Chapter 42 UNFORSEEN CIRCUMSTANCES

SEGUN

"What are you doing here?" She breathes out.

God! I've missed your voice.

Like a touch, it reaches out and caresses me softly on the cheek.

I'm not able to help myself as I close my eyes.

"'Wh. . . what are you doing here?" She asks again, this time, a slight tremor betraying her emotions.

I shake my head dumbly, not able to utter a syllable.

My name should be changed to tongue-tied. It's a fitting word for my present predicament.

Nervously I flick a tongue out, swipe it over my dry lips, and watch in awed fascination, as Eve's eyes stay glued to them.

Oh princess! Don't start what you can't finish.

She's still concentrating, hard, on them, so I do it again --- slower this time.

In response, she takes one edge of her lip in between her teeth, and bites down tightly. I realise her action is instinctive. I doubt she's even aware of what she's doing.

Her pink lips become cheery blossom red, as blood infuses them.

I'll be a loser if we keep this up --- a very sore loser indeed.

Shaking off the desire from my head, I clear my throat somewhat clumsily, and begin the speech I'd prepared for this exact moment.

"Hi, princess." My voice sounds strong and steady.

Way to go!

Unfortunately I don't get very far when a shrill fire alarm whistle pierces the calmness, almost rendering me deaf.

Within the twinkling of an eye, pandemonium breaks out as people begin running helter skelter. Someone, I think the manager, stands in the middle of the hall, gesticulating wildly and holding a microphone in his hand. He speaks into it, telling everyone to remain calm. He explains it's not a fire alarm, but a security button, because they have reason to believe from their video feed, that armed men have gained forced entry into the compound.

A hushed silence takes over the cavernous hall. I see fear painted in bold colours on Eve's face and practically every other person's face in the hall, too.

And then it dawn's on me. . .

Ebere planned this.

She told me she'd create an atmosphere for --- what was the word she used, again. Ah! yes; 'A helpless damsel in distress.'

And this was her idea ---- to create a fake robbery so I could be a knight in shining armour for Eve. Wow!

A grin spreads across my face as I contemplate her game plan.

I mean, I knew she was freaky, but not this freaky.

Where is she anyway?

Probably sniggering to herself, watching me make a fool of myself from a corner.

I look around wondering if I can see her, instead, my eyes fall on the scared faces of people. Most of them seem to be in different stages of fright.

Something doesn't seem right.

The atmosphere feels off.

If this is a joke, it's gone on for too long.

Just as the thought is projected, a loud ripping noise thunders from behind us, and as I turn around to look, the whole floor to glass window shatters, raining pebbles of glass all over us.

Something zings past my ears and I shout to Eve.

"Get down!"

Her eyes are glazed and she's shocked into immobility as she stares, mouth agape at the gaping space behind us.

Gripping her firmly by the wrists, I drag her down to the floor and begin crawling away from the non-existent window, with her firmly in hand.

Gun shots suddenly begin firing overhead, as armed men storm inside, their boots making a thundering noise on the tiled floor.

Nah!

Ebere certainly didn't plan this.

A voice bellows out, setting me on high alert.

"We are not here for anyone. All we want is money. So if you all stay quiet and be calm, we will do our business and be out before you know it." His voice pierces the deadly silence.

Nobody moves. There's so much silence, you could actually hear a pin drop, save for the movement of boots on the tiled floor.

I count seven pairs from my obscure view on the floor, as they pass our table. Their boots lead up to green combat trousers. I try to stand up so I can see one of them, at least, but Eve has got my neck on a choke hold.

She's suddenly turned clingy.

Not that I'm complaining, but it poses problems in another part of my body, because she's pressed like glue against my back. I feel some vibration rock through me and realise with mounting fear, that she's shaking.

Damn!

She's scared.

That's right! She must be experiencing a flash back about the accident she had. This must definitely be setting her back a notch or two.

I scoot close to her and whisper words of comfort into her ear. "Princess, you'll be alright. Nothing bad will happen to you, as long as I'm here."

And I plan to be around you for a very long time.

The hold around my neck loosens and I miss the feel of her against me. I can't dwell on this for long right now, because I've got a plan to get us to safety. I scoot close to her once more and tell her my plan, giving her some directions on what to do next.

"Alright, lay down on your back, spread your legs and wrap them around my waist. Put your hands around my neck. Make sure to hold tight."

Her eyes widen as she stares at me. And then they dim, blinking, as understanding filters into them. She nods and quickly lays down on the floor. I catch a glimpse of smooth, supple laps, before her legs lift up, wrapping themselves firmly around my waist.

