DJ Basky rocked the atmosphere with old

school music from veteran artistes like Tu-

face, styl plus, Eldee and a host of others. The

hall was set with about 25 tables with four

chairs around each. s.p.a.ce was left in the

middle of the hall for dancing and other

special performances.

The MC, fifty two years old comedian AY,

stepped into the stage exactly twenty minutes

past five to kick off the party. He called the

attention of the guests who were already

chatting and getting to each other.

He encouraged them to settle down as the

party before he began to opening prayer.

Jubril Lawal entered the hall with his son

immediately the opening prayer began. He

was dressed in a s.h.i.+ny black tuxedo suit, a

white s.h.i.+rt underneath and a black bowtie. He

had a fancy walking stick in his hands. Dare

was also dressed in a tuxedo suit, he wore a

black hat to complement his.

They motioned towards the table reserved for

them in the middle and settled there,

occupying two seats and leaving the other two

empty. The party continued.

++

Cole occasionally stole glances at Tarasha and

Henry through the top mirror as he drove

them down the road. The journey was steady

as the traffic was minimum.

The tension between the two at the back was

obvious to Cole, but Henry was the more

tensed one. He looked like someone who had

just been caught stealing red handed. Tarasha

on the other hand was chewing gum slowly

and looking out through the window.

'What is this place called?' Cole could hear

Tarasha whisper to Henry.

'Asokoro' Henry answered briefly.

'Is everything alright?' Tarasha asked, noticing

his demeanor.

'Yes, I'm fine'

'You don't look so' Tarasha placed a hand on

his knee and rubbed it gently.

Henry took her hand in his and looked into

hereyes. 'I'm sorry' he stated.

'Sorry about what?' Her eyes shone mockingly

at him.

'I didn't mean to…' Tarasha cut him short as

she covered his mouth with hers and engaged

him in a deep kiss.

Henry gladly welcomed it this time since she

was the initiator. He had felt embarra.s.sed

when she broke away from him quickly after

he placed his lips on hers back in the house.

Since then, she refused to mention a word to

him until now.

It took Cole's clearing of his throat for them to

break off from the kiss. Cole's eyes met with

Tarashathrough the top mirror, he was

waiting for orders as they had already arrived

at the event venue.

'Oh! We're there already' Tarasha rested back

and straightened her cloth as they paused at

the gate. Two security officials searched the

car before allowing them entrance. They were

handed a pa.s.s ticket

++

'I think she's here' Audu said aloud to the

other occupants of the security room. He was

cross checking the picture on his hand with the

person in the video. 'She came with the boy'

Audu added as Afo joined him.

'Who's that?' Sanyi, a dark muscular man with a

stout figure asked, trying to select the

captured area on his laptop. Sanyi was the

head of security operatives in the events

centre.

'Nothing, just a lady that the boss asked us to

keep tabs on' Afo replied quickly to prevent

further questioning. He turned to Audu and

spoke in low tones. 'The guy's presence makes

things easier for us, or what do you think?'

Audu nodded in agreement.

A couple dressed in deep blue attires stepped

out of a Lamborghini. They locked hands and

began to walk away from the car park towards

the hall.

They walked out of coverage of the camera

capturing them. Audu minimized the selected

footage to the dashboard where several other

footages from other cameras could be

selected. He first clicked on one which was

capturing the couple's backside, he and Afo

zoomed the video and studied their targets

from the back view. Another footage which

showed their front view was selected and

Audu made two screenshots.

'Return to clip two' Afo said to Audu. Audu

rolled the mouse at once and selected the

previous footage where the couple stepped

out of the car. A black range rover had been

parked beside it and the occupants of the

range rover were stepping out.

'Looks like the driver is still inside that car, we

need to go check' Audu said to Afo.

'Yeah, I'll call Blade to check out the car for us

now' Afo said, taking out his phone.

++++

Coleadjusted the car seat and rested his head

properly. He released the tie on his neck and

unb.u.t.toned the top of the s.h.i.+rt. He then took

out his tablet device and powered it . The

device was still booting when he began to

notice someone's reflection on the screen

when turned upward rightly. He sat up and

took a look at the side mirror. A tall guy

dressed as a security official was scrutinizing

the car. Their eyes met.

The tall guy walked up to the car, Cole wind up

the gla.s.s and sat upright as he waited for him.

'Good evening sir' the tall guy bent to talk to

Cole through the window.

