Tarasha 38 Do I Look Like A Shy Person To You?'

Tarasha carefully observed her image formed

in the mirror as she posed in front of it in her

pink mini gown. Her makeup was well done to

match her the attachment used to plait her

hair and her dressing as a whole.

Her phone rang as she picked her bag to walk

out of the room. Dare was calling.

'h.e.l.lo' she said in a low tone, she wasn't

expecting his call.

'h.e.l.lo Evelyn, I'm on my way. Let's have

lunch' Dare spoke hastily.

'Huh? Dare, we can't…' She was still talking

when the call ended.

She paused for a while to think of her next

step. Henry just called that he was already

waiting for her and now, Dare was also coming

for her.

'Well, it'll work together' she said to herself

and headed to the restaurant.

*5 mins later *

Henry and Evelyn sat opposite each other on

the table as they awaited the return of the

waiter.

'So are you really shy or you're just

pretending?' Henry broke the silence.

Evelyn chuckled as she turned to face him. 'Do

I look like a shy person to you?' She asked in a

melodious manner.

'No, not at all.' Henry gave a short laugh. 'I

never knew you could sing too'

'I don't sing.' She said and relaxed back into

her seat, giving enough s.p.a.ce for the waiter to

serve them.

Henry gave a look at Evelyn as he watched the

attendant serve, he was surprised that she

only ordered for drinks. He continued after the

waiter left. 'Are you new in this city? Or what

are you doing in a hotel?' He suddenly changed

the subject.

'I'm new' she answered with a smile. 'I've

spent almost a week here, I'm came to do

business'

'Ok… Where are you based?' Henry rolled his

eyeball.

'Canada, with my parents'

'Oh! I see. I was thinking you were just one of

our linguist here, your English doesn't sound

Nigerian'

Tarasha chuckled. 'For how long were you in

Canada?' Henry continued.

'Over ten years of my life' she replied. 'My

parents relocated there when I was at a very

young age'

Henry paused and shook his head from side to

side in a doubtful manner as he murmured

'Canada, Canada, Canada. Your English

doesn't really sound North American either'

Tarasha's phone rang, interrupting their

conversion. 'Please, excuse me' she said

before answering the call.

'I'm in the restaurant' she answered the

caller's question. 'With a friend… Yes, come

over'

She ended the call and stared into Henry's face

in a pleading manner. 'I'm sorry, a friend of

mine wants to see me'

'It's okay' Henry sounded indifferent. 'Let's

make an order since you already asked the

person to come here'

'Don't bother, maybe when he comes' Tarasha

said. 'He doesn't really take soft drinks or

juice'

'Ok.' Henry felt strange as she revealed her

visitor was a male.

'So you can have friends?' Henry continued in

an attempt to make the atmosphere lively until

the visitor comes.

'What do you mean?' She laughed. 'Everybody

has friends'

'Is that so?' He laughed too. 'You sometimes

look too serious to have friends'

'How?'

'How? Except for today, you don't look as m

friendly as this on the other days I met you'

'Hmmm'

'Or you're not always friendly to strangers?'

'No… I'm friendly to anyone I can be friendly

to'

'But the day we first met. The day I b.u.mped

into you in the gadgets shop, you were…' He

paused. 'You responded in a very harsh

manner and …'

'And even reported you to soldiers' Evelyn

completed his statement. Her face turned dull.

'I wasn't really in a good mood that day, I'm

sorry and you were…' She stopped.

'I was what?' He demanded anxiously.

'You were scary that day. The way you

followed after me got me really scared'

'I thought I knew you from somewhere before.

Sorry about that'

'It's okay. I should be the one apologizing' She

held his hand which was placed on the table.

Henry laughed suddenly, shaking his head side

to side. 'What?' Evelyn asked with a surprise

smile.

'It's just funny remembering what happened

that day' Henry raised up his head to face her.

