MY TREASURED DESIRE

Chapter NINETEEN: Just a Helping Hand!

General Raymond Chang's POV.

London, England.

I had tried all the tricks in the books to win the love of Greta, who had acknowledged the fact that she had ‘crushed’ over Reynold that she had never met but had had the physical allure of touch, sight, and flesh of Raymond. She has painfully informed her parents that her true love was General Raymond Chang, not Crown Prince Reynold Chang that she longs to win at all costs… But the Reinhard Merkel family (father, mother, and daughter) wanted the crown prince and nothing else! Hence, I became tired of waiting, ready to become a responsible husband! Reynold and I have therefore resolved that I should pick a wife on my return from our Official visit to the King of England, even as Reynold would have to stay back to conclude his marriage matter with Princess Alexa – and put an end to his disguise.

Back to the present moment, I had heard a lot about some Classic Lodges via Buckingham Palace… Reynold and I were lodged at Buckingham Villiers Hotel at 3 Castle Street, Buckingham. But I feel too adventurous to stay on one spot… I told Reynold about my plan to visit A421 Buckingham Ring Road for a famous meal at Best Western Buckingham Hotel.

“O Green Rey, Is anything wrong with you? – Where you are is better than where you want to go,” Reynold clarified the matter to me, but I only wanted to enjoy himself by moving around! A black Rolls Royce is attached to each guest at no cost, so, what is keeping me from gallivanting around? So I said:

“You are aware that I know Great Britain very well, My Lord! Let’s have fun.”

“You are free to go. I will have lunch at the Buckingham Villiers here, Green Ray.”

“Alright, Thanks a lot - O Blue Rey,” I expressed my gratitude for the permission… and whisked off…

As I progressed, reaching a classy hotel nearby, I saw a very beautiful lady being ‘disturbed’ by some rough guys… So, I motioned my driver to park aright for me to enter that hotel… I entered inside, greeted politely, and asked the guy who wanted to rough-handle the lady:

“Brother, please do respect the lady, What’s Up?”

A huge slap was coming to me for interfering. But I calmly blocked it while gently pushing the man backward… Then, about eight very strong-looking bouncers surrounded me… One of them said: “Good Afternoon, Nosey Parker… Policemen are not common around here, Rich Brat… And this is not Asia.”

The beautiful lady moved forward and begged the bouncers to please calm down and not take the law into their hands… but the next move was very fast – a slap meant for Alexa… But I - as fast as lightning - stood in the gap and blocked the assault…

“Brothers, we mean no harm… Just let the beautiful lady go…”

One of the heavily built guys said with a wry smile, “She has so many G.B. Pound notes in there,” he said in a distinct British accent, pointing to Alexa’s purse, “But you may choose to pay for her.”

“Okay… How much?” I asked, bringing out my big purse!

“No, I owe them nothing, Brother…” She looked at the guy that was standing for her and completed her statement: “Prince Reynold?”

“What? How did you know… that name…”?

“I saw your effigy at your Palace’s Gallery at Lagos, Achaia…”

While we were discussing, the bad boys have locked the door that enters the hotel. The curtains were drawn so as not to attract the Patrol Vans of the Buckingham Palace’s Security… “Our clients are loaded! Good business and we are closed for the day!”

We pretended as if we did not hear what the rogue had said. We continued discussing how Alexa thought that this was a nice hotel… and she entered the wrong place, and these troublemakers were demanding how much her cosmetics franchise had made today… She even thought that they knew her…

“They must have seen your face on Forbes Magazine, and you fell for them… Your friend Reese never stopped talking about you… Your picture I had seen before, gave me the curiosity to enter here… A Rolls Royce waits for us outside…” It was then, that we noticed that the entrance door was no more there, and each of the bouncers have weapons of warfare! “Guys, what indecent attitude is this? I can give you something for food without stress… Remember your own people’s words on the marble: ‘Be peaceful, be courteous, obey the law, respect everyone; but if someone puts his hand on you, send him to the cemetery. You are on the wrong side of your own principles!”

