RESTLESS
Restless-Episode 19(Arrested)
Story By
Oyin Oluwatosin Emmanuel
Location: El Deols, Anthanna.
20:55PM
Iyke marched out of the club house angrily. He stopped outside the gate and looked around for some minutes, trying to see if the man who was playing pranks on him was outside the place.
He noticed no one like that around. He took out his car keys from his pocket and then advanced towards his car immediately.
He opened the door to the driver’s side and stepped in. He put the key into the ignition hole, he was about to turn it on when some strange sounds from behind startled him. He turned his neck slowly and looked back. He was shocked to find a man with tied hands and legs and a gagged mouth.
“What the hell…” He cursed under his breath as he took out his protection knife and quickly stepped out of the car.
His phone began to ring but he ignored it. He took a careful look around before he opened the door to the back seat to check who was there.
“Officer, what the hell are you doing in my car?” He blasted as he recognized the man. It was the police man who they had worked with to carry out Tom’s job few weeks ago and who had also worked with them on other occasions in the past.
He pulled the tape from the man’s mouth to allow him talk.
“Please, I’m in pains, untie me quickly.” the man pleaded frantically.
“What the hell are you doing in my car?” I
asked, not minding his pleas to be set free quickly.
“I don’t know,” the man said with stammering lips. He closed his eyes as he tried to remember exactly how he got there.
Iyke’s phone began to ring again.
“Answer your call,” the tied man popped his eyes opened and said to Iyke in a frank tone.
Iyke stared at him without taking any step.
“Answer your call, ” the tied man replied. “The man would give you some instructions.”
Tom cursed under his breath as he slammed the door shut and opened the front door again. He picked his phone from the front seat and checked the caller, it was the same number that had been calling him.
“Who the hell are you idiot? Step out to me like a man and stop playing this hide and seek game,” he said angrily into the phone.
‘That man in your car, untie him, unlock his phone and open the file you find on it.”
“What the bleep? You think you can just boss me around…”
The line went dead.
“Damn it!” he cursed again, clenching his fists and teeth.
He closed the front door once after dropping his knife and opened the backdoor again.
“Be careful when you close this door idiot, you almost broke my head now.”
Iyke ignored the man’s words. “Where’s your phone?”
“It’s in my left pocket, untie me first, I’ll give it to you.”
Iyke ignored the man’s request. he stepped into the car and reached for the man’s pocket. He took out the phone and tapped the power button. The phone was without security lock, so he just swiped it open.
He clicked on the only file displayed. He was expecting more files to open but an app popped up instead. It was a police reporting application. It displayed a message in a dialog box and showed no icon or sign for cancellation.
Message scheduled for 21:30PM
He frowned. He didn’t know what message was being talked about nor what the app was. He noticed that the word message being displayed had a drop down menu, he clicked on it and about ten options showed up, all named with dates.
January 23, 2014
March 24, 2014
June 30, 2014
December 5, 2014
December 6, 2014
December 7, 2014
December 8, 2014
February 9, 2015
July 9, 2015
Something about the dates sparked a thought, the sixth day of December was his birthday and he remembered clearly what he did in the last year. On the 5th, 6th, 7th and 8th days of the last December, he had led his group of thugs to destroy some buildings and cause trouble in some areas in town and they had also connived with the police to protect them.
He clicked on “December 5, 2014″ and a new window popped up, showing a gallery of pictures and videos. He began to check the pictures and videos one after the other and he realized they contained some of their activities which were recorded by the CCTV.
‘Bleep you officer! What are you doing with these pictures and videos?” Iyke stepped into the back space and closed the door.
‘Set me free from these ropes you idiot!” the officer cried out.
Iyke stretched his hands to the front seat to pick the knife, he turned the man and cut the ropes tying the man’s hands to the back and the ropes tying the legs.
“Oh my Goodness!” the officer exclaimed as he sat up, stretching his hands and feet as much as he could to ease himself off the pain.
“Now, would you tell me what these videos are doing on your phone and how to get rid of them?” Iyke asked impatiently as he fumbled with the phone.
