Third Person's POV.

The smell of alcohol and cigarette smoke filled the air in the bar, after numerous drags and swigs, his head spun as he began to feel light-headed. His eyes, bloodshot and a ragged breath escaping his lips, as an aching swirl went on in his head.

Rafiq, sat at the bar, a total number of fifteen empty beer bottles surrounded the table before him, of which he'd consumed all and was still ordering more. He stank of cheap beer and cigarettes and his eyes swirled around the beer bottles before him - almost like he was questioning himself, if he'd actually drank the entire thing. A loud and cringe-worthy belch had escaped his mouth as he gulped the content of his sixteenth beer. His eyes battered through the scenery of the local bar, where he always came to waste himself and sometimes, to eat.

He was fully wasted now, the contents of the beers and cigarettes; working magic in his system. He felt his head swirling as the effect of the numerous swigs of beer and drags of cigarettes, played its roll in his head. He was beginning to loose his balance on the chair he was sitting on, and considered heading home. Just about getting up, he got intrigued by the conversation going on at the table a few inches away from his.

"Men, dem never find that Mr. Aniobi daughter oh. You sure say she even still dey alive sef?" a dark skinned, pot-bellied man, who had a bottle of cheap beer around his fat hands, said - his eyes, bloodshot and his voice, loud and hoarse.
["Men, they haven't found that Mr. Aniobi's daughter. Are you sure she's even still alive?"].

Rafiq, at this point, wanted to know where the conversation was headed, and so; he stayed behind - to listen to their conversation.

"I even hear say Mr. Aniobi don set prize for person wey go find 'im pikin. Guy eh, if na me find that girl eh, my life for don set. You know wetin be five million naira, and a brand new car on top? Benz for that matter! My guy! For this country? Haba! I need that kine thing for this my life oh! I swear! " another man said, much slimmer than the first, and his eyes; bloodshot as well as the first. He had much lighter skin and was smoking instead.
["I also heard that Mr. Aniobi has set a prize for the person that will find his daughter. Guy, if I were to find that girl, my life will be alright. Do you know what is five million naira and a brand new car on top? Benz for that matter! My guy! In this country? Wow! I need that kind of thing in my life! I swear"].

Rafiq, although feeling a bit drowsy, became alert at the sound of the amount of money mentioned. His mind, swirling with possibilities of him being the one to get that prize. His greed boosting to a whole new level and the captivity of the amount, playing with his head.

He was one of the kidnappers who had successfully kidnapped the daughter of the very famous and powerful business man and billionaire: Mr. Obiora freaking Aniobi. They'd successfully done that, the minute they somehow got news that she was on the mainland cause he'd seen her with a very good-looking man, and had known she was the daughter of the very influential business tycoon - after he'd done a little research about her.

That night, he'd alerted his boys on his plan to kidnap her and request for a huge ransom later on. They'd kept her with them for over a week now, in order to arise worry in the hearts of her family members. That way, they'd give any amount mentioned, just to see their precious daughter again. A smart plan - according to them, it was. They'd succeeded in arousing worry and panic, in not just the hearts of her family members, but also, the entire city of Lagos.

The news was buzzing through the streets, here and there, and it had played on the lips of many. A lot were curious to know who the set of tyrants, who had successfully managed the guts, to kidnap the daughter of a very rich and influential man, such as Mr. Aniobi, were.

Doom. They were calling out for doom, 'cause Mr. Aniobi, was more than ready to end the lives of the preposterous criminals, who'd managed to step on the tiger's tail.

Mr. Aniobi, was a man who knew his way around anything, and everything. He was willing to go to any lengths to ensure Chioma's safe return, and that meant, he could do and undo. He had connections - which was a very essential asset in Nigeria, with connections; such as his, the law could even be as much as twisted in your favor.

Rafiq, once again, got up - more like staggered - and walked out of the bar with his head moving every-which-way. He considered what had been said at the bar, if he could just act like he found the girl, then he would have all those prizes to himself. Unlike the initial agreement he he had with the rest of his gang, which was to split the money received from the kidnapping, amongst five of his guys that were involved - those who had spied on Chioma, included.

Greed danced before his eyes, luring him into its seductive hands. He couldn't resist the offer and that amounted to his plan to save the girl, and hand her over to the police, claiming he had rescued her. And since the girl didn't know what her kidnappers looked like, he knew it'd be a lot more easier. The part that appeared difficult, was the part which involved fooling his guys in order to "rescue" the girl.

