MY STORY AND MORE (VI) BY KAYGEEGAL

YES, WE HAD AN UNEXPECTED BREAK. YES, WE ARE VERY SORRY. IT WAS DUE TO ‘CIRCUMSTANCES BEYOND US’. PLEASE ENJOY THIS SERVING AND DON’T FORGET TO USE THE COMMENT BOX

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LOLA

So I picked up a newspaper on my way to the office. No, I don’t read papers but colleague does. As usual I read the headlines only and one struck my heart…he hadn’t quit.

“INFERNO AT NNP HEADQUARTERS”

I remembered the video instantly, Hon. Akinlade and Salau Alimi’s visit and the conversation with Bones. I remember how Bones cringed as the two men appeared.

“How are you, Bones?” Hon. Akinlade greeted and got a nod as response from Bones.

“I heard you are good”, Hon. Akinlade continued.

“It depends on what you are talking about”, Bones responded sharply. Some confidence he quickly gathered.

“Without mincing words, you heard what happened to my company”, He paused for a response, got none and continued. “Excavation is still ongoing with many people still buried alive”.

He betrayed emotions and a tear escaped which he quickly plucked away from the corner of his eyes. His moist eyes however shone brightly.

“My daughter could still be there, they haven’t found her body and Salau’s son-in-law’s” He pointed at Salau Alimi who bowed his head in a mixture of sadness and something close to guilt.

“I want retaliation, a painful one, for whoever did this”, he said with a force that carried as much fury and other negative emotions with it.

I felt for the man. He wanted retaliation on his enemy who was right behind him but his heart was driven to another, another who knew nothing.

Bones grabbed Hon. Akinlade by the left shoulder with his right hand and looked into his eyes.

“You will get what you want Honorable”.

I watched the promise he made to me fly away from under the tree where they were having the discussion.

Akinlade got the retaliation he wanted; only that it was not an absolute one. It was the beginning of a fresh war.

I sunk on the seat in my cubicle. How I managed to get there was a miracle.

“Dear Lord, I need a helper”

……………………………………………………….

Boye finally called. God answers prayers!

“I miss you so much baby”

He sounded like he missed me truly.

“For how long do we intend to do this?”, I mused. We break and mend quite often.

“I’ve missed you too”

I could not help saying, almost tearfully.

Almost two weeks without him had been hell, not because he was not around or did not call but because if he had been around, I would not have gotten myself into Bone’s mess. I missed him because he was not there to tell me to tread softly.

Maybe what I needed was a strong man. A man that would command me and I won’t dare disobey…just maybe.

“I’m sorry I bothered you so much about the Masters, I gave it a thought and I concluded that I don’t have to force you to do anything. I’m sorry it caused friction between us”

He was talking in his coolest, calmest and most seductive voice. He actually was cooing, not talking. I smiled

“Baby, its fine. I missed you too, I missed you so bad”

“How come you didn’t call me to say that”

He knew how to whine like a baby. I made a mental note of how he would make his face at that moment: he would put and make that annoyingly seductive baby face. That always got my heart racing.

“So what’s been happening?”

“Bones!” I was going to say, then I remembered the hatred between both of them.

“I have been busy, work has been tiring.”

Work had not been tiring, my life had been! Helping Bones was tiring! Knowing that your life is in danger was tiring!

“Really? I got a call from Mr. Audu saying it seems you are a li-little under the weather”, He stammered on the ‘little’

My temper shot towards the sky. “How could he say that? Did I tell him that?”

“Baby, calm down. He said you look at people suspiciously and watch your back as you walk and avoid people and….baby, are you OK?” Maybe he was short of words.

“Don’t mind him, he is just being paranoid”, I said coolly.

Maybe it was true, maybe I was exaggerating, maybe I was actually the paranoid one looking at everybody like they knew what I got involved with and they could read the secret from me loud and clear by just looking into my face.

Boye cleared his throat from the other end and broke the silence, interrupting my thoughts.

“He suggested you go on vacation for two days at least. What do you think?”

“He did?” I sighed. Boye has a way with people, I was sure he it was who cajoled the man into accepting the vacation plan, something I hated so much. Maybe because I was used to fighting my way up instead of looking for short cuts. I knew I had not earned the vacation but it was fine.

