ACT FOUR
Sekinat's eyes welled with tears, each spoonful of the bland meal falling victim to her involuntary sobs. The Hat Man loomed over her, unyielding, a menacing gun trained on her head. He showed no hint of sympathy, despite having spared her life on numerous occasions before.
As morning broke, casting an unwelcome brightness into the room, Sekinat awoke to an empty chamber. Fear coursed through her veins as she frantically scanned the room's obscurity. Her trembling fingertips finally found the door, but it remained locked, resisting her every effort. Frustration overwhelmed her, and she crumpled to the ground, tears flowing anew. She agonized over the thought of her family's distress over her disappearance. With a tattered khimar, she wiped away her tears and summoned her resolve. Taking a deep breath, she prepared to raise her voice in desperate hope that someone might hear her cries amid the cacophony of noise and commotion echoing throughout the house. She had even heard the ominous report of a gunshot, further deepening her disorientation.
Sekinat moved away from the door, seeking a window, but the room proved devoid of any openings. Panic gripped her heart as she pondered her confinement. Tears welled up once more as she called for help, her voice echoing off the walls until, finally, the door creaked open. Two shadowy figures emerged, locking the door behind them. They advanced toward her menacingly, her pleas falling on deaf ears.
Overwhelmed and terrified, Sekinat was overpowered and thrown onto the bed.
She cried out for help, but they were too powerful to be pushed away. One of them tore her khimar and attempted to undress her.
Black Face 1: (pressing her head towards the bed as he tried to strangle her) "If you don’t cooperate with us, I will drain the life out of you right this instant."
Sekinat: (shivering and panting heavily) "Please, I’m begging you in the name of
Allah! Don’t do this, please… Please, I’m begging you for Allah’s sake, please..." (she cried out bitterly)
Black Face 2: (he slapped her instantly) "When I say shut up, you do so!" (He tore her dress and tried to force himself on her while the second guy held her tight.) "Let’s do what we want, and you will stay alive…"
Sekinat: "Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeee..." (She pleaded in pain as she had almost given up on being saved when blood splashed all over her face instantly. Then she noticed the two of them fell on her, which got her more scared, and she screamed her life out. Then she noticed someone pointing a gun at her, and she realized the rapists were shot by him.)
Hat Man: (confidently putting down his gun and returning it to his pocket) "Flush their bodies down the toilet..." (he ordered his men) "Are you hurt?"
Sekinat: (finally getting hold of herself as her entire body is covered with the blood of the rapists, she squeezed herself in and shivered in fear as she couldn’t believe her eyes and broke down in tears)
Hat Man: (rolled his eyes and finally moved towards her, he noticed her dress was torn, he turned away from her and ordered some of his men to bring in a new dress and hijab for her) "You will be fine! Just hang in there."
One of his men: (bowed and stretched out his hand holding the dresses) "Here, boss!"
Hat Man: (took the dresses and dropped them next to Sekinat’s bed, then signaled the men to excuse them and take the corpses away) "How are you feeling now?" (turned his back to her)
Sekinat: (couldn’t control her tears) "Please, I just want to go home? Please…"
Hat Man: "Go change into this, and here is the hijab we could get for you since I noticed you are a practicing Muslim."
Sekinat: (she hurriedly picked up the dress and paused)
Hat Man: "There is no changing room, so I will excuse you for some minutes to get changed and be alert for any attack." (he dropped one of his guns next to her and exited the room)
Sekinat: (shocked and watched him leave, she couldn’t believe what happened to her a while ago and how life was taken from the rapists in a few seconds without the killer feeling remorse about it. She sadly got down and changed into the dress and put on her 3-quarter hijab and went back to her sleeping spot.)
An hour later, three old women entered her locked room and found her huddled inside.
Old Woman 1: "Awwwnn! Look at her… she is so beautiful." (They moved closer to her, and Sekinat hurriedly picked up the gun and pointed it at them.)
Sekinat: "Who are you people, and what do you want from me?"
Old Woman 2: "Would you look at that? She has learned to be scary too…" Sekinat: (panting heavily as her hands shook) "Please, I don't want any trouble."
Old Woman 3: (she used one of her fingers to put the gun down) "I thought you were going to fire us? But you couldn’t? How disappointing." (She smacked her butt.) "If you want to survive in here, you must be ready for what’s coming, okay?
