CHAPTER 29

From where he stood, he watched helplessly the scene as it unfolds. There was nothing to do other than run, and make sure he got there on time. The man standing over his cousin was dying. He could see that as he shook, and fell. He was excited. He had screamed happily, knowing that the shivering man was his doing. The way the man was shaking, had to be because he had been poisoned. Nate must have caught him with the poisoned knife. He started running, but his legs were not fast enough. He turned to his men behind him, shouting, “Run, dammit” he yelled. It was the damned roads. The road was a terrible one. It was untarred and filled with holes. That was because it was in the middle of nowhere. Only that one building stood on the lone road.

Finding the abandoned building had been out of sheer luck. They had searched every property owned by the Swiss, only stumbling on this as a last resort. All the other buildings were out of use. Some were sold already. This was the last building. The Swiss were not the direct owners. It was owned by an old farmer who had married the Swiss’ family. Stories claimed he never moved in with the Swiss. After his wife died, he was on bad terms with the family. Except for the two kids, the man and the Swiss were not families in any sense of the word. They were almost enemies. Nobody could say exactly what had started it, all they knew was the farmer and his in-laws were not on good terms.

It was probably the more reason why the abandoned home was likely going to be their hideout. Nobody would link them with the old farmer. The man passed away several years ago, and from the look of things, nobody had lived there ever since. The kids were somewhere outside the country, schooling. And Gaby, with nowhere to search again, decided to look here. However, getting on the roads, he started having doubts. “Are you sure we’re on the right path?” he had asked his men as they struggled to get the car out of the ditch. And the men had to check the map again. Then he saw fresh car tyre markings in the muddy road. Someone had used this road recently, he concluded. Even when the cars got stuck in the muddy roads, he didn’t give up. He got down and told some of his men to keep working it while the others went with him on foot.

While they marched in, he discovered the road was one-way in. There was no other route leading in, or out. It was the perfect place for a hideout, one where you get to see who comes in from the building. That must have been what Nate’s abductor planned. They could see the men as they approached. When he spotted Nate, and the man was standing over him, shivering. He had been excited. Somehow, Nathan must have been able to outsmart his abductors. But they were still far from the spot. He had been able to view the scene only through his binoculars. “Run. Move it” he screamed at his men. And that was when he sensed something else. Before he looked, he felt a cold shiver run down his spine. He looked again and found the man with a gun pointed. And the excitement he felt as the man was shivering over his cousin, dwindled.

He had thought his cousin was already out of harm’s way. But the lunatic standing over his head was falling, at least that was what it looked like from where he was. And he was also trying to shoot with his last breath. “Nate, move” he screamed, but it was too late. And Gaby lost it.

Cursing angrily, he ran towards his cousin as he rolled on the floor. “No, hold on Nate. Please.” he screamed. As he got to the scene, he rained down gunshots on the already dead man, while his men ran inside. But no amount of gunshot appeased his peace. So, he bent over his cousin, shaking him, “No, Nate, please, hold on.”

Nate coughed severally, trying to speak, but his chest hurt.

“Don’t say anything” Gaby commanded, he looked around. There was no way he could move his cousin without bleeding him out. So he tore a part of his shirt and pressed it down on Nate’s chest to stop the bleeding. Then he screamed at his men, the three standing behind him, to get him something to move him, while the men went searching for some way to get a tool to move Nate, Gaby tried stopping the bleeding. But it appeared to be a lost course. So he placed the soaked piece of cloth on the hole. Standing, he removed the remaining piece from his body and wrapped it around Nate, careful not to hurt him.

“Thanks, man” Nate spat out some blood. He tried grabbing Gaby by the cheek, but his hands slipped. Gaby took both hands and pressed them against his cheeks. “Your knife saved me.” he winced. “But I got the mother fucker”

“Yes you did.” Gaby cried, “But you’re barely alive” turning away from him to hide his tears, he pretended to look for some help.

