Episode 13
Clara’s side of the story continues from the last scene
of the previous episode
‘’Val is a federal agent and your dad got him here to
protect you. We had to come up with the lie he sold to
you in order for you to be comfortable with him. We did
it to protect you, since you insisted on having no
security guy breathing down your neck. I was very
much okay with the plan but I never knew the guy was
going to take advantage of the situation to sleep with
you. That wasn’t part of his job description and his
action has shown that he can’t be trusted with your life.
He lied to you, he played on your intelligence, and he
used your emotions. I’m very sorry that I was part of
this grand scheme in the first place. I will leave your
house very early tomorrow because I know after all I
just told you, I won’t be welcomed here anymore. Just
forgive me Clara’’ Vivian breathed solemnly while I
trembled over her words. Of course I was in pain. I was
so shocked and ashamed of my life. I couldn’t believe I
gave myself away very easy to a fake guy. I felt very
terrible.
‘’I have to go to my room and pack up my things’’ I
heard Vivian mutter as she stood up. I quickly grabbed
her hand.
‘’no you are not going anywhere. This is your home.
You are my sister. The only person leaving is Val’’ I
stammered softly.
‘’I can’t stay here anymore. Once you confront Val and
he leaves this house, he will definitely put a call to your
dad who won’t be happy with me for leaking the secret’’
she protested.
I slowly wiped the tears flowing down my eyes, took a
deep breath and hugged her.
‘’thank you for opening up to me. That’s all that matters
now. I can’t imagine how long he would have continued
sleeping me supposing you didn’t tell me the truth. He
never loved me. He was only using me to have fun
while on duty. He’s going tonight. Just wait for me
here’’ I breathed painfully and tried heading towards my
door but Vivian quickly held me back.
‘’no don’t confront him tonight. Don’t kick him out this
night’’ she pleaded.
‘’no he has to go tonight. Just wait for me here please I
beg of you’’ I pleaded, snatched my hand from her
grasp and headed to Val’s room with great fury.
On getting to his room, I barged in without knocking,
throwing the young man into confusion as he struggled
to get out of the bed.
‘’what’s this about my dear?. You look awful?’’ he
stammered as he got to his feet. I simply walked up to
him and lashed out a terrible slap on his face, sending
him backwards with the force of my blow.
‘’agent Val or what should I call you?. How dare you?. I
never believed an innocent looking guy like you could
be so deceitful. Charles is very much better than you. I
have learnt my lesson. Vivian told me everything about
you after I told her all we did. Just leave my house
now’’ I shouted with great energy.
‘’please keep down your voice. I know I lied to you but I
lied in order to protect you. I lied in order to be with
you. Whatever I did with you was done out of real love
and affection. Just calm down’’ he pleaded but I was
far from calming down. My head was just so full. I
couldn’t even think properly.
‘’listen to me Clara. Vivian just told you everything
probably to get back at me. Please don’t get mad’’ he
pleaded desperately but his words only made me more
angry. I slapped him again and again while he simply
took it all without flinching. I was very much in love with
him. I was feeling the slaps I gave to him down in my
heart. I couldn’t believe he didn’t trust me enough to tell
me the truth. I couldn’t just stand his sight anymore.
‘’pack your things and leave right now. You can take
one of the cars with you if you are scared of leaving
this compound on foot’’ I barked.
‘’I’m sorry but my duty is to be with you at all times. I
can’t leave the house’’ he breathed defiantly, surprising
me with his words.
‘’fine be ready to be with my corpse then because I’m
heading to the kitchen right now to get a knife and stab
myself’’ I threatened, turned and headed towards the
door.
‘’okay okay, I’m leaving. Don’t do anything silly. I beg of
you.’’ He stammered. I stopped at the door, faced him
and folded my hands.
‘’then start packing right now’’ I commanded with tears
in my eyes.
It was so painful watching him grab his bag. I felt the
pain very much but I did the right thing in kicking him
out.
——————————-
Val’s side of the story continues from the last scene
above
As I drove out of the compound that fateful night, I
couldn’t help but shade tears. I knew I had lost Clara, I
equally was at risk of losing my job. I just didn’t know
how to face the governor and my superiors. I equally
didn’t know exactly what Vivian told the poor girl and
that in its own way was going to make things very
difficult for me because I didn’t know the kind of
defence to put up in the upcoming query and debriefing
I was going to face.
I parked in front of the house, kept watch and thought
of what next to do. Of course the last thing to do at this
stage was to leave my duty post. I still had a duty
which was to keep watch over Clara and I had to stay
around in case she decides to leave the house. Yes I
was scared. I knew it was just a matter of hours before
a call from the governor or my commander breaks my
last energy. I couldn’t believe I messed up my career
because of a silly feeling called love. I was in love with
Clara but it doesn’t matter now. Does it?
