ENJOY THE CONTINUATION đ
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There are several night clubs in Lagos but Francis chose Soul Lounge for the controversial celebration of his top goonâs birthday; a birthday fĂȘte in the midst of police investigations. What bothered people who heard the news was not even that a whole family was kidnapped; it was that the people living next to them were nonetheless throwing a party, the same people from the same place where the recent gun chase had started.
The policeâs effort to contact or hear the demands of the Nwanyanwusâ abductors had proven abortive. A lot knew something was fishy though; Olawunmi and Majeed who were thought to be kidnapped suddenly showed up with the suspected kidnapper and the once wrongly accused American, whatâs his name? Michael Livingstone? And he was with them again, throwing a party.
âThe birthday party of a friend is going down at Soul Lounge in Lekki Estate, Phase 1 on Friday night. Michael Livingstone, Sonican Dale, Olawunmi Oni, a lot of friends and I am going to be there,â so Francis used Majeedâs Facebook account to say, knowing undoubtedly well that since the street shooting had gone down, Majeed had become a celebrity on Facebook and Twitter. If at all nobody gives a damn about what he posts, their targeted audience definitely would.
And Friday came, noon beat dawn, all into the past the twilight cast and finally, individual stood before different mirrors, dressing up. Sonican protested against taking Majeed and Olawunmi along but Francis insisted that they be brought along.
âWhat do you say, Anatoly?â he had asked his muscular friend.
And Anatoly had said, âThe gentleman posted it on Facebook, tweeted about it too. It only makes sense he leads us there.â
Sonican wouldnât say more because the two folks being discussed were there. If not, she wouldâve reminded Francis that a lot of shooting could be going down and if these young Nigerians were there, they would surely get shot.
âAnatoly said it only makes sense he leads us there, câmon!â Francis had added, seeing the protesting look on Sonicanâs face.
It was Sonican who dressed Olawunmi. She picked which gown she wore; a tube gown, sky blue with a hat of the same colour; a churchy appearance, like a nineteenth century European dame.
All the men including Majeed suited up; Anatolyâs recommendation. The Soul Lounge is located at the Palms Mall, British International School Way in Lekki Estate, Phase 1. Thatâs the place you would hear people call EtĂ ĂsĂ .
De Place, Excape Night Club, Club 57, MVP Lounge and Club Quilox in Victoria Island, these were the places recommended to Francis but he chose Soul Lounge, saying he had been there before and he liked it.
So at exactly 10:15pm, after all his guys had already gone there ahead of him, Francis in the same car with Majeed, Olawunmi, Sonican and Anatoly set out for Soul Lounge. It was their club for the night, Francis had paid for all the drinks anyone would take that night and the doors were only to be closed after the largest crowd capacity had been reached. Francis who sat at the front seat beside Majeed who drove came down first, opened the door for Olawunmi and others to come down. Olawunmiâs hand went in his arms, Sonicanâs in Anatolyâs, and Majeed led the way alone with his props. The bouncers cleared the way and their car was taken by one of the clubâs chauffeurs.
When they entered the club after passing through a vestibule which was the reception where people perhaps were supposed to be cleared for entrance, a lot of eyes went up to them in the disco of dancing lights. Francis glanced up briefly as Olawunmi simultaneously did, observing how tall the ceiling was. The space was large enough to be a cinema and a live band was playing Afro music and gospel songs in club style at the elevation which was the stage. Sweet evening!
The VVIP section was not vacant, everywhere except the table that was supposed to be the celebrantâs was occupied and the newcomers sat there. The adjacent table, Francis noticed, was occupied by a lone man whose appearance begged for caution. Majeed sat beside Francis but Francis told him to go sit beside Sonican and let Anatoly come sit beside him. A man came while they did this, Francis whispered in his ears and then the man nodded and hurried off. Shortly after, just when the bottles started to come to their table, the man who had been whispered to appeared on the stage to address the hall in pidgin English, that cutting of cake was already done at the celebrantâs home and that the party should start right away. It wasnât a usual birthday party anyway; the cake part was not even remembered until the club employee asked about it.
âIt seems a lot of people have come for your birthday, Anatoly. I can smell love in the air,â said Francis to Anatoly.
âAh, it appears they did,â Anatoly smiled, âIâm an orphan. Thereâs uh⊠certain sympathy people feel towards orphans.â
They both laughed.
