Kelvin Alaneme's Blog.: TRAPPED...Part 24.

The ringing phone on the centre table jolted us back to our senses. Old Major picked it, his hands trembling.

"Oga, why nau? Why did you cut my son's finger?..."

Bola gestured to Old Major to put the phone on speaker. He did.

The voice at the other end laughed hysterically for some time. At the background, we heard someone, howling in pain. Probably Dan.

"I can see you got my gift," the deep, cold voice began. "First, I am not your Oga. You can call me Shadow. Second, you forced my hand. Third, if you mess things up again, you can quietly go and buy a coffin."

There was an eerie silence in the living room as we listened intently.

"Mr. Fabian Olisa, besides having my eyes on you and your son for some time now, I know you. I knew that you could not come up with ten million naira even if I gave you a week. I just wanted to know how good you are at following instructions. As a Major in the defunct Biafran Army, I expected you to do better. But you failed. Woefully."

He took a deep pause. I looked at Old Major. His face cut a pathetic figure.

"Which brings me to the second set of instructions. I want to make this very simple and unite you with your son. Get the little sum of five million naira within forty-eight hours. Stella will bring the money to a location I will give you later..." I froze upon hearing my name. Everyone in the room turned to look at me. I returned their queried look with a blank stare.

The voice continued,"Oh, Stella. Don't be surprised. Dan and I had a little chat about his love life." He broke into another round of laughter. The next moment, his voice was serious. "Don't even try to wear a wire like Bola."

I looked at Bola in confusion. How the hell did he know?

"The third instruction is the same as before. If you like call that scumbag Sergeant Okoli and rattle away your son's life...or what is left of it." The line went dead.

My surprised stare was greeted by the confused look on everyone's face. Bola finally broke the silence.

"How on earth does he know everything? He seemed aware of our every move!" she said, throwing up her hands in despair.

Old Major sat down on the couch and rested his chin on his palms. "That boy...Shadow or whatever he calls himself, is very smart. How he got to know everything, I can't say. But one thing I know is that I am no longer involving the Police. He may have an insider among them."

I nodded fervently where I stood, still in shock that a dangerous stranger is aware of my private life with Dan. I felt terribly unsafe.

"So, how are we going to raise the money?" I asked, looking around the room. Everyone's eyes said the same thing: This would be hard.

We began brainstorming. Old Major placed some calls to some of his friends pleading with them to purchase his shops for two million naira each. They all turned him down. The best offer he got was for one million naira apiece. He had no choice.

"I have three hundred thousand naira in savings," I volunteered. "I can also sell my second shop for an additional two hundred thousand naira."

I saw tears form around Old Major's eyes. "You don't have to sell your shop," he said.

I touched him reassuringly. "Allow me do all I can, please."

"I have two hundred thousand naira in savings," Bola said. "I could take a salary advance of hundred thousand naira, making it up to three hundred thousand." Old Major nodded in gratitude.

"I have a hundred thousand naira I kept aside for my rent,"Añuli said."I will get that."

"Where will you then live?" Old Major asked her.

"I can come and live with you, Papa," she said, hugging him.

"I have a hundred thousand naira in savings," Chiemeka said. "I will talk to Mike to see if he could lend us some money for the church development funds."

"So, we have roughly three million naira," I said. "We are running out of time. Let us go and get the money and figure out how to get the balance." I rose to go.

"Please, we should all be very careful," Old Major said. "I no longer know who to trust."

I knocked wearily on my door. Nkechi opened the door and seeing my state, shook her head. I sauntered in and sank into a sofa.

"How did the rescue go?" she asked.

"How did you think it went?" I snapped back. "That devil knew our every move! He even sent us a souvenir. Dan's ring finger in a box!" The mere thought of it churned my stomach.

"Jesus!" Nkechi exclaimed.

Just then, Vicky appeared at the adjoining door, rubbing her eyes and yawning. Our voices must have awoken her. I smiled weakly.

"Sweetheart," I said, beckoning on her to come. I carried her on my laps, resting her head on my bosom. "How have you been my darling?"

"Fine. Mummy." She was still feeling sleepy. I stroked her hair, running my hand along the length of each braid.

"They asked us to bring five million in two days," I said, in a hushed tone.

"What?" Nkechi said. Vicky stirred. I gestured at Nkechi to keep her voice down. "How will Old Major raise that?"

"He is selling his shops in Alaba. All of us are contributing money. I am selling my second shop."

