The Money Or Your Life Chapter 6

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🤷 The Money Or Your Life Chapter Six:

I met Chris the following day at his shop. Chris sold electronics or passed for an electronics seller. However, his real merchandise were security gadgets, primarily guns and ammunition. It was an illegal business, but he still thrived because even the top security personnel in the city patronized him. He was also well connected. He had friends in high places and in most of the government agencies.

“You have the money ready?” He asked as soon as we had finished exchanging pleasantries.

“Yes, Bro. I have it in Dollars.”

“In Dollars?”

“Yeah”

“Is it the same money those guys were after you for?”

“Yeah”

“Alright, let me have it.”

I gave him the money, and he told me to bring my wife the following day for the biometric process. I was very happy, thanked him and went back to the hotel. Back at the hotel, I got my stuff together and checked out. I boarded a taxi and went to my house. I hadn’t been there in almost a week. It felt good being at home again. I had really missed home. After I had bathed and had a change of clothes, I went to my mother’s place to see my wife.

My wife was very happy to see me. She had missed me terribly. She had told my mum that I was being hunted by some men, and it had got the poor woman terribly worried. My mum, however, was not at home when I got there, which was a good thing too. I wasn’t prepared for her wahala.

“Where have you been husband?” She asked.

“I am sorry, babe. Those guys were after me. I had to lie low for a while.”

“The guys who were after you, was it for business or pleasure?”

“Both”

“Tell me exactly what could make you abandon your pregnant wife for almost a week.”

“I am sorry. Don’t bother about it. It’s over now. I am free again and I have come to get you home.” I spoke.

“Thank God. You really got me worried and scared. You know I shouldn’t be in that kind of situation because of my condition.” She complained.

“It’s alright, babe. Please, forgive me. Everything will be fine henceforth.”

“Okay, if you say so. However, I am not going with you. I will stay here for about a month before coming home. Your mum has been taking very good care of me.” She spoke.

“Just say that you don’t want to miss your usual gossips. You and my mum? Who doesn’t know you girls? I can imagine how you have belaboured my name these past days.” I said, laughing.

“I beg, leave us jor. Is it your business. No one forced you to be a male.” We both laughed.

My wife and I were scheduled to go see Chris in two days’ time for the biometric process. However, before that, Chris had to go pay the money for the processing of the passports at a bank. When he got there, he presented the money at the counter and filled the necessary forms. The cashier looked at him suspiciously, asked him to hold on a little, and then called the police. He couldn’t understand what was happening.

However, he was told that the money was counterfeit. They were fake dollar bills, and he was accused of trying to defraud the bank, and of circulating fake bank notes. He was at the bank with the same three guys he had sent to help me get the money from Olivia. One of them was with him inside the bank and the other two were waiting by the car outside.

Chris was now at the police station. He asked to make a call and was granted the permission to. He called some of his big friends in high places. However, he was told by every one of them that since it involved counterfeit money, it was a bit more complicated. They told him to be patient while they work things out. Some of them didn’t even take their calls. He called me twice, but I didn’t take my calls. I was not around my phone. He assumed that I was not taking my calls deliberately.

He assumed that I knew all along that the money was fake and I had set him up. He grew enraged and saw me as a traitor. Because he was angry with me, he refused to take my calls when I saw he missed calls and called back. Instead, he sent the other two guys to come and deal with me.

Back in my home, I was all alone in the sitting room, watching The Equalizer, starring Denzel Washington. I was completely oblivious of all the happenings at the bank. When I saw Chris’ missed calls, I thought he was calling me to give positive news, or he wanted additional information. I didn’t know that trouble was brewing. I heard my doorbell ring, and stealthily went to the peephole and looked.

I was not expecting anybody, that’s why I was suspicious. I couldn’t believe what I saw. I saw two men at my door, their faces masked, and their guns drawn. I tiptoed back to my bedroom, got my gun, checked to see that it was loaded and came back to the living room.

