Chapter Twenty-Three

In order to wrap up the session on a bright and sunny Saturday, Bianca sat down inside the library and read her pamphlet about the exam she was taking. She ignored the sound of someone walking through the library and carried on with her reading. She refused to look at the person sitting next to her until a hand delicately touched her on her lap. She abruptly put down the book she was reading and glared at the person furiously. It was James Brin, dressed in a black T-shirt with a variety of stripes, black pants, and a pair of leather slippers.

"Good morning James, but why would you be tapping me on my lap," she said with a tense face and a stern voice.

"Because that place is bare, that was the reason," he said.

His words made Bianca maddened a little bit, "but I thought you promised never to come near to me?"

"I do," he nodded, "but seeing you with somebody just sparked that burning desire for me to marry you quickly."

"Who did you see me with?" she said.

"You know the person I am talking about. Do you remember when you were negotiating the amount of the sandals that you bought for 4000 naira and someone inside the car paid for you?"

Bianca was dumbfounded all of a sudden and wondered if he followed her back. But can he follow me to that place without me noticing me, she thought, she then remembered when JK said that he had spies all around

"How did you know?" she questioned.

He smiled mischievously at her, "You will get to know once you are already my fully wedded wife."

Bianca sighed at his words and then changed her direction towards her book in order to gain back concentration.

"What will all this reading profit you? After all, you will get a job for free without being asked for your certificate. Can't you trust me, abandon this book?"

Bianca stopped reading and stared at him with an insinuating look, "why did you then come to the university?"

"To see who I can help lift up from their dungeon life and put them in a comfortable place."

"I hope I am not part of the people?" asked Bianca warily.

"Maybe," answered James, looking at the floor and hitting his both legs on the floor to make out a beat, "just maybe."

"Then consider me off of the list because I would disappoint you badly," she said with a stern face to his eyeballs, "James, take note, I am not that kind of girl that you can easily lure to yourself immediately."

"If you then try it, just be ready to regret all your actions, bet that with me."

"Your empty threats can't move an inch nearer to my side and let me send a note of warning, you've decided not to come to my life again and you made a promise about that, so let me be all by myself."

Bianca reeled out, closing her books and putting them into her bag.

"Where do you think you are going?" James said, standing up to obstruct the way in order to prevent her from going through.

"Can you leave this place? In fact, I don't know who gave you the permission to enter here at your will."

James laughed scornfully at her, "That is a matter to discuss another day, but let me warn you, I don't want to ever see you with that guy again. My eyes will be fixed on you to monitor your steps and action and if you claim that I am giving you an empty threat. It is up to you to dare me."

"Would you get out of the way," she yelled out.

Finally, he sat down on the chair, opening up the way for Bianca to pass through.

At this pivotal time in her life, Bianca began to feel frustrated and helpless, and she needed someone to comfort and inspire her through this trying time. If she had known the outcome sooner, she would have chosen to remain at school with Mary. Why do I enjoy making poor choices at such a pivotal time in my life? Really, why? She engaged in internal thought.

The fact that she was depressed was noticed by her roommates, who began to whisper among themselves.

"Bianca," Stacy called.

Bianca looked at her, forgetting to remove the depressed face away for a happy face.

"Your face hasn't been bright for some days now. Hope no problem," observed Stacy.

A nod from Bianca was the answer.

"Speak up," said Stacy, "you are holding some grief in your heart? Why don't you speak up?"

Stacy stood up and went to her bedside and then took a cursory glance at her bed and then sat on it sitting beside her.

"I have been receiving threats for a while now," Bianca said, finally finding her voice.

"Why can't you report it to the disciplinary committee to allow them to investigate it," Ruth suggested.

"From who?" asked Stacy.

Bianca was about to mention the name when she remembered Mary refusing to tell her about James Brin because she might accidentally tell someone. From Bianca's own perspective, she was trying to understand who James was, and maybe he would have told one of her roommates to watch her movement and speech.

"Who exactly have you been hearing those threats from?" Stacy pressed again.

"Don't worry about the person," Bianca replied.

"Do you know that hiding the person is also risking our lives too?" said Ruth.

Bianca grinned as she perked up. She considered how to divert the conversation from the tense situation she had already induced in their minds. She reached into her bag and pulled out a pamphlet she had been reading in the library, opening it and beginning to read.

"I am finding it difficult to read again and that is what is making me sad and queer," Bianca said, trying to change the narrative she has brought.

Stacy was less concerned about what she said and wanted to know who gave her threats.

"That isn't what is disturbing you," observed Stacy.

"I'm serious, I am finding it hard to read again," replied Bianca.

"Why don't you go into the library," Ruth suggested, buying into her new complaints and forgetting the previous complaint Bianca had brought up.

"The library?" said Bianca in an irreverent manner, "Do people still understand what they read in the library?"