I concluded with Boye on the vacation plan.

“Bones can look for another accomplice”, I made up my mind.

******************************************

BONES

He looked at the beautiful petite lady blocking his exit and rolled his eyes.

“This is what I get for saving you? A stupid attitude?” He said irritably.

The petite lady was visibly shaken and blocked the door to prevent Bones from exiting.

“You claim that you saved me and you are keeping me here forever? That’s what you call help? Kidnap is what you call help? Answer me!” She tapped his chest, screaming at him.

“How many times will I tell you that you are here for a reason? Do you want to get yourself killed? You too answer me!” He wanted to slap her chest just the way she did but stopped midway when he noticed her terrified face.

“Just a few more days. Please, you will go home after the elections. That’s when it’s safe for you”, he said forcefully, with a bit of plea.

“No! I’m going today, I’m going now! If there is any place I will feel protected, its with my family!” She retorted, defiant.

“You are wrong, my lady. Those interested in your death are in your family. You….”

“Shut up liar! Not my family! Whosoever paid you to kidnap me will rot in jail when I’m out of here. You, and all your accomplices are jail birds already”

Bones laughed hysterically in a manner that sapped all the confidence she had mustered. “Jail birds? Maybe, just maybe. Did you read the paper I brought this morning?”

“So?”

“Your own father paid me for that, young woman”

He watched as the fear written on her face was joined by confusion. She went quiet, colour draining from her face for some minutes. When she found her voice, she spoke.

“No! You are a liar!”

“I’m a bloody liar, yes. Na wetin I be be that. Just hold your peace ehn, we go find out who dey lie, who dey deceive and who the deceiver be. Your eye go clear“.

She was at a loss, all her defiance and boldness had melted away. Bones did not allow her regain composure before speaking again.

“Check the last drawer in the bedroom, I kept some CDs there. Pick them all and come be my guest.”

He made a face, twisting his lips in pity and pointed in the direction of the home theatre with his eyes.

As if remote controlled, she started towards the bedroom with a “No, please Lord…”

Her head was in all sorts of thoughts. She wondered which was worse: being kidnapped by a stranger or knowing that your stern father who taught you morals and religion is a criminal who was involved in several killings.

MY STORY AND MORE (V) BY KAYGEEGAL

LERE

The issue with Bones, Lola and the unconscious girl had drained him physically, mentally and even emotionally yet he had had to report for an emergency surgery the following day

It was the end of a crazily busy day. Two herniorapphys, an exploratory laparotomy and a werthem’s hysterectomy all crammed into the same same surgery day. While dragging myself to the car, the song I was playing on the phone was interrupted by an incoming call.

“Dr Aileru? What on earth does she want and why”, I asked himself.

The voice on the other side of the receiver was one which spelt urgency.

“Lere, God has answered our prayers. We’re finally going to hit the biiiiig time “, she was almost screaming.

“Calm down and speak, Godammit!!!”, I thundered.

“The Government needs doctors. Volunteers. Heroes”

“For what?” I was impatient at that point.

“The Federal Government needs doctors to fight this Ebola scourge and I just pencilled down my name, and of course, yours too”.

I almost ran out of breath.

“What?? Ebo-kini”. Never! Nooo! Never!!!”.

“Guy, calm down. We won’t touch them nah. Our job is just to do secondary screening – take history and examination of people suspected to have Ebola, travelers mainly, in and out of the country. The venue is the International airport. And the pay, the pay, the pay Ehn, na helele o!”.

“How much are we talking about here?”, I asked”.

“Well, four hundred dollars per shift, four days a week”, she screamed.

My heart, I can confirm skipped. It stopped, started, stopped and started yet again.

“Okay, when do we start then?”, I asked.

“Tomorrow”, she answered.

“Done! I’ll be rich, finally”, I screamed and ended the call. I got into my car, that had the inscription ” oyota amry” (some alphabets had escaped) and turboed away.

The next two months working as an ‘Ebola Doctor’ was intriguing. From health workers lying around at night like dead dogs, zero provision of welfare facilities to workers to gross inadequacies of basic tool-kits to prosecute the mission.

