Everybody in the dining room was not only standing, but also staring at Murphy. The young boy returned the gaze with a hand inside the pocket of his knicker. On his feet were flat sandals like his teacher. A white polo shirt became an addendum to his sarcastic but clever appearance. Not an inch movement after he stepped into the house as he took record of their stare.
Mr. Yinka broke the silence saying, "Who allowed you in here?!"
Murphy kept quiet. Suddenly, three men in a police uniform walked inside the house.
"You, follow us!" One pointed at Ada who looked back at Yinka.
"Follow them, you'll be fine." The man told her.
Murphy never said a word as Ada was being taken away. The two orphans looked at each other speechlessly, wondering what was happening.
"Murphy, why are you here?" Ada asked him before she was finally taken out. Hence, she didn't get a response.
However, Stephen had approached Murphy man to man as the parents watched them from the table including Stephanie.
"I begged you to help me call my parents but you refused. You should be apprehended too like others." he said.
Murphy walked passed him without opening his mouth. Though he was on motion but had a ghost movement; none heard his footsteps on the tiled floor as he was walking to Mr.Yinka. He stood before him man to man like his son did to him. His action alone had put fear in Mr. Yinka and other's heart.
"I'm calling the police." The man pulled out his phone.
"Are you calling the one that took Ada or another or another set of police?" Murphy's voice paved around the vicinity evidently and intelligently thereby drawing more attention to him. "If you had wanted me taken by the police, why didn't you tell those who took Ada to take me along with her? They are not from the police, are they?" he question tagged.
The question made Mr. Yinka to lower down the phone because he suspected that the young boy had an idea of what he planned to do with Ada's life: Murphy came to save her. Which is to say, he knew why teacher tagged the poor girl's name as 'rest in peace'
Murphy continued unabashedly, "If you call the police, Mr. Yinka, they will not take me rather take you and your kind."
"Honey, what's he talking about?" The wife asked him enthusiastically.
"Dad, what's he saying?" Stephen approached, while Stephenie kept watching and listening attentively.
Mr. Yinka remained mute and pinned by Murphy's statement. The young boy turned to his wife saying, "Your husband will not tell you anything. I will be the one to tell you all." He looked at the man of the house. "If you kill me, more people that know what I know will come after you. For you to keep my mouth shut is to call the so called police that took Ada to bring her back to me because she's the reason I'm here, to save her from your cruelty."
Everybody was as cold as ice. Just then, Mr. Yinka made the call. A few minutes later, the door opened and Ada walked inside with the men in police uniform. Murphy turned to her.
"Ada, come let's go" he held her by the hand.
"What happened, Murphy?" The girl whispered to him as they were heading to the door.
Murphy didn't respond. Ada looked back to see everybody staring at them especially Stephen, do she forcefully disengaged from Murphy.
"I'm not leaving Stephen!" she said, going back to him, but Murphy held her back.
"Ada, I know you love Stephen, but you should understand that he's your blood."
"Blood?" she looked at him while the couple glanced at each other.
"Yes, Stephen is your brother. I'll tell you all you need to know when we get out from this godforsaken place" He pulled her by the arm again. Lastly, Ada looked back to see the expression of confusion on their faces until they used the exit.
"Sir.." one of the men wanted to say but interrupted by Yinka.
"Let them go" he had said.
The wife and his son turned to him without figuring out the drama that played in their very own presence. They needed the man to hit the nail on the head and let the cat out of the bag, but such thing never happened.
"Is what the boy said true?" the wife broke the silence.
"Yes." The husband sadly replied and explained how he impregnated a lady and denied it a year after he married.
"Oh, my God!" The wife placed two hands on her head.
"Wait" Stephen began. "He talked of saving Ada from you. What did he mean by that, Dad?"
The man hesitated to speak, so he took his car keys and left the house speechlessly.
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At the police station, teacher could be seen in an interrogative room with handcuffs. Only a table and two chairs remained visible to any eyes in the room. Sheriff walked inside and sat opposite him. She was a widow with two children. She made her work the first priority in her life. Therefore she hardly give her children attention like a mother.
"Teacher.." she cleared her throat. "Can you tell me what you took from the government house and where it is? Also, why did you kidnap Stephen Yinka?" she asked.
"I'll tell you everything but I need to do that in the presence of my children." Teacher's voice was deep and fearless.
"You mean the orphans?"
"I call them my children."
Silence took over as both stared at each other intensively.
"Bring in the kids to room (vi)" she ordered through her radio hanging on her shoulder. Just then, the kids came in on handcuffs, standing on a queue and facing their teacher who looked at them one after the other. He became heartbroken to see them in such a criminal status.
