Restless – Episode 238

Restless – Episode 238

® 18+ SNVL

© Oluwatosin Emmanuel Oyinloye

Unedited

El Deols, Anthanna

12:55 AM

Foden was already dozing off in his hotel when his phone began to ring.

He got up and answered the call.

“Hey, Carl. It’s been three hours since you called. Where are you?”

“I’m waiting outside for you,” Henry replied. “Step out of the main hotel building.”

Foden took in a deep breath. He had thought Carl would meet him in the room instead. But he wasn’t surprised. He knew asking him to step outside could be one of Carl’s security strategies.

He proceeded out of the hotel room and headed down to the reception and outside the building.

“I’m outside now,” he said into the phone 150 seconds later.

“Come to the bar,” Carl instructed.

Foden turned to look around the area. There were lots of dark areas so he couldn’t see much. He knew there was a possibility of Carl having someone around to watch him.

He followed the direction towards the bar nonetheless. It took him another two minutes to locate the place.

“Where are you?” He asked as he entered the bar. There were a few people around and hip-hop music playing in the background.

“Turn to your left,” Carl replied.

Foden turned and squinted towards the left direction. He finally spotted someone at the corner who was holding a phone close to his ear.

Henry dropped the phone immediately he saw the man who stepped in turn in his direction. The lightning in the bar made it difficult for him to see the face of the person from afar, so he reached for his pistol which was placed on the table.

Foden also could not see the person’s face clearly until he got closer. A sigh of relief escaped his lips when he finally recognized Carl.

He rushed to the seat opposite Carl on the table and sat immediately.

“Carl,” he gasped. His eyes went straight to the pistol Carl held on the table.

Immediately, Carl uncocked the pistol and returned it to the holster.

“I would have loved to say I’m happy to see you again, but it’s not the bleeping time to do so,” Foden began straightaway. “Rex has gone after Sarah and Kellar.”

“You need to first explain how Sarah and Kellar are alive.”

“They never got burnt in that house. The Red Wolves wanted to weaken you with that.”

“Why?” Henry asked, shaking his head slowly in confusion. “They tried to ki*ll me after. Why then did they leave my family alive?”

“I don’t have the answer to that yet,” Foden replied.

“Then, how are you sure that they’re alive?”

“Sarah reached out to me,” Foden replied.

Carl squinted at his face. “How?”

He took out a phone and unlocked it. He went through the device for a minute before looking up.

“I got a voice mail from her seven months ago,” he placed the phone on the table and placed the voice mail.

Hey, I hope you can help me get this message to Carl. I know my husband is not dead yet. Please let him know his wife and son are alive. We’re currently being held in a remote village. The people here speak the native Husan language.

Henry’s heart began to beat fast as he listened to the voice mail. It was certainly Sarah’s voice.

“I got the voice mail two weeks after it was sent. At first, I thought it was a trap because I didn’t know how she could have gotten my number…”

“Your number was one of the emergency numbers I gave her years ago,” Henry stated.

He remembered making a list of five emergency numbers for Sarah to cram after revealing his job as a FOX agent to her. She was to call those numbers if Carl ever went missing or if she needed help and he wasn’t available. Rex’s number was also one of the five.

“She’s in South Husan?” Henry questioned.

“She was,” Foden replied. “I didn’t believe the voice mail was real until men from the Red Wolves came after me a month after it was sent. I think they discovered that she gained access to a phone and made calls. Then, they went after those she called.”

“What the f**k!” Henry squinted thoughtfully for a moment, then he remembered that Foden was the only one on the emergency number lists who was still alive. “Do you know where Sarah and Kellar are now?”

“Yes, they’re in Nigeria, in a monastery.”

“How do you know that?”

“I started tracking from the day I knew it was real. And since then, the Red Wolves have been coming after me.”

Henry let out a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his hair. “I still don’t get it. What if all these are fake? Did you see Sarah and Kellar?”

“Yes, I did,” Foden brought out his phone again. He opened his mail and locked a message he had saved in the draft. He opened the images there to show Henry. “Here are some recent pictures of both of them.”

Henry collected the device and stared at the pictures closely. The first showed Sarah and Kellar in a garden and in the two other pictures they were in a church.

