Chapter 05|An eye for an eye

Chapter 05|An eye for an eye

She ran into the house, locking herself in her room, and then fell on the bed with a thud. Pretending that her uncle was in his room, snoring lightly she slept off.

  At midnight, she woke up, and then she sobbed into her pillow till the stream of daylight illuminated her form.

***

Jasmine slides down the pole, with the skill of an expert. She had practiced pole dancing when she had once acted out as a stripper on one of her numerous assignments.

  While she danced under the leering ogling eyes of all the hot-blooded men in the vicinity She couldn't help but wonder why although she hasn't practiced for a while now and it was supposed to hurt, which it did. Her movement was more graceful, her steps more fluid, her body so flexible.

  Her lips were curved into a sly seductive grin as she flashed the men her pants and they all went wild with want while she reveled in the control she had over them, as they could only see her but not touch her as a result of the glass cubicle that separated her from them.

  Under the black mask she had on, her eyes shone without any hint of a smile, her eyes trained on the VIP seat Number 23, Row 3. The more seconds that passed, the more vexed she became.

  She hated tardiness and her first impression of his Excellency was that of lateness, she thought with distaste, wondering how a man could have the audacity to be late to his death.

  From her sources, she knew he never missed hitting the club, once in two weeks and on a Friday. He arrives at 7 pm which was an hour ago, never changes seats, never stood up. Just sat there and watch while sipping champagne.

  But she was determined to make him want her, she was determined to do what no stripper before her, had done. Get him to ask her for a private session. Get him to pay for the last dance he'll ever watch before she sends him over.

  An eye for an eye. 

___________Flashback__________

"I need to know what happened to my uncle. You both were the ones who brought him to the infirmary, so you both knew what happened to him." She pleaded, her eyes trained on her late uncle's best friends.

  "He was shot by unknown gunmen__"

  "If you are going to lie to me Sir Chidi, please respect my intelligence by making it more believable and have the decency of not avoiding my gaze." She glared at him, then heaving she asked again in a low monotone that hinted at her almost exhausted patience. "What Happened to my uncle a day before yesterday?" 

  Chidi stared at Kunle who averted his gaze. They both remained quiet. Jasmine rolled her eyes. Her uncle's best friend will always remain fiercely loyal to him, even in death.

  She knew he must have asked them not to tell her which gave her a clue that whoever was his murderer wielded great power if her uncle was trying to prevent her from going after the culprit.

  Instead of becoming scared, that only propelled her to want to bring him/her ruin to their doorstep.

   She waited for them to break but none of them said a word. impatiently, she checked her wristwatch realizing she had spent more than 10 minutes trying to get them to talk. Rolling her eyes, she decided to resort to her only option. Her ace card which was also the use of her post.

  "So we are playing it this way huh?" She asked eying the both of them.

  Their eyes were trained on hers but they didn't utter a word.

  "As your head, your king, presiding over you both. The leader of the native as of Yesterday, I demand you both to respect the ring on my finger and tell me the fucking truth!" She screamed, her voice echoing in the little room her uncle had turned to a makeshift office.

  Chidi glanced at Kehinde who'd the same defeated look on his face. They could never disrespect the signet ring, that was slipped out of their best friend's cold finger and slipped into hers a night ago.

  "After you left, Young had received a call. One of our warehouses was under attack by the police..."

  "The police? We own this city. All the police officers are on our payroll."

  "Not these." Chidi continued, "I suspect they were not policemen to start with, because I watched the exchange of gunshots between the two parties. They were more experienced, more skilled, quicker than any average policeman in Lagos."

  "Young had left in his red van, immediately he got a call from the warehouse not even waiting for us. We followed him. But by the time we got to the warehouse, he was in the pool of his blood." He paused.

  "An open fire had ensued between the men and our men, and Young was caught in it. An open fire that was going on, even as we dragged Young's limp body from the floor." He stopped and Kehinde patted his shoulder, knowing how much it hurt for him to say the words out loud, For them to relieve the gory sight of their best friend, still smiling as his blood flowed freely without restraint.

  "As we tried to sneak out of the warehouse amid the chaos. Chidi had cornered one of the men who was alone and was trying to get more bullets for their guns. Ostensively, He was not a fighter, more like a messenger. We were able to ruffle him a bit and he told us that they were sent by the governor. Seems like the young man was not joking when he said, he was banishing all kinds of cartels in Lagos State." He paused, shaking his head at the weight of melancholy rested on their heads.