Being on the verge of losing my job, my future, my
happiness and my life, I couldn’t imagine living in the
country without anything. I couldn’t help but pray. I
prayed, begging God to touch Clara’s heart and stop
her from telling anyone else that I slept with her, which
was the only thing that could save me in a way. But
then even if Clara decides to keep her mouth shut will
Vivian do the same?.
The worst mistake I made was sleeping with Clara .
Episode 14
Val’s side of the story continues
7:30am, the next morning
—
I woke up with a jolt, very surprised that I was even
able to sleep inside the car. Perhaps it was all due to
the exhaustion of the long trip of the previous day that
made me sleep so easily.
I yawned, breathed deeply and checked my phone for
any missed call as the events of the previous night
slowly played backed in my head. I nervously dialed
Clara’s number with prayers in my lips but
unfortunately she failed to pick up her phone and after
trying for the tenth time, I decided to call Vivian and talk
to her.
Yes Even though I was extremely angry with Vivian over
what she did to me, I knew it was pointless fighting
with her at the meantime. I still had the chance of fixing
my mistakes and I felt talking to her could be beneficial
in the long run.
Luckily Vivian picked up my call the moment her phone
rang. I heaved a sigh of relief as I quickly formed out
the best words to use on her.
‘’please can we talk for some minutes. It’s very
urgent?” I pleaded. She kept quiet for few seconds.
‘’please’’ I pushed on.
‘’okay where are you?’’ she asked.
‘’I’m at the gate’’ I replied.
‘’ I will be there in few minutes’’ she accepted.
‘’fine, I’m waiting’’ I breathed and hung up.
———–
Nervously I waited for her to show up as I prepared my
questions and all I wished to tell her. I was very
desperate. Yes I was very eager to fix things but I
equally was still very confused on how to go about it,
the right approach to use.
Exactly ten minutes later, Vivian appeared from the
compound and joined me in the car, looking very
serious and uptight.
‘’good morning’’ she managed to greet.
‘’you really messed me up yesterday’’ I breathed as I
faced her. She looked down and said nothing.
‘’I thought we were friends. I thought we understood
each other?. What will you achieve in ruining my
assignment?’’ I asked breathlessly. She shrugged.
‘’sleeping with Clara was never part of your
assignment. I was only protecting my sister. I only told
her the truth about you and nothing else’’ she replied
softly, trying hard to appear calm. However I couldn’t
help but notice that her hands trembled. Her face
looked pale and troubled.
‘’it’s okay. So how is Clara?’’ I asked.
‘’you care only about Clara but never for once cared to
know how I feel’’ she muttered, bringing up her face to
meet my gaze for the first time. We silently exchanged
glances as the tension between us heightened. I really
felt like smashing her head on the car dashboard but
then I had to control the anger in me. I tried to say
something but my lips refused to open.
Just that moment a Toyota SUV emerged from the
compound, headed out of the gate and moved into the
runway, gaining our attention. The driver of the car was
no other person than Clara and of course I was very
stunned to see her driving out of the compound that
early in the day. At first I really didn’t know what to do.
‘’that’s Clara’’ Vivian breathed as I quickly switched on
my car engine, very eager to follow her up.
‘’what are you trying to do?’’ she asked suspiciously.
‘’it’s my job to follow her wherever she goes and that’s
what I’m doing’’ I replied as I threw her a quick look
while she grabbed the door handle by her side in a bid
to get out of the car. Unfortunately for me the attention
I gave her distracted me from noticing on time a Toyota
sienna which pulled up in a commando fashion,
blocking Clara’s car. Before I could even blink or grab
my small service pistol, two masked men jumped out
of the sienna brandishing AK47 rifles which they fired
on my car, shattering the windscreen as Vivian and I
managed to take cover under the dashboard.
Few seconds later the Toyota sienna and Clara’s car
disappeared without a trace while I frantically radioed
for help.
I couldn’t believe Clara was gone for real. The poor girl
was just kidnapped before me and I couldn’t even fire a
shot to save her.
I couldn’t help but wonder if it was all a setup that
cashed in on the confusion between us or just an
opportunity that played into the hands of the
kidnappers.
‘’but where could Clara be heading to by this time of the
day?’’ I wondered over and over.
Of course I was screwed
Episode 15
Val’s side of the story continues
After alerting every available units within town, I
discharged Vivian and went in full pursuit, driving wildly
as I headed out of the estate with great fear in my
mind. Two policemen who were part of the men guiding
the governor’s private residence equally joined in the
pursuit, following behind in an unmarked car. We raced
blindly to the main road and luckily spotted Clara’s SUV
as it took a quick turn and headed towards Umuguma
Portharcourt road. The other sienna car was nowhere in
sight and I had no choice than to go after the SUV even
though it appeared to me as a decoy.
It really was a fierce chase as I pursued the car. A radio
call from one of the police units along Porthacourt road
equally assured me of a road block being set up ahead.
