Tarasha - Season 1 - Episode 46

Episode 5 years ago

Tarasha - Season 1 - Episode 46

Thursday
2pm
Henry was sitting alone in the living room on
the three sitter sofa, he was occupied with
something on his laptop. He didn’t quickly take
note when Tarasha walked in. His eyes were
still fixed to the laptop’s screen until Tarasha
sat beside him.

‘Hi’ Tarasha signaled.
‘Hey’ he smiled back.
‘What are you doing? I see you’ve been quite
busy since morning’ She said, shifting closer to
him to peep into the laptop.


‘Yeah, I’ve been trying to conclude some
leftover jobs. I have to give a report this
evening’

Tarasha rested back after finding nothing
meaningful to her on the laptop’s screen.
‘Well, I’ll be leaving for the banquet by four
thirty pm’

‘Oh!’ Henry took a quick glance at his
wristwatch. ‘So you still insist on going?’
‘Yes. I have to conclude the deal, that’s what
I’m in Nigeria for’

Henry paused. He turned to Tarasha and
stared deeply into her eyes for some seconds.
‘I have this feeling that I’ve met you
somewhere else before’ he said, returning to
his laptop. ‘Something in your voice tells me
so’

Tarasha chuckled. ‘Maybe, in your dreams’
‘Well, maybe’ Henry picked an opened jotter
and stared at a phone number written in it. ‘I
would have loved to come with you but I can’t
stand coming in contact with that murderer
again and most important is this job that I
need to finish this night’

‘It’s okay, I understand. I’ve arranged for a
driver to take me there’ Tarasha replied.
‘Just be careful’ Henry warned.

Tarasha smiled. ‘Put your mind at rest, you
have nothing to worry about’ she said. She
frowned as her eyes suddenly caught
something on Henry’s jotter. It was the phone
number Cole had used to call Jubril Lawal and
act her father, Alexander Amaechi.

She stylishly moved closer to Henry and
placed her head on his shoulder, peeping into
the laptop.

Henry was surprised, she had not come close
to him like that for sometime. He inhaled
deeply as he perceived the soothing fragrance
from her body. She placed her hand on his
chest and ran it under his button. He felt a
tickling s£nsat!on.

‘I wish you could follow me to the banquet’
Tarasha said, looking into his eyes. She needed
something to distract him from finishing the
job or else he’ll be disrupting her operation
that night.


‘But I can’t’ Henry replied, astonished, she
never sounded like she wanted his company
before.


‘Can’t you postpone this job and submit
tomorrow?’ Tarasha pleaded.


‘That’ll be difficult, I already promised today’


‘But you can tell them that you have some
thing to attend to tonight and that you’ll give a
report tomorrow morning’


Henry took away her hand from his chest and
turned face to his. He stared at her with doubt
in his eyes. ‘Why do you suddenly want me to
come with you?’


Tarasha looked away from him. ‘I just felt like
I’ll be needing your company’

‘But you didn’t feel like that before’ Henry
said, taking the laptop off his lap. ‘And you
said you’ll be going with a driver’
‘Yes, but I need a friend’ Tarasha said
childishly and clutched to his chest again.
Henry let out a deep breath. He had been
looking for an opportunity to hang out with
her, could this be the right time? Was his work
worth postponing for her?


He was feeling strange about her request but
his desire to go out with her beclouded his
reasoning.


‘You also said that it’s a ticketed event?’
‘I have an extra ticket already’ she put in
quickly.


He let out another deep breath and wrapped
his hands around her. Tarasha felt deep
warmth within her, that was a sign that he had
fallen for her trick.


Dare drove straight to the car park as he
entered in through the gate of Orex
recreational centre. He parked in a good
position as directed by the marshalls and
spent some few more minutes in the car
before opening the door and stepping out. He
looked around for any sign of those he had an
appointment with. His phone beeped.

‘In the garden’ the text message from Afo
read. Dare locked the doors carefully and
looked around to locate the garden. He put on
his face cap and proceeded at once as he
located the garden.


‘Mr Dare’ a voice spoke softly to him as he
stepped into the garden. He turned to see the
person.


‘Over there’ the man said, pointing him to we
here Afo and Audu were seated. Dare walked
over to them immediately. He stood beside
Afo’s seat for a minute without saying anything
or getting any word from his hosts.


