Shades of Romance
Episode 41
“now let’s get to why you guys are here” Chuck addressed us coldly, while we all listened with rapt attention.
“i’m solely doing this because you guys turned your backs on my late father. You all watched him die without raising a finger to help. You all stood and watched while the old man suffered horrible pain and hardship. All he needed was just three hundred thousand Naira {N300,000}. Roughly two thousand dollars or less for surgery. He begged you Chief Manuel, he begged you Tony, he equally begged you Emeka, but you all told him to go to hell. He tried everything possible to borrow money from you guys but no, his life wasn’t worth such amount of money.” he poured out hoarsely, drawing more fear from us with his outburst.
I instantly remembered his father. I remembered how the old man virtually knelt before me, begging for a hundred and fifty thousand Naira which he promised would be settled by his son Chuck whenever he comes home. I couldn’t give him the money because i was scared that i wasn’t going to get it back, because i never trusted Chuck and none of his other children were capable of paying back such amount. But seriously i never knew the old man was dying.
“oh now i see, you guys are now quiet huh?” he continued coldly, drew close to Chief Manuel, held him by the collar and jerked him up. Of course Chuk Noris had the strength of a horse.
“my dad came to you for help, after turning him back many times, you had to deceive him into giving you his only land, yet instead of the three hundred thousand Naira he asked for, all you could give him was a hundred and twenty thousand Naira, forcing him to fall on my old friend Tony” he coldly said to the scared Chief before facing Tony who couldn’t utter a single word.
“i’m always the bad guy. I’m the rascal in everything. But you Tony, you got me in the situation that made helping my father impossible. We ran a deal in Italy, you snitched on us. You snitched on your friends, made a deal with the Italian police, faked an ambush and made it look as if the authorities seized everything. You ran back to Nigeria to enjoy while we shed blood down there. Yet you found it hard to lend a hundred and fifty thousand Naira to my father after learning of his condition. Yes i’m always the bad guy” he said to him coldly before facing Jenifer and I….
“oh Lord what’s your own crime” Jenifer cried, holding me tightly. I closed my eyes and said my last prayers. I knew for certain that revenge never ends well.
Things were surely more terrible than I expected. We all deserved to pay. No doubt.
Episode 42
“and you Emma, a small boy with no conscience. You couldn’t help out an old man who was your father’s friend just because you wanted to buy a tanker. Now where is the Tanker?.” he asked coldly, laughed, ignored Jenifer and faced Chief Manuel again.
“you are not of any use to me anymore. I was able to get three million naira from your family without the police knowing” he addressed him, breathed deeply and looked at me again.
“i have your ATM cards, likewise Tony’s. I hope there won’t be a problem getting the pass codes tomorrow?” he asked but we all kept quiet, saying nothing.
“believe me, it pains me to do this but i have profit to make and my boys to settle. Do have a wonderful night. Today might be your last night” he concluded, headed out, locked the door and left us very scared to even say anything to each other.
The room was totally quiet like a cemetery for minutes after he left, before i bravely cleared my throat.
“it’s obvious we are all going to die. It’s better we turn things around by trying to escape, since we got nothing to lose trying?” i asked with little hope.
“i don’t have the strength. I told you already that there’s a guy positioned outside to watch us” Chief Manuel answered weakly, while Tony kept quiet, annoying me with his silence.
“relax my love, whatever will be, will be” Jenifer whispered to me. I bit my lips and thought about my life. Tears freely fell from my eyes.
In three hours, the whole place was in total darkness, with cries from animals making the night more scary. Jenifer soon slept on my arms while Tony and Chief Manuel snored as if they were having a snoring competition. I was far from being comfortable and the fear of dying equally shut out sleep from my body.
I prayed to God, begging him to forgive and grant me a new chance. I promised to become a good Christian if only i get out of the present situation.
“dear lord give me another chance. I can’t die now. Don’t allow me to die prematurely like my parents. I will worship you for the rest of my life if i get away from here. I will start going to church. I will spread and honour your holy name” i sobbed seriously.
I was still crying and praying when someone noiselessly broke into the hut with a torch light, flashing the light over our faces. I froze with fear, not knowing what to make of it.
“It’s your man Joe. I’m here to get you out. I’m here to finish my job” i heard Joe say softly. Tears of joy instantly replaced the painful tears i was shedding. I couldn’t believe it was real.
“how the hell did you get here?, did you bring the police?” i asked curiously.
“no i didn’t bring the police because of so many reasons. I also never left when i ran away. It was just a tactical strategy. The boys searched for me but couldn’t get me. Let’s move fast. There’s no mobile network down here and the terrain is very bad. Seriously i don’t know how far we can get, because we are in the middle of nowhere with just two torch lights” he said, drew forward and woke Jenifer.
“i have another Torch light in my back pocket. Take it and let’s move” he said quietly.
“i’m not leaving without my two brothers. I have to wake them as well” i said, got up and headed towards Tony.
