The LONGEST WAIT

Chapter 19

Tim's Stories' THE LONGEST WAIT

CHAPTER 19

Thirty minutes later, Mr. Giovani arrived. He walked into the house looking angry. I knew I was dead because I had never seen him look like that. There was an uneasy silence for about a minute as we all looked at each other with deep hostility. Obviously, there were two camps in the house. Mr. Giovani and his gang of hoodlums on one side and, Mia, Bianca and me on the other. It was Bianca Giovani who broke the silence.

"You shameless man." She spoke. "Are you not ashamed, sending these thugs to come after your own family?"

"These are not thugs; they are my men. Besides, they are here for your own protection." Giovani responded.

"My own protection, you say. You send men with loaded guns to come and intimidate my daughter and I and you say they are here to protect us? Who are they protecting us from?"

"From this traitor from Nigeria called Buchi. This is someone I took as a son, trained and gave my money to. I made him the number two in my business in spite of his nationality. Now, do you see how he has decided to pay me back?"

"He is no traitor, dad. He is instead doing what you have failed to do; stand by your family. He is a real man. He staked his life for us in spite of the consequences." That was Mia speaking.

Mia's words angered her father greatly and his eyes turned red with anger. He was greatly aggrieved by the fact that his daughter had compared him to me, and even made me looked better than him.

"Mia, I thought you were somebody. But it is very clear that you and your mother are cut from the same cloth. You are a fool, putting this traitor in front of your father. What do you think he can do for you? You think he is better than me? Well, for your information he is also a drug pusher, just like me." Mr. Giovani was terribly vexed. In fact, he was fuming.

"I know the whole story, dad. You blackmailed him into this. He had no intentions, whatsoever to do this kind of job. You forced him into this life of crime."

"Well, he is not new to crime. Ask him about our first meeting. Oh!! So, you think our first meeting was in Italy. Ask him what he did back in Nigeria to earn a living. He was a kidnapper, and I was once his victim. He is lucky I didn't kill him when I had the chance to. Instead, I spared him and gave him a life."

"Yes, I also know that part of the story. He told me all about it. He is now a repented man. Don't you believe in penitence, dad? He is a changed man now for Pete's sake."

Mr. Giovani realized that it was useless arguing with his daughter. So, he turned his attention to me.

"I hope you know this is the end of your life." He said to me.

"You are not God." I replied, defiantly.

"Oh!! You even have the guts to talk back at me. Let me tell you something you don't know, or maybe you know but chose to ignore. Around here, I am God and you will be finding out that I am God in no distant time."

"I am not afraid of you, and neither am I afraid of these your hoodlums."

"Hahahahahahaha!!" He laughed out loud. You are such a courageous man, Buchi. It is actually a shame that we will be losing someone like you. You are just the right kind of person for our line of business, that is if you hadn't allowed the love for my daughter to cloud your judgement."

"This has nothing to do with your daughter. There is nothing going on between us. I am a married man, but of course, you already know that."

"So, you think that you are going to convince me by that?? I know that you have been seeing my daughter. Anyway, that is not necessary. It doesn't matter anymore because sooner than later, you are going to be dead."

"Like I said before, I am not afraid of you."

"Well, even very brave people do die. So, it doesn't matter if you are not afraid of me. Now, let me paint you the picture of your death. After, I have gotten Mia and Bianca away from this place, you are going to be tortured and then put to death by my men. After that, your body will be thrown into the sea. The same watery grave you have been avoiding all this while will be your final resting place."

"And my wife?"

"Well, as for you wife, we have better plans for her. She would make a good addition to our p**********n ring." He laughed.

"How are you going to find her. She is far beyond your reach now and there is no way you can get her."

"What do you mean?"

Just then, we were interrupted by the sounds of sirens. The police had come. Chisom sure hadn't been idle. She might have contacted the police.

"Open the door!!" I heard a policeman say.

Then I saw the man who had been stationed outside to keep watch, coming inside accompanied by five or six policemen. He had his both hands on his head.

"What is going on here?" A policeman asked.

"We are being held hostage by these hoodlums." Bianca Giovani and I responded in a chorus.

"What is happening here?" The police boss asked. This time his attention was with Mr. Giovani.

"Officer, it is just a small family misunderstanding. You guys can go back to your station. Everything will be solved, and no one will get hurt. As you can see, this is my family, and the other people are all my men. You guys can go back. Thanks for coming. I will call your boss." Mr. Giovani lied but the policeman wasn't fooled.

"Why is this man being tied like an animal?" He asked furiously.

