The Covert Identity

Chapter Two

He sat in the living room, his eyes glued to the paper in his hands.

Justice opened the door to the living room and peeped.

‘Good afternoon daddy, please is Prince in?’

‘Oh it’s you JT,’ he lit up his face on seeing him. He had always liked the friendship between his son, Prince and this well-groomed boy, JT.

‘He is not in my son but I think I should direct you to where he is, that is, if you really want to see him urgently.’

‘Yes, daddy I do,’ he responded hurriedly and prayed that this his friend’s father should hurry up before the foam soaks beyond recognition.

‘He told me he was going to meet with the chairman.’ I hope you know who I’m talking about?’ He asked and hoped that his answer should be positive.

‘Yes daddy I know,’ there is absolutely nothing about him I don’t know, he thought.

‘Oh, that’s good,’ lifting his face from the newspaper he was reading and his face immediately lit up because of the answer he got.

‘Then you hurry up before he leaves from there and goes to another place. You know?’ He tried to start a conversation. ‘These banks don’t give one a breathing space,’ coming close to whisper into his ear.

‘Yes I know daddy,’ JT responded and was already at the door before he shouted, ‘thanks daddy for the information.’

Prince’s father smiled and went back to his reading. The chairman’s house was not too far from the house. JT had to wear a three quarter (3/4) sized knickers just to enhance easy movement.

There was a large mass of water everywhere.

He paddled his way through the water though not without much difficulty.

He could see the stupendous building some kilometers ahead. The pain he felt in his legs could not be compared to the pain he felt in his heart.

He wished his friend could help in amending his broken heart.

‘Few more strides,’ he thought, he would be there.

The Local Government Chairman, Chief Thomas Idowu is indeed a man to reckon with. For the past four years in which he had really carried out his duties and responsibilities, he had really not given any citizen any course to question his integrity. In fact, he was a good man to the core; and his wife? As the saying goes; “there is no successful man without a woman.”

She is an epitome of beauty, humility and intelligence. Now that their tenure is almost concluding, the citizenry still wants them back at all costs. Rumours even had it that he is contesting for the gubernatorial elections.

Being enwrapped in his thoughts, he couldn’t realize what was happening, he was already standing in front of the gate housing the magnificent building.

He peered through the gate aided by the little gap in between the gates and what he saw amazed him.

‘What a house in its grandeur.’ He thought.

‘Well, I can’t get a sight of Prince. Oh well, it’s not as if he would be standing outside the building like one waiter or something,’ he chuckled.

He knocked and there was no answer. He knocked persistently.

‘O boy, let it not be that I’m a bit late,’ he thought. Just at that instance, he could see a security man advancing towards him.

‘Who is there?’ The guard asked.

‘JT,’ he answered.

‘Whom do you wish to see?’ He asked.

‘Please, I want to meet with Prince.’

‘Prince?’ The guard asked in confusion.

‘JT on realizing that he could not be granted entrance rephrased his statement.

‘I mean, I want to meet with the chairman.’ He knew that Prince would definitely be with the chairman.

The security man opened the gate and ushered him in.

JT walked towards the main building and never imagined that looking at the building from the outside, one would bet that the exterior is just as good as the interior.

But on the contrary, the interior seemed much more sophisticated than the exterior itself. This artistic irony seemed to impress him more. The flowers! Yes, the flowers caught his attention. There were beautiful laurels as well as flowers all around the house and he couldn’t stop himself from touching them. He however felt that the rain did not drop on this side of the world as everything looked just perfect.

Just as he was about to pick a rose from the flower garden, he felt a force on him. He could feel so much energy instantly. There was this connecting force between him and whoever that owned such hand.

‘What do you think you are doing?’ She snarled.

JT, who was squatting in a bid to pick the flower, looked up and saw the most beautiful being he had ever seen.

He stretched up his upper limb and stood eye ball to eye ball with this intruder.

‘I’m JT, Justice in full,’ extending his hand for a handshake and equally smiling.

