Chapter nine
Two promising lovers, Emeka and Veronica were enjoying themselves at the beautiful Lekki Beach on a Saturday afternoon. Vero had told Mama Adaobi that she was going for a job interview earlier in the morning. Unknown to the lovebirds, danger lurked around the corner.
The duo were smooching and cooing sweet nothings into each other’s ears, unaware of the treacherous and dangerous moves of Kunle, a.k.a. Cobra and his gang of thugs, who had been spying on them for the past forty minutes, waiting for the right time to strike. Still unmindful of the approaching danger the lovers continued their tete-a-tete, giggling and laughing.
“Ever since you walked into my life, “Emeka said, “It has been nothing but true love. Vero, I’m on fire with passion! I will walk on water and through the mountain for you. Mine is a love that will stand the test of time, logic and all circumstances. I will hold your tender hands when you are sick and laugh with you when you are happy.”
“Oh! Emeka” She said softly, “Nothing compares to your ever flourishing love that would always take me to the highest plane when I’m at my lowest ebb”
“I just got to say this, Veronica” Emeka continued, “You’re the one that fills me with deep, undiluted feelings of joy, desire and love. Your charm is something beyond physical comprehension, it’s celestial and cherubic, I must confess! I’ll love you always. Your presence in the morning, afternoon or evening makes my day beautiful!
Just as Emeka was about planting a fervent kiss on the lips of Veronica, he got a violent slap on his right cheek. He was dazed.
“What!” he screamed, “Who the hell are you?” He uttered with bloodshot eyes and staggered up, fidgeting and sweating.
“Ha...ha…ha…!” Kunle laughed grotesquely and threatened, “Perhaps you don’t know me but I know you very, very well. You’re my rival. You are dating a lady after my heart and you will pay today for loving her. I swear! You would have been dead now, if Obinna didn’t plead for your life”
“But…there must be a mistake somewhere. Obinna just left here about ten minutes ago. He is a bosom friend, how did you get to know him? Emeka tried to understand, while hiding his surprise. In a jiffy about five hefty thugs descended on Emeka and started punching and pounding here and there with their hard fists against him like boiled yam in a mortar being crushed with a pestle.
No! No!! No!!! Veronica screamed, “Don’t beat him again. Please, don’t kill him. I beg you in God’s name, don’t kill him!” She started crying and shedding tears of sorrow. After so much cudgeling and bashing for close to ten minutes, the hoodlums moved back a little and watched him writhe in his pool of blood. Other picnickers at the beach took to their heels for fear of attack by the hoodlums.
The fact was that Vero could remember the face of Kunle as one of the young men who always admired her. Mama Adaobi had always warned her about Kunle. But Vero never had the slightest love for the young man. They had only gone for a date once. Vero remembered the tattoo and emblem of the panther secret cult on of kunle’s right shoulder while they were on a bed.
However, in a split second she wondered where the present horrifying drama would end. She was afraid of the consequences. How did Kunle find out that she was at the beach with her sweetheart? Vero had graduated and had successfully completed her National Youth Service (NYSC) and was now looking forward to a good job. She had begun dating Emeka way back in her undergraduate days. Emeka was more than a boyfriend, he was her fiancé. What in heaven’s name would happen if these social miscreants kill my fiancé? She asked herself, so many questions but no answer. As she was regaining control from her sudden flight of thoughts and melancholy, the hoodlums prepared for another attack on the helpless and hapless Emeka. Kunle bent down and grabbed the almost lifeless young man and sputtered:
“Hey…Emeka, you don’t mess around or play with the head of a deadly cobra! Do you know why I am called the cobra? I assure you, you will pay with your life if you don’t leave my girl. I have drunk the lion’s blood. I have chewed the crocodile’s teeth! The venom of viper does nothing to the back of the tortoise! The ocean never dries! The lagoon never dries! I have swallowed the poisonous fangs of the puff adder. Nothing scares me. I will make you a potion, and you will walk at ease into a refuge of roaches! I am the master of coincidence. The sight of blood makes me happy and excited!”
It is unbelievable how Kunle trailed Vero and Emeka to the Beach. Kunle lived in the notorious ghetto of Mushin and was a never-do-well and a dullard who was rusticated from the university due to his bad, unwholesome and ungodly ways. His body, particularly his face bore the scars of many years of physical attacks which showed him as a seasoned gangster and a thug. But funny enough, he had a secret passion for Veronica and imagined himself as her would-be husband even though she had not accepted his warped intention. Sadly though, Vero would not have fancied such a queer human being although she once gave him a date. She saw herself as being too polished; too academically inclined and beautiful to have such a beastly character as Kunle for a fiancé. She came from a decent home, though her manners were not superb. Her wayward lifestyle is still a mystery to fathom.
For Emeka, she was a perfect lady, virtuous, deeply unassuming and courteous. Also he always thought of her as well-cultured and God-fearing. It was impossible for him not to love her. Her eyes, her smile, sense of humour, and everything were unique. She was so perfect and on the other hand, the man in question, Emeka was a young man of great wealth. He was a ladies’ man any day. He was tall, good-looking and handsome and had a light-skin that could make any girl swoon with love not to mention his uncommon impeccable brain and brawn.
As the assault on Emeka continued, he hiccupped thrice and coughed out blood from his mouth, and then fainted and went into coma. Kunle turned towards Veronica.
“Now, to have you in my arms is my ultimate dream and ambition,” he said in a guttural tone, baring his big, brown and dirty teeth. She screamed, when she saw the monster-like young men coming towards her. She collapsed the next minute and fainted.
Kunle and his gang moved towards her with the intention of raping her in spite of the fact that she had fainted. But just then they heard the siren of a police van; they turned and took to their heels. They ran in different directions, like mad and deranged men escaping from the long arm of the law.