“they are going to slow us down sir. It really wasn’t easy knocking out the only guy watching this place and getting the key. Have you imagined what will happen if we are caught?” Joe asked desperately, but i paid no attention to him and did my mind by waking Tony and the Chief.
In no time we were out of the hut, but then it was one thing to escape from captivity and another thing to get to safety. It was one night of hell in the dark forest. We got lost a hundred times, trying to find another escape route in the thick mangrove forest…
Episode 43
“and you Emeka, a small boy with no conscience. You couldn’t help out an old man who was your father’s friend just because you wanted to buy a tanker. Now where is the Tanker?.” he asked coldly, laughed, ignored Jenifer and faced Chief Manuel again.
“you are not of any use to me anymore. I was able to get three million naira from your family without the police knowing” he addressed him, breathed deeply and looked at me again.
“i have your ATM cards, likewise Tony’s. I hope there won’t be a problem getting the pass codes tomorrow?” he asked but we all kept quiet, saying nothing.
“believe me, it pains me to do this but i have profit to make and my boys to settle. Do have a wonderful night. Today might be your last night” he concluded, headed out, locked the door and left us very scared to even say anything to each other.
The room was totally quiet like a cemetery for minutes after he left, before i bravely cleared my throat.
“it’s obvious we are all going to die. It’s better we turn things around by trying to escape, since we got nothing to lose trying?” i asked with little hope.
“i don’t have the strength. I told you already that there’s a guy positioned outside to watch us” Chief Manuel answered weakly, while Tony kept quiet, annoying me with his silence.
“relax my love, whatever will be, will be” Jenifer whispered to me. I bit my lips and thought about my life. Tears freely fell from my eyes.
In three hours, the whole place was in total darkness, with cries from animals making the night more scary. Jenifer soon slept on my arms while Tony and Chief Manuel snored as if they were having a snoring competition. I was far from being comfortable and the fear of dying equally shut out sleep from my body.
I prayed to God, begging him to forgive and grant me a new chance. I promised to become a good Christian if only i get out of the present situation.
“dear lord give me another chance. I can’t die now. Don’t allow me to die prematurely like my parents. I will worship you for the rest of my life if i get away from here. I will start going to church. I will spread and honour your holy name” i sobbed seriously.
I was still crying and praying when someone noiselessly broke into the hut with a torch light, flashing the light over our faces. I froze with fear, not knowing what to make of it.
“It’s your man Joe. I’m here to get you out. I’m here to finish my job” i heard Joe say softly. Tears of joy instantly replaced the painful tears i was shedding. I couldn’t believe it was real.
“how the hell did you get here?, did you bring the police?” i asked curiously.
“no i didn’t bring the police because of so many reasons. I also never left when i ran away. It was just a tactical strategy. The boys searched for me but couldn’t get me. Let’s move fast. There’s no mobile network down here and the terrain is very bad. Seriously i don’t know how far we can get, because we are in the middle of nowhere with just two torch lights” he said, drew forward and woke Jenifer.
“i have another Torch light in my back pocket. Take it and let’s move” he said quietly.
“i’m not leaving without my two brothers. I have to wake them as well” i said, got up and headed towards Tony.
“they are going to slow us down sir. It really wasn’t easy knocking out the only guy watching this place and getting the key. Have you imagined what will happen if we are caught?” Joe asked desperately, but i paid no attention to him and did my mind by waking Tony and the Chief.
In no time we were out of the hut, but then it was one thing to escape from captivity and another thing to get to safety. It was one night of hell in the dark forest. We got lost a hundred times, trying to find another escape route in the thick mangrove forest…
Episode 44
It really was a terrible experience trying to find our way out of the thick forest. The land was so wet, slippery, water logged and dangerous.
Joe led us on and on, but the more we walked the more confused and lost we got. At a point it looked as if we were just going round in circles.
“seriously i thought we could find another way out, instead of the path i took when coming for you guys. It was just a silly mistake, now we are lost” Joe finally said with resignation as we got to another bush path that led to nowhere.
“no we can’t be lost, let’s continue moving” i insisted and took the lead, but unfortunately i never knew a deep hole filled with water just like a bad gutter was ahead. I simply walked into it and almost drowned.
My terrible shout instantly filled the air, rattling everyone including forest animals.
Joe, Jenifer, Tony and the Chief quickly assisted in getting me out, but my scream not only rattled forest animals but equally gave away our position to Chuk’s men who were now looking for us.
A gunshot was fired at our position just as i was dragged out of the pit. Dozens of lights quickly flashed from afar, signalling us to run as fast as we could.
To cut short the long story, we finally found a way out after roaming the forest for almost three hours. Chief Manuel got his leg broken, after slipping as we crossed a small creek. Jenifer equally had long scratches all over her body but it wasn’t life threatening nor poisonous. The rest of us were fine but exhausted.
