The deed episode 7 – 8

TITLE: THE DEED

THEME: D KIDNAP, RESCUE & REPLANNING

EPISODE 7

On her way home from work, Labake was deep in thoughts. She had been having premonitions and weird dreams. This worried her deeply. She confided in her mother and they began midnight prayers.

“Don’t look for someone to pray you out of your problems. We all have equal access to God. We will cry to him at midnight for three days and a clear-cut vision will be revealed.”

“Are you sure Ma? I wake covered in sweat while the air conditioner is on. I see people chasing me to kill me. Why would anyone want to kill me?”

“You can find out through prayers. On Friday, we will go to the mountain to pray. Jesus separated himself to pray; we will do same. Any weapon fashioned against you will never prosper.”

“Amin.”

“Trust me my daughter; we will arrest the situation on our knees. I don’t know any other way. I only know how to fight on my knees.”

She was rushing home that Friday so they could leave for the mountain. She was deep in thoughts that she was not observant. This was not the first time this taxi driver was taking her home. Before she got herself, the cab had taken another route.

“Oga, why did you pass here? This is not the way to Ilupeju.”

“I should have ascended the bridge when we got to Oworoshoki but I missed it. I will turn back at Ogudu.”

“Ok.”

She went back to her thoughts until she was jolted back when he drove into an unfamiliar route. She looked around her; there were only uncompleted buildings. She became scared. She knew there was something wrong. She sat quietly in the car, sent her mother a message saying,

“Please pray for me. I think I have been kidnapped or something. I don’t know where I am. I just know the cab drove into the street that leads to the bridge that goes to Ogudu. That’s all I remember. We are surrounded by uncompleted buildings. I can see an Aladura church close to water. Don’t send me any message. Please pray for me Mami, pray I survive this. Pray. Just pray for me. And be careful. Be very careful” She deleted the message after sending it and switched off her phone.

The driver turned to her and blew a powder at her face. She became unconscious.

Iya Labake was agitated. What kind of message did Labake send? When she called the number, the phone was switched off.

“Ah, aye mi ti baje! Omo mi. Where can she be? What can be happening? This must be Dayo’s handwork. I suspected him but I thought he would go spiritual but he has gone physical. What do I do now?”

She called some people she knew who had influence in the Police. She was asked to see the head of SARS. She met with him, wrote her petition and before it was processed; they were already at the place described by Labake in her text message. Another set went to Dayo’s house but he was not home so they went to his parents’ house to lie in wait for him.

Labake opened her eyes and was shocked to see Dayo staring at her. He flashed torchlight to her face. The place was dimly lit. When she was fully awake, he laughed at her and said,

“I thought you were very smart. I thought you had it all figured out. It was so easy to trap you. Now both you and the baby will no longer be a threat to me. I warned you but you won’t listen. I am making money from you while enjoying the pleasure of your death. Goodbye. We will never meet again.”

Labake looked around her. She saw she was not alone. It was a big building like a warehouse. The windows were high up. The room was secured with two big metal doors. It looked like there was no escaping.

The others around her looked unkempt. She couldn’t see them clearly as the place was dim. She tried to talk to the person beside her but she got no response. She was terrified but surprisingly she was also calm. She spent what was left of the night praying. She started silently and was muttering. When the place was dead silent, she became scared. She prayed louder. She prayed in English and later converted to Yoruba. She prayed for her safety and that of her child. She prayed for her mother. She prayed for the others there with her and their families. As she prayed, she heard someone say Amen. Then there were other choruses of Amen. Before long more people joined in the prayer. It was like a revival was taking place in there. People prayed in anguish, some s¢ræmed, some rolled on the floor others muttered with the little strength they had left. Religion was not a barrier. Everyone prayed how they knew how. Gradually, voices reduced and even Labake stopped praying as tiredness enveloped her. She fell asleep.

In the morning, she opened her eyes and adjusted to the light. She saw the people she couldn’t see clearly the day before. There were people who looked terrible. They looked emaciated. She saw people of different tribes, religion even ages. It was a shocking sight. She wanted to ease herself and asked the person beside her. She pointed to a door. As she opened the door, the stench of stale urine hit her hærd that the urge disappeared immediately.

“God, whether I survive this or not, let Dayo die a slow and painful death.” She prayed from the bottom of her heart.

