It was Thursday evening.

In the dimly lit basement of an abandoned warehouse somewhere in the city, Roger stood before a new group of hooligans. Four young men with nothing better to do with their lives and a willingness to carry out his dirty work for a few cedi notes.

Some members of the previous group that trashed the church had been arrested, and were refusing to cooperate with the authorities. Roger had already met with one commissioner who was an ardent sympathizer of the government and ‘greased his palms’ to ensure those investigations would go nowhere. Now he was working with a different group, and meeting in a different place, as the front of his door would be too risky.

“Now listen up! All of you!” Roger growled, pacing in front of the assembled hooligans. “That church and its pastor are proving to be more resilient than I anticipated. They fixed up that auditorium in record time, and that blasted pastor rejected my cheque like it was trash. As to how he could even tell it was from me, I don’t even know. But he did. And if he thinks he’s won the battle, I’m letting him see that the war is far from over.”

The young men exchanged glances but remained silent, awaiting Roger’s instructions.

“Now here’s the new direction. I want you to keep an eye on Pastor David Mensah-Jones and his family,” Roger continued, his voice dripping with venom. “Follow them everywhere. Make their lives uncomfortable. Show them that they can’t escape the consequences of going against me. Harass them if you need to. Scare the absolute crap out of them.”

He produced a wad of cash from his pocket, waving it in the air like a tempting prize. “Consider this a bonus for a job well done. I need you to give them a warning they won’t forget. Shake them up, make them question whether standing against me is worth the trouble.”

The hooligans exchanged nods, their eyes gleaming with a mixture of greed and excitement at the prospect of getting some good money in their pockets.

“Send a message they won’t ignore,” Roger declared, handing each man his notes. “Shake them up, but don’t leave any bruises or anything. We don’t want the police nosing around. Do you understand?”

They all nodded.

“Good. Now go out there and do what you need to do.”

***

“Oh Lord, I’m so glad I put money aside for this! One of the best family days out ever!” David commented as the family got into the car.

“Yesss! Thank you for bringing us here, Daddy! One of the best days of my life!” Matthew cheered.

It was Saturday evening, and it had been one heck of a memorable day for the Mensah-Jones family. Circus Extraordinaire was in town, and the couple had decided it would be a lovely chance for a family day out. Suffice it to say, they were not regretting the decision at all. They absolutely loved the show, and so did the children.

And as their children chattered excitedly in the backseat, they also reminisced on the wonders they had just witnessed.

“Daddy, Daddy, did you see that acrobat who twirled in the air like a superhero?” exclaimed Maria.

David laughed and nodded. “Yes, my dear, I did see it. It was amazing. The way she moved diɛɛ, as if gravity is a joke to her!”

“I tell you!” Sika agreed. “The way I got nervous for her sometimes. But she did her thing too well. Ei, people have talents in this world oo!”

Mark chimed in, “The jugglers were my favorite! I can’t believe they could keep so many objects in the air at once. It was like magic!”

“Yes, yes!” Matthew agreed. “That was amazing too.”

Indeed, this show would be just one of the many moments the Mensah-Jones family would cherish for a long time to come.

As they navigated through the familiar streets, the children and Sika still chatting about the show in high spirits…

… A feeling of dread suddenly took over David. An impromptu uncomfortable feeling.

This very uncomfortable feeling that they were being followed. Glancing into the rearview mirror, he noticed a silver Honda Accord behind them. He frowned, then decided to take note of it as they moved along.

Ten minutes in, and its persistent presence behind them started to raise the hairs on the back of his neck.

This was not good. Whoever was in that car was following them.

He briefly turned to his wife. “Sika, do you see that car behind us?” David whispered, his eyes narrowing with concern.

Sika turned to look, then nodded. “Yes, I’ve been noticing it for a while now. It’s been behind us for quite a while now.”

David swallowed hard and nodded, his eyes alternating between the road and the rearview mirror.

Sika turned to him, concern in her eyes. “David… do you… do you think we’re being followed?”

David’s grip on the steering wheel tightened. “I don’t know, but I don’t like the feeling of it. Hold on, I’m going to try something.”

He then proceeded to make a series of turns, weaving through the labyrinth of side streets.

The children, naturally, were confused. “Daddy, why aren’t you passing the main road?” Maria asked.

David forced a smile. “Oh, I’m just… looking for something your mummy needs to buy.”

“Yeah, we’re just checking these places to see if we’ll get it,” Sika added.