Nate reached for his cousin’s face again, pulling his face closer to his. The wet face showed what he suspected. His cousin, the one they had all thought was cold-hearted, was crying. “Is it that bad?” he asked, knowing he was in severe pain, but hiding it. He winced as he tried to move. Gaby got scared.

“Don’t move.” Gaby stood up, crying now. He saw his men bring some wooden thing, and bent down again, “You’ll be fine.”

“Here boss.” said one of the men as they laid down a wooden stretcher they made out of the door. They put it down. They gently manoeuvred his body on the wood, supporting him with their clothes that Gaby asked them all to remove.

“Take him to their car, gently” he ordered. “Someone looking for their keys. We will ride in there’s if our cars are still stuck.” Then he stormed towards the building. His men had captured Jade and Matthew. And as they were taking them out, he spotted Jade trying to get something from her pocket. His men were not looking. With a single shot to the head, Gaby ended her. He was in no mood for any foul play.

Matthew screamed out as his sister slumped to the floor. “Jade”

Gaby shot him on his leg, turning his shout into a wail. “Shut it, man. I’ll make you pay for what you did to my cousin, and family” he screamed at the man, who slumped to the floor, trying to touch his dead sister. Turning to his men, Gaby ordered. “Leave her body here. I have no use for her.”

The men bundled up Matthew and took him away while Gaby stayed to salvage whatever he deemed important. Beside him stood his second in command, guarding him. His men had been able to gun down the five other men that were with the Smith’s. But he also lost two men. He bent down over his men, closed their eyes, and bade them farewell. They were war casualties. Done with the room, he turned and headed out. Outside, he saw his men moving the captured man into the van. “We cannot leave these bodies here. Torch the building” he ordered.

The men instantly got busy. They got some gas drained out from the cars, and poured it around the building. They went inside also, soaking the bodies with fuel, and the furniture. Satisfied, they went outside to continue the work. “We’re ready now” reported one of them.

“Great. Where’s Nate?” Gaby asked.

“They’re en route already” replied his men.

“Then let’s move” he ordered, “Now”

They all hopped in the car, while the driver started off the road. At a safe distance, the second in command turned on the lighter and threw it at the building. Everything went up in flames. The men smiled as the van drove away. They were able to get their cars on the road too. The envoy began the journey back home. But they were barely gone a mile when his phone rang. “What’s going on?” he listened, “Then be careful. Anything happens to him, you’re dead” he ended the call and barked at the driver to get him faster to the van where Nate was. Once there, Gaby jumped off the van and went to check him. “He’s in a bad state.” he said, watching helplessly as his cousin went into shock. “There’s nothing we can do here. Move the car, dammit” he yelled. “And do it smoothly.”

He picked his phone and called their private doctor. “I need medical attention. It’s an emergency. Nate is unconscious” he said and gave their address. And he tried all he could to revive Nate while the doctor got to them.

Some minutes passed. Everyone stayed mute while Gaby ranted and pleaded and cursed. Severally, he cursed at the driver to speed up. Then he would shout at him for being so rough. All the while, he sat glued to his cousin. Nate was shaking terribly. His body temperature was abnormally high. One of his men, the one with medical experience opened the ice bag. Gaby had brought him along to help in case Nate needed any assistance. He moved closer to Nate and started to drain the cold sweats that broke out on his body. He would press the clothes over his head, rub it down his chest, and whatever fluid he gathered was squeezed out the window. This seemed to work. Gaby relaxed seeing as Nate looked better.

“Thank you.” Gaby said to him.

Finally, the doctor’s car met them on the highway. They parked and, let the man and his team in, with their tools. Samantha also got down. She ran into the van to see Nate. She held his hand while the doctor treated him.

“We need to operate now.” said the doctor.

“Do you have all you need?”

