Sales girl episode 12

*Recap: Dami’s rescue mission goes unexpected
despite the help of the Police and she discovered
that Kayla had a hand in the strange things that
had been happening. Meanwhile, Natasha has to
cooperate with Inspector James on the Human
Trafficking case.*

24th May, 2016,
Tuesday Morning,
Lagos.
The first thing I heard when I woke up was the
sound of a car engine. As I became more alert, I
noticed how stuffy the air was and that I couldn’t
move my limbs past a certain point. I blinked my
eyes open but it made no difference to the
darkness. I felt myself being thrown against a hard
object and I groaned. That was when I felt the
cloth tied around my mouth, preventing me from
making any audible sound.
I realized I was trapped in the trunk of a moving
car.
Suddenly, all movement around me stopped and I
heard the sound of feet crunching gravel. Low
male voices spoke in hurried tones and I heard the
trunk being unlocked. My eyes nearly watered at
the intense light that hit them and I blinked several
times. Rough hands pulled me out of the tight
space and shoved me forward as a blindfold was
tied around my eyes. I walked forward blindly,
stumbling several times but my captors didn’t stop
to help me find my footing instead they pushed me
forward even faster.
After what seemed like forever, we stopped. The
blindfold was taken off and I immediately took in
my surroundings. I was in a small room which
was dimly lit due to the curtains being closed
tightly.
“Sit still and don’t move.” The man to my left said
before leaving the room.
I couldn’t have even if I wanted to because there
was another man standing to my left whose face
showed that he was not going to take things
lightly with me if I did. Shortly after, the door
opened and the man returned. He led me outside
towards a row of dark vehicles. However, they
were more like spacious vans. My mouth dropped
open at what I saw when he opened one of them
and gestured for me to get in.
Seated on the floor of the van were several girls
squashed together like sardines.
I was shoved into their midst before I could
protest and the door slid shut, blocking out
daylight. When the van jerked into motion, I fell
against a body to my left.
“Sorry.” I whispered, although it was useless. We
were already tightly packed against ourselves.
“It doesn’t make a difference.” The female voice
mumbled quietly.
For some reason, I felt more alert. The voice was
familiar although I couldn’t place it yet.
“What’s going on?” I said.
“They’re moving us again.” She said.
“Again?” I asked.
“Oh, you must be one of the new girls.”
I felt myself grow even more terrified with every
moment that passed.
“What do you mean by that? What are they going
to do with us?”
“They’re going to take us to wherever the boss
tells them and then we continue the business
there.”
“Business?” I asked.
“Yes, that’s the part they never tell you until you
discover it for yourself. Unfortunately, when I did it
was too late to do anything.”
There were a few moments of silence as the van
ran over speed bumps and jostled us again.
“What exactly is it that you do?” I asked, already
fearing her answer.
Her voice was low and withdrawn when she
replied.
“I’m a drug-peddling prostitute.”
I felt my heart sink within my chest.
“And very soon,” She continued. “You’ll be one
too.”
We didn’t exchange a single word for the rest of
the ride. Hours later, the van jerked to a stop and
the doors were opened. As the quickly receding
sunlight filtered into the back of the van, I was
finally able to see the faces of the girls I’d been
seated with for the past few hours. I turned to my
left to see the girl whose voice sounded so
familiar.
“Dami…?” She whispered.
“Bukky?” I asked in shock.
I couldn’t believe this was Bukky who I hadn’t
seen for months after she quit working at the
restaurant.
She was about to speak when the men jumped into
the van and started pulling us out, forcing us to
walk in straight lines as they led us into what
seemed like a deserted warehouse building. We
were led into a room where a man stood with his
back towards us as he spoke to two hefty men.
With my eyes, I searched for Bukky amongst the
crowd and I found her standing with her head
bowed and her shoulders seemed slumped in
defeat.
Moments later, the room seemed to grow quiet as
he turned around to address us. Our eyes met for
only a brief moment but that was enough to set
my heart racing in fear because the man standing
before me was none other than Mr. Phillips.
“I’m sure a lot of you girls are wondering exactly
why you’re here. Well, I’ll make things brief.” He
smiled lightly but it was without humor. “You now
work for me and that means you do as I say.”
Murmurs spread through the crowd as girls shifted
uncomfortably on their feet.
“Of course, there’s always the option to walk
away…” He trailed off slowly and looked around at
the girls whose faces lit up with hope.
No one moved for a while until one girl
straightened up and stepped apart from the group.
Several heads turned to follow her movement. She
only made it about three steps before I saw him
signal to one of the men beside him. Within
seconds, the girl was being escorted out of the
room. I held my breath and stood still. I couldn’t
believe it was really that simple. Minutes later, I
heard a sharp scream which nearly made my blood
run cold. The girls murmured amongst themselves
again and it was easy to detect the fear in their
voices.



