“I mean, as a Security Officer, how can you assess him?”
“I can attest that he has a good spirit, Boss.”
“It is all right. You can order a piano keyboard for him so that he won’t be bored. Did you get it?”
“Wow! That will be nice,” he responded cheerfully.
“Do you think so?”
“Yes, Boss. He will be delighted. I will do that right away.”
“It is okay.”
After the call, he turned on his ignition.
‘Even the officer is happy because of him. He must be an impressive person. Meeting impressive people at odd places,’ he reasoned as he drove off and headed for the barracks.
He ruminated about how he met his wife and his face beamed with delight.
“God bless the man who rejected her. Otherwise, I would not have met her,” he prayed silently.
Meanwhile, he was already inside the barracks and heading towards Gen. Bailey’s apartment.
At the Military Barracks
Denise got to Gen. Bailey’s apartment at 12:50 PM. He searched for a suitable spot to park his jalopy, which gave him much delight. Initially, he was uncomfortable but whenever he remembered his father’s words, it gave him some confidence.
‘If their grandfathers were a General with a difference, they should show it,’ he said with pride and parked his car at a spot where he could easily drive out whenever he wished to leave.
Subsequently, he got out of his car and walked to the hall in Gen. Bailey’s courtyard, where ninety percent of the Family Heads were seated.
“Good day, My fathers,” he greeted them warmly.
Without caring whether they responded or not, he took his seat. Meanwhile, he had offended some Family Heads without knowing it. When they saw him driving in, they thought that it was Arthur.
Apart from Gen. Bailey, whom he informed that he would not be present at the meeting and that Denise would represent him, which he consented to, others were not aware of that arrangement.
Denise’s offense would have been minimal if he had not driven that armored car to the meeting. To the younger generation, the car was a bucket of bolts but to the older generation, it was a symbol of accomplishment and power. It reminded them, including Gen. Bailey, how their parents failed or died during the World War. To them, Denise came to flaunt his grandfather’s success.
However, they concealed their grudges and responded to his greeting warmly too, “Good day, Son.”
By 1:00 PM, everyone, including Oscar and his wife, were seated, and the meeting began. Now, General Bailey and the secretary, who were sitting on the stage, declared the meeting open.
“It is my pleasure to welcome you all to this emergency meeting.”
“Thank you, our Patriarch,” the Family Heads responded, and Gen. Bailey continued, “Thank you for making time to be present.”
“You are welcome,” they responded and focused on him.
“Without taking your time, I would like to go straight to the point.”
He paused and observed their expressions before he continued, “Oscar, please come over to the stage with your wife and lay your complaint to the house.”
Oscar and his wife walked to the stage and the wife began to narrate her ordeal.
“Thank you all. I got to work on Monday morning, and as I was about to get out of my car, Stephen walked up to me and greeted me. Before I could respond to his greeting, he sprayed a substance on my face. That was the last thing I could remember until I woke up in a strange house.”
Now, the Family Heads murmured among themselves, “This is absurd.”
“This has never happened in this family.”
However, Gen. Bailey cautioned them, “Let’s be quiet, please. So, we can hear her story.”
As expected, they calmed down, and she completed her story amidst sobbing.
“Stop crying, Zoey. Everything will be alright,” her husband pacified her.
Afterward, they walked down from the stage and returned to their seats while the Patriarch sought the opinions of the disgruntled Family Heads.
Meanwhile. Denise had concluded the transaction of the purchase of the piano keyboard for Jude, and he could concentrate. One of them, who was more embittered than the others, spoke after Gen. Bailey permitted him to speak.
“Thank you, our Patriarch, for the opportunity to speak. Why is Stephen not here? I maintain that he should be here to tell us what happened because, from her story, our wives are not safe.”
His opinion caught the attention of other members of the house and they said their opinions one after the other.
Now, Stephen’s Family Head, Mr. Brown Bailey, was ashamed of himself. He was yet to recover from the rude shock he got on Friday about embezzling the money meant for the indigents, and now the case of kidnapping a fellow kinsman’s wife.
Then, another person spoke, “Stephen had caused a lot of embarrassment to this noble family. Our family is well respected in our country. We are represented in all spheres of this nation, and we have notable warriors who have served in the military. No one in this country had broken the honor that Gen. Armand Bailey brought to us during the Second World War. We cannot allow a small boy to tarnish our image. I maintain that he should be ostracized by this family.”
“You are right. Blacklist him,” another person pointed out.
“Yes. Let us hand him over to the authorities.”
“Why is he not here?”
“Why is his phone switched off?”
The majority of the Family Heads supported the last speaker. But Stephen’s Family Head waded into the matter. He raised his hand and waited for the Patriarch to permit him to speak.
“Order,” the provost shouted and they calmed down.
The Patriarch faced Brown and said, “You have the floor, Brown.”
“Thank you, Our Patriarch for conveying this meeting. I have listened to everyone’s opinions and I want to say you are right if you feel the way you do. As for why he is not here, I cannot explain. When I tried his number and discovered that it was switched off, I was scared. I thought he was killed in the explosion until the news said that no life was lost. I don’t know how to reach him right now, but I know that he must be trying to save his head.”