But unfortunately on getting towards the general
hospital junction, the car took a quick right, raced on
and drove with full speed into a nearby bush, really
taking me by surprise as I fearful wondered what the
stunt was all about because my life was equally on the
line.
I had no time to think before sporadic gunshots from
the bush sent me over the other side of the road as my
car dived into a small ditch. I jumped out and fired
blindly, so scared and frightened over all that was
happening. It was my first time of facing real action and
hey it was a life and death thing. There was just a very
thin line between life and death in the situation I found
myself in. My service pistol was equally no match for
an Ak and the bandits really were well prepared for the
show. All I did was fire blindly as the kidnappers rained
bullets over me. It was just as if they really intended to
kill me and pulled the decoy show just to drive me into
an ambush. But luckily for me my backup arrived. The
two policemen following behind soon joined in the
action, firing their own rifles in quick succession as the
hoodlums made a quick retreat.
Few seconds later, the sound of motorcycles roared in
the bush while we still took cover and waited. After few
more seconds there was silence. The hoodlums were
gone.
‘’we lost them’’ one of the officers said to me as he
carefully checked Clara’s SUV which was empty. I felt
like crying. I felt like pissing on myself. I couldn’t
imagine the kind of explanation to give for the security
lapse that led to Clara’s kidnap. Of course with the way
the kidnappers carried out the show I was convinced
they still would have successfully kidnapped the girl
even if I was with her. The only difference was that I
would have been left dead. For the first time I saw the
full risk of my job glaring before me.
‘’Yes I would have been dead supposing I was in the car
with Clara’’ I reasoned over and over as my ringing
phone got my attention and it was Vivian calling.
‘’hey what’s up. Did you get them?’’ she asked quickly.
‘’no they escaped’’ I breathed.
‘’see I’m ready to keep my mouth shut over the quarrel
you had with Clara. I also won’t tell anymore what you
did that made her mad with you. So just find a way to
talk your way out of this mess because I know you are
in big trouble right now. The governor just called me’’
she muttered while I breathed deeply, really clueless on
whether to thank her for what she just said or to hang
the call rudely. Yes I knew she was trying to correct her
wrong and I equally knew telling the whole truth to
clara’s family would be a quick ticket to jail. Of course
it’s suicidal walking up to the governor and telling him
that I slept with his daughter and was kicked out of the
house the night before she was kidnapped.
I barely had hung up Vivian’s call when my phone rang
again and this time the call was from the state
governor. I panicked.
‘’agent val where is my daughter?’’ he asked furiously.
‘’where is Clara?’’ he barked like a wounded lion.
(Meanwhile @the other end of the town, Clara is seen
lying blindfolded on the floor of a Toyota sienna car
heading out of Owerri via Okigwe road. With her in the
car were four heavily built men.
‘’yes sir. The operation was a success. We have her’’
one of the men is heard making a
Episode 16
Clara’s side of the story continues
I couldn’t believe it. It was just like a nightmare. I
couldn’t believe I was kidnapped right in front of my
house. Yes I knew the country was bad but I never
believed such a thing could ever happen to me in such
manner. I cried bitterly as the events of the previous
evening came flashing back.
I had returned from Obudu with Val, so happy to be in
love once again, only to be confronted by the painful
reality that Val was only using me for his own selfish
gains. Of course I was mad. I couldn’t believe he could
toy with my emotions. I had to kick him out of the
house that very night with the intention of confronting
my parents the next day only to be kidnapped right in
front of the house as I drove out to meet my parents.
Yes I was on my way to the governor’s lodge when the
criminals blocked and took me. I regretted ever
stepping out of the house that morning. I regretted ever
acting so tough on Val. But unfortunately all my regrets
were now medicine after death.
I cried and kicked furiously as I wondered where I was
being taken to. I very much knew I was kidnapped by
professionals. They never called each other by name
and only talked when necessary. I couldn’t help but
imagine what they planned doing with me.
‘’madam please don’t hurt yourself. Our orders were to
get you safely. We are not going to harm you. So relax’’
I heard one of the kidnappers say to me in a bid to
calm me but I was far from being calm. I just felt like a
helpless cow being taken to the slaughter house.
—————————–
Val’s side of the story continues;
( In this scene Val is seen standing nervously in the
governor’s sitting room. The angry governor, his wife,
the state police commissioner, the state director of
D.S.S and Agent mike are all seen facing him as he
tries to recall all that happened )
‘’I was out in front of the compound waiting for Clara to
come out in order to escort with the second car when
suddenly a Toyota sienna blocked her and fired at me. I
stood no chance under the heavy fire power and I
followed every due protocol to save her but failed’’ I
stammered as the governor listened with great
impatience and anger.
‘’don’t tell me you didn’t know where she was heading
to?. I also heard you didn’t sleep in the house after
returning from Obudu yesterday evening with her. Can
you explain that?’’ he asked angrily.