The two guys had rung the bell several times without any response from me. They got angry and decided to force the door open. As they were struggling to do so, I fired twice through the door. They both fell on the ground. One was killed instantly because the bullet had got him in the head. The other was hit on his right shoulder, causing him to drop his gun.

I quickly walked to the door and opened it. I saw both of them. One was dead and the other was lying on the floor, holding his injured shoulder and writhing in pains. I went to him, picked up his gun, took the other one’s gun too and dragged him into my house and tied him up. When I was sure that he was secured, I went back outside and pulled the dead one behind the house.

I got back to the living room with my gun still in my hand and took off his mask. I was shocked by what I saw. It was Ryan, Chris’ man and the guy who had helped me before.

“What’s the meaning of this, Ryan?” I asked, vexed. “Why are you guys after me?”

“Chris sent us. You betrayed him. You betrayed our boss. He sent us to teach you a lesson.”

“What do you mean? Chris is my friend. We have been friends for ages. I can never betray him. Where is he? I have tried to call him, but he isn’t taking my calls.”

“He is in jail.”

“What?”

“Yes, he is in jail with another colleague of mine. He is in jail because you set him up. You are a traitor, Phil.” Ryan cursed.

“My friend watch what you say. The next time you call me a traitor will be the last time. So, better be careful.” I warned him.

I got my phone, stepped away from Ryan and dialed Chris’ number. It rang for a long time, but no one picked. I was confused, angry and frustrated. I didn’t know what to make of the situation. I thought I was done shooting and killing people. I thought I was a free man again. Now, killers were still after me. What made it worse was the fact that my new hunters were people who had previously been my allies.

I got back to Ryan and asked.

“What happened? Please tell me everything.” I urged.

“Go to hell”

“I don’t want to get hard on you. I know there is a mix up somewhere. Since I can’t get to Chris, you are the only one who can tell me what happened.” I explained to him.

He stayed quiet and refused to speak. Instead, he raised his head and looked at me with hostility. He was a hardened gunman, but he didn’t know that he was dealing with a desperate man. With all the force in me, I gave him a hard punch in his stomach. He growled in pains, and saliva started dripping from his mouth. I raised my gun and pointed directly to his head.

“Last chance, Ryan. Last chance.”

“Okay, I will talk. I will talk. Please, don’t kill me.”

“Get on with it, then.” I barked.

“It’s the money, the money. He was arrested because of the money.”

“What money? The dollar bills?” I asked.

“Yes”

“Why”

“They said it was fake.”

I felt my world coming to an end. I felt my knees weakening, my head spinning, my eyes turning. No!!! It could not be. It could never be. This money was my ticket to my new life, a new and better life. I had killed people, lost my job, be on the run just for this money, and now it has turned out to be all for nothing? I couldn’t believe. In fact, I refused to believe.

“Are you sure of what you are talking about, Ryan?” I asked.

“Damn sure”

I got my remote and turned on the TV. To my surprise the news was on TV. The reporter was explaining what had happened.

“The mystery about all the recent killings in the city these past days has been revealed. The killings at the railway terminal, the one in the premises of Dreamland Hotel and the one at the building close to Boulangerie Menos are all linked to one and the same incident. It was all because of some fake dollar bills that were brought into the country by the former railway boss. It was a kickback given to him by the minister of transport for facilitating his own man to get the railway contract.

The minister himself didn’t know the dollars were fake. After he had given the railway boss the money, he sent his men to go get the money back and wipe out the railway boss and his men. That was what caused the killing at the terminal.
Unfortunately for them, one of the railways boss’ men escaped the shooting and took the money with him.

No one knows what happened, but the money got into another person’s hand. It was in the quest to get the money from its new keeper which caused all those deaths. The police had been investigating all this while, and today, they caught someone with some of the dollar bills. He is currently under investigation. The minister has already been arrested. The police spokesman said, he was sure that by the end of this week, the case will be closed because they are very close to the man keeping the rest of the dollar bills.

