The sedatives Flora gave me last night really worked, I slept like a baby and I’ve woken up refreshed. I still can’t believe Bishop Marc did that to me yesterday. We may have been lovers before but that was before I got involved with his Son, and I thought No means No. So why didn’t he stop? He’s a savage and villainous, and he will pay for what he did to me. Come to think of it, why am I so disgusted? Bishop and I have done things that were more nasty, and I’ve always loved to be dominated so why do I feel so terrible? I guess the idea of having sex with the father of a man I love is sickening. If that’s the case then why do I still not regret having sex with the man who was married to my mother? It’s the same thing. Will I now blame my sleeping with my step father and loving it on a quest of payback and hatred for my mother or youthful exuberance? Given the chance to go back in time, will I do it again? Probably, because with a mother like mine, there’s no telling.
Flora and I didn’t join join the Bishop’s convoy to church. We go in her car, I guess it’s incase we need to make a get away. I keep whispering to her, asking her what she has planned and she keeps ssshhing me. I don’t know why she won’t let me get involved in the planning of operation ‘Bishop’s destruction’ but she thinks it’s for my own good and the less I know the better for me. I don’t want to pressure her, ofcourse she has her reasons and one of them is to protect me. But who will protect her? The whole scheme is perilous and we don’t know if her brother is still alive, I mean it’s been years and if Savior was alive, he would have contacted her already. I don’t mean to be pessimistic, I wish above all things that Flora reunites with her only family. But let’s face it, there is no way Savior wouldn’t have searched for me. I will like to believe that he loved me, really.
While in the church, Bishop Marc is delivering his sermon as usual. I watch as Flora leaves the church for a while, I’m becoming very nervous and uncomfortable. If only I could tell what she is up to. I wait patiently for her to return. Few minutes later, she returns and sits beside me.
“Everything is going according to plan.” she whispers to me.
“What is?” I ask.
“You’ll see, just be patient.” she replies.
Again, I don’t pressure, I only hope she does not get herself into any kind of trouble. I watch and listen as the Bishop preaches and then finally, he finishes. For some reason, I sigh in relief, nothing bad has happened. In as much as I want the Bishop to pay for all his atrocities, I am scared for Flora and Perry. Everything goes very well which makes me wonder what Flora was up to in the first place because so far, nothing seems out of place. Finally, church service is almost over and we all rise to our feet to sing the closing hymn which appears on the Projector screen.
Right in the middle of the hymn, the large projector screen goes from displaying the words of the song to showing the most shocking thing ever. Lo and behold, the Bishop, on the big projection screen behind the pulpit and all the other ones on each side of the church, naked. I can’t believe it. I was expecting something to happen today, but not this. Everyone in the church is in shock. The Bishop stumbles into his chair grabbing onto his chest. Everyone is talking at the same time so I can’t hear understand what they are saying. On the Screen, Bishop is seen ramming furiously from behind, into a lady who is chained with her hands above her head. She is wearing nothing but a leather knee boot. Bishop Marc has his cock in her pussy and another man’s cock is in her mouth. They are yelling all manner of profanity at her and she seems to be loving it and demanding for more.
“Suck that cock you dirty little whore.” the man with his cock in the lady’s mouth yells.
“You like that? Dirty bitch, take all that cock in your dripping cunt.” Bishop Marc yells.
“Turn that off.”
“What is this? Holy Lord!”
“Get the younger ones of here.”
“Oh my God! Is this a joke.”
By this time the church is in disarray, the loyal guys are running to the system control room, parents are dragging their children out of the building, the elderly are shouting, some members are praying in tears and speaking in tongue. Flora is among those who ran to the system control room. I am standing here like a zombie, with my mouth wide open in shock without any word coming out. I don’t know what to do or what to say. I don’t know why, but I feel so sorry for Bishop Marc. He is not a good man but nobody deserves this type of epic disgrace. Tears well up in my eyes as I see Georgina run to hold her husband who has fallen from his chair to the ground, clutching onto his chest. I think he’s having a heart attack. What is taking them so long to turn off the projector screens? Georgina calls for help and the Bishop is surrounded by his security aides who carry him out of the church and into the car. I walk with them to the car and watch as they drive out of the church premises. It’s a struggle getting back into the church as everyone is trying to get out at the same time. By this time, the projection screens have all been shut down. I see Flora and she is very calm, I wonder how she’s able to pull off the innocent look on her face.
“Flo, what is God’s name just happened?” I query her in the car as we are now on our way home.
“Shhhh, Blondie. Stop talking.” she warns.
