Kelvin
Hannah walked to the roadside and ignored me when I was calling her. I got to her and wanted to rain questions on her but a taxi came along and we both got in. We didn't utter a word in the car but I was frowning and staring at Hannah anytime she would look in my direction. Few minutes later, we alighted at a junction near our area and I paid the driver.
We started to walk our way home and that's when I remembered to query Hannah's actions.
"So are you going to pretend like nothing happened back at the hospital ?"
Hannah just looked at me and didn't answer. I know this is all a play but she should talk at least.
"Won't you say a word ?"
She was still mute. So I pressed further. "Am I not talking to a human being or I'm walking with a corpse ?"
"Kelvin, I did what I thought was best for you," she finally spoke up. "I know it wasn't right not confronting you first but it was an opportunity glaring at you and you were too slow."
"Too slow ?" I echoed. "How was I being too slow ? I made my decision already and I didn't want to receive anything from Mr. Hanson."
"That's the meaning of what I said," Hannah rolled her eyes. "You were too slow to see the opportunity you had."
"You can't be serious."
"Do you know how many people have been wanting to see Mr. Hanson in person ?" she asked rhetorically. "And there you were, given a choice by the infamous Hanson and you wanted to refuse. Are you for real ?"
"Everyone is entitled to their own choices." I shrugged. Hannah punched me playfully on my arm.
"What choice ? You were about to turn down an offer and that was so unwise." she replied. "Lemme ask you a question, why were you about to turn down the offer ?"
I shrugged again. "I simply didn't want anything from him. I'm just not in that vibe with rich people."
"You are hilarious," she laughed for a while. "Don't worry, you will thank me one day for this decision. Just be happy you have a new job and you didn't have to go through all the trouble of finding a new one."
"Yeah, right." I murmured. We kept quiet for a while and continued walking. Then something occurred to me. "Hannah, do you know the job Mr. Hanson offered me ?"
"Yeah, it was house manager." she answered.
"Believe me when I say that I have no idea what a house manager does."
Hannah growled from the frustration of her having to explain it to me. "A house manager basically manages the day-to-day operations of the house. And they can also hire and fire workers when needed."
"Is that all ?"
"A house manager also manages the budget or can plan one. Also deals with the financial records of the house," she added. "They must make sure the house is clean at all times, food services operations run smoothly and supervise to make sure the house is always in the best condition."
It took a while for me to process all this. "Wow, thanks Hannah. I didn't know there was a profession like this. How did you know all this ?"
"A friend from school told me about how her house manager was acting in her home and she explained the concept to me." Hannah revealed.
"If that's the job of a house manager, then I don't suppose it's that difficult."
"Wait and see what happens." Hannah chuckled. "I just remembered something right now."
"What is it ?"
"Do you know that the quiet daughter of Mr. Hanson is in my department ?" she asked.
"No, obviously I didn't know."
"Well, she is and she's mostly quiet, alone in class and talks to no one at all."
We branched to a junction. "It's okay. Let's get the fever grass for maa and go home. She might have been waiting for us and might be worried sick. I'm even surprised she hasn't called us yet."
We went to the junction were the fever grass were and the kidnappers had left unsurprisingly. We took the fever grass and walked back home. When we got home, our mom was waiting.
It was a little difficult but we had to explain to her well what happened and what kept us late. It took time but we kept her updated and when we were done, I thought she was going to preach to me on fighting but that's not what happened.
"I'm actually surprised by the bravery and courage you had put out there today," she began. "It was a good thing you did. I'm proud of you dear but be careful. You can get injured next time."
"Okay mom, I will."
"You should have seen the men lying on the ground," Hannah went on jokingly. "They couldn't get up to challenge Kelvin again. They were just weak and hurt and Kelvin was standing there watching over them."
"That's enough," I implored as my mom laughed at Hannah.
"Maa the whole scene was strange and funny at the same time," she said.
"You weren't laughing." I pointed out.
"You don't know what was going on in my head." she countered.
As Hannah and I were clashing each other with silly talks, my mom cleared her throat and intervened.
"So Kelvin, tomorrow you are going to Mr. Hanson's house to work ?"
"Yes," I nodded. "I'm going to help in his house and he said I could come home on weekends."
"That's good to hear," she commented. "Take care of yourself as you get there. And don't forget to get in touch with us."
"Maa but I'm not going yet so why are you saying all this ?" I quizzed.
She cleared her throat. "Just in case I'm sleeping when you are going. I don't want to be disturbed when I'm sleeping."
"She's serious about it," Hannah added.
"Alright maa."
"Get up and go wash the shirt you are wearing," she ordered. "I'm not comfortable seeing the blood stains in it like that."
I got up and Hannah followed me. I removed my shirt and she snatched it from me. I tried to get it back from her but she had locked herself in the bathroom. So it was clear that she wanted to wash my shirt by force.
I went to my old room and laid on the bed flat. I was there like that for some seconds before sitting up. I started to think about how my day has gone so far.
This morning I got fired and now, as it is approaching evening, I had gotten a new one after rescuing a millionaire's daughters. I never knew this day would have taken these turns. Eventually, I know that I would get used to these changes and move on.
As I was pondering, I heard a notification from my phone and when I checked, it was a notification from the bank. Someone had sent me money and when I checked the sender it was from Fred Hanson.
I was confused at first but I realized it must have been from Mr. Hanson and when I checked the amount he had sent, it was ¢9,500! I was shocked beyond my confusion cause I didn't expect this huge sum of money. When I recovered from my shock, I became confused once again.
