The Voice Episode 19 – 20

The Voice – Episode 19

A story by Alabede Jude

Cole opened the small gate and entered his house. Water prickled down his body saturating the blue Chelsea jersey he was clad in.

He had just finished an hour jog and was sweating profusely like a Christmas goat.

Jogging for an hour everyday has become a daily routine, it was the psychologist prescription as a way to get some of his memories back plus it helped clear his head and it made him think.

It had been four days since he had been discharged from the hospital.

He was tremendously infuriated at his inability to recall the past three weeks event.

He had a bad feeling that it was not just the accident that made him lose some of his memories like the doctors had claimed. He knew it was more than the accident . He could have forgotten all his memories but he didn’t, it was only three weeks amnesia and why not total amnesia?

Something was definitely fishy but he just couldn’t tell.

He had tried times without number to recall what actually happened in the last three weeks but all to no avail. It was blank like it never existed.

This to him was more annoying than being alive. He sat on a couch in the large sitting room, the house looked empty with no one in it. His mind drifted to Nancy and a sad expression replaced his once puzzled look.

He remembered he had a wife. Nancy, someone who he was yet to see. He’d tried numerous ways to reach her but none went through and without much ado he was being told that she had been missing since two weeks ago.

What was happening?

He couldn’t think straight anymore, his life was messed up and whoever that is doing this is making life a living hell for him. His phone beeped on the table and he picked it.

It was an emergency.

He suddenly stopped and he frowned.

Another murder?

Cole stood up and rushed to the bathroom. He had a quick shower and a change of clothes.

He got his keys and got into his Peugeot 504. He ignited the car engine and it roared to life.

He stepped on the accelerator and sped off.

He was going to the location of the murder which just happened. He wasn’t going to allow the killer get away not this time with puffed vexation. He had enough and couldn’t withstand to get more of it. The car came to a screeching halt as he stepped on the brakes.

A small crowd of people had formed distance away. Some policemen had arrived the crime scene, some were keeping off the crazy crowd away from the crime scene while some huddled around looking for evidence.

Cole stepped out of his car and ran to the crime scene. A body lay disfigured in a pool of fresh blood.

Cole bent down scrutinizing, it was a man with an oval structure of a face, he had scars on the disfigured face with a goatee beards which was soaked in his blood.

Cole saw the gunshot wound and then the bullet that did the job. He picked it up rolling it in his hands. He knew it was from a 9mm pistol and with the way it was shot, he could tell it was from a close range but the question is how?

“Send me video footages of thirty minutes ago” Cole said into the mouthpiece of his phone.

“make sure it is as fast as possible” he hung up the call and walked back to his car.

His phone beeped after some minutes, he opened the videos and he started watching.

He found nothing after some minutes of watching, it was just the normal daily activities of cars passing by.

He was about to exit the video when he saw a car sped away and a body falling from the car.

Cole immediately paused it and zoomed in on the car, he couldn’t see the face of the driver as he was well disguised in the black cap he had on.

He jotted the plate number of the car and he rewound the streaming.

He saw a Camry car following the black corolla in a hot pursuit.

Now, he could tell what actually happened.

It seemed like the killer was in the cab with the driver and while trying to get away, he shot the driver in the process.

Cole sent a message to all checkpoints with the number of the car asking for the car to be stopped when s₱0tted.

Cole changed gears and he continued driving at an alarming rate of speed not minding the insults he received from pedestrians and drivers.

His device beeped and the screen lights came on. He used one hand to pick the phone and the other hand on the steering wheel.

A tracker had been activated showing the location of the person he had tracked down.

But who did he track?

He couldn’t remember tracking anybody but out of curiosity, he set to go and find out.

He made a U- turn and changed the lane. He was going to find out who he’d tracked.

After minutes of driving recklessly, he came to a halt at the front of a house which looked like a warehouse.

Cole suddenly stopped in his tracks, the corolla car he had seen and had written the number was parked outside the ware house.

The plate number had been ripped off but he recognized the car.

He became very alarmed as he brought out his gun tucked in his hostler.