"Is that a question?" replied Ruth.

"Maybe an answer," Bianca giggled, "I'm just kidding."

When Stacy noticed that Bianca wasn't going to answer her question, she stood up from Bianca's bed like a frustrated figure, and went back to her bed pressing her android phone and not concerned about the new discussion Bianca just brought up. Bianca stared at her book and started reading it trying to see if she could read in the room and understand what she had read. Meanwhile Ruth took her snacks and tore the nylon out and started eating it. Bianca thoughts went back to the scenario that had happened in the library trying to compare and contrast James' character to what she heard from Joe and Mary. She took his words one after the other and compared it to what she heard from Joe to see if James was quite deadly. She remembered instantly when Joe said that he had spies all around so she wasn't surprised if someone in her room could also be a spy.

Since everyone in her room knew the password, she grabbed her phone and changed it. She had at least retained Joe's advice to "be security conscious." Just then, a call came in, drawing her roommate's attention to her. She looked at the call and recognised Mary, wondering whether or not she should answer it. She wondered if she was able to keep up with the discussion. Finally, after everything, she hung up the phone. The second time it rang, she didn't pick it up and let it fall on its own. She put her books away and sat back down on her bed, feeling extremely angry about what was taking place. She had the impression that she was a crime suspect. She kept having flashbacks within flashbacks in her mind. She smiled to herself as she thought back on the phone call she had with Lucky while riding in Joe's vehicle. Her roommate wasn't reliable to tell them what happened. She picked up her phone and turned on the data so she could search through her Facebook account for a humorous or heartwarming post that would make her smile and lift her burden. There wasn't. She turned off her data, put the earpiece next to her pillow into her ears, and listened to music in the hopes that she might feel a little bit better. Bianca paused the song, took the earpiece out, and put it back next to her pillow.

She was shocked to see that it was half past two in the morning when she awoke from her nap. From her bed, she got up to look for her phone. The call Mary had made earlier that day was the first thing she saw when she turned it on. She considered calling Mary at that moment in order to take advantage of her roommates' deep sleep, but she instead considered waking someone up and possibly disturbing their pleasant dreams. When she turned on her data, she discovered Joe was on Facebook and had been posting messages about how she would sneak away from school without anyone noticing on vacation. Despite giving up her precious sleep, Bianca thought it was a good idea to talk about it.

She and Joe talked about where and when he would leave his car parked. He also laid a suggestion of inviting Mary in assisting her in carrying her load outside the hostel to make it snappy, in which she agreed to his point. He assured her that he would send up to three to five guards, who would be stationed in key areas to keep an eye on her movements and protect them from any unusual attacks. She appreciated that he had established some important guidelines that needed to be followed in order to confuse James' spies and dismantle them. Bianca felt like talking to Joe more, but he went offline as the clock was running out and she could no longer sleep.

She sat down on the bed and dialled Mary's number; the call was connected, but Mary didn't answer. Even after dialling the number again, Mary didn't answer the call. Bianca put an end to trying the number again and sat down on her bed, thinking back to the conversation she had with Joe and smiling the entire time until she fell asleep.

Bianca finished her exam after three months of preparation while everyone else was getting ready for the holiday season. Unknown persons hung a Christmas balloon on the wall of each room. Everyone was happy and excited to celebrate Christmas once more. It was a happy thing. You could leave as soon as you finished writing your last paper, despite the school having previously stated that they would be closing a week after the exams. In order to avoid being watched by James' spies, Bianca wanted to leave early. Her roommates questioned her about her departure date. Bianca tight-lipped her mouth, perhaps because they saw her packing all her bags a week before the examination finished. Maybe that was what prompted the question. Meanwhile, Joe's car was already parked around the university, waiting for Bianca's arrival. Mary gave Bianca a beep call informing her that she was already near her hostel. This was also part of the plan they carried out. Bianca took advantage of her roommates' willingness to take photos around the lecture hall. At least James hasn't bothered looking for her, which gave Bianca hope that his spies would have reduced their effort in monitoring her as well. Clouds of joy filled her heart as she walked along the road to her hostel. It was a very sunny afternoon, so perhaps that's why no one was out walking on the street. When she arrived at her hostel, she saw Mary standing at the door, donning a green gown and a shadowy eyeglass. Mary rushed up to her, hugged her, and helped her with her loads into her hostel. Bianca received a signal from Mary to pack her belongings quickly and to make sure she didn't leave anything in the hostel.

When they had finished and were about to start carrying their bags, Mary picked up her phone and told Bianca to take it as Mary called Joe's number. Joe picked it up right away and put it on hold so he could alert his guards by calling them. The phone rang for Bianca. Joe made the call to her. Finally, a connection was made between them all. Mary and Bianca each took a load before leaving the hostel. Mary removed her hand bag and took out a Bluetooth earpiece and made sure it was connected to the phone before giving a piece to Bianca while she took the other one and put it on her ears.