âAnd, look around the place. It begs to ask, do white guys usually come here this much?â
âIâm a white guy, itâs my birthday, white guys come, soâŠâ
âWhite guys who read Majeedâs post. White guys who never came here before. White guys we donât know.â
âBoss, I donât know why, their presence incites certain happiness in me. I guess⊠the more the merrier.â
âThe bigger the crowd, the more the bullets.â
âWould we prefer otherwise boss? Shooting is our life, whatâs a life without shooting?â
âA meaningless life, Anatoly, a meaningless life for sure.â
Majeed pushed their topped glasses to them and they picked them up, clinked and emptied the cups at one shot.
âWhoâs that guy behind me?â Sonican asked then, leaning across the table.
âI havenât seen his face,â answered Francis, âbut donât poke, heâs here because of us and canât bear good will. Let him come around if he could, let them all come around if they could.â
They drank on quietly; Olawunmi stealing looks at Francis, haunted by the shame of her intimacy with him, her betrayed hopes. Shouldnât I have known that not all that glitters is gold? And there we still are, with the devil, looking good. He knew I wasnât the one chatting with him, he knew it was Majeed, the game is over, our leverage is dissolved, how could I have ever guessed? The world most dangerous criminal!
âThink about something else sweetheart,â so Sonican whispered in her ear, âI can literally hear you thinking about him.â
âWhââ Olawunmiâs eyes widened. âIâm not thinking about Michael.â
âI didnât mention a name, did I?â she giggled briefly, sipped from her glass and looked away.
âHereâs the thing,â said a man suddenly looking over them. It was the lone man at the lone table and he had left his table to talk to them. He looked squarely at Anatoly. âI reckon youâre Anatoly, is that right?â
Anatoly shrugged. âI am.â
He extended his hand and reluctantly, Anatoly shook it.
âHappy birthday,â he said. âI was saying, uh, my⊠yes, the thing is⊠I donât really like sitting alone but⊠Iâm a very shy person. When I mingle with people like⊠people I donât know, I end up hurting them. Thatâs why Iâve been sitting alone there. Now, what shall we do to correct that? This is my conclusion, itâs either I join you or someone joins me, what do you say?â
âNobody is joining you from our table,â said Francis hostilely, âand there are many tables in thisâŠâ he looked at Anatoly for response.
âLittle lounge,â Anatoly completed.
âYes, in this little lounge. So, if you donât mindâŠâ
âOh you misunderstood me, Iâm not being⊠okay, lady, would you dance with me please?â asking Olawunmi.
âNo,â snapped Francis. âWho do you think you are?â
âFrancis!â shrieked Sonican softly. âHe probably came for our party, let him have his dance!â
SilenceâŠ
âI promise I wonât bite,â the man chuckled.
Francis nodded eventually and so, on Sonicanâs gesture, Olawunmi took the white guyâs hand and followed the stranger down the steps onto the dancing ground, hand in hand.
âDo you know who that is?â Francis leaned across the table and snarled at Sonican.
âCalm down. I donât give a damn who he is, Iâm gonna shoot him if he tries something out of the acceptable.â
âAnatoly, tell her who that man is.â
âBut I donât know who he is, boss.â
âYou gotta be kidding me, Anatoly, you donât know that man?â
âWhoâs he?â
âThatâs James fucking Bond, silly, the masked guy on YouTube.â
They all looked at him at once, dancing with Olawunmi in a rather devilish smiling face.
âHe is?â grunted Sonican agitatedly.
âHeâs fucking playing with us,â growled Anatoly.
âKeep your fucking eyes on that guy. You donât know him like I do.â Francis stood.
âFrancis?â muttered Sonican enquiringly.
âWhat?â he almost barked back.
âShould we be scared of this guy? Youâre overreacting and youâre freaking me out. Heâs not the only dangerous person in here. Look around! Weâre surrounded by them and youâre afraid of only him.â
âIâm not afraid of nobody!â
âThen sit the fuck down. If you donât, Iâll get the hell out of here, Iâm not joking.â
Francis sat tamely.
âWas he on the ship?â Sonican asked sternly now.
Francis nodded.
They all looked at the man again.
âHeâs gonna get it today, Francis, I promise you,â said Sonican.
They all sat back, Majeedâs heart beating abnormally fast.
âThat one doesnât seem to be one of them,â observed Ivan.
They nodded assentingly.
âAnd heâs playing with them,â added Xia.
âI can imagine so,â surmised Boris.
