CHAPTER 9
Earlier, when Jude and Elo were still locked-up inside his inner chamber, he came clean and opened-up completely telling her exactly what he does for a living and how he was able to acquire his wealth. He also let her know the relationship he shared among the three armed men inside his sitting-room who were at the verge of haunting the both of them, and why they needed to act quickly, otherwise, be doomed.
Although, Elo was a secret undercover agent until her cover was recently blown, but somehow, her feelings were telling on her, as she had technically fallen in love with her subject which was against the rules of the game. On the other hand, despite being among the criminals, Jude was now playing the role of the security agents by eliminating his partners-in-crime one after the other, hence, she had less worries to ponder over.
However, Jude soon noticed the fear in her eyes; he then drew her closer to himself, held her firmly and slowly planted a soft and succulent kiss on her forehead, before assuring her not to be afraid, and that everything would be all right. It wasn’t long thereafter before they exited the room, but not until Jude had excused himself toward a table where he picked up a pen and piece of paper, and then scripted some wordings on it.
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While driving back to the church, the road became boisterous and rough; police checkpoint were now suddenly mounted in several areas observing motorists passing by, and this wasn’t unconnected to the fact that an accident occured earlier and a car involved caught up in flames while shootings were heared around the area.
On seeing them, Jude became alarmed and quickly made a U-Turn to evade police search.
Jude and Elo finally arrived the church premises but before they stepped down from the car, he positioned her to stay close to him, and then gave her his pistol gun, just incase, while he held the assault rifle which he had collected from Bishop and carried along the lifeless head of Croucher which was spilling blood on the floor as they walked into the church auditorium that was as silent as a graveyard.
“General! Where art thou?!!” Jude shouted with anger but silence answered back. “Guess what, I’ve got a surprise for you!” He added and then threw Croucher’s head rolling on the floor like a ball.
Elohor then covered her face in disgust while seeing not only the head of a human, being hurled to the floor like nothing, but also the body of Margaret that laid lifeless too; as they walked closer to the alter.
“So you’re scared now? Why are you hiding? Show yourself and face me like a man!!” Jude continued bragging, raising his gun and his other hand upward while turning his back around observing where ‘General’ would come out from, which became a point of distraction to him.
As you would know, General responded to the call and slowly sneaked out from his hiding place pointing a gun at Elohor from the back with whom he had a direct contact. The supposed pastor mercilessly aimed for the kill, but before he could pull the trigger, Jude saw his shadow and swiftly turned around forcefully pushing Elo out of reach, and suddenly, the bullet came trailing his chest, he was hit at once and fell down to the floor bleeding profusely but did not die.
Elohor painfully screamed immediately she saw what had happened, and about then, a reflex action took over her, as she shot back at the pastor, but the bullet penetrated him not.
General then irked a loud evil laughter and attempted to shoot her, just then, a badge of numerous armed police officers bursted the church whilst shooting the pastor endlessly.
“Babashanga, Ayama’tanga!!” General repeated the incantation, continuously wailing and consulting the powers of the Voodoo priest to protect him from dying, but the shooting spree ended not, until the evil pastor finally dropped dead after the witch-doctor also died at his shrine.
The leader of the police team rushed toward rescuing Elohor who was their undercover agent, as she had earlier sent them a text message without the knowledge of Jude to send a patrol team to meet them at St. Clement Believers’ Church. However, she paid little attention to the police officer as she crippled rapidly toward Jude who was dying slowly on the floor. Elo held his blood-stained hand firmly and bursted into uncontrolled tears as she saw his condition. Jude was bleeding through his mouth and chest where he was shot and showed little signs of surviving.
With the last strength that he had, Jude reached for his pocket and handed Elohor a piece of paper, he then smiled before giving up the ghost. Jude died protecting the one and only person he had left on earth, and whom he truly loved.
In the note given to Elohor, it reads: “I love my mother till death, and I would have taken a bullet for her to still be alive today. This is my response to the question you once asked me, on whether I could die for love.”
Truth is, Jude already knew that he would either die that day, or become arrested and still get killed.
THE END
EPILOGUE
The news that the robbers who carried out the Bank attack were completely annihilated circulated across both national and international television platform, and over half the money stolen was retrieved after the Police later raided the Church and found out where the money was kept in a storehouse.
The government then took possession of Jude’s Multi-Million Naira mansion plus his exotic cars and sold them off to raise the other parts of the total money stolen.
Elohor eventually, didn’t only reported the story in the most emotional and exceptional way, but also wrote a book entitled “The Devil Has A Conscience” whose theme was drawn from Jude’s biography, and the book later became a Best-seller of all time.
Though, Jude became a fallen hero, but the so-called ‘Twelve Disciples’ later met their waterloo, and all died like animals.
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It cost nothing to be good and just. See no evil. Hear no evil. Do no evil. There is no reward for wickedness
It pays to wait on God