And idea slapped it's way into his head, he knew it would work cause they couldn't resist the temptation. He decided he'd get them a drink, and add some sedative into it, thereby causing the rest of them to snore into the warm hands of sleep... Giving him enough time to sneak the girl out of the abandoned warehouse, at the outskirts of Lagos, a remote part of the city which was rarely visited and dreaded due to the crimes that went on there.

His plan would have to commence the following day, for he was far too wasted to pull it off today. He staggered the rest of the way - to his house - occasionally falling down and repeatedly picking himself off the dusty ground. A wicked grin played on his lips, as he staggered, his head swinging sideways, as he headed home.

* * *

Femi was fit enough to be discharged and his mom, Kunmi, Damola and Dante - Kunmi's older brother - were all present at the hospital. Things had been quite awkward after the last showdown that'd taken place between Kunmi and Damola.

After Damola had played the recording of Kunmi's confession of actually loving him, his heart folded within his chest. He didn't know what to do or how else to brace the issue. He was certain he didn't feel the same way, and he also knew he didn't want to hurt Kunmi's feelings. He didn't know how exactly he'd break the news of not seeing her that way, to her.

He always saw Kunmi as his sister, yes, maybe he'd caught feelings for her sometime before he traveled out of the country for his college education, but that died a long time ago. He felt absolutely nothing for Kunmi, besides sisterly love and a mutual care and concern a person would have for a friend.

Now, seeing her just made the air around him seem thicker and foggier and he didn't want that. He much preferred when things weren't awkward between them. And he was certain Kunmi was unaware that he knew that she had feelings for him, 'cause Damola had made sure to record her confession secretly.

His gut felt a certain shakiness he couldn't really explain, and each time his eyes landed on hers, he'd tear them away with urgency. Of course, Kunmi's observant nature didn't miss this and she wondered why he was suddenly acting all weird around her.

She'd offered to hold his hand and lead him to the car - which would convey him to his house - but he'd objected and claimed he could walk well and was fine, meanwhile, he was quite staggering a bit. His mother had taken it from there, clueless of the tension building between them both, and had led Femi to the car herself.

Damola noticed this and wasn't happy about it all, but he was glad the truth finally surfaced 'cause Femi really needed to clear things with her and make her understand that he didn't feel the same, rather than giving her false hope.

He and Kunmi were not even on speaking terms, after all that had happened the day before - at the hospital - she'd been beefing with him. She didn't even say a word to him, not even when he'd offered to talk to her. She'd totally snobbed him and acted like he didn't exist. That was so unexpected, but he decided to ignore it, giving off an indifferent shrug.

Truly, he was only looking out for both his friends, he didn't want Kunmi to drown herself in false hope and he didn't want things to keep stretching further than it had already done. He needed the both of them to clear up whatever misconceptions they had and just be honest about how they felt. He had no intention of hurting anyone, especially not Kunmi. And definitely Femi. He felt Femi was a really good guy with a heart of gold and deserved more than what he was getting. And as far as Kunmi was concerned? He didn't want to see her hurt either, and wanted to see her happy. He didn't want her to be with a guy who he knew didn't actually like her. He wanted someone who'd love her genuinely, and treat her well.

"Okay now, well see you guys tomorrow then" Femi's mother announced as they both got into the car. Femi's father, had long gone been discharged and she knew he'd be overjoyed to finally see Femi return home.

"Bye," Kunmi said, although it came out as a solemn whisper. She didn't understand why Femi was treating her this way. She was hurt by it and hoped he'd come around real soon.

Damola, equally bade them goodbye, and so did the other well-wishers who'd taken time to come. Femi and his mother both returned the byes and waves, and the driver finally drove the car out of the hospital's parking lot. And finally, out of the hospital entirely.

* * *

Rafiq had taken time that morning, to head out to the nearest bar shop in his area, and had gotten five chilled bottles of cheap beer for the rest of the gang... Alongside some roasted bush meat and Suya - which he'd gotten from a local Suya seller in his area.

He knew they wouldn't be able to resist these. And according to his so-called master plan, he'd add in some sedatives into the beers and serve them to his gang mates. And the minute they'd fall asleep, he'd take the opportunity to rescue the girl.

Again, his smile knew no bounds as he quickly boarded a bus and was soon off to the warehouse. The bus would stop him at the local bus stop - a few kilometers from the warehouse and he'd trek the rest of the way - as usual.

