Chapter Five

After The Marriage

Munawarrah

One of the major things that had led Aaima pharmaceuticals into success was Munawarrah's greed for power, she was never satisfied and that itself could be her doom in as much as it had been her success.

Munawarrah had very little or no faith, the last time she actually prayed was when she was in secondary school. It wasn't that she didn't believe in God, she believed she didn't have time for Him.

Imagine she was in a meeting, then she'd cut it off just to go and do some weird forms of prostration or is it when she's exhausted from the day's events will she splay a mat and start praying, exhausting herself more? So her lack of faith had simply started as a form of laziness till slowly she began to forget there was the Almighty watching her every move and she displayed her cruelty without second thoughts.

The telephone in her office rang and she hesitated before picking up, she was quiet waiting for the person at the other end to speak up first. He did,

"Am I on the line with Ms Munawarrah Osman?"

"Abdel-Jabar... Yes and who are you?"

"A secret admirer."

"I do not have the patience for this."

"Well I sort to see you the other day and you didn't show up to our meeting."

"Micheal Oluwafemi?" She asked.

"The one and only, the head of the department of environmental health."

Her jaw twitched, "what do you want?"

"Why don't you find out yourself? Lunch at Brunch n' sips."

"I do not have time for such frivolous activities."

"What? You don't eat lunch?"

"With just anybody? No!"

"But you still do with the vice president, yes?"

Her expression hardened as she realized the hidden meaning behind that statement, "I'll be there by twelve, be a minute late and I'm out."

She slammed the telephone and sat there fuming, she was going to show Micheal Oluwafemi who she was and reasons he should never cross her part in future. She picked up her new cellphone and dialed Investigator Mustapha's number. Mike wants trouble? Then he had it brewing.

She walked into Brunch n' sips with her bodyguard behind her, he stood almost seven feet tall and very muscular. He was glaring around as they walked to a table and Munawarrah sat down, he stood behind her arms folded around his chest.

It might seem to any onlooker Usman was her only bodyguard, but three other men were scattered around different tables for the protection of Munawarrah.

She knew Micheal when he walked in, looking about till his eyes landed on her and he smiled. She addressed him with cold eyes, he was short, barely five feet with perched glasses, fat and had a receding hairline. She almost threw up the drink she had sipped on.

"Firstly I must compliment you on looking a thousand times better in person." He said settling himself on the seat opposite her and purposely ignored the glares Usman threw at him.

"I've been told so."

"I see you haven't ordered."

"You saw well." She said not trying to hide the disdain in her voice.

"Let's order then." He beckoned to a passing waitress.

"Good day ma'am, sir. Welcome to Brunch n' sips, what'd you like?"

"Fried rice and coleslaw with chicken." Mike said looking over to Munawarrah.

"I'm okay with my juice." She said gritting her teeth.

"Okay then."

"Won't he excuse us to ourselves?"

Before Munawarrah could speak Usman beat her to it, "I stay where madam stays."

"Your choice Munawarrah, does he need to hear all the things I have to say to you?" He gave her a crooked smile.

She glared at Mike, "Excuse us Usman."

"But ma'am..."

"Usman!"

The bodyguard left without a word and before any word was said, Mike's food was served and she watched him dig into it.

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing much believe me." He gave her a crooked smile again.

"Well spit it out!"

"What? My food?"

"You know what I'm talking about, what you said about the vice president."

"You mean your relationship with the second in command of the country?"

Her jaws twitched as usual, "what relationship?"

"Why the need to pretend? You're his mistress."

She smiled, "Imagine accusing I and the vice president of something like that. Do you know you can lose your position at NAD because of this?"

He smiled at her too, "what is my position at NAD to me when I could make millions from selling the pictures I have of you both? And also I know you were the scientist behind plasmodyl, the killer drug."

"Name your price?"

He laughed, the idiot actually dared laugh at her, "what makes you think I want money? Like I said on the phone, I'm a secret admirer." He took her hand that was on the table and this time she did spit her drink... On him.

She looked satisfied with herself at the horrified look on his face before he picked up a napkin and furiously began to wipe his face and shirt.

"Oops!" She said leaning back on the chair watching him. They spoke more and at the end of the meeting, Munawarrah was fuming and Mike had a self satisfied smirk plastered on.

"So we'd meet tomorrow night at Royal Lodge?"

"Where the hell is royal lodge?"

"Barnawa, when you get there ask anyone. Room 12." He paid for his food and left her sitting there seething.

The next day she was seated behind her computer, using the mouse she scrolled through her company's financial statement and with a calculator in hand. She was making sure of her profit, when a knock interrupted her.

"Who's that?" She asked.

"Khairatu ma'am." A voice replied from outside.

"Come in." She stepped into the large office, a frightened look on her face at the daggers her boss was sending her way.

"What do you want?"

"The investigator is here ma'am."

A smile found it's way to her lips, "send him in."

