Did all that really happen, Chinedu thought as he drove away from Iphey's place, who would have thought I could get so lucky today, all thanks to Iphey herself though. He loved her with all his heart and right at this moment, considered himself the luckiest man alive. That woman is really the best for me, he grinned to himself as he drove. The strains of Celine Dion's have you ever been in love filled the car as he switched on the radio, could not have imagined a better suited song for the moment, cupid is really up to something.
He started thinking, where can I take her to for a real proposal? It was great that she had accepted his mother's ring in a small eatery but he wanted to do more for her. She deserved the best of him and more. Just as this thought was playing in his head he heard his phone ring. He ignored it till he got to his street, then he quickly pulled over to pick the call thinking it might be Iphey. It turned out to be an unknown number, but since he had parked the car he picked it anyway.
"Hello," he said into the phone as he set up his brakes.
"My guy where you dey?"
It was Habib at the other end. "Oh Habib, this dude you no go kill me o. This is not the number
you talk say I fit reach you on now?"
"Nedu wait, just listen to me. Where are you? Are you sitting down?"
"Habib you are scaring me now, what is it?"
"Iphey is in danger," Habib said, "I know you've said I should leave you out of this one but..."
"Dude forget that, tell me what is happening, what's wrong? I just dropped her at her place now I'm even not yet home," he had subconsciously headed home based on the plans he was trying to make for another evening with Iphey.
"You remember the contact person I told you about sometime ago," Habib asked.
"One James person," Chinedu interjected.
"Yes him," Habib confirmed. "So it turns out he was at Iphey's place some months ago..."
Chinedu swore under his breath, "to do what, does Iphey know him?" All these Chinedu asked all at once. His mind was already joining the dots together but he did not want to see it. This was the woman who owned his heart dammit!
"Damn, damn, damn!"
"Calm down," that was all Habib could get into the conversation as Chinedu was on an overdrive worked up about danger to Iphey.
"I swear Habib if anything happens to Iphey I will kill that guy, who is he by the way?"
"Will you just hear me out," Habib shouted. "My James is the same as her brother-in-law," Chinedu heard faintly as he put on his ear piece.
"Iphey's brother-in-law is the same as your informant?" he asked Habib to be sure.
"Yes he is. I only found out the other day when he mentioned his family for the first time. His wife is Ngozi and he is scared for them. Things are beginning to get ugly."
"Hey dude, back up one second please, so you are telling me that this James fellow you have been working with is Iphey's brother-in-law so why are you just finding out now?"
At this point, Chinedu finished plugging in his hands-free set and did a U-turn to head back to Iphey's place. She was not going to be out of his sight from now on. If her life was in danger then he would protect her, with his own life if need be.
"Habib you can do better than this!" Chinedu pulled into traffic and checked his mirrors. "You usually would have found out everything about anybody you were working with seconds after they join your team!"
"But that is it Nedu, he is not on my team!" Habib tried to defend himself.
"What is happening?" Chinedu demanded, "So he is not also working for EFCC or what."
"That's exactly what I'm saying. He didn't have as much information as I thought and I preferred to leave him at the peripherals while concentrating on the bigger fish..."
Chinedy began to mutter, "This cannot be happening, I don't believe this..."
At this outburst, Habib who was already upset with Chinedu began to shout at him. "Will you just shut up? If you listen to me maybe we can still smoothen things out before it really gets bad."
That seemed to really shut Chinedu up so Habib went on, "Nedu, this is not like you at all. How can you be panicking like this. Some weeks ago, you were the one who told me not to involve you anymore in this case! What was your reason? You were in love and did not want the distraction..."
"OK, ok...I am sorry, let's cut to the meat of the matter, shall we?" Chinedu did not regret his earlier action. It had been to protect Iphey that he had begged off Habib's current mission. How was he to know she would be involved through another person?
"Maybe if you had not been out of the loop, you would already know everything," Habib muttered. "Anyway, James is in a lot of trouble with the Gang. He ran into hard times financially and made
the error of gambling with the Gang in hope that he would be able to settle the gambling debt already incurred. In the process, he went into business with T-shark, you remember the guy we found burnt to death some years ago."
Chinedu nodded as he recalled the events of about three years ago.
