THE SERIAL MASK BY MORUFAT AJANI CHAPTER TWENTY

THE SERIAL MASK BY MORUFAT AJANI

CHAPTER TWENTY

After Hanan leaves, Badru bursts into a loud bitter laughter and when he's done, he frowns, watching the way she passes.

He knows for sure Hanan wins and he fails but he will rather die than say it out loud. Instead he’s thinking of ways to deal with her more, sabotage that new work, cut that happiness in her short, and break her confidence.

She warned me? That good for nothing woman warned me never to mess with her anymore when I was just starting. Only if she knows her whole life is mine. How dare she threaten me that she will deal with me mercilessly if I mess with her again? Me? I mean, me?

“And with that rubbish she just spewed out just now, the battle line has just been drawn. I would like to know the lengths she can go to deal with me.”

He looks the way Hanan passes again and smiles evilly.

Hanan. Yes, sure. As you said the last time we met that you will be standing tall in my present while I will be looking for where to hide my face. And yes, you are really standing tall. I can see that. Standing tall in front of me, confident with a new job and fresh start. Good for you, Hanan. Congratulations. Except I can’t breathe watching you do well. You can't except I want you to. You think your boss is your savior. You think he’s your “safe place.” We shall see where that pomposity of yours leads you to.

“And who the hell is that rubbish therapy and why on earth didn't he want to strike a deal to sack that stupid audacious woman? I need to see him. I am sure everyone has a price. I will definitely offer him an amount he won't be able to resist. At this point, I won't mind spending my last kobo to break that woman’s ego into pieces.”

Badru says to himself, thinking about waiting for the therapist inside his car and focuses on the door. Whether he is inside the office or outside, he will definitely catch him at that entrance if he is leaving the office or coming back from wherever he goes.

He gets into his car, slams the door,  puts his head on the steering wheel, and resumes thinking while waiting for the right opportunity to meet Hanan's new boss.

Not long after, Hanan appears from the staircase, walking out of the building. She looks disturbed, holding her bag close as she heads toward the gate. She doesn’t notice Badru because his car is parked discreetly among the others.

But Badru sees her. His face lights up like he just hit the jackpot the moment he sees that he’s leaving the office. His body twitches with excitement. He is watching her, his eyes following her every step until she disappears down the street.

The moment she’s gone far enough, Badru opens his car door quietly, steps out, shuts it without a sound, locks it, and heads straight upstairs.

As Badru reaches the therapy center’s entrance, he squares his shoulders and forces on his usual confident look. He approaches the security guard and says flatly, “I’m here to see the MD.”

The guard nods respectfully and says, “You are Mr Badru right?” Badru furrows his face thinking how did he know his name but he nods anyway.

“Okay sir. The MD is already waiting for you. He tells me to let you in.

Badru is confused. The MD is waiting for me? How? I didn't book an appointment. So how did he know my name or that I am coming? Or is this man mistaken?

He is bothered, many questions are running through his mind but he swallows the urge to ask the security man.

The security man points toward a glass-paneled door down the hallway and says, “Go to the first door, sir.” Badru nods and walk to the office.

As he is approaching the door, he begins to feel nervous but he keeps forcing on the look of confidence.

He knocks at the door and immediately the door opens from the inside.

Standing there is Therapist Akinola Bello.

Seeing him, Badru freezes. His breath catches in his throat. His eyes widen instantly, and his lips part in disbelief.

“Akin?” he stammers, his voice barely a whisper.

Therapist Akinola Bello, Akin smiles, not warmly, not kindly. It’s a slow, devilish smile, one that slices straight through Badru’s gut.

“You are Hanan's boss?” He adds, looking so shocked and somehow scared.

“Yes. It’s me. I hired her. Do you have any problem with that?,” he says, his voice calm, spiteful, smooth, and terrifying. Then suddenly, he puts his hand in his chest like he feels pain there, and says,

“Haan.” He wince like in pain and continues,

“It saddens me that you recognize me immediately like this. Despite how much my looks have changed. You are the first person to recognize me since I changed my look.” A devilish smile is playing on his lips.

Immediately the shock in Badru's mind fades a bit, he takes a step back, wanting to run away but Akin grabs his arm, yanks him inside, and kicks the door shut behind them.

BANG!!!

He slides the lock in place with one smooth motion.

Badru stumbles forward as the door slams shut behind him. His face almost hits the shelf. His eyes are wild with fear now, darting around the office like a trapped animal, looking for where to escape. But unfortunately for him, Akin is already standing between him and the only exit.

Akinola Bello leans casually against the door, his arms folded, eyes cold and gleaming. The smile on his face doesn’t reach his eyes and it is screaming and dangerous. He says,

“Where are you running to? No need to run, Badru. You made it all the way here by yourself, without anyone forcing you. So let's talk.”

“You…You are out of the police cell?. How… did you do it?” Badru stutters, looking extraordinarily shocked.

“So you didn't know? It's unlike you not to monitor my moves and know I am out of a police cell. What changed?”

***

Before Badru comes to the therapy center

Inside the therapy center, Hanan is seated behind the reception desk, working on some intake paperwork when the glass door opens and Akinola Bello walks in. She quickly rises.

“Good morning,” he says calmly, his laptop bag swinging at his side.

“Good morning, sir,” she replies, respectfully but brightly.

“How’s work treating you so far? Hope it’s not too stressful?” Akinola asks, his tone soft,and polite.

