"Amin amin, Mama. Thank you."

3 beeps came, indicating the line had shut off.

Sudais took a sharp breath, his legs shaking briskly in brace for what was to come.

"Sir?"

"Yes? Yes?" Sudais yanked himself out of his trance at the sound of a female hostess.

"We landed 10 minutes ago. Do you need anything?"

He shook his head and waved her off.

She got the memo and walked away.

His eyes surveyed the brown interior of the jet right to the windows showing that the sun was still shining.

Recharging, he closed his eyes, clasped his palms, and leaned forward for minutes.

With newfound energy, he stood up, slid the top trunk, and dragged his backpack and his small troll bag. Hopefully, he wouldn't-they wouldn't be there for long.

On the grounds, he halted to fish the black shades in his front breast pocket. He got them to dial down the sun's intensity on his eyes before he grabbed his troll bag and walked towards the 2 men approaching him.

"Newest ango in town ba!" Sudais head shook at that, his steps faltering until they came to a stop to give his younger brother a hard handshake.

They exchanged greetings and the other man who was introduced as a dogari took the pleasure in retrieving both Sudais' bags and leading the way.

"Koyahata? (What's up?)"

Muri shrugged, pulling the glass door open. "Toh...where do you want me to start?"

"Anywhere."

Sudais scanned the barely visible area. His biggest guess was that the airport does not have frequent visits by private jets.

Muri left the question hanging until they were in the back passenger seat of a black Prado car, courtesy of dear newest father-in-law. "Mi yi a ba volwana Baba Alhaji. (I think you should talk to Baba Alhaji first.)"

Sudais let it go.

It wasn't his first time in Gombe. Albeit it was the 3rd time, he'd been there the first 2 times for weddings, on different colleague events.

Summing the first 2 times, he had spent less than 96 hours in the state but here he was, to meet his newest family and join them as they searched for his now missing wife. What a life he had.

The 2nd Prince of Adamawa weds the 2nd princess of Gombe, in which the princess has been pronounced Kidnapped less than 5 hours after the wedding. Details follow shortly...

How eye-catching it'd look on the headlines.

Sudais scoffed, glancing at the time. 4:11 Pm. Not bad. Although he had issues he had to settle before coming, the time was still not bad.

Less than 20 minutes later, he was stepping out of the car to the sounds of traditional guns and trumpets, all in his honor.

He was used to it anyway and he knew the only way to get those people to get off his back was to give something out. It'd do good on the first good impression he wanted to make anyway.

He pulled the driver to the side, placing enough notes into his hand before he reassured, "We'll take it from here." Then strapped the backpack to his shoulder while Muri dragged the troll bag to the guest side of the house.

Their journey took a little longer than normal as he studied the long white walls, the traditional frame badges in the middle of the walls as they extended. The smell was like home. Warm earthy with a touch of woody scent.

The woody scent intensified into a spanking fragrance of turaren wuta at the door of the lounge.

He met the sight of Baba Alhaji on the prayer rug, his right-hand man, and 3 other people on the side as they chatted.

Instead of sitting for the long greetings and acquaintance, "Har mi jula, mi varta jotta. (Let me pray, I'll be right back.)"

They understood the assignment and went on about their conversation while Sudais made Wudhu, prayed, came back, and exchanged pleasantries, congratulations, and compassion- a lot, before they excused the man and his father.

After a deep breath, Baba Alhaji carefully started. "Abbati, i, first of all, want to apologize to you for getting you married out of the blue..."

Sudais nodded, adjusting his weight to his left as he leaned by the couch.

He better be sorry. Sudais knew it was inevitable, but his dad better be sorry.

"I was going to run it through you, give you and the girl some time to get to know each other first, but, things had to be done this way. And, i am sorry...But. She is a good girl. Would be a perfect wife for you, Insha Allah. And...i hope the man i raised will be a perfect husband to her too."

Sudais was past all that. He needed to be on board with everyone. Why her? Why suddenly? How was she kidnapped? Any hunches on who kidnapped her?