‘What’s the plan tonight?’ Afo finally asked.
‘I should be asking you that question’ Dare
retorted.


Afo smiled. He turned to face Dare and stared
at him without saying anything.


Dare took his face away from the gaze. ‘All I
know is that she would be present in the
banquet today. You must find a way to take
her and make sure she leads you to the guy’
Dare spoke angrily and then paused. He
dipped his hand into his pocket and brought
out a picture. He threw it towards Afo and it
landed on the floor. ‘That’s both of them in
the picture, in case you don’t recognize them
anymore’


Afo stamped his feet angrily on the floor and
got up as if to pounce on Dare, but he was
restrained by an unknown inner strength and
Audu’s constant warning stare at him. ‘Wetin
dey work you now, Dare?’ Afo spoke angrily in
pidgin. ‘No be today we don dey deliver for
you, why you con dey do like person wey no
know me before’


‘That’s what you’ll say, what if I’ve been
already implicated by your silly mistake?’
Afo returned to his seat and remained silent
for another couple of seconds. He picked up
the picture and carefully examined it before
tucking it into his pocket. ‘No worry, we go
handle the job tonight, we go carry the girl’
Dare cleared his throat and was about to walk
away when Audu spoke. ‘Wait’ Audu said and
got up from his seat. ‘Why don’t you let’s
tweak the plan a little bit?’
‘How?’ Dare turned back, somehow interested.


‘Trying to use the girl in tracing the guy may
not work, that girl seems stubborn and quite
difficult to handle’ Audu paused and glanced at
Afo. Afo nodded in agreement. ‘She may not
lead us to him’


‘Oh’ Dare exclaimed under his breath.
‘I think we should drop her immediately’ Audu
said. Dare and Afo stared at him in
disagreement. ‘We’ll keep the dead body in
the guy’s house to implicate him’ Audu quickly
added to ease the tension. ‘He’ll never come
out of the trouble’

‘Hmmm’ a slight smile began to appear on
Afo’s face. He glanced at Dare who was also
smiling and nodding his head as he reasoned
the idea.


‘Sounds nice’ Dare said, smiling at Audu as he
took a quick glance at his wristwatch. ‘I’ve got
to go now, please make sure the job is done
that way’ Dare said with a note of finality and
walked away briskly.


5pm
‘My driver is outside already’ Tarasha called to Henry as she stepped out of the bedroom and
walked into the living room.
‘Okay, I’m ready’ Henry answered from his
room. He came out to join Tarasha in the
sitting room few seconds later.
He stood speechless at the centre of the living
room as she turned to face him. He had never
seen such beauty emanating from anyone
else. Even with very little makeup, her fitted
short blue gown made her look more stunning
than all winners which the Miss World Beauty
Pageant had ever produced put together. He
let out a very deep breath as she stared at
him too.


As if he was aware that she was going to put
on blue, he also adorned himself in a deep
blue suit and a white inner shirt with a
butterfly bow tie to complement it.
‘Oh! I’ve been with God’s most beautiful Angel without knowing it’ Henry exclaimed as he moved closer to her.


He could inhale the attractive accent of her
perfume as he got closer to her. He placed his
hands around her waist and stared into her
face. She returned his stare as she placed her
hands on his shoulder.


Henry held his breath as his eyes met her
inviting lips, he felt her hold hers too. His
heartbeat increased, he could hear hers
drumming loud too.
…

5pm
DJ Basky rocked the atmosphere with old
school music from veteran artistes like Tu-
face, styl plus, Eldee and a host of others. The
hall was set with about 25 tables with four
chairs around each. Space was left in the
middle of the hall for dancing and other
special performances.


The MC, fifty two years old comedian AY,
stepped into the stage exactly twenty minutes
past five to kick off the party. He called the
attention of the guests who were already
chatting and getting to each other.


He encouraged them to settle down as the
party before he began to opening prayer.
Jubril Lawal entered the hall with his son
immediately the opening prayer began. He
was dressed in a shiny black tuxedo suit, a
white shirt underneath and a black bowtie. He
had a fancy walking stick in his hands. Dare
was also dressed in a tuxedo suit, he wore a
black hat to complement his.