Now get up, let's show you around! This is your new home."
Sekinat: "Excuse me?"
Old Woman 2: "Yeah, get up!"
Sekinat: "Hell no! This isn’t my home. In fact, I’m going to find all means to escape from here soon. I just need a little time to plan things out. I’m not going to be stuck in here forever, okay? Not for long."
Old Woman 1: "How cute." (The old women gave each other a signal, and immediately they brought out their guns and pointed them at Sekinat.)
Sekinat: (her soul almost flew out of her mouth as her bones weakened instantly)
Old Woman 3: "I think now she is ready to cooperate with us."
Old Woman 1: "I think so too. Make the right decision, kid. Like I said earlier, if you want to survive in here, you must learn how to survive. If you want to escape, well, you can, but only your corpse can escape, not when you are still breathing. Now get your ass down and come with us."
Sekinat: "Okay, ma!" (stammers)
Old Women: "Good girl! Now she is cooperating."
Old Woman 2: "I thought she was going to give us a tough time, but look at that… she didn’t."
Sekinat: (they held her hand while pointing a gun at her face) " please don't kill me".
Sekinat was finally let out of the room, but all she could see was a tunnel. The environment was dark and noisy, and she couldn't see anyone. She found her surroundings creepy and frightening, but she didn't want to upset the three old women as they led her to the next building. The gate was open, and she saw a bustling crowd moving boxes and goods. To her shock, she noticed bags of cocaine stashed in boxes, and her jaw dropped in surprise.
Old Woman 3: "Welcome to your new home and job! If you follow the rules and laws around here, you won't have problems. Come on, let's show you around. This is sections A, B, and C, where cocaine is stored and processed."
Sekinat: (unable to believe her eyes) "But, ma'am… can I ask something?"
Old Women: "Of course, you can."
Sekinat: "What if I expose all of you?" (Immediately, she noticed the men around her giving her deadly looks.)
Old Women: (bursting into laughter)
Old Woman 1: "She is such a funny girl..."
Sekinat: (not finding it funny)
Old Woman: "You know what? I like this girl already. She is open-minded. To answer your question, we willingly showed you all this because we want you to see who we really are and what we really deal with. Trust me, girl, you can't expose us. You wouldn't dare, and you can't. So don't bother unless you want to die early." Sekinat: (scared) "Sorry, ma'am."
Old Woman 1: "Not offended! We are also open-minded." (Despite their tour with her, they didn't remove the gun away from her head.) "Now come with us; we have a lot to show you."
Sekinat: "But who asked you to show me all this?"
Old Women: "Hat Man."
Sekinat: (in her mind) "That same killer? What is he up to this time? To kill me?"
Old Woman 3: "This is our bank! You dare not steal money. Your punishment is death."
Sekinat: (gasping) "That is a lot of money!"
Old Woman 2: "A lot, indeed! You can see it, but you can't touch it or spend it. If you try to, you will wish you had died a long time ago. Now, let's move to the next tour."
Sekinat: "Please, ma'am, I think I have seen enough already! I would like to go
back to my lock room."
Old Woman 3: "Well, if you insist. But that room isn't your permanent room. We are also taking you to your new home, where Hat Man really wants you to be. Now get into the car."
Sekinat: (jaw dropping as she couldn't believe her eyes) "Isn't this a Mercedes Benz?"
Old Women: "We don't know what that is. Just get into the car already."
Sekinat: (they pushed her into the car and joined her) "Where are we going?"
Old Woman 2: "You will know when we get there. Your questions are getting annoying now."
Sekinat: (sadly staring out of the window as she was being held by the old women)
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Sekinat's parents, along with the police and soldiers, were stationed at the junction, desperately trying to uncover any lead that might shed light on their daughter's disappearance. They had also brought Engineer Tunde along for assistance.
D.P.O: "Big brother, are you certain this is the place? There's no trace here."
Alhaji Sulaiman: "The mechanic claimed this is where he found her car. Mr. Tunde, are you sure about this location? We can't find any clues here."
Engr. Tunde: "I can't be certain if this is the exact spot where she was abducted.
However, this is where I came across her car. I don't have any further information."
