FicStorm's The Chase

Chapter Thirteen

15:39

Richard had tried his best to avoid all the shortcuts for he was not eager to go back to the scene. Not if the police were still there, not even if it was still the same way he had left it. He was lucky that the girl was unsettled, if not she would have realized that they drove past her school twice. It was after he checked the fuel gauge and noticed that they were almost out of gas that he started looking for the shortcuts he had been avoiding. His heart started pounding harder as they rode into the familiar environs. The atmosphere hadn’t changed one bit. It wasn’t like he had been gone for a long time, but he had expected some dreariness to blanket the street and as he slowly approached the crime scene, he was expecting to see it covered in algae and mildew. There was no mildew and there was no sign of the police either, except the barricade they had left behind. Everything was just the way he had left it. The police had sealed the house and put a ‘no trespassing’ seal on the door and Richard hoped it would be enough to convince Essy, but he was surprised when she opened the door, got out of the car and ran for the house. Richard called out to her once and let air gush out of mouth when she continued for the house without turning back. Going after her crossed his mind, but he knew what would happen the moment he stepped foot into the house. Looking at the mansion alone was enough to bring back the image of the blood and the knife. What else would he see when he got inside? He drummed on the wheels with his fingers for a moment before remembering the gun he had tossed onto the back seat. He reached all the way for it and observed it in his seat. It was a Smith and Wesson model 629. Not his kind of gun. It sounded funny when he thought about it. Not his kind of gun. As if he had a special kind of gun or a collection of guns. He smiled at the 5 inches barrel, opened the chamber-it was loaded with .44 magnum-and removed the bullets, then he loaded the gun back. He hated guns without safety. That thought sounded funny to him also. It wasn’t like he had ever found a reason to use a gun with safety. His knowledge about guns had been gained from watching gun reviews on YouTube. He had also gone on game-hunting with Henry Paul senior and his father especially when they travelled out. If they were not hunting birds in Argentina, they were in Belarus for elks or Namibia for cheetahs, leopards and rhinos. And those kind of hunts never involved pistols. His father was always there to steady his hand with the rifle.

Richard kept the gun in the glove box of the car. He hated that it brought back memories of his father. He needed more than memories. He needed his father beside him smiling like he used to. He remembered the smile and how it always made him feel like he had an army of angels over him. Richard looked up at where his house should be in the distance. He couldn’t see it clearly, but he knew it was there. He noticed a black Range Rover parked very close to the house, and just a few distance away from the Range Rover and across the road, was a Mercedes Benz. One could just get out of the Mercedes, cross the road and walk straight up to his house with nothing but the Range Rover in their way. Both cars had tinted glasses and so, Richard couldn’t tell if anyone was in either of the cars. This was an estate where none of the houses had its own gate. Not with security alarm software installed in each house and the security at the main gate. Security was meant to be really tight, but not anymore. The doctor’s murder was the first crime to happen in the estate since its establishment, and now, Richard could assume that the residents would start advocating for the estate developers to allow them have their own gates.

“Come on, Essy.” Richard said as he got out of the car. He hurried for the house and ducked under the barricade and in a matter of seconds he was inside the house. The first thing that caught his eye was the spot where it had all happened. Exactly the same spot where Essy was sitting down and sobbing uncontrollably. The image replayed in his head. The knife in his hand, the blood streaming out of where the knife had gashed her, the tears that rolled down her cheeks as she begged him, the sorry look on the doctor’s face as her life faded slowly, her blood on his face and clothes. Everything played in high definition and he could see it clearly. The blotch blood was still on the tiled floor.

“We have to get out of here, Essy” Richard managed to say although his voice came out as a squeak. “You see now that this isn’t any Bells prank.” Richard advanced slowly for her. He still remembered how his hand hurt when she had hit him for trying to be nice in the car.

“Anyone would expect you to come here and they could be here already. Your mother died trying to protect you, Essy. Do you want to throw this life she gave you away?”

