THEODORE

Your time is up, Mayowa.

I thought as a smile made its way to my lips. The party was now in full swing. My primary assignment was to keep a close eye on Mayowa and that was what I did. I watched as he excused himself from his wife and headed towards the gate. I followed up at a reasonable distance.

He was communicating with the guards in charge and I knew something was up, it wasn't so right. My eyes met that of one of his guards and I nodded. One of our men who was recruited as one of the guards for the event.

After my conversation with Osaze, we devised a plan and that was what we planned on executing. I told Kazeem about everything and he suggested we told it to the police which at first, I thought was a bad idea because we had no evidence.

We ended up telling the police and we now have to prove it to them. Some of the policemen applied to work as guards at the event to go undercover. I found it a bit suspicious that Mayowa was in charge of all the guards. I also got to know that he changed the security system in the house. Now that was fishy.

While the policemen applied to work as guards at the event, Kazeem joined Osaze and I in getting tech tools we could use to execute our plan ready while the rest of the guys planned how exactly we would do what we had to do.

With the help of Kazeem's friends from school and the tech guys at the police station, we were able to get small cameras that we could wear to the event without anyone suspecting and also connected the cameras to a screens in the DPO and commissioner's offices respectively.

While I had my own camera on the bow tie I wore, Osaze had hers on her glasses, in between both lenses and the rest of the guys had theirs in various places. The reason we all stood away from each other was so the footage that would be watched at the police station would be from different angles.

I walked a little closer to the chocolate fountain close to where Mayowa was addressing the security men and tapped on my earbud gently so we could all hear what he was saying to them. The earbuds we wore were in the colour nude and they were very small that it wasn't noticeable.

We all had the tiny earbuds so we could communicate properly.

"Bring the car close to the house in thirty minutes time and make sure she's unharmed," He started and I looked at Desmond and he nodded, they all heard it.

"Be careful, I don't want you all to mess things up for me." He said. "Am I understood?"

"Yes sir." Was their chorus response and I picked a small plate and pretended I was trying to get some chocolate. He walked past me and headed to the front.

"We have to act, fast," I said. "Everyone, stick with your primary assignments. Please do not get distracted, he's bringing someone in and there's every chance that it's Ivory." I said and walked away from the chocolate fountain.

Our men had been given orientation days before the wedding on what and what to do so it was quite easy for us to plan along with them. So dumb of Mayowa.

I watched as Mayowa placed a kiss on his Wife's cheeks and she blushed.

If only she knew.

The wedding games began and ended and there was still no signal from our men that were recruited into Mayowa's mini army.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Irene wipe away tears from her face and walked into the house. It was probably because of how in love Mayowa and her mum looked as they had their first dance as a married couple. Oh how I wanted to go after her, hug her so dearly and kiss away the tears but I knew better than that, I had a lot to do.

I watched as Ola went after her and a small smile touched my lips. That was Ola's primary assignment for the day, to keep a close eye on Irene and make sure she's out of danger.

My primary assignment was to keep a close eye on Mayowa and that I was doing and may I add, properly. The moment their dance was over, I noticed he pulled off his tuxedo and in the process did a little thumbs up. It was so brief that I thought I had imagined it but I knew I didn't, I was so sure of it.

"We're headed outside." I heard a deep baritone through the ear buds I was wearing. It was one of our men. There were four of our men amongst Mayowa's men. All of them wore Cameras and had ear buds too.

"They'll be three of us outside, two of us are your men. To know which of us to approach, you'll see us with similar black jackets." The voice came again.

"Noted." Desmond and Kiki said simultaneously and I nodded dipping my hands into my pockets gently. Those two were in charge of getting Ivory to the police station and replacing her with a medium sized mannequin which was specially made by an expert doll maker. She'd be placed in a sack anyway so it would be hard to tell if it was the girl or a doll.

I silently prayed all of these would work out because we put in a lot of money and effort into doing what we had planned.

I watched as Desmond left the premises without getting any attention from anyone and that was because it was one of our men that let them out. They would go with Desmond's car which was parked two streets away from Irene's house.

Back to my assignment, I watched as the couple were collecting the gifts guests brought for them. It was almost 7pm so it was already getting dark and the wedding party was drawing to a close and the guests were already leaving.