"I want to know everything." He wasn't kidding when he said he wanted to be on board.

For the next hours, until it was Magreb, his old man related him to most of what he had on him.

***

Friday. Saturday. Sunday.

On Friday, Laila got kidnapped.

On Saturday morning, her family and the detective pieced the puzzle together to come to the conviction that she wasn't kidnapped, and she bolted. On that day's evening, the family met their newest son-in-law, got acquainted, and filled him in.

On Sunday morning, the family decided to let their In-law on the authentic story. The truth doesn't hide, especially in Royal homes.

Laila wasn't kidnapped, she faked it.

On the list of what worry am i supposed to focus on, Sudais decided to focus on that.

Did she fake it? And did it so sleek at first, that it took her entire family a whole day to make it out?

Damn. She was smart.

He was on edge to meet her.

In the landscape in which Laila's entire family was helpless as their routes were all leading to dead ends, Sudais didn't like that. He did not want to keep sitting around, smudging his trousers, and being useless.

He ought to do something, and with the information, he got about how she tried to cover up, an idea snapped into him.

"Um...do you have anything you think she might be using? Phone, laptop? Devices?" He interrogated no one in particular. His hand that had risen in the air in hope slowly dropped at the weird looks he got.

Come on. They have got to get used to it. He was talkative. And, at least this time he was doing it for a good cause.

A boy though, one he had learned his name was Modibbo and was her immediate younger brother commented, scanning between the Sultan who had a far-away look and the other boy that looked like a photocopy of him: Muslim. "She left her laptop in Abuja. But...i think the detective has her phone now, right?"

The boy on the rug carpet with a MacBook on his lap nodded, sliding one of his legs up to his chest. "Kamar ya dawo dashi dazu. Yace babu crucial information."

Maybe the detective didn't look into it well, Maybe he did. But, Sudais was going to lose it if he didn't do anything to help the family find their daughter and his wife. "Can i see it?"

Moddibo nodded, standing up, "Musulmi, Where is it?"

The boy responded without physically acknowledging the quester. "Ask Mami."

At the sound of the door closing faintly after Modibbo, Sudais returned his keen to his fingers as he rhythmically drummed them on the rug, while springing his foot fingers back and forth just to keep busy.

Was the palace that big that the boy was taking more than 3 minutes, 34 seconds?

Yes. Sudais was counting. Anything to keep his mind in one place.

Eventually, Modibbo made his way back to the chilling lounge to hand Sudais the IOS device.

It wasn't like he needed to, but, he examined the exterior of the phone. After, he proceeded to examine the lock screen wallpaper. The woman, his mother-in-law was sandwiched by Laila and another lady who looked slightly younger but still resembled Laila, all smiling cheekily. Oh, they had a little sister too?

He unlocked the phone which went open at the first strike up. He hummed, swiping back and forth at the Home Screen which now had a picture of books and a stethoscope.

He rose his keen, focusing them on the high wall white ceilings as he craned his head in the thought of what to do.

It wasn't his best idea, but, he clicked on the phone call app.

In a descending manner, her call log went; Maya❤️, Manu, Manu, Driver Gombe, Driver Gombe, Driver Abuja, Manu, Driver Abuja, MD Naimat, MD Naimat, Manu, Mami ❤️, Manu-

"Who is Manu?" He directed his question to Muslim.

The fair boy peered up with a raised brow. He pointed back at no one in particular, "Umm.. the fair man, Shehu Usman?" he raised his palm, "Medium height, wasn't nice to you because he doesn't like you?"

Sudais watched the boy in confusion. "What?"

"The one who refused to shake your palm cause he don't like you? The pilot brother?"

"Oh..." realization dawned on him, his keen return to the screen. He kept scrolling to realize the Maya character, Manu and Mami were her most frequent phone calls. In and out. In, meaning unanswered-missed calls, which were mostly from unknown callers, almost as if she was ignoring everyone.

