His Identity

“I won’t allow you to go see the bastard who almost gunned you down”, her father seethed.

Rita hadn’t planned on informing him but she couldn’t keep something like this from him. He deserved to know at least even though they really didn’t see eye to eye on certain issues.

“I need to go Dad, i need to find out other things about this attack. I have a feeling that there’s more to this. Please, I’ll be okay. Remember, it’s a police station and nothing can really go wrong there”, she said.

Lawrence sighed, there was really no arguing with his daughter especially if her mind was already made up.

“Okay, just be careful. Go with Ramirez and at the first sign of trouble, please get out of there”, he said.

“I will, don’t worry about me”, Rita smiled.

She left the house soon, followed closely by Ramirez and three of the security men who all wore frightening looks.

Rita climbed the SUV while Ramirez manned the wheels. There was another escort car behind her and she sighed at her father’s paranoia.

“I’ll stay with you throughout”, Ramirez said.

“Thank you”, Rita said, quietly.

Even though she wanted to argue with him, she couldn’t because his mind was already made up and there was no going back.

They got to the station soon. Ramirez parked Army style incase anything was to ever happen they could make a quick getaway.

Rita walked inside the building, closely followed by the security men who formed a human shield around her. They got to the counter soon and Rita gave the man behind it a polite smile.

“I’m here to see the suspect”, she said.

If the man was surprised, he hid it well. His face was neutral as he stared at the security men who surrounded her.

“I have to seek permission from the higher-ups. Please take your seat, I’ll be back soon”, he said, walking away.

Rita made her way to a set of chairs, taking her seat. The security men stood at strategic corners, their trained eyes scrutinizing the environment.

The policeman came back soon still with that same neutral expression. Rita wondered if he even smiled but she knew that his smile would be limited especially with the kind of job he did.

“Please, come with me”, he said.

Immediately, her security escorts regrouped. One of them stayed back while the remaining two followed her into the interrogating room.

When Rita saw the man that almost took her life, she shuddered. She almost called everything off and was about going back until she decided to brave it. The man appeared leaner than the last time she saw him. His hair was disheveled and his entire body was unkempt. He stared at Rita as she came in with cool dead eyes.

Rita took a seat with Ramirez and the other security agents who stood at strategic corners. They surreptitiously crowded the man in case he tried anything funny.

“Why are you here, haven’t you done enough”, he said with a scratchy voice.

“Mr Stuart, I’m not here to fight you. I’m only here for some answers”, Rita said, calmly.

“I bet you are. I guess daddy didn’t give you the answers you so desired”, he mocked.ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

Rita reigned her temper down, giving the man a disgusted look. She expected him to be sober and still remorseful but it seemed he still had a lot of fight left in him.

“Why did you really come?”, Rita asked.

She could feel the anger pouring out of Ramirez’s body. She knew that he was just holding on to the last shred of patience he had.

“Haven’t I told you or are you suddenly dumb”, he seethed.

“Mind the way you speak to her”, Ramirez growled.

For the first time since she had arrived, the man had a fearful look in his eyes. No doubt, Ramirez had that effect on people.

“Why did you really come?”, she asked again.

“Asides wanting to rule the company, your father did something really bad”, he said.

Rita didn’t know if she could believe him but she reasoned that since he was here, he had no reason to lie.

“What did he do?”, Rita croaked.

“You really don’t want to know”, he said.

“I do, just spit it out”, Rita said.

She was getting more impatient and every minute kept in suspense was eating her up. Deep down, she had a feeling that her father didn’t tell her the whole truth and now, this man just confirmed it.

“Your father caused the death of the other founding members”, he said, finally.

It was as if Rita’s whole world was coming to an end. She swayed on her seat as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. She didn’t want to believe him but knowing who her father was, she had no doubt he was capable of that.

“No.. I don’t believe this”, she croaked.

“I guess he told you they died in a plane crash right?”, he chuckled.

All the colour on her face drained upon hearing this. There was no doubt now that this man was telling the truth.

“But how..?”, she stuttered.

“I don’t know. Maybe daddy could help”, he mocked.

Rita ignored this, focusing on the words he said. She stared at Ramirez but the security man gave no sign that he was affected by this. She stared at the other man but he also gave the same expression.

Suddenly, the place was too hot for her to stay. She stood up abruptly, swaying from the dizziness. It seemed as if more and more secrets concerning the people in her life resurfaced each day.

“Going so soon”, Nicholas chuckled.

“Our meeting here is over. I have nothing else to say to you”, she said.

Nicholas chuckled, rattling the chains that bound his hands together. For a minute, Rita thought he was going to attack her but then, she noticed that it would be impossible as he was literally shackled to the chair.

“Have a nice life Miss Anderson”, he mocked.

“And I hope you rot in jail where you truly belong”, Rita said before making her way out.

The security men followed her out, climbing into the car with her. As they made the journey home, Rita’s mind was filled with everything she had heard.

“Ramirez, don’t tell my parents what you heard”, she said.

The security man nodded, quiet understanding what she meant. It wouldn’t do him good if he ratted out on her especially since he had formed quite a strong bond with her.

Rita knew what to do but she only hoped that none of her plans will bounce back on her.