Wrong Car, Wrong Couple
836 Words
The journey felt endless.
Ada had lost all sense of time.
Every bend in the road made her wonder where they were being taken. Her wrists weren't tied, but the blindfold over her eyes made every sound feel louder, every movement more frightening.
Beside her, she could hear Tobi breathing steadily.
He was trying to stay calm.
For her.
Every few minutes, he gently squeezed her hand, reminding her that she wasn't alone.
Across from them, the driver cleared his throat.
"Excuse me..."
No one answered.
He tried again.
"I'm still confused."
Silence.
"I was only taking them to the airport."
One of the masked men sighed.
"We know."
"So... why am I here?"
Another voice replied casually,
"Wrong place. Wrong time."
The driver let out a defeated sigh.
"I should've called in sick today."
For the first time since the a*******n, someone in the vehicle chuckled.
Even Ada couldn't help smiling faintly.
The SUV rolled to a stop in front of a large steel gate.
A whistle echoed through the darkness.
The gates slowly creaked open.
The vehicle drove inside before stopping in what looked like an abandoned warehouse.
"Out."
The kidnappers helped Ada down first.
"Watch your step."
"My dress..." she whispered.
"It's fine. We've got it."
Two masked men carefully lifted the edge of her wedding gown so it wouldn't drag across the dusty floor.
The captives were led into a large room.
One by one...
Their blindfolds were removed.
Ada blinked.
Tobi immediately moved beside her.
The driver rubbed his eyes.
Around them stood several masked figures.
The driver looked around the warehouse.
"...This is definitely not the airport."
No one laughed.
One masked man walked toward the newlyweds.
Without a word, he took a flashlight from his pocket and shone it across Tobi's face.
Then Ada's.
He nodded once.
Another masked man approached carrying a brown envelope.
He pulled out a photograph.
He held it beside Tobi.
His eyes narrowed.
He looked again.
Longer this time.
"...Something's wrong."
Nobody answered.
He turned the photograph toward another man.
"Look."
The second man frowned.
"They look... different."
"They are different."
Silence.
Another kidnapper snatched the photograph.
"What difference?"
He looked.
Then looked again.
His confident expression slowly faded.
"...Wait."
He walked closer to Ada.
Studied her face.
Then quietly lowered the photograph.
"This isn't the bride."
The room became still.
The tallest masked man took the photograph himself.
His jaw tightened.
He compared it carefully.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then...
Very slowly...
He looked around the room.
"...Whose wedding did you people stop?"
No one answered.
A voice from the back finally broke the silence.
"...The black SUV leaving Royal Gardens Event Centre."
Another pause.
"...There were two black SUVs."
Nobody moved.
The realization landed all at once.
One man slowly removed his cap and rubbed his forehead.
Another leaned against a wall.
Someone whispered,
"...Tell me we didn't..."
The tallest man closed his eyes.
"...We took the wrong couple."
The driver slowly raised a finger.
"I don't mean to interrupt..."
Every masked face turned toward him.
"...but that's actually very encouraging."
The warehouse fell silent.
No one moved.
The words hung in the air like a heavy weight.
"...We took the wrong couple."
The man holding the photograph slowly looked at Ada again.
Then at Tobi.
Then back at the photograph.
His voice was barely above a whisper.
"The groom's name is Victor."
He turned another page.
"The bride is Nneka."
He looked up.
"...These are not our targets."
A wave of uneasiness swept through the room.
One of the masked men paced restlessly.
"No..."
"No, no, no."
"Check it again."
"I've checked it three times."
"Then check it a fourth time!"
"I don't need a fourth time!"
"They're the wrong people!"
The driver cautiously cleared his throat.
"So..."
He forced an awkward smile.
"If everyone's agreed you've made a mistake..."
"...can we all pretend tonight never happened?"
For a brief second...
No one answered.
Then one of the kidnappers looked at him.
"You really don't know when to stop talking."
"I talk when I'm nervous."
"We noticed."
Even Tobi couldn't stop himself from smiling.
Ada nudged him gently.
"This isn't funny."
"I know."
"But he's trying."
Just then, one of the kidnappers slammed his fist onto a wooden table.
"Enough!"
The room instantly fell quiet.
He pointed at the others.
"How did this happen?"
A younger voice replied carefully.
"There were two black SUVs leaving the reception."
"We followed the first one."
"You were supposed to confirm the number plate!"
"It was covered with wedding ribbons!"
"So you guessed?"
"We... assumed."
"You assumed?"
Another man threw his hands into the air.
"You kidn*pped human beings based on an assumption?"
No one answered.
The silence was louder than the shouting.
Finally, someone spoke the question everyone had been avoiding.
"...What do we do with them now?"
The room froze.
Ada instinctively reached for Tobi's hand.
He held it tightly.
Whatever happened next...
Everything depended on the answer.
To be continued... ❤️
- Writer
