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When karma decides to turn back on us, it will not only make us regret our past bad deeds, it will make sure we regret our entire lives that we lived on that deed…

*****

The disturbing look of guilt and regret on their faces revealed how confused and worried they are. This moment is becoming the most critical time in their lives; they are totally out of ideas on how to tackle the situation. At this point, they are not even sure whether to be afraid of the scandal or to accept the fact of Isaac’s death. Their main fear is the source of the scandal since their only hunch which is Isaac is confirmed death.

Austin sighed deeply with his face locked in between his legs. He is shedding tears non-stop. It seems the scandal is affecting only him. It is not even enough that his fiancée has called off the wedding; he just received a mail stating that 50% of his clients are taking off their deals from his company. Austin is totally devastated at this period, this situation is affecting his life drastically and it is getting him depressed.

He slowly wiped off his tears as he stared at Sarah who was also sitting on the ground wailing and mentioning Isaac’s name. “We killed him guys. We killed Isaac.” She kept on saying with tears scrolling down her face. This is the moment when the full course of regrets started wailing in her mind. Memories of their lives with Isaac started flashing in her mind. She could remember how a wonderful guy he was, but they sent him to an early grave because of selfishness,

Amir, who was standing by the door with his hands folded, slowly moved closer to them and sighed a little. “I don’t think crying will solve this for us guys, I think we should find a way to end this. We need to find the source of this scandal since it is confirmed that Isaac is dead.” He said as he was staring at them. Ahmad quickly faced him and hissed. “Stop indulging us in your plans Amir. We wouldn’t have been in this situation if we hadn’t followed your selfish plan.” Ahmad yelled while crying.

Amir hissed as he moved closer to where Ahmad was standing. “Don’t you dare pin this on me, I am sure you were as selfish as I was. I never forced you to accept my plans; you should have aborted the mission when you had the chance to.” Amir yelled back as he pushed Ahmad.

Ahmad stormed and pushed Amir. “Stop trying to isolate yourself bitch. We all know you framed Isaac because you were obviously jealous of him. And at this point, I am not even sure of you because I don’t trust you. Who knows if you were the murderer in the first place? Who even knows if you are behind Isaac’s death? And how sure should we be that this scandal is not coming from you? We all know that a desperate bitch like you can do any horrible thing. You have separated lots of serious relationships Amir, so it won’t be a new thing to find you involved in this.” Ahmad shouted looking at Amir.

Amir quickly slapped Ahmad and pinned him to the wall, he was about to slap him again when Ahmad pushed him to the floor. Austin quickly stood between them. Amir, who was still panting on the floor, stood up and faced Ahmad. 

“You can act all innocent you want Ahmad, but we all know that you are also not a saint. You are trying so hard to blame me when we are all guilty here. Have you forgotten that you were the dealer of drugs to the squad? And have you forgotten that Jane was drugged with hard drugs before being raped? Remember those drugs at Jane’s rape scene were only coming from your plugs. So stop pretending to be an innocent man, you are equally a suspect in this.” Amir shouted back looking at Ahmad.

Austin yelled at both of them with a loud voice. “Will you guys stop arguing and let us find a damn solution to this problem? I am tired of hearing you confessing your evil acts.” He shouted with tears on his face. He slowly walked back and sat on the couch as he locked his head in between his laps. “I am honestly regretting it guys. I am honestly regretting this friendship. I just wished I didn’t meet you all. My life would have been easier.” Austin said with a shaky voice.

The doorbell began to ring and Sarah quickly stood up and walked to the door. She ordered some food because she was hungry, she didn’t have any food all day and it is making her dizzy already.  She slowly opened the door and to her surprise, it was not the food delivery service, rather, it was a parcel that was delivered. She collected it and slowly closed back the door as she sluggishly walked into the apartment.

They were all staring at her as she dropped the box. They begin staring at each other wondering what is in the box. Sarah summoned courage and opened the box. She screamed as she saw the contents inside the box. She quickly moved back as she was panting heavily with sweats all over her body. The curious guys quickly moved closer and peeped into the box. Ahmad also screamed as he saw the numerous pictures in the box. They were pictures of them doing drugs at a party. 