‘’you know your daughter sir. She’s a very difficult girl. I
really don’t know what gave her the impression that I
was spying on her. She kicked me out of the house but
I still remained at the gate and kept watch’’ I nervously
explained.
‘’I’m not buying your story. You better get back my
daughter’’ he barked and walked away with his wife
while agent mike, my director and the state police
commissioner all left their gaze on me. I knew I had to
come out a little clean with them. They were
professionals and unlike the governor they could vividly
read through a person’s mind.
‘’I think she found out about my job. I don’t know how
she did it but she confronted me about it and kicked me
out of the house. I believe she was heading down here
to confront her parents before she was kidnapped at
the gate or maybe someone lured her out of the house
which I doubt’’ I explained further like a frightened
child.
‘’agent Val, if not that the governor still wants you to
find his daughter, I would have placed you on
suspension. You never called it in when you were asked
out of the house and that’s a big flaw. Your job was to
be with the girl at all times. Anyway our field agents will
be coming down from Abuja this evening to help the
police with the investigation and you will work with
them. The press is not yet aware of the kidnap and the
governor wants it to be kept that way. He wants it out
of public ears’’ my director said to me while I nervously
shrugged.
Agent mike drew close and tapped my shoulder.
‘’Clara’s phone was found on the floor of her car. We
will start digging through it as soon as possible. Are
you sure you have no other thing to tell us?’’ he asked
while I swallowed hard, unable to say a da.mn thing.
————————
I returned to my apartment hours later, so tired and
hungry. I couldn’t believe all that happened over the
past few hours were real. Of course I felt responsible
for everything and I felt it was just a matter of time
before the whole truth gets out.
I barely had settled down when a soft knock on my door
got my attention. I nervously opened the door and was
surprised to see Vivian smiling at me. I couldn’t believe
my eyes.
‘’I’m so sorry Val’’ she apologized and threw herself on
me.
‘’why are you here?. How did you find my house?’’ I
asked nervously.
‘’come on Val, I also have my ways. Aren’t you happy
to see me? I know you clearly need a friend now’’ she
breathed softly while I swallowed hard.
But before I could get to talk, my phone rang in my
pocket, gaining out attention. I picked it up and checked
the screen for the caller i.d but the number was
surprisingly hidden.
‘’who am I speaking with?’’ I carefully asked as soon as
I accepted the call. The caller kept quiet for few
seconds before speaking.
‘’agent Val as you know we already have the governor’s
daughter. We need you to get hundred million naira
from the governor before the end of today. We will call
you for further instructions. Mind you we are watching.
Say hi to Vivian. I can see you guys are getting along
well’’ a male voice said calmly and hung up, giving me
no chance to talk. I couldn’t believe my ears. It was as
if I just confronted a ghost.
‘’it’s the kidnappers. They called to demand for a
hundred million naira’’ I softly informed Vivian who
drew back with disbelief.
‘’why call you?. Why didn’t they call the governor and
make their demands?’’ she asked suspiciously as she
took steady steps away from me, with the intention of
running out of my apartment.
CRASH OF LOVE
CLARA (The state governor's daughter)
WRITER: Valentine
.
Episode 17
Val’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
‘’hey what’s in your head?, what are you thinking?’’ I asked Vivian, holding her back. She shook her head and stared into my eyes as if she just wasn’t sure of herself anymore.
‘’I don’t know val. I don’t think I know you anymore. You could even be behind Clara’s kidnap and I’m here all alone with you’’ she stammered. Her words really shook me. I tried hard to compose myself.
‘’you hurt me with your words Vivian. I thought you understood me. I thought you knew me well?. How can you even think of such a thing?’’ I breathed desperately.
‘’yes I have to think differently because you are an opportunist. You are just the ultimate opportunist. You had feelings for me till Clara showed up. You instantly moved your attention to her and when she finally discovered who you really are, she instantly gets kidnapped. What do you want me to think Val?’’ she muttered quickly while I dropped my eyes. Her words wounded me very much. It was not only painful to be called an opportunist but equally very hurtful to realize that I was now a prime suspect to everyone including Vivian. Yes I very much noticed the way agent mike talked to me earlier in the day and now Vivian was equally spilling out her mind. I couldn’t help but wonder over and over if the whole thing was really staged to implicate me.
‘’very well then, if that’s what you think about me, you can leave’’ I breathed. She hesitantly stood back.
‘’I’m sorry if I sounded very harsh but we could have been happy together. We could have been a wonderful couple but you decided to stitch your luck with Clara and it backfired. Believe me I really want to stay with you right now but I don’t think it’s a good idea anymore. Imagine the kidnappers are contacting you, for what reason?. And if the governor or anymore from the family notice that I’m here with you when the kidnappers called to make demands, they could think the whole thing was planned by us. I have to leave now’’ she breathed solemnly, drew back and left me apartment without another word.