Of course, the government reneged on promises made to us, especially on the financial front. We were eventually paid a micro-fraction of what they promised to pay. We were branded mercenaries, unpatriotic people who were mainly after the cash. At last, we won the ‘war against ebola’, against all odds, and that was enough consolation.

On my last day at the airport, I took a walk around. Equipment, now littering the whole place, unused. Quasi-structures erected in the form of temporary emergency offices that had gulped a fortune, hungry-looking disgruntled health workers , flat atmosphere.

“Another scam. We were used. The government took the glory. We were the ones who laid our lives on the line, they were the ones who took the glory. Nigerians…we are what we are”, I thought to myself as I mumbled a goodbye to the security man at the airport exit…
********************

BONES

He scanned his environment wondering how long it would take his client to show up. He prayed silently for his back up to have his back with efficiency, accuracy and precision.

His last conversation with Lola replayed in his mind at that instant.

“Its highly dangerous and I’m not getting involved again”, she spat that evening.

“Lola, please…you don’t want these people to kill me now”, he pleaded.

“You got yourself into this, you should find your way out by yourself”, she was getting furious by the minute.

Bones tried again. “Lola, I’m not afraid of going down but I’m afraid of not getting paid for the job I risked my life for and we will share it: you, me and Lere”.

“Don’t sweet tongue me with money, I seriously don’t want this kind of earning”, she replied.

“Remember you can do your Masters with it without the help of your rich, selfish boyfriend.” Bone smiled convincingly.

“Leave my boyfriend out of this. If I had listened to him enough, I wouldn’t be in this fucking mess with you. You even got Lere involved! He just got married for Pete’s sake!”

“Who be Pete? Calm down jor. I just wan make dem pay me for this and I will opt out.”

“Are you sure? This is your first and last mission?”

” I promise you.”

“I’m trying to believe o, don’t fuck me up o…ehn ehn”.

“I won’t”, he promised.

“I need a camera, a professional one”, she requested calmly. The thought of handling a camera always excited her. She wanted to be a camerawoman, she despised being called cameraman.

“I’m a woman!”, she always slammed. She left two media houses because they said camera handling was a man job. They offered her the job of a presenter but she would not take it. Its either camera handling or get another job out of media house.

“You will have the camera and the map tomorrow”, Bones announced, noticing how her face lit up.

“Good!” She smiled, feeling the thrill already. Her hands itched.

“I won’t get in touch again…I expect you to be where you should be”.

She nodded.

Bones heard the bush rustling, two men approached.

“How are you, Bones?” The voice belonged to Hon Akinlade. On his tail, was his client…Salau Alimi.

His heart pumped rapidly, excessively.

“What’s about to happen?” He mused.

He was expecting his client, Salau Alimi only. He ignored the question and prayed that Lola, Mentor and others were seeing what was about to unfold.

MY STORY AND MORE (IV) BY KAYGEEGAL

Hello folks, this week’s episode of Kaygeegal’s MY STORY AND I is here. Thanks to all who take time to read, and comment. We hope you enjoy this serving as well. Have a fantastic weekend.

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“We stand against any form of violence as the elections approach. Nobody should take advantage of this election to perpetrate violence. If our opponents cannot take the heat anymore, they should back off or restrategize instead of engaging in this lawlessness”

“Sir, are saying that this is the handiwork of the opposition party?” Asked a petite man from DBC Radio.

“Well, this is politics and some people take it as a do or die affair. Like I said earlier, we won’t give chance for any form of violence.”

“Do you have a name in mind sir?” Another reporter asked.

“No, I don’t. It can’t be done by an individual, this looks like a party decision to bring us down or to scare us. You know what? It can’t, not in anyway because we are coming out strong.” He glared at the camera as if communicating directly with the opponent.

“But Sir, aren’t you at advantage too?”, the petite reporter quizzed again.

“How?”

“If anything happens to Hon. Akinlade and he can’t continue with his aspiration, you would be the flagbearer and…”

He was cut short.

“Akinlade is my best friend! You can’t call that an advantage”, he retorted.