She ignored the extended hand and brushed off the hand she was already holding and used her high-heeled shoes to crush the rose he had just picked.

‘You don’t go about in people’s houses plucking their flowers? Do you?’ she snarled again.

‘I don’t think I have ever done this before, but I didn’t know what propelled me today. They are just simply beautiful,’ he said.

‘Well, the next time you come into my residence and touch anything, exquisite or beautiful as you may see it, you would see the worst of me.’ She said as she walked past him but stopped abruptly and added.

‘What the heck are you doing in my house and who do you wish to see anyway? I can’t imagine father pulling out with the likes of you. I don’t wish to see you here again.’ She sized him up with her eyes from top to down and from down to top again. She had a wry smile with her as she walked away.

To say that JT was amazed was an understatement, as a matter of fact; he was hypnotized by her beauty and not her arrogance.

‘I didn’t know that Chief Thomas Idowu had such a beautiful grown-up daughter like this.’ He thought.

As he walked towards the building, he could spell out the girl’s features.

She is indeed a beauty to behold. As she walked; her long legs sprouted out from her short skirts. The high- heeled shoes gave her an elegant look. She had a habit of pushing her long black hair back with the nodding of her head from different positions.

In contrast to JT’s colour, she had a dark shining colour like that of a polished earthen ware. Her big round eyes were simply overwhelming. She spoke with an accent and JT thought she must have lived in the U.K. He was totally enthralled by her beauty.

‘Everything I want in my woman.’ He fantasized.

He entered into the gallery and as he walked towards the huge sitting room he saw from the walls of the gallery a collection of knick knacks. He browsed through them and was quite intrigued by the collector’s sense of art.

Prince on sighting his friend rose and introduced him to Chief Thomas Idowu.

‘Sir, meet my friend Justice,’ gesticulating with a wave of the hand.

‘Good morning sir,’ JT greeted still standing.

‘Good morning my dear, how are you?’

‘I’m very good sir,’ he responded.

‘Well, in that case what are you waiting for?

Please, do sit down.’ He waved his hand to a seat.

‘Thank you sir,’ he responded, sitting.

‘Well, what brought you to my house young man?’

‘Hmm…,’ he muttered.

‘Actually sir,’ he rolled his eyeballs as to pick his words carefully and seizing the opportunity to scrutinize the man before him who was actually unaware. He was a sturdy man with all his physical features telling off his success story. He looked mean from his appearance but had the softest of hearts. Justice tried to draw an analogy between this kindhearted man and his harsh daughter but couldn’t place it. He was drawn out of his assessment state when he heard his name.

‘JT, we are still waiting,’ his friend chipped in.

‘Yes, as I was saying, I called on my friend Prince, but unfortunately he was not home. I was told he was here and as the matter was urgent I decided to meet him here myself. I hope you wouldn’t mind sir?’ He opined, unsure of his response.

‘Why would I mind? You seem to be a well-groomed young man, judging from your appearance though these days, appearances are quite deceptive.’ He chuckled, throwing his right hand into thin air.

‘All the same, you are quite welcome. Pardon me Justice; I hope you wouldn’t mind telling me a bit of what brought you here.’

Immediately, JT looked at his friend and Prince gave him a carry-on nod.

‘Sir, a couple of hours ago the rains came and unfortunately, the whole house was drenched. As it is, Prince is the only person I have that I can trust as a friend. So, I need him to help me wriggle out the water from the soaked foam. And if possible, help me close the opening on the roof.’ He exhaled as soon as he was through with his statement.

‘Why would you need someone to climb the roof with you? Why not call a builder to rectify the problem?’

‘I don’t have any money on me sir. I’ve not been paid owing to the fact that my boss travelled out of the country. Consequentially, I have to manage myself until I get paid and there is no other person to help me in this situation but my friend here.’ He gesticulated towards his friend, giving him a captivating wink.

