Dining in hades (chapter 47&48)

Written by @majeedsalako
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Chapter 47

I woke up with a start, I couldn’t believe I had slept off and I frantically peered at my wristwatch, fortunately I had been sleeping for about twenty minutes. I was disoriented, I had not decided on my next move. I had to act fast but what was I to do. My phone was still ringing; it was its insistent ringing that had woken me. I sat up, it was Yvette; I still was deeply confused. What if this was a further set up? My phone battery was getting low; everything was working against me. I reached for my phone charger, plugged the phone and then dialled Pope’s number, I had no plan yet but first I had to talk to him. I put the phone on speaker so I could talk while changing clothes and picking up other stuff I might need, my power bank, a more comfortable pair of shoes….

Pope took his time answering the call, picking up just when I thought he wouldn’t. His unmistakable voice filtered through the speaker phone. “You have my money already?” I could sense some dry mirth but I was not in the mood for this. I had to get through to this man somehow ; how do I do this? I had no idea. 

“Sir, can I come over?”

“Do you know how to get here?”

“No sir, but …”

“Do you have my money?”

“No sir but…”

“But what Faruk, I thought I made myself clear, my money for your mum, there’s nothing to discuss, no terms to negotiate, nothing. When I see you , if you have my money, you go with your mum, I am a business man Faruk, not an assassin. If however I do not see my money when your time is up, well you’ll be dead, good news however, is that your mum gets to live. Unless you refuse to show up; then she dies, and your demise follows shortly. Trust me I have my ways.” He hung up. Dead end there, time was running out, my phone wouldn’t stop ringing; dad, Frances, Yvette, Alhaji Bukar, the police boss; it was insanity, and I felt like smashing the phone against the wall, but common sense prevailed, I needed it, if there was any chance of anything giving, it would come through the phone.

Yvette’s name was flashing again on the screen and finally I picked it up. “Yvette.” I spoke through clenched teeth.

“Faruk” She expelled her breath in relief, “What’s happening Faruk, who has your mum? Talk to me.” I almost believed she didn’t know about this, but common sense dictated otherwise.

“Stop these games Yvette, what more damage can you people do? You have my mum, You have the money and you’re still asking me to refund you guys? It makes absolutely no sense…”

“Exactly Faruk, no sense what so ever, who has your mum, I’ve told you this earlier, did you read my sms? Chief Jacob doesn’t have her…”

“Oh so you’re saying you’re not all in this together”

“What? Faruk; all? What do you mean all, you’re not making  sense babe, who else do you think is involved?”

Babe? She called me babe? I almost choked with anger.

“Don’t act like you don’t know Yvette…”

“You’re not listening to me Faruk, who has your mum? We are running out of time…”

That triggered me; “Oh so you know my time is running out but you say you don’t know who has my mum? Seriously? I am hanging up now Yvette, looks like you have nothing to offer.”

“Faruk, don’t hang up , I have all the money, it’s our money, that’s what I meant by we are running out of time, you need to level with me, who has your mum, what do they want?”

It took a while to register, and even though I didn’t believe her, I was grasping at straws, and if there was a chance no matter how slim… “Pope.” I finally offered, “Pope has my mum.”

I heard her breath catch sharply, it appeared she really didn’t know about this, “Oh chief Jacob didn’t tell you about this part of the plan did he?” I taunted, “Didn’t show you the big picture did he? Only what you needed to know…”

“Faruk, use your head,” her voice was surprisingly firm, “it doesn’t make any sense, “Jacob has no hand in this, he wanted the money, wanted revenge but he is certainly not working with Pope, think about it, he knows there is no way you can come up with that kind of money, so why would he work with someone to kidnap your mom and then ask for money he has already taken from you?” It makes no sense Faruk.”

“Well maybe they need a reason to actually kill me.”

 She made sense but I was not backing down, there had to be a reason, they had to be working together, it was the only connection that made sense.

