#JUST_BEST_FRIENDS

Author: Sam Freddy

CHAPTER 14: A SAD LOSS.

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Calmly chewing a bubble gum, Candice walked into a white bungalow with two armed men—one ahead of her, and the other behind her. Both men were dressed in black outfits, smoking weed like nobody's business.

Judging from the way Candice walked and spoke freely with them, one could easily tell that she'd known these not-too-nice-looking men for a long time, and that she was someone dear to them.

Anyway, on arriving at the parlor, Candice saw the main person whom she came looking for: Mr. Eli Pablo, the big, bad boss himself. Of course, the boss was very happy to see Candice, and his excitement showed through the way he hugged her so tight that it was all she could do to not choke.

Gladly, Mr. Eli released Candice and offered her a seat, then he sat down after she was seated on the opposite couch.

“Get us some wine, boys.”

“Yes, sir,” replied one of the macho men. “I'm on it.”

“Nah, don't worry about that, Danladi.” Candice glanced at the tall, hefty man, and then smiled at the boss as she crossed her legs. “I truly appreciate your hospitality, sir, but I'm strictly here for business. Let's save the chit-chat for another day.”

“Hmm.” Mr. Eli nodded, sensing that Candice wanted to speak with him alone.

With just a wave of the boss' hand, the other men exited the parlor to God-knows-where, giving Candice and their boss their desired privacy.

Clearing his throat, Mr. Eli spoke with a deep voice, saying, “So what brings you to the lion's den, my Sweet Candy?”

“A job, as usual.” Candice replied, grabbing an envelope from her handbag. “A very urgent job, if I may add.”

“I see,” said Mr. Eli. “What could it be?”

“Here.” Candice tossed the envelope over to him. “Check that.”

Catching the envelope, Mr. Eli opened it to see two photographs of two young women wearing matriculation gowns with a smile on their respective faces.

“Hmm. Names?”

“The ugly brown-skinned b*tch is Idara,” Candice answered, swallowing her bubble gum. “And the other pretty one wearing make-up is Isioma.”

“Are they students of Unilag?”

“Yes, sir.” Candice nodded. “Check the back of the pictures; you'll find all the information you need straight up.”

“Good girl.” Mr. Eli smiled when he looked behind both photos. “This should be a cakewalk. But first, let's talk about the price. You know I don't joke with my money.”

“Sure thing, sir.” Candice removed a document file from her bag, which she then dropped on the table. “That is two hundred and fifty thousand Naira, boss. I'll balance it up after the job is done.”

“Okay. Good.” Mr. Eli grinned at her. “And, by the way, I don't have to count it, because I trust you.”

Candice grinned back in response, feeling honored.

Glancing between the photos in his hands, Mr. Eli asked, “So what should we do to them? Torture them or boom-boom?”

“Both.” Candice moved her hand across her neck in one swift motion, as if she were slitting her own throat. “I want you to kill 'em brutally for me, Mr. Pablo. Make no mistakes at all.”

“Be assured, Candy,” said Mr. Eli, “nothing would go wrong. You have my word.”

__________

Regaining consciousness, Idara looked around and realized that she was in a small room with no windows. Surprised, she tried to stand up, but she noticed that she was handcuffed and that her legs were chained tightly to a steel chair.

Immediately, it dawned on Idara that she was lying on the bare ground, because the room itself was uncompleted with no furniture nor paint on the walls. The only things Idara could see were the rechargeable lamp on the wall and the steel chair which she was chained to.

How she ended up here was a mystery to her. The last thing Idara remembered was walking back home from school with Isioma — at about quarter past eight in the evening — and then suddenly getting punched right in the face by two masked men until she passed out.

As a matter of fact, Idara could still feel the pain from the blows she received, and the severe migraine that accompanied it too. The swollenness of her lips and cheeks were enough to make her cry out for help, but sadly she couldn't, because her lips were sealed tight with duct tape.

Regardless of the duct tape, Idara tasted blood on her bottom lip; she noticed that it was bleeding gradually. Feeling wet, she also noticed that her singlet was soaked with blood and sweat. Whose blood? Hers? She couldn't tell, since there were no wounds on her body.

Or so she thought.

It wasn't until a sharp pain tore through Idara's arm that she discovered her right hand was wounded. Gaping at her bleeding palm, Idara spotted a big, wide cut which seemed to have been caused by a sharp object, like a matchete, or a chainsaw, or both?

All of a sudden, someone opened the door and came into the room, followed by two other strange men who were dragging a naked lady whose face was covered with a black mask.

Instantly, Idara recognized the lady. It was her new friend, Isioma, and her naked body was covered in sweat and blood, and she'd sustained so many terrible injuries.

‘How did she end up here? Why is she naked? What have they done to her? Who on Earth are these strange men?’ A lot of questions flooded Idara's mind, causing great fear for her very own life. ‘If these men could do this to Isioma, then what are the odds that I won't get the same hostile treatment?’

Apparently, only God could save Idara and Isioma from the hands of these wicked men. If the Almighty Father intended to help them, He had to do it quickly before things would start getting out of hand.