“Yes.” he replied, signalling his men. They instantly got to work. Samantha stayed holding his hand while they did their job. Then she got out her phone and called Noah. He had called earlier asking about the update. That was when Gaby had called that they were on the way and Nate was badly injured. “He’s been operated now.” she said as soon as Noah picked the call. She needed some form of reassurance. Looking sternly as the doctors got the bullets out, she continued to give Noah updates. “They got out two bullets, and he looks stable now”, she stopped talking when Nate opened his eyes. Putting the call on speaker, she bent over him. “Are you okay?”

Nate could only manage a smile. “I…” though it stung, he dragged in some breathes. “I’m sorry I got…”

“It’s okay Nate. You just get better” Noah said over the phone.

Nate looked at the phone and smiled “Noah”

“Yes, I’m here. I love you man.” he said, and seem to muffle something before saying, “You’ve got to pull this off. okay”

“The doctors somehow managed to stitch me up.” he said to Noah in a breath. He paused, dragged in another breathe and said, “I should be fine.”

“Samantha” Noah called suddenly, “He’s not breathing fine”

The doctor, hearing that looked at the man behind him. He had been disinfecting his gloves, and his back was turned to the patient. Alarmed, he shouted at the medic, who was supposed to be monitoring him “His breathing is uneven” said the doctor in an alarmingly calm voice. Telling Samantha to move aside, the doctor moved closer to his patient.

Samantha stood beside Gaby, holding him while Noah shouted over the phone asking what was going on. If anybody heard him, they didn’t reply. Sam was too shocked to say a word, and Gaby was just…. well, lost!

“He needs the oxygen bag” the doctor called to the medics. That was when Nate started to convulse. “Something’s wrong” he shouted, bending over his patient. He saw that Nate was bleeding again. His chest was ripped open where he had operated. “He has internal bleeding” he wailed. Beside him, the medics exchanged looks.

“What’s that?” Samantha asked, she crawled towards Gaby, crying. The two stayed that way as the doctor battled to keep their cousin alive. And they watched helplessly as he struggled to live. They knew when he took his last breath. His chest heaved up, then down. “God, no.” Samantha screamed. On the phone, Noah shouted, “Sam, Gaby, someone talk to me.”

*****

Evangeline stifled a yawn as she left the living room. She had spent most of the day in front of the TV watching the season finale of The Kardashians. Now, sleep beacons. She dropped her phone on the couch while she dragged herself inside. She was in the bathroom washing her face when the phone began to vibrate. But she was too far from it and didn’t hear it. She dried her face hurriedly and hopped in bed. The softness of the bed made her sigh in contentment. It didn’t take long before she began to drift off into dreamland.

Shifttt! The squeaky sound coming from somewhere outside the door made her sit up. “Jase, is that you?” waiting for him to respond, her left hand searched under the pillow for her phone, while her eyes were fixed on the door. The phone wasn’t there. “Jase?” she called again. There was silence, no response. She wondered if she had imagined the sound. Standing up, she dragged her sleepy self to the door, hoping she didn’t just interrupt her sleep because of something she had imagined.

The bedroom door opened as she stood to go check who was in the house with her. Shocked, Evangeline screamed out. A hand reached for her, gagging her. Her legs wobbled as she fell into him. The hand covering her mouth loosened the grip, and she swung her head. Swinging her head, alarmed, she caught a whip of his cologne and then relaxed. She would know that smell anywhere “Jase”

“Shh. Shh” Jason cautioned Evan with a finger to his lips. He had sensed another presence in his home the moment he stepped in. Just now, he heard the door creaked. Someone was trying to get in. He walked Evan out of the living room to his bedroom through the other door. This room was too open. So many entrances and open spaces to be safe for only him. Though two security men were somewhere in the house, he had no idea where they were and if they were alert. He needed to get them online. But first, he had to keep Evan safe.

When they were both safely in, he secured the room and called Sloane. James had told him Sloane was somewhere in the house. “He’s here.” he told him. As the man quickly coordinated his team, he disconnected and dropped the phone.

“What are you doing?” he asked seeing Evan. She was moving around aimlessly.

