What do you mean he took my son?" Mr. Edward said
"We've been guarding your son as you requested but his men came and subdued us . They went to his class and pretended to be from you and asked to take your son sir"The person on the other side said
"So have you located him?" Mr. Edward asked
"No boss. We found the car which they brought to young master's school but when we traced the car, it was left at a Mechanic's workshop"
"Okay, but keep looking and when you find anything, let me know "
Mr. Edward said and cut the call. He put down the phone and sat down adjusting the royal cap on his head. He was on his way to an event but he couldn't go after the news of his missing son reached his ear. His poor son was only 8 years old, he has grown up to that age without a mother and now he was kidnapped. Mr. Edward didn't know where to start from. He called his assistant.
"Sheila!" He shouted
A slender looking lady came in almost immediately "Yes boss"
"Put a call across to the broadcasting station. Tell them that an opposing party member has kidnapped my son and I'd like to hold a small press meeting "
"Okay sir" she said and she left
Mr. Edward sat in the same spot, thinking of where they could've kept his son but couldn't think of anything. He tried to think of anyone in particular who could have done that to him but he couldn't just guess.
Thirty minutes later, Sheila came back inside and said "Sir, The party director is on his way with a few reporters for an interview and told you to get prepared "
"Okay, you can leave "
After she left, Mr. Edward took off his native attire and changed into his suit as he got ready for the interview.
After the reporters were done setting up, Mr. Edward came outside and stepped on the podium
"Good day citizens of Country N, this is Twosie Edward, a senator of the house of assembly "
Silence followed. Then a reporter brought out a question
"We heard a report that your son has gone missing, is that right?"
"Yes, I heard the news this afternoon which is why I need your help in finding my son. He's just a kid" Mr. Edward said, almost at the verge of tears.
"Do you have any idea about who could have kidnapped your son?" Another reporter said
"No I don't, but the only ones against me right now are the opposing party. But they wouldn't dare do that to me, would they?"
He knew provoking the media was the best way he could use to find his son and he was gonna use it .
"I know my methods of campaigning for the next term might have not been pleasing to the opposing party but they didn't have to go far by taking it out on my son. I plead with all of you, if anyone knows the whereabouts of my son, please contact me. I beg all of you in the name of God. May God help us eradicate all evil and corrupt people from Country N "
He bowed and left the podium.
After leaving for his house, a message was sent to his phone. He checked it and saw that it was an attachment. He opened it and saw pictures of his son tied to a pillar and he seemed to be bruised.
An unknown number called him and he picked up immediately
"Hello"
"Seems you've seen son and he's not dead, is he?"
"Who are you? What did you do to my son?"
"Relax, your son is fine, isn't he? You can only endanger him if you do not follow my instructions right now"
"What do you want? I'll do anything, just don't hurt my son"
"Alright, the only thing I want from you is your resignation"
Mr. Edward was perplexed. "My resignation??" He murmured
"Yes, you heard me. I want you to turn in your resignation within 48 hours from now. Your clock's ticking" The person on the other side said and dropped the phone.
After the call ended, Mr. Edward sent the number to someone and told the person to track the number.
"Resign? I can't resign. I've come too far to resign. I'll be running for president in four years so why must I quit now" he thought to himself.
He told his driver to drive to Country N's Information center. On getting there, the person he sent the number to was already working on it.
"Mr. Edward, you're here" David said "You shouldn't have come here by yourself. We're already working on the number you sent "
"Yes, I know but I just want to follow up the process. My son's really precious to me, you know "
"Do not worry sir, we'll locate the person for sure"
One of the guys working called out to David "David, I found it"
David, together with Mr. Edward moved closer. The guy then proceeded "At the time when the call was being made, he was at an abandoned petrol station near the Masori village but after the call ended, the signal was lost meaning he turned the phone off"
"So how can we find him" Mr. Edward asked anxiously
"We'll have to wait for him to turn the phone on again "
"Is there no other way to track the phone "
David asked
"Manually, it's possible but it's going time "
"What do you mean?"
"That means we'd have to deploy some of our men and search the area. Usually, the owner of the phone is going to be within a 3 kilometer radius of the signal area"
Mr. Edward's eyes lit up and said"Let them search the area"
David nodded and then said "You stay here and keep checking if the phone turns on, I'll follow the men to go and search the area"
He then turned to Mr. Edward"Sir, I'll need you to go home and have some rest. Do not worry, we'll do our best to find your son"
The men came out of the building ready to go to the location. Before they left, Mr. Edward said"Whatever it takes, I need you to bring my son back to me "
David nodded and they left.
