Hard Man

40

"This morning, you said if I needed anything, I could call you. I needed something, and I called you, but you declined it."
— Des

"So what's the deal with Daniel?" The MG asked, his gaze volleying between Mohammed and the General.
Mohammed took a step back, mentally zipping his mouth shut.

He wasn't about to put himself in trouble with the General barely an hour after he got slammed against a car trunk. His back was still hurting from how hard the General slammed him. He didn't want to put himself in trouble again. 

When the MG figured Mohammed wasn't going to speak, he swiveled his chair to face the General. "Baba? What's up with Daniel?"

"What's wrong with him?" The General asked.

"I noticed I haven't seen him around," the MG said. "He is always with you."

The General narrowed his eyes. "Doesn't that make you happy? Don't think I don't know that you hate him because he was always with me."

The MG leaned back, a small smile playing on his face. "Just answer my question."

The General shrugged. "He is a bastard."

"What did he do?" The MG asked. "He was your guy."

"He tried to touch Des."

The MG sat up, and Mohammed couldn't see his eyes, but his back was stiff as a board. "He did what now?"

"He tried to touch Des." The General's eyes filled with dark heat, like his attempt to shoot MG Dan the day it happened wasn't enough. Right now, he looked like he wanted to commit murder.

"Why did he think it was okay to touch your woman?" The MG asked. 

The General didn't speak, but he got angrier. Mohammed knew the answer was complicated because how was the General supposed to tell his friend that Miss Des was a sex worker, and the Major thought he had a right to her body because of that?

When it was clear the General wouldn't respond, the MG asked another question. "So what did you do?"

"I let him go."

The MG nodded. "What will you do?"

"I'm going to kill that bastard," the General said. "He doesn't know it yet."

"Good."

The MG turned to face Mohammed with amusement in his eyes. "And what did you do?" He asked. "Why were you slammed against a car trunk?"

Mohammed floundered. Did the Major General actually want him to answer that question?

"Uhm..." he cleared his throat. "I declined a call from Miss Des. She called when you were in the VP's house."

The MG laughed hard. "He should have cut off your finger; it's what I would have done."

Mohammed narrowed his eyes at the MG as he turned away. Sometimes he was absolutely certain he hated the man. The phone in his possession rang, and he looked down to see Inspector Adigun's name.

"Sir—" he hurried to the desk. "Inspector Adigun."

"Pick it up." The MG said. "And put it on speaker."

Mohammed obeyed.

"General," the Inspector said. "There's, uhm, something I must tell you. I'm on the way to your office. Are you there? Or where can I meet you?"

The General glanced at the MG, who nodded.

"Office," the General said.

"Okay. I'll be there." The Inspector hung up, and the office went silent.