“Don’t susshh me Flo. Feel my heart, it’s beating like a marching band.”
Flora pulls the car out of the high way and onto the side, then she orders me to get out of the car. Whenever she does this, I just know she wants to talk about something very serious.
“Listen Blondie, I thought you wanted Bishop Marc destroyed?”
“Don’t mind me Flo, I just didn’t know I will feel this sorry for him. The guy almost died.”
“That would have been better.”
“Common, you don’t mean that. I’ve longed to see him fall from grace, but this was just…….”
“What is your problem? That man may have done something to my brother and he will pay with his blood.”
There’s a fierce look in Flora’s eyes, very intense. I don’t want to argue with her at this time so I just let her vent. Just as we are about to get into the car, Perry pulls over close to us. We wait for him to get out of the car and join us. He does not look too happy and that I can understand.
“Perry, what are you doing here?” I ask.
“I just saw your car so I stopped. Are you guys okay? Is the car faulty?” a concerned Perry asks.
“Yes we are fine. I just wanted to talk to your woman outside the car. You know, for security reasons.
“Okay, I am on my way to St Marc’s hospital. The Bishop was taken there.”
“Is that why you look sad?”
“Not really, I want him to pay for his sins, I want him locked away. I don’t want him to die though. I don’t wish death on anybody. Flora, nice job you did there today. But that is nothing, it will ruin his reputation and he may not be climbing on the alter soon, but it’s not enough to jail him. It was a sex tape and that’s not a criminal offense. Especially when there’s no one to press charges. The woman in the video consented to it.”
“So how will he be put in jail?”
“Leave that to me, I am working on something. I need you girls to relax from now on. No more scheming. It’s really dangerous and Bishop Marc is no fool and no ordinary man. We are up against someone with no scruples. I need you both to be very careful. Flora, I know you need to find out what happened to your brother, but a dead Bishop won’t tell you now, will he? Let me handle it from now on. I don’t want to expose Blessing to any harm, please.”
Perry hugs me and kisses me, then he drives off. Flora and I get into the car and head home. I turn on the TV and what happened today in church is all over the news. People are being interviewed and everyone is disappointed at Bishop Marc. But how is this going to pave way for my freedom? What if he suspects me? I’m really scared.
Later in the evening, we are informed that the Bishop is back home and he has requested to see everyone in his private living room. I am very nervous but I conceal it just like Flora is doing. We all march the into his presence like a bunch of slave, everyone is wearing a sad look on their faces. The Bishop is sitting on a big royal like chair in the room. We all greet him but he does not respond. He stares at all of us for a moment without saying a word, it sure feels like a pregnant second, then he breathes in heavily and exhales before speaking.
“WHEN BETRAYAL EMBRACES YOU, IT’S BECAUSE THE TRAITOR WALKED ALONG WITH YOU.” he yells. Then in a calmer voice, he says, “I only want to know who and why?”
There is an awkward silence in the room, everyone turn to look at each other.
“Why? I know someone here did it. And I will find out who. Who dared to go into my bedroom and pick up something so private? Who? I swear that when I find that person, he or she will pay with their blood and so will their entire family. So I have been dinning with enemies and traitors, because I know that no outsider did it. I will rise, I am a man of religious authority and no idiot can tarnish my image. People love and respect me and it will take more than a sex tape to bring me down.”
I am anxious and sweating so badly, even in the air conditioned room. The look in Bishop Marc’s eyes is ferocious and can make a saint confess to things he didn’t do. Thank heavens he’s not questioning me alone.
“Becca, arrange for a press conference. I know the situation is bad, but we are going to deny it.”
“How, Your Lordship?” Becca asks.
“Ever heard of Photoshop? Ofcourse we will claim that. I will be working with the IT guys tonight, by tomorrow morning there will be sex videos of about 10 prominent men in the country all over the Internet. People have to think it’s a trend and someone is trying to ruin us.”
“Your Lordship, but your voice was heard.”
“What? Are you daft? Everything can be photo shopped. Fortunately, the video of me is not on the Internet so there is no way for people to cross check it. I will tell you how we will go about this later. I don’t want to divulge every info in front of traitors! Now all of you, get out. And pray hard that you make heaven because any breath hence forth may be your last!”
We march out like a bunch of colonial slaves without saying a word. I am scared out of my mind, if he investigates, he will find out I took the USB stick. He will never forgive me, he will kill Flora and I. My heart, still pounding uncontrollably, threatens to explode from my chest. I am trembling almost violently, shaking all over, my legs especially. Fear and confusion mix up inside my head.
