CHAPTER 67 - Diamond In The Rough

In the executive boardroom, the NPLC executives were fidgeting greatly as Tisane walked unobstructed towards the office door. They had all watched the battle between the five mutants and it could only be classified with one word; BREATHTAKING.

"He's coming in!" The first man sitting on the right of the boardroom table from the CEO's seat exclaimed as he jolted from his seat and stared at the office door in fear.

The other executives around the table also stared at the door as the dominating expression of terror filled their faces.

~Click~

The door knob made a sound as the door itself was pushed open and a youth walked in. Tisane stood in front of the opened door as he stared at all the men and women who gazed at him with wide open terror filled eyes.

As he glanced past the various strange faces, his eyes widened slightly as they rested on a familiar face. The man that he came here for...

Mr Victor Fadeyemi.

Tisane's body became a bit tensed as he saw the look of apprehensive shock on the face of Mr Fadeyemi. Walking forward unsteadily, Tisane opened his mouth to speak when;

~Whoosh~

The secretary whom had been quiet all through the boardroom meeting, into the unexpected cinema of the mutants brawl, down to the present moment, suddenly dashed forward with shocking speed as she unleashed a pair of fan like blades which she spun in her hands and directed at Tisane's throat.

"Vivian!!" A shout went up as the boardroom fell into silence.

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

Back at Tisane's apartment....

Ibrahim came down the stairs as he scratched his head with a contemplating look on his face. As he came out to the expressway, a Mercedes Benz drove to a stop just in front of him.

"Huh?" Ibrahim stared at the car with raised eyebrows as an elegant woman and two beautiful girls came out of it.

"Isn't that....?" Ibrahim gazed at the faces of the woman and the young girls in recognition.

He knew who they were.

He was only surprised as to how beautiful the three of them had become, especially the two young girls.

Mrs Elizabeth saw the surprised Ibrahim as she walked towards him after closing the door to the driver's seat.

"Good day young man" she began with a smile; "I believe we've met"

"Huh..." Ibrahim was tongue tied as to what to say.

"Yes mom" Joyce said as she came from behind her mother; "He's one of bro Tisane's friends"

"Ah yes" Mrs Elizabeth nodded in remembrance; "You must be Tunde"

"Uh.....no I...I am Ibrahim" he finally said.

"Oh Ibrahim" Mrs Elizabeth narrowed her eyes thoughtfully; "Mr and Mrs Wasiu's son right?"

"Yes ma" Ibrahim nodded.

"Ah nice to meet you" Mrs Elizabeth said as she smiled again; "How are your parents?"

"They are fine ma" Ibrahim said.

"Okay am here to check up on my son" Mrs Elizabeth said as she pointed at the apartment building behind Ibrahim.

"Is this where he lives?"

"Uh yes" Ibrahim nodded as glanced at the apartment.

"Okay then thank you" Mrs Elizabeth said as she walked past Ibrahim with a nod, followed by Joyce and Esther.

"Um.....excuse me ma" Ibrahim quickly said as if remembering something.

"Yes?" Mrs Elizabeth stopped and turned to look at him.

"He's not at home right now" Ibrahim said.

"Huh?" Mrs Elizabeth stared at Ibrahim with raised eyebrows; "Where did he go?"

"He went to work"

Ibrahim didn't really notice the short exchange of glances between Mrs Elizabeth and her daughters.

"Where is he working?" She asked with a little smile on her lips.

"He's working at the NPLC" Ibrahim said with an iota of surprise in his voice.

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

The top floor of the NPLC building....

Inside the executive boardroom, everyone had dumbfounded looks on their faces as they all stared at the spectacle before them. The young lady whom was always seen as the secretary to the CEO, was now at a battle stance, with a pair of blades in her hands, threatening to slice through the throat of the youth whom was by now acknowledged as a terrifying entity.

"That's enough Vivian" Mr Victor said

The secretary whom was referred to as Vivian, stiffened a bit as she received the stand down order from Mr Fadeyemi. The heat of vigilance was still emanating from her as she glared at Tisane, whom was greatly shocked and shaken from the sudden assault.

Tisane could feel a sting on his 'Adam's Apple' which was due to the tip of Vivian's blade grazing his throat. A few inches more, and his throat would have been sliced through!

"Vivian!" Mr Victor exclaimed once more, which resulted to the secretary swiftly pulling back her fan like weapons and walking briskly back to Mr Fadeyemi's side and bowing her head to him while muttering;

"Forgive me sir"

Mr Victor Fadeyemi shifted his gaze from his secretary whom still had her head bowed and rested it on Tisane who stared back for some time and then opened his mouth as if to speak.

