CHAPTER SEVEN [A HAUNTED PREDATOR]

The ABC shuttle bus parked in front of a bus stop and its passengers came down. Divine hurriedly secured their bags as the driver offloaded their luggage. Don Pillar took his black shade from his breast pocket and wore them.

"Mr. Pillar, where are we?" Divine asked, sticking close to him.

"This is Exclusive Garden, a very popular place in Owerri city. We will be heading off now to the estate", Don Pillar replied. He flagged down a taxi and they both entered. John admired the beautiful buildings they passed by.

"How do you know much about this city?" Divine asked again.

"I grew up here. I left here fifteen years ago" Don Pillar replied. The taxi stopped in front of the estate and they drove in. After taking a few turns, the car stopped in front of a house. They paid the driver and got down with their luggage.

"Is this our house?"

"Yes"

Divine marveled as he admired the house. Its large pillars were made of bricks and marble. Its fence was painted Grey with a touch of wire at the lower base. The top of the fence was equipped with electric wire and surveillance cameras. This was indeed a fortress. Don Pillar moved to the gate and knocked. A few seconds later, the gate opened and the gate man popped out his head.

"Welcome Mr. Pillar", the gateman said and moved swiftly to carry their luggage. Divine's eyes widened in amazement at the compound well decorated with ornamental flowers and a Transformer molded status. A little girl about the same age as Divine ran out to meet them. Don Pillar picked her up and swung her around with joy. Divine looked amazed. Never had he seen Don Pillar that happy, beaming with smiles.

"Uncle Honor welcome", the little girl said with excitement.

"How are you, Amanda?" Don Pillar asked, setting her down. She quickly faced Divine and frowned.

"You are not my daddy", Amanda said. Where's my daddy?" She noticed the sad expression that engulfed Don Pillar's face. He knew she was talking about Jack. He remembered Don Pillar telling him about Jack's little girl he left behind.

"Daddy is not back yet. He's a little bit too busy". Don Pillar finally replied, with a fake smile.

"Okay", she said and ran back inside.

"Take it easy. Don't hurt yourself", Don Pillar called after her as they marched into the house. Jack was a lover of art because artworks were hung on the wall everywhere. The sitting room was very large. It had an 80'inch wide smart TV on the wall and an air-conditioner. Divine quickly sank into one of the soft cushion chairs to relax. His body ached with pains and his stomach roared with hunger. A woman in her mid-40's entered the living room. She exchanged pleasantries with Don Pillar. Her smile quickly vanished when she asked about Jack and no reply came. She looked at a distracted Amanda playing with her toys. She later introduced herself to Divine.

"Hello little boy, I'm Mrs. Eze. Personal assistant to Don p ", Mrs. Eze said. She knew all about the robbers and had worked with them for a while. Jack had given her instructions and demanded she takes care of his daughter if he or Don Pillar didn't make it.

"Mrs. Eze, do prepare what Divine and I would eat." Don Pillar said. He grabbed the TV remote and switched on the TV to listen to the headlines.

"It's truly a tragic event. About thirty-two police officers were found dead with bullets sprayed over the station. A female officer was the only survivor", the news reporter said out.

"He is a very trained criminal. He's a monster, he has wings and can fly. I'm telling you it's true! Why don't you all believe me?", Angel cried out as they took the microphone from her. Other officers around carried her out.

"I wondered how badly she hurt her head. I feel sorry for her. Meanwhile, the inspector general of police, Chief Obi Akalazu, had pledged one million naira for anyone who provides details of his whereabouts-------"

Don Pillar switched the TV off. He exchanged a look with Mrs. Eze and she nodded.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Security personnel were all in black suits and seated, waiting for the inspector to ascend the stage. The hall was stacked with people from all walks of life, security agents and journalists. Camera lights flicked from every corner of the hall. Reverend Chibuike had finished his sermon on love and forgiveness. He could feel the grief of weeping families and knew his sermon was no goof.

"Let us all surrender our hearts to the eternal ones and trust them to get vengeance for your loved ones. I assure you; Don Pillar will not go scot-free. We must do our part by fasting and praying so the eternal ones will be moved to listen to us", Reverend Chibuike concluded.

