Restless – Episode 69

Restless – Episode 69

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© Oyinloye Oluwatosin Emmanuel

For the rest of the team apart from the doctor, Henry’s revelation had very little impact on them as they never met Rex personally or had any kind of relationship with him.

“Rex… is alive?” the doctor stammered as he stared intently at Henry’s face. Tears were already forming in his eyes and his body trembling unexplainably. He seemed to be so overwhelmed by the thought of seeing Rex again

“Yes,” Henry answered firmly. “Rex is alive, he’s somewhere close where nobody knows and I have to find out where he is. I need to know why he’s been so quiet and inactive.”

“Please, I’m staying with you.” the Doctor said in a pleading tone. “Let’s find him together.”

Henry’s eyes met his and he could see the passion in the man’s eyes. He looked at the other men’s faces and as expected, their reaction was totally different but calm and thoughtful.

Henry landed his gaze on Dave’s face and made it linger a while, making Dave assume he was expected to say something.

“I think the Doctor should stay with you here, the rest of us can continue until you return.” Dave voiced out, he glanced at the other team member’s faces, hoping he had said what was in their minds.

“You guys would return to Bexford tomorrow while I’ll visit Dominic again with the Doctor,” Henry finally said. “All I need is to always get feedbacks from you?”

“How long is your enquiry gonna take boss?” Cole asked.

“Few days, it has to be done moderately not to disturb the mission at hand. I’ll return to Bexford if I don’t get it done in less than three days.”

“I think we shouldn’t hurry this,” Samantha put in. “You should not return immediately if you’re yet to find your friend Rex, you should wait to find him no matter how long it takes.”

She was quiet for some seconds but everyone still had their eyes on her and it seemed they were expecting her to give a reason for her suggestion.

“Ermm… You see, Rex is your friend whose murder was also attempted and family killed, I believe. I think this mission concerns him as much as it does to you. What if he’s already taking steps which you don’t know and what happens we clash with him along the line?”

“It’ll be disastrous,” Henry answered her question, even after knowing it was rhetorical. “That’s why it’s important I take out these three days to find him.”

“Then you should just make sure you find him, even if it takes more than the stipulated duration, we would join you if the need arises,” Dave suggested.

“I do not think it would be difficult to find him because he obviously wants me to find him,” Henry replied. “That’s the only reason he could have changed the agreement, he knew I would be coming for the money if I was alive.”

After speaking, Henry got up from his seat and walked slowly to the window. He pulled the curtain aside and took in a deep breath as he caught a view of the compound. He watched for a while as two rodents struggling for something with each other fought for seconds before one of them was able to take the piece of substance they were fighting for in it’s mouth, it then ran into the bush as the other one scampered after.

Henry closed back the curtains and turned to them.

“When are you guys leaving for Bexford, tomorrow or next?” He asked as he walked back to his seat.

“I just checked the flight records for tomorrow, there seems to be spaces still available for Bexford.” Cole answered.

“You can’t go by flight if you want to leave tomorrow,” Henry stared at him.

“We still have Vincent Shawn and Antonio Carlos with us,” Samantha reminded him.

“Oh!” Cole exclaimed. He had totally forgotten about them since he hadn’t been home all day. “So, what do we do to those guys?”

“Do you think we have enough information from your visit to Benuit today?” Henry asked and moved his gaze from Dave to Cole interchangeable. “If you do have enough information, we can dispose them off but they have to remain with us if we don’t have enough information yet.”

“We still need to have them here,” Dave put in. “We have to connect the details we have with us and come up with reasonable conclusions before doing away with them.”

“So, that means you can’t leave very early tomorrow.” Henry turned to Cole.

“May be we shouldn’t just rush off to Bexford,” Cole said in a suggestive tone. “We can stay here to connect some of the details that can be done here.”

“And, boss,” Dave called in a thoughtful tone. He had Henry’s eyes and every other person looking at him. “What do we do with the FOX officials? I’m sure they would be trying to trace us now.”

“Good question,” Henry said as he walked back to where he was previously sitting. “Well, no matter what happens, those guys should not be touched. They’re only doing their jobs.”

“So, we should only keep covering our tracks from them?” Dave asked.

Henry nodded slowly in response.

“But since we know them, why don’t we get closer and find out what details they have that we don’t?” Dave suggested.

“That is dangerous and really not necessary for now,” Henry warned. “That FOX team is made up of intelligent officers, trying to get something from them would only mean revealing ourselves to them.”