I watched as Irene went to hand in her own presents. She looked defeated, like she just wanted the day to end already. My heart ached for her.

Don't be sad baby, all will be well soon. Very soon.

"Hey guys, We've gotten to the police station and we have Ivory with us." I heard Desmond say excitedly from the ear buds and a smile made it's way to my face.

Step one, done.

It was 7:30 sharp, the police van would be around soon. They had gathered as much evidence as they needed and all they had to do was to put Mayowa behind bars.

I watched as one of the guards walked to Mayowa and whispered something into his ear. He was talking with some men at that time. His expressions changed and I immediately guessed that something was up.

When I couldn't seem to decipher exactly what was wrong from Mayowa's expression, I trailed the guy that spoke to him with my eyes and I sighted him talking to two other guards who were by the gate. After their little conversation, one of them made to step out.

My phone's ringtone distracted me from the trio. I checked the caller ID, It was Osaze. I suddenly realized that I hadn't seen Osaze in a while. I looked around to see if she was around and was trying to give me a signal but I did not see her so I picked up the call and raised the phone to my ear.

"Hello."

"Keep your eyes on Mayowa, he's up to something." She said and I fought the urge to roll my eyes.

"Stating the obvious, are we?"

"I'm serious, it has to do with Irene." She said and I looked up to Irene who sat beside Ola smiling as they talked. She seemed fine.

"Where are you?" I asked her.

"At the police station."

What could be happening that Osaze wasn't telling me about? "Can you tell me what exactly is wrong?" I asked her and her response came almost immediately.

"I can't talk much for now, just keep a close eye on Mayowa and his every movement, Irene too." And with that, she hung up.

I muttered a cuss word just before TY's voice was heard. I almost forgot I had ear buds. "All the doors have been locked. No one can go into the house and no one can leave the premises."

I tensed up the moment I heard that, Miss Bolanle was supposed to come in at that particular moment. I trailed Irene with my eyes, she was still seated beside Ola and relief washed over me for a moment and it left immediately I looked to the couple and couldn't find Mayowa beside his wife.

"Ola please don't let Irene out of your sight." I said in   apprehension. Looking around, I realized that almost all the guests had gone, it was then that it dawned on me that it was planned. Mayowa really had something planned and I believed he was close to achieving it. That thought shook me to bits.

Casting my gaze to a corner, I sighted Mayowa and Irene's mum standing with a man dressed in a black tuxedo. It looked like he was giving instructions as Irene's mum was nodding at intervals. After he was done with whatever it was he had to say, Mayowa shook hands with him and the man walked away.

I didn't let my gaze waver even as I watched the couple intently. Mayowa handed Irene's mum a document to sign after he had put down his own signature. It looked liked it was the marriage certificate they should have signed if they had gone to a registry. I was honestly try to crack what was going on. Why the hell was all the doors locked and nothing seemed fishy yet?

I watched as Irene's mum beckoned to Irene to also sign. I guessed she was going to sign as a witness but something didn't feel right so I kept my eyes on them. The moment Irene's mum made to pass the paper to Irene, I sighted something, it seemed like the black sheet that is always used when writing a receipt and what it does was to replicate what was written on the receipt. It was at that moment that I realized that Mayowa's true aim was to get something from the family and he needed their signature for it and before I could process it, I rushed to Irene and pulled her into a hug away just as she was about to put down her signature.

"What are you doing Theodore?" Irene whispered still in my embrace.

It all made sense to me, what Mayowa was up to and I had to make sure that Irene didn't put down her signature. "I missed you!" I called out loudly so Irene's mum who looked awed and Mayowa who looked irritated could hear me.

"Don't sign the document, it isn't from the registry." I whispered to her and pulled away. She looked a bit confused.

"Can we go to the beach together when you're done?" I asked loudly so her mum and stepdad could hear me. She nodded and I threw her a soft look.

Don't sign it Irene, do not.

"It occurs to me that Mayowa wants to sign something that belongs to Irene and her mum into his name. I have told Irene not to tender her signature, he's just about to flip, kindly take your positions." I said returning to where I stood previously.

I still watched closely as Irene refused to sign and it looked like Mayowa was trying to convince her. Suddenly, she flipped open the page angrily and she froze. Oh no, she had seen it and she looked moved away from him. Her actions got her mum curious she went ahead to read the content and at that point, her expression mirrored her daughter's.