The inspector general ascended the stage and thanked Reverend Chibuike as he grabbed the microphone. The whole hall went dead silent.

"Good people of Enugu state. It was such a terrible tragedy that swept across our nation yesterday. These brave heroes all had families and loved ones. My heart aches for their children, spouses and friends they left behind", the inspector said and went quiet for a few seconds. He gnashed his teeth and cleaned his wet eyes.

"I promise you; Don Pillar will not go scot-free. As for the affected family members, you will be heavily compensated. The state will be ready to heed your call for help anytime you need

one. As I'm speaking with you right now, a sum of one million naira has been ordered by the federal government to the families of the affected victims. Your children have been granted a fully funded scholarship by the state government to study in the best school in Enugu state", the inspector concluded. A round of applause invaded the hall with shouting and whistling. A long queue was formed and everyone went around the coffins of their fallen loved one for the last time.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It's been two weeks since the funeral and also the end of the fourteen-day-long prayer and fasting yet no news of Don Pillar was heard. Don Pillar himself kept his movement on a low, wore shades and avoided the public not to risk giving himself away. He had successfully destroyed all the data from the surveillance cameras before leaving the police building that night and so no one had a clue on exactly what he looked like. Only Divine and Mrs. Eze knew who he was and they were an ally. Mrs. Eze was the wife of the late brutal and popular mafia leader. When her husband died, she took over and coordinated her boys, Don Pillar's Boys including Jack, were a subdivision of the mafia she controlled. Mrs. Eze was in her late 40's and lived with Jack and his daughter in their house because she had a thing for Jack. She was really shocked

when she heard Jack was dead. She had advised Don Pillar to lay down and seize every operation and took his best friend's daughter. Don Pillar enrolled Divine in the same school as elite Amanda, after two weeks of them settling down.

"You must protect her at all costs! Do you hear me?" Don Pillar said. "Yes sir ", Divine replied boldly as he was ready for his first day in school. Amanda ran into the living room and

was also ready for school. "Uncle Honor, I'm ready for school. Take us to school", Amanda said, enthusiastically.

Don Pillar smiled and carried her up.

"Let's go get my keys", Don Pillar said, setting her back down. She ran outside with Divine to the car. Don Pillar picked up his keys from his room and was headed out when Mrs. Eze handed him a list.

Weare

''"We are running out of foodstuffs. I want you to fetch those items on the list at the mall after you drop them at school", Mrs. Eze said. He nodded and quickly joined the kids in the car and drove off.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Don Pillar waved goodbye to Amanda and Divine as he drove off to the mall. Minutes later he was walking down the grocery aisle in the mall when he heard his name and froze. He spun around quickly to face twins and a lady.

"Honor. Honor Henry is that you?" Erek called out.

"Jesus! Derek and Erek, even you Tahila" Don Pillar exclaimed. They exchanged hugs individually.

"Tahila, how did you grow up into a fine woman?" Don Pillar said. Her cheeks grew red

"Oh, stop the flattering", Tahila replied

"Wait, are you guys married?". Don Pillar asked. They all laughed out in shock.

"Honor, I know you don't know because of the terrible situation years ago. But Tahila here", Erek grabbed her by the hand and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"Is our sister. We are actually related", Derek completed. Don Pillar's eyes enlarged in disbelief.

"That's an outright lie", Don Pillar protested. "How is that even possible?"

"It's a long story dear. Mom and dad divorced, blah blah blah, you know. In the end, the eternal ones connected us back together. We were just heading to the fast-food section. Pls do tag along'', Erek said. They all advanced towards Mr. Biggie's fast food on the east side of the mall and settled down at an empty table.

"Wow! You guys actually resemble a little ", Don Pillar exclaimed, slowly casting out his disbelief.

"Of course,", they all chorused.

"Can someone connect the dots for me right now", Don Pillar asked. He requested for hamburgers and drinks for everyone because as he was looking, this was going to be a long gist.