'Evening sir' Cole replied, wondering what the

man wanted.

'May I see your pa.s.s please?' The man

requested.

Cole picked up the card from the rack and

showed it to the man. The guy nodded for him

to keep it after validation.

'Are you going to be staying here?' The guy

asked again.

'No, I'll be leaving in few minutes'

'Please do, we don't allow people loiter

around or remain in park'

'It's okay, I'll leave in the next five minutes'

'Thanks' the man tapped the car playfully and

left.

Cole smiled. Just another security officer

doing his job, he thought.

++++

5.25pm

'Wow, another round of applause for the poet,

I've not seen such a beautiful art performance

for a long time ' AY the MC said as the crowd

reacted with another thunderous applause.

'Well, while the dance was going on, some

very important people walked into this hall' AY

continued. 'Very important people to us and to

the nation at large. First of all, I'll like to

recognize the present of our minister of

information, Mr Dimeji Saki' the guests

responded with a thunderous applause as

Dimeji Saki got up and waved at the crowd.

'Also with us this night is the wife of the most

honorable celebrant, Tomi Jubril' AY

continued. A lady in her late fifties who had

just joined Jubril and Dare on the table got up

and waved at the crowd.

'Right now, we'll move to another round of …'

AY suddenly paused and stared towards a

couple walking in through the entrance. The

audience also followed his gaze and all

attention was turned to the couple with a

matching blue attire.

'Another round of presentation' AY continued

with a smile. The couple were definitely one

of the best dressed people for the event.

What made theirs unique was their choice of

color. AY introduced the next performing acts

and left the stage.

Evelyn and Henry who looked embarra.s.sed at

their attraction of attention quickly motioned

to the table the ushers directed them to. They

sat in gently after greeting a few people who

were still staring at them.

'Your friend' Jubril Lawal smiled at Dare as

they all looked in direction of the couple.

'Yeah, I didn't know she was going to be

coming' Dare faked a smile.

'I sent her an invite, then she called to request

for another, for a friend' Jubril continued,

chewing the pan cracker as he spoke.

'Who's she?' Lola Jubril asked, taking another

look towards Evelyn's direction. She couldn't

get a clear view as Evelyn's table was far from

theirs which was in front.

'A friend I helped connect with Daddy' Dare

answered.

'A friend? I thought you were working on her?'

Jubril cut in.

'Working on her? As in?' Dare stared at his

Dad.

'Come on, you know what I mean' Jubril

replied back.

Dare took a glance at his mum who was staring

at him and patiently waiting for an answer.

'She has a boyfriend already Dad, that guy is

her boyfriend' Dare answered.

'Boyfriend? The guy looks Nigerian to me. I

thought she just arrived in Nigeria few weeks

ago' Jubril said with a note of doubt.

'Yes, they just met recently' Dare struggled to

say. 'They've not known each other for long'

'And you gave up my boy? Because someone

else showed up?' Jubril questioned.

'I…' Dare was trying to find words but was

rescued by the Indian dancers who had just

come on stage, their music filled the air and

the entry dance caught the crowds attention.

—

'Hey, Miss Evelyn Alex' A guy in a black suit

joined Henry and Tarasha's table, smiling. 'It's

nice to see you again' he said as he stretched

his hand to her for an handshake.

Tarasha smiled back at him. 'Good evening Mr

James, it's my pleasure to see you again'

'Wow! Who do we have here?' James turned to

Henry and smiled, offering him an handshake.

'You're a very lucky man I must say'

'He's Henry, my friend' Evelyn introduced.

'Henry, please meet Mr James'

'Nice to meet you sir' Henry smiled as he took

the handshake.

'Just a friend?' James asked, rolling his eyes.

'No, more than a friend actually' Evelyn

answered, glancing at Henry's face. 'A special

one'

'I see' James blinked and sat upright. 'Have

you seen the exhibition for Julal stakeholders

and partners?' James asked Evelyn.

'No' she answered, looking interested.

'Do you have your partner's card?'

'Yes'

'We could go there now if you wish'

'Oh!' Evelyn stared at Henry's face for some

seconds.

'Come on, you may go. I'll just wait for you'

Henry said with a smile.

'We'll be right back then' Evelyn said and got

up from the seat, she dipped her hand into

herbag and took out her purse. James took

her by the hand and motioned her in the right

direction.

Henry felt a pinch of jealousy as he watched

them leave. He took a sip from the juice on

his table and turned to face the stage,

distracting himself with the performances.