“I can’t take this guys, I can’t do this anymore. My brain is already exploding. I am reporting this whole trying to the securities. I would rather die in peace than die of suspense.” Ahmad said as he quickly stood up trying to head out. Austin also stood up and held him back. “Are you out of your mind Ahmad? Do you want to get us killed? What if we get executed for framing Isaac? Do you want to get your future and career at stake?” Austin yelled at Ahmad.

Sarah, who was still on the floor, shouted at Austin. “Just leave the future and career out of this Austin. That was what we did five years ago and it is haunting us now. I don’t think I can also do this. I am seriously exhausted. My mental health is at stake.” Sarah said, crying. 

Amir sighed deeply as he moved to the couch and took a seat. He stared at them for a while before he spoke. “I know you all hate me for bringing up this idea in the first place. I know you all regret following my footsteps. But I want you all to know that I honestly wanted to protect our futures. I wouldn’t have opted for that if I knew it would lead to this critical situation.” Amir said, looking at them.

He slowly stood up as he continued talking. “Right now we are in a dilemma, we are in a critical situation that needs brain boxing. We need to sit, rub minds together and find a way out. The problem at this point is not about the scandal, it is the source; we need to find the source of all these right now. We cannot handle this to the authorities because we will be tagged criminals.” Amir said, looking worried.

Austin sighed as he sat back on the couch. “As much as I hate you Amir, I will have to agree with your plan again. But I will not indulge in shady business with you again. Let’s try finding out the source through legal means.” Austin said, looking at Amir.

Amir giggled a little. “I have some tech friends who are experts when it comes to digging up anonymous accounts, I will have them dig that twitter account for us, let’s hope it works.” Amir said with a pitiful face. Ahmad who was still standing also sighed deeply. “Let’s just hope they succeed because I won’t hesitate to report this to the authorities if anything comes up again.” He said as he stormed off and banged the door to his room behind him.

He quickly walked to his wardrobe and brought out some substances as he started inhaling them. Ahmad is obviously soft hearted and also a drug addict. He is so addicted to drugs that he takes them whenever he is having anything disturbing him. He jumped on his bed as he continued crying while still inhaling the drugs. This feeling kills him as they always remind him of his horrible past…

*****

It was an early Monday morning. Isaac woke up early as he was to resume work at Daniel’s company that very day. He spent his weekend trying to study Kelvin’s works and he is glad that he was able to pick up some things. He was getting ready when Susan knocked on the door. He asked her in and she walked in right away.

She gave him a car key which was given to her by Mr. Emmanuel. “You must try your possible best to fit in that role Isaac, and also try as much as you can to maintain your relationship with Daniel. Remember that he is the opponent you need to make your friend.” She said looking at him.

He collected the key and walked out while she followed him. “I will only try my best Susan. These things are getting more complicated than I imagined. How do you expect me to make him fall in love with me? I am a straight man Susan.” Isaac complained as he opened the brand new car. Susan smiled at him. “You can do it Isaac.” She said as she waved at him and walked back into the house while he drove away…

Daniel was standing at the company’s entrance as he watched Isaac parked his car at the premises. He was totally surprised to see Kelvin by himself. He normally doesn’t drive because he is afraid of speed. He was still looking surprised when he walked out of the car dressed in suits. Daniel stared at him in curiosity; the boy has changed since his return from the states.

Kelvin walked slowly towards him with a smile. “Good morning Dan.” He greeted him with a revealing smile. Daniel couldn’t take his eyes off his face. He smiled back as he held his hands and they walked into the company. “You look very handsome Kelvin; I have never seen you in a suit before. This is your first time right?” Daniel asked, staring at him as they walked.  

Kelvin stammered a bit before he answered. “Well, I had to learn how to wear them in the states, even though they make me suffocate.” He said briefly. That was when he remembered that he shouldn’t have worn suits because the real Kelvin never does that. “Here, I got your favorite coffee prepared for you.” Daniel said as he handed a cup of coffee to Kelvin while they arrived at the office. Kelvin collected the cup with a smile and Daniel smiled back at him.

