'How's she?' A middleaged man asked no one in
particular as he rushed into the hospital
reception, he had a pot belly which clearly
showed it round signs from the neatly ironed
shirt.
He turned to Lovina who was sitting in the
reception sofa with the driver, three uniformed
policemen were seen standing beside them.
'How's your sister?' The man asked again.
'Loveth is fine' Lovina answered, folding her
arms as she stood up with tears formed in her
eyes. 'The doctor said she didn't lose much
blood because we brought her in early, they just
have to take out the bullet'
'Thank God!' He exclaimed, rubbing his palms in
the air in appreciation. He turned to the three
policemen that stood beside Lovina, 'but how
did it happen? Who was the criminal that tried
to kill my Loveth?'
'We don't know sir, but our men are after him
and would surely get him' one of the officers
replied.
He turned back to Lovina, 'I think you should go
back to school now since Loveth is already on
treatment. I'll see the doctors'
'Huh?' Her eyes widened in disbelief. 'Dad! That
guy tried to shoot me also'she exclaimed.
'The criminal is already being pursued by the
police, he can't come after you again' he
reassured. 'These officers would also follow you
there'
'Dad, I'm scared' she said as she ran into his
warm embrace. 'I don't think I'm stable enough
to fly the plane anymore'
'Don't be scared dear, my enemies have failed'
he said, patting her on the back. 'I'm sure they
only want to stop you from flying the plane
successfully'
'Would you go with me Dad?' She looked into
his eyes and asked.
'No' he replied, he could read the
disappointment in her eyes. 'I have to stay with
your sister'
'Ok' she agreed hesitatingly, ' I'll go'
She picked up her bag and looked at her father
again for reassurance before she walked out of
the hospital, two officers and the driver
followed.
The man sat into the sofa where Lovina where
Lovina got up from, he ignore the gazes of
other waiters in the reception and buried his
face in his palm. He wondered who it could be
that attacked his daughters, he wondered who
wanted them dead. Loveth, Lovina's twin sister
was a student of the university of Enugu and
had come on a short break to grace the special
event with her sister. The assailant's target
was surely Lovina but the great resemblance of
the twins must have confused him and he
decided to shoot both but failed.
+++++++++++
Jude paced the floor, already getting impatient
waiting for Lovina. He was already dressed in
his pilot's uniform, the flight was to take off in
the next twenty minutes and he was to walk
out with his partner and pass through the
security protocols before going to settle in the
airplane.
His mind became at rest when he noticed a
figure behind him, he heaved a sigh of relief.
'Lovina, why did …' He was saying at he turned
to look at the figure. His sorrow returned when
he turned back to see Gloria dressed in a pilot
uniform.
'Jude' she called and smiled at him.
'What?' He barked at her turning his back to
her, 'I'm in a serious dilemma here and you're
playing games with me'
'I'm here to help you Jude' she said calmly.
'What stupid help?' He growled, he narrowed his
gaze at her and examined her appearance. He
asked with a threatening tone 'where did you
find this uniform?'
'I've come to help you Jude' she ignored his
question and continued. 'Lovina is not here and
I don't want you to lose this opportunity, I can
represent her'
'You know that's not possible'
'It is' Gloria insisted
'It's not, all the students and lecturers present
already know who is supposed to fly with me'
Jude argued.
'But they would not notice, they'll only be
watching us from far' She put in. 'I won't stay
out of the plane so long for them to see me'
'You can't even get into the plane' he said
sternly, 'Only Lovina's ID card and mine would
be allowed by the security to enter the plane or
even access the runway
'I have one here' she displayed an ID card to
him.
'What? How did you get that?' He asked, his
look turned into a suspicious one.
'Shhh…' Gloria hushed him, placing a finger on
her lips. 'Stop raising your voice, I only want to
help you'
He narrowed his gaze first and then raised his
brow, 'I don't need that kind of help, it could
get me into more trouble'
She moved closer to him, removing an android
device from her pocket. She opened her chat
with Aisha on the instant messenger, revealing
some pictures and videos.
'Here' she pointed something to him on the
screen. He refused to look into it first, but he
saw something familiar that caught his
attention. The picture she was showing him
looked like one taken in his sister's hostel
room. He moved closer to have a clearer view.
He was greatly shocked by what he saw. His
younger sister, the only sibling he had and the
only surviving member of his family who was a
law student in the port Harcourt university
couldn't come to the event because she had an
exam that day. He was terrified seeing her tied
to a chair in the room, blindfolded wearing a
bomb jacket.