“Is anyone else interested in leaving?” Mr. Phillips
asked with a glint in his eyes. For a moment, his
eyes lingered in my direction.
I met his gaze before looking away in fear and
disgust. No one dared move.
***
Few days later, I was to go on my first
assignment. I had my phone and all personal
belongings seized before I was bundled into a car
with about three other girls that night but Bukky
was taken in a separate car with two others. The
advice she’d given me before she left was simply
to comply with whatever they told me to do. I
hated it but I decided to go along with her advice
until I could find a way out of there.
During the ride, I thought about how Kayla could
have planned something like this, tricking me into
a dangerous business all because of what she had
to gain. I didn’t need anyone to tell me that she
had a hand in Bukky’s predicament too.
I felt a sharp tap on my shoulder and turned to find
one of the girls staring at me.
“I’ve been trying to get your attention, the driver
just told us to get down.”
I shook myself out of my thoughts and got out of
the car. There was loud music pumping out from
behind the doors of the building and from the look
of things, this place wasn’t friendly. Suddenly,
there was a sharp sound of shattering glass, which
caused me to flinch. Further into the building, I
heard male voices shouting at the top of their
lungs in a heated argument.
We were led to a section where a cluster of seats
were placed and shortly after, various drinks were
placed on the table before us. I scanned the labels
and found that they were all strong drinks which
were foreign to me. I didn’t touch a single one.