He pushed the door open and he stepped into the spacious compound with tentative steps.

The ware house was void of movement and activities. it seemed like the ware house had been abandoned for years as grasses grew out of the tiled floor.

Cole moved stealthily and slid down creeping in through the closed gate of the warehouse which the down part was slightly opened.

He crawled in and rose to his feet but a sudden kick sent him back sprawling on the floor.

He saw it too late and couldn’t dodge or weave it away.

A man with a black face cap stepped out and followed suit as Cole landed on the floor and he quickly gagged Cole with a handkerchief.

Cole writhed on the floor shaking vehemently as he consumed a mouthful of the substance.

His eyes went dim and he fell into unconsciousness.

Episode 20

Cole opened his eyes slowly, it felt heavy and sunken red. His head ached and pounded with an headache as though it would rip off.

He steadied his eyes but darkness stared back at him. He peered hopelessly into the darkness. He heard a click and lights flooded the room.

He immediately closed his eyes as the brightness was too much.

Minutes later, he opened them already conscious to his environment.

Cole looked around the room.

What was this place?

The room was empty but dusty. No bed, no furniture except for a wooden chair which he was seated on.

The room had no windows, no other entry nor exit points aside from the one situated at the front.

He looked up at the high ceilings, he saw a small vent, it was probably what supplied air into the room.

Then he saw a picture on the wall, a beautiful smiling woman.

He looked closely, she looked familiar but he couldn’t figure out where she knew her and who she really was.

The door suddenly creaked open and a figure took shape.

“Hello detective” the voice said and Cole looked up . He blanched with utmost surprise.

~

(Hours Earlier)

Nora’s stomach sang a melodious tune to her ear but not at all melodious.

The worms were churning her stomach and she had grown old in a matter of weeks without food.

She stared at the food below her feet, fried rice garnished with assorted meats. It was such a delicacy she wouldn’t want to miss but hell no!

She wasn’t gonna eat like she had been doing for the past few weeks refusing to eat different types of delicacies brought to her by a masked man.

Her reason refusing to eat wasn’t far fetched from the fact that the food might be poisoned but she knew better. It couldn’t have been poisoned.

More so, the masked man wouldn’t be so blunt to use poison since there are many ways he could use thus eating was the least on her mind.

Different thoughts had been throbbing her mind lately.

Reason why the masked man never showed her his face and there is the issue of Cole being an assassin, a dreaded killer at that.

Probably that was the reason why he never came looking for her.

She just couldn’t believe it, Cole a killer?

Tears welled up in her eyes threatening to spill, just a blink and it came rushing like a flowing river.

The hatred that engulfed her was way too much that she felt like strangling Cole herself if she ever set her eyes on him.

What a wicked soul? and he hid the truth from her all these while.

Nora was enflamed with immense hatred and it rekindled when the thought of suffering because of him flashed through her.

“Crying?” a voice said and Nora looked up.

The tears continued to spill and couldn’t clean it off as her hands were tied behind the chair.

She nodded with short gasps.

The masked man stooped low in front of her looking into her teary eyes.

He could see hatred in them and he smiled. He had just gotten what he wanted.

Nora would kill Cole herself and then, he would kill Nora.

******************

Cole blanched with utmost surprise, he was stupefied and dazzled at the man standing before him. Not that the man was appealing in his black detective suit but was rather appalling because he was the least person Cole could ever imagine to be the dreaded killer.

Mr Akinola stood on his feet with a devilish grin on his face, he pocketed his hands and catwalked towards Cole who was stunned and gobsmacked beyond belief.

“Still surprised?” Mr Akinola said in a distinctive tone.

Cole blinked his eyes a million times.

Was he dreaming?

Or rather hallucinating?

It all felt too real to be a dream and yes he wasn’t dreaming. He had not suspected the DG . Not once, not even when Agent Bola figured it out that it could be one of the staff. He had only suspected the forensic man and yes, he was right. The forensic man also had a skeleton well hidden under his sleeve but his instincts never brought him near the DG.

Come to think of it, the director general of the reputable CIB was the one behind all these?

“You?..” Cole voiced out with a confused look.

