Previously:

CHAPTER ONE.

CHAPTER TWO.

CHAPTER THREE.

CHAPTER FOUR.

CHAPTER FIVE.

CHAPTER SIX

Chapter Seven

Ike’s death has been shrouded in mystery, at least in Chika’s view. She lost her dear husband a couple of years ago and she still can’t get over him. The image of their last meeting continues to play in her mind.

It was a normal Thursday evening. Not really… It was a special Thursday evening at the National Intelligence headquarters on Pirro’s lane. That didn’t come out right either… It was an awesome day for two special people that work together at the National Intelligence headquarters. Yes… that’s the best way to put it. For the entire day, these two lovebirds have texted themselves while remaining undistracted from their high profile jobs. Their jobs are pretty sensitive if you really think about it. On them depend the Intelligence and so, the security of the entire national infrastructure.  So, to think that they’ll be exchanging texts like the one below is absurd… or is it not?

Anyway, it was the anniversary, not of their wedding but the meeting anniversary of Chika and Ike. This beautiful family that is blessed with a son called Ebuka celebrates every moment. From birthdays to the first days of the month, from the day of giving their life to Jesus Christ to their wedding anniversary. But as written above, they also celebrate the first day they met several years ago under a tree. 

At home, they made it an unwritten rule to celebrate every win, no matter how tiny that may seem. No win, no progress, no promotion, no medal was seen as insignificant. Life itself is a great gift from God, why not live each day celebrating life and reminding yourself that the gift won’t be here eternally. 

Saturday will be their wedding anniversary, so they decided to begin the celebration today. After all, although the day of their wedding fell on a Saturday, the date was today. Ike, as usual, never misses a moment to remind Chika how internally and externally gorgeous she is. It’s become a lifestyle for him to make sure that Chika is always happy no matter how bad his day may be going. 

In his words, ‘when your woman is happy, even the spirit of sadness cannot penetrate. There is nothing as powerful as a happy woman… standing in front of the man.’ To think that this quote is actually inscribed on a 50cm by 50cm frame hanging behind Ike’s desk is hilarious. But to know that the same inscription is actually his ring tone for every call he receives is just… more than hilarious. But hey, that’s Ike’s philosophy and as the Holy Scriptures say (paraphrasing), ‘Ike has chosen this way and none can take it from him.’  

‘Hi Miss Chi, it’s me, Master D. How are you doing? Still working?’ Ike texts Chika

‘Hi Master D. It’s me, Miss C. I’m doing great? How about you? I’m just putting some finishing touches on my shoelace while waiting for you 🙂

‘This dinner will really be special.’ He continues

‘Yep. I’ve been getting ready since Monday. It’s been a while, my love.’

‘ Hmmm… Myself, I’ve been getting ready for two weeks now ;)’

‘That’s not true. You don’t even have any special clothes for tonight. I’m sure you’ll still be on that pink t-shirt… lol’ Chika teases him. 

‘Hahaha… Don’t be too sure Darling. You know I can always pull surprises on you when I want to.’

‘Oh yes, and I’ll be excited to see the surprises you’ve packaged for tonight and in the coming days.’

‘Fair enough. But I’ll still be wearing the pink shirt tonight. Just for tonight…lol’ Ike adds. 

‘Hahaha, I knew it, Babe. I knew you were still going to wear that particular shirt. Anyway, I’m not tired of seeing my Sweetheart in them. *winks.’

‘Hmmm… I actually plan on wearing the same pair of  pink trousers.’

‘Complete pink? Nnaa, you’ll never change. You’ve basically worn this same outfit for five consecutive years… five consecutive meeting anniversaries. Who does that? hahaha.’

‘Well, I’ll never forget the day I met you under that shade on a warm afternoon. Just like I’ll never forget the day you agreed to spend the rest of your life with this stubborn boy. That’s why I always love to wear that outfit on special days like this.’

‘*blushing… I know Nnam. I’ll never forget the day I saw this crazy but innocent boy under the tree pretending to revise for exams… lol,’ Chika adds

‘And you pretended to be resting on the bench too… hahaha’

‘Well, I was there before you, remember?’ Chika winks 

‘Yeah, but you stopped resting the moment you saw me. :)’

‘Hahahaha… Fair enough.’

‘I will forever love you Nkem.’

‘I will forever love you more Nnem.’

‘But there’s a new item of clothing though ;)’  Ike chips in.

‘And what is that? A black belt or a green muffler? lol..’

‘Hmmm… a black pair of shoes. 

‘A black pair of shoes? Finally, the man I loved that year has decided to add some spice to his delicious meal. *winks’ 

‘So, Nnem, guess which?’ Ike asks.

‘Hmmm… I can’t tell. You know I’m not good at guesses. A moment Darling, I need to submit a file to the Director. I’ll be back shortly.’

‘Ok Darling. But must you go now? How about your secretary?’

‘Nkem it seems you’ve forgotten that we’re at work… haha..And when did I get a personal secretary? It’s people like you that have secretaries naa. Job seekers under probation like us don’t… lol’ Chika teases him.

