had to do something. Department of
State Security was still trying to identify
the man who had spoken on TV, they
were yet to come up with anything
useful. But he had to address the nation
before the end of the day if he wanted to
maintain calm. There was a lot to talk
about. He had to address the black death
disease, something he had tried his best
to stay away from. What was he
supposed to tell them?
“Sir, we go live in five minutes!” The
press secretary said.
Lange went over his notes. He knew
everything on the notes, he wrote the
speech himself. But he had five minutes
to change them. He had written the grim
facts as he knew them despite the
objections of his gatekeepers. The
situation was not under control and he
thought the people had a right to know.
Now he did not know if it was the right
thing to do. It was not so presidential to
admit to your citizens that you don’t
know what to do.
“Sir, we are live in a minute.” He heard
the press secretary call again.
He adjusted in his seat and squinted as
the light focused on his face. If he told
lies, it would catch up with him sooner or
later when he did not deliver on his
promise. On the other hand, the truth will
send the nation into a terrible panic.
“You are on in Five… Four… Three… Two…
One!”
“Good Evening fellow Nigerians. We all
witnessed the happenings of this
afternoon when a terrorist threatened our
individual and collective peace. I am here
to assure you that we as a nation will
not live in fear of anybody. As for his
claims to being in control of a disease
that has claimed the lives of so many…”
He paused, as he contemplated what to
say. “…we can confirm that what he said
was false. Two villages have been
attacked by a virus in the past few weeks
but we can assure you that we are on
top of the situation. Remain calm, our
nation is secure and we have the will and
the resources to battle anybody who
threatens the peace and prosperity of our
nation. God bless you and God bless
Nigeria.”
He kept smiling for a few seconds even
after he was signaled that the broadcast
was over. He had just lied about having
control over the situation. What would he
say when another village was struck by
the black-death disease.
“You did the right thing sir.” Adigwe said,
walking up to him.
“We will know how right I did by the end
of my tenure, won’t we?”
He sighed and walked towards his office.
***
Eric stared at the judge with his mouth
open.
“Is this true Mr. Adesesan?” The judge
asked before she could stop herself. She
was not supposed to question him as he
was not in the witness box.
“No, my Lord!” Eric answered. He could
not believe his ears.
“Miss Morayo, why did you not file a
complaint or sue him when this
happened?” The judge went back to the
witness who was doing a great job of
digging his grave.
“I was threatened! He said he would kill
me if I told anybody.” She said.
“What the heck are you talking about?!”
Eric jumped up and slammed the table in
front of him before he could stop
himself.
“Sit down Mr. Adesesan! This is a court, I
will not have anybody misbehaving!”
He could not believe what he was
hearing. When his lawyer had called to
tell him he was needed in court, he had
not been surprised. He had hoped
Morayo had come to her senses and was
finally going to agree to drop the case.
He had been wrong. Very wrong. She had
filed an additional suit to the original
suit of wrongful termination.
Now she claimed she had been sexually
harassed. His lawyer was trying to get
the suit tossed. The problem, his lawyer
had explained to him was the judge on
the case had special hate for men who
were accused of sexual harassment. She
had been fast-rising lawyer at a giant law
firm but had almost lost her whole career
to a philandering senior partner. Her
career survived but she was thwarted on
her way to the top of the company
ladder. A lot of men had gone down
before her bench.
Eric was shocked he was being accused
of sexual harassment. He had been
known to flirt with a few of the actresses
and he had with Morayo, even though it
was for a little time. But for some
reason, the prosecution thought they had
a good case. They looked like they were
already winners, like they had just come
to announce his loss.
His lawyer stood to address the judge.
“My lord, I would want this case to be
dismissed. This is a false accusation
aimed at embarrassing my client. This
case is basically his word against hers, I
do not believe that that is enough to put
my client on an embarrassing trial.”
“On the contrary my Lord, this isn’t just
a case of the defendant’s word against
my client’s. We have other victims who
have come forward and are willing to
testify against the defendant.” The
prosecutor said, the smirk broadening on
his face.
Eric wanted to jump up against but this
time smack the prosecutor on his face. It
was clear the man had it out for him, he
was not going to relent until whatever it
was he wanted was done.
Eric sighed then closed his eyes. He tried
to remember all the girls he had flirted or
even slept with, they were not many and
he did not expect them to turn on him.
And none of them had felt bitter against
him when he left them. Well, neither had
Morayo.
“We not only have witnesses your
honour, we have a tape that shows the
defendant sexually harassing two of the
victims.” The prosecutor said and looked
at Eric.
Eric opened his mouth in wonder. And for
the first time he considered the
possibility that his career could actually
be over.
***
“Hey!” he heard a voice call from behind
him as he left the courtroom.
He looked behind him and saw Toni. He
wondered what she thought of him now
after all the drama that had just
happened in the courtroom. She walked
fast and caught up with him.
“Are you okay?” She asked before he
could say anything.
“I’m good.” He replied, then looked at
her. “You don’t believe all they said in
there, do you?”
“I’m a journalist, I keep an open mind.”
She said with a smile.
“Well, that wasn’t the answer I was
hoping for.”
They towards the exit of the courthouse
in silence, but Toni stopped when they
got to the door.
“Are you sure you want to go out through
that door? There are a lot reporters
waiting to poke recorders in your face.”
She said and pulled his hand. “Follow
me.”
They went through the different corridors
and eventually came out through a door
that led to a flight of stairs. They went
down the stairs and came out behind the
courthouse. She led the way and walked
away from his car was parked.
“My car is parked that way.” He said
pointing to his car.
“You can’t reach your car without having
to face those reporters.”
“Did you see what happened in that court
room? Reporters are my least concern,
they can’t possibly do more damage.”
“You are very naïve my friend, they can
do a lot more damage. I don’t think a
shouting session with your lawyer is
what you need now. How about we stop
wasting time and go on that date now?”
“Now?” Eric asked, surprised. “I was just
labeled a pervert in there.”
“Are you a pervert?” She asked with a
teasing smile.
“No.”
“Good! I know a place, it’s not far from
here. Let’s get that horrible court off
your mind. Shall we?” She asked, offering
him her hand.
He took the hand. “Yes my lady.”
***
The lounge was located in a closed part
of the city. It was not a kind of place you
would find just by driving through the
city. It looked like a place that would be
perfect whether it was day or night. The
tables were spaced out and it almost
looked like you were alone in the room
with your date. His date looked like she
belonged here.
“I can tell you have been here a few
times.” Eric said.
“You are right, I have.”
“Your boyfriends have great taste then,
this is a nice place.”
“Who said it was my boyfriends with the
great taste and not me? Oh wait, this is
the part where I’m supposed to say I
don’t have a boyfriend?”
“Yeah, kinda.” Eric said. She had read his
mind.
“I don’t have a boyfriend, but what does
that mean to you? It’s not like a pervert
like you won’t have a girlfriend.” She said
and winked.
“You just broke my heart.” He squeezed
his face together in feigned pain and laid
his palm on his chest.
She laughed and for some minutes they
ate in silence. He wondered what went
through her mind. She did not seem to
pay much attention to the accusations
that he had faced in the court. But he
feared; the opposition seemed to have
some properly organized lies to be as
confident as they were. Would she still
believe him when witness after witness
came on the stand to say he had sexually
harassed them.
“Hey, what are you thinking about?” She
cut into his thoughts.
“You; I was thinking about you!” He said.
“I hope not. You were not smiling, you
were worried. If worry is what is linked to
thinking about me, I’d rather you didn’t
think about me.”
“I’m sorry, my mind went back to the
court for a while.”
“You need to stop that. Okay, lemme
take your mind off that. Did you watch
TV yesterday evening? The president’s
announcement?”
“Yeah I did. What was that about? I was
too busy thinking about my own
problems, I did not find out.”
“You did not watch or hear about the
terrorist who claimed to be behind the
disease killing people in the north?” She
was surprised.
“I don’t watch TV very much and I did
not talk to anyone but my lawyers
throughout yesterday. Who is the guy,
this terrorist?”
“No one knows. He did not have the
insignia of any of the major terrorist
groups. What was more strange about
him was his mask.”
“Mask?” He asked sitting up in his seat.
“Yeah, he wore this strange mask. It
looked like…”
“Like it grew out of his face?” He
finished her statement, his mind went
back to Sarkin Aljan.
“You are right.” She looked at him
curiously. “I thought you said you didn’t
watch the broadcast. How do you know
how he looks?”
He stared at her and wondered what to
tell her. She looked like the kind of
person that would catch him he was
lying. But telling her the truth would only
lead to more questions.
“This is going to sound strange to you
but please don’t ask too many
questions.”
“Okay, go on.” She looked so eager now.
“I saw him in my dream.”
“You what?”
“Saw him in my dream. Once you see
that mask, you never forget it.”
“Okay, I don’t know why you don’t want
to tell me the truth but if you know this
guy or know about him, don’t keep quiet.
I can feel it in my bones, this guy is a
very bad person. If you can help us stop
him, you have to.”
Eric looked at her and remembered the
old man. He had said the world needed
him, what if he was right?
***
He slowly opened his eyes but still he
saw nothing. He wondered where he was.
The back of his head throbbed and the
pain spread to other parts of his body.
He tried to move his hand but they did
not move. He pulled them again but his
hands began to hurt, they were fastened
with a rope. He tried to stand, his feet
were not tied. He staggered to his feet
and stumbled around the room. He had
no idea where the door was so stumbled
forward until he hit the wall, then he
began to feel around the room.
Suddenly a door opened! And he heard a
switch flip and suddenly the room was
flooded with light. The staggered and fell
as he tried to shield his eyes from the
light.
“Guess who we have here, it is the
almighty Sango himself!” He heard a
voice say.
He opened his eyes and waited to adjust
the light then he looked up. Standing
above him were three men. Two of them
he remembered from the attack in the
forest. The third one also looked familiar
but he could not remember seeing him
anywhere. He looked really strange. He
wore a mask; a strange mask that looked
like it grew out of his face.