Alhaja Selimat: (her gaze fixed on the road ahead, searching for any sign) "Then where could she possibly be? My innocent child… I pray she's still alive. The kidnappers haven't reached out to us, and we've heard nothing from her. Each passing day is becoming more terrifying. Alhaji, please, do something. I can't bear to lose our child. Please."
Alhaji Sulaiman: "D.P.O., you and your team aren't performing well. If we were abroad, they would have traced her steps by now. But here in Nigeria, it seems like a total failure. My daughter has been missing for four days, and we still have no leads. It's as if you're doing nothing—absolutely nothing!"
D.P.O: "Big brother, please, calm down. We are conducting a thorough investigation, but we need more time and concrete evidence. She vanished without
a trace, and without communication from her kidnappers, it's challenging to track
her down."
Alhaji Sulaiman: "But there are tracking technologies and devices they use elsewhere. Why don't you have access to such resources? You must take more decisive action soon, or else…"
Alhaja Selimat: (spotting a bracelet on the roadside, she bent down and picked it up) "Wait a moment! Isn't this the bracelet I bought for her last year? Alhaji! Come and see this!"
Alhaji Sulaiman: (examining the bracelet) "Yes, I believe it is. Where did you find it?"
D.P.O: "Alhaja, where did you discover it?"
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Sekinat: (Pushed into a room, her eyes shrouded in darkness by the old women) "Please, may I take this off now?"
Old Women: "We shall meet again, new bride! You may remove it now." (They swiftly shut the door, locking her inside)
Sekinat: (Panicking, she tore off the blindfold and sprinted towards the door) "Please, open the door! Ma'am, don't lock me in again, I'm begging you... Please..." (Their hushed whispers sent shivers down her spine) "I can hear you. Please, open the door..." (Taking in the opulent decor of the room, she fell to her knees, tears streaming down her face) "Please, I don't want to be here. I just want to go home... Please."
An hour later, Sekinat managed to regain some composure. She sat on the bed, her trembling hands clutching the guns provided by the Hat Man, a stark reminder of the perilous situation she was in. Despite the fear and despair that had gripped her for the past four days, she clung to the hope of finding a way to escape. While she lacked a concrete plan, her determination to regain her freedom never wavered.
Hat Man: (Entering the room, he broke the silence) "Hey."
Sekinat: (She raised the gun, aiming it at him)
Hat Man: (With a hint of amusement) "Oh, do you want to shoot me?" (He advanced closer to her)
Sekinat: (Her voice trembling) "Don't take another step, or else I will shoot you in the head!"
Hat Man: (He finally stood before her, the gun's muzzle pressed against his chest) "Go ahead! Shoot me if you can."
Sekinat: (Her hand shaking uncontrollably) "I swear I will shoot you now!"
Hat Man: (Tauntingly) "Come on! Shoot me! What are you waiting for? Be a killer, just this once, and shoot!"
Sekinat: (Panting heavily, her trembling hand clutching the gun) "You think I can't shoot you?"
Hat Man: (Moving so close to her that she could barely breathe) "Well then, do it! Be free once and for all."
Sekinat: (Struggling to maintain composure, she couldn't go through with it and dropped the gun, breaking down in tears) "I only cure, not kill... I'm not a killer like you who doesn't have a conscience."
Hat Man: (Staring at her for a few seconds) "I will go get you something to eat."
Sekinat: (Gasping) "I don't want to eat! I just want to go home... I don't belong here! Just set me free."
Hat Man: (Bringing out his gun and pointing it at her) "You want to be free, right? Well, now I will grant you your wish. Goodbye, woman."
Sekinat: (Falling to her knees) "No! Not this way... Please, don't shoot me, please."
Hat Man: "Maybe if I shoot one of your legs or arms, you will then understand what I've been telling you - that there is no home for you. You are stuck here for the rest of your life. So if you want your freedom again, it's when you are dead. At least your family will see your corpse."
Sekinat: (Clutching her fists, determination in her eyes) "You can't kill me... Do you know why? Because you should have killed me when you had the opportunity, but all you did was save me... So you can't do anything to me."
Hat Man: (Walking up to her again and pointing the gun at her head) "Goodbye, Sakinat."
Sekinat: (Panting heavily, tears in her eyes) "Please."
Hat Man: "When you get to heaven, tell your people I say hi!" (He pulled the trigger)