“My legs are cramped” she explained.

“You need to stay put.” he told her.

“My legs” she bites her lips and he knew she was in some kind of pain, even if he didn’t understand it. Is she in some kind of shock?

He was beside her immediately, “Deep breaths” he cajoled and helped her to the bed, then propped her legs up for easy blood flow. “Okay?”

“Better” she smiled.

His team had stack each room with a gun in case this happened. He reached for the one in this room under the sink. Checking the latch and the bullet, he closed it back and moved towards the door. From the keyhole, he tried to check if the intruder was in. Seeing no one, he stayed put. He was still there when he saw his own men come in through the other door. Whoever had come in hadn’t known they had been prepared for this. He was about to open the door when he saw his men rush at the door. Someone had been lurking there. They grabbed the man, bound him and gently tapped his door. Jason opened to see the gagged man on his floor. He stooped down to you’ll off his mask. It was the same man that had been following Evan all day.

“Who the hell sent you?” he asked before slamming his fist angrily into his face, “And how many are you?” he asked as the man ducked another hit. He continued to hit the man while Evan watched helplessly.

“Jase?” she called. “Jase.” He wouldn’t stop, so she screamed, “Stop this.” He was going to beat the man to a pulp. Jason froze. She bent down beside him, hugging him, calming him down. She had never seen him so angry before “It’s okay, he’s harmless now”

Nodding, and hugging Evan, Jason turned to the man. He searched his pocket and retrieved his phone. It was a burner. “How many of you are here?” he asked. The man said nothing, stubbornly staying mute.

“We will take it from here.” said James. Behind him was Sloane, holding two other men. “We have two of his men.”

“Okay.” Jason said as James bundled the man up and Sloane took the men away.

James entered the bedroom gun first, and began to search everywhere “We will do a quick sweep first, then you can stay here.” He checked everywhere, satisfied no one was hiding anywhere, he relaxed his grip on the gun. “All clear.” He curtsied and stepped out.

Jason walked with Evangeline towards the bed. Without saying anything, he went into the bathroom, got a bowl of water. Then he got some ointments and poured them into the bowl. He had forgotten the towels, so he went back to the bathroom to get it. He could feel her eyes on him while he moved around. And though he knew she had questions, he didn’t know if he could answer them now. “Relax, let me wash your feet.” he smiled at her as he propped her feet then placed them gently in the water. Her sigh made him smile.

“Thank you.” Evangeline said as he began to wash the left foot. He took his time rubbing and squeezing it. Then he put the foot down, and lovingly went on the other foot. When he looked up, Evan’s eyes were shut, and she looked so blissful. “Are you in the mood for a massage, mademoiselle?”

Evangeline opened her eyes, and smiled at him, “Si monsieur” she replied happily, as he rubbed her toes softly. “This is so good.” She moaned and laid on the bed. The pampering went on. She kept moaning and sighing. Finally, he stopped. She has so softened up already that she barely turned to check what he was up to next. He got on the bed and began to undress her.

“Now, let’s get this message started.” he said, kissing her naked back.

She couldn’t argue with that “Yes please.”

*****

Right about that time, Noah who a while ago had been on the phone with Samantha stared blankly at the phone. He was expecting them to call back any minute to give him an update. They had told him Nate was in a bad state, and the doctors were doing all they could to save him. “They got out two bullets, and he looks stable now”, Samantha told him over the phone. She had paused, put the call on speaker, and asked Nate. “Are you okay?”

Noah listened as his cousin replied weakly, “I…” though it stung, he dragged in some breathes. “I’m sorry I got…”

“It’s okay Nate. You just get better” Noah said. Behind him, he checked to see if Adriana was coming downstairs.

Nate called, “Noah”

“Yes, I’m here.” he answered, “I love you man.” he said, and seem to muffle something before saying, “You’ve got to pull this off. Okay?”