Mustapha Isma'il was the private investigator Munawarrah hired two years back and not once has he failed her. He was a thin man in his 40's, balding and unattractive.

"Mustapha." She acknowledged as her stepped into her office, he smiled at her showing an uneven set of teeth.

"Good day ma'am."

"Please sit." She beckoned to the reclining chair at the opposite side of her desk.

"What did you find?" She asked barely letting him sit.

"Impatient now are we?"

"I've never been a patient woman Mustapha, so?"

"Nothing, I found nothing."

"You must be kidding." Her face hardened and her jaw twitched.

"Nope! The man is as clean as a slate except if you consider him going out with colleagues few times and getting drunk bad enough to blackmail a man, then I'm sorry we've reached a dead end."

She stared fiercely at him, "sure you're not getting old Mustapha?"

The man's expression turned into one of anger, "I don't take lightly to insults Munawarrah."

"And I don't take lightly to incompetency Mustapha."

Mustapha sighed, "He's done a few things here and there but nothing big enough for what you want."

"I will take care of Mike myself then."

It was few minutes to 9pm, when a figure in flowing hijab and niqab went into royal lodge. The receptionist looked at her quizzically.

"Can you direct me to Room 12?" Munawarrah asked.

"Upstairs, last room to your left."

Munawarrah followed the description and entered without knocking. Mike was sitting on the bed with a remote in hand.

She proceeded to remove her hijab and niqab, underneath she was wearing a denim jeans and a black shirt, her long brown hair falling over her face. Mike took the time to admire her figure, she was so beautiful and soon he'd have her in his arms.

"You look really beautiful."

She ignored him and sat down on the couch keeping her eyes glued on the television.

"What's wrong Munawarrah? Have you changed your mind?"

"I never agreed to this" She snapped.

"True." He nodded and then moved over to sit next to her, his meaty hands grabbed hers and she felt repulsed.

"Have a drink." He offered to pour champagne in a glass cup.

"I don't drink alcohol, either ways, I brought coke." She brought out a big coca-cola bottle from her handbag.

"Can you please order food? Order anything." She asked, he nodded and wore a shirt over his vest before walking out. She quickly took the bottle to the toilet and reduced it's contents, she came back in poured some into a glass cup for herself then she brought out sodium thiopental and emptied it into the remaining coca-cola in the bottle then she sat back and relaxed.

Mike soon came in with a plate of fried potatoes and egg sauce.

"I hope you enjoy it."

"Thanks bur before that, let's make a toast."

"Toast to what?"

She cocked her head and gave him an innocent look, "new friends of course."

"Oh." He was about to raise his glass full of champagne when she stopped him.

"I told you I don't like alcohol, coke?"

He shrugged and then poured the content of the coke bottle into a different glass cup. They clinked their glasses and muttered,

"To new friends." Mike gulped down the whole content of his cup as Munawarrah watched him intently.

Sodium thiopental was a truth serum that slows down the speed at which one's body send messages from the spinal cord to the brain, it slows one's activities and makes it difficult to perform simple task like walking straight, thinking and lying.

"So...I want the pictures."

He shook his head and pour the coke from the bottle into his cup, "You can't not until I've had you."

She glared at him and he chuckled, "fine, fine I had some printed for you, the rest stay in my laptop." He walked to the bed and brought an envelope which he handed her.

"I feel lightheaded." He said chuckling.

She ignored him as she tore open the envelope and there was a picture of her in a wedding where the vice president who had also attended had given her a kiss on the lips. She had quickly pulled away so she didn't think anyone could have taken it.

"How did you get this?"

"I had been at the wedding taking my niece a picture and while going through it. My oh my! Look what I found on the background, the vice president planting a kiss on your lips in the guise of hugging you."

"How did you know about plasmodyl?"

"A friend was blabbing the other, he was drunk so don't worry."

"Who else know of this and this friend who blabbed, what's his name?"

"No one, I promise. His name is James Adams."

James Adams! She took a mental note of the name.

"So the pictures, where are the remaining ones?" She asked caressing something pressed on her hips.

"I do not have any left." He rested his head on the table.

"Great, let's get to business then." She stood up.

•••• •••• ••••

"Ma'am, breaking news Micheal Oluwafemi, head of department of environmental health was found dead in a hotel room this morning. He was stabbed" Khairatu said as she barged into Munawarrah's office late in the afternoon, the news hadn't been aired yet but her cousin who was a journalist just informed her.

Without looking up from her computer, Munawarrah muttered,

"I know."

The girl stared at her boss with mouth wide open, she began to retreat.

"Khairatu!"

"Ma'am?"

"The next time you barge into my office like that, you'd be fired."

Munawarrah picked up her personal phone and dialed a number.

"Hello Ted, I need you to get rid of someone, he's a worker at Aaima pharmacy, James Adams, get rid of him before the end of this week."

She dropped her phone and rubbed her palms on her face before picking up the calculator. No one whom crossed her path will leave her path... Alive.