“Faruk you are not listening and you are not using your head, Pope doesn’t need an excuse to kill you, from what I have heard, he is a mad man. Where are you? We need to meet up, do you still have the address I sent to you? You have to get there, be very discrete, everything depends on discretion Faruk, we can still salvage this.”

“I am at my place, if you want to see me you can come here.” I said stubbornly.

“Faruk you are not listening.” She snapped impatiently, “Everything depends on discretion. Go there, NOW.”

I was silent, I knew there was practically no other way out for now. “Faruk, it is very important you get there right away. Trust me on this Faruk.”

“Okay.”

“And Faruk?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

I almost screamed at her but once again common sense prevailed and I said a quiet “Thank you.” There would be time enough to dispute this “love” much later, if and when this was eventually resolved.

Yvette was still speaking, “You may not understand now Faruk but you will eventually.” She hung up. This time I didn’t flag down a cab, I exercised more discretion, I walked some distance and flagged down a commercial motorcycle; an Okada as it is called, I made sure a couple of them had passed and flagged down one that was at top speed, I took it all the way to the nearest major junction, and then made it circle back, all the time keeping a sharp look out, the cold wind against my face helped clear my head a little bit, it was also much easier to keep a look out as it was getting to the wee hours of the morning and the roads were mostly deserted, still I got off at a junction that I knew had a link street to another major junction and walked the distance till I came to that junction and then flagged down  cab, it was an exhausting exercise really, the only highlight being the cold air stinging my face; making me feel at least alive. It appeared however that there was nobody trailing me, Pope must be certain that I would not attempt to take off now that he had my mum in his custody. I finally made it to my destination without incident, I called Yvette to inform her and she told me to walk straight up to the gate , this was after ascertaining from me that I was not followed. I walked up to the smaller of the two gates and lifted up my hand to rap on it but it slid open before I could knock on it.

At first glance, I almost mistook her for Yvette but she was darker and had a slightly fuller figure, she also had bigger eyeballs. “Hi Faruk,” she said quietly, as she tried to look beyond my shoulder also trying to ascertain that I was not accompanied.

“I’m alone” I assured her and she moved  aside to let me into the compound, she double bolted the gate behind us. She did not say another word till we were in the living room of the small duplex. She motioned me to seat in an overstuffed chair which almost swallowed me up and made me feel really small; “Florence” she offered, “What?” I asked, “My name is Florence.” She spoke really slowly this time.

“Oh, I’m Faruk, I’m sorry, I’m not usually this slow, just some stuff that’s going on…”

“Oh I know all about it, and now seeing you, I can see what she sees in you.”

I gave a weak smile, flattery was not going to lift my mood, not tonight. “You’re her sister, I can tell, the resemblance is striking…”

“Half-sister,” she responded with a smile, “I have my dad’s eyes. We are closer than most siblings who share both parents though; it just the two of us, and we were both raised by our mum only so I guess, those factors affected us. You want a drink?”

“Yes please, something strong.”

The vodka went straight to my head, and I asked for some more; “No Faruk, you need a clear head. There is so much you guys need to sort within the next few hours.”

I nodded solemnly and asked “What exactly is going on Florence?”

“You don’t know?” she feigned surprise , I thought your life was just thrown upside down. I could sense she was trying to cheer me up, but the humour was totally lost on me. I was hoping she could shed some light on the plans Yvette had for me but she was pretending I was talking about the events of the past forty eight hours .

Her phone rang and she looked at it, smiling as she lifted it to her ear, “Sis,” she listened briefly “Yup, he is here, and boy is he a looker?” Yvette must have said something funny because she burst into laughter “Keep your breeches on sister, I know he is yours and I like them older trust me, I don’t make any exceptions.” She stopped talking and a serious look crossed her face as she nodded over and over before speaking again.

“Yup, all sorted, and delivered, how far away are you? Ten minutes? Oh cool, come in from cedar drive, use the other gate, he said no one followed him but caution is key, I’ll be waiting at that gate.”

