RESTLESS
Restless-Episode 10(Impromptu Trip)
Story By
Oyin Oluwatosin Emmanuel
Oct 3, 2015
05:30 AM
El Deols, Anthanna.
Sheila was still fast asleep in her bed when she heard a soft knock at her door. It sounded distant in her sleepy ears and she turned in the bed again, covering herself further with the blanket. The knock sounded again and she finally opened her eyes, it took her sometime for her to sit up. She search with her eyes the wall clock as she yawned lazily.
“Come in please,” she answered after hearing the third knock and Henry’s voice calling her name.
The door opened gently and Henry stepped in, he closed the door behind and remained at the entrance. He stared at Sheila surprised to see her still in her bed, looking sleepy.
She had on her nightgown and a shower cap covering her hair. Her back was resting against the headboard of the bed and the blanket still covering her waist to her legs. Henry on the other hand was already dressed in his track suit and shoes.
“Good morning Sheila,” Henry greeted first while she stared at him, still looking like someone in a trance.
“Good morning Henry,” she replied in a sleepy voice after which she yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her palms.
“Why are you still in bed? It’s time for Saturday workout,” Henry said.
“No,” she shook her head gently. ” We can’t go for workout this morning, until we decide on which new workout center is good for us. Or have you found one already?”
“Yes, I have.” Henry replied sharply.
She raised her brow, expecting him to say where he found immediately.
“We don’t need to go out to work out always, we can do some exercises right here in the house.”
Sheila blinked and breathed deeply. She remembered Henry had talked about they exercising in the compound the last night but she did not take him serious.
“Now, get up, Sheila.”
She yawned and stretched, reluctant to get up.
“Can’t we…” Sheila tried to say something but Henry interrupted.
“Shhhh… No excuses ma,” he said with a chuckle placing a finger on his lips.
“Oh!” She grumbled.
“Come on, get up,” Henry urged again, he moved closer to the bed and turned to the side she was. He offered her a hand to help her up.
She put her palm in his and he pulled her up gently. She stood at the tip of the bed for a second before he lifted her with both arms and placed her on the ground. He walked immediately to the wardrobe and opened it.
“I’ll be waiting outside for you,” he said to her while she was still searching for something in her wardrobe.
Ten minutes later, she joined him in the hallway. He led her to the field in the compound which he had chosen for them to have the morning exercises.
They began with simple exercises like the cat camel stretch and jumping jacks which was led by Henry. After five minutes, it was Sheila’s turn to lead with an exercise move, she thought for some seconds before suggesting they do push-ups.
They began to do push-ups and got to the twentieth count when she gave up and fell to the ground. Henry continued however and was counting close fifty when Sheila got to her feet. She watched him in awe as he counted close to seventy five tirelessly.
“Hey wait!” She yelled.
He stopped and turned his face to her, his palms and feet still in the same position. He watched as she moved over him and quietly laid on his back and arranged her legs on top of his, also wrapping her hands across his chest.
He was surprised by her gesture and did not know what to do at first. He felt a strange overwhelming feeling and he could not tell what it was.
Their closeness had increased in the three days of Henry working as her bodyguard. They went to work together daily and returned together. He couldn’t really say he worked as her bodyguard for she did not treat him as such. She always insisted he sat at the backseat of the car with her on their way to and from work which he found odd to do at first, because he had believed the position of the bodyguard was supposed to be at the front with the driver. Everytime they stood or sat close to each other, she always found herself clinging to his arm or resting her head on his shoulder unconsciously.
“Continue with the push-ups,” she said to Henry who still remained frozen in his position.
He continued his count and went past a hundred and twenty before she yelled that it was enough.
She rolled down from his body all smiles, while he was feeling somewhat shy to look at her face.
“Can we do another exercise now?” Henry asked after forty seconds of what he considered as awkward staring at each other.
“I don’t want to do more exercises for today,” she replied, shaking her head.
He looked at her face, wondering why she was considering stopping so early. He quickly looked away as he couldn’t understand the way at which she was smiling at him.
“I want you to teach me some fighting moves you know,” she said.
He looked at her face sharply again, this time wondering why she was making such request.
“But I don’t know any fighting moves,” he replied, pushing his shoulders up.
“You know many,” she answered back. “Four days ago, you thrashed five heavy men as one single man.”
Henry sighed. “But you know that was almost like unconsciously, I was not sure of how I did it.”
Sheila contorted her face and raised her brow in a way to communicate that he was lying.
“You just said you were not sure how you did that. I agree you were not sure that day but now you are sure.”
Henry was getting more confused.
“Since the day after that fight, I’ve seen you everyday read about those fighting moves you did.”
She further “I know you must have found out what you did that day and how you did them.”
Henry had a brief smile form on his face, then it disappeared and turned to a frown. He realized that she must have been looking into his phone every time she rested her head on his shoulder while they were seated close to each other.
“Sheila, I am still not sure of anything yet. Why don’t we wait till I’m sure first?”
Sheila stared at him quietly for a moment and then nodded gently in agreement.
“We’ll start next week, by then you should be very sure.” She answered him.