'What did you tell those guys that day? They

were not even ready to listen to me'

Tarasha joined in the laughter. 'Did they hurt

you so much?'

'Not too much, a friend came to my rescue'

'I'm sorry' she said holding his two hands on

the table in a manner.

'Its okay.' He smiled.

'I have a question to ask you.' She said after

taking a sip and relaxing back into the seat.

'Yes, what question is that?'

'How did you know my location? Have you

been following be around?' She gave him a

serious look.

The question met him unprepared. The juice

spilled from the gla.s.s cup he took a sip from as

he coughed. He cleaned his mouth with an

handkerchief and apologized.

Evelyn stared at him indifferently. She handed

him tissue paper to clean the table and

continued to stare at him with waiting eyes.

'I… I have not been stalking you' he managed

to say. 'In fact, I'll never try that after what

happened before'

'Okay, how then did you know my location?'

She cut in impatiently.

'I…' Henry was looking for words to say when

he got distracted by Evelyn's eye movement.

He turned back to see a guy staring at them

from few metres away, a look of

discontentment was on his face. The guy slowly

approached them.

'Your friend?' Henry whispered as Dare came

nearer.

'Good evening' Dare greeted as he added a

third seat to the table.

'Welcome Dare, meet Henry. Henry, Dare '

Evelyn introduced both guys to each other.

Dare struggled to turn and look at Henry's

face, Henry already extended his hand to him.

Dare was about to take his hand hesitatingly

when they recognised each other. Two longtime

enemies had just met again.

**flashback **

8 years ago

Dare stormed into the house in a furious

manner. He stopped at the living room and to

stare at his two friends playing a video game,

they both stated back at him in surprise, the

look in their eyes demanded an explanation for

his att.i.tude. He ignored the duo and proceeded

to his room.

He returned in few seconds, holding a pistol.

He was about to dash out of the house when

he was blocked by one of his friends.

'Where do you think you're going to with that

thing in broad daylight?' Julius questioned,

pointing to the gun in Dare's hand.

'Julius, leave the way' Dare replied in an angry

manner.

'Leave which way? Give me the gun first' Julius

ordered.

'Julius, leave the way now. I have to drop the

two of them'

'Abeg, give me something jare' Julius dragged

the gun from him unexpectedly and pushed

him to the floor.

'You want to implicate the rest of us? You

don't even know how to use a gun well yet'

Julius fired as he returned back to his gaming

position.

'Julius' Dare grumbled as he got up from the

floor. He clenched his first and teeth as he

stood in between the gamers and the

television.

'What is wrong with you?' Julius barked. He

shook his head furiously and gave a calm down

signal to the other friend who was about to

flare up.

Julius and Justice were three hundred level

students of the university while Dare was an

hundred level student. Dare's wealth, father's

influence and frequent clubbing were what

attracted Julius to lure him into the fraternity

just after the first semester.

Dare did not go through the rigorous initiation

process as he was seen as an "Ajeb.u.t.ter" and

his money was really needed in the fraternity

at that time, so the leaders of the group did

not bother.

Just three weeks after his "gentle initiation" ,

Dare began to behave in an unrestrained

manner.

'Jennifer dared to lie to me, she said she

doesn't want to have a boyfriend now and I'm

found her pa.s.sionately hugging another guy'

Dare lamented.

Julius stared at him awkwardly. 'Is that all?'

Justice picked his bag, hissed and shook his

head before leaving the sitting room.

2 days later

The scar faced guy zipped his b.u.t.ton and put

on back his trouser. He spat on Jennifer who

was panting heavily on the floor, he never

knew he wouldn't enjoy having s.e.x with a

virgin. Her clothes were torn off her body, her

legs were widely spread and tied apart with

different ropes, her hands were also tied in the

same manner.

