about a certain boy that comes looking for you in the village; I have heard severally about him; do you want him dead or you can handle him?" asked Charles and Veronica was shocked at his words.
"No, Sir I I'll handle it, I will handle him boss" she said and left with mixed feelings. After she left Charles stood up and walked up to the window of the hotel room and stared down to see her enter her car which was brought in shortly by Ken as he waited for her outside. Ken drove her away and Charles still stood there, left hand inside his pocket and his jacket on the bed. He was thinking of the next move. Shortly he brought out his phone and dialed Jude's number but he did not pick up his call. He put back his phone inside his pocket, took hold of his jacket and left the room.
******
"If you kill me what satisfaction will you get?" it was Shanty asking Jude who having tied her against one of the seats in the room was thinking of how to shift her from the area and so he waited until it was night time and he said to her;
"Stop asking me useless questions Shanty, you get what you ask for" he said and then held the seat and carried it over his head and opened the door, then left. While he left with her the same lady that had come to rob Shanty with her brother and her brother's friend was at a corner and peeping at them. When she saw that Jude had gone a little big far with Shanty on his shoulder she followed them.
******
It was morning time and Jude was beside a river and had lowered Shanty on the ground at the foot of the river and had headed to have some water for he was thirsty.
"I also want to drink Jude" she said.
"Shut your mouth Shanty and shut it for good" he said and continued to drink.
"What, why! I'm thirsty. if I am going to die by your hands are you going to be so wicked you won't offer me water to drink?" she was trying to get his attention and she succeeded; he sprang up and headed towards her in anger. When he was upon her he could not bring himself to hit her.
"I am also hungry and very much hungry at that" said Shanty. Jude kept staring at her eyes and wondering what was wrong with her, why she kept talking as if she was not about to face death.