“Don’t come near me.” Essy snapped.

“It’s okay, Essy. You’re safe with me.”

“I don’t know you. I can’t trust you.”

“Your mother’s dying wish was that I keep you safe and I knew that was a hard task right from the start, but you’re making it even harder. I never got to see my father before he died, so I think I know how you feel right now. You didn’t say your last goodbyes or get your last hug. I know how much that hurts. Believe me, I do, and I’m not going to leave you alone until I know that you’re safe.” Richard placed a hand gently on her shoulder and he felt her relax, but he could still hear the sobs. He gripped her shoulders and gently pulled her up to her feet. She didn’t resist. She allowed him pull her closer to himself. Her head pressed against his chest and his arms wrapped around her like a pair of wings.

She broke down and began crying. Her words came out muffled and in between sobs but Richard could hear her clearly. For him, it felt like she was talking to his heart.

“I was doing it for her. Everything. I left George. It was either George or her and I chose her. I told her that…that… that I was coming home different. I… I… I told her I was done with drugs. We laughed on the phone last night. Don’t tell me she’s gone. No.”

Richard felt the familiar sting in his nose and knew the tears were already building up. His chin rested on the top of her head and he gave her a reassuring squeeze before pulling her away from him. His hands gripped her shoulder at arm length and he spoke to her.

“You have to accept it.”

“No.”

“Look at me.” Richard said and shook her violently. “Look at me. This is going to take time to heal, Essy. Your mother loved you. She gave her life for you. It’s time for you to understand that and make her happy by moving on. You don’t want to let her sacrifice be in vain. I’d be with you to the end, and together, we’d find who did this to your mother and bring them to justice.”

“I’d kill them.” Essy said after a brief moment of silence. Her voice came out steely and through gritted teeth. “Every single one of them.”

Richard swallowed hard and pulled her close to him again. This time, until he was sure she wouldn’t burst into sobs again and then he said,

“Let’s get out of here.”

He had left the car’s doors opened and they got in without wasting a moment. The Range Rover and the Mercedes were still in their spot and as Richard drove, he kept checking the rearview mirror to see if the cars moved but they didn’t.

I’d kill them. Every single one of them. Essy’s voice echoed in his head and he remembered how she had said it with so much determination. He was scared all of a sudden. He was scared because he knew she meant it.

“You were there when it happened.” Essy said. She startled him but it appeared she didn’t notice.

“I never got to see who did it.” Richard replied carefully. “I’m a suspect now and I can’t go to the police because I never saw the culprit’s face.”

“We’re in this together.”

Richard was shocked when she said that and for a moment he stared at her. She noticed and turned sharply to look at him. She asked, “What?”

“By God, that’s the nicest thing you’ve said all day.” Richard said and smiled, but she didn’t smile back.

“What are we going to do now?”

“I guess we’d find somewhere to spend the night and then I’d settle down to think about our next step, but right now, we have a bigger problem.”

“What’s that?”

“We’re being followed. Can you spot the silver Benz?”

***

15:02

After searching the house thoroughly and finding nothing useful, Tega took his time to plant tiny cameras with long distance feed in several places in the house. That way, he was going to be able to watch whatever happened in the house from the convenience of his own bedroom. When he was done, he decided it was time to take his leave and he began walking for the door. He halted when he noticed the door knob moving and hurried over to the door. He pinned himself to the wall beside the door and waited for the door to open. The door opened slowly and the first thing he saw was a hand holding a gun. Thinking fast, he drew the hand inside and kicked the door close. He threw the newcomer over his shoulder, pinned him to the floor and twisted the hand until the man let go of the gun after which he kicked it away. The man tried to get up, but Tega pinned him down with his foot. He bent to grab the man and pull him up by the collar. Halfway up, the man rammed his elbow into Tega’s stomach and followed it with an uppercut which caught him in the jaw. He aimed and sent a punch at Tega’s face, but Tega easily ducked it, grabbed the man’s head with his two hands and brought it low so that his knee hit the man’s face hard. He did that repeatedly and carried the man over his shoulder to what was apparently the dining and threw him hard on the table sending it crashing to the floor. The crash was noisy but Tega didn’t care. His anger was awakened now. It had taken only the sight of the familiar tattoo on the man’s hand to arouse the anger. The man didn’t waste a moment getting up. He charged for Tega who swiftly carried a chair and rammed it hard against the man’s face like a baseball. The man fell hard and a shard of wood from the broken table pierced through his leg just above the knee. He let out a scream and cursed loudly. Tega watched him for a moment and then stooped low to look at the man in the face.