Well, damn!

It takes a second to feel her warmth penetrate through me and less than that for my nether region to begin acting up, faster, this time around.

Of course she notices. Just my luck.

"Are you --- ?" She let's her words hang, instead hiding her face in the crook of my neck as her body shakes with mirth.

Just peachy, princess. Laugh at my predicament.

It takes me almost a minute to get myself under control and place my mind firmly on the task at hand.

We begin the arduous journey, crawling on my hand and knees towards a door I think leads to the toilet area.

This was a bad idea.

The weight of Eve keeps dragging me down, causing difficulty in movement.

We don't get very far before I call it quits.

"This isn't working. Time to incorporate plan b. You need to get down and instead climb onto my back. On the count of three -- ready?"

I spare her a glance and she nods and removes her limbs from around my waist and neck.

The next few minutes are crucial, because the armed robbers have begun spreading out now, barking orders to everyone, instructing them to dispose of their money and belongings in a sack that each of them is holding.

I stop a number of times when I hear the sound of boots coming close. Seems they're here to take money from everyone.

I feel Eve's weight crashing into my back, distracting me from the robber's machinations.

I briefly wonder where Ebere has gotten to. Before this whole saga began, we'd met in the corridor of the toilet area and agreed on a signal. She was supposed to meet Eve and I after about thirty minutes if she saw me giving a thumbs down sign, indicating things didn't go as planned. However, if after thirty minutes passed and no sign came from me, she was to leave and get a cab home, assuming that I was already informing Eve on the reasons why she can't marry Mr. Faseun tommorow.

Has she left already?

First things first --- get Eve to safety and come back out to look for Ebere.

We crawl for what seems like ages, towards a back door. Luckily the robbers don't intercept us, probably because they're too intent on cashing everyone out.

Finally, we slip through the door and close it behind us.

We are on the other side of mayhem.

There are two doors facing us. I go for the left one. Once I open it, we are face to face with a clutter of cleaning materials. A whole bunch of them.

We slip inside unnoticed and close the door firmly behind us.

Eve scrambles down from my back and crawls to a corner, far away from me. This doesn't go unnoticed by me.

I get off and busy myself, flicking off some shards of glass that got wedged in my T - shirt. My jeans are dusty from where I crept on the floor, so I dust that off too.

I hear sniffles and I glance at Eve to see her head bent downwards. She's furtively cleaning her eyes.

Is she crying?

More sniffles drift towards me, searing a pang through my chest.

I walk briskly towards her and drop on my hunches in front of her. I don't want to get her spooked by touching her, so instead I sigh, and wait for her to realise I'm in front of her.

She senses my presence and her head snaps up. Her eyes are tinged with red and brimming with unshed tears that she's trying to reign in, but failing miserably. They slide down her cheeks in rivulets.

"Why are you crying?" I ask softly.

She shakes her head and launches herself into my arms, clinging tightly to me. She's like a light switch. You never can tell which way she'll go, so I play it safe.

My hands come up around her waist, where it lingers. Slowly, I tentatively wrap her in a loose embrace.

"I'm sorry." She breathes tremulously, pulling away from me.

Sorry for what, though?

We stay silent for some seconds, listening for any extraneous noise. Garbled voices filter in from the main hall and I suddenly remember that I have to go look for Ebere. I need to make sure she's safe.

"I've got to go look for Ebere. I've got to back out."

Her eyes widen imperceptibly, and then she clings to me once more, like a vine. "Please don't go. You can't go. It's not safe."

There's a woe - begotten expression on her face right now and I can't help but lean into her. My hands creep up to caress her cheeks. "Look! She's your best friend and I need to make sure she's safe."

"So you two planned this?" Her voice is like flint now, as her eyes bore into me with remorseless intensity.

And . . . light switch activated.

"I'm sorry, but can we discuss this when I get back?" I'm becoming exasperated.

"No need! Ebere has gone home. She sent me a text message few seconds ago, apologising." She shakes her head, the motion causing her earrings to clink sending off a tinkling noise in the otherwise silent room. "I just didn't think she would betray me this way." She turns her face away and mumbles words under breath. Words that I catch. "Some best friend she is."

That's when I notice the phone clutched in her hand.

"Look! Don't blame her." I protest. "I needed to talk to you. I just. . . didn't want you to make the wrong decision."

Her eyes have hardened to glass shards now. "I believe you're talking about my impending marriage to your boss tommorow, yes?"

I flinch, like I've been slapped. She might as well have slapped me with her cutting words.