"Can I talk to you in private?" Mr. Giovani asked.

"No, you can't" He replied firmly. "Whatever you have to say, say it here and now."

"Alright, he's one of my men. He crossed the line and is just being given a small discipline. It's a routine correctional measure. Everything will be fine."

"Untie him."

"What?"

"Yes, you heard me. Untie him immediately."

"Do you know what you are doing?" My Giovani was furious. "I will let your boss in on this. I am sure you will be disciplined. Do you want to be disciplined?"

"This is way above my boss now, Mr. Giovani. This is now a diplomatic issue. You haven't even asked how we were able to locate this place. It was the Nigerian ambassador himself who contacted us. We tracked the last call between this gentleman and his wife and it led us to this place. Now, untie him."

Grudgingly, Mr. Giovani asked his men to untie me. As they did so, I looked at him with a mocking smile on my face. I had defeated him in his own game. He was very furious but there was nothing he could do.

Bianca, Mia and I were all taken away by the police. Mr. Giovani and his men weren't arrested. The policemen had been given strict instructions to retrieve just me and any other person in danger. They weren't asked to arrest Giovani or any of his men. That made me uncomfortable. With Giovani out there, and his men still on the prowl, I knew I was still in great danger, me and my wife.

We went to the Nigerian embassy, and I was dropped at the embassy compound while Bianca and Mia were taken away by the police. As soon as the police cars left, Chisom ran towards me in joy.

"Husband, I am so happy you are here. For a while, I thought you were dead."

"I almost died, my love. Just a minute later and it would have been lights out for me. Thank God for your quick action."

"It's alright, honey. Thank God for your life. Remember I told you had a backup in me. That is why you are my husband. I will do anything for you."

Chisom and I were escorted to the embassy living quarters where we were given a comfortable apartment to stay in until our next fate would be decided. We could no longer go to our house. It would mean certain death for us. We were grateful that at least, we were living in a place where no one could attack us. The Nigerian embassy under international law was regarded as Nigerian land. Therefore, Giovani and his men couldn't make any attempt to get or harm us without risking serious diplomatic implications between the Italian government and the Nigerian government.

The next day, Mr. Giovani came to the Nigerian embassy and asked if he could be granted audience with the ambassador. He was told to make an appointment and come back the following day. The next day, he came and was granted audience by the ambassador.

"Your Excellency, Sir." That was Mr. Giovani talking. "Mr. Buchi cheated me. He also split apart my family. I believe I deserve some justice here."

"Well, I had a talk with Mr. Buchi and his account of events is completely contrary to yours. He will remain here until further notice." The ambassador told him firmly.

"You are saying there is nothing you can do? He needs to face the law." Mr. Giovani was persistent.

"You should have thought of that before taking the law into your own outraged hands. I repeat, he will remain here until further notice. He will be safe here until I decide what to with him next. When it comes to talking about handing him over to you, forget it. That will never happen."

"Alright, Sir. Thank you for your time. I am grateful." Mr. Giovani said, rising up from his chair. He had a smile on his face but there was an evil glitter in his eyes.

"You are welcome." The ambassador spoke. "Another thing I will advise you is to take the matter to court. There, you will have a fair judgement."

The ambassador knew that Mr. Giovani would never go to court. He was a criminal. Going to court will instead expose a lot of things about him. So, he would better go back to his organization and begin coming into terms with the reality that he had lost his family and his finest employee.

When Mr. Giovani had gone, the ambassador sent for me. I went to meet him immediately and this conversation followed.

"I hope you know how dangerous your former boss; Mr. Giovani is?"

"Yes, Sir." I replied.

"As long as you are in this country, he will get you one way or the other. So, there is only one option left for you and your wife."

"What is the option, Sir?"

"We will be sending you both back to Nigeria. What do you say about that?"

I was in too much danger to even think of refusing the offer. I knew I would be a dead man if I spent another week in Italy. However, the decision was too sudden. I needed to talk to my wife first.

"That is a good idea, Sir. But let me talk to my wife first."

"Alright, Mr. Buchi. However, you guys ought to be fast in your decision making. When you are ready, let me know. I will instruct my embassy staff to arrange for your transportation. I will also give you enough money, from the embassy's coffers of course, to enable you begin a new and a better life in Nigeria."

"Thank you, Sir. I am grateful." I said and left his office.

I went back to our living quarters to have a chat with Chisom about the recent developments. However, when I told Chisom about the deal, her reaction was very different from what I had expected.

TO BE CONTINUED...