Smiles of the heart( Obianuju II)

The plan 2

The walls closed in. It was impossible for anyone to escape the endless, darkened wait to freedom.

A pale looking man sat in the corner of the chilled room,his eyes bloodshot, staring blankly into space.

He had long unkempt hair and a stubbly chin.

Will I ever get out here? he tried to soliloquise, to be facetious, to have a grim laugh at life, but his lips made only incoherent sounds.

He heaved in his breathe with frustration and rested his back against the wall,his red-rimmed eyes wandering restlessly around the cell room.

"Mr Ayomi David."The sudden sound of a voice startled him, disrupting his thoughts.

He looked in the direction and saw a warden opening the cell gate.

"Come outside ."The warden commanded, giving him a stony glare.

Without a word, the pale looking man got up the floor,brushing the dirt off his tattered clothes as he walked out of the cell.

He stretched out his arms to the warden,expecting to hear the sound of an handcuff clicking, but there was none.

The warden merely smirked. "Follow me."He said and led the way out of the underground cell, through a long passage and to a small room where two men were seated.

The pale looking man stopped short, his intense gaze fixed on the older man.

Why is he here? he wondered. Today isn't a visiting day right???

"Dave." The older man sprang up to his feet and ran to him. He put his arms about him and hugged him. "You look so pale son." he cried over him.

The pale looking man went stiff, and made no move to reciprocate. He wasn't used to emotional stuffs, It felt like nonsense to him.

He gently broke the embrace and stepped away.

"Why are you here?" He stared into the man, his father's eyes.

"To rescue you from this hole." His father replied.

"Rescue me?" The pale looking man arched his eyebrows and looked toward the second man,briefly accessing him.

He was a young man around his age. "Who is he?" he asked his father.

"Well."His father shrugged his shoulders. "Let's just call him your scape goat."

"You want to replace him with me?" The pale looking man gasped in astonishment.

"Yes."His father nodded and smiled lightly. "Your brother's request."

"Oh God."The pale looking man eyes sparkled and his heart swelled with joy.

At last! After three miserable years in prison, he was gonna be a free man again.

"Where is Landon ?" he asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"You mean Akorede?" his father smirked. He hated addressing his younger son by his stage name, it seemed so odd to him. "He is in the ..............."

"Enough with the talking."The warden who had been listening to their conversation butted in. "We have got no time."

"Alright." The older man readily agreed as he was so excited about his son release. "Can we go now?"

"Not before you sign this." The warden pushed a paper to the pale looking man.

What is this? The pale looking man read through the lines and noticed it was a letter of agreement. The warden wanted him to lie low forever.

A light smile played on his lips and he gracefully signed it.

"Your brother paid a huge amount for your release." The warden told him. "Make sure you don't return here."he warned. "And also, stay as far away as possible from the senator's kid.

The pale looking man felt his anger rising. Ademilade! Why must he remind him of that spoilt brat?

"If you don't want any trouble." The warden completed.

With that, he pulled the "scape goat" up to his feet,grabbing him by his collar as they walked in an opposite direction.

The pale looking man watched them intently for a few moments longer and then turned his attention to his father.

"How did you convince him to do this?" he questioned his father.

"Money."His father simply replied and walked out of the room.

The pale looking man took one last look at the room before following behind his father.

He paused in the hall way and gulped hard,staring longingly at a cell room near by.

Should he go check on prince? he contemplated an answer.

"What is wrong?" His dad asked

"Prince." he muttered. "I want to see him."

"No, you can't do ..........."he rushed toward the cell before his dad could complete his words for he really wanted to see Prince.

*

Prince sat crossed -leg on the floor,his head slightly tilted, reading his bible when he heard a faint sound.

Startled, he looked up and saw his long time friend.

"Dave."he called out in surprise. "What are you doing here?" he looked him up and down. "How did you manage to get out?"

"My brother helped me."Dave replied. "I will Plead with him to also get you out."

"No." Prince shook his head lightly. "I don't want that, I want to complete my prison terms."

"But why?" Dave looked at him, totally confused.

"It is the right thing to do." Prince spoke calmly. "I did wrong, and should pay for it. For it is written in the bible that......."

"Spare me the sermon." Dave huffed at him,suddenly becoming furious "If you want to remain here, so be it." he kicked the cell gate and stormed off, stamping his worn out shoes on the ground as he went.

He got outside and found his brother and father leaning against a black range over sport car.

"Hi Akorede." He smiled at his brother. "Thanks for taking me out of the rat hole."

"I did not do it for you." his brother replied coldly. "I did it because of mother." he opened the car door and slid into the driver seat.

Dave remained on the spot, surprised by his brother attitude.

Is he not happy to see me? he thought within.

"Get into the car." his father patted his shoulder lightly. "Your brother is only tired. He has been running around trying to process a visa for you."

"A visa?" Dave repeated his father words.

His father nodded." You will be leaving for United state as soon as it is ready."

Dave merely smiled and climbed into the rear seat.

