It is a bitterly cold winter morning in Ohio and Tracy is feeling very miserable indeed. However, the weather is not to blame for her foul mood and general discomfort; it merely adds to her feeling of loneliness and anxiety. It has been three weeks since David left to do some research at the University of La Rioja in Spain and should have been back by now. To make matters worse for her, he has not called in the past ten days and her life has been nothing but hell. To get close to him somewhat, she moved from her flat into his, and when she feels his absence very keenly, she would wear his dirty clothes, pants, shirts, vests, anything that has a trace of his smell. That way, her feeling of aloneness has been mitigated somewhat. But his absence is not entirely negative; she has learnt to move closer to God by praying more and meditating on the Bible more. She also attends midweek fellowships and has progressed tremendously in the Believer’s Class. All these activities have helped her not to think too much about David. But deep down in her soul, she is worried about him. For some time now, she has had a feeling that David is in some great danger and nothing she did could shake off that feeling. So she begins to pray for him almost all the time. Her believer’s class teacher calls it intercession. She was interceding for him this morning when a voice spoke into her ears:

“Why didn’t you deliver my message to David?”

Tracy nearly jumped out of her skin in fright. She got up and looked behind her to see if somebody has sneaked into the flat. She saw nobody. Unsatisfied, she searched the whole flat without finding anybody. She then ensured that the front and back doors were firmly looked before going back to her couch, not to pray but to read the Bible. Her assigned book for the day was 1 Samuel, chapter one to five. She had scarcely begun to read chapter one when the voice came again:

“Why didn’t you deliver my message to David?”

This time she did not panic as she realised that the voice was coming from her spirit and not in her physical ears. Suddenly she remembered Deborah’s message to David.

“O my God!”

A feeling of shame and a sense of failure come over her. In the flurry of activities following the translation of Deborah, she had totally forgotten the Lord’s message to her lover. The dreary weather, David’s absence and silence for the past ten days, and now this unutterable sense of shame and failure are just too much for Tracy to bear. She breaks down and begins to weep. Midway into her tears, she falls on her knees and prays for forgiveness. Instinctively, she also prays for the safety of her lover, wherever he is. Now more than ever is she sure that David is in great danger. Otherwise, this terrible voice will not come to accuse her of negligence and dereliction of duty. And whatever may be happening or has happened to David, she knows that she is somehow to blame for it. She is thoroughly mortified.

“I have forgiven both of you. I will send him back to you.”

“Thank you, Lord! Thank you, my Lord!”

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As suddenly as it came, the feeling of shame and failure, all her fears and anxiety about David are suddenly lifted. A feeling of joy suffuses her being and her faith is bolstered tremendously, so strong she is confident she can face the future no matter what happens. After worshiping and thanking God for a while, she dresses up and heads for the office.

Ted is waiting for her in her personal office. He looks quite agitated.

“Hello, Ted. What’s up?”

“Have you heard about the plane accident in New York?”

Tracy’s heart skips uncontrollably. “What accident?”

“A plane from Qatar developed technical problems, skidded off the runway and rammed into the tail of another plane on the ground.”

“O my God! How many people died?”

“Fortunately, none.”

“Thank God!” says Tracy breathing out in swift relief. “But you looked so worried, Ted. If there was no fatality why the long face?”

Ted does not answer immediately, but paces Tracy’s office while the latter goes to sit behind her desk.

“Have you heard about the latest victim of the Angel of Death?”

“No, Ted,” answers Tracy. “Has he struck again?”

“Yes.”

“Where and who is the victim?”

“Doha, Qatar. And the victim is Ahmed Sulemani.”

“The Qatari oil magnate and multi-billionaire?”

“Yes,” replies Ted, stopping in front of Tracy’s desk. “Can you see a pattern in all his four strikes so far, captain?”

Tracy ponders for a while and suddenly gasps.

“Jesus Christ! They are all very rich people and very fanatical Muslims from all accounts.”

“Exactly. Which also makes them potential if not actual sponsors of Boko Haram!”

“That’s true, but I can’t see any connection beyond that, Ted. I’ve not been thinking straight for the past few days.”

“I understand,” replies Ted softly. “What I’m driving at is this. The pattern of his strikes shows that he is following a schedule. And that tells me something...”

“The Chibok Papers!” shouts Tracy.

“Yes, Captain. It means those papers really exist and somebody found them and is using the list to hit the sponsors of Boko Haram.”

“That makes a lot of sense, Ted,” says Tracy sitting back in her chair, a sudden fear for David rising up to choke her. Just then, her cell phone rings shrilly. She snatches it up.

“Hello,” says a feminine voice at the other end.

“Hello,” replies Tracy suddenly apprehensive.

“Am I speaking to Captain Tracy Winters retired?”

“Speaking.”

“I’m calling from the Lotus Airline in New York. Do you know a certain David Solomon?”

“Yes. What happened?” asks Tracy, raising her voice in mounting fear. Ted immediately becomes alert.

“Are you driving, Ma’am?”

“No. What happened?”

“We need you to come over to our office in New York as soon as possible.”

“What happened?” shouts Tracy in alarm.

“Mr. Solomon puts your name as his next of kin. He was on our flight from Qatar yesterday. You must have heard about the plane mishap that happened at JFK yesterday. We assure you that your relation isn’t dead. He is hospitalised, and in good hands. Please come over as soon as you can. Thank you, Ma’am.”

The caller rings off and Tracy lets out a heart-breaking scream.

“What’s it, Captain?” asks Ted in fear. The secretary also runs in.

“David!” shouts Tracy, shaking uncontrollably.

“What happened to him?”

“David was on the plane that crashed in New York. He’s in hospital!”

“O my God!” shouts Ted and the secretary simultaneously. Tracy bolts up and heads for the door.

“Where are you going, Captain?” asks Ted running after her.

“New York.”

She runs out of the door with Ted pursuing her.