Grace decided to alight earlier at a bus stop outside of the town due to what she learnt from Officer James about the police car, while she snuck back into town on foot. It was much easier than she had thought as the two policemen had no idea what she was wearing and were busy waiting for a girl to step down from a bus whereas all she did was walk right past them. Standing from a distance, she watched as the two policemen searched the bus in confusion when they couldn't find any girl that matched the description that Officer James had given. It took a while and after they realized that they couldn't find Grace, they got back into their car and drove off.
As she walked on, she tried to access the situation at hand. The first part done, she had evaded the police. The next thing now was how to stop Cassandra. Grace knew that meeting Cassandra without a plan was basically handing herself out on a silver platter. She also knew that going alone won't be to her advantage. She needed help, and she knew just who to meet.
** ** **
"Rise and shine Maggie!" Cassandra said as she smiled down at Margret who was beginning to open her eyes. Margret immediately realized what was going on as soon she saw the girl who looked like Veronica. She tried to yell but the pain she felt at the back of her head was enough to stop. Her hands were also tied behind her back and after struggling to break loose without any results, she gave up.
"Good, you're calm now," Cassandra said. "Allow me the honor of reuniting you with your friend, Joana."
Margret was confused about what she said until she heard Joana speak.
"Margret--"
Margret looked over to the left to see Joana who looked like she had been crying for a long time as the tears dried on her face.
"Joana!" Margret said as she became frightened by how dreadful Joana looked then turned back to Cassandra.
"Veronica?"
"Wrong! Try again." Cassandra said and suddenly Margret remembered the name Grace mentioned right before she passed out.
"Cassandra."
"Yes! One point for Margret." Cassandra said jumping then turned to Joana. "She just joined and she is ahead of you already, you better don't slack off."
"Who are you? How are you inside Veronica? What do you want from us?"
"Ugh, here we go again with the questions!" Cassandra said with a grunt. "Can't we girls just talk and hang normally?"
"You tied both our hands and legs, how did you think we would react to that?"
"Oh well," Cassandra said, drawing out a gun underneath her shirt from behind and twirling it round her mane. It immediately snuffed out the little courage and hope Joana and Margret had and fueled up their despair. "We can't always be winners, can we? It was Veronica who wanted to be friends with you guys anyway."
"So is that what you want to do to us now, to kill us?"
"Haha, I'm not telling... No spoilers!" Cassandra replied. "But first things first, Grace is already on her way and we can't start anything without her."
Margret and Joana threw glances at each other.
"Why is she coming?" Joana asked.
"She thinks she can save you girls or something... I've cleared her up on that though... She can't save you, no one can save you... Not the police, not even your parents."
Although her words sent cold shivers down their spine, Joana's hope came back as soon as she heard that Grace was coming.
"You're so wrong." She said.
"What?" Cassandra asked. Margret was just as clueless.
"Whatever it is you are planning, Grace wouldn't fall for it. No matter what you say to her, she won't still back down. Grace is the smartest person among us. On top of that, she is the most stubborn girl I have ever seen... She will never give up, she will think of something and she will stop you."
"Joana, have you forgotten she is with a gun?" Margret whispered.
"I know," Joana replied, staring at Cassandra eye to eye for the first time. "I'm saying this because I want her to be unsettled... You said this was a game right? You have already made your move, you have lost your element of surprise and there's nothing left for you to play. Now it's our turn to play and I am willing to bet everything on Grace. She will beat you."
Cassandra took a few moments to consider Joana's words before speaking.
"Oh, I'm scared." She said with a baby voice and a gesture that hinted that Joana's words didn't phase her at all. "Still, I would like to see her try though." She said finally as she walked out of the door, leaving Margret and Joana behind in the room.
** ** **
Hakim didn't feel the need to go inside the house after he came back from the police station. He just sat on the staircase leading to the front door, sipping a bottle of beer and wondering what the hell Veronica had gotten herself into. Their stay in Ketu town was supposed to be easy without any problems and now with just less than two weeks left, she had somehow gotten herself into a life or death situation. It was late in the evening already and at that point, he knew she wouldn't be coming home that night. His calls weren't even going through.
If anything happened to her, what would he tell her parents? What would he tell Mike Badmus? He would pay dearly for anything that happened to Veronica- not just him, his family including.
"Mr. Bello?" Grace asked, drawing him away from his thoughts.
He sat up dropping the bottle immediately he recognized her.
"You, what's your name- Grace! The police are looking all over for you."
"Yes sir, but I can't go to them."
"Why? What about your friends and Veronica?"
"They are all in danger but we can't go to the police... We have to help them ourselves."