Yoofi stared at the screen of his laptop and what he saw gave him great satisfaction. He was looking at the exact location of the Tablets together with their coordinates, and he had men watching the place the items currently were to look out for who went in and out and to also see who went with them to the final destinations.  He wanted to be sure that he got the kingpin himself instead of his dispensable men.

”Capo would never know what hit him at the appointed time,” he said softly but with steel.

He looked again and saw that all the ten blinking lights, representing the ten tablets were still stationary.  It took a great deal of patience to play the waiting game, he knew. He had earlier cloned the apps onto his phone to enable him to know their positions whether he was at home or not.

It was three days later when the devices were taken away from the transit house to another location.

He viewed their movements on his phone,  while his men kept visual contact.  The items were eventually taken to a shop in the central business area which sold phones and computers with their accessories.  He wondered who that place belonged to. He’ll find out soon enough,  but he knew that it was a tricky one.  They just could have been sold to the shop owner at a ridiculously low price.  With the tracking,  he saw that nine out of the ten tablets had been left at the shop but one of them still seemed to be with the crooks and it showed on the screen as it moved from one location of the city to another.  That revealed to Yoofi that maybe one of the hoodlums had kept one for himself.

”There really is no honour amongst thieves,” he said.

But that could be to his advantage as it could lead them to the kingpin himself.

He called off the visual surveillance to avoid drawing attention to the fact that they were on to them. It was no longer necessary.

He was going to rely solely on the tracking device.

The next day, he went to the shop and saw that it was an upscale phones and computer shop that displayed expensive phones for sale. He saw one of the tablets on display in the New Arrivals section. He went around and looked at the variety of items on display as if he was window shopping. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself or to the real reason he was there.

Satisfied that his items were where he knew them to be, he went home, had a hearty meal, and run a few business rounds. He largely roamed around town as if he hadn’t any care in the world but he was very alert to any unfriendly actions from any quarter. He had already noted where the tenth tablet was. It was at a location in the Nim Borla area. That is a tough neighbourhood and he was very careful in order not to endanger himself or blow his cover.  He just drove away without venturing into the area or snooping around. It wasn’t yet time for that but two things were for sure. Once nine of the tablets were in the shop while one was still with one of the crooks who obviously lived at Nim.

He called detective Inspector Forson, the detective in charge of the case of the poisoned detainees and told him everything.  He had seen him upright and dedicated enough to trust him.  An honest policeman. He was brief and to the point. ”And the stolen tablets were taken to the shop?” Forson said rubbing his palms together.

”Yes. I saw it on my phone,  went to the shop and saw them on display,” he explained and breathed in deeply to catch his breath. ”My problem now is how do we proceed.”

”That’s our job. That is why the police are here for you,” Forson said and assured him of speedy investigations.

”I’ll be waiting for a progress report then,” he said, refraining from telling him of the tenth tablet’s location.

”I’ll call you as soon as something comes in,” Forson assured him and they parted.

Yoofi, a man on a mission, ran a check on the man with the tenth tablets car,  courtesy of his registration number and got his name as Jack Palance. He saw him favour flashy attires and dressed in loud colours. A bit of a dandy. And he always found his way to the red light district,  at least, twice a day, and could always be found with a call girl and they all seemed to be high-class ones.

”Have your time, my padi. The day of reckoning would soon be here,” Yoofi said,  hoping that he’ll soon lead him to the main man.

Inspector Forson did a meticulous job even though Yoofi had prepared the ground well. He was able to, through excellent police work, make a swoop on the phone shop and impounded all nine of the tablets. They arrested the manager claiming that a “Borger” from Europe sold them to him. He was processed for court on a charge of dealing with stolen items. The shop was closed down as the police conducted an audit on everything in the shop to see whether they had proper documentation. As for the man, who sold them, there was no sign of him even though a description of him was in circulation to apprehend him.