"Teacher, you can proceed." Sheriff called him to order.
The man took a deep breath. "Magi, what you seek will not only put you into trouble but your entire crew." he began while sheriff sat back on her chair with a smile. She liked the sound of the beginning. "I was a secret worker for the government, always behind the camera. I know the in and out of everyone there including your president. I produced two devices that has their dirty secret in connection with their ritual data time."
"What do you mean by that?" Sheriff sat up.
"Each of them do a sacrifice using their relatives according to a particular data time. On the devices, there is a number reading, it's the data time. I produced It and attached the number readings on it since they value it so much. That's why they couldn't destroy it. The number reading tells the next person that will do a sacrifice."
The kids looked at one another. Now they fully understood the meaning of the number readings. Obi exhaled in relief that it wasn't Ada's life span readings.
"They tried to kill me base on the information I know which they thought I might use against them one day, but I escaped." Teacher concluded.
"Who is the next to sacrifice?" Sheriff asked.
"Mr. Yinka, and I'm afraid he will be using his new found blood."
"Ada?" Daniella asked.
Teacher looked at her, nodding his head not knowing that Murphy had already rescued her. The kids, once again, understood why he tagged her name 'rest in peace'.
"Where is the device now?" Sheriff asked again.
"Tila land, by the right, at the base of a palm tree, dig up, you'll see it." Teacher replied.
Quickly, sheriff stood up, speaking through her radio until she left the room. The kids stared at their teacher surprisingly. He knew what their next question would be so he coughed.
"Teacher, the last time I checked Murphy left with the devices. How did you know it's at the base of a palm tree?" Dave asked him.
"I own the forest, so I know every route Murphy might have followed. Therefore I sent my men after him using the same telephone before the police arrived." Teacher began....
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FLASH BACK
For hours, Murphy was running through the forest following a particular path. In his hands was the suitcase containing the devices. Immediately he came out to the main road, he saw men pointing guns at him.
"Hand over the suitcase or die" one of them said.
Murphy hesitated.
They walked to him, took it by force then set him on the run. They had to open it to confirm the devices before burying it according to teacher's instruction...
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CONTINUITY.
"Teacher, you should have told them to catch Murphy too." Vivian lamented.
"No, I don't want him again." Teacher concluded thereby generating silence. He noticed the kids were still inquisitive, so he continued. "I'm sorry for everything. I'm sorry for using your minds. I studied you to know who will be fitted for the presidency. I want to make one of you the president and Murphy was the target but he failed."
The kids remained calmed and satisfied. Within a twinkle of an eye, sheriff and her men returned with the suitcase. She placed it on the table before teacher then sat down.
"Show me the evidence of what you told me." sheriff told teacher Nwachukwu.
The man slowly opened the suitcase, pressed the power button severally but the thing didn't power on, so he looked stupid in the eyes of his students and sheriff herself...
:
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On the other hand, Murphy took Ada to a far distance where no one lives. It was an abandoned empty house at the fringes of the city. Ada felt disgusted by the environment, while Murphy sat down on the floor with a hand on his head. One could see broken blocks and papers around the vicinity.
"Murphy, clarify me. Why are others captured and you freed?" Ada asked, looking around. "And I don't like this place." she added disgustingly.
Murphy looked up at her. "I just saved your life and you're complaining."
"Save my life from what?"
The boy stood up. He told her about everything ranging from how teacher discovered she was Stephen's sister to how he deceived them, ran away with the devices but was taken by gunmen. "I know the meaning of the number readings, that's why I came to save you. Though I lied to them to made them see teacher as the bad person." He concluded.
Ada couldn't believe it. "Murphy why!? Why did you betray others?!" she tapped her feet on the floor.
"Teacher was using our brains for his own selfish interest! I want to also use his brain!"
"But you're with no device, no presidency"
Murphy smiled at Ada's statement. "Teacher thought he can outsmart me." he bagan. "He owns the forest, why wouldn't he send men after me? I knew that, so I had to remove the main chip of the devices." He showed her the chip with a smile. It was like a memory card but bigger in size. Ada gasped!
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Back to the police station, teacher had become frustrated, speechless and humiliated in the presence of everyone in the room. He exhaled and leaned back to his seat.
" What's the problem, teacher?" Sheriff asked him.
"Murphy managed to outsmart me. He removed a chip from these devices. Without it, this cannot power." The man replied shamefully.
"Who is Murphy and where is he?"
Before teacher could answer that, sheriff's personal phone rang. She picked and stood up in shock. After a few seconds the call ended.
"What's it?" Teacher asked her.
"My children have been kidnapped and the kidnappers want the devices in exchange." she explained.
"I told you. That's the government coming after you now." Teacher concluded.....