âXia,â whispered Ivan, although not really a whisper for it wouldâve been very loud if no music was being played. âHow sure are we that Michael Livingstone is Francis Whyte?â
âWhat does your instinct tell you?â
âIt tells me he is, and that that guy dancing with the girl is James Bond.â
âHe is James Bond,â said Boris. âHe used to be my friend, right now I just feel like blowing his head off.â
âYouâre not gonna blow his head off,â said Xia. âWe arenât here for him, so we face our business. Get Francis, get out of here, thatâs our objective. Do not be compromised now.â
âWhat do you mean by that?â
âI am a believer, and I believe you know what I mean.â
âFuck you.â
âFuck me? Fuck you! Fuck you Boris! Iâm not here for that guy. The last time the League called, I didnât hear bring Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan, bring Francis Whyte, thatâs what we were told, so, what the hell is my business with James Bond?â
âThen youâre a fool, and why do you think James Bond is here, to have champagne and leave? So, letâs say weâve got Francis now, you think James Bond is just gonna smile at us and wish us safe trip back home? Look around you, nobody is here for the party, theyâre here for Francis. We canât get Francis if we wonât deal with them.â
âHe has a point, Xia,â said Ivan. âIf James Bond stands in our way, we kill him, simple.â
âItâs not gonna be easy killing someone who can dodge directly fired bullets but Iâm in, weâll find a way around him⊠around them all.â
âI wish Abram was here. Heâs gonna kill us when we get Francis without him.â
âI donât regret locking him up,â said Xia. âHeâs compromised.â
âMiss Compromise, Iâll tell him itâs your decision, not ours, when we return.â
âFuck you.â
âGo fuck yourself, bitch.â
âShut your reeking mouth or I put a bullet in it right now.â
âYouâve watched too much of Agent Jack Bauerâs, havenât you?â
âWhat did you say, uh?â She was reaching for her derringer.
âReally?â growled Boris. âAre you gonna start this here now? Here, in this place? Are you simply stupid or just momentarily mentally fucked up?â
âFuck you asshole!â responded Xia and she mellowed out.
Holsters unbuckled, fingers on triggers, a giant tinderbox, beaming matches, all hidden beneath grossly smiling faces and bottles of champagne. It was going to be a long night.
The policeâs effort to contact or hear the demands of the Nwanyanwusâ abductors had proven abortive. A lot knew something was fishy though; Olawunmi and Majeed who were thought to be kidnapped suddenly showed up with the suspected kidnapper and the once wrongly accused American, whatâs his name? Michael Livingstone? And he was with them again, throwing a party.
âThe birthday party of a friend is going down at Soul Lounge in Lekki Estate, Phase 1 on Friday night. Michael Livingstone, Sonican Dale, Olawunmi Oni, a lot of friends and I am going to be there,â so Francis used Majeedâs Facebook account to say, knowing undoubtedly well that since the street shooting had gone down, Majeed had become a celebrity on Facebook and Twitter. If at all nobody gives a damn about what he posts, their targeted audience definitely would.
And Friday came, noon beat dawn, all into the past the twilight cast and finally, individual stood before different mirrors, dressing up. Sonican protested against taking Majeed and Olawunmi along but Francis insisted that they be brought along.
âWhat do you say, Anatoly?â he had asked his muscular friend.
And Anatoly had said, âThe gentleman posted it on Facebook, tweeted about it too. It only makes sense he leads us there.â
Sonican wouldnât say more because the two folks being discussed were there. If not, she wouldâve reminded Francis that a lot of shooting could be going down and if these young Nigerians were there, they would surely get shot.
âAnatoly said it only makes sense he leads us there, câmon!â Francis had added, seeing the protesting look on Sonicanâs face.
It was Sonican who dressed Olawunmi. She picked which gown she wore; a tube gown, sky blue with a hat of the same colour; a churchy appearance, like a nineteenth century European dame.
All the men including Majeed suited up; Anatolyâs recommendation. The Soul Lounge is located at the Palms Mall, British International School Way in Lekki Estate, Phase 1. Thatâs the place you would hear people call EtĂ ĂsĂ .
De Place, Excape Night Club, Club 57, MVP Lounge and Club Quilox in Victoria Island, these were the places recommended to Francis but he chose Soul Lounge, saying he had been there before and he liked it.