Later into the night, I noticed a small group of men
walk in and head towards us. I held my breath as
they came closer because I felt something
important was about to take place. They
exchanged a few words and handshakes with the
driver who brought us before turning to face us.
“Ladies, please come with me.” One of the men
said. Although he said it courteously, I could tell
that we really didn’t have an option.
We followed him to a spacious hallway where he
stopped.
“Which one of you is Dami?” He asked.
I felt my heart leap in my chest. The other girls
exchanged glances and I stepped forward
nervously.
“Follow me.”
I wondered what I had done to be singled out. He
led me to a room where I found Mr. Phillips seated
in a wide armchair, tapping his finger slowly on a
desk. He looked up and gestured for me to come
forward before signaling for the man to leave.
“You’re one of Kayla’s girls aren’t you?” He asked.
At that moment, something sparked within me.
“By that you mean one of the girls who you trick
into this dirty business?” I snapped.
His expression didn’t even change. It remained as
cold as ever.
“Listen here, I don’t care what method she uses to
get me my girls. All that matters is that I get them.
Now you’re going to cooperate if you want to keep
yourself in one piece. Is that clear?”
I held his gaze in an intense stare before breaking
eye contact. One perfectly arched eyebrow lifted in
triumph as he gave me a cold smile.
“Glad that’s settled. However, you need to prove
that you’re going to follow instructions from now
on, so I’ll give you your first task.”
I looked up, waiting for him to speak.
“I need you to deliver a package for me.” He got
up and retrieved a small brown sealed envelope
before placing it on the desk. “Here’s the address.
It should get there not later than midnight.”
I took the envelope and put it in the purse that
came with the dress I was given. It was a form-
fitting gown that I would never have worn out of
my own freewill.
“Get going.” He said in a dismissive tone, already
shifting his attention to something else.
I stood up and gave him a death glare, glad that
he couldn’t see me.
“And I’d appreciate it if you stop looking at me in
that manner.” His voice nearly made me jump.
I quickly turned and walked out of the room. After
searching for the driver but to no avail, I decided
to locate the address by myself. I had only roughly
an hour to do this if I wanted to ensure my safety
and Mr. Phillips didn’t seem like the kind of man
who made empty threats.
When it was ten minutes to midnight, I arrived at
the apartment building and located the flat number.
I knocked and waited for a while as the locks were
being undone. Almost immediately, I perceived a
horrible stench wafting out of the apartment. A tall,
rough-looking man opened the door and gave me
a bland look. He looked drunk and barely managed
to stand on his feet. In an instant, he reached out
an arm and dragged me inside before shutting the
door.
“Hand it over, now.” The words rushed out in
jumbled tones as he struggled with the shirt he
was pulling on.
I fumbled to open my purse but all the contents fell
out instead. I bent to pick them up only to be
shoved aside as he started rummaging through the
items to find the package. I wondered why he was
so frantic but found out minutes later when the
sirens started. The man swore loudly, grabbed the
envelope and ran out the door. I stood there
wondering what on earth just happened.
It didn’t take long for me to move though when I
heard the sound of footsteps running towards the
building. I looked out the window to find some
policemen with their guns out, getting closer each
second. I needed to think fast. I grabbed my purse
and stuffed the remaining contents inside so as
not to leave any trace. Next, I located the back exit
of the building and ran as fast as my legs could
carry me. I had only just left the building when I
heard the Police barge in through the front door.
***
I was spitting mad when I returned to Mr. Phillips
later that night. He had instructed that I see him
immediately after I complete the task.
“The Police were there. I almost got caught. Do
you-”
“None of that is any of my concern. Did you get
the job done?” He cut in.
My mouth fell open in shock.
“Did you?” He repeated.
I nodded, barely holding in my annoyance.
“Good. Now, what were you saying earlier?”
I narrated the incident with the man and the Police.
He just nodded once.
“Like all businesses Dami, there are risks involved.
This is simply one of those things. All you have to
do is make sure you do not get caught.”
With that, he dismissed me.
24th May, 2016,
Thursday Morning,
Lagos.
Natasha carefully regarded the man seated across
her. She’d had a long internal debate on whether
or not to make the call to Inspector James but
when she remembered that he had evidence that
she was involved in drug trafficking, she knew she
had no option.
“Thank you for doing the right thing Natasha.” He
said, giving her a soft look.
He had seen many innocent victims of drug lords
and crooks. He could also tell when one was a
willing party or not.
“You promise my identity won’t be revealed? I
can’t afford to get in any more trouble please.”
She said.
“I’ll do my best to ensure that you remain
anonymous, I promise. Just think about all the
other girls you’ll be helping.”
With those words and the sincere look she saw in
his intelligent eyes, Natasha didn’t want to deny
him anything.
“Okay, how do we go about it?” She asked.
“Here’s what I need you to do. I need you to be
my eyes and ears. You’ll tell me if there are any
new plans, the identity of the customers and most
importantly who is running this business. You
need to be discreet Natasha because I can’t afford
for anything to happen to you.”
Natasha looked up curiously at his words.
“You’re a very important factor in the success of
this investigation.” He continued.
She suddenly felt silly for thinking there was
another meaning to his words.
“I understand. I’ll do my best.” Just then, her
phone beeped with a message alert tone and she
excused herself to check it.
The Inspector watched her carefully as she read
the message.
“There’s an assignment for tomorrow night and I
have to be there.” She said before giving him the
details of the job.

They agreed on how to proceed with the plan
before parting ways. On her way home, Natasha
fervently wished this plan would work out so she
could get out of this unhurt and bring those in
control to justice.