“I don’t know,” the officer replied sharply. “He tied me to a chair, covered my mouth with a tape while he moved those files from his device to my phone.”
“It’s asking for a password to delete them,” Iyke said impatiently, giving the phone to the officer.
The officer took the phone from him and fumbled around the application for about a minute.
“I don’t know how he did it, I don’t know how he had access to my account but he’s changed my password and I can’t delete this message.” the officer replied, stammering.
“What message is it? And who is he sending them to?” Iyke asked.
“It’s the police reporting platform, used when an officer isn’t physically present at the office to send a report or use to send live reports on the progress of a case.”
“And so?”
“He has scheduled these videos and images to be sent to the overseer by half past twenty one hours.”
“Are you bleeping kidding me? These videos must not get out, they would get me and my boys in trouble. Several people died in those operations.”
The officer stared at him silently, he had nothing to say.
“Do something fool, stop looking like a dummy. Don’t you know you would also get into trouble?”
“What can I do? We can’t do anything except to call him back and ask him to stop them from sending, we have to ask what he wants.”
“Oh Damn it!”
Iyke ran his fingers into his hair angrily. The whole thing was getting messier than he thought it could be.
He was still considering whether to call or not when his phone rang. He answered at once.
“Who the hell are you man? And what do you want?”
“I need you to turn yourself in for the crime you committed four weeks ago, if you do , you would get a lesser punishment and these videos would be deleted forever.”
“Don’t joke with me man, you can’t just give me orders to follow, tell me what you want.”
“No problem man, these videos would get to the police overseer’s inbox in the next fifteen minutes.”
“You dare not send them, I would find you and kill you.” Iyke threatened.
“You wouldn’t find me, you would be cooling off in prison soon. The files are on the way already, they’ll be delivered in fourteen minutes time.”
“What do you want man?” Iyke asked in a desperate tone.
‘Turn yourself in before the end of tomorrow, if you promise to do so, I’ll stop the files from sending.” The voice repeated.
“What crime are you asking me to turn in for?”
“The Tom Wills Job man.”
“What the hell! That has been covered up already, no one knows my involvement at all.”
‘Yeah… I want you to turn yourself and your thugs in and your remaining crimes would remain covered up.”
“Okay, I would think about it but you have to stop those videos from sending right away.”
“I would, you only have till 8am tomorrow to make up your mind.”
“Cancel the videos from sending!” Iyke replied.
“Done man.”
“Done?” Iyke stared at the police man’s face.
The officer quickly unlocked his phone and returned to the main dashboard of the app. There was still a sending status displayed. He shook his head in negative to Iyke.
“You haven’t cancelled…”
“It’s been stopped,” the police officer cut in as the status on the app just changed.
“It’s cancelled already,” the man replied from the other end.
Iyke cut off the call without saying any more words.
“How did this man find you?” he asked the officer.
“I got home from work…” the officer began. He squinted his eyes as if he was finding it difficult to remember. “Something hit my head as i turned on the light, the next thing was I woke up tied to a chair and found him sitting in front of me.”
“Is it someone you know?”
“No, he had a hood on and his eyes covered. I couldn’t really see his face.”
Iyke stared silently at the police officer for a while. Then he suddenly snatched the phone from the officer’s hand.
“What?” the officer stared at him in surprise.
“I’m going to keep this phone. If he has to send the videos again. He will have to get them to me.”
“You don’t realize he can publish those videos anywhere else, do you?”
Iyke thought for a while. He realized that the videos do not have to be sent through that platform to get to the police overseer. He shook his head in frustration. He knew that anything could happen but one thing he was sure of what that he was never going to be so weak to turn himself in easily to the police.
________________________________
Sheila’s Apartment, El Deols.
22: 49PM
“Henry, where did you go?” Sheila asked in an fatigued voice as she stepped into the living room.
He was there in the living room, watching the television while patiently waiting for her. He picked up his walking stick and helped himself up as he spotted her. She walked straight in his direction.
“I was so afraid when I returned and I was told you left already,” Sheila added, not letting him respond to her question first.
