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  Group One was shocked that the fire had started without their complete consent. The operation was getting out of control. Beta One the team leader was furious. He went close to a nearby window and tried his communication device again.

  “Why in the hell in the world would you start the fire without a go-ahead?”

  “Sorry boss. We had communication problems, so we followed your last instruction. We are in the parking lot now waiting for you.”

  People started rushing out from all corners of the building towards the muster point, not too far from the car park. The door of the neonatal unit suddenly burst open with nurses carrying babies running out for safety.

  “There is no way we can identify the second twin with all this commotion,” said Beta Two, who spoke with certainty.

  “We will have to try,” said Beta One.

  Beta Two carried the first twin out of the cot and followed Beta One into the neonatal unit. They tried to push against the rush of people coming from the unit; a fire warden grabbed the arm of Beta One.

  “Please Doctor, evacuate now. We will handle the people inside this unit. Do not endanger your life or those you are primary responsible for.”

  It was hopeless; the advice was objective and reasonable given the circumstances.

  “We have to get out. The cops are on their way; it seems the fire is greater than what we planned. We cannot stay here anymore.”

  Beta One knew that his colleague was right.

  “We will have to make do with this child. Let us go.”

  They followed the fire escape and got out of the building in no time; they walked casually with the baby towards the car park and got into their van unnoticed.

  “We have messed up,” said Beta One. “We won’t be paid in full for this sloppy job.”

  The van began its exit from the hospital area and headed straight to central command. A text came into Beta One’s cell.

  “Abort! Team Alpha has gotten the twins we need,” read the text message.

  “Hey guys, the other team have been successful. We have to return this child back to the hospital.”

  Beta Three exclaimed, “Now we are really messed up. We are not going to be paid for this job.”

  “On the contrary this is a blessing in disguise.” Beta One informed the team that they could claim they finished the job but had to return the children since they were no longer needed. All agreed, but there was only one problem.

  “We cannot go back to the hospital. The place will be crawling with cops at this very moment.”

  Beta One suggested that they take the child to the convent not too far from central command, leave the child at the doorsteps and remove any identification on the child.

  “You can trust the nuns to take care of him. All say ‘yea’ if you agree.”

  Three said ‘yea’ and then they went straight to the convent, then off to central command.

  Azeem was impressed with the effectiveness of the operations; the plan was to take the Uzoma twins to south-eastern Nigeria by road. Alhaji was having a crisis moment; the reality of the situation was becoming clearer. He was having a rethink; Azeem had to cheer him up saying that he had to be a man in today’s world.

  The two team leaders of the Alpha and Beta teams were selected to escort Alhaji and Azeem on the trip to south-eastern Nigeria. It would be a nine-hour journey and the Uzoma twins were oblivious of what was happening; they were just having fun with the food and toys made available to them.

  Alhaji heard the sounds of car horns and knew he was close to the highway. He brought out his mobile phone and there was connectivity with the network provider.

  “Boss. Over here. We had to re-park the cars to get out the road properly.”

  It took Alhaji thirty minutes to get back to his entourage; he was fitter than before so his walk from the shrine was easier and faster.

  “Please guys, straight to the hotel. My flight is for six a.m. tomorrow morning.”

  Chapter 1

  San Francisco, California

  6th June 2015, 8:22 p.m.

  Amy Jones was fifteen years old today. She had a great birthday party during the day. Her best friend, Sandra Gates, had been present throughout and helped in an immense way; it was the kind of party that would be the talk around school for some time to come. Amy’s mum, Jessica, came knocking.

  “Hey Amy, you need to help your kid brother with his homework before you retire for the day.”

  “Come on Mum, let me be. I’m still celebrating.”

  “You can continue chatting with your friends once you are done with Felix. Just help him out and you are free for the night.”

  “Sure. I will be out in a bit.”

  An hour later and Amy was lying down, sleeping peacefully in her bed. Then suddenly, she began to sense movement in the room and wasn’t sure if she was dreaming or if it was real. She opened her eyes briefly and saw the image of a young man at the foot of her bed. She screamed.

  Mr and Mrs Jones woke up from the eerie sounds that came from their daughter’s room. They ran out and got to the front of Amy’s door, it was open and they went straight in. They found Amy standing and staring at her bed. It was stained with blood; she had started her period.

  Her mum had been worried for a while, wondering when she would start bleeding. This was meant to be good news but why the scream? Amy had been coached several times on what to expect when her period began.

  “Baby, you don’t need to be scared. This is only normal when a girl comes of age.”

  “I know Mum, but that is not the issue. I saw a man in the room and he was standing right here at the foot of my bed. It was so real, I could swear he was right here.”

  “Amy, there is no one else in the house. All the doors are locked,” said her father.

  Donald Jones was confident no intruder had come into the house. He tried to convince his daughter that she was only dreaming and that hormones were certain to be rushing through her at this stage of her life.

