TRIALS (Completed)

Thirty-three

When Ismail received Officer Chico’s call on Friday morning, he wasn’t surprised to hear that they had traced the last number that called them, for he had hopes, high hopes. But he didn’t inform Kauthar though, not until they had gotten Barakah safe and sound. 

He was also glad she woke up late, that meant she would be too distracted to notice that he was leaving home as early as 06:45 am on a Friday. 

Once he arrived at the Alakija bus-stop, he didn’t bother to see the faces of the three officers Chico came with, they just got into the black Toyota Camry and drove off. The traffic was against them. 

“Where did you trace the number?” Ismail asked from he back seat. 

“Sometime around 05:00 am. Unfortunately, the guy on the lookout wasn’t in the room when the signal beeped, else, we would have left since.”

He nodded. “That’s okay. At least we know where they are now.” 

“Um,” A guy with wire framed glasses and dots of pimples on his face, sitting by the window, called out.

Ismail turned to the guy and  noticed the laptop on his  lap. 

“We’ve lost them.” The guy said.

Ismail frowned. “What do you mean?” 

“The signal is off.” He said, blinking at Ismail, then turning to Chico at the front seat. 

“But how?!” Ismail glared at him, though he knew the guy wasn’t at fault. 

“Perhaps the phone has been switched off.” Chico said. Ismail gaped at the calmness in his voice.

“So, does that mean we cant trace them again?” He asked, feeling his hope deflating.

“No, we’re still on their trail. But we cant do anything now, except wait.

Ismail leaned back against his seat with a sigh. He turned to the window, the sun was just waking up, greeting the sky with an orange smile. God please, bring my daughter home. He prayed. He shut his eyes, not wanting to see Chico’s pitiful look. Tracing the number was a miracle, and he hoped it wont be the only one. 

Some minutes later, he felt a light tap on his shoulder. he sat up ,not realizing when he had dozed off. 

“Guess what?” Chico said, smiling widely. 

Ismail blinked in confusion. 

“We found them.” The computer guy said. 

Ismail gaped at him.

“And that’s not even the best part,” Chico added. “They’re heading towards us.”

On their way, while Ismail was praying for the phone to remain switched on, he couldn’t help but wonder why it was switched on in the first place. After voicing it out, Chico said, “Huh, you’re right.” He turned towards Ismail. “Should we be looking at two people then?”

Ismail nodded, wondering who else would be against his family. The only person he had suspected was an old friend from Secondary School whom he had bullied. But then, who would keep a grudge for so long?

By 08:25 am, Ismail left the car to stretch his legs. He watched the vehicles on the lane across him quickly heading towards Badagry road. He wondered what the kidnappers were doing at Agbara. He had never even been there before. But he recalled one time he had visited a land with his friend, Yusuf. He sighed. It’s been a while since they talked, even though there was no bad blood between them, despite the awkwardness that followed after his marriage with Salsabil.