‘I admire you for your sincerity and humility. One wouldn’t get most young men like you with these endearing qualities these days. Well, how does giving you Ten Thousand (N10,000.00) Naira sound? Will it enable you rectify the problem?’ The Chairman asked uncertain.

‘No sir, thank you. I’d rather do a job and be paid than collecting money I did not work for.’

The chairman sat staring at him. Honestly, in all his service years he had never seen an honest and active young man like this.

He gave him a job of attending to the laurels.

The same laurels which the daughter forbade him from touching.

He finished his work that day and went home and was able to fix the leaking roof, cooked a tasty meal for his parents and still had some money left that could carry him for a couple of days before his boss returns.

That evening, he sat with his best friend and reminisced about yesterday, talked about today and then dreamt and fantasized about tomorrow.

It was an auspicious day. The dusk had finally given way to the dawn. It was a long wait for Justice.

His alarm clock struck 5a.m and started ringing.

He was awakened by the sound of it, he ran straight to the convenience to ease himself. When he was through with that, he went back to the room, knelt down in front of his bed and made a short prayer. He was full of anxiety as to what would happen at work today.

He didn’t know what to expect.

‘What does today hold for me?’ He asked.

He hurried down to the bathroom and had a cold bath. Over the years, he had grown so fond of having cold water bath. He believed it energizes him and creates a kind of mental alertness. He thought that today could be the day that would change his story.

Straight from the bathroom he hurried into his clothes and bade his mother good-bye.

‘Mother…mother, I’m off to work.’

‘Aren’t you going to have breakfast, my son?’

‘No mother I’m already late,’ he closed the door behind him as he hurried out to the streets.

He looked at his wrist-watch it was already five minutes past six. He wondered how he was going to make it to the Island before 8.00am given the constant traffic jam that has always been unavoidable in the mornings. Immediately, he saw an oncoming bus, the conductor of the bus was calling out to passengers going to the Island.

He hailed the conductor and the bus stopped. He was anticipating going to the rear as usual, when the conductor gesticulated that he should sit in the front seat since no passenger was there.

He agitated but eventually gave in.

He opened the front door to enter and while he was about to sit on the passenger’s seat, he noticed in front of the bus just directly facing the driver, the picture of Jesus Christ with a halo on it. He sat down and for some moments, was captured by what he felt was the presence of God. He sat still and prayed within him again for the second time that God should make his day auspicious.

He didn’t want any inauspicious moments in his life again.

He dozed off in no distant time and scenes in his life were just flashing before him kaleidoscopically. He opened his eyes to the clean mass of water. He realized he had reached the Island and sprouting from the ground before him were tens of tall buildings that seem as if they would touch the sky.

He felt giddy immediately he alighted from the bus. He looked at his wrist-watch it was quarter to eight, he smiled and felt that the auspicious nature of the day had brought him good luck. He couldn’t afford to be late on this epoch making day.

He walked down the streets of Lagos Island and once more, people turned to gaze at him commending on his looks.

All of a sudden, a man came from nowhere and accosted him.

‘Excuse me, young man,’ extending his hand for a handshake but JT declined the gesture.

‘Are you Mr. Frank?’

Justice looked so perplexed.

‘I’m not and why do you ask?’ He asked.

‘Well, I was made to understand that I would meet one Mr. Frank and he was supposed to be coming from the states. Above all, your features match the description of him.’

‘It may interest you to know that I’m not Mr. Frank and that I didn’t come from the states.’

‘Hmmm…,’ the intruder looked at him again all round.

‘Well, if you are not Mr. Frank as you said, you are indeed a handsome man and I pray that you get whatever you are looking out for.’ He turned and walked away.

Justice raised his voice and said,

‘Thank you.’

He turned to the direction he was going and could sight his office building a stone-throw away. After few strides, he was there.

He entered the lift and pressed the button on 7. He was going to the seventh floor.

The door opened and he stepped out of the lift. He took a deep breath and exhaled noisily. His heart was pounding.