  The counselling went on and on till Amy was finally convinced that she might have been dreaming. Jessica helped her change her bed sheets while Amy took a quick shower and changed her nightwear.

  As Mr and Mrs Jones were leaving her room after putting Amy back to bed, Donald told his wife that he needed to check the house to be sure there is no one else in it. He grabbed his baseball bat and did a check of all the rooms. He double checked the security alarms and finally returned to his room.

  “Jessica, did you see the expression on Amy’s face? She looked as if she had seen a ghost.”

  “Yeah, it is one of those things that happen to teenagers that can’t be explained. Let’s just hope she doesn’t have any further issues. One thing is for sure, she is a woman now that her period has started.”

  Jessica smiled. “Sure, that was a scary one. Almost three years now and I was getting worried.”

  “You need not be. The doctors said everything was fine and that different girls have their own biological schedule.”

  The next two hours went by peacefully; the entire house was asleep. Then came the second scream.

  The Joneses had always used the Alta Bates Summit Medical Centre; three generations now and the hospital had never failed them. Donald was certain Doctor Albert would return to them at the visitor’s lounge with reassuring information. He was the doctor who had delivered his two children and had all the medical records and history of his family.

  There had never been a situation like this; events for the past four days were disturbingly unprecedented. Amy had not had a good night’s sleep; her experiences at night had got everyone worried.

  Donald had called his father to relate the current status of things to him. The older Jones was petrified and he promised to leave Dallas, Texas to be with his son’s family in exactly twenty days’ time.

  Jessica has been hysterical ever since that very first night; she couldn’t comprehend the facts that lay bare in front of her, was Amy losing her mind? What
would happen in the not too distant future was unknown. She just couldn’t brace herself. All she could do was lean on Donald and hope that Doctor Albert would see them through, as he had always done.

  The Joneses were called into the Medical Director’s office where Doctor Albert and a team of doctors were waiting for them. Doctor Albert quickly got to the crux of the matter.

  “We have good and bad news. The good news is there is no physical biological problem with Amy. She has passed all our tests and we can confirm to you that she is hale and hearty. The bad news is we cannot detect what is wrong. The EEG test shows clear positive signs that there is nothing wrong with her brain. From the look of things, we will have to refer her to another hospital that specialises in this kind of problem.”

  Donald’s expression was blank; he was neither happy nor sad. He had great hopes that this facility would solve the issue. A referral wasn’t a welcome outcome.

  “Mark Schiller is a personal friend,” said Albert. “Our paths have crossed in the past and he comes highly recommended. His track record with issues like this is very professional. Please, here is his business card,” said the Medical Director. “Your daughter is like any other child during the hours she is awake, no experiences at that time. It is when she falls asleep that her experiences occur, so this is obviously outside our facility’s competences.”

  Donald got the subtle message; he had to face reality and follow the right course as directed by these doctors.

  “Thank you all. It is obvious the solution lies somewhere else. I will take your advice and immediately engage the Mark Schiller’s Hospital and their doctors. I believe the practice is run by the founder on this business card.”

  “Exactly,” said Albert. “We have already informed him of your anticipated visit. Please give him a call before you take Amy there.”

  “Certainly, I will do that.”

  Amy went to her parents in the reception area; she was discharged from the hospital. Albert was still talking to Donald; his reassurances were comforting.

  Jessica grabbed Amy and told her everything was fine and that they were going to visit another doctor soon. Amy seemed unperturbed; her excitement was based on the fact that she could go back to school, at least that is what Doctor Albert had assured her.

  “Mum, can I go to school tomorrow? I think I’m fine during the day.”

  “We have to take that up with your dad,” Jessica replied. “He knows best under these circumstances.”

  “I just feel okay and the doctors said I’m okay. Please let me go back to school. It’s been four days now and my friends will wonder what is wrong, especially after my birthday party. I just have to be in school.”

  “Baby, going to school is to improve your education not for socialising. Please set your priorities right. I am not saying you shouldn’t have friends, but learning and studying are the key reasons why you go to school, any other activities are extra-curricular.”

  “All right Mum, I will be more studious, I will even share my completed assignments with you, just encourage Dad to let me go back to school.”

  “We will talk about this later. Let’s go to your dad and get to the car.”

  Doctor Mark Schiller was a man of average height with brown hair and blue eyes. He had over twenty-eight years of experience in psychiatry; he spoke in a low voice but with authority.

  “Donald, we will have to keep your daughter here for some time as we need to witness the experiences she has. I have reviewed the file from Doctor Albert and have come to the conclusion that she will have to stay with us for at least two weeks. After that, I can make my diagnosis and possible solution to this issue.”

  “Anything to get my daughter back to normal. When should we bring her?”

  “Today is ideal. She doesn’t have to go home with you.”