“Maybe you don’t see it as an advantage but if Hon. Akinlade cannot continue with this because obviously he is a gentleman who doesn’t like to be threatened, do you agree with me that he will step down immediately his life or family’s is being threatened?”

The reporter continued defiantly, catching the interest of the others who left her to continue the questioning.

“Yes he may, but we won’t let him. The opponent cannot shake us”, Mr. Salau Alimi replied calmly.

“Yes he may, and when that happens can we safely conclude that you are the flag bearer?”, another reporter asked.

“Listen you all, this very building has in it my daughter’s husband, my best friend’s daughter, colleagues, investors and staff! You ain’t talking about if they are still alive or how we are trying to save them. All you talk about is me being the next candidate… I wonder how humane you media people in this country are”

He dropped microphone, visibly irritated and stormed off the stage.

***************
“Woow, what a stunt!” I couldn’t believe my eyes and ears.”Did he just pretend as if he doesn’t have a hand in it? What da fuck!”

Lere and Bones kept mute with serious concentration on the TV as if we did not just hear the worst lie ever.

“You guys shouldn’t keep quiet as if this is normal…this is not! Hon. Akinlade’s daughter is lying down in my own room with pains written all over her body and he has the gut to hold a press conference just few hours after in order to blame the opposition party. Chai! How I hate politics.” I cringed.

“We’ve been in politics all along, we’ve been played and we have been encouraging them. None of us is doing nor saying anything.” Lere sighed and continued, “look at Bones here…he is being used too.”

“Don’t tell me that! I only want my daily bread”, Bones cut in sharply as soon as Lere stopped.

It was my turn to look at the unfolding argument between them, there might probably be a fight.

“Can’t you find a honest way of getting your daily bread? Must it be through killing for politicians?”

I could hear the angry note from Lere’s voice, somebody who just treated a stranger for free and didn’t even ask much questions.

“I know your problem, you are fortunate enough to have rich parents that sent you school. Now you can sit down there and judge me! When you didn’t experience half of what I went through”.

Bones was emotional and it got to me. Tension was rising and I knew I should wade in.

“Bones, nobody is judging you here, we are just saying your barbing profession can sustain you.” I reached out to him with my right hand he shrugged it off.

“I guess you were not here when I was struggling to pay shop rent, electricity bill, fuel for generator, generator maintenance, TAX! I’m paying TAX! How much was I gaining? Talk!”, he yelled at me.

I curled up on the single sitter and refused to respond to his rant.

“All I’m saying is, you don’t need this mess you got yourself into. You are even better off as a bus conductor”, Lere chipped in.

“Doctor pray. Pray that you become a bus conductor now”.

“It hasn’t come to that now, I trained to be a doctor and you chose who you are today!”

I stood up, having had enough of their verbal exchanges. Bones had already made up his mind, and as long as he remained the Bones I know, nothing can change his mind. I went to the restroom to relieve myself.

Sitting on the WC got me musing over the situation.

“Lere is wrong, its not only Bones that is in a big mess, we all are. God! What will happen to us, I have a dad in the hospital, Lere is married and Bones…well, his family stopped bothering about him…hmmmm”

I sat there some more minutes doing nothing. The feeling to use the toilet had disappeared and ended in nothing but a long pee. I involuntarily cleaned up when it was evident nothing but a pee was coming. I pulled up my touser, flushed and returned to the living room hoping they would have stopped their heated exchange but I was absolutely wrong, they were still at it.

“I don’t know why you bother yourself so much about these good for nothing politicians when we all know exactly what they did to you personally” Bones was on his legs now barking at Lere.

“What are you talking about?” Lere requested mildly.

“The Ebola case! How much did WHO said they would pay doctors working with Ebola patients? Didn’t they pay that exactly money to Nigeria? Answer that.”

Lere forced out a tight “yes”.

“Now tell me, did up to 40% of what WHO pay end up with the doctors? Answer that too”

“No…but…we knew doctors were cheated, they risked their lives and yet…”, Lere stammered, linking his words incoherently.

“So, doctor are you still not in favor of getting what you can get from there while you can?”, he asked sarcastically.