“I had to go…”
She didn’t let him finish talking when she wrapped her hands around him in a warm embrace. He was surprised at first but eventually wrapped his arms around her.
The embrace lasted for almost one minute before Sheila disengaged herself from him.
“Where did you go?”she asked again.
“I went to make some arrangements concerning our investigation on those hoodlums,” Henry replied her.
“And why didn’t you tell me?” she asked before taking her sit on the three seater sofa behind. Henry also took his seat beside her.
“You would not want me to go,” Henry answered. “I wanted to avoid arguing with you about it.”
“And where exactly did you go to?”
“I was at Gege to check a few locations there,” Henry replied her.
“Locations for what?”
“Locations for a meeting,” Henry replied. He could see she was wondering what he talking about. “Please Sheila, don’t let anyone know I did step out or even that I’m fit enough to go out.”
“I don’t get you.”
“Don’t tell the doctor and don’t tell anyone.”
Sheila raised her brows and stared at him with a suspicious look. “But you have to tell me what you’re doing.”
“It isn’t what you’re thinking, I’m not about to engage them in a fight.” Henry quickly added.
“So what are you doing? What meeting are you talking about?”
“Well, the meeting is on already and it’s not important for us to discuss. Why don’t we just talk about something else for now?”
Sheila kept a suspicious gaze on his face, not willing to change the subject.
“Hey! Stop staring at me like that, you need to trust me and whatever I do, I’m a FOX agent, remember?”
Sheila closed her eyes and shook her head as she let out a deep breath. She decided to refrain from asking him further questions. Like he said he used to be or still was an Agent of the FOX, not just an ordinary agent but a top one. It was obvious he knew what he was doing.
“It’s okay, I just want to make sure you’re fine.”
“I know,” Henry replied and reached for her hand. “Don’t ever get worried about me, I’ll be fine always.”
Sheila nodded gently in response.
“I’m sorry I went out with your car without seeking for permission first,” Henry apologized.
She rolled her eyes at him.
Henry smiled.
“I tracked you using the decoder in the car,” She said.
“I knew you would track me,” Henry said and laughed briefly. He stared at her face with a kind of mischievous smile.
“What?” She smiled too.
“I wanted you to find me, that’s why you did. I only thought you would trust me enough not to come looking for me.”
“No,” she widened her eyes. “You expected me to sit at home like that when you suddenly disappeared from home without letting me know where you were going to? I can’t, not even now that you are not fully well yet.”
Henry laughed out loud. “Trust me, you wouldn’t have found me if I did not want you to. I got alerted the minute you located the car.”
“I know right… But this isn’t amusing. I was scared, I thought you left for Bethanna.”
“Come on, No, I promised that I wasn’t going to leave yet and I plan to keep to that promise.”
Sheila moved closer to him and wrapped her hands around his body and placed her head on his chest. “Please, don’t leave like that anymore. you scared me.”
Henry chuckled, he placed a hand at her back and use the other hand to fondle her hair for some seconds.
Sheila was still clung to him after a minute, he did not want to push her away. He managed to reach for his pocket and took out a small phone. He unlocked it and found a message.
Trust me, I’m gonna get you!
_______________________________
Next Day
14: 45 PM
Sheila had a whole lot of activities lined up for the day. She had already done two meetings with visitors to the company and had one more for the day. A lot of unfinished paper work however still laid on her table.
“Please call in the HR for me,” she said to her secretary through the landline and dropped the receiver quickly.
She continued with the assessment of the file on the computer system.
Three minutes later, the HR knocked and was allowed in.
“Please, do have your seat Miss,” Sheila said to the woman who just entered her office. She picked up a paper file on her table and opened briefly to confirm the contents before handing it over to the lady. “Take a look at this, I’ve assessed the reports from the performance of those new staffs, you recommended ten but I marked five out of them. I want you to confirm if they are the bests for us to select for the three months training at the United States, you have to give me reasons for whatever your choices are.”
The HR took the file and opened immediately to begin assessment.