Mayowa's expression changed and it seemed to me like she had threatened him. I watched Irene as she walked away with her phone to her ear. I was right, she had threatened him probably to put a call across to the police. She figured out that something was wrong and surprisingly she didn't seem scared of him like I thought she would be.

"Drop that phone or I'll shoot your her!" Mayowa yelled drawing everyone's attention. He had a pistol in his right hand and he was pointed it to Irene's mum. That got the attention of the few people left and loud gasps and whispers followed.

Almost all the guests had gone leaving just myself, the guys and few of Irene's friends like Tobais Pirah and Kamil Isah who unfortunately stayed back when their parents left with security.

"Stop it!" Irene said as she turned. I believe she was extremely shocked and terrified but she managed to look calm. "Please let my mum go." She said walking towards him her voice breaking and her mum on the other hand looked extremely stupefied and I do not blame her at all. She couldn't understand what was going on with the man she was in love with. The man who took wedding vows with her just a couple of hours ago; her husband.

Mayowa pulled Irene's mum even closer and Irene gasped loudly. "Hey scumbag, will you let her go!" Someone said, that someone was Tobais Pirah.

Mayowa turned to him sneering. "Or what Runway boy?" He asked shooting him a glare.

"Or I'll kill you with my bare hands." He said and made for Mayowa but before he could reach him, the security men held him down.

"You're lucky that I'm not heartless model boy." Mayowa said still not letting Irene's mum go. I scoffed inwardly, yeah right, you're not heartless.
"If I was, I would have killed you but I won't because I have no business with you." He spat out and returned his gaze to Irene who's eyes were already teary.

"Please let Toby and everyone else go, I'll do what you want." Irene said and Mayowa scoffed.

"Like you have a choice. Look Irene, you've been very tolerant so far, this is the last phase. Just play along, all you have to do is to sign the document and transfer your diamonds to me. Your signature is the only thing I need, I have your mum's and Ivory's."

To the people left in the premises, it felt like what Mayowa was saying was in a different language. "Ivory?" Irene's mum voiced out in a whisper with a shocked look on her face. "Did you kill my daughter?" She asked glaring at Mayowa.

Mayowa let her go rolling his eyes and made his way to the middle where everyone who seemed shocked by his actions by the way stood. He sighed and shook his head mockingly. "I guess I have to give you guys a brief rundown of what this is all about."

"I'm in love with a woman, so in love with her but I had to leave her because of what I wanted from the Coker Family." He walked around casually so everyone could feel what he was saying. It was just very few of us around anyway. Myself, Irene, her mum, Ola, Zion , TY, Ivy, Rowland who was asleep on a chair, Tobias and Prince Kamil

"The family have a treasure, diamonds, very expensive diamonds, irreplaceable diamonds and I want them for myself. I need the signature of the mother and both daughters to get it transferred into my name." I looked around but most people weren't shocked because it was just the guys, they knew Mayowa was an awful person. Irene's mum, Ivy, Kamil and Tobias were the only ones who looked extremely shocked but Tobias' was a bit concealed.

"To get Ivory's signature, I kidnapped her and faked her death."

"You mean Ivory is alive?" Tobias asked and it was only then I realized he wasn't held down by guards anymore.

"Yes, now will you let me complete what I have to say model boy." He turned to Tobias with a scowl. "And to get Tiffany's signature, I faked a wedding." He had called Irene's mum by her first name and I thought of that as really weird.

"What do you mean by fake a wedding?" The scared Ivy who had been silent all along asked.

He walked to her swinging the gun skillfully like stars in blockbusters giving the poor girl a fright. "I mean, this wedding is a Charade. We are not married by the law, we have not signed any wedding documents. Instead, she signed the property paper."

"But don't you value the vows you took before the man of God and the guests?" She asked obviously still terrified.

"You skinny thing," he started. "What part of this is a charade don't you get? The man of God that came isn't really a man of God and the vows were meaningless, I love another woman."

He kept repeating that he loves someone else and I genuinely believed it was Miss Bolanle. I should be happy for her because she seems to love him just as he loves her but I wouldn't even wish for my enemy to end up with such a disgusting person.

"Why were you toying with mum's feelings?" Ivy her voice shaky. It looked like she was about to cry.