“Yes, they’re not just very intelligent but also swift to action.” Cole inputed what he had noticed. “It was so close today, they could have caught us impersonating them.”

“We never had an idea they would visit that place so soon or even today, we could have been faster with our operation.” Dave put in.

“That’s why I said they’re swift,” Cole said. “I really do think it’ll be difficult for us to keep clearing our records, if they persist, they’d surely create a link to us soon.”

“It’s good the two of you have noticed that the FOX agents are competent,” Henry joined in. “And you’re right,” he turned to Cole. “We may not be able to clear our records completely, but we only have to make sure we always discover immediately a link is created to us.”

“Sure boss,” Cole responded.

“It’s late now, let’s go to bed.” Henry said, rising up to his feet. “I would be leaving early with the Doctor tomorrow morning,” he stepped back towards the entrance of the inner rooms and stopped to look at each one of them. “Do have a pleasant night rest.”

____

March 30, 2019
08:36AM

The FOX Corporation Headquarters,
EPA Hill, Bexford.

“You’ve got to check your team, one of them must be part of the impersonators or must have given out information to the impersonators.” Paul Edwards said harshly.

Steve and Evelyn were standing behind the visitor’s seats in his office, dressed in their usual black suits.

“Sir, only the two of us knew of about the visit.” Steve replied him. “It wasn’t even preplanned, we decided to make the visit immediately after getting his family’s residential address in our investigation room and no one was there with us.”

“So, how come the impersonators knew your names and your plan to visit?” Paul questioned.

“No one knew about our plan to visit, they didn’t have to know to have visited.”

Paul squinted. “But they mentioned your names.”

“They mentioned Steve and Daniel, not Steve and Evelyn sir. Daniel travelled yesterday even before our plan to visit Benuit, he’s in Vincil with Lydia.” Steve replied.

“Oh!” Paul raised a brow and let it drop slowly. “They mentioned Steve and Daniel… So what do you think?”

“Someone else in the FOX is working for the Red Wolves just like Elkim Nuel was,” Steve stated plainly.

“It hasn’t been proved that Elkim Nuel was working with the Wolves, that he was killed by the same man doesn’t mean he was.”

“I’m sure we would have enough substance to prove that soon,” Steve said. “We’re also visiting some family members of the late Agent today for questioning.”

“That’s okay, but remember I warned you not to harass anyone.”

“We would not do any such thing.”

“Good, so I await your proof.” Paul said and then rested his back in the chair.

“There’s one more thing we need sir,” Steve said. Paul stared at his face and gestured for him to proceed with his request. “We need to access the directory of all of FOX officials, including the executives.”

“Why?” Paul frowned.

“From the citizen’s directory, we’ve tried to match the CCTV image of the killer but the highest we got is not up to fifty percent match. So, I think it would be wise to check the directory of all FOX officials and match the features with the images.”

Still resting in his swivel, Paul placed his elbow on one of the armrests and placed his chin on his palm. “I would give you access into the officials directory when you are ready,” he finally said after thinking for few seconds.

“We also need access to the executives directory,” Steve reminded him.

“You really sound so sure you need this,” Paul squinted at him.

“Yes,” Steve affirmed. “From yesterday’s experience, it’s obvious the impersonators had inside information.”

“You said earlier that your visit to Benuit wasn’t preplanned and you didn’t tell anyone, what other inside information could the impersonators have had?”

“They knew us sir, they knew I and Daniel’s names, they probably know the whole of the team and since they know we are the ones in charge of the case, it would not be difficult to predict our steps and the we were coming to visit.” Steve explained.

“You’re right,” Paul agreed as he leaned forward. “I would grant you access.”

___

11:23AM

Carter’s Chamber.
Osmos Estate, Bethanna.

“Here’s the file,” Dominic finally pulled out a file three minutes after searching through the cabinet. He walked back to the table and placed the file on it before he sat on the swivel. Henry and Doctor Alan were sitting at the other side of the table.

They watched silently while the lawyer searched through the file for the information he needed. He picked a piece of paper and scribbled in some words with his pen for a minute.

“Here’s the address and his current telephone number,” Dominic said as he handed the paper to Henry.

Henry collected it and scanned through with his eyes. “This is in Kala,” he said as he stared up at the lawyer’s face.

“Yes Kala,” the lawyer replied. “I don’t think it would be difficult locating the address.”

“Kala is very close to Nevi,” Doctor Alan put in.