Reporting for Comway News. This is Megan Ncube”

I turned off the TV in anger. My life was finished. Oh!! My poor wife. I wondered how she would cope without me. My selfishness and greed had led me into this. I had abandoned my job and went on the run because of fake money. Oh God!! Please help me. I sat on the couch and started thinking of my next move. I didn’t have time for that however, because my door was kicked open and the special branch of the police walked in. They were four of them.

I was handcuffed, my rights read to me and taken to the police van. An ambulance was called for Ryan. As we drove to the police station, I begged God to forgive my sins and take care of my wife and my unborn baby for me.

THE END…!!!

The Money Or Your Life Chapter 5

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🤷 The Money Or Your Life Chapter Five:

I raced downstairs and headed straight to the receptionist. I told them about the incident that just happened and asked if I could get Olivia’s number. I was however, told that Olivia was not a maid at that hotel. She didn’t work there. Now, I realized that Olivia had been a setup all the while. I hated myself to have let myself fall into such a cheap trap. I had risked my life, abandoned my wife and my job just for that money. Now, it was gone because I fell for a woman’s looks.

I went back to my room and sat on the bed, mourning my loss. I didn’t know what to do. I was fast running out of money. I had just a few hundred thousand left in my Mobile Money account. That would soon be exhausted and I would be needing money. I had lost my job, my wife was pregnant, I was on the run. I needed money to stay afloat. What was I going to do? I was lost as to what to do, and felt like shedding tears. Then I remembered that I had put a tracker in the bag containing the money. I wondered if its batteries were still strong enough for it to be working properly.

I got my phone, went to the tracker app and realized that it was still on. I linked the app to Google Earth and was able to locate where Olivia was. She was on the main road, not far from the hotel, but she was moving. That meant she was in a car. It also occurred to me that, if she wasn’t too far from the hotel, it could only mean that it hadn’t been long since she left. I thanked God for the dream. It was thanks to the frightful end of the dream that I was able to wake up on time. All hope was not lost yet.

I got my gun, loaded it, got extra ammunition and headed out of the room. I raced downstairs and asked the receptionist if the hotel offered car rental services. She said they did. I quickly negotiated for a rented car. This time around, my ID card was needed. I had no choice but to make it available. I told her that the bill should be added to my hotel bill, and I would settle everything before I checked out.

I was now in the rented car, driving at breakneck speed. The tracker indicated I was close to Olivia. However, I wasn’t able to pinpoint the particular car she was using. However, I kept driving, hoping I would locate her. The traffic became congested and I had to slow down. Then, I had to finally stop because it had gotten to the stage of our cars being bumper to bumper. I checked my tracker and it showed I was closer to Olivia than ever. However, there were too many cars so, I couldn’t know which car was hers. Suddenly, I saw a lady got out of her car and shouted at the car in front of her to move. I couldn’t believe my eyes. It was Olivia.

“Olivia!!!” I shouted.

She turned around and saw me. With fright and urgency on her face, she got back into her car. Just then the traffic cleared a little and she swerved to the right, overtaking the cars in front of hers and spen off. I gave chase, and she went into a one-lane neighbourhood and continued speeding. I followed without hesitation. It looked like she was hurrying to meet someone. I pulled my gun and was about to fire, but I realized we were in a street; in the open. The sound of a gunshot would attract the police.

She got into a narrow lane that connected a street at the opposite end. I tried to follow her but a huge truck had come in front of me, blocking my way and my view. I honked my horns like a mad man, but by the time the truck moved, I could no longer see Olivia’s car. Vexed, I checked my tracker and realized she was nearby but she wasn’t moving. Using Google Map, I zoomed in on the location, and realized she was in a building. I figured she couldn’t be alone and it was dangerous to go get her alone. I called for help.

“Hello Chris” I was calling the friend of mine who had sold me the gun.

“Hello Phil”

“Bro, I am in a tight situation. Can you send me two of your guys?” I asked.

“What’s the matter?”

“I will explain later, bro. Please, it’s urgent.”

“What’s your location?” Chris asked.

“I am at Rond Point, Bro, just beside Boulangerie Menos.”

“Alright, I am sending three of my guys. Just give me a minute.”

“Thanks Bro.”