One guy in suit replied, calmly: “That quote is for the slums of Brentford… this is Buckingham, Weakling!”

I gently patted Princess Alexa’s shoulder. I brought out a wad from my purse and said: “Sorry to get you excited. Manage these few thousands!”

One of the thugs spoke angrily: “So, you saw us as hungry beggars? We are mobsters, trained hard to fight for our income. This is business. Surrender your purse, and if it is up to £ 200,000= we can spare your lives…”

At this time, the mobsters have increased numerically to about 30 young, well-built thugs, and the hall has been cleared to give much space for real fights.

“Is this how you treat visitors to your land?” the fearless Ndidi said, indignantly.

“Shut your blabby mouth, you asshole… expensive slut,” another gangster standing at arm’s length from Ndidi screamed at her. Alexa just gave him a thunderous, tight slap that threw him back about four meters away! The other guys moved closer, and Alexa tied her purse around her waist, while I returned my currency notes back and kept my purse in my topcoat pocket… I knew that a fight is inevitable!

“You…” the red-faced man said after examining himself to see Alexa’s five bold finger-marks on his face!

“You…” the red-faced man stuttered after a colleague had examined him to inform him that the lady's five bold finger-marks are printed on his face!

“You still have this chance to reform… I can help you, or else!” I was saying before a heavy swivel chair flew towards my head. If I duck, Alexa will be hurt. So, I caught the heavy chair and swiftly used it to hang on the neck of the nearest assailant. Alexa had already shocked two strong men, and they were sprawling on the floor watching her, strangely. Her kicks were like several hits from an iron rod…

I changed my style, one extremely fast hit in the most delicate part for each foe… Bam, Bam, Bam!

For any adventurous hand or leg that comes closer seeking to hit me, I catch and professionally crack… Chillier screams of agony follow each cracking.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

The leader looked at me with murderous intent and charged at me while I was taking on three of their strongest men. It could be seen that that leader was trying to hide his fears and fight back, at least… But, with the speed of lightning, Alexa leaped over the four-some, landed in the direction of the leader of the ruffians, and maintained her balance just as the big guy reached her like a bull. She stretched a leg backward, squatted a little, closed her eyes, and freely released a blow to the man’s chest… Crack! An agonising scream of extreme pain. The chest physically caved in, and the man was swung back by the velocity of that blow… He crashed against the about 30mm thick glass door behind the heavy curtains. The glass shattered into smithereens! The big boss sat there, motionless – vomiting pure blood.

She landed a blow from the other hand at the neck of another ruffian that wanted to take advantage and stab her at the back: The blow landed across his face and the skull shattered from that side… Another scream, and a huge crash!

I lifted Alexa up suddenly and she released a cycling kick which caught another heavy man across the chest… A huge dent as if the man was a carton, and a thunderous shout came from him. The man crashed into another on-rushing ruffian and they were both knocked out, instantly. I dropped her before the men were knocked out and made a roundhouse kick at a charging big-man – That kick lifted him up and he flew to the farther wall. He crashed and fainted… In sixty seconds, 20 men have lost consciousness…

Then an experienced fighter charged at Alexa, and a triple swing of his muscular legs:

Swoosh… Swoosh… Swoosh!

He missed three calculated kicks that were expected to land Alexa at the Orthopaedic Hospital. I just thought aloud, “How did she do that?”

The man started searching for Alexa who had clung to the ceiling fan… As the man looked up Alexa crashed her hot but vicious legs at the base of his neck, right and left… He screamed and coughed. but she somersaulted, swinging the big man backward. He clashed against one of his colleagues head-on, and both villains slumped and passed out… They were very heavily built like wrestlers!

About 30 men were either seriously wounded or unconscious… Those men, if they wake up alive… will learn a lesson for life: Never underrate your victims!

