“What happened? Are they tired of fetching the free water?” He mumbled and took his seat. Soon, Barry and the driver were set to leave. Oliver, who heard the sound of the car, opened the gate for him and they drove off. He waved at them before he locked the gate. Meanwhile, he was able to observe that the tap was locked, and the water seekers were not in sight.
“Nice boy,” Barry commended. “Did you notice it?” The driver asked.
“Yes. He is quite different from the rest.”
“You are right.”
Afterward, Oliver returned to the gate house and soon, he was served his breakfast by Joe and Regan, who were tired of watching the television and were eager to assist in the kitchen.
“Where are your colleagues, Oliver?” Regan inquired. Then, Oliver, who felt inferior, smiled softly and responded, “They are yet to resume.”
“I see.” They chatted with him for a while before they left.
“All right, Oliver, we will leave you to have your breakfast. You can take the plates to the kitchen when you are through.”
“It is okay. Thank you,” he appreciated, just as he had learned. He was surprised that they did not punctuate their instructions with 'thank you'. After the meal, he walked to Emma's compound to drop the plates.
“Thank you, Oliver.” Lillian and Cynthia, who were washing the plates, appreciated after they collected the plates from him, and he reciprocated, “Thank you.” He walked back to the gate, amused by their wastage of 'thank you'.
At the Village Square
The guards who Barry threw out were in their mid-twenties and above, but were smallish in nature due to improper feeding. They were not exposed to life away from their environment. The attitudes they exhibited were what worked in their domain, and they had lived and survived with it. Nevertheless, to them, there was nothing wrong with that. After they ran out of the gate, they met the third set of guards, Justin and Gerry, who were denied access, hanging around, and they were surprised to see their swollen faces.
“What did you do to attract this?” They asked Shane and his partner with concern.
“Nothing. We only asked for our money, and he began to beat us,” Shane responded with confidence.
“Ask for your money? Are you supposed to be paid today or at the end of the month?” Justin asked calmly.
“We are supposed to be paid today. Peter was paid the moment he got off work.”
“Are you saying that they would pay us the amount we quoted every day for thirty days?” Gerry asked.
“Was that why you refused to open the gate when we knocked? Was it not your duty to do that?” Justin asked.
“Were you not employed to open the gate? You ignored the knock even when we introduced ourselves,” Gerry emphasized.
Now, Shane and his partner looked at their colleagues in bewilderment, and their idiocy stared at them, but it was too late.
“Can you see that you have ruined our chances of working for the money bag?” Justin pointed out with mild anger on his face.
“But Peter was paid, and he showed us the money.” Shane defended.
The four guards returned home dejected. Before 10 AM, the news of what transpired at the money bag's house had spread in the community. Meanwhile, Shane, could not face his family members. Besides, he needed to be alone and nurse his wound. All the same, to get things straight, Justin and Gerry paid a visit to Peter. After the greetings, they requested, “Peter, how was work at the new building?”
He smiled in fulfillment and declared with glee, “Work was good.”
“I see. I learned that you have been paid?”
“Yes, of course. Frank gave me my complete money.”
“That is good. Is the payment for that day or for one month?”
Now Peter was lost, and he stated, “I did not ask, but I believed that it was for that day.”
“For that day!” Gerry exclaimed.
“It is all right. We will be on our way,” Justin declared. Then, Peter watched them walked away and he meditated on their questions. 'Could the pay be for a month?'
Despite the rumors, the fourth set of guards, Boniface and Thomas pretended not to hear anything, and reported to work at 10 AM
“Open the gate for us. We are on duty.”
After Fredrick instructed Barry to throw Shane and his colleague away, Evans and Callum were woken up by his voice. They converged at his parlor and held a brief meeting with Barry.
“Boss, those boys are repulsive, they can't work here,” Barry pointed out after narrating what transpired between him and the guards.
“You did the right thing, Barry. We can get professionals for that task,” Callum commended. Then, Evans concluded, “We can engage the police to do that for the period.”
“I agree with you, Evans. They will be useful on the funeral day.” Fredrick agreed. Then, Evans sent a message to the Inspector General of Police and made his request known. Afterward, he announced, “I will wait for his response in the morning.”
“It's okay,” they concurred simultaneously, before they left for their rooms. In the morning, Evans got the IGP's response. He directed them to a nearby police station. Nevertheless, they instructed Barry to get the police men, and he left that morning with the driver.
At the Gate
When the fourth set of guards arrived and requested, “Open the gate for us. We are on duty.” Oliver could not think of the right response to give to them. Whatever the case, they were his community members and would not wish to offend them. He was aware that the work would be over some day and their relationship should not be strained. While he was contemplating on the right way to handle it, he heard Barry's voice, “Leave the gate at once,” he bawled.