“And why is Rex after them?” Henry asked.

“I can’t give a precise answer,” Foden replied. “I don’t know what the Red Wolves have on him. I tried to talk him out of it, but he was going to ki*ll me if I didn’t cooperate with him.”

“And you told him they were in Nigeria?”

“Yes, I did. But he’d have to find out which monastery she’s in,” Foden replied. “I didn’t tell him that.”

“Why the f*** did you give him so much information when you knew he was going to ki*ll them?” Henry banged his fists on the table.

“Calm down, Carl. You know Rex would have known if I tried to play him. He threatened to ki*ll me. He made sure he verified by making me show him the whole procedure I followed to get the information. I had no option but to give him the truth. I could only hide the specific Monastery and tried to reach out to you immediately.”

“You may have to show me the whole procedure too…” Henry banged his fists on the table again. He couldn’t think straight. Even though he had more information now, he still found it difficult to make any meaning out of it. It seemed like he was losing his sanity all of a sudden.

Henry was beginning to draw attention from those around them with his display of violence. Foden had to signal to a security guard that was coming toward them that everything was alright.

“We don’t have that time, Carl. Rex must have landed in Nigeria within the last hour. If we don’t get there as soon as possible, you might lose the opportunity to be with Sarah and Kellar again.”

Foden’s last statement seemed to trigger something in Henry as he quickly looked up and furrowed his brows.

“If Rex is in Nigeria already, how long does he need to locate the monasteries?”

“There are over seven monasteries in Nigeria, but only four of them are popular. Sarah and Kellar are in one of the less popular ones. Rex is going to start looking from the popular ones,” Foden analyzed thoughtfully. “Depending on how soon he begins to work, he could find the location in two to five hours.”

“How long is it going to take us to get to Nigeria from here?”

“Six hours, maybe,” Foden shrugged. “Do you have a different means for us to leave right now? If you don’t, we might have to wait until morning to catch a flight.”

“We have a way to go,” Henry answered and quickly took out his phone. “If Rex finds the location in two hours, that means we are already late.”

“I monitored his movement. He booked a flight to Abuja but Sarah and Kellar are in Lagos. He’ll still need to catch a flight to Lagos if he does find the location. That means he’ll have to wait until morning to catch a flight, except if he’s got someone working with him there.”

“Rex has someone everywhere, the same way I do,” Henry scoffed. “We need to move immediately. I have a lot of questions you still need to answer on our flight.”

Henry picked up his phone on the table and dialed a number. He spoke for a minute and then ended the call.

“Do you need to get something from your hotel room?” he asked Foden.

“I have a small bag there,” Foden answered.

“Go get it right away and meet me at the garage,” Henry said and Foden got up to leave.

Henry watched until he was out of sight until he signaled to Jennifer who was at a table in the bar, keeping an eye on them.

He got up before she got to the table. “I need you to tell the rest of the team everything I’ve said to you. Make sure they’re all together when you deliver the message. I’ll be going to Nigeria right away and I’ll find a way to reach you when I get there.”

____

01: 45 AM

Husan, South Husan

“I think they’re here,” Maxwell said aloud to Samantha who was fast asleep on the driver’s side of the car. He had seen the car approaching from the side mirror and turned back to confirm.

He turned to Samantha and gently nudged her to wake her up. “They’re here,” he repeated.

Samantha stretched and yawned. “What did you say?”

“Dave and Paul Edwards, they’re here,” he repeated for the third time.

“Oh!” Samantha turned back just to see the car leveling up with them.

“Hey!” Dave hailed as he stopped right beside them. “I thought we were going to be trying to identify the building all night. What’s so important that we all have to come together?”

“Jennifer has a message from the boss,” Maxwell replied. “We gotta listen together.”

“What’s it about?” Dave asked.

“I don’t know,” Maxwell answered and stepped out of the car. The others followed suit.

He sat on top of the bonnet and others gathered around him. They were in the middle of an open parking space. Maxwell dialed Jennifer’s number and put the phone on loudspeakers.

“Max,” Jennifer’s voice sounded out loud.

“Hey, Jenny. We’re all here now. What does the boss have for us?”

“Henry is on his way to Nigeria.”