"Once you notice a strange person quickly remove the earpiece and drop it in a bag," said Mary.

Bianca giggled and agreed to Mary's advice.

"Be very smart about it," responded Mary.

"I will," Bianca replied as they continued moving on the road.

Bianca and Mary were struggling to carry the loads when a group of boys wearing hoods walked faster towards them as they were almost at Joe's car.

"Hey, stop there!" one of the boys, putting on a green hood, ordered while pointing gun at them.

Mary carried her bag up a little bit and pretended to be searching for something.

"There are some bad guys here," Mary said, pretending to be crying. "Be quick."

"Drop everything now," he insisted.

The audacity with which they spoke caused Bianca and Mary to tremble, drop everything they were carrying, and turn to face them as they got closer to them. Since this was the first time she had ever seen a gun pointed at her, Bianca was in full palpitation. She mentally prayed for forgiveness so that, if anything happened to her, she would still be going to heaven.

The gang came up to them. They all put on green hoods and there were five of them. one of them who wore the same green hood but with a stripe of red that made him stood out of the rest gave a signal to the remaining boys.

"Go back, where do you think you are going?" One of them ordered Mary and Bianca.

Bianca started pleading with them with tears dropping from her eyes.

"Will you stop that foolish crying and obey instructions before I take you down," another threatened.

Bianca cleaned her tears immediately and took a cursory gawk at Mary, who was scared also, but maintained a calm posture as she walked alongside with them.

Instantly they heard one of them screaming, and immediately another one screamed, holding his back and then fell to the floor. Mary stooped to the floor and tried asking what the problem was, while the remaining three summoned Bianca and Mary to walk very fast. Mary ignored their command as she started weeping profusely on the ground.

"If you don't get up now, we will shoot you dead on the spot." they threatened gawkishly.

"Please don't, I would stand now," she begged as she stood up and staggered along with them.

"You are joking with us, right?" one of them said hoarsely, pointing a gun at her forehead, "last warning."

Bianca pleaded with them not to take her life away and pleaded with Mary to obey them.

They ordered the both of them to stay in front of them while they walk at their backs. So, if either Mary or Bianca refused to move quickly they would shoot any of them and continue with the other person.

Joe's guard followed them at their back with rapid pace trying to catch up with them. They got nearer to them, as each of them threw a long rope at their target and roped them from behind holding their hands where the gun was. They attempted to release themselves by fighting with their opposite number, but they found it difficult to breathe. They fell to the ground and began to roll around in the fierce and rough battle. The gang was competing against Joe's guard. While Joe was inside the car, Bianca and Mary ran after the guns and dropped them off in his car. Alongside Mary and Bianca, the other guard who was sitting in the back of the car stood up as well. They sprinted to the battleground where they discovered them still battling and tossing. Despite severe injuries sustained by both the gangs and Joe's guard, neither side indicated any signs of giving up. As they screamed, Joe and his guard drew closer to them and struck each of them on the manhood. After that, Joe went to the final gang and struck him. The gang suddenly became vulnerable and abandoned their adversary. The guard, who was riding in the car with Joe, gave the order for everyone to gather their belongings and board the vehicle. They immediately complied with his request and moved Bianca's belongings to the vehicle. He sprinkled them with a chemical when they were far away. While sprinting to catch up with Joe, Bianca, and Mary, he left them there.

Immediately, they got nearer to the other ones who were attacked. They laughed at them, apart from Bianca, who pitied them, then Joe kicked both of them and walked to the car.

"What did you guys do to those near to us?" Bianca asked naively.

"We threw stones at them since they were five and we were three. So, if we went to fight them they would out-man us, so we strategized on how to reduce them" one of them said.

"I think this is what you guys learnt in the training, right?" Mary said with a bolder and happier tone.

"Maybe."

"This is their gun," said Bianca, raising the gun up.

"This is a pistol."

"Those are part of the James Brin men," said Joe.

Bianca shuddered.

"Can you see why I shouted that day," Mary said.

Bianca smiled and then looked around, discovering that the person driving the car was the guard, who had remained in the car with Joe during the heinous incidents. The face looked familiar to her. Bianca tried recalling the faces she saw two years ago.

"JK, is that Philip?" asked Bianca, pointing towards the driver's seat.

"So soon," said Joe, amazingly.

She laughed.

"Yes, he is the one," he expressed.

The guards tore cotton wool from its shred and applied it to the wound, soaking up the blood that trickled down while they were in excruciating pain. Mary and Bianca felt sorry for them and expressed regret. As Bianca watched them writhing in agony, tears began to fall from her eyes and fall to the ground.