“I still don’t believe in this very path you are treading. We should be responsible as citizens too”.

I could see how much Lere was trying, he should just give up. Bones was stubborn.

“You want me to remind you of your days in LUTH during your housemanship?”

“I told you the stories!”

“Revisit it doctor, and let me know if you still want the honest path…I have business to take care of. This lady can’t hide here”.

He left us with our thought. To a large extent, I blamed the government for making Bones what he had become and at the same time I wondered what was going through Lere’s mind. The result was a block, I could not make anything out of my thoughts.

I sank deeper into the sofa, thinking of a way out of the situation.

MY STORY AND MORE III BY KAYGEEGAL

Hello people, apologies we could not post this story last week. I am presently on holidays and was in a poor network zone. We belatedly bring you the third episode of Kaygeegal’s MY STORY AND MORE. Enjoy reading, and don’t forget to share and drop a comment.

Blessings…

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BONES

After reading what was on the note, Bones set up a meeting with his Mentor.

“Are you surprised?” he chuckled and puffed grey smoke from his pouted lips. Bones stared bizarrely.

“Things like that happen all the time”, his mentor continued. “Its not new.”

“Ahhaaa. Over surprise dey worry me o. Why dem dey kill themselves inside same party? Me dey think say na opposition party gimme the job now“.

Mentor laughed and spread his hands. “Welcome to politics.”

“Hmmm but why he wan do something bad for him friend now?”

“That one still dey surprise me too“.

Mentor looked straight into his eyes “Tell me, who is stopping him from being the governor of this state?”

Bones shifted uncomfortably on his chair.

“Hon. Akinlade, but no be say him dey stop am now shebi na people want him pass”

“Shey he no go win if Hon. Akinlade no show?”

“He go win nah”

“So wetin you dey talk? That’s why he needs to get Akinlade removed so that he can win.”

“Wait o, na two weeks remain for election o.”

“My guy, name no dey sell, na party dey do the magic. Let the ruling party bring in the dumbest candidate on earth, people go still vote am because of his party”, he sighed heavily.

“That’s true o. Hmm”

Mentor threw the stud of his just smoked marijuana wrap on the floor, a signal to leave. Bones understood and stood up.

“Thank you bro.” Mentor nodded.

“Watch out for seals on paper and any other means of communication. Some people will interact with you face to face while some never will” Bones smiled.

“Don’t stop learning English and add computer training to it”.

Bones stopped walking and Mentor was constrained to do the same. His confusion was evident when he spoke.

“Computer training? Why?”

“You need it, seriously if you want to thrive in this business.”

“Huh? OK.” they both exited the shaft.

**************************

The silence frightened him but then, wasn’t he a street boy? He had at different times slept on Lagos streets because there was no place to call home. He had learnt to walk softly without alerting anyone so as not to attract attention to himself.

It worked perfectly for him when he got to the company of Hon. Akinlade. His had been informed that there was an ongoing meeting that had dragged on and stopped the staffers from going home on time. Perfect timing!

He checked his phone for the information he had been waiting for.

“1-9-6 staff members. Note that Salau Alimi’s in-law works there and you have 5 minutes”

“Now this is complicated. My client’s in-law is in the building…what do I do?”, he mused.

A call to Mentor would take a longer time so he shrugged and continued towards the plant and machinery store. One of the security men on duty looked at him warily as he passed.

“Wait!”, the security called out to him, Bones froze.

“You didn’t fasten your safety boot properly and you know its dangerous to enter the plant with that carelessness. It is not allowed”

Bones smiled and nodded before bending down to fasten the boot properly. The security ensured that he did it accordingly before he left. A minute was lost. The store contained heavy machine and opened boxes of PVC were lined up at the end of the store.

“Oh the chosen candidate is not a saint after all”, he chuckled before facing the gas plant. “Here we go”.

He landed safety on the ground floor just in time before the rumbling of the building started loudly. He had exhausted the five minutes grace and dust had started clouding his vision.

“Just one minute. One minute please”, he prayed beneath his gas mask. The thundering sound of the collapsing building drowned the noise of scared people as they ran helter-skelter for safety.