”It’s such a shame that we don’t know his name,” Yoofi said when he was briefed by the investigator.

He really liked the detective but he felt that he had gone overboard and had deliberately not revealed Jack Pallance’s name to him as it might make him go underground.  Even as it was now, Jack might lie low as the shop had been busted.

Nevertheless,  he congratulated the policeman and promised to contact him if any information came up.

”And anytime you feel the need to change jobs, look for me,” he said and left, with a box containing the tablets under his arm.

Hardly had he deposited the box home did he receive a phone call from Pam. She invited him over for lunch.

Suddenly,  he saw how hungry he was and drove over to the estates.

She told him she had prepared a special meal for him in appreciation of his immense help.

He knew Rose wasn’t home as she had to go to the mountains as a result of a lead on a story she was covering.

He was intrigued.  He had never seen her cook or even ever seen her assist her sister with cooking and here she was, preparing lunch for him.

He arrived. She with an apron on, led him to the table and dished out the meal. The aromatic scent got him highly salivated and it was his favourite too. Boiled puna yam and kontomire sauce with a lot of meat and even koobi.

He picked a yam and bit into it. He saw that it was harder than his usual preference but he was game. He dipped it into the sauce, scooped the kontomire unto it and ate. He almost spat it out. It had too much salt and too much pepper.  In fact, his mouth was on fire and he quickly raised a glass of water to his lips and drank. He looked up at her and she smiled at him, proudly.  He smiled back at her, not wanting to hurt her feelings with any discouraging comment or change of expression.  He suffered through it but now chewed more on the rock-hard yam and less on the sauce.

”What the hell is this? This girl would kill me o,” he mused and smiled at her praising her on her cooking prowess.

She watched him eat with a worshipful gaze on her face. The food she had so well prepared for him was very much appreciated.

He ate gamely, his stomach bursting from drinking too much water and wondered when he could safely say that he had had enough.

Thankfully,  he had a phone call, and with a deceitfully vexed expression on his face that hid his relief, answered the call, listened, thanked the caller and hung up.

”I have an emergency. Thank you for a wonderful one-in-a-thousand meal,” he said and left,  his mouth burning and his tummy growling.

 

***
”Do you really mean to tell me that you served Yoofi  with this?” Rose shouted almost in tears. She couldn’t believe her ears.

Pam who always refused to cook was saying she had for once cooked.

She looked at the koobi on the plate. Its fins and tail were still intact. She winced with embarrassment and disappointment.

”Yes, I did,” Pam said not understanding Rose.

Rose picked up a piece of the hugely cut yam, found how hard it was, dipped it in the sauce and tasted it. She spat it out at once, scrambled for water and rushed to the sink to rinse her mouth.

”Ohh, Pam why. Do you want to kill Yoofi,” Rose said as she wailed.

”But he enjoyed it o,” Pam replied,  uneasily.

”Too much salt, too much pepper, rock hard yam and stubborn meat. Did you really taste it before you served him?” Rose said, with a defeated droop of her shoulders as tears trickled down her face.

 

 A WEEK LATER

Yoofi had confidence in his ability to expose the Capo. Since he retrieved the tablets, there had been some acts of sabotage on his businesses and all he did was smile. It was no sweat off his nose. From the surveillance placed on Jack Pallance, he had a fair idea of who and what he was against.

”I am not going to strike before I am absolutely sure that my loved ones are well protected and safe. The man he was up against could be viciously dangerous so he wasn’t going to leave anything to chance.  He swore to eliminate that danger once and for all.

”Atinga beyere Atinga. Who born dog.”

By his own estimation, his most loved ones were Rose, Pam, Ursula and her father, his aged Uncle.

There was also the small issue of his own protection.  He had the old Benz serviced and parked in the garage. He bought a Nissan Highlander, custom-made to his specifications. It had armoured body plates, bulletproof windshields. He got his licensed gun well serviced and primed which he tucked under the driving seat. He also had a bulletproof vest, the type favoured by Special Forces.