I was now with Chris’ guys. They looked rugged and dangerous. Their leader had dreads and his gun looked well used. Together, we located the building Olivia had gotten into. We were sure it was the building because we saw her car parked outside. I asked one of the guys to stay in my car, one to stay by the door of the building, while the other one and me went inside the building. The main door of the building led to a small hallway. On the right side of the hallway, was a long corridor. We walked stealthily through the corridor until we rounded a corner which led to a large white painted room. Then, I saw them. Sitting on the far end of a long table, was, you won’t believe it, my boss at the railway construction. Beside him was Olivia and the bearded guy with glasses. A dangerous looking body guard stood at the far end of the room, his hand on his gun. So, my boss had been behind the whole thing all along.

As soon as we got into the room, they saw us and greeted us with fire. We fell back into the corridor and returned fire. However, we were firring blindly because we couldn’t see them from where we were crouching. We ceased fire momentarily.

“Phil!!” My boss called. “There is no need shedding innocent blood. The money is not yours. Give it up, go back to your family, and your life will be spared.

“Too late for that, boss. The money isn’t yours either. You should give it up.” I retorted.

“What you have gotten into is too big for you, Phil. You are like a son to me, and that is the reason I haven’t made you pay dearly for your involvement. My men had your wife on their sights, but I asked them to let her go. Last night, Olivia would have killed you, but I asked her to give you a chance. Now, I am giving you another chance. Let it go.”

“No way, boss. Let’s split the money then. I have gone too far to just let everything go like that.”

“Then be prepared to die. Jimmy, get him.” He ordered the body guard to shoot at us.

He opened fire with his AK 47, and almost got me. We fell further down the corridor and returned fire. Jimmy ducked behind a filling cabinet at the far end of the room, just opposite the entrance to the corridor. I fired on the cabinet, but it was made of solid steel, and the bullets ricocheted and almost hit me again. I realized he was in a better position than us.

From where he crouched, he could get us without us getting him. So, I had to improvise. I aimed at the wall that was close to the cabinet and fired in such a way that the bullets will graze the wall. My plan worked perfectly. The pieces of concrete form the wall got onto his face and stung his eyes. With his reflexes acting faster than his reasoning, he left his hiding place without thinking. The Chris’ guy who was with me air conditioned his stomach and he dropped dead.

We got back into the room but could not find my boss, the bearded guy or Olivia. We figured they were trying to make their way out. We ran after them, but stopped suddenly when we heard two gunshots. We slept on the floor and crawled until we got to the exit. That was when we saw it. The guy I had left at the entrance to the building had shot the bearded guy and Olivia and they were lying in a pool of their own blood, the bag of money lying by them. The other guy in the waiting car had surrendered the boss. I moved forward and spoke.

“Boss, this is the end of you.”

“Foolish boy. What right have you got to get into my business and complicate my life like this?”

“I am sorry boss, we are both greedy people, no doubt about that. However, you have made several attempts on my life. Because of that, you deserve to die.”

“Please, don’t kill me. I no longer need the money. Take the money and let me live.” He begged but at the same time, his hand was going for his gun. The guy in the car planted him with at least six bullets. He held his stomach, turned around and gave me that why-did-you-do-this-to-me-look, then dropped on the ground and died.

The four of us quickly collected the money, got into the rented car and left the place in high speed. I dropped the guys at Feu Rouge where they had parked their own car, and then headed back to the hotel. When I got back to the hotel, I parked the car at the parking lot and raced up the stairs to my hotel room. When I was sure I was alone, I opened the bag, and realized that not even a dollar was missing. The money was still intact.

I sat on the bed and evaluated the situation. I had gotten the money back, but at a cost. I had killed people, all for money that wasn’t mine. I felt terrible. I had complicated my life because of my greed. The boss said he stopped his men from killing my wife. That meant I had put my wife’s life at risk. She came close to being killed, together with my unborn kid all because of me. I felt very bad. But I also felt consolation in the fact that I had succeeded to eliminate my criminal boss and his gang, and also by the fact that I was now stinkingly rich, and would no longer be on the run. I called Chris to thank him for his help. Then I made a proposal to him.