“The doctors somehow managed to stitch me up.” Nate said. When he paused and dragged in another breathe, Noah knew he wasn’t okay “I should be fine”

“Samantha.” he screamed. “He’s not breathing fine.” That was when he heard the doctor repeat it too “His breathing is uneven.” said the doctor “He needs the oxygen bag” he called to the medics. That was when Nate started to convulse. “Something’s wrong.” Noah listened as there was shuffling on the other end, and then he heard the doctor say “He has internal bleeding” he wailed.

“What’s that?” Samantha asked.

There was no response. He could hear the doctors working, trying to save Nate. He could also hear Samantha crying, and Gaby mumbling. Then suddenly Samantha screamed “God, no”

And Noah shouted, “Sam, Gaby, someone talk to me Both Gaby and Samantha screamed. The phone must have dropped because he kept talking but nobody spoke to him. All he heard were screams of ‘Nate, Nate’. Noah slumped in the chair, hot tears ran down his face. Was Nate gone? Another loss in the Monterey’s family. No. He wasn’t going to believe that. he picked his phone and called them. It rang severally but no one picked. That could mean they are trying to revive him, he consoled himself.

As he turned towards the upper stairs, he wondered why everywhere was silent. And then again, why didn’t Adriana come downstairs? He had had to excuse himself from the room because the kids were about to have their siesta and he didn’t want to disturb them. But his wife knew what was going on with Nate. She should have been here with him. He started towards the stairs to check. That was when he heard the scream. And just as quickly too, the scream was suddenly cut off, muffled. He froze. His phone fell off his hand.

For a minute, he stayed still, listening for any sound at all. He was a trained fighter too, like all Monterey. He stood on the spot, alerted. He didn’t know why, but he could feel the bile rising in his throat. Unbothered with the phone, he started going up quietly. When he got in the room, he saw the door wide open. Not his wife or the kids were there. They were in the other room and were awfully quiet. Asleep? But not even their snores could be heard. No! something is definitely up. As he moved closer towards the closed door, he heard his wife speaking.

“Remember how our day ended when you came to get the…” she paused and said, “Kids? At grandmas” like she was calling the twins off. It was like she was trying to calm them down. He waited so one of the kids could say something to that. Nothing? No sly comments? All was silent. Nobody said anything. Something isn’t right. He wanted to push the door when Adriana said something again.

“You don’t have to be scared.” she said, “It’s like that day.”

And Noah realized she wasn’t talking to the kids. She was talking to her. Whoever was with her threatened that she kept the kids quiet, but she was leaving clues for him, in case he had come upstairs. The day she had mentioned was the day they had both gone on a date and left the kids with Mrs. Swiss, who insisted the two try to catch up on their married lives as they were falling apart. Mrs. Swiss had come visiting and seeing how exhausted her daughter was from running the house, and how helpless Noah was in keeping the kids from stressing their mother decided to help.

“You are going to fall off if you don’t let anyone help you.” she started with her daughter, who did everything herself. Right then Adriana was struggling to feed the kids after bathing them. They were four years old and very stubborn. Plus, they wouldn’t let anyone aside from family touch them. And right now, that family meant just their parents. Elizabeth in particular had stuck to her mother like gum ever since the guest arrived. The guest in this scenario is their grandmother.

“But who? They wouldn’t let anyone near them.” said a weary Adriana. She nodded at her daughter, who held her leg, hiding from her grandmother. “Especially this one.”

“I still think it’s all you. Rather than shouting them down to be more friendly, you’re petting them.” she had gone towards Ethan, held out her hands and smiled. The little boy had shrieked and ran away.

“See?” Adriana said as Noah ran after him.

Noah got Ethan back and placed him on the floor beside his sister.