“But…”
“Shhhh… No excuses sir,” she said with a smile, mimicking his voice.
________________________
8:35AM
Oct 5, 2015
Bexford, Bethanna.
The soles of the men’s shoes unpleasant sounds in the large empty tiled hall as they made their way to the tail end.
Seven of them in total, Odio at the front leading the team of his five men and two hostages to his boss who was seated at the end of the hall. Mark and his friend had been brought all the way from Anthanna to Bethanna against their will.
That night after calling Mark out of his house and asking that he leads to the Nura River where the body was dropped, Mark had no choice than to take them first to his partner’s house for it was his partner who was a native of Nura village and had suggested that they took the body to Nura river where it would never be discovered. Odio called Mark’s partner the same way he called Mark out and also coerced the partner to lead them again to the village.
They got to the Nura River at exactly 5:30am. Odio asked them questions and he and his men began to look around immediately for signs of the body but they still had to wait till day break to get more light to see.
Flashback
“This is a part of the body bag we brought him here in,” Mark’s partner said after going into the river and bringing out some pieces, some other pieces were in the bushes around the river.
“So, if his flesh was eaten by the birds, what about his bones?” Odio asked a surprising question when it was morning.
Mark and his partner had looked at themselves in bafflement, wondering how he could ask such question.
“But Odio, we don’t stay here, how do we know what happened to his bones?”
“You brought his damn body here when no one sent you to pick it up, you would have to give account of everything that happened to that body.” Odio replied inconsiderately.
“It’s been four months since we brought him here, his bones must have been moved. Even the pieces of the body bag found here has changed colour, we can’t possibly find his body anymore.” Mark tried to explain.
Odio stepped away from them as he took out his phone to a distance where they could not hear his conversation.
“Hello boss,” he said into the phone after his call was answered.
“I got to the location his body was dropped, there are signs that he has been eaten by wild birds and animals. We’re sure he’s dead.”
There was silence from the other end for a while. “Just bring those men here,” the receiver replied. “Bring them to me.”
“Okay boss,” Odio said and turned back. He put the phone back into his pocket and took out a cigarette and a lighter.
He took his time to lit the cigarette while the men waited for him to talk. He took a long drag in and out before lowering his cigarette to talk to them.
“Sorry guys, you have to follow me to Bexford.” He announced the sad news to them.
“But that’s impossible…” Mark tried to argue but Odio made a sign to his guys around and the sound of the cocking guns shut Mark up.
Present
“Hahaha! So these are the guys that took away the famous Agent’s body?” Eddy made a mocking laugh, getting up from his seat as he saw the men approaching.
He turned to the other side of the table and sat at the tip, with his arms folded across his chest.
“Yes boss, this is Mark, the transporter from Anthanna.”
Eddy smiled as he stared at Mark’s face. “I asked this men to leave you two alive and bring you here for a reason,” Eddy began, directing his words to Mark. “I have an assignment for you, but before I tell you the assignment, I’ll ask you a question.” He stopped for a second. “How sure are you that the Man died before you dropped off his body?”
Mark took some time to think before answering. “We confirmed when he stopped breathing and the Doctor also said he was dead.”
Eddy swallowed a breath and stayed silent for about a minute before speaking again. “Now, listen to my assignment for you.”
He got up from his table and turned to the other side of the table. He opened the drawer and took out a picture, he handed it to Mark.
Mark and his partner looked into the picture, it was that of two men standing beside each other. One of the men’s face had been covered with blue ink.
“Who does that man in red look like?” Eddy asked.
“This man?” Mark glanced at Eddy and then stared at the picture again. He turned to his partner and asked, “Do you know him?”
The partner muttered a “No”.
“We don’t know who he is,” Mark replied, attempting to hand over the picture back to Eddy.
“No, you keep it.” Eddy refused to take it. “The man on red looks like the man’s whose body you took, they are brothers. That man you see in the picture is hunting for the killers of his brother and is likely to trace you two to Anthanna. Your assignment is to find if he is in Anthanna before he finds you two, If he finds you first, he would use you to get to us and kill you after. So I’d advise that once you see a man like that, you report immediately to us.”
Mark and his partner looked again at the picture, this time more intently.
“There would also be financial rewards if he is found as soon as possible.” Eddy quickly added.
Mark and his partner was still silent after Eddy finished talking. Eddy got up from his seat and moved to the other side of the table where he was before.
“I’ll let both of you go now, but I must warn you to be careful, we’ve got our eyes on you.”
________________________
Sheila’s Firm, El Deols, Anthanna.
Oct 5, 2015
10:36am
“So, what are the uses of Morse codes in this present age?” Henry asked his personal trainer.
They were seated together behind a table on two different seats, two computer desktops were in front of them, one for Henry’s practicals and the other for the trainers’ use.
“So many uses,” the lady replied him. “In today’s world, they are still….”
The door bell rang and interrupted their lessons.
“Please come in,” Henry answered, staring at the door and wondering who it could be.