She hung up and turned to me, the smile was gone, she was all seriousness now, “She’s almost here, I have to go and get her. Stay here Faruk.”

Chapter 48

I stood up and sat down at least twice before Yvette walked in. I was standing when she finally did come in. She jumped at me, throwing her arms around my neck; her relief was apparent, and in spite of myself, I held her to myself. It had been less than a week since I saw her but it felt like forever. I had missed her , she after all had been a source of constant balance in my life and it had been a while since there had been any balance in my life.

“Baby, I’m so sorry, I really am,” She was planting kisses all over my face; “Have you had something to eat? Did Florence treat you well? I came as fast as I could. Come, sit down, we have to talk.” I took my seat once again, and she walked towards the mini bar, “I am getting a drink, I’ll get you one too, you need it.”

She walked back towards me, and handed me a large vodka, no ice no chaser nothing, the smile was gone. For lack of an appropriate ice breaker I asked where her sister was; “She’s gone Faruk.” She dragged a side stool and sat right opposite me before she spoke again.

“She had to leave, her safety is very key, I don’t want to risk more lives than necessary.”

“But you risked my mum’s.” The anger was building up again.

She raised a finger indicating that I be quiet, I had never seen Yvette this way, so hard, so in control, yet it was still her that sat opposite me, the Yvette, my Yvette. I shut my mouth but my scowl at least remained in place to show my displeasure.

“Faruk, it’s dangerous people we are dealing with here and they’d kill us all if they could without batting an eye lid; your mum, your dad, Florence, you, me. The only thing we’ve got going for us is that the love of money is more important to them than the thirst for human life. This is the only leverage we’ve got right now. Now I need you to tell me how Pope got your mum and what he’s asking for. Of course I know it’s money but how much?”

“He wants all his money and the profit he was supposed to make Yvette, you know there is no way I can raise this kind of money.”

She looked thoughtful as she spoke “Faruk, we do have the money.”

“Where and how? Chief Jacob and yourself wiped everything off.”

“Yes we did and no we didn’t, when he told me his plan and what my cut was, I was all for it and you were really just a mark but that first time I told you I loved you, I really meant it, I crossed a line I’ve never crossed all my life. I’ve always been a chess piece on the chess board of life, this body and face never really gave me much of a choice. First time I did a job, it was for my uncle, my mum found out because I had so much money and I was uncontrollable. I was drunk one night and I bragged about what I did to get the money, she called me a prostitute, I told her I was bigger than that, I was a con artist , she killed my uncle the following day, she’s never coming out of jail. That was another life; that was America. This life, the jobs, this is why we came back home Florence and I. It was either that or we joined mum in jail for some jobs we later pulled off.”

She took her drink in two big gulps before speaking again. “Our first con job was chief Jacob, we pulled it off successfully and took off, next time he saw me was at a party, I tried to take off, but he was all cool and stuff, he sat me down and told me he’d been looking for us, not to get his money back apparently, but so we could do business together. His proposition made sense and I opted for it, Florence opted out, one; because she had found some other gig that was paying off and two because she didn’t think it was wise to put all our eggs in one basket. I agreed with her. This is how my thing with Jacob began. He sent me to a finishing school first, I had to be polished to be able to really get at the kind of people he was targeting, he was not planning to run scams in the sense that I understood it,  what he needed was information and the power to be able to undermine people who are in the same business as he is. I am free to make as much money as I can from this scheme but what he needs is paramount. This has so far worked well Faruk but then he set me onto you and by God I fell for you and I fell hard. I wanted to you to myself but you were such a dic head that you couldn’t see this. But it paid off because things probably wouldn’t  have turned out this way.”

“What way?” I asked “Nothing is working out as far as I can see. Things are absolutely fucked up from where I am sitting.”

“No they worked out, we have more money than we can ever spend and we certainly can grow it. What we can do with this money is limitless.”

