JONATHAN TOWERS: YVONNE (7) To read the full story (previous parts) go to iamekus.wordpress/2014/11/22/53/ * * * * You are the President’s daughter? Yes. Oh my God! You are supposed to be dead. My sisters are dead. Those were the faces you saw on television. Why didn’t your face appear on television? Because I was with the Secret Service. I had a cover I could not blow. Wow. Secret Service? Fantastic, I said. My father was a good man; I mean he wasn’t perfect but he wanted to do good things. He was a man of the people, I said. Yeah he was. But when you are a man of the people you acquire powerful enemies who want to maintain the status quo; people who would give anything to ensure that their narrow interests are protected. And these guys are in government? They form the majority. I always thought that was a conspiracy theory; that people in government were just incompetent and stupid not selfish. Then think again my friend. The Monday after he was killed, my father was supposed to sign a bill that banned the importation of generators into the country. I read that in the news. He was killed to stop that bill. That’s a pretty strong accusation. She rummaged in her bag and brought out an envelope. She handed it to me. Check it out. I opened it and brought out an A4 sized paper which had a strange emblem at the top. That’s a cheque for ten billion dollars from the Chinese asking that my father not sign the bill, Yvonne said. I looked up at her, my mouth slightly open. Let me guess, he declined. Yes, apparently the first president who had the guts to do that. So they took him down. It wasn’t the Chinese. Who did? Why do you think I am no longer a Secret Service agent and on the run? *** She knew it was going to happen, but what could she do? The park was filled with people laughing as they bought books and took pictures with their favourite authors. She was in the midst of it all, engulfed in the euphoria of literacy. She was like a child on a playground, dazzled by the cheerfulness of life. But she wasn’t present. Her eyes were on the long driveway that led into the park. The President had informed the organisers that he was on his way. *** So you guys did it? Yes. The operation was titled USSR. But I thought the Secret Service was controlled by the president? Well, we bombed our controller. She put the last piece of popcorn into her mouth. Her coke was half-empty. So why didn’t you go to the media? You had evidence. This is not some movie dude. You should know better. You think I’m going to hold a press conference, tell the world that I am a Secret Service agent and that I participated in killing my father and people are going to believe me? And how do the media even work? Do you know that 100 percent of the top media in this country are owned by people in government or who have close ties to government? So you are asking me to walk into the lion’s den? Think again man. What about foreign media? CNN? BBC? You don’t get the gist do you? First I have no solid evidence only what I know. The operation was not documented. Second, I am the president’s daughter. Conflict of interest. Thirdly, my enemies are not just people, but ideas, attitudes. It is not just the government people on the Island that are haunting me and my story; Nigeria as a Third World Country is chasing me. Neo-Colonialism and Cultural Imperialism and Subjugation are hot on my heels. These ideas are owned by western governments and their media. If I call a CNN journalist today, don’t be surprised if the FBI shows up. Should I try it? She brought out a phone and pointed the screen at him. Should I? No no no, he quickly said. I get your point. So? I’m a little bit overwhelmed. I need some moments to digest what I have just heard. Time is one thing we don’t have, she said and gulped down her remaining coke. Then she took notice. Why is there so much quiet. Where is everybody? That’s true, Hymar also noted. Where did they all go? Even the screen beside the counter had gone mute. What remained was the sound of silence. . . . TO BE CONTINUED To read the full story (previous parts) go to iamekus.wordpress/2014/11/22/53/ * * * * Thanks guys for reading. The story will continue in a bit. Meanwhile, encourage me by voting for one of Nigeria’s finest writers alive Hymar David in the ongoing Etisalat Flash Fiction Contest. Visit the link prize.etisalat.ng/dear-john/ and vote. Please. This means a lot to me. Thanks guys. And yes, Jonathan Towers no dey exist oh. This story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any place or person alive or dead na big coincidence. Hehe. Love.
Posted on: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 18:22:48 +0000
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