Bones was escaping from the collapsing building when he heard the faint scream of a baby.

“Oh no, I no fit kill baby join“, he thought and moved towards the sound…his gas mask was dusty and he could not see well. The sound was coming from the small relaxation hut beside the main building. He quickly removed the planks and baobab dried roof. Beneath was a lady covered with blood.

“Not a kid, good”.

Bones sighed in relief and turned to get out of the compound that was filled with people running in different directions trying to escape in the middle of creaking sounds of crumbling bricks and wood.

Her moan however drew him back to her. “Oh shit!”, he muttered.

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LOLA

The knock woke me. Soft, but loud enough in the middle of the night to wake me up.

“Knock on my door? C’mon that’s not possible. At least you have to pass through the gate, which I  locked before sleeping”, I mused.

“Damn!” I muttered when the sound came again. “Damn!!” because it was my phone that was making the ‘knock knock’ sound.

“Who da hell changed my ring tone?”, I asked no one in particular as I drowsily picked the call. I was jolted back to life when I heard Bones’ voice on the other end.

“I’m outside. Come and open the gate quickly”, he quipped

“What? Something must be wrong with my hearing”.

“Lola, please come out to the gate. I need your help.” He pleaded this time and I could notice the distress in his voice. That was abormal, it was unlike the Bones I know who always tried to speak like he had 10 wraps of marijuana in his system when he could not even smoke cigarette. The soft spoken, fear riddled end of his voice was activated. One thing was certain…Bones was in a mess.

“I’m coming.” I quickly picked the key from the shelf, ran out of my room, passed the sitting room and opened the main door without a care in the world. Just right in front of the gate however, I paused.

The ‘what ifs’ started running through my mind – “What if he was captured and held at gun point to come and help kidnap me? Or kill?” “What if I got raped?” “What if ‘they’ have acid with them?”

“Lola, abeg open this gate now”, he called out to me through the peep hole on the gate. That jolted me out of my thoughts.

“Are you alone?” I asked.

“No.”

My heart skipped instantly.

“I have a girl here who is bleeding seriously and needs help.” My heart continued working but I still picked his flawless sentence.

“This guy must have been trying to develop himself a bit more”.

What he said however came back like a flash- “bleeding?” “help?”. I immediately started fumbling with the padlock, key and gate. It clicked open and he rushed in with the bundle he carrying and ordered me to lock the gate immediately. I had so many questions in my head. They were coming like dice being thrown from different directions.

He had already laid the lady on the three-seater when I entered the sitting room. Her clothes were torn, dirty and stained with blood in different places. She needed a hospital theater, not my house.

“What’s happening Bones? What have you gotten yourself into?”

I tried not to raise my voice. I really tried because the scream that was threatening to escape my throat was louder than an earth shaking thunder during heavy rain pour.

“Calm down Lola”, he started, trying to come close and pacify me.

“Back off Bones and don’t frigging tell me to calm down. You brought a dead girl into my house and tell me to calm down.”

I unconsciously moved closer to him and beat his chest. “Tell me what’s going on.” He moved away from me and went to the cabinet as if I had not said anything.

“Call Lere…now”, he emphasized on the ‘now’.

“What?”

“Please, stop asking what. Nor dey ask me yeye kweshun Lola. Just call your friend, the doctor. This girl needs help, she don dey kpai dey go“.

Not caring a bit about the lifeless form on the couch, I lost my tempo and turned my rage on him.

“Are you out of your mind Bones? What business have you gotten yourself into? Now I have to deal with God-knows-who? And who is teaching you English anyway?”.

“That…”, he pointed at the dying lady, “…is Hon. Akinlade’s daughter and I have been learning English of my line of…”

I cut him short when what he said made meaning to me. Wherever he was learning English language was of no importance at that moment.

“Wait! That’s Akinlade’s daughter? Akinlade the governorship aspirant?”

He nodded in affirmation. My scream finally let loose.

“Are you crazy? You want to get us killed? What are you…” The lady moaned and on impulse, we were both by her side. I ran into my room to pick my phone and call Lere, my doctor friend. The phone rang off the hook thrice but I persisted. He answered on the fifth dial.