But wait, why will a Bishop openly threaten people’s lives? He didn’t care about who he is, that confirms he’s gotten accustomed to killing people and today, he was not afraid to show it. I can’t help wondering, where is his wife in all this? How does she feel about it? Did she know who her husband is? I don’t think she did, she wouldn’t have felt so insecured around me if she knew who her husband really is.
It’s been two days since the incident and I haven’t seen the Bishop. The suspense is killing me, I wish he could just talk to me so I can know what he thinks of me or how he feels about the whole thing. His name is still in the news on TV and the papers and everyone including the market women are talking about him. The Bishop won’t even come out of his house, not even to his office. One thing is for sure, he’s still alive.
I just got the scariest information, Bishop Marc has sent for Flora and I.. Why so early and just the both of us? What is going on? Have we been found out? We walk side by side to his office without saying anything to anybody or each other. We go into the Bishop’s office and he greets us with a suspicious smile.
“Hello Ladies.”
“Good day Your Lordship, you should be resting.” Flora says, clearly faking concern.
“I’m alright Flora, don’t worry about me.” he replies.
“How are you holding up Sir?” I ask.
“Don’t worry about me Blondie. I asked to see the both of you. Do you know anything about what happened two days ago?”
“We have no idea Your Lordship, how can you even think that?” Flora queried.
“Don’t tell me you suspect us.” I add.
“At this rate, I don’t trust anybody, someone went into my room and took that stuff. I unplugged it myself in my office and put it into my laptop bag.” he pauses and in a low tone, he looks away and says, “unless someone took it before I left the office.”
“How do you mean? I thought you just said you put it in the laptop bag?” Flora asks.
“Never mind. You girls can go, I need to think.”
We walk out half panicked, Flora and I don’t talk till we get to her room. As soon as she shut the door, I let out my fear.
“He’s unto us Flo, he knows something. That man is not stupid.”
“Yes Blondie, I know. Can you please calm down and let me think?”
Few seconds later, Flora’s phone rings. She picks up and when she starts talking, I can see the fear in her eyes. I wonder who called her and what the person is telling her.
“Thank you, I appreciate this.” she says and hangs up. She turns to me, “Blondie, there is a hit on me by the Bishop. Someone saw me going into the control room at the church.”
“Why will they suspect you? Why not the IT guy?”
“Because I locked him in the bathroom that day. I had lured him there on the phone.”
“You called him? That was stupid.”
“I had my caller ID blocked. I’m not daft.”
“Yeah right, you’ve been all sagacious yet see where we are. I told you that your anger will cause us a slip. What do we do now? We can’t stay here.”
“Blondie, calm down and let me think!” She begins to dial her phone.”
“Who are you calling Flo?”
“Perry”
Flora fills Perry in on the situation and he is not surprised, maybe he’s heard something too. Perry tells her that we should get ready and leave the Bishop’s residence without any luggage so we don’t raise suspicions. I’m scared, one more time I will have to run for my life. I can’t help wondering when this will end. Flora is unyielding and brave, she pleads with me to remain calm and comport myself. We leave the room and pretend like we are going to buy something across the street, we board a cab to the express and then we take another cab to where Perry is waiting for us. Even though I am in the company of Perry where I know I should feel safe, I don’t. I am scared out of my wits. I can’t even say a word, I can’t ask Perry where he is taking us. I think Perry and Flora understand my condition and they both just let me be. While they are talking about how to get us out of the country, which will be easy for Flora but not for me because Bishop Marc never got me any identification for my new name. To make matters worse, my real passport is still with my mother and I’m sure that one has expired over the years and even if it was with me, I couldn’t use it because I am a Fugitive. Could my day get any worse?
We arrive at a house after three hours. To be honest, I was so lost in thought that I didn’t even know when the car pulled into the garage. Perry leads us in and tells us it’s one of his properties and that Flora and I will be, staying here till he can find a way to get me a passport to travel with. I don’t see how that will be possible as I don’t even have an identity. Who am I? Blessing or Blondie? Blondie who? Indeed, this girl has no name.
“Relax baby, look how pale you look. Everything will be fine.” Perry tries to cheer me up.
“How can I relax? My life keeps getting worse. I’m always in danger and anyone who loves me or tries to help me gets into danger. Maybe I should just die and get it over with.”
“Shut up Blessing, everything will be alright.”
“You can’t guarantee me that. I am a curse to everyone around me.”
“Shhhhh, you look prettier with your mouth closed. Let me show you something better to do with your mouth.”