"Well it turns out that T-shark also had loads of gambling debt which he claimed his partner will pay off, partner being James. Apparently T-shark double crossed both James and the Gang and made the Gang believe James had more of their money than he actually does. So the gang has been after him since then. He abandoned his family after T-sharks death and went hiding so they don't get caught in the web..."
"Ok ok ok, Habib so how does this concern Iphey now?"
"Chill my guy," Habib said, "If you remember some months ago, Aisha kept going on about Iphey's car not being good, well she took a cab and it turned out to be the our James was driving, his way to make a living of some sort. And Iphey recognized him. He went to see her in a bid to allay her fears and keep her from looking for him or telling Ngozi. Wrong move...it seems he was being tailed. Now they've got pictures of Iphey at her house, office, and in the car at various places. They have been sending threats to James that if he does not provide their money by the end of this month he won't see Iphey again."
"Oh my God!"
"Indeed..." Habib agreed. "The plan is to kidnap Iphey. I think they know Ngozi too but for some reason think Iphey is his current girlfriend and knows where the money since she works in a bank and all. So she is in great danger at the moment..."
Chinedu could not bear what he was hearing, "Look Habib, I'm heading back to Iphey's place. What type of danger is she in? I know she is about to meet her brother-in-law James this evening..."
"I know and that is why I called. You have to keep her away from him!" Habib shouted. "We are planning a safe house for all of James family. I'm guessing that is what he wants to tell Iphey. I told him we would do the job but amateur that he is, he had to do it himself. And it's likely that they will be following him and will take the opportunity to take Iphey!"
"No way! I won't allow that." Chinedu's mind whirled. He sorted through his memory for the right people to involve in this, he would do anything to keep Iphey safe from harm.
"Listen Nedu, as of now I need you to take Iphey away to where ever you are sure she will be safe. If anything happens to her Aisha will kill me..."
"I will kill you first," Chinedu interjected, "why didn't you tell me all this before?"
"Well, you said to leave you out, remember?" Habib reminded. "But seriously, I didn't know the two James were the same until this evening. My James had told me his family was in danger and we were making plans. I put some officers to follow him and they came back today with the information that allowed me to put two and two together. You like that girl don't you?"
"No my guy that one was before. Now I know that I really love Iphey and I have proposed..."
"Oh wow..."
"Yes, I was planning another date for the whole shebang with friends before you called me. I should be in her place in a few minutes. Iphey knows my background but she thinks it's all in the past. How do I make her understand how well I still know the Gang and how deadly they are?" Chinedu asked.
"No o," Habib shouted, "you can't tell her the whole story yet. You know this case is not over. You could let her more deeply into what you do now and that you help us, that will help her understand the danger. Depending on the turn of things, then we'll let her into the rest. Iphey is a really level headed girl. Just help her understand. I suggest you get her out of her place as fast as possible."
"Ok Habib call me in 30 minutes. I think that gives me enough time to get Iphey out of her place..."
**********************************************
So yeah, the action starts. And we have just about four more chapters before the end of the series. I can't wait for how this works out.
Our contributor is His DarLyn of a testament of love, life and living. She describes herself as an ordinary girl with His extra-odinary love. A young lady making her way through life, love, work and all. You know how it is said that perfect love casteth out fear? I love His DarLyn poems, talking about the love of God especially this one.
I fear what I see
I fear what is hidden
I fear what is assumed
But all the fear feeds on
is my imagination
I refuse to be cowed by fear
I refuse to be crowded by fear
I refuse to be conquered by fear...
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
You know where to find me (BlogFest)
Posted in:
Short Stories
So Roni Griffin of the Fiction Groupie is hosting the Let's Talk BlogFest. The main rule was
Most of you know I prefer dialogue as my means of telling my stories so really I was spoilt for choice. In the end, I chose an excerpt from my WIP, Ghost from the past. Those who have been following will recognise the characters. This is ten years later. Enjoy...
**************************************
“Please answer this truthfully,” Efe begged in low tones. “Did you really mean to marry me all those years ago?”
“Of course I did.”
“Were your parents in total support of your plans?”
“You know they were.” He was puzzled by all the questions. He’d taken her to meet them after all. “My father may have had his issues but he was still fond of you and wanted you for a daughter-in-law.”