As she walked back, one of the doors swung open. The inmates began to cry. She hurried to her position. She was surprised when they came to her first; they pulled her up roughly and pushed her along with some other selected few. They were led into a truck. She cried as she climbed into it. “Is this the end for me Lord? Dayo raped me and now wants me dead. I didn’t ask for all this. God, show yourself oh. How can evil win over good?”

The back of the truck was like a container with very high windows. They couldn’t see outside. They didn’t know where they were going. There were about twenty of them in the truck. They were driven out but she couldn’t see anything. She continued crying and praying. After about fifteen minutes, the truck stopped. They waited to be brought out of the truck but nothing was happening. When they couldn’t hear anything, Labake began to bang on the body of the truck and shouting. Others joined her when they saw how persistent she was. Finally, they heard voices.

EPISODE 8

“Who are you people and where are you coming from?”

“We were kidnapped. We don’t know where we are. Please open the door for us.”

It took some time before they were finally released. They were already sweating profusely before they came down. They were rescued by SARS team. A large crowd had gathered around the truck at this time. The driver and the man with him were nowhere to be found. Labake went on her knees and thanked God. She sang songs of praise and adoration. She refused to answer any questions until she sees her mother. She never knew she could pray this much.

Meanwhile, at Dayo’s parents’ house, the SARS leader asked his parents to call him to come to their house urgently. They did not disclose that the Police were there. When he came, he was picked up. He was questioned for hours and he stuck to his story of not knowing where Labake was or what happened to her. Iya Labake just said a word to him, “The worst thing that can happen to you is that Labake and the baby lose their lives. Once that happens, you will pray for death and it will not come. You will run helter-skelter and nothing will happen. Your life and the lives of those around will be ruined. I am not begging you to talk. Let them not find my Labake first. Then you will know whom you are dealing with.”

Her words frightened Dayo’s mother. She felt those threats were not mere words. She wondered why Dayo chose the daughter of a witch to play games with. Now the bone that he ate has gotten stuck in his throat. She knew at the back of her mind her son was responsible for Labake’s disappearance. He had been anxious in the last couple of days. He had threatened to do something about Labake. He can be irrational sometimes. He won’t listen to reason. That was what happened. She told him never to accept to know what happened to Labake otherwise his life would be over. But with Labake’s mother’s threat, she was more worried about what she would. She sounded like she was ready to do and undo.

When the news got to them that Labake had been found, Dayo began to panic. Iya Labake could see clearly that he had questions to answer. He was no longer important; she just wanted to see her daughter. They announced they were bringing them back to the station. Dayo broke out in sweat. He became disoriented. Next thing he had collapsed. The Policemen and his parents rushed him to the hospital.

Labake was reunited with her mother. She refused to talk or say anything. She was just crying and holding on to her mother. She had a fearful look in her eyes when anyone else came close to her.

“Let me take her to the nearest hospital. She must be in shock.”

They were taken to the hospital where she was treated and sedated to rest. Her mother never left her side. Dayo’s mother came in to check on Labake and her mother when she discovered she was also admitted there. When Labake saw her, she cringed. It was very surprising and it confirmed Iya Dayo’s worse fears; Dayo had a hand in her kidnap. Dayo’s mother excused herself and hurriedly left.

“Labake, tell me what happened. There is no one here. I am here with you; no harm can befall you. Talk to me my child. Tell me everything.”

Labake narrated her ordeal to her mother. When she told her about Dayo’s visit, she just smiled and said, “I knew he was the brain behind this. How does he know this syndicate? You can not reveal what you know because they would come after you. I will talk to Iya Dayo but we need to leave. It would mean we have to relocate from Lagos before we can carry out my plan.” She thought for some time and said, “I have a plan. Just follow it. We will not mention Dayo. We will have an agreement with the family, if they ever come after you, their precious son will go to jail. I will plan with the doctor to claim you lost the pregnancy. I will move you out of here tomorrow. We will drop the case. I think finally we should relocate out of Nigeria so you will have some peace. What do you think?”

“I think it is a brilliant idea. But will Dayo go scot-free?”

“Leave him to me. Trust me he won’t but his affliction won’t be immediate. He would have forgotten when it comes upon him. I just want you and your baby to be safe and sound.”

Everything worked according to plan. She resigned from work; her mother sold her lands and two cars for them to have enough to travel. Labake and her mother left to her mother’s cousin’s place. She applied for a student visa and was granted. She relocated to further her studies with her mother and used that opportunity to give birth to her baby.

To be continued…