'Who are you and what do you want with my
sister?' Jude asked shakily.
'I want nothing with you or your sister and I
won't harm any of you if you cooperate with
me' she spoke, tapping in some commands into
the android device, she switched it off and flung
it into a locker. She returned to face him, 'all I
want is to get on the plane with you'
'But that's not possible' his eyes was full of
pleas.
'Then you have to sacrifice your sister ' she
said bluntly. She rolled up her sleeve and
showed him a device placed around her wrist
close to the watch, she placed her hand on the
red button. 'All I need to do is touch this and
your sister would join your parents'
'No no, please' he pleaded with tears forming in
his eyes, he knelt on the floor.
'That won't work Jude, what I want is to fly
plane with you, I've have a message for one of
our passengers' she continued without no pity in
her voice. She glanced at her wristwatch and
turned her back on him, 'we have only eight
minutes to board the plane, your sister or I pilot
the plane with you?'
'Okay' he finally agreed, wiping off his face as
he got up from his kneels. 'But you have to
promise me that nothing will happen to her'
'Nothing would happen to her' she said with a
smile.
'Let's go' Jude said as he matched forward to
the exit.
'Wait!' She ordered, 'clean off your face
properly, no one must suspect anything'
'Okay' he used an handkerchief to mop his face
and tried to put on a smile.
'Good' she smiled again. 'We're going straight
into the plane after we pass the governor's
security officials, no wasting of time'
She walked back to the second exit which she
entered from and opened the door slightly. She
inserted a metal into the lock and fastened it
like a bolt, she left the site slightly opened and
turned back to join Jude.
Jude led the way out and they proceeded
where the plane was parked. Gloria took care
not to look back at all as she could hear
several voices chanting the names 'Lovina' and
'Jude', they thought she was Lovina since she
was wearing a wig of the same hairstyle Lovina
had on. They passed the governor's security
officials easily after they displayed their ID
cards and were searched.
She avoided looking towards John Obiano who
was outside, looking fly in his black shiny suit
complimented with a red tie as he chatted with
the minister and the Rivers state governor,
Kelechi Edwin.
The Aviation minister was also dressed in a
black suit and shirt but he had no tie on. The
only odd one was the Governor, he was adorned
in a native attire and a black hat to match it, he
always loved to represent his culture especially
when he was in a program that was being
televised internationally.
Gloria greeted the dignitaries briefly and walked
into the airplane immediately with Jude to
settle in the cockpit. Jude took the Captain's
position at the left while Gloria took the first
officer's seat, a drop of sweat rolled down her
head from underneath the wig she wore.
++++++++++
'Hey!' A lady dressed in an air hostess' uniform
carrying a black bag approached Cole in the
midst of several students and guests walking in
and out of the field.
'Hey' Cole replied with laughter in seeing Aisha,
'you looked great in this uniform'
She poked him by the side playfully and joined
in the laughter, 'are you done with your job?'
'Yes, I've been waiting here for you all day' he
replied.
'Well' she continued and they began to walk
slowly, 'my task was a little bit cumbersome'
'What were you asked to do?'
'To handle the pilot's sister and also exchange
one of the flight attendant's bag'
'And how did it go?' He asked.
'Fine, how was yours?'
'Good, it was easier than I thought it would be'
he replied, 'I only dropped a needle into John
Obiano's pocket'
'Needle?' She asked, facing him.
'Yea'
'I think there was a pack of needle in my bag
too, but the main thing was a parachute'
He chuckled as they continued walking, 'I was
almost wondering how she intended to drop off
the plane before'
'Your task was simple ' Aisha teased. 'No one
could have failed that'
'Huh?' He gave her a sharp look. 'Do you know
how many bodyguards I had to go past?'
She hissed playfully, 'stop magnifying it'
'See you' he gave a playful hiss and peeped into
the bag she was carrying. 'What do we have
there?'
'Nothing edible, stop sniffing' she pushed his
nose with a finger. 'Except you want to eat first
aid materials and other hostesses' kits'
He replied with a prolonged hiss showing his
disappointment
Cole stopped suddenly, he looked shocked as he
stared at someone approaching them. Aisha
paused to see what he was staring at, the same
look appeared on her face.
'Gosh!' Cole whispered. They stared at Lovina
and the two officers approaching hurriedly.