“Nigeria?” They all echoed in unison, exchanging glances amongst themselves.

“Yes, he’s just confirmed that his wife and child are alive and he’s gone to get them.”

There was silence from the gathered four. The announcement took them by surprise as Henry had expected.

“What are you talking about?” Paul put in. “Sarah and Kellar died in the fire a year ago.”

“They did not die, they’re in Nigeria and the boss has confirmed it. Rex is on his way to execute them and Henry must get there early to stop him.”

“Are you sure about this?” Paul asked again. “What if it is some sort of trap by the Red Wolves for Henry?”

“I don’t think it’s a trap. I listened to Henry’s conversation with Foden and I think this is real. His wife and son are alive.”

“Who is Foden?” Paul continued to ask the questions while the other three just stared at one another, dumbfounded.

They realized at that point that their mission from the start had been faulty. Henry had always been out to avenge his wife and child’s death by stopping the Red Wolves. But they never imagined that both could still be alive.

“An old friend of Carl and Rex. He mentioned that Foden worked with them for several years,” Jennifer explained who Foden was.

Paul heaved a sigh. “And what was his instruction to us?”

“We continue forging ahead. The plan remains the same. Find the building the explosion would be launched from and stop it. He’s gonna connect to me once he lands in Nigeria. That’s all.”

“Thank you, Jennifer,” Paul replied and the line soon went off without the other three saying anything else.

“Guys, we have to continue our job regardless of what’s happening with Henry. No slowing down.”

“Why do I think there’s something wrong somewhere?” Samantha questioned thoughtfully.

“Jennifer says Henry is certain that his wife and child are alive. If Henry is certain, we just have to continue while he goes for his family. We’re soldiers here, personal matters don’t stop the group’s goal.”

“The group’s goal has always been personal here,” Dave looked at Paul. “So personal matters may just interfere.”

“Come on, guys. Are we really debating this?” Henry gasped.

“Come to think of it, haven’t we stopped the explosion yet?” Maxwell opined and they all turned to him. “Dexter Joe is in the FOX’s custody. That stops the explosion, doesn’t it? Because the truth is we may never find the building we’re out for. It’s complicated here.”

“Maybe,” Paul put in. “It might have stopped the explosion for now. But it doesn’t stop Hutton Ryker from launching a different attack technique to achieve the same goal. We need to find Hutton Ryker and paralyze all his plans. That should be the end goal.”

“I think you’re right there,” Dave agreed with Paul. “We should move ahead.”

“Guys,” Samantha called their attention. “I think we might just be watching Henry make a costly mistake. This news of his wife and child seems so suspicious. If they’re alive, why are we just finding out now?”

“I don’t think we need to ask ourselves such questions at this time. Henry has confirmed that they’re alive. I think we should trust his judgment as we’ve always done,” Maxwell put in and then faced Samantha. “I think the reason you feel that way is because you’ve always had a thing for Henry. Sometimes, you look like you wanna f*** him so bad like a slu*t when you look at him.”

“Watch your tongue, you fo*ol,” Samantha flared up and grabbed Maxwell by the neck violently. His head hit the front glass of the car with the force she used on him. She also had her gun kissing his neck.

“Hey! Calm down, Sam,” Dave quickly rushed closer to separate them. He avoided touching Samantha and only pleaded with the look in his eyes, so as not to cause an accidental pull of the trigger.

Samantha released his neck and stepped back after a few seconds. She returned the gun into the holster.

“What the f***, Sam!” Maxwell cursed as she stepped down from the bonnet, holding his neck. “I was just a f***ing joke.”

Before anyone else could say anything, Dave struck Maxwell’s face with a heavy punch which caused him to collide against the car side mirror.

“That wasn’t a joke, you insulted her,” Dave slammed.

Paul had a smile on his face, which suggested he enjoyed the punch. “I think he had that coming. I’ve always wanted to punch his face too.”

Dave turned to Samantha. “We can’t do anything at this time but trust Henry. There are bigger things at stake. We gotta locate the building and possibly nab Hutton Ryker once and for all.”

Samantha nodded in understanding.

“Let’s go,” Dave said to Paul.