“I don’t know you and yet you work for Blackhawk. Identify yourself.” Tega said fearlessly. The fight was already knocked out of his opponent. It was a really brief fight and that didn’t impress Tega. He found himself wanting more, and as he watched his opponent lying on the floor and struggling to breathe through a broken nose and grunting from the pain in his leg, he felt the irresistible urge to inflict more pain. Tega tugged at the shard of broken wood drilled into the man’s leg and that forced another bloodcurdling scream from the man.

“I’d tell Blackhawk that you scream like a girl.” Tega said driving the wood deeper.

“You’re Tega.” The man stated amidst grunts of agony. “Blackhawk doesn’t give a f**k about you.” He laughed. “I guess you’re done hiding, aren’t you?”

Tega drove the wood deeper and bent it to inflict more pain.

“So why are you here? He definitely didn’t send you after me.”

“How does it feel, huh? You’re not so important anymore.” He managed to laugh amidst the pain, but Tega cut it short by driving the wood even deeper. He could feel the man’s blood in his hand as he let out another loud scream.

“You’d send a message to Blackhawk for me. But I’m not sure of the best way to leave the message. Should I just put a hole in your head?

A few minutes later Tega stepped out of the house and adjusted his suit jacket. He brushed it with his hand to remove specks of dust and then inspected his hands to see if there was any blood on it. In satisfaction, he looked left and right then made for his car. He adjusted the rearview mirror the moment he got in and examined his face. There was no sign of struggle on it. The Blackhawk brute had barely touched him. Satisfied, He adjusted the rearview mirror to how it ought to be and started the car. He looked up in the rearview once more and that was when he saw a red Toyota come into view and halt directly in front of the crime scene far behind him. He watched as a lady ran out of the car and into the house while the driver stayed in the car. The driver fondled with something in the backseat and then brought what was unmistakably a gun. Tega’s first thought was that somebody was about to die, but then the driver just toyed with the gun a little before putting it away. After that, the driver looked up and saw his car for the first time. He couldn’t make out the expression on his face but he thought he saw fear and realization. The driver got out of the car and ran for the house. It was then that Tega spotted the long hair. Richard Chase. He thought. How lucky could a man get? Tega asked himself and sat patiently waiting to see what would happen next. A few minutes later, the couple came out and got into the car and they drove off. Tega followed carefully. It was time to find out what the boy had done to get Blackhawk on his tail. The man he encountered in the house had sworn that he had no idea. He hadn’t been so tough to crack and after a few minutes of torture, he was schmoozing that Bright had only sent him to scout the house and report back. Ideas were racing through Tega’s head as to why Blackhawk wanted the boy, but none of them made sense to him. He needed to know the boy and know what the boy had that Blackhawk or Bright wanted.

However, it didn’t take long for Tega to find out that he was dealing with a very smart boy. He couldn’t explain how easily the Toyota got out of his sight. One moment, the car was there and the next, it wasn’t. Tega never knew a twenty year old Nigerian could be so much trouble. He could tell from how easily the boy had gotten rid of him that he was not only bigger than his age but also smarter than his age. That entire revelation still didn’t explain how Blackhawk fitted in the mix.