So at exactly 10:15pm, after all his guys had already gone there ahead of him, Francis in the same car with Majeed, Olawunmi, Sonican and Anatoly set out for Soul Lounge. It was their club for the night, Francis had paid for all the drinks anyone would take that night and the doors were only to be closed after the largest crowd capacity had been reached. Francis who sat at the front seat beside Majeed who drove came down first, opened the door for Olawunmi and others to come down. Olawunmiâs hand went in his arms, Sonicanâs in Anatolyâs, and Majeed led the way alone with his props. The bouncers cleared the way and their car was taken by one of the clubâs chauffeurs.
When they entered the club after passing through a vestibule which was the reception where people perhaps were supposed to be cleared for entrance, a lot of eyes went up to them in the disco of dancing lights. Francis glanced up briefly as Olawunmi simultaneously did, observing how tall the ceiling was. The space was large enough to be a cinema and a live band was playing Afro music and gospel songs in club style at the elevation which was the stage. Sweet evening!
The VVIP section was not vacant, everywhere except the table that was supposed to be the celebrantâs was occupied and the newcomers sat there. The adjacent table, Francis noticed, was occupied by a lone man whose appearance begged for caution. Majeed sat beside Francis but Francis told him to go sit beside Sonican and let Anatoly come sit beside him. A man came while they did this, Francis whispered in his ears and then the man nodded and hurried off. Shortly after, just when the bottles started to come to their table, the man who had been whispered to appeared on the stage to address the hall in pidgin English, that cutting of cake was already done at the celebrantâs home and that the party should start right away. It wasnât a usual birthday party anyway; the cake part was not even remembered until the club employee asked about it.
âIt seems a lot of people have come for your birthday, Anatoly. I can smell love in the air,â said Francis to Anatoly.
âAh, it appears they did,â Anatoly smiled, âIâm an orphan. Thereâs uh⊠certain sympathy people feel towards orphans.â
They both laughed.
âAnd, look around the place. It begs to ask, do white guys usually come here this much?â
âIâm a white guy, itâs my birthday, white guys come, soâŠâ
âWhite guys who read Majeedâs post. White guys who never came here before. White guys we donât know.â
âBoss, I donât know why, their presence incites certain happiness in me. I guess⊠the more the merrier.â
âThe bigger the crowd, the more the bullets.â
âWould we prefer otherwise boss? Shooting is our life, whatâs a life without shooting?â
âA meaningless life, Anatoly, a meaningless life for sure.â
Majeed pushed their topped glasses to them and they picked them up, clinked and emptied the cups at one shot.
âWhoâs that guy behind me?â Sonican asked then, leaning across the table.
âI havenât seen his face,â answered Francis, âbut donât poke, heâs here because of us and canât bear good will. Let him come around if he could, let them all come around if they could.â
They drank on quietly; Olawunmi stealing looks at Francis, haunted by the shame of her intimacy with him, her betrayed hopes. Shouldnât I have known that not all that glitters is gold? And there we still are, with the devil, looking good. He knew I wasnât the one chatting with him, he knew it was Majeed, the game is over, our leverage is dissolved, how could I have ever guessed? The world most dangerous criminal!
âThink about something else sweetheart,â so Sonican whispered in her ear, âI can literally hear you thinking about him.â
âWhââ Olawunmiâs eyes widened. âIâm not thinking about Michael.â
âI didnât mention a name, did I?â she giggled briefly, sipped from her glass and looked away.
âHereâs the thing,â said a man suddenly looking over them. It was the lone man at the lone table and he had left his table to talk to them. He looked squarely at Anatoly. âI reckon youâre Anatoly, is that right?â
Anatoly shrugged. âI am.â
He extended his hand and reluctantly, Anatoly shook it.
âHappy birthday,â he said. âI was saying, uh, my⊠yes, the thing is⊠I donât really like sitting alone but⊠Iâm a very shy person. When I mingle with people like⊠people I donât know, I end up hurting them. Thatâs why Iâve been sitting alone there. Now, what shall we do to correct that? This is my conclusion, itâs either I join you or someone joins me, what do you say?â
âNobody is joining you from our table,â said Francis hostilely, âand there are many tables in thisâŠâ he looked at Anatoly for response.
âLittle lounge,â Anatoly completed.
âYes, in this little lounge. So, if you donât mindâŠâ
âOh you misunderstood me, Iâm not being⊠okay, lady, would you dance with me please?â asking Olawunmi.
âNo,â snapped Francis. âWho do you think you are?â
âFrancis!â shrieked Sonican softly. âHe probably came for our party, let him have his dance!â
SilenceâŠ
âI promise I wonât bite,â the man chuckled.