“Bro, can you please facilitate an international passport for me and my wife? I will pay you bountifully.” I said to Chris.

“Why do you need passports, bro?”

“I need to leave the country, bro.” I revealed.

“But your hunters are dead already. You are a free man now.” Chris spoke.

“You can never be too sure, Bro. I need to be careful.

“That’s true. See me tomorrow and we will begin the process.” Chris said.

I was very happy, especially after I called my wife and she said everything was fine with her and the baby in her tummy. I was already seeing myself as a rich man. I thought poverty was over for me. I thought beginning tomorrow, I was going to begin a new life. However, that was not to be for Karma had decided it was time to payback.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Money Or Your Life Chapter 3

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “The Money Or Your Life Chapter 3 Of The Money Or Your Life Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

🤷 The Money Or Your Life Chapter Three:

I fired at the guy who had just got in through the main door of the hotel because I saw him with a drawn gun. It was a clean shot and he fell back and died instantly, with a bullet in his heart. The guy who had been chasing me through the corridor and down the stairs pulled out his gun, aimed at me and fired. I ducked just in time as he rained more bullets on me. I hid behind a standing air conditioner and tried to judge his position from the sound of his gun.

He seemed to have runout of bullets and wanted to reload. That was my opportunity. Peeping from my place of cover, I fired a bullet at him, but it missed. I tried to fire again but realized I was out of bullets too. By then, he had finished loading his gun. He fired at me, but I ran towards the receptionist as he kept firing. The bullet missed me and went through the wooden counter of the receptionist area, killing one clerk and wounding two.

I ran up the stairs to get the money. My cover had been blown. I had to leave the hotel. However, the shooter was meant to kill me at all costs, and he followed me up the stairs. I had no to reload my gun, so, I hid behind a pillar that stood in the middle of the hallway that led to the third-floor corridor.

The shooter came into the hallway and looked around, trying to figure out where I was. He came close to the pillar but didn’t see me because I had shifted to the other side. Convinced that I was not in the hallway, he put his gun back in its holster and moved towards the corridor. That was my opportunity. I took a big clay flowerpot and hit on his head. He fell on the ground, and I took his gun and fired two shots into his head.

I knew the police would be here soon. I had to act fast. I now knew there were many men looking for me. The police would start looking for me too. I got into the hotel room, opened the safe, grabbed the bag containing the money and ran back outside. I didn’t see anyone. I went down the stairs and out of the hotel. I stopped a passing taxi and got in. As I was leaving, I saw a police car stopping in front of the hotel.

At the back seat of the taxi, I started analyzing the situation. How did the guys know that I lived at Dreamland Hotel? There could only be one reason. I had been followed on my way back from the hospital. I had seen four of them at the hospital premises waiting for me. However, it was now evident that there were more of them than I had anticipated. Some of them had spotted me and followed me back to my hotel. What was I going to do? The cursed money had brought me more harm than good. What was the use of having money this much, but you couldn’t spend it. I decided to call my wife and find out how she was doing.

“Hello babe.”

“Hello love” She replied. Her voice was so sweet. For about two days now, I hadn’t been able to spend time with her, and it bothered me. I missed her terribly. I wondered if I would ever be able to have her in my arms again.

“How are you feeling today?” I asked.

“I am better today. Where are you? Where have you been hiding. Those people who came to the house said you have their money. What is going on? How come you are associated with that kind of mean looking people?” She was asking too many questions.

“Don’t worry, babe. I will explain everything to you when I have the time. Right now, I don’t have any tine for explanations. I just want to tell you that, when you leave the hospital, don’t go back home. Tell Derick to take you to my mother. I will see you there later.”

“Babe please, I am scared. What is happening to you? Please tell me.” She was really afraid for me.

“Don’t worry, I am fine. I will explain everything later, Ok? No matter what happens, know that you are always in my heart. I love you.”

“Love you too, babe.”

“Bye”

“Ok, bye”

As soon as I dropped, my phone rang. It was my boss at the railway construction.

