The Ransom Dealers

Tattoo Betrayal

Sherifat had just finished her shopping from Grand Square Mall, situated on Bompai Road, Kano and was standing on the queue to make her payment, when she heard his unmistakable voice.

She would know that voice anywhere. It was the voice of a monster, the voice of the devil. It was a voice without a face, because the animal was careful to always wear a mask whenever he came in to do his dirty deed. On the mask was imprinted the face of a dog, with its fangs and tongue showing in the open mouth. The experience had made her develop a pathological hatred for dogs. Whenever she saw any dog, it reminded her of her experience in hell.

Her body recoiled in terror, so great was her fear of that voice. She turned her head swiftly in the direction of the voice. She saw a man standing beside the fridges with a woman carrying a child by his side. They were both laughing. He was tall, dark and heavily built. He was looking at the woman, obviously his wife, and was smiling at her while she talked. From the smirk on his face and the smile on hers, she was telling him a very funny joke.

Though he wore a mask whenever he came to rape her, which was every night, she had committed everything about the monster to memory. He would always strip naked before mounting her. She had only resisted once, and she paid dearly for that.

She had pushed him off violently the first night he came to her, using her nails to s***h his chest with four ugly weals, drawing blood. He had gasped in surprise, snarled at her and hit her with a resounding blow in the stomach with his clenched fist. The pain was so excruciating that it was unbearable. She passed out.

She later woke up to feel his disgusting wetness all over her inner thighs, and a feeling of pain and soreness inside her. The monster had violated her. She had sobbed and cried throughout the night, feeling sorry for herself.

Even though she never saw his face, he used to speak into her ears whenever he was on her, saying vile and disgusting things to her. His voice had been imprinted in her brain, and she would know it anywhere.

Her heart beating wildly, she turned and approached the man from behind. He was still talking and joking with the woman, apparently his wife, while he continued to hold the child in his arms.

"I know who you are… You are the Viper", she said to him in a calm tone.

The man whirled around in shock, almost letting go of the baby girl in his arms. His eyes registered surprise as he recognized her as the woman they kidnapped in Abuja six months ago.

They had kept her for two weeks, and her father had finally secured her release by paying a ten million naira ransom. It was one of the sweetest operations they had ever carried out with no blow backs, no police, no surprises and no killings. And the icing on the cake was that he had enjoyed the very beautiful kidnapee throughout the days she was in captivity.

The Viper was second in command, and their Don had warned him repeatedly about the dangers of mixing business with pleasure.

"Isn't it enough that we are making millions from our victims?", He always asked. "Karma is a b***h when she wants to strike back oh… Don't be raping the same person you kidnapped, it is bad for business".

"Abegi!", Moses AKA The Viper scoffed. "So you also believe this superstitious mumbo jumbo?"

Cobra the Don, shook his head emphatically. "It's not a superstition guy, it's real. If I told you the number of guys that pissed away their lives over a piece of ass, you'd be shocked. It's better you stay away from the girls we capture. After all, when we get the ransom there is no woman you can't afford".

Moses never took heed of the warning, and from time to time when they kidnapped a beautiful female, he sneaked in and had his way with her. It was always easy; the victims were already terrified, and even expected to be raped. A steady stare, a few slaps or blows, push them down and take your ride. Who no like awuff?

But now six months later, when they had all forgotten about that episode, when they had carefully started enjoying the ransom, when they were sure that they were home free, the Viper was face to face with the victim. How in hell did she recognize him? He wondered frantically. Already his wife, Jane was staring at them both: her husband looking guilty and scared, his mouth agape and the strange woman standing, looking at him with sure, accusing eyes. Jane also noticed that the woman was trembling all over.

Moses quickly recovered his composure. "Lady, I don't know what you're talking about. My name is not Viper, I am Moses".

"It's a lie!!!", Sherifat screamed, drawing everyone's attention. "I know who you are and your name is Viper!!!"

Jane quickly stepped forward and put a restraining hand on Sherifat's shoulder. "Madam, he is telling you the truth. His name is Moses and he is my husband".

Sherifat flung her arm off of her shoulder. "I KNOW THIS MAN! HE KIDNAPPED ME SIX MONTHS AGO AND RAPED ME FOR TWO WEEKS!!" She bellowed, and everyone became transfixed with shock. Including Jane.

"Me??? Kidnap you? When? How? It's not me oh, abeg. Take your trouble somewhere else. How can I kidnap you?", Moses ranted on.

Jane looked strangely at her husband, her heart skipping a beat. She knew how he sounded when he was telling a lie and being defensive. Right that moment, he sounded defensive. And she also remembered six months ago after she put to bed, Moses travelled to Abuja to supervise a construction project, or so he had told her.

Jane looked at the woman closely, then asked "Lady what is your name please?"

Sherifat wanted to snap back a nasty retort when she looked at Jane's eyes. She paused. What she saw was compassion, and understanding. What she saw was a feminine connection that only women feel when they feel for each other.

"My name is Sherifat", she answered.

"You say you were kidnapped, when?", Jane asked.

"It was on the 10th of January, around 7PM on my way home from work. I was driving along Gwarimpa Express way when I felt a car hit my car from behind. It was a CR-V Jeep. I was angry because there was no traffic on the expressway, so I parked and got out to inspect the damage. A girl came down from the CR-V and started to apologize. I turned to her in annoyance to lash out, but that was as far as I got. Someone held me from behind and placed a wet handkerchief on my nose and mouth. I became unconscious. The next time I came to, I was tied and gagged in a strange bed in a strange room", here she started to sob and cry. "That was when I realized what happened".

Customers had already started to gather and listen. Others watched the unfolding drama from a distance.

Moses was becoming nervous, and he motioned for his wife to come and go. She ignored him, and kept consoling Sherifat.

"But how are you so sure he is among those who kidnapped you?" she asked Sherifat silently.

Sherifat made an effort to stop crying, and said, "How can I ever forget his voice? I never saw his face, but he used to talk to me every time he was raping me. He'd say all sorts of things, some even crazy. But he always talked when he was doing it."

Jane's heart quailed when she heard this. They were still whispering, and no one was close enough to hear their words. She knew her husband. He liked to talk during s*x. Could it be possible that this strange girl was speaking the truth? she thought. Anyway, there was only one way to find out, and she had to go through with it.

"Can you tell me some of the things he said to you?"

Sherifat paused to recollect the painful memories. She never allowed her mind to think about her ordeal, and over the time she had recuperated, she had mastered the art of blocking her subconscious from the horrible episode.

"He used to always ask if his thing was deep enough. 'Are you feeling it?', he will always ask. Is it big...

"...enough?", Jane completed the statement for her.

"And he has a tattoo of a viper above his navel. Does you husband have a tattooed viper on his stomach?", Sherifat asked Jane.

They both looked at each other in unison. Sherifat in resignation, Jane in complete shock. Her husband was a kidnapper, a rapist and who knew what else.

Watching their exchange from where he stood, Moses realized the game was up. As he made to bolt, he saw a policeman at the entrance of the automatic doors, talking to one of the securities in the bank. It was too late, and he had nowhere to run.

Jane turned and walked over to him, and without looking at him pried her daughter out of his arms.