They motioned towards the table reserved for
them in the middle and settled there,
occupying two seats and leaving the other two
empty. The party continued.


Cole occasionally stole glances at Tarasha and
Henry through the top mirror as he drove
them down the road. The journey was steady
as the traffic was minimum.


The tension between the two at the back was
obvious to Cole, but Henry was the more
tensed one. He looked like someone who had
just been caught stealing red handed. Tarasha
on the other hand was chewing gum slowly
and looking out through the window.
‘What is this place called?’ Cole could hear
Tarasha whisper to Henry.


‘Asokoro’ Henry answered briefly.
‘Is everything alright?’ Tarasha asked, noticing
his demeanor.
‘Yes, I’m fine’
‘You don’t look so’ Tarasha placed a hand on his knee and rubbed it gently.

Henry took her hand in his and looked into
her eyes. ‘I’m sorry’ he stated.
‘Sorry about what?’ Her eyes shone mockingly
at him.


‘I didn’t mean to…’ Tarasha cut him short as
she covered his mouth with hers and engaged
him in a deep kiss.


Henry gladly welcomed it this time since she
was the initiator. He had felt embarrassed
when she broke away from him quickly after
he placed his lips on hers back in the house.
Since then, she refused to mention a word to
him until now.


It took Cole’s clearing of his throat for them to
break off from the kiss. Cole’s eyes met with
Tarasha through the top mirror, he was
waiting for orders as they had already arrived
at the event venue.


‘Oh! We’re there already’ Tarasha rested back and straightened her cloth as they paused at
the gate. Two security officials searched the
car before allowing them entrance. They were
handed a pass ticket


‘I think she’s here’ Audu said aloud to the
other occupants of the security room. He was
cross checking the picture on his hand with the
person in the video. ‘She came with the boy’
Audu added as Afo joined him.

‘Who’s that?’ Sanyi, a dark muscular man with a stout figure asked, trying to select the
captured area on his laptop. Sanyi was the
head of security operatives in the events
centre.


‘Nothing, just a lady that the boss asked us to
keep tabs on’ Afo replied quickly to prevent
further questioning. He turned to Audu and
spoke in low tones. ‘The guy’s presence makes things easier for us, or what do you think?’


Audu nodded in agreement.
A couple dressed in deep blue attires stepped
out of a Lamborghini. They locked hands and
began to walk away from the car park towards
the hall.


They walked out of coverage of the camera
capturing them. Audu minimized the selected
footage to the dashboard where several other
footages from other cameras could be
selected. He first clicked on one which was
capturing the couple’s backside, he and Afo
zoomed the video and studied their targets
from the back view. Another footage which
showed their front view was selected and
Audu made two screenshots.


‘Return to clip two’ Afo said to Audu. Audu
rolled the mouse at once and selected the
previous footage where the couple stepped
out of the car. A black range rover had been
parked beside it and the occupants of the
range rover were stepping out.


‘Looks like the driver is still inside that car, we
need to go check’ Audu said to Afo.
‘Yeah, I’ll call Blade to check out the car for us
now’ Afo said, taking out his phone.


Cole adjusted the car seat and rested his head
properly. He released the tie on his neck and
unbuttoned the top of the shirt. He then took
out his tablet device and powered it . The
device was still booting when he began to
notice someone’s reflection on the screen
when turned upward rightly. He sat up and
took a look at the side mirror. A tall guy
dressed as a security official was scrutinizing
the car. Their eyes met.

The tall guy walked up to the car, Cole wind up
the glass and sat upright as he waited for him.
‘Good evening sir’ the tall guy bent to talk to
Cole through the window.

‘Evening sir’ Cole replied, wondering what the
man wanted.

‘May I see your pass please?’ The man
requested.

Cole picked up the card from the rack and
showed it to the man. The guy nodded for him
to keep it after validation.
‘Are you going to be staying here?’ The guy
asked again.

‘No, I’ll be leaving in few minutes’
‘Please do, we don’t allow people loiter
around or remain in park’
‘It’s okay, I’ll leave in the next five minutes’

‘Thanks’ the man tapped the car playfully and
left.


Cole smiled. Just another security officer
doing his job, he thought.

5.25pm
‘Wow, another round of applause for the poet,
I’ve not seen such a beautiful art performance
for a long time ‘ AY the MC said as the crowd
reacted with another thunderous applause.
‘Well, while the dance was going on, some
very important people walked into this hall’ AY
continued. ‘Very important people to us and to
the nation at large. First of all, I’ll like to
recognize the present of our minister of
information, Mr Dimeji Saki’ the guests
responded with a thunderous applause as
Dimeji Saki got up and waved at the crowd.
‘Also with us this night is the wife of the most
honorable celebrant, Tomi Jubril’ AY
continued. A lady in her late fifties who had
just joined Jubril and Dare on the table got up
and waved at the crowd.
‘Right now, we’ll move to another round of …’


AY suddenly paused and stared towards a
couple walking in through the entrance. The
audience also followed his gaze and all
attention was turned to the couple with a
matching blue attire.


‘Another round of presentation’ AY continued
with a smile. The couple were definitely one
of the best dressed people for the event.
What made theirs unique was their choice of
color. AY introduced the next performing acts
and left the stage.


Evelyn and Henry who looked embarrassed at
their attraction of attention quickly motioned
to the table the ushers directed them to. They
sat in gently after greeting a few people who
were still staring at them.


‘Your friend’ Jubril Lawal smiled at Dare as
they all looked in direction of the couple.
‘Yeah, I didn’t know she was going to be
coming’ Dare faked a smile.


‘I sent her an invite, then she called to request
for another, for a friend’ Jubril continued,
chewing the pan cracker as he spoke.
‘Who’s she?’ Lola Jubril asked, taking another look towards Evelyn’s direction. She couldn’t get a clear view as Evelyn’s table was far from theirs which was in front.
‘A friend I helped connect with Daddy’ Dare
answered.


‘A friend? I thought you were working on her?’
Jubril cut in.

‘Working on her? As in?’ Dare stared at his
Dad.

‘Come on, you know what I mean’ Jubril
replied back.

Dare took a glance at his mum who was staring
at him and patiently waiting for an answer.
‘She has a boyfriend already Dad, that guy is
her boyfriend’ Dare answered.
‘Boyfriend? The guy looks Nigerian to me. I
thought she just arrived in Nigeria few weeks
ago’ Jubril said with a note of doubt.
‘Yes, they just met recently’ Dare struggled to
say. ‘They’ve not known each other for long’
‘And you gave up my boy? Because someone
else showed up?’ Jubril questioned.
‘I…’ Dare was trying to find words but was
rescued by the Indian dancers who had just
come on stage, their music filled the air and
the entry dance caught the crowds attention.
—

‘Hey, Miss Evelyn Alex’ A guy in a black suit
joined Henry and Tarasha’s table, smiling. ‘It’s nice to see you again’ he said as he stretched his hand to her for an handshake.
Tarasha smiled back at him. ‘Good evening Mr
James, it’s my pleasure to see you again’
‘Wow! Who do we have here?’ James turned to Henry and smiled, offering him an handshake.
‘You’re a very lucky man I must say’
‘He’s Henry, my friend’ Evelyn introduced.
‘Henry, please meet Mr James’
‘Nice to meet you sir’ Henry smiled as he took
the handshake.


‘Just a friend?’ James asked, rolling his eyes.
‘No, more than a friend actually’ Evelyn
answered, glancing at Henry’s face. ‘A special
one’


‘I see’ James blinked and sat upright. ‘Have
you seen the exhibition for Julal stakeholders
and partners?’ James asked Evelyn.
‘No’ she answered, looking interested.
‘Do you have your partner’s card?’
‘Yes’

‘We could go there now if you wish’
‘Oh!’ Evelyn stared at Henry’s face for some
seconds.


‘Come on, you may go. I’ll just wait for you’
Henry said with a smile.
‘We’ll be right back then’ Evelyn said and got up from the seat, she dipped her hand into
her bag and took out her purse. James took
her by the hand and motioned her in the right
direction.


Henry felt a pinch of jealousy as he watched
them leave. He took a sip from the juice on
his table and turned to face the stage,
distracting himself with the performances.
—-

‘She’s gotten up from her seat and it seems
she’s headed outside the main hall with the
other guy’ Audu said to Afo.