“Hello, boss”

“Young man. You haven’t been showing up for work. What is happening?”

“I am sorry, Sir. I am really caught up with something now. It’s so important and I can’t show up for work now until I have put everything right.”

“What can be more important than your job, young man?” The boss asked. “Anyway, I want you to know that your salary would be reduced proportionately to the number of the days you will be away. Do you understand?

“Yes, Sir.”

“And next time you are going to be away from work, better let people know on time. There was a shootout here the other day, and we came in the morning and met corpses. Then, we waited on you, and you didn’t show up to work. We were all scared that you might have been killed.”

“It’s alright, boss. I am fine. I have to go now.”

“No, wait….”

I dropped the call and turned my attention to the taxi driver. He was getting worried because I hadn’t told him my destination.

“Sir, you haven’t told me where you are going to.” He said.

Did I even know where I was going to? I was going to nowhere in particular. However, I had to get off the taxi before the driver started suspecting me. But we were in the middle of nowhere now and I couldn’t drop in the middle of nowhere.

“Please, just go for a few minutes and I will drop.” I told him.

As soon as I said that I regretted immediately. We had come upon a police checkpoint. I cursed under my breath at this mishap. What if the police decided to search my bag? They would definitely find the money. What was I going to tell them I got the money from? I was very tense, afraid and angry.

The driver was asked to pull over. He did. A young policeman approached the car.

“Good afternoon, Officer.”

“Good afternoon. Where are you off to?” The policeman asked, peering inside the car.

“I am going to drop this passenger, Sir. Work is tight today oh, things are not moving.” The driver told him.

“Are you saying this is the only passenger you have transported since morning?”

“Yes, Sir. Work is slow today.”

“You are saying there is nothing for us?” The policeman asked.

“Nothing for now, Officer. Perhaps on my way back, I will drop something, trust me.”

“Alright” The policeman agreed. “But remember to keep to your promise.”

The policeman cleared us to leave. I heaved a huge sigh of relief. That was close. What if the policeman had become curious and searched me? But that was highly unlikely. Most of the policemen on that road only cared about money and bribes. They didn’t even check car documents or trunks of cars. That explained why guns could move freely through the city. It was thanks to the corrupt nature of some policemen. For example, if the car had been searched, they would have arrested me because I had my gun and the money with me.

It was about 6:30 PM now. Back at the hospital premises, the bearded guy with the shades had heard about the shooting at Dreamland Hotel. He had also heard that I had killed both of his men. He now knew I was no ordinary adversary. He now believed I was going to give them a very hard time. He called their boss and intimated him about the recent developments.

Back at the hotel, the police were still doing their investigations. The hotel had no security cameras. Therefore no one was able to know about the mysterious shooter that was me. All the police could get was verbal descriptions of me. An ambulance had been called, and the bodies of the two killers and the receptionist were taken to the morgue. It was a good thing I didn’t book the hotel with any ID of mine.

Few hotels if any, would allow you to get a room without some form of ID. In my case, I had bribed the receptionist and lied to her that I was going to bring my ID the next day. That was going to make the work of the police difficult. I smiled at the thought of that.
I asked the taxi driver to drop me around the premises of another hotel. This one was called White House Hotel. I approached the hotel cautiously from the side and got to the reception area without any incident.

“Hello” I said to the receptionist.

“Welcome, Sir. Do you want a room?”

“Yes, beautiful, do you have any for me?” I asked the beautiful receptionist.

“Yes, Sir. We have very nice and comfortable rooms, and our rates are very moderate.

I got a room on the second floor of the hotel. The room overlooked the main road. So, I could watch any activity happening down there without anyone noticing. I put the money under the bed, put the gun on the nightstand and went into the bath. I had just finished freshening up when I heard a knock on my door.

“Who is there?” I asked but there was no response. With only a towel around my waist, I took my gun and cautiously approached the door.

TO BE CONTINUED

The Money Or Your Life Chapter 2

Thank you for choosing Siri as your online beautiful sweet story reading partner. Today we have “The Money Or Your Life Chapter 2 Of The Money Or Your Life Stories Or Novels To Read with Siri.”