Francis nodded eventually and so, on Sonicanâs gesture, Olawunmi took the white guyâs hand and followed the stranger down the steps onto the dancing ground, hand in hand.
âDo you know who that is?â Francis leaned across the table and snarled at Sonican.
âCalm down. I donât give a damn who he is, Iâm gonna shoot him if he tries something out of the acceptable.â
âAnatoly, tell her who that man is.â
âBut I donât know who he is, boss.â
âYou gotta be kidding me, Anatoly, you donât know that man?â
âWhoâs he?â
âThatâs James fucking Bond, silly, the masked guy on YouTube.â
They all looked at him at once, dancing with Olawunmi in a rather devilish smiling face.
âHe is?â grunted Sonican agitatedly.
âHeâs fucking playing with us,â growled Anatoly.
âKeep your fucking eyes on that guy. You donât know him like I do.â Francis stood.
âFrancis?â muttered Sonican enquiringly.
âWhat?â he almost barked back.
âShould we be scared of this guy? Youâre overreacting and youâre freaking me out. Heâs not the only dangerous person in here. Look around! Weâre surrounded by them and youâre afraid of only him.â
âIâm not afraid of nobody!â
âThen sit the fuck down. If you donât, Iâll get the hell out of here, Iâm not joking.â
Francis sat tamely.
âWas he on the ship?â Sonican asked sternly now.
Francis nodded.
They all looked at the man again.
âHeâs gonna get it today, Francis, I promise you,â said Sonican.
They all sat back, Majeedâs heart beating abnormally fast.
* * *
âThat one doesnât seem to be one of them,â observed Ivan.
They nodded assentingly.
âAnd heâs playing with them,â added Xia.
âI can imagine so,â surmised Boris.
âXia,â whispered Ivan, although not really a whisper for it wouldâve been very loud if no music was being played. âHow sure are we that Michael Livingstone is Francis Whyte?â
âWhat does your instinct tell you?â
âIt tells me he is, and that that guy dancing with the girl is James Bond.â
âHe is James Bond,â said Boris. âHe used to be my friend, right now I just feel like blowing his head off.â
âYouâre not gonna blow his head off,â said Xia. âWe arenât here for him, so we face our business. Get Francis, get out of here, thatâs our objective. Do not be compromised now.â
âWhat do you mean by that?â
âI am a believer, and I believe you know what I mean.â
âFuck you.â
âFuck me? Fuck you! Fuck you Boris! Iâm not here for that guy. The last time the League called, I didnât hear bring Daniel Craig or Pierce Brosnan, bring Francis Whyte, thatâs what we were told, so, what the hell is my business with James Bond?â
âThen youâre a fool, and why do you think James Bond is here, to have champagne and leave? So, letâs say weâve got Francis now, you think James Bond is just gonna smile at us and wish us safe trip back home? Look around you, nobody is here for the party, theyâre here for Francis. We canât get Francis if we wonât deal with them.â
âHe has a point, Xia,â said Ivan. âIf James Bond stands in our way, we kill him, simple.â
âItâs not gonna be easy killing someone who can dodge directly fired bullets but Iâm in, weâll find a way around him⊠around them all.â
âI wish Abram was here. Heâs gonna kill us when we get Francis without him.â
âI donât regret locking him up,â said Xia. âHeâs compromised.â
âMiss Compromise, Iâll tell him itâs your decision, not ours, when we return.â
âFuck you.â
âGo fuck yourself, bitch.â
âShut your reeking mouth or I put a bullet in it right now.â
âYouâve watched too much of Agent Jack Bauerâs, havenât you?â
âWhat did you say, uh?â She was reaching for her derringer.
âReally?â growled Boris. âAre you gonna start this here now? Here, in this place? Are you simply stupid or just momentarily mentally fucked up?â
âFuck you asshole!â responded Xia and she mellowed out.
Holsters unbuckled, fingers on triggers, a giant tinderbox, beaming matches, all hidden beneath grossly smiling faces and bottles of champagne. It was going to be a long night.
...to be continued!
Written by: Lord eBay (and his action series, 2017)
Twitter & Instagram: @lordebay
Email: dearlordebay@gmail.com
ABOUT AUTHOR:
Lord eBay is an Author with a taste for Romantic, Political and Paranormal Fictions. His goal is to join other writers in resurrecting Reading/Writing culture in Nigeria.
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