The Deathlike Mission - Episode 23

 

Jide jerked out of his subconscious at feel of cold water splashed over his face repeatedly. He coughed and opened his eyes at the same time choking at the droplets that found its way into his throat. He looked around him with weak eyes, the place wasn't familiar and the people around him appeared in twos.

"Oh Jide, I'm really sorry I had to make you wake up that way. You have been knocked out for too many hours and I feared your girlfriend would come meet you in a sorry sleepy state." He heard Paul's voice taunting him, but he couldn't make out why yet . Trying to take in his surrounding as quickly as possible he discovered he was seated on a chair made of iron, with his hands held together behind. He made to stand up but noticed he couldn't, his entire body was wrapped in chains to the same chair with his hands tied behind him.

"Damn!" He exclaimed in a soft firm voice after a moment as the reality of his situation dawned on him. He then tried to reflect back to the series of happenings that led him there. After he got into the location Zuri had directed him to, a big building,  he saw Paul seated where Zuri should have sat. Before he could make of it four men surrounded him. Then he knew he had been set up and had to fight his way out if he must live

All episodes of this story can be found here >> https://www.ebonystory.com/story/the-deathlike-mission-pt-1

. He fought bravely, too bravely to Paul's consternation, the number of men against him notwithstanding. It was there that Paul realized as he watched Jide fight that he was that mask man who tried to stop his attack at Kari house. Instantly he signaled two more men to join in the fight. With six against him, they managed to hold him down while Paul injected him with a tranquilizer that weakened him immediately. Before he passed out completely, he remembered being bounded and dragged outside the building into the trunk of a car like a captive but did not know where they had driven to. Up till now, he was still held in Paul's custody. What was he going to do to him he wondered.

"I can see you got your memory back." Paul said getting away from him to sit on a chair across.

"Where are we?" He asked weakly noticing the strangeness of the room they were in, clearly it wasn't where he had met them earlier. This one seemed like a mini-hall, a part of a big building with windows high up, appearing as though it was made for the purpose of housing hostages. The place was old and empty, void of any properties apart from the chair he as tied on, another empty beside him, a table in front of Paul where different ammunitions were displayed and a chair Paul made use of.

"Far far away, no point telling you because you would never get out of here alive."

Jide's guts tightened at Paul's words. He did another scan turning his eyes about weakly, he could see four of the men who had fought him standing at several locations with rifles in their hands. Getting away would be difficult even with a weapon, besides he was still very weak. He wondered what Paul injected into him. He made to move but the chains proved unshakable. He was in a very big mess, how come he didn't see this coming? how would he get out of here, it was almost evening and Kari would be worried."

"Don't be so confident my friend, I have my ways. I would definitely get out of here with my life intact, I promise you." He decided to sound brave even though he was defeated inside.

Paul chuckled. "With you tied up in that chair like a goat and my men watching your every squeak and turn in this building miles and miles away from home, I don't see that happening. So if I were you, I would just keep calm and make my death easy."

One of his nerves broke. "You are such a heartless criminal,"

"That to me is a popular creed of pity. You know you guys succeeded in saving Laura, smuggling her out of the city. But that's how far your victory over me goes. When I am done making a mince meat of you and kari, it's going to be her turn next."

"Oh I see, you admit to me that it was really you. You over-estimate yourself. It's quite unfortunate the girls trusted you this much."

"Too bad for them I think, but you know it would have remained that way had you not showed up and ruined everything. That is where my anger lies with you. You can only imagine the joy I felt when I discovered you had played into my hands through Zuri."

"So you decided to set me up using him huh, that was smart, I give it you."

"You should have known better than to venture into my business and into the life of my woman." he said coldly.

"You never stood a chance with Kari, not ever. She could smell your stench ten thousand miles away," Jide blurted jealously.

"You think so?"

"It's evident isn't it? Though you tried to conceal it, but I saw it right from the first day we met. Now where is Zuri?"

"Dead." He replied, a smile playing on his lips. "I killed him as soon as I discovered how much you have fooled him. His stupidity would have cost us too much, I couldn't bear that and neither could my father."

"Your father?"

"Yes my father."

"I see, crime runs through your bloodline."

Paul gave a shriek laugh picking a dagger from the scattered weapons on the table in front of him.

"What do you stand to achieve by doing this?" Jide continued, ignoring his amusement.

"Nothing much, just getting the files from Kari to ensure it doesn't get to the authorities and killing you both so there will be silence and for daring me." he replied without concern as he sharpened the dagger slowly with a file.

"You dare not get her to come here." Jide warned.

"Alas!" Paul exclaimed feigning sadness. "She is already in the building as we speak, since the last two hours at least. I was only waiting for you to come around so that it will be a grand reunion." he burst into a fit of laughter again and this time, two of his men joined him.

"Oh no!"

"Yes. What were you thinking? That I would kill you alone? Definitely not. I used you as the bait to get her instead. She evidently couldn't stand you getting harmed. You see, I do my calculations well. Bring in the girl." he said to one of the men standing by the door.

"You will not harm her," Jide said through clenched teeth, shaking in his chair at the same time.

"Believe me, I hate to do that but I really have to."

In a split second Kari was brought in, her hands tied behind her like an animal to be slaughtered and her mouth cover with tape. She was forced to sit down on the empty chair by Jide and was going to be tied to it too.

"No!" Jide screamed seeing his woman being manhandled. "Paul you can't do this to her."

"Hello Kari," Paul greeted her with a grin, ignoring Jide's exclamation totally. "At least I kept my word. Your man isn't dead, yet."

Kari just stared at him blankly as she was being tied to the chair. Since she came to realization of Paul's cruelty, they haven't seen each other face-to-face. To her everything thing about him to his facial features had changed. The Paul she was friends with was completely different from the one staring at her now. Jide on his part kept shaking himself in a bid to be free.

"Remove the tape, she might want to say something." He ordered the man as he finished tying her up. He quickly obeyed and did it so rashly that Kari coughed rapidly when the tape was out.

"Are you alright? Jide asked her seeing her distress. She only managed to nod. "Listen," He continued facing Paul. "We can talk about this, me and you as men, please let her go." He begged seeing the severity of the situation, he couldn't bear to see Kari hurt.

"Like I said, I can't. For all the stress she put me through, the rejection, making me kill my right hand man Malik, Nothing would give me more pleasure than killing her right in your presence."

At that, he threw the dagger with all his might straight at Kari. Jide screamed with all his might, and Kari closed her eyes for she saw death coming at her and she did not want to see it happen, she didn't even want to feel the pain of the metal piercing her. All she wanted at that time was to pass away as quickly as possible.