“You can take it to your office but I have to get a reply from you before the end of working hours.” Sheila added.
The android phone on her table began to ring. She picked it up to check the caller and dropped it again after silencing it.
“Ma,” the HR spoke up some few seconds after. “The training I believe is in different categories. They aren’t specified here,” she added as she turned the file to Sheila to have another look.
“Oh! That’s true, I may have to send the detailed assessment to your email address. You would get the mail before you return to your office,” Sheila replied.
“Okay, I’ll go get it done immediately.” The HR answered and got up to her feet immediately.
Sheila’s phone began to ring again before the HR could step out of the office. She picked it up, it was the same caller – the police overseer. He wondered what the man was calling her for.
“Good afternoon sir,” she said into the phone as she answered the call.
“Good afternoon Miss Sheila,” the overseer replied in his bass voice. “We would need your attention at the police office right away.”
“Why?” Sheila asked in a suspicious tone.
“We have a man who has given himself in, he confesses to be one of those men who attacked you and your bodyguard.”
“Oh!” Sheila sighed. She took a quick glance at her wristwatch. “I’ll be on my way in some minutes.”
She sighed again as she dropped the call. She had lots of work to do but she had to postpone them. Finding the men who hurt Henry was important to her and she made it her priority.
Forty Minutes Later.
Police Office C, El Deols.
“Please come with me Miss Sheila,” the police overseer beckoned on Sheila to follow him.
She got up from the seat and followed immediately.
The man led her into an office and ushered her to a seat.
“Miss, a man came here exactly two o’clock this afternoon and he came to turn himself in, he said he was one of the men who attacked you and your bodyguard four weeks ago. I’ve asked an officer to bring him here, so you can identify him.” the officer said to Sheila.
“Yes sir, I’ll like to identify him. But how did he turn himself in?”
“Yeah…” the overseer leaned forward. “That’s the main reason I wanted you here badly. He mentioned that a man started calling him yesterday and threatened his life and his family. The man also abducted and beat up the some of his gang mates this morning. We are trying to fish out that man, he has some dangerous access to some confidential applications which he should not have.”
Sheila squinted. “Well, thats strange!”
She was lost at first but then came to realize that the person who would have carried out such would be none other than Henry.
“We reached via phone call your bodyguard who was beaten that day and invited him over but he pleaded with us to call you first because he is still recovering and can not yet leave the house on his own.”
Sheila squinted. She did not what to say until she remembered what Henry told her the night before.
“Yes, he has a bad leg and cannot drive. The doctor says he should stay away from stress till he recovers.”
“Well, that’s really confusing. The man who turned himself claimed not to have laid his eyes on this man making threats. We suspected that it was your former bodyguard but having now confirmed that your bodyguard is not even fit to carry out such acts leaves us confused.”
Sheila forced herself to hold in her amusement. She wondered how Henry did his job so neatly and she also realized the reason Henry asked her not to tell anyone at all that he left the house.
“So who do you think it is?”
An answer was yet to be given when the door flung open and Iyke was led in, flanged by two officers.
“He is the one, he’s the first person we saw in that warehouse.”
__________________________________
Location : Sheila’s Apartment, El Deols.
“Hey! Why are you staring at me like that? Henry asked in amusement.
They sat on opposite sides of the dining table, taking their dinner in silence. Sheila had spent overtime at work and returned home late. Apart from evening greetings, the two of them had not had any other reason to talk to each other that night.
She chuckled. She had been staring and smiling at him quietly. “You know why I’m staring at you. When would you start explaining?”
He dropped his fork in the plate and squinted at her. “Explaining what?”
She squinted back. “Explaining the magic you performed in getting those men to turn in themselves.”
Henry smiled. He picked up his fork and continued eating.
Sheila also continued with the food, waiting patiently for him to talk.
“Well… It was easy,” Henry began after taking a gulp of water. “I just made a detailed search on the past activities of the one whose call records we’ve been tracing. I located few of the other men through that also and set them up.”