The door opened and Sheila’s secretary walked in. Henry glanced at the wall clock to see the time. The only times she came into that place was when Sheila sent her with a lunch pack to give to him but it wasn’t break yet.
“Mr Henry, You and Miss Sheila would be going on a one week trip from this evening. You have to tidy up your office in the next thirty minutes. You should leave for home anytime soon to prepare for your trip.” The secretary said.
“One week trip?” Henry questioned. “But she never told me before.”
“I was asked to deliver the message to you, you probably should inquire for more details from her. Thank you,” The secretary replied and then turned after taking a bow.
“I guess we have to continue your classes when you return from your trip,” the personal trainer said to him after some seconds of silence.
“Yeah sure ma’am,” Henry replied her with a smile.
“So we’d talk more on the uses of Morse codes when we resume, make sure you practice writing them while you are away,” the young lady said as she got up to her feet and began to put her materials into her handbag.
“Sure ma’am, thanks.” Henry replied.
_
Henry sat quietly at the back seat with Sheila as they returned home from the office. She seemed very busy with her palm top computer that she barely gave attention to Henry who was waiting patiently for her to talk about the impromptu trip. He decided not to ask about it, since he had no choice than to follow her anywhere she wanted to go as her bodyguard. He however still felt bad because it clashed with his plans and goals he had set to achieve for himself with his personal classes that week and that she did not think of telling him ahead.
Five minutes to the end of the drive home, Sheila finally finished with her computer and closed it up. She looked at Henry’s face and noticed he had been quiet all through. She could sense somehow that he wasn’t happy because it was unlike him to be quiet all through the drive home. She realized it could be because of the impromptu trip.
“Oh! Henry, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you earlier about the trip. I just got to decide this morning,” she said to him, her face carrying a sincere sorry look.
He felt relieved on hearing her talk about it, it made him feel that he was also considered.
“It’s okay, if it’s important, we have to go.” He replied.
“No, we don’t have to go. If you don’t want to go, you can stay, I’ll go alone.”
He looked at her and smiled. “Why would I not want to go? It’s important to you and my job includes staying with you always.”
“Come on, stop talking about that job.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t want you to come with me if you don’t like to, if you have something important to do or you have other reasons, you can stay and I’ll go alone.”
“I truly had plans to do something else, but since you have something important to do, you’re important to me than any other plan.” He said with a smile, his mind truly changed about the situation.
She stared at his face for a while and then smiled. “You truly mean that?”
“Yes, I do.” He replied.
She flashed her teeth happily and then drew closer to him, she wrapped her hands around his neck and then placed a kiss on his cheek. She placed her head on his shoulder and wrapped her hands round his body. He pulled her tighter to himself with an arm and took in a deep breath.
“So where are we travelling to?”
Heasked after some minutes of silence.
“Hmm… A neighboring country, I’m going there to buy up some networking firms.”
“Which country is that?” Henry probed inquisitively.
She chuckled and turned her head to look at his face. “It’s somewhere you would like, it’s a beautiful place.”
“Hmm…” Henry smiled.
For a moment, they remained silent and in that same position. Her eyes staring deeply into his and his staring back, their lips less than four centimetres apart, it was so close that they could hear the heartbeats of each other.
Sheila’s lips looked attractive to Henry and the encouraging glow in her eyes tempted him to move his lips closer to hers but for some reason he didn’t move until her palm found her way to his cheek. She closed her eyes.
__________________________
Tom’s Apartment, El Deols
“Guys, we need to find a way to deal with that freaking blockhead, he can’t just mess around with all of us and go free.” Tom said, pacing about the ground. He had a tobacco stick in his hand from which smoke with unpleasant smell had filled the living room.
He had been smoking and taking his drugs more publicly since he was granted bail by the police. He thought there was no more need to hide his habits since he had already been exposed.
His friends were in the living room with him and they consisted of three of the body builders who had engaged Henry in the fight at the workout center and one another new one.
“Tom, I truly think we should face your hearing in court which comes up in a few days time.” One of his friends suggested. He was the same man who had led the team of fighters by confronting Sheila that day.
“I have that in control already, my Dad has the situation in his hands. I’m lucky the b****** maid is still alive, so I will only face charges of rape and I’m sure the maid has no boldness to go against me or even the money to get a good lawyer.”
“What of Sheila? Isn’t she pressing charges?” The same man asked.
“Not at all, the slut dropped charges but she’s being seen recently going around with that blockhead, I’m sure he has been sleeping with her freely.” Tom blew out angrily.
“We should still wait till your hearing ends before we decide what to do to that man,” the man put in.
“I can’t wait to deal with him man,” Tom grated out. “I can’t wait to deal with him for what he did to me and what he did to you guys.”
“That’s true,” another of his friends interjected. He was the one who Sheila had seen with him before the incident. He was the most injured from the fight, he sustained an injury on his head and had a plaster still on it with a swollen forehead. “We paid heavily to the authorities for damages after he injured us.”
“We gotta make him pay, we need to find a way real soon. I mean very soon, even before the court hearing. He’s gonna regret coming back alive,” Tom threatened.
To be continued
EPISODE 11
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