He exited the app only to click on the messaging app. Mostly, nothing. Just a few texts to whoever Maya was some from Manu Amin, Zenith bank, AirtelERC, airtel, Dr. Nurain, Naimat, and class rep.

He checked Whatsapp, Snapchat, Instagram, and even her notes app to find nothing.

Her apps, dead end.

They all had nothing to link.

Too clean.

It was too clean.

This wasn't Hollywood, she should've made a mistake or left bread crumbs somehow, somewhere.

Either she planned it a long time ago which wasn't an option- or she had someone on the inside.

Maybe it was just his mind games. But, he also knew himself better than anyone. First off, he could tell and read people. And, he had a mind of a genius, sometimes.

His fingers unconsciously continued to swipe the home screen.

He paused, closing his eyes to calm his working nerves.

She ran away, meaning she had to take care of herself. Food, shelter, clothing-if necessary, most necessary- internet-if she needs information or if she needs to travel, and she has got to keep moving if she doesn't want to be caught.

Sudais thought long and deep, he wasn't an engineer and a black hat or sometimes grey hat for no reason.

But he was still stuck. No idea what to do.

The frustration and exhaustion had him leaning to the side of the couch and placing his arm to support himself.

Instead of just being useless, he kept going. Scrolling through apps until he found himself in her Phone app.

She must've been a very private person, having less than 50 contacts including her BVN, her bank account number, and even passwords.

He swiped past the list of G letter contacts to find only one, named: Glo.

His thumb hovered over the contact for a while before he clicked on it, reading the digits.

Perchance, he was wrong. But, he'd take any chance.

He lifted off the floor and dipped his hand into his kaftan pocket to revive his phone.

He unlocked it and went straight to the phone call app. Copying the digits to his keypad and dialing it.

The line got picked after a few rings.

He participated in a breathing competition and at a point, he had to check if the call had been disconnected or not.

It hadn't.

He cleared his throat, his fisted palm shielding his mouth. "Assalamu Alaikum."

He waited for an answer to his blessings but all he got was getting hung up on.

There was his answer. It was her. She saved her extra phone number on her phone.

He scanned the room to find only he, Muri, Modibbo, and Muslim, all on the rug as everyone got lost in their own thing.

He abruptly stood up, gaining attention. He ignored the stares and inquired, "Can i use your system, Muslim?" He walked to the boy and sat beside him.

He didn't get an answer but still stretched his hands out for the device.

Despite not answering, Muslim nodded and rounded up before handing Sudais the device.

He hoisted the laptop, fleetingly examining the exterior. "Is it pro?"

"Yes..." Muslim didn't understand why the hulk wanted his laptop and why he was asking whether it was pro or not. Ungrateful bastard.

"Ok..."

The boys froze agape, watching the man furiously tap across the keyboard.

Fingers furiously going on, Sudais lifted his keen to Muri. "Toi charger ma? (Where is your charger?)"

Muri un-leaned from the couch, his hands, and brows rising in question. "Noi?" (What?)

Sudais paused, "USB ma?" (Your USB?)

"Mi'anwara. (I'm coming)" he stood up to get his USB and Sudais' resumed.

Sudais called out without looking up, "Get me my backpack too."

"Why is my computer screen covered in codes?" Muslim asked, craning his head to get a better look.

Sudais halted, twisting to the kid who looked genuinely concerned despite his hard intention to hide it. He shook his head, his lips coiled into a smirk. "You'll see." Then he resumed, halting to let the code interco'operate with the apps he had just installed.

Muri jogged back, throwing the USB in the air which Sudais caught, and plug the cord to the Laptop, then to his phone. He rummaged through his backpack to find nothing helpful.

With no knowledge of what the man was doing, Muslim engaged himself unto the screen and so did Muri by sitting on the couch and leaning forward.

When Sudais had connected the phone to the laptop and set the topology of his phone's network to the system, He turned to Muslim, "I'm going to need you to do something for me. Will you?"

The fair boy shrugged. "If it's a computer, count me in."