“Not at all. It’s exciting, actually.” Hanan smiles.

Akinola nods, satisfied, then walks past her and disappears into his office.

Inside, he hangs his coat, drops his bag gently, and sits. For a moment, he stares blankly at his desk but then his eyes drift toward the glass wall separating him from the reception. He puts his elbow on his table, his hand in his jaw and begins watching Hanan silently, like he is thinking and calculating how to go about her.

After a while, he leans down, unlocks the drawer in his table, and pulls out a thick black scrapbook.

He opens it slowly. Inside the book are photos. Headshots. All arranged in a grid.

The pictures are the victims from the serial k!llings Hanan used to investigate.

One by one, Akinola flips through the photos with a deep unreadable scowl on his face. The photo's headshots are sixteen people in total . Eleven faces are crossed out in red ink. And the remaining five headshots are untouched, but marked with a green check at the bottom corner.

He turns the page again and Hanan’s face shows among the untouched five. Then another page shows Leila’s face.

All five of the “green-marked” are still alive and the first eleven are dead.

He stares at the pictures over again, his fingers resting lightly on the last page. His facial expression hardens, but still unreadable. His jaw tightens as he flips back to the first of the green-marked profiles which is a man. He stares at it for a long time before he shuts the book, puts it back in the drawer, and locks it.

He then lifts his head, looking at the reception and who he sees there makes him freeze at the spot.

Standing at the reception and talking to Hanan, is someone he never expected to see at his office. Badru.

At first, he doubts his eyes. He stands up slowly, squinting through the glass to be sure he is not seeing things. But after a few more seconds of watching him closely, there’s no mistaking it. It’s him. It's Badru.

Akinola’s entire expression changes. He immediately reaches for the blinds of his office window and tilts them shut, hiding himself from view.

What is Badru doing here? Or… have he and Hanan started talking again?

He shakes his head.

No. Never. The Badru I know would never crawl back to Hanan or ever want her back again. But why is he here?

He peeks through a narrow gap in the blinds, and fixes his eyes on them. He can’t hear what they’re saying, but he watches the conversation exchange with burning curiosity. After a while, Hanan stands up and heads outside. And Badru follows her.

The moment they step out, Akinola leaves his office and trails behind them. He stands at a corner nearby, staying hidden, straining his ears to catch their conversation.

When Hanan is returning to her seat inside, Akinola quickly slips behind a hallway column, waiting for her to be fully out of sight. He eyes Badru closely, noticing that he’s still standing there, waiting. And not long after, he enters his car and is still waiting. Not leaving.

Seeing that, Akinola is able to deduce the reason Badru was there. He realizes he’s probably there to strike a deal with whoever Hanan’s boss is so he can sack her. And now he is probably waiting  for an opportunity to see the boss alone without Hanan knowing.

Akinola knew Badru had been sabotaging Hanan and preventing her from finding a job, which was why he decided to offer her one and even raised the salary. He deliberately declined Don’s, Badru's aid, deal because he wanted Badru to come to him personally, to walk in and face him directly. And now, here he is.

With that realization, Akinola lips curl into a tight smile. He nods thrice and walks back to his office.

As Akinola enters the office, Hanan sees him from her desk and panic sweeps over her. She knows she wasn’t at her post when her boss stepped out earlier and for sure he would have noticed she wasn't there. Her voice stammers as she says, “I… I was away for a bit. I went to talk to someone.”

Akinola nods wordlessly and enters his office.

A few minutes later, he calls her in and hands her his card.

“Please help me buy an appointment book,” he says simply.

The task doesn’t make sense to Hanan at all, normally the messenger should be the one to go to such an errand. But Hanan takes the card anyway and leaves the building.

As soon as she’s gone, Akinola calls the security man.

“You’ll have a visitor soon. Mr. Badru. Let him in immediately.” He says.

The reason Akinola sent Hanan an errand is so that Badru can enter the office to see him without worry.

***

After Akin pulled Badru into his office.

“Where are you running to? No need to run, Badru. You made it all the way here by yourself, without anyone forcing you. So let's talk.”

“You…You are out of the police cell. How… did you do it?” Badru stutters, looking extraordinarily shocked.

“So you didn't know? It's unlike you not to monitor my moves and know I am out of the police cell. What changed?”

Now Badru feels like k!lling Don. Don is the one feeding him this kind of information, yet he keeps failing him. Not knowing that Akin is out of prison is another heavy blow, a clear sign that Don isn’t doing a good job anymore. First, he didn't tell Badru on time about Hanan getting a job, and now he doesn’t even know that Akin has been released.

“Akin…Ham…why…” Badru stutters, clearly speechless. He has so many questions roaming in his mind to ask Akin but he can't find his voice. He is in a total shock.

“Calm down, Badru. I will answer each and all your curious questions. Just sit down.” Akin says with the same scary smile. Badru's whole body is shaking.

“A…Akin. Please…I need to go. I will come some other time. I..I…need to be somewhere.” Badru stutters with his voice shaking.

Hearing that, Akin burst into a howling laughter. He talks when Badru is done

“What? Why? Why do you need to come back when you can tell me why you are here now. And I am sure curiosity about how I got out of jail so soon is k!lling you. Calm down, I will tell you. I promise.” Badru brings his shaky hands backwards to stop it from shaking so much. Akin talks again,

“Do you want some tea? I have some good tea.” Akin turns around immediately, not waiting for Badru's response. And as soon as Akin turns around, he frowns deeply.