🤷 The Money Or Your Life Chapter TWO:

I quickly retreated and ran back for a few meters away. I hid behind a closed corner shop and assessed the situation. What were those guys doing at my house. They had gotten to my house even before I could make it myself. That could only mean one thing. They knew me. If they knew me, then it only made sense that one of my colleagues at the railway was involved.

Now it all made sense to me. The site of the shooting, the site of the burial of the money…everything. Now, I had gotten myself involved in a bigger entanglement than I had bargained for. What was I going to do? Give back the money? No way!!

I ran back into the bushes, thought for a while, then decided to go to a hotel. My life was in danger, and so was the life of my wife and our unborn child. I was afraid for my wife, but I was sure they were not going to hurt her. The amount of money at stake was too huge.

Though they were criminals, I was sure they still had the good sense to know that if they killed my wife, I would disappear with the money. If they kidnapped my wife and hold her hostage, I was going to call the police, I thought. But again, I thought to myself. Was I ready to get the police involved in this? No way, this was not a police issue.

I saw a lone okada and stopped it, and told him to drop me at Dreamland Hotel. He carried me and sped away. I kept looking behind me to see if anyone was after me. Thankfully, we got to the hotel in one piece. I booked a room on the third floor. I didn’t have enough cash with me. However, the hotel accepted Mobile Money so, I paid for two nights. As soon as I got into my room and was about to go to the bath to clean up, my phone rang. I checked and it was my wife.

“Hello baby. Hope you are ok?” I asked.

“No, babe. I am not okay. Where are you, please?”

“I am working late today, babe. What is the matter?” I asked as if I didn’t know.

“There are some guys here with guns, babe. They are threatening to kill me.” She was really scared.

“What? What do they want?” I asked.

“We want our money.” Answered one of the guys.

“And you think holding my wife hostage will bring back your money?” I asked.

“The money or your wife. Choose one.”

“If you don’t leave my wife, I will call the police.” I threatened.

“Hahahahahahahaha! You know you can’t all the police. You wouldn’t want to get the police involved in this, would you? Just bring the money or if you can’t, drop it somewhere and tell us where to get it. I promise no harm will come to you or your wife if you comply.”

I angrily dropped the call. He was right. I wouldn’t want to get the police involved. Damn!! What was I going to do. I didn’t believe giving them back the money would make them spare me. They were hardened and heartless criminals. They would kill me even if they got their money back. My wife, my beautiful wife. I hoped she was safe. Then another thought came to me. Yes, I couldn’t get the police involved. That was out of the question.

However, my wife had a cousin who was a police inspector. What if I tricked him into going to my house. What if I lied to him that I was working overnight and my wife had had an emergency, just to make him go there? I smiled at the thought and checked my phone for his number.

“Hello, Inspector.”

“Is that my in law? Long time, Bro. How are you?”

“I am good, Bro. But your sister is not. Please, I am working late and she has had an emergency. Could you please go see what is happening to her?”

“Okay, bro. My friend and I are on patrol this night. I will just ask him to drive me to your neighbourhood.” The inspector said.

“Thank you, bro. I appreciate.”

“Anything for my beautiful sister.”

Back at my house, the guy who was at the Lexus Jeep, heard the sound of the police siren and went into to tell his partner that the police were on their way. The guy inside quickly got into the car, and they drove way. They couldn’t believe my guts, my effrontery. They now understood that they were dealing with a tougher adversary than they had anticipated. I knew in their minds; they were thinking of very un-nice things they would do to me when and if they finally laid their hands on me.

My inspector in law and his friend pulled up at my house, and luckily for me, my wife was indeed having a crisis. She was in too much trauma as a result, needed medical attention, and felt very relieved and thankful when her cousin showed in.

“Thank God, Derick. Thank God you came. There were some men here. Did you see them outside? Are they still outside?” She was traumatized.

“Men?” Derick asked. “I didn’t see any men. Your husband called me to come and check on you. He said you were having a crisis.”

