Brume's Authority

As things stood, Brume was now ready to take on any task just to save his life, and of those close to him. He stood up and addressed the round table, giving them his rules, he was now a boss and had to act as one and assert his authority and he spoke in a way that sent shivers down their spine.

"I know I have to be there when the shipments arrive, to prove myself, but I'll assign 2 others from this table who'd be there also."

"I know what you're trying to do, boss. You want those who threatened and made fun of you when you came to join in to pick up," whispered the manager.

Brume smirked because his manager was so observant.

Those at the round table began to murmur, and object to what they just heard. The side talks began to increase and their voices became louder, so Brume stood up, and every one of them kept quiet.

"You all agree I am in charge, right?" he asked and they all said, "yes" at once.

"You agree that I oversee the distribution of zux in the locale where we all stay?" he asked again and they agreed.

"No more objections, I need 2 people, and the manager will put a call through to those 2 after this gathering."

There were no more objections, he had to make a statement to prove his worth, but deep down, he wasn't comfortable with all of it and from that moment he started to plan a way out, the safest of ways.

-----

Efe and Aisha kept driving around, without saying a word to each other. Both of them kept their attention on the road and avoided looking at each other, as they were both preparing what they'd say to themselves. After about 40 minutes of driving without a direction, Efe drove off the road and parked along the highway.

"What you said about me in front of tor house, did you mean it?"

Aisha couldn't look him in the face or answer the question, her gaze was still on the road ahead.

"You have been one to be lost for words or a person who's shy to talk. Why aren't you answering?"

Aisha turned to look at him and then turned back her attention to the road. She wasn't feeling comfortable all of a sudden, she felt weird she made her feelings known in the heat of the moment, but she had to do it so the drama earlier would be stopped. She help Efe's right hand with her left hand and interlocked it, still with her attention on the road.

"I guess the answer is yes," said Efe.

They kept their fingers interlocked for a few minutes until Efe released his hand, turned on the ignition of the car and drove off, in search of a place they can hang out in.

-----

Nkechi was home alone waiting for Brume's call which didn't come, so she decided to call him. She called severally but he didn't pick up, she was worried that she'd never see him again after all that had happened and as usual, her emotions began to play a role in almost making her cry and Aisha wasn't around to comfort her and she felt trapped.

"If I stay and do nothing, I'd lose him forever," she thought to herself.

She quickly got dressed and ran outside in search of a taxi, found one and told the driver to take her to the Bicycle Palace at Garki.

While the driver was on his way, Nkechi kept on calling Brume but he wasn't answering still, which made her worry the more.

"What if I get there and I don't see him? I don't even know where he lives."

"What's that ma?" asked the taxi driver.

"No, it's nothing. I was talking to myself."

The taxi driver took the longest route to get to the Bicycle Palace, which made Nkechi more impatient, she began to have the urge to ask the driver to switch seats so she could drive. But it wouldn't be the best of ideas because she had never driven a car before, she would only end up damaging the car.

As the thought of her being unable to drive crossed her mind, she began to tap her leg with her fingers, because the number of holdups they'd gotten into was eating into her time.

After enduring the long and frustrating journey, she got to her destination. She ran out of the car immediately after the driver parked, and the driver began to honk at her.

"Excuse me, ma'am, you haven't paid me," said the driver, still honking.

The driver realised she wasn't going to turn around, he came down from his car and ran after her.

Nkechi ran into the reception station and met Ahmed the receptionist, so she asked about Brume, and Ahmed told her he was at a meeting.

"Where in this building is the meeting holding?" asked Nkechi.

"At the basement, why?" replied Ahmed.

"How do I get to the basement?"

"You get there using the elevator, but—,"

Nkechi didn't bother for Ahmed to finish his statement, she ran to the elevator, and as soon as she got there, she was shocked to not see any buttons on it, no way to get the elevator door to open, so she ran back to the reception desk.

"How do I get the door to open?"

"You didn't allow me to finish my sentence. I was saying you can't get in it unless you're an exclusive member, only with a key card can you have access."

"You ran away without paying, that's not right," said the driver raising his voice.

"You are not allowed to cause a scene on this premises, please take it outside," said Ahmed.

"I'm sorry, it's all my fault, how much is it?" asked Nkechi.

"It is 2000 Naira," said the driver.

"That's too much, but I'll pay you that amount because I delayed you. I guess you added an extra amount because of the delay."

Nkechi checked her trouser pockets and there was no money. She observed she didn't come with her purse or bag either, which means there will be no way to pay the driver.

It infuriated the driver the more and he began to rant, causing a scene and Ahmed had to step in and call security.