Tiit For Tat - S01 E13

3 years ago

Tiit For Tat - S01 E13

Read Story: SEASON 1 EPISODE 13

“When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love.” ~ Martin Luther King, Jr.

The Swap and Dual Rescue

When Rosaline heard the police had arrested his elder brother under the allegation that he was dealing in arms and drugs,She prayed for her brother to be released from the clutches of the enemy. She couldn’t forget her father and how they lived peacefully until that wicked demon-friend of his came into the picture and spoiled everything.

For Rosaline,the pain of losing her mother and brother Charles was still fresh in her mind.

Crying seemed the most likeable option for her but she had cried enough for the dead.

She remembered once when they were in Galaxy International School, a group of boys tried to harass her.

Her younger Charles came in and confidently told the boys , ” my sister is not a toy you can play with. Leave her alone !”

She felt very proud of him .

Of course his bravado was not really necessary since there were security men around to check bullying in the school but she felt good to have a brother who could stand up for her.

“I’m proud of you Charles,you are still alive in me,” she said quite sorrowfully.

Sadness descended on her like a blanket. She was tacitly engulfed with grief. Looking in the corner of the bed where she normally kept it, she took out the Rapsodies of reality of that month by Pastor Christ…She turned the pages until she came across the message on page 34.

It reads, “when a relationship is lost we feel pain. Relationships come with a price. The price we pay is that there are times of joy but there are also times of sorrow.

“But relationships are worth it. When a love one died it hurts.I say to you, grieve. Grieve long and grieve deeply. Do not run from it. Do not treat your grief as if it were a stranger you can send away or deny it. Grieve what is lost. Grieve patiently, until the cup is emptied. There is no other way back to wholeness but by facing what life brings.

Yet, I would like to speak a word of comfort. I would like to tell you a story today. It is a true story. It is found in the pages of the Bible at John chapter 11. It is a story of death – but also a story of life. It is a story of hope in the mist of despair. ………..”

A few minutes later, Mr. Sani called his son and told him some good news. Mike was released from

Ikeija Police Station.

Rosaline and Tunde waited for Mike to come back but tiredness was taking a toll on Rosaline.

She decided to sleep on the couch. At least she learnt her brother had been released from the police cell and expected him to be home soon.

She called her brother several times but he didn’t pick the call.

A few minutes later,her brother called her but she missed the call. Then he called again and got lucky. Mike’s call went through. It was then that Mike said, “Thank God.Hello Rosy!”

“Hello Bro Mike, where are you?” Rosaline asked.

“Rosy, you need to leav ________”

She tried to call him too but his phone was switched off.

Her mind went back to her brother’s call.

“Rosy, you need to leav ______”

“Was her brother trying to warn Her?” She seasoned.

Then she called Tunde and told him something. Tunde said, I think that’s a great idea. Let’s give it a try.”

[Mike’s Viewpoint]

11.55 Midnight

When we negotiated the curve, I knew I was almost home. My aunt’s residence was somewhere ahead wrapped in a blanket of darkness.

I knew within the next three minutes, I would be home. I glanced at my watch. It was left with five minutes for the kidnapping operation.

Driver, faster!!! I screamed at him. He stepped on the accelerator again and the car lurged forward like a Rhinoceros poised for an attack. The drivers headlight couldn’t pick the speed ramp ahead of him early.

Suddenly, the front of the car hit the speed ramp and stopped abruptly.

Without waiting any longer, I sprang from the Taxi and continued the rest of my journey on foot.

I could hear the Taxi driver cursing me under his breath for being responsible for his car’s malfunctioning.

Soon, my auntie’s mansion appeared. It loomed proudly behind a massive iron gates, flanked by rows of ornamental plants, crowned in crimson, swaying gently to the wind as it resonated in the surrounding silence of the dark evil night.

Close to Tunde’s house , I saw headlights. I knew Tunde couldn’t possibly be going out that late. Could it be the Kidnappers ? Fear stretched its hands and grabbed my palpitating heart as if it would smash it on the ground. The car moved towards me. I moved away from the street with its allée and hide behind one of the trees that lined the streets.

The route was a straight path lined with trees or large shrubs along each side.

As the Durango SRT sped pass me, I caught a glimpse of two figures in the car, a man and woman.

When I arrived home, the security man wasn’t at post. That was unusual. Joe was always punctual.

I rushed through the gate and entered my sister’s room shouting and calling her, Roossssy!!,

Roossssy!!!,Roossssy!!!!, Roossssy!!!!!.

There was no response.

I went to the balcony, kitchen, storerooms, washrooms but my sister wasn’t there.

“Where could she be?”

Roossssy!!, Roossssy!!!,

Roossssy!!!!, Roossssy!!!!!.

Then I heard footsteps.

They were not familiar and not my sister’s. I had an intuition I was in danger. I searched the room for a weapon to defend myself and found an iron rod in the far right corner of the sitting room.

The footstep got closer, towards my direction. I hid behind the door. My heart thumped and cold shivers ran down my spine.