It was a busy day for him.

He took a nap after a couple of decisive phone calls which ultimately was part of his Family Protection Plan.

 

”Yo Love, can you please come for dinner this evening. Pam wants to tell you something,” Rose called three days later to inform him without giving him any explanation.

 

”Expect me at 6:00 pm sharp, but it’s you I want to see. I miss your wonderful bedmatics,” he said, hoping that Pam wasn’t going to feed him again.

”I miss you too, and as for the bedmatics, we shall see,” she had ended the call in order not to reveal what they had in store for him.

Pam had an apron on, her face flushed and sweaty, obviously from the heat of the kitchen.

”Rose is in her room. Please tell her dinner would be ready in no time,” she said, displaying an uncharacteristic shyness.

Wondering what it all could be, he went into Rose’s room and found her lying on the bed face down with her silky dress pushed all the way up, revealing her elegant thighs. He stopped in his tracks, instantly aroused by her seductive posture.  She turned on her back, looked him in the eye and unhooked one button on the dress to reveal two round braless breasts that strained against the light dress she had on. A sharp hiss escaped from his throat as he saw the raw desire in her eyes.

”Come to Mama for the bedmatics I promised, an appetizer for dinner.”

He needed no further inducements. He went into her arms as if in slow motion. They kissed tenderly and a fierce heat passed over their very beings and fused them in a way that brought forth each other’s vulnerability, need and hunger for each other as they made slow and fulfilling love.

 

***

DINNER TIME

One hour later, they were at the dining table holding hands as Pam went to and fro, setting up the meals on the table and refusing any help from them. For the first time since he first saw her, Pam was not in a talkative mood. She seemed a bit subdued as she arranged the food.

Yoofi,  with the last encounter of food prepared by Pam still fresh on his mind, glazed at Rose with uncertainty and she smiled at him encouragingly and squeezed his hand which was still entwined with hers.

”If you guys are done with your Romeo and Juliet things, I must inform you that dinner is served,” she said, briefly exhibiting a bit of the Pam he knew.

She smiled uncertainly as she dished out the rice and beans stew, fried chicken, grilled fish and gizzard.

Yoofi would have refused to touch his food but for Rose’s wordless look of assurance.

He took a tentative bite, chewed on it, quickly spooned another into his mouth and looked at Pam in amazement.

The sudden relaxed look that fell on her face told him she had been watching him with bated breath.

He smiled kindly at her and complimented her on how amazing her food tasted.

She smiled again, highly relieved that she had passed the test.

As for Rose, she was eating as if her life depended upon it. She filled her plate to the brim, and made appreciative noises as she chewed her way through the feast.

It had been a week of hard work for Pam with the aim of perfecting the fine art of good cooking.

”Be fast otherwise Rose would finish everything on the table,” she told him trying to revert to her old self.

He looked sideways at Rose who unmindful of Pam, was chewing on a chicken thigh having laid aside her cutlery set.

”I believe you are right,” he said with a laugh and also set aside his fork and knife.

”See who is talking now. After your acidic food the other day, you now have the audacity to boast,” Rose said and continued eating.

”Even if that was true, this food you are eating nyafu nyafu like that has more than compensated for that mistake.”

”Don’t worry my beautiful sister-in-law, your cooking is better than that of some people I know,” Yoofi chipped in.

”I won’t mind you jealous people,” Rose told them as she licked her fingers.

Even though it was her idea to give her younger sister cooking lessons, she made no mention of it in the presence of Yoofi.

They had a nice time with Yoofi in the middle as an umpire in their playful comments against the other.

”I can’t believe I ate this much,” Yoofi said when they were relaxing on the sofa as Pam did the dishes refusing any help once again.

”Yeah but I must admit that Pam really surprised me.  She did very well,” she said and he looked at her, falling in love with her all over again.