Dare bent to have a last quickie but was

slapped on the back by the third guy. 'Is it not

okay?' he whispered angrily. 'Let's get out of

here'

Henry's vision was still blur as he was still

suffering from the impact of the b.u.t.t of the

gun on the back of his head, but he could

clearly recognise Dare who he had met before.

His sister, Jennifer had also told him that Dare

was asking her out.

As soon as the rapists left, he turned his face

to the direction where his only sister was tied

and was panting heavily. He managed to get

up after a few staggers , his vision was still

very blur as he proceeded towards her. She

was already having an asthmatic attack.

He frantically searched through her torn clothes

for the inhaler but it was nowhere to be found.

Tears flowed down his eyes as he watched his

sister struggling for her life helplessly.

Shakily, he got up and struggled to untie the

ropes. It was after four minutes he was able to

cut off the ropes. His sister had stopped

breathing.

**PRESENT**

'My sister died that day and till date, I've not

been really able to stop missing her. We were

so close, always found moving together when it

wasn't school or work time' Henry fought back

tears as he narrated the story to Evelyn in his

car.

Evelyn placed a palm on his shoulder, she

stared into his eyes as she thought of what to

say to him. What bothered her mind most was

that her plan hadn't worked out, she wouldn't

have allowed them meet each other if she had

any idea that they were enemies.

Still, she wasn't feeling any pity about Henry's

sister's loss, but she had to make herself feel

something so that the acting could go on

smoothly.

'I understand how you feel but didn't you take

any step to report the matter?' She managed

to say.

'I did, but there was no proof. My parents

even had to pay for damages as ordered by

the court. His father was a very influential man

then, so it was easy for him to go scot free'

'What about the two other guys?' Evelyn asked.

'I couldn't recognise them, I'm sure I would

have seen them with Dare after then but I

couldn't point accusing fingers when I wasn't

sure' Henry explained. 'Dare was later

withdrawn from the school by his father before

the next semester and was sent to restart his

university education overseas'

'Hmm' Evelyn sighed.

'My sister's death doesn't really hurt me as

much as the manner at which she died' Henry

continued. 'She died in a most horrible

manner, they stole her dignity which she held

in high esteem and after then took her life'

Evelyn helped Henry cleaned his face as drop

of tears rolled down his face. She really

wondered how he felt. And what dignity was

he talking about? She frowned.

Well… She and numerous other girls were

molested s.e.xually for several years by

uncountable ruthless men in the Nefary Clan in

the most brutal way. **** meant nothing

significant to her anymore.

'Sorry I had to make you meet an enemy, I

never knew Dare was that kind of person'

Evelyn apologized.

'It's okay, I forgave him a long time ago' Henry

muttered.

'You've forgiven him?' Evelyn seemed

surprised. To her and the Nefary Clan,

forgiveness was a sin. Those who forgive are

weak and deserving of death

'Yes'

'You don't want to get back at him?' She

stared into his eyes, a strange kind of emotion

began to overwhelm her. 'You don't feel like

making him pay? Or making sure he dies too?'

'No, I'll rather act like G.o.d. G.o.d doesn't kill

even when you wrong him, he still loves you'

'Naaaah…' Evelyn suddenly screamed and

flung the door open. 'G.o.d is a killer and love

doesn't exist'

'What? ' Henry got out of the car, shocked by

Evelyn's new display. 'What do you mean?'

Tarasha was dumbfounded. Even she was

shocked at her outburst. A b.u.t.ton had been

pushed, her emotions weren't dead, some

elements of feelings still remained in her.

'Are you okay, Evelyn?' Henry moved closer to

her. She was the one who needed consoling

now.

'Please, can you get in?' He motioned her back

into the car and winded up the windows,

cutting away the stares of several onlookers in

the garden.

++++

Dare threw his phone angrily on the sofa as he

stormed into the living room. The maid that

opened the door for him had quickly hid

herself to avoid receiving his anger.