“Then I don’t understand. Why did they tell me you didn’t want me anymore? They took back my engagement ring and said you never wanted to see or talk to me again.”
Kevwe recoiled. “Why would my parents do that?”
“I’d like to know that too.” She stepped back a little and tapped her feet on the graveled surface of the car park. Now that the tears had stopped, she began to feel her attraction to him return. But better to face the matter at hand.
“Efe, I’ll understand if you chose to any other reason to explain why you abandoned me but please don’t take my parent’s name in vain. Maybe your friends convinced you that you were too good and beautiful for a lame man or whatever.”
“How could you have bought such a lame idea?” She rolled her eyes at the pun. “I could never have abandoned you! Your parents said they had convinced you of my unworthiness but you wanted them to pass along your message. Your father broke the news to me and your mother was there too.”
“Stop this!” Kevwe snapped. His anger began a slow burn. He knew she and his father never got on but the old man could not have taken matters into his hands like that. His mother in particular knew how close they were and really liked Efe.
“For crying out loud, I almost died when I learnt you left me! Don’t make up these stories now.”
“Are you calling me a liar?” Efe queried in disbelief.
“Do you expect me to call my parent’s liars then?” Kevwe shook his head in vehemence. He wouldn’t be moved on this.
“Efe, you can’t play with my intelligence like this.” She couldn’t come out of the blue with one cock-and-bull story and expect him to accept it, hook, line and sinker. “Don’t think no one would refute your statements...”
“Kevwe, I think I know what happened. Your parents must have lied to me and maybe to you too…”
He didn’t wait for her to finish but continued. “Listen, my parents stood by me through it all, especially my mother. When I wanted to give up because you, Efe, you were not there, she sat at my bedside throughout the night and spoon-fed me herself. When the POP itched, it was my mother that scratched it for me.”
Kevwe was jerked out of the dark past to the present by the sound of Efe blowing her nose noisily into the handkerchief in her hands. He bit his tongue and turned his head away. After blinking away the clouds, he faced her again.
It broke her heart to hear him talk about his accident like this, and she had not been there. She raised a face covered with streaming tears up to him. “That must have been horrible time for you. I can’t imagine the pain you went through…”
“So you can understand why I don’t want to hear any bad word about my parents. They were there for me while you were nowhere to be found…”
“Kevwe, I didn’t even know you had an accident!” She shouted finally in frustration.
There was a moment of silence after her outburst before Kevwe sneered. “Please, don’t tell me you weren’t aware.” He hissed through his teeth. His parents had said she was informed. “My father sent several messages to tell you about it and when you finally came, you handed back your ring. You said you couldn’t marry me, couldn’t manage a man who’d be crippled for life.”
“That’s so not true!” Efe was lost for words. This was worse than she thought. “Kevwe you know me better than that.” She had loved you with everything that was in her. She would have stood by him through whatever.
“Pardon me, but I didn’t see you by my side when it mattered most.” He was dismissive, but then turned intense again. “Where were you when the pain became overwhelming and I cried like a baby? Where were you when the physiotherapist insisted I had to walk? When I had to learn to walk again with crutches, were you there to encourage me? Were you there?”
She stared at him with tear-soaked eyes till he stopped. She fished in her handbag and thrust a business card at him. “Call me when you’re ready to listen. I think we’re done here.”
As she passed by him, he grabbed her by the arm and twisted her round. They stood panting and staring down each other for a long minute. Efe broke the spell.
“Please let me go, you are hurting me.” She hissed.
Kevwe’s hands loosened and then finally dropped off.
Efe whispered furiously at him and then ignored his call as she walked to the idling car. Kevwe stared till they left the complex and then turned to stalk back into the building. Her last words echoed in his head. “Again, if you’re serious about hearing my own side or my version of events, you know where to find me.”
***********************************
So what do you think?
ps, the Just Wright movie review is still coming.
On Tuesday May 18, post a short excerpt on your blog of your most sparkly dialogue scene (no, I'm not talking about Edward Cullen). It can be anything dialogue-heavy--a laid-back chat, an all out argument, a flirty conversation, two friends ribbing each other--whatever. The options are endless.
Most of you know I prefer dialogue as my means of telling my stories so really I was spoilt for choice. In the end, I chose an excerpt from my WIP, Ghost from the past. Those who have been following will recognise the characters. This is ten years later. Enjoy...