Tisane was not sure what just happened, but he knew that he still had to achieve what he came here for, and that is to apologize. As he tried to speak, a wave of dizziness hit him suddenly.

Tisane felt his mind and body wobbling greatly as the entire surrounding began to spin around.

_"What is going on?!"_ Tisane thought in alarm; _"G.D.I!!"_

_[Master, your body is reacting to the 'breaking past limit' of your mutant powers]_ G.D.I said.

_"What?!"_ Tisane tried to steady himself as he began to stagger; _"What does that mean?!"_

_[It means that you need to rest, for your body to adapt to the changes of your mutant DNA]_

_"Rest?....I can't rest....not now....I still have to.....apo...lo...gize"_ Tisane was beginning to lose consciousness as his body began to shiver greatly.

_[All in it's due time master]_

These were the last words that Tisane heard as he collapsed on the floor and his senses and body movements shut down.

(Black out)

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

Mrs Elizabeth drove the Mercedes straight to the NPLC headquarters in the heart of the city as she parked at the parking lot. Stepping out of the car, she and her two daughters, including Ibrahim whom chose to tag along, walked to the entrance of the company's skyscraper.

"Good day ma'am" two security guards walked in front of Mrs Elizabeth and crew as one of them raised his hand as a stopping gesture.

"Can I help you?" One of the security guards questioned.

"Yes good day" Mrs Elizabeth replied; "I would like to see my son....he works here"

"Your son?" The security guard frowned.

"Yes....he was recently employed here....so I just came to visit him" Mrs Elizabeth said as she stared at the faces of the security guards; "Visitation is allowed here isn't it?"

"Yes it is" the first security guard replied; "But not right now"

"What do you mean?" Mrs Elizabeth frowned slightly.

"The company is having some maintenance issue that is being taken care of" the security guard said; "Only office personnel is allowed in or outside the building"

"Oh I see" Mrs Elizabeth said with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Well then I guess I'll come back some other time" Mrs Elizabeth said as she turned around, followed by her two daughters and Ibrahim.

"Elizabeth?" A voice suddenly spoke with surprise from behind.

Mrs Elizabeth stopped in her tracks and turned around as she gazed at a middle aged man in a business suit.

"Peter?" She quickly spoke in recognition as a smile crept up her lips.

"Hey Lizzy.....it's really you!" The man exclaimed as he walked towards her.

"What are you doing here?" Mrs Elizabeth asked after they both hugged.

"Well I work here" the man said with a hint of pride in his voice.

"Oh really?" Mrs Elizabeth widened her eyes in sincere surprise; "Since when?"

"Since three years ago....what are you doing here by the way?"

"I came to see my son"

"Your son?" The man asked in surprise.

"Yeah I was informed that he works here" Mrs Elizabeth said.

"Your son works at the NPLC?" The man had an incredulous look in his eyes.

"Yeah...." Mrs Elizabeth exchanged glances with Ibrahim whom seemed a bit nervous.

"If that's the case, why don't we go in so you'll meet him" the man stated.

"Well....we were told that visitors are not allowed at this moment"

"Not when you are with me"

Walking towards the company entrance, they met the same security guards from before.

"They are with me" Peter said as the security guards tried to hinder Mrs Elizabeth again.

"But sir visitors-----" the security guard began to protest.

"They are my visitors" Peter said as he glared threateningly at the security guards; "Or would you like me to report this to the management?"

"Uh....no no sir....it's okay if they are your visitors" the security guards shook in alarm as they quickly gave way for Mrs Elizabeth and her group to pass.

Peter was known to be a proud and egoistic individual as he just gained his employment into the NPLC three years ago and yet he had been promoted to the level of human resource manager so quickly. His ferocious drive to get what he wants had easily distinguished him among other workers in the company.

Also he had another voracious trait, which was based on the fact that he never failed to chase after any woman whom catches his eye.

There had been rumors of him sexually harassing women whom refused to give him romantic leeway towards them. But these had just been what they were, rumors, as no credible evidence had been brought forth to support these claims.

He didn't actually believe Mrs Elizabeth claim that her son was working in the NPLC. Mainly because the NPLC, being the number one company in the country, also had one of the strictest employment scheme in the world.

Even he himself knew how many necks and backs that he had to break in order to get a working position in the company.

Of course, he was not ready and willing to prove Mrs Elizabeth wrong, not directly anyway. What he was truly aiming for was to have a quiet time with her.