He never knew he was going to ever meet

Henry again. He had stopped involving himself

in cultic activities since he started the new

university in the united kingdom. He had also

dropped his other vices, of course except for

partying, alcoholism and womanising, those

ones were inbuilt "talents".

Henry had suddenly showed up now that he

had decided to drop womanising and partying

as he already started developing feelings for

Evelyn. He wished they had gunned down

Henry that day. He suggested it to his friends

but Julius refused, advising him that the way to

really punish people was to leave them to feel

their pains after the torment.

He bit his lips in anger as he sat briefly on the

sofa, loosening his s.h.i.+rt b.u.t.tons. He had to act

quick and act wisely. Killing Henry now would

make Evelyn dread him more or even testify

against him, he was sure that Henry would

have told her about his bad deeds after he

stormed out of the restaurant immediately.

Maybe he wouldn't have stormed out in that

manner, he could have waited and tried to pick

up a conversation with Henry in pretence that

they did not know each other and deny the

accusation vehemently of Henry tried to raise

any. Or he could have been the one to stay

and would have allowed Henry to leave and

then feed Evelyn lies about him. But it was too

late, he had already acted like a criminal

caught red handed.

He scratched his head. Henry had to die, and

Evelyn too. He thanked G.o.d his feelings for

Evelyn had not developed into something big,

he could still do without her.

Moreover, she was a friend to his enemy and a

friend to his enemy was also his enemy.

'h.e.l.lo Afo' he said into the phone. 'Meet me at

my house in the next twenty minutes. I have a

job for you'

...…

Chief Jubril sat comfortably into the leather

sofa, skimming through the Weekly Sun

newspaper. The newspaper was just a

distraction, his mind was on something else.

He was thinking about the event of the whole

day.

AA Ltd according to his research would be a

very good partner to do business with. It

would further improve the image of his own

companies in the international sight. The only

thing that troubled his mind now was his

doubts about Evelyn. She could just be an

impostor claiming to be Alexander Amaechi's

daughter. He needed to find a way to confirm

her story.

He smiled as his thoughts drifted to his son.

The boy must really be 'jobless' for him to

leave his own company matters and

accompany someone else to do business. He

wished his son could just have investment

ideas like this Evelyn seemed to have, he

would just make his own billions in few years.

But his son wanted to become a lawyer, he

was even studying law before he withdrew him

from the Nigerian university after suspecting

that he had begun to move with bad guys.

He picked his phone and dialed a number as

another thought flashed across his mind. He bit

his lips, waiting for the call to be answered.

'Hey Afo' he hailed and smiled at the response.

'Were you at the office today? … okay, there

was a lady who came to the office with Dare, I

want you to keep an eye on her from

tomorrow. I want to be know her movement'

He heaved a sigh of satisfaction as he dropped

the call. No one could play pranks with him in

Nigeria, the country is his domain.

++++

'Who's that?' Dare asked the haggard looking

Afo who just ended a call.

'It's one of my clients' Afo hid the truth from

him.

'Ok…' Dare continued. 'There's this girl I've

been going around with recently, have you

seen her with me?'

'The one you came to Chief Jubril's office

with?' Afo asked.

'Exactly' Dare nodded in affirmation. 'I want

her dead… and there's this guy following her

around now'

Afo exhaled deeply as he thought about

compiling the father and son's job together.

The father wanted the girl monitored while the

son wanted her killed. Whatever beef was

between the girl and the family was not his

business, he only needed their monies.

Dare racked his brain trying to put together

what best description would tge second target.

He remembered that he saw Henry's ID card

hung on his neck. 'His name is Henry, he

works with the cameras security corps' he

explained.

'You don't have his picture?'

'No, you have to do that job. When you find

out someone who you suspect to be him, send

me his picture for confirmation.' Dare said and

got up to leave.

'How do you want the job done? Should we

hide away their bodies or leave it in public?'

'Let the bodies never be found' Dare stated. 'I

want them killed on the same day and it must

happen before Friday'