The door was opened slowly and the head of a tall muscled man materialized. He was wearing a mask. I tried to hit his head with the iron rod I was carrying but he dodged.

Now he came fully into the room . I hit him in the stomach with the iron rod but it seemed he was resistance to pain. He might be a stoic.* I hit him again at his neck but he still stood.I raised the iron rod again to hit him but he grabbed the rod in the air with his left arm.

I was left with no other option than to fight him. But how could I fight a muscled man considering I was only 16 years old?

I knew at 16, I look like 21 because I was tall and quite athletic but I couldn’t match a thug who may be in his mind twenties and earned his daily bread from crime. He was a professional criminal.

He raise his right hand to hit me but I was quick enough and threw a punch on his nose. His grip on the metal rod loosened. Blood oozed from his nose. He gave me two quick slaps and forcefully took the iron rod from me. He grabbed me and held me in his tight grip. He then tried to carry me but I screamed and kicked his abdomen with my knee cap. He let go of me and I began to ran towards the door. The door was just 2 metres away from me. I step outside for a few seconds before his muscled hands grabbed me by my waist and yanked me upward as I continued shouting for help. He pressed a white handkerchief into my mouth and gagged me. He removed another handkerchief and used it to cover my nose. Suddenly, I felt weak and unconscious.

A few minutes later,I woke up and saw myself at the back seat of a car, tied from leg to hands with my mouth gagged. In the front seat I saw two men. I knew at once I was kidnapped. Quite Ironical, I was rushing home to save my sister but I ended up being captured. My heart leaped into my mouth. “What would this criminals do to me?”Kill me? Send me to Zolabin?

Hmmmmm.

•~~12.30 a.m~~•

On the second mainland bridge, the breeze there would have made anybody sleepy at that time of the morning. The was no traffic on the bridge. The morning night was approaching the hour when only the night police patrol and the thieves would be on the road unless of course, there was anybody foolhardy enough to share the hours with them.

This was Lagos and the armed robbers and kidnappers were laying siege to the city.

For the three policemen on checkpoint duty,it was a time to find somewhere to sleep , hidden well away from the lights. They decided to check a few more cars and call it quit for the meantime. After standing all day they were tired.

The sergeant in charge of the check-point was the first to put his bolt- action rifle down. He sat down and lit a cigarette. The cigarette glowed in the darkness.

‘Check a few more cars and come to rest. After all, it’s not our father’s job. Besides why should we kill ourselves for the peanuts that this federal government is paying us?”

His sentiment resonated well with the rest of the tired- looking policemen. They perfectly agreed with the sergeant. If it wasn’t for the money they had been collecting on check-point duty, they would have quit the police service long ago or stayed wretched for the rest of their lives.

“How much have we made today?” the sergeant asked.

Constable Chukwujekwu put his hands into his pocket and fetched the stuffed notes. The sergeant’s torch illuminated the area while the constable counted them. Constable Chukwujekwu didn’t like the checkpoint duties. It’s a high risk especially at night when police battled criminals. A struggle between good and evil, right and wrong.

“Forty- five naira, fifty Kobo” the constable answered at last.

” Good,” said sergeant Bismark.

He calculated the amount he would take for himself. He liked it when he made more than the boys. It shows who the boss was.

Two white illuminated dots appeared from the distance floating in the night air. It was the headlights of a car. The car was traveling very fast. The police braced themselves. Constable Chukwujekwu flashed his torch , moving it up and down in the manner every motorist had come to understand meant ‘ Slow down and stop.’

The car decelerated and made as if it was stopping. The constable moved forward and then…..

‘Scccccrrrrrrrrrr ‘ the tyres screamed as the car began to accelerate again. To the ikeja police, this could only meant one thing. The men were criminals.

Quickly, sergeant Bismark ordered Constable Chukwujekwu and Okoronkwo Tolbert to chase the car. The next few minutes became a rat race on the silent road.

Zolabin’s thug Razak drove the car like a mad man. He knew he had to get out of there as quickly as possible. Fear was visibly written on his accomplice Calcula’s

face. Unknown to them , the Sergeant had phoned the police at the other checkpoint.

When they were about 100 metres away from the second checkpoint, they realised they have been trapped between the police chasing them and the ones coming towards them. They glanced outside and looked at the Bush by the side of the lonely street . Quickly, they slowed down , jumped out of the car and disappeared into the bush as if they were rehearsing for the Olympics.

The police were about to chase them when they received an information from their commander not do that. When they returned to the car chased, they saw a young boy tied and gagged in the car.

“What is your name, boy” the constable asked.

“I’m Mike Ebuka” the lad answered. They untied him and Mike narrated the circumstances leading to his abduction by the thugs. They were about to leave the scene when they sense some movement in the bush.

Instinctively, they shone the torch in that direction. It found Tunde Sani.!!!!

The big question is , where is Rosaline?

Was she kidnapped?

Did she ran away?

****