Henry glanced at him with a nod and then turned back to the lawyer. “Thanks for this, it shouldn’t be difficult.”

“You’re welcome sir,” Dominic replied.

“And please, do not forget that you should not let anyone else know I have visited you. Please keep it secret for now,” Henry said.

“Sure sir, no one has to know.”

They got into the car five minutes after, the doctor seated at the passenger’s seat in front.

“How well do you know Kala?” Henry asked the doctor as he took out his device and unlocked it. He typed in the address written on the piece of paper into the box in the map.

“Just a little, it’s a more civilized town compared to Nevi.” Doctor Alan replied. “I only used to go there to get supplies. It’s a big place, but not as big as Bexford or Vincil.”

“Sure,” Henry said, looking into his device. “It’s about ninety kilometres away from here, we have to go from here.”

“You got the routes from google map?”

“Yea.”

“And are you sure, you’ve got the fastest route?” he asked as he stretched forth his hand to take the device.

“Yes, it would take us approximately four hours to get there from here including traffic and stoppage time.”

Doctor Alan squinted at the screen for a while before he handed the device back to Henry who locked it and tossed it to the backseat.

Henry put on his seatbelt and the Doctor did the same.

“We’d take a stop at the nearest eatery and move on from there,” Henry finally said before starting the car engine.

___

17 : 45 PM

El Deols, Anthanna

“Good evening Adrian,” Sheila said as she settled into the passenger’s side of the car. Her short sleeved gown blue gown which stopped below her knees while standing rolled up as she sat, she managed to pull it a bit and then placed her handbag on her knees.

“Welcome Princess,” Adrian replied with a bright smile, feasting his eyes on her.

She put on her seatbelt and turned to him.

She smiled and looked away shyly on catching his eyes on her.

“You look indeed as beautiful as ever today,” Adrian complimented. “It seems your beauty grows everyday.”

Sheila smiled brightly. “Come on Adrian, you’re here again flattering me.”

“I’m saying the plain truth my dear, I swear, you’re so beautiful.” Adrian said with a smiling serious face.

“Thanks,” Sheila smiled.

“You’re welcome,” He smiled chiefly and nodded. “So where do we go this evening?”

“Anywhere you want to take me,” Sheila replied.

“No, please tell me where you want and I’ll gladly oblige.”

She shrugged. “I don’t have anywhere in mind, I’ll be okay with any place of your choice.”

“Okay,” Adrian let out a breath and closed his eyes briefly to think. “What of Googs Palace?” he asked with a bright smile.

“Nice place, it’s okay by me.” Sheila agreed.

She fastened her seatbelt as Adrian kicked on the car engine.

18: 59PM

Googs Palace Restaurant.

The waiter carefully arranged the plates of food in front of the guests and placed the cutleries by the side. Another waiter carrying bottles of water and glass cups placed the items beside the plates and they left at the same time.

“This smells nice,” Adrian closed his eyes briefly as he inhaled and exhaled with a playful look on his face.

Sheila giggled at his expression. She opened her plates first and picked the cutleries before him.

They soon began to eat silently except for the occasional giggles made by Sheila whenever he made funny faces at her. Before they finished their meal, Adrian picked a piece of meat from his plate and stretched it close to her mouth.

She squinted at him first and then raised a brow when he made a funny look, she laughed briefly and then parted her lips to allow the meat get in.

“Praise God!” Adrian said, heaving a loud sigh of relief as he turned his face up to express his thanks to the heavenly up above.

“Haha! What’s that?” She asked with an amused look on her face.

“I never knew you would allow me put that into your mouth,” he replied.

She chuckled. “Why shouldn’t I?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know, I just thought you wouldn’t.”

“But I did, it’s no big deal.”

“I see.”

They continued eating and both finished the meal in the next two minutes.

“It’s a nice meal like I predicted,” Adrian said smiling.

“Sure, I don’t expect a bad meal here. Googs Palace is known for high professionalism and taste.”

“Yeah, you’re right.” Adrian smiled and then rested his back. “So, what do you plan to do at home this night?”

She raised her shoulders up and raised her brows. She dropped the shoulders before answering, “Take a shower and lay in bed of course.”

He smiled. “You don’t watch movies or listen to music?”

“Of course, I do,” she replied. “But it can be done in my bed.”

“You’re right,” he folded his arms across his chest. “But you know the Googs Palace is a big place, we can take a stroll round the garden, the water side and even the game house.”

“Oh! That would be nice but not today, I didn’t plan to get home late.” She replied.