I breathed deeply as I watched her leave. Of course she was very right. The last thing I wanted was bringing her into the mess; moreover the kidnappers already informed me that they were watching and I couldn’t risk putting her in harm’s way as well.
———————————-
Two hours later @D.S.S state directors’ office
‘’seriously Val, I’m finding it difficult to convince myself that you are not part of this kidnap saga either voluntarily or involuntarily. But I still see no reason why you should be part of it. That means someone is trying very hard to set you up’’ the state director muttered after I told him of the phone call I got from the kidnappers.
‘’for now we will have to wait for them to call again, once the call comes through, I will take over till our field agents coming down from Abuja arrives. The next flight coming in from Abuja should be around 4:30pm and I have already sent some agents to the airport to wait for them. You know none of us is taking a break till this issue is solved’’ he added while I nodded nervously. Seriously I never imagined my life would ever get so complicated. I also couldn’t help but thank God that at least I still had my freedom. I was lucky to still be walking freely.
—————————————-
It was really a long wait as I nervously sat in the director’s office waiting for another phone call from the kidnappers. My prayer was for them to call back as soon as possible. I really was tired. I badly needed a good rest. I badly wanted the whole issue to be resolved. I was ready to do anything to end the terrible nightmare.
At exactly 5:30pm, my ringing phone brought us up on our feet. I stared at the screen and saw that the caller i.d was hidden like the first time the kidnappers called.
‘’I think it’s them sir’’ I muttered.
‘’pick up the call and set it on loudspeaker, then leave the talking to me’’ he ordered me. I nervously did as he requested.
‘’this is the state director of D.S.S’’ the old man introduced himself, leaving a long silence at the other end of the line.
‘’I wish to talk to agent Val. Is the money ready?’’ a voice from the other end finally demanded.
‘’Val is a junior agent, he has no powers to carry on your request. From now you deal with me’’ my director said calmly.
‘’is that how you want it?, fine, I will call your line then but I hope my money is ready? Or by 8pm I will drop of one Clara’s fingers in front of your gate’’ he threatened and hung up. For the first time, I noticed my director appear extremely troubled and colored up.
‘’I have to go see the governor right away’’ he managed to stammer. But before I could say anything an agent walked in with the agents we were expecting from Abuja. They were eleven in number and led by agent Jenifer, a very beautiful lady I used to have a crush on years back at the camp.
‘’hmmm agent Val, good to see you again, I heard you f.ucked up on your first major field assignment’’ she asked with a smile while I eyed her.
Agent Jenifer was a law graduate who joined the service the same year I did but her brilliance and superb abilities in field task made her the best graduating cadet from our set, earning her accelerated promotion to the next rank. She was equally posted to the federal capital city as a field agent.
‘’oh I’m glad you guys are finally here. Your accommodation and office for your equipments has been set up. We have also established contact with the kidnappers. Hopefully this will be resolved as soon as possible’’ my director addressed them with a happy smile on his face. There wasn’t any doubt he was very satisfied to see them.
—————————–
After briefing Jenifer and her team on how the governor’s daughter was kidnapped and the shootout that followed, she insisted on seeing the last crime scene. (The scene of the last shootout). She believed the kidnappers must have dumped their riffles within the scene before disappearing on their motorbike. According to her, it was impossible to flee the scene with long riffles without being noticed in a crowded city like Owerri.
I had to take her to the scene that evening where we spent almost an hour searching for the riffles which we eventually did find.
‘’phew you see I was right. They wouldn’t have fled the scene on a motorbike carrying such riffles’’ she breathed pleasantly as she picked up the two weapons and faced me. I nodded in admiration; I couldn’t believe the policemen who were left to secure the scene never saw the weapons.
‘’anyway I believe the guns must have been wiped clean of finger prints but then they always fail to wipe the bullets’’ she added as she detached the bullet chamber from the first rifle revealing some live bullets. But then it was one thing to get fingerprints from a crime scene and another thing to match them with a face in a country like Nigeria.
‘’so Val what happened to you. You haven’t called me for the past six months and now you don’t even stare at me like you used to do back then?’’ she suddenly asked, momentarily taking off my attention from the case as my mind went down memory lane. I slowly remembered how I used to crush on her years ago and how badly she treated my feelings.
CRASH OF LOVE
CLARA (The state governor's daughter)
WRITER: Valentine
.
Episode 18
Val’s side of the story continues from the last scene of the previous episode
I slowly remembered how she(jenifer) caught my fancy the first time I met her at the camp. Her beauty really captivated me in such a way that I had the courage to ask her out there and then.
Back then it looked like love at first sight but unfortunately she played with my feelings. She never said yes to me neither did she say no. All she kept saying was that I should give her time to make up her mind. For five months she kept saying the same thing and I needed no one to tell me that she really wasn’t into me. Moreover even when I tried lying to myself that she really needed the time to make up her mind, I kept seeing her hanging out with different guys, something that surely was a big turn off to me no matter how harmless it looked because I was a very jealous and possessive person.
