8

ENIOLA'S POV

It was really a bright Tuesday morning as lawyers adjusted their ties and their assistants running behind them to give them a breakdown on the day's turn in. I walked through the stairs with caution as I wanted to impress James with my black jumpsuit. I saw a familiar figure advancing towards me and I smiled and walked faster to catch up with him.

"You look more handsome than normal." I cooed.

"You look undeniably stunning Eniola." Ayo said ,blowing an invisible kiss.

"I know." I said.

I grabbed his hands and interlocked it as we walked towards our respective offices.

"So how's everything?" Ayo said smiling at me.

"Well it's been a roller-coaster." I chuckled.

"And James?" Ayo asked.

"Well he's not so bad and he's kind of annoying" I pouted.

"It's being a long time since I saw my best friend. He sees me as a colleague , ever since he became a judge. I have seen less of him and more of excuses,"  Ayo grunted.

"He has a really fat ego." I whispered.

"That's hilarious. Tell him I have to see him soon." Ayo said as he waved me goodbye.

I walked on avoiding the huge stares of female older lawyers that kept boring holes into my clothes. I quite understood that it was very tight but I loved it that way.

I reached the office to meet it wide open and saw someone eating an apple with his legs sprawled out on the desk reading a newspaper. I groaned in displeasure.

"That's no good way to sit." I teased.

"And that's no way to greet." John said, looking over the newspaper.

"I am not in the mood to exchange words with you." I said drawing out a chair opposite his.

"Likewise" John yelled.

I had no idea what to say. I was extremely bored as he diverted his attention away from me. I cleared my throat loudly.

"Do you like my outfit?" I smiled ,twisting the strands of my braided hair.

"Was that the reason why you intentionally barged into my office and deliberately scolded me for sitting inappropriately?" John tilted his head to look at me.

"Well I just wanted to make sure I looked appropriate." I smiled sheepishly.

"You look extremely appropriate." John said sarcastically.

"Anyways, Ayo wants to see you." I said standing up.

"Ayo?" John asked dumbfoundedly.

"You really do have a poor memory. How can you forget your best friend?.Your pictures are literally hanging over the wall." I gestured to the wall behind him.

"It's called old age."  John pouted ,looking at the potraits hanging on the wall.

"Agreed." I said holding the door knob.

"And by the way your next case comes up on Thursday. I'll bring you the hearing in the afternoon," I said opening the door wider.

"Please close my door." John muttered.

I bolted the door and sat on my desk. I opened my bag to look for something to read ,something to keep my brain cells awake. I stumbled on a book titled Contract law. I flipped a page open and another. My eyes grew heavy after some minutes of aggressive reading and I succumbed to the sleep that was beckoning on to me.

                                                             ***********

JAMES'S POV

I felt a huge jolt of pain in my legs as I writhled in pain. I rolled over in discomfort as my current location was a huge wreck of mess. I was sprawled out on a heap of sand and bits of it were already in my mouth begging for ingestion. I spat out sand mixed with saliva as I tried to stand up. But David beat me to it as he dragged me by the collar and threw me on the bare ground.

"Tolani, he's awake already." David yelled.

I heard the quick steps and panting from a familiar figure as she strode towards me wearing a huge smile.

"Glad to see you are alive." Tolani teased, stepping on my bloodshot leg.

I screamed in pain as I tried to remove her leg from adding more injury as the boots she was wearing added more to my problems.

"That's what I want to hear. I want you to scream in pain. I want to break your bones bit by bit. I want you to die slowly so that I could savour it to my satisfaction," Tolani said squatting down to my gaze.

"Now you know how it feels like to be helpless ,soon enough you will be declared dead by the world. But there will be no body so it's basically like a missing person." Tolani chuckled.

"No matter how you try to torture me.It won't bring back your fiance" I teased.

Tolani looked at David briefly squeezing her lips in annoyance.

"He's begging to be slaughtered like a ram." Tolani nodded.

My hands that were once bound earlier were now free. They probably thought because I was already shot in the leg,there was a zero chance of escape. Behind me was a long steel rod waiting for me to capture it. I slid it into my shaking hands and as I gave Tolani a weak smile. Tolani gasped in irritation as she held her stomach tightly. That was when I realized it.This was the time to use it to my advantage. Manipulating her might be my last option out of this nightmare.

"You look so lean to be pregnant," I muttered smiling.

"How do you know I was pregnant?" Tolani yelled.

"I just guessed and your sentence proves me right." I said rubbing my cheeks.

"Mind your damn business." Tolani whispered.

"Now I am very curious. How did you manage to have sex? Did you both do it on his grave?" I teased.

Tolani lurged towards me but David drew her back with his huge arms, restraining her from further movement. But Tolani escaped from his arms and gave me a dirty slap.

"A pregnant woman is meant to be calm not violent." I chuckled.

"Mind your business." Tolani barked.

"You weren't minding your business when you took me against my will.You weren't minding your business when you refused to give me food for three days. You weren't minding your damn business when you shot me in the freaking leg." I yelled with all my strength.

"You deserved it." Tolani said.

"You refused to admit to your errors. Let me ask you a question. Two months ago. Senator Wale Adebayo raped and killed five girls. Why didn't you sentence him to death? That man is walking the streets of Lagos and he's campaigning to be the governor." Tolani screamed at me.

"First of all , I am bathed in your endless saliva" I started to talk shifting my current position to a more comfortable position.

"Secondly, we both know the reason why the senator is left untouched. It's all politics and money." I laughed.

"So you sold the last bit of your dignity to money. You aren't an human being.You are a monster inside out." Tolani nodded her head in disappointment.

"There's a perfect distinction between you and the senator. He's more privileged and you are less privileged. It's quite certain he won't commit any atrocities except for embezzling of money." I said.

"And to be honest, there's no difference between him and your fiance. They are both murderers." I cooed.

"Your lack of reasoning is inspiring." Tolani scrunched her nose in disgust.

"That's the way of life. I can't survive on sentencing thieves and rapists." I teased in a singsong manner.

"You have been doing this for a very long time and you seem not of afraid of doing another. No wonder you don't have a family." Tolani moved closer to me.

I laughed loudly out of the blues.

"And how sure are you that I don't have a family?" I teased.

Tolani stood up dusting her pants and looking intently at me.

"David has been following you for the last three weeks and you didn't visit anyone special. You kept going from work to home and I am not surprised that you are really a lonely man." Tolani said.

"Now you know I have nothing to lose."I said gritting my teeth.

"You do know there's no way you are walking out here alive." Tolani said playing with the buttons of her shirt.

"I have a good feeling that you will soon die." I teased.

"And why is that?" Tolani bent to catch the words about to come from my mouth.

"Because if there's anything I am good at ,it's surviving." I said sternly.

The rod forgotten in my hands became resourceful as I grabbed hold of it with the little strength in my veins and I swang it towards the direction of the person I loathed second to my brother presently.

The steel rod rested in Tolani's chest as she gasped loudly. I was barely finished as I pushed the rod farther into her chest and she fell to the ground in an enormous pool of blood.