6:16 p.m.

Roger’s phone vibrated. He looked at it and nodded.

Johnson was calling. Which meant that he was around, and they could set off in no time flat.

He picked it up.

“Yes, Johnson… you’re in, good, good. I’ll be out in a few moments.”

He hung up and stood to admire himself in the mirror in his comfy bedroom. Clad in a high-quality, tailored overcoat, a luxurious cashmere coat wrapped around his neck, a Patek Phillipe wristwatch on his right hand, a sleek dark grey suit and a grey fedora hat, he looked very elegant and expensive.

And pretty overdressed, to be honest. For someone who was stepping out onto the streets of Accra, his choice of clothing made it seem like he was in North Dakota and needed to protect himself from the chills of the city.

And he knew it.

“Ha! Look at me. Dressed up like it’s winter in the United States… well, there’s a reason for it,” Roger proclaimed as he walked out. “Gotta make the man see his potential future once he accepts this money.”

**

6:26 p.m.

While Sika and the kids got the living room ready for the evening’s movie, David was in the bedroom, passionately praying in tongues.

After enjoying a few rounds of FIFA with his sons, and an extended period of cuddles and sweet talk with his wife, a burden was dropped in his spirit to pray in the Spirit. Immediately obeying the urge, he had Sika exit the room while he began firing off.

Nobody needed to tell him that it had something to do with the fact that Roger was on his way. Whatever the Lord wanted him to do, he had to tap into it. After all, he needed the wisdom of God to handle this matter well enough.

So as he knelt in the corner of the room, furiously blasting out tongues, he was preparing himself for the superior intelligence of heaven to be released unto him, so he would know what to do.

**

6:38 p.m.

“Good, good. So yeah, I’m on my way to meet somebody. Shouldn’t be too long. Just some short discussions, then I’ll go back home. So please, enjoy yourselves! And take as many selfies as you can! I wanna see them all, alright?… Hahaha! Exactly. Okay, love you. Bye.”

Roger ended the video call and smirked, leaning back in the seat in a very relaxed posture. His wife, Valeria, was busily enjoying herself in Chile, and had called to see how he was doing. She had been joined by their teenage children, Eugene and Rahel, who were schooling in the United States of America.

As he spoke to them, they were on their way to Futaleufu for white water rafting, and were extremely excited about the experience. Just one of about five countries they were visiting that vacation, and as you’d expect, they were having the time of their lives.

“That’s what life is all about. Enjoying life to the fullest,” he commented to himself while looking out the window of his luxury car. “This is definitely one thing I should let him know about. I mean, I bet his wife would love a trip to all these fancy places. It’ll definitely change their lives for sure. Not every day, you’re cooped up in that church building. Chale, go out and live life small…”

***

6:42 p.m.

David stood before the gate, holding a small bottle of olive oil.

Still speaking in tongues, he opened the bottle and poured out a bit of its contents, switching to recite Psalm 91. He sprinkled a bit of the oil on the gate as he continued to declare the psalm loudly.

Once he was done, he looked at the gate from top to bottom and nodded.

This was not what he had had in mind when preparing for Mr. Wakefield to come. But of course, once the Holy Spirit was instructing him on what to do, he knew he had to obey. There was certainly a reason for it.

He lifted his hands to the sky and prayed. “Thank You, Lord. Thank You for Your direction. Thank You for Your word. Thank You for the grace to heed Your voice. Thank You for the hedge of protection You have placed around me and my family. Thank You that the forces of darkness shall not prevail over us, nor shall any crafty device inflict any of us, in the name of Jesus! Thank You Jesus, for by Your precious Blood, victory is ours. Thank You. Amen!”

He walked toward the house, where Sika stood on the balcony, watching as he returned. The look in her eyes was one of concern.

“Are we okay?” she asked, unable to mask the strains of worry in her voice.

David nodded, smiling as he kissed her on the cheek. “The Lord is our Shepherd, my love. We’re good to go.”

***

6:58 p.m.

“Mmm-hmmm. The moment has arrived,” Roger declared to himself as the car turned the left corner and slowly approached the gate at the end of the road.

The brown medium-sized gate that led to the Mensah-Jones house.

A sly smirk on his face, he rubbed his hands together gleefully as the car engine was switched off. Opening the door himself, he stepped out and looked at the gate.

“Time for action to commence,” he said to himself as he strolled over confidently, a cockiness evident in each step. “Time to seal the mouth of this man of God. Or at least, get moving on the road to it. Hehehe.”

He reached over and pressed the bell.

***

6:59 p.m.

The doorbell rang.

The Mensah-Jones children, all seated on the floor between the TV and the couch where their parents were seated, looked up in surprise. The doorbell ringing at almost the exact same time it did last week was rather… interesting.

“Ah, Daddy, is that annoying man here again or something?” Matthew wondered out loud.

David, who had pulled Sika close to him on the couch, smiled. “Yeah. I think so.”

“So are you going to sack him again?” Mark asked curiously.

David shook his head. “Nope, nope, no need to. Don’t worry about him, my dears. Let’s start the movie.”

“But Daddy, what if he gets angry and rings it by heart?” Maria asked a bit worriedly.

David shook his head. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ve got it all under control. Start the movie, Matt.”