“You have questions?” Mr Akinola said and started whistling twisting his legs in a form of dance.

“Why did you ….”

“No, stop right there!” Mr Akinola interrupted Cole with a wave of hand.

“Don’t ask any question, I’ll provide the answers. Just allow me do the talking.”

Cole nodded in approval, he really needed to know why he did it, how he pulled those stunt.

“Cole!” Mr Akinola started, stressing his name. “You caused this yourself..you made me do it”

“What? What did I do?” Cole asked confused.

“You killed her” Mr Akinola stared longingly at the picture hung up on the wall.

“What?” Cole gasped with his eyes w¡dened.

Then the images flashed through his memory. He remembered very well, those pictures.

He could now remember why the picture was familiar. He had seen one of the pictures in Mr Akinola’s office hung conspicuously on the wall.

“She was beautiful until you took her away from me” Mr Akinola’s voice was low pitched in a depressing way

“But, I didn’t kill anyone!” Cole retorted angrily, he jerked but he was trapped.

A smile emitted from Mr Akin’s face then suddenly, he started to laugh…

Slowly, then the velocity of the laughter increased.

“Stop!” Cole shrieked.

Mr Akinola seemed to obey the command as the laughter subsided and his face changed to a serious one.

“You didn’t kill anyone?” He mimicked Cole still sniggering

quietly.

“Yes I didn’t” his voice was defiant.

“You did!” Mr Akinola answered almost immediately and he stooped low in front of Cole. “killing was fun to you, you killed ruthlessly having no remorse for the deceased. You were once an assassin before you changed your identity and joined the CIB crib.”

Cole glared long at him.

How possible?

Once an assassin?

“You killed her, you killed my wife”_Mr Akin said with pain and anguish in his voice.

His voice resonated in Cole’s ears and it angered him.

“I said I didn’t!”_Cole shouted as loud as his voice could carry him.

“The earlier you admit it, the betterment for you”

Cole clenched his teeth and struggled to free himself from the shackles that was used to tie him but he couldn’t. He was trapped and there is no getting away.

Mr Akinola smirked when he saw this, he brought his face lower to Cole.

“I will make you pay, Nora would die in your arms like mine did.”

Cole spat in his face and Mr Akinola drew back, his face contorted in disgust and abhorrence. He stared at Cole for a while and then, he launched Cole a hefty blow on the face and his nose bursted open.

Cole felt some liquid dripping off his nose.

There was a moist in his mouth and he spat it out. It was damn bloody red!

He looked up and stared at him with cold eyes…

“You ain’t getting away with this” Cole said amidst clenched teeth.

A crooked smile suddenly appeared on Mr Akinola’s face subsiding his initial anger though he still had a fierce look.

“We shall see” with that, he stormed out of the room.

Cole heaved a sigh of frustration and worry immediately he was out.

He’d never imagined Mr Akinola could go as far as this, he never thought he could be the one behind the voice threatening him. yet, he acted like a friend and a boss who he was.

He should have seen it coming but it came rather too late.

Cole twisted his fingers trying to untie his hands but it wasn’t working. He was well strapped to the chair with his hands tied behind. If he was going to escape or survive this, he would need a miracle.

He wasn’t going to die, not yet. If he dies, that would likely mean Nora would die too.

Cole watched as Mr Akinola str-de into the room, he was full of smiles. he wondered what was behind it.

“Look, I don’t actually beg criminals. I would rather ….” Cole had to stop when he saw Nora walked into the room accompanied with a gun at the back of her head. A figure took shape as they finally came into view.

It was inspector Kunle, he was grinning mischievously.

Cole was surprised, another thing he least expected. His eyes darted to Mr Akinola, Inspector Kunle, and then Nora. He gazed at Nora in disbelief of what she had turned into.

Her once glowing face had turned white flecked and pale, her hair sprouted over her face haggardly and she looked unkempt like she had been starved for years

“What’s happening?” Cole’s voice shrieked in extreme pain and anguish.

“Welcome to hell detective” Inspector Kunle said smiling devilishly.

To be continued…