—-

'She's gotten up from her seat and it seems

she's headed outside the main hall with the

other guy' Audu said to Afo.

Afo moved closer to Audu and stared into the

screen. 'Who's that guy?'

'I've never seen him' Audu replied.

'Blade' Afo called, turning away as he spoke

into his Bluetooth device. 'The girl has left her

seat and she's heading towards…' Afo paused

and glanced at Audu.

'The hall entrance' Audu answered.

'The hall entrance' Afo spoke back into the

device. 'There's a guy with her, find out who

he is'

'This girl is up to something' Audu

commented, suddenly taking more interest.

'Imagine, she's identifying and looking straight

into all the cameras, as if she's aware that

someone is watching her'

Afo walked back quickly to the computer to

confirm what Audu was saying. 'What's she

doing there? That's the main hall security

room' Afo said, touching the screen.

++++

Benny walked into the restroom unsuspicious

of the fact that he was being followed. The

restroom for males had two toilet

compartments, two urinals and a bathroom,

making it different from the ladies' which had

four compartments for toilets, a bathroom

compartment and a dressing part.

Two other guys were in the restroom when

Benny walked in. Another man followed him

and walked straight to the faucet. Benny

entered into the toilet and closed the short

door. He began to think of how best to

disguise as a blind man. He needed a walking

stick to add more effect to his eyegla.s.s.

After some seconds, Benny felt he was alone

in the restroom. He decided to move out and

use the mirror in the main room. As he

stepped out, he saw a shadow move away

from the main entrance door. He paused to

think, staring intently at the door. He took

some more steps and he saw the shadow

move further. He was sure that the person

wasn't aware that his shadow had announced

him. Benny walked back into the toilet

compartment and pretended as if nothing had

happened. He sat on the WC after taking out

his Bluetooth earphone, he punched some

b.u.t.tons on it before attaching it to his ear.

'h.e.l.lo boss, I'm being followed by someone'

—–

Tarasha pulled out the band holding her hair

as she walked into the restroom, making it fly

freely. Luckily for her, the only woman who

was using the toilet left as she entered. She

locked the door behind after the lady left and

moved closer to the other end of the wall. She

took out a nose mask from her purse and put

it on.

She ran her hand into her hair, searching for

something. She then picked out two hair pins

carefully one after the other and placed them

on the the floor.

She put down her purse and opened it widely.

Various makeup kits and an hair brush were

the major contents of the purse. She took out

a lipstick and took off the cap. She rolled out

the lipstick bullet but instead of rubbing it on

her lips, she took one of the hairpins and

inserted a part of it into the bullet.

The lipstick bullet which looked rigid solid

before began to melt, evolving a deep blue

smoke and a pungent smell.

Her Bluetooth device beeped and she paused

to listen.

'Did you see the person's face?' She took off

her nose mask and asked in response to the

caller's first statement.

'Is the person aware that you know?' She asked

another question after getting the first reply

but a loud knock sounded on the door,

preventing her from hearing the response.

'Is the person aware that you know?' She

asked, pressing a finger against the Bluetooth

device to make the voice louder but the line

was disconnected.

Heavy knocks continued landing on the door,

Tarasha briefly looked up and returned to her

work hurriedly, she wore back the nose mask.

She removed the first hairpin and carefully

placed it on the powder box.

The knock paused as she repeated the same

process for the second hairpin with another

lipstick. She then tied the hairpins with a tiny

rubber bands each to differentiate the parts

that was inserted into the solution.

She picked the two pins and wrapped them in

a tissue paper. She rolled up her gown and

inserted the pins into an inner pocket.

The knock came again, this time more

violently. Tarasha stared at the door,

straightening up her dress. She couldnt open

the door now, she needed about thirty

seconds more for the smoke and smell to

vanish completely.

She took off the nose mask after opening the

windows, she arranged back into her purse the

contents. Then, she straightened her hair and

held it back together with the band. After that

she quickly cleaned the floor with the mop she

found by the side of the wall.

The knock was continuous but Tarasha wasn't

looking bothered, she walked into one of the

toilet compartments and pushed the flush

b.u.t.ton on the water closet, to make it sound

as if she just finished using the toilet. After

that, she motioned towards the door to open

it. The knocking seized as the person knocking

could hear footsteps approaching.

She turned the k.n.o.b and the door gave way.

She wasn't expecting who she saw at the door.