“My husband? Have you seen him? Is he alright?”

“Of course, your husband is alright? What are you talking about? Is everything alright? You talked of some men outside your house. Is anything the matter?”

My wife was smart enough to know that I hadn’t told her cousin anything about the armed men, probably because I didn’t want him getting involved.

“Just take me to the hospital, please. I am not feeling too well, and I need to see a doctor.” She spoke.

“Okay, if you say so. Let’s go to the hospital.” Derick spoke.

Derick and his colleague helped my wife into the police car and drove away. He called me on their way to the hospital and I was very happy that my wife was safe. I had succeeded to out maneuver the armed men. I laughed at the thought of that. I decided that I would go to the hospital to see my wife when it was daylight. It was risky but it was something I needed to do.

It was morning now. I sneaked out of the hotel to do some things for myself. I needed a change of dress, but I couldn’t dare go to my house to get any. Luckily for me, the hotel had a convenience store. I went there and got a pair of jeans, a T Shirt and a pair of sneakers. I used Mobile Money to pay. I didn’t care about expenses because I had millions with me. I stopped a passing taxi, got in and headed to the hospital. When I got off the taxi, I couldn’t believe what I saw. Parked in front of the hospital gate, was the Lexus Jeep. They had surely hidden somewhere when Derick came.

They had then followed Derick slowly and realized that he was taking my wife to the hospital. Now, they were waiting, hoping correctly, that I would come to the hospital to see my wife.

I hid behind a flower hedge that was outside the hospital gate and scanned the whole area. I noticed that the guys were now four. Two were in the jeep, and the other two were standing outside, leaning on the jeep, with their thick muscular arms folded. The one with the beard was still having his dark shades on. It dawned on me now that those guys meant business and were bent on making my life miserable until I give back their money. I decided that if that was the case, then I needed to up my game too.

I sneaked out of the hospital premises and went to see a friend of mine who deals in guns. I needed to protect myself and my wife. I also went to an electronic shop and got electronic trackers. It cost me a fortune, but I didn’t bother. I was in possession of millions.

I went back to the hotel and put the tracking device on my door and also on the hotel safe where I had kept the money. I couldn’t take the risk of moving around with such a huge amount of money, especially as I had bad guys who wanted my life or their money. If they had had the opportunity, they would take both. I set the tracker in such a way that it was connected to my phone through the internet. In that case, while I was away, if someone broke into my room, I would be warned via my phone and know my next move.

Satisfied with the settings, I took my newly bought gun and went out of the hotel. I wanted to go to my house, now that I was sure that those guys were at the hospital, and take some personal effects I would need.

I sneaked into my neighbourhood, collected my important documents and sneaked back out. I took a bike and told the bike reader not to take the normal route to the hotel. I requested that he took a back cut. I wasn’t taking any chances. While I was on the bike, my phone beeped. I checked and realized that I was getting signals that my hotel door had been tampered with. I wondered if it could be room service. I was sure it was room service. Who else could it be? The guys who were after me didn’t know where I was living. However, the beeps increased both in sound and frequency, and I knew there was something sinister.

The bike stopped in front of the hotel and I got off. As soon as I got into the hotel lobby, pulled out my gun and went up the stairs. When I got to the floor where my room was located, I didn’t find any one. I put my gun away and opened my door. I went straight to the safe and, with my heart beating fast, I checked the money and I was relieved to see that it was still there. I closed the safe and decided to go downstairs to ask the receptionist if anyone had come looking for me.

As I was walking through the corridor, I had a strange feeling someone was behind me. I looked behind and realized that there was a dangerous looking guy coming towards me. I had never seen him before. I quickened my pace and he did too. I got to the stairs and raced down it, taking two stairs at a time. He followed in hot pursuit.

I got to the hotel lobby and saw the hotel receptionist and two clerks behind the counter. However, that was not my interest. What caught my attention was that, another dangerous looking guy had just got in through the main door of the hotel. At that stage, I had no option. I had been cornered, I pulled out my gun and fired.

TO BE CONTINUED