"Because that's the only way I could get her signature and I'm smart. Enough with the questions now. I was also responsible for Irene's disappearance weeks ago." He said and walked away from her.

"We'd have all retired to bed if Irene would just sign already," He stated gazing at Irene. "Don't get me wrong, I'm not taking away the family's wealth, just the diamonds so please let's get this over with so every other person can leave here." He feigned concern.

"Mayowa Richard Carrington." It was Irene's mum and she sounded broken. He turned to her and threw her a coy smile.

"Well Irene, will you sign this or should I kill Ivory for real?" He asked getting irritated. "Send in the girl." He called out to two of his men standing at strategic positions.

I smiled at this, the girl isn't there anymore.

"Boss, we can't find the girl." One of them said after going out and coming back.

"What do you mean you can't find the girl!" Mayowa thundered.

"She's missing boss and we're not sure how because we were watching all along." Another replied looking a bit scared. It seemed like Mayowa was extremely dangerous if a man that huge would cower at his sight.

"You fools!" He yelled, he was infuriated.

He was just about to hit one of the men when we heard the siren. It was the police. He tensed up and turned to Irene grabbing her roughly by the hand. "Sign this or I'll kill you." He threatened. "Sign the fucking paper Irene!" He yelled.

She moved away from him. "Shoot me, kill me but I won't sign those papers." I tensed up. What the hell was Irene trying to do?

"You would die anyway, you're wearing a bomb."

Fear gripped me the moment I heard that, instant fear. I had never been that scared in two years. The last time I was that scared was when I lost Lucia. "Theodore, Irene is wearing a bomb." I heard Osaze's voice from the earbuds.

"Yeah, thanks for telling." I muttered my blood boiling. I figured that was what she could have told me since and we would have found a way around it.

"It has been deactivated, she's out of danger now. I'm at the police station, the tech and weapon expert did it, and she's safe now." That was all I needed to hear.

"There isn't a bomb!" I yelled. Suddenly, the sound of the siren stopped and the next thing we saw were policemen walking into the premises. It was our men that got them in.

"Traitors." I heard Mayowa mutter.

"Drop that gun mister!" One of the policemen clad in uniform yelled.

IRENE

"Drop that gun mister!" I heard someone say, apparently it was a policeman. I was so glad that I prayed to God and he brought a solution.

My mum was very devastated and all that came to my mind was to get Mayowa to where he belonged, behind bars. He had caused my family so much pain for a lifetime.

Even though Ivory's disappearance bothered me, I was glad she wasn't around here at the moment, I'd rather die than to loose her for real.

I looked up to see that Mayowa had his gun pointed at me. "Don't come any closer or I'll shoot her and I mean it." He warned.

The police men still approached him. He gripped the gun even tighter, I could see it still, they weren't fazed and that got me more scared. It then dawned on me that I loved living and I wasn't ready to die just yet.

The police men got even closer and I heard the sound of a gun  the exact time I felt another body collide into mine. It all didn't make sense at first because I was fine, I wasn't feeling any pain but the moment I felt the weight of another collapsing on me, I realized what had happened.

"Theodore!" I screamed as he slowly made it to the ground . He hugged me just as Mayowa shot so the bullet hit him instead of me.

It seemed like everything had come to a standstill. My sight became blurry, I couldn't move as I watched people move to where I sat on the floor beside a semi conscious Theodore.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw Mayowa being dragged by the police with a cuff binding his hands together. Almost immediately, something caught my eyes, it was a scar. A scar I hadn't noticed before around his hips. I had seen it because his trousers had sagged and that scar looked familiar, way too familiar.

It took a while before it clicked. Realization dawned on me and I was ready for vengeance.

I closed my eyes and let the tears flow.

*

Hey guys!

I've been writing this chapter for over a month now just so it would be nice and worth it. I still don't feel very satisfied with it but I hope you enjoyed it. Please do well to let me know what you think about it.

Runways and Deception ends at the fifty eighth chapter guys and that means we have just five more chapters to go. I'm so excited for this and I hope y'all are just as excited.

Go check out the character aesthetics and prologue of Beyond the reef if you still haven't because it begins immediately after Runways and Deception.

Do take care guys and I'll see you in the next chapter.

Word Count: 3755