Guilty Eye

Chapter 6

I sat back in the leather chair, closing my eyes briefly. As I stretched my body, an involuntary yawn escaped from me. I felt like I had been run over by a truck. The pain from my PIB - bandaged thigh made my head ache.

Reluctantly, I opened my heavy eyes, scanning the room once more. The walls were bare,painted a dull grey colour that matched the ceiling. The furniture consisted of  a wooden desk which held a glass pitcher of water and two drinking glasses. Two leather chairs, one one each side,completed the adornments of the room. As interrogation rooms go,this was pretty comfy and I had mentioned this to Mr Cat when we arrived.

He had barked out a laugh."This is NOT an interrogation room, Mr Saka. It's an interview room. "

I had been sitting in the interview room for over an hour, fighting off sleep every minute. My mind went over the events of the day again. What could I have done differently?

After what seemed like another hour, the door opened soundlessly,and in came Inspector Tsono, looking like thunder.

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head. "Betrayal."

"What do you mean?"

"Come with me."

I rose and followed her out of the room into a brightly lit passage. We went down a flight of stairs and to a wide basement which had door to the left side. An armed  PIB officer gave me a thorough once over before turning his attention to the staircase.

Tsono led me to the door and knocked once. A buzzer blared and the door opened. I filed in after her.

"There you are, Mr Saka." Mr Cat boomed genially, as if I was a much missed acquaintance.

"What is this place?"

"This,Mr Saka, is the interrogation room." At that moment the door thudded shut. And Mr Cat's barred his teeth in a feline snarl,his eyes flashing evilly.
"Welcome to hell!"

A chill shot through my body,my heart leaped to my mouth and my legs felt like heated butter.

So it's true!They do torture people. Oh my God,I'm dead,I'm dead!But I haven't done anything wrong. Why would they torture me?Oh,God....

This marathon of thoughts was interrupted by a loud howl of laughter. I opened my eyes(which I had not realized were shut) and saw Mr Cat doubled over in mirth.

Tsono stood still,arms folded over her chest,a disapproving frown on her face. Her voice was frosty when she spoke.

"If you are done wasting time,sir,I suggest we move on."

The older man straightened up,took out a pink handkerchief from his breast pocket, removed his glasses and dabbed lightly at his eyes. That done,he raised hands in a mock surrender.

"Forgive me,Mr Saka, Inspector. I couldn't resist. And God!You should have seen your reaction! Fantastic! Oh..."

"Mr Cat!" Inspector Tsono said sharply.

"Alright, alright. Mr Saka you have nothing to worry about."

And I breathed again.

He put his gloved hand on my shoulder. "Come,we wanted you to see this."

He pressed a button on the wall a light  came on,and for the first time I noticed a glass cubicle in the middle of the room. Inside the cubicle were two people.

A woman wearing a nurse's white dress was swabbing the forehead of a man who sat rigidly,his arms and legs cuffed to the chair.

"It's Sergeant Bobo!" I gasped.

Tsone nodded, her face pained. Betrayal.

"We found out that he cloned the inspector's phone. He claims he was bribed this morning when you went missing."

"So it's over?"

"Nearly so,a team has gone to arrest the perpetrators. So,you are free to go."

"Really?"

"Of course Mr Saka. Come on, I'll give you a ride."

"No,thank you. I'd rather go on my own."

"I'm afraid that's out of the question."

I looked to the inspector for clarification, but she just shrugged.

"Mr Saka, do you know where you are?"Mr Cat queried.

I thought for a moment. I had come from Crow Motel sitting between two PIB officers in the back of an SUV with heavily tinted windows.

" Ummm ,no,I don't."

"Exactly!We can't have civilians knowing our location. So a driver will take and drop you off anywhere you want in the city."

*****

It was dark by the time I was dropped off at the corner of H. Chitepo Street and Mugabe road. The van took off along the latter, its taillights visible until they blended with others.

The shops were closed,save for the few supermarkets on either side of the main Street.

I limped across the dimly lit street and approached an airtime card vendor in front of OK Supermarket. I asked her the time before setting off in a northeasterly direction towards Murambi suburb where my wife's family lived.
It was 9.30 pm.

The thought of seeing my family again made me hasten my steps, temporarily forgetting my injury. Soon the CBD was behind me,and I was trudging through the winter rain-muddied roads of Mountview.

The roads were deserted, the well-off residents of that area having closeted themselves in their cosy living rooms. I could not blame them. The sky was pregnant with rain and the chilly wind clamoured for blood.

As I was leaving Mountview, I decided to use a shortcut,a smaller path that ran through a two hundred square metre patch of bush,crossing a footbridge into Murambi, cutting in half the time it would take to follow the car road.

I was about halfway through the patch of bushes when I sensed someone behind me. I glanced over my shoulder quickly and saw a figure in dark clothing, running after me.

Without second thought, I started running.

I could hear him gaining on me and I spurred myself to go faster. I knew that once I make it out of the bush I would be safe since the was a house a few metres from the footbridge.

I nearly made it before I was tackled into the ground, falling face first into the mud. I,mmediately my assailant was on top of me, grabbing my hands and binding them behind my back.

I started screaming loudly before a hard blow on the head sent me swimming into a blackout.

Author's Note:

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