Ciara left her brother's home quite early as stated the previous night, leaving Herzl behind in his care -she had decided it's only the best her son stays with Dwayne. She has lots on her table to sort out and Gerald, who always fills in her place for Herzl, would be busy as well and there will be no one to look after him.
She had promised to come and get him during the weekend. Herzl wasn't bothered a bit, in fact, he enjoyed the thought of it and wished that weekend never comes.
Ciara got to work and Gerald was already waiting for her arrival, his back resting on the wall few inches from her office's door post. Ciara was a bit taken aback to see him arrived quite earlier than her; he wasn't the type that drops by early.
"I see you beat me to it today, Gerald." She enunciated with a dried tone, unlocking the door. "I'm quite surprised at this since you've never developed such a habit."
As always, his expression was stoic, and his face appeared like he hasn't smiled for ages. "Why are you surprised?" He asked, returning the same vibe as hers. "This is not the first time I arrived this early, I've done this a few times before."
Ciara let out a stifled laughter, slightly amused at the reply. "Those times did not count, Gerald." She plainly cited as she entered her office. Gerald lazily stood straight and followed her in, slowly closing the door behind him. "You did those because you would rather not disappoint Herzl, you did not do them for work."
"Whatever, ma'am." He was almost rolling his eyeballs at her choice of response. "That shouldn't matter anymore -at least, I'm here now; let's just stick to this, I think."
Ciara shrugged her shoulders lightly. "Yeah, right!" She muttered out in reply. "We don't need to drag things out, mostly the ones that aren't necessary and wouldn't help either. I'll just go straight to the point and tell you my reasons for wanting you at my office this early."
"Sure, do." He lazily replied, his voice was dried as if his throat run out of saliva. He is not the type that talks too much, neither does he enjoy long talks, he loves it simple and short. "I do think it's advisable to do that."
Instead of sitting in her usual seat next to her desk, she sat on one of the couches in her office, gesturing to Gerald to have a seat too, but he slowly shook his head in declination.
"Don'tworry, I'm good with resting my back on the wall." He told her in reply. "It's too early for me to sit and talk, it'll only delay and stretch the conversation out."
"I see..."She mouthed slowly and cleared her throat lightly before she began with her explanation. "The thing is, one of my uncles paid Dwayne a visit yesterday, that was the reason I left work early. He messaged and told me it's something important and urgent, but I was shock to see Ferdinand of all people."
"Ferdinand, hmm..."Gerald creased his brows as he vocalized those words like he was trying to recall important details. "Isn't it the same person who had planned to kill you years back, but you managed to get away without even you knowing about his hideous plan?"
"Yes, he is the same person. I see you remembered each of my uncles fortheir atrocities, don't you?" She was bemused, and it was reflecting clearly in her voice.
"Yeah, right! That's the best way to remember bad guys like your uncles." He enunciated with a slight shoulders shrug. "Too bad they aren't even young men but oldies. But why did Ferd visit? Do you get to know his reasons behind it?" "No, I have no idea yet and this is enough to stir my system and keep me restless, my curiosity is at it peak already; I wish I was able to read his mind and know his reasons behind it." Ciara uttered with a bothered expression, his voice was sounding restless.
"This is terrible, ma'am." Gerald uttered, taking in a deep sigh, and his brows were also etched with deep worry and concern. "I saw him at the city pharmacy two days ago, I wondered what he was doing there and if it was anywhere related to the impromptu visit of his."
Ciara was interested in Gerald's last sentence. "Why would he go to a pharmacy?" She asked in reply, rhetorically though, since Gerald himself wasn't it sure of his reasons behind it. "There is no way he went there to get drugs for uncle Kent, the hospital would take care of him. Right?"
"Yeah, I know, right?" Gerald cited, shrugging his shoulders. "Well, to me, he doesn't seem like someone who went there to get drugs or other medications."
Ciara was confused, and it was reflecting on her face. "What do you mean?" She demanded sharply.
"If he had gone there for drugs, he would be holding them in his hands, right? Since the pharmacist would have them packaged for him." He said in explanation, threading and picking his words slowly. "-but instead, he was forcing something into his pant pocket when he was coming out; I did not get to know what it was, though."
Ciara felt disappointed at Gerald's explanation. "Why didn't you tell me about this earlier, eh, Gerald?" Her voice was laced with demand, and it wasn't sounding pleasing either! "Why are you just telling me this?"
"I'm sorry, I felt like it wasn't vital -and I did not know he would be paying you guys a visit this soon." He uttered in a low tone, his voice was barely escaping a whisper. "I'm so sorry if you feel disappointed because of this."
Ciara sighed deeply, rubbing her temples constantly, her facial expression was also far from calm. She was troubled greatly even without knowing the reason for the cause of it -not knowing what next move her uncles were planning was enough to stir her system tremendously.
They aren't the type to let off and have a peaceful sleep, she might get killed in her sleep if she does; she has to be watchful and keep her eyes open even in her sleep -but how is she going to do that?
"What is the next move, ma'am?" Gerald suddenly asked, breaking into her train of thoughts. "You can't possibly sit back and watch them with folded arms now that you know they are planning big -even without knowing their plan."
Ciara couldn't count the number of times she had sighed since the beginning of their talk. "That's my main concern now, Gerald." She told him, slowing losing the confidence and authority she had built in her voice over the past few years. "I don't know how to defend myself and my family if I don't know where they are hitting from."
Gerald hissed in clear disappointment. "Is this coming from you, Ms. Fellers?" He asked in a bemused tone. "Are you supposed to know where they are hitting from before jumping into actions? Aren't you supposed to take the lead forcefully and make them meet you at the finish point, do you want them to win the race against you?"
Ciara thought for a while. Gerald is right, she is not supposed to keep playing the hide and seek game with them when she can take the lead.
After minutes of thorough thinking, she finally decided to announce her plan. "Before today runs out, have Ferdinand kidnapped..."
"What...？!"