Hard Man

41

"I'm sorry. But you haven't come to terms with the fact that you're with a General. The General of the country's armed forces. At the risk of sounding cliche, I'll tell you that he's not an ordinary man. He's a General, he doesn't need all the petty tantrums you throw. You're not fit for him!"
    — Mohammed

When Des opened her eyes, it was still a little dark in the room. She stretched and turned, then saw the General. It was probably the first time she was waking up to the General sleeping peacefully beside her, so it rocked her for a short moment. In the stillness of the early morning, she took in his peaceful expression. His long lashes rested on his cheekbones, and he looked so unguarded that Des felt trusted.

She was still admiring the rare softness on his face when her phone beeped. She slowly turned away from the General's face and reached for it. It was an apology text from Winnie. It simply said, "I'm sorry."

Des was about to close the tab when she noticed that she had another message from an unsaved number. She clicked it curiously and saw that it had come in last night. Des smiled to herself. As soon as the General climbed into bed with her after they arrived from their drive, she forgot about her phone.

She skimmed the message lazily, but when its content sank in, she sat up so fast that her spine almost snapped. She read it again, her blood running cold. For a long moment, Des continued to stare at the message, feeling like the unfortunate character of a horror movie production. Never in her life did she think she would be a recipient of such a text.

She turned to the sleeping General again to recalibrate her senses, hoping that by the time she looked back at her phone, the message would have magically disappeared or revealed itself to be a prank.

"We have your mother, Mrs. Winnie Ibe. Come to the shack beside the council in Nyanya before noon tomorrow, and we'll let her go. You're the one we want. And don't tell the General. If we catch a whiff of the General or any officer here, we will slit your mother's throat."

You're the one we want.

Why would anyone want her? Was this some type of joke? Maybe a prank?

But even as these thoughts crossed Des's mind, she knew it would be a big risk to take if she didn't go. What if it wasn't a prank? Des started to sweat. Her mother! God! How did they get her mother? Who was this person who knew her so well, they knew where to get her mother from? Even her mother's name?

Des suddenly felt the urge to pee, and she scrambled off the bed towards the bathroom. After peeing, she stared at her face in the mirror. Her eyes were wide with fear, and her lips were quivering with the need to cry. Should she tell the General? What if these people weren't bluffing, and they killed her mom? Oh God.

What was happening? Who wanted her?

When she returned to the room, the General was awake, his back against the headboard. He took one look at her and frowned.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She shook her head and fixed a smile on her face, hurrying to the bed.

"What's wrong?" He asked again, reaching for her hand.

"Nothing. I had to pee."

She sighed when he pulled her into his chest and held her close. He was wide awake now, but the softness was still there. For this brief moment, Des would let herself hope.

***

MG Damola was waiting at the office when they arrived that morning. He looked at them with a smile on his face.

"General Babalola," he saluted. "Welcome."

The General eyed his friend skeptically before walking to his desk and plopping down. "Damola, I found the tracker."