Soon, they got to the location and everywhere was quiet. There wasn't any sign of a person coming to the place. They however decided to check the surrounding places. Meanwhile, a man in a suit was sitting alone in a room looking at the CCTV footage. He scoffed then dialed a number. Mr. Edward picked up
"Hello " Mr. Edward said
"So you sent people to look for me now, huh?"
"Ummm.....uh.....ummm"
"Keep it. You won't find me or your son until you hand in your resignation letter "
"Why are you doing this? Who sent you?"
You had better call your people back unless you don't want to see your son again"
"Okay, I'll do as you say but pl..."
The line disconnected immediately. He then placed a call to David and asked them to come back.
They couldn't do anything to find the person but they assured the senator that they would keep on searching.
Mr. Edward went home and tried to sleep. He kept tossing on the bed as he couldn't sleep. Finally, he dozed off.
He woke up the next afternoon feeling tired and restless. He had less than 24 hours to turn in his resignation letter which he didn't want to, but he also wanted to see his son as well. He then realized that he had no choice but to submit his resignation letter if he had to see his son.
He wanted to write the letter on the spot but he decided to wait till next day in case the information center could get some more info about the whereabouts of his son.
The next day, he woke up to a text from the kidnapper telling him that he had less than 12 hours to turn in his resignation. He changed into new clothes and headed for his office. His assistant, Sheila, who was in the car was writing the letter on her laptop. He heaved a sigh and shook his head.
"Sheila"
"Yes, boss"
"How much do I have in my accounts in general"
"At least 500 million in each account"
"What about assets?"
"All packed in, sir"
"Are you done with the letter?"
"Almost sir "
"When you're done, let me put my signature on it"
"Alright sir"
The car was silent all the way to the office after that.
On getting there, the party director and some other party members were already waiting for him. Mr. Edward smiled awkwardly and led them to this office. There was silence
"Are you going to tell us what is going on?" One of them spoke up
Mr. Edward smiled and said " I'm here today to drop my resignation letter ".
Just at that moment, Sheila came in with the resignation letter and gave it to Mr. Edward together with a pen. As he was about to sign it, another person spoke up "Are you sure this is the right thing to do? There are other ways to go about this. You don't have to resign. You have the people on your side. You could become president if you contest next term. You're the person the people want. You can't just give away all that now"
Mr. Edward smiled, put down the pen and said "I have also thought about it. I couldn't just give up years of my hard work just because of this little problem but my junior, he's just eight years old. If growing up with a mother wasn't a problem, losing me would be a big problem. I don't want my son to suffer because of me. I can't and won't allow it. So I have to do this"
"So what are you going to do after resigning?" The party director spoke up
"I guess I'll have to put my university degree into account" he paused and then said"I'll let you know when I decide what to do"
He said and then put his signature on the letter and then handed it to the party director.
He stood up , shook hands with everyone and turned around, about to leave. He stopped at the door and said"Please, make sure you broadcast it and let everyone know ". He then walked out of the door and drove home by himself. On getting home, he turned on the TV and waited for the broadcast to start.
Soon the broadcast came and went. Few minutes later, he got a call from the kidnapper
"Hello" he said
"It seems like you really love your son . You're really good at being a father, don't you think so?"
"I've already done what you asked of me. where can I see my son, please"
"No rush. I'll text you an address and I need you to be there in the next twenty minutes or else, you won't have the chance to see your son anymore"
"Okay, I'll be on my way"
"You'd better be"
He said and disconnected the call. Mr Edward picked up his car keys and headed towards the car. The kidnapper sent the address and when he saw it, he was caught off guard. He was asked to come to the outskirt of the city which would usually take about an hour to get there if the roads were clear. He started the car immediately and sped out.
He bustled through the road and didn't even pay attention to the street lights, not until the road safety officers started chasing him, he wasn't paying attention to anything at all. They forced him to stop and queried him. He told them that he was in a hurry and he needed to go. They let him go after fining him. He got to the location but he was six minutes late.
When he got there, the place was empty and he crouched and held his head. Immediately, he got a call from the kidnapper. He picked up immediately
"You're six minutes late"
"I was held up on the road, please can I see my son now?"
" Your son was taken away from there since you didn't arrive on time..... but there's something I can do for you though"
"Please help me with anything, I really want to see my son"
"You'll have to go home and come back here in 3 days. Your son would be here by then"
"What? How can I trust you?"
"You can't trust me so just listen to me, go home and rest then come back later. In 3 days"
Mr. Edward held his head in frustration.
"Okay"
The call disconnected. Mr. Edward looked around and it seemed like someone was really there. He decided to believe the kidnapper, which was bizarre, and come back in three days. He entered his car and went back home.