“So when did you learn how to drive shorty? You normally don’t drive. I remember you always ordered me to drive you around before you left for the states. You even rejected my car gift because you hate driving. What really happened?” Daniel asked as he was sipping his coffee and waiting for Kelvin’s response.

Kelvin was looking confused at the moment as he began scouting for what to reply to him. “Why hasn’t Susan told me about these little details?” He asked himself, still trying to find an answer. “I am waiting shorty, don’t tell me your partner taught you how to do that.” Daniel teased.

Kelvin smiled as he dropped the cup. “Well, I just had to learn, I have no one to drive me around over there so I have to do it myself, besides I am not seeing any person.” He said, stammering. Daniel laughed a little as he also dropped his cup. “Well, at least you didn’t break my heart. I thought you met someone else over there.” He said laughing.

He also laughed a little. “I wonder why you love teasing me Dan. You always do this.” Kelvin said with a worried face. Daniel laughed again as he stretched his hands and patted his hair. “Oh come on shorty, teasing you is really fun and I can’t help myself but to do it.” He said, still laughing.

They were still in the office talking when the door opened. It was Daniel’s personal assistant. “What has happened Elle? Can’t you see I have company?” He yelled at the girl who was looking terrified already. The young girl who was stammering started talking. “I am sorry Mr. Daniel but there is a problem.” She said looking at him as he also stared at her waiting for explanation.

She continued talking while stammering. “Our foreign investors just called in asking for a paper presentation in the next one hour.” She said, looking at him. He giggled as he leaned back on the seat while facing her. “Then what is the problem Elle? I have already prepared that and given it to you to make the presentation, don’t tell me it is not ready?” He asked with a stern face.

Elle adjusted herself. “The presentation is ready Mr. Daniel. The problem is that you are also scheduled to have a meeting with our market investors in the next one hour and we can’t miss any of the two.” She said looking worried. Daniel sighed and kept quiet for a while. “Then call on Sarah to handle the market investors, I am sure she will try.” He said.

Elle who was looking terrified nodded her head in disappointment. “Sarah called in to lay an excuse; I don’t think she can make it to work.” Elle said looking more worried. Daniel quickly stood up on his seat. “This is going to be a bad image on my company’s reputation. I can’t miss any of this chance.” He said looking worried as he kept quiet for a while.

He was still strolling in the office as he turned and faced Kelvin. “You will have to help me out shortly.” He said looking at Kelvin who had his eyes wide open. Daniel moved closer to him and opened a system in front of him. He wrapped his hands around Kelvin while standing behind him trying to show him something in the laptop.

“It is just a business plan presentation Kelvin, you once helped me with that remember? You don’t have to talk much, just buy me time before I finish talking with my foreign investors and I will join you.” He said as he was showing the work plan to Kelvin.

Kelvin was already in a hot seat as he began sweating profusely. The scent coming from Daniel’s body is making him weak and the rate at which he pinned his body on him is making his heart race very fast. He managed to concentrate and looked at the work. It is actually something he can present but right now, his mind is getting distorted by the urgent closeness of Daniel, he is totally confused at this point…

Kelvin’s presentation was successful; he managed to present the business plan successfully to the investors with the help of Elle who was guiding him through. Daniel rushed into the office while Kelvin was wrapping up the meeting and to his surprise, the investors were well convinced and promised to move on with the paperwork for the business. They exchanged pleasantries and he saw them off.

Daniel was very excited because he thought they wouldn’t be convinced with Kelvin’s presentation. He hugged him tightly while praising him. “I think I will let you handle the project Kelvin, you really did a great job there.” Daniel said looking so happy. Kelvin smiled as they walked back to the office. “I just tried my best Dan, you don’t have to exaggerate.” He said with a smile.

Daniel giggled a bit. “You won’t understand Shorty. These contracts are among the top contracts in our labor market, I wouldn’t afford missing anyone among the two. Thank God you came in here today; I wouldn’t have known what to do. The person supposed to handle it in case of emergency is not here and I must punish her. Anyways, thank you my brainbox and I will treat you to your favorite pizza spot.” Daniel said with a smile.