"Mom left our father and ran away with us as we were born. Dad had travelled to Egypt for a conference with our sister when she was just two years old and when they came back, they couldn't find us. Mom did everything to hide us from him. Except the eternal ones didn't want that. That's the summary of the whole thing", Derek said, briefly.

"So how are you though? We really were sad after the terrible incident that happened in school and your jail time", Tahila said.

"Everything is good now", Don Pillar smiled weakly. His expression changed as his eyes fixed on Angel at the far end of the mall. He quickly broke eye contact and wore his black hat to hide his face before she made eye contact. She walked past their table and disappeared into the corner.

"What was that all about?" Derek asked. Don Pillar quickly grabbed his items to leave.

"It's nothing much. I have to go quickly. It was nice seeing you guys once again'', he said and walked out.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

A few minutes after getting on the road on heading back, he noticed a black SUV trailing him. The driver of the SUV safely took out his AR-15 and shot at the car's tire when they entered the least traffic route. The Mercedes wagon skidded sideways and tumbled over and over the air with a crash into a traffic light. While upside down in the crashed G-wagon, Don Pillar releases his seatbelt and dropped sharply against the ground. He quickly took a Glock from the compartment in the car and squeezed himself out the broken window. The man from the SUV quickly hopped out, gun in his left arm and a police badge proudly pasted on his black suit. He walked towards crawling and bleeding Don Pillar.

"You are under arrest Don Pillar ", the man pointed a gun at him.

"Where are the rest of your team? You are going to need backup to take this beast down ", Don Pillar spat out blood while crawling away from him. His gun was hidden underneath the long coat he wore. He looked around, taking note of the security cameras on each traffic lights. He totally rejected the idea of showing his powers here. He was not going to let himself get tailed and used as a lab rat by the government

"You are hopeless and helpless. I don't need no team to take you down young man", the officer said, walking slowly behind him, his gun still fixed on his prey. He has received information from Angel about his presence in the mall. Knowing his history of being dangerous and to avoid civilian casualty, she stood down and avoided contact with him. Instead, she let her new army vet partner go after him while she questioned the people he was with.

"You really underestimate me young man", Don Pillar said and spun around with his gun. The officer quickly fired at his arm. The gun slipped away as Don Pillar let out a yell. The officer kicked the gun away from Don Pillar and knocked him out with his gun

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Don Pillar's both hands were bound with shackles of chains as he was unconscious with thick dry blood on his forehead. The cell had no windows and was thick and dark. The metal door clanged open and an officer walked in with a metal bucket full of water and emptied it on Don Pillar.

"Wake up fool", the officer shouted. Don Pillar opened an eyeball and gave an annoyed look.

"Waking someone up is rude, isn't it?" Don Pillar groaned. The officer punched him hard and jerked back in pain. He cursed silently as Don Pillar smiled.

"I'm steel", Don Pillar laughed. He frowned again. "What do you want with me?"

"What do I want with me? As much as I want to snatch the life out of you, I cannot do so until I've extracted all the information I want. It would be wise to cooperate with me young man.... that's if you are even human", the officer said angrily. He held the bullet close to Don Pillar's face.

"Angel is crazy, isn't she? That's what I thought at first until this popped out of your hand where I shot you and the wound instantly healed. What are you?"

"A man of god", Don Pillar laughed and spat at his face. The officer kicked him on his stomach out of anger. He wiped the saliva off his face and moved to a table with well-arranged torturing equipment's.

"Just like old times, isn't it?" Don Pillar gave a loud laugh.

"You and I have no history with each other. You took my brother from me!" The officer held Don Pillar's face with both hands. "You are not indestructible after all. Bullets don't kill you as I have noticed. But you do bleed and feel pain. That's all that matters", the officer said and kicked him again. Don Pillar let out a groan.

"What's your name?" The man asked.

Don Pillar gave no response. He just stared at the already annoyed officer.

"You have to introduce yourself first stupid", Don Pillar finally replied.

"It seems this is the route you want to take", the officer said and walked back to the table, picking up a flask. As he opened the lid, hot steam erupted and escaped. He moved back to Don Pillar with the flask.