Mrs. Swiss brought out a bag of popsicles and held them up. She shook the bag while smiling at the kids sweetly. Ethan peeked at the bag and started moving closer. When he got closer, he touched the nylon and smiled when he found there were sweets in the bag. Mrs. Swiss gave him one while everyone watched as Elizabeth took her time staring. After a while, when everyone pretended they no longer paid any attention, she moved towards the bag, which now was on her grandmother’s lap. Mrs. Swiss lifted the girl, placed her on her lap, and brought out lots of popsicles. The girl got busy with them immediately. The older lady looked at her daughter, and mouthed, “You should trick them. There’s nothing bad in that. Your health matters to them too”

Adriana nodded.

“Go get some beauty nap. You look…” she shook her head in feigned disgust.

That afternoon, Adrian had slept so well. The kids had stayed with their grandmother while she napped. “Thanks, mother.” she said some hours later, slumping in the seat beside her. Her kids were napping too.

“I must say, you both need some alone time. When was the last time you went on a date?” asked Mrs. Swiss as Noah also walked in. He looked like he had gotten some sleep too. “I’ll stay with the kids. Although I might be taking them home. I have some things to do”

“Can you move them without waking them?” Noah asked looking worried. He had enjoyed the few peaceful hours of rest he had gotten too. Though he got to help his wife with the twins just on weekends, the kids always ended up wearing him out. Sometimes, he wondered how she survives all week.

“They are heavy sleepers.” Adriana said. The two women had quietly moved the sleeping twins to the car. And when she drove off, Adriana sighed. “Now, we have some hours to ourselves” she cooed.

Noah smiled remembering the day fondly. Since the twins came, that night had been the best night. At least, it was until later in the day when they had gone to pick up the kids. They had watched the movie: The old vampire. After the movies, they had gotten in the car, relaxing, wishing the day never ended, then Mrs. Swiss started calling Noah.

“Hey mom.” Adriana said, picking the call. “We had the best night”

But it wasn’t their mom. It was the kids. And it looked like they were hiding. Adriana placed the call on speaker so Noah could listen. And they heard as a horrible scene played out. There was a robbery incident going on. From what they could make out, the kids were hidden somewhere. And the thieves with a gun pointed at Mrs. Swiss ordered the maids to empty the house.

“Bring me all the golds, the money, the silver. Everything” shouted one of the men. And the couple listened as their kids shrieked. For fear of putting everyone in danger, the parents said nothing. They called the police, gave the address, and reported the ongoing robbery. Then they drove home with Adriana driving while Noah started to sharpen a metal he could use as a weapon.

Before getting there though, the police had saved the day. Thankfully, nobody had been harmed.

They later found out the kids had been shoved under the bed, with a phone by their grandmother “You did a good job today” he told both kids. Just some couple weeks earlier, he had been teaching them how to call when in danger. The kids were so smart; they could operate all the gadgets at home. So, he had told them anytime they were in danger, they could call, and once the person speaks, say nothing unless they could talk where they were without being heard, or caught by their attackers. “And make sure you don’t put the call on speaker.” he said, tickling them both. He didn’t even know if they paid any attention. It was just a spore of the moment decision because of the movie they were watching.

“You think they get that” Adriana had laughed at his parenting skills.

“Maybe” he shrugged.

While he hugged the kids, Adriana came over. “Who knew that lecture then would help?” she said, kissing both kids. They still looked scared but were a bit relaxed. Earlier, both kids had been hysterical.

Noah turned away from the door. If his wife was reminding him about that day, she was saying they were in a hostage situation. Noah ran downstairs immediately to alert Robert and the security team that they had company. Mrs. Swiss was coming out of the room when he stumbled into her. “Where’s Robert?” he asked, swearing as he hit his head on the wall while trying to avoid crashing on his mother in law. “My family has been held hostage.”

“What?” asked Mrs. Swiss.

He hushed her, and they both went in search of help. They rushed into Robert, who got the security team and went back the stairs. Noah went in first, according to their quick plan. He met his wife, and kids bundled in a corner. Two masked men dangled their guns at them. His kids shivered, and his wife sweated profusely. He nodded that he had gotten her message and help was coming soon.