"Ok. So...I'm going to make a phone call. I'm hoping the person uses an Andriod or IOS. I'd like to blackhat my way into their network, or any routes they use, I'll try to even gain access to their camera and speaker but this is not the type of computer i normally use. So, I'll need extra help. I have less than 20 seconds maybe less before they notice and end the call. So, all i need you to do, is long press start and c for me and try not to block my fingers, kagane?"

Out of all the long speeches, the young man heard one thing: Blackhat. "You're a blackhat? An unethical hacker?"

"I don't like to call it that. But, are we clear on the long press?"

Muslim nodded, adjusting his position to place his fingers on board.

"You don't press until the person picks up and you don't release until they hang up, clear?"

"Clear."

Sudais dialed the number again and placed it on speaker.

On the last ring, the call was answered.

Sudais and Muslim got to work. His fingers moved fast, almost vanishing in air.

He counted the seconds in his head.

1.

2.

3.

4.

Access gained.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

Privilege increased to the administrator level.

10.

11.

12.

"What did you just send? Who is this?"

14.

15.

Muslims fingers almost left their job, "Lail-"

Sudais nudged the boy, urging him to keep shut.

18.

"Why don't you open it?"

20.

21.

22.

"I'm not stupid. Wh-who are-" the line went silent and Sudais' fingers flew and punched the keyboard harder.

26.

27.

At the 28th second, the line died and the screen lighted up.

His fingers ceased to stare at the screen, chest rising and falling with low pants from how fast he was breathing.

They waited, all too stunned to speak except Modibbo who abruptly stood up from the rug, "What is going on here?"

His question went unanswered, Sudais teeth clanking against each other in impetuousness.

A minute passed and he still had no access. She wasn't clicking on his fraud file. He punched the rug. "Damn it. She's smart!"

"Ok. Who's smart?" Modibbo was left behind.

In a whisper, eyes still wide, Muslim said. "Baleri... (Black...)"

"You had Laila on the phone?" Modibbo exclaimed and quickly turned to scan his surrounding before moving to the seat beside Sudais, sandwiching the man with Muri on the couch and leaning unto them.

In a whisper and more composed vocal, Modibbo asked. "You had Laila on the phone?"

It was ridiculous, but, Sudais affirmed. "Yes. Now shut up. I have only a few more seconds to track her before she switches off her phone when she realizes we're unto her since she was smart enough to not click on the foster files from Rootkits i sent her."

They let him track while Muslim took the digits from Sudais' phone unto his.

"Kai. She's shutting down the phone, i'm losing her!" Sudais shook his head, the veins on his hands popping out at the intensity of his emotions. He felt the need to hold his head and he did.

He watched the blue and white rectangular line at 94% flicker now and then. It continued to flicker before the screen went bright from its dark theme.

He hissed, dropping the laptop after the loss of connection.

He had her so close. So close.

Sudais stood up just to throw himself on the couch. He sighed, running a palm from the back of his low trim head to his chin which he gripped.

It couldn't have just disappeared into thin air.

But well, that was one thing about all this, we couldn't win all the time.

He slouched into the couch, spreading his legs and shaking them briskly.

"True caller says the sim was registered under Halima Sadiya Amin." Muslim announced before turning to his newest brother-in-law, his eyes pink and droopy due to lack of sleep. He gestured to the laptop, "Are you done?"

Sudais nodded, raising an arm to place it on his head.

Muslim shrugged, picking the laptop to see it's screen flickering with a black and green theme and crumbled up codes. He hummed, "Okay, i think you'll want to see this."

The rest who had relaxed; Sudais slouched into the couch, Muri laid down, and Modibbo who had given up on the, tensed up and rose from their positions.

Sudais was the first to come down. He placed the laptop on his lap as he struggled with the touch board mouse to the new file on the screen. He clicked on it and waited a few seconds before it downloaded.

At the sight of it, his worry lines disappeared and his lips coiled into a smile. "Do you have the local GPS map?" He asked no one in particular.

Modibbo was quick to the rescue by installing the best local GPS on the app store. He logged in and crawled to Sudais' side.

