“Welcome Pastor, I’ve been expecting you. Please, sit down.” Chief said the moment t the man of God was shown into his office. “I heard you are with my daughter, maybe you’ve come to tell me about her.”  Pastor Okechukwu was shocked and momentarily taken aback. “Good afternoon, Chief,” the pastor said, sitting down. “Yes, I am with her. In fact, she is the reason why I am here.” “I know,” he replied smugly.  The pastor resisted the urge to ask him how he managed to know. “Well, you know we all make mistakes without exception,” the pastor had started. “Yes.” “Jessica, your daughter has made hers too and she is terribly sorry for letting you down. I have come to apologize on her behalf.” “I do hope you understand what you are doing, pastor, don’t you?” “I don’t understand what you mean, Chief.” “Yes, you do, pastor. Do you know I can sue you for abduction? You know what the law says. My daughter is only 15, you know that, don’t you?” “I hope you do understand what you are talking about, Chief?” The pastor asked, surprised at the insinuation.  “Listen pastor or is it doctor, or whatever you call yourself. I want my daughter back in the next two hours or I’ll come for her.” “That is not the issue, Chief.” “What is the issue?” Chief barked. “The girl is pregnant and she wants to keep the pregnancy and there is no guarantee you will let her do that.” “I hope you are not telling me how to run my own family, are you?” “No, Chief, far from that. It’s just that …” “That what? Okay, I now understand you want to impose yourself on me. Listen pastor, I want my daughter back home before 6:00 pm. Only when I see her shall we talk. Goodbye.” Straight the pastor drove over to Holy Child College. It was almost 5:00 pm by the time he got to the school. He had driven straight to the principal’s house and after a long time and efforts trying to convince her to let Jessica sit for the SSCE, which proved abortive, he left. So from the school, he’d driven over to Aja estate to see Tony, the father of Jessica’s baby. Although he met his absence, but he met his parents at home and he told them the reason for his visit. “Pastor, wait a minute, let’s get this straight,” Mr. Umeh interrupted him. “In as much as I respect you, but I don’t seem to agree to what you just said. My son is too young to be a father. For crying aloud sake, my son is only 18 years old.”  “Mr. Umeh, your son who is now too young to be a father was not too young to have sex, is that what you want to tell me? My friend, let’s face it, in fact, your son should leave school too and help nurse the baby he fathered, if you ask me.” “Pastor, I’m not going to sit here and watch you insult me in my own house. Please, leave my house now.” “Right, I will leave your house but I will come again, it’s a promise.” The pastor said and as he stood up to leave, he met Tony coming at the door. “Good evening, pastor,” he greeted the pastor, his face lighting up. “Good evening,” the pastor replied. “You must be Tony?” “Yes, Pastor.” “Good that you are here,” Tony’s mother said. “The pastor is looking for you.”  Tony’s father sighed and left the sitting room. “Looking for me, is it alright, pastor?” Tony asked worriedly. It’s not often that a man of God of that repute pays him or even anyone a visit. “It’s alright, Tony. It’s to do with Jessica Nnamani, you know her, don’t you?” “Sure, sure. What about her?” “She is pregnant and she fingered you.” “Fingered me! Oh my God. No, no that can’t be possible. It can’t be me.” “Are you denying ever sleeping with her?” “No, I …I …slept with her, but …but most of the time it…it was protected sex, how come?” “Well, she is pregnant and she has been sent out of school and under pressure from the home front. I was on my way before you showed up. I’ll keep you posted.” “Oh my God!” Tony cried. “What am I to do?” he was completely shattered and confused.
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Danny sat in a quiet corner, sipping his beer and placidly smoking. He had called Chief a couple of minutes ago to inform him that the six o’clock deadline might not be possible but he will definitely have her by midnight. As usual, Chief had expressed his disappointment and reminded him of the importance of succeeding. Danny in turn had promised not to fail. To fortify his arsenal, he had asked the boys to take turn and watch the house. To avoid overwhelm and for effective vigilance, he changes them every two hours.  He took another cursory look at his wrist watch; it was a few minutes after 11:00 pm. Just one more hour and they will strike.  He sipped more beer and took a long drag from his cigarette. He intends to hit the house by midday, threaten everyone with a gun and jerk off with the girl, very simple. He’ll position O’Brian at the gate to watch out for them and Stan, Ette Uche, Kenny and himself will go into the house and pick up the girl and scram. He got the blueprint of the pastor’s house from Big Sam, the notorious drug kingpin. Big Sam knows every house and every street in the town like the back of his hand. He had made copies of the house and distributed it among the boys. They had rehearsed their plans a thousand times over and perfected their craft. They knew the importance of the job, besides the pay was too tempting to give up. Danny sipped his beer unhurriedly, aware he was nervous and getting tipsy and ran his hand irritably across his hair as doubts flooded his mind again. What will he do if the job fails, he asked himself again and again. Where will he run to? He wondered as he inhaled deep and shook his head ruefully. What will he do with the girl if he lays his hands on her? Hand her over to Chief, kill her or run away with her? He shook his head worriedly. He was in a fix and certainly lost at the labyrinth of it all. With hooded eyes, he watched O’Brian smooching a girl and Stan dancing with a call girl. They were certainly enjoying themselves and seemed excited. He could also see Ette Uche gambling and winning while Kenny nursed a bottle of beer. They all seemed excited with no cares in the world, but he felt differently. He felt that somehow, things might not work out as planned. He sighed.