"Ex - boss!" I say, with some difficulty. "I don't work for him anymore.

She gasps. "Is it because I. . . "

"Nope." I shake my head vehemently. "Contrary to your beliefs, my world doesn't revolve around you." I move to sit a distance away from her.

"I never said th --- "

"I know, I know." I wave her words away.

We sink into silence, once again. I'm angry now. How am I going to have a rational conversation with my present temperament.

"I . . . " She starts, but then her phone cuts off what she was about to say when it begins ringing.

I rotate a hand in front, left to right, and a fast shake of my head, all the while mouthing no, indicating she not pick the call.

She scrambles to do so when her eyes widen.

Don't answer it princess, don't you dare answer it now. We could be discovered.

Just as I think she heard my unvoiced words, she caves in on herself, taps on a button and presses it to her ear.

"Hey sis." She whisper - talks.

Is that your idea of whispering?

She removes the phone from her ear, puts it at a distance in front of her and fakes a smile.

I roll my eyes, wondering what she's up to.

"Hey baby sis. Where are . . . oh you're cleaning?"

The person she's video calling with, must have seen all the cleaning equipments behind her.

Eve nods furiously and I concentrate on edging towards the door without making a noise, but the person she's talking to is making up for her lack of words as her voice cuts across to me distinctively.

"So, I'm in Nigeria, but will be camping at a hotel to get some shut eye before coming over to the house. I'll see you guys in the evening. How are the preparations going?"

The bloody wedding talk.

This brings me back to the situation at hand. I need to have that talk with her, ASAP.

Instead of leaving the room as I'd initially planned, I decide to move back to my former position beside Eve.

Time to make my presence known.

"Hello!" I chirp, wrapping an arm around Eve's shoulder and waving to the person on the phone screen.

A lady that looks suspiciously like Eve, widens her eyes as she looks at me. She's got the same caramel skin colour, but she's slimmer and more mature - looking. "Oh . . . my! Who do we have here?"

"Hi. My name is Segun, but she calls me Batman." I smile, pointing at Eve.

Eve gasps beside me, trying valiantly to push me away, but, I don't undergo rigorous exercise everyday in order to be pushed away like a fly. I remain solid beside her like a brick wall and grin like an idiot into the screen.

"Batman?! What a delightful nickname." She quips, in a clipped British accent. Then she turns to Eve with a coquettish smile on her face. "You naughty girl, you. Fancy having a last minute tryst on the eve of your wedding. Oh I never thought to do that. I'm ---"

I loose the rest of her words as my mind zones in on the word 'tryst.'

Of course! That's what it must seem like to her. After all, Eve is supposed to get married tommorow. So seeing her with a total male stranger, who by the way happens to be me, doesn't look very nice.

That's putting it nicely.

This deflates me to no end.

I move away from them and walk to the door.

"Oh, he's very handsome." Eve's sisters voice flits over to me.

Yeah! But not rich enough for your sister, it seems. I think, bitterly.

What on earth possessed Eve to want to marry Mr. Faseun anyway?

I quell the bitter feelings that have begun to rise to the surface and focus on walking to the door.

Things seem quiet outside when I press my ear against it. I decide to brave checking if the robbers have gone. With one backward glance at Eve who is still listening to her sister yap, I open the door and stealthily walk outside.

I better not bump into any armed men. They'd take me away leaving Eve all alone and I wouldn't like that.

I creep towards the main hall where a flurry of movement assails me.

No armed men in sight.

People are talking and gesticulating amongst themselves in groups, surrounding the man I presume to be the manager. He's telling everyone to calm down, but failing miserably.

Alright, so the robbers are gone.

Time to have that talk with Eve.

"I've got to go." I whirl round, almost walking smack, into her. "My sister is around for my. . . " She doesn't finish her sentence. Instead, she looks around as she fiddles with her car key.

She's nervous and I understand why.

I need to ask her one salient question before she jets off. Her answer will make me fight for her . . . or just give up and surrender myself to watching the love of my life get married and have kids with my ex - boss.

"Do you love him?"

She tries to side - step me, but I block her way.

"Don't do this." She pleads, her voice sounding breathy.

Do I have that effect on you or is it just my imagination?

"Do what?" I move closer to her, testing my theory.

She licks her lips furtively and my eyes zone in on them.

Focus man, focus!

My phone blares out, stopping me from almost kissing her.

As I fumble to get it out of my pocket, Eve gives me the slip, right from under my arm.

With my ringing phone still in hand, I watch her fast - walk away.

I got my answer, alright, princess.

And now I'm coming for you.