Nkechi stared at me in disbelief. "Like seriously?"

I nodded. "It will fetch at least an extra two hundred thousand naira. We need every dime we can get."

"You suffered very much to get that shop," she said, rising to her feet. She paced the room, lost in thought.

"Don't sell the shop. I have two hundred and thirty thousand naira in the bank. I will lend you the money from there."

I felt a heavy load lift from my chest. "Thank you so much. I will pay you back as soon as I can."

"Before nko?" she said. "I am just doing this for Dan, your divinely ordained husband whom you donated freely to another woman."

"Stop joor!" I said in feigned annoyance. "Husband ko, donation ni."

The next morning, we were all gathered in Old Major's living room, counting cash. On the centre table were bundles of one thousand naira notes waiting to be counted. I mopped beads of sweat off my brow.

"How much now?" I asked Bola, tossing a bundle into a nearby Ghana-must-go bag.

"Two point eight million," she said, looking up from the big calculator she held in her hands.

I looked at the remaining uncounted cash on the centre table and shook my head. We needed an urgent miracle.

After another hour of collective, furious cash-counting, the centre table surface was empty. We all turned to Bola to hear the final figure.

She shook her head. "Four million. We are one million naira short."

Old Major's hands went up his head. "I have sold everything but this house. I even borrowed an extra one million naira. And it is still not enough."

For the next hour, we sat in silence thinking of where to raise the balance from.

"Chiemeka, you said you will talk to your husband about lending us some money from the church's development fund," I said.

"Oh, that," she said, looking away. "I spoke to him about it. He said he cannot approach the church for it."

"Why?" I asked, rising from the floor.

She shrugged. "He said if he told them he needed the money for a ransom, they will not oblige him. And he cannot lie to the church council."

I sighed, scratching my head. Suddenly, an idea occurred to me. I had one last, painful turn to make.

"I need to go somewhere in search of the balance,"I said, to no one in particular. Old Major gave me a worried look.

"Don't worry. I will be fine,"I said, exiting the living room.

I stood for a moment before the big, black gate, unsure of whether to proceed. I did the sign of the cross and knocked. Moments later, the gateman appeared and gave a faint smile of recognition. I entered the compound. Jimmy's father had sighted me from the balcony of the duplex and was beaming with smiles.

"Stella, Stella. Long time no see."

I greeted him and proceeded into the living room.

Jimmy's mother was seated on the sofa, playing with Uche. She rose as soon as I entered.

"Ma-ma," Uche said gleefully. I was surprised he has not forgotten.

Teary-eyed, I kissed him on both cheeks and hugged Jimmy's mum. Jimmy's father soon joined us.

"I hope all is well, my daughter," he asked, looking intently at my face.

I shook my head. "I am in desperate need of help."

They listened silently as I narrated Dan's story to them.

"The day I gave Uche to you, you gave me a cheque of one million naira which I turned down. I know it sounds foolish, but I really need that money now."

Jimmy's father stood up and left the room, without saying a word.

My face fell. I had made a big fool of myself and appeared like a cheap extortionist. Jimmy's mother stood up and left the room.

I stared at the floor, wishing for it to open and swallow me.

Moments later the couple returned, their faces expressionless. I braced myself for the worst.

"Stella, you deserve more than this,"Jimmy's father said, handing me a cheque. I stared at him in this belief. I looked at the cheque. It was in my name. A million naira.

I jumped up in joy. "Thank you...thank you," I said, hugging them.

"Always come to us if you need anything," Jimmy's mother said.

As the gate closed behind me, I checked my watch. 3.40pm. I had twenty minutes before the bank close for work. I flagged down a bike and asked him to take me to the nearest Zenith Bank branch.

"Madam, e far small o," he said. "Two-fifty naira."

I hurriedly mounted on his bike. "I will pay you double if you can get there before 4pm."

At exactly 4pm, I jumped down in front of the bank, flustered. I handed him a five hundred naira note and ran inside. The security man at the automated door looked at me in pity and opened it for me.

Panting heavily, I joined the queue in the banking hall, my heart filled with relief.

My phone rang as I exited the bank, the withdrawn cash wrapped in a black polythene bag under my arm. It was Old Major.

"Any luck?" he asked. The uncertainty in his tone was unmistakable.

I smiled. "Papa, Dan is coming home tomorrow."

I heard him shout with joy and break into a song.

A song of victory.