“we are not yet safe. This is a small village and the guys after us are probably from this area. We need to hide to till dawn” Joe said seriously, breathing hard as he looked around.
“i just don’t know where we can hide, we still have lots of time before dawn approaches” he added as he checked his phone, which still had no signal.
Quietly we moved into the village, looking for a place to hide and luckily for us nobody saw us until we got to a small catholic church in the middle of the village.
“thank God” i breathed as we got to the open church, almost running inside with excitement.
“not so fast. This is the only open place we have seen so far. Even a child will search here when looking for us. I bet the guys will be here, if they can’t find us in the forest. Let’s go to the locked chapel behind. We will break in and lock it from inside. Nobody is silly enough to break into a chapel, so i think we will be safe there if eventually the thugs show up” Joe said seriously.
“holy Mary!, break into a chapel?, God forbid” Jenifer cried.
“God is very Merciful. He will understand” Joe answered, moved forward and broke the chapel lock without hesitation. We all went in, locked ourselves inside and hid, praying for dawn to approach quickly.
An hour later, we heard noises and saw torch lights being flashed at the Church….
“They are here” Tony breathed.
Episode 45
“you guys should quickly hide under the pews” Joe said quietly, pulled out his pistol, cocked and held it at ready.
“don’t tell me you plan shooting inside a chapel?” Jenifer asked, annoying me with the question.
“for goodness sake, keep quiet. This man is trying his best to save our lives. Do you think what he’s doing is easy?” i quickly cautioned and silenced her. But luckily the thugs moved away after taking a look at the church. We all heaved a sigh of relief.
“thank God they are gone” Tony breathed.
“we wait here till dawn, then I’ll go get help” Joe added softly.
“thank you bro. I owe you a lot” i said to him with all my heart.
“now it’s time we fully settle our quarrels and make peace with each other. God gave us a second chance to live, and there won’t be a problem giving each other a second chance by forgiving and forgetting our past mistakes and fights. We are in the house of God. A very good place to settle everything” Jenifer suddenly said, while i scoffed.
“not again ” i breathed.
She ignored my comment, faced Tony and kept quiet for some seconds.
“i’m sorry for everything i did to you, please forgive me. Erase the bad feelings you have for me from your heart. I beg of you” she pleaded meekly. Tony cleared his throat.
“Jenifer all that happened between us is now a thing of the past. You can’t imagine how happy i’m being alive. You can’t imagine how lucky i’m right now. That guy would have slit my throat over what happened in Europe he never got to understand. Of course i forgive, i also forgive my pig head brother Emeka. I have nothing against anybody. I’m so glad to be alive” he answered seriously, leaving me with guilt which forced me to say something.
“I don’t know what to say Tony, believe me it wasn’t easy being without a friend and brother like you. I won’t apologise right here but will do it in a big way when we get out of this jungle” i said to him with respect. Joe and the chief simply listened, saying nothing to us…
By 6am, we all ran to the parish house where a very shocked priest received and entertained us before driving us back to Benin city with the parish bus.
Oh we were lucky to be alive, lucky to escape from the pit of hell. It was a terrible experience. But we weren’t still safe because our captor knew a lot about us and was still free out there probably looking for a means to get us back….
Final Episode
On getting to Benin, we headed straight to the police station where we narrated our ordeal to DSP Maku. He quickly swung into action by contacting his colleagues in Delta State.
Chief Manuel and Jenifer went to hospital afterwards, while the police, Tony, Joe and i headed back to the village where we were held captive after getting enough details from the priest who declined going with us for his own safety.
Unfortunately we never found my car nor got any of the thugs when we arrived the village. We searched everywhere but got nothing.
That was how I lost my Tanker and car in just few weeks, but thank God i still had my life to live. I was given a second opportunity to live a very clean Christian life.
Joe became much more than a bodyguard to me from that day. We became so close like family. He became the brother i never had. My close ally and everything.
As for Chuck Noris, he was never caught. A situation which made all of us very scared, because he had the means and power to strike back at any time. His sojourn in Europe really made him a master of crime.
I hosted a big get together at my house, three days after our miraculous escape from captivity. I organised a big party for my townsmen, using the opportunity to apologize to everyone especially Tony who hugged me at the end of the day. It was just so wonderful.
Finally, Jenifer and I got married two months later in a quiet ceremony. We rushed everything because she found out she was pregnant four weeks after the terrible adventure, but unfortunately she lost the baby four days after our wedding. A situation that broke our hearts and prompted a very hasty decision from me.
I decided to move out of Benin city with her. I quickly made plans and arrangements.
A month later, we arrived South Africa to start a new life, leaving behind my two gas stations and house under Joe’s care.
Jenifer had difficulty getting pregnant again, but we were finally blessed with a cute baby boy through surgery a year later. However it came with a big price.
She will never conceive again, but I still do love her. I do love my family. They are all i got.
The END!
[Story] Shades of Romance (Complete Episodes)