On arriving at the warehouse, he'd tried so hard to maneuver his way through the muddy grounds of the area, simultaneously trying to cover his nose due to the pungent smell that arose from the warehouse. It reeked of cheap beer, urine, sweat and stagnant water - which had all managed to attract their respective mosquitoes... Each mosquito looked healthier and much fatter than the other, a sign that they'd been feeding well and had sucked a good amount of blood, for nourishment.

Rafiq tried swatting the flies that buzzed past his ears as he approached the entrance of the warehouse. With urgency in his eyes, he'd checked to see if he was being followed - which he doubted. The minute he'd gotten the clarification he needed, that no one had seen him or followed him, he knocked on the old, termite-infested wooden door. The secret knock, that only the gang members were accustomed to.

The minute the door came open, slightly, and a gang member - Dotun - had opened the door, he offered him a small smile and Dotun let him in.

"The real gee! Omo! Oga boss! After you na you!" Dotun hailed, the minute his eyes met with the black polythene bag Rafiq had in his hand.
["The real gee! Guy! Boss! After you is you"].

"Guys! Mo una come see wetin I dey see oh! This kine thing dey totori my body!" Dotun further exclaimed, attracting the attention of the other gang mates. They hurried over to his side, eyes peering into the bag as they each saluted Rafiq with a smile, while Rafiq simply smiled back.
["Guy! You guys should come and see what I'm seeing! This kind of thing is sweeting my body!"].

"But dude, what's the occasion?" A tall, dark skinned guy named Kolade, had asked and the others shot him murderous glares.

"You no go sit don, chop this thing. Dey there dey ask mumu question. E be like say you don chop na" another fired at Kolade and he immediately covered up with a smile.
["You won't sit down and eat this thing. Be there asking foolish question. It's like you have eaten"].

"Haba! Na joke I dey joke na!" he gave off a nervous laugh and dug into the scrumptious meal before them.
["Wow! I was just joking"].

On and on, they each went on, eating greedily without any care in the world, while Rafiq drank from the only bottle which hadn't been sedated - he'd specially reserved that one for himself alone.

It didn't take long before the effects of the sedative began to manifest on the gang members, and slowly, they each fell asleep: one-by-one.

The minute he'd noticed they'd all fallen asleep, he hurried over to the where the girl had been kept, in a more secluded part of the warehouse.

"Shh... Don't say anything. I'm here to rescue from these evil men" he whispered to her, as he began taking off the chains used to bound her to the rusty pole. Soon enough, she was fully untied, but still blindfolded. He didn't want her to see his face, yet.

Without any form of warning, he immediately lifted her into his arms - like she weighed nothing, which apparently seemed so 'cause she looked malnourished and had lost extra weight. He hurriedly made the run for it, careful not to step on any of their feet as he hurriedly took her out of the warehouse.

Chioma tried saying something, but couldn't, due to the overwhelming weakness that'd come over her. She'd refused to eat anything they'd offered her while she'd been tied - like an animal - to a rusty pole. She also refused drinking anything they'd offered, and so, she didn't have any energy left to do or say anything. She only occasionally muttered a few words incoherently, trying so hard to produce actual words.

Rafiq was sure he'd made it out there quite easy, what he didn't realize was that he'd been a little too confident.

The minute he was about crossing the rugged road, to the other side, a blue pick-up truck sped past and immediately made impact with Rafiq, at the exact same time he'd been crossing the road - with Chioma on his arms - causing Chioma to fly out of his arms and horrifically crash into a nearby gutter, with a loud grunt escaping her lips as she collided with the cemented gutter containing debris, while Rafiq was hit - hard - by the truck, which immediately sped past, like it hadn't killed someone - and Rafiq immediately died on the spot.

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I tried my best so this wouldn't have to end in a cliffhanger, but it kinda did, I'm so sorry 😭😭💔 if luck's on my side, I'll update tomorrow.

Okay, please keep the comments coming, express your thoughts in the comments section... I'd really love to read them. And please, please vote if you enjoyed this chapter. They're a source of encouragement to me🙏🏽💖

Hmm... Who's feeling what I'm feeling? 😂 Is that toxic jealousy I sense from sister Kunmi? Girl don dey vex! The gods are no longer smiling oh!

Who else thinks Damola is the glue that's binding this friendship between Kunmi, Femi and himself? Anyone? Is it just me? 👀 Okay.

Okay na... Till the fire gets hotter, lemme keep adding fuel🔥⛽😂

Lemme gerraout oh!! Some people are already preparing to launch missiles my way!! 😂😂😂

Till my next update,
Bye...