” Lola?” His deep voice was gruffly,  and it pierced right into my brain, not ears.

“Lere, please come to my house now please.” I pleaded, half sobbing.

“What’s happening there? Do you realize that we are in the middle of the night?”

“Yes I know, I need your help. Somebody is dying here”.

“Who? Aren’t you the only one at home?”

“Yes. No. Errrm, yes but somebody is dying here” I wasn’t making sense and I knew it.

“Calm down and tell me what’s going on. I have a wife, I can’t just leave home in the middle of the night”.

“I don’t know…the lady is badly hurt”, I stammered.

“Which lady? What happened to her?”

“Gosh how can you doctors be so calm to ask stupid questions even in a case of emergency?”

Just then, Bones snatched the phone from me. I was oblivious of his presence.

“Doc, its Bones. I rescued a lady from a collapsed building. She is badly hurt and needs help immediately”, he said into the mouthpiece. “I can’t take her to the hospital, its complicated”, he paused and then added “…she is Hon. Akinlade’s daughter. I can’t risk it.”.

“I found her half buried under the collapsed building. Thank you and please tell no one, okay? Thanks”. He dropped the phone on the bed and turned to me.

“He will be here soon”, Bones said and went back to the sitting room. My head was just buzzing, my stomach was in a knot.

Bones was going to get us into trouble. He was cleaning the lady’s face with a wet towel when I entered the sitting room.

“Is she okay?” He looked at me as if I asked the dumbest question ever. I blinked. There was nothing to do, we had no medical knowledge in anyway so we had to wait for Lere.

“Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”, he asked, not taking his eyes off the lady’s as if his stare could retain her life.

“How did you get here Bones?”

” I took a bus…”

“That’s not my question. Whoever is teaching you English should have taught you…”

“Taught me to read minds?” He gave me that amusing stare again.

“I mean what happened, I want to know.”

“Babe, you know I can’t tell you….”

“Oh yes, you can. If you are going to drag me along with you to jail, I need to at least know why”.

“Okay, first of all, you nor dey go jail…”

*********************

LERE

He stared at his phone for what seemed like eternity after Bone’s husky “Thanks” ended the call. Only one word would fit now – LOST. He made for the fridge. A bottle of coke won’t be such a bad idea to calm his shooting nerves. He glanced over his shoulder, his wife laid there, far gone in the realm of sleep. She came in the previous day looking dead. She barely responded to his welcome greetings before crashing away.

He hurriedly got his “emergency bag”, stuffed it with what he could (ampoules and vials of drugs littered his closet), slipped into a pair of joggers and white tee-shirt and set out.

Dr. Lere could deny Lola of very few requests. Unfortunately,this was not  one of those times he could deny her. He felt she really needed him. Subtle voices of ‘savage garden’ rendering ‘truly madly deeply’ broke the silence of the night and he drove out and away.

Lola was waiting at the gate when Lere arrived. He swiftly seized his bag from the car and raced into the house. This was an emergency and his adrenaline levels now could easily match the event. He caught the image of the ‘fragile bundle’ lying in the room,with Bones at the entrance. He stood there for seconds, thinking out a plan. He saw that she moved slightly.

“She’s alive” , he announced.

“We know”, Lola cut in sharply,”that’s why I called you. She must remain alive,please”.

At that time the girl moaned softly..” help me.please”.

“Airway is patent, at least”, Lere smiled, muttering to no one in particular. He did a quick evaluation: random blood sugar normal, Blood pressure sub-normal ; pulse weak, distant and racing away,breathing was laboured. She had bruises scattered all over her body, also cuts at some places.

“She’s lost quite some amount of blood and she needs plasma expanders at least”, Lere told Lara and Bones. The blank look on their faces told the story – they didn’t understand his gibberish.

“Just do what you can, and fast!!!”, Bones almost screamed.

“Remember,we can’t take her to any hospital, at least until after the elections”, Lola quickly added.

Some tense seconds of silence followed shortly.

“Let’s see what I can pull off then, hopefully, it’ll be just enough, barring any dislocations or fractures. God help us”, Lere said before setting out to work.