"My name is… Martins", the officer said and began pouring the hot water on his right arm.

Don Pillar gave a loud yell.

"Will you talk or do I continue?" He kept pouring. Don Pillar bit his lips as the hot water burnt his skin. The officer stopped as his necklace began to glow.

"Interesting", the officer quickly snatched it off his neck. Don Pillar roared in anger and the whole building shook. His large wings busted out of his back and clapped heavily against each other. He began to levitate in the air, his arms still chained up. The officer smiled.

"Angel wasn't crazy after all. Good thing I'm prepared", the officer quickly opened fire on his body. Bullets ran through his chest as he fell down.

"Bullets can't kill me", Don Pillar said, standing back up. His eyes became dizzy as his body became heavy. He felt his legs go numb as he fell down, his wing shaking.

"You see, I knew Angel wasn't crazy. So, I had an Indian friend who is a spiritualist make special bullets for me. These are not ordinary Bullets. They are cursed Bullets only gotten from the Indians. It won't kill you but it's enough to keep you sedated and weak while I do you a favor and chop those wings off so that you won't have to ever escape again. So, you are real, everyone thought the Indians were crazy for expecting the arrival of a demi angel amongst men", the officer replied and took a machete from the table.

"What are you doing, Don Pillar tried standing back up but he couldn't.

"You won't be able to move until the next ten minutes, which is more than enough for me to get rid of those wings once and for all", the officer approached him. Don Pillar's body shook tremendously as he willed it to stand. He tried recalling his wings back into his body but they wouldn't move.

"Get away from me! Get away from me", Don Pillar screamed out as the officer was inches away from him. The man turned Don Pillar sideways and marched on both wings after stretching them outwards.

''You took something special from me. It's only fair I do the same''

Don Pillar screamed and as the officer raised the machete up and swung it down. Don Pillar's cry echoed throughout the building. Blood gushed out of his back as the officer cut off his wings. Don Pillar felt strong strength and energy leave his body as he passed out. A metal door opened and Angel popped her head inside. She was totally speechless as she saw Martins with a huge large wing in his hands, blood dripping from them.

''You were right Angel'', Martins said.

"The inspector wants to speak to us. He's on the line", Angel managed to voice out. She stole a glance at Don Pillar.

''He's not dead'', Martins said. He immediately followed her behind quickly to the office, shutting the door behind him. They spoke to the inspector over the phone for about ten minutes as the inspector congratulated them on their achievements so far. Angel was about to hang up but didn't get the chance to because a blast shook the entire building.

The SOUND was DEAFENING. Angel caught onto the wall to hold herself while the man fell on the ground. Not a gunshot. This was something much bigger and louder. What the hell had happened? Angel had peeped out the window where the blinds had fallen down, she could see a large fireball and a hole in the wall fence.

"Stay back", Martins warned, getting close to her. "That was a bomb", He added. Her heart was already pounding but that news made it worse.

"Was that Don Pillar?" Angel asked. Martins' eyes widened in disbelief.

"I'm not sure it was Don Pillar. I think it's coming from outside", they are targeting this building all alone", Martins said.

"Who?" Angel asked.

"I don't know. Get under the desk, Martins replied.

"You should too". Though she knew it wouldn't do any good. Martins shook his head.

"Go! I need to check on Don Pillar ", he ordered. Angel did as he said. She scrambled under her desk just as she heard another sound. Not the blast from a second bomb but rather a gunshot.

Then another.

She couldn't be sure, but Angel thought maybe they'd been fired into one of the front windows. The glass was bulletproof resistant, she remembered Martins saying that, but it didn't mean the shots couldn't eventually get through. Martins ran to Don Pillar's cell. He was thrown off his feet by another loud explosion. Everything happened fast. There was a crashing sound behind him, followed by the howl of the secondary alarm. There was another explosion in Don Pillar's holding cell. A hulking-sized man wearing dark-colored camouflage scrambled through the gaping hole and fired his gun on the shackles that held Don Pillar. Don Pillar weakly fell down and the man caught him. Another man on the other side of the broken wall took hold of him and pulled him through.

