Under Attack – Episode 7

Under Attack – Episode 7
© Brian Ngoma
K.B and His Past
First suicide attempt, K.B had took poison which put him in discomfort he wished he had never taken it. Two years after Bella had left him and tirelessly trying to fight for custody of his children, every effort was useless. If he couldn’t have his children, then life was not worth living. What was even more worse was that the only children he had hated him. He had been planning on how to take his own life for months and when he finally did come up with a perfect plan, he bought rat poison and drank it.
He woke up in a hospital surrounded by doctors. They were saying things he didn’t understand. He stayed in the hospital for three months. When he was diacharged, he told them he had no where to go, that was a lie. He just couldn’t bear the sight of his house. It reminded him of a man he once was; a dad, perfect husband and someone who had it all. He asked the hospital manager if he could stay a while longer. They gave him a month provided he worked in the garden and surrounding of the hospital as part of his healing process. He couldn’t ask for more, he accepted and stayed. In his second week of stay while busy cleaning and sweeping the frontal, he saw her. He saw his beautiful Astridah.
***
Izukanji gave his three men instructions on how to take back the firearms department. Two were to go to the 2nd floor and get some guns. Him and the other would stay to ensure the other members of ‘SSS’ would not infiltrate the floor.
Looking at Dominick, he said, “You will go with my two men Domi.”
Dominick wanted to protest. “I have a suspect in my office i cannot let go.”
Izukanji yelled at him. “This is not a request Domi it’s an order.”
Looking at Christina who looked away, he agreed. For some Unknown reasons, he wanted to please her. He didn’t understand why because he was married and he’d be damned if his wife ever knew he even looked at a woman other than her.
“Let’s get going now!” One of Izukanji’s men said.
Dominick looked at Christina one more time and followed the men. They walked through the corridor carefully. The two men in front of him checked the offices. They agreed not use the elevator and opted for the stairs. They reached the stairs and walked down. They reached the 2nd floor. One of the men hid behind a corner and peeped. Dominick watched him as he motioned to them to follow him. Dominick was trailing behind the two men. They joined the corridor and there was no one. The firearms department was at the far end of the corridor. Izukanji’s men tiptoed their way while Dominick thought the floor was too quiet. As they kept walking, someone came out of the Firearms department office holding a gun. From a distance, they could see he was wearing a police uniform. Izukanji’s men got excited and relaxed.
“You see, we still have our own,” one of them exclaimed. “Let’s go and get those guns. The SSS have nothing on us, this is HQ.”
The two men quickly walked to the man in uniform. Dominick was walking very slowly behind them. He saw another man in uniform coming out of the office. He showed his counterpart something on the phone and they nodded. Dominick saw them raising their guns at them.
“It’s an ambush!” He yelled.
It was too late, the men in uniforms fired at Izukanji’s men instantly killing them. Dominick quickly looked for where to hide and as the guns were blazing, he dived into an opened office and while he was at, a bullet scratched him on his hand he dropped to the floor.
“Damn!” He scre-med feeling like he had been burnt.
The guns stopped. Dominick knew Izukanji’s men were toast. He was now trapped with a wound. He slowly pushed the door and locked it. He knew that wouldn’t do him any good against the guns. Anytime soon, they would be coming for him. He needed a plan to get out of this alive.
***
Izukanji and his other man got to their feet when they heard the guns blazing. He knew his men were shot at. He had no chance at all. The ‘SSS’ had planned this thoroughly, he thought. They knew this place all too well. He needed a contingency plan but what? His mind was blocked. Whilst thinking about what to do next, he heard the door slammed. Christina had run away.
“Let her go!” He told his man when he wanted to go after her.
Christina got out of the room and ran as fast as she could through the corridor. She didn’t even think of going downstairs, her mind was on going up. As she ran, she bumped into the fluffy one who was also getting out of Dominicks office after hearing the gunshots.
“Watch were you are going!” Christina yelled.
“You too,” the fluffy one said. “Did you hear them guns?”
“Yes and I’m getting out of here,” Christina responded.
“Where is the old man?” He asked for Dominick.
Christinas face turned sad. “He was forced to go to the 2nd floor. I think he was killed too.”
“sh*t,” the fluffy one took off.
He ran to the end of the corridor and wanted to go downstairs.
“Not that way!” Christina yelled at him. “Lets go up.”
They went up the stairs to the 4th floor. It both made them uneasy. They looked at each other. They decided to go up. They reached the 5th floor. It was quiet too but different. The fluffy one wanted to get to the roof but Christina stopped her. She told him to check the offices. As they were checking, they heard a cry, a baby cry.
“Wait,” Christina said.
“Lets get out of here,” the fluffy one begged.
“No i know that child. She’s been missing ever since all this started. She’s probably hiding, alone and scared.”
“What has that got to do with our survival?” The fluffy one protested.
“Shut up!”
They walked to where the sound came from. Christina reached for the door handle and opened it. The room was dark. She heard the cry again.
“Little baby don’t be afraid,” she said.
“Don’t move or I’ll shoot,” a female voice said, it was Emma.
“Please don’t shoot,” Christina begged. “I have just run away from the real criminals.”
The light came on. Christina saw Emma in a corner with Nana who was crying after hearing the gunshots. The fluffy one entered the room and closed the door.
“Are you the two of you?” Christina asked Emma.
Emma nodded in denial. She looked at K.B behind them. K.Bs eyes were fixed on Christina. She turned around and saw him. The fluffy one also saw him.
“The old man is still alive,” the fluffy one exclaimed. “Your friend was worried about you.”
K.B said nothing but looked at Christina. How could someone look exactly like her. She was a photocopy of his beautiful wife. Her height, complexion, physicality and when she talked, all the memories returned. It was as if he had seen Astridah all over again.
***
First day he saw Astridah, K.B thought she had come for a checkup at the hospital. Looking at her from a distance, she seemed lost. All of his being wanted to go there and help her but he couldn’t, she looked too good for him.
The next day, he saw her again. He continued seeing her for the next two weeks. In all that time, he never had the courage to talk to her. One morning, his last day of stay at the hospital, he woke up with courage. He wasn’t working that day. He cleaned himself up and shaved. He waited for her but she never came. He had no one to blame but himself. He left the hospital and went back to his home.
A week later, he visited the hospital. To his happiness, she was there at the hospital. It was now or never. He found her talking to some staff and excused himself. He bluntly asked that he wanted to talk to her. She was surprised because she never knew him. Whatever K.B had drank that day, he was a joker. He made her laugh with his dry jokes. He was instantly taken by her sense of humour. He didn’t want to waste time, he asked her out. She accepted because she wanted more of his jokes surprisingly.
Fast forward, K.B and Astridah got married. He didn’t really understand why she liked being with him because he never said much, was always angry and bitter but She respected him, encouraged him and ensured she showed him all her love. Light was back in his life. With her help, they fought custody of the children but Bella was a devil in human form. She even got worse when she learned of his marriage. Regardless, their love was never shaken. They stayed strong and flourished in everything they did together.
One Sunday morning, K.B woke up and as usual, Astridah had already woken up. He smelled what she was cooking in the kitchen. Smiling, he got out of bed and took a bath. When he was done, he smelled something burning. That was peculiar. Astridah was not one to burn food. He went to the kitchen. When he opened the door, he found her laying on the floor. Hurriedly, he got her up and noticed she was pale. He called a cab and took her to the hospital.
“She has a tumor growing in her brain,” the doctor had said. “We can remove it.”
K.B didn’t understand what the doctor had said. He just wanted Astridah to be well again. To watch her cook, to stare at her when she was sleeping, to make her laugh with his dry jokes, to hold and hug her whenever she was feeling low which he also didn’t really understand. He just wanted her to be there with him. She was the only person who cared about him as much as he did. The weeks leading to the operation, he took care of her. He was at the hospital all the time. He loved her even more.
“It’s just an operation, I’ll be fine,” she had said holding his hand.
The doctors assured him that what was growing in her brain was removable. They even showed him people who had survived. They told him she was going to be fine. Who was he not to trust them? He was just, but a man.
“Don’t go anywhere,” she had told him tightly holding his hand. “I love you.”
When he wanted to say it back, she had said to wait for her to come back. She smiled, relaxed and closed her eyes as she let go of his hand whilst being wheeled into the operation theatre. K.B waited and waited. Hours passed. He never drank or ate anything. His palms were sweating and heartbeat pounding he could almost feel it coming out of his mouth. When the doctor came out, he didn’t need to be told. He never even got to say he loved her back. They assured him she was going to be fine. They were supposed to cure her. That was their job. They were professionals. His bitterness returned. He went deep into a dark place again leading to his second suicide attempt.
To be continued