Nodding, Matthew, who held the remote control, pressed the play button excitedly and sat back to watch the movie begin.

Sika, who was leaning on her husband, looked at him expectantly.

David nodded, then picked up his phone and typed out a text before hitting the send button.

***

7:01 p.m.

Roger stood outside, tapping his feet patiently. “Don’t keep me waiting for too long, Mr. Mensah-Jones,” he said in a singing voice. “Coz we’ve got a deal to work on.”

Suddenly, his phone vibrated. Frowning, he reached into his pocket and whipped it out.

A message from David.

Look under the gate. There’s a message for you.

“What? What message?” Roger wondered as he looked at the ground near the gate. He noticed a folded piece of paper tucked under the gate.

He walked over, picked up the piece of paper. Noticing it was folded, he opened it up…

…and found on it a handwritten note.

Its content was short and succinct.

Mr. Roger Wakefield,

I unequivocally reject your offer of a bribe. My principles and integrity are not for sale at any price. As the Bible says, “For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).

I stand firm in my commitment to uphold righteousness and the fear of the Lord in all my actions, and I refuse to be swayed by the allure of material wealth gained illegally.

Kindly refrain from making such offers in the future, as they will continue to meet with the same resolute response. Please leave the entrance of my home as soon as you read this, and never come back again.

It took him all of ten seconds to glance over the letter and imbibe its message.

WHATT?!!

Trembling hands dropped the letter to the floor. Trembling provoked by fury.

Roger glared at the gate, seething with rage. “What the absolute hell!” he growled.

The nerve of this man! To reject this offer without even stepping outside to say so! And the audacity to shoo him away in such a disrespectful manner!

He pulled out his phone and typed furiously. “How dare this idiot! How dare he!”

***

7:04 p.m.

As ‘Marley and Me’ started up, David’s phone vibrated. He and Sika looked at the screen and saw the message.

What is the meaning of this rubbish? Do you recognize who you’re dealing with? You send me a flimsy little letter? Just like that! How dare you! Come out of that house right now before I do something mad! Come out right now if you’re a man!

Sika shook her head and sighed. “Hmm. The man must be boiling right now.”

David nodded. “Yep. But it is what it is.”

He quickly typed out a response, then put the phone on airplane mode. “Now it’s time to enjoy the rest of the evening with my family,” he declared, putting an arm around Sika.

She looked back at him, the concern still evident in her pupils. “But honey, what if he-“

He shook his head and placed a finger on her lips. “Don’t worry, my dear. The God of Angel Armies is in control. We’ll be fine. We shall be fine.”

***

7:06 p.m.

Good night, Mr. Wakefield. May the Lord have mercy on us all.

That was the response that appeared on his phone screen.

To say Roger was outraged to the point of explosion would be a mild term. He was absolutely livid, pacing back and forth and uttering the nastiest words that popped up in his brain.

“The absolute scoundrel!” he scowled as he dialled the number, ready to unleash a torrent of abuse on the man.

The number you have dialled is currently switched off. Please try later.

Disbelief imprinted on his face, he opened his mouth to scream at the phone. Strangely, though, a restraint came upon him, and he couldn’t let out the yell in his throat.

He swallowed it up, then attempted to call again. And again. And again.

The response did not change. David had switched off his phone.

The betrayal! The staggering betrayal and cheekiness of this man! How dare he reject such a life-transforming offer in the most humiliating way possible!

Still pacing up and down, he then decided to get in the car. For some reason, his desire to bang on the gate and yell out the filthiest of expletives was being met with some superior resistance, so it was best to just get in the car and leave.

Once he landed in his seat and slammed the car door shut, he let out a big scream. A scream so loud and vulgar, poor Johnson couldn’t help but flinch in fright, forgetting to step on the accelerator.

“MOVE THE DAMN CAR, YOU IDIOT!” Roger bellowed at him before sitting back and breathing heavily, still boiling in his rage.

The young man hurriedly did so, not ready to get roasted any further.

Yep, this was nowhere near what Roger had expected. To think that he had been so confident that at the very least, they could start a negotiation of sorts. He had been so convinced that the man was on the way to compromise. Only for something this embarrassing to follow. He didn’t even have the courtesy to tell him to his face, for goodness sake!

There was no doubt about it as the Jaguar drove out of the neighborhood, Roger Wakefield felt extremely humiliated, disrespected and furious.

“Stupid swine!” he barked to himself. “If he thinks he can deal with me like I’m some fly, he’s got another thing coming! Foolish man! You, I’m trying to make your miserable little life better for you, and you’re treating me like some troublesome little cockroach! Me? Roger Wakefield? Do you know the number of people who will literally beg me to just come and park in front of their gate? Nonsense!

“Herh, see, he has drawn the battle line. I swear on my mother’s grave, this is just the beginning! If he doesn’t want to go the easy way, we shall do it the hard way! Oh yes, we’ll go the hard way. And he better show up well, coz as for me, I will not stop until I make sure his mouth is sealed for good! You wanna go low, no problem. I’ll drag you to hell!”

Oh boy! That was not the type of rejection we anticipated. Very dismissive from Rev. David. And Mr. Wakefield looks ready to wage war now! What’s he gonna do now?

Well, Season 2 will bring the answer to that question! And I have a feeling it’s gonna be pretty fiery!