‘Hahaha… well, I can ask for an exchange. My secretary becomes your secretary, while yours becomes mine… *winks’

‘No way. You think I don’t know that she’s been looking at you somehow for some time now. Nope, you’ll stay with your male secretary and I’ll stay with mine… lol’

‘Okay. Please go meet the Director; I don’t want any queries. *winks’

‘Ok. I love you.’

‘I love you more.’

Chika dashes out to submit some reports to the Director. They’re intelligence reports she gathered on the recent cyberattacks suspected to come from Zumkin. The attacker hacked into the systems of some government agencies and leaked several classified information to the press. 

The Director was just concluding a meeting when Chika arrived. He quickly concludes and asks Chika in. They both discussed the findings and agreed on the necessary steps to take to curtail the damage. A spokesperson for the National Intelligence will address the press that evening while some of the agents involved in a covert operation in Zumkin will be reassigned as their identities have been leaked. 

At the end of the meeting, Chika returns to her office to tidy up with some of these assignments seeing she won’t be at the office for some days. 

‘Hey D, I’m back and done with the assignments. Now tell me the black shoes… Oh, wait! Please tell me the black shoes are the ones I got you last month.’

‘Hmmm… Yes, my sweet Darling, those exact ones.’ Ike replies. 

‘Wow! I thought you never liked them. I was even planning on returning them when we come back from holidays.’ Chika exclaimed. 

‘Return? I like them. I just didn’t want to wear them except for a special occasion. And here is that special occasion. *smiles’

‘Now, get your behind to my office so we can go home. Ebuka will be waiting for us while we’re here chatting like kids.’ Chika replies.

‘Well, I don’t have issues being a kid… a grown kid anyway… and only with you *winks’

‘Yeah, you’re my grown man kid… my puppy, my doll.’

‘I love my Sweetheart. *hearts’ Ike writes. 

‘I love you more, my Honeypie *kisses’

Ike had just finished from his office on the third floor and was headed for Chika’s office when he got a call from the FBI headquarters that he was urgently needed. Ike had to immediately cancel his scheduled evening engagement with his wife and young child, and together with his driver went to the FBI headquarters. 

This isn’t the first time Ike has had to cancel his evening routine with his family because of work, and although it can be quite difficult sometimes, Chika always understands. A few times Chika has also had to postpone her return home for office engagements. They both work at the National Intelligence, although in different offices, so, they understood their schedules quite well. They’ve come to understand that this is how things will go for some years until they get to a point in their career where they determine their schedules to a great percentage.

While it has always been Chika’s dream to follow the footprint of Dede, her father, in the military, Ike never dreamt of working any way close to the Military, Intelligence or Armed forces in general. He was just a young chap that was interested in numbers, data analytics and artificial intelligence. He always dreamed of building the next IBM or at least a corporation that would match its glory, together with his university colleagues. So, together with his friends in school, they began on time to work on their craft.

It was during one of the exhibitions at the university that some members of the National Intelligence noticed him and cunningly offered to sponsor his craft. Ike and his colleagues had developed software that could predict human thoughts and behaviour by simply analysing the last three images the person watched. It was an advancement of the work of Sir Arit Jhuv that studied how an individual’s brain encoded recent images, no matter the person’s level of consciousness.  

Ike and his colleagues had no idea in what field their innovation would find application but they were however excited to share their knowledge with the visitors at the annual University Expo. Not many people apart from a few company representatives came to the stand where Ike and friends were playing with their toy. And none of the visitors was that excited to invest in a project that even the developers have no idea of its application. It was only two men that were dressed as though they were off to the beach or some resort, that offered to invest.

Pleasantly surprised by such a show of unfettered interest, Ike and his colleagues agreed to work with them. They wondered whether these investors knew what they were talking about when they offered to invest one hundred million dollars. But curious about the whole thing, and a chance to actually put their innovation to good use, Ike and his colleagues jumped at the opportunity and completed the paperwork. They’d later realise that they were working for the National Intelligence, and their innovation will be used for things they never imagined. 

When Ike got the call that he was needed at the FBI headquarters, he quickly sent a message to Chika to ask for permission. The FBI headquarters is located 5km from their office and if everything goes well and quickly, he’d be home in a few hours to join in the celebration. 

‘I’ve just been called by the FBI Director. Seems I’ll miss dinner with you tonight.’

‘Naa you won’t miss it; you’ll just be a couple of hours late. It’s our anniversary, you know.’ Chika pretends to refuse. 

‘You’re right Nnem, I can’t miss it. I’m coming down immediately, maybe I should say hi before leaving.’

‘Nkem, not maybe. You must kiss me bye before heading to that place.’

‘Alright Darling, see you in a minute. *smiles’

‘I’m waiting, Ikem.’

Ike quickly gets some files into his briefcase and calls his driver to drive out to the street leading to the main entrance. The call was urgent and he knew what that means – there is a problem that needs an urgent solution, and every second counts. 

‘Hi Darling, let me run along, alright? I’ll be with you in a couple of hours’ Ike tells Chika as they both kiss goodbye. 

No one, not even the best of prophets, could have seen what will happen in the next few hours, and that this might be the last kiss between Ike and his sweet wife Chika.

Thanks for reading. Don’t forget to share and see you in the next chapter. God bless you.

AND HERE IS CHAPTER SEVEN BIS