Yes I found it very hard to break out from her charms and when I finally did break out, it took a whole lot of energy to pull off. In fact it was months after I settled down in Owerri that I was able to forget her.
‘’hmmmm I see you are suddenly speechless’’ she breathed, breaking into my mind.
‘’you know with the way you were acting back then, I thought by now that you would have been married. You played with my feelings’’ I muttered while for the first time she looked a bit disoriented. My phone rang that moment, interrupting us. It was agent mike calling.
‘’I guess you are with Jenifer?. The governor wants to see you guys now’’ he informed me and hung up.
‘’the governor wants to see us. Is there anything else we are doing here?’’ I asked her.
‘’no we are done here. I will take the weapons to my team to run prints on. Tomorrow we will be back here to check out the surrounding streets and question the people living around’’ she breathed while I shrugged.
———————
Thirty minutes later we arrived at the governor’s lodge where my director, agent mike and a senior police officer were waiting for us in the sitting room. We barely had settled down when the governor walked in, looking very anxious and weak.
‘’so the idiots are demanding a hundred million naira?. How on earth am I getting such a ridiculous amount today?’’ he breathed angrily. No one said a word.
‘’but sir is there anyone you are suspecting?. Are you owing anyone?. Are you having problems with anyone?’’ Jenifer suddenly asked, getting the governor’s attention for the first time.
‘’young girl a man in my position has a lot of enemies. Yes I’m suspecting everyone including you’’ he fired angrily at her.
‘’you should calm down sir’’ agent mike softly pleaded.
‘’I believe the kidnappers very well know that it won’t be possible getting such an amount of money today. I do feel they are using it as a distraction. I feel there is more to this’’ my director guardedly chipped in.
‘’that’s why you are in service. Do your godamn work. I need my daughter back. But please I want her back in one piece. I’m even ready to pay the ransom to get her back. I can get the money on Monday. Once my daughter is safe you guys can do everything possible to get the people behind this’’ he nervously added while we all shrugged in agreement. Of course the most thing important thing was saving his daughter’s life first before any other thing.
—————————————–
As Jenifer and I headed out of the lodge after the meeting, she softly grabbed my right hand, gaining my attention.
‘’I feel the governor is hiding something and the director is right. There is more to this’’ she muttered.
‘’come on every politician has a dirty secret. Do you think he knows the person behind the kidnap of his daughter and is keeping it away from us?’’ I asked. She looked down.
‘’yes you are right, I don’t think he will keep such information from us’’ she breathed. I said nothing else till we got out of the main building. I stopped and looked into her eyes.
‘’what is in your mind Jenifer?’’ I asked. She scoffed.
‘’I feel like having a private chat with the governor. I believe he could help more by saying everything he knows. Who knows he might even be in contact with the kidnappers without letting anyone know his real plans. I believe we are really missing out something’’ she replied.
‘’listen Jenifer you are here to get back the old man’s daughter and not investigate him. There are many ways we can get to the root of this case. Moreover he has already agreed on paying the ransom and with the money we can track them if every other plan fails’’ I advised. She shrugged and breathed deeply.
‘’very well then if you say so’’ she softly accepted.
‘’I guess I should take you to your hotel now. It’s already late?’’ I asked.
‘’no val, let’s go somewhere to eat and discuss. We have a lot to talk about our past don’t we?’’ she answered playfully making me smile. Unfortunately we were interrupted that moment by Charles who showed up from nowhere and pounced on me like a hungry lion, gaining everyone’s attention as he cursed and choked me, embarrassing me tremendously.
‘’you b
There wasn’t any doubt Charles was out to humiliate me and he was really doing a good job of it. Of course I was expecting his confrontation but I never prepared to face him in such a place in the presence of other agents and security personnel. The last thing I wanted was anyone else knowing about my affair with Clara and the only option for me that moment was to deny his accusation in a very convincing manner as everyone waited for what I had to say about his accusation.
Charles Just wasn’t anyone to the governor. He was a trusted family friend and I needed no telling that the show he put up was really convincing enough to make even Jenifer doubt me.
Perhaps it was his own way of getting back at me or was he truly concerned about Clara’s safety?
CRASH OF LOVE
CLARA (The state governor's daughter)
WRITER: Valentine
.
Episode 19
Val’s side of the story continues
‘’Mr. Charles you have been getting my relationship with Clara wrong all these while. I have no explanation to give to you right now. If you are having doubts, go and talk to the governor but for your information, I never slept with Clara and if you have prove that I staged her kidnap, better bring it forward, moreover how did you even get to know that she was kidnapped in the first lace?’’ I muttered calmly, surprising everyone with my calm response. Perhaps they all were expecting me to react more seriously to his accusation but I never did.
‘’Vivian told me about the kidnap. I guess the best thing is talk to the governor’’ he barked fiercely and headed into the house while agent Jenifer stared at me curiously.