It sounded like a good idea, but he needed to take care of something first.

~~~~~

Lily Hampton paced up and down the room restlessly, her face clouded with worry.

Her lawyer, Tania just called to inform her about the latest development in the hospital.Troy has been officially announced as the president of MacAdams hospital.

"How the hell am I gonna get a hold of the hospital?" She said aloud, and the sound of her own voice startled her. It was so harsh and hoarse.

Should she threaten him to sign it to her? "No! No! No! I don't want to raise a suspicion." she muttered to herself. "I better stick to the first plan."

All she needed to do was to keep on hoping and praying that her daughter gets pregnant for Troy. She smiled, reassuring herself.

"But what about his Fiancée?"The question popped into her head.

Her smile turned into a smirk. " I will have to get rid of her."

She hastily reached for her phone and dialled a number. The person picked up on the first ring.

"Hello Detective." She greeted. "This is Doctor Hampton, the woman whom you exchanged number with yesterday."

"Oh Madam Lily." the detective laughed heartily as he had been expecting her call. It wasn't easy to come across a prominent person like her this days. "How can I help you?"he sounded desperate. "Do you need police guard services?"

"No." Lily replied bluntly. "I need you to kidnap a little girl."

"What?" The detective shrieked in disbelief. Kidnap a girl! he couldn't possibly do that.

"I will pay you handsomely for it." Lily quickly added.

There was a long pause, and then the detective exhaled deeply.

"How much are we talking about here?"

"Two million naira."

"Two million naira." The detective gasped. "I will do it." he readily agreed and Lily smiled to herself. "I will send all the details to you, bring the child to me as soon as possible."

The mere thought of the girl being gagged and tied sent thrills of excitement down her spine and awoke the beast in her.

*

Ademilade

"Babe, hurry up please." I called out to Obianuju for the umpteenth time.

"I am coming." her voice rang out from the bathroom.

Oh right! Does she want to sleep in there?

I glanced down at my wristwatch and noticed it was 9:00am.

Holy Sh*t! I was running late for work and it is all because of my stubborn fiancée.

"Meet me down stairs." I simply told her and picked up my car key and walked out of the room.

I climbed down the stairs into the sitting room and met Emma seated limp in the couch,one hand cupping her cheek, as if thinking.

"Hey."I greeted her.

"Troy."She sprang up to her feet and ran to me. "I have been waiting all night for you."

All night! I arched my eyebrow in wonder.

"I wanted to talk to you before leaving."

It was only then I noticed the big travelling bag seated at a corner in the room.

Finally! I sighed in relief.

"Where are you going?" She questioned,her eyes raking me up and down

"Work." I grunted my response.

"And your fiancee ?" She continued. "Is she returning to school today?"

"Why are you asking?" I snapped at her.

"Erm....."she scratched her hair and chuckled nervously. "I just want to know."

What rubbish! I scoffed silently and walked past her to the sofa.

"Please Troy."She walked over to stand right in front of me."You can't allow her return today, you...n-need....to....keep a close...w-watch on her.

"What are you even saying?" I retorted in a silky voice

"It is my mum." She croaked in a panic whisper. "I have got this feeling that she .....erm..I ...mean... she......."she trailed off, mumbling some inaudible words.

My ears perked up, out of sheer curiosity, but I couldn't get out a single word.

"Are you sure you are okay ?"l stared down at her, my expression a mixture of concern and confusion.

"Yes."she nodded slowly. "I am........"

"Is everything alright ?" Obianuju's loud voice drowned hers.

Just in time! I looked in the direction of her voice and saw her climbing down the stairs, a white hand bag slung over her shoulder.

"Yes."I forced out a smile. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."She pursed her lips in a pout

"Good."I gave Emma a long flat stare before walking out of the room.

"You need to keep a close watch on her." Her words replayed in my mind and I let out a sigh of frustration.

"What is wrong?" asked Obianuju close behind me.

I slowed my steps, facing her. "Can you please stay here till the weekend?" I gazed into her eyes. "I will drive you down to school myself."

"How I wish I can."she blinked rapidly. "But I have a test to catch up with."

"Alright" I took a deep breath, opened the car door and climbed into the driver seat.

"Don't tell me you missing me already." She teased as she got in beside me.

"It is not about that."I bit my lips to keep them from quivering. "I am seriously worried about....." I stopped mid sentence seeing her puzzled look.

Gosh! What am I even saying? I shrugged away the negative thoughts out of my mind.

Starting the car, I drove out of the compound and up the road, heading to the car park.

*

I got to the car park on time and pulled off the road.

"So....."I turned off the engine and faced Obianuju. "Till when?"

"Weekend." she replied.

I smiled lightly and leaned forward to kiss her. "I love you baby."

"I love you too." She alighted from the car. "Bye." She waved at me and ran into the open garage.

I stared after her for a long moment and then turned on the car engine and proceeded down the road when I noticed two men in black lurking around the corner, just like thieves.

I scoffed silently and averted my eyes , looking straight ahead. Then I turned off the main route and did a u-turn, speeding off to the hospital.

*

Obianuju

The driver was moving at a very high speed, but i didn't mind.

All I wanted was to get to school on time.

Glancing down at my phone, I noticed it was 11:00 am

Demi must have gotten to work, I guessed!

The mere thought of him made me smile, How I wish he was here with me.

All of a sudden, the car made a loud noise and jerked to a halt.

"What is wrong?"I became alarmed. "Why the hell did you stop the car?" I yelled at the driver.

"Over ttt-there."he pointed out of the window with trembling fingers.

I turned my head and looked out of the window.Two men dressed in all black were approaching us. They looked like deadly killers.

A feeling of terror washed over me instantly and my hands began shaking, my thoughts so scattered. I wasn't able to think straight.

"What are you waiting for?" I screamed at the driver. "Drive pass them."

"I can't, the road is blocked."

"Sh*t!" I yanked the car door open and jumped out ,making to run when a baritone voice whispered behind me.

"Come with me quietly............"

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw black clothes. It was one of the men.

"Or else I will kill you."He trailed the tip of a sharp object down my arm and stopped at my wrist, making my blood run cold.

"Who.... are....." my voice caught in my throat and I had to start all over again. "Who...are... you?"

"A police officer."he answered.

"No! Please! No." I begged. "Let me ......"I choked back my words when he pressed a cloth over my nose.

I couldn't breathe. Large tears rolled down my cheeks as I struggled to free myself from his strong hold, but it was all to no avail. I blacked out on the spot.

TBC

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