“Come on Sheila, I’m dropping you at home, you’re not going to be driving.”

“I know, but I still don’t want to stay so long, I didn’t plan to.”

“It’s okay then,” he heaved a sigh and then leaned forward, looking unhappy. “You’ve not really been free with me for a couple of days now.”

She frowned. “Not been free, why would you say such?”

“From the way you respond to me when I call you and how you bluntly refuse whenever I want to take you out,” Adrian answered.

“But I’m out here with you now,” she said. He sighed. “Listen Adrian, I explained my work to you and you know I’ve got a couple of projects I’m handling at the moment.”

“Yes, but even if you aren’t chanced to go out with me, you should respond more nicely.”

“I’m sorry if I respond harshly,” she apologized. “But sometimes, the calls get too much for a day and it often gets into my work, we’re not dating yet, so we should be talking that much like you call me.”

“Oh! Sorry about that,” Adrian breathed out briefly through his mouth and he rested his back, taken a bit aback by her reply.

“I don’t mean to hurt your feelings Adrian,” she continued in a pity tone. “I like you but my heart is not just with you, I explained via chat with you.”

“Yes, you did.” He leaned forward again. “So who’s your heart with?” He questioned in low tones and with raised eyebrows. “Your former bouncer?”

“I’m not referring to anyone here, I’m talking about us.” She replied. “I don’t have the same feelings towards you and I don’t want to get into something that won’t work.”

“Listen Sheila,” he said calmly and reached for her hands. He held her palms in his and squeezed then very gently. “This can work, we can make it work. You can develop the feelings for me, all you need is just give me a chance and you’d see the feelings build up for me.”

At that moment the waiter came with the bill and a tray to get the used plates. He released her hands to take the bill but she took it from the waiter’s hand before him.

“How much it is?” He asked her, watching as she stared at it.

“Just a few Anthanna dollars,” she said as she picked her bag beside her on the ground and placed it on her laps.

“Can I see it?” He requested.

“No need to, I’m footing it.” She replied.

“No, I won’t let you do that.” He argued.

“I’m doing it without your permission,” she responded with a smile.

The waiter left with the plates and left the bottles of water and cup as requested by them. She was asked by Sheila to return for the money.

“Come on, why do you have to do it?” He questioned.

She smiled at him again. “Because I should do it Adrian. You do it always, so it hurts no one if I do it this once.”

Adrian felt a bit awkward as the waiter returned and got the money from Sheila.

“Thank you Sheila, that was kind of you.”

“You don’t need to mention Adrian,” she replied and dropped her bag on the ground. “So, what were we saying?*

“We were talking about you Sheila and why you have refused to give me a chance,” Adrian answered.

She smiled lightly. “I’ve not refused to do anything, I don’t even know how to, so how do I refuse?”

He leaned forward and reached for her hands again. “Sheila, if you’d give me a chance and get closer, even if we start as just close friends. You’d get to develop the same feelings for me.”

“Well, I don’t really agree but I think it’s okay to just remain friends for now.”

“Wow wow wow!” A broad masculine voice interrupted them from behind.

Sheila turned to see who it was. It was Stan, one of Tom’s friends.

“Your new boyfriend is so broke that he cannot even pay the bills,” Stan mocked as he drew out the third seat at the table and sat down with his cup of milk.

“What are you doing here Stan and what’s the meaning of this?” Sheila asked him angrily.

“I’m here with my real dudes,” he replied and looked towards a table where three other guys were sitting far at the other corner of the hall. All of them were also looking towards them and smiling. “Been watching you since and I decided to say Hi.”

“Well, you should know you’re not appreciated at all.” Sheila said angrily. “So get the bleep away from here now.”

He smiled again mockingly and picked the cup he dropped on the table. “I’ll leave you here with your broke a$$ bleeping boyfriend.”

Sheila rose angrily with him at the same time with him and landed a heavy punch on his face. He crashed into the seat and then fell to the floor heavily.

Adrian got up immediately immediately, staring at Sheila and shocked that she could be violent.

Even Sheila was shocked at herself and stared at her clenched fists, wondering how she was able .take him down with a single punch.

“Let’s get out of here,” she said to Adrian feeling so embarrassed because almost everyone in the hall was now staring at them.

She picked her bag and rushed out of the place, Adrian picked his car keys and followed after her immediately.

Stan’s friends gathered around him, amazed with their mouth agape as they watched their friend rolling on the floor.

To be continued.

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