He made one left turn, then another right turn, and another right turn. It was a good thing he knew that side of town so well, or he would have succeeded in getting them lost.

To the dismay of them, no matter how many maneuvers he executed, the persistent car continued to trail them closely.

“David, it’s not a joke! This car is following us!” Sika whispered, panic in her voice.

David’s heartbeat increased. This was getting scarier and scarier by the second. Were they armed robbers? Kidnappers? What did they want?

“They won’t stop, too!” he agreed, doing his best to conceal the panic within. “I just can’t seem to shake them off…”

Suddenly, the Honda accelerated and overtook them, stopping abruptly and blocking their path.

In the midst of screams from the children and Sika, David slammed on the brakes, bringing the car to a halt.

Before they could wander what was going on, the doors opened, and four burly men stepped out of the menacing vehicle, their faces masked up. They approached the Mensah-Jones car, a palpable air of threat surrounding them.

David instinctively shielded his family, his heart pounding with fear.

They both pounded their fists on the bonnet of the car, invoking more scared screams from the family. Everyone trembled as they stood at David’s side.

The taller of the quartet, his voice dripping with menace and pure evil, spat at David, “Kwasia troublemaker like you! You and your family for learn your place, you dey hear?”

Sika, her eyes wide with terror and fright, beckoned to the trembling children to stay quiet.

One other man added, “You know what to do, Reverend, you know what to do. So do it, or next time, it won’t just be a warning.”

A third added, “We know where you live. And we know your family. Be wise and use your sense.”

With that chilling proclamation, the menacing men kicked the front of the car aggressively and returned to their car, leaving David and his family stunned on the dimly lit street. The engine roared to life, and the car peeled away into the night, leaving the Mensah-Jones family in a cloud of dust.

Everyone sat still. Frozen in disbelief at what had just transpired.

And petrified.

***

The scarring events of that evening cast a heavy shadow over the Mensah-Jones household. What was supposed to be a day of delight and happy memories had been ruined by those masked thugs.

The rest of the evening had been one of trying to calm the children, who were naturally traumatized by the incident. Poor Maria was so afraid, she sorrowfully asked not to be left alone in her bed. Her older brothers graciously offered to let her sleep in the same bed as them. At that point, nobody wanted to be alone.

After dealing with the children, Sika, usually the pillar of strength for her family, found herself succumbing to the weight of her fears. She retreated to their bedroom, her shoulders shaking with silent sobs as she grappled with the unsettling incident and now-obvious threat to the family.

David, lines of worry etched on his face, followed her into the room. Hearing her sobs made him very uncomfortable.

“Sika,” David whispered as he closed the door behind him and approached his distraught wife, who knelt by the bed.

Sika turned, her tear-streaked face reflecting the terror that gripped her heart. “David, I’m scared. I’ve never been this terrified before. I never thought it would come to this. What if they come back? What if something happens to us or the children? I’m terrified, David! I’m scared! They just threatened to hurt me, hurt our kids! David, if something happens to any of us here, I dunno what I’ll do… I-I just…”

David’s heart ached at the sight of his wife’s distress as she choked on her words and began to weep. Nothing upset him more than to see Sika crying this way; he would rather you kick him in the groin than witness her break down.

“Baby, baby,” he cooed, rushing to her and enveloping her in a tight embrace, his arms a comforting shield as she cried with fear while they leaned against the bed. “It’s okay, my love, it’s okay. We’ll get through this. I promise you. God is with us, and He will protect us. And I will, too. Believe me.”

Sika clung to David, finding solace in the strength of his arms. She continued to sob. “I pray so, David, I pray so. Because I don’t know what I’d do if I lose you or any of our babies. I don’t…”

“And you won’t. I promise you,” David assured her, his grip as tight as ever. “Not a single member of this family will be lost. Not as long as the God of Angel Armies exists.”

She said nothing, but continued to sob, her body shaking with pure trepidation.

Inside, David seethed with a quiet rage. He knew Roger was a slimeball with no sense of decency or scruples, but this was a new level of low. The violation of their privacy, the threats to his family—this was a line that should never have been crossed.

As he comforted Sika, the two of them eventually getting up and lying on the bed, his mind raced with thoughts of Roger and the shadowy figures he had sent to intimidate them. The righteous anger burned within him, a simmering fury that was ready to boil over.

The sniveling little coward! Disgusting fool! How dare you come after my family like this? How dare you?

Disgusting! Absolutely disgusting! How do you go to that length? Now poor Sika and the kids are traumatized. Our dear reverend really has a mountain before him…