“So you came like I expected you to.” The
masked man said. “I knew all I had to do
was get her.”
The masked man was the one who had
Anne! Sarkin Aljan, the old man had
called him. This was the person he
needed to defeat.
“Where is she?” He said, stifling the
anger bursting through his veins.
“She is here somewhere and she is being
taken care of. Isn’t she fellas?” He asked
turning to the guys around him. They all
laughed.
“What have you done to her?!” He
screamed!
“Hey calm down! She is okay! Do you
think I will allow these humans touch a
goddess?” Sarkin Aljan said.
“What do you want?” Damola asked,
wishing his hands could somehow get
untied.
“Good question. I don’t know if you have
heard, but we are taking over this world!
You my friend are a hindrance, you need
to be taken out of the way. It’s that
simple, this is not personal.” He said.
The two men with him, looked at each
other; they obviously did not believe him.
“What does Anne have to do with this?
You have me now, let her go!”
“Anne? That is very terrible name,
whatever happened to great names like
Cleopatra, Diana? Anyway, I’ll be honest
with you, Oya or Anne as you choose to
call her, isn’t going anywhere. See here is
the plan, when this is all over, when I am
king of this world, I will need a Queen.
Who better to be my queen than a
goddess?”
“Stay away from my girl!” He shouted.
He struggled to stand but fell. “She will
never agree to your wife!”
Suddenly he saw Sarkin Aljan’s eyes go
cold. He moved closer to him and
stooped and looked him in the eye.
“If Oya doesn’t agree to be my wife, I will
kill her, very slowly!”
He slammed his fist into Sarkin Aljan’s
face before he realized his hands were
free! The punch sent him flying across
the room. Damola stood and ran after
him! The two men with Sarkin Aljan
attacked him before he got to him.
The fire coming off his hands had never
been so much. He looked at them, it was
not just fire now, there were sparks
coming off them. The two men looked
afraid of what they saw, they backed
away.
Suddenly from behind them, Sarkin Aljan
stood.
“Leave us now!” He said. The men were
more than eager to leave.
“Give me Anne now or you are dead!”
Damola said, the sparks in his hands
increasing.
“You think that scares me?” Sarkin Aljan
asked, pointing to the fiery hands. “I hate
when people punch me.”
“Give me Anne now!”
He ran at Sarkin Aljan and hit him with
all his strength. The blow connected with
his face and the mask dropped off his
face. He fell and crawled towards where
the mask fell. Damola went after him,
grabbed him by his collar and turned him
around. His face was scarred from some
sort of burn. Damola paused, had he
encountered him before?
He felt the pain in his arm and
screamed! He dropped Sarkin Aljan and
looked at his arms. There were two deep
cuts in his arm. The fire had stopped!
“I underestimated you.” He heard the
voice come from a few feet from him. It
was Sarkin Aljan, his mask was back on.
“Well, I won’t be doing that again. As for
Oya, she will feel as much pain as I did
today!”
Damola stood and ran at him, but
stopped just before he reached him.
Between them stood a huge dog. It was
as tall as he was and had two long fangs
hanging out from both sides of his
mouth. It looked him in the eyes and
roared!
Damola stepped back. The dog moved
closer to him.
“You will not die today but you will, very
soon! But not before you see Oya
become my queen!” Sarkin Aljan said and
he slipped out of the room.
He could not let him go, if he would
rescue Anne, he could not him go. The
dog seemingly reading his thoughts
moved closer to him. He down at his
hands, the fire had stopped. He squeezed
his fingers, nothing happened. He
screamed in frustration and threw a
punch at the dog. It dodged the blow and
threw him on his back. It stepped over
him and grabbed one of his legs with its
teeth. Damola struggled against it but
his skin was beginning to tear. There was
no point fighting, he would have to live
to fight another day.
Suddenly the room became dark. He
heard a movement close to the door. The
dog dropped his leg, he could see its
shiny eyes move across the room in
search of who or what had entered.
Damola crawled towards the wall and
listened.
He had a loud thud and the dog yelped.
Something ran past him where he was
seated and the dog ran past him after it.
Suddenly the dog cried loudly then it
began to whimper quietly. Then it
stopped and the room became quiet.
Damola strained his eyes but saw
nothing. He jumped as he felt something
tap him on the shoulder. He could not
see what it was and it was making no
sound. He sat poised waiting for
whatever it was to move close to him
again. He felt another tap on his
shoulder, this time it was stronger. He
punched the direction the tap came from
but he hit nothing.
Suddenly darkness began to move on him
as his eyes began to close. He tried to
move but he had lost control over his
muscles. He wanted to shout but nothing
came out. He began to panic. Who was
doing this? He felt arms go around him
and lift him off the ground. Whoever was
carrying him began to run and with each
step the pain in his body increased.
Finally he could not take the pain
anymore and he yielded to the darkness.
.
.
.
.
.
.
To be continued