  “But we didn’t come with any extra clothes.”

  “You can bring that tomorrow. We need to see her experiences tonight and begin our strategy for a possible solution.”

  “That sounds great. I will go and inform my wife of this development.”

  “Okay, I will get a nurse to escort you and take Amy to her room.”

  Chapter 2

  South Western Nigeria

  20th June 2015, 10:35 a.m.

  “Kenny, I have told you several times, we have saved enough money for your future university degree in the USA. Why do you insist on going to the UK?” Mr Bode Williams spoke with certainty and conviction.

  His first son was born a twin, but his brother was lost in a hospital fire in north-western Nigeria. There was no trace of what happened to the boy, but the Williamses still named their children with the traditional names associated with twins from their part of the country, Taiye and Kehinde. Although Taiye was born first, the tradition recognises Kehinde as the older child as it is believed that Kehinde sent Taiye into the world to see if it was safe for the other twin to come out.

  Kenny was fascinated with English soccer. His favourite club was Newcastle United FC and he was ready to pay any price to be in England for his university degree in three years when he is old enough, officially through with secondary school and had passed all the entrance exams.

  “Come to think of it,” said Bode, “there is a saying that goes thus what a child will climb a tree to see, an elder will see more and better while sitting down. You just have to take my lead on this one.”

  “Dad, we are in the jet age. Gone are the days when parents dictate the future of their children. You should let me plan my life the way I want it.”

  Mrs Toun Williams came into the living room at the right time. “I see you boys are at it again.”

  “You need to talk to your son,” said Bode. He was furious and couldn’t understand how a game of soccer was changing the younger generation. The fascination and obsession were unbelievable.

  “Bode, I have told you time without number, we need to move with the era. Kids of today need to be coaxed, not forced into doing things.”

  “This is what is eroding our culture as a people. How can we expect a preservation of the norm when kids of nowadays just want to have fun, without doing any work? We have to instil discipline into this boy so his siblings will learn right.”

  “I agree, but the boy has been doing fine all this while with good grades in school and sound social character. His love for soccer can be compared to your own love for chess.” Toun was emphatic.

  “I can see your natural mother’s love has clouded your judgement. How can you explain the choice of a UK university over the USA?”

  “Don’t worry, Kenny will adjust at the right time, isn’t that right boy?” his mother queried.

  “I really don’t know what to say at this time,” said Kenny looking dismal.

  “I am sure a compromise can be reached. Why don’t we all wait till then before we have this discussion? I am sure things will be much clearer in the future.”

  “You see Bode, Kenny knows his onions,” his mother said with a smile.

  At school on Monday, Kenny approached the Students’ Counsellor. He needed advice on how to prepare for the final exams next year. He had been a diligent student so far and wanted guidance on the kind of scope he needed to pass with top grades. The final exams have always worried the students; the average grades for the past seven sessions had been poor.

  “Miss Coker, always a pleasure to see you.”

  “The feeling is the same here, boy. In fact, I was going to call for you later in the week.”

  “Whoa, that’s some coincidence,” said Kenny. “Why don’t you go first since you had me in your plans?”

  “Okay, that sounds fine. Your father wants the school to guide you when choosing a course to study in the university. It is only proper that we start planning now, so you can build on the necessary areas for your final exams next year.”

  “Great. I also wanted to see you on a similar matter.”

  “Your father is interested in you becoming an engineer, a civil
engineer to be precise. As you know, there should be some succession plan when your father retires from his company and it is only normal you inherit that responsibility.”

  “I am glad this matter is coming up now, but in all honesty, I would prefer the legal profession as I have a strong respect for lawyers.”

  “Kenny, please pay attention, we don’t always get what we want in life. As we grow up, we begin to see life from a different perspective. Your siblings will rely on you in the future as the first son. You must be able to take care of their needs both financially and emotionally, and a sure path to that level of responsibility will be to become the next CEO of Metals Limited.”

  “I am shocked at all this. What of the tenets of this great school? Are you all going to throw that away just to satisfy my parents or has my father made a donation to the school again?”

  “Kenny, please take your time to make your decision. Think of all the responsibilities the future holds for you. After you have had a full grasp of the company, you can then study law as a leisure course for your personal gratification.”

  “I told my father there will be compromise. If I ever choose the engineering course, then I must study in the UK. He can’t have it both ways.”

  “I understand your point. I believe we will all make a sound decision when the time comes.”

  “Thank you for your time Miss Coker. I wish you a wonderful day ahead.”

  Kenny knew he was trapped. He was hoping that his school would support his ambitions, now he had to find another way out before it became too late. He felt he was lucky all this was out in the open at this stage; he will have to think of a new strategy. Gee, some grand old scheming…

  Chapter 3

  Omaha, Nebraska

  22th June 2015, 6:45 p.m.