“No, I’ll go with Paul,” Samantha proceeded towards the car before Dave. She stopped at the driver’s side of the car and turned. “If I stay with him. I’m gonna ki*ll him before dawn,” she added, referring to Maxwell.

“Okay,” Dave agreed and turned to the other car. He nod to signal to Maxwell who was still rubbing his lips from the impact of the punch.

_______

Abuja, Nigeria

06:20 AM

“Can I start the trip now?” the cab driver asked as Rex settled at the back.

“Yes, please,” Rex replied in a gentle voice.

He was dressed in his black suit, with a white shirt underneath. He took out his phone and unlocked it to check his destination again.

Our Lady of Mount Zion Monastery, Lagos

Rex was not familiar with Lagos in Nigeria but he was certain that he would find his way easily. His mind was completely focused on his mission.

_____

07:30 AM

The FOX Corporation,

Bexford, Bethanna

“Good morning, Steve. What’s the update?” Agent Mark greeted as he walked into Steve’s office.

“Morning, sir,” Steve jumped up from his sleep quickly to salute the man. “Yet to find anything.”

Agent Mark heaved a sigh of frustration. “So, the Vice President’s call didn’t stay long enough for the specific location of the receiver to be identified.”

“Yes, sir. The call only lasted forty-eight seconds, leading us to a dead end. We’ve lots of similar buildings to the details we’ve got from the source.”

“Okay, you should go freshen up at home,” Mark advised before turning to leave the office.

 

07:45 AM

“Good morning, sir,” Maria greeted after finally sneaking into the empty office to meet Michael.

“Hey, what the f*** is happening?” Michael asked impatiently.

“There’s nothing new, I’m about to leave the office.”

“When are you returning? I hope we wouldn’t have missed so much when you get back.”

“I’m not certain we would have missed unless they find the specific location before I return. Many of the IT agents are still checking and comparing footages.”

“If there’s anything new, make sure I know immediately.”

Maria nodded in response. “I will. If there’s anything specific that you want me to check, make sure you let me know too.”

___

“Good morning, sir!”

Agent Mark received salutations from different corners as he navigated through the forensic department. However, he was interested in none of it but was only focused on where he was going.

“Good morning,” he finally replied a greeting after getting to the Agent he came for. “Do we have any result yet?”

“Yes, we do,” the agent replied and brought out a piece of paper. “We didn’t find anything relevant on the suspect’s body, except for his hand. We found traces of that,” He said, referring to what was written on the piece of paper.

Agent Mark squinted at the name of the substance for a moment. His mind traveled far, trying to remember all the qualities of the substance. His eyes widened in shock as he finally got it.

“Doesn’t this mean that his fingerprints could have been cloned already?” Mark questioned the man.

“Yes, it does,” the agent replied.

“Damn,” Mark turned and proceeded out of the department. He needed to reach Carl immediately. If Dexter Joe’s fingerprints had been gotten, it meant that the Red Wolves’ explosion plan was still intact.

____

Husan, South Husan

Hutton had his phone close to his ear as he walked through the passage of the house.

“There’s nothing to worry about. We have all the fingerprints and they’re never going to be able to detect the main building until we launch the explosions. Then, it will be too late to stop us. Thank you. Let me know if there’s any other thing.”

Hutton put the phone into his pocket as he walked into the room where Kahn was being treated. Kahn was awake.

“Good morning, Kahn,” Hutton greeted as he got in. He signaled quickly to the nurse to excuse them.

“Good morning Hutton, I’m feeling better this morning.”

“Good to know,” Hutton smiled slightly. “We didn’t get to talk much yesterday.”

“Yea, how’s the plan coming through?”

“Everything is perfect,” Hutton replied. “We’re hitting the two locations, the presidential Villa and where Carl has taken the man to. If there’s any need, we might hit more than two locations today.”

“And the Rex’s distraction plan? I hope I haven’t spoilt that by using it too early.”

“No, you didn’t. It was the right timing and I wasn’t surprised that you used it to get out of trouble. You did the right thing,” Hutton replied. “We’ve got Carl Winston distracted already. I’m sure he’s on his way to Nigeria. He’s probably gonna get killed there. Even if he survives in Nigeria, he can’t stop our plan.”

 

To be continued

We’re already at Episode 11 with The Retribution, join the train now