Afo moved closer to Audu and stared into the
screen. ‘Who’s that guy?’
‘I’ve never seen him’ Audu replied.
‘Blade’ Afo called, turning away as he spoke
into his Bluetooth device. ‘The girl has left her
seat and she’s heading towards…’ Afo paused
and glanced at Audu.

‘The hall entrance’ Audu answered.
‘The hall entrance’ Afo spoke back into the
device. ‘There’s a guy with her, find out who
he is’

‘This girl is up to something’ Audu
commented, suddenly taking more interest.
‘Imagine, she’s identifying and looking straight into all the cameras, as if she’s aware that someone is watching her’

Afo walked back quickly to the computer to
confirm what Audu was saying. ‘What’s she
doing there? That’s the main hall security
room’ Afo said, touching the screen.



Benny walked into the restroom unsuspicious
of the fact that he was being followed. The
restroom for males had two toilet
compartments, two urinals and a bathroom,
making it different from the ladies’ which had
four compartments for toilets, a bathroom
compartment and a dressing part.

Two other guys were in the restroom when
Benny walked in. Another man followed him
and walked straight to the faucet. Benny
entered into the toilet and closed the short
door. He began to think of how best to
disguise as a blind man. He needed a walking
stick to add more effect to his eyeglass.


After some seconds, Benny felt he was alone
in the restroom. He decided to move out and
use the mirror in the main room. As he
stepped out, he saw a shadow move away
from the main entrance door. He paused to
think, staring intently at the door. He took
some more steps and he saw the shadow
move further. He was sure that the person
wasn’t aware that his shadow had announced
him. Benny walked back into the toilet
compartment and pretended as if nothing had
happened. He sat on the WC after taking out
his Bluetooth earphone, he punched some
buttons on it before attaching it to his ear.
‘Hello boss, I’m being followed by someone’
—–

Tarasha pulled out the band holding her hair
as she walked into the restroom, making it fly
freely. Luckily for her, the only woman who
was using the toilet left as she entered. She
locked the door behind after the lady left and
moved closer to the other end of the wall. She
took out a nose mask from her purse and put
it on.


She ran her hand into her hair, searching for
something. She then picked out two hair pins
carefully one after the other and placed them
on the the floor.


She put down her purse and opened it widely.
Various makeup kits and an hair brush were
the major contents of the purse. She took out
a lipstick and took off the cap. She rolled out
the lipstick bullet but instead of rubbing it on
her lips, she took one of the hairpins and
inserted a part of it into the bullet.


The lipstick bullet which looked rigid solid
before began to melt, evolving a deep blue
smoke and a pungent smell.


Her Bluetooth device beeped and she paused
to listen.

‘Did you see the person’s face?’ She took off
her nose mask and asked in response to the
caller’s first statement.

‘Is the person aware that you know?’ She asked another question after getting the first reply but a loud knock sounded on the door,
preventing her from hearing the response.
‘Is the person aware that you know?’ She
asked, pressing a finger against the Bluetooth
device to make the voice louder but the line
was disconnected.


Heavy knocks continued landing on the door,
Tarasha briefly looked up and returned to her
work hurriedly, she wore back the nose mask.
She removed the first hairpin and carefully
placed it on the powder box.


The knock paused as she repeated the same
process for the second hairpin with another
lipstick. She then tied the hairpins with a tiny
rubber bands each to differentiate the parts
that was inserted into the solution.


She picked the two pins and wrapped them in
a tissue paper. She rolled up her gown and
inserted the pins into an inner pocket.


The knock came again, this time more
violently. Tarasha stared at the door,
straightening up her dress. She couldnt open
the door now, she needed about thirty
seconds more for the smoke and smell to
vanish completely.


She took off the nose mask after opening the
windows, she arranged back into her purse the
contents. Then, she straightened her hair and
held it back together with the band. After that
she quickly cleaned the floor with the mop she
found by the side of the wall.


The knock was continuous but Tarasha wasn’t
looking bothered, she walked into one of the
toilet compartments and pushed the flush
button on the water closet, to make it sound
as if she just finished using the toilet. After
that, she motioned towards the door to open
it. The knocking seized as the person knocking
could hear footsteps approaching.


She turned the knob and the door gave way.
She wasn’t expecting who she saw at the door.
…