**************************************
“Please answer this truthfully,” Efe begged in low tones. “Did you really mean to marry me all those years ago?”
“Of course I did.”
“Were your parents in total support of your plans?”
“You know they were.” He was puzzled by all the questions. He’d taken her to meet them after all. “My father may have had his issues but he was still fond of you and wanted you for a daughter-in-law.”
“Then I don’t understand. Why did they tell me you didn’t want me anymore? They took back my engagement ring and said you never wanted to see or talk to me again.”
Kevwe recoiled. “Why would my parents do that?”
“I’d like to know that too.” She stepped back a little and tapped her feet on the graveled surface of the car park. Now that the tears had stopped, she began to feel her attraction to him return. But better to face the matter at hand.
“Efe, I’ll understand if you chose to any other reason to explain why you abandoned me but please don’t take my parent’s name in vain. Maybe your friends convinced you that you were too good and beautiful for a lame man or whatever.”
“How could you have bought such a lame idea?” She rolled her eyes at the pun. “I could never have abandoned you! Your parents said they had convinced you of my unworthiness but you wanted them to pass along your message. Your father broke the news to me and your mother was there too.”
“Stop this!” Kevwe snapped. His anger began a slow burn. He knew she and his father never got on but the old man could not have taken matters into his hands like that. His mother in particular knew how close they were and really liked Efe.
“For crying out loud, I almost died when I learnt you left me! Don’t make up these stories now.”
“Are you calling me a liar?” Efe queried in disbelief.
“Do you expect me to call my parent’s liars then?” Kevwe shook his head in vehemence. He wouldn’t be moved on this.
“Efe, you can’t play with my intelligence like this.” She couldn’t come out of the blue with one cock-and-bull story and expect him to accept it, hook, line and sinker. “Don’t think no one would refute your statements...”
“Kevwe, I think I know what happened. Your parents must have lied to me and maybe to you too…”
He didn’t wait for her to finish but continued. “Listen, my parents stood by me through it all, especially my mother. When I wanted to give up because you, Efe, you were not there, she sat at my bedside throughout the night and spoon-fed me herself. When the POP itched, it was my mother that scratched it for me.”
Kevwe was jerked out of the dark past to the present by the sound of Efe blowing her nose noisily into the handkerchief in her hands. He bit his tongue and turned his head away. After blinking away the clouds, he faced her again.
It broke her heart to hear him talk about his accident like this, and she had not been there. She raised a face covered with streaming tears up to him. “That must have been horrible time for you. I can’t imagine the pain you went through…”
“So you can understand why I don’t want to hear any bad word about my parents. They were there for me while you were nowhere to be found…”
“Kevwe, I didn’t even know you had an accident!” She shouted finally in frustration.
There was a moment of silence after her outburst before Kevwe sneered. “Please, don’t tell me you weren’t aware.” He hissed through his teeth. His parents had said she was informed. “My father sent several messages to tell you about it and when you finally came, you handed back your ring. You said you couldn’t marry me, couldn’t manage a man who’d be crippled for life.”
“That’s so not true!” Efe was lost for words. This was worse than she thought. “Kevwe you know me better than that.” She had loved you with everything that was in her. She would have stood by him through whatever.
“Pardon me, but I didn’t see you by my side when it mattered most.” He was dismissive, but then turned intense again. “Where were you when the pain became overwhelming and I cried like a baby? Where were you when the physiotherapist insisted I had to walk? When I had to learn to walk again with crutches, were you there to encourage me? Were you there?”
She stared at him with tear-soaked eyes till he stopped. She fished in her handbag and thrust a business card at him. “Call me when you’re ready to listen. I think we’re done here.”
As she passed by him, he grabbed her by the arm and twisted her round. They stood panting and staring down each other for a long minute. Efe broke the spell.
“Please let me go, you are hurting me.” She hissed.
Kevwe’s hands loosened and then finally dropped off.
Efe whispered furiously at him and then ignored his call as she walked to the idling car. Kevwe stared till they left the complex and then turned to stalk back into the building. Her last words echoed in his head. “Again, if you’re serious about hearing my own side or my version of events, you know where to find me.”
***********************************
So what do you think?
ps, the Just Wright movie review is still coming.
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