  Her voice was barely a whisper some minutes later as she asked, "So the men were sent to kill.." 

  "No__" Kehinde quickly imputed, "the men were just sent to raze the warehouse to dust and maybe bring some workers in for interrogation. Maybe to know who is the brain behind the networking and drug logs." 

   One of the reasons why the Native was the most powerful gang in the state was because of their disguised identity. You can't ruin what you don't Know hence even though they had a lot of men over the place, who sold their product and did the Networking, they never dealt directly with them.

   They had middlemen which they contacted and instructed to get in touch with the other men with burner phones and other methods that made sure, nothing gets connected back to them.

   Nobody knows the real members of the Native, Nobody knew the leader too. They knew it was a thing, they have heard their stories and sometimes even elaborate exaggerated myths about them, one of which says they ain't human. But the fact remains was that they were a mystery to society.

   "We had to go because Young was losing blood and was getting weak with each second. In the end, Most of the men at the warehouse died and it was burnt down." 

   "So my uncle died for nothing?" She shouted, her eyes blazing with fury.

  "Jasmine, calm down. He was my best friend. We had known that guy since we rode car tires on the busy street of Ajah. We three were initiated to the Native on the same night, by your grandfather. We had stuck together, through thick and thin. Don't you think it hurts us to know that tomorrow we will be handing over to you officially and losing him infinitely?"

   "He was more than a best friend to me. He was the only fatherly figure I learned to know. My only family. Don't you get it? I am alone, in a hollow pit of echoes that taunts me leaving me bare, tired and bitter." She screams, "The more I stay here, acting blind to the fact that he was murdered in cold blood, the more the bitterness ravages me." 

  "Young wouldn't want you to feel this way__"

   "Young is dead and he knows that this is how I felt, ever since I watch my parents being murdered in cold blood, helplessly, like a fucking coward. I am no longer 6 and I refuse to hide in the dark, sulking. He is never coming back, I Know but I am going to send his killer right next to him," her eyes shone with menace and her tone reflected the bitterness she felt, "On the slow Jolly ride to hell."

   "Jasmine, this is why he urged us not to tell you a thing! Let this go, Alex Oluwatomisin Taiwo is a more dangerous man than he lets on... Let us not even add the fact that you will be fighting against the Government."

   "So what should I do? Sit down and watch the man that killed my uncle, live life to the fullest? He burnt a warehouse already, So what next? Allow him to raid and bring my family's legacy to the ground? Wait for him to finally get to us and send us to jail?" She raised her brows, "Why don't we just hand ourselves over to the police, you Know? To reduce the sentence?" 

   "We will handle this. We always do. Don't just Jazz your way through this as always. Let's think about this thoroughly and through. We lost a leader, we won't lose another as a result of recklessness and youthful exuberance__"

  "The fuck, I will think anything through!" She objected.

  "Jasmine!"

  "It is Sir to you from now and there will be no discussion. I am going to spill the blood of Alex Taiwo, the Governor of this state, and bring glory back to the Native as always, no matter what it takes." She resolved and without waiting for their reply she leaves them heading to the courtyard.

__________Present day_________

Her lips curved into a grin as she noticed he'd just arrived.

  Though where he sat was dark, the dim light in the VIP area outlined his feature. Ridiculously good-looking yet intimidating with his Towering height, The body of a rogue rather than a Governor, Chiseled Jawline, calculative glance, and cold expressionless eyes.

   Age 28, Young yet extremely powerful, his cold demeanor that could freeze almost anybody was his most popular peculiarity, and his eyes that seem so empty you could bare your heart out to him in fear, She could sight even from afar as those eyes were trained on her body, as she twisted, her breasts almost spilling from the loose little crop top she had on.

   A bid was made and she expertly sashays from the little crop top she had on making the men scream in want as her lacy light peach bra was in plain sight, as she flaunted her generous womanly swell knowing the power it had on them all.

   Her eyes met the Governor's, holding her gaze, he lifted his glass of champagne in a silent toast, and then she winks at him, kicking off her short flimsy body-hugging skirt, now fully in her frilly peach lingerie set. 

   She brings her lips down and glides it down the pole she was on, teasing them while her eyes were still on his.