‘’did you actually sleep with the girl?’’ she asked.
‘’of course not, yes we were close but I never went that far with her. The dude never knew I was only a bodyguard to Clara. He saw us together and formed a silly conclusion in his head that I was having an affair with his woman. I couldn’t tell him the truth because I was ordered not to let anyone including Clara to know who I really was’’ I answered convincingly while she shrugged.
‘’let’s go eat then’’ she added breathlessly, holding me tightly.
——————————
Jenifer and I spent almost all night talking and recounting old memories. She really was fun to be with and I enjoyed every moment. By 1pm, I returned to my apartment to sleep and pray for Clara.
Early the next day which was Sunday, I got a call to report at the office immediately. I rushed my breakfast and headed over to the department to meet my director, agent mike, Jenifer and her team converged at the forensics unit.
It was just as if I kept everyone waiting.
‘’we just ran a check through miss Clara’s phone and according to the call records only three numbers called her line the morning she was kidnapped. Your call came in first but she never picked it. Mr. Charles number was the second to call her and she never picked it. The third number wasn’t saved on her phone and the caller called twice and spoke with her for five minutes on each call. Four minutes after speaking with the caller, she left the house and got kidnapped. We ran a check on the phone number and discovered it’s owned by Mr. Joe Kelvin, the governor’s special assistant on youth matters. Is there anything you know about him?. Is he Clara’s friend?’’ my director summarized and asked while everyone listened patiently.
‘’I can’t say he’s Clara’s friend because I have never seen them together, moreover a day after Clara got back to the country he tried bribing me to help him get close to her. I declined his request and never heard from him afterwards. I also never saw him approach her for once’’ I answered truthfully.
‘’let’s go get him. He could be our man’’ the director ordered. I nodded in agreement as we all quickly filed out.
——————————
Ten minutes later Jenifer and I plus ten other agents arrived at Mr. Joe’s house in four hilux trucks. We barely had gotten to the gate, when we noticed the young man driving out with an elderly passenger in his car. Two agents blocked him while a third agent pulled out the frightened guy from the car. One look at him, I felt we had the wrong guy. The surprise and fear on his face was very convincing but he relaxed a bit on sighting me.
‘’agent Val what’s wrong?. Please don’t manhandle my mother’’ he begged as he was dragged to one of the trucks while his old mother watched on in disbelief, so shocked to even mutter a word.
——————————-
An hour later @D.S.S Interrogation room,
(In this scene, a frightened Kelvin is seen seated and facing the state director of DSS who of course wasn’t happy to be working by that hour of the day instead of being at home with his family. Agent Val, Jenifer and two other junior agents are seen behind him, observing keenly)
‘’how did you get Miss Clara’s phone number and what were you telling her when you called yesterday morning?’’ the old man asked seriously, watching the young man’s reaction.
‘’come on you guys prevented me from going to church because I called the governor’s daughter on phone yesterday?. I can’t believe this. I work for the governor for Christ sake. What the hell did the girl report to you?. I only wanted to be friends with her but she was very rude to me. I couldn’t say much to her. I got her number from one of the staff working in the house’’ he replied quickly while the director drew back on his chair probably unconvinced with his statement but Just that moment, his phone rang, he picked up the call and gave us a signal that it was the kidnappers calling once again.
‘’hello you are speaking with the state director of DSS’’ he breathed as the person on the other end of the line said something that kept him calm for a bit before his color suddenly changed.
‘’what two hundred million naira!’’ we all heard him scream as he got up from his chair and headed out of the room. The other agents and I all dutifully followed him to his office where he briefed us on the latest development.
‘’they are now demanding two hundred million naira since we failed to get the money yesterday. The caller said it was a price to pay for Miss Clara not losing a finger yesterday as threatened. Something is not adding up here. I have a feeling these guys are not after money. I believe the girl was kidnapped to send a message across or something else. But money no. it doesn’t look as if they are serious about the money. Check the pattern of their calls for instance’’ the director breathed with a worried look.
‘’after checking the crime scene again today, I need permission to question the governor. Maybe he knows something he isn’t telling us’’ Jenifer softly chipped in while I gave her an askance look. The director kept quiet for a while before nodding.
‘’definitely the guy we have with us isn’t our man. You have my permission to question the governor but I will go with you’’ he accepted, leaving a smile on Jenifer’s face.
‘’and you Val, this is your mess. What do you have to say?’’ he asked me.
‘’I need permission to go after Charles sir, you saw what happened yesterday at the governor’s residence?, Since we are looking into the theory that Clara may not have been kidnapped for money. Perhaps we are looking at a crime of passion here. A guy like Charles can easily have the girl killed instead of allowing her slip from his hands. He has the resources and means to pull this off. Just give me forty eight hours to focus on him please’’ I begged.
‘’we don’t have time on our hands. You have twenty hours to check the guy out. By Monday evening, you should be here for debriefing’’ he accepted while I heaved a sigh of relief.