Why am I receiving this amount from Mr. Hanson when I haven't even started work ? I was wondering for a while and I decided that I will see him tomorrow and talk to him about the transaction mistake. I don't want us to get on the wrong foot, so tomorrow, I'm going to confront Mr. Hanson about this.
.
Writer
As night was fast approaching, a black van drove into an abandoned small warehouse and three men got out of the van after they parked it in the building. There were some chairs around, so they sat on it and waited.
It was silent for a while there until one of the men disrupted the serenity with an argument.
"I told you we should have taken guns instead. The job would have been easier."
The other man who was being spoken to, shot a frown at his colleague. "Blacksmith, for the last time, what makes you think we were going to get guns ? From who ? Do you think guns are easy to get in the country ?"
"Tupac, they are easy to get." Blacksmith argued as he massaged his legs. The pain was still aching and he had been trying to soothe it out.
"Unless you have links to those people who steal them from the police or soldiers or acquire them illegally, you can't get them easily." Tupac replied.
The third man, Bill Gates, spoke up in annoyance to the noise the other two were making. "Does it even matter ? We settled for clubs instead and got beaten."
"When we couldn't get guns," Blacksmith faced Bill Gates. "I told Tupac we should settle for knives but what did he say ?"
"I said they would not help," Tupac defended. "We were dealing with two men, when are you going to stab them without taking a hit ? The clubs are much better. One hit and that's all."
"You are an idiot," Blacksmith fired back. "I shouldn't have followed your advice."
"It's okay," Bill Gates tried to calm down the tension. "Blacksmith, you shouldn't be asking me that question. What do I know in this fighting and weapons ? Mine is to drive and I still got beaten."
Tupac gently squeezed on his ribs. "The man that attacked us is brutal. I almost thought he was from China."
"If we had a gun, it wouldn't be a problem." Blacksmith growled.
"Will you keep quiet about the gun ? I'm sure even if you had the gun, he would have still would have been able to beat you." Tupac ridiculed. "Just look at how fast he was able to dodge the attacks."
"You are talking like he is faster than a bullet. He is no match..." Blacksmith stopped speaking as he heard footsteps and he recognized who it was immediately.
Coming from behind the van, Raymond emerged with a suitcase. He was dressed formally in a white long sleeves, plain black trousers and a black tie on his sleeves. He walked towards the men and placed the suitcase on the table and relaxed on it whiles he faced the men.
"You were supposed to report here around 2pm," Raymond commenced. "And it's now 5:32pm. You were supposed to call me and give me intel about the operation, I didn't receive any. I looked in the van for any signs of the ladies, I didn't see them. Any explanations, anyone ?"
At first, no one spoke. Then Blacksmith took the lead. "Sir, we were unsuccessful in the operation. It didn't go according to plan."
"What happened ?"
"We had taken out the two men who were with the ladies," Tupac explained. "We were about to knock out the ladies, then a man came in to their rescue and was able to beat us and help them escape."
Raymond didn't react hastily to the news. His face was just straight and devoid of emotions but deep down, he was frustrated.
"How can three armed men get beaten by a man ?" Raymond asked. He pointed to Bill Gates. "You, I've forgotten your fake name. Tell me how this was possible ?"
"My fake name is Bill Gates," he reminded. "And we didn't have any good weapons. Just clubs. That's all."
"Clubs ?" Raymond repeated. "Who came up with that idea ? I thought you guys had efficient weapons."
"This is a side hustle," Tupac responded. "We are not hardcore kidnappers."
Raymond sighed as he massaged his forehead in frustration. "You guys have messed up and I'm going to take the blame for it. I'm not going to talk much here. For not getting the job done, I'm giving you guys half payment."
It all seemed fair to the three men cause they had taken risks at least and they had to get compensated to some degree. Raymond opened the suitcase and there were a few bundles of money in it.
He took a portion and handled it out to the men separately. "It's enough to get you through a month. Use it wisely. And you, Bill Gates, wipe your nose as well. I can still see blood stains from your nostrils."
Bill Gates did as suggested and the boys checked if they were all set. Raymond closed the suitcase and looked at his watch.
"It's getting late, you guys can go."
The men got up and in the van they drove off. Raymond sighed and took his phone out. He called his father on phone and waited for an answer. His father picked the call seconds after.
"Did they get the girls ?" he asked hastily.
"No." Raymond answered. And growling came afterwards, accompanied with muffled swearwords.
"How did you mess up this time ?"
"Me ?" Raymond replied, feeling offended. "What did I do ? The men didn't do their job effectively. I gave them the correct details my intel had delivered and they messed it up in the end. They used clubs as weapons."
"Did you know they were going to use clubs ?"
"No, I didn't. They even told me they weren't serious kidnappers. I had no idea of all this."
"So what do we do now ?" his father queried. "Now, Hanson knows someone wants to kidnap his daughter so the security might be tight this time round."
"All we have to do is wait," Raymond offered. "Just wait for the right time to strike. After some days, the kidnapping worry will die and we will strike again but harder."
"Hmmmm," his father hummed, contemplating about the decision. "Your approach is much smarter. We will wait. Also wait for your intel to give the green light to strike."
"Okay."
"And for the meantime, do not get near Sonya." he ordered.
"Fine, you have my word."
"One last thing," his father chipped in.
"What ?"
"I'll be giving you guns to handover to the kidnappers next time." he informed. "The operation should be completed at all costs."