"Don Pillar!" Martins shouted. And even over the sounds of the continuing shots and alarms, Don Pillar could hear him running towards the cell.

"Quick, get me out of here", Don Pillar said weakly". They jumped and landed on the ground outside the windows. One of them quickly fired shots into the broken wall from where they jumped right before Martins could jump too. Martins ducked in time and took cover as bullets rained through the broken wall. Too many of them. There was a white smoke snaking through the air. Martins peeped and saw where they were taking Don Pillar to. There was a black SUV parked beside a dumpster outside. Bodies of fallen officers were all over the ground. The bomb blasting had taken most of them out.

"Don Pillar!" Martins yelled. The gunmen opened fire again and shot in the direction of Martins' voice. The moment they reached the car, the door flung open and they got in. Martins couldn't believe what was happening. A few moments ago, Don Pillar had been his prisoner and now he was gone. He gnashed his teeth in disbelief as he ran through the hallway.

"What happened? "Angel ran into him.

"They got Don Pillar ", Martins ran past her. He scrambled through what was left of the window and immediately duck right down as the gunmen fired from the SUV. He got a glimpse

of Don Pillar in the SUV, and the gunmen seated beside him. Martins yelled out his name again, only to have another bullet come his way. At least six bullets came his way, pinning him down. From his cover spot, Martins heard a sound he sure didn't want to hear. The roar of the car's engine. He jumped over the broken window and landed next to a dead officer. He quickly ducked behind an armored police van as more bullets came flying. Cursing, he fished through his pocket, found the master key for his Toyota Hilux and managed to get the door open. Not easily, because the gunmen fired more as they drove away. He practically jumped inside once he had opened it. The moment the engine roared to life, he hit the accelerator and followed after the black car. The chase began.

Finally, they reached the edge of the neighborhood, and the black SUV took a turn into the town's park, onto an even more narrow road. Sometime during the past hour or so, rain must have started to fall, and it made the road more slippery. Martins' car went into a skid but he fought to regain control of the Hilux. Ahead of him, the driver of the SUV wasn't so lucky. He could only watch as the car veered hard to the right. The wheels clipped the sidewalk, ricocheting the vehicle to the right. And it slammed into the streetlight. The front end of the car was a tangled mess, and there was steam spewing out of what was left of the engine. He quickly brought his car to a quick halt just a few feet behind the wrecked car and hurried out. He spotted swirling blue and red lights coming up the road behind him. Good, he probably needs backup. Maybe an ambulance too. With his gun fixed tightly to his hand, He approached the car. However, the backdoor opened and someone got out, but not easily. Don Pillar groaned in pain as he fell off the door. One of the gunmen also got out, staggering with a bloody face. He fixed his guns at Martins to fire but Martins had a quicker reflex and fired first. He dropped to the ground, dead. Martins waited for others to come out but they didn't. He could see them all bleeding and unconscious through the broken tinted windows.

"Stay where you are! Put your hands in the air Don Pillar!!" Martins pointed at his groaning, powerless prey. Backups arrived sooner because the road was barricaded with police vehicles. Don Pillar did as he was told. Martins could see his wounds sustained from chopping off his wings were already healed. He quickly took cuffs from a nearby backup officer and slapped them into Don Pillar's hands.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Mrs. Eze hit her fist on the table angrily in the restaurant as she cut the call. Amanda and Divine, along with other people in the restaurant, looked at her terrified.

"It's alright kids", Mrs. Eze kindly reassured them. "We are moving to Europe right now", she got up with them, and her bodyguards led the way as they exited the mall. They walked to the parked three black SUVs.

"It was just a single rescue mission", Mrs Eze whispered as the kids got into the car. She quickly handed a passport to one of her security men.

"Meet us in Romania by next week. Avoid going back to the house. It's been compromised", she said and hopped in the car. The man nodded and thanked her and got into the other car behind them.

"Take us to the airport. We don't want to keep our pilot waiting", Mrs. Eze said. The car roared to life and drove off, others followed behind.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *