Chapter 73

MIRIAM'S POV
After giving us the things he went out to get, I discovered that Daniel was becoming so restless as he moved from one part of the room to another taking calls upon calls.
All along,he never said a word to Cherry and I. And I was getting worried as well.
I had to leave Cherry's side and walked up to him to ask him what the matter was. It happens that he didn't want Cherry to know what was going on so he turned to look at her and as I turned too, his attention was fixed on us.
"I will talk to you later." He said and walked away from me but I wasn't satisfied. From the look on his face, whatever it is that was bothering him was really urgent and needed some proactive steps.
So I walked back to Cherry and assured her that we would be back to see her. She was becoming agitated and so I had to call Trish to come stay with her in the hospital.
"From the look of things, you are going to be in this hospital until such a time when we are sure of what we are doing." I said to Cherry and tears were already streaming down her face.
"Look, this is a battle we cannot run away from and I promise you that we will get out of it." I said with so much certainty but she continued to cry. Daniel didn't bother to utter a word to her even though she kept looking at his face.
"How would you both fare?" She said amid sobs as I assured her that we will be just okay.
She didn't stop crying and I tried my best not to join her.
Daniel and I had to wait for Trish to arrive because Cherry would not let us go.
We waited for a while before Trish came in and as soon as she walked through the door into the room, Daniel walked out.
I had to stay back and give Trish some instructions because I didn't want them out of the hospital until everything was perfect.
"Everything you need will be brought in here. All you have to do is call. Do you understand?" I said and she said she was okay with all I have said.
"Be good." Those were my last words as I ran out of the room in a hurry.
When I got out of the room, I missed my way so as I walked through the hallway, I called Daniel and he came to get me.
When we got to the reception, Daniel suggested that I get checked before we left because we might not have the opportunity to come back for it again.
So we went to see one of the doctors who checked the wound and dressed it again. I was also given some injections to lessen the pain and we walked out of the hospital thereafter.
As we got out of the building, someone stopped us but I didn't stop. I walked straight to the car while Daniel went to speak with him. I opened the car and sat inside waiting for him.
As I brought out my phone from my pocket, I saw that I had several missed calls.
Checking them, I found it was a member of the council of elders that had been calling me.
I tried calling back but it wasn't going through so I had to drop a voice message.
The conversation Daniel was having with the man that has stopped us was taking longer than necessary.
"What could they be talking about?" I said to myself as I came out of the car to take him away.
As I approached he told me to give him a moment with gestures so I had to go back to the car.
I entered the car and sat down waiting for him to return. Although I waited for only a few minutes after he told me to wait, it felt like I had been waiting forever.
"What was that all about?" I attacked him as soon as he sat down in the car.
Instead of saying a word, he kissed my forehead and that shut me up.
"The council of elders are waiting for us." He said and that explains all the calls I got from them.
"I hope there is no problem." I said, sounding like I was not aware of the situation we had at hand.
"The rebels have appointed a leader and they should be striking soon." He said as he drove out of the hospital.
"I know they will be hard on me this time." I muttered and Daniel turned to look at me.
"Who would be hard on you?" He obviously couldn't figure it out himself even if the answer was right in his face.
"I meant the council of elders." I told him and he looked disgusted at what I just said.
"Screw the council of elders." He shouted and I was surprised he was not bothered about them.
"If you don't care about them, why were you apprehensive when they called you?" I retorted.
"I was agitated not because the council of elders called. It was because I was worried about how we would start and end this fight. A lot is at stake here and not what the elders think." Daniel argued, making me dispose of my earlier thought of being at the mercy of the council.
"Hey, I was also treated this way by this same council whilst you were away. At some point, I felt I would not be able to handle it until you came back but I did and here I am." He continued and I felt really encouraged. And I was sorry that he was treated so badly because I followed my selfish desires and abandoned my responsibilities, although I never said that to him.
"So what do you think I should do?" I sought counsel from him and he held my hand.
"Do the best you can do. I am sure that your best would be enough. Stand up to them like you did the other time. Come on babe." Daniel raised my confidence and I became strengthened.
As soon as we got to the house, I heard a loud noise coming from the conference room and I was told that the elders were waiting for me.
"Let's go." I told Daniel and he followed me into the conference hall as soon as I asked.
"What are you doing Miriam? Do we need to be consumed before you will begin to take steps to salvage the situation?" One of the elders stated even before I was able to get a seat but I ignored him and sat down.
Daniel sat next to me and pulled my head close to him.
"Be as calm as you can but don't show weakness." He whispered into my ears as he pulled me close and I nodded.
Instead of calming down to tell me what the matter was, they kept chattering amongst themselves and no matter how hard I tried to make them keep quiet, none of them did. So I angrily stood up and walked towards the door. As I got to the door, one of them screamed at me asking me where I was going.
"You don't tell me what to do." I roared and there was absolute quiet in the hall.
I still moved forward because I was determined to leave but Daniel stopped me and I came back because I respect him.
"If there is anything you want me to know, kindly say it. And please be brief." I ordered and everyone of them kept looking at each other's faces like they had never met before.
I looked at Daniel and I saw he noticed I was running out of patience so he stood up and addressed them.
"The issue we have at hand is a very delicate one. So I will implore us to please speak up, if you have something that would be beneficial." He stated as there was chatter among the elders. Thereafter, one of them stood up and began to talk.
He told us just the same thing that Daniel had told me earlier about the appointment of the leader of the rebel group.
"According to our source, his name is Mr James and he is a police officer." The elder who got up to speak stated.
That name rang a bell but I just couldn't place it no matter how hard I tried.
"Does that mean the police would be working with the rebels?" Daniel asked and I was glad he did because that question was also on my mind.
"I did not say that. As a matter of fact, I don't know and I do not expect the police to stoop so low to fight against the people they are expected to protect.
"So what do we do now?" Daniel asked the council of elders again. He was the only one conversing with them. I just sat back and watched them, and took note of everything they said.
"That's why we are here. We need answers from the both of you." One of the elders responded and there was tranquillity for a while.
"If this is the case, I will advise you all to stay in your houses, we will handle it." I stated and stood up to leave. Daniel followed me as the meeting was obviously over.
"You dare not walk out on us Miriam. We have a serious concern and we must handle it now." The eldest spoke up and I turned angrily at him.
"You talk like you have something to lose." I yelled at him and he resumed his seat immediately.
"Now you all look at me," I continued and to my surprise, I got all eyes fixed on me.
"I am the one all this is about. My life, not just my position, is at stake. So if you don't have anything reasonable that could be of help to say, kindly zip it." I gave what could be best described as the last command because I decided I was never going to sit with them again until all of this was over.
Having said that, I walked majestically out of the conference room and Daniel was behind me.
I went straight to the kitchen and grabbed a cup of water. It was so refreshing and I stood there for a while catching my breath.
Daniel walked into the kitchen and hugged me from behind. The feeling of his hands wrapped around my waist stirred up butterflies in my belly and I just felt like remaining in his arms forever.
I turned slowly to face him and I held his face in my hand and looked into his eyes. As though he read my mind, he kissed me. The kiss was such a deep and passionate one and the feeling I got thereafter was something I cannot explain.
I wanted more even after he had pulled out and I wished he could continue.
"We need to map out some strategies. That's the first step I think we should take." Daniel said but my mind was not even in what he was saying. I kept looking at his lips and reminiscing the feeling I just got from kissing him.
"You need to get a mate." He said while still holding my waist.
"I wish I could snatch you from Cherry." I joked and we both began to laugh. The atmosphere became a little bit relieved and we let go of each other.
"Where do we start from?" I asked him as I tried to fix something for us to eat. The cook had actually made food and it was lying on the dining table but I just felt like making something myself.
The last time I could was in Christopher's house. I would always strive to make him something to eat even when we had more than enough people readily available to do them for us.
"I think the cook already made food." Daniel informed me as he thought I didn't know that food was ready.
"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to try out something myself. It's been a long time since I cooked." I smiled at him as I started chopping the carrots and tomatoes I wanted to use.