Kelvin smiled back also, he became surprised because he is sure that pizza is not his thing. How would he pretend to like pizza again? Living Kelvin’s life is putting him in hell. They were walking out of the company when a lady rushed to them calling Daniel. “Mr. Daniel, Mr. Daniel.” The lady shouted and they both turned looking at her as she ran towards them from a distance.

Daniel hissed as he saw her coming. “I am disappointed in you Sarah, you knew how important today was but you decided to neglect your duties. What would have been our fate if my cousin wasn’t here?” Daniel yelled at her. Kelvin was surprised to see the pathetic lady who was looking very stressed and worried. Of course she is Sarah, his old friend.

She was panting while she was trying to apologize to Daniel but he is insisting on cutting off her salary. Kelvin quickly stepped in the conversation. “Come on Dan, you heard her complaining about her health. At least you should let it slide since it all went well.” Kelvin said, looking at him with a smile.

Daniel nodded his head and sighed a little. “Okay then, just make sure this doesn’t repeat itself or else I would be furious. And also thank your stars for my cousin.” He said as he grabbed Kelvin’s shoulder. Sarah, who was looking delighted, started thanking Kelvin for his help.

He smiled at her as he offered her his hand for a shake. “I am Kelvin, and I hope it would be wonderful to work with you Sarah.” He said with a smile as she also smiled at him. They exchanged pleasantries and he entered the car together with Daniel while Sarah walked back to her office.

Of course working with Sarah will be an advantage to him because he will get to know what his friends are up to through her. He will have to try his possible best to use her and extort information. He will surely get closer to her and achieve what he wants. “Welcome to hell Sarah. I am sure you will enjoy your stay.” He said to himself with a wicked smile.

He was still thinking when he heard Daniel talking. “When are you visiting the family house Kelvin? Grandpa and everyone are getting angry, it has been past three weeks since you returned and you didn’t check up on any one. I was also angry but I had to calm down and visit you because I couldn’t take it anymore being angry with you.” Daniel said while driving.

Kelvin smiled a little. “I am sorry Dan, I will surely be there during the weekend.” He replied, looking at him. Daniel smiled also. “Then you will be spending the weekend at my apartment right? I have gotten lots of games and movies for you.” He asked with a smile.

Kelvin nodded his head and smiled back wondering why Daniel is being over caring towards him. He sighed slowly thinking what the weekend will be like. It is already getting him confused that Daniel is hitting on him, but he doesn’t seem to be serious about it. The whole situation is just getting him paranoid. He just hopes that he doesn’t blow off their plan…

*****

It was a chilly evening; Amir was driving out to ease himself from the stress of the scandal. He drove to a secret gay bar which he had known for a long time in Lagos. He is not surprised at the changes of the place because it has been a long time since he attended the place. 

He was sitting at the VIP section, sipping a glass of the drink when a young guy of his age walked up to him. He requested to join him and Amir allowed him. The guy smiled and decided to break the silence by introducing himself. “I am Steve.” He said facing Amir with a smile.

Amir, who was getting drunk, already faced him. “I am horny.” He said as he jumped on the guy’s laps and started kissing him aggressively. They continued kissing for a while before he picked him up and walked to the restroom.

It was a rough night and Amir woke up with a very strong headache; he sluggishly opened his eyes and found himself in a strange room. He looked around the room and there was a cup of coffee and a notepad beside the bed. He took the note and read it. “The night was magical, hope to see you soon. Steve.” The note reads.

Amir giggled and took the cup of coffee and began sipping it. “One night stands are meant to happen once Steve. There won’t be another chance.” He said to himself as he managed to get into the bathroom and get a shower. He was getting dressed when he noticed a strange wallet beside his stuff. He opened it and the person on the Identification card is a police officer.

He is shocked that Steve is an officer, an ASP for that matter. It occurred to him that Steve probably picked his wallet and left his own so he could reach him again. “Oh my God.” Amir yelled at himself. “How do I get involved with the police when I am in the middle of this mess?”  He asked himself as he lay back on the bed…

TO BE CONTINUED!

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