Sheila frowned a bit, she dropped her utensils. “Well, I don’t understand that clearly but I’m quite concerned about those guys who were beaten. Who did you invite to do that?”
“I took them out myself,” Henry replied.
“Come on,” Sheila frown thickened. She remembered he told her the night before that he wasn’t planning to engage them in a fight. “How could you have done that? You have one of your legs still hurting you.”
Henry smiled, he dropped his utensils also. “My leg is not as hurting as it was. I’ve been using it well since the cast has been removed.”
“But you still use the crutch,” Sheila retorted.
“Yes, I use the crutch but I can stand on the leg.”
“I don’t understand you.”
“I didn’t take the men down with the leg, I only needed it to stand.”
Sheila was getting more confused.
“Sheila, this is not the first time, I’ve taken on cases while undergoing treatment. I’m trained for it,” Henry explained.
“But the doctor warned not to stress your body for now.”
“I did not apply any stress on the leg,” Henry defended himself in a strong tone. He felt Sheila was getting overprotective of him. “Look here Sheila, the doctor does not know who I am. Doctors who treat us at the Fox would handle it differently. I’m a fighter who has learnt how to use different parts of his body in a fight, so an injured leg can not stop me from taking down a few men when I still have other parts of my body useful for a fight.”
“I really don’t think this is good,” Sheila said in a disappointed tone. She had thought Henry had gone about it another way like having someone else fight for him but hearing him say he fought himself made her feel disappointed that he wasn’t committed to getting his body fit as he should be. “You should allow yourself healed before involving yourself in such,” she added and then got up angrily after taking a sip of water.
“Sheila,” Henry called, noticing she wasn’t happy with him.
“I lost appetite, I’m just gonna retire for the night.”
“You don’t need to get pissed off with me…”
“Goodnight Henry,” she cut in and then adjusted the chair behind her as she stepped away from the table.
She proceeded towards her room but Henry followed immediately. He caught her by the arm and held her firmly for a moment while she tried to get free.
He tried to make his grip as soft as possible and turned her body gently to face him.
“Sheila, you need to understand that I’ll be fine. It’s not the first time I’ve gone through this kind of situations.”
“But this is different, you almost died few months ago.” Sheila replied defiantly, still angry and not looking at his face even as she tried to push his hands off her waists.
“Trust me Sheila, I’ve gone through worst before. This has just been the longest time I’ve stayed without action.”
Sheila wasn’t ready to listen to him anymore, she just wanted to be free from him that night and get into her room. He finally let go of her and stepped back.
“Goodnight!” She said sharply and turned. She took a step and stopped suddenly as she realized something. She turned sharply with a shocking look on her face.
Henry raised his brows, wondering what the new look was about.
She softened the look on her face and took a step closer to him, staring at his injured leg. She also took a glance at the crutch resting against the dining chair where he was previously seated.
“You are not using your walking aid?” She asked, staring at his face. She looked at the dining table and with her eyes measured the distance from where he was to his seat.
Henry glanced back and also realized that he did not take the walking aid along while he was rushing to stop her.
“Sheila, I’m injured but I’m fine and I know how to keep myself okay.” He said.
She let out a breath and stared at his face without knowing what response to give. She nodded gently in agreement with him, walking without the aid truly proved that whatever method he had fought with did not affect his injured leg, he was even recovering faster than the doctor predicted.
She thought of saying goodnight to him again but she recalled she already said it twice, she shook her head and turned to leave.
“Sheila,” Henry called in an uncertain tone.
She stopped.
He walked closer to her, held her by the waist and made her turn to him.
“I promise this would not happen again,” he said in soft tones, looking into her eyes directly.
She nodded gently and continuously, not knowing what to say. A light smile formed on her face.
He held on to her longer than he thought he would, somehow, he did not just feel like letting her go.
They stared into each other’s eyes silently.
Sheila touched his cheek with her palm and leaned further against him, pressing her front region against his chest gently.
She moved her head closer to his and he moved his closer. She placed her her at his back close to his neck. Their faces got closer and closer that sharing a kiss seemed so inevitable.
To be continued.
EPISODE 20
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