"That's alright. Let me sit tight and wait for my omega alpha to make me food." He chuckled as he grabbed a stool and sat right behind me.
He kept holding my waist from time to time. It got to a point that had that to stop him and I was glad I did.
"Isn't the food ready yet?" Daniel yawned and I began to laugh at him.
"No baby, just give me a moment." I responded and we both bursted out with laughter. We laughed to the point that we started coughing.
"Don't do this with me next time." Daniel said as she reached for the pot and took out a piece of meat.
I tried stopping him but he ran out of the kitchen with it and I didn't bother to chase him.
The food was finally ready and I called him to come join me in the kitchen.
He did and we ate to our satisfaction. When we were done, we headed to the dining area and sat on the floor.
"We need to start with the plan." I told Daniel as I sat directly opposite him.
"What exactly are we doing?" Daniel said as he folded his arms and looked at me.
"I think we should monitor the forest." I said and he looked at me like someone who doesn't know what she is saying.
"I know what I am saying. We could spy on them, that way we might be able to know most of the things they are up to.
"The guy in the prison will be useful here." He suggested and I was surprised that he forgot I killed that ass hole.
"I killed him that day." I said calmly and he looked surprised.
"Aren't you aware?" I questioned him because felt he was present when it happened.
"No I'm not." He replied as he stood up and began to walk away.
"Maybe it was after you took Cherry to the hospital."I raised my voice so he could hear me.
"He could have been of no use anyway, he lied to me." I continued when Daniel came back.
He sat by me and we began to plan how we would move.
"I think we should not go with any of the cars." Daniel suggested.
"So how then are we expected to move? We can't risk going without a car." I stated trashing his idea of moving without a car and he agreed with me.
"We should go with two cars, one would be kept at a distance while we proceed with the other one to the forest. That way, if anything happens and they trace the car we bring there, we could abandon it as run with the other." Daniel added and we agreed on that.
"What time would we move?" I asked him as I stood up to call the driver. I needed him to take the two cars out and fuel them.
I met him at the veranda and instructed him on what to do.
"Please hurry, it's getting dark." I shouted as he rushed to get someone to take the second car.
"Midnight will be preferable." Daniel said as he saw me coming.
"That's okay. And how long do we spend there?" I asked again.
"As long as it takes us to get what we want." He replied and that was such a beautiful suggestion from Daniel.
"Okay then, we need to get prepared. Get everything you need and I will get all I need too." I jumped from the ground where we were seated and ran the stairs. I was on my way to my room.
"Mind your leg." Daniel reminded me that I had a bad leg so I began to walk instead of running.
As I entered my room, I entered my closet and opened the safe in there. No one, except Daniel knows there is a safe in this house.
The safe didn't just contain money, I also used it to keep arms. Having opened it, I brought out all the arms we needed and locked it.
There was no need to take money as we had more than enough at our disposal at the moment.
I lined them up on the bed as I thought of a perfect outfit that would be suitable for the occasion.
I brought out a pair of jeans and a jacket and placed them on the bed too. As I was about to move into the bathroom, a knock came on the door.
"Who is it?" I responded to the knock because I don't want anyone else to see these arms.
"It's Daniel." Having confirmed it was Daniel, I stopped moving towards the door because I didn't lock it.
"Come in," I softly replied and he opened the door with a bag in his hand.
"What is that?" I rushed the bag in his hand and opened it. To know its content, I emptied it on the floor.
"That should be a perfect outfit." He pointed at the clothes on the food and I asked if he just went out to get it. But he said he bought it a long time ago.
"It seems you knew this was coming." I teased him and he told me to get dressed and catch some sleep, adding that the cars were ready. Then he walked out of my room.
I hurried into the bathroom and had my bath because I don't know how long I will spend in the forest where I will get none of these luxuries.
Thereafter, I dressed up. Daniel came back as we loaded our clothes with arms. Daniel also informed me that he had packed a good quantity of food.
I took my phone and set my alarm before sleeping. I woke up before it rang and Daniel was already awake, we both counted each second with the clock and as soon as it was time, we dashed out of the house.