*
That was a silent afternoon. The sun was still some moment from the horizon. It was beaten the earth with greatest harshness ever known. It was so severe and hot from the outside world. The house was noiseless, the garden was teeming with clean vegetables and the pool was filled with water. The whole house was a paradise of sort, from internal to the external. The whole place seemed so cold and the securities were much at alert in honor of the pledge to be at alert. Mrs. Zack had been driven to a moody silence as a result of Mr. Ribadau’s not at home. Her children had been busy with many things and kept her alert with calls and short visits. She was alone in her room at the upper chamber off the magnificent building, the third on the line after the Hall Of Tribute.
 An electric fan was buzzing straight into her face and up in the other end of the same room was the air condition humming incessantly. She looked amazingly beautiful with her brilliant hair, eyes and ivory hair. The next knock brought Mosi in. Then Uka. She felt full pride as she looked at the two. Her two children she would be proud of any day.
          They were by virtue of necessity her children. There was no room in her mind to exhibit pride now. She had acknowledged all failures and wished to make amends. She felt nothing, but a desire to humble herself and plead for her mistakes.
          “I am glad you both are here. At least we can accomplish something good. Mr. Ribadau is not presently anywhere in the country. He traveled with the president to Somalia or so, I do not know exactly. Since the last threatening call they made to him, I have never shown any interest in his ways again. He never cared intimating me either. It was what I needed from him now. He is worried and stressed up. He asked me to limit your meeting me here, which you know is impossible. Now we are like a family in the old times and I wished it so. We have our secrets just as she has and on these we must stand. You all know as well as I do, that I had never wished to marry him, honestly, but still I am not a looser. For now I am proud of one thing, Uka stood in the greatest ladder now to say what happens in the next election. It is to me the greatest thing, an achievement I am so happy about. These could not have been possible , if I had been alone. You all know that the death of your father was the greatest sadness and distress to me, to my soul and spirit. To topple the whole issue, you all left. I felt so lonely, I also felt I should fulfill my vow as the only condition for his sending three of you to Britain for your studies. I abandoned hope and prepared to die. The process and situation proved altogether unpleasant. So let us all talk like reasonable people now and see that many things are kept in their place in a short time. I want to play this game well. Soon others would join us. We can bring our heads together and reason out something and make amends. We must try and bury the old enmities and quarrels. If we carry them along, it will affect us badly.”
          Silence followed. Uka had accepted the family fortune as a fact of life, but he had not been too careful as he flanked around with his fathers greatest enemies. More so, he had been made the lord of FEC – the greatest empire that emerged since the last election that brought Mr. President into the office. Just like his father, he was too trusty and took others the way he took himself, believing people by their words and never wanting to make any suspicion. That was the only way he took to him, the only thing he inherited from him. Mr. Zack’s problems while he was alive had been compounded by his penchant for keeping quite and not throwing dart, when he first came into contact with Mr. Ribadau.
          The other side of it was his quest for money. Money had ruled him and his mother. The State Reserved Area (SRA) was pretty comfortable place different from the former. That was all they need to begin. Then a fat paycheck and cars to his credit. On the other side of it was other buildings, expensively furnished and decorated for the queuing visitors of exceptional class. The buildings were admirably suited to each other. The next apartment next to the sitting room was a billiard room, with a collection of sporting and political trophies and political library. Upstairs and bedroom were large and airy, with modern comfort.
          Everything the house contained was of the best and high quality, with serving maids and bimbos who does not have manners, maidservants and securities swarming round like shit tasting bees (molested bees). They earned more than any regional civil servants, because they were either cousin or uncle to the families in the government house.