Only two men remained, shivering, and wetting their panties…

“Cowards, get to these curtains and open the doors again…” Raymond commanded. And the men ran like fools clashing against one another…

Soon, the door was opened again! They knelt and bowed at each side of the exit door:

“We have learned our lessons, Sir and Lady! We would never attack any visitor again!” The two scared big men’s shaky voices promised, still shuddering like cowards!

The two guests walked out as if nothing happened… They had not received any blow… Professionally trained Expert fighters cannot be compared to street urchins who carry big chests and physique to threaten the uninitiated!

***

Raymond did not allow Ndidi to see his eyeballs… He was creating impressions only for his cousin… He kept hoping that it would work, and he said: “What a weird way to meet, Alexa?”

“Creative, too… When are you returning to Achaia?”

“On Friday, Sweetie… Please let me buy you a meal – I am on my knees.”

Ndidi smiled seductively, “Prince Reynard… Don’t beg before you beg… I am famished!”

Raymond opened the back door behind the chauffeur for her, moved to the other side with such an inhuman speed after neatly closing her side of the door. They were soon moving. Raymond was both impressed and ecstatic and he thought: ‘How I wish I am Reynold… I would have proposed today!’ Then he grinned and said: “I would have preferred to be an Alpha Wolf instead of Reynard – the Fox in the medieval beast epic?”

“How audacious… Thank you for saving my life back there…” Ndidi smiled deeply. She was truly grateful, but she wasn’t ready to stop calling him that name. “Reynard… You are so easy to relate with, at first sight… You remind me of one gentleman from your kingdom, who has your height, size, same moves in combat, your kind of voice, but different face…”

Raymond was startled and shaken. “May I know his name, Princess Alexa?”

“Reynold Chang!”

Raymond almost fainted: Has his identity been discovered? So, he thought: ‘What should I do?’

A timely word saved his day: “Why are you getting bothered? He is my chauffeur…”

He heaved a sigh of relief. “Oh! Your fox.”

“That nice man is not the fox – You are. Are you jealous of him without any of you being mine? Possessive men,” it was Ndidi’s dry joke again, it did not work. So, she continued: “I have heard so much about you, Prince. It is nice to meet you at last…” Ndidi drifted off…

“Reynard loves this princess…” Raymond said and laughed. Ndidi blushed. “I want to be your sole provider. Thank God that namesake is only a chauffeur.”

Ndidi took a searching long gaze at Raymond… She shook her head and said: “Do not try to see my chauffeur as being unqualified to provide my needs, Prince Reynold… I do not consider fleeting riches, but the real being inside the person…”

Ndidi looked serious, Raymond looked jittery.

So, Ndidi helped him to recover his confidence: “Crown Prince, you’re so kind to trace my face and come into that Lion’s Den, just to save me!”

“Irresistible allure,” is Prince Reynold’s own word to describe Ndidi in their normal brotherly chats. “You would have beaten all of them to a pulp if I was not even there!” That seems to be true. “Reese said that you were once caught up amidst 5 wild rabid beasts that wanted to eat you… You killed two… three got overwhelmed and ran away… That was on the ice here in England. African beasts respect you, and European beasts have to learn some respect!”

“What else did Reese tell you about me?”

The Rolls Royce pulled up… The Driver interrupted the couple politely: “Excuse me, Master and Mistress… This is A421 Buckingham Ring Road… You will enjoy your meal at Best Western Buckingham Hotel.”

“Oh, Thank you, Alfred!” Raymond hopped down at the same time Alfred went to Ndidi’s side of the door… He opened, Raymond subtly took her soft and elegant hand with a bow, saying: “Thank you for the esteemed pleasure… Princess Alexa.”

They had their meals, nicely. And, as soon as the meal was done and choice iced cream was served, Raymond re-presented one of the entertaining jokes he had heard from his cousin, Reese… Ndidi laughed more when it dawned on her that it was one of her brother’s finest jokes! She enjoyed herself and she was so grateful…