Now Charles was mine to tackle and my prayers were for me to be right. I desperately wanted to prove to the department that I was a good agent. I equally needed to save my Clara, my life, job, everything was on the line.
——————————————-
Meanwhile at the other end of the state, Clara is seen lying drugged in a well furnished room which very much looked like a hotel room instead of a kidnappers den. The room looked very peaceful as if the only occupant in it (Clara) was just sleeping in comfort.
Who could have kidnapped her?
CRASH OF LOVE
CLARA (The state governor's daughter)
WRITER: Valentine
..
Episode 20
Clara’s side of the story continues
I slowly opened my eyes to find myself in a very strange room. For some seconds I couldn’t remember what happened to me or why I was in a strange place. But slowly it all started coming back in my head. I remembered how I got kidnapped and how a wet handkerchief was placed over my nose when my cries and protest became too much in the car. I remembered nothing afterwards. It kind of looked like a dream. It kind of looked as If I woke up in after life. I really found it hard to believe that I was actually kept in such cozy room by the kidnappers. I also wasn’t tied up, a discovery that fired up my spirit and made me thinking about escape.
I quickly jumped out of the bed and rushed to the door. I tried opening it but unfortunately the door was locked. I tried the two windows at the corner but they were equally well locked. It was just as if the windows in the room were built to keep one hostage.
I weakly sat on the floor and sobbed. I couldn’t figure out what to do with myself or what next to do. I equally was very hungry but food was the last thing on my mind. I desperately wanted to go home.
About ten minutes later, the door softly opened, gaining my attention. I quickly sprang up on my feet, expecting to see a heavily built man but was surprised to see a young lady of about my age walk in with a calm nervous smile. She was carrying a food tray with her.
‘’good morning dear’’ she greeted politely, leaving me speechless for a while.
‘’thank God you are finally awake. I brought you breakfast. Fried egg, hot coffee and bread’’ she added as she set the large tray on a small table beside my bed.
‘’where am I, what time of the day is it, how did I get here?’’ I asked breathlessly. The young lady smiled reassuringly once again.
‘’calm down. I’m here to take care of you. You have been sleeping since yesterday afternoon you were brought over. I was scared because you were heavily drugged. The time is 9:35am. Just relax and have your breakfast. It will do you no good to reject this food and starve yourself. You need all the strength. You can also use the bathroom over there to freshen up. Everything you need is in there’’ she advised softly, pointing to the bathroom while I stared at her suspiciously. Of course I felt like strangling her there and then and break for my freedom but something about her really held me back. She was so nice and charming, something that relatively calmed down the tension in me.
———————
‘’I need to go home. I don’t know how you are involved in this but please I beg of you, help me get out of here and you will never regret helping me. Please’’ I begged desperately while she smiled.
‘’you have nothing to fear here. Just eat your food. I promise today will be full of surprises for you’’ she muttered softly, took a deep breath and left the room, leaving me all alone.
I sat on the floor and thought of what she said and what exactly she meant by today being full of surprises for me. I knew escaping from such a place was certainly impossible without help and I had no choice than to eat the breakfast to gather a little strength.
—————–
Later in the evening I was about dozing off out of boredom when someone walked into the room again. I felt it was the girl who had been serving me all day who came in to pick up the plates she used to deliver my lunch and so paid no attention; instead I buried my face in the pillow and closed my eyes.
After few seconds I felt a familiar touch on my shoulder and a kiss at the back of my neck which sent cold shivers down my spine. I instantly turned to see Charles smiling at me. I was so shocked. I couldn’t believe myself. Deep down all the fears in me instantly vanished and was replaced by anger.
‘’what the hell Charles. What do you think you are doing?’’ I breathed with a very shaky voice as I drew away from him. He smiled faintly and tried to touch me again. I slapped away his hand.
‘’I never wanted things to go this way but you forced me into this desperation. I had to man up to set things right. We have to make up. You are my wife and nothing is going to stop us. We are going to be here all alone together until we settle things between us’’ he breathed hoarsely. I couldn’t believe my ears.
‘’you are sick. You are so despicable. You turned a whole city into a hot zone just to kidnap me. You are sick’’ I fired angrily as he drew forward and kissed me. It was the most terrible kiss I ever had.
I couldn’t believe desperation could lead him into taking such a dangerous step. There wasn’t any doubt he had the whole thing well planned out and I knew the only way to get out alive was by succumbing to his games unless of course a divine intervention comes along.
———————–
(Meanwhile outside the plush mansion, agent Val is seen inside his car parked a distance away under a mango tree taking pictures. Unknown to Charles he was followed right from the city center to the northern part of the state where he was keeping Clara. However Val was only following his instincts. He had no evidence to prove that Clara was in the building and so the only option for him was to covertly go inside the house to check out things for himself.
He could get lucky. He could get caught.
TO BE CONTINUED
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