“Hmm. It's good to see you're awake,” said the chubby man amongst them, “because I was just about to wake you up.”

In all honesty, Idara barely comprehended what the man said, because her eyes were solely glued to the pistol in his left hand.

He noticed. “Ah. Don't be afraid, woman. Your time to die is not due yet,” he told her calmly. “But I can't say the same for your girlfriend here, though.”

Idara shuddered at that.

For some reason, the man's face and voice were so terrifying that Idara almost wished she was deaf and blind. At least, that way, she would've been spared the torment of watching and hearing him speak.

Smirking, the chubby man spanked Isioma's butt-cheek and removed the mask from her face. That was when Idara saw the duct tape on Isioma's mouth. She now understood why Isioma couldn't speak all along. Her face was even more messed up than hers; it'd been beaten to a pulp.

‘Oh, my God!’ Idara thought to herself. ‘What happened to Isioma?’

Removing the seal from Isioma's lips, the chubby man said, “Remain quiet while I make a phone call. If you move, scream, or even whisper, I'll kill you right away. Understood?”

Crying, Isioma nodded affirmatively. She'd been tortured and gang raped by these same men, so she knew they never bluffed whenever they made threats. It was best she followed the leader's instruction to the letter if she wanted to stay alive for much longer.

Putting the call on speaker, the man said, “Hello.”

“Holla!” A feminine voice responded. “How far with the stuff nau?”

Both Isioma and Idara were beyond amazed at the voice they heard. Could it really be who they thought it was?

“So far, it's been fine, dear,” replied the man. “I'm just calling to know if you'd like to say anything to them before we pop them.”

“Aww. How thoughtful of you, Mr. Pablo.” Candice cooed. “So, uh, kindly give the phone to the ugly bish. I gotta tell her somethin'.”

“Oh, go ahead, Candy. This call is on speaker; she can hear you loud and clear.”

“Oh, really?” Candice sounded overly excited. “That's great! So what's up, Idara? Hope you ain't pissin' your pants over there, honey?”

Idara tried to speak, but the duct tape on her mouth muffled her voice.

“Oh, come on, talk to me, darlin'. Tell me how it's goin' with y'all girls over there, pretty please?”

“Hold on, Candy,” said the boss. “She can't talk because her lips are sealed. Let me take the tape off her mouth.”

“Okey-dokey, boss.”

Keeping his pistol behind the waistband of his jeans, Mr. Pablo pulled the tape off of Idara's lips, and then said, “Done.”

“Candice, why are you doing this to us?” Idara sounded dull, as though she were about to cry like Isioma. “What did we do to deserve this from you?”

“Honestly, that is a pretty dumb question, Idara.” Candice answered coolly. “I mean, I shouldn't be surprised, since it's coming from you. Dumbness is in your lineage, after all.”

Sitting up, Idara rested against the wall and asked, “Is this about what happened at the eatery yesterday?”

“Well, not really, but a part of it is, anyway.” Candice's tone was suspiciously cooler than it should've been. The excitement in her voice said it all: she was obviously enjoying all this and probably wishing for it to never end. “Sadly, this is what you get when you invade other people's privacy, sweetie,” she added. “I warned you once, but you took my warning for granted. What a big mistake on your part. But, hopefully, tonight, you'd learn to never underestimate me in your next life.”

“Candice, I… I was the one that talked Idara into texting Yomi yesterday.” Isioma intervened amid tears. “Please, let her go. Your beef is with me.”

Mr. Pablo shot Isioma an icy glare for violating his instruction to be quiet, but instead of terminating her as promised, he decided to wait for Candice's orders. Maybe Candice had something up her sleeve, he could never tell.

“Says who?” Candice burst into laughter. “My dear, the Bible says that the wages of sin is death, and as far as I know, no sinner ever goes unpunished. So I won't exempt any-freakin'-body from what's 'bout to go down. However, I'll save Idara for last 'cause I want to be there when she dies.”

“Screw you, Candice. Who do you even think you are?” Isioma roared bravely. “Are you God? Huh? You are just an ordinary woman like me. You don't get to decide who lives or dies, because you are nothing. Absolutely nothing!”

“Ouch!” Candice sounded sarcastic. “That really, really, really hurt me, Isioma. Take it back.”

“Get lost!”

“Ow!” Candice sniffed thrice sarcastically, as though she were sobbing. “Last chance, Isioma. Tell me sorry.”

“Never!” Isioma yelled. “Go to hell!”

“Okey-dokey.” Candice snorted. “Luckily for you, you'd get there before me, darlin'. Say hello to the devil for me.”

“No, Candice. Don't do this!” Idara begged, trying to break the chain that linked the handcuffs, to no avail. “Please!”

Candice ignored her.

Mr. Pablo, however, grabbed his pistol and pointed it at Isioma's face. “Candy, what's our next course of action?”

“Put a bullet through her freakin' empty brain!”

“With all pleasure.”

With just one pull of the trigger, Isioma's blood splattered onto the wall as her body dropped dead on the cold, sandy ground.

What do you think about this chapter? Did Isioma deserve this? Let me know in the comments section! 😧😞💔