“How are we supposed to get it back from Chief Jacob? He certainly doesn’t strike me as someone who is stupid enough to give you his account details like I did, after all he is a master at this game you guys are playing.”

“No he isn’t but I set plans in motion the moment I realized I had to have you . But I had to make sure that I could get you. That you loved me. She sighed, “Why is it difficult for you to show love baby, all you see is the money.”

“Well I could say the same about you Yvette, this is why we met remember?”

“Would you have given us a shot if you didn’t think I had money to throw around? Contacts to make available…?”

“Would you have given us a shot if I wasn’t a mark?”

“Probably not Faruk, you would have just been that playboy to me. Look we’re past all that now, we have each other and our whole lives ahead of us, we’re still young, let’s leave all these old people behind, let’s make magic.”

“Look Yvette, I think it’s a beautiful dream and all but we have real problems here. You have told me it will be sorted but you have said nothing concrete. If there is a plan here let’s discuss it, we can dream all you want later.”

“Shut up Faruk,” her voice was calm, cold even; “I am your only chance here I am in control from here on. I didn’t choose to love you but here  we are. I have tried to be detached, believe me I have because trust me you are sometimes the worst kind of asshole. You really thought flaunting all you affairs or whatever you chose to call them would not get to me? How stupid are you?”

“Babe…”

“I’m not done Faruk, I need to get it out, all of these have been bottled up for too long. I tried to love you, hoped you would see it, I hoped I could simply save you from this mess, tell you about it, get you to leave the country with me. But if I had told you, you would have felt it was some stupid fairy godmother somewhere saving you ass as usual, you would have felt untouchable and you would have moved on for me. So it eventually came to me and so I improvised, stick with the plan, take the money from you, and then when you’ve seen what could really happen to you, I’d show you I was your only choice, your only way out. Then when every other thing falls in place, take the money from Chief Jacobs as well, I would have let this play along a bit further so you could really see it, the big picture. Fate has however sped things up. Fortunately the rest of the plan is just a few clicks away.”

I took a long swig, I was still confused, still not sure how this would work, I knew now from what had happened to me that she could take the money from Jacob just like that but then what? Chief Jacob was no small fry, I was certain he mess us up in a dozen ways without losing sleep. Yvette certainly had to be just one of his pawns and I wasn’t sure what other forms the other pawns could come in but I was not ready to find out. Not again.

“You’re scared?” she didn’t wait for my response; “Good, you should be, but not of Chief Jacob,or Pope, or any of these other old idiots, your greatest fear from here on should be me. I’m taking over from here on, and if you mess up just once, just once Faruk, I swear it will be the death of you. And yes I am talking about women. You and I were in this for the money and from here on, that will not be a problem. I will take care of it. It is our money, we have worked for it, me more than you but it is still our money we will have equal access to it. I will be the best wife ever to you, the best mother for our kids…”

“Wife?” I spluttered, she had said this at the exact moment I took another swig. I was drinking from the bottle now.

“Yes wife, you think I’m taking the biggest risk of my life just so we can date? Faruk really how stupid are you? I knew there was no way you would agree to get married to me, hell to anyone in the next ten years. Not because you did not know somewhere inside that I was the one for you but because you were blinded by money, power and  influence but all you have made plans for is the money. There is more to life than that Faruk and it took me knowing you to see this. That’s all I want now and if I this is the only way I can make it happen, I’m sorry but then so be it. I’m sure you’ll come around to seeing it my way.”

“Can we sort out my mum first Yvette? We can discuss this later please.”

“There is nothing else to discuss Faruk,we will sort her out but only when we are about  to leave, we are running out of time,so we need to move fast.”

“Leave? Where to? You haven’t told me everything here.”

“I’ve picked a South American Island, your documents are ready, we will transfer the money at the airport. If we don’t leave immediately, every other idiot involved in this will see kidnapping your mum as the way out.”

“Here call Pope and tell him, he’ll have his money by the deadline.” She handed me my phone.
To be continued....

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