BFFs: Married To My Sister's Best friend

14. Theft

"Sis!" Hannah AbdulMajid, popularly known as Bella, the only sister to Aleesha screeches through the phone making Aleesha remove the phone from her ear.

"Ke, do you want to destroy my ear drums?" Aleesha says rolling her eyes.

"You're right! Mummy and daddy left. This morning!" Bella squeals again.

"Oh my God. Hannee imma end the call." Aleesha ends the call. Bella calls back making Aleesha groan in annoyance.

"Ayyaa mana Ya Leesh you promised to come fah." Bella whines.

"Chill, I'll come. Ai we're just in the first week of April. Before they come back I'll come. Majids promise." Aleesha says.

"Kay kay. Catcha later." Bella says before ending the call. It's been three days since Paul - a thug that works for Lash - went to start working at Halima's home. He's going to completely gain their trust today and two days from now, he'll do it.

"Are you ready?" Paul asks a man who looks like a younger replica of him.

"Yes, where did you say it is?" The man asks.

"In a drawer behind the wardrobe. Wear your mask." The young man does as told and enters Halima's room through the window, it's 2:47 in the afternoon and Halima is in the kitchen. She's under the impression that Paul has gone out and won't be coming back till around three.

She's cooking something for herself and Paul as Sa'eed has told her to always give him food thrice daily. She hums to a remix by Connor Maynard and The Vamps as she stirs the Indomie. She's feeling lazy today, making her to opt for indomie since it's the easiest. She couldn't go to Amal's Lefe yesterday, but she's going over today in the evening once Sa'eed comes back from work. She already has left over coarsely grinded harbenaro peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, and red bell pepper from the Sultanate Chips she cooked Sa'eed in the morning.

She hears a glass being broken in her room and picks a turning stick in one hand, a pestle in the other. She doesn't know who it is but she's getting bad vibes.

The man in the room smashes another one of the perfumes in the room, Halima has alot of perfumes and if he has to break all to alert her, he'll do it.

He hears footsteps and picks the heaviest of the gold jewelry sets before rushing to the window. Just as she enters the room he jumps out and starts running. She runs downstairs and tries to follow him.

That is the only memory of Maami, her paternal grandmother she has and he's taking it? No! She won't let that happen.

She rushes to the door panting and sees the masked man standing by the door. It looks like he's waiting for her. Halima doesn't give it much thought as she lurches towards him with her pestle still in hand, the turning stick left lying on the floor in her room. She had dropped it out of fright.

Halima follows him outside the gate, it isn't an estate neither is it a close. Their house is by the roadside so he can easily get away. And the road is quite quiet, as it's a crescent in a new part of Kuje, an undiscovered part. Halima is getting tired of running so she starts shouting help.

A well built man starts following him from behind her and catches up with the thief easily. He starts dragging the thief but the theif has other plans. The thief brings out a dagger and cuts the man's arm making the latter whimper in pain, he doesn't let him go.

Instead, he punches him square in the jaw and one on the nose making the theif fall unconscious. The man picks the gold jewelry set and brings it to Halima. As he comes closer, Halima recognizes him.

"Paul?" Halima asks.

"Yes madam. You see, I was coming back when I heard a woman shouting. I rushed and saw it was you. It was my fault, I am being paid to guard the house but a thief got in. I'm sorry, here's your jewelry." Paul says in a sad tone handing over Halima's jewelry to her.

"No, its okay. Come and wait inside let me get you money to go to a clinic so they can treat your wound." Halima says going inside. The sight she meets makes her want to cry. The Indomie has completely dried up. It's burnt!

She quickly puts off the gas and rushes inside. She comes back with five thousand naira. She gives him the money.

"Eat something on your way back okay?" Halima says and doesn't wait for a reply as she remembers what she's wearing. One of Sa'eed's shorts that looks to big for her and a crop top, without a head tie, cap, turban or anything.

She locks the door and decides to microwave one the shawarmas that's in the fridge. Coupled with a large five alive, Halima eats it and goes to sleep.

"Miss A." Paul says to a woman in a full Burkha.

"Yes. Is the work done?"

"Yes. I'm sure she trusts me now. I'll do it a day after tomorrow."

"Good. Take." The lady throws a wad of one thousand Naira to Paul and another to the man sitting beside him. She leaves the room and goes outside to a car, where Aleesha is sitting by the driver's seat, waiting for her.

"Is it done?" Aleesha asks to which she replies with a nod of her head. They drive away after she has removed the Burkha.

Back inside the room Paul and the other man are counting the wads handed to them.

"Mad o. One hundred thousand." The other man exclaims.

Paul just laughs. His is one hundred and fifty thousand. He isn't going to tell the other man. There's no way on planet earth he's telling him. They put the money aside - Paul shares it into two and puts it into either of his boots while the other pan puts it in a bag - and start tending to Paul's wound while smoking.

Instead of sprinkling away the ash that comes from the cigarette, they sprinkle it on Paul's injury, making the latter groan in pain.

After thirty minutes, Paul leaves to a clinic where his wound is treated, before going back to Sa'eed and Halima's house. They aren't around so he locks the house and goes to bed fantasizing about a certain someone he's going to touch two days from now.