Sudais took the phone, continued to type, and swipe the arrow across the screen.

He switched to focusing on the local GPS map in search of an address. He hummed, flashing between the phone and the laptop while gathering his facts and hunches.

"Okay guys, listen to this. She used an internet app last 6 hours. I don't know which..." he tilted the phone horizontally and zoomed into the map. "Umm...that's how i got this address. She used it a day back too. It says here that she is still-was in Gombe. Uhm a place...called Sabon Layi..." he ceased at the last location recorded. He repeated. "Sabon Layi. Do you know it?" Despite not raising his eyes or his fingers, everyone knew who his question was directed at.

The two siblings froze with wide eyes-scared eyes and lips.

Muri noticed that and stroked Muslim's arm. "Do you know the place?"

Muslim nodded, gathering his emotions. "Yeah. It's just a few blocks from this palace. It's uh...a brothel."

Sudais' smile dialed down as he crooked his neck to the boy. "A brothel?"

Modibbo confirmed. "A brothel."

Muri snorted, that was smart and stupid at the same time.

The clique in the room all held their breaths in realization.

Modibbo was the first to state his deductions. "So, if i wanted to run away from this house ba, where is somewhere right under everyone's noses but too far from their minds?"

Muslim bit his lower lip as the corners of his mouth lifted into a lopsided grin. "A brothel. Where no one will imagine a runaway princess to be there..." he turned to his brother, rose a palm, and cheered, "Mutumina, Baleri Shegiyaa ce. Bura uba!" The sound of slapping came as the brothers high-fived.

"Oh-kay..." Sudais dragged, finding it hard to hide his judgment towards the brothers who should be angry at their sister. He wasn't her brother, he was more. He felt his eyes close, his teeth clench, his breaths deepen, and his empty handball up, all manifesting into his body's favorite emotion; anger.

It would be a bad impression to lose his mind and do something on impulse less than 72 hours after his arrival at his in-laws'.

Instead of letting dear old anger win like he always did, he pulled his face into a forced smile with his eyes blinking rapidly, he repeatedly balled and un-balled his fist to release some tension over the background sound of Modibbo and Muslim bickers.

The murmurs in his head started to clear up as he heard the voices clearer when he had calmed down a bit more.

"Ok. Ok." Modibbo clapped and sat up straight to align himself with Sudais and his brother, "I know, or perchance I don't. But, if any of you is planning to go rescue Laila from Sabon Layi or tell our dad she is hiding out there, you must not. Don Allah. Let's wait until she has moved somewhere or our dad will kill her for choosing that place to hide."

"Amma taci duka wallahi," Muslim protested and even though she was his wife, or something like that de, Sudais nodded in support, "But it's true. You don't know our dad. Are we clear?" A glare from Sudais had him remix his words with a frown, "Are we all on the same page, please?"

The Adamawa siblings neither answered, nor nodded any affirmation.

Firmly, Modibbo added. "Daddy must not hear of this. Kun—"

"What must Daddy not hear?"

Two wide eyes met each other, then traveled to the dreadful man who left the shadows and came into the room.

"What must i not hear?"

"Babu."

From the abrupt answer, he knew something was wrong. But, his kids will lie till the end of the world. So, he focused on the newest addition to his family, hoping they wouldn't lie to him.

When his eyes flickered to Muri, the man surrendered and pointed at Sudais.

"Abba, what must i not know?" Oh, they were on nickname route now. Progress.

He glanced between the man and his kids, Muslim making a discreet zipper sign over his lips.

Staring at the funny boy, Sudais reported. "We tracked Laila. Got her location from yesterday, and 6 hours ago. We believe she is at some Sabon layi place."

The old man took a dramatic step back in shock, his hands flying to his chest.

Muslim hit his fist at the rug and murmured insults along with his brother.

In a rough tone, the Sultan hollered. "'Yata a sabon layi!?"

Sudais nodded. "Yes sir, we strongly believe that."

"Sabon layi de? Yarinyar nan ta kashe ni!"